56 The
Myrmidons
dwelt on the southern borders of Thessaly, and took
their origin from Myrmido, son of Jupiter and Eurymedusa.
their origin from Myrmido, son of Jupiter and Eurymedusa.
Iliad - Pope
"--Mure, "History of Greek Literature," vol.
i.
p.
478, sq.
51 It has frequently been observed, that most pestilences begin with
animals, and that Homer had this fact in mind.
52 --_Convened to council. _ The public assembly in the heroic times is
well characterized by Grote, vol. ii. p 92. "It is an assembly for
talk. Communication and discussion to a certain extent by the chiefs
in person, of the people as listeners and sympathizers--often for
eloquence, and sometimes for quarrel--but here its ostensible
purposes end. "
53 Old Jacob Duport, whose "Gnomologia Homerica" is full of curious and
useful things, quotes several passages of the ancients, in which
reference is made to these words of Homer, in maintenance of the
belief that dreams had a divine origin and an import in which men
were interested.
54 Rather, "bright-eyed. " See the German critics quoted by Arnold.
55 The prize given to Ajax was Tecmessa, while Ulysses received
Laodice, the daughter of Cycnus.
56 The Myrmidons dwelt on the southern borders of Thessaly, and took
their origin from Myrmido, son of Jupiter and Eurymedusa. It is
fancifully supposed that the name was derived from myrmaex, an
_ant,_ "because they imitated the diligence of the ants, and like
them were indefatigable, continually employed in cultivating the
earth; the change from ants to men is founded merely on the
equivocation of their name, which resembles that of the ant: they
bore a further resemblance to these little animals, in that instead
of inhabiting towns or villages, at first they commonly resided in
the open fields, having no other retreats but dens and the cavities
of trees, until Ithacus brought them together, and settled them in
more secure and comfortable habitations. "--Anthon's "Lempriere. "
57 Eustathius, after Heraclides Ponticus and others, allegorizes this
apparition, as if the appearance of Minerva to Achilles, unseen by
the rest, was intended to point out the sudden recollection that he
would gain nothing by intemperate wrath, and that it were best to
restrain his anger, and only gratify it by withdrawing his services.
The same idea is rather cleverly worked out by Apuleius, "De Deo
Socratis. "
58 Compare Milton, "Paradise Lost," bk. ii:
"Though his tongue
Dropp'd manna. "
So Proverbs v. 3, "For the lips of a strange woman drop as an
honey-comb. "
59 Salt water was chiefly used in lustrations, from its being supposed
to possess certain fiery particles. Hence, if sea-water could not be
obtained, salt was thrown into the fresh water to be used for the
lustration. Menander, in Clem. Alex. vii. p. 713, hydati perriranai,
embalon alas, phakois.
51 It has frequently been observed, that most pestilences begin with
animals, and that Homer had this fact in mind.
52 --_Convened to council. _ The public assembly in the heroic times is
well characterized by Grote, vol. ii. p 92. "It is an assembly for
talk. Communication and discussion to a certain extent by the chiefs
in person, of the people as listeners and sympathizers--often for
eloquence, and sometimes for quarrel--but here its ostensible
purposes end. "
53 Old Jacob Duport, whose "Gnomologia Homerica" is full of curious and
useful things, quotes several passages of the ancients, in which
reference is made to these words of Homer, in maintenance of the
belief that dreams had a divine origin and an import in which men
were interested.
54 Rather, "bright-eyed. " See the German critics quoted by Arnold.
55 The prize given to Ajax was Tecmessa, while Ulysses received
Laodice, the daughter of Cycnus.
56 The Myrmidons dwelt on the southern borders of Thessaly, and took
their origin from Myrmido, son of Jupiter and Eurymedusa. It is
fancifully supposed that the name was derived from myrmaex, an
_ant,_ "because they imitated the diligence of the ants, and like
them were indefatigable, continually employed in cultivating the
earth; the change from ants to men is founded merely on the
equivocation of their name, which resembles that of the ant: they
bore a further resemblance to these little animals, in that instead
of inhabiting towns or villages, at first they commonly resided in
the open fields, having no other retreats but dens and the cavities
of trees, until Ithacus brought them together, and settled them in
more secure and comfortable habitations. "--Anthon's "Lempriere. "
57 Eustathius, after Heraclides Ponticus and others, allegorizes this
apparition, as if the appearance of Minerva to Achilles, unseen by
the rest, was intended to point out the sudden recollection that he
would gain nothing by intemperate wrath, and that it were best to
restrain his anger, and only gratify it by withdrawing his services.
The same idea is rather cleverly worked out by Apuleius, "De Deo
Socratis. "
58 Compare Milton, "Paradise Lost," bk. ii:
"Though his tongue
Dropp'd manna. "
So Proverbs v. 3, "For the lips of a strange woman drop as an
honey-comb. "
59 Salt water was chiefly used in lustrations, from its being supposed
to possess certain fiery particles. Hence, if sea-water could not be
obtained, salt was thrown into the fresh water to be used for the
lustration. Menander, in Clem. Alex. vii. p. 713, hydati perriranai,
embalon alas, phakois.
