the immortals

• Mt Olympus is remote, in cloudless air, unaffected by wind, rain or snow
• the immortals mirror the humans as they meet in assemblies, and they have their own strict hierarchy
• Athene will not challenge Poseidon, Poseidon consults with Zeus before punishing the Phaeacians
• Hermes knows he has to obey Zeus
• Calypso follows Zeus' commands
• they bargain with each other
• the sun god threatens to withdraw to the underworld if Zeus will not agree to destroy Odysseus' ship
• Calypso is a lesser power, and 'only' a woman
• she is outraged by the double standards on Olympus whereby god can take mortal lovers with impunity
• a goddess is invariably deprived of the object of her affections
• if we are to believe Demodocus' song, the males enjoy a good laugh at Ares' and Aphrodite's expense, while the females stay at home