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[355] ἐπ᾽ ἀριστερά: it seems most natural to suppose that the Greek poet always looks at the battle from the Greek side. The left would then mean the part of the battle most distant from the Skamander, on the right bank of which the fighting must, according to the actual geography, have taken place. But this will be inconsistent with l. 36, where Ares is left beside Skamander. However, it has been shewn by Hercher that it is impossible to reconcile Homer's geographical statements either with themselves or with the reality. The Skamander in particular is an arbitrary quantity, sometimes treated as running transversely between the city and the ships, sometimes as lying alongside the field, and often forgotten altogether (Hom. Aufsätze pp. 50 sqq.; cf. Ribbeck in Rhein. Mus. xxxv. 610).

The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices. Walter Leaf. London. Macmillan. 1900.

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