Illustration of Odysseus tied to a ship's mast

The Odyssey

by Homer

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Student Question

How does Circe recognize Odysseus in The Odyssey?

Quick answer:

Odysseus arrives at Circe's. Hermes had told him to draw his blade and threaten her when she tried to turn him into a pig. Instead, she pleads with him and says, "Surely you are adventurous Odysseus..." and goes on to say what Hermes had foretold about his coming to her island.

Expert Answers

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When Odysseus is on his way to Circe's home, Hermes gives him an herb called moly, and he tells Odysseus that it will protect him against her magic and prevent him from being turned into a pig like his crew were.  (This is actually where the expression "holy moly" comes from!)  Odysseus arrives at Circe's and she gives him a cup to drink from, and when he finishes, she flicks her wand at him and orders him off to the sties with his fellows.  Instead, however, he draws his blade and moves as though he is going to kill her, just as Hermes told him to do, and she begs him to spare her life.  She says, "Surely you are adventurous Odysseus, who the god of the golden wand, the killer of Argus, always declared would come upon his way from Troy, -- he and his swift black ship."  In other words, Hermes (the god to whom she alludes) has foretold the coming of Odysseus to Circe, and she recalls his words now.  She would be aware that the Trojan war has ended, and so it would make sense, according to what Hermes foretold to her, that this man is Odysseus on his way home.

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