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Homer’s Iliad The Basel Commentary Homer’s Iliad The Basel Commentary Editors Anton Bierl and Joachim Latacz Managing Editor Magdalene Stoevesandt General Editor of the English Edition S. Douglas Olson Homer’s Iliad The Basel Commentary Edited by Anton Bierl and Joachim Latacz Book XIV By Martha Krieter-Spiro Translated by Benjamin W. Millis and Sara Strack and edited by S. Douglas Olson The publication of Homer’s Iliad: The Basel Commentary has been made possible by the kind financial support from the following organizations: Stavros Niarchos Foundation Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft (FAG), Basel L. & Th. La Roche Stiftung, Basel ISBN 978-3-11-056886-8 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-056999-5 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-056940-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2018 Walter de Gruyter Inc., Boston/Berlin Typesetting: Dörlemann Satz GmbH & Co. KG, Lemförde Printing and binding: Hubert & Co. GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen ♾ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com Table of Contents Preface VII Preface to the English Edition IX Notes for the Reader (including list of abbreviations) XI 24 Rules Relating to Homeric Language (R) 1 Overview of the Action in Book 14 9 Commentary 11 Appendix topographica: the encampment of ships and the battlefield, by Joachim Latacz 251 Bibliographic Abbreviations 269 Preface Book 14 of the Iliad was the focus of particular interest already at an early date: the story of the cunning seduction of the father of the gods by his own wife offered the audience entertainment and a welcome reprieve after three Books of battle descriptions (Books 11–13). The depiction of the gods in this Book was the subject of intense debate already in antiquity. More recently, questions concerning the influence of Near Eastern ideas have increasingly come to the fore. Finally, the consultation of the leaders in the initial section of the Book has received particu lar attention, as has the final section with its crescendo painting a vivid image of the increasing Achaian pressure on the Trojans. This commentary is meant to contribute to the understanding of this intrigu ing Book. It follows on from the previously published volumes of the Basel Com mentary and was written in accord with their structure and aims as laid out in the preface to Book 1. In order to allow each user to draw his or her own conclusions, the commentary, where required, outlines the relevant questions and issues in as much detail as necessary, offers a judgment on the matter, and provides bibli ography for various directions in research, include those here rejected. Topics discussed in other volumes are in general referenced only briefly. This commentary could not have been completed without the generous support of the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der wissenschaft lichen Forschung, the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft Basel, the Max Geld ner-Stiftung Basel, the Frey-Clavel-Stiftung Basel and the Hamburger Stiftung zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Kultur, as well as the University of Basel. I accord ingly acknowledge deep gratitude to all the institutions mentioned. My continued involvement with the Basel Commentary is owed to my teach ers, Prof. Dr. Joachim Latacz and Prof. Dr. Anton Bierl. By their keen interest and numerous suggestions, both contributed decisively to the solution of many ques tions, for which I am exceedingly grateful. Professor Latacz also enriched the commentary by contributing a topographic appe