“Yes, I waited until he emerged to count his seals. Then I rushed upon him and seized him,” said the king. “He quickly turned into a lion, then a snake, then a leopard, then a boar. He became running water, and then a tree. But I held him fast until he changed back into himself again. When I asked him how I might get home, he gave me wise advice.
“When I asked about the fate of my friends, he told me about those who had died. When I wept with grief, he told me that one great warrior was still alive. He said that Odysseus was trapped on the island of Calypso. The goddess was keeping him there against his will.”
Telemachus rejoiced to hear that his father must still be alive.
Menelaus told him more about his journeys, then took his leave. Left alone, Telemachus was restless with excitement.
Is my father still on Calypso’s island? he wondered. Should I go in search of him there? Or should I return home at once and tell my mother the good news?
SEVEN
CALYPSO’S ISLAND
Far away on Calypso’s island, Odysseus sat on a rock and wept. On this day, like all others for the past seven years, he yearned for home.
With his face buried in his hands, he did not see the bright light swoop through the air and skim the waves like a gull. He did not see Hermes, the messenger god, take shape before him.
Carrying his golden spear, and wearing his golden winged sandals, Hermes began moving lightly over the island. He stepped through Calypso’s sacred woods, where owls, falcons, and seagulls called from the branches of alders, poplars, and cypresses.
He moved through Calypso’s sweet-smelling garden, over beds of violets and herbs. Finally he came to the entrance of the goddess’s cave.
Hermes pushed past the hanging grape vines and stepped inside. The scent of cedar and sandalwood filled the air.
The fair-haired goddess was sitting at her loom before her hearth, singing a song. When she looked up, she gave the messenger god a radiant smile.
“Hermes, you have honored me with a visit!” she said. “Sit and let me offer you food and drink.”
Calypso served Hermes ambrosia and red nectar, food for the gods. After he had refreshed himself, Hermes told Calypso the purpose of his visit.
“Today on Olympus, the goddess Athena called together all the gods,” he said. “She is greatly worried about Odysseus, king of Ithaca. He has been kept from his home and family too long, she says, and now his enemies are planning to murder his son. Calypso, Zeus has heard the words of his daughter. He commands you to release your captive.”
The goddess rose in anger, but Hermes continued: “Zeus has decreed that Odysseus must return home on his own strength. No god is allowed to speed his journey. He must build a raft and ride the waves for twenty days to the land of Scheria. From there, he can sail on to Ithaca and avenge the wrongs done to his family.”
“The gods of Olympus are angry with me,” said Calypso. “They do not like to believe a goddess can fall in love with a mortal man! But I saved Odysseus’ life!”
Calypso stared fiercely at Hermes for a moment. Then she lowered her eyes in defeat. “I know I cannot defy the will of Zeus,” she said. “If Zeus commands it, Odysseus shall leave my island. In all good faith, I will give him the advice he needs to begin his journey home.”
Hermes bowed. Then he took swift leave of the mournful goddess.
Calypso set out to look for Odysseus. She found him on the rocks, weeping. She sat beside him and spoke gently.
“You shall no longer stay here, yearning for your home,” she said. “I will send you away. Go, cut beams of wood. Make a large raft to carry you over the sea. I will give you wine, bread, water, and clothing.”
After his many years of being held captive, Odysseus did not trust Calypso’s words. “Not even a well-made ship could safely sail these waves,” he said. “Will you swear a sacred oath that you are not trying to harm me?”
The goddess took his hand. “I swear by heaven and earth and by the waters of the underworld that I want no harm to come to you, Odysseus,” she said.
Having sworn her oath, Calypso rose and quickly walked away. Odysseus followed her to her cave. Calypso bade her servants prepare a meal. Her handmaidens served her ambrosia and nectar, food for the deathless gods. Calypso herself served Odysseus meat and wine, refreshment for mere mortals.
“Odysseus, if you would only promise to stay with me and marry me, I would make you, too, an immortal being,” Calypso said. “You would live forever.”
