"Look, Telemachus,
the will of god just winged that bird on your right!
Why, the moment I saw it, here before my eyes,
I knew it was a sign. No line more kingly than yours
in all of Ithaca – yours will reign forever!"
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 15, lines 594-598. The seer Theoclymenus interprets a bird sign after a hawk flies past on the right with a struggling dove clenched in his claws. The hawk rips the dove’s feathers out and they drift down to earth between the ship and Telemachus. It is a sign that Odysseus will return as king of Ithaca and Telemachus’ inheritance will be secured, Theoclymenus prophesies.