Sources and commentary

West notes (on page 199) 'Saian: a Thracian tribe'

Campbell states (on page 144) 'The text is compiled from quotations in Aristophanes, the Neoplatonists Olimpiodorus and Elias, and Plutarch. Three other distinguished poets claimed to have thrown away their shields on the battlefield: Alcaeus, Anacreon and Horace.'

Professor Harris comments (at page 39) 'Archilochus makes the break with the Epic. He is a hired soldier, and knows intuitively the meaning of our English rhyme: "He who fights and runs away / Lives to fight another day."

Once we have crossed that line, it beomes clear that this is the better way for us in the short life we have allotted to us, and Life is a more precious commodity than anything else we possess.

In closer view: It is generally recognized that this poem is complete, not a part of something else which might verge into other directions. The shield is probably the little, round and portable shield of that time rather than the figure-eight leathern button-studded armament of the Homeric age, so it is not only more portable, but also more disposable.

The word in line 2 'entos' has some linguistic problems attached to it. As the first word in the second line 'éntos' is a neuter form found only here from the usual neuter plural 'ta entea' meaning weapons, armaments. Reading it quickly you might have thought it was 'entós' meaning "within", that is within the bush, but that has been defined before with 'para' as "beside".

Since the accent alone is the determining factor, and the word we have in our text is an hapax, I wonder if Archilochus could not have first said "beside the bush" and then added (with the other 'entos' "actually inside it...". This is easier to understand and a good meaning overall, but the first reading is probably more acceptable to text-conscious eyes.'

Note that this website has adopted the 'inside' meaning.