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[427] πόρφυρε. Aristarch. on Il.14. 16 interprets “πορφύρειν” by “μελανίζειν”, and so Döderl. makes ‘darkness’ the radical idea of the word, which he connects etymologically with our ‘brown.’ This use of “πορφύρειν” to describe the troubled mind bears a remarkable analogy to that of “καλχαίνειν” Soph. Ant.20; and contains the same physical thought as “φρένες ἀμφιμέλαιναι” Il.1. 103(al. “ἀμφὶ μέλαιναι”); compare “μελαγχίτων φρήν” Aesch. Pers.113, “σπλάγχνα μοι κελαινοῦται” Aesch. Cho.406.πορφύρειν only takes the meaning of ‘glowing brightly’ in later Greek. In Homer, Il.14. 16 it is used of the dark mass of rolling water that does not break into white foam; opp. to “πολιὴ ἅλς”. Compare Cicero's rendering ‘unda purpurascit,’ quoted by L. and Lex.s. v. See on Od. 2.428.

Homer's Odyssey. W. Walter Merry. James Riddell. D. B. Monro. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1886-1901.

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hide References (5 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (5):
    • Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, 406
    • Aeschylus, Persians, 113
    • Homer, Iliad, 14.16
    • Homer, Iliad, 1.103
    • Sophocles, Antigone, 20
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