A Reading Course in Homeric Greek
- NOTES
99 τάρφθεν : aor. pass. 3 pl. (alternate ending to –θησαν) of τέρπω.
100 ἀπὸ κρήδεμνα βαλοῦσαι : the κρήδεμνον was a veil worn in public by women of
marriageable age to conceal modestly the head, face and shoulders. When Penelope
appears before the suitors at Odyssey 1.334, she holds a κρήδεμον in front of her face. As
W.B. Stanford comments ad loc., the κρήδεμνον was “not generally worn at home; the
fact that Penelope wears it among the Suitors probably shows that she regards them as
strangers.” Here, the young women’s gesture of casting off their veils assumes that there
are no strange men present, who might be aroused by the sight of their bare faces. ἀπό :
adverbial, with βαλοῦσαι.
101 ἤρχετο μολπῆς : ἄρχω often takes the gen. μολπή is a combination of dancing and singing;
here the young women may be playing a rhythmic ball-game accompanied by their
singing.
102 οἵη : “just as.” εἶσι : §8.
104 τερπομένη : “taking pleasure in” [+ dat.]. Artemis, goddess of hunting, was called πότνια
θηρῶν (“queen of beasts”).
105 τῇ : obj. of ἅμα.
106 γέγηθε : pf., with pres. force, of γηθέω. φρένα is acc of specification (§644 in Book I).
107 ὑπὲρ : adverbial, with ἔχει : “she over-tops them all...” κάρη and μέτωπα are acc. of
specification or respect (§644 in Book I). The pl. μέτωπα is used for the sg.
108 καλαὶ δέ τε πᾶσαι : concessive. For the verb, understand εἰσίν.
112 ἄλλ’ ἐνόησε : “thought other things” or “planned otherwise.”
114 ἥ ... ἡγήσαιτο : rel. pron. + opt. indicating purpose. οἱ : ἡγέομαι + dat. πόλιν : acc. of place
to which (§18 in Book I).