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In this book Odysseus goes to the House of Death where he is advised by Tiresias and meets heroes from Troy and from bygone days.
Odysseus and his men depart Circe’s island in their ship, aided by a wind she sends them, with a ram and ewe on board they will offer to the dead as sacrifice. They reach the outer bounds of the known Ocean where the Cimmerian people live in mist and cloud, in an endless night. Here, the sun barely shines. They find the place to which Circe has directed them. Perimedes and Eurylochus pour libations to the dead. Odysseus promises to sacrifice a heifer when they return to Ithaca, and a ram for Tiresias. He then sacrifices the sheep over a trench leading into the Underworld, and the blood flows into the trench. Odysseus finds he is instantly surrounded by the swarming dead – old men, brides, warriors, etcetera – and he is terrified. He orders his men to flay the dead sheep, as Circe instructed, burn them and then say prayers to the gods. Meanwhile, Odysseus keeps the dead away from the sacrificial blood with his sword, determined to first speak with Tiresias.
But first, the ghost of Elpenor appears. He has only just died after he fell from the roof of Circe’s palace, and his body has not yet even received its funeral rites. He explains to Odysseus how he died and asks Odysseus to swear to return to Circe’s island, perform his funeral rites and then burn his body with its armour on. Odysseus promises to do this.
Odysseus’ mother, Anticlea, appears, but Odysseus will not allow even her to go near the sacrificial blood. When Tiresias finally appears he tells Odysseus to stand aside so he can drink from the blood. He then makes predictions for Odysseus. He says that Odysseus will continue to be plagued by Poseidon who remains angry over the blinding of Polyphemus. But, he says, Odysseus might still make it home if he and his men are able to curb their desires. He particularly warns Odysseus against harming the cattle owned by Helios that live on Thrinacia Island; otherwise Odysseus, his men and his ship will be destroyed. Tiresias predicts what will happen when Odysseus returns home; he will undoubtedly overcome the suitors. But once this is done, Odysseus must again leave home and travel until he reaches a land where its people know nothing of ships. There he is to sacrifice a ram, a boar and bull to Poseidon, then return home and make offerings to all the gods. With this done, Teresias predicts Odysseus will have a peaceful death in his old age.
With Teresias’ instructions complete, Odysseus asks him how the ghost of his mother can be made to recognise him. Tiresias instructs Odysseus to allow her to drink from the blood. Any dead allowed to do this will speak the truth to him. Tiresias returns to the House of the Dead.
Odysseus’ mother, Anticlea, approaches the blood once more and he allows her to drink. She then immediately recognises her son. She questions why he has come to the Underworld: is he coming from Troy or has he already been home? Odysseus briefly tells her of his journey, and he then questions his mother about how she died, about Telemachus, about his own father, whether his own throne is still secure, and whether Penelope has remained true to him. His mother replies that Penelope lives a sad life but has married no one, that Telemachus continues to protect Odysseus’ royal rights, but that his father now lives a poor life, sleeping in a lodge with his servants, wrapped in rags. During summer, he sleeps in the open. He grieves for Odysseus. Anticlea explains that she did not die of disease, but that she died of grief for the loss of her son.
Odysseus, overcome with emotion, tries to embrace his mother. Three times he tries and fails as her ghostly form passes through him. He then fears she might be a wraith sent by Persephone, queen of the Underworld, but his mother assures him she is not. Death has merely separated her from her physical body.
As Anticlea parts with Odysseus, other ghostly women gather about. He wishes to speak to as many as he can, so he keeps them away from the blood, allowing only one at a time to drink so they can speak. Each woman he speaks to reveals something about herself.
Tyro – We hear how she fell in love with the river god, Enipeus, but one day Poseidon took his shape and made love to her in the estuary, thus taking her virginity. Poseidon then revealed who he really was and made her promise to reveal this to no one. Tyro gave birth to two sons, Peleus and Neleus.
Antiope – Antiope spent a night with Zeus. From this union she gave birth to twin boys, Amphion and Zethus, who built the footings of the city of Thebes.
Alcmena – Alcmena also slept with Zeus. She gave birth to Heracles. Details of this story can be found in the page for book 19 of The Iliad under the heading ‘The Story of Heracles and Eurystheus’ by clicking here.
Megara – who married Heracles.
Epicaste (the more common name for her is Jocasta) – the mother of Oedipus who unwittingly married her son and later hanged herself.
