The Isle of Circe:
Vocabulary:
Beguiling: to bewitch, to charm through youth, beauty or subterfuge (trickery)
When the men on Odysseus'ship land on the island they are beguiled by the beauty of this woman, the witch Circe. Odysseus’ men notice that there are exotic animals lounging around Circe’s palace that seem strangely human. There are lions and tigers and bears, oh my! These huge animals would place their paws on the shoulders of the men and peer into their eyes as if they were trying to tell them something. The animals seem to have human souls animating their eyes.
Most of Odysseus’s men trust Circe. Despite the strangeness of her animals, Circe seems trustworthy. She gives the starving men food which they eat without question.
However, Eurylochus, the leader of the field patrol, smells a trap so he doesn’t eat the food. His misgivings are borne out! The men who eat Circe’s food are turned into animals – PIGS! (or their totem animals which represent their inner soul.) All of Odysseus’ men are turned into pigs. (The totem animal or daemon of Odysseus’s men are pigs so what does that say about their inner soul?)
Eurylochus, who didn't eat Circe's food, runs back to the ship to tell Odysseus. Odysseus goes to help his men, but first, Hermes gives him a plant to eat which will protect him from the magic of Circe. The plant might have been garlic which we use to protect us from Vampires!
When Odysseus shows up at Circe’s palace she tries to feed him her magic potion but Hermes’s magic garlic protects him. When Odysseus eats Circe’s food he is not affected by it. Circe is surprised and a little disappointed. She was hoping she might get a lion from such a man as he.
Vocabulary:
Fodder: animal feed.
Rut: to breed
Circes immediately takes a strong liking to Odysseus. She agrees to turn his men back into their original shapes as men.
They begin to party. But after a while, Odysseus begins to get bored and starts thinking about returning home. He thinks that only five days have passed partying with Circe and her nymphets but she tells him FIVE YEARS HAVE PASSED!!!!! What moral can be learned from this? Don’t waste time? Time flies when you’re having fun!!!!! Don't let momentary distractions keep you from your long range goals?
When Odysseus realizes that he has wasted five years partying he says to Circe that he wants to go home!!! Now!!!! As a witch, Circe knows that the path home is going to be difficult for Odysseus (because of Poseidon’s curse and all) so she replies that he must first go to the Land of the Dead (Hades) to consult with the blind – and dead – prophet Teiresias to learn the best way to get home to Ithaca.
The god of Hades is Hades. His goddess is Persephone.
Persephone is the goddess of the seasons, along with her mother, Demeter or Ceres (Roman name)which is where we get the word cereal.
Circe tells him that once he is in the Land of the Dead he must find the dead and blind prophet Teiresias and ask him for advice on what he must do to return home.
