Thrinacia



Thrinacia
is the island home of the Cattle of Helios in Book XII of Homer's Odyssey, guarded by Helios' daughters Lampetia and Phaethusa.
Odysseus and his crew arrive at Thrinacia after passing Scylla and Charybdis. Odysseus has been warned by both Circe and the shade of Tiresias to avoid Thrinacia, but his men beg him to let them stop and rest. He reluctantly agrees, but makes them swear an oath not to touch the cattle on the island. However, for the next month unfavorable winds blow continuously and they are unable to leave. When Odysseus goes to pray for a safe return to Ithaca, his crew, fearing starvation, slaughter and eat some of Helios' cattle. In punishment, when they finally sail away from the island, Helios successfully pleads to Zeus to send a thunderbolt at their ship, killing all the men except Odysseus. Odysseus is spared but, as forewarned by Circe and Tiresias, is himself punished when his return to Ithaca is delayed by a seven-year sojourn on Ogygia.
Homeric Thrinacia was later identified with Sicily, and its name re-interpreted as Trinakria''.
But Homeric Thrinacia is also associated with Malta, and Sicily is instead also identified with the episode of the Cyclops Polyphemus.