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[534] θαλύσια, the harvest feast when the first fruits were offered to the gods in gratitude for the abundance (“θάλλω”) of nature. It has been remarked that this is the only mention of a public festival in the Il. (see, however, 2.550). γουνῶι ἀλωῆς (see 18.57), on the fat of the garden-land. “γουνός” is generally considered to be for “γονϝ-ος”, a derived form of “γόνυ”, ‘knee,’ in the sense of ‘the hill’ or ‘swell’ of the ‘garden; that is, the part most exposed to the sun, and therefore the most fertile. But Hesych. explains “γονίμωι τόπωι”, as if from “γεν-” to produce, and this seems more reasonable.

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

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