to the beach to meet them in the form of "A stout and lusty fellow, His mighty shoulders covered with his mane; Who sped these words upon the wings of sound: 'Strangers, who are ye? and whence sail ye hither The watery ways? Come ye to traffic justly Or recklessly like pirates of the deep Rove ye, adventuring your souls, to bring Evil on strangers? Why thus sit ye grieving, Nor leap on land, nor strike the mast and lay it In your black ship? For so should traders do When, sated with the labour of the sea, They quit their painted galley for the shore, And presently the thought of needful food Comes gladsomely upon them.' So he spake, Putting new courage in their breasts. To whom The Cretan captain in his turn replied: 'Since thou art nothing like to things of earth In form or stature, but most like the gods That ever live, Hail, and thrice hail, O Stranger, And may the gods pour blessings on thy head. Now tell me truly, for I need to know, What land is this, what people, from what race Descended? As for us, over the deep Broad sea, we sought another haven, Pylos, Sailing from Crete, for thence we boast to spring; But now our ship is cast upon this shore, For some god steered our course against our will.' Then the far-darter spoke and answered them. 'Friends, in well-wooded Cnossus hitherto Ye have had homes, but ye shall not again Return to your good native town, to find Each his fair house and well-belovèd wife, But here shall ye possess my temple, rich And greatly honoured by the tribes of men. For I am son to Zeus. Apollo is My sacred name. 'Twas I that led you hither Over the mighty bosom of the deep, Intending you no ill; for ye shall here Possess a temple sacred to me, rich, And greatly honoured of all mortal men. The counsels of the deathless gods shall be Revealed to you, and by their will your days Shall pass in honour and in peace for ever. Come then and, as I bid, make haste to do. ... Build by the sea an altar; kindle flame; Sprinkle white barley grains thereon, and pray, Standing about the altar. And as first Ye saw me leap into your swift black bark In likeness of a dolphin, so henceforth Worship me by the name Delphinius, And Delphian ever be my far-seen shrine.'"