In the first half of the odyssey, odysseus

is trying to get home to his family. He is

trapped at this island with a woman much
younger than him and is madly in love with
him. The gods let odysseus go but
poseidon wasn't through with odysseus.
Poseidon didn't like odysseus because he
stabbed one of his sons only eye (cyclops).
When he is done making the boat to get off
the island, he sails off into the ocean of
poseidon. Like alway poseidon catches him
and makes a storm. A mermaid helps him
by giving him a push. Not literally, but she
gave him a scarf/bandana that would help
him get to the shore he threw the bandana
back into the ocean. The bandana allowed
him to breath under water. He got to the
shore and threw it back.