Calypso, also known as Kalypso, was a supposed

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

painter who lived in the 3rd century BC. She is known from a mention in Pliny the Elder's Natural History along with several other prominent female painters. She is one of the six female artists of antiquity mentioned in Pliny the Elder's Natural History (XL.147-148) in A.D. 77:

Timarete Timarete ( el, Τιμαρέτη) (or Thamyris, Tamaris, Thamar; 5th century BC), was an ancient Greek painter. She was the daughter of the painter Micon the Younger of Athens. According to Pliny the Elder, she "scorned the duties of women and p ...

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United Stat ...

, Calypso,

Aristarete Aristarete (Greek: Ἀ''ρισταρέτη'') (or Aristareté, Aristareta) was an ancient Greek painter. Little is known about her, including where and when she lived. Although none of her works are known to be extant, Pliny the Elder's '' Natur ...

Iaia Iaia of Cyzicus ( el, Ιαία της Κυζίκου), sometimes (incorrectly) called Lala or Lalla, or rendered as Laia or Maia, was a Roman painter, born in Greece, and relatively exceptional for being a woman artist. She was alive during the ...

, Olympias. During the Renaissance, the 14th-century humanist

Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so we ...

included Calypso in ''

De mulieribus claris ''De Mulieribus Claris'' or ''De Claris Mulieribus'' (Latin for "Concerning Famous Women") is a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in Latin prose in 1361–1362. ...

'' (Latin for ''

On Famous Women ''De Mulieribus Claris'' or ''De Claris Mulieribus'' (Latin for "Concerning Famous Women") is a collection of biographies of historical and mythological women by the Florentine author Giovanni Boccaccio, composed in Latin prose in 1361–1362. ...

'').

Account by Pliny

The standard Teubner edition of Pliny the Elder's Natural History mentions the painter Calypso in the following passage from the 147th chapter of its 35th book:

Scholarly debate

The exact reading and grammar of Pliny's mention of the painter Calypso is subject to debate. In his account, a listing of several female names is given including

, and Calypso. However, there is disagreement in the scholarly world about whether all four of these mentions are individual people. Calypso in particular could be interpreted to be either a painter in her own right, or simply a painting by Irene of the nymph Calypso of the Odyssey. The primary point of discussion is a possible

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

of the word ''Calypsonem'' (an accusatory case of the name) into the two separate words ''Calypso senem''. The former reading would imply that Calypso was the name of a painting, while the latter would imply mention of the painter Calypso and a separate painting of

Old Age Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...

personified. Another piece of evidence which would suggest that Calypso is in fact not an actual person is the fact that every other female artist mentioned in this section also has their father or another prominent male figure related to them mentioned, while Calypso does not. Additionally, Calypso does not have a place of origin mentioned, nor does Pliny state that he is ignorant of where she is from.

References

{{authority control Ancient Greek women artists 3rd-century BC births