The Myth of Circe | Circe and Odysseus in The Odyssey — The Story of the Witch's Island

Twenty-two of his crew followed a singing voice into a house, and not a single one came back out. Among all the adventures Odysseus faced on his way home from Troy, this is the episode on the island of Aeaea that begins in terror and ends with an unexpected ally. Let's follow this story, which spans Books 10 and 12 of The Odyssey, in order.

The House They Entered Following a Song, and the Twenty-Two Who Vanished

After landing their ship on the island of Aeaea, the crew lay exhausted in body and mind for two days and nights. Only on the third morning did Odysseus set out alone with spear and sword to scout the island, and from a high vantage point he spotted smoke rising in the midst of a dense forest. It meant someone lived there.

On his way back, he caught a great stag and brought it to the ship, and the crew shared the meat until sunset that day. Only on the next morning did Odysseus gather the men and bring up the matter of the smoke. He divided his men into two groups and placed lots in a helmet to decide which side would go scout the interior; the lot fell to Eurylochus, and he set out leading twenty-two men.

What they found in a forest clearing was a woman singing in a beautiful voice at her loom. She was Circe, a goddess born of the sun god Helios and Perse, daughter of Oceanus, and sister of the sorcerer Aeetes. She welcomed the men warmly, but Eurylochus alone, sensing something suspicious, stopped at the door and did not go in.

To those who entered, Circe served cheese and honey, and a drink mixing barley meal with Pramnian wine. A potent drug had already been mixed into it. Before the men who ate could come to their senses, Circe struck them with her wand, and at that moment they turned into pigs and were shut in a sty. Their minds remained intact — they remembered everything from when they were human.

Eurylochus, who had stayed behind and watched, confirmed that none of his companions came back out, ran to the ship, and reported what had happened. He was so stunned that he could not get his words out properly, and simply wept and sobbed with tears streaming down. Only after he finally collected himself could he tell Odysseus what had happened.

Odysseus Goes Alone, and Hermes' Herb

Odysseus at once slung his sword over his shoulder and set out to rescue his men. Eurylochus clung to him, begging that he too would never return, and asking to be allowed to stay with the ship. Odysseus told him to stay aboard and eat and drink while waiting, then walked alone into the forest.

On the way, the god Hermes appeared in the form of a young man and stopped him. Hermes told him that his men were shut in a sty like boars, and handed him the herb moly, with a black root and milk-white flower. With this herb, he explained, Circe's magic would have no effect, no matter how potent a drug she mixed into the drink.

Hermes did not stop there; he also foretold what was to come. When Circe realized the drug had no effect, she would strike at him with her wand and try to turn him into a pig — at that moment, he was to draw his sword and rush at her as if to kill her. And he added a warning: even if she invited him to her bed, he would lose his strength unless he first made her swear an oath that she would harm him no further.

The Moment the Magic Failed

When Odysseus arrived at Circe's house, she seated him on a magnificent chair inlaid with silver and handed him a drink in a golden cup. He drank it down. Thanks to the moly, nothing happened.

Flustered, Circe immediately swung her wand and cried, "Now go to the pigsty and lie down with the others." But Odysseus did not turn into a beast; instead, he drew his sword and rushed at her as if to kill her.

Circe fell to her knees on the spot, clasped his knees, and begged. Recognizing at once who he was, she asked whether he was that very hero Odysseus, whom Hermes had long ago prophesied would one day come sailing here. Her own long-heard prophecy had come true before her eyes.

Odysseus acted exactly as Hermes had instructed. He declared flatly that there would be no bed unless she first swore not to harm him any further. Circe swore on the spot, and only then did the relationship between the two shift from confrontation to the bedchamber.

A Bath and a Feast, and the Men Turned Human Again

The maids bathed Odysseus in warm water and dressed him in fine clothes. But he would not touch the food laid before him and sat with a hardened face the whole time. He could not enjoy a feast alone while his men remained turned into pigs.

Noticing the situation, Circe finally brought the pigs out and anointed them with another drug, restoring them to human form. The men who came back were younger, taller, and handsomer than before. The moment they saw Odysseus they recognized him, and each grasped his hands, pouring out their joy in tears, until the sound filled the whole house.

After a Whole Year Settled There, It Was the Crew Who First Spoke of Leaving

After the rest of the crew, who had stayed with the ship, were brought in as well, Odysseus and his men spent an entire year at Circe's house. Day after day, feasts of meat and wine were endlessly served.

It was not Odysseus but his men who first spoke of leaving. As the year drew to a close, they came to him and said that if he meant to see his homeland again while alive, it was time to start thinking about the way back. Odysseus agreed.

An Unexpected Next Task: A Journey to the Underworld

But Circe did not simply send them off. Before going home, they would first have to go down to the underworld and ask the way of the shade of the blind prophet Teiresias.

She told them exactly how to do it. Dig a pit about an arm's length deep in each dimension, and sprinkle honey and milk, wine, water, and barley meal as an offering to the dead. Then sacrifice a black ewe and a ram, turning their heads toward the underworld, and let their blood drain into the pit.

She also urged them to draw their sword and stand guard so that the other shades drawn by the blood could not approach first, and to seek an answer from Teiresias alone when he appeared. She added that once they returned safely, they were to sacrifice a barren heifer, and promise a black ram separately for Teiresias.

What stories Odysseus actually hears on this journey to the underworld can be followed in the myth of Teiresias. Where this visit stands within Odysseus' overall journey can be seen, alongside the events before and after, in the plot of the Odysseus myth.

Meeting Circe Again After Returning from the Underworld

Odysseus and his men, back from meeting Teiresias, land their ship once more on the island of Aeaea. They haul the ship up onto the sandy shore and fall asleep waiting for dawn.

At daybreak, Circe comes to them. As if she had already known they had been to the underworld, she hurries out with her maids to greet them, carrying bread, meat, and wine. Acknowledging their boldness in visiting the underworld alive, she urges them to spend the remaining day eating and drinking their fill here, and to set sail again at dawn the next day.

The crew did as she said, eating and drinking all day until sunset. Only after the sun had set and the men had lain down beside the ship did Circe take Odysseus by the hand, seat him apart from the rest, and walk him through, one by one, what awaited him on the road ahead.

She warned him in turn of the Sirens who lure passersby with song, the rock where the monster Scylla with twelve twisted legs and six necks lurks, the whirlpool Charybdis that swallows whole ships, and even the sun god's cattle and flocks that must not be touched. The one who had once tested and imprisoned them at their first meeting now stood on the side of warning them of danger in advance.

How these dangers actually unfold can be seen in the myth of the Sirens. How the grudge of Poseidon, which began in Polyphemus' cave, runs through this entire journey can be found in the myth of the Cyclops.

Unlike the first meeting, when she held them captive, this time Circe chose to let them go willingly. This transformation — from a threatening figure into an ally — is the heart of the relationship between Odysseus and Circe.