Kalypso: Tritagonist

In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, we are told of Odysseus’ great adventures following the destruction of Troy – his desperate homeward journey back to his patiently waiting wife and child. Yet he spent seven years of that journey in one place – the island of Ogygia. There he remained with Kalypso until she finally asked him to leave. How could a man known for besting a great Cyclops, defying an enchantress, and bringing about the end of the Trojan war with his great inventive mind, not manage to escape from one ‘goddess’ for seven years? Could he really have been kept there against his own will? Kalypso may be a minor part in the ancient tale, but it is she who loved the convalescing warrior all those years, and she alone who knows the truth. In her twilight years, before a warming fire and an eager chorus, Kalypso tells her own version of the story and reveals the secrets her love kept from the world…