Vanessa Williams as Calypso: The 1997 Odyssey Controversy That Still Lives Rent-Free

This tweet is about the 1997 “The Odyssey” miniseries starring Armand Assante and the casting of Vanessa Williams as Calypso.

The image shows Odysseus and Calypso sharing a moment on Ogygia — the island where Odysseus was stranded for seven years. In Homer’s epic, Calypso is a nymph who falls in love with Odysseus and offers him immortality if he stays with her. He chooses to leave. Which is honestly the most insane decision in all of Greek mythology. Immortality vs. going home to your wife? Bro.

Vanessa Williams was cast as Calypso in 1997 and people were OUTRAGED. A Black woman playing a Greek nymph? In the 90s? The letters to NBC must have been legendary. She was too beautiful, too talented, too… everything. The controversy has become as famous as the miniseries itself.

Decades later, we look back and realize: she absolutely ate that role. The gods may have been petty, but Vanessa’s Calypso was perfection. 🏝️✨