Calypso is a mysterious image from ancient Greek mythology

The beautiful and at the same time mysterious image of Calypso always excited the imagination of people. The artists painted her portraits. The poets dedicated ode to her. She often became the main heroine of works of art. In honor of her was named and the legendary ship Cousteau, and wandering in infinity asteroid. So who is she really? Calypso is ...

Mythology

To paraphrase the famous phrase that all roads lead to Rome, one can say that all 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 of the versions, she is the daughter of the mighty titan Atlanta and his beloved Oceanids Pleione, on the other - the daughter of the solar deity Helios and the oceanic Perseids. In a literal translation from Ancient Greek, its amazing name means "the one that hides". And she did hide it for a long time and jealously. Whom? Calypso is a mysterious character! Let's figure it out together.

The Deserted Island

To answer this question, it is necessary to go on a long journey to the beautiful, but lost place in the vast ocean - Ogigiya. 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.

There grow beautiful, thick deciduous and coniferous forests: slender cypresses, cedars, "tree of life" - thuja, as well as poplar and alder. The goddess of goddesses herself lives in a grotto, covered 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 one sees in it the island of Gozo in the Mediterranean, others - Sazani in the Adriatic. For example, Plutarch assumed that modern Ireland is the prototype of Calypso's homeland.

Odysseus is a wanderer willy-nilly

The name Calypso is inextricably linked with another character - Odysseus. In the myths and poem of Homer, Odysseus is the king of Ithaca, who, in punishment for his self-assurance, was doomed by the gods to wander for twenty years. He was brave, clever, dexterous, inventive and daring. These qualities were helped him in life, in governing the country, and in numerous battles for Troy. But, as often happens, they also interfered with him and caused his long wanderings, during which he was the first among people to step onto the land of a wonderful island and met the goddess Calypso ...

A meeting

One day a great storm arose on the path of the great ship of Odysseus. Sent it to none other than an angry Zeus - the god of heaven, thunder and lightning. He was outraged by the sacrilege of the command of the king of Ithaca, who, mad with hunger, decided on the terrible - to sacrifice several cows from the herd of Helios on the island. They thought afterwards to redeem their guilt by building a temple in Ithaca in honor of Helios, the sun god. But such disobedience by the gods is not forgiven.

After a cruel storm, only one person managed to survive: he caught hold of a fragment of the ship. Nine days it shook the boundless sea desert, and on the tenth it was nailed to the mysterious island. The name of the survivor was Odysseus, and his rescuer was the nymph Calypso.

The daughter of the gods, accepting the human form, hospitably met the wanderer. And when I got to know him better, fell in love with him with all my heart, suggested that she 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 in her "sonorous" pleasant voice, offered the most priceless not only to man, but also to God - immortality and eternal youth. But the heart of Odysseus remained deaf to her exhortations, feelings, beauty and amazing nature around. He did not perceive himself as king and beloved of the captivating nymph. He felt like a prisoner. His spirit was tormented and wept, and he sat for a long time on the seashore, yearning for his homeland and his beloved wife Penelope.

Release

Seven years have passed. The first loss of the hero of the Trojan War was noticed by Athena. She decided to help him and went to Zeus. The latter listened attentively to her request for the release of Odysseus and agreed to help. To become the envoy of the order of Zeus, Hermes volunteered. He went to the island and gave the nymph the desire of the supreme god. Calypso agreed to let go of her lover. No matter how hard it was for him to part, it was even more unbearable to see the anguish and grief of the prisoner.

She helped him build a raft and equipped with everything necessary: clothes, fresh water, bread and wine. And afterwards a fair wind sent.

So ends the last adventure of the king of Ithaca before the long-awaited arrival at home. And now you do not hesitate to say that Calypso is a nymph, who unrequitedly loved Odysseus.