In Greek mythology, Calchus () is a king of the Daunians who fell in love with and unsuccessfully courted Circe, the witch-goddess whom

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...

encountered during his long-lasting journey on his way home. His myth survives only in the works of Parthenius of Nicaea.

Mythology

In a much later myth interpolated during the course of the '' Odyssey'', specifically during the timeframe that

and his crew stayed at Aeaea, the island of Circe, Calchus fell in love with the sorceress-goddess and employed all possible means of seduction in order to woo her, even offering her the kingship of his realm. But Circe, being in love with Odysseus, rejected him each and every time. But Calchus refused to let go and kept visiting Aeaea, so Circe pulled a trick on him, and invited him over for dinner. Calchus tasted all sort of enchanted food and drink, and was thus transformed into a pig and imprisoned. Later, the Daunians came over to release him. Circe transformed him back into human and set him free, after binding him to swear to never visit her island or woo her in any way again. Parthenius
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References

Bibliography

* Parthenius of Nicaea, ''Love Romances'', translated By Sir Stephen Gaselee (1882-1943), from the

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...

edition of Parthenius, Love Romances, published 1916, a work in the public domain. * Circe Metamorphoses into animals in Greek mythology Kings in Greek mythology {{Greek-myth-stub

Mythology

See also

References

Bibliography