So he spoke, and the old man was afraid and obeyed the word. He went in silence along the shore of the loud-roaring sea; and then, going far off, the old man prayed much to lord Apollo, whom lovely-haired Leto bore:

One of the most admired lines in Homer: bē d’ akeōn para thina polyphloisboio thalassēs, “he went in silence along the shore of the loud-roaring sea.” Say it aloud. The old man makes no sound, and the line fills with the sound of the surf: the roll of polyphloisboio, then thalassēs breaking on its double s. He obeys first, as a frightened man would. Only when he is far enough away does he pray. Agamemnon told him the god’s ribbons would not help him. He is about to find out whether that is true.