The Ahhiyawa Texts. By Gary M. Beckman; Trevor R. Bryce; and Eric H. Cline. Writings from the Ancient World, vol. 28. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011. Pp. xvi + 302. $34.95.

At Iliad 1.355–6, Achilles, calling upon his mother, reports the injury to his honour done him by Agamemnon: γάρ μ᾽ τρείδης ερ κρείων γαμέμνων τίμησεν λν γρ γέρας, ατς πούρας. The formulaic line 356 is repeated by Thetis to Zeus at 507 and by Thersites to the assembled Achaeans at 2.240; the problematical phrase ατς πούρας is repeated in a variant form with finite verb by Agamemnon at 19.89, ατς πηύρων.

At Iliad 1.355–6, Achilles, calling upon his mother, reports the injury to his honour done him by Agamemnon: γάρ μ᾽ τρείδης ερ κρείων γαμέμνων τίμησεν λν γρ γέρας, ατς πούρας. The formulaic line 356 is repeated by Thetis to Zeus at 507 and by Thersites to the assembled Achaeans at 2.240; the problematical phrase ατς πούρας is repeated in a variant form with finite verb by Agamemnon at 19.89, ατς πηύρων.

The Onchestos passage in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (229-38) has been discussed extensively, most usefully by A. Schachter (BICS 23 (1976)102-14) and G. Roux (REG 77 (1964) 1-22). Further consideration of the disputed verbal forms in lines 235 and 236 and the plurals of 233-6 suggests that the plurals do indeed indicate a two-horse chariot team but that the presence of a team is not incompatible with the test of a single colt, and that if a chariot is wrecked (...) by the unguided horses, it is righted and left in situ (with the horses removed) while prayers of supplication are made to Poseidon. The events referred to are interpreted as elements of a religious ritual with explicit military implications, dating from the Mycenaean period. It is, however, noted that a Babylonian ritual parallel might suggest a Near Eastern (and possibly non-military) origin. (shrink)