In Greek mythology, Circe (pronounced /ˈsɜrsiː/; Greek Κίρκη
Kírkē "falcon") is a minor goddess of magic (or sometimes a
nymph, witch, enchantress or sorceress) living on the island
of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus in
Homer's Odyssey.
By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of
the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid, and the sister of Aeetes, the
keeper of the Golden Fleece, and Pasiphae, the Wife of King
Minos and mother of the Minotaur.[1] Other accounts make her
the daughter of Hecate.[2]
Circe transformed her enemies, or those who offended her, into
animals through the use of magical potions. She was renowned
for her knowledge of drugs and herbs.
That Circe also purified the Argonauts for the death of
Apsyrtus, as related in Argonautica,[3] may reflect early
tradition.[4]...
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（Κίρκη), a mythical sorceress, whom Homer calls a fair-
locked goddess, a daughter of Helios by the oceanid Perse,
and a sister of Aeetes. (Od. 10.135.) She lived in the
island of Aeaea; and when Odysseus on his wanderings came to
her island, Circe, after having changed several of his
companions into pigs, became so much attached to the
unfortunate hero, that he was induced to remain a whole year
with her. At length, when he wished to leave her, she
prevailed upon him to descend into the lower world to
consult the seer Teiresias. After his return from thence,
she explained to him the dangers which he would yet have to
encounter, and then dismissed him. (Od. lib. x.--xii.; comp.
Hyg. Fab. 125.) Her descent is differently described by the
poets, for some call her a daughter of Hyperion and Aerope
(Orph. Argon. 1215), and others a daughter of Aeetes and
Hecate. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 3.200.) According to
Hesiod (Hes. Th. 1011) she became by Odysseus the mother of
Agrius. The Latin poets too make great use of the story of
Circe, the sorceress, who metamorphosed Scylla and Picus,
king of the Ausonians. (Ov. Met. 14.9, &c.) - A Dictionary
of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith,
Ed.
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