previous next

[388] The reading “ἰόντα”, which would make θερμόν agree with αἷμα, though accepted by Nitzsch and Bekk., is merely a conjecture. Nitzsch indeed compares Il.3. 61, where “εἶσιν” is used of an axe: but “εἶσιν διὰ δουρός”, ‘makes its way through a plank,’ gives no analogy to the use of “ἰόντα”, absolutely, to signify rotatory motion; though “νηὸς ἰούσης” might be quoted as an instance of “ἰέναι” used of motion in general. Nitzsch characterises θερμὸν ἐόντα as meaningless (nichtig); but, surely, it is quite the reverse; for the especial thought is the intense heat of the end of the stake, which was so hot as actually to hiss, when plunged in the blood and juices of the eyeball.

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 References (1 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (1):
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: