Circe (2024)

Circe is the titular character of the novel Circe.

Appearance[]

Being the daughter of the god Helios, she is divinely beautiful and radiant, though to the other gods she is dull and even ugly. Her hair is streaked brown like a lynx and she has a sharp chin. Being a goddess, she is taller than the average mortal woman. Her voice is thin and her eyes are yellow. On the island, she wears her hair in braids and ties her skirts to keep them out of the way. Hermes reveals that her voice is faint because she has the voice of a mortal.

Personality[]

Circe had been stepped on and neglected her entire early life; completely overlooked, bullied, taken advantage of. This led Circe to feel despair and self-hatred and most of all, loneliness. Although she struggles with bouts of negative feelings, Circe is a compassionate, humble, strong, and clever. She shows determination and humility when she first begins practicing witchcraft and becomes a talented sorceress. She enjoys hosting on her island though this eventually backfires and she becomes paranoid and protective. She strikes fear in most people, both gods and men, and is fiercely loyal to those she loves such as Telegonus and Odysseus.

Relationships[]

Aeëtes: Aeëtes is the youngest son of Helios and Perse. When Helios did not have a prophecy for him at his birth as he did some of his other children, Circe offered to care for him since his mother Perse was no longer interested. It was here the two became close. His first word was Circe, the second being sister. He later fathers the witch Medea, Circe's niece, and becomes the king of Colchis where he raises dragons. Circe still looks up to him later despite their estrangement and sometimes hopes they might be close again, as they were as children. Despite this, when Aeëtes comes to Aiaia asking after his daughter Medea, Circe does not give her up and tells him that she has already gone, which angers Aeëtes.

Ariadne: Ariadne is Circe's niece by Pasiphae and the half-sister of the Minotaur. She is a kind, playful young girl with a love of dancing. She is pictured on the bow of Daedalus's ship in a lifelike show of Daedalus's skill. When her brother Asterion is born, Ariadne often visits his cage and was even bitten by him after drawing too close. She refers to him affectionately as my brother. She later falls in love with and helps Theseus kill the Minotaur, however he abandons her on an island and she is killed by the goddess Artemis for unknown reasons. Circe is distressed to hear this and vows not to interact with the rest of the world anymore, gods and mortals alike.

Athena: Athena is the olympic goddess of war and wisdom. She is the patron of Odysseus during the Trojan war however is deeply offended when he defiles her temple during the sack of Troy and makes his voyage back to Ithaca nearly impossible. After learning of the birth of Circe's son Telegonus by Odysseus she attempts to kill him, having heard a prophecy that the boy will be the cause of his father's death. Circe defends her son and her island against Athena by crafting a powerful spell that wards her away, as well as everything and everyone else. She is wildly distrusting of the goddess and becomes paranoid and overprotective as a result of the constant attempts on her infant son's life.

Daedalus: Daedalus comes to fetch Circe to attend the birthing bed of her sister Pasiphaë as she gives birth to her monstrous half-human son Asterion, or the Minotaur. In Crete she and Daedalus have a brief romantic affair and Circe helps dilute the Minotaur's insatiable appetite using a draft. She is the first to hear of Daedalus's plan to contain the monster in a giant labyrinth underneath the palace of Crete. Daedalus later gifts her a golden loom which Circe considers one of her prized possessions. She thinks fondly of her time with Daedalus and his son Icarus and is saddened to hear of the death of the young man and his father some years after her departure from Crete.

Glaucos: Glaucos is a young fisher boy and the first mortal that Circe interacts with. They spend time together on the beaches of her father's palace and he confides in her about his abusive home life and his everyday mortal struggles, which Circe finds fascinating. Circe thinks that she would rather look at Glaucos than anyone in her father's halls, which are filled with inhuman beauty. She goes to her grandmother Tethys to ask her to bless his nets; she does, in exchange for Circe's promise that she will not lie with him. She wishes that her father would allow her to marry him, but he is a mortal and her oath to Tethys stands between them.

