Aeaea

In Greek mythology, Aeaea (sometimes Aiaia or Eea) was the home of the sorceress Circe.

Though the somewhat inconsistent geography of the Odyssey is more mythic than literal, Aeaea was later identified by classical Roman writers with Mount Circeo on Cape Circaeum on the western coast of Italy — about 100 kilometers south of Rome — which may have looked like an island due to the marshes and sea surrounding its base but is, in fact, a small peninsula. It was already a peninsula in the days of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, according to his work. However, it may have been still an island in the days of Homer, with a long "lido" or sandy peninsula that gradually became attached to the mainland, in a common geological process.

Locals identify one cave on the cape as "Grotta della Maga Circe", the cave of Circe.

Before leaving Aeaea, Odysseus was given instructions by Circe on how to travel to the underworld:

When your ship has traversed the waters of Oceanus, you will reach the fertile shore of Persephone's country with its groves of tall poplars and willows that shed their fruit untimely; here beach your ship upon the shore of Oceanus, and go straight on to the dark abode of Hades. (Odyssey 10.505, tr. Samuel Butler)

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