I’ve been bored enough lately to start venturing into Greek mythology. I recently learned about Odysseus and his treacherous, years-long journey back home after his victories at Troy.

At one point during his travels, a storm blew him and his crew onto an island filled with the cattle of Helios, the god of the sun. He had already been warned by a prophet from the Underworld not to eat any of that cattle. But as their food rations dwindled to the point of starvation, Odysseus’ crew waited for him to fall asleep, then slaughtered and roasted the cattle for food.

When Helios learned of this, he complained to Zeus, the king of the gods, about the slaughter of his sacred cattle. Furious, Zeus struck Odysseus’ ship with a great thunderbolt, killing every member of the crew except Odysseus himself. He clung to the wreckage for nine days and nights before being washed ashore on the island of the goddess Calypso on the tenth day.

After rescuing him from the shore, Calypso, daughter of the titan Atlas, fell in love with this random stranger who had washed up on her beach. She asked him to stay with her on the island forever, even offering to make him immortal.

But you see, Odysseus was not like you and me, beloved. The man was loyal to his wife, Penelope, whom he had not seen for more than ten years, and for whom suitors were already lining up. Odysseus insisted on leaving Calypso’s island, determined to continue his journey home to his wife and son.

Calypso, being a goddess, but more importantly a woman, felt insulted by the rejection. So she did what any other goddess might do: she kept Odysseus captive on her island for seven long years. She probably thought that if Jacob could wait that long for Rachel, then Odysseus could wait too. Who even was Penelope? Was she a goddess? No. So she could wait.

She even sweetened the offer: he was allowed to lie with her every night for those seven years. Imagine that, sleeping with a goddess simply because you were handsome, well-built, and happened to wash ashore. You’d think a goddess would know better than to fall for a stranger, but we all have our weaknesses, even goddesses. Maybe Calypso’s was smelly, starving, dehydrated men who drifted in from the sea. Perhaps even sent by her male counterparts, the gods.

Odysseus did not even need to tell her about his victory at Troy with the Trojan Horse to win her over. He simply arrived at the right time, in the presence of a goddess with a very strong appetite for love, and even higher libido.

What a lucky man.

But as I said, Odysseus was faithful. He wept every night by the shore, staring longingly at the horizon, thinking of his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus, whom he had not seen for nearly seventeen years.

When I told you about my humiliation ritual last week, I imagine that is how Odysseus felt, or something close to it. I remember walking out of the clinic, sitting on one of the concrete benches outside, and crying. I watched colleagues walk up and down, wondering who had sent me for those tryouts. I could not believe what I had just done just to be accepted.

I don’t know if the comparison fully holds, but one thing is certain: both Odysseus and I were grieving men.

The Odyssey is coming out on July 17, with actors like Lupita Nyong’o, Tom Holland and Zendaya. I hope they include the Calypso part of the journey. I really want to see how this goddess carries herself.

It’ll be a bit of a bummer since the movie was shot in IMAX, and there aren’t any IMAX cinemas in Kenya. We’ll just have to make do with what we have.

I also hope they show just how fat Helios’ cattle were.

✍🏽Reagan.