Tales from Burkeland: Tale Six
“Circe was never meant to be a goddess or divine. She was something else entirely, dancing between the mortal and immortal as a witch, able to create and defend herself powerfully, using her power to make the most of her circumstances.” – Imogen Dalton, “Ancient and Modern: Introducing Circe”, Circe New & Ancient Greek Tales.
One of the oldest witches in humanity’s stories, the Greek goddess Circe has seduced the minds of storytellers, listeners, and readers—myself included—for millennia. But who, and what, is she? A goddess? A seducing witch? A loving wife and mother? An icon for female empowerment? The answer depends on who’s telling her story.
Mythology
Circe features in several Greek myths. As a daughter of the Titan sun god Helios and the ocean nymph Perse, she is of divine heritage. She, like her siblings, Aeëtes and Pasiphaë, has powers of sorcery. The strongest of the sorcerers, she is known as the Goddess of Sorcery. Out of fear of her powers and as punishment for how she uses them, Zeus and Helios exile her to the island of Aeaea.
Metamorphoses
The Roman poet Ovid wrote of Circe in his first century work Metamorphoses. Here Circe is a spurned lover and powerful sorceress who transforms those who slight her. In one tale, Circe falls in love with Glaucus, a mortal fisherman who becomes a minor sea god. Glaucus, however, loves Scylla, a nymph who does not return his feelings. Circe begs Glaucus to choose her. When he refuses, Circe transforms Scylla into the legendary man-eating monster Odysseus faces in The Odyssey.
The Odyssey
The most well-known tale of Circe comes from Homer’s seventh century BCE epic The Odyssey.
During his years-long journey home after the Trojan War, Odysseus and his men land uninvited on Aeaea. Off exploring the island, the sailors—unannounced—come to her palace. Circe turns them into pigs.
When his men do not return, Odysseus searches for them. Before reaching Circe, he is met by the god Hermes, who tells Odysseus that Circe will attempt to turn him into a pig as well, gives Odysseus a plant to counteract the potion, and instructs Odysseus to accept her invitation to her bed. After these events, Circe returns Odysseus’s men to their human forms and welcomes them into her home, showing them great hospitality. Odysseus and his men stay with her for a year, during which she and Odysseus live as lovers, developing a trusting relationship.
When Odysseus finally decides to leave Aeaea and continue his journey home to his waiting wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, Circe warns him of the trials he has yet to face and advises him.
After their journey to the underworld, Odysseus and his men return to Aeaea to bury their friend, Elpenor. Again, Circe shows hospitality and advises Odysseus.
The Telegony
The epilogue to Homer’s Odyssey, The Telegony recounts the story of Telegonus, the son of Circe and Odysseus. Here we see Circe as a mother and as a wife.
Circe begins the story as a single mother struggling to raise the rambunctious Telegonus on Aeaea and to protect him from the goddess Athena, who wants him to be her next hero.
When Telegonus reaches adulthood, he leaves Aeaea and to find Odysseus. Circe gives him a spear tipped with a stingray barb. Through a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, Telegonus kills Odysseus with the spear. In some versions of the tale, Telegonus returns to Aeaea with Penelope and Telemachus. Circe welcomes them into her home.
Eventually, Circe and Telemachus fall in love, marry, and have children of their own.
Middle Ages and Renaissance
Myths about Circe leave much open to interpretation. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Circe served as a warning against undermining the natural order. As a sorceress, she was not quite a god, but not a mortal either. As such, she was to be feared. Her independence and use of sorcery against men made her an example of the corrupted feminine. Her exile to Aeaea served as a reminder of the consequences women faced if they defied society.
Modern Tales
What medieval and Renaissance interpretations disdained, modern interpretations celebrate. New stories retell and reimagine Circe centering her in the narrative.
In her novel Circe, Madeline Miller combines the myths into a single narrative and fills in gaps to explore how Circe experiences life as a woman in a patriarchal society. In the novel, Circe’s use of sorcery is a response to her treatment as part of an oppressed class.
In my short story “Rise of the Witches,” published in Circe New & Ancient Tales from Flame Tree Publishing, I reimagine Circe as a woman struggling to heal from the ways men and gods have used her for their benefit only to craft half-narratives that deny her full identity.
So, is Circe a goddess, witch, loving woman, or icon of female empowerment? The answer, I think, is all of the above.
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Source: Circe New & Ancient Greek Tales published by Flame Tree Publishing, 2025.
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What you missed in this month’s newsletter:
From the Drafts — A Glimpse into My Chaos
Remember You Shine — Three Things I Wish I’d Known 15 Years Ago
Myths and Magic — Medea: Ruthless Sorceress, Loyal Lover, Brutal Murder
From My Shelf —Bad Beginnings by Jen Bair