Event

The world of Homeric epic already contained, or pointed to, other possible stories, non-heroic alternatives that the ensuing literary tradition would develop in different ways. The Circe episode is an example: the character of the powerful goddess/magician undergoes several metamorphoses in the process of moving from her original mysterious island to the Roman West and the Circeo, where the post-Homeric tradition places her abode. In Latin literature (and more specifically in the Roman novel, which is the main focus of this paper) her behavior and emotionality are heavily influenced by the new standards set by Hellenistic culture and Roman elegy.