[15] χρυσέῳ: it was adorned with golden studs, see on v. 219, 2.45; cf. v. 246. So the soul of the seer Teiresias had a “χρύσεον σκῆπτρον” in Hades, Od. 11.91. — For the synizesis, see § 7.
ἀνὰ σκήπτρῳ: on a staff; const. with “στέμματ̓ ἔχων”. Princes, judges, priests, and heralds carried “σκῆπτρα” as symbols of authority. A “σκῆπτρον” was placed in the hands of him who was about to address the assembly, as a sign that he “had the floor,” cf. v. 245, “Γ 218, στῆ δὲ μέσῃ ἀγορῇ: σκῆπτρον δέ οἱ ἔμβαλε χειρὶ ι κῆρυξ β” 37 f. The Spartans also carried stout staffs, and Athenian gentlemen carried canes. πάντας: the bard's hearers easily made for themselves the necessary limitations for such general expressions.This text is part of:
Homer's Iliad, Books I-III. Thomas D. Seymour. Boston. Ginn and Company. 1891.
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