Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was laying down, and was fast asleep.
The word for "mariners" here means "salts," that is sailors of the salt seas; they are usually thought to have been Phoenicians engaged in the corn trade with western Mediterranean ports, or the iron trade with Sardinia. The variety of "gods" mentioned indicates that they were, not all of a single nationality, but of mixed heathen origin, some worshipping one god, some another.  Their concern for the safety of the vessel, their diligent efforts to lighten its burden, and their frantic prayers "every man unto his god" contrasts vividly with the amazing indifference of the prophet Jonah fast asleep in the hold of the vessel.