To start off, this passage speaks about how this nymph (what is that, I thought she was a god?) Calypso is holding poor Odysseus hostage “by force.” Many times throughout the book it is mentioned that Calypso is holding him hostage but it never states whether he is in chains or just simply unable to leave the island. She is made out to be this awful monster but then later on in the page it mentions her as “the nymph with lovely braids.” What do her braids have to do with anything and why is she suddenly being described with an alluring depiction? Throughout this page it is also quite obvious that Athena is very personally invested in this situation and seems to have a slightly unhealthy obsession with Odysseus, which in turn makes me wonder if there is some sort of ulterior motive driving Athena to help Odysseus return home to his family. She describes Telemachus as Odysseus’s “dear son” in a very strange emotional speech which Zeus calls nonsense.
When Zeus announces that Odysseus will finally be making his journey home he begins to explain this confusing and convoluted plan of how he will make it to Scheria first and then only after he befriends the natives and gains their affection he will be given ships and gifts to return home. If he is the head god and everyone gathered around him is also a god I don’t understand why it has to be such a difficult plan. Why not just have Hermes, the messenger, take Odysseus with him once he delivers the message he was originally sent to give? These gods have so many powers such as shape shifting and what not but they can’t simply take Odysseus with them?
– Daiana Gorbach