The precise relationship between the two accounts of the death of Palinurus in the Aeneid (5.833-71, 6.337-83) remains elusive, in spite of the wealth of discussion bestowed upon them in recent years. When the helmsman falls overboard in Book 5, according to the narrative, sea and sky are serene, but in the version which his spirit recounts to Aeneas in the underworld in Book 6, there is suggestion of rough seas, great waves rising and violent winter wind. On the other hand, the two accounts have not been developed in total separation, with the natural causation of a storm replacing the supernatural operation of the god Sleep as an explanation of Palinurus’ undoing. For, although Palinurus in his own version of events does not men tion Sleep—how could he, since the god came in human disguise?