Circe

In Greek mythology, flame-haired Circe is a minor goddess (or sometimes a nymph, witch, enchantress or sorceress) living on the island of Aeaea. She was reputed to transform her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals through the use of magical potions and was renowned for her knowledge of drugs and herbs.

Circe’s father was Helios, the god of the sun, and her mother was Perse, an Oceanid and daughter of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. She was also the sister of two kings of Colchis, Aeëtes and Perses, and of Pasiphaë, the mother of the Minotaur.

In Homer’s “Odyssey”, Odysseus’ crew stumbled onto Circe’s island and her “water mansion” in a clearing in a dense wood, around which prowled harmless lions and wolves, the drugged victims of her magic. She invited the sailors to a feast, but the food was laced with one of her magical potions, and she turned them all into pigs with a wand after they had gorged themselves on it (modern interpretations suggest this may have been a hallucinogenic intoxication or drugged delusion rather than shapeshifting).

Odysseus set out to rescue his men, using the holy herb “moly” given to him by Hermes to protect himself from Circe’s potion, and following Hermes’ advice as to how to avoid Circe’s magic and seductions. Having freed his fellows, Odysseus and Circe became lovers, and he and his men remained on the island for a year feasting and drinking wine, after which Circe assisted him in his quest to reach his home.

Later poets extended the story, one version being that Telegonus, Circe’s son by Odysseus was sent by Circe to find Odysseus, who had long since returned to his home on Ithaca, but on arrival Telegonus accidentally killed his father. He brought the body back to Aeaea, taking Odysseus’ widow Penelope and their son Telemachus with him, and Circe made them immortal and married Telemachus, while Telegonus made Penelope his wife.

According to legend, Jason and the Argonauts also visited Circe’s island while they were escaping the Colchian fleet, (possibly at the request of Circe’s niece Medea, who was with them, or possibly instructed by the magical ship “Argo” itself) in order to be purified and cleansed by Circe for the assassination of Medea’s brother Apsyrtus.

In some stories, Circe was also attributed the ability to darken the heavens by hiding the moon or the sun behind clouds, and destroy her enemies with poisonous juices, calling to her aid Nyx (Night), Chaos or Hecate, the goddess of the crossroads. In her presence, and because of her enchantments, the woods would move, the ground rumble and the trees around her turn white. At night, uncontrolled visions filled her house, the walls and chambers of her palace could seem to be bathed in blood, and fire could seem to devour her magic herbs.

She is also credited with converting, in a fit of jealousy, the beautiful young woman Scylla into a monster with the face and breast of a woman, but having in her flanks six heads and twelve feet of dogs, who ever after presented a danger for ships passing the strait of Messina between Sicily and Italy. She is also supposed to have turned the handsome young magician Picus into a woodpecker after he refused her advances.

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The Spellbinding Story of Circe, Goddess of Magic

Circe was a goddess of magic and she continues to be one of the most enchanting deities of ancient Greek mythology. This daughter of Helios and patron of ancient Greek witches still fascinates people even today.

She appeared in many of the most famous ancient Greek texts, such as The Odyssey by Homer, The Theogony by Hesiod, Description of Greece by Pausanias, Geography by Strabo, and The Library of History by Diodorus Siculus. She was also mentioned by famous Roman writers like Virgil, Cicero, Ovid, Hyginus, Valerius Flaccus, Statius, and Propertius. Why did Circe become so popular for these and other writers? She was just one of many characters in Greek mythology, but people saw something in her which fascinated them more than the others.

The Magic of Circe
Witchcraft has always been important. Since the beginning of humanity, people have searched for solutions through magical practices. Therefore, Circe (or Kirke) became one of the most magnetic women in Ancient Greece.

In most texts, she is described as a daughter of Perse the Oceanid and the Titan of the Sun – Helios. She had several siblings, including Pasiphae (who married King Minos and bore the famous Minotaur.) Aeetes, known as the keeper of the Golden Fleece, was said to be her brother. However, some ancient texts suggest that she was actually the powerful goddess Hecate’s daughter instead.

Her personality and attributes encompass all of the key ideas related to witchcraft. It is written that she was a specialist in herbs and knew how to use them for magic and healing. She created many recipes for ancient potions to use in magic rituals. Circe is often depicted with a wand or a staff. One of the most famous of her accomplishments was transforming her enemies into animals.
The most popular account of Circe comes from the Odyssey 10. 135 – 12. 156:

“[Odysseus sailed forth from the land of the Laistrygones (Laestrygones) and came next to the island of Kirke (Circe):] Then we came to the island of Aiaia (Aeaea); here Kirke (Circe) dwelt, a goddess with braided hair, with human speech and with strange powers; the magician Aeetes was her brother, and both were radiant Helios the sun-god’s children; their mother was Perse, Okeanos’ (Oceanus’) daughter. We brought the ship noiselessly to shore, and with some divinity for guide we put in at the sheltering harbour. We disembarked, and for two days and two nights we lay there, eating out our hearts with sorrow and weariness.

But when Eos the Dawn of the braided hair brought the third day at last, I took my spear and my sharp sword and hastened up to a vantage-point, hoping to see some human handiwork or to catch the sound of some human speech. I climbed a commanding crag, and from where I stood had a glimpse of smoke rising from the ground. There were gleams of fire through the smoke, and at sight of this I wondered inwardly whether to go and look. But as I pondered, it seemed a wiser thing to return first to my vessel on the beach, give my men a meal and then send them out to spy. I was on my way back and near the ship when some divinity pities me in my loneliness and sent a great antlered stag right across my path [perhaps a man that Kirke had transformed into an animal].”

Her role is quite large in the Odyssey, where it shows many things about morality and understanding the power of magic and the fear of deities in ancient Greece. Homer’s description of her also led to Circe being considered as one of the most attractive female figures in ancient mythology.

A Heroine of Science and Literature
Stories from ancient literature fascinated many scientists so much that they started to search for scientific explanations in them. For example, the plants which are believed to be the ones Circe used to put a spell on Odysseus’ companions were called Circaea. That name was given during the late 16th century.

Circe’s fame didn’t die with the end of ancient beliefs. During medieval times, she became an important symbol in moral stories created by Giovanni Boccaccio. In ”Famous women” ( De mulieribus claris ), he wrote that she lived in Italy and commented on her actions. She also appeared in the monumental 600-page text written by Georg Rollenhagen in 1595, titled ”The frogs and mice” ( Froschmeulseler). In that book, Rollenhagen described the story of Odysseus or Ulysses and Circe.

In 1624, Spanish writer Lope de Vega also presented her in his text titled La Circe – con otras rimas y prosas , where he wrote another version of the Greek myth. She was a popular motif during the 19th century in books related to mystical and mythical topics as well.

Circe Today
Circe is now one of the most popular figures from ancient witchcraft and mythology. Her character appears in TV series, movies, games, and fantasy books. She still casts her magic and terrifies men, who have no idea what to do – should they escape or admire her beauty? Circe is a symbol of female power for women and vanity for men. Regardless of how she is interpreted, she is still one of the most magnetic women from ancient Greek myth.

Reference
By Natalia Klimczak, Ancient Origins 

Zygmunt Kubiak, Mitologia Greków i Rzymian, 1997.

Pierre Grimal, The Dictionary of Classical Mythology, 1996.

Homer, Odyssey, available at:
http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/odyssey.html

Kirke, available at:
http://www.theoi.com/Titan/Kirke.html