Books 11-15

Since Odysseus's had the cunning strength and skill to achieve almost anything, making a journey to and from the underworld alive would prove he was the ultimate hero. Not only would he prove his willpower but also he would be able to live his life again in Ithaca. He already agonized through so many burdensome experiences in the earlier books, so he had nothing to lose by descending into Hades. Odysseus's journey reminds me of  Josephs story in Genesis when their was a famine in the land of Canaan for several years and the brothers had to being Benjamin with them to Egypt to receive the food they needed to survive. Odysseus needed to sacrifice and bring an animal so the blood would attract the dead and he could receive the information he was seeking.

The Cattle of the Sun
Odysseus and his crew are tested for their ability to listen and follow orders. When Odysseus leaves his men for a short period of time, they are tested again , but not by Helios. Eurylochus manipulates Odysseus' men , causing them to fail through Helios instructions to respect the animals on the island of Thrinacia. I think he does this because of the grudge he holds against Odysseus when Odysseus threatened to kill Eurylochus.Helios offers his trust in this story and with broken trust comes consequences. It was wrong for Odysseus to leave his men unattended especially since he did once before when they opened the bag of powerful winds thinking it could provide them wealth. Helio received the justice he wanted with the help of Zeus. I feel like Odysseus could of gotten along better traveling by himself rather than carrying the trouble his foolish men made.