CALYPSO

Calypso was a nymph who lived on a remote island called Ogygia. She is famous for playing host to Odysseus during his journey home after the Trojan War. According to Homer’s Odyssey, the Greek hero stayed with Calypso for seven years, during which time she tempted him with an offer of immortality. Odysseus’s refusal to accept the offer reflected his love for his homeland of Ithaca and his wife, Penelope.

Above: This 17th-century tapestry depicts Odysseus arriving at the island of Calypso, one of the many islands visited by the Greek hero during his 10-year journey home from the Trojan War. In the most widely known version of the myth, Odysseus arrived at the island alone.

Different sources give various figures as the parents of Calypso. In the Odyssey, the epic poem by the Greek poet Homer (c. ninth-eighth century BCE), she is said to have been the daughter of Atlas, one of the Titans. Atlas was the father of a large number of daughters, many of whom, like himself, were associated with the sea and remote, otherworldly places. Other sources name other parents for Calypso, mostly associated with the sea, and the sea Titan, Oceanus, is usually said to be either a parent or grandparent. Calypso was thus a venerable and elemental figure. Calypso’s name is derived from the Greek verb kalyptein and may mean “hider” or “concealer.”

The Odyssey gives a full description of Calypso and the magical island of Ogygia on which she lived. Her home was a cave, warmed by a cedarwood fire. The cave was situated in a lush forest setting of alder, poplars, and cypress trees. Owls, hawks, and gulls nested there; clusters of grapes hung from a vine over the mouth of the cave; and clear water flowed from not one, but four fountains. Nearby, meadows bloomed with parsley and violets. Calypso lived on ambrosia and nectar—the food and drink of the gods. She spent her days weaving, an activity associated with femininity and domesticity.