previous next

[330] ἐπιζαφελῶς, ‘furiously,’ Il.9. 516.We may refer “ἐπι-ζα-φελ-ῶς” to the root “φελ”, (seen in “ὀ-φέλλω”) = ‘swell.’ Thus the word is similar in use to Latin ‘tumidus,’ cp. Hom. Od.4. 3. 5; Virg. Aen.6. 407.The adjective “ἀφελής”, generally rendered ‘simple’ or ‘sincere,’ is really ‘not swollen’ and so ‘smooth.’ Others compound the word of “” priv. and “φελλεύς”, ‘rough ground.’ Athena did not now venture to vouchsafe her visible presence, but she throws off this reserve as soon as Odysseus has landed in Ithaca, and is beyond the power of Poseidon. It was the custom of the gods not openly to oppose each other, “θεοῖσι δ᾽ ὧδ᾽ ἔχει νόμος:

οὐδεὶς ἀπαντᾶν βούλεται προθυμίᾳ
τῇ τοῦ θέλοντος, ἀλλ᾽ ἀφιστάμεσθ᾽ ἀείEur. Hipp.1328.

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 References (4 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (4):
    • Euripides, Hippolytus, 1328
    • Homer, Iliad, 9.516
    • Homer, Odyssey, 4.3
    • Vergil, Aeneid, 6.407
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: