Commentarii ad Homeri Odysseam ii
21.) That Circe says wittily to Odysseus and his companions who came from Hades: O reckless men, who while living have gone down to the house of Hades
I order, (ῃερς. 164.) you then to bind [me] with more bonds. And as I said these things, the well-wrought ship swiftly reached the island of the two S
from elsewhere. The mast-fetter appears as a concise symbol of this bond and of the correct stance, as was said, allegorically indicating a stance a
tempted by the melody, so that he might depart knowing yet more and having been delighted. And of his companions, some, rushing forward, were rowing,
rocky places, which were called Sirens. Plutarch also says something about Sirens and wax in his Symposiacs. In Aristotle, the siren is a certain smal
He made I will soften from I soften. From which, having softened the wax. Here one must also consider the soft wax in the writing tablet accor
he composed with apparent solecism, to speak more euphemistically, so that he might say in Attic style, that the ship went away swiftly, pursuing, tha
against them a great wave of the sea roars. The blessed gods, you know, call them the Wandering Rocks, by one way, that is, this way, not even winged
they clash as they approach, from which they even shoot out fire, as will be said, or because they say a wave constantly dashes against them there. Bu
the one poetically 'boot-winged,' that is, 'wing-footed' according to the myth for by the boots, which are a kind of footwear, the feet are signified
as the number was deficient. But this is how the ancients explain the passage. They say that Cheiron of Amphipolis, when Alexander of Macedon asked wh
rock, said twice here, signifies in a sense the two Planctae. But it is truncated from *lissē* for instance, a smooth rock runs up and thus it coi
For the correct and common meaning is such: the one reaches the wide heaven, but the other rock is lower. Homer, however, phrasing this more innovativ
has been uttered in verse. (verse 84.) The hollow cave is the same as the misty cave. for it is clear that deep places are darkened because of the bla
beginning to be born. It is clear that from the word γίνω pre-exists the unspoken name νεογινὸν, from which νεογνὸν is syncopated, and that it has a c
it seems, against the cave. And she herself to be attached to the cave like an oyster, but to have all of her strength in her necks alone. whence she
a crown of myrtle. And that such a thing seems to have been spoken of as neuter in gender, as Pindar shows in the Isthmian Odes, saying: three heads o
is treated as a wonder. But that Charybdis is also taken allegorically for a certain costly profligacy, is clear from the ancients. By some such reaso
of an unjust woman, and herself not entirely a Charybdis, it is appropriate to advise also this: but greatly approaching Scylla’s rock and what follow
Homer says they have neither birth nor destruction. For the same quantity always remains for such days. (ῃερς. 132.) And Phaethusa and Lampetia, the p
Odysseus, it is possible to take this morally as an example of how following pleasure for the most part has a not-so-pleasant end. (verse 202.) Becaus
composing, one who, not according to the comic poet, sends them out of the house, but brings in those who love a parasitic life, who would themselves
otherwise, upstarts. Just as, then, on the other hand, in things that are not such, the sight is broadened, whence also someone called a broad cave w
not for any large ones but for the small ones, casting guile through food, that is, casting down some foods as bait, which is to say, throwing, sends
of some of which, it is not lawful for the gods even to cast out the dung. And the etymology of fish (ἰχθύς) is from ἷγμαι ἷξαι ἷκται, the two smooth
he describes places contiguous to one another, so that all these are around the places in Sicily. (v. 261.) And the praise of this island is not only
and blaming him if he does not allow his friends to set foot on land on the island of Helios for the sake of a meal, but simply wants them to wander t
as if also sparing the writer's ink, they omitted the second gamma. For it is also here as Heracleides wishes, just as I stay becomes I remain by redu
the phrase, 'But come now, all of you swear a mighty oath to me, that no one out of wicked recklessness will do this thing.' (v. 305.) And it expresse
shepherding to announce what was owed. (verse. 325.) That the poet, setting forth the violence of the famine, on account of which Odysseus's men slipp
they contrived a hunt, which Plato, as being wily, does not love. And in these things, one must also mention the words of Athenaeus, who said that eve
it has, as it being necessary to choose the better ones for food, but it seems to have been said for the sake of sacrifice, according to the phrase, 2
which the time of famine now contrives for appetizers. That the oak was once honored, as some ancient nurse of men, is clear from many things. of whic
377.) That it seemed good to Homer here to create a characterization of what Helios might say in the presence of Zeus, having learned that his cattle
of many and fine votive offerings, if they should be saved and return home. (v. 385.) It must be known that whenever some illustrious and very useful
is to speak, has been previously shown in the 1st rhapsody. (verse 392.) That in the phrase, They rebuked one another from this side and that standin
he who spoke thus makes it clear: bilge-water, bilge-pump, cistern. And the bilge-pump, he says, is also called a bucket. And from this also the vesse
and my hands to be carried along. In the middle I fell with a crash beside the long timbers. And sitting on them I rowed with my hands. (verse 439.) A
indicates towards evening, but after a flow of time. For the ancients say that evening is the state after the setting of the Sun, but late is not simp
you have suffered many things. (verse 7.) That Alcinous uses this as an introductory preface to gain attention, and commanding each one of you I say
a small gift, but nevertheless an ancient custom according to the so-called contributions and distributions. (v. 15.) That the ancients called a gift
by custom, a habit of the Macedonians, of changing the ˉph into ˉb, as in Philippos and similar words, as has been shown elsewhere. (v. 39.) That the
The poet invents this, not only because the matter contributes to the paradoxical, as it brings an unexpected slaughter to the suitors, and thus suppl
to run safely and steadily, and the other to running swiftly. For he says: And as on a plain four male horses of a chariot, all starting at once unde
ἀείρειν for αἴρειν, just as also ἀεικίζειν for αἰκίζειν and ἀεικία for αἰκίας. And something similar happens in the case of αἰδώς, and in the case of
of nymphs, who are called Naiads. And in it are mixing bowls and amphorae of stone. And there bees then store their honey. And in it are very long sto
The difference between a harbor and a mooring-place is clear here too. Since ships do not simply remain in the harbor without mooring, but when they r
that very plausibly here was said 'knowing beforehand,' so that it might be made plausible for the Phaeacians to dare at night to hasten the ship towa
it was written before, where indeed the Phaeacians were born. And he remained there. But the ship came very near, swiftly pursued. And the Earth-Shake
having obtained a portion from the booty, is a summary epitome of the things concerning Odysseus, as many things as happened to him after his arrival
so-and-so, who was saying this certain thing. (ῃερς. 178.) But the phrase, as so-and-so said, all these things are now indeed being fulfilled, would
he treated him with friendship and sent him on his way to return. But now I do not know where to put them, nor will I leave them here, lest somehow I
the husk of an onion, as the poet will say somewhere in what follows but that one is written with a short 'o', as coming from λέπω 'to peel', this on
disgraceful things of the island, he would be speaking the truth also concerning the good things in it. (ῃερς. 247.) And watering-places are the water
heals. But see in these also the phrase I inquired of Ithaca, constructed with the genitive and taken instead of I heard concerning Ithaca. (verse
insatiable one, as is also stated elsewhere at 2.50, you were not likely, not even being in your own land, to cease from deceptions, and from twisted
as also in the Iliad in the phrase, lest one charioteer get the better of another charioteer. (verse 300.) And in the phrase, Pallas Athene, she herse
a long-leafed olive tree. And near it a lovely, misty cave, sacred to the nymphs, who are called Naiads. These two lines, however, are not found in so
once parodied by adapting it to a worldly man saved from harm. (v. 358.) The word διδώσομεν is the original form of δίδωμι. For it is clear that δίδωμ
For how is the short and easily described space in which the suitors will fall unspeakable? And the ancients say about Odysseus's plan here, by which
strong and suitable for sailors. (verse 401.) But κνυζώσω instead of ῥυσώσω, I will make them unseemly and wrinkled, such as, they say, are the eyes o
to the Greeks. (verse 435.) But ragged garments are clearly the ones torn through, by a change of the long vowel to a long vowel. thus also a much-ren
god, that where white crows should appear to them, there they should dwell. Seeing therefore, he says, crows flying around the Pagasitic gulf, which i
but, before the earth shall hold anyone, periphrastically instead of, before someone will die. But this is paraphrased from what was said a little bef
to carry but to drag because of the great size, which might be called, as is likely, also dug-in because it is sufficient for them to be partly dug
by necessity for the insolent ones, so that having sacrificed they might sate their spirit with meat. And suddenly the barking dogs saw Odysseus. They
with respect to the more glorious staff, the rhetor who wrote it makes clear, the seat of honor and the purple and the staff instead of a scepter. (
and of a wealthy man, who is grieved indeed over new masters, but mindful of his old prosperity, which he had from his master. For he says: Stranger,
Having noted these things and considering freedom, they called exeleutheros the one who on account of debt came under the power of a creditor in the m
Maisonian jests, as it seems, from such a Maiso, are said of the cook Maiso as well. Yet Chrysippus also etymologized it cleverly. And the Thessalian
but as for *chyrion*, it is very difficult how it could be written with a simple *ypsilon*, unless perhaps according to some onomatopoeia. For that ot
of a herd but `agelaios` according to the ancients, with a proparoxytone accent, is the ignorant man. (verse 101.) To these the poet adds, so many fl
ceasing. (ῃερς. 107.) But I guard and I rescue do not differ in meaning. (ῃερς. 102.) It must be known that even if many appear to have become sla
the sea-monsters are included. And that before the bones being covered by sand on the mainland, comes the phrase, a wave rolls him in the sea. (vers.