“Fair goddess, why would I want to live forever far from my home, without my wife and son?” he asked.
“I cannot imagine that your wife is more beautiful than I am,” said Calypso.
“Goddess, do not be angry with me,” said Odysseus. “What you say is true. My wife is a mortal woman. She is not as beautiful as you. Still, for seven years, I have thought of nothing but getting home to her.”
Desperate to keep Odysseus on her island, Calypso gave him one more reason to stay. “If you sail for home, Odysseus, you will find many troubles along the way, for the gods will not aid your journey,” she said. “They will test your powers of endurance, again and again.”
“Should the gods choose to destroy my raft, I shall bear it,” said Odysseus. “I have suffered many hardships and can certainly endure one more.”
Calypso sighed and nodded. She could see that she had no choice. She had to let Odysseus go.
The next morning, at dawn, Calypso dressed in a beautiful shimmering silver gown. She covered her head with a veil. Then she gave Odysseus a sharp ax made of bronze and led him to the far end of the island.
There, many tall trees grew—aspens and pines that reached as high as the sky.
“Cut what you need for your ship,” the goddess said.
For the next four days, Odysseus cut down trees with his bronze ax. He worked until he had felled twenty. Then he set about building his raft.
He smoothed the felled timbers and fixed them together with wooden bolts. Then he built a deck and made a mast and a steering rudder. Calypso gave him linen cloth for a sail. When the sea craft was finally finished, Odysseus used logs to roll it down to the water.
On the fifth day after Hermes’ visit to Calypso, Odysseus was ready to set sail. Calypso gave him clean clothes. She gave him goatskins filled with deep-red wine and water and meat. She told him which stars he should follow to guide his way.
The goddess hid her grief as Odysseus moved away from her into the water and climbed aboard his raft.
The last gift Calypso gave Odysseus was a fair, warm wind to send his raft safely out to sea.
EIGHT
THE VOYAGE
With his hands gripping the rudder, Odysseus skillfully guided his raft over the waves. He never slept. All night, he kept his eyes fixed on the stars that Calypso had told him to watch—the Pleiades and the Bear.
Day after day and night after night, Odysseus sailed the seas. Finally, on the eighteenth day, he saw the dim outline of mountains on the horizon.
As Odysseus steered his raft toward the shore, dark clouds gathered overhead. The water began to rise. The wind began to blow, until it was roaring over the earth and sea.
Has Poseidon discovered my raft? Odysseus wondered anxiously. Does he now seek his final revenge?
For many years, Poseidon, mighty ruler of the sea, had been angry with Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops. Now it seemed he was trying to destroy Odysseus once again. The wind roared from the north, south, east, and west. Daylight plunged into darkness. Odysseus feared he was about to come to a terrible, lonely end.
Suddenly an enormous wave crashed down on Odysseus’ raft. Odysseus was swept overboard and pulled deep beneath the sea. He struggled wildly to raise his head above the water and breathe.
When his head finally broke the surface, Odysseus saw his raft swiftly moving away across the water. He swam as fast as he could toward the wooden craft. He grabbed the timbers and pulled himself aboard.
&
nbsp; Then, as the wind swirled the raft across the water, Odysseus saw an astonishing sight. A sea goddess was floating like a gull on top of the waves.
Seemingly impervious to the great storm, she floated near his raft and climbed aboard.
“My friend,” she said, “I am Ino, the White Goddess, who guides sailors in storms. I know not why Poseidon is angry with you. But I know this: for all the torture he has inflicted upon you, he will not kill you. But you must leave your raft at once and swim for the shore. Take my veil, for it is enchanted. You will come to no harm as long as you possess it. As soon as you reach land, you must throw it back into the sea.”
With these words, the White Goddess removed her enchanted veil and gave it to Odysseus. Then she disappeared back into the wild seas.
At that moment, a huge wave crashed down on Odysseus’ raft, ripping it to pieces. Clutching Ino’s veil, Odysseus pulled himself onto a wooden plank and rode it as if it were a horse. Then he dove down into the sea.
