previous next

[518] χλωρηΐς cannot be explained of the colour of the nightingale, which is in the main a dull brown, the throat and breast only being greenish. Moreover, the form of the word is against taking it as simply = “χλωρός”, and favours the interpretation of the Schol. “ἡ ἐν χλωροῖς διατρίβουσα”. Cp. “νηΐς” and “νηρηΐς” of the nymphs that live in springs (“νάω”) and water (if Modern Greek “νερό” points to an ancient “νηρόν”): also “ὀρειάς, δρυάς”, &c. The epithet “χλωραύχην” given to the bird by Simonides (fr. 73) may have been suggested by misunderstand ing of this or some similar passage, though the later poet took care to be more true to nature. But such a term as bird ‘of the greenwood’ is surely more natural than any description based upon colour.

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

The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: