Verse 403 — W. Leaf's commentary on Homer's Iliad 1 0

The other instances in Homer of double names in the language of men and gods are 2.813 τὴν ἦ τοι ἄνδρες Βατίειαν κικλήσκουσιν, ἀθάνατοι δέ τε σῆμα πολυσκάρθμοιο Μυρίνης, 14.290 ὄρνιθι, ἥν τ' ἐν ὄρεσσι χαλκίδα κικλήσκουσι θεοί, ἄνδρες δὲ κύμινδιν, 20.74 ὃν Ξάνθον καλέουσι θεοί, ἄνδρες δὲ Σκάμανδρον. Cf. Od. 10.305 μῶλυ δέ μιν καλέουσι θεοί, Od. 12.61 Πλαγκτὰς δή τοι τάς γε θεοὶ μάκαρες καλέουσιν. The natural supposition would be that the ‘divine’ words are archaic survivals, perhaps from an older race. It is sometimes said that the divine name has usually a clearer meaning than the human, and that the Greeks therefore regarded their own tongue as divine, and others as the languages of mere men. But this is only the case with the χαλκίς and κύμινδις, and possibly Ξάνθος and Σκάμανδρος, which, however, look like different renderings of the same foreign word. μῶλυ is not a Greek form, nor is the theory borne out by isolated instances elsewhere, e.g. Diog. Laert. i. 119 ἔλεγεν (ὁ Φερεκύδης) ὅτι οἱ θεοὶ τὴν τράπεζαν θυωρὸν καλοῦσιν. Again the Pelasgian Hermes was called Ἴμβρος: compare with this the statement of Byzant.Steph., Ἑρμοῦ, ὃν Ἴμβρον λέγουσι μάκαρες. Both Βριάρεως and Αἰγαίων may be equally referred to Greek roots (βρι of βριαρός, βριθύς, and αἰγίς, cf. Αἰγαῖον πέλαγος). The father of Briareus was, according to the legend, Poseidon, who himself was sometimes called Αἰγαίων or Αἰγαῖος. — The legend is one of a number referring to revolts against the Olympian gods, as of the Titans, Prometheus, etc.