Odysseus and Calypso

I

We have waited long for the appearance of Odysseus, and at last he is about to enter the scene, which he will never leave again until the final act of the great drama is played out.  Hitherto he has been pursued by the malice of Poseidon, who wrecked his fleet, drowned all his men, and kept him confined for seven years in Calypso’s island, in vengeance for the blinding of his son Polyphemus.

But now the prayers of Athene have prevailed, and Hermes, the messenger of the gods, is on his way from Olympus, bearing a peremptory summons to Calypso to let Odysseus depart.  Shod with his golden, winged sandals, which bear him, swift as the wind, over moist and dry, and holding in his hand his magic wand, Hermes skimmed like a seagull over the blue waters of the AEgaean, until he came to that far distant isle.  Arrived there, he went straight to the great cavern where Calypso dwelt; and he found her there, walking about her room, weaving with a golden shuttle, and singing sweetly at her work.  A great fire was blazing on the hearth, sending forth a sweet odour of cedar and sandal-wood.  Round about the cavern grew a little wood of blossoming trees, “alder and poplar tall, and cypress sweet of smell”; and there owls and hawks and cormorants built their nests.  Over the threshold was trained a wide-branching vine, with many a purple cluster and wealth of rustling leaves.  Four springs of clear water welled up before the cave, and wandered down to the meadows where the violet and parsley grew.  It was a choice and cool retreat, meet dwelling for a lovely nymph.

Calypso greeted her visitor kindly, bade him be seated, and set nectar and ambrosia before him.  And when he had refreshed himself, he told his message.  “I bear the commands of Zeus,” he said, “and to do his high will have I travelled this long and weary way.  It is said that thou keepest with thee a man of many woes, who has suffered more than any of those who fought at Troy.  Him thou art commanded to send away from thee with all speed; for it is not destined for him to end his days here, but the hour has come when he must go back to his home and country, Zeus has spoken, and thou must obey.”

This was bitter news to Calypso, for she loved Odysseus, and would have made him immortal, that he might abide with her for ever.  She wrung her hands, and said in a mournful voice:  “Now I know of a truth that the gods are a jealous race, and will not suffer one of their kind to wed with a mortal mate.  Therefore Orion fell by the unseen arrows of Artemis, when fair Aurora chose him for her lord; and therefore Zeus slew Iasion with his lightning, because he was loved of Demeter.  Is not Odysseus mine?  Did I not save him and cherish him when he was flung naked and helpless on these shores?  But since no other deity may evade or frustrate the will of Zeus, let him go, and I will show him how he may reach his own country without scathe.”