Circe

The tale of Circe

Circe is the daughter of Helios, the sun god, and the sea nymph Perse. She is a witch and a goddess, the greatest enchantress of the Greek myths, mistress of herbs and potions and spells. She lives on the island of Aeaea, in a stone palace in a clearing of the forest. Around it roam wolves and mountain lions that are strangely tame. They wag their tails and fawn on visitors, because they were once men.

Odysseus on Aeaea

On his long voyage home from Troy, Odysseus landed on Aeaea with his last ship. He sent half his men to explore the island. They found Circe's palace and heard her singing at her loom. She welcomed them warmly and gave them a meal of cheese, barley and honey mixed with wine. But she had mixed a potion into the wine, and when they had drunk it, she touched them with her wand. They turned into pigs, with the heads, voices, bristles and bodies of pigs, though their minds stayed human. Circe drove them into her sties and threw them acorns.

One man, Eurylochus, had stayed outside and ran back to warn Odysseus. Odysseus set out alone to rescue them. On the way the god Hermes met him and gave him a magic herb called moly, with a black root and a white flower, which would protect him from Circe's potion.

Circe gave Odysseus the cup, and he drank it without harm. When she touched him with her wand, he drew his sword as Hermes had told him, as though to kill her. Circe fell to her knees, astonished. No man had ever resisted her magic. She understood that this was Odysseus, whose coming had been foretold.

A year on the island

Circe turned his men back into humans, younger and more handsome than before. Odysseus and his crew stayed on her island for a whole year, feasting and resting. When at last they wanted to leave, Circe helped them. She told Odysseus to visit the land of the dead to ask the prophet Tiresias the way home, and warned him about the Sirens, the monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis, with advice that saved his life.

Circe in Battle of Myths

Circe is a cost 3 Greek mage and mystic. Her ability, Polymorph, turns two random enemies into pigs for a few seconds: they cannot attack or cast spells, and their armor and resist drop, while she deals magic damage. As her quote says: drink, you'll feel more yourself in a moment. With every Greek hero she shares Glory: whenever an enemy falls, the Greeks grow stronger and heal.

Did you know?

• Circe is the aunt of another famous witch, Medea, who helped Jason win the Golden Fleece.
• Madeline Miller's novel Circe (2018) retells her life from her own point of view.