She pitied Odysseus, tossed, tormented so –
she broke from the waves like a shearwater on the wing,
lit on the wreck and asked him kindly, "Ah poor man,
why is the god of earthquakes so dead set against you?
Strewing your way with such a crop of troubles!
But he can’t destroy you, not for all his anger.
Just do as I say. You seem no fool to me.
Strip off those clothes and leave your craft
for the winds to hurl, and swim for it now, you must,
strike out with your arms for landfall there,
Phaeacian land where destined safety waits.
Here, take this scarf,
tie it around your waist – it is immortal.
Nothing to fear now, neither pain nor death."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 5, lines 370-383. Poseidon may have condemned Odysseus to an additional ten years suffering at sea, but his fate has attracted the attention of the other gods who want to help him. Ino, as sea deity Leucothea, makes a dramatic appearance to save Odysseus from drowning in a violent sea whipped up by Poseidon. In a bird simile she is compared to a "shearwater on the wing." She tells Odysseus to abandon his raft and take her immortal scarf.