Snatching one of my men, he tore him up for dinner –
the other two sprang free and reached the ships.
But the king let loose a howling through the town
that brought tremendous Laestrygonians swarming up
from every side – hundreds, not like men, like Giants!
Down from the cliffs they flung great rocks a man could hardly hoist
and a ghastly shattering din rose up from all the ships –
men in their death-cries, hulls smashed to splinters –
They speared the crews like fish
and whisked them home to make their grisly meal.
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 10, lines 126-136. Here Odysseus and his comrades encounter the legendary clan of giant cannibals known as the Laestrygonians. The Achaeans may be mighty warriors who gained glory in the Trojan War, but they are no match for this powerful enemy. The Laestrygonian king snatches one of the men and tears him up for dinner. The rest of the Laestrygonians spear the crewmen on the boats and take them home to make a meal of them. A simile compares the giants to fishermen catching fish.