Da horta à colheita do poder: Circe de Homero a Madeline Miller

Abstract

This dissertation presents a comparative study of the character of Circe in Homer’s Odyssey (8th–7th century BCE) and the contemporary novel Circe (2018) by American author Madeline Miller. The modern reinterpretation of Circe reimagines the Homeric figure, giving her a complexity that goes beyond the traditional archetype of the wicked goddess, known for turning men into animals. Instead, Miller portrays Circe as a goddess-sorceress who manipulates phármaka (φάρμακα, drugs, medicines) and serves as the narrator and author of her own story. This research draws on the discursive process described by scholar Stéphanie Madureira, who shows how the myth of Circe has been reinterpreted since the Odyssey, transforming her into an icon of female subversion. This study demonstrates that Circe’s portrayal in Miller’s version preserves her traditional aspects, such as her voice and tékhne (τέχνη, manual skill, craft), but what prevails is not artifice, but rather feminine assertion. These nuances are capitalized on by Miller to reframe the character as a woman who tells her own story, controls her own body, and defends herself from male figures