Circe is the Greek goddess who serves as the title character in Madeline Miller’s fantasy novel Circe.
Published in 2018, the novel retells episodes from Greek mythology from Circe’s perspective. In ancient sources, especially Homer’s Odyssey, Circe is a powerful enchantress who lives on the island of Aeaea and transforms Odysseus’s companions into pigs. Miller expands that brief mythological role into a life story covering Circe’s family, exile, relationships, and development of magical skills.
The novel draws on figures including Helios, Pasiphaë, Daedalus, Odysseus, and Telemachus. It is a work of mythological fantasy rather than a direct translation of one ancient text. Miller’s earlier novel, The Song of Achilles, likewise reimagines a famous Greek myth from a focused personal viewpoint.
A common error is to identify Circe as an Olympian goddess such as Athena or Aphrodite. In the myths that inspire the novel, Circe is associated with the older generation of divine beings and is best known as a sorceress and daughter of the sun god Helios.