Editing Circe (section)

==Scientific interpretations==
In later Christian opinion, Circe was an abominable witch using miraculous powers to evil ends. When the existence of witches came to be questioned, she was reinterpreted as a [[Depressive personality disorder|depressive]] suffering from [[delusion]]s.<ref>"Disbelieving in Witchcraft: Allori's Melancholic Circe in the Palazzo Salviati," ''Athanor'' 22 (2004), [https://www.academia.edu/7199809/_Disbelieving_in_Witchcraft_Allori_s_Melancholic_Circe_in_the_Palazzo_Salviati._Athanor_22_2004_57-65 pp. 57–65].</ref>

In botany, the Circaea are plants belonging to the [[enchanter's nightshade]] genus. The name was given by botanists in the late 16th century in the belief that this was the herb used by Circe to charm Odysseus' companions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/enchanter%27s_nightshade|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064716/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/enchanter's+nightshade|url-status=dead|title=Enchanter'S Nightshade &#124; Definition of Enchanter'S Nightshade by Lexico|archive-date=March 4, 2016|website=Lexico Dictionaries &#124; English}}</ref> Medical historians have speculated that the transformation to pigs was not intended literally but refers to [[anticholinergic]] intoxication with the plant ''[[Datura stramonium]]''.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|vauthors=Plaitakis A, Duvoisin RC|date=March 1983|title=Homer's moly identified as ''Galanthus nivalis L.'': physiologic antidote to stramonium poisoning|journal=Clin Neuropharmacol|volume=6|issue=1|pages=1–5|doi=10.1097/00002826-198303000-00001|pmid=6342763|s2cid=19839512}}</ref> Symptoms include [[amnesia]], [[hallucination]]s, and delusions. The description of "moly" fits the [[snowdrop]], a flower that contains [[galantamine]], which is a long lasting [[anticholinesterase]] and can therefore counteract anticholinergics that are introduced to the body after it has been consumed.<ref name=":0" />