Lotus = soulless
By: Alyssa D and Michelle
Odysseus and his Men.
When Odysseus came upon an island, they found a flower. This flower was called a lotus. It was an enchantment of some sort that made you forget home. As in it made you lose the want, the feeling and desire for anything except to stay on the island.
“Then I sent out two picked men and a runner to learn what race of men that land sustained. They fell in, soon enough, with Lotus Eaters,...”
“...but those who ate this honeyed plant, the Lotus, never cared to report, nor to return: they longed to stay forever, browsing on that native bloom, forgetful of their homeland.”
Luckily, Odysseus was smart enough to realize what the plant was doing. So he wrangled the three men that had eaten from the plant together and tied them to the boat. Next he told the others to not eat of the plant and to get back to the boat and prepare to leave.
“I drove them, all three wailing, to the ships, tied them down under their rowing benches, and called the rest: ‘All hands aboard; come, clear the beach and no one taste the Lotus, or you lose your hope of home.'"
Picture of the Lotus Flower
Odysseus' men eating of the flower
Odysseus leaving the island that contains the flower
The Lotus is super addictive, its like doing drugs or craving something so strongly you just have to have it. It's a bad habit that you can't seem to shake or a feeling that's overwhelmed you loose sight of what you hope and desire for.