You are on page 1of 459

A COMMENTARY ON

HOMERS ODYSSEY
V O L U M E III
BOOKS X VI I-X X IV

JOSEPH RUSSO
MANUEL FER N AN D EZ-G ALIA N O
ALFRED HEUBECK

CLARENDON PRESS OXFORD


Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford 0x2 6 dp
Oxford N ew York Toronto
D e lh i Bombay Calcutta M adras Karachi
P e taling Ja y a Singapore H ong K on g Tokyo
N airobi D a r es Salaam Cape Town
Melbourne A uckland
and associated companies in
Berlin Ibadan

Oxford is a trade mark o f Oxford University Press

Published in the United States


by Oxford University Press Inc., N e w York

Originally published in Italian under the title Omero: Odissea


Fondagione Lorenzo Valla
E n g lish edition Oxford University Press 1992

A l l rights reserved. N o pari o f this publication may be reproduced,


stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission in writing o f Oxford University Press.
W ithin the U K , exceptions are allowed in respect o f any fa ir dealing fo r the
purpose o f research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted
under the Copyright, Designs and Patents A ct, 1988, or in the case o f
reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms o f the licences
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning
reproduction outside these terms and in other countries should be
sent to the R ights Department, Oxford University Press,
at the address above

T h is book is sold subject to the condition that it sh a ll not, by way


o f trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated
without the publishers prior consent in any form o f binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data


D a ta available

Library o f Congress Cataloging in Publication Data


A Commentary on H om ers Odyssey.
A revised version, without text and translation, o f ike fir st two parts
o f the six-volume edition commissioned by the Fondazione Lorenzo Valia
and published by M ondadori
Includes bibliographical references an d indexes.
Contents; v. 3 . Books X V I I X X I V
Joseph Russo, M a n u el Ferndndez-Galiano, A lfred Heubeck.
1. Homer, Odyssey. 2. Odysseus (Greek mythology)
in literature. I. Heubeck, Alfred,
19 14 - -
P A 4 1 6 7 .H 4 8 1988 8 8 s.o i 8 7 -1 8 5 0 9
IS B N 0 -19 -8 14 9 5 9 -0

357910864

Printed in Great Britain


on acid-free paper by
Bookcraft (B a th) L td ., M idsom er Norton
CONTENTS

B IB L IO G R A P H IC A L A B B R E V IA T IO N S vii

BOOKS X V II-X X {Joseph Russo)


Introduction 3
Commentary 17

BOOKS X X I X X I I {ManuelFernandez-Galiano)
Introduction to Book X X I 131
Commentary on Book X X I 148
Introduction to Book X X II 207
Commentary on Book X X II 218

BOOKS X X III-X X IV {AlfredHeubeck)


Introduction to Book X X III 313
Commentary on Book X X III 315
Introduction to Book X X IV 353
Commentary on Book X X IV 356

Index of Greek Words 4x9


General Index 430
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS

T h e abbreviations used for ancient authors correspond to those em ployed in


the ninth edition of L id dell and Scott, GreekEnglish Lexicon (LSJ) and in the
Oxford Latin Dictionary, for periodicals to those o f L Anne philologique.

Editions o f the, Odyssey referred to in the Com m entary:

Allen T . W . Allen, Homeri Opera, iii2, iv2 (O xford


Classical Text), Oxford, 1917, 1919.
A m e is-H e n tz e -C a u e r Homers Odyssee f. den Schulgebrauch erklrt
von K . F. A m eis u. C . Hentze, bearbeitet von
P. Cauer, i 114, 215, 19, 210, Leipzig, 1920, 1940,
1928, 1925.
Brard V . Brard, L Odysse, Paris, 19245.
H ainsworth* Omero, Odissea, libri vviii: Introduzione, teslo e
commento a cura di J. B. Hainsworth, Fondaz-
ione L orenzo V alla, R om e, 1982.
H eubeck* Omero, Odissea, l%bn ix-xii; xxiiixxiv: Introduz-
ione, testa e commento a cura di Alfred H eubeck,
Fondazione Lorenzo Valia, Rom e, 1983, 1987.
Hoekstra* Omero, Odissea, libri xiii-xvi: Introdnzione, teslo e
commento a cura di A rie Hoekstra, Fondazione
Lorenzo Valla, R om e, 1984.
M erry -R id d ell W . W . M erry and J. Riddell, Homer's O d ys
sey; Books ixii, O xford, 1886.
M onro D. B. M onro, Homers O dyssey; Books xuixxiv,
Oxford, 1901.
Russo* Omero, Odissea, libri xviixx: Introduzione, testo e
commento a cura di Joseph Russo, Fondazione
Lorenzo Valla, R om e, 1985.
Stanford W . B. Stanford, The O dyssey of Homer2, M a c
m illan, London, 1959.
van Leeuwen J. van Leeuw en, Homen Carmina, cum prolego-
menis, notis cnticis, commentaries exegeticis,
Odyssea, Leiden, 1917.
von der M hll P. von der M hll, Homeri Odyssea2, Basel, 1961
(Stuttgart, 1984).
S. West* Omero, Odissea, libn iiv: Introduzione generale di

* The present volume is the third in the English edition (introductions and
commentary only); the first volume (Books i-viii) was published in 1988, and the
second (Books ix-xvi) in 1989 (both from OUP).

vii
B I B LI O G R A P H I C A L A B B R E V I A T I O N S

S. W est (coni.) Alfred Heubeck e Stephanie West, introduzione, testo


e commento a cura di Stephanie W est, Fondaz-
ione Lorenzo Valla, Rom e, 1981.

W orks m entioned by abbreviated title:


Allione, TeUmaco L. Allione, Telemaco e Penelope nelVOdissea,
T urin , 1963.
A m eisHentze, Anhang K . F. Am eis and C . H entze, Anhang zu Horners
Odyssee3, Leipzig, 1889, 18953.
Archaeokgia Archaeokgia Homerica: Die Denkmler u. das frh
griechische Epos, ed. F. M atz and H. G . Buch-
holz, Gttin gen, 1967.
Arend, Scenen W . Arend, Die typischen Scenen bei Homer, Berlin,
1933
Austin, Archery N. Austin, Archery at the Dark of the Moon: Poetic
Problems in Homers O dyssey, BerkeleyLos
Angeles, 1975.
Bechtel, Lexiologus F. Bechtel, Lexilogus zu Homer, Halle, 1914.
Beekes, Laryngeals R. S. P. Beekes, The Development of the Proto-
Indo-European Laryngeals in Greek, T h e H ague
Paris, 1969.
Besslich, Schweigen S. Besslich, Schweigen Verschweigen bergehen:
Die Darstellung des Unausgesprochenen in der
Odyssee, H eidelberg, 1966.
Bethe, Homer E. Bethe, Homer: Dichtung und Sage, iiii,
L eip zig-B erlin, 1914, 1922, 19292.
- Odyssee ----- ibid, ii: Odyssee, Kyklos, Zeitbestimmung2,
Leipzig, 1929.
Blass, Interpolationen F. Blass, Die Interpolationen in der Odyssee, Halle,
1904.
Bolling, Evidence G . M . Bolling, The External Evidence for Inter
polation in Homer, O xford, 1925.
Bona, Studi G . Bona, Studi sullOdissea, T urin, 1966.
Bowra, H P C . M . Bowra, Heroic Poetry, London, 1952.
Bchner, Penelopeszenen W . Bchner, D ie Penelopeszenen in der
O dyssee, Hermes, lxxv (1940).
Burkert, Religion W . Burkert, Greek Religion: Archaic and Classical,
trans. John Raffan, Blackweil, 1985.
Cauer, Homerkritik P. Cauer, Grundfragen der Homerkritik3, Leipzig,
19 2 1-3.
CEG Carmina Epigraphia Graeca, ed, P. A . Hansen
(B erlin -N ew Y ork, 1983).
Chantraine, Dictionnaire P. Chantraine, Dictionnaire tymologique de la
languegrecque, Paris, 1968-80.

Vlll
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS

----- Formation ----- La Formation des norm en grec ancien, Paris,


1933-
----- Grammaire Grammaire homnque Is, ii2, Paris, 1958,
1963
----- Morphologie ----- Morphologie historique du grec, Paris, 1967.
Clay, Wrath J . S. C lay, The Wrath of Athena: Gods and Men in
the O dyssey, Princeton, 1983.
Companion A Companion to Homer, ed. A . J. B. W ace and
F. H . Stubbirigs, London, 1962.
D elebecque, Tlmaque E. D elebecque, Tlmaque et la structure de
VOdysse, Annales de la facult des lettres d Aix-en-
Provence, n s xxi, 1958.
Denniston, Particles J. D. Denniston, The Greek Particles2, O xford,
1954 -
Ebeling, Lexicon H. Ebeling, Lexicon Homericum, Leipzig, 18805.
Eisenberger, Studien H . Eisenberger, Studien zur Odyssee, W iesbaden;
! 973
Erbse, Beitrge . Erbse, Beitrge zum Verstndnis der Odyssee,
BerlinN ew Y ork, 1972.
Fenik, Studies B. Fenik, Studies in the O dyssey, Hermes
Einzelschriften, xxx, W iesbaden, 1974.
Finley, World . I. Finley, The World of Odysseus (second
revised dn.), Harm ondsworth, 1979.
Finley Jun., Odyssey J. H. Finley Ju n ., Homers Odyssey, Cam bridge,
M ass., 1978.
Finsler, Homer G . Finsler, Homer, .1 -2 , ii, Leipzig, 2ig i8 ,
31924
Focke, Odyssee . F. Focke, Die Odyssee, Stuttgart-Berlin, 1943.
Frankel, Gleichnisse H . Frankel, Die homerischen Gleichnisse, G ot
tingen, 1921.
Friedrich, Stilwandel R. Friedrich, Stilwandel im homerischen Epos
(Heidelberg, 1975).
Frisk, G E W . H . Frisk, Griechisches etymologisches Wrterbuch,
H eidelberg, 1954 73
Germ ain, Genese G . G erm ain, Genese de VOdysse, Paris, 1954.
G oodw in, Syntax W . W . G oodw in, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses
of the Greek Verb, L o n d o n ,21889, repr. London,
1965, 1966.
Hainsworth, Flexibility J. B. Hainsworth, The Flexibility of the Homeric
Formula, O xford, 1968.
H eubeck, Dichter A . H eubeck, Der Odyssee-Dichter und die Ilias,
Erlangen, 1954.
Hoekstra, Modifications A . H oekstra, Homeric Modifications of Formulaic
Prototypes, Am sterdam , 1965.
----- Epic Verse ----- Epic Verse before Homer: Three Studies,
Am sterdam , 1981,

IX
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS

Hlscher, Untersuchungen U . Hlscher, Untersuchungen zur Form der Odys


see, Leipzig, 1939.
Kirchhoff, Odyssee A . Kirchhoff, Die Homerische Odyssee und ihre
Entstehung, Berlin, 1879.
Kirk, Commentary G . S. Kirk, The Iliad: A Commentary, i. Books 1
4 , Cam bridge, 1985.
----- Songs ----- The Songs of Homer, Cam bridge, 1962.
Kl. Pauly Der Kleine Pauly; Lexicon der Antike in 5 Bnden,
ed. K , Ziegler and W . Sontheimer, M unich,
1964-75, D T V M un ich, 1979.
K h n er-G erth R. K hner, Ausfhrliche Grammatik der grie
chischen Sprache, iii. Satzlehre71, besorgt v.
B. Gerth, Hanover, 1898-1904, repr. Lever
kusen, 1955.
Leaf, Iliad W . Leaf, The Iliad2, London, 1900-2.
Lesky, Homeros A . Lesky, Homeros, R E , Supplem entband xi,
Stuttgart, 1967.
Leum ann, Wrter M . Leum ann, Homerische Wrter, Basel, 1950.
LfgrE Lexicon desfrhgriechischen Epos, ed. B. Snell and
H. Erbse, Gttingen, 19 5 5- .
Lord, Singer A . B. Lord, The Singer of Tales, Cam bridge,
M ass.-L o n d o n , i960.
Lorimer, Monuments H . L. Lorim er, Homer and the Monuments,
London, 1950.
Ludw ich, A H T A . Ludw ich, Aristarchs Homerische Textkritik, i,
ii, Leipzig, 1884-5.
M arzullo, Problema B. M arzullo, II problema omerico2, M ilan
Naples, 1970.
M attes, Odysseus W . Mattes, Odysseus beiden Phaken, W rzburg,
1958.
M eister, Kunstsprache K . M eister, Die homerische Kunstsprache, Leipzig,
1921, repr. Darm stadt, 1966.
M erkelbach, R. M erkelbach, Untersuchungen zur Odyssee2,
Untersuchungen Zetem ata, ii, M unich, 1969.
M onro, Homeric Dialect D . B. M onro, A Grammar of the Homeric Dialect2,
Oxford, 1891.
Nilsson, Geschichte . P. Nilsson, Geschichte der griechischen Reli
gion7, i, M un ich, 1967,
O nians, Origins R . B. O nians, The Origins of European Thought,
C am bridge, 1951.
Page, Folktales D. L. Page, Folktales in Homers O dyssey, C am
bridge, M ass., 1972.
----- Odyssey - The Homeric O dyssey, O xford, 1955.
----- P M G ----- Poetae Melici Graeci, O xford, 1962.
Parry, Blameless Aegisthus A nn e A m ory Parry, Blameless Aegisthus, Leiden,
1973
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS

Pocock, Odyssean Essays L. G . Pocock, Odyssean Essays, O xford, 1965.


R am m ing, Dienerschaft G . R am m ing, Die Dienerschaft in der Odyssee,
Erlangen, 1973.
RE Paulys Realencyclopdie der classischen Altertums
wissenschaft, ed. G . W issowa, W . Kroll, K . M it-
telhaus, and K . Ziegler, Stuttgart, 1893- .
Reinhardt, 'A ben teuer5 K . Reinhardt, D ie A benteuer des O dysseus ,
in id., Von Wegen und Formen, Godesberg, 1948,
52-162 = Tradition und Geist, Gttingen, i960,
4 7-124 .
Risch, Wortbildung E. Risch, Wortbildung der homerischen Sprache2,
Berlin, 1973.
Rter, K . Rter, Odysseeinterpretationen. Untersuchungen
Odysseeinterpretationen zum ersten Buch u. zur Phaiakis, Hypom nem ata,
xix, Gttingen, 1969.
Ruijgh, lment C. J. Ruijgh, Ulment achen dans la langue
pique, Assen, 1957.
----- tudes ----- tudes sur la grammaire et le vocabulaire du
grec mycnien, Am sterdam , 1967.
----- re pique ----- Au tour de Ve pique tudes sur la syniaxe
grecque, Am sterdam , 1971.
Schadewaldt, Well W , Schadewaldt, Von Homers Welt und Werk*,
Stuttgart, 1965.
Schulze, Quaestiones W . Schulze, Quaestiones epicae, Gtersloh,
1892.
Schwartz, Odyssee E. Schwartz, Die Odyssee, M unich, 1924.
Schwyzer, Grammatik E. Schwyzer, Griechische Grammatik, iiii,
M un ich, 1939-53
Shipp, Studies G . P. Shipp, Studies in the Language of Homer2,
C am bridge, 1972.
SimpsonLazenby, R. H op e Sim pson and J. F. Lazenby, The
Catalogue Catalogue of the Ships in Homer's Iliad, O xford,
1970
Stella, Ulisse L . A . Stella, IIpoema di Ulisse, Florence, 1955.
Thom pson, M otif Index Stith T hom pson , M otif Index of Folk Literature,
Copen hagen, 19558.
Thornton, People A . T hornton, People and Themes in Homer's
O dyssey, London, 1970.
T rm py, Fachausdrcke H . T r m p y, Kriegerische Fachausdrcke im grie
chischen Epos, Basle, 1950.
van der V alk, Textual M . van der Valk, Textual Criticism of the
Criticism O dyssey, Leiden, 1949.
van Leeuwen, Enchmdium J. van Leeuwen, Enchmdium dictionis epicae,
Leiden, 1918.
V en tris-C h ad w ick , M . Ventris and J. Chadw ick, Documents in
Documents Mycenaean Greek1, C am bridge, 1973.

XI
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS

von der M hll, O d y s s e e P. von der M hll, O d y ss e e , R E , Supplem ent


band, vii, 696-768, Stuttgart, 1940.
von K am ptz, H . von Kam ptz, Homerische Personennamen, G t
Personennamen tingen, 1982.
W ackernagel, J. W ackem agel, Sprachliche Untersuchungen zu
Untersuchungen Homer, Gttingen, 1916.
W erner, H u . et vor R , W erner, H u. et vor Vokal bei Homer, Fri
Vokal bourg, 1948.
W ilam owitz, Heimkehr U . von W ilam owitz-M oellendorff, Die Heimkehr
des Odysseus, Berlin, 1927.
----- Glaube ----- Der Glaube der Hellenen, i-ii, Berlin, 19 3 1 -
2, reiss, Darm stadt, 1959s.
----- Untersuchungen ----- Homerische Untersuchungen, Berlin, 1884.
W oodhouse, Composition W . J, W oodhouse, The Composition of Homer's
O dyssey, O xford, 1930, repr. Oxford, 1969.
W yatt, Lengthening W . F. W yatt, ju n ,, Metrical Lengthening in
Homer, Rom e, 1969.
BOOKS X V II-X X
Joseph Russo
INTRODUCTION

Books xvii to xx of the Odyssey provide the vital turning-point for the
second half of the epic, the story of return, revenge, and reunion.
Immediately after these four pivotal books, the unusual stranger
manages in xxi to string Odysseus bow and make the near
impossible shot; stands revealed as Odysseus at the opening of xxii
and goes on in that book to kill all the suitors; is finally recognized by
and united with Penelope in xxiii; and in xxiv is reunited with his
father, with whose help he successfully meets the challenge of the
suitors families attempt at retaliation. These successes of the final
four books are all made possible because the lowly vagabond who
entered the royal halls in xvii has been gaining power by degrees,
acquiring increasing influence and intimacy with Penelope and the.
few faithful servants, while simultaneously compelling increasing
respect from th, suitors, who begin by mocking him but gradually
learn to respect his abilities and eventually realize (xxi 285-6, 323 if.)
that he is quite likely to string the bow. It is the: actions and reactions
of all persons involved in this escalation of the beggars importance in
the royal household that give us the major events f xvii to xx.
Book xvii begins at Eumaeus hutjand brings Telemachus, and
then Odysseus and Eumaeus, to the palace. Only Telemachus
knows the beggars identity at this point; but a curious recognition
takes place when Odysseus old dog Argus recognizes his returning
master and dies overwhelmed by emotion. Odysseus himself is
assailed by strong emotion at this encounter, but Homer uses the
dramatic occasion toT highlight the heros famous self-control:
Odysseus suppresses his tears, channels his feelings into speech in
the form of laudatory comments on the dogs career, and is thus able
safely to cross the threshold he has sought for ten years. The
encounter with Argus has allowed the poet to mark this important
moment with a brief but unforgettable little drama of hidden mean
ings, a fitting prelude to the many such dramas that will be enacted
once Odysseus is inside the palace.
Having entered, Odysseus makes the threshold his regular seat, a
symbolic statement of the liminal position of a king who has
returned home but not assumed his royal authority, and of a

3
BOOKS X VI I - X X

vagabond who has no fixed place in any community and no social


role except that of outsider. (The word commonly used to refer to
the beggar is tjevos, "which here denotes a stranger or outsider
rather than its more favourable meaning'of aristocratic guest whose
rank would entitle him to guest-gifts, .) For the remainder of
xvii, Odysseus lack of rank and status exposes him to the hostility of
Melanthius, who had abused him earlier in this book on the road to
the palace, and to the jibes of Antinous, who in exasperation at the
beggars verbal audacity hits him with a footstool) The book con
cludes with Penelopes attempt to invite the stranger to tell her his
story. The invitation, relayed through Eumaeus, is declined for the
moment, to be accepted only when the suitors have gone home for
the night (xix).
The eighteenth book begins with the arrival of Irus, the old estab
lished beggar, who serves as a stepping-stone for Odysseus in his
incipient rise in status: the new beggar displaces the old, revealing in
the process that both his physique and his sense of self-importance
are stronger than anyone would have expected. He trades insults
with Eurymachus as with an equal, gives Am phinom usage, advice,
from the vantage point of a more experienced peer, about" the vicis
situdes of life, and makes it clear again, as he did in xvii 419 ff., that
except for the bad luck dealt by Fortune he would still be a member
of the nobility and the equal of Penelopes suitors (xviii 138 ff.). In a
bitter exchange with Eurymachus near the end of the book he again
implies that he is the peer of the leading suitors, this time specifically
in military prowess (376ff.). T his image of an Odysseus armed with
spears, shield, and helmet Kprophetic)of the reality to come in the
twenty-second and twenty-fourth books.
Still awaiting the disguised Odysseus, however, is a chance to talk
to the queen and test her fidelity (cf. xiii 336, xix 45).1 He finally sees
his wife when in the middle of xviii she comes down into the main
hall to bharm> the suitors into giving her expensive courtship gifts.
Odysseus admires her banning, since he is the only one in the hall
who recognizes exactly wHat she is doing.2 His recognition of her true
1 At xiii 336 Athena anticipates Odysseus future testing of Penelope with the Greek
verb (test, make trial of), while at xix 45 Odysseus, describing this forth
coming encounter to Telemachus, uses the verb (provoke, irritate). See the
commentary at each passage for the significance of these two verbs, and H. Vester, Das
19. Buch der Odyssee, Gymnasium 75 (1968), 419 . 13.
2 Critics have been bothered by Homers failure to tell us explicitly that Odysseus
rejoices because he grasps Penelopes hidden purpose, and they object that he should
instead have been troubled by her apparent interest in a new husband. But it is natural
for Homer (and us) to assume that Odysseus knows his wife well enough to understand

4
INTRODUCTION

character is a fitting) beginning for the process of rapprochement in


which their knowledge of one another will grow by degree^ to
culminate in the full recognition of Odysseus by Penelope in book
xxiii.
The scene of Penelopes beautification by Athena and her appear
ance before the suitors (158-303) has had a mixed reception from
scholars. Once suspected as an interpolation, it is now usually
esteemed as a superb example of Homers story-telling art, although
there remain obscurities of character motivation that require special
explanation (see nn. at 160-2, 160, 163, 164-5). The underlying
problem may be. termdy'narratological : Homer attempts to con
struct a |?jgt?sequence that both allows Odysseus identity to remain
concealed from Penelope and yet shows her reacting to his presence
with a renewal of emotional energy that points to a kind of psycho
logical or spiritual revival. Such a sequence is nicely served by her
decision at this point to show herself in the main hall and beguile the
suitors into giving her courtship gifts; and because it has no natural
motivation, Homer makes Athena the source of the irrational
impulse. Penelope herself wonders aloud at the strangeness of her
impulse (163-5), and feds the need to rationalize it to her servant
Eurynome (166-8); but the unexpected decision does make good
narrative and psychological sense. Jn the words of a recent inter
preter, I t is the first response to a felustisof events that have brought
Odysseus to her notice: Telemachus report of what he learned on his
journey, Theoclymenus prophecy that Odysseus has already
returned, Odysseus actual entrance into the house in disguise, and
Eumaeus praise of his guest of the night before.3
The nineteenth book brings us finally to the long-awaited inter
view, previously deferred. The queen and the beggar have two
lengthy dialogues, divided in the middle by the footbath admin
istered by Eurycleia, the occasion for one of Homers most famous

when she is feigning or posturing; and it is a common enough narrative device for a
major character to share the authors omniscient point of view with no explanation
provided (Fenik, Studies, 119-20; U. Hlscher, Penelope vor den Freiem, in Lebende
Antike: Symposion J. R. Shnet (Berlin, 1967), 27-31). C. S. Byre, Penelope and the
Suitors before Odysseus: Odyssey 18. 158-303, AJPh 109 (1988), 169-73, reaffirms
this explanation but then adds the less convincing one that Odysseusjoy is the sign of a
pent-up rage against the suitors.
3 S. Murnaghan, Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey (Princeton, 1987), 48-9. See
also the good discussion at 46-7 of the series of episodes in which Penelope experiences
something less than recognition but analogous to it, an ambiguity arising from the
narrative accommodation of a certain necessary paradox (47): Penelope must some
how acknowledge that Odysseus is back without recognizing him.

5
BOOKS X V I I - X X

episodes, the digression on the scar of Odysseus. In the first dialogue


Penelope describes her predicament: courted by the leading nobles
of Ithaca and the nearby islands, she is being urged to marry by both
her parents and her son. She describes the deception of the web and
its discovery, making it clear that her strategies for delaying the
marriage are used up and her condition is desperate. The beggar
then identifies himself as a Cretan noble, Idomeneus younger
brother, former guest-friend (|etVos) of Odysseus, whom he enter
tained when Odysseus was on his way to Troy. Penelope, believing
that she is finally speaking to a friend of her husbands, weeps
profusely and asks for a more detailed description of Odysseus as
proof of this mans former intimacy with him. The beggar gives a
description so detailed that it drives the queen to further weeping as
she recognizes the sure signs he gives (xix 249-50), and she elevates
the newcomer from merely Xeeivs, an object of her pity, to
and , a man close to her family and worthy of her respect
(253-4). Now that he enjoys her respect and confidence, Odysseus
goes on to assure her that her husband is'alive and recently with the
Thesprotians, who will soon convey him to Ithaca. He will in fact be
home during the forthcoming period called the as, between
the waning of the old moon and the waxing of the new (see the note to
306-7 for this obscure word and the problems of interpreting the
passage). Penelope finds this news too exciting to accept, too good to
be true (309-16), and so deflects the conversation to the beggars
need for a bath and a bed. When he insists that only an old servant
equal in suffering to himself be allowed to wash his feet, Eurycleia is
called forth, and in washing him discovers the scar that points to his
true identity.
She recognized the scar which the boar inflicted (393): this phrase
introduces the famous digression, concluded at 467-8 when similar
words are used ( , , 393; . . . , 4678). Within
this digression, to explain how the adolescent Odysseus was
wounded, Homer needs to retreat further into the past and tell us of
Odysseus birth and naming. His maternal grandfather Autolycus
gave him a name, O dysseus, that would commemorate Autolycus
own career as a trouble-maker (, 407); he then added
that upon reaching puberty () Odysseus should seek out his
maternal grandfather again to receive gifts (406-12). It was in fulfil
ment of this baptismal injunction that the adolescent Odysseus went
to Parnassos in what became a rite of passage from boyhood to man
hood: he made his first kill in the mens hunt and received his first
wound. This narrative structure with elaborate flashback suggests

6
INTRODUCTION

that Homer feels the need at this point to re-establish Odysseus in his
full biographical identity before continuing the forward movement of
rapprochement between the hero and his wife. We have been told of
Odysseus' birth, naming, and entry into manhood. All that is lacking
now to complete the heroic identity is the reacquisition of his wife
and his royal power over the Ithacans. The remainder of the inter
view makes significant moves toward these goals.
What follows is a sequence of complex and puzzling statements
and responses, which have drawn a wide range of diverse and
contradictory ihterpretations from critics. With an intimacy that
develops with amazing speed, the queen tells the stranger about her
dream, which he confirms as prophetic of Odysseus' return and
slaughter of the suitors. This prophecy Penelope claims she does not
accept, taking refuge behind a theory of true and false dreams that
allows her flatly to assert (with no explanation) that this dream is
among the false ones. She moves immediately to the announcement
that she has decided to set an archery contest for the very next day:
she will marry whichever suitor most easily strings Odysseus old
bow and shoots through the twelve axes. The stranger endorses this
decision, asserting that Odysseus will be with her before any suitor
can manage to perform these acts. Penelopes decision to accept a
likely remarriage in one day,4 after successfully stalling the suitors for
so long, and while still having no clear evidence that her husband has
returned or is about to, is without evident motivation in our text and
has never been successfully explained (see Commentary at 57281
for a survey of current opinion).
Since Penelopes decision represents the key turning-point in the
plot, the obscurity of its motivation deserves our full attention. Some
readers have sought an explanation in the dubious theory that she
recognizes her husband during the interview; but it is thoroughly
alien to Homeric narrative habit to allow an event of this magnitude
to pass without comment. Others have sought a neo-Analytic solu
tion, positing an earlier version of the epic in which the interview of
xix did in fact lead to Penelopes recognition that the beggar was
Odysseus and to their collusion in setting the bow-contest (the
4 That she assumes some suitor is likely to succeed with the bow and marry her is
most clearly inferred from xix 5712, this dawn . .. will take me from Odysseus
house, and from the whole tenor of her desperate prayer for death at xx 6190, includ
ing the specific hope of meeting Odysseus in the underworld rather than being alive to
gladden the mind of some inferior man [husband: dvSpi], 80-2. Some readers would
also cite her tears of xxi 55-6 as indicating grief over prospective remarriage; but the
very act of removing Odysseus bow from its storeroom and handling it for the first time
since he left for Troy could easily be sufficient cause for these tears.

7
BOOKS X V I I - X X

erroneous interpretation offered by the suitor Amphimedon at xxiv


167 ff.). This other version would have been largely but not entirely
superseded by our revised version, with Penelopes unmotivated
decision upon the bow-test and Amphimedons reconstruction of
events persisting as vestiges of this original plot. Such an explanation
is perhaps plausible, and might find support in the tendency for oral
traditions to retain earlier, sometimes incongruous, material, and for
oral performances to contain occasional lapses or inconsistencies
(note the argument that our Odyssey may represent an oral dictated
text, a possibility discussed below). Yet it remains hard to believe that
Homer, whose control of details and human psychology is so subtle
throughout xix, would maintain such an incongruous remnant of an
earlier version.
More recent attempts to explain Penelopes decision may be
classed under four different schools of interpretation: narrato-
logical, folkloric, psychological, and literalist. Exponents of narrato-
logical criticism allow the inconsistency or ambiguity to stand as the
inevitable consequence of alternative potential plots that are never
fully harmonized by the narrator, who is moreover less able or willing
to give us as full and consistent a portrayal of Penelopes mind as he is
of Odysseus.5The folkloric approach is essentially a form of German
neo-analysis, most recently applied by U. Hlscher, who posits an
earlier folk-tale pattern based on the clever and duplicitous wife-
heroine, reworked by the epic poet to fit the more aristocratic portrait
of a noble Penelope who is steadfast in her rejection of any possible
marriage to one of the suitors.6 The literalist approach is dis
tinguished by lack of any theoretical base, and in its minimalist
5 N. Felson-Rubin, Penelopes Perspective: Character from Plot, in J. M, Bremer,
I. J. F. De Jong, and J. Kalff, eds., Homer: Beyond Oral Poetry (Amsterdam, 1967), 623:
In plot language, [Homer] assigns [Penelope] more than one plot ; and by keeping her
ignorant as to her marital status, Homer represents Penelope as uncertain as to which
of her several plots she is in at any moment . Cf. Murnaghan (op. cit,, n. 3 above), in a
similar vein: In its account of Penelopes encounters with her disguised husband the
poem gives us the complex depiction of someone involved in a plot of which she is
unaware (127). Regarding the timeliness of Penelopes decision to set the bow-contest
when she does, Murnaghan interprets the successful outcome as emerging from a
fortuitous combination of her despair and his improvisation, so that this crucial
turning-point in the plot is brought about neither by Odysseus or Penelopes clever
ness in devising a strategy against the suitors, but rather by the lucky chance that at the
point when Penelope feels she can no longer hold out against the suitors, Odysseus is
there to take advantage of the means she devises to replace him (134). I agree, but
would add that Penelope acts from despair combined with the intuition that something
may happen to save her from remarriage.
6 Hlscher, op. cit. (n. 2 above), and The Transformation from Folk-Tale to Epic,
in B. Fenik, ed., Homer: Tradition and Invention (Leiden, 1978), 5167.

8
INTRODUCTION

stance towards the use of interpretative methods represents a safe and


conservative methodology, least likely to lead to exaggerated readings
but also least likely to penetrate a complicated text. Literalist inter
preters strive for intelligent common-sense reading and accumula
tion of observations taken from the surface of a text which is viewed as
having no sub-text, just as the poet is viewed as having little or no
interest in multiple levels of representation, whether of plot patterns
or of human motivation. Such an approach arises naturally from a
straightforward philological tradition of exegesis, but is in my view
the least rewarding critical method to use when facing the most
difficult problems of interpreting a storyteller as subtle as Homer in a
tradition as complex as the one from which his poems derive. It is not
surprising, then, that two recent essays of this type, although useful
on other points, fail to shed new light on the mystery of Penelopes
motivation.7
For unravelling the complexities of Penelopes relationship to
Odysseus, and in particular her submerged recognition of his
identity and their discussion of her dream and the setting of the bow-
contest, more imaginative critical methods are needed. Neo-
Analytical interpretations carry a certain plausibility, and the
narratological analyses of Murnaghan and Felson-Rubin offer
perhaps the best explanation available for the apparent incomplete
ness of the Odyssey's textual surface. Yet all these interpreters share
the view arrived at from different theoretical perspectives that
Homer has imperfectly orchestrated and articulated some of his
major plot structures. In this they resemble the Analysts before them,
taking a critical position that faults Homer, or the Odyssey text, for
awkward or incomplete integration and mastery of materials and
form. Although it is not rare for Homer to nod on small points of
consistency, in his characterization of Penelope and Odysseus it may
be best to assume that he knows what he is doing, and to apply what
ever critical methods we find most rewarding in bringing his full
meaning to light.
I believe that a psychological interpretation permits us to account
for the many signs of unexpected rapport between Penelope and
the stranger without assuming that recognition has taken place,
and might also make her decision to stake her future on the bow-
contest easier to understand. This is the theory that Penelope has,
during her interview with the stranger, become progressively aware,
on an intuitive or unconscious level, not that this man is her
7 C. Emlyn-Jones, The Reunion of Penelope and Odysseus , G &R 31 (1984))
P. Marquardt, Penelope , AJPh 106 (1985), 32-48.

9
BOOKS -

husband,8but that he has an uncanny familiarity about him, that he


stirs up the same feelings that her husband does, and is in some sense
his like or his near-equivalent (cf. and < used by
Eurycleia to describe the stranger at 380-1, and etVeAo? used by
Penelope at xx 88 to describe the Odysseus-like figure who sleeps
next to her in the dream inspired by her dialogue with the stranger).
Homer clearly makes us aware of the beggar s close physical
resemblance to Odysseus, strongly remarked on by Eurycleia just
before the footbath (378-81), intensifying her comments about the
parallel circumstances in which the two ageing men are likely to find
themselves (37off.).9 Because this stranger has such power to evoke
the image and presence of Odysseus, his emphatic interpretation of
Penelopes already self-revealing dream must impress her more
strongly than her guarded reaction would suggest at first reading.
Her invocation of the fabled Gates of Horn and Ivory should not be
taken as a firm disclaimer of belief in her dreams clear prediction,
but as a defensive verbal stance. It is characteristic of Penelope to use
the language of scepticism to shield herself from a belief she would
love to accept (cf. 569, that would be welcome to me and my son)
but which would render her vulnerable to the kind of false hopes that
have deceived her before.10 Her decision to tell the stranger she has
8 Such is the interpretation of Anne Amory, The Reunion of Odysseus and
Penelope, in C. Taylor, ed., Essays on the Odyssey (Bloomington, 1963), 100-36,
followed by Austin, Archery, 232. M y view (first set forth in J. Russo, Interview and
Aftermath: Dream, Fantasy, and Intuition in Odyssey 19 and 20, A J P 103 (1982), 4-18)
differs in assuming not outright recognition, albeit unconscious, of the beggar as
Odysseus, but of the beggars qualities and presence as evocative of Odysseus in
various subtle ways (as they are for Eurycleia at xix 378-81). O f course my inter
pretation would not be possible without Amorys groundbreaking study, which opened
the way for psychologically sophisticated readings of the interview in xix as a welcome
alternative to Harshs clever but misguided argument for full recognition (P. W. Harsh,
Penelope and Odysseus in Odyssey xix, AJPh 71 (1950), 1-21).
9 Throughout xix we find an intensification of a central concern of the Odyssey which
distinguishes it in one important respect from the Iliad, a concern with truth and
appearance as seen in the crucial distinction between reality/identity and its (mere)
approximation in likelihood/similarity. Note the ^ that are at
203, following the significant verb Iokc (related to lot and efxeAos) at 202; the
beggars description by Penelope as - to Odysseus at 358 and by Eurycleia as
to him at 3801; the idea that there exist separate Gates for True and False
Dreams, which are none the less hard to tell apart; and Odysseus careful distinction
between two kinds of vision in defining Penelopes dream as va " rap at 547.
10 At xiv 124 ff. Eumaeus describes how Penelope in the past was often deceived by
vagabonds with lying tales about Odysseus; and in xxiii 21517 we hear in her own
words that she has constantly been afraid that some mortal would come and deceive
me with words. The self-protective stance she has learned to adopt has been evident
throughout the epic: at xix 309-16 she responds to the strangers emphatic oath and

10
INTRODUCTION

decided on a marriage contest, coming as it does immediately after


her assertion that her dream of rescue was a false one, seems on the
surface an act of total surrender to a hopeless situation: she will
finally accept marriage to the best of the suitors. But it is in keeping
with the complexity of Penelopes character that she hopes for more
than her words reveal. She cannot remain totally unaffected by the
dreams optimistic vision and the strangers emphatic endorsement
of it, coming as they do after the prophecy of Theoclymenus (xvii
15162) and the strangers earlier affirmation of Odysseuss return
(xix 262-307). Her decision to set the bow-test allows her action that
resolves an impasse that had reached the breaking point (the suitors
are now prepared to murder her son) while keeping open the pos
sibility that the dream and the mysterious stranger are telling the
truth. Her decision thus reveals her willingness to take a risk, to
commit herself to life and to lifes chances after years of defensive,
calculated manoeuvring. And it is her attraction to the stranger and
her intuitive sense of his latent power that move her now to act in a
way that accords perfectly with his prediction, even as her words say
the opposite.
As a former petros of her husband who has now become and
? to her, this stranger has come to mean much more to
Penelope than would normally be possible in a relationship between
a famous queen and a wandering stranger.11 Penelope seems to
acknowledge this unusual and almost improper intimacy in her
closing speech to the beggar at the end of Book xix:

Stranger, if you were w illing to sit by me in the hall


and give me pleasure, no sleep w ould fall on m y eyelids.
B u t there is no w ay for people to be constantly without sleep:
the immortals have given it to each hum an
as allotted portion upon the nourishing earth.
So then I, for m y part, am going upstairs
to go to bed in m y cham ber, m y bed full o f w eeping . . .

assurance that Odysseus will soon arrive by wishing this were true but immediately
coming up with the opposite hypothesis that it will never happen; and in xxiii she
responds to Eurycleias news that Odysseus has returned and killed the suitors by three
times offering alternative explanations (10 ff., 58 ff., 80ff.) for this supposedly most
welcome news.
11 See W. Bchner, Penelopeszenen, 1334, for an excellent analysis of the
unusually rapid growth of this attachment. As he notes: It is after all her husband
sitting before her; and even if a divine influence has altered his appearance to keep her
from recognizing him, the core of his being, the spirit [das Geistige], has remained the
same (134).
BOOKS -

T here I will lie down; but you m ake your bed here in the house,
either spreading your own bedding, or let them set up a bed for you.
(589- 95; 598- 9)
Her imagination would have them, for a moment, spending a sleep
less night in intimate talk, which she says would give her great
pleasure; but then she grows more realistic and specifies not only that
each must retire, but that each has his and her own resting place,
clearly defined and far apart. It is time to break the spell of increasing
intimacy and fascination with this extraordinary stranger. Penelope
has now had her husband called to mind several times with great
vividness. Her imagination and her unconscious mental processes
have been vigorously stirred up in xix, and the following book will
continue to show the effects of this intense stimulation after so many
years of impasse.12
Book xx begins with a depiction of Odysseus and Penelope in
parallel states of mental agitation. At first each is too excited and
upset to sleep, and when they finally are at rest, the sleep of each is
filled with the presence of the other. Odysseus dreams that Penelope
is standing by his bed, while Penelope dreams that someone just like
him (etkcAos ) as he was when he went off with the army (889)
is now sleeping beside her. Homer is showing us that Penelope has
some kind of intuitive awareness of her husbands presence but, as
suggested above, it is active on a less than conscious level. Some
modern readers may be surprised at the suggestion that an eighth-
century Be poet has the psychological insight to recognize the forces
of the human unconscious, and the narrative subtlety to show those
forces at work through the agencies of intuition, dream, and fantasy.
But it should not surprise us that great storytellers have long under
stood the deeper sources of human motivation, and the obvious
importance of dreams as wish-fulfilment and as commentary, in a
transposed mode, upon significant daytime events.13
12 The above description of xix assumes without question that it is a carefully
conceived artistic whole, , free from the structural blemishes imagined by earlier
scholars who believed that the interview was originally designed as a recognition-scene.
See Vester (op/ cit., n. 1 above) for summary and repudiation of the German Analyst
tradition and a perceptive discussion of xix and its place in the overall plot design; and
the: similar approach of Bchner, Penelopeszenen, who defends the integrity of the
Penelope-scenes in xviii and xix, and the references to her Web in ii, xix, and xxiv,
against the strictures of the Analysts.
13 Argued at length by Russo (op. cit., n. 8 above). Some present-day critics may still
.find it difficult to accept that a distinction between^feonscious and unconscious motives
has any place in the narrative vision of an archaic poet, even a great one like Homer.
:Hence:the. emphatic criticism by Emlyn-Jones (op. cit., n. 7 above) of the intuitive

12
INTRODUCTION

Now the action moves toward resolution. Telemachus and


Odysseus both become bolder in their dealings with the suitors.
Telemachus amazes them with his threat of violence against anyone
who harms the beggar (26274). Odysseus again has an object
thrown at him, this time a cows hoof; but this throw is 'distinctly
more ineffective than the two previous ones (he easily dodges it), and
Telemachus uses the occasion to threaten to kill the man who threw
it and to berate the group with his most forceful language so far.
There now follows a series of portents and other reminders that the
suitors are very near destruction. Athena creates a scene of super
natural eeriness, which the suitors cannot understand. The prophet
Theoclymenus leaves the palace immediately as he sees their doom
rushing upon them; but the suitors remain oblivious to the rhythm of
their fate and show only incomprehension at the seers abrupt
departure. All they can do is complain to Telemachus that he
chooses his guests badly, and then resume their feasting, which
Theoclymenus vision has shown us is closely tied to their forth
coming slaughter ('The meat they ate was a meal of blood . . . their
laughter sounded like lamentation, 348-9). To conclude the
twentieth book and intensify his portrayal of the contrast between the
suitors declining fortunes and the growing success of Odysseus,
Homer leaves us a final image of father and son closely bound in
silent communication based on a shared understanding (385-6),
while Penelope has moved her chair to a position right outside the
door so that she can hear all that has been said (387-9). Thus the
three family members have a position of privileged understanding
while the suitors, now more hapless than menacing, are about to eat

Penelope and the extreme psychological interpretation of her dream. His view (16,
n. 19) is that because Penelope publicly says she loathes the suitors, the poet means this
to represent her entire and uncomplicated psychological reality. Such an interpretation
fails to deal with the fact that Homer has also made her say something important
through her dream of the geese: her bitter weeping over their slaughter can only point
to some ambivalence in her true feelings toward them and their courting presence in
her halls (Russo, op. cit., 8-10). Emlyn-Jones (op. cit., 2, nn. 7 and 8) notes with
scepticism the recent tendency among American Homerists to accept some form of
unconscious or intuitive recognition of Odysseus by Penelope before the full recogni
tion of xxiii. This tendency no doubt reflects the high degree of integration of basic
Freudian theory into American intellectual life in general and our interpretation of
literature in particular. Whether it is extreme, at least as applied to the study of early
epic, is a matter of individual judgement. All interpretations are constructs that must
convince by their capacity to account for all the phenomena. I believe that many sig
nificant features of the queens relation to the beggar, and especially her instant accept
ance of his proposal of the bow-contest, are best accounted for by what is in fact a very
moderate application of the theory of the unconscious.

13
BOOKS X VI I - X X

their most unpleasant meal (392). Homer has brought us, in these
four books, from a situation where the suitors ruled in the house of
Odysseus to a situation where the hero has returned, used his god-
given disguise skilfully to win a place in the household and in
Penelope's affections, and now stands ready, with the help of his son
and the co-operation of a few loyal servants, to pass the test of the bow
and turn that weapon to the task of eliminating the hated usurpers.
Books xvii to xx have masterfully set the stage for the great
denouement.

II

The reader deserves a brief statement of the principles that have


determined the form of my commentary and the approach to Homer
emphasized therein. Given the abundance of possible information
and existing scholarship that one could cite in connection with
Homers text, I have tried to concentrate on what the attentive
reader, with or without a scholarly background in Greek, needs to
know for a good appreciation of Homer's narrative artistry. I have,
naturally, imagined this ideal reader according to my own inclina
tion. While the Odyssey is an important source of linguistic, historical,
and archaeological information, it is above all else a work of literary
art, a narrative about human character and situation rendered in a
traditional yet distinctive poetic style. Since I consider myself
primarily a literary critic, my commentary gives special emphasis to
literary interpretation, although not, I hope, at the expense of other,
sometimes more technical, information when it is pertinent.
I have assumed that the text commented upon is almost entirely
Homer's, and that its overall cohesiveness has been created by a
master storyteller who was usually in full control of his technique.
There is a long tradition in Homeric scholarship of suspecting and
suggesting deletion of many passages in our received text, a tradition
from which I wish to distance myself. These modern-day atheteses
take their origin in the practice of Aristarchus and his fellow learned
Alexandrians, who were quick to condemn what failed to appeal to
their stylistic taste. Most of the verses bracketed, condemned, or
suspected by earlier editors and commentators gave offence only
because they are common repetitions or are not smoothly integrated
into a seamless rhetorical flow. Today we know that such repetitions
and occasional stylistic and narrative awkwardness are typical of oral
compositional technique and natural in poetry that was recomposed
or slightly modified in one performance after another. Rather than

H
IN TR O D U CTIO N

run the risk, therefore, of casting doubt on words and passages that
are quite possibly Homers, I have preferred to trust, for the most
part, in the inherited manuscript tradition. I do not doubt that there
are interpolated verses in our text; but I do not share the facile
confidence of earlier editors that these can be easily identified. There
fore I have chosen not to use my commentary to rehearse what I
consider to be vain speculations of other scholars about authenticity,
nor to make any additions of my own to this unhappy scholarly
genre.
Whether the Homeric poems were composed in a purely oral
manner has been a much debated, and not yet satisfactorily
answered, question.14 But whatever we think about the genesis of the
texts before us, there can be no doubt that their style has some
resemblance to an oral style and some indebtedness to a long oral
tradition. Naturally such a style, particularly if the text before us
bears some marks of live performance,15 will lack the consistent
smoothness and felicity of a text of Theocritus, Callimachus, or
Vergil. M y personal view is that the Homeric epics were composed
without the aid of writing, but with a high degree of deliberate
artistry.16 T he Iliad and Odyssey must have been viewed by Homer
14 A good summation of this issue, with detailed bibliography, is given by
Hainsworth, pp. xvi-xxx, restated with minor changes in his essay The Epic Dialect
in vol.i of this commentary, 24-32, He inclines cautiously to the belief in an oral
Homer who dictated his poems to a scribe. See also the wide-ranging and judicious
review by J, Latacz in his introductory essay and his review of the history of the oral
theory (Einfhrung and Tradition und Neuerung -in der Homerforschung in
J. Latacz, ed., Homer: Tradition und Neuerung, Wege der Forschung cdlxiii (Darmstadt,
1979), 1-44). An earlier overview of the controversy is given by Lesky, Homeros, who
prefers a literate Homer.
13 The first argument for this possibility was made by A. B. Lord, Homers Origin
ality; Oral Dictated Texts, TAPhA lxxxiv (1953), 124-34. Among the most fruitful
applications of his theory are D. M. Gunn (Narrative Inconsistency and the Oral
Dictated Text in the Homeric Epic, A JP xci (1970), 191-203; Thematic Composition
and Homeric Authorship, HSPk Ixxv (1971), 1-31), who shows some minor narrative
inconsistencies to be a kind of characteristic of oral performance, and argues on this
basis that our text derives from the transcription of a real performance. The theory
receives further support from the fieldwork observations of M. Skafte Jensen, The
Homeric (Question and the Oral-Formulaic Theory (Copenhagen, 1980), 81-95. For a recent
application of the thesis see J. Russo, Oral Style as Performance Style in Homers
Odyssey, in J. M. Foley, ed., Comparative Research on Oral Traditions: A Memorialfor Mil-
man Parry (Columbus, Ohio, 1987).
16 This position is argued very well by Anne Amory, The Gates of Horn and Ivory,
YCS xx (1966), 35 4> and can be successfully combined with J. B. Hainsworths
observation (Criticism of an Oral Homer, JH S xc (1970), 90-8) that oral stylistic traits
dominate the small-scale construction of the epics, while qualities we associate with
literary composition dominate the large-scale structures.

15
BOOKS X V II-X X

and his audiences as his masterpieces, and in a successful career as


singer of tales he must have been called upon to perform them many
times. Such repeated performance amounts to a form of rehearsal
whose final product, while retaining small imperfections, would
achieve impressive dimensions and large-scale design. It is such a text
that I believe we have before us.
J.R.
HaverfordPennsylvania
July 1989

POSTSCRIPT

I should like at this time to give thanks to all the friends and
colleagues, too numerous to name, who have encouraged my work
and furthered my understanding of Homers Odyssey over the years. I
owe a particular debt to two scholars who gave me helpful advice at
different stages: Jenny Strauss Clay, who read through most of the
epic with me at a preliminary stage and helped me focus on those
issues in the text that deserved comment; and Henry Hoenigswald,
who was most forthcoming recently with linguistic information and
references. I also am grateful to the students to whom I have taught
the Odyssey at Haverford College over the last twenty years, and in
graduate seminars at the University of Michigan, the Johns Hopkins
University, and the University of California at Berkeley, for deepen
ing my knowledge of the poem through their comments and
questions. The constant support of my wife, Sally Wise Russo, was
not only essential but decisive in helping me complete the comment
ary at a time when I seemed in danger of extending the task in
definitely. As a final act of homage I wish to dedicate this book to the
memory of my father, Joseph H. Russo, native of Sicily and lover of
language.
August, 1990

16
B O O K XVII: C O M M E N T A R Y

Book xvii can be sum m arized in twelve narrative units, varying in length from
simple twenty-line scenes to m ore com plex scenes o f too or more verses.
Som e alternative divisions could be im agined, but most of the units w ould be
substantially the sam e in any, scheme.

1. 1-2 7 Eum aeds, T elem achus, and O dysseus confer at Eum aeus hut.
2. 27-62 Telem achus goes to the house, is curt in refusing Penelope the
news she expected, and departs to fetch Theoclym enus.
3. 63-84 T elem achus talks to the loyal Ithacans at the agora; Peiraeus
brings Theoclym enus.
4. 85-166 T elem achus returns hom e w ith the seer, bathes, tells Penelope
the news she has been eager to have.
5. 167-82 T h e suitors begin gathering at the house.
6. 182-203 T h e scene shifts to E um aeus hut. O dysseus and Eum aeus
prepare to leave.
7. 204-54 O n their way, M elanthius insults and kicks O dysseus.
8- 255-327 T h eir approach to the house. First M elanthius, then
Eum aeus and O dysseus arrive. T h e dog A rgus knows Odysseus.
9, 328-68 T h e disguised O dysseus enters the m egaron and begins
begging food at A th en as prom pting, to test the suitors character.
10. 369-491 Hostility from M elanthius, and incidents of increasing abuse
from A ntinous, who hits O dysseus with a stool instead of giving him
food. T h is m altreatm ent is criticized by the other suitors.
11. 492-588 Penelope from her cham ber has followed the action in the
megaron. She hears E um aeus account of the stranger and is eager to
m eet him . O dysseus replies, through Eum aeus, that a private interview
w ould be best, after dark, with the suitors gone. Penelope agrees.
12. 589-606 Eum aeus returns to the countryside, T elem achus assuring
him all w ill be well. T h e suitors take their pleasure in dance and the
bards songs.

1. T h is line occurs twenty tim es in the Odyssey, b u t only twice in the Iliad,
and the phrase occurs in five additional H om eric
verses. It is probably the best-rem em bered and m ost cited H om eric line
am ong the general public , and for good reason: the im age is captivating
and the assonance in the G reek is%trilang>(A. Shewan, Alliteration and
Assonance in H om er , CPh xx (1925), 199-200, notes H om ers partiality to
the sound o f ). It illustrates perfectly the conservatism o f H om eric diction:
once the perfect w ay is found to say som ething, the phrase is kept and
repeated; there is no fear o f the clich.
2- 5 . T elem achus now begins to carry out the plans m ade in private with his

17
COMMENTARY

father in the preceding book (27off.). O dysseus wanted T elem achus to go


first, and he w ou ld follow later with the swineherd, so as not to seem
connected with T elem achus.
3 . T h is w hole verse is used six times in the Odyssey (including one instance in
the accusative (in 398); the hem istich is used another
eighteen times, always to com plete a verse after the trochaic caesura of the
third foot; an d one of these verses precedes the phrase with :
\, 151. T h u s w e see illustrated the
sam e conservatism noted above for verse i, the tendency toward verbatim
repetition o f the sam e w ords for the sam e thought, usually (but not always)
keeping the sam e position and rhythm in the line. Against this normative
background, however, the poet can innovate: the verse spoken by Zeus at i
65, [note -- for --] to , reveals
a skilful variation on this form ula. T h e fact that it is the only such exam ple
shows it to b e a relatively new verse, created after the end-line form ula had
becom e familiar.
T h e purpose o f H om ers frequent verbatim repetition, according to
M ilm an Parry, was the practical one o f facilitating com position; dram atic
effect in the choice of epithets w as not supposed to concern the poet. But
critics have often dem urred from Parry s absolutism (see, for exam ple,
W illiam W hallon, T h e H om eric Epithets, T C S xvii (1961), 9 7-14 2; Parry,
Blameless Aegis thus, esp. introduction and chapter I; and for the m ost total
theoretical rejection o f Parry, P. Vivante, The Epithets in Homer (New
H aven -L o n d o n , 1983), passim). H ere in verse 3, calling Telem achus
O d y ss e u s own dear son m ust have special em otional force, in addition to
m etrical convenience, after the moving reunion in the preceding book.
T h ere is an ironic tension betw een form ula and narrative here, in that
O dysseus own dear son cannot acknowledge the bond (nor can the
disguised beggar), bu t m ust energetically dissem ble (1215) to keep
Eum aeus from suspecting anything.
3a. O n e codex includes this stock verse, which is identical to ii 3, ju s t as xvii
1 = ii 1, and xvii 2 and ii 4 end with identical half-lines. T h e opening
descriptions in each book o f T elem achus actions at dawn belong to the
same general scene type, and w e should rem em ber that w hile w e exclude
verse 3a from our norm ative text, there m ay w ell have been genuine
H om eric performances in w hich this verse about T elem achus sword did
precede verse 4 describing his spear. N ote that Book ii is again recalled
briefly here when T elem achus goes to the (marketplace) and meets
his fathers loyal friends, M entor, A ntiphon, and Halitherses (68-70), the
three Ithacans w ho spoke in his support at the assem bly in ii.
6. : father is the basic meaning, but the nuance is m ore difficult to
capture in m odem translation: papa comes closest. Linguists are agreed
that this is a word from child s language with the m eaning nurturing
father and the expressive gemination typical of similar words (Eng.
mamma, poppa; O ld H igh Germ an amma, (nurturing) m other ; O ld
Icelandic amma, grandm other ; Ital. babbo; and so on). T h e word is w idely

18
B O O K X VI I 3 - 2 3

represented throughout Indo-European, cf. Latin atta, grandfather,


G othic atta, Hittite attas, O ld Slavic otici. Eustathius 777. 54 calls the w ord
Thessalian, and at 1793. 12 says it is the term a youn g brother uses address
ing an older (brother). Chantraine, Didionnaire s.v., says that Eustathius
calls it ie terme em ploye par un jeu n e hom m e, com m e sil saddressait
son pre nourricier, which is incorrect rendering of Eustathius, although
an accurate description of G reek usage. In H om er, it is used by T ele
m achus to Eum aeus six times, and by A chilles to Phoenix twice.
10 . : the article in H om eric G reek usually retains some of its
original demonstrative force, and in fact should not be viewed as an article
but as a demonstrative pronoun in a specialized deictic usage that is in the
process of developing into the definite article as we know it in later G reek
(M onro, Homenc Dialed, 224-34; Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 158-66). T h e
m eaning here is probably som ewhere betw een him, the stranger and that
stranger, but w e cannot b e sure, since there are also instances where
H om er seems to approxim ate the A ttic usage (Chantraine, Grammaire, i
276; ii 164-5). A n interesting fact noted b y both M onro (230) and
Chantraine (164-6) is that this w eakened or A ttic usage tends to be more
frequent w ith certain nouns, in certain books of the Iliad (x, xxiii, xxiv), and
in the Odyssey generally as com pared w ith the Iliad. T h e nouns favoured for
the Odyssey are , , , , and . Y e t if
we count the actual uses with the article contrasted with those without it,
we find m uch less distinct a predilection than the w ording of M onro and
Chantraine w ould lead us to believe, with the sole exception of ^.
Singular forms o f vjjoos show the article 6 o f 56 times, o f 2 o f 50, of
3 of 7. (Plural forms reveal only in one o f 10 occurrences,
and no articles used for other cases or for any forms of .) is
preceded b y in 4 o f its 34 occurrences, while has no article in 10
appearances. B ut when w e look at we find for the two com m onest
forms, the nom inative and accusative singular, 32 of 76 instances with the
article! A d d in g the relatively infrequent genitive and dative singular, w e
get 33 of 95; and w e note again that plural forms show very little use of the
article (one o f 37, including the dual). W e m ust conclude that the process o f
evolution tow ard an A ttic usage of the definite article is m arkedly
pronounced in one area only, that bein g the use of the w ord feiVos; and it
m ust be the special im portance that the story of the Odyssey gives to
(disguised) strangers that has generated this linguistic habit, in which
H om er has left behind the norm s o f traditional epic diction and taken
advantage of a current developm ent in the language spoken around him.
20 - 1 . TqXiicos* governs both and cSsre . . . as consecutive
infinitives (Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 314). T h is construction, w hich occurs
only here and at 11. ix 42, has not yet becom e com m on like the familiar
A ttic + inf., but it reveals the origin of that construction. T his syntax
is analysed b y R uijgh, tc pique, 616. : adverbial, obey him in
all respects.
23 - iru p o s: best taken as a partitive genitive, as in II. vi 331:

19
COMMENTARY

toto \ xi 6667: \
. W e translate be warmed by the fire, but the Greek w ay of
conceiving the relationship is to be w arm ed 0/the fire , as if the fire is a
substance from which one takes a share of the warm th. epeu: this
verb is naturally associated with , as the examples given above show,
but the form is puzzling, since a passive is expected. Chantraine, Gram-
maire, 1 7 1 , 401, 459, identifies this as an aorist passive with ~ shortened
to -ecu by a metathesis well-attested for subjunctives (, ,
, etc.; and see Meister, Kunstsprache, 16 1-3 , for further details),
T h is w ould then be the only evidence for such an aorist passive of .
M onro, ad loc., suggests it m ay be a present tense intransitive form,
equivalent in m eaning to . : this noun is a hapax,
although several verbal and adjectival forms exist (Chantraine, Dictionnaire
s.v. ). T h e Scholia, the Etymologicum Magnum, A m eis-H e n tze-C a u er,
and M onro ad loc., understand it as the sun s w arm th, as do Frisk, G E W
and LfgrE. T h e more general m eaning w arm th has been advocated by
LSJ, Stanford, and Chantraine (loc. cit.), all o f w hom take it to m ean the
w arm th o f the fire in this passage. T h at gives an awkward sentence,
whereas suns w arm th gives a m uch more natural sequence, w here
O dysseus goes on to cite the poor condition o f his clothes and the threat o f
m orning frost in the next two verses. W e should recall that seasonal refer
ences to cold w eather have been m ade throughout the poem (v 467-9, vii 7,
xi 373, xiv 457, 539, xv 392, xvii 191, 572-3, xviii 328-9, xix 64), and the
w arm th of the rising sun w ould be a significant factor in taking the chill off
the land in the early m orning. Som e scholars have inferred from these
details that the Odyssey takes place between Septem ber and N ovem ber. See
J . A . Scott in CPk xi (1916), 148-55, and H ainsw orths comments at v 2 72 -
7 and vii 7.
29 . Som e scholars have been needlessly bothered by an apparent incon
sistency with Book i. A t i 1279 Telem achus first enters the house and then
puts A th en a-M en tes spear into a spear-holder () located inside
the m egaron. Here, he rests it against a colum n outside the hall before
entering. I see no reason w hy T elem achus cannot do two different things
on two different occasions. Stanford prints a variant reading,
, following Ludw ich and A m eisH entze
C auer, w hich has seem ed to some editors (I know not why) to m itigate the
supposed difficulty over the location o f the spear-holder. M onro, ad. loc.,
strangely takes this line as showing that the spear-holder was outside the
m egaron, even though the receptacle is not m entioned and we are
specifically told that he sim ply placed the spear against a colum n. A s so
often with H om er, scholarly ink has been wasted com bating shadows.
32 . : a Scholiast glosses with the m ore familiar -
. H om er knows only forms o f this verb with the stem -, never the
form com m on in later Greek. T h e final -a o f is lost b y
apocope, loss o f a final vowel before a consonant (whereas elision is loss of
final vowel before a vowel), very com m on in H om eric G reek for the

20
B O O K XVI I 23-46

prepositions , , (cf. the familiar forms , -


, ). N orm ally after loss of -a the final -r of assim
ilates to the following consonant and doubles it, but where the consonant is
already double, the is sim ply dropped, as in . Further details in
Chantraine, Grammaire, i 878.
35 . ituveov: the scansion ^ ^ is unexpected, since metrical position before
final v is not am ong the special conditions that allow lengthening (Meister,
Kunstsprache, 34-42; Chantraine, Grammaire, i 97-105; initial v, on the other
hand, like the other liquids , , p , and the spirant a, often has the power to
lengthen preceding short vowels: M onro, Homeric Dialect, 344). It is the inter
esting observation of M onro, ad loc., and Homeric Dialed, 349, that a distinct
tendency exists for 3rd-plural forms of secondary tenses (-ov and
-) to count as long, but it is confined to the Odyssey (eleven times) and the
Iliadic Catalogu e o f Ships (seven times), with another example at II. vii 206.
37 . : with long -t, w hich m ay be the original quantity (Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 217; Dictionnaire s.v., notes a possible M ycenaean Atimite =
), but it is also com m on for dat. sing. -1 to be long by metrical
convenience. In this case the digam m a of () w ould prevent correp-
tion. M onro, Homeric Dialect, 3467, is no doubt correct in envisaging an
original long -i w hich epic poets cam e to treat as a poetic licence available
w hen they needed it.
T h e choice of A rtem is and A phrodite together as a comparison for
Penelope is especially felicitous. Earlier in vi 102, H om er had used a simile
o f Artem is to describe the youn g and virginal Nausicaa, and later Odysseus
uses the same com parison directly addressed to N ausicaa (vi 149-52). In
our passage, Penelope has been a chaste Artemis-figure during O dysseus
twenty-year absence, but she is at the same time a desired sexual object or
Aphrodite-figure every tim e she appears before.the suitors. H ence the dual
com parison (repeated at xix 54) is m ost apt.
39- 42 . T h ese four verses are identical with xvi 15, 224. In xvi a simile (16
21) separates the first verse from the next three, a simile in w hich Eum aeus
tearfully greets Telem achus as a father receives a beloved only son w ho
returns from dangers in a distant land, after a ten years absence. H ere in
xvii the simile has becom e reality: Penelope tearfully greets her only son
who has, indeed, narrow ly escaped death returning from a distant land.
(47: i , xvi 21: <Ss 0 ). Penelope
knew about the danger o f the suitors am buscade, while Eum aeus did not;
hence in xvi the danger is expressed in the world of the simile, since it could
not find expression in the conscious m ind of one of the characters.
46 . . . . : the first can be understood as a dative of interest,
designating the person w ho is particularly interested in the statement and
especially com m on with the unaccented pronouns , , o f
(Chantraine, Grammaire, U 71; or possibly as the closely related ethical
dative, as in vii 303, ix 42 (cf. Chantraine, op. cit. 72). Its m eaning
approaches that of please . T h e second is a simple possessive dative,
m y heart in m y chest . T h e closely related verbs and show a
COMMENTARY

subtle distinction here, the first m eaning to set in m otion, the second to
put in com m otion, to trouble .
47 . irep: here intensive rather than concessive (contra A m eisH entzeCauer,
ad loc.): since I have (barely) escaped . T h e same intensive m eaning of irep
holds for 13 above. T hese two instances are good exam ples o f w hat
Denniston, Particles, 482, distinguishes as determ inative nep, closely
related to the intensive function, signifying that the speaker concentrates
on [something] to the exclusion of other things .
48- 53 . T elem achus full ascendancy to power within his household is now
seen, com pleting the process begun by his new independence (inspired by
Athena) as revealed in his trip to Pylos and Sparta. His independent strong-
mindedness looks to us like rudeness: he not only refuses to answer his
m others question, he refuses to acknowledge it. His only concern is to
com plete w hat he considers more urgent business of his own, the reclaim
ing of Theoclym en us from Peiraeus.
57 . E'H s o p , a ir r c p o s ? : this much-
discussed line is one of the great cruces of the Odyssey. It reappears at xix 29,
xxi 386, and xxii 398, where Eurycleia is addressed by Telem achus,
Eum aeus, and T elem achus again. Scholarly opinion has been divided on
two distinct problem s: (1) does the belong to the speaker or to the
person addressed? (2) w hat does ai mean? A likely answer to either
question w ould help answer the other.
M a n y have thought that since Penelope and Eurycleia, when addressed
in these passages, make no answer and proceed to carry out T elem achus
or E um aeus orders, the phrase m ust prepare for this action and m ean she
m ade no response (but did as she was told) . O n this reading the
belongs to the w om an addressed and <i7 m eans it goes unspoken.
T h is view is favoured by M on ro ad loc., A m e is -H e n tz e -C a u e r (and
defended at length in the Anhang), and is argued with skill and subtlety b y
J. Latacz in Glotta xlvi (1968), 2738, interpreting the silence of Penelope
and E urycleia as pregnant with an unexpressed emotion w hich Unexpected
coldness or surprising content in the utterance of an intim ate person has
forced the w om en to repress. (T h e hem istich thus becom es another of the
silence-formulas studied by S. Besslich, Schweigen.) O th er scholars,
however, em hasizing the regularity of H om ers dictional habits, have m ade
a convincing argum ent for referring the to the speech ju s t m ade
(P. M azon, R G lxiii (1950), 14 -19 ; J. B. Hainsworth, Glotta xxxviii(ig6o),
2638). In sim ilar situations we find a verse w hose first h alf says so he (she)
spoke and w hose second half describes the effect of this utterance using the
w ord . Cf. (, ),
(7 X )i , "
(II. 493); ? , &8e S " (2 X). It is
most likely that our verse should be interpreted analogously.
B ut if the is the speech o f Telem achus, w hat does it m ean to call it
? T h e a- can be privative or intensive, and ancient lexicographical
tradition is aware of both possibilities. (M odern scholarship is sim ilarly

22
B O O K X V I I 46-57

divided over w hether at A . Ag. 276 m eans swift or unfledged ,


although at Eu. 51 and 250 it clearly m eans w ithout w ings .) Schol, on this
line agree w ith the Etymologicum Magnum in glossing as (1) swift
(as flight) ?, epos and (2) abiding, not flying away ; the E M
adds (3) pleasing and Schol. (4) ready (, a m eaning attributed to
Herodian); and finally the Lexicon o f A pollonius the Sophist has swift
followed b y pleasing or gen tle (). It is noteworthy that nowhere
does the m eaning w ingless = unexpressed or ineffective appear. M ean
ings (3) and (4) are generally found useless. M ean ing (2) makes the
assum ption that the function o f w ings or feathers, , is to help the
w ord fly aw ay so as to be lost. Such an interpretation w ould m ake the
fam iliar form ula rather peculiar (pace F. M . Com bellack,
W ords that D ie , C J xlvi (19 50 -1), 2 1-6 , w ho argues for precisely this
interpretation).
L et us clarify as part o f the problem of interpreting .
J. A . K . T h o m p son , CQ, xxx (1936), 1 - 3 , and J. Latacz, loc. cit., have m ade
a strong case for as feathered w ords , ascribing the
m etaphor to arrow s not birds (cf. II. iv 117, v 171, xvi 773, xx 68). T h e y are
followed b y S. W est on Od. i 122, q.v. Leaf, Iliad, on v 453 (= xii 426), gloss
ing the obscure used o f shields, suggests fluttering as
the m eaning that suits all the applications o f , and it is attractive to
avoid a forced choice betw een w inged and feathered as the sole
alternatives. C h an traine, Dictionnaire s.v. , defines as that
w hich is used to fly , i.e. neither w ing nor feather but a broader m eaning
that encom passes both and is not easily translated. I w ou ld render
, then, as flying easily or equipped to fly, applicable to both
w ords and arrows and suggesting swift motion. (T he
rem ain a special case w hose m ean ing is unclear.)
H o w then should w e understand ? A n y idea that the ju st
spoken does not fly easily to its goal is refuted b y the context: Penelope and
E urycleia clearly receive the m essage, and proceed to obey it. W e m ust
choose, finally, to accept the first m eaning, swift, with intensive alpha.
T h e persuasive evidence is in the phrase S in
Hesiod, fr. 204 M W , line 84, w hich describes the speedy com pliance of
H elen s suitors w ith the oath that T yndareos makes them swear. T h e
phrase com es from the sam e form ulaic nexus as H om er s roi 8
, II. iii 260, , Od. 288. T h e adverb
is also found in archaic G reek in Parm enides fr. 1. 17 D K , w here
the m eaning swift seems certain, and it reappears.in several Hellenistic
authors. W e should therefore p robably accept in H om eric diction the
coexistence o f two w ords, and , of approxim ately the
sam e m eaning ( swift as/in flight), w hich can seem to be opposites and
have for centuries confused interpreters. T h e w inged w ords and w ingless
speech fam iliar from som e English versions w ould then be the products of
inaccurate etym ologizing.
A m o n g m odern authorities only M azon offers the interpretation

23
COMMENTARY

favoured above. Hainsworth agrees that the belongs to the speaker


and that rrrepos is swift , but on the basis o f an original lost *,
from w hich enea -nrepevra would derive via false division of ewe
anrepevra. For other discussions see M . Durante, Rendiconti dellAccademia
dei Linen xiii (1958), 314 (repr. in G erm an in R. Schmitt, Indogermanische
Dichtersprache (Darmstadt, 1966), 242-60); M . van der Valk, A C xxxv
(1966), 59-64; E. G. Yorke, CQ ,xxx (1936), 15 1-2 ; M . R. Jacks, CR xxxvi
(1922), 7 0 -1; S. W est, i 122 .; Hainsworth, viii 346.; Hoekstra, xiii 165 .
62 . lives : this phrase and kvvcs 8 are descriptive
formulas com m only used to nam e dogs in H om eric narrative. In this epic
style fam iliar things all have their standing epithets, which relate them to
the w orld o f heroic action. So ju st as spears are long, or sharp, or fitted with
bronze, so dogs are always swift5 or swift in their feet . H ere the M S
variant swift-footed dogs5 is in terms of H om eric style as authentic5 as the
reading we have printed (following the greater M S authority), and we m ust
rem em ber that in the H om eric original , which means a performance, the
replacem ent o f a standard phrase by its equivalent w ould not be unusual.
See further 292 . for -
63- 4 . It is one of A th en as characteristic services to enhance her favourites by
pouring divine grace5 upon them. T h e recipients are T elem achus (here
and ii 12) and Odysseus (vi 235, viii 19; and cf. vii 42 for a variant with a
disguising mist), which underscores their closeness and the fact that the
son, in the course of the story, is growing increasingly like his father. A
different enhancem ent formula is used for Penelope at xviii 192.
66. : a m ost interesting w ord, used seven times in the
Odyssey (cf. below 465, 491; also iv 676, viii 273, ix 316, xx 184), never in the
Iliad, and in Hesiod only at Scut. 30. T h e meaning, to m editate secretly5, is
derived b y com bining the etym ological sense, to build in the deep5, with
the idea o f m ental space, here specified by i but norm ally not verbally
expressed. It is always meant in malam partem and join ed with (Scut.
30 has instead ). T his w ord is at hom e in the Odyssey, w hich contains
so m uch disguise, dissem bling, and intense secret planning, and em ploys a
correspondingly more elaborate vocabulary in this area than does the Iliad.
T h is w hole verse is unusual in contrasting good specious things spoken
with evil thoughts hidden in the speakers mind. T h e heroic epic norm is
quite the contrary, with its expected unity o f word and deed, sum m ed up
in Phoenix s statement o f Peleus charge to him concerning the education
of Achilles: re re ^, II. ix 443. W ords
are also expected to be com m ensurate with the quality of ones thoughts,
so that A lcinous can say to Odysseus: ooi 8 , vi 8e
, Od. xi 367. W e see then that in epic terms H om er is m aking
a serious criticism o f the suitors.
72. : the scansion o f this com m on phrase is always ^ ----, with the
digam m a (8 < *8) keeping its force to m ake position.
85- 95 . Descriptions of guests arrival, their reception, their hand-washing,
and their being served food b y servants, are am ong the com m on repeated

24
B O O K XVI I 57-140

passages in H om er. T h e y are analysed and discussed, together with other


such typical scenes , by Arend, Scenen. For a full discussion of composition
by theme as a device of oral poetics, see Lord, Singer, ch. 4.
87 . : on this pre-Greek w ord for bath-tub and its importance
in M ycenaean culture, see S. West, iii 468 . and Hainsworth, viii 450,
10 1-6. A nother exam ple of how the tension between m other and son leads
Penelope to com m unicate by indirection. H er statement, am returning
to m y bed and m y w eeping now; and you didnt tell me the news about
your father , is her w ay of suggesting that although he refused to answer
her question earlier (44 ff.), she is now giving him a second chance. In being
indirect, she avoids the risk o f encountering, a second time, the direct
rebuff that a direct request m ight bring.
119 . 0 Q>v : is this a reference to the Judgem ent of Paris, where it was
the clash of the goddesses wills that led to the abduction of H elen and the
T rojan W ar? O r is it m erely the stock phrase for the theological suggestion
that divine will is behind all significant hum an travail? I incline to the
former, partly because it gives m ore m eaningfully coherent syntax for the
w hole relative clause from eiW/ca, and partly because the one clear refer
ence in H om eric epic to the T ro jan W a r (II. xxiv 3 12) is also oblique,
w hich suggests that the legend was so w ell known it needed almost no
mention in the epics and could be evoked b y the slightest allusion.
124-41 = iv 333-50. T elem achus repeats M enelaus speech verbatim.
130 . : presum ably two youn g fawns are meant, the o f
127. A m e is -H e n tz e -C a u e r and M onro both understand to
refer to the com bination o f both doe and fawns, which is unidiom atic as
well as im probable because we were told at 128-9 that the doe was -
elsewhere. T h e scholia on iv 339 show that Aristophanes was the first
critic to interpret this w ay, but referring to the doe and only
one fawn, influenced by Aristotles belief (cited in the same scholia) that
does norm ally bore single offspring (presum ably then Aristophanes read
at 127). Stanfords note (which seems to misread the opinions of
both Aristophanes and Aristotle) makes the convincing point that since the
simile equates the fawns w ith the suitors, their mother, like the suitors
parents, w ould be rem oved from danger.
133 . : seems to have rem ained a favourite epithet of Lesbos, if w e
can take A nacreon s (fr. 358 P) as continuing the
tradition.
134 . Philom eleides is explained b y Eustathius as a king of Lesbos who
challenged every new com er to a w restling match. W e know nothing else
about this exploit of O dysseus.
140 . : H om eric use o f the definite article as relative pronoun is norm ally
restricted to cases w here the noun or pronoun im m ediately precedes, as
seen in . . . and , i at i 16 -17 and 23. For the rule, see
M onro, Homenc Dialect, 231, w ho cites this verse (= iv 349) and II. i 125 as
the sole exceptions. H e suggests the possibility of reading 0 , which
is developed further b y G . M . Bolling (W ackem agels Psilotic H om er ,

25
COMMENTARY

CPh xli (1946), 233), who points out that this could have been written
, facilitating the corruption to .
153 . : does this refer to M enelaus or Telem achus? Com m entators have
been divided over this point, but the reference m ust be to M enelaus for
several reasons: (1) It w ould be awkward and rude for T heoclym enus to
refer thus to the deficiencies of his host T elem achus. (2) oSe not 6 ye
w ould be more likely if Telem achus were the one meant. (3) Since the
contrast is between one whose knowledge is partial and limited, and one
who is clairvoyant (the speaker), the most fitting reference w ould b e to
the contrast between M enelaus, whose report of what Proteus said is both
second-hand and already dated, and the direct testim ony of T h e o
clym enus, w hich comes through no interm ediary and is com pletely new.
T h is contrast is pointed by the repetition of , 141 and 154,
w hich shows that Theoclym enus revelation of the truth concerning
O dysseus is to be taken as a replacem ent for the earlier version received
from M enelaus.
160 - 1 . T h e scholiast notes that in the com m on () editions lines
150-65 are athetized, while in the better ones () it is only
1601 (T heoclym enus statement that he was on the ship when he saw the
bird). T hese two verses are inconsistent with xv 499 fr., where T elem achus
and T heoclym enus have already disem barked and are on shore when the
om en appears (cf. esp. 527-8); but see no good reason to doubt the lines if
we keep in m ind two important points: (1) T h e w ord athetized ()
represents, as M onro in his com m entary ad loc. reminds us, the ju d g e
m ent o f a critic, not the reading o f a m anuscript . T h a t is, the received text
known to Aristarchus contained all these lines and critical doubt was
focused on them, especially 160-1, because of the factual inconsistency
with Book xv. (2) A few small inconsistencies of detail o ccur throughout the
Iliad and Odyssey, as they do in all epic poetry that is com posed not for a
readership but for an audience that is to follow with their ears in recitation
b y instalments. A slip like the inconsistency at 1601 is b y no m eans a sign
o f spuriousness, but on the contrary it can be taken as evidence for the
oral conditions of creation or performance of this episode. As van der Valk
puts it, this kind of inaccuracy shows m erely the poets neglect o f former
data in order to stress the present situation ( T h e Form ulaic Character of
H om eric Poetry , A C xxxv (1966), 228), which is one of the cardinal
features o f oral narrative.
163 - 5 . T hese same three lines are spoken earlier by T elem achus to
T heoclym enus at xv 536-8, and will be spoken later by Penelope to the
disguised Odysseus, xix 30911. In such recurrences we are sometimes
justified in seeing more than formulaic repetition for the kind o f m erely
functional convenience that was noted above in the com m ent on 85-95.
T hese three lines have a different context each time they are spoken, and
acquire a more powerful dram atic irony in each successive context, as the
crisis o f O dysseus return builds to its climax.
182 . A change o f scene at mid-verse is unusual, but seems to appeal to the

26
B O O K XVI I 140-212

poet in this section of the narrative, since he does it again at 260 and did it
earlier at xv 495.
191 . : towards evening . T h e sole use o f / with
tem poral sense in H om er, see Chantraine, Gmmmaire, ii 133. p iy to v :
colder . T h e com parative is norm ally m etaphorical in H om er and
means worse , rather unpleasant (xx 220; II. i 323, 563, xi 405; and cf.
(), which always means shuddered with distaste). T h e fact that
this passage offers the one exception is another sign o f the poets deter
m ination to em phasize the chilly weather, noted in the com m ent on 23 ad
fin .
196. : is for ?, a scholion tells us, but commentators have
been unhappy with this explanation, since the word norm ally means
threshold in H om er. M on ro suggests if it were an lonicism for ? it
should have becom e the m ain form, like and . W e must con
clude either (1) with M onro, that it is the w ord threshold in a special
restricted sense applied to a road, and m eans road-w ay (M onro compares
L atin agger viae); or, with m ore likelihood, (2) that it is indeed an Ionic form
of ?, b u t was inhibited from spreading in the Epic language because o f
the possibility of confusion with ? = threshold. A third alternative, to
prefer the reading ? o f a few M S S , has nothing to recom m end it.
B elow at 204 w e have - referring to this same road (it is
this rockiness that m akes it very treacherous, ), which
strengthens the likelihood that ? and ? are exactly the same thing.
T h is is the view of Chantraine, Grammaire, i 104, w ho explains the
lengthening as analogical influence of ?, threshold , an interpretation
supported with detailed analysis b y W yatt, Lengthening, 226-7.
207 . Ithakos, Neritos, and Polyktor are identified b y scholion V as the
founders first of C ephallenia and then o f Ithaca,, w ho gave their names first
to the islands and then to M t Neritus. T h e story is attributed to Acusilaus.
Scholia B Q add that Polyktor gave his nam e to Polyktorion, a place in
Ithaca of w hich nothing else is known. T h e nam e Polyktor appears as
father of the suitor Pisander, xviii 299, xxii 243; but since the nam e also
appears at I i xxiv 397, this O dyssean appearance m ay carry no special
significance and m ay simply be a typical heroic significant name, M uch -
possessing.
208. : although all the MSS read 7 7 v, it is quite possible that H om er
originally said eev, a com m on form elsewhere, w hich here w ould have the
virtue o f avoiding a spondee in the fifth foot.
212 . Enter M elanthius the palace goatherd, the one m ale servant who has
allied him self with the suitors. Conspicuous for his disloyalty, he is the
exact negative counterpart o f loyal Eum aeus, ju st as his sister M elantho
(xviii 321 ff., xix 60 ff.) is the b ad counterpart o f the faithful Eurycleia. H ere
as elsewhere, the Odyssey shows a certain curious taste for doublets and
opposing pairs. T o the doublet M elanthius/M elantho add Circe/Calypso,
D em odocus/Phem ius, Cyclopes/Laestrygonians, A ntinous/Eurym achus,
E urycleia/Eurynom e, M entes/M entor; and perhaps the pairing of

27
COMMENTARY

Phem ius and M edon as two professionals (^, see note on


383) w ho served the suitors but were not disloyal, are accordingly
spared at xxii 330-80, and are still treated as a duo at xxiv 439. As
opposed pairs, consider Clytem nestra/Penelope and A gam em n on /O d ys
seus, Circe (Calypso)/N ausicaa, Polyphem us/A lcinous (who share
descent from Poseidon but are antithetical hosts), M elanthius/Eum aeus,
M elanthius/Philoetius, M elantho/Eurycleia, Antinous/A m phinom us,
Sirens/Leucothoe.
218 . T h is verse seems to be a proverb, and is quoted as such by later authors.
A ll recent editors accept the M S S , w hile acknowledging that
there is no evidence for ? = e b before A ttic Greek. Stanford notes that
Plato (Lysis 214a) and H ippocrates (Khn 1, 390 and 392) quote the line
with , and he suggests that their influence, together with A ristotles
citation o f the line with 5 (Rh. i 11. 25. 1371b), has elim inated an
original H om eric s . I believe this is so (with one correction: Aristotle
quotes not the line but ju st the proverbial phrase ai ei , the
first hemistich). T h a t a blatant Atticism has crept into our text is further
suggested by Callim achus fr. 178 Pfeiffer, 9 -10 (cited by von der M h ll and
Stanford as fr. 8): 3 ";, aiv \ , ,
. T his final piece of evidence is sufficient, in m y judgem ent,
to warrant the unusual step of restoring e? to the text against all the M S
testimony.
219 . : an abusive term o f uncertain meaning, used again by Irus
o f O dysseus at xviii 28. T h e scholia give what seem to be silly etym ologiz
in g explanations, deriving the w ord from or
, one w ho goes after food, som eone with a raging
belly (). T h e sam e m eaning, glutton, is suggested by
Chantraine, Minos, xii (1952), pp. 203-5. M o d e m commentators have
related it to , a young w ild pig (Ael. NA vii 47). A elian goes on to
say that H ipponax (68d = 114&W) refers to the pig (boar) itself as -
. Either m eaning w ou ld be appropriate here: calling O dysseus a
seeker after food w ould accord with the abusive w ords that follow at 220
and 228, and w ould also anticipate O dysseus5 own characterization of
him self as driven by a hungry belly (473, 559; xviii 364, 380); while, as
Stanford points out, calling him a kind of pig w ould be a jo k e on E um aeus5
position as swineherd. A n alternative m eaning for , hairless5,
pest-ridden, o r diseased5, is suggested b y E . C oughanow r, T h e M ean in g
o f in H om er5, CQ, xxix (*979), 229k, based on interesting
linguistic evidence from m o d em G reek and the suitability of this m eaning
for uses of in post-H om eric Greek.
220. : is found only here and at 377,
and this expression has been interpreted two ways: either spoiler
(destroyer) of feasts5 or lick-plate, i.e. one w ho eats the left-over food. Both
glosses are in the scholia and both meanings are cited by LSJ, w ho seem,
like m ost translators, to favour the less convincing first interpretation, while
Ebeling, Lexicon, and A m e is -H e n tz e -C a u e r favour the second. T h e issue

28
B O O K X VI I 212-231

seems settled by T . A . Sinclair, O n T w o W ords in H om er, in Festschft F.


Dornsieff zum 65 Geburtstag (Leipzig, 1953), 330-3, w ho shows that the
m eaning spoiler or destroyer m ust have com e from confusion with Attic
(from ), to dam age , and that the is one
w ho cleans up the discarded scraps (cf. 8, Call., Cer,
115) after a m eal, a likely function for beggars in H om eric society.
221. . . . : w ill rub his shoulders on m any
doorposts, i.e. will m any tim es be ru bbing his shoulders on doorposts, a
m etonym ic transfer of tem poral to m odifying . T h e
M S S divide betw een , an old A eolic form, and the better-known
. I suspect, following van der V alk, Textual Ctism, 101, and
Shipp, Studies, 344, that the more com m on form has driven out the rare
and authentic one, probably a change m ade b y Zenodotus (so von der
M h ll, apparatus, and L udw ich, A H T 1619). In support of I note
that it is the form recorded in A pollonius the Sophist s Lexicon Homencum,
and that it adds m ore alliterative force to M elanthius abusive outburst.
Echo and alliteration are characteristic o f his abuse (? 217,
2 iS, , 219 )
? 222, 224>
228), and seems part of H om er s careful, consistent delineation of this
m inor character. See further com m ent on M elanthius rhetoric in the note
to 231-2. For more detail on the linguistic peculiarities of M elanthius
speech, see Shipp loc. .cit.
225 . : is a knoll or swelling of the ground, and so -
is the swelling o f the upper thigh caused by the large m uscle there.
A gain, as so often in xvii and xviii, echo o f phrase or of narrative m otif links
the two books: at xviii 74 the suitors w ill marvel that the old m an has such a
powerful thigh ( . . . ) w hen he pulls back his ragged
clothing, girding for the fight with Irus.
231 - 2 . A lthough accurately characterized b y M on ro as a piece of exaggera
tion or inversion o f the natural statement, suited to the rough hum our of
the speech , these verses have seem ed to critics (beginning with the scholia)
as awkward or strained, for two reasons: (1) it seems inconsistent for stools
to be sim ultaneously around the head and hitting the nbs\ (2) the ribs are said
to w ear out the stools, whereas the naturalistic truth w ould have the stools
w earing out the ribs. Solutions have been sought in the M S variants
and (neut. pi. as at II, iv 468, xi 437), both of them un
necessary and unattractive, , w hich w ould give the more credible
picture o f the stools w earing out the ribs, must scan with short final syllable
-s, giving us an -stem w ith short acc. pi., a phenom enon found at least
eight times in Hesiod (G. P. Edwards, The Language of Hesiod (Oxford,
1971), 140ff.) but never in H om er (W. F. W yatt, Short Accusative
Plurals in G reek , TAPhA xcvii (1966), 617 ff., esp. 6 18 f.). T h e form
has very w eak M S authority and w ou ld introduce an illegitimate hiatus
before (although such hiatus does occur occasionally in
H om eric diction: Chantraine, Grammaire i 90-2). Alternatively, one

29
COMMENTARY

could read with Bothe. But I find the m ajority reading


quite attractive. M elanthius language is characterized by strong and even
excessive metaphors (see 218, 221-2, 225, 228). H e is an impressive rustic
rhetorician, and in this case he has m ade effective use o f the syntactic
am biguity inherent in the G reek neuter plural, b y beginning his statement
as if were to be his subject and he were about to
describe what the stools flying about the beggars head would do; and then
he surprises his audience by revealing that the stools are the object and are
acted upon by the ribs. T h e result is a crudely conceived exaggeration, to
be sure, but it suits the speaker and is more effective for its roughness. As
for the inconsistency in the stools being both around the head and at the
ribs, we m ight be justified in taking as not literal and local but
as a phrase expressing the looser sense o f around yo u , as if were
m etonym ic for the w hole person, as is idiomatic in Greek.
235- 8 . | . . . 8 : an interesting deviation
from the H om eric norm for describing the act o f pondering ()
alternatives. T h e person always weighs two alternatives, and regularly
chooses to act upon the second nam ed, as for exam ple at xviii 90-4, in a
confrontation between O dysseus and Irus similar to this one with
M elanthius. Here, however, both alternatives are disregarded in favour of a
third possibility, which is a unique feature for such -scenes.
A nother unusual feature is that the new alternative chosen is not action but
the suppression o f action, literally the repression, by an act o f will, of the
norm al im pulse to act. H ence the novel phrase com bination,
, ' . - scenes are discussed as one of the
typical scenes in A ren d (see note to 85-95), and in fullest detail by
Christian Voigt, berlegung und Entscheidung (Berlin, 1933), esp. 47 n. 2 and
80-1, where deviations from the basic pattern are discussed.
237 . : a hapax of disputed meaning. Bechtel, Lexilogus s.v., accepts
Fick s proposal o f an original spelling from * and the
m eaning by both ears . Such a com ic im age w ould have been appropriate
to the tone of M elanthius m ocking speech, but I find it hardly consonant
with the serious and angry m ood provoked in O dysseus, w ho, w e must
note, is seriously considering killing the man. Perhaps more likely is the
interpretation (LSJ, followed by Stanford) that takes as an
adverbial derivative o f , like from and from
, with the m eaning around the m iddle . W ith this w ould
describe a wrestling hold on the body and then w ould be the
fatal dashing o f the head against the ground. A m e is-H e n tz e -C a u e r cite a
parallel from T erence, Ad. iii 2 18: sublim em m edium arriperem et capite
in terram statuerem, ut cerebro dispergat viam. O n e obstacle to this
adverbial interpretation is the ~ov- in place o f the -v- found in the norm al
adverbial formation. T h e fullest discussion of this problem atic passage is
b y A . G . Tsopanakis, , Hellenika, xii (1951), 7993, w ho prefers
th e v .l. .
248 . : it is a typically Hom eric habit o f language to describe

30
B O O K X V I I 231-266

som eones state of m ind or character as knowing plus a neuter plural


object o f the participle. T h u s m en who are friends are described as
etSres , a good w om an is KcSva iSuta; and a variety of
tem peram ents are described in phrases like trem/ (,
, ) , regularly constituting the fourth colon of the verse.
T h is habit of language is discussed by H erm ann Frankel, Early Greek Poetry
and Philosophy (New Y o rk -L o n d o n , 1975), 79-83, w ho skilfully relates it to
the characteristic H om eric (and prim arily Iliadic) world-view, in which
there is no cleavage between feeling and the corporal situation . . . If what
man wills and is, is straightway and w ithout hindrance transformed into
action, then every hum an trait and every character passes unchecked into
outward expression and achievem ent (79; and see esp. 82. For the different
O dyssean conception o f m an, see pp. 85-93, and m y note above on line
66). is a w ord of som e am biguity. It is either related to (cf.
'?) and means destructive (but then where does the ~~ com e from?),
or, perhaps more likely, to (xix 565; - 388) and means
deceitful, tricky . LSJ s.v. says the Iliadic m eaning is
destructive-m inded w hile the O dyssean m eaning is devious, deceitful .
257 . : at first sight one w ou ld think = Eurym achus, the person
m entioned im m ediately preceding. B u t the pronoun m ust refer to
M elanthius, since w e can see from passages like vii 171 and IL iii 388 that
this kind o f abrupt change o f subject is typical of H om eric diction, and
furthermore that more likely refers to the m ore powerful party
favouring the dependent and w eaker one.
262 . : this adjective, regularly translated sm ooth or hollow , is
most frequently applied to ships, but also used of caves, once of rock
(), and twice (here and viii 257) of the bards lyre (as also at h.Ap. 183
and h.Merc. 64). T h e quality that suits all three m ust be that of being
hollowed out, rather than smooth or polished. . avd . . .
: Phem ius is striking up the prelim inary m usical phrases (
261-2) to his actual recitation (deiSetv). T h e same m eaning
suits detSetv at i 155, bu t seems somewhat less appro
priate to viii 266ff., w here the sequence dve/3dAAero detSecv | '
"Apeos , \ moves
so quickly from into the content of the song, that w e m ay be
justified in taking the phrase in a different, m ore general, sense, started up
singing about A res and A phrodite . . .
263 . ; Stanford translates Fam e-giver, son o f D elight (see xxii 33~
1, w here his patronym ic is given with his name), stressing
H om ers constant attention to significant names, which we have noted
often.
266 . : the antecedent is in 264. T h e interconnec
tion of halls suggests an elaborate architecture and elevated life-style suffi
cient to impress even a form er C retan noblem an such as the beggar claims
to be. o i: like tv in 268, refers back to viewed now as a
collective singular.

31
COMMENTARY

267 . : the m ajority o f M S S read , although the fairly well-


attested variant (w ell-built) is attractive for several reasons.
norm ally means w ell-fenced as at xxi 389, xxii 449, II. ix 472,
describing a courtyard (). Its use to describe doors, with a shift in
m eaning to w ell-protecting, is certainly possible; but in a context here
that stresses the craftsmanship and style o f construction of the palace,
seems the more perfectly chosen word. See also the following
note.
268 . : com m entators divide over whether this word, a
hapax Ugomenon, m eans w ould scorn it (from , arrogant) or
w ould overpower it (from , w eapon), a division that goes back to
the scholia and admits no easy solution. A pollonius the Sophists Lexicon,
s.v., records that Aristarchus gave the second interpretation. I w ould call
attention to the reappearance of twenty lines later at 288, joined
with ju st as is associated with
(ei)?). In both instances good construction is em phasized, which
leads m e to suggest a different m eaning for 268: no m an could equip it
better, i.e. no man could surpass it in accoutrements. T his interpretation is
supported by , xxiii 143, describing the serving-
w om en of the household adorning themselves, in order to give the illusion
of a w edding feast as ordered by O dysseus. Since is to adorn or
equip finely, then is to surpass in adornm ent or equip
m ent . T his interpretation has been largely overlooked in the past, the only
exception I could find being van der Valk, Textual Criticism, 127, who
sim ply translates to surpass, with no discussion o f its being a hapax and no
explanation o f how it comes to have this meaning.
270 . : has risen into the air . I should prefer the vulgate
to Aristarchus . Both variants (sometimes com pounded with -)
occur several times in Hom er. M ost scholars have favoured (Leaf,
Iliad, on ii 219, xi 266; Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v.) as a reduplicated
o-grade pf. or ppf. from the same stem as (-, ~; see Risch,
Wortbildung, para. 12lb), the m eaning being rose up , appeared on the
surface , ju st as avflos is that w hich appears on the top o f a growing plant.
T h is interpretation (V. Pisani, Rendiconti dellTstituto Lombardo lxxvii (1944),
548) finds further support in the m etaphoric verb , to be on the
surface , com m on in later (Classical) Greek. T his whole line o f inter
pretation is doubted by Frisk, G E W s.v., who w ould connect /
with , come, go , attested in Doric, Delphian, and Arcadian,
possibly a by-form of .
269- 71 . A tradition com m on to the heroic epic o f m any nations shows the
song and harp as natural concomitants o f the aristocratic feast. T h e locus
classicus for G reek epic is O dysseus speech to Alcinous, ix 2 -1 1 , where this
scene is presented not m erely from the poets external and objective point
o f view, but is com m ented upon appreciatively from the inside by one of
the characters. O dysseus calls such a scene the most satisfying (-
) and most beautiful () thing he knows of. A good exam ple

32
B O O K X VI I 267-287

outside of classical epic is the brilliant scene of the feast in Heorot in


Beowulf, n 6 ff.
272 . , E up cuc : the poets direct address to Eum aeus is
striking. T his sam e verse occurs 13 times in the Odyssey, and two others end
with , te after a different introductory hemistich
characterizing the tone o f E um aeus address (xiv 325, xxii 194). T h e poet
began apostrophosizing the swineherd at xiv 53. T h is apostrophe is
intriguing because (1) the conventions o f epic norm ally prevent the poet
from speaking in propria persona; (2) a swineherd, or any servant, would
seem unworthy f bein g so singled out, since we m ust take apostrophe as a
form o f praise. H om er s purpose in em ploying apostrophe has been adm ir
ably treated by A d am Parry, Lan guage and Characterization in H om er ,
HSCPh lxxvi (1972), 9-22. Parry rejects the idea that this use of the second
person and vocative is m erely a function o f m etrical convenience; instead,
he finds a definite pattern in the w ay H om er comes to settle on this formula
o f direct address. H om er first addresses Eum aeus at xiv 35, but when
Eum aeus answers at 121, it is 8 , plus the half-line
w hich was first used at xiv 22. H om er returns to
the second-person apostrophe at 165 and 360, but at 401 adopts a different
third-person alternative, ,
w here the final half-line is an exact replacem ent for ,
. From this point on, however, every speech of Eum aeus is intro
duced by the second-person form ula (twelve instances). C learly, Parry
says, the poet simplified his choice, and in this direction [i.e. toward the
second person] because the apostrophe, however m ildly it is felt, was
appropriate to the sense of E um aeus character . . . w hich he w ished to
impose on the audience (p. 21). Like Eum aeus, the two people singled out
for repeated apostrophe in the Iliad, Patroclus and M enelaus, are, as Parry
shows, personages that H om er is especially interested in, whose character
ization is therefore com plex, consistent, and built up with a variety o f
subtle touches. A ll three are, in Parry s words, altruistic, loyal, sensitive,
vulnerable . Apostrophe is one of the special poetic devices H om er selected
(was it in the tradition already, or his own contribution?) for heightening
his audiences interest and sym pathy for some of his favourite characters.
T h e only restrictions im posed by metre are that such characters com e from
am ong those whose names, in the vocative, scan ^ (^), so that
M enelaus and Eum aeus can be nam ed ending in the feminine third-foot
caesura or the first short o f the fifth foot, w hile the longer vocative o f Patro
clus allows for a greater variety o f positions.
287 . , : one cannot help being rem inded o f II i 2,
, rj ' . Is it sim ply a question of recourse
to a familiar syntactic pattern, or is some kind o f gentle parody intended,
through com parison with a greater heroic w orld w hich m akes the present
concern with the belly seem paltry? C f. the M uses rebuke to shepherds,
including H esiod, at Th. 26, olov, m ere bellies . T his O dyssean
verse recurs at 474. For a m ore am bitious interpretation that m akes
the secret force behind O dysseus adventures and an em blem of the

33
COMMENTARY

restlessness and wanderings in the Odyssey, m uch as epitomizes the


action of the Iliad, see P. Pucci, Odysseus Polyiropos (Ithaca and London,
1987). 173-87.
289 . : a com m on epithet of the sea, o f obscure m eaning and
etym ology. T h e ancient commentators glossed it variously as infertile,
untiring , deep ; m odern linguists have proposed lim pid , sparkling ,
fluid, d ry , with no agreem ent reached. T h e epithet is once in H om er (II.
xvii 425) and twice in k.Cer. applied to , so that we must im agine a
m eaning applicable to both the sea and the upper air. Further details are
w ell sum m arized in LfgrE.
290 1. N ote the rem arkable abruptness of this transition. T h e background
inform ation that H om er norm ally gives when introducing a new figure is
here placed within the scene, and exploited for dram atic irony as A rgus is
described to the master w ho knows him so well.
290 - 327 . O dysseus old dog A rgus recognizes his m aster after a twenty-year
absence: one o f the most fam ous episodes in the poem , brief yet highly
effective in its structure, and crucial in its placem ent here at the m om ent
that the long-absent king is about to enter his own halls again. T h is sig
nificant m om ent o f returning w ou ld otherwise go unm arked b y any special
emphasis. H om ers norm al em phasizing device is to depict the strong
em otional reaction o f one or m ore characters. B ut recognition by a person
w ould risk giving the disguise away, or require special explanations as to
w hy the person did not reveal the truth. T h e use o f the dog is perfect, giving
the suspense and pathos o f a recognition w ithout the risk of discovery. T h is
is the second in the series o f recognition scenes that began with recognition
by T elem achus at xvi 187 ff-, and continues in the recognition b y Eurycleia
at xix 392 ff., b y Eum aeus and Philoetius at xxi 205 ff., b y Penelope at xxiii
205 ff., and by Laertes at xxiv 320ff. W e m ight add the recognition by the
suitors at xxii 35 ff., w hich differs in that it is the one recognition b y hostile
rather than by loyal figures, it causes great dismay, and leads to a scene o f
extended violence. T h e recognition by A rgus is unique in that it is the only
tim e that O dysseus disguise is penetrated w ithout his or A th en as co
operation or w ithout an obvious clue like the scar. T h e fact that only the
d o gs special sense can penetrate the disguise actually confirms w hat is
im plicit throughout the narrative, that the disguise given by A thena makes
O dysseus m agically safe from hum an recognition for as long as he keeps it,
w hich is typical of such disguises in folk-tale traditions. (T h e penetration of
the disguise b y Eurycleia is not an exception, since O dysseus in effect
reveals him self by failing to conceal his familiar scar.)
292 . very likely another significant nam e. T h e adjective is
com m only applied to dogs in H om er, in phrases like and
n8 , but it is also used tw ice o f a goose and once o f oxen,
has two meanings, swift and bright , recognized b y lexicographers as
early as A pollonius the Sophist. It is com m only assum ed by scholars that
the idea of swift m otion naturally passes over into the idea of flashing
brightness. Sim ilarly Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v., w ho suggests originally

34
B O O K X V I I 287-304

a notion that expresses the w hite burst of lightning and at the same time its
speed , as seen in a w ord like . Bechtel, Lexilogus, on the other
hand, believes that there were originally two different words , one
m eaning swift and the other w hite , and that we should continue to
distinguish these m eanings in Greek. T h e use of the w ord to describe oxen
(II. xxiii 30) makes it clear that the two meanings, if not independent
historically, have certainly becom e independent in H om eric Greek. T hat
the m eaning bright or w hite has becom e very prom inent in G reek is seen
from the early proliferation o f words like , , , and
com pounds like and . F or the development of
from * and the variation between the -ro and -i suffix, see
Bechtel, Lexilogus s.v., and Risch, Wortbildung, 195. F o r a detailed survey
of the problem of the double m eaning and the difficulty o f assigning
priority in G reek to either m eaning, see LfgrE s.v.
296 . $: a hapax legomenon, although related com pounds
and are each attested once in later Greek. T h e etym ology
usually given is - plus - from , to pray , and hence the
m eaning prayed aw ay , interpreted as w ished aw ay or rejected . T his
seems a rather roundabout way, however, to reach the m eaning clearly
needed b y the context, neglected or uncared-for . Leum ann, Wrter, 6 4 -
5, proposes the sim ple solution of a - privative and *, derived from
, through the interm ediary o f an infinitive *- that m ay be
assum ed to underlie the attested forms and . T o -
L eum ann w ou ld give the m eaning nicht sehnschtig vermisst,
which does fit the context adm irably.
300 . : dog-destroyers , a hapax, w hich one might imagine
H om er coined specially for this passage. Stanford goes further and suggests
that H om er is deliberately avoiding a com m on w ord for tick or louse and
coining instead a lordly synonym perhaps with a touch of hum our on
the analogy o f , soul-destroying, a lofty heroic term used in
the Iliad. T h e suggestion o f parody here w as first m ade by V . Brard in his
note ad loc., L Odyssee, iii (Paris, 1924-5). T w o scholia add that some take
the w ord to m ean fleas but A ristarchus said it m eant ticks.
304 - 5 . T h is act o f O dysseus recalls his hiding () his tears from the
Phaeacians (although noticed by Alcinous) at viii 83-95, 521-34, and fore
shadows his successful concealm ent of tears before Penelope, xix 209-12.
Sim ilarly Telem achus at iv 1 1 2 -1 6 tries to conceal his tears with his cloak,
ju st like O dysseus in viii, b u t is observed b y M enelaus, ju st as his father was
observed by A lcinous. H ere w e have an im portant particular detail within
the m ajor them e of concealm ent and disguise that dominates the poem.
Tears caused by the painful m em ory of dear persons lost (cf. iv 183-246),
and the constant need for concealm ent or repression o f one s strongest
emotions and urges (cf, xx 9 ff.), are two leading motifs that run through the
poem and contribute to its more sombre aspect, an aspect which Vergil felt
very keenly and w hich he m ade central to the tone of his Aeneid. H ere and
elsewhere in the Odyssey, concealm ent of tears is a powerful conjunction of

35
COMMENTARY

the disguise-m otif and the pain-m otif, and so heightens considerably the
em otional tenor of a scene.
306- 10 . H om er s psychological portrait is skilful: O dysseus, overflowing
with emotion at seeing his dog, channels his feeling into a series of
questions about the anim al. T h is allows him to m anage his strong
em otions by a kind of role-playing in w hich he deals with the painful sub
ject in the persona o f an outsider, so that he can keep some distance
from it.
308 . : I prefer the d of the M SS, and w ould resist the norm alizing tendency
that has led most editors to replace it with in similar constructions, even
where there is no M S authority. T h e nearest thing to authority for this
change is the scholia s statement on iv 712 that Aristarchus read (found
in one M S) for ei; and A ristarchus authority m ay well underlie schol. >s
discussion on iv 487 of the choice between d () and
(). Further parallel passages are iii 216, iv 28, 833, xviii 265, xix
237, xxii 158, 202-3.
311 . T h e poets direct address to Eum aeus (see note to 272) is a subtle touch
that contributes to the heightened emotional tone o f this scene. It
strengthens the dram atic irony by which we (i.e. the poet s audience) are in-
collusion with the poet and with one character, O dysseus, over the trusting
innocence of a second character.
319 - 23 . Eum aeus has answered O dysseus question pointedly, revealing
A rgu s sad decline, but now he digresses. Lines 31921 relate well to
the theme o f the overall decline of O dysseus household and hint at the
disloyalty of some of the maidservants (cf. xx 6ff.); bu t 322-3 have the
appearance of a proverbial couplet awkwardly added on; W e m ay blam e
the associative verbal habits of oral composition or suspect an interpolator,
according to our prejudices. T h e lines were known to Plato as H om ers and
are quoted at Lg. 777a, w hich is in turn quoted b y A thenaeus vi 18. 264e,
and in part by Eustathius 1766. 37 (although we have no certainty that they
knew the verses in this same O dyssean context). T h e y have in
place o f d7roaivurat, in place of r , and , dv for
, v tv, changes that suggest Plato was quoting from m em ory.
324- 7 . It is a revealing feature o f H om ers stylistic artistry that this unusual
and rather unform ulaic scene should be crowned with four highly
form ulaic concluding verses, , one of the familiar keynote
phrases of the epic, here evokes great pathos by its placem ent as the last
statement in the scene, describing the death of Argus. For analysis of the
form ulaic content of 303-27 and discussion o f its relation to oral technique,
see Joseph Russo, Is O ral or A ural Com position the Cause of H om er s
Form ulaic Style?, in B. Stolz and R. S. Shannon, eds., Oral Literature and
the Formula (Ann A rbor, M ich., 1976).
331 . re ; Bekker s em endation (re for of M S S and papyrus) has been
universally accepted because the connective force of S is out of place here,
w hile the so-called generalizing suits the sense perfectly. See
Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 239f f , Denniston, Particles, 520-3. T h e contrary

36
B O O K X V I I 304-359

is argued by Ruijgh, tc pique, 392, w ho finds - inappropriate in the


description of tem porary facts . T his re, however, seems not temporary
but an expression of the habitual.
339 . pcX ivou : the ashwood threshold is puzzling, since Telem achus
entered over a stone threshold at line 30. T h e oral dimension of Homeric
com position m ay provide the answer: is a metrical variant of
AdiVov (w w ------- for o ^ ju st as, e.g., H era is usually white
arm ed or cow-eyed (AeuKwAevoy or ) by reason o f metrical exigency
rather than descriptive accuracy. Traditional scholarship has tried to solve
this problem of the stone and w ooden thresholds b y recourse to a variety of
architectural schemes. M onro, 498-500, envisions a w ooden threshold as
part o f the door-frame and resting upon the stone threshold (following J, L.
M yres, O n the Plan of the H om eric H ouse1, J H S xx (1900), 12850, esp.
i36~9). T his view is reaffirmed by S. E. Bassett, T h e Palace o f O dysseus ,
A J A xxiii (1919), 288-311, who provides a good review of the various
reconstructions o f the palace offered by different scholars to fit H om ers
description of the actions of his characters. Lorim er, Monuments, 417-22,
notes that this single m ention o f the ashwood threshold offers the only
discordant element in an otherwise consistent picture, and speculates that
the lines have intruded from a different traditional context, or that this
unique form (for ) suggests a later hand (421). Attributing
the novel phrase to oral-formulaic com positional technique w ould free us
from these perhaps needless difficulties. W e should rem em ber that
H om ers audience, in their enjoym ent of the story, w ould not have had the
time or interest to notice such m inor discrepancies.
341 . Is it m erely fortuitous that the language describing the carpenter s
m aking the colum n perfectly straight with his levelling tool falls into a
totally spondaic rhythm?
347 . Stanford notes the sim ilarity to H esiod, Op. 3 1719. A . Hoekstra,
H siode et la posie orale , Mnemosyne x (1957), 199-200, suggests that the
likelihood that this is a proverb is strengthened b y the fact that it concludes
a speech.
354 . : A s A m eisH e n tz e -C a u e r point out, the m ay be a double
entendre, ostensibly m eant with an im plied but also m eaning m y
T elem achus.
354- 5 . T h e infinitive with subject accusative can b e used to express a wish,
like the optative with w hich it is parallel, when the context is a
prayer (we m ay assume an im plicit or ). For parallels cf. xxiv
3 76 -8 1, vii 3 1 1 - 1 3 ; and II. ii 4 12 -1 3 , iii 285-6, vii 179-80, w here the
infinitives parallel imperatives earlier in the sentence. A s M onro says,
Homeric Dialect, 207, these infinitives have the force of an indirect imper-
. ative. Cf. also Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 31718.
359 . W e khow from the scholium on II. xxii 329 that Aristarchus athetized
that verse and this one for the sam e odd reason: that it w as ridiculous
yeAotoy to ascribe a purpose to acts that are accidental. II. xxii 328-9 says
that A chilles spear did not cut H ector s w indpipe, in order that he could

37
COMMENTARY

still speak to Achilles, . T h e scholiast complains that


it is ridiculous if the spear did it purposefully, . T h e
A ristarchian objection to our O dyssean verse, then, is apparently that the
bard is m ade to stop singing because the beggar has finished eating. T h is
objection m ay have arisen from Aristarchus text reading Se , an
attested variant, w hich w ould suggest that Phem ius stopped at the very
point w hen the beggar finished his meal. N o problem at all exists if w e see
as logically subordinate an d take the true apodosis as com ing in
360, 5. So M onro, w hich is surely right.
364 . Tiv5: any one of the suitors w hom O dysseus w ould recognize ( ) as
. T h e refers back to Athena. Since she is not going to
spare even the right-thinking ones (probably a forecast o f the scene with
A m phinom us in xviii), w e m ay w onder w hy she encourages O dysseus to
search for the distinction in the first place. A partial answer m ay lie in the
fact that H om er is invoking an old folk-tale motif, in which a king (or deity)
goes about in disguise to find out w ho is loyal (or reverent) am ong his
subjects. T h e suitors themselves have this idea at 4 83-7. H om er w ou ld be
using this m otif for its im m ediate narrative im pact, without feeling boun d
to its logical entailm ent (i.e. the finding of a right-m inded suitor), a
characteristic trait o f oral poetry. the variant is
possible if w e take tiv as n v i. T h e norm al construction of dA^ctv is in fact
with a dative of the person or thing protected and accusative of the thing
w arded off; but here the prefix - justifies the genitive and accusative, as
at II. xxiv 371.
366 . T h is w hole verse adds a marvellous touch, showing off O dysseus bril
liance at acting the role and imitating the beggars routines-. R em em ber he
has played this role before, at T roy: iv 244ff. T h e suitors natural reaction
to this convincing performance is pity, wonder, curiosity (367-8).
375 - 9 . A ntin ous speech is characterized by a variety of rhetorical devices
which m erge with metrical and acoustic devices: synizesis in 375 and 376
( , )); assonantal echo in ; frequent
and liquid sounds in 376; hyperbole (and solecism?) in -
, 377; sarcasm in 379 in and in the mock-critical tone of
the reference to the devourers o f the masters goods. For the synizesis in 376
cf. ix 3 1 1 , ^, in the same m etrical position. T h is all amounts to a very
effective characterization of the man through his diction. His arrogance,
sarcasm, hostility (note the significant nam e Antinous, counter-m inded)
are all vividly portrayed. T h e fact that all this verbal artillery is directed at a
lowly swineherd stresses still more the meanness of spirit o f this lordly
suitor.
380 . -* E u p a tc : again the apostrophe adroitly draws us
into emotional alliance with Eum aeus at the dram atically opportune
moment, w hen he is under attack.
385 . N ote how in the succinct list of valuable professionals, H om er reserves
an entire verse for describing his own trade in glowing terms. A t xix 135
heralds are also nam ed as . T hese verses are our earliest
B O O K X V I I 359-415

evidence for poets and other craftsmen as wandering professionals for hire
in G reek society. See Finley, World, 36-7,56 , and Hainsworths note on viii
62-103.
388 . eis this less com m on form (sometimes els) of the second person sing, of
is found nine times in Hom er. M onro, Homeric Diakct, 4, would like
to restore an assum ed original \ which is metrically possible every
where, he notes, except in this line.
388- 9 . . . . 5 5 : note the different syntax and
m eaning of in these successive lines. With it means and
especially to m e, while the more familiar means
beyond the suitors5.
397- 404 . T eiem achus speech is rhetorically well-structured in an AB AB
pattern. H e begins with a heavily sarcastic and obviously untrue statement
for two and a half verses, then in the second half of the third verse abandons
irony for a blunt statement of his true wish, contradicting his preceding
words. Lines 401-2 return to the ironic ascription to Antinous of decent
motives that he obviously does not have, and 403-4 return again to the
blunt truth, denying the kindly motives just ascribed to him. T he
characterization through rhetoric is again impressive, as Teiem achus
continues to show the typically adolescent qualities of peevishness, m oodi
ness, and sarcasm that were so evident in the first two books of the poem.
406 . : lofty (arrogant) speaker5 a perfect and effective compound
coined especially for T eiem achus by Antinous in i 385 and now repeated,
as their hostile relationship is resumed with Teiem achus5return to his halls
and renewed assertion of his rights.
407 - 9 . : this adjective of quantity seems to refer back to the issue
o f how m uch is being given to the beggar. O nly when Antinous holds
up his stool from under the table two verses later ( -,
409) is his true m eaning and full irony revealed. This is another example
of his meanness of character expressed through his clever handling of
language.
410 . : it is som ewhat awkward to describe the stool as lying at the
same m om ent that it is bein g held up and shown to everyone. W e can take
this either as hysteron-proteron, in which 410 describes the stool as it is
before A ntinous lifts it; or w e can ascribe to the function typical of
H om eric epithets and sometimes seen in other adjectives, that of describ
ing the normative, enduring quality of an object rather than its momentary
state. T h e relative clause that goes on to describe the stool, p ,
could support either interpretation.
413 . : this word, m eaning to taste of (a thing), is in H om er
always figurative, to m ake a trial or test of , and as such belongs here to
what I have called the testing-motif associated with the character of
O dysseus, usually expressed in the frequent use of the verbs ,,
, , noted elsewhere in the commentary.
415 - 44 . T h is fictitious tale is essentially the same story told to Eumaeus at
xiv 199-359, and some verses are exact repetitions (427-41 = xiv 258-72).

39
COMMENTARY

A n overall consistency is necessary, since Eum aeus is still present and the
beggar must m aintain his plausible role for the faithful swineherd, whose
ignorance o f the secret, com bined with his fidelity, is one source of the
com plex irony of disguise and revelation that characterizes the w hole poem
and these latter books especially. T h e one inconsistency between this
account and that told to Eum aeus is 443-4, which cannot be made to
square with the earlier story. T h e other false tales, told to A thena in xiii,
Penelope in xix, and Laertes in xxiv, are far less closely related, since there
is no need for consistency in those cases.
416 . H ere all M S S read , whereas at 375 the readings divide between
(synizesis) and (crasis). For a succinct account of
crasis and synizesis see M onro, Homeric Dialed, 3 50 -1.
427 . : the A igyptos river m ust certainly be the Nile,
which is first m entioned by the Greeks, as far as we know, by Hesiod, Th.
338 ().
440 . : scanned with synizesis as a spondee. ttoXXo u s :
answered by ? o f the following verse, not a perfectly symmetrical
balance but none the less idiomatic: m any they killed, some they took alive5.
443 . about this Dm etor, ruler o f Cyprus, nothing else is
known. H e has a significant name, m eaning Subd uer or T am er , from
the verb ; ju st as servants, , represent the passive side of the
action, people subdued .
446- 8 . Antinous continues his figurative and expressive language. In a series
o f strong metaphors the beggar is called this pain, spoiler of the feast ,
and Antinous threatens to show him a bitter Egypt and C yp ru s . T his last
phrase, as Stanford points out, condenses a physical threat and m ockery o f
O dysseus story into one sharp statement.
450 - 2 . A ntinous w ould like to separate him self from the other suitors by
criticizing their freehanded giving away o f O dysseus goods. T h is
pretended sym pathy with the household interests recalls his oblique
criticism o f his fellow suitors at 378-9, and continues H om ers character
ization of this duplicitous figure as one whose am bition leads him to
display virtues that he does not possess. A s A m eisH e n tze-C a u er interpret
his motives (Anhang, ad loc.), A ntinous disposition m akes his sum m ons to
m oderation m erely a m ask for his own egoism . T h ese lines are called
spurious by the H Scholiast, echoing Aristarchus; but such a view fails to
understand the psychology and rhetoric of A ntinous.
454 . l m : ni with the dative here m eans in addition to , as earlier at
308 where the identical phrase was used in describing A rgus. T h ere it was
asked w hether the dog, in addition to such good looks (em efSei' ),
also had speed, the cfiief virtue o f a dog. Here, the corresponding chief
virtue o f a m an is im plied as phrenes, good sense, intelligence, which
O dysseus accused Antinous of lacking. Each passage calls attention to the
relationship between attractive surface appearance and the underlying
reality, which is of m ajor im portance throughout the Odyssey, a corollary of
w hat we have earlier labelled the disguise-motif.

40
B O O K X V I I 415-484

462 - 3 . , : the phrase at first sight


looks am biguous, but at 504 makes it clear that
or to m odify designates the lower shoulder
and sim ply means on the back , so that the phrase refers to the
place w here the shoulders becom e the back. Perhaps we are m eant to
im agine that Odysseus m ade a half-turn to protect himself.
463- 4 . T h is description recalls O dysseus similar unflinching stance when
kicked by M elanthtus at 234-5; a clear them atic echo the disguised king
is abused first b y the lower, then by the higher in rank am ong his disloyal
subjects although there is no verbal echo, as there was between 308 and
454
465 . : see the note at 66. T h e recurrence o f this
phrase here and at 491 emphasizes the new intensity of scarcely controlled
hostilities in this book. R ecall that the suitors have recently tried to murder
T elem achus on his return journey; that their am bush was noticed; and
that O dysseus has been seeking, at A th en as prom pting, to provoke the
suitors to reveal their nastiest qualities.
476 . $ : a com m on H om eric phrase, similar to (xrjpes
. . .) and . . . (it is necessary for metre that Kijpes
but not be separated from by one or m ore words). T h e
genitive is not possessive but explanatory; the m eaning is the end (or fulfil
ment) consisting of death .
475- 80 . T hese six lines, the scholia tell us, were athetized: For how could
Antinous endure such curses, w hen he was so angered by sm aller matters?
T h e naturalness o f the lines was defended by W ilam owitz, Heimkehr, 156.
Because the Erinyes were b o m from the first act o f violence ever com
m itted by child against parent C ronos castration of O uranos at Th.
185 they are norm ally avengers of crimes against either a father, as at Th.
472, or a mother, as at II. xxi 412, Od. xi 279-80. T h e idea that any wronged
person has his erinyes is com m on enough in G reek tragedy, but is probably
rather original at this earlier period, hence the cautious phrasing with d
and ye.
476 . T h is is the first in a series o f wishes uttered as if they were m erely vain
hopes or fanciful exaggerations, but w hich are in fact going to com e to pass,
as the audience knows. T h ese foreshadowings o f O dysseus eventual
retribution punctuate the action from the latter part of xvii to the slaying of
the suitors, and build an increasing excitem ent as w e (the audience) see
further ahead than the characters in the story can. Such dram atic irony is
particular to art forms like G reek epic or dram a that use stories (m yths)
fam iliar to the audience. It grows naturally from the conditions of perform
ance of epic, reinforced b y the repeated recitation of essentially the same
tale to w hat is in part the same audience.
480 . : either agreeing w ith of 479, or neuter pi. accusative of
respect, in e ve ry w a y , com pletely, adverbial as at 201.
484- 5 . . . . : m ay be a vocative addressed to
Antinous, or m ore likely the neuter pi., giving the opposite of the in

41
COMMENTARY

the preceding line, but w ithout formally expressed antithesis. In 485 re


w ould then continue this thought by introducing the general truth from
which this particular w arning was drawn.
485- 7 . A clear allusion to the m otif of the theoxeny, com m on in myth and
literature, in w hich gods visit certain mortals to test their hospitality. T h e
story of Baucis and Philem on in O vid, Met. viii, is a fully developed
example; the wanderings of D em eter and Dionysus am ong mortals, and
the rewards or punishm ents they give according to the treatment received,
are less explicit versions (see E. Kearns, T h e Return of Odysseus: A
H om eric T h eo x en y , CQ, xxxii (1982), 2-8, who traces this story pattern in
the latter half o f the Odyssey). T h e wording and sentiment of 487 are closely
echoed in Archil, fr. 177 w , apparently spoken by the fox invoking Z eu s
punishm ent upon the eagle in a fable about abuse of power.
490- 1 . T w o motifs that have occurred earlier in this book are here joined: the
suppression of tears and the silent preoccupation with m urderous
thoughts. A llione, Telemaco, 55, observing that verse 491 is identical to 465
describing Odysseus, notes that here [Telem achus] appears truly able to
suffer and endure in order to attain the opportune m om ent, ju st like his
great father .
492 - 506 . T h e exact location of Penelopes cham ber () has long been
disputed, since the testim ony o f different passages can be used to support
different reconstructions of the palace. (See the discussions o f M yres,
Bassett, and Lorim er (ch. 5) cited in the note to 339; o f M onro, app. 5,493
7; and, more recently, of L. R. Palmer, TPhS (Oxford, 1948), 92-120,
A. J. B. W ace, J H S lxxi (1951), 2 0 3 -11, and D. H. G ray, CQ,(i955), 1-12 .)
W e should note that the nam ed in 506 is not necessarily
Penelopes own private room. T h e only certain fact is that it is near to or
adjoining the pov or m ain hall, since she has been able to follow w hat
has happened to the beggar, w hich she sum m arizes in 50 1-4 . H ow did she
acquire this knowledge? A t 492-3 I take 8 . . . . . . to
m ean that she actually heard the sound, and accom panying shouting, of
Antinous hitting the beggar with the stool (rather than give the
different m eaning it has at 525-6, heard about). M ost of her perceptions
are of sounds (cf. her hearing T elem achus sneeze later at 542), but e W e at
511 implies that she has been able to see the beggar, and presum ably some
of the action. Stanford, on the other hand, would equate this with
the a m entioned at 49 and often in the poem , the private upper bed
cham ber to which Penelope retires periodically to weep and rest, and from
which she was able to hear Phem ius song at i 328. But if she were that
distant, it is unlikely that she could say that the beggar looks like (ote,
511) a w anderer and that Antinous hit him on the right shoulder (524). It is
more reasonable to suppose that the distinct w ord denotes a
distinct room, an upper bedroom connected by a short stairway to one of
the ground-floor , a location from which Penelope could hear the
bard singing and be herself heard by O dysseus w hen she is weeping aloud
at xx 92, A lth ough the most plausible picture remains, then, that she is

42
B O O K X V I I 484-518

here sitting in a ground-floor close enough to the to hear


and see what is happening, we should not press the narrative too closely for
verisimilitude and a strict consistency o f architectural detail. T h e recent
emphasis of scholarship on the conditions of oral performance adds new
force to M o n ro s remarks o f some eighty-five years ago, in which he
concludes and to a large extent underm ines his discussion of hypo
thetical detailed reconstructions by adm itting that H om ers listeners could
not have been accustom ed to the same consistency of detail that m odem
readers expect o f a book (Appendix, 4967). In this light, A ristarchus
literal-minded objection to this passage that Penelope is depicted with
knowledge that she could not have is seen, as so often, to be worthless.
Stanford s note to 500-4 refutes Aristarchus effectively by citing Bassetts
argum ent (The Poetry of Homer (Berkeley, Calif., 1938), i3off.) that it is
characteristic o f H om eric (and, we m ight add, oral) narrative sometimes to
let the characters have the sam e knowledge that the audience has.
514 . K6 tol : the w ord , to charm , reveals the
G reek view of verbal perform ance as a kind of m agical spell, holding its
listeners by a power that in part derives from the sheer pleasurableness of
the sound itself (&r i, 519). T h e most pointed description of this
poetic power is H esiods tribute to the M uses at Th. 98-103, where poetic
recitation has not only the power to charm but the power to cure, to drive
out sorrows and restore the mind. T h e fascinating topic o f the thelxis of oral
performance is first discussed at length by E. A . Havelock, Preface to Plato
(Cam bridge, M ass., 1963), ch. 4, T h e Psychology o f the O ral Perform
ance ; and most recently by Charles Segal, Eros and Incantation: Sappho
and O ral Poetry, Aretkusa vii (1974), 139-60, who stresses the incantatory
and m agical background o f poetry in archaic Greece. Segals emphasis is
on Sappho and the erotic thelxis of lyric; but in com paring lyric to epic
thelxis he notes that H om er uses not only o f the power of words to
enthral the listener but also in an erotic sense that comes close to that of
Sappho (Od. i 567, iii 264; and the charm of the Sirens song, xii 44,
carries a latent erotic suggestiveness). T h is erotic aspect of the word
allows us to see in the present statem ent of Eum aeus a double entendre
unintended by the speaker but felt perhaps by both poet and audience: this
beggar will in fact charm the heart o f the queen, in several senses: we shall
observe a progression from thelxis as persuasion, to thelxis as emotional
bond, to thelxis that wins an erotic goal.
518 . 6 : the com parison of the beggars
recitation to a bardic one contains a hidden subtlety in that it was, literally,
a bardic recitation, if we step outside the internal fictional frame o f the story
and acknowledge the external reality of H o m ers recitation to his audience.
T h e similarity of O dysseus to a bard was first suggested by K in g A lcinous
at xi 367-8, was reaffirmed by Eum aeus at xiv 387, and is im plied at xix
203, w here the verisim ilitude o f O dysseus fictions is described in terms
that recall the M uses statement at H es. Th. 27. T h is simile (518-21) is also
noteworthy in that it is spoken b y a character in the poem . N orm ally

43
COMMENTARY

similes represent the poet speaking, with the anonym ity required by the
conventions of epic narrative. But here the simile is able to refer back to its
speaker as one of the points of comparison (ws ).
519 . the variant , though less well attested, is m ore normal in
relative clause extensions of comparisons, Ruijgh, re pique, 399-401,
docum ents 17 instances of the subjunctive versus 68 of the indicative.
525 . ' : two strong words in sequence.
onom atopoeically recreates the forward rolling it
signifies, as it takes us all the w ay to the penthem im eral caesura in
com pletely dactylic movement. It occurs only here and at II. xxii 221, and
nowhere else in G reek literature, can have a physical meaning,
presses forward, like Tantalus eager to drink at xi 584, or can m etaphor
ically suggest aggressive assertion in language or behaviour (cf. the English
adjective forward). Eum aeus continues to paint the beggar in bright
colours (cf. 51321), stim ulating Penelopes already expressed interest
(59~ 11) in the newcomer.
534- 40 . T h e first five of these lines are identical to those spoken by
T elem achus com plaining to the Ithacan assem bly at ii 55g. , harm ,
is not connected with , curse or prayer . Penelopes w ish that follows
(538-40) is essentially the same wish w e saw in T elem achus fancy when
H om er first presented him in i 1 1 5 -1 7 . N ow Telem achus is in a position to
confirm that wish, expressed by his mother, with his own prophetic or
kledonic sneeze.
541 . Sneezes were viewed as omens in antiquity (X en. An. iii 2. 9; Catull. xlv
8-9, 1718; Prop, iii 3. 24; O v. Pont, xviii 152), as in m any cultures today.
T his sneeze is one of a series o f omens running through xvii to xx and
heightening our anticipation of the clim ax to com e w hen O dysseus finally
reveals him self to the suitors and kills them. M ost often the omen is a verbal
utterance whose full implications are unknown to the speaker but secretly
understood and rejoiced in by his interlocutor hence by H om ers
audience and by us. T he first example we saw was M elanthius statement
at 25*- 4> where the narrative makes no explicit com m ent on the irony but
allows it to stand as self-evident. M ore com m only, the character who
grasps the full significance of the utterance is said to recognize it as a
(xviii 117, with note; xx 120; iv 317) or a (xx 9 8 -119 ; ii 35).
565 . : the whole verse was used in describing the suitors
at xv 329, and seems to be an ironical variant on the com m on epic conceit
that the cos of great personages reaches to the sky (viii 74, ix 20, xix 108;
II. viii 192). O ne wonders exactly what H om er m eant by calling the sky
iron. H e also refers to it as bronze (iii 2; II. xvii 425), and the underlying
idea, as Stanford notes, m ay be that the sky is a m etal dome over the earth.
Stanford adds the interesting point that w hile bronze is the everyday metal
for concrete objects mentioned by H om er as w ould suit the Bronze A ge
period he is describing it is quite different in his im agery, w here iron is
mentioned fifteen times and bronze only four. T h e im agery reflects the
poets contem porary world, where iron is the more im portant metal.

44
B O O K XVI I 518-606

572- 3 . T h e idea returns (cf. 23 .) that the season is cold and the beggar must
take care to warm himself.
593. : a represents an unusual usage and is awkward
coupled w ith the concrete a s . T h e unm etrical variant reveals a
prosaic im pulse toward m ore norm al diction and parallel construction.
Kciva has been understood as a contrast to the 0 of 594 by
A m .eis-H en tze-C auer, Stanford, and Ebeiing, Lexicon, 744b, w ho trans
lates it and calls attention to o f T elem achus answer at
601 as supporting the contrast. T h e m eaning of w ould then be as
general as that o f , em bracing all that exists at the farm besides the
?: , as Eustathius glosses the w ord.
A n ingenious alternative to all this has been offered by M . D. Petrusevski
(</l xvi (1966), 349; xvii (1967), 103-4, 108; an(l Platon xx (1968), 289-96),
w ho w ou ld replace with the hapax *. A lthough unattested in
extant G reek, */. w as posited b y Frisk, G E W s.v. , as the inter
m ediary form on w hich the noun is built. (For Frisk s full argu
m ent see Eranos xxxviii (1940), 42; and for the extension through the suffix
\~, see Eranos xli (1943), 32.) T h e hypothetical existence of * is also
accepted b y Chantraine, Diciionnaire. Petrusevski s conjecture has been
criticized by B. G lavicic, Z& xvii (1967), 8 1-5 and xviii (1968), 9 3 -1 n , and
b y M . M arcovich, Platon x li-x lii (1969), 297-301; b u t it rem ains linguist
ically plausible and stylistically attractive, since it w ould give us a subtle
distinction between m ovable possessions (?) and im m ovable ones
(cf. the phrase , 75)
599 . ? : the verb comes from ?, ? and refers to late after
noon and early evening, the time near the setting of the sun ( ,
6o6). Stanford takes it to m ean simply having spent the afternoon (here),
and doubts a meal is involved. B ut the com m on interpretation, that the
verb means to have a light m eal between and , certainly fits
better with the action o f 602 ff.: Eum aeus takes a. seat and eats before
leaving. H e is told ? (599 )) and his immediate response is
to sit down: ? , ? .
605 - 6 . T h e sequence here gives us an im portant datum on archaic G reek
social habits: the shows that dancing and listening to poetic
recitations are typical activities for the close o f day, filling in pleasantly the
time between the early supper that suggests and the later full
evening meal, the .

45
B O O K XVIII: C O M M E N T A R Y

Book xviii is composed of six episodes. T h e first and third are long (over too
verses), the others short, T h e third (Penelopes scene) is the longest episode
and the centrepiece of the narrative structure, after w hich the action moves
m ore quickly through two short scenes to a still shorter coda in 405-28. T h e
suspicion, once widespread, that the Penelope-scene is an interpolation rests
on subjective criteria and reveals a failure to appreciate the overall design of
the book.

1. 1116 T h e beggar Arnaeus, called Irus, arrives and quarrels with


O dysseus. A ntinous proposes they fight; O dysseus fells Irus with one
blow and drags him out into the courtyard.
2. 11757 A m phinom us, the best o f the suitors, gives O dysseus food,
toasts him , and wishes him well. O dysseus rem inds him o f lifes vicis
situdes and encourages him to leave. B ut A m phinom us cannot leave;
A thena has fated him to die b y T elem achus spear.
3 - 158-303 A thena inspires Penelope to face the suitors and charm them
into giving her gifts. T h e goddess puts her to sleep and beautifies her.
T h e suitors are powerfully charm ed by her appearance. She com plains
to T elem achus over the m altreatm ent o f the newcom er; he wishes the
suitors a fate like that o f Irus. Eurym achus flatters Penelope. She replies
that O dysseus last advice to her was to rem arry w hen her son was
getting his first beard, and that time has com e; but the suitors should be
following the custom of giving courtship gifts, rather than deplete the
household. O dysseus is pleased to observe his wifes clever m anipula
tion o f the suitors. Rich gifts are brought to Penelope.
4. 304-45 T h e suitors feast and dance until nightfall. O dysseus tells the
maids that he can tend the braziers him self and they should go to
Penelope. M elantho and O dysseus trade bitter words.
5. 346404 A thena provokes Eurym achus to taunt O dysseus with the
accusation that he avoids honest labour. O dysseus answers by saying he
w ould like to com pete with Eurym achus in such labour, by vaunting his
own valour, and im pugning that o f Eurym achus, predicting that
O dysseus return w ou ld send him rushing out the door in fright.
E urym achus hurls a stool at O dysseus.
6. 40528 T elem achus accuses the suitors o f disorderly behaviour and
boldly proposes that they go hom e. A m ph inom u s encourages them to
com ply, and to leave the beggar to T elem ach u s care. T h e y agree, make
a libation to the gods, and depart.

1. ? , o s . . t he relative pronoun is epexegetic of the preceding


adjective, a com m on syntactic pattern o f epic style. See S. W ests com m ent

46
B O O K XVIII 1-8

on i 3002 for further examples. T h e well-known instance of this pattern in


i 12 ( , ) is often discounted by those
w ho wish to limit to the sense of ingenious , since O dysseus
m ajor epithets em phasize such m ental qualities (so S. West on i 1). But the
physical sense m uch-w andering is better suited to the context which'
describes (with and ) the m any cities and minds of m en and
the m any hardships encountered.
3 . : a word o f uncertain etym ology but fairly clear meaning, its
context suggesting incessant or persevering . T h e favoured etym ology is
--(), with the a- as privative and the norm al A eolic change of dy-
to (so LfgrE s.v., Bechtel, Lexilogus, 14 -15 ) if is understood as keep
apart (cf. later G reek , discontinuous); or as intensive if
has the com m on H om eric m eaning to continue through (so Stanford,
Bechtel, loc. cit., Frisk, G E W s.v., Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v.). This
m eaning suits the m ost com m on ancient glosses , ,
although A pollonius the Sophists suggests a connection with
, and Chantraine notes that the use o f this w ord to describe sounds
m ay have led to and com pounds in - having an influence on its
form. T h is w ould explain the unparalleled (in epic language) contraction of
ae to , and also the appearance of am ong the glosses of
H esychius and Eustathius. M onro accounts for the unparalleled -- by
proposing a different etym ology, from the IE root *gwy-, Skt. jy, to be
strong, to live (G reek ), with formative -- as in and ,
thus arriving at the m eaning w ith unbroken vigour , w hich could find
support in H esychius . Still another interpretation (A m eis-
H entze, Anhang) is the simple reliance on , assum ing intensive a- and
translating w ith penetrating sound ; but this sense w ou ld be unsuitable for
one of the four Iliadic occurrences of the w ord (xv 25) and for the present
passage.
5 . : probably a significant nam e, G etier , from , to
acquire, an apt nam e for a beggar (so A m e is-H e n tze -C a u e r, following
schol. B). Such a nam e w ou ld fit with the p unning sobriquet Tros and with
the tendency throughout the Odyssey to use etym ologically significant
names. T h e scholia also suggest a derivation from the word for sheep,
taking A rnaios as sheep-like , foolish . A still m ore literal interpretation
is that o f von K am ptz, Personennamen, 2856, w ho w ould derive this nam e
from the city A rn e in Boeotia or the spring of that nam e in Arcadia.
6- 7 . . . . o u v k : the connection () assumes a
playful derivation from Iris, the messenger o f the gods, o f w hom Irus w ould
be a m ale counterpart. B ut it is also possible to connect this nam e to the
form * that underlies H om eric , strong or quick (so von
K am ptz, Personennamen, 1289, 281; see also the note at xvifi 60: the
o f 11. xvi 407 shows how these two m eanings m ay fall together). Either
derivation, from or *, w ou ld connect Irus with , and
perhaps Striver or H ustler is the closest English equivalent.
8. : the verb w ou ld norm ally be . T h e scholia give the

47
COMMENTARY

impressionistic interpretation that the m iddle voice is more pathetic than


the active; but M eister, Kunstsprache, 19-20, has a more scientific
explanation: alternative verb forms in the middle-passive voice are
especially com m on at this position in the verse, w here they m eet the need
for the rhythm w w. H e notes that it is a com m on trait of H om eric
language to have both active and m iddle forms of the same verb with the
same meaning.
11. : this word occurs only here and LMerc, 387 and means to
signal by w inking or squinting the eyes. It m ay be connected with ct'Ato, to
press together5, like the noun (II, xiii 572), a twisted rope*.
26 . : the sam e w ord used by M elanthius insulting O dysseus at
xvii 219 (see note). H ere the definite article seems em phatic and m ocking in
its deictic force (see note to xvii 10). c m r p : here the
phrase is pejorative as used to describe an old w om an at the oven5:
presum ably w e should translate glibly5, talkatively5. B ut at
II. iii 2 13 -15 the same phrase is used to describe M enelaus in positive
terms as a fluent speaker, this fluency consisting o f brevity, clarity, and the
absence o f awkwardness. It is often the case that the m eaning of a w ord
evolves in a pejorative direction, and in the semantic shift of -
we m ay have an example of the relative lateness of O dyssean diction
com pared to Iliadic.
27 . : the scholia say Aristarchus and H erodian understood this as a
hypocoristic form o f -, one w ho heats an oven5. M eillet,
R E G xxxii (1919), 387, is inclined to accept this explanation, adding en
tout cas est une formation familire, servant la raillerie5. T h e
w ord occurs only here in G reek literature.
29 . $ : an odd com m ent, explained by the scholia and
Eustathius as reflecting a C yprian law that permitted any landow ner who
caught a pig eating his crops to pull its teeth out. W h y a C yprian law
should be so w ell-known as to be a com m only understood reference is
unclear. Perhaps the reference to such a law is only a guess, based on w hat
m ay have been a w idespread ancient practice am ong farmers to protect
their crops from foraging pigs.
33 . : the repeated m ention of the threshold (xvii 339,413,
466, 573; xviii 17, 33, 110), together with other references to the entry
( , ; 32, xvii 297), builds a cum ulative
emphasis on the lim inal5 position of the beggar: he is held at the outer
limit of social m em bership in the com m unity o f which he is, ironically, not
just a legitim ate m em ber but the true leader; and sim ultaneously held at
the physical edge o f occupancy o f the house of which he is, ironically, the
master. T h e im portance of the palace threshold as a sym bol m arking
O dysseus transitional state is emphasized, b y Charles Segal, T ransition
and R itual in O dysseus R eturn , Parola del Passato xl (1967), 337-40. T h e
theoretical scheme for such an interpretation is derived from the well-
known Rites de Passage o f A . van G ennep, w here the three states o f ritual
passage are identified as separation, threshold or margin, and reaggregation.

48
B O O K XVI I I 8-44

A n im portant elaboration o f the threshold or liminal state is given by


Victor T urner, The Ritual Process (Chicago, 1969)) 95- i30, where lim inal
personages are assigned m any attributes similar to those of Odysseus in his
socially excluded role as beggar (note especially 10211). T u rn er s
observation (n o ), Folk literature abounds in sym bolic figures, s'uch as
holy beggars . . . w ho strip off the pretentions of holders of high rank and
office and reduce them to the level of com m on hum anity and m ortality,
applies to O dysseus speech to A m phinom us at i25ff., to Eurym achus at
366ff., and to M elantho at xix 71 ff. O dysseus exercises w hat T u rn er calls
the ritual powers of the w eak , the power to insult, curse, bless or in some
w ay pass judgem ent on those of high social status. N ote the suitors fear, at
xvii 4 83-7, that the beggar m ay be a disguised deity who w anders am ong
m en to ju d g e their virtues and vices.
T h e threshold is associated with O dysseus again at xx 238; with his bow
and the unsuccessful attempts m ade to string it, at xxi 43, 124, 149; and
with his own successful use o f the bow against the suitors as he regains his
full identity and power, a tx x ii 2, 72, 76, 203. C f. also xxii 127 and 182 where
a threshold is involved less directly in the com bat.
34 . : seven o f the eight occurrences o f this formula
in the Odyssey have AXKtvoto; the sim ilar form ula lep- ts
occurs seven times and is restricted to T elem achus (see 60 below , with
note); and both form ulas are absent from the Iliad. W hile the exact
m eaning of this archaic expression m ay b e obscure b y H om ers time, the
general intention seems clear, to represent a heroic character m etonym-
ically by reference to his strength, a m etonym appropriate for worthy
villains as well as for heroes, com bines force and im pulse into one
word, the force being felt as an urge directed toward a specific action. A full
discussion is in R. Schmitt, Dichtung und Dichimprache in Indogermanischer
<*eit (W iesbaden, 1967), 10 3-12, w here is explained in relation to its
Indo-European origins and cognates, the latter including the V edic
cognate form ula isirdrp, mnaJ}. (J. T . Hooker; leps in Early Greek
(Innsbruck, 1980), maintains that this is a merely, formal identity without
semantic equivalence.) T h e root *men-} whose original m eaning is to be
stirred in ones m ind or spirit , is most clearly seen in G reek * ; hence
Latin mens and memini are also related, as well as , and, with
further sem antic narrowing, . F or iepv see the note at 60.
44 . : literally stom achs , here referring to intestinal m em branes of
the kind still used as sausage-casings in m any countries. T h e fat and
blood , re , o f line 45 recall the blood-sausages o f
m odern Europe (French boudin, G erm an Blutwurst). Passing to the
sym bolic level, w e find that this gaster, w hich represents simply food,
recalls O dysseus earlier com plaints about the urgings o f the belly (vii 2 16 -
21, xv 344-5, xvii 286-9, 470-4), so that w hen it is used here the w ord has
acquired the sym bolic potential o f evoking a larger frame o f reference: the
hum an need for sustenance and the difficulty of survival in the physically
dem anding heroic world, especially if one is politically and socially

49
COMMENTARY

powerless. (P. W . Rose, in Historia xxiv (1975), 12949, sees in the repeated
m ention o f gaster a sensitivity o f the poet to the feelings of a hard-working
peasantry and a political bias against the idle rich oligarchs who are
contem porary with the poem. See further at the note to 366-80.) This
garter-motif, in which Odysseus is m etonym icaliy represented by his belly
(xvii 228,559; xviii 53,364,380), reaches its culm ination at xx 25if., where a
striking and unexpected simile directly equates Odysseus with a gaster. See
further xvii 287 n.
53 . : this perfect passive participle is the only surviving form of a
verb related to , harm (Apollonius the Sophist and the scholia on vi 2
gloss with )] but initial 77- rather than - w ould be expected.
Bechtel, Lexilogus s.v., posits an A eolic , which he thinks accounts for
the retention of .
56 . : is a strange noun found only in the
accusative; and in H om er only with forms of and usually preceded
by m, to give the m eaning show favour to . H erodian {398) explained it as
the accusative o f (otherwise unattested), referring to aid ( -rijs
). H esychius glossed it with
, either truly; or favour, aid, assistance . T h e first words could
support an etym ological connection with Latin virus, O ld H igh G erm an
war, O ld Irish fir, O ld Slavic vera (belief). T h e gloss with , however,
suggests a different root *wr-, seen in O ld Icelandic voerr, friendly , O ld
H igh G erm an wari as in ala-wri, kind, and L atin se-vrus, i.e. w ithout
friendliness . T h e H om eric usage makes the second interpretation far
preferable (and cf. , xix 343). T h e root in either case is *wer-, and
H om eric m etre suggests initial digam m a, as does the persistence o f the
adjective in classical Greek: there is never elision of 1 before .
T h e use of as equivalent to in the construction with the genitive
to m ean for the sake of (Bacchylides x 2 0 -1, but not again until
Callim achus) is further evidence for favouring the second *wer- m eaning
pleasing (so Bechtel, Lexilogus s.v. , , following Jacob
Grim m ); cf. also the H esychian gloss
(briros: greatly pleasing).
60 . U p is 10: the prodigious strength of T elem achus , an
archaic-seem ing periphrasis used uniquely for this hero (but cf.
, 34 above with note). T h e formula m ay allude to a special vigour
believed to inhere in royalty (W ilamowitz, Glaube 1 2 1 -2 , considers it fitting
for T elem achus as heir to the throne). But the precise m eaning o f
remains elusive because o f the wide range of nouns attached to it in
H om eric language. M a n y of these nouns allow the standard post-Hom eric
m eaning sacred, but others m ake this sense unlikely, such as dusk
(), gate-guardians (), arm y (), band o f guards
( ), and fish (). It is generally agreed that the semantic
range of extends from sacred to vigorous, w ith the latter extending
from strong to active , the second o f these being especially apt for the
of II. xvi 407 which is being pulled from ocean onto land.

50
B O O K X V I I I 4 4- 70

Scholars have debated whether one original word can account for such
breadth of m eaning or w hether two words should be posited. T h e Sanskrit
cognate ifira- does not clarify the question since its m eaning seems also to
be broad. (See J . D uchesne-G uillem in, G r. iepc ~ skr. ifirdh in Mlanges
Boisacq (Brussels, 1937), i 333-8; P. R am at in Die Sprache viii (1962), 4-28.
It is noteworthy that the G reek form ula Upv has the Sanskrit
cognate (in form if not necessarily in m eaning) }. \ also that the
Sanskrit m eaning tends toward strong , fresh rather than sacred .) A
lengthy case for m ultiple origins was m ade by Schulze, Quaestiones, 207-16,
w ho thinks four or five different words m ay b e involved to account for the
sem antic variation, the metrical variation between i- and -, and the
shorter form . B ut recent opinion has preferred to see a single original
word: thus A , Pagliaro, Saggi di cntica semantica (M essina-Firenze, 1962),
9 3 -12 4 and esp. 10 4-7, following W ilam ow itz, Untersuchungen, 106 n. 17,
argues that lepos originally refers to the w on der w hich archaic man felt to
reside in the phenom ena o f nature and their inexplicability. T h e m eaning
sacred then w ould be the end-point rather than the beginning of the
sem antic evolution of this word, an argum ent echoed by Ram at, op. cit.
T h e opposite is argued by P. W lfing-von M aritz in Glotta xxxviii (i960),
272-307 and xxxix (1961), 24-43, and is further supported by the opinions
reached independently by Gallavotti in A C xxxii (1963), 422-3, and J. P.
Locher, Untersuchungen zu lepos hauptschlich bei Homer, diss. (Bern, 1963),
that the M ycenaean i-je-ro occurs in cultic contexts and suggests sacred as
the earliest docum ented m eaning. Gallavotti adds, however (427), that this
evidence does not suffice to invalidate the theory of a developm ent from a
general m eaning vitally vigorous to the m ore specific ritually efficacious
and finally sacred . J. T . H ooker (op. cit., n. to 34) argues w ell for ju st such
a prim ary m eaning (strong , especially as expressed.in vitality, activity, or
m otion , pp, 26-7), w hich allows him to account for all H om eric instances
except 11. xviii 504, the sacred circle (lepos ) of judgem ent seats in
the legal session depicted on A chilles shield.
H istorical-etym ological explanations, it w ould seem, must remain
inconclusive, and we m ay agree with Gallavotti (423, 427) that leps in
H om er tends toward a general elative m eaning that allows its application
to an extraordinarily wide range o f objects. T elem achus prodigious
strength, therefore, most likely makes no allusion to sacral kingship but is
sim ply a verbal gesture conferring honour on this uniquely important
character through a unique form ular com bination.
69 - 70 . A thena here reverses the changes in O dysseus physique that she had
created at xiii 430ff. T h ere she shrivelled the skin on his lim bs to give
them the strengthless, thin look of an old m an s; here, she restores the full
ness o f their flesh and m uscle. T h e large and beautiful thighs , broad
shoulders, and sturdy arm s that O dysseus reveals here in 6 7 -9 must all
be the result of A thena filling out his lim bs at 6970, w hich gives us an
exam ple of H om eric hysteron-proteron. H er actions in 6970 are m eant to
account for, rather than literally to follow, the changes of 67-9.

51
COMMENTARY

73. ?lp o s ~ A p o s: Irus non-Irus\ T h e poet and his audience enjoyed such
verbal wit, especially that w hich played with personal names. H om er s
penchant for significant and punning names is illustrated-to choose only
a few exam ples by Echetus at 85 below, O dysseus false nam e and
fathers and grandfathers nam es at xxiv 3056, Phem ius T erpiades at xxii
3301 (see note at xvii 263), the m any significant names borne by mem bers
of A lcinous court, and the fact that Irus nam e is already a punning variant
on the divine m essenger Iris. A m ore specialized kind o f nam e-play is
illustrated by Trus-nonTrus, the deliberate distortion of fam iliar names as
a sarcastic expression of hostility: cf. spoken by Hector to Paris at
11. iii 39 ==xiii 769; , Od, xix 260 = 597 = xxiii 19.
79. : this w ord is used only here and l i xiii 824, H ector rebuking
A jax, and its m eaning is problem atic. T h e Odyssey scholia and Eustathius
take the Iliadic usage to m ean rejoicing in your (oxhide) shield, as if
= 77t Tij () , an expression parallel to xvSei'
,. Eustathius believes that the Odyssey passage needs a totally different
interpretation, and suggests that here the word means either a weight
upon the earth (because Irus is fleshy) or one w ho does an oxs labou r .
H esychius and A pollonius say that a plough-ox ( ) was called
yaios or because it w orked the ground, ; hence the w ord
m ay have becom e a pejorative term for an ox-like person (so M onro).
A m e is-H e n tz e -C a u e r take it differently, as one who swaggers like a b u ll,
and LSJ, LfgrE, and Frisk, G E W , define the w ord as braggart, all under
standing the second element of the word (from ) to mean exulting .
J. Latacz, however ( Z um Wortfeld Freude in der Sprache Homers (Heidelberg,
1966), 128-30), argues w ell for the m eaning proud of rather than
rejoicing or exulting for the second element, and argues that the -
element is augmentative as it is in later Greek. T his view accords with
A pollonius gloss , one w ho bears
him self very proudly . W hatever m eaning we give to , it is likely
that - is intensive and pejorative, marking the beginning o f a trend that
becom es quite pronounced in late fifth- to fourth-century Greek. For
Aristophanes it is an augmentative abusive prefix, seen in the words
, V 1206, and , Pax 1292 (a punning reference to
Lam achus as -). Note also the verb in X en oph on
An. iv 5. 7-8, L. J. D. R ichardson in Hermathena xcv (1961), 53-65, dis
cusses - com pounds from H om er to com edy and concludes that this
prefix has not yet acquired intensive or pejorative m eaning in H om er but
had the concrete m eaning ox , so that here means clum sy or
stupid ox . B ut see L ataczs counter-argum ents, 129 n. 2.
85. : traditionally taken to be an im aginary person, whose sig
nificant nam e m eans H older (cf. H ector , also formed from , to
hold). Such a traditional figure m ay be like the familiar w icked king in
folktales w ho puts all newcomers to death. T h e scholia, however, believe
Echetus to be an historical figure, a king either of Sicily or of Epirus and
son of E chenor and Phlogea, and having a daughter called M etope or

52
B O O K XVIII 73- 11 7

Am phissa. T h e scholia em phasize his cruelty, but this m ay be m ade up to


support H om er s allusion. T h e reference to Sicily recalls H om er s mention
of that place at xx 383, w here the suitors in anger suggest sending
T elem achus guests (the beggar and Theoclym enus) to the Sicilians to be
sold. Echetus is m entioned again at 116 and xxi 308.
90 - 4 . A typical pattern o f pondering and decision. See xvii 235-8 n.
95 . : having their hands up , i.e. having assum ed the standard
boxers stance (at 89). Cf. xiv 425; II. iii 362, xxii 34, xxiii 660, 686.
98 . 5 ! v : a form ula used elsewhere only of a
m ortally w ounded anim al (x 163, xix 454, II. xvi 469), as noted by D. B.
Levine, C J lxxvii (1982), 201. Irus threat (27-9) ironically rebounds upon
him , and the description of him knocking his teeth together, 1
, Levine notes, echoes his own words ? . . . -
in 289
100, : they died with laughter , a surprisingly exact corres
pondence with our m odern idiom. Eustathius observed (twelfth century)
that it has continued in use up to the present day as a proverbial w ay of
speaking about great and concentrated laughter (1839. 3 0 -1). In an oddly
parodie way, this m etaphor anticipates the literal death of the suitors, also to
be caused b y O dysseus, in reality rather than in a figure o f speech.
108 - 9 . T hese two verses describe the w retched beggars wallet in detail,
recalling the scene w here A thena first transformed O dysseus into the
beggar and equipped him with this ragged w allet and strap (109 = xiii 438).
In passing on to Irus the m ost obvious and degrading token of his beggars
status, O dysseus takes a sym bolic step toward leaving that condition and
m oving upw ard to a higher one, on the w ay to full recovery of his true
identity. N o w he has m oved from itinerant beggar to established house
hold beggar (cf. 110: he is now the sole and legitim ate occupier o f the
threshold), and in the latter part o f this book and throughout xix he
becom es a trusted confidant of Penelope.
111 . : see the note to 121.
1 1 1a . T h is line, absent from most M SS, is also m issing from the earliest
evidence for our text, the fourth-century Papyrus Ross. G eorg. 7 and the
sixth/seventh-century Papyrus O xyrhyn cus 1820. It is very likely an
intrusion (the identical verse occurs at ii 324) placed here b y a copyist or a
reciting rhapsode.
117 . : cf. xvii 541 with note. H e rejoiced at the verbal
om en is the nearest translation, but. / has no exact
equivalent. It is form ed from the group , / (stem xAef-),
whose m eaning runs the sem antic gam ut to nam e/m ake known/m ake
fam ous . T h e specialized m eaning verbal om en, presage follows the habit
of nouns in -, - (Chantraine, Formation, 3602). Earlier in the
poem this w ord m eant new s, the sharing o f w hat has been heard (iv 317;
cf. iv 322-4 which serves as a perfect gloss on w hat T elem achus means by
). B ut here, in the books nearing the clim ax of the poem , the word
is drawn into that part o f its semantic range that best serves the narrative

53
COMMENTARY

needs for suspense and irony, referring to something uttered that can be
fully understood only b y a privileged audience, here Odysseus. T h e phrase
recurs at xx 120, again referring to O dysseus. It has long been noted
(Ebeling, Lexicon, 812 col. 1) that and largely overlap in
m eaning: cf. ii 35, B ; and Eust. 1884. 50 ff. (ad xx 120), where
the similarity o f and is m aintained in the light o f their
distinction from . H om er brings these three terms together, and adds
a fourth, , in a sustained description of an om en at xx 100-20.
119 . : the introduction of A m phinom us seems sudden, since
he has not been m entioned since xvi; but H om er does often use the bucolic
caesura as a point o f syntactic and narrative juncture. W hen the suitors in
xvi were disgruntled over the failure o f their am bush, it was A m phinom us
w ho dissuaded them from adopting A ntinous proposal that Telem achus
be m urdered outright (xvi 361-406). Here he is again introduced for a
scene o f m ajor importance, to provide a strong contrast to the suitors
wickedness. His toasting the old beggar stands out as a gesture quite the
opposite of Antinous* and Eurym achus throwing stools at him at xvii
462 ff. and xviii 394 ff. A nd w hile we are saddened at the inevitability o f the
death w hich A m phinom us does not fully merit, his situation offers a good
opportunity for H om er to add some theological and existential com
m entary (130-42) that deepens and enriches the action.
121, : a word o f confused etym ology and elusive m eaning,
probably related to at 111 above: there the suitors m ake a
toast in words, , and here A m phinom us does so with a golden
cup, , to accom pany his verbal declaration. Authorities
divide over w hether both verbs derive from & (so M onro, Homeric
Dialect, 23. 6, 24.3), or from (LSJ takes from
and from ), or from still another verb stem, originally
- and related to Sanskrit dasnti, to give homage* (so Schwyzer,
Grammatik, i 648, 697; Bechtel, Lexilogus, 96). Ghantraine, Dictionnaire,
2701, believes that no clear etym ological explanation is possible because
o f extensive conflation (for m orphological details see his Grammaire, i 317
18, 359-60, 303 n. 3), and that all these verbal forms (including 8 etvt5-
, II ix 196, w hich belongs sem antically to this group and not to
to show) share an idea that extends from offering formal greeting
with words to doing so with a cup of w ine in hand (xv 150), like our own
ritual toasts, or sim ply with a hand gesture, as at xx 197. M odern
translations unfortunately fragment this idea into particular aspects, such
as greet, pledge*, w ith a gesture*, because our m odem social interactions
lack w hat the social anthropologist, speaking o f tribal societies, notes as
the relatively great developm ent of special customs and stylized etiquette
to m ark the different roles w hich a m an or w om an is playing at any one
m om ent (M ax G luckm an, Les rites de passage , in Essays on the Ritual of
Social Relations (M anchester, 1962), 27; and cf. 24-5 for further definition of
the ritualization of social relationships).
125 - 50 . O dysseus speech to A m phinom us has often been singled out for

54
B O O K XVI I I 117- 136

com m ent upon its. philosophy of life' and theological vision. See R. B.
Rutherford, T h e Philosophy o f the O d yssey, J H S cvi (1986), 156, who
uses this speech to argue for O dysseus evolution in the course of the poem
from a reckless adventurer to a m an who has learnt the wisdom of restraint
A striking and original theoretical discussion, J . M . Redfield s T h e
Econom ic M a n , in C . A . R u bin o and C . W . Shelmerdine, edd., Approaches
to Homer (Austin, T ex., 1983), finds in this speech a perfect illustration of
the central O dyssean concern with econom ics conceived as an ethic of
struggle between labour and saving, scarcity and plenty, aim ed at develop
ing a noos to some degree independent of the day Zeus brings us, able to
confront scarcity and plenty w ithout despair or insolence .
126 . T otou . . . ir a r p o s : supply , y ou are , w hich is understood, and
rendered less necessary by the etVat w hich concludes the preceding verse.
128 . -: a w ord o f disputed etym ology and meaning. T h e most likely
derivation is from the root (p)e-n--, w hich connects this w ord to etVov and
- and suggests the m eaning very proficient in speech , a nomen agentis
parallel to . T his ancient interpretation, found in the scholia, the
Etymologicum Magnum, and Eustathius, is renewed and ably defended by
A . T . Dale, Glotia lx (1982), 205-14, w ho argues against those w ho would
translate polite, affable (based on derivation from the root *sep- o f )
and suggests further that the os of 125, indicating a virtue
norm ally manifested through proficiency in speech, is nearly synonym ous
with and anticipates the o f 128. Exam ining the only other Hom eric
use o f , xiii 332 w here A thena uses three adjectives to characterize
O dysseus (, , ), D ale m akes a plausible
connection betw een and A th en a s com m ending O dysseus skill at
at iii 298; she then interprets the closely related but problem atic
of xxi 306 as the conversation that is the norm al com ponent o f a
banquet, as described at xxi 290-1.
130 . : this unusual w ord occurs only at v 217, viii 169 (each
referring to etSos), and here, always a com parative in form, with the
apparent m eaning feeble or slight . A pollon ius Lexicon glosses it
cpov, w eaker , for this passage, cTcAearcpa, less noteworthy , for
v 217; both H esychius and E M gloss y, and Hesychius adds
evTcAis; while the scholia gloss it as more patient or more enduring ,
. It does not reappear in G reek until the Hippocratic
corpus (Praec. 8, Nat.Puer. 30), where $ seems to m ean w eak (and
one M S at Praec. 8 reads daevjjs).
133 . : this w ord has a wide range o f meanings, from the more physical
prowess, m anliness , to the more general idea o f prosperity or success.
Either m eaning w ould fit here; but the habits of H om eric style m ake the
following words, mi -, and his knees have spring in them ,
most likely a gloss or expansion o f the statement so long as the gods give
\ so that m ost likely means physical prowess.
136 - 7. T h e o f hum ans here m eans their disposition or cast o f m ind. Cf.
i 3, 77- S . . . , with S. W ests note, and Solon fr.

55
COMMENTARY

4. 7 w , w here an voos describes the unjust m entality of the leader


ship of the demos. A full discussion of this word is given by K . von Fritz, CP
xxxviii (1943), 79-93 (for Homer), xl ( 1945), 223-42 and xli (1946), 12-34
(for later authors), im proved by T . Krischer, Glotta lxii (1984), 14 1 -g . For
the same sentiment in sim ilar wording, perhaps a deliberate echo, cf.
A rchilochus fr. 131 w , w here replaces .
137 . I tF : tmesis for . T h e w ord , as Stanford notes,
often approaches the m eaning daily condition, the quality of life in ones
day. H om er usually achieves this m eaning by using a modifier + to
describe significant events b y giving that day a sharply defined character,
e.g. , the day of enslavem ent , , the day o f
hom ecom ing , , the day w ithout pity . For these form ulaic
usages, see R . A . Santiago in Emmta xxx (1962), 139-50. T h e conception
o f the hum an condition thus im plied (m an s ephemeros nature) is
discussed b y H. Frankel, TAPhA lxxvii (1946), 13 1-4 5, esp. 135-6 (slightly
revised in Wege und Formen frhgriechischen Denkens (M unich, 1968), 23-39.
Frankel points out that a Zeus w ho sends upon us, and in effect is, the day,
is im plicit in the very nam e Zeus pater, Latin *Diespiier > luppiter,
equivalent to the Sanskrit dyauti pita, a sky-god or sky-Father who
represents the physical weather. T h e connection of this weather to our
inner w eather .or state of m ind, here , is a natural one. M an s m ind,
his thoughts and feelings, are subject to as m uch change as the succession
o f days brings: life is unpredictable, a wheel o f fortune. T h u s did Odysseus
(as the lowly beggar) move abruptly from good fortune to bad. (Note;
however, the argum ent of M . W . Dickie, O n the M ean ing of *,
Illinois Class. St. i (1976), 714, who points out that the adj. does
not yet exist for Hom er, and that when used by Pindar and other archaic
and classical period poets to describe the hum an condition, it most likely
means lasting for a d ay, short-lived .) T h is passage is one of H om er s
most profound and lyrical expressions of the generally pessimistic epic view
of life; consequently it was imitated by A rchilochus (68 d = 131 w ; cf. also
58 d = 130 w) and later echoed but transformed by Parm enides (B 16) and
Heraclitus (fr. 17). Verses 130-7 are quoted b y Plutarch, Consol, ad Apoll.,
i 04d.
138 . : as earlier at 19, + pres. inf. conveys likelihood
deriving from w hat should be or, in a past tense, should have been. Here
the idiom com bines the sense of our two statements I was supposed to be
prosperous and T was on my w ay to being prosperous. If the future
infinitive is used, it accentuates the forthcom ing developm ent as represent
ing what is inevitable or destined in a situation, as at x 477, xiii 293 and
3835 A full discussion of the nuances o f is in Chantraine, Gram-
maire, i 3079.
141 - 50 . H ere the reasoning changes from the more archaic w heel of
fortune conception of the universe seen in 13240 and sum m arized
epigram m atically in 136-7 where m an s fortune changes alm ost with the
weather, to a more m orally conceived system w here people receive their
ju st desserts . In the first m odel a m an s fortune swings from good to bad

56
B O O K XVI II 136-152

sim ply because the gods bring to pass evils for him S t c
r e X e o a ta t, 134 N o attention is given to what misdeeds the m an
m ight have com m itted to bring these evils on himself. B ut w hen O dysseus
now turns to specifics and uses his own case to illustrate his point (
, 138), he introduces a m oral causality by adm itting he acted badly
(' pe^a, 139), having acted as if, in our m odern idiom, m ight
makes right ( } , 139) Such a m oralized schem e is
necessary as foundation for his judgem ent on the suitors, introduced by
. . . e b j , 141, and then given specific focus b y o l a begin
ning 143. T h e repetition o f in 143 equates their violations with
those of 139 which we were told led to the beggars downfall. It is
interesting that this moral cosmic m odel o f justice can coexist with the
relatively amoral one of 132-40; archaic thought was less troubled by
logical contradiction than is our own thinking. W e are justified in seeing in
this im portant speech of Odysseus one o f the first examples of early G reek
speculative thought striving to articulate a morally justifiable theodicy. For
an excellent exam ple o f this double theodicy see Clay, Wrath, 227-9, w ho
suggests that O dysseus shift to the more ethical conception is motivated by
his wish.to encourage A m phinom us to leave.
144 - 7. Note how as the argum ent moves from the general principle to the
problem at hand the im pending danger of a confrontation between the
suitors and an angry, returned O dysseus the relation of sentence-
structure and phrase-pattern to verse boundaries is altered. T h e normative
tendency for the verse-end to correspond with the end of a sentence or
clause (visible in the fact that m ost lines are printed w ith some punctuation
at the end) here yields to a series o f varied enjam bm ents:(144-5 /
, possessive genitive; 1456 . . . -^, com plem entary
infinitive; 14 6 -7, oe /' , completion with verb
phrase after both subject and object have been expressed). T h e final two
verses o f O dysseus w arning also show gram matical enjambment.
151 - 2 . O dysseus com pletes the conventional, even ritual, sequence of acts
begun with A m ph inom us toast at 121. T h ere A m phinom us address to
the beggar, containing a wish for his future success ( ) , is framed
within the pattern of a formal toast ( ); here, the
beggars response continues an im portant ritual pattern designed to
involve the gods power in fulfilling hum an wishes: mev, he pours
the gods a libation, then drinks from the cup over which the wish was first
pronounced, then returns the cup to the donor. T he modern reader needs
to appreciate this ritual sequence in its full formal structure in order to
realize how it succeeds in giving special strength to the theological vision of
forthcom ing retribution revealed in the speech (130-50; note esp. 149-50)
that it serves to frame. Benveniste, Le Vocabulaire des institutions indo-
europeennes (Paris, 1969), ii 2 11 -1 2 , discussing libations, stresses that their
purpose is always that of protecting someone engaged in a dangerous
enterprise (cf. X erxes libation at H dt. vii 54). O dysseus is then reinforcing
his verbal w arning with a w arning conveyed through ritual gesture.

57
COMMENTARY

158- 303. This m em orable episode used to be suspected as an inter


polation, by critics as renowned as W ilam owitz (Heimkehr, 19-26) and
Page ( Odyssey, 124-6), although W ilam owitz adm ired it as a well-wrought
scene. A sensible review and appraisal of these arguments is given by
A . H eubeck, Die Homerische Frage (Darmstadt, 1974), 12 6 -7, w ho judges
it one of H om ers m asterpieces . Besslich, Schweigen, 138-43, also
defends the narrative coherence o f this scene against earlier G erm an
scholarship. Suspicion has been aroused by the appearance of several
linguistically late or rare forms in a short space (see 172, 173, 179, 190,
191, 192); bu t in the absence o f any sure criteria for determ ining the
source of such rare forms, their w eight as evidence for post-Homeric
composition rem ains uncertain.
160- 2 . A n am biguous sequence, w hich, if w e mistakenly take the -
clause to depend on instead of , w ould seem to attribute to
Penelope the highly im plausible intention of wishing to excite the suitors
and impress her husband (of w hose pretence she is unaware) and son.
A nother source of confusion is that the construction of with following
optative can describe either the intention behind an action or the result of
the action. (T h at the scholiasts were bothered by this am biguity is seen in
their com m ents on similar constructions with iva and instead of
at ix 154-5, 426-8, and II. xxii 328-9, w here they puzzle over
w hether the poet is representing deliberate intent or sim ply the causal
sequence.) It is also possible to im agine these verses to be the vestige o f an
earlier version o f the poem in w hich Penelope has already recognized
Odysseus and they are now acting in concert against the suitors (other
traces o f this earlier version w ould be the suitors ghosts? rem ark at xxiv
16 7-9 that Penelope plotted with O dysseus to slaughter them).
But here it is best to follow most perceptive commentators since van
Leeuwen and understand and its following two optatives to depend
gram m atically on and to indicate intention rather than result, the
intention being A then a s and not Penelopes. It is the goddess w ho is
engineering this scene: we see her strong control in her decision (dAA1
, 187) to overcome Penelope with sleep and the continuation of her
purpose in the optative clause at 191.
Allione, Telemaco, 76 -7, offers the unconvincing argum ent that it is both
A thena and Penelope who share in the intention o f the Vcws-clause, and
that the queen s intention to be m ore honoured by her husband refers not
to the scene at hand but to the future time of O dysseus return, when he
w ill find her in possession of these impressive gifts. Such a reading misses
H om ers strong dram atic focus on the enhanced status attained by
Penelope in the present scene, and also fails to explain w hy her son is
m entioned together with her husband in 162.
It should be noted that A thena s threefold purpose regarding Penelope
in 160-2 is in fact fulfilled at three points in the ensuing narrative: at 2 12 -
13 the queen enflames the suitors; at 215-42 she earns T elem achus
acknowledgem ent that it is she who runs the house and that he has been

58
B O O K X VI I I 158-164

m anaging it badly; and at 381-3 she earns O dysseus respect for her clever
m anipulation.
160 . : there is a tradition o f translating m ight flutter (so M onro,
LSJ s.v. ) which has, however, no basis in the Greek, and m ay
derive from an early confusion of (Latin p a t e o ) expand with
(Latin peto) to fly. T h u s the scholia gloss .
, , all o f which assume that has a
m eaning similar to Sappho s 8 v , 31. 6 L - P . But
here means she w ould enlarge or open u p the suitors spirit, the
m etaphor being to expand it with a new influx of strong emotion.
W ilam owitz, Heimkehr, 19 n. 1, explains the metaphor as that of opening
up a door.
163 . : literally, useless, bu t here usually understood as inappropri
ate , pointless , perhaps describing w hat w e call an embarrassed laugh.
T h e com m on-sense reading is that H om er uses this unusual word to show
that Penelope is uncom fortable with the bold impulse planted in her by the
goddess (so Hlscher, U n t e r s u c h u n g e n , 62). A full discussion of the difficulty
in ascertaining the exact sense of is given by Bchner, Penelopes
zenen, 14 1-3 .
M ore recently, D . B. Levine, Penelope s Laugh: Odyssey 18. 163, A JP h
civ (1983), 172-80, citing m any places in G reek literature w here laughter
accom panies deception, argues that this laugh expresses the queen s
confidence in and appreciation of her own trickery regarding the suitors.
J. S. Clay, H om eric to , A JP h cv (1984), 73-6, accepts this inter
pretation and attempts to supply the linguistic argum ent that Levine lacks,
deriving from the H om eric expression otlS rt ore (^e) , which
she translates as it does not befit you (me) . She then translates as
inappropriate to ones character , uncharacteristic , a m eaning she argues
w ould also suit the that describes Thersites look at 11. ii 269 (the
only other H om eric occurrence o f this word). W hile the sense m ay be
attractive for the characterization o f a m ore assertive Penelope than critics
custom arily allow, C la y s proposed derivation is less so. Since the nouns
/ m ean need and not appropriateness or characteristic , it
seems strained to find this second m eaning by an idiomatic extension o f
ov8e rt , lit. y ou ought not or you need not, to mean it is
uncharacteristic o f yo u , and then to apply the m eaning characteristic
back to the root -.
T h e exact m eaning of , then, m ust remain elusive. T h e word is
best analysed as not needed (LfgrE) and understood as indicating either
the em barrassm ent or discomfort described above, or perhaps a laugh that
is unnecessary or forced because it is feigned, Penelopes purpose being
. either to offer a lighthearted fasade to Eurynom e or to get herself into
character for the superior tone she is preparing to adopt toward the suitors
and her son.
164 - 5 . Since A th en a has put this unusual urge in Penelope, the queen has to
explain her surprising decision to Eurynom e with n ye to stress

59
COMMENTARY

its novelty and nep to stress that she is not departing


from her position o f contem pt for the suitors and loyalty to her husband..
These verbal touches, prepared for by the of 163, are needed to
explain the contradiction between Penelope's normal stand and her
sudden and abnorm al willingness to entice the suitors and declare herself
ready for rem arriage a contradiction w ell described by U. Hlscher,
Penelope vor den Freiern, in Lebende Antike: Symposion fr R. Shnel
(Berlin, 1967), 2 7-33. H lscher explains it as deriving from the poets
revival of a M arch en-like aspect of Penelope (the clever wife familiar from
the ruse o f the web) at a point in the narrative where he has been em phasiz
ing her nobility and lofty aloofness, qualities more suited to the high tone of
epic than to the familiar tone o f folktale.
166 - 8 . T h e fact that Penelope never voices this advice (not to associate,
tv, with the suitors) w hen she eventually addresses Telem achus at
215-25, has led some critics to question the coherence and even the
authenticity o f this entire episode. B ut the topic of that eventual speech
chiding T elem achus for allowing the suitors to maltreat the b e g g a r -
amounts to a criticism for going along with the suitors m anner of
behaviour. A s Besslich, Schweigen, 141, notes, T elem achus in 64-6
expressly join ed the suitors in allowing the fight with Irus, and such
collaboration is seen as the that Penelope will object to more
explicitly in 21525.
172 . : a (also at 179) is usually labelled post-H om eric and A ttic
(Shipp, Studies, 345; W ackem agel, Untersuchungen, 14 6 -7 [306-7]), despite
the occurrence o f this form at II, x 575 and H esiod, Op. 556. W hiie the more
com m on epic inflection of is , , , there is no w ay to
prove that the stem -, which is well-established in the language o f
Em pedocles and Pindar, did not attain sufficiently w ide diffusion in poetic
diction at a period early enough to coincide with the last stages of Hom eric
composition (r.700). W ackernagel, on the other hand, w ould assign these
verses (172, 179, II x 575) to an A ttic interpolator, noting that the stem
- is found early only in W est G reek poets, and does not enter A ttic
until Aeschylus.
173 . : this form is a hapax, the dat. pi. being regularly .
A ll forms of elsewhere have a long first syllable, but here we have a
rare --; although the same irregularity is paralleled in at
xix 122. M u te + liquid norm ally m ake a long syllable in H om er (aside
from nam es like that could not be used m etrically unless
shortened; for the norm, see Ch an train e, Grammaire, i 108-9); but shorten
ing is occasionally allowed before rp, np, , , . T h e metrical and
m orphological irregularity here has often been adduced, together with
other rare forms like (and cf. notes to 179, 190, l g i , 192) and
supposed them atic awkwardnesses (in the eye of the beholder rather than
in the text), to argue that this scene is an interpolation. B ut the H om eric
language is a m ixed and artificial language, abounding in varied and
inconsistent forms, and argum ents from supposed linguistic anomalies

60
I

B O O K XVI I I 164-194

have less force today than they used to. A nd the scene is one of H om ers
finest.
175- 6 . It is not im m ediately apparent to us although it must be to
Penelope that Eurynom e is alluding to O dysseus instructions when he
.left for T ro y, which Penelope will quote verbatim at 257-70.
178 - 84 . Penelope is retreating now from the m om entary and unnatural
boldness inspired by Athena. H er norm al diffidence and sense of vulner
ability in the face of the suitors reassert themselves: she needs the support
ing presence of her familiar attendants.
179 . : most o f this verse is quoted by Apollonius, Lex., 23 (s.v.
), but with and . W ackernagel, Unter*
suchungen, 74 [234], calls a quite recent addition , but this is
relative chronology and does not necessarily deny H om eric authorship.
190 . : a hapax for the usual . $ most often scanned
as if we had a scribal transformation o f the original (the same is
true of ecus); but here it is ^ . Som e have seen in this rarity the sort of
irregularity that w ould help condem n the entire lengthy scene (158-303),
but this datum is scarcely com pelling. T h e facts are that and '?
appear as , and ^ . T h e iam bic form is the least frequent and clearly
late (such quantitative m etathesis is one of the latest linguistic innovations
in H om eric G reek; see Hoekstra, Modifications, 3 1-4 1); but late is only a
relative term and need not m ean post-Hom eric. Hoekstra follows M eister,
Kunstsprache, 163-4, *n assum ing that quantitative metathesis was already
present in the dialect of the epic singers; thus the passage under con
sideration is most likely to belong to the latest stages of the Odyssey's
composition. Insofar as the enhancem ent o f Penelope and her appearance
before the suitors is a tightly constructed scene o f fine descriptive detail and
dram atic power added to the basic story line, w e may with good reason
think of it as H om er s own em bellishm ent upon the traditional tale.
191 . : an irregular form for , the epic third-plural aorist
optative. Page, eager to em phasize its oddness and the linguistic un-
orthodoxy of this episode, calls it a m onster (Odyssey, 133 n. 27), and
Shipp quotes this judgem ent (Studies, 345). B ut the contraction of
disyllabic -- to single -- is not so monstrously odd: see Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 30, w ho notes that two vowels of the same tim bre present a
favourable case for contraction. T h u s, w hile the forms and
are norm al, w e do find also the rare , II. xix 95, and due, Od. xi 61;
and the form is always found contracted (from an original *).
Since also has an original digam m a (stem 0ape-) the contraction
from to is not really surprising.
192 . ' : an irregular pi. generated as if from a sing, . Cf.
the similar dat. pi. at II. vii 212. Such a formation suggests the
spontaneously created neologism of the oral poet, relying on his ear rather
than on conscious gram m atical rules.
194 . : by this w ord w e see that the rdAAet o f 192, continued in the
relative o f 193, is envisaged by the poet as a concrete object, a sort of

61
COMMENTARY

divine beauty cream. T his is the only instance of having this m ean
ing, a semantic hapax. A n alternative, metaphorical interpretation is
conceivable, but unlikely in view of (192) w hich suggests literal
cleansing, as in the famous A dornm ent o f H era5 at II. xiv 170 fr., w here we
find a m ore explicit statement with dirt, , as the object of .
195 . : W ilam owitz speaks for m any w ho have erroneously
condem ned this w ord as an awkward transfer o f male standards of beauty
to a female context ( Untersuchungen, 31 n. 2). B ut size was a com ponent of
female beauty for the Greeks, as noted b y Pasquali, Terzepaging stravaganti
(Florence, 194.2), 14 1-2 , n. 2; K . Jax, Die Weibliche Schnheit in der
Griechischen Dichtung (Innsbruck, 1933), 9 with the references in notes 537;
W. J. Verdenius, in Mnemosyne iv (1949), 294-5; and M . T reu , Von Homer
zu Lynk (M unich, 1955), 35-52, especially p. 51 w here W ilam ow itz is
refuted concerning this very verse.
196 . v: whiteness is the conventional attribute of w om en s skin,
both in the H om eric world and later in the archaic and classical periods.
H om er repeatedly uses the epithet Aeu/cwAevos o f Hera, Androm ache,
Helen, Arete, Nausicaa, and various female attendants; and the arms o f
A phrodite and of Penelope are white in the conventional formula
A (II. v 314, Od. xxiii 240). G reek vase painting of the eighth and
seventh centuries represents w om ens skin as white and m ens as reddish-
brown: see J. D. Beazley and B. A shm ole, Greek Sculpture and Painting to the
End of the Hellenistic Penod (Cam bridge, 1932), 6 -7 , 23; J. D. Beazley, The
Development of Attic Black Figure (Berkeley, 1951), i ; E . Buschor, Griechischen
Vasen (M unich, 1940), 67; E. Irwin, Colour Terms in Greek Poetry (Toronto,
1974), 112 -14 . It should be noted that this stereotyping begins as early as
M inoan palace painting. M . T reu, op. cit. 52, 75-6 , stresses that w hite skin
for w om en and dark skin for m en (cf. Od. xvi 175) are aesthetic ideals in
H om eric epic; but he notes that w hite skin is often attributed to heroes
also, citing Jax, op. cit. 3 1-2 , n. 131, w ho suggests, no doubt rightly, that in
such cases the poet is em phasizing the vulnerability o f the heros skin,
? : ivory is m entioned six times in the Odyssey as a
material used by craftsmen in decoration, and again twice as the material
of w hich the gates of deceptive dreams are made, at xix 5634. Cf. the note
there for the possible symbolism of the substance ivory. In the Iliad, ivory is
m entioned only at iv 141 and v 583. See Lorim er, Monuments, 507, who
finds the higher frequency in the Odyssey a sign of its later com position; and
further in M . T reu, Philologus ic (1955), 149-58.
202 . Penelope will repeat this wish for death by Artem is arrow at xx 6 iff.,
80. Artem is is regularly a bringer of gentle death with her painless arrows,
usually for w om en as at xi 172-3, 198-9, 324, xv 478; and once for a m an,
the death of O rion described at v 12 1-4 . N orm ally men receive the same
gentle death from Apollo, as at iii 279-80, II. xxiv 758-9. A t Od. xv 4 10 -1 1
Artem is and A pollo jointly bring such a death to the elderly. Penelope s
im m ediate association of sleep w ith death is not surprising, since they are
established in H om eric thought as close kin: at II xiv 231 they are called

62
r

B O O K X V I I I 194-234

brothers' and at xvi 682, twin brothers . Gf. Hes. Op. 116, Th. 212; and Th.
756-66 for a description o f their kinship and contrasting attributes. T heir
similarity is a com m onplace throughout all literature and all metaphoric
thinking, appearing as early as the Gilgam esh epic, where the hero fails
U tnapishtim s sleep test and thereby fails to evade mortality.
209- 10. A physical attitude that is characteristic of Penelope throughout the
epic (i 3334, xvi 4 15 -16 , xxi 645), and m ay be seen as the outer
manifestation of an inner attitude o f m ind. As A . A m ory notes ( TCS xx
(1966), 55-6), Penelope tends to look at things only intermittently, to look
away from that which is im portant for her to perceive (cf. xix 478, xxiii 106-
7). From these observations A m ory builds a suggestive contrast of the
difference between O dysseus and Penelope in the w ay they look at, and
deal with, the w orld around them. A different interpretation is given by
H . Haalth, Gymnasium lxvi (1959), 374-80, who argues that her gesture is
one o f holding the veil away from her face.
212. : the knee joints are a critically vulnerable point of the
body in the H om eric conception o f m an as a psychosom atic totality. Just as
ones peak of vigour and self-confidence was expressed in the phrase
), the knees have spring (above, 133), so one s being over
w helm ed by strong em otion is also depicted in the effect upon the knees,
which in this case go slack. In the Iliad the knees are m ade slack or loose in
num erous passages as the result of a deadly w ound or intense fear. In the
Odyssey this is a com m on reaction to fear (iv 703, v 297, 406, xxii 68, et al.),
but the present passage is un ique and achieves a powerful effect in
attributing the cause to the power o f eros. For detailed docum entation of
the knees as a special seat of strength and spiritual, force, see Onians,
Ongins, 174~ 97 *
213 . : to lie beside (h er), in bed . T h e is adverbial,
not a preposition, w hile is locatival. T his line = i 366, describing
the suitors reaction to Penelope the first time in the epic that they see her.
224 . : pv, found only here in Greek, means a dragging
about and derives from , to pull about, m altreat , a frequentative
form of ipvw , to drag, p u li . O dysseus uses jo in ed with the
equally expressive at xvi 1089, and T elem achus at xx 3 18 -19
(a verbatim repetition), to criticize the suitors m altreatment of guests and
servant w om en, an im portant emphasis o f this section of the story.
234 . : the fight did not turn out according to the w ill (or
wish) of the suitors , that is, T elem achus im putes to them an initial prefer
ence for Irus, w hich has m ade critics uncom fortable because they cannot
find it in the text of the earlier scene. T h e suitors seem impartial, as
Stanford and earlier commentators note; but w e m ust rem em ber that
T elem achus sees things from the viewpoint of his fathers interests. Despite
the suitors words, they clearly expected the younger, stronger-seeming
Irus to defeat the old m an (until the relevation o f O dysseus physique at
67-74); and w e m ust recall that O dysseus feels it necessary to extract an
oath that they w ill not intervene on Irus side (55-8). W e m ust also note

63
COMMENTARY

that Telem achus makes this statement, with its em phatic explanatory
rot, in the context of a com plaint about the suitors hostile intentions
(ot'Se ), and he goes on to identify them with Irus in his
prophetic wish (235-42) that they be physically undone ju st like him. It is
natural, then, for Telem achus, who knows the beggar s identity and views
the suitors as his fathers antagonists, to im pute to them a stronger wish for
his father s defeat than they actually had. This interpretation keeps to the
usual translation of as w ill, with an etym ology that connects it either
with or with Sanskrit i to w ish . In view o f the scholias gloss
and H esychius : , it
is difficult to accept L eum an n s argum ent, Wrter, 127-33, that the basic
m eaning o f is hostility or anger, for w hich he finds support in
H esychius and.in the possibility that hostility m ight better suit a
few of the other H om eric contexts (notably II. v 874). But his proposed
etym ology, a false division of into , does not convince.
238 . X cXGto : earlier at 212 the suitors knees were m ade
slack by the force o f , a unique combination in H om eric epic. H ere we
are back to the more conventional agency of a mortal w ound slackening the
limbs. T h e former passage and the present one a m ere w ish both fore
shadow the inevitable slaughter o f the suitors, w hose knees and heart w ill
go slack ( ) for the last time at xxii 68 as they face their death.
246 . : ancient commentators are agreed in understanding
this phrase as denoting the Peloponnese, since the phrase
refers to a very large region, apparently all or most o f the Peloponnese, at i
344, iv 726, 816, xv 80. Argos is called Tason after the nam e of its legendary
K in g Iasos, identified as the son o f Io by the scholia and as her father by
A pollodorus (ii 1. 30) and Pausanias (ii 16. 1). Since Io is the m ythical
founder of the Ionian race, we have in the unusual phrase ,
which occurs only here, the trace o f an old tradition that w ould describe
the early inhabitants and rulers o f Argos as Ionian . Stanford points out
that attempts to connect Iason with la s, the term for Tonic, are
linguistically and historically unsatisfactory . But there is evidence for
believing in an early Ionian settlement in Argos or the Peloponnese in the
statements of Herodotus (vii 94) and Pausanias (ii 37. 3) that the people of
A rgos (Achaia) and of Athens used to speak the same language before the
Dorian invasion. Furthermore, the decipherm ent o f M ycenaean has given
us a picture o f an A chaean linguistic unity at an earlier period than was
form erly believed. J. Chadw ick, T h e G reek Dialects and G reek Pre
history, in The Language and Background of Homer, ed. G . S. Kirk
(Cam bridge, 1964), 7-18 , shows that we can explain the ancient tradi
tion that puts Ionians in the Peloponnese by accepting Ionian as the nam e
for a branch of the M ycenaean ruling class, i.e. w hat they called themselves
and were called by others. H e supports this theory w ith W . Brandenstein s
observations (Festschrift Debrunner (Bern, 1954), 66-70) that the H ebrew
Tavan designated the G reek settlements on the south coast of Asia M inor
Rhodes, Pam phylia, and C yp ru s w hich were M ycenaean colonies. T h e

64
B O O K XVI I I 234-264

M ycenaeans real nam e, then, w ould have been Japove? (cf. /dove? at II,
xiii 685) and they inhabited 'Ionian Argos, which is w hat Iason Argos must
mean.
247 . : sc a n n e d ---- , taking -eo- as long b y synizesis. Such m ono
syllabic pronunciation of the vowel com binations eo, ea, eoo is not
unusual: see the discussion of M on ro, Homeric Dialect, 351 (cf. also 55,87).
It is a com m on Ionic feature to contract eo to eu, as in /xe, uev, rev, and
so perhaps here w as in effect ?.
251 - 3 . Cf. 18 0 -1, xix 124-6.
260 . : scanned wherever it occurs in Hom er, an
irregularity that has been 'regularized5 because it is localized as a line
ending form ulaic word and therefore must be pronounced with long d metri
gratia (five occurrences in the Odyssey,plus v 27; ten occur
rences in the Iliad, plus three times, xxi 561).
263 . : 'riders on chariots with swift-footed
horses . T h e use o f horses m etonym ically to m ean horse-drawn chariot
is a com m on H om eric idiom , so that is to m ount a chariot.
Cf. II. viii 128-9: \ , S
. : although this is the reading o f all M SS, M o n ro s of re
has found w idespread acceptance (Ruijgh, re pique, 4.32). Such a use o f re
w ith noun or pronoun to express an essential or perm anent characteristic
o f a person or thing is com m on to epic diction, and w ell described by
Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 239ff-, and Denniston, Particles, 520-3.
264 . : this phrase (with -f- in ) is found eight
times in H om er, w hile (short -t-) occurs three more times m odify
ing veiKos, , and , plus once in the; hym ns (A. Ven. 244).
M eaning and etym ology o f have been contested since A pollon ius
Lexicon, w here it is reported that som e gram marians equate the w ord with
, but A pollonius glosses it as . L e a fs Iliad,
Com m entary ad iv 315, takes it as a separate word from , with
irregular metrical lengthening; and M o n ro s suggestion that
replaces an original to (the variant is
attested in all eight occurrences of this formula) is repeated by LSJ at the
end of an entry that begins b y calling an Epic adjective of
uncertain m eaning5. A n etym ology relating to / w ould
. allow the m eaning the same for all, im partial , w hich suits the sense o f all
H om eric instances; but it w ould fail to explain both how gained the
extra syllable to becom e , and w h y the iota is m ost often long. A n
ingenious solution is proposed by A . Athanassakis (RMus cxix (1976), 47),
w ho suggests w e have a com pound o f and the root pt/fi of pis, piepcu,
L atin vis, etc. T h e steps w ould be * + pi + yo + i> as the
intervocalic digam m a and yod disappeared. T h e etym ological meaning,
forcing to the same place, suits all H om eric instances adm irably (but not
Hesiod Op. 182, where, as Athanassakis notes, no? is used as if a
synonym of ), and A thanassakis proposed translation, 'levelling5,
matches the intuition of both Stanford (who understood miAepo? as the

65
COMMENTARY

equalizer) and Leaf, Iliad, ad ix 440, w ho lacks Athanassakis etym ology


but has anticipated his translation levelling .
265 . a v a t i: the verb form is uncertain. Ancient commentators and some
moderns assume a short-vowel form of the future from , will
send back (home) ; but M onro raised serious objections both to the use o f a
future with et kgv instead of a subjunctive to parallel , and to the
m eaning send hom e for . A subjunctive was proposed by
Thiersch and adopted in the texts of Cauer, N auck, and van L ee u w e n -
M endes da Costa. Am eisH entze (Anhang) cite the doubtful argum ent o f
J . Savelsberg that dvaet can stand as it is and be understood as an
uncom m on first aorist subjunctive ( < dvaetu, with substitution of short
vowel for long as a com m on epic subjunctive trait). M onro argued for a
different verb, from the root sed~, the active form o f the m iddle
' (hesd- < se-s(e)d-), as seen in the aorist do a and in a single attested
future at II. xi 455, . M onro w ould restore the subjunctive of
this verb, , and translate seat m e again , restore to m y place .
269 . Cf, the note to 176. In view of the instructions, we see that Penelope has
been delaying the suitors by keeping this information back from them, for
surely T elem achus must have begun his beard before the age o f 20! H er
policy has consistently been to forestall remarriage indefinitely, preferring,
as she says later, to keep safe all m y possessions, m y property, servants,
and high-roofed house, respecting m y husbands bed and the voice o f the
tow n (xix 525-7). A n alternative interpretation is that Penelope is deceiv
ing the suitors b y inventing a false story o f O dysseus last words to her, and
m aking her rem arriage seem likely in order to fan their hopes and extract
gifts from them. Such an interpretation is harm onized with Penelope s
series of stalling tactics by W . Bchner, Penelopeszenen , 13741. B ut it is
not necessary to interpret this as a lying speech in order to see it as a speech
intended to deceive and mislead the suitors (cf. 2823).
275 . : the w ay or custom of the suitors. In the
Odyssey this m eaning o f is the regular one (cf. xix 43) and
approxim ates that of (see Hoekstra, xiv 59.). T h e m eaning j u stice
and its expansion into an abstract or cosm ic principle or personification is
developed first in H esiod, later in Pindar, Aeschylus, and the pre-Socratics
(e.g. Heraclitus fr. 94, where he says that the Erinyes, helpers o f Justice ,
, w ou ld punish the sun if it deviated from its course). See
further in H . Lloyd-Jones, The Justice of Jeus1 (BerkeleyLos Angeles,
1983), 3 5-6 , 86-7, 9 9 -10 1, and passim, E. A . H avelock, The Greek Concept of
Justice (Cam bridge, M ass., 1978), 206-7, 217 on H esiod, 264-8 on
H eraclitus, and passim.
281 - 3 . A brilliant narrative sequence: Penelope appears for the first tim e in
the m ain hall since the beggar s arrival, and her disguised husbands first
view o f her shows her engaged in clever m anipulation o f the suitors, which
has characterized her handling o f them all along, from the ruse o f the w eb
to her recent speech at 25970. T h is cleverness confirms for us that she is
the perfect wife for O dysseus. A n d because they are so alike she is

66
B O O K XVI II 264-301

transparent to him . H e im m ediately grasps w hat she is doing and rejoices


in it because this m asking of inner motives is exactly the kind of
stratagem O dysseus him self likes to use, and in fact will soon use, 31344-5,
where he too will be intending things quite other from the
appearance he gives outwardly. T h e suitors, by a pointed and obvious
contrast, have no idea they are being played with. It is unfortunate that
several scholars of note have com plained that O dysseus rejoicing at his
wifes cleverness (281-3) is out of place because he w ould have no w ay of
knowing that she is not acting in earnest. Such a view fails to appreciate the
instinctive betw een husband and wife (see vi 180-5, which
shows that such m ental harm ony is an important part of O dysseus
conception of the ideal m arriage; and such a couple is a grief to their
enem ies, w hich the present passage illustrates perfectly!). A n excellent
elucidation of these lines and their relation to the w hole scene is given by
Bona, Studi 15 1-2 . See also Bchner, Penelopeszenen , 138-46; Allione,
Telemaco, 65-70, and xix 137 .
283 . v o o s : her m ind w as after other things . It has
been disputed whether this means that Penelope has a specific plan in
m ind like her earlier stratagem of w eaving the shroud, or whether the
phrase has simply the general sense that her words were insincere. Allione,
Telemaco, 67-9, em phasizing T heoclym en us recent assurances at xvii
15161 and the queen s positive interpretation of T elem achus sneeze at
xvii 541-50 , points out that Penelope by now has good reason for believing
in O dysseus im m inent return; thus she takes pevotvd to represent
both Penelope s general intention to deceive the suitors as to her true feel
ings and her m ore specific plan to put off any im m ediate choice of a new
husband in the clear expectation that O dysseus w ill soon return. Bona,
Studi, 1512, and Erbse, Beitrge, 827, take these w ords not to refer to any
specific plan but to m ean sim ply that the queen w as m asking her true
feelings. T h e identical phrase occurs also at ii 92 and xiii 381, w here
Penelope is described as using the clever strategy o f giving hope and en
couragem ent to all the suitors but intending som ething else. Since no other
more specific plan is envisaged in these earlier parallel passages, it is best to
understand the phrase in the general sense, b ut her intention was other
wise.
291 - 2 . It is un-naturalistic that no time elapses between the order given to
each suitor s herald and the heralds return with a gift. H om er has chosen
to telescope his narrative sequence so as to give prom inence to the descrip
tion of the gifts.
291 - 301 . T h e gifts are of the kind m eant specifically for winning a w om ans
favour. G old is prom inent, together with elaborate and skilled craftsman
ship (, 293; , 295; , 294); appeal to the
eye is param ount, as noted in the words ,
. T h ese gifts () are not those gifts () whose exchange is a
formal and integral part o f the marriage agreem ent. For a full discussion of
the distinction, see W . K . L acey in J H S lxxxvi (1966), 55-68, esp. 58.

67
COMMENTARY

296 . : studded with am ber (beads) . T h e word


means am ber (cf. xv 460 with Hoekstras note), but can also
denote a gold-silver alloy (possible at iv 73, but see S. W ests note) w hich is
still called electrum today. T h e sun is called at 11. vi 513, xix 398,
h.Ap. 369, and Em pedocles 22. 2, so it dearly describes a substance that
appears brilliant or flaming; hence the poet s addition, . T h e
etym ology is a mystery, to which an imaginative solution is proposed by
M . S. R uiprez, Sur et ^ am bre , in Mlanges de
hnguistique et dephiloiogie grecques offerts Pierre Chantraine (Paris, 1972), 231
41, w ho relates the words to the group , , , because of
the apotropaic powers he assumes am ber had for the ancients. T h e change
d > , however, is hard to explain.
298 . : an obscure word, the likeliest m eaning being that derived
from , m ulberry , and denoting berry-like clusters. W ith it
suggests three beads ( literally = pupil of the eye), each fashioned
like a berry cluster. E. Bielefeld, in Archaeologica C , 4, suggests that the
appearance o f m ulberries was achieved either by dark-coloured glass or
stone or b y granulated gold beads.
308 . : dry is the universally accepted m eaning for this w ord (LSJ,
Eustathius), and Hesychius offers a related verb ; but this m ean
ing has hitherto been essentially a good guess based on context. T h e
explanations of Frisk, G E W s.v., and Chantraine, Dictmnnaire s.v., relate
to Indo-European cognates m eaning hunger or p ain .
Derivation from / makes m uch better semantic sense, and is well
argued b y A . Athanassakis, TAPhA cvt (1976), 19, w ho postulates
reduplication from an interm ediate * .
310 . ' : norm ally torches, but here the context strongly suggests a
m eaning like kindling, denoting small strips of w ood, coated with resin
(so A m eis-H e n tze-C au er), m ixed in with the larger to help
them ignite. Som e have understood the SatSas to b e small torches m ixed
in am ong the braziers ( jpes), but ^ is too concrete a term,
suggesting physical mixture. M oreover, 8 gives
clearest sense as a description of the maids standing by to take turns in
adding the fuel m ixture to the braziers.
317 - 19 . O dysseus statement here is aggressive in both tone and content, so
as to incite the mean-spirited M elantho to react harshly. (W e see H om er
deliberately w orking to motivate this hostile encounter.) O dysseus has
ordered the servants (313 ff.) with authority, almost revealing the master
beneath the disguise (he seems to becom e aware o f this excess at the end of
the speech and to pull back his assertiveness with the last h a lf of verse 319).
T h e speech itself is ironic and ominous: , light is a com m on
m etaphor for victory in com bat (cf. 11 vi 6, viii 282, xv 41, xvi 95, xviii 102,
xx 95), and the m etaphor, as C . H . W hitm an notes (Homer and the Heroic
Tradition (Cam bridge, M ass., 1958), 1212), eventually turns into a miracle
at xix 3440 w here A then a creates an unnaturally bright light for
O dysseus, sym bolizing his im pending victory.

68
B O O K XVI I I 296-346

319 . : that O dysseus is in effect punning on his com m on


epithet is suggested by J. Griffin, H om er and Excess, in
Brem er, de Jong, and Kalff, eds., Homer: Beyond Oral Poetry (Amsterdam,
1987), 10 0 -i, where he relates the passage to an interesting general
tendency for the Odyssey to play with its own formulas,
321 - 6. A m iniature ring-com position frames the portrait of M elantho as an
ingrate. She scolds O dysseus (vvme) at 321, but instead of this phrase
introducing her speech, H om er gives us a short but incisive digression
containing the background information necessary to appreciate the extent
of her disloyalty. T h e n 326 repeats the idea of 321 (again, vevirre) and
introduces the speech we have been w aiting for.
327 . $: is a H om eric hapax. W ith the specify
ing accusative it is equivalent to , to knock som eone out
o f his wits5. H esychius and A pollonius gloss -, and
H esychius adds . T h is perfect passive participle affords M elantho a
m ost effective and lengthy word o f abuse, rich in alliteration (note that the
of is echoed in the two 7r s).
328- 9 . . . . . . . : a is any public lounge or
gathering place (from , to repose), and the close association with
the blacksm iths house, , seems natural, since in cold
w eather people w ould find the foyer near the sm ithy an appealing location
because of its warm th. T his very association is in fact m ade by Hesiod, Op.
493-5, w here cold is specifically cited as driving m en indoors to such
gathering-places. T h u s we have a further confirmation that O dysseus5
return takes place in w inter or early spring (see note to xvii 23, ). T his
passage is quoted by Pausanias, x 2 5 .1 , describing a club-room 5 or
at Delphi.
333 . : that beggar : em phatic and contem ptuous. For this use of
the definite article, see note to xvii 10.
334 - 6 . M elantho concludes her speech with a hail of alliterative abuse: 334
has three consecutive words beginning with r- and three with a -; 335 is
conspicuous for - and <j; 334 is filled with labials, , , , .
343- 5 . O dysseus taking up a position by the flaring lamps, him self
illum inating the room () as if he were a light, offers a forceful
im age, suggestive of his growing power and forthcom ing trium ph. T his
description achieves the bright clarity of an epiphany. Cf. 317190.
346 - 8 . T hese same lines recur at xx 2846, w here again the provocation
culm inates in an object hurled at O dysseus. A m odern reader m ay puzzle
over the desire o f a deity to incite the suitors so that Odysseus be caused
more pain. O n e obvious reason for this pain is that it helps justify the total,
unsparing revenge O dysseus will later take against the suitors (cf. the
concluding line o f xx: nprepot det/cea , One o f the few
times the poet offers his own com m ent on the plot). A second, m ore
subm erged reason is that pain fulfils a prem ise im plicit in O dysseus nam e:
he is a figure w ho gives and receives abuse (the likely m eaning o f 8-
, cf. note to xix 4069). O dysseus carries some traces o f an early

69
COMMENTARY

G reek incarnation of the Trickster figure found in all the folklore and
m ythology of the world, a figure w hose nature is, mysteriously, both to give
and to receive pain and hum iliating treatment. (T he classic study is
P. Radin, The Trickster (LondonN ew Y ork, 1956).)
350 . : note how often laughter has been directed against O dysseus in
this book: 35, 4 0 ,10 0 ,111,3 2 0 , an d here. T h e other m ajor concentration of
laughter is in xx (346,347,358,374, 390), describing the abnorm al laughter
A th en a inspires in the suitors, a reversal and horrible parody o f their earlier
laughter at O dysseus. It is w orth noting that laughter in the H om eric world
is usually hostile, at the expense o f one of the characters; and it is twice as
frequent in the Odyssey as in the Iliad. A gain we may suspect a latent
connection to the archetypal Trickster figure, am ong whose chief
characteristics are the stimulation o f laughter and an ironic mode.
353- 5 . T h e connection in thought is not at first sight obvious. Eurym achus,
seeking to be ironic at O dysseus expense, pretends to voice the traditional
sentiment expressed by the suitors earlier at xvii 483-5, that gods go am ong
m en in disguise. But then abruptly (with , just so , stressing the
connection) he turns to m ocking the idea of a divine presence, asserting
that the light apparently radiating from Odysseus (cf. 317, 343-4) must
com e from his bald head. Since H om er has been giving increasing
emphasis to the sym bolic equation of light - victory (see note to 31719),
the attem pted irony he puts in the m outh of Eurym achus turns around and
becom es an irony at the suitors expense.
357 . : to be a \ a hired day-labourer, the lowest position in
the social order (Finley, World, 534, 71). W hen the ghost of A chilles in
H ades is searching for a point o f com parison to explain to O dysseus that
even the lowest social role on earth is preferable to ruling over all the dead,
he uses the life of a as his com parison (xi 488-91).
359 . xe : here means to collect, gather, but
rem ains obscure and its etym ology unknown. T h e scholia think
it m eans a fence m ade of small stones or fragments; M onro, 287, compares
the later G reek toAoyoj, builder . T h e phrase probably describes a
technique for building a dry w all5, i.e. w ithout mortar, b y collecting small
stones (so P. K . Buttm ann, Lexilogus (London, 1846), para. 78.8; Stanford,
ad loc., w ho notes similar construction in the Irish and English country
side). A divergent tradition is that originally m eant thorn-hedge
and later, via the m ore general m eaning hedge, barrier , cam e to be trans
ferred to walls m ade o f stone (so Eust. 1851. 30 ff.). B ut there is no evidence
in extant G reek for this theory (Eustathius gives a folk-etymology from
, since thorns cause bleeding), and the occurrences o f at in
H erodotus (i 19 1,116 9 ,13 8 ; and cf. Eustathius 1851. 25-30) clearly denote
walls o f stone.
362- 4 . T h ese identical verses were used by A ntinous attacking O dysseus at
xvii 226-8.
366- 80 . A n am azingly bold speech for a beggar to m ake to a noblem an!
Im plicit in the statement is the social ideal that one should be both a good

70
B O O K XVI II 346-402

warrior and good at peasant tasks, perhaps a folk m otif from the tradition of
the little people as opposed to the ruling class, according to W . Donlan,
T h e T radition of Anti-Aristocratic T h o u g h t in E arly G reek Poetry,
Histona xxii (1973), 153. Cf. H . Strasburger, Gymnasium xl (1953), 9 7-114 ,
who sees the peasant viewpoint perm eating both H om eric epics, but also
notes that m anual labour and agricultural w ork are often attributed to
m em bers of royal families (104). Both Donlan and P. W . Rose, Class
A m bivalence in the Odyssey', Histona xxiv (1975), 129-49, argue well for a
peasant-oriented, anti-aristocratic tradition, essentially Hesiodic, that
determines the favourable emphasis on the lower-class figures of the
Odyssey and the very negative portrait of the suitors. H. M nding, Hesiods
Erga in Verhltnis zur Ilias (Frankfurt, 1959), 12-96, sees this Hesiodic
tradition as self-consciously anti-aristocratic, and our Odyssey passage
suggests that such a tradition was already well-established in two different
literary genres b y the late eighth century. T h e pts of 366 recalls
H esiod s concern, at Op. 11-2 6 , to add to the single pis o f Th. 225 the
second, beneficial pis o f competitive striving that stimulates people to
work, . . . (Op. 20).
384- 6 , A vivid picture, similar in its hyperbolic im agery to the language of
M elanthius attack on O dysseus at xvii 230-2, but m uch m ore offensive
since directed at a social superior. Eurym achus violent reaction is not
surprising or excessive, given such provocation. T h e cow ardice im puted to
this suitor in the hypothetical situation o f O dysseus return is in fact contra
dicted when the hypothesis becom es reality at xxii 44-78: Eurym achus
exhibits com m endable bravery. (See especially xxii 73,
, with Fernndez-G aliano s note on this Iliadic phrase.)
394 - 8 . T h is hurling a stool at O dysseus repeats the sim ilar incident at xvii
462 ff. w here it is A ntinous w ho hits him with a stool. A third use o f this
same m otif is at xx 299ff., w here Ctesippus throws an oxs hoof, which
misses O dysseus and harm lessly hits against a wall. T h e repeated insults
and stool-throwing are discussed b y H . Reynen, in Hermes lxxxv (1957),
129-46, w ho argues, against the earlier G erm an analytic tradition, that this
incident in xviii is developed from the earlier incident in xvii. A significant
structure and progression in the throwing-scenes is noticed by Fenik,
Studies, 180-4: the first cast hits O dysseus, the second misses and hits a
retainer, and the third is most ineffective o f all and harm lessly hits a wall.
T h u s the suitors are depicted as growing increasingly powerless, w hile the
criticism w hich their hostility evokes grows stronger and stronger (compare
T elem achus criticism at xviii 405-9 to his even more powerful statement at
xx 304-19).
402 . : the M S S has been displaced in all m odern editions
b y this variant, w hich schol. H asserts w as the reading o f all , . This
at is generally accepted as Aristarchus observation based on the M SS
available to him (so M onro, 432-3; bu t Ludw ich, A H T 119, thinks it refers
only to a majority o f the earlier editions known to Aristarchus, and included
his own editions) and so has regularly been taken to be an easy

71
COMMENTARY

corruption that spread to all the now extant codices. B u t those w ho follow
Aristarchus overlook the fact that elsewhere in G reek always
means to change the position of something, and so this alleged H om eric
usage w ould constitute a semantic hapax. O n the other hand
com m only means to let loose as if from a restraining leash, as
, A . Th. 79, and also can refer to letting sound fly forth, as in E.
Hipp. 499, . . . , id. 1202 ; S. O T 784,
^ , and the description o f shouting (in Persian) at H dt. vi 29,
. T h e object cAaSv w ould therefore fit quite
well with (so van der Valk, Textual Criticism, 159), despite Stan
fords claim that it hardly makes adequate sense ; and I believe that we
must distrust the scholiasts allegation of universal testimony for ,
and should return to the reading of the vulgate.
403- 4 . M onro suggested that these two lines contained an imitation,
perhaps a parody, o f II. 5746, w here Hephaestus intervenes to calm the
argum ent between Zeus and Hera, pointing out that they should not spoil
the divine feast b y quarrelling over mortals: vvv nepi -
w ould echo piSatverov, and the clausula of
403 plus all of 404 is identical to the clausula of 575 plus all of 576. Certainly
the language is very close, but the assumption o f deliberate imitation or
parody belongs to the world of written epic, self-consciously literary and
evocative o f its predecessors, as Vergil or Apollonius Rhodius consciously
allude to Hom er. Such a specific and subtle Iliadic allusion here w ould be
foreign to the style o f oral epic, even the polished and carefully com posed
oral epic of H om er. Instead, w e should assume that similar thoughts tend
to find similar, and often identical, expression. T hese two lines are,
however, significant for another reason: they underline an im portant
developm ent in the narrative, show ing em phatically how the low ly beggar
w ho entered the palace early in xvii has becom e a m ajor presence in the
household, an important force for the suitors to contend with.
406- 7. . . . t is : this is one of the earliest
clear instances of madness, , explained as divine interference, a view
that was to becom e com m on in the classical period and is discussed at
length in Plato s Phaedrus, 2443-2450 (where and are
joined etym ologically, 244c 15). E. R. D odds, The Greeks and the Irrational
(BerkeleyLos Angeles, 1951), 67, noting that the idea o f possession is
largely absent in H om er although slight traces of it are found in the
Odyssey, cites the word (327 above) as such an oblique
reference; the present verses, however, w ould have served him as better
evidence. Further discussion of madness (primarily its absence) in H om er
in B. Simon, M ind and Madness in Ancient Greece (Ithaca, N Y , and London,
1978), 6 5 -7 1.
408 . : either an im perative or the future indicative used to
express a m ilder, m ore polite com m and. M onro argues for the future both
here and in 419 below (see note there), and the m ore polite form certainly
accords better with 409.

72
B O O K XVI I I 402-428

408 - 21 . T elem achus m akes his strongest assertion yet of his right to
com m and in his own house, and the suitors are am azed at his new bold
ness (4 10 -11). T h e intervention here o f A m phinom us, the best of the
suitors, recalls his intervention at xvi 394-406 to dissuade the others from
the m urder of Telem achus, and suggests that a hostile clash between
T elem achus and the suitors is a possible outcom e of the high temper
displayed in this scene. W e recall that A thena incited this development
(346-8 above), and only now do we see the full consequences of her instiga
tion: the latent tension in the household o f O dysseus continues to grow,
with the presence of the beggar a m ajor catalyst.
410 . : literally fastening into their lips with their
teeth5, a most vivid expression to show the degree o f the suitors anger,
w hich they must bite their lip5 (to use our m odem idiom) to keep from
expressing openly. T h is striking phrase occurs again only at xx 268, when
T elem achus5 assertion o f his prerogatives grows still bolder and the suitors
react similarly. For a full discussion o f lip-biting5 and the broader issue of
facial and non-verbal com m unication as depicted in H om er, see
D. Lateiner, T eeth in H om er5, L C M xiv (1989), 18-23.
414 . c m : the original digam m a is preserved in the scansion
m. : as Stanford notes ad xiv 90, refers to the
custom ary5 or proper5 thing rather than to w hat is ju st . Cf. the m eaning
of at xix 43, 168.
419 . : as noted at 408, M onro argued for future indicative as
the likely form here (see his Homme Dialect, 297, for examples o f
introducing the future tense); but in his note to xiv 532 he concedes that
H om eric usage w ould give us to expect a subjunctive after (cf. xix 17),
and so we m ay have here a short-vowel subjunctive f the aorist e/ma
(H esychius preserves the infinitive in his gloss ). For
the possible subjunctive form, see Chantraine, Grammaire, i 453.
423 . : the schema etymologicum as at 361 (
), xix 72 (' ) and 92 ( ).
428 . $ : here, as earlier at xiii 17, the context allows the possibility
that w e have a desideratme form of the verb, with loss of the characteristic
sigma (Chantraine, Grammaire, i 453). O n the them atic level, it is note
worthy that thirteen o f the twenty-four books o f the Odyssey conclude with
the actors going to bed, passing the night, or m eeting the dawn. Such a
closing cadence5 suggests that m any of our book-divisions represent units
of narrative performance, and to speculate further that this perform
ance took place in the evening, serving the audience (unconsciously) as a
preparation for going to bed.

73
BO O K XIX: CO M M E N TAR Y

Book xix displays a carefully arranged structure, w hich includes two scenes
showing the closing of the distance betw een O dysseus and Penelope and two
scenes of a similar m ovem ent involving O dysseus and Eurycleia. T h e first two
are balanced on either side of the second two, giving an A B B A pattern. A t the
very centre o f this structure is the digression on O dysseus scar, which
extends the sym m etrical pattern to A B C B A . T hese are the final five scenes of
the book. T h e y are preceded by two short scenes: Odysseus and T elem achus
plan the removal of the weapons, then M elantho enters and rebukes
O dysseus, for which she is herself rebuked by Penelope. T h e seven scenes
m ay be sum m arized as follows.
1. 152. O dysseus and T elem achus plan the removal of the weapons from
the m ain hall (anticipated at xvi 281-98).
2. 53 _ 95 Penelope enters the hall (for the interview proposed by the
beggar at sunset, xvii 582-4); her serving m aids as they leave her
encounter the beggar, w hom M elantho reviles. O dysseus answers in
kind, drawing the attention o f the queen w ho intervenes to chide
M elantho.
3- 96-316. L en gthy interview between the beggar and the queen. H e gives
three descriptions o f O dysseus. Penelope weeps at the first and second,
and upon hearing the third firmly declares that she knows Odysseus will
not return.
4. 3 17-9 3. Penelope turns to the maids and orders them to bathe the
beggar and prepare his bed. H e refuses to be bathed by the servants,
unless there is an old wom an w ho has suffered as he has. Eurycleia is
sum m oned, com m ents on his similarity to Odysseus, begins to bathe
him, and notices the scar.
5 393~406. A flashback to the boar hunt, theri further back to the birth
and nam ing of O dysseus, then back to the boar hunt and his w ounding.
6. 467-507. O dysseus is recognized by Eurycleia; he threatens her and
swears her to silence.
7. 508-604. A nother lengthy exchange between Odysseus and Penelope,
based on a developing intim acy and trust. In three speeches, she
com pares herself to the nightingale and then tells him of her dream of
the eagle slaying her geese; she disparages her dream s obvious inter
pretation by applying the typology of horn and ivory, and then turns to
the idea of setting an archery contest to decide w hich suitor will win her;
she com m ents on the unavoidability o f sleep, wishes they could
continue conversing all night, and decides it is time to retire.
1- 50 . T h e plan to remove the arms to prevent the suitors from using them in
the forthcoming fight was conceived earlier at xvi 281-98 (xix 5 -1 3 = xvi

74
B O O K X IX 1 - 1 3

286-94). W hen such repetitions were suspect, before the H om eric style was
appreciated as an oral style, critics used to debate over which passage was
original and which interpolated. R ecent critics tend to defend the
authenticity of both: Erbse, Beitrge, 3 -4 1; Bona, Studi, 13 1-4 1 (who
thinks, however, that xvi 295-8 m ay be interpolated); Stanford, 315
(defending linguistic and them atic details against M onro's objections).
T here are two inconsistencies: the anticipation in xvi that the suitors will
notice the absent arms and ask about them never in fact comes to pass; and
O dysseus directions there to reserve two swords, spears, and shields are
never again referred to. I understand both anticipations in xvi to be
precautions against w hat O dysseus thinks is likely to happen. W hile such
anticipations are usually fulfilled in Hom eric narrative, their non-
fulfilment is not a serious blem ish. T h e narrative reveals the characterist
ically oral tendency to achieve detailed vividness for the im m ediate
moment, at the expense of total consistency with w hat preceded Or will
follow, so long as enough time intervenes so that these inconsistencies do
not force themselves on the listeners attention by their proximity (cf. the
inconsistency noted at xvii 160-1). Kirk, Songs, 242-4, explains this
passage by assum ing that the poet m ade small changes in his narrative
plan as he went along, and a similar explanation is given b y Eisenberger,
Studien 228-9. Such m inor inconsistencies distinguish H om er or the poet
o f Beowulf from poets like V ergil or M ilton w ho can review their com posi
tion verbatim and arrive at a com pletely consistent, fixed text (see Bowra,
H P, 299-306; Homer (London, 1972), 328, em phasizing H om ers con
centration on the dram atic present).
9 . T h a t this is a very plausible excuse is evident from the description o f the
similar old-fashioned Yugoslav house, as given by I. M . Garrido-Bozic,
G & R xv (1946), 108-13. Such houses have no chimney, only a smoke-hole
in the roof, so that the ceiling, beams, and pillars, all o f oak, are blackened
with sm oke (109).
13 . a v S p a ; iron o f itself draws a m an to
it , apparently a proverb, used here to add persuasiveness by an appeal to
traditional wisdom (cf. note to xvii 347, w here an apparent proverb also
closes a speech). A lthough m eant as a warning against the temptation to
resort to weapons in a drunken quarrel a common danger in heroic
societies this proverb m ay have older origins in an awareness of the
magnetic, and hence m agical, properties of iron. So M . Cary and A . D.
Nock, C Q xxi (1927), 12 5-6. A n d perhaps the early availability of meteoric
iron contributed to this belief: G . A . W ainwright, Antiquity x (1936), 6:
Iron was the thunderbolt, one of the most appalling powers in N ature .
T h e use o f iron as the word for an unspecified weapon, instead o f the
m ore norm al bronze (cf. xi 120, xix 522, xx 315, and throughout the fight
in xxii), is criticized by Lorim er, Monuments, 510, as an unexam pled
breach o f epic convention (but see 119 -2 0 for what she admits are partial
exceptions), but this is hardly an adequate reason for doubting the lines
authenticity.

75
COMMENTARY

25- 9. T here will be no m aids to carry the light because Telem achus has ju st
asked Eurycleia to detain them (, i6) in the palace. H er question at
245 m ay im ply that she expected Telem achus to answer that she, of
course, as a trusted and m otherly figure, w ill carry the light for him ; and if
this is so, his answer at 268 is still another exam ple of his newly acquired
independence and cool aloofness. T h u s interprets Latacz, Glotta xlvi
(1968), 3 6 -7 , w ho believes the apieros mythos of 29 represents speechlessness
on the part of one stunned into silence by such a rebuff (for m y divergent
interpretation of apteros mythos, see the note to xvii 57).
28 , x o Cv ik o s : , occurs in H om er only here, obviously denoting grain or
food. In later G reek it referred to a specific measure of wheat (Hdt. i 192),
the quantity considered sufficient for one m an s daily m aintenance (ibid,
vii 187, T h . iv 16, D .L . viii 18). W e have no w ay of knowing if the word
denoted a m easure in H om eric Greek.
34 . : with synizesis of eo, is sca n n ed ---- . See at xviii 247.
: this golden lam p o f A thena has led both ancient and m odem
critics to question this passage. Athenaeus, xv 700 , declared that the
? was evp-, adding that 'the ancients for lighting used
[instead] the flame of a torch and other w oods (as at xviii 30 7-11). His
words are echoed by Eustathius (1571. 22, ad vii ), and both the scholia
and Eustathius (1854. 51) note that H om eric heroes do not use lamps.
M o d e m archaeological opinion agrees: M . Nilsson, Opuscula Arckaeologica
vi (1950), 98101, and Lorim er, Monuments, 50911, suspect this passage as
a late interpolation on the grounds that while lam ps are frequent in
M in oan and M ycenaean sites, they disappear from use until the latter h alf
o f the seventh century. B ut H .J , Rose, Classical Bulletin xxvifi (1951), 12,
suggests that the use of lam ps as cult objects w ould survive in old religious
shrines long after their secular use was discontinued; and R. Pfeiffer, Studi
Italiani di Filologia Classica xxvii-xxviii (1956), 426-33 (= Ausgewhlte
Schuften (M unich, i960), 1-7 ), m akes the same distinction still m ore force
fully, arguing that a lam p seems to be associated with A thena continuously
from M ycenaean times down to H ellenistic and later literature. T h e
Odyssey here w ould be draw ing upon that tradition for a piece o f striking
im agery turned to good dram atic use.
36- 40 . It is the goddess own presence, and not the lamp, that fills the hall
with a supem aturally intense light. Such a flooding of light is characteristic
o f a divine presence in k.Cer. 189 (see the com m entary ad loc. of N .J .
Richardson, ed., The Homme Hymn to Demeter, O xford, 1974, 208) and 280,
h. Ven. 8690, h.Merc. 44off., S. O C 1650-2, and other ancient authors
(further citations in Richardson). Here the light acquires the sym bolic
suggestion o f forthcom ing victory for Odysseus, a com m on m etaphor in
heroic epic (see n. to xviii 31719), an interpretation developed b y Focke,
Odyssee, 315, and M . M ller, Athene ah gttliche Helfenn in der Odyssee
(Heidelberg, 1966), 1256. Cf. the uncom m only bright radiance o f
A chilles helm et at II. xxii 1336, w hich overwhelms H ector with fear and
is clearly m eant as a portent o f A chilles im pending victory.

76
B O O K X I X 25-57

45 . : this w ord norm ally means irritate, provoke ; but what exactly
does O dysseus m ean by it here? LSJ cite this line and the object
for the m eaning provoke to curiosity, but this interpretation has two
weaknesses: (1) it fails to account for the other object, , the servants,
who are in no such w ay provoked; (2) it assumes that in the ensuing two
interviews with Penelope, O dysseus is trying to arouse her curiosity about
his identity, w hich is not evident in the text (although argued ingeniously
b y P. W . Harsh, A JP h Ixxi (1950), 9 -17 ). It is better to take as
close to in m eaning, understanding O dysseus statement here
as a fulfilment of A th en a s prediction at xfii 336, ' m
, and o f his intentions as stated to Telem achus a tx v i 299-307 (so
Schwartz, Odyssee, 106, followed by H . Vester, Gymnasium lxxv (1968), 419
20 n. 13): he will keep everyone in the household from knowing that he has
returned, w hile using his hidden presence to discern the direction or
course of the w om en ( , xvi 304; cf. xix 501) and to
test (, xvi 305) the m ale servants. T h e m eaning of ,
then, is som ething like prod, a com bination of the idea of testing the
loyalty and feelings of Penelope and the servants with that o f stimulating
his wife to think o f the likely return o f her husband. F or a different inter
pretation see Thornton, People, 847, w ho takes in the m ore
norm al sense of provoke to anger and argues that this m eaning (
) anticipates O dysseus provocation o f M elantho. For the less
apparent provocation of Penelope ( ), Thornton finds justifica
tion in O dysseus statement to M elantho at xix 83: I fear your mistress
m ay be angry with you and rage against you , w hich does in fact happen at
915. It remains unlikely, however, that O dysseus w ould use the phrase
shall provoke your m other to T elem achus to mean that he will bring about
Penelopes chastisement o f M elantho,
51 - 2 . Note how verses 1-2 are repeated, rounding off this scene as a
com plete unit. Such a stylistic m arker is not com m on, but recurs later at
393-4 partially echoed in 465-6.
53 - 4 . Identical to xvii 367. See the note at xvii 37.
56 . : as Stanford notes, this w ord suggests inlay of gold and ivory
spirals or circles. Cf. 67.
57 . : the artisan Ikmalios is known only from this passage, and his
nam e is probably the poets ad hoc creation to help explain the marvellous
chair. Stanford sees Ikm alios as one of H om ers m any significant names,
etym ologically connected with Cypriot and Latin ico, to beat,
strike (a similar etym ology is given by R uijgh, Element, 136), a good nam e
for a m aster o f metal and ivory inlaying. A full discussion by L. Lacroix in
Hommages a Waldemar Deonna, Collection Latom us xxviii (Brussels, 1957),
. 309-21, bases the etym ology instead on , m oisture, a term used to
denote hum an sweat and the ju ice of a plant. Since the of the oak is
called by A ntipater of Sidon (A P vi 109) and glue is once called
the sweat of the oak in a fragm ent of Ion o f Chios, Lacroix suggests that
the nam e conceals a reference to the technique of using glue to apply ivory

77
COMMENTARY

and metal inlays. H e notes that such a technique existed in G reece and is
especially well-docum ented for Egypt, where glue was extracted from
anim al hides as a kind of sweat5. Pliny (H N vii 198) credits D aedalus with
the invention o f glue, but Lacroix suggests that H om er m ay here preserve a
dim m em ory o f an alm ost forgotten Ikmalios as the earliest G reek furniture
craftsman.
62 . S e n a : this form represents a contracted neuter pi. with correption of .
Alternatively, we could read Se-mT, representing , the uncontracted
pi. T h e sam e w ord occurs at xv 466, and the same choice between -a and
-a in xpa at 2 i i below.
63- 5 . H ere the serving-maids refill the braziers that they set up at xviii 3 0 7-
11 w hen evening first came on. N ow it is quite late. T h e suitors had gone
hom e for the night with the last verse of xviii. Telem achus has just gone to
bed (4750). O n ly O dysseus and Penelope are still awake, and now the
interview proposed and postponed at xvii 5 0 8 -11 ,5 2 9 ,5 6 1-7 3 , and held in
abeyance throughout the activities of xviii, can finally take place. But
H om er has one m ore narrative em bellishment: he will bring back the
sharp-tongued M elantho and use her attack as a device for bringing
Penelope and O dysseus together in a state o f heightened sym pathetic
rapport.
66. cretstTrom , pain : will you be a pain?5 A ntinous similarly
called the beggar a pain5 at xvii 446.
67. : circling5 (through the house). $ :
and you will give the w om en the eye5. M elan thos language is sharply
spiced with strong descriptive words, which convey adm irably her
antagonism . It is unusual that iveaei? should occur so soon after
at 56, since these w ords are used only rarely. A sublim inal association was
at w ork in the poets mind, a not uncom m on phenom enon.
71 . : H om er s characters often use the vocative o f ? in a
state o f heightened em otion to address som eone familiar w ho is behaving
unexpectedly. Presum ably the locution originates in the notion that the
addressee has been m om entarily possessed by some supernatural power
(), causing her or him to act or speak out o f keeping with the
custom ary m anner or cultural norm . In such cases the word am ounts to a
rebuke (see iv 774 with S. W ests note) and a good colloquial translation
m ight b e W h at s gotten into yo u ?5 O th er instances exist, however, where
n o rebuke is conceivable (e.g. II. xxiv 194, Priam s speech to H ecuba, where
it is his behaviour that seems inexplicable and is divinely prom pted, and
she w ho m ight well b e expected to use this term of address). T h e study of
E. Brunius-Nilsson, 0 (Uppsala, 1955), suggests that n o un i
versally valid translation is possible, and that the constant elem ent o f
m eaning is an intensity on the speakers part m eant to create an
atm osphere of intim acy that m ight oblige the addressee to co-operate.
75- 9. Interestingly enough, these lines are the literal truth, although
em ployed as part o f a larger falsehood. T h is conflation o f truth and false
hood on a small scale anticipates the m ore elaborate tales that Odysseus

78
B O O K X I X 57-107

will tell to Penelope later in the book, and recalls the tales told to Eum aius
and Antinous earlier (verses 7580 were used at xvii 419-24,). T h e mixture
of truth with falsehood is an im portant feature of the process O dysseus
called 4 (45, above): the verisimilitude o f his self-portrait prods both
m aids and Penelope to reveal their degree of loyalty to O dysseus and to the
beggar w ho claims his .
79. . . . : these verbs lack an expressed subject,
people , which w e m ust supply from the context.
84 . O dysseus in disguise enjoys dropping hints about his likely return (cf.
xvii 52 5-6 , xviii 14 5-6, and the series of hints, turning into assurances, here
in xix). T h e irony thus engendered functions both as an excellent device by
which the poet titillates his audience, and an effective personal trait of the
beggar that gives vividness to his characterization.
86. Tofos' a proleptic use o f the word: exactly what quality xotos describes
is forthcom ing in verses 87-8.
92 . . . . e p y o v : the schema etymologicum, a favourite G reek rhetor
ical device even at this early date. Cf. xviii 423. and vi 6 m .
) ) $ : this m etaphor seems to allude to a ritual
custom by which wiping blood from a sacrificial knife on to the victim was a
m eans of transferring the guilt to the victim (so Stanford, citing Hdt. i 155
and S. EL 445-6). Such a custom would form part o f the Unschuldskomdie,
the com edy of innocence, performed in ritual slaughter as a device for
w arding off the guilt-feelings that must inevitably attach to the m urderer
(cf. K . M euli, G riechische O pferbrauche , in Phyllobolia: Festschrift von der
Miihll (Basle, 1946), 2756; W . Burkert, Homo Necans (Berkeley, Los
A ngeles, and London, 1983), 4ff., 46 n. 46). A s used here by Penelope, it
means that the blam e will not be transferred but placed on the head o f the
doer o f the deed, M elantho. T h e m etaphor gets its strength from a reversal
o f the ritual habit.
98 . ): the scansion shows that the digam m a was felt in
feirrrj.
99 , : s c a n n e d ---- . T h e lengthening before -v is
irregular bu t not unexam pled. T h e lengthening before final -s is extremely
rare. Both irregularities can occur only in the first syllable of the metron.
107 - 14 . A ll this pream ble avoids answering the direct question as to his
identity and origin, substituting flattery of Penelope and a short excursus
on the virtues of a good king and the w ay nature responds bountifully to a
ju s t regime. T h e portrait draw n o f harm ony between the natural order and
the politically ju st civic order rem inds us o f H esiods insistence on connect
ing the two throughout his poem and especially at Op. 225-37. T h at they
were a com m onplace o f G reek and early European thought is stressed by
M . Nilsson, Homer and Mycenae (London, 1933), 220. (Plato refers to both
the H om eric and H esiodic passages together at R. 363b.) T his ideal also,
ironically enough, gives us from O dysseus m outh a portrait o f his own
regim e as it was in the past (cf. ii 230-4 = v 8 - t 2; iv 687-93) and as he will
re-establish it. Further, as an exam ple o f O dysseus rhetorical habits, it

79
COMMENTARY

repeats the patterns of his reply to Arete at vii 241 if. and to A lcinous at ix
2 ff. In each situation Odysseus is asked his identity, and to A rete as to
Penelope here he gives an answer that evades the direct question
els ; (v 237 8a = xix 10 4-5a). W ith A lcinous he responds first with
flattery, then with a description o f the ideal harm onious banquet as
exem plified in the one present before them, and finally he gives Alcinous
his name. Here he describes his unhappiness but still holds back his
identity, w hich he will reveal in his next speech.
109 . &>s T reu : the M S S give but, as Stanford notes, this
phrase is awkward because there is no alternative given to .
M on ro em ended to (following Bekker, Homerische Bltter, ii 200), which
(even with another 77 in the preceding line) seems preferable.
113 . ): scanned as if a trace rem ained of the original -- of
() (so M onro, Homeric Dialect, 359). Stanford compares the similar
lengthening in at ix 74.
122. : the shortening o f a in is unusual, but was seen in
at xviii 173. T h e verb, unique to this passage, is a strongly
m etaphorical com pound o f with (Ionic for ), which can
have the meaning, swim or float, as at v 240 and II. xxi 302. T h e
com pound would mean to be afloat with tears or to be swim m ing in
tears . T h is verse is quoted by Aristotle, Pr. 953 b 12, in a partial para
phrase, , .
124 - 9 . T hese same verses were spoken, nearly verbatim, by Penelope to
Eurym achus at xviii 251-6. Spoken here they are o f course m uch m ore
dram atic and powerful, since the husband w hose return she wishes for is in
fact the very person she is addressing! A s often happens, a H om eric
repetition acquires new force from its new context.
130- 3 . Again, H om er reuses earlier statements, this time taken from the
speech o f Telem achus to O dysseus before the beggar s identity has been
revealed to him, xvi 122-5, and also spoken earlier by T elem achus to
A th en a disguised as M entes at i 245-8, H ere the echo does not carry the
dram atic significance of the echo noted above in 1249, and it was
suspected in antiquity as an interpolation: schol. H (as em ended by Porson
to indicate 4 not 30 verses athetized) records that these lines were not in the
m ajority o f M SS, and Aristarchus athetized them. But they have the
appearance o f the kind of non-essential filler that is easily added or
dropped in the process of a living performance, be it of a ballad, folk-song,
or oral epic.
135 . : at xvii 383-5 we had a listing o f four categories of these
public-w orking professionals: the prophet, physician, carpenter, and the
divine bard. Here the herald is given the same social status designation.
137 . : spin out deceptions . T h is m etaphor is well-
established in H om eric diction, in the widely-used phrases
and . Here it gains added significance from the fact that
Penelopes most renowned was in fact the w eb w hich she spun out
b y day and unravelled b y night, her literal actions paralleling her

80
B O O K X I X 107-145

m etaphorical description. Penelope m ay be an especially appropriate


'spinner , of both webs and deceptions, if we follow the etym ology that
w ould connect her nam e with , thread or w oof, discussed by
E. W st in R E 19 col. 461 ff. Recently von Kam ptz, Personennamen, 29h, 70,
has revived an earlier speculation (Kretschm er, Anz. Wien. A t 82 (1945),
8off.) that the second element -^ m ay be derived from , to
pluck' out, giving the possibility that Penelope means W eaving-
U nraveller . B ut von K am p tz seems to incline elsewhere (pp. 139, 275) to
the m ore conventional etym ology that Penelope is one o f the m any names
of individuals and populations derived from animals, in this case the wild
duck or goose called - (so tentatively Chantraine, Dictionnaire, s.v.
7).
Penelopes use of the plural ? suggests that, beyond the trick of the
web, deception has characterized her lengthy dealings with the suitors. She
has stalled their designs with various evasions (cf, A ntinous com plaint at ii
9 1-2 , echoed by A th en a s description at xiii 3 8 0 -1; also A m phim edon s
retrospective assessment at xxiv 126-8, w hich echoes T elem achus earlier
com m ents at i 249-50 and xvi 126-7), and most recently has raised their
hopes with her seductive appearance that inflam ed their desire and
extracted valuable gifts, xviii 158-303. T h u s her use of the phrase I spin
out deceptions further strengthens the view that her exchange with
Eurym achus at xviii 245-80 represents calculated deception on her part,
and that O dysseus observation and reaction at 281-3 reveal a wily
husband s appreciation o f a kindred wiliness in his wife.
139 - 56 . T h ese verses are alm ost verbatim repetition o f ii 94110 in w hich the
ruse o f the web is first described, in the com plaint m ade b y A ntinous to the
Ithacan assem bly convened b y T elem achus. H ere only verse 153 has no
counterpart in the earlier speech. Since it is om itted in m any manuscripts,
it m ay b e a later interpolation, or a verse that was added in some perform
ances but omitted in others.
141 . fldvc 6 io s $ : the flat factual tone of this statement is far
, removed from Penelopes real feelings, in w hich som e hope for O dysseus
return is always present (cf. 1278, above; xviii 254-5). She is deliberately
deceiving the suitors, and H om er skilfully conveys this in her diction.
143 . v ia : in vain, ineffectual , always neut. pi. in H om er. T h e
original m eaning is probably gone with the w ind , the original form *-
<: (from ), w hich lost the -ve- b y dissimilation. T h is ety
m ology is already in A pollon ius Lexicon and is supported by Bechtel,
Lexilogus, 226, and Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v., am ong m odern author
ities. It receives ancient support in Sim onides fr. 160 = 516 P M G ,
, the dust was raised high by the w ind , where a connec
tion with is clearly assum ed. C om pare the synonym ous ,
and the phrases (II. iv 355, Od. xi 464) and
(Od. iv 392).
145 . : death with extended grief, a noun-epithet
form ula found eight times in the Odyssey and twice in the Iliad,

8i
COMMENTARY

is m ost likely from () and a Ay os (the adjectival s), as


H esychius saw w hen he glossed this w ord with s
dAy-. Sim ilar lengthening of a to iri a com pound is seen in the
H om eric , from - plus ', and in , w hich,
although apparently similar, m ay not be built on Ayos but on ,
w ith the m eaning uncaring, pitiless, which w ou ld suit its frequent
application to (see Leum ann, Wrter, 45; Chantraine, Dictionnaire,
s.v. dAyos, ).
147 . : found in only one M S, the others giving . T h e form is a
subjunctive, contracted from or (see Chantraine, Morpho
logie, 259). M on ro believes the true H om eric form was , w hich van
L eeuw en prints in his text, and w hich can be substituted m etrically for
/ in all H om eric occurrences but one (II. xxiv 554).
149 - 50 . V an Leeuw en, Odyssea (Leiden, 1917), 521, offers a fanciful sym bolic
interpretation in w hich a celestial m yth is deeply buried under this
narrative element: Penelope represents the m oon, whose w axing and
w an in g is represented as the weaving and undoing of the w eb (
of 153 could be added in support of this interpretation).
Presum ably the recurrent w aning of the m oon was a sym bolic representa
tion of the fact that Penelope s w eb w ould never be finished. T h u s w e
w ou ld have a lunar counterpart of the solar m yth upon which the return o f
O d ysseu s (and all heroes) w as once thought to be based (cf. van Leeuw en
ad v 467 ff.; and for a survey and critique of this solar m ythology m ade
fam ous by M ax M ller, see R. Dorson, T h e Eclipse of Solar M yth o lo gy,
in Myth: A Symposium, ed. T . Sebeok (Indiana, 1958), 2563). A more
sensible investigation into the weavingunweaving m otif is E. S. M c
Cartney, U n doin g by N ight W ork Done by Day: A Folklore M o tif , in
Studies Presented to D. M. Robinson, n (St Louis, 1953), 1249-53, w ho finds
this m otif in m any European and A rabian folktales. Penelopes w eb is a
m otif perfectly adapted to function on both the literal and sym bolic levels:
it is the activity o f a good housewife and here is performed in filial piety, yet
at the same time spinning com m only has a m etaphoric dimension in m any
languages, and in G reek is part o f a standard m etaphoric expression for
deception (cf. note to 137).
157 - 61 . Penelope here gives a realistic, and pessimistic, assessment of her
situation vis-a-vis the suitors: both her parents and her son are pressing her
to rem arry, and she has run out of stalling devices. It is a rather candid
account to give to a stranger; but she accepts him as someone to w hom
T elem ach u s has chosen to extend guest-hospitality (), and in the
course o f this long interview she w ill grow increasingly to trust and confide
in him . W e m ay assume a strong intuitive feeling is at work, which draws
the queen to this interesting newcomer.
160-.1. o to s re . . . : an early example of this construction (found
also at xxi 117, 173 bu t not in the Iliad), and similar to + inf.
com m ented on at xvii 20. See further in Ruijgh, pique, 48-9,
541 - 3 *

82
B O O K X I X 145-172

161 . : the antecedent is probably , although M onro takes it to be


OiKOV.

163 . . . . irCTpqs: apparently a proverbial expression


referring to the old belief that the hum an race originated from these natural
sources. Penelope is using gentle irony to im ply that the stranger has real
fam ily origins, w hich etiquette now suggests he reveal. T h e phrase occurs
also at II. xxii 126, and in the related rrtpi at Hesiod, Th.
35, both of w hich seem less appropriate to their context than does the
present passage, and have given rise to debated interpretations (for which
see W . J. Verdeiiius in Mnemosyne xi (1958), 20-4; Hesiod, Tkeogony, ed.
M . L . W est (O xford, 1966), 167-9). F or the m yths of hum an origins from
trees or stones, see Roscher, Lexicon vi 500-2; F. Specht, Zeitschrift fr Ver
gleichende Sprachforschung lxviii (1944), 191200; G . Bonfante, in Die Sprache
v (1959), 1-8 ; and on the nam e D orian and its relation to 8pv and 8pvs
through the root *derw-, P. Ram at, La Parola del Passato xvi (1961), 62-5.
170 . T h is verse recalls the phrases ' . . . aorta and rrQtv
hyta in the fam ous prooim ion of the Odyssey (i 3 -4 ). O dysseus ability to
spin lies that resem ble the truth (203 below) comes in part from his
incorporation of m any real experiences into his narrative.
172 . : at xiv lg g ff. O dysseus also idenfies him self as a Cretan, when
giving his history to Eum aeus. T h e re he nam es C rete as if it is a well-known
place; but here he describes it as if to som eone w ho m ight have heard the
nam e before ( n s ta n ) but w ou ld need to b e informed about the
island s geography, inhabitants, resources, and political leadership.
Presum ably a wom an, even a queen, p aid little attention to international
politics and geography, whereas a m an, even a swineherd, spent a good
part o f his time exchanging such information and gossip with his friends
as rem ains true o f M editerranean cultures today. -
172- 9 . T his passage, together with 11 ii 645-52, is the earliest description we
have o f Crete and one of the most im portant pieces of historical
information in H om er. He describes a society of m ixed, international com
position, the only such settlement known in early Greece, w hether we
assume the description to be valid for the B ronze A ge, for H om er s time, or
for som e period in between. T h e A chaeans are the M ycenaeans, w ho seem
to dom inate central Crete under the leadership of Idom eneus according to
the tradition presented at II. ii 645 ff. E teocretans, m eaning true Cretans,
obviously refers to the aboriginal inhabitants. T h e ir non-G reek language is
preserved in inscriptions at Praisos that continue to the third century b c ,
and Herodotus (vii 170) identifies the Praisians as descendants o f the
original M inoans. T h e C ydon ian s are m entioned also at iii 292 w here they
are placed at the river Iardanos, at the western end o f the north coast.
A ccordin g to Pausanias viii 53. 4 they originated in A rcadian Tegea.
M ost striking is the inclusion of Dorians am ong C retan populations,
since H om er mentions them nowhere else and shows no knowledge of
the supposed D orian invasion . I i ii 6536, however, seems to refer
to the D orian settlement o f R hodes, identifying the R hodian leader

83
COMMENTARY

Tlepolem us as a son o f H eracles5 and describing the Rhodians dwelling


arranged in threefold division, res, ii 655. T his phrase,
taken with the of ii 668, m ight be related to the ^ of Od. xix
177, suggesting that both epics are consistent in their awareness of the three
D orian tribes unless w e derive 7 from and (see n. on
177) and translate w ith w aving (horsehair) plum es . For further discussion
see Kirk, Commentary, 225-7, and R. F. Willetts, Cretan Cults and Festivals
(London, 1962), 13 1 -7 .
Strabo (x 4. 6 -7) com m enting on this im portant passage identifies both
Eteocretans and Gydonians as autochthonous and cites the authority o f the
lost historian Staphylos for assigning the Cydonians to the western part of
C rete (m odern Khania), the Dorians to the east, and the Eteocretans to the
south w here they occupied Praisos. In the classical period, and perhaps as
early as H om ers time, Dorians occupied m uch or most of Crete, so that
this tradition preserved by Strabo and H om er m ay accurately reflect the
time when the Dorians gained their first foothold on the island. See further
in R . W . Hutchinson, Prehistoric Crete (London, 1962), 317-20 . A s for the
ubiquitous Pelasgians, H erodotus (i 568) identifies them as the original
non-G reek people from w hom the Ionians are descended; elsewhere (ii 5 2 -
6) he inclines to the idea that all Hellas was originally called Pelasgia ; and
he m entions them often throughout his History. T h e y remain a mysterious
people, possibly connected with the Lydians and Etruscans (cf. T h . iv log),
w hom m odern research has not successfully identified. T h e full-length
study of historical evidence is F. Lochner-H ttenbach, Die Pelasger
(Vienna, i960), w here this passage is discussed on 99100. T h e earlier
authoritative discussion is b y J. L. M yres in J H S 27 (1907), 170-225. See
also W . H ow and J. Wells, A Commentary on Herodotus (Oxford, 1912), 442-
6 (based on M yres), a n d 'R . F. Willetts, Ancient Crete (London, 1965), 2 5 -
35. For a linguistic argum ent for P elasgian as a pre-H ellenic
Indo-European language that left m any traces in Greek, see A . J. van
W indekens, Le Pelasgique (Louvain, 1952) and tudes plasgiques (Louvain,
i960).
177 . Tptj(aiKes: an unsolved etym ological puzzle. Several recent authorities
cite the analogously formed , with shaking helm et, and derive
this word from , hair, an d , to move quickly, leap, and trans
late w ith flying hair or w ith waving (horsehair) plum es (so Chantraine,
Dictionnaire s.v., L ehm ann, Wrter, 65, Risch, Wortbildung, 194, Frisk,
G E W ). B u t H esiod fr. 233 M W , our earliest testimony for epic usage,
uses the w ord to m ean dw elling in threefold location . T h is older
etym ology, favoured by Bechtel, Lexilogus, 31718, Schwyzer, Grammatik, i
g3, and Benveniste, Institutions indo-europennes, i 311 (= Eng. edn. 253),
assumes an original **, the second elem ent cognate with ,
L atin vicus, Skt. vis-. T h is etym ology offers the advantage o f a consistent
portrait of D orian tribal division in both H om eric epics (see on 172-9), bu t
faces the obstacle of unexplained long -a and -1- (metrical lengthening is
argued by Bechtel, rejected b y Chantraine). I suspect w e should follow

84
B O O K X IX 172-181

H esiods sense of his own poetic language, and assum e m etrical lengthen
in g for long -i- and com pound lengthening for long -a- (cf. ,
post-Homeric os).
178 . . . . : Cnossos was the great central city of Crete, and
M inos, son o f Zeus, its legendary ruler. F or his excellence as a ju st king, he
was singled out, according to legend, together with his brother Rhada-
manthus, to preside as ju d g e over all the souls o f the departed in Hades.
179 . Both the m eaning o f and the syntax of the line present
ambiguities. T his w ord is most likely derived from eivea, nine, and ,
season or year , and should m ean nine years old or in the ninth year .
(Ruijgh, re pique, 479 n. 17, suggests it m ay have replaced an original
*etvo>pos, w hich w ou ld account for the synizesis in scansion,------- .) A t xi
311 the context requires nine years old , w hich w ould hardly suit our
passage; but at x 19 and 390, referring to an ox and to pigs, the m eaning of
m ature age is com m only assum ed (Cunliffe, LSJ), although in the ninth
year also gives good sense if we understand it as the traditionally perfect
age for sym bolic or ritual reasons. A t //. xviii 351 the w ord is applied to the
oil that is used to stop the ears o f Patroclus corpse, and while the exact
m eaning remains obscure some ritually appropriate attribute seems to be
designated. F or the present passage, w e m ust either follow Platos inter
pretation, in Min. 319 and Lg. 624 (echoed in Strabo x 4. 8 and xvi 2. 38),
that every ninth year M inos went up to the cave o f Zeus to talk with the
god and bring back laws to his people; or say that M inos ruled in nine-
year cycles, taking with , w hich is m ore natural, rather
than with , as Plato does; or say sim ply that M inos ruled for nine
years. T h e existence o f nine-year cycles has been oftn attested for G reek
festivals, based on an early octennial calendric rhythm ( . P. Nilsson, Die
Entstehung und religise Bedeutung des griech. Kalendars (Lund, 1962), 4 6 -7,
1501; G . T hom son, jfH S lxiii (1943), 63; an eight-year period could be
called either or , since the ninth year m arked the
beginning o f the new cycle but could be counted inclusively with the
concluded cycle; thus an eight-year cycle could be said to proceed
). N ine is generally a favoured n um ber throughout antiquity
in Greece, the N ear East, and R om e (F. B. Anderson, C J 1 (1954-5), 1 3 1 -
8) and m ay have been a sacred n um ber in M in oan M ycenaean religion
(Thom son, op. cit. 64, denied b y Nilsson, op. cit. 30 n. 4). T h e safest inter
pretation, then, is that refers generally to a nine-year period, and
means nine years old w hen referring to animals bu t in nine-year units
w hen describing how K in g M inos ruled. S. M arinatos, Studies Presented to
D. M . Robinson i (St Louis, 1951), 1312, speculates that the so-called
eleven-year rainfall cycle lies behind this; that in G reece it approxim ated
nine years and led to the belief that K in g M inos (and elsewhere Aeacus:
Paus. ii 29. 7) had interceded w ith his father Zeus to bring a good rainfall.
181 . H ere O dysseus claims not ju st a noble background w hich he has
already im plied b y his courtly m anner and concern for proper behaviour at
10 7-22 but that he is younger brother to the K in g o f Crete. A t xiv

5
COMM ENTARY

19g242, telling his story to Eum aeus, he depicted him self as the
illegitim ate son o f a Cretan noblem an and a concubine, a man who
attained high esteem despite his m ixed background and eventually was
given jo in t com m and, with Idom eneus, of the C retan expedition to T roy.
T h a t story was a fiction w ell-chosen to ingratiate him self with Eum aeus,
w ho sim ilarly has had a m ixed career, b u t of reverse pattern, beginning as a
true-born prince but spending most of his life as a servant, albeit a highly
respected one. H ere with Penelope, however, O dysseus claim s.a flawless
royal lineage, w hich w ill help win the queens full confidence and begin the
progression o f sym pathy and trust that leads to her accepting him as a
friend and equal by the end o f this book.
183 . : no doubt H om er intends a significant nam e, b ut the exact
m eaning here m ay elude us. R .J . Edgeworth, T erm s for Brow n in
A ncient G reek , Giotta 61 (1983), 31-40, argues well that (together
with ) is prim arily a colour term and not the equivalent o f shining or
b lazin g (for which ^ w ould be the norm al participle); hence its
m eaning as a personal nam e w ould be dark-com plexioned (a typical m ale
physical trait: see xvi 75, and xix 246, 5 with
note), or, with m etaphorical extension, perhaps vigorous (the m eaning
that the related m ust carry at Hes. Op. 363, [MSS,
Bergk] , intense hunger). T h e exact m eaning o f H om eric
remains problem atic because the adjective is attached to so m any different
objects: lion, horse, oxen, eagle, tripods, cauldrons, iron. Its com m on use
to m odify m etallic objects has been used to support the translation
shining ; but Edgew orth seems correct in claim ing that it is the red-brown
colour of bronze that is denoted, and that in the case of iron w e have an
instance of the frequent form ulaic conflation o f bronze and iron (noted by
Lorim er, Monuments, 119).
185 . : a rare instance of illicit hiatus. A ccordin g to Leaf,
Iliad, vol. i 123 (ad iii 46), it is found only at II. ii 8, iii 46, v 118, xix 288, xxiii
263, and Od. iii 480, vi 151, and here.
188 , o s $ : Eileithyia is the goddess with the power to facilitate
childbirth, a function w hich Artem is gradually assimilates in later
tradition. T h is cave of Eileithyia at Am nisos was excavated by S. M arinatos
in 192930 and evidence was found for continuous cult use from the third
m illennium b c to the fifth or sixth century a d . T h e goddesss name,
believed to be pre-Indo-European, is found on several L in ear B tablets
from A m nisos and Knossos, and Eileithyia probably descends from a
neolithic prototype of the G reat Goddess or M agn a M ater o f nature and
fertility, w hose figurines were w idely distributed in prehistoric times. H er
cave at A m nisos m ust have been well-known for O dysseus to use it to lend
credence to his account. F or further inform ation see . P. Nilsson,
Minoan-Mycenaean Religion (Lund, 1950), 73, 5212; R . F. W illetts, CQ, viii
(1958), 22 1-3 , and Cretan Cults and Festivals (London, 1962), 16872. Both
Nilsson and W illetts see an etym ological connection between Eileithyia
and Eleusis, w hile L . R. Palm er, The Interpretation of Mycenaean Greek Texts

86
B O O K X I X 181-209

(Oxford) 1963), 238, connects the nam e to eAeiWepos and Latin Liber, the
god of generation and growth, and liberi, children . Either etym ology
allows us to see a relationship between Eileithyia and the widespread cult
o f the earth-mother, and perhaps to assum e that the reference to this
goddess cave is a subtle om en of O dysseus eventual success.
203 . : a m uch-disputed word. A n cien t commentators already noted
that some authorities said it m eant , , while others equated it
w ith Aeyc. T h e latter interpretation almost certainly arose from a m is
understanding of s at xxii 31, where m eans con
jectu red , but was taken as equivalent to because it follows and
describes a spdech. W e should understand as a variant o f ,
m eaning prim arily to liken one thing to another , secondarily to con
jectu re . A ll other H om eric uses of bear this out (II, xi 799, xvi 41; Od.
iv 279, xxii 31), and the use of at iv 148, referring back to '01/ce at
143, shows the secondary m eaning em erging from the prim ary one. T h e
verb is form ed as an iterative of (p)ei': - > , with pm/pi
variation as in eikeAos/t/ceAos. T h e m isunderstanding of okc was
encouraged b y the am biguous syntax o f 203: do w e construe
, adding as epexegetical of ; or (intransitive),
? H es. Th. 27, ' Ayeiv
, shows that the phrasing is traditional and that by adding
faxe H om er has rendered the syntax am biguous. It is interesting for the
history of neologism s that the false m eaning was accepted and imitated by
the Hellenistic poets Theocritus, A pollonius o f Rhodes, and Lycophron.
204 - 8 . O n e of the Odyssey s unforgettable similes. Penelopes m elting was
anticipated by her statement at 136, , and is echoed in
O dysseus at 2634 A form is used in each of
these five successive verses, an unparalleled verbal concentration that
creates an overwhelm ing im age of m elting and overflowing. T h e verb
includes both m eanings, which our translation cannot imitate: overflowing
is the surface phenom enon; m elting is w hat happens internally, B
means her skin ran with liquid from her tears, not that it m elted .
W hat does m elt is Penelopes long-standing resistance to yielding herself to
the belief that O dysseus is alive and w ill return (cf. n. on 30916); and as
m elting snow produces a liquid overflow, so the dissolving o f her energies
spent in repression o f em otion produces an overflow of feeling whose
concrete manifestation is tears. H er denial of her true emotions was indeed
the winter of her soul . H ence the perfect aptness of this simile represent
ing the release of Penelopes strong innerm ost feelings through the image
o f snow dissolving under a w arm wind.
209 . T h e irony and pathos o f this line are striking. Its power derives from a
neat verbal and rhythm ical subtlety: 7 states the ironic truth
that the husband for w hom Penelope is w eeping is in fact sitting at her side,
unknow n to her and expresses it in one word. T h e placem ent o f this w ord
is crucial: it im m ediately follows the phrase it qualifies so ironically, and is
placed just after the mid-line caesura, which norm atively coincides with

87
COMMENTARY

some sem antic division (see . N . Porter, T CS xii (1951), 22-3) T h e effect
is to bridge over this caesura semantically w hile respecting it formally in
the division between words. T h e effect is sharpened by the full stop after
, w hich makes the overrunning o f the caesura especially
conspicuous.
211 - 12 . A paradigm atic exam ple of the power o f self-control that has m ade
O dysseus one of literatures most famous figures. H om er uses horn and
iron to represent the hardness of the heros will, just as in the simile of the
m elting snow (204-8) the physical w orld was used to represent, through
externalization, the inner, psychic reality that is norm ally not accessible to
observation. C orresponding to the of O dysseus at 212, we have the
o f w hich Penelope boasts at 137 (cf. the o f Penelope and of
O dysseus discussed at 325-6).
215 . : the testing of another person (or of an object, like the
bow in xxi, or in athletic competition as in viii) is characteristic of O dysseus
throughout the epic: the verb // is used by him,
or to describe him, m ore than twenty times. N orm ally, he is the tester.
O ccasionally, he submits him self to the test, as at viii 205, 213. Rarely, the
test is applied to him against his will or without his awareness of it: by
Penelope here and at xxiii 181, and b y A thena at xxii 237. (At ix 281 the
Cyclops tries to test him but is clum sy and transparent and receives
deceptive w ords for an answer.) T his rare reversal of the norm is sig
nificant, and the fact that it is given to Penelope to test the wily tester is
another sign o f h er own special gift for guile, w hich qualifies her perfectly to
be O dysseus wife (cf. 137 n., 3256).
221 - 2 . Construe vra as referring to pe, the unexpressed subject of etVcpev,
w hile the other accusative expresses the duration of
vra. Less likely, bu t possible, w ould be an unspecified subject, nva.
225 . : m ust m ean w ool , and
designates equally a cloak or a blanket, since the same piece of cloth was
used for both, are m entioned at iv 299, vii 338, II. x 133-4, ^
xxiv 646. A is described as the ideal protective covering against a
severe w inter at xiv 520-2. A less likely interpretation w ould take oAijv
here as entire , referring to and m eaning entirely of purple .
226- 31 . A wonderfully detailed description. T h e double sheaths, , are
the tubes into w hich the pins fit. T h e lively naturalism of the dog catching
the fawn has some resem blance to anim al motifs o f M inoan gems and gold
work, b u t brooches of this com plex style belong to a m uch later period, and
are m ost often dated no earlier than the seventh century b c ( . P. Nilsson,
Homer and Mycenae (London, 1933), 123-5, Lorim er, Monuments, 5 1 1 -1 5 ).
A n earlier date, late eighth to seventh century, is urged by A n n e Roes,
Mnemosyne iv (1951), 216-22, from the com parison of North Italian and
Etruscan brooches and the detailed study of a similar type o f brooch in the
D ijon m useum . J. L . M yres, Annual of the British School at Athens xlv (1950),
242-3, finds a close parallel in a G reek fibula from Sparta dated about 700
b c , and goes on to suggest that H om er knew both M inoan and later

88
B O O K X I X 209236

O rientalizing styles and techniques and in his descriptions creates


im aginary com binations that never really existed.
229 - 30 . It is not certain w hat the hound is doing to the fawn, since the mean-
ing o f is disputed. C ontext strongly suggests grip5, and so the verb
, to grip5, has found its w ay into LSJ, but there is no evidence (except
the present passage) to support this entry. T h e other early use of the word is
h.Msrc, 360, w here it is said that not even the eagle could see
Herm es hidden in a cave (cf. II xvii 675, w here the eagle is called
t , a characteristic repeated by A elian, i 42).
C learly the m eaning see5 is intended b y the author of the hym n, and is
supported by H esychius gloss Adere- , . For the form
, however, Hesychius gives three meanings: (1) , ()
) ), (3) , . A n d under Ade he glosses
, w hich can be com bined with the scholias equation of with
to suggest the possibility that describes the eagles shrill cry'
(cl. S. Aj. 112, ). Leum an n, Wrter, 2336, reviews the
evidence and, stressing the sim ilarity o f to & used o f a
haw k at II. xxii 141, suggests that is a present created erroneously from
the pf. (by false division - instead of -) But we
should note that on O dysseus brooch it is m ore difficult to im agine the
visual depiction o f a dog s bark than of his fierce look. Therefore the
balance o f evidence inclines toward the m eaning to see5, w hich receives
some small additional support from the papyrus variant for
at II. xiii 344. T h e dog has fixed its eyes intently on the
struggling fawn w hile throttling it. T h e representation of the dog would
have prom inent eyes and w ou ld gaze directly at its victim, in the m anner o f
the black-figure painting o f A chilles killing Penthesileia on the famous
neck-am phora by Exekias (British M useum , London) or com parable to
the even more dram atic gaze o f A chilles and Penthesileia on the red-figure
cup by the Penthesileia Painter (M useum A ntiker Kleinkunst, M unich).
233 . T h e syntax is am biguous. T h e simplest construction, probably to be pre
ferred, is to take with its norm al accent as governing the genitive
phrase: like the skin over a dry onion . It is possible, but m ore strained, to
accent and take this preposition as governing . as [sc. the
shining] along the skin o f a dry onion . See further R uijgh, re pique, 533
n. 17 for the accentuation o f (no anastrophe w hen a word comes
between the noun and the governing preposition that follows it), following
the authority o f j. Vendryes, Traitdaccentuation grecque (Paris, 1904), 246-7.
236 - 50 . T h e beggar cleverly heightens the verisimilitude o f his description
by feigning uncertainty as to w hether the clothes and brooch m ight have
been acquired by Odysseus after having left Ithaca. H e then proceeds to cap
the unerringly accurate description with a vivid portrait of the herald
Eurybates, a m an so singular-looking that his depiction leaves no shred of
doubt that this beggar really knew O dysseus. T h e result of such a cleverly
arranged clim ax o f proof is that Penelope collapses in another fit of
w eeping.

89
COMM ENTARY

246 - 9 . A s Pasquali shrewdly observed, Terze pagine siravaganti (Firenze,


1942), 139-66, the Greeks tended to describe beauty in conventionalized,
general terms that did not give individuals idiosyncracies, whereas
ugliness was always m ore particularized and vivid, from H om er to classical
times. It is nevertheless possible that a conventional typology existed also
for the short, stoop-shouldered, unattractive m an such as w e m eet in
Eurybates and in Thersites at 11. ii 2i2ff., and in A rchilochus fr.
60 d = 114W (where A rchilochus em phatically stresses the inner excellence
that contrasts with the un-heroic facade, in a m anner reminiscent of the
portrait of Eurybates here: see J. Russo, T h e Inner M an in A rchilochus
and the Odyssey, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies xv (1974), 139~ 5 2)
246 . : bent or rounded , w hich must refer to his back and shoulders,
describing a characteristic physique o f w hich w e have a m ore exaggerated
version in Thersites, 8c J , irrt , H.
2 7 ~ 8 . : dark-skinned m ust m ean
the same as applied to O dysseus at xvi 175 (when A thena
restores his handsom e appearance), denoting the ruddy tan natural to men
w ho spend m uch tim e out o f doors (cf. Ar. Ec. 3857,428, for the unm anly
pallor o f the w om en disguised as men). T h e com bination with
, however, m ay point to a specific com bination of physical traits, dark-
skinned and w oolly-headed , that are m eant to suggest an A frican type,
generally thought of as Ethiopian in antiquity. See F. Snowden, Blacks in
Antiquity (C am bridge, Mass., 1970), 1 0 1-2 ,1 2 2 , 181.
248 . : another indication that harm ony o f m ind,
(cf. vi 180-5), is of prim e im portance to O dysseus in personal
relationships (see note to xviii 281-3). It was also the similarity of m ind
between O dysseus and A thena that delighted the goddess and was the
reason for her strong support o f him (xiii 291 ff., esp. 296-301).
253 - 4 . . . . . . . : because he has proved his close tie
o f hospitality ( ) to O dysseus {^, 194, for twelve days, 199), the
stranger is now formally elevated by the queen from the status of pitied
(?) suppliant to that of a dear (?) and respected (?) friend
o f the household. T h is im proved status is crucial to a correct understand
ing of the last scene in this book, w here Penelope entrusts to this form er
stranger her most im portant thoughts: her prophetic dream and her
intuition that the tim e is right for proposing the contest of the bow . For
both the interpretation of her dream and the decision to fix the contest for
the following day, confirmation from this increasingly appealing and
influential new person is vital.
260 . (= 597, xxfii 19.) : for verbal play o f this sort, which is serious
and not hum orous in Greek, cf. Iro s-A iro s at xviii 73, with note.
271 - 87 . O dysseus repeats the sam e fiction he has told to Eum aeus at xiv 316 ff.,
that he had news of O dysseus from the Thesprotians, and repeats the detail
o f the accum ulation of m uch w ealth for his return to Ithaca. O dysseus
acquisitiveness is conspicuous throughout the Odyssey, is a cardinal trait of a
folktale hero, and here serves as a detail that adds verisimilitude. T h e

90
B O O K X I X 246-306

incident o f the cattle o f H elius is sum m arized, as is the arrival at Scheria


and the Phaeacians willingness to transport Odysseus home. But, as
Stanford observes, Odysseus has conflated into one story the shipwreck off
Thrinakia and the w reck of the raft with which he left Calypso. T h is tactful
abbreviation has him going directly from the cattle to the Phaeacians
without the intervening sojourn with the beautiful temptress.
275 . : the verb *() involves a pun on O dysseus name.
H om er em ploys this w ord-play at several places in the poem, the most
significant being xix 407 (see note). G reek puns are not hum orous like our
own, but point to a coincidence that is supposed to reveal some underlying
truth.
288 - 99 . T hese verses are substantially the sam e as those spoken by O dysseus
to Eum aeus at xiv 32335, but the order has been changed,
296- 7 . T h e oracle of Zeus at D odona and that o f A pollo at D elphi were the
two internationally famous oracular shrines o f antiquity. G reek literature
refers several times to the fact that Z eu s voice was audible from the sacred
oak at D odona. See H . W . Parke, The Oracles of Zeus: Dodona, Olympia,
Ammon (Oxford, 1967), 1 1 - 1 3 , 20-33.
297 . : the aorist opt. third-sing. M ost M S S read the subjunctive
), but the optative accords better with in the following
line. A t xiv 328 the same verse occurs, with a scholium telling us that
is read b y Aristophanes, ] by Aristarchus.
299 . : this phrase recalls that part of Teiresias
prophecy w here he predicts that O dysseus w ill succeed in killing the
suitors , 120.
306 . : m any etym ological argum ents have been fashioned to
explain the w ord as d ay, y ear , lun ar m on th, or going o f the
light (which could denote several possible tim e periods). N on e o f the
G reek etymologies is fully convincing. R uijgh, lement, 147, argues for a
pre-H ellenic root, and O . Szem erenyi, J H S 94 (1974), 144-57, for a
Sem itic origin. E tym ology m ay derive some support from context, which
suggests a connection with the festival o f A pollo (see on 306-7). T h e best
explanation along these lines is that o f J . van W indekens, B N v (1954),
3 1-4 , who makes lykabas a festival o f A pollo Lykeios or Lykios. T h e wide
range o f derivations from the root *leuq- (?, , Lat. lux,
lun a < *luk-na) shows that A pollo L yk(e)ios can be both a god of light
and of the returning light of the m oon.
306- 7 . T his prediction (= x iv 161 ff.), w hile o f crucial im portance, remains
obscure to us because the tim e period denoted by is unknowable.
In later G reek it was understood as year , and m any have followed
W ilam owitz (Heimkehr, 4 3 -4, Untersuchungen, 54) in believing that 1
m eans w ithin this very year (Chantraine, Dktionnaire
s.v., still finds this acceptable). B ut such a m eaning is contradicted by the
context, w here the stranger is trying to convince Penelope that O dysseus
return is imminent. T h e period denoted in 306 is further defined in 307 as
falling within, or being essentially the same as, the space between the
COMM ENTARY

w aning o f the old m oon and the rising o f the new. Such a period terminates
in, or m ay be equated with, the festival of A pollo referred to at xx 156,
276-8, and xxi 2589 (Roscher, Lexicon, i 424-5, gives evidence for a
m onthly celebration o f A pollo N eom enios, of the new m oon ; but 425-30
discusses A pollo als G ott des Frhlings , and R E s.v. Lykevos cites
evidence although epigraphical and relatively late for a spring m onth
Lykeios, connected w ith A pollo. Since the poem s action has probably
taken place during w inter (see n. on xvii 23 and van Leeuw en s com m ent
ary on v 467), it is tem pting to follow Austin, Archery, ch. 5, in believing that
H om er has given his poem a seasonal rhythm in which the return of
O dysseus coincides with the return of spring. A springtime celebration of
A pollo w ould underscore that seasonal rhythm). Since the strangers
prediction is spoken in order to confirm Penelopes decision to set the bow
contest for the following day, and is reinforced with assurances that
O dysseus will arrive in time for that contest, Penelope certainly
understands to specify, or conclude with, that day. A n d since
O dysseus used the sam e words to Eum aeus at xiv 16 1-2 , we m ust infer
(unless we call the earlier passage an interpolation) that $
cannot m ean this (next) day but could m ean this very day
o f the Apollo-festival .
It m ay be best sim ply to take as an obsolete w ord m eaning
interlunar period , the dark moonless night of the new m oon (so H . Koller,
Glotta li (1973), etym ologizing * , the daylight having gone ;
sim ilarly Leum ann, Wrter, 212 . 4), and to understand it as denoting not
the Apollo-festival itself but the interlunar period about to end w ith the
new moon festival o f the god.
309- 11 . Penelope spoke these same lines to Theoclym enus at xvii 163-5.
H ere the statement acquires heightened significance in the unintended
forecast o f , and becom es a kind of 8 to the audience o f the
poem.
309 - 16 . In these verses we see a psychological pattern that H om er has
consistently used in his portrait of Penelope: she lets hope buoy her up
briefly, then sinks into pessimism. Such pessimism serves as her protection
against bein g deceived b y false hopes, as has happened repeatedly
(described at xiv 126-30, xxiii 213-18). N ote the same abrupt shift to
pessimism at mid-verse in 257, and her sudden assertion that her dream
m ust be a false one at 568.
312 . : so it seems to m e in m y heart , the only
im personal use o f in H om er. T h e norm al idiom is seen in
ix 213, and at 39 below: the
subject of is norm ally either a person or his . Em endation of
to pa has been proposed, to restore the m ore com m on
idiom.
315 . el' : a formula, expressive in its simplicity, for referring to a
past happiness or a lost beloved person as if the speaker really doubted that
it ever existed. T h e formula is used with typical poignancy by H elen at II.

92
B O O K X I X 306-346

iii 180 and b y Priam at xxiv 426, both characters whose happiness now lies
in a lost past.
317 . Penelope here, after her self-protective statement o f pessimism, protects
herself further by abruptly () turning from the dialogue that was
engaging her deepest emotions in a dangerously uncomfortable manner.
She breaks off the dialogue b y ordering a bath for her visitor.
325- 6 . It is significant that Penelope wishes to be judged for her outstanding
vdos and , qualities that are associated with Odysseus. W e recall that
he is praised as by A then a at xiii 332, and he was presented,
through H om ers verbal p lay on n s and n s , as the em bodim ent of
- at ix 405-6, 408, 410, 414.
331 . T0v um : scanned with synizesis a s ----
332 . : this w ord is the subject o f a recent detailed study b y A n n e
Parry (Blameless Aegis thus) who argues that refers not to moral
quality, as believed by those who derive it from and translate
blam eless , b ut rather evolves from an original m eaning physically
beautiful toward a m ore generalized sense o f fine, good, excellent . She
examines carefully all H om eric passages containing this word and finds the
present passage anom alous in its m etrical and syntactic use of ,
and in its unique use of the neuter plural. She judges here to have
m ore definite m oral connotations than in any other uses in H om er (ibid.
n o -16 ).
336- 48 . W h y does O dysseus persist in declining all the comforts offered
him? A t 344-5 the stated motive is to avoid M elantho and her like, but the
entire speech is dom inated by a determ ination to keep him self at a low level
of physical comfort, w hich serves both realistic and sym bolic purposes.
Eustathius suggests the practical motive that Odysseus wishes to avoid
anything that makes him m ore conspicuous and therefore suspect to the
suitors. I w ould add that he acts deliberately to keep him self in total
opposition to the suitors regarding physical circumstances as if savouring
the irony: the usurpers enjoy all the comforts, of the palace while the right
ful king has no more than a beggar. It is good story-telling art to exploit this
inversion o f the norm, so that the final retribution is all the more satisfying.
338 . o p e a : the final -a of opea is lengthened by the following v~.
Liquids and s often have the power to act like double consonants; but in
some cases the lengthening can be attributed to a lost consonant, and here
we m ay have the residual force o f an original *- (Monro, Homeric Dia-
lect, 344-6).
342 . the first aor. of (): ^ > eaa. Cf. at
XV1367.
344- 5 . T h e allusion is to the verbal indignities inflicted upon him b y
' M elantho at 9 5ff. and by her and her cohorts at xviii 32off.
346- 8 . T h e scholia tell us three verses were athetized, and give as reasons
that (1) O dysseus should not be depicted choosing the very w om an w ho
can penetrate his disguise; (2) the phrase w ho has suffered as m uch as is
ludicrous; and (3) that is incorrectly used in 348 since one can

93
COMMENTARY

begrudge only w hat is valuable to someone else, and there is nothing


valuable in the task of washing the beggars feet. Such objections are
effectively refuted by W . Bchner, RMus lxxx (1931), 129-36, w ho points
out that (1) O dysseus has no reason to fear exposure through Eurycleia,
until he recalls the tell-tale scar, which comes to m ind suddenly () as a
problem he had overlooked (390-1); (2) the assumption that the nurse has
had grief com parable to his m ay seem inappropriate to the role of Cretan
wanderer, but is an appropriat assumption for O dysseus as king to m ake
about the utterly loyal and loving servant w ho w ould have grieved for her
m issing king (such small lapses from the assumed disguise are present
elsewhere and heighten the dram atic tension); and (3) saying he w ill not
begrudge the touching of his feet is another exam ple of the king in
O dysseus overcom ing the constraints of the disguise: it is an honour to
touch a kings feet.
346 . - - : is O dysseus here specifically thinking of
Eurycleia, or is he m erely seeking someone totally different from the
faithless maids and has he not yet noticed (or remembered) Eurycleia?
Bchner, op. cit., argues convincingly that O dysseus has seen E urycleia
and inferred correctly that she w ill be sum m oned in answer to his request;
that he is confident she cannot recognize him; and that his motive in
contriving to have her wash his feet is to get the m uch-needed em otional
satisfaction of contact with a dear old figure from his childhood. H om er s
narrative art turns this attem pted manoeuvre of O dysseus into a reversal
(peripety) that leads to recognition (anagnorisis). Aristotle cited this very
passage as an exam ple of the best kind of recognition, Po. 1454 b 25.
358 . A n exciting m om ent in the poem as a heard narrative, and a good
exam ple of the poet playing with his audience s expectations. For a fraction
o f a second, before joins the other m embers of its clause, we hear a
construction that leads us to think Penelope has som ehow penetrated
O dysseus disguise and is revealing his secret. Since foot-washing is the
topic, and we have heard tre at 356, w e (and H om er s
audience) expect to take its most natural object, , w ash your
master s feet . H om er teases us and then moves the sentence into a
construction that reveals no secrets. U sin g the w ord age-m ate does,
however, require Penelope to explain w hy she has m ade this sudden and
unexpected com parison betw een the stranger and her husband; the w ords
- introduce such an explanation.
359 . Hands and feet are noticed by H om er as com m only as facial features
are noticed by us today. R ecall that w hen Telem achus was recognized as
O dysseus son at Sparta, H elen noted their resem blance in hands and feet
as well as in eyes, head, and hair (iv 14950).
363 - 70 . Eurycleia begins her speech by addressing the lost O dysseus, a
powerful dram atic device that startles us by its unexpectedness, and derives
power from the fact that O dysseus is directly in front of her. H om er teases
his audience, as at 358, b y m anipulating his language to give the illusion
impossible though it be that O dysseus disguise has been penetrated and

94
B O O K X IX 346-393
the nurse is addressing the beggar. T h e verbal surprises continue w hen at
370 Eurycleia abruptly switches to third person reference to the absent
king cf. to the rot in the line immediately preceding and now
begins using second person address to the beggar before her ( in 372).
370- 85 . T h e rhetorical devices noted in 358 and 363-70 have begun a
process o f associating the new ly arrived stranger with Odysseus through
their physical resem blance (earlier their association was based on the guest-
friendship alleged b y O dysseus) and the interchangeability o f their
unhappy destinies, subtly reinforced by the interchangeability of the
second and third persons in Eurycleia s speech. Now the faithful nurse s
statement that the beggar and the absent king have shared similar ill treat
m ent yields the irony that, like Penelopes observation at 358-9, it is truer
than the speaker thinks, since their condition and treatment are not similar
but identical. From this she moves to the simplest and strongest point of
comparison: the stranger looks rem arkably like Odysseus in build, voice,
and feet. O dysseus has no choice but to agree, and tries to protect him self
by saying that the similarity has often been observed. A t this point anyone
hearing the narrative must feel that a revelation is about to burst forth. But
H om er has other plans. H e has led us carefully toward a climax, only to
avert it.
389- 90 . * | : these two w ords allow us to reject any idea that
O dysseus is seeking to bring about a recognition of his identity. H om er
emphasizes the suddenness with w hich O dysseus realizes that his disguise
can be penetrated. T h e verb tenses also contribute to this emphasis: his
sitting is a continuing condition (impf, ), suddenly interrupted by his
turning away (aor. ).
392 . D ram atic effect is again served by aspectual contrast in the verbs: the
process of Eurycleia s impf, is interrupted b y the aorist in
.
393 . , : with this relative clause begins the most famous digression
in all literature. T h e poet has so far been exploiting a variety o f small verbal
and rhetorical devices to titillate his audience. N ow he undertakes a large
digression (393-466) on the circum stances behind the scar, a device o f
retardation of the narrative at ju s t the point where O dysseus disguise
seems to have finally been penetrated. T h e mixture of emotions in the
listener frustration at the retardation, excitement at the threat o f
discovery, enjoym ent o f the digression as a story in its own right rem inds
us that the audience and not ju s t the poet contributes to the experience and
form of a poetic genre.
393 - 466 . T h e story, in flashback technique, of the boar hunt on Parnassus.
A clear formal analysis is given by J. Gaisser in HSCPh lxxiii (1969), 2 0 -1,
who follows the lead of W . van O tterlo, Mededeelingen der Nederlandsche
Akademie van Wetenschappen (1944), nos. 1-6 , pp. 13 1-76 ; Mnemosyne xii
(1 945) j 194207; and De Ringcompositie als Opbouwpnncipie in de Epische
Gedichte van Homerus (Am sterdam , 1948). Van Otterlo showed that
digressions tend to be enclosed or framed by similar language used at the

95
COMMENTARY

beginning and end o f the passage. In this story o f the scar, the relative
pronoun that opens the digression at 393 returns to close it at 467, and
the entire w ording o f393-4 is closely echoed at 465-6. T h e structure of this
digression conforms to w hat G aisser calls the com plex cyclic style : two
concentric rings fram e the story (392-3 ~ 4 6 7 -8 ,3 9 3 -4 ~ 465-6), w hich is
itself organized into a ring form, in w hich O dysseus visit to Parnassus is
framed by the four related verses 4 1 3 -1 4 and 459-60, w hich themselves
offer an A B B A pattern (414 = 459, 4 1 3 - 4 6 0 ) . G aisser notes that this
com plex cyclic com position is rare in the Odyssey bu t characteristic of the
Iliad (pp. 37 ~ 43 )
394 . : O dysseus maternal grandfather is significantly nam ed:
- suggests the w o lf him self or the very w olf . T h e brief portrait
given in this passage shows a m an impressive for his ability to com e out on
top in his dealings with others, w ho approaches such dealings always in an
adversary manner, whose intelligence is used entirely for self-serving
purposes. A utolycus is thus the prototype o f O dysseus personality seen in
its most negative aspect. A n excellent discussion o f O dysseus A utolycan
nature is that o f W . B. Stanford, The Ulysses Theme (Oxford, 1963), ch. 2.
A n interesting if speculative interpretation o f A utolycus as a folklore figure
with m agical powers (ein H exenm eister) is offered by K . M art, A uto-
lykos , in Minoica und Homer, ed. G eorghiev and Irm scher (Berlin, 1961).
T h e inauspicious quality of anyone whose nam e is W olf is too evident to
need elaboration: cf. the w ell-known m yth o f K in g L ykaon w ho is trans
form ed into a w olf (Apollod. iii 8. 1; Paus. viii 23; C lem . A L, Proir, ii 36;
O v., Met. i 163fr., and others), sometimes because o f the im piety o f his sons
(so Apollodorus) but in m ost accounts because he him self tried to deceive a
divine guest by serving him a slaughtered hum an in the guise o f food. T h e
offences of A utolycus recorded in G reek tradition are consonant with
H om ers description here. In II. x 266 we learn he stole a helm et decorated
with boars tusks from A m yntor; Hesiod, fr. 67b M - W , tells us that he
m ade anything invisible that he handled , and com m ents at E M s.v.
dereAov and Tzetzes in Lycophron 344 describe Autolycus as a thief of
horses, cattle, and sheep, who was successful through his trick of changing
the anim als brands so as to deceive their owners. T hese qualities were
com m only connected to the fact that Hermes was not just the patron of
A utolycus (as 396-7 suggests) but his father (Hes., fr. 64 M -W ; Eust. ad xix
416; and the Athenian historian Pherecydes, quoted in the Scholia to xix
43%\
403 . : the second aorist subjunctive, m iddle voice. M a n y M S S offer
variants with optative forms, but a subjunctive is most natural after the
imperative evpeo.
404 . : the same adjective, m uch prayed for , is used for the
new born Dem ophoon at h. Cer. 220. It comes near being a proper name
(Stanford com pares the Biblical Sam uel and the m odern Desire ; and
note that Q ueen Arete, xiii 57, has a nam e o f similar meaning). Eurycleia
m ay be hinting that Polyaretos w ould be an appropriate nam e for the

96
B O O K X IX 393-439

newborn child. If so, the nam e O dysseus with its negative associations
(note to 407), given instead of Polyaretos, comes as a surprising b ut
m eaningful contrast, and strengthens the value of O dysseus1 nam e as an
omen of a life that w ill be filled with trouble.
407 . this verb has been used throughout the poem in a
punning relationship to the heros nam e (i 67, v 340, 423, xix 275). Because
all occurrences are in the aorist or perfect tense, we can only conjecture a
present */(), whose m eaning is to becom e angry at or to take a
dislike to, with some uncertainty as to w hether anger or hatred (a possible
cognate with Latin odium) or pain (a possible cognate with or
) is the fundam ental m eaning o f this word. A utolycus5 statement
here is the sole use o f the verb in a context that m akes the pun on O dysseus5
nam e explicit and offers an etym ology. Since A utolycus in his career as
trickster has dealt harshly with m any m en and w om en, the child, as
A utolycus5 heir, will be O d y ss e u s , the man w ho deals out harsh treat
m ent5. T h e suffix - points to such an active sense. T his interpretation is
close to that of L . Ph. Rank, Etymologiseering en verwante verschijnselen bij
Homerus (Assen, 1951), 5 1 -6 5 , w ho believes that O dysseus5 nam e contains
two meanings, T h e H ater and T h e H ated5, with the first m eaning clearly
predom inant. A n older view, seen in the scholia and Eustathius and
revived by Stanford in his C om m en tary and in CPh xlvii (1952), 20913,
prefers the ethical5 interpretation o f O dysseus as the man of suffering5,
and hence prefers a passive, or reciprocal and generalized, sense for the
participle , having quarrelled, or having incurred and
expressed w rath . In this view, O dysseus means C h ild of W o e . See further
C lay, Wrath, 54-64. A cknow ledging the simultaneous presence of an
active and passive m eaning in O dysseus nam e allows us to see him as a
distant relative of the Trickster figure o f folklore and m ythology, w ho is
both deceiver and victim of deception, both the cause o f pain to others and
the recipient of pain. See P. Radin, The Trickster (New Y ork, 1956), xxiii.
409 . . . . : the concept of an eponym ous nam e contains a
w ord-play in Greek. It is attractive, but not necessary, to construe
as an accusative o f specification, with as subject:
Therefore, let him be O dysseus , as his signifying nam e. So Rank, op.
cit. 57 n. 83, citing Hes., Th. 144, * where
the pi. shows to b e such an accusative.
413 . H ere w e resum e the narrative thread interrupted by the subordinate
clause at 395. H om eric digressions like this one serve the important
function o f providing background information that is vital for a full
appreciation o f the situation illum inated as foreground. O n the narrative
level, O dysseus owes A utolycus a visit to claim the prom ised gifts. O n the
sym bolic level (see G . Dim ock, T h e N am e of O dysseus , in Essays on the
Odyssey, ed. C . T aylo r (Bloom ington, 1963, he is earning5 the nam e
O dysseus, w hich promises pain and trouble. T h e boar hunt and w ounding
thus have some of the qualities o f an initiation.
439 - 43 . T h e boars lair described here closely resem bles the shelter seen at

97
COMMENTARY

the end of v, form ed by the growing together of two bushes, olive and the
obscure , in which the exhausted O dysseus finds protection from the
cold by burying him self in the leaves, like a seed of fire to be reborn the next
day. Verses 440-2 are nearly identical to v 47880, while 443 reproduces
m ost o f v 483. It is surprising that there should be an underlying connec
tion between the lair of Odysseus and the lair of the boar that gave him his
identifying wound. T h e poet has perhaps m ade an unconscious association
based on the concept of birth/rebirth. Just as the seed of fire ensures that
a new fire will be born, so Odysseus, in his encounter with the boar, will be
(re)bom as the m an with the scar, which becom es the sign of his identity for
those people closest to him.
450 . T h e verb is regularly used o f drawing o ff w ine from a
larger ja r into a smaller vessel. In this verse we w ould seem to have a force
ful im age, depicting the flesh as scooped out or drawn away as if it were
m ere liquid in contrast to the hard tusk. Since the same m etaphor is used at
II. xiii 507, xiv 517, it m ay have been a conventional part o f epic diction and
m ay therefore have been less vivid than it seems to us.
454 . T h e norm al H om eric belief was that the leaves the body or is
breathed out w hen a warrior (e.g. 11 xx 403, 406) or an anim al (e.g. II. xvi
469) dies. (Further discussion and examples in the note to xx 304.) O f the
several H om eric meanings o f , this is probably the most archaic,
preserving some of the semantic connection with its Latin cognate fumus,
which suggests a vaporous animating principle whose loss is the physio
logical cause o f fainting and of death. See O nians, Origins, 44 fr.
457 - 8 . S . . . : a rare reference to the archaic belief
in the m agical power of sung charm s. T h e use o f the to staunch the
flow of blood is not, however, an archaic survival from a lost past but one o f
the rare intrusions from the stratum of popular belief and practice into the
norm ally m ore refined and aristocratic w orld of the epics. T h e Odyssey is
closer than the Iliad to this popular world. Faced with a similar m edical
crisis in the Iliad, Patroclus resorts not to m agic but to a m edicinal root (xi
846-8), knowledge of w hich goes back to the centaur Gheiron (xi 832).
W hile this root m ay have power that is supernatural, its use is described in
realistic m edical terms.
467 . : this substantive pronoun refers to the scar, , m entioned three
lines earlier, and resumes the reference to the scar m ade at 393, w here -
as a relative pronoun served to introduce the lengthy digression,
: this w ord resumes the idea j of 39 0 -1, and
fulfils the condition imagined there.
469- 72 . H om ers description of Eurycleias reaction attains a high degree of
vividness through com bination o f unusual rhythm, sound, and
conceptualization. 469 has the relatively unusual w ord-end in the first short
syllable of the second foot, the sound four times, and heavy alliteration of
- ~ - - . 470 has two ~ com binations near the verse end. 471 offers
the oxym oron of , . 472 describes Eurycleia s emotions
as having the powerful effect of blocking both her speech and her vision.

98
B O O K X IX 439-516

473 . T h e conventions of supplication were to touch the chin, and often to


clasp the knees, o f the person supplicated. It is a com m on attitude depicted
on vase paintings, and an im portant Iliadic motif: see II. i 500ff., viii 3 7 1-2 ,
x 454- 5 . xxi 6 7 ff, xxiv 4 77-9 . See further Hainsworth on vi 110-250.
474- 5 . T h e first w ords O dysseus old nurse speaks to him are subtly chosen
b y H om er so as to be quite m oving: she calls him both dear child5 and m y
lord in the same sentence, beginning with her earliest and most private
relationship to him , and then shifting to the external reality of the newly
discovered situation ( ).
478- 9 . T h ese two verses are the biggest obstacle to the theory that H om er
has tried to describe in this book a subtle and veiled awareness on
Penelopes part o f the identity of the stranger.
482 . ' : it is nicely in character for O dysseus to use
m ocking irony at the very m om ent w hen his safety has been jeopardized
and he is most upset. Irony requires deliberate control, a quality that
O dysseus never loses.
487- 90 . O dysseus statement o f intentions m ay seem excessively cruel if we
fail to take into account what is im plied by the : for (if you do not keep
quiet) I declare as follows.
489 . : this seems an A ttic form, whereas epic should have the
uncontracted . Perhaps we should assume with synizesis
underlying the transm itted by the M SS.
501 . * : O dysseus claim to be able to deduce
for him self w ho the offenders are is borne out at the beginning of xx, where
he finds the faithless maids conspicuous in their behaviour.
505 . 5 : a fixed formula: AiV is always used in'this position in the
line, with in 9 of its 10 H om eric occurrences (the exception is AtV
dAeajsev vi 227), always elided. T h e form is most likely an adv. like ,
, , , possibly the survival o f an old instrumental case. Some
scholars, have proposed the elided -a (-at) or n of a dative AtVcu or Aim
(Leum ann, Wrter, 309-10). A t a later period T hucydid es and Hippocrates
use the unelided phrase Ab , which shows they understood
AtVa as an adverb or adverbial neuter. H om ers m eaning then is rubbed
him with oil richly .
513 . - : the apparent paradox in construing this
phrase how can one take pleasure in grieving ? has led som e com
mentators to reserve for the following verse, to be construed with
, enjoyed looking after m y w ork . B ut often has the
special m eaning to indulge in som ething (even grief) to the point o f satis
faction, as seen in the com m on phrase , xi 212, xix 213,
257, xxi 57; I I xxiii 10, 98, xxiv 513. is also used with the datives
yooj and , O nians, Origins, 2 0 -1, has an excellent analysis of this
w ord and how it differs from other terms o f em otional involvement.
516 - 17 . . . . . . . : an word pattern
intensifies the force of an already powerful com bination. T h e adjectives
and are close in m eaning and can be translated as

99
COMM ENTARY

'crow din g and crow ded. Penelope uses the similar phrase
at xx 84, after referring to a different sad episode in the
story o f Pandareos daughters to describe her unhappiness.
518 - 24 . T h e story of Pandareos daughter, the nightingale, as told here, is not
known from any other ancient source. T h e story familiar to us from Attic
authors is of Pandions two daughters, Procne and Philom ela. Procne
m arried Tereus and they had a son Itys. Tereus seduced Philom ela and cut
out her tongue to prevent her from telling w hat he had done, but she
m anaged to com m unicate the truth to Procne by weaving the words in a
robe, w hereupon Procne took revenge on Tereus by killing their son and
serving him as food to his father. Tereus learned the facts, pursued the
sisters to kill them , and the gods turned all three into birds. Procne becam e
the nightingale, Philom ela the swallow, T ereus the hoopoe. T h is full
account is in Apollod. iii 14. 8. Allusions to the nightingale s lam ent for her
son are a com m on topos in G reek poetry (A. Ag. 1144; S. E l 148; A r. A d.
228, E. fr, 773N, 22-5). T h e scholia on this H om eric passage tell a different
story: the nightingale is personified as A edon, wife o f Zethos, who was
jealous o f her sister-in-law N iobes large family and attempted to kill
N io b es son, but in error killed her own son. T his story m ay be an earlier
variant of the A ttic tale, or perhaps a fiction largely invented by the scholia,
w hich misunderstood of 518 as a proper name. T h e variation in the
nam es Pandareos and Pandion, Itylos and Itys, recalls other examples
w here H om ers version of a tale or m yth seems a variant on the better
known version: e.g. Epicaste instead of Iocaste as O edip us mother, and
the fact that O edipus continued to rule in T hebes even after his secret was
revealed (xi 271-80).
Penelope is probably alluding to a story quite similar to the tale of
T ereus, Procne, and Itys, which offers a significant parallel to her own
situation in some particulars. She resembles the nightingale in the
frequency and intensity of her lamentation (cf. and , 516,
with , 52 1). From her admission that her heart is divided, 524, w e m ay
read into her account of Pandareos daughter the implication that the
nightingale killed her own son not by mistake, as in the scholias explana
tion, but in her senseless folly , like Procne, which is a better m eaning for
Sd o f 523. Penelope s choice of this com parison to express her
m ental state is, moreover, appropriate because she harbours a fear that she
too m ay cause the death o f her own son, if she continues, b y refusing
m arriage, to exasperate the suitors and drive them to desperate plots
against T elem achus. See further 525-340,
518 . : a hapax, which some have taken to m ean the same as .
T h e nightingale, however, is not green. Hesiod, Op. 203, calls it
, and Simonides also refers to its neck,
, fr. 4 5 {= TM G 586), which m ay refer to a green-necked
variety known to him, but more probably is a literary imitation o f this
H om eric passage. I incline to M o n ro s view that the longer form
suggests more than simply green, the suffix denoting one w ho does

100
B O O K X I X 516-537

som ething related to greener)'. T h is is the view o f the scholia, which


explain that the nightingale is seen am ong green foliage, and alternatively
that she appears with the first green o f spring. A nalogous forms like ,
, , (see B uck and Petersen, A Reverse Index of Greek
Nouns and Adjectives (Chicago, 1945), 418 ff.) are always simple adjectives,
but they are all built on nouns and so offer no real parallel to .
Perhaps the closest parallels are H om eric proper names like Chryseis, she
of C hryses, w hich suggests that the nightingale is she o f the green .
525 - 34 . A clear description o f the dilem m a that forms the political basis o f
the plot. T h e pressure of com m unity opinion, 10 , and her
loyalty to O dysseus m em ory, , were sufficient reasons for
Penelope to keep the estate intact and refuse to remarry. T h e needs of the
immature T elem achus coincided with this choice (530-1). B ut now
Telem achus is a man, and his m other sees his growing anger over the
suitors wanton consum ption of his inheritance, and his need to take
charge o f his property. She also knows clearly that the increasingly open
hostility between Telem achus and the suitors can lead to his death: cf. xvi
4 1 1 -1 2 , 418-23.
530 . rjo s: for this single w ord the M S S have pev, scanned w. For
(and ) the M S S regularly give or ? ( or reiws), usually
disyllabic as trochee or spondee, rarely iam bic, and occasionally m ono
syllabic, as here, with synizesis (see Chantraine, Grammaire, i. 11 1-1 2 ).
Attem pts to correlate these m etathesized forms w ith supposed late
passages (Shipp, Studies, 8-9) are subjective and inconclusive: here
has apparently replaced the of an earlier pre-Hom eric stage. For
further discussion o f this vexed question, see nn. at iii 126, iv 90, v 123, 365,
xiii 315, and M . L. W est, Glotta, xliv (1967), 1359.
535 - 53 . Som e readers have thought it inappropriate for the queen to divulge
the content o f her dream to an unknown beggar; and others have taken it
as a sign that she suspects or knows that he is Odysseus and is cleverly
asking for his advice and collusion. But H om er has provided fully adequate
motivation for this intimacy: see 253-4 (with n.), 350-2, and the content of
her speeches, w here she has revealed m ore and more details to h i m o f her
situation vis-a-vis the suitors and o f her innermost feelings.
535 . v e ip o v : - this , as often in Hom er, most frequently seen in
the references to O dysseus as d (xvii io n .).
: an instance of hysteron-proteron, w here the second o f two ideas
is nam ed first, often because it is felt to be the m ore im portant or essential
fact. O th er good exam ples are iii 457, iv 50, 208, 723 v 264, IL xxi 537, xxiv
206. T h e classic study is by S. E. Bassett, ' '-,
HSPh 31 (1928), 39-62, w ho shows that the principle affects not only single
words but also larger statements, e.g. questions in a dialogue, w hich are
com m only answered in reverse order. F o r the semantic range o f
see Hoekstra, xv 170 .
537 . : construe either with , as if the grain w as in the trough
(the - of 553), or in a general sense with describing their

101
COMM ENTARY

location, aw ay from (out of) the w ater) as seen in , xix


7 = x v i 288, of . . . , II. xiv 129-30.
539 . a |e : tmesis for , which norm ally appears as
. T h e M SS read . : the verb
com bines the ideas of strewing about and piling up som ething on the
ground. T h e dead geese were strewn (piled) close together in the h all .
H om er has sustained a (perhaps unconscious) connection w ith the suitors
in his choice of verb. A fter they are slain H om er uses the same verb,
, xxii 389, to describe their bodies, and also of the fish to which they
are likened in a vivid simile: , 387.
541 . T h e fact that Penelope lam ented so intensely (, , 541;
, 543), com bined with her statement that her spirit was
cheered (tc, 537) seeing the geese, reveals as dreams often do
feelings kept beneath the threshold of consciousness because they are
unacceptable to the m oral censor o f the w aking m ind. T h e lonely queen
obviously derived some cheer from the attentions of the suitors, and
would, on an unconscious level, regret their sudden slaughter (see G . De-
vereux, in Psychoanalytic (Quarterly xxvi (1957), 381-2; but the rem ainder of
this article, suggesting an earlier tradition o f a faithless Penelope, is
totally unconvincing). T h e sym bolism of this dream is reinforced by the
fact that the single activity that characterizes the geese is eating (553),
w hich is the most conspicuous activity of the suitors. O f several dreams in
H om er, only this one resembles a true dream: its message is hidden in a
sym bolic code. T h e other dreams in H om er avoid psychological realism
and follow a literary convention that includes long speeches to the person
sleeping (G. Devereux, Dreams in Greek Tragedy (Oxford, 1976), xxv).
543 . Penelopes words contain suggestive am biguities. T h e can be
understood as simple possessive with , as in 536 when they are intro
duced as m y geese . B ut another association of is with , he
killed them for m e , a dative of disadvantage . A third and more
subm erged association is found by reading as m y eagle) an
irony in that Penelope does not yet know that the eagle is more truly hers
than the geese are. T h e eagle him self brings forth this latent association in
his choice of w ords at 548-9, w here the suggestive rot o f S rot
a 7 passes into the em phatic o f
.
547 . . . . : is a dream , , as the scholia say, a dream that
appears in the d aytim e) D ream s are often deceptive in H om er (see 5627
below , and recall the dream Zeus sends to deceive A gam em non at II. ii
5 if.), but a daytim e vision is m ore likely to be true. See the note to xx 90.
552 . : the perfect w ord to describe Penelope s cautious look to
see w hether the geese are still alive. It is the sam e verb used for O dysseus
cautious peeking out to see w hether any of the suitors are still alive at
xxii 381.
555 . : this w ord com m only refers to giving an answer in the

10s
B O O K X I X 537-565

form of a response that interprets an oracle or omen. C f. II. v 150, rots ovk
.
562 . : a w ord of obscure m eaning. T h e dom inant view, e,g,
Bechtel, Lexifagus, 37, sees a privative com pound based on , energy ,
spirit . Stanford suggests a com pound o f a-privative plus , rem ain ,
m eaning fleeting . But strengthless is not only far m ore appropriate to the
contexts w here is used, it is virtually dem anded by the use of the
verb at II. xiii 562.
562- 3 . A double set o f gates, of which one set is m ade of ivory and one of
horn or horns (the pi. noun icepdeaac seems to be substitutable for the sing,
adj. in H om eric diction, as at xix 211). Generations of scholars have
puzzled over the sym bolism o f this passage and the reasons for associating
horn with truth and ivory with deception. A n etym ologizing connection of
with (565) and with (567) is probably
intended by the poet; but w hether this causes, or derives from, the horn-
ivory sym bolism is unclear. T h e fullest discussion is by E. L . Highbarger,
The Gates of Dreams (Baltimore, 1940), w ho takes as horns not
horn, referring to a pair of horns w hich he connects with the Gates o f
H eaven in Egyptian and M esopotam ian m ythology. T h e prom inence
given in Crete to sacred horns could w ell derive from this eastern source.
W hile H ighbarger s connections are not fully convincing, I suggest that the
im portance o f horns in early G reek religion raises the possibility that
H om er has preserved the m em ory o f the gateway o f horns (or horn) as
sym bol of the passageway to a higher, m ore perm anent reality. A different
approach b y A nn e A m ory, T C S xx (1966), 1-5 7 , rejects speculation about
archaic inherited sym bols and argues instead for H om ers use of horn and
ivory as antithetical sym bols representing O dysseus and Penelopes
contrasting approaches to reality at several places in the poem.
565 - 7. is of disputed m eaning and etym ology. M ost critics
see in the present passage a contrast between false or deceptive dreams and
true ones, but this distinction m ay be due to the influence o f V ergils
fam ous imitation, Aeneid vi 8936, with its opposition betw een sens umbris
and falsa insomnia. H om ers m eaning is unclear because each verbal phrase
describing what each group o f dream s does is open to two interpretations.
is defined as to cheat or (its unm istakeable m eaning at Hes.
Th. 330) to dam age . B ut to cheat has no real basis in G reek usage and
seems to be the creation of lexicographers based on a m isreading of this
passage. can m ean fulfil things that are real or
really have pow er ( as adverbial, in its less com m on
m eaning show n at viii 39 w here aoiXrjes means
twelve kings have power : see A m ory, op. cit., 22-8). Penelopes m eaning,
then, is that dream s from the ivory gate are harm ful because they bring
messages that are believed and acted upon but not ultim ately fulfilled
(), w hereas those from the gate of horn do really com e true (
, however interpreted, is antithetical to ). T h e
assumption is that all dream s are messages to b e acted upon, and if

103
COMMENTARY

Penelope interprets the dream w rongly and acts upon it, its message w ill be
unfulfilled1 and the dream, through Penelopes actions, can cause harm
(). T h is interpretation is close to that o f A m ory, op. cit.
568 . o v c ip o v : com m entators have been bothered by the supposed
inappropriateness of characterizing a dream o f O dysseus m uch-
awaited return. B ut if w e recall Penelope s deep upset in the dream, we see
that she is here accurately recording her distress at the scene of violence
which led her to weep.
572 - 81 . W h y does the queen decide at this point to set the contest of the bow
for the very next day and stake her entire future on its outcome? T his
question remains one of the fundam ental problem s for any interpretation
of xix and the consistency of H om er s portrait of Penelope. Since she has
the best reasons now for believing in her husbands im m inent return (the
em phatic assurances of T heoclym enus at xvii 152-61, of the beggar at xix
262-307, and the manifest message of the dream itself), w hy not delay the
m arriage for a few more days and expect that O dysseus will arrive in time?
T h e problem has recently been restated in its full difficulty by F. M .
Com bellack, T h ree O dyssean Problem s , California Studies in Classical
Antiquity vi (1973), 3240, w ho provides no answer. T w o easy solutions
remain unattractive: (1) that Penelope has seen through O dysseus disguise
and can assume he will string the bow tom orrow (Harsh, op. cit.); (2) that
we have before us the im perfectly adjusted conflation of an earlier and a
revised Odyssey, so that Penelope s decision is the awkward residue of a
version in which husband and wife plot together to kill the suitors (Am phi-
m edon s plausible but erroneous reconstruction o f events at xxiv 125ff.,
and the similar reconstructions o f Page, Odyssey, 123-4, K irk, Songs, 2467,
and the Germ an A nalytic tradition that preceded them). T h e second
explanation, while more plausible, assumes a poet or later redactor w ho
could be content with m ajor narrative inconsistency, an impression belied
by the subtle and effective storytelling technique found throughout xix.
T h e first assumes that an event of the utmost significance has transpired in
xix but has been kept out of sight by the poet, w hich is hardly H om ers
manner.
It is tem pting to view the bow-contest as another stalling tactic similar to
Penelopes trick o f the w eb, if we can assume that she has genuine hope,
despite her self-protective protestation to the contrary at 568, that her
dream did in fact issue through the gates o f horn (her em phatic wish at 569;
w e m ust rem em ber that Penelope often uses speech as a protective shield
rather than as a nave m irror of her thoughts, as discussed at length in m y
Introduction). T his interpretation seems weakened, however, by her
apparent belief that the contest will result in her m arriage to one of the
suitors (xix 5 7 12; xx 6 1-9 0 , esp. 80-2; and possibly her weeping at xxi
55-6). W e m ust concede that H om er keeps us from fathom ing Penelope s
m ind com pletely: we cannot estimate the m ixture of expectations that
prompts her decision, and so it remains mysterious. See N . Felson-Rubin,
Penelopes Perspective: Character from Plot, in J, M . Brem er et at, edd.,

104
B O O K X I X 565-587

Homer: Beyond Oral Poetry (Am sterdam , 1986), for an intriguing narrato-
logicar explanation in which the unfathom ability o f Penelopes motives
results from her participation in sim ultaneous m ultiple marriage-plots,
and from a com plicity between author and character to keep her from
clarifying her motivation by accepting any single plot.
O th er explanations include the theory that her unconscious attraction to
the beggar and faith in his predictions lead Penelope to a bold intuitive
gam ble at this point (Russo, A JP h ciii (1982), 418; that Penelope uses the
contest as a test of her own correct reading o f the strangers identity
(Austin, Archery, 230-2, following A m ory, R eunion); that she is carrying
out O dysseus parting request that she rem arry w hen Telem achus gets his
first beard, as w ell as acting to protect her son (Thornton, People, 1035);
that w e have here the elevation of coincidence to a m ajor structuring device
of plot (O . Seel, Variante u n d K onvergenz in der O dyssee , in Studi in onore
di U. E. Paoli (Firenze, 1956)), or, in m ore existentialist tonality, that we
have a self-conscious and disturbing use of chance for the resolution of a
plot , a device that contradicts the poem s dom inant and m ore comforting
assum ptions that strong characters can control the events that shape their
happiness (S. M urnaghan, Disguise and Recognition in the Odyssey (Princeton,
1987), 134, and see further 133-7).
574 . : literally w ood-holders or ship-holders : the w ooden props
that support the frame of a ship un der construction. T o resem ble such
props, the axes must be aligned in a straight line, the heads down and the
handles up. T h e details given at xxi 120-2,4202 (see n.) are not sufficient
to allow us to draw this picture w ith certainty, but it is the likeliest recon
struction.
574- 5 . . . . : the iterative suffixes show that this was
a regular perform ance trick o f O dysseus. Exactly w hat shoot an arrow
through them means has been m uch disputed. T h e interpreters crux is
the contradiction betw een O dysseus statement at 587 that the shot will
pass through iron, and the actual description of the shot at xxi 4 2 1-2 which
specifies that he shoots through the handle, of the axes. T h e problem
vanishes if we assume that the axes are not everyday tools, but votive axes
whose handle term inated in a m etal ring .that allow ed the axes to hang
from a peg. T h is interpretation, w hich goes back to C . Blinkenberg,
Archaeologische Studien (1904), 31 ff., is recently defended in detail b y Page,
Folktales, 94113 (originally in Epistemonike Ephemeris (Athens, 1964)), and
A . Sacconi, Unproblema di Interpretazione Omerica (Rom e, 1971). Interesting
criticisms of this solution, however, are raised by C . Gallavotti, Studi micenei
ed egeo-anatolid xv (1972), 1724, w ho notes that votive axes found from the
M in oan and M ycenaean periods are too small to be used as we have
im agined here. W e are dealing then with poetic fancy distorting a distant
m em ory o f earlier times.
587 , : the argum ent of the preceding note would
allow us to interpret as the series of holes in the iron rings on the
handles. A n alternative interpretation is given by W . Burkert in Grazer

105
COMM ENTARY

Beitrge i (1971), 6978, w ho collects Egyptian evidence to show that


A m enophis II (14471420) dem onstrated his royal strength by shooting
through thick sheets of copper. Artistic representations m ade the targets
look like axes, and m ay therefore have been the source, through Syrian,
Hittite, and H u m a n intermediaries, of the H om eric tradition that kings
showed their legitim acy b y shooting through axes. Such an interpretation
requires one, however, to argue that at xxi 422 means something
other than handle1.
589- 90 . A final expression of the degree to which this stranger has entered
into the queen s affections. H er instincts draw her to this man who has the
power to give her pleasure, , simply by his presence, ,
and his constant supportive statements (300-7, 557-9 , 585-7) that affirm
the im m inent arrival of O dysseus. W e m ay see here an anticipation of the
extra-long night in which O dysseus and Penelope have their full reunion
and O dysseus fulfils the wish that his wife voices here: 1
, \ ,
xxiii 3089.
597 . : (= xxiii 19) Ilion is not nam eable5
because of the intense resentm ent Penelope has toward that place, and so
she substitutes a punning pejorative version of its name. T h e sam e verbal
device was com m ented on at xviii 73. Cf. also IL iii 39, xiii 769 for H ector s
pun on Paris name, .
598 - 9 . * : Penelope s specifying the difference in her
and her new friends sleeping quarters seems to answer to an unexpressed
sexual undercurrent that runs throughout their lengthy scene. T h e poet
has brought their hearts close together, and will bring them still closer in
the early part o fxx . T h e language of 589-90 shows that H om er is anticipat
ing their long night together in xxiii. N ow he is m aking clear the distance
that still separates the two, so that the scene can close, appropriately, with
Penelope in her familiar private grief (595-6, 603). T h is narrative rhythm of
approach and w ithdrawal informs the books from xvii to xxiii with a finely
controlled tension and crescendo.

106
BOOK XX: COMM ENTARY

T his is one of the shorter books, and has been ju d g ed by some scholars as
inferior in quality to the excellent books that precede and follow. It contains,
however, some o f H om ers most incisive description of his characters deepest
feelings. It also recapitulates and draws towards a clim ax several themes that
have characterized the events in Ithaca since T elem achus and Odysseus
arrived there. Finally, in the prophetic vision spoken by Theoclym enus, Book
xx gives us one of H om ers most intense and unforgettable portrayals of the
supernatural.

1. 1-5 5 . O dysseus seething em otions and active m ind keep him from
sleep. A thena descends and calms him, reassuring him of her aid for a
final victory over the suitors.
2. 56121. Penelope awakens and lam ents aloud, praying to Artem is for a
painless death, O dysseus hears her, awakens, prays to Zeus for two
signs, a verbal and a visible rpas, and obtains both.
3. 122-240. T h e new day begins for the household: T elem achus arises and
goes into town, Eurycleia orders the maids to prepare for the feast of
A pollo. Eum aeus, M elanthius, and Philoetius arrive and address
Odyssus each in his characteristic way.
4. 241-344. T h e suitors receive an unfavourable omen, abandon the plan
to kill Telem achos, and return to feast at the palace. Telem achus asserts
his right to protect the stranger; Ctesippus throws a cow s foot at the
beggar but misses; T elem achus m akes a bold speech, w hich Agelaus
answers in a m oderate way.
5. 34594. A thena sends an unnatural seizure upon the suitors;
T heoclym en us sees them as surrounded by portents of death, and
leaves the house. T h e suitors return to m ocking Telem achus for the
kind of guests he has. T h e book closes b y noting the rapport between
father and son, Penelope listening from a distance, and the suitors in
their ignorance enjoying their last meal on earth.1*4

1. : xx is closely connected to xix, ju st as xix is to xviii, by this m ildly


adversative particle. T h e Odyssey six times begins a book with this word, the
Iliad twice. Such an opening m ay suggest that the books so connected had
com e to be recited together as part o f a longer recitation, with little or no
pause betw een books. o Iv: such hiatus is rare, as Stanford notes, but
what he cites as parallels (xiv 1, xix 1) are in fact the same formula,
v (/c).
4 . : an am biguous word, w hich w ould give the impression that
O dysseus is asleep (especially following cj) ), until H om er tells us in the
next verses that the hero s active m ind is at work, plotting against the suitors.

107
COMMENTARY

6. : this irregular participial form of , as if from the perf.


, occurs only here. T h e short vowel in - is created by diektasis,
since we expect - from (Chantraine, Grammaire, i So, 359).
6- 7 . 10 . . . : they have to pass through the entrance-way
(the o f line 1) in order to leave the palace to keep the rendezvous
with their lovers.
7. : norm ally augm ent is not used on iterative forms, and in
the other exceptions we can usually restore the unaugm ented form, as in
for 7 at xiv 521, preserved by one M S.
9- 10 . . . . : it is noteworthy that is used in consecutive
lines with different meanings. In 9 it is the angry impulse that rises up in
O dysseus at the outrageous spectacle; but in 10 its use in a stock formula.is
equivalent to heart5 or spirit .
10- 35 . Such pondering o f alternatives is one of H om er s typical scenes .
T h is one, however, is unique in the entire H om eric corpus, because it ends
not in resolution or any decision but in the odd m etaphor of O dysseus5
heart barking. This m etaphor then generates a simile, which leads
O dysseus to address his heart in an adm onishing speech. But even now the
anxiety indicated by the introductory verb ^ does not subside, and
the poet gives us another, even more hom ely, simile, and finally a divine
intervention, in w hich A thena successfully calms Odysseus and puts him
to sleep. A sequence o f such length, deliberately extended by the ju xta
position of so m any distinct units, is totally different from H om ers usual
practice and is em ployed here to achieve an unusually strong intensifica
tion of the description of the hero s inner turmoil. T h e formal idiosyncracy
o f this scene is analysed by C hr. Voigt, berlegung und Entscheidung (Berlin,
1933), 6974, untraditional intensity b y J. Russo, Anon vii (1968), 275
95 (G erm an version in J. Latacz, ed., Homer: Tradition und Neuerung
(Darm stadt, 1979), 403-27).
14- 16 . $ c . . . p a . . . : this w ording shows how the simile is
called forth as in effect a gloss on the striking m etaphor
of 13. F o r an exam ination of dogs in the Odyssey, as closely
identified with O dysseus as protector and avenger, see G , P. Rose,
O d y s s e u s Barking H eart, TAPhA cix (1979), 215-30. R ose suggests that
the dog on the brooch at xix 228 ff. represents O dysseus and its victim, the
helpless fawn, represents the suitors.
14 . ire p i . . . : ^ is regular Iliadic usage for the act of stand
in g over (bestriding) a fallen com rade to protect him. It is easily used
m etaphorically, as at II. i 37, w here Apollo stands over (i.e. protects) the
land o f Chryse. T h e transference o f this idiom, from the battlefield to the
household scene o f the bitch with her puppies, is in keeping with the
dom estic setting and lowly circum stances in w hich the hero of the Trojan
W ar, lord of this house, is forced to play his new role o f beggar. O dysseus
rage at the maidservants reveals the possessiveness of the master beneath
the beggar s disguise, and m ay also hint at sexual jealousy, since it was not
uncom m on for powerful nobles to have sexual relations with their female

108
B O O K X X 6 -ao

servants (i 429-33). In this sense (even though Odysseus did not intend
sexual relations with the maids) they belonged to him, which makes his
extreme anger here more understandable. : this form of the
fem. participle is unique in Hom er, w ho elsewhere uses .
18 . , : direct address to ones heart or spirit will becom e a .
fam iliar device in lyric and dram atic poetry (e.g. A rchilochus 67ar> = is8 w ,
, * , ', . Med. 1056, ,
, * } ), b ut is rare in the epic genre which is more
concerned with action than with reflection. H ere it helps create a scene of
unusual em otional intensity, reinforced b y other atypical narrative devices
(see 1035, 24, 3onn.). : this com parative adj., m ore offens
ive , more shameless5, is form ed from the word dog5. T h e process of asso
ciation by w hich the Greeks transform ed the m eaning dog-like5 to that of
w ithout sham e is seen in A gam em n o n s condem nation o f Clytaem estra at
xi 4247, where he calls her (dog-faced5) and adds that no other
w om an s deed was (m ore dog-like = m ore shameless) than hers.
Just as seems to call forth the w ord in xi, so here the
canine simile im m ediately preceding has apparently directed the poet s
choice o f language. T h e word d o g5 has also been m uch used recently as a
term o f reproach for M elantho and the other faithless maidservants (xviii
338, xix 91, 154, 372). For an extensive discussion o f the range o f meta
phoric possibilities H om er exploits through the use o f the dog (in relation
to other animals) as representative of an aspect o f hum an nature, see
j . Redfield, Nature and Culture in the Iliad (Chicago, 1975), 193-203. Red-
field emphasizes the dog s essentially negative im age, whereas R ose (op.
cit., i4 - i6 n .) argues for a positive value attached to dogs in the Odyssey
w hen they are associated with O dysseus.
18 - 24 . . . . . . . au T o s: it is generally held that the Homeric
conception of m an is poor in vocabulary denoting the self5 or whole
person, tending instead to conceive o f the person as an aggregate of
separate parts (B. Snell, Die Entdeckung des Geis teG (Gttingen, 1975), 1 7 -
23; H . Frankel, Dichtung und Philosophie des frhen Griechentums (M unich,
1962), 83-94; J- Russo and B. Simon, H om eric Psychology and the O ral
Epic T radition 5, Jour. Hist. Ideas xxix (1968), 483-98, repr. in j . W right,
ed., Essays on the Iliad (Bloom ington, Ind., 1978)). In these lines, while
O dysseus rebellious organs, representing emotive aspects of the self, have
been subdued, the m an h im self (?) is m ore than the sum of his parts
and remains too upset to hold still. T h is passage seems to represent an
advance from the standard H om eric conception toward a more m odern
one, as the poet presses the w ord into service to denote the w hole5
psychological entity in opposition to its constituent impulses (contrast II. i
3 -4 w here has the norm al, sim pler m eaning them , i.e. the m ens
bodies as distinct from their which have gone to Hades).
20. : in recalling the escape from the Cyclops, O dysseus has recalled
the w ord upon which the elaborate punning sequence was built ( /
: /); cf. ix 366, 37) 4 8j 4 M j and H eubeck, 408-12 n.

109
COMM ENTARY

23 . : this word, a hapax, means either persuasion (from ) or


bondage (cf. , ship s cable). T h e scholia support both possibilities,
Chantraine, Dictionnaire, 869, supports only the first.
25- 8 . T h is simile, like the preceding one, arises from the poets wish to
explicate or illustrate a striking detail in his description of O dysseus
em otional turm oil, this time the words (24). T his
tossing o f O dysseus is likened to a man rolling a sausage back and forth,
' ). W hile the primary identification is between the
tossing O dysseus and the rolled sausage, the eagerness of the m an to have
it cooked quickly (27) corresponds to O dysseus eagerness to find a w ay to
attack the suitors (28-9).
30 . : in the formal pattern established by Voigt (op. cit.) for
typical scenes of deliberation and choice, the intervention o f a deity to settle
the choice follows upon deliberation whether to do one thing or another (as
at 10 -12 , . , . . . . ), whereas deliberation over how to achieve
an end ( | reus, 28-9) regularly leads to autonom ous decision,
described in the verse 8e . T his
lengthy and anom alous scene of O dysseus inner turm oil has a unique
conclusion, in that it is a deity that brings the decision how to act. Besides
this anom aly in sequence, it is the only O dyssean exam ple o f divine inter
vention to help a character m ake a decision after the form ulaic pondering
described as . Such decisions are regularly m ade auto
nom ously in the Odyssey, whereas the Iliadic norm (one exception, xiii455~
9) is for gods to decide autonom ously and for mortals to receive divine
direction.
32 . ! : this is the norm al position assum ed by
figures who appear in dreams (iv 803, vi 21, II. ii 20, xxiii 68).
33 . : a similar address is used by O dysseus
m other A nticleia at xi 216. O n each occasion the heros upset state calls
forth the protective feelings o f his m other or patron goddess. T h e phrase is
not m ere hyperbole but underlines O dysseus reputation as a man singled
out by destiny for a hard life, as suggested b y his very nam e and its
association with a serious w ound (see nn. to xix 407,409). T h e w ord -
( *), subject to destiny, l-fated, is absent from the Iliad
and used only of O dysseus (ii 351, v 160, 339).
34- 5 , It seems that A thena is stating w hat is self-evident. B ut in this context,
w here O dysseus is intensely feeling his isolation and helplessness, it is
significant that w hat strengthens his m orale is to be rem inded o f the
integrity of his nuclear family.
43 . : the com pounded prepositions that create this
unusually long verb suggest that O dysseus w ill need to get out from
under and then move ahead o f the threat of vengeance from the families
o f the m urdered suitors. H is analysis is correct, since this vengeance will
becom e a m ajor threat in xxiv and it will need A then a s intervention to
finally reconcile the w arring parties.
47 . : A th en as claim to guard her favourite w ithout interruption

no
B O O K X X 23-57

in all his labours is shown b y allusions elsewhere in the epic to b e false


(vi 32 4-3 1, xiii 316-23). See Clay, Wrath, 44-53 and passim on A th en as
anger at O dysseus and the poet s wish to m inim ize that traditional
story.
49 . : a traditional epithet so old that its m eaning has been lost. T h e
etym ology o f the scholia to II. i 250, com bining to have a share
o f and voice, is unacceptable, since cannot be forced to
m ean articulate and the - element is more likely to refer to face or
appearance, as in the H om eric com pounds , , , .
Since these words all describe bright appearance, it is possible that
means bright-faced, the - cognate with and Latin merus.
O th er interpretations include with thoughtful face (- as in ,
: Bechtel, Lexilogus, 225, repeating the explanation of Fick);
who look upon death, i.e. m ortal (M. Runes, Indogermanische Forschungen
lii (1934), 2 16 -17 ; a similar m eaning vergnglich, sterblich in H . Koller,
Glotia xlvi (1968), 18, not from etym ology, which he finds unprofitable, but
from context, especially the H esiodic usage that always prefaces or
to ); and earth-bom , equivalent to ,
argued by P. Chantraine in Melanges Cumont (Brussels, 1936), 12 1-8 , based
on the same nam e belonging to the autochthonous hero M erops and the
com m ent of the Venetus A scholium to II. i 250, .
C han traines general thesis is that nam es of this type (including and
), which also designate specific types of bird, go back to the most
archaic sources o f the G reek vocabulary, are probably Thracian or
Phrygian in origin, and are distant echoes of an earlier association of
hum ans with images drawn from the anim al world (cf. the note on xix 163
for a similar association of hum ans with trees and to xix 137 for the nam e
Penelope). A s to form and frequency, is the standard
end-line form ula (10 X), w hile the m etrically irregular is
found once (the irregularity tolerated, no doubt, because the genitive pi.
form was so well-established), and once we find the variant
. O f these twelve occurrences, ten are in the Iliad, which preserves
archaic phrases m ore than the Odyssey. T h e two O dyssean usages are,
curiously, both in xx.
50 . : Ares is often not conceived as a god but as a m etaphor for w ar or
martial spirit. T h is latter sense is most vividly illustrated b y IL xvii 210-12.
52 . : either we have here the earliest exam ple o f the
articular infinitive (so Chantraine Grammaire, ii 305); or to is dem onstrat
ive, giving the m eaning that w atching (like , that stranger , see
note to xvii 10); or w e should translate a pain is that also, to keep w atch,
taking as appositional to to .
57 , : here, as at xxiii 343, the juxtaposition o f this w ord to the
phrase raises the possibility that the poet is using
the phrase to gloss , as if he understands the elem ent - to
refer to cares (from ) rather than to limbs (). I prefer, however, to
keep the traditional m eaning looser of lim bs for , and to assign

111
COMM ENTARY

the hom ophony to unconscious aural association or perhaps to conscious


sound-play on the part of the poet.
57 - 8 . In a perfect com plem entary narrative and psychological rhythm , once
O dysseus is relieved o f distress and lulled to sleep, his wife abandons sleep
in a state of distress. H om er presents an extended picture of the m ental
state of the two m ain characters, which serves two purposes: it develops as a
natural consequence of the intense feelings they aroused in each other in
the preceding scene (end of xix), thereby illum inating these feelings
further, and it also looks forward to the action of xx and xxi, since such
growing internal agitation is natural as m orning dawns on the day that will
bring the decisive and fatal contest of the bow. See further J. Russo, A jP h
ciii (1982), 4 -18 .
61 . 0: and , honorific titles given to m any goddesses
and im portant m ortal w om en and translated lady, mistress , or queen,
m ay originally be the nam e of an old M ycenaean goddess, who is perhaps
to be equated with the M inoan and m iddle eastern M other Goddess. See
J . C h ad w ick in Minos v (1957), 11720. T h e practice of jo in in g Potnia to
the nam e of an O lym pian m ay already be visible in Knossos tablet v 52. 1,
a-ta-na-po-ti-ni-ja, presum ably A thena potnia (V entris-C hadw ick,
Documents, 12 6 -7 and K N 208). But the reading of a-ta-na as A thena is
open to doubt: see M . Gerard-Rousseau, Les Mentions religieuses dans les
tablettes mycniennes (Rom e, 1968), 456.
6 2 . c o o t : viz., in her capacity denoted by her familiar
epithet , she w ho showers arrows . For Artem is as bringer of
death to w om en, see xviii 202 . For H eubecks alternative etym ology,
having arrows in her han d, see Hainsworth on vi 102, Hoekstra on xv 478.
63 . : not literally to follow after, but rather with the m eaning or
then, as an alternative if the first im agined death is not granted.
64 . ^ : these m urky paths seem to be associated with the
river O cean that encircles the world, because at xi 1315 O dysseus ship
arrives at the boundaries of deep-flowing O cea n w here the city o f the
Cim m erians is covered with mist.
66- 78 . T h is story is not known from any other source, like the story at xix
518 fF. w hich it resembles. Pandareos daughter, the nightingale, is not
m entioned here nor are any other daughters besides the nightingale
m entioned in xix. T h e two tales do not contradict each other, but neither
do they sound like the same story. Penelope seems to be selecting different
accounts of disasters that befell Pandareos various daughters to illustrate
her feelings on two different occasions.
66. : this phrase, like the similar ,
, and , are com m on metaphors
for saying that som eone has perm anently vanished from the hum an w orld
(O dysseus is referred to in such language earlier in the poem , i 241, xiv
371). T h e daughters o f Pandareos still exist, as servants of the Erinyes, but
from the viewpoint o f hum an society they have disappeared forever, as
stated b y the verb at 79.

