"ὣς ἐφάμην, Κίρκη δὲ διὲκ μεγάροιο βεβήκει
ῥάβδον ἔχουσ᾽ ἐν χειρί, θύρας δ᾽ ἀνέῳξε συφειοῦ,
ἐκ δ᾽ ἔλασεν σιάλοισιν ἐοικότας ἐννεώροισιν.390
οἱ μὲν ἔπειτ᾽ ἔστησαν ἐναντίοι, ἡ δὲ δι᾽ αὐτῶν
ἐρχομένη προσάλειφεν ἑκάστῳ φάρμακον ἄλλο.
τῶν δ᾽ ἐκ μὲν μελέων τρίχες ἔρρεον, ἃς πρὶν ἔφυσε
φάρμακον οὐλόμενον, τό σφιν πόρε πότνια Κίρκη·
ἄνδρες δ᾽ ἂψ ἐγένοντο νεώτεροι ἢ πάρος ἦσαν,395
καὶ πολὺ καλλίονες καὶ μείζονες εἰσοράασθαι.
ἔγνωσαν δέ μ᾽ ἐκεῖνοι ἔφυν τ᾽ ἐν χερσὶν ἕκαστος.
πᾶσιν δ᾽ ἱμερόεις ὑπέδυ γόος, ἀμφὶ δὲ δῶμα
σμερδαλέον κονάβιζε: θεὰ δ᾽ ἐλέαιρε καὶ αὐτή.
ἡ δέ μευ ἄγχι στᾶσα προσηύδα δῖα θεάων:400
‘διογενὲς Λαερτιάδη, πολυμήχαν᾽ Ὀδυσσεῦ,
ἔρχεο νῦν ἐπὶ νῆα θοὴν καὶ θῖνα θαλάσσης.
νῆα μὲν ἂρ πάμπρωτον ἐρύσσατε ἤπειρόνδε,
κτήματα δ᾽ ἐν σπήεσσι πελάσσατε ὅπλα τε πάντα·
αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἂψ ἰέναι καὶ ἄγειν ἐρίηρας ἑταίρους.’405
ὣς ἔφατ᾽, αὐτὰρ ἐμοί γ᾽ ἐπεπείθετο θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ,
βῆν δ᾽ ἰέναι ἐπὶ νῆα θοὴν καὶ θῖνα θαλάσσης.
εὗρον ἔπειτ᾽ ἐπὶ νηὶ θοῇ ἐρίηρας ἑταίρους
οἴκτρ᾽ ὀλοφυρομένους, θαλερὸν κατὰ δάκρυ χέοντας.
ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἄγραυλοι πόριες περὶ βοῦς ἀγελαίας,410
ἐλθούσας ἐς κόπρον, ἐπὴν βοτάνης κορέσωνται,
πᾶσαι ἅμα σκαίρουσιν ἐναντίαι· οὐδ᾽ ἔτι σηκοὶ
ἴσχουσ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἁδινὸν μυκώμεναι ἀμφιθέουσι
μητέρας· ὣς ἔμ᾽ ἐκεῖνοι ἐπεὶ ἴδον ὀφθαλμοῖσι,
δακρυόεντες ἔχυντο· δόκησε δ᾽ ἄρα σφίσι θυμὸς415
ὣς ἔμεν, ὡς εἰ πατρίδ᾽ ἱκοίατο καὶ πόλιν αὐτὴν
τρηχείης Ἰθάκης, ἵνα τ᾽ ἔτραφεν ἠδ᾽ ἐγένοντο.
καί μ᾽ ὀλοφυρόμενοι ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδων·
‘σοὶ μὲν νοστήσαντι, διοτρεφές, ὣς ἐχάρημεν,
ὡς εἴ τ᾽ εἰς Ἰθάκην ἀφικοίμεθα πατρίδα γαῖαν·420
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε, τῶν ἄλλων ἑτάρων κατάλεξον ὄλεθρον.’
