Progressing from the beginning of the world until today, a society's survival has been dependent upon a sound political system. During the time of the ancient Greeks, there was no such system. Their daily actions were governed by the sole will of the gods. Little did they know, this hierarchy of gods was a well-oiled political regime. These ancient Greek polytheistic beliefs were very similar to the structure of our present day democratic aggregation.
             Just as our government has a president, the president of the Greek gods was Zeus. Zeus was the most powerful god in Olympus. In The Odyssey, he was recognized as, "the master of heaven and high thunder" (Hom., Od. V. 4). The rulings that were made by Zeus were recognized and obeyed by all other gods, semi-gods, and mortals. An example of this was when he ruled that Kalypso must allow Odysseus to leave her island. Hermes went to Kalypso with the words of Zeus: "Now the command is: send him back in haste" (Hom., Od. V. 118). Kalypso knew that because this was the command of Zeus, she had to obey. She replied, "But now there's no eluding Zeus's will. If this thing be ordained by him, I say be it, let the man strike out alone on the vast water" (Hom., Od. V. 144-147).
             The president's rule does not end with the welfare of the citizens; but also presides over matters between states. Zeus possessed this same power. If a god was angry at a certain nation because of something it had done, he had to ask Zeus for his permission before inflicting harm upon that nation. Zeus used this power when Poseidon asked him for permission to seek revenge on the Phaiakians because they had helped Odysseus return to Ithaka. Before Poseidon acted on the Phaiakians, he went to Zeus and said,
             Aye, god of the stormy sky, I should have taken vengeance, as you say, and on my own; but I respect, and would avoid, your anger. The sleek Phaiakian...