Myths and Legends * Circe. Circe is a sorceress goddess See what "Circe" is in other dictionaries

Circe

Circe(Kirka) - daughter of Perseis and Helios, the god of the sun, a powerful sorceress, a nymph of the island of Eya.

Far from the domain of the first sorcerers, the sorceress Circe lived on the forested island of Eya in the Adriatic Sea. Her companions were tamed animals that were once sailors. Always malevolent, Circe lured them ashore with magical singing and turned them into animals with spells.

Circe and Scylla

Scylla(Skilla) - nymph, daughter of the goddess Hecate and Forkis. Transformed by Circe into a monster, she lived in a cave opposite the whirlpool of Charybdis and devoured sailors passing between them.

Sailors were not the only victims. Another victim was the charming nymph Scylla, who got into the habit of swimming off the coast of the island. She attracted the attention of the sorceress thanks to her lover - the shepherd, whom Circe desired.
Circe set off one night through a pine forest to the place where Scylla bathed in the morning. The sorceress sat down on a rock and lifted high the crystal vessel she had brought with her. She poured a liquid as green as an emerald into the sea. Circe watched for some time how the charmed bubbles danced and dissolved on the water surface. Then she disappeared.
At dawn, a sweet-voiced nymph, singing, appeared on the shore. She entered the water, admiring the pearly sheen of her legs. When Scylla went deeper, the color thickened to green and she was washed over by a wave of the tide. Then, to her horror, she saw a green writhing mass in the whirlpool, which slowly crept up to her hips and dragged her down ...
Scylla disappeared under the water. When her head reappeared on the surface, she looked terrible, and saliva flowed from her fanged maw. The voice that came out of his throat was like an animal growl. Having turned into a monster, Scylla became a nightmare for the sailors of this sea.
As for Circe, she lived for a long time on an island in the shade of pines.

Circe

Circe
From the poem "Odyssey" by the legendary poet of Ancient Greece Homer (IX century BC). Circe is an insidious sorceress who, in The Odyssey, turns Odysseus' companions into pigs with the help of a magical drink. And only Odysseus, to whom the patron of all travelers, the god Hermes, gave an antidote in the form of a magical plant, was able to resist this delusion and remained a man. Then Circe offered him her love. After making her first swear that she would restore human form to his comrades and that she was not plotting anything evil against him, Odysseus agreed to her proposal.
Ironically: an insidious, dangerous beauty who can subdue her will, "bewitch", etc.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: "Lokid-Press". Vadim Serov. 2003 .

Circe

Circe - according to Homer, an insidious sorceress. The Odyssey (10, 337-501) tells how, with the help of a magic drink, she turned Odysseus' companions into pigs. Odysseus, who was given a magical plant by Hermes, overcame her spell, and she invited him to share her love. Having forced Circe to swear that she was not plotting anything evil against him and would return the human form to his companions, Odysseus bowed to her proposal. Her name has become synonymous with a dangerous beauty, an insidious seductress.

Dictionary of winged words. Plutex. 2004

See what "Circe" is in other dictionaries:

Burne Jones, Circe ... Wikipedia

In Greek myth. daughter of Helios and Perseis, sorceress. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. Circe in Greek. mythol., daughter of Helios and Perseid oceanides, sorceress, queen of wa Ei; fell in love with Odysseus and ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (Circe, Κίςχη). Daughter of Helios and Perseus, famous sorceress. She lived on the island of Eee, on which Odysseus was abandoned during his wanderings. Circe, having met his companions, gave them a magical drink to drink, from which they all, for ... ... Encyclopedia of mythology

- (inosk.) charming beauty (a hint of Circe in Homer's Odyssey). Wed And yet I arrived at the right time: that blue-eyed Circe with her amiable would have robbed me clean ... Markevich. Child of life. 1, 8. Cf. Moscow dandies and circuses ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Kirka, seductress, temptress, temptress, sorceress, sorceress, siren Dictionary of Russian synonyms. circe, see temptress Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M: Ru... Synonym dictionary

