They cried out, shrilling cries, pulsing sharper
than birds of prey – eagles, vultures with hooked claws –
when farmers plunder their nest of young too young to fly.
Both men so filled with compassion, eyes streaming tears.
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 16, lines 246-254. When Odysseus explains to Telemachus how Athena changed him back to his normal appearance, there is a powerful emotional reunion between father and son. They both well up with tears. A vivid Homeric simile likens their cries to the shrilling cries of eagles or vultures protecting their young from farmers plundering their nest.