The gods meet again on Olympus. Athena speaks up for Ulysses, who is still trapped on Calypso's island while suitors at home try to kill his son Telemachus. King Jove agrees to help, but sets hard rules. Mercury must tell Calypso to let Ulysses go, yet Ulysses must cross the sea on a simple raft before the Phaeacians can help him reach home.
Mercury flies to Calypso's island and delivers the order. Calypso is furious and says the gods are unfair. Male gods keep mortal lovers without punishment, but goddesses are blamed for the same thing. She still obeys. She finds Ulysses crying on the beach, day after day, sick with longing for home. She tells him to build a raft and offers food, wine, and a fair wind. Ulysses does not trust her sudden kindness and makes her swear by the river Styx that she means no harm. She swears, and he accepts. When she offers him immortality and a life of ease, he refuses. He wants his wife, his country, and his mortal life more than endless comfort.
Ulysses works for four days like a skilled shipbuilder. He cuts trees, shapes planks, adds a deck, mast, rudder, and sail. On the fifth day Calypso sends him off with supplies and clothing. He sails by the stars for many days until he sees the coast of Scheria. Then Neptune spots him and unleashes a terrible storm. Winds from every direction smash the raft. Ulysses is thrown into the sea, but he clings to wreckage and keeps fighting.
The sea goddess Ino appears and gives him an enchanted veil to protect him. He hesitates, then abandons the broken raft and swims for shore. For two days and nights he battles waves and rocks. Athena calms most of the winds. At last he reaches a river mouth, prays to the river god, and crawls onto land. Exhausted and half drowned, he kisses the earth, chooses shelter in an olive grove, buries himself in leaves, and falls into sleep while Athena watches over him.
Coming Up in Chapter 6
Exhausted and naked on a foreign shore, Odysseus must now figure out how to approach the Phaeacians without terrifying them. His first encounter will be with a young princess doing laundry by the river, a meeting that could determine whether he finally makes it home or faces yet another detour.