Circe- and, well. circée f. obsolete, poet On behalf of the sorceress who turned the companions of Odysseus into pigs. Charmer, seductress, dangerous beauty. BAS 1. Wanderings of the heart Odyssey There I began with you, There I found my circus And succumbed to divination. ... ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

- (Kirka) in Greek mythology, a sorceress from Fr. Eya, who turned the companions of Odysseus into pigs, and kept him on about. Eya for a year. In a figurative sense, an insidious seductress ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Or Kirk (Kirkh, Circe) the daughter of Helios and Oceanis Persians, the goddess of the moon related to Hekate and, like Hekate and Medea, a representative of sorcery. She lived on the island of Eze (Aiaia, the location of the island in the legends about Ts. is geographically indeterminate). where ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Circe- (Kirka), in Greek mythology, a sorceress from the island of Eya, who turned Odysseus' companions into pigs, and kept him on the island of Eya for a year. In a figurative sense, an insidious seductress. … Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

I Circe Kirk, in ancient Greek mythology, a sorceress from Fr. Eya, who turned Odysseus' companions into pigs (See Odysseus), and kept him with her for a year. From Odysseus, Ts. had a son Telegon, who, when he grew up, went to ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Books

• Circe. Roman, Maxim Chertanov. Moscow, the near future: everyone has long been accustomed to war, you won’t surprise anyone with public executions, and only a maniac killer, inventive and merciless, terrifies and secretly delights the inhabitants ...

Pick, Greek, Latin Circe- the daughter and his wife of the Persians (or Perseids, or Efei), the famous sorceress. On the illustration: the painting "Circe", Dosso Dossi, 1514-1516.

She lived on the island of Eya (or Enaria, or Meonia) in the far west. As far as we know, the first visitors to her island were those returning from Colchis with the Golden Fleece. Kirka received them cordially, although in principle she could behave quite differently: after all, the Golden Fleece was stolen from her brother Eet, and Jason (with the help of her niece Medea) killed her nephew, the son of Eet. Nevertheless, Kirka cleared Jason and Medea of ​​the filth of the murder and gave the Argonauts a number of valuable tips on the road.

Circe, painting by artist Arthur Hacker

Odysseus, who sailed to Ithaca after the capture of Troy, was the second to reach the island of Kirk. When the ship landed on the island, Odysseus sent several people on reconnaissance. However, Kirk turned them into pigs with the help of a magic potion and an enchanted wand. Then Odysseus himself went to her in order to force her to return the human form to the Ithaca. God liked his courage, and he gave Odysseus the magical herb "moth", which neutralizes the spell of Kirk, and also advised, under the threat of a drawn sword, to take an oath from the sorceress to disenchant his friends. Kirka agreed, but on the condition that Odysseus stay with her for a year. Odysseus lived well with her, but a year later, after the agreed period, he began to ask to go home. Kirka did not argue, for she knew that she would have a son as a memento of Odysseus, who would be born to her after he sailed. Having received valuable gifts from Kirk and even more valuable advice, Odysseus set off on a long journey.

Circe, Brighton Rivière

Twice more Odysseus returned to the island of Eya: the first time on his way back from the underworld, where he went on the advice of Kirk to find out from the shadow of the soothsayer Tiresias the best route to travel to his homeland. The second time he returned to Kirk after his death, in order to find eternal rest on the island (see the articles "Odysseus" and "Telegon").

According to Diodorus, Kirk was the daughter of Aeëtes and Hekate. Kirka married the king of the Sarmatians, poisoned her husband with potions. Having become the queen, she committed cruelty towards the courtiers, which is why she lost royal power. She fled to the expanses of the Ocean and settled on the island along with the women who accompanied her; or in Italy at Cape Kerkey.

There are also two tales about Kirka's hopeless love for the sea god, whom Kirka avenged by turning his beloved Skilla into a monster by the power of her spell, and for the king of Avzons, the son of Saturn Peak, who was turned into a woodpecker by the goddess.

Pictured: Circe by Wright Barker

The image of the beautiful sorceress Kirk, drawn by Homer in the Odyssey, and then in the myths about the Argonauts, has always attracted people of art. Most often, she was depicted with Odysseus, including on vases. One of the first European paintings dedicated to Kirka is Dossi's "Kirka and Her Lovers Turned into Animals" (two versions: 1513 and 1514-1516). Spranger's painting "Odysseus and Kirk" (late 16th century) was originally in the Rudolphin collection in Prague Castle, and then ended up in the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum. In 1860, Burne-Jones wrote his Circe.

No less than artists, Kirk also attracted playwrights ("Circe" by Corneille - 1675; in the 20th century: "Odysseus and Kirk" by Huebel - 1922, "Kirk" by Gunthert - 1934, "Circe" by Bax - 1949). But perhaps most of all Kirk intrigued composers: Charpentier (1675), Romberg (1807), Bungert (1897), and more recently Egk (1948) wrote operas called Circe. The stage melodrama Circe was composed in 1789 by Praupner.

Odysseus, little Telegon and Circe

Ancient authors, in particular Roman ones, believed that the residence of Kirk was in Circe on the peninsula in Latia (Latia), which was once a coastal island. It is there that modern pilgrims on the Odyssey tracks are looking for her (in any case, most of them, but some are looking for the Kirk's residence in Brittany or even in the Azores).

Kirka's tomb was shown on the islet of Pharmacussa off Attica. It was claimed that the Italic tribe of the Marses descended from Kirka and were therefore protected from snake bites. Mount Kirkei in Lazia is a hunting ground. On Mount Kirkei there was a temple of Kirka, where they showed the bowl of Odysseus. The Kirkei hill was in Colchis.

In modern language, Kirk is a seductive beauty:

"Moscow dandies and circuses
Attract mocking glances!"
- A. S. Pushkin, "Eugene Onegin", VII.

Circe(Latinized form of the Greek name Kirk, other Greek. Κίρκη ) - in Greek mythology, the daughter of Helios and the Oceanids Perseids (or Persians). According to some, the daughter of Apollo and Ephea.

Witch. Akin to Hekate, the goddess of the moon and, like Hekate and Medea, a representative of sorcery.
She lived on the island of Eee (Aiaia, the location of the island in the legends of Circe is geographically indeterminate). Either from the island of Enaria, or the island of Meonia. The residence of Circe was later transferred from the far east to the west, to the Tyrrhenian coast: a cape on the Italic coast (in Latium) was named after her. She lived near the Tyrrhenian Sea, arrived on the island in the chariot of Helios. She cleansed the Argonauts after killing Apsyrtus.
According to Diodorus, she was the daughter of Aeëtes and Hekate. Kirka married the king of the Sarmatians, poisoned her husband with potions. Having become the queen, she committed cruelty towards the courtiers, which is why she lost royal power. She fled to the expanses of the Ocean and settled on the island along with the women who accompanied her; or in Italy at Cape Kerkey.
There are also two legends about Circe's hopeless love for the sea god Glaucus, whom Circe avenged by turning his beloved Skilla into a monster by the power of her charms, and for the king of Ausonia, the son of Saturn Peak, who was turned into a woodpecker by the goddess.

Kirk and Odysseus

Odysseus' companions that Kirk turned into pigs

Odysseus was brought to her island during his wanderings on the sea. When some of the latter's companions, who had gone to explore the island, were turned into pigs by Kirka, Odysseus went alone to the sorceress's house and with the help of a wonderful plant given to him by Hermes, he defeated the spell of the goddess, who, recognizing Odysseus in the brave guest, invited him to stay with her on the island and share her love.

Alessandro Allori - Circe. Hermes warns Odysseus

Odysseus bowed to the proposal of the goddess, but first made her swear that she was not plotting anything bad against him, and return the human image to his companions, turned into pigs. Having lived for a year on the island in bliss and contentment, Odysseus, at the insistence of his comrades, began to ask Kirk to let them go to their homeland and, having received the consent of the goddess, he first went, on her advice, to the region of Hades to learn from the soothsayer Tiresias about the trials ahead of him.

