[413] προικὸς γεύσεσθαι Ἀχαιῶν is generally translated ‘to taste the present of the Achaeans,’ i. e. to eat the food which he has just collected from them. But (1) “προικός” is only known as an adverb, = gratis (see 13. 15); and (2) the verb “γεύομαι” in other Homeric passages always has the metaphorical sense ‘to make trial of’: Il.20. 258“γευσόμεθ᾽ ἀλλήλων χαλκήρεσιν ἐγχείῃσιν”, and so “γ. χειρῶν” ( Od.20. 181), “ὀϊστοῦ” ( Od.21. 98), “δουρὸς ἀκωκῆς” ( Il.21. 61). Hence the meaning more probably is, ‘he was going to try (his fortune with) the Achaeans without paying for it,’ i. e. his bold experiment on the good nature of the Suitors was like to be made with impunity.
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Homer's Odyssey. W. Walter Merry. James Riddell. D. B. Monro. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1886-1901.
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