A Reading Course in Homeric Greek
- NOTES
130 βῆ δ’ ἴμεν : See the note at line 15. ὥς τε : τε after ως introducing a simile is common and
has a generalizing force. πεποιθώς : pf. ptc. of πείθω with pres. sense (“trusting in” + dat.).
131 εἶσ’ : See §8 above. ὑόμενος : passive (“being rained upon”). ἀήμενος : passive ptc. of ἄημι.
ἐν : adverbial (“within”).
133 μετ’ ἀγροτέρας ἐλάφους : the lion has to chase after the wild deer, unlike the domestic
flocks.
134 πειρήσοντα : fut. ptc. indicating purpose, with subject ἑ in 133; cf. §199 in Book 1. καὶ :
“even.” πυκινὸν δόμον : the carefully-closed sheepfold.
136 ἵκανε : understand μιν as obj.
137 κεκακωμένος : pf. m. ptc. (“disfigured”).
138 προὐχούσας = προ-εχούσας by crasis. See New Grammar, §35 below.
140 ἐκ...εἵλετο : δέος is direct obj., γυίων is gen. of separation (§18 in Book I).
141 σχομένη : “holding her ground.”
142 λαβών takes γούνων, a gen. following a verb signifying to touch or take hold of. λίσσοιτο :
this opt. and λίσσοιτ’ in 144 are in secondary sequence indirect question (§§214 and 465 in
B o ok 1).
143 αὔτως : “just as (where) he was”, i.e., ἀποσταδὰ.
144 εἰ δείξειε... καὶ...δοίη : more indirect question.- NEW GRAMMAR: Crasis
You have seen a few methods by which Greek prevented two vowel sounds from coming together
in adjoining syllables. If the two vowel sounds came together within a word, they frequently
contracted them to one vowel sound, as in the example of νόει in line 67, a contraction of νόεε.
Sometimes the two vowel sounds were simply pronounced as one, as in synizesis. There is an
example of synizesis in τεων in line 119. If the successive vowel sounds occurred between two
words, a νυ movable might be placed at the end of the first word, or the final vowel sound of the
first word might be dropped in elision. Sometimes, however, neither elision nor the νυ movable is
possible.Crasis (κρᾶσις, mingling) is a type of vowel contraction. A vowel or diphthong at the end of a
word may contract with a vowel that begins the next word. A mark called a coronis (κορωνίς,
curved line) is placed above the contracted syllable (’). This is why προὐχούσας in line 138 appears
to have a smooth breathing mark over the middle of the word. That mark is actually a coronis
placed to mark the crasis of the omicron at the end of προ and the ε with which εχουσας begins;
ο and ε contract to ου. (For the purposes of crasis, the preposition προ and the verb εχουσας are
considered two words.)Other examples of crasis are τἆλλα (= τὰ ἄλλα, “those other things”) and προὔφαινον (= πρὸ
ἔφαινον, “they showed forth”).