Circe Goddess of Sorcery by Rydan Koki (Student FVHS)

Background/History

rkkoki100_ — 2023-12-18 21:00:31 UTC

Circe is the daughter of Helios, the sun god, and Perse, the ocean nymph. She has the ability to transform humans into wolves, lions, and swines. Odysseus visited her island, Aeaea. Despite having no interest or love for humans, it's not long before Circe falls in love with Odysseus. She also has a great talent for mixing drugs, enforcing her sorcery. Before, Circe has been in love with the sea god, Glaucus. Unfortunately for her, he was in love with the beautiful nymph, Scylla. In a fit of rage and jealousy, Circe drugged the sea, transforming the lovely Scylla into a horrid monster. Stated in Sea Monsters of Greek Mythology, "Circe, jealous of the fair maiden, threw magic herbs into the well in which Scylla was wont to bathe...the maiden was metamorphosed in such a manner, that the upper part of her body remained that of a woman, while the lower part was changed into the tail of a fish or serpent, surrounded by dogs," tells in clear detail what had happened.

Function in the Odyssey

rkkoki100_ — 2023-12-18 21:02:23 UTC

The main function that Circe holds in the Odyssey, is guiding Odysseus, to his home island, Ithaca. She tells him, "he must travel to the underworld to consult with Tiresias and warns him of the sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis." (study). She is also seen, as an obstacle who challenges Odysseus. She puts much hardship on him, when she turns his crew into pigs, she also entrances him to stay on her island. Although he stays for a little, his true heart is with his wife and son at home.

Works Cited

rkkoki100_ — 2023-12-18 21:02:39 UTC

Atsma, Aaron J. “SkyllAtsma, Aaron J. “Skylla.” SCYLLA (Skylla) - Sea Monster of Greek Mythology, 2017, www.theoi.com/Pontios/Skylla.html#:~:text=Glaucus%20loved%20her%2C%20but%20Circe,she%20was%20made%20a%20monster.

“Circe in the Odyssey | Mythology & Summary | Study.Com.” Circe in the Odyssey, 2023, study.com/academy/lesson/circe-of-the-odyssey-mythology-lesson-quiz.html.

“Circe: Media.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Circe-Greek-mythology. Accessed 19 Dec. 2023.

Cornellcollege.Edu, www.cornellcollege.edu/classical_studies/cla216-2-a/circe/Analysis%201.htm#:~:text=She%20is%20lonely%2C%20sexual%2C%20deceitful,story%2C%20and%20starved%20for%20attention. Accessed 19 Dec. 2023.

Miate, Liana. “Circe.” World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org#organization, 25 Apr. 2023, www.worldhistory.org/Circe/.

Circe- Themes and Ideas

rkkoki100_ — 2023-12-18 21:02:50 UTC

Circe, embodies the ideas of knowledge and feminine power. She is constantly going back and forth with Odysseus, by turning his men into pigs, and making his trek home, much harder than it should be. Although she may be perceived as a villain, but she is not that, nor a victim either. She is in come sort of in-between gray areas. She is within the theme , of greed, loneliness, and being deceitful. She uses much of her witchcraft to entrance men into falling in love with her, but also punishing many of them by turning them into pigs. Lastly, she is shown to represent how a woman might act if not kept in control. We can see this when, "She displays her loneliness by her despiration to seduce the men that come to her island. In Homer's Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony, and Apollodorus' Library and Epitome, Circe attempts to seduce Odysseus. To do so Circe uses deceit to get Odysseus alone: "she [...] mixed (Odysseus' men) a mess with cheese, honey, meal, and Pramnian but she drugged it with wicked poisons to make them forget their homes, and when they had drunk she turned them into pigs by a stroke of her wand," (Odyssey X, 255-258)." (Cornell College EDU).

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rkkoki100_ — 2023-12-19 19:43:01 UTC