The Pre-Homeric Shape of the Epic Formula p(t)olemoio gefuras

The Homeric Greek collocation p(t)olemoio gephuras, occurring five times in the Iliad & usually translated along the lines of "bridges of war," is judged to be an ancient epic formula on metrical grounds in addition to the archaic appearance of the first word. It is proposed that the attested form represents a metanalysis of the expression after it had become fossilized & that the original form comprised the three words ptolemoio g' ephurai, of which the particle ge, regularly contracted here, frequently appears in Homer between a genitive & a following head noun. Hittite evidence is adduced to argue that the original meaning of the formula is 'siegeworks', literally "fortifications of war," & is supported by the widespread use of the placename Ephura to refer to citadels; the reanalysis is deemed semantically plausible in light of overlap with the meaning of gephura 'dike, dam'. References. J. Hitchcock