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[382] ἐεδνωταί, match-makers, marriage-brokers, a profession which is fully recognized in many communities, civilized as well as savage, to the present day. Though there is no other trace of it in H., yet the existence of the broker is a natural outcome of the commercial view of marriage implied in the existence of “ἔδνα”. For the verb “ἐεδνόω” cf. Od. 2.53 “ὥς κ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐεδνώσαιτο θύγατρα”, get the bride-price for his daughter.

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

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    • Homer, Odyssey, 2.53
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