Circe's Tale

The legendary goddess, Circe, is portrayed to her fullest view in Olga Broumas’s masterful poem “Circe.” In Greek mythology, Circe is a masterful sorceress, who lived on the island of Aeaea, where with potions and incantations she was able to turn people into beasts. While Circe's magic did transform men into animals, she never did anything to alter the spirit or soul of a man; rather, she merely transformed his body into that of …

…benefit of herself and others. There are numerous comparisons that could be made between Broumas and Circe, which perhaps is the reason she chose to write this piece of poetry. From her feminist perspective, Broumas may very well be the Circe of her time. Even though it is doubtful that she turned very many men into swine, if she is like most women, speculation could be made that the idea crossed her mind several times.