Book 5-Release From Captivity

Finally, I was able to leave. I was sitting on my stone seat as I normally did when the nymph who I disliked so much, said that she would help me go. I questioned this act of kindness and thought it was some type of trickery. The next few days I created my raft out of the wood on the island. On the fifth day before I left, she gave me a bath and supplied a cloak, meat, and wine for my journey. And with that, I was on my way out to sea. As soon as I was off the coast of the island, a terrible storm had begun. A wave knocked me overboard, and I was swallowed up by the sea. When I felt all of my hope leave me, a nereid appeared, and she told me to swim to the shore because Poseidon wouldn't drown me. I thought that it was going to be a trick at first, but I decided it was the right thing to do. I drifted through the sea for two days straight, and on the third day I saw land. I found an entrance to a small cave, and slowly made my way onto the island. I collapsed from my battle with the sea and felt grateful to be alive.

I'm lucky to be alive. On my third day at sea I see land, "...breaking clear over a high and windless sea... he caught a glimpse of land" (92). I was put through a vicious storm, almost drowning many times. Why would the Gods put me through so much difficulty, when I end up at my final goal anyway? The Gods are testing me to see if I truly am a hero. The Gods want to see if I won't give up, and am willing to fight through the difficulty to arrive at my goal.

Are some Gods jealous of mortals? When Hermes is talking to Kalypso about Odyseus' release, she says, " Oh you vile gods, in jealousy supernal! You hate it when we choose to lie with men..." (85). When a God chooses a mortal to love instead of another God, does that make the mortal greater than the immortal? Gods don't want to be shown up by mortals, even if they are a hero. When a God chooses a mortal over a fellow immortal, it weakens the image of that God. Although Gods are powerful beings, they are still jealous of regular mortals.