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[823] For the significance of the οἰωνός see note on 12.239. It has been suggested that, as the immediate purpose of Zeus is the humiliation of the Greeks, he cannot be meant to have sent the omen, which is not said to come from him; so that the people were mistaken in accepting a fortuitous appearance as a divine message. This, however, would not be in the Epic style; it would need to be explicitly stated. As the words of Aias are in the end to be abundantly fulfilled, there is no reason why Zeus should not have confirmed them.

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

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