previous next

[101] λυκηγενής, wolf-born, an epithet which, according to Lang and others, points to an earlier stage of animal worship (see on 1.39, and Frazer Paus. ii. p. 195). The wolf was sacred to Apollo and was sacrificed to him at Argos (Schol. Soph. El. 6), and the name “Λυκεῖος” was widely spread, being found, among other places, in Argos, Athens (Lyceum), Epidauros, Lemnos, Sikyon, Megara. According to the legend in Aristotle H. A. vi. 35 Leto was changed into a wolf at the time of his birth (cf. also Eust. on this line). A statue of a wolf was set up by the altar in Delphi. (See Verrall on Aisch. Sept. 132.) Another connexion with the wolf is implied in the epithet “λυκοκτόνος” Soph. El. 6; compare “Σμινθεύς” beside “σμινθοφθόρος”. There were, however, two alternative etymologies in ancient times, both of which still find defenders: (1) the name is derived from *“λύκη”, light, and means born of light, or begetting light, of the Sun-god. But this is not an early character of Apollo; the second derivation is also excluded by the uniformly passive sense of forms in “-γενής”. (This explanation is as old as Macrobius; see Sat. I. xvii. 36-41, pp. 96-7. Platt.A.) (2) Born in Lykia. But this would entirely separate the adjective here from “Λυκεῖος”, obviously a native name. In fact it is not improbable that the name Lykia is itself derived from the title of the god; the primitive inhabitants called themselves Termilai, not Lykians. Still it must be admitted that the author of this passage may have had such a derivation in his mind, for, as we shall see in the next book (105), Pandaros is in one version of the story actually made out to be a Lykian.

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

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 (2 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (2):
    • Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes, 132
    • Sophocles, Electra, 6
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: