§ 150 — A. R. Benner Selections from Homer's Iliad 0

Present and Imperfect. Many presents end in -είω. E. g. τελείω (τελες+ιω, i. e. yo), Attic τελέω. A 5, ἐτελείετο, Attic ἐτελεῖτο. πνείω (Attic πνέω) is probably for πνεϜ-ω.

Note.—Very many contract verbs in -άω, which were not contracted in the earlier epic tongue, often appear in the MSS. in so-called “assimilated” or (according to others) “distracted” forms. E. g. for ἀντιάουσαν (A 31), ἐστιχάοντο (B 92), ἐλάειν (X 400), and μαιμᾱ́ων (O 742), the MSS. have respectively ἀντιόωσαν, ἐστιχόωντο, ἐλάᾱν, and μαιμώων. Such artificial forms, which probably were due to the influence of the Attic contractions (ἀντιῶσαν, ἐστιχῶντο, ἐλᾶν, μαιμῶν) on the epic dialect, are replaced throughout the accompanying text by the original uncontracted forms.