OdyCirce

OdyCirce
GENERAL
The Odyssey
Fate
Circe
EPIC: The Musical
Hades
Character	Odysseus
Character	Circe
Canonical?	Canon
Status of Relationship	Allies, Former Enemies, Lovers
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Het

1

OdyCirce is the het ship between Odysseus and Circe from the The Odyssey fandom.

Canon

Odysseus and his crew found the Aeaean island where Circe lives whilst escaping another obstacle trying to kill them. They were laying to sleep on harbour for two days and two nights before Odysseus noticed smoke coming out of a house nearby, the only building within his sight. Being well-hidden in a tall forest, Odysseus contemplated whether he should seek out the person living in that house, but decides it's for the best for him to just go back to the ship and tend to his men, planning to send some of them to investigate first. After having served them dinner and slept for another night, Odysseus decides that it was the right time to tell his men about the house he saw and that they were trapped on an island. The men were not happy to hear that they're not alone, considering how they were almost killed the last two times strangers offered them hospitality, but Odysseus decides to split his crew into two equal groups both led by a captain.

The men heard that there was a woman inside, singing beautifully and decided to investigate, but when the goddess invited them in, only one stayed behind to tell Odysseus what happened. The man, Eurylochus, saw all the other men forget why they came their whilst drunk, then Circe turned them into mindless pigs. When Eurylochus ran back to report this to Odysseus, he was so distraught that Odysseus had to force words out of him to understand what had happened. Hearing the story, Odysseus did not waste much time and took his sword and bow, marching towards Circe's house. Though Eurylochus tried to convince his captain that he will not come back, Odysseus saw it as his responsibility to save his men, ordering Eurylochus to guard the ship while he's gone.

But before Odysseus could enter, the Olympian god Hermes took pity on him, warned him about Circe's raw magic. He tells the mortal that he alone cannot free the men from their state, giving him a rare herb that renders her magic useless on the man who bears it. Hermes also cares to warn Odysseus what Circe does to her prisoners: First she drugs them with a wicked concoction, then she puts a spell on them. Hermes advices Odysseus to jump at Circe with his sword in hand, acting like he wouldn't hesitate to kill her. Hermes tells Odysseus that Circe will react to that with lust, advicing him that he should accept her advances should Odysseus want her to free his men, else she will use the opportunity of having Odysseus without the herb on his person to curse him anyway.

As Odysseus approached Circe, she had not heard any of Hermes' advice and treats the hero like she would treat any other prisoner. But just as Circe's poison showed no effect on Odysseus and she assumed she could turn him into a pig just as easily, Odysseus jumped at her like Hermes told him to. Circe in turn would show herself at the most pitiful, throwing herself at his knees and demanding to know who he is and why he could counter her spell. But then she realized that only the cunning Odysseus could do these, Hermes had told her that Odysseus would visit her after leaving Troy. Wasting no time, Circe tried to pursuade Odysseus to go to bed with her and "befriend" each other, Odysseus tells her that he will only accept if she promises that she will be of no harm to him from this point onwards.

After Circe swore the oath, Odysseus went to bed with her as he himself had promised. After that, Circe began to show real hospitality to Odysseus, but he was still not ready to believe that she had earned his trust. Circe notices that when having dinner with him, wondering why he still doesn't trust her after everything she had done to make him feel comfortable around her. Odysseus reminds her that she had still not restored his friends to human form or even let him see them. With no words, Circe went to her pig-styes and spread another drug through the rows of pigs, then turning them human again one by one.

Not only did Circe restore them, but Odysseus noticed that Circe's second spell made them younger and healthier than he remembered them. When they reunite, Circe approaches Odysseus, genuinely sorry for causing him so much strife and giving him advice on how he should continue on with his journey. Upon bringing his men back to his ship, Odysseus told them what Circe adviced them to do, hide their treasure in a cave, then come back to her. But when Eurylochus cast doubt about Circe's intentions, Odysseus decided to return to her immediately with his entire troop. But when they returned, they saw the remaining men were so happy with Circe that they were crying. Circe told them that they had worn themselves out on their journey and should stay with her a little longer.

However, though Odysseus noticed how fast the days were flying by, by the time his men talked him into returning home, he realized that he had wasted an entire year on Circe's island. Conflicted, as he grew to genuinely care about her, he reminds of the promise that she shall be of no harm to him further, asking her for help to returning home. Circe tells him that they shall leave whenever they please, but then tells him that another journey awaits Odysseus: He needs to enter the Underworld and speak to the shade of the prophet Tiresias. When Odysseus is visibly terrified of that, Circe reassures him that he shall only open his sail and the North Wind shall carry him where he needs to go.

Telling him how to properly honor the dead when he arrives at his destination, Tiresias shall appear before him, giving him detailed directions to return home. However, as they prepared for their journey, they don't notice their youngest, Elpenor, falling off of Circe's roof and dying as he hits the ground. So they had to return to Circe's island home to give Elpenor a proper burial.

Fanon

Though Circe is well-known in pop culture, few are aware that she and Odysseus had an affair after Odysseus managed to overwhelm her. Thus, a number of fanwork based on the original story is in support of the pairing, but mostly as a one-sided or temporary affair, as people still want Odysseus to return home to Penelope.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Circe/Odysseus tag on AO3

Circe/Odysseus (Fate) tag on AO3

Circe/Odysseus (Circe) tag on AO3

Circe/Odysseus (EPIC) tag on AO3

Circe/Odysseus (Hades) tag on AO3