The Odyssey Circe Quotes

"True enough,
Calypso the lustrous goddess tried to hold me back,
deep in her arching caverns, craving me for a husband.
So did Circe, holding me just as warmly in her halls,
the bewitching queen of Aeaea keen to have me too.
But they never won the heart inside me, never."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 9, lines 32-37. Odysseus tells Alcinous that beautiful goddesses like Calypso and Circe tried to seduce him to stay with them. But he didn’t succumb to their temptations, he reveals, because his heart always yearned for home and family.

Mountain wolves and lions were roaming round the grounds –
she’d bewitched them herself, she gave them magic drugs.
But they wouldn’t attack my men; they just came pawing
up around them, fawning, swishing their long tails –
eager as hounds that fawn around their master,
coming home from a feast,
who always brings back scraps to calm them down.
So they came nuzzling round my men – lions, wolves
with big powerful claws – and the men cringed in fear
at the sight of those strange, ferocious beasts.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 231-240. An epic simile compares Circe’s bewitched mountain wolves and lions to tame dogs that wag their tails and fawn on their master when he brings them scraps of food. From what we discover later about sorceress Circe, we can assume the tame mountain lions and wolves are men transformed into animals. This is an example of situational irony, as the characters and reader don’t know about Circe’s ability to turn men into animals with magic potions. This demonstration of Circe’s magic, transforming vicious predators into docile pets, inspires fear in Odysseus’ men.

She opened her gleaming doors at once and stepped forth,
inviting them all in, and in they went, all innocence.
Only Eurylochus stayed behind – he sensed a trap…
She ushered them in to sit on high-backed chairs,
then she mixed them a potion – cheese, barley
and pale honey mulled in Pramnian wine –
but into the brew she stirred her wicked drugs
to wipe from their memories any thought of home.
Once they’d drained the bowls she filled, suddenly
she struck with her wand, drove them into her pigsties,
all of them bristling into swine – with grunts,
snouts – even their bodies, yes, and only
the men’s minds stayed steadfast as before.
So off they went to their pens, sobbing, squealing
as Circe flung them acorns, cornel nuts and mast,
common fodder for hogs that root and roll in mud.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 253-268. Circe’s offer of hospitality becomes Odysseus’ men’s worst nightmare. The enchantingly beautiful goddess uses trickery to lure them into her lair only to turn them into pigs. While she may not eat her guests like the Cyclops and Laestrygonians, she feeds them drugged food. She is a predatory temptress who uses her potions and powerful magic to ensnare men and transform them into animals. The only one to escape is Eurylochus, he smells a rat and doesn’t follow the others into Circe’s house.

"But wait, I can save you, free you from that great danger.
Look, here is a potent drug. Take it to Circe’s halls –
its power alone will shield you from the fatal day.
Let me tell you of all the witch’s subtle craft…
She’ll mix you a potion, lace the brew with drugs
but she’ll be powerless to bewitch you, even so –
this magic herb I give will fight her spells."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 317-323. After Circe turns Odysseus’ men into pigs and erases their memories, Hermes comes to the rescue. The messenger of the gods offers Odysseus a drug that will make him immune to Circe’s potion when he visits her at the palace.

"Now here’s your plan of action, step by step.
The moment Circe strikes with her long thin wand,
you draw your sharp sword sheathed at your hip
and rush her fast as if to run her through!
She’ll cower in fear and coax you to her bed –
but don’t refuse the goddess’ bed, not then, not if
she’s to release your friends and treat you well yourself.
But have her swear the binding oath of the blessed gods
she’ll never plot some new intrigue to harm you,
once you lie there naked –
never unman you, strip away your courage!"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 325-334. Hermes explains to Odysseus a strategy to help deal with Circe and save his friends from her. Here we see the gods once again intervening in the fates of mortals, in this case to help Odysseus.

But I, I drew my sharp sword sheathed at my hip
and rushed her fast as if to run her through –
She screamed, slid under my blade, hugged my knees
with a flood of warm tears and a burst of winging words:
"Who are you? where are you from? your city? your parents?
I’m wonderstruck – you drank my drugs, you’re not bewitched!
Never has any other man withstood my potion, never,
once it’s past his lips and he has drunk it down.
You have a mind in you no magic can enchant!
You must be Odysseus, man of twists and turns."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 357-366. When Odysseus is not transformed by Circe’s drugs and he draws his sword on her, the enchantress becomes fearful. She is shocked that he hasn’t been turned into a pig like his men were by her potion.

"Come, sheathe your sword, let’s go to bed together,
mount my bed and mix in the magic work of love –
we’ll breed deep trust between us."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 370-372. Circe has respect for Odysseus after she sees his ability to withstand her magic and realizes who he is. The lustful goddess takes the initiative to invite him to sleep with her, starting an affair that will last a year. Sharing her bed will breed trust between them, she suggests, making clear that she wants to pursue a close relationship with him.

At the same time her handmaids bustled through the halls,
four in all who perform the goddess’ household tasks:
nymphs, daughters born of the springs and groves
and the sacred rivers running down to open sea.
One draped the chairs with fine crimson covers
over the seats she’d spread with linen cloths below.
A second drew up silver tables before the chairs
and laid out golden trays to hold the bread.
A third mulled heady, heart-warming wine
in a silver bowl and set out golden cups.
A fourth brought water and lit a blazing fire
beneath a massive cauldron.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 386-397. There is a hierarchy of deities in play here. While Circe is the lady of the house, she has four nymphs who serve under her and perform all her domestic tasks. These lesser female deities help paint a scene of domestic luxury and comfort, as they mull wine in a silver bowl, spread linen clothes over chairs, set up tables with golden trays of bread, and heat up water in a huge cauldron. But let us not forget: Circe’s house is a dangerous place for a visitor, especially if you’re a man.

The bathing finished, rubbing me sleek with oil,
throwing warm fleece and a shirt around my shoulders,
she led me in to sit on a silver-studded chair,
ornately carved, with a stool to rest my feet.
A maid brought water soon in a graceful golden pitcher
and over a silver basin tipped it out
so I might rinse my hands,
then pulled a gleaming table to my side.
A staid housekeeper brought on bread to serve me,
appetizers aplenty too, lavish with her bounty.
She pressed me to eat. I had no taste for food.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 403-413. Circe lays on lavish hospitality for her new guest and lover Odysseus. She bathes him in a tub with hot water and rubs him over with oil. Then she sits him on an ornate chair and has her housekeeper serve him up a bounty of bread and appetizers.

Circe strode on through the halls and out,
her wand held high in hand and, flinging open the pens,
drove forth my men, who looked like full-grown swine.
Facing her, there they stood as she went along the ranks,
anointing them one by one with some new magic oil –
and look, the bristles grown by the first wicked drug
that Circe gave them slipped away from their limbs
and they turned men again.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 429-436. Circe accedes to Odysseus’ demand that she restore his men, transformed into pigs, back to normal.

"no more tears now, calm these tides of sorrow.
Well I know what pains you bore on the swarming sea,
what punishment you endured from hostile men on land.
But come now, eat your food and drink your wine
till the same courage fills your chests, now as then,
when you first set sail from native land, from rocky Ithaca!
Now you are burnt-out husks, your spirits haggard, sere,
always brooding over your wanderings long and hard,
your hearts never lifting with any joy –
you’ve suffered far too much."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 503-512. Circe invites Odysseus and his men to enjoy their fill of food and wine after the harrowing ordeals they have endured at sea and on land. A tempting offer too good to refuse! She uses a metaphor to compare the worn-out soldiers to "burnt-out husks."

"Royal son of Laertes, Odysseus, old campaigner,
stay on no more in my house against your will.
But first another journey calls. You must travel down
to the House of Death and the awesome one, Persephone,
there to consult the ghost of Tiresias, seer of Thebes,
the great blind prophet whose mind remains unshaken.
Even in death – Persephone has given him wisdom,
everlasting vision to him and him alone…
the rest of the dead are empty, flitting shades."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 537-545. When Odysseus asks Circe for help in getting home, the immortal goddess tells him that he must first make a journey to the underworld. She tells him that he needs to consult there with the ghost of Tiresias, the blind Theban prophet.

"Soon, soon
the great seer will appear before you, captain of armies:
he will tell you the way to go, the stages of your voyage,
how you can cross the swarming sea and reach home at last."
And with those words Dawn rose on her golden throne.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 592-596. Circe tells Odysseus that to make it home he must travel to the House of Death to speak to the prophet Tiresias, who will tell him the way to go. The goddess is helping Odysseus get back to Ithaca. The last line features the personification of dawn.

"First you will raise the island of the Sirens,
those creatures who spellbind any man alive,
whoever comes their way. Whoever draws too close,
off guard, and catches the Sirens’ voices in the air –
no sailing home for him, no wife rising to meet him,
no happy children beaming up at their father’s face.
The high, thrilling song of the Sirens will transfix him,
lolling there in their meadow, round them heaps of corpses
rotting away, rags of skin shriveling on their bones."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 44-52. Circe prophesies that on Odysseus’ journey home he will pass by the powerful and deadly Sirens. She warns what happens to men who sail near the mythical female monsters and are ensnared by their song. For those who hear their voices, there will be no homecoming. So she advises Odysseus to block his shipmates’ ears with beeswax, but if he wishes to hear the Sirens, to have his men tie him hand and foot to the mast-block.

"No mariners yet can boast they’ve raced their ship
past Scylla’s lair without some mortal blow –
with each of her six heads she snatches up
a man from the dark-prowed craft and whisks him off."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 108-111. Circe warns Odysseus of the deadly danger posed by the female monster Scylla to mariners. None have yet managed to get their ship past her cave without her snatching up a man with each of her six heads. This is foreshadowing of what will happen to Odysseus’ men.

"Atop it a great fig-tree rises, shaggy with leaves,
beneath it awesome Charybdis gulps the dark water down.
Three times a day she vomits it up, three times she gulps it down,
that terror! Don’t be there when the whirlpool swallows down –
not even the earthquake god could save you from disaster."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 114-118. Odysseus will pass by the fearsome Charybdis on his voyage home to Ithaca, Circe prophesies. She describes the giant whirlpool, warning him to stay clear of this powerful female monster. She says with some irony that if Odysseus’ ship is swallowed by Charybdis, not even the mighty Poseidon will be able to save him. Considering how much Odysseus has angered the sea god, there is little chance that he would ever help him.

"No, hug Scylla’s crag – sail on past her – top speed!
Better by far to lose six men and keep your ship
than lose your entire crew."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 119-121. Circe advises Odysseus how to navigate the straits between the two crags where Charybdis and Scylla are. He must avoid the whirlpool of Charybdis at all costs and sail by Scylla’s crag. It is preferable to lose six of his men to Scylla than his entire crew and ship to Charybdis, Circe tells him. This foreshadows that Odysseus will indeed lose some of his men.

"So stubborn!" the lovely goddess countered.
"Hell-bent yet again on battle and feats of arms?
Can’t you bow to the deathless gods themselves?
Scylla’s no mortal, she’s an immortal devastation,
terrible, savage, wild, no fighting her, no defense –
just flee the creature, that’s the only way.
Waste any time, arming for battle beside her rock,
I fear she’ll lunge out again with all of her six heads
and seize as many men."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 125-133. Odysseus believes that he will be able to fight Scylla off without suffering casualties among his men. But sorceress and goddess Circe angrily reminds him of the immortal Scylla’s devastating power. Circe understands Odysseus’ proud heart and urges him to rein in his instincts for battle. She tells him not to fight Scylla or arm for battle. But he should just flee this creature, otherwise she will seize as many men as she can, Circe warns.

"Friends…it’s wrong for only one or two
to know the revelations that lovely Circe
made to me alone. I’ll tell you all,
so we can die with our eyes wide open now
or escape our fate and certain death together."

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 167-171. Odysseus prepares his crew for the obstacles they will have to overcome by telling them about Circe’s warnings. The sorceress spoke of the need to steer clear of the Sirens and their enchanting song, he reveals. But while Odysseus promises to "tell you all," he does not. He deceives the crew by not telling them what Circe said of the dangers posed by the monsters Scylla and Charybdis.

But now I cleared my mind of Circe’s orders –
cramping my style, urging me not to arm at all.
I donned my heroic armor, seized long spears
in both my hands and marched out on the half-deck,
forward, hoping from there to catch the first glimpse
of Scylla, ghoul of the cliffs, swooping to kill my men.

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 245-250. Circe’s warning about Scylla is forgotten by Odysseus. She had told him not to fight the six-headed monster or arm for battle, but instead to flee her. But proud and stubborn Odysseus prepares to battle Scylla instead, because that is his nature. As he readies to fight, Scylla is already swooping down to kill his men.

And I was struck once more
by the words of the blind Theban prophet, Tiresias,
and Aeaean Circe too: time and again they told me
to shun this island of the Sun, the joy of man.
So I warned my shipmates gravely, sick at heart,
"Listen to me, my comrades, brothers in hardship,
let me tell you the dire prophecies of Tiresias
and Aeaean Circe too: time and again they told me
to shun this island of the Sun, the joy of man.
Here, they warned, the worst disaster awaits us.
Row straight past these shores – race our black ship on!"

– Homer

The Odyssey, Book 12, lines 289-299. After making it past Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus’ ship reaches the island of the Sun, where Helios keeps his cattle and purebred sheep. Odysseus tells his men that they must avoid the island after prophet Tiresias and Circe warned how great disaster awaited them if they didn’t.
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