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[284] περὶ μύθων, cf. Od. 8.225 “οἵ ῥα καὶ ἀθανάτοισιν ἐρίζεσκον περὶ τόξων”, ‘in the art of archery.’ The phrase would thus seem to imply regular contests for a prize of eloquence; but such a custom is entirely unknown to Homer. We must take “μῦθοι” to mean rather the subject than the manner of their speeches, ‘vied with one another in their proposals,’ as e.g. 7.358 and often. Compare also the ‘court-fee’ in 18.508 “τῶι δόμεν ὃς μετὰ τοῖσι δίκην ἰθύντατα εἴποι” (App. I, §§ 28-30). κοῦροι, the young men as opposed to their elders, such as Nestor, with whom they would hardly presume to compete.

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

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