Book V

Calypso
Odysseus reaches Scheria on a raft.

AND NOW, AS Dawn rose from her couch beside Tithonus—harbinger of light alike to mortals and immortals—the gods met in council and with them, Zeus the lord of thunder, who is their king. Thereon Athena began to tell them of the many sufferings of Odysseus, for she pitied him away there in the house of the nymph Calypso.

“Father Zeus,” said she, “and all you other gods that live in everlasting bliss, I hope there may never be such a thing as a kind and well-disposed ruler any more, nor one who will govern equitably. I hope they will be all henceforth cruel and unjust, for there is not one of his subjects but has forgotten Odysseus, who ruled them as though he were their father. There he is, lying in great pain in an island where dwells the nymph Calypso, who will not let him go; and he cannot get back to his own country, for he can find neither ships nor sailors to take him over the sea. Furthermore, wicked people are now trying to murder his only son Telemachus, who is coming home from Pylos and Lacedaemon, where he has been to see if he can get news of his father.”

“What, my dear, are you talking about?” replied her father, “did you not send him there yourself, because you thought it would help Odysseus to get home and punish the suitors? Besides, you are perfectly able to protect Telemachus, and to see him safely home again, while the suitors have to come hurry-skurrying back without having killed him.”

When he had thus spoken, he said to his son Hermes, “Hermes, you are our messenger, go therefore and tell Calypso we have decreed that poor Odysseus is to return home. He is to be convoyed neither by gods nor men, but after a perilous voyage of twenty days upon a raft he is to reach fertile Scheria, the land of the Phaeacians, who are near of kin to the gods, and will honor him as though he were one of ourselves. They will send him in a ship to his own country, and will give him more bronze and gold and raiment than he would have brought back from Troy, if he had had all his prize money and had got home without disaster. This is how we have settled that he shall return to his country and his friends.”

Thus he spoke, and Hermes, guide and guardian, slayer of Argus, did as he was told. Forthwith he bound on his glittering golden sandals with which he could fly like the wind over land and sea. He took the wand with which he seals men's eyes in sleep or wakes them just as he pleases, and flew holding it in his hand over Pieria; then he swooped down through the firmament till he reached the level of the sea, whose waves he skimmed like a cormorant that flies fishing every hole and corner of the ocean, and drenching its thick plumage in the spray. He flew and flew over many a weary wave, but when at last he got to the island which was his journey's end, he left the sea and went on by land till he came to the cave where the nymph Calypso lived.

He found her at home. There was a large fire burning on the hearth, and one could smell from far the fragrant reek of burning cedar and sandal wood. As for herself, she was busy at her loom, shooting her golden shuttle through the warp and singing beautifully. Round her cave there was a thick wood of alder, poplar, and sweet smelling cypress trees, wherein all kinds of great birds had built their nests—owls, hawks, and chattering sea-crows that occupy their business in the waters. A vine loaded with grapes was trained and grew luxuriantly about the mouth of the cave; there were also four running rills of water in channels cut pretty close together, and turned here and there so as to irrigate the beds of violets and luscious herbage over which they flowed. Even a god could not help being charmed with such a lovely spot, so Hermes stood still and looked at it; but when he had admired it sufficiently he went inside the cave.

Calypso knew him at once—for the gods all know each other, no matter how far they live from one another—but Odysseus was not within; he was on the sea-shore as usual, looking out upon the barren ocean with tears in his eyes, groaning and breaking his heart for sorrow. Calypso gave Hermes a seat and said: “Why have you come to see me, Hermes—honored, and ever welcome—for you do not visit me often? Say what you want; I will do it for you at once if I can, and if it can be done at all; but come inside, and let me set refreshment before you.”

As she spoke she drew a table loaded with ambrosia beside him and mixed him some red nectar, so Hermes ate and drank till he had had enough, and then said:

“We are speaking god and goddess to one another, and you ask me why I have come here, and I will tell you truly as you would have me do. Zeus sent me; it was no doing of mine; who could possibly want to come all this way over the sea where there are no cities full of people to offer me sacrifices or choice hecatombs? Nevertheless I had to come, for none of us other gods can cross Zeus, nor transgress his orders. He says that you have here the most ill-starred of all those who fought nine years before the city of King Priam and sailed home in the tenth year after having sacked it. On their way home they sinned against Athena, who raised both wind and waves against them, so that all his brave companions perished, and he alone was carried here by wind and tide. Zeus says that you are to let this man go at once, for it is decreed that he shall not perish here, far from his own people, but shall return to his house and country and see his friends again.”

Calypso trembled with rage when she heard this, “You gods,” she exclaimed, “ought to be ashamed of yourselves. You are always jealous and hate seeing a goddess take a fancy to a mortal man, and live with him in open matrimony. So when rosy-fingered Dawn made love to Orion, you precious gods were all of you furious till Artemis went and killed him in Ortygia. So again when Ceres fell in love with Iasion, and yielded to him in a thrice-ploughed fallow field, Zeus came to hear of it before so very long and killed Iasion with his thunderbolts. And now you are angry with me too because I have a man here. I found the poor creature sitting all alone astride of a keel, for Zeus had struck his ship with lightning and sunk it in mid ocean, so that all his crew were drowned, while he himself was driven by wind and waves on to my island. I got fond of him and cherished him, and had set my heart on making him immortal, so that he should never grow old all his days; still I cannot cross Zeus, nor bring his counsels to nothing; therefore, if he insists upon it, let the man go beyond the seas again; but I cannot send him anywhere myself for I have neither ships nor men who can take him. Nevertheless I will readily give him such advice, in all good faith, as will be likely to bring him safely to his own country.”

“Then send him away,” said Hermes, “or Zeus will be angry with you and punish you”.

On this he took his leave, and Calypso went out to look for Odysseus, for she had heard Zeus' message. She found him sitting upon the beach with his eyes ever filled with tears, and dying of sheer home sickness; for he had got tired of Calypso, and though he was forced to sleep with her in the cave by night, it was she, not he, that would have it so. As for the day time, he spent it on the rocks and on the sea shore, weeping, crying aloud for his despair, and always looking out upon the sea. Calypso then went close up to him said:

“My poor fellow, you shall not stay here grieving and fretting your life out any longer. I am going to send you away of my own free will; so go, cut some beams of wood, and make yourself a large raft with an upper deck that it may carry you safely over the sea. I will put bread, wine, and water on board to save you from starving. I will also give you clothes, and will send you a fair wind to take you home, if the gods in heaven so will it—for they know more about these things, and can settle them better than I can.”

Odysseus shuddered as he heard her. “Now goddess,” he answered, “there is something behind all this; you cannot be really meaning to help me home when you bid me do such a dreadful thing as put to sea on a raft. Not even a well found ship with a fair wind could venture on such a distant voyage: nothing that you can say or do shall make me go on board a raft unless you first solemnly swear that you mean me no mischief.”

Calypso smiled at this and caressed him with her hand: “You know a great deal,” said she, “but you are quite wrong here. May heaven above and earth below be my witnesses, with the waters of the river Styx—and this is the most solemn oath which a blessed god can take—that I mean you no sort of harm, and am only advising you to do exactly what I should do myself in your place. I am dealing with you quite straightforwardly; my heart is not made of iron, and I am very sorry for you.”

When she had thus spoken she led the way rapidly before him, and Odysseus followed in her steps; so the pair, goddess and man, went on and on till they came to Calypso's cave, where Odysseus took the seat that Hermes had just left. Calypso set meat and drink before him of the food that mortals eat; but her maids brought ambrosia and nectar for herself, and they laid their hands on the good things that were before them. When they had satisfied themselves with meat and drink, Calypso spoke, saying:

“Odysseus, noble son of Laertes, so you would start home to your own land at once? Good luck go with you, but if you could only know how much suffering is in store for you before you get back to your own country, you would stay where you are, keep house along with me, and let me make you immortal, no matter how anxious you may be to see this wife of yours, of whom you are thinking all the time day after day; yet I flatter myself that I am no whit less tall or well-looking than she is, for it is not to be expected that a mortal woman should compare in beauty with an immortal.”

“Goddess,” replied Odysseus, “do not be angry with me about this. I am quite aware that my wife Penelope is nothing like so tall or so beautiful as yourself. She is only a woman, whereas you are an immortal. Nevertheless, I want to get home, and can think of nothing else. If some god wrecks me when I am on the sea, I will bear it and make the best of it. I have had infinite trouble both by land and sea already, so let this go with the rest.”

Presently the sun set and it became dark, whereon the pair retired into the inner part of the cave and went to bed.

When the child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, Odysseus put on his shirt and cloak, while the goddess wore a dress of a light gossamer fabric, very fine and graceful, with a beautiful golden girdle about her waist and a veil to cover her head. She at once set herself to think how she could speed Odysseus on his way. So she gave him a great bronze axe that suited his hands; it was sharpened on both sides, and had a beautiful olive-wood handle fitted firmly on to it. She also gave him a sharp adze, and then led the way to the far end of the island where the largest trees grew—alder, poplar and pine, that reached the sky—very dry and well seasoned, so as to sail light for him in the water. Then, when she had shown him where the best trees grew, Calypso went home, leaving him to cut them, which he soon finished doing. He cut down twenty trees in all and adzed them smooth, squaring them by rule in good workmanlike fashion. Meanwhile Calypso came back with some augers, so he bored holes with them and fitted the timbers together with bolts and rivets. He made the raft as broad as a skilled shipwright makes the beam of a large vessel, and he fixed a deck on top of the ribs, and ran a gunwale all round it. He also made a mast with a yard arm, and a rudder to steer with. He fenced the raft all round with wicker hurdles as a protection against the waves, and then he threw on a quantity of wood. By and by Calypso brought him some linen to make the sails, and he made these too, excellently, making them fast with braces and sheets. Last of all, with the help of levers, he drew the raft down into the water.

In four days he had completed the whole work, and on the fifth Calypso sent him from the island after washing him and giving him some clean clothes. She gave him a goat skin full of black wine, and another larger one of water; she also gave him a wallet full of provisions, and gave him much good meat. Moreover, she made the wind fair and warm for him, and gladly did Odysseus spread his sail before it, while he sat and guided the raft skilfully by means of the rudder. He never closed his eyes, but kept them fixed on the Pleiads, on late-setting Bootes, and on the Bear—which men also call the wain, and which turns round and round where it is, facing Orion, and alone never dipping into the stream of Oceanus—for Calypso had told him to keep this to his left. Days seven and ten did he sail over the sea, and on the eighteenth the dim outlines of the mountains on the nearest part of the Phaeacian coast appeared, rising like a shield on the horizon.

But King Poseidon, who was returning from the Ethiopians, caught sight of Odysseus a long way off, from the mountains of the Solymi. He could see him sailing upon the sea, and it made him very angry, so he wagged his head and muttered to himself, saying, “Good heavens, so the gods have been changing their minds about Odysseus while I was away in Ethiopia, and now he is close to the land of the Phaeacians, where it is decreed that he shall escape from the calamities that have befallen him. Still, he shall have much hardship yet before he has done with it.”

Thereon he gathered his clouds together, grasped his trident, stirred it round in the sea, and roused the rage of every wind that blows till earth, sea, and sky were hidden in cloud, and night sprang forth out of the heavens. Winds from East, South, North, and West fell upon him all at the same time, and a tremendous sea got up, so that Odysseus' heart began to fail him. “Alas,” he said to himself in his dismay, “what ever will become of me? I am afraid Calypso was right when she said I should have trouble by sea before I got back home. It is all coming true. How black is Zeus making heaven with his clouds, and what a sea the winds are raising from every quarter at once. I am now safe to perish. Blest and thrice blest were those Danaans who fell before Troy in the cause of the sons of Atreus. Would that I had been killed on the day when the Trojans were pressing me so sorely about the dead body of Achilles, for then I should have had due burial and the Achaeans would have honored my name; but now it seems that I shall come to a most pitiable end.”

As he spoke a sea broke over him with such terrific fury that the raft reeled again, and he was carried overboard a long way off. He let go the helm, and the force of the hurricane was so great that it broke the mast half way up, and both sail and yard went over into the sea. For a long time Odysseus was under water, and it was all he could do to rise to the surface again, for the clothes Calypso had given him weighed him down; but at last he got his head above water and spat out the bitter brine that was running down his face in streams. In spite of all this, however, he did not lose sight of his raft, but swam as fast as he could towards it, got hold of it, and climbed on board again so as to escape drowning. The sea took the raft and tossed it about as Autumn winds whirl tumbleweeds round and round upon a road.

When he was in this plight, Ino daughter of Cadmus, also called Leucothea, saw him. She had formerly been a mere mortal, but had been since raised to the rank of a marine goddess. Seeing in what great distress Odysseus now was, she had compassion upon him, and, rising like a sea-gull from the waves, took her seat upon the raft.

“My poor good man,” said she, “why is Poseidon so furiously angry with you? He is giving you a great deal of trouble, but for all his bluster he will not kill you. You seem to be a sensible person, do then as I bid you; strip, leave your raft to drive before the wind, and swim to the Phaeacian coast where better luck awaits you. And here, take my veil and put it round your chest; it is enchanted, and you can come to no harm so long as you wear it. As soon as you touch land take it off, throw it back as far as you can into the sea, and then go away again.” With these words she took off her veil and gave it him. Then she dived down again like a sea-gull and vanished beneath the dark blue waters.

But Odysseus did not know what to think. “Alas,” he said to himself in his dismay, “this is only some one or other of the gods who is luring me to ruin by advising me to quit my raft. At any rate I will not do so at present, for the land where she said I should be quit of all troubles seemed to be still a good way off. I know what I will do—I am sure it will be best—no matter what happens I will stick to the raft as long as her timbers hold together, but when the sea breaks her up I will swim for it; I do not see how I can do any better than this.”

While he was thus in two minds, Poseidon sent a terrible great wave that seemed to rear itself above his head till it broke right over the raft, which then went to pieces as though it were a heap of dry chaff tossed about by a whirlwind. Odysseus got astride of one plank and rode upon it as if he were on horseback; he then took off the clothes Calypso had given him, bound Ino's veil under his arms, and plunged into the sea—meaning to swim on shore. King Poseidon watched him as he did so, and wagged his head, muttering to himself and saying, “There now, swim up and down as you best can till you fall in with well-to-do people. I do not think you will be able to say that I have let you off too lightly.” On this he lashed his horses and drove to Aegae where his palace is.

But Athena resolved to help Odysseus, so she bound the ways of all the winds except one, and made them lie quite still; but she roused a good stiff breeze from the North that should lay the waters till Odysseus reached the land of the Phaeacians where he would be safe.

Thereon he floated about for two nights and two days in the water, with a heavy swell on the sea and death staring him in the face; but when the third day broke, the wind fell and there was a dead calm without so much as a breath of air stirring. As he rose on the swell he looked eagerly ahead, and could see land quite near. Then, as children rejoice when their dear father begins to get better after having for a long time borne sore affliction sent him by some angry spirit, but the gods deliver him from evil, so was Odysseus thankful when he again saw land and trees, and swam on with all his strength that he might once more set foot upon dry ground. When, however, he got within earshot, he began to hear the surf thundering up against the rocks, for the swell still broke against them with a terrific roar. Everything was enveloped in spray; there were no harbors where a ship might ride, nor shelter of any kind, but only headlands, low-lying rocks, and mountain tops.

Odysseus' heart now began to fail him, and he said despairingly to himself, “Alas, Zeus has let me see land after swimming so far that I had given up all hope, but I can find no landing place, for the coast is rocky and surf-beaten, the rocks are smooth and rise sheer from the sea, with deep water close under them so that I cannot climb out for want of foot hold. I am afraid some great wave will lift me off my legs and dash me against the rocks as I leave the water—which would give me a sorry landing. If, on the other hand, I swim further in search of some shelving beach or harbor, a hurricane may carry me out to sea again sorely against my will, or heaven may send some great monster of the deep to attack me; for Amphitrite breeds many such, and I know that Poseidon is very angry with me.”

While he was thus in two minds a wave caught him and took him with such force against the rocks that he would have been smashed and torn to pieces if Athena had not shown him what to do. He caught hold of the rock with both hands and clung to it groaning with pain till the wave retired, so he was saved that time; but presently the wave came on again and carried him back with it far into the sea—tearing his hands as the suckers of a polypus are torn when someone plucks it from its bed, and the stones come up along with it—even so did the rocks tear the skin from his strong hands, and then the wave drew him deep down under the water.

Here poor Odysseus would have certainly perished even in spite of his own destiny, if Athena had not helped him to keep his wits about him. He swam seaward again, beyond reach of the surf that was beating against the land, and at the same time he kept looking towards the shore to see if he could find some haven, or a spit that should take the waves aslant. By and by, as he swam on, he came to the mouth of a river, and here he thought would be the best place, for there were no rocks, and it afforded shelter from the wind. He felt that there was a current, so he prayed inwardly and said:

“Hear me, O King, whoever you may be, and save me from the anger of the sea-god Poseidon, for I approach you prayerfully. Anyone who has lost his way has at all times a claim even upon the gods, wherefore in my distress I draw near to your stream, and cling to the knees of your riverhood. Have mercy upon me, O king, for I declare myself your suppliant.”

Then the god stopped his stream and stilled the waves, making all calm before him, and bringing him safely into the mouth of the river. Here at last Odysseus' knees and strong hands failed him, for the sea had completely broken him. His body was all swollen, and his mouth and nostrils ran down like a river with sea-water, so that he could neither breathe nor speak, and lay swooning from sheer exhaustion; presently, when he had got his breath and came to himself again, he took off the scarf that Ino had given him and threw it back into the salt stream of the river, whereon Ino received it into her hands from the wave that bore it towards her. Then he left the river, laid himself down among the rushes, and kissed the bounteous earth.

“Alas,” he cried to himself in his dismay, “what ever will become of me, and how is it all to end? If I stay here upon the river bed through the long watches of the night, I am so exhausted that the bitter cold and damp may make an end of me—for towards sunrise there will be a keen wind blowing from off the river. If, on the other hand, I climb the hill side, find shelter in the woods, and sleep in some thicket, I may escape the cold and have a good night's rest, but some savage beast may take advantage of me and devour me.”

In the end he deemed it best to take to the woods, and he found one upon some high ground not far from the water. There he crept beneath two shoots of olive that grew from a single stock—the one an ungrafted sucker, while the other had been grafted. No wind, however squally, could break through the cover they afforded, nor could the sun's rays pierce them, nor the rain get through them, so closely did they grow into one another. Odysseus crept under these and began to make himself a bed to lie on, for there was a great litter of dead leaves lying about—enough to make a covering for two or three men even in hard winter weather. He was glad enough to see this, so he laid himself down and heaped the leaves all round him. Then, as one who lives alone in the country, far from any neighbor, hides a brand as fire-seed in the ashes to save himself from having to get a light elsewhere, even so did Odysseus cover himself up with leaves; and Athena shed a sweet sleep upon his eyes, closed his eyelids, and made him lose all memories of his sorrows.

Footnotes

  1. Also known as Phaeacia, this the island kingdom of the Phaeacians and King Alcinous.

    — Jan Dickinson
  2. An adz is a hand tool similar to an axe, but unlike the parallel blade of an axe, the blade of an adz is perpendicular and curved, and used almost exclusively for carpentry.

    — Jan Dickinson
  3. Calypso fails to understand why Odysseus refuses her offer to stay with her and become immortal, saying that no mortal woman can match her beauty. Odysseus states his loyalty to his wife and desire to go home are all he wants, even if that means the gods will torment him on his journey. Odysseus's choice shows how he resists Calypso's temptation to choose loyalty and love, which he considers the marks of highest honor. If Odysseus were to succumb to his baser nature, he would give up on his higher purpose as a husband and father.

    — Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor
  4. The Styx is one of five rivers in Hades that was used to ferry souls to the underworld. Calypso swears honesty to Odysseus upon the river Styx because it is known to be the most serious symbol a god can swear upon.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  5. Homer makes an interesting choice here by describing an island as a shield. This simile could foreshadow future difficulties Odysseus might face when trying to get to land.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  6. Homer’s specific mention of olive wood is an allusion, or reference, to the myth of Hermes’ slaying of Argus, who was protecting the heifer lo while she was chained to an olive tree. Homer’s consistent mention of olive wood is a symbol of hope and salvation throughout Odysseus’s journey.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  7. Throughout his torturous journey home, Odysseus has been the constant victim of deceit from mortals and immortals alike. This builds Odysseus into a cautious character, who has a difficult time deciphering who wants to help or hurt him.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  8. The reader knows Calypso is lying, which makes this an example of dramatic irony. She tells Odysseus that she is letting him free because she still cares about him even when he will be gone, and she wants him to care about her when he leaves.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  9. After the turmoil of his last few weeks, Odysseus finds himself alone, but safe. Odysseus is depicted as a brave man, a war hero fueled by the love of his country and his people. Now that he is alone, he must find the strength within himself to conquer all enemies in order to return home.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  10. Athena again demonstrates great humility in this instance. Although she creates the dangerous obstacles for Odysseus during his voyage home, she also consistently aids him with his journey. This relationship alludes to the historical treatment of Greek parents to their children. Sometimes parents would make growing up difficult, so that their children would grow to be strong when they were older.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  11. Odysseus’s discovery of the olive tree tells the reader two things. First, the fact that it has a grafted branch means that the island Odysseus has just landed on is inhabited. Second, the fact that it is an olive tree demonstrates the recurring symbol of hope and salvation.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  12. Although Odysseus doesn’t know this, Poseidon cannot kill him with the storm because Zeus would not allow it. The ultimate punishment Poseidon gives him is torture; he brings him to the brink of death without ever letting Odysseus finally rest.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  13. Homer repeats a theme regarding the reliability of the gods. Throughout his journey Odysseus has been both tricked and assisted by the gods, thus he never can know whether or not he can trust them. This could read as a form of social commentary on how the ancient Greeks who put so much blind belief into the power of their gods.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  14. Cadmus is the son of Phoenix, the King of Phoenicia, and brother of Europa. Europa was abducted by Zeus, and Cadmus was sent on a quest to find her. When he was unsuccessful, he consulted an oracle which advised him to give up his quest, follow a cow until she lay down, and where she lay down he was to build a city, which came to be known as Thebes.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  15. Notice how even after Odysseus leaves Calypso’s island, she hinders his progress towards home. Homer uses this metaphor to show how the power of the gods can reach anyone regardless of whether or not the god is physically present. Considering the time this was written, we can surmise this to be a reflection of the cultural values of respecting the unseen gods.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  16. When Odysseus believes he is about to die, his mind wanders back to the battlefield. If he had died during the war he would have obtained one of the things he cares about most: the admiration of his country. However, if he were to die now, in the ocean, he would never see his family or friends, and his country would not see his death as a heroic battlefield sacrifice.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  17. Calypso attempts to persuade Odysseus by emphasizing that she is both beautiful and immortal. Odysseus not only demonstrates his growing level of maturity by refusing this rather shallow plea but also his dedication to returning home.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  18. This epitomizes Zeus’s power over the other gods. Even though Calypso loves Odysseus and desires to be with him in a state of immortality, she does not push back very much against the will of Zeus because she knows it is a battle that she could never win.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  19. Iasion was a Cretan youth who fell in love with the goddess of the harvest, Demeter. When they lie together in a field, Zeus becomes jealous of a mortal’s relationship with a god and strikes Iasion with a single lightning bolt and kills him. This sets the example that mortals should never go against the wishes of immortals.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  20. Hecatombs are an extensive sacrifice, originally of a hundred oxen. Homer uses this line to emphasize the hierarchy between humans and gods; humans live to satisfy the gods while gods live to enjoy the servitude of humans.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  21. By articulating the beauty of Calypso’s island, Homer emphasizes the authenticity of Odysseus’s desire to go home. He has been in paradise for seven years, and even though Calypso offers him immortality, he yearns to return to his country, his friends, and Penelope. Homer uses this description to help symbolize the power of home in the heart of Odysseus.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  22. Argus was appointed by Hera to guard Io, who was turned into a heifer and chained to a sacred olive tree. Zeus sent Hermes to kill Argus because he had fallen in love with lo and wanted to steal her back from Hera.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  23. These are Odysseus’s two recurring symbols for freedom; they represent motivation and triumph throughout Homer’s epic. Odysseus wants to return home to his loved ones and to receive praise for his heroism in Troy. It is important to keep these symbols in mind to understand his motivations to fight so hard to get home.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  24. Zeus is easily convinced by Athena to assist with Odysseus’s journey home. He intends to send him to Scheria because he knows that the Phaeacians will do all that he asks. By sending him to this particular island, he continues to control the fate of Odysseus, a metaphor for the belief that the gods control the lives of mortals.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  25. Tithonus is the son of Laomedon, King of Troy, who falls in love with Eos. They have children, and Eos asks Zeus to grant Tithonus eternal life. Although Zeus grants her wish, because she forgets to ask Zeus to grant Tithonus eternal youth, Tithonus grows very old and withers in his immortality.

