Verse 206 — W. Leaf's commentary on Homer's Iliad 1 0

γλαυκῶπις, either ‘bright-eyed’ or ‘blue-(grey-)eyed.’ See Paus. i. 14. 6 of the statue in the temple of Hephaistos, τὸ δὲ ἄγαλμα ὁρῶν τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς γλαυκοὺς ἔχον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, Λιβύων τὸν μῦθον ὄντα εὕρισκον. τούτοις γάρ ἐστιν εἰρημένον Ποσειδῶνος καὶ λίμνης Τριτωνίδος θυγατέρα εἶναι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο γλαυκοὺς εἶναι ὥσπερ καὶ τῶι Ποσειδῶνι τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. Cicero (Nat. Deor. i. 30, 83) says that Neptune's eyes were sky-blue, which is in favour of blue rather than grey as the colour of Athene's eyes. See Frazer's note ad loc. As with other colour-words, we have considerable latitude of explanation. The simple γλαυκός is used in H. only once, of the sea (16.34), with γλαυκιόων 20.172, which can have no distinct reference to colour. As the owl is Athene's bird, some would translate ‘owl-eyed,’ and explain by an owl-totem identified with the goddess. But any such sense must have completely disappeared by Homeric times. See on 39.