According to Homer's description, she had four nymph maids, daughters of streams (they evoke associations with the four rivers of paradise). According to Apollonius of Rhodes, her beasts are the first fruits of the evolution described by Empedocles.
Having received the desired information from Tiresias, Odysseus returned to the island of Kirki and, warned by her about the dangers that await him near the island of Sirens, in the strait where Skilla and Charybdis live, and on the island of Trinacria, set off on a further voyage. She taught Odysseus how to make knots.
According to Hesiod, Odysseus gave birth to Kirk's sons Agrius and Latinus (Homer does not mention this). According to another version, she gave birth to the son of Telegon (or Nausifoy and Telegon) from Odysseus.
Kirka later married Telemachus, but was killed by him when he fell in love with her daughter Cassifone.

In the later tradition

Kirka's tomb was shown on the islet of Pharmacussa off Attica. It was claimed that the Italic tribe of the Marses descended from Kirka and were therefore protected from snake bites. Mount Kirkei in Lazia is a hunting ground. On Mount Kirkei there was a temple of Kirka, where they showed the bowl of Odysseus. The Kirkei hill was in Colchis.
The protagonist of Aeschylus's satyr drama "Kirka" (fr.309-311 Radt) and a number of comedies. Presumably, Odysseus and Kirk are depicted on the Kipsel box.
According to the interpretation, she was a hetero and charmed the guests.

* In the novel The Hour of the Bull by Ivan Efremov, a rational explanation of the myth is given:
Circe is a magnificent myth of time immemorial, which arose even from matriarchal deities, about the sexual magic of the goddess, depending on the level of erotic aspiration: either down - to swine, or up - to the goddess. It has almost always been misunderstood. The beauty and desire of women cause disgusting only in the psyche of those who have not risen above the animal in their sexual feelings. Women in the old days only very rarely understood the ways of dealing with the sexual savagery of men, and those who knew this were considered Circe. The meeting with Circe was a touchstone for every man to find out if he was a man in Eros. Sexual magic acts only on a low level of perception of Beauty and Eros."

Circe- the daughter of Helios and the Oceanid Persians, the goddess of the moon related to Hekate and a representative of sorcery. She lived on the island of Eya, where Odysseus was brought during his wanderings on the sea. Odysseus sent half of his people to scout, they came to the palace, where wolves and lions wagged their tails in a friendly way.

Circe lured them ashore with magical singing and turned them into animals.

Soon, the hostess of the palace came out to the companions of Odysseus who came, gave them wine with a potion mixed into it. So some of the companions of Odesseus, who went to explore the island, were turned into pigs by Circe.

Heads, hair, voice, and their entire appearance
They became pigs. Only the mind remained as before.
Weeping, Circe drove them into the barn and threw them into food
They are acorns and simple and edible and turf berries -
Food thrown in the mud to sleeping pigs.
(Homer "Odyssey", song 10)

Only one of Odysseus's companions did not drink wine and watched what was happening from afar, he returned to Odysseus and told about what he saw. Odysseus went to save his comrades and on the way to the palace of Circe he met a god and told him how to escape from turning into a pig:

I will tell you everything that Circe is preparing insidiously.
In the cup you will mix the drink and pour the potions.
It will not bewitch, however, you. Will not allow before
A remedy that I will give you. Remember in detail:
Just hit you with his long Circe's rod,
Pull immediately from the scabbard at the hip your copper-edged sword,
Rush with a sword at Circe, as if about to kill.
She, terrified, will offer you a bed to share with her.
You don't even dare to think to refuse the bed of the goddess,
If you want to save your comrades and be her guest.
Let her only swear by the great oath of the blessed,
That no other misfortune will be conceived for you,
So that you, undressed, do not become defenseless and do not lose strength.

Odysseus, having come to Circe, followed the advice of Hermes. When Odysseus rushed at Circe with a sword, the sorceress got scared and fell to her knees in front of Odysseus, guessing who was in front of her:

Who are you, where are you from? What kind of parents are you? Where were you born?
I am in amazement: my poison did not affect you at all!

Odysseus, with the help of a wonderful plant given to him by Hermes, defeated the spell of the goddess, who, recognizing Odysseus as a brave guest, invited him to stay with her on the island and share her love. Odysseus bowed to the proposal of the goddess, but first made her swear that she was not plotting anything bad against him, and return the human image to his companions, turned into pigs. After living a year on the island in bliss and contentment, Odysseus, at the insistence of his comrades, began to ask Circe to let them go to their homeland and, having received the consent of the goddess, he first went, on her advice, to the region of Hades to learn from the soothsayer Tiresias about the trials ahead of him. Having received the desired information from Tiresias, Odysseus returned to the island of Circe and, warned by her about the dangers that await him near the island of Sirens, in the strait where Skilla and Charybdis live, and on the island of Trinacria, set off on a further voyage. From Odysseus, Circe had a son, Agrias (according to another legend - Latin). According to other sources, from the relationship of Circe and Odysseus, the son Telegon ("far-born") was born, who, many years later, accidentally killed his father.

Another interpretation of the ancient Greek myth

Circe

In ancient Greece, very loving women did not have support groups, which is bad, because the sorceress Circe (or Kirk) could well put together such a group. She was definitely devoted to love, but always chose the wrong object. But if she was abandoned, she was instantly cured of love for the unworthy.
It is not surprising that Circe led a similar lifestyle, since she came from a very disorderly family. Her father was Helios, who drove the sun chariot of the god Apollo across the sky all day, which meant that his children did not see him often. He left for work while they were still asleep, and came when they were already asleep. Circe's sister, Pasiphae, was the ill-famed queen who fell in love with a bull and climbed inside a stuffed cow to have sexual intercourse with him. The result of their twisted connection was the Minotaur, a half-bull, half-human monster kept by Pasiphae's husband, King Minos, in a labyrinth beneath the royal palace. You don't even have to ask what profession Pasiphae had.

Circe was also a queen, but when her husband, the king, died under suspicious circumstances, she moved to Aea, a small island in the Mediterranean, to avoid being accused of poisoning her husband. Here she built herself a modest little palace in the depths of the island and spent her days in the kitchen, stirring the concoctions in a huge cast-iron cauldron. This lady loved to cook!
Once an attractive young man Glaucus moored his boat to the shore of the island. The girl quickly becomes bored on the island in the company of toads and poisonous mushrooms, and Glaucus had the appearance of a Greek god. Circe glanced at the strong muscles that played under the young man's tunic, and exhaled: "Stay to eat."
She quickly concocted a modest five-course meal with two wines, and for dessert she changed into a more comfortable outfit, which in this case was identical to Eve's. Glaucus turned pale and began to stutter: “I am, um, really flattered, Circe, and, um, in any other circumstances, yes, but, you see, I am in love with the nymph Scylla. She is thinner than you, and her breasts are fuller, so I came to you for a magic potion that will make her love me.
Circe managed to restrain herself. She took a deep breath and said, “It's okay, ha ha, I don't mind that you reject me. As for your beloved Scylla, you would tell me where this young lady likes to swim, and I will pour some magic potion into the water.
And she really put something into the water, only this something turned Scylla into a terrible monster.
The next man to break Circe's heart was the minor god Pictus, who asked Circe for funds to win the favor of the goddess Pomona. Circe treated him to a magical drink and turned him into a woodpecker. And suddenly she had an epiphany: “All men are animals,” she announced, “so I will turn all of them into animals!”
After that, Circe tried her concoctions on all the unfortunate travelers whose ships washed up to her island. She showed exceptional hospitality: generously regaled travelers with dishes, followed by fragrant wine, which turned men into lions, tigers and bears. Soon the island literally resembled a menagerie. One day, the Greek hero Odysseus landed on the island, returning with his companions from the Trojan War. As soon as the Greeks set foot on the island, they were surrounded by a whole flock of wild animals, which were supposed to be ferocious, but for some reason these animals rubbed against the legs of travelers, like ordinary domestic pussies or dogs.

Cercea prepares a poisoned potion

“Oh, I don’t like all this,” said Odysseus’ first assistant, Eurylochus. "I think there's some kind of witchcraft involved."
"Nonsense," said Odysseus. “Don't be so suspicious. You know what: take the people and go explore the island, and I will stay here and watch the ship.
Eurylochus and other sailors soon reached the marble palace of Circe, and the sorceress herself came out to meet them in a beautiful short tunic and apron, with a wooden spoon in her hand. “Welcome to my humble island,” she said. “You must be hungry?”
All the travelers willingly entered the dining room, except for the suspicious Eurylochos, who remained outside and peeped through the crack in the door. His comrades, who were common people and had not been trained in good manners, did not know how to use knives and forks. They seized delicious dishes with their hands and loudly sipped soup from golden bowls. Circe looked at them with disgust, thinking: "What pigs - and this is an idea!"

Circe turns Odysseus' companions into pigs

And after drinking magical wine for dessert, the men felt their noses turn into pigskins, their hands become front legs, and screams of horror sound like pig grunts. They all turned into pigs! Eurylochus, who saw everything through the door, hurried back to the ship.
“Hurry, Odysseus,” he said breathlessly, “we are in trouble! Some crazy woman turned all our friends into pigs!”
But Odysseus was a real man and could not stand a woman getting the better of him. He grabbed his sword and ran to the palace of Circe. Before she could ask, "Are you staying for dinner?" He put the point of the sword right to her throat.
Circe was in a sense a masochist and had a weakness for men who knew how to seize power into their own hands. She exhaled, "My man!" and threw off her tunic.

Dosso Dossi - Circe and her favorites

Circe returned Odysseus's companions to their former appearance, and she herself lived with Odysseus for a whole year, spending most of her time cooking French dishes for her beloved and his comrades. Then, one day, Odysseus said to her, "Listen, this was huge, but it's time for me to get back to my wife and son."
Circe was dumbfounded. “Wife and son? she sobbed. “You didn’t tell me anything about them!” And she wanted to immediately turn him into a pig, but Odysseus was too cunning to drink the sorceress's broth. He even managed to convince her to load the ship with provisions (only no wine!) and provide them with a good map.

Dosso Dossi - Melissa (Circe)

The heart of the sorceress was broken, but she did not leave hope for the return of her lover and for a good six months she walked along the shore and looked into the distance if Odysseus's ship was sailing. Finally she had to come to terms with the bitter truth. “He does not come and write,” she exclaimed sadly. “This is what I deserve for all my beauty and love.”
Circe was the daughter of a god, so she apparently still lives on her island, experimenting with new magical spells while waiting for the next traveler to try the magic potion. She does not touch women, but if you are a man and spend your holidays in the Mediterranean, you are advised to be on the lookout!

When men act like animals

Not only Circe turned men into animals when they deserved it. The Mabinogian, a collection of ancient Welsh legends, contains a story about Matt Mathonwy, a magician, and his beautiful maid, Gavin. Mat's nephew, Gilfatwi, was inflamed with passion for Gavin and, with the help of his brother Gwydion, raped the girl. Upon learning of this, Mat first saved the girl's reputation by taking her as his wife, and then punished the brothers in an unusual way.
They acted like unbridled animals, so he struck them with his magic staff and turned them into deer, male and female, driving them into the forest for a whole year. Then they returned with a deer. Mat turned the fawn into a boy and adopted him. As for the brothers, he turned them into wild boars and changed their gender: the one who used to be a female became a boar, and vice versa. A year later, they returned with a small gilt. Mat turned him back into a boy and adopted him.
And for the third time he changed the appearance of the brothers. This time, the one who was a sow became a wolf, and the former hog became a she-wolf, and again they returned a year later with a wolf cub, which Mat turned into a boy and added to the rest of the adopted sons. Finally Matt in last time hit the brothers with a magic staff, and they again turned into men, but now each of them knew well what it is to be a woman and what it is like to roam the forests in the form of animals.