Circe

Circe...............................................................................................................................1
Script..........................................................................................................................1
Likely questions and possible answers:.....................................................................2

Script

Stationed by the altar from Delos in the City Museum’s Ancient Worlds Gallery.
Stands ‘frozen’ until approached and comes ‘alive’ when visitors to the gallery reach
a certain point marked on the floor.

Welcome, stranger(s). I am the lovely-haired Circe, the fearsome goddess with human
speech, weaver of cloth and singer of songs. I am the daughter of Helios the Sun, who
gives life to mortals, and Perse, daughter of Ocean. I, an immortal goddess, took the
Greek hero Odysseus – the only mortal man I could not strip of his courage and his
manhood – as my lover and safely directed him to the underworld while he yet lived.
From that journey he returned to his home and family. I have the power to enable you
to follow in his footsteps tonight; do you wish to journey safely to the Greek
underworld – the realm of Hades and queen Persephone?

Await an answer

If it is ‘No’ say – with appropriate gestures as to their location

Then why have you approached me? If you seek passage to another Underworld you
must ask Aeneas the Roman hero or visit the Egyptian priest Nesyamun for guidance.
Leave me, before I lose my patience, strike you with my rod and change you into pigs
that retain their human minds and know what they have become. Now go!
Once they have moved beyond the marks on the floor ‘freeze’ until more visitors
approach and repeat from the beginning.

If it is ‘Yes’ say
Come, tell me this and tell me in clear truth: Who are you and where are you from?
Let them answer. Then say performing the offerings and giving them a route map
With these offerings I beseech all the strengthless heads of the dead to grant
this night safe passage through the underworld to the mortal(s) [their name(s)] and
safe return to [their town]. In exchange for this boon I offer you libations of [pour]
milk and honey mixed, [pour] sweet wine and [pour] water and [sprinkling white
barley-grains over the liquid] give you assurance that even the nameless dead are not
forgotten.
Now I have these instructions [give them a route map] for each one of you
here and send you safely on your way. On exiting this building you will enter the
realm of Hades and queen Persephone and may wander through it at will. If you have
no questions [pause and look enquiringly at them – answer any they have] I give my
farewell to you (all).
‘Freeze’ until more visitors approach and repeat from the beginning.
Likely questions and possible answers:
Where should I/we go?
This depends on their interest, so while you could say “The map I have given
you is sufficient guide; look within before asking further.” (which you could do if
there are other visitors waiting) it would be better to ask “Is your intention to visit
places, see people or learn about the realm of mighty Hades and queen Persephone?”
What places of interest are there?
“In the realm of mighty Hades and dread Persephone there are many places of
interest, as detailed in the guide. Seek out particularly the River Styx in Dark Arches
and the Elysian fields where Eleusinian initiates dance happily in City Square.”
Where can I find out more information?
“Look around, is this place not full of information? I know that each location
in the guide has an information point. I am an immortal and do not enter the realm
where the mindless dead twitter like bats, but I know the mortal expert can answer
any questions you may have. You could seek out Aeneas and Nesyamun for guidance
to other underworlds. And on the first floor of the house of Hades – which you may
know as Parkinson Building, University of Leeds –there is an exhibition on the
Classical underworld.”
What is there that’s child-friendly?
“The goddess Demeter seeks her lost daughter Persephone, who is somewhere
in the underworld. You can help them to find each other and this will bring springtime
back to the earth once Demeter takes Persephone back into the light of the sun. You
could look for them in the Elysian Fields where Eleusinian initiates dance happily in
City Square or in the Asphodel Fields in Victoria Gardens and near the Town Hall.
The keen eyes of youth can spot the signs by which we know Leeds is the
Greek underworld on the buildings all around us – count the Greek columns, look up
to spot the ornamental urns and Greek borders and use the guide between locations to
discover the places known to the god Hermes, who safely guides souls to the
underworld.”
Where are there other characters?
“In the realm of mighty Hades and dread Persephone there are some immortals
among the company of the mindless dead. Take care when crossing the River Styx in
Dark Arches to pay Charon the ferryman with coinage in the guide. Demeter seeks
her daughter Persephone and Orpheus his dead wife Eurydice: you may find them in
the Elysian Fields where Eleusinian initiates dance happily in City Square or in the
Asphodel Fields in Victoria Gardens and near the Town Hall or in the Vale of
Mourning in Millennium Square.”
Why are you here?
“I am the lovely-haired Circe, the fearsome goddess with human speech,
weaver of cloth and singer of songs. I am the daughter of Helios the Sun, who gives
life to mortals, and is known to Greeks as Apollo. I stand beside my father’s altar
from the Greek island of Delos because I choose this night to be alive in Leeds; the
city which recognised my powers and gave me a home in Albert Drury’s bronze
sculpture, first in the garden of Park Square, then in the Art Gallery and now
downstairs here. As an immortal I will never have to enter the underworld, but tonight
I am here to give my protection to the heroes who dare a journey that will change the
way they view their city in their lifetime. I give my farewell to you (all).”