751–900
Εὐβοίας ἄκρον] 'At the extreme end of Euboea.' ἄκρον is an adjective, rather than a substantive='A point of Euboea.'
By a slight variation of expression ὁρίζει is here active, whereas ὁρίζεται in l. 237 is in the middle voice. See
Essay on L. § 30. p. 516.
τεμενίαν τε φυλλάδα] τέμενος πολύφυλλον, Schol.
ἄσμενος πόθῳ] 'Rejoicing, for I longed to see him. The joy of Hyllus at finding his father was in proportion to his longing for him; hence the latter is represented as occasioning the former.
πολυθύτους τεύχειν σφαγάς] To commence the slaying of many victims.' πολυθύτους = πολλῶν θυμάτων.
οἰκεῖος] «His own,' i. e. attached to his person. This word denotes the relation of Lichas to Heracles. Deianira, to the Trachinian maidens, supr. l. 531, speaks of him as ὁ ξένος, i. e, as not belonging to Trachis.
ὡς σὺ προὐξεφίεσο] Supr. ll. 608, 9, 623, and note. Hyllus heard Deianira's charge repeated by Lichas.
ταυροκτονεῖ.. βοῦς] «Was engaged in sacrificing twelve entire (or perfect) cattle, the firstlings of the spoil. For the redundant expression, see
Essay on L. § 40. p. 75; § 55. p. 101
, and cp. El. 190, οἰκονομῶ θαλάμους. ἔχων marks the continuity of the act = ἐπέχων, ἐντελεῖς is either (1) Unblemished,' or (2) ‘Entire' =ἐνόρχους, so that ἐντελεῖς βοῦς = ταύρους.
προσῆγε] Sc. τοῖς βώμοις.
κόσμῳ τε καὶ στολῇ is either (1) a hendiadys for κόσμῳ στολῆς. “The ornate raiment,' or (2) implies that the dress was accompanied with ornaments, such as a brooch, etc.
σεμνῶν ὀργίων] 'From the solemn sacrifices.' Abl. gen. assisted by ἀπό in what follows.
πιείρας δρυός] Hermann, following a suggestion of the Scholiast, imagines δρῦς here to be the pine, or rather a general word for tree. This is disproved by comparing infr. 1195. The oak is naturally preferred in sacrificing to Zeus. πιείρας then refers not to the special peculiarity of the wood, but generally to the sap, or essential oil, or whatever the flame is supposed to feed on, as R. Browning says, 'Tasting some richness caked in the core of the tree.' (Balaustion).
ἱδρὼς ἀνῄει] We may either read thus, or ἱδρῶτ᾽ ἀνίει. See v. rr. The breaking forth of the sweat is the first symptom of the activity of the poison. προσπτύσσετο] 'Was clinging.' This is the reading of the MSS., and was retained by Hermann. See on O. C. 1624, θώϋξεν. Musgrave conj. προσπτύσσεται.
ἀρτίκολλος] Fast-glued,' not, 'Lately glued,' as the Scholiast supposed. ὥστε τέκτονος] Sc. κολλήσαντος, Like the work of a carpenter.' τέκτονος is a genitive absolute passing into the genitive of cause.
Essay on L. § 9. pp. 13, 14.
ἅπαν κατ' ἄρθρον] ‘At every joint,' i. e, showing every curve of the body. ἦλθε] 'Came on.' Cp. O. T. 681, δόκησις ἄγνως λόγων ἦλθε. ὀστέων ἀδαγμὸς ἀντίσπαστος] ‘Racking pains in the bones.' ὀστέων ἀδαγμός is, A shooting pain in the bones,' just as ὀμμάτων φόβον is, 'A fear in the eyes,' O. C. 729, 30.
ἀντίσπαστος] ‘In contrarium vellens.' Wakefield.
ἐδαίνυτο] 'It began devouring.' Sc. ὁ ἰός, to be supplied from ἰὸς ὥς. The thing compared is again absorbed in the comparison (cp. supr. 32, 3, 537,8) Hyllus infers the presence of poison from the effect.
βόησε] The absence of the augment in a narrative passage may be justified by many examples, but it is a point of little importance whether we read βόησε or ᾿βόησε.
τοῦ σοῦ κακοῦ] Cp. Ο. Τ. 572, 3, τὰς ἐμὰς | οὐκ ἄν ποτ' εἶπε Λαΐου διαφθοράς.
