Penelope \ Circe
ca. 1200 BC
Odysseus ran into one problem after another while trying to sail
home from the Trojan War. Storms, monsters, cannibals, enchantments, you name it. It ultimately him took ten years to complete his journey. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope (below) waited patiently for him to arrive the whole time.
After
Odysseus was blown off course, his ship landed on the the island of Aeaea,
the home of the witch Circe. (right) His crew explored the island and stumbled
across her palace, but they behaved so badly that she turned them all
into swine. All but one, who had a bad feeling that this strange lady
was trouble. This
survivor escaped and warned Odysseus. Odysseus then stomped over there
and forced Circe to return his crew to their original forms.
Odysseus stayed with Circe another year during which she warned him
about the perils he might encounter in his travels and described
other quests he might pursue. In what seems to have been a busy year,
she bore Odysseus several sons, including Telegonus who accidentally
killed Odysseus many years later because he thought he was someone else.
