Circe der Sonnen tochter · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Circe der Sonnen tochter
Subject: Circe; Important Women; Famous Women; Ulysses; Greek Mythology; Roman Mythology; Transformation; Magic
Period: 1500-1550;
Geographic: Aetheum; Italy
Description: Circe, the daughter of the Sun, is depicted on the right side of this engraving. Boccaccio explains that Circe was skilled in the art of magic and would often turn people who landed on her shores into animals. When Ulysses and his men happened upon Circe, she transformed Ulysses’ companions into beasts. They are depicted in the engraving with their bodies still in human form, while their heads are changed into animals. The men, in order from left to right, are depicted with the heads of a stag, a rabbit, a pig and a lion. Ulysses is the one man among them that is still completely in his human form. Ulysses threatens Circe with his sword, and she eventually changes his companions back into their original forms.
Image Creator: Joerg Breu (Engraver)
Type: Text; Woodcut Engraving
Identifier: mta:18328
Language: ger
Source Name: Ein schöne Cronica oder Hystoribuch von den fürnämlichsten Weybern [A beautiful chronicle or history book of reputable women]
Parent Collection: 1543 Stayner
Image: mta_18328_OBJ.png