#latinus

Circe is a major topic of discussion now, largely because of her recent media appearances. Sadly, she’s also a major subject of misinformation, with her children often at the center of these discourses. I aim to create a sort of guide to Circe’s offspring and the ancient texts in which they appear.

1) Telegonus

Fragmentary vase depicting Telegonus and Circe (~400 B.C) (LIMC Telegonos)

Telegonus, name meaning ‘born from afar’, is the most well-attested child of Circe by a wide margin. His earliest appearance comes in Hesiod’s Theogony, roughly dated to 730-700 B.C.

“Circe, the daughter of Helius son of Hyperion, through the love of stout-hearted Odysseus bore Agrius and Latinus, excellent and strong. And because of golden Aphrodite she bore Telegonus. Very far away in the innermost part of holy islands these sons were ruling over the famous Tyrrhenians.” (trans. Jessica Lightfoot, Cambridge University)

[There’s an entire debate about this passage. I’m not including it here because it’s not relevant to this topic, go to the end of the post if you care]*

Since this poem is mostly concerned with genealogy, we don’t get details about Telegonus’ personality or story — just his family tree and position, i.e., King of the Tyrrhenians (that is, the Etruscans).

Telegonus was also an important part of the Epic Cycle. He was mentioned in the Nostoi, a chapter set between the Iliad and the Odyssey that narrated the heroes’ return home. We can presume that this mention would have been an allusion to the future. He also had his own epic poem, the Telegony. This poem is attributed to Eugammon of Cyrene, though that claim is controversial, and some scholars speculate that the poet Musaeus might have written it instead. This led to Telegonus maintaining a relatively popular role in antiquity: Sophocles wrote a play about the unintentional patricide, Odysseus Wounded; Aristotle, Ovid, Statius, Plutarch, Apollodorus, and Hyginus all mention him. If you’re curious about the specific excerpts, I’ve made a post about this.

Telegonus was also regarded as a real historical figure. The Mamilii dynasty claimed to be descended from him through his daughter Mamilia. Since he was considered the founder of Tusculum and Palestrina, his heroic status lent credence to his supposed existence.

2) Agrius

In contrast to Telegonus, Agrius is the least documented of Circe’s children. He has exactly one mention in extant texts—the aforementioned Theogony passage. We know his parentage and that he ruled Etruria with his mother and siblings, yet he fades into obscurity after the stanza ends.

In Hesiod: Theogony. Edited with Prolegomena and Commentary, M. L. West cites a theory that Agrius was “an eponym of the Thracian Agrianes, assuming a considerable geographical ignorance on the part of the poet.” He argues that “such an assumption is indeed not altogether arbitrary; the poet seems to have no conception of the distance separating Epirus and Latium (see on 1015).”

West also claims that the most attractive theory is “that of K. Müllenhoff, Deutsche Altertumskunde (1870), i. 54, and F. Altheim, Röm. Religionsgesch. ii. 84–87, according to which Agrios is Faunus (agrestis, Ov. F. 2. 193, etc.), whom Nonnus makes a son of Poseidon and Circe (D. 13. 328–32; cf. 37. 57 f. Φᾶνος ἐρημονόμος Τρηχίνιος αὐτὸς ἀρούρης | ὡς πᾶς ἀγροτέρης δεδομημένος ἔργα τεκούσης).” I do not want to question a scholar, but this feels like nonsense to me. Agrius and Faunus have nothing in common besides being sons of Circe who appear in only one text. If I had to guess Hesiod’s intentions, I would put my money on the theory of Agrius as a poorly mapped eponym, much like his brother Latinus.

3) Latinus

Latinus, the last of Circe’s Theogony sons, is a curious figure. He appears frequently in ancient literature, yet authors never seemed able to agree on who his parents were. Chronologically, his earliest parentage is Circe and Odysseus, but he was also presented as the son of Zeus and Pandora, daughter of Deucalion (Pseudo-Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women); Odysseus and Calypso (Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca); Faunus and Marica (Virgil’s Aeneid—this Faunus is a different figure); Heracles (Dionysius of Halicarnassus); and probably others.

For the sake of completeness, I will quote here texts in which he is portrayed as Circe’s child, though he appears scattered throughout this post (excluding the passage from the Theogony, so as not to repeat myself):

“Beyond lie the sea islands Kyrnos (Corsica) and Sardo (Sardinia), which is said to be the largest island after Sicily. They used to be called the Siren islands and isle of Circe. The Umbrians are above the Pelasgians [...] whom Latinus settled, who was born of Circe and Odysseus, and the Ausonians have the interior.”- Pseudo-Scymnus, Circuit of the Earth (roughly C2nd B.C)

“[…] Telemachus married Circe. From Circe and Telemachus Latinus was born, who gave his name to the Latin language […]”- Hyginus, Fabulae (C2nd A.D)¹

“The Italic city of Praeneste was named after Praenestos, the son of Latinus, who was the son of Circe and Odysseus”- Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnika (C6th A.D)

“And they say that the famous Latinus, Telegonus’ brother, Circe’s son, and Aeneas’ father-in-law, when he was founding the “acropolis” of Rome before the coming of Aeneas, found a laurel tree [daphnê] by chance at the spot, and thus allowed it to remain there. For this reason, here too they designate the Palatium as “Daphne””- John The Lydian, De mensibus (C6th A.D)

“Palatium was named daphne (a laurel) after the name of the laurel tree in Rome. Some say that Latinus, Telegonos’s brother, Circe’s son, Aeneas’s father-in-law, founding the acropolis before the coming of Aeneas, found a laurel there.”- Cassianus Bassus, Geoponica (C6th A.D) [Here he’s elaborating on the paragraph quoted above]

“Rome is a region in Latium, and the Latins took their names after Latinus, son of Circe and Odysseus.”- Eustathius of Thessalonica, Commentary on Dionysius Periegetes (C12th A.D)

Even the Aeneid, which presents Latinus as the son of Faunus and Marica, connects him genealogically to Circe:

"Meanwhile the kings drove out: Latinus in a four-horsed chariot of massive size (twelve golden rays circling his shining brow, emblems of his ancestor, the Sun) […]" - Virgil, Aeneid 12.162–164 (C1st B.C)

¹ As far as I know, this is the only text that gives Circe a child with Telemachus

4, 5, & 6) Rhomos, Antias, and Ardias

More eponyms connected to Italy! You may start to sense a pattern here

“Xenagoras, the historian, writes that Odysseus and Circe had three sons, Romus, Anteias and Ardeias, who built three cities and called them after their own names”- Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Antiquitates Romanae (~7 B.C)

The writer being quoted, Xenagoras, is very obscure but we can tentatively date him to mid 4th century B.C. The cities meant here are Rome, Antium, and Ardea, respectively; they are all located in Latium, very close to each other. Roughly contemporary to Dionysius, we have this account:

“Some tell us that it was Romanus, a son of Odysseus and Circe, who colonized the city.” - Plutarch, Life of Romulus (C1st-2nd A.D)

The name is slightly different, but the story and geography are clearly the same. Notice how Romus/Romanus starts emerging as the most important of the triad. To my knowledge, the following mention of them comes from the medieval period:

“Antea, Italic city under the rule of the Romans, took its name from the son of Circe. There were three sons of Odysseus and Circe: Romus, Anteias and Ardeias.”- Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnika (C6th A.D)

Nothing to add there. Georgius Syncellus’ Ecloga chronographica page 227 has a slightly different version of this trinity: [This text isn’t available translated online, so I had to use an app. You can search the pdf to read the original if you want]

“To these matters also Callias in his deeds of Agathocles writes that a woman named Romē, of Trojan race, came with the Trojans into Italy. When the Latins reigned in Italy, she bore three sons: Romos, Romylos, and Telegonos. But others say otherwise: that Romos and Romylos were sons of Latinus, and that Romē was the mother who gave her name to the city Rome, and that Romylos and Telegonos together founded it. Still others say that Latinus was the son of Odysseus and Circe, and that he, with his brothers, built the city and called it Rome.” (8th century)

This author describes Latinus, Telegonos and Romylus (eponym of Rome, the variation doesn’t matter) as the sons of Circe. The three of them are credited with building the city.

My view, after researching this section, is that this legend seems to have originated in the classical period, with Romus proving the most enduring of the children in the trio. Anteis and Ardeias largely faded into obscurity, likely because the cities they represented were less relevant.

7) Auson

The Greeks used the exonym ‘Ausones’ for the inhabitants of central and southern Italy. The earliest explicit reference linking Circe to this region that I could find appears in Apollonius’ Argonautica:

“[…] it [Zeus through the Oracle of Dodona] bade Polydeukes and Kastor pray the immortal gods to grant them a safe passage through to Ausonian waters, where they would reach Kirke, daughter of Perse and the Sun.” (C3rd B.C)

A considerable time later, we get the first extant mention of Auson as a son of Circe

“There was in Italy a certain Circe, notable for her birth and remarkable for her beauty, who fell in love with Odysseus when he was wandering in Italy with Diomedes; after being united with him, she bore him Auson, who later took power over the entire territory, and from who[se name] the western [land] was called Ausonia. At any rate, this Circe boasted that she was the daughter of Helios on account of her exceedingly great beauty, and in honour of her own father, I suppose, she was the first in Italy to celebrate a chariot race, which indeed was named circus after her.”-John The Lydian, De mensibus (C6th A.D)

It’s worth noting that Auson is also recorded as the son of Odysseus and Calypso (Ps.-Scymn., Orbis Descr.; Suda, s.v. ‘Ausonians’). This isn’t uncommon, Circe and Calypso were often confused, to the point of being given one another’s characteristics. Regardless, all of the texts I could find that connect Auson to Circe are medieval. Whether one considers medieval Greek mythology to be ‘valid’ is a matter of personal opinion.

“The Italians are Ausones, the Italian is Ausonitis from Auson, the child of Odysseus and Circe.”- Tzetzes, Ad Lycophronem (C12th)

“Ausonia takes its name from the Ausonians, who in turn take theirs from Ausonus, son of Odysseus, according to some. For Odysseus had Telegonus and Ausonus and Casiphone with the legendary Circe, as every truth-respecting historian writes.”- Tzetzes, Chiliades

“This is also clearly different among many others, that both the Latinus of history and Ausôn are sons from Odysseus and Kirkê according to some. They each held power over their eponymous lands; and the tribes there were named from them.”- Eustathius, Comment. Ad Od. 1.1. (C12th)

8) Phaunos

This one is easy. Phaunos only appears in one document: Nonnus’ Dionysiaca. He’s the immortal son of Circe and Poseidon, and later an ally of Dionysus. He’s also the only child of Circe who has his own Theoi page, where you can read all of the relevant quotes.

9) Cassiphone

Cassiphone, name meaning ‘brother killer’, is the only daughter fathered by Odysseus (or is she? let’s put a pin on that); the first extant reference to her comes from Lycophron’s Alexandra:

“Perge, the Tyrrhenian mountain in Gortynaian territory, will receive him when dead and cremated, as he breathes out his life, lamenting the fate of his son, and of his wife, whom her husband kills and then follows her on the path to Hades, his throat slit by a sister's slaughter, the cousin of Glaukos and of Apsyrtos. And he, seeing such a heap of ills, will enter Hades for the second time, with no return, never having beheld a peaceful day in his life. Wretch! It would have been better for you to stay in your fatherland driving the oxen, and to join the lustful working donkey to the oxen under the yoke, goaded by a pretended device of madness, than to endure the test of such great ills.” (C3rd B.C)

Lycophron’s work is very puzzling and vague. This excerpt comes at the end of the section where he narrates Odysseus’ life; just before this quote, he describes Odysseus’ death at the hands of Telegonus. Essentially, the passage says that Odysseus was brought back to life by Circe after being taken to her land (“[he] will enter Hades for the second time, with no return”). Telemachus then kills Circe, his wife (“lamenting the fate of his son, and of his wife, whom her husband kills”), and is in turn killed by his sister Cassiphone (“his throat slit by a sister’s slaughter, the cousin of Glaukos and of Apsyrtos”). The passage ends with a reference to Odysseus feigning madness to escape the Trojan War—essentially, the beginning of his story.

Thankfully, the 12th century scholar John Tzetzes wrote a scholia clearing up this mess

“Aietes, Circe, and Pasiphae are the children of Helios and Perse, the daughter of Oceanus. Medea and Absyrtus are the children of Aietes and Eidyia. Telegonus and Cassiphone are the children of Circe and Odysseus. Ariadne, Phaedra, and Glaucos, are the children of Pasiphae and Minos.”

“[…] a myth is told that after Telegonus killed him, Circe raised him with potions and married Cassiphone to Telemachus and Penelope to Telegonus in the islands of the Blessed.”

“Telemachus married Cassiphone, the daughter of Circe. Telemachus kills Circe, not wanting to bear her commands, and he himself is killed by Cassiphone, his wife, avenging her mother. What he says is this: Odysseus will die seeing the sufferings of Circe being killed by Telemachus, and him by Cassiphone, his own daughter.”

Though there is a discrepancy, Tzetzes presents Cassiphone as the wife of Telemachus, whereas Lycophron was referring to Circe. In Lykophron Alexandra: Greek Text, Translation, Commentary, and Introduction, the author explains it as follows: ‘808. The son (of Odysseus) is Telemachos, and the wife (first of Odysseus, then of Telemachos, see FGrHist 382 Lysimachos F 15) is Kirke, whom Telemachos killed. Telemachos was in turn killed by Kassiphone, who was the daughter of Kirke and Odysseus, and thus Telemachos’ own (half-)sister.’

10) Rome

Doing research for this post, I found something curious. A quote by Servius the grammarian:

"Clinias reports that the daughter of Telemachus, Rome by name, was married to Aeneas, from which word Rome got its name. *** says that Latinus, the child of Ulysses and Circe, called the state Rome after the name of his deceased sister." (C4th A.D)

[translation courtesy of ＠lionofchaeronea]

Though not laid out as clearly as Hesiod’s genealogies, it’s clear that Rome is the daughter of Circe and Odysseus. The obscurity of this work explains why many scholars claim that Cassiphone is the only daughter attributed to the couple.

