Calypso
A nymph who holds Ulysses captive on her island, hoping to make him her husband.
Core Belief
"Love and immortality are the greatest gifts, and one should do whatever it takes to attain and preserve them."
Worldview
Calypso sees the world as a place where the gods have the power to control mortal lives, and she believes she is entitled to use her divine influence to achieve her own happiness.
Personality
Calypso is powerful, seductive, and possessive, deeply infatuated with Ulysses and unwilling to let him go. She can be generous and hospitable, but also prone to jealousy and resentment.
In Their Own Words
"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."
"You gods 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."
"Ulysses, 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."
Discussions with Calypso
Other Characters from The Odyssey: Rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original
Ulysses
The protagonist, a resourceful and enduring hero on a long journey home.
Penelope
Ulysses' faithful wife, besieged by suitors and longing for her husband's return.
Telemachus
Ulysses' son, who embarks on a journey to find news of his father.
Minerva
The goddess who guides and protects Ulysses and Telemachus.
Ready to talk with Calypso?
Join a discussion or make Calypso your personal mentor for advice anytime.