Third to arrive was Philoetius, that good cowherd,
prodding in for the crowd a heifer and fat goats.
Boatmen had brought them over from the mainland,
crews who ferry across all travelers too,
whoever comes for passage.
Under the echoing porch he tethered all heads well
and then approached the swineherd, full of questions:
"Who’s this stranger, Eumaeus, just come to the house?
What roots does the man claim – who are his people?
Where are his blood kin? his father’s fields?
Poor beggar. But what a build – a royal king’s!"
– Homer
The Odyssey, Book 20, lines 203-213. Philoetius arrives in the palace with a heifer and goats for the suitors’ feast. The kindly cowherd shows concern for the "poor beggar" Odysseus – this serves to highlight the unkindness of goatherd Melanthius just moments before. When Philoetius remarks that the beggar looks like a king, little does he know how right he is. This is foreshadowing of Odysseus’ restoration as king of Ithaca.