but a master of slaves bought with silver. And yet not even this would Eumaeus choose, as if thinking himself not to be under his authority. (verse 14
he judges that the 'a' is missing, so that ἐσάτω may be ἔστω. For no one says ποιησέτω or νυξέτω. But if, he says, the 'e' is also missing, it must be
of the crossing of wolves, they hold on to one another. For it is believed, they say, that wolves, when crossing a violent river, the following ones b
and he added for clarity in silence, and but others might turn to their tasks or might attend to their tasks instead of might be active, migh
he revealed, saying that he was not legitimate to his father, but he honored him equal to the native-born. And native-born is one from a direct, that
He says that ἦα is also more analogous than ἔα, being of the Asianic dialect, but also found in Callimachus. For disyllabic participles from a smooth-
and Phoenicia by name and Libya, saying also that he crossed to the other side to sell, just as also in the *Iliad*. For he says: so that he might cro
the ordinances of great Zeus will approve, which is what the poet writes in what follows others write, if the Tomouroi of great Zeus will approve, sa
to the geographer for he says: two tenders similar to pirate lemboi and a large ship, and in Pausanias, who said: a lembos and a tender, a skiff or a
more. But the use of lembos for a towed boat is cited from Anaxandrides by Athenaeus. And lembos was also an epithet or a proper name of some man.
For *ōmogerōn* is the age of an old man, who has just passed his prime and is about to be called an old man, then a dotard, and after that decrepit. H
For six days then my men feasted, but I provided many victims for the feast. (verse 250.) And now he calls the slaughtered animals victims. (verse 253
he says the phrase, 'and I followed him, though I supposed it was by compulsion.' (v. 301.) And here it denotes a vast sea, the phrase, 'but when we l
with a circumflex and is taken for would that!, is clear from the ancients, who also cite a use for this. (Verse 366.) That just as in the Iliad accor
ancient palaios, is shown among the ancients. Therefore also those who say Achaean Argos or anything else of that sort with the ai diphthong, and agai
(ῃερς. 411.) That by 'haunts of swine' he means their accustomed lairs, as in, 'they penned the swine to sleep in their haunts'. and the word herxan c
he does also upon fates. Therefore, born of fate in Homer might be understood as the partaker of a good fate, because of the addition of blest with
a taster. And it is clear that ἐλεὸς is also said as εἰλεὸς with the epenthesis of an iota. (ῃερς. 434.) And in the word, ἕπταχα, which comes from ἑπτ
apart from the mistress and the old man Laertes. (ῃερς. 449.) And Mesaulius is a fitting name for a rustic slave, that is, a countryman, from mesaulo
a dream, a vision, came. for we have come very far from the ships. But may someone go to tell Agamemnon if he might urge more (verse 498) to come from
having understanding. And these things are from irrational creatures. But to the things from plants contributes that of Callimachus, hear now the fab
in the Iliad, and the phrase, in a throng to the assembly, and thick hair, or in another way, thick night the gloomy one, from the scar on the body, t
and having forbidden excess in singing and laughing and dancing and the unmanly, they say, downfall from there, he allows these things to happen other
being girded. For a cloak is not girded. But that the tunic is girded, the phrase, “he held his tunic together with a belt,” shows, so that the zoster
514.) And 'one only for each man' signifies a rustic, unadorned life. Therefore he was not content to say 'one', but also added 'only', which indeed i
a lion's or a leopard's or a wolf's skin. For this reason it was from a well-fed goat, so that it might also be wind-proof. And the word μεγάλοιο sh
has arrived, it is necessary to urge the ship and all the companions to the city, but for him first to go to the swineherd and rest for the night, and
(verse 22.) And in the phrase, of a wedded friend, the word husband is missing, as the two fitting adjectives are sufficient to indicate him as we
with my possessions and to Telemachus the following was fitting: lest searching for my godlike father I myself perish. And see `διζήμενος` as from
horses, and I shall lead to the cities of men nor will anyone send us away thus empty-handed, but he will give at least one thing to take with us, ei
in a Laconian manner, not having a simple one, but much that is villainous and bestial. And in the writing of the aforementioned skyphos with the p, o
signifies or that it was curved on both sides. But Silenus, the one not having ears. But others, understanding *amphi-* instead of *peri-*, say that t
he gives counsel. (verse 128.) And in the phrase, but you, for me, farewell, either the for me is redundant, as happens in other cases, or it is i
(v. 155.) Also, a saying of a messenger-man lies here, the phrase, and truly, having come, we will recount all these things to him just as you say.
we are of the same age. (ῃερς. 198.) And this way will even more send us into like-mindedness, that is, it will cast us into concord. Telemachus says
as written in the Nekyia, who, that is, Melampus, once lived in Pylos, mother of flocks, rich among the Pylians, dwelling in a house far excelling oth
It has been considered that enough has been said in what has preceded about the heroines in Hades. And there, it has also been said of the golden neck
And even if Theoclymenus will be useful to Telemachus as a prophet, this will be later. But for now he is taken on as a stranger and a fellow-sufferer
The aether is windless. (v. 297.) That in the phrase, *and she*, that is, the ship, *hastening with a wind from Zeus, made for Pheras*, by Pheras he m
they might give a meal, are of the same form, and they indicate 'if somehow' instead of 'that you might offer' and 'that they might give'. And the wor
as set before their eyes. (ῃερς. 341.) That the saying of a friendly stranger to his host is, may you become as dear to god as you are to me, because
of the child perished. (verse 357.) And now raw old age is that which is untimely, so that it denotes raw old age as an unripe ripening, as if som
declension has a solemn meaning. But αἰδοῖος both in the neuter gender and in the oblique cases coincides with the bodily member and suggests unseemly
having dined at dawn, let him follow along with the lordly swine. Here observe that the word 'together' is used both temporally and with respect to lo
However, valuable things for women, such as the golden necklace that will be mentioned. (vers. 419.) Furthermore, these same men are also *polypaipalo
(v. 415.) The aforementioned reproaches of the Phoenicians fall well on Eumaeus, who holds them in enmity because of his enslavement from his homeland
a character securing his fellow thieves. (ῃερς. 469.) And of a similar character is the phrase, having hidden three goblets in her bosom, she was carr
to be called. (verse 450.) An indication of an active child is, for I am nursing such a shrewd boy, running along outside. (verse 452.) And if such
It is implausible that Eumaeus knew firsthand of the Phoenician woman's adultery, the tricks of the Phoenicians, and other such things. But it is like
having called him aside, he clasped his hand and said: Telemachus, this bird did not fly on the right without a god for I recognized it, when I saw i
And that the one having undertaken to receive the stranger being handed over, as was said, will reasonably say, with respect to until I come, O so-
Homer knows four meals for each day, as will be said somewhere in what follows. But Athenaeus says that the *ariston* is what is taken at dawn, the *d
it indicates the outcome of a conjectural statement, the, not yet was the whole word spoken when this certain thing happened, as here, when his dear s
to one who is away from home. And it comes from *epidemeō* with the pleonasm of the -u, similar to *cheō*, *cheuō* *diskeō*, *diskeuō*. And *euade* m
in the halls, and for her, miserable nights and days ever waste away as she weeps. (ῃερς. 42.) An indication of honor is the phrase, 'so-and-so yielde
The reason is, I myself am young and I do not yet trust my hands to ward off a man when someone first grows angry, which is a confession of weakness.
