The Odyssey:

Circe the Beautiful Witch

&
Scylla and Charybdis

Now he and his men sailed on across the wine dark sea, until once
again they caught sight of an island. They slipped their boat into a
snug little harbor, and there they slept for two whole days.
The following morning, Odysseus said they should explore the
island and discover who lived there. At these words, his men grew
afraid. They remembered the terrible Cyclops who had kept them
prisoner in his cave, and had devoured some of their companions.
Odysseus divided his men into two groups, so that if one should
get into trouble, the other could come and help. He was leader of one
group, and Lord Eurylochus (pronounced: yuri-locus) was the leader of
the other. They drew straws to see which group should go and explore
first, and as Eurylochus drew the short straw, he and his men had to
set out and explore the woods.
After walking two or three hours, the men came to a clearing.
They saw a little house surrounded by wild beasts wolves, leopards,
and lions. One of the leopards sprang towards Eurylochus. He thought
that he was about to die, but instead of eating him, the leopard rubbed
up against him like a cat and purred.
The window of the house was open, and inside a woman was
singing. Her voice was mysterious but very beautiful, and the men felt
themselves being drawn towards the house, for they all longed to see
if the woman was as wonderful as her voice. They walked past the
fierce looking beasts, which in fact were really quite tame. Inside they
were greeted by a tall and elegant woman, her black hair done up in
braids she did indeed look very lovely.
Her name was Circe and she invited the men to sit down at her
table and drink some of her soup they readily agreed. As they drank
the soup, Eurylochus said, When I drew the short straw I cursed my
bad luck, but how wrong I was! Our hostess is not so terrible after all,
eh men?
They did not realize that though she was beautiful, Circe was in
fact a witch. She had slipped a magic potion into their soup, and when
they had finished drinking it, she rapped the table with a magic wand
and said, Now you swine, be off to the pigsty where you belong. The
men looked up astonished. Madam Did you just call us pigs? asked
Eurylochus.
But Circe just laughed in reply, for the nose of Eurylochus was
already growing into a pink snout, and his hands were becoming hairy
hooves. In fact, all his men were swiftly turning into pigs. They tried to
weep and cry out, but all they could do was to snort and squeal.

Now do as I say, cried Circe. Pigs belong in the sty, not in my

kitchen. Be off with you! And off they trotted to their new home.
When the men did not return to the ship, Odysseus grew worried,
and he decided to go and search for them. He set out across the island
in the direction of the smoke he had seen from the cottage. While he
was walking through the woods, he met a young man more of a boy,
whose beard was still soft and downy on his face.
Stranger, what are you doing here? asked the young man.
Im going in search of my men who are lost, said Odysseus.
No doubt they are guests of the lovely Circe. You wont find
them in her house, but outside in the pigsty. Beautiful though she is,
she is really a witch and she turns men into beasts. If you step inside
her house, she will turn you into a pig too.
My men turned into pigs! exclaimed Odysseus. Is this how
you treat guests on this island?
The young man did not reply, but took a small plant out of his
knapsack and handed it to Odysseus. Its stem was black and its flower
was white as milk. Eat this, he said, It will make you safe against all
magic tricks and potions. The name of this plant is molly. It is
dangerous for mere mortals to pluck, for only gods can take it out of
the ground safely.
When he spoke these words, Odysseus realized that this was no
ordinary young man, but Hermes the messenger of the gods. He ate
the molly plant and went on his way.
Soon he came to the house in the woods that was guarded by wild
beasts. Circes lovely singing voice drifted out through the window, and
Odysseus walked boldly past the beasts and into the house. Inside the
beautiful witch greeted him and told him to sit down and try some of
her soup. While she was heating it, she slipped some magic potion into
the broth, for she intended to turn Odysseus into a pig like the others.
She gave the soup to him, he drank it all down, and then she took out
her wand and rapped the table with it.
Now be off with you to the sty, pig-face, she cried.
Odysseus did not turn into a pig, but instead leaped to his feet,
drew his sword and rushed at Circe. She, terrified, let out a shriek and
fell to his feet begging for mercy.
Please great lord do not take such offense. It was just my
strange sense of humor. It comes from living alone for so long, here in
the woods with nothing but wild beasts for company. It is many years
since I have seen a strong brave man like you.
Odysseus was watching to see that she did not try any more of
her tricks. She called her servant girls and commanded them to
prepare a bath for their visitor. They brought hot and cold water and
mixed the bath until it was just right. When Odysseus had bathed and
rested, he found that they had prepared a delicious meal for him.

Come, why do you look so sad? asked Circe. Let us eat

together and wash the food down with honeyed wine.
How can a leader eat, asked Odysseus, when he knows that
his companions are living outside in the muddy pigsty?
When he spoke these words, Circe knew that there was no use
pretending any longer that she was anything other than a witch. She
went out to the pigsty and rubbed a magic ointment into the animals.
Then she waved her wand and they began to change back into men,
only younger and better looking than they were before. They began to
weep, for what they had been through was truly terrible.
When they had recovered, Odysseus went back to the ship to fetch the
rest of his men. They were all united at Circes house and sat down to a
wonderful feast of celebration.
The Greeks stayed with the witch Circe for an entire month and she
didnt try any more of her magic tricks on them. One morning
Odysseus spoke to her, Oh beautiful enchantress too long have we
enjoyed your hospitality. We must continue our journey to our home on
the rocky island of Ithaca, but unfortunately we are completely lost. We
do not know these seas. Can you direct us by the safest route?
Circe replied, Lord Odysseus, if it were up to me, I would keep
you here always but I understand that you must be on your way to
your home and your lovely wife, Queen Penelope. There is no safe
route for you and your men to return home, for when you leave here,
you must pass through a narrow straight between the rocks of Scylla
and the whirlpool of Charybdis. Both are perilous for Scylla is a manyarmed monster that yelps like a dog. If you sail close to her cliffs, she
will reach down and grab some of your men and shove them into her
mouth. But if you sail too close to the whirlpool of Charybdis, your
entire boat will be sunk down to the bottom of the sea and all of you
will drown. It is a terrible choice to make but you are a leader so plot
your course as you see best. Next, if the gods permit you to pass
through that dire strait, you will come to the Island of the Sun where
the great sun god, Lord Apollo, keeps his herd of sacred cows. Do as I
say steer clear of the Island and do not land there. Nothing and
nobody escapes the eyes of Apollo as he looks down from the sky. If
you value your lives, avoid his island!

Odysseus and his men said farewell to Circe and sailed on their way.
After three days, just as she had foretold, they reached the narrow
passage that she had described. Up on the cliffs they could hear the
monster Scylla, yelping like a dog that has been left tied up for too
long. As they drew nearer, they could hear the terrible gurgling sound
of the whirlpool, Charybdis.
This is indeed a terrible choice, thought Odysseus, but is it a
lesser evil to lose some of my men, than for all of us to drown? I must
therefore chart my course closer to the cliffs than the whirlpool.
He did not tell his men about Scylla, in case they lost heart and
put down their oars. All his mens eyes were on the dreadful whirlpool,
gurgling like a cauldron. The men rowed as hard they could, but as
they passed beneath Scylla, she reached down to the ship. Odysseus
fought her with his spear, desperately trying to stab at her arms, but
he could not prevent her from snatching up six of his men. The others
rowed on, crying for their companions.
Once they passed through the strait, they saw the Island of the
Sun, just as Circe had predicted.

Thank heavens for land! cried the men.

Odysseus tried to tell them it was no good.
They must not land, but sail on for Circe
had warned him of terrible danger should
they set foot on the island belonging to
the great sun god, Lord Apollo.
Are you a slave driver? cried out
Lord Eurylochus. In your rush to reach
home, you deny us all rest. We are still
grieving for our six lost companions.
You cannot order us to sail on. We will surely die of sadness and
exhaustion.
Seeing that the men meant rebellion, Odysseus allowed the ship
to land with great misgiving in his heart. They found that the island
was covered in green fields, and that fat cattle were grazing. The men
waited for Odysseus to fall asleep and then killed two cows and ate

roast meat on the beach. When the sun rose in the morning, bright
Apollo saw what they had done, and said to Zeus, who is Lord of all the
gods.
Great Lord I am wronged. Those rascals who crew the ship of
that tricky Greek, Odysseus, have killed the sacred cattle that bring joy
to my heart. If you will not punish them, I shall go down to the land of
the dead and light up the gloomy underworld. No more shall I shine in
the skies above the world.
When Zeus heard these words he replied, It is indeed a crime to take
what rightly belongs the gods. When these men set sail tomorrow, I
shall hit their boat with a burning thunderbolt.
The next day, Odysseus told his men to set sail. When they were
out at sea, the sun disappeared behind a black cloud. The dark skies
filled with lightening and an electric flash shot down from the hand of
Lord Zeus and hit their boat, ripping it into two. All the men fell into the
raging sea. Odysseus clung for his life to the broken mast of the ship,
and somehow survived the storm. The sun shined once again on the
now calm waters, and Odysseus saw land. Using his last strength, he
swam into the shore and staggered onto the beach, where he fell
down, exhausted.