EP 16: Circe - Herbs, Spells & Murder

 ... Welcome to Episode 16, where we linger on the mysterious island of Aeaea with the goddess Circe.

She trafficked in herbs and magical spells, and became infamous for turning sailors who stumbled onto her beaches into wolves, and wolves into swine, and swine into snakes …

Circe’s lasting fame arose during the year the wily Odysseus spent in her company. He had hoped to swiftly return home as the Trojan war ended, but was constantly delayed — and when he encountered Circe, he hardly expected to become her lover ...

Narrated by mythologist and best-selling author, Patrick Garner, Garner's Greek Mythology is unlike any other Greek history series.  Here these divine beings are viewed as if they were anything but mythical...

If you love these podcasts, you'll also enjoy new stories about the gods in Garner's novel Homo Divinitas, now available as an audio book on Amazon.com and Audible.com.

(Musical score includes selections from Fesliyan Studios and Free Sounds Library. Many thanks to both.)

Transcript

PODCAST #16 ... Circe - Herbs, Spells & Murder

Ω

IMAGINE THAT YOU'RE A SAILOR ON THE AEGEAN SEA... IT'S THE 7th CENTURY BC, 2700 YEARS AGO ... AS A GREEK YOU DOMINATE THESE WATERS. 

BUT YOUR CAPTAIN HAS ADMITTEDLY LOST HIS WAY. NO ONE BELIEVES HIS PROMISES ANYMORE. YOU'RE CERTAIN YOU'LL NEVER SEE YOUR WIFE AGAIN.

YOU'VE WANDERED FAR WEST FROM YOUR HOME PORT. FOOD RAN OUT DAYS AGO. THE SHIP'S STOCK OF WATER & WINE MAY LAST ... ANOTHER DAY AT MOST. 

SAYING THE CREW IS EXHAUSTED IS BEING KIND. YET ... YOU KEEP ON. THERE'S NO CHOICE. THE CAPTAIN SWEARS THERE'LL BE HOSPITABLE LAND AHEAD.

YOU EXCHANGE LOOKS WITH YOUR SHIPMATES. PERHAPS IT'S TIME TO THROW HIM ... OVERBOARD ... MOODS ARE FOUL. EVERY JOKE FALLS FLAT.

AT MIDDAY THE LOOKOUT SUDDENLY SHOUTS, "GREAT ZEUS, LAND!" EVERYONE STANDS, DESPERATELY PEERING AHEAD.

AND SURE ENOUGH, ON THE HORIZON IS A SMALL JUT OF GREEN ON AN OTHERWISE ENDLESS STRETCH OF SEA.

THE CAPTAIN SHOUTS, "TO LAND, BOYS! THE GODS GRANT US ANOTHER DAY!" SOON THE SHIP MANEUVERS ONTO A PRISTINE BEACH.

IT'S A LARGE ISLAND. THERE'S A FOREST THAT SURROUNDS THE BOTTOM OF A MOUNTAIN. SMOKE RISES FROM WITHIN THE WOODS: THERE MUST BE A DWELLING OF SOME KIND.

THE CAPTAIN POINTS TO A DOZEN OF YOUR COMRADES, INCLUDING YOU, SAYING, "SEARCH THE AREA. SEE WHO'S IN THE HOUSE. FIND OUT THE NAME OF THIS PLACE —"

YOU SCRAMBLE OUT OF THE SHIP ALONG WITH THE OTHERS. THERE'S A NARROW PATH THAT WINDS INTO THE INTERIOR. YOU LEAD THE WAY.

NO ONE SPEAKS. THERE'S SOMETHING ODD ABOUT THE WOODS. EVERYTHING'S A BIT OTHERWORLDLY ... BUT WHY?

AS YOU ROUND A BEND IN THE TRAIL, YOU STOP ... A MASSIVE WOLF FACES YOU. BEHIND IT IS ANOTHER. THEN ANOTHER APPEARS. 

BUT THESE BEASTS TOO ARE ODD. THEIR HAIR ISN'T STANDING ON END. THEIR TEETH ARE NOT BARED. STRANGELY, THEIR TAILS ARE WAGGING.