he finds fault in the Iliad, so also here the phrase, do you find fault with your brothers, that is, you need brothers, as if you clearly have none, s
making the suitors in that they were dragging away the maidservants, he preserves in what follows the similarity of the figure of speech, saying also
Others say Doryclus. But Sophocles relates Euryalus from the same woman, whom Telemachus killed. But the Colophonian who composed the Nostoi says that
And in a way this figure is a hidden maxim, as if one were to say: if it were possible for the ungrateful to rejoice, it would be well for so-and-so,
to understand the wailing of the dogs as the whimper, or some clucking sound according to the ancients, and a kind of sound which Odysseus made to che
fashioned, that is, decorated with gold. spare us. These things will one day be parodied for some great personage. And so much for Telemachus. 2.120 O
It is also said, be gracious. Cognate with it are be gracious and things related to it. (Verse 190.) That Odysseus, having said the things stated
or an old man. For just now you were an old man and dressed shamefully but now you are like the gods, who hold the wide heaven which another before
someone is already indicated. Its use also occurs a little later in the phrase, and he who does not care. (verse 235.) That the poet, wishing to m
you will repay them when you arrive, that is, you may try to avenge their violent acts in a defensive manner. But if you can devise some helper, tell
iron draws a man to it. But for us alone, he says, leave behind two swords and two spears, that is, leave them down, and two shields to take up in our
nor any of the household, that is, of those simply in the house, nor Penelope herself, but alone, you and I, may know the mind of the women, that is,
with prudence. (ῃερς. 314.) And he expresses violent expense with, but they at their ease in the halls devour his substance, and so on. (ῃερς. 318.)
let us destroy him, having caught him. So he sailed a roundabout course well, in order to escape those lying in wait so skillfully. And his escape was
we might grant him to have, and whoever marries her. And see the mind which held so many suitors together in the house of Odysseus for surely it was
might he provide, was said with regard to the worth of Penelope, as being worthy of many things. And the phrase 'may the fated one come,' wishes to ca
Thesprotians. (v. 427.) But they, that is, the Thesprotians, were joined to us, that is, friends. and the Ithacans indeed wished to slay Eupeithes and
`hypoddeisas` (having become afraid) has a certain assonance with `ton` (the), and the blessed gods were afraid and did not bind him and it reveals
once King Odysseus. (ῃερς. 443.) and because of roasted meat and a draught of wine, he says that his son Telemachus is very dear to him, giving a play
I thought them, that is I supposed, to be these men, but I do not know for sure. And here see the difference between I thought and I know. For I
to have happened. And the place was called by Hermes because it seemed to be dedicated to him for a pastime. But some say that a Hermaean 2.133 hill
It is titled, however, immediately from the event at the beginning: that is, the return of Telemachus to Ithaca. (verse 6.) Note that here too Telemac
embracing the head and shoulders. And this is the kiss of a servant. But Penelope kissed him on the head and both his beautiful eyes. And Eumaeus befo
I will plant murder and doom, then indeed, while I am rejoicing, you shall bring them to my halls, rejoicing. For as things are now, neither you nor I
to see him suffering strong pains or shedding a warm tear, in the halls of the nymph Calypso, (verse 143) and the following three lines of which the
the daily sacrifices in it. whence also Zeus is called Ephestios and Hestiouchos, and Hestia is a goddess among the Attics, and the whole house is cal
it was said there. But if in the evening there will be a chill, then a wintry time is indicated now, or a time near winter. (verse 191.) It should be
water. which, according to some, Melampus first discovered, but according to others, the aforementioned Amphictyon, who, when those who drank thus wer
a troublesome beggar, a spoiler of feasts? who standing by many doorposts will rub his shoulders, begging for morsels, not swords or cauldrons. If you
to the Deipnosophist, the saying, Heracles swallowed both the good things and the coals. But it must be known that *molobros* and its derivative *molo
kolokyma is the mute wave, which is also called kolon kyma when separated. From there also comes kolaphos in Epicharmus. And Pausanias says that the w
but to throw a branch to the cattle. And from phorênai, which is phorein that is pherein, the theme is phorainô, as was also said in other places, or
βαλλομένοιο is used instead of the dative, it would be more correct to have βαλλομένῳ to go with, many stumbling-blocks will chafe his ribs away. But
It must be known that he will immediately show at once the splendor of Melanthius, and that he sits with the suitors opposite Eurymachus, for he loved
applying the blow to the wound he immediately adds, what a man of many sufferings might say, saying: for I am not unskilled in blows nor in missiles.
