Moreover, he not only compares human beings
with gods, but likens the long hair of Euphorbus to






 

the Graces, and that too when it was soaked with
blood! In short, this sort of thing is so frequent
that there is no part of his poetry which is not well
adorned with comparisons of gods. Therefore you
must either expunge all that, or permit us to be
equally venturesome. So exempt from all accountability is the use of comparisons and similes that
Homer actually did not hesitate to derive praise for
the goddesses from things of lower degree. For
instance, he likened Hera’s eyes to those of kine.
And someone else called Aphrodite violet-browed. The “Theban poet” of the preceding piece (p.271); i.e. Pindar. 
As for “rosy-fingered,” who that has even the
slightest acquaintance with Homer’s poetry does
not know it?