Commentary on the Iliad (1900)


Commentary on the Iliad (1900)
By Walter Leaf
London Macmillan 1900



Perseus Documents Collection Table of Contents



Book 1 (Α)

Book 2 (Β)

Book 3 (Γ)

Book 4 (Δ)

Book 5 (Ε)

Book 6 (Ζ)

Book 7 (Η)

Book 8 (Θ)

Book 9 (Ι)

Book 10 (Κ)

Book 11 (Λ)

Book 12 (Μ)

Book 13 (Ν)

Book 14 (Ξ)

Book 15 (Ο)

Book 16 (Π)

Book 17 (Ρ)

Book 18 (Σ)

Book 19 (Τ)

Book 20 (Υ)

Introduction

Book 21 (Φ)

Book 22 (Χ)

Book 23 (Ψ)

Book 24 (Ω)


Funded by The Annenberg CPB/Project

Book 11 (Λ)

 
Commentary on line 4

What the pole/moio te/ras, which Eris holds in her hands, may be, we cannot say. The rainbow is called a τέρας in l. 28 and 17.548; but when Homer personifies this it is in the form of the goddess Iris, not of a thing which can be held in the hand. Others explain it as the thunderbolt, comparing 10.8. A more likely object is the aegis of Zeus, see 5.742. A very similar and equally obscure phrase is 5.593 Ἐνυὼ .. ἔχουσα κυδοιμόν (see note there). This personification of the battle-spirits is characteristic of the later Epic period; see 4.440 (with note) and 37, 73 below.