Circe is a goddess and sorceress in Greek mythology, associated with magical drugs, animal transformations, and the island of Aeaea. Her most famous appearance is in Books 10–12 of Homer’s *Odyssey*, where she transforms Odysseus’s companions into pigs before restoring them and becoming their host and adviser. Her role combines danger, divine knowledge, and assistance rather than remaining that of a simple antagonist. (academic.oup.com)
Name, divine status, and family
The Greek name Κίρκη is transliterated as Kirkē or Kirke; Circe is its Latinized form. Homer explicitly identifies her as a goddess, although her use of potions and enchantments also makes “sorceress” a conventional description. These terms describe complementary aspects of her character rather than mutually exclusive identities. (theoi.com)
In Homer and Hesiod, Circe is the daughter of Helios, the sun god, and Perse or Perseis, a daughter of Oceanus. Her brother is Aeëtes, king of Colchis. Other accounts include Pasiphaë among her siblings; through Aeëtes, Circe is the aunt of Medea. Genealogies differ between authors: Diodorus Siculus, for example, makes Circe and Medea daughters of Aeëtes and Hecate. Such alternatives belong to distinct versions of the myth and should not be combined into a single family history. (theoi.com)
Circe in the Odyssey
The transformation of the companions
In Book 10, Odysseus reaches Aeaea after losing most of his fleet. A party led by Eurylochus discovers Circe’s house, surrounded by wolves and lions rendered tame by her drugs. The men hear her singing as she weaves. She welcomes them and serves food mixed with a drug, then strikes them with her wand and turns them into pigs. Their minds remain human. Eurylochus, who stays outside, escapes and reports what has happened. (theoi.com)
On his way to rescue them, Odysseus encounters Hermes, who gives him the protective herb moly and instructions for confronting Circe. Her potion fails to transform him; he draws his sword and requires her to swear that she will not harm him. They become lovers, but Odysseus refuses to eat until his companions have been restored. Circe reverses their transformation, and the company remains with her for a year. When they ask to leave, she tells Odysseus that he must first consult the dead prophet Tiresias. (theoi.com)
Guidance for the voyage
After the journey to the dead, Odysseus returns to Aeaea. In Book 12, Circe provides supplies and explains the dangers ahead. She describes how to pass the Sirens: the crew must block their ears with wax, while Odysseus may hear the song only if bound securely to the mast. (theoi.com)
She also describes the Wandering Rocks and the alternative passage between Scylla and Charybdis. Her warnings emphasize that some dangers cannot be defeated by force. She advises accepting the loss of a few men to Scylla rather than risking the whole ship in Charybdis, and warns against harming Helios’s cattle on Thrinacia. Circe thus supplies knowledge essential to the journey, without guaranteeing that Odysseus or his companions will follow it. (theoi.com)
Other ancient narratives
Jason and Medea
In Book 4 of Apollonius of Rhodes’s *Argonautica*, Jason and Medea visit Circe after the killing of Medea’s brother Apsyrtus. Circe performs a purification ritual for the bloodshed before hearing their full story. Once she understands what has happened, she disapproves of Medea’s actions and orders the pair to leave. This episode presents her as a divine ritual authority as well as a practitioner of magic; purification does not amount to approval of their conduct. (theoi.com)
Scylla and Picus
In Ovid’s *Metamorphoses*, Book 14, Circe’s transformations arise from rejected desire. She falls in love with Glaucus, who loves Scylla. When he rejects her, Circe poisons Scylla’s bathing place, turning her into a monster surrounded by savage dogs. Later, Circe transforms Picus into a woodpecker after he refuses her advances because of his devotion to Canens. These stories develop a destructive aspect of her magic distinct from her eventual helpfulness in Homer. (theoi.com)
Telegonus and the later fate of Odysseus
Traditions concerning Telegonus extend Circe’s story beyond the Odyssey. In the Epitome attributed to Apollodorus, Telegonus is her son by Odysseus. Searching for his father, he reaches Ithaca and unknowingly kills him with a spear tipped with a stingray’s spine. After recognizing the mistake, he brings Odysseus’s body, Penelope, and Telemachus to Circe. The account concludes with Telegonus marrying Penelope and Circe marrying Telemachus. These events belong to a separate continuation tradition, not to Homer’s Odyssey. (theoi.com)
Representations in art and modern literature
Circe’s animal transformations provide a recognizable subject in visual art. Pintoricchio’s Penelope with the Suitors, in the National Gallery, London, includes a background scene of Odysseus meeting Circe among pigs. The animals signify the transformed companions and are depicted with the markings of the local Cinta Senese breed. (nationalgallery.org.uk)
Madeline Miller’s novel Circe, published in 2018, makes the goddess the central character rather than an episode in a male hero’s journey. It develops her relationships with gods and mortals and her discovery of witchcraft into an extended life narrative. Its characterization and connecting events constitute a modern literary retelling, not an additional ancient source for the myth. (madelinemiller.com)
References
- CIRCE (Kirke) - Greek Goddess of Sorcery, Sorceress of Aeaeatheoi.com
- HOMER, ODYSSEY BOOK 10 - Theoi Classical Texts Librarytheoi.com
- HOMER, ODYSSEY BOOK 12 - Theoi Classical Texts Librarytheoi.com
- APOLLONIUS RHODIUS, ARGONAUTICA BOOK 4 - Theoi Classical Texts Librarytheoi.com
- OVID, METAMORPHOSES 14 - Theoi Classical Texts Librarytheoi.com
- APOLLODORUS, THE LIBRARY EPITOME - Theoi Classical Texts Librarytheoi.com
- Pintoricchio, Penelope with the Suitors - National Gallerynationalgallery.org.uk
- Madeline Miller - Circemadelinemiller.com
- Madeline Miller: Author of Song of Achilles and Circemadelinemiller.com