臘眾神真的很忙，鬥來鬥去，還因為憤怒難消，得想法子整人類。海神，也是地震之神Poseidon就是典型的例子，雖然宙斯都宣布要放Odysseus回家，Poseidon就是不甘心，還是要在興風作浪一番，第五卷282-381行，描述Poseidon的威力，海上的風浪，就像他的情緒，而人類就有苦頭吃了。
Poseidon呼風喚浪，Odysseus呼天搶地，但還是得撐過去。海上巨浪，有如秋風吹過原野上的野薊(ἄκανθα thorn, Eryngium campestre)。後來還是Cadmus的女兒Ino同情Odysseus，教他放棄木筏，才有機會逃生。
Odysseus被整了半死，為什麼? 因為當初自大，也因為用巧智傷害他人。神話故事活潑地陳述倫理哲學，聰明反被聰明誤，這麼簡單的道理，但，有聰明才智的人就是學不會。
ἄκανθα thorn, Eryngium campestre
ὀψὲ δὲ δή ῥ᾽ ἀνέδυ, στόματος δ᾽ ἐξέπτυσεν ἅλμην
πικρήν, ἥ οἱ πολλὴ ἀπὸ κρατὸς κελάρυζεν.
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὣς σχεδίης ἐπελήθετο, τειρόμενός περ,
ἀλλὰ μεθορμηθεὶς ἐνὶ κύμασιν ἐλλάβετ᾽ αὐτῆς,
ἐν μέσσῃ δὲ καθῖζε τέλος θανάτου ἀλεείνων.
τὴν δ᾽ ἐφόρει μέγα κῦμα κατὰ ῥόον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα.
ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ὀπωρινὸς Βορέης φορέῃσιν ἀκάνθας
ἂμ πεδίον, πυκιναὶ δὲ πρὸς ἀλλήλῃσιν ἔχονται,
ὣς τὴν ἂμ πέλαγος ἄνεμοι φέρον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα:
ἄλλοτε μέν τε Νότος Βορέῃ προβάλεσκε φέρεσθαι,
ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αὖτ᾽ Εὖρος Ζεφύρῳ εἴξασκε διώκειν.
But finally he reached the surface,
spitting tart salt water from his mouth, as it streamed down
from off his head. But even so, though badly shaken,
he did not forget about the raft. Through the waves
he swam, grabbed hold, and crouched down in the middle,
trying to escape destructive Fate. The huge wave
carried him along its course this way and that.
Just as in autumn North Wind sweeps the thistledown
along the plain, and the tufts bunch up together,
that’s how the winds then drove his raft to and fro
across the sea. Sometimes South Wind would toss it
over to North Wind to carry. At other times,
East Wind would let West Wind lead on the chase.
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