Book 5 opens on Mount Olympus where Athena asks her father Zeus to continue to get involved. Zeus decides to send Hermes to help and also tells Athena to keep helping out Telemachus. Hermes goes down to Calypso's island and tells Calypso to set Odysseus free, also talking about the double standard applying to the gods. This is the first time we meet Odysseus. He's crying, anxious, and homesick.
There there, buddy. It's going to be all right. Things are going to go your way. This may be a surprise for some readers because we've heard so much about Odysseus being strong, valiant, and brave.
In fact, by showing him in this low state, full of anxiety, and in an intimate, weaker moment, we can really see how much this quest has broken him so far, and we can get on the ground floor with understanding him as a complex character with a lot of feelings. Calypso warns Odysseus that the journey ahead will be very difficult and perilous, but assists in helping Odysseus build a ship to finally leave the island. This is where we really see Odysseus'strengths as a builder and craftsman, somebody who can really get stuff done, especially with their own two hands. However, Poseidon's vengeance has not even begun to be taken care of, and he summons a storm to shipwreck Odysseus. Odysseus prays to him to let up.
Athena and a sea nymph get involved rescuing him, stranding him on a new island, this time Scaria, home of the Phaeacians.