lords, then no longer are they willing to do praiseworthy deeds for a god takes away half the virtue of a man, when the day of slavery seizes him, sp
which the one on Karpathos has. For that one breeds hares, as the proverb also shows which says, the Karpathian, the hare, which itself is stated inco
(v. 315.) And that he had speed and strength, he testifies as an excellence for Argos, which a table-dog would not have, nor indeed every well-bred do
Not only were hunting dogs valued, and otherwise also active guardians of the house, but also those of which Odysseus speaks. But among later peoples,
the threshold of the house and the doorpost must be of wood. And one must note that now the stranger's shoulders are pressed against the doorjambs, th
he might be and from where he might have come. For he was not a beggar of the people. And they themselves learn nothing precise, except only from Mela
Poseidon speaks to Odysseus. And thus the word onosai is well used. However, to say or onosai instead of you have a benefit from the master's hou
from *trúō*, and this from *trō* which is syncopated from *torō*, which signifies to pierce. (verse 393.) That a cessation of much talking is the phra
I dwelt among men, blessed and rich, and often I gave to the wanderer, whoever he might be, that is, whoever he happened to be, and whatever he came n
sitting by others' things, you did not venture to take off a bit of bread and give it to me and yet many things are at hand. (ῃερς. 458.) At these wo
but such a one could sometimes also be called a critic, according to the saying, 'as the critic of deeds is harsh.' And the superintendent of a gymnas
having arisen, they say, from eating brine with bread, that is, from living on the cheapest things. For it was, he says, a certain cheap concoction, w
he might use. (verse 472.) And now again the preposition `peri` is used in a new way with the dative in the phrase, concerning possessions and concern
A worthy man, as is clear from what is laid down, is loved even by the arrogant, and he has support even from friends. And this is clear from countles
he says what was recently said about Odysseus asyndetically thus in apostasis: some wretched stranger wanders about the house begging from men, for wa
rolling himself before him, they show the excessive submissiveness of the stranger in supplicating. And *steutai* now means he affirms, he stands his
And that the phrase, he sneezed loudly, is put for plausibility, so that the loud sneeze might also be heard indoors. And the explanation of loudly
outside what is fitting. And it is either in the accusative case, so that it means fearing some extraordinary man, or it was said adverbially instead
And there is also a certain conversation in what follows of Odysseus with Eurymachus. ODYSSEY R. A RHAPSODY OF HOMER. That just as in the preceding bo
none of the rest at that time. But if the Persian Darius, who killed the magi, had inscribed on his own tomb, ‘I was able to drink much wine and to ca
messenger. But Homer, having both with the same meaning, used the clearer one more. For indeed, eiren, being homonymous, he previously placed for cl
of the masculine gender, from which the phrase, having sat up, he wept, having become bare-headed. And such things are these. (ῃερς. 21.) But the phra
a few things also about the line, (verse 53) it is in no way possible for an old man, overcome by misery, to fight a younger man, that is, harmed by
According to his own custom, the poet speaks well of the most evil Antinous in the phrase, the sacred might of Antinous, just as a little later he s
difficult. Then one must also posit an ancient observation that mocks Odysseus rather rhetorically for his gluttony, saying that in many places Homer
to be provoked. (v. 73.) For which reason also the suitors, being amazed, spoke arrogantly, as was said before, in the manner of characterization: Tr
may you die, and may you not be born again later so that Pythagoras, taking it from Homer, might later suppose the subsequent transmigrations of soul
he might strike, so that his 2.170 soul might leave him right there as he fell, or that he might gently drive him and stretch him out on the ground. A
it is sometimes possible to use the preposition ˉen with the accusative and also to say endoi for endon, as is found in Theocritus and pedoi for ped
the unfillable, that is, insatiable. And to wander among the people is paraphrased from and a beggar came, known to all the people. And *kleēdōn*
Amphinomus for he knew his name, having just learned it in the house of the host (verse 127.) but Nisus he would have known from old times, just as
the woman reveals to Eurynome, who was sitting with her, that she will show herself to the suitors, as is natural. For Eurycleia was among those more
to say pronominally, for example, their spirit or theirs, because of the mention of the suitors nearby above. But he spoke nevertheless, as it happene
Megalos. That beauty is also said of a rooster is shown elsewhere. (ῃερς. 193.) The ointment of the Cytherean shows that ointments for beauty are usef
to be laid in bed, which is the interpretation of they were charmed, as if they were so out of their minds, as to make their bed a prayer or otherw
thinks like a teacher. Wherefore it was said somewhere to him: Telemachus, indeed the gods themselves teach you. (verse 229.) And the phrase, I know b
Some understand Iasian Argos here as all of Hellas, taking the part for the whole. What was said is a certain flattering defense by Eurymachus on be
a business-like manner but this shows true friendship. (v. 265.) But in the argument concerning the Trojans and Achaeans, the phrase common is Enyal
this rather than those things because of being of a greedy character, but not a murderous one. (vers. 275.) And the phrase, this is not the custom,
To Eurymachus he immediately brought a golden, cunningly wrought [chain], hung with amber, like the sun. And for Eurydamas two attendants brought earr
I am very much so. When he said this, the other women laughed, (v. 320.) and looked at each other, in a certain simple, womanly way. But Melantho of t
wretched. Odysseus therefore admits to being enduring, but would not say he is wretched, even if both words are etymologically from the same source. T
I shall mix, in the Aeolic dialect. For *phorýssein* is to carry over and to drag part from part, from which an ulcer (*helkos*) also comes, that is,
eyes by some were called. And it must be said that nothing prevents Odysseus, appearing to the suitors, from being so called. (verse 355.) Here it mus
is endowed with this, and as soon as he said it, he took a footstool, just as Antinous had before him. But Odysseus, fearing Eurymachus. (verse 395.)
But that there should be fodder, is set for the permanence and duration of the work and as a sign of the wholly enduring nature in works, for a work o
to take refuge with Amphinomus, if somehow he might manage to make the suitors clash with one another, with that one having assisted the stranger, and
4.) There Odysseus says those very verses without alteration, which he also spoke to Telemachus in the 16th rhapsody concerning the weapons, beginning
of roundness. But the ancients simply say thus: choinikai, thick fetters, of which the singular is choinikē, named derivatively from the choinix. It s
to be roped off. (v. 32.) That in the phrase, Odysseus and his glorious son brought in helmets and so on, he usually uses to bring in (εἰσφορεῖν)
is the same as 'they who hold Olympus', as he says shortly after. That the purpose of Odysseus, as he himself says, in remaining there after the depar
has its origin in what has been said before, where someone called the beggar Odysseus troublesome and a vexation of the feast. But the maidservant wan
of such a one. (verse 86.) The phrase *by the will of Apollo*, instead of, on account of Apollo, who is also in other matters a rearer of youths. when
And the people prosper under him. (vers. 113.) And observe the digression in the praise, introducing as in a moral characterization what sort of rewar
firmly distinguishes the good birth of the apples from the miscarried ones. For those fall dead, and not such as having fallen to the ground then stan
among those of recent times seems to be named by a play on words by the diminution of life, as if he were a kind of 'zēmios' (bringer of loss) because
a proverb arose from there concerning those without a genealogy, that they were from an oak or from a rock. And this is so so that Penelope might say
Odysseus paraphrasing what he said a little while before to Penelope, that is, do not fill my heart with pains by reminding me, and so on, he says:
a common epithet of every island, since all are sea-girt. But perhaps it also indicates the abundance of water within and around the island, for which
called, whose citizen is a Megalopolitan, which, having grown so great, time later humbled, so that the saying spread about it, the great city is a g
of passing over in silence, and other things that Odysseus likely said to his wife as pleased him, because she listened with pleasure which a Homeric
to set a life-like interrogation through Penelope to see if the stranger is lying, and also to inquire about something, he fashions her interrogating
letting go the right hand parts loosely, as was also previously shown. (verse 225.) And now again by *oulēn* he means either that which is twisted and
And it is clear that the poet also speaks of a double layer of fat in the Iliad. And a termióeis tunic is one that is well-proportioned and well-f
Zeus. But others say that the Kerkopes, being founders of islands, were transformed by a god into the forms of apes on account of their wickedness, an
saying: (v. 272.) he brings many fine treasures, asking for alms, being something other than begging. For that was for the very poor, such as the appa
and a little before, the stranger. For Homer writes that she ordered the handmaids to wash this man and prepare a bed, that is, to make the bed. (vers
to touch me. And so it happens. And after a little while the wise Eurycleia washes him, an old woman having shrewd counsels in her mind, which is the
I would blame. For in many places envy is also used simply for blame. (verse 350.) That the praise of a good guest is, Dear guest, never yet has any
the similarity of the stranger to Odysseus which will be mentioned right away, with I will wash your feet both for Penelope herself's sake and for yo
the masculine gender is brought forward, as is also shown by the phrase, nor do they shudder at the darkness, their accomplice. (verse 386.) That he p
they ruled such a thicket And about the boar came a din of the feet of men and dogs, (verse 445.) as they brought on and came upon, or those whom the
that is to say, sophistical, and that of those who swore to observe a truce for so many days, but in the middle attacked the enemy by night, on the pr
the eponym. not because the child himself angered some, but because his grandfather did as has been shown by other such things. And yet if someone is
has been mentioned. But observe here the phrase, searching out the tracks, being rather difficult in its phrasing and labyrinthine according to pres
would be called *proodon* according to the ancients, who say that a *proodon* is one having teeth more forward than is necessary. (v. 451.) But the d
I for my part knew before, before I touched all, that is, my whole master. she spoke and looked at Penelope, wanting to declare that her dear husband
through 'he fell in', wherefore the bronze also clatters. The foot falls into the basin, because it was unexpectedly allowed to be carried. This happe
having become. (ῃερς. 507.) But he covered the scar with rags, lest it might somehow be revealed to the woman because of the tattered state of the rag
Thracian. And when Tereus was about to come to Athens, his wife begged him to bring her sister Procne back with him. And he did this, but on the way h
relating those who were called, he speaks about the places as if he were mentioning persons. But Chloris the nightingale, either as dwelling, they say
as upon a great evil the prayer is made for the child. (verse 535.) That often turning, the poet also, in the manner of the full-toned voice of a nigh
for the relaxed bodies lie on the ground. (v. 540.) Note also αἰθήρ (aether) or ἠήρ (aer) spoken of in the feminine, as also happens in other places.
