"But I’ll cry out to the everlasting gods in hopes
that Zeus will pay you back with a vengeance – all of you
destroyed in my house while I go scot-free myself!"
And to seal his prayer, farseeing Zeus sent down a sign.
He launched two eagles soaring high from a mountain ridge
and down they glided, borne on the wind’s draft a moment,
wing to wingtip, pinions straining taut till just
above the assembly’s throbbing hum they whirled,
suddenly, wings thrashing, wild onslaught of wings
and banking down at the crowd’s heads – a glaring, fatal sign –
talons slashing each other, tearing cheeks and throats
they swooped away on the right through homes and city."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 2, lines 161-172. The theme of the gods intervening in the affairs of humans is illustrated here. Telemachus prays to Zeus to pay the suitors back for their behavior. Immediately the father of the gods answers his prayer with a "fatal" omen, sending down two fighting eagles tearing at each other over the heads of the crowd. This foreshadows that the suitors will pay the supreme penalty for their crimes. Telemachus demonstrates his courage in standing up to the suitors.