“When he finally arrived at the distant island
He stepped from the violet-tinctured sea
On to dry land and proceeded to the cavern
Where Calypso lived. She was at home.
A fire blazed on the hearth, and the smell
Of split cedar and arbor vitae burning
Spread like incense across the whole island.
She was seated inside, singing in a lovely voice
As she wove at her loom with a golden shuttle.”
In this passage of Book V (lines 58-66), the reader is introduced to the physical realm of Calypso, whom we have heard so much about—as seen by Hermes. There are lots of sensory details that make the reader feel as though he himself is stepping into Calypso’s domain. The violet tinctured sea could be seen glinting behind Hermes, along with the feeling of stepping on dry land after a twenty-day sea voyage. The smell of the cedar and evergreen trees looming in the air like incense draws Hermes closer to the cavern where Calypso is leisurely at work weaving while singing a song.
From this description, the reader is lured closer to Ogygia as Hermes and Odysseus were. After Hermes’ own journey of twenty days of tribulation at sea on a rickety raft, the reader can feel the pleasant relief of landing at this beautiful, welcoming island where a godly woman toils at her leisure everyday. How could anyone resist this? Homer’s description here of a seaman landing at Calypso’s island provides insight into how Odysseus must have felt when he arrived there, and why he has not been able to leave. Odysseus’ journey leading up to his arrival at Ogygia was much longer and had much more tribulation than Hermes’ trip there. The feeling of relief that Odysseus felt when he arrived on must have felt much stronger than for Hermes. This passage begins to explain a part of the reason why Odysseus was so seduced by Calypso and cannot leave Ogygia.
Hi Patrick,
You’ve picked an evocative passage, and I think you are right to point out that Homer, here, draws the reader close to Calypso’s island just as Hermes approaches it. I think you’re confusing Odysseus’ twenty-day voyage *away* from the island with Hermes (far quicker) approach (look at Book 5, lines 51-58. He dives down from heaven and skims along the waves–flying, rather than carried in a raft, like a mortal). Read carefully to avoid this kind of confusion.
I’m taken with the idea that the island is so pleasant, and such a relief, that it’s hard for Odysseus to leave. What about the goddess herself–is she also hard for him to part with, do you think?
-Prof Kolb