ὣς ἔφαν, αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ προσέφην μαλακοῖς ἐπέεσσι·
‘νῆα μὲν ἂρ πάμπρωτον ἐρύσσομεν ἤπειρόνδε,
κτήματα δ᾽ ἐν σπήεσσι πελάσσομεν ὅπλα τε πάντα·
αὐτοὶ δ᾽ ὀτρύνεσθε ἐμοὶ ἅμα πάντες ἕπεσθαι,425
ὄφρα ἴδηθ᾽ ἑτάρους ἱεροῖς ἐν δώμασι Κίρκης
πίνοντας καὶ ἔδοντας: ἐπηετανὸν γὰρ ἔχουσιν.’
notes
Circe restores the transformed comrades of Odysseus to human shape. Odysseus goes to the ships and reunites with his men, inviting them back to Circe’s palace.
Circe goes to release the crew and the poet teases us:
read full essay
ὣς ἐφάμην, Κίρκη δὲ διὲκ μεγάροιο βεβήκει
ῥάβδον ἔχουσ᾽ ἐν χειρί, θύρας δ᾽ ἀνέῳξε συφειοῦ,
So I spoke, and Circe went out of the hall,
holding the wand in her hand, and opened the doors of the stye…
Odyssey 10.388–89
We imagine the bard pausing slightly after the verb in line 389, as our ears, tuned by the repeated traditional phrase (cf. 10.230, 256, 312) wait for the adjective φαεινὰς. Beyond the humor, we hear echoes of the power struggle running through the entire episode, the doors of the stye standing in for the doors of the house, both enclosures metaphors for the suffocating emasculation that feminine sexuality threatens for the masculine hero. As it happens, Circe not only returns the crew to their human form, but also makes them younger, bigger, and more handsome than they were before. Here the parallel with Athena surfaces, as the once malevolent witch now plays the role of the hero’s protector, signaling that the struggle is quiet for now.
The reversal of Circe’s magic reflects the Odyssey’s overall narrative strategy, which moves toward restoration of the hero’s status in Ithaka. We have come to call this structure, “comic,” in contrast to the tragic form of stories like The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad, where the energy of the narrative urges us toward the recognition of the inescapable fact of human mortality. The outcome of Circe episode prefigures the world that Athena is determined to restore in Ithaka, where threats to the status of the hero are always reversible. There, as here, the hero will need to win over a formidable female who has been warned that he may be coming. The sword that subdues Circe will be deployed again, but this time against a crowd of usurpers. The crew, saved for now, will be long gone by the time Odysseus reaches Ithaka, victims of their own lack of self-control. But for now, the tranquility that settles over Aiaia, coming near the center of the poem, foreshadows the final triumph of the returning hero.
After Circe reverses her magic and the crew members joyfully greet their captain, the witch urges Odysseus to fetch the rest of his men from the ship so they can join the feast. The simile that Odysseus uses to describe the men’s ecstatic response to his return seems striking at first: Sailors, hardened by an exhausting and dangerous trek across the sea, are compared to young calves gamboling out of their pen to greet their mothers. But this view of Odysseus’s companions should not surprise us, since the crew has been essentially infantilized throughout the poem, unable to exhibit the control of their impulses that marks a mature male in the Odyssey. In this, they resemble the suitors, notorious for their gluttonous appetites, for food and sex with the maids in Ithaka. In both cases, the parent in the room is Odysseus, father to his wayward children, finally unable to keep them from harming themselves. The parallel continues as the crew by the ship crowd around:
σοὶ μὲν νοστήσαντι, διοτρεφές, ὣς ἐχάρημεν,
ὡς εἴ τ᾽ εἰς Ἰθάκην ἀφικοίμεθα πατρίδα γαῖαν:
We are as happy to see you returned, cherished of Zeus,
as if we had come back home to Ithaka, our fatherland!
Odyssey 10.419–20
The participle νοστήσαντι is used elsewhere exclusively in the poem of Odysseus returning home. We, like the crew, are urged to see this pleasant interlude as a rehearsal for Odysseus’ ultimate return to his rightful status in Ithaka.
If we conclude that Circe foreshadows the queen who offers pleasure and respite in Ithaka, we should also note the potential in Penelope for realizing the darker aspects of witch’s nature. Both are deceptive weavers, whose tricks can lead a man to ruin; both must be won over by the hero—with the help of divine intervention—before their allegiance is assured; each offers Odysseus vital information that will eventually secure his homecoming. And finally, when Penelope tells the beggar her dream about geese (19.535–53), do we not hear a faint echo of the “mistress of animals” who controls the wolves and lions in Aiaia?