Chloris – the wife of Neleus. She was the queen of Pylos and mother to Nestor, Chromius and Periclymenus, and later mother to Pero, whom Neleus would allow no man to marry unless he drove home his herds which had been stolen.
Leda – the wife of Tyndareus who bore twin boys, Castor and Polydeuces, who, when they died, were buried. But they were allowed to take turns, day by day, to be alive again. Though Homer does not mention it, Leda was famously seduced by Zeus, who came to her as a swan.
Iphimedeia – the wife of Aloeus who lay with Poseidon and gave birth to two boys, Otus and Ephialtes, who grew to be giants and threatened that they would attack Olympus. Apollo killed them when they were young.
Others – Phaedra, Procris, Ariadne daughter of Minos who was part of the Minotaur story, Clymene, Maera and Eriphyle who was bribed to lure her husband to death for a necklace, are also mentioned.
At this point Odysseus brings his story back to his predicament and desire to be taken home. He then stops speaking. Arete, the Phaeacian queen, takes the opportunity to praise Odysseus, but says they must take the time to send him away with appropriate gifts. King Alcinous supports this. Odysseus acknowledges that if he returns home with many gifts, he will gain more respect upon his return. Alcinous now praises the skill with which Odysseus tells his story and asks him to tell more of his tale, particularly detailing any of the heroes he met in the Underworld.
Odysseus continues his story for the Phaeacian court.
Persephone drives away the women Odysseus has been speaking to. Then Agamemnon appears along with the ghosts of men who fought beside him. Agamemnon seems diminished and weaker. Odysseus asks how he came to die. Agamemnon tells of his ignominious death at the hands of the traitor, Aegisthus, and his own wife, Clytemnestra, after he returned home from Troy. He speaks of the slaughter through the palace and the death of Cassandra. Clytemnestra’s treachery has twisted Agamemnon, for now he speaks against all women, describing them as tainted by Clytemnestra’s act. Odysseus suggests that the house of Atrides is cursed by women, since it was for a woman, Helen, that the war in Troy was started. Agamemnon warns Odysseus against trusting Penelope too much, although he moderates his warning by acknowledging that Penelope is wise and of steady character. Even so, he advises Odysseus to pull into port secretly when he returns home, and not to trust Penelope too entirely. Agamemnon then asks for news about his son, Orestes, who avenged his murder, but Odysseus knows nothing about him.
Next, Odysseus sees Achilles, Patroclus, Antilochus and Great Ajax. Achilles recognises Odysseus immediately. Odysseus explains to Achilles why he has summoned the dead. Upon speaking of his own troubles, he notes that even in the Underworld Achilles seems to lord it over all other men. Achilles responds by saying that he would prefer to be alive and a slave than rule in the Underworld. He asks about his son and father. He fears that his father, Peleus, may no longer be treated with respect by the Myrmidons now that he has grown old. Odysseus tries to comfort him with a story about Achilles’ son, Neoptolemus. Odysseus describes how Neoptolemus proved to be one of the greatest and bravest fighters when he landed on the shores of Troy. Odysseus also describes Neoptolemus’ bravery in the Wooden Horse: how he was eager to get on with the fight while other men sat in the Horse, afraid of what was to come. Odysseus says that Neoptolemus ended the war without receiving a single wound. Achilles leaves, satisfied and proud to have heard to about his son.
The rest of the ghosts now swarm about Odysseus. Only Great Ajax keeps his distance. He is still angry at Odysseus for claiming Achilles’ arms which were prizes offered by Thetis, Achilles’ mother, for games held in Achilles’ honour after his death. Odysseus calls to Great Ajax, hoping to draw him nearer to tell his own story and hopefully effect a reconciliation. But Ajax does not speak. He just walks away.
Odysseus also sees Minos, the former King of Crete, who now sits in judgment of the dead in the Underworld, and Orion who continues to hunt in the Underworld. He also sees Tityus, who has his liver plucked out by two vultures as punishment for sleeping with Leto, Zeus’ lover and mother to Apollo and Artemis. He also sees Tantalus being tortured, never able to drink the water right near his mouth or eat the fruits hanging above his head: and Sisyphus, who forever rolls his boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down. He also sees the ghost of Heracles, who now enjoys a life with the gods in Olympus, married to Hebe, while his ghost remains in the Underworld. Even Heracles’ ghost is a terrifying figure who others scatter from. He greets Odysseus and wonders whether Odysseus is also suffering a terrible fate like the fate he suffered when he was forced to perform his labours. Heracles boasts of seizing Cerberus, the dog that guards the Underworld.
