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Ogygia

Ogygia is a mythical island in ancient Greek literature, best known as the home of the sea-nymph Calypso and the place where Odysseus is detained for seven years in Homer’s Odyssey.

The precise location and even the nature of Ogygia are not fixed in antiquity. In the Odyssey

In the Odyssey, Calypso receives Odysseus after his voyage from Troy and keeps him on Ogygia, offering

Ogygia has influenced later literature and art as a motif of alluring captivity and of a liminal

it
is
depicted
as
a
distant,
secluded
isle
in
the
western
seas,
far
from
the
known
world.
The
name’s
etymology
is
uncertain,
and
ancient
authors
offered
various
identifications
with
real
places
in
the
western
Mediterranean,
such
as
Malta
(Gozo)
or
Sardinia,
but
none
is
universally
accepted.
In
literary
terms,
Ogygia
functions
more
as
a
symbolic
setting
of
isolation
and
enchantment
than
as
a
precise
geography.
him
friendship,
companionship,
and
the
prospect
of
immortality
if
he
remains
with
her.
The
gods
eventually
intervene
when
Hermes
is
sent
to
order
Odysseus’s
release.
Calypso
aids
his
departure,
providing
supplies
and
assistance
as
he
prepares
to
return
to
the
sea,
and
Odysseus
finally
leaves
to
continue
his
journey
home
to
Ithaca.
space
between
immortality
and
mortality.
It
remains
a
point
of
reference
in
discussions
of
Odysseus’s
long
voyage
and
the
broader
theme
of
choice
between
constant
temptation
and
the
demands
of
a
mortal
life.