Week 2 Reading Diary: The Odyssey

For my first reading, I chose to read Homer’s Odyssey translated by Tony Kline. My favorite part of the passage was when Odysseus and his crew arrived at Circe’s house. For my storytelling post I may want to write about the part describing the animals that she had enchanted, and were tending to her. The specific quote I had in mind was, “[t]hey found Circe’s house of polished stone, in a clearing in the forest glades. Round it wolves and mountain lions prowled, bewitched by Circe with her magic drugs. Instead of rushing to attack my men, they rose on their hind legs and wagged their tails."

Circe, By Wright Barker

I think this would be a fun quote to center a story around. I could possibly give a backstory as to how all these animals ended up under her control, or about why Circe felt to the need to enchant them. I think I may want to paint Circe as a lonely goddess who needed some company, so she chose these fantastic beasts to tame. Her house is tucked up into the woods, on a lonely island, so I could use that to detail how the other gods and goddesses ignored her, and never visited. The Odyssey paints her in a negative light, saying that Circe just wanted to trap people in her home, so I think I may play on that. I may want to show that people only think of her that way, but she is kind and caring, and there is more to her than just potions and spells. I may also incorporate Odysseus, saying that Circe fell in love with him when he came to her island, but had to let him go on his way. She did not want to keep him there, when he did not really want to be there with her.