When Odysseus fails to transform into a pig after drinking Circe’s potion, Circe realizes he must be the famed “man of twists and turns” and invites him into her bed. Odysseus refuses unless she meets his conditions: Circe must turn his men whom she earlier transformed into pigs back into humans, and she must promise never to use her magic to harm him. Once they strike a bargain, Odysseus sleeps with Circe. Odysseus and his men stay on her island for a year, and Odysseus only asks to leave when his men demand it. Such behavior implies that Odysseus has grown to care for Circe even though his “heart longs to be home.”
