Which god repeatedly opposes Odysseus's return?

Which god repeatedly opposes Odysseus's return? Poseidon. In Homer's Odyssey, the sea god becomes Odysseus's chief divine enemy after the hero blinds Polyphemus, a Cyclops and Poseidon's son.

Polyphemus had trapped Odysseus and his crew in a cave and eaten several men. Odysseus escaped by blinding him, but then foolishly revealed his real name while sailing away. Polyphemus prayed to his father, asking that Odysseus never reach Ithaca—or reach it only after suffering terrible losses. Poseidon answers that curse through storms, shipwrecks, and repeated delays.

Poseidon cannot ultimately prevent the homecoming promised by fate, but he can make it extraordinarily difficult. After Odysseus leaves Calypso's island, Poseidon raises a storm that destroys his raft. The god's hostility also helps explain why Odysseus's ten-year journey home is so much longer and more dangerous than expected.

Athena is the common mix-up: she repeatedly aids Odysseus and Telemachus, while Poseidon opposes them. Zeus eventually allows Odysseus's release from Calypso, but Poseidon's anger remains a major force in the epic.