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Key Details
Type
HarborMythology
Greek Pantheon
Coordinates
41.2°N, 13.5°E
About This Location
A harbor that bites
Still in Odyssey 10, the Laestrygonians' fjord looks safe: a land-locked harbor, a king's daughter at a spring, then giants who spear men like fish and smash eleven of twelve ships. Odysseus has moored outside, so only his own ship escapes. Later readers guessed Corsica or Formiae. There is no cult. The episode is fleet-destruction in a few dozen lines, a false haven after the wind-bag.
Primary Sources
“They speared them like fish and carried them home for a gruesome meal. While they were destroying the men in the harbor, I drew my sword and cut the cables.”
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