The Fruit That Makes You Forget

After leaving Troy the ship did not sail smoothly for long. A storm struck as they rounded Cape Malea, and for nine days the waves drove the ship south.

On the tenth day they reached an unfamiliar shore. Worn out, the men scattered to fetch water first, and Odysseus picked three to go and look over the land.

The people of that island did no harm to strangers. They offered them a fruit called lotus instead, sweet as honey, and whoever ate it did not come back.