388 βεβήκει: "she went," plupf., translated as simple past (Smyth 1946, 1952).
390 ἐκ δ᾽ ἔλασεν: "she drove out," tmesis, 3rd sing. aor. > ἐξελαύνω.
390 ἐοικότας: “(men) resembling,” followed by a dative.
392 προσάλειφεν: "she smeared on," unaugmented 3rd sing. impf. act. > προσαλείφω, followed by an accusative object and a dative indirect object (ἑκάστῳ).
393 τῶν: “their.”
393 τρίχες: "bristles,” i.e., the hair covering the body of the swine > θρίξ, ἡ.
393 ἔφυσε: “made grow.”
394 τό: neut. rel. pron.
394 σφιν: dat. pl. indir. obj. ( > σφεῖς).
394 πόρε: unaugmented impf.
396 εἰσοράασθαι: “to look upon” (Monro 232; Smyth 2005).
397 ἔφυν τ᾽ ἐν χερσὶν: “clasped my hand" (lit., “grew onto me with his hand”).
397 φῦ: = ἔφυ, unaugmented 3rd sing. impf. > φύω, “to grow.”
398 ἱμερόεις: “passionate,” masc. nom. sing.
398 ὑπέδυ: “came upon,” with dative. See LSJ ὑποδύω II.4, "[of feelings] to steal into" or "over."
398 ἀμφὶ: “all around,” adverbial.
399 σμερδαλέον: adverbial accusative.
400 θεάων: “among goddesses,” partitive genitive.
402 ἔρχεο: imperat. sing.
403 ἐρύσσατε: “drag up,” imperat. pl. (assuming Odysseus needs help to drag his ship onto the shore).
404 πελάσσατε: “carry,” imperat. pl.
405 ἰέναι: infin. > εἶμι, used as an imperative.
406 ἐμοί: dative of possession with θυμός.
407 βῆν δ᾽ ἰέναι: “I set out to go” (Monro 77).
410 ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ(ε): “as when …,” introducing a simile. In similes, the main verb is usually in the subjunctive, but here the verb σκαίρουσιν is in the indicative, in which case there is either anacoluthon ("as when heifers in the field around their mothers, whenever they have their fill of grass—they all leap to meet them..."), or the verb should be emended to σκαίρωσιν, the subjunctive (see the discussion by Edwards).
411 ἐπὴν: ἐπεί ἄν + subj., introducing a general temporal clause.
411 κορέσωνται: “have their fill of,” aor. subj. > κορέννυμι, with genitive.
412 σκαίρουσιν: the subject is πόριες in 410.
412 ἐναντίαι: “to meet (their mothers).” ἐναντίος can mean “meeting” or “in order to meet.”
413 ἁδινὸν: “constantly,” adverbial acc.
414 ὣς: “so," "in this way,” closing off the simile.
415 ἔχυντο: “came in a dense throng,” “thronged around me,” 3rd pl. aor. pass. > χέω; see LSJ χέω II.6.
415–16 δόκησε … / ὣς ἔμεν: “seemed thus to be,” “seemed to be,” ἔμεν = εἶναι.
415 θυμὸς: “feeling,” “mood”
416 ὡς εἰ … ἱκοίατο: “as if they had reached….” ὡς εἰ + opt. is used in Homer for similes and comparisons (Smyth 2484, citing this passage).
416 ἱκοίατο: 3rd pl. aor. opt. > ἱκνέομαι.
417 τρηχείης: "rough, rocky, rugged," a standard Homeric epithet for Ithaca. fem. sing. gen. adj. > τρηχύς, epic form of τραχύς. It declines like εὐρύς.
417 ἵνα: “where”
417 ἔτραφεν: 3rd pl. aor. pass. indic. > τρέφω
419 νοστήσαντι: aor. ptc. dat. sing. > νοστέω
419 ὣς ἐχάρημεν: “we rejoice thus at," or “how we rejoice at…!” followed by a dative.
