The beautiful and at the same time mysterious image of Calypso always excited the imagination of people. Artists painted her portraits. Poets dedicated odes to her. She often became the main character of works of art. In honor of her, the legendary Cousteau ship and the asteroid wandering in infinity were also named. So who is she really? Calypso is ...
Mythology
Paraphrasing the famous phrase that all roads lead to Rome, we can say that all the answers to important questions are stored in the myths of ancient Greece.
So, according to ancient Greek mythology, Calypso is an incomparable nymph. According to one version, she is the daughter of the mighty titan Atlant and his beloved oceanian Pleion, according to another - the daughter of the solar deity Helios and the oceanic Perseid. In a literal translation from ancient Greek, her amazing name means "that which hides." And she really hid and zealously for a long time. Whom? Calypso is a mysterious character! Let's figure it out together.
Deserted island
To answer this question, you need to go on a long journey to a beautiful, but lost in the middle of an endless ocean place - Ogigia. This is the island of Calypso, a ghost island, the so-called navel of the earth, which lies everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Beautiful, dense deciduous and coniferous forests grow there: slender cypresses, cedars, the “tree of life” - thuja, as well as poplar and alder. The goddess herself lives in a grotto twined with vines, at the entrance to which four sources originate, symbolizing the sides of the world.
The most colorful description of the island can be found in Homer's poem, Odyssey. But, as scientists suggest, this is not a mythical place. It existed and exists somewhere to this day. Only some see in it the island of Gozo in the Mediterranean Sea, others - Sazani in the Adriatic. For example, Plutarch suggested that modern Ireland is the prototype of the homeland of Calypso.
Odysseus is a wanderer involuntarily
The name Calypso is inextricably linked with another character - Odysseus. In the myths and poem of Homer, Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, who, as a punishment for his self-confidence, was doomed by the gods to wander for twenty years. He was bold, cunning, adroit, inventive and impudent. These qualities helped him in life, in managing the country, and in numerous battles for Troy. But, as often happens, they interfered with him and served as the reason for his long wanderings, during which he was the first among people to set foot on the land of an amazing island and meet the goddess Calypso ...
A meeting
Once, a great storm arose on the way of the large ship Odyssey. Sent her none other than the angry Zeus - the god of heaven, thunder and lightning. He was indignant at the blasphemy of the command of King Ithaca, who, maddened by hunger, decided on the terrible thing - to sacrifice several cows from the herd of Helios on the island. They thought subsequently to make amends by building on Ithaca a temple in honor of Helios, the god of the sun. But such disobedience by the gods is not forgiven.
After a fierce storm, only one person was able to survive: he caught hold of a ship fragment. Nine days he was wound through the endless sea desert, and on the tenth it was nailed to a mysterious island. The survivor was called Odysseus, and his savior was the nymph Calypso.
The daughter of the gods, having assumed a human form, cordially met the wanderer. And when I got to know him better, I fell in love with him wholeheartedly, offered to stay with her forever and become her husband. Every day she seduced the young man with her beauty, surrounded him with incredible luxury, sang songs with her “sonorous-pleasant” voice, offered the most priceless not only for man, but also for God - immortality and eternal youth. But the heart of Odysseus remained deaf to her exhortations, feelings, beauty and amazing nature around. He did not see himself as king and lover of a captivating nymph. He felt like a prisoner. His spirit was tormented and cried, and he sat for a long time on the seashore, yearning for the homeland and beloved wife of Penelope.
Exemption
Seven years have passed. The first to lose the hero of the Trojan War was Athena. She decided to help him and went to Zeus. The latter listened carefully to her request for the release of Odysseus and agreed to help. Become a messenger of the order of Zeus volunteered Hermes. He went to the island and conveyed to the nymph the desire of the supreme god. Calypso agreed to let her lover go. No matter how hard it was for her to part with him, it was even more unbearable to see the torment and anguish of the captive.
She helped him build a raft and equipped with everything necessary: clothes, fresh water, bread and wine. A tailwind sent after her.
Thus ends the last adventure of King Ithaca before the long-awaited arrival at home. And now you don’t be at a loss to say that Calypso is a nymph who unrequitedly loved Odyssey.