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[173] The proverbial expression is a common one in Greek, occurring in Herod.vi. 11, Theognis 557, Simonides 99; cf. Eur. Her. 630(with von Wilamowitz's note), Soph. Ant. 996 “φρόνει βεβὼς αὖ νῦν ἐπὶ ξυροῦ τύχης”, and perhaps Aisch. Cho. 883.The idea is that of balancing on an edge so thin that a fall to one side or the other must soon happen. Neither ἀκμή nor ξυρόν recurs in Homer, nor is the practice of shaving mentioned. This, however, is not an argument against the antiquity of this passage, as razors of very high antiquity have been found among remains of the bronze period in Italy, and perhaps Greece; and it was the practice at Mykene to shave the upper lip (Schuchh. p. 253, TsountasManatt, pp. 166-7). In fact the Skt. ks/urA = “ξυρόν” shews that the practice may even date from Indo-European days (cf. Schrader, S. und U. p. 53).

The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices. Walter Leaf. London. Macmillan. 1900.

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hide References (4 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (4):
    • Aeschylus, Libation Bearers, 883
    • Euripides, Heracles, 630
    • Herodotus, Histories, 6.11
    • Sophocles, Antigone, 996
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