Near the beginning of the epic poem, the reader encounters Kalypso's island, where Kalypso shows Odysseus kindness and respect for his desire to go home. When Kalypso comes across Odysseus weeping for a way home, she says to him, "I will stow aboard [your ship] bread and water and ruddy wine, strength-giving goods that will keep the hunger from you, and put clothing on you, and send a following stern wind after, so that all without harm you can come back to your own country" (Lattimore V. 165-168). Kalypso has no reason to help Odysseus, but she generously offers her own resources to aid him. Without her thoughtful help, Odysseus would have never saw his day of homecoming. Additionally, she helps arm him with "a great ax that was fitted to
