Circe

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"Canon" Circe design illustrated by Gigi
Biographical Information
Titles	Queen of Aeaea
Aliases	Lady of the Palace Witch
Gender	Female
Race	Nymph
Occupation	Queen of Aeaea Puppeteer
Affiliation	Nymphs
Family	Helios (Father) Perse (Mother)
Status	Immortal
Behind The Scenes
Appearances	The Circe Saga The Wisdom Saga (cameo)
Actor	Talya Sindel Teagan Earley (Demos)
Range	A3-F5

No, I’m not a player, I’m a puppeteer!

-Circe ("Puppeteer")

Circe is a divine sorceress and the queen of the island of Aeaea. She inhabits her island with the local nymphs, using her magic to protect their home from intruders. She serves as the main antagonist of The Circe Saga.

Biography

Act 1

Circe Saga

Circe is first introduced when she is described by Eurylochus. She had lured some of Odysseus's crew into her palace with the promise that she and her nymphs would take care of them in the form of a resting place and food. However, she had secretly placed a spell in the food she served to the men - a spell that turned them into pigs. It was a cautionary measure to protect herself and her nymphs because the world is unforgiving and this is the price they must pay to survive.

Circe then makes her actual appearance in Done For, where Odysseus confronts her about the state of his men. She explains that she had simply revealed their true forms and threatens to cast similar spells on Odysseus unless he leaves her island. However, he counters, explaining that he has eaten the flower moly, rendering her magic powerless against him — a gift, as Circe quickly deduces, from Hermes. The two then duel it out with Circe summoning a chimera, and Odysseus summoning a cyclops. He wins.

As a last resort, Circe attempts to seduce Odysseus and kill him at his most vulnerable moment. Though she almost succeeds, he pulls away at the last minute to sing about his love for his wife Penelope and plead for mercy. This display of devotion not only moves Circe but also convinces her that he will not abuse her nymphs like other male intruders had before, thus prompting her to change her mind. Instead of continuing her attack, she offers to help Odysseus and his crew evade Poseidon by sending them to the Underworld in order to meet the deceased prophet Tiresias.

Abilities

• Witchcraft Cards: Circe is an expert at magic who uses enchanted cards to perform spells.
  • Transformation: This type of magic allows her to transform any object or being into something else. For example, she turned Eurylochus' reconnaissance crew into pigs and Scylla into a massive, six-headed sea monster.
  • Summoning: This type of magic allows her to summon a creature of her choosing. In her fight with Odysseus, she summoned a Chimera, a lion with the head of a goat protruding from its back and the head of a snake at the end of its tail.
  • Used in:
    • Puppeteer (Transformation), Done For (Summoning), There Are Other Ways (Transformation)
• Hypnotic Voice: Circe's voice has an alluring effect, allowing her to easily influence whoever hears it. However, the alluring effect can be resisted if your willpower is strong enough.
  • Used in:
    • Puppeteer, There Are Other Ways

Trivia

• Although Circe's paternity isn't explicitly mentioned in the musical, the official animatic of her second song shows her carrying a solar disk in her belt, a reference to the Sun God Helios, her father. According to the most accepted version, the sea nymph Perseis would be her mother, Pasiphaë, Aeëtes, and Perses would be her siblings, and she would have numerous half-siblings due to her father's many affairs.
• In the Telegony, a story about the son Circe had with Odysseus, the witch ends up receiving Penelope and Telemachus on her island and marries the latter.
• Talya Sindel, the actor of Circe, is currently dating Jorge Rivera-Herrans, the creator of Epic and the voice of Odysseus. Such a fact is considered ironic because, in the musical, Odysseus refuses Circe's advances.
• Circe's highest note, as heard in There Are Other Ways, is an F5. This also happens to be the highest note in the musical.

Appearances

The Circe Saga

• Puppeteer (Debut)
• Wouldn't You Like (referenced)
• Done For
• There Are Other Ways

The Underworld Saga

• The Underworld (referenced)
• Monster (referenced and cameo)

The Wisdom Saga

• Love in Paradise (Done For snippet)

References

1. https://www.tiktok.com/@jorgeherrans?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
2. https://genius.com/albums/Jorge-rivera-herrans/Epic-the-musical
3. The Odyssey