112
B O O K X X 57-89

69 . T h ese are three of the four ingredients (the fourth being , barley)
of the com m only drunk m ixture called (from , to mix). It
was served by C irce (x 290, 3i6ff.) to O dysseus m en with drugs added to
enchant them.
70- 2 . T hese gifts accord with the nature of each goddess. H era as Zeus
counterpart is both handsom e and w ise ; Artem is is tall, as em phasized
at vi 107; and A thena is skilful at handiwork. T h e exception is Aphrodite,
whose feeding the girls honey, cheese, and wine (689) is not a simple
extension of her personal attributes but a m ore com plex enactm ent of her
function as surrogate m other and patron goddess o f weddings, as shown
further by her role in arranging their marriage (73-4).
74 . tc Xo s : as in the more com m on phrase (see n.
on xvii 476), the genitive is not possessive but epexegetical: the fulfilment
of (consisting in) m arriage .
76 , : the context, nam ing Zeus, suggests the m eaning
good and ill fortune (cf. II. xxiv 527 ff.: Zeus distributes a m ixture of good
and bad fortune from two urns), and so the scholia interpret. B ut the G reek
more likely means w hat is fated and what is not fated.
77 , T h e trochaic word-end in the fourth foot is rare (statistics in E. O Neill,
Jun., TCS viii (1942), 158), and is here caused by the use of a word o f
unusual length and shape, w ------- ^ (O N eill, 148 and 151, com paring
T ab le 26 with 29), to close the verse.
81 . : norm ally this w ord w ould m ean seeing, but the m eaning
here must be equivalent to the m ore explicit . . . ,
used of T elem achus at i 113, and refer to an internal im age in one s
imagination. Penelope wishes to die with an im age o f O dysseus in her
m in ds eye.
82 . This line clearly shows that in setting the shooting contest for the next
day, Penelope is willing, finally, to face the possibility of m arrying one of
the suitors. H er com plaint confirms the fact that she has no suspicion that
her husband has already returned in the disguise o f the beggar.
83 . T h e syntax is am biguous. O f several possibilities, the best is to take to
as subject, in the sense (unusual for Hom er) of brings or
involves, and the clause as appositional to .
87- 90 . A most significant dream, which m ust be interpreted together with
the one reported by Penelope at xix 535 ff. T here she envisions her
hu sban ds return. H ere, he is already in his place sleeping beside her.
Penelope s prem onition o f O dysseus return grows stronger and stronger.
T h e intensity o f her desire for his presence is strengthened by
(88), w hich connotes sleeping together sexually in its one other H om eric
use (//. xiv 163, , H era speaking of her forthcom ing
, seduction of her husband Zeus).
89 . T h is im age of Odysseus as he looked when he left for T roy has already
been conjured up by O dysseus description at xix 224ff., answering
Penelope s request for an exact portrait (for ijev, cf. ?
otos , xix 219). T his im age now becom es the fantasy that she invests

113
COMMENTARY

with the realism of a true vision (p). : here with internal


correption, scanned as two shorts, ^
90 . o u k . , . o v a p . . . : the language recalls xix 547. Each o f these
dream s has an especial vividness not ascribed to the other dreams in
H om er. : a w ord of curious origin, probably created by w ord
p lay on the A eo lic preposition - . Since ovap seemed to contain the
w ord for u p , a w ord of opposed m eaning was artificially or playfully
created, based on the preposition under , , and given the correspond
ing form and the sense o f a real vision (so Leum ann, Wrter, 126,
following Ed. H erm ann, Nachrichten von der Kniglichen Gesellschaft der
Wissenschaften zu Gttingen (1918), 285). W h en used earlier at xix 547, it is
glossed by the phrase , w hich in effect defines
as a vision o f w hat w ill com e true.
92 . : is to put together in one s m ind, hence
to notice or attend to. O dysseus from the - can hear the
queen s w eeping in the , her upstairs bedroom , ju st as at
i 328 Penelope upstairs could hear the bard singing in the m ain hall
below.
93- 4. T h is is a surprising and un ique description o f O dysseus vivid im agin
ings. W e realize as we read the text that O dysseus is not fully awake, but is
still in the sleep induced by A then a at 54. T h e vivid im age he sees is best
explained as the kind o f im agery called hypnopompic b y psychologists,
which is characteristic of the transitional state between sleep and w aking
(G. Reed, The Psychology of Anomalous Experience (Boston, 1974), 3740).
Such im ages often have reference to the subject s anticipations about his
forthcom ing day (ibid. 39), so that H om ers description is quite true to
observed psychological reality. T h e poet is obliged to describe this subtle
phenom enon in the simple vocabulary available in epic diction for
ordinary perception, hence the unelaborated . He
has, however, stretched to cover a broader category o f thinking
(reflect, as at xvi 256-61) than does its more form ulaic use (ponder
anxiously) in the traditional type-scenes described in the note to 1035
above. In these two verses, H om er describes succinctly a phenom enon that
a m odem w riter m ight depict at length. Into O dysseus consciousness
suddenly enters a vivid im age, or fantasy, of an eagerly desired goal that
now is growing close: his wife knows him already, so that the anxieties
o f contriving a revelation of his identity and the task o f elim inating the
suitors are all by-passed. A m ore perfect wish-fulfilling fantasy could not be
im agined. : this is sim ilar but not identical
to the form ula with w hich dreams and visions always appear at the head o f
the sleeper, ' .
100-1. . , . : T h e motive for O dysseus fervent prayer at this
m om ent m ust be seen in the striking vision he has ju s t had of reunion with
his wife. H e takes this vision as a kind of om en, and asks Zeus for an
unusual double confirmation by two other kinds of omen, the significant
verbal utterance () and the natural sign or portent (repas). See further

114
B O O K X X 8 9 -13 8

in the note to xviii 117. , as M onro notes, is a sign


besides, not another .
104 . : the phrase contradicts the old w om an s
statement at 114, , which makes of the thunder a
. T h e poet has been careless here, using , from the clouds,
m etonym ically to m ean from the heavens .
106 , o i . . . : the refers somewhat awkwardly back to
O dysseus, with the form ular an appositional gloss on oi.
108 . . . . : the first is the fam iliar barley-m eal sprinkled on
meat in sacrifices, ,, a rare w ord found only here in Hom er, w ould
from its etym ology (, to grind) m ean any ground flour. But the
context suggests a different grain, and we should accept the scholias gloss
w heat flour, for w hich the classical G reek word was .
1 1 1 . e-iros . . . : an utterance that is in effect a sign is a definition of
the O dysseus asked for.
112 - 19 , T h is is an unusual prayer for an old, anonym ous servant, as
com m entators have noted. K . Hirvonen, Cledonom ancy and the G rin d
ing Slave, Arcios vi (1969), 521, has a lengthy analysis o f the sometimes
unusual diction and the practice o f cledonom ancy referred to by the poet.
H irvonen finds it strange for a slave w om an to pray to Zeus rather than to a
goddess like Dem eter; but the prayer is for vengeance and this is Zeus
function, especially w hen the violation is o f hospitality. F o r revulsion
against the suitors to be expressed finally by this hum ble and anonym ous
person is a powerful dram atic addition to the negative portrait H om er has
painted of the lordly suitors, and is typical of the Odyssey s tendency (as
opposed to the Iliad) to view things from the position o f the powerless
classes. See xviii 366-80n.
119 . : this phrase and the re
o f 116 . recall O dysseus language at 13 (referring to the maids) and
Penelopes wish earlier at iv 685 that the suitors m ight be eating their last
meal. A s the final revenge approaches, the poet alludes to the suitors end
m ore frequently and m ultiplies the num ber o f om inous warnings.
12 0 -1. T hornton, People, 57, m akes the im portant observation that m any
omens are prayed for and received from the gods in H om ers epics, but
only O dysseus asks for and receives one from Zeus (here and at xxi 413;
and Thornton also includes the thunderbolt sent at xxiv 539). A partial
exception to her rule is the suitors wish for a sign from the gods and Zeus
at xvi 402-4, w hich comes in the form o f an eagle (from Zeus) at 243 below.
132 . : a hapax, probably from , and m eaning in a
striking m anner , or perhaps in an odd w ay . T elem achus constant
critical tone in speaking to or about his m other is spiced b y this vivid
adverb.
138 . : this reading o f the m ajor M S S m ay be less apt than the
v.l. ), because o f the awkwardness o f the optative after ,
which should refer to a general or recurring condition. T h e < of the
apodosis clearly requires a single action in the protasis: B ut w hen their

15
COMMENTARY

thoughts turned to bedding and sleep, rather than 'B u t whenever his
thoughts turned to . . T h e pi. form, which w ou ld refer the action to
Penelope and O dysseus, also receives some support from the reading
in A pollon ius Lexicon.
140 - 3 . It has been characteristic o f O dysseus portrayal of the lowly beggar
to refuse comforts that w ould lessen the contrast between him self and the
self-indulgent suitors w ho have been enjoying all the resources o f his
house. See xix 336.
149 . 5: this pi. o f the com m on exclam ation (com e , always
linked to a com m and) appears only here in Hom er. It is easy to see how
Eurycleia s speech, filled with com m ands to the maids, fostered the
creation o f a plural, since ypei was still felt as a verbal form m eaning take
(cf. A rchilochus ypet 8 , 5a,8D = 4.8 w ). Details are in
Bechtel, Lexilogus, 8 -9 , who cites W ackernagels com parison o f 8
giving rise to S care. T h e recessive accent, dypctre for the norm al , is
preferred by ancient and m odern gram marians as proper for A eolic verbs.
149 - 56 . A speech filled with imperatives, that realistically conveys the
bustling activity o f a household preparing for a special holiday (
). It contributes to the building o f an atm osphere o f im pending
clim ax for the poem s audience: this w ill be, as they know, the suitors last
day in the palace of Odysseus.
153 . .: see xix 62.
156 . : the scholia, citing Philochorus as a source, identify this as the
festival o f A pollo N eom nios, the first day of the m onth. T h e sam e
identification o f the as an Apollo-festival is noted for the island o f
Samos b y the author o f the H erodotean Life of H om er, cited in M o n ro s
com m entary (see further xix 306.). Preparations for this feast are
described below at 276-8 and later at xxi 258. Van Leeuwen, ad loc.,
connects this new lunar m onth with the information at xiv 457 that the first
night O dysseus spends a tE u m ae u s5hut is a , a night o f the
interlunar period, the(period w hich (we argued in the n. on xix 306-7) was
either called the or concluded with the . T h e interlunar
dark of the m oon, w hich began when Odysseus was w ith Eum aeus, is
therefore about to end with the new moon festival dedicated to A pollo. See
further A ustin, Archery, 245-52, for an elaborately spun theory that w e have
here the conjunction of the festivals, those of A pollo N eom nios and the
springtim e A pollo, fitting into a larger cosmic rhythm involving conjunc
tion and opposition in a ceaseless cycle .
158 . : water from a spring is always ju d g ed black because o f
the visual effect caused b y its depth. T h e sam e phrase is found at II. ix 14
and xvi 3.
162 - 3 . A tx v ii 600 T eiem achus told Eum aeus to bring these at
the dawn o f the next day.
163 . ffi A o u s: schol. A defines as well-fattened and tam e ,
eii , in contrast to w ild pigs , ?. Eum aeus gives a
more relevant distinction at xiv 81, offering his new guest , young
BOOK XX 138-200

pork, and adding as explanation ye Bovaiv,


the suitors eat all the well-fattened pigs. From xiv ig and 27 we see that a
single well-fattened pig was norm ally sufficient for the suitors daily feast
ing, so that the num ber three emphasizes the special holiday feast, at which
everyone will be fed ( , 156), not just the suitors.
166 . . . . : D o they show you greater respect? This use
o f eiaopdco in the sense show respect is unique, since it elsewhere requires
a qualifying phrase like deovs (-) ? or to achieve this m eaning
(vii 71, viii 173, xv 520; IL xii 312).
176 . : most M S S read the pi. , which gives better
sense: the two other shepherds mentioned in 175 perform this action, while
M elanthius (? S) begins to revile O dysseus again.
178 . M elan thius sister M elantho used the same words in her attack on
O dysseus at xix 66. T h ese twin characters with similar names are in effect
doublets, and part o f a w idespread pattern of doubling and tripling of
events and personages throughout the epic (see Fenik, Studies, 133-230).
181 . : as noted at xvii 413, this verb is always used
m etaphorically in H om er, and in the Odyssey always for a sardonic or
m ocking purpose. Cf. xxi 98.
184 . : see xvii 465.
185 . H ere is introduced the last o f the allies that w ill jo in Odysseus in his
cause against the suitors. T h e epithet is excessive for a
herdsm an, but similar epic exaggeration was bestowed upon Eumaeus,
and w e m ay assume the poet does this for characters he especially favours
(see xvii 272 .). T h e very nam e Philoetius suggests that this is a positive
figure w ho w ill help O dysseus to an ultim ate victory: plus
m ean a desirable fate , the opposite of the ohov m entioned three of
the five times the w ord is used in the poem.
194 . : these words, both loosely translatable as kin g, have
distinct m eanings in early G reek. Both are w ell attested in L in ear B, which
reveals that a single w as king w hile several were local
chieftains. In H om eric G reek this distinction has largely, but not entirely,
vanished. usually means king but is occasionally used in the
older sense o f lord (cf. T elem achus at i 394-6, w ho says that in Ithaca
there are m any other , one o f w hom m ight take O dysseus place).
In view o f this sem antic background we should understand Philoetius
phrase to m ean approxim ately lordly kin g .
195 . : the only exam ple in G reek o f the verb (formed from
, m isery). It appears again only in H esychius gloss -
.
197 . SeiSiOKCTo: see xviii 121 n.
199 - 200 . T hese identical lines were spoken to O dysseus by Am phinom us,
xviii 122-3. T h eir com passionate tone contrasts totally w ith the m ocking
greetings O dysseus has received from M elantho and M elanthius, and with
the sarcastic com m ents addressed to him by the worst of the suitors. T he
poet clearly reserved these lines for his good characters.

117
COMMENTARY

201 - 3 . Zeus begets (yetveai) m en m etaphorically, as in the stock formula


that calls him , father o f m en and gods. B ut more
m ay be im plied by the com bination of and yetveai both said o f
the chief deity. W . Burkert (personal corresp., 1 Nov. 1989) suggests that
this m ay be the first G reek testimony for the antithesis yiyveoflcu-
, and finds in the G reek w ording an echo of a proverbial
expression do not destroy w hat you have created , addressed to a chief
divinity in a num ber of M esopotam ian and O ld Testam ent texts: Enuma
Elish 1, 45 (T iam at to her husband Apsu), W h y should we, w hat w e have
created, destroy? ; Enlil, m y master, do not destroy w hat you have created
in a Babylonian fable (W . G . Lam bert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature
(Oxford, i960), 1901); J ob 10: 8 (Job to Yahw eh), Y o u r hands have
formed and m ade m e; and yet you do destroy m e ; Psalms 138: 8, W h at
yo u r hands have made, do not forsake .
203 . : the infinitive is governed b y is, with the sense
you dont pity m en their m ixing with ill fortune and dreadful suffering .
is first object o f and then subject of .
204 , : from , cognate with Eng. sweat, Latin sudare. Sweating as
a sym ptom of overwhelming emotions is also seen in Sappho s fam ous ode
beginning , where she says (31.
ISLP ).
205- 7. It is noteworthy that characters w ho are strongly attached to
O dysseus are reminded of him when they see the beggar, and draw
parallels between the beggars poor condition and that of Odysseus. W e
m ust rem em ber that O dysseus retains some of his natural looks: A th en a
has aged him m agically, but not transformed him into a com pletely different
person (see the perceptive discussion by Hlscher, Untersuchungen, 779).
Com pare Penelope s speculation at xix 358-60 and Eurycleia s speech at
xix 363fr., w here their comparisons are like those ofPhiloetius here. H om er
exploits these situations for m axim um dram atic irony, since these com
parisons are m ade in the presence o f the disguised king.
210. : it is not clear whether the w ord here has the same
m eaning it does in the Catalogue of II, ii 6 3 1-4 , w here it denotes all the
people subject to O dysseus kingship, including the nearby islands and
part of the m ainland (the sam e areas as named in the list o f Penelopes
suitors, i 245-7 = xvi 122-4== xix 130-2), but not the island later called
Cephallenia. It is doubtful that the Cephallenians district () w ould
be m entioned if the reference is so broad. T h e author of the Odyssey is prob
ably using the term, as M onro observes, for the m ainland where O dysseus
cattle were kept (xiv 100).
2 11. Kv : in no other (better) w ay , ?, otherwise , some
times carries the sense o f better, as at viii 176. W e see this secondary sense
clearly em erging from the prim ary one at I i xix 401, and a semantic m id
point at II xi 391.
212. : is an ear of grain, and the hapax verb form
means to spring up like grain , so that the transfer of reference to cattle

118
B O O K X X 201-242

constitutes a bold m etaphor. A gricultural com parisons com e naturally to


H o m ers people (see xviii 366-8on.). N ote the argum ent over agricultural
skills betw een Eurym achus and O dysseus at xviii 357 ff., and O dysseus
fine m etaphor at xiv 214 describing him self as the straw left standing after
harvest.
2 1 7 - 2 5 . Philoetius concludes his speech w ith a wish whose language recalls
T elem achus daydream at i 1 1 5 -1 6 . T h e cowherd is, like Eum aeus, a m an
o f strong emotions, deeply loyal to his absent king as a son to his father.
Such loyalty is a fitting return for the benevolent rule o f a king w ho was
several times described as being as kindly as a father (ii 47, 230, 234; v 8,
12).
230 - 1 . T hese two lines were spoken b y T heoclym en us to Penelope at xvii
15 5 -6 and b y O dysseus to her at xix 303-4. T h e y acquire m ore dram atic
force each time, as the revelation o f O dysseus presence draws closer.
232- 4 . R esponding to the intensity o f Philoetius feelings, O dysseus makes a
prophecy m uch m ore explicit and threatening than any spoken previously.
Such a firm prom ise o f death to the suitors can be spoken only to the
present com pany, and even then is slightly out of character for a beggar (cf.
xix 348 with note, w here the beggars lordly tone is also out of character).
232 . 5 : Philoetius has ju st been ferried over (187) from the
Cephallenians dem e (210) w here he norm ally works.
235 - 9 . V an der Valk, Textual Criticism, 213, notes that w hen O dysseus swore
the same oath to Eum aeus (xiv 158-9) and Penelope (xix 3 12 -13 ), both o f
. them were incredulous and said O d y sse u s w ill not return whereas here
both Eum aeus and Philoetius believe the beggars words. A gain, dram atic
tension is heightened as the dnouem ent approaches.
236 . : here w e are close to the Zevs o f the classical
period, Zeus the A ccom plisher . T h e accom plishm ent prayed for was
often, as here, vengeance, as in Clytaem nestras prayer in A . Ag. 973. Cf.
also Eu. 28, , and Th. 1 1 6 -1 7 ; Pi. 0 . xiii 115, P. i 67,
. T h e cult o f Zeus Accomplisher. was to becom e widespread
throughout classical G reece (Roscher, Lexikon, v 255).
240 - 2 . T h e suitors plot against the life o f T elem achus was first conceived at
iv 669 ff. T elem achus was w arned by A th en a and told how to escape the
am bush at xv 28ff.; the suitors realized their failure at xvi 342 ff., and m ade
plans for a new attempt on his life at 371 ff. T hese plans were left contingent
upon Z eu s approval, presum ably to be shown through some omen. N ow
the poet resumes this them atic thread, with good dram atic purpose, a few
lines after O dysseus and his supporters have been envisioning with
pleasure the destruction o f the suitors. T h e poet feels the need to revive
here the picture of the suitors m urderous intent, so as to show that the
m urderous wishes o f O dysseus and his friends are fully justified. A s the
great slaughter draws near, H om er is conspicuous in his efforts to
introduce enough negative elements into the suitors behaviour to allow us
to view their wholesale m urder as an act of justice. N ote 284-6 below
(= xviii 346-8), and the m oralizing tone o f the last line o f this book.

119
COMMENTARY

242 . ? : a bird on the left is an unlucky omen, warning against


whatever undertaking is contemplated.
243 . ? : the eagle is the bird of Zeus, and this is the response from Zeus
stipulated at xvi 402-5. T h e powerful eagle and helpless dove recall the
bird sym bolism o f Penelopes dream, and point to the destruction of the
suitors by the powerful O dysseus, T h e irony here is that the suitors cannot
of course see this im plication, w hile the more perceptive members of
H om ers audience and readership can.
244 - 6 . It is natural for the good suitor, Am phinom us, to annul definitely
the m urder plot. It was he who dissuaded the others from a new plan to kill
T elem achus before they had consulted the gods (xvi 394-405).
257 - 9 . : this phrase does not m ean exercising shrewdness
(Stanford, and similarly A m eis-H e n tze-C au er, van Leeuwen) but
exercising his advantage . It refers to the advantage T elem achus has over
the suitors in his knowledge of the beggars identity, w hich allows him to
establish O dysseus in a perm anent place in the hall, under his personal
protection, in preparation for the final attack. T h e stone threshold has been
the beggar s custom ary place for some time (xviii 33.). T h e small table
and m ean chair contribute to the illusion that this is merely a harmless
tramp.
26274, T elem achus speech is his strongest assertion thus far o f his personal
authority in the face of the suitors, whose am azem ent at his boldness
(268-9) is described in the same words as xviii 4 1 0 -1 1 . In both scenes a
suitor acknowledges that T elem achus has spoken a ju st w ord (xviii 414
17 - xx 322-5), bu t in the present passage this admission is preceded by
A ntinous com m ent in w hich he labels T elem achus utterance a strong
threat ( . . . , 272) and wishes aloud that Zeus had not
restrained them. His allusion to how they w ould have stopped
T elem achus comes d o se to a public admission o f the plot on his life, and is
m eant as a thinly veiled threat.
271 - 4 . T h e sequence of clauses proceeds by abrupt transitions that leave
certain thoughts unexpressed. T h e &- of 272 suggests discomfort
w ith the decision to accept T elem achus statement , 0 , and
the following gives the reason for their inability to elim inate him,
w hile this inability is itself never described explicitly. T h e sense is: W e
m ust take w hat he says; he is, however, m aking b ig threats. [We have to
endure them] because Zeus did not favour [our plan]; in that [hypothetical]
case, w e w ould have stopped h im .
275 . T elem achus can afford to pay no heed to A ntin ous threats because he
knows the suitors death is near. In , H om er has
invested a familiar line-ending form ula with heightened m eaning by using
it in a new context.
276 . : a hecatom b was originally the ritual sacrifice o f one
hundred oxen ( + vs), although a sm aller num ber could be used
to represent one hundred. It was to A pollo that hecatom bs were most
often offered, and there was an ancient festival called H ecatom boia that
B O O K X X 242-301

m ay be w hat H om er means to describe here. T h e possibility of a symbolic


connection between the slaughter of one hundred cattle and the forth
com ing slaughter of the approxim ately one hundred suitors is raised by
G . Thom son, J H S lxiii (1943), 57 n. 40.
279 . * : the sam e phrase is used in the descriptions o f the
eating after ritual sacrifice at iii 65 and 470. It refers to the outer m eat ,
w hich forms the m ain part of the m eal after the prelim inary tasting of the
entrails (, iii 9, 461: this first step is not m entioned in the present
passage).
284 - 6 . A then a did the sam e at xviii 346-8. See the note there.
287 ; this phrase is used elsewhere only of the Cyclops, ix
189 (with }8) and 428. It refers to Ctesippus nasty m ockery of the custom
() of hospitality, and recalls the C yclo p s offer of a (ix 356,365,
369-70) that is similarly a horrible parody o f the proper procedure for
giving guests their due.
292 - 8 . Ctesippus m ocks the norms of hospitality first by paying them
sarcastic lip-service (292-5), H is tactic changes to sarcasm at 296, with the
offer o f a gift which the beggar m ay use as an honorific gift () for
one o f his compeers, viz. a household servant. H e thus pretends to hold
O dysseus at the rank of guest of T elem achus (295) but concludes by
equating him with servile rank.
299 - 300 . T his disagreeable suitor, as van Leeuw en shrewdly observes, is
more contem ptible than A ntinous and Eurym achus w ho threw stools at j
O dysseus (xvii 462 fr., xviii 394ff.), since they were provoked by an
argum ent w ith the beggar w hile C tesippus is m erely looking for am use
ment. T h e three throw ing incidents show a finely calculated gradation;
well described by Fenik, Studies, 1827, w ho points to the decrease in the
effectiveness o f each throw contrasting with the increase in the forcefulness
o f T elem achus response. H e also notes (181) that each attack is them atic
ally prepared for by verbal abuse from M elanthius or M elantho. It has
been debated whether this cow s foot is raw or cooked, and what purpose it
served at the feast. It is likely that cooked pieces o f such less desirable parts
of the anim al were brought to the feast in a basket, to be eaten by those of
lowest rank. T his assum ption gives point to C tesippus attack, since he
resents the beggar s receiving a portion equal to the aristocrats and is now I
giving him the piece he w ould have had w ithout T elem achus special
intervention (281-3). In so treating the beggar Ctesippus is attem pting to
underm ine T elem achus authority.
301 . : since has so m any m eanings it is difficult to
know whether H om er means smiled inw ardly or sm iled with angry (or
resolute) spirit . T h e first m eaning is supported by parallel situations and
phrasing w here an em otion is clearly intended to be inwardly registered:
xix 210, , he pitied the w om an (his wife) inw ardly ,
and O dysseus com m and to Eurycleia to rejoice inw ardly, v . . .
, at xxii 4 11; cf. also the instance o f a person praying privately (ov
) at v 444 and I i xxiii 769. T h e second m eaning finds support in

121
COMMENTARY

passages where the unm odified noun denotes an angry or fighting


spirit, such as ii 315, xiii 148, xx 9, xxiv 318, 5 11, II. i 192, iv 289, v 470,_vi
439, ix 637, xiv459, etc., or (sometimes hard to distinguish) a resolute spirit,
such as i 353, iv 713, xvi 99, II. i 228, lii 9, xiii 485, 487, etc. In the present
passage the following suggests a bitter grimace, so that a likely
translation of might be smiled bitterly in
anger or smiled with bitter resolve . T h e passage is discussed by Fenik,
Studies, i8off., esp. 185 where he emphasizes O dysseus -m enacing
silence ; and D. B. Levine, TAPhA cxiv (1984), 1-9 , who treats O dysseus
three smiles in x x -x x iii as a closely connected them atic structure that
emphasizes the heros confident superiority over the suitors; but neither
raises the question of w hat smiled in his really means.
302 . : the first sardonic sm ile in literature, with a
H om eric hapax. T h is is the spelling favoured by ancient authors, a few
M SS, and a third- or fourth-century ad papyrus of sections o f the Odyssey,
w hile the vast m ajority o f M SS offer the later spelling . T h e m any
testimonia preserved in the schol., Hesychius, the Suda and several entries
in the Corpus Paroemiographorum Graecorum for the proverbial phrase
[ ] (sardonic laughter5) show that ancient etym ology
derived this w ord either from the pf. ( ) of , to grin or
grim ace (which fails to account for the -S-), or from the Sardinians, either
because they grew a poison parsley which drove those who ate it to bite
their own flesh ( ) , or because they practised variously described
custom s of hum an sacrifice in which it was shameful for the victims to
protest, so that they w ent to their death w ith a sardonic laugh. H ence a
forced smile or laugh in the face o f evils is sardonic, a m eaning w hich suits
our passage well, whether or not w e believe any of the etymologies. A
different solution is offered b y P. Kretschm er, Glotta xxxiv (1955), 19, w ho
reviews and refutes the ancient etymologies and w ould derive the w ord
from a N ear Eastern people called the Shardana, neighbours of the
Egyptians w ho m igrated w estward and gave their nam e to Sardinia and to
laughter-provoking performers o f south Italian farce. T his last connection,
however, based on H esychius5 gloss -., seems
tenuous, and so the origin of sardonic laughter m ust rem ain obscure.
304 - 9 . T h is is the strongest speech H om er puts in T elem achus m outh. T h e
open threat o f death to Ctesippus (306) corresponds w ith T elem achus
acknowledgem ent that the suitors have planned his death (315; cf. 273-4);
the blu n t truth is now m ade public, as the adversaries abandon the fictions
o f politeness and respect for each others prerogatives that characterized
their earlier exchanges. T elem achus is ready to fight and die for his
honour, and w e feel the clim ax of the story approaching.
304 . T o m ake the best sense o f e- w e should translate
better for yo u r life , taking in a specialized sense as the anim ating or
life-principle in one s body, as at iii 455, x 163, xii 414, xix 454, II. xiii 671,
xvi 606, etc. T hose passages, however, use familiar context and form ulas to
define this special sense of , w hile the present passage, as M onro

122
B O O K X X 3 0 1-3 3 6

notes, conflates two form ulas ( and


) that use in its more ordinary m eaning, heart', to create an
exceptional instance o f the narrow er meaning.
311 - 12 . As Stanford and others note, the transition from rdSc to
appositional genitive absolutes is unexpected, and is deprived of a
proper verb so as to create a zeugm a with . Such ragged syntax
supports the impression that T elem achus is angry and upset.
318 - 19 . ( - xvi 108-9). T h e conclusion of this angry speech gains emphasis
from uncom m on colom etry: in 318 the m id-line caesura is bridged over by
the long w ord ; in 319 we find the vivid w ord
(frequentative o f ) extending the first colon abnorm ally to a trochaic
cut in the second foot, a bridged-over m id-line caesura, and the unusual
rhythm o f dcuceA (words of this shape norm ally end in the third or the
fifth foot: of 104 instances in his H om eric sam pling, only two were found in
this position by E. G . O N eill, Jun ., Y C S viii (1942), 146).
321 . A y e X a o s : the first m ention o f this person in the Odyssey. H e w ill play a
prom inent part in xxii, w here he emerges as a leader of the suitors in the
fight, after Antinous and Eurym achus have been killed; and his is the first
nam e in a brief list o f the best of the suitors (xxii 2415). H om er intro
duces him now, rather than give this speech to one of the already
prom inent figures, because he is already looking ahead to the action of xxii.
322 - 5 . T hese same lines were spoken by A m phinom us at xviii 414fr., in a
conciliatory statement after Eurym achus has throw n the stool at O dysseus
and provoked an angry outburst from T elem achus. In each case the poet
has m ade one of the better suitors acknow ledge the validity of
T elem achus angry com plaint.
326 - 33 . A gelaus presents him self as a m an o f m oderation w ho w ou ld m ake a
reasonable assessment { . . . ) of the situation. T here is great
irony in the fact that the supposition he takes as obvious (vt5v 8
) is contradicted (for us and H om er s audience) b y the presence of
the beggar.
330 . . . . : the likeliest construction is to assume
O dysseus, nam ed in the previous line, as the unexpressed object o f
and the suitors, nam ed in the following line, as object of : to wait
for him w hile holding off the suitors . A n alternative is to construe in
the sense used for enem ies and w ild animals as objects, stand firm
against, with suitors as the object, w hich w ould add an attractive subtlety
to the thought, but is less appropriate as spoken b y one o f the suitors.
335 . T h e bow-contest has not been announced p ublicly yet, so the suitors
can still im agine that gifts will determ ine the queen s choice, as if the
situation had not advanced since xviii 285303. W ith nice dram atic irony,
the poet and audience share the knowledge that a totally different device
for deciding the m arriage w ill be announced soon (xxi 68 ff.), a device
which will also, through econom ical use of plot-elements, becom e the
instrum ent o f the suitors destruction,
336- 7 . N ow that the m urder plot has been abandoned, the suitors must

123
COMMENTARY

concede to T elem achus the retention of his inherited w ealth and land, as
they did at i 4024, before the independence shown in his journ ey to Pylos
and Sparta m ade them think he was too dangerous and should be
elim inated. T heir goal has been the kingship, and either Penelopes hand
or O dysseus estate w ould strengthen any claim to it, while possession of
both w ould have guaranteed it. T h e y now give up their designs on the
estate and concentrate on w inning Penelope.
343 - 4 . T elem achus said the same thing at xvii 398-9. T here is a quality of
dsja vu in these negotiations for m arriage and in the recent quarrelling over
T elem achus rights and the suitors im proper conduct (284fr., 309xo,
3 18 -19 , 322 ff. all repeat lines spoken in recent books; Ctesippus throw
repeats an already familiar incident; and there are m any small verbal
echoes from Books xvi through xix). T his accum ulation o f verbal and
them atic recurrence suggests that the situation vis-a-vis the suitors has
reached an impasse. It is time for new and different action to break forth.
345 - 9 . A th en as forceful intervention to control the suitors behaviour is a
m ore intense version of the m otif used at 2845 and xviii 346-7. T h a t was
m anipulation; this is outright possession.
348 . It is not clear to w hom the m eat appears in its bloody transformation.
T h e scholia say only Theoclym en us sees it. M ore likely everyone except the
suitors sees it. Possibly they too see it, but have no m em ory o f it once their
seizure has passed.
349 . S ' : an odd phrase, used also of E urylochus agitated
state after witnessing C irces transformation of his comrades, x 248. Since
we are told that E urylochus anguish m ade him incapable of speech, we
should interpret this phrase as their heart im agined crying out, m eaning
that they w anted to wail but could not m ake any sound.
350 . T heoclym en us has not been heard of since he was brought to the palace
by T elem achus in xvii. H e has apparently been present since then, and is
now activated by H om er to add intensity to the growing m ood o f crisis.
T h is character seems to have been introduced (invented by Hom er?) in xv
specifically for this exciting scene, after w hich he hastily exits. T h e
supposed awkwardness o f his integration into the story was once a favourite
target o f A nalyst criticism; but see now Fenik, Studies, 233-44, for a well-
balanced defence o f his place in the story.
351 - 7 . T h e most eerie passage in H om er. Stanford aptly em phasizes the
unusual quality of this prophecy by spontaneous visionary outburst, noting
that H om eric prophecy norm ally operates through omens and reasoned
interpretation. See further E. R. Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational
(Berkeley, 1951), 64101, concerning possession and ecstatic prophecy
w here this passage is contrasted with the H om eric norm (70). Each detail of
T heoclym en us vision is the kind o f supernatural manifestation that is
found in the folk-beliefs and epic literature of other peoples, and the
sym bolism is w ell-nigh universal. T h e cloud of darkness is found in Celtic
tradition (M onro, ad loc.); the walls and beam s dripping with blood are
sim ilar to N jals vision, in N jals Saga. ch. 127, that portends the slaughter

124
B O O K X X 3 3 6-37 3

o f his family (it seems as though the table and the food were gone and
everything were covered w ith blood), and blood dripping from the hair
brush of the hero Lem m inkinen, in Kalevala xv 24-48, is a sign to his
m other that he has died. Blood is also seen in Cassandra s vision in
A eschylus Ag. logoff., w here the vision includes both past and future
m urder; and blood is seen dripping from the roofs of temples in an oracle
narrated in Herodotus vii 140 (cf. the vision o f the prophetess described b y
Plutarch, Pyrrh. 31). For detailed docum entation o f the universality of this
m otif see Thom pson, M otif Index, ii D474: Transform ation: object
becom es bloody , and also under E761. 1, Blood as life token . A s for the
ghosts, their presence portends the suitors approaching death and the
procession to the U nderw orld that w ill take place at the beginning of xxiv.
T h e vanishing of the sun and the dark m ist (?) that conclude the vision
return to the sam e om inous dark im agery with w hich it began. M onro
notes that a com m on Iliadic description of death is
, mist poured dow n over his eyes , and that II. xiii 425 offers
the m etaphor ipeew ij to cover with black night , m eaning
to slay . C f. also A . Eu. 378 ff. Darkness is appropriate to represent im pend
ing death ju st as the supernatural light w as a natural sym bol for O dysseus
divine protection and forthcom ing victory at xix 3340.
353 . : a groan blazes forth, a strong m etaphor, probably
to be understood as referring to the sudden outburst or the rapid extension
of the sound, Cf. the rapid spread o f R um our, described as
, II. 93- Stanford notes that it is one o f the rare synaesthetic
metaphors in H om er.
354 . : third pi. perf. passive of , to sprinkle, o f w hich we
had the aorist imperative re at 150. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 435,
explains the -8- as perhaps from the false impression o f a dental stem-
termination given by the form are.
358 - 60 . T h e suitors regard the seer as a m adm an and laugh at him because
they have no awareness o f the spell A thena cast on them and of the
supernatural phenom ena.
367 . T O i s : since suggests walking, and the
direction, the t o is seems to refer awkwardly back to o f 365. Possibly
the intervening line was added as an afterthought, by H om er or a later
performer. B ut Stanford, M onro, and A m e is-H e n tz e -C a u e r are probably
right to take rots as referring to all the faculties o f the preceding two lines,
and van der V alk, Textual Criticism, 57, gives a good defence o f the
sequence as typical o f the less logical expression found in colloquial speech
and often reproduced in H om er.
373- 83 . T h e suitors now turn to teasing T elem achus about both his odd
guests, and they propose packing them both off to Sicily. Lines 373 and 375
are formulas that have been used throughout the poem to introduce, their
m ocking statements. In their final round o f flippancy before their sobering
inadequacy with O dysseus bow, H om er portrays them with their familiar
sarcasm in an especially self-indulgent form.

125
COMMENTARY

376 . : in their m ockery the suitors create a w onderful new


com pound. , built on the m odel of , m eans un
fortunate in one s guests . T h e length of the comparative form contributes
emphasis to their m ockery. T h e long -- has been called incorrect
(Shipp, The Language of Homer (Cam bridge, 1972), 351), but Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 258, gives parallels that suggest we have a not uncom m on
adjustm ent mein gratia.
377 . : probably from , whose two m eanings are to
strive after , and to handle . Ebeling, Lexicon, applies a passive sense of the
second m eaning and renders sordid ; but ancient authorities (scholia,
H esychius, Apollonius) agree in translating needy, seeking food ,
assum ing a probably incorrect derivation from , to search after ,
A m eisH e n tze-C a u er derive the same m eaning from the active sense of
a t, w hich is probably right (cf. the abusive epithets and
, w hich seem to identify a beggar as a good scavenger, at xvii
219, 220 and 377). A less likely interpretation is that w hich sees a passive
sense of search after , to give the m eaning sought out , i.e. brought to the
palace b y Eum aeus.
379 . : a rare word, apparently from , to get possession o f , a
D oric verb not found in H om er. T h e com pound suggests the
m eaning possessed o f or experienced in . It is here scanned irregularly as
a dactyl, through internal correption (cf. at 89 above). In its one other
occurrence, xxi 400, the scansion is normal.
380 , aXX os .. $ : the tone in G reek is contem ptuous: ? easily
assumes a pejorative shading, especially when used o f som eone present (cf.
Italian costui). Theoclym enus, recently departed, is vividly evoked as if
present: A n d then again some other person, this type here .. .
383 . : the Greeks called Sikeloi or Sikels all the indigenous people
they found in Sicily when they were colonizing its eastern coast in the latter
part o f the eighth century. W ho these people were, ethnically, is not
altogether clear, but current opinion is that they did not, as the Greeks
thought, inhabit Sicily from Bronze A ge times, but were migrants from the
m ainland who began settling in Sicily about 1200 bc and spoke a language
related to Latin (L. B em abo Brea, Sicily Before the Greeks (New Y ork, 1966),
1413, 165; . I. Finley, Ancient Sicily to the Arab Conquest (London, 1968),
9 -14 ). T h is is the first tim e they are m entioned in ancient sources (E. T .
Verm eule, Greece in the Bronze Age (Chicago, 1964), 271 with n. n ,
speculates that am ong the Sea People nam ed in the A m arna letters of
fourteenth-century Egypt, the ShekeUsh may be Sikeloi). In xxiv we find that
the servant who takes care o f old Laertes is a Sicilian w om an (211, 366,
389). T o the Greeks o f H om ers time, to send someone to the Sicilians
apparently meant to get rid of them, and the end of the verse suggests that
people were sent there to be sold into slavery. Cf. the threat to send Irus to
K in g Echetus, xviii 85, w here the scholia identify Echetus as tyrant of the
Sicilians .
383 . : the lack o f obvious subject for this verb is awkward, but it is not

126
BOOK XX 376-394

difficult to supply as subject the general idea of the preceding words, and to
translate, with Stanford, 'it w ould fetch you a w orthy price .
384 - 6 . A gain we are told (as at 275) that T elem achus 'paid no heed to the
suitors words. Here, however, w e are given an explanation in the following
two verses, w hich m ake explicit w hat was m erely im plicit in the situation at
275
387 . : the noun is a hapax found nowhere else in G reek
literature, but context and the root d v r - m ake it clear that the phrase refers
to a position in her private room , or , just opposite the doorway to
the m ain hall, from which position Penelope could hear the discussion, as
she heard the sound of the suitors m altreating the beggar at xv 492 (see
note there for the relation o f the , , and ) .
390 - 2 . . . . : the poet points a sharp contrast
betw een their 'din n er , which is described with words denoting delight
( , , ) , and their su p p e r, w hich they never literally
w ill have, and w hich is instead m ade into a m etaphor for the death that
A th en a and O dysseus will set () for them . O dysseus revives this
grim m etaphor at xxi 428.
394 . T h e poet deliberately concludes the scene with an emphasis on the
suitors role in causing their own death. See 240-2 n.

127

!
BOOKS X X I-X X II
Manuel Fernandez-Galiano
The late Manuel Fernandez-Galiano s
Introductions and C o m m en tary on Books xxi and xxii
were translated for this volume by
Jerem y Lawrance.
BOOK XXI: INTRODUCTION

There is general agreement that Book xxi is one of the finest in the
Odyssey, full of dramatic suspense in its final unfolding of the plot.
The only difficulties of interpretation are the practical details of the
contest of the bow, discussed in an excursus below. I shall confine
myself in this Introduction to a few general remarks about author
ship, placed here to avoid encumbering the notes.
It is now widely accepted that the poem had two main authors: the
original poet whom critics call A, and one or more later poets known
collectively as B , who reworked A s. nucleus to lengthen the poem
and give the adventures a more modern slant. This is not the place to
discuss all the arguments on the Homeric Problem; some will be
touched upon in the commentary. I shall limit my discussion to the
well-known theories of P. von der Mhll and W. Schadewaldt, who
agree that there are two hands at work but disagree on which parts of
xxi to attribute to each.
Schadewaldt is inclined to accept a broad unity of authorship in
xxi, attributing the whole book to A with the exception of eight lines:
namely, Telemachus boast in 372-5 (already rejected by Brard),
whose removal requires the further deletion of the suitors smile in
376-7 and the first foot and a half of 378 (which will therefore have to
be rewritten); and Zeus thunderbolt in 412-15.1 The latter is a
melodramatic interpolation, as von der Mhll observed.2
Von der Mhlls Odyssee takes a far less Unitarian line. Though not
all his objections against the unity of the book can be accepted, his
arguments are worth summarizing:
The first oddity occurs in 1-4, which read as though the contest
had not been previously mentioned in xix 570-81. Line 5, with a
choice between two different compounds of the verb (see app. and n.
ad loc.), poses a problem about the location of the action. The digres
sion on the history of the bow gives the impression of being an after
thought: 11-41 are marked as suspect by von der Mhll, and other
editors reject various lines, especially between the caesurae of 16 and
35. The whole interpolation, and particularly 24-33, would have
1 W. Schadewaldt, La Odisea como poesia, Estudios de literatura griega (Madrid,
1971). 9-52. % on pp- 50-2.
2 P. von der Mhll, Einige Interpretationen in behrmten Stellen der Odyssee
Philologies lxxxix (1934), 391-6.
BOOK XXI

been inserted to relate the passage to the epic Sack of Oechalia\ the
story of Eurytus has already been mentioned in viii 224-8, probably
by B.
O n the difficulty of in 54 see p. 137 f. In the original poem
Penelopes entry into the hall at 58 was perhaps her first appearance
there, if xviii 158-305 are removed (on which, however, see xxi 3 1 1 -
53 .). Brard also regards 68-72 as suspect, and 73 is repeated in
106.
According to von der Mhll, 80-95 betray the hand of B: the
original poet imagined Odysseus and Telemachus fighting the
suitors alone, without Eumaeus, who is portrayed weeping in 82, or
Philoetius, a character invented by B, who is also seen weeping in 83.
The later poet misunderstood the adjective in gi; Antinous
words on his earlier relationship with Odysseus in 94-5, like
Eurymachus in xvi 442-4, are due to B 's desire to connect the
characters chronologically; the fact that Penelope orders Eumaeus to
organize the contest in 81 is contradicted by the fact that it is
Telemachus who sets out the axe-heads (no doubt this role seemed
unworthy of a prince to B); and finally, if 80-95 are removed, 96 must
read rot's1 5 .
Furthermore, 98-100 seem to anticipate future events in an
unnecessary way; and 101 is wholly corrupt (see apparatus). There
are many touches from the hand of B in 102-17: Telemachus words
in 106-10, which smack of the auctioneer, have always seemed odd,
and include 109, an objectionable line omitted by some papyri and
MSS; 111 with the hapax - and the following lines, evidently by
the same author as 91 ff.; the sense of in 117, of which I have
already spoken (see p. 144), is striking.
In 113 Telemachus announces that he is going to try the bow; but
it is probable that in A he did not do so. The pedantic remark in 123
may be B s; in 125 the word ircA& which we have mentioned (see
p. 138), found also in II. xxi 176, perhaps fits Asteropaeus movement
as he shakes a spear to loosen it before pulling it out of a wall better
than Telemachus, who is pulling a bowstring. Lines 132-3, similar
in meaning to ii 60-2 and almost exactly the same as xvi 71-2, are
less appropriate to a boy whom circumstances are rapidly bringing to
maturity. O n Leodes, who appears in 144 as a replica of Amphi-
nomus, see 152-62 nn.; the last two lines of this passage are a caique
of xvi 391-2.
Melanthius will not have been one of s characters either, and so
175 ff. on the picturesque heating and greasing of the bowstring must
be an addition, which will mean that the passage in which 246 occurs

132
INTRODUCTION

is also suspect. The two servants recognition of Odysseus also seems


to be the work of B: the exit in 188 is not properly explained, the
affection expressed in 216 is exaggerated, 219-20 are omitted in one
papyrus, the showing of the wound in 221 is unnecessary, and the
lamentation in 226 excessive.
Antinous suggestion of a postponement in 256 fr. lacks point: in
his speech he mentions Melanthius and a festival of Apollo which are
only found elsewhere in B. In 277 it is perhaps better to read
first and second (see apparatus), since the latter
has the epithet ^ in iv 628 and xxi 186, whereas the former is
never thus described (nevertheless, cf. in xxiv 179; the two
heroes appear together in xviii 65). The hand of A is seen again in
281, but 286, removed by Nauck, presents signs of interpolation, as
does 289, where the reading of the papyrus may point to serious
corruption (see apparatus). The allusion to king Echetus in 306-9 is
strikingly reminiscent of xviii 83-7; lines 291-310 have been the
subject of several deletions.'
There are also several problems in 311-53, as will be seen in the
notes to the passage, especially on 336-42. In 350-3 there is an added
complication. The lines derive from II vi 490-3, with changes in the
last two lines, and are the origin of 356-9, with a change in the last
line; they are followed by 353a, which may be genuine (see
apparatus). O n the other hand, the excellent passage on Penelopes
divinely-induced sleep in 3568 is necessary to the story; its parallels
with i 362-4, xvi 449 (almost identical), and xix 602-4 surely confirm
the antiquity of these lines.
However, B shows his hand again directly in 359 ff., where
Eumaeus is given the task of handing the arms to Odysseus. In the
original version it will have been Telemachus who did this, as he
himself has already said in 345. If we were to remove 359-91 (see
apparatus), the subject of 392, perhaps expressed in a line now lost,
would be Telemachus, which would give fine sense to in
393. Along with these lines would go 372-8, already condemned by
Schadewaldt, as we have seen. With a reminder about 41215, also
suppressed by Schadewaldt, and a mention of 427, an obvious echo
of XX 376-83 (see apparatus), the main outlines of the book are clear.

The chief problems in this book have to do with the details of the
extraordinary test of the bow. Many of them are connected with the
layout of Odysseus palace.
First of all, there is a lively debate about where the contest took
place. Modern opinion opts for the or feast-hall, whereas in

133
BOOK XXI

the past most scholars placed it in the courtyard, , xxi 191, or


entrance porch, , xx 1, or , xxi 474. Fries, Stub-
bings, Page, Sacconi, and Burkert do not come down firmly on either
side, though I suspect they mostly incline towards the feast-hall.3
The main arguments in favour of the courtyard or entrance porch
are as follows:4
1. The relatively small would be too narrow and short for
the dangerous bow-contest in the presence of 108 suitors, ten
servants, Odysseus, and his three companions. Bowshots require
plenty of space, even if Penelopes vevde in xix 575 is a
nostalgic exaggeration.
2. The plan of the hall would not be suitable, with its columns and
hearth, on which in xxi 181 we are told there is a fire burning.
3. The floor of the feast-hall is paved ( , xxi46).
But Telemachus, as we shall see, is supposed to dig a trench in it (xxi
120-2) and then rake up earth around the axes.
4. In xxii 10 we find Antinous calmly drinking in his seat; this could
hardly have been a safe place to sit while arrows were being shot off.
5. T he suitors would doubtless have picked up the axes to fight
their enemies if these had been to hand.
6. W hen the hall is cleared up in xxii 448 ff. there is no mention at
all of the axes.
7. In xx 258 Telemachus has placed Odysseus ,
next to the door leading from the feast-hall to the porch; and in xxi
422 the heros arrow flies through the axes and goes out e, that
is out through the doors of the palace into the open,
8. Immediately after this, Odysseus leaps towards the threshold
(xxii 2), then turns and confronts the suitors, thus trapping them
inside the feast-hall, as emerges from the strategies described in xxii
76 and 172.
g. The hero shoots the first arrow from his stool (xxi 420); this

3 C. Fries, Zur 9ais , Ph W lv (1937), 1198-9; F. H. Stubbings, Companion,


534-8; D. L. Page, A Problem in Homers Odyssey. The Arrow and the Axes,
, . .... xiv (19634), 541-62, and Folktales, 93-135. A. Sacconi,
Un problema di interpretazione omerica: la freccia e le asce del libro X X I dell Odis-
sea (Rome, 1971); W. Burkert, Von Amenophis II. zur Bogenprobe des Odysseus,
Grazer Beitr. i (1973), 69-78.
4 J. van Leeuwen (1897 edn.); V. Brard (1924 and following edns.), with a daring cj.
at xxi 120, for which see app.; H. W. Stubbs, The Axes Again, CR lxi (1947), 12-13;
J. L. Myres, The Axes Yet Again, CR lxii (1948), 113; J. Brard, H. Goube, and
R. Langumier (1952 edn.), 336; E. Delebecque, Le Jeu de larc de lOdysse, in Le
Mondegrec: Hommages Claire Praux (Brussels, 1975), 56-67, J. Brard, Le concours de
fare dans lOdysse, REG lxviii (1955), 111.

134
INTRODUCTION

odd position, with the body and the weapon held low, would be
explained by the drop from the hall across the porch down into the
courtyard where the axes are fixed.
10. In order to use the bow, both Telemachus, in xxi 124, and
Leodes, in xxi 149, have to take up position in the doorway between
the hall, where they are standing, and the courtyard, where the axes
are placed.
However, a considerable body of opinion supports the theory that
the contest took place inside the feast-hall. Some of the arguments are
of a general and unconvincing kind. It is said, for example, that
Homer, who like Telemachus (xxi 123) had never witnessed a contest
of this type, was deliberately vague about the details because the
main ingredients of the story were traditional and well known to his
listeners or readers as a fantastic or magic folk-tale, even down to the
symbolic twelve axes which perhaps represented the twelve months
of the year, or the phallic arrow associated with the triumphant
husband, and so forth (Germain, Genese, 1154, adduces numerous
mythological parallels from other cultures). Alternatively, emphasis
is laid on the disturbing evidence of multiple layers of authorship in
the text of the poem.
It is possible, however, to counter the objections against the feast-
hall with more specific arguments.5 M y own commentary, with a few
reservations, follows the same line. Taking the arguments in order:
1. The archery contests in the parallels adduced by the scholars
cited above presuppose quite short distances, no more than eleven to
eighteen feet. As for the large number of suitors, it is clear that this is
an exaggeration of the original poem by a later hand.
2. The problem of the layout of the feast-hall will be dealt with
below.
3. (a) The phrase in xxiii 46 does not necessarily refer to a paved
floor; it may indicate a flattened and beaten earth floor. Raking is
described in xxii 456 () Agelaus5 head is spattered with dust
(.Kovtyaiv , xxii 329); the fallen suitors lie in the dust (
Kovirjoi, xxii 383). (b) Some of the possible ways of arranging the
axes do not require any serious digging, though our interpretation of
xxi 120 will be decisive here. It might have been sufficient simply to
pile a little earth brought in from the courtyard on top of the paving
. 5 J. van Leeuwen (1890 edn.); Monro; Woodhouse, Composition, 102-7; W. B. Stan
ford (1948 edn.) and his A Reconsideration of the Problem of the Axes in Odyssey xxi,
CR lxii (1949), 36; L. G. Pocock, The Arrow and the Axe Heads in the Odyssey, AJP
lxxxii (1961), 346-57, and his Odyssean Essays (Oxford, 1965), 12-22; P. Brain and D. D.
Skinner, Odysseus and the Axes: Homeric Ballistics Reconstructed, G & R xxv
(1978), 55-8

135
B O O K X XI

or beaten earth, enough to hold the targets upright. Indeed, it might


even have been an advantage not to stand the axes too firm; the
toppling of any one of them would then clearly indicate a foul shot.
4. (0) The seating could have been moved to the sides of the hall for
the contest. (b) Besides, Antinous calm is partly explained by the fact
that up to that moment only one arrow has been shot.
5. (a) The suitors have no need of the axes, since they carry swords
(xxii 74, 79, 90, 98); besides, both are ineffective against arrows. (b)
Furthermore, if the axes had no handles, as seems probable, they
would have been useless as weapons.
6. (a) It would have been mere pedantry for the poet to have
mentioned something which can in any case be inferred; or he may
simply have forgotten about the axes. (b) In xxi 260-2, when
Antinous suggests postponing the end of the contest to the next day,
he proposes leaving the axes standing on the ground, since nobody
will remove them is pov, This argument is weak,
however, since it could refer to someone stealing the weapons while
walking towards the hall through the courtyard or porch.
7. The word may be a technical term for the successful
flight of an arrow through all the obstacles, when it could be said to
fly out. A parallel expression where the word has lost its semantic
connection with doors is v 410, though there are no such parallels in
these last books. In xxi 89, 299 the adverb refers to the outer exit from
the courtyard (the latter case, . . . , does not
refer to Odysseus palace); in xxi 238, 384 it refers to the exit from the
womens quarters to the mens; in xxi 388, xxii 375, 456, to the exit
from the feast-hall to the courtyard. In the first of these passages
Philoetius goes out to close the gate of the courtyard; it would there
fore have been impossible for an arrow to have flown out of the palace
altogether. O n the other hand, it would be possible for an arrow shot
from inside the hall towards the exit to fly into the courtyard (though
it is unlikely that the shooting took place in this way, since it would be
all the more difficult to shoot against bright daylight from within a
dark room).
8. 10. But this last theory would make Odysseus strategic
manoeuvre of leaping on to the threshold of the exit impossible. The
latter has many arguments in its favour and is compatible with the
theory that the contest took place in the hall without any adjustments
save that of suppressing the supposed half-turn.
9. (a) Whether or not we assume a sloping row of axes, the shot
would have to be aimed from very low unless we imagine very
large axes (a point to which I shall return). It appears, however, that

136
INTRODUCTION

only two maidservants carry them, in a single and not very heavy
(xxi 61, 66), Certain iconographic evidence shows archers
crouching down to shoot, and both Achilles, with his famous wound
in the heel, and also Diomedes (II. xi 377) are shot in the foot by Paris..
The fact that Odysseus throws his arrows on the ground in xxii 3-4
may reflect the fact that this was the most comfortable position for a
bowman, (b) The slope might after all be explained by the layout of
the feast-hall itself, which may have had two levels (see below). That
would make the trench necessary, for safety, to prevent arrows flying
off course or travelling too far in a straight line. There is no difficulty
in accepting the poefs licence in making Telemachus occupy himself
with such a job.
11. Perhaps the clinching lines are xix 573 (Odysseus5 custom was
to set up the axes oiaiv), xxi 4 (Penelope arranges the
contest 1), and xxi 229 (Odysseus fears they may
be seen by someone ). But the word , in
singular and plural, can also have the meaning palace or palace
buildings as a whole, with ail its out-houses.

The question of how the trial actually took place is also a thorny
one. The first part of the test, the stringing of the bow, is the easier: of
the abundant work on this I mention only Lorimer, Monuments,
298 ff., and, specifically on the last books of the Odyssey, Delebecques
article.
In xxi 5ff., Penelope goes to the treasure-house where the
and the / are kept (11-12), the latter full of . In
xxi 13-41 we are told the tale of the famous bow, given as a gift to
Odysseus by Iphitus, who in turn had received it from the great
Eurytus (32-3). It is a magnificent weapon, though impractically
large (xxi 74, 405, 409 ), and tough enough to survive the suitors
clumsy treatment unscathed. Odysseus sometimes carries it in
Ithaca, presumably for hunting (xxi 41), but does not use it on
campaign (xxi 38-40), which is why it has been a little neglected: its
owner has to examine it closely (xxi 3935) in case the horn has been
worm-eaten.
Penelope takes the bow down from its peg (xxi 53), which must
have been very sturdy, , os ol (xxi
54) This is difficult: , only here in Homer, referred to the
case of metal (hence ) carried by the Scythians and other
nomad tribes to protect their bows in cold northern climates. It had
two compartments, one for the bow itself and the other for the
arrows; by hanging the case from his saddle, a mounted man could

137
BOOK XXI

reach the arrows easily. But Homer does not mention the case again;
he talks elsewhere of a quiver (xxi 59, 233, 417, xxii 2, 71), which was
carried on the shoulder with a strap. It looks as if the anomaly in xxi
54 may be an interpolation (which must extend as far as . . . -
in 56). Note that in xi 607, another late passage, Heracles carries his
bow in Hades , without a case.
Already in xxi 75 we are told what a feat it is to string the bow. The
poet, however, is vague as to the nature of the problem and probably
did not understand it. Telemachus tried to string the bow standing
( 124) and his action is obscurely described by the words -
: is to cause to quiver, ip v o -
pat to puli. The suitors suspect that the bow has lost its flexibility,
Odysseus strings it (how?) as easily as stringing a lyre. His posture is
not directly described but he made his first shot - 420. It
seems that the poet thought there was some kind of trick involved
known only to an expert archer like Odysseus.
Stringing a self bow, such as the medieval long bow, is done by
placing one end of the stave against the ground and leaning on the
other; it calls for strength rather than any skill or knack. When
Pandarus is said to string his bow (II. iv 113), the poet may
refer to this operation, but here at 137 certainly does not. The
more powerful composite bow is made of a wooden stave supporting
an outer layer of sinew and an inner layer of horn ( 395). Early
representations of this bow show a weapon of normal shape, but
from the late eighth century the Greeks were familiar with the
improved Scythian model, characterized when not fully drawn by
the double curve, as shown, perhaps rather fancifully, in Figure 1.
When unstrung such a bow assumes a.reflxed curve which is well
described by the regular epithets of the bow, , ,
and . is applied to Odysseus bow in xxi 359, 362,
and to a similar bow used by his companions in ix 156. (In the Iliad it
is applied particularly to the bows of warriors with oriental connec
tions, Paris, Pandarus, Dolon, Teucer, and Artemis in xxi 502.)
alternates with chiefly for metrical reasons, and is
found applied to the bows of Pandarus, Paris, and the Paeones
.
Because of the reflexed shape of the unstrung composite bow
stringing it required a special skill. The archer, sitting, as many
classical monuments show, put one end of the bow over one knee, the
middle under the opposite thigh, and pulled up ( 150, -
125) the other end. Beside the knack involved, great strength
was clearly also required. See further Lorimer, Monuments 276-300.
INTRODUCTION

F i g u r e i . T h e Scythian bow (D elebecque, L e J eu de larc de lO dysse ,


58, fig. 2)
The arrows (on the Greek words used, see xxi 423 .) consisted of
the , shaft {II. xi 584), the , tip, head {II. xiii 251; Od.
xxii 16; of a spear, II. v 67, xi 253, xvii 49, xxii 327, Od. xix 453), the
, either barbs or fletchings (flight feathers) which helped the
arrow to fly true (in II. iv 151 Menelaus is relieved to see the
have not penetrated the wound, and in II. iv 214 they are broken
when an arrow is pulled out); the vevpov, cord used to tie the
components of the arrow together, also mentioned in the first of the
two passages just quoted; and the , notches (on these last
two parts of the arrow, mentioned in II, iv 122, see below).
Penelope returns, then, with the bow and quiver (xxi 59).
Telemachus tries to brace the bow ( quiver, xxi 125). When he
fails, he leans the bow against the wall, with an arrow from the quiver
laid out and somehow resting at hand-height on the (xxi 138)
as a mark of courtesy to the next contestant.
Leodes attempt (xxi 149-66) is similar. Then Antinous thinks of
heating and greasing the bow, or rather the string (xxi 179, 184), to
soften and stretch it, but without success, for the other suitors try in
vain to bend the bow (xxi 184-5). At last only Antinous and
Eurymachus remain; the former suggests an adjournment (xxi 257-
68), while the latter, despite heating the string (246), is also unsuc
cessful (xxi 246-7), and, with temper frayed, no longer rests the arrow
politely on the , but leaves it on the table , out of the
quiver (xxi 416-17; cf. xi 607 and n.).
Odysseus, on the contrary, does string the bow (xxi 409), as easily
as a lyre-player stringing his (xxi 406-8), though this simile
is only partly appropriate since the strings on a lyre are tightened by
turning either one or two pegs ( , 408). Odysseus hooks
B O O K X XI

the string over with his left hand, and then plucks it with his right for
tautness (xxi 410), making it sing like a swallow (xxi 411; cf.
, in 11. iv 125). He picks up the arrow from the
table (xxi 416-17), rests it against the hand-grip ( , xxi
419; cf. . . . in 11. iv 118, and note that in
11.x 1375, when Alexander , it must mean he drew
the string away from the hand-grip), and shoots.
There are fewer details in this passage than in the "one on
Pandarus, who draws the string back to his chest and pulls it so far
that the head of the arrow is level with the bow (
, 8 , II. iv 123), though in 124 the bow is
described as bent double in a circle, which is a physical impossib
ility given the bows large dimensions and the necessarily short
arrow, which would have to equal the diameter of the circle in this
position. The phrase (xxi 419) is unclear
unless we translate he pulled the string and [the end of the arrow
slotted on to the string with] the notches. The latter6were probably
two crossed notches (cf. , carve, incise) cut into the end of the
arrow to rest on the string; in //. iv 122 the phrase
is a little more logical, since what the bowman pulls
back is the whole arrow, the shaft and its fittings as well as the .
This raises the question of whether , if it means a tough
tendon ( is applied to the human body in II. xvi 3 16 ) and not
simply gut, is here and here only a synonym for , bowstring
(frequent in the I I , and used in Od. xi 607, xix 58 7, xxi 97, 12 7 , 410,
xxiv 171 as well as the passage under discussion). If that is so, then the
two passages closely parallel one another.
The important passages on the bowshot itself are these: in xix 572
Penelope declares that she is going to set up a contest (ae&W ) involv
ing those [well-known] axes ( , xix 573; the demon
strative pronoun is important) which Odysseus (xix 574) used to set
up , twelve in a row, , before taking up position
some way away (this phrase has been commented upon already) to
shoot an arrow at them (xix 575). Now she proposes the same contest
(xix 576) for any man os'. . . . . . j
(xix 5778). In xix 587, xxi 97, 114, 127 we find with
various forms of ; xxi 756 are an exact repetition of xix
577-8. In xxi 3-4, the first of which is repeated in xxi 81, we read
. . . j . . . ', in xxi
910, . . . . . . |

6 W. M cLeod, , CR (1964), 140-1.

140
INTRODUCTION

', in xxi 612, , \


; in xxi 1202 Telemachus ,
I , , \ ; in
xxi 135 he says ; in xxi 328 Eurymachus fears it
may be said a beggar . . . ; and finally xxi 4203
describe the great feat, 5 J r ,
\ ' \
.
This description of the contest, which is far from pellucid, has been
interpreted in many ways. But we can dismiss those explanations
which take the impossible feat at face value on the grounds that the
whole story is a magic fairy-tale; strictly speaking, the repeated
phrases about piercing the iron would have to mean in this case that
the arrow went through not just one but twelve solid metal plates in a
row. Odysseus incredible feat of shooting through twelve axe blades
would then be comparable to the more or less legendary feats
recounted in texts and inscriptions from Egypt and India (Fries,
Page, Burkert).
W e do not have enough archaeological information to entertain
Myress theories about various different types of perforated axe-
blade, which might allow the arrow to pass through a hole of some
sort in each blade.
Into the same fanciful category falls van Leeuwens timid
suggestion that the arrow was supposed to pierce not the axe-heads,
but the wooden handles. Apart from the fact that this too is an
impossible feat, van Leeuwen does not explain why a cylindrical
target was chosen, which would make the contest even more difficult,
instead of using, say, twelve flat boards.
On the other hand, the description of Telemachus setting up the
axes and the comparison with imply a single row of targets;
they exclude other arrangements, such as a double row where the
arrow would have to pass between pairs of blades, or in rows
staggered skittle-fashion, and so on.
We are left, therefore, with the more plausible hypotheses:
1. The least acceptable is perhaps Stubbss passing suggestion that
the arrow had to pass between the axe-head, set up with its face side-
on to the bowman, and the ground. This would make the low angle
of aim referred to above an even more acute problem.
2. A theory, which once enjoyed a certain popularity was J. K. A.
Goebels (see Figure 2) ; 7 though Goebel did not know this at the

7 Last put forward in his Lexilogus zu Homer u. den Homenden (Berlin, 1878), i 488ff.

141
BOOK XXI

time, the double-headed axe was common in Minoan Crete. It was a


clever guess to suppose that Odysseus axes were double-headed, in
contrast to the which in II. xxiii 851, 858, 883 denotes a
single-headed axe (Finley Jun., Odyssey, 191-2 adduces the double
headed axe in v 235, where Odysseus is building his raft, and thinks
the , discussed below, were similar in appearance to this
weapon). But Goebels theory leaves many questions unanswered,
such as the meaning of aretXerf in xxi 422, the difficult syntax of this
and the following line, the excessive and unlikely curvature of the
blade shown in the Figure, the comparative ease of the feat given the
necessary diameter of the aperture, the difficulty of reconciling this
theory with the phrase piercing the iron, and the absence of any
need to dig a trench with this kind of target.

F i g u r e 2. T h e double-headed axe (Page, Folktales, 101, fig. 3)

3. Page has drawn attention to the old theory of the Comte de


Caylus, which was accepted by Monro and others: namely, that the
axes had a kind of metal ring or handle on the blade, such as the one
held by an Amazon on the Archaic metope at Selinus. The test would
be to shoot the arrow through this handle, the wooden shaft of the
axe being stuck in the ground. Against this, the first two and last two
objections just mentioned still stand.
4, But Page himself proposes an ingenious theory, partly taken
from Blinkenberg and Schuchhardt, which has earned the approba
tion of Dorothea Grey, Archaeologia G, 114-15. This is illustrated in
Figure 3. The double-headed axes in question, like those of the
Archaic Period known from miniatures and paintings, differed from
the wooden-handled domestic axe in having a haft of iron or bronze,

142
IN T R O D U C T IO N

at the end of which there was a ring for hanging them from a nail as
votive offerings, like the pa-sa-ro which are mentioned, according to
A. Sacconi, in Pylos Tablet T a 716. In this case the axes would be
stood on their heads with the haft upwards; only a small amount of
earth piled against the head would be needed to hold them upright,
and the test would be to shoot the arrow through the rings on the end
of the haft. The narrowness of the rings might be an. obstacle to this
theory; Page suggests a diameter of four inches without advancing
any evidence, Stanford speaks of an axe found by Evans which was
four feet long with a ring of five inches, and Brain and Skinner
consider the shot possible. O ne might object that the poet does not
mention any rings, and that an with twelve such axes would

F i g u r e 3. T h e hanging-rings on the handles of double-headed axes (Page,


Folktales, 112, fig. 6)

weigh a great deal (a point I have mentioned above). Sacconi


counters with the suggestion that the , as the etymology of
I indicates, in fact contained only the feathering or barbs of the
arrows. In favour of Pages theory are the following points: the
possibility that is simply a synonym for oreiAetv, axe-
handle, haft, helve5, in which case the difficult phrase in 422 would
mean and he did not miss [the ring] at the end of the helve of a single
axe5; the acceptability of describing this sort of shot in a broad sense
as piercing [the hole in the haft of] iron5; and the religious function of
this kind of axe, which would explain the presence of such a large set
of them in the palace.
5. The last theory, however, is the one adopted in my commentary.
This theory was widely accepted in antiquity, fell out of favour, and is
BOOK XXI

now popular once again, being accepted in its general lines by


Stanford, J. Brard, Pocock, Stubb'ings, and Delebecque. What the
arrow has to pass through is the hole or socket in the axe-head where
the helve would normally be fitted. The axes used for the contest had
no helves, either because these were removed for the purpose, or
more likely because the axe-heads were stored without the wooden
helves, which would in any case be exposed to rotting by worm and
damp in the coffers. These axe-heads were therefore in the technical
sense , sports equipment as we would say today (xxi 4,
though not in xxi 117, where the word means prizes), also called
more generally (which does not necessarily mean they were
not made of bronze). Twelve axe-heads are an easier burden for two
serving-girls than twelve enormous axes complete with helves.
The trench, which could be made by piling up earth rather than
digging, might be similar to the ones shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6.
Figure 4 shows single-headed axes, less likely than the double-headed

F i g u r e 4. Single axe-heads fixed in the ground (D elebecque, L e J eu de fa r e


de fO d y s s e , 59, fig. 3)

ones, as I have said; Figure 6 is safer for the spectators, not only if an
arrow is deflected sideways but also if it overshoots. In every case, the
holes are placed with gaps between them, not hard up against one
another.
The comparison with , keel-blocks, refers only to one
feature, their careful alignment in a straight line (on which
Telemachus is praised, xxi 123; cf. v 245, where Odysseus
. . . i m tvvev like Telemachus in xxi
121; and II. xv 410, where an evenly-matched battle is compared to
the plumb-line accuracy with which a shipbuilder aligns a timber).
Accurate alignment was vital when laying the keel of a boat (made, of
course, from a tree-trunk, Spv-), which was therefore fastened (-)
into the keel-blocks during building. Even today, the alignment of
the blocks is apparently checked by eye, sighting along the line of
144
INTRODUCTION

F i g u r e 5. D oub le axe-heads fixed in t h e ground (Stubbings, Companion,


535) fig- 62)

F ig u r e 6. D ouble axe-heads fixed in a trench (P o co ck/'T h e A rrow and the


A xe-H eads in the Odyssey\ A J P lxxxii (1961), 349, fig. 1)

metal shoes (see Figure 7) whose curved shape is rather reminiscent,


as noted above, of a double axe-head.
It is not clear, however, that the comparison should be pushed as
far as to imagine the axes set up on a slope like the ramp of a dry-dock

145
BOOK XXI

F i g u r e 7. T h e alignm ent of keel-blocks (D elebecque, L e J eu de larc de


1 O dyssee , 60, fig, 4)

on the seashore. In this respect, our interpretation of otc[i]Ae[t]i7


and [][]$ or aT[i]Ac[iJv is all-important.
Page is certainly correct to note that the three attestations of the
feminine form mean simply handle, helve, the same as the neuter
form in v 236; but these attestations occur not in archaic texts but in
classical and Hellenistic authors (Antiphanes, fr. 121K; Apol. iv 957;
Nie. Ther. 386). But gender pairs where the feminine denotes the
orifice and the masculine the haft or shank that fits it are a common
linguistic phenomenon. Indeed, as Stanford wryly notes, sooner or
later someone was bound to use this fact for a Freudian inter
pretation of the kind I have mentioned above.
A more complicated problem is the syntax of xxi 421-2. Goebels
theory (see Figure 2) requires the ingenious translation and he did
not miss the end of a single axe-helve; that is to say, the shot was so
accurate that the arrow brushed each knob at the end of the handle,
as shown in the Figure, without knocking over the axe. Page asks,
reasonably enough, whether anyone could have eyesight sufficiently
keen to umpire such a contest. His own theory requires the transla
tion we have already given above, which is syntactically correct but
which involves a bold assumption about the archaeological back
ground, especially as regards the narrow or variable diameter of the
hypothetical apertures, and above all depends on the questionable
synonym of /.
In either case, the two translations given above take - in the
predicative sense; in Attic prose this would require
, not . In all the theories which involve the
arrow passing through holes a further translation is possible: and he
did not miss the edge [top or bottom] of the hole in a single axe. This.

146
INTRODUCTION

would imply that the bowman had to aim the flight of the arrow to
compensate for the ballistic curve due to gravity. Such a considera
tion was surely irrelevant over such a short distance. Besides, any
translation which takes in the attributive sense is open to
objections; thus, for example, and he did not miss one of the axes,
from the first hole [or helve] onwards involves a syntax which is
anomalous, and even impossible. In my opinion we have to do with a
syntactic cross between he did not miss the first hole (that is, the hole
in the first axe)5and he did not miss a single hole (that is, the hole of a
single axe)5.
The expression piercing the iron5 is no obstacle, either to Pages
theory or mine, if we take it to mean pierce the [aperture surrounded
by] iron5. One problem which remains, especially for my theory
(Page proposes very large axes), is the low level of the holes in the
axes, even with a high trench. Perhaps the axe-heads were mounted
on some sort of stick (the Etymologicum Magnum, misled by the
Odyssey itself, mistranslates as , but then has a
similar idea: ot tlvcls
, eis SP ), or
even tied to the axe-helves themselves. An alternative explanation, for
those who are not convinced by the evidence given above of Archaic
bowmen shooting from a crouching position (Brain and Skinner
remark that to succeed in shooting through a tunnel at such a low
level one would in fact be forced to shoot lying down), is the stepped
floor-level shown in Figure 6.
The chief difficulty of the test, apart from the bending of the bow,
was to shoot through the first hole without touching the sides, since
the arrow which successfully did this would be on course for the
succeeding targets. Be that as it may, the feat was an extraordinary
one, and the text shows Odysseus taking very careful aim indeed (xxi
421 ).

147
B O O K XXI: C O M M E N T A R Y

1- 2 . = xviii 158-9, w here A thena suggests that Penelope should m ake her
first entry into the feast-hall. Here, however, the phrase seems out o f
context, since it overlooks the fact that Penelope has already m entioned the
contest in xix 572 ff. Penelopes motive for proposing the trial m ay be to
gain time in the desperate situation she speaks o f in xix 15 7-6 1 (at any rate
the of 4 m ust refer only to A then a s intentions: see Bchner,
Penelopeszenen, 153). O r has she in her heart given in to the suitors
adulterous importunities, an echo of the ancient legend w hich m ade her a
w hore (lover o f Herm es, m other of Pan, etc.: M erkelbach, Untersuchungen,
5, and H eubecks comments, Frage, 126)? T h e latter suggestion is opposed
b y P. Kretschm ers Penelope, Anz. Akad. Wiss, Wien lxxx (1943), 8o-g3
(see Lesky, H om eros, 116), w hich connects the heroines nam e etym o
logically with the bird , m odel of conjugal fidelity. -
: s e e 3 2 in .
3. ? : the word refers to the axes, most likely w ithout their helves (see
Introduction). T h e y are described as hoary, grey-haired, that is steel-grey
(cf. xxi 10).
4. O S u o f jo s i the phrase supports the theory that the contest
takes place in the feast-hall (see Introduction, and cf. the first hemistich of
xx 117). : cf. xxiv 169, and n. on 1-2 above.
T h e words are in apposition to and ; I have translated
, som ewhat anachronistically, as sports equipm ent in m y Intro
duction (and cf. xxi 62, 117).
5 . : there is a problem about the direction im plied b y the
prefix. Since O dysseus departure Penelope has m oved her bedroom from
the ground floor to an apartm ent upstairs; in xix 600 she goes up {)
to her , and it is there that she sits to listen to the noise o f the feast
ing (xx 387). Now, therefore, she m ust descend from her cham ber (oto
must be ablative) with the key in her hand ( in xxi 6 is
pluperfect in sense) to one o f the store-rooms w hich led off the ,
corridor, passage ; to be precise, to the furthest and least-used of them
(, 9, perhaps situated outside the palace itself). T h ese store-rooms
or w ill have been at the same level as the feast-hall: how else could
the weapons have been carried back and forth w ithout having to clim b the
steep stairs ( . . . )? In i 330, w here Penelope likewise
descends from her cham ber, the reading is , a possible variant
here (see apparatus); otherwise must be translated pro
ceeded (to descend) (cf. xiv 1 ).
6. : the epithet, used of O dysseus hand in xx 299 and xxii 326, has
been held to be inappropriate for Penelopes. Ft. Flor, emends the word iVa

148
BOOK XXI -ia

at; but in II. xxi 403 and 424 the same


adjective is applied to A thena. A . C . Schlesinger, Penelopes H an d, CPh
lxiv (1969) 2367 suggests that Penelope had her hand clenched to hide the
key from the maidservants; b u t there is nothing im probable in a tall, well-
built, and noble-looking queen having a sturdy hand (W . F. W yatt Jun.,
Penelope s Fat H and ( Od. xxi 6 -7 ) , CPh lxxiii (1978) 343-4; cf. xviii 195
, of the same heroine). A ltern
atively, the epithet m ay be formulaic, or emotional (m ighty, reflecting the
decisive m om ent in Penelopes life, as A ustin suggests, Archery, 734; see
Finley Jun ., Odyssey, 190). T . Eide, A N ote on the Hom eric ,
Symb. OsL lv (1980), 23-6, notes that Penelope s hand w ould naturally be
clenched and full, since she is holding a bulky key shaped like an S or
(taking the better reading , an adjective applied to a sickle in xviii
368); this key has to be inserted w ith some difficulty ( , xxi
48) into a gap or hole in order to shoot back the bolts ( , xxi
47) which hold the door on the inside. T h e key is a work of craftsmanship
(, xxi 7) with a handle of ivory (possibly a sign that this line is late:
M . T reu, H om er u. das Elfenbein, Philologus xcix (1955), 149-58), m ade
not of gold b ut of bronze (see apparatus). Before opening, Penelope m ust
untie the leather thong ( . . . , xxi 46) which passes
through a second hole (the one through which the wraith of Iphthim e
enters in iv 802 ), and is fastened on the outside to the
(on the two m eanings of this word see m y Introduction) to close
the bolt and lock the door from the outside. In i 441-2 Eurycleia pulls the
door of T elem achus cham ber shut with the , which doubled as a
door-handle and was m ade of silver; and then em S
, shot the bolt (note this second m eaning o f ) with the thong
from outside, leaving it untied so as not to lock the prince in.
8- 9 . W e m ust im agine m ore than one store-room (cf. xxi 5.), since
Penelope w ou ld otherwise com e upon the hiding-place where Odysseus
and Telem achus have stored the arms taken from the feast-hall in xix 3 1-3 ,
and from w hich the latter w ill fetch them in xxii 109. B ut in ii 337 the poet
talks only of O dysseus .
9. : cf. xiv 326 (with a list of metals two lines before) and xix 295.
10. K to s: the epithet is appropriate, since the metal had to be
laboriously extracted from lum ps of crude ore, sometimes even from
meteorites (cf. the offered as a prize in the games in II.
xxiii 826), b y repeated firings (Hesych.
), coolings, and other processes; see further R . J. Forbes, Archaeo-
logia K , 3 1-2 , n. 171.
11. : on the epithet, and on the contradiction between this line
and xxi 54, see the Introduction.
12. io S o k o s : elsewhere only in xxi 60 and I i xv 444. ? :
m ournful, laden with grief ; found also in xxi 60 and in nine other places
in Hom er, o f which xxiv 180 and three of the Iliad attestations concern
arrows,

149
COMMENTARY

13 . T his appears to be the beginning of the interpolation on Iphitus


m entioned in the Introduction, o f which there are further traces in 15 ,1 8 ,
2 0 -1, 26, 35, 41 (see nn., and Blass, Interpolationen, 239-40, Shipp, Studies,
351); on its convoluted style suggesting a m ore extensive poetical m odel
see K irk, Songs, 370. Iphitus, son of Eurytus, king o f O echalia, a city of
unknown location here sited somewhere in the Peloponnese, was killed
b y Heracles. T h e chronology is fantastical; in II. xi 690 we find Heracles
associated with the deeds o f the young Nestor, w hich looks suspiciously
like the work of an interpolator, as does the present unattesied episode
from the youthful exploits of O dysseus, his diplom atic mission on behalf
o f Laertes (D. Gray, Archaeologia G , 116, 128). A gainst all these
objections, however, it m ay be argued that the story provides a decent
explanation for the apparent im probability of O dysseus having left his
best w eapon behind in Ithaca w hen he set out for T roy. T h ere is an
inversion o f sequence in the syntax of the aorists: the proper chrono
logical order is acipav (18), (17), (15), and (13).
: predicative.
15. : a nice problem of geography is posed by this name, here only
in H om er, in relation to in 13 (cf. iv 1). Either the poet
thought there was a city in L acedaem on so called (Hoekstra, Epic Verse, 61,
n. 57, notes the nam e H ippocoon given to a T hracian in II. x 518 as another
allusion to Spartan myths), or this passage was written after 700 bc by an
author w ho was aware of the outcom e o f the first M essenian W ar. T h e
problem disappears if w e assume that xxi 15 is an interpolation, but keep
. this dual does not appear elsewhere. In addition, the line is
. U nlike the eight other such lines, including xxii 175, ig2,
where * is possible instead of (D. W . Pye, W h olly Spondaic
Lines in H om er, G & R xi (1964), 2-6), this one cannot be corrected by
resolution, unless we accept N a u cks doubtful .
16 . T h e spelling o f the names o f the two characters called or
causes considerable confusion. T h e first was the father of
D iodes, at whose house in Pherae T elem achus stays in iii 489, xv 187; the
second, whose death is described in II. v 542 and 549, was D io d e s son (his
grandfather is nam ed there too, 546-7). T h e testim ony o f the M S S o f both
poems is naturally chaotic; the schol., Aristophanes o f Byzantium , and
Aristarchus were of the opinion that the grandfather should be spelt with
-T" and the grandson with -a- (followed by A llen, though both his and von
der M h lls editions spell the T rojan hero o f the same nam e in 11. viii 274
and the C retan in Od. iii 260 with --); bu t Zenodotus and Pausanias (iv 30.
2) wrote ~t- in all cases. W ackernagel, Untersuchungen, 236, n. 1, is probably
right in considering the forms with -- to be late.
17 . $ : after (i.e. to recover) a debt owed to the Ithacans by the
M essenians.
18 . . . . : robbed by taking aw ay , a strange phrase w ithout
parallels elsewhere. E.-M . H am m s translation hatten . . . ber die
W asserflche schweben gem acht (LfgrE, i 165-70, s.v. ) is very

150
B O O K X X I 13-28

forced, and iii 312, m isspelt and adduced by her as a parallel, has a ;
different meaning.
19 . : with m any benches of oarsm en ; cf. viii 161 and xx 382.
T h e second hemistich II. xi 697, but there follows ', \
Hoekstra, Epic Verse, 3 6 -7, suggests that in both places the original ;
form ula was " Sc . !
20. w ent a long w ay [on] an em bassy ; the first.accusative expresses content, '
the second distance. : a possible reminiscence of II xxiv 235,
where it precedes .
21. ?: elsewhere found only in the late xxiv 338, and in tragedy. :
re : usually and furtherm ore .
22 . Supply . o: ethic dative. : pluperfect in sense.
23 . = iv 636. Otto: adv. in the sense under [the teat], still suckling , i
W . Richter, Archaeologia H , 78, n. 562, remarks that H om eric m ules are :
always the offspring of m are and he-ass; that the epithet refers to ;
their proverbial hardiness at work; and that the small num ber of animals !
stolen em phasizes their scarcity, and hence their great value, in the
H om eric period: thus in II. xxiii 266,654 m ules are offered as prizes in the ;
games.
24 . y cv o v T o : the verb points to a future event, the brought about by
.
25 . T h e line is m etrically acephalous; cf. iv 13, xxiv 482. -
: note the form al epithet of praise, even though the passage concerns
an evil deed com m itted by the hero.
26 . : in apposition, the only exam ple in the Odyssey of this construction ;
in conjunction with a proper name. : not otherwise
attested until the H ellenistic period; far in 11 xviii 501, xxiii 486 means ;
judge, arbiter, b ut here the sense has nothing to do with judging. T h e
schol, ( and irrt ) do not make
clear w hether the phrase is pejorative or not: on one hand, recalling the
sense of in iii 261, xix 92, m ight m ean that j
H eracles w as skilled in or accom plice in (rather than author of) evil
deeds; on the other, it m ight refer to his Labours. T h e m yth is confused
and inconsistent: apparently Autolycus, O dysseus grandfather (cf. the .
doubtful episode in xix 394-466), stole the mares from Eurytus and :
entrusted them to H eracles (this perhaps explains the reference to his i
com plicity : K . Lehrs, De Anstarchi studiis Homericis (Leipzig, 18823), 109
in crim ine . . . conscium ); H eracles later refused to give them up. Iphitus j
was perhaps looking for H eracles not in order to reclaim the mares, but to
ask for his help, on the grounds that he was to some extent im plicated in j
the crime.
27 . : concessive. : reflex, possessive; H eracles m urdered Iphitus i
w hen he was a guest in his ow n (i.e. H eracles) house, w hich m ade the
deed all the m ore horrible.
28 . A direct exclam ation by the poet.
28 - 9 . : the sacred table,
COMMENTARY

(S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 58), at which the host seated his guest, and on
w hich oaths were sworn, xiv 158, xvii 155 (in xx 230 the variant reading is
preferable). : underlines the sacred nature o f the table (that
[famous and traditional] one); the conjecture 8 of Eustathius and
certain M S S is unnecessary. T h e phrase is am biguous; the subject m ight
be Iphitus, m eaning that he had previously entertained Heracles as a guest,
though this is not likely. : even after that, despite that.
30 . and besides all this he kept the mares ; the imperf. implies continuity.
31 . $ : and while he was seeking for them (cf. , xxi 22),
before m eeting Heracles; the phrase takes us back to the narrative from
w hich we digressed in xxi 15. T h e exchange of gifts is typical (cf. Diom edes
and G laucus in II. vi).
32 . T h is reading, given by P 133 and others (note also y in the apparatus),
avoids a lengthening in thesis; G rashofs em endation spoils the syntax,
: iterative. Eurytus is described as a great bowm an in viii 224-5,
w here he and Heracles -nept j cf. II. ii 596.
34 ; : sc. Iphitus.
35- 6 . T h e y intended to share each other s table, but were forestalled.
: locative. : with the gen. is rare
(Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 106); hence the crop of variant readings, but the
construction is paralleled in xxiii 109. : not before , but on the
contrary, instead . : Heracles.
35 . : in apposition; cf. xxi 4. : the only attestation of
this w ord in G reek literature (e w ould require lengthening of the -1-),
xv 343 is also a hapax. : only here in
H om er, in Herodotus (as a term indicating kinship by marriage), and in
H ellenistic Greek, the word is a back-formation from an unattested
^ (cf. in iii 219, xiv 527); the variant in
M on . w ould also be a hapax.
38 . o : sc. Odysseus.
39 . e p x o p e v o s : iterative.
40 . : adverbial. : predicative.
41 . =: iterative form of , either by hyphaeresis * )/ or
from the - of through a hypothetical intermediate stage
* ; otherwise unattested (but cf. in xiv 521).
O dysseus kept the bow for hunting and m inor expeditions, Note the
lengthening of before , and the variant in P 28. r\si reflex,
possessive.
42 . : this use of the article, and especially its position, has caused remark,
b ut cf. 11 xvii 401; it m ay be demonstrative (that one o f which we spoke in
xxi 8). T h e variant reading with the possessive is not hopeless, but requires
lengthening in thesis; N aucks conjecture, with its permissible hiatus, m ay
have been the real reading, needlessly corrected by the scribes.
43- 4 . T here are a further four parallel passages on the craft of the carpenter
( , xvii 384): xvii 340-1, identical except for the first
hemistich; v 245, almost identical to xxi 44; and the second hemistichs of

152
B O O K X X I 2 8-51

xxi 121 and xxiii 197 respectively, identical and almost identical to the end
o f 44. In v 245 and xvii 341 we find ^(), smoothed with a plane, as
here, and in xxiii 196 a, planed all around . In all five passages the
is m entioned; the etym ology o f this w ord suggests that originally it
referred to a tool for testing vertical alignm ent, like our plum b-line, but in
H om er this is the function of the only in xvii 341, for a pair of
cypress door-jambs. Here som e sort o f ruler for testing straightness is not
impossible, but the is m ore likely to b e a kind of spirit-level for
checking the horizontal alignm ent of the threshold. It is certainly a linear
ruler in v 245 (for the planks of the raft), xxi 121 (the axes), and xxiii 197
(the planks o f the bed). T h e verb also appears in all five passages,
and also in v 255 (the building of the raft), as w ell as contexts to do with
archery, such as xxii 8, and navigation.
43 . : w ooden (not necessarily of oak) , only here in Hom er, not
attested again before H ippocrates and Euripides. T h e wooden threshold
indicates a hum ble room; the threshold of the feast-hall, always described
as ? (xvii 30, xx 258, xxiii 88), is m ade of m ore valuable material; in
xvii 339 8 ( leg. Brard), threshold o f ash-wood, raises
the thorny question of w hether the hall had m ore than one threshold.
45 . A typical exam ple of parataxis, loosely co-ordinated with the preceding
relative clause.
46- 8 . See n. on xxi 6. $: Penelope expertly unties the com plicated
knot w hich fastened the door.
47. . . . : tmesis. : synizesis; the door has two leaves
(dvperpa), : here only in Hom er; the verb is not attested
again before T hucydides. the lock , w hich also consists of two
bolts (cf. xxi 391).
48 . : the phrase is used, for example, of taking aim in
archery (cf. xxi 421; and xxi 6n. on its force here).
48 - 9 . .. | . . . : a fine simile for the loud creaking
o f a door w hich has long been unused (cf. xxi 393-5), w hich is reminiscent
of other passages on grazing cows and bulls (see for exam ple II ii 480-1); it
displays a sharp eye for nature unusual in this type of simile in the Odyssey,
raising suspicions as a possible cento o f passages from the Iliad (11 xxi 237
t/vtc , II xvi 151 ', see Blass, Interpola~
tionen, 201). Furtherm ore, though there are bellow ing doors in II. v 749
and II. xii 460, the only other occurrence o f (II. xix 13) refers to the
sound of a weapon; II. v 859 denotes the w ar-cry of Ares, in II. xvi
468 the w hinnying of a horse. T hese problem s, as well as the repetition of the
same w ord in the identical position in two successive lines and the difficulty
o f the neuter , w hich m ust be taken as anticipating , are resolved
b y N au ck s conjecture; but this leaves unexplained.
51 . $ : ?, plank, here has the unparalleled m eaning of
w all-shelf (cf. xxi 137), or more likely (. . . ) a raised wooden stage or
dais placed at som e height above the floor to avoid dam p. Perfum e was
placed in the chest for the sam e purpose, and to prevent moth (cf. a similar

153
COMMENTARY

case with in ii 339, viii 438; and see further S. Laser, Archaeokgia
p , 68-9). ^
53 . : standing on tiptoe ; the peg w ould have to be high up to
hold the huge bow. Pegs were also used to hang clothes (i 440), a lyre (viii
67), and another bow {II. v 209).
54 . : on see the Introduction. A fine exam ple lined
with gold has been found by Andronikos in Vergina. T h e pronoun is
sociative, w ith its bow-case and all , em phasizing the heavy weight which
Penelope has to lift. 6$: lengthening before f . .
55 . . . . : tmesis; in x 567 should perhaps also be
divided thus. Apoll. (, li 1079, xii 528) misunderstood the H om eric
usage.
56 . S fjpee: on this tmesis, see the Introduction; Bentleys conjecture,
supported by a parallel, preserves the p-. T h e plural is often used to
indicate bow and quiver together, and occasionally for the bow alone (cf. 11
i 45 )-
57 . = xix 213, 251.
58 . Penelope does not linger over the com plicated business o f locking the
door (cf. xxi 46). Likewise T elem achus forgets to lock the door in xxii l 12,
confessing in xxii 156 that he left it ajar (). : cf. xxi 17,
60 . See the Introduction and apparatus.
61 - 2 . Both lines are indispensable; Brard s rejection o f xxi 62, which he
considered an echo of iii 388, xiv 326, xix 295, makes very
awkward.
61 . T h e two maidservants (but cf. xxi 66) carry the heavy basket; Penelope is
also heavily laden (xxi 54), but carrying the bow is a cerem onial act.
: the noun is difficult (see S. Laser, Archaeokgia P, 70) for various
reasons, including accentuation (see the variants in the apparatus, and
Chantraine, Formation, 54, w ho argues that dactylic words should take the
paroxytone), the material o f which it was m ade (Pollux x 165
- suggests wickerwork or some other light material), and etym ology
(probably from -, [something] to carry things in ; less likely is the
derivation [a receptacle] for , arrow fletchings , the latter being so
called from their function as counter-weights; though might mean
basket, chest with handles , from the resem blance of the latter to the
curved oy/cot),
62 - : (S. Laser, LfgrE, i 14851) is a suppletive form of
, always used in ^ ^ particularly convenient before the bucolic
caesura; o f the fourteen occasions it appears, nine m ean prize, one means
contest (viii 108; cf. xxi 91), and the rem aining four mean gear, sports
equipm ent (compare xxi 4 with xxiv 169; in xxi 117, based on II. xxiii 736
. . . dveAvres and IL xxiii 823 . . . , an odd
expression which is translated, hardly satisfactorily, as be[ing] handy with
the gear). : em phatic demonstrative, that one [of w hom w e
know] (cf. xxi 42).
63- 6. = i 332-5, xviii 208-11, xvi 4 14 -16 (less the last line). In the three

154
B O O K X X I 51-80

earlier passages a maidservant stands on either side, but only i 331 and xviii
307 state beforehand that Penelope is accom panied by only two m aid
servants. In theory we m ight take this passage to m ean that there were four
slave-girls, two carrying the (xxi 61) and two more standing at
Penelope s sides; but it is easier to suppose that there are only two girls. A t
all events xxi 66 is suspect (see apparatus).
64 . pa: that is, as was to be expected from a queen .
65 . : H om er uses the poetic w ord (associated with the
cult of H era in Samos according to Leum an n, Wrter, 296 n. 60) in both
singular and plural forms, w ithout distinction in meaning, to indicate a
w om an s head-dress; this im plies some sort of veil with various pins and
appurtenances, not a simple hair-net or diadem . Besides, N ausicaa and her
friends w ould not have had to remove anything so flimsy as a hair-net in
order to play ball (vi 100). In Penelopes drawing of the veil across her
cheeks (on w hich see further Lorim er, Monuments, 385-6; and, on the
$, G . Bielefeld, Archaeologia C , 3 n. 10), H . H aakh, D er Schleier
der Penelope , Gymnasium lxvi (1959), 374-80, sees a gesture designed not
to cover her face, but rather to give a glimpse, at once polite and alluring, o f
her eyes.
68 - 73 . Brard deleted these lines on the grounds that such insults are
inconsistent with Penelope s apparently conciliatory m ood. T h e first four
and a h alf feet of xxi 68=xx 292.
69 . : the verb governs both and the two infinitives, w hich
are consecutive or final. : cf. ix 386.
71 . . . . : excuse expressed in words (that is, lies) ,
or offer o f an excuse, pretext ; the noun is otherwise unattested. H om er
only once uses the synonym (xvii 451), later com m on in
prose.
72 . : the participle m ust be taken as the equivalent of an abstract
noun, as the object of , or we m ust supply but you did [what
you have done] (cf. xxi 323).
73 . . . . : the force of is either this prize of which I am
about to speak , or, rather crudely for Penelope s w ay o f speaking, the
prize you see before you, i.e. this w om an as w ife (cf. xxi 106-7, where
. . . a e & W is followed by oty), : not a m ere interjection, but
w ith its original imperative force, act n ow !
74 . : the particle refers back to .
75- 9 . = x ix 5 7 7-8 1; on the significance o f the earlier passage see n. on
xxi 1-2 .
77 . . . . : the sense is close to that of an ordinary future.
79 . : indefinite, here m ore or less always, ever . -irep: even . After
this, Penelope does not speak again until 3x1 (J. L. M yres, T h e Pattern of
the Odyssey , J H S lxxii (1952), 8), but there is no indication that she has left
the hall.
80 - 100 . T h e passage is suspect; a num ber o f deletions based on linguistic
anomalies such as those of 91 and 93 have been proposed (see Shipp,

55
COMMENTARY

Studies, 352). T h e possibility that E um aeus played no part in the original


version has been m entioned in the Introduction.
81 . = xxi 3.
82- 3 . O n the w eeping in these two lines see the Introduction.
82 . : laid it on the ground ; cf. xxi 136 .
83 . : the character o f Philoetius m ay have been an invention of
poet B , as suggested in the Introduction; after a brief m ention in xx 185 fr.,
he reappears here, but is not nam ed again until xxi 240. : for
his part, too . : see the apparatus.
84 . : the original construction with this verb (see, for example,
O N olan, Doublets, 23-37, esP- 3<>-i) required that, in cases where the line
began with the nam e o f the speaker in the nom inative, the nam e of the
addressee should follow in the vocative at the beginning o f the next line, as
in xxi 167-8; otherwise the nam e of the addressee appeared in both lines,
the first time in the accusative, as in xvi 4 17 -18 . B ut the expression . . .
becam e fixed as a form ula, and w e find it used even in cases w here
the speaker is not in fact required to call the addressee by his proper
n am e : for example, w here a superior is speaking to an inferior, as in the
present lines or in xviii 78, xix 90, xxi 287, addressed respectively to Irus, to
a maidservant, and to O dysseus disguised as a (nameless) beggar; w hen
Telem achus addresses his own mother, as in xviii 96; or indeed, in cases
such as xxi 248, w here the speaker uses no nam e at all.
85 - 95 . A ntinous reproaches the servants for their tears, and at the same time
contrives to ingratiate him self with Penelope, even b y such flattering and
em otional touches as xxi 94-5, and by his false m odesty about the suitors
chances o f success.
85 . T h e insults in this line are out of tune with in the next: a similar
case is x 189, athetized by the ancients. : the elem ent of
social snobbery in the townsm ans disdain for the yokels gives the line a
m odern, almost T heocritean ring in the view of Finley Jun ., Odyssey, 191;
Stella ( Ulisse, 375) contrasts the passage with xi 489-91, w here A chilles
considers the labour of the fields only a m inor evil.
$: schol, (cf, II, 343 obS
).
86. T h e following series of duals is addressed to Eum aeus and Philoetius; for
the first o f them, cf. xviii 389.
8 1 . Cf, xvii 150. : the relative has causal force;
implies w ithout your upsetting her further ,
89 . : was already suspect in antiquity (Eust.
), giving rise to various conjectures, o f which
is the m ost ingenious, is used twenty-one times in epic, on nine
occasions in the masc. nom. sing., on six in other cases, and on four
occasions as an indeclinable adjective (II. iv 22 and viii 459 as fern,
nom . sing.; h.Ap. 404, as masc. nom. pi.; here as masc. nom. pi. or dual); it
is usually explained as the fossilized participle o f an unknown *, am
silent, used indeclinably because of the frequency of its occurrence in the

156
B O O K X X I 80-100

masc. nom. sing. B ut L eum ann ( Wrter, 1667) suggests a developm ent
from * (cf. Lat. taceo), corrupted to , while V . Pisani
(LfgrE, i 4 1 0 -1 1) postulates an adverbial form * which evolved
phonetically to both and , 'silently5 (the latter is usually
explained as a primitive fern. sing. acc.). : 'continue eating5,
durative.
90 . . . . : tmesis.
91 . : 'contest5 (cf, xxi 62, xxii 5); masc. sing, acc, in apposition,
: the prosody o f this w ord is difficult: in 11. xiv 271 it is scanned
* ---- s; in xxi 91, xxii 5, A poll, ii 77 ^ '4 ^ . T h e etym ology of the word
obviously points to * > , harm , deceit5, b u t it is unclear whether
the prefix d- is negative (schol, ), in w hich case we should expect
, or intensive (schol, ). A p o ll, took it to be the latter, applying
the adjective to a particularly dangerous boxer; b u t the three H om eric
attestations allow the other interpretation. In Ii. xiv 271 the waters of Styx
cannot be said to be deceitful5; here A ntinous does not m ean that the
contest w ill b e harm ful5, since as far as- he knows n obo dy is going to shoot
with the bow; an d we m ust translate O dysseus5 w ords at xxii 5 up to now
[it is true] the contest has been harm less [though matters are about to
change]5. A ntin ous5 w ords here are therefore full o f dram atic irony; the
audience knows that the contest will not in fact turn out to b e harm less5.
B u t if the audience was also aw are o f the intensive force o f -, there could
be a p lay on words: the line m ight either b e read with a com m a after
and no pause after Atwovre in xxi 90, or w ith a pause after the
participle to suggest the m eaning disastrous for the suitors ; the poet leaves
a question m ark over the hateful A n tin ou s rem ark, w hich could be seen as
an expression o f ill om en (van der V alk , Textual Criticism, 2 11H . 3). T h e
best solution is to leave the phrase w ithout punctuation, as Stanford does in
his edition. See further H . Seiler, LfgrE, i 2 -3 s.v. .
92 . H ere and in xxi 97 w e have asigm atic futures. O n the expansion of the
form ulaic , found again in 2S1, 286, 326, see Hainsworth,
Flexibility, 78.
93 . : the only occurrence in H om er of this form for . -
: the form with the d o u b le ending has caused doubt (see the
apparatus), b u t occurs in x 268; the sam e form w ith -- occurs three times
in the Odyssey and once in the Iliad.
94 . T h e first three feet = xix 315.
95 . T h e paratactic construction is concessive in sense.
96 . : as w as to be expected from so w ily a m an , in close
conjunction w ith the dative o f possession .
97- 100 . O n these lines see the Introduction.
98 . ro t: and y et5, heavily ironic; the irony is increased b y the sardonic
understatem ent of , taste5.
99 . : in xvii 445-80 A n tin o u s not o n ly in sulted O dysseus, but threw a
stool at him .
100. l m 6 opvue . , . : an d also egged his com panions on [to

157
COMMENTARY

m ake like m ockery] ; the epexegetic phrase stands in loose paratactical


relation to a preceding relative clause, as in xxi 45. : the con
jecture is based on xxi 425 ( in the same metrical position,
used by Odysseus o f himself), xviii 224, xix 322 (again in the first foot, used
by Penelope o f Odysseus), xx 262 (Telem achus tells his father to sit, ijao);
the participle w ould then be causal in force. However, Focke ( Odyssee,
3 512) adduces this line precisely in order to prove that in xvii Odysseus
was not yet sitting inside the feast-hall, but only on its threshold.
101. = ii 409, xviii 405, and similar to xviii 60, xxi 130; and w ith different
verbs, xvi 476, xxii 354. A transitional stage w hich points towards this
form ula is xii 175, where O dysseus is almost personified as he
warm s the w ax. For the adj. in a similar periphrastic expression cf.
xiii 20 ; the word means strong, m ighty (cf. Skt.
isin2-), as also in xxiv 81 lepos .
102 . Perhaps Telem achus has inadvertently let fall a smile o f jo y at the
thought o f his father s im m inent trium ph; he now tries to divert his
listeners attention from the slip (see Bchner, Penelopeszenen , 153,160).
: an exclam ation of surprise; cf. xxi 131, 249.
103 . : here not with its usual possessive sense (that is provided by ),
b ut dear, beloved, which m akes the boys speech sound all the m ore
awkward and silly. this particle m akes the participle concessive.
T h e line ending = xx 131.
104 . Cf. xix 579, xxi 77.
106 - 10 . T h e crude tone o f these lines has caused unease, reflected in
the various conjectures recorded in the apparatus (in 10 6-12, Brard
removes everything from to ( m ) inclusive, and
changes the following to err)', but their lively irony is
quite H om eric.
106 . Cf. xxi 73; r d S c here anticipates .
107 . : , , or , which occurs in xi 166, xiii
249, II. i 254, seems to include only the Peloponnese; hence xxi 109, a
com bination o f xiv 978, is out of place here. B y the sam e reasoning, xxi
108 m ight also be spurious.
108 - 9 . Locative genitives, alludes to the cult o f Poseidon at Pylos, on
w hich see E. T . Verm eule, Archaeologia V, 125.
110. and you yourselves know it.
111 . : refers back to xxi 106. : back-formation from ,
only here in H om er, but attested in A lcaeus (fr. 392 L -P ); the w ord shares
the same root as , drive off, defend oneself from , with loss o f the
intensive d-; , break free from, overcom e, and hence get
aw ay from the truth, make excuses . : cf. , xviii
282. : depends on .
112. , : frequentative. *. only here; the suffix
- t v s is twice as com m on in the Odyssey as in the Iliad (cf. xxi 306 ,
xxiv 229 ). : the hiatus before digam m a is
normal; lets see [what happens] , cf. xxi 336.

158
B O O K X X I xoo - 1 3 3

113 . k<ev . . . : equivalent to a future (cf. xxi 77). :


demonstr., that bow [of w hich w e know]5.
114 . : of fourteen occurrences of , only this one and xxi
185 are used intransitively.
115 - 16 . oil ). . , : the thought is oddly phrased, and
am biguous: either I w ould not be sorry if m y m other were to leave, so long
as I were left , . (taking as an ethic dat. approaching a dat.
absolute, and causal '; alternatively, taking otc temporally, while I was
left5); or, she will not have to leave (for the future sense cf. xxi 113 n.) to my
sorrow [that is to say, she w ill remain] as long as I rem ain5. T h e contrast
between AetVoi/ fits the first o f these two interpretations, w hich is
not inappropriate to T elem achus sarcastic tone. T h e second inter
pretation postulates a change of m ood by attraction.
117 . Cf. xxi 62. T*: predicative, and followed b y an infin., almost as
in A ttic; the origin of the construction is clearly seen in xxi 17 2 -3 . . . |
re . . . c^evai.
118 - 19 . N orm ally only the was worn indoors, but here T elem achus,
w ho has to keep going out to the courtyard, is w earing a , which he
throws back in order to slip his swordbelt off his shoulder, since he needs
his swrd for digging (cf. xi 24-5 for a similar task carried out with an aop).
: cerise, light red, w hereas denoted a deeper
colour, garnet, dark red5 (see S. M arinatos, Archaeologia A /B , 3); in
M ycenean w e have the adj. po-ni-ki-ja, red5, and the neuter noun po-m-ki-
jo , red dye, perhaps for colouring perfumes. T h e same w ord is applied to
a at xiv 500, II. x 133 (at the end of the line, as here); to reins at II. viii
116 (end of line), and to bruises at II. xxiii 717 (2 o ^ 3), apparently with
short instead of the correct long -t- seen in xxiii 271
(end of line); either we m ust assume synizesis, or postulate an original
* w ith L . R ,P a lm er ( Companion, 105). : predicative-
proleptic.
120 - 3 . Berards conjecture is noteworthy; its bearing on the w hole question
of the setting-up of the axes has been m entioned in the Introduction.
120. : synizesis (cf. xxi 421). . . . : tmesis,
: fern., like m any w ords for hole, aperture5; Callim achus (h. iv 37
. . . ) was doubtless m isled by h. Cer. 383 , w here
the confusion arises from the com m on gender o f .
122. . . . : strictly speaking, this is not tmesis, since there is no
such com pound o f , a verb found only here before H ippocrates and
Aristophanes. : the parallel with vii 224, xxiii 47, with
substantival or giving rise to a possibly spurious following
line of epexegesis, has led various scholars to delete xxi 123; others accept
in xxi 122 on the basis o f iii 372, with (but there the refer
ence is to the men of Pylos, not the suitors).
123 . : exclam atory, or perhaps equivalent to o n . :
only here in H om er (the adj. is found later in Sol. fr. 4. 32 W est; the adv. in
T h gn . 242); norm ally the expression is (five times in each

159
COMMENTARY

poem) or ew (R x 472, R xii 85, R. xxiv 622). T h e parataxis is


concessive in force. A ll this, and the excessive repetition o f -o-, have led to
w idespread condem nation of the verse.
124 . T h e ? and the question of w hether T elem achus attempt belongs to
the original poem have been discussed in the Introduction. F. W ehrli
opines that der poetisch w enig glckliche Auftritt gehrt zu den
Bem hungen, ihn berall in der Vordergrund zu schieben (Penelope u,
T elem achos, M H xvi (1959), 233). : the gen. is
norm al with verbs o f aim ing, attempting; the impf, denotes repeated
attempts.
125- 6 . T h e similarity of 125 (except that A llen prints ) and the
beginning of 126 to R. xxi 176 -7, w here Asteropaeus pulls a spear, have
aroused suspicion; Jordan s conjecture involves the suppression of xxi 127
in order to avoid the repetition o f the verb, but even then occurs
again in xxi 128. $: both here and in R xxi 177 (where the M SS
also offer variants) the ablative is preferable, in contrast to the instrumental
in xxi 128.
126 - 7. W ith this reading o f the text is concessive, and looks
forward to the infinitives in the next line, o f which is also future
(cf. 92). But the reading o f P 28 is interesting; its editors have pieced
together a syntactically rather clum sy 3ouv 1 ap3ijjfleAe [ on
the basis o f parallels such as xiii 40 & , xxi 273J
K , M atthiessen adduces three passages w here A pollo stops Diom edes or
Patroclus at a fourth attempt (R. v 438, xvi 705, 786), and a fourth, most
tellingly, at //. xxi 177 (see the previous note), w hich ends
, followed by an infinitive, where A chilles does the sam e to
Asteropaeus (Eine Variante zum Odysseevers xxi 126 im Papyrus Rylands
5 3 >Zeitschr. Pap. Ep. xxvii (1977), 85-8). B ut the repetitive phrasing o f xxi
128 is still ugly.
128 . T h e crop of variants represent attempts to avoid hiatus. :
the word accurately represents the necessary upward pull on the string (as
described in the Introduction).
129 . Strictly speaking, w e expect an unfulfilled protasis (cf. R. v 312, 680).
a v e v e u e : O dysseus only employs this gesture in one other passage, when
signalling to his com panions not to weep (ix 468 3 , vevov
); the G reek equivalent of shaking the head to show disapproval,
then as now, was to raise the eyebrows with a slight upw ard nod of the
head; the w ord for to nod (downwards) in assent was , found at
xxiv 3 35 and five other places in the Odyssey; on two occasions alone is
used to indicate a silent com m and (xvi 164, 283). T h e end of the line occurs
in iv 284, xvi 430, xxii 409, with the concessive participle (cf. xxi 103) differ
ently inflected; it is very m uch to the point here, as Telem achus, carried
aw ay b y his sporting spirit, m om entarily forgets himself. Besides, the
young hero could not with propriety be shown failing a fourth time
(F. Eichhorn, Homers Odyssee: Ein Fhrer durch die Dichtung (Gttingen,
1965), 122 n. 103).

160
B O O K X X I 1 2 3 - 1 39

130 . Cf. xxi .


131 - 3 . Unease has been evinced at these lines (see especially Blass, Inter
polationen, 202), w ith their reminiscences of ii 60-2 and xvi 7 1 -2 , the latter
being identical except for the first hem istich (xvi 72 = II xxiv 369, which is
perfectly in context there, after the preceding ; in 368:
H erm es tells the aged Priam that his travelling com panion is another old
m an, so that he w ill b e unable to defend him self against attack; in the other
passages no attack is foreseen). It has been suggested, therefore, that the
last two lines, or at least the third, be deleted. T h e removal of 133 is
certainly possible, but the w hole passage from nicely carries
forward the streak o f ironic pretence w e have seen in xxi 102 ff. A t all events,
is to be preferred to in xxi 131 (cf. ii 60); should be translated
'in the future as well [as now ]5; and in xxi 132 is intensive, 'too
y o u n g . : cf. xxi 315.
134 . d y e ': on this interjection cf. xxi 106, 111, and also xxi 142.
135 . C f. xxi 179-80 n.
136 - 9 . T h e position in w hich T elem achus lays dow n the bow (we have not
been told how he picked it up) has been discussed in the Introduction. T h e
last three lines = xxi 164-6.
137 . . . . : of the thirteen occurrences of ,
'board, plank, seven of them in the Odyssey, only one (xxi 51) refers to
anything other than the folding w ooden leaves of a door; other epithets
w hich refer to the idea o f close fitting are () (II. xxi 535,
Od. ii 344; cf. Od. xxiii 194, applied to the door as a whole); eii
(xxii 128, xxiii 42); em irjs (IL xviii 275-65 w ith a reference to the
plaster door-frame); , , ^ (ibid.); here too we have
, 'w ell planed (cf. xxi 43-4) and , close-fitted (cf, IL ix
583, Od. xxiii 194). T h e conjectures recorded in the apparatus reflect
attempts to elim inate the ending -35, rare before a consonant (but cf. xxii
288 ). For a discussion of w hich doors are referred to, see
the Introduction.
138 . cX o s: this formula, found only here and in 165, is an inversion of
, found at the end of the line in 148 and in the same position in
IL xi 397 and six other places (Hainsworth, Flexibility, 67). : adv.
139 . : the first m ention in the last books of the (S. Laser,
Archaeologia P, 38-41); this is not a royal throne o f the M ycenean type, but
a very costly chair all the sam e (cf. the epithets applied to it elsewhere, such
as xxii 341 , xxii 438 ), on which a king, am ong
other noble personages, m ight deign to sit (cf. vi 308). Here it is
T elem achus w ho sits on such a seat; at xxi 166 it is ntinous, and in xxii 87
Eurym achus, whose death-rattle shakes it but does not topple it over (it was
a substantial piece of furniture); in xxii 23 all the suitors rise from their
. M edon is able to hide underneath a in xxii 362, w hich
im plies a high chair; that explains w h y a , stool is needed to sit
dow n in it (see for exam ple i 131). W e find being put to a variety of
uses: the chair was portable, and could be put in the place o f honour next

161
COMMENTARY

to a colum n (vin 65; on xxii 341, cf. xxi 14 1-2 n.), and kept for guests as a
sign of honour (for exam ple, i 130); but clothes could also be hung on it
(xvii 86, 179, xx 96, but not xxi 118, on which see the n.), andon one
occasion a spear is propped up against one (xxi 434; the text o f this line is
doubtful, however). A curious feature o f the construction o f the
m ay have been the attachm ent o f side-trays or flat arm-rests: Antinous,
m ortally w ounded, leans over to one side (xxii 17 ) to
vomit before he falls off (xxii 22 ). N orm ally the seats w ould be
ranged down the sides o f the walls (vii 95), and were not kept very clean,
to ju d g e by the cloths that are spread on the seat to protect the clothes of
their occupants (i 130, x 352, xx 150). It is hardly surprising, however,
that in xxii 438, 452, after the slaughter, the chairs are w ashed as w ell as
the tables (the latter being norm al practice after meals, i i n ) . O dysseus,
w ho has several times been shown to a as a guest (e.g. v 195, x
233), is now seated as a hum ble beggar (xxi 177.); but if we accept the
M S S reading at xxi 434 (T elem achus stands close to his father s chair,
), even this hum ble beggars seat () undergoes
the sam e sort of m agical transformation w hich turns O dysseus from
beggar into w arrior (G. W . H ouston, , , and O dysseus
C h an ge from B eggar to A venger, CPh lxx (1975), 212-14). A n d indeed,
at xxiii 164 w e find O dysseus seated on his throne once more, this tim e as
the lord o f the house. Finally, it is noteworthy that in xxiv 385 (where
, probably a synonym , appears for the only tim e in the later
books) Eum aeus and Philoetius sit down on thrones, doubtless rem em
bering their masters promises in xxi 207 ff. O n this point see further
S, Laser, LfgrE, i 38-4 1.
141 . : cf. xvii 365-6, where O dysseus goes begging round the
suitors . W ithout, o f course, excluding other possible arrange
ments, it m ay be helpful to consider Pococks plan of the feast-hall
(Figure 8). B represents the : the w ooden threshold of the door
betw een the vestibule and the courtyard; 3 the stone threshold beside
which Odysseus is seated (4); 5 the trench and the axes; 6 the position of
Telem achus; 7 that o f Leodes, who is in the com er (xxi 146) next to the
am phora (xxi 145); and 8 that of Antinous. T h e order in which the suitors
are to shoot goes from right to left, as did O dysseus begging, so that
Leodes is the first to try his hand. B ut if, as some suppose, it was considered
unlucky to take turns' anti-clockwise, there is no reason w hy w e should not
turn the plan around in a m irror image; then , w ill m ean from left
to right, not from right to left .
142 . : gen. after a verb o f beginning. Com m entators have been
w orried by the m eaning of , exactly , adding precision to the adverb o f
place (cf. xxi 134, w here the particle adds nothing); and b y the fact that the
verb lacks an expressed subject such as the cupbearer , w hich m ust be
understood (cf. H dt. ii 47 3 , and in xxi 263). H ence
the reading of P 28, an acceptable em endation (cf. in h. Ven.
204); the impossible conjectures of J. M on and of Fick, and the very doubt-
B O O K X X I 1 3 9 -1 4 4

F ig u r e 8 . Plan of the feast-hall (Pocock, Odyssean Essays, 1 8 , fig. 2 )

ful suggestion o f Brard, ( = does appear


in U 58 and xvi 315, though we should expect ; and
are found in eight other places in H om er, but in the Iliad
always in references to the w orld of the gods and of fighting; ' rep
comes in the sam e place in the line in iii 321). Translate: starting at the
place where [the cupbearer, going to and fro with his ladle to the
am phora by L eodes side,] begins to pour the w in e .
143 . = xxi 269.
144 . ^Even von der M h ll, who writes in his edition (as Allen
admits in ii 24.2, xxii 294), prefers the form , from
*-8; the confusion is due to itacism. T h e nam e o f his father is
also debated: , w hich also seems preferable to the itacistic , is
found as an adj. applied to bronze in x 36 0 , II. xvi 40 8 , II. xviii

163
COMMENTARY

34g; an etym ology based on - and -, dazzling, w hich cannot be


looked at , is im possible because the adj. shows traces of f - in every case
(hiatus in two cases, and an unshortened diphthong w here we w ou ld
otherwise expect correption in the second of the passages cited); w hen
used as a proper nam e also occurs in hiatus (II. xvi 401, II. xxiii
634, and the present passage). Stanford comments, however, that these
readings spoil a witty pun on L eodes name: Smooth [Aefos], son of
Pink-face [i.e. face like wine], . . . in other words, the soft son of a soft
father .
145 . S : dat. o f possession; demonstr. Leodes is an
augu r (-, one w ho inspects victims); O dysseus remarks that he
has often prayed for his return to be delayed (xxii 321-2). O n the m ixing-
bowl, w hich was generally placed on the floor, not on a table (S. Laser,
Archaeologia P, 57), and on the cupbearer s jo b , cf. ix 9 -10 , xxi 142.
146 - 7 . Despite the pred. , Leodes is not the only suitor to be presented in
a relatively favourable light; another is A m phinom us, the good suitor in
xviii (see Hoekstra, Epic Verse, 57, on significant nam es such as -
, tem porizer, against -voos, cross-grained). Leodes is a
doublet of A m phinom us, a m an of finer feelings but weaker character
(Fenik, Studies, 1927); but A m phinom us is no priest, even though he
indulges in prophecy at xx 245 and displays his piety in xvi 4005. T h e vv
serves m erely to lengthen the syllable.
146 . $ : adj. used adverbially; here only in Hom er, the w ord is
form ed from an unattested loc. *, in the co m er, which later gave
(see the app.) by analogy with forms such as .
148 . o s p a : o? demonstr.; pa picks up the thread o f the narrative again after
the digression. T h is time w e are told that he took hold o f the bow and
arrow (cf. xxi 136-9).
149 . = xxi 124.
150 . : cf. xxi 3 5 -6 0 . : cf. xxi 128.; here too the participle
is absolute; is acc. of respect.
151 . u s: smooth, unhardened, here only in H om er but later found
in prose. T h e end of the line - xvii 467, xxii 4.
152 - 62 . L eodes calm and conciliatory words are coherent up to xxi 159: I
cannot bend it; but let som e other suitor take it [concess. imper., slightly
condescending] in his turn (), for this bow w ill be the death o f us; [sc.
yet some will take hold of it for all that,] for death is better than failure, and
so each one of us (n s) hopes to w in Penelope, although when he fails . . . .
152 . T h e odd intransitive use of (not fut. as at xxi 92, 97, 127, b ut
durative pres. am not able to draw [it]) w ou ld b e removed b y reading
iv; , since, in view of the fact, is not unattractive, bu t is also
acceptable, m eaning I for one; to be sure . .
153 . T h e reduplicated and factitive fut. , will deprive , found
again in xxi 170 and appropriate enough on the lips o f an augur,
is paralleled by 11. iv 497, xv 574 . . . , they retreated ;
H sch. - . . . -, . . . , "

164
B O O K X X I 144-162

() ', and above all II. xi 334


(see W ilam owitz, Heimkehr, 195) T h e proposed etym ological link w ith
, retreat , w ou ld require a rare inverse assimilation a- >
-. a p ia r q a s : c fx i 333.
154 . O n the ablatives cf. xxi 153. T h e end of the line is repeated in II i 169,
Od. xii 109, with .
155 . T h e antecedent is understood before , gen. of the relative
, so the conjunction should not be removed, even though eve*a, despite
having no trace of f- (cf. M y c. e-ne-ka), occurs in hiatus in It. iii 100, vi 356,
xxiv 28 (all in the same m etrical position), and II. iii 206.
156 . : = ii 205, w hich probably lies behind the
curious reading o f P. G en., w hich inserts a line (and also has a variant in
157): \ , [ | ,]
[ . T h e logic of this reading is acceptable,
though it finds no support in the rest o f the tradition: recalls ii
55 and xvii 534 , an expression
used o f the suitors by T elem achus and Penelope respectively; the
rem ainder of P. G en . s reading parallels Eurym achus words in ii 205-7
8 \ rijs ,
I , , a passage athetized b y
Aristophanes o f Byzantium ; m ay be the result of a series of
corruptions due to itacism of > > , or alternat
ively an error for (found in the same position in the line and with
following inf. in II. i 126, iv 341; in the same position, II. 1x392; with inf., II.
x 146, xxii 71; cf. especially xi 186 );
the vowel and inflection o f w ill have been contracted due to
itacism or Atticism or both; and the line-ending avBpa is found in
five passages in the Iliad and four in the Odyssey (x 173, 547, xii 207, xxiv
441), though never as the subject o f an acc. and inf. construction.
159 . Note the aor. subj. with short vowel. Van H erw erden s conjecture is
unnecessary: translate and sees [that he fails] (cf. vi 126, with a similar
line-ending). N o r is it necessary to punctuate with three dots indicating an
ironic ellipse o f some such phrase as . . . will m ake a fool of him self ; cf.
xxi 160.
160 . T h e end o f the line = Ii. v 424. H ere there is evidently some contam ina
tion. Leodes ought to have continued: let him m arry another wom an, and
Penelope will find no hu sban d, but xxi 16 1-2 , a doublet of xvi 3 9 1-2 , have
som ehow crept in (see Blass, Interpolationen, 202); the lines fit well at xvi
3 9 1-2 , w here Antinous is proposing that all the suitors should retire while
Penelope makes her choice between them. See the apparatus to lines 1 5 7 -
62 here, and note that in xxi 168 -74 Antinous makes no reply to these last
two lines. T h e Ionicism of P. G en . s reading is an attempt to avoid hiatus.
161 . : not tem poral, as in 160, but means rather in this case .
162 . : conditional b y attraction of the m ood o f the two verbs with
in the relative clause; the dat. antecedent of is understood. :
not sim ply equivalent to the copula, but with an idea of motion, closely

165
COMMENTARY

dependent on the pred. , m ay turn up, brought here by fate*.


T h e for Penelopes hand have been m entioned in the parallel lines at
xvi 3 9 1-2 , and also in i 277, ii 196, xi 117, xiii 378, xv 18, xix 529 (of doubtful
authenticity).
163 - 6 . T h e first o f these lines is almost the sam e as 136; the rem ainder
= 13 7-9 , and are unnecessarily expunged by Blass, Interpolationen, 202-3,
w ho considers Leodes a figure of m inor importance. P. Gen. 338 (saec.. ii
A .C ., see M H xxxvii (1980), 2 13 -15) has 164-5 and a verse replacing 163,
163 . P. G en. 338 reads \ - km [vt ^prj (suppl.
C . W ehrli), a blend of II. vi 473 km with II. iii 89 etc. km
wovXooreiprj. A s restored in the ed. pr. the verse is clearly unaccept
able. S. R. W est (verbal com m unication) suggests ] ^ km
[ .
166 . O n Bpvos see xxi 139.
167 . = xxi 84.
168- 74 . T h e lines suit A ntin ous sarcastic personality, and show his incon
sistency, since in 9 1 -2 he pretended to doubt the suitors ability to bend
the bow.
168 . T h is form ulaic exclamation, with its double accusative (object and
internal), is. com m on (cf. xxiii 70): behind it lies the animistic concept of the
words im prisoned in the closed m outh like a cage.
169 . T h e first half o f the line is paralleled, for exam ple, by v 175,367, xii 119;
the second phrase is parenthetic, and should be translated as a relative
clause.
170- 1 . T h e train o f thought (the end o f xxi 170 repeats that o f xxi 153; cf. xxi
333) is som ewhat difficult: if [you say] this b o w . . . [merely] because ( is
em phatic; , of course, as it seems , sarcastic, together with ye, at least as
far as this bow is concerned (and it is not so terrible as you say) .
172 . : understand [and this is the case] because ; the line recalls i 223.
T h e papyrus reading ? is also possible.
173 . Cf. xxi 117; the vowel o f is lengthened before as in xviii 262,
II xvi 475 (cf. , with barytonesis < * in A pp. Dysc., and
avepaj < *-); the five attestations o f the latter word are all
explicable assuming a root *ppv~, parallel to *fepv- (); in the Iliad
passage m eans rein, that pulls [the horse] ; in xvii 187, 223,
guardian, that pulls out [of danger] ; in xviii 262 is applied
to archers who pull b a ck the arrows; here the w ord is used with two gen.
, with the arrows and also, less appropriately, with , which
is pulled in the opposite direction.
174 . : the fut. is here intransitive (cf. xxi 152); Brards conjecture
( to ye for ) is unnecessary.
175 - 85 . T h e appearance o f M elanthius, a character who m ay have been an
invention o f the later poet(s) B , casts suspicion on these lines, and on the
action described in them. His name, which is copied from that o f a hero in
II vi 36 MeXdvdiov, scanned w i w u, appears in two forms: MeXavdevs
(end o f xvii 212, xx 255, xxi 176, xxii 152; before a bucolic caesura in xxii

166
B O O K X X I 162-178

159, though this could be em ended to tos reading the following


w ord as ov, not ), and (eleven times scanned w -~4 w w, once
as w :! o w in xxii 474). T h e removal of all the lines would involve some
excisions and patchw ork in xxi 246 and its surrounding lines (as von der
M h ll notes in his apparatus); on the other hand, xxi 175 alone could be
excised w ithout further consequences.
176 . : the variants reflect the fact that this is the only occurrence in the
Odyssey (found in II. v 765, vii 459, xi 512, xiv 271) of this non-Hom eric verb
used as a synonym o f dye; but the back-formation occurs in xii 330,
xxii 306; in xvi 148; in viii 462, II. xviii 407; -
in viii 332; and 77-aAtvdypeTos in II i 526; and the pi. dypei, with an
accentuation w hich shows total loss of the verb root or barytonesis, in xx
149. : the fire is to be lit not on the hearth, which is already
burning because of the seasonal cold, but in the (cf. xviii 307,
343, xix 63, and see S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 86). O n Ktov for , from
*, see the apparatus and cf. xxi 144.
177 . , S : tmesis. : a num ber of these stools (see
S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 36-8) are mentioned in the palace; doubtless they
were lighter and more portable than the (cf. xxi 139.). T h u s in the
final books we find the hum ble, low ly one (dUtfcAto?, xx 259) which
O dysseus is given to sit on (cf. xxi 243,420); another occupied by Philoetius
(xxi 392); a w ell-polished one occupied by Dolius (or, in another reading,
w hich Dolius offers to O dysseus) in Laertes house (, xxiv 408);
another in the w om en s quarters which they likewise offer to O dysseus,
and w hich they cover with fleeces, as here (xix 97, with the sam e line
ending; xix 101, 506; similar fleeces cover the SaiSaAeot thrones of the
suitors in xvii 32); another, described as 5, on which Penelope
sits in her cham ber (xxi 387); the one also called (xvii 602) kept for
the (see Figure 8), w hich Eum aeus rather boldly takes for him self
(xvii 330; Brards conjecture kg for in xvii 331 is uncalled
for); and this one, w here the attempts to emend are unnecessary,
since the word does not m ean large, high, but long , suitable for the
com plicated operation o f greasing the bow , which w ould stain the seat if it
were not first covered with the fleeces,
178 . N ote the tmesis. For the great round or cake o f w ax or tallow, cf. xii
173, from the episode of the Sirens, w hich probably inspired this passage
(cf. xxi 246). Another point is the purpose of the greasing, and how it was
supposed to m ake the bow easier to string: W. Richter, Archaeologia H , 59,
n. 339, talks of m aking w ood more supple by this method, but if the bow
was m ade of horn, as we suppose, it is difficult to see how this w ould help.
Presum ably, therefore, it was the string w hich was supposed to be worked
upon, to m ake it m ore elastic after a long period of stiffening through
disuse (cf. xxi 395). T h e w ord , from an original *ardyap (
Pap.) > (from the idea o f consistency, stolidity), occurs in H om er
only here and at 183 below; it m ust be scanned with synizesis, or we m ust
assume that 8 is not lengthened before the -, as in the case of
COMMENTARY

(v 237, ix 39 l), (i 246, etc.), (I t v 36, etc.).


c v t o s : the Papyrus reading is defensible as a partitive gen., like
in vii 176, and especially in xv 77.
178 - 9 . T h e second line is sim ilar to 184 below; the first is identical to 183,
except that here IvetKe is used as a them atic aor. im per. (instead o f the
Vetk o v found in A nac. fr. 51. 2 P), a suspicious and rather forced w ord-play
on the norm al 3. sing, indie, of used in 183 (consequently W acker-
nagel, Untersuchungen, 112, believes that the reading is the work of an A ttic
editor w ho has attem pted to give an epic form).
179 - 80 . is very odd, especially on the lips of one o f the youths (cf. xxi
184, w here this is not the case); H artm an s conjecture vov requires the
dubious m e a n in g ffor a short w hile, adv.; van L eeuw en s is over-bold from
the paleographical point of view; Brards is based on the
m iddle verb in xviii 179, w hich has a similar ending to this line, and leads
him to reject xxi 180 (= xxi 268, and almost identical to xxi 135), w hich at
least frees A ntinous from the peccadillo of youthful arrogance. B ut the
suitors were indeed young m en: cf. xxi 361, and the biographical detail in
xxi 95, xiii 425 (spoken by Athena), xviii 6, xvii 479 (also spoken by
Antinous, and scanned 2, as here and in iii 460), xxi 310 (Antinous
again), and Eurym achus use of the word in the voc. at xx 361. T h e two
participles are used intransitively (cf xxi 174), in asyndeton (the aspect of
the verbs excludes any notion of anteriority); is found in H om er
only here and at xxi 184, 246 (later in Hes. and others; in
x i x 3 i 9 )
182 . Tm esis (c f xxi 177).
183 . Cf. xxi 178 and apparatus.
184 . C f xxi 179.
185 . C f xxi 114, and also the apparatus at 125-6. iq s
e iri eu e e s: fys is best taken as abl. far too lacking in the force [needed
for the task] (cf the similar line ending.in xxi 253, and xxiv 171, with a
similar construction im plied in ); a parallel construction occurs in
I t xxiii 670, xxiv 385, w here is used with the verb to
denote someone who is not up to the fight . T h e acc. is adverbial;
S here serves to give the paratactic clause a causal sense.
186 - 7. m ay m ean (they) held back [from attem pting the test] (sing,
with pi. subj.); or it m ay be governed only by the first subject, Antinous,
w ho is to propose a postponem ent in xxi 257fr., but not to Eurym achus,
w ho tries to bend the bow in xxi 245 fr.; but the most likely m eaning is
(they) rem ained [to try] . I have com m ented on in the Intro
duction. T h e lines = iv 628-9 with the exception o f the first verb. Here the
two suitors outstanding for their dpe-rij (for the pairing o f the two c f xxi
31 i - 53 >and Fenik, Studies, 198-205) do not jo in sport with the small fry.
188 - 244 . O n the textual problem s o f these lines see the Introduction.
188 . im plies at the same tim e . T h e prefix is cognate with
, together; and the ancient variant with - <C srp- is perhaps prefer
able, the change to - being explained b y the analogical tendency o f

168
B O O K X X I 178-200

Attic, and to differentiate the w ord from . In xiii 87 ,


II xii 400 1, II. xxiv 438 , the M S tradition is
unanim ous; in xxii 81 and three passages in the Iliad the editors prefer the
reading or , and in II. xiii 584 , each supported
by some M SS. N ote the pi. verbs with the duals and ; -is
pluperf. in sense (Antinous has thrown them out in xxi 89-90).
190. Tm esis; has both temporal and local sense.
191 . T h e form w ithout synizesis, which does not correspond
m etrically with the primitive ending in -, seems late; it is found also in
II. vii 1, xii 340 (cf. xxi 47). T h e characters are now in the street.
192 . T h is line-ending is found again in xx 165, and a variation of it in xi 552.
T h e reading disregards the digam m a, while the other two
readings fail to lengthen the -t before a semivowel; perhaps we should read
, the dual being the poets variation on the usual in
form ulae such as xix 214 (cf. xxi 206).
193 . is indefinite: a w ord (which I have in m y m ind) . T h e scansion points
to f- before . T h e line is .
194. There is hiatus after 7 7 . The subj. is dubitative; ? !to myself.
195 . T h e end o f the line = i 414, ii 351; with the opt. after is u n
paralleled in Hom er, which has given rise to a throng o f variants. T h e
hiatus before the verb, w hich is consecutive-final in sense, w ould be
avoided in the reading recorded in the apparatus (but cf. ii 60
in :3 ^ w w).
196 . : the prim ary form, as against the secondary form in xxi 178.
has caused surprise; , .j u st like that .
197- 8 . T h e clum sy test to w hich Odysseus submits his servants makes these
two lines, already doubtful in these surroundings, even more suspicious.
N ote further the hiatus in xxi 197 ten-are, which parallels the sigmatic
forms (cf. xxi 196); the synizesis in xxi 198; and used to introduce an
indirect question. For the final formula cf. xxi 342.
199 . Im o u K o X o s : the first appearance in these books of this
epithet for Philoetius, already used o f him in xx 235, and o f another
character in iii 422. T h e parallels in xiii 222 (Athena com pared to a young
pi ), xii 131 (), etc., show that the phrase does
not denote herdsm an in ch ief , but m erely someone w ho looks after ()
the oxen. Nevertheless, the formation is som ewhat strange; in antiquity a
no less unusual w as proffered as a conjecture, and Leum ann,
Wrter, 92-3, comes up w ith a com plicated history for the analogical
formation of the word. In I t xiii 450, w here Zeus engenders M inos
, the prim ary idea is ovpov , this false analogy will have
given rise to xiii 405, xv 39 , swineherd , and this in turn m ust
lie behind the form ation of .
200. : the voc., w hich exactly parallels the Latin luppiter, occurs
elsewhere, for example in v 7. O n Philoetiuss sentimental remark, which is
alm ost a repetition o f his w ords in xx 236, see the Introduction. H ere the
protasis is not left, as it usually is, to stand alone as an optative expression
COMMENTARY

(if you were to do this [I w ould be glad], and thence if only you w ould do
this), but is followed by an apodosis o f sorts in xxi 203.
201 . T h e line stands in apposition to , and takes the optative by
attraction. It repeats xvii 243, where is also equivalent to , and is
probably imitated from that line: Shipp, Studies, 353, notes that the
expression fits less logically here, since the m ention of another god
( ) sits uneasily with the address to Zeus in the sam e sentence.
202 - 4 , = xx 237-9; in view of what is said in the note to xxi 200, the o ccu r
rence o f the lines here is suspicious. In the first line o f the three w e m ust
understand w hat strength I have and [what] hands are at its call (cf. 11 iv
314, where the knees are asked to obey the )', but the ellipsis m akes
the phrase hard to understand, which explains the variant reading.
203 . In principle the parallel with xx 238 favours the reading .
204 . Hiatus alter , probably because the line = xx 329, w here the
inf. follows , which perhaps lends credibility to the variant
(cf. Shipp, Studies, 353).
205 . ye: o f these at least5; ye is im portant in rem inding us that
O dysseus has as yet no grounds to rely on the fidelity of the other slaves.
206 . Cf. xxi 192; because he has already spoken to them there. T h e
end of the line is similar to xix 214.
207 - 8 . a u r o s : m yself [am] that very m an,
returned hom e (that is, here before your eyes)5; < *vS retains
the force of its etym ological connection with (cf. xvi 462, xix 40). T h e
abrupt m anner o f O dysseus surprise revelation recalls ii 4 0 -1
. , . ) xxiv 321 /cefvos . . . . . .
, imitated by Verg. A. i 59 5-6 coram quern quaentis adsum, Troius
Aeneas; here, however, there are no relatives, and is predicative. It
w ould be preferable, therefore, to punctuate w ith a colon at the end o f 207,
with asyndeton in the following line; this w ould be avoided by the papyru s
for , but the reading is m ade less likely by the parallel line-ending
in vi 175, xxiii 101, 169.
208 . T h e case for deletion (see the apparatus, and Blass, Interpolationen, 203)
is based on the parallels in xvi 206, xxiv 322, both preceded by asyndeton as
in the present case; in xix 484 and o f course xxiii 102 (with the opt.), on the
other hand, the line is indispensable. A s for the m orphology o f , it
has been argued that we have an adaptation of the original form ula
to the ist. pers., with consequent problem s with the d igam m a
(Hoekstra, Modifications, 52); A llen and von der M h ll print
in xvi 206, xix 484, xxi 208, xxiv 322 (cf. , xxiii 102),
but von der M h ll prefers the reading in xvi 206, xix 484,
xxi 208, xxiv 322. Note, however, the three cases o f hiatus in the follow ing
, the first due to digam m a, the second to the loss of --, the third
accom panied by lengthening in thesis.
209 . T h e alternative form () appears here for the first tim e in our
M S S and editions. : ethic dat., pred.,
partitive.

170
B O O K X X I 200-217

210 - 16 . In the context o f this w hole dubious episode (cf. xxi 197-80.),
O dysseus grand promises m ake this passage even m ore objectionable.
210. 8 : is o f course demonstrative (these others); the gen.
is partitive, after the indef. rev.
2 11 . N a u ck s conjecture does not resolve the hiatus before and after .
, w hich later alm ost disappears except in the late cognate verb
, is attested elsewhere in archaic verse at h.Ap. 476 (with
catafle) and four times in H om er (here, and in II. vi 367, 501, Od. xx 332)
used predicatively with , T h e similar ending of xxii 35 supports the
reading ' ,, as against ' ; but neither these read
ings nor xxii 35 take account of digam m a in the adv. (cf. xxi 332). vffd is
unjustifiable, as Chantraine has pointed out (Grammaire, i 145). T h e other
suggestion, t is found only at xiv 372, m eaning retired, rem ote .
212. (*)s e o e r a i is in apposition to ^ (cf. xix 312, correlative with
coSe). T h e end o f the line = xvi 226, xvii 108, xxii 420.
213 - 16 . T h e offer corresponds with E um aeus own assertion of w hat
O dysseus w ould have done for him if he had com e hom e in xiv 3 6 -7 1; on
the legal problem s posed by such a m ock adoption see further Ram m ing,
Dienerschaft, 702 and 112 . 1, and the note on xxi 139 about xxiv 385.
213 . = xix 488, and cf. xix 496. : potential subj.
214 . : the m iddle is used in iv 10 to refer to M enelaus m arrying a girl
to his son; in vi 28 of the supposed suitors for N ausicaa s hand; in xv 238 of
M elam p u s giving his brother a bride. : i.e. .
216 . T h e hiatus before (the reading , possess, d a t, in the
preceding position is also possible) and before cocodov (avoidable w ith
F ick s conjecture) is suspicious, as are the three duals, since the two
characters do not form a pair in the structure. T o call them brothers of
T elem ach u s also seems odd, given the large disparity in age; Eum aeus
elsewhere claim s (xv 332-79) to have been brought up as a brother to
C tim ene, O dysseus sister.
217 - 2 1 . T h e story o f the scar makes four appearances: in xix 386 if., the long
passage abou t its discovery by Eurycleia (393, the original form ula w hich
gave rise to the rem aining occurrences according to Hoekstra, Modifica
tions,, 111 = xxi 219, with the logical exception of , w hich fits the 3rd.
pers. narrative at that point, here changed to with consequent metrical
lengthening; the first h a lf of xix 394 = xxi 220, b u t is there followed by
Tc , also read here in some witnesses); this passage; xxiii
7 3 -7 (Eurycleia s explanation to Penelope; 73 is similar to xxi 217 and also
to xi 126; there is no line corresponding to xxi 218, which has led to its
athetization; 74 = xxi 219, but with again; no line corresponding to xxi
220); and xxiv 3305 (O dysseus explanation to Laertes; the end of
332 - xxi 219). T h ere has been endless debate as to whether these lines,
w ith all the critical oddities o f xxi 219-20, are not perhaps even later than
xxiv. A t all events, the w hole passage is late, as I have said; one must add
that the servants had no w ay o f knowing m uch about the scar, whereas
Eurycleia did.

171
COMMENTARY

217 . : subj, of volition after the interj. d a ye, com e now (cf. xxiv
336). : adv. : pred., with following hiatus which shows
that this is adapted from xxiii 225 . : some
thing else, besides .
218 . T h e duals continue (this time in contracted subj. forms, another
possible sign o f late composition), m ixed with plurals in xxi 222 ff. O n v cf.
xxi 369.
219 - 20 . T h e fact that these lines are lacking in P 28 and M on. m ay be sig
nificant; von der M h ll brackets them (see Blass, Interpretationen, 203).
N ote w hat has been said above about the end of xxi 220 com pared to xix
394, and the absence of any parallel after xxiii 74; further suspicions are
aroused by the end o f xxi 219, found in the 3rd. pers. narrative o f the
episode in question at xix 465, and b y xxi 220, identical to xix 466.
221 . T h e fact that O dysseus scar is hidden b y his long tunic is taken by
L orim er to indicate that the was of the plebeian type, perhaps o f
w ool (Monuments, 372 n. 7), whereas a similar w ound borne by the
aristocratic M enelaus (IL iv 146) is perfectly visible.
222 . Sim ilar to x 453, xxiv 391. T h e verbs have the sense of our pluperfect.
Even if is read, with von der M h ll, this cannot clinch the question
o f the authenticity of xxi 2 17 -2 1.
224 - 5 . Slaves kiss their master on the head, shoulders, and hands (like the
serving-girls and O dysseus in xxii 499-500), or on the head and shoulders
only (like the slave-girls and T elem achus in xvii 35); Penelope kisses her
son on the head and eyes (xvii 39); Eum aeus kisses Telem achus on the
head, eyes, and hands (xvi 1516), a sign of his im portant position in the
household; Penelope thinks o f kissing the head and hands o f O dysseus in
xxiii 87; O dysseus him self kisses D olius hand in xxiv 398. N ote the
em otional effect o f the servants continuous imperf. , began to kiss,
in contrast to the sober and single sKvaae of their master.
226 . = xvi 220. : cf. xxi 209. on .
227 . a u r o s : reflects O dysseus forceful character; he is the first to pull
him self together,
228 . T h e line is similar to iv 801, xvii 8, xxiv 323 (see O N olan, Doublets, 32).
: intrans.
229 . T h e variants attempt to correct the hiatus after . d -
: , and then, is asyndetic; , tell, intrans., like
in 228; , adv.; on cf. iii 427, iv 775.
230 . Stop crying and go in, not all together but one by one (that is, m e first
and then you) . T h e etym ology o f , one by one, paralleled
only b y in xi 233 (the suffix is found in , xx 118,
xxiv 181, 449, and two Iliadic examples), has been debated: B. Forssman,
G r. , ai. nimm- u. Verw andtes, Zeit sehr. Vergl. Sprach/. Ixxxix
(1964), 1128 has found little acceptance; the w ord m ust originally have
been fem., referring to the w om en w ho filed past the suitor before the
appearance o f the bride-to-be during the *, asking cerem ony
(Frisk, GEW ).

B O O K X X I 217-239

231 . : let this be the sign ; is pred.,


marks the transition to a new topic.
232 . carries forward from rdSc (cf. xxi 74, for example): the sign w ill be
that, w hen O dysseus asks for the bow (he does not explain this detail here,
but it takes place in xxi 275 ff.), the suitors will be angry (as they are, in xxi
283); that will be the m om ent for Eum aeus to hand him the bow (xxi 359 ff.)
and give the word to the w om en (xxi 381 ff.) , , .
: the whole phrase means all the rest, that is as m any suitors
(as there are)*. T h e beginning o f the line is repeated in 11. v 877.
233 . : syhizesis (cf. II. v 256 e, x 344 ). T h e apparatus gives
a possible alternative; in theory the -a- m ay not have been lengthened. T h e
phrase means they will not allow it to be given to me* (cf. xix 25).
234 . It is noteworthy that here, as on every other occurrence o f
(xvi 461, xvii 508, xxii 157), some M S S read . : w ell then,
looking back to the earlier phrase: w hen the rest . . . then yo u ,
: has as m uch w eight as , fetch and place before m e ,
: here m eans the length of, all alon g (since O dysseus takes his seat at
the far end of the hall).
235 . T h e two infinitives ^ and eiVeiv have imper. force, according to
the regular conditions for this usage: nam ely, that they refer to a future
w hich is. still som e w ay off, that they are preceded b y a voc., , and by
a true imperative, . ciVctv, ask (so that is not past in
m eaning). In the second h alf of the line, w hich is alm ost identical to xv 76
and similar to xxii 431, is a better reading than .
236 - 9. = xxi 382-3, w here the com m and is repeated w ord for word.
236 . O n several occasions w e have been shown the w om en sitting in their
private (xviii 316, xix 16), or leaving it (xix 60, xx 6, xxii 4 9 7); and
in xix 30 Eurycleia closes the , a form ula
which reminds us o f this one. Doubtless the doors between the m ain hail
and the w om en s are meant; and it is these that O dysseus wants
locked from the w om en s side, so that they can be kept out of the fight and
so that the suitors, who are unaware that the doors are locked (xxii 76, 91
probably refer to them too), w ill be unable to escape through them.
237 - 9 . T h ese lines im ply the existence of another door betw een the w om ens
quarters and the courtyard; this is not to be locked, but the w om en are not
to go out through it into the open, even if they are frightened by the sound
o f the battle.
237 . : any one (of the w om en) . T h e genitives are norm al after a verb of
hearing, O n evSov cf. xxi 178,183, 207; it is not clear w hether the w ord here
means inside, w ith , or anticipates v .
238 . depends on ? . has been inter
preted, perhaps fancifully, as a bloodthirsty irony (the hall will becom e a
huge net; cf. xxii 469). : not at all, in no w ay .
239 . recalls , xix 25 (cf. xxi 233V; ^ ^as the
slightly fam iliar tone of show their faces, peep out . Both this infin. and
m ight in theory b e taken as 3rd. pers. imperatives (cf. xxi 235 n.), but

173
COMMENTARY

it is more likely that they are governed by tv. N ote the hiatus between
and (cf. xxi 89., and Frisk, G E W , on the digamma), as well as
the usual one in - , at their own business .
240 . : cf. xxi 234. . . . : regardless of whether the
contest takes place in the hall or in the courtyard, these doors must be
those of the gate o f the courtyard into the street (cf. xxi 389, where the order
is carried out, with Bethes com m ent, Odyssee, 75; xxii 137
; and xviii 239, where some read ).
241 . : schema etymologicum, with the instrum. T h e line
ending, with its tmesis, is almost identical to viii 443, 447; supply the dat.
to the doors . : skilfully, dexterously, as in xxi 46. T h e
procedure is quite different from that described in xxi 6,47, but identical to
that in i 422: Philoetius is to close the doors from inside with a simple bolt
(^); in addition, at xxi 390, he ties it fast with the first thing that comes
to hand in the courtyard (as a slave, he does not have a very good
knowledge of arrangements inside the palace), to prevent it being easily
opened by panic-stricken m en trying to get out.
242 . = xvii 324; acc. o f direction. Both lines refer to someone entering from
the street, not from the courtyard (cf. xxi 191). O n cf. xxi 369.
243 . = xxi 392; the ending is also found in xxi 139,166 (see the nn. on xxi 139,
177). ": to our w ay of thinking the w ord is asyndetic, as so often,
is emphatic: he went and sat dow n , underlines the fact that this is
the same seat as before, and is equivalent to a pluperfect.
244 . . . . ': pa, as they had agreed5; , as well, in their
turn ; note the tmesis, and the variants recorded in the apparatus in
response to the hiatus before . T here is a further case of hiatus before
.
245 . : at last, looks back to in xxi 186. T h e end of the line is
repeated at xxii 10; here the bewildered Eurym achus turns the bow from
side to side in his attempts to m ake it bend.
246 . O n the heating of the bow over the cf. xxi 176 and the Intro
duction. : this w ay and that. T h e contracted long
vowel of the instrum ental (cf. x 316 , xi 136 , in contrast to
II xvii 739 ) is a late form w hich shows that this passage is derivative,
refers to the bowl.
247 . : in this phrase, w hich also appears as
the end of 11 x 16, we must take as an acc. o f respect, as in II xviii 33
(but cf. Il, xx 169 v 8
prop); the initial nasal o f , which m ay be translated aloud, causes
m etrical lengthening of the preceding vowel.
248 . A rem arkable line: the first hem istich, S pa (), appears
seven times in the Iliad followed by Sv , and in IL
xxiii 143 followed by another form ulaic line-ending, and in v 298,355,407,
464, always with ; but this is the only occurrence
in H om er of the form ula S pa followed b y r
a form ula which, as pointed out in xxi 84., should properly be

174
B O O K X XI 239-255

followed b y a proper name. But this is the reading (with loss of digam m a if
eiVev is accepted) of the papyrus and some M SS; it represents an attempt
on the part of these witnesses, using the m odel of vii 330 8 dpa
ciVcv 7709 ., to resolve the problem created b y the com m oner M S
reading 77/309 ., of Eurym achus here speaking to his own , but
being answered below by Antinous. T his, however, does not seem to van
der V a lk a strong enough reason to reject the consensus of the m ajority of
witnesses ( Textual Cnticism, 93).
249 . T h e syntax is difficult, no doubt reflecting Eurym achus strong feelings.
T h e first hem istich is identical to II. xx 293: is an exclam ation of
indignant incredulity, and m ust be supplied with . :
i.e. ; it is less em phatic than -; according to Eurym achus, he
is concerned not so m uch with his own honour as the criticism w hich will
be levelled at the suitors as a w hole.
250 - 3 . : the gem ination of -a- is for metrical reasons; we
expect an answering correlative such as , but in xxi 253 (after a
parenthesis of two lines) we find , as at xiv 1424 vv
. . . , and xxii 5 0 -1 , similar to this passage,
. . . ; cf. also iv 1045 <^
. . . .
250 . : ablative gen. after a verb o f emotion. :
concess., although [to a certain extent, it is true,] I do grieve [for this failure
too] ; cf. iv 104 and xiv 142 , both m entioned above.
251 - 2 . It is im possible to ju d g e how far E urym ach us sudden disdain for
Penelope m ay be sincere; cf, L eodes w ords at xxi lboff.
252 . T h e re is no need to supply v w ith the loc. . T h e refer
ence is o f course to the neighbouring islands.
253 - 5 . T h e syntax is still loose: either ei m ust be taken causally rather than
conditionally ( grieve because), or the phrase in xxi 255 m ust be seen as a
sort of apodosis, despite the colon.
253 . : supply as we see here . governs
; on this gen. see xxi 1256 n. and 185 m
254 . : a form equivalent to the later causal conjunction . H ere too we
expect a correlative o f .
255 . .: again, w e m ust supply [that w ill be] a sham e , ,
even ; the inf. is consecutive and final in im plication. For this preoccupa
tion with the judgem ent of posterity (Eurym achus always speaks with an
outw ard show o f decency, cf. i 402-4, xvi 435-47), com pare the well known
o f in 204, and II. ii l i g y*
(A gam em non speaking o f defeat at T roy); likewise
xxiv 433-5, the first line o f w hich has the sam e ending, . . . 1
, and w hich is followed by a conditional
protasis, and then a second apodosis in asyndeton, ouk . . . ,
w hich shows the close dependence of that passage on this one; a similarly
ironic apodosis is found in xiv 406, after a relative clause with conditional
force.
COMMENTARY

256 . = 383, iv 641, xvii 477, xviii 284.