For ποίαις, κ.τ.λ., depending on βόησε, cp. Ο. Τ. 780, καλεῖ.. ὡς εἴην, κ.τ.λ., supr. 267.
μόνης] · And of no other,' a form of asseveration. Cp. O. C. μύνης τάδ' ἐστὶ δῆλον Ἰσμήνης κάρα,
ἔλεξεν] Sc. εἶναι. Cp. infr. 1128, ἐρεῖς (SC. πρέπειν). ὥσπερ ἦν ἐσταλμένον] Either (1) ‘As had been given him in charge.' Or (2) taking δώρημα as the subject, - Even as it had been sent forth. The robe had been sent expressly as Deianira's gift, supr. l. 603.
μάρψας ποδός] Cp. Eur. Cycl. 400, τὸν δ᾽ αὖ τένοντος ἁρπάσας ἄκρου ποδός. ἄρθρον ᾗ λυγίζεται] 'Where the joint moves about.'-At the ankle-socket.
ῥιπτεῖ] Editors have changed this to ῥίπτει. Cp. Αj. 239. The derivative is more emphatic. Cp. φορῶ and φέρω. πρὸς ἀμφίκλυστον ἐκ πόντου πέτραν] (1) 'On a spray-washed island-rock that jutted from the sea.' ἐκ πόντου, SC. προφαινόμενov, -a descriptive phrase to be taken with the whole clause. Or (2) On a rock washed all around with waves from the sea.' The 'rock' is one of those known in historical times ας Λιχάδες νῆσοι.
κόμης.. ὁμοῦ.] ‘And out through the hair he sprinkles a grey pulp, the brain being scattered about and blood therewith.' μέσον κάρα is a periphrasis for ἐγκέφαλος. κόμης is ablative genitive assisted by ἐκ in ἐκραίνει. Cp. supr. 765. There remains the question whether the subject of ἐκραίνει is (1) Lichas, or (2) Heracles. The latter (2) is stronger and more probable, the consequence of the action being identified in the rapid narrative with the action itself. For the former (1), cp. Aj. 918, 9, φυσῶντ᾽ ἄνω .. αἷμ᾿ ἀπ᾿ οἰκείας σφαγῆς.
'For the frenzy of the one and for the violent end of the other.'
τἀνδρὸς μολείν] • To approach my father.' That the pronominal use of ἀνήρ implies no coldness or indifference is clear from this passage, and from supr. l. 748.
ἐσπᾶτο.. μετάρσιος] « For the convulsion pulled him to the ground, then threw him up into the air.'
ἐκτύπουν] Diog. L. 10. 137, in quoting the passage, gives ἔστενον,
Cp. II. 2. 528, Λοκρῶν, οἱ ναίουσι πέρην ἱερῆς Εὐβοίας.
χθονί] For this 'pregnant' use of the locative dative = is χθόνα, CP. Εl. 747, τοῦ δὲ πίπτοντος πέδῳ.
τὸ δυσπάρευνον .. ταλαίνης] 'Harping bitterly on his ill-assorted marriage with you, the wretched woman.' ἐνδατούμενος is more literally, Reproachfully dilating upon.' See L. and S. s. v. Heracles, in his half-articulate outcry (infr. 1031-1111), continually introduces Deianira, and his fatal marriage with her.
τὸν Οἰνέως γάμον] ‘His alliance with the house of Oeneus,' which had seemed a prize worth the contest with Achelous.
ἐκ προσέδρου λιγνύος] From the clinging smoke.' This has been interpreted to mean the dimness of vision induced by the disease, metaphorically spoken of as a blinding smoke. Schndw, rightly explains it to mean the smoke from the hecatomb, clinging about the place of sacrifice, and perhaps parted for the moment by a puff of wind. As Heracles had been standing by the sacrifices, the smoke would be most dense immediately around him, and would aggravate his torment. His distraction is calmed for the moment when the thick cloud which enveloped him is parted, and his eye rests upon his son.
στρατῷ] 'Multitude' = λεώς, supr. l. 783. Cp. El. 749, στρατὸς δ' ὅπως ὁρᾷ νιν ἐκπεπτωκότα,
Hermann rightly prefers μέθες to the conjecture με θές. The notion of 'removing out of the way,' which is contained in μέθες, suits the context here. The case is different in infr. l. 1254, ἐς πυράν με θῇς.
Ср. О. Т. 1410-12, ἔξω μέ που ἐκρίψατ᾽, ἔνθα μήποτ᾽ εἰσόψεσθ᾽ ἔτι.
