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[156] ἀγκλίνας ‘opening it’: cp. Il.8. 395ἠμὲν ἀνακλῖναι πυκινὸν νέφος ἠδ᾽ ἐπιθεῖναι”.

τῶν is probably masc., ‘their sentry was the better man’: the gen. being used as in “Τρώων σκοπός” ( Il.2.792), “σκοπὸν Ἕκτορος” (of Dolon in Il.10.526). The words need not be taken literally, so as to imply that the Suitors had actually set any sentry or watch. Some commentators take τῶν as a partitive gen., ‘one of them was a better watchman’: others as a neut. plur., ‘of this there was a better watchman.’ Telemachus means ‘better’ than he himself had proved. As a matter of fact it was Eumaeus who had failed as a “σκοπός”: but Telemachus is now taking the blame to himself.

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