Circe Invidiosa (Classical Greek Mythology) Ceramic Tile

This design features a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist John William Waterhouse (1849–1917). It shows Circe, a character from classical mythology. The particular portrayal of Circe is based on Ovid's tale in his Metamorphoses, where Circe turns Scylla into a sea monster: she does this because Glaucus had scorned the enchantress' romantic advances in hopes of attaining Scylla's love instead. The best known of the legends about Circe are recounted in Homer's Odyssey, when Odysseus visits her island of Aeaea on the way back from the Trojan War and she changes most of his crew into pigs. Circe was seen as the archetype of the bewitching female; she is a femme fatale. The original artwork by John William Waterhouse was painted in 1892, and it is now located in the Art Gallery of South Australia.