| [17] | It is observable that Homer attributes special honor to a few of
his heroes, who appear to have been the male representatives of
their race,—as to Agamemnon of the race of Pelops, and to
Aeneas of the race of Assaracus. With respect to each of
them, it is mentioned that he was honored as a God by his
people. “Θεὸς δ’ ὣς τίετο δήμῳ.” Among the Maori these
chiefs would have been distinguished by the title of Ariki.
Homer gives them the title “ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν,” the old meaning of
which words has been a matter of much inquiry. Mr Gladstone
(Homer and Homeric Age, vol. I. p. 456) says, “It seems to
me that this restraint in the use of the name ‘ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν’ was
not unconnected with a sense of reverence towards it;” and he
suggests the word chieftain as its fit representative. Might not
its original meaning have been similar to that of Ariki?
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