Building upon Anthony and Anton's answers I incorporated the ability to rotate the generated circle without affecting it's overall appearance. This is useful if you're using the path for an animation and you need to control where it begins.
function(cx, cy, r, deg){
var theta = deg*Math.PI/180,
dx = r*Math.cos(theta),
dy = -r*Math.sin(theta);
return "M "+cx+" "+cy+"m "+dx+","+dy+"a "+r+","+r+" 0 1,0 "+-2*dx+","+-2*dy+"a "+r+","+r+" 0 1,0 "+2*dx+","+2*dy;
}