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[221] It is not quite clear whether Agamemnon holds the mantle in his hands in order to be the freer, like Odysseus in 2.183, or as a sort of flag, to call attention to what he is doing; perhaps both ideas may be intended. It may be noticed that purple does not seem to be a distinctively royal colour in Homer, see Od. 8.84, Od. 4.115, etc. But it was the only colour with which the ancients could dye linen, the material of the luxurious “φᾶρος” (see on 2.43, 24.230), which is the apparel of the great alone.

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

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