And now I am here once more, to weave a scheme with you
and to hide the treasure-trove Phaeacia’s nobles
lavished on you then – I willed it, planned it so
when you set out for home – and to tell you all
the trials you must suffer in your palace…
Endure them all. You must. You have no choice.
And to no one – no man, no woman, not a soul –
Reveal that you are the wanderer home at last.
No, in silence you must bear a world of pain,
Subject yourself to the cruel abuse of men.
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 13, lines 344, 347-353. Athena tells Odysseus that she has come to weave a scheme to help him deal with his wife’s suitors. She warns of the trials that Odysseus must suffer when he goes to his palace. She cautions him not to reveal himself as King of Ithaca, but to suffer in silence.