Circe, the First Witch of Greek Mythology

“Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus,” by John William Waterhouse, 1891. Circe was among the deadliest women successful Greek mythology. Credit: Public Domain

Witches person had a agelong and elaborate history, adjacent backmost to ancient Greece. Thanks to Homer and his epic escapade communicative the Odyssey, we met Circe, who has often been identified arsenic the archetypal witch successful Greek mythology.

Circe was 1 of the astir unsafe women a antheral could travel across. She was known for seducing men, luring them to her island, and ne'er letting them go.

When men, driven huffy by their tendency to interaction her, visited the island, she caught them disconnected defender and utilized a spell to alteration them into pigs, trapping them everlastingly successful their ignominious bodies.

Circe successful Homer’s Odyssey

In the Odyssey, Homer describes however Odysseus and his companions, aft yet leaving the state of the Lestrygons (cannibal giants) alive, spot the land of Aeaea, the onshore of Circe. Odysseus ordered fractional the unit to disembark, and helium stayed successful the ships with the rest.

Circe surrounded by her bewitched animals. Credit: Public domain.

Circe invited the sailors to a banquet, enchanted the nutrient with 1 of her potions, and past utilized her magic wand to alteration them into pigs. The lone 1 who managed to flight from her was Eurylochus, who from the opening suspected a betrayal. He notified Odysseus and the others who had stayed connected the vessel of the witch’s tricks.

Odysseus goes unsocial to rescue his crew, and portion helium was reasoning of a program to escaped them, Hermes (the messenger for the gods) appears to him, who reveals the concealed to overcoming Circe’s magical arts: helium should adhd to the vino that she provides him a magical works called moly, which volition marque him immune to immoderate spell.

When Circe was incapable to crook him into an animal, Odysseus forced her to instrumentality his unit to quality form. Circe would yet autumn successful emotion with Ulysses and assistance him connected the travel location aft helium and his unit spent a twelvemonth with her connected the island.

Other legends successful Greek mythology

Near the extremity of the poetic enactment of Hesiod called the Theogony, it is mentioned that Circe had 3 sons from Odysseus: Agrio, Latinus, and Telegonus, who unneurotic ruled the Tyrsenoi (the Etruscans).

According to Roman mythology, peculiarly Virgil’s epic poem “The Aeneid,” Latinus was the king of the Latins, who aboriginal became the Romans.

Later authors usually sanction lone the second arsenic their son, who, erstwhile helium reached adulthood, was sent by Circe to find his father. In 1 telling of the story, Telegonus mortally wounds Odysseus with a poisoned spear successful a fight. Knowing that helium was the murderer of his father, helium and Penelope took the corpse to the land of Circe, and aboriginal they some march unneurotic to the Islands of the Blessed.

In a antithetic mentation of the myth, Odysseus and his woman Penelope had a lad named Telemachus. After proceeding a prophesy that helium would beryllium killed by his ain son, Odysseus exiled his lad Telemachus to forestall his ain death. Little did helium cognize that helium had different son, Telegonus, who went connected to termination him.

In the epic Argonauticas from the 3rd period BC, Apolonio de Rodas narrates that Circe purified the Argonauts with the decease of Apsyrtus, possibly reflecting an past tradition. In this poem, the animals that situation her are not her lovers, but primitive beasts.

Circe besides fell successful emotion with Pico, a celebrated luck teller from past Italy. As it is said, Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruits and gardens, was preferred by him, and erstwhile the sorceress recovered out, she transformed him into a woodpecker, nevertheless retaining the prophetic powers that helium had possessed arsenic a man.