previous next

[803] τερμιόεσσα, a word recurring only in Od. 19.242 (and Hes. Opp. 537) “τερμιόεντα χιτῶνα”. It probably means fringed. As applied to the shield it may be = “θυσανόεσσα”, adorned with pendants round the edge; or more probably it refers to the (leather?) apron which is often represented as hanging from the lower edge of the shield in vase-paintings. But in neither case is the word applicable to the old Mykenaean shield. “θυσανόεσσα” belongs only to the aegis (see on 2.447); pendants and apron alike are incompatible with the shield reaching to the feet. The author of this interpolation evidently conceived Patroklos as carrying the small round buckler, and therefore also of necessity a “θώρηξ” (804). The shield carried on the shoulder by a “τελαμών” can only have fallen to the ground through a blow on the back if the wearer leant his head so far forward that the strap could slip over it. But the interpolator probably adopted the “τελαμών” from the older Epos without reflecting that it was not needed with the round buckler.

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):
    • Hesiod, Works and Days, 537
    • Homer, Odyssey, 19.242
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: