A deliberate exaggeration, which no one takes literally, used to emphasize a feeling or a situation.
In the Odyssey
for hateful to me, as much as the gates of Hades, is the man who, yielding to poverty, tells falsehoods.
To say that a lie is as hateful as the gates of Hades is an exaggeration that no one takes literally. The hyperbole gives the sentence the weight of an oath and prepares the way for Eumaeus's refusal, who takes in the guest without believing him.
Book XIV: In Eumaeus's hut, Odysseus
if Odysseus were to come and reach his native land, at once the doors, however wide they were, would be too narrow for you, as you fled through the vestibule out into the open.
Book XVIII: Irus and the suitors, Odysseus
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