Circe in Greek mythology is a daughter of the sun god Helios and Oceanid nymph Perse and the sister of the king of Colchis – Aeetes. Circe, like Medea and Hecate, was known of her vast knowledge of potions and herbs. It is believed that she mastered witchcraft at the Temple of Helios in Colchis and according to Homer, she was living on the island of Aeaea, where Helios took her with his chariot.
After a long journey overseas, Odysseus visited her island with his companions. Circe turned the sailors, who got off the ship to explore the island, into pigs. According to one version, Circe wanted Odysseus to become her husband and thus, she gave the sailors a tincture
of barley, cheese, honey in Pramnian wine, also mixed with magic medicine which would made them forget about the homeland. However, Hermes gave Odysseus a plant called Molly, to protect him against Circe’s magic and once Circe realized that she could not put a spell on Odysseus, she offered him to stay with her on this island.
According to Hesiod, Circe had sons from Odysseus: Agrius, Latinus (ancestor of Latins) and Telegon, who later became ruler of the Etruscans. There was a temple named after him on the Mountain of Circe in Italy, where the cup of Odysseus is believed to have been kept. Some sources also indicate the existence of Circe Mountain in Colchis.
The ability of Circe to turn humans into animals is also found in the story of the Italian king Picus, who Circe turned into a woodpecker. There are also other stories how Circe fell in love with the sea god Glaucus, who preferred a nymph over her. Then Circe poisoned the water where her rival was swimming and turned her into a horrible monster.
Many works of literature have been created on the theme of Circe, many authors were writing about her, such as: Aeschylus, Ovid, Plutarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Lope de Vega, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edmund Spencer, Niccolo Machiavelli, Henri La Fontaine, Julio Cortasar, James Joyce and others.
Circe’s personality is particularly diverse in painting: She is portrayed as a counsellor, sometimes as a goddess, sensual witch and sometimes as a sexual woman. There are many artworks created about her: Annibale Carracci’s fresco “Ulysses and Circe”, Dosso Dossi’s “Circe and her lovers”, John Collier’s “Circe”, Louis Chalon’s “Circe” as a daughter of the sun and many others. Several paintings are also well-known by English painter John William Waterhouse: “Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses”; “Circe” (according to Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”) and “The Magician”.
Later in the 18th century, it became fashionable to paint portraits of famous women in the form of Circe. Many operas and musical compositions were written about her. In 1963, the American choreographer Martha Graham staged the ballet called “Circe”, which depicted the ongoing psychological battle with animal instinct.
The asteroid, discovered by astronomers in 1855, was named after Circe.
