Thomas W. Allen, E. E. Sikes, Commentary on the Homeric Hymns

[31] χοροίτυπε: only here in passive sense, “played in the chorus.” For the wrong accentuation of the MSS. cf. 56 where M has “παραίβολα” for “παραιβόλα”, and see on xix. 11.

δαιτὸς ἑταίρη: cf. Od. 17.271 (“φόρμιγξ”) “ἣν ἄρα δαιτὶ θεοὶ ποίησαν ἑταίρην, θ 99 φόρμιγγός θ᾽ ἣ δαιτὶ συνήορός ἐστι θαλείῃ”. So “νυκτὸς ἑταῖρε” infra 290.

32, 33. ἕσσο, which Tyrrell has lately proposed, was thought of by Matthiae, who, however, gave up his conjecture on account of the neglected digamma. This is no objection to the word, cf. Il. 3.57 “ λάϊνον ἕσσο χιτῶνα”; and it does away with the great awkwardness of the construction, which had induced Hermann and others to take “τόδε”=huc. Gemoll's punctuation (“πόθεν τόδε καλὸν ἄθυρμα; αἰόλον ὄστρακόν ἐσσι”) gives a very weak sense. “ἕσσο” suits the tone of the hymn admirably; the form is rare enough to he easily corrupted, especially in the neighbourhood of “ἔσσῃ” 34.

35, 36. Both these verses have been unjustly suspected; 35 does not indeed add anything to the sense expressed in 34, but such repetitions are common in the hymn; see on 12. Line 36 occurs in Hes. Op.365, where it may refer to the advantage of having substance stored in the house; more probably, however, it is an isolated aphorism, advising women to stay at home and so avoid slander. Whatever the original Hesiodean context, the line is here a palpable parody, the humour of which is quite in keeping with the hymn. Hermes tells the tortoise “there's no place like home.” There may be additional point to the irony, as the tortoise was proverbially a “stay-at-home”; cf. coniug. praecept. vii. p. 421 “τὴν Ἠλείων ὁ Φειδίας Ἀφροδίτην ἐποίησε χελώνην πατοῦσαν οἰκουρίας σύμβολον ταῖς γυναιξὶ καὶ σιωπῆς”. Cf. id. Is. et Osir. 75, Aesop fab.154.The marginal note in some MSS. (see p. lv n. 1) only shews that the scholiast considered the hymn, as the work of Homer, to be older than Hesiod.