257 - 62 . T h e passage has been adjudged an interpolation, probably wrongly.
It is true that A ntin ous excuse is specious, no m ore than an attem pt to w in
tim e or, better still, save face if the contest is forgotten; if his objection were
valid, it w ould be absurd that no one should have thought of it before. B ut
the festival o f A pollo, w hich is som ehow related to the new m oon (see
Bona, Studi, 127), has been m entioned before in xix 306-7 (O dysseus will
return this very m onth, r o v 8 , on the new moon), xx 156
(Eurycleia says the suitors w ill soon b e back because o f the festival, rei
oprrj), xx 2768 (heralds announce a sacred hecatom b). T h e argu
m ent that a festival sacred to the archer god (cf. the epithet in xxi 267)
w ould be ju s t the occasion for a contest with bow and arrow is based on an
anachronism ; but it does not follow that any such exercise w ou ld be
incom patible w ith the festivities indeed, the idea of rendering hom age to
A pollo fits well with some later remarks by O dysseus (xxi 280, xxii 7) and
Penelope (xxi 338), to the effect that it will b e A pollo w ho grants victory to
the w inner (in addition, note the favourable om en in xv 5256, and
A p o llo s tutelary interest in T elem a ch u s a tx ix 86; these mentions of A pollo
m ay be clues to an earlier version of the poem in w hich he, not A thena, was
O dysseus protector). Furthermore, there is a grim and appropriate irony
in the suitors using as his excuse a god from w hom he is to receive nothing
but harm.
257 . v o e e is Se : A ntinous phrase m ay b e a form of courtesy, or
conceal an accusation o f insincerity on Eurym achus part; it is clearly
dependent on II xxiv 560, but vocco there m eans propose, intend and
governs an inf.; here it is absolute, as you know very w ell .
258 . O n ce again, ellipsis of the verb is, as in xx 156 (see .). :
emphatic, as in xxi 62.
259 . : postponed for emphasis; the rhetorical question follows closely
(no one w ou ld even think of drawing a bow on such a holy day), is
effectively no; on the contrary . . . ; is m ore or less adverbial.
260 . : i.e. the bow , e i .: as usual in this type of
aposiopesis (cf. II i 58 0 -1, xxiii 556-9, 567), the conditional implies some
unspoken apodosis such as that w ould be a good idea ; or, if w e take e
concessively, there w ould be no harm . However, the last conjectures in
the apparatus w ould do aw ay altogether with the conditional in the
protasis. - : synizesis; the word is placed early for emphasis:
as for the axes (if anyone thinks they m ay be stolen) . : con
traction o f the original pres. subj. *edn>pev to lies behind this rare
metrical lengthening o f the first syllable, w hich Eustathius conjecture is
designed to eliminate.
260- 1 . . . . : let be, i.e. leave alone, in their place . T h e
passage has a bearing on w here the contest is supposed to take place, in the
feast-hall or the courtyard: the ironic (cf. , xxii 140) perhaps
refers to the impossibility o f entering the . B ut this argum ent is
w eakened if, as some have proposed, xxi 262 be removed as superfluous

176
B O O K X X I 256-276

(but note that the almost identical line xvi 104 has been condem ned
precisely on the grounds that it appears to be an echo of this one unless
both are dependent on the very similar xviii 24). In this case, the m eaning
w ould be that no one w ould steal the axes, either in the feast-hall or the
courtyard, because the culprit w ould b e im m ediately detected.
261 . T h e object o f m ust be the axes; naturally, the bow would
b e taken aw ay b y the competitors.
262 . ^ : the synizesis and hiatus is perhaps imitated from original
formulae such as II. i 1 , w here the primitive form
w ould have been .
263 . - xviii 418. : von der M h ll gives enthusiastic praise {optime)
to Bentleys conjecture a ye with following digam m a. T h e w ord ? is
found only once in the Iliad (ii 128), in connection with the rules of war; in
Od. ix 10 the w ord is used in a general sense; the cup-bearer in O dysseus
palace (cf. xxi 142, 145) has been m entioned in xviii 41819 where, having
apparently recovered from a blow struck at him b y Eurym achus (xviii 396),
he is given the same order as here; in the identical line xviii 418 w e should
also read dye, w hich indeed is supported b y one witness.
: the verb refers to the *, or action o f em ptying a
libation of a few drops from each cup before filling it, as the servants pour
^ in iii 3394 j xxi 27t- 2 (passages dependent in
turn on II ix 175-6), or as Eum aeus offers a cup to O dysseus in
XIV447.
264 . T h e first hem istich is also paralleled at xviii 419; aneiaavres is
emphatic: (only) after pouring a libation . Brard s is
arbitrary, despite xxi 279. O n see the Introduction.
265- 6 . T h e repetitive w ording, pointed by ham m ering alliterations down to
(am ongst ail flocks , partitive dat.;'cfi i 71, xv 227, the latter
also with efo ya), is im m ediately noticeable. T h e lines are almost identical
to xvii 213, x x 17 3 -4 . : the suffix is abb; translate at day
break.
266 . : adv,, m uch the finest .
267 . . . . 0 vres: tmesis, as in iii 179 5em 1 c 0e/*ev; cf. i 140 im -
. T here is a sim ilar tmesis with and m . . . or c/cye in iii
9, xvii 241, xxii 336. : cf. xxi 257-62 n.
268 . = xxi 180.
269 . = xxi 143.
270 - 3 . For the repetitions (xxi 2 71-2 = iii 339-40; xxi 273, almost identical to
iii 342; xxi 270== i 146, iii 338, etc.) and the practice o f libations see xxi
263 . T h e lines have been needlessly condem ned on the grounds that they
slow up the pace of the narrative.
273 . Both here and at iii 342 von der M hll, following Aristarchus, prefers
ttIo-v without the augm ent. : all.
276 . T h is line has no M S authority whatever, and is an editorial addition; it
should be excised (see further Blass, Interpolationen, 204). Both xvii 469 and

177
COMMENTARY

xviii 352, on which it is based (cf. xxi 342), are followed by asyn deton
whereas here we have S in xxi 277.
277 . T h e papyrus inversion o f the names, w hich m ay w ell be correct, has
been discussed in the Introduction; the suggestion that deoetSa (with
synizesis, as in such m odels for this line as II. iii 27) is to be taken with both
names is unacceptable.
278 . O dysseus singles out the two heroes in his request, and especially the
. second, who, since he spoke, with restraint and good sense in xxi 257-68
(note the usual hiatus before 7705; the line-ending is similar to that o f viii
141, 397)) w ill likewise () listen with sense to his supplications now. T h e
substance o f the request im plied in follows in xxi 281.
279 . T h e infinitives and have been taken as
imperatives, but in view o f w hat has been said in the note on xxi 235 it is
perhaps preferable to take them as epexegetic, in apposition to Vos.
here means the archery contest, and this m ust be understood also as the
object o f imrpetfiat.
280 . A lthough the phrase is paratactic, it loosely reproduces A ntin ous
thought in xxi 267. : cf. xxi 265 .
281 . V o sss conjecture is excellent; the beginning o f the line is identical to ii
212, iv 669, bu t here greater em phasis falls on the pronoun. :
am ong yo u ; O dysseus m odestly asks only to be allowed to try his strength
w ith the bow, not to take part in the contest as a competitor.
282 . ; the aor. subj..77cipij implies
an open question, (to see) w hether, w hich can be followed equally well
either by ei or (see the apparatus, and xxi 284). For ovcos cf.
^ in xxi 202, xx 237.
283 . : the word has been interpreted here as flexible, pliant5,
but all of the eleven occurrences o f the word in H om er allow the m eaning
bent , not only w hen applied to curved objects (II. xviii 401, Od. iv 369, xii
332), a jaw -bon e (II. xi 416), or a tortuous m ind (II. xxiv 41), bu t also in the
five occurrences of the line-ending vi - <;(): in II. xxiv 359
Priam s lim bs are naturally bent with age; in II. xi 669 (with a first
hem istich similar to the present line) Nestor speaks o f the strength having
gone out of m y (now) bent lim bs ; in Od. xi 394 A gam em non talks o f a
body becom ing bent in H ades; in xiii 398,430 the w ord is used proleptic-
ally (Athena withers O dysseus skin over his n ow bent limbs); here
O dysseus talks like his old fighting-com panions.
284 . T h e line is suspect for various reasons, and its removal would support
the reading d in xxi 282: the hiatus in the first foot (which could be avoided
b y reading % that is elided )\ the fact that we m ust supply for m e or
m y strength with oXeaaev; and the rarity o f , neglect5 (,
however, w hich is used only three times and always in the Odyssey, at x 464,
xv 342, 345, need not be questioned), , w hich naturally requires
long -i- to avoid the cretic like in xiii 142, is found only here in
archaic texts; it is related to the H om eric words and , but
apart from oXty in Dem ocritus, the only parallel forms are in

178
B O O K X X I 276-293

X en oph on () or later authors (d op , Aristotle; dveAmaria,


, ).
285 . = xvii 481, N ote the m ixture of anger, pride (of. xxi 289), and fear;
has its com m on m eaning, as was to be expected .
286 . D eletion is not called for (cf. the apparatus on xxi 285).
287 . = xxi 84, 167; see the notes on the text o f those lines and on xxi 248. T he
papyrus has no after vvwe on this occasion; the editors
disagree on this point.
288 . T h e initial apostrophe is copied from xiv 361, but here it has an insult
ing tone (cf. xxi 86) w hich is lacking there; is a partitive gen. cvi
t o i : vi is the ancient adv., here used with a plural
subj.; toi, possess, dat. A sim ilar line ending is found in xviii 355 and II. xiv
141; o f the rem aining H om eric exam ples, six (five in the Iliad and Od. iii 14)
have ov8 , w hile ix 462 has w ithout the negative. T h e exist
ence later of jSaios, sm all, led L eum ann to posit a ghost form derived from
od 8 ( Wrter, 50), but this is difficult here, w here odSe, not even ,
gives good sense.
289 . A lthough this reading is supported by no lesser authority than
Aristarchus, and has a close parallel in ii 3 10 -1 1 (Telem achus says
ariv ^ p,e' [ .
), it is odd that the w ord i5irep</>taAos should be used in the good
sense o f person o f quality here (see van der V alk, Textual Criticism, 54),
after having been used in such a different sense in xxi 285 . T h e
form er m eaning (for w hich see also II. v 8 8 i, where Ares applies the w ord to
Diom edes) is consistent w ith either of the two possible etym ologies, from
or from ~ with dissimilation o f the vowel. T h e papyrus reading
does not entirely support Schwartzs conjecture, which attempts to get
round this problem ; the second o f our two readings w ould be acceptable in
the text too. : , be contented w ith, w ith internal acc.
im plied as the antecedent of o, is found only here and in xxiii 214, against
various attestations of in both active and m iddle; and the m ean
ing be contented with, resigned to , as opposed to love , is unique to this
passage. : at ease, unm olested , in contrast to the troubles of
the previous day; the preceding hiatus implies digam m a, perhaps indicat
ing a com m on root with , etc.: keeping apart, a loo f, undis
turbed (cf. H esychius gloss ).
290 . : (your share) o f the banquet ; cf. xx 293-40. : and
even , asyndeton. : you can listen .
291 . : seems superfluous after (skilfully
inverted in the next verse); and , otherwise unattested in H om er, is
next found in lyric poetry (cf. in xiv 393, a prosaic word used by
T yrtaeus to refer specifically to the laws o f Lycurgus; in II. ix 443,
also with , found only in inscriptions; in II. xxi 445, found in
Hesiod). : and yet no one else .
292 . marks a climax: (not merely) a stranger, bu t a beggar to boot .
293 - 310 . A ntin ous m oralizing digression sits ill on the lips o f a wastrel like

t 79
COMMENTARY

him , and has therefore attracted frequent condem nation; but the editors
are unsure as to the extent of the passage to be excised. T h e most extreme
position is that of van Leeuwen, whose suggestion would bring together the
two occurrences o f (xxi 289, 309) in a concise phrase. O th er editors
begin the excision in 295, or remove only the descriptive passages in 297-8,
299-304, 303-4, or 303 alone; others confine their attentions to 305-9, or
even to 308 alone. T h ere are, it is true, several oddities, but the style of the
w hole digression is really rather good; its structure bears a rem arkable
affinity to the Iliad,'s favourite threefold scheme for sententious passages,
w ith exposition (293-4) followed by exemplum (295-304) and moral (305-
10) (see H eubeck, Dichter, 25).
293 . : this epithet is applied to on four occasions in the Iliad
and seven in the Odyssey; doubtless it looks back to the time w hen had
the m eaning m ead 1, A ntin ous accusation of drunkenness recalls
O dysseus words to Eum aeus in xiv 4636, and above all his fear o f being
thought drunk in xix 122 . . . \ com pare also the
w ell-known of II. i 225, paralleled by at the end of
xxi 304, w hich in turn recalls ix 374, x 555. T h is is the only H om eric
occurrence o f ', the present tense of this verb was later substituted by
, a correlative of the sigm atic forms in xvi 293, xix 12, II. xii 66,
xxiii 341 ( already in II. xxiii 568).
294;. T h e sing, o? after pi. antecedent is com m on in such ad sensum
constructions; a similar case, b u t in reverse, is seen in xix 40 . . . of.
: the w ord is form ed on the analogy of, for exam ple,
in xiii 48, from a root - ( is not found until A nacr., even
later) attested in eight places in the Iliad (with , xxiii 79), and in
xii 350, w here it describes a person w ho swallows mouthfuls of sea water;
this fits well with the m eaning at a m outhful, at one gulp > greedily (cf.
, a long draught taken at a single gulp , also attested from Anacr.
onwards). : adverbial; its sense reasonable, (intellectually)
sensible makes it an apt adv. with ofSa (it 231, v 9, xiv 433), but not with
, so that Leum ann m ay be correct in seeing this line ending as an
adaptation o f I t xv 207 ( Wrter, 166).
295- 304 . T h e story of Peirithoiis and the Centaurs is alluded to in passing in
I I i 2678 (on the formulaic features of this passage see
the interesting remarks o f Hoekstra, Modifications, 152); II. ii 743-4
. . . ; in II. xi 832 Cheiron is already described as ?
. T h ere is no idea as yet of the Centaurs as creatures half man,
h alf horse; but xxi 303 implies that they are thought of as not quite
hum an.
296 - 302 . T h e repeated word-play (5. . . . . . . . . , . .
) em phasizes the destructive m oral blindness caused by
(see xxi g in . on ?). In the Iliad the verb usually occurs in the
m iddle or passive, and is applied, as it is here in 301, to someone (who
m ay even be Zeus, as in II. xix 95, 113) w ho misleads him self or is misled
b y some unknown impulse, like A gam em non, O epeus, Diom edes, and

180
B O O K X X I 293-302

Patroclus; the sam e is the case in Od. iv 503, 509, on A jax, son of O ileus; in
II. xix 91, 129 " herself ; the sigm atic aor. is used of Zeus
m isleading m ankind in II. viii 237. B u t the Odyssey tends increasingly to use
the w ord in a m ore m odern sense (see H. Seiler, LfgrE i 9 -12 s.v. ), in
which the cause of the m oral blindness or m adness is, at least in part, some
more or less physical agent, such as sleep and friends (Odysseus in x 68),
wine and fate (Elpenor in xi 61), or wine alone as here in 296 (cf. -
, xxi 298), and also perhaps in 297 if D uentzer s intelligent conjecture
is accepted (the corruption in this case bein g psychological, due to the late
placing o f the w ord; otherwise w e are presented w ith the odd notion of the
Centaur, 6, m isleading his own understanding, ).
298 . : Eustathius , an attem pt to w ork in a reference to the
well-known story of Eurytions kidnapping o f Peirithos bride H ippo-
dam eia, is ingenious, but worthless.
299 - 304 . : i.e. the Lapiths. : anger . T h e end o f 299 is
identical to xviii 386; the geography of the palace is similar to that of
O dysseus (see the Introduction on , and xx 355 . on and
), is em phatic. A ntinous him self an d the rest of the suitors
have already spoken in xviii 83-7 and 1 1 5 -1 6 of the cruelty o f Echetus, who
was probably tyrant in Epirus across the straits from Ithaca (cf. 84, 115
}) and w hose name, he w ho holds prisoner, looks like a rem in
iscence of some cave troll or underground dem on (according to A poll, iv
1092-5, he tortured his own daughter, called M etope in other sources). In
the earlier passage A ntinous threatens Irus (xviii 85, .116 = xxi 308; end o f
xviii 86 = xxi 300) with the sam e frightful punishm ent at Echetus hands as
he here darkly intimates (xxi 305) m ay await O dysseus if he is not careful
(cf. xx 382-3, w here they also wanted to send him <r?); here w e are
told that the punishm ent was actually adm inistered to Eurytion, and later
w e see it inflicted on M elanthius (xxii 4 73 -7; the end o f 475 = xxi 300).
300 - 1 . , . . ? : we must distinguish betw een three similar verbs
(see J. Irigoin, LfgrE i 6067, s.v. ): first, with short first
vowel, w hich means collect (II. xxiv 165 , o f dung; v 482
, of leaves; ix 247 , of milk); second, , also
with short initial vowel, w hich m eans tear, rend (II. iii 359, vii 253
, of clothes); and last, , with long initial vowel, reap, mow,
cut . It is to this last verb that the present com pound with (in tmesis)
belongs, as do (II. xxiv 451, o f foliage), (Od. ix 135, of
harvest corn), an d (IL xviii 551, used intransitively). T h e use of
in II. xviii 34 to refer to so noble a hero as A chilles cutting his
own throat indicates that in these contexts the w ord carried no ironic or
bathetic overtones from its root m eaning o f m ow . : causal.
302 . : continuous, .w ent about (m aking an exhibition o f him self) ; the
-v, like that o f in xxi 301, is due to loss of digam m a in the following
possessive. : a frequentative form of *, carry , emphasizes
the continuous aspect; the six H om eric exam ples o f the w ord in the m iddle
voice show the usual developm ent from carry oneself > ride , while
COMM ENTARY

three out o f four examples in the active show a parallel developm ent from
carry > bear, put up w ith (xi 619 , vii 211 ; and the present
exam ple, w here the object is to be understood not as the itself, but its
consequences); the fourth (i 297 , behave childishly) could
be due to contam ination with *, have, as in viii 529 -
. T h e well-attested reading is unsatisfactory, even though
- (as opposed to the of m ost witnesses) is also found in
various texts o f Ps.-Hes. Sc. 93, including Stobaeus. T h e parallel is coincid
ental; here the corruption is due to the alliteration in a-, in the Hesiodic
passage it is caused by in the previous line. deoC-
: von der M h lls conjecture is based on H esych.
, , and
supported by A pollonius the Sophist; some gram marians propose reading
/ in Hes. Th. 502, and W ilam owitz w ould also read -
in Op. 315, 335, 646; H esychius also offers
, and A pollonius . T h e rem aining H om eric parallels (II.
xx 183, xxiii 603 ; Od. xv 470 , and the w hole of the
rest of the epic tradition; H esych. - , ) certainly betray a
derivative vowel-change, due either to dissimilation, or to contam ination
by aeaa, passed (the night) , I slept ( thus m eaning w ith
slum bering m ind; thoughtless) or by , blow (of w ind) (with the
m ind w andering on the breeze), or finally to the analogy of ,
, etc.; but at any event no less genuinely H om eric than
(see H. J. M ette, LfgrE, i 45, 182, s.v. , ,
and , ).
303 . : either masc. (referring to ) or neut. (because of all this); there
is a sim ilar am biguity in i 74, but in ii 27 the expression is clearly neut. T h e
end of the line appears also in I I xi 671. T h e excision of the line (see the
apparatus) leaves the syntax clearer.
304 . o i 8 5 : . . . , em phatic reflexive, a rare usage;
7, predicative. eupero : causal part.; ,
m iddle, underlines the self-destructive nature o f his madness.
305 . remote; to demonstrative, this bow (ofw hich we all know) , as in
xxi 113.
306 . : in fact, indeed , referring back to . is another
case where gender is hard to determ ine (cf. xxi 303.); either fern., you will
not get any kindness , or m asc., you will not get kindness from anyone,
with the usual gen. after such verbs, is a hapax; parallel forms (cf.
xxi 112) are confined to the Odyssey (A, xiv 82, xvii 451; , 369;
, viii 168), w ith the single exception o f , which is attested
twenty-nine times, twenty-one o f them in the form ulaic line
(fourteen occurrences in the Iliad, seven in the
Odyssey), five o f them in the line ending a (four in the
Iliad, one in the Odyssey), two in the phrase (II. xix 231,
320), and one on its own (Od. vi 250), but still in ^ - 4 w this has led to
some witnesses reading /? in the present line, with fern. . A less

182
B O O K X X I 302-311

probable solution is the reading , anything friendly, with masc.


reu, neut. gen. o f , caring, careful , possibly a psilotic form related
to hrta, look after, care for, which appears in xiii 332, xviii 128.
308 . T h e line has been condem ned as an interpolation dependent on xviii 85,
116 (cf. xxi 299-304^ , and see the testim ony of the M S S and the general
rem ark in von der M h ll s apparatus, as w ell as Blass, Interpolationen, 204);
but the mention of deportation in (see D . G ray, Arckaeologia G,
1 x7) requires a lative com plem ent (generally with !wi or ; see for exam ple
II. xxi 454, xx 383). T h e use o f d$ or s with a person, unusual in Attic, is
com m on in H om er (cf. iii 317, vi 176,327, xiv 127, x x 372, xxii 202, XXIV334;
and similarly xxii 99, 112, with ); the origin o f this usage m ay
be found in such expressions as es re p a , xvii 109.
309 . : you w ill escape unhurt , with abl. com plem ent evev.
309- 10 . | m v e : a sort of ring-com position, ending the speech
w here it began (see xxi 293310.; for the enjam bm ent cf. xiv 1678
j wive); , (do not run this risk,) but instead .
310 . m v re : the collocation o f re is rem arkable
(Denniston, Particles, 514; cf. cases such as II. v 359 S
) , the m ost prom ising o f the conjectures is a v , w hich supplies the neces
sary emphasis an d has parallels such as II. xiv 5 wive. T h e
concessive im per. wive nicely picks up the fact that they have ju st finished
eating; piSaive is durative, dont keep on quarrelling . -
: as in II. iv 316, the w ord is not sim ply comparative, w ith m en
w ho are younger than yo u (cf. xxi 179-80; the final exam ple of A ntinous
youthful petulance, since these are his last words), but also intensive, with
men who are still (comparatively) youn g ; for similar absolute uses cf.
(vi 133, xi 6 11, xvii 295) and (viii 324, xi 386, 434, xv
422, xxiii 166, xxiv 202).
311 - 53 . T h is passage has aroused heated discussion. First of all Penelope
intervenes (3 11 -19 , 321) to tell Antinous that it is wrong to insult one of
T elem achus guests (the argum ent is rather weak); not even the beggar can
be thinking, in his lowly estate, of w inning her as his wife, and so his motive
m ust be, at most, to test his strength hors concours, as it were. T o this
Eurym achus replies and that he should do so, rather than Antinous, is in
itself strange (cf. xxi 186-7), though the same thing has already happened
before in xvi 434 with the reasonable point that victory for the beggar
w ou ld reflect badly on the suitors (320-9). Penelope then repeats her
request, with a speech w hose ending is suspicious, for reasons to be
discussed below (330-42); to w hich T elem achus unexpectedly retorts, with
surprising rudeness, that the final decision about the bow lies with him,
and openly hum iliates his m other by telling her to take herself off to some
task m ore fitting for a w om an (343-53). It is difficult to resolve the
difficulties of all this b y piecem eal deletions (see the notes and apparatus on
334- 5 , 335, 343- 55 , 347, 350-3) Consequently, a num ber o f scholars
(most recently M erkelbach, Untersuchungen, 115; Ph. W . Harsh, Penelope
and O dysseus in Odyssey xix, A J P lxxi (1950), 1 - 2 1 ; Page, Odyssey, 128; for
COMMENTARY

opposing views see, for example, Erbse, Beitrge, 55-10 9 ; Eisenberger,


Studien, 252-72 . 49) have concluded that the passage is the work o f a late
editor who was here faced with conflating two different versions o f the
story: one in w hich O dysseus was recognized by Penelope after the death
o f the suitors, and another in w hich the recognition took place before. T h e
version we now possess presents us with the recognition scene in xxiii 1
296, a fine passage in which the only discordant notes are the late inter
polations in 96-165, and perhaps in the last lines; in this account, Penelope
is portrayed as finally learning the truth at the end of a story in which she
has played, up to that m om ent, only a marginal part. But in the hypo
thetical second version, of later date than xxiii, the recognition scene w ould
have taken place earlier, during the bathing of the w ound in xix 53 ff., at the
point in the text o f our M S S w here O dysseus asks for an old wom an such as
E urycleia to attend him (xix 343-8); and this w ould have been followed by
husband and wife together hatching the plot for vengeance. T his w ou ld
explain passages like xviii 158305, w hich w ou ld originally have com e after
B ook xix; there the queen behaves like a strumpet, as one critic has
described it, with her alluring make-up, dem and for gifts, and so on (and
her no less surprising dream , w hich is little less than m agical). Such
behaviour would be explained as part o f the same clever plan as the
proposal o f the contest; so w ou ld T elem achus public show o f hardness
towards his m other (reproaches in xx 12933; plans for her rem arriage in
xx 3 4 1-2 ; the auction5 in xxi 106-10, on which see n. ad loc.; etc.). A ll this
w ould also fit the account given by A m phim edon in H ades (xxiv 167-9),
w ho claim s that the trial o f the bow was all a cunning plan suggested to
Penelope by O dysseus. In that case xxi 3 12 -1 3 w ould be subtly Ironic, in
the best m anner o f the original poet; the irony w ould be heightened by the
intentional juxtaposition with fetVos In 314, and then in
334-6; 3 14 -1 9 w ould be an attempt to calm the fears of the suitors, lest
they oppose the beggars taking part in the contest; in 3 3 1-3 Penelope,
im prudently em boldened by the approach o f her m om ent of trium ph,
w ould give free rein to her bitterness. Lines 337-42 m ust be a clum sy and
extremely derivative interpolation, equally irrelevant in either version of
the story (for the problem s of these lines see the Introduction). A s for
T elem achus5 rem ark in 343-9, M erkelbach has even suggested em ending
the first words to , ( Untersuchungen, 9 . ): in the version
w hich has Penelope ignorant o f the real situation, they m ay have been
addressed to the suitors, w ho still oppose giving the bow to O dysseus.
T elem achus5 further rudeness to his m other in 350-3 w ould be designed
both to trick his enem ies and to get her out o f the w ay before the bloody
denouem ent (see Biichner, Penelopeszenen, 1545) W ehrli, however,
sees in these lines further evidence o f the tendency to give prom inence to
T elem achus (Penelope5, 234-5; cf 124.).
312 - 13. T h e end o f the first and beginning o f the second lines = xx 294-5
(Ctesippus5 sarcastic rem ark before throw ing the cows trotter). :
certainly5, as often. : the etym ology of the w ord is obscure;

184
B O O K X X I 311-519

bu t the prim ary m eaning seems to be trans., as here, disappoint,


frustrate ; cf. ii 90 and the five occurrences of the middle, be frustrated,
deprived o f (the doublet ix 42/549 and II. xi 705, xxiii 445, 834 -
. . . ), w here the active voice must probably be taken to m ean
deprive o f, as it does in x x 294, cited as a parallel above, w here has
been subsum ed in the preceding . . . , | . A mis
understanding o f this passage lies behind A pollonius use of the m iddle to
mean reproach (ii 566, 1199, i 99, 938; and cf. E M -
, as against the correct of Hesych.). O n
the ad sensum agreem ent of os with a pi. antecedent, cf. xxi 294.
314 . T h e question is rhetorical; the sense of neutral, as always
(expect, not hope). T h e ending is almost identical to xxiv 172.
315 . T h e alliteration o f / denotes, ironically in Penelope s case (on the
juxtaposition see the Introduction), a vehem ent and
trium phant state of m ind; note the inversion of the form ula , II.
107, with re introduced betw een the two (Hainsworth, Flexibility, 101).
It is difficult to decide between the readings and . T h e
perfect appears fourteen times in the Iliad and thirteen in the Odyssey; of
the latter, eight are trisyllabic, five o f them at the end of the line (cf. the line
endings , xvi 71, xxi 132; , vi 130; and '
7- , viii 181). T h e aor. appears seven times in the
Iliad, always at the end of the line ( , II. xi 235, xvii 48) except
in one case, w hich is precisely II. xxii 107 , and this one
exam ple from the Odyssey, also at the end of the line (cf. , xxi 369;
, xiii 143) O n the hiatus before , w hich is not
repeated in xxi 316, cf. xxi 302 .
316 . Cf. xxi 72.
317 . Penelope loads her speech with all the tones of deliberate sarcasm:
, not even ; , I suppose ; y e, at least . T h e line-ending is alm ost
identical to xx 328.
318 . : partitive, ye is sarcastic again, emphatic (let no one be
angry at the dinner table). T h e line-ending is identical to II v 869, xviii
461, xxiii 566.
319 . T h e H om eric exam ples o f louce (with its double hiatus due to
digam m a) all occur in precepts to do with ethical and social duties
(dowries, i 278, etc.; obeying one s elders, iii 357; political life, vi 60;
hospitality, xxii 196; in vi 193, xi 186, xiv 5 11, etc.) and prohibitions
(rude table-manners, iii 335, vii 159; setting oneself up against the gods, v
212; argum entative behaviour, viii 358). : there are a
good num ber o f exam ples o f the double negative, from II. xii 212, an exact
parallel to this case, nor is it in any w ay fitting , and the related expression
in v 212, in no w ay at all is it fitting , to other variations, all of them
curiously enough found in viii, such as 32 n s (nor anyone
either ), 17 6 -7 | (nor otherwise nor even a god),
and 280 n s j {no one could even see it, not
even one of the gods). T h e expression here looks two ways: it is not fitting

185
COMMENTARY

that the beggar should m arry a queen, bu t n either is it fitting that anyone
should show his b a d tem per at table.
320 - 9 . Cf. xxi 3 1 1 -5 3 0 .
321 . N ot counting various datives (cf, xxi 2), the form ula
, doubtless based on the o f II. v 412,
appears forty-one times (including xxi 3 11 , 330), besides the ,
1 o f xi 345 and two exam ples of in xx 134, xxi
381. In the voc., the nam e o f the nurse naturally forces the use o f the nom .
for voc. (xix 357), w hereas with the queen 's nam e and
are m etrically interchangeable. T h e M S S m ostly give the latter,
w hich led A llen to regularize its use in xvi 435, xviii 245, 285, and here; but
the papyrus and other witnesses to this passage do not support his reading.
V on der M h l! therefore prefers to read in every case.
322 . : adv., (not) at all. : volitive; and are object and
subject respectively o f . : these w ords m ay either
be taken parenthetically, as an affirmation o f xxi 319; or with the
im m ediately preceding idea, nor is it fitting (that w e should think so) .
323 . T h e apparent anacoluthon, which van der V alk sees as colloquial
( Textual Cnticism, 58; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 328), m ay be construed
adsensum: w e do not act like this because w e t h in k . . . but because we fear
the sham e (cf. xxi 72, som ewhat similar). Barnes conjecture w ould remove
the problem altogether. In either case the pi. part, m akes the papyrus
reading in xxi 322, with in the sing., im possible.
324 . t is : lest it happen that som eone , a construction dependent
on the idea o f fear w hich underlies the notion o f sham e (see m y rendering
o f a in the preceding note); the vowel in n s is m etrically
lengthened by follow ing digam m a. $ . . . ;
partitive, probably com parative in sense (the shame
being that som eone worse than oneself should criticize), as it is in
H ectors words in II xxii 106, on which this line is clearly based (cf. also II
xxii X05, w hich is closely paralleled by 323); the only other occurrence of
the word, in N ausicaas speech at vi 275, requires the intensive sense
(someone very w icked).
325 . : is sarcastic, so it seems ; , adverbial. T h e gen.
functions both as a term of com parison after and as a
possessive after . Both M enelaus (iv 333-4) and Penelope (xx 82)
break out with similar laments on this situation.
326 . : this rare contracted form with following hiatus is due to
diectasis of original to , from a verb in *~ be a
suitor (for the hand o f a w om an) . : this reading involves taking
the parataxis as w hat we should regard as a subordinate clause, throwing
into sharp relief: they are worse ... because they do n o t , . . ; the
two unacceptable variants given in the apparatus represent subsequent
attempts to norm alize the syntax, is used in the same sense as in xxi 322;
is present (are able to draw), unlike the form in xxi 92.
327 . A series of insulting epithets; the end o f the line, identical to xiii 333 and

186
B O O K X X I 319-335

xiv 122, shows the normal m eaning o f the perfect (who has arrived after
having w andered ; cf. h.Cer. 133 ) , whereas in xi 167
, xx 340 have intensive force ( (or he) am on m y
w anderings), as do the infs, in ii 370, xii 284; this has caused the
accentuation of the pres, to spread not only to these forms, , but
also to the three m asculine participles m entioned above, although Ptolem y
o f A scalon preferred the M S reading with the paroxytone accent.
328 . A lm ost identical to xxiv 177, w hich also has tmesis; and similar to xxi
97, 114, 127 Biotarevaeiv or re .
329 . : em phatic, for persons so im portant as u s. Eurym achus him self
showed his preoccupation about bequeathing , sham e5, to
posterity in xxi 255 (see n.). T h e optative implies an unspoken protasis: if
they were to speak of it5. T h e late reading is acceptable (see the
apparatus, and N ausicaas words in vi 285, , B veiBea
yvotro; the beginning o f this line is identical to II. xxii 108).
330 . Cf. xxi 32 m .
331 . cKXeas: original * ought to have given , but the
primitive representation of this as E Y K A E A C gave rise to this spelling with
m etrical lengthening (see Chantraine, Grammaire, i 10, 301).
carries the im plication the length and breadth of the city.
332 . T h e subject o f is the unspoken antecedent of ; , with
synaloepha (ignoring the digam m a in , c f xxi 211), reinforces the
causal sense of the relative, here means patrim ony, estate5; with
w e m ust supply the object (it5).
333 . T h e beginning of the line is identical to xxiv 460, II xv 489, xvii 203; the
epithet is applied to O dysseus only in these two lines of the Odyssey (xiv 218
refers to im aginary warriors; xxiv 86, to the A chaean heroes at T roy; vi 34,
xxi 153, 170, to the suitors; xv 28 . . . , to some of
them). In the rest o f the line there is a clear reference back to xxi 329;
is heavily em phatic, w hile is predicative (precisely these
criticisms5, w hen yo u have already incurred shame for other reasons); S',
so w hy, w h y then?5.
334- 5 . T h ese lines, in w hich Penelope tries to justify O dysseus5participation
in the contest by adducing the noble lineage w hich he him self claim ed in
xix 1801, are certainly unnecessary; they are lacking in one M S , and
inverted in another. Further d oubt is cast on them by the unusual
, w ell-built5, found only here in H om er, and furthermore in a
sentence with no m ain verb. T h e adj. is later attested in H ippocrates and
A pollonius; there are only four further instances of com pounds with the
second elem ent , o f w hich only (A. Th. 642) and
. (Nicander) are found in poetry.
334 . O n , see xxi 3 12 -1 3 0 .
335 . T h e oddity in this line is neither , boasts o f , typical in
genealogies, nor the internal acc. (cf. iv 63, xiv 199)1 but vto? at the
end o f the line, which is redundant after at the beginning (hence
the papyrus reads ). It seems to derive from Ii. xiv 113, which has the

187
COMMENTARY

sam e beginning but ends ; here there has been


a clum sy attem pt to adapt the phrase to the third person, involving the
insertion o f a word unnecessary to the sense, whereas in the line from the
Iliad fits well with . . . . Similarly, in the other
parallels, we find 199 . . . , boast o f being a
C retan (with no need for another verb), and iv 63 . . . ; note,
however, i 207 . . . .
336 - 42 . O n ly the first of these lines, which is identical to xxi 281 and repeats
the ending of xxi 112, is necessary; o f the rem ainder Stanford remarks,
am usingly though a trifle simplistically, that H om er is resting before he
soars to the height of his clim ax5, since they are sim ply a patchw ork o f
shreds from other contexts: 337 = II. i 212, and is alm ost identical to xvi
440, xix 487; 338, similar to 1x317, I t vii 154, with an ending identical to xxi
7, II. vii 81, xvi 725; 339, similar to xiv 341, 516, xv 338, and is a doublet of
xvi 79 (Telem achus, speaking o f Odysseus), xvfi 550 (Penelope, of the
same); the end of 340 = xiv 531; 341 copies xvi 80; and 342 = xvi 81, and
recalls xv 395.
336 . C f. xxi 112 m
338 . O n the festival of A pollo cf. xxi 257-62 n.
339 . D oub le acc. after a verb o f dressing; note the hiatus before the digam m a
o f .
340 . T h e anaphora of in this line and the next m ay reflect the fact that
the poet is trying to cram an extra reward, the , into the passage from
w hich this one is imitated, xvi 79-80. A s the text makes clear, the ,
here and in xiv 531 (cf. 336-42 n.), is a peacetim e w eapon useful for country
living; cf. xiii 225, where A thena disguises herself as a shepherd with
(cf. xxi 341) and , javelin . In xiv 225, however, are
weapons o f war. : applied to persons in the Iliad {II. xiv 485,
A cam as; xvii 100, Achilles; xviii 213, warriors in general), the word is
applied to weapons here and in Ps.-Hes. Sc. 128 (but in Sc. 29 it applies to
Heracles, and in H es. Th. 657 to Zeus).
34 t . $: the epithet, w hich occurs in three other places in H om er (xvi
80, II. x 256, II. xxi 118), belongs to the period w hen the sword ceased to be
used solely as a thrusting, piercing weapon, and began to be used as a
cutting, slashing one, a developm ent which m ade the double edge
necessary (see Lorim er, Monuments, 275 n. 2). :
four passages in the Iliad on sandals read '
, which implies some sort o f fastening in which the lace passed
un der the foot, perhaps through a slit in the sole (cf. xv 369, xviii 361
. . . or ; and later ), and som ething similar
is seen in II. xxiv 340 . . . T h e Odyssey has various formulas:
those in xvi 80 - . . , and xiv 23
, which do not mention any fastening, are perfectly
logical, and xvi 1545 , j .
also corresponds with the Iliadic examples; but this passage, w hich shows
confusion in the poets m ind betw een xvi 80 (cf. xxi 336-42 n.) and the

188
B O O K X X I 335-346

m entions o f fastenings, is illogical. Even m ore so is xiii 225, w here A thena


. . . .
342 . T h e ending o f this line (cf. xxi 276) is found six times in the Odyssey; viii
2045 S . . . ] . . . must be translated
w hom soever his feelings incite (to fight), let him . . . (the same beginning
of the line is com bined with in 395) which
O N olan, Doublets, 28 singles out as a rare and unnecessary metrical
equivalent o f the m ore usual formula); xxi 198 . is
equivalent to tell m e the w ay yo u r feelings drive yo u ; the rem aining four
examples, xiv 517, xv 339, xvi 81, and this passage, are com bined with
or followed by or , m eaning I will send (him) w hich
ever w ay his feelings drive him .
343- 53 . See the general note on xxi 3 1 1 -5 3 .
344 . A fter w e expect , bu t in xxi 350 w e have another
anacoluthon with . , partitive (cf. xxi 324); , gen. of com
parison.
345 . : (is) better qualified ; the following infinitives are
consecutive-final, governing , w hich is placed at the beginning for
emphasis.
346 - 7. T h e two follow n s in xxi 344, with agreem ent ad sensum (cf. xxi
294 .). T h e lines are unnecessary and one M S omits them, b u t this is
unsufficient reason to expunge them. T h is and other passages pose the
famous problem of the four islands: the catalogue of ships in 11. ii 62537
m entions troops from D ulichium and the Echinae or Echinades, w hich are
and whose leader is M eges, in contrast to the troops o f
Odysseus, lord of the Cephallenians w ho rule in Ithaca, Zacynthus, and
Samos. T h e doublets i 245-8/xvi 12 2 -5 mention: the inhabitants of the
islands o f D ulichium , Same, Zacynthus, and Ithaca; in xiii 237-49 it is
stated that the last of these is w ell known both to those w ho live
re and also to those w ho dwell rjepev ; in ix
217 w e read that Ithaca is and , w hile the
rem aining islands are situated ; and finally, the
poet here refers to the lords o f Ithaca (xxi 346 = i 247, xvi 124; xxi 347 is
sim ilar to i 245, xvi 122; is anastrophic) in contrast to the lords of the
isles which face Elis (, facing towards ; the loc. requires some
verb such as to be supplied; the ellipse w ould be removed by
the reading , w hich recalls xiii 240, I I ii 626, and the of
ix 23). T h e m odern place-nam es o f the region, as w ell as certain geo
graphical features, suggest that Ithaca is present-day Thiaki or Ithaki;
Sam os or Sam e is Kephallenia (where there was once a city called Same);
Zacynthus is obviously present-day %akynthos, w hich is indeed the only
one o f the islands which can clearly be said to face Elis; and D ulichium , if
its nam e is connected w ith , lon g, m ay be one of the Echinades
now called Makri. T h ere is, however, another w ell-known theory w hich
locates Ithaca in Leukas, the most northerly of the islands (considered as
part of the chain w hich runs N W -S E parallel to the coast of Acarnania: see

189
COMMENTARY

C auer, Homerkritik, 243); this theory tentatively identifies Samos or Same


as present-day Ithaki, and D ulichium which is described as
(xiv 335, xvi 396, xix 292) and 7ronjets (xvi 396) and accounts for fifty-two of
the suitors (xvi 247-51, against twenty-four from Same, twenty from
Zacynthus, and twelve from Ithaca), and w hich m ust therefore have been
quite large as modern Kephallenia. T h ere is even a third theory, based on
the Iliadic allusion to Odysseus as leader of the Cephallenians, w hich
proposes Kephallenia, which is indeed the most westerly of the isles, as the
hom eland of the hero, at least in a primitive stage o f the legend.
347 . In addition to the previous note, it m ay be relevant that the adj. -
is always applied to Argos except in iv 606 (Ithaca is suitable for rear
ing goats, not colts), II. iv 202 (Thessalian Trice), and this passage, which
m ay be com pared with II. xi 680-1, where Nestor talks of the horses reared
in his hom eland. Hoekstra m akes the interesting observation that although
appears to be a clear case o f original initial digam m a, nine o f the
eleven H om eric occurrences of the nam e ignore digam m a com pletely and
the other two do not definitely respect it: in this case the original m ay have
read , not (.Modifications, 46-7).
348 . 5 : will prevent m e ; the idea is phrased similarly
in several passages, such as II. xv 186 (iy and ); i 403 ( (of,
xxi 315) and )', II vii 197 (fy with )', II. xiii 572 ()
and ); and here, with a cognate verb and conditional .
349 . : only here in archaic poetry, the word produces an ugly and
unparalleled sound-clash with the following ; the uncom pounded
form only appears twice (xii 22, 350), in each case signifying once
and for all, with reference to death. T aken together with the m iddle
(consecutive-final inf.), the words im ply that the gift w ould be
perm anent.
350 - 3 . T h e lines are a well-known triplet, found also in II vi and Od. i: xxi
350 = II. vi 490/Od. i 356; 351 = II vi 491 /Od. i 357; 352 = II vi 492/Od. i
358 as far as the caesura, followed by , respectively for xxi
352 , and the rem ainder o f the line identical in both of the Odyssey
passages. H ectors words to A ndrom ache in the Iliad are obviously the
m ost ancient occurrence; from it the others derive, even though is
m ore m odem than, (see Hoekstra, Modifications, 58); in the present
passage, therefore, m ust be taken m etaphorically, not literally,
is striking, since what is referred to is not the bow or its handling, but a
decision about the contest; and the latter was, precisely, Penelopes idea.
m ust have ironic undertones, h alf hinting that the m en will
indeed have to w atch out for the bow before long, in quite another sense.
T h e passage in Od. i, on the other hand, was athetized long ago by
Aristarchus; its connection w ith the preceding passage, w here O dysseus is
included am ong the fallen at T ro y, is very weak, and is a sign o f its
derivative nature, since it w ould presuppose that Penelope was unable even
to speak; in xxi, however, even this w ord w ould be admissible (see the
papyrus reading, and von der M h lls suggestion), given that the speaker is

190
B O O K X X I 346-359

in league with his m other, or that he is attem pting to bam boozle the suitors
and needs to get the heroine out o f the w ay before the slaughter begins.
350 . 10 : em phatic. : i.e. , reflexive; the reference
is to the loom and the distaff, typical em blem s of w om en s work.
352 . : cf. xvii 227, xviii 363.
353 . T h e beginning o f the line appears in xi 353; here and in other passages
in the Odyssey, the demonstrative for is noteworthy (see Schwyzer,
Grammatik, ii 208); on the other hand, the hiatus before the digam m a of
is regular. T h is line is followed in som e M S S b y a different line, called
xxi 353a by von der M hll, w hich perhaps deserves consideration; it w ould
m ake a good substitute for 354, though the two cannot both stand. In the
Iliad the inceptive aor, {) is usually applied to shuddering at dis
agreeable or im portant scenes, but it is used twice { Ii iii 259, Priam before
the herald; xv 34, H era before Zeus) of a character s reaction to an
unnerving piece o f news, as it is in the passages o f the Odyssey where it
occurs (v 116, 171, C irce before H erm es, and O dysseus before Circe).
354- 8 . O n Penelope s sleep here, see the Introduction; in i, xvi, and xix her
slumbers seem less necessary, and her laments less fitting, than they do
here. , this tim e with hiatus, fits w ell with xxi 350 (on its meaning,
and the expression cy . . . , cf. xxi 5 .), as does with
xxi 343 *
354 . T h e same is experienced (the verb is inceptive once again) in the
face o f the supernatural (T elem achus and the omens, i 323; before Athena,
iii 372), of stunning news (the suitors, at T elem achus departure, iv 638), or
at m eeting someone unexpectedly, especially O dysseus him self (the
A eolidae, x 63; Telem achus, xvi 178; the suitors, xvii 367; the dead, xxiv
101; Dolius, xxiv 394). : the pluperfect marks the rapidity of
Penelopes reaction; she is gone before they realize it.
355 . ev0To: aor. for pluperf.; Penelope stores away her sons words to think
about later. T elem achus masterful w ay of speaking, w hich rem inds her of
Odysseus, is one o f the causes of her tears.
357 . ttit : 'for a while afterwards . : here h alf w ay between its
proper m eaning and a possessive. : until ; w ith hiatus before ot.
It seems unrealistic for Penelope to fall asleep at such a clim actic moment,
of course, but her slum ber is m ore than justified artistically by the
opportunity is gives for the beautiful scene o f her awakening at the
beginning o f xxiii; Fenik has pointed out the parallel with xiii 79-80, where
O dysseus falls into a no less unrealistic sleep, w hich cleverly prepares the
scene for his feigned drowsiness in 282, and his disbelief on waking in
324-6, w hich is paralleled by Penelope s {Studies, 162).
359- 91 . Suspicions about the authenticity of this passage are expressed in
the Introduction, apparatus, and note on xxi 360-78; T elem achus bold
and perem ptory words, for exam ple, contrast with the lack of respect for
him and his m en shown in xxi 3 6 1-4 . It is assum ed that the poet of the
original version presented the vengeance taking place w ithout the help of the
servants; but it looks as if the later poet found the idea of Telem achus

191
COMMENTARY

having to give the bow to O dysseus w ith his own hands unworthy. A t all
events, the passage fits w ell with xxi 234-5, where the disguised Odysseus
orders Eum aeus to bring him the bow, which was still lying where
Eurym achus put it dow n (xxi 246-7).
359 . O n the papyrus reading see the Introduction; this line breaks up the
usual formula (2 ^ 3 , as in 362), and inverts it, giving
2 ^ 4 ^ ^ (see Hainsworth, Flexibility, 95).
360 . T h e beginning of the line = xx 373; the end = xxi 367, xxii 211.
: A m phim edon uses the same verb of the scene in xxiv 173;
although the verb and its noun are alm ost always aspirated, the variant
at II. xx 365 and the unanim ous reading at
Ps. Hes. Sc. 341 show that the rough breathing is derivative (see Frisk,
G EW , on a possible etym ological link with Skt. ama-, strength), by
analogy with -, originally in cases where the booing and hissing was
done by a crowd (note also the reading a p a ; on the other hand pa,
consequently, as in other passages, is irreproachable). Nevertheless, the
clam our is not always collective: against this passage and xix 155 (the
suitors chide Penelope on discovering the trick of the tapestry), set xiv 35
(Eum aeus scolds his dogs) and xvii 189 (a master scolds his servants).
361 . = ii 324, iv 769, xvii 482, xx 375; the same ending in ii 331, vi 5 (describ
ing the Cyclops, the only occasion when the derogatory epithet is not
applied to the suitors), xvii 581, xxi 401; and almost the same ending in ii
266 ), iv 766 (. ), xxiii 31, and 11. iv
176. For the lengthening of (here each one) cf, xxi 324 . For the youth-
fulness of the suitors, cf. xxi 179 .
362 . trf) : sarcastic, but where on earth ; cf. x 281 (Herm es to O dysseus,
8, asking him w here he is going), xvii 219 (with identical beginning
and end, , where M elanthius asks Eum aeus where he is
taking the beggar). : the adj. is related to , which
is close in m eaning to , envy > deny (out o f envy) ; the suffix is
passive in sense, unenviable > m iserable, awful in II. ii 420 (a task,
punishment), xi 400, 407 (a wind), Hes. Th. 666 (battle); here and in xvii
the sense is cruelly ironic (unenviable > pitiful , like m ankind in h.Merc.
543); though one could also take it, in the case o f the swineherd, in an
active sense, unsparing > prodigal, m ad, and in the other H om eric
instances as p rodigal > unending, intense (cf. sch. II, ii 420
, ).
363 . : this verbal adj. from is found only here; in xii 61, xxiii
327 (absurdly) w e read of the , rocks w hich it is not certain are
w andering ; in xv 343, of the or w anderings o f Odysseus
(another hapax w hich is not found again until Nonnus). H ere there are
various possible translations: trickster, one who confuses (others) (for this
active sense, cf. ii 396, w here A thena , confuses the m inds of the
suitors); vagabond (and hence, as when applied to the floating corpses in
A . Pers. 277, w retched); w ith wandering wits > m ad (thus Glytae-
mestra, o f herself in A . Ag. 593; cf, II. iii 108 ', xviii 215

192
B O O K X X I 359-368

. . . () ; 327 M elantho considers O dysseus


). : , soon, not perhaps (cf. xxi 174);
, in your tu m , that is, in return , in paym ent for your effrontery (more
effective than the reading civ with fut. as an old sub}., despite
5 with opt. in II. i 305, Od. ii 76). : not merely locative,
bu t indicating Eum aeus low ly post (cf. Philoetius , xx 209); his
own dogs will devour him, not alive like Actaeon, but after his death,'w hen
his corpse lies unburied (cf. a sim ilar remark, this time about vultures, in
xxii 30; and about, dogs, II. i 4, etc.).
364 . Pathos is evoked by the loneliness of his body (cf. IL ix 437-8 ado
. . . [ 010s; xix 329 iov . . . ; xxii 39 avcvd" ; ix 192
otov ' ; xiv 45 1, the swineherd buys M esaulius out of his own
resources, , w here the gen. is not yet absolute,
); and also b y the ingratitude of his dogs
(Priam fears the same ingratitude in IL xxii 6 6 -71 uvej . . . ).
For A pollo s role, cf. xxi 338 n.
365 . : a un ique form, perf. subj. with - k - and ending in - on a root
inflexion, w hich corresponds to in h.Ap. 165, both with long initial
vowel, as in the im per. in iii 30, xvi 184, and various H om eric forms
such as (a secondary form with short vowel, however, is seen in
,, h.Hom. xix 48, xxi 5; , IL i 147; , IL ii 550, etc.).
T h e aspect o f the verb is quite clear: b e favoured by us ; the initial vowel,
perhaps m erely in spelling, has replaced a false diphthong *--
> dX- (though the em endation in H esychius s.v. dX- e r
? et is no longer acceptable, pace W ackem agel, Untersuchungen, 81); in
contrast, m ay derive from *-- (cf. H esych., ;
A eol. eXXdih) or from *-- (cf. IL i 583 ? <C *---).
: note the m etrical lengthening o f the first syllable, w hich is not
represented b y 77 - in order to highlight the negative prefix; this licence is
due to the fact that alm ost all cases o f the primitive pi. paradigm require a
long final syllable, giving ^ ^ w , w hich makes the usual lengthening of
the second syllable found in the sing., ^ ^ impossible.
366 . evi ): each verb has equal emphasis, he picked
up (the bow) and then set it dow n in the same place; can be used to
m ean sam e w ith or w ithout the article in Homer: cf. vii 55 , and
com pare II. vi 391 with xvi 138 , may
m ean land as opposed to sea (xvi 352, IL xvi 68); (geographical) place,
site (only in viii 573); or place, position , as here (cf. IL vi 516; and II. xvii
394, xxiii 349, Od. xxiii 186, all at the end o f the line).
367 . If this line is not an interpolation derived from xxi 360 (see the
apparatus), it describes accurately the slave s fear (cf. xvii 3223).
368 . T h e beginning o f the line is identical to xvi 43; the end reappears in xx
272, b u t w ith dyopevei. : for his part (cf. vii 130, xi 83, xvi
43, xxii 211). : pluperf.; the w ord is usually linked to a verb
o f uttering, to which it adds the notion of intelligibility (cf. ), as in
the well-known idiom peculiar to the Odyssey, re
COMM ENTARY

(v 400, vi 294, ix 473, xii 181), or II xxiv 703 (with ) and viii 305
(with iorjae). T h e present passage is an exception, as is another exam ple
o f the pluperf. in the final position in the line in II. xxiii 425, and the
unusual in 11 xiv 469; w hile II. xxii 34, in the same position,
follows . Syntactically, the piuperf. cannot be justified by the
explanation given for in xxi 354.; m orphologically, the three
occurrences in -et have been assimilated by some scholars to the form
(v) m entioned above; but it m ay be that this latter should in fact
be read w ithout the augm ent, , in which case the three
exam ples with the diphthongized ending are once again left unexplained.
369- 75 . T elem achus renew ed rudeness w ill not surprise Eum aeus after xxi
344 ff.; in the light o f w hat he knows of the situation, the slave m ust realize
that his masters implicit confession of im potence is designed to lull the
suitors into a sense of security. R am m in gs comments about the insecure
labour conditions o f slaves are therefore quite beside the point (Diener
schaft., 71).
369 . T h e hypocoristic voc. arra, dad; old boy (misunderstood by some
M SS; see the app.) is used by Achilles and M enelaus to address Phoenix
(11. ix 607, xvii 561 ), and six times including the present occa
sion by T elem achus as a pet-name for a fatherly old servant. --
: carry on bringing up the bow (now you have started) ,
o u k eu - : (cf. xxi 363) introduces a com plicated
construction, soon (you will find that) you will not do w ell to obey every
one [sc. if you pay attention to these others] . V on der M h ll and A llen
differ in their treatm ent of eu w hen it occurs in arsis: here and in xxi 242,
387, xxii 399, xxiv 362, where the adv. precedes the partic. o f in the
fourth foot, von der M h ll writes with hiatus, w hile A llen prefers the
diphthong; but in xxiv 271, in the same position before , both
editors print the form with hiatus. T h e alliteration recalls xvii 21
t and xxi 315, w here the com m on intrans. use of the aor.
provides a m odel for this unique intrans. use o f the fut. &, otherwise
unattested in G reek; the usage parallels factitive - (II. xxii 223) and
(IL x 129, xxiv 300), w hich occurs alongside num erous examples
o f () such as xxii 492, and one exam ple of (xxiii 369).
370 . w ith the subj. often introduces a threat (cf. II. i 26, etc.),
irep 4 : . . . rep m akes the partic. concessive;
is the result of a sem antic evolution, from an originally intensive
use o f the com parative suffix, of a w ord m eaning arm ed m an > young
m an (com pare II, lii 108 cuci ',
w here the com parative suffix is still intensive in force, with II. iv 324-5
, j , where it
is already almost com parative); the masc. comparat.. is found in xix 184, IL
ii 707, the masc. superb in II. ix 58, but the clearest evidence o f the loss of
any sem antic connection with is its use in the fern, superb in II. xiv
267, 275, Od. iii 465, vii 58, xi 283, xv 364; and its use in this passage, where
T elem achus m eans that he w ill prove stronger than Eum aeus despite being

194
B O O K X X I 368-374

younger than he. : the verb usually takes the ablative gen. with
( , IL v 763), (xvii 398, xx 343, 11. xvi 246, xvii lio ), or
without a prep. {IL xii 304); less com m only it takes the lative acc. of direc
tion in w hich the object is driven or place to w hich it is chased, as in IL xii
276, xv 681 (with ); both constructions are com bined in II. xxii 456
7tAios .
371 . ' : instr., (pelting) with stones . : cf. xxi 315 ,;
the endings of xxi 371, 373 are similar to those o f vi 6, xii 246, the suffix
carrying its proper comparative force, am better (than you); that is, I can
beat yo u .
372- 5 . O n T elem achus astute ploy in these lines (which some have been
bold enough to condemn) see the note above on xxi 369-75; the general
laughter with w hich they are greeted the last laugh these frivolous
youn g m en are destined to enjoy serves to relax the tension, as in
similar situations in IL i 599, ii 270. T h e lines are full of echoes, as we
shall see.
372- 3 . A remote or unfulfilled desire m ay be expressed by , or by an
optative introduced by (IL iv 313, vii 157, xi 670), a0e (IL xvi 722 at9'
ei/, os crjv, cf. infra), (here, and in IL
xiii 825), or w ithout a conjunction (xviii 79). . . . :
the hyperbaton is deliberate; the gen. depends on , which goes
with ; we must supply as m uch stronger (as I am com pared to
you) .
374 . H ere too (cf. xxi 369 .) von der M h ll and A llen differ, the form er print
ing (primitive instrumental) and the latter ; either w ay, the w ord is
demonstr., in that case , used to introduce an unfulfilled apodosis (xxiii 23,
xxiv 285) or the counterpoint to a remote wish, as in IL vii 158, xvi 723; here
with k followed b y a conditional opt.; cf. xxiv 30-2 d>s . . . j . . .
\ , and xxiv 376 -8 1, with an unfulfilled volitive inf., . . . [
. . . | . . . . (cf. xxi 363) expresses the speed
with which T elem achus w ould act if he were more robust.
the w ord appears twice elsewhere in H om er, at xxiii 23 and IL xvi 723, both
cited above; in every case it means w retchedly (cf. Soph, Phil. 166
', A poll, ii 244 ', the respective editors
Brunck and R uhnken restore the forms w ith - in both these two cases,
on the analogy o f at Od. iii 195, iv 672, A poll, i 616, iv 1267,
1651; , in Ps.-Hes. Sc. 264, A poll, iv 1065; , in Apoll,
iv 380; and , A poll, ii 374). In IL xvi 723, the disguised
A pollo tells H ector that if he were only stronger he w ou ld m ake him pay
dearly for his faintheartedness, k <e -
?. 5: sarcastic and threatening, someone (not far away) ; cf. xiii
394, 427, xxii 67. : the phrase usually (but not
always: in iv 8 M enelaus escorts H erm ione to her w edding, and in xiii.206.
som e king m ight have sent O dysseus home) implies ordering som eone to
leave against their will (in IL xviii 240 H era orders the sun to set ,
and again in xxiii 234 Penelope w ould have sent the supposedly indiscreet

195
COMMENTARY

slave girl packing ); here the suitors w ould have to leave


.
375 6. T h e end o f the first line is similar to xvi 134, and identical to xvii 499;
the end o f the second = xx 358.
377 . : occurs six times in the Odyssey, in the intrans. sense of
letting onself go5(iv 372); o f a physical state leaving5a person in the acc. (v
471); o f throw ing an object in the acc. (v 460); or o f relaxing, giving u p
one s anger, also in the acc. (i 77 -8 j . . . ; cf. IL i 283, xv 138
)\ or, as here, the same expression with the ablative gen. (cf.
xxi 126. on ).
378. : dat. of interest, against (the suggestion of) . :
demonstr. (cf. xxi 305). : continuous pres.; the aspect of the
verb em phasizes the notion o f his progress up the great hall (, the
length o f).
379 . : both verbs are emphasized: offered him (the bow)
and placed it in his hands5. T h e beginning o f the line appears also in IL
X529.
380 . = x ix 15; similar line-openings in xxii 436, IL v 427. T h e tmesis
em phasizes the idea o f calling the person out from w ithin present in the
prefix; cf. x 471, xxiv 1, II. xxiv 582, ii 400 (-). T h e swineherd, under
cover of the suitors laughter, carries out the order given at xxi 2356
through Eurycleia; unaw are that she has already recognized their master,
he m entions only Telem achus.
381 . O n the final words see xxi 321 n.
382- 5 . = xxi 236-9 (see the nn. ad loc.). T h e repetition of iv
pKai assumes an irony o f w hich Eum aeus is probably unaware.
386 . : this expression has been m uch discussed (see
J. Latacz, LfgrE, i 1 1 1 6 -1 7 , s.v. ), but the solution seems to be
quite simple: whereas ' , w inged words , are words w hich
are spoken and then reach the interlocutor, an avrepos is a thought
or em otion w hich is not openly articulated. In the four attestations of the
w ord in the Odyssey (in A . Ag. 276 is better understood, as
here, as an unspoken rum our , rather than a sound of beating w ings), it is
always a w om an w ho thus registers wordless surprise: Penelope, at her
son s speech, in xvii 57; Eurycleia, at T elem achus rudeness, at xix 29 (see
below); the nurse again in xxii 398, w hen Telem achus informs her that
O dysseus is calling for her, showing that there is no longer any need for
secrecy; and again here, w here she realizes that despite O dysseus order
that she should not disclose his identity to anyone (xix 486), T elem achus is
in full possession o f the facts. W e are not told what Eum aeus did after
speaking to the nurse. Som e M SS replace this line by another m ade up of
the beginning o f xix 100 (which, together with II. iii 260, xix 317, offers
) and the ending o fv iii 272, xvii 574.
387 . = xix 30, and parallels in xxii 399 (with for ^) and ii 400, xx
371 (ending only). Cf, xxi 369. on eu.
388- 91 . It is still not clear (cf. xxi 386 .) w hy the swineherd does not

196
B O O K X X I 374-390

accom pany Philoetius here; in order to close the door between the court
yard and the street (cf. xxi 240-1) the cowherd has not had to leave the
house as he did in xxi 188-91.
388 . T h ere is a strong reminiscence of 11 xxiv 572, w here Achilles
(without a prep.) ', there represents A chilles
anger, b ut here it corresponds to Philoetius discreet but rapid diligence.
O n see the Introduction.
389 . eucpK Cos ? : this line-ending is also found in xxii 449, 11. ix 472,
both in conjunction with ; cf. also xviii 102, 11. ix 476 ptdov
auAijs, and the description of O dysseus palace at xvii 266-8
Tpn, '' S | ^* , evepKe
\ .
390 . In the courtyard, as one m ight expect in a seafaring town, there lay a
rope from a ship curved at prow and p oop (the epithet , is
found twelve tim es in the Odyssey, always at the end o f the line; with veos in
vii 252, x 156, xii 368, xv 283, and always o f O dysseus ships except in xv
283, w here it refers to Telem achus vessel, and vi 264, vii 9, w here it refers to
the Phaeacians). In xiv 346, the com panions o f O dysseus tie him up
, the only other occurrence of VAov in this sense in the sing, in
H om er; in Hes. Op. 627 the w ord designates any piece of nautical equip
m ent. T h e rope is m ade o f papyrus fibre; the adj. is also used in
H dt. vii 25,36, viii 20, ix 1 1 5 ,1 2 1 , to describe the cables used for the Persian
bridges across the H ellespont, w hich were tc (four each, and
m ade in E gyp t according to vii 34) teai (two each, m ade in
Phoenicia); H dt. m entions the use of papyrus in the m anufacture o f ropes
(ii 38), sailcloth (ii 96), shoes (ii 37), and for calking (ii 96); on the Egyptian
plant cf. H dt. ii 92 (as a food), A . Suppl, 761; for its use in rolls for
writing, H dt. ii 100; in codex form, A . Supp. 947; books are m entioned
twenty-one tim es in H dt. A lth ough all these passages have an explicit or
im plicit connection with Egypt, and A . Pr. 811 describes the N ile flowing
down (the w ord , probably o f Egyptian
origin, is not found until the Hellenistic period), H dt. already talks of books
as som ething im ported from Phoenicia (v 58), and the usual explanation of
this fam ily o f words is that they derive from , a Phoenician city
originally called G ubla, later G ebal (Ezek. 27: g), which m ust have been
the interm ediate trading post for imports and exports of papyrus between
E gypt and Greece, either in its raw or processed state for both chandlery
and writing, from remote antiquity; see further L. J. Jeffrey, Companion,
556 -7 ; F. Eckstein, Archaeologta L 1,4 2 . T his etym ology w ould explain the
spelling - norm ally found in ancient texts, except in the M S of A . Pr.
811 and some H dt. witnesses, w hich already em ploy the com m on later
spelling . A nother im portant textual question is raised b y the
variant provided by P 120, an ostracon which has traces of an H om eric
glossary o f the third century b c ; next to this passage, which unfortunately is
dam aged at the crucial point, appear the words , followed
im m ediately b y a fr. from A ntim achus concerning A th en as fitting-out o f the

197
COMM ENTARY

Argo: ^ Aivois | , T h e passage must be


related to Athen. 513h (Susa is so called because in G reek is
another nam e for , lily); to the obscure fr. 12i w of Antim achus
(with H esych. o io o v . . . ); to A lex. Et. fr. 3, 21 Pow. (the touch o f a
barrel breaks the rope o f a w ell w hich is in bad condition . . .
1 ); and Lycophr. 21 (, hawsers). A ll this very strongly
suggests that the ostracon reading, despite being a lectio diffictlior which
avoids hiatus (and this latter point is weak, in view of the wide consensus in
favour of oirAov), is really no m ore than a ghost-word invented b y the
glossator and accepted, as far as w e know, b y no one except him; it receives
no support from A thenaeus passage, since lily-stalks are too fragile to be
used in rope-m aking (van der V alk, Textual Criticism, 82; Leum ann,
Wrter, 45). T h e origin of the corruption, according to Frisk in G E W , must
have been two scriptiones contimae in Horn.: b y
dittography > A I& O Y C H C O Y C O N , w rongly divided A W O Y C H
CO YCO N , with the dat. subsequently restored; and in Antim achus:
O IC O > A IN E O IC C O Y C A . W yss already gives in fr. 57
as a form w hich w ou ld have been incorrectly im itated by the Alexandrians.
391 .. -: the word corresponds to irri. . . in the orders given in
xxi 241; it seems likely, therefore, that it comes from the com pound verb
, otherwise unattested in H om er (it is not likely to be in tmesis at II.
v 729-30) but found in H dt., rather than from the verb used, for
exam ple, in iii 269, xiii 168, xxiii 17. es 6 rjev a u r s : apart from the
variant (frequent in the fifth foot), a peculiar alternative reading of
this line-ending is preserved in G alen 767, 10 k , w ho was perhaps quoting
from m em ory, (see F. K udlien, Ein unbekannter
Versschlu fr 391 , Philologus ci (1957), 324-5). is
found at the end o f 11 xii 121, 291, xiii 124 applied to the great bar which
closes the A chaean stockade, described in II. xii 4 5 5 -6 8
| , ' , w hich H ector smashes
with a rock at II. xii 460. W e find sim ilar bars or bolts in II. xxiv 446, 566,
closing A chilles camp, and II xxi 537, on one o f the gates o f T ro y; but
these arrangem ents have nothing to do with the one described in xxi 47,
though they do with the order given in xxi 241, w here mention is m ade o f a
w hich is none other than this bolt. W e also find the expression
$ in xxiv 166, w here it refers, as in xxi 47, to a store-room
w hich should have been locked from the outside, but w hich T elem achus
(despite A m ph im edon s account o f the matter) forgot to lock.
392 . = xxi 243; cf. xxi 177 .
393 - 5 . O dysseus m ore or less repeats the procedure used b y Eurym achus
(cf. xxi 245 ; xxi 246 ); but whereas the latter turned the
bow round and round to see if he could figure out its secret, and even tried
heating it, O dysseus exam ination is that of the skilled professional check
in g for dam age caused by long disuse.
393 . T h e variant attempts to elim inate the hiatus; the demonstr. refers, o f
course, to O dysseus himself.

198
B O O K X X I 390-399

394 . : another hapax; is used several times (vi 53,


306, vii 105, xvii 97) o f w om en w orking with the distaff; d . ,
haunt, range about in xvii 486, and , drive back and
forth, of horses, in II. viii 348.
395 . : lest , introducing a subordinate clause of fearing after wet
(cf. xxi 282), with oblique opt.; the pres, ehotev implies w ere eating it
(still). T h e line-ending appears in xiv 8,450, xvii 296 (something similar in
i 135, iii 77, xix 19, xxi 70); but the gen., w hich is gram m atically dependent
in the first and last of the passages and quasi-absolute in the other (cf. xxi
364), is here absolute, used tem porally; and , preceded by hiatus,
refers som ew hat awkwardly to the subject of the sentence. : acc.,
here only (nom. pi. in II. iv 109, xix 211); in every case it forms a Pyrrhic, for
which there are various explanations; either an archaic form w ithout the
suffix --; shortening before following vowel (since this is the case in all
three attestations, unless , a hapax which is not found again until
Theophrastus, had digam m a, w hich seems unlikely: see L. G il, Nombres de
insectos en griego antiguo (M adrid, 1959), 116); or elision of pi. () or
dual ,). T h e juxtaposition o f these two rare words has caused
problem s of transmission, as can be seen from the apparatus. It is not clear
w hat sort o f w orm is meant, or whether there is a species which attacks
horn; F . Eckstein is inclined to suppose that the bow was m ade of w ood,
with used m etaphorically (Arehaeologia L 1, 41 n. 287).
396 . ==viii 328, x 37, xiii 167, xviii 72, 400. : for the metrical
lengthening o f the last syllable and the -v see respectively xxi 3 6 m . and
xxi 248.
397- 400 . A n excellent passage, full o f delicate sarcasm: r t f ,' certainly some
sort o f ; ; , things as fine as this ; , even ; , this
chap at least ; and the two final words, heavily emphatic. A ll this will
becom e bitterly ironic in a m om ent, when it turns out that O dysseus is
indeed an expert connoisseur.
397 . : one w ho looks, knows how to look; connoisseur, here only in
antiquity; some prefer the m ore banal reading --, used five times in
the Iliad o f hunters (H .-G . B uchholz, G .J h ren s, and I. M auhl, Archae-
olagia J, 7 n. 43). : this line-ending recalls
//. XX 281, of A chilles ; , w ily, sly ,
appears also in xi 364 (of O dysseus) and xiii 291; it is perhaps worth
noticing the conjecture , not in the sense it is used four times in
the Iliad, but like viii 1634 (O dysseus looks like a m erchant . . .
j KepSoiv ) and H dt. iii 35 ( ).
398 . : possess, dat., followed by hiatus.
399 - : not with the m eaning it has in i 275, but desires , govern
ing the fut. inf. after a verb o f wishing as in II. xii 199, xiv 89. -
: to m ake (him self one) ; on as a term for craftmanship see
F. Eckstein, Arehaeologia L 1,6 . If the line is punctuated by a question mark
or colon after , the phrase beginning with , which is a
shortened version of xxi 393-4, will be an exclam ation (cf. II. xxi 441, for

199
COMMENTARY

example); if w e punctuate with a com m a, m ust be taken as roughly


equivalent to cm ou'rtus (cf. i 227, h 233, xxiv 194).
400 . : the w ord is found only twice in the Odyssey, and next in
L ycoph. 1321. In the other O dyssen exam ple, xx 379-80, the word is
scanned as a dactyl and used negatively; the positive sense w hich we can
deduce from the context, conversant with, expert in deeds and endowed
with strength , is w hat w e w ould expect from the etym ological link with
, completely, altogether : com pletely in control o f . H ere the word
is used sarcastically; the only thing O dysseus has m astered is evil , as
M elanthius has already said (xvii 226 ) and Eurym achus
has echoed (xviii 362).
401 . 0 : the lines w hich end w ith this w ord have already
been listed in xxi 361 n. T his line is identical to ii 331, but there is a strange
inconsistency in the editors treatment o f the two: von der M h ll here
retains the M S reading a v r , relegating Bentley s ingenious conjecture ad
(t - replacing digam m a) to the app., whereas A lien accepts ad; but in 331
von der M hll remarks rectius foret ad, whereas A llen reads \
402 - 3 . M a y this fellow be as successful (i.e, unsuccessful) henceforth as he is
about to be with the bow , an unkind expression sim ilar to such examples
as 11 iv 178 -8 1, xxi 428-31, xxii 4 1-4 3 ; Od, ix 523-5, xviii 235-42 (the latter
no longer sarcastic), which is here deeply ironic, since O dysseus is going to
be successful, , here only in Hom er, is later com m on in poetry; the.
gen., whose form is paralleled in H om er only by Adaio? in I i xxiv 655, is
norm al after verbs of obtaining. T h e postponem ent o f o v t o s w ould dis
appear in A g a rs conjecture, giving better syntax; but cf. xxii 169.
404 . T h e beginning of the line = xvii 488, similar to xx 384. T h e line-ending
, occurs in II. x 488; but this epithet for the hero,
which is so com m on in the Odyssey, has only occurred in this position in the
line once before in the Odyssey, in xxi 274. It occurs regularly from here
onwards in the last three books.
405 . T h is is the third mention o f O dysseus careful scrutiny o f the bow' (cf.
xxi 393~4> 400); since we have already been told that the bow is in good
condition, the emphasis seems largely pointless, and W oodhouse acutely
suggests that the repetition probably betrays traces of the ancient legend of
the W anderers H om ecom ing ( Composition, 100). occurs in
H om er only here and in xi 594 (Sisyphus lifts his rock); the hiatus before
is due to digam m a.
406- 9 . T h e poet introduces a simile from his own profession with the typical
ore, as w hen (cf. xxii 468, thrushes; xxiii 159, goldsmith; xxiii 233,
landfall dear to the sailor; xxiv 6, bats) followed by ? &p (cf. xxiii 162, 239;
cf. in xxii 471, xxiv 9).
406 . T h is is the only occurrence o f with the gen., as if it were a
substantive (cf. ? in I i ii 718, xi 710, xii 100); in other places it is used
absolutely (com petent, expert, iv 231, xiii 313, xiv 359, xxiii 185) or
with the inf. (ix 49, /. ii 6 11) or with som ething understood (iv 730).
: primitive (com m on in Horn, and h.Hom.: see for

200
B O O K X X I 399-411

exam ple xxi 430, xxii 332, 340, xxiii 133, 144) is more or less synonym ous
with (also common: see i 153, 159, viii 24S; note 11 xviii 569-70
. . . I ), (h.Merc, 423), and (h.Merc, 25, 153,
242). T h e instrument consisted of the , or top cross-piece to which the
strings were fastened (, 11 ix 187); the , lit. elbow, crook of
the arm , that is, two curved horns fastened to either end of the at the
top and jo in ed together at the bottom in the shape of an elbow by a sound
box to w hich the other end of the strings was fastened (eight occurrences in
Horn, and two in the h.Hom., but six of these in the anatom ical sense;
applied to the ? in h.Merc. 50; to a bow (see the Introduction to this
book), in xxi 419, II x i 375, xi 583, a connection w hich probably suggested
this simile to the m ind o f the poet); the strings, each called (only
here; cf. h.Merc, 51: the etym ology is doubtful, but if the w ord cam e from
*, related to L at. hernia or haru-spex, it would fit in with the fact (cf.
xxi 419) that the strings were m ade o f anim al gut) ; and finally the ,
another hapax o f debatable etym ology in which the m eaning peg5,(which is
turned to tighten the string, as with a m odem stringed instrument) has
probably supplanted an older m eaning found in certain passages, hum p,
fatty bulge on the neck of cattle (cf. perhaps Lat. callum)\ this m ight
suggest two possibilities for the semantic shift to p eg, nam ely rim o f the
to which the strings are fixed5 (the bovine metaphor), or alternatively
resin, glue (cf. ) used to hold the strings firm on the stretcher5.
407 . : gnom ic aor. T h e beginning o f the line occurs in xxi 328.
is difficult; T yrrell suggests , Duentzer (corruption due to confu
sion with the dat. ), A ga r (cf. vi 320, xvi 197). T h e M S reading
is defensible, however, if w e assume that the instrument itself is a new one
(so A m eis-H e n tze-C au er); or that the peg is new in the sense that it is
new 5 to the string being fitted to it (D. S, Barrett, Horner Odyssey xxi 406
Q5, CPh lxv (1970), 389); or, if w e stick with the idea o f glue5(though this is
difficult with -), that the glue has had to be replaced to fit the new string
, i.e. top and bottom , to stretcher and bridge, (non
chalantly5, as Stanford puts it) is the point of the comparison (W . Richter,
Archaeologia H, 59): there is a considerable difference between tightening
the fine string on a lyre and stretching, w ith equal ease, the thick, tough
bowstring ( ) o f a huge bow.
409 - 11 . T h e bow is readied for action in two stages. First it is braced, for
w hich the verb is or (23 times in this book); then the
tension o f the bowstring is checked. A t 410 Odysseus takes hold o f the
7 with his left hand and lightly twangs the with his right to feel
the tension; the note produced by the vibration in 411 is satisfying high and
sweet. T h e effort o f the draw does not com e until 419.
4 11 . : demonstr., referring to the . : adv.; used thus four
times in the Odyssey, always o f a m usical note (i 155, viii 266, x 277, xix 519);
in II i 473, xviii 570 the usage is less clear, since m ay be an adj. with
and ; in the latter passage we read otto aeiSe, but the
syntax of (tmesis, or adv. with (musical accom panim ent)5) differs from

201
COMMENTARY

that o f the present phrase, w here the word m eans under (his hand)',
: the line-ending is alm ost identical to xxii 240,
but the o f that passage, (to look at) before one , read b y some
witnesses here, does not fit. It seems excessively fanciful to see a connec
tion, as Austin, Archery, does, between this simile o f the swallow and pas
sages about the spring (xviii 367, xxii 301, the nightingale o fxix 518), and to
argue on that basis that O dysseus return symbolizes the end of winters
gloom and m elancholy; w e m ay say, simply, that the simile implies the
sam e animistic tendency to endow inanim ate objects with life as w e saw in
the simile in xxi 48. T h e false diphthong in ei' is probably due
(Leum ann, Wrter, 306 n. 76) to a metrical lengthening o f keAo?, which
appears elsewhere with short initial vowel in the zero grade *- (on II. xi
282 and Od. xi 207, w here there is no hiatus as there is here, see Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 129).
412 - 15 . V on der M h ll considers these lines spurious, on the grounds that
the suitors fear is premature; even in xxii 3 1 -2 they continue to think that
Antinous m ay have been killed by accident (P. von der M hll, Einige
Interpretationen in berhm ten Stellen der OdysseePhilologus lxxxix
( 1 934)> 391-6). T h e second author (see the Introduction to this book) is
fond o f these divine interventions.
412 . W e find com bined with in the sam e position in the line in
II. xii 392, xvi 508, 581. T h e w ords range of meanings is very wide (see E.-
. M . Voigt, LfgrE, i 1774-8, s.v, ): it denotes any unpleasant state o f
m ind, from fear (as here; cf. G oth, agis), shame (II. ix 249) to anger (II xx
298), nostalgia (iv 108), sadness (iv 716), remorse (xxii 345), or Laertes
m isery when he thinks that O dysseus is dead (xxiv 315).
412 - 13 . F o r the suitors sudden pallor cf. xxii 42 (the same
expression appears in xii 243, xxiv 450, 5 3 3 ,11. xvii 67, 143, 633), and II. xii
284, xvii 733 or ; the same idea is expressed by the
otherwise unparalleled words in 11. iii 35, and in
0^ x1529.
413 . kt Litre: the only occurrence in the Odyssey o f this aor., which appears
four times in the Iliad, together with three exam ples o f - (amongst
the latter, II. vii 479, also in conjunction with ); o f the Iliadic
occurrences o f , II. vifi 75 is followed two lines later by yA. 8., II. xvii
595 has , and II. xv 377 , which m ay have been
the origin o f the variant reading recorded in the app. ( * does not
exist, but does, used strangely enough to refer to O dysseus
w ay o f speaking in Triphiodorus 118). T h e line-ending occurs in 11. ii 353,
ix 236 (both with ), and II. iv 381 (cf. another thunderbolt from
Zeus in xx 103, 113).
414 . = xiii 353. T h e very com m on final form ula is found preceded by
in vii 329, viii 199, xiii 250, xviii 281, xxiv504-
415 . p d 01: the same phrase is found at the beginning o f xiv 527; p a , as
he expected . Note the description o f Zeus as son o f Cronos o f the twisted
counsels (cf. , xxi 102, xxii 51, xxiv 472); the gen. ,

202
B O O K X X I 411-425

always at the end o f the line and scanned with synizesis, occurs seven times
in the Iliad', , in the sam e position, in II. xi 482 and five occa
sions in the Odyssey (cf. xxii 115, 202, 281); the voc., used of Zeus by Athena,
in xiii 293. T h e diaeresis in (see xxi 95, 320; in contrast, nais occurs
fourteen times) is due to original *, Att. mis, w ithout the suffix, and
Lat. pau-cus, with a different one.
416 . O n fifteen occasions in the Odyssey the editors write 0 for the nom . of the
relative pronoun, which could only have replaced os in viii 271 (before )
and xxi 145 (before ; seeth eap p .); in 1300, xiv3, and in the present line,
the M S S (and, in the case o f xiv 3, secondary witnesses) read ?, which
gives rise to an im possible cretic. It was Aristarchus who restored the
correct form in i 300, with hiatus before original *-; and Bentley w ho
em ended the present line. T h e following oi is an ethic dat.: the arrow is the
one laid aside by Eurym achus, but the table is not necessarily the one
which was placed at O dysseus5 side in xx 259.
417 . T h e use of for oi is due to metrical considerations. O n the quiver see
the Introduction to this book.
418 . T h e narrators biting hostility to the suitors recalls the remarks m ade in
xx 392- 4
419 - 23 . For remarks on , , , the stance taken up on the
, and the difficult phrase . . . see the Intro
duction to this book.
419 . : there is constant fluctuation between augm ented and
unaugm ented forms of this verb.
421 . T h e beginning of the line = xxiv 181; similar phrases in xxi 48 (see the
n.), xxii 118, 266.
422 . is split in this w ay on two other occasions, II xi 377, xvii 309;
the unusual tmesis of an adv. m ay here be explained b y its derivation from
the verb , pierce , but this explanation w ill not do for the other two
occurrences.
423 . io s : the same line-opening is found in II xv 465; -
, heavy bronze (-tipped)5, is applied to a spear in xi 532, xxii 259, 276,
IL xxii 328; to a helm et in II. x i 96. T h is is the first occurrence in this book
of , w hich will appear seven times in xxii; has been used up to
this m om ent in xxi 12, 60, 98, 173, 416, 420, and reappears three times in
xxii, and once again for the last tim e in xxiv 178.
424 . 0: clearly demonstr., this stranger ; the conjecture recorded in the app.
is therefore unnecessary, has the usual lengthening of -t before -.
: the verb is attested only twice in H om er, with a slightly different
but related m eaning in each case: in IL ix 522 Phoenix opines that Achilles
is going to insult the messengers, whereas here O dysseus is not going to
' sham e his protector. ou: its position makes this word emphatic.
425 . $ : the nom . part, appears eleven times in the Odyssey, always in
the first position in the line. In Od. xv 392 it refers to O dysseus sitting in the
anim al fold; in Ithaca, xvii 158; in the palace, xviii 224, xix 322 (cf. xxi 100);
the im plication is either sitting idle (which w ould shame Telem achus) or

203
COM M ENTARY

'seated here (in the place w hich befits him) . It is followed b y a verb in the
l. pers. sing., and by another demonstr. , this target (which is so
difficult), which gives an acceptable text (cf. app.).
426 . T h e adv. - goes with : I did not tire m yself out trying to draw
the bow for a long tim e, i.e, drew it straight aw ay (cf. in xxi 150).
T h e line-ending is identical to II. v 254, and similar to phrases in xix 493,
xxii 226; it recalls O dysseus words in xxi 2814.
427 . T h e line has been thought to be an interpolation corresponding to the
insults o f xx 376-9, but there is no reason to excise it: the syntax is elliptical,
but can be paralleled by such lines as xxiv 199, they will celebrate
Penelope in song, not like Clytaem estra (of w hom they will sing that she)
behaved evilly . H ere the sense is: I still have m y strength, not as (they
say when) they insult m e . Both cases are signs of late composition,
: occurs on only three other occasions in the Odyssey
(which has led to a variant here), each time with a different construction:
com plain about som ething with the gen. (v 379), criticize som ething
with the acc. (viii 239), and com plain that with o n (xvii 378). T h e preced
in g part, recalls xxi 99 (Andnous hum iliates Odysseus) and xxi 332 (the
suitors dishonour the hero s table).
428 - 30 . Excellent lines, full of sarcasm (cf. xxiii 133-6, 1437): next comes
the entertainm ent. T h e meals of the last two days can be traced back quite
satisfactorily: on the previous day M elanthius took goats to the palace for
the , lunch (xvii 214), which is seen taking place in xvii 170
(&$), 176, 269 (Sat); O dysseus partakes twice, when Tele-
m achus gives him food in xvii 359 () and then when the others
give him a share in xvii 506 (eSetWci); nightfall overtakes them as they
enjoy the entertainments after the m eal (xvii 606), b y w hich tim e m eat is
already being roasted for supper (xviii 44 m ). T h e dishes which
reward O dysseus discomfiture of Irus (xviii 118 -2 1) are clearly part o f this
supper; the suitors rise from the table in xviii 428. Penelope is concerned
that O dysseus lunches next day with Telem achus (xix 321 Befavoio); the
dawn rises in xx 91, and the w om an who grinds the corn expresses the wish
that this lunch be the suitors last (xx 119 ^. M elanthius
brings fresh goats (xx 174 -5 = xvii 2 13 -14 ) and the begins (xx 390),
but is soon followed by the ironic remark that the is to be a grim
one (xx 392-4), A ll this fits the schem e proposed by G . Bruns (Archaeologia
Q> 57- 9)j in w hich (xvi 2, II xxiv 124) is.equivalent to breakfast,
(iv 786, vii 166, viii 395, IL viii 503, ix 88, xxiv 2,444,601) is supper ,
the last m eal o f the day, and v is either lunch (taken a few hours after
breakfast) , as in these passages and x 578, xxiii 158, or a large breakfast
taken early before a heavy task (battle in II, 381, w oodcutting in IL xi 86).
In Od. xvii 599 T elem achus allows Eum aeus to leave, but only SeteAnjaa?:
this has been taken to refer to an afternoon snack taken between
and , but a more likely m eaning is having passed the afternoon
(here) , since the swineherd shortly afterwards joins the others for the enter
tainm ent after (6o2).

204
B O O K X X I 425-433

428 . Cf. xiv 407 vvv 8 ; but this construction is m ore primitive:
(this is) an opportunity to (prepare) , also*. T h e reduplicated aor. inf.
from has an unexplained unaspirated consonant (cf. xxi
48,421 , com pared to , if this word is derived from *rt-
-*-.). In the act. the w ord is applied to serving-girls and governs
Seiwvov in xv 77, 94; in the m iddle we find twelve examples, governing
(xii 283,307, xiv 408, and here), , or Sewrvov (XX390). It seems
likely that warriors of travellers w ould prepare their own meals (middle of
interest), b u t in the, last of the passages quoted the suitors w ou ld order
others to cook the food for them (factitive middle), and that is a possible
interpretation here (it is tim e for the Achaeans to order their dinner, i.e. to
dine ; see Hoekstra, Epic Verse, 71-2 ); an alternative and ironic inter
pretation m ight be it is time for you and I to prepare dinner for the
A chaeans, bu t this active use o f the m iddle w ould be unprecedented.
429 . 4v : possibly w hile there is still light, but m ore probably oxy
m oron is intended: this is to be an extraordinary dinner, taking place as it
does in the daytim e . : distension of this verb is found,
also at the end of the line, in xvii 530 , and the verb is found in
com pounds with - (xix 331, 370) and - (xix 372). Its etym ology is
unclear. H esych. ' , , and are
no help at all. F or the aspirate, not found in Attic, see W ackernagel, Unter
suchungen, 46-7.
430 . T h e beginning and end o f the line is almost identical to i 152 (see
K . Lehrs, De Aristarchi, 139). F or m usic at banquets see viii 99, xvii 270-1.
431 - 4 . T h ere are some problem s, bu t they do not am ount to a case for the
excision o f these beautiful closing lines, w hose high proportion of dactyls
(five, four, five, four) hurry us swiftly on to the stunning effect of xxii 1.
431 . For cf. xxi 118; on the gesture of nodding with the eyebrows , xxi
129. T h e tmesis . . . appears also in xvii 330, the com pound
verb in II. xv 73, xxii 314. : (of a helmet) in II. x
271 is the only other attestation o f the com pound, but in tmesis
is used o f a hero girding on a swordbelt over the right shoulder (viii 416; cf.
. . . in ii 3, iv 308, xx 123), or the strap of his shield (xxii 122, It. x
149, xv 479). In xxi 118 T elem achus . . . , threw back (not off :
see the note ad loc.) his , the same verb in tmesis being used in xxi
119 to denote his unbuckling o f the sword which he now girds on again (cf.
xiv 528, w here O dysseus . . . ).
432 . = xv 63, 554, xx 283, etc.; the line-ending also in xxi 74, 189, and the
whole line apart from the first proper nam e in xxiv 151. A ll these similar
ities have led to the line being declared spurious, the demonstr. < 5 S, and
the other, of the previous line being sufficient on its own.
433 . T h is appears to be the only exam ple of used to m ean grasp
ing a spear w ith the hand (, possessive); the verb is found, without
tmesis, in four passages of the Odyssey (xvii 344, xxiii 192; m iddle, vii 178,
xxii 103, see note ad loc., and two o f the Iliad. T elem achus leaves his spear
leaning against a colum n in xvii 29, picks it up in xx 127, carries it out with

205
COMMENTARY

him into the street in xx 145, and has it by him when he returns (as he has
done in xx 257) in xx 306. has hiatus before and after the final -t. T h e
line-ending is paralleled in II. xvii 10 and ii 417, which does not support the
conjecture m entioned in the next note.
434 . T h e book ends with a grave textual problem : according to the text,
T elem achus is standing (on the presence or absence o f an augm ent in
4 see the app, and cf. xxi 418; the papyrus reading is doubtful) by his
seat (see xxi 139.) at his father s side (). B u t afflom
(a form ula applied to warriors nine times in the Iliad) is difficult:
not until xxii 10 1-3 does the boy announce that he is going to fetch a
shield, two spears and a helmet to put on (), and
only in xxii 113 does he actually do so. Y e t the phrase cannot refer to
O dysseus, who remains near the door, not , until xxii 99. A
good solution is provided by Protodikos suggestion (cf. II
xvi 802 k . s xxii 125) ^ in 18, xi 43 S ).
T h e w hole phrase would then explain the preceding one: Telem achus was
able to grasp his bronze-tipped spear (xxi 433) because it was standing
next to him (avrov) by his chair ; it is not necessary to change S in 433,
supported b y the parallels in II. xvii 10 and ii 417, to , since the causal
link can ju st as well be expressed by simple juxtaposition. Otherwise we
m ust accept H oekstras theory of an involuntary m etonom y due to the
clum sy adaptation of an ancient formula to a m odern passage (Modifica
tions, 113 -14 ).

206
B O O K X X I I: I N T R O D U C T I O N

The more ancient passages of the book are not lacking in literary
quality, but its overall structure is unsatisfactory. This is because the
primitive version of the myth presupposed a much simpler denoue
ment: the shooting down by arrows of the defenceless suitors in the
megaron. Once the poet (doubtless A ) decided to round off Odysseus
home-coming with an Iliadic-style spear battle, however, the plot ran
into numerous contradictions. Nor was the poet able to give the story
the twist of suspense, partly because the narrow stage on which his
characters fight leaves little room for an exciting battle.
The storyline is further muddied by an attempt, this time attribut
able to poet B , to make a place in the plot for secondaiy characters
who had no part in the original action: Eumaeus and Philoetius on
one side and Melanthius on the other.
The taut and intense beauty of the opening lines on the death of
Antinous, who fails to guess the true identity of Odysseus, is main
tained more or less down to 98. Even so, there is a first problem in
23-5, which may be interpolated (with or without 22): the terror of
the suitors at this killing is premature, if they really believe it to be an
accident. But it could be argued that they have, nevertheless, an
instinctive foreboding of impending danger. O r the passage might be
a la te addition like 99-125, connected to xvi 281-98 and xix 1-52,
and intended, like these, to introduce an interesting subplot. As for
31-3, they may be authentic (despite Aristarchus censorious frown,
and the strange ), precisely because they portray the suitors
overcoming the panic of 23-5 by convincing themselves that the
beggar is not, after all, as dangerous as they supposed.
The narrative continues skilfully as far as 98, although with occa
sional signs of possible interpolation (37 may be a sign of the later
poets constant obsession with the sexual conduct of the slavegirls;
43, a line taken from the Iliad, again overplays the suitors fears, when
they still think a deal is on the cards). The deaths of Eurymachus and
Amphinomus, the first killed by an arrow from Odysseus and the
second by a spearthrust from Telemachus, are as good as anything in
Homer; the objection which has been raised against Telemachus
exultant leap in 80 is irrelevant.
However, the text becomes more problematic in 99-125, a passage
full of oddities. It is natural that Telemachus should be worried about
207
BO O K X XII

getting another spear for himseif; less so that he should also think
about doing so for the slaves. It may be, therefore, that 103-4 are late.
Nor are we told whether or not he closed the door of the storeroom.
Since it is Telemachus himself who has taken the initiative, line 108 (a
doublet of xix 14) is out of place here. In top, is an odd word for
arms hidden only the day before. There is a further allusion to the
slaves, again with the stamp of later composition, in 11415. And
finally, the sordid content hardly lends much glamour to Odysseus
warlike shaking of his crest in 124.
Meanwhile, the pace of the narrative has accelerated alarmingly:
even before arming, the hero has killed a large but unspecified
number of suitors (118), in order to reduce their enormous numerical
superiority of one hundred (xvi 247-51) to the more manageable
number of twelve (see the note on xxii 241).
Next follows the long and difficult digression on Melanthius (126-
202). Although pedantically fussy in topographical details, 126-30
are necessary for the sense of the passage; 134, however, is an
unnecessary repetition of 78. Melanthius, besides being very evil,
would have to be extraordinarily clever to guess that the men who
had taken away the weapons were Odysseus and Telemachus (140-
1), and then to work out where they had taken them. Besides, how
could a single man carry twelve complete suits of armour, each
consisting of shield, spear, and helmet (144-5)? W hy did the crafty
goatherd distribute his load so unevenly, leaving only one helmet and
a rusty old shield for his second trip (184-5)? Simply, we must
suppose, to give his enemies a chance to capture him.
No less incredible is Telemachus feat of detection in 157-9, when
he immediately suspects Melanthius. Furthermore, he orders
Eumaeus to lock the door, which is by then quite beside the point.
We meet fresh improbabilities in 171-7. The punishment of the
goatherd is necessary, perhaps, but hardly urgent; here it becomes a
pressing obsession. Odysseus instructions, though rather disjointed
(there is no need, however, to expunge 175-7 in face of 192-3), leave
no doubt how the punishment and, more importantly, immobil
ization of Melanthius is to be carried out. There is no need to
condemn 174, if we take to mean an ordinary plank, not the
leaf of a door.
It seems admissible to remove the unnecessary 191; 192-3,
however, look like genuine formulaic repetition. On the other hand,.
i95~9 have attracted suspicion by their high literary style, which
makes them stand out in an otherwise mediocre passage. All this
brings to an end the episodes of the arming of the hero and his party,

208
IN TR O D U CTIO N

the counter-arming of his opponents, and the coda of Melanthius'


punishment: together, they occupy no less than 102 lines, a dis
proportionate length in terms of the scale of the book.
In 205-40, the author of the later reworking of the poem shows
himself to have been a fluent but somewhat incoherent storyteller.
The intervention of AthenaMentor, and the simile (or meta
morphosis?) of the swallow, call for a number of comments, most of
which are discussed in the notes on the passage. Line 223 slightly
disturbs the syntax, and 238 has the anomalous viov.
By contrast, 241-96 are a good example of Iliadic poetry. The only
difficulties are to be found in the opening lines (I favour the solution
of reordering 244-5 between 241 and 242), and the obviously
spurious doublet 2579. There is no reason to condemn the beautiful
verses at 285-91; nor should suspicion fall upon 296 because
Leocritus falls forward. However, the late poets hand is evident in
the two similes in 297-309; the first (299-301) is pretty enough, but
imitated from xviii 367; the second (302-6) is frankly a mess. Further
more, it is illogical for Athena to brandish the aegis against a couple
of almost defenceless warriors, Leodes, and perhaps Eurynomus:
such overkill seems to suit the late poet's fondness for magical inter
ventions by the goddess.
The remainder of the book, as remarked in the notes, deals with
the suitors subordinates and accomplices: the priest (who is allowed
no reprieve because he prayed for Odysseus' death), the bard and the
herald (one saved by his craft, the other made sympathetic by his
comic terror), the maidservants (constant preoccupation of the late
poet, they suffer an awful death), and of course Melanthius, whose
cruel mutilation is inspired by religious superstitions (474-7 may,
indeed, be due to an even later interpolation).
This whole section falls clearly into two parts. The first (310-408) is
of fairly high literary quality. However, 319 is an almost exact repeti
tion of iv 695; it is absurd for Odysseus to suppose that Leodes, too,
entertained the idea of slipping between the sheets with Penelope
(324). Line 329 comes from Iliad x; 341 upset Blass; and Telemachus
joke in 395-6 has been supposed to be unsuitable to the tragedy of
the situation. The accumulation of similes such as the fishes and the
lion (384-8, 402-5), unparalleled in any other book of the Odyssey,
has also occasioned unfavourable remarks.
The second section (40977) cannot be said to be of the same
calibre. The execution of the slavegirls, with the clumsy simile of the
birds in 468-70, presents the commentator with several knotty
problems. For instance, the humanitarian phrase in 414-16 is
209
B O O K X XII

evidently out of tune with the ethical views of poet A ; 422-3 present
textual difficulties which are hardly resolved even by the suggestion
adopted in the note; the memory of Telemachus youth in 425-7
(lines omitted by a papyrus) sounds out of place in the mouth of the
over-talkative Eurycleia; and 442, repeated in 459, is clearly spurious.
The close of the book (478-501) may be counted amongst the most
perfect passages in the Odyssey, and prepares us for the beautiful
opening of the following book.

To conclude, I add some notes on the layout of Odysseus palace


which may help to clarify the setting of the action in this book, and of
the last four books in general. In its main lines, the following explana
tion is based on Figure 9 (taken from Lorimers Monuments). In
relation to the sketch already given in xxi 141 n. above, the chief dif
ferences are the position of the and (C and D in
Pocock (Figure 8 above), A and B in Lorimers more convincing
reconstruction, next to the store-rooms).
1. In xxii 2 we first encounter the ? which separates the feast-
hall from the courtyard (2 in Pocock, D in Lorimer). By this
threshold Odysseus stands through almost the entire end of the
poems. Its epithet as does not mean that it was either particularly
high or narrow. There are further : one leads to the two store
rooms mentioned (which may, in fact, be one and the same room),
others are used by Penelope (xxi 43) and Melanthius (xxii 182) to
enter, and yet another leads to the apartments of the queen and her
slavewomen (B in Pocock, E - G in Lorimer; xvii 575, xx 128, xxiii 88).
Odysseus threshold is ?, stone in xvii 575, xx 258; in
xviii 33, xxii 72 (in xvii 339 Brard conjectures for ), all
of which could refer to polished (stone). The threshold of the store
room is a simpler, wooden affair (xxi 43 8, see n.), while
Penelopes is again described as Adivos (xxiii 88).
2. In xxii 109 Telemachus makes for the (compare nn. on
xxi 5, 8-9), a term which signifies any room with a door: the rulers
own bedroom (i 425), Penelopes bedroom (iv 718) or that of the
slavegirls (xxiii 41), and various allusions to store-rooms which may
or may not all refer, as noted above, to the same room that is,
Odysseus great treasury (ii 337 ), the room where the
weapons are stored (xvi 285 , xix 17, xxiv 166, and the present
line), the room where Penelopes robes are kept (xix 256), and the
room from which she brings out the axes (xxi 8, 42).
3. In xxii 120-1 Odysseus lays down the bow
210
IN TR O D U CTIO N

F i g u r e 9. Plan o f the palace (Lorimer, Odyssean Essays, 18, fig. 2)

and . The word


has various meanings: in i 333 and xxi 64 it refers to the
central pillar of the hall, but in iv 838, xxi 45, xxii 181 to the door
post of, respectively, Penelopes bedroom, the store-room where the
axes are kept, and the store-room where Odysseus hid the weapons.
Here it refers to the door-post of the main entrance into the hall from
the courtyard; in xvii 340 this is described as .
In xxi 137 and 164 aavieoatv must refer to one or other of the two
leaves of the door against which Telemachus and Leodes lean the
bow; in xxii 257-8 and 274-5 one spear lands in the door while
another hits the door-post. In the passage under discussion here,

211
B O O K XXII

Odysseus could have stood the bow upright in the crack between the
door-post and the inturned door, but he prefers to leave it further out
of reach of the suitors, leaning it against the brick-built outside wall
in the courtyard. In II viii 435 (Olympus) and Od. iv 42 (the palace of
Menelaus), chariots are parked $ ; in II xiii
261 the same location is presented as an inappropriate place for
Idomeneus to display his Trojan trophies. As for the epithet
, this is the only phrase where it is applied to part of a
building. It has been suggested that it refers to walls whitewashed
against the weather, which in sunlight would form a brilliant contrast
with the indoors (the latter phrase is attested seven
times in the Odyssey, for instance in xxiii 299).
4. For xxii I26ff. one may consult the diagram in Lorimer, where A
is the , B the , A - C the , and C the way which
leads to the latter from the great hall door into the courtyard. It was
important that the doorways of the store-rooms should not overlap
the , which was much used by servants.
The diagram assumes that the whole house was built on one level
with the exception of Penelopes bedroom with its reached
by the steps at F (recall our n. on xxi 5). The words (xxii
132), (xxii 143), and (xxii 142) do not imply a
climb upwards, but simply movement from the end of the great hall
towards the street, perhaps at most up a gentle slope.
The is an opening in the wall separating the great hall
from the . The word appears three times in the book, and else
where only in the doubtful fragment 17 w of Semonides. The
commonly accepted etymology (related to tail, oppos Tump,
, , etc.) clearly indicates a back door. Less
convincing etymologies, in our view, are those which connect
the word with the root of and with other words such as
(an epithet of Ares in Anacreon fr. 48 p which may carry
some idea of exultation: cf. ,
, Hesych.); or with guardian (four times in the Iliad, and
at Odyssey iii 411, xv 89), an hypothesis influenced by the well-known
sentry on the roof at the beginning of Aeschylus Agamemnon. The
latter, however, was posted on the roof only as a special measure, to
watch for the distant signal-beacon. Both these etymologies would
lead us back to a palace built on several floors, and would make
Melanthius task even harder, with dangerous acrobatics up and
down steps.
Agelaus proposes that someone escape through the into
the , and thence into the courtyard to shout for help. But it is

212
IN TR O D U CTIO N

impossible to use this route, because Odysseus has ordered Eumaeus


to take up position as close as he can to the exit from the at the
end of the , at a spot which also sports a pair of viSes (xxii
128; cf. xxi 137 .); though these, unbeknown to the suitor, are open
so that Eumaeus can spy through them to keep watch.
For his part, Melanthius guesses that Odysseus and Telemachus
have carried off the weapons which he spots missing from their usual
hanging-place on the walls of the great hall, and plans to get through
the , not to the , but into the . Here he finds the
open store-room which Telemachus has forgotten to lock, and
returns through the again with the weapons.
Odysseus, who has missed Melanthius5 exit in the darkness and
confusion of the crowded hall, is disheartened to see the suitors
arming themselves, and jum ps to the conclusion that some traitor
has given the key to the goatherd, until Telemachus confesses his
mistake. Eumaeus then enters by the or the and
catches Melanthius by surprise on his second sally; he returns to
Odysseus for orders, and then goes back to the store-room with
Philoetius.
5. The two examples of in xxii 128 and 137 are unique in
Homer. The word is fairly common later (and compare Mount
, with its mine-shafts; Hesych.
7 , and SO on).
6. In 143 we find the hapax opening, crack, narrow
passage5, related to ', compare steep, abrupt5 (ix
359, x 514, xiii 98); broken5 (E, I T 262); Mod. Gr.
corridor5. It seems impossible to interpret the word as skylights5or
high windows (later called 07717, see Ar. J7 317 etc.); this would take
us back to the theory of a palace on several floors.
7. In xxii i8off. Melanthius finds the store-room stripped almost
bare by his own and Telemachus5 incursions, and has to spend some
time searching about in its far corners. This gives Eumaeus and
Philoetius, who have crept in through the and , to take
up their position on the threshold of the store-room, where they are
to pounce upon him.
8. In xxii 239, Athenas flight upwards as a swallow calls for some
comment. The preposition neatly captures the sudden upward
movement (cf. xxii 176., and in 240) towards her perch
in the topmost nook of the roof-beam (compare viii 279, where
Hephaestus hangs his net from a roof-beam, ; or xi 273,
where Epicasta hangs herself from one; the eagle in Penelopes
dream at xix 544 perches just like the swallow here), just under the

213
B O O K XXII

ceiling, which in 298 is referred to by the word , here only in


Homer but found later in Herodotus (cf. , of a 'thatch3 of
reeds in II xxiv 451). O n the epithet , see xxii 120-1 n. on
the smoke-shadowy darkness of the feast hall, which made it neces
sary to light (see the introduction to Book xxi, and xxi
17 6-246 n.); hence Deroy deduced an original form *,
related to Latin niger, which later changed to by analogy
with ; and original *, meaning skylight (from the
same root as * > high ; the first letter of
beam would be derivative) which later changed to
by analogy with , because of the blackening of the
beams by smoke (in this connection, note that in xix 7-9 it is feared
that weapons left in the hall may become oxidized). To all this we
may add that the original and primary meaning of is
connected to the flash (cf. ) of lightning (Hes. Th. 72, 504, 854),
and then to the blackened soot of carbonization {II xviii 23, Od. xxiv
316); only later, and by transference, at IL ii 415 and in this line, to a
smoke-blackened roof.
9. The door mentioned in xxii 394 is the one which leads, directly
or not, from the hall to the womens quarters. This door has been
closed in xxi 387 following the orders given in xxi 236, as Eurycleia
relates in xxiii 42. It is unlikely that this is one of the doors alluded to
in xxii 76, 91; the suitors never think of trying to escape through it.
O n the contrary, it is quite clear that in xxi 237-9 another exit from
the womens quarters is referred to, one which leads to the courtyard
and which they are not to use; this, too, would lead only to another
locked door (xxi 391), the one to the street.
The location of this door in 394 is unclear; it may be in the wall
opposite the . It is locked from the inside; Telemachus does
not have the key and cannot open it using the leather thong (see xxi
6n.), so that he must knock at it not by beating on it with the
knuckles as we would today (compare or ,
in Attic texts), but by shaking the door-knob, exactly as in II. ix 583
. Eurycleia slips out quietly so as not to raise
the suspicions of the slavegirls and send them running through the
door into the courtyard; the two of them then lash the door shut by
tying the thong to the door-knob to prevent the women from follow
ing them, and go back out into the great hall.
10. O n in xxii 400, it has been suggested that what is
meant is that Telemachus guides Eurycleia in the sense of leading
her a roundabout way through the . But the verb is used in all
sorts of ways in the Odyssey: of guiding a person who genuinely does
214
IN T R O D U CTIO N

not know the way, certainly (iii 386, vi 261, viii 4,421, xxiv 225), and of
the supernatural guidance of a god (vii 30, ix 142, x 141),but also of
Eurynome lighting the couple to their own bed with a torch (xxiii
293), and of Telemachus marching at the head of a party while his
father brings up the rear (xxiv 155, with a line-ending identical to that
of xxii 400).
n . The etymology of , roundhouse, vaulted rotunda in xxii
442 is obscure;, it is probably related to , a ladys round-
brimmed (perhaps conical) hat (Theoc. xv 39). The word was
feminine in Classical Greek (PI. Ap. 32c), masculine in Hellenistic;
here in xxii 442, 458 the gender cannot be deduced, while in 466 is is
uncertain whether agrees with or with (
in the Odyssey is sometimes masc., viii 66,473, xix 38, but more often
fem., i 53, xxii 176, 193; i 127, xvii 29, xiii 90 are doubtful, since
is in the final foot). However, is nowhere else qualified
by the epithet , but always by or . At all events,
(which does not occur in the Iliad) is never used of colonnades,
but only of the pillar of a store-room (xxii 176, 193), or of the tall
columns of the house in general (xix 38), or of two of the columns in
the great hall in particular: the one by the entrance where the visitor
courteously leaves his spear as a sign of peace (Telemachus, at xvii
29; cf. also xv 282, xvi 40; in i 127 Athena stands her weapon in the
spear-rack or , where, incidentally, it remains forgotten
when the goddess changes into a bird and disappears at i 320), and
the great central pillar by which Odysseus seats himself in silence
facing Penelope (xxiii 90).
If we accept, therefore, that in 466 agrees with , the
latter will have been a large, well-built orifice; this raises several
difficulties in the execution of the slavegirls. The roundhouse will
have been very close to the perimeter wall of the courtyard, since the
girls huddle close (see 441-7 n.) between the two (xxii 460). The rope
must have been tied, then, to one of the columns of the or
, or less probably of the . T he only other explana
tion is Roberts: that the rope was not lashed over the top of a conical
roof, but wound round the entire 0dAos some six feet above ground
level and secured by a knot, hitched up at intervals over the project
ing capitals, and then decorated with the grim frieze of girls hung by
the neck in the gaps between each column.
If we imagine a gap of a yard and a half between each column, the
circumference of eighteen yards would give us a diameter of roughly
six yards; and this would require an uncommonly high dome. It
would be anachronistic to adduce the parallel of the twenty-column

215
B O O K X X II

0Aos of Delphi, or the roundhouse of the prytaneis in the Athenian


agora, each some 18 metres in diameter. But some light is shed on
our problem by archaeological finds whose use was more enigmatic,
such as the strange circular buildings in Smyrna, the small conical
models of roundhouses in Attic tombs, some Corinthian terracotta
figurines, and others from Egypt, for example: were these store
houses for precious objects such as ceramics (as the scholia suggest),
or dovecotes, or ovens, or granaries?
12. The in xxii 442 (cf. xxi 191, 240, 389; xxii 137, 376, 442,
449) 459) 474) 494) is the great courtyard in which the Aos and
other outbuildings are situated. The owSos atiAeioy of i 104 is the one
between this courtyard and the street outside; the is
surrounded by a perimeter wall called, in the description of
Amyntors palace, (II. ix 476), whereas in Od. xxii 442,
459 the word used is . The general description of the
palace in xvii mentions some . . . evepKes, firm safe doors
(xvii 267), and the same adjective is applied to an with the
meaning well-enclosed in II ix 472, Od. xxi 389, xxii 449.
13. There is some doubt about the etymology of in xxii
449; related to , it was probably a place where fire could be lit
rather than, as the scholia have it, a place lit by the rays of the sun.
Its distinguishing feature is a sort of colonnaded verandah or porch;
running along two sides of the courtyard wall, or perhaps on either
side of the street gate, it provided a shelter from sun and rain.
There is an at Pherae (iii 493, probably spurious, and xv
191, where the chariot which has been parked in the courtyard for the
night drives out by the street gate past, or through, the porch). In
Sparta (iv 297, xv 146), Pylos (iii 399), and Scheria (vii 336, 345, and
less strikingly viii 57), the is used as a place for distinguished
guests to sleep a somewhat uncomfortable one, to judge by the
epithet , echoing (iii 493, vii 345), so called no doubt
because it was opposite the megaron, on the wall adjacent to the noisy
street.
There is also one mention of the in Amyntors palace (II.
ix 472 ), and five of the one in Odysseus
(xviii 101-2, where Irus is dragged from the to the
and . . . , the latter presumably the great street-gates
flanked by the porch; xx 175, 189, where the goats and the ox are left
tied up another passage incompatible with
the old interpretation of the word as guest-room; xxi 390, as a store
for old tackle; and xxii 449, where it is used as a place to pile the
corpses, as being the place furthest from the great hall and therefore
216
IN T R O D U C T I O N

least likely to stink the place out). Note that in xxiii 49 Eurycleia
speaks of the corpses being piled e-775 ^ -, next to the
main street gate.
In this connection, we should recall what was said about th
: their presence excludes the possibility of an
running along the outside of the front wall of the megaron. That is
correct; chariots should not have to negotiate the whole courtyard
before being parked. Besides, in all the mentions of the threshold by
which Odysseus spends so much time, there is never a word about a
porch overhead.
14. T he in xxii 474 must be a synonym for the
, a word not used at all in these two books, but which forms
part of Menelaus palace (iv 302, xv 5), of Eumaeus sheepfold (xiv 5),
and of an imaginary building (xv 466). This may be
identified in xx 1,143 with the vestibule shown in Lorimers diagram
more or less adjoining the threshold which separates hall and court
yard, where Odysseus spends the night. In xxii 474 Melanthius is
dragged along the just like Irus to the , and thence to
the . But may also be used in another sense, of the
space by the street-gate, as in i 103-4, 1 19 (recall the avXeios
quoted above). Lastly, it is worth noting that in xviii 3856 Odysseus
threatens Eurymachus that if, when the master of the house returns,
he tries to escape out of the palace {) through the , he
will find the which now are so fine and broad all of a
sudden too narrow.

217
B O O K X XI I : C O M M E N T A R Y

1. : ablatival gen. w ithout preposition. In the description of


O dysseus clothes from xiii 434 onwards the poet constantly uses the
doublet . . . TjS , a sort of hendiadys for his
beggar s costum e (a poor, ragged tunic ; cf. xiv 342, in the course o f a false
story). In vi 178, too, the hero asks N ausicaa for a (cf. the synonym
in xiii 399, xx 206). T h e description o f the rags is expressed in
various ways: by (xiv 349, in the course of the same story), (xiv
512, xviii 67, 74, xix 507, xxi 221, on which see n.), A . . . (xvi
457, xvii 203, 338, 573), or, from xiv 132 and when referring to the decent
clothes which the hero asks for and obtains, re
(cf. the probably spurious xiv 154 and xxi 39 . . . ., ); so
xiv 320, etc. (except in xvi 173 - - - ? ). H ere
O dysseus takes off his for the fight, but in 488 he has put them on
again, ] the scholiast explains this as m eaning that
the hero does not strip com pletely, thereby preserving decency as w ell as
the coherence of the text (van der Valk, Textual Criticism, 121). T h e
form ulaic epithet 77 appeared in xxi 274, 404, and is to be found
again in xxii 34,60, 320, 371, 390, xxiii 247, as well as in the form ula in xxii
105 (see n. below).
2. T h e final vowel o f is lengthened before following -; the first w ord m ay
also be read as an unaugm ented form, .
3. O n see the n. on xxi 423. : note the variant , on
the analogy o f the m etrically secure hapax in xvii 467; a similar
em endation could b e suggested for the in xviii 119, xx 26, but
there are four exam ples of , am ongst them xxi 78. O dysseus drops
the arrows from his quiver (cf. xxi 41718, and the Introduction to Book
xxi) so as to be free to make his shot m ore comfortably, appears six
tim es in the preceding book (cf. xxi 423 .), once with the epithet (cf.
83; 11 v 395, xi 478 ; on and see . on xxi
138, 148,165), w hich corresponds to ? here and in xxiv 178, the ending
of w hich repeats these lines, as well as II. xxi 492 . . . on
A rtem is arrows spilling from her quiver onto the ground. T h is is the first o f
m any Iliadic rem iniscences w hich fill this book.
4. First hemistich = II. xvi 472. : adv. (c f xxi 40, 239, 385). T h e
second hemistich is related to xxi 151, which betrays the routine form ulaic
use of , since O dysseus is not properly speaking am ongst them .
5- 7 . A large part o f the effectiveness o f these lines (c f infra) lies in the fact that
the suitors cannot be aware o f w hat is really going forward (Erbse, Beitrge,
38 . 94).
5. O n (which is preceded by hiatus and shortening o f the vowel of )

218
BO O K XXII -g

and the irony of -ros on O dysseus lips see xxi 91 n.; the perf. -
is here full of significance (the game is well and truly over), but has a
different sense in xxiii 54.
6- 7 . T h e syntax o f these lines is open to various interpretations: (a) I will
know, i.e. hit another target, if m y aim is true and A pollo grants m y prayer
(see n. on 7); (b) shall know, with regard to another target, w hether I shall
hit the m ark and w hether A pollo will grant . . (acc. of respect; cf. the
sim ilar construction in xiv 3656, know, with regard to m y return, that
. . indirect questions, b u t cf. 7 . below); (c) shall look for ()
another target, to' see if b y chance I hit and A pollo grants . . (for this
m eaning of cf. II. xxi 335 j xx*v 462; XV 504 8
, 213 eiW rai; this usage implies a following acc. of direc
tion, b u t cf. w ith gen. in xxii 89, and in xxiv 524; for the
im plied indirect question in (to see) if I can h it, cf. II.
V243).
6. F or , shot at, with the acc. see the passage at II. vii 242-3 alluded to
in the preceding note ( ).
7. , |: for this ending of the subj. cf. xxi 348; is supported
by a papyrus against the com m oner . R arer still is the itacistic
. T h e line is a close echo of Penelope s prophetic words in xxi 338 (see
the notes on xxi 257-62 and 336-42); this parallel supports the first of the
alternative interpretations given in the note on 6 -7 above.
8. For 17, he said , from *g-t, see xxi 118 and 431. T h e w ord is com m only
used in this type of phrase w ith another verb: H e spoke, and (accordingly;
or, nevertheless) did (something) (cf. ii 321, xxi 118, 431, xxii 236, xxiii
366); variations of the schem e are frequently found ( he spoke, and then did
.. for exam ple in v 28, vi 198, xv 539, xvii 396, xviii 356, xix 96; or with a
change of subject, he spoke, and then someone or something else did . .
for exam ple in II. xiv 475, A jax/the fear of the others, II. xxiv 643, Priam /
Achilles; similarly, with a change to a previously m entioned subject, for
exam ple in iii 337 pa , oi ', xxii 292, I i vi 390 17 pa
, o 8 . . . '). : the verb occurs in
H om er only here and in v 270 (O dysseus steers the raft with the rudder);
for the metrical constraints which confine the word t o ---- 4 w ^ see
Hoekstra, Modifications, 106. T h e line-ending occurs ten
times in the Iliad, besides in xxii 206.
9 . T h e demonstrative use of d has already been seen in xxii 1. It is perfectly
logical that A ntinous should be drinking, since, although we have been
told nothing of this, the suitors are now em barked on the
announced in xxi 428 (see n. ad loc.). : was on the point o f,
pointing the ironic contrast between A ntinous easy nonchalance and his
im m inent fate. M a n y com m entators adduce the proverb
, theres m any a slip betwixt cup and lip ,
: raise to his lips ; cf. xxi 261, II. xi 637 (Nestor easily raises,
, the great cup), and II. xvi 8, 10 (, pick up a child in one s
arm s). T h e future is normal after in H om er (see K . Lehrs, De

219
COMMENTARY

Arisiarchi studiis Homencis (Leipzig, 18823, 120-1). : etym o


logically, probably a substrate w ord for a small cup, usually of delicately-
crafted gold as here and in the two Iliadic and seven O dyssean occurrences
(see further G . M icknat, LfgrE, i 465-6, and Frisk, G E W ).
10. : the adj. is a hapax, o f a relatively late kind of formation (see
A . di Luzio, LfgrE, i 703, and the n. on 475 below). It clearly means a two-
handled cup of a well-known M ycenean type, but its synonyms are
com plex: iii 63 Scm ij is described ten lines earlier as
, but as 8 in 41, and 8 in 46 and 51. T h e
sam e is true here: dAetoov in 9 is the same cup as 8 in 17. A s for the
adj. I0v, w hich appears eight times in the Iliad and seven in the
Odyssey, including the passage m entioned above and also xxii 86
(Eurym achus 8erras .), it is clearly related etym ologically to the
noun (Lat. cpa, etc., perhaps M yc. ky.-pe-ra in U e 611, 1; see
Frisk, G E W , A . di L uzio, LfgrE, i 679), which occurs five times in each of
the two poems, again with a num ber o f synonyms (the 8
o f X X 153 are called in XX 253; II. xxiv 285 8 is the
sam e as the in 305); again, the prefix - m ay indicate a two-
handled cup, though some scholars believe it refers to a kind o f double cup
form ed o f two bowls jo in ed on a single base, and whose use is a mystery ;
see further Hoekstra s com m ents on the metrical constraints operating on
its form ulaic use (Modifications, 94 n. 2). , :
= ending o f xxi 245 (see n. ad loc.). T h e verb occurs in xxi 400, and also in
xxi 272, but there with the very different m eaning of share out (the wine) ;
here it describes A ntin ous action as he appreciatively swirls the wine
round the brim m ing cup before drinking. A s rem arked in the Introduction
to xxi, the heros calm behaviour hardly accords with the tense atmosphere
o f the dangerous com petition taking place in the feast-hall around
him .
1 1 - 12. : optative of indirect speech, and partitive gen.
T h ere is hiatus due to digamma before both and oL T h e ju x ta
position o f oi'voio and , a (possible) violent death , is purposely
ironic. T h e pluperf. < *-~-, here m eaning w orried , is
found in II. xxi 516; the perf. in II xix 343, () five times in
the Iliad and three in the Odyssey.
12- 14 . Rhetorical questions expecting negative answers are very rare in
H om ers narrative; com pare II. xxii 202-4 (whereas the exam ple of
N estor s speech in iii 1 1 3 -1 4 is different). T h e m eaning, dem anded b y the
em phatic reflex, of, is: W h o at a banquet with m any friends w ould ever
expect a single adversary, how ever strong he m ight be, to court his own
death (by taking them all on single-handed, to his own certain defeat)?
T here are similar expressions in xvi 88-9 . . . . . .
\
8 , 313 eva
, and above all ii 2445 8 J
S a iri (compare, however, xxii 138). T h e ending of 13 is
very sim ilar to viii 139. U n derlying the lines is the still im plicit idea that the

220
B O O K X X II 9-19

suitors have failed to grasp the true import o f O dysseus words in 57


(see n.).
14 . : the phrase, w hich is paralleled
in II. xxi 66, is an adaptation of the com m on line-ending .
, of w hich there are four examples in the Odyssey (for exam ple, xxiv
127), b y the insertion of the epithet (O Nolan, Doublets, 2337, esP-
29). O n other occasions the formula is varied by substituting with
a verb (xxii 66, xxiv 414); the variant is due to psychological con
fusion with lines such as ii 165 and II 134
.
15 . 8 : strongly adversative. : after taking
aim at his throat ; ? occurs four times in the Iliad, once (xviii 34) in
the same metrical position in the line; the m eaning of , have a go at,
attack (note the occurrence in tmesis in xxii 75), in the m iddle voice
extends to aim at , like (cf. xxi 421, and the Introduction to that
Book). : also in II, viii 303, xiii 586.
16 . T h is line is om itted in a secondary witness (Ps.-Plu. Vit. Horn, ii 82), and
is directly m odelled on 11 xvii 49 (death of Euphorbus), II xxii 327 (death
o f Hector); the ending occurs in II. v 16, 67, xvi 478, and the
noun itself is found thirteen times in the Iliad and once m ore in the
Odyssey (xix 453), always at the end of the line except in 11. xxi 60. In all
these passages except I I xiii 251 (an im aginary arrow), the w ord refers to
the heavy tip o f a spear; here, therefore, its use em phasizes the violent
im pact o f the hit.
17 . : generally to one side , w ithout specifying the direction, as of
the lolling of a w ounded head (II. xiii 543, w ith the sam e opening to the line
as here), the drooping of a poppy (11. viii 306), or the toppling of a basin (xix
470); conversely, ouSer is used of something that inclines neither to
one side nor the other in II. xiv 18. However, it should be recalled that
though kicking aw ay the table (20) m ight seem a norm al reflex for someone
falling backwards, the fact that Antinous does not collapse (22) until after
he has vom ited implies that he is propped up for a m om ent by the side-rest
o f the (see n. on xxi 139; S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 40). B ew as Sc
o i eK-rreae $: on see nn. above on 9 -10 ; ot, ethic dative; the
gen. xeipos depends on the prefix - in e/meae.
18 . F o r gen. despite dat. ot in the previous line (note the lectio
facilior in the app.), com pare vi 1557 . . . and
ix 256-7 . . . . ? signifies flute in II. x 13 and xviii 495;
tube in II. xvii 297, Od. xix 227 (Lorimer, Monuments, 244 n. 2, and 512
n. 1); here it has the m etaphoric sense jet, stream (M . W egner, Archae
ologia U , 20 notes that this usage in fact indicates that the original m eaning
was p ipe, w h ich only later acquired the m usical sense), , through ;
, predicative.
19 . : of the eight occurrences o f the adj. in Hom er, on three
occasions in the Cyclops episode it refers to hum an flesh, on three others to
skin, and on another to a crowd; only here and in the alm ost identical

221
COMMENTARY

line-opening o f ps.-Hes. Sc. 256 is it used of blood (K. Strunck, LfgrE, i


8067); dl, xvii 572 has ' instead. Note the reflexive , and
the H om eric custom by which each banqueter had his own table (S, Laser,
Archaeologia P, 58).
20. 6 epa c: tmesis; is derived from old neuter
epas, earth (possibly, therefore, w e should read - in Hesychius,
instead of the reading printed in Lattes ed.), with the lative suffix ~8.
It occurs nine times in Hom er, four of them in the Odyssey, of which this
and two others (85, with identical second hemistich, and 280) are found in
this book. T h e adverb is always placed at the end of the line, and is
practically synonym ous with , which is also found in line-endings,
for exam ple in xxi 136, xxii 327, 340 (but not xxii 84); Hoekstra notes that,
w hile or precedes in eleven passages, there is not a
single exam ple o f * , and surmises that there m ay have been a
doublet of this form ula in * w hich was simplified as soon as it
becam e possible to avoid hiatus after the 3. sing, b y the addition o f
(Modifications, 90).
21. T h e original long final vowel of , from *, is shortened by
analogy, agrees with the nearest of the two subjects, as for
exam ple in iv 79, xiv 291, xxii 68; the etym ology o f the verb, which is
attested only here in archaic poetry, is unclear; the word is related to the
participle , xviii 336, w hich is also not attested again until m uch
later (compare Hesych. -, , ), and com bines the
ideas o f dirtying and m ixing (cf. , w hich occurs five times in the
Odyssey). T his line is probably the source o f the late passage in xx referring
to the nightm arish om en interpreted by Theoclym enus, in which the
suitors believe they are eating flesh m ixed with blood; that passage
contains the suspect hapax (xx 348). occurs in five
line-endings in the Odyssey, bu t never in the Iliad.
22 - 5 . T h e textual difficulties o f the fines are m ultiple. First, there is the
strange repetition o f (22; note the variant , the pi.
perhaps having been introduced to avoid hiatus) and (23).
Second, the tem poral use o f omt>s in 22 is not norm ally found before
H erodotus; in the three parallel passages in H om er with or
8 in the same metrical position in the line, there are variants with in
papyri (Od. iii 373, 11. xi 45g) and M S S (II. xii 208, w hich is besides the
famous tapering or curtal line, , ending with a short
syllable in the thesis of the last foot, ); on the other hand, Od. ii
155, x 152, 219, 414 have in the same position before , and
preceded b y regular hiatus; and note that in xx 331 the identical opening
is followed by (causal in this case). T hird ,
s, shocked (23), is otherwise unattested. Last, the construction of
with (or ; see app.) in 24 is alm ost unparalleled save for
xii 233, with 7 (for first hemistichs very similar to this one see xxii 380,
II. xiii 649, xvii 674; on xxii 43, see n. and app. below). F or these reasons
and others besides (to w hich one m ight add the omission in some M S S of

222
B O O K X X I I 19-27

23), editors have been prodigal with deletions: A ga r condemns 22 and 245
Duentzer and K irchhoff reject 2 3 -5 (recentiora esse vidit Kirchhoff, notes von
der M hll), w hile Blass expunges 24-5 {Interpolationen, 204), alleging the
dependence of 24 on xxii 380, and o f & in the same
line on xxii 126; on the latter see m y n. ad loc.). It is generally held, though
w ithout any adequate explanation of the motive for the interpolation, that
at least 24-5, and probably 23 as well, must be spurious because it is
prem ature for the suitors, w ho after all carry swords (cf. 74 fr.), to start look
ing for arms hanging on the walls. T h e ir words in 27-30 im pute only clum
siness to the beggar, not evil intentions, since in 3 1-3 w e are explicitly told
that the suitors are still under the m isapprehension that the killing of A nti-
nous has been an accident. A s com m ented in the note on 5 -7 above, they
still have not grasped the m eaning of O dysseus words. W hat seems to have
happened is that some interpolator w ho w ished to introduce an elem ent of
further com plexity into the plot o f the slaughter has here tried to w ork in a
reference to the well-known episode of the hiding of the arms (see 10 1-25,
14 0 -1 and nn,). Nevertheless, though the weight of opinion since the last
century has been to condem n the lines outright (thus M onro in his edition,
and even m ore recently Lorim er, Monuments, 432; Page, Odyssey, 99-100,
n. 15; M erkelbach, Untersuchungen, 108; and others), there has been, a
growing tendency to defend them, beginning as long ago as E. Kam m er,
Die Echtheit der Odyssee (Leipzig, 1873), 593, and in our day W . Bchner,
D ie W affenbergung in der Odyssee , Hermes lxvii ( 1932)> 43845; Focke,
Odyssee, 357-8 ; Stanfords edition, ad loc.; L. G . Pocock, Odyssean Essays
(Oxford, 1965), 25; Bona, Studi, 132 n. 4; Besslich, Schweigen, 25-8; Erbse,
Beitrge, 5, 38-9, etc. In every case the argum ents are the same: the suitors
are acting nervously, instinctively, at the prom pting of an unease which
causes them to look for arm s as a sort of m echanical reflex; besides, they
realize that swords w ou ld b e useless against a strategically positioned bow
m an supported by Telem achus.
26 . T h ere are only two other occurrences of , with its required
m etrical lengthening, in the Odyssey (xvii 189, xviii 9). T h e verbal adj.
occurs four times, always in the sam e form ulaic phrase with
7 and (apart from this line and 225 later in the sam e book,
also preceded b y 8 , the passages are II iv 241, xv 210). T h e m ean
ing o f the suffix - t o ? is not active, as A m eis says in his edn., but passive:
enraged, angry w ords (Schwyzer, Grammatik, i 503).
27- 30 . Even if 3 1 - 3 are removed below , these four lines already suggest that
the suitors believe the killing to be an accident (Erbse, Beitrge, 38 . 95).
Stanford remarks: j u st how, it is not easy to see, especially in view of O .s
words in 6 -7 above. B ut they w ould be reluctant to face the terrible real
truth.
27 . and (gen. after verbs o f aim ing) are emphatic: it is to your
own harm to go shooting m en (who are nobler than you) ; as usual, the
ju d gem en t stresses profit and loss, not m oral considerations (cf. xxi 369 ff-
and n .; but contrast xvii 483 eahes ). T h ere

223
COMM ENTARY

follow two asyndeta, reflecting the speakers excitement, and linked to each
other b y a sort o f indirect causal relation: y ou have m ade a mistake, (and I
say this because) you will not use a bow again, (and I say this because) you
are going to die . T h e allusion to 5 in is com patible with the suitors
still not having understood the real situation; they regard O dysseus as a
bad m arksman, as well as a presum ptuous one (cf. xxi 397-400).
28 . : this choriam bic fut. is unique, am ongst the com plex of forms
associated with , , , followed by the usual gen. after
verbs o f touching, trying, etc. (E. M . Voigt, LfgrE, i 918-22); besides the
rhythm , unparalleled in Hom er, the form implies a pres, in , some
thing not found until Hdt. (note C o b et s conjecture in the app.). Syntactic
ally, the fut. is a so-called prospective , im plying obligation rather than
volition on the part o f the subject. t o i a u s a tiru s $ : >;
is difficult (hence Schulzes suggestion, recorded in von der M h lls app.,
o f a ados related to , hurled upon one), unless of course w e take it
as a deliberate oxym oron (? safe and sound > entire > w holly
accessible . . . ), an ironic reference to suicide being the safe w ay
out. T his interpretation w ould fit the identical hemistich in II. xiii 773
(H ector speaking to Paris), but not Od. v 305 (with pot for to 1, the heros
m onologue during his shipwreck), is a very com m on line
ending; the adj. is extrem ely ancient (Fr. Scholz, LfgrE, i 334-6; compare
the place-nam e in M yc. a-pi^-we, A n 427, 1, etc.; II ii 592, M im n, fr.
3 ,1 G.-Pr,), and is probably connected to (Frisk, G E W ),X ht m eaning
developing from swift to steep, headlong, and thence to violent, fatal ; it
occurs with twelve times in the Odyssey, seven of them in conjunc
tion with and its com pounds with the idea of escaping death
(including the possibly spurious xxii 43; see n. ad loc. below); the rem ain
ing five examples are the present line, v 305, i 37 (not at the end o f the line),
tx 303, and O dysseus sarcastic rem ark to the suitors in xvi 280, w here one
variant offers after instead of .
29- 30 . T h ere is a striking parallel with xxiii 12 1-2 ,
' dp | }.
30 . is frequently used to refer to the Phaeacian youths (six times), to
T elem achus and Peisistratus (xv 151), or as a synonym for son, b o y (xix
523, xxiv 54) or servant (i 148, iii 339, xxi 271; in vii 100 the word refers to
statues), but it is used in ten passages o f the suitors (on their youthfulness
see xxi 179, 361), as here and in xxiii 122 (as a voc., on Penelopes lips, ii 96,
xix 141, xxiv 131, and on M ed o n s, xvii 174). In prose, w e should expect the
idea in the gen. to be expressed by som ething such as -
. : cf. xxi 374 T h e second half o f the line alludes to the
com m on them e o f a condem ned m an s unburied body being eaten by
vultures (as, for exam ple, in the m yth o f Polyneices); vultures appear seven
times in Hom er, besides the f o f II. xi 453-4 (cf. 302 .): II.
xi 162 (unburied warriors again), Od. xi 578 (punishment of Tityus), and
five parallels to the present line, nam ely II xvi 836 S
(Hector to Patroclus), II. iv 237 (also ending ), and

224
BO O K X XII 27-si

two others, 11 xviii 271 and xxii 42 (Priam w ishing A ch illes death), w hich
end y. and y. but w here the vultures are jo in e d by
scavenging dogs (cf. xxi 363.). O n vultures see further H .-G . B uchholz,
G . Jhrens, and I. M aull, Archaeologia J , 117.
31 - 3 . T h e lines are not as intrinsically objection able as 2 2 -5 , the only
obstacles being the asyndeton with in 31, the repetition o f the singular
m etaphor in 33 and 41, the similarity of 32 to ix 442, and the fact that the
form ula in 34 is norm ally used to introduce a response w h ich im m ediately
follows the event w hich has provoked it. T h e other objections w h ich have
been raised to the lines, such as Faesis fustigations o f their lam eness, or his
and others allegations of their irrelevance, are largely subjective; such
argum ents, even if true, do not m ean that the lines are spurious. N everthe
less, the ancients on the w hole condem ned them , in particular A ristarchus
(see Lehrs, De Anstarchi, 97-8, Cauer, Homerkritik, 56) and Eustathius
( ). M o d ern editors, w ith the
exception of those such as K n igh t and R o em er w ho cut out the good w ood
with the bad by athetizing the w hole passage 26-33, are divided in equal
m easure over these lines and 22-5, though not necessarily on the assum p
tion that the genuineness of the former presupposes that of the latter, or
vice-versa. T hose who argue that 22 -5 indicate the suitors bew ilderm ent
and instinctive reflex action, are quite able to accept that they should never
theless try to convince themselves that the killing w as an accident a n d that
all is well. Alternatively, one could argue that the suitors m erely pretend to
think the killing was involuntary, in order to gain tim e by h u m o u rin g their
powerful opponent, Focke, Odyssee, 3 57-8 , Stanford ad loc., Pocock,
Odyssean Essays, 25, Besslich, Schweigen, 25-8, and Erbse, Beitrge, 5 and
38, all accept both passages; Blass, Interpolationen, 2045 naturally
condem ns both; w hile Bchner, W affen bergun g , quite consistently
accepts the first and condem ns the second. F or those w ho con dem n 225
but deliver an open verdict on 313, such as M o n ro ad loc. and von der
M h ll ad loc. (who also condem ns xxi 4 12 -1 5 ; see n. ad loc.), the decision
depends on the interpretation given to ' in 31.
31. ! : as one sch. comments, ' ',
though one m ust distinguish (as, for exam ple, G eh rin g does in his index)
between the participles (iv 279, H elen im itating voices) and
(//, xi 799, w here A llen prints , im itatin g, as at 11. xvi
41), which certainly derive from *-- (cf. , etc.), an d tw o non-
participial forms. In xix 23 Ayiov , the
verb doubtless m eans m ade up, invented (hence the sch. co m m en t on this
passage, [ 203]) It m ust be
accepted, therefore, that w e are dealing w ith a late passage, an d th at w ith
say the has been responsible for the invention o f one
of. those H om eric glosses studied by L eum an n an d later im itated b y the
Alexandrians (Apoll, ii 240, T h eoc. xxii 167, etc.); A ristarchus h a d every
reason to condem n the passage, despite von der M h ll s vix recte. T h e other
interpretations w hich have been suggested, such as the translation each

225
COMMENTARY

tried to conjecture (what was going to happen, or w hat had happened), or


van der V alks ( Textual Criticism, 116 n. 7) impossible connection with v-
, related to , with a labial derived from an original labto-velar,
are unconvincing. T h e asyndeton m ay be explained as an attempt at
analogy between the made-up word say and the parallel (so) he
said (see 8n. above) in the same position. T h e adv. in this line means
indeed, in truth, emphasizing the striking fact that the suitors have not yet
grasped the situation; , they said (to themselves), they persuaded
themselves ; is adverbial in sense (eleven o f the twenty-two
occurrences of have the negative, five of these being placed at the
end of the line and three being identical to this example, v 99, x 573,
xxiv 307).
32 . : anticipates the phrase introduced by ws. T h e poet speaks in his own
person, expressing with the h alf predicative, h alf exclamative adj. 1 a
view of the suitors foolishness which carries, as the word often does, a trace
o f com passion (though not in the apostrophe of Antinous to Eum aeus and
Philoetius in xxi 85; see n. ad loc.). A s noted above, the close imitation of
the second hemistich of ix 442 (the poets pitying remark on the Cyclops)
has been used to call the authenticity of this line into question.
33 . : to one and all, every single one of them (cf. xx 156).
: yet another objection to the authenticity of
these lines is the close proxim ity of two such similar line-endings as this one
and 41 below (and note the possible variant )', the form ula is
paralleled also in 11 vii 402, xii 79 (and note in 11 vi 14). T h e
m etaphor is com plex; means end, boun dary (1V563, ix 284), limit,
boun ds (v 289), but also end o f a (ship s) cable, binding line (xii 51, 162,
179). T h is causal, defining sense (that which binds) is crossed with the idea
o f the boundary o f death (? , as O dysseus puts it in his predic
tion to Antinous, xvii 476) to give a play on words: each suitor is already
boun d () by the cable-end w hich ties him to his end in death. B ch
ner also suggests an allusion to the tying o f the two ends o f the rope from
w hich the suitors will be (metaphorically) hung ( W affenbergung , 444).
34 . A s rem arked in the n. on 3 1 -3 , the distance between the response
denoted by this phrase and the event which provoked it is a further argu
m ent against authenticity. T h e same line, with different pronouns, appears
in xix 70, xxii 60, 320, each time w ith < *- looking
askance, grim ly, an attitude w hich fits O dysseus situation well; note the
following hiatus before the digam m a of . : see 1 n.
35 . Kuves: the insulting voc., which von der M h ll thought lively enough
for A (O dyssee, 757), has parallels in the of 11. xi 362, xx 449
(one warrior addressing another) and I I xxii 343 (Achilles to Hector),
: the only H om eric exam ple of the 2nd pi. o f this iterative form,
as xi 5x2 is the only exam ple of the 1st pi.; the sense is similar to
that of in 31. : the first problem is
metrical, the lack o f lengthening before the digam m a in (see xxi
211m ), which Brard and others try to m end by conjecturing ,

226
B O O K X X II 31-39

, and so on. But the papyrus and some M S S also offer a critical
problem : against the m ajority reading, w hich is supported by Eustathius
and accepted by A llen, the lectio difficilior ' , despite the
unanim ous testim ony against it in the parallel line xxi 211 (see n. ad loc.)
and the fact that is only otherwise attested in xv 88 (and not at the
end of the line), is accepted by von der M h ll, and supported on syntactical
grounds by Chantraine, who argues that the future sense o f with
is paralleled in II. xiv 221, Od. ii 238, xi 176, xxiv 460, and (with )
Od. xv 214 (Grammaire, 307). In cases w here the aorist depends on a verb
of volition it is norm al (see Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 296) for the emphasis to
fall on the aspect, not the tense, as in the two parallel passages with final
1 , both w ithout hiatus before digam m a, ix 530 (governed by
8o?) and xv 66 (with ASereu), and xv 2X0, where the phrase appears in a
different position in the line after and preceded by hiatus after ;
but this is not usually the case with verbs of understanding, saying, or
feeling, as here.
36 . : another peculiarity of these lines is this initial
formula, in contrast to nearly a dozen exam ples o f vi
(amongst them xxiv 27, 31). o n . . . : on the indirect
causal sense of o n (and I say this because) see n. on 27-30, and Schwyzer,
Grammatik, ii 646, with other exam ples such as v 340, xiv 367, xviii 392.
originally referred to the scything or shearing down o f corn
fields; it can be used m etaphorically with (iv 686), or, rather far-
fetchedly, with (xxiii 356), or, as here, with (note the
observance o f digamma); com pare , also applied to the suitors and
governing oucov (ii 237), (xix 534), and (six examples, one of
them being the spurious xiii 396).
37 - 8 . T h e m ajority of M S S invert the order of these two lines, probably
because 37, athetized by various scholars, was originally om itted; when
inserted, it seemed m ore logical to place the wife (38) before the m aid
servants (37).
37 . T h e argum ents against the authenticity of this line (see previous note)
are, leaving aside the unim portant textual variant between S (A llens
preference) and the papyrus s re (daringly accepted by von der M hll): the
unparalleled (but cf. v 119 ), and
the false assertion that the female slaves were forcibly violated (cf. xx 6-8,
xxii 424, 445). T h e latter is considered by von der M h ll to be a m elo
dram atic touch typical of B (O d y sse e , 757).
38 . : em phatic, for ; the gen. is on the way to being absolute, as in
xiv 8, xxi 395 (see n.). : hapax, with an underlying idea of
stealth in (Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 524).
39 . $: probably governs both and the following acc. and inf.
construction (thus Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 357); alternatively, we m ay take
as the second object, and eaeaai as an epexegetic inf. T h e line
ending is paralleled in iv 378, and (with ro t) in II. xx 299, xxi 267, Od. i 67, iv
378, 479, etc.

227
COMMENTARY

40 . A s far as I know, this is the only occasion in H om er where m eans


vengeance (desire for revenge , II. vi 335; fear of vengeance , II. vi 351, xiii
122; weaker meanings in II. iii 156, xiv 80; Od. i 350, ii 136, xx 330). For
v, in the future , see xxi 116, xxiv .546, but compare the different
sense in xxii 92. Note the variants in the appendix criticus.
41 . In this and other passages, A llen prints whereas von der M h ll
prefers the different reading . O n the final phrase see 33.
42 . : fear w hich m akes one turn pale (Greek colour-words are
notoriously vague; Stanfords fanciful explanation that sallow M editer
ranean com plexions turn sickly green w hen alarm ed, whereas N ordic
types turn chalk white and blacks turn ash grey, is therefore hardly
convincing). T h e phrase occurs nine times in H om er (and cf. xxi 4 1 2 -
13 .), always in the same metrical p o sitio n ---- 5 ^ w and followed by a
similar verb in various forms: (II. xvii 67), ijpei (xi 43,633, xii 243,479,
xxiv 450), ei/\e(v) (here and II. viii 77, Od. xxiv 533). Here, a tx x iv 450, and
at II. viii 77 (which is identical to this line, and perhaps its source), the
phrase is preceded by s or (tmesis); the prefix implies som e
thing creeping stealthily up on its victim (cf. 38. above; xvii 564 -
; II. xx 28 and xxii 241 ; II. xvii 533 , with
in 382 in a different sense; and, for the w hole phrase, the
m any variations of the com m on Iliadic form ula o f possessing or
stealing over someone: with , vi 137, x 25, xviii 247; , xix 14, xxii
136; . . . , v 862; . . . , 117; (over his
lim bs, with double acc.), vii 215, xx 44; . . . , iii 341 with
double acc., xiv 506; w ithout , xxiv 170; with dat., viii 452; and also two
further parallels in the Odyssey, xviii 88 . . . (var.
) , xxiv 49 (var. yAue) ).
43 . A s will be seen in the apparatus, this line is omitted in M SS and papyri,
w hile one M S adds a further line (43a) taken from viii 234; it is deleted by
Blass (Interpolationen, 205) and von der M hll. In addition, xxii 43 = II. xvi
283 and xiv 507 (im m ediately following alin e which has already been cited as
a parallel to the previous line in the preceding note); and its opening recalls
IL x ii 333, II. xvii 84, and Od. xxii 381. T h e suitors terror is, besides, some
w hat premature at this jun cture (see n. on 22-5); though van der V alk con
siders the fact that they now look for an opening to run away, rather than for
their arms as in 24, as an excellent stroke o f psychological detail ( Textual
Criticism, 270). For the im plications for dating of the formulaic preservation
o f digam m a in , here and in II. xiv 507, xvi 283, see Hoekstra, Modi
fications, 74 n. 2. ) . . . : cf. 28 .; ) introduces an indirect
question, oblique opt. equivalent to a deliberative subj.
45- 59 . T his speech com bines toadying flattery, a rapid calculation of
practical cost, and the ill-natured calum ny by w hich the dead A ntinous is
blam ed for the greater part of the wrongs com m itted (but see on this point
the nn. to 52-3). A s such, it is typical o f Eurym achus, w hom Fenik defines
as a dangerous hypocrite (Studies, 199; and see xxi 1867.).
45 . : the adj. appears, always in the same metrical position, in II.

228
BOOK X X I I 40 -52

ii 184, in five previous books o f the Odyssey (the closest parallel being ii 246),
and in four passages in xxiv. Its use here, however, is significant: O dysseus
has regained his full rights as a citizen (Bowra, Companion, 31).
: as you say , preceding hiatus in thesis. : with
metrical lengthening, gives a ^ ending, underlining the sense of
som ething finally and forever consum m ated.
46 . : cf. xxi 294 . on m w ); the w ord occurs in the fifth
foot with forms o f oi<Sa in ii 231, v 9, xiv 433; it is used in the context of
indem nities or honours in viii 348, xiv 84 (Fr. Scholz, LfgrE, i 374-5). Here
the adj, is predicative: this you have said in accordance with justice . Note
the hiatus before eiVay. H ere and here only (cf. iii 227, iv 204, xvi 243),
unlike von der M h ll, A llen writes etnas against the general testim ony in
favour o f eines (except in papyri and some M S S at iii 227; but see the app.
to xxii 46), following the precedent of etna re shared by all at iii 427 (though
Erotian has etnere) and xxi 198 (except the M S S m entioned in the
apparatus; see n.), and also the lead of Aristarchus and Eustathius, who
defend etVay in 11. i 106, 108 (where A llen also accepts it): see Schwyzer,
Grammatik, i 745. : close to the exclam atory sense usually para
phrased as o n Lavra; , w hich occurs again in 209, is an iterative
form of (cf. xviii 15), from a primitive *wjgv > * (M yc. wo-zo),
with the vowel affected b y analogy with cognate ep8a> (see 218.).
47 . O f the fourteen occurrences o f (see H. W . Nordheider, LfgrE ,
i 14858) in the Odyssey (if w e include the variant at xx 170), all except xviii
139 in w 'i w w, the m ajority (for exam ple, xviii 143, xx 170,370; xxii 314,
w here Leodes denies such actions; xxiv 282, 352) have to do with the
suitors. W e have been told nothing o f their misdeeds in the countryside,
however.
48 . 0 is demonstrative and predicative: (behold) this m an (who) already lies
dead . W e ; have already seen ewAero in this position in the line in xxi
386,397.
49 . o u to s : em phatic and pejorative, this (was the fellow w ho) ; note the
lengthening o f the preceding syllable in thesis, : strictly
speaking a hapax (but note the forms in tmesis in ix 288, xv 475), and the
only example with this metrical lengthening o f the stem in w 4 5 (it is
short in II. xv 19 , Od. viii 447 , 11. xi 628 nmporjXe). N one o f this,
however, justifies excision.
50 . : i.e. to Penelope; ablatival gen. : this doublet of
, found six tim es in H om er (amongst them ii 249, iii 48, xiii 280, xv
396), always occurs at the end o f the line w here the alternative verb is
m etrically excluded (three exam ples in the Iliad, two of them in the pres,
indie., the third in the pres. part, as here; four participles in viii 156, x i 350,
xxii 5 0 , 3 5 !)
51 . O n the slight syntactical inconcinnity, see the n. on xxi 250-3; is
relative, and followed b y hiatus. Sim ilar lines occur in iii 119, iv 699, xx 236
(and see the variant reading in xv 536, xxi 415 .).
52 - 3. In i 384-7 A ntinous treats Telem achus as a child, in an attem pt to

229
COMMENTARY

convince him that although in theory he should succeed his father as king
of Ithaca he is still too young to do so (see V . Bartoletti, A ristocrazia e
m onarchia nz\V Odusea , St. It. Filol., Cl. xiii (1936), 213-65; and Eisen*
berger, Studien, 44 . 28, who thinks there is here an ominous allusion to
the conspiracy against the prince, especially in the parallel between 53 and
iv 670, and that both this passage and that in i are the handiwork o f the late
poet, who wanted to dovetail them with the Telemachy, cf. also Erbse,
Beitrge, 125-6) In i 389-98 T elem achus replied by pointing out the
political am bitions o f various suitors ( |
v , 394_5); in i 400-4, Eurym achus diplom atically
left unanswered the question touched upon in these lines, w hich Bergk
wished to suppress (see 53.).
52 . T h e line-ending is more or less in apposition to ; compare 11. v 564
, ; II. x 491 . . , >?; and, to an extent, Od, xxiii 117
\ $ and even II. iv 465 .
53 . auTs: 'himself, on his own5, emphatic (this is a grave problem , for
the m any editors who w ould delete the line as a late interpolation on the
grounds stated in the note on 52 -3 ; see also Focke, Odyssee, 359), since the
suitors have already appeared as in the plural not only in i 394
but also, for example, in viii 41 and, referring to Eurym achus and
Antinous, in xviii 64 T h e second half of the line, with a second oblique
optat. after , is a kind o f com m on in H om er
(Pocock, Odyssean Essays, 124).
54 - 5. T h e two balanced phrases are not o f equal emphasis: (since) he is
dead, (therefore) spare these people as yo u r ow n , (note the strong pre
dicative force o f ; cf, Eisenberger, Studien, 52).
54 . vGv S : norm ally follows an unfulfilled conditional, w hich reflects the
unreality o f A ntin ous5 suggestion. Iv : according to his ju st
desserts ordained by destiny5(cf. II. xix 186 ju stly ; contrast in
Od. xxi 278 and n., xxii 486). : the w ell-known perfect, from
the same root as , , and , which (besides ,
, , and in II. Xi 829, Od. xxii 217) occurs
here and four times in the Iliad, in II xvii 164 at the same place in the line.
Except for - in Od. xi 135, the verb is always applied to violent deaths.
55 . : later, in the future5, com pare in 40. -
: the aorists and futures collected by H . N eitzel, LfgrE, i 1227-8
s.v. are related to , , etc., and share the root
m eaning order, fit, fix, hence com pensate5 (a crime), or conciliate, give
satisfaction (the injured party) b y offering compensation. O f the nine other
occurrences in H om er, five take acc. o f the person satisfied (viii 396, 402,
415, all referring to the compensation received by Odysseus from Euryalus;
ll. ix 112 in the sam e position as here, II. xix 179), and four
acc. of the thing com pensated (the pair II. ix 120 = xix 138 , and
similar II. 1V362, vi 526 with ). H ere the sense has been
m uch debated: w hat Eurym achus seems to be offering is first a collective
com pensation for the victuals consum ed, and second a collective fine or

230
BOOK X X I I 59-57

indem nity for the insult com m itted. T h ere are various parallel passages in
the Odyssey, ii 77-8 (Telem achus w ould go dem anding
com pensation for the food w hich has been eaten at his expense), xiii 14 -15
(on m aking a gift to O dysseus, A lcinous explains that he will seek com
pensation for his expense b y a p ublic collection,
, at the end o f the line), xix 197-8 (the beggar5 tells how he
served O dysseus |
), xxiii 356-8 (the victorious hero w ill seize cattle in com pensation for
the beasts stolen from him , and the A chaeans w ill give him others 5
). In view of the syntactical problem s in the
passage, it is not surprising that som e have proposed reading .
56 . : o f the four parallels o f with acc. o f thing com pensated5
ju st cited from the Iliad, two have direct objects expressed b y (II. iv
362) and (vi 526) m eaning this (complaint)5, and the other two have
some such com plem ent understood. H ere the verb m ust be understood not
as having settled (the com plaint)5, but as having replaced (in settlement of
the complaint)5, governing unexpressed before . , dative
of disadvantage, is followed by two verbs, both o f w hich m ust be under
stood as sharing the force of the perfective - prefixed to the first (see
Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 237, on the developm ent of the passive sense it has
been drunk up and eaten from this type o f expression, it is all drunk up
and eaten). : poses a problem w hich is not m erely textual;
the M S S reading is corrected by A ristarchus and others, unintelligibly, to
, apparently plural (impossible according to Schwyzer, Gram
matik, i 766 n. 5); H erodian prefers cSiJfieTat, w hich von der M h ll does
not reject, with parallels later in Aristotle s , and w hich later
either acquired (cf. Schwyzer, Grammatik, i 775) an intrusive -- (-
, Plato) by analogy with hypothetical forms such as * and
*, or becam e assimilated b y rhym e to (cf. , II. xvii
542), w hence cam e A ristophanes .
57 - 9 . T h e m ain verb is (- carries the idea o f expiation), with
two participles, bein g m odal (it is w rong, therefore, to punctuate
after 57) and tem poral. . . . : each on his
own account, in turn5, with the com m on ad sensum singular for plural; cf.
xix 46 each thing in its turn5 (where Bekker s proposal to restore the hiatus
before digam m a b y reading a is inadmissible; in answer to
F icks condem nation of this line because o f the lack of the necessary hiatus,
Bekker likewise restores it, reading neut. pi. , a form paralleled
in i 431). . . . : probably predicative in apposi
tion to the nouns \ In the concrete sense o f com
pensation for a m isdeed5 takes first place over that o f honour, (act of)
respect5 (cf. xiv 70 and 117, the com pensation ow ed to A gam em n on , and
II. iii 286, 288, w here the Trojans ought to return H elen and the treasures
stolen with her and then . . . , followed by
. . , and ). Each suitor m ust contribute gold and bronze
to the value o f twenty oxen; various editors give pecuniary the term is

231
COMMENTARY

particularly appropriate equivalents, such as four oxen for a skilled


female slave (11. xxiii 705), nine for a suit of arm our (II. vi 236), twelve for a
large tripod (II. xxiii 703), twenty for Eurycleia (Od. i 431, and see above),
and one hundred for a m ale prisoner (II. xxi 79), T h e following phrase
cannot, therefore, be an invitation for Odysseus to fix the price of the com
pensation; although els is temporal, until5, it must be taken here as
m eaning that the hero will indeed be satisfied by the deal proposed, but
that m eanwhile, until the m oney is paid ( is adverbial), his anger is not
blam ew orthy ( is found only here and at xxii 489 in the Odyssey;
the end o f the line comes from II. ix 523, on the wrath of Achilles; see
Lorim er, Monuments, 484; similar is Od. xviii 227, where T elem achus
speaks to Penelope). the long initial vowel is probably due to
the augm ent; cf. the examples in II. xv 103, xxiii 598; Od. x 359, and
Hoekstra, Modifications, 122 n. 1, and the corresponding lengthening o f the
initial vowel in aelBrj, xvii 519.
60 . Gf. 34nn.
61 - 3 . picks up in 58, concessive optative. T h e con
struction o0Ss d . . . . . . cos' (cf. xxi 246.) occurs, for example, in
A chilles5 similar rejection of A gam em n on s offer in II. ix 379-86; there, the
following lines (388-91) continue with expressions of contem pt for the
proposals related by O dysseus, apparently balancing a negative in ow with
ouSs et and then with . . . cos; likewise in II. xxii 34852 A chilles
rejects Priam s offer with ovk . . . ovB d . . . )" ?; a simpler case is II. viii
482-3 '^ . . . ; also , . , 3et n o t . . . even if (i 203-4, xiv 13 8 -
40). In in 1 1 3 -1 6 55el implies a negative m ain clause in reply to a rhetor
ical question (see the n. on 12 -14 ). T h e construction runs: not even if you
w ere to pay m e all your fathers wealth w hich you now have as your inherit
ance { understood before , with possessive dat.), nor even if you
were to add more () from elsewhere5; cf. II. ix 379-80 not even if he
offered me twentyfold his present w ealth ( . . . ), nor
even if his offer were to be raised som ehow ( et ) .
Alternatively, we m ight translate: all that you have and other goods too, if
you were to add them .
63 . $: after countless exam ples o f thus5 in xxi and xxii, and
with m any more to come, usually in initial position and apparently derived
from *s (alternating with five times in Hom er, am ongst them Od. xviii
271, xix 234), it is a surprise to find this appearance in xxii (but see already
xxi 246) o f . . . even so . . . not5, found eleven times in the Odyssey
and parallel to even so, found eight times. V on der M h ll
accentuates both with the circum flex, following H erodian (see Schwyzer,
Grammatik, ii 577); A llen does the same in his edition of the I Had, but
regularizes the accent with an acute in his Odyssey. e ri: now, at this
stage o f the gam e5. : the syntax o f has been found
difficult; norm ally it takes the part, (II. ix 191, xxi 224) or gen. (epiBos, II. i
210,319, ix 257, xxi 359; in II. vi 107). H ere w e must translate: m ake
m y hands cease from slaughter5 (cf. II. xiii 424, xxi 305, with acc. ).

232
B O O K X X I I 57 - 6 8

64 . T h is phrase, an exact parallel of xiii 193 and xxii 168, is often cited as the
origin o f the construction of with inf. (Schwyzer, Grammatik, 11654). In
11 xxii 354 the clause introduced b y even so . . . not is followed b y but on
the contrary ; in Od. iii 117 w ho . . . w ould tell? and the unspoken answer
(nobody), even if is followed b y adv. before that happens . . . ; before,
unless so m any years pass . H ere the inf. is probably imperative in sense:
before that, rather than that, let them p ay . . som ewhat sim ilar is II. ix
387, with . . . rather let him give back , or I I xix 423, with
, T shall not cease; rather let m e sate . . . ( ) . B ut at Od.
xvii 597 we already find with inf. after an affirmative clause,
: almost adv., com pletely . : the subj. is ,
the direct obj. . T h e verb appears twenty-seven times in
H om er, sixteen o f them in the Odyssey; the pres, is only found in ii
. 132, xxii 235, the aorist here and in five other passages (i 43, iii 195, xiii 193,
xxii 168, and xxiii 312).
65 . : cf. 41. : is synonymous
with the quoted at the end of n. on 28; vv, adv. face to
face, w ith the sam e military sense as in II. xxii 109, found several
times in the Iliad (iii 433, ix 559, xv 304, etc.).
66. : both flee and escape , the latter being the one which
connects with the succeeding relative clause, which requires us to supply
a as subj. o f the inf. II. xxi 565 (with
dAa^at); in the sing, is found at 14 (see n.), and again in 330, 363,
382; the plur, does not occur again until xxiii 332, once again in a line
ending with . T h e pres. part, precedes in
363, 382 (cf. xxiv 127); trisyllabic parts o f the same verb are com m on at
the end of the line (e.g. in xxii 460, w ithout a complement;
j ' . . . , xxiii 328, ,
xxiii 332)*
67 . : the sense o f the future again implies escape rather than
flee. : cf. 28, 43. T h e sense o f iva in the negative
clause is om inous and ironic (cf. xxi 374 and n., xiii 394, 427); T do not
believe any w ill escape is equivalent to I believe none w ill escape, a
semantic shift sim ilar to he said no, or Od. xvi 446 . . .
and I do not exhort you to fear > and I exhort you not to fear ; xii
227 ov . . . she did not advise m e to arm m yself > she advised me
not to arm m yself .
68. : adv., as in 4 (see n.), but here em phasizing less the place than the
time, then and there, im m ediately , referring to the sudden slackening o f
the lim bs and courage in shock. T h e sam e line-ending is applied to the
description of these symptoms in O dysseus him self in v 297, 406, xxii 147;
the sam e line, with the substitution of or , based on for exam ple II.
xxi 114, appears in Od. iv 703, xxiii 205, xxiv 345; cf. also xviii 212 Auto
, xviii 238 , and, with the possess, also used here,
Xvfii 242 AeAwrat.

233
COMMENTARY

69 . a im s : pleonastic, based on li. i 513, and found also in iii 161,


ix 354, xix 65; cf. xiv 356 , xvi 157 . . . aim s', etc.
70- 8 . Eurym achus accepts the situation with style, and rapidly thinks up a
makeshift strategy.
70. : we must either supply some unspoken antecedent such as (and I
speak in this tone) because (cf. for example xxiii 248), or take the clause
introduced b y as a causal anticipating the main clause with
. T h e line is almost identical to 248, where A gelaus expresses
his pious hopes o f defeating O dysseus. : represents a last
and childishly half-hearted attempt (compare the d of 45) to deny the
evidence of the heros identity. : against straightforward
he will hold, keep , (see Ghantraine, Grammaire, ii 203-4) carries
the nuances up hold (//. xiv 100), hold in, contain (Od. xxii 172), hold
back, stay, restrain (an enemy, II. xi 80, xiii 151; a ship, by grappling, Od.
xi 70; ones own hands, here and in 248). $ : the epithet, found
several times in the Iliads is always applied to hands and, with only one
exception, always at the end of the line (H. Erbse and S. Laser, L/grE, i
3 -4 ); there are three further examples in the Odyssey (xi 502, Achilles, of his
own hands; xx 237, in the variant reading, o f O dysseus; and xxii 248, also
of the protagonist). T here was already disagreement about the correct
spelling in antiquity: Zenodotus and Aristarchus wrote , but
Aristophanes o f Byzantium preferred, perhaps correctly, (cf.
Hsch. , , a conjecture for , w hich Latte
however retains). T h e same word seems to lie behind the corruptions in A .
Ag. 141 (where, however, the m eaning w hich cannot follow is acceptable,
speaking o f a whelp) and Supp. 908 . . . , spoken by the
Danaids. T h e primitive form is probably related to , or ,
hands (so large) that cannot be described, or w hich a description cannot
follow ; original w ill have contracted to * with subsequent
diectasis to &a, on the analogy o f frequent formulas such as
d, w hich w ou ld then have been understood as untouchable,
unapproachable . T h e same problem attends the hapax in II. viii
209 (see E.-M . Voigt, LfgrE, 1 1 1 1 7 -1 8 ), w here - was probably origin
ally *- (Poseidon tells H era that her words have been indescribable,
unheard o f).
71 . : a cross between temporal (n ow that) and causal (since); the word
expresses Eurym achus rueful realization that he and the others have been
responsible for allow ing what they ought to have prevented all through xxi.
T h e form is found not only in the two passages cited in the note on
42, but also in i 298 and xvi 394; the gemination o f the is a scribal graph
designed to indicate the lengthening of the vowel before -A- reduced from
--. : cf. xxi 92m , 281, 286, 326, 336.
72. : o f m any M S S is a dittography of in 71. T h e line-ending is
alm ost the same as that o f such lines as II. xxi 133. T h e future is clearly
prospective, o f som ething which is inevitable (cf. 28 .).
73. : the only occurrence in the Odyssey; the word, w hich is probably

234
BOOK X X II 69-79

related to (jo y of battle), frequently occurs in the Iliad at line-end in


the gen. after some part of the verb or cognate words
{, itself in II. X V 477, xix 148).

