The Bewitching Queen
King Odysseus and his crew, in their tireless journey to get back home to Ithaca, have just landed on the island of Aeaea, home of the goddess Circe. Beat down and low on morale, our hero must push on. Odysseus sends a group to scout and they stumble upon Circe's palace, only to be turned into swine. A single man, Eurylochus, who feared a trap, stayed behind and witnessed the transformation of his brethren. Eurylochus sprints back to tell Odysseus of what has happened. Odysseus instructs Eurylochus to guard the ship, and off Odysseus went to save his crew.
As I look down on the palace of Circe, the bewitching queen who turned my crew to swine, I see smoke rising from the raised bronze pit on her marble steps. Hidden in a rocky hilltop, I scan the marble-clad palace. Surrounded by shanty stables and free-roaming creatures, I spot my men wallowing in a fenced pen, their clothes strewn about the mud! I spot another fire in the distance and suspect it to be an encampment of lost sailors who might also fall for the spell of Circe, if they haven’t already. I descend my perch and make my way towards the palace, bronze spear in hand.
As I draw closer, the god of the golden wand, the giant-killer, Hermes, steps into my path. As I bow to pay respects, he moves in to restore my stance and grasps my hand. “I understand your quest to restore the dignity of your men, but you will not succeed without the aid of my flower. This flower alone is effective against the lesser nymphs, but to render the potions and spells of Circe worthless it must be activated with the tear of an Aeaean house nymph. Take it, but find your tear.” I take the flower and head towards the second pillar of smoke, sure that some of Circe’s house nymphs are closing in on the other encampment.
Hermes by Sir W.B. Richmond painting, 1886
Hylas and the Nymphs by John William Waterhouse, 1896
Entering a wood, I hear the distant giggling of the house nymphs entertaining the unsuspecting sailors. I race towards the encampment, intent on arriving before the soothing words and appealing bodies of the nymphs can entice the men. I duck behind a log, regain my breath, and pop a petal from the plant into my mouth. Before I step into the clearing I’m greeted by one of the many nymphs, and allow her silky touch to wash over me. Although the power of the petal rejects her magic, her appearance is almost enough to divert my mission. I give her the plant as a sign of affection, and off we venture away from the group of mesmerized seamen. It is said that as long as the nymphs are touching a man, he is spellbound.
As we lie in a secluded patch, I speak openly. “Beautiful maiden, understand that I’ve not truly fallen for your spell, as I’ve been anointed by Zeus himself to fulfill a prophecy. My mother Circe is to be slain by the men in this encampment, and I’m here to deliver your duties. You and your fellow nymphs must take the men by hand and lure them into the sea, drowning them and yourselves in a bid to save my mother, your queen.” The nymph, still holding her flower, sheds a tear directly onto the stigma of the plant. She returns the beautiful flower and hugs me goodbye. I retreat to a treeline and watch as the nymphs whisper to each other, and grabbing their sailors by the hand, lure them into the moonlit sea. I watch as all their bodies melt into the gentle black waves… A sin against my seafaring brothers, but a necessary sacrifice to save my own.
I make my way towards the palace, intent on saving my crew.
Author’s Note: I took the story of Odysseus and his men on Circe’s Island and injected a side quest. In the Odyssey, Hermes just gives Odysseus the plant that makes him impervious to the spells and potions of Circe, and off he goes to save his men. In this spin-off, Odysseus must embark on a quest to activate the plant. I read Fagles translation of the Odyssey to try and pick a good time to branch off into a side story. Quite a few elements of my first two paragraphs are reminiscent of Fagles translation. I used his description of the environment and Hermes to try and make a smooth transition into my tale. The part of his translation I pulled from was book X of the Odyssey, The Bewitching Queen of Aeaea. I also took Circe’s house maidens from the original translation and made them into nymphs that wander the island, drawing men to Circe’s palace. Readers can transition back into the true Odyssey story with Odysseus making his way towards the palace of Circe. A little bit of botany, but the stigma is a female reproductive organ of a flowering plant that acts as a receptacle for pollen… No pollen here, just nymph tears.
Also, since books IX-XII of the twenty-four book Odyssey are narrated by Odysseus in the first-person, I figured it best to stick with that POV. The rest of the books are told by an omniscient third-person narrator.