Signs and Omens Before the Storm — The Odyssey

Odysseus lay awake on a bull's hide in the courtyard, angry at disloyal women laughing on their way to the suitors' beds. He wanted to kill them at once but talked himself into waiting, reminding his heart how he survived the Cyclops through patience instead of rage. Athena appeared in a dream, told him his wife and son were safe, and sent him to sleep.

Penelope woke before dawn, wept, and prayed to Diana for death rather than marry another man. Odysseus prayed to Zeus for two signs, one from inside the house and one from outside. Thunder rolled from a clear sky, and a tired miller-woman grinding late prayed that today would be the suitors' last meal. He took both as confirmation that revenge was near.

At breakfast loyal servants Eumaeus and Philoetius greeted him warmly while Melanthius mocked him. The suitors plotted to kill Telemachus but stopped when an eagle flew by with a dove in its claws. At dinner Ctesippus threw an ox foot at Odysseus, who dodged it, and Telemachus warned the suitors to stop their abuse. The prophet Theoclymenus saw blood, ghosts, and darkness around them, but they laughed and drove him from the house. Telemachus sat watching his father, waiting for the attack to begin.