How does Odysseus escape Calypso?

In The Odyssey, Odysseus escapes Calypso because the gods finally order her to release him. Athena persuades Zeus to intervene on Odysseus’s behalf, and Zeus sends Hermes to Calypso’s island, Ogygia, with the command that she let Odysseus go. Calypso is angry about the decision, complaining that the gods resent goddesses who love mortal men, but she obeys the order anyway.

Odysseus has spent seven years trapped on her island as her unwilling lover. Even though Calypso offers him immortality and asks him to stay as her husband, he continues to grieve for Ithaca and Penelope. Odysseus later explains, “Calypso the lustrous goddess tried to hold me back [...] craving me for a husband,” but “nothing is as sweet as a man’s own country.” His memory of home keeps him from giving up his journey entirely.

After agreeing to release him, Calypso gives Odysseus tools and supplies so he can build a raft. He works for several days constructing it himself, and then he sails away from Ogygia. His escape is difficult even after he leaves, because Poseidon still hates him for blinding the Cyclops Polyphemus. Poseidon sends a violent storm that nearly destroys the raft, but the sea goddess Ino helps Odysseus survive, and Athena guides him safely toward the land of the Phaeacians.

Odysseus’s departure from Calypso’s island is one of many examples of him prioritizing his journey home over external temptations. Calypso offers comfort, immortality, and escape from suffering, but Odysseus chooses a dangerous mortal life because he remains loyal to his family and his identity as king of Ithaca.