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[326] σ῀ημα, sign; but it seems to refer rather to a mental note which Antilochos is to make than to the actual “τέρμα” itself. The regular Homeric word would be “ἄλλο”. The line seems to be taken without thought from Od. 11.126, where Teiresias tells Odysseus of a ‘sign,’ in the proper sense, which he is to encounter. In any case “σῆμα”, monument, in 331 is quite different. The whole passage is hopelessly obscure, and can only be explained by the violent assumptions (1) that Nestor has private information of the course which Achilles means to fix (in 358); and (2) that he happens to know that the ground near the “τέρματα” is smooth, so that Antilochos may drive boldly; the other competitors being ignorant of the course will have to approach the turn more cautiously.

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

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