The latest news we have of
Odysseus’s journey home is that he was blown off course yet again after escaping from
the Ciccones. Odysseus found yet more adventures waiting for him when he stopped at the
land of the Lotophagoi or "Lotus Eaters".
This is not a war-like tribe but they are no less dangerous than the
Ciccones for entirely different reasons. Odysseus explained to his men that if they ate
the lotus fruit they would forget everything except the desire to eat more fruit. They
would never want to leave the island again.
He sent three men to explore the place and find food and water. The men
found themselves in the middle of a celebration where everyone was eating and drinking the
juice from the lotus fruit. They were welcomed by a young man (see picture) handing them
lotus juice. They drank the lotus juice and forgot their past. When Odysseus found them
they were in a dream-like, drunken state.
