previous next

[754] It is practically indifferent whether we read διὰ σπιδέος with Zen. or “δι᾽ ἀσπιδέος” with Ar., as the origin and meaning of both forms are alike unknown. σπιδέος is explained by the scholia to mean wide or long; they quote from “αισξη. σπίδιον μῆκος ὁδοῦ”, and from Antimachos “σπιδόθεν” = “μακρόθεν”, adding the form “σπιδόεις”, and a verb “σπίζω” = “ἐκτείνω”(?). “ἀσπιδέος” is explained round like a shield or covered with shields (thrown away by the fugitives) — both equally absurd. Van L.'s “ὑπασπίδιοι” is ingenious, but the corruption is unlikely, and the word is used only of cautious advance against an unbeaten foe (cf. 13.158, 807, 16.609); it is entirely unsuited for pursuit. Possibly the word may be a forgotten proper name.

The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices. Walter Leaf. London. Macmillan. 1900.

The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.

An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.

hide References (2 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (2):
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: