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Book Ten
97-8, there being no complicated garb to itemize; women's dress is more
elaborate, cf. 14.178-86. It is natural on going outdoors to put on something
over the xvrcov, e -§- the X^ a * va °f J 33 or tne 9&pos of 2.43; the lion
skin of 23 (cf. 177) betrays this Book's taste for exotic detail; we have a
leopard skin at 29 and a wolf skin at 334; for possible symbolic nuances
in this attire see 29n. and 334~5n. The sandals too (22 = 132 etc., 5X //.,
8x Od.) are for outdoor wear. EIAETO 5' £yx°s: a hero is not fully dressed
without some weapon; at 2.45, a whole-verse formula, Agamemnon took a
sword. In this scene Menelaos, Nestor, and Diomedes are all said to take
spears. The weapons are a badge of rank, or a claim to rank (cf. Telemakhos,
Od. 2.10).
25 Save for Menelaos' surmise that Agamemnon is minded to spy out
Trojan intentions (which shows the poet thinking ahead) the brothers'
conversation is nugatory and prolix. Aristophanes and Aristarchus (Arn/A)
athetized 51—2, without perceptible impact on the impression of verbose
and none too careful composition: see nn. to 46 ETTI 9p£va Ofjx' iepoTaiv, 48
ETT' fjucrn liriTiaacrOai, 56 f]8' ETriTEiAai, 61 uuOco ETTITEAAECCI f\bk KEAEUEIS, 68
TTOCTpoOEV £K yEVE^S.
26 UTTVOS ETTI pTtopdpoiai (cf. 187 UTTVOS &TTO |3A£9&poiiv) is formular in
the Odyssey (6x ), but not attested elsewhere in the Iliad. The metaphor of
sleep 'sitting' upon a person's eyes recurs at 91-2 but is unique to this Book.
Sleep is a sort of immaterial substance that is poured (the usual metaphor
in both epics), falls, or is cast over the eyes.
26-8 The words - ostensibly those of the poet - TTOCOOIEV ... EOEV EIVEKOC ...
TTOAEUOV Opacruv are a good instance of the oblique expression of a character's
feelings (cf. de Jong, Narrators 118-22). Menelaos is always sensible
how much he owes to others, Agamemnon how much others owe to him.
The language here is like that concerning Helen at 3.126-8 (see n.)
OCEOAOUS ... ous £0EV EIVEK' Eiracxov, and expresses the same embarrassment.
With 3.126ff. may be compared Helen's own words in a similar context, Od.
4.145-6 6T' EUEIO KUVCOTTI8OS EIVEK' 'AXOCIO! | TJAOEO' UTTO Tpoiriv...
27 TTOUAUV £9' uypfjv (also at Od. 4.709): TTOUAUV is used as a metrically
convenient feminine 4X , without clear justification. OfjAus, always feminine
(8x ), is a rather different case, since the gender need not be marked by a
suffix when it is so to speak marked by the meaning. uypf)v, feminine after
aAs or O&Aaarcra, is regularly used substantially, (3X //., 4X Od.).
28 = Od. 4.146. TTOAEUOV Opaoruv: an unusual instance of an epithet
transferred from the warriors to their trade; the expression, however, is
formular, cf. 6.254.
29 7Tap5aAET): Menelaos cos T|TTCOV TTapSaAf^v EV6UEI (bT), that is, it
symbolizes his inferiority to Agamemnon, who (23) assumed the heroic garb
of a lion skin. A poet who knew the Iliad well might find it appropriate to
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