How did Ballet comique de la reine use the story of Circe to support French royal power?

The Ballet comique de la reine (1581) utilized the myth of the sorceress Circe to reinforce the authority of the French monarchy during a period of internal conflict. By centering the plot on the defeat of Circe, the performance established a clear political moral: the sorceress was forced to surrender her power to the King of France, who was presented as the supreme symbol of harmony and order.12

This narrative served to project the image of an absolutist ruler capable of restoring peace to a fractured nation. The production further emphasized this royal supremacy through its choreography, where dancers formed complex geometric patterns—such as equilateral triangles within a circle—that were understood by contemporary audiences to represent "Supreme Power". The performance concluded with an act of homage to the royal family, cementing the ballet’s role as a tool for political propaganda that equated the monarch’s influence with the restoration of a perfect, orderly world.1