74 . Asyndeton, with a strong link between the previous exhortation and this
detailed explanation o f the strategy proposed (see the Introduction to xxi
and note on 70-8; on the swords, see also xxii 22-5 0 : the
first occurrence in this or the preceding book o f this w ord (M yc. pa-ka-na),
which reappears in 79, 84,90,98, and then disappears once again, replaced
by $ in 326 (the w ord already used in xxi 34, 119, 341, 4 3m .).
: this prefixed verb is unique in H om er, transitive in meaning
and im plying action taken b y the subject for his ow n safety, governing as a
gen. after the - elem ent (place the tables in front of, opposite). O n the
individual see 19.; from this passage it w ould appear that they
were light and easily handled (S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 58; but cf. 848 n.),
75 . : the usual m eaning is destined to die soon (of A chilles in II.
i 417, xviii 95,458; of the suitors in Od. i 266, iv 346, xvii 137), but here and
in II. xv 441 the epithet is applied to duels, with the sense w hich brings
sudden death . -__ : tmesis (cf. 15 .).
76 . : in case, in the event that , and aor. subj. with shortened them atic
vowel.
77 . Behind (with the usual hiatus before the digam m a of ) lies the
idea that the suitors w ill disperse once out of the place. T h e three sub
junctives are not precisely parallel, since one w ould expect rather in
the event that w e get out and, once dispersed, raise the hue and cry ,
: for the optative offered b y the M S S and accepted b y A llen here
(though not by von der M hll), cf. the optat. in 133; the m ood would
indicate less hopefulness on E urym ach us part, but there is another
possible interpretation, volitive (Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 315) and
condit. w ithout v. Eisenberg sees evidence in this passage for the
existence of a faction in the city favourable to the suitors (Studien, 308 n. 15;
cf. xxiv 412-37).
78 . =134. : cf. x x i 374. : soon (them eaning perhaps is in
general later), as in xxi 174,363,369, 374., 418; here it affects the m eaning
of , w ould stop shooting . outos : here with
the usual contem ptuous or pejorative undertone (cf. 70 and n.).
79- 80 . : see 372 . : the are for the
m om ent the only arms available to the suitors. 79= It. xxii 306; the line
ending, with the epithet , is found in Od, x 145, xi 95, and reappears
below in 90. T h e sword is m ade of bronze, as usual in H om er.
: the interpretation o f os, a participle prob
ably derived from *~-- (see Frisk, G E W , and E.-M . Voigt,
LfgrE, i 407), is unclear, though its etym ological connection with words of
sharpening or whetting is clear; in m any passages (i 99, xv 551, xx 127),
where it is applied to a spear it seems to m ean fitted with a tip of bronze,
(cf. i22~5n.), but here and in v 235, where it refers
to an axe with the same first hemistich, the interpretation two-edged is
COMMENTARY

preferable (cf, of a in 11. xxi 1 18, Od. xvi 80, xxi 341 n.; and of
a in II. x 256). Lehrs' deletion is worth a glance (Blass, Interpola
tionen, 205): it is odd that Eurym achus leaps up to attack (on see xxi
388, xxii 2), after having him self ju st suggested taking shelter behind the
tables. T his is doubtless the difficulty which prom pted the variant versions
o f the end of 80, (five occurrences in the Iliad: see 5 7 -9 n.) and
(out o f place here, but suggested by the form ula quoted above).
T h e received text can be defended by adducing the Iliadic exam ples of
[(see next note), w hich always portray the warrior in the
act o f hurling him self into the attack.
81 . : the only occurrence o f this participle in the Odyssey,
w hich is here used to lend a certain valour to Eurym achus' last m oments; it
occurs in this form eleven times in the Iliad, usually preceded by hiatus and
a vowel lengthened in thesis (e.g. 11. xvii 213, xviii 160) and most com m only
o f all, in seven cases, after a in the first foot. W e also find
at the beginning of the line in II. vii 479, which m ay have been
the original pattern for this metrical oddity; is found eleven
times at the beginning o f the line in the Iliad and six in the Odyssey (e.g, Od,
xxiv 537) with verbs similar in m eaning to . B ut the digam m a in this
verb, theoretically from *-- (see the apparatus for a quibble on the
accentuation; but is not found before the h.Hom. and later), is
obscure: examples such as in ^ ^ 4w ^ (H i 482 etc.) or the
com pound in w - 4 u (//. v 860 etc.) argue against it (Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 139-40) despite the hiatus here; on the other hand, w e find
tev in w ^ 2 ^ ^ 3 ^ (/. xi 463), where the digam m a causes
lengthening of -v, w hich leads one to w onder w hether ought
not always to be replaced b y (nevertheless, w e w ou ld still be left
with exam ples such as II. xvii 213 in ^ 2 w 3); the hapax
in II. xiii 41 m ight be explained as a formation with intensive <x-
(M . Schm idt, LfgrE, i 1458). 6 : the
demonstr. is brought forward to the start of the sentence, as usual;
(von der M h ll ), adv. sim ultaneously (see xxi 188.).
82 . T h e well-attested variant (cf. II. xvi 669 far aw ay)
induced van Leeuw en s conjecture with double acc., w hich provides a
rem edy for the lack of augm ent and of an object pronoun referring to
Eurym achus. T h e line-ending occurs elsewhere, for exam ple in II. iv 480.
83 . is unparalleled (cf. 3.). : consequently . T h e line
ending =11. xi 239.
84 . T h e subj. of , from -, is Eurym achus; is a form ula (cf.
20 n.) not used at the end o f the line (cf. xvi 191), where w e find instead
or } (xxi 136, xxii 340), . (xxii 327); the lative
adv. , w hich should be thus accented in H om eric texts ( is
peculiar to Attic: see von der M h ll ad loc.), cannot be derived from a non
existent plural as in the case of etc., but is probably form ed by
analogy with it and other words and also (Schwyzer, Grammatik, i
625, nn. 2 and 20). : hapax of unknown m eaning and

236
B O O K X X I I 79-88

etym ology, form ed like adjectives such as < but w ith


out a corresponding neuter noun * with which to connect it. If it is
correct to relate it to words such as pliable (applied to a whip in 11.
xxiii 583), soft (in Sappho, indicating the presence of digam m a
to explain the -pp~), bending, swaying (with variant readings
such as /, o f a reedbed in I I xviii 576), (glossed by
H esych. , ; note the initial ~ again), w e m ight translate
crum pled up, lim p5 (Eustathius gives as synonym ). T h e
w ords occurrence in this passage m ay w ell have influenced Hippocrates,
who sometimes uses it w ith (Leum ann, Wrter, 3 14 -15 ; Frisk,
G E W , is doubtful of the suggestion), and also the adv. - bend
ing dow n (Apoll, iv 1581; note H esychius enigm atic gloss - -
).
84 - 8 . T h e hero is on his feet w hen he is hit by the arrow; he drops his sword
and falls forward, but w ithout knocking his table over (which m ust there
fore b e a sturdy piece o f furniture: S. Laser, Archaeohgia P, 40, and see the
note on 74), though he does tip everything on the table onto the floor.
T here he lies bent double, head on the ground (the table m ust be low) and
feet kicking the still-standing chair in his death-agony, a pathetic and
spectacular sight. T h e end of 85 repeats that of 20; on the beginning of 86
see the n. on 10. V an H erw erden needlessly removes the punctuation after
and replaces by 17Sc, thereby elim inating the necessary
demonstrative (as for him . . . ). Brard also changes o Sc to iS.
85 . : from . : the verb appears three
times in the Iliad (ii 266 , of Thersites cowering down under a blow;
xiii 618, Pisander doubles up as he falls; xii 205 , o f a serpent coil
ing ready to strike an eagle which is carrying it off, but there bending
, backw ards , in the opposite sense to this passage; cf. the n. on
in 17), and in one other passage o f the Odyssey (viii 375
, o f a ball-player bending over backwards to m ake a catch). Am ongst
the variants recorded in the apparatus note , which, as van der
V alk rem inds us ( Textual Criticism, 48), was A ristarchus reading.
87 . : the expression appears also in 11. xxi 270, w ith shorten
ing o f - in hiatus and long -i- (as in , and in eleven of the fourteen
occurrences of in H om er, the exceptions being II. xviii 300, xxiii
721, Od. iv 460), m eaning in the throes of death .
88. : , norm ally reserved like the cognate adv.
f or heroic gestures such as planting one s foot on a dead foe s corpse,
either to pull the spear from it (II. v 620, vi 65, xvi 503, 863) or as a sign of
trium ph (II. xiii 618), undergoes a process o f vulgarization, first of rousing a
sleeping man with ones foot (II. x 158, and thence Od. xv 45), and then of
M elanthius kicking O dysseus {Od. xvii 233), and finally of the vanquished
Irus clownish gestures (Od. xviii 99). , imperf. to underscore the
long-drawn and painful nature of the death. T h e end of the line has m any
parallels, not all o f the dark night of death, as here and in II. v 696, xvi 344;
in II. xx 421 refers to H ectors swoon at the sight of Patroclus death,

237
COMMENTARY

in Od. xx 357 to a rising mist seen by the prophet T heoclym enus, and in
five further cases (IL v 127, xv 668, xx 321, 341, Od. vii 41) to supernatural
mists called up or dissolved by the gods;
89 . : see 6 -7 n. for another exam ple of this supposed cognate of ,
which is better understood as a derivation from * rush, launch one
self , w hich later becam e confused with the m iddle of (Frisk, G E W ).
Besides the various exam ples of we find (once, at II. xv
544) and com pounds with am-, -, and .era- (amongst them , -
with acc., II. x i 367, xx 454); exam ples governing the usual gen. of
object aim ed at o ccur in II. xv 4x5 (with the same line-ending), IL iv 138,
xiii 191. Nevertheless, it is debatable w hether depends directly
on the verb (for a parallel construction, cf. IL xiv 488 8
) or on the following (cf. II. xv 415 " . . .
8).
90 . s : a com m on initial form ula (cf. IL xv 694; with , IL
xi 553, xvii 662), but this construction with a verb of motion governing a
gen. o f the person approached or encountered, w hether in friendly or
hostile manner, occurs elsewhere only in Od. xvi 14 ,
where the approach is respectful (E.-M . Voigt, LfgrE, i 944-9)
91 . e see n. on at in 76. ei^ cie: the verb , originally with
digam m a (cf. itacistic - in Hsch.) on its own m eans give w ay
(IL xxii 321 ; for the opt. here see 77.); give up (one s place) (Od. ii
14). W ith the dat. it means yield to, be less strong than (xiv 221 );
give w ay to ones own (v 126), to a w orthy im pulse such as shame
(II x 238) or an unworthy one such as fear (II. xiii 223), overbearing
violence (Od. xiii 143, xviii 139 ] ), or im prudence (xxii 288
8)'} in IL x 122 the indulgent A gam em non describes his brother
M enelaus as ovr 8 , cf. Hes. Op. 330); give
in to a circum stance such as poverty (xiv 157), or to a person (IL xiii 321
, Od. xi 515, w here the verb also governs an abl. of place from which
one retreats, from battle in II. v 348, from the - in Od. xviii 10).
: this verb is usually accom panied by a participle which completes the
sense (xi 58, xvi 383, xxiv 437); it can also govern the acc. of the person
anticipated (IL xi 451, xxi 262), so that here tv (Am phinom us) is governed
both b y and by . : as expected , expressing the active
loyalty of Telem achus.
92 . T elem achus is no longer standing by his father as at xxi 433, but is more
or less in his original seat (see xxi 14 m .). Now , after hesitating for a
m om ent w hether or not to retrieve the valuable spear from A m phinom us
dead body, he chooses the better part of valour and returns to O dysseus
side (, 95; , 99). It is the shortage o f arms which leads
to his suggestion in 101 ff.
93 . = II. v 41, 57, viii 259, xi 448. T h e line-ending is also paralleled in IL xxii
284. has the spear as its unexpressed direct object. O n with a
w ord formed with - see Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 172.
94 . T h e first hem istich occurs again in xxiv 525; it is a com m on Iliadic

238
B O O K X X I I 88-100

formula, usually followed b y yae S (II. iv 504 >v 42,


540, 617, etc.); here the second hemistich is identical to that of 296, and
similar to that o f 86. : the striking im age of the crash as a
stricken warrior falls to the ground (, strike, thrash) better fits
contexts where the fighters are in heavy battle-armour (xxiv 525, and the
Iliadic passages) than here, w here the combatants are unarmed.
95 . : ingressive, began to run , a frequent sense in the Iliad (v 20,
297, etc.). : this epithet for a spear, which occurs a
further four times,in the Odyssey (xix 438, xxii 97, xxiv 519, 522), has been
m uch discussed: long-shadowing strikes some as too far-fetched a notion
for archaic ways of thought; but w ith long beech wood shaft, which
postulates an etym ological link with later beech (cf. ash
spear in Hom er; , spear in Archilochus, fr. 229W; beechen
(spear) twice in Od., nine times in IL), w ould require a most im probable
metathesis and other highly dubious special pleading (Frisk, G E W , s.v.
, ),
96 - 8. : there (see 4.). . . . : he was greatly afraid,
followed by as in IL xvii 666 (cf. IL v 566, ix 433, xi 337, with dat.).
: partitive gen., in final position as in II. xii 390, xxiv 650. T h e
syntax is confused, which has provoked editorial m eddling. T h e best solu
tion seems to be to accept D oederleins conjecture (oblique opt., like
; if is retained, it must be by attraction from ): . . lest
one of the Achaeans should leap on him while he (Telem achus) w as pull
ing the spear (from A m ph inom u s body) and transfix him with a thrust o f
the sword (on see 90., and IL v 81, x 456) or slash him
with a dow nw ard cut while he (Telem achus) was stooping down (-
, wrestling with the stuck spear) . T his skirts the unintelligible,
though genuinely A lexandrian (van der Valk, Textual Gntism, 48), variant
; as for the lack o f a direct object for , there is no need to
suppose the usual loss of an original p in y(p) . However, the differ
ence between and is not clear-cut, nor are they restricted in
use to sword or spear respectively; we find, for example, . . .
. . . I . . . {IL iv 530--1) besides (IL v 584), and
Timet? (IL xi 191) besides rjXaoev . . , (IL xx 259). For cutting v.
thrusting see J. Brard s discussion of the passage.
99 . : ingressive aor. with consecutive-final inf., he started to
run, a very com m on construction (ii 298, xxii 109 . . . ; iii 176
. . . ; iv 260, etc., ); the phrase occurs
seven times in the Iliad, and once m ore in Od. (xiv 501). T h e variant is
inadmissible; this participle is never used in conjunction with , although
it occurs seven times (including Od. iii 288, viii 193, xxii 106)
in the same position in the line. : possessive (see 68n.).
: on the formation o f this word, which occurs also in 112 and
in IL xiv 230 (with the island as com plem ent of the -: see xxi
308 ,) see Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 429.
100. = 11. iv 203, xiii 462, xiv 356, xvi 537, Od. iv 25, xvii 532; a heavily

239
COMMENTARY

form ulaic line. Initial is frequent (vi 5, xvii 526, xix 271); so too is
initial a. <33 (//. xiii 768, xv 243, xvii 684) or (for example,
Od. v 15g, xv 9); the w hole line is found in the feminine (for exam ple, at 11. iv
92, v X23), or in the masc. but with at the end of the line (Od. xvii
349). T h e form ulaic (which causes lengthening
of the usual preceding participle in -os due to digam m a) is im m ensely
com m on; there are six occurrences in this book alone, all except one (150)
preceded by a participle. N either . . . nor
contains any reference to the person approached or spoken to, O dysseus.
101 - 25 . In xvi 281-98 (a passage athetized by Zenodotus and Aristarchus),
Odysseus, though he had not yet stepped inside the palace and was
ignorant o f the state o f play within, told T elem achus to collect the arms
from the hall at a signal, and carry them to a store-room (285 s
); if the suitors missed them, T elem achus was to tell them
that he had rem oved the weapons to prevent them getting sooty or being
used in some squabble. He was to leave in the megaron two , two
So, and , oxhide shields1, . . . (295 b; note
the dual there is no talk here of the servants). In xix 1-52 , a passage like
wise m uch athetized in antiquity (von der M hll: ab ult. O dyss. poeta
insert! esse vid.), O dysseus, by now inside the palace, repeated the order to
his son (xix 5 -1 3 = xvi 28694), and the two of them, lighted on their w ay
by A th en a s strange lam p amidst supernatural visions all this typical of
the B poet carry a num ber o f j
' to the (i f), w ithout so m uch as a w ord about
any reserve of weapons left in the megaron; and in xxii 25 w e are specifically
told that not an nor an is left hanging on the walls of the feast-
hall (see n. ad loc.). A nd yet here, in yet another suspicious passage with
signs o f lateness (89 . et infra), w e have T elem achus fetching arms for four
men ( . . . a . . . . . . . . . ). T h e
swords m entioned in xvi 295-6 are forgotten (here, instead, w e have some
helmets not m entioned there); and there is no suggestion whatever that
T elem achus has opened or closed the store-room, despite what is said in
xxiv 16 5-6 or adm itted by T elem achus him self in 1549 below . A further
problem is the closing of the door of the store-room: in xxiv 1656
A m phim edon on his way to H ades recounts how O dysseus and T ele
m achus took the weapons to the and then locked it,
, whereas in xix 47 nothing is said o f either father or son locking the
room , doubtless because the poet had his m ind on the business o f the
m agic lam p. T h e y must have done so, though, by pulling the cord. In this
1case, in xxii 109 T elem achus w ould have needed a bulky key like the one
used by Penelope in xxi 6 (see n. ad loc.); like her, he w ould have needed to
fetch it from the bedcham ber. Furtherm ore, once laden with the heavy
weapons (11011), T elem achus w ould have had his hands too full to lock
the door after him ; the door m ust have been left ajar, and the key placed on
the floor, on a shelf in the store-room, or in the lock.
101. : im m ediately, w ithout delay . : dat. of the 2. sing, personal

240
B O O K X X I I 100-106

pronoun. : straightforward future of volition. So Ope: the


dual is quite natural, since it was norm al to carry two spears in battle, the
second as a spare (so A th en a im agines Odysseus
yp e in i 256; the hero arms him self to meet Scylla
in xii 228; he longs for the same arms in xviii 377-8,
almost a replica o f these lines 10 12; on xvi 295 see the note on 101-25
above).
102 . : very sim ilar phrases in xviii 378, IL xiii 188
(agreeing with ), IL xviii 6 11 . V o n der M hll prints ,
A llen , a discrepancy which is not simply orthographic,
: on the different types o f H om eric helmet see, for example,
Lorim er, Monuments, 238 n. 1, 244 n. 4, 509 n. 1. T h e various different
words used (not including , which is later) are naturally com m oner
in the Iliad than the Odyssey: ( Od. xix 32, xxiv 523), fem. ( Od'. i
256), (Iliadic only), ( Od. xxii 183, see below), and
(Od. x 206, xiv 276, xviii 378; in this book, here and at 1 1 1 , 123, 145; and
xxiv 231, where the n ou n s decline from helm et5 to cap5 is clearly seen in
goatskin hat5). T h e etym ology of from
indicates a headpiece originally m ade of dogskin; further examples of
leather caps are the . . . of bullhide, also known as
5 as the text informs us, in IL x 258; the o f weasel-skin,
from w easel5, in IL x 335; and the famous description o f the
. . . adorned with boar s teeth in IL x 26 1-5. B ut there are
m any passages w here is qualified by epithets, such as
(only here and at Od. xviii 378), w hich indicate a helmet m ade of metal:
(Od. X 206, xxii 1 1 1 , I45), (IL xii 183, Od. xxiv 523),
even (IL v 744). So too the synonym s m entioned above are found
w ith epithets such as (IL xvii 269), (II. xix 359)>
(IL XV372), (IL xii 184), (IL X196), (IL
xviii 597, Od. xxii 183), (IL xi 527); a helm et as it falls (IL
xv 648) or (IL xvi 105); cf. IL xiii 340-1 8 \
, IL XVI 7 1 * . . .
\ . . . .
103 - 4 . H ere and in 11415 w e m ay suspect a late interpolation intended to
incorporate the two servants in the battle.
103 . for m y part w ill go and arm m yself ; b u t is sem antically weak, the
idea of the trip to the store-room being already present in 01000.
104 . : and the sam e to the other, the cattle-herd ,
: a unique and problem atic word, from a denominative
* put on arm our < arm our ; W ackernagel notes that the
correct formation from hypothetical *-- w ould be *~-
> ( Untersuchungen, 249). F or w ithout the copula
see vii 310, xv 71.
105 . A form ulaic line (cf. 1 n.) found also at 170, 430, 490, xxiii 129, 263, xxiv
302, 330, 356, 406.
106 . R u n and bring m e them quickly w hile I still have some arrows left, not

241
COMMENTARY

w hen they have run out . Schwyzer attempts to bring out the volitive force
of the imperative olot, formed from the fut. , by translating w olle
bringen ( Grammatik, i 788). O n running see 99. $: the
spelling of the conj. in the papyri will have been E O C, which makes it
difficult, before a consonant or in some cases such as this (cf. Od. iii 126, iv
8oo, v 429, vi 80, ix 376, xii 327, xiii 321, xvii 3go), to choose between the
fiais preferred by the M S S (which alternate throughout between this spell
ing and os, regardless o f metrical quantity) and von der M h lls norm al
ized d o s or A llen s , supposedly the original form (cf. Skt. yvat). W hen
followed by a vowel, as in iv 90, 120, v 365, 424, vii 280, ix 233, xiii 315, xv
109, xix 367, only the last two spellings are possible; in v 386, xvfii 358,
xix 530, w here the transmitted text presupposes synizesis, both editors
allow the correction to elos or $; in ii 148 and v 123, A llen also emends,
w hile von der M hll prefers etas' with synizesis; finally, there is an iam bic
scansion in ii 78 where both editors accept s (see Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 11-12 ). : consecutive-final (see 22~5n., and
Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 363). : the well-known adverbial use of
a w ithout the copula, which has been considered to be a rough
equivalent of 7rdpecm, as in 11 i 174; from at m y side (there are) arrows
comes the sense have arrows to hand.
107 . Epexegetic after : lest (if you dawdle) . . (cf. xv 278). -
: only here and at 11. xi 636. : the participle is
causal; the servants, as yet unarm ed, do not count.
108 . = xix 14, in the scene of the hiding of the arms, where the line is m ore
appropriate, since Telem achus is obeying an order, whereas here it is he
w ho has taken the initiative. : possessive once again.
109 . : on this restricted use o f the inf. see 9911.; the line-opening
is identical to xxi 8. T h e line has been suspected (Blass, Interpolationen,
232-3) on the grounds that implies a lengthy duration and is
inappropriate to describe som ething put there only the day before; the
reflex, dative o f possession oi, preceded b y hiatus, is also objectionable,
attributing as it does the fathers weapons to his son.
110. T h e papyrus reading elXero supports von der M h ll against A lle n s
|, w hich is found in the suspiciously similar line 144; the 3rd pi. is
found in three other passages in this position, am ongst them Od. vii 10. T h e
com pound occurs in II. xxiv 22931, in a passage very sim ilar to this one:
ev6ev ^ , j ?
, , j , S m
- ' is also com m on (cf. xxi 6, 416, xxii 125).
1 1 1 . $ : a well-known Aeol. form w hich here replaces the metrically-
excluded ,- For in form ulae see 102 . and Hoekstra,
Modifications, 98 n. 5.
112. S I : he came back carrying (them) ; this line-opening occurs
in II. xi 247. T h e line-ending repeats that o f 99.
113 . In parallel with the aor. here, the imperf. dual in the
next line indicates sim ultaneous action (w hile they both . . T h e verb

242
B O O K X X I I 106-122

strictly applies only to the helm et ( referring back to in


102), not to the shield and spears.
114 . S $: likewise. : the dual has been used already at
xxi 244; here it is preceded b y w hich is almost equivalent to an article,
but w hich it seems unnecessary to em end.
115 . : took their stand, went and stood , perfective. -
: cf. in xxi 415 and n. ad loc., w ith the im possibly
corrupt ', here too N au ck defends against -
(acc. once in the Iliad, five times in the Odyssey, three of them in
this book).
116 . a u r d p : H e for his part5. T h e line-ending repeats 106, but the
situation is different: there O dysseus spoke of defending him self if he was
attacked while T elem achus was away, but here he uses up his last arrows
killing unnam ed suitors w ithout any m ention o f them having attacked him.
117 . : partitive gen. a U i: indicates a succession, one by
one . T h e line-ending, w ith its two hiatus in front o f digam m a and a further
one in thesis, occurs in xxiii 57; it m agnificently underscores the justice of
the hero s b loody vengeance. T h ere is no reason to em end this supposedly
jeju n e 5 line.
118 . : except in xxi 48 (see n. ad loc., and also on xxi 6) and
viii 556, this verb is always used (in the same position in the line) to describe
the shooting of arrows (cf. xxi 4 2 m ., xxii 266, xxiv i8 t, A m ph im edon s
speech in Hades). T h e two imperf, m ain verbs nicely capture the repeated
action. : the phrase occurs in IL xvii 361,
Od. xxiv 181, xxiv 449 (the dubious line 11 v 141 refers to a heap o f dead
sheep), is an exact parallel o f the sem antically-related -
in xxi 230 (see n. ad loc.); the suffix o f that w ord has probably been
taken and joined to n ear5, or it is derived from the superl. ,
seen for exam ple in II. xx 18 (E.-M . Voigt, LfgrE, i 1 t o - i i ) . A t any rate, the
idea is o f a pathetic pile-up o f bodies, one on top of another .
119 . : ran out, failed, were used u p (with acc. o f the person
concerned). : o f the five cases o f this w ord in xxi, three respect
the digam m a as here (9, 62, 395) w hile two (36, 83) ignore it, leaving a
preceding short vowel followed by a consonant.
120 - 1 . T h e re is a splendid calmness in this careful resting o f the now no
longer required bow . : the aor. appears tw ice m eaning defeat,
w in (IL v 37, Od. ix 59) and once m eaning tilt a battle one w ay or the other
(of a god)5 (IL xiv 510); in the literal sense, apart from IL viii 435 and Od. iv
42 (leaning chariots against the ), com pare 11. xxiii 510 (leaning a
w hip against the handrail of the chariot); occurs in Od. xxi 138,
165. For the force of perf. , w hich in three passages o f the Iliad
means to resist (in war) and at 11. X480 to keep still, compare IL xiii 261
, and above all IL xviii 373-4, w here H ephaestus m ade ()
tripods (consecutive-final, as here) rrtpi aos
.
122 - 5 . Scenes o f arm ing take at least three forms. T h e longest type is that

243
COMMENTARY

such as A gam em nons in II. xi 1646; a second relatively full type is that
such as Paris in II iii 338-38 or Patroclus in I I xvi 130-9 w here the
greaves, breastplate, sword, shield, helm et, and spear(s) are described; the
third and simplest type is that such as A ja x s in II. xv 47982 and O dysseus
here w here only the shield, helm et, and spears are mentioned. Line 122 on
the shield is identical except for the beginning to II iii 334, xvi 135, T h e two
lines on the helmet are identical in all four passages. Line 125 on the two
spears copies the first hemistich o f II. xvi 139 and the second hemistich o f II
iii 18 (Paris) and xi 43 (Agam em non; and see also Od. xxi 434.), which
replaces the 0 (or ) of of II. iii 338, xvi 139, and the
of II. xv 482 (cf. 7980.). :
m ade o f four layers o f hide (cf. 186); this and II. xv 479 (for the form ula see
H oekstra, Modifications, 94-5) are the only attestations of this adj.
Eustathius has , and there are three occurrences in the Iliad of
the w ord : two o f these presuppose a stem (the neut.
pi. has been proposed as a conjectural em endation for in
Em pedocles fr. 21, 6 d ; cf. ) m eaning root, underlay5 (of trees or
hair pulled out by the root, II. ix 541, x 15), while the prefix -- of the
third, w hich is applied to shields (II. xiii 130), is probably (see W acker-
nagel, Untersuchungen, 241, and Lorim er, Monuments, 183) the A eolic
equivalent of rpa- as in (four-legged) table, or rpv- in
(see n. on 102). : adv. : hanging down-
w ards. Note the com m on agreem ent o f a dual , followed by the
prim ary form (cf. the secondary in 101), with plural adjective.
L in e 124, paralleled as w e have seen in several o f the Iliadic passages, has
been em ended b y some editors, w ho find the mention of a gallant plum e
irrelevant in this sordid scene (see von der M h lls contem ptuous opinion
o f the late poet).
126 - 202 . T his problem atic passage, several lines o f w hich are suspicious
(126-30, 134, 14 0 -1, 144 -5, etc.), has been endlessly discussed. Evidently,
straightforward slaughter by bow and arrows offered less possibilities for
dram atic treatment than an Iliadic duel o f spears, which serves to cast a
heroic glow over the grim episode w e have ju st witnessed and also over the
following one, obviously attributable to the later poet, where the swine
herd and neat-herd jo in forces with O dysseus against the suitors and their
ally M elanthius.
126 . : the iter, form of has already appeared in xxi 94, 145, 283.
127 . T h e best translation is hard b y the edge o f the threshold, taking -
as predicative; this superlative occurs twice more in the Odyssey, xii
1 1 and 15, bu t there are sixteen cases in the Iliad, frequently in the same
position in the line (see II i 499, iv 139, v 754, etc.). T h e final hemistich is
repeated from 120.
128 . T here was a passage from the courtyard to the street. W e should trans
late the loose paratactic phrase in the second hemistich by a relative
(w hich was closed by a pair of close-fitting doors : cf. vii 88 . . .
); com pare xxi 236, 382, and later xxii 155, 258, 275, xxiii 42,

244
B O O K X X I I 1 2 2 - 1 31

w hich repeats this hemistich), occurs only here and at 137 in


H om er; the w ord is com m on in later texts (Hsch. -
A 8\ M oun t with its m ining
galleries, etc.).
129 . T h e two readings adopted by von der M h ll () and A llen ( ) are
both demonstrative, and refer not to b ut to 8s or .
: the pluperf, does not specify when O dysseus gave the order,
: look to, take care o f5, with acc. :
E um aeus epithet has already occurred in xxi 80, 234 (see n. ad loc.), 359; it
is applied to Philoetius in xxi 240 (see n.).
130 . 5: see n, on 1201; the participle occurs eight times in the
Odyssey, five o f them like this one in initial position (viii 3S0, xi 583, xiii 187,
xxiii 46, xxiv 204) and the other two in a second-foot dactyl (ix 442, xi 571).
T h e spelling vacillates between forms with and w ithout synizesis (-ao-/-eo-/
--/-~)\ Aristarchus preferred the Ionic form with metathesis o f
quantities in 11. xxiv 701, w hich is also found in papyri for Od. xxii
130, xxiii 46, xxiv 204 (against here), and suggested for this line by
W ackernagel, Untersuchungen, 72, and G hantraine, Grammaire, i 430.
5 *, the papyrus reading w ould have the advantage of
rem oving an used in the post-H om eric sense eius (Cauer, Homer-
kritiky 31; Stanfords note ad loc. and on xxiv 241); but is found only
nine times in the Odyssey, against num erous exam ples of (xxi 433, xxii
136, 333, xxiv 368), always in initial position and always, except in vi 5 and
xvii 526, as part of the form ula used in 100 above.
: another paratactic phrase, this time causal, (because) it was the
only avenue (by which the suitors m ight attack)5, is found only
here in H om er; w e find it used later b y Thucydid es and A poll, iv 148, 204.
T h e M S S tend to dissimilate the second gam m a in and
y t (see 306, and xxi 209., xx 501), w riting , with
com pensatory lengthening o f the iota; von der M h ll opts for this spelling,
A llen norm alizes to -yv- (Ghantraine, Grammaire, i 1 2 -1 3 leaves the
question undecided).
131 . : unlike in II. ii 494 etc., w here the quantitative
metathesis is m etrically indispensable since * is impossible, this
nam e has the sam e prosody as , and appears thus as the nam e of
a different w arrior in II. xx 321, 339, xxii 136, 212, 241, 327. H ere and in
247, unless we em end, we must adm it the m etathetized form (on the
form ulaic im plications see Hoekstra, Modifications, 9 nn. 4 -5 , 39-40, 137);
this calls attention to the fact that only occurs in this position in
two doublets, this line = 247 and xiv 459 = xv 304, w here synizesis is also in
p lay ( , ). T h e -
masks the hiatus w hich w ou ld be caused by following digamma,
: bringing to light > m anifest, derives from * light5;
there are seven exam ples of the m iddle in the Odyssey (see xxi 305, xxiii 202)
and four o f the active (xi 442, xii 165, xxii 131, 247), but all of them have

245
COMM ENTARY

short iota, whereas in 11 x 478, 502, xviii 500 the active lengthens the vowel
(not in x 202, however).
132- 4 . A gelaus proposal is m ade in the sam e courteous tone of enquiry as,
for example, II. iii 52, Od. vi 579.
132 . T h e first hemistich = xviii 414, xx 322, xxi 152, xxii 70, etc. N ote the
repetition o f the prefix in .
133 . See 77 . on the second hemistich. T h e suitors are unaware that, though
the door to the ma-y be open, since Eum aeus comes and goes
through it, the gate o f the courtyard has been locked (xxi 391 n.). A s usual,
the parataxis conceals a syntactical relation, this tim e o f purpose, and tell
the folk (so th a t). . . .
134 . T h e re is very general consensus that this line is spurious, copied here
from 78 (see the note on ad loc.) because o f the similarity o f the previous
line to 77. It is out of place here, since Odysseus is no longer shooting his
bow (Blass, Interpolationen, 205-6).
135 . = xvii 247. T h e goat-herd M elanthius, w hom we met in xxi 175-85 (see
n. ad loc.) and 265, here steps into the scene again. His role as a sym bol of
cunning and evil in the later layers of the m yth was briefly touched upon in
the Introduction to xxi; it is revealed by his name, he o f black designs, and
b y those o f his fam ily (M elantho, his sister in xviii 321, xix 65; his father
D olius the crooked , xviii 322, xxii 159, xxiv 222, etc.). aiVoAos one w ho
comes and goes about the goats > goat-herd appears in two similes in
the Iliad (ii 474, iv 275), and nine times in the Odyssey (from xvii 247
onwards), always in the nom . or acc. and at the end o f the line with the
pleonastic and alliterative (H. Geiss, LfgrE, i 338; on the alliteration
see xxi 2 6 5 -6 n.).
136 . o u w s : T h at is quite im possible . SioTp<f>s: it is hardly
surprising that this com m on epithet for M enelaus (twelve examples) in
^ '4 ^ ^ should be used for the m etrically equivalent nam e Agelaus; it is
twice applied also to Odysseus (x 266, 419), once to Peisistratus (xv 199),
and once to A gam em non (xxiv 122), always in the same position in the line,
. . . a iv w s: very close ; is here simply very (cf. Engl, terribly
good), w ithout any residual connection with the idea of terror or anger, as
in II. iii 158, where H elen is terribly like a goddess , . . . oiKtv, or
Od. xvii 24, terribly badly dressed, . . . . . . (V. Pisani,
LfgrE, i 320-3; cf. vi 168, xviii 80, xix 324, xxiv 353, w here the etym ological
m eaning still subsists).
137 . T h e entrance of the passage is dangerous, im passable (E.-M . Voigt,
LfgrE, i 118 5-9 1). T h is m eans either that it is dangerously near the door o f
the feast-hall (the paratactic link with the preceding clause w ou ld be
causal, and therefore), or that besides bein g close it is also dangerously
narrow (in which case the link w ould be with the following asyndetic clause
in 138, and (I say it is dangerous b e cau se ). . .).
138 . git] is opt. by attraction from the m ain clause, with a suggestion of
conditional force. O n see 409.
139 . : w ell then, interj. (E.-M . Voigt, LfgrE, i 129-34; Schwyzer,

246
B O O K X X I I 131-147

Grammatik, ii 245, 314, 583-4; Palmer, Companion, 150); there are


num erous parallels, for exam ple with following imper. in iv 294, x 460, xii
23, xxi i34> 263, xxii 252 (on xxi 73 and 106, see nn. ad loc.); with subj., as
here, in xiii 179, and, with & , in xxii 428,487; dAA a ye with imper. in
xxi 281, 336, xxii 233> 4 1 7; with neg. im per., xxi 111. : see 41 and
65 .; von der M h ll does not go so far as to write here, is
a consecutive-final inf.
140 - 1 . A s noted in the com m ent on 225, these lines have been suspected of
bein g an interpolation designed to link this passage with the episode o f the
hiding o f the arms: M elanthius, it is argued, had no w ay of knowing any
thing about it (Blass, Interpolationen, 206-7, 233; cf. Focke, Odyssee, 358).
B u t Page and others defend the lines on the grounds that the goat-herd is
an unusually cunning and resolute character, w ho as w e see puts his plan
into action w ithout w aiting to discuss it (Page, Odyssey, 99 n. 15). T h ere is
little to choose betw een the two interpretations w hich have been proposed:
for (the arm s are) inside (the house) and they have not put them anywhere
outside , or, deleting 141 alone w ith Kirchhoff, for (the arms) are inside
and nowhere else ; or even for they have put them in the store-room and
not anyw here else . : parenthetic is com m on (e.g. ii 255,
xvi 309), bu t used in the sam e w ay occurs only here and in xiv 363
(Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 584; xxi 79, xxii 67 are not comparable),
: the dual form repeats that o f xix 20; the second hemistich o f
141 is identical to that of xix 31.
142 - 3 . T h e juxtaposition o f the two proper names in adjacent lines is
deliberate: a vulgar and bare-faced goat-herd dares to enter O dysseus
store-room. Brards ingenious conjecture requires lengthening in thesis.
144 - 5 . It has been rem arked how absurd it is to portray one m an carrying so
m any weapons: the lines (so sim ilar to 1 1 0 - i i ) were already condem ned
b y Aristarchus, w ho, according to Eustathius, athetized them w ith a and
the com m ent etVat . . . . In truth,
M elanthius could have divided his burden better, seeing that only one suit
o f arm our was left after his first trip to the store-room. B u t the fact remains
that the narrative requires both that there should be two trips to the store
room, and that as m any as possible o f the suitors should be arm ed as
quickly as possible. A ristarchus , remarks van der V alk ( Textual Criticism,
189), failed to bear in m ind the m ythical and fantastic atmosphere of the
Odyssey (see also Blass, Interpolationen, 206). cfcX e: see the apparatus,
and com pare n o n .
146 . Cf. io gn .
147 - 9 . By a fine touch, O dysseus does not realize w hat is happening until he
sees the suitors arm ing themselves (rt^ea m eans shield and helmet) in the
shadows at the other end o f the hall, after M elan thius return through the
, and w hen som e o f them are already starting to threaten him
w ith their great spears. T h e heros m om entary loss of heart (note the
form ula in 147, paralleled in 68, see n. ad loc.) introduces an interesting
element o f suspense. rrcp i a X X o p e vo u s is a variation on the

247
COMM ENTARY

p ut on (clothes) o f 103, also used in vi 178; this com pound


with 7- is found elsewhere only in tmesis (v 231, xiv 528; the active, in
466, is used in a different sense). . . . : the lexical m eaning
is exploit, deed (of war) , here used to m ean a great deed yet to be accom
plished (as in II xi 734, xii 416, xvi 208), not, as elsewhere in the Odyssey,
one already undertaken or accom plished ( Od. xvi 346, xxii 408), or a blam e
w orthy one (xix 92).
150 . = x v ii5 9 i, x i x 3, xxiii 113. Cf. 100.
151 - 2 . Sfj n s : someone, so it seems . T h e final vowel o f ivC is
lengthened before the following -. : dual, because Odysseus and
T elem achus are the only ones who count. After speculating whether one of
his women-slaves has betrayed him to the suitors b y opening the door,
O dysseus makes a second and m ore w ell-founded guess: unless it be
M elan thius (but see the apparatus).
153 . A heavily form ulaic line, w ith T elem achus typical epithet
(from i 213, with , and i 388, with ; cf. xxi 343, qualifying
in xxi 355, and 8 at the end o f the line in xxi 320, on which
see n. on 90 above).
154 . : see 101 n. : , it
was I and no one else, heavily em phatic; is internal acc. o f the
mistake committed, qualified by y 5 in slight mitigation: have erred, in
this at any rate (though I am more careful otherwise) ; is an
A eolic form, as the psilosis and the reflex -po- of the r show, useful for feet
in dactyls, as w e have seen in xxi 421 , 425 (cf. vii 292). T h e line-ending, with
enjam bm ent o f the following , is found again in xi 558-9.
155 . T h e relative is causal in sense. O n the final form ula see n. on 128, and
the variant in the apparatus (singular here and in 258, 275; plural in xxi
236, 382).
156 . : aor. part, with apocope of the prefix - (cf. , from
()- ), found in II. iv 113 with the very different m eaning leaning
(som ething on som ething else) (see the Introduction to xxi on xxi 138,
165), A t II. v 751, viii 395 (of which Od. xi 525 is a probably spurious imita
tion), the Hours are said to be in charge of opening and shutting the
clouds as if they were doors, d and (cf. 157 ). dva-
probably originally referred to the latch being lifted upw ards , as at
Hdt. v 16, and then cam e to m ean swing the door away from the doorpost,
leaving it ajar; , on the other hand, m eant put the door back
against the doorpost, leaving it closed. O n T elem achus carelessness see n.
on 10 1-25. : the w ord is applied to Eurycleia as superintend
ent o f the servants in 396, to the guards and sentries posted by Aegisthus
in iv 524 and by the suitors in xvi 365 (cf. II. xviii 523), and to D olon as the
guide o f a scouting party in 11 x 324, etc. T h e poet wished to say that
M elanthius had proved a better spy than Eum aeus; but the latter has
taken no part in this, being in no position to observe the goat-herds
com ings and goings through the ; as it stands, the phrase means
som ething like someone has sum m ed up this situation m ore cleverly (than

248
B O O K X X I I 147-165

us) . This is to overestimate the cunning of M elanthius, who could not have
been sure of finding the locked store-room so providentially open when he i
m ade his suggestion.
157- 9 . T elem achus5 instructions are somewhat incoherent: first he asks :
Eum aeus to close the door (see the notes to xxi 6, 241), a detail which would
be of little significance at this jun cture except that some suitors have yet to !
arm themselves, causing the goat-herd to m ake a second sally (whose I
failure to secure further weapons could not be foreseen by Telem achus); ;
and second, to seek out the identity o f the traitor, which w ould have been ;
im possible if the swine-herd had found the store-room empty. Neverthe- i
less, if we suppress these lines (see the apparatus) we shall have to suppose '
that Eum aeus sees M elanthius from his vantage-point by the threshold, ;
and that is impossible.
157 . : come n o w !5 (cf. 139). : see n. on xxi 234.
158- 9 . : 'consider, think5 followed by two indirect questions; cf. xvi ;
260-1. T elem achus picks up his father s suggestion about the w om en- ;
slaves (apa, perhaps5), but instinctively prefers to believe, like him, that the :
culprit is M elanthius (note with the rel., and see n. and app. crit. on xxi :
175-85)
160 . = xxiii 288, xxiv 98, 203, 383, a very com m on formula, with its
unaugm ented verb.
161 . T h e aor. m ay be translated as pluperf.;. m eanwhile, the goatherd had
already entered again, !
162 . : fut. part, with final sense in order to bring , as in iv 532, viii 257.
T h e second hem istich is sim ilar to xvi 5.
163 . T h e second hem istich is repeated in 355 and, with , in xiv
484; it derives from such lines as II ix 201, xi 464.
164 . = v 203, x 401, xxiv 542, etc.; similar to xxiv 192.
165 . Y o u are right (SiJ), there he is ( predicative, cf. for exam ple II. xiv !
344) com ing into the hall again, that loathsom e man, just as we thought.
St) avre has synaloepha (cf. ix 3 11, in the same position in the line), j
$ : that cannot even be looked at > loathsom e (R. Philipp,
LfgrE, i 265-7; cf. viii 309, xvi 29, xxiii 303); the w ord nicely captures the
psychological detail of the faithful servants impatient indignation at a j
faithless one. : after w e seem to have an
ellipsis in the acc. and inf. construction (ov . . . ; the verb appears to I
be an unaugm ented imperf. here and in the only other passage where the
form occurs, xxi 322 (see n. ad loc.), as we already thought (before
you said it, in xxi 322; before it was proved b y the evidence, here) ; for the
form cf. in i 323, ix 213, xi* 39<h as against , x 248, xx 349; but j
the etym ology of the verb is obscure (in principle, it should be from
*, but the question of quantity is important: alongside exam - j
pies o f w ith short -l- such as II. i 558, xiii 153, xxiii 467, the rem ainder i
offer the etym ologically inexplicable long --; cf. xxi 7 9 ,9 1,2 6 1, xxii 67,14 0 j
and n., 159, 210, 215, xxiii 261, xxiv 401, beside contracted oi'otro in xxii 12; j
see Chantraine, Grammaire, 13 7 1-2 ).
COMM ENTARY

166 . T h e second hemistich is identical to 11 xiv 470, Od. iii 101, xxiii 35, etc.;
the variant tones is found in iii 247. T h e aor. imperative iviones
in the sam e position occurs also in II xi 186, Od. xi 492, Od. xiv 185, etc.; it
is an old injunctive form, like > , etc., from a pres, eve- or
< ^inseq^, with locatival prefix vt-; the unfamiliarity of the ending has
led in the Odyssey to a secondary evtone (iv 642; see Chantraine, Grammaire,
i 467), and a large num ber o f variant readings without the final -.
167- 8 . T h e double indirect question is parallel to the construction in 1589,
but here 77 e <! * ^ is not contracted to ; ^ is aor. subj.,
deliberative. A t the end of the fine, the expression or
indicating victory in com bat appears in II. iii 71, 92, Od. xviii 46, 83
(with in another sense, xxi 345, xxii 353).
168 . : the word is always found at the same place in the line
except in II. iii 107. : the verb takes the same construction
here as in 64 (see n.), xiii 193; cf. iii 206 relaaoBat vnepaaips,
avenge m yself on the suitors for their outrage .
169 . : contem ptuous, as in xxi 334, 403, xxii 5, 49, 78 (see nn.), 134.
T h e final phrase, with its double hiatus (the first in thesis, the second
caused by digam m a) heightens the gravity o f M elanthius5 evil deeds.
170 . Cf. 105 m
171 - 2 . A s Eum aeus is incapable of overcoming M elanthius single-handed,
O dysseus gives Philoetius leave to accom pany him. T :
for our part Telem achus and ; in G reek the first person is not put last for
politeness. : the usual form ula for the suitors in
nom . (xxi 174, 232) and acc. (xxi 58, 213., xxiii 63).
172 . : w e w ill contain them (cf. 70.; the chief danger is that the
suitors will escape from the hall, robbing O dysseus of his tactical
advantage). For the concessive force o f nep with part. cf. xxi 103, 129, 250,
370nn., xxii 409.
173 - 93 . T o understand these lines w ithout recourse to unnecessary deletions
(see the apparatus, and G . Pasquali, Versi spuri in \ S IF C vi (1928), 225-
9, w ho condem ns 1757, 1923), we must distinguish between O dysseus
orders and their execution (187-93). M elanthius finds the store-room
alm ost bare after T elem achus and his own incursions, and has to poke
about in the com ers a while before finding not a com plete suit of armour,
but a decent helm et and a broken-down old shield of Laertes ; m eanwhile,
unbeknow nst to him, Eum aeus and Philoetius reach the doorw ay o f the
store-room through the and the $. T h e y lie in w ait w hile he
takes up his load, which puts him at a disadvantage. T h e y put dow n shield
and spear b y the door; when the goat-herd puts his foot out o f the door they
attack him , overpower him , drag him b y his hair back into the store-room
and throw him to the floor; then they find a plank (probably a shelf: see
174 .), lash him with his back to it and his hands and feet tightly boun d
behind it, leaving him entirely helpless, and then tie a stout rope to one end
o f the plank, throw it over one o f the roof-beams close to the central pillar
w here it is free o f the ceiling and haul the plank up until M elanthius is

250
B O O K X X I I 166-175

suspended high on the colum n, hitching the free end of the rope to a nail or
boss on the w all. After a few taunts to the prisoner, they then p ick up the
w eapons and lock the door behind them (201) as they have been ordered,
though this is no longer necessary. W e see, therefore, that O d ysseu s5 orders
(tie his hands and feet b eh in d him , throw him to the ground, lash him up)
are not in logical order, w hile the p lan k is not m entioned at all in the
narrative of their execution.
173 . 8 : 'y o u tw o5; van L eeuw en notes the lack o f a
pronoun com plem ent w ith the double acc. after , w hich
Berard attempts to resolve w ith his S c , bearing in m ind that
none of the seven exam ples o f in H om er (of w hich this and the
cases in 190, iii 162, xi 597 are O dyssean) bears the m eaning twist b a ck in
the context of torture or punishm ents w hich is found in Sophocles,
H erodotus, an d A ristophanes. A s for the second hem istich, there are
abundan t exam ples o f () at the end of the line (v 184, xvi 47, xx 2,
xxiv 230, 344; , viii 135), and o f ? .
174 . V o n der M h ll and others bracket this line, on the ground that it is
om itted b y one papyrus. In m y view it is a m istake to take ? here as
doors5 and connect it w ith the order in 157, w h ich as w e have seen is
incoherent, an interpretation w h ich has given rise to conjectures such as
and variants such as (cf. i 442, iv 802, xxi 46 .); the leather
thong is indeed used b y E um aeus an d Philoetius in the end, b u t w ithout
tying it to the , since there is no danger o f a n yb o d y opening the
door from inside (see xxi 24 m .); this excludes such an interpretation. A s
for (always at the end o f the line in the Odyssey except at xvii 201, xxii
55, xxiii 249, 261), there is no parallel for the translation (closing) after one
self, of a door. It is therefore better to take , a w ord of uncertain
etym ology but w ith a suffix com m on in technical terms, as board,
(unshaped) p lan k, a m ean ing w e have already encoun tered in the sh elf in
Penelopes store-room (xxi 5 1 .); this m ay in deed be the sam e piece o f
tim ber. Indeed, since xxi 51 is the o n ly occurrence of the w ord in the
singular, the text here w ou ld b e im p roved by accepting N a u ck s conjecture
?, with (inf. for imper. like and in 176)
taking M elanthius as unexpressed direct object and the gen. dependent on
the prefix ~\ on the other hand, ? doors w ou ld require us to take
the inf. as perfective.
175 - 7 . T h ese lines have been subject to a deluge o f condem nation, not only
because of the m istaken interpretation o f ? above but also because
175, repeated in 192, is ^? (Blass, Interpolationen, 207). O n ce
again, deletion seems unnecessary; pace P asquali ( V ersi spuri5), the lines
describe a torture w ell-known from H erodotus, a typ e o f crucifixion or -
(ix 120 ). It is
also referred to b y A ristophanes, using the sam e w ord ? ( Thesm. 9 3 1 -
40; in PL 309-12 there is a direct reference to M elanthius, though it is
falsely asserted that he was suspended b y the genitals). T h e text itself refers
to the torture in unequivocal terms: the agony of the victim is m entioned in

251
COMMENTARY

188-9 ( ), whether because the ropes are painfully tight or


because the body is squeezed by the plank, and the cruelly sarcastic taunts
(evvfj ei't , tg6; raeis v , 2) are paralleled in
sim ilar scenes in H om er, if not during H eras punishm ent in II. xv 18-21
(where the goddess does not know what she is hanging from, with two
anvils tied to her feet and her hands boun d with a golden chain) at least
during A chilles torture of his prisoners by tying their hands behind their
backs () in II. xxi 30.
175 . O n this see the note on xxi 15 and the possible
solution to the objections o f Eustathius and others (see app.). oeiprj is a rare
w ord in H om er (II. viii 19,25, on the famous golden rope which Zeus defies
the other gods to pull; II. xxiii 115, ropes to tie bundles of firewood),
: for nepa tie, related to m ipap cable, rope , see 33 .; of.
Od. xii 37 m-rrdpavraL is accom plished , : attached to,
around his body .
176 . *: up on, at the top o f (the colum n) (Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 441).
O n see the n. on xix 38. O n the two
infinitives used as imper. see 174.
177 . Final clause, w hich in H om er m ay take either xtv or dr. : for
a long tim e, with the same suffix as ', appears seven times in the Iliad
and thirteen in the Odyssey, it is not used with a preceding short vowel
m etrically lengthened by the original B y.
178 . = iii 477, xv 220, xxiii 141; very similar are vi 247, xx 157.
179 . p : cf. 109 n., 146. T h e y take their weapons with them (see 114,
17393 .), T h e two servants do not actually enter the store-room, bu t stop
at the door; Classen s conjecture is therefore inadmissible. :
^ with a part, norm ally means to do som ething w ithout being
noticed (cf. 198); cases such as this one w here the verb takes an acc.
personal object, m eaning to escape som eones notice, not to have ones
presence observed by som eone, are m uch rarer (cf. xi 102, xifi 393, xvii
305; xi 126 Be is rather different, (something) will not
escape your notice ; so is ix 281, where means something like
deceived).
180 - 1 . W hile M elanthius (6) is busy rum m aging (ipevva, imperf.) for arms
in the com ers ( ) of the almost bare store-room, the two servants
(note the duals with pi. verb , and see the app.) halt one at either side
of the door; so too the two Phaeacian serving-girls stood . . . j
^, vi 1819.
182 . : (and) w hen ; asyndeton with cure at the beginning o f a line is rel
atively com m on (iii 9, xiii 78,93, xvii 359, xx 56, 73, xxiv 147). T h e tem poral
clause stretches down to the parenthetical line 186; the sim ultaneity of
M elan thius action and that of his two opponents is reinforced b y the con
trast betw een the imperf. and the aorists in 187.
183- 4 . . . . j : cf. 2656 (one skin o f wine, the
other of water), //. xxi 164-6 (to one . . . to the other , of a pair of warriors),
and especially II. xiv 272-3, xxi 7 1 -2 , on a persons two hands.

252
B O O K X X I I 1 7 5 - 1 88

183 . O n the see n. on 102 and 122-5; this is the only occasion the
w ord is qualified b y .
184 . y e p o v : the unique use o f this adj. for a thing rather than a person has
provoked corrupt readings, though later w e find Simon, fr. 145, 3D
. . . , S. El. 25 . . . ; E. Or. 529 ; S. fr.
794R (cited b y Eustathius as a parallel on this line); also
A . Ck. 314 , and fr. 6 5 1 ' (Schwyzer,
Grammatik, ii 176). or is hapax, of uncertain meaning; its etym o
logical cognates im ply som e kind of dry deterioration such as rusting
(V . Pisani, LfgrE, i 183; cf. ? dry , as in ix 234; dry out,
shrivel, xi 587; H ellen, drought, ; H sch. -
; in xix 18 the excuse for hiding the arm s is that they w ill otherwise
be spoilt by the sm oke from the hearth), bu t the verb (especially
if one prefers some sort of etym ological connection with H esychius
- , rather than with fine flour) implies some kind of
spattering by liquids (with blood, , , in .
100, 268, xi 169, 503; Od. xxii 402, 406, and the dubious xxiii 48; with
brains, R xi 98; with blood and brains, Od. xiii 395; with sweat, II xvii 387).
See Hoekstra, Modifications, 92 n. 7.
185 . T h e variant derives from line-endings such as xiv 9, 451. be a
yo un g m an in the tem poral sense is a hapax (see the conjecture in the app.)
w hich reappears in Hellenistic texts. : used to carry, the
only exam ple in the Odyssey of this doubly m arked iterative form with
vowel-change and suffix,
186 . T h e whole line is parenthetical. 1 : but by that tim e
(cf. II xi 107, Od. xvii 296), but ye, despite 1 1 xiii 441, has caused dif
ficulties: for exam ple, the papyrus reading a p ' . V a n H erw erdens
conjecture is based on parallels such as xxiv 187, and one m ight add vi 26,
w hich like this passage offer be laid u p (cf. 109.). T h e second
phrase is paratactic; we should translate with a causal conjunction,
: seams, here only in H om er; the sense is that the leather laces (on
cf. 174., and note the hiatus) used to sew together the shields
layers of hide w ere com ing apart (see 1225 0 .; for the process, see II. xii
2967, w here a craftsman |
). T h e variant reading with unaugm ented verb
requires an im possible caesura after a trochee in the fourth foot.
187 . A podotic (see 182 n.), as for exam ple in xx 57. T h e piling-up of aorists
(mixing plurals w ith duals, as usual) strikingly portrays the swiftness of the
action. : inside .
188 . : b y the hair, another of this books unique forms, imitated by
A poll, iv 18; it is form ed from , a w ord not found in that form in
H om er w hich later m eant tonsure, haircut as w ell as hair clippings (Hdt.
iii 8), from (iv 198, xxiv 46; see n. on 36 for a m etaphorical use,
and for another, the pecking of vultures, xi 578), with a suffix like that o f
(six exam ples in the Iliad), (twice in the Odyssey), (see
269 .), (four times in the Odyssey; cf. later ). M elanthius, in

353
COMMENTARY

contrast to the norm al custom o f slaves, wears his hair long (see the sch. in
the papyrus quoted in the apparatus), a habit w hich arouses the ill-feeling
o f his fellows (S. M arinatos, Archaeologia B, 3; and see the notes on 1929
and 196 below). : the pleonastic expression is
deliberate, underlining M elanthius helplessness; the line-ending, with
parallels in x 67, xii 153, 250, 270, xxiv 420, is a fine psychological detail.
189 . . . . : tmesis. O n the painful bonds see 17 5 -7 n.
190 . W e should translate aor. by a pluperf.; com pare similar
expressions in ii 415 (orders b y Odysseus) and vi 212 (Nausicaa).
191 . T h is superfluous line, whose first hem istich is similar to viii 18, is
om itted b y various M S S and papyri; it is condem ned by von der M h ll,
and b y Blass, Interpolationen, 207.
192- 9 . T h e repetition o f 17 5 -6 in 192-3 and the high-flown tone o f 19 5-9
have prom pted critics to delete these lines; the latter are, however, perfectly
defensible as a cruel sarcasm directed at one w ho has got above him self (see
188.).
194 . It is a striking fact that, whereas in the Iliad H om er frequently addresses
a character directly, in the Odyssey he only ever does so to Eum aeus, and
always when introducing a speech. T here are fifteen examples o f the line
ending cue from xiv 55 (cf. Evpate in a
speech by another character in xv 381). : elsewhere
only at I I xvi 744, xxiv 649, in the same position in the line, the first in a
similar apostrophe to Patroclus (cf. II. xvi 20, etc., and II. iv 27 and others
addressed to M enelaus; xv 365, to Phoebus; xv 582, to M elanippus;xx: 2, to
Achilles). O n all this see Hoekstra, Modifications, 13840.
195 . : undoubtedly , as in 236 below, and also in ironic sense at xv
327 and xvii 217, w hich has the same opening as this line.
: you w ill spend the night awake, on w atch (see II. x 312, Od. v
466, w ith the sam e construction; cf. the different construction in Od. xx
523 \ ); an unkind understatem ent, in
view o f M elanthius som ewhat uncom fortable position.
196 - 8 . T h e opening of 196, with lengthening before ~, is repeated in II ix
618, x 75, xxii 504, and sim ilar to Od. xxiii 349. : there
are eight O dyssean exam ples o f the stem Acy- lie down with the prefix
- from w hich this pass. part, derives (the same form, in the same
position in the line, at x i 62). : this ending (cf. xxi 319.,
322n.) has caused textual problem s, even though the hiatus (*pepoinev) is
irreproachable. T h e sarcasm o f the phrase is m ore biting if one recalls
E um aeus previous m ockery o f M elanthius airs and graces in xvii 244-5. A
m inor problem in 197 was raised b y Eustathius, w ho pointed out that this
is the only occasion w hen Eos is connected with O cean b y a character, not
by the poet (Blass, Interpolationen, 207-8; see Lorim er, Monuments, 82 n. 2,
and Pocock, Odyssean Essays, 2,66; for analogical w ith a proper nam e
see Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 497). A m ore significant point is that 197 and
xxiii 347 (which m ay have been copied from it) are the only occasions
w here fjptyveia is used as a noun to m ean daw n, against ii l and so m any

254
B O O K X X I I 188-203

other examples w here it is an adjective (the attempt by Eisenberger,


Studien, 3 14 n. i , to defend the authenticity of xxiii 347 by arguing that in
every case can be taken as a noun, ju st like Tptroyvia in iii
378, is unconvincing; Erbse, Beitrge, 191-2). Blass proposes solving the
problem by fusing 196-7 into one line, ending in ?, <j y*
: heavily emphatic, you at any rate (who in your
elevated position will be the first to glimpse the light of dawn over the
horizon) . on the uses of see 179. -
p vij: against the doubtful reading (see the variants in the
apparatus) m ust be placed the fact that H om er nowhere else uses
. for the com ing of the dawn, the sun, etc. (cf., however, Aesch. Ag. 658),
whereas is used for the seasons (ii 107), the night (xiv 457).
: this epithet of D aw n is used ten times in the Odyssey, all of
them except xiv 502 (in the fifth foot) in the same position in the line and
frequently followed b y . O n O cean conceived as a river flow
ing round the earth and bounding it on the east, as here and at xxiii 244,
and on the south (x 508), west (xi 156), and north (v 275), see D. G ray,
Archaeologia G , 5. : attempts have been m ade to correct
, significantly found only here in H om er (and not an Ionic form,
despite in H dt., Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 652; nor is
found in the poems, Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 255) by the conjecture
. In either case the m eaning is at that time of day w hen norm ally
. . this sense requires the unaugm ented imperf. ayiveis rather than pres,
a y im s , w hich w ou ld also lend added point to E um aeus taunt, / has I
been used in xiv 105 of bringing animals to slaughter for the suitors.
199 . is used in anastrophe. : consecutive-final; the line
ending is used for the preparation of meals b y servants in iii 428, iv 683, or
b y soldiers and sailors in iv 531, xiv 251; the variant formula
. . . is applied to slaves in iv 624, xxiv 412; interestingly enough,
only here and at ii 322 ( ) is the m eal prepared by the suitors
themselves (see xxi 428 .).
200 . o : demonstrative again; M elanthius had been left there , the pluperf.
signalling the swift progress of the action; this is the only exam ple
o f this passive in the Odyssey, b u t it occurs three times in the Iliad, twice in
conjunction with the pathetic , of warriors stretched out on the
ground (Harpalion, like a w orm , at II. xiii 655, and Lycaon at xxi 119).
201. See the nn. on 1 5 7 - 9 , 1 7 3 -9 3 and 179; for variations on this
phraseology, com pare this passage with xxiv 498 ; xxiv 496
w ith I t xxiii 131 ; xxii 114.
202 . T h e end of the line is identical to that of 115 (see also the apparatus
here). T h e two servants naturally return by w ay of the . O n this type ,
of line, and the relation between the dual and the older (xxiv
361), see Hoekstra, Modifications, 13 4 -5. For es with personal nam es (a j
usage w hich has nothing to do with is in ii 195) see xxi 308 .,
xxii 99 n.
203 . : cf. xxiv 520 ?; the phrase, with sing. I

255
COMMENTARY

, is an O dyssean variation on /- (//. ii 536, iii 8, xi


508, xxiv 364). : pluperf., used in the same w ay as
XXenrro in 200; it is used five times in the Iliad, always in the same position
in the fine.
204 . Predicative, four in n um ber5, em phasizing the contrast {oi . . . oi
S) betw een the small group on the threshold and the crow d of strong
warriors facing them (the line-ending occurs also in vi 284, and a similar
one in xxiv 427).
205 - 40 , A well-written episode, with some fine and lively dialogue, but full of
the inconsistencies and touches of fancy characteristic of the later poet.
O pinions are divided; K irchhoff and D uentzer as usual condem n them
(D uentzer includes 203-4), whereas Blass {Interpolationen, 2403), van der
V a lk {Textual Criticism, 241-2), and Besslich {Schweigen, 97-8) are more
lenient. In fact, three elements of the m yth are uneasily com bined here;
first, the character of M entor, who is oddly described in ii 226-7 as having
been entrusted by the absent Odysseus with the government of his house,
w ho supports T elem achus in the assem bly in ii 224-56, and who briefly
reappears in iv 655, xvii 68; secondly, the disguised A then a (for her ability
to change herself at will into various persons see xiii 3 12 -13 , as w ell as xvi
208-10 on her limitless power to so change O dysseus himself), who
appears to Telem achus in M entors shape from ii 267 onwards to act as his
guide throughout the rem ainder o f ii and iii; and third, the goddess
continued part in the action, as she directs the hero at every step, disguised
as a shepherd (xiii 221) or a w om an (xvi 157, xx 30) and clothing and
unclothing him (xvi 173, 457), helping him against Irus (xviii 69), lighting
his w ay in the strange scene o f the lam p (xix 33); or as she inspires Penelope
to show herself before the suitors (xviii 158), hides the truth from her (xix
479), draws sleep dow n over her eyes (xix 604, xxi 358), or suggests the test
of the bow (xxi 1); or again, as she incites the suitors to their insults (xviii
346, xx 284) or to m orbid laughter (xx 345). T h e presence o f the goddess
was not necessary during the brief battle with bow and arrow, but this poet
sees her help (promised in xiii 393, xx 47, and expected by the hero in xvi
260-1) as indispensable, in Ilia die fashion, to the spear-fighting. Neverthe
less, he has recourse to the old expedient of m aking her appear disguised as
M e n to r '(205-6). O dysseus is heartened, suspecting the truth (208-10).
A gelaus, however, shows in his speech (213-23) that the suitors are not
surprised at the unexpected, and unexplained, appearance of a further ally
of O dysseus: they must suppose he has com e in through the door from the
courtyard, and this m ode of entry w ill have encouraged them to think that
news of w hat is happening has got abroad in Ithaca, and that the hoped-for
(77,13 3) is ori the w ay. A gelaus says nothing o f this, bu t confines him
self to threatening M entor with a suitors usual boastfulness, em boldened
b y the weapons they have already obtained, and (since he and the others
are still ignorant o f M elanthius fate) by the confident expectation o f
obtaining more. A thena, for her part, adopts a strange attitude: angry with
we know not w hom (224), she reproaches Odysseus with words which,

256
B O O K X X I I 203-209

though they m ay hearten him in part, unjustly accuse him of weakness of


spirit (225-35). W e are, besides, immediately aware that the goddess is not
playing a decisive role for the moment, but is rather submitting father and
son to a typically H om eric test, ju st as Odysseus him self did to Eum aeus in
xiv 459, xv 304, also w ith the w ord (the m eaning of xxi 124, 149
is, however, quite different). She subsequently disappears, flying up to the
carved ceiling of the feast-hall like a swallow5 or as a swallow5, w e are not
quite sure w hich. Im m ediately her plans change again: without O dysseus
having responded to the test in one w ay or the other, the goddess begins to
deflect the spears of the suitors (256, 273), until at last she allows herself to
be seen, brandishing the aegis in rather grotesque fashion from the roof. A s
for the suitors, they do not ask how M entor, after his fiery speech, dis
appears into thin air; A gelaus, on noting his disappearance, exults at the
vain effect o f M entor s threats (248-54), and assuming effective leadership
o f the suitors now that their three chiefs Antinous, Eurym achus, and
A m phinom us have fallen, comes up w ith a simple b ut intelligent strategy
to avoid losing their twelve precious spears in ineffectual casts: the attack is
to be m ade in two waves of six throws each, in the hope that the most
dangerous opponent, O dysseus himself, will be killed in either the first or
the second assault. Both assaults are frustrated, however, as we have seen,
by Athena. It remains to consider M ed o n s words at xxiv 445- 59 , evidently
the work of the late poet: he claims to have seen a god, w hom he does not
nam e, helping O dysseus and disguised as M entor. T his can be explained
as a realization which the herald has reached a posteriori, on thinking back
over the rem arkable series of events.
205 . = xxiv 502, and a sim ilar text in ii 267. krc\ . . . : tmesis. -
, adv., found thirteen times in the Odyssey, five of them in xxiv, b u t
only three times in the Iliad.
206 . = ii 268, 401, xxiv 503, 548. : the other occurrences of the
verb, with its obvious initial digam m a, refer, with the single exception o f xi
241 (Poseidon changes into the river Enipeus), to A thena s m etamorphoses
(i 105, into M entes; iii 372, into a vulture; vi 22, 24, into the daughter o f
D im as; viii 8, into a herald, as at II. ii 280).
207 . T his line is similar, bu t not identical, to xxiv 504; the opening is
identical to xiii 226. is used of jo y at a gods intervention also in xiii
250 (Athena), xx 104, xxi 414 (Zeus; see n. ad loc.).
208 . : a clear distinction m ust be m ade between * > prayer,
curse (iv 767, xv 496), and evil, ruin , of unknown etym ology b u t
related to (once in the Iliad, six in the Odyssey, amongst them
xxiii 283) and also to H esychius apos- and -
(A. Ebner, LfgrE, i 12 3 2 -3 ; R . M ader, ibid., 12 3 3 -5 ) T he latter word is
found six times in the Iliad and at Od. ii 59, xvii 538 ,
b u t never in the position in the line it occupies here. :
y o u r dear friend ; the adjective is m ore than possessive here.
209 . o s : the relative clause is causal in meaning. T h ere
is an im portant double m eaning implicit in the. iterative (cf.

257
COMMENTARY

46., 3 14 ., and notice the lengthening of the preceding vowel; here


takes a double acc.), with its alternative sense o f sacrifice, w orship (II. viii
250 , Od. xvii 2 t i ', cf. do (evil) deeds in 46).
O dysseus uses a well-known formula for invoking M entors help,
accom panying the two imperatives (one active, the other m iddle) with a
m ention o f past favours and their shared age and class; but since
in 2 reveals that the shrewd hero has already surmised the identity of the
goddess, w e m ay interpret O dysseus words in two ways: to the suitors he
appears to say rem em ber the honours I have bestowed upon yo u , to the
goddess the same words m ean rem em ber the worship I have offered up to
you. : related to of the sam e age (once in the Iliad,
four times in the Odyssey, including xxiv 107), this noun has undergone a
curious shift o f m eaning, from sameness of age (II xx 465) to age-group
(three times in the Iliad, and at Od. ii 158, iii 364) and thence to som ething
between the two (e.g. II. xiii 485, w here Idom eneus, A eneas senior, says d
. . . . . . ., with a clear semantic shift from if we were an
age-group together to if we were o f the same age-group, of an age), and
finally, with the usual change from abstract to concrete (cf. our use of the
w ords an acquaintance, a relation), to a peer, contem porary (Od. iii 49,
vi 23), w hich is the m eaning here, w here it appears in the sam e position in
the line as in five other attestations.
210. Suspecting (his ally) was A th en a . : always found in the
sam e position, is a rare epithet; in the Iliad it is applied to three different
gods, at II xiii 128 to Athena; in the Odyssey it is found only at xv 244, of
A m phiaraus, and here, w here it. is extrem ely apt.
2 11 . T h e end o f the line is sim ilar to xxi 360 (see n.) and 367.
212 . A fter predicative and a pronoun reinforced by ye w e find a re
duplicated aorist - (cf. xxi 84, 167, 287), w hich like -- (xx
17, with a different type o f reduplication) derives from the pres, stem
(xxiv 1 6 1 ,163) or (II. 111438; the original root w as probably a
labio'velar), and from the noun (v 446, x 448, xx 266), etc. O n
A gelaus nam e see 1 3 m .; the form ula with his patronym ic is used also in
xx 321, xxii 241 (Hoekstra, Modifications, 39.
213 . For the doubt between von der M h lls ' and A lle n s
cf. xxi 192 ., 2o6. : for -, a doublet o f
with the old locatival ending w hich occurs twelve times in H om er, including
xxiv 4 1 X, com pare (II. xxiii 312) and (R xi 793, XV
404); in com pounds of with factitive reduplication (e.g. , II. ix
484), we also find at II xiv 208 (cf. Od. xiv 290 ,
Od. xxiv 119 ). T h e prefix here expresses the idea o f persuad
ing by hook or b y crook, by trickery , through O dysseus typical arts of
bam boozlem ent (seexxi i n n . , and com pare in xix 6).
215 . : refers forward to the futures. In contrast to similar phrases at II. i
204, Od. i 201, iii 226, xv 173, this is the only occasion on w hich the subject
o f the future passive is . . . , our p lan ; ye points to
the obstacles to the fulfilment o f plans in general.

258
B O O K X X I I 5-09-224

216 . A gelaus boastfulness makes him use the temporal conjunction instead
of the conditional. : this rare form with synizesis (cf. ,
xxiv 485) m ay represent an ancient *; cf. (i 300),
(xxiii 121), () (xxii 401, 412, xxiii 45), where -~ represents the
-v- of the non-them atic aor. of .
217 . v is part locative, part comitative (am ongst, as in II. xiii 829, xxiv 62).
S is apodotic (cf. 187.); , em phatic, y ou too , enevra, im m ediately ;
on , see 54., and for a parallel to 01a here see the n. on ' in 46,
and cf., for exam ple, iv 6 11, xviii 338.
218 . : from ancient *ftp (cf. Cret. -), w hich corresponds (see
n. on in 46) to , etc., through > *4; cf. aor.
pe, xxiii 312; , xxiv 481; % xxiii 277. 4v : in
this house, with an insolently proprietary tone. : a unique
form of the dative (instrumental, o f price, w ith verbs of paying) of (II.
xvi 392) or (329), w hich m ay be com pared w ith (II. xiv 177)
and (II. xix 93); it corresponds to (cf. Skt. a b l. sirsa-tds
,, w hich contracts to the of 123). makes the
pronoun reflexive (cf. 64 .).
219 . y e : ye is odd: the plural will have to
be understood as w hen w e have rid you (and yo u r friends) of your urge to
dom inate ; the foolishness of A gelaus rem ark is clear w hen w e recall that
he is speaking to a god. B rards conjecture is ingenious (cf. h.Hom.
XXX 6 . . . at); it w ill have been replaced b y to avoid the
lengthening in thesis.
220 . ro t: possessive. T w o types o f goods are m entioned in apposition to
, those kept inside the palace and those held in lands and cattle.
221 . : neut. pronoun, here close in function to the article (Schwyzer,
Grammatik, ii 21; cf. II. ix 342 his w ife). V o n der M hlFs ,-
- and A lle n s (cf. xxiv 314), w e will com bine w ith
(that is, confiscate together), are m erely orthographic variants (see 218 .).
: ethic dat.
222- 3 . W hether or not one deletes 223, it is far from clear w hether he means
to kill the m enfolk and banish the w om en, or banish both men and
w om en; if 223 is retained, however, there is a slight anacoluthon.
223 . N o r even (your) w ife ; the form ulaic epithet has already
occurred in xxi 66 (but cf. xxi 6 3 -6 n.; the w ord is applied also to wom en
slaves in i 335, xviii 211; to a wife in i 432; to a m other in x 8. -
: com e and go , apposite for the idea o f freedom; this is the only occur
rence of the simple verb, against five exam ples o f the com pound
, including xxiv 244, 257.
224 . T h e beginning o f the line is the same in II. xxi 423; the end, in II. xxi 136
(Scamander), Od. ix 480 (Cyclops), xvii 458 (Antinous), xviii 387
. (Eurym achus); a sim ilar form ula is v 284 (Poseidon), and of other
emotions, xv 370 (love), xi 208 (sadness), IL ix 300 (hate). :
m uch, greatly , w ithout any com parative force. : there is a
deliberate am biguity, A th en as real anger being directed towards the

259
COMMENTARY

suitors but her angry words being apparently directed at O dysseus. H er


pretence o f wrath towards the latter is designed to test his faith and
courage, if he knows that it is indeed Athena; if he still thinks it is M entor,
however, the purpose will be to strike fear into the suitors by a show o f high
mettle by the new ally.
225 . A lm ost exactly the same line was used in. 26 to describe the suitors
angry words to Odysseus.
226 . ': not even in you any longer ; strong reproach is conveyed
by and the possessive dative . : steadfast, still
rem aining (nineteen occasions in the Odyssey, eleven of them in this posi
tion in the line; with vovs in x 240, in x 493, xviii 215, tV in xi 393,
in xiv 468, 503, and, like here, with in xix 493, xxi 426); supply
. : the word occurs regularly henceforth and in the following
Books (237, 305, perhaps xxiii 128, xxiv 509). A thena makes a clever pun
w hich involves the whole semantic range of the w ord and its cognates, from
help, succour to capacity to help, warlike strength : y ou no longer have
, you refuse to be , but luckily here is M entor
(Son o f the Brave the only time he is given this patronym ic in the poem ) .
227 . : the phrase is taken from IL iii 70,91 (in the sam e position
in the line); cf. 254 . also has the flavour of Iliadic
imitation; w e find it used with in the same position in the line, and
w ith the same shortening of the vowel, in II iii 121; elsewhere in the Iliad it
is applied to H era and Androm ache, in the Odyssey to N ausicaa, Arete, and
the maidservants (vi 239, xviii 198, xix 60). evvarepei-p, o f a good father , a
rare and much-discussed formation which is used o fH elen in II. vi 292 and
o f T yro in Od. xi 235 (later in Euripides and Hellenistic writers); cf.
A th en as epithet in i 101, iii 135, xxiv 540. Com parison with
regularly formed feminine personal names in -dveipa, etc., and with
, II. xiv 259 (which Zenodotus wanted to correct to , c f ..
H sch. - - ), , X 349) xbi 3451 ,
Batr.\ , Hes.; ikdretpa, Pindar, have led to the correction
*, postulating an original spelling > -
T E P E E , and paralleled by (iv 456), (viii 452), etc.
228 . $: the adv., used at II. xviii 400 in another context, is com m only
used in the Odyssey to describe the duration of the T rojan w ar (at the begin
ning o f the line, iii 118, v 107; xiv 240); occurs at II. xii 40, and in
the imper. a further twice, once (xv 475) in conjunction with
. : adv., with no corresponding adj. form, possibly
derived from the privative prefix - and a neuter noun *? interrup
tion ; it appears nine times (five of them in the Odyssey) in the form
, and eight (six in the Odyssey) in the present form, six of those
exam ples being in this position in the line and followed by cuet (e.g. xvi
190) a formula similar to the or alei found at the end of
four lines in the Iliad.
229 - 30 . T h e verbs are still dependent on o re ; but w e m ight paraphrase the
parataxis of the second with the conjunction until . ; this form

260
B O O K X X I I 224-234

(which could easily be substituted b y : Schwyzer, Grammatik, i 654)


is the only H om eric exam ple with the contracted augm ent from what
w ould in post-Hom eric G reek becom e ; cf. Od. xiv 183 },
xviii 265 , xxiv 34 . arj . . . , by your strategy . T h e
Iliadic epithet of T ro y is found in the sam e position in the line
at Od. iv 246; and, applied to Athens, at vii 80, and another city,
xv 384!
231 . Rhetorical question (and that being so, how is t h a t . . ore is both
tem poral and causal, now and at this im portant m om ent w hen ; ye
reinforces the possessive. : equivalent to a perfect, have
reached (cf. xxi 201), w ith acc. o f direction.
232 . : for this preposition see xxi 48, 65, 421 and nn. :
this verb is very com m on (e.g. xxii 447, xxiv 59), but nowhere else takes an
inf.; translation is difficult, versions w hich suggest themselves running
from an impossible you lam ent that you are brave to you lament that you
have to be brave5 or you regard with pain the necessity o f bein g brave5; or it
m ay mean you sadly refuse to be brave , or even you are painfully keen to
be brave (cf. II. ii 290 oixvSe veadai they desire painfully, i.e.
ardently, to go hom e). T h ere are approxim ate parallels in such lines as xx
2023 iXeaipeis . . . \ you show no com
passion at m en being overwhelm ed by m isfortune ; ii 52
they view the return with horror5. Be this as it m ay,
m ust have an em phatic ring, in the context of the aggressive tone which
A th en a puts on for her double-faced gam e with O dysseus (cf. xiii 291-2):
in general terms her rem ark m ust m ean som ething like it is ridiculous of
you. to bewail the need for bravery . Van L ee uw en s reservations about this
line are understandable, but Brards solution, based above all on II xvi
450, xxii 169, is facile.
233 . T h e exhortation aAA ye (cf. 139.) is both em otional and brisk; ,
adv. of place with lative force, is here used alm ost as an imperative (come)
h ere! (cf. plur. , used four times in the Odyssey); the vocative ,
apparently from an adj. w hose original m eaning was cooked5 (cf. ),
hence ripe, m ature > soft5 > sweet5, indicates a cordial but somewhat
m ocking relationship between speakers; in the Iliad it is put in the m outh
of a friend w ho is also in some sort a superior (Agam em non to M enelaus,
N estor to Patroclus, Sarpedon to G laucus, A ja x to T eucer, etc.; also
Poseidon haranguing the G reeks, xiii 120). O ccasionally it crosses the
boundaries o f friendly banter, and becom es insulting (Thersites, IL ii 235).
In the Odyssey w e find the w ord used as a term o f affection b y Zeus to
Poseidon (xiii 154) or C yclop s to his ram (ix 447). T h e first four feet of the
present line are taken from II xi 314 (Allen prefers to print ' in such
passages, w hile von der M h ll chooses the analogical form o); the
w hole line repeats xvii 179 (e/V = ).
234 . T h e M SS w aver between 3 (from , accepted by von der
M h ll though it ignores digam m a) and (read iS ys, from ,
preferred by A llen here and in ix 348). o!o$: sc. , followed by an

261
COMMENTARY

ethic dat. (also governed by ^) and a consecutive-final inf.


sim ilar to that in xxi 195 with - (see n. ad loc.).
235 . e u e p y e ffia s : eepyeafy is found only in this book (cf. 319.,
374, in the same position in the line); the verb is also rare (four exam ples in
the Iliad', on iii 286 see 5 7 - 9 n.; Od. ii 132, T elem achus supposed com
pensation to Icarius if he expels Penelope).
236 . p a , : cf. 8n.; the sense is not (so) he said and . . . , but (so) he
spoke, but . . not yet is im portant with the imperf., began to
give (this delay is part of the test). : see 195 .; with neg. not
altogether' (ii 279, iv 755, 825, xiii 133). : the epithet is used
in the Iliad (with the exception of II. xv 738, always with and in this
position in the line; and note the hiatus in thesis here) to refer to a reverse in
the fortune o f battle which switches the advantage to the side which has
been losing up to that m oment (II. vii 26, A thena intervenes to protect the
hard-pressed Greeks; viii 171, Zeus does likewise for the Trojans; xv 738,
A ja x speaks of the Hellenes being able to turn defeat into victory; xvi 362,
the same hero sees the balance tip in favour o f the Trojans; xvii 627, Zeus
saves the Trojans from im m inent defeat). Here, A thena puts off the
m om ent for coming to the aid o f O dysseus, though his num erically inferior
force is obviously in the weaker position.
237 . : as one w ould expect from a goddess . O n the testing im plied by
with the gen, (Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 105) see 205-40n.; it is
used at xvi 3x3 of Odysseus testing his servants to see how they have
behaved, and a tx x iv 221 of exam ining his orchards.
238 . : the only H om eric exam ple of this form of the gen., has aroused
suspicions o f late com position, like the o f xix 418 (Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 228).
239 - 40 . T h e episode of the swallow has been m uch discussed (for example,
b y Focke, Odyssee, 361-2). T here is argum ent as to whether A thena really
changes into a bird, or whether this is m erely a further example of the epic
simile: in i 319 and iii 371 she disappears suddenly like a bird ( . . .
) or like a vulture ( ; note also the at xvi 217). T h e
latter word is also used, however, to refer to actual m eta
morphoses, though it is not the only word: in xiii 222 A th en as transforma
tion into a shepherd is described b y the part, ehe via, and the same w ord is
used in v 353 of Inos transformation into a seagull; in xvi 157, xx 31 ' is
used of a transformation into a wom an; other technical terms are in
xix 313 (though not in other occurrences o f the w ord in the Odyssey, where
it refers simply to facial or other resemblance), in xvi 209, 273,
xvii 202, xxiv 157, and , com m on in this poem, with its digam m a and
preceded by hiatus, in x 304, xi 207, xix 384, xx 88; see xxi 4 1 m ., w hich is
also about a swallow.
240 . : alike to look at (face to face) ; , found only at the
end or (in four cases) at the beginning o f the line, appears coupled w ith
in similes, w here it has the same m eaning (ii 5, iv 310, xxiv 371;

262
B O O K X X I I 234-241

G . Lohse, LfgrE, i 9246), com parable to such phrases as at


(v 217) 0 ets (xxii 405).
241 - 329 . It is not difficult to calculate the num ber of suitors. Dispensing with
the absurd figure of n o given in xvi 247-51, which w ould not fit in the
megaron (see xxi 346-7 n.), w e m ay take it that the poet began b y thinking of
a relatively large n um ber, b ut that he drastically reduced the figure in xxii
118 in order to concentrate on the deaths o f the most im portant ones.
A ntinous son o f Eupeithes has been killed in 16, Eurym achus son o f
Polybus in 82, and A m phinom us son of Nisus in 93; these three were the
spokesmen o f the group. N o w the poet names six others (241-3): A gelaus
son of D am astor w ho has ju s t spoken, E urynom us son o f A egyptius (cf. ii
22), A m phim edon son o f M elan eus (cf. xxiv 103), Dem optolem us,
Peisander son of Polyctor (cf. xviii 299), and Polybus. T o these w e m ay add
Ctesippus son o f Polytherses (m entioned in xx 288, he w ounds Eum aeus at
279 below), two further suitors m entioned elsewhere called Leocritus son of
Euenor and Eurydam as (ii 242, xviii 297), another two who are not nam ed
until the m om ent o f their deaths, E uryades and Elatus (267), and finally
the priest Leodes (cf. xxi 144). T h is m akes a total of fifteen; besides the
three principals, already killed, the deaths o f D em optolem us (266),
Euryades and Elatus (267), Peisander (268), Eurydam as (283), A m p h i
m edon and Polybus (284), Ctesippus (285), A gelaus (293), Leocritus (294),
and Leodes (328) are individually recounted. It is noticeable, as Brard
observed, that the death of E urynom us is not given separate mention. T h e
author is careful to apportion the fourteen killings he describes according
to a strict order o f precedence: six to O dysseus, four to T elem achus, and
two each to E um aeus and Philoetius. Furtherm ore, adding Eurynom us to
the fourteen warriors slain, and deducting the three victims of the arrows
and T elem achus first spear, w e are left with twelve men, the same num ber
as the sets o f arm our carried in b y M elanthius, w ho on his last trip
intended to find further sets for himself, the herald, and the minstrel.
Finally, it m ay be noted that m any o f these nam es are borrowed from the
Iliad.', all o f them except Polybus (the T rojan o f xi 59; there are a further
three characters with this nam e in the Odyssey, Eurym achus father in i 399,
an Egyptian in iv 126, and an artist in viii 373: see F. Eckstein, Archaeologia
L , 1 ,1 8 - 1 9 ) and Eurydam as (II. v 149), killed in com bat (cf. T ro jan Elatus
in vi 33; the T ro jan A gelaus in viii 257, the G reek in xi 302; two T rojans and
a G reek nam ed Peisander in xi 122, xiii 601, xvi 193; the G reek Leocritus in
xvii 344). T h e developm ent o f the battle is fairly clear: A gelaus sees
O dysseus as the only serious threat, and in view o f the im possibility of a
sim ultaneous charge in the oblong megaron divides his forces into two
ranks; the first rank o f six warriors w ill cast their spears against the hero
while the others line up against the walls, and then, if they are unsuccess
ful, they w ill retire to allow the second rank to m ake their assault. In the
first rank Dem optolem us, Peisander, Euryades, Elatus, Eurynom us, and
Leodes (whose assertion that he has taken no part in the proceedings at

263
COMMENTARY

3 13 -1 4 is not to be believed) throw their spears, but all of them miss the
target (256; on 257-9 see below). O dysseus ensuing tactic is the opposite of
A gelaus : he orders each of his m en to aim, as far as possible, at a different
suitor; though, to be sure, it must have been difficult in the heat of battle to
be sure of choosing a target not aimed at b y anyone else. A nd, since the
cow ardly Leodes has hidden by the w all and the poet has forgotten about
Eurynom us, each of O dysseus men m anages to fell one o f the rem aining
four suitors who have thrown their spears (265-8). Eight suitors are thus
left, not all o f them armed; and they now (270) com m it the tactical blunder
o f retreating to the corner of the megaron, allowing O dysseus both to
retrieve the spears stuck in the bodies o f the fallen, including Am phinom us
(though the pulling out o f this one was, as we have seen at 95-6, a difficult
and dangerous feat: see 27 m .), and to pick up the spears dropped by the
dead. N ext the rem aining six suitors, Agelaus, Polybus, Eurydam as,
Leocritu,s, Am phim edon, and Ctesippus, m ake their spear-cast (272): three
spears miss, a fourth is not described, and the fifth and sixth cause slight
w ounds (273-80), leaving the suitors unarm ed. A scene of butchery ensues;
following the same stratagem (282 = 263), Odysseus and his com panions
each slaughter a different opponent, Eurydam as, A m phim edon, Polybus,
and Ctesippus (281-91). T h e two survivors of the second wave, Agelaus
and Leocritus, draw their swords for a desperate charge and launch them
selves against Odysseus in hand-to-hand battle, (293), and are
speared b y the hero and his son (292-5), It only remains (since Eurynom us
has faded out of sight) for Odysseus to kill Leodes with the sword dropped
by the dying A gelaus (310-29); this scene is illogically preceded, however,
by the passage where A thena unnecessarily brandishes the aegis (297)
against the one or two alm ost defenceless warriors left alive, w ho are
inappropriately com pared to a herd o f cattle (299-306).
241 - 6 . V on der M h lls edition prints augm ents on the forms w ith double
consonants or diphthongs, whereas A llen prints all the verbs w ithout
augm ent (cf. xxi 100, xxii 261, 308, 461, xxiii 19, 86, 310, 370, xxiv 9, 184,
225, 413, 487, 490, 496, 501). is picked up by in 247 (cf.
212 n.), but the ines are syntactically unsatisfactory. Various solutions are
possible: to suppress 242-4, with Brard; to take all the nom inatives of
242-3 as subjects o f the verb in 241, in which case the best o f the survivors
w ou ld all encourage the rest (but it is doubtful if re in 242 will bear this
explanation); to interpret the lines as a nom inative absolute (see
Chantraine, Grammain, ii 1 5 -1 7 ; xxi 323 is a different case, see n. ad loc.);
or finally, to transpose 242-3, placing them after 245, with a strong stop
after 241, and postulate a bold ellipsis: A gelaus exhorted the suitors, (of
whom ) these (of) were the m ost distinguished o f all those () who
w ere still alive, nam ely Eurynom us, etc., whereas the real cham pions ( t o v s
d) Antinous, Eurym achus, and A m phinom us had been killed by the
arrows. A t any rate, 244 is almost a replica of iv 629, xxi 187 (see n. on
186-7), w hich refer indeed to Antinous and Eurym achus.
246 . $ : the adj. is related to (well tended > thick,

264
B O O K X X I I 241-255

abundan t > massed, close, thick-falling), and occurs six times in the
Iliad, three o f them in this position in the line; , adverbial neut. pi.,
refers to the rapid steps o f dancers beating on the ground at viii 379 (cf. II. v
555, xv 6o6, w here means thickets); the identical line-ending is
used to describe bow and arrows in II. xi 387, xv 472, but here is
inappropriate, since O dysseus on his own cannot be said to shoot a shower
o f massed arrows.
247 . Cf. 131 n.
248 . T h e line is alm ost identical to 70 (see n. ad loc.), with , shortly, in a
m om ent .
2 4 9 . T h e parataxis is causal in sense; , in fact , o i, ethic dat., is
sarcastic in tone, like ; the latter adj. exhibits the forms (four
tim es in the Iliad, always in the material sense) and (II. ii 298, Od. xv
214 em pty-handed , of a m an; Od. x 42 em pty, of the hand itself), but
never , w hich long ago provoked Bentleys conjecture; is a
hapax, later taken up by Aeschylus.
250 . o i S 0101: and so they (the four there were before) are the only ones left

251 . O n see xxi 374.; the w ord is out of place here, since the plan of
battle has nothing to do with the disappearance of M entor.
252 . : cf. 139 . o i : the article with the num eral as usual
denotes a fraction, six o f yo u (cf. IL v 270-2, A nchises keeps four o f his six
colts, , and gives two o f them to Aeneas, . . . ; II. x
25s?- 3 , ] has passed; II. xi 174, of the herd one
cow, rf) li), is to die); there is no call for N aber and B rards em endation
( aye, of , w here ot is against him alone), nor for Brards
effort in 255 (cos - pa ). : the first of six
occasions on w hich is used in this book (see also viii 229); though
related to (cf. xxi 340.) and v javelin, hunting spear
(,LMerc. 460), the verb is norm ally used with , , eyyor, ,
and the more general . T h e same enjam bm ent o f the phrase of
| , m eaning to see if by an y chance . . . , occurs at IL vi
52 6 -7, Od. xii 2 15 -16 ; a similar device occurs in IL i 128-9.
253 . : only here and at II. iv 115 do w e find this passive inf.; cf. 18,
and XV472 . k GSo $ : the change o f subj, is rare,
but not unparalleled; cf. the m uch-discussed line at ii 227, so that the rest
obey and he take care ; xx 31617, it w ould be better for him to die than
this to be seen ; II. ix 230-1, etc. W e find eight Iliadic examples of the
form ula , seven o f them at the end o f the line; ends
the line also at i 390 and in three places in the Iliad.
254 . T h e others are nothing to w orry about, they are no danger ; the echo of
/ is probably unintentional. It is surprising that Allen, incon
sistently (cf. xxi 159, xxii 219, 440), prints ovros here (cf. the some
w hat similar case o fx x iv 140). is contem ptuous (cf. 169.).
255 . : in obedience to his order . T h e textual problem is the inverse of
190 (see the apparatus), but the choice between the aor. or imperf. of

265
COMMENTARY

does not affect the sense. A t all events, this line-ending taken
together with xv 437, xviii 58, xxiv 492 tends to support the deletion of 191
(see n. ad loc.).
256 . : w e have already seen lqucvoi in 2 ^ ^ 3 and preceded by
hiatus at xxi 72; and the concessive form ula ^ ep at the end o f the
line and preceded by the euphonic -v of xxi 129 is paralleled in six other
lines in the Odyssey (including xxii 409, with preceding , as in iv 284,
xvi 430; x 246, xiv 142 ignore the digamma); the placing of the participle at
the beginning of the line, as here, is paralleled by fourteen cases, including
xxii 273, xxiii 353 (note the com pound in xxii 470), always with
the idea of a physical or emotional effort directed to some end. T h e w ord is
probably derived from an ancient * related to Skt. veil, etc., which
has been influenced by contamination from the m iddle te/, probably
from *si~se- or *yi-ye-, though in A ttic tragedy the t~ is short. It is
impossible, therefore, to say whether the word means putting all their
effort into it , or aim ing w ell, or som ething o f the kind. : sc.
or , a w ord unattested before the classical period but
easily supplied. : predicative; its use at xxiv 283, o f useless
gifts, placed in w 2 w w and w ithout digam m a, is unusual, all the
rem aining examples (six in the Iliad, and Od. xxii 256, 273) appearing in
the same position in the line as here with preceding hiatus or -v, and only
one of them (II. xviii 104) referring to anything other than a w eapon
failing to hit the target. T h e word m ay go back to Skt. svat-, despite the
sm ooth breathing born both by this w ord and by the A ttic idiom
r s which is supposed, though not w ithout posing several difficulties, to
derive from it; but if this etym ology is correct, it poses a problem o f
semantics.
257 - 9 . T h e lines are evidently interpolated here: the account of the results o f
the spear-casts, which did not all miss ( 8 , 273) properly belongs
at 274-6. Despite this, Blass believed that 2746 should be expunged, not
these lines, because Eustathius com m ent on 2579 uses the word
, not (Interpolationen, 2o8). T h at proves only that the
ancients habitually condem ned repetitions on their second occurrence, not
on their first.
260 . : translate w ith pluperf.; this form is found only here; cf.
in xvii 67, xx 300, 305, against non-Aeolic forms such as
{iv 774), (ix 274), (xx 368).
261 . = xxiv 490. : he began to speak, is a com m on formula
(see 241-60.).
262 . : sc. in the circum stances, in view o f this. T h e echo o f the opening
o f 248 has a certain ironic pointedness; , to us too (as A gelaus
said to his men), followed by hiatus is perhaps preferable to ;
with the optative is the usual w ay o f fram ing a polite request, I should
advise .
263 . I s t: to shoot at the throng indiscrim inately . T h e
relative clause is causal in sense.
B O O K X X I I 255-275

264 . e-iri : besides the wrongs they have done me


earlier ; cf. iii 113 tc 3m rots .
265 . T h e variant line-endings given in the apparatus, based on 255 and 368
respectively, m ay be due to the rarity of the ending , attested
only in 265, 272, and 282; the same form ula or som ething like it, but differ
ently placed in the line, can be found in II. v 495, 619, vi 104, xi 44, 212.
266 . : cf. xxi 48, 421 and nn.
268 . : for this form ula of the end of the line,
structurally parallel to (135.), see the n. on xxi 199; it
appears again in 285, 292.
269 . : as a consequence ; stresses the sim ultaneity of the deaths,
w hich strikes terror into the hearts o f the enem y. : the etymology
of this w ord is unclear (Frisk, G EW ; cf. 188 n.); it is doubtless influenced by
verbs, attested in later texts, such as , , , and their
corresponding m iddles, feel pain; scratch, bite (cf. H sch. <58d fe r
/cvet), and b y popular etym ology from tooth and
bite . T h e cruel expression bite the dust need not refer to the gnashing of
the death-rattle (cf. W . Richter, Archaeologia H , 95); it appears in five Iliadic
passages, of w hich two offer variations (ii 418 , xxii 17
. . . etkov), one is very sim ilar (xi 749), and two others (xix 61, xxiv 738) have
the same line-ending with tm tr . w hich cannot be
follow ed (cf. '77-) > enorm ous, qualifies od a ? only in these two
Iliadic passages, Od. xiii 395, and the present line, always in connection
with the dying; it is naturally m etaphorical, suggesting the width of the
battlefield. T h e w ord aoverov occurs again in 407.
271 . tq C refers to O dysseus and his com panions, as again, more clearly, in
281; apa, as a result o f this error . Depending on whether we take with
or as a prefix in tmesis, it is arguable w hich arms are here being
retrieved (see n. on 241); one is inclined to think they are trying to strip the
suitors bodies, not pick the weapons up off the floor (cf. II. x 343, 387 for
som eone intending to strip arms, , off corpses, ).
273 - 6 . Cf. 256, and see the n. on 257-9. Each succeeding spear is
deliberately m ade to fall further short o f the mark.
275 . : this unusual pluperf. ( does not exist in Hom er;
, only at II. viii 270) has caused rem ark (Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii
288-9; Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 200), not only because it is resultative
(putting the em phasis on the effect on the object, not on the subject), but
also because of the tense. In general, such usages signal the rapidity of the
action described by the verb, as if the event were seen from a perspective
w hich sent it some distance back into the past: before the throw er could
follow the throw with his eyes, the spear had landed. T h is interpretation
will do for eleven of the H om eric exam ples (258, 275, 286 in this book, and
eight cases in the Iliad), but not so w ell for II xvii 606. A further problem
(see Schwyzer, Grammatik, i 405) is the presence o f the vv on
these 3rd pers. pluperf. forms (which are always placed in the first foot and
a half except at II. xiv 412, w here it is in the second and first h alf of the

267
COMMENTARY

third). It is everywhere allowed in the papyri and by the three great


A lexandrian gram m arians (see the app. here and at 258); von der M h ll
always retains it before a vowel (cf. also v 112 , xvii 359 -
k lv, xviii 344 ); but A llen sometimes omits it even in this situation
(xxii 2 7 5 , 11 xiv 412 , a reading accepted also by M azon).
276. : the ash-wood spear , m entioned thirteen times in the Iliad (and
, as m any again), m akes its appearance in the Odyssey only
here, at 259, and at xiv 281 (O dysseus fantastic tale); for the fern, -
at the end o f the line, as an epithet for a spear (above, 259), and II.
xxii 328), or a helm et (II. xi 96) see 423 .
277 . &pa looks back to . . . in 273; this norm al usage m ay explain
the odd case o f 267-8. eiri : wrist , from * (cf.
Skt. hwerban), quite distinct from fruit, occurs three times in the
Odyssey and seven in the Iliad, four of them in this line-ending 1
, and two besides the present exam ple (II. v 458, 883) describing
w ounds.
278 . : slightly, another hapax o f uncertain etym ology (cf., with the
sam e m eaning, , II. xvii 599, and , 11 xxi 166; see n.
on in 280). . . . : Eustathius already noted the
double gender of skin, hide , w hich occurs twelve times in the Iliad
and seven in the Odyssey (Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 34); von der M h ll
prefers the lectio diffidlior of predicative , supported by fern, adjectives
in 11. vii 248, xx 276; the w ord is also fern, in the Scut, and Rhesus, w hile the
A lexandrians use both genders. S is lengthened before digam m a, w hich is
assured b y Hsch. and , and by the form
(four examples in the Iliad).
279 . T h e shield is not o f the type w hich protects the w hole body,
(II xvi 804, Od. xix 242) or ( I i xv 646), bu t a round or oval targe
w hich leaves the shoulder vulnerable.
280 . eTreypaxJ/ev: of the five occurrences o f , three (II. iv 139, xi
388, xiii 553) refer, as this one does, to grazes caused by weapons; II. vii 187
shows the sem antic shift graze, scratch > engrave , o f w riting on a shard
used for casting lots. A sim ilar developm ent operates on the simple verb
(of a w ound, 11 xvii 599; scratch, graze, Od. xxiv 229; of
w riting, the fam ous , II. vi 169). refers to .
m irre: the circum flex accent is correct, despite the variants in some papyri,
for this imperf. of , w hich owes its long - 1- to the analogy with ;
the tense elegantly catches the w ay in w hich the spear first flies too high
( ; cf. , xxiv 534, from 1 ), and then starts to drop
tow ards the floor. T h e line-ending is o f a type very sim ilar to those o f 20, 85
(see nn.), and, specifically with , o f 11. xii 156 (falling snow), xviii 552
(corn falling before the sickle), and above all xvii 633 (arrows falling
to the ground: see Hoekstra, M odifications , 90, and n. on xxii 256 above),
281 . : the pronoun is not used as an article here, nor in iii 162-3 . . .
. , . , and viii 502-3 . . . cfaro, but the
postponem ent of the verb in this last example and the present line point the

268
B O O K X X I I 275-288

w ay to the later developm ent (perhaps already complete in IL iii 146-9:


Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 416) by w hich such sentences could com e to mean
a m an s com panions including h im self, with the preposition and its com
plem ent as a substantival phrase. ' po : the epithet occurs in xxi
16; o f O dysseus, in xxi 223; in similar line-endings, at xxii 115 (see n. and
app. ad loc.), 202.
282 . A com bination o f 263 and 265 w hich marks the fulfilment of O dysseus
order in 262-4.
285 - 91 . T h o u g h these lines have been condem ned b y some, they can be
linked (Eisenberger, Studien, 279) to the w ell-known (though disputed)
anticlim actic sequence o f three missiles thrown at Odysseus: A ntinous
, w hich hits him on the shoulder (xvii 462), Eurym achus ,
w hich hits a nearby cup-bearer (xviii 396), and Ctesippus ox-foot, which
misses altogether (xx 299). Ctesippus is a loud-m outhed upstart (xx 287,
xxii 287), and his fate here is a sort of poetic justice, as Stanford notes and
Philoetius own words em phasize, since he suffers vengeance at the hands
o f the very herdsm an w hose products he abused w hen he hurled the foot of
one o f his oxen at a guest.
285 . F o r the form ula cf. xxi i 99 n *> 268, and see
W . Richter, Archaeologia H, 20; we find a variation, without , in 292..
286 . T h e first hem istich = II. iv 108 (cf. 275.). -?: exulting
(over a fallen enem y) ; the only O dyssean exam ple o f this typically Iliadic
m eaning (cf. IL xi 431, xiii 373) o f the ancient verb (cf. M yc. e-u-ke-
to) vow, pray (cf. xxi 203., which is also relevant to the variant reading in
this passage; also x 533, xi 46, xiv 423, 436, xx 60, 238); this use o f the word
is related to the m eaning boast o f (v 119, x 368, xvii 46), and is close to the
sense of in xxiii 59, w here E urycleia displays an exultant and
ho stilejo y: see J. H . Finley Jun., Homers Odyssey, 197. Philoetius attitude
is profoundly sarcastic: despite in 287, it is too late for Ctesippus to
m end his ways.
287 . Ctesippus patronym ic, son o f M u ch Boldness, is of course significant;
it recalls the nam e (IL ii 212, etc,; note the curious variant read
ing), whereas in in Od. ii 157 (also with A eolic m etaphony) there
is no intended insult. : here only, which has caused
textual doubts (but cf. , six times in the Odyssey; ,
194.; , xx 263; , xxiv 240 and ix 474, xx 177, where it
functions almost as a neuter noun; is not found until Hes.).
288 . O n ei'xoj see 9 1 . is used in the Odyssey for senseless behaviour
(ix 361, Cyclops), simple foolishness (x 27, the sailors before A eolus; xix
523, Aedon), or real wickedness (xvii 233, M elanthius). :
boast, speak proudly , with hiatus, is un ique in the Odyssey (c f the less
im polite with w hich T elem achus addresses A thena and
O dysseus, iii 227, xvi 243); the in f is used for the imperative, as in the
following line.
288- 9 . 0 j : let the gods have the last say (c f xix 502
. . . , w ithout a direct obj.). T h e end of the line is also

269
COMMENTARY

found in II x 557, xx 368, Od. xvi 89; , adv.; the term of com parison in
is m ankind.
290 . : s c . this spear5, or death . : guest-gift5, given in
return for the conviviality5 o f Ctesippus5 insult, is deeply sarcastic; the
w ord occurs six times in the Odyssey, including xxiv 273; rot is a possessive
dat., refers to the infamous ox-foot, can refer to events which
have happened the same day, as here. Eustathius noted that the phrase
770 os becam e proverbial for being paid back in one s
own coin (Stanford, ad loc.).
291 . : the epithet is often used in the Odyssey at the beginning of the
line to refer to the hero, here with hiatus in thesis (cf. xxi 254).
: , unattested in the Iliad, occurs six times in the
Odyssey and always in connection with the vagrant w anderings of the hero
except in xiv 126 (various travellers) and xviii 114 (Irus).
292 . pa: cf. 8n. : there are eight examples o f the adj. in
the Odyssey, and six in the Iliad; it is always applied to oxen or cows, once
with (xii 355), seven times on its own or with other epithets not
relevant here (including xi 289, xii 136, and this passage), and six times in
the end-of-line form ula (three Iliadic examples, and
Od. i 92, iv 320, ix 46). Its m eaning is not clear: is generally trans
lated with trailing feet, sham bling5, m ore strictly with circling feet5(
-< *--, cf. Lat. uoluo; but Chantraine notes that digam m a is never
observed in this word, Grammaire, i 132), w hich describes the characteristic
rolling gait o f oxen very w ell (see H sch. Sta
, and com pare high-stepping, lifting its
feet1, an Iliadic epithet for horses), may, then, be an abbreviated form
o f *- (Risch, Wortbildung, 149); but there is also a w ord ,
glossed by Hsch. as , together with various com pounds in
- ( *Kpdapya, rel. to h orn) such as (of oxen, II.
viii 23 b xviii 573, Od. xii 348, h.Merc. 220; o f ships with pointed, horn-like
prow and stern, 11 xviii 3, xix 344) which, in conjunction with h.Merc. 192
, suggests the alternative interpretation, from an
abbreviation o f *-, w ith twisted horns (Risch, ibid.). Presum
ably various distinct breeds of straight-horn and twisted-horn cattle
becam e confused as both epithets later becam e general (W . Richter,
Archaeologia H , 478).
293 . : an athem atic verb of uncertain etym ology, with the short vowel
probably derived by analogy from the passive (xi 40) passing to
the active infinitive (ix 301, xix 449) or (II. v 132, 821)
and to the 3rd sing. aor. found in these two lines and in the Iliad; the
iterative (II. xv 745) is m ore doubtful, and (356) is clearly
derivative, w hence com e the conj. in (, xix 452) and
(, xi 536), and also (II. iv 540). :
see n. on 241-329; the adv. is found here and in seven Iliadic passages,
in all but one case in the same position in the line; there is a parallel
adv. (II. xvi 319) and a noun hand-to-hand
B O O K X X I I 288-308

fighting (II. xv 510), used also adverbially in the acc. (II xii 192,
xvii 294).
294 . O n Leocritus nam e see xxi 144.; here and in ii 242 Allen writes --;
von der M hll prints -et- but expresses a preference for in his apparatus
(the two editors treat L eodes5 nam e in the same w ay; see 310); in the case of
II. xvii 344, for w hich see the n. on 241-329, both A llen and M azon regular
ize to -et-.
295 . : with predicative , here and in four places in the Iliad
designates the soft un derbelly (around w hich Ares would gird his
arm oured belt, , II. v 857); hence the w eapon passes
right out through the body (). . . . : the same
line-end is found in II. xiii 388, xv 342, xvi 309, 821, xvii 579; there is a
similar expression in 93, and cf. also xxiv 524 St S ?.
2 % . T h e second hem istich is identical to 94 and similar to 86 (see n. on
84-8); the first hem istich = II. v 58. : this adj. (cf. Lat. pronus) is
com m on in the Iliad, and occurs in Od. v 374, o f O dysseus falling headlong
into the water. Aristarchus seems to have taken objection to this line, and
he is followed by Blass, w ho adduces the case o f Am phinom us in 94 (Inter
polationen, 208-9); h ot both he and Eurym achus in 86 fall head first.
297 - 309 . T h e episode of the aegis is typical o f the late reviser s penchant for
fantasy (see n. on 241-329), and the two following similes present prob
lems, am ongst them their high proportion o f very unusual diction. T h e
lines have therefore been subject to a series o f deletions.
297 . 1: then and only then , after a prudent allowance o f time for
father and son to show their prowess. : m an-slaying
(, poros; the epithet is used only here, of the aegis, and in II xiii
339, of battle; its long first -i- is curious, however, since it cannot com e
from < * (cf. , etc.); hence von der M hll and others
suggestion of a possible itadstic corruption o f , with e-grade
( is found in better M SS instead of in five places in the
Iliad).
298 . : the only occurrence in H om er o f , which later
becam e so com m on (cf. trans. ae, again a unique instance, in xviii
340). T his is probably the m om ent m entioned by A m phim edon in his
retelling of the tale at xxiv 182, -, ?
.
299 - 308 . Epic similes are naturally less frequent in the Odyssey than in the
Iliad, its plot being less m onotonous a n d consequently less in need of the
spice and relief of variety; there are, nevertheless, a nm ber of examples,
som e of them suspicious, such as xii 2514 (see n. on 384-8), xiii 813 (a
ship Tuns like a horse), xvi 2 16 -18 (birds o f prey, or aiyvm oi,
deprived o f their clutch of nestlings; cf. 23940.), xvii 12630 (a lion
devouring fawns; cf. 402-5); xix 205-7 (laments rushing down like the
spates of snow-melt), xix 518 -2 3 (the nightingale s song; cf. 288 .). In the
following lines we have a noteworthy series o f such similes (299-301;
302-6; 384-8; 402-5; 468-70).

271
COMMENTARY

299 . u>s is placed in so-called anastrophe, an order w hich originated in


syntactical juxtaposition o f the type seen in //. iii 2 . . .
ws the Trojans went, birds (go) thus > the Trojans went like birds'
(Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 667); there are twenty-four examples of the usage
in the Odyssey, including this one and xxiii 339. A n etym ology such as *wos
or *swos (see 63.) is suggested by the fact that the w ord often behaves as if
it has digam m a, producing hiatus (iv 160, viii 453, 467, xv 181, xviii 323) or
lengthening of short vowels before consonants (iv 32, v 36, vii 71, viii 173, xi
413, xiv 205, xviii 29, xix 280, xxiii 339); but there are eight cases o f elision
before , and in the present case the preceding word must be scanned as
a dactyl despite its -s. : in a herd', from ; we find it
again, always at the end o f the line and applied to cows, in II. xi 729, xxiii
846, Od. x 410, xvii 181, xx 251.
300 . $ : it is better to take rds here as demonstrative than relative.
cuoA os o icrrp os: the adj., only here in the Odyssey, is used of arms glint
ing in the sun (II v 295, vii 222, xvi 107), but also o f fast-moving, agile
anim als darting or swarm ing (wasps, II. xii 167; a snake, I i xii 208; a
horse, II. xix 404; worm s w rithing all over , II. xxii 50g); this is also the
first appearance o f gadfly , w hich was later used so often in the
literal, not the m etaphorical sense, especially in the legend o f Io: see
T , Krischer, Formale Konventionen der homerischen Epik (M unich, 1971),
58-9. : gnom ic aor.; the verb appears only three times in
H om er, the other two being references to the w ind shaking a tree (II. xvii
55) or blow ing up clouds (I i xii 157).
301 . = xviii 367, the beautiful passage in w hich O dysseus talks o f challenging
E urym achus to a contest m ow ing the spring hay (see Austin, Archery, 247,
and xxi 411 n.). e ta p iv tj: the adj. occurs four times in the Iliad, two of
them in the line-opening iv eiaptvrj ( I i ii 471, xvi 643); cap, capos
spring, in 11. vi 148, Od. xix 519 (see 288 .). D igam m a is guaranteed by
Lat. tier, H esych. y e a p cap, and various prosodic features such as hiatus in
II. viii 307, euphonic -v in II ii 89, lengthening of a short vowel followed by
a cons, in xix 519 (Chantraine, Grammaire, i 128); Bentleys deletion of iv
(cf. v 148) eliminates the problem of the unlengthened iv.
302 . 01 S sc. O dysseus and his men, switching attention to the new subject
o f the next simile; looks forward to apa in 307. O n in
similes, see Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 669. aiyvm s vulture, lam m ergeier is
used as a synonym of (cf. 30 .), though there are problem s in identify
ing the precise species m eant by both these words and by (see nn. to
33 9-40 -and 299-308), and even by aicrs (see W . K . Kraal, LfgrE, i 259-
Go); is used in similes in II. xvi 428 (identical to this line, on
Patroclus and Sarpedon fighting), I i xiii 531, xvii 460 (M eriones and
A utom edon in combat) and in divine m etamorphoses in I i vii 59 (Athena
and Apollo), as well as at Od. xvi 217 (cf. 299~3o8n.). Its etym ology would
seem to im ply an *m os, Skt. xji-pyd-, epithet for a bird of prey (Frisk,
G E W ) modified by popular etym ology from and goat, either as
thought of as the birds prey or because o f the slight resem blance between

272
B O O K X X I I 399-304

the faces o f the two anim als, , with crooked talons , occurs in
the two parallel passages and in xvi 217; the second element ,
found in this position in the sam e passages and also, of an eagle, xix 538
(see below), m ust be yetAos lip > beak, with the sense hook-beaked5,
rather than claw , w hich w ould here m ake for an irritating tautology.
303 . Gf. xix 538, w here an eagle descends from the mountains. T h e iterative
subj. w ithout av is a H om eric construction seen also, for example, in viii 524
(relative clause) and in xix 519 (simile with . . . ore; see n. on 299308).
304 - 6 . A difficult passage w hich has been variously explained: (a) the birds
(used to flying low and not in the mountains) scatter (note the shortening
of the previous syllable before the short f- of ; see 256.) over the
plain in terror of the clouds (the predators com e from the open sky, cf. xx
104), but the lam m ergeiers swoop down (, xxiv 320; -
, xiv 22o) and kill them ( , x 125) without quarter (the phrase
otlS n s , w hich appears as a line-ending in 226, and, followed by
in IL xxi 528-9, is causal), w hile the spectators sportsmen w ho
enjoy w atching . . . as now adays one watches the manoeuvres o f fighter
aircraft, com m ents Stanford ad loc. enjoy the hunt ; this w ill involve
taking 0pvts as fem., as in IL ix 323, xiv 290, although it appears always to
be masc. in the Odyssey (ii 181, xv 160, 525, 531, x x 242, xxiv 3 11, and
probably v 51, xix 548), and also taking as a trans, verb with the
object of w hich one is afraid in the acc., as at IL xx 427, although the two
O dyssean exam ples are intrans, (Od. xvii 227, xviii 363); or alternatively,
(b) the terrified birds of the plain (a construction similar to later A tt. ai
Tfj TT-eStaj) launch themselves upwards towards the clouds (, acc. of
direction) in a vain attem pt to outfly the predators, which nevertheless
soar above them with one glide (van Leeuw en ad loc., and, more or less,
Krischer, op. cit. (300.), 59, diese flattern ngstlich auf zu den W olken,
um sich zu verstecken, aber . . .), though such an attempt to escape
powerful fliers by clim bing above them seems futile, and besides w ould
provide scant spectacle for the spectators below; or (c) either of these inter
pretations as far as the first hem istich o f 306, but taking the last hemistich
to m ean that the huntsm en set the chase up in some w ay in order to catch
the birds: see H .-G . B uchholz, G .J h ren s and I.M a u ll, Archaeologia J,
116, who cite Schadew aldts translation and W. J. W . Rosters argum ent
against P. Ghantraine, tudes sur le vocabulaire grec (Paris, 1956), 41 in his
review, Mnemosyne xi (1958), 54, according to whom nowhere refers
to the depredations o f birds of prey, but only to hunting b y m en or gods,
as in xii 330, w here O dysseus and his m en catch fish and birds; cf. h.Hom.
xix 15, Pan returns from the hunt; h.Hom. xxvii 5, Artem is enjoys the
hunt, ); or finally (d ) in the same sense as c, but more precisely,
(the birds), terrorized (by the lammergeiers) launch themselves towards
the nets on the plain and the m en (not the lammergeiers) throw them
selves upon them and kill them, taking pleasure in the hunt ; this scenario
for bird-catching (which, rather im probably, depends on there being
some lammergeiers roam ing about to do the chasing), requires us to

273
COMMENTARY

take a as some sort o f hunting-tackle (see sch. - ; cf.


in Aristophanes, . 94 > 52 &), and to construe the phrase
as a reduction o f Att. v , with the same
omission o f the article observable in reductions such as ivi
(xix 5t4)j * ( 122),
( 33l)j ( 313) T h e final solution, an
all-too-easy resort to em endation (for example, Berards , they
launch themselves across the plain in, like a cloud, adducing 299, II. iv 274,
xxiii 133 . . . , xvi 66 ), is to be frowned upon. For
refuge, possibility of escape cf. 226 and 11 xxii 270 , 301
.
307 . picks up and repeats .
indicates that they now control the hall.
308- 9 . : iterative imperf,, shows that they are no longer using spears,
bu t have begun to fight with swords, probably the ones dropped by the
dead suitors (cf. 328), : rushing to and fro , is in
appropriate in the narrow confines o f the hall, though it reappears in
A m ph im edon s account (xxiv 184-5 = xxii 308-9, w ith for );
the first line of II. x 483-4 = 308, with , the second w ith initial opi
, w here Diom edes deals indiscrim inate blows in all directions
(it is doubtful, pace Lorim er, Monuments, 485, that the Odyssey is the source
here); the sam e in II. xxi 2 0 -1, with , o f A chilles (in 12 -1 4
his enemies flee like trapped locusts, in 22-4 they dash away like fish
pursued by a dolphin; see Krischer, op. cit. (300.), 59). : sc. o f
the suitors, possessive gen. dependent on or , or possible
ablatival gen. after (on which see the note above on 2416); the four
parallels mentioned are the only places w here ugly, unbecom ing
> horrible5 qualifies (see 432.). : here
as on other occasions (see 38.) we have a gen. on the w ay to becom ing
absolute, with causal sense; the verb, like the opi cited in the
parallel adduced above, refers to sword-fighting again (M erkelbach,
Untersuchungen, 127 n. 2; we m ay thus reject Blass5 conjecture
77-, based on II. xi 158, 500 a); m ay be added
to the forms m entioned in the n. on 218, along with (viii 92),
(v 323), {II x 152), {II. 156), and noting the accent,
which is correct since according to H erodian the regular oxytone
accentuation of the gen. does not apply to contracted disyllables. T h e
second hem istich of 309 is repeated not only in xxiv 185 bu t also in xi 420;
the A eol. spelling is often found for rage, be furious, related to
spirit, tem per5 and not with sacrifice, found four times in the
Odyssey (Chantraine, Grammaire, 51, 372; in h.Merc. 560; cf. also
, xxiv 449); w e find the verb applied to the w ind in xii 400,408,426, to
the sea in xiii 85 (in the Iliad it is always applied to warriors, am ong them
the personified Scamander).
310 - 80 . T h ere rem ains one last score to be settled, that o f the suitors hire
lings, as w e m ay call them, w ho aided and abetted the wrongdoers. Leodes

274
B O O K X X I I 3 04-316

the priest, though he has taken little part in the fight against O dysseus and
has always kept him self disapprovingly apart from the suitors (see xxi 14 6 -
7), nevertheless as one o f their num ber cannot escape his com panions5fate.
T h e minstrel Phem ius, o n the other hand, is protected by innocence, and
the holiness of his calling; for him T elem achus pleads pardon, and likewise
for M ed o n in his grotesque hiding-place, a lackey who merely obeyed
orders. T h e two survivors anguish at the uncertainty of their fate in 379-80
is a delightful touch.
310 . O n L eodes nam e see 294. jars by its close proxim ity to
the identically-placed - of 307 (c f v 428, 431). OSvarfos m ay
depend on , or b e a gen. of that towards which one leaps (the
em endation , based on 342, is not necessary; cf. 11 xii 388, xvi 5 1 1 -
12 . . . , against 11. xii 1434, xv 395~d - !
. . . | ; xx 26, of a horse which runs to,
is however a different construction), at the end of the line,
with the gen. of contact and the ritual act of suppliancy or begging for
pardon, is found at x 323 (Circe to Odysseus), xxii 342 (Phemius to ,
Odysseus), xxii 365 (M edon to Telem achus); with , vi 142 ;
(O dysseus to Nausicaa), x 264 (Eurylochus to Odysseus); and similar
expressions in vi 169, x 481, xx 337, 339-
311 . - 343, 366 (the petitions of Phem ius and M edon).
312 . =344; the line is taken from IL xxi 74 (with for ).
is found at the beginning of the line in vi 149 (Odysseus before
Nausicaa); and at x 521, xi 29. 5 5 :
H ecuba beseeches H ector (her own breast) (II. j
xxii 82); at the end o f the line in 11. xxii 59 (Priam to Hector) and 11.
xxiv 503 (Priam to Achilles, w ith ); is from a , not :
from the seen at xxi 28. ;
313 - 19 . C om p are the poets statements to the same effect in xxi 144-7, w ith
the echoes o f (314, 317) in xxi 146, o f (314~A5) in H 7 j :
and o f (318) in 145. j
313 - 14 . Leodes is not only confident o f not having insulted Penelope, bu t
also proclaim s () that he has never said or done anything improper,
double acc., to any of the wom en-slaves (see 304-60.), w ho as w e know
from xvi 108-9, xx 3 18 -19 w ere ceaselessly molested by the other suitors.
T h e first hem istich of 313 is repeated in iv 141, and similar to xix 380. !
: although the initial digam m a of (see 46.) ought to lengthen a
preceding vowel (and does so in iv 690, v 102, viii 148, xiv 251, xxii 46, 209;
preceded b y -v in iv 649), there are cases, like this one, where it fails to do so
(note the conjecture ). : on this adj. see 47 n.; on the
suitors w anton behaviour, , see n. on 3 13 -19 , and cf. also xxiii
67, xxiv 416, 458; , xviii 57, xix 88 (the women-slaves). j
316 . : they paid no attention to m e as far as keep
ing their hands out o f (, anastrophe) m ischief was concerned ; in j
the act. takes acc. of person and acc. or inf. of the object of the persuasion, i
in the pass, the inf. remains unchanged; on see 423 .

27 5
COMMENTARY

317 . = 4 16 . : cf. xxi 374. : aor. of look to,


m eet (the pres. inf. is attested at II. x x 357), from *sep-} and quite distinct
both from <C *sequ~ (Ghantraine, Grammaire, i 3089), and from
the non-H om eric - ; see 416 and xxiv 22, and ii 250, iv 196, xxiv 31
for other m oods o f the verb.
318 - 19 . L eodes pessimistic resignation recalls that of Lycaon before his
death at the hands o f A chilles in II. xxi 9 2-3 (Fenik, Studies, 197).
318 . : augur, exam iner o f victim s, prom inently highlighting the
sacrilege o f L eodes5 com ing death, is the word used at xxi 145 (see n. ad
loc., and 321, I t xxiv 221, both in the same metrical position); the second
elem ent *- (cf. Lat. haru-spex) is a derivative with m obile - o f later
observe, inspect5. o u S v : cf. 46, 218, 314m l.; of eight
Iliadic examples, seven respect hiatus and xxi 399 can, like the present line
(see apparatus), be em ended to do so (see Chantraine, Grammaire, i 115,
Hoekstra, Modifications, 54, and cf. iv 693 , II. ix 320
at the end o f the line).
319 . : shall lie5, obviously a prospective rather than a volitive fut.;
cf. 48. Prophecies with the sam e fut. at the beginning o f the line o ccur in II.
viii 537, xviii 121, xxi 318, xxii 71. Unless w e write dis, then, so5,
w e m ust take as exclam atory, how (I see) there is n o . . . (in the w orld)!5
(see Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 668; cf. for exam ple iii 196, xxiv 1945). T h e
line is repeated, with the exception o f the first word, in Penelopes com
plaint to M edon at iv 695; on this basis Pasquali ( Verst Spun, 228-9), who
does not accept that Leodes is pessimistic (see n. on 3 18 -19 above), affirms
that 319 is an interpolation. 3: in the future5 (cf. 40, 55 .,
345, xxiv 84). : appears four times in the Iliad and
sixteen in the Odyssey (see xxfii 234, xxiv 274; cf. fern, virtuous5 in
xi 434, xv 422, xxiv 202), but only here and in its parallel at iv 695 is it used
in the neut. as a noun m eaning good deed, favour5, dependent on ,
thanks, gratitude for5. O n O dysseus }, see 235.; the hero gives
L eodes words the lie in 374.
320 . = 60 (see n., and cf. 1 n.).
321 . If you really boast of being the augu r am ongst them ; is here
rather m ore em phatic than it is when used in genealogies (xxi 335 ., xxiv
269).
322 . iro u : you m ust often have prayed, no
doubt5; with inf. indicating a probability is a com m on construction,
bu t the inf. is not m ade to show tense (see G hantraine, Grammaire, ii 307-9;
cf. II. xi 364 = xx 451 at to w hom yo u m ust have prayed5;
II. xxi 83 m ust have becom e hateful
note the reinforcing , no doubt, which supports the m ajority reading
here; Od. xiv 133~4 y$y . , . ( ' the
dogs m ust already have torn o ff5); thus (for its long initial vowel
see 208 n.) is an intrans. active pres. inf. o f the so-called A eolic athem atic
type, with -- for -<x- in contracted verbs (see C . Calam e, LfgrE, i 1168-76,
Chantraine, Grammaire, i 305-6; and cf. xii n o , xviii 174

276
B O O K X X I I 317-328

, xx 137 ). O n the ritual see E. T . Verm eule,


Archaeologia V , 100.
323 . : like , takes acc. with inf,: (you must have prayed)
for the accom plishm ent o f m y sweet return hom e to be long delayed ;
rAoy is therefore the subj. o f . For parallels see xx 74 rAos . . .
the taking-place of the m arriage , xxiv 124 . . ,
rAos the accom plishm ent of our death .
324 . Despite the claim m ade in 313, O dysseus supposes that Leodes used to
pray to take his place in the bedcham ber, once the hero was dead; the two
infinitives parallel u ; > m y wife , is the subj. both o f
(aor. of ; see 317 ., and cf. II. v 423, Od. iv 38) and o f
(the four exam ples o f the aor. m iddle of in the Odyssey refer
to the father begetting children, in iv 387, xv 249, or to the two parents
together, xxiii 61, xxiv 293, bu t in the Iliad it is used of the m other conceiv
in g , as at II ii 742).
325 . This is sarcastic, precisely for this monstrous am bition ; cf. 317. T h e
opt. with av is a polite form, here used with m enacing coolness (cf. II. 1301,
ix 375-6); ye, at least as far as I am concerned . :
, w hich brings fatal cares, doleful, applied here to and
at II. xx 154 to , is related to an alleged neuter *dAeyos from which
derive (take) care and the com m on eyeivy causing care, toil
som e ; cf. also carelessly, w ithout scruple, II. 1x309, Od. i 373;
conjecture /Aeyys in A lcm . fr. 26, 4p, and the late carefree,
careless . : appears in II. vi 502, xi 34 ,
8 i, Od. xi 107; for the m iddle ending - cf. II. xv 571 , II. xxiv
619 ).
326 . : (cf. M yc. dual qi-si-pe-e) reappears instead of (see
74.); again in 443, xxiv 527. O n O dysseus sturdy hand see xxi 6n.
327 . : w hich w as lying on the floor ; 6, rel. T h e dying Agelaus
(, in the next line) had thrown his sword forward on the floor as
he fell (, aor. for pluperf.; for the m eaning cf. xiv 26, of sending
a m an on ahead, xxii 82, of letting fly an arrow; Odysseus now picks it up.
328 - 9 . : the verb, with predicative (cf. 295), is used
o f spears (93, 295) as w ell as swords (97); as explained in the n. on 96-8, it is
not always easy, w hen swords are used, to know whether thrusting or
cutting is m eant, b u t here the m acabre detail of severing the head by one
trem endous swing to the neck puts it beyond doubt that cutting is meant
(cf. the sim ilar expression in II. xx 455). For further decapitation, see 349
below (though it is not certain that and its com pound in -
always im ply beheading; it does so in Od. xi 35, of sheep, and II. xxiii 174, of
dogs, and even in II. xviii 336, and xxiii 22, o f hum an victims, but II. xxi 555
is less clear-cut, and in II. xxi 89 L ycaon fears that, w ith him dead, Achilles
w ill have cut the throats, Seipor, of both him self and his brother,
though w e know that he has killed Polydorus by a spear-thrust to the
belly). In II. x 4 5 5 -7 D iom edes first wounds D olon,
lA aaae | , and then cuts the two tendons of the neck, S
rvovrc; this is follow ed b y a line identical to 329 (which has

277
COMMENTARY

given rise to the deletion of the latter); in II. xiv 496-9 Penelaus topples
Ilioneus with a spear-thrust to the eye, unsheaths his and aims a cut
at the neck, , slicing the head to ground with helm et
and all, . . . , and then raises the head aloft, still stuck on
the spear like a blood-red poppy. : despite the pronoun
dependent on , the part, is here alm ost absolute (see n. on 3089;
Eustathius variant for the parallel line at II. x 457 presents the curious
picture of a disem bodied head talking); apa points to the inevitability o f
the result o f such a blow. : for the significance o f this
m ention o f dust, see 383 below and the Introduction to xxi; for the oscilla
tion in the spelling o f , see n. on 221; and for the relation of this
passive formation to formulaic parallels, Hoekstra, Modifications, 136.
330 - 80 . It has been w ell said that this passage, where Phem ius honourable
treatm ent contrasts with the ridiculous role o f M edon and the cruel fate of
Leodes, constitutes the B ards own tribute to the im m ortal gift of poetry
(see, for example, Besslich, Schweigen, 10 1-4 , M . W egner, Archaeologia
U , 31).
330 . Phem ius, w ho is m entioned in i 154, 337, xvii 263, has another of the
Odyssey*s significant n am e s, Fam e-giver or R ich in lays (cf. in
376; at ii 150 it has another meaning; Stanford ad loc. cites Euphorion fr.
67, . ); here reinforced for the first time by the significant
patronym ic son of Terpis or Terpius, Giver of delight (for o f the
m instrels gift, cf. i 347). For further examples o f significant patronym ics
see 235, 287. : tried to escape, otherwise unattested in
H om er, a conative form related to < *?at (cf. 260.); xvii
23 escape , xxiv 229 dAeetW run away, shun ; see n. on 66 for
run aw ay, and n. on 38 for run stealthily away, creep
off (cf. iv 512, v 430, viii 355, xix 189), , xvii 581.
: cf. 66n.
331 . A gainst the o f certain M SS, preferred by A llen, the exact parallel
with i 154 inclines the balance in favour of , read by other M SS and
preferred by von der M hll. : expresses here, as in m any other
passages, the poets benign attitude towards his fellow artist (Hoekstra,
Modifications, 121-2).
332 . : probably indicates a sudden movem ent on Phem ius part. T h e
rest of the line is paralleled in viii 394-5, xxiii 268 ( , v 49, xxii
497, xxiii 294); the line-ending occurs seven times.
333 . T h e end o f the line is similar to xvi 73 h ivi
', only in these two cases, o f the seven occurrences in the Odyssey,
does $ introduce a choice expressed by a double indirect question
expressed by . . . < , w hether . . . or, which we also find after the
verb in vi 142-3, xvi 74-6 (cf. . . . eith er. . . or in xxi 97-8,
xxii 468; in iv 118 -19 , x 5 12, xvii 2367, xx 1 1 - 1 2 we have instead . . .
, and in xviii 9 1-2 . . . ).
334- 5 . : im plying stealth. : pres. opt. (oblique, like
(337), corresponding to a deliberative subj. in oratio recta), the

278
B O O K X XII 3 3 8 -3 4 7

aspect has caused remark, since the m eaning requires a single action,
whether to sit dow n . . . . : solidly m ade, from ^ ;
cf. xxi 215, and xxiv 206, a field well-cultivated, or well-fenced with solid
walls.
336 . T h e son assists his father in the cerem ony. T h e tmesis em phasizes the
root-m eaning o f m , b urnt on (the altar) .
337 . O n this and the follow ing lines see nn. on 3 10 -12 .
recalls the $ o f Leodes; it occurs in 342, 365 in the same
formula.
338 . : seem ed , found only once elsewhere in H om er (xxiv 239;
cf. II xxiii 339 ), appears to be m odified by analogy with eSoe
from an assum ed *, akin to (vi 242), to Hsch. -
, , and Sarcu <u, , and to * > .
339 . O n the patronym ic see xxi 262 n.
340- 1 . : and so, in fact . T h e ritualistic care with w hich the minstrel
handles his instrum ent is deliberate (cf. viii 67-8); it is quite w rong to
com m ent, as do Blass (Interpolationen, 209), D uentzer, and others in favour
of deleting 341 (a line untouched by Eustathius, by the way), that the detail
of where Phem ius puts it dow n is irrelevant . It is however true that iS (a
conj. form ed from the pronoun *i- and S) generally causes preceding
hiatus, for reasons w hich are not clear (Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 566-7; see
for exam ple 1 1 1 2 , w here how ever the editors prefer A ristarchus ,
S to H erodian s ; iii 10; or, with preceding re, iv 604, xi
337, xviii 249, xxiii 289), except w here it is m asked by euphonic -v (ix 186, xi
431, 626); this has been taken to indicate that passages w hich ignore hiatus,
like this one and I i ii 5 11, v 171, vi 4, xxiv 166, are o f later date (Hoekstra,
Modifications, 144-5). : cf. 327. . : for this
epithet of see xxi 139, and Lorim er, Monuments, 274 n. 1.
342 . a u t o s S a : he for his part . T h e sam e first hem istich is found in
xx 165.
345 . : to yourself ; the same line-opening at I i ix 249, w here
O dysseus prophesies sim ilar remorse in A chilles case if he does not yield,
: cf. 319. $ : rem orse (cf. the nom . in xxi 249, 299.,
412; gen., xxiv 315). : in connection w ith in the next
line, m ay be translated the singer (that I am ) .
346 . $ : cf. xxi 29, 36, xxii 54., 217, 229, 268, 359; the verb occurs in
the subj. in two other passages o f the poem (xi 135, xxiii 282).
: sc. at religious solemnities and civic festivals; for the
dat. o f advantage of persons for w hom one sings, cf. i 154, 325. T h e word
deliberately picks up in the previous line.
347 - 9 . T h e lines have attracted endless com m ent, particularly on the word
, w hich is not found elsewhere in H om er. It is often supposed
that Phem ius claim is connected w ith the well-known debate between
natural gifts and acquired skills, nature and nurture , which is so
important, for exam ple, in the poetry o f Pindar and the disputes of the
sophists and their enemies. B ut there w ou ld b e little sense in Phem ius thus

279
COMMENTARY

boasting o f being self-taught to Odysseus, a man who him self owes none of
his skills to teachers; and this remains true despite Plato and the Platonists
use o f the lines to support their theory of anamnesis (for exam ple, Ion 533e;
cf. M , Schm idt, LfgrE, i 1619-20, and am ongst others Bowra, Companion,
73, or, to somewhat different effect, M . W egner, Archaeobgia U , 3 1,35). O n
the contrary, his patronymic (see 330.) places Phem ius firmly within a
fam ily tradition or school like that o f the Hom eridae, of w hom we hear so
m uch from Pindar (N. ii 1) and Plato himself. W h at he seems to be trying to
say, in his desperate plea for life (and rem em ber that O dysseus drawn
sword is still at his throat), is that he has an innate capacity to apply the
traditional repertory o f inherited poetic craft to the particular case relevant
to the audience of the moment. T h u s T elem achus reproaches Penelope in
front of Phem ius in i 346-9 for not allow ing the singer to choose the subj ect
o f his songs, ] likewise, in viii 4 3 -5, A lcinous
calls Dem odocus and explains the epithet by saying that the
god has endowed him in especial measure () with the gift o f song
(), to give pleasure () in whatever w ay his spirit dictates,
(cf. the echo o f this line in Ag. 9912 -
. . . ). Indeed, this ability springs from and relies on the
singer s immense traditional repertory; Telem achus congratulates
Phem ius in i 337-8 on his w ide knowledge of . . . j 3
re re, re tv . T hus one o fth e singers powers
is, for exam ple, to celebrate the deeds o f O dysseus himself, as D em odocus
does at viii 499-520, and this is one sense in which it w ould be a mistake on
the heros part to kill him, thereby depriving him self ( , 345) o f so
powerful an advocate. Besides, Phem ius enjoys that divine protection
which is so clearly revealed by the legends o f inspired poets o f later times
such as Hesiod (Th. 234), Stesichorus (Pliny, N H x 82), Pindar (Paus, ix
23. 2), Callim achus (fr. 2Pfi), and H orace (C. iii 4. 9-20). D em odocus was
m uch loved b y the M use, w ho gave him blindness, it is true, but gave
in recompense (viii 634 . . . ). Odysseus
affirms in viii 47981 that singers are w orthy of all honour and respect, for
\ , . W ith this affirma
tion Phem ius claim agrees, when he uses the hapax (note the rare
repetition - and iv; the word is used o f love, for instance, in X . Mem. i 4.
7; the simple verb occurs as trans, in H om er only at Od. x 393, o fth e
bristles w hich Circe m ade grow on the sailors, and II. i 235, of the leaves
w hich w ill not grow on the sceptre) to describe his inspiration: the god has
implanted in m y m ind all kinds o f song (lit. all ways, paths ; occurs in
viii 74,481, both times in reference to D em odocus songs; like at II. xi
24, the word is cognate with i go ; cf. in xxfii 161, xxiv 343).
T h e m ore usual word for divine m ental im plantation is the aor. of ,
used six times in the Odyssey for A th en as suggestions (e.g. Od. v 427
i ; cf. xxi 1), or for suggestions by the in general (xiv 227), by
Zeus (xvi 291), by the Erinys (xv 234), by Teiresias in H ades (xi 146); only
once do we find the expression , of a god

280
B O O K X XII 347-355

su ggestin g th e ru se o f P e n e lo p e s w e a v in g in x ix 138 (see B o n a, Studi, 133


n, 9).
348- 9 . T hese lines also present difficulties. Setv | <3 s
is often loosely translated and you seem a very god when I sing by
yo u r side, lit. and I seem to sing b y y o u r side as if by the side of a god ;
bears heavy emphasis in this rendering, and the present inf. w ould
have to refer to a time before O dysseus journeying, which scarcely fits with
the perf. . with dat. o f person governed b y the prefix, and
im plying the idea of having the seat o f honour next to a superior, is
unattested elsewhere (cf. later expressions such as ). T his
personal construction with is also unique in Hom er, though we have
a parallel in II. vii 192 - "pa it seems that I shall defeat
H ector , B u t the gravest objection is that, phrased like this, Phem ius rather
blatant piece o f flattery (cf. T elem ach u s com plim ent to the effect that
N estor looks to him like a god, iii 246; the people listen to A lcinous . . .
$, vii 11; the Ithacans look on Eurym achus , xv 520) cannot con
stitute a convincing logical argum ent for sparing the m instrels fife (cf.
following , like that of 325 and so m any other passages). For this reason
M on ro and Stanford prefer the no less tentative translation am fit to sing
before you . . ., I am the right person to be yo u r poet (if you spare me, and
therefore you ought not to kill me) , be fitting is very com m on: cf.
xxi 319, 322, xxii 196; also xxiv 254, with Bentley s conjecture ); but I
can find no parallel for the construction used personally in H om er (the use
of the part, fitting at i 46, iii 12 4 -5, iv 239 is not strictly parallel),
though it does later occur in the tragedians (S. E l 516, Tr. 1241; E. Hel.
497). : yearn, desire earnestly (cf. xxiii 334, xxiv
536) captures the fierce look of glee and m enace in O dysseus face, as does
the terrifying (on the exact m eaning of which see 329.).
351 . T h e line provides the apposition to in the previous clause. T h e first
hemistich, with shortening of and the expected hiatus before (cf.
Locr. ), is repeated in iv 377. : nor m uch less in
hopes (of any gain) ; the conj. is used in a different sense in the two direct
parallels, II xvii 221 (without a com plem ent) and 50 (see n.).
352 . : frequent, go repeatedly ; this form with long vowel and
Ionic semi-contraction occurs seven times in the Odyssey and eight in the
Iliad, and is close in m eaning to in 223 (see n.). It is uncertain
w hether should be taken closely w ith the inf., to associate with, take
part in (the suitors feasts) (thus Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 118), or trans
lated after (dinner) , in close conjunction with , final fut. part,
(thus Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 486 n. 2; cf. i 152, and iv 194 /30/u.evoy
, to lam ent during supper, som ething which is not usual).
353 . O n see i2 - i4 n .; for the line-ending, 331
354. T h e first hemistich is repeated in 361 and xix. 89; the second, with its
periphrasis and hiatus before fs (cf. Lat. wij), in xxi 101 (see n.) and 130.
355 . T h e possessive s < *aefos has occurred already in xxi 316, and
appears again in 381, xxiii 223, xxiv 162, 236, 295i i t is less com m on than s

281
COMMENTARY

(see xxi 5, 27, 41, 204, 301-2, 315, and nn,). T h e line-ending is the sam e as
that o f 163.
356 . : contain yourself, hold your han d ; on < *, related
to , see nn. on 70 and 172, and cf. 248; later it occurs also in 367, 4 11,
xxiv 54, 323, 531, 543. : only here, at xx 135 (Penelope,
according to Eurycleia), and in three places in the Iliad. : cf.
293 .
357 . A n d M edon too5: Telem achus cannot see the hiding herald, but thinks
that if none of his three com panions has yet killed him, they should spare
him too. , aor. subj. with short them atic vowel.
358 . : this line-opening, w ith shortening of the final
syllable of before the following vowel, is paralleled in i 258, II. iii 233.
: used to look after m e, iterative o f (cf. xxiii 9
). M edon proved an affectionate ally to Penelope in iv 677715,
xvi 412, but also behaved politely towards the suitors in xvii 1726. H e
repays O dysseus clem ency in xxiv 43949. v r o s agrees
with , but the part, here borders on the gen. absol. (see 328-90.).
359 . T h e sing, agrees with the nearest o f its two subjects, .
For examples of d at the beginning of the line see xxi 170, xxiv 434.
360 . In some cases does not indicate a casual encounter (thus
A thena, Hermes, and Poseidon appear to various characters in vii 19, x
277, II. xiii 210); w hen it does, however, the subj. o f the verb is the less
im portant character, the one who is bum ped into by the person who is the
m ain character from the point of view of the narrative (thus Eurypylus is
encountered by Patroclus in II. xi 809, M eriones b y Idom eneus in xiii 246;
the usages in xxi 306, xxiv 87 are distinct). O n ly here, however, does the
verb have hostile undertones. : temporal, equivalent to an
imperf., w hile you were prow ling angrily about ; com pare the pass, in 23
(see n.); it is active in xxi 87, xxiv 448, and middle, here and in xxiv 318.
361 . T h e line begins in the same w ay as 354; poor, trem bling M edon has his
ears pricked to catch the smallest sound. : sc. T elem achus. T h e
line-ending, with its hiatus, is applied to M edon him self in iv 696, 711, xxiv
442, but also to Peisenor in ii 38; the part, has already occurred in xxi 343,
355 (see n.), xxii 153.
362 - 3 . A com ic episode which slightly relaxes the tension.
is difficult to sort out the various forms related to the root o f this verb;
besides fall (cf. 280.) and 1 fly (, ii 147; -
, 28on.), we have a group o f forms with intrusive * - k in the stem
w hich m e a n crouch, cow er related to post-Hom eric 777^ < *'}
(viii 190 . . . , they crouched cowering ; hence trans,
alarm ed, gave a fright to, II. xiv 40) and < * (crouch ,
II. xxi 26; flee in alarm , It. xxi 14; cow er, 304.; cf. hare, 11. xvii
676; with affective aspiration, crouching i> b eggar, for exam ple
in xxi 292, 327, xxiv 157, b eg, xvii 11). In the perfect it is
im portant to distinguish the falling verbs ( , II. xxi 503, Od. xxii
384; is un-Hom eric) from the crouching ones (,

282
B O O K X XII 355-369

I i ii 312 note the prefix, cf. 38 .; xiii 98, o f rocks w hich lower over the
harbour entrance, with textual variants undecided between n o n
and <;< \ xiv 354, 474, xxii 362); the long -17-
corresponding to the disyllabic stem is always m aintained except in. the
<() o f II. xxi 503, Od. xxii 384, w hich display quantitative m eta
thesis of -770 and subsequent synizesis (Chantraine, Grammaire, i 7 1-2 ,
428, 430 postulates -eo- or even - - here; see 130.). :
lative after ', on the sort o f chair intended see xxi 139m
\ : 'he had w rapped him self up in a cow hide , from
head to foot (cf. iv 436-40, w here Eidothea likewise com pletely shrouds the
crouching M enelaus and his com panions in seal-skins w hich are likewise
); . . . , aor. for pluperf., w ith tmesis (cf. xxiv 158, 227;
the fut. in xxi 339 and n.; aor. in --, xxiv 59, 250, 467, 500; in -a-,
xxiii 131, 142; perf. etpcu < ^ , xxiii 115). O n the presence in the
palace of recently skinned oxen, Stanford remarks (n. on 362): 'V a n
Leeuw en is pained to find a new ly flayed hide lying about in a palace like
this; bu t sadly com pares i 108; xx 2 and 299-300 . :
conative; for the line-ending see n. on 330.
364 . M edon can no longer stand the stench of the new-flayed skin (cf.
M enelaus sim ilar predicam ent, iv 4413). utro: from underneath
(cf. for exam ple vi 127 ; Brards is unnecessary),
: with acc. of the garm ent taken off; see i 437 , v 372 -
, and cf. the contrary es retire5, they put their arm our on (xxiv
498). poos . : a grossly pleonastic phrase, obviously
derivative from such lines as I I xvii 389, xviii 582 ,
w here the adj. m akes the phrase justifiable, in contrast to the present case;
cf. II. xxii 159, Od. xx 96 (cf. 375 .), w here eb?, w hich as a subst. pre
supposes some noun such as later , has no such com plem ent (note the
sch. and the ingenious conjecture inspired by xxi 46, 241, xxii 19 in the
app.).
365- 6 . = 342-3, with the exception of the first hemistich of 365.
367 . : h e r e l a m ! ; cf. x x i 207n. on punctuation.
S : stay yo u r hand, and tell your father (to do so too)
(cf. xv 1501 . . , . . . eiVetv, fare you well, and tell
N estor (to fare w ell too)). M ed o n harps back to the im per. of
356, showing that despite 357 he does not yet trust T elem achus not to
strike him .
368 . : in his m om ent o f trium ph , only here in H om er; cf.
in viii 289. : subj. with short them atic vowel,
governs . T h e final form ula has already occurred ten times in i-x x .
369 . : takes an ablatival gen., (angry) because of them ;
has already appeared in xxii 59, 224.
: identical line-opening in xxiii 138, 303, 363, xxiv 2; is
unem phatic, as in m any sim ilar form ulaic expressions (cf. vi 3
, 11 xxi 574 > and sim ilarly vii 347 ,
xx \5 . . . ] see n. on 395-6). T h e following rel. is causal; the
COMM ENTARY

ethic dat. produces an ugly repetition, with hiatus in thesis and shorten
ing. O n see 36.
370 . T h ere is little to choose between von der M h lls arid A llen s
. ; cf. 32. T h e paratactic clause with enov should
logically be subordinate to the preceding one (w ithout paying him any
respect5).
371 . = II x 400. : Stanford notes that, except for his
sardonic hum ourless grim ace5in xx 301, the com edy of M ed o n s terror has
provoked O dysseus very first smile (cf. the smiles o f M enelaus, iv 609;
Calypso, v 180; Athena, xiii 287; T elem achus, xvi 476); later he smiles once
m ore, at Penelope (xxiii 111). T h e com pound appears here and
in three identical line-openings in the Iliad (x 400; iv 356, A gam em non
sm iling at O dysseus; viii 38, with initial , o f Zeus smiling at Athena),
: cf. in .
372 . : imper., found in seven other places in the Odyssey, all except
one of them in the same position at the beginning o f the line, and all except
two (xix 546, Penelope5s_dream, xxiv 357) in the m ouths o f characters other
than Odysseus, $ : sc. T elem achus. : the verbs
*, , , representatives of various developments from a
sem antic cluster pull towards oneself5 > rescue > protect5, present an
inextricable puzzle. It is generally thought that the whole group has initial
digam m a (cf. D elph. , and see x x i 173 . on ); nevertheless,
digam m a is ignored in the o f this line, in contrast to the m any
cases o f *weru- stems w here it is respected (II xvii 287, ipveiv with
lengthening of a preceding short vowel-consonant cluster; iii 65, iii 470, xx
279, aor. pvaavro preceded by hiatus; xxii 79, aor. ) with long
-v- and doubled -a- from *epep-; xxi 125 fut. sim ilarly formed
(preceded by euphonic -v), and to cases w here it is impossible to tell
w hether digam m a is respected or not (xxii 176 ipvaai, xxii 187, 193
epvaav, xxii 386, 476 ). In the case o f *writ~ stems, digam m a is
clear in aor, <C * (II. xv 290, w here it is followed by
with hiatus in thesis, a near parallel to the tautological form ula of
the present line), in pf. epva$ai < *f-fpv-aOat (xxiii 82, 151; note the
accentuation), in plupf. e ipvro <C *e-pe-pp-To (xxii 90, xxiii 229). See
Chantraine, Grammaire, i 136-7.
373 . U nlike Ctesippus (cf. 286.), M edon will be permitted to learn from his
mistake, is loosely constructed not with , but with the idea of
pardon im plied by that word; the contraction is paralleled only by
in II i 4 11 (see the apparatus). A syndetic has appeared inxxi 22g
(see n. ad loc.), the ending o f which is very sim ilar to this line, and also in
xxi 231, 260, 404, xxii 53, 55; for the ending o f efarjoda, the digam m a of
w hich causes lengthening o f the previous syllable, see 325; , to
others too5.
374 . A rather banal apophthegm , , with lengthening of the -1- to
avoid the cretic, is unique in H om er (a is found later in Plato, and
in A ttic prose; see in xviii 64, later com m on,

284
B O O K X X I I 369-378

especially in the contracted form ; cf., xxiv 251 with the


same scansion, which is paralleled in exam ples such as ^ in xiii
14.2, com pared to in 11 ix 320, Od. xix 27; on see 235.,
3 ig n . on ciiepy, etc.).
375. : so, to end w ith . im per.; cf. 335 ., but here the idea
is a cross between sit dow n' and rem ain seated .
375- 6 . J. . . cis : see Introduction to xxi, and cf. xx 97, w here
O dysseus takes his stinking oei- out into the courtyard.
376. Leave this hall with its bloody slaughter5; cf. the similar phraseology o f
II. x 298 ^, ?, 11 xxiv 6 .
? ? : y ou and the minstrel together ; on see
330m; it is used in a very different sense as the nam e of the Cyclops in
70, etc.
377 . civ: w hile , tem poral consecutive, with , subj. with
short them atic vowel, from , trans, work hard at, labour over (cf.
11. xxiii 24.5, Od. ix 230, xi 9). : the origin of this w ord, w hich on the
face of it is used as a verb, was in fact an ancient noun with stem-vowel in -d
(cf. original acc. such as , xxi 426, xxii 473; , xxiii 175; , viii
207) m eaning necessity , used originally with a plain infin., and then with
an acc. and inf. (without acc.,'xxiv 324 hurrying is a neces
sity > it is necessary to hu rry ; w ith acc., xxiv 407
0; w hat necessity is it that you labour? > w hy is it necessary for
you to labour? ; cf. xxiii 250). A similar developm ent takes place with the
noun or , invariably in the nom , except in II. viii 57, where uses
in which its true function as a substantive is quite clear (iv 312 irre
/ ' ;) occur side b y side with constructions with the p la in -
inf. (IL xxiii 308 ) and acc. and inf. (xv
201 . . . ). It is nevertheless troubling to find the word
governing an acc. in cases w here w e should expect a dat., as here, even in
cases w here the latter is not excluded b y the metre (Chantraine, Grammaire,
ii 40); thus xxi 110, w hat need have I of praising m y m other?, with
ablatival gen. of the obj. atvov; iv 463 ; iii 14
. T h e line-ending ' is paralleled in i 124, with
, w hich m ay be understood as an indirect question, tell m e what
you need ; but here we m ust construe w hile I busy m yself with what(ever)
I need (for the geh. o f see 315 .); cf. IL xi 606 , iv
634 . U sages such as i8g , . . ,
vi 136 have led som e to suppose that one of these verbs
should always b e supplied with also, the acc. bein g an acc. of direc
tion; at all events, the construction here is parallel to later uses of (only
once in H o m er with acc. and inf., IL ix 337; cf. A . Pr. 86
).
378 . . . . : they went out (Schwyzer, Grammatik, 538; on
the dual, cf. 202 .); (the pres, in -w is derivative, as the accent on the
part, shows) appears again in 479, xxiii 228, 295, and seven times in xxiv; it
is used in m uch the same w ay as elpi in xxi 243, 392, xxii 103 (see nn.), and
COMMENTARY

it looks as if only hiatus has prevented the poet from using ivre (com pare
line-endings such as iii 276, iv 478).
379 . : cf. 375. apa, as they had been told to ; ye, the two o f
them , sc. Phem ius and M edon. T h e beginning of the line is identical in xv
134, the end of it in 334.
380 . : with its expressive reduplication, is a graphic verb,
related to Hsch, and ; , it describes
the haunted look of a frightened m an gazing w ildly about him , as here and
in the disputed 24 and 43 (cf. xii 233, O dysseus looking out for Scylla); the
concentrated scanning from side to side of a man searching for something,
as in xvii 330 w here Telem achus looks for a seat; the ecstatic stare o f the
dream er (Penelope in xix 552), or the fixed watchfulness o f the warrior
(Heracles in xi 608, O dysseus during the slaughter according to A m phi-
m edon s account in xxiv 179, and the next line). T h e repetition in 381 is
deliberate: as for the hero, he too had his eyes staring wide (but for a quite
different reason, not the unnerved panic of these two) . T h e line-ending,
with metrical shortening of the dual ending of , is alm ost the
sam e as ix 545, xxiv 396, ll. xix 336; it captures the nervousness of the two
m en, w ho are still not entirely reassured; , causal pres. part,
from an A eol. athem atic form o f (cf. Scypcvos in xx 385, vvo-
in xiii 310); a k t at any m om ent. N otice the lines effective use of
alliteration to underscore the com ic tone.
381 . captures the comprehensive ranging o f his glance up and down
the room; v marks the look as the victors solem n act o f repossession, el
m ay be taken as introducing an indirect question, to see if any o f the
suitors was left alive, or prospectively, in case any suitor . .
382 . : opt. in indirect speech; the w ord is an otherwise
unattested form related to (II. i 132), (II. iii 11), kXcvtq-
(Od. xix 396), shifty, deceitful (Od. xiii 295); for the prefix,
see nn. on 38, 330, 362-3. T h e end of the line = 363.
383 . : bu t ; note the hiatus before iSev. tnxvTas: every one o f
them . T h e second hem istich is alm ost identical to the endings o f I t xv 118,
xvi 639, and the beginning of//, xvi 796; on the dust, see 328-9 n. and Intro
duction to xxi.
384 . : cf. 302~3n. $ : predic., in great heaps.
384 - 8 . A nother simile, this time from fishing, with . . . es; it was doubt
less these lines which inspired the fam ous m etaphor in A . Pers. 4246. Fish
ing was generally considered by the Greeks, w ho b y preference ate meat, as
a hum ble occupation (H .-G . B uchholz, G .Jhren s, and I. M aull,
Archaeohgia J, 10 3 ,13 2 ,16 9 ,17 5 ); elsewhere in the Odyssey fish is only eaten
in the last resort, for instance by M enelaus starving com panions, who
began to fish with curved hooks, . . . '' ,
in iv 368-9; the same verb is used o f Scylla fishing for dolphins, seals
(as), and whales in xii 9 5-6 ; O dysseus and his m en fish and catch birds
when their provisions run out in xii 330-2 (the last line o f w hich, with its
inapposite mention o f fish-hooks in the context of bird-catching, is

286
B O O K X X I I 378-392

suspect); the strong thread of such mentions w hich runs through xii is
m aintained in the simile at xii 2 51-4, where w e are shown a fisherman
(, unattested in the Iliad, derived from < \ , in N T
and in Plutarch; in xvi 349, xxiv 419 m eans sim ply sailor) with a long rod
(, ) provided w ith a tube of horn, oos 4$
, and at the end of it (besides a lead weight, , cited in
II. xxiv 80), a tasty bait probably of meat, ' .
T h ere is a further allusion to fishing in xix 11 3 -14 . H ere the fishermen,
, drag up the fish from () the deep sea in a net and empty
them out onto the beach, w here they die (we miss here the typical
gasp , cf. xii 254-5, and 473.) in heaps under the pitiless sun, pathetically
yearning their hearts out for the sea. I s : is
used only here in the Odyssey; cf. II. ii 210, iv 422 in the same position, xiv
34; , to ju d g e for exam ple b y x 92 At to, indicates a
curved beach or bay; the adj. is com m on (thirty-one occurrences in the
Odyssey, am ong them xxi 417, xxiv 50) but invariably occurs in situations
where it can be scanned trisyllabically (cf. Lat. cauus and H sch. -
, w hich suggest *$ > ?;
Chantraine, Grammaire, i 28); hence the question m ark placed over the text
here, w here m ust be disyllabic, by M eister, Kunstsprache, 50, van
Leeuw en, and N auck. ? * ? : hoar-grey, white-
flecked , a w ell-known epithet for the streaked appearance of the billowing
sea, used thirteen times in the Odyssey w ith ?, including xxiii 236, and a
doublet in w hich the w ord is used as a two-termination adj., ,
v 4 io , ix 132 (cf. xxi 3 . and 81 for hoar-grey iron; of a grey-haired or
hoary head, xxiv 317); the sam e formula occurs in this position in the line
in a similar phrase at vi 272. . . . : , from
*dik- throw , is found only here in H om er, as is (cf. Hellenistic
, and post-classical hole); this is the only H om eric mention
of fishing w ith nets except the doubtful one, in a m etaphor of a military
encirclem ent in I i v 487, , where is
knot and indicates the yarn from w hich the net is woven; this m ay
have been a hunting-net, how ever (cf. 304.). I m -
: they are poured out on the sand ; for the verb in final position cf. 389;
4, of the geese in Penelopes dream, xix 539, o f ropes in
viii 279; cf. in ix 330, and of dung in xvii 298; occurs nine
times in the Odyssey, in the sam e form ulaic position in xiii 284, iii 38
* $. | ? . . . : ,
pron., sc. of the fish , dependent on , the line-ending is similar to I i
xv 460, xvii 678, Od. xi 201, w ith gnom ic aor.; 4, from the root of
*os > , w ith intrusive -0, is used as an epithet of the sun at the
sam e position in the line in II. x i 735, Od. v 479, xix 41; it occurs also in
xi 16,
391 . i 5 a y e : com e now , cf. xxi 217, xxii 233) etc. , ethic dat. For the
form ulaic see 480.
392 . Note the hiatus before ros, and the lengthening o f its final syllable

287
COMMENTARY

before digam m a. , aor. them atic subj. with - (see app.); to


relative. F or p reoccupying, on ones m ind cf. II. x 383, xvii
201 (Lehrs, op. cit. (9 .), 146 n. 86).
393 . = to8 (see n.).
395 - 6 . T h e repetition o f b y in 397, in asyndeton, is
curious (hence the deletion recorded in the app.); . . . is an
elliptical expression for get up (and come) here ( in vii 342; here and
in 11 v 109 w e have a variant reading , a them atic form with -cr-
parallel to , xix 598; is very com m on, cf. 364, xxiii 348).
T raX aiyeves: inspired by IL xvii 561 d i,
M enelau s tender address to Phoenix, w hich occurs in the same metrical
position (imitated also in h.Merc. 199 , in the sam e
position again; and cf. //. iii 386, h. Cer. 101, 113, of the aged Demeter); its
use by T elem achus here is a piece o f hum orous banter w hich shows his
elation at the trium ph (cf. xix 346, w here O dysseus enquires o f Penelope
w hether there is some . . . about). T h e contrast between the
disyllabic form o f the voc. here and in 481 (see also the dat. in xxiii 33,
and nom . in 433,495, xxiii 1, 292,xxiv 211), and the diphthongized
4 i i (theoretically, a possible disyllable too) and o f xxiv 389, shows
that a m etrical licence is in play (Chantraine, Grammaire, i 224), but it is not
clear w hich o f the two scansions represents the original form; the uncon
tracted one seems m ore likely if the word is indeed related to ,
b y an ancient noun *grayds old age > old w om an, paralleled by *suyus
> vivs birth > son . ) . . . : for the
construction see 369. and, for example, xiii 66. T h e w hole question o f the
women-slaves and their conduct has been well treated by R am m ing,
Dienerschaft, 3 4 -41, and W . Beringer, D ie ursprngliche Bedeutung von
, - in Odyssee xxii 423, Athenaeum xxxviii (i960),
65-97. T w elve of them are ju d g ed to have sinned (424), a num ber
w hich approxim ately corresponds to that of the suitors (see n. on 241).
ctk o it s : fern, (see 156.).
397 . : a near-synonym o f , appears in iv 355, ix 366, xv 403,
xviii 6. Telem achus at last solem nly reveals the great secret to the old
w om an; com pare this line with xxi 3 8 1-5 (see n. on xxi 380, and Focke,
Odyssee, 362). T h e line-ending, with the usual hiatus before digamma, is
found in the first person in vi 239, xviii 43, xx 292.
398 . Cf. xxi 386.
399 . T h e line, which describes the opening o f the doors which were closed in
xxi 387, is identical to that one except for the first word, w here
replaces . derives from the dialect, inf. <C *,
according to Frisk, GEW ; cf. II. xxiv 455 *, which hides a
supposed *dvotyeaKov < *, and II. xxiv 228 ,
hiding a presum ed *, as well as H esychius gloss -
, from an original * w ithout prothesis. Fick and others, ten
tatively supported by von der M hll, w ould substitute etc. for
etc. in i 436, xxiii 370, xxiv 501, all in initial position in the line and

288
B O O K X X I I 392-405

followed b y S or pa and . T h e form ula o f the second hem istich


occurs in ii 400, xix 30, xxi 387; and with , in xx 371; cf. also xxi 242
and its parallel at xxiv 362, and see n. on xxi 369 on .
400 . Cf. 179 .
401 . - xxiii 45 except for a change o f person (Eurycleias tale). T h e beginning
of the line is the same in IL ii 169, xi 473 era, among*. T h e m iddle o f the
part, here has possessive force (cf. 412, and in xvi
106); should be rendered body*, not corpse (the form ula
occurs five times in x and xi, in
448, vexiicaat in xi 491). T h e dat. plur. is attested
four times, at the end o f xi 569, here, and in xxiii 45 ; b u t since this
latter form never occurs in the Iliad, w hereas the nom . and acc. sing, ,
, w hich are never found in the Odyssey, occur there twice and six times
respectively scanned as iam bs (not counting 11. xvii 277 ,
w here the digam m a o f interferes with the scansion: see 372 .), von
der M h ll thinks the reading offered by some witnesses in these
three cases is perhaps preferable to .
402 . : the same form ula occurs in II. vi
268, Od. xxiii 48; on 7 see 184.; , clotted blood , besides
the three passages cited, appears in IL xi 169, xx 503. T h e formula at
the end of the line is paralleled in II. v 136, w hich also introduces a
simile.
403 . o s p a: reinforced pronoun (cf. xi 414, xv 319). from
later we find in H om er only this trans. part, having
eaten (cf. also II. xxii 94, o f a serpent), an enigm atic pf, opt. {IL
iv 35; the -- is variously explained b y Ghantraine, Grammaire, i 429,
Schwyzer, Grammatik, i 662), and fut. pf. rat (Od. ii 203, used
m etaphorically o f one w ho is going to use up all his money); it governs the
part. gen. . , comes away (after eating) ; implies, not
w ild , but rather w hich lives or grazes in the open countryside , thus
m aking it an easy prey for the lion (cf. x 410, of calves; xii 233, with n. on
384-8 above).
404 . dpa, sc. as a result of its feeding, oi, possessive dat.; and the
neut. pi. are terms w hich are m ore naturally applied to hum an
beings (thus the latter in xix 208; but in 11 xvi 159 it applies to wolves).
(cf. xxi 408, xxii 80) is ju st right here for the two jowls.
405- 6 . rreXeu are covered in blood , agreeing with the nearest
subject; cf. IL xvii 5 4 1-2 , A utom edon -fro'Sas |
is Te Awv . S e iv o s e is w ira Seer0ai: the
phrase seems to be the result of a cross between ()
terrible to see (cf. a similar consecutive-final use of the m iddle aor. inf.
preceded b y hiatus; at the end of the line, for example, in xxiv 369
) and Savo? he seems terrible for the
face (which is looking at him ) (i 411 ov . . . , IL iii 158
); the hybrid form ula m eans som ething like terrible to
see face to face , and is found in xxiii 107 , IL ix
COM M ENTARY

373, xv 147 (cf. 240., and the hapax face to face in xxiii 94).
: cf. 402 .
407 . A n d she, w hen indeed she saw . . . : abundant, im
m easurable (cf. 269 and n. for a quite different meaning). :
codd. invariably write elVtSev: , i.e. /, in Bekker s conjecture
which is regularly accepted by A llen in the Odyssey except (presum ably b y
inadvertence) at i 118 and v 392.
408 . p : launched into her ululations, aor. with aug
ment; the same form is used with the inf. in II. xvii 353, but in the m ore
physical sense launched into battle () . T h e force of pa is not
clear; von der M h ll ju d g es its omission, displayed in some M SS, adm iss
ible. : (with the long -u- w hich led C o b et to
suggest accentuating this w ord w ith the circumflex, ^) refers to the
ritual ululation o f wom en, as of the Trojan w om en in the tem ple in II. vi
301, whereas the deeper male equivalent, used as a w ar cry in xxiv 463, was
called ; the verb occurs here, in 4 11, and in iii 450
(Nestors wom enfolk at a sacrifice), iv 767 (Penelope sacrificing to A thena
and entreating her help against the suitors). requires an
unusual initial hiatus; this, and the close repetition o f the verb in the
previous line w hich m ight theoretically have been due to scribal ditto-
graphy, has prom pted M o n ro s conjectural correction , with initial
hiatus ( or appeared, seem ed, twelve times in the Odyssey,
on the verb cf. 206 ., not to be confused with the different adduced
in the n. on 6 -7 above). * : great achievem ent (cf. the
very different m eaning in 149; note the neglect o f hiatus before pyov).
409 . : the verb is related to the forms cited in 372., though the
sem antic connection is unclear (the idea o f saving seems to have gone
hand in hand with containing the attacker); to these cognates m ay be
added (with long v and expressive reinforcement o f the stem; cf.
138), and this com pound (xxiii 334, xxiv 51), as w ell as the
redupl. aor. (xxi 227), (429), (II. xxiv 218),
and (i 199). T h e second hemistich is repeated in xxi 129; the
w hole line is almost identical to iv 284, xvi 430; '0, held back,
restrained (cf. 172 n.), aor. of reinforced with -- (cf. xxiii 243, xxiv
530), the aspect of the verb strongly em phasizing the energetic action
(which is therefore not m erely tautological with imperfective-t e).
-: although she was set upon it ; see Hoekstra, Modifications,
49-50, and nn. on 172, 236.
410 . Cf. 366.
411 - 16 . T h e authenticity of O dysseus hum ane and compassionate speech,
apparently so out o f tune with the archaic ferocity o f the rest of the Book,
has been m uch disputed: see, for example, H eubeck, Dichter, 83, Erbse,
Beitrge, 130, Eisenberger, Studien, 142. T h e deluge of deletions has been
swollen, in addition, by the fact that this is a cento of H om eric passages
from elsewhere: 4 14 -15 = xxiii 6 5-6, a speech by Penelope; the beginning
of 415 = II. vi 489, and is similar to Od. viii 553; its ending, almost identical

290
B O O K X X I I 4 0 5-4 13

to xx 188; 416, a caique of 317 with an opening similar to that of xxiii 67. T o
the general condem nation, Blass adds his vote, somewhat irrelevantly
alleging in reference to 4 14 -16 that O dysseus speeches to Eurycleia are
otherwise (431-2, 4 8 1-4, 491) short and to the point (Interpolationen, .209-
10). But O dysseus sentiments can b e paralleled elsewhere in Hom er, in
passages w hich condem n hybris and w arn of its consequences: thus ii 168
9, H alitherses prophecy and w arning to the suitors to moderate their
actions; ix 2701, O dysseus calls to mind Zeus protection of suppliants
and strangers; xiv 834, Eum aeus states that the gods dislike ,
honouring justice and ' '; xviii 14 1-2 , Odysseus demands that no
one be ^, and that all enjoy in silence the . . . o m
; xxi 28-9) the poet com m ents on Iphitus, ?, and his lack of
respect for the omv and the table of hospitality; and so on. O n the
lofty tolerance and respect for the dead shown, for example, in 412, it has
been objected (E. T . V erm eule, Archaeologia V , 125) that the adj. oaios is
now here used in H om er, and that there is only one other occurrence of the
noun , form ed from the adj. with the abstract suffix - *, and
preceded by in a parallel to the Lat. nonfas est (xvi 423, where Penelope
reproaches A ntinous for the plot against Telem achus,
irre.iv ). Scholars have often adduced the parallel of A rch i
lochus fr. 134W ' cited by
the sch. on 412 (see also the apophthegm of Cheilon
, and Cratinus fr. 102 is rS j
' ), the Archilochean passage has even been
proposed as the source of the supposed interpolation here (whereas
M erkelbach, Untersuchungen, 129 n. 2 and 231, argues the exact contrary,
asserting that the A rchilochean passage is derivative and hence provides a
terminus ante quern for these lines). T h e most illum inating parallel, however, :
is to be found in O dysseus hum ane and sympathetic words on Socus,
w hom he has ju st killed, in II. xi 450-5. It m ay be noted, finally, that van
Leeuw en s interpretation of in 412 as pray, as if O dysseus
m eant to prohibit an act of religious worship in the polluted vicinity of the
slaughter, has found no favour.
411 . ev : in your heart , not outwardly; on this use of the locatival dat,
with a preposition (cf. for exam ple viii 450 ) see Schwyzer, j
Grammatik, ii 170. : concessive imper.; for see 356, 367.
412 . : , with amplification of the stem of
and with the same m eanings of boast, exult as well as pray (cf. 286 .),
occurs on nine other occasions in the Odyssey: see Chantraine, Grammaire, j
i 358
413 . O dysseus emphasizes rather more than (the latter
with the usual hiatus): it was destiny, not I, who brought death upon ;
them, and their own wickedness ; for the expression cf. iii j
269. In xx 756 A then a says that Zeus knows everything, the and i
the o f men. T o the examples of cited in the n, on 4 1 1 -
16, one could add (from the total of eighteen occurrences in the Odyssey) ;

291
COM M ENTARY

xxi 150, said by the people o f Penelope when they think she has re
married.
415 . : this sort of paired negative, w here in
prose w e should expect . . . , is not uncom m on; cf. an identically
phrased clause in the same metrical position in a passage similar to this
one, II. vi 4889 S pu , |
, , and another identically placed parallel in Od. viii
5523 ydp , j
. This is a clear exam ple o f the polar expression, with apparent co
ordination m asking the em phatic opposition between the terms (they
honoured neither the good nor the b a d 5, i.e. they did not even honour the
good); fori further exam ples see II ix 356 (this is known even to young
A rgives), Od. ii 3456 (Eurycleia was awake even at night), x 9 3 -4 (not
even the smallest sea-swell got up). o r is $ : w ho
ever might unluckily happen (iterative opt.) to run into them 5; ,
indir. refl., is correctly given the tonic accent by A llen ,but not by von der
M hll; similar line-endings occur in xii 40, xvi 228, and xx 188.
417 - 18 . T h e cento continues: 417 is sim ilar to xix 497 (and M erkelbach,
Untersuchungen, 130 n. 1, proposes a text which is an even closer copy o f that
line; see Krischer, op, d t. (300.), 155-8), while 418 is alm ost identical to
xvi 317/xix 498. In the first o f these passages Telem achus exhorts his father
to find out w hich of the w om en are innocent; in the second, Eurycleia
promises to give him a list o f the guilty, hut Odysseus replies (500-1) that
there is no need to do so as he will investigate the m atter himself, despite
the fact that in xvi 235 he has asked Telem achus for a list of the suitors; all
this poses problem s discussed by, amongst others, Erbse, Beitrge, 20-1,
^ : there is a real textual confusion between the read by
von der M hll, and by Bekker in three passages, and the pre
ferred by A llen (there is, however,Tittle to recom m end the o f van
der V alk, Textual Criticism, 50); von der M h ll s reading w ould give us a
derivative o f sinner (II. iii 28, Od. xx 121) with the neg. prefix -,
in support o f w hich H erodian cites dAem? (female) sinner (cf. Suda
- rj ', H sch. dAotrcu , )', A llen s
, if it is not simply an itacistic corruption (against w hich m ust be
placed the long -C-), w ould lead us instead in the direction o f sin,
transgress, with zero grade (the full grade is not attested, however, against
the four forms recorded in the Iliad and the three in the Odyssey),
(II. xxiv 157, 186), (IL viii 361, xxiii 595, Od. v 182).
419 . = xix 21, xxii 485; almost identical to iv 742, xxiii 25, 39; the same line
ending in ii 361, xxii 492, xxiii 69.
420 . = xvi 226; the line-ending is the same as that of xxi 212. :
well then , : disclose, relate .
421 - 2 . O n the see n. on 395-6. T h e num ber o f fifty is
notional and sym bolic (Ram m ing, Dienerschaft, 111 n. 3); A lcinous too
has the sam e num ber o f women-servants (vii 103, with the same line
opening and ending). T h e figure m ay seem high, but tablets from the

292
B O O K X X I I 4 13-423

palace at Pylos reveal the presence of 347 wom en, 240 girls, and 159 boys in
the royal household alone, besides the 322, 152, and 122 respectively m en
tioned for the region as a w hole (W ebster, Companion, 460; W . Richter,
Archaeologia H , 21).
422 . : is used for the training of poets by the M uses,
viii 481, 488 (cf. 347-8 n.); for the training in horsemanship given by Zeus
and Poseidon in I t xxiii 307-8, and in archery given by Artem is in II. v
51; and for Phoenix and C h eiron s tutoring in IL ix 442, xi 8312). O n
the m aidservants professional training see W ebster, Companion, 459.
eypa . . . : for further examples of the etymological internal
acc., cf. the fine iii 66 piKvBa ; vi 61
ovXeveiv. For this phrase, cf. IL xxiv 733, Od. xx 72 (on both o f
w hich see F. Eckstein, Archaeologia L, 5 n. 24); the traditional text here,
unlike those lines, inserts before cpya, so that the initial digam m a is
observed in neither w ord. T h is is accepted in Hoekstra (.Modifications, 79
n. 7) as an adaptation of a traditional formula. T h e was removed b y
Bentley.
423 . T h e infinitives and ^ are in apposition to pya in the
preceding line. T h e w om en s tasks include, in the first place, the typical
spinning and weaving of wool; dp ia , prob. < *fpfos, cf. Lat. ueruex
wether* (elpos, in iv 135, ix 426, dpiov, here and at IL iii 388, xii 434, Od.
xviii 316, piov in iv 124, os in IL v 137, Od. 1x443, dpon in IL
iii 387; only in iv 124, xviii 316, and perhaps IL iii 388 is hiatus duly
observed); , card, com b , only here in H om er (cf. xviii 316
com b , with m etrical lengthening; IL iii 388 , in a broader sense),
: , and in general*', introducing a phrase
w hich is not strictly a counterpart of the first term. T h e disputed lectio
facilior , has been taken to mean sim ply resign them
selves to their slavery ; but Beringer (op. cit. (3 95-6n.)) has convincingly
argued that , (thirty-four occurrences) cannot bear this m eaning
(cf. R am m ing, Dienerschaft, 12930, and W . Richter, Archaeologia H, 20),
and that , w hich is nowhere else attested before Pindar and
Aeschylus, has the special m eaning sexual bondage, concubinage ,
besides the sense of the related house-slave, maidservant (xxi 210,
224, xxii 114, xxiv 210, 213, 219, 223, 257; see also above on ; sig
nificantly the masc. ? is never found in Homer, despite M yc. do-e-ro;
but note , M yc. do-e-ra, IL iii 409, Od. iv 12, s, IL vi 463, Od. xiv
340, xvii 323). T h is w ould therefore indicate concubinage such
as that of the twelve w om en guilty of having entered the suitors beds (note
the absence in this passage o f M elantho, who is not mentioned again after
xix 65; see 135 .). If this is so (Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 134 is not decisive),
the lectio facilior must be rejected in favour of , a rare
construction m eaning to abstain from bed-slavery ; subsequent to
Beringers article, the publication of a new papyrus by V . Bartoletti has
brought to light yet another lectio difficilior, (for this
verb with the gen., cf. xii 321, xix 489, xxii 316 in tmesi), which m ay be

293
COM M ENTARY

tentatively accepted as the definitive reading; see Bartoletti, U n papiro


prealessandrino dt\Y Odissea\ St. Cl. Or. xxvi (1977), 2 51-5.
424 . : , pron., partitive gen.; 7 is predicative,
twelve in alT (cf. for exam ple xviii 293 v 8 ap uav at 88
). $ ; the same verb is found at the end of
the line, after a gen. of the path or conduct on which one embarks or finds
oneself upon, in xxiii 13 (), II. vni 285 ^; and, in a
different position in the line, at II. 234 (). avai8eia occurs in li. i
149, ix 372, both times used by Achilles o f A gam em n on s behaviour.
425 - 9 . Lines condem ned by D uentzer and b y van Herwerden, and missing
in the papyrus m entioned in the n. on 423 above. Bartoletti approves the
omission, com m enting that the passage portrays Eurycleia as a garrulous
busy-body, and T elem achus as an im m ature boy (U n papiro preales
sandrino, 253-4).
425 . Respecting neither m e (as their superintendent) nor Penelope (as their
mistress, )'. T h e hiatus in thesis after riovaai has been m ended by
three conjectures, but at the cost, in the case o f Brards two suggestions, of
a violent asyndeton (see app.). T h e quantity of the first vowel of , long in
the first of the conjectures and short in the other two, offers no decisive
criterion; the pres, generally (e.g. 370, 414, xxiii 65, xxiv 78), but not always
(cf. i 432, xifi 129, 144, xvi 306, xix 247, xx 132), has --.
426 . W hereas T elem achus (I do not m ention because he, ) had only ju st
started growing up 5, (vov, lately, recently with verbs in the punctual or
durative aspect (viii 13, xvi 181; xvi 199); recently, for a short time now,
only ju st w ith verbs in the durative aspect (i 175 you have only been a
visitor for a short tim e, iii 318 he has only been here a short tim e .)
: in four other passages o f the Odyssey the pres, or impf, m iddle of
is used o f excitem ent growing within one (ii 315), the day advancing
(ix 56), waves swelling (x 93), or work increasing (xiv 66); but w e do find it o f
young gods growing up 5 in the h.Hom. ( Cer. 235, Merc. 408, xxvi 5). T h e
line-ending, with non-reflexive preceded by the required hiatus (cf. xxi
201, and the refl. in 436) occurs again in xxiv 292.
427 . : the only iterative from in the Odyssey, is followed by an
acc. and inf. clause, the subject of which is i ; ^, give orders , in the
Iliad generally of a military kind, with dat. (II. i 289, ii 805, x 58, xvii 250; cf.
xiv 85, with gen. by analogy with , etc.) or w ithout a com plem ent,
as here (II. xvi 172, xxi 445 o f Laom edons instructions to A pollo and
Poseidon, Od. xxii 450 of O dysseus com m ands to the women-slaves; cf. a
different sense in xii 26); 4 here has a function sim ilar to that in II. vi 25, xi
106 ' (to be shepherd) over the sheep, Od. xx 209 4 (to be
m ade cowherd) over the oxen (later m was used m ore or less in this sense
w ith . , rot's , etc.): cf. xxi 199., Schwyzer, Grammatik,
ii 467. F or the phrase 8} see 4201 n.
428 . E urycleia tries to m ake a suggestion, well-intentioned but clumsy,
: but come now , cf. xxii 139.; , as often, marks a new
subject or idea (cf. xxi 134, 263, xxii 139,417,487). : for m y part.

294
B O O K X X I I 423-437

429, has not so far been used of Penelope as O dysseus wife in these
last books (cf. xxi 214, xxii 223, 324), but after this discovery of the truth it is
so used no less than eight times in xxiii-xxiv. O n Penelopes divinely
induced slum ber see xxi 357. : contrary to the opinion of
van der V a lk ( Textual Criticism, 50), the principle of lectio difficilior is not
decisive here; the word , attested in several papyri, is used o f divine
actions in v 109, vii 271, ix 67, b u t the imperf. of with referring to
sleep inspired by gods is no less com m on (ii 395, A thena puts the suitors to
sleep, v 492, xx 54, A then a puts O dysseus to sleep; vii 286, a god sends
sleep to Odysseus; xviii 188, A th en a sends sleep to Penelope; in xxi 357 the
formula is different, and xi 245 is spurious).
430. For the final formula, see 105 .
431 - 2 . O dysseus is tenderly anxious to spare Penelope the gruesome sight of
slaughter; she is therefore allow ed to sleep on until xxiii 5. 8
. . . | : instead, you tell the w om en to com e ; vdSe,
lative, depends on as in 168, 483, and is equivalent to (cf.
233, 395), in contrast to the norm al usage (cf. xxi 156, 319, xxii 30). Both
here and in 491 O dysseus rejects Eurycleia s suggestion (Fenik, Studies,
239). : - lends precision, ju st the ones w ho behaved badly ,
: during all this tim e . : this line
ending occurs in xx 394 (of the suitors; see also xx 317) and xx 170. /cijy
has already occurred in this Book applied to a well-deserved bad end (317,
416); in xxiii 222 it describes H elen s conduct, in xxiv 250
O dysseus uses it of Laertes rags.
433- 4 . - xviii 185-6. T h e first line is a caique of xix 503, O n the implication
of the tense (hardly had he spoken, w hen she was already on her w ay) see
275. T h e two fut. participles are final in sense; after suppl.
w hat had happened . : in the same sense, xxiv
116; without inf., 241, xxiii 264, xxiv 405,487; with consecutive-final inf., as
here, ii 244 - , xix 1589 |
. 1 484) O dysseus repeats the order (434 = 496), this time for the
faithful maidservants.
436 . For direct refl. see 426.; cf. xvii 330, 342 ; and in
general, II. iv 400 yeivaro cio ; for indirect refl., vii 3940
vrjoav ^ vii 217 - (the belly
demands) that one rem em ber it ; see further Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii
194-5. For the beginning of the line, w hich is similar to II. v 427, Od. xix 15,
see xxi 380., and Hoekstra, Modifications, 134.
437. : the m en are to get started im m ediately on the heavy
business o f dragging out the bodies, w hich the faithless women-slaves will
then com plete. : iterative, clear aw ay (one by one) , a differ
ent sense from the carry (habitually) of xxi 32 (see n.), 41, and the suffixed
form in xxii 185.; later the verb reappears in 448, 451 (), 456,
xxiv 417. : 2nd pi. perf. im per. from order, represent
ing ** but influenced, here and in the 3rd sing, (II. xi 189),
by analogy with the 2nd sing, (six times each in Iliad and Odyssey,

295
COM M ENTARY

including Od. xxii 483); see Schwyzer, Grammatik, i 800. Them atic forms of
the pres, tense are seen in xxi 194, xxiii 267, 368, xxiv 167, and above all
xxiii 132 . . . 3. W ith here w e m ust o f
course supply , order them to carry too .
438 - 9. = 4 5 2 -3 (with ), where the order is carried out. T h e cleaning
o f the hall is not m erely hygienic, but also a ritual cleansing of pollution
(S. Laser, Archaeokgia P, 58); is used in the religious context in
xxiv 44 (washing o f Achilles5 corpse), and in a semi-religious sense in xviii
192 (Penelope s toilette overseen by Athena); it is used o f ordinary house
hold cleaning in vi 87, 93 (Nausicaas laundry), xx 152 (brushing out the
hall). T his latter passage is the only passage besides i n i and the present
lines (439/453) w here sponges () are mentioned in the Odyssey
(cf. 11. xviii 414, where Hephaestus wipes off his sweat with a sponge: see
further Stubbings, Companion, 527); tos full o f holes, only here
and in i n 1 (cf. perforated5, five times in the Odyssey and twice in
the Iliad). O n the , their daily cleaning, and the epithet ,
see xxi 139. and Laser, ibid., 40. T h e w ay in which the master gives the
order through a third party ( depends on ) is reminiscent
of xxi 235-9 (imper. addressed to Eum aeus, with three following
infinitives of com m ands for the women).
440 . : the m iddle is not entirely factitive, since
T elem achus and his com panions also take a hand in the cl earing-up (see
437 ). V on der M h lls choice o f is more persuasive
than , preferred by Allen. A lso worthy of consideration is
Barnes suggestion, , w here the direct com plem ent of the
verb w ould be and the prep., in anastrophe, w ould go with ,
appears in vii 13, ix 57, and various Iliadic passages, whereas the
com pound occurs only in 11 iv ll8 , and only in
II. ii 126, 476,
441 - 73 . T his passage, besides the strange and unwarranted cruelty it
describes (the w om ens illicit intercourse with the suitors having played no
significant part in the events o f the story), is problem atic for a n um ber of
reasons. O dysseus plan, perfectly coherent, seems to be to have the guilty
w om en brought from their rooms (where the servants have all been locked
up, 394-400 n.) to clean the hall o f the debris of battle as part o f their
punishm ent, and then to lead them out one by one to execution (441 = 458)
by swords (443), probably indeed the suitors swords. In this interpretation
442 (= 459) is clearly spurious. Eurycleia,. w ho has crossed and left the
megaron (433), opens the w om ens cham ber with her key, picks out the
twelve unfaithful slaves and leads them in a group back to the hall (446),
leaving the rest of the w om en in confinem ent. T h e twelve do the cleaning
(448-57), then they are hurried (Odysseus is impatient, 451, and in haste
lest the alarm is raised outside: cf. 77 ., and note the precautions which he
is still to take in xxiii 133-9) out o f the hall (457-9; 440-1 = 457-8) and into
the courtyard by Telem achus, who is not inclined to obey his fathers
instructions to the letter. H e pens them up in a corner (460), and then,

296
B O O K X X I I 437-443

ju d g in g that death by the sword is too good for such sinners (461-4), thinks
up another form of execution w hich is here described in an imprecise and
probably fanciful way. It is clear that he picks up a ship s cable from the
(cf. xxi 390-1), and ties it firm ly b y both ends. B ut the details of
w hat happens next present a series o f practical problem s. First, if the twelve
wom en are not to touch each other, m aking the execution more difficult,
we m ust suppose a gap of at least a yard and a half between them; this
would require a rope eighteen yards long, probably too long for the narrow
Hom eric courtyard, longer than the usual ship s cable, and certainly too
long to tighten up to a tension sufficient to bear the weight of six or seven
desperately twitching bodies. Second, if one end of the rope were hitched
over the conical roof of the Aos (see below), and the other tied w ith a knot
to one of the columns of the portico, which m ust have been fairly low, the
angle of the rope w ould be im possibly steep. T h ird , the rope lashed around
the colum n w ould tend to slide down it under the weight. Fourth, they
w ould need a further rope, thinner and about twelve yards long, for the
twelve separate nooses ( , 472). A n d last, since it is im probable in the
extreme that the hangm en could have been strong enough to hoist the
women-slaves aloft from ground level simply by hauling on the free end of
the rope and using the conical roof as a sort of pulley, we must imagine
them dropping the victims from standing position off twelve stools from the
hall. A s can be seen, all this w ould be quite im possible to accom plish for
two m en on their own (O dysseus, and probably T elem achus too, being
excluded from such a degrading task); and even if they could, it w ould take
several hours, an im possible delay in the urgent circumstances. Besides,
w hat w ould be the point of this mass execution, apart from the exem plary
spectacle? It w ou ld surely be simpler to string the w om en up one by one.
Further difficulties of detail w ill b e considered below . T h ere is a useful
discussion of the m inutiae of the execution in the paper by F. Robert, 'L e
Supplice dAntigone et celui des servantes d U lysse, Bull. Con. Hell, lxx
(1946), 50 1-5, though its bold general thesis m ay not convince: it proposes
that the w hole passage is an interpolation intended to provide an for
an ancient m yth sim ilar to that of A ntigon e s hanging in a 0oAos or bee
hive tom b, in w hich both aspects of the punishm ent w ould be related to the
killing of a scapegoat, , designed to cleanse the miasm a o f a
crime; the suspended corpses w ould, in this theory, recall the oscilla of
V erg. G. ii 389, w hich w ere hung from trees to ensure fertility; and the
wom en-slaves themselves w ould be a distant m em ory o f ancient rituals,
since A utonoe and E urynom e (xviii 182, xvii 495, though both, to be sure,
belong to the num ber of the innocent maidservants) bear the same names
as a goddess worshipped in a at M antinea (Paus. viii 9. 5) and a sea-
goddess m entioned in II xviii 398 w ho had a sanctuary in A rcadia (Paus.
viii 41. 4).
422 . T h e line is an interpolation here (see n. on 441-3 ).
443-4. : inf. for im per., 'kill (sc. the w om en) ; , from the
sam e root as (see 54,) is used three times in the Odyssey, with

297
COMMENTARY

different meanings: ix 459 (to smash a head against the ground, with fatal
results); xviii 63 (to strike, w ithout killing); and here (to kill with a sword),
: long-bladed, or perhaps broad-bladed, o f a slashing
cutlass (Lorimer, Monuments, 275 n. 2; cf. xxi 341, xxii 79-8 0nn. on
); the w ord is found as an epithet o f aop sword'' (eight examples in
the Odyssey) in the lived (twice) and Od. x 439, xi 231. : van
L eeuw en s conjecture , sc. the w om en, is designed to elim inate the
synizesis at the end of the line, which occurs nineteen times in the Odyssey
(Chantraine, Grammaire, i 65, 6g, 201; cf. , xxi 47, and , xxii
245 .); if it is accepted, then the construction with double acc. of part and
w hole enjoins the further change o f to distrib. sing, in the
next line, take the life of every one of-them1. : cf. II. xx
436 , II. xv 460, xvii 678 eiet Aero (of a single life in
each case); the com pound w ith double prefix is unique in H om er.
: and thus m ay they fully (-; cf. x 557
, iii 224 ) forget the delights o f love , heavily
ironic; ' is here used m ore or less by antonomasia for carnal inter
course, like A res for w ar (xx 50), M u se for poetry (xxiv 62), H ephaestus
for fire (xxiv 71),
445 . : rel. : as we m ay surmise . urro: both u n der the
orders o f (iii 304, vii 68) and also (physically) under, on their backs
beneath (in this sexual sense, I I ii 714, 728, 724). T h e rather vague
m ay be variously rendered as dedicated themselves to, worshipped or,
taking in its figurative sense, practised, perform ed (cf. i 368,
vfii 285, xxiv 516). Despite the rather loose paratactical structure (in Greek,
such links with a parallel relative clause where the antecedent is lost sight of
are not impossible), the em phasis in the clause falls on the second verb,
, in the service of which goddess they copulated . . (the
com m on sexual sense; cf. i 73, xxiii 219, etc.).
446 . : predicative, huddling together ; used in the fem. in four
other places in the Odyssey (iv 448, a flock o f seals; xi 228, the dead wom en
in H ades; iii 165, x 132, a fleet o f ships), the adj. here graphically captures
the sight o f the w om en clinging to each other in terror.
447 . a iV : adv., here in its root sense of horribly, dreadfully (cf. 136,); the
sam e form in II. i 414, Od. xvi 255. :
II. vi 496 Od. iv 556, x 201,409,570, xi 5,466, xii 12, and a pair of examples
w here the metre im posed (xi 391) or (II. xxiv 9, cf. Od.
xxiv 234); there are an extraordinary num ber o f verbs for shedding tears
(ii 8.1 , vfii 86 , xvii 490, xxi 362 , , xxi 86
, xxiii 33 , . . . ; in xix 122, however, is
preferable to ); is here used in tmesis, ,
flowering, lush > abundant, flowing ; , collective, w eeping .
450. : cf. xxiii 467 |
' dXXr/Xotatv. T h e w om en are told to pile up the bodies (suppl.
) under the roof o f the portico, a grim touch as Stanford remarks; it
w ould be a necessary one, i f w e accepted the traditional num ber o f over

298
B O O K X X I I 443-458

one hundred suitors (see nn. on 241-329,308-9). T h e editors unanim ously


prefer this reading to the - o f a num ber o f M SS, which would
require an intrans, use o f peiSw, leaning against one another (sc. the
w om en) , in terror of instant death (cf. II xvi 108, and Schwyzer,
Grammatik, ii 230 n. 1).
451 . : lim iting him self (as the master) to chivvying them
along ; the active o f appears in II. xiii 334, Od. iii 283, bu t used
intransitively; the same is true of h in v 304, the only parallel for
w hich is II. xxiii 430, o f spurring on a horse, which fits nicely with the
imperious treatm ent o f the wom en-slaves here. O n the end of the line see
nn. on 331, 353; - occurs in the final position in nineteen places in
the Odyssey, the m ore forceful j is found in v 154, x 434, xiii 307.
453 . See 438-9 n.
454- 6 . In view of the urgency o f the situation T elem achus joins with the
servants in carrying out these servile tasks. T h e need to sweep or rake the
floor o f the hail was discussed in the Introduction to xxi. :
shovel, is found nowhere else (cf. the dimin. in H sch., and
AeujTptov in a later inscription); it displays an obvious affinity with
d ig (xxiv 227), and w ith a series of related adj. m eaning even,
smooth, polished such as Ais (of -, xii 64, 79), (iii 293, v 412, x
4), Aeios (v 443, vii 282, ix 134, x 103); cf. M yc. ri-ta, of cloths, and later
Afros sim ple , as w ell as acc. and dat. , Am {Ii xviii 352, xxiii 254, Od. i
130, x 353) from an unattested *Xts linen , , solidly built ,
elsewhere in the Odyssey always with ryeos (i 333, viit 458, xvi 415, xviii
209, xxi 64) or (i 436); the adv. is from the same root as
77Vfivos and cover (cf. 488). O n see i.88n. and 309, xxiv
185.
456 . ; this un ique expression for scraping, raking the floor belongs to a
family of technical terms for smoothing, polishing, planing, shaving dow n ;
cf. and (xxi 44., with the note on , xxiii 199; see
F. Eckstein, Archaeologia L 1, 9) as w ell as etm>s (2 ., 72 )> (xxi
137 ., xxi 164, xxiv 408), (of a bow in five places in xxi, and xxii
71 .); the noun well-trim m ed and polished stave, shaft > spear
(I i iv 469, xi 260, 563, xiii 497, xv 388) or boat-hook (I i xv 677); ,
used of com bing or carding (423 .); and the incom pletely-explained
o f II 179 (which rem ains unclear, despite his efforts, for S. M arinatos,
Archaeologia A , 3). in II ix 446 is used in a vague general sense (a
god brushes the old age from a m an to m ake him youn g again);
shave is post-Hom eric, but in I i x 173 w e find the proverbial expression
. . . on the razors edge (S. M arinatos, Archaeologia B, 24).
T h e imperfects stress the repetitive nature of the long, heavy task (see
437 .); the direct obj. of m ust be supplied, the debris from the
hall . O n see Introduction to xxi.
458 - 9 . S : the 84 is apodotic . T h e connective particle com m only
introduces the principal clause o f a sentence after n e i. . . e.g. iii
4.734, viii 24, etc. . . . 8 4 . T h e particle is here omitted b y

299
COM M ENTARY

P. 28 and some codd. has appeared in 93 and 341, in the


latter at the beginning o f the line; the w hole of 459 is in effect equivalent to
a lative acc., (having taken them out) to a place between . . For re . . .
cf. 324, xxiv 67. : a form ulaic epithet m eaning blam eless,
is not often used of inanim ate objects, but cf. xii 261 (the island of the Sun),
xxiii 145 (the dance), xxiv 80 (a tomb), xxiv 278 (women-servants handi
work); there is a slight lack of stylistic control in the w ay the agreem ent of
this adj. is left havering between ptceos or .
460 . Iv : the verb (cf. 292 .) appears in only three
other places in the Odyssey, always appositely: xi 573 (Orion rounding up
w ild beasts), xii 2x0 (Cyclops trapping O dysseus), xix 200 (Boreas blowing
ships off course); in contrast to later s H om er offers, here and in two
places in the Iliad (xii 66, likewise followed by hiatus in thesis, with , and
xxiii 419) the lengthened < Vrev^os narrow, confined space ; the
figurative sense anguish, dire strait is seen in 11. viii 476, xv 426. -
: cf. 66n.; three examples in the Iliad, and at Od. iv 416, v 345, xii 216,
always at the end of the line.
461 . T h e formulaic line, with its rot am ongst them , is m ore appropriate
to meetings and assemblies (ii 15, Aegyptius to his compatriots) or social
gatherings (xvi 345, xviii 349, xx 359, Eurym achus and the suitors) than to
the present situation.
4 6 2 . Telem achus expresses his opposition to his fathers more decent
proposal for dealing with the execution o f the women-slaves (443) with a
strongly asseverative opt. ( . . . , tmesis) which almost amounts
to an oath to the effect that he at least ( 8) w ill not be responsible for
doing som ething o f w hich he cannot approve; cf. the opt. of strong desire in
xiv 405, and with the neg., vii 316, xx 344. T h e closest parallel to this
particular case are three disputed passages in the Iliad where the opt. is
introduced by (II. vi 512, xv 476, xxii 304; see Denniston,
Particles, 332). the variant is feeble and insipid, is in an
em phatic position; its m eaning, however, is not quite certain. N on e of the
other eight H om eric examples o f the w ord authorize us to interpret it in the
religious sense which it later acquired; in iv 750, 759, vi 61, xvii 48, 58 it
refers m erely to clean clothing, in II viii 491, x 199, xxiii 61 to a clear and
unencum bered space. N or can T elem achus m ean a clean death in the
sense o f one free from ritual pollution, since the spilling of blood by
decapitation w ould in turn require further purification. Furtherm ore, the
fact that so m any tragic heroes choose to com m it suicide b y hanging them
selves excludes the possibility that he means an honourable and heroic
death by the sword, as against a shameful and dirty death by the rope. W e
are left with the idea of a clean, in the sense o f quick and easy, death. Be
that as it m ay, the speech is out o f character for the m ild T elem achus, and
O dysseus easy acceptance o f the change in plan is surprising.
463 . , 8: o f these w om en who, as is w ell known . Ip fj
: that Telem achus should here present the serving-women s
behaviour as a slight to his own self-esteem is a sign of his youthful

300
B O O K X X I I 458-465

immaturity. T h e phrase is Iliadic (cf. 11. xi 55, xviii 82, where Achilles, who
prized Patroclus , goes in search o f H ector to avenge the
death of his beloved head , xviii 114; see also, in anticipation of a phrase
m uch used in later times, viii 281 , xxiii 94 ), and
is paralleled also in Od. i 343-4, w here O dysseus misses Penelope .. .
I /ds, . T h e existence of the verb is
guaranteed, against the lectio facilior for , by xiv 38
as. veios appears only twice elsewhere in the Odyssey, at vi 285
a n d x v 4 6 i.
464. the iise o f pi. for sing., so com m on in later times, is not
adequately explained b y the exam ple o f i 176, where Telem achus speaks of
our house collectively; a m ore telling parallel is xix 344, w here O dysseus
asserts that no w om an w ill touch our foot . : there are thirteen
attestations of the verb in H om er, eight o f them in the Odyssey; it is prob
ably a reduplicated -- (cf. Hellenistic ) related to avXts (cf. 470),
, etc., m eaning spend successive nights, pem octate in a place (cf. also
xxiv 209; of animals, ix 184, xiv 16, 21); it sometimes governs ? {pace
Chantraine, Grammaire, i 313; see II. ix 470, Od. v 154, xix 340), and very
occasionally has the sexual sense it clearly has here (11. xiv 213, o f H era and
Zeus; Od. v 134, O dysseus and Calypso; xi 261, A ntiope and Zeus). W e
also find com pounds such as vtavw dw eil (ix 187, xv 557; perhaps the
origin of --rs Testing-place of the sun > solstice > year ,
eighteen exam ples in the Odyssey) and (II. ix 336, A gam em non
with the daughter o f Chryses). It is not certain that the aor. belongs to
the sam e root (six occurrences in the Odyssey, always with (?), never
sexual; a contracted form, , in xvi 367), besides w hich the iavoat of
xi 261 w ould clearly be secondary.
465 . : hawser, cable (always for m ooring, for instance to a stone
bollard, x 96, xiii 77; cf. also ix 136, x 127, w here O dysseus cuts the
. . , ; the only exceptions are vi 269, w here the
Phaeacians b u sy themselves with , nets and cables
in a general sense, and x 167, nothing to do with ships, w here Odysseus
makes a rope from some reeds to tie up a dead deer); this is, then, another
piece o f nautical equipm ent w hich happens to be lying about in the
(cf. xxi 390). T h e w ord derives from an assum ed *, from
the sam e root m eaning to tie as relative b y m arriage , <
< *bkndkn cradle, m anger , etc. (Schwyzer, Grammatik, i 287).
Such a hawser w ould have to b e quite long, though not perhaps as long as
the eighteen yards w hich w ere postulated as necessary to hang all twelve
w om en at a time. T h e problem atic final formula occurs in two forms, with
(II. xv 693, Od. ix 482,339, x 127, xi 6, xii 100, 148, 354) and with
(II xxiii 832, 878, Od. xiv 311); the variant ? is impossible, though we
find nom . (viii 111) and (viii 113) as significant
names for Phaeacians, with quantitative metathesis, against primitive
and veds with shortening o f the first long vowel in hiatus: see Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 72, Hoekstra, Modifications, 125-6. A longside the form ?

301
COMMENTARY

(iii 299), considered correct by Risch (Wortbildung,



13 - 1 )j m aY be set the tradition represented by Herodian and the Etymo-
logicum Magnum through Schulze and Schwartz; this induced von der
M h ll not only to read in that passage, but also to suggest
tentatively that or - should be read in every case
for - (see his app. crit. on ix 482, x 127), basing the suggestion on a
hypothetical pairing o f ^pioyapya > (cf. / ) and
*-7Tpa)fpya > (cf. metpa, ) . H e would thus eliminate the
two-termination adj. , from lapis lazuli and
prow . H e cites Sim onides fr. 12 , in which seems prefer
able to the probably itacistic - .
467 . T h e aor. participle does not signify successive action: Telem achus first
o f all ties one end o f the cable and then with the help of his servants hauls it
up into the air ( v i f i a e ) by heaving on the other end. has been used,
unless I am mistaken, nine times in xxi to refer to the drawing of the bow,
an d fourteen times. T h e m eaning of this unique double prefix in
seems to be that this rope cannot be tightened and slackened at
w ill like a bowstring by bending the arms on w hich it is strung, b u t is
braced hard on () two fixed arms (the same, incidentally, could have
been said of the lyre-string in xxi 407); for another exam ple o f this double
prefix cf. in II, ix 582. introduces a final clause, so that
none o f them ; the M SS are divided on the following oblique opt.
(Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 269). ?, acc. o f direction. T h e line is
curiously reminiscent of viii 375-6, quite different in subject, on a player
w ho catches a high ball by leaping up, ^, and taking it on the
w in g 7 .
468 - 73 . T h e final simile o f xxii. T h e poet tiptoes over the intricate (and
perhaps the im practicable) details of the execution, ju m p in g from the haul
ing up of the rope to the tableau o f the hanging w om en. W e are not fully
inform ed about the construction o f the bird-catching nets referred to here,
but it is difficult to im agine one designed to catch a row o f birds by the
neck; the simile is probably less exact in its application, picturing ju st one
bird, a thrush or dove returning to its roost in the woods, w hich fails in the
twilight to notice the snare hidden am ong the leaves, flies into it, and is
strangled by its own m om entum . O r the poet m ay be thinking of some sort
o f spring-loaded snare w hich whips upw ard and breaks the birds neck,
T h e im age of the single bird is then applied to the whole row o f executed
w om en. See further H .-G . B uchholz, G . Johrens, and I. M aull, Archae-
ologia J, 106, 116 -18 ; and cf. Od. xxii 304 .
468 . 6 : in contrast to the simple as . . . so scheme for similes (see
299-308n., and xix 205-7 S with indie., II. v 16 1-2 S with subj.,
Od. xiii 8 1-3 re with indie.), there is a com m oner scheme, introduced
by as [happens] w hen ; thus xix 518 -2 3 with subj., xii 2 5 1-4
S ore with indie., II. xi 305-8 with subj., Od. xvfi 126-30 S
07 with subj., II xi 492-5 S with indie., and the present
passage with S or av with the subj. , a word fam iliar in later

302
B O O K X X II 465-473

com edy, is found only here in H om er; , of birds in general, v


65; occurs five times in the Iliad and four in the Odyssey.
469. T h is is the only pre-classical occurrence of the w ord net (cf. xxi
238.). : batter, dash into ; here and in II xii 72
w e have the intrans. sense; cf. the adv. m adly ,
applied to Penelope by T elem achus in xx 132, a unique form which pre
supposes a latent struck > stunned, reeling > m ad found
in Sophocles and later. : has been placed , subj. of intrans.
, only paralleled by II. xvii 435 (of a funeral stele); the subj. would
take the generalizing in Attic.
470 . : roosting place ; cf. II. ix 232 the Trojans auAtv estab
lished a cam p , ai, here in the physical sense which later becam e
com m on, launching themselves towards w ith acc. of direction (cf. 256.)
is not paralleled in H om er, but H erodotus has three examples of ;
there is no need to em end. T h e parataxis of the second hemistich is
adversative in m eaning (they launch themselves, b u t . . .). s
5 k o it o s : the phrase contains a double oxym oron; first,
because the verb , sc. , gnom ic aor. (cf. 388, another
simile), is usually used of a kindly reception (cf. ii 387, xiv 52, 54, xvi 70, xix
257, xx 372, xxiii 314); a distinct m eaning is seen in xiii 310, xvi 189
support , and a different kind of sarcasm in xiv 275 -1 -
Sckto ; for the irony of II vi 136, xviii 398, w here T hetis w elcom es Dionysus
and H ephaestus into her watery bosom , see Bowra, Companion, 32); and
second, because bed, sleeping place , w hich suggests ideas of safety
and comfort (ten examples, all in the Odyssey, see S. Laser, Arckaeologia P,
4), is qualified b y (cf. xxiv 126, xxiv 200).
471 . So they held their heads in a row ; again, the emphasis falls on the
second elem ent in the paratactical structure, With their necks in the
noose , each one of them ; double dat. of person and part of the
body (the w ord does not agree with Seipfjat), w here our stylistic feeling
w ould m ake us expect (van der Valk, Textual Criticism, 58); the
apparent A tticism of the ending - (Chantraine, Grammaire, i 202) has
given rise to a bundle of variants; cf. II. xii 284 at the end o f the line
(in Od. v 11 g either or - is possible before ; in II. i 238
M azon prints against A llen s before a consonant).
472 . : , noose , appears elsewhere only in xi 278, on the
suicide of Epicasta. is unem phatic; they had put the nooses
around their necks so that they should die, and in addition their deaths
were m iserable; this is the only H om eric exam ple of the superl.
used as an adv. (cf. II. xxii 76, Od. xxiii 79, xxiv 34, and two further
passages; Od. xi 421 , X1381 , acc. pi.); as an
adv. occurs four times in the Odyssey, including xxiv 59 (cf. 447 .).
473. is used of the convulsions, gasping, and panting of the dying,
for instance of a stricken w arrior (viii 526, II. x 521, xiii 573); in II. xiii 443
the subj, is the heart o f the dying m an, im plying a reference to cardiac
symptoms; here it indicates the twitching and kicking of the suffocating

303
COMMENTARY

w om en, which recalls its use in a num ber o f images from the anim al world:
o f fishes (xii 254-5; c f 384-80.), deer (xix 229, 231, also with kicking o f the
feet), lam bs (II. iii 293)) snakes (II. xii 203), and oxen (II. xiii 571). T h e line
recalls two passages in the Iliad: i 416, w here Thetis says to Achilles lire.
ne.ps , and above all II. xiii 573, where
A dam as is com pared to a dying ox, ijanaipe nep, .
is an ancient acc. (cf. 377 .) related to rjps long (of time, II. xiv 206,
305), often used in the acc. 8 as an adv. Tor a long tim e5 (i 203, xxi i t 2,
xxiv 395), and to the adv. for a long tim e5 (cf. 177 .); it derives from
, w hich accounts for the lengthening o f a preceding vowel here and in
xxiv 125, II. i 416, xiii 573 (as also with at Od. i 203; but this is not
always the case, cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 163).
474- 7 . A nother terrible punishm ent, o f M elanthius, which offers various
puzzles. O dysseus gives no orders for this savage act, and it is not m ade
clear who carries it out Stanford hopes, piously, th atT elem ach u s is not
am ong their num ber. N or are w e told exactly at what m om ent the
unfortunate M elanthius dies. T h e four lines have the look of an interpola
tion; even if they were absent, the goatherds unpleasant death b y -
m ight have been surmised. M erkelbach, for w hom 473 is also the
w ork o f the B poet, points out some interesting ritual elements in the exe
cution: the cutting off o f parts of the body as in the of the tra
gedians, which parallels the ritual carried out on sacrificial
anim als (iii 458, xii 361); and the throw ing o f the genitals to be eaten by
dogs, as was done w ith the anim als entrails during sacrifice. Such practices
were apotropaic, designed to w ard off the posthum ous vengeance of the
victim; see further K . M euli, G riechische O pferbruche5, in Phyllobolia fr
P. von der Miihll zum 60. Geburtstag (Basle, 1946), 185-8; M erkelbach,
Untersuchungen, 130 n. 2. T h e passage in xviii 86-7, w here A ntinous
threatens Irus (cf. xxi 308 .) with sending him , if he is defeated, to the
abom inable K in g Echetus, there to have his . . . cut off
(xviii 86; alm ost identical to xxii 475), and his genitals thrown
to the dogs ( epvaas . . . , xviii 87, sim ilar to
xxii 476), is derived from the present passage (and cf. xxi 300-1, and n. on
xxi 299-304, for a sim ilar punishm ent m eted out to Eurytion). A part from
Eisenbergers objections (Studien, 243 n. 21), the passage shows traces of
the later poets hand: they drag M elanthius from the store-room (e#c . . .
, tmesis) into the courtyard; the execution, like that of the maids, m ay
take place there, unseen from the street outside (although screams can be
heard outside; note the precautions taken in xxi 13 3 -6 to ensure that the
neighbours hear only so m uch as m ay raise, bu t cannot answer, specula
tion), and the gate to the street remains shut until xxiii 370 (cf, xxi 389-91).
T h e syntax o f 4 75-7 is confused; after and we wait for S, but are dis
appointed. T h e intrusion o f prevents us from taking the attractive
solution of in double tmesis, with both and
(Faesi ad loc,; Blass counters b y proposing the elim ination o f 476, Interpola
tionen, 210); both these com pound verbs are com m only paired as close

30 4
B O O K X X I I 473-476

synonyms, though the first strictly means to slice off and the second to
knock off : cf. It. viii 87 he cut the traces off the
horse with li. xvi 474 he cut the horse free from the
traces ; in the sense cut o ff is found several times (It ix 241, xi
261, Od. iii 449, ix 325, xxiii 195; in tmesis, II. xi 146, Od. x 127), though
simple alm ost always m eans sim ply to strike, hit a person (viii 528,
ix 290, xviii 28, 335; of boxing, II. xxiii 690, 726; a solitary exception in II
xiii 203 separate the head from the body with a blow ); or to hit an animal
(xiv 425) or forge som ething with blows, ham m er i l l xviii 379, Od. viii
274), or in the m iddle to beat ones h ead {II. xxii 33) A t all events, the
semantic distinction betw een the two verbs is slight; cf., as etym ological
correlates, Lith. kanu fell, cut down a tree and imu sharpen a scythe
against a whetstone .
475. p v a s i oblique cases of later pis nose have already occurred in xxi 301,
xxii 18, and do so again in xxiv 318; there are a further three attestations in
the Odyssey, and eight in the Iliad. : neut. ovs ear , from *ousos,
occurs in the acc. in II. xi 109, xx 473; gen. ovaros < *ous-n-tos, w hence
comes later -rs, in Od. xviii 96, etc.; this neut. pi. nom .acc., in xii 4 7,177 ,
xvii 291, 302, xviii 86, xx 365, xxi 300; the problem atic dat. pi. in xii
200 has been em ended to '1. In II. xi 633, xviii 378 is used
figuratively of the handles o f a cup and tripods respectively; hence of
bowls w ithout handles. M y c. a-no-wo-to <t *an-ous$tos (K 875), a-no-we <
*an-ous-e$ (T a 641), dvovaros (Theo. Ep. iv 3); o f one-handled cups, per
haps o-wo-we from olos (T a 6 4 i); of two-handled cups, in xxii 10,
which m ay b e from * (the lengthening o f the first vowel of the
second elem ent being paralleled in , T h epc. i 28, though the dis
parity with dvovaros has prom pted em endation from Pick); and of three
and four-handled vessels, dual ti-ri-o-we-e and qe-to-ro-we, also in the
fam ous T ab le t o f the T rip ods from Pylos (T a 641). T h e formula
occurs at the end of the line in Od. iv 743, viii 507, x 532, xi 45, xiv
418, xviii 86, xxi 300; it is this passage, however, that m ost vividly preserves
the original sense of , pitiless .
476 . : pudenda , a w ord of uncertain derivation (perhaps a euphem
ism, related to and $, that which one should b e careful to
cover) and w hose relation to the synonym s <= (Hes. Op. 512, cf.
in Tk. 180, 188, 200) and piea (Archil, fr. 222 w ) is im perfectly under
stood, is found in xviii 87 (cited above), vi 129 (O dysseus covers him self in
the presence of Nausicaa), and xviii 67. : cf. 386 (see nn. on
372, 384-8), and see ix 397 (the Cyclops pulls the stake from his eye), xviii
87. : the end of the line repeats II. xxiii 21,
w here A chilles swears to the shade of Patroclus that he w ill feed H ectors
corpse to the dogs; the fact that this latter line and Od. xviii 87 both have the
necessary <= and -r}, m issing here, further indicates the derivative
ness o f the form ulas use here, , predicative, is found also in It. iv 35,
xxii 347 (eating a person raw), Od. xii 396 (raw meat), and in a m etaphorical
sense at xv 357 (Laertes cruel old age), , consecutive-final.

30 5
COMMENTARY

477 . : the phrase seems som ewhat exaggerated, especially


after they have already subjected M elanthius to , as if the
slaves w ere aping their masters in their servile parody o f his noble wrath;
kotos appears in the Odyssey only of Poseidon s anger against the hero, xi
102, xiii 342; Koroa, o f the rancour of gods A thena in i , Zeus against
C alypso in v 147 except in xix 83 (Penelope, against M elantho); the end-
of-line form ula is probably im itated from II. xxi 456
(Apollo and Poseidon, against Laom edon), as also probably in Od. ix 501
(O dysseus against the Cyclops) and xix 71 (M elantho against her master).
478 . : sc. Telem achus and the servants (cf. 454). T h e phraseology is
again unusual; the various exam ples o f the m iddle o f or take
an internal acc. (vi 224, and w ith - xviii 172, 179, w ash oneself all over
(); ii 261, x 182, xii 336, II. xvi 230, w ash ones hands ; II. x 5 72, with
-, to wash off sweat); in the active w e find it used o f washing the feet
(xix 336, 376; 387, -) and similar cases ( o f another person,
xix 317, xxiii 75, II vii 425 in tmesis; w ashing o f blood, Od. xxiv 189); but
only here do w e find the verb used w ith the derivative form ula re
re (for parallels, cf. xi 497, age has taken hold o f Peleus hands and
feet; xii 50, 178, O dysseus is tied hand and foot to the mast). B u t it is hardly
surprising that after such slaughter they should need, and be required by
ritual, to wash both hands and feet, or indeed their w hole bodies.
479 . A t an unspecified m om ent during the two executions, O dysseus has
gone into the hall, , aor. (cf. 378.), is qualified both by and
by eis with the proper noun (cf. 202 .). T h e line-ending, with its regular
hiatus, also occurs in II. xix 242; in II. vii 465 it is placed w ^ 4 ^ 5
the paratactical clause is causal (they went to find O dysseus because their
w ork was done).
480 . T h e end-of-Iine form ula, here am plified b y the addition of ,
occurs in xxi 380, xxii 391, 394; in the nom ., xxii 419,485, 492, xxiii 25, 39,
69; Eurycleias nam e takes the epithet in xxi 381 (see n.), and
occurs in the voc. in xxiii 177; alone, w ithout a proper nam e, in
xxiii 289 (see R am m ing, Dienerschaft, 5 1-3 ).
481 . o !a e : cf. 106. T h e re follows a cleansing o f the blood-stained house, both
practical and ritual ( , the latter w ord used only here and in II.
ix 250, w here O dysseus urges A chilles to com e to the aid o f the A chaeans,
w arning him that the consequences if he fails to do so will have no rem edy,
; cf. however, the which Patroclus sprinkles on E urypylus
w ou nd in II. xv 394). T h e cleansing is carried out with Ouov sulphur ,
w hich appears six times in H om er, four o f them referring to the smell left in
the atm osphere b y a bolt o f lightning (I i viii 135, xiv 415, Od. xii 417, xiv
307), once in connection w ith the cleaning of a cup b y A chilles (II. xvi 228),
and the rem ainder in this passage; fum igate b y burning sulphur
on a fire (, here and at 491, 493) occurs in xxiii 50, and in the unique
com pound in 494 below . T h e origin of the w ord seems to be
neut. ** sm oke (related to *^ > 0es god ; cf. offer
sm oke > sacrifice , and spirit) from w hich cam e *%eaetov >
B O O K X X I I 477-488

< (cf. Lith. dvasia spirit), simplified by hyphaeresis in post-Hom eric


times to (and in in 494), w hich in turn produced ,
the form in 493, b y lengthening of the first vowel. Sulphur may have been
im ported from M elos, or alternatively the A eolian islands (R. J. Forbes,
Archaeologia K , 10; Pocock, Odyssean Essays, 10).
482. 5 : and (while I fum igate the not ju st the hail, bu t the
courtyard and the rest of the palace, 494), you . .
483 . : cf. 4 3 1 . : cf. 437 ., in the transferred sense give
(my) orders to. Penelope (Eurycleia cannot herself give orders to the
mistress); cf. xvii 569, w here O dysseus tells Eum aeus in the same w ay to
give an order to Penelope (J. G rim m , LfgrE, i 960-70), whereas in xxii
437 Telem achus m ay him self give orders. T h e M yc. a-pi-qo-ro;
cf. xxi 8, 61, 66, 351, 356) are distinct from m ere (not m entioned in
xxi; xxii 37, 396, 422, 427, 441, 456, 458, 484), being the hand-picked
attendants on the mistress person, whose duties of serving at table,
spinning, and weaving were lighter than those of the ordinary house-
servants; thus it is that Penelope is to descend ,
with her handm aidens , w hile Eurycleia is to fetch the other servants,
those o f them w ho have rem ained faithful and w hose jo b is to attend about
the house ( is equivalent to Attic rds
, cf. 34 6 ., 3 3 - 1 4 > though at this time they are probably
hiding in a room som ewhere (cf. xxi 235-9, 381-5).
485- 91 . O n the significance o f this passage, where Odysseus proposes
appearing before Penelope in his beggars rags in order to put off the
anagnorisis (xxiii 95 3 ), see
Erbse, Beitrge, 64, and Eisenberger, Studien, 307,
486 . O ld Eurycleia s noticeably familiar tone ( ; see also xix 492,
and xxiii 70 to Penelope) strikes a pleasant note here; all the other examples
of this form of address are of parents speaking to their children (Zeus to
Athena, i 64, v 22, xxiv 478; A nticleia to O dysseus, xi 216; Penelope to
T elem achus, xxiii 105) except the venerable Tiresias address to the hero in
xi 155. : suitably, to the point ; here has nothing
to do w ith the destiny o f xxi 24, xxii 413; see 54., and com pare the
num erous exam ples of this com m on line-ending in ii 251, iv 266, viii 141,
xiii 385, xviii 170, xx 37, w hich also occurs with (with or without -v) in
vii 227, viii 397, xiii 48, xxi 278 .; and w ith the aor. of , iii 331, viii
496, x 16, xii 35) cf also 509 vrjitepSs
'.
487 . : cf. in ., and for the following subj., 139. ( ) is
always placed in the fifth foot and preceded b y the requisite hiatus (cf. Lat.
uestis etc.) in the last four books; the same line-ending is found in xxi 339
(cf. also xxi 52, xxiii 95> 132, xxiv 156, and for followed by a further
hiatus before the cognate verb , , , xxiii 115, xxiv 59, 158).
488 . : cf. in . : cf. 455. on ; we find
tw o forms of the act. in the Odyssey; here and in three places in the Iliad the
pf. part, shows analogical assimilation, in contrast to the

307
COM M ENTARY

o f Sappho fr. 166LP (Schwyzer, Grammatik, 773). : in


ternal acc.
489 , : the only H om eric example of the 2nd sing, imper. of (cf.
IL xxiii 443 , II. xx 354 ; none of the variants is satisfactory
(though inf. , w hich w ould here be imper. in sense, occurs in initial
position in x 507, 536, xix 120, xxiii 365; cf. xxiii 91, 93 ). Eurycleia
observes O dysseus shabby appearance (cf. xxiii 115 , 8
), though doubtless he has washed him self o f blood (402) with
the others at 478. T h e conditional which follows requires some protasis
such as if you did ; occurs in the same position in 59 (see n.),
IL xix 182; w ithout gemination, II. xi 649; the same line-ending in II. iii
410, xiv 336, xxiv 463.
491 . : see 4 8 m ., and cf. xxiii 501 , |
. , adv. im m ediately, first o f all ; cf. x 462, xx 6o,
and perhaps II. ii 702; occurs in the same sense eight times in the
Odyssey (see 113) and four times in the Iliad.
492 . : independently o f the fut. (xxi 369 .) and aor. part.
(xxi 315, and seven examples in the Iliad) we find two examples of
the fut. (IL xxiv 300, IL x 129) and thirty-two o f the aor., formed
on the base of * which was supplanted in the classical language by
disobedient in contrast to disobey. T h e verb is always
used with the neg. in litotes, did not disobey - obeyed ; only four o f the
examples belong to the Odyssey, applied elsewhere to Herm es (v 43),
Eteoneus (xv g8), and Eum aeus and Philoetius (xxiii 369, the only pi.).
494 . : the prefix (cf. 481 n.) em phasizes the fact that the fum iga
tion was carried out right through the palace.
495 . O n the contrast o f the aor. with the series of six imperfects w hich
close xxii see Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 277, Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 194.
496 . = 434.
497 . = II. xxiv 647, Od. iv 300, vii 339 (see S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 856). In
these latter passages it is natural that the wom en-slaves should leave the
hall carrying torches, in order to set up the bed in the ; sim ilar is
xxiii 294, w hich is also easily explained, since E urynom e is lighting the
w edded couple to their nuptial cham ber. Here, however, the line m ay well
be spurious; even if w e accept that here denotes the w om ens
quarters (cf. xviii 185,198, 316), the presence of torches lacks point since, if
it is not still daylight (cf. xxi 429.), the recently kindled fire and the
will be quite sufficient to light the m ens hall. Alternatively, we
m ust im agine the w om en com ing forth from the megaton into the court
yard, in which inappropriate place they m ust awkwardly em brace their
master in joyou s reunion w hile at the sam e tim e clutching the inconvenient
torches in their hands (for further exam ples o f , see for exam ple
xxi 245, xxii 10, with ; cf. , xxii 332 .). Besides all
this, Blass w ould like to see som e reference hereabouts to O dysseus taking
a bath; the ablutions of xxiii 154, which take place after the heros reunion
with Penelope, com e a good deal too late for his taste (Interpolationen , 224;

308
B O O K X X I I 488-500

cf., however, 4.89 ..). : as names for torches w e find ten exam ples
of a is in the Odyssey (of which xxiii 290 comes very close to in 294,
indicating synonym y) and five of ? (also related to ), as w ell as
(from , a bun dle o f branches or straw) in IL xi 554, xvii 663.
H ere and in iv 300 the variant m ay conceal, as von der M hll suggests, a
correct reading (contracted form of Sat'S a?),
498 . : the closest parallel to this use of the verb is xvi 214, w here
T elem achus weeps ; elsewhere it is used of sleep or pain
gripping someone (Ii. 41 , IL xiv 253, xxiii 63 ; Od. iv
716 ), Or in the act. in tmesis and with a very different m eaning
(viii 278). In IL xxiii 764, refers to dust settling over some
tracks. : the verb occurs only four times in H om er, and
elsewhere always w ith $ (IL x 542, Nestor and his retainers greet
O dysseus and Diom edes) or (iii 35, Nestor s sons greet Telem achus,
xix 4x5, A utolycu s and his sons greet Odysseus), which indicate an
embrace, dam iatos and , however, which occur frequently in
xxiii (60, 233, 238-9, 296), are less physical in meaning, denoting the
happiness w ith w hich one greets an unexpected arrival.
499- 501 . T h is beautiful scene marks a deliberate coda after the brutality of
the preceding action.
499 . kuveov: the verb, w hich is found only three times in the Iliad (vi 474,
H ector kisses Astyanax; viii 37 t, T hetis kisses the cheeks of Zeus; xxiv 478,
Priam kisses the killers hands of Achilles), is, by contrast, of frequent
occurrence in the Odyssey. T o the examples already cited in the n. on xxi
224-5 m ay be added, quite apart from the lines in w hich Agam em non and
O dysseus kiss the ground after a narrow escape (iv 522, v 463,xiii 354) and
the fantastic passage in w hich the hero kisses the knees of the K in g of Egypt
(xiv 279), the following: xvi 21 (Eum aeus kisses Telem achus), 190
(O dysseus kisses Telem achus), xix 417 (Am phithea kisses Odysseus), xxiii
208 (Penelope kisses Odysseus), and xxiv 236, 320 (Odysseus kisses
Laertes). A s can be seen, only xxiii 87 and 208 carry any erotic overtone,
: this m iddle is attested only in the part. (cf. also -
, IL xvi 192), in vii 33 (men kiss each other) and in three closely
parallel passages, xxi 224 (Eum aeus and Philoetius kiss Odysseus), xvii 35,
and here, the latter being the only times it is applied to w om en kissing, of
the wom en-slaves kissing T elem achus and O dysseus respectively. In all
three of the latter passages the final vowel of is lengthened; van
Leeuw en has suggested, as elsewhere, that this m ay be due to a lost
pronoun
500 . : the only other occasion on which means touch, lay
hold o f is II. xv 459, w here T eu cer grasps an arrow; here it contributes to
the em otional force of the m oving scene, re indicating that the physical
contact signified by applies to all the previous nouns, head,
shoulders, and hands. to vi sc . Odysseus. : the evolution
o f the noun, w ith its cognates , (IL ii 751) and (five
examples in each poem), is interesting; whether or not they be related to

309
COM M ENTARY

Skt, icchati desire , this group of words evidently describe the longing one
feels for som ething one does not have, an em otional need w hich can be
fulfilled, and even sated, by simple possession and satisfaction o f the object
o f desire, whether it be food {11. xi 89), m usic and dance {Od. xxiii 144), the
coolness of the night air ( Od. x 555), or hom e-com ing ( Od. i 41). Sometimes
the desire is destructive (death, Od. i 59), or mistaken (x 431); and an early
restriction o f m eaning reduces to the passion o f love, w hether o f a
general kind (for husband, city, and parents, II. iii 139) or a specific one {II.
iii 446, xiv 328 , obvious
sources o f the present passage; sim ilarly Od. v 209-10 -
j ) , II. 1634 di
j 77 xpoirj), and also to sexual desire (//. xiv 198, 216). In the present case,
(unique, bu t cf. and , II. xxiii 14, 108,
153, xxiv 507,514; Od. iv 113,183, xvi 215, xix 249, xxiii 231) shows a further
shift, from the longing passion o f desire to the emotional longing for release
after a clim ax o f suffering, a release w hose m elancholy com fort o f the spirit
m ay rightly be called sweet (cf. II. xxiv 513 ).
501 . F or the two spellings o f see xxi 209. : not m erely
form ulaic here, but a touch o f psychological realism; O dysseus had
forgotten the nam es after all this time, b ut now, as he runs his eyes over the
crow d o f faces, he brings to m ind each individuals name.
BOOKS X X III-X X IV
1 Alfred Heubeck
The late Alfred Heubecks Introductions and
C o m m en tary on Books xxm and xxw were
translated for this volume after his death by
Jennifer Brooker and Stephanie West.
BO O K XXIII: IN TR O D U C TIO N

The scene at the heart of this book is the reunion of Odysseus with his
wife. It is framed by the conversation between Penelope and
Eurycleia (1-84) and the account of Odysseus actions on the follow
ing day (344-72); The reunion is a climax to which the two main lines
of the story, which begin in i (Ithaca) and v (Ogygia) respectively and
are brought together in the second hajf of the poem (from xiii), have
been leading. The meticulous preparation of the scene is, however,
most apparent in the several instances on which the couple are
brought together but Penelopes recognition of Odysseus is post
poned or prevented (xviii, xix, xxi).
Higher criticism of xxiii has concentrated on two main questions.
First the so-called digression during the recognition scene, i.e. 11 7 -
72 (following Wilamowitz, Finsler, Focke, and Schadewaldt: but
there is some disagreement as to the extent of the passage concerned:
thus von der M hll and Merkelbach give 96195, Page takes 115-70,
and Kirk 111-76). From Kirchhoff onwards the passage has been
widely regarded as the work of another hand, whether that of an
editor or of the so-called last poet.
The second critical question arises from the information recorded
in the ancient scholia on 296, that Aristophanes and Aristarchus set
the () of the Od. here. This report, combined with
numerous other observations on the final section of the poem (xxiii
297xxiv 548), has been regarded by many scholars (and not only
those of the analytical school) as proof that the Odyssey did in fact
originally end at 296, and that the rest of the poem is a late addition to
the text, possibly by the author o f i i 7 - 7 2 . (This is the majority view;
Focke, Schadewaldt, and M. Mller, on the other hand, take the
original text to end at 343.)
By its nature a commentary which concentrates on those aspects
which argue for the authenticity of the lines in question cannot deal
systematically with the views put forward by these analytical critics. It
is neither possible nor desirable to give a complete list of the extensive
secondary literature on the subject. T he following list is intended
only as an indication of the most important recent work on the
digression. (The older literature is given in Ameis-Hentze, Anhang
iv3 (Leipzig, 1900), 90; and Heubeck, Frage, 128, see below.) The
most extensive, and original, modern exposition of the analytical

3 13
B O O K X X III

approach is by W. Schadewaldt, Neue Kriterien zur Odyssee-


Analyse: Die Wiedererkennung des Odysseus und der Penelope,
SHA W ii (1959). In defence of this passage see:
J, I. Arm strong, T h e M arriage Song. O dyssey xxin, TAPhA lxxxix (1958),
38 - 43 -
G . Bona, Studi, 1678.
A llione, Telemaco, 9 9 -1 1 1 .
A . O rtega, 1 bano de Ulises en el canto X X I II de la O disea, Emerita xxxi
(1963), 1 1 -1 9 .
A. A m ory, T h e Reunion o f O dysseus and Penelope, in C . H . T ay lo r (ed.),
Essays on the Odyssey (Bloomington, 1963).
K . Matthiessen, Elektra, Taunsche Iphigenie und Helena: Untersuchungen zur
Chronologie und dramatischen Form im Sptwerk des Euripides, H ypom nem ata,
iv (Gttingen, 1964), 99-107.
F. Eichhorn, Homers Odyssee (Gttingen, 1965), 148-53.
Lesky, Homeros, coli. 12iff.
Besslich, Schweigen, 83-96.
Thornton, People, 104fr.
Erbse, Beitrge, 55-72 .
U . Hlscher, D ie Erkennungsszene im 23. Buch der O dyssee, in
E . Rm isch (ed.), Griechische in der Schule (Frankfurt-on-Main, 1972), 15 6 -
65.
Eisenberger, Studien, 303-13.
Fenik, Studies, 64 fr.
The most important discussions of the authenticity of the final
section of the Odyssey are given in the introduction to xxiv. Two
editions and commentary on xxiii deserve mention:
R. Strmberg, Odyss, Tjugotredji sangen (Gtteborg, 1962).
G . M aina, Odissea, canto X X III (Torino, 1969).
Works listed here that do not appear also in the List of Biblio
graphical Abbreviations are cited in the commentary by authors
name and the abbreviation op. cit. (Introd.).

SH
B O O K X X I II : C O M M E N T A R Y

1 - 84 . This conversation betw een Eurycleia and Penelope has been well
prepared: before the contest with the bow T elem achus had sent his m other
to her own apartm ent upstairs (xxi 343 ff.), w here A thena had closed her
eyes in refreshing sleep (357-9). T h u s Penelope was not a witness to the
contest and subsequent slaughter o f the suitors; and the poet has m anaged
by this som ewhat unsubtle device to remove the queen from the scene of
action and separate O dysseus recognition by his wife from his recognition
by the suitors; cf. U . H lscher, in B. Fenik (ed.), Homer. Tradition and
Innovation (Leiden, 1978), 64 -7. T h e opening scene is further prepared by
xxii 428-31, w here O dysseus forbids E urycleia to w aken her mistress until
the m ain hall is cleansed, and punishm ent m eted out to the unfaithful
servants. O n ly then does O dysseus bid the nurse call the faithful servants
and Penelope herself (480-4). T h e structure of 1-84 is clear and tightly
controlled: the conversation between Penelope and E urycleia falls into four
exchanges w hich prepare for the m om ent o f recognition, bu t which also
express the am bivalence of the wife s feelings and attitude towards her
long-absent husband. T w en ty years of sorrow and disappointm ent have
m ade Penelope distrustful of any prom ise of relief from her sufferings. T his
suspicion is difficult to allay; on the other hand she is still sustained by a
hope and trust w hich have defied the passing years; cf. van der Valk,
Textual Criticism, 252 ff.; Besslich, Schweigen, 95 n. 20.
1. Eurycleia () carries out O dysseus com m and of xxii 482-3, and gives
w ay now to the expression o f jo y ( hapax in the Odyssey; cf.
Bechtel, Lexilogus, 185) which O dysseus had shortly before forbidden her
in the presence of the suitors corpses (xxii 411). (): cf. xxi 356.
2 . 2b = x ix 4 7 7 b. i
3 . : (cf. xx 107) moved swiftly . -^ {hapax)
m ay be related to adv. (close to ); cf. Chantraine, Dictionnaire, and
Frisk, G E W s.v. x. . T h e exact sense is unclear, bu t must be related to
, perhaps she stum bled (Aristarchus: d yav n-). Van
der V a lk w ell defends the unanim ous reading of the M S S {Textual Cnti- '
cism, 83-4) against H esychius gloss erpepov preferred by
Bechtel {Lexilogus, 175) and others.
4 . = xx 32.
5 . : the m iddle indicates strong em otional involvement (cf. A m e is - I
H e n tze-C au er, ad loc.); cf. J. Bechert, Die Diathesen von Ibeiv und bei
Homer (M unich, 1964), i 62. i
6. 6b = v 2 io b. T h e use of t is irregular, possibly influenced b y the m odel v
210; cf. R u ijgh, te pique, 414.
7 . N ote the threefold statem ent of the m ain idea, - (m eaning pf.) !
- (concessive).

315

V A tfB L B * *8 D E L E T R A S / OFM
COMMENTARY

9. : (iterat. from ) kept troubling'.


11 - 24 . Penelope scolds the nurse for being a fool, reprimands her for waking
and m ocking her mistress, and orders her back to the , She does
not spare a single word for the content of Eurycleia's news.
11. : only here and xvi 421 and xviii 2. : nSvat takes a
double accusative: ae (object) and (complement). T h e m eaning
and construction are exactly the same as for (12): . . . 4
(object; even one w ho . . .') (complement). O n the function and
m eaning o f the epic re see R uijgh, re pique, 359, 372.
13 . : (hapax; cf. , xvi 310; , iv 37 L xix
530; Risch, Wortbildung, 219) simple'. D derleins conjecture 1
iovr a should not be adopted; cf. Leum ann, Wrter, 116. -
: (only here and 30) an abstract in - from () (elsewhere
only iv 158; //. xxi 462; later ); of sound m in d. :
(gnom ic aorist) here from , causative from h , i.e. they have
(often before now) led one on the w ay out (~) to ; cf.
J . Latacz, dfum Wortfeld Freude1 in der Sprache Homers (Heidelberg, 1966),
164,
14 . T h e first half of the line rounds off the line o f thought from 1 1 - 1 3
( . . . . ). irp iv: adv. here. : here
applied to a person; elsewhere it is always neuter (e.g. ); it also
governs (acc. of respect).
15 . ? : (only here and 26 and ii 323) + acc., mock, ridicule'.
16 . : out beside (the truth), wide o f the m ark. . . . j $
am plifies Xojeveis; hence the fut. part, (expressing purpose) povaa (cf.
Stanford, ad loc.). 16 -1 7 recall xxi 357-8.
17 . : from .
18 . ; sc. : acc. of the internal object . ; aor.
o f ; cf. v 471.
19 . = xix 260. 18 -19 recall Penelopes lam ent of xix 515 ff. T here is no reason
to suspect their authenticity (questioned by von der M h ll, Philologus
lxxxix (1934), 393-41 Odyssee, col. 761).
20- 4. T hese lines cannot be an interpolation (as von der M h ll, loc. cit.,
suggests): the order to Eurycleia to w ithdraw to the (here as at 24
p robably w om ens quarters) at 20 is an essential element o f the passage,
and 214 serve to m itigate the harshness o f the rebuke.
21 - 4a. T h e construction is similar to that o f xxi 3 72 -5 (cf. esp. 23 and xxi
374); on the construction el , for if, see D. Tabachovitz, Homerische et-
Stze (Lund, 1951), 48, 64 ft. : .
23 . In contrast with the sim ple dem and at 20 the emphasis here is on
, miserably, with insult and ignom iny .
24 . T o O - r o : (adv.) in this at least . y q p a s : will help ; i.e.
Penelope is not sending her aw ay -
26- 31 . Eurycleia denies the accusation m ade by Penelope ( ae :
, 15). She repeats her news (27 = 7), insisting that it is true
(). N o w she adds the further information that O dysseus is actually

316
B O O K X X III 9-46

that (0) stranger w ho w as subjected to such indignity by the com pany in


the hal! (28: the authenticity of the line is rightly defended by Focke,
Odyssee, 364 . i, against W ilam witz, Untersuchungen, 82-3, and Heimkehr,
68, and von der M h ll, Odyssee, col. 761), and that T elem achus had been
privy to his fathers plans.
29- 30 . T h e reference is to the agreem ent m ade betw een father and son to
keep O dysseus identity a secret; cf. Focke, loc. cit. :
cf. 18.
31 . : here co llective,violence . : cf. i 266.
32- 8 . Eurycleia s insistence prom pts the first alteration in Penelopes feel
ings, as disbelief turns to jo y. D oubts, however, rise again: how could
O dysseus have overcom e the suitors single-handed?
33 . : from - ; here aor. pass, with m iddle sense,
em braced . : like , iv 114.
34 . = i 122 etc.
35 . ~ xii X12.
36 . T h e line refers back to 7 and 27. ei c r e o v : cf. xix 216.
37 . xx 29; 378 xx 39-40. Penelope is beset by the same doubts as
O dysseus in xx.
40- 37 . T h e nurse answers Penelope with an account of the action of xxii, a
little o f w hich she had experienced as an eye-witness, and the rest of which
she had heard (40-51). She invites Penelope to com e w ith her and assure
herself of the truth of the story; and finally she proclaim s that all her
mistress wishes have been realized (52-7). V o n der M hll, Odyssee, col.
761, considers the passage to have been revised b y a later hand (i.e. by his
JB-poet). But it is precisely the num erous similarities between the language
and content of these lines and x x i-x x ii w hich argue that the lines are
genuine. 52 -7 , rejected b y Payne K n ight and others, should also be
retained. ;
40 . : sc. from others. For the sake of euphony G . Scheibner, in
Miscellanea Critica i (Leipzig, 1965), 256, argues for the v.l. .
41 - 2 . 42b = xxii i2 8 b. T h e lines pick up the action from xxi 235-9, 380-7;
is the (w om ens quarters) of xxi 236, 382. -
; cf. xi 606.
43- 4 . H ere the reference is to the action of xxii 393-400. irp iv 5 or
: ( + ind.) before the tim e w hen . . . ; until at l a s t . , cf. Palmer, Com
panion, 172. : inf. expressing purpose sc. .
4 5 . - xxii 401.
46 . 46 - xi 370a. (-a): only this form is possible; cf.
M . Leum an n, Kieme Schriften (Zurich, 1959), 253 n. 5. T h e variant \
. the form preferred b y Aristarchus (cf. sch. on IL xxiv 701), is a pseudo-
lonism . <n (sc. ) ( ~ ). -
: floor m ade with hard-pressed earth (-
() + ); a hapax, perhaps a possessive com pound (or deter
minative?); cf. E. Risch, I F lix (1944), l 4 ~ l 5 (= Kleine Schriften (Berlin,
1981), 14 -15); Wortbildung, 214, 219. : here cover .

317

i
COMMENTARY

47. cf. xxii 389. : cf. xxi 418. 4 7 b: at the sight you vyould be
m oved to jo y in your heart () ; on the m ean ing o f /- see the
explanation given b y Latacz, op, cit. (13 .), 22630.
48 . = xxii 402. T his line, omitted in m any M SS, is considered by a num ber of
editors and critics (am ong them A m eis-H e n tze-C a u er; von der M iihll,
Odyssee, col, 761; W . Schadewaldt, op. cit. (Introd.), 15 n. 9) to be a late
interpolation, largely on account o f its unseem liness, which m ay already
have led to its athetesis by the A lexandrian critics (which then influenced
the M S tradition). Such purely subjective argum ents can, however, lead to
false conclusions. H ere it m ust be borne in m ind that the speaker is
Eurycleia who earlier had herself been m oved to jubilation by the sight of
the dead suitors (xxii 407 ff.: p ). For the authenticity of the
line cf. Stanford, ad loc.; van der Valk, Textual Criticism, 271; G. Scheibner,
DLJ? Ixxxii (1961), col. 622 (xxiii 48 recalls once again the description of
xxii 204 ff).
49 - 51 . T h e most important events after the slaughter o f the suitors are briefly
sum m arized. 49: cf, xxii 4 48-51. 5 o - i a: cf. xxii'48o-g4. 5 i fa; cf. xxii 482-3.
up rjm : (= xviii 239b) recalls the similar expression
- . . . evepxos xx 449; on the architectural conception see
St. H iller, WS N .F . iv (1970), 14 -2 7. : sc. ciViV (cf.
, xxii 450); cf. Penelope s dream o f xix 536-51 (ot 8 |
, 539~ 4)> of- . Stockinger, Die Vorzeichen im homerischen Epos (diss.
M un ich, 1959)? 74- O n )$/ cf. xi 74, on .
: object of .
52- 3. . . . : so that you m ay set foot on (eVt-) the path to bliss
() both in your dear hearts (acc. o f respect) ; cf. Latacz, op. cit.
(13.), 164; cf. the sim ilar construction at 13 (with causative 4).
is here second person nom . dual (in contrast to the m ore usual nom .
-, cf. xxii 173 etc.; for gen./dat. cf. xvi 171 etc.), like the first
person nom. dual , II. xvi 99; cf. Shipp, Studies, 357.
( < *-) is second person dual aor. subj. 53b = II. iii 99b ~ Od. x 465;
on see x 465.
54 . : now at last . is prospective: the content o f the
long-cherished ( ) wish is given at 5 5 -7 .
55 . . . . : predicative with the verb: cam e hom e to
his hearth5; cf. vii 248. : sc. .
56 . : with peiov.
59 - 68 . E urycleias words have failed to dispel the doubts that already at 37-8
were once m ore form ing in Penelopes m ind. She rebukes the old w om an
for h er jubilation ( a, 59, as at 1) and refuses to believe her
report (oe , 62). T h e stranger w hom Eurycleia had identified as
O dysseus (27-8) m ust, she thinks, be a god. T h e reasoning behind this
statement has to be supplied from Penelopes question of 3 7-8 : her
assum ption is that only a god could, , have overcom e all
the suitors. T h e real O dysseus, on the other hand, must, in her view, be
dead.

318
B O O K X X III 47-73

59 . : (temporal) n o ty e t, not prem aturely. : (ej~)


rejoice over (the events) .
61 , 6 ia = i 359* etc.
63- 7 . Penelopes surmise, that divine pow er lay behind the victory .over the
suitors, is in fact not so far off the m ark, since A thena gave active assistance
to Odysseus (xxii 205-40, 297-8). It also accords with the interpretation of
events given by O dysseus to Eurycleia: n s , 63 ~ '
, xxii 413. T h e correspondence is further underlined by the
repetition of xxii 4 1 4 -1 5 at 6 5 -6 (67 ~ xxii 416). T h e crucial factor, how
ever, is the agreem ent in the explanation given for the divine intervention:
the gods are outraged (cf. d y a , 64) by the of the suitors,
their , ( pya, xxii 410) and their t (67)
identified by both husband and wife as offences against the law of hospital
ity (65-6 = xxii 4 14 -15 ) and so divine justice is unleashed against the
suitors. Sim ilar thoughts had been expressed earlier by T elem achus (con
fronting the suitors, ii 67) and by some o f the suitors themselves (xv 483-7);
cf, D . K aufm ann-B hlef, Hermes Ixxxiv (1956), 267-95, esp. 290-1; Bowra,
Companion, 64ff.; A . Dihle, Homerprobleme (O pladen, 1970), 167fr. T h e view
that men themselves call dow n divine retribution b y their own sinful
actions (^ ^) represents a significant shift aw ay from
th ethical and theological conceptions o f the Iliad.
68. . . . : on the em phatic expression cf. vii 60. It is not clear
w hether is to be construed as a preposition + gen. (ffyau S o s sc.
) as at xiii 249 (cf. A m e is -H e n tz e -C a u e r ad loc.) or as an adverb
(taking H^cuiSos as dependent on ). -
70- 9 . Eurycleia is disconcerted by her mistresss continued refusal to believe
that the stranger is in fact O dysseus. N o w she offers further proof o f the
strangers identity, a , O dysseus scar (cf. xix 386ff.). O nce
m ore she invites Penelope to com e with h er (78:52), and seeks to overcome
her mistresss doubts by offering to stake her life for the truth of her tale.
U . Hlscher, op. cit. (Introd.), 158, has draw n attention to the parallel with
O dysseus assurance to Eum aeus (xiv 391-400). O n that occasion the still
unrecognized O dysseus had failed to convince the herdsm an (xxiii 72 - xiv
390) and had offered a w ager (xxiii 78 -9 - xiv 393-400); cf. also von der
M h ll, Odyssee, col. 761.
69- 70 . = xix 4 9 1-2 ; 70 = i 64 etc.
70- 2 . T h is streak o f mistrustfulness noted b y Eurycleia is a feature o f
Penelope s character w hich she shares w ith her husband. T hese lines recall
C alypsos words to O dysseus, v 182-3, and A th en as observation at xiii
330ff. Cf. A llione, Telemaco, 104.
71 - 2 . Y o u thought that your husband w ould never return, although he is at
this very m om ent in the house ; cf, xiv 149-50. trap (cf. ,
. 55) strengthens .
72 *. = ii 176* etc.; 72 - xiv 150.
73- 7 . T h ese lines, rejected as an interpolation by Payne K n ight (and later by
W ilam owitz, Heimkehr, 68; von der M h ll, Odyssee, col. 761), are quite

319
COMMENTARY

indispensable; cf. Focke, Odyssee, 3645; H . Erbse, Beitrge, 56. T h e


allusions to (and verbal echoes of) xix are intentional: 74 = xix 393 (= xxi
219; cf. also the correspondence between 73 and xxi 217); for 75* cf. xix 392;
for 75b cf. xix 4 76 -7; for 76 -7 cf. (with slight alteration o f content) xix
480-90,
76. : placing his hands over m y m outh ; cf. iv
287.
77 . A firm decision here, between the variants (on the form a
tion see Risch, Wortbildung, 2930) and TrohvSpeirjat is impossible.
Support for the first reading is to be found at xxiv 167, where the same trait
is attributed to O dysseus, and at xiii 255 ( sc.
Odysseus). O n the other hand ^- is used at ii 346 of Eurycleia,
who is herself described as by Penelope at 82. Cf. van Leeuwen,
ad loc.; Focke, Odyssee, 365 n. 1, who prefers the latter reading.
78 . : Ill stake m y life on it . & only
here and II. xxiii 485. = .
79. : aor. subj. from - ; cf. LfgrE s.v. : the
infinitive is loosely dependent (consecutive or explanatory) on nept-
r. that you can kill m e ; less likely is the suggestion by A m e is -
H e n tz e -C a u e r and Stanford, ad loc., that it is used as an imperative.
81 - 4. Penelope replies with a generalization (possibly proverbial) about
hum an helplessness in the face o f the gods (8 i2), and tells the
nurse to accom pany her to the hall (83-4); <\ . . (subj.) represents
a positive response to E urycleias 3 eu-co (78), but Penelope does not
refer at all to the m ain them e of the nurses speech, the . T h is does
not, however, m ean (as W ilam owitz, Heimkehr, 68, and von der M hll,
Odyssee, col. 761, suppose) that the lines are spurious. O n the contrary: the
very evasiveness o f 8 1-2 demonstrates the effect on Penelope o f 73-8. She
deliberately avoids the subject o f the , for the confident words o f the
nurse, although not entirely w ithout effect, have not served to banish m is
trust and suspicion. T h ese inner conflicts, between hope and doubt,
prevent her from directly addressing the nurses argum ent; cf. Focke, Odys
see, 3645; Allione, Telemaco, 104; Besslich, Schweigen, 1820; Eisenberger,
Studien, 304.
81 - 2 . U nderstanding of this gnom ic-looking expression depends on the
interpretation of the problem atic , which ancient scholars also
found perplexing (cf. Eust., ad loc.; Stanford, ad loc.). W hat is clear is that
Penelope s somewhat vague words refer back to 63-4, and that those lines
m ust be our starting point in. elucidating . Certainly it w ould be
wise to avoid a solution based on conjectures such as , explore,
penetrate (Schulze, Quaestiones, loo) and (Agar), or isolated
readings such as (cf. G . Scheibner, op. cit. (40.)) par
ticularly in view o f the similar phrase at 82, o im.
(~ ) (, ovS . Suggestions m ade by earlier
scholars include durchschauen (Besslich), ergrnden (Schadewaldt),
decouvrir (P. W athelet, in A . Bartonk, ed., Studia Mycenaea (Brno, 1968),

320
B O O K X X I I I 73-94

108); sich hten vor (A m eis-H en tze-C a u er; Erbse). T h e right approach
is surely that indicated by C h an train e, Grammaire i 295 n. 1: surveiller >
pier, connaitre, dcouvrir , F . Bader, Bulletin de la Socit Linguistique lxvi
(1971), 139-211, esp. 14.6, has established a firmer basis for this
interpretation. O n the form (pres, inf.) cf. Bader, 174-6. :
sc. oTtv. (attested elsewhere only x 289 and II. iv 361):
plans, counsels1; cf. Bechtel, Lexilogus, 99; Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v.
: an epithet applied earlier to Eurycleia, ii 346.
83 . : be that as it m ay . : J. Bechert, op. cit. (above, 5.),
71, has dem onstrated that the reading is untenable.
84 . o s : shows Penelopes reserve; cf. Besslich, Schweigen, 88.
85- 95 . Penelope descends to the m ain hall, and sits opposite O dysseus,
unable to bring herself to speak.
85a. r'Cls . . . : = xviii 206s; on the construction see van der Valk,
Textual CHticism, 54. 85b = vii 82b.
86- 7 . , . . . . . t he schem a familiar from the Iliad for a hero
choosing betw een alternative courses of action is m odified here b y the
selection of a third possibility (88 ff.). T h e poet is concerned here not so
m uch w ith the act of decision, as with the heroine s m ood, her indecision
and confused emotions; cf. C . Voigt, berlegung und Entscheidung (M eisen
heim , 1972), 79. T h e expression clearly shows that she thinks
there is a distinct possibility that E urycleias news m ay indeed be true,
: from a respectable distance . : question ; the
reference is to the right and duty of a host to enquire of a visitor his name,
origin, and the purpose of his journey.
87 . C f. xvii 35 = xxii 499.
88. = xvi 41, xvii 30. In xx (258) T elem achus offers O dysseus a place
Lvov , w hereas at xvii 339 Odysseus sits down ein ;
the problem s thus produced are hardly soluble; cf. A m eis-H e n tze-C a u er,
ad xvii 339, xx 258; Stanford, ad xxiii 88.
89 . : Penelope also sits - at xix 55; similarly Arete,
vi 305, 77a) s .
90 . : (= I I 59 $) against (in the area of) the other
w all opposite the door . ? : (= i i27b) sc. leaning .
U n like i 127 and xvii 29, w hat is m eant here is a inside the ,
w hether by the door or b y the hearth.
91 - 3 . O dysseus waits () for his wife to begin the conversation,
and so holds his peace (92b = xi 6 i5 b). Penelope too, however, remains
silent (dveo>: used adv. only here): (w onder,'bewilderm ent, n um b
ness) has overcome her; cf. her own admission at 105, evi
. T h e situation is now a stalemate, to be broken only b y a
third party, Telem achus.
94 - 5 . T h e purpose of these obscure lines (depravati esse videntur., von der
M hll, ad loc.) m ust b e to explain and illustrate Penelopes attitude, w hich
has already been indicated by the w ord : her inner conflict and doubt
( . . . S). : in place of the reading given

321
COMMENTARY

by all our M S S (sine sensu, van Leeuwen), D idym us cites as a variant the
m ore im m ediately intelligible . T h is alternative is preferred by some
m o d em scholars, notably Dntzer, Payne Knight, van Leeuwen, A m e is -
H entzeC auer, Stanford, and Brard; cf. A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv 88-
go, w here however is ultim ately rejected, m ust be m erely an
ancient conjecture. is supported by the evidence of: the contrast
ing , the form in - o k - being created by analogy; Penelopes
words at 107 (^ sc. ), w hich refer back
to 94; and II. xx 205 ( 8 ' ), w here (!)
m eet face to face (and so com e to know), is contrasted with
attovovres (2034). implies the recognition linked with seeing: ein
ohne Erkennen m u ausdrcklich im Kontext vorbereitet werden:
xi 197 ff. (J. Bechert, op. cit. (5 .), 337). T h is yields a m eaning on the
lines o f she saw, and at one m om ent thought she recognized him (t:
by sight); G . Finsler, Homer ii* (Leipzig/Berlin, 1918), 432; Focke,
Odyssee, 366. : form ed with adjectival suffix - from
the adverb from ( ) {II. xv32o); cf. Risch, Wortbildung,
123, 355, 365; A . H eubeck, JA xxiv (1974), 37; literally (looking) into his
face , w eakened perhaps to clearly, distinctly (Hlscher, Risch). O n the
iterative (or rather intensive) ~~ forms (' is found only
here and II. iii 217) and (hapax; cf. Shipp, Studies, 357) see the
full discussion by P, W athelet, A C xlii (1973), 379-405, esp. 393-5, who
notes the com m on device o f using two or more ~~ forms in conjunction,
x p o i : (causal) Eurycleia had offered to fetch
O dysseus clean clothes, xxii 487, but he had refused; the poet obviously
wishes to em phasize that O dysseus is still dressed as a beggar (cf. 115;
Focke, Odyssee, 365-6), and so prepares indirectly for 155.
96 . xxi 84.
97- 103 , T elem achus seizes the initiative, and breaks the long silence held by
his parents. H e reproaches his m other for her apparent lack o f feeling, and
her hard-heartedness. It is also interesting to note that in the exchanges
w hich follow both O dysseus and Penelope avoid addressing each other
directly: their com m ents are m ade via their son as mediator, although of
course m eant for each other; cf. Schadewaldt, op. cit. (), i6 .
97. . . . : (hapax) the w ord is formed like (II. iii
39, xi 769), (). (II. xviii 54, also used only once); cf.
also Ipos, (xviii 73). : a possessive com pound (
cf. xix 329) from - and *avos, , face , i.e. originally with ones face
turned away > unapproachable, cold, and unfriendly ; cf. Frisk, G EW ,
Chantraine, Dictionnaire, LfgrE s.v.; R isch Wortbildung, 81; A llione, Tele-
maco, 107 . 70 (following Benfey). T h e M ycenaean nam e pu-wa-ne/Purw-
ans/.P Y 832. 5 is form ed along similar lines; cf. A . H eubeck, Beitrge zur
Namenforschung, xi (i960), 3 -4 . B echtels discussion, Lexilogus, 69 (follow
ing A . Fick) is unsatisfactory.
98- 9. T h e words are spoken with obvious reference to 89 ( . . . '
), 86 (), and 91 (eimu) above; ggb = xix i 7 i b.

322
BOOK XXIII 94-113

100-1. : a variation on (97).


similarly picks up (g8).
102. * xix 484 (cf. xvi 206).
103 . Telem achus concludes b y repeating, in the form of an unfair generaliza
tion (aiei) his initial reproach (cf. 72); this is the clim ax and sum m ary of his
reproof.
105- 10 . Penelope justifies to her son her behaviour towards the man whose
identity she w ill be able to establish beyond doubt by .
105 - 7 . H er is neither (gj) nor constantly hard (aiei -
, tog): bu t for the m om ent it is stunned by surprise ('. cf.
93 and 9 1-3 0 .). T h u s she is unable to react in the w ay that is expected of
her; for cf. (gi); for ipeaai cf. dveipeat and
(gg); for ets vavriov (on the m eaning of m iddle i&iodai see
J. Bechert, op. cit. (5.), 1745) cf. . . . , 94.
107- 8 . C f. 36. : for quite certainly .
109 . : cf. xxi 36. : even better (than by
the dveipeaOai and w hich T elem achus expects).
110 . : picks up a keyw ord in Eurycleia s report (73); but these
are a surer sign than that cited b y the nurse. T h e signs which
Penelope has in m ind are known only to her and her husband (
: hidden from others). Specifically the reference is to the
w hich w ill later play such a significant part in the developm ent of the story,
w hen it is m entioned apparently ingenuously by Odysseus (170).
Penelope s self-defence recalls her resolve at xix 215~ 19 to put the stranger
(unrecognized as O dysseus) to the test (, 215) by means of a
(cf. xix 250). : was first criticized by Bothe as inappropriate;
and num erous emendations have been suggested since (cf. van Leeuwen,
ad loc.). T h e w ord m ay, however, be allow ed to stand: w e also (like other
m arried couples) . T h e use o f (io8, 110) and (log) shows that
already Penelope has subconsciously abandoned m any of her doubts and
reservations.
1 1 1 . O dysseus attitude is in com plete contrast to the emotional outburst of
his son: he smiles, with self-assurance, but also with understanding and
sym pathy like Athena, xiii 287, and Calypso, v 180; cf. Focke, Odyssee,
366 n. 3; Allione, Telemaco, 106. So he accepts his wifes behaviour. O nce
again (cf. xviii 281) he is given proof that his wife shares his characteristic
qualities: extrem e caution and extraordinary cunning. Penelope is worthy
o f her epithet ,
112. = xix 3*
113 - 22 . O dysseus reassures T elem achus as to the behaviour of his mother,
and counsels patience. T h e n he asks him to jo in in considering what
m easures should be taken after the suitors death.
113 . ro t: is to be preferred; cf. R uijgh, re pique, 197-200; in its
preparatory function it is sim ilar to the particle \ it points to a later -
clause; cf. K h n e r-G e rth , Grammatik, 14 6 fF.; Ruijgh, loc. cit. T h is fact, as
Hlscher, op. cit. (Introd.), 163 n. 13, Eisenberger, Studien, 306, and
COMMENTARY

Besslich, Schweigen, 85-6, have rightly emphasized, is incontrovertible


proof o f the essential unity o f 113 -2 3, against all attempts to regard 117 ff,
as a digression added subsequently. T h e 17 rot passage {113 -16 ) is clearly
contrasted with the S-clause, 117-2 2 (cf. A m eisHentzeCauer). T h e
contrast : is further elaborated: at evi
O dysseus refers to matters in the home, whereas at his thoughts
turn to the situation outside it.
114 , O dysseus correctly guesses that Penelope intends to make use o f the
she has m entioned (10910) as a means o f identification (-
; cf. the sim ilar situation in xix, w here the same ideas appear,
at 250 and - at 215). H e has every confidence that she will
achieve greater certainty by this - (note the absolute use o f ;
cf. ' at 109); and w ith apeiov (adv.) deliberately echoes her
own expression, (109).
115 - 16 . A t the same time Odysseus also recognizes, however, the reason
w h y his wife is not yet ( S') quite free from reservations. She denies him
the custom ary honour due () and indeed refuses to recognize him
as her long-lost husband because he is still dirty and dressed in rags
(115 = xix 72). T h e lines recall the description of O dysseus horrific appear
ance after the battle with the suitors (xxii 401-6) as w ell as the fact that he
had for the tim e bein g ignored Eurycleias offer to bring him fresh clothes
(xxii 485-91). T h e passage also points forward: O dysseus evidently
assumes that nothing w ill hinder Penelope s acknowledgm ent o f his
identity once his outward appearance is changed. (So the scene is set for the
bathing episode at 153fr.; cf. Besslich, Schweigen, 90; Lesky, Homeros, coll.
12 1-2 .) Odysseus puts to one side the idea of , and deliberately
delays the m om ent of recognition (cf. Eisenberger, Studien, 305); his con
versation with Penelope, w hich has only been indirect (via Telem achus), is
now broken off altogether. Penelope briefly drops out of the epic narrative
(until 163); for poet and audience alike she simply ceases to exist. T his need
not cause any great surprise: there are num erous com parable exam ples o f
the epic poet turning his audience s attention aw ay from a character in this
w ay; cf. Fenik, Studies, 64-6. Odysseus is freed for a m om ent to turn his
attention to mastering the political crisis precipitated by the slaughter o f
the suitors.
117 - 22 . O dysseus invites his son to jo in in his deliberations, and illustrates
his anxieties with a general exam ple o f the consequences of an action m uch
sm aller in scale. Som eone w ho has killed ju st one fellow-m em ber of his
(on ivi cf. in a similar context at xv 272
3), w ho m ay have few friends or relatives to aid him (
, l i g ; cf. iv 165), w ould have to leave behind his kinsmen (,
120, is used in its generalized m eaning; cf. Shipp, Studies, 358) and home. If
such a m an has to flee into exile, what fate awaits those w ho have killed the
noblest youn g m en in Ithaca, the support of the state ( , 121; cf.
II xvi 549), w ho w e m ust supplem ent of necessity must have m any
ready to avenge their deaths? W ith to S at (i22fa= xv

SH
B O O K XXIII 113-131

279b) O dysseus recurs by w ay o f conclusion to Be ' (l 17)


T h e passage also recalls the occasion on which he had expressed similar
fears to A thena (xx 4 1-3 ; here i22b = xx 43b). Indeed the suitors
themselves had hoped to be able to sum m on help from the town (13 2 -
4 ~ xxii 7 7-8). O dysseus fears in fact prove to be w ell grounded at xxiv
4 13 ff.; and this passage prepares for those events; cf. W . Theiler, M H xix
(1962), 18.
119 . O n the use of with indefinite relative and subj. cf. Chantraine,
Grammaire, 332; Shipp, Studies, 145.
1 2 1 . : see W . B e rg o ld , Der Zweikampf des Paris und Menelaos (B on n,
1977), 204.
124- 9 . T elem achus leaves the planning to O dysseus, and promises his father
every support from him self and the two herdsmen.
124- 5 . y e : T hese things (the considerations you
have indicated) yo u m ust see to ! ^ (cf. vi 157 etc.) is used here in its
transferred m eaning, (predicative)
', cf. i 299
126 . : here rival.
127- 8 . = II xiii 785-6. T hese two lines are found only in a very few M SS, and
so are regarded by m ost editors as a late interpolation (m odelled on the
Iliadic passage). T h e y are, however, found in one third-century papyrus,
and fulfil an im portant function w ithin the fram ework of T elem achus
response: his passing of responsibility for planning back to O dysseus
(a ilro s. . . ) is im m ediately tem pered b y the offer of practical help as
required ( =). T h e passage also foreshadows the battle at xxiv 463 ff.;
cf. W . Diehl, Die wrtlichen Beziehungen zwischen Ilias und Odyssee (diss.
Greifswald, 1931), 12 1-4 ; van der Valk, Textual CHticism, 269. S
: to b e preferred to Be ; cf. A ristarchus com m ent on
II. xiii 785; cf. xxii 172. {) (cf. for exam ple vi 192):
that we will lack the strength for com bat . y e
im p e c m v : as far as w e can .
130 - 40 . O dysseus now gives his orders: they are to celebrate in the palace in
order to give outsiders the im pression that a w edding is taking place it
w ould o f course b e assum ed that it w as the m arriage of Penelope w ith one
o f the suitors. A t all events the news of the suitors death should not be
allowed to reach the outside w orld until O dysseus and his supporters have
retreated to his country property. O dysseus plan does not, however,
m erely determ ine the action to follow (with the description of the festivities
cf. 14 1-5 2 ; with the withdrawal to the farm, 350-72, esp: 359-60, cf.xxiv
205ff.; with the program m e indicated at 139-40 cf. the divine intervention
at xxiv 472 ff.). O dysseus is also revealing (in Penelopes presence) his
, and thus presents him self as lord o f the house, in possession of his
rights; cf. Besslich, Schweigen, 8 8 -9 ff.
130 . 130 = xvi 259a, i 76"; i30b ~ xiii 15411, II. ix I03b.
131 . T h e three m en involved in the fighting are to bathe and change into
fresh clothes (and so prepare for the planned celebration). T h e y had

325
COMMENTARY

already washed their hands and feet im m ediately after the battle, xxii 478.
O n cf. S. M arinatos, Archaeohgia A , 7 -9 .
132 . 1 [ ] : (cf. xvii 48, 58) to put on [clean] clothes .
133 - 4 . i33b = xxii 332b. eios $ : is o f course Phemius, whom
O dysseus had rightly spared during the fighting; cf.xxii 330-80. H is task
now is to provide with his the m usic for the dancing at the com ing
celebration, to act as leader in the dance ( here with dat. ).
: (hapax) with (play, sport) or * (from
) as its second element; on the formation see Risch, Wortbildung, 52,
193; on 77-cuy- (rather than the expected ~) cf. Frisk, G E W , and
Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v. . Literally: loving the p lay (of dance).
135 . 135 ~ xviii 218. : here w edding feast.
136 . : (cf. ii 66) or one o f those living near .
137 - 8 . . . . : evpb (as at xix 333) , with
dependent , the news o f the slaughter o f the suitors
m ust not be allowed to spread before . .
139 . . . . : the fact that the w here Laertes lives
has already been mentioned several times in the course o f the poem (e.g. xi
188) establishes that the farm m eant here is that o f O dysseus father. Note
the pointed use of the epithet 8 (cf 359-60): the 8v8pea will
later p lay a significant role; cf. besides xxiv 246-7, esp. 336-44.
140 . : w e will be able to establish (by our deliberations) ,
): give into som eones hands, grant ; used with only
here, elsewhere com bined usually with or .
141 - 52 . O dysseus directions are followed in every detail; his hopes and
expectations (135-8) are exactly fulfilled. T h e improvised w edding celebra
tion is the formal background to the im m inent reunion of O dysseus and
Penelope, and not only m eets the im m ediate need o f postponing the
reckoning with the suitors aggrieved families but also represents the
solem n re-enactm ent o f the m arriage cerem ony celebrated twenty years
before by O dysseus and Penelope; cf. Hlscher, op. cit. (Introd.), 162;
Eisenberger, Studien, 308; Besslich, Schweigen, 89. T h a t the room w here
this pseudo-w edding takes place is also that in w hich O dysseus and
Penelope once m ore sit opposite each other (164.) is not as strange as
Kirchhoff, Odyssee, 557 supposes (cf. also Focke, Odyssee, 36g). N oise and
disturbance can disrupt, but they can also create an intimate situation by
shielding the participants from the m ain action (Besslich, Schweigen, 89-
go; w ho w ell compares the similar situation at i 152 ffi, 325). Finally it
should be noted that T elem achus is naturally allowed to disappear from
view am ong the revelry o f O dysseus household; he m ust not be present at
the recognition of O dysseus b y his wife (cf. Penelopes words at 109-10); cf.
Erbse, Beitrge, 67; Eichhorn, op. cit. (Introd.), 148 fr.
142 . C f. 131.
143 . : cf. , 132; here then they got ready, dressed
up . 7/-, , -eoOai are not restricted in H om er to m ilitary
contexts.

3?6
BOOK XXIII 131-153

143b~5 . C f. 133~4 ' + gen.: longing, desire for . 145 = //. xiii 637.
: in origin singing and dancing (by a chorus)1; cf. K . Bielohlawek,
WS xliv (1924/5), 1 -1 8 , 125-43; xlv (1926/7), 1 - 1 1 ; M . W egner, Archae-
ologia U , 42 -3.
146. : literally for them 1, i.e. as they danced1. -
: cf. x 10.
147 . : here dancing1; cf. viii 251 and the inscription on the A ttic
dipylon ju g IG i2 919 (8th century): hs w v
. . . ; details and bibliography are given in A . H eubeck, Archaeohgia x
116 -18 . *. (hapax in the Odyssey :; II. vii 139, xxiv 698): with
beautiful girdle1; on the formation of the word see Risch, Wortbildung, 183,
219. O n the girdles used b y w om en, particularly with the , see
S. M arinatos, Archaeohgia A , 1 1 -1 2 .
148. 148* = xx 375a; on i48b cf. i35b. O dysseus1 expectations (135-6) are
fulfilled at 14 8 -51.
149 . : now quite certainly1. : cf. iv 770, xiv 64.
150. : m eant originally one w ho once having laid hold on some
thing, does not relax his grip (), whether in a good or a bad sense1
(A m e is-H en tze -C a u er, ad xiii 293, xx 45). Here it is almost untranslat
able, but means approx, w icked1. : she did not hold out1,
: cf. xi 430.
151 . : (cf. 82 .) here keep (for him , i.e. her husband)1. rjos
: until the time when . . is in fact better attested
though gram m atically strange; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 263.
152. : (cf. iv 772) 3rd pi. preterite (strictly speaking plpf.) from ofStr; cf.
Chantraine, Grammaire, i 437. T h e plural form is hardly rem arkable after
the iterative n s .
153- 63 . O dysseus bath. T h e description of the bath itself and O dysseus
change of clothing is carefully prepared and firmly rooted in the wider
context (cf. 1 1 5 - 1 6 n.). First there is Penelopes order to the servants to offer
the as yet unrecognized O dysseus a bath in the m orning (xix 317-22). T h e
second indication is the description of O dysseus appearance after the
battle (xxii 401-6). T h is is followed by his ignoring Eurycleia s offer at that
point to bring him fresh clothes (xxii 485-91). Fourth there is the explana
tion given by O dysseus to his son for his wifes failure to honour, or even
recognize him: in his present state () he is unidentifiable (115-16 ), Also
significant here is the account of the bath and change of clothing b y
O dysseus com panions w ho had taken part in the fighting (131,142); but o f
course the continuation of the action, particularly the exchange of 165-80,
w ould be impossible, certainly incom prehensible, w ithout 153-63. Finally,
w as O dysseus to share Penelope s bed w ithout bathing? Discussion o f this
scene has tended to concentrate on the fact that after the transformation of
O dysseus into a beggar (xiii 429-38), the reversal o f this process in
T elem achus1 presence (xvi 1726), and its subsequent repetition (xvi
454-7) in all three cases through A th en as use o f her nothing is
actually said about the restoration o f O dysseus proper form. How ever

327
COMMENTARY

w hat is related in xiii is not m agic or sorcery in the strict sense, such as
C irce exercises on O dysseus com panions. A thena m erely alters or
disguises O dysseus appearance in order to conceal his true nature;
gradually it reverts to its original condition, in the wrestling match with
Irus (xviii 6 7-9 , 74), as O dysseus feet are washed' (xix 358-9, 379-81),
w hen he is recognized by the herdsm en (xxi 221-2), during the trial o f the
bow and the battle w ith the suitors (xxi 393 ff., xxii 1 ff.), and after the battle
in w hich O dysseus has shown him self in all his greatness as a hero, far
removed from the beggar whose guise he had assum ed (xxii 401-6). After
the battle the hero must cleanse him self o f the blood and dirt (xxii 402) and
don fresh clothes not least for the sake of Peneiope, who, as he rightly
supposed (115 -16 ), found it difficult to recognize him as her husband on
account of his dirty appearance and wretched clothes. V iew ed in this light
appear less closely related to the situation of xvi 17 2 -6 than to that
o f vi, where the naked and filthy hero is transformed by bathing in the river
and receiving new clothes, so that he again appears an im posing figure,
attractive to N ausicaa (cf, esp. vi 209-37). M oreover both here and at vi
229-35 A thena adds a touch of beauty or distinction (? or ) to
O dysseus head and shoulders an action which appears in xxiii to im ply
also removal of the most obvious signs of old age (cf. xiii 430-4). F or inter
pretations o f the scene see, am ong others: Schadewaldt, op. cit. (Introd.),
2 1-2 ; G . Schei bner, DLJ? lxxxii (1961), col. 619; A llione, Telemaco, 107
n. 69; A . O rtega, rnmta xxxi (1963), 1 1 -1 9 ; Besslich, Schweigen, 91;
Lesky, Homeros, col. 129; M . M ller, Athene als gttliche Helfenn in der
Odyssee (Heidelberg, 1968), 1467 (who includes some im portant reflec
tions on the parallel between the scenes of vi and xxiii); Hlscher, op. cit.
(Introd.), 164 n. 14; Erbse, Beitrge, 59-65; Eisenberger, Studien, 308-9;
H . K ilb , Strukturen epischen Gestaltens im 7. und 23. Gesang der Odyssee
(M unich, 1973), 159 fr.
153 . ~ xxiv 365. evi : in his own house is em phatic; cf. xxii 1 17,
xxiii 57.
154 . ~ iii 466. E urynom e is described here, as on her first appearance (xv
496) and elsewhere occasionally, as (as is Eurycleia at ii 347); she is
also once called . O n the poetic reasons for the coexistence o f
two housekeepers see G . Ram m ing, Die Dienerschaft in der Odyssee (diss.
Erlangen/N urem berg, 1973), 10 3 -4 ,1 5 5 -7 ; Fenik, Studies, 189-92. O n the
interpretation of these H om eric bathing scenes cf. H . Ltz, Beitrge zur
Frage der Leibeserziehung und zur Erklrung einzelner Stellen in Homers Odyssee
(diss. Erlangen, 1927), 10-33.
155 . = iii 467; 11 xxiv 588; - d. x 365. A n exact definition o f the m eaning of
H om eric and is difficult, and not in fact aided greatly by
com parison with M yc. pa-we-a /pharweha/, pi., and ki-to /khitn/, e-pi-ki-to-
ni-ja /epikhitnija/', cf. J. Chadw ick, L. Baum ach, Glotta xvi (1963), 253, 257.
Cf. further . P, and A .J . B. W ace, in Companion, 498503, and the
explanation given by S. M arinatos, Archaeohgia A , 6 - 1 1 , w hich seems to
throw most light on the subject: was a square shaped w rapper like a

328
B O O K X X III 153-165

cloak, usually m ade of linen, in contrast to the w hich was generally


smaller and woollen; it was held in place with a brooch () and worn
over the as an ornam ental garm ent b y the nobility; whereas the
was w orn by all. T h is w as the only piece of clothing that was sewn
together; it was usually fashioned of wool, and was probably a short tunic
w orn with a belt. It is less likely that m eans here bath towel as Lutz
suggests, op. cit. (154.), 29-30.
156 . = .
157- 62 . T hese lines are often regarded as a late interpolation, borrowed by
rhapsodes from vi 230-5 (the encounter with Nausicaa). T his is the view
taken by Ernesti, Payne K n ight, D ntzer, Bekker, Kirchhoff, W ilam owitz,
van Leeuwen, A m eis-H e n tze-C a u er, Schwartz, von der M h ll ( Odyssee,
col. 761), M arzullo (Probleme,, 422), and Erbse {Beitrge, 65). T here is how
ever also a substantial body o f opinion in favour of the authenticity of these
lines: see for exam ple van der Valk, Textual Criticism, 217 n. 2; Schade-
waldt, op. cit. (Introd.), 21 n. 19 ( i-p o et); J. Bechert, op. cit. (4.), 155-6;
Besslich, Schweigen, 91; M . M ller, op. cit. (15 3 -6 3 ^ ), 147 n. 29. T he
gram m atical link between 156 and 157 is in fact weak: at vi 230 the infin
itives are dependent on , 229; at xxiii 157 they are left hanging in the
air. M oreover the resum ption of , 156, by , 157
(which causes no problem at vi 230), is very awkward. O n the other hand
there is little cause to doubt the authenticity of 159-62 (= v i 232-5); cf.
M on ro and Stanford, ad loc.; H lscher, op. cit. (Introd.), 164 n. 17;
Friedrich, Stilwandel, 72. O n the appositeness of using the same image
(drawn from the sphere of craftsmanship) in these two parallel scenes cf.
particularly M . M ller, op. cit., 147 n. 29, and R . Friedrich, op. cit., 72-3.
I f w e assume that 159-62 were intended to follow directly on 156, w e can
see that the ? -cla u seo f 162 picks up 156, which im m ediately precedes the
comparison; and that thus the w ord is taken up, with significant
variation, w ith , can be understood as a kind of glittering,
clinging covering that gave the wearer an air of distinction (Latacz, op. cit.
(13.), 8 i - 2 ). Bestowal of is the clim ax to the restoration o f O d ys
seus form er appearance. O n the language of 157-62 see Hainsworth, vi
230-511.
163 . = iii 468 (163* = xxiv 370*; 16311 = viii 1415), ?: acc. of respect.
164 . = v 195, xviii 157, xxi 139, 166.
165 . O dysseus sits down in his form er place, opposite his wife, and at once
addresses her. T h is is obviously in contrast to the norm al developm ent of
this form of typical scene; in such circum stances it is usual to m ention the
effect o f the transformation of appearance on the other person (
, 237; . . . , xvi 178; ' . , . ,
xviii 71; cf. also ii 13, viii 17) and then for the other party to m ake some
com m ent on the change: N ausicaa, vi .239ff-, Telem achus, xvi 181 ff., and
one o f the suitors, xviii 73 ff. Here, however, there is no mention of
O dysseus transformed appearance having any visible effect on Penelope.
O dysseus, obviously bitterly disappointed b y the apparent lack o f feeling
on the part of his wife, is obliged to take the initiative himself. N ote that he

329
COMMENTARY

addresses her directly for the first time: previously they had spoken
indirectly, addressing their remarks to the interm ediary T elem achus; as a
result of O dysseus bath the situation has altered sufficiently for both
partners to speak directly to each other; cf. Bona, Studi, 167-8. Indeed
T elem achus is no longer on the scene: the final recognition is an essentially
private affair between Odysseus and Penelope.
166 - 72 . O dysseus speaks.
166- 7 . O dysseus disappointm ent at the unexpected behaviour of his wife is
shown by his use o f , approx, y ou strange creature ; cf. x 472.
: + gen. beyond, m ore than . . cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 129.
: cf. xi 386. : (hapax) predicative
w ith \ the obvious similarity to the words of Telem achus at 97,
, and 103, . . . to, suggests the mean-
ing hard, unyielding, im placable . T h e m orphology (apart from the alpha
privative) is uncertain: cf. Bechtel, Lexilogus, 73, Frisk, G E W , Chantraine,
Dictionnaire, LfgrE s.v. Risch, Wortbildung, 54. It is an attractive idea that a
deliberate note of am biguity was intended by the use o f and
: O dysseus m ay be as m uch taken a b a ck h y adm iration for the
exceptional cunning o f his wife as disappointed by her reaction; cf. Allione,
Telemaco, 107-9; Besslich, Schweigen, 92; Erbse, Beitrge, 689.
168 - 72 . O dysseus repeats the dejected words o f his son (16 8 -70 = 100-2).
A lthough there m ay be in this quotation a note of recognition, and even
adm iration, o f his wife s position lacking in T elem achus utterance
O dysseus here expresses a disappointm ent w hich is in m arked contrast to
his self-assured optimism before bathing (cf. , i n ) . L in e 172 is in
any event a critical m om ent in the developm ent o f the story: O dysseus has
reached the end of the road which he had hitherto followed; the situation is
now extrem ely critical. F or this reason he turns abruptly, in mid-speech, to
Eurycleia ( must refer to her; cf. 177), and bids her prepare a bed, so
that he, , m ay rest, ? is usually understood to m ean even
if alone (sc. w ithout Penelope). T his interpretation is rejected in the
extensive discussion of by C . Sperlich and E.-M . Voigt, LfgrE i, col.
1661, 14 -19 , w ho stress a lack of parallels for such a usage, and suggest
instead so that I too m ay lie down to rest (sc. like all others) . T h e action
w hich follows does suggest, however, that the conventional interpretation,
albeit alone, m ay well be correct; and m oreover there are other instances
o f being used in this way, nam ely i 53, xiv 8, xv 3 11, xxiii 332, II viii
99 (A m e is-H en tze -C a u er, 17 m .). : cf. i7 7 -8 o n . A t i72 b
O dysseus finishes w ith a return to his reproachful m anner (cf.
, 167). His words also recall the end of T elem achus speech
quoted at 168-70 (103: . . . ). T h e variation on
his words is in conscious im itation o f II. xxii 357 (Hectors words to
Achilles; cf. also xxiv 205, 521); cf. K . Reinhardt, Der Dichter der Ilias
(Gttingen, 1961), 304. W ith the change of direction, a ye , 171,
O dysseus has to a certain extent restored the m om entum of the relation
ship that had threatened earlier to stall. H e also, surely unconsciously,
offers his wife the opportunity she needs by the introduction of the

330
B O O K X X I I I 165-176

key word and provokes her into taking the initiative herself and
finally putting into operation the plan she had indicated at 108-10 (where
the keyword is ), and w hich Odysseus had recognized, and
approved, as a (113 -14 ).
174- 80 . Penelope replies.
174- 6 . Penelope first addresses the earlier part of O dysseus speech (16 6 -
70), and then (177-80) continues from O dysseus instructions to the m aid
(171-2 ), turning the situation to her advantage, so that she now provokes
him. Addressing him as * she throws back at him the very reproach
he had m ade against her (166): he is no less than herself. T h en
she rebuts the interpretation he had placed on her attitude at 1 1 5 -1 6 , and
which she had originally endured in silence; she had not denied him due
w elcom e and respect on account of his dirty appearance and ragged
clothes. She vigorously denies the charge of 116 with two asser
tions: . . . (only here and II x 69), 'I am not acting
proudly , and ovr I do not undervalue, m ake light o f (attested
elsewhere only viii 212 and II. i 261; on the uncertain derivation cf. Bechtel,
Lexilogus, 15; Frisk, G E W (on *~, lower); and for a different view
M . Groselj, ZA i (1951), 253-4; Chantraine, Didionnaire s.v.; F. Sieveking,
LfgrE s.v. (on '). After this vehem ent defence of her behaviour she goes
one step further in the argum ent with . T h e original m eaning
behind the verb is to have an impression of som eone/som ething over
stepping the limits o f w hat is usual/expected/norm al hum an behaviour
(H. J. M ette, LfgrE i, col. 33, 6-8). T h is suggests the m eaning here on the
other hand I am not unduly impressed or surprised . T h is interpretation
also calls for the reading ovr p . . . ovr . . . | (not as O C T ); it relates
these w ords to the outw ard change in O dysseus (153-6, 159-60). In other
words, Penelope s words (in contrast to the usual interpretation, put
forward latterly by Schadewaldt) can only be understood if the digression
of 11772 is retained as an integral part o f the outward action and the
psychological reactions of the characters. T h e bath and change of clothing
m ay not have evoked any visible response from Penelope (cf. 165 .);
certainly they are not m entioned by her in as m any words. T h e y have
nevertheless had some effect on her: previously she had been hindered by
(93) from addressing O dysseus directly (cf. 105-7); now, however,
she does feel in a position to speak to him and defend her conduct. Indeed
she has already taken the decisive step in accepting O dysseus back as her
husband, by addressing him as she does for the first tim e in 175-6,
although the exact sense o f i7 5 b- 6 is not easy to determine; cf. A m eis-
H e n tz e -C a u e r and Stanford, ad loc. Perhaps know very w ell that you
looked the same then, w hen you left Ithaca . O n (cf. xvi 420; II xxii
435) as an artificial form for the end o f a line see Shipp, Studies, 358,
17 7*= xix 339b. F o r interpretation o f 17 4 -6 in the w ider context cf. am ong
others G . Scheibner, D L Z lxxxii (1961), coll. 619-25; A . H eubeck,
Gymnasium lxxi (1964), 54; M . M ller, op. cit. (15 3 -6 3 n.), 148; Besslich,
Schweigen, 9 3 -4; Erbse, Beitrge, 71.

331
COMMENTARY

177 - 80 , In spite o f her change of m ind Penelope is not prepared to forgo her
plan to put the identity of the stranger beyond all doubt. She takes up her
hu sban ds w ords of 1702 (177 ~ 170) and in elaborating the instructions
to Eurycleia (178-81) takes the initiative in advancing the ( 14, 181)
w hich she had first aired at 10810, and w hich depends on a sure and
certain , the (17 1 ,17 7 ). H er hope lies in the fact that she knows
that her detailed instructions on the preparation of the m ust surely
provoke an outburst o f protest from her husband which w ill finally remove
any lingering doubts in her m ind that this really is O dysseus. U n
fortunately it is impossible to reconstruct exactly w hat is m eant by the
details of her instructions. If we follow the reading given in all sources, we
see that Penelope orders the to be prepared outside the .
T h e orders are given twice: and
. . . . But this w ould appear not to be consist
ent with the question which Odysseus then asks;
; (184). This clearly implies that the has already been moved,
. and has some time before been placed elsewhere (outside the ??);
cf. M erkelbach, Untersuchungen, 134 n. 2. T o avoid this difficulty J. H.
Q uincey, Philologus cviii (1964), 288-90, has suggested (and his view is
supported by Eisenberger, Studien, 310 . 20) that 179-80 should be
rejected as interpolation, and that 177-8 should be read as m eaning that
Eurycleia should make up the bed which is already standing outside the
? (cf. 184). N o explanation is given as to how a passage which
evidently confuses rather than elucidates the m eaning o f the text could
have come to be inserted. A n alternative solution is to em end the trans
m itted text; to alter , 178, to (as in the editio Florentina) and
, 179, to a bold move which w ould not, however, con
tradict , 184. It has found support from, am ong others, W eck-
lein, van Leeuw en, and V, Brard; cf. also van der Valk, Textual Criticism,
3 7-8 , and, for a slightly different view, L. G. Pocock, Philologus. cvii (1963),
3 0 9 -11 (who suggests , 178, and , 179, an emendation rightly
rejected by Q uincey, loc. cit.). G . Scheibner, loc. cit., also notes the
superior sound-effects produced b y such emendation. If we reject both
hypotheses, of interpolation and textual conjecture, we m ust take
O dysseus to mean that he assum ed from Penelopes words that in his
absence someone had cut the bed from its place (built round the growing
trunk o f an olive tree) in the (204) and m oved it to another
position in the room (1, 184, 204), from which it could now be
easily m oved elsewhere.
177 . : (cf. esp. v 335-41) m ake up the bed ; this
abbreviated instruction is to spread the bedclothes ( over the
strongly constructed bed ( ).
178 . : cf. 258 etc. : w ith his own hands, but here
also im plying alone, without help from others (cf. ?, 171 n.); cf.
Eichhorn, op. cit. (Introd.), 135 n. 120. T h e depends on the fact that
only Penelope and O dysseus know the secret of the construction o f the bed

3
32
B O O K X X III 177-186

in the . : on the strange im perfect cf. the com m on


signature on pots, 6 n-oici.
179- 80 , T h e instruction given at 17 7-8 is elaborated: Eurynom e and the
other servants are to move the bed to its new position (, i.e.
) and lay on it the bedclothes. O n 3 cf, , 177; the
use o f to m ean bedclothes is unusual, b u t guaranteed by the context,
with three words in 180 (~ xix 318) explaining w hat comprises . It
consists of three layers: the underm ost *, fleeces ; , blankets
(cf. iv 299); and pbjyea, sheets m ade o f linen ( is norm ally used
of clothing w oven from linen), w hich presum ably covered the fleeces. O n
the detail of this passage see the com prehensive explanation offered by
S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 1 - 1 5 .
181 - 2 . : confirms again that Penelope s words are intended as a
- (cf. -n-etpdletv, 114). L ike O dysseus test of his father, this rreipa
consists o f a , (xxiv 240 ~
-, 11. 5-6 ), and does not fail in its effect. O dysseus, w ho
just a short w hile before was unruffled by his wife s announcem ent o f her
intention to test his identity (, i n ) , is now very angry ().
T h is is o f course the object of Penelopes carefully worked out plan to be
absolutely sure of O dysseus identity; cf. F, M iiller, Darstellung und poetische
Funktion der Gegenstnde in der Odyssee (diss. M arburg, 1968), 37.
: cf. xix 346.
182 - 204 . O dysseus replies, obviously taken in by his wife s deliberate
mistake in describing the arrangem ent o f the bed. H e has failed to recog
nize her provocative words as the prom ised neipa. (17780). In this sense
the speech represents a clim ax to the exchange between O dysseus and his
wife: at last he has found his m atch in wisdom and cunning; and in the
construction of elaborate vetpat they are both equal; cf. Besslich,
Schweigen, 96; Erbse, Beitrge, 7. In his anger (, 182) Odysseus
cannot im agine how the bed he m ade could have been moved; he gives
vent to his perplexity in a detailed description of the bed s design and
construction. It is characteristic o f the poet that this lengthy description of
the bed, like the detail given of other objects in the story, is not introduced
for its own sake, as a showpiece of descriptive power, but as an integral
elem ent in plot developm ent. It has an im portant function to fulfil in the
story, and m oreover the poet s aim is not so m uch sim ply to describe the
objects appearance, but by means o f description o f its construction to
conjure u p a general picture of the in the reader s m ind (even if some
of the details are obscure); cf. F. M iiller, op. cit. (18 1-2 n.), 39-40. T h e
sym bolic significance attached to the details given is overestimated by
G . Dietz, Das Bett des O dysseus , Symbolen vii (1971), 9-32.
183 . = x ix 39. $ : (cf. viii 272+) is predicative with vos-
184 . : cf. - . i84b = xiii i 4 i b.
185 - 6 . 185 = xiii 313s, i85b, i86a = xvi ig 7 b, 198*. $
unless/even if a god came and . . , . u t s : personally . :
according to his w ill.

333
COMMENTARY

187 - 9 . (part, gen.) n s (similarly , II.


539) Is the counterpart to , 185. N ot even a m an in the full strength of
youth could have (with the aid of a lever, ) m oved it away (cf.
v }, i86). T here are two models for this passage in the Iliad. In
both cases similar thoughts are expressed of entirely hypothetical
situations: xii 380-2 and xxiv 56 5-7. A ll three passages include the phrase
" (i88b = 11 xii 38tb = 11 xxiv 565b), w hich is best suited to
the context o f II. xxiv, w here A chilles has in m ind the aged Priam , pefa
() is found in H om er only at 189* = 11. xxiv 565* (cf.
. . . , ix 241-2; for pea cf. , II. xii 381). T h e unusual expres-
sion . . . n s $ , l88 (cf. poros, H xxiv 565) is also
rem iniscent of . . . , II xii g 8 i2. Cf. , R ein
hardt, op. cit, (6 8 -72 .), 483-4; M . J. Apthorp, The Manuscript Evidencefor
Interpolation in Homer (Heidelberg, 1980), 58 and 110 n. 68.
: O dysseus obviously m eans by the
special distinguishing mark, the unique feature involved in his construc
tion o f the bed rather than the token of his identity which Penelope seeks
(cf. , n o ; cf. also 202), for he is quite unaware that his response to
his wifes orders to the m aid (17780) supplies the very w hich
Penelope presum ably had in m ind at 108-10. Cf. Stanford, ad loc.;
Besslich, Schweigen, 96; Eisenberger, Studien, 310 n. 21. :
fashion artfully . For 18911 cf. , 178.
190 - 201 . In the course o f his account of the construction o f the bed O dysseus
explains the unusual feature o f its design (the ). N ot all the details o f
his account can be fully understood. Ethnological parallels to the bed
rooted in the earth are given in G erm ain, Genese, 2 11 -12 .
190 . : (cf. v. 467 etc.)-b u sh , here probably trunk . -
: cf. xiii 102) possessive cpd., with *$> long, thin as first element;
cf. Risch, Wortbildung, 19 0 -1. : within the (enclosed)
property (of O dysseus/his father) .
191 . : (hapax) probably a denominative -no- derivative from ,
m eaning then approx, fully grown (similarly , flourishing); c f
Bechtel, Lexilogus, 26; Chantraine, Dictionnaire, 44 s.v. -; Risch,
Wortbildung, 99. : (cf. viii 187) ~ ; c f Risch, op.
cit., 26.
192 . (sc. ) . . . . : built the
round it .
193 . : close-packed . : , - (only here
and xiv 36) ~ Atflos; the variant t m ust be rejected; cf. van der
V alk, Textual Criticism, 40. : c f II. xxiv 450;
, cover with a ro o f (cf. ).
194 . : (cf. xxi 137) closely jo in ed . : (sc.
) cf. xxi 45. : fitting tightly ; attested in M yc., a-ra-
ru-ja /ararujja/, provided with ; cf. J. Chadw ick, L . B aum bach, Gloria xii
(1963) 174.
195 . O dysseus did not begin construction o f the bed itself until the

334
B O O K X X I II 187-204

was finished. In this w ay no one could observe his work. :


leaves (and branches) .
196 . : {hapax) deverbative -mo- derivative from (Risch, Wort
bildung, 44.): trunk stripped of branches and foliage; stum p .
? : from the roots up (sc. to the top)5. : {)
here p ro b a b ly cut5. : sm oothed round . j(a\K (p:here
bronze adze (, v 237).
197 . ~ xvii 341, xxi 44. 197 = xx l 6 i a; ig 7 b = v 245b etc. :
skilfully5. e m : along the line .
198. $ : (by skilfully w orking it [] as a bedpost [one of
four] , , - (elsewhere only viii 278) bedpost ; cf. ; on the form
see Risch, Wortbildung, 53. . . . : I bored through
with the drill. , cf. v 247. only here and v 246; instru
mental formation in -rpov; cf. ', Risch, Wortbildung, 4 1-4 .
probably refers to the planks o f the bed itself (and the other three )',
on the use of drill-holes see 201 n.
199 . : sc. . : here, w ork everything
smooth . i99b => 192b.
200. : (cf. ?) skilfully em bellishing . probably
refers to the sam e technique as : cf. xix 56 - . . .
, w hich m ay be either overlay or inlaid work. T h e
technique m ay have been known to the poet from Cypriot products of the
eighth century; cf. S. M arinatos, Archaeologia P, 99-103, on the so-called
ivory thrones from Salam is in C yprus. It is m ost unlikely that the passage
refers to the highly developed M ycenaean inlay w ork (on which see
V en tris-C h ad w ick , Documents, 332-48,498-508), despite the use of similar
term inology in the Pylos tablets; cf. A . H eubeck, SM EA xx (1979), 240-2
(inch bibh).
201. ( ): stretched [in the finished bedfram e] . :
here poetic sing, for ?; cf. K . W itte, R E viii, col. 2231. T h e oos
is , shining with purple (colour) , i.e. stained red5 as at 11. vi
219 and vii 305 (a ) and xv 538 (a ). Cf, further M yc. po-ni-ki-ja
/phoinikija, -at/, used of the Cnossian war-chariot (in the S-tablets), prob,
coloured purple ; see V en tris-C h ad w ick , Documents, 573. O dysseus
m ounts criss-cross straps across the frame, using the holes drilled; the
bedding rests on this (cf. 1798on.). For further details of the H om eric bed
and beds in the geom etric period see S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 1-34 ; on
O dysseus bed, 6 -7 , and on the , 31.
202- 4 . 202 rounds off the description o f the bed (190-201):
. W ith O dysseus refers back to 188 ( ),
except that here he obviously means the w hole bed, w hich by reason of its
peculiar form is a sure token (as at 110) for both partners, and only for them
(cf, 110, 189). O dysseus sees that he has proved his identity; cf. Besslich,
Schweigen, 96. A t 203b4 { ) he concludes
with a clear reference to his opening question, ;
(184) : firmly planted in the ground5.

335
COMMENTARY

204 . uiro; ~ , cutting at the base . : foot, ~


base [of an object]5.
205 . = iv 703, xxii 68, xxiv 345, II. xxi 114. T h e form ulaic phrase expresses the ;
collapse o f physical and em otional resistance in Penelope. O utw ardly calm
and in control she is in fact overcom e not only b y the content o f O dysseus5
reply, but also by his indignant m anner (); cf. Eisenberger,
Studien, 310 . 22; J. T . Kakridis, Homer Revisited (Lund, 1971), 159.
* sc. . : on the spot5. |
206 . = x ix 250 (also Penelope), xxiv 346. \* as at n o , 202.
: (ethic, dat.) is to be preferred to the variant -ys, in spite o f ;; -
preceding rijs', cf. A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv 92. : (of. 203) '}'
here incontrovertible, predicative with (rel.) . i
207- 8 . 207* = xvii 33s, 207b = iv 454b, : (ingress.) bursting
into tears'. $: straight (towards him )5. : with
(tmesis).
209 - 30 . Penelope begs forgiveness from Odysseus for her earlier behaviour.
Besslich, Schweigen, 96, has shown that this speech can only be fully under
stood by reference to 117 -7 2 , i.e. retaining the so-called digression. :
209 . . . . : (pres, im per.) do not be angry any m ore! the only
other instance of the verb in the Odyssey is , vii 306 (etym.
unknown; cf. Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v.); Penelope refers to the
vehement indignation behind her husbands words (, 182).
: (cf. v 29) otherwise5.
210. : sorrow, affliction5; the suffering lies in the heavy fate described
a t 2 11 -1 2 .
2 11 . : (with 1!), dat., us both5. : (cf. 6 4 ,1 75.) here they |
begrudged us . . .5; cf. iv 181. 21 i b - v 227b; I I v 572b, xvii 72115. I
212. - : enjoy, experience to the full5; cf. Latacz, op. cit. (13.), 189.
$ o u S s : here, as at xv 246, threshold between the prim e of life and I
old age5; used in a quite different sense in the 11 (xxii 60, xxiv 487), I
213 . C f. v 215- W ith . . . Penelope repeats what she f
said at 209, . She acknowledges the behaviour which has, not
unreasonably, so angered her husband; do not be angry with m e for (rd Se)

214 . , : the first m om ent w hen5. : sc. as now.


: here lovingly greet5.
215 . 2 i5 b = viii i7 8 b etc.
216 . : from (the sim ple form is attested elsewhere only
xi 217, xiv 428; cf. also 79): here beguile, deceive5.
217 . : here plots, designs5.
218 - 24 . A t first sight these lines seem a superfluous and pointless excursus,
easily rem ovable and inappropriate to context; they were regarded as
spurious in antiquity, p robably b y Aristarchus (, schol. Vind.
133), and most m odern scholars have agreed; cf. Kirchhoff, Odyssee, 5 3 1-2 ;
W ilam owitz, Untersuchungen, 84 n. 8; Heimkehr, 7; van Leeuw en, ad loc.;
Finsler, Homer, ii 434 (U n sinn ); Schwartz, Odyssee, 332; von der M hl],
B O O K X X III 2 0 4 -3 2 5

Odyssee, col. 763 (5 -poet or rhapsodic addition), ed. ad loc.; Schadewaldt,


op. cit. (Introd.), 24 (unlogisch). V ery few have defended the lines as
authentic: A m e is-H e n tze -C a u e r, ad loc.; Stanford,,ad loc.; van der Valk,
Textual Criticism, 194-6; Besslich, Schweigen, g n. 20. O f course the fact
that the lines are not necessary to the context does not prove that they are
inauthentic. Penelope uses this apparent digression from the point to
explain and justify her own conduct (21517): had H elen known the
terrible consequences of her fateful act, and that the A chaeans w ould bring
her back to Greece, she w ould surely have withstood the suggestions of
Paris; in fact she was not in a position to resist his charm , because she was
driven to her sham eful deed b y the prom pting o f a god; by the time she
recognized the awful consequences of her actions, it was too late.
Penelopes analysis of the actions o f H elen is calculated to draw the
listeners (O dysseus) attention to a com parison with her own behaviour,
although this is not directly stated. For m any years Penelope had withstood
all temptation (2 15 -17 ). U n til she was sure beyond all reasonable, and per
haps unreasonable, doubt o f her hu sban d s return she has exercised a self-
control, w hich others had found difficult to understand. T h is self-control,
which was in fact rooted in her incom parable prudence and intelligence,
was boun d to b e viewed b y other people as stubbornness and obstinacy. It
is significant that she does not claim any credit for her steadfastness, but
rather seeks to justify it. E qually she attempts to win sym pathy for H elen
b y showing that her actions were the result of divine influence: she could
not have recognized her infatuation for w hat it was until the consequences
o f her action were visible. In this sense 218 -24 do have an im portant role in
the context, and should therefore be retained.
218 . . . . : as at iv 184.
219 . , . . : (cf. iii 74 etc.) from a foreign people (cf.
Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v.); a periphrasis for Paris. 2.i9b = v I26b.
220 . o: = . uies : used only once in the Odyssey, but
frequently in the Iliad (iv 114 etc.).
221 . : fut. or aor. inf.; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 418; ii 309.
, . , 5: - v 204 etc.
222 . 0 os: A phrodite; cf. iv 261. : redupl. aor. from with
trans, m eaning; cf. further xxiv 62 n.
223 . T h e m eaning is explained b y the scholion
. : infatuation, intellectual blindness ; the word
refers to the act o f divine intervention, the delusion caused, and the folly
that results (cf. 202!); cf. G . M ller, in Navicula Chilonensis (Leiden, 1956),
1 - 1 5 ; J . G ruber, ber einige abstrakte Begriffe desfrhen Griechischen (M eisen
heim, 1963), 5 6 -6 1. . . . : she did not con
sider, she did not realize ; similarly . . . vi (iv 729)) it did
not o ccur to yo u .
224 . : h e r e from the start . : for us too .
225 . : Penelope now resumes the train o f thought introduced with aUi
(2 15 -17): always before . . . ; b u t now . . : c f 110, 202, 206.

337
1

COMMENTARY

: cf. . . . , xi 126. O n the unusual lengthening


o f - cf. E. Crespo, 'Elem entes antiguos y modernos en la prosodia j
hom erica, suppl. to Minos vii (Salam anca, 1977), 39-40. O n
see T . Krischer, Formale Konventionen der homerischen Epik ( etemaia Ivi, I
M u n ich , 1971), 146-58.
226 . Cf. i78 b, 189. : plpf. with simple preterite meaning.
227 . 227 = xvi 304*.
228 . iv 736, where Penelope mentions the old Dolius. T his reference
to not m entioned elsewhere in the poem is strange. :|
A re w e to think that she has died and been replaced by the
Eurynom e (cf. 154, 289, 293)? (As A m e is-H e n tz e -C a u e r and Stanford, ad
Ioc., suppose.) O r perhaps the reference is to Eurynom e herself, nam ing
her by her patronym ic as daughter of A ctor (J. A . Scott, CQ. xii (19 1S), 7 5 -
9; cf. also Fenik, Studies, 191 n. 98). : 'at that time
w hen I m oved here (to Ithaca; evidently Penelopes father Icarius was not
an Ithacan himself: cf. 53-4).
229 . : cf. 211. : c f , 1 5 m .
230 . : introduces the m ain clause after e^ei , 225. W ith
Penelope turns to answering the vehement accusation of
T elem achus (97),
231 . T h e line is m odelled on xix 249, with for rfj. T h e words fit the
context of xix som ewhat better, with ' referring to to, 213,
w hereas here there has been no m ention of on the part o f O dysseus.
232 . ,: similarly II. ix 336 (v.l. -pea); cf. also , Od. xvii 199
(v.l. -) and , x 362 (v.l. -). In terms o f m orphology and
etym ology forms with -- and -- are identical, being based on the root
*ap~ (cf. ) like other composites formed with suffix - (c f
, , ), M eaning: fitting, suiting the (cf. iv
777), gladdening the heart5; c f Bechtel, Lexilogus, 169; Leum ann, Wrter,
66; Chantraine, Didionnaire s.v. -; Risch, Wortbildung, 81.
: as at 182.
233 - 9 . T h e subject and m ood of the comparison are clearly determ ined by
its obvious frame: , 233, and apa , 239-
T h e key word is / (repeated again at 238, ) for
the whole passage is dom inated by the concept of the joyfu l w elcom e
hom e. B u t the developm ent of the idea is strange. 232 suggests that the
com parison refers in the first instance to the position o f O dysseus, and this
view seems to be reinforced b y 233 ffi, w hich give a picture of shipwrecked
seam en, w hose ship has been destroyed b y Poseidon: a few reach the
shore, and full of jo y () feel solid ground beneath their feet. T h e
parallel, and occasional verbal echo, o f O dysseus arrival, worn out with
fatigue and caked with sea salt, on the longed-for shore of Scheria after
Poseidon had shattered his is clear. However, the simile then
develops in quite another direction: the following <5j- clause compares the
jo y o f the sailor in the sight of the shore with the w elcom e sight o f the
hom ecom ing O dysseus to his wife. Sim ilar shifts of emphasis are to be

338
B O O K X X I I I 2 25- 241

found in other comparisons w hich draw on the basic them e of rescue or


safe hom ecom ing: cf. xvi 1 7 -2 1, also x 4 15 -2 1 , and above all v 3 9 4 - 9 T h is
latter exam ple is particularly closely related to the com parison of xxiii both
in choice o f com parison (O dysseus catching sight of the saving coast of
Scheria) and in diction. Cf. Frankel, Gleichnisse, 945; van der Valk, Textual
Criticism, 254; Eisenberger, Studien, 311 . 25 ; R- Friedrich, Stilwandel, 73
4; D. N . M aronitis, EEThess. ix (1965); 269-93.
233 . ~ v 394. : swim .
234 . . . . i) n f[a]/evt 7 should be taken together: on the high
seas .'
235 . : as at v 388; m ust be related to , i.e.
strong, powerful ; on later changes o f m eaning see Leum ann, Wrter, 214
n. 8; Chantraine, Dictionnaire, 894.
236 . (i.e. ) A o s: they escaped the grey salt
waters .
237. : predicative with , seawater, salt . : intr. pf.
from ', has grown, has congealed .
238 . : unlike , 233 (~ ?, 239) it here has an
active m eaning, rejoicing. $: cf. iii 175 etc.
240 . ou ; not yet com pletely, still not .
241 - 6 . T h ese lines have been considered a late addition to the text by many
scholars, following Payne K night, Bergk, and Duentzer: am ong others
W ilam owitz, Heimkehr, 68; Finsler, Homer, ii 435; Focke, Odyssee, 370.
O thers take the additional material to extend from 241 as far as 288: von
der M hll, Odyssee, col. 764; W . T heiler, M H vii (1950), 108; Schadewaldt,
op. cit. (Introd.), 24 (5 -poet). B u t the argum ents advanced against the lines
do not carry as m uch w eight as certain observations' in favour of their
authenticity. T h e most telling point is that the passages describing the
recognition o f O dysseus by T elem achus and the two herdsm en have a
similar structure. In xvi T elem achus embraces his father in tears (2 13 -
14 - xxiii 207); both succum b to yoto (215 ~ xxiii 231); their mood
is illustrated by a simile (2 16 -19 ~ xxiii 233-40); and then, -
oio, ei . . . (2001 xxiii 2412). T his
pattern is somewhat com pressed in xxi, w here the herdsm en recognize and
tearfully em brace their master; O dysseus returns the gesture (222-5); and
then follow's the concluding 226 ( - xvi 220), ei . . . In xxiii xvi
220 (= x x i 226) is adapted (seltsam : Schwartz, Odyssee, 136):
, 241. T h is is followed, by ei dp
(both partners w ould have wept till
dawn, had not . . . ). T h is alteration, however, m atches the different
situation. T h e day had begun at xx 91, and the w ealth of incident had
evidently lasted until the evening (the poet does not give here any indica
tion o f the time). T h e divergence from the established pattern also arises
from the desire to heighten the effect by m aking a goddess postpone the
dawn a miracle which does not so m uch set an end to w eeping as provide
tim e for the m any other things w hich O dysseus and Penelope have

339
COMM ENTARY

on their m inds before sleep (342-3), and which the poet wishes to intro
duce into his story: the conversation of 247-88, their lovemaking (289-301)
and their exchange o f news about their experiences (3014). T h e jo y of
reunion is augm ented by divine grace (Eisenberger, Studien, 311). It is also
interesting to note that all three passages compared, from xvi, xxi and xxiii,
are m odelled on IL xxiii 15 3 if; 11 xxiii 15315 ~ Od. xvi 2i$b, xxiii 2 3 ib; II.
xxiii 154 = Od, xvi 220, xxi 226 - xxiii 241; 11. xxiii 155s ~ Od. xvi 22T, xxi
227a, xxiii 242b T h e idea of divine influence over the course of day and
n ight is by no means foreign to H om eric thought; cf. II. xviii 239-41.
A th en a s later actions, in prom pting the couple to rise after their sleep
(344-8) and stirring Eos into action, after she had been bidden to stay her
work, does not in fact contradict 2 4 1-6 (as M ller, op. cit. (153-65 n.)
supposes). O n the contrary: 2 4 1-6 and 344-8 should be read in close con
jun ction as a frame for what is related in 247-343; cf. Eisenberger, Studien,
314 . 2.
2 4 1 . 2 4 ia = xvi 220a, xxi 226s; 2 4 ib = xix 428b etc. : cf. ,
23 i.
242 . ii 382 etc.
243 - 6 . ire p a r fl: from , -aros. A ccordin g to Chantraine, Dictionnaire,
871, v ) m eans approx, at the furthest end (of the sky), on the
horizon . It m ay be better understood here in a tem poral sense: at the end
o f the course o f night ; cf. the of night and day at x 86, and
H esiods description, Th. 748-57. This is how it is taken in the scholion,
(.) 77/3os rAei ; cf. Stanford, ad loc. is predicative:
she restrained night, so that it was long (longer than usual) . T h e essential
counterpart to this act is the holding in check of Eos: {) here held
b a ck . : at the encircling stream if w e com pare xii 23
at A eaea, where | slot
. Eos is not norm ally credited in H om er with a team of two horses.
T h is detail, is almost certainly borrowed from the usual depiction of H elius
with a pair o f horses. T h e (speaking) names, Lam pus and Phaethon,
correspond to those given to the nym phs w atching over H elius cattle on
Thrinacia, and , xii 132. is in apposition
to of: as foals ; cf. R uijgh, re pique, 372.
247 - 8.8 . T h is section o f the conversation betw een O dysseus and Penelope is
thought b y some scholars, following L a R oche, to be an interpolation:
W ilam owitz, Untersuchungen, 68ff.; Bethe, Homer, ii 115 (cf. also 2 4 1 -6 n.).
C om pellin g counter-argum ents have been advanced by F. Dornseiff,
Hermes lxxii (1937), 35 E and Focke, Odyssee, 270-3. A nd it is true that the
transition directly from 240 or 246 to 289ff. w ould b e very abrupt. M ore
over this is the best point at w hich to introduce an account of Tiresias
prophecy: if Penelope is to be told som ething of the future fate of her
husband (which can hardly be avoided), then it is fitting that this should
happen before the couple retire to bed.
248- 55 . In the m iddle o f a highly em otional scene O dysseus abruptly breaks
the atm osphere o f jo y b y mentioning, albeit in general terms until pressed,

340
B O O K X X I I I 241-268

the foretold by Tiresias. H ow ever he then abandons this line of


thought as w ell, and suggests to Penelope that they retire to bed (254-5)
248 . : at the beginning of a speech is unusual, and suggests a con
tinuation from an unspoken thought such as, L et us put aside all thoughts .
of the past and future trials! Cf. A m eisH e n tze-C au er, ad loc., and the
different view taken b y Stanford. : end of labours .
249 . : here ia te r, hereafter . : attested only here
and xix 512.
250 . : predicative with (rel.) .
251 - 3 . T h e reference is to the underw orld scene, xi 9 0 -15 1. . . .
: cf. x 539 and x i 100 ( ).
254 . : ( aye) with this phrase Odysseus breaks off his brief
indication of what the future holds in store. : (short
vowel subj.). 254b- 5 = iv 294b~5 = I i xxiv 635 . : now too .
255 . (that we) m ay find comfort and satisfaction in sweet enveloping sleep ;
cf. Latacz, op. cit. (13.), 187. T h ere is a difference here from iv 295 and I i
xxiv 636 determ ined b y the context. H ere w e have a long-separated
married couple repairing to bed.
257 - 62 . In 257-9 Penelope picks up the keyword (), but then
she turns to other matters w ith '. . . d V a ye. H er reply concentrates on
the earlier words o f Odysseus; her d e ftW (261) takes up his (248).
H er w ish and her psychological need at this point is quite understand-
able is to know m ore about the vague hints o f 248-53 before they enjoy-
the com fort of .
257 . : surely , i.e. exactly as you w ish . t o t . . . : w hen
ever .
258 . : they have brought it about ; on w hich depends acc. + inf.
,
259 . = iv 476 etc.
260 . = xix 485, although here has a different m eaning: since your
thoughts have turned to them (sc. the ).
261 . : anyw ay at a later tim e . : (parenthetic) I think .
262 . . . . : is also a part of the kntx-clause; should be
taken with . []: litotes, since it is
certainly better .
264 - 84 . O dysseus com plies w ith his w ifes request and elaborates on the
vague indications given at 248-33.
264 . : cf. 166, 174 . O dysseus cannot understand his wifes
insistence. 5 au : w hy this again .
265 . : to tell (all in detail); 265b = xix 26gb. T h e repeated assurance
is to signal that his account w ill closely follow w hat he learned, and has
already reported to the Phaeacians.
266 . : redupl. m iddle fut.: y o u r heart w ill not rejoice (while I
tell you) ; cf. Latacz, op. cit. (13m ), 64.
267 . : as at xv 492 etc.
268 . xi 121.

341
COMM ENTARY

269 - 84 . = x i 122-37 {with m inor alterations arising largely from transposi


tion from 2nd to is t person; first xi 123 > xxiii 268, and finally xi 129 >
xxiii 276), O n the content and language see xi 12 2 -3 7 nn.
286 - 7 . Penelope s reply is short and to the point: O dysseus words have not
so m uch caused her anxiety as inspired her with confidence in the future.
She had been right at 260-3 to insist on hearing the news now.
.. : if the gods really do so grant old age to be better ; is
predicative with (cf. 28140.). 287** = ii 280 etc. :
(only here and II xxii 270) w ith dependent , escape from ; on the
w ord formation () see H . Jones, Glotta li (1973), 7-29, esp. 10.
289 - 99 . Eurynom e and E urycleia prepare the bed, and the couple retire.
M eanw hile T elem achus and the herdsm en bring the dancing to an end;
then they and the other servants also go to bed.
289 . : m eanwhile . O n Eurynom e cf. 154. : (like
, 292) refers o f course to Eurycleia. For the first (and last) tim e the two
m aids appear together. : prepare . T h e bed needs to be made
because Penelope had slept in the while O dysseus was aw ay (cf,
xvii ) .
289 - 90 . ) : (bed) of sofy coverings ; is used
to m ean bedclothes only here; cf. Laser, Archaeologia P, 11. T h is unusual
usage m ay be related to the fact that , from which is derived,
can also m ean to dress, cover oneself ; cf. xi 191, w here Laertes is
described as covering him self with rags, 8a em u . Cf.
besides the double m eaning o f , clothing and blanket (cf. 155,
179 -8 0 nn.). 29ob = xix 48b; I I xviii 492L
291 . = vii 340. Cf. 177 . : (elsewhere only vii 340; II. xxiv
648, in the same form as here): hasten eagerly ; cf. Chantraine, Diction-
naire, 310.
292 . : to go to bed , (cf. i 424 etc.): T want to sleep ; 292b = i
36*5, xxi 354b. : back to the (the living quarters
o f the palace?) ; according to O dysseus description o f 189-94 the
is separated from the . : cf. , 226 (and n.).
T h ere is no reason to regard the line as a late interpolation (as do Kirch-
hoff, van Leeuwen, and others).
293 . : the couple. : cf. 154.
294 . 294b = x x 497b.
295 . Kiev: (like Eurycleia) she too retired to her bedcham ber .
296 . : (as at 238) recalls the subject-m atter of the com parison at
233- 9 - : (hapax) is used later to m ean rule, convention ; here,
however, it is perhaps used in its earlier sense, place, location ; A m e is -
H e n tze-C au er, Anhang, iv 94, following L . Dderlein, Homerisches Glossar
(Erlangen, 1850/8), 2498; cf. also Stanford, ad loc.; Chantraine, Diction~
naire s.v. O n the scholion to this line see below 297 - xxiv 548 .
297 . (~ xxiv 548). A quite indigestible mass of material has arisen round the
A lexandrian critics com m ent on 296, which is transmitted in two almost
identical notes in the scholia: 1. 8a i

342
B O O K X X I I I 269-297

^ ( , V , Vind. 133)! 2
(, , (5). In addition
there is Eustathius lengthy note on 296, w hich responds to the discussion
that had clearly developed at an early date round the A lexandrian
com m ent. T h e only part based on a scholion along the lines of those
quoted above is the section [ Se ' ]
[ re ]
-~ . . . . W hat
follows is Eustathius own interpretation o f the scholion: *
voOcvovtcs (as is convincingly argued by Erbse,
Beitrge, 167-8). A n um ber of different questions arise from the scholiasts
observations. First, in w hat sense did the A lexandrian scholars use
(or )? Second, if they really did m ean b y the end , and so inter
preted 296 as the last line o f the genuine, original poem, w hat w as the
basis for this analytical judgem ent? D id they detect peculiarities in
language, style and content significant enough to lead them to the conclu
sion that the final section was the w ork o f som e other author? O r did the
m anuscripts available to them offer two distinct versions of which the
shorter (i l-x x iii 296) seemed to them, for whatever reason, preferable to
the longer (i 1-x x iv 548)? T h ird , to w hat extent can the resources of
m odern philology help us to settle the disputed authenticity of the final
part o f the poem as we now know it? It w ould be impossible in the present
context to discuss all the various argum ents advanced. T h is com m entary
will therefore confine itself to m entioning some o f the more important
views expressed and a selection o f the m odern literature on the subject (on
the older literature see A m eis-H en tze, Anhang iv, 945)1 an d discussing
individual points o f interest regarding language, style, com position and
content as they arise in the text. T h e underlying assumption is that the
scholion itself does not say that the Alexandrians themselves considered
the end of the poem to be un-H om eric; and moreover the arguments
advanced against the authenticity of the present ending do not justify
excluding 297 ff., besides w hich considerations of both the internal and the
overall structure of the epic, and the close interconnection between the
ending and the m aterial o f i l- x x iii 296, point to the authenticity o f the
section. T h e most im portant linguistic argum ents are to be found in Page,
Odyssey, 10 2-13; K . A . G arbrah, Glotia xlvii (1970), 144-70 (passim), Shipp,
Studies, 358-64; and the Unitarian responses of Erbse, Beitrge, 189-229;
C , M oulton, Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies xv (1974), 15761; H.-A.
Stssel, Der letzte Gesang der Odyssee (diss. Erlangen/N urem berg, i 975)i
153-72.
N o original Odyssey could sim ply have ended at xxiii 296: of , 295,
calls for a continuation, w hich in our text appears at 297,
; cf. latterly H lscher, op. cit, (Introd.), 165 n. 29. As P, Fried
lnder, Hermes lxiv (1929), 376, has conclusively shown, we must rule out
the theory that a poet adding a final section to a shorter text of the poem
altered an original oi 8 ap to of . T o attribute the end of the

343
COMMENTARY

poem to another hand necessarily involves assuming either, as von der


M hll does ( Odyssee, col. 763), that this redactor (his i-p o et) m ade a
wholesale revision o f the text from at least 289, or that the poem originally
ended at some other point. T h u s F. L. K ay, CR vii (1957), 106, argues that
the final line was originally 299; while Focke, Odyssee, 372, Schadewaldt,
op. cit. (), 25, and M ller, op. cit. (at 153-630.), 153, argue for 34.3.
Nevertheless there are m any scholars, following K irchhoff and others,
prepared to accept the old theory that the poem concluded at 296:
W ilam ow itz, Untersuchungen, 6 7 ff.; Heimkehr, 72 ff.; Schwartz, Odyssee,
150ff.; Finsler, Homer, ii 435ff.; R . V . Scheliha, Patroklos (Basle, 1943),
18 ff.; M erkelbach, Untersuchungen, 143; Page, Odyssey, 101 ff.; L . A . Stella,
I I poema di Ulisse (Florence, 1955), 245; K irk, Songs, 248; A . Dihle, Homer-
Probleme (O pladen, 1970), 152; K . A . Garbrah, Wrzburger Jahrbcherfr die
Altertumswissenschaft N F 111(1977), 7- i 6 .
It is most unlikely that the Alexandrians, in addition to full-length
manuscripts containing all 24 books, also had copies used by the rhapsodes
which ended instead at xxiii 296 (as suggested first by Schwartz, Odyssee,
150ff.; similarly M erkelbach, Untersuchungen, 1431 Stssel,' op. cit., 11, and
others). It is equally im probable that the A lexandrians had preserved a
m em ory that an original (Homeric) Odyssey had once ended at xxiii 296.
T here is no support for these theories to be found in the notion that
A pollonius R hodius (some tim e before Aristophanes and Aristarchus) had
paid a tribute to the supposed ending o f the Odyssey b y quoting the last line
o f the (shorter) poem known to him in the final line of his own Argonauticd:
, iv 1781. (As suggested by
E. M eyer, Hermes xxix (1894), 478-9; and after him M erkelbach, Unter
suchungen, 144 n. 1; L . E. Rossi, Rwista di filologia e istruzione classica xcvi
(1968), 15163. T his suggestion has been refuted by E. Bethe, Hermes liii
(1918), 444-6.) If, as seems w holly unlikely, the Alexandrians had known a
shorter version o f the epic, and considered this to be a superior text, regard
ing xxiii 2 97-xxiv 548 as spurious, then this w ould have been expressed in a
form quite different from that reflected in the scholia; cf. am ong others
Erbse, Beitrge, 170; latterly A pthorp, op. cit. (at 1 8 7 -9 n.), 62.
In contrast to the very unclear scholion on xxiii 296, there are besides two
other scholia w hich present the views o f Aristarchus quite unam biguously:
schol. Q V on xxiii 31043,
, and schol. M V on xxiv l , ()
(xxiv 1204) . D enying
the authenticity of these tw o passages w ould m ake little sense if Aristarchus
had already (on xxiii 296) dism issed the w hole o f xxiii 297-xxiv 548 as
spurious; convincingly Erbse, Beitrge, 169-70 (but cf. Stssel, op. cit., 11;
G arbrah, op. cit., 9-10). A ll this suggests that the Alexandrians m ust have
understood b y / som ething other than sim ply the end .
In considering w hat, in these circum stances, the A lexandrians m eant by
/, Erbses comprehensive contribution to the discussion,
Beitrge, 16 6 -77, deserves particular attention, despite the objections of

3
44
B O O K X X I I I 297-305

C . M oulton, op. cit., 15 4 -7, Stsse, op. cit., 10 -14, 183-5, and G arbrah,
op. cit., 8 et passim. Erbse starts from the assumption that the verdict o f the
A lexandrians on the Odysseys reflects Aristotelian literary theory,
and was therefore intended only to express the view that in the plan (Aoyos)
of the poem the reunion of O dysseus and Penelope represents the rAo?,
(Aristotle him self had interpreted the Aoyos of the poem differently,
m aking the M nesterophonia its end, Poet. 1455 b 17-24.) Even if
A ristarchus had indeed athetized the whole of xxiii 297 ff., his judgem ent
w ou ld b e no m ore binding on subsequent generations than, for exam ple,
his atheteses of xxiii 310-43 and xxiv 1-204. T h e deciding factor m ust b e
how w ell the linguistic and stylistic features of the passage under question,
as w ell as its subject matter, fit into the framework o f the poem as estab
lished up to xxiii 296, and w hether the conclusion (xxiii 297-xxiv 548)
fulfils a necessary and im portant function in the structure of the poem as a
w hole. T h e answer to both these questions must be positive: Stanford, on
xxiii 296ff.; H eubeck, Dichter, 3640; K . Fiedler, Der Schluss der Odyssee
(diss. M arburg, 1957), with a review of earlier discussions, 1-16 ; F. E ich
horn, op. cit. (Introd.), 14 7-8; Erbse, Beitrge, 166-244; M oulton, op. cit.,
153-69; Stssel, loc. cit.; R. Friedrich, Stilwandel, 164-8; D . W ender, The
Last Scenes of the Odyssey (Leiden, 1978).
297 - 9 . W h ile O dysseus and Penelope retire to bed (), Telem achus and
the herdsm en () are calling a halt to the feast held at the behest of
O dysseus (13148). T h is celebration w hich they had organized had been
more than simply a manoeuvre to deceive people outside the palace: it had
been held als festliche W iederholung ihres (Odysseus and Penelopes)
ersten Hochzeitstages (as a celebration re-enacting their original wedding)
(Hlscher, op. cit. (Introd.), 162). . . . : they rested
their feet from dancing; they stopped dancing . 5
: sc. .
299 . : (cf. ) laid dow n to rest . 299^ = x 479b etc. H ere there is
a tem porary pause in the action.
300- 43 . After a time for love Odysseus and Penelope find a time to talk,
sharing the experiences each had undergone while they were apart.
300 . ouv: refers back to 295; cf. H . Reynen, Glotta xxxvi (1958),
42-4. here with (partitive) gen.; cf. xix 213. Literally: after they
were satisfied by the enjoym ent of longed-for love ; cf. Latacz, op. cit.
(13.), i86.
301 . = 1 1 xi 643. 'T h e y took pleasure in stories (telling each other their
news) ; cf. Latacz, op. cit., 2 12 -13 .
302 . : sc. eAeye.
303 . = xvi 29. : involves a deliberate play on
words (oxymoron). : not to be looked at, loathsome .
304 . : = x x 5 i b- In apposition to ; cf. II ix 446.
305 . A t - the construction shifts into the passive. : out of
the large storage ja rs. : is used only here with
(ablatival) gen., but this is hardly linguistically objectionable (Schwartz,

345
COMMENTARY

Odyssee, 137); cf. the construction on the so-called N estors


cup from Ischia (cf. A . H eubeck, Archaeologia x, 109--16, esp. 110). For
cf. 34 0 -I.
307 . : (elsewhere in the Od. only in a sim ilar context at iv 152)
enduring suffering, hardship .
308- 9 . : she had pleasure in listening ; cf.
Latacz, op. cit., 211. 3o8b309 ~ v 271. : recalling
{ . . . . . ., 26~7), refers to the thoroughness and com
pleteness of the accounts; cf. T . Krischer, op. cit. (225 .), 156.
310 - 43 . H ere O dysseus gives the account o f his adventures promised at
306-9. H is tale is in the form of a recapitulation {) of the
m ost im portant points in the series of afflictions which had befallen him
{, 3o 6). T h e literary merit o f these lines was already disputed in
antiquity: Aristotle, Rh. 1 4 1 7 3 1 3 -1 5 , considered the passage exem plary
{) (the fact that he speaks of sixty lines indicates that he had
before him a som ewhat more extensive version). Aristarchus, on the other
hand, regarded it as un-H om eric, as can be seen from the note o f a
scholiast, who distances him self from the opinion expressed:
sc. . O pinion am ong m odem scholars is also divided
(for a bibliography see A m eisHentze, Anhang, iv 95), T hose who regard
the passage as authentic include Focke, Odyssee, 372 ff.; van der Valk,
Textual Criticism, 256; J . A . Notopoulos, TAPhA Ixxxii (1951), 915;
Schadewaldt, op. cit. (Introd.), 25; Stanford, Hermathena vi (1965), 15;
Lesky, Homeros, col. 131; M . Lang, Hesperia xxxviii (1969), 166-7; Erbse,
Beitrge, 231-2; Eisenberger, Studien, 189; W ender, op. cit. (297 ff. n.), 15
18. C ontrary views have been expressed by W am ow itz, Untersuchungen,
68; Heimkehr, 72-3; Finsler, Homer, ii 436; Schwartz, Odyssee, 332; yon der
M hll, Odyssee, col. 764 (5 -poet); W . Theiler, Mus. Helv. vii (1950), 107
(Interpolation in der grossen Interpolation des jetzigen O dyssee
schlusses); M arzullo, Probleme, 120; Kirk, Songs, 249. O n the w hole the
analytical critics restrict themselves to negative judgem ents based on
aesthetic considerations w hich by their nature cannot be binding. T h ere
are how ever w eighty argum ents to be advanced in favour of accepting the
lines as genuine. M ost im portant is the fact that retrospection is a
thoroughly H om eric technique; m ost obviously com parable to this
passage is the (psychologically w ell motivated) of A chilles
to his m other {II. i 36592). T h e fact that O dysseus account, unlike that of
A chilles, is given in indirect speech, does not militate against the authenti
city of the passage. T h e tim ing after O dysseus has overcome his rivals
and been reunited with his wife is entirely appropriate. A n d the poet has
also carefully constructed parallels between O dysseus eventful return to
his own hom e (xiiixxiii) and his arrival in the land of the Phaeacians,
w here after enduring so m any trials and tribulations he had recovered his
sense of identity; cf. M . L an g, loc. cit. In this respect his victory over the
suitors corresponds to his success in the sporting contest with the
Phaeacians; the bath to restore his looks after the slaughter of the suitors

346
B O O K X X I I I 305-326

parallels the effect of his bath in viii 433-69; and finally the improvised
pseudo-w edding celebrations on the reunion of O dysseus and Penelope
echo the evening festivities in the palace of Alcinous, which had led to the
o f ixxii. H ere the reunion with Penelope leads to an account of
his wanderings w hich sum m arizes the .
310 . O dysseus tells of the C icon ian episode (ix 39-66), omitting any m ention
of defeat.
311 . T h e Lotus-eaters (ix 82-104). 31 i b - ii 328b, 11. xviii 54i h.
312 - 13 . T h e Cyclopes (ix 105-566). ep|e: aor. of . -
': - II. xvi 389; T e (Odysseus) m ade them pay a penalty, took
revenge5. 313 ~ xx 20a. ^ : the subject is again .
5 : =11. xxi i4 7b.
314 - 17 . A eolus (x 1-79 ). 3 i4 b = ii 387b, xx 372b, It. ix 4Sob. irep ir1:
(imperf.!) he gave m e safe conduct5; 3 i5 b = xi 35gb. : (for )
appears elsewhere only xix 283, xxiv 343, I t xi 808 (in every instance with
enjam bm ent); cf. Chantraine, Gram.ma.ire, i 289; Hoekstra, Modifications,
122-3. 3 i6 b~7 = iv 5 i5 b- 6 , v 4 i9 b-20. O dysseus does not mention the mis
conduct of his comrades.
318 - 19 . T h e Laestrygonians (x 80-132). O n 318 cf. x 82*. 01: refers to
the nam e of the people (-oves) from w hich the adjective - is
derived. 3 ig b = x 203** (nominative at ii 402b and elsewhere).
320 . T h is line, m issing from m ost manuscripts, and w hich according to the
scholion w as unknow n to Aristarchus, is generally considered to be a late
interpolation; cf. A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv 95; van Leeuwen, Stanford,
von der M hll, ad loc.; Schadewaldt, op. cit. (Introd.), 25 n. 26; Eisen-
berger, Studien, 313 n. 29; Apthorp, op. cit. (187-90 .), 114 n. 87. O n ly van
der Valk, Textual Criticism, 271, argues for the lines authenticity. It w ould
appear that 320 is in fact a late addition to the text, possibly m odelled on
332. : (in contrast to its counterpart wdvrcs, 332) is at best used
very inaccurately (cf. x 128-32); and the speakers reference to him self by
nam e (as opposed to a ib-os, 332) seems out of place.
321 . C irce (x 133-574; x*i 1-14 3) KareXeijc: cf. 225. -
: (hapax) is a regular formation from - on the same lines
as (hapax, ix 295) from ; cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 189 (against
Page, Odyssey, 103).
322- 5 . T h e descent to H ades (xi). 322 ~ x 512; 323 = x 492, xi 165. -
t q s I x a ip o u s : (those m entioned in xi 385-567) all his comrades-in-arm s5
(cf. xi 371). 325 a = ^ xx 328a; 325b = i 435b; cf. xi 152-225.
--': as at xx 382.
326 . T h e Sirens (x 144200). : $ in loc. sense, close-
packed, crow ding round5, temp, unceasing5 (as for exam ple of yos); cf.
V . Pisani, LfgrE s.v. Its application to people () is unusual; for
older explanations see A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv 95-6; for a defence of the
expression against the criticism of von der M h ll ( Odyssee, col. 764)) Page
( Odyssey, 102-3) and Shipp (Studies, 359) cf. particularly Erbse, Beitrge,
18 9-91, and Eisenberger, Studien, 313 n. 29. T h e m eaning is clearly

347
COMMENTARY

singing unceasingly (as observed by G. Am eis; the closest analogous


usage is perhaps xvi 216); possibly to be explained as enallage (for
dStvov . 326b = xii 4 ib.
327- 8 . T h e Planctae, Scylla and Charybdis (xii 20161, 42646). T h e
Planctae are described by Circe, xii 59-72, and m entioned again at xii 2 0 1-
22 as a grave danger; on the details see A . H eubeck, WS N F x (1976), 3 1-5 .
: (predicative with avhpcs) is used only here and (in a sim ilar
context) xii 98 to m ean safe, unharm ed1; elsewhere (only II.) always life
less; spiritless ; on the difficult questions o f formation and m eaning cf.
Risch, Wortbildung, 113 n. 100 (includes bibliography).
329 . T h e cattle of Helius (xii 361-402).
330 - 2 . T h e ensuing storm and the death o f O dysseus com panions (xii 403
46). 330 - v 131. : (only here and xxiv 539; Hes. Th. 515), an
epithet o f lightning (otherwise ) from , sm oke , m eaning then
sm oking; see Erbse, Beitrge, 191 (arguing against Page, Odyssey, 102).
33 i a - v 4b; 33 i b = v i33b. . . . : (tmesis) has the original
-ev ending (later -). Trdvres ?: as at iv 775. ? : (con
trasted with ) here almost alone ; cf. 168 -720. 332b = II. xii H 3 b;
cf. also ii 316, xix 558.
333- 7. Calypso (v etpassim). : cf. i 85 etc. :
acc. (cf. , xi 287, , xi 235) see Chantraine, Grammaire, i 55. O n
3 34 cf. i 14- 15 , 55 i 334b - i 15 h> 32 b; 335a = i 15; 335b~6 = v I 35b 6 , vii
256b- 7 337 ~ vii 258, lx 33.
338 - 41 . T h e Phaeacians (v 382-xiii 187). 338b = xv 48913; 339-41 = v 36-8.
: m iddle (v 36; ) only here and xix 280 (= xx iii 339),
xx 129, II. xxii 235.
342 . : (elsewhere only i 286, 11. xix 51) predicative with . . .
e-77-os1. O n the etym ology cf. Chantraine, Dictionnaire, 267; and (probably
better) C . J. R uijgh, in ActaMycenaea (Salam anca, 1972), i 441-50, esp. 450,
w ho gives the derivation *&ev (here) > Scvrepos > devraros
343 . : (only here and xx 57) literally loosing the lim bs (Risch,
Wortbildung, 192) a w ordplay with (as at xx 56b = xxi
343b); cf. Risch, Kleine Schriften (Berlin, 1981), 87-8. Besides relaxing the
lim bs a secondary m eaning is suggested, soothing away cares (-
(iv 650 etc.): worries, cares). T h e phrase o i . . . vttvos . . . hrpovuc,
sleep took him in a surprise attack, pounced on him , criticized by Kirk,
Songs, 207, is certainly unusual, but deserves praise rather than censure as
a lively and vivid expression.
344- 8 . A thena causes the dawn to rise, and so restores the diurnal pattern
w hich she has disturbed at 241-6. T h e connection between 2416 and
344-8 is em phasized by the extensive similarity between 242 and 344. ,
344, refers to 243 ff. C f. also the similarities betw een 347 and 244, 348s and
245b. T h e doubts expressed about 344-72 b y K irk, Songs, 249, and
Schadewaldt, op. cit. (Introd.), 25 (5 -poet), are unfounded.
345- 6 . W h en A th en a supposed that O dysseus had had his fill of (-
fievcu) both love and sleep . . . ; cf. Latacz, op. cit. (13.), i86. zvvijs and

348
B O O K X X I II 326-355

refer back to 300 and 342-3 respectively. 34511 = 11 xiii 8b. $


: objective gen.
347 . : here as at xxii 197, w ithout ; the epithet is used in
place of the goddess s nam e in the same w ay that can be used
to stand for (ix 336 etc.), for (v 49, 148 etc.),
/HToyveia for (iii 378). T h ere is therefore no basis for the criticism
expressed by Page, Odyssey, 102; cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 19 1-2 ; Eisenberger,
Studien, 314 n. 1.
348 . : prom pted to rise .
349 . : tmesis; cf. II. i 25 and other examples. O dysseus
exact instructions to Penelope are not given until 3 6 1-3 ,
350- 65 . O dysseus reveals to Penelope his plans for the day which has just
dawned. His exposition is divided into two sections: in the first, w hich is
ju st 4 lines long (introduced by ), he reviews once more the trials
they have already undergone; in the second ( S) he is m ore expansive,
in keeping with the situation they now face, and he outlines the measures
he proposes (354-65).
350 - 3 . T h e first section of the speech is clearly distinguished from the m ain
part: , . . . T h e word , here placed
so prom inently at the beginning, is repeated for emphasis at the opening of
the second section (354).
350 . (): w e have had o u r fill. : troubles, sorrows
(as at 248).
351 . (): prepares for the counterpart at 353, ,
far from . . : as at ix 37. | is
surely not linguistically objectionable as ju d g ed by Schwartz, Odyssee,
137 -
352 - 3 . A t avrap the poet abandons the participial construction, and
continues with a m ain clause. : sc. you .
: ( (cf. 17), bin d), iterat. imperf;; probably from
*; cf. P. W athelet, A C xlii (1973), 387,393: persistently held me
back (far fr o m . . . ) .
354 - 65 . L ike the first section, the second part of the speech is further divided
into two parts: first (354-8) addressing the problem of regaining and
retaining the wealth form erly theirs; then (359-65, introduced by )
turning to the action that needs to be taken im m ediately. T h is half is also
subdivided into two sets o f instructions, balanced against each other, first
the particular responsibility of Penelope ( , 355) and that of
O dysseus ( 8, 356), followed by 17 tch , 359, contrasted with
, , 361. T h e chiastic arrangem ent is striking.
354 . : as at 351, is em phasized b y being placed at the beginning:
both have suffered, and both have a part to play in the jo in t venture to
come. . . . : (cf. , xv 126) to a
union both have longed for.
355 . : w hich I still ow n. : (inf. with imper. force
for the instructions to Penelope) you m ust care for .

349
COMMENTARY

356 - 8 . W hile it is Penelopes responsibility to look after the possessions (still


rem aining) in the palace, O dysseus w ill take on the task of m aking good
their losses outside. H e w ill restore the flocks (), a large portion of
w hich the suitors have w asted (; cf. , XX ,6 ).
M ost ( ) is be recovered by raids ( only here and i 398
and IL xvtii 28) and the rest ( S) by contributions from his people
( here the inhabitants of O dysseus kingdom as at i 272, ii 77, etc.)
until they have filled up again all the stalls (on ? see below). T h e
concept of the collective guilt of the Ithacan people is here clearly stated:
responsibility for allowing the suitors to behave as they did implies
responsibility for m aking good the dam age. T h e idea had already been
introduced in the assem bly scene o f ii, in the section of T elem achus first
speech addressed to the as a w hole (6079; cf esP 74~8), and in the
speeches o f Halitherses (16 1-76, esp. 166-7) and M entor (229-41, esp.
239-41); cf. W . Krehm er, xxvi (1976), 11-2 2 . T h e concept of collective
responsibility does not, however, detract from the prim ary obligation of the
suitors to m ake reparation, and indeed to p ay further damages. T h e
remarks of Eurym achus, xxii 55-9, are o f particular interest in this context,
as he refers back to the points m ade in the speech o fii 178207, esp. 2037.
O n the legal concepts see A . G. Tsopanakis, EEThess. xi (1971), 333-52.
: cf. vi-, xix 117. ! $ : (hapax) the mean-
ing cannot be exactly determined; the reasons lie as m uch in the m ulti
plicity o f meanings surrounding (cf. H . W . Nordheider, LfgrE s.v.;
W . Richter, Archaeologia H, 23-32) as in the obscurity of the com pound.
F o r details see E. Risch, Kleine Schriften (Berlin, 1981), 19-20, w ho suggests
animal-shed (supplementary sheds?) ; id., Wortbildung, 214; Richter, op.
cit., 30 (stabling?). T h e m eaning m ust be approxim ately pen, fold .
359 . (): Odysseus interrupts his first train o f thought, and turns instead
to the needs of the moment. : w hich has the same function as
(cf. 113.), is reinforced here with an additional .
: as at 139, where Odysseus speaks for the first time (to Telem achus)
o f his plan to go to the farm. O n that occasion he had given a different
reason: his motive was to see Laertes again. T h e passages preparing for the
Laertes-scene of xxiv becom e more frequent.
360 . o : = os (rel.). : as at xix 95 (~), is weighed
dow n by sorrow and cares . O n the difficult m orphological questions
surrounding this verb see M . Schmidt, LfgrE s.v. , ,
.
361 . : prepares for 364-5. : the extraordinary anom aly
presented by the lengthening of t here required by the m etre has led some
to adopt the reading (given only in one papyrus and the editio
Florentine); am ong them, following the exam ple o f others before them (cf.
A m eisHentze, Anhang, iv 96) van Leeuw en, J . Brard, von der M hll.
O thers believe that the unusual form reflects later expansion, the w ork of
the final redactor, e.g. Schwartz, Odyssee, 137; Page, Odyssey, 102; Kirk,
Songs, 249; Shipp, Studies, 359. T here are, however, good, reasons to retain

350
B O O K X X I II 356-369

the form unanim ously given in the M S tradition: the fact that is a
clear reference back to im ereAAev, 349; while appears to
be foreign to the language of epic, and attested in the m eaning order only
after A eschylus. T h u s H entze, Cauer, and Stanford accept the reading im -
; cf. also Erbse, Beitrge, 192-3; Eisenberger, Studien, 314 . i. Erbse,
ioc. cit., gives a convincing explanation, based on a suggestion by Stanford,
for the lengthening: m ay be supposed to have been m odelled on
forms such as -, II. xviii 172, and -, Od. xvi 297, which
could easily have been understood as --, 36 i b = xx i 3 i b, xxi io3b. W ith
a concessive colouring (wep) o f the participial construction O dysseus does
to a certain extent excuse his giving orders to a wife whose wit w ould
undoubtedly have ensured that she w ould have taken the correct measures
unbidden.
362- 3 . T h is is the only instance in the H om eric poems of used in an
anticipatory sense (cf. Denniston, Particles, 69), so that the yap-clause
justifies a statem ent (here a com m and) that follows (364-5). T h is unusual
use of the particle is, however, m itigated by the preparation for the order
provided b y \ at 361. T h e com m ent from A m eis-H e n tze-C a u er, ad
loc., is on broadly the right lines. . . . |
: (objective gen. dependent on ) the news of the suitors
(killed by me) w ill spread . O dysseus had expressed him self similarly to
T elem achus (cf. ; 138s - 363s), and indeed his fears turn to
reality: cf. xxiv 4 1 2 -1 3 (with for /). 362b = x429b; II. xviii
t 36b; 363s =138* etc.; 363b ~ iv 537b (^).
364- 5 . 364 = iv 751, xv 49, xix 602. T h e authenticity o f these lines (disputed
by Autenrieth, N auck, van Leeuwen; cf. A m eis-H en tze, Anhang iv, 96-7)
cannot be seriously doubted: w ithout them the prospective ' of 361 is
left hanging in the air. T h e com m and expressed by the infinitive
( stay sitting quietly) is linked w ith the warnings given in the (negative)
imperative, . . . ipetve. L in e 365 is closely associated with vii 31 (
1 1 ipe tvc). T h e two verbs suit the context
better in vii, but are perfectly appropriate here too: Penelope is to avoid
contact, preferably to keep out of sight altogether, and certainly not to
speak to anyone (so that no questions are asked).
366- 72 . O dysseus and his three com panions arm themselves and leave the
city. O dysseus thus puts into action the plan announced at 137-40 and
359-63, to retreat to the country holding w here Laertes lives, and to await
the outcom e there. T h e lines prepare for the continuation of the action as
described in xxiv 205 ff.
366 . ~ I i iii 328; 366 = viii 416s.
367 . : here roused.
368 . VTe . . . : as at II. x 407; cf. , xix 4 ( , xvi
284 etc.). : as at viii 68 etc.
369 . o u k : as at xv 98 etc. 369k resum es and varies the thought
from 36615. : with the bronze w eapons ; cf. aero ,
x x iiii3 .

351
COMMENTARY

370 . ( = xxiv 501; 370 = xxii 399) O upas: here the courtyard gate which
Philoetius had shut at O dysseus behest at xxi 240-1 ( . . .
VpKios , xxi 389), not the door to the (xxi 236). O n the
details cf. S. Hiller, WS N F iv (1970), 14 -2 7, esp. 21.
371 . $: the (first) light o f.day1 (of. 347-8). ciri : over the
earth .
3 7 2 . A th en a herself intervenes to protect them by enveloping them in \
i.e. m aking them invisible to other eyes. T h e poet uses here a motif
com m on in the Iliad, that of divine intervention in hum an affairs in the
form o f spreading (or lifting) a protecting mist or darkness, variously
described as , , , , but also as (cf. 11 v
506-6; xvi 567); cf. J. T . Kakridis, T h e M otif of the Godsent M ist in the
I l i a d i n Homer Revisited (Lund, 1971), 89-107.

352
BO OK XXIV: IN TRO D UCTIO N

There can hardly be any part of the Odyssey as it now stands which
has been subjected to closer scrutiny by the analytical critics than the
last book. W e should not be surprised by the very different conclu
sions reached by such attempts to account for its genesis; this is not
the place to discuss these theories in detail. Here it must suffice to
note that, besides the theory that the last book is a secondary addition
to an already complete Odyssey (e.g. R. v. Scheliha, L. A. Stella,
M. Mller, H. Eisenberger), there has been considerable support for
the view that the epic as we know it represents the reworking of an
older, shorter poem (or a conflation of several older poems) by a
redactor usually termed the B-poef, on whose poetic gifts widely
differing verdicts have been passed, so that he has been variously
styled a bungling compiler5and a poet with an architectural sense of
construction. Critics who hold this latter theory (and they include
Wilamowitz, Schwartz, Focke, von der Mhll, Merkelbach, and
Schadewaldt) attribute both the ending of the existing text and other
passages (especially the so-called Telemachy, and some of the
Phaeacis) to the hand of this redactor. As most of these scholars judge
the appended conclusion to begin not at xxiv l but at xxiii 297 (or
344), most of the argument is closely linked with problems which
have already been discussed in connection with the Alexandrians
verdict on xxiii 296ff. (cf. n. ad loc.).
Our own opinion is that the conclusion5 of the Odyssey was always
an integral part of the compositional plan of the author who created
the Odyssey as we know it. This judgement is based on a number of
observations which can only be briefly summarized here. Most
important is the fact that the narrative of the last book is so carefully
prepared for throughout the rest of the poem, and in such various
ways, that a failure to fulfil the expectations aroused by both direct
announcements and indirect indications would have been pro
foundly disappointing and irritating to the poets audience. More
over the peculiarities of language, style, composition, and content
identified in xxiv do not by any means warrant the conclusion that
the passage must be attributed to a poet other than the author of the
text up to xxiii 296/344; on the contrary these features of xxiv point to
the same hand as in the preceding 23 books. Finally it must not be
forgotten that without its conclusion the epic would lack the balance

353
B O O K XXIV

and the sense of direction, both inward and outward, towards the
goal set out at the beginning, that we find in the overall structure of
the composition. An abrupt breaking off, before this goal was
reached, would seriously undermine the well-grounded hypothesis
that the author of the Odyssey consciously modelled his poem on the
example of the Iliad, particularly with regard to its external construc
tion. So, just as after the death of Hector the events narrated in xxiii-
xxiv form an essential part of the Iliad, so here too, in the Odyssey,
after the death of the suitors and the reunion of the hero with his wife,
a place must be given to reconciliation, the restoration of the rightful
ruler to his old rights, and the re-establishment of divinely instituted
order. It is an encouraging sign that in the last few decades the
number of scholars defending the authenticity of the conclusion to
the Odyssey has been steadily rising. We can give here only a selection
of names:
W oodhouse, Composition, 2323 eipassim.
H eubeck, Dichter, 36-40.
H . H om m el, A igisthos und die Freier, Studium Generale vi (1955), 237-55.
K . Fiedler, Der Schluss der Odyssee (diss. M arburg, 1957).
W . B. Stanford, T h e Ending of the O dyssey , Hermatkena xciy (1965), 5-20.
Besslich, Schweigen, 12 3 -5 ,9 8 -1 0 1.
S. Bertm an, Structural Sym m etry at the End of the O dyssey, G R B S ix
(19 6 5 X 115-22 .
Bona, Studi, 115-2 2 .
F. M uller, Darstellung und poetische Funktion der Gegenstnde in der Odyssee (diss.
M arburg, 1968), 116-22.
J. Dingel, D er 24. G esang der O dyssee und die Elektra des Euripides,
RMus. cxii (1969), 103-9.
T hornton, People, 11519 et passim.
Erbse, Beitrge, 97-109, 166-244..
C . M oulton, T h e E n d of the O dyssey, G RBS xv (1974), 153-69.
H .-A. Stssel, Der letzte Gesang der Odyssee (diss. Erlangen/N urem berg,
1975)
W . Krehm er, V olk ohne Sch uld , %A xxvi (1976), 11-2 2 ; D. W ender, The
Last Scenes of the Odyssey (Leiden, 1978).
A . H eubeck, Zw ei hom erische Peirai5, xxxi (1981), 73-83.
O n the older literature cf. A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv 94ff.
A . H eubeck, Die homerische Frage (Darmstadt, 1974), 12830.

The various arguments put forward by analytical and Unitarian


critics cannot be discussed here in detail; but an attempt will be
made to respond to the different lines of argument in the notes on
particular words, lines, and passages, and to present there a clear
standpoint on these issues. Works listed above that do not appear

354
IN TR O D U CTIO N

also in the List of Bibliographical Abbreviations are cited in the


commentary by authors name and op. cit. (Introd.).
Book xxiv is clearly divided into three sections, each of which is
self-contained:
1. the so-called deutero-nekuia (1-204);
2. the recognition scene between Odysseus and Laertes (205-
412);
3. the fight with the suitors relatives, and the peace brought about
by divinely imposed oaths (413-548).

355
BOOK XXIV: COM M ENTARY

1- 204 . T h e deuteronekuia abruptly transfers the scene o f the action, w hich


had run continuously since xvi. Suddenly w e are transported to a scene far
away, in the underworld. T h e poet describes the arrival in H ades of the
souls o f the slaughtered suitors, and their m eeting with the spirits of heroes
w ho fought at T roy. T h e suitors witness an exchange between A chilles and
A gam em non; and one of them, A m phim edon, converses with A g a
m em non. Ch an ges o f scene are com m on enough in the first two o f the
three m ain parts o f the Odyssey, there is however no parallel in the poem for
this abrupt switch from the m ain line o f the story to a brief glim pse o f
events in the underworld, before resum ing the action on earth at 205.
Perhaps this peculiarity was one o f the reasons w hich induced Aristarchus
to reject 1204 as spurious, especially as the lines could apparently be
omitted w ithout disturbing the continuity o f the text. T h e scholia give us a
wealth of other possible reasons for Aristarchus negative view (ad xxiv 1);
these often contrast the critics with the o f those scholars
who did not feel able to support A ristarchus judgem ent. T h e
concern above all the subject-m atter and conceptions (including religious
Gii;G
beliefs) presented in the athetized passage. Insofar as they continue to play S ir
a role in m o d em thinking on the subject they are given ad loc.; they are
also discussed in detail by G . Petzl, Antike Diskussionen ber die beiden Mekyiai
(M eisenheim , 1969), 44-66; cf. further Stanford, ad loc.; Stssel, op. cit.
(Introd.), 15-20; K . A . G arbrah, Wrzburger J B N F i (1977), 716. In this
connection it should also be rem em bered that A ristarchus well-attested
athetesis of the deuteronekuia ill accords with the w idely accepted inter
pretation of the scholion to xxiii 296, which w ould have us believe that he
thought the authentic text o f the Odyssey finished at that point, and so
viewed the rest of the transmitted text as post-H om eric interpolation (cf. n.
on xxiii 297-xxiv 548), W e should not dismiss lightly the objections regard
ing the deuteronekuia as an integral part of the epic (Bona, Studi, 107-9,
reviews briefly the various attempts to condem n 1204 on analytical
grounds). However, since there is no scope in the present context to discuss
all these argum ents in detail (cf. the bibliography given above), the follow
ing points should be noted. (1) W ith an account of events in the w orld o f
the dead, the nature o f the subject m atter precludes the kind o f preparation V

w hich w e find for episodes belonging to the m ain narrative (e.g. the revenge
on the suitors, the reunion of the hero with his wife, or even the action o f
xxiv 205 ff.). Nevertheless w e m ay see an indication of the scene to follow (at
1-204) at xx 345-72, especially 3 5 1 -7 , where the seer T heoclym enus
II
announces to the suitors his fearful vision of the future (cf. particularly
> - -, 7rAei^ 8 | -

356
B O O K X X I V 1-204

354-5); cf. T h o m to n , People, 5 (2) Adm ittedly, the outward form,


with its interruption of the flow o f action to present a scene quite remote
from the m ain narrative, is, as has already been observed, unparalleled in
the Odyssey, the device o f switching the scene of action, used so extensively
elsewhere, particularly in the first two thirds of the poem , is o f a quite
different order, as shown m ost recently b y R. Friedrich, Stilwandel, 12-4.7 et
passim. T h e nekuia is, however, com parable, so far as concerns the
technique governing its insertion in the narrative, w ith Iliadic episodes
w hich likewise are peripheral to the m ain action. T h ere are m any instances
in the lad, as here, of an episode inserted between the departure of heroes
from one place and their arrival at their destination; so that the uneventful
period o f their journ ey takes on a certain borrowed colour (for a complete
catalogue o f these episodes see W . T heiler, in Festschrift f E. Tuche (Bern,
1947), 163 n. 52); the best-known exam ple is probably the interval between
H ector leaving the battlefield and arriving in the city, filled in with an
account of the m eeting betw een Diom edes and G laucus (vi 119-236). T h e
peculiar dem ands o f the situation here, and the effect required, have
prom pted the author o f the Odyssey in this one case to return to the formal
episode-technique of the Iliad. (3) In terms o f the poetic function assigned
to the deuteronekuia there are two aspects we should consider, one of
w hich lies at a m uch deeper level than the other. O n the one hand w e can
observe the poets virtuosity in building up from a series o f incom plete
accounts and references a full and very vivid picture o f the events from the
burial of H ector to the A chaeans returning hom e in trium ph. T hese
episodes are not related in the Iliad, bu t m ust surely have been treated
already in poetic form in the oral tradition. T h e picture painted by the
author is a very full one, b ut w ould nevertheless have rem ained incomplete
without the account w hich A gam em non gives Achilles o f the latters own
death and burial (36-94), especially since precisely this element in the
saga, as neo-analytic research has shown, in all probability already played
a significant part in pre-H om eric heroic poetry. A more important con
sideration, however, is that the poet was concerned from the very begin
ning to set the fate of O dysseus and his family against the background of
the vicissitudes of A gam em n on s house. T h is contrast in the fates of the two
heroes pervades the entire work. It is particularly em phasized in the open
ing books (i, iii, iv) and at the centre o f the poem (xi). N ow , after O dysseus
return home, reunion with his wife, and revenge on the suitors, the poet
obviously wishes to rem ind us of this contrast. It is deepened b y the intro
duction o f another hero, the greatest o f all w ho fought at T roy, A chilles (cf.
the earlier reference a tx i 467-540). T h e of Penelope, w ho was both
clever and courageous, can be highlighted once more, for the last time, by
A gam em non. O dysseus, who suffered most and longest, can at the end of
his labours enjoy an oXos (192), w hich is not only the diametric opposite
o f the of A gam em non (28), but which even outshines the Xos
o f A chilles (36). In the epic treatment o f the Odysseys essentially novelistic
subject-m atter this com parison o f the heroes fates to round off the poem is

357
COMMENTARY i
as necessary as the T elem ach y (or, as we shall see, the account of the m eet
ing with Laertes, and the with the Ithacans). Cf. U . Hlscher, D ie
A tridensage in der O dyssee, in Festschrift f R . Alewyn (Cologne/G raz,
1967), 116, esp. 9 -1 2 ; Thornton, People, 4 -10 ; R. Friedrich, Stilwandel,
16 0 -1; Stssel, op. d t. (Introd.), 324; W . Krehm er, Gnomon xlviii (1967),
5389; W ender, op. cit. (Introd.), 1944.
1- 4 . : the contracted form o f the gods nam e is given here (as at v 54
etc.), although uncontracted (as at 10) is used more frequently.
T h is should not be regarded as an abnorm ality (Shipp, Studies, 360); cf.
M eister, Kunstsprache, 154-6. O n the pre-history of the name-form cf.
. (besides M eister, loc. cit.) after the decipherm ent o f the linear B tablets,
am ong others, Hoekstra, Modifications, 40 n. 1; C . J. Ruijgh, R G Ixxx
(1967), 12; V en tris-G hadw ick, Documents, 543 (root form e-ma-a2 /H em d-
has/). T h e god s epithet is derived from his birthplace, on the
A rcadian pos (cf. h.Merc. 1-10 ), which was also a centre of his
cult. T h e fact that this is the only occurrence of the epithet in H om eric epic
does not support an analytical position, especially since his other titles
(viii 335) and (II. xx 72) are also hapax legomena. M ore
striking is the fact that the god is here assigned the role o f ,
leading the souls o f the departed down to Hades. Now here else in H om er is
this office associated w ith Hermes; this is in keeping with the idea that on
leaving the body norm ally passed directly to the underw orld
without the services of a guide (vi 11, x 560, etc.; and num erous exam ples in
the Iliad) or occasionally led by (xiv 207 cf. II. ii 302, xiii
416). M oreover xxiv 1 ff. does not take account of the idea that the souls o f
the dead could not pass into H ades until the body has been buried,
although this particular idea is confined in the epics to the fates o f Patroclus
(cf. esp. 11 xxiii 69-74) an d Elpenor (Od. xi 53 -5 , xi 51-80, xii 9 -15 ). W e
should hardly be surprised that xxiv em bodies yet another variant o f the
m any ideas on the fate o f the soul after death, as there were clearly m any
conflicting views, and no generally accepted orthodoxy on the subject in
ancient G reece (cf. the excellent remarks of O . Regenbogen, in Kleine
Schuften (M unich, 1961), 17). H ere the poet clearly saw good reason
(primarily, poetic reason) to introduce Herm es as the conductor o f souls.
F o r the situation here is quite unusual: instead o f a single , here is a
w hole crow d of , all travelling a com m on path to Hades. It is quite
reasonable to give this group a guide. H erm es was pictured in ancient reli
gious thought, w hich is partly echoed in the epics, as the guide p ar excel
lence, and this m akes him particularly suited to the role assigned to him
here. W hether this was an invention o f the poets, or whether, as seems
m ore likely (cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 234), H erm es was a part of
com m on religious belief in the archaic period, is almost impossible to
determ ine, and in the last analysis not o f any great importance. In addition
the poet m ay have been influenced b y the w ish to offer a counterpart in xxiv
to the co-operation betw een A thena and Herm es portrayed at the begin
ning o f the poem (i, v): as A th en a brings O dysseus and his men safely

358

>
BOOK XXIV -g

to Laertes, so Hermes conducts the souls of the suitors to H ades; cf.


Thornton, People, 45. A poetic m odel for the scene can, however, be seen
in the last book of the Iliad, w hich indeed influenced the concluding scenes
o f the Odyssey in several respects. In the Iliad Herm es accom panies old
Priam on his visit to Achilles, ensures his safety, and helps him on the
return jo u rn ey to the city (with the body of Hector). T h e parallel between
the escorts role in both passages is underlined by the poet s use here
(incidentally as in v) o f quotation from the II: 3h~y (= v 47b~48) = II. xxiv
343b~4. But whereas, the lines are firmly rooted in context in the Iliad
(Hermes uses his w an d in the m anner described, to send m en to sleep at
445-7, and to wake the sleeping Priam at 677-89) here xxiv 2b~4 are m erely
ornamental (in fact an epitheton ornans, cf. Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 40-1).
T h e m agic w and o f the Iliadic H erm es has becom e almost a shepherd s
staff as the god keeps his flock o f souls together. : sc.
or "s, 3 * = v 233* etc : enchants ,
here alm ost closes . Constr.: . . . (sc. 6Xyei) edAei.
81 (demonstr. the others) . . . eyelpei: still belongs to the rel. rrj-
clause. ? : (only found in this line = v 48, both from II. xxiv
344): the form has not been satisfactorily explained; cf. M eister, Kunst
sprache, 90-2; Chantraine, Grammaire, i 366; Shipp, Studies, 99. It can
hardly be formed from (factitive) (which is n ot found in Homer);
m ore likely an artificial creation from .
5. (sc. ) p (sc. ) resumes (^ . . . 8 .
: refers, as at II. xxiii 100-1 ( . . . erpiyvia) to the
m urm urous fluttering of the souls in flight, as is apparent from the com
parison at 7-9.
6-8. T h e tightly controlled form of the com parison (cited in Plato, R. iii 387)
. rests on the key word which prepares for 6 -8 (, 5), stands
at the centre of the simile itself (, 7), and rounds it off in the -
clause ( , 9). T h e noisy flight o f the souls is. likened to the sound of
bats (vvKTaplBes) unsettled and fluttering around () in the corner
(loc. lies behind ; cf. Ruijgh, lment, 164) of a large cave
(6b = xiii 363b) w hen one (n s) o f the colony (: hapax, from ,
chain) falls from the rock face, and the others secure their hold on each
other above (). T h e passage recalls xi 605-6:
, I . T h e similarity is particularly striking because
the G reeks classified bats as birds (cf. Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.),
4 12). T h e resem blance to the similes o f xxii 3848 and 468-71 was
pointed out by von der M hll, Odyssee, col. 765. : with
striking metrical lengthening of d- as in a-noveaQai (ii 195 etc.) and a
n um ber o f other forms; W yatts explanation, Lengthening, 84-7, is prob
ably to be preferred to that o f A . Hoekstra, Mnemosyne xxxi (1978), 126,
esp.' 1820.
9-10 . : picks u p (5) as . . .
d oes ye . : (elsew here o n ly II. xvi 185, also w ith
re feren ce to H erm es) is o n e o f th ose fo rm u la ic d iv in e /h e ro ic epithets in

359
COMMENTARY

- (where w e w ould norm ally expect -) which are probably petrified


vocative forms; for further details see Risch, Wortbildung, 37-8 . T h e
etym ology and m eaning are obscure; a detailed bibliography is given by
W . Spoerri, LfgrE s.v. ei (as at xxiii 322): cf. x 512 .
11 - 14. T h e m ythological-geographical details of the route to H ades given
here are certainly striking. T h e y have frequently given rise to analytical
speculation (cf. for exam ple K irk, Songs, 249). Leaving aside the phrase 7rap
8 re , 11 (for w hich cf. , xi
2 1-2 ; cf. also x 50 8 -11) and the mention of the m eadow o f asphodel as the
place w here the souls will stay (13 -14 ; xi 539, 573), we find here topo
graphical particulars such as /Uv/cas , ^ , and
, w hich do not appear elsewhere in H om eric epic. O n the other
han d xxiv omits such details as the dLWa (x 50910), the
Cim m erian country and people (xi 14 -15 ) and the river which souls have to
cross to reach H ades (II xxiii, 72-3; Od. x 5 13 -15 ). A ll this however does
not argue against attributing both nekuiai to one and the same author, who
must have had available to him a wealth o f legendary and religious
m aterial from epic and oral tradition, from w hich he could m ake his
selection. T h ere w ou ld be a difficulty here only if the details given in xxiv
contradicted the general concept of the underworld prevalent in the
archaic period; b u t there is in fact no contradiction between the account
here and popular geographical m ythology. T h e L eucadian R o ck is
certainly not C ap e Leukatas on the island of Leukas, or indeed any other
spot in the real w orld (cf. R . H ennig, Klio xxxv (1942), 331-40). Like the
underw orld itself, and its surroundings, it lies in the m ythical west, by the
stream of O ceanus (cf. W . Karl, Chaos und Tartaros in Hesiods Theogonie
(diss. Eriangen/N urem berg, 1967), 95-106). It m ay in early times have
becom e proverbial, threshold of death (cf. Sappho s leaf from the
Leucadian Rock; Euripides, Cyc., 163-7); cf. W ilam owitz, Untersuchungen,
73; A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv gg; A m eis-H en tzeCauer, and Stanford,
ad loc.; E. Janssens, L eucade et le pays des m orts , A C xxx (1961), 381 ff;
Erbse, Beitrge, 235 T h e sun god steers his team o f horses through the
after the sun has set. T h ese gates are also thought of as
being in the west, exactly opposite the point where the sun rises in the
m orning (iii 1, xii 3 -4); cf. A m eis-H e n tze-C a u er, and Stanford, ad loc.;
W . K arl, op. cit., 103; and the different (and hardly credible) views of
A . Lesky, A ia , W S lxiii (1948), 31 (= Ges. Schriften (Bern/M unich, 1966),
33). W e should not be surprised by the fact that the oveipwv is also
placed in the m ythical west. T h e is descended from N yx
(Hes. Th., 212), who lives in the west; a full and convincing account is in
W . K arl, op. cit., 6994. . . . : if the interpretation adopted
here is correct (cf. xi 1419 .), then only the second o f the alternatives
offered by Chantraine, Grammaire, i 123, can be correct, the first being au
del du cours de lO c a n . . . , and the second, le long d e . .
is (like xi 476b) obviously taken from II. xxiii 72b. T h e
exact m eaning, and genesis, of this form ulaic expression are difficult to

360
B O O K X X I V 9-16

determine. In any case here almost has the m eaning of


(im ages o f those w ho have their labours behind them , O . Regenbogen,
op. cit. (14.), 17); for a detailed discussion see W . Bergold, Der
Zweikampf des Paris und Menelaos (Bonn, 1977), 96 -7, who refers to II. iii
2749, w here the reading is preferred.
15 - 22 . O n arriving in Hades the souls of the suitors discover (: they
found before them , they m et) the spirits of A chilles and those heroes who
. were particularly close to him ; they see this group joined by the souls of
A gam em n on to the comrades slain with him and then witness a conversa
tion between A chilles and A gam em non (23-98). O n ly then does Hermes
bring the suitors in closer ( . . . TjAe, 99), and one of them,
A m phim edon, is brought into the conversation (99-204). T here is no
contradiction between 15 ff. and 99ff., as suggested by, am ong others, Page,
Odyssey, 119. T h e poet is rather using here (as in other passages) an epic
pattern drawn from tradition, and clearly discernible in the Iliad', cf. II. xviii
iff., w here A ntilochus finds A chilles by the ships (, 3) just when the
latter is pondering the fate o f Patroclus (6 -15), and then approaches
( , 16) to give Achilles the tragic news. Similarly in xviii 368 ff.
Thetis comes upon (etlp3, 372) H ephaestus as he is finishing a w ork of art
(37380), and then places herself at his side ( , 381), w here he
notices her. A n d finally an exam ple from the Odyssey itself: Odysseus looks
for his father, and finds him in the garden (, xxiv 226); he watches.the
old man at work, and considers what he should do (227-42), until finally he
approaches {, 243) anc* addresses him. T h e w hole problem is
correctly analysed by, am ong others, Thornton, People, 5 ff.; Erbse,
Beitrge, 236; Eisenberger, Studien, 324 n. 17; Fenik, Studies, 78-80, 96
(with additional examples). O th er critical objections have concerned the
chronological difficulties: apparently the souls of A chilles and A g a
m em non m eet for the first tim e only now, after so m any years (although
this encounter ought to have taken place before O dysseus own descent to
Hades); and A chilles seems to know nothing of his burial; cf. Kirk, Songs,
249. B ut the poet was prepared to risk this difficulty for the sake of the
poetic advantages o f the passage, w hich lie in the content of this exchange
of news in the underworld: once m ore (before the poem comes to its con
clusion) the good fortune of O dysseus and the fam e of Penelope are high
lighted by contrast with the fates of the other heroes; cf. Hlscher, op. cit.
(i-2 0 4 n .), 1 - 1 6 , esp. 912; Thornton, People, 7 fF.; Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.),
4 3 -77; W ender, op. cit. (Introd.), 34-44.
15 . i5 b = xi 465b, II. i i b, etc.
16 - 18 . = x i 468-70; cf. also iii 10912. H ere and in these other passages
Antilochus, son of Nestor, is placed on the same level as Patroclus and A jax
(cf. also 73-g), whereas in the Iliad he is given a subsidiary role (both in
general and in relation to Achilles, his principal function being to bring the
news o f Patroclus death); furthermore, the poet of the Odyssey knows the
story o f his death at the hands of M em non, son of Eos (iv 1878; cf. also xi
522). A ll this indicates that the poet knew an extended version of the saga

361
COMM ENTARY

later recorded in the post-Hom eric Aethiopis, in w hich A chilles killed


M em non in revenge for A ntilochus death, and thereby consciously
brought forward his own death; cf. the collection of testimonia and frag
m ents in Bethe, Odyssee, 1679. However, since the author o f the Odyssey
cannot have known the actual Aethiopis, a written com position o f later date,
his knowledge o f events not directly m entioned in the Iliad, but pre
supposed by that epic (as has been clearly shown by neo-analytical
research), m ust have come from familiarity with a poetic treatment of the
saga in pre-H om eric oral tradition. H ere he combines, and seeks to
reconcile, this material with the account of events given in the Iliad.
M aterial from this pre-Iliadic epic, w hich w e must postulate, and which
also appears to have included a description of A chilles funeral, has also
been used in the account w hich A gam em non gives to Achilles, 3694 (a
passage w hich reads like a sum m ary o f a fuller epic narrative). O n the
m ethodology and results of neo-analytical research cf. the instructive and
com prehensive account given b y W . K ulim an n, Z u r M ethode der N eo
analyse in der H om erforschung, WS xv (1981), 5-42 (with a very full
bibliography); on the particular problem s of xxiv 3697 see the cogent dis
cussion by H .-A . Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 44-8.
19. : here approx, so, as indicated . T h e heroes already nam ed, Patroclus,
A ntilochus, and A jax (ol ) form a circle round Achilles (); cf.
Eisenberger, Studien, 324 . 17.
20- 2 . = 387-9. T h e spirits of A gam em non and his com panions approach
this first group (), ju st as they approached O dysseus in the first
nekuia. O n 22 cf. A gam em n on s description at xi 40926, and Proteus
account to M enelaus, iv 5 12 -3 7 .
23 . ~ 105.
24 - 202 . T h e contributions of the two pairs of speakers are balanced in terms
o f length, as well as in content and attitude: Achilles, 24-34, A gam em non,
36-97; A gam em n on again, 10 6-19, and A m phim edon, 121-90. T ogether
the speeches form the preparation for, and justification of, A gam em n on s
sum m ing up o f the fate o f O dysseus (192-202), w hich is the point of the
w hole scene; elucidated by T hornton, People, 7 ff.; Fenik, Studies, 1489.
24- 35 . Achilles laments the bitter fate of his great adversary, the most power
ful com m ander at T roy, A gam em non. H e w ould rather have w ished him a
glorious death in the field. W e should not be troubled by the illogicality
presupposed b y this scene, an illogicality w hich has indeed only rarely
excited com m ent until recently. O n the one hand A chilles speech implies
that strangely the souls of A gam em non and Achilles are now m eeting for
the first time in Hades, nearly ten years after the death o f the former; on the
other hand A chilles is clearly aware o f the fate which befell A gam em n on on
his arrival hom e. T h e poets intention here is to provide a particularly vivid
contrast between the Xos o f Achilles, described at length by A g a
m em non (36), and the tragic end of the career of Agam em non, which
w ould have been w ell known to his audience, and which therefore needs
only to be briefly indicated by Achilles. T h e difference between the two

362
B O O K X X I V 16-36

heroes here is that A chilles found a glorious death in battle, and was buried
with the highest honours.
24 . 24b - vii i4b etc. O n the construction of -nepi + gen. ( ) cf.
xxiii 1 6 6 -7 n. T h e antithesis to the clause (24.-7) begins at , 28..
26 . ~ xix 110.
27 . = iii 220.
28 - 9 . (): introduces here (as often elsewhere) the antithesis to the
preceding statement: now, however5; cf. Ruijgh, rr pique, 798. dp a :
as it turned out5. . . . ): it was your fate too that
(death) w ould claim you before your time, prem aturely ( ) .
: m ust b aorist subj.; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 369; Shipp,
Studies, 360.
30 . i*s : (. . . moirciv) how you should have . . . , i.e. how m uch I
wish that you h a d . . $ $ : aor. m iddle; Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 382. r|s s: in enjoyment of the royal
honours, the royal state w hich you held5. O n cf. LfgrE col.
796, 30; the sam e com bination is found elsewhere only in the prob
lem atical II. xx 180, on w hich see E. H eitsch, Aphroditehymnus, Aeneas und
Homer (Gttingen, 1966), 80; H . Erbse, RMus. ex (1967), n f f .
31 . 3 11 = 27* etc.; 3 ib (~ 22b) = II. ii 359b etc.
32- 3 . = i 239-40, xiv 369-70.
34 . ~ v 312 (after II. xxi 281).
35 . = 191.
36 - 97 . A gam em non praises the 'os o f Achilles, w hich consists in what
A gam em non is to report, his glorious death and the high honours
accorded at his funeral. A gam em non s account is one of those m any
passages, most of them in direct speech, which together give a com pre
hensive picture of the Postiliaca (including the return of the heroes). It can
hardly be doubted that the poet is here basing his account on an oral epic
treatm ent of the material (a pre-Hom eric Aithiopis5 or A chilleis). It is no
less probable that the author of the Iliad had drawn important elements of
xvi-xxiii from the same source in m aking the man who took A chilles5place,
Patroclus, bear A chilles fate, as correctly perceived in principle by
D . M lder, Die Ilias und ihre (Quellen (Berlin, 1910), 15gff. O u r poet was
therefore familiar w ith both the pre-H om eric presentation o f the material,
and its transformation in the Iliad, we shall have cause to refer to both
sources5. It is however practically certain that he does not directly quote
from either, but sim ply uses them as a m odel for various motifs. Since he
rarely lifts material w ord for w ord from the Iliad (although cf. 3940.),
then it is probably reasonable to assume that the same applies to the use
m ade in xxiv 3697 of any pre-H om eric Aethiopis, as A . Dihle, Homer-
Probleme (O pladen, 1970), 17 ff., has em phasized; for a different view cf.
H . Pestalozzi, Die Achilleis als (Quelle der Ilias (Erlenbach and Zurich, 1945))
passim; W . K ulim ann, Die (Quellen der Ilias (W iesbaden, i960), 29-50
passim.
36 . T h e line is phrased in anticipation of 192, w hich opens A gam em nons

363
COMMENTARY

speech of 192-202, where he contrasts the of Achilles with the


immensely greater of Odysseus; cf. van der Valk, Textual Criticism,
239. 36b (= 11 ix 48511 etc.) used in the Odyssey only here.
37 . T h e os-clause (from here to aeio, 39) is used with causal sense, A ga
m em non chooses his w ords with reference to his own
(34). T p o irj: (in the area round the city of T ro y . ' here prob
ably refers to the w hole of Greece, so that 4 " m eans far from the
(Greek) hom eland ; cf. G . Steiner, LfgrE s.v. (with extensive bibliography),
. . . : used in a purely local sense, in contrast to aeio (39),
w here the body is the prize for w hich they fight.
39- 40 . 39a - I t xvi 775s; 39b-4 0 = II. xvi 775b-6 ; cf. also II. xvii 26-7:
v J . T h e three similar passages
(of II. xvi, xviii, Od. xxiv) have sometimes been thought to echo a passage
from a pre-Hom eric oral composition, referring to Achilles; cf. Pestalozzi,
op. cit., 18; Schadewaldt, Welt, 168 n. 65; Kullm ann, op. cit., 38. T h is is
surely not an instance of the repeated use o f a traditional phrase from the
rich store of form ulaic expression. R ather we have here the adoption of a
phrase form ulated with regard to a specific situation. T his non-formulaic
poetic phrase seems to have been coined originally with reference to
Cebriones, H ectors charioteer from II. viii onwards. T h e expression
fits Cebriones exactly; it is not so meaningful,
though it is not inappropriate, when used o f Achilles; cf. earlier opinions
expressed b y W . Diehl, Die wrtlichen Beziehungen zwischen Ilias und Odyssee
(Greifswald, 1938), 124; U . Hlscher, Gnomon xxvii (1955), 395; A . Dihle,
op. cit. (3 6 -7 n.), 22-5; Erbse, Beitraget 193-4 (and n. 72). -
( ): only here and II. xvi 775, xxi 503; , w hirl, is
derived from verb ', cf. Risch, Wortbildung, 175.
: (only here and II. xvi 776, xviii 26): great in your greatness ;
adv. is an ad hoc artificial creation from ', cf. Risch,
M H xxix (1972), 69 n. 10 (= Kleine Schriften (Berlin, 1981), 171 n. 10); Wort
bildung, 366. : , hapax in the Odyssey: art of
steering a chariot .
41 . : the w hole d ay . T h e genesis of this m uch discussed
phrase, in w hich - obviously strengthens the m eaning o f , has been
convincingly explained by Leum ann, Wrter, 98-9: it begins with pre-
H om eric formulations such as * (normal coalescence of
) (or am i ), in which was loosely associated with
the verb (w e fought on); in the developm ent of the epic language the
phrasing was com pletely restructured to - producing this
most unusual function of - in .
42 . 42a = II. vii 376s, xv 58s. : here used in an absolute sense, he
m ade an end of it .
44 . ~ II. xviii 233.
45 . : (cf. v 268 etc.) here lukew arm ; on the cleansing o f a corpse
with (attested in M yc.: a-re-pa /aleiphar), here oil for anointing ,
cf. M . Andronikos, Archaeologia W , 3, 25. For the detail of the scene

364
B O O K X X I V 36-57

which is only indicated in 4 4 -5 cf. the extended description II. xviii


343- 53
46 . 46s = iv 523s1; on 46b cf. iv 198 and above all the detailed account at II. xxiii
135-53 (which refers to the burial o f Patroclus). O n the offering o f hair in
ancient ritual cf. Andronikos, op. cit., 18-20.
47- 9 . Thetis rises from the sea with the Nereids (dXiyaiv) to raise the lament
(). T h is is surely a m otif from the old A ethiopis, which m ust have
exerted a sim ilar influence on the Iliad's description of how Thetis, with the
N ereids, raises the lam ent (xviii 51), and emerges from the sea to comfort
her son w eeping for Patroclus (xviii 6 5f.). :
echoed across the sea . O n 49 cf. xviii 88, 1 1 iii 34, xiv 506; and the similar
reaction of the M yrm idons w hen Thetis brought Achilles his weapons (11.
xix 1415). C f. G . K urtz, Darstellungsformen menschlicher Bewegung in der Ilias
(Heidelberg, 1966), 143 . 71.
50 - 7 . T h ese lines demonstrate clearly that the poet was not sim ply following
a pre-H om eric epic. T h e role given to Nestor here exactly corresponds to
the w ay he is presented in the Iliad. T h ere are also parallels with some of
the scenes in the Iliad w hich can hardly be fortuitous. T h e readiness to flee
on board the ships as fast as possible recalls the situation in II. ii where the
A chaean s are strongly inclined to return hom e (142-54), and it is only w ith
the greatest difficulty that O dysseus dissuades them (182 ff.). N estors inter
vention here is introduced in the same terms as at II. vii 325-6 and ix 94-5,
w here he also gives good counsel to the Achaeans. Finally 54 is m odelled
on II. iii 82; cf. Diehl, op. cit. (3g-4on.), 125.
50 . A s early as Aristarchus (schol, on 1) there has been felt to be some incon
sistency between 43 and 50b (= II. vii 432b):
Ayetv, cm ? ? > ras vavs; cf.
also G arbrah, op. cit. (i-2 0 4 n .), 12, 14. T here is in fact no such incon
sistency; the Achaeans first bring the body back to the cam p by the ships,
where, at a given time, they c a n y out the rites for the dead; when Thetis
appeared, however, they were on the point of running to the ships to
escape, ( can m ean both.) For a correct interpretation see Stssel,
op. cit. (Introd.), 49-50
51 . 5 i b = ii i88b (which refers to the prophet Halitherses).
52 . : (he spoke in the assem bly) fits better in the context of the
passages cited , II vii 326 and ix 95; cf. Diehl, op. cit. (39-40n.), 125
54 . : the present form (similarly #, H a ti) is certainly
strange in this context since the A chaeans had not yet started to flee, cf.
Shipp, Studies, 361. B ut here too the language is influenced by the Iliadic
m odel cited here: 0 and (Cease firing!), the parallel
words at II. iii 82, m ake perfect sense in their context.
55 . - 4 7 .
56 . : (metrical lengthening from - -) + gen. caring
about, concerned for .
57 . T his line describes the reaction to 54 (0 -) ju st as II. iii 84
follows on from 82 (57a = 11 iii 84"). T here the A chaeans gave up the

3
5
COMM ENTARY

(throwing missiles and shooting at Hector), and so here, in response to


N estors appeal, , they abandon their (hapax in the
Odyssey), i.e. the hasty withdrawal to the ships to escape. T h e idea that
here, exceptionally, m eans panic, fear rather than flight in pan ic
cannot be accepted; cf. J. G ruber, ber einige abstrakte Begriffe des frhen
Griechischen (M eisenheim , 1963), 19; Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 5 0 -1 .
58 . y c p o v T o s: Nereus.
59 . 59* = iv 719* etc.; 59b = //. xvi 670b, 68ob (in a similar context). H ere
m ust be supplied: they dressed you in im m ortal robes (presum ably chiton
and pharos; cf. II. xxiv 58 0 -1).
60 . T his passage has given rise to a num ber of questions. Aristarchus
objected that the reference to nine M uses is un-Hom eric. In fact elsewhere
in the Odyssey there is reference to only one M use (i 1, vii 63, 73, 481, 483).
T h e situation is a little different in the Iliad, w hich in some places recog
nizes the single M u se ( [i 1], ii 761), but elsewhere refers to several (but not a
fixed num ber; i 604, ii 484, 491, 594, 598, xi 218, xiv 508, xvi 112). T h e
question of w hether H esiod, w ho refers always to nine M uses ( Th. 60, 7 7 -
9, 9 16 -17), was influenced by Od. xxiv 60, or whether in fact both poets
were drawing on m aterial from an older source (an A ethiopis ?), has been
m uch discussed by Erbse, Beitrge, 19 4 -7. H e offers important argum ents
in favour o f the former possibility: -, as had already been
observed by A m eis-H e n tze-C a u er, ad loc., can at 60 only m ean nine in
all (a substantial num ber, m ade clearer by the typical num ber nine); on
the other hand Hesiod m ay have seen an opportunity to change the m ean
ing of , here used as a predicate, into a descriptive adjective (all nine
M uses), and so fix the num ber o f M uses at nine in conform ity with his
triadic and enneadic scheme. 6ob (=11. i 6o4b) is probably an inherited
form ulaic expression ( < ), as has been con
vincingly argued by Chantraine, Grammaire, i 124, and Hoekstra, Modifica
tions, 56 n. 3. It is not, however, possible to determ ine exactly the m eaning
of in this expression. In the context of the passage o f the Iliad,
on w hich this is based, it is possible to envisage A pollo as a sort o f cantor
(dot ) singing verses to w hich the M uses respond in chorus. In
the different context o f 60 the poet appears to have given the phrase a differ
ent m eaning: the situation pictured m ay perhaps be most closely com
pared with the lam ent for H ector, 11. xxiv 720-2. Despite the difficulties in
this passage (7 2 ib m ay be corrupt) it is quite clear that the poet pictures
dotSoi, w ho m ay b e professional musicians, perform ing as
, while the w om en , i.e. respond, as a kind of chorus,
with cries of m ourning between the verses () of the dotSoi. In the
light of this scene it seems reasonable to suppose that at xxiv 58-62 the
M uses act as (, 6 i), w hile the role taken in the earlier
passage by the T rojan w om en is here assigned to the Nereids (1
at, 59); as interpreted by A m eis-H e n tze-C au er, ad loc. T h e
half-line taken from II. i 604 is thus seen not to be used proprio sensu in its
new context. F o r an extensive discussion of ritual lam ent see Andronikos,

366
B O O K X X I V 57-66

Archaeobgia W , 12; M . W egner, Archaeobgia U , 29 and 34; G . Petersm ann,


Die m onologische T oten klage der Ilias , RMus cxvi (1973); 3 -16 . T h e
m ourning N ereids were probably a feature of pre-Iliadic descriptions o f the
burial of A chilles (which m ay have prom pted the poet of the Iliad to intro
duce a N ereid scene in xviii). T h is does not, however, necessarily follow for
the M uses, and these m ay have been introduced by the author of the
Odyssey.
62 . T h e exact m eaning of the yap-clause cannot be exactly determ ined,
largely because of the uncertainty o f the m eaning of the verb. ()- is
a reduplicated, them atic aorist from . A s with the analogous forms
and , We w ou ld expect here a transitive m eaning (set in
vigorous m otion); and indeed in m ost instances certainly is
transitive, II. 146, Od. iv 712, xxiii 222, and even Od. xix 201, w here the
object north w in d can easily b e supplied. It is true that at II. xiii 78, Od. viii
539 and xxiv 62 one is m ore inclined to give the verb an intransitive sense
(Tose up ), w hich could have developed under the influence, for example,
of the intr. perf. -, cf. A m eis-H e n tze-C au er, ad loc.; Schwyzer,
Grammatik, i 749; Chantraine, Grammaire, i 397-8; H . Rix, I F Ixx (1965),
29-49, esp. 29-30 n. 14; Shipp, Studies, 366. However, in all three cases,
with different argum ents, it is possible to show that the verb has a transitive
character. T h u s, with at 62 w e should supply an object which,
though not explicitly stated, is to be understood from the context: T h e
clear-singing M u se so roused [the m ourning of the Argives] . T h is inter
pretation avoids the very dubious assum ption that here means
exceptionally the song (of the M uses) ; and Atyeta applied to a person is
entirely plausible (cf. AiyOs , I t i 248 etc.). O ne detail does
disturb: the use of the singular. Should it be understood as a collective? O r
does the poet m ention only the one M use, the leader, as representing the
w hole group ()? Cf. A . H eubeck, H om erisch , peitsch, .
vergt Sprachforschung xcvii (1984), 88-95, esP- 94 ff
63 . 63 = v 278, vii 267; 63b = II. xxiv 73b. : here uninterrupted ,
: (sing.!) on the genesis of this unusual phrase cf.
M eister, Kunstsprache, 33 n. 3. T h e long delay before the funeral is not easy
to explain. Possibly w e should see the influence of some pre-Iliadic A chilles
epic. O r perhaps we should simply conclude that such superhum an heroes
deserve an unusually long period of m ourning between death and burial.
65 . : Andronikos, Archaeobgia W , 12 1 -3 1, correctly points out
that H o m er speaks only o f crem ation, and thus describes a practice which
becam e increasingly popular in G reece from the protogeom etric period
onwards and in m any areas prevailed com pletely. T h e poet nowhere
allows us to discern even a vague m em ory of the custom prevalent in
M ycenaean times of interment. W e can therefore reasonably assume that
(as in other areas o f daily life) even the poetic description of the funeral rites
largely reflects the customs of H om er s day.
65b- 6 . ~ I t xxiii 166. A n extensive description of the procedure is given in It
xxiii 166-83. : cf. i 92 m

367
COMMENTARY

67- 8*. A chilles body is burned , i.e. wearing the


given by the N ereids (59). T h e poet deliberately omits here any
reference to the usual ritual b u rn in g of a dead warriors weapons (cf. for
exam ple IL vi 41618; Od. xi 74, xii 13). In the version of the legend known
to the author o f the Odyssey (cf. xi 543-64) the arm our of Achilles, which
had been m ade for him by Hephaestus, is indeed not consigned to the
flames, but ignites the fateful between O dysseus and Ajax.
For the detail that Achilles is burned (ev) dAet \
cf. IL xxiii 170, w here Achilles had placed am phoras of honey and
un guen t ( : cf. 45) on the pyre of Patroclus. In both passages the
reference is to the ritual offering o f honey and oil for the dead; cf.
Andronikos, op. cit. (65 .), 256.
68b- 70 . : they m oved fast, rushed forward with their
arras, i.e. they perform ed an arm ed dance round the burning pyre ; cf.
Leum ann, Wrter, 287 (who refers to IL xxiv 616). A similar honour, a
threefold procession round the body, had been accorded to the dead
Patroclus after his corpse had been recovered from the battlefield {II. xxiii
4 -16 ). O n the custom cf. Andronikos, op. cit. (65.), 14 -15 . -
: sc. . 7o = IL ii 810, viii 59. : infantry and
those w ho fight from chariots .
71 . W hen the flames o f Hephaestus had finished their work on your body,
had consum ed the corpse . . as at IL ix 468 etc.
72- 5 . T h e following m orning () the bones of A chilles were collected,
and laid in an am phora filled with unm ixed w ine and oil. T h e golden
am phora was a gift from Thetis for her son, and said to have been
presented by Dionysus. T h e poet refers here to the m entioned
in the Mad, albeit in a passage w hich has been regarded as suspect since
ancient times, xxiii 92; cf. W . Diehl, op. cit. (39400.), 1256, w ho argues
for the authenticity of the line.
72. t o i : ethic dat.
74. T h e line was w rongly athetized by Aristarchus (on account o f the refer
ence to Dionysus); cf. van der V alk, Textual Criticism, 116; G . A . Privitera,
Dioniso in Omero e nella poesia greca arcaica (Rom e, 1970), 4995.
76- 9 . 77 ~ /. xxi 28; 76 18 above. T h is golden am phora now holds the
m ingled ( ) bones o f A chilles and those o f Patroclus, w hich until then
had been preserved in a golden bowl (; cf. IL xxiii 243-4, 2524); and
so Patroclus wish (IL xxiii 9 1-2 ) is fulfilled. W hile the poets m ain inten
tion in 76 -7 is to forge the link with the Iliad (xxiii), he is also influenced by
the content of his pre-Iliadic source, in w hich Antilochus probably played
the role that the IHad attributes to Patroclus. So the bones o f Antilochus are
kept alongside those o f A chilles and Patroclus, although slightly separated
( , i.e. in a separate vessel); cf. W . Kulim ann, op. cit. (36-970.), 40-2;
K . Reinhardt, Die Mas und ihr Dichter (Gttingen 1961), 362. For the
phrasing o f 79 cf. 18; for the content cf. IL xxiv 574-5, which do not neces
sarily contradict 79. Lines 77 -9 , condem ned b y Pestalozzi, op. cit. (36 -
97 .), 24, as inauthentic (78-9 appear to have been regarded as
B O O K X X I V 67-85

su sp ect in a n cie n t tim es, p o ssib ly o n a c c o u n t o f th e a p p a re n t co n trad ictio n


w ith II, x xiv 5 7 4 -5 ), a re u n d o u b te d ly a u th en tic p re cisely b e c a u se o f the
referen ce to th e Iliad. M o re o v e r 80 w o u ld m a k e little sen se i f 7 7 - 9 are
om itted ; cf. R e in h a rd t, op. cit., 351 n. 1.
80- 1 . 1 : i.e. round the bones o f the heroes laid in am phoras, the
A chaeans build a burial m ound (cf. the som ewhat m ore detailed descrip
tion at IL xxiii 2556), and so fulfilled the wish expressed by A chilles at II.
xxiii 2438 ( ~ IL xxiii 247, ' re),
: in connection with the w ord ? has lost some
of its original, religious m eaning, but not all the religious connotations:
filled w ith unusual inner strength ; cf. R. W lfm g -vo n M artitz, Glotta
xxxviii (i960), 272-307, esp. 30off.; J. P. Locher, Untersuchungen zu
hauptschlich bei Homer (Bern 1963), 56 ff.
82 . e m ]: cf. , xii 11 . 82b = II. vii 8 6 b.
83 . : {hapax) visible from far off . : (~
) from the sea ; on -<fn- formations cf. M eister, Kunstsprache, 13 5 -
46; G hantraine, Grammaire, i 234-41.
84 . : (perf.) they live . Lines 82-4 probably indicate that the poet
knew of a w hich lay on the T rojan coast, and which was reputed to
be the tom b of Achilles. A n d indeed there was such an , first
referred to in literature by A lcaeus, fr. 14 D iehl (354 L P, Voigt). It is of
course possible that it was not until later, after H om eric times, that the
Aeolians identified the striking tum ulus on Sigeion with the m onum ent to
Achilles described in the Odyssey. T h e problem is a com plex one, and
cannot be discussed at length in the present context. It is intimately related
to the question o f the original concept o f Achilles, and the pre-Iliadic
tradition of the hero s fate after death. T h e version of the legend pre
supposed b y H om er, w hich has the soul o f A chilles descend to Hades, is
not in accordance with the (post-Homeric) Aethiopis attributed to Arctinus,
according to w hich T hetis snatches her son from the pyre, and transports
him to the emo) (P rod. 66; cf. K ullm an n, op. cit. (3697 n.), 54,
additionally 40-2), i.e. elevates him to hero status, or deifies him. T here is
some merit in the argum ent that the cyclic Aethiopis follows the tradition of
pre-H om eric epic, whereas H om eric poetry itself had rationalized the old
legend; cf. for exam ple K . Rter, Odysseeinterpretationen, 6? n. 25. T h e view
adopted here, w hich m akes a clear distinction between a pre-Hom eric oral
epic about Achilles, and the (written) Aethiopis com posed with a knowledge
of the H om eric poem , meets the objections expressed b y A . Dihle, op. cit.
(36-97 n.), 17 ff., about the neo-analytical approach. In any event it is worth
rem em bering that from an early date A chilles was worshipped as a god
am ong G reek settlers on the B lack Sea as ; there was a cult,
am ong other places, on an island called at the m outh o f the
D anube. O n all these questions cf. the comprehensive study by
H. H om m el, D er G ott A chilleu s , Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akad.
Wiss. (1980) i, w ho thinks that A chilles was originally a god of the dead.
85 - 92 . It seems probable that T hetis had instituted funeral games in honour

369
COMM ENTARY

o f her son in the pre-Homeric Achilles epic! If this supposition is correct,


there is also an indirect reference to this older description at II. xxiii, .where
A chilles holds games in honour o f his substitute, Patroclus. F o r the post-
H om eric Aethiopis an in honour o f Achilles is guaranteed by the
testim ony of Proclus ( 67 Kullm ann),
85- 6 . Achilles had provided prizes out o f his own store (II. xxiii 256-61).
H ere T hetis begs valuable from the gods, and places them at the
centre o f the competitors arena ( as at II. xxiii 507; cf. LfgrE
s.v. ) for the best of the Achaeans. 86b = II xi 22 7b etc.
87 . T h e line is the same as xi 416 (except that , solemn obsequies,
replaces )', similarly 90 ~ xi 418, with replacing .
However, while at xi 416 we should follow Aristarchus and some o f the
M S S in reading , here the majority reading gives
a better sense (van der Valk, Textual Cnticism, 149, and J. Bechert, op. cit.
(xxiii 5 .), 264-5). T his does mean that the (original) structural corres
pondence o f x i . . , . . . , 4i6 , and . . , , 418,
is here abandoned in favour o f a switch between first and second person
hence the variant for , which is surely an ancient con
jecture.
89 . : m ust be taken as subjunctive. T h e form is certainly strange
in com parison with 8 (viii 243, xix 328): one w ould expect ~
(with metrical tf); Schulze, Quaes Hones, 331, Schwyzer, Grammatik,
i 792, and Chantraine, Grammaire, i 458, m ay be correct in assum ing here
an old athematic subjunctive characterized by lengthening o f indicative
-vv- to -VV-; cf. the extensive discussion by Erbse, Beitrge, 1978.
-: better (Thiersch). Certainly w e cannot agree
here with Shipp, Studies, 360, w ho sees both verbs as regular indicatives,
and assumes a quite abnorm al syntax , t refers to putting on the
(loincloth) w orn b y competitive boxers and wrestlers (II. xxiii 683;
cf. also 710), but also by soldiers (II. iv 187 = 216); cf. M arinatos, Archae-
obgia A , 12). L in e 89b is perhaps to be understood as when the youn g m en
. . . prepare for com petition ( iv 1 ^), with used here
in its secondary m eaning com petition (originally p rize ; cf. 85 and 91). It
is possible that the shift in m eaning to competitive gam es began with this
com plex of m eanings (originally when they prepared for com petition); cf.
in addition S. Laser, LfgrE s.v. .
90 . ~ xi 418; cf. 87. : regard with w onder ; cf. H . J. M ette, Glotto.
xxxix (1961), 4 9 -71, esp. 50.
91 . : in your honour . 9 ib = 85b.
92 . poire a G e n s : only once in the Odyssey, but frequent in the Iliad.
92b = 11 xxiv 749b (of the dead Hector).
93- 7. Here A gam em non takes up the thought expressed by Achilles at 28-
34, and confirms A chilles view from his own experience. H e contrasts the
glorious fate o f A chilles with his own miserable end on returning home,
and so prepares indirectly for the comparison, inspired by the next speech,
that of A m phim edon (121-90), between his own fate and that o f O dysseus,
w hich surpasses even the glorious destiny of the son of Peleus.

370
B O O K X X I V 85-104

93- 4 , iis: introduces A gam em n on s sum m ing up. In dying not only did
A chilles not lose his , but he also w on noble (undying fame)
which will last for all time (atei) am ong all m en (94s = i 299*, xix 334a). W e
should not overlook the fact that the poet here forecasts im m ortality for the
Iliad.
95 . But w hat pleasure can I have in the fact that I survived the w ar? A t g5a
A gam em non cites* A chilles w ords o f 11. xviii 80; 95b = 32815 etc.
96 . g6b = iii i94b. For Zeus responsibility cf. . 2g; to a certain
extent Aegisthus and Clytaem estra were only instruments in the hand of
the suprem e god.
97. 97b - iv 92b (which also refers to Clytaem estra). T h e extent of
Clytaem estra s responsibility for her hu sban ds death is variously indicated
in those passages of the poem w hich describe the fate which awaited
A gam em non on his return. H is words here, at 97, are closest to the account
at xi 405-34, but go further in accusing Clytaem estra of having taken part
in the m urder herself, as Aegisthus accom plice. In the earlier saga known
to the poet Clytaem estra had jo in ed in planning the murder, but had not
herself been involved in the execution o f the plan. T h e extreme formulation
of 97 prepares indirectly for the praise of Penelope. O n the details cf,
P. Bergm an, Der Atridenmythos in Epos, Lyrik und Drama (diss. Erlangen/
N urem berg, 1970), 4 -4 1.
98 . = iv 620 etc. T h e line concludes the encounter between Achilles and
A gam em n on (ig b97), and serves as a transition to the exchange between
A gam em non and the suitor A m phim edon. O n the formal structure o f the
series of scenes from 15 cf. 15-22 n,
99 - 100 . T ogeth er with the souls o f the suitors, who up to now had stood
apart, H erm es now approaches the group around A gam em non and
Achilles. $ ? : (99b = i 84b etc.) the god is
designated here by m eans of his most com m on titles, neither o f w hich has
yet been satisfactorily explained (cf. i 38 and 84nn.). O n see the
attractive theory o f H . K oller, Glotta liv (1976), 214, and R . Janko, Glotta lvi
(1978), 19 2 -5 (with extensive bibliography), w ho suggest a developm ent
from *8--, escort (^; cf. verb forms ye , 6, ^, 9,
, loo, w hich suggest the office o f ). O n
cf. Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v., and latterly K oller, op. cit., 2 1 1 -1 6 ( *
* > ) O Suodji: dat. o f the agent.
101 . *: A chilles and A gam em n on. : on m iddle cf.
J. Bechert, op. cit. (xxiii 5.), 222.
102 - 4 . 102 ~ 2o; 104a =//. xiii 641; I04b = iv 555b. A m phim edon, son of
M elaneus, and one of the boldest o f the suitors (xxii 242-4), had fallen by
the hand of T elem achus (xxii 277-84). T h e ties of hospitality linking the
house of A gam em n on and A m ph im edon s family, expounded in detail at
114 -19 , are an invention o f the authors, introduced to establish a prior
relationship betw een A gam em non and A m phim edon, which provides a
basis for the present conversation; there is no question of this detail having
been present in the older epic tradition; cf. St ssei, op. cit. (Introd.), 64-5.

371
COMM ENTARY

105 . ~ 23.
106 - 19 . A gam em non asks A m ph im edon what fate met him and his
companions.
106 . $ . . . : W hat fate have you suffered that you have
m ade your w ay below ? : appears as a periphrasis for
the underw orld only here in H om eric epic; m ore frequent is , dark
ness, place o f darkness , from w hich ( < *-\ similarly
< *-) is derived; cf. Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v.
. T h e acc. is used in its dative function expressing the goal towards
which the action expressed by the verb proceeds.
107 - 8 . A gam em non is struck by the fact that A m phim edon and all his
com panions form a select group of the same age (i.e. they are all equally
youthful): O n e [the omission of n s is strange; cf. Shipp, Studies, 360] could
hardly have m ade a better jo b ( aAAcu?) of picking out, and bring
ing together, the best m en in a city. A gam em non therefore supposes that
the group must have m et their end in some com m on venture. T h e various
forms w hich such a venture m ight have taken are reviewed in the lines
w hich follow.
109 - 13 . T h e threefold question ( ) w hich A gam em non puts to
A m phim edon is an almost exact verbal parallel to the question put to
A gam em non him self by O dysseus at xi 399403; on the problem s of
content and language (esp. >xi 403: -01, xxiv 113) cf. xi 39 9 -
403 . W ith this (certainly intentional) reusing of the lines in a different con
text there is, besides the necessary slight alteration of language, also an
alteration o f formal syntax (which does not greatly affect the m eaning), in
113; in xi 403 O dysseus had considered whether enem y forces (
vSpes) had killed A gam em non () while he fought for, i.e. to conquer,
their city and wom enfolk (); at xxiv 113, however, A ga
m em non s supposition is that enem y forces fighting () to save
their city and w om en had killed the attacking suitors. In a sense he is not
far from the truth, for Odysseus had been fighting (with the aid o f his three
com panions) to rescue his city and his wife from the enem y and had been
victorious.
114 - 19 . A gam em non seeks to justify his request for information by rem ind
ing A m phim edon that he is a (cf. 104 .). T h e poet assumes here, as
at xi 447-8, that in collecting allies for the cam paign against T ro y
A gam em non had com e t o .Ithaca, stayed in the house o f his old friend
M elaneus, and had from there established his relationship with O dysseus;
cf. Finley, World, 119. It is not certain to w hat extent the story here is
influenced by a pre-Iliadic version o f the legend. T h e old saga (or pre-
Iliadic epic) w ould have included an embassy to Ithaca (as to the other
A chaean chiefs), but it is far less certain whether A gam em n on w ou ld have
been nam ed as leader, or m em ber, o f this and sim ilar missions. T h e
relationship o f hospitality between A gam em non and M elaneus is certainly
an invention o f the author of the Odyssey (cf. 102-40.), an d the post-
H om eric Cypria appears to know only of an em bassy consisting o f

372
B O O K X X I V 105-121

M enelaus, Nestor, and Palam edes; cf. Procl. Ckr., 103, 25-7 A llen = 22
Kullm ann.
114 . O n H 4 b cf. i 187: . . . * tivat. : (in the non-
religious context) (proudly, solem nly, firmly) m aintain ; cf. L . C .
M uellner, The Meaning of Homeric through its Formulas (Innsbruck,
1978). 83-8.
115. . . as at I I xv i8 a etc. 77 oO (synizesis!). )
(contracted) for expected ( I i xxi 442). : c f i 176. and bibl.
T h e discovery of M yc. do-de /d-de/ into the house on T h eb an linear B
tablets (T H O f 26 for example) has thrown new light on the genesis o f the
H om eric form; cf. VL Lejeune, Studi micenei ed egeo-anaiolici xvii (1976),
79- 84
116-17. n 6 h = viii 5 i8 b. 117s = xi 372s1; 11715 = viii 5oob. It is not clear w hat
MeveXdco belongs with: connecting it with (and
) presupposes M enelaus participation in the em bassy (first
recorded in the Cypria \ cf. 11417 .); b u t taking it with produces a
rather im precise effect. Perhaps w e should assume w ith Stssel, op. cit.
(Introd.), 67-8 , a construction .
118 - 19 . L in e 118 presents considerable difficulties; cf. latterly Stssel, op. cit.
(Introd.), 229. T h e reading p3given in all m anuscripts (even P.) m ust be
preferred to Aristarchus reading (cf. schol, on II. x 48), favoured by von der
M h ll, , w hich is surely a conjecture designed to avoid the awkward
dative . T h is dative is best explained by Chantraine, Grammaire,
ii 76, as a comitative dative (of time), en un mois entier ; som ewhat differ
ently by Palm er, Companion, 135, as instrum ental , originally b y means
o f . is difficult to understand, and possibly corrupt (Schwartz, Odys
see, 332; von der M hll, ad loc.); on the older attempts at em endation cf.
A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv 102. L in e 118 probably means that A ga
m em non and his com panions had taken a m onth altogether ( ?) over
their mission, the journ ey to Ithaca, the stay there (with the difficult task of
persuading O dysseus to take part in the campaign), and the return
journ ey; a similar interpretation is given in A m eis-H e n tze-C a u er, and
Stanford, ad loc. It is im probable, as some have suggested, that the period
refers only to . : A ttic ?, both from
*oApos- : (for evpvv) as at II. vi 291, ix 72, an artificial
form ation m odelled on t v (i 197); cf. K , W itte, RE viii, 2225,
22367; Hoekstra, Modifications, 112. 119 a =//. xxiii 37*. :
(only) with difficulty . : redupl. aor, of ,
w in over, prevail upon (cf. xxii 213). 1 ig b = xviii 356b.
120. - 35, 191.
121 - 90 , A m ph im edon s reply.
121 - = x i 397; II. ii 434, etc. T h is form ulaic line of solem n address, omitted
from som e M SS, has been regarded by some as a late interpolation; cf.
A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv 102, and latterly von der M h ll. T h e repeated
address o f 122, pe<f>s> is indeed striking, but not in fact without
parallel; cf. xi .92-3, 473_4 j 6 17 -18 . Furtherm ore 121 is very close to

373
COMMENTARY

10 9-13, just as the sim ilar-sounding xi 397 is close to 399-403 (= xxiv 10 9-


13); the poet s intention is dearly to recall the similar conversational
situation in the first nekuia; cf. Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 68,
122 - 4 . 12 2b = xv I55b; i2 3 b ~ i i6 g b etc. A m phim edon responds first to
A gam em n on s second question of 1 1 5 -1 9 ( answers ),
115). O n ly then does he turn to the first, and more important, question of
10 6-13, and at 12 3 -4 undertakes to fulfil A gam em nons request
, : on cf. . Krischer, op. cit. (xxiii
225 .), 14658; A m phim edon promises an objective account w hich will
include all the important events, but exclude the inessential. -
xeX os: (as at v 326 etc.): the gen. narrows down the m eaning o f the
w ord with w hich it is constructed, i.e. the end consisting of death ; cf.
A . H eubeck, Glotta 1 (1972), 139-40.
125 . ~ xx 290. : imperf.
126 . ~ i 249 (= xvi 126). : like , i 249-50, xvi
1267: m ake an end (by m arrying one o f the suitors) .
127 . T h e suitor rem ains unaware of the real reason for Penelopes indeci
sion, and gives his own interpretation of her behaviour (which from his
point o f view is entirely plausible), which accords with the explanation he
gives o f subsequent events in 167 ff. . . . : as at ii
289 etc.
128 - 46 . T h is is the third account o f Penelopes ruse. T h e earlier accounts
w ere given by Antinous (ii 93-110 ) and later by Penelope herself (xix 13 9 -
56). T h e w ording in all three accounts is broadly similar (on the parallel
xxiv 143 = 11 io 7 a = xix 153 see below). T h e very m inor differences reflect
the differences in perspective and attitude o f the speaker (the standpoint of
a suitor or Penelope). For the m ost part these variations are superficial, for
exam ple , ii 95 and xxiv 130, com pared with ? ,
xix 140. A few more significant differences appear where the speaker
concerned relates events from an individual viewpoint to justify his/her
own actions: ii 93 = xxiv 128 against xix 138; ii 108-9 = xxiv 144-5 against
xix 15 4-5; and significantly , ii 106 = xxiv 141, as opposed to , xix
151. T h is threefold presentation o f the same material has seemed
objectionable to m any critics and has given rise to analytical inferences. It
has been m uch debated which of the three passages is original and w hich
are borrowings (by later poets). M any different conclusions have been
reached, o f which only the most im portant can be mentioned here. Priority
has been given to the passage in ii by E. Bethe, O dyssee-Problem e ,
Hermes lxiii (1928), 8192; to the account in xix by W ilam owitz, Heimkehr,
39, Focke, Odyssee, 319, B. Stockem, Die Gestalt der Penelope in der Odyssee
(diss, Cologne, 1955); 48, and Page, Odyssey, 121; and to the version in xxiv
b y Schwartz, Odyssee, n 8 and 302. T h a t all three accounts are derived from
a com m on source, which has not survived, is argued by Bchner,
Penelopeszenen, 129-67; von der M h ll, Odyssee, 705 and 765 (who
suggests a Thesprotis as a source; som ewhat differently in col. 735); M er-
kelbach, Untersuchungen, 63; F. W ehrli, Penelope und T elem achos,

374
B O O K X X I V 121-128

M H xvi {1959), 228-37, esp. 229 . 2; and Rter, Odysseeinterpretationen,


1902. A useful critical review of these discussions is given in Bona, Studi,
107-29; cf. also Eisenberger, Studien, 54. . 27; Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.),
231. A gainst analytical interpretations it m ust be rem em bered that: first,
the account of the ruse is indispensable in all three passages, fulfilling a dif
ferent poetic function in each context; second, the episode is recounted at
each o f three com positionally im portant places in the epic, at the beginning
o f the open confrontation with the suitors, at the turn o f events in favour of
O dysseus, and after the confrontation with the suitors is over, cf.
W . K rehm er, Z ur Begegnung zwischen Odysseus und Athene (Od. xiii, 187-440)
(diss. E rlangen/N urem berg, 1973), 3943; third, the device o f repeating an
episode with largely the sam e w ording is w holly in accord w ith the
technique of archaic epic, and should indeed recall in each instance the
context in w hich the account was previously heard, cf. Krehm er, op. cit.,
3948; fourth, there are no contradictions either between the three
accounts, or with their respective contexts, cf. F. M . Com bellack, T hree
O dyssean Problem s, California Studies in Antiquity vii (1973), 17-4 6 , esp.
34-5, W ender, op. cit. (Introd.), 347; and fifth, there is no proof, nor is it
likely, that the poet quoted5 m ore or less w ord for word an independent
source at three points in his epic. O n the other hand he m ust surely have
known a version of the story, probably in oral epic form, in which
Penelopes web was central to the action, as opposed to its m arginal
position in the Odyssey; it is a reasonable supposition that in this older treat
m ent the discovery o f the deception coincided with the return o f Odysseus;
cf. W oodhouse, Composition, 6 6 -71, esp. 70 -1; Lesky, Homeros, 116;
W . Kullm ann, D ie neue A nthropologie der O dyssee und ihre
Voraussetzungen, in Didactica Classica Gandensia xvii-xviii (1977/8), 3 7 -
49, esp. 39-40; idem , WS N F xv (1981), 5-4 2 , esp. 3 5-8 . For an explana
tion o f individual points o f language see ii 9 3 -1 io n.
128 - 9 . |
. . . : the introduction to the account of the w eaving is
almost identical with the opening o f the parallel passage in ii 9 3 -4 ( B
. . .). In xix 138-9 the form ulation is m arkedly different: s
\ ) . . . .
T h e account of xix omits the striking introduction rvBe
( ? , xix 137S seems to lead better to 138-9), and
m oreover , which seems to suit the context better, is dependent on
. H ow ever the passages in ii and xxiv are no less clearly
form ulated: ii 97 (= xxiv 128) is preceded by ii 89-92 (the sam e ideas are
expressed in xxiv 126-7), w hich refer to the of Penelope; in both
cases, however, ? ? m eans that Penelope resorted to the trick
of w eaving alongside other deceptions, rather than that the weaving and
the schem ing against the suitors were two separate actions each occupying
a period of three years, such as A ntinous indicates in ii. Both passages (ii
88-9 and xxiv 106--7) refer then to the same period o f three years; correctly
interpreted by Thornton, People, 150 n. 13, against the misconceptions of

375
COM M ENTARY

W oodhouse, Composition, 70 -1; Page, Odyssey, 1201; W ehrli, op. cit.


(128-460.)) 228-37; and Kirk, Songs, 244-5. T here is only one (unim port
ant) difference in the information given in the accounts o f ii and xxiv:
according to Antinous some weeks elapsed between the discovery o f the
deception (which clearly took place shortly before the point at w hich the
poem opens) and the com pletion o f the handiwork; whereas A m phim edon
places the display o f the com pleted w ork at the very time o f O dysseus
return (147). Incidentally the form of words used to describe the weaving of
the shroud, both at xix 139 and ii 94 (= xxiv 129), is quite correct, and in
keeping with H om eric usage. In some instances clearly retains its
original m eaning o f loom (i 357 = xxi 351 = II. vi 491); however usually it
refers to the finished article m ade at the loom; this is particularly clear at
(vii n o v.l.), to produce a web with craftsmanship, skil
fully ; cf. Ii. iii 1256 and xx 440 -1, where the phrase is
am plified by elaboration of as ; and Hes. Op. 64,
. A n intermediate range o f m eaning is
apparent in v 62 and x 221-3. probably meant originally
then to set up a w eb , i.e. to set, stretch the warp; cf. G . W ickert-M tcknat,
Arckaeologia R, 4 1-6 . It is significant that (129) can also be used
with the object ( , ix 422, the subject being
O dysseus!): with the action Penelope can also be said to
tv, and similarly in connection with her web she can say 4
B (xix 137), using a phrase drawn from the technical
language of spinning and weaving; cf. W ickert-M icknat, op. cit., 46 n. 209.
loros is also indirectly attested in M yc. Greek: cf. gen. pi. i-te-ja-o /histej-
jhn/ P Y A d 684, weaving w om en .
142 - 3 . L in e 142 (= ii 107 = xix 152) sounds formulaic, as does 143, though
the latter is uncertainly attested, both here and in the two parallel passages;
cf, von der M h ll, ad loc. ii 107a (add. pauci codd,), xix 153 ( om. non-
n ulli), xxv 143 (om. com plures). T h e w ording of this same line is also
used as the second h alf o f a sim ilar form ulaic expression in x 469-70 (with
the variation ] but again x 470 is only poorly attested), and in
Hes. Th. 58 -9 (59 is certainly genuine; cf. M . L. West, ad loc.). Since a
sim ilarly expanded expression is found at xi 2945 (= xiv 2934 = h.Ap.
349-50) it is reasonable to suppose that xxiv 143 (and ii 107* and xix 158)
m ay well be genuine. Cf. also x 469-70 n.
147- 90 . Follow ing on from the account of Penelopes w eb A m phim edon
relates the events from the arrival o f Odysseus in Ithaca to the killing of the
suitors. H e sum m arizes the action of xiiixxiii, and so continues the
sum m ary given b y O dysseus to his wife in xxiii 310 -4 1 (cf. H eubeck,
Dichter, 38) in a similarly subjective vein. T his subjective colouring of the
account (cf. 127 and 12 8 -4 6 nn.) is apparent from the outset (147-50), with
the juxtaposition o f the com pletion o f the and the hero s return,
rre , 149, does not m ean on the same day , but that the events took
place at approxim ately the sam e tim e (cf. Bona, Studi, 111); nevertheless
A m ph im edon s account does shorten the period of some weeks, accord-

376
B O O K X X I V 128-158

ing to the indications given elsewhere in the poem between the discovery
of Penelope s deception and the appearance of the hero. T h is is quite
understandable in view of the poets intention to ailow A m phim edon to
relate the events from his own standpoint. T h e suitor omits the lapse of
time betw een the two events, and so omits any m ention of the phase in
which he and his com panions established themselves in O dysseus house
and squandered his possessions, and thus clearly put themselves in the
w rong (cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 236-7). A m phim edon thus shifts attention away
from the outrage com m itted b y the suitors, and implies that the fault lay
m ainly w ith Penelope, w ho had for so long kept the suitors at arm s length
by her ruses. It is undoubtedly true that the older saga did closely associate
in time the com pletion o f the shroud and the return of Odysseus, but the
idea that the poet here deliberately echoes the earlier version of the story, or
even quotes from the older w ork (as suggested for exam ple by W oodhouse,
Composition, 70 -1, and Lesky, Homeros, 116), is hardly convincing. T h e
suitor gives his own version o f events as he rem em bers them, and in order
to present him self in the best light. T h is is also true with regard to another
detail o f his story, w here he speaks of a conspiracy betw een the couple over
the trial of the bow, in other words bringing forward the reunion of
O dysseus and Penelope to a tim e before the trial o f the bow (167-9). Here
too there can b e no question of the poet drawing on an earlier form of the
story (as M erkelbach suggests, Untersuchungen, 7). A s Finsler, Homer ii 438,
correctly emphasizes, the w hole episode m ust have seem ed to the suitor on
reflection to have been pre-arranged b y the couple. C f. further Bona, Studi,
123; H . Vester, Gymnasium Ixxv (1968), 429; T hornton, People, 106-8;
Eisenberger, Studien, 272 n. ig.
147 . eu: ju st as . : here w eb (cf. 139, 145).
149 . : introduces the m ain clause. ----- : cf.
O . Tsagarakis, Nature and Background of Major Concepts of Divine Power in
Homer (Am sterdam , 1977), 1 1 1 12. T h e is because it has
brought the suitors to an evil end.
150- 3 . 150 ~ iv 517; 152* = iv 33b; i52b = viii 44511, xiii 425b; 153 ~ xvi 169.
Aristarchus considered the passage suspect: o -
v ; It is futile to ask where A m phim edon
acquired his knowledge: the poet sim ply attributes this (accurate) piece of
information to him. T h e similarity of w ording (150 ~ 1V517 etc.) is perhaps
intended once more to draw attention to the contrasting fates of Odysseus
and A gam em non. : O dysseus and T elem achus. -
vavre: having prepared/planned .
154 - 5 . t o i . . . . . cf. xxiii 113 .
155 . -X X U 400 .
156 . i5b = xxiii 95b.
157 . = xvi 273, xvii 202, 337.
158 . = xvii 203, 338. Since with S A epi e'crro the line
repeats the formulation of 156 in an alm ost intoler
able way, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion of F. A . W o lf that 158 should

377
COMMENTARY

be excised; the identical xvii 203 and 338 are, however, unobjectionable.
T h e origin of the interpolation has been plausibly accounted for by Stssel,
op. cit. (Introd.), 73. For the older literature see A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv
103. T h e authenticity o f the line has also been questioned by von der
M h ll and Schadewaldt.
159 . : (as also at 170 and elsewhere; cf. , xxi 318 etc.) is a
purely poetic form with metrical lengthening ( < ); cf. Chantraine,
Grammaire, 1271. : that it was this man (: demonstr.); cf.
xxiii 116.
160 . i6 o b = 2 g b.
161 . : from -, rebuke, threat5; - < *-fywip ; a later form
is ; cf. Frisk, G E W , and Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v. vtmj; scold,
abuse, threaten . : refers to the three missiles thrown at
O dysseus, xvii 462 ff., xviii 394fr., xx 299fr.
162 - 3 . ttjos: (synizesis): for a period o f tim e5, is N aucks conjecture; it
w ould be better to retain the unanim ously transmitted (with
synizesis) : it is unlikely that an original was replaced in the course
o f transmission by ros ; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i n . H ow ever it is
possible that the form ulaic usage reflects a pre-Hom eric prototype *
. . . ; cf. Hoekstra, Modifications, 345. : ( here
endure) to be taken with (= iv 459b etc.), and
with vt (= x ix 573b).
164- 6 . A m ph im edon describes the concealm ent o f weapons in the store
room , planned by O dysseus and Telem achus a tx v i 281-98, but som ewhat
differently carried out at xix 1-4 6 (cf. the convincing argum ents of Erbse,
Beitrge, 3 -4 1). H e had not witnessed this himself, but, like M elanthius
(xxii 139-41), he had, as one o f the suitors caught in the hall, drawn the
right conclusion. H e is also correct in his general assumption o f divine
support (164 - II. xv 242), although it was in fact Athena, not Zeus, w ho
stood by O dysseus side with counsel and aid (xvi 282, xix 6, 34-5). O n
1656 cf. xvi 2845; a . . . | -
, and further 4, 17 T h e closing of the door (
: he bolted the door5) is not mentioned in xix. M ore precise technical
details o f the m echanism o f bolts are given in xxi 46-50. Cf. R . F. Willetts,
H om eric D oors ,
(. ) (1971/2), 3 5 -4 1
167- 77 . A m ph im edo n s account of the trial of the bow (recounted in full in
xxi) is brief, but contains all the essential points. T h e speaker is mistaken
only in his perception o f how the contest cam e about: he assumes that
O dysseus was responsible, whereas the competition was planned and
launched by Penelope (xix 5 7 3 -8 1; xxi 1 if); and he supposes a collabora
tion between Penelope and her husband (cf. rjaiv, 167), thus
im plying a reunion before the trial. T h e suitor was indeed boun d to have
gained the impression that the action had been deliberately plotted by the
pair with the express intention o f bringing about the suitors death; cf. 14 9 -
90n. T h e analytical approach o f W ilam owitz, Untersuchungen, 59,

3
7
B O O K X X I V 1 5 8- 1 87

M erkelbach, Untersuchungen, 6 -7 , and Kirk, Songs, 245, has rightly been


criticized by Bona, Siudi, 125, T hornton, People, 106-18, Eisenberger,
Studien, 323-4, and M oulton, op. cit. (Introd.), 162.
167 . -': cf. xxiii 77.
168 . = xxi 3.
169 . 169s = ix 53"; i6gb = xxi 4b. : (elsewhere only ix 53,
and II. xxii 481) having a terrible fate .
170 . : cf. 159.
171 . ~ xxi 185.
172 . I72b = xxi 3 i4 b- T h e action is described in detail at xxi 378-9.
173 - 5 . In these lines A m phim edon refers back to the events preceding the
handing of the bow to O dysseus, at xxi 2738. O n cf. xxi 360,
367. L in e 174 refers to O dysseus speech o f xxi 27584, and 175 recalls
T elem achus order to Eum aeus (who is surely the one m eant by ) at xxi
36975. 01os is rem arkable because Penelope also agreed to T elem achus
idea at xxi 33140; however, it w as the son w ho conveyed the order.
176 . A fter the parenthetic 17 3 -5 A m phim edon resumes from 172.
177 . * xxi 328.
178 - 85 . T h e report of the suitors m urder echoes m any of the phrases used
in xxii 1389, w hich in their turn repeatedly recall the m odel of battle
scenes in the Iliad.
178 . 178" = xx 128 (cf. xxii 2); i78b = xxii 3b.
179 . 179 = xi 68". T h e description of the suitors as occurs also at i
394, xviii 64; cf. also xxii 52.
180 . i8oa = iii 58s. : as at II. xvii 374 etc.
181 . i 8 i a = xxii 266"; i 8 i b = xxii n 8 b.
182 . = II. xi 366 = xx 453. A gain A m ph im edon assumes correctly a divine
hand in the action (cf, 164). 6: = (. : O dysseus and his three
com panions are meant. : (used only this once in the
Odyssey, but frequently in the Iliad, helping, helper, used only of gods
(esp. Athena), is obviously an extended form from original ,
hastening (to bring aid), helping ; cf. B. Forssman, in Lautgeschichte und
Etymologie (W iesbaden, 1980), 180-98, esp. 18 1-4 ; Frisk, G E W s.v. i -lp-
; Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v. .
183 . i83b = xiv 262b, xvii 43 i b. : is surprising, because the fight
ing described in 18 3-5 is obviously the second phase o f the battle (xxii 2 57-
309), w hich took place after A m ph im edon had fallen (xxii 284).
184- 5 . T h ese lines are alm ost identical to xxii 3089; cf. also II. x 4834, xxi
20-1.
186 - 90 . A m ph im edon s final w ords are indispensable, above all for the sake
of the contrast with 43-94 (cf. Eisenberger, Studien, 324; Erbse, Beitrge,
234). T h e y also point forward to O dysseus confrontation with the suitors
kinsm en at the end of xxiv.
187 . : here in a passive sense (as for exam ple also at vi 26, xix 18, xx
130) uncared for (*07805) ; in its specialized m eaning unburied only here
and IL xxiv 554. O n the content o f the line cf. xxii 435-56.

379
COMMENTARY

188 . : (on the form cf. 122.; on the striking length of the first
syllable cf. Hoekstra, Modifications, 91 n. 2) here used in an absolute sense,
they do not know at all .
1 8 9 . P p to v : on the origin of the secondary, specialized m eaning blood from
a w ou n d (hapax in the Odyssey, often in the Iliad, e.g. vii 425) cf. Leum ann,
Wrter, 124-6. : in the Odyssey only here and xix 456 (here
with synizesis -) w ounds , not norm ally used o f a w ound from a missile;
cf. H . T r m py, Kriegerische Fachausdrcke im griechischen Epos (diss. Basle,
1950), 93 i however, cf. II xviii 351, xix 25; cf. Bergold, op. cit. ( n - i 4 n . ) , 159
n. 2. T h e etym ology is obscure, cf. Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v.
190 . 190h = IL xxiii 9b etc. : sc. , cf. 44.
y o d o ie v : uncontracted (cf. II. xxiv 664 ) cf. Chantraine, Gram-
maire, i 78; Shipp, Studies, 37.
191 - 204 . T h e scene in the underw orld closes with a speech from
A gam em non, 192-202. It is o f great significance, on various counts. From
the com positional point o f view the speech completes the outward
structure o f the conversation between the spirits in H ades; it is also the goal
to w hich the conversation has been heading. It follows on from two pairs of
speeches balanced against each other in terms of subject and num ber of
lines accorded to each: 11:6 2 (A chilles: Agam em non); 14 :70 (Aga
m em non : A m phim edon). T h e first exchange contrasted the inglorious
death of A gam em non with the glorious end o f Achilles; the second
exchange culm inates in the indirect celebration of the hom ecom ing of
Odysseus. T h e final speech from A gam em non functions as a kind of
sum m ary: the of O dysseus not only far excels the fearful fate of the
victorious com m ander A gam em non; it even surpasses the heroic destiny o f
the m an w ho w on undying fam e at the cost of an early death. T h e parallel
ism between A gam em n o n s greeting to Achilles (oA tue, 36) and
the same hero s address to O dysseus ( , 192) makes the
contrast particularly clear. A gam em n on s celebration of O dysseus fate,
recalling as it does A chilles words of 24-34, and A gam em n on s reply
(95~7)) significantly takes the indirect form of eulogy of the wife whose
unexam pled has until this point hardly been praised directly and in
so m any words. T h e fact that the poet chooses to put this com m endation
into the m outh o f A gam em non is particularly important: in the first nekuia
the same hero had been moved by his experience of Clytaem estra to
recom m end suspicion towards all women. Even Penelope had not been
entirely excepted (xi 4 2 7 -3 4 , 4 4 1 - 3 , 454-6). Finally we cannot fail to notice
how A gam em n o n s speech acts as the climax of the contrasting treatment
of the fates of the two families, which has been a leitmotiv throughout the
w ork from the very opening of i. Cf. W oodhouse, Composition, 205-7,
232-3; Hlscher, op. cit. (1-2 0 4 n.), 116; Thornton, People, 7-10 ; Erbse,
Beitrge, 232-3; Fenik, Studies, 148-9.
191 . = 3 5. T h e form ulaic line is unusual here because it names A m p h i
m edon (Tor) as the listener to w hom the speech is addressed, whereas in
fact it introduces a speech directed to the absent son of Laertes.
B O O K X X I V 188-205

192. T h e line recalls 36, not only b y its identical opening, , bu t also by
the em phatic formality of the address occupying the w hole hexameter,
: with two syllables is hapax.
193 . : the sense dem ands that it be taken w ith ,
not . T h is is an unusual construction; cf. Shipp, Studies, 360.
194 - 6 . . . . : with a double exclamation A gam em non gives the
reasons for his statement at 192. : recalls iii 266, w here
Nestor says of Clytaem estra that she . . . . . . ;
cf. iii 266. : cf. xi 4 3
196 . i9b - II ii 325b, vii 9 ib.
197 - 8 . s: picks up the them e of . . . .
: the clause amplifies and justifies the earlier -clause: the
of Penelope w ill b e im m ortalized in song. It is significant for the
poet s conception that here the gods are nam ed as the authors of the song
to Penelope: they inspire the earthly poets. O n the other hand the poet is
w ell aware o f the worth o f his own achievement: his own w ill be
im m ortal alongside the of Penelope. : (sub
stantive here as at xvii 115) loc. dat., am ong m ankind . T h e m eaning o f
is em phasized by the contrasted statement (199-201)
that a w ill be the portion of Clytaem estra throughout
m ankind ( , 201 ~ , 197). T h e w ill be
because it w ill speak of evil deeds ( a); correspondingly,
the attribute surely also refers to the content, the bringing
jo y because it describes jo yfu l things; cf. Latacz, op. cit. (xxiii 13 .), .
199 . : introduces an elliptical expression. T h e m eaning is that she
did not behave like the daughter o f Tyndareus, who . . Sim ilar construc
tions are found in xx 426, II xix 403, and frequently later in Attic prose; cf.
Shipp, Studies, 301 and 360, : Clytaem estra; cf. xi
298304. O n the form for cf. Chantraine, Gram-
maire, i 197; for a theory on the m orphology and etym ology of the nam e see
A . H eubeck, A m phiaraos , Die Sprache xiv (1971), 8-22, esp. 2 1-2 . O n
ig g b cf. , 11. 157b>^ 253b
200-2. 202 = x i 434 . . . | . . cf. R uijgh, re pique, 696; the
conjecture b y Schwartz, Odyssee, 333, S , 2, is superfluous,
: evil reputation . : here will attach .
203- 5 . 203 = xxiii 288 etc. 204b - II. xxii 482**. ' . . . : with
this formulation, so characteristic of development of the story line in
H om er, the change of scene is clearly m arked; 2034 draw to a conclusion
the scene in the underworld (1-202), while 205 ff. bring the story back to
events on earth, which the poet had abandoned at xxiii 372, O n the
technique of occupying a period lacking incident, e.g. the m arking of time
. spent on a journey, with description o f events elsewhere, cf. xxiii 366-72
and xxiv 1204 nn. : the dual refers to A gam em non and
A m phim edon; on the form cf. xxiii 46.
205- 412 . T h is episode, w hich reaches a clim ax in the reunion of O dysseus
and Laertes, forms the central section of xxiv. T h is scene has been carefully

381
COMMENTARY

prepared long in advance: thus critics who, doubting the authenticity o f the
w hole of the conclusion (xxiii 297-xxiv 548), regard the episode as a post-
H om eric interpolation, must also remove as spurious the m ajority of those
passages w hich clearly have the function of preparing for this encounter.
T h is is o f course hardly practical, and indeed it would be most surprising if
after all the described by the poet in such detail in the
second half o f the epic he did not include a reunion of Odysseus with his
father, an episode w hich is m ost effective in the form o f a recognition scene.
T h e fact that the scene is presented in such detail, and with a poetic quality
no less than that evident in the recognition scenes with son and wife, is also
evidence o f authenticity. W e cannot discuss here in any great detail the
various interpretations which have been placed on this scene, nor the
reasons for questioning its authenticity: w e must refer the reader to the
bibliography given in the Introduction, and to the discussion of individual
passages.
Laertes is frequently m entioned in the poem, although, o f the twenty-
one passages in w hich he is named, the only significant ones are those in
which the poet clearly intends to give us, by means o f a series o f interlock
ing snippets of information, a provisional general picture o f the man: his
outward circumstances, appearance, and state of m ind a picture which
the description of xxiv confirms and completes; cf., am ong others, W . B.
Stanford, Hermathena vi (1965), 10; Thornton, People, 11516; W ender, op.
cit. (Introd.), 57-60. In this connection we should m ention the following
passages: i 188-94; ii 96-102 (= x ix 14 1-7 = x x iv 13 1-7 ); iv 110 -1 2 , 7 3 5 -
41; xi 187-96; xv 3 53 -7; xvi 117-2 0 , 137-45 Finally, the jo u rn ey to the
farm is carefully prepared by xvi 138 and especially xxiii 137-40.
205 . T h e line is taken with only m inor alterations from 11. xxiv 329;
is retained, although strictly speaking it is suited only to the context o f the
Iliad because here there is no question of anyone 'going dow n ; -
atvetv must m ean here (like , xi 188) m erely go to . O n the
other hand Trthiovfr has been deliberately altered to
; there have already been m any references to Laertes' ayps (i 190,
xi 188, xxiii 139, 359). : Odysseus and his companions.
!: S introduces the main clause (as at xix 330, xx 57, xxii 217).
206 . : this participle used usually o f buildings or parts of build
ings (w ell constructed5), is used here o f the , here, then, (well)
cultivated5.
207 . : (used elsewhere of Laertes: - , ii 102 = xix
14 7 = xxiv 137): gained, acquired ownership o f5; cf. II xvi 57: Soiyh
- sc. . T h e exact sense is disputed (cf. Stanford, ad loc.);
but it clearly means that with his own hands and with great effort Laertes
has brought a piece o f land into cultivation, and so m ade it his own
property (in addition to his rqucvos) (cf. W . Richter, Archaeologia H, 12 with
n. 49); this m ust have been at the beginning o f his reign since he was able to
show his young son the trees planted there, and to give him some o f them
(cf. 336-44). O n the description o f the farm which follows, and which

382
BOOK XXIV 305-212

recalls in m any respects the description of Eum aeus1 homestead (xiv 4.-28),
cf. M ller, op. cit. (Introd.); Richter, op. cit., 24-5.
208 . : probably m eans here the w hole farm yard. vi (hapax)
was obscure even to A ristarchus (cf. van der Valk, Textual Criticism, 114);
D orotheus of A skalon is said to have devoted a w hole book to this one word
in his : and m odern scholars too have com e to no definite
answer; cf. A m eisH entze, Anhang, iv 104; Richter, op. cit. (207 .), 24;
Erbse, Beitrge, 199-200; Frisk, GEW\ and Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v.
, m ay refer to an outhouse for the farmhands, built round
(scil. round th. ^?). probably replaces an older (but still
H om eric?) form *; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 249; Risch, Wort
bildung, 358.
209 . : (hapax) they were accustom ed to eat ; on the form cf.
P. W athelet, loc. cit. (xxiii 945 .). : see Chantraine,
Grammaire, i 316.
210. : the exact m eaning of the expression, found only
here, is disputed; cf. the list of explanations to date in Stssel, op. cit.
(Introd.), 87-8; specifically on cf. G . R am m ing, Die Dienerschaft in der
Odyssee (diss. Erlangen/N urem berg, 1973), 318; G . W ickert-M icknat,
Unfreiheit im homerischen Zeitalter (W iesbaden, 1983), 155_ 9 W e have here
probably not m en w ho have experienced the (ll. xvi 836),
i.e. w ho have lost their freedom by bein g captured in war, but free citizens
in reduced circum stances due to debt or loss of their , and therefore
obliged to earn their living in the service of another; cf. W ickert-M icknat,
op. cit, 171. A similar expression is to be found at 499:
. ro t : w ho carried out his wishes;
w ho worked for him .
2 11. $ : we discover now that the old servant nam ed at i 191
(, probably a purchased slave) comes from Sicily; only later
(386-90) do w e also learn that she is the wife of the servant mentioned soon
afterwards (222), D olius (first introduced at iv 735). T h e poetic technique of
77-a/oaAewretv varcpov is particularly clear here. T h e fact that
Sicily and the western M editerranean beyond lay well within the poets
horizons is shown by the frequency with w hich the island is nam ed
( , xxiv 307; also , xx 383, xxiv 366, 389). A s w e know from
reliable historical reports (e.g. the founding o f Syracuse in 733 b c ) and
archaeological finds, the Greeks formed close links with the W est by the
beginning of the 8th century at the latest, and soon founded colonies; cf, T . J.
D u nbabin, The Western Greeks (Oxford, 1948); A . Schenk G raf v. Stauffen-
berg, Trinakria und Grossgriechenland (M unich, 1963), 3 5 1-4 et passim;
A . H eubeck, Archaeologia X , 82 (with bibl.). Here, as in other places (as, for
instance, in his references to the Phoenicians) the poet projects back into the
heroic w orld the ideas and conditions o f his own time; cf. Stssel, op. cit.
(Introd.), 88-91. treX ev:she was in charge. : Laertes.
212 . 212* ~ vii 256 etc.; 2i2 b = i i85b. T h e iterative form is found
elsewhere only at 390.
COMMENTARY

213 - 18 . W ith a short speech Odysseus dispatches his son and the herdsmen
Eum aeus and Philoetius ( , 213) into the o f the farm. So the
poet sets the scene for O dysseus and his father to m eet alone, with an
obvious similarity to the scene at xiv 528. T h ere too O dysseus is at first to
be alone with Eum aeus; to that end the poet has all four servants o f the
herdsman occupied outside the house at the time o f O dysseus arrival.
215 . Sei/rrvov: (acc.) is used as a predicative ('as a m eal) o f the object os
n s aptOTos-
216 - 18 . O d y sseu s. announces his intention to 'put his father to the test
( + gen.), and at 2 17 -18 explains his reason and the (ostensible)
purpose o f this 'trial : he wishes to know whether, after this long separa
tion, his father will recognize him. T his test has been frequently criticized
as cruel and unnecessary, e,g. b y W ilam owitz, Heimkehr, 82; von der
M hll, Odyssee, 766; R. v. Scheliha, Patroklos (Basle, 1943), 19-20; Kirk,
Songs, 250. T h e occasional attempts to justify O dysseus action, on the
grounds that it is in his nature to test everything (cf. for exam ple Focke,
Odyssee, 378; J. T . Kakridis, Homer Revisited (Lund, 1971), 160 -1; Stanford,
ad 116 -18 ) are hardly convincing. T h e subsequent narrative, however,
shows that although O dysseus carries out the as announced, the
purpose is actually quite different from that given: the ostensible reason
stated turns out to have been only a (necessary) pretext, as O dysseus can
not, and does not wish to, reveal the true purpose o f his to his
com panions. T his w ill be a most unusual , the m eaning o f which
only becom es clear from the interpretation of the recognition scene; it is
m ost certainly not a test .
217 . tie . . . : used in a double question only here; elsewhere is
always used. T h e aorist subjunctives } and (short
vowels; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 454) have a future m eaning w hen used
with . : 'recognize with ones eyes.
218 . 2i8 b = xix 23ib. : on the unusual metrical lengthening
(-01- < --) cf. W yatt, Lengthening, 168. Schwyzer, Grammatik, i 661,
correctly conjectured that -rjat has replaced H om eric - in transmission
(following W ackem agel); cf. A . H eubeck, Archaeologia X , 110 n. 595.
$ : here 'apart, aw ay ; cf. LfgrE 688. 78.
219 . 2 ig a = vi 71*. T h is is not a distribution of weapons, as M erkelbach,
Untersuchungen, 154, supposes; O dysseus hands the weapons w hich he had
donned at xxiii 366 to the servants to.take into the house. H e does not wish
to m eet his father armed; cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 98; Eisenberger, Studien, 3 tg.
221. : here with gen. (), 'nearer to. :
recalls the y o w s m entioned in i 193 and xi 193 as the
place w here Laertes is accustom ed to spend his time; on cf. i 193 .
^ : obscure; used elsewhere with gen., acc., or inf., here it is used
absolutely, and cannot have its usual m eaning (test, try, prove); the m ean
ing is probably that O dysseus goes into the garden to see if he can find his
father there.
222 . T h e sim ple epic form o f expression used in similar situations elsewhere

384
B O O K X X I V 213-222

(cf. for exam ple II. i 3279: 8 . . . . , , | | evpov) is here


both negated and expanded: tev . . . (!) tvptv , it is not
until 226 that w e com e to ' tvpov; this heightens our aware
ness o f the im portance of the scene to com e between son and father alone
(cf. 2 13 -18 n.).
Dolius has already been m entioned several times in the poem (iv 735-9,
xvii 212, xviii 322, xxii 159); of these references the first is particularly
important. T h ere we learn that he is an old 8 given to Penelope by her
father on the occasion of her marriage, and that he now keeps a
7ToXvSvSpeos. T h is Dolius is now (iv 737-8) to go to Laertes and seek his
advice in connection with T elem ach u s journey. D olius close relationship
with Laertes has already, then, been established. T his is reinforced by the
reference to his tree-filled garden (iv 736), w hich O dysseus also mentions,
xxiii 139 and 35960 ( ), as the place where his father is
to be found. O th er passages nam e Dolius as the father of the faithless
servant M elanthius and the equally w icked m aid M elantho. Later (389) we
discover that he is m arried to the Sicilian m aid m entioned at 211 (cf. n.);
again it only becom es clear at 387 that the of 223 are also sons of
Dolius (in all they num ber six, as indicated at 497). Earlier critical opinion
was that there are two or three characters by the nam e of Dolius in the
poem : Penelope s servant; the father of the two m iscreant servants; and the
father o f six fine sons; cf. A m eisH entze, Anhang, iv 104-5, and the similar
argum ents put forward by Erbse, Beitrge, 238-40 (with a sum m ary of
previous research). W e m ust em phasize, however, that there is no
com pelling reason to postulate more than one servant Dolius; cf. Stanford
(ad xxiv 222), Fenik, Studies, 19 1-2 ; R am m ing, op. cit. (210.), 17-18 , 7 7 -
8; Eisenberger, Studien, 3 1 5 - 1 6 w ith . 3> Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 9 1-3 ;
W ender, op. cit. (Introd.), 54 -6 . O n phonetic grounds there can also be no
question of his nam e being connected with ?, as M , Lam bertz, Glotta
vi (1915), 1 - 1 7 , Erbse, Beitrge, 239, and Frisk, G E W Hi, 77, assume,
? comes from M y c. do-e-ro/dohelos/. T h e nam e Dolius is derived from
the appellative ?, a V ox m edia , w hich can have a pejorative sense in
some contexts, but which can also have a positive m eaning: certainly the
epithet is in no sense negative when applied to O dysseus; cf.
A . H eubeck, Bibliotheca Orientalis xxx (1973), 4 S l * : formed
from , w hich as an agricultural term means row (of trees, vines etc.)
(vii 127, xxiv 341), and so comes to refer to the orchard or vineyard laid out
in rows (vii 112; 11 xiv 123). H om eric usage distinguishes the from
arable and pasture, a distinction w hich is also expressed physically in the
enclosure o f the ? (on 2245 see below). T h e poet must m ean this
t o ? when referring to the (i 193; xi 193; cf.
' also xxiv 221, 224, 336) and &4 (iv 737, and further xxiv
338 of Laertes). A s has long since been observed, there is a correspondence
betw een Laertes orchard and the albeit idealized garden of A lcinous
(vii 112 -3 1), which is also described as to ? ( 1 1 2 ),
(i22; cf. xxiv 221) and (i29), and w hich, like all gardens, is
COMMENTARY

surrounded by a (113); for the details see W . Richter, Archaeologia H,


96-8 etpassim. : is to be understood in a similar sense
to that in , 205 (cf. .).
223 . : the servant Dolius appears here as master o f other servants, as
does Eum aeus (cf. xiv 24-8, 44952), w ho has a similar position and role
(cf. also 2 13 -iS n .), : sc. of Dolius; cf. 387 etc.
224 - 5 . T h e reason is given for the absence o f D olius and his m en: they had
gone aw ay ( in plpf, sense), with Dolius in charge (he is the o f
225; as at vi 261, x 501) 'to gather to be used (inf.
expressing purpose) for the garden wall ()* T h e garden is, then, like
that of A lcinous (vii 113), surrounded by a , consisting of .
T h e exact m eaning o f this word, which appears elsewhere in H om er only
at xviii 359 ( ), is as unclear as its etym ology; cf. Pisani,
LjgrE s.v., and Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v.; Richter, Archaeologia H , 107
n. 786. It might m ean stones and/or (thorny) brushwood, particularly in
view of xiv io , where a detailed description is given o f the (there, as at
ix 184 and II. xxiv 452, 'courtyard w all) built by Eum aeus: ($6 . . . )
tot aev (xiv 8io); on the thorny twigs of
the (hapax) cf. LfgrE s.v.
226 - 31 . H aving been told that O dysseus has at last found his father (evpev,
226) w e do not hear of further developments until 252 ff. T h e intervening
lines are used by the poet to describe Laertes at work, am plifying the brief
indication given at i 193 ' , and xi
191, S <: em u. T h e passage is com parable to the insert
between xiv 5 (where O dysseus meets Eum aeus) and 3 7 if. (the conversa
tion between O dysseus and Eumaeus), w hich is entirely devoted to a
description o f the hom e and present activity o f Eum aeus. T here is a similar
sequence of scenes at the beginning of xxiv: the suitors find the souls o f the
heroes (evpov, 15), while Agam em non and Achilles are engaged in con
versation (19-98); the suitors approach, and then are drawn into the
conversation (ggffi); cf. xxiv 15 -2 20 ., and Fenik, Studies, 96.
226 . 226b = 336b; II xx 496b, xxi 77b. : used in a similar w ay
to , 20 (cf. n,).
227 . : (hapax), from , 'tooi for levelling or digging (xxfi
455 j hapax; cf. Risch, Wortbildung, 42). etv probably means
the same as (242, hapax), picking up the h alf line 227b,
i.e. digging round, breaking up the soil round the plant (shrub, tree) ; cf.
Stanford, ad loc.; Richter, Archaeologia H , 126. : 'be dirty ;
with unusual metrical lengthening; cf. Meister, Kunstsprache, 87.
228 . : here patched , : disreputable, unseem ly ; cf.
LjgrE s.v.
229 . ? : Laertes 8es (here leggings to protect the shins) are
m ade o f leather. It is impossible to determine w hat the poet had in m ind by
w ay o f the appearance, construction, and material o f the ^
(greaves) w orn by soldiers, especially since there have been no archae
ological discoveries from the so-called dark ages up to 700 b c to help. T h e

386
B O O K X X I V 222-235

single occurrence of & as an epithet of the A chaeans (II. vii


41), and two references to greaves m ade of tin (II. xviii 613, xxi 592), do not
prove that the poet did not have in m ind leather shin-protectors, with
(perhaps only in some cases) strips o f metal sewn on. For an extensive
discussion of this difficult question see H . W . Catling, Archaeologia E,
143-61, : here sew n . : (hapax) scratch ; from
, scratch ; cf. Risch, Wortbildung, 4 0 -1.
230 . : (hapax) gloves , derived from , like from ;
cf. M . M eier, -iS-: Zjur Geschichte eines griechischen Nominalsuffixes
(Gttingen, 1975), 65. : (hapax) bram bles, thorns .
231 . : original m eaning dogskin cap5, there being no doubt as to the
derivation from ; cf. Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v. , there is no
basis for the doubts expressed by Hoekstra, Modifications, 99 n. 4, who
refers to this as popular etym ology , later becam e a more general
term m eaning cap, helm et5, w hich could be m ade of bronze (
, xxii 102), leather (. , II x 257)7 weasel skin (. ,
II x 335 ) 458), or, as here, goatskin; cf. J. Borchhardt, Homerische Helme
(M ainz, 1972); Archaeologia E, 5 7 -7 4 . : this expression,
transm itted w ithout variant and evidently not queried by ancient scholars,
has been doubted by m odern scholars (older literature in A m eis-H en tze,
Anhang, iv 105; the m ore recent literature in J. Dingel, R M cxii (1969),
105-6), and there have been a n um ber o f conjectures: ,
W. Schulze; , V . Brard; , W . Schadewaidt
(translation); Eisenberger, Studien, 318 n. 5. T h ese conjectures, however,
can only be justified if one regards 2 3 ib as a causal or m odal phrase relating
only to 231. In fact 2 3 ib belongs with the w hole description, 226-31:
Laertes self-inflicted suffering also increases his grief for the son w hom he
believes to be dead; cf. Stanford, ad loc,; Erbse, Beitrge, 200. In addition
is to a certain extent a quotation from xi 187-96, a passage
which prepares for xxiv 22631 ( B , lg i) , and which
delineates the psychological state of Laertes with the unam biguous and
undisputed 196-7, 8 (!) | . It is
also significant that 23l b recalls 8 , , 223-
232 . 23 2a = 59a; I I v 95a etc.
233 . ~ vii 218; 233b ~ xi ig5b; cf. 2 3 m .
234 . 234b = xi 39115 etc. : (only here and II xiii 390 = xvi 483):
etym ology and exact m eaning unknown; perhaps tail5; cf. Bechtel, Lexi-
logus, 82; Chantraine, Dictionnaire, and LfgrE s.v. : (vii 115
etc.) pear tree .
235 - 40 . T h e form ulaic 235 ( = i v i i 7 , x i 5 i ; and variations) introduces one of
the decision scenes typical of H om eric epic to which C . Voigt has devoted
a m onograph, berlegung und Entscheidung, Studien zur Selbstauffassung des
Menschen bei Homer (diss. M arburg, 1934; repr. M eisenheim , 1972). T here
are several m ain distinguishable types: in one form the form ulaic line is
followed b y the nam ing o f the alternatives considered (y . . . ye + opt.; cf.
11 i 18893; Od. xxiii 857); in another the subject considers how best to

387
COMMENTARY

reach a specific goal (d>s . . . + opt.; cf. 11. ii 3 -4); a third possibility is also
raised by the use of w ith infinitive, w here there is hardly any
question of deliberation since a sim ply means then I cam e to the
decision1; cf x 151, 438. Lines 235-40, transmitted alm ost without variant,
present a striking, and most unusual, contam ination o f different construc
tions, w ith governing three closely related infinitives, but
attached to it an + opt. clause. W hile m any interpreters regard this
un usual com bination as a justifiable exception (van der Valk, Textual Criti
cism, 217; Chantraine, Grammatte, ii 296) or as intentional on the part o f the
author (Erbse, Beitrge, 200-2), w e should in this case consider very care
fully w hether w e have here an interpolation, albeit a very early one, which
owes its origin to the m odel provided by iv 1 1 7 -1 9 (iv 117 = xxiv 235; iv
119 = x x iv 238; but cf. also xxiii 85-7) w here a n orm al1 construction with
77 . . . is involved; as suggested by A. N auck, A . Kirchhoff, van Leeuw en,
V . Brard, W ilam owitz (Heimkehr, 8 . 3), V oigt (op. cit., 367), von der
M h ll ( Odyssee, 766); Stssel (op. cit. (Introd.), 96-7). If w e assume that we
have here an interpolation, the difficulties both of construction and o f the
sequence of thought disappear. It is entirely reasonable that M enelaus
should consider w hether to leave the initiative to Telem achus, to m ention
his father, or whether he should question him, and him self test him in
detail (iv. 119), the equivalent second alternative in xxiv 238 does not m ake
a great deal o f sense. W hat does . . . m ean here? A bove
all it is not up to the new arrival (in xxiv, O dysseus), but to the host to do
the questioning; thus Penelope is right to consider this course when faced
. with O dysseus at xxiii 86 ( . . . e^epeeivoi); and in xxiv it is
Laertes who directs the decisive questions to the unknow n stranger,
7 ; - ; (298). Finally the effect is truly
. poignant when Odysseus, overcome by the pitiful sight of his father (226-
31), thinks ( aorist!) to give w ay to his first impulse, and directly
introduce him self w ithout any prior (216). W e therefore assume that
in this passage the third of the three types m entioned above is present.
236 . : em brace1.
237 . T h e optative in indirect statement ( ) is, as has been earlier
observed (cf. A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv 105; Page, Odyssey, 104; Shipp,
Studies, 361) quite unparalleled in H om eric epic. It is questionable whether
the difficulty can be avoided by taking the w s-clause as an indirect
question (how he . . . ; cf. Palmer, Companion, 158; Chantraine, Gram-
maire, ii 224; Erbse, Beitrge, 200-1; W ender, op. cit. (Introd.), 46). It is
probably more reasonable to assume that the poet thoughtlessly trans
ferred to the quite different context of xxiv 236 the construction of xvii
539 = xvi 384, in which the optative (after d ) is quite correct (. , .
4 )', cf. . Tagliaferro, Helikon xi/xii (1971/2), 474 82.
239 - 40 . T h e formulaic 239 (= x 153 etc.; on similar expressions cf. Voigt, op.
cit. (235-40n.), 38-9) introduces the conclusion to which the decision
scene has com e (here 240); also (unlike, for example, , II. xvi
715) points forward: (to act) in the following m anner1. I f our rejection o f

388
B O O K X X I V 235-2 44

238 is correct, then the closest parallel is in x 15 1-5 , w here O dysseus


decides ( aorist!) to go to the house of C irce, and reconnoitre,
but on further reflection (, 153) modifies his decision: he w ill first
( , 154) return to the ship, bring food for his men, and send them out
on duty (before he returns to Circe). H ere O dysseus comes to the decision
to reveal his identity to his father im m ediately, but then, on further con
sideration () decides instead first () to carry out his
planned tip a (and only then to reveal his identity). T h e inner logic of this
delay of the m om ent o f recognition by the -neipa w ill em erge from the
dialogue to com e (244 ffi), as w ill that w hich is m eant by the scarcely trans
latable phrase, . T h ese difficult, and, we
think, so often misinterpreted, words becom e clear only after the first part
o f the plan () has been carried out: see 3 1 5 - 1 7 ^ O n cf.
Ruijgh, lment, 130; Chantraine, Didionnaire s.v. . In 240
}vat the reading given by all our m edieval M S S has been con
vincingly defended by Erbse, Beitrge, 202-4, citing T . Stifler, Philologus
lxxix (1924), 323-54. T h e reading transmitted in P,38, rreotv -
, regarded by W ilam ow itz, Heimkehr, 81 n. 3, as H om eric, and
adopted by von der M h ll in his edition (cf. also Stanford, ad loc.), cannot,
for various reasons, be accepted. T h e vulgate reading, despite the doubts
expressed by Page, Odyssey, 104, and von der M h ll (rhythm o reluctante)
and others, is m etrically unobjectionable.
241 . A fter the long retardation, w hich, however, arises from the situation,
and the developm ent planned b y the author, the poet can at last resum e
from 226. Odysseus, having found his father, approaches ( belongs
with ). : picks up , 239, but with the sense
altered to with this intention (to carry out the ) .
242 . : this expression uses the verb in its original m ean
ing (hold downwards, down to the ground); there is no cause to object to
such a use (Schwartz, Odyssee, 135 n. 2; Page, Odyssey, 104); cf. van der
Valk, Textual Criticism, 523; Erbse, Beitrge, 204; W ender, op. cit.
(Introd.), 46. O n aivw cf. 227.
243 . 243* - 5 i 6 a; 243b = xvi 3o8b. T h e sequence d . . ., 242 (Laertes):
S . . ., 243 (also Laertes) is unusual, but not unreasonable.
244- 79. O dysseus speech follows in three parts: first 24455, second 256 -
64, and third 265-79. T h e first part refers to the person addressed, and
contains a double contrast, of the splendid - o f the garden com pared
with, as O dysseus says, the poor w hich Laertes allows himself; and
then again the contrast betw een the poor care for outw ard appearance and
the overall impression given b y the old m an, w h ich suggests a king rather
than a slave. O dysseus question as to the m an w h o m the other serves, the
gardens owner, rounds off this section o f the speech, and leads at the same
tim e to the second part, in w hich O dysseus asks for confirm ation o f what
he has ju st learnt from a passer-by, that he is in Ithaca. T h is thought is then
developed, as O dysseus adds that he was unable to discover from this man
whether one was still alive w ho had once been a guest o f his. T h e key word

389
COMM ENTARY

leads on to the third part, in w hich O dysseus elaborates that he had


taken the son oT Laertes into his hom e, and showered him with gifts. This
third part of the speech incorporates m any elements from earlier cover-
stories , particularly that o f xix. O verall, however, it is in every element
directed to the particular situation. It is calculated b y O dysseus, with a sure
psychological understanding, so that he presents him self as a man to be
taken seriously, understanding, and credible, and, step by step, so as to
arouse the attention, interest, and finally the curiosity of the old m an to
. w hom it is addressed. By posing questions, awaking memories, and
stirring long-suppressed feelings, O dysseus forces his father not only to
answer the questions put, but to ask questions in return, and so, step by
step, to em erge from his self-inflicted isolation and apathy.
244 . : (hapax) is an abstract in - regularly form ed from
; Risch, Wortbildung, 6 . It is however to be noted that most
abstracts.from - adjectives are formed - (examples in Risch, 53).
W e should therefore consider, with Erbse, Beitrge, 205 (cf. LfgrE s.v.),
w hether the ancient variant is not to be preferred.
\i: an unusual construction (Kirk, Songs, 250, anti-
traditional), but not without parallel: and also o ccur as
subjects of transitive tv. It should therefore be read as y ou are not ruled
b y ignorance . : depends on ,
(inability) to tend the garden (as ) .
245 . : intrans. in connection with an adverb, m eaning to be in a
certain state, condition, is unusual in H om er, but quite possible; examples
in Erbse, Beitrge, 205-6 (cf., for example, xii 435): T h e care of the garden
is in excellent condition.
246 - 7. R ecounting all that Laertes tends amplifies w hat was indicated by
in 221. T h e nam ed at the outset (227) is probably
m eant as a general term covering all the plants, w hich also appear in the
description of A lcinous garden (vii 114-28). Parallels to the unusual
synaloepha in , are to be found in Erbse, Beitrge, 2067.
: a collective in -7 derived from a substantive (from ,
leek), b ed o f leeks, vegetable garden ; Risch, Wortbildung, 117.
248 . T h e line is m odelled on the very com m on form ulaic line
, S evi )at (xi 454 etc.); the variation in the second
h alf is m odelled on 11. vi 326 ( * ). T h e
m odel, with its (indicative!) , accounts for the unusual imperative
construction ( + aor. imper. elsewhere only IL iv 410, xviii
134); cf. E. Tagliaferro, Helikon xiii/xiv (1973/4), 420-9.
249 - 50 . T h e contrast in thought between 249-50 and 244-8 is underlined by
the formal correspondence: the unusual construction of 249 recalls that o f
244; and 3 recalls . . . , 245. :
(hapax), are dry , is here used in an extended meaning, are uncared for.
T h is extension of m eaning makes excellent sense, for the state o f
w ill soon com e to an end with a bath and anointing (366); cf. LfgrE s.v.
: (cf. , xxiii 115) recalls 22731.

390
B O O K X X I V 244-261

251 . T h e particular point of this sentence here gives rise to a most unusual
construction, with regard to the double use o f oil: the first ov negates only
the expression ve/ri, w hile the second ov negates the w hole clause.
T h e m eaning is that it cannot be for any laziness on your part that your
master does not allow you proper care (cf. , 245, 249) ; cf.
Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 337. : (hapax), regularly derived
with the abstract suffix - from depys (xix 27), like (xxii 374)
from (xviii 54); cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 208. -t- has metrical
lengthening; there is no cause to postulate an older form *; cf.
W yatt, Lengthening, 16 0 -1; Risch, Wortbildung, 116 . 130.
252- 3 . . . . : (hapax) (Nothing of a slave) appears in yo u ,
: (hapax) the usual adjective is -vos (SovXtos, xiv, 340 etc.); -top
can sometimes be replaced for metrical reasons by -to$, w hich was origin
ally restricted to adjectives derived from metrical objects; cf. besides
SouAeios also , and others; Risch, Wortbildung, 132 It is
not possible here to explain it as a D oric form (Shipp, Studies, 362).
: a loosely attached infinitive (w hen one looks at yo u ),
: (cf. v 217 etc.) an acc. o f respect; cf. Bechert, op. cit.
(xxiii 5 .), 404. 253b (= II. iii i70h) is the positive com plem ent to 252-3.
254- 5 . : (the unanim ous reading) is syntactically not impossible: you
look like someone (to w hom it w ou ld be m ore appropriate) . . . to sleep in a
soft b e d ; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 302. Bentleys conjecture
seems, however, to fit better, and it has w on alm ost universal acceptance
(even by Chantraine, ad loc.). T h e m eaning then w ou ld be: it w ou ld be
more appropriate for such a m an (as y o u ) . . . to sleep . T h e point of the
passage, which (with the possible exception o f eoi) is certainly not
corrupt (despite Stanford, ad loc.), becom es clear w hen we recall xi 18895,
w hich describes the actual conditions in w hich Laertes sleeps. T h e unusual
optative in the ewei-clause evidently has here less of a potential m eaning
(Palmer, Companion ,1 7 1 ) than an iterative sense; but a proper parallel for this
use, later so com m on, is not to be found am ong the examples cited b y C h an
traine, Grammaire, ii 224-5. 255b is altered for m etrical reasons from
ari (II. iv 3 2 3 ,1x422; cf. also Od. xxiv 190, 296, etc.).
256 . - i 169 etc.
257 . T h e first part of the speech ends with the question, w ho is Laertes
master? : (= ) is to be taken with ; cf. the formulaic
half line , vii 238 etc.
258 . = i 174 etc. T h e form ulaic line introduces the second part of the speech,
which begins with O dysseus second question ( ').
259 . T h e m eaning is: whether this country (), where I have arrived, is
really (: adv.) Ithaca ; cf. xiii 328.
260 . : the m an there , : ju st now .
261 - 4 . 262 ~ xix g8b, 264 = iv 834. : (hapax) is probably a
com pound of the type , form ed like and ; cf.
Bechtel, Lexilogus, 261; Risch, Wortbildung, 192; Erbse, Beitrge, 2078;
LfgrE s.v. F or the m eaning cf. , 553; i-e approx.

391
COMMENTARY

sensible (~ nenw pvos) . It is possible that is supposed to


suggest the expression eiBvai nvt, approx, have the right
attitude, display loyalty towards another (e.g. xix 248; cf. C . Calam e,
LfgrE s.v. apnos), w here appears close to . T h e reason given in
the following enel-clause for the description o f the m an as ov n
could support this idea: the m an questioned did not show him
self very obliging; he did not trouble h im se lf (cev) to give more
exact news of the geivos in question. O dysseus suggests that the failure to
give an answer was not due to ignorance, but to unwillingness. T h e identity
o f the get'vos is not yet revealed. It becom es clear only from the third part of
the speech, although even then Odysseus is not mentioned by name.
265 - 79 . W ith the form ulaic 265 (= x v 318} Odysseus introduces the third
part of his speech, the subject o f which has already been indicated by the
key w ord of 263, geivo? . T h e guest is said to have been the son of Laertes of
Ithaca, and he had been w ell received, and honoured with m any gifts. T h e
closest parallel, both in terms o f content and structure, is xix 185-202, part
o f the tale told by Odysseus to Penelope.
267 . ~ xix 350; 267 = viii 39s.
268 . = x ix 351. In both instances (for the later ) is a com
parative from ', cf. Risch, Wortbildung, 90. It is used as a predicate (as
m ore welcom e, honoured) to the subject n s os', cf. Erbse,
Beitrge, 209; W ender, op. cit. (Introd.), 4 7-8 (arguing against Page,
Odyssey, 105).
269 . : cf. 114 . $ : acc. of respect.
270 . : son o f Arceisius ; cf. iv 755.
271 - 2 . = x ix 1 9 4 -5 .
273 . : (on the unusual derivative from geivos cf. Risch, Wortbildung,
1278), used elsewhere invariably as a substantive, could also be so used
here, as object of the verb, w ith S in apposition (as a gift); Erbse,
Beitrge, 209. Since, however, getvr/tos was originally an adjective formed
from geivos, only later used in the neuter form geanjtov (sc. ) as a
substantive, it is also possible that w e have here the older formulation
geivytov , guest-gift . A parallel can be found in the developm ent of
geivtos, the (regular) -to? derivative from geivos: geivtov > geivtov,
guest-gift .
274 . = ix 202; cf. also II. xix 247 ~ xxiv 232. c e p y e o s : the gold
is w ell fashioned , i.e. worked into jew ellery. : the w eight of
the H om eric talent , m entioned only in relation to gold, is not known; it
m ay be significantly less than the M ycenaean talent (29 kg.), and even less
than the A ttic talent ( 2 5 .8 kg.).
275 . 275* = ix 203. : m ade com pletely out of silver ,
: w ith m any flowers, decorated with floral patterns .
276- 7 . = II. xxiv 230-1. Exact identification of the various woven articles is
not possible, means the smaller kind of (woollen) w rapper used as a
cloak as well as a blanket; it is ? because it is simple, i.e. not folded (as
opposed to , xiv 521, , xix 226, or , II. x 134);

392
B O O K X X I V 361-286

means a thick w oollen blanket used (like the ) as an underblanket;


is the larger linen cloak, and a tunic m ade of w ool and sewn
together; cf. xxiii 155 and 179 -8 0 nn.; S. M arinatos, Archaeologia A , 6 - 1 1 ;
S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 1 - 1 5 . I n i : in addition to the items
m entioned .
278 . 278b = II. ix i28b etc. : but further, in addition1.
279 . 279a = ix 334 : (hapax) an artificial form, created by
analogy with the com m on : the ctSos o f w om en corresponds to
the of men; the m eaning is, therefore, beautiful5; cf. Leum ann,
Wrter, 248; B echtels alternative explanation, Lexilogus, n o , is less
convincing.
280 - 301 . Laertes reply shows that O dysseus words have achieved their
intended effect. T h e speech had been designed to present the speaker as
sensible, understanding, and trustworthy, and, particularly in the last
section, to recall to the old m an a vivid picture of the brilliant and highly
honoured son. T h e speech brings tears to Laertes eyes (280), and prompts
his curiosity to learn more. T h is indicates that O dysseus has succeeded in
penetrating the w all o f apathy with which his father has surrounded him
self (cf. 244-790.). Laertes reply is also divided into three sections: first he
responds to the direct and indirect questions o f the second part of
O dysseus speech, and refers to the third part (281-6); then in the second
part (287-96) he asks questions in return, responding to the third part of
O dysseus address to him; and finally (297-301) he asks the vital questions
about the identity of the m an addressing him. Laertes reply does not take
account of the first part o f O dysseus speech (but cf. 289 and 293 nn.); cf,
Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 1001.
280 . 28ob = 234b etc.
281 - 2. . . (cf. xxiii 113 .), contrasted with 8 . . .
: in 259. A t 282 Laertes gives an explanation for the strange
behaviour o f the m an approached by O dysseus (2604).
283 . . . . : the gifts m entioned before (2739) is used
as a predicate of 8 (as useless, in vain). : here give in
friendship ; cf. Latacz, op. cit. (xxiii 13 .), 114. Laertes m ode o f thinking is
entirely in keeping with the archaic expectation o f return gifts (cf. ,
286); cf. Finley, World, 73-4.
284 . In 284-6 Laertes explains 283. . . . : (2nd sing,
imperf. of ; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 299-300): for if you m et .
O n ei cf. D . Tabachovitz, Homerische tl-Stze (Lund, 1951), 489
: as at i 103.
285 . : ( = ) m atching (your gifts) with
am ple gifts in return ; cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 2i 1 (somewhat differently, LfgrE,
i 622. 46-8 s.v. ).
286 . : w ith splendid hospitality , (only here and 314) is a
regular - abstract formed from (which does not appear in Homer)
/ (both from *, M yc. ke-se-nu-wo /ksenwo-/ etc.); cf. , xiv
158 etc. O n the coexistence o f ev-/feiv- see M eisters convincing

3
93
COMMENTARY

discussion, Kunstsprache, 202-9. : (as at 45 etc.) cf.


283. o s r is : when one has begun the process,
(hapax) is used here in the sense of the simple verb (e.g. xxii 437), further
examples do not appear again until the fifth century; cf. Erbse, Beitrge,
2X1.
287 . T h is line (= 256) introduces the second part of Laertes response.
288 . : (hapax) w hich (in the ordinal series) ; probably derived by
haplology from *77()$ by analogy with ordinal num bers such as
(322) etc., with the accent from ; cf. Chantraine, Diction-
naire, 921. T h e next exam ple is in Aristophanes, Pax 163. A nalytical objec
tions are rejected b y Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 162 (with bibl.). o re:
since1.
289 . : with these words (cf. also 293) Laertes inadvertently
reveals his identity, and thus indirectly answers the question put to him at
257. e ye: this obscure form ulaic expression (cf. xix 315, 11.
iii 180, etc.) is discussed at length by W . Bergold, op. cit. ( n - i 4 n . ) , 71 n. 1:
if he was that once , m eaning if it must now be that he was that (and is no
longer) ; cf. also Thornton, People, 155 n. 19.
290 . ~ xix 301. O n the deliberate repetition o f with cf.
Erbse, Beitrge, 212.
291 . 291 ~ xiv 135s. A t i) the subject o f the relative clause changes.
293 . : (hapax). T h e basic m eaning is uncertain,
perhaps to clothe/cover in a shroud, then solem nly bury (as in Attic),
: again betrays Laertes identity (cf. 289).
294 . iro X u S w p o s: bringing in m any gifts (-eehv a y, applied to a wife
given aw ay (norm ally by her father) for m any gifts; cf.
, xix 529 (which refers to the groom); G . W ickert-M icknat, Archae-
ologia R , 82, 90 -1.
295 . : m ourned ; with acc. only here; criticized by Schwartz,
Odyssee, 136 n. 2, as decadent, v (as at 44) belongs with .
296 . 29b = ig o b. xadcXelv : close the eyes as at xi 426.
297 - 8 . Laertes introduces the last part o f his speech with the same line used
by O dysseus to begin the second section o f his address (258). H e poses the
crucial question, as to the strangers identity, using the same form ulaic
w ords (298) em ployed b y C irce (x 325), Eum aeus (xiv 187), and Penelope
(xix 103) w hen questioning Odysseus (cf. also i 170, xv 264). O n the con
struction and m eaning o f the question cf. S. W est, ad i 170.
299 . : a typical Atticism ; cf. i 225 and II. x 408. T h e reading Se has been
defended by van der Valk, Textual Cnticism, 17 2 -3 , and Erbse, Beitrge,
21213* T h e different views presented by Schwartz, Odyssee, 33 ( ) , von
der M hll, ad loc., Shipp, Studies, 362, and S. W est, ad i 225 (Sat), are less
convincing.
300 - 1 . Laertes considers two possibilities, that Odysseus had com e in his
own ship (cf. xiv 247) or as a paying passenger (; cf. M . Schm idt,
LfgrE s.v.) on a ship that was not his own ( 4 ; cf. ii 318-20,
w here the speaker is Telem achus). . . have the others (the

394
B O O K X X I V 286-304

crew), after setting you down (trans. aor. ), sailed away (intrans.
aor. )?* O n this clearly intentional and quite legitim ate play
on w ords cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 212 (who argues against Page, Odyssey,
109). In fact w ith the second alternative Laertes has hit on the right
answer.
302. = v 214 () etc.
303- 14 . O dysseus replies w ith a form ulaic introduction (303 - i 179 etc.). He
answer Laertes questions in reverse order: 304-8 respond to 298-301 (the
third section), 309-13* to 288 (from the second section), and 3 i3 b- i 4 to the
thought behind 282-6 (the first section).
304- 6 . T h e names given in this fictitious biography are improvised on the
spur o f the mom ent, and are obviously m eant to be seen through and
decoded, not so m uch by Laertes, w ho does not react to them, but by the
audience. : the stranger comes from , a fictitious
place, thought b y ancient scholars to be in South Italy (= M etapontum ),
probably because the island of is nam ed in 307, and because of
other place-names in M agn a G raecia formed with -- such as ,
(?). Behind the form, and the m etrical scheme (i.e. the place-
nam e ( , oBev . . ., II. ii 857) and the personal
nam e ( B 5 . . ., xv 426). T h e choice of name
m ay have been suggested by : O dysseus is the par
excellence, cf. Stanford, ad loc.; Erbse, Beitrge, 101. Thornton, People, 117,
on the other hand, thinks o f . : the fictitious nam e of
the stranger, should certainly not b e connected with pts etc. (as suggested
by, am ong others, Finsler, Homer, a 440; Erbse, Beitrge, 101); it is
ultim ately identical with arch, , picked, chosen5 (X. H G vii 4); cf.
also L acon. (T h . viii 28) In. , (sc. :
Hes. Op. 511), all from the root dpi-, count5; cf. Leum ann, Wrter, 246-7;
R u ijgh, lment, 16 1 -2 . : the name of the father,
, is form ed by analogy with, on the one hand, (II. xiii 691;
cf. also , xiv 361; on w hich cf. Risch, Wortbildung, 230) and, on the
other, - ( I i xii 140), - ( I i ii 823 etc.). It is not clear whether
the poet was thinking here of the man w ho did not spare5 the suitors, or o f
one who does not spare his property5, i.e. generous5; cf., am ong others,
W ilam owitz, Heimkehr, 70 n. 1; B .M a d e r, LfgrE s.v. ,-
: the m eaning of the nam e given to the grandfather is equally
problem atic. T h e unanim ously attested form m akes us think of the one
w ho has suffered m uch5 (so interpreted by Thornton, People, 117); but
C o b ets conjecture that the transmitted form conceals (cf.
, owning m uch property5, II. iv 433; abbreviated form
, II xxiv 250) - , is very attractive; on the details cf.
W ilam owitz, Untersuchungen, 70 n. 1; Am eis-H entze, Anhang, iv 107;
Bechtel, Lexihgus, 2 81-2; H . v. K am ptz, Homerische Personennamen (diss.
Jena, 1956; repr. Gttingen, 1982), 26a; Erbse, Beitrge, 101; Risch, Wort
bildung, 52 and 148; Ghantraine, Dictionnaire s.v. . O n the
form ulaic word-order of 305 (similarly, for example, I I ii 625, Od. xviii 299,

395
COMM ENTARY

etc,) cf. P. W athelet, </4 xxix (1979), 31. : cf. O . Tsagarakis,


op. cit. (149.), 10 5-12.
307 . 307b = v 99b. $ : according to Hdt. vii 170, and T h . vi 5
is the old form of ; cf. 211 . : inf. expressing
result.
308 . = i 185. O dysseus responds to 299-301. O n the ancient variant reading
" see van der Valk, Textual Criticism, 146.
309 - 10 . 310 = xix 223, T. xxiv 766. T hese lines are in response to 2889.
~ .
311 - 14 , u o p o p o s : rounds off (with enjambment) 309-10, ju st as
(290) concludes the question at 288-9. O dysseus goes on to
enhance the credibility o f his (fictitious!) tale to Laertes with a (also
an ad hoc invention) which prom ised good fortune. : to a certain
extent expresses an antithesis to w hat has gone before, approx, though ; cf.
xxiv 28, : () is explained by . the birds flew to
the right, as the observer looked north, and so foretold a happy outcome.
0 1 s . . . : the parallel elements o f the relative clause offer a carefully
constructed syntactical chiasm us, . . . "
. : from ; cf. 328. : (approx, again
later) belongs with . ): (on the form cf. 286.) in
hospitality . : (but cf. also , xiii 358) is an u n
usual form (a m onstrum rhapsodicum according to Page, Odyssey, 109;
sim ilarly K irk, Songs, 250). T h is reduplicated future can hardly have any
specialized m eaning; a point em phasized by Shipp, Studies, 139, arguing
against Chantraine, Grammaire, i 442. T h e form is rather an artificial
creation in response to the dem ands of the metre, m odelled on e.g.
, xi 357b, . . , xviii 279b- See further Schwyzer,
Grammatik, i 783; Chantraine, Grammaire, i 448. Line 314 again refers back
to 373-8 and 284-7.
315 - 17 . O dysseus words have the same effect on Laertes as the news o f
Patroclus death on Achilles (315-17* = II. xviii 22-4*). T here can be no
doubt either that the use o f these lines from the Iliad is intentional or that
they have a quite different function in this context. Lines 3 1 5 -1 7 are after
all preceded not by a report o f O dysseus death, but by news of a favour
able omen. W ith w ell-considered words O dysseus has succeeded in break
ing down his fathers self-control, but also, at the same time, releasing him
from the paralysis o f em otion, lethargy, and apathy: he has recalled his
father to life and self-awareness. In.helping his father to give expression to
his grief O dysseus has prepared the w ay forward to the m om ent o f recogni
tion. Indeed the anagnorisis w ould not be possible, or credible, were it not
prepared by this spontaneous self-revelation (235-7) as the emotions,
stirred up by O dysseus, rise to a sudden peak. In this sense w e see m ore
clearly the m eaning o f the com m ent that it seemed better to O dysseus in
relation to his father 1 -- (240). His
intention is not to put his father to the test, and certainly not to do so with
teasing , m ocking, h um iliating , or heartlessly cruel words; and indeed

396
B O O K X X I V 304-360

no such language is used at any point. O n the contrary: O dysseus words


are calculated, by their tendency sim ultaneously to conceal and reveal
truth, from beginning to end to bring about an inner change in his father,
and to m ake him capable of recognition. T h e intention described at 240
corresponds, then, to that expressed elsewhere as ^ |
(II. iv 5 -6 ); cf. Thornton, People, 11 5 -1 8 . In certain situations the
speaker attempts to prom pt quite specific and essential emotional
response in the other by m eans o f the suggestive power of cleverly chosen
words to draw th,e other m an out (Thornton: provoking : on the broad
range o f m eanings of -n-ca cf. W . Bergold, op. cit. (1 i- i4 n .) , 136
n. 1}. H ere the aim 'of the , w hich is only a first step (!), is
to create in the father the right m ood, itself a precondition for O dysseus
successful revelation of his identity (for it to be accepted and believed by
Laertes); cf. A . H eubeck, Zw ei hom erische ', %A xxxi (1981), 73~ 83 >
esp. 749 See also T horn ton, People, 11 5 -1 8 ; Stssel, op, cit. (Introd,), 98-
10g; W . K rehm er, Gnomon xlviii (1976), 5378, O f those interpretations
w hich more or less differ from this we should m ention von der M hll, Odys
see, 766; W . T heiler, in Festschrift fr . Tuche (Bern, 1947), 146-7; Erbse,
Beitrge, 97-109; M oulton, op. cit. (Introd.), 163-4; Fenik, Studies, 47-50;
W ender, op. cit. (Introd.), 57-60.
315 . : covered, darkened .
316 . : ( from , -, soot) sooty, black .
317 . 3 1 7b = 11. xxiii 225b (cf. also II. xxiv 123; Od. vii 274). : used
here alm ost as an adverb, close together, following close on each other;
violently . Intensity of em otion is still expressed in H om er by quantitative
expressions (cf. com pounds in - such as etc.); cf, B. Snell,
Die Entdeckung des Geistes (H am burg, 19482), 32-3. .
318 - 19 . p iv a s | $ : the intensity of
O dysseus reaction ( ) on seeing his father weeping with
despair is described in words w hich are alm ost untranslatable and which
recall, as von der M hll, Odyssee, 766, rightly notes, the equally unusual
description of xix 2 1112. T h e strange phraseology cannot, however, be
criticized; correctly defended b y Erbse, Beitrge, 99 n. 3, and 214, against
Kirk, Songs, 206-7, 250, and M H xvii (1960), 204 ( strained, bizarre, and
indeed alm ost m eaningless). A t the sight of his father O dysseus heart is
deeply stirred; and a sharp, stabbing pressure (pang) rose up to his nose
(, norm ally a term used in descriptions o f fighting, e.g. 11. xiii
136 etc., is used here in an unfam iliar context), a pressure presaging tears
(A m e is-H en tze -C a u er, ad loc.).
320 . N o w at last O dysseus does w hat he briefly considered at 236-7, and
then im m ediately rejected (239-40), : precedes -,
once again the poet uses atypically a term usually used in battle description
(e.g. xiv 220, xxii 305; cf. , 319) to em phasize the violence of.
O dysseus reaction.
321 - 60 . O n the skilful construction o f the recognition scene see Besslich,
Schweigen, 123-5.

397
COMMENTARY

321 - 6 . O dysseus speaks.