Suddenly, all the winds died down—except the north wind. Odysseus felt that Athena was holding the other winds back, so he could swim safely and swiftly to some distant shore. For two days and two nights, with the north wind gently flattening the waves before him, he swam and floated on the calm sea.
On the third day, the north wind died away and the sea was completely calm. Odysseus saw land ahead. With a burst of joy, he swam toward the rocky shore.
In an instant, the wind and waves returned. With a thundering roar, sea spray rained down on him.
Odysseus struggled to keep his head above the churning water, seeking a place to go ashore.
Angry waves were pounding the reefs with great force. I’ll be dashed against the rocks if I try to swim ashore now, he thought desperately.
But once again, Odysseus felt the presence of Athena. A giant wave picked him up and carried him over the rocks toward the beach. But before Odysseus could crawl ashore to safety, another wave dragged him back into the sea and pulled him under the water.
Odysseus swam desperately, escaping the waves pounding the shore. Soon he came to a sheltered cove. He saw a riverbank free of rough stones. As he swam toward the bank, he prayed to the gods to save him from the angry attack of Poseidon.
Suddenly the waves were still. But when Odysseus tried to haul himself ashore, his body failed him. He had been defeated by the storm. It had ripped his flesh and robbed his muscles of their strength. He was passing in and out of consciousness.
Gasping for breath, he pulled off Ino’s veil and threw it back into the sea. Then he used his last bit of strength to drag himself out of the water and throw himself into the river reeds.
If I lie here all night, I shall die from the cold and damp, he thought. If I go farther ashore and pass out in a thicket, wild beasts will devour me. No matter what evils lay ahead, he knew he had to push on. On bleeding hands and knees, he crawled to a sheltered spot under an olive tree, a tree sacred to the goddess Athena.
Odysseus lay down in a pile of dead leaves. With his bloody hands, he spread leaves over his torn body. Like a farmer spreading ashes over the embers of his fire, he tried to protect the last spark of life within him.
Mercifully, the gray-eyed goddess slipped down from the heavens and appeared at his side. She closed his weary eyes and pulled him down into a sweet sleep that took away his pain and sorrow.
EPILOGUE
Back in Ithaca, Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, opened her door and greeted a friend named Medon.
“I have just received terrible news,” said Medon. “Your suitors, led by Antinous, are plotting against your son. They are waiting for him on the island of Asteris. When his ship sails past, they will kill him.”
Penelope fell to the floor in a faint. When she came to, she wept bitterly. “Where is my boy?” she said between sobs. “I thought he was somewhere in the countryside.”
“I know only that he set out some days ago in search of news of his father,” said Medon. “Soon he will be sailing for home and crossing the path of his enemies.”
Penelope was plunged into such despair that she could not rise from the floor. As she wept and wailed for her lost husband and her beloved son, all her handmaidens wept with her.
Euryclea, the aged nursemaid of Telemachus, tried to comfort her. “Call upon the goddess Athena!” she urged Penelope. “Ask for her help. She will save your boy!”
The old woman wiped away Penelope’s tears. She helped her bathe and dressed her in clean linens. She helped her make an offering to the goddess.
Penelope prayed to Athena. “O daughter of Zeus, hear me,” she said. “I beg you to keep my son safe from harm.”
Exhausted and filled with grief, Penelope then went to her chambers and lay down on her bed.
Mercifully, the gray-eyed goddess soon came. She closed Penelope’s weary eyes and pulled her down into a sweet sleep that took away her pain and sorrow.
Book Five
RETURN TO ITHACA
ONE
SEPARATION AND SORROW
Beneath an olive tree on a strange shore lay Odysseus, the lost king of Ithaca. In the weeks before, Odysseus had fought for his life against a terrible storm. He had lived many days without food or fresh water. He had narrowly escaped death with the aid of a sea goddess. And now, covered by a blanket of leaves, he was drifting into a deep and exhausted sleep.
