Circe (Sorceress)
godDaughter of Helios and powerful sorceress who transformed Odysseus's men into pigs on the island of Aeaea.
The Myth
She turned men into pigs with a casual wave of her wand — and Odysseus stayed a year because he liked it there. Circe was the daughter of Helios and the Oceanid Perse, sister of Aeetes and Pasiphae. When Odysseus's advance party arrived on Aeaea, she fed them a feast laced with drugs and turned them into swine with a tap of her wand. Hermes gave Odysseus the herb moly as protection, and when her magic failed, she recognized him from prophecy. They became lovers. Odysseus stayed a full year before his crew reminded him of Ithaca. Circe then gave him instructions for reaching the Underworld to consult Tiresias — she is the one who enables the katabasis.
Explore Further
Circe
godA powerful sorceress who lived on the island of Aeaea. Circe transformed Odysseus's men into swine...
Helios
godThe Titan who drove the sun chariot across the sky each day, providing light to the world. Helios...
Helios (Sun God)
godHelios was the Titan god who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day — seeing...
Hermes
godThe swift messenger of the gods and guide of souls to the underworld. Hermes was the cleverest of...
Hermes (Messenger)
godHermes was the messenger god, guide of souls, patron of travellers and thieves — the most versatile...
Aeaea
placeAeaea was the mythical island home of Circe, the divine sorceress who transformed Odysseus's men...
Aeaea (Isle of Circe)
placeThe mythical island home of the enchantress Circe, where Odysseus's men were transformed into swine...
Aeetes
heroKing of Colchis, son of Helios, father of Medea, and guardian of the Golden Fleece who set...
Ithaca
placeA small, rocky island in the Ionian Sea that was the homeland of Odysseus. His desperate longing to...
Odysseus
heroThe cleverest of the Greek heroes, whose ten-year journey home from Troy is one of the greatest...
Odysseus (Trickster)
heroOdysseus was the most cunning of all Greek heroes — the man of polytropos (many turns), whose...
Telegonus
heroSon of Odysseus and Circe who unknowingly killed his own father, fulfilling a prophecy that death...