Odysseus would like to stay longer and speak to other heroes from long ago, but the ghosts begin to surge about and frighten him, and he fears some horror will be sent by Persephone if he stays longer. Odysseus rushes back to his ship and his men launch it quickly. They sail away.
Odysseus and his crew sail to the land of the Cimmerians to find the entrance to the Underworld. There is no fixed location for this place now. I have placed it far west in deference to a map I have used, and as a place that would have suited the mythic far reaches of geographical knowledge during the period in which Homer is writing. Odysseus describes the land as a place,
At the end of Book 10 Circe instructs Odysseus to seek Tiresias in the House of Death:
From this speech we can see that Tiresias seems different from others in the Underworld. His mind and wisdom appear unchanged from the time he was alive, and his ‘everlasting vision’ obviously refers to his ability to see into the future. By comparison, others in the Underworld seem to need the blood from the sacrifice made by Odysseus so that they can recognise Odysseus and regain some semblance of their former selves. This detail may feel inconsistently applied by Homer when it comes to the most famous personages like Agamemnon or Achilles. Of Agamemnon he states, “He knew me at once, as soon as he drank the blood” [line 443], although of Achilles he says, “The ghost of the splendid runner knew me at once” [line 534]. Yet, given Homer’s formulaic repetitions, it is possible to assume that Achilles, too has drank the blood. It is only Tiresias who explicitly knows Odysseus immediately before drinking it, in accordance with the special powers of reason Persephone has allowed him. He chooses to drink the blood, but he does this after he recognises and acknowledges Odysseus.
Tiresias is also different in other ways, which a brief recount of the key aspects of his story before his death will show. His blindness and his powers of precognition begin with the story that Tiresias is possibly the first, certainly one of the earliest, transgender characters. The story is that he hit two copulating snakes with a stick, killing the female snake, which displeased the goddess, Hera. For this, she turned him into a woman. Tiresias lived as a woman for seven years. She was transformed back into a man when she again came across two snakes copulating and left them alone. There are other variants on the story, but this seems one of the most popular.
As to Tiresias’ blindness, there are different explanations. One account has Athena blinding him because he looked upon her and Chariclo, Tiresias’ mother, bathing. Athena explains that this was merely the fate of any man who beheld a god without consent. As compensation, Athena gives Tiresias his staff which helps him move around almost as well as a sighted person, as well as the gift of foresight.
Another version – one I prefer because it incorporates Tiresias’ sexual morphism – centres on a debate between Hera and Zeus. Both had debated without conclusion whether men or women derived most pleasure from sex. Hera asserted that it was men. They turned to Tiresias to settle the debate because he had been both male and female. Tiresias declared that it was women who derived the most pleasure. But this did not please Hera. Angered at his response, Hera struck him blind. To compensate for this, Zeus gave Tiresias the gift of foresight and a lifespan seven times longer than other men.
The first of these images, an engraving by Robert de Baudous, shows Teresias as a man striking the snakes. In the background, left, we see another image of Teresias, now transformed to a woman. In the second image, Johann Ulrich Kraus has chosen to portray Teresias the moment after he has been transformed into a woman. Click on the images to view a larger copy.
Of course, there are other traditions to Teresias’ story and many other details which you can look up if interested.
Odysseus is given clear instructions by Circe in Book 10 of The Odyssey about how find his way so he may to seek advice from Tiresias in the Underworld:
Odysseus is told he must find the place where there is a crag over the junction of the River of Fire and the River of Tears. At this point the rivers become Acheron, the Flood of Grief. Circe explains that the River of Tears is an offshoot of the River Styx (the Stream of Hate), which the dead must pass over to reach the Underworld, proper. Odysseus receives no instruction that he must pass over the River Styx. Instead, he is to “Dig a trench of about a forearm’s depth and length” at the place she has described into which he is to pour libations to the dead. This means that Odysseus has not descended completely into the Underworld, as Orpheus, Heracles, and Persephone did.
Orpheus played music with his lyre to charm Charon, the ferryman across the Styx, to allow him to cross, as well as to get past Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld. Orpheus descended into the Underworld to retrieve his wofe, Eurydice.
Heracles crossed the Styx (in some versions of the story by overpowering Charon) to capture Cerberus and bring him back to Eurystheus, which completed the last of Heracles’ labours. Homer makes a digression to this story in Book 19 of The Iliad. It is explained in more detail under the heading ‘The Story of Heracles and Eurystheus’ in our page for Book 19 of the The Iliad. If you wish to read more about it you can open that page by clicking here.
