comment on odysseus thanks the sun?

Question

(Odysseus has been shipwreaked by Poseidon and is swimming for his life on the open ocean for three days and nights)

Odysseus awoke amazed that he
had slept at all. The sky was clear; the wind
and sea caressing. The fiery rays
of Helios upon the gentle waters
blazed a brazen path that seemed to lead
directly to him bobbing there and filled
his lasting heart with stubborn hope.

He raised his stinging eyes to heaven
and spoke to his enduring mega-hearted soul,
“Still yet I live. And even if I never
knew a name of god, my soul would still require
that all my praise and all my thanks go out
to you, dear sun, whose light and warmth I thought
that never would I see or feel again.
Truly nothing is impossible in life.
I only lived this long to say I thank you.”
p. 58 Odysseus-The Epic Myth of the Hero

http://www.odysseusepicmythhero.com

Answer 1

Marc, this is another brilliant tit-bit from your text. You're a marvel with expressions: "The sky was clear; the wind
and sea caressing."
And the rays of Helios:
"blazed a brazen path that seemed to lead
directly to him bobbing there and filled
his lasting heart with stubborn hope."

* Wonder whether one can access complete text on-line. You could provide link for readers' comments on the site. Thought you could have added a little more detail about some deities eg Aphrodite's strange birth. e-mail?

good luck

Answer 2

So is this a simple retelling, or is this a translation, or an interpretation of the myth?