Returning to the quote “…the great leveller, Death: not even the gods/ can defend a man, not even one they love, that day/ when destiny takes over and finally he exposes it'” (Homer 3,269-271). Death is a power that surpasses the gods. In the Odyssey we are introduced to the gods who control water, wind and the decisions of men. They can bring peace and war, but the one thing they cannot do is prevent the fatal death of a mortal. This alone demonstrates how central death is to the Odyssey. The power that death holds rivals no other in this story, there is “…no escape from death” (Homer 12.483). Death is a constant threat to Odysseus throughout this story, and the future predicted for Odysseus by Tiresias is not that of a good life but of "...your own death will befall you... / a gentle, painless death, far from the sea comes to take you..." (Homer 11,153-154). His fortune does not end with his happy life, but with his death. This scene is crucial because it takes the reader back not to the life that Ulysses will have once he returns home successfully and killed the suitors, but the death he will experience takes him back to when and where Odysseus will die and take his place among the