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[845] Ἄϊδος κυνέη, the ‘Tarnkappe’ or ‘Nebelkappe’ of northern mythology, not elsewhere mentioned in H. It is alluded to, however, in the Scutum Her. 227, and in Aristoph. Ach. 390, Plato Rep. x. 612 It appears too in the legend of Perseus in Pherekydes, and is a piece of the very oldest folklore. References will be found in Frazer Paus. iii. p. 346. The name “Ἀΐδης” here evidently preserves something of its original sense, the Invisible (“Ἀϝίδης”). It is of course not necessary to suppose that the poet conceives Athene as literally putting on a cap; he only employs the traditional — almost proverbial — way of saying that she makes herself invisible to Ares.

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

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  • Commentary references from this page (2):
    • Plato, Republic, 10.612
    • Aristophanes, Acharnians, 390
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