ODYSSEUS ON THE ISLAND OF CALYPSO
All the Greeks who had escaped from the destruction of Troy and had
been spared the terrors of the sea returned to their homes. But the
unfortunate Odysseus was delayed by the fair nymph Calypso on her
island, where she made her home in a cool and beautiful grotto. There
he wept and mourned, desiring to see his wife again and his native
land. Each of the gods save one, Poseidon, god of the sea, wished
to help him to find the way home. Odysseus had brought Poseidon's
wrath upon himself through inflicting a terrible injury upon the
favorite son of that deity, and for that reason the wrath of the god
fell on him and he was wrecked. One day all the other gods had assembled
in the hall of Zeus, on Mount Olympos, when Athena, the favorite
daughter of Zeus and firm friend of Odysseus, knowing that her father
in his heart was well-disposed toward the hero, began to plead for
him in a way to excite greater pity still.
"O my father, thou great king among the gods," she said, "my heart
is troubled on account of the wise Odysseus, who lingers on an island,
far away from home, and suffers greatly; for a nymph lives on the
island, the daughter of great Atlas, and with sweet words she strives
to make Odysseus forget his native land. But he bewails his fate and
is full of sorrow, his only wish being to have a glimpse of the smoke
of his beloved country."
Zeus thereupon ordered Hermes to depart at once for the island and
tell the nymph to send Odysseus to his home without delay. Hermes
obeyed quickly. He bound his winged sandals to his feet, and, taking
his golden wand in his hand, flew like a meteor over land and sea
till he reached the island where the nymph Calypso made her abode.
He found her within the grotto, singing sweetly while she wove a fine
web on a golden loom.
All about the grotto there was a grove of cypress-trees in which birds
of gay colors were sporting and springs of pure water bubbling, and
the fragrance of strange flowers filled the air. When Hermes had gazed
upon these wonders he entered the grotto. It was bright with a blazing
fire on a spacious hearth, and fragrant with the odor of burning cedar
and cypress.
Calypso saw him as he came in and knew him. She bade him sit down
on a throne dazzling with jewels, and, placing a table before him
laden with nectar and ambrosia, invited him to eat and drink. After
he had finished his repast, Hermes told her that Zeus had sent him
to her with the command that she should send Odysseus without delay
to his native land. Having given this message, he disappeared, leaving
Calypso in great grief.
Odysseus in the meantime sat by the shore mourning and gazing out
upon the sea. Calypso found him there, sitting alone, weeping and
longing for his home. She stood by him and said: "Odysseus, my unhappy
friend, do not waste thy life any longer in sorrow. The end of thy
grief has come. Arise and prepare to depart for thy home. Build thee
a raft of the trunks of trees which thou shalt hew down. I will put
bread and water and delicate wine on board; and I will clothe thee
in comfortable garments, and send a favorable wind that thou mayest
safely reach thy native land."
Thus spoke the lovely goddess, but Odysseus could hardly believe her,
and said: "I fear, O goddess, that thou hast some other thought in
thy mind, and that thou dost not wish to send me home when thou biddest
me sail over this stormy and dangerous sea. I shall never go on to
the raft against thy wish, and thou must swear the great oath of the
gods that no harm shall come to me."
The goddess smiled at these words, and, taking the hero by the hand,
rejoined: "Thou art a wise man, and thy answer is well made. I will
pledge thee a solemn oath, by the heavens and the earth, and the waters
of the Styx, that I have no plan of evil against thee. And I advise
thee to do as I have instructed thee, to be ready for any crisis."
Speaking thus, the goddess went into the grotto and Odysseus followed
her. When he had come into the spacious hall, he sat down on his throne
and the nymph brought him rich food and wine. Then she took a seat
opposite him, and her attendants brought her ambrosia and nectar,
which she would gladly have shared with Odysseus, that he, too, might
become an immortal.
When the repast was over, Calypso narrated to him all the trials he
would have to undergo before he could reach his native land. While
she was relating these things the sun sank down, and darkness came
upon the island, and all who had their abode in the grotto sought
rest and slumber.