Hello friends,
Why τῶν here? I read that ἐγγύς (and presumably μακρὰν) is paired with the genitive but why genitive plural? Does it mean in general Homer chose “those” nearby locations as opposed to “those” far away? Is using “those” OK here?
Scholia in Odysseam 6.204.4-5 (ed. Dindorf)= 6.204c (ed. Pontani)
καὶ τὸν Ἀχελῷον οὐ τοῦ Νείλου προκρίνει καὶ τῶν μα-
κρὰν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐγγύς.
Molinari:
And he prefers the Acheloios, not the Nile and those far away,
but those near.
καὶ τὸν Ἀχελῷον οὐ τοῦ Νείλου προκρίνει καὶ τῶν μακρὰν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐγγύς.
And he prefers Achelous not to the Nile and rivers that are far away, but to rivers that are close by.
In other words, when Homer speaks of Achelous as κρείων (Il. 21.194), it’s not in comparison to all the rivers of the world, including the Nile, but in comparison to local rivers. Both instances of τῶν (sc. ποταμῶν) are genitive for the same reason that τοῦ Νείλου is genitive: you prefer (προκρίνειν) something (acc.) to something else (gen.). But “prefer” is a bit weak; perhaps “gives preference to X over Y” would be better.
Thank you–I believe I understand the grammar. However, I don’t understand why this scholium appears where it does in the Odyssey, but I’ll have to think about that a bit more.
Oh now I see–it is because they are on Corfu.