When you read Odysseia, known as one of Homer’s great works, you will see countless characters. In this work, which tells about the adventures of Odysseus and his friends returning from the Trojan War, you may be interested in a character who remained in the shadow of a man: the witch-goddess Kirke, who hosted Odysseus and his friends on his holy island – or imprisoned – for a year.

Especially after the book Ben Kirke written by Madeline Miller, this goddess, a character that faded into the dusty pages of history, attracted the attention of recent readers. Although it is difficult to observe the woman who was positioned as witch, dark and evil in front of the man in past myths and narrate the events by constructing them from her mouth, it also gives us the chance to evaluate the events from a different perspective. In this respect, the book’s ability to look at us from a different shore and its more moderate approach to women in both mythology and mythology offered a different option for new readers and mythology enthusiasts.

Let’s come to this story of the noble witch Helios, who was rescued from the dusty shelves and shining again … When her family is examined, Helios, who is a Titan, and Okeanos, who is also another Titan, appear as one of four children from the sea nympha Perseis. These four brothers, the son of a father who lost his old power after the great war and a mother who could not break away from water, have a different power as of their time: They know the language of plants. This herbal science, which has been described with various names such as husband-wife medicine, poison, and magic, and which caused women to be burned and stigmatized as unbelievers even thousands of years after these narratives, is a rebellion against the divine power and might of its time. Because the gods do not need to resort to them to get what they want, but these noble brothers of Helios possess a knowledge that even the gods do not know. This causes them to be labeled dangerous. In addition, these beings that look like human beings and speak like human beings even though they come from titans cause people to be afraid of them. As explained in the Odyssey:

“We left and finally reached Aiaie Island,

Kirke used to sit there, pretty certain,

scary goddess with human voice“

With this definition, it is necessary to know that the other three brothers of Kirke are not very good beings in the Greek world: One of them is the sorceress Aietes, the king of Colchis, whom Lason kidnapped his golden coat and killed his son; his wife is Pasiphae, the other is Perses, who caused family disaster for power. Having a family tree full of such negative examples, Kirke is also known for turning the men who came to his island into animals, which he did to the soldiers who came with Odysseus. However, there is a situation that is ignored here, or rather, is not mentioned in order to highlight the witch woman, which is the greed of these men. To punish these greedy men, Kirke turns them into pigs – there is also a good Ghibli movie to reference: Spirited Away.

Of course, Kirke falls in love with Odysseus, who is depicted as cunning and handsome, as would be expected in a male literature, and tells him that he will turn his friends into old disguise in exchange for staying with him. Odysseus promises and keeps his word for a year. During this time, although she lives like a king on the island of the woman, she cannot bear the pressure of her surroundings and the longing of her wife and son who are waiting for her at home and decides to leave the island. It is also possible to see how much Kirke helped Odysseus here. He tells him how his return home will take place and does his best to help with the journey. According to the ongoing narratives, the children he made from the outgoing Odysseus became Telegonos, who founded the city of Tusculum, and Latinos, who was accepted as the father of the Latins. Even though Kirke takes place as a witch in all narratives, she is actually a woman who does not spare the help of those who come to her. He even helped his nephew Medea.

When the character of Kirke is examined, her connection with both wild animals and soil and plants may cause her to be positioned like a land goddess. It has a connection with Kybele or Artemis, the goddess of Anatolia, in terms of character and features. In addition, considering the period when Odyssey was written, the Gilgamesh Epic, which has reached many people, has an effect on the myth of Kirke. Kirke is the intertwining of Siduri in Gilgamesh and Ishtar. This makes her duality clear: she is both a healer woman who helps everyone, and a witch who spells, is dark and harms men.

In other words, Kirke, which Homer conveyed to us, is that goddess who was declared bad for coming from the heart of Anatolia and the Middle East. In the face of the noble and unique powerful power of men, it is the existence of the woman who takes her source from the soil and tradition. And no matter how he tried to disparage him, he won this conflict with his own compassion and good will.

“I know, you suffered so much in the sea with fish,

you saw so much evil from enemy men on land,

but come and eat those food, drink those wines

let your heart come alive all over again,

be bold like when you first broke up,

from that fatherland, that rocky Ithake!

SOURCE

Odysseia- Homeros

Ben, Kirke- Madeline Miller

Hey Koca Yurt- Halikarnas Balıkçısı

Mitoloji Sözlüğü- Azra Erhat