εἰ δ᾽ οἶκτον ἴσχεις] ‘But if your feelings will not allow of that.' οἶκτος is' weak emotion,' as in O. C. 1636, οὐκ οἴκτου μέτα. If Hyllus is too soft-hearted to leave Heracles in a desert place, he is at least to remove him from Euboea, where his enemies would rejoice over his sufferings (Schndw.).
πόρθμευσον] 'Ferry me' across the strait.
ἐν μέσῳ σκάφει] ‘In the hollow of the ship.'
πατρὶ.. ἐμῷ] The dative of reference, instead of the more regular ἐς τὸν πατέρα.
εἰ θέμις δ', ἐπεύχομαι] For similar hesitation in uttering a curse, cp. Phil. 961, 2, ὄλοιο μή πω, πρὶν μαθοιμ᾽ εἰ καὶ πάλιν | γνώμην μετοίσεις· εἰ δὲ μή, θάνοις κακῶς. Hyllus' hesitation, however, is only momentary, and is overcome by the apparently overwhelming evidence of his mother's guilt.
τὴν θέμιν σὺ προὔβαλες] 'You have given me this right,' i.e. have made this lawful for me by your crime.
Deianira has no words wherewith to answer the reproaches of her son. She goes silently and undefended to her death, already heart-broken by having done what she greatly feared to do, and rendered yet more desolate by the rebuke of her child. She enters the house by the central door.
οὗρος καλός] 'Fair be the wind that carries her away out of my sight!' καλός, which is the better reading, is sufficiently supported by the Scholiast. For οὗρος, cp. Ο. Τ. 195, ἔπουρον, and note. Join ἄπωθεν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐμῶν. The inversion gives greater force both to ἐμῶν and to καλός.
foll. Why vainly keep the high-sounding name of mother for one whose deeds are all unmotherly?' Although ὄγκον ἄλλως might stand alone='A solemn mockery, it is better here to join ἄλλως with τρέφειν. μητρῷον ὄγκον ὀνόματος = ὀγκῶδες ὄνομα μητρός. See
Essay on L. § 42. p. 8ο γ.
ἥτις] For the implied antecedent, cp. O. C. 263 foll. κάμοιγε ποῦ ταῦτ᾽ ἐστιν, οἵτινες βάθρων, κ.τ.λ.
χαίρουσα] ‘And joy go with her,' said ironically, like oὗpos, supr.; i. e. I willingly give her leave to go. τὴν δὲ τέρψιν, κ.τ.λ.] « And may that joy be hers, -even that, which she gives to my father!' ἥν] The careless rhythm, with the monosyllable in synaphea, suits with the mood of Hyllus, in which, wrought upon by strong passion, he lightly casts off his mother. Exit Hyllus to the courtyard (L).
The Chorus, in an ode which marks the chief peripeteia, (a) pronounce that the doom of Heracles is now inevitable; (b) express their pity for Deianira, who is the unconscious instrument of the calamity, and whom they imagine as 'shedding tender tears;' (c) look apprehensively for what is still to come; (d) hint darkly at the love of Iole, which has been the silent but effectual cause of all this ruin.
The chief metrical peculiarities of the ode are, (1) the frequency of resolutions, and (2) the accumulation of long syllables. The former (1), denoting excitement, is more prominent in the first strophe and antistrophe (a'), the latter (2), expressing sadness, in the second (β΄). In ll. 3-5 of ß' there are corruptions of the text both in strophe and antistrophe, and the metre is consequently uncertain.
ἴδ᾽.. ὦ παῖδες] 'See, children, in what strange wise the prophetic word comes suddenly to pass.' So close a combination of singular and plural is unusual even in a chorus, but ἴδε, being virtually an interjection, loses the meaning of the inflection, and is used here, like the Homeric ἰδé, as = ἰδού. προσέμιξεν] • Has arrived;' i.e. is come to its fulfilment, and has touched our life. ὦ παῖδες] Cp. infr. l. 871. ἄφαρ] This Epic and Lyric word occurs four times in the Trachiniae, and nowhere else in Sophocles. See
Essay on L. § 57. p. 104.
θεοπρόπον] 'Prophetic, or Inspired.' θεοπρόπος is more commonly used of persons; but cp. O. C. 239, 40, ἔργων | ἀκόντων : ib. 977.