YOU TURN, LOOKING AT YOUR CREW MATES BEHIND YOU. THEY SHRUG. AS YOU TURN AGAIN TOWARD THE WOLVES, YOU'RE DOUBLY SHOCKED: THEY'VE BEEN JOINED BY A YOUNG WOMAN.

YOU FALL TO A KNEE. SHE MUST BE A GODDESS. HER EYES ARE BLUE & HER APPEARANCE IS ... WELL, UNEARTHLY. 

RAISING BOTH ARMS, SHE SPEAKS, HER VOICE LIKE A SONG. SHE SAYS, "POOR SAILORS, COME & JOIN ME FOR A MEAL ..."

Ω

WELCOME TO EPISODE 16 OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. I'M YOUR HOST, MYTHOLOGIST & BEST-SELLING AUTHOR, PATRICK GARNER. 

YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT MY NOVELS and ABOUT THIS PODCAST AT PATRICKGARNERBOOKS.COM. ALL OF MY BOOKS IMAGINE THE ANCIENT GODS LIVING IN MODERN TIMES.

BY THE WAY I'VE JUST ADDED A NEW PAGE THERE ABOUT GREEK GODS THAT COVERS ALL THE IMPORTANT NAMES. YOU LOVE THESE CHARACTERS. CHECK IT OUT!

AND AS ALWAYS, THIS PODCAST SERIES FOCUSES ON ONE THING ... GREEK GODS, OF COURSE.

HERE THE ANCIENT GODS ARE NOT CONSIDERED IMAGINARY. HARDLY. INSTEAD, THEY, LIKE YOU, ARE HERE, NOW ...

Ω

STARVED, THE MEN RUSH AROUND YOU TRYING TO BE THE FIRST TO ACCEPT HER INVITATION ... AND THE WOMAN? WHAT IS SHE? A WORD APPEARS IN YOUR MIND:

ENCHANTRESS ... YOU PAUSE A MOMENT. SHE'S SMILING AT YOU ... THEN AS SUDDENLY SHE TURNS & LEADS YOUR SHIPMATES DEEPER INTO THE WOODS.

YOU HESITATE, LINGERING BACK, WATCHING BUT STILL FOLLOWING THEM AT A DISTANCE ... A QUAINT HOUSE APPEARS IN A CLEARING.

AT HER INVITATION THE MEN STREAM INTO HER HOME. AS HUNGRY AS YOU ARE, YOU RESIST, WATCHING FROM AFAR.

ONLY MINUTES HAVE PASSED, BUT SUDDENLY, A DOZEN PIGS TUMBLE FROM HER HOUSE. YOU KNOW INSTANTLY: YOUR SHIPMATES! SHE STRIDES OUT, HERDING THEM TO A PIG STY.

ONCE THEY'RE IN, SHE SLAMS THE GATE, THEN TURNS TO YOU. YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE WELL HIDDEN. 

ONCE AGAIN, SHE SINGS, THIS TIME SAYING, "OH SAILOR, GO & TELL YOUR CAPTAIN THAT YOU'VE COME TO THE ISLAND OF AEAEA, & THAT I AM CIRCE, THE DIVINE DAUGHTER OF HELIOS ..."

... SIMILAR INCIDENTS ON THIS MYSTERIOUS ISLAND HAPPENED OVER & OVER DURING THE CENTURIES. SHIPS WOULD WANDER BY MISTAKE ONTO THE GODDESS' BEACH ...

AND WITHIN HOURS THE MEN WOULD HAVE FORGOTTEN WHO THEY WERE ...

LATER IN THIS EPISODE WE'LL HEAR ABOUT AN ENCOUNTER BETWEEN CIRCE & ODYSSEUS AS HE UNKNOWINGLY LANDS ON THE SAME BEACH ...

Ω

CIRCE ... EVERY GREEK KNEW OF HER. SHE WAS THE OFFSPRING OF THE SUN-GOD, HELIOS & ... FITTINGLY, HEKATE — THE PRIMAL GODDESS WHO MOVES LIKE A SHADOW BETWEEN THE WORLD OF THE LIVING & THE DEAD.

I SAY 'FITTINGLY' FOR EVEN AS A YOUNG GIRL, CIRCE HAD A PREDILECTION FOR HERBS that live in shadows, ONES that THRIVE IN DEEP RAVINES & UNDER LOGS. 