Eventually she learns about magical flowers off her father's shores with the ability to transform creatures into their truest selves and, unbeknownst to herself at the time, transforms Glaucos into a sea god using her own magical abilities and the flowers. Glaucos quickly becomes vain and boastful and neglects Circe in favor of the nymph Scylla. When Circe transforms Scylla into a hideous sea beast in a bout of jealousy and admits to her father that it was she that transformed Glaucos into a god and Scylla into a monster, Glaucos becomes humiliated and shuns himself away from the other gods, waiting for them to forget the true reason of his godhood.

Helios: He is the titan god of the Sun and the father of Circe and her siblings. Circe spent every second she could sitting at her father's feet. She would sometimes ride in his chariot to the halls of Zeus and other gods, and once accompanied him to gaze upon his field of golden heifers. She admired him and wanted his attention and approval though he rarely gave it. She longs to have the power her father does and prides in being the daughter of the sun. When she comes into her powers she is ashamed and confesses her perceived crimes to her father, who initially dismisses her saying that no such power exists in the world. She defies him and he becomes angry, using his fire to punish her. Later, Aeëtes arrives and announces that Circe is indeed a witch and so are all of the children of Helios and Perse. In order to not incur the wrath of Zeus and risk a second war, Helios banishes Circe to the island of Aiaia and vows not to sire any more children with her mother Perse. Later, Circe comes to realize her father's disdain and offers him, in exchange for freedom from her exile, to not be counted among his many children.

Hermes: Hermes is the first person to visit Aiaia. He and Circe have a strange, mostly physical relationship and he tells her stories of the outside world. It is through him that she hears about various things such as the death of Daedalus' son Icarus, the fate of the Minotaur, and the happenings of her divine family. Eventually Circe becomes tired of Hermes and his constant need for things to be interesting and story-worthy and ends their relationship. Hermes still visits the island sometimes however and often interacts with the various nymphs there and later, Circe's son Telegonus.

Icarus: Though only meeting him a few times, Circe came to care for Daedalus's young son. He was only a boy when she first saw him, but he had grown into a young man when him and his father made their escape from Crete. He and Daedalus strapped giant feathers to their backs with wax and took to the sky; Daedalus warns Icarus that if he flies too close to the sea the foam will soak the feathers and he will drown, and if he flies too close to the sun the heat will melt the wax. However overjoyed at his new freedom, Icarus does not heed the warning, soaring too high and crashing into the sea. Circe is saddened to hear of his death and thinks that maybe she should have conceived a child with Daedalus to be of some comfort to him, but quickly dismisses that thought as foolish, remarking that children are not "sacks of grain to be traded one for the other."

Medea: The only daughter of the witch Aeetes, Medea is Circe's niece. She is a sorcerer alongside her father. She escapes from Colchis with the hero Jason and his band of argonauts, and lands their ship at Circe's island asking to be cleansed of their sins. Medea reveals to Circe that she has killed her brother in order to distract her father long enough to escape and needs retribution from a god. Circe is obliged and learns that Jason is utterly uninterested in Medea, warning her that he will abandon her due to her own nature of being a witch. Medea does not listen to her and quickly leaves the island. Aeetes comes soon after asking if Medea was there, however Circe dismisses him. Later, she hears of the story of how Medea murdered Jason's new wife and children after he abandoned her once their task was complete.

The Minotaur: The Minotaur, also known as Asterion, is a monstrous half-bull, half-man and Circe's nephew. Circe and Daedalus work together to cut it from its mother Pasiphaë's stomach per her request. It bites off two of her fingers while still in its mother's womb though they quickly grow back. Later she learns that the Minotaur came to be after Pasiphaë mated with a bull that was a gift from Poseidon to her husband Minos, also with the help of Daedalus's craftsmanship. Circe creates a spell that lessens the beast's appetite for three seasons out of the year except for the harvest, during which it must be fed. It resides in the labyrinth constructed by Daedalus. In the brief time that the creature is calm and no longer ravenous, Circe thinks about how it is fated to never see the sun or live a normal life and instead to roam the dark pathways of the labyrinth until the time comes that it must feed. She later learns of the tale of the Minotaur's death from Hermes.