Having received the story, they assigned the gate of horn to the eyes by synecdoche from a part, which is comprehension since the first tunic of the
thus they are seen, creating perplexity and confused speech in those who contemplate them. Amenos dreams are those that present visions not solidly,
nor is the name of dawn ill-omened. And what also contributes here is this: 'it will be night when the hateful wedding will occur.' Therefore, she doe
the *enipleion* and the things related to it, but of later Attic dialect the *empleon* and the things thus cognate. (ῃερς. 583.) And the phrase, 'O wi
a perfect active become from a perfect middle. For I awaken future I will awaken, perfect active I have awakened, middle I am awake, and in Attic I a
Demosthenes, he says, mentions it in his *Against Neaera*. She was called, they say, Whisperer, because those praying to her would speak into her ear,
desires to be roasted for then, of course, the paunch is turned frequently (verse 28) “As he tossed this way and that, pondering.” which he also sai
he is mortal and does not know so many counsels. But I am of such a kind. As the mythical Athena says, I am a god, through and through, who guards you
understanding, and chaste Artemis gave them stature and Athena taught them to work famous works. But when Aphrodite asked for them the consummation o
maidens might suffer serving, having become exiles from their fatherland and having fallen in with dreadful nurses or mistresses. (v. 81.) But the hat
strong but the one had not yet ceased, and she was the weakest. (v. 111.) she then, having stopped the mill, that is, having ceased from grinding, sp
for a sacrifice they were grinding cakes, and they were honorable. (ῃερς. 106.) And the word *plēsion* (near) is either temporal, just as *anchi* (nea
adding the iota he said, they were seated in the halls. Then he says that also the one with a rough breathing and pronounced with the same letters is
virtue, and for so much I value this matter. (verse 132.) And emplēgdēn according to the ancients is indiscriminately, from empelazein or emplēssein,
she commands the other serving-women, this one now called 'divine among women', just as Eumaeus is 'divine'. For she says: 'Come, some of you sweep th
the impression. In this way, certainly also the hand-towel, with which, that is, they wiped their hands. Some say this is a raw linen cloth but Philo
under the portico. For some of the copies, they say, in the feminine gender, they tied them down, that is, the two herdsmen of Melanthius, who follo
men to have wandered, if somewhere he is still alive and sees the light of the sun. But if he is already dead, then alas for blameless Odysseus, who s
they were the Cephallenians, and how they are named from a certain Cephalus, has also been written before. And something was revealed about them also
it. Therefore, for the hindering of a plan, the phrase is fitting: this plan of hers will not run with us. (verse 249) Note that, describing the sui
Such also is the lounge, being for the poor among those who arrived first. (verse 272.) And in the phrase, greatly threatening us, the word us (ἧμ
with a stool, even if a shameful one, and a small table, and having honored him with an equal share, thus prudently provoked the lawless one. Wherefor
he has his share who just now took it. But the figure is Attic. among whom both at some time and long ago are simply used thus without signifying any
more commonly these things we have also endured, sheep being slaughtered, wine and grain being consumed. (ῃερς. 314.) But the phrase, but come, is th
Odysseus, according to him, being no longer able to return home, Telemachus, having made an oath morally, speaks of his father's sufferings: No, by Ze
was a symbol of madness. (ῃερς. 351.) For this reason also the seer Theoclymenus, foreseeing that they were about to die and be under darkness, says,
Similarly to, they did not know, they might not know, and to, I thresh, I might thresh for example, he threshed it to the bone, and to the like. (ῃερ
a mind, and the speech is both witty and keen. For he says that I have eyes, so I do not want escorts I have ears, so having heard that I am being se
Of Siceliotes and Sicels, the former are Greeks, the latter barbarians. Aelius Dionysius at any rate says that the Itali are the barbarians, but the I
and as both the suitors and Telemachus were becoming harsh, some great evil might happen. (v. 6.) That in the phrase, and she took a well-curved key
And opexamenē instead of haplōsasa, having extended upwards from which also comes orgyiousthai in Lycophron. And the bow is taken from a peg, because
in Messene they met one another. (verse 17.) Odysseus for a debt, that is, on account of a debt, which the whole people owed him. (verse 18.) For Mess
the Heraclidae, that is after their return, for it to be divided from the Laconian territory. The doubling of the sigma in Messene also indicates the
Of Nestor. for in this way such a difficulty will be well resolved. (verse 28.) And the phrase, he slew him, cruel one, seems here to mean unjust
the inner bolt. But if it is written, she quickly loosed the thong from the door-handle, it is possible to understand that a certain thong, tied from
conspicuously, but making the harsh sound more solemn both by the co-articulation of the β, as if of a buzzing sound, and also by the aspirated χ, whi
being capable of holding the area, and a holding and the Homeric *epischesia* itself. For what one holds back, or to put it another way, what one hol
tragedy has someone understanding that such a thing is also what seems good, namely, that something living has moderate things daily at least for suff
I might leave, being already such as to take up my father's fine prizes, that is, such as to contend like my father. said the boy. and leaping up stra
prize, and thus having suspended his speech, he adds this, but come, do not delay with excuses. (verse 106.) The phrase, the prize appears, instead
but, he says, also a thick cake having seasonings within. (ῃερς. 123.) And the phrase, he had not yet ever seen, would not be desirable in prose wri
the future. And in another way, the *thyoskoos* is the sacrificer, the one burning the sacrifices, from *keō* which is written with a plain epsilon, f
(Verse 172.) But of a man who plays the soldier false, the censure is: your lady mother did not bear you to be such a man, as to be a drawer of the bo
hands follow. And these are the promise of a good helper. (Verse 188.) And in the things said lies also the phrase, both having started together, in
we may be adorned and separated and we may be saying, and the second persons of these, you may be adorned and you may be separated and you may be.
what follows. But thus Eurymachus despairs of stringing the bow, (ῃερς. 250.) having revealed his excessive grief at the loss of Penelope in the phras
For Odysseus says this, flattering him at the right moment. For there is a great difference between Eurymachus and Antinous the murderous and savage.
