Callisto, A Speculative Biography
Part Three
Callisto's Extraordinary Stories
aka
From Evil Goddess to Demon to Redeemed Angel
The first mention of Callisto in Gabrielle’s scrolls after her death in the quicksand is when she is in the Greek underworld of Tartarus. Ares, the god of war, allowed her to invade Xena's dreams and managed to have her switch bodies with Xena, so that she was free and Xena was trapped in Tartarus. But Xena persuaded Hades to let her return to Earth still in Callisto's body. Xena defeated Callisto and sent her back to Tartarus, but she was still trapped in Callisto’s body.
Here, things get confusing. According to Gabrielle, Ares lost his godhood when he either lost his sword or it was stolen from him (but losing his godhood in this manner is not found in any of the myths surrounding Ares).
Xena, still in Callisto’s body, managed to recover it for him, he became a god again, and switched them back to their correct bodies, so Callisto, body and soul, was in Tartarus again.
The next time we hear of Callisto, she somehow escaped from Tartarus and had become immortal (unable to be killed). An Amazon warrior named Velasca had eaten Ambrosia, the food of the gods, and became a goddess. Xena told Callisto that if she would help her defeat Velasca, she would allow her a chance at the Ambrosia to become a full goddess. Callisto accepted.
She and Velasca began fighting on a rope bridge over a river of lava. Callisto got the Ambrosia, ate it, and became a goddess. But Xena cut the ropes and both Callisto and Velasca plunged into the lava where they were trapped for eternity, according to Gabrielle's scroll.
However, Callisto is later freed from the lava by Gabrielle's daughter Hope, the messenger of, and the daughter of the evil god Dahak. Callisto helped Hope kill Xena's son Solan, causing Xena and Gabrielle's friendship to be temporarily torn apart. Later, Xena managed to trick Callisto into entering into a cave, and trapped her there by causing a cave-in, which buried her.
But again Callisto escaped from being buried for eternity, but just how isn’t mentioned in any of Gabrielle’s scrolls.
This time Callisto, tired of being an immortal goddess and bored with life, offered to help Xena defeat the evil Hope if Xena would kill her using the Hind’s Blood Dagger, the only thing that can kill a god, or a goddess in Callisto’s case. Xena agreed since Hope wanted to bring Dahak into this world.
Xena almost succeeded, but it was Gabrielle who sacrificed herself to destroy Hope when they both fell into a lava pit. Callisto then changed her mind and happily exclaimed that with the death of Gabrielle, and with Xena’s unbearable pain, she now had a reason for living. However, Xena immediately stabbed Callisto with the Hind's Blood Dagger, killing her.
But somehow, Callisto escaped eternal death one more time! (There is nothing in Gabrielle’s scrolls describing how this happened.) This time Callisto showed up just as Xena is about to kill her hated enemy, Caesar. She distracted Xena and Caesar wasn’t assassinated.
Xena then tried to kill Callisto, but being immortal (but, for some reason, no longer a goddess) she couldn’t be killed. She told Xena she went to a place worse than Tartarus, called Hell. And whoever was in charge of Hell was interested in Caesar and didn’t want Xena to interfere with his coronation as Emperor of Rome.
Xena had been having visions of her and Gabrielle's death (now convinced that Gabrielle was still alive), and Callisto told her their deaths could be avoided if Xena would agree to lay down her sword and walk the path of peace. Realizing that Callisto was lying, and this was just a ploy to keep her away from Caesar, Xena set out to rescue Gabrielle from Roman soldiers.
Xena was almost successful, but in a blind rage when she realized that her mission from Hell had been a failure, Callisto broke Xena's spine with Xena's own Chakram. Callisto returned to Hell, Xena and Gabrielle were crucified and died as Xena saw in her visions.
But then angels appeared and started taking Gabrielle and Xena toward heaven. But black specks were seen rising up from below, and the angels were concerned about the approaching demons. The demons cause the angels drop Gabrielle and she wakes up in Hell, with evil demon Callisto beside her.
In heaven, Xena walks through the fire of purification, and then she plunges into the water of purification for final cleansing. She emerges as Xena the Archangel, in armor and dark wings.
The archangels, including Xena, fly down to Hell to rescue Gabrielle. Xena and demon Callisto fight. Callisto tells Xena she'll hate Xena forever because of what she did to her family and what she turned her into. But Xena, being an angel, has too much compassion and gives Callisto her light, purifying Callisto, turning her into an angel.
In heaven Gabrielle, now an archangel, meets Callisto. Gabrielle tells Callisto that she shouldn't be there, she murdered Gabrielle's husband and many innocent people. Callisto says she doesn't remember any of that. Archangel Michael tells Gabrielle that Xena chose to suffer in Callisto's place. Gabrielle says Callisto is evil to the core and always will be.
But eventually Gabrielle forgives Callisto.
The demons of Hell, now led by demon Xena, fly up to attack the archangels in an attempt to take over Paradise. Xena and Gabrielle fight. Xena grabs onto Gabrielle and is ready to jump down to Hell when they both suddenly wake up in their own bodies. They have been reincarnated.
Angel Callisto touches Xena's belly, impregnating her with part of her spirit. And the redeemed Callisto is now allowed to join her family.
(We can only assume the demons were defeated and returned to Hell.)
And this is where Callisto’s story finally ends; she is not mentioned again in any more of Gabrielle’s scrolls that we have found (this is not to say there may not be more of them hidden away somewhere).
There have been unsubstantiated accounts that Callisto may also have had several encounters with Hercules, however nothing in Gabrielle’s scrolls has been found to corroborate such allegations.
Many scholars are wondering why Gabrielle would write such fanciful tales after filling scroll after scroll with (mostly) plausible accounts of her life and travels with Xena, and their battles against Callisto. Some posit that Gabrielle wrote them just to amuse herself or Xena with no expectation that future readers (assuming there would be some) would believe such stories were factual.
However, in some Greek writings there have been vague references to a festival known as The Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards, and it has been suggested that perhaps Gabrielle was hoping to perform some or all of the stories at such a festival.
Of course, there is no way to determine what was in Gabbrielle's mind as she wrote them.