Herbert Weir Smyth, A Greek Grammar for Colleges

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[*] 2484. ὡς εἰ, commonly ὡς εἴ τε, in Homer is used rarely with the indicative and subjunctive, more frequently with the optative; but usually without any finite verb. Thus, λα_οὶ ἕπονθ᾽ ὡς εἴ τε μετὰ κτίλον ἕσπετο μῆλα the soldiers followed as sheep follow after the ram N 492 (the only occurrence in Homer of the indicative), καί με φίλησ᾽ ὡς εἴ τε πατὴρ δ̀ν παῖδα φιλήσῃ and he loved me as a father loveth his son I 481 (the only occurrence in Homer of the subjunctive), δόκησε δ᾽ ἄρα σφίσι θυ_μὸς ὣς ἔμεν, ὡς εἰ πατρίδ᾽ ἱκοίατο and their feeling seemed to be as (it would be) if they had come to their own country κ 416 (the optative occurs only after a past tense, except Λ 389, a negative present); τὼ δέ οἱ ὄσσε λαμπέσθην ὡς εἴ τε πυρὸς σέλας and his eyes flashed like gleaming fire T 366.