Previous
Glaucos
Hermes is the Olympian messenger of the gods. He is the first person to visit Circe on Aiaia, and since he is an excellent storyteller and an amusing companion, he and Circe become lovers. They do not, however, fall in love; in fact, Circe says that he is “scarcely even a friend.” Hermes embodies the carelessness of the gods. He only does what amuses him and gets annoyed at Circe when she takes anything seriously—he especially taunts her for crying over mortals. When Circe asks him to advocate for her to Helios so that the gods stop sending their nymph daughters to Aiaia, he gets annoyed and calls her “dull.” Hermes is also an ancestor to Odysseus and, therefore, to Telegonus. Hermes gives Odysseus moly so that he can resist Circe’s magic, and Hermes helps Telegonus to build the ship that he sails to meet Odysseus.
Hermes Quotes in Circe
The Circe quotes below are all either spoken by Hermes or refer to Hermes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 8
Quotes
“Tell me,” he said, “who gives better offerings, a miserable man or a happy one?”
“A happy one, of course.”
“Wrong,” he said. “A happy man is too occupied with his life. He thinks he is beholden to no one. But make him shiver, kill his wife, cripple his child, then you will hear from him. He will starve his family for a month to buy you a pure-white yearling calf. If he can afford it, he will buy you a hundred.” […]
“So this is how Olympians spend their days. Thinking of ways to make men miserable.”
“There’s no cause for righteousness,” he said. “Your father is better at it than anyone.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9
Quotes
“You fools,” I said. “I am the one who made that creature. I did it for pride and vain delusion. And you thank me? Twelve of your men are dead for it, and how many thousands more to come? That drug I gave her is the strongest I have. Do you understand, mortals?” […]
The light from my eyes beat down upon them.
“I will never be free of her. She cannot be changed back, not now, not ever. What she is, she will remain. She will feast on your kind for all eternity. So get up. Get up and get to your oars, and let me not hear you speak again of your imbecile gratitude or I will make you sorry for it.”
The cringed and shook like the weak vessels they were, stuttering to their feet and creeping away […] I yanked off the cloak. I wanted the sun to burn me.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Circe LitChart as a printable PDF.
Hermes Quotes in Circe
The Circe quotes below are all either spoken by Hermes or refer to Hermes. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 8
Quotes
“Tell me,” he said, “who gives better offerings, a miserable man or a happy one?”
“A happy one, of course.”
“Wrong,” he said. “A happy man is too occupied with his life. He thinks he is beholden to no one. But make him shiver, kill his wife, cripple his child, then you will hear from him. He will starve his family for a month to buy you a pure-white yearling calf. If he can afford it, he will buy you a hundred.” […]
“So this is how Olympians spend their days. Thinking of ways to make men miserable.”
“There’s no cause for righteousness,” he said. “Your father is better at it than anyone.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9
Quotes
“You fools,” I said. “I am the one who made that creature. I did it for pride and vain delusion. And you thank me? Twelve of your men are dead for it, and how many thousands more to come? That drug I gave her is the strongest I have. Do you understand, mortals?” […]
The light from my eyes beat down upon them.
“I will never be free of her. She cannot be changed back, not now, not ever. What she is, she will remain. She will feast on your kind for all eternity. So get up. Get up and get to your oars, and let me not hear you speak again of your imbecile gratitude or I will make you sorry for it.”
The cringed and shook like the weak vessels they were, stuttering to their feet and creeping away […] I yanked off the cloak. I wanted the sun to burn me.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
