Student Question
What help does Calypso provide to Odysseus in The Odyssey?
Quick answer:
Calypso aids Odysseus by agreeing to release him from her island, despite her love for him and her offer of immortality if he stayed. She provides him with materials to build a raft, food, clothing, and a favorable wind for his journey. Although reluctant, Calypso follows Zeus's command, allowing Odysseus to leave, but he faces dangers at sea, including a storm from Poseidon, before eventually reaching the island of Scheria.
Calypso helps Odysseus by first agreeing to set him free, and then by promising him a raft and provisions for his journey home.
By way of the messenger Hermes, Zeus orders Calypso to free Odysseus. Calypso rails against the male gods who take mortals for wives, but are angered when the female gods take a mortal man. Nevertheless, she obeys. When she finds the unhappy Odysseus crying as the
...sweet days of his lifetime
were running out in anguish over his exile,
for long ago the nymph had ceased to please.
Calypso approaches Odysseus, telling him to calm himself:
"Here you need grieve no more....
I have pondered it,
and I shall help you go."
Then, she takes him into her cave, where she has her serving maids bring him food....
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
Still, she tries to convince Odysseus to stay, telling him of the dangers of the sea and offering to make him immortal is he stays. Much like the jealous woman, she asks Odysseus if she is less desirable than the wife for whom he pines. Odysseus calms her by saying that she has no reason for jealousy as Penelope is but a mortal, also. Offering his main desire to leave her as wishing to return home, he says,
"...Yet it is true, each day
I long for home, long for the sight of home..."
Thus, able to not offend Calypso by arguing that it is his home he misses more than his wife, he is allowed to construct a raft and set sail, although she watches him depart with great sadness. Moreover, just as Calypso has warned, Odysseus finds himself on a dangerous sea because the god Poseidon has generated a storm that destroys the raft. Fortunately, however, the goddess Ino comes to his rescue, by providing Odysseus with a veil that keeps him safe after his raft is wrecked. After eighteen days at sea, having been flung farther out and against jagged rocks, Odysseus again meets with good fortune as Athena intervenes along with a sea nymph. They, then, direct his course. At last, Odysseus finds a river that flows up to the coast of the island of Scheria. There he hides himself in a pile of leaves. Exhausted by this final effort, Odysseus throws off the protective veil given him by Ino as she has instructed him, and Athena "showered sleep/ that his distress should end."
References
How did Calypso help Odysseus leave the island in The Odyssey?
Calypso was in love with Odysseus and did not want him to leave the island. She offered to make him immortal if he would stay with her but he refused. Even so, she helped him get off the island. She did this by giving him the supplies he needed and she did this by providing a wind that would help blow him in the correct direction.
In terms of supplies, she provided him with the things that he needed to build himself a sturdy raft. She gave him food enough to make it home and she gave him clothes to wear.