[7] Ἀτρεΐδης: tetrasyllabic, § 21 f.; for the use of the patronymic, see § 21 b. Agamemnon, son of Atreus, and grandson of Pelops (2.104 ff.), reigned at Mycenae (2.569 ff.). As the leader of the expedition against Troy, he is prominent through the whole poem. The first part of the Eleventh Book is devoted to his brave deeds in war (“Ἀγαμέμνονος ἀριστεία”). He is described by Helen as ‘a good king and a brave warrior’ (3.179).
ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν: elsewhere precedes a proper name; only here is it found after a patronymic. It is generally applied to Agamemnon, § 1 q. For the apparent hiatus, see §§ 9 f, 14 a.
δῖος: godlike, glorious (“εὺγενής”), a standing epith. of Achilles and of Odysseus. No special excellence of character is implied. Obs. the metrical adaptation to the names of these two heroes, allowing the bucolic diaeresis, at the close of the verse, see § 40 i; cf. “Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων, Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη. δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς” closes the verse more than 50 times; “δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς”, more than 100 times.
