Odysseus is clever and engaging when he first encounters Circe, and she is oblivious to the fact that everything he does is a strategic move calculated to survive her witchcraft and rescue his men. His refusal to drink her wine reveals a tenacity and instinct for self-preservation. The fact that he makes Circe swear not to hurt him or his men in exchange for his love also demonstrates how willing Odysseus is to use others for his own gain. Meanwhile, the two of them discuss the nature of heroism and fame, and Odysseus asserts that violence is a justification for maintaining power. Having killed men herself, Circe feels vindicated by this. Odysseus also speaks of his son, Telemachus. He doesn’t seem to miss the boy himself but rather regrets missing opportunities to “leave some mark upon him” that will ensure Odysseus’s legacy. His manipulative charms in turn reveal the man he truly is.  

But Odysseus proves himself not to be the man Circe once knew. When Circe learns about Odysseus’s later years from Penelope and Telemachus, his menacing tenacity becomes apparent. Upon returning to Ithaca, Odysseus becomes paranoid, selfish, and bitter. Instead of devoting himself to a happy reunion with his wife and son, Odysseus murders all the suitors who had  been competing for Penelope’s hand in marriage. He also commands Telemachus to murder the slave girls who had no choice but to have sex with the suitors. Afterward, he continues to seek opportunities for further fame and glory, sailing away from Ithaca whenever he gets the chance. This is a starkly different Odysseus than the titular hero presented at the climax of The Odyssey; the Odysseus of Circe is much more a callous murderer than an epic hero. Circe concludes that she did not truly know Odysseus, since she spent most of their time together catering to his whims and hiding her true self.