321 . T w o thoughts are com bined (as in xxi 207) in the short sentence with
w hich O dysseus identifies himself: T h a t m an, after w hom you ask (cf.
298), is m e, yo u r son, and he is standing before you (o8e).
322 . = x v i 206, 484, xxi 208.
323- 6 . A fter revealing his identity (, 321) O dysseus abruptly turns to a
new thought (, 323): he tells Laertes to stop m ourning; time is pressing,
he says (324), though his point is not im m ediately clear, he adds briefly the
news o f his revenge on the suitors. T his prepares for the continuation o f the
story-line, for Laertes cannot be satisfied with the strangers bald assertion
that he is his son (3293) >and furtherm ore 3267 give food for thought.
Laertes5 words at 3 5 1-5 show that he had rightly understood O dysseus5
parenthetic rem ark o f 32315.
323 . - iv 801, xv 8, xxi 228.
324 . 324 = 265, xv 318. : in spite of all that5(i.e. although there
w ou ld be m uch m ore to say).
325 . C f. xviii 236, 247.
326 . 326b = xxiii 64b.
327 - 9 . 329 - xxiii 273; 329b = xih 344b Laertes responds, apparently quite
unm oved by O dysseus words, and still in the grip of profound despair. In
a m atter of fact w ay he asks for evidence of the truth of this assertion (if you
really are O dysseus, m y son, returned), ignoring 323-6. A ll this should not
surprise us, for it w ould not be in character for Laertes to give free reign to
his jo y until reliable confirmation of the strangers claim has been
p ro d u ced ; his attitude is the same as that of his son towards A thena in xiii
(esp. 324-54), and o f Penelope towards her husband in xxiii. Lines 3 52 -5
show that Laertes has not in fact overlooked 3236.
331 - 44 . O dysseus reply sim ply concerns his fathers request at 328-9. H e
furnishes not one, but two , show ing his scar (331-5), and pointing
out the trees his father had given him as a boy (336-44). T h is double
presentation o f proof is not, as m ight appear, gratuitous. T h e scar has
becom e an essential feature o f the recognition topos in the poem , having
alm ost led to a prem ature identification of O dysseus by Penelope in xix,
having served as entirely adequate proof to the herdsm en ( dpi-
, xxi 217), and having been reported to Penelope by Eurycleia (xxiii
73-7). B ut ju st as Penelope in response to the nurse rejected the scar in
favour of a m ore sure known only to herself and her husband,
nam ely the secret of the bed, so here Odysseus offers his father a further
sign known only to the two of them: no one could tell sim ply by looking at
them that the trees belonged to the son. T h e intentional parallel with xxiii
is unm istakable. Cf. M ller, op. cit. (xxiii 18 1-2 n.), 36 n. 4; Erbse, Beitrge,
108-9; Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 107-8.
331 . . . . : the w ound here ; O dysseus points to it.
: cf. 2 17 .
332 - 5 . 332-3 ~ xix 393- 4 , 465-6; on 334~5 cf. xix 412,460; 335b = iv 6b etc.
O dysseus briefly sum m arizes the story of xix 393466. :

39
B O O K X X I V 321-345

w hen I had gone there , : so that I could receive ,


: on the content cf. xix 399-412.
336- 44 . T h e second . N ow we see that the m any references to L aertes
garden (youvov )? --, 1 193 = xi 193; ,
xxiii 139, 358; , xxiv 221) were in fact preparing for the
recognition scene.
336 . 336b ~ 226b (cf. n.). ei S a y e . , . : construction as at ix 37; cf.
Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 207.
337 . : sc. SevSpea.
338 . $ : as at xxi 21.
339 . : aoL only here; nam ed, identified by species .
340- 1 . Cf. vii 11416. : (cf. 222.) refers to the rows of vines;
cf. 2 12 -14 . : either at every opportunity (A m eis-H en tze-C auer,
ad loc.) or (better?) as follows . $ : used with fut. inf., i.e.
almost like , lacks close parallels in epic; cf. Page, Odyssey 107;
Shipp, Studies, 362. Nevertheless the related is so used with the
sense o f specify in two passages of the II. (xviii 449 and esp. ix 515), so that
we are led to expect, or supply, a future infinitive to follow (cf. d yap
, S m o3 (sc. oi'aeiv, ^) | , ix 515
16), and to understand the m eaning promise .
342- 4 . ? : (hapax) probably not interspersed with fruit trees and
vines (Schwyzer, Grammatik, ii 449; Shipp, Studies, 362), but ra th er ripen
ing at different times ; R isch, Wortbildung, 114, diversis temporibus fructus
ferens (Ebeling, Lexicon s.v.; similarly each row bore grapes in succes
sion , LSJ s.v.; cf. also Erbse, Beitrge, 21415; LfgrE s.v.). T his inter
pretation is confirm ed if w e follow A m eis-H en tze, Anhang, iv 107, and
Erbse, Beitrage, 21415, in taking 5 , 343,
as a parenthetic am plification of tot, and furthermore if in
the description of.A lcinous wonderful garden (vii 112-32, esp. 122-6) we
take B | , rpai 8
(vii 125-6) as an elaboration o f the expression . C f.
Richter, Archaedogia H, 133 and 14 5-6 : (also given at xix 283,
xxiii 316, II. xi 808) is not objectionable; cf. Meister, Kunstsprache, 109;
Chantraine, Grammaire, i 289. : as an adverb is rare; bu t cf. in a
similar context ? 8 orpves , II. xviii 562; cf. W ender, op.
cit. (Introd.), 49. e a a iv : is not likely to be corrupt, as Schwartz,
Odyssee, 333, supposes; his conjecture seems unnecessary. If w e
assume that ' eva . . . (343; see above) is parenthetic, then the
construction - with iterative optative in 344 is no longer problem atic
(cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 215; Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 259, gives a different
explanation); thus w henever the seasons of Zeus (with their different
w eather conditions) press dow n on them with their power .
345 - 50 . Laertes, w renched out of apathy b y the of his son, arid
set free to m ourn ju st a m om ent before, is now so overcome by his sons
convincing that he briefly loses consciousness (, 348; cf.
3478 n.), and m ust be supported in O dysseus arms. T h e poet uses a

399
COMMENTARY

form ulaic phrase (345 = iv 703, v 297,406, xxii 68, 11. xxi 144), which always
denotes com plete m ental and physical effects induced by a deeply disturb
in g situation or piece o f news, b ut which does not in other cases result in
fainting. T h e addition o f 346, hpwever, recalls in particular Penelope s
reaction to O dysseus nam ing the secret of the bed, xxiii 205-6 (= xx iv
345-6) O dysseus father reacts in the same w ay as she had done, but more
dram atically, since he actually loses consciousness (cf. 348-9).
345- 6 . Cf. xxiii 2 0 5-6 n.
347 - 8 . 347a = xv 38*. T h e passage (sc. approx, ) j
(took, seized) is taken from I t xxi 507 with the addition o f -
as required by the context. Active is unique in Hom er.
W hereas m iddle (II. xi 621, xxi 561, xxii 2; on the details cf,
LSJ s.v.), w ith as its object, is connected with , and means to
cool off the sweat, active means roughly to lose consciousness
()\ like , IL xxii 467; cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 216.
349 . T h e very sim ilar v 458 (~ 1 1 xxii 475) describes strength returning to
O dysseus after he had collapsed in total exhaustion (, ,
; ) on the shore. T h e repetition o f the line here shows
that Laertes collapse is only tem porary (cf. 245-500.). Laertes soon
recovers his breath ( as at IL v 697; xxii 475; cf. R uijgh, lment,
134), and his strength () returns (). O n the term inology and its
m eaning, cf., am ong others, B. Snell, op. cit. (315.), 17-4 2, and the
literature given in H eubeck, Frage, 188-9.
350 . = iv 234 ~ xix 214.
351 - 5 . Laertes responds now to his sons news given at 324-6. H is words are
prefaced by an invocation of Zeus and the other O lym pians, w hich
expresses the n ew spirit of the Odyssey. Laertes sees the retribution on the
suitors as an act o f divine justice, an expression of a far-reaching theodicy;
cf. W . Burkert, RMus ciii (i960), 130-44, esp. 141; Friedrich, Stikoandel,
135. A t the same tim e his words at 3 53 -5 also show that he has seen the
point of his sons counsel in 324-6 to m ake haste ( , 324).
351 . F or followed by pi. cf. xx 98.
352 . T his line responds to 325-6. ctcov : here adverbial.
353 . 353a = 11. i 555 etc. Laertes fears the vengeance of the suitors kinsmen,,
ju st as O dysseus had done, xx 4 1-3 , xxiii 117 -2 2 (cf. n.), 137-40, 362-5,
xxiv 324.
354 . : here denotes specifically the families of the suitors.
355 . : cf. 208. : here dispatch (in haste). T h e use
o f the verb with dyycAtas means that w e probably have here not
, a m essage, but , a messenger . O n the m orpho
logically strange formation of from the older (and regular)
in the course o f the epic tradition cf. Leum ann, Wrter, 168-73;
B. Forssman, Mnchner Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft xxxii (1974), 4 164;
H . Erbse, in Le Mondegrec: Hommage Claire Praux (Brussels, 1972; 1978s),
68-74. : the form has raised objections (cf. W ilam owitz,
Untersuchungen, 73), but should not have done. It is m odelled on II. ii 6316

400
B O O K X X I V 3 45 -3 7 6

and iv 350, where O dysseus men are referred to collectively as -


\ cf. also Od. xx 210, xxiv 378, 429. D. M lder, RMus Ixxx (1931),
1-3 5 , esp. 1 1 -1 5 , has argued convincingly that the alternating use o f the
quasi-identical terms and is governed by the
dem ands of metre. Cf. Stossel, op. cit. (Introd.), 109-10.
357- 60 . O dysseus does not deny the danger he him self had pointed out, but
urges his father to take heart. A t the same time he tries to steer the con
versation indoors, w here his com panions are waiting.
357 . = xiii 362, xix 436, II. xviii 463.
358 . 358 ~ 11 xviii 266*.
359 . ~ xxiii 367. : thither . Lines 359-60 recall 214 -15.
360 . 3ob ~ II. xxiv 203b. : the only H om eric form in which
-ov- formed b y crasis is in the stressed h alf (hngum) of the foot; in every
other case -- could theoretically be read, because it is in the unstressed,
second h alf of the foot, as uncontracted -oe- (y vj). T here is, however, no
reason to find this objectionable; cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 217.
361 - 83 . O dysseus and Laertes arrive at the house; Laertes bathes, and his
appearance is enhanced. T h e bath scene (partly through the choice of
words) deliberately recalls the parallel scenes of vi 224-5 (cf. also xviii 6 9 -
70) and xxiii 153-63. It is fruitless to speculate about any one scene being
derived from the others: each suits its own context. T his bath scene serves
to present the rejuvenated Laertes as a worthy fellow com batant alongside
the younger men, and to fit him for his , for he will in fact be the
first to kill one of the enem y (525-30). In this sense the scene 365-71
indicates how the story will end.
361 . 3 6 ia = 11 vi 232s; 3 6 ib ~ xv 45411.
362 . = xv 28, 85.
363 . - 359, xxiii 367.
364 . 364b = x v 5 o o b.
365 . 36511 =,xxiii I53b. : m eanwhile . evi : has less
force here than at xxiii 153
366 . 366b = xxiii i54 b. $ : cf. 2 i i n .
367 . 367 ~ xxiii 155. In place of and only the is nam ed
here.
368 . = xviii 70 (which refers to Odysseus). : filled out .
369 . 36ga ~ vi 230, [xxiii 157*]; 369^ = viii 20b, xviii 19511. : on
the m iddle see Bechert, op. cit. (xxiii 5.), 152-3.
370- 1 . ~ xxiii 163; 370 = iii 468,370* = xxiii 163% 37ob - xvi I78b; 3 7 = d 5b>
iv 3 io b.
372 . = i 122 etc.
373. 37315= xxiii 8 ib.
374 . 374a ~ 253. etB os p eyeO s t c : acc. o f respect as at 253.
375 . T h is formulaic line is very com m on in the Odyssey, but with Telem achus
as subject (i 368 etc.),
376 - 82 . T his speech o f Laertes clearly recalls the Iliadic Nestor; indeed
Laertes here assumes an almost Nestorian role, for often in such critical

401
COMMENTARY

situations N estor had expressed the wish that his youthful strength could
be restored, and retold the story o f one of his earlier exploits as an exam ple
to inspire his listeners {II. vii 132-57; xi 670-762; xxiii 62943). T h e close
connection with the Iliadic m odel is am ply illustrated by the borrowing of
376 word for w ord from II. vii 132. T h e difference between the situation
here and the three com parable scenes with Nestor is that Laertes speaks o f
his past exploit, the capture o f N ericus, only after the new event (the
slaughter o f the suitors), and so his speech is not exhortatory, looking
forward to new deeds, bu t retrospective (37982). In view o f the difference
in context the formal framework of the paradigm atic tale is significantly
altered from the Iliad.(e.g. in xi: ' ? . . 6 7 0 : ? . . . , 762)
to: a i . . . oio? . . ., ? . . . (on the construction cf. 379-800.).
377- 8 . 377b = fii 4b. Laertes tells how, as L ord of the Cephallenians (cf.
355 .) he conquered the town o f (as read b y von der M h ll and
others, not /ptTos) is thus in som ewhat awkward apposition to
; the sense probably is the city on the coast o f the m ain
land'. T h e geographical details rem ain unclear, and have given rise to
m uch speculation. T h e town m ay have stood where, in H om eric times,
Leucas (later to becom e an island) was still connected b y an isthm us to
m ainland A carnania (before the cutting m ade by the Corinthians; Strabo x
451 ff.). T h e town N ericus is later m entioned in T h . iii 7 in connection with
an Athenian cam paign against Leucas and Acarnania. has no
connection with the m ountain on Ithaca (ix 22 etc.). O n the
details cf. A m eis-H e n tze-C a u er, ad loc.; Bechtel, Lexilogus, 160 (unreli
able on individual points); Stubbings, in Companion, 400; S im p so n -
L azen by, Catalogue, 103.
379- 80 . 370b = 32511 etc.; 380* = II. vii 137s. t o io s : here Laertes
elaborates on the wish introduced with ai (376), with the infinitives
: oh if only I, as the m an w ho conquered then,
could have helped you yesterday ; on the unusual construction (cf. further
vii 313 in the disputed, bu t certainly genuine passage vii 3 1 1 - 1 6 ; cf.
Hainsw orth, ad loc.; Shipp, Studies, 330, differs) cf. Palmer, Companion,
155; G hantraine, Grammaire, ii 318. like , xix 203.
: cf. , xxii 203.
381 - 2 . : belongs w ith (past unreal) and w ith . O n 382 cf.
xxiii 47; cf. H oekstra, Modifications, 122.
383 . = iv 620 etc.
384- 5 . 384 = xvi 478; 385 = i 145 etc. W hile 383 ( ) refers to O dysseus
and Laertes, resumes from 364, and refers to those w ho were
already in the house, viz. Telem achus, Eum aeus, and Philoetius
(H. R eynen, Gktta xxxvi (1958), 4 0-1). 385-6 refer to all five m en ( ,
386). ^
386 . ) -: this unusual expression (the verb is used in
H om er only here and in the related 395), instead o f the expected form ula of
i 149 etc., is necessitated by the context: those in the house were about to
eat ( im perf.!) w hen D olius and his sons appeared on the scene.

402
B O O K X X I V 3 76-397

T h e m eal is delayed until after the intermediate episode (which lasts until
411); 412 resumes from 386. A gainst the objections of Page, Odyssey, 108,
see Erbse, Beitrge, 271; Eisenberger, Studien, 3 17 -18 n. 5.
387 . D olius and his team return from the w ork described at 222-5. O n the
Figure o f D olius cf. 222. : here adv. together with him ,
u teis: only here and 497, xv 248; elsewhere vres or vies.
388 - 90 . (cf, 224) is an unusual expression; cf,
Schwartz, Odyssee, 136 n. 2; Page, Odyssey, 108. N orm ally is
transitive, suffer (e.g. in the form ulaic , ii 343 etc.); there
are in addition only two passages in which the participles and
respectively are used absolutely to mean only with difficulty,
with great effort : II. xi 636 and xii 29. T h ere m ay be a development from
such usage to the expression in xxiv 388, w hich can hardly m ean anything
other than w orn out from w orking in the fields ; cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 218.
: the m other had in the m eantim e gone out to the fields, and
fetched Dolius and his sons (with, of course, the news that O dysseus had
returned). O n ly now do w e learn that the Sicilian m aid , w ho has
appeared before (cf. 211 n.), is D olius wife. : her husband and
sons. | $ : as at 2 11 -1 2 . .
. . . : (sc. ) tmesis.
391 . : cf. 2 16 -18 .
392 . : they rem ained standing . : cf. xxiii 9 3 - 5 n.
(), 105-7 n. (). O n the content cf. 388-9on,
393 . : addressing (him) courteously .
394 . : {hapax) has unusual, but unobjectionable, strength
ening o f norm al with the additional prefix (w holly and
com pletely); explained b y Erbse, Beitrge, 219. : refers to the
behaviour o f those w ho have ju st arrived, described as ', on the
etym ological relationship o f , (and ) cf. Chantraine,
Dictionnaire s.v. . T h e scansion o f the genitive of a neuter in -os,
as in , is otherwise unattested in H om er (Page, Odyssey, 108), but
can be accepted in view of scansions such as ( ^ ), xi 37 and
(^ ), vii 118; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 58; Erbse, Beitrge, 2 19 -
20. T h e poet could have w ritten -eos (to); cf. in the Naxian Nicandre
inscription (IG xii 5, 1425b; C E G 404. 3) ( ^ ^ )-
395 . : cf. 386.
3 9 6 . 39 6b ~ i x 5 4 5 b
397 - 407 . T h e exchange w ith D olius follows the pattern o f the last part o f the
scene w ith Laertes: 397-8 ~ 345~8; 399-405 (403-5: concern about
Penelope) - 349-55 (353~55: fear o f the suitors kinsmen); 406-7 ~ 356-7;
cf. Fenik, Studies, 19 1-2 . T h e doubts expressed b y Schwartz, Odyssee, 333,
about the authenticity o f 403-8 are not justified.
397- 8 . (dual) $ | (pi.) as at 11. xxi 11516; on
the construction cf. Schwyzer, Grammatik, 47 . 8. : this
form of the gen. (alongside the com m on and , as well
as the unique of II. iv 491) is quite unparalleled: norm ally -e(f)o-

403
COMMENTARY

is not contracted; Ghantraine, Grammaire, i 34. D id the poet intend


* s (with eo pronounced as a diphthong, corresponding to
taken as scanning ^ 4 )? O th er scholars assume that the text
is corrupt, and offer conjectures; , N auck; ,
Brard. T here is an extensive discussion in Erbse, Beitrge, 220-1. em
: (wrist) with , (a) with .
399 . = xx 198 etc.
400 - 1 . : (: w ish for, long for) predicative with -
(cf. xx 209), as is . O n ly the reading can be correct;
Ruijgh, re pique, 707.
402 . 402b = viii 413''. ouX: (hapax), originally voc. o f ?, A ttic o'Aos,
is used here as an imperative ( salve) in conjunction with (cf.
Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v. ); literally be happy and w ell ; cf. Latacz,
op. cit. (xxiii 13.), 50. : an ancient conjecture (cf. van der V alk,
Textual Criticism, 36); (vulgate) is supported by k.Ap. 466.
403 - 5 . In view of the close personal bond between Dolius and Penelope (iv
735-41) his question should not be criticized as im pertinent and inappro
priate (Schwartz, Odyssee, 333), for it shows his loyalty and devotion; cf.
Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 113.
403 . = 258, 297, etc.
405 . : deliberative subjunctive.
407 . T h e line is m odelled on II. xiii 275; the reply sounds more abrupt than
intended.
408 . = xvii 602. ?: in xvii Eum aeus does sit down again, b u t this is
not true o f Dolius and atm s is difficult to explain here; it m ay be an
instance o f careless repetition o f a line from another context; cf. R. Fhrer,
LfgrE i, col. 610, 23-7 s.v. a im ?. T h e ancient variant seeks to
avoid this difficulty. : the , probably a stool with
out a back or arms, is for the servants use: O dysseus and his com panions
sit on and (385); cf. S. Laser, Archaeologia P, 37 eipassim.
409 - 10 . T h e m eaning behind this abbreviated account is that the sons of
D olius crowd round O dysseus, and greet him ( only at xviii
m a = xxiv 410, and II. xv 86; on the etym ology and form o f
cf. the investigations of B. Forssman, Die Sprache xxiv (1978), 3-24). O n
41011 cf. x 397b v . ev . . . : belong
together, and is an instrumental dat.: they grew on him with their
hands, they clasped him by the hand .
411 - 12 . e| iq s : 411 resumes with a verbal echo from 385. After
the arrival of Dolius and his sons all present can now begin the m eal Which
O dysseus and his men had w anted to start earlier (385). W hile iv 624
(= x x iv 412) refers to the preparation o f the m eal, 412 refers to the m eal
starting (almost in the sense o f 0/ rr
, i 149 etc.). B ut ju st as at 386 the typical developm ent of the action is
interrupted: there is here no conventional line to close the m eal ( -
., i 150 etc.). Instead, in keeping with the H om eric pattern o f
m arking tim e (cf. xxiv i-2 0 4 n .), the lull in the action caused by the m eal is

404
B O O K X X I V 397-413

occupied by a glance at the action taking place elsewhere (the gathering of


the suitors kinsm en in the city, 4x371; and the gods conversation, 4 7 2 -
88); and the m eal does not end until 48g(~ i 150). T h e uncharacteristic
sequence of events is indicated by the phrases " s ot . . ., w hich
prepares for the change o f scene (3'0 3 . . .); cf. Arend, Szenen, 72;
Freidrich, Stilwandel, 204 . 2 . It is w orth noting that the change of scene
announced with 412 also occurs after the identical iv 624, in that instance
fro m Sp arta to Ithaca: S . . . (625).
413 - 548 . T h e final part o f the last book is devoted to the confrontation and
reconciliation w ith the suitors kinsm en. T h is is the goal to which the whole
of the poem has been directed, for from the first the action has been leading
not ju st to the hero s return, his revenge on the suitors, and reunion with
those nearest to him , bu t also to the restoration of the old order in
O dysseus kingdom . In keeping with the im portance of this concluding
scene () for the inner and outward structure of the poem it is care
fully prepared like the recognition scene w ith Laertes, but also, of course,
the reunion with Penelope, the battle with the suitors etc. T h is preparation
begins in the very first books, but increases in intensity towards the close of
the epic. So there can be no doubt that the assem bly of the Ithacans in xxiv
4 13 -7 1 is intended as a structural counterpart to the popular assembly in ii
1-25 9, j u s t as interchange between Zeus and A thena at xxiv 472-88 is
conceived in parallel to the sim ilar divine scene at i 22-95. T h e structural
parallels are underlined b y the similar constellations of characters: in both
i and xxiv the O lym p ian conversation is conducted by A thena and Zeus;
and the roles played in the popular assem bly in xxiv by A ntinous father
Eupeithes, on the one hand, and on the other b y the herald M edon and the
prophet Halitherses, correspond to those played in ii b y Antinous himself,
Halitherses, and M entor. Furtherm ore O dysseus fear that revenge on the
suitors w ould provoke vengeance from their families is first expressed in his
exchange with A then a (xx 40-2), and reappears in his conversations with
T elem achus (xxiii 117-4 0 ), Penelope (xxiii 3 6 1-5), and Laertes (xxiv
324-6); all these passages w ou ld be pointless if O dysseus fear were not
realized. T h e poet has, however, also carefully indicated well in advance
the futile result o f the kinsm en s enterprise. T w ice at the beginning o f the
epic T elem achus speaks words of crucial significance in defiance of the
suitors (i 376-80 = ii 14 1-5). T h e key w ord is : the com plaint that
the toros of O dysseus is being wasted, , w ithout the suitors pay
in g for it, is followed b y an im precation that Zeus m ay exact vengeance,
and see that they perish, ; this m eans here, in ironic adaptation of
the m eaning in i 377 = ii 142, that they should n ot count on revenge after
their bloody end. Z eu s acknow ledgem ent o f T elem achus prayer by
sending an om en in the form o f two eagles (ii 146 ff.) is intended to fore
shadow the action to com e in xxii and xxiv: the suitors will not only meet
their ju st deserts; their deaths w ill b e unavenged. T elem achus words
therefore point to the essential goal o f the w hole epic narrative: Zeus and
his daughter will replace the old patriarchal system o f justice, w hich has

405
COMMENTARY

until now prevailed with remorseless consistency, as in accordance with the


law of the vendetta bloodshed repeatedly calls for further bloodshed; in its
place they will establish a new m oral order, one based on a justice guarded
and supported by the gods. W e should also note that the restore
the relationship between O dysseus and the dem os o f Ithaca, w ho had
played such a cowardly and inglorious role in the assem bly o f ii. T h e old
harm on y between people and ruler, w hich had been sadly interrupted (cf,
ii 230-41; 230-4 = v 8-12), is restored. D oubts as to the authenticity o f the
are regularly expressed, latterly by M ller, loc. cit. (xxiii 1 5 3 -
63.) and Eisenberger, Studien, 314-26. F or the counterargum ents cf. esp.
H eubeck, Dichter, 36-40; H . H om m el, Aigisthos un d die Freier , Studium
Generale viii (1955), 237-45; A ischylos O restie, Antike und Abendland xx
(1974), 14-24, esp. 17 -19 ; Erbse, Beitrge, 139-42; Stssel, op. cit.
(Introd.), 115 -3 7 ; W . Krehm er, V o lk ohne Schuld , xxvi (1976), 1 1 -
22; Gnomon xlvi (1976), 339; B. Andreas and H . Flashar, Potica ix (1977),
249-50; W ender, op. cit. (Introd.), 6 3 -71.
413 . 4 i3 b = ii 383b ~ IL v 495b. : signals the scene-change from
the farm to the Ais (cf. 4 i i - i 2 n . ) , w here the news {) o f the
slaughter o f the suitors is spreading, appears here as a superhum an
being, w ho goes through the town as an ayycA os; the m odel o f II ii 934
(" . . . ) d ivai, Aids ) appears to be an influence; but
even at i 282, w here appears at first to be used purely as an abstract,
the following line, etc , re , shows
that here too personal conception is involved. O n the com plex m eanings of
so-called abstracts in early G reece cf. J. G rber, op. cit. (57 .), 879 (on
in particular, 31). cf. 208,
414 . : cf. 127.
415 . - ix 401, xi 42. : the m eaning is deliberately kept vague: in
4 i6 ff. it probably refers first o f all only to the families of the suitors; how
ever, in the ensuing (420ff.) we are probably meant to think (as in ii)
of the w hole Ithacan people gathered together (cf. 443, 454). T here is no
universally accepted explanation of w hat refers to and m eans; cf,
Stanford, ad loc.; perhaps it goes both with (in the tem poral sense)
and with (local: together ).
416 . : (hapax) m o a n in g, gro a n in g , is fo rm ed w ith th e suffix -
fro m the ro o t fo u n d in A ttic , , g ro a n ; cf. R isch , Wortbildung,
46. : cf. , 625; p ro b a b ly in
th e .
417 . . . . : the physical layout is indicated in xxii 44851 (the
w om en carry the dead suitors from the , and lay them down '
) . . . ) and xxiii 49 (the bodies lie /); SO
the families find the corpses in the , near the (courtyard
gate), where apparently the courtyard w all () was m ade into an open
portico (), presum ably by pillars within the courtyard; cf. S. Hiller,
D ie A ithusa bei H om er, WS N F i (1970), 1427. In the circum stances
(pi,!) can only m ean (uniquely in Hom er) the w hole palace

406
- B O O K X X I V 413-427

com plex, the palace5. : {in explanatory apposition to the


subject ot) m eans here the individual families o f the dead suitors. It is
questionable whether, as Schwartz, Odyssee, 333, and others claim , the text
is really corrupt here; for an extensive discussion of the textual questions
see Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 257 n. 3. It is in any case noticeable that the
narrator is in haste here: his intention is evidently to see the corpses buried
before the .
418 - 19 . T h e m eaning of these lines is clear: w hile the Ithacan families bury
their sons, the bodies of those from m ore remote parts of O dysseus5
kingdom (cf. xvi 122-4; 6 3 1-5) are placed on fast ships to be trans
ported home. B ut the construction is unusual. T h e use of v with
infinitive is com m on enough, but the passages w hich evidently served as
m odels, II. xvi 454-5, 6 7 1 -3 - 6 8 1-3 , are constructed differently. Perhaps
the poet inferred from them (and used in his own distinctive fashion) a
construction nvC m eaning to hand over to som eone5; norm ally, of
course, we find -eiv n v i n , to send som eone som ething5 (v 167).
420 . 420a = xvi 361s. e is : the m eaning here initially is a m eeting
o f the suitors5 families; as the scene develops the poet wishes to give the
impression (by the appearance of H alitherses and M edon) of a regular
assem bly of the people as in ii (cf., for exam ple, 438). :
as at xii 250.
421 . = 119 etc.
422 . Cf. 11 vii 94, 123. S : on B, w hich connects the m ain clause to the
preceding subordinate clause, cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 3 56 -7.
? : father o f A n tinous (i 383 etc.), appears here in person for the
first time; on his significant nam e see H . M hlestein, Z A xx* (1971), 4 6 -7.
423 . : violent . T h e etym ology is obscure, possibly form ed from
alpha privative and the root - (), and originally m eaning
unforgettable ; Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v. . irv o s: with
objective gen., pain on account of another.
424 . 21.
425 . = ii 24. t o 0 : objective gen. with .
426- 62 . O n the inner links within the triad of speeches (Eupeithes, M edon,
Halitherses) cf. Besslich, Schweigen, 9 8 -10 1.
426 - 37 . Eupeithes urges the people to revenge. It should be noted that the
projected vengeance is quite w ithin the m oral and legal bounds o f conven
tion; cf. Finley, World, 89.
426 . 426* = iv 663, xvi 346; 427b = II. iv 298b etc. : an evil
deed5 (similarly iii 261, xi 272, xix 92). Besides pyov, "(o) also
governs the personal accusative M^atovs (by analogy with e.g.
rtva); a parallel construction is also to be found at xviii 27, -
(differently, for exam ple, at xxiii 96).
427 - 9 . Toi l s . . , t o u s . . the reasons for the accusation are given in a
double form, with, however, the em phasis on the second element. T h e
syntax of 427-8 is unusual; after the participial construction o f 427, in
w hich (those w ho took part in the expedition to T roy) is the object

407
COMMENTARY

o f , we have in 428 a subdivision of the pv-part into two com plem ent
ary and 8 clauses, in which first , and then (crew ), are the
object of . S, 429, refers, o f course, to the suitors. :
on his ret urn : cf. 355 n .
430 . : sc. to avoid our revenge.
431 . = xiii 275 (~ xv 298). O n Elis and the Epeians cf. II ii 6 15-24.
432 . ; a short vowel subjunctive (hortatory); where exactly they are
going to go is not mentioned yet. : fin time to com e ;
sim ilarly ii 60. : (hapax) covered with sham e; from this
- (II. i 51 etc.); on the m orphology cf. Risch, Wortbildung, 82, and
on the (uncertain) etym ology cf. Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v. (with bibl.).
433 . = II. ii 119; 433b = xxi 255b; prepares for 434-5.
435 . y e : at least for me, as far as I am concerned .
436 . : here live longer. : here a genuine optative
(unlike . . , , 435).
437 . : after the explanation given in 433-5, of 432 is
em phatically repeated. : (with synizesis --) short vowel sub
jun ctive o f resulting from quantitative metathesis (cf. , xvi
383); cf. Meister, Kunstsprache, 159; Chantraine, Grammaire, i 64, 71, 459.
: (hapax), from (, II. ii 635):
travel across (from one coast to another), as indicated, for exam ple, at
4301; differently with acc., travel (the seas) ; cf, Erbse, Beitrge,
2 2 1-2 . : O dysseus and his men.
438 . 438* = II. i 357a ( as at 425); 438b ~ 8 ib.
439 - 40 . 439a = xx 173. T h e lines recall the escape of the herald M edon and
the singer Phem ius (xxii 330-80). . . . : after sleep had
left them, when they had woken up . T h e poet rather artificially contrives
to have the pair hear nothing o f the preceding activity (41520).
441 . Iv : am ong them . 44i b (~ xxi i22b): all are astonished that
these men are still alive.
442 . 442b = iv 696b, 71 i b, xxiii 3 6 ib.
443 - 9 . M edon speaks as though he had heard Eupeithes speech. His
account o f Odysseus killing the suitors with the aid o f a god in the form o f
M entor must be retained, as it fulfils a vital function (despite W ilam owitz,
Untersuchungen, 7 1 -2 , who sees the speech as a later insertion intended to
establish a connection with xxii). A t 443-4 M edon to a certain extent
corrects Eupeithes words at 426; and the reference to divine aid alters the
m ood, em phasized by the phraseology, from to (438:
45o); M edon prepares the ground for the effect o f the following speech from
Halitherses. T h e differences between M ed o n s account (4456) and the
poets description of the help given by A then a (xxii 205-40, 297-309) are
sm all and superficial; they arise from the speaker s wish to show that divine
intervention decisively influenced the outcom e of the fight.
443- 4 . 443* = 454, 444* = i 79*. : presupposes an (unspoken) warn
ing in . . . : listen to me, not Eupeithes! The violent
deeds of which Eupeithes has spoken were contrived by Odysseus not

408
B O O K - X X I V 427-460

w ithout the will of the gods (sim ilarly vi 240). :


deliberately picks up the w ording of 426, .
445 . : as at II. 358 etc.
446 . Cf. 205-6.
447 - 9 . 449b = xxii 1 iS b. S: adversative; the m eaning is it was, however,
not M entor but an im m ortal god, w ho . . : at
one m o m e n t. . . at the next , refers to the double role played by A then a in
xxii: at one m om ent appearing before O dysseus ( ) to encourage
him (cf. xxii 205-40, esp. 226-35), and then driving the suitors w ild with
fear { ) b y a charge ( ) through the (cf. xxii 297-309).
T h e action in xxii was a little different: there it is by raising the aegis that
A then a produces panic am ong the suitors (cf. p o v , xxii
299), and the charge is m ade b y O dysseus and his m en (
, xxii 307).
451 - 62 . T h e third speaker in the assem bly, the prophet Halitherses, tries to
build on the groundw ork of M ed o n s contribution, and counter the argu
ments o f Eupeithes, and so frustrate the latters plans: the Ithacans them
selves are really responsible for w hat has happened, because they had
failed to curb the behaviour o f the suitors, bu t o f course the greatest guilt
was borne b y the suitors themselves, for w h ich they have now got their just
deserts. T h e verbal echoes o f Eupeithes speech are particularly striking,
but there are also equally significant, and deliberate, echoes o f Halitherses
speech in the assem bly o f ii, w here his argum ents had not prevailed against
the suitors. T h e skill of the poet s technique in establishing verbal connec
tions between w idely separated passages is particularly apparent here; c f
Erbse, Beitrge, 240-1. T h ere is no justification for W . T h eilers theory,
M H vii (1950), 108I, that 450-60 are an interpolation:
451 - 4 . 451-2* = ii 15 7 -8 ; 452b = I I i 343b, id i09b, xviii 250b (referring to the
prophet Poulydam as); 453-4 = 11 16 0 -1. T h e various verbal parallels are
very significant: Halitherses is introduced in almost the same terms as at ii
157-60. A t 452 the prophets gifts are characterized in true H om eric
fashion: he is not credited with supernatural m antic powers b u t with
wisdom and clear understanding which enable him to draw conclusions
about the future from the past. : back into the
past and forward into the future cf. LSJ s.v. . A t 454 M ed o n s open
ing w ords (443*) are deliberately repeated.
455 . : Halitherses refers back to 426 ( ) and 444 (rdSe
) : the o f O dysseus, carried out with the help of the gods, can
only have been caused b y yo u r , i.e. that of the entire Ithacan
people.
456 - 60 . T hese lines explain the above: you did not follow m y counsel (ii 1 6 1 -
78) and that o f M entor (ii 229-41; 161 == 229!), to curb the actions of th
suitors; 457 refers back to ii 1678 ( : ) and 239
41 (Mentor); 458-60 are intim ately connected w ith ii 235-8 (M entor); for
458 cf. ii 236, for 460 cf. ii 238 (40ob = ii 238b). (458) refers once
more back to 426: it is not O dysseus w ho has done evil, but the suitors.

409
COMMENTARY

458 . 458fa= xii gooh.


45 9 . xviii 144.
460 . 460* = xxi 3333; 4&oh = ii 23815.
461 - 2 . : looks forward to the w arning o f 462, w hich is in stark
contrast to Eupeithes re-iterated (432, 436). T h e fear expressed in
Eupeithes concluding words ( , . . ) (436) is countered b y the
prophet w ith a m uch m ore serious danger, that no one m eet trouble which
he has brought on him self . T h e prophet here expresses a thought which is
particularly dear to the author o f the Odyssey: some misfortune is the result
of fate, but some is self-incurred; cf. i 7, 32-43; xxii 416; xxiii 67.
463 - 6 . In ii Halitherses had spoken entirely in vain; here he does find
support from at least a section o f the crowd. It is probably not possible to
com e to a w holly convincing decision as to the reference o f oi 463, rot ,
464, and , 465; it seems, however, m ost likely that 018 and refer
to the supporters o f Eupeithes, rot S to those o f Halitherses, and 403b is
parenthetic. T h is is the view taken b y W ilam owitz, Untersuchungen, 72;
Erbse, Beitrge, 241; Stossel, op. cit. (Introd.), 127 (with detailed argu
ment); the editions o f Stanford and von der M h ll; and Schadew aldts
translation. T h e other interpretation (that a m ajority support Halitherses)
is to be found in A m eisH entzeC auer, ad loc.; Schwartz, Odyssee, 129
n. 1; W ilam ow itz, Heimkehr, 83; Focke, Odyssee, 381; Besslich, Schweigen,
99 n. 24. Evidence for the interpretation adopted here is to be found in the
phrases (cf. aaevovTo, 466) and (w ar cry : II. xii
138, xiv 393), which better suit people preparing to fight than those w ho
respond to the words o f the prophet. In spite of the prophets w arning the
supporters o f Eupeithes, w ho are in the m ajority (464*), leap from their
seats, fired with enthusiasm for battle, and hasten to arms, w hile the others,
shaken by the seers arguments, rem ain seated in their places ().
xrXeious: (hapax) the fact that the contracted form is H om eric is shown by
dpeiovs, i 48, and 11 xvi 557, in both instances used in the metrical position
^ ---- 6; on the other hand at xxiv 464 the form nAeoves could equally w ell
have been used; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 55. a S e : aorist o f
dvSdvat. : here plan, counsel sc. o f Halitherses. -
(------- 6): the contracted ending -ei ( < -ei' < -ehi) can be used, although
rarely, in the stressed half of the foot (longum), but its position here at the
end of a line is unique in H om er. T h e poet m ay have been prom pted to
bend the rules o f metrical convention b y the wish to m ake the play on
words Evneidei | as effective as possible; cf. Meister, Kunstsprache,
128-9; Page, Odyssey, 109; Erbse, Beitrge, 222-3. -
: 7 with acc. in the sense o f to fetch is unusual (Hoekstra, Modifica
tions, 104, cites only iii 421); here we have borrowing from I i ii 8o8b.
467 . = 5 0 0 ,11. xiv 383. : in the Odyssey only here (and 500), but
com m on in the Iliad in the form ula (-) (-) ; m eaning and
etym ology unknown; a bibliography is given in Chantraine, Dictionnaire
s.v. : here arm our ; cf. xxii 113, w here it m eans helm et and
shield.

410
B O O K X X IV 4 5 8 -4 7 5

468 . 468 = ii 392a. : cf. vi 4.


469 . : took com m and . : abstract noun from n o s
folly . O n the m orphological problem s cf. Chantraine, G r a m m a ir e , i 83;
Risch, W o r t b ild u n g , 133; S. W est, i 297 . ; on pi. ^ (as at I I xv 363,
xx 4 11) cf. Chantraine, G r a m m a ir e , ii 31: the plural use o f abstract nouns (cf.
, i 7, , xxiv 457 etc.) expresses the m ultiplicity of
aspects o f abstract m eaning.
470- 1 . 47 i a = xiii 6a, I I . i 6oa. : he at least believed .
5 : with following fut. inf., as at x 26 and frequently in the R
(e.g. xii 3): b u t it w as not given to him (by fate ). . . . Such authorial vaticinia
e x e v e n tu are not com m on in H om er; the best known exam ple is 8
p a oi (i.e. ) ireAev , I L xi 604. : there , i.e. in
the com ing battle.
472 - 88 . A scene set am ong the gods on O lym p us. T h e sudden change of
scene from earth to O lym p u s has m any parallels in the I l i a d , e.g. iii 461 :iv
1; xvi 4 3 0 :4 3 1-2; xviii 355:356; xxii 166 : 1661*; in the O d y sse y cf. xiii
125s: I25b. T h e technical skill of the structure is unmistakable: ju st as the
poet has filled the time taken b y the m eal at the farm with the account of
events in the city (cf. 4 1 1 -1 2 n.), so now the time w hich Eupeithes and his
m en need to travel from the city to the farm is filled with a conversation on
O lym pus. From 489 the three strands of the narrative w ill be skilfully
bound together, as the m eal draws to an end (489), the suitors kinsmen
approach the farm (493), and ju st at the right m om ent A then a also
appears on the scene (502), having com e from O lym p u s in haste (488). It is
quite clear that the assemblies of the gods in i (26-95) and xxiv are closely
connected (cf. Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 130): ju st as Z eu s and Athena
agreed to set events on earth in motion, and so arranged for O dysseus
return, so now they look to bring events to a final, and happy, end. It is
equally unm istakable that this divine scene in xxiv is based on Iliadic
m odels, above all iv 1 - 7 4 (cf. H eubeck, D i c h t e r , 44; M oulton, op. cit.
(Introd.), 165; H . Schw abl, W S N F xii (1978), 6 n. 3) and xxii 166-87
(W . Theiler, M H vii (1950), 109; M . M ller, A t h e n e , 15 5-6 ; M oulton, op.
cit. (Introd,), 165-6), w hich show certain similarities to the scene in xxiv
(but also to that in i) in situation and them e. In all these cases questions are
decided by reference to the decrees o f fate, or to decisions taken long before
the them atic parallels have also influenced the w ording of the scene in xxiv,
w hich will be discussed ad loc.
472 . : em phatic, marks the change o f scene. :
found only here; cf. also , xiv 406, and in the I L . . .
, v 756.
473 . = i 45, 81; 11 viii 31.
474 . 474a = i i 4 a. vu: can introduce either a dependent or an
independent question; cf. Chantraine, G r a m m a ir e , ii 292.
475 - 6 . I L iv 1 5 -1 6 ~ 82-3. T h e (deliberate) parallel between the double
questions in the I l i a d and O d y s se y is in contrast to the different answer: in
the I l i a d Zeus seeks the continuation of the struggle; here he seeks to end it.

411
COMMENTARY

: furtherm ore . : , battle, in the


Odyssey only here and xi 314, xvi 268, com m on in the Iliad, particularly in
the form ula found here (e.g, v 496). : both parties,
: (as at ix 404) only this form o f the 2nd sing, present (with the
secondary ending -) is found in H om er. T h e choice of the trisyllabic
form (instead of a possible * or *) was apparently dictated by
the trisyllabic (3rd sing.) in the m odel verse II. iv 83. O n the difficult
problem s o f inflection cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, i 298-g, 469-70.
477 , = i 63 etc.
478 . Cf. iv 492, xi 463; 11 i 550.
479- 80 . = v 23-4. W hich pair o f lines was com posed first (or, as the analytical
critics w ou ld ask, w hich poet com posed the lines, and which borrowed
them) is alm ost im possible to decide; cf. W ilam owitz, Untersuchungen, 70;
Heimkehr, 82; A m eisH entzeC auer, ad loc.; Focke, Odyssee, 76 n. 1;
H eubeck, Dichter, 53; M . M ller, op. cit. (xxiii 15 3 -6 3 n.), 157 n. 41;
Stssel, op. cit. (Introd.), 131. It is, however, noticeable that v q v , 479, on
the one hand clearly refers to , 474, bu t that on the other hand Zeus
can at best only guess that A thena had already thought o f the plan which
he presents at 480-6 ( . . . aim/; there is no m ention of this
previously) and has therefore already indirectly answered her question; in
this respect v 23 seems to suit its context better. L in e 487 (-napos )
shows that Zeus was right to assume that his plan agreed with w hat A then a
had in m ind. N eith er passage m akes very clear what refers to; but
in the context it m ust refer to the suitors (punished or to be punished). T he
antithesis expected after 1) roi is quite clearly form ulated in v (
. . 25), but it is also present in xxiv: the context shows that Zeus is
contrasting the suitors ( rot ) with the Ithacan people as a w hole
(cf. 4836); cf. also C . J. Ruijgh, Mnemosyne xxxiv (1981), 2834.
481 . 481 = xiii 145; xvi 67*, II. iv 37h N o w Zeus turns to actually answering
the questions asked in 474-6. H e gives the im pression of leaving the
decision to A thena, but adds his own opinion on w hat the right course of
action is ( sc. ).
482 - 5 . Z eu s plan is that following the ju st punishm ent o f the suitors a treaty
should be sworn, by w hich O dysseus will enjoy the privilege o f kingship for
life, and the kinsm en o f the suitors will forgo revenge, so that unity,
prosperity, and peace w ill reign as formerly. T his plan is o f the greatest
im portance in the history o f ideas; it m eans nothing less than the abolition
o f the law of the blood-feud, w hich h ad hitherto prevailed w ithout
qualification; in its place is established a new political order based on
justice and law, and validated by the gods, in w hich a ju st and benevolent
king ensures wealth and freedom (cf. ii 234, v 8 -12 , xi 13 6 -7, xix 109-14).
T h e poet is here the advocate and herald o f a new age. Cf. H om m el, op. cit.
(Introd.), 242; U . H lscher, in Festschrift fr R. Alewyn (C ologne/G raz,
1967), 12; Erbse, Beitrge, 140; Friedrich, Stilwandel, 162. T h e construction
. . . (Odysseus) . . . 8 () . . .
(where w e w ou ld expect ol , i.e. the citizens, but particularly also

412
B O O K X X IV 4 75-491

the families of the suitors, ) contains a slight inconcinnity,


w hich is surely deliberately introduced to em phasize the decisive role of the
gods in the establishm ent of the new order; cf. A m eisH entzeCauer, ad
483; Stanford, ad 485; Erbse, Beitrge, 223 . 147.
482 . etrei 8: (as at iv 13, viii 452, xxi 25, II. xxii 379) 2) contains the
unusual prosodic sequence 1 2, thus introducing a ? .
Explanations differ; cf. for exam ple M eister, Kunstsprache, 4 2-4; W yatt,
Lengthening, 21921; E. T ich y , Glatta lix (1981), 56; S. W est, iv 13.;
Hainsw orth, viii 452 ri.
483 . 4831 = I I ii 124, iii 73E o p a : on , , etc. cf. Leum ann,
Wrter, 79 -9 7; on the genesis o f the expression in 483 see W . Bergolds
convincing account, op. cit. (1 1 14.), 4 3 -4 n. 2: , kill
anim als for sacrifice to solem nize an oath5 > conclude a treaty ;
conclude a reliable treaty5.
484 . : both objective genitives, dependent on
.
485 . (sc. ) (cf. Bei?}, i 6 , 2 2 5 ; similarly in
Erbse, Beitrge, 223): cause to forget5, (hapax) is regularly formed
from (cf. esp. , I I ii 600, they m ade to forget); cf.
J . Jones, Ghlta li (1973), 12 -1 3 ; R isch, Wortbildung, 3g. Subj. , due
to quantitative metathesis, is to b e read w ith synizesis; cf. Chantraine,
Grammaire, 17 1. after and m eans all the inhabit-
ants o f Ithaca. : here approx, they are to live in
harm ony with each other5; on the com plex m eaning o f ^ cf. M . L and-
fester, Das griechische Nomen p hilos3und seine Ableitungen (Hildesheim , 1966),
108-9.
486 . : in the Odyssey only here and xiv 206. : hapax in
the Odyssey.
487- 8 . -II. iv 73 -4 , xxii 18 6-7 (cf 473~88n.); further 487 - II. xix 349 4 88 = i
102, II i 44, u 167, vii ig, xxiv 121. : before
approaching Zeus A th en a h ad already intended to do w hat in fact turns
out to be the vdo? of Zeus. Both deities are equ ally interested in reconciling
the Ithacans.
489 . 01 6 (O dysseus and his men) ou v: refers back to 412. T h e replace
m ent of the conventional p air o f lines m arking the beginning and end o f a
m eal (i 149-50 etc.) b y 412 and 489 is necessitated by the insertion o f 4 1 3 -
88, w hich describe action occurring elsewhere w hile the m eal is taking
place at the farm. T h e distance betw een 412 and 489 requires changing
e-n-et. . . to oi S' rrei . . ., w here ovv provides a link with 412; cf.
H . R eynen, Glotta xxxvi (1958), 4 1-2 . : replaces
w here the adjective fulfils the function o f including the
w ine (cf. $) in the m eal; cf. , vii 182, xiii 53-
ep o v c v t o : as at i 150 etc.
490 . = xxii 261.
491 . . . as at xiii 21516 an expression o f fear finds its w ay into the
phrase; m eaning som eone should keep a look out, for I fear that they (sc.

413
COMMENTARY

the suitors kinsmen) m ay already be at hand. : contracted only


here and II xiv 374. F or an explanation o f this and similar (Attic) forms see
Erbse, Beitrge, 224 (with further bibl.), w ho, probably correctly, suspects
corruption here; the poet probably wrote (with synizesis ); cf. also
Schwartz, Odyssee, 136 n. 1.
493 . 493* = xx 128*. 8: the suitors kinsmen.
494 . ~ xix 3 (= x x ii 150, xxiii 112).
495 . : the demonstrative, along with eyyOs, em phasizes that they
are close at hand. : m eaning put on
arm our only here and in the Iliad (viii 55; cf. also ,
IL xxiii 26). : the com parative form is used in exhortation (cf.
vii 15 1-2 , x 72) to m ean as quickly as possible ; cf. Chantraine, Gram-
maire, ii 150.
496 . - II. xxiii 131. O n 4Q6b cf. xxii H 3 b, xxiii 366b, 36gb, x xiv4 6 7b.
497 . (o t 8 . . . ) 3: refers to O dysseus and his three
com rades in arms (Telem achus and the two herdsmen). T h e unusual
expression (cf. Schwyzer, Grammatik, 416; Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 88)
can be explained as an expansion o f such regular phrases as ! 3
/ (xxii 281), O d y sse u s and his com panions , by explanatory
: nam ely four (in total) . : similarly, for
exam ple, , IL 8 ; in these and sim ilar expressions we
see the gradual developm ent of the demonstrative pronoun to an article; cf.
Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 163; Erbse, Bdtrge, 2245.
498 . 8 : (sc. ) in their m idst ; on 498** cf. xxii 20T .
499 . : only here grey-haired (in this sense com m only in A ttic
drama); elsewhere is used b y H om er only as an epithet o f ycvetov
and . Pages objections (Odyssey, n 1) are dealt with b y Erbse, Beitrge,
225 (cf. 210) : fighters against their w ill
(amplified b y ); the opposite is , e.g. II. iv 224; cf. also IL iv
300, viii 56 -7.
500 . =467. T h e repetition o f the line is intentional: the preparations for
battle by Eupeithes men and those o f O dysseus are described in exactly
the sam e terms.
501 . = xxiii 370. 8 : ( codd.) parallel to '
, 469*
502 . D uring the preparations for battle A then a has com pleted her jo u rn e y to
Ithaca; now the different strands o f the threefold narrative are drawn
together; cf. 472-88 n.
502 - 3. <=xxii 205-6 (additionally 504 - xxii 207). O n ce again the repetition
o f a line is deliberate (cf. 500.): A thena intervenes in the battles o f xxii and
xxiv in the sam e guise, that o f M entor. It is, however, no less im portant that
A thena in the shape o f M entor had already supported Telem achus in his
first confrontation with the other Ithacans (ii 267 ff.); now (xxiv 502 ff.) she
undertakes the task o f bringing the conflict to an end.
504 . = v 486 ~ xxii 207.
505 . ~ xviii 214, xxii 163.

414
B O O K X X I V 4 9 1 -5 1 8

506 . : 'yo u w ill know how to . . . ; prepares for 508.


j . . . : w hen you have com e there, w here . . . .
507 . : (= II. xv 715) depends on p. -
: here m easure themselves in battle ; cf. IL ii 385, xviii 209.
508 . O dysseus quotes here the advice given by H ippolochus to his son
G laucus: - , II. vi 209! in both
passages m ean m aiores , forefathers .
509 . : (hapax in the Odyssey, frequent in the Iliad), m anhood :
abstract in - (<C Aeol. - < id ; cf. with Aeol. -pe- for -pi-);
Aeol. * is probably a retrograde formation from the com pound
* (-ca); cf. Leum ann, Wrter, 109-10; Risch, Wortbildung, 133.
: (as at II. viii i b etc.) throughout the w hole w orld .
510 . = i 388 etc.
511 - 12 . 5 i i a = xx 233a, II iv 333 etc.; 5 i2 b = iv i5 7b etc. F. A . W o lf s con
jecture, ' TTi (cf. xvi 99, IL xiii 483), is convincing; cf. Erbse,
Beitrge, 225. Construction; Y o u will see how in this (my) spirit I will in no
w ay shame you
514 . : this day, today . : (as an exclam ation used
only this once) should be accepted as an explanation of extreme jo y.
515 . u s : as at II. v. 531. : (only here and /. xvii 158)
battle, conflict; here (honourable) com petition ; on cf.
, TL xiv 57
516 - 27 . A th en as com m and to Laertes to begin the fighting (516-20) should
b e understood as part of the poet s plan to echo the divine action at the
opening of 11. iv. T here too A th en a had, with the agreem ent of Zeus,
prom pted an individual to open the hostilities, Pandarus (iv 92114); the
difference, however, is that in that instance she had led a fool astray, and
caused a fresh outbreak of hostilities. H ere though her action m ay appear
to contradict the com m on intention o f Zeus and his daughter described by
the poet at 472-88, it is in fact designed to prepare the w ay for achieving the
ultim ate aim, w hich is of course the swift reconciliation of the warring
parties; for peace cannot com e about until the suitors kinsmen, blood
thirsty as they are, have learned by experience the sheer hopelessness of
their cause, and are forced to recognize that the suitors fell t by the
will o f the gods, and are therefore not entitled to be revenged (cf. i 380). In
the action w hich follows the goddess w ill assume the task of ending as
quickly as possible the hostilities w hich she has unleashed (cf. 528 ff.,
541 ff.). T h e poet has the brief battle begin with its most important action, the
death of Eupeithes at the hands of Laertes, in order to give Laertes too a
m om ent o f (prepared in 365-82). B y describing this fighting, like
that of xxii, in Iliadic language (because o f the similarity in material) the
poet lends an aura of heroic grandeur and dignity to the proceedings.
517 . : Laertes; cf. 270. * : as at IL xiii 249,
xix 315; similarly II. xxiv 748. A th en a can speak in this w ay when in the
guise o f M entor.
518 . ] : only here and II. xxiv 26.

4*5
COMMENTARY

519 . =522. /- . . . : found otherwise only in the Iliad


(iii 355 etc.), is redupl. aor. o f , swing, lift up; draw
(ready to throw) . ': here (unlike 522 and its use in the Iliad)
imperative. : cf. xix 438.
520 . =//. 482; cf. a ls o //. xv 252, xix 110.
521 - 2 . Laertes follows A th en as instructions exactly: 521 ~ 518 (he prays to
the goddess w ho is in fact standing next to him !); 522 = 5 19 ( in 522 is
now imperf. indie.).
523 . : (hapax in the Odyssey', in the Iliad used only in
the form ula S ta , xii 183 etc.): having bronze
cheek(-piece)s with bronze cheek-guards . It is almost im possible to decide
betw een -7- and -y ()-', either ( < * ), cheeks, or
, cheek-piece (M yc. pa-ra-wa-jo/parawaio/ dual) could have served
as the final elem ent of the com pound; cf. Chantraine, Dictionnaire, s.v.
n a p e ia i and . O n the archaeological questions see J . Borchardt,
Archaeologia E, 5774.
524 . = II. v 538, xvii 518, iv 138. sc. . : (cf. xxii 8g)
w ent. : here the bronze tip o f the spear.
525 . = II. iv 504 etc.; 525* ==xxii 94a. : () rattle, clang .
526 . 526b = x x ii i 4 i b. : ( with dat.) fall upon (cf. II. xvi
2 7 ). ... -
527 . 527b = xvi 474b; II. xiii I47b etc. A part from the alteration of res to
TVTTTov = 11. xiii 147 etc. (cf. Shipp, Studies, 364); here hit, w ound
(wish a slash or ja b ), in conjunction with also xxii 308. ,
used only in the dat. pi. with , is a possessive com pound m eaning
literally having a * (curve, bend) either side (cf. Risch, Wortbildung,
177, 188). T h e sense has never been entirely satisfactorily explained:
beidseitig gebogen (with reference to the bronze point; cf. LfgrE s.v.) or (a
deux pointes flexibles (Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v. *)? Cf. T riim p y,
Fachausdrcke, 59.
528 - 30 . T hese lines are m odelled on passages in the Iliad in w hich an unreal
conditional construction ( Srj. . . . .) is used to describe the
intervention o f a god to prevent an outcom e w hich is not decreed by fate, or
which does not lie in the gods plans; e.g. iii 373 -4 , v 3 1 1 -1 2 ; cf. Reinhardt,
op. cit. (xxiii 168-72 n.), 107ff. In m aking A then a achieve her object here
with a loud cry the poet m ay have been thinking of 11 xviii 21718; cf.
W . Theiler, M H vii (1950), 109. : a regular formation (hav
ing no return hom e ; cf. Risch, Wortbildung, 183) is a hapax, like
-, iv 182. . . . : as at xiii 252, I I v 733
etc. is used to em phasize rjvaev as at II iii 161 with .
: () hold b a ck . refers to
Eupeithes m en (cf. , 531; tous 8, 533), w ho in spite of the
successes of O dysseus and T elem achus are still the attackers.
531 . : with gen. refrain from .
532 . (): without (further) bloodshed ; on the formation cf. Risch,
Kleine Schriften (Berlin, 1981), 167-75: is the linguistically

416
B O O K X X I V 519-544

correct form. T h e second h alf of the line is m odelled on


, I i iii I02b. T h e Iliadic passage 9 5 - n o with (97)
also allows us to b e m ore precise about the m eaning o f the verb: separate
(peacefully, on the basis of a treaty) .
533 . 533 = ii 296; 533b = xii 243b ( ~ xxiv 45ob), 1 1 vii 479b.
534 . ~ xii 203 with (with -ea) for pe \ in this case refers
above all to the shield; cf. II. xvii 760, xxi 301; cf. Erbse, Beitrge, 227-8.
. 535 . 535b = 11. ii i82b, x 5 i2 b ~ xx 38ob; but whereas in the Iliad depends
on /, h erew ith different syntax it is the object of
and so we have a new com bination here, : a procedure w hich,
as Leum an n, Wrter, passim, has shown, is not unusual; cf. E rbse s
convincing discussion, Beitrge, 228-9.
536 . 536b = xii 328b (cf. n.).
537 . 537a = viii 305, II. viii 92s.
538 . = I t xxii 308; the poet uses here only the first line o f a simile referring
to H ector (308-10). ; he charged after (the enem y),
: crouched (ready to spring) ; part, from aor. , present ,
(com m on in the Iliad, in the Odyssey only here and in the form
iXaas, v 132, vii 205), draw oneself together . : flying
high (only here and I i xxii 308) is an artificial expansion of synonymous
(xx 243; II. xii 201, 219, xiii 822); cf. Risch, Wortbildung, 154.
539 - 44 . By her double intervention, setting on Laertes to begin the battle,
and warning the Ithacans to halt the fight, A thena has achieved her first
objective, of creating the preconditions for the surrender of O dysseus
enemies and a peaceful end to the conflict. A t the same tim e her efforts
have brought about a situation which she and Zeus had not considered:
O dysseus is on the point of ruthlessly m assacring his opponents. Zeus now
takes the initiative, and warns his daughter to carry out the plan as agreed;
A thena obeys, and in turn com m ands Odysseus to lay down his arms
(542-4 are in parallel to 53 1-2 ). It is significant that the father o f gods
orders events indirectly: his warning thunderbolt is not directed towards
O dysseus drunk with success, but (unlike the model passage I i viii 130-6,
w here it warns Diom edes) towards Athena, to remind her o f her duty.
539 . : cf. xxiii 3302 n.
540 . 540b = iii i35b. ? : (elsewhere only i 101, II v 747, viii
391), epithet of A thena, having a m ighty father ; cf. Risch, Wortbildung,
186.
542 . = v 203 etc.; cf. Hainsworth, v 203.
543 . 543b - I i ix 4415 etc. v e ik o s : also xviii 264.
O n os cf. S. W est, iii 236.; further Chantraine, Dictionnaire s.v., and
above all W yatt, Lengthening, 1748. is parallel to '0, 531.
544 . T h is line is undoubtedly m odelled on II xx 301, where the poet found
the unusual construction + (fut. indie.); he is probably
also influenced here by such phrases as %
(aor. subj.), I i xiv 310; cf. Chantraine, Grammaire, ii 331, Shipp, Studies,
144.

417
COMMENTARY

545 . = IL xxii 224. is hardly surprising, despite the view


expressed by A m eis-H e n tze-C au er, ad loc. T h e sight o f M entor fills
Odysseus with confidence, and hope for ending the battle against a much
greater force; these are legitim ate grounds for jo y; cf. Latacz, op. tit. (xxiii
13.), 7 i, 144.
546 . 546b = fii 13613, II. iii 32i b ~ Od. xxiv 47b, IL iv 83b. . . .
: {hapax). A then a carries out her father s wish of 4836 b y having the
feuding parties swear unity ( ), a secure basis for future
peace (', cf. xxii 40).
547 . = xiii 252, 371.
548 . =503: the beginning and end o f A th en as decisive intervention in the
fighting are significantly m arked b y the same words. T h e nam ing of the
goddess in the last lines is also an appropriate end to the w hole work, for
she had set events in motion, ensured that they followed the intended
course with num erous interventions, and now brought about the conclu
sion towards w hich the entire poem has been directed: the return of the
hero, reunion with his wife, and the restoration and renewal o f the old
order on Ithaca. A s the result of her efforts the situation desired by Zeus
(4856), m arked by , , and , can now be m ade reality.
INDE X OF G R E E K W O R D S
(CUMULATIVE)

I I I 1 3 2 = 1 5 7 3 219 I I I 2 75
II 1 0 7 , H I 23 4 ? I 134, 356
I 210 II 2 2 4 5
d y a T rd a i III 179 , 336 atV rff I I I 1.20, 272
a td a A d e tj III 2 1 4 , 397
dyauj I 25 4
os I I I 1 2 3 , 243 I 75
d y e A e 117 II 186 I 338
a I 15 4 I 3 4 0 , I I I 2 1 6 1 7 , 2 9 7 , 3 0 1 , 3 0 8 ,
3 18 , 4 16
a 717705 II 205
I 100
d y /c d A o i I I I 1 3 8 , 1 7 1
I I I 18 , 4 0 6 7 I I I 8 6, 2 1 6

a I I I 289
1 8 2
I I I 1 16, 167 I I I 2 4 6
I I I 15 6 a t A o I I I 272

1 1 1 3 2 6 ,3 3 0 ,3 8 2 ,3 8 5 ,3 9 9 I 7 3 , I I 28 2, I I I 2 2 4 , 2 3 3 ; I
3 8 0 -1
I I I 243
I I I 3 7 0 , 408 . I I I 228 , 2 9 1 , 3 1 6
I I I 238
dSeoK ^ 1 2 2 3 ,3 0
a ta w A o s I 146
dSijK O Tes I I 13 4
d S iv o s , d S iv a t r e p o s II 2 7 5 6 , I I I 347 I 362
I I I 1 3 2 , 140= * 4 4 - *48 , * 5 4 ; * 5 5 , I I 2 2 5 , 2 7 6 7
I I I 2 3 5 6, 3 5 0
157
d e A o v I I I 1 4 1 , 155 ; *57
I I 22 1
d e A o j I I I 2 1 8 , 2 2 4 , 3 4 1 , 349 I 15 0 , I I 2 0 6 , I I I 1 5 6
act II 2 56 I 3 3 *; 161
II 1 7 2 I I I 348
I I I 2 9 4 , 387 CLKlSvOS I I I 55

III 3 9 1
III 178

d caa I 168 I I I 2 6 5 , 266

I I I 253
I 306
I 156
H I 47
- I I 163 I 15 2
I 9 3 I I I 338
I I 2 1 0 -1 1 I I I 13 8 , 2 2 1
I I I 47 I I I 188
dAc-17 H I 20, 69
I 3 5 9 ; 3 3 1
, I I I 1 ; y A arfc cd w ts I d A e ia ra III 115

8 , 2 8 5; I I 18 8 , I I I 334> 4 * 5 ; I I I 3 6 4 , 368
I I I 4 *7 I I I 270
a ty ta A d s 287 d A ted s I I I 287
( Z e u s ) I 16 3 , 4 * 6 I 2 9 7 , 17 12
a t I I I 27 * 2 74 0 159
( ) I 2 2 2 , I I 2 1 1 , I I I 4 II 159

d tS ^ A o s I 3 6 7 , H I 2 4 9 ; 342
( M e n t o r ) I I I 260

4*9
I NDEX OF G R E E K WO RD S ( C U M U L A T I V E )

vI A kiV o o j I 2 9 4 , I I I 158 III 6, 11 , 4 3 , 9 , 2 7 9 , 2 8 , 28 5,


; I 219 326, 366
dA oX o F III 7 7 , 2 7 7 , 2 9 5 ,3 4 9 I 2 2 , 55, 158
III 39 5 I 55
I I I 2 78 , 2 8 3 , 30 0 , 342 I 297
I 1 1 9 , 2 9 4 I I I 3 2 2 - 3 , 3 3 , 3 3 8
I 14 9 , I I I 1 1 3 , 1 1 5 I 171
I 10 2, 3 2 9 - 3 0 , I I I 3 8 4 - 6 , 3 9 9 I 3 22
I 220 I 309
I 220 , 2 2 1 , 2 5 9 I I I 3 5
II i 6 2 , 2 5 9 , I I I 3 6 6 I 28, 12 6
I I 1 5 8 I 2 5 2 , I I I 6 5
I I I 1 1 3 I I I 30
I 18 7 I 124
I 72 I I I 233
I 2445 I 2 7 1
I 77, 338, 354, II 166, III 93, II 2 1 5
300, 3 6 9 I I I 22 - 4 , 19 6
+ d a t iv e I I I 260 I I I 3 3 7
II 248 (Hermes) I 79 , 2 5 8 , III 349,
I 3 6 6 371
I l 2 8 6 - 7 , I I l 4 i 6 ( d o g ) I I I 3 4 5
I 1 6 9 - 7 0 , 3 1 0 (place) I 119, 175, HI 64-5, 364
- , see I 1 2 9 , I I I 24, 3 4 - 5
I I I 3 7 7 I I I 2 30 I
I 2 3 4 I 1 6 6 , 208, 2 2 2 , 2 6 8 , I I I 5 5 , 230,
I I I 5 4 , 1 64 3 5 7 , 3 8 0 -1
- I 3 5 7 I I I 4 4 , 257
I I I 3 0 7 , 3 3 8 , 3 8 3 , 390 , I 293
401 III 1 11
I 1 4 9 , I I I 368 I I 284
I I I 30 I I 1 5 7 , 17 7
I I I 220 II 15 7
1 97 I I I 4 0 1 , 4 1 5
I I I 248 I I 208
I I I 153 (Laertes) III 415
I I I 6 III 47
I I I 1 1 7 , 1 7 2 , 243 I 309
II 198 9 III 21
I I I 1 5 3 I I I 391
I 296 I 190 , I I I 25
I 1 4 6 , 3 3 0 1 II 67
I 10 5 , I I 220 I 127
I I I 2 37 III 303~4
( ) I 1 1 5 16 , ? III 3389, 342
I 7 4 , I 72
I I I 4 9 , 1 3 3 , 1 6 4 , 18 4 I 146
I I I 238 , I 72,324, 356,
I I 251 I I I 5 7 , 2 7 5 , 3 19
II 6 III 184
) I I 128 I I I 3 30

420
I NDEX OF G R E E K WO R D S ( C U M U L A T I V E )

III i8o, 337 III 121


III 324, 331 , I 164
^ II 277 III 253
III 164 yeiioj III 39, 117, o/ro
I 84, 34> III 34 II 21
I 2401 + g e n it iv e III 152
arra II 266, III 18, 288 ( A t h e n e ) I 80, 285, II 188,
- - retained I 293 111334,415
III 202 ; Ill 31
I I I 3 2 , 1 3 4 , * 74 , i 8 i j 1 9 7 , 2 1 6 - 1 7 , HI 139-4, 203
2 8 5 , 30 0 , 3 5 0 , 3 5 2 , 3 8 6 , 406 III 178
III 221 III 63, 64, 233, 275
/iTos I I I 2 7 9 III 339, 347
I 3 75 , III 94, 288, 315, 342, 383
I I I 4G, 1 7 1 III 138, 139
I I I 2 6 4 , 270 III 132, 137, 154
s I I I 3 9 5
I I I 298; e v c r r ^ a v o ? I I I 3 1 I 103
745 I I I 158 335
24 I I I 3 3 , l86> 2 3 0 , 2 3 9 , 3 3 1 , 3 3 7 , ? I 241, 68, 224, III 78, 330
SSO 1, 341
II 26 II 46, 8, 118, 127, 35, 21920
I I I 2 0 2 ,2 7 9 221 , 2 4 9 , 2 6 8 ,7 ,2 8 ,3 7 7 , 3 9 6
H I 5 9 - 6 I 8, 3 9, H 255
II I 8
I 12 7
? II 253
, III 39
I 169
+ in fin it iv e I I I 2 3 9 , 242 III 316

I 1 2 2 - 3 , 3 2 3 , 3 7 3 , H I 80, 1 1 7 , -e II 223
' 325
13 3 , 230
I I I 200 I 2( III 54, 57, *17
I 362 III 53., 44
I I I 289 I 1 9 6 , 4 4 , 1 2 7 , 2 0 4, 3 8 4 , 402

111 2 5 9 , 2 6 0 ,3 1 7 ,; III 228, 48


LOTOS III 405
,
? I 163, 352, 2 6 167, III 78, u g
I I 282
117,220,221
) III 28, 389, 8
H I 5 2
H I lj)6> 241 I 293, 324, 35, 393
( H e r a ) H I 37 III 415

III 3 3
BtdKTopos (Hermes) I 85, 258, II 253, III
I I I 197 371
I I I 197
? III 399
H I 2 4 , 4 1 , 117
II 86
I 306
II 176
I 834 , 3^8
H I 3 3 , 4 9 ~ 5
I 2223, 337
I I i6 ? II 199
I I 196, i g 8 , III 66
I I I 1 1 8
III 53
III 287
( d a t .) I l l 7 III 14
y v e o s, I I 2 3 Bios I 256
I NDEX OF G RE E K WORDS ( C U MU L AT I V E )

I I I 2 4 6 , 3 7 3 e u s , tos, see
I I I 1 6 2 , 1 6 7 , 2 0 3 , 404 I 369
I I I 40 I 3 7 0
I 3 2 7 , I I I 7 7 , 28$, 2 9 2 - 3 , 29 9 , 30 7 I I I 12 0 1
III 40, 338 , 38 3, 3 8 4 -6 II 167
I I I 4 1 4 I I I 6 9
SdA os I I I 2 4 , 80 1, 88, 9 1 , 3 7 4 6 , 38 5 I I I 2 7 7 8
III 139 I I I 18 7
H I 4 5 , 1 2 7 , 2045 I I I 17 5 ; 203
I 19 4 I I I 6, g o
III 385 I I 2 14
I I I 293 I 197 ; 3 7 4 . 6 2 , 1 03 , 335
I 93 A ijA a r fo ) I 326
- I I 252 I 8 6, I I I 2 70 , 3 6 7
I I I 1 5 3 , 2 1 0 I 1 19
I I I 1 4 0 - 2 , 1 4 4 , 147 I I I 200
I I 193 I I I 2 6
III 1 17 I I I 1 1 5 , 303
I I i g S Q I I I 28
I 9 9 , II 162 ev aA ty/cio s I I I 262
I I I 6 7 , 3 9 2 - 4 () I 6g, 233
I 3 7 0 I 3 5
r c a u r d s I I 206
I 3 6 9 I I I 85
II 268 1112 1 1 - 1 2 ,2 1 7
I 1 7 1 - II 186
y ^ o j III 4 16 I I I 1 16 , 1 7 6
S v o v I I i 8 7 ,I I I 6 7 I I 16 6 7
I 1 1 0 ,3 0 3 , I I I 1 6 6 , 3 9 4 I I 28
I 13 3 I I I 98
II 5 7 I 1 8 2 , I I I 17 7
I 204 I I 281
, I I 2 7 6 III 350
I I I 262 II 175
3 9 3 9 3 , 401 I
, ( I 12, II i g o I I I 302
1 1 8 0 ,8 2 ,9 0 ,1 1 1 1 2 ,1 1 4 I 1 1 3 , 13
+ participle III 3 0 -1 I I 209
e ceA os H I 262 I I I 3 9 5
aV to I I 20 9, I I I 238 - I I I 5 5
'iAett>ia I I I 86 I I I 2
a A r o u j I 8 6, 3 4 9 I I I 2 4 3 , 294> 3 * 6 , 3 1 8
I 3 30 m jSou/cdA o I I I 16 9
1 1 1 2 1 8 , 3 0 7 , 3 2 2 , 3 2 6 , 3 4 2 , 3 6 8 , I I I 29
3 7 7 >3S6 III 1 6 2
I I I 3 2 0 1 , 3 2 7 , 3 3 8 T7i5et)i7s I I I 168
I I 1 5 7 , 12 I I I 1 5 1
I I I 262 I I 17
I I 2 7 9 , I I I 2 1 9 I I I 199
I I I 1 1 7 , 1 3 3 , 3 2 2 I I I 48
I 1 6 1 , 3 5 3 , II 9 8 , 2 0 5, 25 0 I I I 126

422
I NDEX OF G R E E K WO R D S ( C U MU L A T I V E )

II 2 18
III 284
I 172 III 52-3
II 2S5 I 300
1 9 5
giriert I 310 ^ I 1 5 8 - 9 , 2 8 6 , I I 8 6

I 99 (Zijvs) I 268; III

III 155 2 0 2; y e iv e a i III 118 ;

III 3 7 9 l i g , 20 2, 4 1 1 ; 5 I I I 8 ;

I I I 3 5 0 I I I 16 9 ; I I I 1 19
I I I 222 III 179
II 209) 2 5 6 I I I 2 8 7, 3 4 , 3 6
I I 6
I I I 4 - 1 > 77
7 { ) 3 2 7 ijepoetSijs II 171
I I 222
I H 9 >3 5
pvijs I 369 I I 202
III 386, 406 1 149
, I 7 9 I I 8

258-9! H I 349j 371 ; I 37) I 197, III 68


I I 2 53 I I I 3 7 * I 28; I I I 18 9, 1 9
I 28, I I I 3 5 ^ ; I 87

H I 35S I 7 2 , 151 , 111 5 6


I I I 28 4 III 142
popat II. 285 ijvts I 184
I I I 28 4 * I I I 16 3 4

II l y S I 2 5 , H L >68, iQ 9 , 26 6 , I I 1 8 3 - 4 ,
I I I 342, 368
with final force I 284, 298
I 7 6 ijpa I 170
(E o s ) II I 34 9
I 7 1 >3 8 4 - 5
III 22 I I 2 6 9 , I I I 10 9 , 3 1 8
I 221
I 1 93 , 3&4
I I I 266 " I II 368

II 257~8 I I I 3 3 9 , 3 4 0 , -349
ei/S eieA o s I 14 3
I I I 22, 284 S a A a p o s III 42-3, 127, 14S, 149, 210,
I I I 2 7 6 , 284 240, 332- 4, 342, 378
I I I 3 2 , 1 9 7 , 2 l 6 , S 5 2 , 4 6 a A a p iju rA o s I I I 328, 338, 342

I 2 3 2 , II 16 4 I I I 191, { ) 403
II 24, III 25 I I 193
: Sioj III 173, 245; Seats I 2656
I I I 3 3 , 3 8 , 2 54 I I I 3067
1 1 1 3 4 1 , 3 4 2 , 3 4 8 ,3 4 9 S e fo s I 2 55
III 26 I I 5 5 - 6 , 120 , H I 4 3 , 3 59
I I I 4 0 7 , 4 1 , 4 * 4 I I 3 3 , 4 6 - 7 , 9 6 , 2 , I I I 6 6 , 1 2 1 ,
I I I 18 6, 287 394
I I I 133 I I I 13 3 , 16 8 , 1 7 8
e p u o e iijs I 188 e o u ijs I 301
II 210 I 8990
I 2 3 2 - 3 , 293, II 19 I 100
II 282 I I I 3 4 2
, - I 98 9 , I I 2 0 7 , 22 5 , I I 186
III 3 7 , 1 8 7 - 8 , 269, 2 7 6 , 2 9 1, 3 7 3 , 3 9 2 III 370
I NDEX OF G R E E K WORDS ( C U M U L A T I V E )

II 259 Lima I 156-7


I 233, III 70 taros III 3757
Aos 111315- 16,297 III 87
III 366 II 229-30
III 84
I 93, III 1612, 166, 167, 206, III 296
221,279,283,296, 404 III 300, 326
- I 267 I 193
III 112 I 328
as angry impulse III 108, 122; as III 284
animating principle III 98, 122, 187; III 90, I06
as heart/spirit III 92, 108, 109, 121, III 126
123, 124, 174-5,182, 237, 280, 291, ? Ill 327
306, 318, 321, 323, 338, 390, 397, 415; III 3289
as mentality III 56; as perception III III 348
i Mi 337; as source of emotion and III 138
affection II go; as will II 29, 30, III 11 71, l88
1 io, 160, 170, 278 III 268
III 164, 276 III 151
III 125, 134, 136, 141, 181, 197, II 264
217, 285, 299 I 281
217 III 127
III 173, 174, 214, 216-17, 244, 289, III 227
318,334,350 III 346, 374
II 20 III 290
4- Future II 263
III 645 II 26, III, 140, 149
tarot III 301 I 287
III 236 II 194
III 11S II 1 74
III 237 III 112
I 70, 155, 332, II 164, III 504, 369 III 8
II 207 III 103, 138, 199
III 393 III 1223
III 228-9, 400-1, 408, 416 III 120
III 141, 153, 219, 290, 299, 318 III 396-?, 399
III 290, 318 I I 57, , III 30
III 778 III 118, 400-1, 408
I 156, 11 250 111340,379
' I 183 I I 6 ,g8, 161
III 309-10, 327, 339 III 385
tos III 203, 218 207- 8, 221, 233, 46
III 634 III 174, 4 7
' I 299, II 261 I 89-90, 350, 374
II 93 II 8
III 190 I 193
I 164 II 237
11147) III 52; III 201
III 52 II igS
IV III 49-50, 158 I 28
III 207, 225-6 III 285-6, 36, 338

4M
I NDEX OF G R E E K W O R D S ( C U M U L A T I V E )

I I I 331 A as I 304
I I I 44, 5 3 4 , 92 I 352
I I 19 0 , I I I 5 3 , 3 7 L 3 ^ 1 , 3 9 0 I I I 2 1 2 1 4 , 2 4 5 , 2 4 6 , 2 5 , 25 5
^ ? I I I 1 7 4 I I 22
I I I 1 4 S I I 1 5 7 , l 6 2 , 8 2
III 6 l I I I 2 5
I I I 243 III 69
I I I 3 8 3 III 360
I I I 1 6 2 , 404 III 36 9
xA t) 0 i I 147 I I I 62
I 176 A eu /ctA cvo s I 2 9 9 , I I I 3 7 , 62

I I I 3 8 6 7 III 323, 3 3 1 - 4
I I I 85 I I I 2 32
K o iA os I I I 28 7 III 163
I I I 3 3 A iy s I 350
I I I 3 8 9 9 1 I 2 9 9 , 3 0 7
111 1 3 5 , 2 7 8 , 3 6 8 I I 8 6, l8 8
I I I 1 3 9 , I 4 9 i 250 At's II 6 2 - 3
III 241 II 299, 386

I I I 206 I 3 6
/core tu I I I 30 6 I I 2 0 4 , I I I 6 , 9 1 - 2 , 1 16> 175
I I I 2 53 I I I i l l , 3 4 8
I I I 1 8 3 , 2 2 4 III 76

I I I 10 9 , 3 3 III 3 1 6 - 1 7

I I I 2 74
I 3 5 3
I I I 1 3 4 , 3 1 7 I I I l 8 l
I 1 6 1 - 2 , ( ) I I 237 III 5 3
I 1 zS , I I 1 8 7 8, I I I 155 II 2 5 6
I I I 8 3, 169 I I I 72
III 147 I l 6 g
I I I 3 4 9 5 I I I 1 9 2
I I I 202 : I I I 331
I 179 I 2 6 6 , I I I 4 3 , l 8 , 1 2 7 , 13 3 7 ,
1 4 8 , 1 7 2 - 3 , 1 7 6 , 2 0 7 , 2 1 0 , 2 1 7 , 240 ,
I 327
2 59 , 2 6 3 - 4 , 28 4, 296, 3 0 7 , 308, 3 1 6 ,
I 160
I I I 174
/ 3 2 1 , 3 2 4 , 3 4 2 , 3 5 2 , 4 0 6 , 40 8

III393 I I I 7 2 , 19 6
a I 365 I 2 3 9 4
H I 113 111 121 - 2 , 3 3 0 ,3 3 3
? , III 1 6 6 - 7
I I 20, H I 347
I I 17 0 II 2 12 , III2 8

III 240-1,387 I I I 1 8 0
1 11 3 7 , 1 5 3 , 2 1 0 , 2 6 8 , 3 2 1
I I I 3 9
III 35
8 7 , 3 8 ,5 6 ,2 1 9 ,2 7 6 ,4 1 1
III 109 ) I I I 1 3 8
III 3 7 3
III 67
AdiVoj HI 37 , 134. 53 , 210, 321
I i g 3 I I I 4 9 , 5 1> 1 0 3 , * 5 8 , 2 5 5 6 , 2 0 ,
I I I 2 3 7 8 397
I I I 18 , 3 5 , 2 5 2 , 2 5 5 , 4 0 7 , 4 1 3 I I I 123

425
I NDEX OF G R E E K WORDS ( C U MU L A T I V E )

II 2 77 , H I 30 , 110 , 1 1 1 , 114 , roos II 6g, 88, 105, 178, 237. HI 55- 6,


278 - 3 7 5 . 3 8 8 - 9 67, 93. 260, 412-13
I I I 1 1 1 III 352
I I I 15 0 III 120, 220, 308
I I I 81
I I 19 4 III 293, 299
I I 26 III 270, 392
II 7 3 ) 17 etvLov III 121
I 3 0 2 , I I I 3 0 4 - 5 4 ,6 , 11, 19, , i n , 184-5,
I I I 3 4 5 , 3 4 9 - 5 0 372 3, 392
I I I 3 4 , 82 III 152
I I I 108 er0j II 203, 4, 82, 90, 393, 396
I I I S o , 88, 9 3 , l o g , 3 2 5 , 3 7 6 48, 210, 2gg
I I 22 III 153, 299
I I I 85 III 235-6, 277 8
HI 403 III 299
I I I 1 1 3 , 1 5 1 , 1 8 5 , 2 3 0 , 2 9 1 - 2 , 30 7,
3 9 , 3 5 7 , 3 6 3 .3 7 1 (article) II 193, 222; (relative) II 32
s 1 11 2 8 ,4 8 , 126 (Athene) III 540
I 9 5 - 6 , 29 9 , I I I 3 2 7 III 143, 1545
I I I 68 III 139, 143, 154
I 78 III 267
III 367 ; I 83; III 269;
I I I 2 2 - 4 , 5 5 , 12 0 , 1 2 3 , 1 5 5 , 19 0 , III 8l, 236; III 18;
1 9 6 , 1 9 9 , 2 6 6 , 26 9 , 3 4 9 , 4 1 0 III 228; III 380
I I I 158 III 6, 91, 97
I I I 13 2 III 288
II 1 5 8 oiV o III 187, 190, 282, 328, 342, 350,
I 1 3 6 383 , 401,406
III 408
I 12 4 I 351, III 2So
I I 29 III 92, 176, 184, 247, 249, 258
I I I 289 I IOO
I 1 3 4 , I I I 2 2 7 - 8 , 275 III 272
III 232 III 117
I I 211,228 III 357, 362, 380
III 116 III 224, 226,233
I I I 14 0 , 2 0 1, 203 I 82
I I I 1 3 9 40 III 29, 318
III 274 III 261
I 2 4 2 , II 1 6 8 9 III 1689
I 3 8 2 III 258
I 95 III 192
I 113 I 174, III 65, 87, 417
I I 2 1 2 ovap III 102, 114
I I I 4 0 5 , 4 1 5 III 101, 104
I I I 402 I 131
(/-) I I 14 , 1 5 , 1 5 9 , III 156
1 8 5 - 6 , I I I 402 III 204
I I I 30 6 -00 gen. sing. I 26, 84, 254
(- - ) I 2 5 6 , I I 17 I I 196-7

426
IN DE X OF G R E E K W O R D S (C U M U L A T I V E )

07 H5 II I98 I 167
I I I 1 9 7 - 8 , 36 8 I I 15 6 , 242
, - I 18 9 , I I I 194 I I 1 6 5 - 6
I I 23 I 10 2 , 3 7 2 , I I 237
1 1 1 4 1 2 - 1 3 , 4 1 8 I I I 2 61
1 1 1 2 2 ,3 6 7 I I I 252
I 1 9 6 / I I I 3 4 2 - 5
I 30 9 I I 2267
os, I 1 9 1 , I I I 150 I I I 10 8 9
1 1 1 2 1 0 , 2 1 2 - 1 4 , 2 4 7 I I I 2 3 6 7
I 18 5 o f I 1 2 5 6 , II 193
I I I 3 8 5 , 399 I I I 18 6, 3 6 , 3 2 3
f (ra il. p o s s .) I 1 2 3 - 4 , 1 8 4 - 5 III 3 6 0
00117 I I 1 5 8 , 284 I I I 59
I I I 406 I I I 282
III 113 I I I 2 41
o r e (o r e ) I I 1 9 9 , 209, 2 2 0 ; see also I I I 20 , 203
( e p ic ) I I I 3 4 6
III 134 , 302, 3 1 7 I I I 2 8 2, 286
( b u il d in g ) I I I 2 7, 3 7 , 4 8, 1 3 4 , 15 3 , I 2 6 3 , I I 2 7 7 , I I I 240, 242
16 0 , 2 1 0 , 2 1 6 - 1 7 , 2 3 1 ; ( a g e ) I I I 3 3 6 I I I 192
o OAtj I I I 6 , 9 5 , 9 8, 398 I I 2 54
? I 30 7 1 9 2
o ils III 3 0 4 -5 7T0 i ^ e t i I I I 190
II 3 7 7TQLTfT$ II 182
- I 2 6 1 , 33 2 ? I I I 6 7 , 167
I I I 1 5 3 , 3 7 8 I I I 243
I I I 1 8 1 2 iroA euiu I I I 259= 281
I I I 1 7 4 , 3 3 3 , 3 3 6 TToAtos I I I 287
TroAu/iAijif I I I 15 1
III 1 5 E 399 I I I 140 , 149
I I I 2 5 3 , 2 8 9 , 290 I I I 3 4 7
I I I 1 3 8 , 149 I I I 200, 2 1 8 , 284
I 3 15 I I I 395
II 238 I I I 190
I I I 4 6 7 I 6 9
I I I 28 6 ( C t e s i p p u s ) I I I 2 78 , 28 5
I I I 1 13 / I 158
1 2 2 1 2 I I I 341
7rap a i- I I I 2 5S I 168
I I I 62 ttotC I I I 27

I 1 1 3 II 3 7
I I I 148 I 2 7 2 , I I I 1 1 2
I I 1 5 7 , I I I 18 8 9 I I I 2 7 1
77eSo0CV I I 1 8 1 2 111 108, 1 1 4 , 13 4 , 217
I I I 3 2 4 , 3 3 1 - 3 , 3 8 4 , 3 8 8 - 9 I I I 1 3 4 = 1 3 6 , 1 8 1 , 2 1 6 1 7 ,4 0 6
I I I 4 n . l , 3 9 , 7 7 , 88, 1 7 8 , I I I 1 7 2
18 9 , 1 9 9 , 3 2 3 - 4 =3 3 3 , 3 8 4 , 3 8 8 , 3 9 6 - 7 I I I 148
n eipa p I I I 2 2 6 , 3 4 I I I 15 2
I I I 1 4 0 - 1 , 1 4 7 , 1 5 9 , U 6 , 203 I I I 397
I I I 1 3 2 , 1 3 8 - 9 I I 197

427
INDE X OF G R E E K W O R D S ( C U M U L A T I V E )

I 92, III 234, 240 III 328


III 271 I 138,III 82
I 70 II 242
II 31 III 158
III 273) 282 1 1 1321 , 3 2 3 ,4 0 3
(epic) II 21, 35, 167, 172, 177, 1 7s,
III 327, 359
20 9, 220 , 2 6 1 , 2 7 6 ; see also ()
III 218, 307
/ II 157
111 229, 257- 8, 275,412 III 1 lg
I 297
II 185
III 268
/ III 342 5
III 304-5, 397
+ genitive III 41, 113, 277, 374, see
/ I 129, III 17, 339 also III 226
III 284
III 107, 114-15, 396
III 63 - II 172
pvtos I 310 III 9 9 , 16
III 210, 212-13, 248) 250
I 329, 354
cu 111315,368
III 244
I I 158 II 169
II 245, 279, 28
III 153 4. 6, 16a, 208, 211, 213-
III 241
, 350
III 122 III 7
III 390 I 194
, see
III lig , 172, 173*319, 320, 323-4,
II 198, III 2301
331- 4, 336- 8, 398-9
' III 11617 II 247
I 8
crtyaAeij I 295
III 3956 III log, 327, 378
III 378, 392
111126,383,41
III 395 III lg, 134 * 3, 37, 14056, 158,
III 248 6, 66, 178, 184, 190, 199
II 201 III 1512, 235
III 236 II 236
II I g o
I 74, 202
III 141, 144, *53 III 359
I I I 2 1 1 I 184
III 167 I I I 2 4 L 2 5 3
II 212
III 6, 1413, 146, 203
II 113 III 369
III 241
III 199 1 1 1 2 9 1 ,3 1 9
III 194, 303 I I I 393
II 107 I I 2 I
II 28 u t e f II 184
I I I 8
I 257
* II 228 1375
I I I 10 2 , 1 1 4
? II 105, *34, 8, ig8
- I 2 I I I 250
I 293
III 151 I I I 32
I 322 I 298

428
I NDEX OF G R E E K W O R D S ( C U M U L A T I V E )

- I 9 .3 ~ 4 > H I 1 7 9 I I 96
I I I 4 2 , * >4 , 19L 21a, ) I I I 22 1
I I I 3 9
315 3 2 1 , 3 4 2
I I 157
I 1 6 5 I I I 3 1 6
H I 1 1 8 19 I I 2 7 9
I I I 1 7 1 I I 12
39 I I I 14 1
III 4 16
0 a e i v d I I I 137 , /us II 4 5 , 16 g , 240, III
/ I I I 6 8 , 1 5 1 , 3 5 2 3 2 8 -9
H I 13 7 I I I 234
I I I 1 6 8 , I I I 3 2 8 - 9 , 3 7 5 , 3 9 3 4 * I I 115
I I I 2 3 5 6 , 240 , 2 77 I I 1 2 4
> I I I 102
) H I 2 3 3 3 3 9 35
I I 14
I I I 44 5 4 1 0 7 , i i 4 15
, I I I 3 ^ I I I 159 1 7 2 , 2 1 8 , 3 2 6 , 3 2 8 - 9 , 3 9 3 ,
I I I 2 7 12 401

I I I 2 7 1 , I I I 88, 1 5 9 , 2 8 , 3 2 9 , 3 3 2 , 3 4 2 ,
I I 128 3 9 2 , 401
- 1 1 9 4 , 1 6 8 , 2 0 1 , 2 4 1 I I I 10 0 1
I I I 2 2 8 , 408
I I I 368
ui II 2 1 6 , H I 4 * 3 I I I 7
2 5 7 , 9 6 > 6 , , 8 , 9 , 1 1 7 , I 1 2 4 , 18 3
158, g i , 205, 257 277 , 36,383,38, I I I 285
3 9 2 4 1 5 ; a s p o s s e s s iv e I 82, 2 8 1 , II I 20 1
I I I 6 , 87
269 H I 2 3 3 , 239 242
( C t e s ip p u s ) I I I 269
(H e rm e s) III 358
I I I 282
I I 8 2 , 8 6, 8 9 - 9 0 , 1 1 4 , 10 9 , 3 5 8 -
H I 3 6 6
II 2 2 8 9 15 9 9 , 400

I I I 14 8 , 151 a 2 0 > a 2 1 2 3 >2 3 2 ,


I I I 3 4 , 3 0
298, 4 1 3
I I 21
I I I 1 3 9 , 2 0 0 - 1 , 3 2 6
I I I 222 I I I 2 35
1 2 3 4 ,1 1 6 9 , 8 0 , 9 8 1 0 5 , 1 8 5 , 2 1 2 - 11 255,1 1 1 3 05
1 3 , 2 3 7 , 111 2 4 , 3 0 , 9 0 , U S , 7 9 , 8, II 213
1 9 2 , 260, 280, 3 1 0 , 3 3 7 3 8 1 , 3 9 0 - 2

429
GENERAL INDEX (CUM ULATIVE)

Acastus II 217-18 361-4, 370-4, 377, 380-1; see also


accentuation I 39, 71, 101, 124, 154, 184, Atreidae-Paradigm
217, 243, II 53, 168, 276 Agelaus III 123, 245-6, 256-7, 258-9,
Achaean dialect, Achaean stage of epic 263-4, 277
diction I I 153-5, 181, 185, 246, 256, Ajax, s. ofOileus I 116, 170, 2234
267, 268, 269 Ajax, s. of Telamon II 77, 100, 105,
Achaeans III 83 109-10, III 361-2
Acheron II 70, 214 Alcaeus I 116, II 108, 152, 228, 253
Achilles I I 30, 67, 82, log, 282; in Alcinous I 294, 319, II 12,39, 98-9, III 35
Hades II 77, 100, 105, 106, 107, 109, Alcmene II 93
no, h i 356-7,361-4,367-71; 380; Alexandrian scholarship I 41-8, II 25,
II 284; shield II 115, 226; 54, 79, 80, 120, 123, 139, 147, 229, 234,
weeping II 274 251, III 14, 198, 227, 239, 268, 318,
adaptation of lines, expressions II 17, 342-5; see also Aristarchus;
22, 31 37. 87, 89, 95, 98, 101, 120, 130, Aristophanes of Byzantium; Rhianus;
173. 178. 194, >95. 196, >97, 202, 203, Zenodotus
212, 215, 218, 220, 222, 223,225,226, allegorical interpretation: Moly II 61;
227, 228, 232, 233, 235,237, 240, 243, Sirens II 119-20
247, 250, 251, 253, 255, 256, 261, 262, alliteration I 80, 133, 148, 301, II 212,
267, 268, 269, 270, 274, 275, 276, 278, 220, III 29, 69, 98, 160, 177, 182, 185,
280, 282, 284, 285-6 194, 246, 286
adultery I 370 Alpamysh I 56 n, 14 -
Aeaea II 4, 15, 46, 48, 52, 54, 117 alphabet I 34, 39
Aeetes II 52 amber I 197, II 260, III 68
Aegisthus I 57, 77, 78, II 11, III 371; see ambrosia I 221, 264, 267-8
also Atreidae-Paradigm Amory, Anne III 10 n. 8
Aelian III 28, 89 Amphiarus II 248
Aeolia I I 43, 44 Amphimedon III 8, 263-4, 271, 274,
Aeolic dialect, Aeolism I 24-5, 17 >, 296, 361,370-4,376-81
327, 340, 358, II 34, 96, >52- 5, 154, Amphinomus 54, II 281, 282, III 4, 5
156, 166, 168, 173, >75, 181, 194, 209, 57, 73, 120, 164, 207, 238, 264
218, 224,225, 226, 228, 249, 256,264, Amphion 1193,94
269, 271, 277, 280, 281, 282, III 29, 47, Amphitrite 1 166
50, 114, 116, 242, 244, 248, 266, 269, anachronism I 294, II 180, III 176,5 3
274, 276, 286, 415 anacoluthon II 37, 108, 186, 265,
Aeolus I I 9, 10,43, 46, 50, HI 347; bag 186,189,259
II 43, 44 Anacreon III 25, 180
Aeschylus I 99, 113, 216, 225, 240, 361, analytical interpretation II 5- 6, 7- 9- ^
II 165, 166, 226, 253, 283, III 60, 66, >9 , 3 5 , 3 9 , 4 0 , 5 2 , 5 4 , 5 7 , 5 9 , 60 , 6 4 ,
125, 242, 255, 265, 293, SSI 69, 70, 72, 73, 75-6, 82-3, 84, 65,
Aelhiopis, see Cyclic epics 88, 91,97, 101, 103, 121, 122, >35,
Aethon II 163 139, 147, 164, 245, 249, 262, 273>
Africa 1 198 285, III 8-9, 71, 124, 3*3"> 4, 34= 3
Agamemnon II 77, 97, too, 101, 102, 374-5, 378-9, 412; see also
103, 104,105, 109, 110, 186, III 356- 7, interpolation

430
GE NE RAL I NDEX ( C U M U L A T I V E )

anaphora I 70, I I 62, 82, 122, 128, 270, apposition II 169


III 188 , to I 298, 308, 311,
anastrophe III 255,-272, 296 325. 369, 184, 229, 232, 234
Andromache II 109, 199 Arcadian dialect I 308, 358, 369, I I 152,
animals: bears I 240; birds I 262, II 204, 207, 282, III 32
141, 169, 214, 261, 276, III 120, 224-5, Arcado-Cypriot dialect II 154, 155,
272-3; cattle, as standard of value I 194-5
126-7; of Circe II 55; of Cyclops II archery I 91, 92, 107-8, 359-60
21, 37; deer I 213-14, III 25; dogs I Archilochus II 189, III 42, 56, 90, 109,
129, 176, 204, III 24, 89, 108-9; fish 239291 305
III 2867, horses I 130, see also architecture 188, 116, 117, 125, 151,
chariots; leopards I 221-2; lions I 312-13, 326, II 241; I 185,
213, 242, 302; mules I 232, 309, III 212, 340, 367368, III 216-17. 297;
151; octopus I 285-6; panthers I II 272; II 24, 1923,
221-2; pig, boar I 300, III 48, 97-8, III 134-5, 174 176-7,216,217, 350,
116-17; sea-monsters I 285; seabirds 406; II 12; III 423,
I 259, 262, 283; seals I 219; sense 148, 210; dAos 111215-16,297;
presence of a god II 272; sheep I 198 II 56; III 212-13, 217,
anointing of stones I 185 245, 246, 250, 255; I 313, II
Anthesteria II 71, 76 161, 239-40, 280, 283, III 133-4, L35-
Anticleia II 77, 82, 86-7, 88, 90, 91, 101 7, 148, 162-3, US, 176-7, 263, 308;
Antilochus I 167, II 105, III 3612, 368 II 67; I 327;
Antimachus 141,86, III 197-8 II 240; III 214; III
Antinous I 121-2, 136, 149-50, II 282, 212-13, 245; 1236,352,368,11
285, III 40-1, 70, 120, 133, 156-7; 267, III 27, 37, 153, 160, 162, 210, 216;
165-6,168, 176-83,202, 207, 219-23, III 1.34, 217, v II
228, 374-6; and bow-contest III 139; 56, 272, 280, III 134, 217, 46;
rhetoric III 38-9, 40; throws stool at III 213, 248, 250; II 283, III
Odysseus 1114, 71 21112; II 272; II
ISi) 134g, I 379, 1380; see also bards 285, III 42, 148,-
aorist: gnomic I 103, 216, III 201, 272, Ares I 363-71, II 209, III 111
287,303, 316; inceptive III 191; Arete I 316-18, 324, 325, 335, 98, 100
ingressive III 239; mixed I 76, 117, Arethusa II 190
271, 314-15 367 374; reduplicated Argonauts, Argonautica (old) I 20, II 4-5,
III 258; thematic III 367 7, 47-8, 49, 51-2, 73, 76 118-19, 121,
Aphrodite 1363-71, III 21, 113, 298, 122, 132, 183, 246; see also Apollonius
337 Rhodius
apocope III 20-1, 248 Argos (dog), see
Apollo I 177, 208, 267, 369, 378, II 258, Argos (region) II 236
III 91-2, 116, 120, 176, 366; arrows II Ariadne II 96-7
87; god of the birds of omen II 263; Aristarchus: and text I 39 n 18, 40 n.
Lord of Ismarus II 25; priest of II 25 19,4 1-2 ,4 5-7,76, 80, 117, 124, 164,
Apollodorus III 96, 100 199 272,281, 284,299 3111 325, 337
Apollonius Rhodius I 44, 263, II 48, 49, 8, 351, 353, II 22,32, 34, 36) 38, 49, 58,
119, 121, III 72, 87,344 66, 68,99, 100, 120, 122, 123, 130,139,
Apollonius the Sophist III 181; glosses 141, 175, 201, 264, 273, 275, III 36,
III 47, 50, 52, 55, 65, 69, 182, 227, 237; 71-2, 91, 150, 177,179, 2 3>207, 229,
and text III 61, 185; and vocabulary 231, 234, 237,245,279,313 317, 344
III 23, 29,32, 34,52, 65, 81, n6, 126, 7, 370, 373; and vocabulary I 163,
134. 57, 187, 195245 169, 271, 273, 286,2981 310, 330, 340,
apostrophe II 195-6, III 33, 38, 254 355, 378, II 45, 107, 113, 131>169, 178,

431
GENERAL I NDEX ( C U M U L A T I V E )

Aristarchus (coni. ) 184, 284; undisguised II 232; warn


*85, 193, 194, 248, 257, HI 32, 35, 48, goddess II 186; see also Mentes;.
315, 325, 383; see also athetesis Mentor
Aristophanes II 253 Athenaeus I I 223,III 36,76,198
Aristophanes of Byzantium, and Athens I 36-9, 177, 180, 325-6; see also
grammar and vocabulary I 76, II 20 t, Panathenaea; Pisistratus
218, III 25,52, 159, 25L 274, 394; and athetesis I 35, 42, 46-7, 283, III 26, 41,
text I 40 n. 19, 45, 164, 298, II 107, 93-4, 156, 171; by Aristarchus I 46-7,
173, 174, 176, III 91, 165, 231, 234, 313 87,94,96,98, 100, 119, 120, 130, 140,
Aristotle I 40, 41, 84, 163, 228, II 208, 150, 164-5, 172, 175, 196,204, 205,
273, HI 25, 28, 80, 94 211, 212. 215, 226, 234, 259, 339, 383,
Arkeisios I 240, II 205 II 61, 87, 96, 101, 103, 105, 108, n o,
armour II 58, 115, 227; helmet III 241, 111, 125, 127, 143, 183, 184, 204, 228,
243 234, 278, III 14, 26, 37-8, 40, 43, 8b,
arms, see weapons 190, 225, 240, 247, 271,336,344 5, 347,
Arnaeus, see Irus 356, 366, 368, 377; by Aristophanes of
Artakia II 47, 49 Byzantium I 100, 144, 172, 196, 226,
Artemis I 177, 201, 267, 300, II 258, III II 87, , 103, 232, III 165; by
21, 62, 112, 113; arrows II 87 Cheiris I 325; by Diodorus the
article, definite III 19, 25,48,69 Aristophean I 193; by Eustathius III
artificial forms, see poeticisms 225, 266; by Zenodotus I 155, 185,
asembly, see typical scenes 196, 215, 226, 321, III 240; seealso
assonance I 80, 103, 107, 125, 164, 184, interpolation
269, 275, 301, III 17, 38, 98 Atlas I 81-2
Assurbanipal I 202 Atreidae-Paradigm I 16-17, 60,64-5,
Asteris I 245, 310, II 233 76-7,113,168, 172, 174, 175-81, 223,
astronomy I 276-7, 278 224-6
asyndeton II 271, III 168, 170, 172, 174, Attic dialect, Atticism I 26-7, 38 n. 15,
175, 224, 225-6, 235, 252, 284, 288, 100, 170, 222, 284, 294, 327, 338, 384,
294 II 3L 49, 93, 97, 163, 194, 242, 248,
Athena II 208, 272, III 4 n. 1, 5, 113; 256, 278, III 19, 28-9, 60, 99, 159, 165,
aegis II 115, 116; angry with Greek 168-9, 25> 266, 33, 394, 496, 414 ; see
army I 116-17, 168, 265; associated also Athens
with seamanship I 148, with weaving augment I 70, 76, II 197
I 120; I 240-1; disguised Autolycus II 206, III 6, 96-7,151
as mortal II 274; enhances protgs
appearance I 129, 307, II 274-5;
I 80, 285; intervention in Bacchylides II 55, 179. Ill 50
action II 84, 147, 178, 183, 184, 185; barbarity II 19, 21
as Mentes II 255; and Odysseus I bards I 9-10, 96, 176, 349, 350, 377, 384,
60-1, 173, 212, 284, 315, II 57,116, II 12, 150, 156, 159, 164-5, 210, 111
183, 273, 275, 285, III 51, 55, 76, 9P> 38-9, 43, 43-4, 80, 200, 209, 278; see
108, 110, 118, 319, 327-8, 339-40, also )
348-9, 352, 378, 408-9; and Penelope barrows, see funeral customs
III 5, 58-63, 148; sends dreams I 243, barytonesis III 166, 167
294-5; and Suitors III 13, 38, 41, baths I 114, 189, 375, II 63; bathtubs I
124-5, 209; and Suitors kinsmen III 190, 376
411-13, 414-18; symbol of success I Bellopheron II 183
315, 347; and Telemachus III 22, 24, blood-feud, abolition III 405-6, 412
73, 119; transformed into bird I 115- board games I 89
16, 1834, HI 209, 262; I book division I 39-40, 315, II 147;

432
GE NE RAL I N D EX ( C U M U L A T I V E )

coinciding with beginning or end of Circe episode, in art II 52; derivation II


day I 128, 157, 158, 288, II 287 50-2, 57, 58-9, 63, 64; cvioj II 60, 62
bow-contest III 3, 7-9, n , 14, 49, 90, City editions 1 44-5, 46; Argive I 125;
92, 104-6, 136-68, 175-206, 377, 378- Massaliot I 80, 87
9 cledonomancy III 115
burial customs II 82, 90, 117, 214; see Clymene II 97
also funeral customs Clytaemestra II 102, III 371, 380-1; see
also Atreidae-Paradigm
Cadmus II 183 Colchis II 49, 52
caesura, see metre, caesura colonization I 198, 292
Calchas II 263 compounds II 171, 225; elision of the
Callimachus I 44, 193, II 259, 262, III preposition II 208; terpsimbrotos-iype
15, 28-9, 50, 159 II 52, 96
Callistratus II 50, 124 concealment, as major theme III 35-6,
Calypso 1 73, 81-2, 249-50, 253, 260-1, 42
269, 270, 336, II 14, 52, 60, III 348; see conjectured readings I I 14,16,22,24,25,
also 29,31,32,34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44, 45, 4^,
Calypso episode II 60 49,50,57,59,62,66,68, 74,79,89,93,
Cassandra II 102 99,104,107,113,114,120,122,124,
Caucones II 180 129,138,141,168,169,173,174,175,
Cebriones III 364 176,184,194,198,200,207,209, 213,
Centaurs III 180-1 230, 248,258, 262, 264,273, 279, 281
Cephallenia, Cephallenians I 63, 106, Continuation of Od. I 36, 38 n. 16, 101,
III 27, 118, 189-90, 402 239
characterization III 5, 9, 29, 33, 38-40, contraction III 47, 61
107, 331; see also Odysseus; Penelope Corey ra II 173, 174, 214
chariots I 190-1, 229, II 169, 241; ships courtesy I 25, 291,316, 318, 332, 334,
compared with I 238 338, 355, 376; see also hospitality
Charybdis II 9, 12*2, 124, 131, 142, III crasis III 40
348; in art II 142 Crates II 14, 47, 4$, 79, 124
chiasmus II 101, III 349, 396 Cratinus II 20, III 291
Chimaera II 214 cremation, see funeral customs
Chloris 1192,94 Creophylus I 359
chorizontes I 7 Crete, Cretans I 43, 65-6, 178-9, 227, H
chronology I 51,52. 60, 73, i l l , 136-7, 179, 206, 2,13, 214, III 83-4, 142
143, 229, 249, 376, II 3, 43. 45. 7, Ctesippus III 121, 2634, 26970
142, 143, 231 cult I 160, 282, 365, 371, II 25, 43, 71,
Chryseis II 215 109, U L 195, 247
Cicones II 8, 15, 16 Cyclic epics 161, 89, 379, 381, II 107,
Ciconian episode II 9, 10, 15, 16, 45, III 109, 110, 150, III 372-3; Aethiopis I
347 167, 281, II 105, III 32-3, 365, 366,
Cimmerians II 48, 70, 77-9, III 360; 369-70; Cypria I 347, 35 b 352, II ic>8>
etymology of name II 79 Ihou Persis I 116, 208, II 108, 109;
Cinonian wine 1125-6,32 Little Iliad I 171, 208-12, 359, II 107,
Circe II 4, 9, io, 14, 15, 39, 51-2, 56, 64, 108; Nostoi I5311. I0, l 7b i 94;
65, 275, III 113, 247; advice II 41, 67, Telegony I 240, II 86
69, 70, 71, 72-3, 74. 75, 76, 80, 82-3, Cyclopeia II 9, 10, 16, 24, 45i in art II
117-18, 125, 126, 127, 130, 131, 132, 20; earlier version II I 9, 3 b 32, 34;
133, 142; etymology of name II 52; parallel with Phaeacians II 21, 28, 32
II 56, 57, 59, 6 l2, 64, 120, Cyclopes I 293, 7, 20, 33, 47, 49, 5,
191 HI 347

433
G E NE RAL I NDEX ( C U MU L AT I V E )

Cyclops (Polyphemus) I 83, 84, 130, diminutives II 272


164, II 20, 27, 29, 30, 35, 39, 66, 83, Dione II 216
127, 129; curse II 40; unsodability II Dionysius of Halicarnassus II 192
21, 23, 28, 29, 36-7 Dionysus II 97, 191
Cydonians III 834 Dioscuri II 95-6
Cypria, see Cyclic epics disguise III 24, 34, 35-6,38, 40, 49, 68,
Cypriot dialect I 312, 333, II 21, 152 70,94-5, n 8
Cyprus 1361,371 dittography III 234, 290
Cythera I 365, II 17 Dmetor of Cyprus III 40
Dodona II 214, 216-17
S-perfect I 25, 327 Dolius I 239, III 246, 338, 383, 385-6,
dance I 293, 299, 362, 363, 372; see also 402-4
,- Doloneia II 98, 134, 226
date of Od. I 33-4, 192, II 78 Dorian invasions II 13, 155, III 834
dawn I 128-9, 234, 346 Doric dialect III 32, 126, 391
death, and darkness, mist III 123, 237-8 Dorotheus of Ascalon III 383
decapitation III 277-8 doublets III 27-8, 117, 164, 168
decision-scenes III 30, 53, 104, 110, Doulichion II 13, 180, 217
387-9 Doulichium I 63, 106
Deiphobus I 381, II IS3 dowry, see marriage customs
deliberation between alternatives, see dreams I 2424, 290, 294, 317, II 228; of
typical scenes Odysseus III 12, 110, 114; of
Delos I 266, 304 Penelope III 7, 9, 10-12, 62, 101-4,
Delphic dialect III 32 113-14, 120
Delphic oracle 1351,332 dress I 118, 127, 169,296,11168, 178,
Democritus III 178 187-8, 191, 201,228, 237-8; in art II
Demodocus II 12, 100, 107, 128, 164-*, 187-8; footwear I I 157, 256
III 280 drugs I 206-7; see also Circe
Demoptolemus III 263 dual I 80, 293, 347, 348, 362, 367
description, stereotyped II 55 Dulichium III 189-90
destiny, see fate
deuteronekuia III 356-81 East Thessalian dialect II 152, 154
Dia II 97 Echeneus I 331
Didymus III 322 Echetus 11152-3, 126, 133, 181
digamma I 126, 131, 137, 182, 349, II Echinades II 180, III 189
69, 162, 165, 167, 168, 173, 187, 190, echo III 29, 38, 41, 80, 195, 265, 404;
191, 197, 201, 203, 207, 222, 232, 249, aural I 255, 276, 280, 301,369, II 138,
III 21, 24, 61, 73, 171, 200, 228, 272, 172,252
289; doubled II 168; and hiatus II Etion II 82
156, III 158, 170, 179, 185, 188, 191, Egypt, Egyptians I 33-4, 65, 130, 181-2,
203, 220, 226, 227, 231, 235, 236, 243, 192, 201-3, 206-7, 215-16, 218, 222;
245, 250, 272,288;ignored I 24-5,27, literature I 218, 250, 253, 290, 320;
94, 11314, 190,355,I I 176, 180, 195, Nile II 15, 72, 210, 211, III 40;
202, 209, 213, 215, 230, 262, 276, III Thebes II 93, g4
169, 187, 190, 261, 266, 270, 284; Eidothea I 216-19
initial I 27-8, 70, 86, 90, 123, 139, Eileithyia III 86-7
144, 201, 203, 226, 236, 279, 361, II Elatus III 263
198, 204, 221, 224, 265, 277, 279, 282, Elis III 189-90, 408
III 50, 190, 257, 275, 284, 293; and Elpenor II 68, 73-4, 75, 77, 80-1,82,87,
scansion I 221, III 79, 186, 228 89,117
digressions, see narrative technique' Elysium I 227-8, II 79, 112

4
34
G E NE RAL I N D EX ( C U M U L A T I V E )

emendations, see conjectured readings and Odysseus III 5-6, 10, 94-5. 98-9.
Emlyn-Jones, C. Ill 12 n. 13 290-5, 306-8, 330; and Penelope III
Empedocles III 60 , 6 8 , 244 315-21, 332
enjambment II n o, 142, 158-9, 168, Eurydamas III 263-4
177, 181, 195, 199, 215, 228, 234, 236, Eurylochus II 10, 58, 66, 134, 137, HI
239, HI 57. 183. 248, 265, 347. 396 124
entertainment, see hospitality Eurymachus I 121, 123, 143, 228-31,
Enyalius II 183 2356, 350, II 285, III 4, 31, 70-1, 133.
Eos 254, 340,I I 257 168, 174-5, 176, 183, 187, 207; and
epanalepsis to introduce supplementary bow-contest III 139, 141
information I 76 Eurymedusa I 320
Epeans II 180 Eurynome III 5, 59, 61,328, 333. 33$,
Ephyra I 108, II 214, 244 342
epic copiousness II 161 Eurynomus III 209, 263-4
Epicaste II 93, 94 Eurypylus II 108
epithets, absence II 272; distinctive II Eurytus I 359 6o, III 152
165, III 18, 24, 25, 34, 39, 62, 111, 149, Eustathius III 93, 97, 181, 254, 279;
188, 255, 259, 359-60; not orna glosses III 45, 47, 152, 176, 237; and
mental I I 52, 79, 82, 108, 234; grammar and vocabulary II 109, 191,
obscure II 37, 255; of Odysseus III 193, 225, III 19, 25, 48, 52, 53, 55. 68,
47, 69,187,200,218,279;orna 70, 76, 268, 270; and text II 59, 66, 67,
mental I I 161, 164-5, !66, 192, 194, 68, 227, 264, 270, 278, III 36, 156/227,
197, 258, 265, 272; ofPenelope III 229, 244, 247, 252. 253.' 278, 343; see
323 also athetesis
Eratosthenes I 260, II 5
Erebus II m fantastic elements II 3, 15, 25, 47, 64,
Erembi I 198 118, 148, 172, 191, 275; magic II 18,
Eretria, dialect II 282 40, 50-2, 56, III 98; man-beast
Erinyes I 140, II 94, 247, III 41, 66, 112 hybrids II 119
Eriphyle II 97 fate I 74, 78, 333, 38, II 6, 7, 15-16,
Eteocretans III 83-4 41-2, 76, 83-4
Ethiopians I 75, II 79 feast, see food, feasting
Etymologicum Magnum III 55, 302 Felson-Rubin, N. Ill 8 n. 5, 9
Eumaeus I 123, 126, 233, II 15, 100, 215, figura etymologica II 124, 220
222, III 3, 4, 5, 33, 38, 86, 116-17, fishing I 216-17, II 50, 132, 136, III
192-7, 248-51. 254-5, 384; as 286-7
additional character III 207; folktale, folklore 8 ,1 19-20, 56, 103, 137,
etymology of name II 196; loyalty III 209, 215, 216, 217-18, 220, 221, 282,
27-8; and Odysseus III 28, 36, 39~4. 289, 291, 295, 334, 338, 364, 379, 383,
132-3, 171, 173; and Penelope III 10 II 3-4. 5, 6, 15, 18, 19, 20, 30, 32, 33,
n. 10, 43-5, 156; story-telling II 148; 35, 38, 40, 43, 47-8, 50, 56, 60, 62, 64,
and Telemachus III 18 75, 76-7, 78,85,118-19,128, 133,
Eupeithes 111407-11,414,415-16 148, 172, 184, 190, 196, 197, 206, 216,
euphemism 1311,340 247, 260, 275, III 34, 38, 52, 70, 82, 90,
Euripides I 101 n. 4, II 20, 31, 93. O h 96-7, 100, 124-5, 135; see also Od.,
166, 177, 88, 274, 284, I I I 1 5 3 . 260, background of heroic saga
360 food: I 119, H9i cheese II 27;
Euryades III 263 cooking I 189; feasting III 32-3, 116-
Eurybates III 89-90 17, 121, 127, 204; fish I 216-17, II 50,
Eurycleia I 126, 151, 209, 212, 239, HI 136; milk I 198, II 28, 30; names of
27-8, 76,116,196, 210, 214, 296, 342; meals II 235i pork H 223, 285;

435
G E NE R A L I N D EX ( C U M U L A T I V E )

food {cont. ) furniture: beds I 127, 340, 365, III 335;


portion of honour I 196; venison II chairs I 93, 350, 374-5. HI 161-2;
53; see also grain; typical scenes, meal Aes II 223; stools I I l 4. 4 L 7i , i 6i,
footwear, see dress 167, 404; tables I 90, HI 222, 237;
formula-type, formula system 378,1 24, II 63
28, 128, 153-4, 293. 309, 310, 348, 370, future, choriambic III 224
384
formulae 13-10, 364, 370, II 152-3, III Galen III 198
92-3, 166, 182, 223, 238-9, 239-40, garter-motif III 28, 33-4, 49~50
241, 248, 249, 266, 300, 376; address Gates of Horn and Ivory 10, 103-4
III 33. 373; change of context II 30, genealogy II 91, 92, 246, 258, 262
53. 65, 74, 81, 141, 175, 187, 189, 195, generic description 1 310, 312, 321
206, 207, 222, 240, 243, 255, 264, 274, geography 1 62-6, 98, 159, 175. 215-16,
281; closing III 36; combined I I 30, 245, 259, 260,279, 284, 294, 300, 339,
34, 90, 165, 224, 256, 263; declension II 4-5, 13-14. 19, 44. 47- 8. 49. 52, 70,
I 163, 220, 327, II 156, 210, 211, 220, 77-9. 117. 119. 121, 122, 133, 170, 171,
241, 258, 270; descriptive, see epithets; 173,174,177, 179, 189-90, 192, 206,
evolution II 69, 150, 154, 155, 159, 211, 213, 214, 217, 233, 243, 244, 251,
180-1, 186, 201, 210, 221, 238, 239, 257, 261, 286; see also Scheria;
254. 255, 276, 283; expansion II 205, Giants I 324
III 157; and innovation III 18; gift-giving, see hospitality; marriage
introductory III 395; juxtaposed II customs
275; line-end III 65, i n , 120, 174, Gilgamesh epic I I 47, 60
178,221,224,226,234, 235, 254, 265- glosses I 83, 105, 113, 332, II 14, 211; see
6, 267, 268-9, 270, 306, 307; metrical also Apollonius the Sophist;
alternants I 333, 382, II 156, 160, 166, Eustathius; Hesychius
167, 171, 181, 184, 186, 194, 201, 210, gnomic observations I I 14, log
226, 237, 269; misapplication II 19, gods I 23; appear on earth I 89, 334;
200; mobility II 268; modification 1 bear malice I 265, 279-80, 315;
257, 258, 268, 297, 304, 370, II 66, 156, dwellings II 56; explain the
195,207, 209, 210, 212, 219, 234, 236, inexplicable I 172-3, 211, 212, II 269;
240, 241, 254, 263-4, 271, 272, 287, III golden possessions I 87; guarantee
56, 65; obscure III 394; prototypes I morality I 134-5, language of II
255. 283, 375, II 29, 168, 186, 192, 200, 60, 121; limited knowledge I 217;
211, 212, 230, 240, 241, 255, 262, 274, manifestation II 181, 272, 274; as
285; repetition III 17, 33, 36, 49; narrative device 1251,2945;
separation II 166; silence-formulae resent human happiness I 197, 205;
III 22; structure I 98, 117, 155; undisguised I I 232, 273; use of mist II
variable meaning I 269, 310, II 179, 176; see also Aphrodite; Apollo; Ares;
283 Artemis; Athena; Erinyes;
formulaic diction, conservative nature II Hephaestus; Hermes; Hyperion;
161, 167, 168, 199, 209 intervention, divine; Old Man of the
formular economy, metrically equivalent Sea; Paieon; Poseidon; Proteus;
formulae I 181, 257, 296, 302, 367, Themis; Zeus
375. 376-7. 161-2, 201, 231, 240, gold I 87, 180, 186, 203, 307. 374; gold
250, 255 cups I 375
Fortune 1114,56-7, 113 Gorgon (Medusa) II 116
funeral customs I 105, 112, 137, 177, grain, enimer I 158; grinding I 152,
180-1,206;cenotaphs I 228; 328, see also ,
cremation III 367-8; see also burial guest-friendship, see hospitality
customs Gyges fragment II 21

4
36
GE NE RAL I NDEX ( C U M U L A T I V E )

Hades II i8, 70, 78, 112, 202-3, 214; heroic saga see Odyssey
and fallen heroes III 361-72, 380-1; Hesiod I 30, 73, 78, 81, 84, 96, 132, 222,
hound of II 79, 116; Odysseus 227, 267, 277, 293, 301,326, 371, II 4,
journey to II 6-7, 69, 71, 72, 75-6, 14, 20, 37, 43, 48, 52, 68, 73, 79, 1 >2,
114, 117, III 347; II 94; and 114, 125, 128, 150, 165, 172, 173, 162,
Suitors 111 125, 356, 358-61,377-80 183, 185, 188, 194, 196, 197, 198, 199,
hairstyle, female I 261; male I 86, 307 219, 222,227,229,235,242,250,255,
Halitherses I 142, II 41, 407, 408, 257, 275, 284, III 33, 37, 40, 43, 63, 69,
409-10 71, 79, 83, 87, 100, 179, 366, 376;
hand-washing I 94, 147, 187, 196, 206, Catalogue of Women (Ehoiai) I 57, 59,
240 70, 75, n o , 162, 189, 194, II 47,90-1,
harp III 32 92,93,95, 96, 119, 120, 124, 127, 275;
Harpies I 105 glosses III 47, 50, 55, 64, 69, 73, 82,
head-dress, see dress 89, 117; and language I 25,28, 375;
Hecamede II 56 Scutum II 158, 187-8, 208;Shield of
Hector I I 57, 95, 107, 197, 242 Heracles I 281; and vocabulary I 75,
Helen. I 57, 194, 200-1, 203-4, 206-12, 82, 105, 119, 171, 271, 281, 356, HI 23,
227; abduction III 25, 337 24, 29, 60, 65-6, 84-5,111,197, 214,
Helios, anger II 83, 132, 135, 139, 140; 269, 305, 340
daughter Circe II 52; II 78; Hesychius: glosses III 122, 179, 182,
sacred cattle II 133, III 348 237, 270, 288, 315; and text III 185,
Hellanicus I 214 234, 260, 268, 292; and vocabulary HI
Hellas II 236 52, 68, 122, 126, 149, 164, 192, 193,
hendiadys II 168 198, 205,213, 222, 238, 245, 253, 257,
Hephaestus 1363-71,11253 267,270, 272, 279, 286
Hera III 113; dess II 188; sanctuary II Hipparchus, s. of Pisistratus I 37
188 Hippocrates II 56, 193, 218, 277, III 28,
Heracles II 7, 14.70, 7b 76, 93, U 5, 55, 99,153,159, 187, 237
116, 183, 203, III 151-2 Hippolochus III 415 .
Heraclitus III 56, 66 Hipponax III 28
heralds II 167, III 38, 80, 209; wand II Hittite mythology I 81
191 homophony III 112
Hermes I 60, 78-9, 85-9, 257, 330, II Horace I 67, 69, 82, 230
51, 58, 224, 253, HI 358-9, 36i , 37i; hospitality I 54, 90-3, 98, 100, 158, 182-
epithets I 79, 85, 258-9, 369; 3, 317, 372, 373, 12-13, 18, '21, 24,
etymology of name II 286; heralds 27, 28, 32, ss, 38, 44, 45, 46, 61, 68,
wand II 191; insignia I 259; 163, 195, 212, 234, 243, 254, 263, 284;
instructions I I 59-60, 62 accommodation in I 185,
Hermione I 193-4 212, 340, III 216; guest gifts I 114-15,
herms II 286; see also Hermes 179-80, 229,373,III 137, 152, 270,
Herodian II 257, 286, III 23, 48, 50, 231, 391, 392, see also typical scenes,
232, 274, 279, 292, 302 reception of visitor
Herodorus II 17 humour I 268, 291, 292, 302, 306, 309,
Herodotus I 76, 162, 207, II 15, 18, 20, 311, 319, 334, 369-70,I I 179,206, 215
169, 214, 216, 224, 235, 260, 284, III Hymns II 150; h. Ap. II 22, 124, 251,
64, 83, 84, 125; and grammar and 266; h. Cer. II 18, 87, 166, 235;
vocabulary I I 148, 172, 176, 184, 198, A. Merc. II 171, 185, 284; . Ven. II
201, 202, 210, 215, 217, 218, 221, 236, 103, 228
248, 282, 283, 286, III 70, 72, 83, 84, hyperbaton II 267, III 194
152, 197, 198, 199, 222, 224, 248, 251, hyperbole I 377, III 38, 71
253, 255, 303 Hyperesia II 248-9

437
GENERAL I NDEX ( C U M U L A T I V E )

Hyperion I 72 212, 220, 223, 224, 229; Bk xv I I 232,


hysteron-proteron, see prothysteron 238, 250, 251, 254, 256; Bk xvi II.270,
277, 280, 283; Bk xvii III 36-7; Bk
xviii HI 5, 41, 46, 58, 60- i ; Bk xix III
Icarius I 110, 133-4, 140 75, 76, 80-1, 93; Bk xxi III 131-3,
Idaeus II 58 138, 150, 156, 165, 171, 176, 177, 183,
Idomeneus III 6, 83 184, 190, 193, 204; Bk xxii III 207,
Ikmalios III 77 222-3, 225-7, 230,240,241, 246-7,
Iliad 1 4-5, 7, 10-14, 22, II 3, 7; 266, 271, 276, 290-2, 296-7,304-5;
Catalogue III 8; cyclic composition Bk xxiii 111313,316,318,319-20,
III 96; date of composition I 33-4; 325, 329, 332, 336- 7, 339, 340-7; Bk
differs from Od, in ideas and concepts xxiv III 356- 7, 368, 373, 377- 8, 382,
III 109, 110, 115, 319, in language and 388-9, 409; post-Arislarchean 148,
grammar I 80, 119, 134, 143, 168, 171, 95, 43, 54, 55- 57- 61, 165, 180,
198, 214, 221, 223, 236, 237, 243, II 37, 191, 196, 211, 212, 219, 220, 224, 230-
71, 5, 123, 143, 172-3= 193, 211, 217, 1, 241, 263, 269, 283, 306, 312, 315,
221, 239, 252, 254, 268, 283, III 48, 349, 369; see also analytical inter
i l l , 158, 180, 271, 274, in other pretation; athetesis
respects I 23, 61, 78, 89, 96, 102, 107, intervention, divine III 110, 209, 256-7,
131, 205, 238, 320, 351,359, II 30, 43= 319, 340, 346, 352, 378, 408-9, 41.313.
45, 60, 86, 114, 131, 226, 245; 415, 417-18
influence on Odyssey III 359; inserted intuition III 9, 11-12, 105
episodes III 357; model for lines, Ionia, lonians III 64-5; and birthplace
expressions of Od. II 15, 16, 24, 27, of Od. II 151-2, 171
33, 56, 57, 58, 6i, 66, 68, 71, 81, 87, 93, Ionic dialect, lonicism I 10, 24-5. 296,
95, 98, 99, , 107, 108, 109, 112, 113, 301, 306, 310, 360, I I 96, 151-2, 153,
115, 116, 118, 131, 132, 138, 140; on 154, 55, 156-8,161, 167, 185, 224,
Odysseus II 6; reminiscences of I 67- 185,194-5,201,203,209,211,218,
8, 87, I2p, 128-9,, 143, 201-2, 233, 221, 222, 226, 227, 238, 241, 252, 253,
234, II 27, 30, 31, 33, 38, 50, 5 1 , 55, 61, 268, 276, 280, 281, 285, III 27, 65, 165,
63, 64, 67, 8i, 84, 89, 106, 107, 109, 245, 255, 281,317
116, 128, 132, 173, 223, 284, III 33, 72, Iphicles II 95, 247
133,197,218,219,221, 228,241, 243- Iphimedesia II 96
4, 260, 263, 267, 304, 306, 330, 334, Iphitus III 150-2
396,401-2,409,415-17 iron, see metals
Iliou Persist see Cyclic epics irony I 102, 116, 117, 122, 151, 157, 173,
Ilium, see Troy 200, 234, 241, 263, 339, 350, 358, II 21,
inconsistency III 26, 37, 40, 43, 75, 104, 29, 32, 4o, 47, 50, 54, 55, 69, 76, 202,
365 215, 224, 277, III 26, 34,36,39, 41, 54,
infinitive: articular III 111; consecutive 68, 70, 79, 87, .99, 118, 120, 123, 57-8,
III 19; in wishing III 37 184,219-20
Ino I 282 Irus (Arnaeus) III 4, 47, 52-3, 60, 63-4
interpolation II 6, III 14-15; ancient, see Island of Goats II 7, 9, 21-2, 24, 136
athetesis; Bk ix II 14, 16, 17, 22, 23, Isles of the Blessed II 112
3D 35, 38, 40, 41; Bk x 1146,47,48, itacism III 13, 165, 219, 271, 292
53, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69, Ithaca I 63-4, 99, ioo, 165, 230, 245, II
70, 73; Bk xi II 76, 77, 78, 80, 82, 84, 12, 13-14,171, 179, 233, HI 6, 27,
88, 89, 90-1, 93, 97, 98, 102, 104, 114, 189-90, 350, 405-6, 413; bay of
116; Bk xii II 120-1, 123, 124, 126, Phorcys II 136, 170; contrast with
129, 131, 133, 139, 142; Bkxiii II *69, Seherin II 148; Nymphs cave II 171;
173, >76, 185; Bkxiv II 202, 203, 210, Ravens Rock II 190; see also politics

438
G E NE RA L I N D EX ( C U MU L A T I V E )

Ithakos III 27 magic, see 1'antastic elements


ivory I 197, III 62 maidservants; death III 296-304;
disloyalty III 36, 99, 108, 207, 209,
Jason, see Argonauts 227,275
journey, see typical scenes Malea, Cape I 65, 171, 177-8, 224-5, II
justice III 41,55-7, 66, 73, 119, 243, 4, 17,45
319, 400, 405-6, 412 I 102, 1 142, see also omens
Mrchen-motifs, see folktale
Kaukones I 183 Maron II 16, 25
kennings I 238, 256-7,I I 85
marriage customs I 57-9, 110-11, 133,
knees III 63, 64
193, 303, 368, II 187
Kunstsprache II 151, 156; see also masculine form for feminine I 221, 238,
formulae; poeticisms 285, 287
meals, see food; typical scenes
Laertes I lo o -i, 137-8, 239-40, III 3,
Medea II 51, 52
326, 350, 351, 381-2, 384-402, 415-
Medon I 236, II 179, 283, III 28, 257,
17; transformed by Athena II 275
275, 282-6, 407, 408-9
Laestrygonians II 9, 43, 47, 49, 5. 52>
Megara 0 93
79, 148, III 347; land of light II 4s
Meges II 217
lamps III 76
Melampus II 95, 246-7
Lamus II 47, 48
Melaneus III 372
landing, see typical scenes
Melanthius III 4, 117, 166-7, 207, 208-
Laodocus II 183
9,209, 212-13, 246-56, 304-6, 378,
laughter III 59, 70, 122, 195
385; goads Odysseus III 27-31
Leda IIg5
Melantho 111 27-8, 68-9, 77-8, 93,109,
Lemnos 1365
117, 293,385
Leocritus I 146, III 263-4, 271
Meleager II 40
Leodes III 139, 163-6, 209, 263-4. 274"
Memnon II 105, III 361-2
7 Menander II 248
Lesbos I 214, III 25; dialect II 152, L54,
Menelaus I 54, 60, 175, 181, 192-232, II
194- 5,277 107, 108, III 25-6/373
Leucadian Rock III 360 Menelaus-Paradigm II 69, 72, 85-6
Leucas I 63,99, 106,245 Mentes I 88-9, 99, 107-15
Leucothea I 279,282 Mentor, disguised Athena I 89, 147-8,
libation III 57, 177 183, II 272, III 256-62, 408-9, 414-15,
Linear B script, see Mycenaean forms 418; in propria persona I 145
litotes II 189, III 341 Merops III 1 11
Little Iliad, see Cyclic epics metals, metallurgy I 100, 186-7, 2 3>
Livius Andronicus 169 308, 326, 368; bronze II 34, III 86,
Longinus II 148 235; copper I 100; iron I 212, I I 34,
loom, see textiles 216, 254, 278, III 44, 75, see also gold
Lotus II 18, 57 metamorphosis II 51, 57, 61, 64, 66, 275,
Lotus-eaters II 9, 17-18, 57, 75, 148 III 257, 262, 272
347 metaphor I 280, 303, 334, 352, 354, II
loyalty,disloyalty III 27-8, 36, 60, 69, 35, 51, 85, 93, 98, 167, 181, 187-8, 195,
79, 99, 108, 119, 207, 209, 227,275 196, 208, 221, 282, III 30, 40, 53, 59,
Lycophron II 179, III 200 62, 79, 80-1, 108-9,118,125, 225, 226
Lycurgus I 35 n. 5, 37 metathesis, quantitative I 25, 28, 354,
lyre I 96-7, 350, 362, III 139, 200-1 183, III 20, 61, 101, 245, 283, 301, 48
413
madness III 72 I 26
Maera II 97

439
G E NE RAL I NDEX ( C U MU L A T I V E )

metonymy II 167, III 29, 30, 49-50, 65, Minos I I in ,I I 1 8 5


206 Minyans, Minyan and Aeolian
metre; absence of spondees 272; mythology II 92, 94, 180, 246-7
acephalous verses I 194, 199, 2756, Moly 1151,60-1
329, II 57, 141, III 151, 413; and mulecart (-) I 2978
apostrophe III 33; caesura, bucolic Murnaghan.S. Ill 8 n. 5, 9
III 54, 166, mid-line III 87-8, 123, Muses I 68, 69, 350, II 128, III 366-7
penthemimeral i l l 44, third-foot III music III 205, see also lyre
33, trochaic III 18; consonantalized t Mycenae II 244
I 1978, 1 272; effect of spondees II Mycenaean forms I 70, 75, 208, 267,
254; elision of diphthong I 216, II 44, 299, 304, 312, 323, 340, 352, 365, 374,
138, 201, III 20; Hermanns Bridge I 376, II 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 31,
105, 123, 237; hiatus I 88, 94, 103, 34, 36, 43, 56, 61 >63>65. 85, 86,*93, 94,
146,243, ii 156,158-9,177,195,200, 95, 97, 119, 123, 141, 157, 165, 167,
204, 210, 212, 219, 220, 241, 262, 265, 173, 178, 179, 180, 182, 186, 188, 189,
268, 271, 274, III 160, 169, 171, 174, I93, 194, 20, 205, 207, 208, 212, 240,
177, 178, 229, 237, 254, 269-70, 294, 241, 247, 248, 249, 256, 257, 271, 282,
double III 250, illicit III 86, initial III 21, 51, 117, 159, 165, 235, 269, 277,
III 290, see also digamma; iambic III 293, 299,305, 307,322,328, 334- 5,
242; irregularity III 288,410; other 364, 373, 376, 416; Linear B texts I
unusual practices I 123, 132, 146, 230, 99, 159, 160, 190, 348, 373, II 150, 154,
361, I I 45, 99, 104, 187, 240, 248, 255, 162-3,168,171,175, 181, 196, 236,
III 60, 111; related to passion of 253, 286
speaker II 270; short vowel before I myth, solar III 82
106, II 270; spondaic III 37, 40;
synecphonesis I 104; synizesis II 16, names II 195; derived from place II 14;.
29, 58, 183, 210, 21 i, 212, 263, III 38, eponymous III 27, 97; exchange of II
40, 65, 76, 85, 93, 99- >oi, 153, )59, 1213, 33; indicating conception of
167, 169, 173, 176-7,203,242, 245, character I 73,97, 121-2, 154, 177,
259, 298, 378, 408; trochaic III 113; 257, 293-4, 324, 348; intrusive I 152;
and vocabulary III 37, see also invented I 353, 25, 33, 39, 186; non-
metathesis, quantitative Greek II 124,133,170, 207, 270-1,
metrical alternatives II 26, 95, 96, 127, 286; odd compounds I 99, 1231
see also formulae papponymic I 83, II 105; patronymic
metrical lengthening I 69, 88, 102, 111, I 77, 80, 91-2,126, 162, 194, 195, 214,
144, 156, 206, 257, 262-3, 308, 325, II 13, 43, 166, 196, 207, 215, 217-18,
353, 372, 380, II 16, 17, 22, 37, 47, 50, 237, 258, III 31, 258, 260, 269, 278,
53, 70, 92, 112, 141, II 194, 141, 142, 280, 338; power associated with II 39,
156, 162, 173, 174, 176, 177, 191, 193, 40; significant III 27, 34-5, 38, 40, 47,
203, 205, 207, 218, 229, 237, 241, 245, 52, 77-8, 81, 86, 111, 246, 385, 407
248, 252, 261, 265, 266, 274, III 21, 24, narrative technique I 1218, 290, 295,
79, 80, 82, 85, 170, 171, 174, 176, 186, 317, 331, 345, 353, 3-4, 8-11, 147-
187, 192, 193, 199, 202, 223. 226, 229, 9, HI 7-8, 12, 14, 55; adumbration of
236, 252, 254, 272, 338, 350-1,359, later events I 85, 89, 106, 109, 112,
36'5, 378, 384, 386, 391 151, 152, 195, 200, 209, 212, 250, 292,
metrical shortening III 60, 222, 286 299, II 9, 10, 23, 25, 30, 3ri 32, 35, 40,
middle voice (verb) II 137, 161, 163-7, 45, 49, 52, 53, 55, 56, 68, 80, 8i, 88,
215, 220, 228, 232, 248, 250, 269, 270, 90, 91,97, 98, 100, 104, 109, 118, 121,
272, 285, III 48, 171, 181, 185, 205, 124, 125, 126, 134, 135, 278; anecdote
296, 306, 309, 315, 323, 348 I 320-1; closing cadence III 73, 106,
middle-passive voice (verb) III 48 127; contrasts II io, 46, 79, 101, 102;

440
G E NE RA L I NDEX ( C U MU L A T I V E )

deliberate obfuscation I 229, cf. I 339; 6, 401-2; cup II 2; story-telling II


digressions II 148, 149, 245, 255, III 107, 211,229
6- 7, 69, 95- 8, 131, 179-80, 313, 324. Nile, see Egypt
33L 33b - 7>first-person narration II Niobe II 275
3-4, 7, 15, 139; flashback I 72; and Noemon I 154, 232-4
innovation III l8, 19; introductory N o s to i, see Cyclic epics
expressions II 14, 16, 24, 25, 67, 89, nu-movable making position II 158,
95, 105, 108, 162, 213, 218, 227, 242, 195
246, 259, 267-8; linear structure I numbers, ordinal and cardinal confused
250, 290, I I 147, 231, III 57; and oral I 136, 175; round numbers I 153;
recitation III 26, 36-7, 43; typical: 3 I 297; 7 I 180, 336; g I
ornamentation I 273, 279,4302, II 24, 161,279,336; 12 I 373; so I 328
25, 30-1,62, 80, 123, 274; parallel Nymphs I 301, II 136, 224; of Circe II
expressions, lines II 10, 15, 24, 28, 36, 62; on Ithaca II 171, 177; names II
39, 49-50, 53, 56, 58, 60, 61, 62, 64, 126
67, 69, 74, 84, 85, 87, 106, 113, ] 15, Nyx III 360
116. 117-18,124, 126, 127, 129,131,
133, 134, 135-6, 139, Ha, 143, 224, oaths 1 152,271, II to, 59-60,62, 135
274; perspective of poet II 24, 53, 73; Oceanus I 228, II 4, 52, 78, 87, 116, ,
postponement of expected III 360
development I 54, 192, 199, 226, 254, Odysseus I 19-22; acquisitiveness III
317, 319, 330, 331; rapid tempo II 901; association with folktale motifs
149, 229, 243, 245, 281; repeated I 56; bath and transformation III
episodes I 251, 280, 286, 377; 327-9,33L 346; bow-contest III 3,
resumptive lines II 125, 169, 238; 49, 187, 198-206; and Calypso I 82,
retrospection II 10, 24, 26, 53, 55; 268, 270; characterization I 6971,
ring-composition I 127, II 229, 254, 107, 167, 249, 252-3,268, 270, 273,
257; simultaneous action (Zielinskis 320, 351, II 8, 13, 14, 3, 45, i 3 - i ,
law) I 154, 2 51-2,I I 231,245; 177, 200, III 9, 28, 36, 79, 172;
telescoping III 67; time-scale II 25, counsel II 107; cover stories I 99;
74, 88, 164; topographical curiosity II 7, 24, 27; as described by
introductions II 169,257 Proteus I 220; development of his
Nausicaa I 289, 291, 294, 295, II 8, 215, norfcr I 51, 689, 78, >367, II 611;
274, III 21, 155 false tales II 15, 148, 179, 208, 215-16,
navigation I 276-7 221; ingenuity II 31; kills Suitors I
necromancy II 6, 71, 75, 85 51-3, 55- 7, 67, 69, 107, 128, 141, III 3,
nectar I 264, 267-8 53, 219-64, 317, 324 5, 408-9; and
negative, double III 185 Laertes III 3, 350, 351, 382-404;
Nekym II 71, 164; catalogue of heroines liminal state III 3-4, 48-9, 531 name
II 77, 90-1, 97, 111; structure II 73, I 83, 249, 283, HI 6-7, 69, 91, 96-7,
75-7, 92, 100, 105, 111 110; number of ships II 8, 9, 21, 23;
Neleids II 247 origins II 6, 17, 74, 204; owns II 20,
Neleus II 92, 94,95 33, 35; parallels with Menelaus I 218,
neologism III 61, 87 220-1, 226; Penelopes testing of
Neoptolemus I 171, 193-4, 107, 108 Suitors I I I 6 7 ; philosophy of life III
Nereids III 365, 366-8 55-7; physique I 354, III 4, 10, 51, 63,
Nereus III 366 90, lt8; 128;
Nericus III 402 II 6, 35, 215; II 6, 45;
Neritos III 27 II 2; II 6,
Nestor I 54, 158-61, 164, 165, 170, 173, 8; recalled by others I 107, 20812;
US, 185, II 81, 105, 107, 234, III 365- recognition II 65, 147,275;

441
G E NE RAL I N D EX ( C U MU L A T I V E )

Odysseus (coni.) Bk xxiii III 322, 332, 336, Bk xxiv III


recognized by Argos III 346; 370, 390, 396, 404; see also chronology;
recognized by Laertes III 396-400; date; performance, and text
recognized by Penelope I 329-38, III Oedipus II 93, 94
3, 5, 7, 9, 94, 184, 313, 321-4; Old Man of the Sea I 214, 217, see also
recognized by Telemachus III 339; Proteus
recounts adventures III 346-8; Olympus I 87-8, 296, fl 3, 7g, 96, III
rejuvenation I 307; relationship with 411-12
companions 1110-11,45,54,66,126, omens I 131, 140-2, 170', II 140, 242,
129, 130, 133, 135, 136; restoration of 263, III 26, 44, 53-4, 114, 120, see also
order III 79, 349-50, 405-6, 412-13,
418; return predicted 1 102, 142, 173; Onomacritus II 114
revelation of identity II 12, 215-16, onomatopoeia II 242, 261, 272, III 44
273; rhetoric III 7980; scar III 6, 34, opium, see drugs
74, 94-8, 171,319, 398; self-control Ops II 258
III 3, 88, 99; shipwreck, in art II 141; optative II 34, 44, 49, 174, III 58, 91,
situation at start of poem I 73-5, 268; 115, 187, 235, 246, 391,408;
skill at archery I 51, 107-8, 359; asseverative III 300; concessive III
smile III 121-2, 284, 323; as story 232; indirect statement III 220, 228,
teller II 99, 100, HI 43-4; and Suitors 388; iterative III 399; oblique III 239;
III 13, 38-41, 57, 208, 213; and potential with ? II 243; with
Suitors kinsmen 111110,414-18; subjunctive I I 126
testing of Penelope 1114,77-8; oracles II 62, 216, 269, III 91
II 67; see also Athena; oral tradition III 8, 14-15, 363-4; see
Laertes; Penelope; stranger; also performance, and text
Telemachus Orchomenus II 94
Odyssey, authors I 207-10, 230, 240, 244, Orestes I 194, II 152; see also Atreidae-
256-7,271, III 131-3,135,150, 156, Paradigm
166, 184, 191-2, 202, 304, 317, 343-4, Orion II 111-12, 248
353-4, 360, 363; background of heroic Orpheus II 118-19
saga II 3-4, 8, 70, 71, 76-7, 5, 93, 94, Orsilochus, Ortilochus III 150
95, 105, 107, 108, 109, 114, 149-50, orthography I 26-39, 76, 80, 105, 112,
183, 197, 204, 206, 216, 226, 263, 278, 117, 124, 126, 130, 168, 199, 254, 258,
607; ending III 313, 342" 5, 353~4; 262, 309, 329, 331, 12, 15, 23, 32, 69,
innovations of poet II 34, 67, 8, 10, 82,93,103, 157, 162, 220, 263, 279
18, 19, 21, 33, 35, 39, 4, 47, 5L 64, 7L Ortygia II 257
74, 76-7, 86, 89, 120, 121, 122, 132, Ossa (Rumour) II 96, III 125, 406
183, 196, 205, 215, 218, 234; Ovid II 124
modernizing tendencies of epic verse
I I 149,157-60,174, 177, 193, 198, 199,
220, 237, 239, 245, 252, 267; text III Paeaon, Paieon I 208, II 183
14-16, 18, 26; variant readings, Bk ix pain, as major theme II 36, 69-70, 78,
II 27, 29, 31, 36, 37, 41-2, B kx II 44, 97
46, 56, 69, Bk xi II 109, Bk xix III 80, Panathenaea 137,61
89, 96, Bk xv II 237, 239, 251, 256, Pandareos, daughters II 275, III io o -i5
260, Bk xvi II 274, Bk xvii III 20, 24, 112
29, 32, 40, Bk xviii 53, 71 - 2, Bk xx Panopeus II 112
III 115, Bkxxi I 165-70, HI 133, 150, Panyassis I 359
152, 155-6, 160, 162, 174" 5, 178-9, papyri I 40, 42, 45, 47-8,76,80,255
182-3, 185-9, 198, Bkxx HI 224, parataxis I 295, 298, II 30, 139, 158-9,
226-8, 239, 242, 245, 253-4, 267-9, 222, 247, 256, III 153, 157-8, 160, 178,

442
GENERAL INDEX (CUM ULATIVE)

186, 344, 245, 24-6> 253, 260, 265, 284, etymology I 289;ferrymen of the
298= 303 , 306 dead1 I 289; hostility to strangers I
Paris, seduction of Helen II 284 316, 321; island of II 22, 49, 173, 174;
Parmenides III 23, 56 as literary bridge I 289; literary
Pamassos III 6 existence only I 289; luxurious way of
parody II 192, 193, 197, 223, III 33, 35, life II 229; migration I 293;
72 remoteness I 293, 294; reputation I
Parry, Milman III 18 34b 361, 363; utopian character I
pathos 1381,1136, 105, 175. 185, 195, 334, 342, II 4, 12, see also Scheria
274,11187 Phaeacis (Phaiakis) I 289, 291, III 353
Patroclus II 105, 179, 196, IIJ 361-2, Phaedra II 96
363- 365. 368, 370; ghost it 81, 148 Pharai, see Pherai
patronymics, see names Pharos, see Egypt
Pausanias III 64, 69, 83, 150 Pheai II 251
Pausanius II 248, 271, 286 Pheidon II 21415, 218
peasantry III 50, 71 Phemius II 165, III 28, 31,37-8, 275,
-rreipa 1 291, II 24, 133, 137 278-81, 286, 326, 408
Peiraeus III 22 Pherae (Pharai) I 191, II 243, 251
Peisander III 263 Pherecydes II 246, 248
Pelasgians III 84 Philochorus III 116
Pelion II 96 Philoctetes 1171,359
Peloponnese III 64 Philoetius 111,117-19, 156, 169-70, 174,
Penelope I 51, 55-60, 110-11, 117-21, 197, 207, 213, 250-1,269, 352, 384
133, 136-9, 237-44, II 6, 104, 201; and Philomeleides 1214,11125
Athena II 275; beautification by- Philoxenus of Cythera II 20
Athena III 5, 58-63; and bow- Phoenicia, Phoenicians I 65, 197-8, 277,
contest III 7-9, 140, 148-9, 153-5, II 180, 239; metal-working I 203, 231;
183-5, 187, 191; characterization III Sidon, Sidonians I 198, 231, II 181,
9, 10-11, 21, 59, 63, 92, 104-5; 239
etymology of name II 204, III 81, 148; Phoenix II 183; story-telling II 148
and Eurycleia III 315-21; praise of Phorcys II 170
III 380-1; recognizes Odysseus III 3, Phylace II 94, 247
5, 7, 9, 94, 184, 313, 321-4, 327-8; Pindar II 15, 95, 96, 120, 190, 227, HI
responsibility III 349-51; and 56, 60, 66, 260, 279-80, 293
stranger III 3-4, 5-7, 9-12, 42-4, 81- piracy II 211
94, 1006,31719; and Suitors III n , Pirithous II 116
13, 2i, 58-61, 63, 66-7, 80-2, 104-6, Pisistratus, s. of Nestor I 162, 185, 186,
113, 185, 3749; and Telemachus III 188, 190, 204, 205, 206
22-3, 25, 58-9, 60, 63, 101, 115-16, Pisistratus, tyrant of Athens I 36-8, 162,
183, 191, 321-3; testing by Odysseus II 116; Pisistratean recension I 36-9
HI 4 , 77-8 Planctae II 121, 129, 133, III 348
performance, partial II 278; and text III plants, fruit I 229-30, II 57; grain II
8, 14-16, 18, 24, 26, 41,43, 73, 75, 80, 186; marsh-plants III 263; oak II *93,
94 216; thistle I 282; trees I 261, 262,
periphrasis II 114, 164, III 50, 158, 281, 274, 287; vegetables I 330; see also
372 Lotus; Moly
Pero II 94 Plato I 40, 119, 216, 226, II 21, 69, 106,
Persephone II 18, 91, 100; grove II 70 i n , 113, 161, III 28, 36, 72, 79, 85,
Perseus II 183 280
Phaeacians I 16, II 3, 148, 215, III 346, Plautus II 93
348; destruction I 294, 3834; pleonasm HI 234, 246, 264, 283

443
GENERAL INDEX (CUM ULATIVE)

plot, problems III 5, 7-9, 101, 104-5, Ptolemy of Ascalon II 113, III 187
134, 181- 47. 183-4, 207-10 puns, see word-play
plural II 15, 137, 161-2, 202, 206, 213, Pylos I 64, 158-60, II 92, 173, 243, 244,
241, *261 246,111158
Plutarch HI 56 II 190-1; of Athena II 57, 190;
poeticisms: artificial forms II 35, 37, 47, of Circe II 57, 59, 61, 64, 191
57, 84, 117. 15L 156-7. 168, 172, 173,
176, 177, 178, 187, 188, 193, 202, 204,
raiding I 123, 164-5
207, 209, 210, 213, 218, 222, 229, 245,
reality and appearance III 10 n. 9, 40
248, 255, 256, 261, 268, 276, 281;
recognition-scenes III 3, 34-6, 94-5, 99,
metrical coinages, reformation I 10,
170, 184, 307, 329-30,382, 384. 396-
!43. 254. 261, 271, 273, 281, 309, 311,
400
337. 365. 370, 372, 381,382
religious beliefs II 17, 76-7, 132-3;
poison for arrows I 107-8
threefold injunction II 71, see also cult
polar expression III 292
repetition III 286, 374-5; and athetesis
politics 1342-3, 346, 361; Ithacan I 59-
III 14; lines III 17, 18, 21, 26, 39-40,
60, 122-3,129-31, II 264;
Mycenaean II 207; Phaeacian I 323, 44, 70, 75, 77, 80, 81, g2, 117, 152-3,
188, 190, 200, 208, 209, 239-40, 244,
345, II 163; Syrian II 260; see also
254, 266, 290-1,319,400, 412, 414,
typical scenes, assembly, council
417; words III 26, 48, 153, 165, 174,
politikai, see City editions
177, 196, 222, 244-5,246,249,274,
Polybius II 124
275, 290, 394; see also epithets,
Polybus 1372, III 263-4
distinctive; formulae
Polycaste, d, of Nestor I 189
retribution III 3, 41,57, 69, 115, 319,
Poiyktor. Ill 27
400, 405
Polyphemus, see Cyclops
returns of the heroes I 53-4, 116, 158,
polyptoton I 115, 177,264
192, 218, 223-6, see also Cyclic epics,
Poseidon I 61, 74-6, 83-4, 160, 281,
Nosioi
284, 315, 368, 379, II 29, 191; anger II
revenge, see retribution
40, 4L 43, 83, 85, 140; as Enipeus II
Rhadamanthys I 227, 289, 339-40
92; etymology of name II 173-4
rhapsodes I 35, 37-8, 40, 252, II 178,
Pramnian wine II 56-7
184, 238, 268
pre-Homeric poetry, catalogue II 91,92,
Rhianus 145, 141 n. 1, 204, 256, 284, II
see also Odyssey, background of heroic
50, 213
saga rhythm III 123, 224
, see
ritual III 57, 79, 279, 306, 367-8
Priams journey II 58, 63, 64, 81
run-over words, see enjambment
Proclus II 105, HI 370
Procris II 96
proem I 67-9 Sack of Oechalia. Ill 132
pronoun, demonstrative III .19, 414 sacrifice, threefold IT 85, see also typical
prophecy III 119, 124-5 scenes
Proteus I 54,217-18,222,223,226,II Same, Samos 163, 106, II 13,217,232-
72, 85, 100 3, III 189-90; sanctuary of Hera II
prothysteron (hysteron-proteron) I 85, 188
190, 206, 233, 238, 275, 335, 126, Sanskrit III 51, 54, 56, 64, 192, 266, 268,
168, 180, 191, 207, 212, 241, 243, 264, 310
280, III 39, 51, 101, 230 Sappho I 141, 170, II 152, 231, 253, III
Protodikos III 206 59, 118, 237, 308, 360
proverbs III 28, 37, 75, 83, 118 sarcasm III 38, 39, 52, 121, 166, 185,
Psammetichus I 192 192, 199-200, 204, 265, 267, 270, 277

444
GENERAL INDEX (CU M U LA T IV E )

scene, change of III 26-7, 34, 380, 404- Sophocles I I 92, n o , 215, 240, III 195,
5, 406,411 251
sceptre, see staff sound-effects I I 36
schema etymoiogicum I 112, 297,315, 364, Sparta I 193; local colour I 231-2
HI 79.174; see also word-play sports I 299, 342, 353. 358, 372
Scheria, as colonial city I 293; contrast staff I 259; as symbol of authority
with Ithaca II 148; etymology I 294; (sceptre) I 131-2, 255
location I 294 Stephanus of Byzantium II 119, 190
Scylla II 122, 123, 124, 129, 348 Stesichorus II 234, 239, 242
season I 277, 320 story-telling I 229, II 7, 12, 100, 148,
Seleucus II 36 149, 161, 215, 257
Semonides II 224 Strabo I 63, 64, 88, 99, 100, 106, 108,
sententiousness 1295,310 159, 178, 183, 193, 198, 215, 231, II 5,
Serbo-Croatian heroic songs I 8-9, 35, 13, 14, 119, 154, 180, 200, 217, 233,
378 244, 251, 252, 257, III 84, 85
servants, slaves I 123, 194, 327-8, II 62, stranger III 3, 4, 5-7, 9-12, 19, 49, 53,
63, 192, 225, 237, 277, III 115, 172, 79, 84-5, 117-19; and Suitors III 13,
194. 253- 4. 293. 307. 383; Hermes as 38, 63, 127, 17S-83, 207, 414-18; see I
patron II 253; loyalty III 27-8 also Odysseus
Servius II 20 subjunctive II 34, 44; independent with !
shape-shifting 1217, 220 - II 232; with optative II 126; short-
ships I n i , 153-4; compared to vowel II 62, 175, 263, 268, 271
chariots I 238; construction I 274-5, Suitors I 53, 55-60, 76-7, 86, 89, 104,
II 34; crew I 347-8; epithets I 108, 106, 116, n8, 121, 125, 128, 133-40,
169-70, 177, 179,310; equipment II 142-7, 15b 157. 158, 172, 213, 232,
279; landing 1123,170,172,219; 233, 234. 235-6, 241, 245, II 3, 7, to
magic I 383; parts of I 156-7, 183, l l , 84, 88, 147, 187, 199, 215, III 4, 5,
241, 274-5, II iso, 141, 218-19; 6; attitude to Odysseus III 3, 13, 29,
Phaeacian II 172; preparation for 40 -1, 69-73; death III 7, 53, 64, 102,
voyage I 153-4, 241 119-20,125,127, 220-75.317. 323 5.
Sicily II 47, 133, III 52-3, 125, 126, 383, 378, 408-9; descent to Hades III 58,
396 356. 358-61,377-80; kinsmens
Sidon, see Phoenicia, Phoenicians revenge III 3, 110, 400, 405, 406-7,
similes I 213, 216, 242, 279, 284, 285, 412, 414-18; and maidservants III 36,
300, 302,307, 308, 322, 328, 338, 381, 108, 275; and servants III 27-8; and
25, 30, 33, 34, 50, 56, 65-6, 132, stranger III 38, 49. 63. 127. 178-83,
142, 165, 167, 205, 227, 235-6, 275, III 207, 223, see also Ageiaus;
25,43-4, 87-8, 108-9, 200, 202, 209, Amphimedon; Amphinomus;
262, 271-4, 286, 302, 338-9,359 Antinous; Ctesippus; Demoptolemus;
Simonides I 230, III 81, 100, 253, 302 Elatus; Euryades; Eurydamas;
singers, see bards; rhapsodes Eurymachus; Leocritus; Leodes;
singular II 170, 261 Peisander; Polybus; testing, of Suitors
Sirens II 118-20, 126, 127, 128-9, III sword, see weapons
347-8; in art II n8, 119, 120, 129; Symplegades II 121
island of II 119, 127; other names II synaloepha III 187, 249, 390
120 Syria II 257
Sisyphus II 112, 113
sleep, and death III 62-3
Smyrna, Old I 310, 323, II 152 talent I 203
sneeze, as omen III 44, 67 Tamassos, see Temesa
Solon I 36, 77 Tantalus II 112-13

445
GEN ERAL IN DEX (CUM ULATIVE)

Taphians I 88, II 180, 225, 259 289, 290-1, 317, 336, 375-6, 377, 379,
tears 1 118, 136, 199, 200, 205, 269, 352, 380 .
381, II 55, 64, 65, 274, 275; concealing Themis I 135
3, 35-6. 42 Theoclymenus II 11, 92, 140, 148, 179,
Teiresias III 91 245, 249, 250, 262, 263, III 5, 11, 13,
Telegony, see Cyclic epics 22, 26, 67, 119, 124, 126, 356
Telemachus 15 1-2 ,9 1-2 , 106-214 Theocritus II 20, 31, 194, 198, 276, III
passim, 229-30, 233, 234, II 6, 88, 147, 15, 215, 227, 305
199; and bow-contest III 132-3, 138- theodicy III 557, 400
9,141, 158-61, 183, 190-2, 194-6, Theognis II 253
2056; and death of Suitors III 238 Theophrastus II 70, III 199
40, 242, 248-9, 275, 282-3, 405; and theoxeny III 42
household III 294, 296-7, 299-302, Thersites III 90; weeping II 274
342, 345; and Odysseus III 3, 5, 120, Theseus II 71, 76, 97, 116
317, 325, 339; and Penelope III 25, Thesprotia, Thesprotians II 212, 214,
58-9, 60, 63, 101, 115-16, 183, 191, 216, III 6, 90
3213; - I 102; piety I Thesprolis II 85
157; resemblance to Odysseus I 102, Thessalian dialect III 19
167, 203; returns home III 17-18, 20- Thetis II 110, 275, III 365, 368, 369-70
4; reunited with Odysseus II 65, 273; Thrace I 371
and Suitors III 13, 39, 41-2, 44, 50-1, threshold III 3-4, 48-9, 53, 120, 134,
60, 63-4, 66, 67, 72-3, 75-6, 119-20, 136, 162, see also architecture
122-7, 207-8, 379 Thrinacia I 71-2, II 9, 16, 66, 73, 83, 84,
Telemachy I 17-18, 27 n. 10, 52-5, 109, 117-18,121, 122, 125
235, 251,' 291, 300, II 7, 11, 148, III Thucydides I 119, 165, II 19, 44, 47,
230,353,358 133, 154,169, 174,214, HI 99, 153, 245
temenos 1312,329,371 Timaeus II 119
Temesa, Tempsa, Tamassos I 100 Tiresias II 11, 69, 81, III 340-1;
temples II 137 prophecy II 41, 72-3, 75, 76, 77, 82-
tenses II 32, 41-2, 53, 57, 97, 131, 139, 5, 86, 88, 117-18, 125, 126, 133
162, 169, 174-5,176, 181, 193, 204, Tisis II 11, see also Suitors
213, 219, 228, 229, 260, 262, 264, 265, Titans II 20
270,272,284 Tithonus I 254, II 248
testing, of Laertes III 384, 389-90, 396- Tityus II H, 113
7; of Odysseus III 88, 257, 260, 262, tmesis 11156, 102, 153, >54, l59> !7j
323, 332-4; of Penelope III 4, 77-8; 168, 169, 174, 177, 187, 196, 203, 205,
of servants III 77, 169; of Suitors III 235, 279, 336, 349
7-8, 11, 13-14, 38, 39, 66-7, 104-6, traders I 99-100, 355
140, 202-3, 377, 378-9 traditional motifs, see typical scenes
textiles, finishing I 328; loom I 261; Trickster figure III 69-70, 97
Penelopes web I 137, III 6, 66, 80-2, Trojan War III 25
374-6; spinning I 120, 201; spinning Troy I 70, 130, 208-12, 380, II 3,.6, i 5
(metaphorically) I 74, 105, 108, 334; truth and falsehood III 78-9, 83, 87
weaving I 120, 138,328-9 typical scenes I 29; acquiring wealth in
textual variants, see Odyssey, variant foreign countries ll 216; aristeia II 33-
readings 37, 38; arming II 33, 58- 243-4;
Theban epics II 69, see also Epicaste arrival I 321; assembly I 129-31,253>
Thebes, see Egypt 346; bath I 375; battle II 53; council
thelxis III 43 I 253; deliberation between
themes I 250, III 25; conflation I 263-4. alternatives I 200, 283, II 30, 35, 45,
332; sequence of themes, motifs I 29, 53, 67, 92, 243, III 3, 1Q8, 110;

446
GENERAL INDEX, (C UM U LATIVE)

departure I 257, 298; homicides knowledge I 207; position of Helen II


flight II 179, 249; journey I 87, 153, 242; proper place I 120; see also
290; kidnapping II 260; landing I maidservants; textiles
161; libation I 157, 162, 182; meal I Wooden Horse I 70, 210-12, 378-9, II
76, 90, 94-5, 189, 332, 349, II 222, 225, 6, 13, 108, 109
III 45; oath I 152-3JI60; I word-order, see hyperbaton
291, II 24, 133, 137; prayer II 40, 41; word-play I 80, 83, 103, 164, 178, 221,
quarrel I 351; reception of visitor I 275, II 33, 35, 37, 207, III 52, 90-1, 93,
90-1, 159, 162, 195, 260, 263, 3 31,II 96-7, 106,109, 157, 168, 180, 226, 345,
63, 240, 268, III 24-5; sacrifice 1 160, 348, 395, 410, see also schema
161, 182, 185-9,215,240, 349, II 138, etymologicum
223, HI 120-1; supplication I 166, writing I 12, 33-5
290, 300, 330, III 99, 275; woman
washing clothes II 259 Xenophanes 11 213
Tyro II 92 Xenophon II 225, III 52, 179
Tyrtaeus III 179
Yugoslav heroic poetry II 152, 153, see
ululation III 290 also Serbo-Croatian heroic songs
utopian ideas I 326, 342
Zacynthus II 13, 271, III 189-90
verbal aspect, see tenses Zenodoius I 38 n. 15, 41-4, 70-1, 86-7,
Vergil I 95, 158, 218, 280, 300, 321,380, 118, 131. 132, 155, 173, 174, 179, 180,
17, 38, 77, 124, 1301 213, 257, III 15, 185, 193, 204, 215, 223, 321,322, 347,
35. 72. 103 353, 355, 362, II 22, 45, 46, 57, 62, 93,
verse, emphatic initial position II 36 99, 107, 129, 141, 248, 278, III 29, 150,
234,240, 260
weapons I 88, 107, 374; II 23; Zethus II 93
arrow III 139, 140; axe III 105-6, zeugma II 24, 256
136, 141-7, 148; bow III 137, 138-40, Zeus I 61,77,83,140, 163, 264, 281,
154, 167; shield III 268, 417; spear II 352, II ii, 173, 196, 199, III 56, 91,
31, 212, 250, III 188, 239, 268, 416; 113,115, 118, 119-20. 169-70,202-3,
sword I 374, III 188, 237 371,400, 405-6, 411-13,415, 417;
weather. Ill 20, 27, 45, 56, 69; causing II 2 ; father of Helen II
hardship II 226 95; in Hesiod II 95, 173, 199, 275;
web, see textiles, Penelopes web , I 286, 300, II 28,
weeping, see tears 177; : II 174; II
wild texts, see papyri 166; orade and oak of II 216; plan of
women, attended by maids 1 117-18, II 9, 14, 15, 41-2, 43, 103, 35, 137,
298; bathe men I 189, 210, 307; 139, 140; protector II 41; saviour II
condemned by Agamemnon II 103; 41; sky-god II 174, 210, 251; I
duties I 261, 295-7; join men after 91, II 28, 38
supper I 117, 120; medical

447
sg 1

I S B N -8195.- m

i
780 98 9538

You might also like