"My son, my son, the unluckiest man alive!
This is no deception sent by Queen Persephone,
this is just the way of mortals when we die.
Sinews no longer bind the flesh and bones together –
the fire in all its fury burns the body down to ashes
once life slips from the white bones, and the spirit,
rustling, flitters away…flown like a dream."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 11, lines 247-253. Odysseus’ mother Anticleia assures him that she is no deception send by Zeus’ daughter Persephone to add to his sorrows. This is after Odysseus wonders if his mother’s appearance is some phantom image of her created by Persephone. Anticleia explains to him how mortals die, using a simile she says that life just slips away from them "like a dream." Anticleia’s reply is full of compassion for her son, whom she calls the unluckiest man alive.