Circe

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

In Greek mythology, Circe was renowned for her vast knowledge of drugs and herbs. Through the use of magical potions and a wand she transformed her enemies, or those who offended her, into animals.

She was a minor goddess of magic - or sometimes a nymph, witch, enchantress or sorceress. Some say Circe was exiled to the solitary island of Aeaea by her subjects and her father for ending the life of her husband, the prince of Colchis. Later traditions tell of her leaving or even destroying the island and moving to Italy.

By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the Sun, and Perse, an Oceanid. Her brothers were Aeetes, the keeper of the Golden Fleece, and Perses, and her sister was Pasiphaë, the wife of King Minos and mother of the Minotaur. Other accounts make her the daughter of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft herself.

In Homer's Odyssey, Circe is described as living in a mansion that stands in the middle of a clearing in a dense wood. Around the house prowled strangely docile lions and wolves, the drugged victims of her magic; they were not dangerous, and fawned on all newcomers.

Circe invited Odysseus' crew to a feast of familiar food, a pottage of cheese and meal, sweetened with honey and laced with wine, but also laced with one of her magical potions, and drunk from an enchanted cup. Thus, she turned them all into swine with a wand after they gorged themselves on the food and drink.

The theme of turning men into a variety of animals was elaborated by later writers, especially in Latin. In the Aeneid, Aeneas skirts the Italian island where Circe now dwells, and hears the cries of her many victims, who now number more than the pigs of earlier accounts:

The roars of lions that refuse the chain,
The grunts of bristled boars, and groans of bears,
And herds of howling wolves that stun the sailors' ears

In botany the Circaea are plants belonging to the enchanter's nightshade genus. The name was given by botanists in the late 16th century in the belief that this was the herb used by Circe to charm Odysseus' companions.

Medical historians have speculated that the transformation to pigs was not intended literally but refers to anti-cholinergic intoxication. Symptoms include amnesia, hallucinations, and delusions. The description of "moly" fits the snowdrop, a flower that contains galantamine, which is an anti-cholinesterase and can therefore counteract anti-cholinergics.


Notes:
(1) Circe : Pronounced kírkɛ͜ɛ.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

http://www.thesmartwitch.com/

[Image: Lady Hamilton as Circe (circa 1782) by George Romney. While living in Naples, Emma Hamilto entranced Lord Nelson when his squadron patrolled the Mediterranean. The painter Romney had also fallen under her spell and this painting of her as Circe is one of many he made of her. In the public domain.]