    — Evan, Owl Eyes Staff
  26. In both the Iliad and Odyssey, Homer repeatedly uses some mnemonic devices, words and phrases designed to be easier to remember, and this line is one of the most often repeated. In an oral literary culture, mnemonic devices become important shortcuts to aid the poet's memory.

    — Stephen Holliday
  27. Even though he does not know which god governs this river, Odysseus reminds the god that he deserves some mercy. Begging for mercy is unfamiliar for him, and this scene represents a humbling moment for Odysseus. He is used to being powerful, but in this moment he has become weak, suggesting he is learning the lessons the gods are teaching him.

    — Stephen Holliday
  28. Amphitrite is thought to be Poseidon's wife and therefore the goddess of the sea. Odysseus, recognizing that Poseidon is against him, assumes that Amphitrite is also an enemy.

    — Stephen Holliday
  29. Ino, now Leucothea ("White Goddess"), was married to Athamas, and Hera, in a fit of jealousy, drove them both mad. After Athamas murdered their oldest child, Ino jumped into the sea with their second child, and both were turned into marine gods. Because Leucothea died by drowning, she is especially sympathetic to Odysseus.

    — Stephen Holliday
  30. Poseidon, even though generally supportive of the Greeks, seems to hold a grudge against Odysseus even before the episode in which Odysseus blinds the Cyclops Polyphemus.  This hostility towards Odysseus may be displaced anger at his brother Zeus, who put Poseidon in his place (as the weaker younger brother) in the Iliad when Poseidon and Zeus disagreed over how much help Poseidon could give to the Greeks.

    — Stephen Holliday
  31. Even though Calypso has given tools to Odysseus as well as shown him where materials can be found, she clearly is not trying very hard to hasten his departure. But she is doing just enough to comply with Zeus’s command.

    — Stephen Holliday
  32. The Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters, is a star-cluster near the constellation Orion. Bootes, meaning herdsman, is a constellation with one of the brightest stars in the sky, Arcturus. Ursa Major, the Great Bear, watches over Orion, the hunter. In this context, we see that Odysseus is adhering to the suggestion of Calypso and navigating the sea by following the stars.

    — Stephen Holliday
  33. Odysseus's statement points out perhaps his strongest traits: the ability to endure and adapt. Time and again on his journey, Odysseus endures hardships that kill other men yet triumphs for the sake of himself and the sake of his country. In this way, he epitomizes the perfect hero.

    — Stephen Holliday
  34. After recounting a number of similar situations in which goddesses have loved mortal men and lost them to the will of Zeus, Calypso has no choice but to let Odysseus go. This is another example of Zeus’s absolute power over both mortals and immortals alike.

    — Stephen Holliday
  35. Pieria is a mountain to the north of Mt. Olympus and is thought to be the home of the Muses.

    — Stephen Holliday
  36. Odysseus longs to be home with his wife and his son. He has been with Calypso for seven years and fears that his fame has been forgotten. However, it’s likely that Odysseus's stay with Calypso has not only kept him safely out of the gods' view but also allowed Telemachus to mature into young manhood.

    — Stephen Holliday
  37. Athena is describing Odysseus's state of mind and his spiritual pain, showing a brave man weak and desperate for help. At this point, Odysseus realizes that he might not see his wife and son again and that no one will remember him as a hero of the Trojan War.

    — Stephen Holliday
  38. After Odysseus was shipwrecked on the island of Ogygia, he encountered the sea nymph Calypso (whose name in Greek means to cover or to conceal), who fell in love with him and offered him eternal youth if he would stay with her. She kept Odysseus with her for seven years, in part to shield him from the gods who were persecuting him, and in part to prevent his journey home.

    — Stephen Holliday