perhaps unclear but to you yourself first it is an evil, just as then to Eurytion, whom Bacchylides, they say, relates was entertained by someone in
Most miserable. But it was said thus either unobserved on account of anger, or else more simply according to the saying, for virtue overcomes my enmi
naturally and not 2.262 according to the Attics has the rho undoubled. (ῃερς. 301.) And the phrase, having cut off ears and noses, instead of having e
of a hero. Why do you make these reproaches? That is, overlooking the great reproaches, why ever do you suspect the small ones? (ῃερς. 333.) And see h
all the suitors were shouting at the master about the bow. And someone might have said thus: Where are you carrying the curved bow, you wretch, as was
to the ancients, so also the aforementioned byblos is used in two ways according to the two-vowel form, for it was said also in the works of the Perie
413.) That the poet, according to his own law, here too ennobling his beloved hero and arranging his deed in a rather novel way, both dignifies the ea
maidens asked and answered one another in alternating iambics thus: O shell, O tortoise, what are you doing in the middle? I am winding wool, that is,
without effort for example, let them not indeed board the ships without haste, at their ease. But *Anten* in other places means opposite but here it
and that Odysseus draws out the mind of the suitors, having mentioned a meal, and that symbolically or even as in irony he calls their death a meal. A
The 't', just as also the 'th' and the 'd', causes the vowels before them to be unaspirated. Odysseus stands by the threshold, so that the suitors mig
making a solecism, as has also been shown in other places. A pipe (aulos) now according to the ancients is a spring, a gushing of blood, a sharp bring
For three complete thoughts lie in two lines. But for the suitors to think that the stranger did not intentionally release the arrow against Antinous
(verse 39.) But to neither fear God nor regard the indignation of men, is a condition of desperate men. (verse 40.) But the phrase, nor did you hold
does not have much hyperbole. For note that he especially granted hyperbole of gifts to the *Iliad*, both in other places and especially where Achille
has it because it has been shown in many places that a table was set for each of the suitors. (verse 75.) And the phrase, let us all have it, is use
all things from the Iliad are placed here. (verses 126-138.) That an orso-thyre here in the poet is a certain notable door having a higher access, to
Nourished by Zeus for close by are the fair doors of the court and the difficult mouth of the passage and one man might hold them all back, if he we
that women were urging them to a bad war he also suspects Melantheus, and he is right in this. And he speaks out his suspicion to his son. But he say
he calls him in the phrase, Zeus-born son of Laertes, Odysseus of many wiles, as one being in agony and disturbed. For otherwise in the lines before t
some were said to be woven through rushes, that is, of plants. From this seems also to be taken the common word sera that closes the doors, which was
That just as in the *Iliad*, so also here the poet, wishing to introduce a divine personage into the battle, although there it was necessarily done in
and with the epenthesis of iota, I kill, similar to ἔω ἔνω εἴνω meaning I cover, from which the derivative εἰνύω in the Iliad comes. And in the phrase
That he who, after dealing with a certain one, despises the remaining antagonists will say: Of the others there is no care, or rather concern, when t
A riddle is a difficult problem which someone used to pose at symposia with a bowl full of wine set before them, and the one who solved the thing prop
the poetic Muse, speaking more wondrously, attributes the cause to the aegis of Athena, concerning which it is clearly shown in the works on the Iliad
and easy to move, or also otherwise 'aiolos' is the cause of 'aiollesthai', that is, of moving quickly, just as a 'valiant' spear is that which makes
taking most rhetorically from that very spot the grounds for condemnation, from what that man said, so that he might be caught, as they say, by his ow
father. Then, recalling Medon, so that he might be saved in another way, and the herald, he says, we will save Medon. who always cared for me when I
peering everywhere in fear, always expecting murder. It should be known also that the phrase, 'I seem to sing beside you as to a god,' depends on, 'I
to strip off and to take off are entirely the same. (v. 364.) The word *boos* is placed superfluously in *boeien* for *boeien* would have sufficed, w
that fish die, but the heat. For they whose life is always in the wet cannot be warmed by the sun. (verse 391.) That here too, at the beginning of a s
was spoken as an exclamation, placed later and containing much sense in few words. Of such a kind is also, a little before, the phrase, 'and a great t
it has some similarity also to to carry infancies. For it is the same to mount shamelessness and to be carried on infancy, unless perhaps that is un
he set it around the tholos, having stretched it on high, so that no one might touch the ground with their feet through which he indicates the hangin
of nitre and soda, and of Phintis, a Doric proper name in Pindar, as if Philtes, of which Philetas is a more complete derived form like Niketas. Simil
Those who purify cities were called *pharmakoi* in Attic, as Demosthenes also shows, but the Ionians, they say, accented it on the antepenult. From su
feet were strengthened, it has a good turn, but not of the kind as in the *Iliad* the phrase, the manes were strengthened. The word *hyperiktainonto*
briskly it recounts the essential thing, that is, Odysseus' arrival in one line, and in another the destruction of the suitors, and the third, though
to disbelieve the prudent nurse, she rejoiced and leaping from her bed, she embraced the old woman, and shed a tear from her eyelids, and, Come now,
The poet, magnifying the deed of Odysseus against the suitors as being not simply great, but already also divine, because it would not be easy for any
to contend for something else also, as the Iliad shows in the phrase, let us contend for a tripod or a cauldron. But such a phrase is elliptical, fo
But she will not draw near, lest she too recognize some sign from him, which she herself and Odysseus and only one handmaid, Actoris, knew, that is, t
She herself after a little says: you persuade my heart, though it is very harsh. Therefore having said, cruel mother, he explained it by adding, havin
restores the counsel to his father. Indeed Odysseus will discover what must be done in the following, and having entrusted to his wife tomorrow the af
excellent. (ῃερς. 124.) And the phrase, look upon these things, dear father, Aeschylus, adapting it, said, these things you look upon, glorious Ach
the wife of the one hoped to return. (Verse 153, etc.) That Eurynome the housekeeper bathed and anointed Odysseus with oil as was custom, and around h
Note that in compound form, `ateramnon` means not tender, but clearly hardened. But indeed, `teramnon` in its simple form is not the tender and soft,
bedchamber according to the line, which guarded for us two the doors of the chamber. And if in what follows Eurynome the chambermaid was leading the
to crowd and the lever to be made for which reason also to lever and to lever out and to lever up are like the meanings of to crowd. But a lever is n
it becomes knowledge. But the phrase knowingly and he straightened it to the line has a certain assonance. (vers. 198.) And now he calls the bedpo
is for a just man. (ῃερς. 209.) And the phrase, since you were the most prudent of all other men, and what follows, is praise for a man who is wise,
For Heracleides reports that Attic writers end such pluperfects only in eta, saying *ēdē* and *enenoēkē* and *epepoiēkē*. and thus Panaetius says the
here it is found. But for those weeping in the daytime, the phrase, and indeed the light of the sun would have set on them lamenting, which is found
which she had with Bellerophon, he himself shook off onto the Aleian plain. And colts lead Eos to emphasize being young, and especially things concern
These things, as Odysseus invited her to come to bed, but she wished to learn what immeasurable labor he said he would accomplish afterwards he said
And he also spoke of how he came to the house of Hades, the mouldy one, as is also shown elsewhere, where he saw all his comrades and his mother, even
351. sth.) But see that it is a change of form, the phrase, you weeping here, but a god bound me with pains for the clear and common and customary fo
sharp arrows according to some. (v. 1.) The beginning of this rhapsody is, Cyllenian Hermes called forth the souls, that is, he brought them out of
to be washed, filth. to spend the winter in the open air, a blackbird, which is a merle. to endure the heat and to sing at midday, a cicada. not to us
