Teiresias

A blind prophet, usually said to have been blinded because he saw the goddess Athene (Athena) bathing and then to have been awarded the gift of prophecy as a consolation for his blindness.

Teiresias was from the city of Thebes and played a major role in the story of Oedipus; when Oedipus asked him how to lift the pestilence from Thebes, Teiresias replied that Oedipus was the cause of all their problems; this answer almost cost Teiresias his life but Oedipus had sympathy for Teiresias’ age and blindness and spared him.

After Oedipus was dead, Teiresias wanted to protect Oedipus’ children and warned king Kreon (Creon) not to punish Antigone for giving her brother, Polynikes (Polynices), a proper burial.

After Teiresias was dead, the nymph, Kirke (Circe), advised Odysseus to go to the entrance to the Underworld evoke the “shade” of Teiresias so that he might tell Odysseus how to find his way home; Teiresias told Odysseus that his homecoming would be fraught with hardships but that he would eventually overcome the wrath of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and return to his home on the island of Ithaka (Ithaca).

• Odyssey, book 11, lines 20+