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Perses
Perse is the wife of Helios and mother of Circe, Aeëtes, Pasiphaë, and Perses. As a nymph, she has no power among the divinities. The only way she can gain more power is through marriage, which is representative of how, in ancient Greece, marriage was typically the only way women could gain power. Of course, because her power is dependent on a man, she pretty much lives by his whim. Perse is disgusted upon Circe’s birth—first because she is a girl, and then because Helios says that Circe is not beautiful enough to attract another immortal for a husband. Because Circe will therefore not bring Perse any more power through a future marriage, Perse dismisses her and is cruel to her for the rest of her existence.
Perse Quotes in Circe
The Circe quotes below are all either spoken by Perse or refer to Perse. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1 Quotes
“A girl,” my mother said to him, wrinkling her nose.
But my father did not mind his daughters, who were sweet-tempered and golden as the first press of olives. Men and gods paid dearly for the chance to breed from their blood, and my father’s treasury was said to rival that of the king of the gods himself […]
“She will make a fair match,” he said.
“How fair?” my mother wanted to know. This might be consolation, if I could be traded for something better.
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Circe LitChart as a printable PDF.
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Perse Character Timeline in Circe
The timeline below shows where the character Perse appears in Circe. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...there is no name for what she is. Others initially assume that, like her mother Perse, Circe is a nymph. Nymphs are the least powerful of all goddesses, and the word...
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Circe’s father, Helios, is a Titan. Perse met him through her own father, Oceanos. As Oceanos’s cousin, Helios frequently visited his palace,...
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When Helios first approached Perse, she refused to have sex with him until he married her. Helios had been with...
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Helios would go on to give Perse a similar necklace after the birth of each of her four children, and she treasured...
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When Circe is born, Perse is disappointed to have a girl. But Helios is pleased—as with all his other daughters...
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Perse takes no interest in raising Circe, and with Helios gone each day to ride his...
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Perse gives birth to two more children: one girl and one boy. The daughter, whom she...
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Perses and Pasiphaë quickly notice that Perse loathes Circe, and they begin to incessantly mock her,...
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Back at the palace, Perses and Pasiphaë ask Circe about the cows and mock her for not knowing something about...
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Chapter 3
Perse has another son, but after Helios doesn’t have a prophecy for him, she spurns her...
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...finally picked a husband for Pasiphaë: Minos, Zeus’s mortal son and king of Crete. Both Perse and Perses sour at the announcement—they are disgusted that Pasiphaë will be married to a...
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Aeëtes leaves for his new kingdom right after the wedding. Shortly after, Perses leaves for Persia, where he hopes to find demons. Circe abruptly finds herself alone once...
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Chapter 6
...begs forgiveness, and he stops the heat and turns back to the other gods, blaming Perse for his children’s unruliness.
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...in pharmaka, herbs that come from both divine blood and from common plants. Pasiphaë and Perses, Aeëtes elaborates, also practice pharmakeia. Helios is dumbstruck.
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...days of conference, Helios leaves for Olympus. The tension in the halls is thick. Only Perse celebrates, proud of her powerful children.
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...these powers are new to the world and come from the children of Helios and Perse, who looks smugger than ever. Helios says that they have decided that his children’s magic...
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...Lastly, Helios announces his promise to Zeus that he will have no more children with Perse, whose gloating expression dissolves into sobs.
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Chapter 8
...at any moment. Hermes tells Circe gossip from around the world, from Pasiphaë’s family to Perse’s gloating pride about her children. She enjoys his stories but knows that he gossips about...
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Chapter 9
...wanders the shore while thinking of Scylla as she had once been, often flirting with Perses. Circe’s thoughts turn to Daedalus, and what Pasiphaë has of his. At first, Circe thinks...
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Circe uses a paste to transform into Perses, telling Daedalus that Scylla had loved her brother. She orders the best men to the...
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...their cave. Just as Scylla is about to strike, Circe calls out for her. Using Perse’s voice and speaking slowly to give the crew extra time to row, she says that...
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Chapter 12
...to spite Helios and the others who spurned her. Pasiphaë then tells her to consider Perse and how she manipulated those around her, only to have the gods forbid her from...
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