Abstract

This paper presents a linguistic analysis of Homeric adjective ἐννύχιος, in order to find a solution to two contradictions noticed in the passage Φ 34-39. In these verses, Homer describes, in a flashback, Achilles coming forth ἐννύχιος and kidnapping Lycaon, Priam’s son, who is cutting wild fig branches – action quite dangerous to perform in the night time. In Φ 74-79 Lycaon, who is caught by Achilles for the second time, appeals to his humanity begging not to kill him in accordance with the intimacy they established “on the day when” Achilles kidnapped him. It seems that Lycaon behaves as if the kidnapping did not happen by night. The adjective ἐννύχιος is characterized by morphological motivation, that leads us into a morphological analysis. As a result, in most of its occurrences, in Homer and in the succeeding literary production, ἐννύχιος can be classified as a prepositional governing compound, but there are many morphological, semantic and literary elements that support the hypothesis that ἐννύχιος, as it is used in Φ 37, is a bahuvrhi compound. Therefore, it could be appropriate to propose this interpretation as a solution for the two contradictions that have been mentioned before