Rome serves the same function as Romus, being an eponym for the city and giving it a heroic connection. Not sure what the narrative purpose of killing her off was, though.

Reflections and oddities

There are still more threads to pull on this topic. For example, I didn’t include Nausithous in the list because the idea of Circe as his mother is attested only in Hyginus, Fabulae 125, while the more common tradition makes him the son of Calypso (as in Hesiod’s Theogony—a text, needless to say, far better known in antiquity than Hyginus’ work). I also don’t take into account the Sibyl’s statement, “[…] men shalt say […] that I’m a Sibyl, born of mother Circe and father Gnostos, […]” since, despite a semi-popular Reddit post presenting it as fact, any claim introduced with “men shalt say” is clearly framed as commentary. Nevertheless, the repetition I lampshaded in the list is precisely why I believe Circe’s posterity is important. To truly understand her as more than just the dangerous seductress she is often reduced to, it’s essential to consider her connections to ancient Italy, her image being used to establish the heroic lineage of cities, and, yes, her worship. For these reasons, I argue that Circe’s children not only deserve to be remembered, but perhaps also recognized as heroes.

Bibliography

- Zalewska-Jura, H. (2018). Circe and Rome. The origin of the legend. Studia Ceranea Journal of the Waldemar Ceran Research Centre for the History and Culture of the Mediterranean Area and South-East Europe, 8, 77–87. https://doi.org/10.18778/2084-140x.08.04

- Hésiode. (1966). Theogony: Edited with Prolegomena and Commentary by M.L. West.

- Hornblower, S. (2017). LYKOPHRON : alexandra. Oxford University Press.

- CIRCE (Kirke) - Greek Goddess of sorcery, Sorceress of AEAEA. (n.d.). https://www.theoi.com/Titan/Kirke.html [For the Telegonus section]

- Sententiaeantiquae. (2016, February 3). Circe – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE. SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE. https://sententiaeantiquae.com/tag/circe/

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✱ M. L. West, in his Theogony commentary cited above, argues that Telegonus’ inclusion in this line is a Byzantine interpolation. He cites as proof the work of Eustathius, who wrote: “ἐκ Κίρκης υἱοὶ καὶ Ἡλιόδου Ὀδυσσεῖ Ἄγριος καὶ Λατῖνος,” which translates as “From Circe’s sons, [herself] of Helios, to Odysseus [were] Agrios and Latinus.” Notably, Telegonus is missing there. However, West fails to consider that Eustathius does in fact discuss Telegonus elsewhere in his writings:

Eustathius (Comm. ad Od. 1.142.35): “Concerning being born far off, it is sufficiently clear in the Iliad. And now it will be addressed to an extent. Among the ancients, that someone is far-born is not only about where he was born, as the only son of Menelaos was Megapenthes, but that he was born when his father was far away, or grew up in this way after he was born. A first example of this is Telegonos, who was born from Kirkê when Odysseus was far away.”

The teacher/s at Sententiae Antiquae remark that “it is important to note that Telegonos’ name (‘born far away’; ‘begotten far away’) may be echoed in the line after the supposed interpolation (μάλα τῆλε).”

West’s view is still frequently brought up in scholarship, but to the best of my knowledge, no other academic has accepted his proposal.

Edit: West’s Byzantine interpolation theory has, indeed, been rejected by published scholars

Agrius, Anteias, Ardeas, Auson, Cassiphone, Euryalus, Latinus, Nausinous, Nausithous, Persepolis, Poliporthes, Rhomos, Telegonus and Telemachus

Hesiod claimed he was a son of Odysseus and Circe, but in the Fabulae, he was called a son of Telemachus and Circe. Another author places him as brother to Graecus, son of Zeus by Pandora, but Apollodorus said he was the son of Odysseus and Calypso, and brother to Nausithous and Nausinous, who were mentioned in the Theogony.

Faunus and Marica.

"King Latinus, now old, ruled over lands and towns in the calm of a long peace. He was sprung of Faunus, we are told, and the Laurentine nymph, Marica." — Aeneid 7.46–49

I’m going with Virgil on this one because the other options are impossible timeline wise.

Pandora (daughter of Deucalion), came so many generations before Aeneas so unless Latinus is immortal (which he doesn’t seem to be) I don’t see how this parentage would work.

Ok work is the wrong term but basically I think of certain events happening and almost have my own ideas? But Ngl I need to get a grip of Telemachus characterisation in the odyssey aka read it aka it finish the Iliad. But I have an idea of how to make similar events take place WITHOUT having an ooc Odysseus and perhaps not contradict the Homeric lore (I need to read the odyssey first to be completely sure)

Aeneas at the Court of Latinus by Ferdinand Bol

Aeneas handing out prizes after the race at sea. Aeneas rewards the winner with a laurel wreath, while being watched by a large gathering. To the left a large number of ship's masts.