Eurylochus in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Eurylochus

7 passages from 3 ancient authors that tell of Eurylochus, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Eurylochus was a companion and kinsman of Odysseus in the Odyssey, known for his caution before Circe and his role in the killing of Helios' cattle. For the story in one place, read our article on Eurylochus.

Homer (5)

Homer, Odyssey 10.210–273Circe turns the men to swineEurylochus' men find Circe's house in a clearing, with wolves and lions that fawn on them. Circe invites them in, gives them a mixture of cheese, barley and honey with a drug, and turns them into swine with a touch of her wand. Eurylochus, who stayed outside, runs back and tells Odysseus, who sets out alone for the house.
Homer, Odyssey 10.133–209Circe's island; the stagThey come to the island of Aeaea, where the goddess Circe lives, and Odysseus lands and kills a great stag, which the men carry down to the ship for a meal. The men weep, remembering the Cyclops and the Laestrygonians, and Odysseus divides them into two companies, led by himself and by Eurylochus, and the lot falls to Eurylochus to go inland.
Homer, Odyssey 12.260–328The cattle of the SunHaving escaped the rocks, Charybdis and Scylla, they come to the island of the Sun. From the ship Odysseus hears the cattle and the sheep, and recalls the warnings of Teiresias and Circe, and wants to sail past the island. Eurylochus objects, and the men land and swear not to touch the herds, but a south wind blows for a month, and their stores give out.
Homer, Odyssey 12.329–402The slaughter of the cattle of the SunWhile Odysseus sleeps, Eurylochus persuades the men to kill the best of the cattle of the Sun, and they feast for six days. Lampetia tells Helios, who in anger threatens to shine among the dead, and Zeus promises to wreck their ship. On the seventh day the wind drops, and they put to sea, but the omens, the hides creeping and the meat lowing on the spits, are terrible.
Homer, Odyssey 10.333–465Circe frees the men; a year with CirceCirce invites him to her bed, and Odysseus makes her swear the oath, and her maids prepare a bath and a meal, but he cannot eat while his men are swine. She anoints them with another drug and they become men again, younger and taller than before, and Odysseus brings the rest of the crew from the ship. They stay a full year feasting, until the men urge him to think of home.

Apollodorus (1)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.7.1–40The wanderings of Odysseus, the suitors and his deathOdysseus leaves Troy and meets the Cicones, the Lotus-eaters and Polyphemus the Cyclops, then Aeolus, the Laestrygonians and Circe. After the visit to Hades, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis and the cattle of the Sun, he reaches Calypso and then the Phaeacians and Ithaca, where the suitors are named and killed. The section ends with his later life among the Thesprotians and the variant accounts of his death at the hands of Telegonus, and of Penelope's fate.

Ovid (1)

Ovid, Metamorphoses 14.221–319Macareus and CirceAchaemenides asks Macareus to tell of his own adventures, and Macareus tells of Aeolus and the Laestrygonians, and how the Greeks came to the island of Circe, and how she changed many of his shipmates into animals with her drugs. Odysseus (Ulysses), protected by a charm from Hermes (Mercury), forced her to restore his men, and they lived with her for a year. Circe shows Macareus a woodpecker and a statue of Picus, and tells him its story.