Circe

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity. 

ACTIVITY: “Villains Reclaimed”

Choose an antagonistic monster from The Odyssey (e.g., the Cyclopes, Scylla, Charybdis, the Sirens, or the Lotus Eaters) and reimagine their story. Think critically about this antagonist’s motivations for attacking or working against Odysseus and other Greek heroes. What might have led them to this point?

Then, write a short paragraph explaining this background or new character arc and present it to the class.

Some additional questions to consider include:

• What role might Fate play in the legend of this monster?
• What powers does this monster have? How did they get them?
• Try imagining the heroes as the villains. How might the monster have been cast out by the gods or by other characters?

Teaching Suggestion: Encourage students to think creatively about the monster’s origin story by comparing and contrasting Miller’s version of Circe with the traditional Circe seen in The Odyssey. You can also provide this list of monsters for students.

Paired Text Extension: 

Compare and contrast another monster’s story between the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey and the Robert Fagles translation. Then, come up with your own tale for that monster, just as Madeline Miller does for Circe.

Use the following questions to guide you as you explore the character you have chosen:

• How are these characters portrayed similarly and differently in each translation?
• What role does the monster play in the greater story of The Odyssey?
• Why might the character speak and react the way they do?
• How do these different treatments of characters compare to the way that Madeline Miller treated Circe?

Teaching Suggestion: Give students time to read through each version in class. It may also be helpful to have three or four groups with one character assigned to each group so that students who feel less creative can focus more on comparing and contrasting while the others can work on reimagining the character’s story. The group members can compile their work for a presentation to the rest of the class.