Odyssey 10.53 · Book 10, lines 53–55
He covers his head and endures
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ἀλλʼ ἔτλην καὶ ἔμεινα, καλυψάμενος δʼ ἐνὶ νηὶ κείμην. αἱ δʼ ἐφέροντο κακῇ ἀνέμοιο θυέλλῃ αὖτις ἐπʼ Αἰολίην νῆσον, στενάχοντο δʼ ἑταῖροι.
But I endured and stayed, and wrapping myself I lay down in the ship. The ships were carried by the wind's cruel storm-blast back to the Aeolian island, and my comrades were groaning.
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The setting
Having chosen to live, Odysseus wraps his head and lies down as the released winds drive the ships back toward Aeolia.
A note on this passage
Odysseus acts on his choice. He covers his head, lies still in the ship, and lets the storm do what it will. The wind drives the whole fleet back to Aeolus's island, and the crew groans, knowing what they have thrown away.
The covered head is the posture of grief. Rather than rage at the men who ruined the homecoming, he hides his face and endures in silence, the same self-command that will let him wait, years later, in his own hall among the suitors.
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