ODYSSEY MAP · STOP 7/14
Where Is Aeaea, the Island of Circe?
A cup of wine, a pinch of magic, a year as guests
Circe of the lovely braids, daughter of the Sun, welcomes the scouting party with honey, cheese and enchanted wine — then touches them with her wand and turns them into swine. Only Eurylochus escapes to bring the news. Protected by the herb “moly”, Hermes’ gift, Odysseus resists the spell, draws his sword and demands his men back.
The sorceress yields, and enmity turns to hospitality: the crew rests on the island for a full year. When it is time to leave, it is Circe who draws the map onward — the route must first pass through the Land of the Dead, to the blind seer Tiresias.
Where is it in the real world?
Aeaea is identified with Monte Circeo on Italy’s western coast: a promontory south of Rome that from a distance looks like an island. The mountain lies within the Circeo National Park today and still bears the sorceress’s name.
What awaits you in the game?
Whether you face Circe with the sword, with words, or with Hermes’ herb is up to you. The prize is more than your men: a year of rest, full stores, and the map to the world below.
Quick facts
- Position on the route
- 7 / 14
- Previous stop
- The Laestrygonians · 35 nautical miles · ≈ 15 sail days
- Next stop
- The Underworld · 90 nautical miles · ≈ 13 months under sail
- Modern location
- Monte Circeo, coast of Lazio, Italy
- Region
- Tyrrhenian Sea, central Italian coast
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