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σκῆπτρον , τό: Dor. σκᾶπτον (Pi.O.7.28, P.1.6, etc.), later σκᾶπτρον (AP7.428 (Mel.)), but σκῆπτρον in lyr. passages of Trag., as S.Ph.140: (σκήπτω):—
A.staff or stick, used by the lame or aged, Il.18.416, Od.13.437, 14.31, 17.199, 18.103; “ἰσχὺν . . νέμοντες ἐπὶ σκήπτροιςA.Ag.75; σκήπτρῳ προδεικνύς, of a blind man feeling his way, S.OT 456; “πρεσβῦται . . σκήπτροισιν ἄκασκα προβῶντεςCratin.126: metaph. of the daughters of Oedipus, σκῆπτρα φωτός his staffs or supports, S.OC1109, cf. 848:—the Prose word is βακτηρία.
II. staff or baton, esp. as the badge of command, sceptre: in Hom. borne by kings and chiefs, and transmitted from father to son (whence Il.2.101 sqq. is called τοῦ σκήπτρου παράδοσις, Th.1.9), Il.9.156, Od. 11.569: also borne by heralds, Il.7.277, al.; by speakers, who on rising to speak received it from the herald, 1.234, 18.505, 23.568, Od.2.37; by priests and soothsayers, Il.1.15, A.Ag.1265; later by minstrels, first in Hes. Th.30; “ς. χρύσεονIl.1.15, 2.268, Od.11.91, 569; wrought by Hephaestus, Il.2.101; “χρυσείοις ἥλοισι πεπαρμένον1.245. In oaths or protests it was held up, the gods being called to witness, ib.234, 7.412, 10.321,328; “ δ᾽ ὅρκος ἦν τοῦ ς. ἐπανάτασιςArist.Pol.1285b12; used as a stick or cudgel to punish the refractory, Il.2.199,265, Pi.O.7.28, S.OT811.
III. = Hebr. Shevet, of the tribes (φυλαί) of Israel, LXX3 Ki.11.13,al.(but in 1 Ki.10.20 sq., φυλή is a sub-division of σκῆπτρον).
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hide References (40 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (40):
    • Aeschylus, Agamemnon, 75
    • Aeschylus, Agamemnon, 1265
    • Aeschylus, Eumenides, 626
    • Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, 761
    • Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, 172
    • Euripides, Heracles, 1167
    • Herodotus, Histories, 7.52
    • Hesiod, Theogony, 30
    • Homer, Iliad, 18.416
    • Homer, Iliad, 1.245
    • Homer, Iliad, 23.568
    • Homer, Iliad, 2.101
    • Homer, Iliad, 2.199
    • Homer, Iliad, 7.412
    • Homer, Iliad, 9.156
    • Homer, Iliad, 1.234
    • Homer, Iliad, 2.268
    • Homer, Odyssey, 17.199
    • Homer, Odyssey, 2.37
    • Homer, Odyssey, 11.569
    • Homer, Odyssey, 11.91
    • Homer, Odyssey, 13.437
    • Homer, Odyssey, 18.103
    • Old Testament, 1 Samuel, 10.20
    • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 425
    • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 449
    • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 1109
    • Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 848
    • Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, 456
    • Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus, 811
    • Thucydides, Histories, 1.9
    • Homer, Iliad, 10.321
    • Homer, Iliad, 18.505
    • Homer, Iliad, 1.15
    • Homer, Iliad, 6.159
    • Homer, Iliad, 7.277
    • Homer, Iliad, 9.38
    • Homer, Odyssey, 14.31
    • Sophocles, Philoctetes, 140
    • Old Testament, 1 Kings, 11.13
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