Jared Makheja
Descriptive Essay Paper #2
Dr. Hoyrd
Due Date: October 26, 2015
Ogygia: The Trap that Led Him Home
In The Odyssey, Homer uses Calypso’s island as the primary location where Odysseus’ character grows to become an ideal, passionate warrior. Ogygia, the nymph’s island, is a catalyst for the development of Odysseus’ characteristics, both literally and symbolically. The island is a utopian trap, where everything seems perfect, but its aesthetic beauty is what makes it trap-like. However, later in the poem, Odysseus will feel like Ogygia is a literal trap, due to his lack of resources, as well as a symbolic trap, as Calypso has sexual and material power over Odysseus. Odysseus, as a direct result of Calypso and her island, …show more content…
Calypso shows great hospitality when she accepts this stranger into her island and begins to help him. Calypso is not alone on this island, as she has many maidservants who cater to all of her needs. The island also has a large variety of trees. For example, as Homer states in Book 5, “Thick, luxuriant woods grew round the cave,/ alders and black poplars, pungent cypress too,/ and their birds roosted, folding their long wings” (70-73). This description shows that the island is an enormous trap that attracts wanderers due to its aesthetically pleasing qualities: many types of trees, distinct smells, and various species of wildlife. The presence of iridescent trees serves as a seductive mechanism that makes a wanderer who is struck with grief, like Odysseus, want to stay at the island.
The cave on the island is the space where Calypso has sexual power over Odysseus, as he has no choice but to do what she says. Calypso holds him hostage in a physical way, as there is no place for him to go, and in a moral way, as Calypso helps her guest in his time of need so he feels indebted to her. Calypso’s island is both a physical trap and a symbolic trap as the nymph Calypso has created a sexual and material trap over …show more content…
The nymph displays the outside of the cave like a perfect world: bright and colorful, heavenly scented, with maid servants that cater to one’s every need, but inside the cave is different. The connotation of a cave is grim, dark, gloomy, or secluded, all of which describes Calypso’s cave. Calypso uses her power over Odysseus and forces Odysseus to betray his wife, which Odysseus does not want to do because he wants to remain loyal. It is obvious that his forced infidelity upsets Odysseus because he spends his time crying on the beaches. Calypso’s name comes from the Greek word, Kalyptein, which means “cover, conceal, to hide.” Homer uses Calypso’s name as a representation of Calypso’s true character as she hides her sexual powers until they both enter the grim, dark cave. The nymph also sings, which was often used to seduce men in the ancient world, like Penelope does earlier in the poem. The island has a distinct scent of cedar, which is cleanly split, and sweetwood - both burning from a fire that is on the island. The scent is another seductive mechanism that attracts even Hermes, a god. Hermes is sent down from Zeus to tell Calypso that it is time to let Odysseus go, and as Hermes descends, he is trapped
Descriptive Essay Paper #2
Dr. Hoyrd
Due Date: October 26, 2015
Ogygia: The Trap that Led Him Home
In The Odyssey, Homer uses Calypso’s island as the primary location where Odysseus’ character grows to become an ideal, passionate warrior. Ogygia, the nymph’s island, is a catalyst for the development of Odysseus’ characteristics, both literally and symbolically. The island is a utopian trap, where everything seems perfect, but its aesthetic beauty is what makes it trap-like. However, later in the poem, Odysseus will feel like Ogygia is a literal trap, due to his lack of resources, as well as a symbolic trap, as Calypso has sexual and material power over Odysseus. Odysseus, as a direct result of Calypso and her island, …show more content…
Calypso shows great hospitality when she accepts this stranger into her island and begins to help him. Calypso is not alone on this island, as she has many maidservants who cater to all of her needs. The island also has a large variety of trees. For example, as Homer states in Book 5, “Thick, luxuriant woods grew round the cave,/ alders and black poplars, pungent cypress too,/ and their birds roosted, folding their long wings” (70-73). This description shows that the island is an enormous trap that attracts wanderers due to its aesthetically pleasing qualities: many types of trees, distinct smells, and various species of wildlife. The presence of iridescent trees serves as a seductive mechanism that makes a wanderer who is struck with grief, like Odysseus, want to stay at the island.
The cave on the island is the space where Calypso has sexual power over Odysseus, as he has no choice but to do what she says. Calypso holds him hostage in a physical way, as there is no place for him to go, and in a moral way, as Calypso helps her guest in his time of need so he feels indebted to her. Calypso’s island is both a physical trap and a symbolic trap as the nymph Calypso has created a sexual and material trap over …show more content…
The nymph displays the outside of the cave like a perfect world: bright and colorful, heavenly scented, with maid servants that cater to one’s every need, but inside the cave is different. The connotation of a cave is grim, dark, gloomy, or secluded, all of which describes Calypso’s cave. Calypso uses her power over Odysseus and forces Odysseus to betray his wife, which Odysseus does not want to do because he wants to remain loyal. It is obvious that his forced infidelity upsets Odysseus because he spends his time crying on the beaches. Calypso’s name comes from the Greek word, Kalyptein, which means “cover, conceal, to hide.” Homer uses Calypso’s name as a representation of Calypso’s true character as she hides her sexual powers until they both enter the grim, dark cave. The nymph also sings, which was often used to seduce men in the ancient world, like Penelope does earlier in the poem. The island has a distinct scent of cedar, which is cleanly split, and sweetwood - both burning from a fire that is on the island. The scent is another seductive mechanism that attracts even Hermes, a god. Hermes is sent down from Zeus to tell Calypso that it is time to let Odysseus go, and as Hermes descends, he is trapped