A Reading Course in Homeric Greek
- NOTES
175 σέ is moved from its normal position as object of ἐς to show strong emphasis. It is modified
by πρώτην in 176.
177 τήνδε : Odysseus has not yet seen the city but he knows from the presence of the girls that
it must be quite near.
178 δὸς : See §473 in Book I. δέ: the epsilon is lengthened because of an original initial
digamma in the following word (ϝράκος). ἀμφιβαλέσθαι : middle with reflexive sense. On
the infinitive, see §25 (purpose inf.).
179 ἰοῦσα : See §15.
180 δοῖεν : See §473 in Book I.
181 ἄνδρα τε καὶ οἶκον are in apposition with τόσα in 180. ὁμοφροσύνην, however, is the object
of ὀπάσειαν.
182 οὐ = οὐδέν (ἐστι). τοῦ is gen. of comparison with κρεῖσσον καὶ ἄρειον (“stronger and better
than this”). ἢ ὅθ’ is then an expansion of the gen. of comparison (“than this, when...”).
183 ὁμοφρονέοντε and ἔχητον are both duals with ἀνὴρ ἠδὲ γυνή as subjects. ἔχητον is
subjunctive in a Pres. General construction (§247b in Book 1).
184 πόλλ’ ἄλγεα δυσμενέεσσι : understand ἔστι, here and with χάρματα δ’ εὐμενέτῃσι in 185.
185 εὐμενέτῃσι : for the declension, see §4. ἔκλυον : gnomic aor.; translate as if pres. tense.
There have been many opinions as to the meaning of ἔκλυον and the phrase μάλιστα δέ τ’
ἔκλυον αὐτοί. Perhaps “and they hear it (i.e., realize it) most of all themselves.”
189 ὅπως ἐθέλῃσιν : subjunctive in a Pres. General conditional relative construction (§247b in
Book 1); the main verb is νέμει in 188. ἐθέλῃσιν = ἐθέλῃ.
190 τετλάμεν : pf. inf. of τλάω in an acc. and inf. construction with χρή (§270 in Book I).