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[126] Many a fish leaping through the waves shall dart up to (or beneath) the black ripple, to eat Lykaon's fat. μέλαινα φρίξ is the darkening of the surface of water by the ripple of a breeze, as is described at length in 7.63-64; cf. also 23.692, Od. 4.402 “πνοιῆι ὕπο Ζεφύροιο, μελαίνηι φρικὶ καλυφθείς”. The idea then is that the corpse after a time will float on the surface, and that the fish will dart up from beneath to eat it. Whether “ὑπο”- means ‘up to’ or ‘(along) beneath’ it is hardly possible to say, as there seem to be but few parallel compounds of intransitive verbs of motion. “ὑπέρχομαι”, however, takes an accus. of the point reached (Od. 5.476, Od. 12.21, Od. 18.150), and so “ὑποδύομαι”. The most natural meaning, ‘will dart under the ripple (from above)’ is excluded by the sense of the passage. So far the text is intelligible, though strange in expression; but it contains an apparently false quantity in ὑπαΐξει, for in all the other forms of “ἀΐσσω” the “α” is invariably long. “ἀΐσσω” is generally taken to be = “αἰΐσσω” from “ϝαι-ϝικ-jω” (cf. “δαιδάλλω” etc.). In that case we may compare for the variation of quantity “α?̓εί” from “αἰϝεί” (see note on 12.211). Anyhow this reading is better than the alternative “ὑπαλύξει”. The old explanation of this is many a fish will avoid a chill by eating the fat (!). This incredible interpretation is ascribed by Ariston. to Philetas and Kallistratos, “λέγοντες ὅτι οἱ πίονες τῶν ἰχθύων καὶ εὔτροφοι τὸ ψῦχος ὑπομένουσι καὶ οὐ φθείρονται”. They must therefore have taken “ὅς κε φάγηισι” to mean ‘who shall have eaten.’ By doing this we may make “ὑπαλύξει” mean ‘he shall avoid the surface (i.e. dive to the bottom) after his meal’ but this of course will satisfy nobody. Or again we may thus explain “ὑπαΐξει”, shall dart (away) beneath the ripple after eating, which is better, but not Epic in its indirectness. μέλαιναν again involves a violation of Wernicke's law (App. N, § 16), which may indeed be av<*>ided by adopting the variant “μελαίνηι” and reading “φρίχ̓” = “φρικί”. But it may be questioned whether the whole passage has not undergone some grave corruption now irremediable. The reading “ἐπαΐξει” ascribed to Ar. by Schol. BT makes no difference to the interpretation.

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

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