ABSTRACT
The goddess and enchantress Circe was the daughter of the Sun and the Oceanid Perse, according to most authorities in the ancient world (Homer Odyssey 10.138-9; Hesiod Theogony 956-7, 1011; Apollonius Rhodius Argonautica 4.591) and the Renaissance (‘who knows not Circe/The daughter of the Sun?’ Milton Comus 50-1). Odysseus’ encounter with her represents three dangers: bestial enslavement in her transformation of his companions (10.233-43), loss of masculinity in the sexual invitation against which he is warned by Hermes (296-301), and carefree indulgence in the pleasant sojourn on her island, Aeaea (466-74). It is a matter of debate whether she represents a moralized temptation in Homer, for after she has been outwitted by Odysseus she proves hospitable, helpful, and full of good advice. The episode may better be seen as expressing a fear of magical female sexuality. As such, Homer’s Circe is the archetype of all women who threaten to transform and enervate men-from Apuleius’ Pamphile to Shakespeare’s Cleopatra and Milton’s Dalila.
