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[79] ἡμετέρῃ ματίῃ, not as Nitzsch, ‘our fruitless endeavour,’ but as Schol. “ἡμετέρᾳ ματαιότητι καὶ ἁμαρτίᾳ”, who also rightly explains ἡμετέρῃ as “σύμπαθῶς ἑαυτὸν παρέλαβε διὰ τὸ κοιμηθῆναι”. The sleep of Odysseus gave to his crew the opportunity of satisfying their fatal curiosity. ἐπεί gives the reason why they had to take to their oars, ‘since the wafting wind no longer showed itself;’ πομπή means the wind, because it is the means towards the accomplishment of their journey. With φαίνετο compare “οὐδεμίαν γάρ σφι ἔτι κομιδὴν ἐς Κρήτην φαίνεσθαι” Hdt.7. 170; and, with the whole expression, Hom. Od.4. 361.

Homer's Odyssey. W. Walter Merry. James Riddell. D. B. Monro. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1886-1901.

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