Odysseus and his men, now free from Circe’s curse and wrapped in her blessings, were welcomed with open arms to stay in Circe’s palace for as long as they liked. Because Circe had sworn that they would be safe, Odysseus readily accepted her offer, as they were incredibly weary from their arduous journey back to Ithaca. The men that Circe had previously turned into pigs rejoiced at the sight of the rest of their company joining them at Circe’s palace.
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| (Circe, by John William Waterhouse) |
Living in the ultimate comfort and safety, the men stayed with Circe for many months, regaining their strength for the continuation of their journey back to Ithaca. There was an incredible bounty available to them: sweet wine and delicious food. They never went without feeling completely satisfied, and everyone was happy.
After a year in such lavishness had passed, a few of Odysseus’ men took him aside and reminded him of the journey that awaited them, a journey to their home in Ithaca. Odysseus’ heart wrenched at the memory of his beloved home, and so he agreed that they would soon set off to Ithaca.
That night, after a long feast of meat and sweet wine, Odysseus went to Circe’s bed as he always did, but this time, he fell to his knees and begged, “Circe, keep the promise you gave and send me on my way, since my spirit is eager for home, and so too are my friends’, who weary me with their grief whenever you happen to be absent.”
Enraged that, after all of her hospitality, Odysseus and his men did not wish to stay with her forever, Circe tried to come up with a ploy to get revenge. She realized that she had fallen in love with Odysseus, but she knew that he would not let his men go on to Ithaca without her. So, she began plotting to make them stay or to perish for leaving.
“Odysseus!” she cried out, “I know how you long for your home of Ithaca, but have I not given you a new home here in my palace?”
Odysseus could only thank the goddess for her hospitality and beg her to keep her promise and allow him and his men to leave.
Circe, feeling like she was losing this battle, decided to try a new tactic. Being the sorceress that she was, she fell back to her old stand-by: deception. She began to force tears to well up in her eyes and said, “Well, if that is what will make you happiest, return with your men to your ship at once, but if any of you look back, you will be cursed to sail the seas forever, never returning to your home of Ithaca.”
Thinking that he could easily resist any temptation to look behind him, Odysseus returned to his men and told them that they would shortly be leaving. As they rejoiced, he warned them that they, too, must not look behind them until the island was below the horizon. They swore that they would obey, and so they all walked down to the shore to their ship.
As they approached the ship, they heard a commotion coming from the forest behind them, and all had to try very hard to resist the urge to see what was causing it. A loud female scream was heard, and then complete silence. At this scream, Odysseus recognized it as Circe’s and could not stop himself from whipping his head around to look for her.
When he made eye contact with a mischievous looking Circe, she simply waved her wand and said, “Goodbye, Odysseus, scion of Zeus, son of Laertes. Because of your ungratefulness, you will never again see Ithaca. Though you will roam the seas, you will never find your home, and this island will disappear completely from your minds. Remember next time to be more gracious to those who care for you.”
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Author’s Note:
I decided to rewrite the story of Odysseus seeking to leave Circe's island with a new ending: Circe would curse Odysseus to roam the seas forever and never find his home of Ithaca. In the original story, Circe requires him to go to the house of Hades and Persephone to visit the blind Theban seer, Teiresias, before he goes on his way back to Ithaca. I thought the way he left was a little unceremonious, and the quote of him begging to leave is taken directly from the text. Certainly such hospitality should stir up a little gratefulness, right? So instead of just giving him a mission before he leaves, I made Circe fall in love with Odysseus and become angry at his leaving her. She knows how to get under his skin, so she is able to trick him into being cursed. I contemplated making her do something more drastic, but it seemed too melodramatic. Not that this story is lacking in melodrama...Homer's Odyssey translated by Tony Kline (2004).
I think this was an awesome re-telling of the story, and of course very melodramatic. But, I mean what do you expect, the Greeks didn't have a lot to do anyway. I think the dialogue brought the story to life and made it a little more believable. I think it's harder to further fictionalize something like The Odyssey, especially because this itself is a retelling. Either way I think you did a great job, and the story really kept my attention.
ReplyDeleteThis was so good! I love how you retold the story. I like how you made Circe fall in love with Odysseus and tricked him into sailing the seas forever. It's kind of sad that she would do that though. I get that she was upset that she was leaving but I feel like she could've done something else like begging him to stay or something. But your story was excellent and very well written.
ReplyDeleteThis story caught my attention because it was about Circe. I’m thinking about doing my storybook project about withes and Circe was one of the first with stories that I discovered while doing my research. I liked the twist about Circe falling in love with Odysseus. It really added a nice touch to the story without taking away from the original plot. If someone had never read the story, they could have easily believed that it was a part of the storyline. I liked that you had dialogue in your retelling. It stayed true to the story by making the characters speak the way they would have during the time the Odyssey took place. I also liked that your story kind of had a message at the end. The form that you chose to write in flowed well with this type of story. Overall, I think you did a great job taking this part of The Odyssey and making it your own.
ReplyDeleteLillian,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the way you told the story. It was very well written and you did a great job at telling the story. I like the changes you made to the story like Circe falling in love with Odysseus. It really added to the story I thought. I will look forward to reading more of your stories in the future. Keep up the good work.