"once this house was rich, no doubt, beyond reproach
when the man you mentioned still lived here, at home.
Now the gods have reversed our fortunes with a vengeance –
wiped that man from the earth like no one else before."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 1, lines 270-273. Telemachus confides his troubles to Athena. He laments how the gods have reversed the fortunes of their once rich house and wiped the man of the house from the face of the earth. The fate of humans and divine intervention are major themes in The Odyssey.