Calypso

In Greek mythology, Calypso (; , "she who conceals") was a nymph who lived on the island of Ogygia, where, according to Homer's Odyssey, she detained Odysseus for seven years. She promised Odysseus immortality if he would stay with her, but Odysseus preferred to return home. Etymology The name "Calypso" may derive from the Ancient Greek, meaning "to cover", "to conceal", or "to hide". According to Etymologicum Magnum, her name means "concealing the knowledge", which – combined with the Homeric epithet (, meaning "subtle" or "wily") – justifies the reclusive character of Calypso and her island. An alternative explanation is that Calypso derives from versions of "Calí" + "Ópsis", meaning "Beautiful Sight". Family Calypso is generally said to be the daughter of the Titan Atlas. Her mother is mostly unnamed, but Hyginus wrote that it was Pleione, mother of the Pleiades. Hesiod, and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, mention either a different Calypso or possibly the same Calypso as one of the Oceanid daughters of Tethys and Oceanus. Apollodorus includes the name Calypso in his list of Nereids, the daughters of Nereus and Doris. John Tzetzes makes her a daughter of Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse, the parents of Circe, perhaps due to her association with Circe; the two goddesses were sometimes confused due to their behaviour and connection to Odysseus. According to a fragment from the Catalogue of Women, Calypso bore the Cephalonians to Hermes as suggested by Hermes' visits to her island in the Odyssey. Mythology In Homer's Odyssey, Calypso tries to keep the fabled Greek hero Odysseus on her island to make him her immortal husband, while he also gets to enjoy her sensual pleasures forever. According to Homer, Calypso kept Odysseus prisoner by force at Ogygia for seven years. Calypso enchants Odysseus with her singing as she moves to and fro, weaving on her loom with a golden shuttle.