Circe

by Marc Mangum

Circe, daughter of the sun, was a sorceress best known for her ability to turn men into animals with her magic wand. The daughter of Perse and Helios, and whose daughter is Aega (goddess of the sun) she is remembered for her encounter with Odysseus and his men, and renowned for her knowledge of magic and poisonous herbs.

When Odysseus and his men landed in Aeaea, his crew later met with Circe and were turned into pigs. Circe’s spells however had no effect on Odysseus who earlier was given an herb by Hermes to resist her power. Circe realizing she was powerless over him lifted the spell from the crew and welcomed them in her home. After about a year when Odysseus leaves she warns them of the sirens they will encounter on their journey. Circe and Odysseus also bore a child together named Telegonus who later ruled over the Tyrsenians.

Circe also has the powers for spiritual purification as she purifies the Argonauts for the murder of Apsyrtus.

“Circe.” Encyclopedia Mythica.

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/circe.html

[Accessed September 23rd, 2003.]

Mythological Figure of the Day: Dionysus

Also known as the Roman god, Bacchus. God of wine, agriculture and fertility. Central figure in the Eleusian Mysteries (along with the Earth Goddess Demeter.) Dionysus was also the god of intoxication and of Dramatic arts. He is something of a mysterious and Christlike figure about whom stories are varied and conflicting. Among the myths told of Dionysus are the following: He was the son of Zeus and Semele (a mortal woman.) Semele was struck dead upon seeing Zeus in all his thunderous glory, and Zeus then gestated the unborn Dionysus in his thigh. Thus is he known as “twice born.” Dionysus is said to have, upon adulthood, undergone a journey to the underworld where he successfully pled for his mother’s return to the mortal world. There are stories of his wanderings before officially being accepted as an Olympian god, presumably due to his mortal lineage. There are several in which entire cities are destroyed or reduced to intoxicated madness after failure to acknowledge the divinity of Dionysus. There is a very strange tale in particular in which a disguised Dionysus is a passenger aboard a ship whose crew bear him ill will. He beseeches Zeus to come to his aid and the elder god sends such a violent storm that all aboard are forced to abandon the vessel. Rather than allow them to drown, Dionysus transforms them all into dolphins. Dionysus is also said to have rescued Ariadne when she was abandoned by Theseus and to have made her his lover and consort. The Maneads were the mythical madwomen who worshipped in the service of Dionysus in his capacity as god of wine. They are said to have roamed the wilds in intoxicated mania, ripping men limb from limb and devouring them. It was a band of Maneads who were responsible for the death of Orpheus, after they heard his lament for dead Eurydice.

(Culled from several sources as well as my own recollections)

# posted by corbid @ 3:50 AM

(there’s also bowie.com, but that’s a bit expensive…)

http://teenagewildlife.com

Dark Labyrinth

A sequel to the Bowie movie fanfictionwise

Sisyphus:

In Greek mythology Sisyphus (pronounced “sis’-i-fuhs”), the sly son of Aeolus and king of Corinth, outwitted even Death.

When Death came to get him, Sisyphus bound him in chains, preventing everyone from dying until Zeus rescued Death.

Sisyphus then went to Hades, having instructed his wife to give him an improper burial. He was allowed to return to Earth in order to settle this matter, but refused to return to Hades.

When Death finally claimed him, Sisyphus was condemned eternally to roll a heavy stone to the top of a hill, only to have it fall back each time.

God shakes his golden curls and laughs and says

he doesn’t believe in you either

there’s no proof that you exist

you are too paradoxical and

insubstantial as rhetoric

meaningless as words

a house of cards

you fall at a touch

an onion,coreless

peel away to the center there is nothing

no one

you are made of air

perhaps in truth

you were never there