Circe and the Potions of Forgetfulness. Representations of Book X of the Odyssey on Greek Pottery

Abstract

Metamorphosis is a radical transformation of structure or physiology that entails a change of state. In Book X of the Odyssey, this process is significant in literary, anthropological, and sociological terms, as it refers to cultural and social codes that connect certain imaginaries and behaviors of Ancient Greece. Through a literary and iconographic analysis that also draws on methodologies from art history and comparative literature, this article argues that pottery painters –mainly of Attic white-ground and black- and red-figure vases– take this motif as the most representative element of the Homeric narrative in order to depict the liminal stage represented by Circe and her feminipharmic powers. It is further argued that painters repeatedly use, as a visual device, the intermediate stage of metamorphosis: the human-animal condition of Odysseus’ companions, who find themselves in a transitional state, midway between pig and human. The epic narrative, both in its oral and visual forms, reflects a social and political concern, namely the dangers of excess wine consumption. It also speaks of the confrontation between the order of masculine heroism and the powers of feminine magic.