τᾶς παλαιφάτου προνοίας] 'Of the prescience that revealed itself of old.'
*ἅ τ᾽ ἔλακεν) The MS. reading, ὅ τ' ἔλακεν, has been variously explained: (1) (ὅ, neuter) Which sounded to this effect, viz. τὸ ἔπος; (2) (ὅ, neuter) Which he uttered,' viz. θεός, implied in θεοπρόπον; (3) (ὅ, masc.) • Who declared,' again referring to θεός; (4) (ὅτε) When he (θεός) declared.' The conjectural reading ἅ τε, already adopted by some editors, gives a clearer sense and also secures perfect metrical correspondence to the antistrophe. 'Which' (sc. ἡ πρόνοια) ‘declared.' If ὅ is read, the first (1) of the above-mentioned interpretations should be adopted. ὁπότε . . ἄροτος] 'When the twelfth year, with its full tale of months, should come to an end.' For ἐκφέροι, ср. О. С. 1424, ὡς ἐς ὀρθὸν ἐκφέρει, and note. And for ἄροτοs, cp. supr. 69, τὸν παρελθόντ᾽ ἄροτον.
ἀναδοχὰν τελεῖν πόνων] (The undertaking' (rather than the succession') 'of labours should terminate.' τελεῖν (fut.), (1) like ἐκφέροι, is used absolutely, for which, cp. El. 1419, τελοῦσ᾽ ἀραί, or (2) = 'The year should end his toils.' For the meaning, cp. ll. 164-172. And for ἀναδοχὴ πόνων, cp. supr. ll. 27-35- τῷ . . αὐτόπαιδι] 'For the very son of Zeus.'
ὀρθῶς | ἔμπεδα κατουρίζει] (1) 'Comes safely into harbour with straight course; i.e. attains fulfilment without failure. For the image, cp. Aesch. Suppl. 432, ἐξοκέλλεται: Ο.Τ. 1315, δυσούριστον, and note: El. 502, and note. τάδε implies that the fulfilment is already visible. 'Lo, where the foretold event is sailing into port!' Or (2) taking κατουρίζει actively, and supplying either τὸ ἔπος οι ἡ πρόνοια as the subject, And it brings this safely into haven, certainly fulfilled.'
θανών, ‘After death,' is not a mere resumption of μὴ λεύσσων, but contains a pathetic argument, 'Seeing that he is dead and gone.' σφε] Sc. τὸν Ἡρακλῆ, implied in ὁ μὴ λεύσσων supr. l. 828.
σφε... χρίει δολοποιὸς ἀνάγκα] Fate working by guile is stinging him.' The craft of Nessus was the means employed by Fate. φονίᾳ νεφέλᾳ] Gory cloud,' or 'envelopment.' Some have supposed a metaphorical application of the secondary use of νεφέλη = ' A net.' (L. and S. 5. ν. νεφέλη, III). And an association from this meaning may have been present. Cp. infr. 1052. But the less definite image is more impressive.
πλευρά] Hermann's authority is in favour of connecting this word with χρίει. But on the whole, although the construction of the accusative is unusual, it seems better to take it with προστακέντος. Cp. infr. ll. 1053 foll. πλευραῖσι γὰρ προσμαχθέν, κ.τ.λ. Sc. προστακέντος αὐτῷ πλευρά.
ὃν τέκετο.. δράκων] 'Which Death begat upon the spotted snake.' Hermann says here, ῎Ετρεφε δ' Lobeckius ad Aj. p. 327. Injuriâ, ut puto, haerent interpretes in verbis τέκετο et ἔτεκε: quae etsi promiscuè usurpantur, tamen proprie medii verbi potestas patri magis quam matri convenit: et sic videtur hic Sophocles distinxisse: quem generit mors, peperit autem draco.' The a of ἀέλιος is made short here and in Euripides, Med. 1252, Ion 122.
ἕτερον ἢ τανῦν] Cp. Ant. 808-10, νέατον . . φέγγος .. κοῦποτ᾽ αὖθις, and note.
προστετακώς. Sc. εἰ προστέτακε. See note on θανών, in supr. l. 830. φάσματι] Heracles 'cleaves to the Hydra, that terrible shape.' The meaning is that the evil nature of the poison is of the essence of the Hydra. But the word for 'essence' was not yet invented, and the terrible 'aspect' of the Hydra is used to symbolize this idea. Cp. supr. ll. 508, 9, ὑψίκερω τετραόρου | φάσμα ταύρου. For the whole expression, cp. Plat. Symp. 183 Ε, ἅτε μονίμῳ συντακείς.
