ODYSSEY MAP · STOP 12/14
Where Is Ogygia, the Island of Calypso?
Seven years between an offer of immortality and the way home
Shipless and crewless, Odysseus drifts for nine days before washing up on Ogygia, the island at the navel of the sea. The beautiful goddess Calypso keeps him for seven years and offers him immortality and unfading youth. Every day he sits on the shore, stares at the horizon and weeps — for mortal Penelope, for stony Ithaca.
At last, at Athena’s plea, Zeus sends Hermes. Calypso yields; she brings axe, auger and timber. In four days Odysseus builds his raft with his own hands, and sails alone for eighteen more.
Where is it in the real world?
The most famous candidate for Ogygia is Gozo in the Maltese archipelago, where a cave above Ramla Bay has been shown for centuries as “Calypso’s Cave”. Other traditions place the island in the Ionian Sea.
What awaits you in the game?
Ogygia is a test of character: accept immortality and the game ends with an entirely different ending; refuse, and you must find the patience and seamanship to build the raft.
Quick facts
- Position on the route
- 12 / 14
- Previous stop
- Thrinacia · 150 nautical miles · ≈ 3 months under sail
- Next stop
- Phaeacia (Scheria) · 350 nautical miles · ≈ 2 months under sail
- Modern location
- Island of Gozo, Malta — traditional candidate
- Region
- In the epic, “the navel of the sea”; central Mediterranean
▶ Play the Game Free
Runs in your browser · no install · no sign-up · in English