Odysseus sends 22 men, led by Eurylochus, to investigate Circe’s palace in Homer’s Odyssey.
The episode takes place on Aeaea after Odysseus and his surviving crew reach the island. Seeing smoke rising inland, the sailors draw lots to decide who will explore. Eurylochus leads the selected group of twenty-two men toward the palace while Odysseus remains with the ship and the rest of the crew.
Circe welcomes the explorers with food and drink secretly mixed with a magical potion. After they eat, she touches them with her wand and transforms them into swine. Eurylochus, who suspects danger and stays outside, escapes back to warn Odysseus.
Odysseus then goes to rescue his companions. The god Hermes gives him the protective herb moly, which prevents Circe’s magic from affecting him. After Odysseus forces Circe to release the spell, she restores the sailors to human form. The number is easy to confuse with the larger crew, but the scouting party itself consists of twenty-two men.