Forever Alone In Homer's Odyssey By Rick Riordan

In the poem "Calypso" by Suzanne Vega, the reader understands that Calypso really did care for Odysseus an is sad when she has to let him go. In the poem Vega states,"It's a lonely time ahead/I do not ask him to return/I let him go"( Vega lines 38-40). Many years ago there was a war between the gods and the titans. Unfortunately, Calypso chose the wrong side to oblige. Therefore, when the gods won the war, they punished Calypso by placing her on an island for eternity and sending her heroes to fall in love with. In addition, after awhile she had to let them go eventually. Odysseus got sent to her island and, as predicted, the "regular routine'' of her falling for heroes and releasing them started once again. In conclusion, when Odysseus leaves her island for good she is left heartbroken, but in the end acknowledges that she has to let them

Despite Calypso being a character who defies typical constraints, she is not always the model of a defiant woman. In spite of the fact that she is repeatedly used by Homer to show disobedience against the role that is expected of her, she still shows characteristics of a normal female character in an epic poem. When Hermes comes to visit her, she sets “a table with ambrosia” and “a bowl of rosy nectar” (Homer, p. 386). Setting the table for a man is a sign of respect and shows that she accepts her role of catering towards the opposite sex. This is a crucial moment as Calypso has continuously shown contempt for a woman’s conventional duties. When she is introduced, she is described as sitting in her home “singing in a lovely voice as she wove at her loom with a golden shuttle” (Homer, p. 386). The loom is a direct symbol of a tamed woman, reiterated by Penelope’s extensive use of it throughout the epic. When Homer describes Calypso on her loom, he refers to her as

She is a “bewitching nymph” and “lustrous goddess” (206). She forces Odysseus to stay with her as her lover for many years. Odysseus was able to escape from the Cyclops’ cave. However, neither his strength nor his cunning can free him from Calypso. He is doomed to remain there until the gods intervene. Women’s irresistible charm leads Odysseus to disaster.

The gods are constantly involved with mortal women and are not shamed for it, Zeus’ being especially guilty of this. However, Calypso argues that when an immortal women such as herself sleeps with a mortal man she is berated and the man is whisked away. She refers to the gods as “scandalized” in result of her involvement with Odysseus, yet they are unimpeded to sleep with any women they desire. Calypso wishes the power to be held to the same standard as the gods, but the etiquette of a goddess is to not freely become involved with mortals, as it is of a god. Calypso angrily must give up Odysseus, and in book six he finally makes his way onto another island after a near death experience awash in the sea. On this island lives Princess Nausicaa who also must undergo gender roles. The goddess Athena, disguised as a friend of the princess, convinces Nausicaa that she should take a trip to the river to wash and bathe her clothes as a plan to get her and Odysseus to meet up. Odysseus finds Nausicaa at the stream, and first she is scared because he is dirty and very fatigued. He then talks to her, and she offers him help. She asks that he accompany her back to the palace where he can get help of her parents, the king and queen. He is about to ride in the Nausicaa's wagon, but then she asks that Odysseus must follow behind, telling him about what would possibly happen if the were to ride

There comes a point in the story where Odysseus and his men are constantly bombarded with offerings for food, comfort and a long happy life. Upon leaving Aeolus’ island for the second time and quickly escaping the Laestrygonians, Odysseus and his crew stumble upon Circe’s island of Aeaea. After a few tribulations with Circe the men are all comforted, bathed and fed for a years time. The crew stays on Circe’s island for an entire year, and are tempted to spend the rest of their days with her (10. 327-8). Odysseus is also tempted considering he lives there, with her, in her bed for an entire year. Yet, even this great temptation is put aside and the men, unhappily, cast off from Circe’s island. Not long after, Odysseus would end up shipwrecked and alone on Calypso’s island. Odysseus is supposed to be being held against his will on Calypso’s island. Yet, when someone lives somewhere for over five years and does

What Calypso essentially wanted was Odysseus to stay with her and for a while she was successful in holding him. While a man would have easily been able to do this without worrying about Hermes coming in and demanding him set the woman free, Calypso had to find another way to assert herself. In the end, her actions could not withhold the double standard.

Calypso being the temptress that she is kept Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years. Eventually, after Zeus talked to Athena, Zeus told Calypso that she must set Odysseus free. Even with Zeus’ orders she did not want to let Odysseus go so Odysseus had to escape her dreadful island and return home on his own. Then after he left the island of Calypso, he ran in to Circe. Circe started to mess with all of Odysseus’ men and made it harder to get home. Both Calypso and Circe, made Odysseus’ journey home so much harder than it needed to be. Since Calypso trapped him on the island for seven years, his family and everybody at home was starting to believe he was dead. They had no hope that they would ever see him again. So they started to push themselves on Penelope. Also if Circe would have just left him alone and did not mess with any of his men and stayed out of the way, he could have made it home faster. Since both of the Goddess wanted him for their selves they both interfered with his journey in many different ways. Some ways was the same like giving him the gift of immortality and persuading with other stuff. Some ways was different like trapping him in a cage for seven years and turning his men into pigs so he could not leave as

The goddess Athena then appears to Telemachus, Odysseus’ son, disguised as an old friend of his and tells him to travel to Pylos and Sparta in search of his father, meanwhile banishing the suitors from his father’s estate in Ithaca since Odysseus would return soon. In Pylos, Telemachus learns that the two brothers leading Odysseus’ expedition had a sort of disagreement leading to their separation. Later, in Sparta Telemachus learns that Odysseus is being held captive on an island by the goddess Calypso. However, the gods order Calypso to allow Odysseus to return to Ithaca.

