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[95] 95-124. The composition of the following speech of Poseidon has given rise to considerable debate. Friedländer was the first to point out the strong evidence of a double recension which it shews. In the first place it is clearly not a mere coincidence that the phrase “ πόποι” (99) occurs at the beginning of a speech fortyseven times out of fifty-one, the only other cases where it holds a later position being 14.49, Od. 13.209, and perhaps 17.171 (q.v.). Here the tone of indignant surprise which belongs to the words is so greatly emphasized by the rest of the line (which recurs also in 15.286, 20.344, 21.54, Od. 19.36) that a position anywhere but in the first place quite spoils the rhetorical effect. The same may be said of the opening words of 95. Again “ἡγεμόνος κακότητι” in 108, ‘by the fault of our leader,’ follows very awkwardly after “μάχονται” in 107, ‘the Trojans are fighting.’ Hence Köchly supposed with much plausibility that 108 originally followed immediately after 98. Again 114 seems to be addressed to men who are actually fighting, 116 to those who have given up all effort as in 84. Generally too it may be said that the whole speech is so long and so tautological as to be ill suited for its position. 115 is clearly one of the passages which ignore the ninth book, for it directly contradicts the attitude there assumed by Achilles. Various attempts of different degrees of plausibility have been made to reconstruct two or more speeches which have been confused; perhaps as reasonable a solution as any may be found by assuming that one original form consisted of 95-98, 108-115, and another of 99-107, 116-124. Of these the former will then evidently be the oldest, the latter an alternative added after the interpolation of the Presbeia, in order to avoid the too glaring inconsistency with that book; and the present form is an unfortunate result of an attempt to combine the two.

κοῦροι νέοι is by some regarded as an expression of honour, ‘young men of valour.’ But the analogy of 5.787 clearly shews that it must be a term of contempt, ‘young boys,’ like “παῖδες νεαροί” in 2.289. “κοῦρος” does not imply noble birth or valour, and is used of infants, e.g. 6.59.

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