What does Circe turn Odysseus’s men into?

She turns them into pigs, though they still have their human minds. Later she turns them back into men.

How does Odysseus resist Circe’s magic?

The god Hermes gives him a magic plant called moly, with a black root and a milk-white flower, which protects him from her drug.

How long does Odysseus stay with Circe?

A whole year. Then his crew remind him of home, and Circe helps them prepare for the dangerous journey ahead.

From The Odyssey

Circe

Island sorceress • Clever enchantress

A magical enchantress who lives in a stone palace among tame wolves and lions, and whose spells have never failed before.

Who is Circe?

Circe is a powerful enchantress who lives in a stone palace on the island of Aeaea, surrounded by tame wolves and lions. She turns some of Odysseus’s men into pigs, but once Odysseus resists her magic, she becomes a generous host and a wise guide for the dangers ahead.

Circe is a character in The Odyssey, the ancient Greek poem by Homer, retold for ages 6–9 by Sean Lee.

What is Circe like?

magical
tricky
helpful

Circe’s story

When Odysseus’s weary crew land on Aeaea, a group of men find Circe’s palace in the woods. She welcomes them, feeds them food mixed with a magic drug and then strikes them with her wand, turning them into pigs. Only one man stays outside and runs back to tell Odysseus.

On his way to rescue them, Odysseus meets the messenger god Hermes, who gives him a magic herb called moly to protect him. Circe’s drug does not work on him, and she realizes he must be the famous Odysseus. She promises to do him no harm and turns his men back into humans, younger and better-looking than before.

Odysseus and his crew stay with her for a whole year. When they are ready to leave, Circe sends Odysseus to seek advice in the land of the dead and then warns him about the Sirens, the monster Scylla, the whirlpool Charybdis and the cattle of the Sun, telling him exactly how to survive each one.

“You must be spell-proof; surely you can be none other than the bold hero Ulysses”

Circe, realizing her magic has no power over Odysseus, in Samuel Butler’s translation, which calls him Ulysses. From the original ancient Greek poem by Homer.

A moment to remember

Circe taps her wand and Odysseus’s sailors sprout pink ears and curly tails, but later she rubs a soothing balm on each pig and turns them back into men.

Odysseus: hero who resists her magic and becomes her guest

Talk about it

Circe started out as a trickster and ended up as a friend. Why do you think she changed?

Questions about Circe

What does Circe turn Odysseus’s men into?: She turns them into pigs, though they still have their human minds. Later she turns them back into men.
How does Odysseus resist Circe’s magic?: The god Hermes gives him a magic plant called moly, with a black root and a milk-white flower, which protects him from her drug.
How long does Odysseus stay with Circe?: A whole year. Then his crew remind him of home, and Circe helps them prepare for the dangerous journey ahead.