And I was struck once more
by the words of the blind Theban prophet, Tiresias,
and Aeaean Circe too: time and again they told me
to shun this island of the Sun, the joy of man.
So I warned my shipmates gravely, sick at heart,
"Listen to me, my comrades, brothers in hardship,
let me tell you the dire prophecies of Tiresias
and Aeaean Circe too: time and again they told me
to shun this island of the Sun, the joy of man.
Here, they warned, the worst disaster awaits us.
Row straight past these shores – race our black ship on!"
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 289-299. After making it past Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus’ ship reaches the island of the Sun, where Helios keeps his cattle and purebred sheep. Odysseus tells his men that they must avoid the island after prophet Tiresias and Circe warned how great disaster awaited them if they didn’t.