'I Believe: Odysseus' Journey to Faith'
...n the whirlpool swallows down-- not even the earthquake god could save you from disaster" (116) The description of what awaits should they fall into the whirlpool lets Odysseus know their path will be far away from Charybdis, despite this description of Scylla: "No mariners yet can boast they've raced their ship past Scylla's lair without some mortal blow-- with each of her six heads she snatches up a man from the dark-prowed craft and whisks him off" (Book 12: 107) When his crew panics at the sight of the Clashing Rocks Odysseus inspires his men and implores them to trust the gods: "lay on with your oars and strike the heaving swells, trusting that Zeus will pull us through these straights alive." (Book 12: 234) Odysseus pays lip-service to the god Zeus as a means of inspiring his men but in truth he does not trust the gods will help them through this predicament. He blatantly ignores commands from the goddess Circe as they approach Scylla and does what he does best: prepare for battle. "But now I cleared my mind of Circe's orders-- cramping my style, urging me not to arm at all. I donned my heroic armor, seized long spears in both my hands and marched out on the half-deck," (245) His readiness was for naught, as Scylla swoops down and takes six men in the blink of an eye. Even prepared to fight, Odysseus could do nothing and admits: "Of all the pitiful things I've had to witness, suf...