Circe Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Circe retells the life of the witch from Homer's Odyssey in her own voice. Born the overlooked daughter of the sun Titan Helios, Circe discovers she has the power to transform living things, is exiled to a lonely island and, over centuries, crosses paths with famous figures of myth while learning to stand on her own.
Madeline Miller also wrote The Song of Achilles, which shares this world.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Circe | Narrator, an immortal witch |
| Helios | Her father, the sun Titan |
| Glaucos | Fisherman she transforms |
| Scylla | Nymph Circe turns into a monster |
| Daedalus | Inventor she loves for a time |
| Odysseus | Clever king who stays on her island |
| Telegonus | Her son with Odysseus |
| Penelope and Telemachus | Odysseus's wife and son |
| Athena | Powerful Olympian who wants Telegonus dead |
What is Circe's early life like?
Circe grows up in her father's halls, mocked for her plain looks and thin, human-sounding voice. She secretly comforts the Titan Prometheus while he is being punished for giving fire to mortals. She falls in love with a mortal fisherman, Glaucos, and uses magical herbs to turn him into an immortal sea being. He immediately falls for the beautiful nymph Scylla. Jealous, Circe turns Scylla into a six-headed monster that will devour sailors for centuries.
↑ Back to the topWhy is Circe exiled?
When she admits what she has done, the immortals realize she is a witch, a dangerous new kind of power. Helios exiles her to the island of Aiaia. Alone, she teaches herself witchcraft through herbs, patience and will. She is summoned to Crete to help her sister Pasiphaë give birth to the Minotaur, and there she has an affair with the inventor Daedalus.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens with Odysseus?
Ships stop at Aiaia. After a crew of sailors attacks her, Circe begins turning visiting men into pigs. Then Odysseus arrives, protected by a herb given to him by the messenger Hermes. They become lovers, and he stays a year before going home to Ithaca. Circe gives birth to their son, Telegonus.
↑ Back to the topHow does Circe protect her son?
Athena wants Telegonus dead, foreseeing that he will kill Odysseus. Circe casts a spell over the whole island, holding it with her own strength for years. She even confronts the ancient monster beneath the sea to get its poison for a spear. When Telegonus grows up, he sails to Ithaca to meet his father, and by accident Odysseus is killed by the poisoned spear. Telegonus returns with Penelope and Telemachus.
↑ Back to the topHow does Circe end?
Penelope and Circe come to respect each other, and Circe falls in love with Telemachus. Athena offers Telegonus a kingdom in Italy, and he goes. Circe frees herself from her father's power, turns Scylla to stone to end her suffering, and brews a potion to become mortal. The novel ends with her choosing to live a human life with Telemachus, growing old and one day dying.
↑ Back to the topMore about Circe
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.