Aeaea
Encyclopedia
Aeaea or Eëa was a mythological
island said to be the home of the sorceress Circe
. Odysseus
tells Alcinous
that he stayed here for a year on his way home to Ithaca
.
Though the somewhat inconsistent geography of the Odyssey
is often considered more mythic than literal, Aeaea was later identified by classical Roman writers with Mount Circeo
on [Cape Circeo (Cape Circaeum) on the western coast of Italy
—about 100 kilometers south of Rome
—which may have looked like an island due to the marshes and sea surrounding its base but which is a small peninsula
. It was already a peninsula according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus. However, it may have been still an island in the days of Homer
, with a long "lido" or sandy peninsula that gradually became attached to the mainland, in a common geological process.
The modern Greek scholar Ioannis Kakridis
, who insisted that any attempt of realistic identification is vain, argued that Homer thought of Aeaea somewhere in the eastern part of his world, perhaps near Colchis, since Circe was daughter of the sun, the sister of Aeëtes
, and the aunt of Medea
(another sorceress), and because the goddess Dawn had her palace there.
Archeologists have identified one cave or grotto on the cape as "Grotta della Maga Circe", the cave of Circe. A second was found on the nearby Island of Ponza
. It is believed that the Circe had her summer home on Mount Circe and her winter home on Ponza, which may possibly be the island of Aeaea.
Before leaving Aeaea, Odysseus was given instructions by Circe about how to cross the ocean
and assisted by North Wind
to reach the underworld
:
(The Greek Myths) identifies, as Aeaea, the island of Lošinj
, near the Istrian peninsnusla
in the north Adriatic Sea
.
Tim Severin
(The Ulyssess Voyage) identifies, as Aeaea, the island of Paxos
in the Ionian Sea
near the Greek coast. The island is on the farthest west on a boundary between the sea and the river of Okeanos, which is said to encircle the earth.
's novel "All Men are Enemies" (1933), Aeaea is the island, "twelve hours from Naples
" (obviously mythical), where his heroes meet, and love between them flourishes.
John Banville
's 1993 novel Ghosts has a boating party shipwrecked on an unnamed island; one character, Sophie, speculates that it is Aeaea; another says, "Yes...yes, Aeaea: you will feel at home, no doubt", a reference to Sophie's Circean nature.
ea, the country where her father Aeëtes
ruled. It was also a surname of Circe
, who was the sister of Aeëtes
. Her son Telegonus
is likewise mentioned with this surname. It was also a surname of Calypso
, who was believed to have inhabited a small island of the name of Aeaea in the straits between Italy and Sicily.
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
island said to be the home of the sorceress Circe
Circe
In Greek mythology, Circe is a minor goddess of magic , described in Homer's Odyssey as "The loveliest of all immortals", living on the island of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus.By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid...
. Odysseus
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
tells Alcinous
Alcinous
Alcinous or Alkínoös was, in Greek mythology, a son of Nausithous, or of Phaeax , and father of Nausicaa, Halius, Clytoneus and Laodamas with Arete. His name literally means "mighty mind"...
that he stayed here for a year on his way home to Ithaca
Ithaca
Ithaca or Ithaka is an island located in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of and a little more than three thousand inhabitants. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It lies off the northeast coast of Kefalonia and...
.
Though the somewhat inconsistent geography of the Odyssey
Geography of the Odyssey
Events in the main sequence of the Odyssey take place in the Peloponnese and in what are now called the Ionian Islands . Incidental mentions of Troy and its house Phoenicia, Egypt and Crete hint at geographical knowledge equal to, or perhaps slightly more extensive than that of the Iliad...
is often considered more mythic than literal, Aeaea was later identified by classical Roman writers with Mount Circeo
Mount Circeo
Monte Circeo or Cape Circeo is a mountain remaining as a promontory that marks the southwestern limit of the former Pontine Marshes. Although a headland, it was not formed by coastal erosion–as headlands are usually formed–but is a remnant of the orogenic processes that created the...
on [Cape Circeo (Cape Circaeum) on the western coast of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
—about 100 kilometers south of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
—which may have looked like an island due to the marshes and sea surrounding its base but which is a small peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
. It was already a peninsula according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus. However, it may have been still an island in the days of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
, with a long "lido" or sandy peninsula that gradually became attached to the mainland, in a common geological process.
The modern Greek scholar Ioannis Kakridis
Ioannis Kakridis
Ioannis Kakridis was a Greek classical scholar.He was born in Athens in 1901 and received his PhD at the University of Athens. He went on to become a professor at the universities of Athens, Thessaloniki, Tübingen, Stockholm, Lund and Uppsala. Kakridis was a Homer scholar and one of most...
