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[446] ἔφθιεν, a form which is found here only. It is not clear whether it is aor. or imperf., trans. or intrans. It may come from a pres. “φθι?́ω” related to “φθι?νω” as “τι?́ω” to “τι?νω”: or it may be an aor., cf. “ἔπιον” by “πίνω”. The former seems the more probable; the imperf. gives the better sense, and the aor. though very common always has mid. or pass. terminations: “ἔφθιτο” would of course have been quite possible here. On the same grounds “ἔφθιεν” is probably trans., with φρένας as direct object, like all the other active forms of “φθίνω”, except when used of the passing of time (“φθίνοντος μηνός” Od. 14.162, etc., “μηδέ τοι αἰὼν φθινέτω” Od. 5.160, and others; all in the Od.). Some doubt, however, is introduced by the closely analogous use of “φθινύθω”, as we have “φθινύθουσι παρειαί” Od. 8.530 by the side of “αἰῶνα φθινύθω” Od. 18.204, and “οἵ μευ φθινύθουσι φίλον κῆρ” Od. 10.485 . Compare the equally ambiguous 1.491 “φθινύθεσκε φίλον κῆρ”, to which this passage of course refers. The form “φθίηις” (Od. 2.368) is certainly intrans.; it has “ι_” either from metrical necessity, if aor., for it obviously could not stand otherwise in a hexameter (Schulze Q. E. p. 358), or if a pres. because the -“ι”- stands for “-ιj-” and is therefore primarily long though capable of being shortened (H. G. § 51. 1: van L. would read “φθίεαι”). Blass very ingeniously conj. “ἔσθιεν”, which would solve all difficulties, but has no support whatever in tradition (see 24.129).

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

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