"Wretched man – what becomes of me now, at last?
I fear the nymph foretold it all too well –
on the high seas, she said, before I can reach
my native land I’ll fill my cup of pain! And now,
look, it all comes to pass. What monstrous clouds –
King Zeus crowning the whole wide heaven black –
churning the seas in chaos, gales blasting,
raging around my head from every quarter –
my death-plunge in a flash, it’s certain now!"
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 5, lines 329-337. Odysseus fears his imminent death after Poseidon creates a storm at sea while he is sailing home from Calypso’s island. He believes that the gods are against him and his position is hopeless. He remembers Calypso’s prophecy about the painful journey home he would have.