Circe Goddess is a goddess from Greek Mythology who is known as the goddess of Sorcery.
She is often represented as the the Witch Deity.
Circe goddess is found in the the epic of Homer i.e. Odyssey and many other Legendary tales.
The daughter of Helios, the God of Sun, Circe Goddess controls the magic with various herbs and potions.
In Greek Religion, she is a Divine Sorceress that can transform mortals into different animals.
(Helios is often confused with Apollo who is the God of music, poetry and sun but is more respected in Greek Mythology due to its presence in the list of the Twelve Olympians.)
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Circe Goddess of what? (Special Power)
Circe Goddess is the Goddess of Sorcery in Greek Mythology who rules the Island of Aeaea.
As per Homer, she has the ability to convert human beings into animals and birds.
She posses the magical skills of Illusion, Transmutations and Necromancy along with a vast knowledge of Potions and Herbs.
She is considered the origin of witches with a magical wand that was added later.
So, she could also be referred as the Mother Witch.
Circe goddess is the legend who lures the men towards herself and shares her bed with them but that is common in many Goddess of Greek Mythology.
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Circe Goddess was the First Witch in the History
Most of the concept that we have about Witches is from the English History.
In the ancient Europe, the educated women were often considered as the witches and the getting education was banned for them until the Feminism movements.
However, the history of Witches found its roots from the ancient Greek period of Mythology.
Yes, Circe Goddess of Sorcery is a Goddess in the Greek Mythology but due to the resemblance in its characters with the self-created witch she is also considered as a Witch.
In fact, one of the most ancient witch.
Her reference could be found in the famous stories of Homer’s Odyssey and Ovid’s Metamorphosis.
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In Homer’s Odyssey of Greek Mythology
Circe Goddess of Sorcery is most famous for her role that she played in the Odyssey of Homer.
After the glorious victory of Trojan War, while Odysseus was on his way back to Ithaca with his crew.
He lost his way and accidently reached the island of Aeaea, the island of Circe Goddess.
There, Circe Goddess used her magical spells on his men and transformed them into different animals like pigs and monkeys.
Afterwards, Circe Goddess offered Odysseus to share her bed with him if he wants his men back.
Odysseus received a message from Goddess Athena through Hermes(Messenger of Gods) that he has to agree if he wants to get back home.
So, he agrees.
Unknowingly about the temporal difference between her island and the normal world, he spent a whole year on her island.
Odysseus freed his men this way and threatened Circe Goddess that she need to tell him about his way back home.
Circe Goddess then told him that he need to travel to the underworld where no mortal has gone, and ask Tiresias(The blind prophet of Greek Mythology).
The story continues when Odysseus goes into the underworld and returns back safely and becomes the first mortal to come back alive from the underworld.
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Circe Goddess in Ovid’s Metamorphosis
Circe Goddess the wicked witch is also seen in Ovid’s Metamorphosis.
In Book 13, Circe Goddess falls in love with Galatea’s lover, Glaucus(a sea God).
When Glaucus goes to Circe Goddess, it turns out that he is there for a love charm that he wants to use on Scylla, who was a beautiful nymph at that time.
It caused Circe Goddess a fit of fury but Circe’s rage exploded on Scylla instead of Glaucus because she loved him.
Circe Goddess added some magical potions in the pool of Scylla.
Eventually, Scylla was converted into a legendary sea monster with 12 feet and 6 heads that also finds its tales in Homer’s Odyssey where, she devours the paths of Odysseus.
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Circe Goddess in Some Other tales
Circe Goddess is not just limited to these myths but could also be seen in many other tales.
The same story of Circe Goddess and Glaucus also happens with Picus, a king in Italy.
Picus was married to Canens, a beautiful singer but Circe Goddess got in love with him and lured him to herself.
But Picus denied her love and it infuriated Circe Goddess.
It turns out that she turns Picus into a Woodpecker and his companions into some other animals.
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Was Circe Goddess a Prostitute?
Circe Goddess was never mentioned as a prostitute in any of Homer’s tale or Ovid’s.
But in the later literature, she is often seen or regarded as a symbol for Prostitutes as she tried to allure many men to take to bed.
Because she was a minor Goddess, killed her husband and banished by her father Helios due to this, she is considered as a bad figure in literary pieces.
In Greek Mythology, many God and Goddess have attracted and shared bed with the mortals but the pain had to be just fall on Circe Goddess.
That is why she could be seen a representation for prostitutes.
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Death of the Goddess Circe
There are no death tales of Circe Goddess as far as I have seen in the literature.
She just disappeared from her island, Aeaea.
Though there are no solid evident for her disappearance or death from the literature.
Some theories suggest that she got fed up with her desires and rejections from the men.
Eventually, she decided to take her life and commit suicide.
And that is how, the legendary witch was removed from the literature.
Circe Goddess as a Femme Fatale
There is no doubt in the fact that Circe Goddess was a Femme Fatale.
A Femme Fatale is the one beautiful woman who uses her feminine charms to capture a man and fulfill her ambitions.
She completely fulfills the characters of a Femme fatale.
Circe Goddess lured the men towards her to fulfill her desires.
She was beautiful and many a man were killed due to her desires.
Undoubtedly, she was a strong women according to Feminism.
She fought all the hardships of life herself without any man and faced the rejections firmly.
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Conclusion
Circe Goddess was a strong female creature who finds her way into the most famous tales but as a rivalry character.
She faced rejections but fought.
In case of Odysseus, she turned his men into animals but returned them back to humans after her desires were fulfilled.
Circe Goddess also helped Odysseus in finding his way back to his home.
Otherwise, he would have never found his way to his home, Ithaca.
