Pig Out

Homer's Odyssey, translated into English by Tony Kline. (2004).

"Wow, I can't believe we're gonna meet an actual goddess!" exclaimed Eurylochus. "Thinking about it, when was the last time we even saw a girl at all? This voyage home has turned into the longest boys night ever and — "

Odysseus shushed him. "Be quiet, Eury. We don't know if this goddess named Circe is on our team or an enemy, so we need to proceed with caution. However, I cannot deny the need to investigate. Let's draw straws to see who will go to Circe's home."

The straws decided that Odysseus and Eurylochus would stay behind with the main crew, while twenty-two men went on their trek to the house of Circe. They brought along with them wine as a peace offering and bartering tool. Eurylochus was unhappy with this result and decided to sneak out of the camp to follow the mission group.

After some walking by the group, unknowingly followed by Eurylochus, they reached the large, beautiful gates of Circe's palace. The main group approached the gate, while Eurylochus snuck around the side to try to get a good view. However, the large trees around the estate blocked his view, so he could only listen in while he looked for a secret entrance.

As the group approached Circe's door, the front man of the group rapped on the door with his knuckles. "Hello! We come in peace! We, men of Odysseus, mean no harm and would like to trade wine for food if you are willing."

Eurylochus heard a door open abruptly, and the click and clack of a woman's shoes going down a set of stairs.

A woman's voice, presumably Circe's, responded in a pleasant, yet powerful tone. "You come to my island, my home, and wish to barter with me? No. Those who come to my island are turned into pigs, and the same treatment I shall bestow upon you."

Eurylocus rustled through the brush to try to get a better view, but the noise of his own rustling deafened him to any sounds coming from inside the walls. When he finally found a spot to overlook the entrance, Circe and the rest of the group were gone. At this sight, Eurylochus ran back to camp as fast as he could to report the news.

Out of breath, Eurylochus found Odysseus sharpening his sword. "Odysseus, Odysseus, I come bearing horrible news! That wicked goddess Circe turned our scouting group into pigs using her magic!"

Oddysseus jolted up and examined his freshly honed blade. "Eury, is this true? This is unforgivable. We will march at once and force Circe to turn them back, or lose our lives trying!"

The whole crew then sped off to the gates of Circe's palace in a fit of rage, ready to free their comrades and defeat the one responsible for their suffering.

"Circe! Come out and show yourself!" belted out Odysseus.

The door opened, and Circe, the beautiful goddess, stood face to face with the captain. "Oh! Are you, by chance, Odysseus, leader of the group which found me earlier?"

"Yes, that is my name. Now return our friends to their original forms, you evil witch." Odysseus drew his sword and assumed a battle stance.

As soon as he said that, the scouting group came out of the front door, human as can be. In fact, they looked relatively unscathed, besides being a bit bloated.

"Hey, you guys made it!" said one.

"Come join the party!" yelled another.

Eurylochus was shocked. "Guys, I thought Circe said she was going to turn you into pigs! What happened to you all? Why are you —"

"Turn them into pigs?" Circe interrupted. "That was a figure of speech. I could tell they were hungry so I just wanted to fill them up with as much food as they could eat. Pig out. Get it? And now you come to my house calling me evil? Calling me a witch? Do not expect the same hospitality. I want you all out of my house now."

Despite pleas from the crew that they were hungry, complaints from the scouting crew that Odysseus ruined their feast, and offers from Odysseus to sacrifice Eurylochus for Circe's forgiveness, Circe forced the men to leave the island and continue on their journey back home to Ithaca.

Source: Wikimedia

Author's Note:

I chose to put a spin on Homer's Odyssey, Book X: Odysseus and Circe. The original story has Odysseus and the crew land on Circe's island, sending a scouting group to Circe's house. However, originally, Circe actually does turn the group into pigs, but Eurylochus does not trust Circe so he does not go to their house and reports back to Odysseus. After that, after Odysseus earns the respect of Circe, letting him and his crew stay for a year, feasting and resting before they take off again.

I took these major points in the story and tried to flip each of them around, to create a sort of opposite story. Eurylochus, rather than being keen and observant, is slightly air-headed and gets confused about the situation. Circe is a hospitable host, and decides to let them "pig out" as opposed to morphing them into pigs. Even though this story starts off in a much better situation for Odysseus and his crew, their ending flips from good to bad. My favorite part about writing this story was keeping all of the characters in similar situations, but figuring out how to make their actions completely contradictory to what they did in the original story.