previous next

[810] δ̀η τότε, the vulg. “δήποτε” is a combination not found in H. except 1.40, where “ποτε” belongs to “εἰ”: whereas “δὴ τότε” is common, especially in Od. (forty-seven times against fifteen in Il.). τότε is explained by “πρῶτ᾽ ἐλθών”, now on his first appearance in the war. Ar. is said to have explained the couplet as referring to a sham fight for practice (“διδασκόμενος”) which, oddly enough, would seem to require “ποτε”, not “τότε”: “ὅτι σύνηθες ἦν τοῖς ἀρχαίοις ἁρματομαχεῖν, ἐσφαιρωμένοις” (tipped with ‘buttons’） “δόρασι χρωμένους, καὶ ἀνατρέπειν ἐκ τῶν ὀχημάτων”, Such An.an idea is ludicrously out of place in the midst of so grim a description; the intention evidently is to make out that Euphorbos, though he has not been heard of before, is no unworthy victor. He has killed (or at least dismounted) twenty enemies as a first lesson in the art of war, a feat which closely resembles Nestor's in 11.748-49. For the gen. πολέμοιο see H. G. § 151 d.

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):
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: