noon
So they sat down , and Circe took wine , and grated cheese , and honey , and barley-meal , and mixed them in a bowl , muttering strange words , and adding a single drop from a little phial which she took from a secret cupboard . Then she gave them to drink , touching them , as she did so , with a wand ; and no sooner had they tasted than their form and countenance was changed into the likeness of swine , though they kept the mind and feelings of men . Circe now drove them all together into a stye , and flung down beechmast , and acorns , and cornel berries , for them to eat . It was drawing towards noon when Odysseus saw a solitary figure descending the slope which led down to the beach . `` Eurylochus ! '' he cried , recognising the familiar features of his squire . `` Why comest thou alone ? ''