SHE SENSED WHICH WERE OF VALUE ... & COULD MAKE THEM BEND TO HER WISHES ... THE POET HOMER WROTE THAT SHE KNEW ENDLESS CHARMS.

IT WAS AS IF THE PLANTS SPOKE TO HER ... & IN TIME, AS SHE ENTERED PUBERTY, SHE FOUND THAT SHE COULD BEND OTHER FORCES TO HER WILL, AS EASILY CASTING SPELLS AS WALKING FROM ONE ROOM TO ANOTHER.

THAT QUALITY, EVEN MORE THAN HER KNOWLEDGE OF HERBS, EVENTUALLY MADE CIRCE ... DANGEROUS ...

AND THE REALIZATION THAT SHE WAS UNPREDICTABLE MADE THE OTHER GODS AVOID HER. AFTER ALL, SHE MIGHT SUDDENLY LOSE HER TEMPER.

WHEN SHE DID SHE MIGHT TURN A CASUAL FRIEND INTO A PIG, A 3-HEADED FISH, OR A HIDEOUS DOG ...

... AN ANCIENT GREEK WRITER, APOLLONIUS OF RHODES, WROTE THAT SHE HAD GOLDEN EYES THAT SHOT OUT RAYS OF LIGHT.

HER HAIR WAS DESCRIBED AS RAYS OF FIRE ... PASSIONATE & FIERY, SHE WAS A YOUNG WOMAN WHO FELL IN LOVE AS QUICKLY AS SHE ANGERED.

AN EXAMPLE IS THE STORY OF GLAUCUS, A SEA-GOD. AND WHAT OCCURRED BETWEEN GLAUCUS & CIRCE IS WHAT LED HELIOS TO BANISH CIRCE TO A DISTANT ISLAND.

GLAUCUS FELL IN LOVE WITH A MAIDEN NAMED SCYLLA, BUT SCYLLA SPURNED HIS AFFECTIONS. IN DESPAIR HE TURNED TO CIRCE, HOPING SHE MIGHT CAST A FAVORABLE SPELL.

UNEXPECTEDLY, THOUGH, CIRCE FELL IN LOVE WITH GLAUCUS. SHE BOLDLY PROPOSED THEY MARRY, BUT HE ... TURNED HER DOWN.

FURIOUS, CIRCE USED HER HERBS TO TAKE REVENGE, BUT NOT AGAINST GLAUCUS. 

INSTEAD, SHE FOUND THE BEAUTIFUL SCYLLA BATHING & INFUSED THE WATERS WITH A TOXIC HERB ... in seconds SCYLLA'S THIGHS TURNED INTO THE HEADS OF DOGS. 

AS SCYLLA STRUGGLED TO GET OUT OF THE WATER, SHE WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A MONSTROUS THING THAT NO LONGER RESEMBLED A HUMAN IN ANY WAY ...

WHEN HELIOS LEARNED OF THE INCIDENT, HE EXILED CIRCE TO THE ISLAND OF AEAEA. THERE SHE WOULD BE A DANGER TO NO ONE.

OR SO HE BELIEVED. BUT AS WE'VE SEEN, LOST SHIPS STILL CAME INTO SIGHT OF THE ISLAND ... & INTO CIRCE'S CROSSHAIRS.

Ω

CIRCE HAD A NIECE NAMED MEDEA. LIKE CIRCE, MEDEA WAS KNOWN AS A SORCERESS. IN ADDITION, SHE WAS A PRIESTESS TO HEKATE.

MEDEA GREW UP ON THE BLACK SEA IN THE LAND OF KOLCHIS, & FIRST ROSE TO FAME WHEN SHE ENCOUNTERED JASON & THE ARGONAUTS. 

WITH THEIR DARING EXPLOITS, JASON & HIS BAND MADE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES LONG BEFORE THE TROJAN WAR. 

WHEN THEY ARRIVED IN KOLCHIS, THEIR ONE GOAL WAS TO STEAL THE GOLDEN FLEECE. ONLY WITH IT COULD JASON ASSUME THE KINGSHIP OF THESSALY.

MEDEA FALLS IN LOVE WITH JASON WHEN HE SEEKS HER HELP. SHE ASSURES HIM THAT HE'LL PREVAIL, BUT HE MUST PROMISE TO MARRY HER & TAKE HER AWAY.

