Minos and Pasiphaë’s using a ship’s beauty to show off their power illustrates how, in the power-obsessed society of ancient Greece, people often use whatever means available to advertise their might. By sending a beautiful boat on a dangerous journey, Minos and Pasiphaë are implying that they have such an abundance of wealth and engineering talent that they can afford to be careless with what they have. Meanwhile, Circe is astonished at how unique all the mortal men on the boat are. She especially focuses on their scars, which symbolize how a person’s struggles and failures—and how one grows from them—make them unique. Given Circe’s shock at the variation of mortals, it is implied that gods are less varied, given that they are immortal and don’t experience change and hardship in the same way that mortals do.