Persephone was abducted by Hades, the god of the Underworld, but was released due to the grief of her mother, Demeter, goddess of harvests and agriculture. Her grief caused crops to fail. Zeus ordered Persephone released. But some pomegranate seeds she ate in the Underworld tied her to it forever, so a compromise was reached, allowing her to divide her time between the living world and the Underworld. This is a story that explains the changing seasons. Persephone’s return to the Underworld each year signals the beginning of the winter months. Her return to the living world signals the return of the summer months.
The journey into the underworld by these three figures is known as a ‘katabasis’. R. F. Kuang has used this word for the title of her 2025 novel in which two students descend into hell to save their thesis adviser.
However, while much discussion and art around Odysseus’ journey describes him going into the Underworld, it is not entirely accurate to say he does. Odysseus descends part way to the edge of the Underworld, but he does not cross the Styx into it, properly (although AI responses at the moment will tell you he does). Instead, the Greek term to apply in Odysseus’ case is ‘nekyia’ or ‘nekya’. The term refers to necromancy, which here means a summoning of the dead. The rituals performed by Odysseus – the libation pouring, the sacrifice of the sheep, the blood in the trench – are all part of a spell to bring the dead to Odysseus from the Underworld. It is a summoning. The blood is used to help the dead recognise Odysseus and to make them speak to him. This explains how the whole scene ends at the end of Book 11. Odysseus finally becomes frightened by the dead surging about him and the thought that Persephone will send something monstrous if he stays too long. He immediately rushes back to his ship. He can do this because he has performed ‘nekyia’, not undertaken ‘katabasis’.
One of the shades of the dead Odysseus sees in the Underworld is Great Ajax. Great Ajax refuses to speak to Odysseus. He turns and walks away. Odysseus explains,
The incident Odysseus refers to does not appear in The Iliad as we might expect. It appears in books from the now-lost Epic Cycle like Ilias Parva (The Little Iliad) and Aethiopis. We now only have fragments of thee works as well as commentaries, other works based upon them and summaries, so that we know what they were about. Details appear in The Greek Epic Cycle and its Ancient Reception by Marco Fantuzzi and Christos Tsagalis. The following is a summation of different works and traditions.
Upon Achilles death, Great Ajax defended his body from pillage during the battle. He carries it back to the ships while Odysseus fends off attackers. Both Ajax and Odysseus later make a claim on the arms. The contest to decide is a wrestling match, but the bout ends indecisively. There are different versions of how Athena eventually decides to award the arms to Odysseus. One story from the Ilias Parva has Nestor sending spies amongst the Trojan prisoners to try to determine who they thought was most effective against them of the two men. In this version, this helps determine the contest in Odysseus’ favour. Carrying a body, as Ajax did, is less glorious than actually fighting, the prisoners reason, than fighting, as Odysseus did to allow Ajax to get Achilles’ body back to the boats.
In Pindar’s Nemean Odes, Pindar makes reference to a ballot to determine the matter which is somehow rigged by Odysseus. Sophocles’ Ajax has the same idea, except the ballot is rigged by Menelaus. In Homer’s Odyssey, it is Athena and the captive Trojan prisoners who make the determination. However the result is decided, it appears that Ajax is humiliated and descends into insanity. He kills the Greek cattle and then kills himself. According to a summary of Aethiopis by Proclus, Ajax kills himself the morning after the contest is decided, thus suggesting cause and effect.
According to the account given by Odysseus in The Odyssey, it was Zeus who orchestrated the whole thing to drive division amongst the Achaeans and to weaken them with the death of Great Ajax. He tells this to the ghost of Ajax whom he is trying to placate, so we might also read this as a transparent attempt to win Ajax over. Ajax’s response, to walk away and not engage, shows that Odysseus, however he managed to win the contest, will never be able to reconcile with Ajax in the Underworld.
This print is from the collection of the British Museum. It is part of a series of prints, Les Travaux d'Ulysse (The Deeds of Ulysses). ‘Ulysses’ is the Latin name for Odysseus.
The image is a representation of several scenes witnessed by Odysseus in the Underworld. The museum identifies specific figures from Homer’s narrative which you can highlight by running your mouse over the image. For those using touch screens, you can identify them from the following description, or you may wish to wait until you are using a computer for this feature.
