3-035-860 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Ulysses at the Palace of Circe, 1667. Behind a grove of trees, a building looms imposingly. The painting depicts a story taken from Homer's Odyssey, in which the sorceress Circe encounters the warrior Ulysses. Descending the palace stairs on the left, Circe greets Ulysses and offers him a magic potion. Previous to his arrival, the sorceress had given the same potion to Ulysses's men, who were then transformed into wild beasts. On the right, one man sports antlers while another one nearby is horrified to find his head changing into that of a wild boar. Unbeknownst to Circe, however, Ulysses has taken a herbal antidote given to him by Hermes. Ulysses will overcome the sorceress and force her to restore his men to their normal shape.