Odysseus: Odysseus is one of Circe's lovers and the father of her son Telegonus. He is a renowned adventurer and a battle-hardened soldier of the Trojan war. He comes to Circe's island on his voyage back to Ithaca and convinces her to free his men, who she had transformed into pigs for attempting to pillage her island. He and Circe begin a relationship though he often speaks of his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. He stays on Aiaia for a year until a prophecy is brought to him by the god Apollo and he sets sail again. Circe aids him with spells and drafts and becomes known to the world for her brief brush with the hero. After he leaves for the final time Circe realizes that she is pregnant. Odysseus never learns of her pregnancy or his second son, though Circe tells Telegonus tales about his father. Circe is devastated when Odysseus is unintentionally killed at the hands of their son though does not blame Telegonus for this.

Pasiphaë: The sister of Circe and fellow witch, Pasiphaë was always cruel to Circe and looked down upon her. She is a pharmakis as well and rules with poisons in the city of Crete, keeping her husband Minos in check with fear. She and her brother Perses often picked on Circe for her yellow eyes and thin voice. She was married off to Minos and later became the queen of Crete and the mother of the Minotaur. She calls upon Circe to attend her as she gives birth to the creature and demands that she and Daedalus find a way to contain it. After the creature is subdued, Pasiphaë secretly hopes that now that Circe is a seasoned sorceress the two of them can hone their craft together, but Circe rejects this and reminds her of their early years in their father's halls. Pasiphaë sends her away, claiming that she should have known Circe would have been useless to her ends.

Penelope: Penelope is the wife of the adventurer Odysseus. She was the acting ruler of Ithaca in Odysseus' absence and the sole parent of Telemachus. When it was believed that Odysseus had been lost to the war a wave of suitors began occupying her halls, though she managed to fend them off until Odysseus returned. Later after his death she accompanies Telegonus back to Circe's island because with her husband gone she had nowhere else to go. Her and Circe become friends and eventually Circe becomes her daughter-in-law. After Circe leaves the island to travel with Telemachus and start a family, she becomes the witch of Aiaia.

Perse: She is the mother of Circe and wife of the sun god Helios. She is more radiant than all the other nymphs and has a way about her to seduce Helios to her will. She is self-absorbed and always looking for ways to boost her status and reputation among the other gods. Though she takes little interest in any of her children if they are not grand or beautiful she detests Circe most of all, often taking part with her other children in chastising and belittling her. When Helios learns of the magical blood of his offspring by Perse he agrees that while their magic poses no threat, he must not have any more children with the goddess, which Perse despairs over. Circe never particularly cared for her mother and preferred to sit at Helios' feet than accompany her mother to the sandy banks where she usually went, and laughs to hear Perse call herself 'mother of witches.'

Perses: Pasiphaë and Perses often bullied Circe when they lived in their father's halls, remarking on how she was ugly and had an unpleasant voice. He laughs at her for not knowing that the prized cows Circe once visited were all sired by Helios, who transforms into a bull to maintain them. When Pasiphaë is married off Perses quickly leaves to Persia to create his own kingdom where he practices necromancy. Circe does not speak to him though he does collaborate with his brother Aeëtes. The last thing that Perses said to Circe before he left was that "at least he doesn't have to hear that voice of hers."

Prometheus: He is the titan god of fire, and the paternal uncle of Circe. When he is brought to Helios' halls to be whipped for his crime of gifting fire to the mortals, Circe sneaks away and brings him nectar and talks to him. She soon realizes that given Prometheus is also a god of prophecy, he would have known the punishment awaiting him for defying Zeus and yet did it anyway. This later influences her to confess her own crime of transforming Scylla and Glaucos.

