Odyssey

"‘When you get home you will take your revenge on these suitors; and after you have killed them by force [ biê ] or fraud in your own house, you must take a well-made oar and carry it on and on, till you come to a country where the people have never heard of the sea and do not even mix salt with their food, nor do they know anything about ships, and oars that are as the wings of a ship. I will give you this certain token [ sêma ] which cannot escape your notice. A wayfarer will meet you and will say it must be a winnowing shovel that you have got upon your shoulder; on this you must fix the oar in the ground and sacrifice a ram, a bull, and a boar to Poseidon. Then go home and offer hecatombs to the gods in heaven one after the other. As for yourself, death shall come to you from the sea, and your life shall ebb away very gently when you are full of years and peace of mind, and your people shall be prosperous [ olbios ]. All that I have said will come true.’

OdysseyBook 11, Line 118Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 11

HomerProseID odyssey-odyssey-butler-en-prose-11-118