Circe
Circe is described as a witch who turned Picus into a woodpecker after he scorned her love. No further information about Circe is provided in this text.
↻ synthesized from 12 sources
When
- First attested
- 800 BCE
- Attested period
- -800 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Circe appears in Homer's Odyssey, dating to approximately 8th century BCE.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Ino, Perse, Perses, Medea, Aeëtes, Dioscuri, Absyrtus, Talos, Dragon (guardian of the fleece), Calchus, Faunus, Janus, Venilia, Zeus, Heracles, Minotaur, Canens, Saturn, Hermes, Helios, Pasiphaë, Apollo, Charybdis, Triton, Sirens, Hesperides, nymphs, Athena, Artemis
- parent of
- Latinus, Telegonus, Cassiphone, Phaunus
- manifests as
- Sersi
- served by
- Circe's henchmen
- allied with
- Hecate
- syncretized with
- Calypso
- creator of
- Scylla
- sibling of
- Aloeus
Mentioned by
- Faunus
- Janus
- Venilia
- Zeus
- Heracles
- Minotaur
- Canens
- Saturn
- Hermes
- Helios
- Pasiphaë
- Apollo
- Charybdis
- Triton
- Sirens
- Hesperides
and 15 more
Sources
- peer reviewed
- peer reviewed
Source passages
“Because Canens' husband Picus scorned the love of the witch Circe, she turned him into a woodpecker.”
#9032 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“The memory of Circe concerns Scylla, and Glaucus's only task becomes to reassure his lover. The people of Sicily come to celebrate the anniversary of the liberation of their country, which had for years been subject to the tyrannical empire of the Cyclops. Seeing the fountain Circe poisoned, Glaucus exclaims: "It is in this fountain that I saw your beautiful eyes the first time."”
#20141 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“Two interesting goddesses in the Odyssey are Calypso and Circe, who both show friendly and hostile reactions toward Odysseus. Circe, like Calypso, is also a goddess found in an isolated location, with her house among dense woodland.”
#26332 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“What we know for certain – what Western literature attests to – is her remarkable staying power…a comparatively minor goddess of unclear origin”
#27947 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“According to Homer and Hesiod, with Helios she had Circe and Aeëtes, with later authors also mentioning their children Pasiphaë, Perses, Aloeus, and even Calypso, who is however more commonly the daughter of Atlas. She seems to have been linked to witchcraft and knowledge of herbs and potions, much like her daughters Circe and Pasiphaë.”
#36678 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001