Konstantinos Konstantinidis – Amphiktyon
In Circe’s embrace,
all caresses and kisses,
with potions and charms,
she conquers her victim.
In the bed
of the homeland she gives him forgetfulness;
she turns his voice into a cry,
his nostalgia into anger and complaint,
and leaves him thirsting only for money.
Circe despises her own people
and favors the immigrant.
She holds the key,
and he becomes the victim.
As soon as he arrives,
false hope,
life like a wave;
he becomes Circe’s possession,
and loses life’s beautiful poem.
Nerves stretched tight like strings,
deprived of every pleasure.
From then on, you cannot leave;
only by becoming Odysseus can you escape.
It demands superior
spiritual and psychological strength,
and a will that shines like fire.
For Circe takes these away from them,
along with their intuitive intelligence;
with her luxurious attire
she strips them of every creative spark.
Circe was not merely
oppressive toward men;
she is also a woman who oppresses women.
In the erotic relationship
she plays the role of a man,
an “androgynous woman,” a “butch,”
seeking a female partner.
With allure and beauty
she traps her victims;
in her luxurious villa
she nourishes them with food and sweets.
She gives them sleeping potions,
grants them citizenship in her land,
while behind the scenes
she calculates the countless profits she will gain.
And because Odysseus feels the pull of nostos,
she keeps the purse
and has it tied up in a knot.
An explicit command: what to do, how to behave,
how to resist every temptation.
And through the informational ether
the monster sends him commands.
Only if you are Odysseus
can you rebel.
The sailor aboard the ship
will never return;
he will end up Circe’s slave,
and leave his bones in a foreign land.
And if by chance the slave
dares to raise his head,
then she, like a walnut,
cracks him open.
Circe’s male counterpart, Kirkos,
a monstrous-born man,
jealous, harsh, primitive,
and driven mad by pathological love.
He considers the woman his property,
like his own shaving machine.
And if she demands her rights,
his eyes will flash with rage.
With a pistol or a knife
he will lunge at her;
like a lion and a hyena
he will tear her to pieces.
The poor children
will not even cross his mind,
so long as his passion is fulfilled.
And often he follows her
and takes his own life.
She ends up in the grave,
he ends up in prison,
and only after the tragedy does he repent—
too late, after the deed is done.
The children will be left
with relatives or in institutions,
while the scenes of the carnage
will haunt them forever.
And other secrets of rape
that never come to light,
dark cries in the night
remain tightly sealed secrets,
for eternity, in Hades.
There are also Circes
who torment women,
with allure and false promises
seducing insatiable souls.
Swept along by the currents of the age,
which turn nature into distortion,
they see woman as a mare
and themselves as stallions,
rushing furiously into the bridal chamber.
Circe may be a person,
a country, or something else,
that cast them into such a fate,
whether in a good hour or a bad one.
You too, become another Odysseus;
find your old self again,
break your chains,
and raise your head high.
Return to your homeland,
mythical and magnificent,
where life awaits you,
free, pure, and new.
(31/8/26)
Major General (Ret.) Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Author – Member of the Society of Greek Writers
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