Odysseus, Heracles, Ariadne, Minos and Cerberus, Sisyphus, Tityos, Ixion and Tantalus are all identified by the museum’s website. However, you may note that the figure identified as Minos, wearing a crown, could conceivably be Hades. However, Hades does not appear in Book 11 of The Odyssey, whereas Minos does. Ariadne has been tentatively identified by the spindle she holds in her left hand.
Odysseus and Heracles appear to be talking with one another. Sisyphus heaves the boulder above his head. Ixion is attached to a wheel that rotates continually. Tantalus bends into water, trying to drink while the water recedes, always just out of his reach. Above him is the fruit he can never reach. Tityos suffers the eagle, perched upon his abdomen, to tear out his liver, a punishment reminiscent of that endured by the more-famous Prometheus.
This krater from the 4th century BCE shows Odysseus, centre, with the figures of Eurylochos and Perimedes, either side. Homer tells us that Eurylochos and Perimedes held the sacrificial victims while Odysseus dug a small trench which would receive the blood that he would offer the ghosts of the dead to make them recognise him and speak. Here, we see Odysseus sitting, blade in hand, and the sheep at his feet, as he awaits the appearance of Tiresias.
This jar (or pelike) depicts a different moment of the same scene. Odysseus sits, centre, with the sacrificed sheep at his feet. Behind him stands Hermes, who guides souls in the Underworld, holding the caduceus, his staff with two entwined snakes, a symbol of peace. This staff is sometimes confused with the Rod of Asclepius, which is a staff with a single serpent, the symbol of medicine. Hermes’ staff is a symbol of peace. The legend is that he threw his staff between two fighting snakes, which caused them to wrap about it.
To Odysseus’ left is Elpenor who dies in Book 10 of The Odyssey, when he drunkenly falls from the top of Circe’s palace. Here we see his legs are fixed in the ground, since he has risen from the Underworld to speak to Odysseus. He asks that Odysseus gives him proper burial rites when he returns to Aeaea, Circe’s island.
In this watercolour we see Odysseus seated, holding his sword above the small trench he has dug to hold the blood of he sacrificed sheep. He tells his Phaeacian audience,
Of course, Tiresias is the commanding figure holding a staff who points at Odysseus. We know that Tiresias was blind, but he appears to recognise Odysseus immediately, nevertheless:
Behind Tiresias we see a maelstrom of the swirling forms of the dead who have been raised by Odysseus’ summoning from who he protects the blood. He will speak to some of these figures once Tiresias has delivered his prophecy.
Odysseus is naturally moved when he meets the ghost of his mother, Anticlea, from the Underworld. But when she tells him that the cause of her death was the grief she suffered, believing her son to be dead, it is too much for Odysseus. He desperately tries to hug his mother. He tries three times and each time her shade passes through him. In this painting by Jan Styka the problem appears to be that Anticlea is fleeing Odysseus, instead. Line 240 from Homer is all that may suggest this movement – “Mother – why not wait for me?” but Anticlea stays long enough to explain to Odysseus that she no longer has a corporeal body, and before she leaves, Odysseus says “we both confided, trading parting words” [line 257]. Styka’s painting captures the desperation of Odysseus for comfort from his mother, but his representation of the scene seems to tell a different story to the one we find in Homer.
William Russell Flint completed a series of illustrations for an edition of The Odyssey published by The Medici Society in 1924. The publication was delayed for ten years because of World War I, since the illustrations were complete by 1914. These two images show two versions of the same scene which Flint illustrated for the book. The coloured image was used for publication.
The images illustrate the scene just after Odysseus’ mother departs:
The monochrome image achieves an uneasy and eerie feeling through its surreal atmosphere, contrasting Odysseus’ figure, rendered in black, with the ghostly white figures of the women who approach. The lack of detail in the background gives the scene a feeling of otherworldliness; like a void. From left to right, the first two women appear to have lost inhibition as they approach Odysseus. The first seems mordantly fascinated by the dead sheep and its blood, while the angular stance of the second woman seems inhuman and threatening, a feeling enhanced by Odysseus responding defensive posture. The two women at the right of the image seem demurer and more modest, as though they find Odysseus, himself, threatening. This juxtaposition between the women creates a more complex composition, with a greater range of responses and narrative possibilities.
The second image in colour, used for the 1924 publication, is comparable. Odysseus’ stance is similar and the first two women play the same role as they played in the print. However, Flint has changed the composition by removing the last two women and replacing them with even more women who seem intent on Odysseus and the bloody sheep. All have a sexual energy which is multiplied and overwhelming.
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