Hermes provides Odysseus with the herb to protect him from Circe’s magic.
#Circe offering the cup to ulysses free
He escaped warning Odysseus and the others who have remained with the ship.īefore Odysseus reaches Circe’s palace to attempt to rescue his crew, Hermes, the messenger god who was sent by Athena, intercepts him and reveals how he might defeat Circe to free his crew from their enchantment. Only one crew member, who suspected treachery, did not go in. She invites Odysseus’ crew to a feast, which was mixed with one of her magical potions that turns them into swine. In Homer’s Odyssey, an 8th-century BC sequel to his Trojan War epic Iliad, Circe is initially described as a beautiful enchantress living in a palace isolated amid a dense wood on her island. Odysseus’ crewmen have been magically transformed into pigs, as can be seen beside Circe’s feet and in the mirror reflection on the left below the representation of their boat. She is attempting to bring Ulysses under her spell as she already has done with his crew. Odysseus’s reflection can be seen in the mirror behind Circe’s throne. She sits on a golden throne, with roaring lions depicted on each arm. She is surrounded by purple flowers, the color of royalty, as she believes herself to be a queen. The painting shows the beautiful sorceress Circe offering Odysseus (called Ulysses by the Romans) a cup containing a magic potion.Ĭirce is shown with a cup in one hand and a wand in the other. “Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses” by John William Waterhouse depicts a scene from Homer’s Odyssey. Kirke and Odysseus had two children, Agrios and Latinos.“Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses” by John William Waterhouse
#Circe offering the cup to ulysses how to
Kirke bid him a final goodbye and told him how to safely sail past the island of the Sirens, the six headed Skylla and the monster Kharybdis (Charybdis). He must consult with the soul of the seer, Teiresias the Theban, to find out how he may finally appease Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and return to his home.Īfter seeing the soul of Teiresias the Theban, Odysseus returned to Aiaia. After the entire crew had been rested and nourished, Kirke told Odysseus that his journey would now take him to the House of Hades (lord of the Underworld). To show her good faith, Kirke opened her doors to the dispirited sailors and gave them every comfort she could offer.
The men were restored to their original forms but they were taller and more handsome than before they had been enswined. She released the twenty-two pig-men and ceremoniously anointed them with another one of her potions. The astonished Kirke surrendered instantly. The wand was supposed to complete the transformation process but Odysseus drew his sword and sprang upon her. When Kirke thought the drugs had taken effect, she struck Odysseus with her wand. She welcomed him as another victim and gave him her vile potions but the ‘good medicine’ gave Odysseus protection. Odysseus took the ‘good medicine’ and went boldly into Kirke’s house. Hermes reached down and pulled a plant called ‘moly’ from the ground and explained that mere mortals found it difficult to dig-up but he, as a god, could do all things. Hermes told Odysseus that he could entrap Kirke and free his companions if he obeyed the gods orders. Odysseus went to Kirke’s palace alone.Īlong the trail, Odysseus met Hermes (the messenger of the Immortals) in the guise of a young man. He would not leave his men as swine and he would not risk any of the other men in a fight with Kirke. He told the story of the evil goddess and how they would all be turned into swine if they dared to stay on that dangerous island (his warnings unfortunately took on the air of cowardice. The sole survivor, Eurylochos, ran back to Odysseus and urged that they set sail immediately. Kirke herded them into pens and threw pig food on the ground before them. As Kirke’s vile drugs took effect, the once valiant men began to change shape and were soon fully transformed into swine. They were charmed by her beauty and drank the potions she offered as refreshment. Wild lions and wolves (drugged by Kirke) came, wagging their tails, to greet the strangers. As the men walked from the beach they could hear sweet singing from Kirke’s home in a forest glen. Odysseus sent twenty-three men to explore the island but only one returned. Odysseus and his desperate crew went ashore on the island of Aiaia hoping to find food and water. Normally, a traveler is treated as a special guest but with Kirke, travelers are drugged and then served as dinner. Kirke waits for lost sailors to come wandering to her door as supplicants. Kirke (Circe) is the daughter of Helios (the Sun) and Perseis, which would make her the grand-daughter of Okeanos (Ocean).
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