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[269] βέλος ἔχηι, metaphorically, ‘fear took hold upon them and pain as of a woman in travail.’ Compare also 8.513 “βέλος πέσσειν”, in the sense of wound, and Pind. N. i. 48 “ἐκ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἄτλατον βέλος πλᾶξε γυναῖκας” in a different sense, but perhaps with a reminiscence. The pangs are here personified as darts shot into the body, just as in the phrase “πένθεϊ βεβολήατο” (9.3) of mental anguish.

The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices. Walter Leaf. London. Macmillan. 1900.

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  • Commentary references from this page (3):
    • Homer, Iliad, 8.513
    • Homer, Iliad, 9.3
    • Pindar, Nemean, 1
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