Question

"As long as corn and wine held out the men did not touch the cattle when they were hungry; when, however, they had eaten all there was in the ship, they were forced to go further afield, with hook and line, catching birds, and taking whatever they could lay their hands on; for they were starving. One day, therefore, I went up inland that I might pray heaven to show me some means of getting away. When I had gone far enough to be clear of all my men, and had found a place that was well sheltered from the wind, I washed my hands and prayed to all the gods in Olympus till by and by they sent me off into a sweet sleep."

Answer 1

These lines are taken from "The Odyssey" by Homer. The oral narrative talks about the heroic quest and provides an insight into the incidents that took place after the Trojan Wars.

Step-by-step explanation:

This excerpt refers to the Cattle of the Sun. Odysseus while travelling comes to Thrinacia, the island of the Sun. He wanted to avoid it by all means but Eurylochus persuaded him to let his besieged crew rest there. They land there but a storm keeps them stalled for a month. As per Odysseus's instructions, the crew at first were content to survive on the provisions available in the ship. But when resources died down, Eurylochus persuaded the crew members to disobey Odysseus and slaughter the cattle of the Sun. This happened when one day Odysseus had gone inland to pray to all the gods in Olympus for some means of getting away. That is the same afternoon when Odysseus slept.