but the rest were outraged, even those brash suitors.
One would say to another, "Look, Antinous
That was a crime, to strike the luckless beggar!"
"Your fate is sealed if he’s some god from the blue."
"And the gods do take on the look of strangers
dropping in from abroad – "
"Disguised in every way
as they roam and haunt our cities, watching over us – "
"All our foul play, all our fair play too!"
So they warned but Antinous paid no heed.
And the anguish welled up in Telemachus’s breast,
for the blow his father took, yet he let no tears
go rolling down his face – he just shook his head,
silent, his mind churning with thoughts of bloody work."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 17, lines 531-543. The arrogant and prideful Antinous defiantly shrugs off the warnings of the other suitors over hitting the beggar. They tell him that if the beggar is some god in disguise checking on the crimes of mortals, then his fate is sealed. There is dramatic irony here, because none of the suitors realizes that the old beggar is Odysseus in disguise, but the reader knows. The talk of divine retribution foreshadows that Antinous will pay a price for his crimes. This is reflected too in Telemachus’ reaction to the attack on his father, which has him thinking "bloody" thoughts. A metaphor compares the mind of Telemachus to a cauldron "churning" with these violent thoughts.