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[475] νώτου, which had been served to him as a mark of honour. This line and the next are instances of interlaced clauses, since ἀργιόδοντος ὑός connects itself with νώτου ἀποπροταμών, and again θαλερὴ δ᾽ … ἀλοιφή with ἐπὶ δὲ πλεῖον ἐλέλειπτο. Odysseus cuts off from the chine a portion first for Demodocus: ‘howbeit the portion remaining upon’ the chine, after cutting that off ‘was still larger, and on either side of the chine was rich fat.’ The words ἐπὶ … ἐλέλειπτο are intended to show the excellence of the chine in the way of size; and θαλερὴ … ἀλοιφή in the way of fatness. It is not intended to satisfy us that Odysseus still had enough supper left for himself.

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

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