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[154] στᾶσ᾽ ἐξ Οὐλύμποιο ἀπὸ ῥίου cohere closely with εἰσεῖδε, she stood and gazed out of Olympos from a pinnacle. The order of the words is such as to suggest that the meaning is that she stood in Olympos on a pinnacle; but the thought of the mere position is dominated by that of the action which proceeds from it. So in Od. 21.419 “τόν ῥ᾽ ἐπὶ πήχει ἑλὼν ἕλκεν νευρὴν γλυφίδας τε αὐτόθεν ἐκ δίφροιο καθήμενος”: Eur. Ph. 1009 “ἀλλ᾽ εἶμι καὶ στὰς ἐξ ἐπάλξεων ἄκρων σφάξας ἐμαυτὸν σηκὸν εἰς μελαμβαθῆ . . ἐλευθερώσω γαῖαν”: ibid. 1224 “Ἐτεοκλέης δ᾽ ὑπῆρξ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ὀρθίου σταθεὶς πύργου κελεύσας σῖγα κηρῦξαι στρατῶι”. In all these cases the participle is strictly superfluous, and is to be compared to the pleonastic use of “ἰών, λαβών”, etc. in Trag. Without altering the form of his sentence, the Greek, for the sake of greater vividness, puts in a word to describe the attitude of his actor, and connects it by position with the prepositions which express action, not attitude. It is possible to join “στᾶσ᾽ ἐξ Οὐλύμποιο” by the ordinary pregnant construction, coming forth from Olympos and standing, leaving “ἀπὸ ῥίου” to go with “εἰσεῖδε”: but the order of the words is less natural, and we have to limit the meaning of “Ὄλυμπος” in such a way as to exclude the “ῥίον” from it. Another explanation of these phrases will be found in Jebb's note on Soph. Ant. 411.

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

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hide References (4 total)
  • Commentary references from this page (4):
    • Euripides, Phoenician Women, 1009
    • Euripides, Phoenician Women, 1224
    • Homer, Odyssey, 21.419
    • Sophocles, Antigone, 411
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