Odyssey Notes, Teresias and the Land of the Dead

Teresias was from Thebes
O must make 2 sacrifices to make the dead talk:
a cow which has not given birth
a lamb
O must dig a trench and let blood run into it
The dead will drink the blood and will be able to talk
Teresias says to O:
Poseidon is still really mad at you
when you get to Thrinakia, don’t kill Helios’ cattle
your men will probably kill the cattle
your men will all die
you’ll be lost for many years
you’ll come home on someone else’s ship
men are at your house, eating your food and trying to marry your wife
Teresias tells O that O will kill all suitors, but this will anger the gods
So, he must:
take an oar and go inland until people don’t know what an oar is
wait until someone asks what the oar is
plant the oar in the ground
make a sacrifice to Poseidon
If O does this, he will die an old man

While there, O also sees mother
His mother died of a broken heart for her lost son
O also sees his soldier, Elpenor, who fell asleep on Circe’s roof, fell, broke his neck, and died
Elpenor wants O to return to Circe’s island to bury him
(proper burials were very important to Greeks)
O agrees to return