Calypso lives in a “wide cave”, like open arms, symbolizes the welcoming of guests but a cave can be associated with dungeon or jail chamber implying that Calypso has other intentions for her guests. She has a beautiful island with “clear” springs, but like her personality, they are “shallow”. The island at first glance seems positive but under scrutiny, there is something “hidden” about it foreshadowing her plans with Odysseus. The “ornate birds”, the “horned owls”(58) and all the other birds are beauties of the mystical island. However, under examination they are all birds of prey. It foretells an omen of something more bad about calypso, the one who “conceals”. This is a forewarning that she will never want to let Odysseus leave the island as she holds him captive. In addition, Calypso has a “smooth walled cave”(74) but there is a “ crooking vine”(50). A vine entangles a tree and uses the tree to benefit itself, foreshadowing what Calypso does with Odysseus. The spring, birds, and cave represent the hidden traits of traits of Calypso. They appear good on the outside but with a deeper look, it reveals hidden traits. These clues portray Calypso as seductive and one who promotes inactivity so Odysseus cannot return to Ithaca and she can be with him. She is selfish and self-centered, she recognizes that Odysseus has a destiny to fulfill, he needs to be a

Odysseus trapped under a spell of Calypso is trapped on her island. Odysseus longing for home shuddered,”After all these years, a helping hand? O goddess, what guile is hidden here?”(86). Odysseus is wondering why after so long of forcing him to cheat on Penelope that she is going to help him leave. This shows that he still wants to go home to his wife Penelope and that Calypso has not stolen his loyalty to Penelope. Penelope tests his loyalty with a lie,”Make up his bed for him, Eurycleia. Place it outside the bedchamber my lord built with his own hands. Pile the big ed with fleeces, rugs, and sheets of purest linen”(435). She says this because she knows that the bed cannot be moved and only the real Odysseus would know that. He responds with anger saying that the bed cannot be moved and shows that after all this time he still remembers his beloved

Calypso lusts for Odysseus so much that she holds him captive for many years. Odysseus, however, does not feel this lust for her. At this point in the epic, he wants nothing more than to reach his home and his wife, whom he loves very much. Finally, the gods tell Calypso that is time to release Odysseus, and she obeys.

Odysseus arrives on Calypso’s island alone, after the loss of his men and ship. Calypso rescues him and loves and cares for him in her cave. At first, it seems like Odysseus doesn’t seem much to mind her taking care of him, but over time it is plainly evident that he is unhappy with her. When Hermes arrives on Calypso’s island to give her the message from Zeus to release Odysseus, he is bawling on the beach a day-long activity for him. Calypso is holding him with her by force; she has no companions to help him back to Ithaka, nor has she a ship to send him in. Athena pleads with Zeus to give Odysseus good fortune, saying that "he lies away on an island suffering strong pains in the palace of the nymph Kalypso, and she detains him by constraint, and he cannot make his way to his country, for he has not any ships by him, nor any companions who can convey him back

As Telemachus tracks Odysseus' trail through stories from his old Comrades- in- arm, Athena arranges for the release of Odysseus from the Island of the beautiful goddess Calypso, whose prisoner and lover he has been for the last seven years. Odysseus sets sail on a makeshift raft, but the sea god Poseidon, whose wrath Odysseus incurred earlier in his adventure by blinding Poseidon's son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, conjures up a storm. With Athena's help Odysseus reaches the Phaeacians. Their princess, Nausicaa, who has a crush on the handsome warrior, opens the palace to the stranger. Odysseus withholds his identity for as long as he can until finally, at the Phaeacians' request, he tells the story of his adventures.

Odysseus left Calypso’s Island and began his journey back home. His odyssey might be described as one’s own life struggles. There are ups and downs to every situation, and through reading The Odyssey, readers can connect parallels between Odysseus’ experiences and lessons learned in their own life. Human weaknesses can still prevail through even the strongest men you may think of; examples of this are shown in this epic. Even though there is a large gap in space between Odysseus’ travels and the present, human nature and weakness still share the same obstacles.

From drifting along the ocean waters, Ulysses woke up and found himself on the island of Ogygia where Calypso lived. Calypso who was a Titan sorceress, saved Ulysses from dying when he was floating through the water and turned him into a fish so the sharks wouldn't devour him. Unfortunately, when Ulysses landed on Ogygia Calypso told him that he is not aloud to go back to his home Ithaca for Ogygia was his "new home". As Ulysses began to fully wake up, he realized how he got to Ogygia and he was able talk to Calypso. Calypso showed Ulysses the wood and fire where she has watched Ulysses adventures struggling to go back to Ithaca. Ulysses asked Calypso about his wife and she shows him Penelope who grew old waiting for Ulysses return and Telemachus who tries his best to chase off his mother's suitors.