CIRCE
-Madeline Miller

"But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation was he to me."

"He showed me his scars, and in return he let me pretend that I had none."

"I thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but I see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands."

"So many years I had spent as a child sifting his bright features for his thoughts, trying to glimpse among them one that bore my name. But he was a harp with only one string, and the note it played was himself.
"You have always been the worst of my children," he said. "Be sure to not dishonor me."
"I have a better idea. I will do as I please, and when you count your children, leave me out."

"You can teach a viper to eat from your hands, but you cannot take away how much it likes to bite."

"You threw me to the crows, but it turns out I prefer them to you."

"It was my first lesson. Beneath the smooth familiar face of things is another that waits to tear the world in two."

"I felt the currents move. The grains of sand whispered against each other. His wings were lifting. The darkness around us shimmered with clouds of his gilded blood. Beneath my feet were the bones of a thousand years. I thought: I cannot bear this world a moment longer.

Then, child, make another."

""Θα μου πεις πώς είναι ένας θνητός;"
Ήταν παιδιάστικη ερώτηση, εκείνος όμως έγνεψε σοβαρά. "Δεν υπάρχει μόνο μία απάντηση. Ο καθένας είναι διαφορετικός. Το μόνο κοινό που έχουν είναι ο θάνατος. Την ξέρεις αυτή τη λέξη;"
"Την ξέρω", αποκρίθηκα. "Μα δεν την καταλαβαίνω".
"Κανένας θεός δεν μπορεί να την καταλάβει. Τα σώματά τους καταρρέουν και περνάνε στη γη. Οι ψυχές τους γίνονται παγωμένος καπνός και πετάνε στον κάτω κόσμο. Εκεί δεν τρώνε και δεν πίνουν τίποτα, ούτε νιώθουν καμία ζεστασιά. Ό,τι και να προσπαθούν να πιάσουν γλιστράει μακριά τους".
Ένα ρίγος με διαπέρασε σύγκορμη. "Πώς το αντέχουν;"
"Όσο καλύτερα μπορούν"."

"Every moment mortals died, by shipwreck and sword, by wild beasts and wild men, by illness, neglect, and age. It was their fate, Prometheus had told me, the story they all shared. No matter how vivid they were in life, no matter how brilliant, no matter the wonders they made, they came to dust and smoke. Meanwhile every petty and useless god would go on sucking down the bright air until the stars went dark."

"He was another knife I could feel it. A different sort, but a knife still. I did not care. I thought: give me the blade. Some things are worth spilling blood for."

"It was so simple. If you want it, I will do it. If it would make you happy, I will go with you. Is there a moment that a heart cracks?"