The Daily Cow

After Odysseus's men are turned into swine by the goddess Circe, Hermes, the messenger god comes and instructs Odysseus on how to save his men:

Let instant death upon [the blade] shine,
and she (Circe) will cower and yield her bed--
a pleasure you must not decline,
so may her lust and fear bestead
you and your friends, and break her spell

So apparently he has to seduce Circe to save his men. Immediately after Hermes left, Odysseus said to himself:

I sought out Circe,
my heart high with excitement, beating hard.

When Odysseus finally confronts Circe, she responds:

Put up your weapon in the sheath. We two shall mingle and make love upon our bed. So mutual trust may come of play and love.

Instinctively, Odysseus "entered Circe's flawless bed of love." (and stayed for another year, until his men complained in unison that they were homesick, even though Odysseus didn't need to stay for any longer)

After all this, and seven? (eight?) more years of voluntary captivity under another goddess Calypso, Odysseus still expects his Penelope to have remained absolutely faithful to him. Strange that Odysseus would tell this part of his voyage to the Phaeacian hosts as if he's proud to have done it. Maybe it was a "Ha! I slept with a goddess" sort of fulfillment that Odysseus wanted to share. (If I had to sleep with a goddess to save my crew, I'd keep mum about it :P Okay, maybe that's not happening)

Greeks are funny.