Hermes’s story is the final straw for Circe; after hearing it, Circe wants nothing more to do with the gods. The tale captures the gods’ cruelty and petty power struggles. Minos probably raped the serving girls to display his power, likely to show Pasiphaë that she had no authority in their marriage while he, the man, could disgrace her. Pasiphaë retaliated by using her magic and killed the serving girls in a grotesquely violent way, all to show off her power and humiliate her husband. She had no concern for the women—she saw them merely as tools to use to exert dominance over her new husband. By killing the serving girls, who were already the victims of rape, Pasiphaë demonstrates the cruelty and carelessness of those seeking power—specifically, the gods, who are notoriously careless with mortals’ lives. Meanwhile, Minos’s raping of the serving girls shows how women are vulnerable to abuse at the hands of men in ancient Greece. They have very little power and are often exploited by the men around them. The story sickens Circe—repulsed by her family, she wants to distance herself from their wickedness.