Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 3 of 3: I. Agorè: Polities of the Homeric Age. II. Ilios: Trojans and Greeks Compared. III. Thalassa: The Outer Geography. IV. Aoidos: Some Points of the Poetry of Homer.Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart)
Philosophy
Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 3 of 3: I. Agorè: Polities of the Homeric Age. II. Ilios: Trojans and Greeks Compared. III. Thalassa: The Outer Geography. IV. Aoidos: Some Points of the Poetry of Homer.
Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart)
Civilization, Homeric; Epic poetry, Greek -- History and criticism; Homer
The associations of Notus and Eurus are frequent[565]. On one
occasion, however, Notus is combined with Zephyr, though there is no
corresponding case of junction between Eurus and Boreas. Notus and
Zephyr are sent from the sea by Juno to blast the Trojan army with
heat. Boreas would of course be a cold wind: and Eurus would be cold on
the plain of Troy, from passing over the chain of Ida: though in Greece
he melts the snow that Zephyr has brought. Differences of season, as
well as of situation, may have to do with these varieties of operation.
[565] Il. ii. 144-6. xvi. 765. Od. v. 330. xii. 326.
Though less strong than Zephyr and Boreas, Notus is a stronger wind
than Eurus. And though generally the counterpart of Boreas, his power
of cooperating with Zephyr shows that he must reach over the quadrant
from the South pole to West, whereas we have no Boreas coming down from
the North pole as far as East.
As the opposite of Zephyr, Eurus blows principally from the
south-eastern quarter; and hence is in frequent cooperation with Notus,
but never with any other wind. He must, however, be understood to cover
the whole space from the rigidly northern Boreas down to Notus, or
from about N.E. to within 30° of the South pole. Boreas is inflexibly
confined by all the evidence of the poems to a very narrow space: and
Eurus, his neighbour eastward, does not much frequent those points of
the compass that lie nearest to him.
[Illustration: winds and directions]
The accompanying sketch expresses what I believe to be in the main
Homer’s arrangement of the Winds. At the same time, I do not know that
we have any practical example of any wind in Homer which blows from
within forty-five degrees on either side of due East, or from within
about the same number of degrees on either side of due West. Perhaps it
was from their local infrequency, that he does not appear to have put
such winds in requisition[566].
[566] Friedreich has discussed the winds of Homer (Realien der Il. und
Od. §. 3). His results are to me unsatisfactory: but the fault seems
to lie in his basis. For (1) he fixes the four Winds of Homer as the
four cardinal points: and (2) he finds _data_ for ascertaining the
Winds in the Passages of the Outer Geography, instead of determining
those Passages themselves by the Winds, after these latter have been
ascertained from evidence belonging to the sphere of Homer’s own
experience.
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