Scylla: Scylla was a beautiful nymph who resided in the halls of Helios. She was once desired by every nymph and god she met, though only had eyes for Glaucos, seemingly because she knew Circe was in love with him. She boasted of the fact that Glaucos asked for her hand which caused Circe to poison the water she bathed in and transform her into a sea monster, with six heads of barking dogs and long tentacle-like appendages. She then resided in a cove not far from Circe's island near the whirlpool Charybdis, killing six or twelve sailors from each ship that passed. Circe feels immense guilt for having transformed Scylla and causing the deaths of so many mortals and makes multiple attempts to change her back to no avail. Eventually, with the help of Telemachus, she turns Scylla to stone and ends her rampaging.

Telegonus: Telegonus is the only child of Circe and Odysseus. He is an intrepid young man with dreams of seeing the world and having adventures like his father. Circe intentionally keeps him locked away on the island to protect him from Athena's spears, though Telegonus seems to underestimate this, claiming that Athena should have no reason to want his life. He defies Circe and builds a raft with the help of Hermes, asking her permission to leave the island and journey to Ithaca to meet his father. Though initially opposed, Circe relents and brings him the tail of the mythical stingray Trygon, telling him that the tail is so poisonous that one touch will kill a man and bring endless torment to a god. When Telegonus reaches Ithaca he finds Odysseus attacking him claiming him to be an intruder and accidentally grazes his cheek with Trygon's tail. He comes back to Aiaia with his half-brother Telemachus and the queen Penelope, much to Circe's suspicion. Later, Athena becomes his patron and helps him found a city in Italy.

Telemachus: Telemachus is the only child of Odysseus and his wife Penelope. He was only an infant when Odysseus was called to the war at Troy and thus grew up entirely with his mother. When Odysseus did finally return to Ithaca after twenty long years he was changed, traumatized by his perilous voyage and the war. Circe initially believes that Telemachus has come to kill her son and avenge his father, but Telemachus tells her that the man she remembers was not the man that came home to Ithaca, and that he was not saddened by his death at the hands of his half-brother Telegonus. Him and Penelope stay on Aiaia for many months and he accompanies Circe when she kills Scylla. They begin a relationship and he fathers two daughters with her.

Tethys: Tethys is Circe's grandmother. She agrees to bless Glaucos in return for the promise that Circe will never lie with him. Circe later tries to convince her to make him immortal, but Tethys refuses, growing angry when Circe uses the word pharmaka. She is initially not suspicious of Glaucos' sudden transformation, but when Circe reveals her powers to her family Tethys is in agreement with Helios and Zeus that she must be sent away and contained. Circe later remarks that Tethys would have traded her sea snake for the chance to weave at the golden loom Daedalus had crafted for her.

Skills[]

Circe is a pharmakis, which is to say that she is a witch. She is particularly skilled in transformations. All wildlife on her island respect her and the flora and fauna bend to her will. After her island is invaded by sailors, she invites unsuspecting seamen into her home and transforms them into pigs if they attempt to steal from or hurt her.

Trivia[]

• Her infancy lasted for mere hours, and her toddlerhood not much longer than that.
• An aunt named her Hawk for her yellow eyes and the strange, thin sound of her crying.
• While Pasiphaë and Perses joined their mother in visiting Oceanos' palace, Circe preferred to spend every second she could sitting at her father's feet.
• The first time she sees a god bleed is when Prometheus is being whipped by the Fury.
• Her favorite thing in her father's treasury was a dagger with a lion's head in the ivory hilt. After the whipping of Prometheus, she takes the dagger and cuts herself, learning that her blood runs red and that she doesn't have his gift for healing very quickly.
• People say that her brother became strange because of her, but she thinks that he was already different from any other god she knew, even as a child.
• She first sees humans and god at the wedding in chapter 3. She is unimpressed with the humans.
• Athena is one of Circe's favorites out of the Olympians.
• The first time that she feels warm is when Glaucos tells her that he has never known such a wondrous thing in all his life as her.