Rants, Reviews and Ruminations

  Odysseus the Valiant, Godlike Odysseus, Sacker of Cities, Man of Exploits, The Wanderer… these and many other epithets were used cleverly by good ol Homer to glorify our glorious, glory chasing glory hunter Odysseus. However, with our modern-day sensitivities and understanding of gender issues, power struggles & sexuality thrown into the Thunderdome, I’d like to add another epithet for our Man of Many Sorrows… Odysseus the Survivor. This analysis of the 5th Book of the Odyssey, Calypso, aims to take a feminist glance at the text, primarily analyzing it to establish Odysseus as a victim of sexual assault… a victim of a proto-feminist icon, Divine Calypso, Daughter of Atlas, That Nymph of the Plaited Tresses… the rapist. As a secondary objective, the analysis shall also aim to acknowledge various literary merits of the book.     A Quick Overview   Before we analyze the book, it’s prudent to go over the timeline of the text itself briefly. At Athena’s urging, the O