Odyssey

Thus did he pray. Zeus heard his prayer and forthwith thundered high up among the from the splendor of Olympus , and Odysseus was glad when he heard it. At the same time within the house, a miller-woman from hard by in the mill room lifted up her voice and gave him another sign. There were twelve miller-women whose business it was to grind wheat and barley which are the staff of life. The others had ground their task and had gone to take their rest, but this one had not yet finished, for she was not so strong as they were, and when she heard the thunder she stopped grinding and gave the sign [ sêma ] to her master. "Father Zeus," said she, "you who rule over heaven and earth, you have thundered from a clear sky without so much as a cloud in it, and this means something for somebody; answer the prayer, then, of me your poor servant who calls upon you, and let this be the very last day that the suitors dine in the house of Odysseus. They have worn me out with the labor of grinding meal for them, and I hope they may never have another dinner anywhere at all."

OdysseyBook 20, Line 102Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 20

HomerProseID odyssey-odyssey-butler-en-prose-20-102