For the twenty years since he had left the battlefields of Troy, Odysseus had tried desperately to return to his beloved island of Ithaca. In that time, he had braved many storms and fought many monsters. He had lost his fleet of twelve ships and all of his men.
Odysseus ached always to return to his home and be reunited with his wife, Penelope, and their son, Telemachus. Though he had not seen them in twenty years, they were ever in his heart and mind. But as he lay on this distant shore, it seemed impossible to Odysseus that he would ever get home….
As Odysseus slept on the beach, far away Penelope slept in her palace bed, weary from weeping. For many years, wicked men had invaded her husband’s estate, demanding that she take one of them for a husband. Penelope had steadfastly refused, and now her suitors were plotting to kill her son as he returned home from searching for his father. Upon hearing this news, Penelope had collapsed. She could hardly bear her husband’s absence. Surely she would die if she lost her son as well….
Far away from Ithaca, Penelope’s son, Telemachus, lay in a splendid chamber in the palace of the king and queen of Sparta. He had traveled there to find news of his father, and his quest had been fulfilled. King Menelaus had told him that Odysseus might be a captive on the island of the goddess Calypso.
Since receiving this news, Telemachus had been asking himself the same questions over and over: Should he set out in search of Calypso’s island in hopes of finding his father? Or should he return to Ithaca and help his mother in her struggle against the suitors who were trying to take his father’s place?
The son of Odysseus did not know that even now evil men were waiting to ambush him on his way home.
High on Mount Olympus, the gray-eyed goddess Athena looked down on Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus. Something must be done to save Odysseus and his wife and son, she thought—and quickly. So, in the hour before dawn, Athena left her bright, perfect world in the clouds and slipped down to the small and troubled world below….
TWO
THE PRINCESS
Athena traveled swiftly over the earth to the land of King Alcinous. King Alcinous was a wise and generous leader, and his kingdom was blessed. The men were the best sailors in all the world, and the women were the best weavers.
Athena passed green fields, splendid temples, and lovely houses until finally she came to the palace of the king and queen. In the hour before dawn, she slipped through the entranceway, then down the hall to the chamber of the king’s daughter, Nausicaa.
The goddess glided silently into the princess’s room. Like a breath of wind, she swept past two young handmaidens sleeping near
the door.
Athena hovered for a moment over the princess’s bed. Then she quickly changed her shape to that of Nausicaa’s closest friend. She spoke to the princess as if in a dream.
“Nausicaa, you are so lazy!” she said. “Don’t you know that there are many dirty clothes in the palace that must be washed? How will you ever marry if you do not have a clean gown? At dawn, you must load the best linen into a wagon and go to the pools near the shore and do the washing!”
The gray-eyed goddess then slipped out of the palace as swiftly and silently as she had come.
When dawn broke, Nausicaa woke and remembered her strange dream. She hurried at once to her parents’ chamber. “Father! I must go today and wash all our best clothes in the sea!” she said. “If I do not have clean clothes, how will I ever marry?”
King Alcinous smiled. He thought his daughter’s words were strange, but he could refuse her nothing. “If that is what you wish, Nausicaa, that is what you shall do,” he said. “I will tell the servants to fetch a wagon and harness the mules so you can carry all our clothes down to the sea.”
The king’s servants quickly prepared a wagon. The princess and her handmaidens loaded piles of soiled cloaks, robes, tunics, and gowns into the back. They packed a lunch of bread and meat, a goatskin filled with wine, and a flask of golden olive oil.
Nausicaa climbed into the driver’s seat of the wagon and snapped the reins. The team of mules lunged forward and the wagon rattled noisily over the road, carrying the princess and her handmaidens toward the sea.
When they came to the washing pools near the shore, the girls unhitched the mules. They unloaded the wagon and carried the piles of clothes down to the pools. They stamped on the garments, washing them in seawater until they were spotless. Then they spread them over the rocks to dry.
As they waited for the sun and wind to dry their laundry, the princess and her handmaidens bathed in the sea. They ate their bread and meat. Then they threw off their veils and began playing ball.
Tales from the Odyssey, Part 2 Page 3