Odyssey 5.399 · Book 5, lines 399–401
Within shouting distance — the surf
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νῆχε δʼ ἐπειγόμενος ποσὶν ἠπείρου ἐπιβῆναι. ἀλλʼ ὅτε τόσσον ἀπῆν ὅσσον τε γέγωνε βοήσας, καὶ δὴ δοῦπον ἄκουσε ποτὶ σπιλάδεσσι θαλάσσης·
He swam on, hurrying to set foot with his feet on the shore. But when he was as far off as a shout carries, when a man shouts, then he heard the booming of the sea against the reefs.
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The setting
Gladdened by the sight of land, Odysseus swims eagerly for it — until he comes close enough to hear what waits.
A note on this passage
The joy lasts only a line. Odysseus strikes out hard for the coast, wanting nothing but to plant his feet on dry ground. Then, at the exact distance a shout would carry, a new sound reaches him: the deep booming of surf on rock. The nearer the land, the worse the news.
Homer measures the moment by the human voice — 'as far as a man makes himself heard shouting.' It is a distance of rescue, the range at which a castaway might hail help; and it is filled instead with the noise of the sea against the reef. The unit of hope and the sound of danger arrive together.
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