Character
Teiresias
The blind prophet of Thebes · the only dead man who kept his wits
The blind prophet of Thebes, the only one of the dead to keep his wits whole, and the reason Odysseus makes the journey to the underworld at all. He gives the route home, the warning about the Sun-god's cattle, and the strangest prophecy in the poem: that after killing the suitors Odysseus must walk inland carrying an oar until he meets people who mistake it for a winnowing-fan, plant it there, and sacrifice to Poseidon — only then will the sea let him go, and death come to him gently, off the sea, in old age.
His strangest prophecy: walk inland with an oar until you meet people who call it a winnowing-fan, plant it there, and the sea will finally let you go.