[460]
[464] δυναίμην, Attic Greek would express the wish with the indicative rather § 202): “εἰ γὰρ ἐδυνάμην”. ‘Would that I were able to hide him far from horrid-sounding death.’—For ὧδε see “ὡς” (l. 466).
[465] ἱκάνοι, protasis of condition.
[466] ὧδε (l. 464) ... “ὡς”, ‘as surely as.’
οἷά τις, ‘so wonderful that many a man’ shall marvel.
[467] θαυμάσσεται is very likely aorist subjunctive in a relative clause of purpose (not an Attic construction), although, so far as form goes, the verb may be future indicative § 145) as well.—For πολέων (also O 680, etc.) see § 106.
[470] πᾶσαι, ‘in all,’ like “πάντας”, l. 373.
[471] παντοίην ... ἀυτμήν, ‘blasts of every degree,’ i. e. violent or gentle or any grade between.
[472] ‘To assist § 211] him now when working fast, and now again after whatever manner Hephaestus desired and the work was being finished’; i. e. and now in turn to accommodate his wish and the demands of the work.
[473] ἐθέλοι and ἄνοιτο are protases of the past general condition. “ἄνοιτο”, however, is a suspicious form because the initial vowel is short, although it ought to be long; a proposed emendation is “ἀνώγοι”, ‘demanded’ (van Herwerden).—Van Leeuwen, Enchiridium, § 257.
[474]
The shield of Achilles
In shape, the shield may have been of the Mycenaean type (for which Reichel argues), covering the person from head to foot (Introduction. 23), or it may have been smaller, and round, the well-known later form. The poet says that it was composed of five layers (“πτύχες”), but gives no further information as to the material, unless the passage in “Υ” (ll. 270-272) be cited, the genuineness of which was suspected even in antiquity: “ἐπεὶ πέντε πτύχας ἤλασε κυλλοποδίων,τὰς δύο χαλκείας, δύο δ᾽ ἔνδοθι κασσιτέροιο,
τὴν δὲ μίαν χρυσῆν
”.
‘For five layers the lame god had forged, two of bronze, and two in side, of tin, and one of gold.’
Of whatever value the lines may be, they indicate at least a feeling that the five layers were composed of metal, rather than of the usual material, ox-hide. This has been the prevailing view from ancient times; and indeed metal layers are not out of harmony with Hephaestus's other works: the shield-strap of silver (l. 480), the helmet-plume of gold (l. 612), and the leggings or greaves of tin (l. 613). It is usual to assume that the five layers varied in diameter, the largest lying undermost and the others following in order of size. The smallest was a round boss on the outside of the shield. The edges thus formed five concentric rings, and the central boss was encircled by four zones. It is a shield of this pattern that has suggested to archaeologists the common distribution of the scenes on Achilles's shield into five fields.
Reichel, who gives a new interpretation to “ἄντυξ”, maintains that the “ἄντυγα τρίπλακα” (ll. 479, 480) is a threefold rounded surface (gewölbte Fläche). This, he thinks, means three layers of bronze of decreasing sizes, which probably covered five layers of hide (l. 481). So he has three concentric fields, instead of five, on which to distribute the scenes. Such a shield of hide covered with bronze more nearly resembles the normal Homeric form: the shield of Ajax, for example, may be compared (note on 16.106). But in many other respects Reichel's views about the shield of Achilles are decidedly antagonistic to those generally received.
It has been debated whether the pictures on the shield are altogether a creation of the poet's fancy, or whether they had a basis in fact. On the whole, the most reasonable conclusion is that actual models of the various scenes did exist and had been seen by the poet—whether Phoenician or Egyptian works of art, or Greek imitations, or, as is not improbable, original Greek works of the Mycenaean type. The technique that the poet had in mind is quite probably that seen in the Mycenaean dagger blades, a bronze plate on which are inlaid figures in gold, electrum (an alloy of gold and silver), and a black enamel. (See Tsountas and Manatt. The Mycenaean Age, pp. 201, 202; Schuchhardt, Schliemann's Excavations, pp. 229-232.)
The position of the various pictures on the shield is not clearly indi cated by the poet. The ocean, to be sure, he distinctly locates (l. 608) around the rim; and it is a natural inference that the heaven, earth, and sea (ll. 483-489) occupy the center. Beyond this, however, there is no certain clue. On the three zones between the ocean and the central disk the other pictures are to be arranged—from the center outward, as some contend, or from the ocean inward, according to others. Of chief importance to observe is the antithetical arrangement, not only of different scenes in pairs, but even of different parts of the same scene.
The poet's object is evidently to present a view of contemporary life— of the world as he knew it. Conspicuous by their absence are scenes of the sea and ships.
[Among important or recent works on the whole subject: Helbig, Das homerische Epos^{2}, pp. 395-416; Murray, History of Greek Sculpture^{2}. vol. i. chap. iii; E. A. Gardner, Handbook of Greek Sculpture, pp. 69-72; Reichel, Homerische Waffen^{2} (Wien, 1901), pp. 146-165; A. Moret in Revue archèologique, vol. xxxviii (mars-avril, 1901), Quelques scènes du Bouclier d'Achille et les tableaux des tombes égyptiennes. The last named is interesting for its illustrations.]
[479] ἄντυγα ... τρίπλακα, ‘threefold rim.’ The reference may be to three thicknesses of metal about the rim to give strength; or to a threefold ornament of metal rings or bands about the circumference of the shield (Helbig, Hom. Epos^{2}, pp. 385, 386).
[480] ἒκ δ᾽ (έ), ‘and from it he let hang’; “βάλλε”, here rendered freely, is understood.
[486] Ὠαρίωνος, MSS. “Ὠρι?ωνος”, ‘of Orion.’
[488] ἥ τ᾽ αὐτοῦ στρέφεται, ‘which turns in the same place.’
[489] In the knowledge of the Homeric Greeks this northern constellation (Ursa Maior) alone did not set; the other northern stars seem not to have been reckoned.
