Νέστωρ δὲ πρῶτος κτύπον ἄϊε
One aspect of the poetics of the night is the emphasis on senses other than sight, especially hearing. But as we see here, as well as in other examples, what one hears requires interpretation. (See the section on the sensory aspects of the night in “The Poetics of Ambush.”) This same verb of perceiving by hearing is used in 10.160 and 10.189 of hearing the Trojans from a distance (compare Iliad 18.222 and Iliad 21.388).