Odyssey 12. 440-442

ἦμος δ᾽ ἐπὶ δόρπον ἀνὴρ ἀγορῆθεν ἀνέστη
κρίνων νείκεα πολλὰ δικαζομένων αἰζηῶν,
τῆμος δὴ τά γε δοῦρα Χαρύβδιος ἐξεφαάνθη.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-grc1:12.426

I don’t understand the meaning of these verses. Odysseus was talking about how he survived Charybdis, and suddenly he throw out those obscure words… :S

I am not sure about the syntax neither: is it a general construction? Then, why is the verb of the conditional clause in the indicative mode?

I guess ἀνέστη is a gnomic aorist.

ἦμος . . . τῆμος – these are correlative. "At the time of day when . . . at that time . . . "

ἀνέστη – yes, as Markos noted, this is a gnomic aorist

“At the time of day when a man who is judging many disputes [νείκεα] of men in their prime [αἰζηῶν] seeking justice in lawsuits [δικαζομένων] gets up from the court [ἀγορῆθεν] [to go] to dinner–at that time the wooden planks appeared out of Charybdis [genitive].”

Ok, that gnomic aorist again… always bringing to me so much sorrow… Thanks!