Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

Circe’s Voice 

Circe’s voice is symbolic of her quest to find her place in the world and speak up for herself. In her early years, Circe’s voice sets her apart from the other gods because her family thinks it is weak and unlike the musical voices of other goddesses. The fact that Circe is a divine being with a feeble voice alludes to her powerlessness or lack of a voice in the world as both a lesser goddess and a woman. For example, Circe spends much of her time in her father’s court in silence, without a voice to speak for herself. When she is raped, Circe is unable to use her voice to speak the spell that would incapacitate her rapist. Her voice also shows how she exists between the gods and the humans since, as Hermes reveals, her voice is that of a mortal. She essentially belongs to neither community fully. As Circe stands up to Pasiphaë, Aeëtes, and even Athena, however, she begins to find her voice both literally and figuratively. When she ultimately uses her voice to summon her father and tell Helios to end her exile, she is able to advocate fully for herself. Ultimately, she has the ability to speak the spell that turns Scylla to stone as well as a spell she uses to attempt to become mortal and become her true self at last. 

Trygon’s Tail 

Circe’s act of going to the deepest depths of the sea to retrieve the tail of the great leviathan symbolizes not only her sacrificial love for Telegonus but also her newfound worthiness to wield the tail’s deadly power. Trygon explains that Circe must hold her hand to the venom of her own free will and withstand the poison before he will give her his tail. Her willingness to freely risk her life for her son shows that she has truly learned to love in a way no one ever loved her, and that demonstrates her worthiness. Likewise, Trygon himself has never seen such sacrificial love. When the great ray gives his tail to Circe without making her survive his venom, the tail becomes a symbol of a different kind of strength and courage. Circe’s strength is demonstrated through her love and bravery rather than brute physical force and combat. The fact that Circe’s brother Aeëtes had failed in winning the tail where she succeeds emphasizes this idea. Finally, Trygon’s gift symbolizes that there is a power that cannot be taken but must be given. Circe obtains the tail as a gift and honors it by using it to right her old wrong and turn Scylla to stone with its venom.  

Circe’s Loom 

The loom symbolizes the hard work and dedication needed to create things that can endure. Circe weaves on her loom as she works on building a life for herself and battles loneliness. It is tedious and exacting work that requires focus and attention, symbolic of how Circe must take small and specific steps to grow and become the person she is meant to be. The fact that the loom is a gift from the master craftsman Daedalus demonstrates the idea that regardless of the beauty or value of the tool, the work itself takes diligence and patience. When Penelope comes to Aiaia and uses the loom to create a black shawl of mourning, it again shows how things, like grief, cannot be rushed. Only through careful persistence can progress be made for just as Penelope finishes her shawl, she is able to begin the new work of restoring her relationship with her son and building a new life for herself. Finally, Penelope also refers directly to the symbolism of the loom when she tells Circe that finding redemption is as difficult as taking out a snarl in a loom. One simple pull won’t fix the problem. That idea is shown in Circe’s lifelong search for a way to restore the wrong she did when she created Scylla.