AFTER ACCOMPLISHING AMAZING FEATS WITH HER HELP, JASON SUCCEEDS IN STEALING THE FLEECE. BUT MEDEA'S BROTHER LEARNS OF THE THEFT & TRIES TO STOP THEM.

MEDEA KILLS HER BROTHER WITH A SWORD. ONE VARIATION OF THE STORY SAYS SHE DISMEMBERS HIM & SCATTERS HIS PARTS AROUND.

REGARDLESS, THE BLOODY MURDER LEAVES HER DEFILED. IT'S AN ACT SHE KNOWS SHE CAN NEVER PURGE. AND AS A SORCERESS, SHE KNOWS SHE MUST BE PURIFIED.

SHE THINKS, "CIRCE! OF COURSE. MY AUNT CAN CLEANSE US BOTH!" ... FLEEING, MEDEA, & JASON LEAVE ON HIS SHIP, FLEECE IN HAND. 

AFTER WEEKS OF SAILING, THEY LAND ON AEAEA. CIRCE GREETS THEM, BUT SENSES IMMEDIATELY THAT THEY'RE HIDING SOMETHING.

THEN SHE KNOWS: THEY'RE FUGITIVES WITH BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS. JASON & MEDEA FINALLY CONFESS, BEGGING THAT SHE HELP ABSOLVE THEM.

IN DISGUST SHE WANTS TO DRIVE THEM AWAY, BUT KNOWS THAT ZEUS REQUIRES ALL TRAVELERS BE WELCOMED, WHOEVER THEY ARE.

SHE PROCEEDS WITH THE SACRED RITES & SACRIFICES A PIGLET, PRAYING TO ZEUS TO CLEANSE THE TWO. 

BUT WHEN THE RITES ARE CONCLUDED, CIRCE DEMANDS THEY LEAVE. SHE WANTS NO MURDERERS IN HER HOME. 

AS THE DARK SHIP DEPARTS, BECOMING SMALLER ON THE HORIZON, SHE STANDS ON THE BEACH WATCHING, ALONE AGAIN ...

Ω

REGARDLESS OF HER ISOLATION, IN TIME CIRCE'S GIFTS CAME TO FULL FRUITION. SHE COULD CHANGE LIONS TO BEARS, BEARS TO SWINE, OR SWINE TO SNAKES. 

TO MAKE HER MAGIC, SOMETIMES SHE USED HERBS. SOMETIMES SHE JUST IMAGINED THE CHANGE & IT HAPPENED. 

SHE KNEW SHE WAS FAR MORE POWERFUL NOW THAN WHEN HER FATHER BANISHED HER FROM HIS GREAT HALLS ...

... STILL, WE HAVE TO ENTERTAIN THE POSSIBILITY THAT KNOWLEDGE OF CIRCE & HER ECCENTRIC POWERS COULD WELL HAVE FADED FROM MEMORY.

IF NOT FOR ANOTHER INCIDENT THAT OCCURRED HUNDREDS OF YEARS AFTER THE ONE WITH MEDEA, SHE MIGHT BE REMEMBERED AS NO MORE THAN A MINOR CHARACTER IN A VERY DISTANT PAST.

BUT HER DESTINY CONTINUED TO UNFOLD. HER GRANDEST STORY WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN.  

HOMER SECURED HER ETERNAL FAME IN THE ODYSSEY. THERE HE TOLD THE STORY OF THE GREEK HERO ODYSSEUS. 

AT THE END OF THE TROJAN WAR, ODYSSEUS SET SAIL WITH 12 SHIPS TO RETURN HOME TO HIS WIFE & SON.

BUT IT TURNED OUT THAT IN THE WAR HE HAD ANGERED SOME OF THE GODS. YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT THE GODS FREQUENTLY TOOK SIDES, SIMILAR TO FANS AT A SPORTING EVENT. 

NO MATTER HIS INGENUITY & COURAGE, HIS WAY HOME WAS THWARTED AT EVERY TURN. 

AFTER CONSTANT MISADVENTURES, HE LOST 11 OF THE 12 SHIPS & HUNDREDS OF HIS MEN. THOSE REMAINING WERE IN DESPAIR.

THEN, LIKE SO MANY BEFORE, HIS SHIP SAILED NEAR CIRCE'S ISLAND. THE CREW, GRATEFUL TO FIND LAND, BEACHED THEIR CRAFT.

A NARROW COLUMN OF SMOKE ROSE FROM THE WOODS. STANDING ON THE BEACH, THE MEN HEARD SINGING. ODYSSEUS ASSIGNED SEVERAL OF THEM TO SCOUT THE ISLAND.

"DISCOVER THE SOURCE OF THE SMOKE," HE SAID. "DETERMINE WHETHER IT COMES FROM A FRIEND OR FOE. DON'T ALLOW YOURSELVES TO BE SEEN."

AS THE SEARCH PARTY APPROACHED THE INTERIOR, THE SINGING BECAME LOUDER. IT SEEMED TO SURROUND THE MEN. THEY FOUND A CLEARING & STOPPED.

A STRANGELY PERFECT HOUSE SAT OFF TO THE SIDE. MOST STARTLING, LIONS & WOLVES LOUNGED IN THE GRASS.

RATHER THAN FIERCELY DEFENDING THE HOME, THE ANIMALS CAME UP TO THEM, TRYING TO RUB UP AGAINST THEM LIKE PETS.

ALL THE WHILE, THE SINGING FROM WITHIN THE HOUSE CONTINUED ... WITH RESOLVE, ONE MAN FROM THIS NEW CROP OF MEN SHOUTED, "HELLO!"

A YOUNG WOMAN WITH ASTONISHINGLY BLUE EYES STEPPED OUT. SHE SMILED, ASKING IF THE MEN WOULD LIKE FOOD. "THERE'S ENOUGH FOR ALL."

Ω

ODYSSEUS HAD ORDERED THEM NOT TO BE SEEN. BUT THE SINGING HAD A STRANGE AFFECT. THEY'D FORGOTTEN HIS COMMAND. THEY'D FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING.

WITHOUT SPEAKING THEY NODDED & FILED INTO THE HOUSE. ONLY ONE, WHO HAPPENED TO BE ODYSSEUS' BROTHER-IN-LAW, REMAINED OUTSIDE, SUSPICIOUS OF IT ALL.

IN THE HOUSE THE MEN SAT & WERE GIVEN BOWLS OF STEW FROM A STEAMING POT. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL THEY GOT. CIRCE HAD ADDED A MAGIC POTION TO IT.

AS THEY ATE THEY WERE FILLED WITH A SENSE OF JOY. THEN INEXPLICABLY, CIRCE BEGAN TO TELL JOKES THAT MADE FUN OF THE GODS. 

AS THE MEN LAUGHED HELPLESSLY, SHE SUDDENLY WAVED A LONG, GOLDEN WAND ... THEY TURNED, ONE BY ONE, INTO PIGS ...

ODYSSEUS' BROTHER-IN-LAW WATCHED AS SHE DROVE THEM DOWN THE FRONT STAIRS & INTO A PIGSTY. AS CIRCE LOCKED THEM IN, HE BEGAN TO WEEP ... & FLED TO THE SHIP.

ODYSSEUS WAS STUNNED AT WHAT HE HEARD. HE ORDERED THE MAN TO STAY WITH THE SHIP WHILE HE INVESTIGATED. HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW WAS SURE THAT ODYSSEUS WOULD MEET A SIMILAR FATE. 

AS ODYSSEUS MADE HIS WAY TOWARD THE HOUSE, INSTEAD OF ENCOUNTERING CIRCE, HE FOUND A TALL, HANDSOME MAN STANDING IN THE PATH. 

IT WAS THE GOD HERMES. ODYSSEUS BOWED DEEPLY. HERMES SAID, "IF YOU GO WITHOUT MY HELP, SHE WILL ENCHANT YOU AS WELL."

HE ELABORATED, SAYING, "SHE HAS MANY TRAPS. BUT IF YOU EAT THIS HERB, YOU'LL BE IMMUNE TO ALL HER WILES."

AS ODYSSEUS CHEWED ON THE LEAVES, HE ASKED, "WHO IS THIS SORCERESS?"

HERMES SMILED. "YOU DON'T KNOW?" ODYSSEUS SHOOK HIS HEAD. HERMES SAID. "HER NAME IS CIRCE." ODYSSEUS WAS INSTANTLY FILLED WITH DREAD.

