Circe
By Madeline Miller
Madeline Miller does a genius job presenting ancient Greek
Gods in the 21st century from a woman’s perspective. She connects it all with a sense of bravery
and courage. Circe is a Greek nymph goddess
yet she was not up to flawless nymph perfection. That flaw was her strength. In the beginning she showed a sense of
courage to console Prometheus as he stood alone after being punished for his
foolish love for mortals. Her father Helios,
god of the sun was not happy about this mischievous escapade. Circe’s flaw gave her a mind of her own. Like many nymph goddesses she learned the art
of healing apothecary (pharmacy) that evolved into witchcraft as she added spells to her
potion. Later Circe and cousin nymph Scylla
get into a nymph cat fight that ends with Circe putting a spell on Scylla,
turning her into a dreaded monster of the sea.
That deed found Circe in her dad’s doghouse through to the end of
goddess days.
Banned in exile to an island Circe had to teach herself
survival skills. She tamed the wild
animals and brought the whole island under her spell. Not just the occupants but the island
itself. She cast a spell that caused the
island, Aiaia to be a shield against Athena. In her survival mode she made the
island her home in the same way a 21st century woman would do with
her household. Nesting, a trait in women
pulled through time. It warmed up the
book.
Yet to set the book afire the love triangles leaves Pythagoras at a loss for his hypotenuse. Odysseus was the one mortal to win the heart
and loins of Circe. He leaves her on the
island alone and pregnant to head home to Ithica and his wife Penelope. Circe’s son grown son of Odysseus then leaves Aiaia for Ithica to find his
father and accidently kills him in the process. He then returns to Aiaia with Odysseus’ wife
Penelope and her son for safe harbor from the toxic vengeance of Greek god
rivalry. There, Athena finally breaks
through and makes a deal with Circe involving her son. Leaving Penelope and her son with Circe who
has fallen in love with Penelope’s mortal son.
All this heat leaves Circe with a decision to make. And you have to read the book to find out how
that went.
When I was young it seemed Greek mythology was on the high
school curriculum to impart wisdom. They
failed… because they missed the mark.
They did not pull the quips of wisdom through time the way Madeline
Miller does.
