Circe is a goddess of magic (or sometimes a nymph, witch, enchantress or sorceress).
Kirke's name was derived from the Greek verb kirkoô meaning "to secure with rings" or "hoop around"--a reference to her magical powers.
She is best known for her ability to turn men into animals with her magic wand.
When Odysseus landed on her island she transformed his men into animals, but with the help of the god Hermes, he overcame the goddess and forced her to release his men from her spell.
Circe also has the powers for spiritual purification as she purifies the Argonauts for the murder of Apsyrtus...
In an Italian version of this legend, Circe and Odysseus had three children: Telegonus, Agrius, and Latinus. Telegonus traveled to Ithaca to seek his father but then killed him by accident.
He brought Odysseus's body back to Aeaea, accompanied by Odysseus's widow, Penelope, and their son Telemachus. Circe made them all immortal and married Telemachus, and Telegonus married Penelope.
Circe also played a role in the legend of the Argonauts*, cleansing Jason* and Medea* after they killed Medea's brother...
In the Odyssey, Homer calls Circe a goddess. Perhaps the suggestion that she is an immortal explains her ability to cast the bewitching spells that have the power to change men into animals.
And like many goddesses, the beautiful Circe had charms that few men could resist.
The Odyssey includes a delightful scene in which the crew of Odysseus first encounter the goddess on her island:
“In the entrance way they stayed
to listen there: inside her quiet house
they heard the goddess Circe.
Low she sang
in her beguiling voice, while on her loom
she wove ambrosial fabric sheer and bright,
by that craft known to the goddesses of heaven.”
(Homer, Odyssey, Book Ten, lines 217 ff.)
Many scholars view Circe as a symbol of the luxury and unchecked desire that seduces people and causes them to ignore their duty and thus lose their dignity.
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