Who Is Tiresias (Teiresias)?
The blind prophet who foretells the future in the Underworld
Tiresias is a blind prophet from the Greek city of Thebes. By the grace of Persephone, queen of the Underworld, he alone among the dead keeps the wisdom he had in life.
In this story, he appears before Odysseus, who has come to the Underworld to learn the way home, and gives his prophecy after drinking the blood of the sacrifice. He says Odysseus can reach home if they leave the cattle of the sun god Helios alone; if the cattle are harmed, he will lose his companions, arrive late on someone else's ship, and find trouble in his house. He also foretells that after returning home, Odysseus must carry an oar inland to a people who know nothing of the sea, and that he will die peacefully in old age.
He also appears in the tragedy of Oedipus, king of Thebes, and is the best-known prophet in Greek mythology.
