Look what a springy man, a nimble, flashy rumbler!
Just think what he’d do at sea where the fish swarm –
why, the man could glut a fleet, diving for oysters!
Plunging overboard, even in choppy, heaving seas,
just as he dives to ground from his war-car now.
Even these Trojans have their tumblers – what a leap!
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 16, lines 868-873. This is one of the most famous examples of an extended metaphor in The Iliad, describing how Patroclus kills Hector’s charioteer and half-brother, Kebriones. The charioteer’s body is hurled high into the air before it falls to the ground. Patroclus speaks of Kebriones as an acrobat and a diver for oysters in the extended metaphor.