419 ἐχάρημεν: 1st pl. aor. pass. > χαίρω. The aorist is often used in similes and comparisons for the point of comparison, as here (Monro 78.2; Smyth 1935).
420 ὡς εἴ … ἀφικοίμεθα: "as if we'd reached...," same construction as in line 416.
423–24 ἐρύσσομεν ... / ... πελάσσομεν: hortatory short-vowel subjs. (Monro 80). Lines 423–24 echo lines 403–4.
425 αὐτοὶ ... ὀτρύνεσθε: “rouse yourselves,” 2nd pl. pres. mid. imperat., with a reflexive sense > ὀτρύνω.
426 ἴδηθ᾽: = ἴδητε, 2nd pl. aor. subj. > ὁράω, in a purpose clause.
427 ἐπηετανὸν: "a never-ending abundance (of food and drink)."
vocabulary
Κίρκη –ης ἡ: Circe, the enchantress, daughter of Helius, sister of Aeētes, dwelling in the isle of Aeaea
διέκ: through and out of
μέγαρον –ου τό: a large room, hall, feast-hall
ῥάβδος –ου ὁ: a rod, wand, stick, switch
θύρα –ας ἡ: door
ἀνοίγνυμι ἀνοίξω ἀνέῳξα ἀνέῳχα ––– ἀνεῴχθην: open, (pass.) be open, stand open
συφεός –οῦ ὁ: a hog-sty
σίαλος –ου ὁ: a fat hog 390
ἐννέωρος –ον: nine years old
προσαλείφω προσαλείψω προσήλειψα προσαλήλιφα προσαλήλιμμαι προσηλείφθην: to rub
φάρμακον –ου τό: drug
μέλος –ους τό: a limb
θρίξ τριχός ἡ: hair, bristle
ῥέω ῥυήσομαι ––– ἐρρύηκα ––– ἐρρύην: to flow, run, stream
φάρμακον –ου τό: drug
οὐλόμενος –η –ον: destructive, ruinous, cursed, unfortunate
σφεῖς: they
πόρω ––– ἔπορον ––– ––– –––: to offer, furnish, supply, give; (pf. pass. 3 sing.) it is fated
πότνια –ας ἡ: mistress, queen
ἄψ: back 395
πάρος: before, formerly
εἰσοράω εἰσόψομαι εἰσεῖδον εἰσεόρακα/εἰσεώρακα/εἰσόπωπα εἰσεόραμαι/εἰσεώραμαι/εἰσῶμμαι εἰσώφθην: to look into, look upon, view, behold
ἱμερόεις –εσσα –εν: lovely, desirable, passionate
ὑποδύομαι ὑποδύσομαι ὑπεδυσάμην – ὑποδέδυμαι ὑπεδύθην: to slip in under, to put on; to come upon
γόος –ου ὁ: wailing, lamentation
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
σμερδαλέος –α –ον: dreadful
κοναβίζω ––– –––: to resound, clash, ring, reecho
θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess
ἐλεαίρω ἐλεαρῶ ἐλέηρα: to take pity on
ἄγχι: near 400
προσαυδάω προσαυδήσω προσηύδησα προσηύδηκα προσηύδημαι προσηυδήθην: to speak to, address, accost
δῖος –α –ον: divine, godlike, shining
διογενής –ές: sprung from Zeus (epithet of Odysseus)
Λαερτιάδης –ου ὁ: son of Laertes (Odysseus)
πολυμήχανος –ον: full of resources, inventive, ever-ready
Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey
θοός –ή –όν: swift
θίς θινός ὁ: shore, beach
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
πάμπρωτος –η –ον: first of all, the very first
εἰρύω/ἐρύω ἐρύσω/ἐρύω εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα –– –– εἰρύσθην: to pull, draw, drag; to guard
ἤπειρόνδε: to the mainland
κτῆμα –ατος τό: possession
σπέος gen. σπείους, dat. σπῆι, pl. dat. σπέσσι and σπήεσσι, τό: a cave, cavern, grotto
πελάζω πελάσω ἐπέλασα ––– ––– ἐπελάσθην: (trans.) to bring, carry, conduct (to an indicated place); (intrans.) to draw near, approach
ἄψ: back 405
ἐρίηρος –ον: faithful, devoted, trusty
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
