Circe Enchants Ulysses’ Sailors

Paul Manship created many sculptures of mythical characters and often chose to illustrate a particular moment in a legend rather than a general theme or symbol. This sculpture shows a scene from the story of Ulysses, a Greek leader in the Trojan War. When Ulysses and his men stopped at an island in search of food, the sorceress Circe captured the crew and turned them into pigs. Ulysses saved his men with the help of a special herb that countered Circe’s magic. Manship chose not to show the hero Ulysses and instead depicted Circe surrounded by the enslaved sailors.