My child –
why in tears? What sorrow has touched your heart?
Tell me, please. Don’t harbor it deep inside you.
Zeus has accomplished everything you wanted,
just as you raised your hands and prayed that day.
All the sons of Achaea are pinned against the ships
and all for want of you – they suffer shattering losses.
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 18, lines 84-90. Thetis says these words to her son Achilles, who is devastated at the killing of his friend Patroclus by the Trojans. She reminds him that he prayed to the gods that the Achaeans should suffer in the war without his participation. His prayer was granted, but it is a bitter irony that it ends with the death of his friend. Be careful what you pray for!