Monday, May 7, 2018

What imagery does Homer use to describe Ogygia?

Ogygia is the beautiful island paradise where Odysseus has been held captive by the enticing sea nymph Calypso. The island, like Calypso herself, is replete with seductive charms, and Homer paints us a suitably luscious portrait of its many natural beauties.
In Book V, Zeus sends Hermes, messenger of the gods, down to Ogygia to inform the homesick Odysseus that he can now finally embark upon his journey back to Ithaca. When Hermes sets foot on the beach at Ogygia, we are treated to a detailed description of the island's flora and fauna:

Thick, luxuriant woods grew round the cave, alders and black poplars, pungent cypress too, and there birds roosted, folding their long wings, owls and hawks and the spread-beaked ravens of the sea, black skimmers who make their living off the waves. And round the mouth of the cavern trailed a vine laden with clusters, bursting with ripe grapes. Four springs in a row, bubbling clear and cold, running side-by-side, took channels left and right. Soft meadows spreading round were starred with violets, lush with beds of parsley. Why, even a deathless god who came upon that place would gaze in wonder, heart entranced with pleasure. Hermes the guide, the mighty giant-killer, stood there, spellbound … (Book V; Fagles translation).

Even an immortal is dumbstruck by such outstanding natural beauty. But this is all completely irrelevant to poor old Odysseus. To him, Ogygia has become a prison, not a paradise. He spends all day just sitting there on the beach, staring longingly at the wine dark sea as his heart aches for home. The contrast between Odysseus's dark, mournful soul and the ravishing beauty of his natural environment could not be greater. It serves to highlight just how much Odysseus's homeland means to him. Many in his position would positively revel in such a setting, treating it almost like a dream come true. But not Odysseus—not the king of Ithaca, who must return to his palace, his son and his queen.

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