Characters
- Electra — nymph of Ogygia; bitter but obedient; cites other goddesses’ losses
- Lyssa — messenger; crosses the sea to Ogygia; delivers Zeus’s command
- Odysseus — unseen at the cave during Hermes’ visit; weeping on the shore
- Rhea — exempla in Calypso’s complaint (Orion; Iasion)
Places
- House of Zeus — dawn council
- Ogygia — Calypso’s island and cave
- Olympus — Hermes’ takeoff
- Shore of Ogygia — Odysseus’s weeping-place
Themes
Narrative
At dawn Zeus sent Hermes to Ogygia: Odysseus must leave Calypso; he is to build a raft and reach the Phaeacians, who will convey him home, and he shall see his loved ones again—though suffering remains. Hermes bound on his sandals, took the wand, dropped from Pieria to the sea, and skimmed like a gull to the island. He found Calypso’s cave fragrant with fire of cedar and citrus, the nymph singing at the loom; Odysseus was on the shore weeping, as every day.
Hermes delivered Zeus’s order. Calypso shuddered, complained that gods begrudge goddesses their mortal lovers—recalling Dawn and Orion, Demeter and Iasion—yet she dared not cross Zeus. She swore she would advise Odysseus in good faith and send him off. Only after Hermes departed did she seek Odysseus on the beach to begin the release. This file stops at the embassy’s success: the nymph’s privilege yields to Zeus’s will; the raft and storm follow in 046.