"no man on the face of the earth could find fault with you.
Your fame, believe me, has reached the vaulting skies.
Fame like a flawless king’s who dreads the gods,
who governs a kingdom vast, proud and strong –
who upholds justice, true, and the black earth
bears wheat and barley, trees bow down with fruit
and the sheep drop lambs and never fail and the sea
teems with fish – thanks to his decent, upright rule,
and under his sovereign sway the people flourish."
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 19, lines 117-125. Odysseus, still in disguise as a beggar, praises his wife Penelope for the fame she has achieved as the Queen of Ithaca. Using an extended simile, he compares her to a just and flawless king who rules over a flourishing country that is thriving because of his good government.