A Question About PURIHKEA in Homer

Ilvgrammta at aol.com Ilvgrammta at aol.com
Mon Oct 23 22:54:34 EDT 2000


Dear B-Greekers,

In book IV:387-388 (J.V. Muir) of the Odyssey, we read:

hWS TOU EN OFQALMWi PURIHKEA MOXLON ELONTES DINEOMEN . . . 

My question relates to the word PURIHKEA in line 387. Richard J. Cunliffe (A 
Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect) notes that the word can mean 'sharpened by 
fire," while Muir simply lists the meaning potential of PURIHKHS as "pointed 
in the fire." Today in my class on Homeric Greek, we were trying to figure 
out what the definitions given by Cunliffe and Muir mean. I.e., how was the 
MOXLON 'sharpened in the fire"? I tried researching this term and did not 
find much that elucidated the subject any at all. So if anyone has ever read 
any information on this subject, I would like to hear what you have found.

Thanks,
Edgar Foster



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