So he vowed
and Athena set off uncontrollable laughter in the suitors,
crazed them out of their minds – mad, hysterical laughter
seemed to break from the jaws of strangers, not their own,
and the meat they were eating oozed red with blood –
tears flooded their eyes, hearts possessed by grief.
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 20, lines 384-389. When Telemachus refuses the suitors’ request that he persuade his mother to marry again, Athena makes the suitors laugh hysterically at the prince’s words. In doing so, Athena gives Odysseus further reason to seek revenge. The killing of the suitors is also foreshadowed here, as their meat oozes blood, their eyes flood with tears and their hearts fill with grief.