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[453] γούνατ᾽ ἔκαμψε. In Il.7. 118“ἀσπασίως γόνυ κάμψειν” is used of rest after battle, from the idea of bending the knees to sit. This is imitated by Aesch. P. V.404“ἄσμενος δὲ τἂν . . κάμψειεν γόνυ”, ib. 32 “ὀρθοστάδην, ἄυπνος, οὐ κάμπτων γόνυ”. Cp. Catull. Pel.and Thet. 303 ‘niveos flexerunt sedibus artus.’ But here the addition of “στιβαρὰς χεῖρας” shows that the picture is rather that of an exhausted man, with arms dropping at his sides and knees bending under him. So the common phrase “λύτο γούνατα”.

Homer's Odyssey. W. Walter Merry. James Riddell. D. B. Monro. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1886-1901.

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hide References (2 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (2):
    • Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, 404
    • Homer, Iliad, 7.118
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