The power that gods contain

”A small rock holds back a great wave.”

-Homer

     The power of gods is unmatched. In books one through six, The Odyssey, by Homer translated by Robert Fagles the Gods and Goddesses posses great power and influence over the Greek population. Gods and Goddesses like Poseidon, Athena, and Ino have made it evident they are the powers of the book. The Gods and Goddesses are the main conflicts and solutions of the overall plot evolution so far in The Odyssey. Hermes came to the island that Odysseus was trapped on by Calypso the Nymph and helped him leave in his raft. Poseidon, the God of the sea, made it hard for Odysseus  to get to his destination, Scheria. Poseidon almost made Odysseus drown because he caused him to fall out of his raft, but Ino, goddess of the sea gave Odysseus a scarf that made him immortal so that he could comeplete his journey to the island Scheria.

She pitied Odysseus, tossed, tormented so —

she broke from the waves like a shearwater on the wing,

lit on the wreck and asked him kindly, 

“Ah poor man, “why is the god of earthquakes so dead set against you?

Strewing your way with such a crop of troubles!

[The Odyssey, Book Five, Lines 370-374]

Gods are the authors of The Odyssey. They are what make up this book. Odysseus is being tormented and challenged by a God, Poseidon, which is making it hard for him to get to the island. The Goddess Ino is the one who helps him get to the island and peruse through Poseidon’s obstacles. The Gods and goddesses are the ones running this story, they are the conflict and the solution of the problem. Gods are ultimately the creators; they have the ability to do more than humans and it is evident in The Odyssey. Without gods and the power they contain the world wouldn’t be the same.