Mythology of the Iliad and the Odyssey by Karen Bornemann Spies

stretched out her feet and grabbed sailors from their decks. She tore them to pieces with her many sharp teeth so that they died a terrible death.
    Below the cliff directly opposite Scylla lived Charybdis, a deadly whirlpool, that sucked in the water of the passageway three times a day. Then, she spit it out in towering spouts. When a ship entered the whirling spiral, none on board survived. Sometimes, a lucky ship would pass over the whirlpool when she was calm, but the chances of this happening were rare. Odysseus decided that sailing near Charybdis meant certain death for everyone on the ship, so he sailed closer to Scylla. Still, even though his crew rowed furiously, Scylla snatched and ate six of the men.
    By this time, Odysseus’ sailors had been rowing for weeks without food and were starving. They landed on the Island of the Sun to rest. Odysseus made them swear that they would leave the cattle untouched. At first, they caught fish and hunted game. But their increasing hunger drove the men to a foolish action. When Odysseus went to sleep, the men could not resist killing and roasting several of the cattle. When Odysseus awoke, he was horrified, for he knew his men would be punished. After the ship set sail again, Zeus took revenge. He sent a thunderbolt which destroyed the ship and sent it spinning to the bottom of the ocean, carrying everyone but Odysseus to their deaths.
    For nine days, Odysseus drifted on the sea by clinging to the mast and keel, or bottom, of his ship. On the tenth day, he washed ashore on Ogyia, the island home of the beautiful nymph, Calypso. The long-haired nymph nursed him back to health and fell in love with Odysseus in the process. She planned to keep him with her forever. Without a ship, Odysseus could not escape her island. Calypso plied Odysseus with fine food and drink to tempt him to stay with her. She offered him immortality and eternal youth. She made life so comfortable for him that he stayed on her island for seven years and did not do a single day’s work the entire time. Yet although Calypso begged him to stay with her, Odysseus could not forget Penelope. He began to feel sharp pangs of loneliness for his home and family.
    Poseidon, who did not want Odysseus to reach home, rejoiced in the hero’s homesickness. However, Athena decided it was time for Odysseus to receive his wish: to see his wife and son again. Athena waited until Poseidon was occupied somewhere else. Then, she visited Zeus and asked him to command Calypso to let Odysseus go.
    Zeus sent his messenger, Hermes, to tell Calypso to release Odysseus. Hermes strapped on his golden, winged sandals and flew over the waves to Calypso’s island. He entered the cave where the nymph with the lovely braids made her home. With a breathtaking voice, she sang as she wove colorful cloths at her loom deep inside the cave.
    Calypso recognized Hermes right away. “Messenger god, my dear friend, why have you come?” she asked. “I am eager to do whatever you wish.” She asked Hermes to sit at a table, where she served him ambrosia and roasted meats.
    When Hermes had finished eating, he said, “Zeus bade me come. The king of the gods claims that you are keeping beside you Odysseus, a man who set sail for home after helping win the Trojan War. On the way, he faced many adventures and lost all of his men. Now Zeus commands you to let him go, for it is not his fate to die here.”
    At first, Calypso was angry at these words. “I saved Odysseus from drowning after Zeus had destroyed his ship with one white-hot lightning bolt. Now the king of the gods wishes me to let Odysseus go?” Calypso sighed in frustration. “I will send Odysseus off, since this is the will of Zeus.”
    Hermes flew back to Olympus, while Calypso searched for Odysseus to tell him the news that he was going home. She found him sitting on the beach, weeping because he was so homesick.
    “Kind Calypso,” he said, “I am forever grateful that you saved me from