HERMES CONTINUED, SAYING, "NOW GO TO HER. WHEN SHE WAVES HER WAND AT YOU, PULL YOUR SWORD & PRETEND YOU'RE ABOUT TO KILL HER ...

"BUT YOU CANNOT, FOR IF YOU DO, YOU'LL NEVER FREE YOUR MEN ... IN ADDITION, SHE'LL DEMAND YOU SLEEP WITH HER. THAT YOU MUST DO AS YOU CANNOT REFUSE A GODDESS."

Ω

WITHIN A SHORT TIME ALL OF THE THINGS THAT HERMES PREDICTED OCCURRED ... CIRCE WAS SHOCKED THAT ODYSSEUS COULD RESIST HER SPELLS, & FOUND HIM CHARMING.

IN TIME ODYSSEUS PERSUADED HER TO RELEASE HIS MEN, WHICH SHE DID. THEY WERE HEALTHIER, YOUNGER & MORE HANDSOME THAN BEFORE SHE HAD CHANGED THEM ALL.

SHE IN TURN SEEMED TO BECOME MORE BEAUTIFUL BY THE DAY ... SHE CONVINCED HIM TO STAY & HIS MEN AGREED, DELIGHTED WITH THE FOOD & REST.

HE BECAME HER LOVER & A YEAR PASSED. EVENTUALLY HOMESICKNESS STRUCK HIS CREW & ONE BY ONE THEY TOLD HIM OF THEIR HEARTBREAK. 

ODYSSEUS HIMSELF YEARNED FOR HIS WIFE PENELOPE. WITH RELUCTANCE CIRCE AGREED TO RELEASE THEM, EVEN REPAIRING THEIR SHIP & REPLACING ITS TATTERED SAILS.

BUT SHE WARNED HIM THAT HIS CHALLENGES WERE FAR FROM OVER ... BEFORE HE COULD RETURN HOME, DANGER AWAITED AT EVERY TURN.

IN THE END, ODYSSEUS MADE IT HOME & RESCUED HIS WIFE PENELOPE FROM THE MANY SUITORS WHO TRIED TO CONVINCE HER THAT HE WAS LONG DEAD. 

ONE STORY RELATES THAT YEARS LATER HE SUCCUMBED TO A PEACEFUL DEATH. BUT ANOTHER VERSION HAS HIM DIE VIOLENTLY AS HE FIGHTS AN INTRUDER — THE INTRUDER WAS A SON HE DID NOT KNOW HE'D CONCEIVED WITH CIRCE. 

IN THAT VERSION, AFTER HIS DEATH, PENELOPE GOES TO CIRCE'S ISLAND TO THANK THE ENCHANTRESS FOR GUIDING ODYSSEUS HOME.

Ω

BUT CHARACTERIZING CIRCE AS A GOLDEN-HEARTED GODDESS WOULD BE AN ERROR. SHE, LIKE MANY OF THE OTHER GODS WAS FAR MORE COMPLEX.

CIRCE CRAFTED HERBS FOR POWER, BUT ALSO AS A RESULT OF SHEER CURIOSITY. CONTRAST HER WITH MEDEA WHO USED THEM AS CONCOCTIONS TO DESTROY EVERYONE IN HER WAY.

BOTH WIELDED POWER & BOTH ... ARE VIEWED TODAY AS HAVING INFLUENCED TODAY'S WICCANS OR WITCHES ... BUT THERE'S MORE.

LIKE DIONYSOS, CIRCE WAS DANGEROUSLY MODERN. SHE REJECTED THE ROLE OF OBEDIENT DAUGHTER OR CLOISTERED WIFE. BASICALLY, SHE DID AS SHE PLEASED.

AND IN THAT RESPECT, LIKE HER MOTHER HEKATE, SHE WAS SELF-RELIANT, LIBERATED & UTTERLY UNCONSTRAINED. 

Ω

IN OUR NEXT EPISODE WE TAKE A DIFFERENT TURN & LOOK INTO THE OFTEN CHARMING WORLD OF NYMPHS. 

I SAY 'OFTEN CHARMING' AS THESE BEWITCHING YOUNG WOMEN COULD BE EQUALLY SEDUCTIVE & DANGEROUS. AND IN ANCIENT GREECE, THEY WERE EVERYWHERE ....