In Homer's Odyssey, who are the lotus eaters and what did they do to Odysseus and his men?

After
plundering the city of the Cicones, Odysseus wants to move on but his men are intent upon
celebrating their success. This proves an ill-fated decision, for the remaining men of the
Cicones call up reinforcements: other Cicones warriors. Odysseus and his remaining men are lucky
to escape with their lives.

According to Odysseus, while they are escaping
Zeus "roused the North Wind with a wondrous tempest," so that the ships are driven
headlong and "their sails were torn to shreds by the violence of the wind." Odysseus
and his men finally set foot on land. They eat and rest for two days and two nights; when they
finally move on, the winds again bear them along for nine days until they finally come to land
once more. This land is known as the Land of the Lotus Eaters.
After eating and resting, Odysseus sends two men plus a herald to find out who the inhabitants
of the land are. Odysseus' men are given the "lotus to taste" by the Lotus
Eaters.

Unfortunately, after the men taste the "honey sweet fruit of the
lotus," none of them want to return to Odysseus. They forget all their duties and their
previous hopes of returning home. These men have to be dragged, weeping and screaming, back to
the ships. Once there, they are bound so that they will not escape and return to the
Lotus-Eaters. Odysseus straightaway bids "the rest of my trusty comrades to embark with
speed on the swift ships, lest perchance anyone should eat of the lotus and forget his homeward
way."