Women And Loss In Homer's Odyssey

Women & Loss

“And I welcomed him warmly, cherished him, even vowed to make the man immortal, ageless, all his days . . . But since there is no way for another god to thwart the will of storming Zeus and make it come to nothing, Let the man go—if the Almighty insists, commands— and destroy himself on the barren salt sea!” (5.150-155)

Calypso was not thrilled when she learned that her captive was to be released from his seven-year imprisonment upon her island. She aired her grievances very clearly after Hermes informed her of Zeus’ command of freedom for Odysseus. After seven years, it seems that her attachment to him is warranted; however, she also intended on keeping him as her slave for all of eternity. Despite her bipolar, volatile attitude, she contains her emotions and decides to help Odysseus return home, and genuinely seems to present him with good will and her blessing. Despite her goddess stature and ability to have reasonable sway upon fate, she sees Odysseus off saying, “I will never plot some new intrigue to harm you.” (Homer 158). It appears that she keeps her word. Why should she, a goddess herself submit to the word of Zeus, another god who also can be imperfect? If the loss of Odysseus really weighs so heavy upon

The Homeric understanding of fate is that it is unbending, and impossibly powerful. Once a fate has been determined, nothing can change it, not even interactions from gods. Virgil drew upon a very similar interpretation of fate, but with some important nuances and subtleties. Fate has the same powerful force in the Aeneid, but another layer is added: the free will of the human characters. While in Homer’s tales, mortals could do little to nothing to change the outcome of their fate, Virgil shows his idea that mortals can at least change the path that fate takes. In essence, Virgil allows the characters to do as they will, as long as the outcome is what fate has