you ruled over, to bring death and fate upon the people of the Trojans for you, that is thus for you, the Panachaeans would have made a tomb, and you
the remains of Antilochus were laid beside. And around them we, the sacred host of Argive spearmen, heaped up a great and faultless tomb on a projecti
this too has been dragged in.(ῃερς. 47. 58.) And paraphrasing the Nereids, he calls them immortal sea-nymphs and daughters of the old man of the sea,
of Amphimedon's men, he urging Odysseus with Menelaus to follow to Ilium, when he says that in a whole month, that is, a complete and entire one, havi
Amphimedon, adding also that thus we perished, whose bodies even now lie there unburied for our friends do not yet know, those who would wash the bla
a word seems to lie, as is shown by, having woven a great web, of which the shroud is a part, unless perhaps here shroud and great web are the same
He brought up Cerberus. But how, they say, is the Leucadian rock also by the sunless places of Hades? The solution is that it must be understood to li
he writes that Amerias calls the porch a *klision*, perhaps among the Ionians, as also Homer, and around the *kleision* he ran everywhere but among
four blameless women skilled in handiwork, comely, whom he himself wished to choose. These are many wherefore Laertes will also say countless things
The poet called the threshing-floor, into which they themselves were gathered, well-built, just as he somewhere also calls cities well-built. But
one might say, that which has letters in a circle furthermore, also the circumscription of a place by means of scraping around the underlying area, a
trees in a row. But see here also the insistence of the shapely and brilliant negative figure and the swiftness in the phrase, not a plant, not a fig
I shall suffice was said as being one able simply to suffice, whence also the swift-footed, or because an *arkos*, that is, a bear, would suckle h
he became a prey for the land. (verse 292.) But note also the word θηρσίν (for wild beasts) for although in other respects all irrational animals are
to mingle in hospitality, it is set in distinction to to mingle in love and such things but it is a periphrasis for to be entertained as a guest
an apple-tree like the fig-tree, and that their fruit is called apples and hela, as was also noted in the commentaries on the Iliad. And Seleucus is r
figs are more beneficial to men. But Herodotus, the most admirable and sweet-voiced, says, censuring a certain country, that it had neither wine, nor
being of the Carnanians, as was also Amphilochian Argos. And he says it was once a peninsula, of which Nericos was also a part. But later, when the is
expressed by hyperbaton, and then he grew into his hand, here it is stated directly in the phrase, they shook hands and grew into their hands. But
of Odysseus he seemed to embolden, and at another time, stirring up the suitors, he rushed through the hall, and they fell uselessly. and thus he alar
the ruling one, but the rest contracts it. (verse 432.) And the phrase, or even then we shall be downcast and what follows, will one day be parodied a
is said to follow and to be poured out and to pour a libation, whence the phrase, to pour out one's fate. (ῃερς. 474. σθθ.) That a question to someone
wine for indeed a moderate amount, which would here be understood along with the foods, is most useful. (ῃερς. 491.) That the phrase, 'let someone go
520.) That the phrase, a god breathed great might, is indicative of a wondrous strength, parodied from, Pallas Athene breathed great might. (verse
but a quarrel of a disastrous, that is, a harsh war, which is spoken of in many places in the *Iliad*, lest some god be angered with you. And he obeys
and with the epenthesis of iota, I kill, similar to ἔω ἔνω εἴνω meaning I cover, from which the derivative εἰνύω in the Iliad comes. And in the phrase, father and son, the suitors appear to place the whole of the work in these two, as if reckoning Eumaeus and Philoetius beforehand as nothing. thus also Athena was testing the strength, as was said, and might of Odysseus alone and his son. (ῃερς. 217.) Still, there is found in these lines also an apostrophic figure of speech for the sake of astonishment, 'what things you intend to do in the halls,' being similar to 'what things you have done to me' and such phrases. (ῃερς. 218.) The phrase, you will pay with your own head, is instead of 'you will repay with your head,' that is, you will be penalized with your life and, so to speak, you will be punished capitally. how the phrase, with your head, is formed has been shown before. and there is nothing more to say here than only that the phrase, with your own head, is formed in a novel way. for the usual form is 'with the head of your own self.' (ῃερς. 227.) And in the passage concerning Helen and the Trojans and the fall of Ilium, see that the poet again fittingly seasons the simplicity of the Odyssey with Trojan histories, and that it is a fearful thing for the suitors to consider how Odysseus thus faced danger for the sake of others. for it is clear that one who fought so for Helen's sake would not be a coward in his own affairs. and from this the slaughter of the suitors becomes more plausible; for the listener will consider what sort of man he who at Troy fought against so many and for another man's wife, and acting bravely, would be here? And now Odysseus also appears as a sacker of cities, by whose very counsel concerning the wooden horse Troy was taken. after a little while, therefore, he will explicitly call him sacker of cities. (ῃερς. 232.) The phrase, you lament to be valiant, is said terribly and sharply. for one could have said, you are not willing to be valiant, or you hesitate, or something of that sort. but it is said for greater emphasis, you lament to be valiant, as if a child were reproached for lamenting to go to school. (ῃερς. 239.) That according to poetic custom now also, Athena of the myth, transformed otherwise from the apparent Mentor, darting up, sat upon a beam of the sooty hall, like a swallow in appearance either in her flight or in her form. for the myth does not hesitate to transform divinities thus. (ῃερς. 240.) It should be known that in the Deipnosophistae, swallow-hares are named after the swallow. and such perhaps are those that are 2.280 black above, and whitish below, just as swallows are, according to the one who said, a swallow, white on the belly, black on the back. And by 'the beam of the sooty hall' he means the roof. Wherefore he will say in the following lines: Then did Athena hold up her aegis from on high from the roof, so that 'roof' and 'beam' are the same. and now 'beam of the house' has been said completely; but when the entire house is called a 'beam' (melathron), it is spoken of from a part, just as the same house is called a 'roof' (stegē) and a 'covering' (tegos) from the sheltering roof-structure, which is also itself a part. and 'sooty' (aithaloen) is either from 'aithō' (I burn), from which also 'melathron' (beam) comes on account of the fire, clearly, burning in the sacrifices at the hearth, or it means 'illuminated' and 'full of light' from 'aithein,' that is, 'to shine,' from which also 'aithēr' (ether) comes. The phrase, like a swallow in appearance, that is, face to face, is also found a little before in the testing of the bow. there, however, the swallow is brought in in comparison to the song of the bowstring. (ῃερς. 244.) That here too virtue is courage, in the phrase, so-and-so and so-and-so were pre-eminently the best in virtue, of all those who were still alive and fought for their lives. And this is also proverbial. for those who contend in peril are said 'to run for their life,' as the Iliad also shows, or 'to fight for their life,' or 'to struggle.' And the poet here counts six to be the best among the remaining suitors, indicating that when they have fallen, a one-sided victory will at once be at hand for Odysseus. (ῃερς. 248.) That the phrase, O friends, this man will now hold back, that is, will restrain, his irresistible hands, and indeed so-and-so has departed for him, speaking empty boasts, that is, being a vain-boaster, having boasted empty things about help, is a taunt against someone deprived of a helper in whom he trusted. And Agelaus says this when the mythical Mentor has vanished. But Eurymachus, before these events, said, 'O friends, this man will now hold his hands,' (verse 70) 'for he will not hold back,' he said. for the former feared Odysseus, but the latter is thoughtlessly overconfident. (ῃερς. 254.)
καὶ ἐπενθέσει τοῦ ἰῶτα κτείνω, ὁμοίως τῷ ἔω ἔνω εἴνω τὸ καλύπτω, οὗ παράγωγον τὸ εἰνύω ἐν Ἰλιάδι. Ἐν δὲ τῷ, πατέρα καὶ υἱὸν,
φαίνονται οἱ μνηστῆρες ἐν τούτοις τιθέναι τὸ πᾶν τοῦ ἔργου, οἷα τὸν Εὔμαιον καὶ Φιλοίτιον εἰς μηδὲν προλογιζόμενοι. οὕτω καὶ
Ἀθηνᾶ σθένεος, ὡς ἐῤῥέθη, καὶ ἀλκῆς πειρήτιζεν Ὀδυσσέως μόνου καὶ υἱοῦ. (ῃερς. 217.) Ἔτι κεῖται ἐν τούτοις καὶ ἀποστατικὸν
σχῆμα κατὰ λόγον θάμβους τὸ, οἷα μενοινᾷς ἔρδειν ἐν μεγάροισιν, ὅμοιον ὂν τῷ οἷά μ' ἔοργας καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις. (ῃερς. 218.)
