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[22] ἐκτελέσειεν. It is difficult to reconcile the plain meaning of the words with the actual facts subsequently recorded (see crit. note). Nitzsch states that Crates attempted to elicit a new sense from the words, interpreting “ἐκτελ. ἀέθλους” of the full narration by Odysseus of all his past troubles; and “πειρᾶσθαι” in the sense of ‘questioning about;’ cp. Od.4. 119; 13.336. But this forced rendering is disproved by Od.21. 180“τόξου πειρώμεσθα καὶ ἐκτελέωμεν ἄεθλον”. Eustath. explains the line thus—“τὸ δὲ ἐκτελέσειεν ἀέθλους πολλοὺς οὐ πρὸς ἐνέργειαν κεῖται ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ φύσει δύνασθαι. εἰ γὰρ καὶ μόνον ἐδίσκευσεν ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς, οὐχ ὑποδὺς καὶ ἑτέρους ἀέθλους, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ ἐν οἷς αὐτὸς εὐδοκιμεῖν εἴπῃ ἐν ἐκείνοις ἀπαγορεύσουσιν οἱ Φαίακες, τρόπον τινὰ καὶ τούτους τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐξετέλεσεν ὧν οἱ Φαίακες ὑπεξεχώρησαν αὐτῷ”. For ἐκτελέσειεν does not imply that Odysseus was challenged to many contests; he was challenged only to the quoit-throwing; but the result of this one contest was his discharge in full for all the contests to which he might else have been challenged; and for all these the care of Athena qualified him. The use of the accusative τούς with πειρᾶσθαι resembles that of the cognate accusative, sc. “πεῖραν πειρᾶσθαι”, cp. Od.4. 119“ἢ πρῶτ᾽ ἐξερέοιτο ἕκαστά τε πειρήσαιτο”. It is doubtful whether “πειρᾶσθαι” can take a direct accusative of the object. In Il.18. 600“τροχὸν . . κεραμεὺς πειρήσεται αἴ κε θέῃσι”, the accusative “τροχόν” is the anticipated subject of the next clause; and in “νῦν μὲν πειρᾶται τάχα δ᾽ ἴψεται υἷας Ἀχαιῶν” Il.2. 193, if the verse is genuine, the accusative may depend solely on “ἴψεται”.

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

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