Odyssey 4.332 · Book 4, line 332
Deeply stirred, fair-haired Menelaus
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τὸν δὲ μέγʼ ὀχθήσας προσέθη ξανθὸς Μενέλαος·
And greatly stirred, fair-haired Menelaus addressed him:
Word by word
The setting
The reply formula. Stung by the boy's grief and by what it implies about the suitors back in Ithaca, red-haired Menelaus prepares to answer.
A note on this passage
A single formulaic line turns the speaker over. 'Deeply stirred' (μέγʼ ὀχθήσας) is the epic's marker for a strong feeling mastered a moment before speech — the same phrase used of great heroes and of Zeus. Here it registers Menelaus's anger on Odysseus's behalf.
The undercurrent is the epithet ξανθός, 'fair-haired,' resting on a moment of indignation. The fixed formula does not bend to the mood; Menelaus is 'fair-haired' whether calm or roused. Homer lets the serene name-tag sit against the surge of feeling, and the gap is the point: the man is stirred, the formula is not.
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