, who insisted that any attempt of realistic identification is vain, argued that Homer thought of Aeaea somewhere in the eastern part of his world, perhaps near Colchis, since Circe was daughter of the sun, the sister of Aeëtes
Aeëtes
In Greek mythology, Aeëtes , , , was a King of Colchis , son of the sun-god Helios and the Oceanid Perseis , brother of Circe and Pasiphae, and father of Medea, Chalciope and Apsyrtus...
, and the aunt of Medea
Medea
Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
(another sorceress), and because the goddess Dawn had her palace there.
Archeologists have identified one cave or grotto on the cape as "Grotta della Maga Circe", the cave of Circe. A second was found on the nearby Island of Ponza
Ponza
Ponza is the largest of the Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located 33 km south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina in the Lazio region....
. It is believed that the Circe had her summer home on Mount Circe and her winter home on Ponza, which may possibly be the island of Aeaea.
Before leaving Aeaea, Odysseus was given instructions by Circe about how to cross the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
and assisted by North Wind
North wind
A north wind is a wind that originates in the north and blows south. The north wind has had historical and literal significance, since it often signals cold weather and seasonal change in the Northern hemisphere.-Mythology:...
to reach the underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
:
Other hypothetical locations
Robert GravesRobert Graves
Robert von Ranke Graves 24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985 was an English poet, translator and novelist. During his long life he produced more than 140 works...
(The Greek Myths) identifies, as Aeaea, the island of Lošinj
Lošinj
Lošinj is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, in the Kvarner Gulf. It is almost due south of the city of Rijeka and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county....
, near the Istrian peninsnusla
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
in the north Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
.
Tim Severin
Tim Severin
Tim Severin is a British explorer, historian and writer. Severin is noted for his work in retracing the legendary journeys of historical figures. Severin was awarded both the Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and the Livingstone Medal of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society...
(The Ulyssess Voyage) identifies, as Aeaea, the island of Paxos
Paxi
Paxi or Paxoi is the name given to the smallest group of the Ionian Islands . In Greek it is a plural form and it refers to a complex of islands, the largest of which are Paxos and Antipaxos...
in the Ionian Sea
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
near the Greek coast. The island is on the farthest west on a boundary between the sea and the river of Okeanos, which is said to encircle the earth.
Aeaea in literature
In Richard AldingtonRichard Aldington
Richard Aldington , born Edward Godfree Aldington, was an English writer and poet.Aldington was best known for his World War I poetry, the 1929 novel, Death of a Hero, and the controversy arising from his 1955 Lawrence of Arabia: A Biographical Inquiry...
's novel "All Men are Enemies" (1933), Aeaea is the island, "twelve hours from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
" (obviously mythical), where his heroes meet, and love between them flourishes.
John Banville
John Banville
John Banville is an Irish novelist and screenwriter.Banville's breakthrough novel The Book of Evidence was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and won the Guinness Peat Aviation award. His eighteenth novel, The Sea, won the Man Booker Prize in 2005. He was awarded the Franz Kafka Prize in 2011...
's 1993 novel Ghosts has a boating party shipwrecked on an unnamed island; one character, Sophie, speculates that it is Aeaea; another says, "Yes...yes, Aeaea: you will feel at home, no doubt", a reference to Sophie's Circean nature.
ea, the country where her father Aeëtes
Aeëtes
In Greek mythology, Aeëtes , , , was a King of Colchis , son of the sun-god Helios and the Oceanid Perseis , brother of Circe and Pasiphae, and father of Medea, Chalciope and Apsyrtus...
ruled. It was also a surname of Circe
Circe
In Greek mythology, Circe is a minor goddess of magic , described in Homer's Odyssey as "The loveliest of all immortals", living on the island of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus.By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid...
, who was the sister of Aeëtes
Aeëtes
In Greek mythology, Aeëtes , , , was a King of Colchis , son of the sun-god Helios and the Oceanid Perseis , brother of Circe and Pasiphae, and father of Medea, Chalciope and Apsyrtus...
. Her son Telegonus
Telegonus
Telegonus is the name of three different characters in Greek mythology.-Son of Odysseus:In Greek mythology, Telegonus was the youngest son of Circe and Odysseus....
is likewise mentioned with this surname. It was also a surname of Calypso
Calypso (mythology)
Calypso was a nymph in Greek mythology, who lived on the island of Ogygia, where she detained Odysseus for a number of years. She is generally said to be the daughter of the Titan Atlas....
, who was believed to have inhabited a small island of the name of Aeaea in the straits between Italy and Sicily.