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[508] εἰωθώς apparently means that the horse is eager to resume his accustomed habits. But the phrase is curious. Agar, who discusses the construction of the simile in C. R. xii. 431-3, comes to the conclusion that the lines should be read in the order 511, 509 (with “κυδιόωνθ᾽”), 510 (with “πέποιθε”), 508, thus getting rid of the excessively harsh anacoluthon in 511, “ὁ δέ .. ἑ” (the nearest analogies, 2.353, 5.135, Od. 1.275, are not satisfactory), and making “εἰωθὼς λούεσθαι” explain “πέποιθεν”, ‘conscious of his beauty, because he is wont to bathe.’ The simile thus becomes smoother, but the dislocation is not adequately explained.

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

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