[104] χρυσείοισι λίνοισιν ἐερμένον: Barnes' “χρύσεον, ἠλέκτροισιν ἐερμένον”, which recent editors have accepted, is graphically quite unjustified; nor is there reason to suppose that the author slavishly imitated Homer (Od. 18.296). See J. H. S. xvii. p. 244. The manuscript tradition has been vindicated by a close parallel from a Delian inventory of 364 B.C. Cf. B. C. H. x. p. 464 “ορμος χρυσους συν τωι λινωι και τοις επηρτημενοις”, C.I.A. ii. pt. ii. p. 18. v. 71, p. 128 vv. 1, 19. In Od. 15.460 “ χρύσεον ὅρμον ἔχων μετὰ δ᾽ ἠλέκτροισιν ἔερτο” the chain was strung at intervals with amber beads or pendants; so here the necklace appears to have been ornamented with gold wire used like thread, or with actual thread gilded (“χρύσειοι”). The latter explanation seems supported by B. C. H. vi. p. 50 “ορμος χρυσους επι ταινιδιωι” and p. 32 “ταινια περιηργυρωμενη”. The poet's description of the necklace may well have been based upon votive offerings which he saw at Delos. On these Delian “ὅρμοι” see Homolle B. C. H. vi. p. 123, 124.
The Homeric Hymns, edited, with preface, apparatus criticus, notes, and appendices. Thomas W. Allen. E. E. Sikes. London. Macmillan. 1904.
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.
This text was converted to electronic form by professional data entry and has been proofread to a medium level of accuracy.
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.