'And therewithal break forth upon him to torment him the piercing wounds of the dark-haired one, envenomed through crafty speech and secret thoughts of blood.' In the plague now afflicting Heracles, there was present the venom of the Lernaean Hydra, and there was also another element, inseparably mingled with this, viz. the murderous will of Nessus, operating through his crafty speech. Although the adjective ὑποφόνιος is not found elsewhere (see L. and S. s. v. ὑποφόνια), it is rightly retained here by Hermann, and helps to emphasize the combination of craft and cruelty in the Centaur. (There may also be an allusion to the blood of Nessus, which cried for revenge. See
Essay on L. p. 103, 4.
) The words Νέσου θ', which occur in the MSS., may be a corruption of Νέσσου θηρός, a double gloss on μελαγχαίτα. As Hermann observes, this epithet is used for the proper name by a sort of Epic liberty, which is the more excusable with Κενταύρου preceding in l.831. μελαγχαίτης is an epithet of the Centaur Mimas in Hes. Scut. 186. μελαγχαίτα κέντρα are the stinging wounds inflicted by Nessus. They are called ὑποφόνια because stealthily destroying life, (and also because imbued with the blood of one who was slain;) δολόμυθα, because they were inflicted through crafty words; and they are said to have broken forth' upon him, because of the malady which they produced. Cp. supr. ll. 767 foll., also Aesch. S. c. Τ. 709, ἐξέζεσεν γὰρ Οἰδίπου κατεύγματα. See
Essay on L. § 56. pp. 102, 3.
foll. In places like this, where there is reason to suspect error both in the strophe and antistrophe, emendation must be more than ever uncertain. A reading of ll. 853, 4 consistent with the metre is obtained in the text by omitting πω and altering the position of οὐκ and of ἀγακλειτόν. The reconciliation of ll. 845, 855, is more difficult. Either (1) the line is a lyrical senarius (without caesura), in which case the corruption is in the antistrophe (qy. ἰὼ κελαινὸν αἰμ᾿ ἀπροσμάχου δορός?), or (2) the metre of l.855 is to be followed, and ὀλεθρίαις is corrupt (qy. ἀτηραῖσι συναλλαγαῖς?).
"Which this poor lady, seeing great calamity fast coming upon her house, a strange new marriage being imminent, in one way did not understand at all (844. note), but for the unwitting act which arose from an alien will in consequence of a fatal meeting, over that methinks she groans in her misery, over that methinks she drops the fresh dew of abundant tears." ἄοκνον] Not shrinking,' i.e. Pressing on.
προσορῶσα δόμοις = ὁρῶσα πρὸς δόμοις. Cp. supr. ll. 376, 7, τίν' εἰσδέδεγμαι πημονὴν ὑπόστεγον | λαθραῖον ; νέων] Not merely new, but also 'strange,' or 'unprecedented.' Cp. Phil. 784, καί τι προσδοκῶ νέον. ἀἴσσόντων] Cp. for the personification, Εl. 492, ἄλεκτρ᾽ ἄνυμφα γὰρ ἐπέβα μιαιφόνων | γάμων ἁμιλλήμαθ' οἶσιν οὐ θέμις, Ant. 10, πρὸς τοὺς φίλους στείχοντα τῶν ἐχθρῶν κακά.
οὗ τι προσέβαλε] (1) 'Had no perception.' Schol. συνῆκεν, and so Herm. This assumes that προσβάλλειν τι (γνώμῃ) = προσβάλλειν γνώμην τινί. (2) Αnother meaning is, however, not to be rejected, viz. οὗ τι πρ. 'Had no part in bringing to pass.' In one aspect the deed was not hers at all, in another aspect it was hers, but done unwittingly. And she repents bitterly of her unwitting crime. Cp. infr. l. 1051, καθῆψεν, κ.τ.λ., and especially Aesch. Pers. 781, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ κακὸν τοσόνδε προσέβαλον πόλει: Eur. Med. 637 foll. μηδέποτ᾽ ἀμφιλόγους ὀργὰς ἀκόρεστά τε νείκη | προσβάλοι δεινὰ Κυπρίς. In either case, the words τὰ μὲν .. τὰ δ' are added by an afterthought. The Chorus intend to speak of Deianira's repentance, but cannot do so without first declaring her innocence. τὰ μὲν . . τὰ δέ are not really different parts of the action, but the action regarded in different points of view. ἀλλόθρου] - Alien,' not merely as of another race of men, but of a race different from man, viz. of the Centaur.
γνώμας] «Intention,' or 'Determination.' Cp. esp. Aj. 744, Phil. 962, 1192. ὀλεθρίαις ξυναλλαγαῖς Hermann follows Triclinius in reading ὀλεθρίαισι συναλλαγαῖς. But the text remains uncertain. See above, note on 841 foll. The dative is that of the cause. For the meaning of ξυναλλαγαῖς, cp. Ο. Т. 1130, ἢ ξυνήλλαξάς τί πω;
ἢ που.. ἢ που] This is more forcible than ή που.. ή που, the MS. reading. The accents are not clear in L. ὀλοά] This word may be either (1) fem. sing., ' undone,' as in El. 843, or (2) neut. plur. adv. 'despairingly,' (so Schndw.). For the latter, cp. Il. 23. 10, ἐπεί κ᾿ ὀλοοῖο τεταρπώμεσθα γόοιο. But the former is more poetical, because fixing attention on the person of Deianira. Cp. supr. 111, δύστανον, and note; and, for the meaning of the adjective in this case, infr. 878, τάλαιν ὀλεθρία.
χλωρὰν.. ἄχναν] Tender dew.' χλωρός is a difficult word in Sophocles, because, as Bacon observes, words like 'hard,' 'soft,' moist,' 'dry,' being imperfectly abstracted from experience, have many secondary meanings. Tears are 'soft, 'tender,' 'moist, because 'the melting mood' does not suit the 'hard' temper, and dry eyes' give evidence of a dry,' unsympathizing soul. Again, χλωρὸν αἷμα, infr. l. 1055, is 'the blood which keeps the body flexible and fresh; while χλωρὰ ψάμαθος, in Aj. 1064, is literally the 'moist,' 'dank,' 'clammy' sand.
τέγγει.. ἄχναν] The cognate accusative is substituted for the accusative in regimen after τέγγω. So Pind. Nem. 10. 75, has τέγγων δάκρυα.
προφαίνει] 'Portends.' Cp. Hdt. 1. 210, τῷ δὲ ὁ δαίμων προέφαινε, ὡς αὐτὸς μὲν τελευτήσειν αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ μέλλοι, ἡ δὲ βασιληΐη αὐτοῦ περιχωρέοι ἐς Δαρεῖον : ib. 3.65; 7. 37, εἴρετο τοὺς μάγους τὸ θέλει προφαίνειν τὸ φάσμα. δολίαν] (1) The calamity is the more cruel because of the bright hopes out of which it springs. Cp. El. 489-91, ἃ δεινοῖς | κρυπτομένα λόχοις | χαλκόπους ᾿Ερινύς. This is better than (2) to suppose a reference to the fraud of Nessus, repeating the notion of δολόμυθα above.
ἔρρωγεν παγὰ δακρύων] The Scholiast, Hermann. and Schndw. suppose the Chorus to be speaking of their own tears, and to say in effect, 'I begin to weep.' But this would come tamely in the midst of a lofty and condensed lyric strain. It seems better to take these words as parallel to those which follow, and to understand them to mean, A flood-gate of tears is burst open,' i.e. 'A calamity has arisen, for which tears will flow in large measure.'
κέχυται νόσος] 'A trouble has begun to flow.' νόσος, as elsewhere in Sophocles, is to be taken in the general sense of Trouble,' 'Calamity.' The meaning is the same as that expressed by Heracles himself, infr. ll. 1046-1053. The words are immediately suggested by the 'diffused malady' induced by the poisoned robe, but much more than this is included in the thought.
ἀναρσίων.. οἰκτίσαι] ‘Greater than any of the famous woes that from enemies of Heracles came erewhile against him so as to move compassion.' ἀναρσίων, genitive of origin: Ἡρακλέα, as object of ἐπέμολε, to be supplied from 'Ηρακλέους: οἰκτίσαι, an active infinitive added epexegetically, like εὐδαιμονίσαι in O. C. 144. In speaking of 'pity' the Chorus are thinking more of the present trouble than of those with which they compare it.
κελαινά] 'Dark point of the champion spear.' Cp. Αj. 231, κελαινοῖς ξίφεσι. There is probably an association (as the Scholiast observes) between dark and deadly, the hue of the metal bearing some relation to the nether gloom to which its victims were despatched. But there is also the notion of a weapon which has been dulled and darkened by frequent use in war.
προμάχου δορός] (1) 'Spear that fought for men. For this sense of πρόμαχος, cp. Aesch. S. c. T. 419, 482, and, for the general meaning, infr. 1010-2. There was a statue of 'Hρακλῆς Πρόμαχος in the 'Ηράκλειον at Thebes, Paus. 9. 11, 4. (2) Others prefer the meaning 'foremost in fight.'
τότε) At the time of the capture of Oechalia, before the sacrifices at Cenaeum. θοάν, 'Swiftly borne away,' = ταχέως φερομένην. The word expresses not only the rapidity of Heracles' movements and of Iole's, who accompanied him, but the sudden change in the life of the young creature which such a marriage must have made. Cp. supr. 144 foll 529, 30, κἀπὸ ματρὸς ἄφαρ βέβακεν ώστε πόρτις ερήμα.
αἰχμᾷ. At the point of the spear; ie. Having achieved her in war
ἀμφίπολος.. άναυδος" (1) But the silent though manifest minister and agent of all this was the Goddess of Love herself' Cp. supr. 355 foll. 475 foll. Or (2) supposing the words ἀμφίπολος άναυδος to contain an allusion to Iole. But 'tis manifest that the agent in all this has been the Goddess of Love under the guise of a silent hand-maid. The attributes assigned to the goddess are suggested by the circumstances. Iole came as a hand-maiden, and remained obstinately silent supr. ll. 283, 4, 322 foll., 532). But under the deceptive appearance of this mute hand-maid there lurked the terrible destructive power of Aphrodite, who busied herself in silence to work the will of Fate that is now clearly revealed. Such is probably the meaning of this obscure expression which need not, however, be suspected because it is obscure.
The proscenium has been vacant since the exit (severally) of Deianira and Hyllus. A sound of wailing is now heard from within.
μάταιος] 'Silly,' i, e. 'Alarmed without cause. For the masc. form, cp. supr. l. 151, and note.
οἴκτου) «Cry of sorrow. Cp. Αj. 895, οἴκτῳ τῷδε συγκεκραμένην, and for ὑρμασμένου, Springing forth, ib. 892, βοὴ . . ἐξέβη κάπους.
τί φημί What is this?' For this expression and for the broken line here and in l. 868, cp. O. T. 1471. The three couplets are probably spoken by different members of the Chorus.
οὐκ ἄσημον «A sound of wailing that is not ambiguous but full of sorrow. Cp. O. C. 1501, Ant. 1209. The conjectural reading, οὐκ εύσημον, ἀλλὰ δυστυχῆ, introduces a false and meaningless antithesis.
τι καινίζει i.e. καινόν τι έχει.
ἀήθης] This has been unnecessarily changed to ἀηδής, which should rather mean 'sullen' than 'sad,' and at all events expresses the same thing with συνοφρυωμένη. «Strange, 'Unlike herself,' is a meaning which aptly suits the place, and is properly made more definite by the addition of καὶ συνωφρυωμένη.
σημαίνουσα] Declaring. The correction σημανοῦσα, “Το declare,' is possibly right; but the present tense may suitably call attention to the gestures of the Τροφός, before she speaks.
οὐ σμικρών] That the gift has caused evil is already known, the extent of the evil to the house at Trachis is only now revealed.
Ἡρακλεῖ τὸ πόμπιμον] The adj. is added to explain τὸ δῶρον, because the dative alone would have been an imperfect construction with δῶρον. For the passive meaning of πόμπιμον (which recalls the mission of Lichas, supr. ll. 600 foll.), cp. esp. supr. 822, О. С. 487, τὸν ἱκέτην σωτήριον.
καινοποιηθέν] Freshly wrought,' i.e. since the news of Heracles' agony were brought by Hyllus.
ἐξ ἀκινήτου ποδός] «Without stirring foot. Cp. the figurative language of the Watchman in the Antigone, 317, etc.
οὐ δή ποθ᾿ ὡς θανοῦσα (sc. βέβηκε)] 'You cannot mean the way of death! Cp. supr. 668, and note. πάντ᾿ ἀκήκοας] She insists that her first words have told them all; but the Chorus, with the eagerness of sorrow, demand a more explicit statement. Cp. Εl. 676, θανόντ᾽ Ορέστην νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι λέγω.
