ATLANTIC OGUGIA AND KALUPSO
(S.MIGUEL, AZORES)
Odysseus' Second Voyage Part IV English translation of parts of Homeros Odyssee, De zwerftochten van Odysseus over de Atlantische Oceaan by Gerard.W.J.Janssen. Continuation of 'Atlantic Troy' . Website Homer Odyssey
Legenda map I. Departure from Zeeland (Kirke) to the Seirenes on Tenedos (Thanet) II. Skulla and Charubdis at Mont St. Michael III. Thrinakia and the cattle of Helios, Cornwall IV. After shipwreck and second trip to Charubdis arrival at S.Miguel, Azores; Kalupso V. Departure per raft, raft rupture and arrival in Scheria = Lanzarote, Canaries, with the Faiakans (Faycáns) VI. Return trip by Faiakan taxi-ship and arrival at Ithaka in the Forkus-harbour (Cadiz, Jerez)
In his first book the poet begins in the middle of an episode of the Odyssey in which Odysseus resides at Kalypso, with whom he was washed up after the shipwreck of his only remaining ship. In book 5 his seven-year stay is described in more detail.
Where is the island of Ogugia of the mysterious nymph Kalupso?
Let's start by listing Homer's data:
... an island surrounded by water, where the navel is of the sea. The island is densely wooded; a goddess lives in her rooms, daughter of Atlas who has all the knowledge, knows the depths of every sea and personally manages those long pillars, that keep earth and heaven separate. It is his daughter who detains that unlucky man to his great sorrow and she lulls him, constantly, with soft seductive words, intending him to forget Ithaka (1.50 ff.)
- This fragment gives some indications: it is an island with water (litt.: streams, currents) around, 'where the navel is of the sea'. Furthermore, Kalypso turns out to be a daughter of Atlas, the god who manages the heavenly vault (echei), is traditionally associated with the Atlas Mountains and is the name giver of the Atlantic Ocean. Atlas is obviously important here because Homeros devotes multiple verses to him. His qualification is oloófron. This word is usually translated as "malevolent," which is utterly absurd, since with the same term Minos and Aietes are qualified, of whom the first is the son of Zeus and the wise chief judge in the Hades, while Aietes, son of Helios, the priest-king of the area around Kolchis, is the guardian of the Golden Fleece, the symbol of astronomical knowledge. The right etymology is from (h)olofron- "he who knows everything in his brain". This is explained again by the following phrase: 'he knows the depths of each sea'. Knowledge of the sea, its depths and currents and ports was of vital importance for the navigation of the Atlantic people. An atlas is not called so for no reason! Furthermore, Homer says that he has the long struts (poles, columns) that keep heaven and earth separate. Atlas owns or manages these pole posts. So, we do not yet have the image of an Atlas carrying the celestial globe on his shoulders. - The cave of Kalupso is described in detail in book 5, in which Hermes visits Kalupso ordering her to let Odysseus go:
However, when he reached the island far away in the sea, he left the dark water behind him, stepped ashore and went on his way until he reached the vast cave where she lived, the fair-haired nymph: he found her at home. A great fire blazed on the hearth, and the scent of burning cedar logs and juniper spread far across the isle. She sat inside singing with her beautiful voice and, moving to and fro at her loom, wove with a golden shuttle. Around the cave grew a lush copse of sweet pepper and fig, paradise apples too with their delicious fragrance, where winged birds were nesting, owls and falcons, cormorants too with their long tongues whose business is with the sea. Right around the hollow cave, a vine in lush growth climbed up, heavy with clustered grapes. And four neighbouring springs, channelled this way and that, flowed with lime-white water. Soft meadows bloomed everywhere with violets and celery. (5.55)
