Book Five opens on Athena asking her father, Zeus, to help free Odysseus and save Telemachus from the suitors. Zeus said he would, and said that Odysseus would sail on a raft for twenty days, and on the twentieth, he would reach Scheria, where he would be given a good ship and crew to sail home with. Zeus then sent Hermes down to Calypso to tell her the gods' decree. Hermes put on his winged shoes, and flew down to Calypso's island. There, Hermes was in awe of the lush forest and the beauty of the island. Once he had his fill of the landscape, he went to find Calypso. When Hermes found her, she sat him down and gave him a meal of ambrosia and wine. Calypso asked Hermes why he visited her, to which he answered that Zeus made him come to tell Calypso that she must free Odysseus. Calypso was mad and said that just because she slept with a mortal, the gods are punishing her. However, because it was Zeus's command, she agreed to let Odysseus go home, but she could not provide him with a ship or crew. Before Hermes left, he advised Calypso not to make Zeus angry, and to steer clear of his wrath.
After this conversation, Calypso found Odysseus and told him the news. She gave him tools to use to cut down trees to create a raft to sail in. When Odysseus first heard the news, he did not believe it. He said that Calypso must make a binding oath that she was not trying to trick him. Calypso laughed and swore, with Earth as her witness, on the skies above and the River Styx below that she was not trying to trap Odysseus. After this, the two headed inside to eat. When finished, Calypso asked Odysseus why he was so eager to reach his home if his wife was no match for herself. Odysseus agreed that Calypso was more beautiful than Penelope, but he longed to go home.
The next morning, Calypso led Odysseus to the place where he could chop down trees for his raft. In four days, Odysseus had finished his boat. Calypso gave him a skin full of wine, and another of water, a new set of clothes, and a sack of rations. Odysseus sailed for seventeen days, but on the eighteenth, Poseidon returned from his trip to Ethiopia When he saw Odysseus sailing, he was outraged. Poseidon decided to give Odysseus more than his fair share of trouble. Poseidon created a storm that made it look like it was nighttime during the day. Odysseus was certain of his death when he saw the storm and wished he had died at Troy with his comrades instead of this. The storm destroyed Odysseus's boat and sent him over-board. The clothing that Calypso had given him weighed him down, but he was able to keep afloat enough so as not to die. Then, Ino saw him and pitied him. She rose to the surface of the waves and offered help to Odysseus. She told him to get rid of the clothes and tie her scarf around his waist. After this was done he should leave the wreck and swim towards shore. Odysseus did not trust her, so he made a deal with himself. He would continue to hold on to the boat until it is smashed to pieces, and then he will swim to shore.
When Odysseus started swimming for shore, Poseidon started laughing at his efforts. Athena replied by calming all of the winds and stopping the storm. Odysseus swam for two days, until he could finally see the shore, about which he was overjoyed. Odysseus's happiness was short lived, however, because he found out he would have to cross over jagged reefs to get to shore. Odysseus was at a loss of what to do. Again he thought he was surely dead, and would have been if not for Athena inspiring him. As a big wave pushed him towards the rocky coast, he reached for a reef and clung onto it with all his life. He was then sucked back out to sea by the undertow. Underneath the wave, Odysseus searched for a place that he could find safety, and found it in the form of a river outlet.
As he entered the river, Odysseus prayed to the river's god to have mercy on him and not to drown him in the current. The god obliged and stemmed the current while Odysseus climbed from the water. He lay down on the ground for a while, regaining his strength, and then he untied the scarf from his waist and threw it back into the water where Ino caught it. Odysseus turned towards the woods so that he could find a sheltered place where he could rest. Odysseus found two olive trees growing out of the same roots that would protect him from wild animals and the elements. Here, Odysseus lay down on a pile of leaves and finally fell to sleep.
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