Book 12 in short: Sirens, Scylla and the Sun's cattle

Back on Aeaea, Circe warns Odysseus of the dangers ahead. He has his men's ears stopped with wax so they cannot hear the Sirens, and has himself tied to the mast to hear them safely. The ship then passes between Scylla, a monster that seizes six men, and the whirlpool Charybdis.

On the island of the Sun the crew are told not to touch the god's cattle, but when winds hold them there they kill and eat some. Zeus destroys the ship with a thunderbolt. Odysseus alone survives and drifts to Calypso's island.