Opening the text

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.

Name: 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.
Author: Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart)

Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart)

Civilization, Homeric; Epic poetry, Greek -- History and criticism; Homer

I. First, then, with respect to the paucity of his colours. We find, I
think, scarcely more than the following words which can with certainty
be described as adjectives of colour properly so called:

  1. λευκός.
  2. μέλας.
  3. ξανθός.
  4. ἐρυθρός.
  5. πορφύρεος.
  6. κυάνεος.
  7. φοίνιξ.
  8. πόλιος.

There are other words which are taken from objects that have colour,
and to most of which I shall hereafter refer: but which can hardly, in
consistency with the whole evidence from the text of Homer, be classed
as adjectives of definite colour.

Now we must at once be struck with the poverty of the list which
has just been given, upon comparing it with our own list of primary
colours, which has been determined for us by Nature, and which is as
follows:

  1. Red.
  2. Orange.
  3. Yellow.
  4. Green.
  5. Blue.
  6. Indigo.
  7. Violet.

To these we are to add--

  8. White, the compound of all colours;
  9. Black, the negative or absence of them all.

Out of these nine, three at least stand unrepresented. For πόλιος
can mean none of them: and φοίνιξ can do no more than double either
πορφύρεος, or ξανθὸς, or ἐρυθρός. The most favourable presumptions
would perhaps arrange the Homeric list as follows:

  1. λευκὸς, white.
  2. μέλας, black.
  3. ξανθὸς, yellow.
  4. ἐρυθρὸς, red.
  5. πορφύρεος, violet.
  6. κυάνεος, indigo.

And thus orange, green, and blue would remain without any corresponding
terms. But, in truth, when we examine further into Homer’s mode of
employing his adjectives of colour in detail, we shall perceive that he
is by no means so rich as this classification would allow.

The other words which will presently be considered, but which have
very slight claims indeed to be treated as adjectives of definite
colour, are as follows:

  1. χλωρός.
  2. αἰθαλόεις.
  3. ῥοδόεις.
  4. ἰόεις.
  5. οἴνοψ.
  6. μιλτοπάρηος.
  7. αἴθων.
  8. ἀργός.
  9. αἴολος.
  10. γλαυκός.
  11. χάροπος.
  12. σιγαλόεις.
  13. μαρμάρεος.

Along with each of these adjectives, which are the chief though not
quite the only ones of their class in Homer, I shall take the cognate
words, such as verbs or compounds, which may belong to them.

~_Applications of them._~

II. Let us now review the particular applications which Homer has
made of these words respectively. Among them, however, it will not be
necessary to include λευκὸς and μέλας, because those epithets indicate
ideas which have at all times been used, to a considerable extent, by
way of approximation only.

1. ξανθὸς is applied by Homer to the following objects:

_a._ horses, ἵππων ξανθὰ κάρηνα, Il. ix. 407.

_b._ hair of men, ξανθὸς Μενέλαος, _passim_: Achilles, Il. i. 197.

_c._ hair of women, ξανθὴ Ἀγαμήδη, Il. xi. 739; Δημήτηρ, Il. v. 500.

2. ἐρυθρὸς is evidently the same word with the Latin _ruber_, and with
our own ‘ruddy,’ as well as probably the German _roth_.

It is used by Homer for

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

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

I. First, then, with respect to the paucity of his colours. We find, I
think, scarcely more than the following words which can with certainty
be described as adjectives of colour properly so called:

  1. λευκός.
  2. μέλας.
  3. ξανθός.
  4. ἐρυθρός.
  5. πορφύρεος.
  6. κυάνεος.
  7. φοίνιξ.
  8. πόλιος.

There are other words which are taken from objects that have colour,
and to most of which I shall hereafter refer: but which can hardly, in
consistency with the whole evidence from the text of Homer, be classed
as adjectives of definite colour.

Now we must at once be struck with the poverty of the list which
has just been given, upon comparing it with our own list of primary
colours, which has been determined for us by Nature, and which is as
follows:

  1. Red.
  2. Orange.
  3. Yellow.
  4. Green.
  5. Blue.
  6. Indigo.
  7. Violet.

To these we are to add--

  8. White, the compound of all colours;
  9. Black, the negative or absence of them all.

Out of these nine, three at least stand unrepresented. For πόλιος
can mean none of them: and φοίνιξ can do no more than double either
πορφύρεος, or ξανθὸς, or ἐρυθρός. The most favourable presumptions
would perhaps arrange the Homeric list as follows:

  1. λευκὸς, white.
  2. μέλας, black.
  3. ξανθὸς, yellow.
  4. ἐρυθρὸς, red.
  5. πορφύρεος, violet.
  6. κυάνεος, indigo.

And thus orange, green, and blue would remain without any corresponding
terms. But, in truth, when we examine further into Homer’s mode of
employing his adjectives of colour in detail, we shall perceive that he
is by no means so rich as this classification would allow.

The other words which will presently be considered, but which have
very slight claims indeed to be treated as adjectives of definite
colour, are as follows:

  1. χλωρός.
  2. αἰθαλόεις.
  3. ῥοδόεις.
  4. ἰόεις.
  5. οἴνοψ.
  6. μιλτοπάρηος.
  7. αἴθων.
  8. ἀργός.
  9. αἴολος.
  10. γλαυκός.
  11. χάροπος.
  12. σιγαλόεις.
  13. μαρμάρεος.

Along with each of these adjectives, which are the chief though not
quite the only ones of their class in Homer, I shall take the cognate
words, such as verbs or compounds, which may belong to them.

~_Applications of them._~

II. Let us now review the particular applications which Homer has
made of these words respectively. Among them, however, it will not be
necessary to include λευκὸς and μέλας, because those epithets indicate
ideas which have at all times been used, to a considerable extent, by
way of approximation only.

1. ξανθὸς is applied by Homer to the following objects:

_a._ horses, ἵππων ξανθὰ κάρηνα, Il. ix. 407.

_b._ hair of men, ξανθὸς Μενέλαος, _passim_: Achilles, Il. i. 197.

_c._ hair of women, ξανθὴ Ἀγαμήδη, Il. xi. 739; Δημήτηρ, Il. v. 500.

2. ἐρυθρὸς is evidently the same word with the Latin _ruber_, and with
our own ‘ruddy,’ as well as probably the German _roth_.

It is used by Homer for

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

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.

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.

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