The Odyssey Book V

At the beginning of Book V most of the God's are sitting down and talking about Odysseus' future and what should happen with him next. Athena tells Zeus that he has been with Calypso long enough and it is time for him to get home to his wife. Zeus agrees and sends Hermes to tell Calypso to let Odysseus get home. He must travel alone but she can give him the help he needs to start the journey. Hermes tells Calypso that she must let Odysseus go back to his home. Calypso is not happy to be told that. She wonders why God's can have any mortal human they want and it will not be taken away but if a Goddess wants to have a mortal they are always taken away. Calypso finally agrees and tells Odysseus to chop down trees to make a ship. Odysseus doesn't believe her and thinks that after he leaves on the ship she will kill him at sea but she promises him that she will make sure he gets started safely and will do him no harm. Once more she gives him the chance to become immortal but he declines. He says that although Calypso is much prettier than Penelope, Penelope is however smarter and he declines her offer. As he put a ship together Calypso gets supplies ready for Odysseus's journey. The next day Odysseus sets out and Calypso gives him the winds needed to start home. Poseidon seeing that the God's let Odysseus go without his permission is very mad. He decides to make Odysseus's journey hard and maybe even kill him. He strikes up a huge storm that makes Odysseus lose his control of his ship. Just as Odysseus was about ready to give up and drown Ino a sea Goddess gives him a shawl that will help him stay alive. He is to find a shore and then throw the shawl back to sea to Ino. By the time makes it to the shore of Scheria he is close to losing consciousness and can barely climb on shore. He sends the shawl back to Ino and crawls to shore covering himself with leaves and falling to sleep with help from Athena.