ἐπιπείθομαι ἐπιπείσομαι ἐπεπιθόμην – ἐπιπέπεισμαι ἐπεπείσθην: to be persuaded (to)
ἀγήνωρ –ορος: manly, courageous, heroic
θοός –ή –όν: swift
θίς θινός ὁ: shore, beach
θοός –ή –όν: swift
ἐρίηρος –ον: faithful, devoted, trusty
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
οἰκτρός –ά –όν: pitiable, in piteous plight
ὀλοφύρομαι ὀλοφυροῦμαι ὠλοφυράμην – – ὠλοφύρθην: to lament, wail; pity
θαλερός –ά –όν: blooming, fresh
δάκρυον –ου τό: a tear
χέω χέω ἔχεα or ἔχευα κέχυκα κέχυμαι ἐχύθην: to pour, shed
ἄγραυλος –ον: dwelling in the field 410
πόρις –ιος ἡ: a calf, young heifer
ἀγελαῖος –α –ον: belonging to a herd, feeding at large
κόπρος –ου ἡ: manure; farmyard
ἐπήν = ἐπεὶ ἄν: when, after
βοτάνη –ης ἡ: grass, fodder
κορέννυμι (Ion. κορέω) κορέσω ἐκόρεσα κεκόρεσμαι ἐκορέσθην: to sate, satiate, satisfy
σκαίρω – – – – –: to skip, frisk
σηκός –οῦ ὁ: a pen, fold
ἴσχω ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to hold; to hold back, check, restrain
ἀδινός –ή –όν: close-packed
μυκάομαι μυκήσομαι ἐμυκησάμην: to moo, bellow, roar
ἀμφιθέω ἀμφιθεύσομαι ἀμφέδραμον ἀμφιδεδράμηκα: to run round about
δακρυόεις –εσσα –εν: tearful, much-weeping 415
χέω χέω ἔχεα or ἔχευα κέχυκα κέχυμαι ἐχύθην: to pour, shed
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
σφεῖς: they
ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach
τρηχύς –εῖα –ύ: rough
Ἰθάκη –ης ἡ: Ithaca, the home of Ulysses, an island on the West coast of Greece
ἠδέ: and
ὀλοφύρομαι ὀλοφυροῦμαι ὠλοφυράμην – – ὠλοφύρθην: to lament, wail; pity
πτερόεις πτερόεσσα πτερόεν: winged
προσαυδάω προσαυδήσω προσηύδησα προσηύδηκα προσηύδημαι προσηυδήθην: to speak to, address, accost
νοστέω νοστήσω ἐνόστησα νενόστηκα: return home
διοτρεφής –ές: nourished by Zeus, Zeus-nurtured
Ἰθάκη –ης ἡ: Ithaca, the home of Odysseus, an island on the West coast of Greece 420
γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district
ἄγε: come! come on! well!
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
καταλέγω καταλέξω κατέλεξα κατείλοχα κατείλεγμαι κατελέχθην: to recount, tell at length and in order; (mid.) καταλέχομαι to lie down
ὄλεθρος –ου ὁ: ruin, destruction, death
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
πρόσφημι πρόσφησω προσέφησα: to speak to, address
μαλακός –ή –όν: soft
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
πάμπρωτος –η –ον: first of all, the very first
εἰρύω/ἐρύω ἐρύσω/ἐρύω εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα –– –– εἰρύσθην: to pull, draw, drag; to guard
ἤπειρόνδε: to the mainland
κτῆμα –ατος τό: possession
σπέος gen. σπείους, dat. σπῆι, pl. dat. σπέσσι and σπήεσσι, τό: a cave, cavern, grotto
πελάζω πελάσω ἐπέλασα ––– ––– ἐπελάσθην: (trans.) to bring, carry, conduct (to an indicated place); (intrans.) to draw near, approach
ὀτρύνω ὀτρυνῶ ὤτρυνα ––– ––– –––: to urge on 425
ὄφρα: while; until; so that; ὄφρα … τόφρα, while … for so long
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
ἔδω ἔδομαι ἤδα ἔδηδα ἐδήδοται ἠδέσθην: to eat
ἐπηετανός –όν: lasting forever, abundant