The lights of home were already in sight. Then the bag sealed for nine days was opened.
The Island of Winds on the Way Home
Christopher Nolan's film The Odyssey is based on Homer's ancient epic of the same name.
Not all of the original adventures were included in the film.
One episode tells how Odysseus came within sight of home only to be driven back to where he had started.
After the Trojan War, Odysseus and his men headed to his hometown of Ithaca.
But the sea rarely gave way. Odysseus' ship wandered around several islands and arrived at the island where Aeolus lived.
Aeolus was the one who controlled the winds.
He made Odysseus stay for a month and then prepared a special gift for them to return home.
The strong winds were trapped in a large cowhide sack, and the entrance was tightly tied with silver string.
There was only a gentle west wind left outside the sack to push the ship towards Ithaca.
While the sack was closed, no other wind could interfere with the voyage.
Nine Days of Sailing
The ship crossed the sea smoothly.
Odysseus refused to hand the sail to anyone else. Eager to reach home, he steered the ship himself.
Nine days and nine nights passed like that.
On the tenth day, Ithaca was finally visible.
It was close enough to make out the lights coming from the shore.
Just when he thought the long voyage was almost over, Odysseus fell into a deep sleep.
After nine days without proper rest, his body could no longer continue.
The Silver Cord Untied While Odysseus Slept
As Odysseus fell asleep, his men looked at the sack he had been guarding.
The men thought that Aeolus gave valuable gifts only to Odysseus. They were also dissatisfied that they were returning empty-handed.
They guessed that the tightly tied sacks also contained gold and silver.
There was also suspicion that Odysseus was trying to keep the treasure for himself.
Eventually, the men untied the silver cord.
The moment the bag was opened, all the wind trapped inside burst out at once.
The Ship Blown Away from Home
The quiet sea was suddenly covered by a fierce storm.
The wind drove the ship away from home. The lights of Ithaca receded into the distance.
When Odysseus woke up, there was nothing he could do.
The ship sailed back across the sea for nine days and arrived back at the island of Aeolus.
Odysseus went to Aeolus and asked him to help him one more time.
But Aeolus did not take him back. He felt that he could not help someone whom the gods blocked.
The voyage that could have led straight to home ended like that.
Odysseus and his men had to go out to sea again without any help.
The Meaning of the Bag They Did Not Share
They sailed on the same boat for nine days, heading toward the same destination.
But the crew did not share the same understanding of why the bag had to remain closed.
For Odysseus, the sack was a tool to protect his voyage.
To his subordinates, the sack seemed like a treasure that the captain had kept to himself.
In the original text, there is no scene where Odysseus explains the identity of the sack to his men.
As he fell asleep, his subordinates filled in the unknowns with their own guesses.
Different thoughts surrounding one sack sent the ship, which was about to reach its destination, back to its starting point.
Even in work with many people Sometimes having the same schedule and goals isn't enough.
Some people know the reason for what they are doing, while others are only told a certain order.
In the empty spaces where there is no explanation, each person makes their own guesses.
If you stay together about why things need to be done in this order, what shouldn't be touched, and where the next person should start from, you can reduce different judgments.
Especially when you have to hand over work or leave your desk, it becomes important to allow others to see what you have in your mind.
Odysseus' ship had a destination and the wind to take it there.
But not everyone knew the meaning of the most important sack.
In the schedule we share today, is anything still left for someone else to guess?
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