Τὸ δὲ, σῷ αὐτοῦ κράατι τίσεις, ἀντὶ τοῦ τῇ σῇ κεφαλῇ ἀνταποδώσεις, ἤγουν τῇ ζωῇ σου ζημιωθήσῃ καὶ, ὡς οὕτω φάναι, κεφαλικῶς
τιμωρηθήσῃ. πῶς δὲ ἐσχημάτισται τὸ, σῷ κράατι, προδεδήλωται. καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐνταῦθα πλεῖόν τι εἰπεῖν ἢ μόνον ὅτι τὸ, σῷ αὐτοῦ
κράατι, καινῶς ἐσχημάτισται. τὸ γὰρ σύνηθες σοῦ αὐτοῦ κράατι. (ῃερς. 227.) Ἐν δὲ τῷ περὶ Ἑλένης καὶ Τρώων καὶ ἁλώσεως Ἰλίου
ὅρα ὅτι τε πάλιν ἐπιτηδείως ὁ ποιητὴς Τρωϊκαῖς ἱστορίαις παραρτύει τὴν τῆς Ὀδυσσείας ἀφέλειαν, καὶ ὅτι φοβερὸν τοῖς μνηστῆρσιν
ἐνθυμηθῆναι ὡς οὕτως ὑπὲρ ἀλλοτρίων ἐκινδύνευσεν Ὀδυσσεύς. δῆλον γὰρ ὡς ὁ ὑπὲρ Ἑλένης οὕτω πολεμήσας οὐκ ἂν ἐθελοκακήσῃ ἐπὶ
τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ. γίνεται δὲ καὶ πιθανωτέρα ἐντεῦθεν ἡ μνηστηροκτονία· ἐνθυμηθήσεται γὰρ ὁ ἀκροατὴς ὡς ὁ ἐν Τροίᾳ πρὸς τοσούτους
καὶ ὑπὲρ ἀλλοτρίας γυναικὸς μαχόμενος καὶ ἀνδραγαθῶν ὁποῖος ἂν εἴη ἐνταῦθα; φαίνεται δὲ νῦν καὶ πτολίπορθος ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς, οὗ
περ βουλῇ τῇ κατὰ τὸν δούρειον ἵππον ἡ Τροία ἥλω. μετ' ὀλίγα οὖν ῥητῶς αὐτὸν ἐρεῖ πτολίπορθον. (ῃερς. 232.) Τὸ δὲ, ὀλοφύρεαι
ἄλκιμος εἶναι, δεινῶς καὶ δριμέως εἴρηται. ἦν μὲν γὰρ εἰπεῖν, οὐκ ἐθέλεις ἄλκιμος εἶναι, ἢ ὀκνεῖς ἢ τοιόνδε τι. εἴρηται δὲ
πρὸς πλείω ἔμφασιν, ὀλοφύρεαι ἄλκιμος εἶναι, ὡς εἰ καὶ παῖς ὀνειδισθείη ὀλοφύρεσθαι φοιτᾶν ἐς διδασκάλου. (ῃερς. 239.) Ὅτι
κατὰ ποιητικὸν ἔθος καὶ νῦν ἐκ τοῦ φαινομένου Μέντορος ἄλλως μορφωθεῖσα ἡ τοῦ μύθου Ἀθηνᾶ αἰθαλόεντος ἀνὰ μεγάροιο μέλαθρον
ἕζετο ἀναΐξας, χελιδόνι ἰκέλη ἄντην ἢ κατὰ τὴν πτῆσιν ἢ κατὰ τὸ εἶδος. οὐ γὰρ ὀκνεῖ ὁ μῦθος καὶ οὕτω μεταποιεῖν τὰ δαιμόνια
(ῃερς. 240.) Ἰστέον δὲ ὅτι παρώνυμοι χελιδόνι παρὰ τῷ δειπνοσοφιστῇ χελιδονίαι λαγωοί. τοιοῦτοι δὲ ἴσως οἱ ἄνω μὲν 2.280 μέλανες,
τὰ δὲ κάτω ὑπόλευκοι, ὁποῖαι καὶ αἱ χελιδόνες κατὰ τὸν εἰπόντα τὸ, χελιδὼν ἐπὶ γαστέρα λευκὰ, ἐπὶ νῶτα μέλαινα. Αἰθαλόεντος
δὲ μεγάρου μέλαθρον λέγει τὴν ὀροφήν. διὸ ἐρεῖ ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς· δὴ τότε ἀνέσχεν Ἀθηνᾶ αἰγίδα ὑψόθεν ἐξ ὀροφῆς, ὡς ταυτὸν εἶναι
ὀροφὴν καὶ μέλαθρον. καὶ νῦν μὲν ἐντελῶς ἐῤῥέθη μέλαθρον οἴκου· ὅτε δὲ μέλαθρον ὁ οἶκος ἅπας λέγεται, ἀπὸ μέρους λαλεῖται,
ὥς περ καὶ στέγη καὶ τέγος ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ σκέποντος ὀροφώματος, μέρους καὶ αὐτοῦ ὄντος. αἰθαλόεν δὲ ἢ παρὰ τὸ αἴθω, ἐξ οὗ
καὶ τὸ μέλαθρον διὰ τὸ αἰθόμενον δηλαδὴ πῦρ ἐν ταῖς κατὰ τὴν ἑστίαν θυσίαις, ἢ τὸ καταλαμπόμενον καὶ πολύφωτον παρὰ τὸ αἴθειν
ἤγουν λάμπειν, ἀφ' οὗ καὶ αἰθήρ. Τὸ δὲ, χελιδόνι ἰκέλη ἄντην ἤγουν ἄντικρυς, καὶ πρὸ ὀλίγων ἐν τῇ τοῦ τόξου κεῖται δοκιμασίᾳ.
ἐκεῖ μέντοι πρὸς τὴν τῆς νευρᾶς ᾠδὴν παρείληπται ἡ χελιδών. (ῃερς. 244.) Ὅτι ἀρετὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἡ ἀνδρία ἐν τῷ, ὁ δεῖνα καὶ
δεῖνα ἀρετῇ ἔσαν ἔξοχ' ἄριστοι, τῶν ὅσσοι ἔτ' ἔζωον περί τε ψυχέων ἐμάχοντο. τοῦτο δὲ καὶ παροιμιῶδες ἐστίν. οἱ γὰρ ἐπικινδύνως
ἀγωνιζόμενοι τὸν περὶ ψυχῆς θέειν λέγονται, ὡς καὶ ἡ Ἰλιὰς δηλοῖ, ἢ τὸν περὶ ψυχῆς μάχεσθαι ἢ ἀγωνίζεσθαι. μετρεῖ δὲ ὁ ποιητὴς
ἐνταῦθα ἓξ εἶναι τοὺς ἐν τοῖς περιλειπομένοις μνηστῆρσιν ἀρίστους, ἐνδεικνύμενος ὡς αὐτῶν πεσόντων ἑτεραλκὴς αὐτίκα νίκη προσέσται
τῷ Ὀδυσσεῖ. (ῃερς. 248.) Ὅτι σκῶμμα εἴς τινα στερηθέντα βοηθοῦ ᾧ ἐπεποίθει τὸ, ὦ φίλοι, ἤδη σχήσει, τουτέστιν ἐφέξει, ἀνὴρ
ὅδε χεῖρας ἀάπτους, καὶ δή οἱ ὁ δεῖνα ἔβη κενὰ εὔγματα εἰπὼν, ἤγουν κενεναυχὴς, κενὰ καυχησάμενος ὡς εἰς βοήθειαν. Ἀγέλαος
δὲ τοῦτο λέγει ὡς τοῦ μυθικοῦ Μέντορος ἀφανισθέντος. Τὸ δὲ, ὦ φίλοι, ἤδη σχήσει ἀνὴρ ὅδε χεῖρας, ὁ Εὐρύμαχος πρὸ τούτων, (ῃερς.
70.) οὐ γὰρ σχήσει, ἔφη. ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ἐδεδίει τὸν Ὀδυσσέα, οὗτος δὲ ἀλογίστως καταθαῤῥεῖ. (ῃερς. 254.)
