[153] ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάρῃ, ‘at the hearth.’ He sits in the posture of a suppliant; though, as Ameis reminds us, there is no distinct notion of sanctity or sanctuary connected with the hearth in Homer. In Apoll. Rhod. 4. 693 Medea and Jason are represented as taking refuge at the hearth of Circe, “τοὺς δ᾽ ἐν λιπαροῖσι κέλευσεν”
“ἥ γε θρόνοις ἕζεσθαι . . τὼ δ᾽ ἄνεῳ καὶ ἄναυδοι ἐφ᾽ ἑστίῃ ἀίξαντες”“ἵζανον, ἥ τε δίκη λυγροῖς ἱκέτῃσι τέτυκται”. So in Hdt.1. 35“ἐπίστιος” stands as the equivalent of “ἱκέτης”. Cp. also Plutarch, Vit. Themist. 1. 485 Reisk. “πρὸς τὴν ἑστίαν” (sc. “Ἀδμήτου”) “κατέπεσε”. These passages show that “ἑστία” implies far more than “ἐσχάρα”. See Od.14. 159“ἴστω νῦν Ζεὺς πρῶτα θεῶν, ξενίη τε τράπεζα”,
“ἱστίη τ᾽ Ὀδυσῆος ἀμύμονος, ἣν ἀφικάνω”.
