Myths and Mortals (Greek Mythology)

Calypso

Calypso (/kəˈlɪpsoʊ/; Greek: Καλυψώ, Kalypsō) was a nymph in Greek mythology, who lived on the island of Ogygia, where she detained Odysseus for several years. She is generally said to be the daughter of the Titan Atlas.

Hesiod mentions either different Calypsos or the same Calypso as one of the Oceanid daughters of Tethys and Oceanus, and Pseudo-Apollodorus as one of the Nereid daughters of Nereus and Doris.

The Odyssey

Calypso is remembered most for her role in Homer's Odyssey, in which she keeps the fabled Greek hero Odysseus on her island to make him her immortal husband. According to Homer, Calypso kept Odysseus prisoner at Ogygia for seven years, while Pseudo-Apollodorus says five years and Hyginus says one. Calypso enchants Odysseus with her singing as she strolls to and from across her weaving loom, with a golden shuttle. During this time they sleep together, although Odysseus soon comes to wish for circumstances to change.

Odysseus cannot be away from his wife Penelope any longer and wants to go to Calypso to tell her. His patron goddess Athena asks Zeus to order the release of Odysseus from the island, and Zeus orders the messenger Hermes, to tell Calypso to set Odysseus free, for it was not his destiny to live with her forever. She angrily comments on how the gods hate for goddesses to have affairs with mortals, but eventually concedes, sending Odysseus on his way after providing him with wine, bread, and the provisions to build a small raft.

Homer does not mention any children by Calypso. By some accounts, which come after the Odyssey, Calypso bore Odysseus a son, Latinus, though Circe is usually given as Latinus's mother. In other accounts Calypso bore Odysseus two children, Nausithous and Nausinous. The story of Odysseus and Calypso has some close resemblances to the interactions between Gilgamesh and Siduri in the Epic of Gilgamesh in that "the lone female plies the inconsolable hero-wanderer with drink and sends him off to a place beyond the sea reserved for a special class of honoured people" and "to prepare for the voyage he has to cut down and trim timbers."

Name

The etymology of Calypso's name is from καλύπτω (kalyptō), meaning "to cover", "to conceal", "to hide", or "to deceive". According to Etymologicum Magnum her name means καλύπτουσα το διανοούμενον (kalýptousa to dianooúmenon), i.e. "concealing the knowledge", which combined with the Homeric epithet δολόεσσα (dolóessa), meaning subtle or wily, justifies the hermetic character of Calypso and her island.

The spelling of "Calypso music" reflects a later folk-etymological assimilation with the mythological name and is not otherwise related to the character in the Odyssey.