Circe

Circe is a 2018 novel by American writer Madeline Miller. Set during the Greek Heroic Age, it is an adaptation of various Greek myths, most notably the Odyssey, as told from the perspective of the witch Circe. The novel explores Circe's origin story and narrates Circe's encounters with mythological figures such as Hermes, the Minotaur, Jason, and Medea, and ultimately her romance with Odysseus and his son, Telemachus. Plot Circe is the divine daughter of the titan Helios and naiad Perse. Deemed unattractive and powerless from birth, Circe's early life is lonely until she falls in love with the mortal fisherman Glaucos. Devastated by his mortality, Circe discovers a way to make him a god: she transforms him into his 'true form' using the sap of magical flowers, grown in soil that was once soaked with the blood of the titan Kronos. Arrogant in his divinity, however, Glaucos rejects Circe in favor of the nymph Scylla. Circe's jealousy causes her to use the flowers' magic again, accidentally transforming Scylla into a bloodthirsty six-headed monster. Remorseful, Circe confesses her deeds to Helios, who realizes all of his children with Perse are witches capable of extracting power from herbs and draughts. As punishment for admitting her witchcraft, Circe is banished by Zeus to eternal exile on the island of Aiaia. She uses the beginning of her exile to study and hone her witchcraft, tending gardens and experimenting with draughts. Over the centuries she spends on Aiaia, Circe interacts with many mythic figures. She receives visits from the Olympian god Hermes, whom she takes as a lover. She is once escorted off the island by the mortal Daedalus, at the request of Circe's sister and the Queen of Crete, Pasiphaë. During the brief visit to Crete, Circe helps her sister birth the Minotaur and uses her witchcraft to help tame the monster. Many years later, the hero Jason and his wife the witch Medea (Circe's niece) arrive on Aiaia after having stolen the Golden Fleece from Circe's brother Aeëtes, murdering Medea's brother Absyrtus in the process. Circe cleanses them of the crime and warns Medea of Jason's waning interest, but is rebuffed. Circe enters a period of loneliness after her confrontation with Medea, and is excited to host a group of forlorn sailors who arrive one night on Aiaia in search of food and rest. However, once the sailors realize that Circe lives alone on the island with no men to protect her, the ship captain rapes her.