τάλαιν᾿ ὀλεθρία] ‘Poor ruined one!' ὀλέθριος implies guilt added to calamity. Cp. Ο. Τ. 1341, τὸν μέγ᾿ ὀλέθριον, according to one reading. The resolved feet mark the trepidation of the speaker.
σχετλιώτατα + πρός γε πρᾶξιν] Most ruthlessly, as for the execution; i. e. Whatever else the deed was, it was cruelly determined. Cp. infr. 923-931. The anapaest in the second place is hardly possible even in a passage where the usual rules of the senarius are otherwise relaxed. A possible correction would be to substitute és for πρός.
A certain approach to an antistrophic structure appears in the near correspondence of ll. 10, 18; 13, 15; 1, 2, 11, 12; 9. 16. εἰπὲ τῷ μόρφ] The Chorus still press the old woman, who is too horror-stricken to speak clearly, to be more explicit.
ξυντρέχει] Deianira's fate had rushed to meet her when she left the scene (supr. 813).
What rage, what madness, prompted her in seizing this evil-pointed weapon?' ξυνεῖλε (= μεταίτιος ἦν τοῦ έλειν) agrees with θυμός, which is the chief nominative. ἢ τίνες νόσοι being added διὰ μέσουν. and possibly spoken by a different member of the Chorus. Cp. Fr. 789. Passion is personified as the author of the deed. Cp. El. 198, δύλος ἦν ὁ φράσας, ἔρος ὁ κτείνας. Several editors have read τάνδ' αἰχμᾷ βέλεος κακοῦ ξυνεῖλε; = 'What rage snatched her away with the point of an evil weapon?' But there is something cold and inappropriate in the demonstrative pronoun thus applied to Deianira here, -as if those present could suppose anyone else to be meant.
πῶς ἐμήσατο.. ἀνύσασα] How did she meditate and carry into effect?' For the proleptic use of the participle, cp. Αj. 185, ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων, and note.
στονοέντος¹ 'Deadly;' like βέλεα στονοέντα, στονοέντες δϊστοί, πολύστονος ίύς, in Epic Greek. ἐν τομᾷ] For ev of the means or instrument, cp. Ant. 961, ἐν κερτομίοις γλώσσαις.
Essay on L. § 19. p. 28.
ματαία has been changed to μάταιε, making an iambic pentapody. As the text stands, the line is a combination of two iambi, a bacchius, and a cretic. ματαία (οι μάταιε) conveys the reproach of helplessness, - You saw, and could do nothing!' τάνδ᾽ ὕβριν) «This violent deed.' The use of ύβρις, as applied to suicide, must be allowed to be catachrestic;' but the Chorus are at a loss for a word corresponding to their impression, and take up the strongest which occurs to them. See
Essay on L. (Specific use of General Words) § 51. p. 95.
τίς ἦν; πῶς;] τις = ποῖος. Cp. Ο. C. 775, τις αὕτη τέρψις; The language here becomes very abrupt and irregular.
She did and suffered this herself from her own hand. So the force of the middle voice may be rendered. χειροποιεῖται ἐς ἅπαξ λεγόμενον.
foll. The ruin of Heracles and the death of Deianira are the first-born offspring of his union with Iole. For the iteration, which is rare in Sophocles, cp. Ο. C. 1670, ἔστιν, ἔστι νῷν δή, κ.τ.λ.
Cho. And had a woman's hand the firmness for this act?' Nurse. The manner too was dreadful, as you will agree when you have heard me tell it.' Hermann condemned these lines as spurious, and it must be admitted that they are tame for Sophocles. They have the merit, however, of preparing by a further pause for the narration which follows. Cp. supr. 748, where the otherwise feeble line, ποῦ δ᾽ ἐμπελάζεις τὰνδρὶ καὶ παρίστασαι; has the same excuse of being there to give time for the stream to burst forth. τις in 898 (any woman's hand) can hardly be defended, but there are many ways in which this blemish may be removed, e.g. καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔτλη Χ., κ.τ.λ.
ἐπεὶ παρῆλθε] The conjecture ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἦλθε is unnecessary. Whether ll. 898, 9 are retained or not, the asyndeton is forcible and good. For παρῆλθε, cp. Ο. Τ. 1241. Compare with the following narration Virg. Aen. 4. 642 foll.
Trachiniae. Lewis Campbell. ed. Lewis Campbell. Oxford. 1879.