οἳ πατρὸς μὲν ἐς οἶκον ἀπερρίγασι νέεσθαι
Ἰκαρίου, ὥς κ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐεδνώσαιτο θύγατρα,
δοίη δ᾽ ᾧ κ᾽ ἐθέλοι καί οἱ κεχαρισμένος ἔλθοι: (Od. 2.52-54)
They shrink from going to the house of her father, Icarius, that he may
see to his daughter’s bride gifts, and give her to whom he will, that is, to
him who meets his favor.
ἑδνόω promise for wedding-presents
滯留在奧德修斯家中的這群人究竟要甚麼? 他們真的愛Penelope? 古希臘女性12-15歲結婚，此時的Penelope可能32-35歲左右，所以他們不是真的要娶Penelope。這段文字看出他們要的是娶了Penelope可以獲得的 「嫁妝」 (bride gifts)，Penelope的父親Icarius相當富有，如果Penelope再婚，可以有豐厚的嫁妝! 不過這群求婚者好吃懶做，根本配不上Penelope，他們心裡有數吧?!
下圖: A bride (left of picture) is led to her wedding. Her husband-to-be waits
(right).
Dowry: A woman had to bring a dowry with her when
she married. A dowry was a gift of money, property, cattle, or something else
of real value. The woman's parents worked out an acceptable dowry directly with
the groom, unless he was still supported by his parents. In that case, the two
sets of parents worked out the details.
關於古希臘嫁妝的文化與歷史，可以參考下面網頁:
Dowries and Bride gifts in Ancient Greece http://www.rwaag.org/grepe14
1835 Engraved Artwork Ulysses, Icarus, And
Penelope ~ R Sands/ Gauffier
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