Here the god Poseidon exemplifies how the gods manipulate mortals and intervene in their lives. This theme is seen throughout other Homeric poems. Not only does Poseidon acknowledge the gods involving themselves in the lives of mortals, but also shows how gods would use mortals against other gods in order to ruin their plans. In this specific example, Poseidon then throws Odysseus off track in order to intervene in his own way.