Tiresias was a blind prophet from Thebes who lived in the Underworld. According to the passage, Odysseus was told by the goddess Kirke to seek out Tiresias for guidance. Tiresias warned Odysseus that he would encounter Helios's cattle on the island of Thrinacia and told him to avoid the herd or his crew would die. Tiresias also foretold that upon returning to Ithaca, Odysseus would find suitors courting his wife and eating his food, and that he would either kill the suitors or send them away.