180.
mvp-comment-141-1
πρῶτος ἀγγέλων] This busy-body, who is somewhat like the Φύλαξ in the Antigone, though not quite so mean, has rushed in before Lichas in the hope of getting some reward (infr. 191).
183.
mvp-comment-142-1
ἀπαρχάς] Including the captives, see below, l. 245.
184.
mvp-comment-143-1
Deianira is too much overcome by the announcement to realise it at once. Cp. Phil. 917-19, ib. 1380, where an unwelcome statement is received in the same vacant way: O. Τ. 359, λέγ᾽ αὖθις, ὡς μᾶλλον μάθω : Aesch. Ag. 268, πῶς φής; πέφευγε τοὔπος ἐξ ἀπιστίας.
186.
mvp-comment-144-1
σὺν κράτει νικηφόρῳ] · Bringing with him triumphant conquest.'
188.
mvp-comment-145-1
βουθερεῖ] 'Where the oxen in summer feed.' The summer grass is the harvest (θέρος) of the cattle. This is more picturesque (esp. with ἄτομον λειμώνα following, infr. 200) than Bovθόρῳ, 'Where the oxen leap.'
189.
mvp-comment-146-1
τοῦ] (a) With κλύων, (b) with ἀπῇξα.
190.
mvp-comment-147-1
τοι] 'Το say sooth.' The particle introduces the avowal of his motive. Cp. esp. El. 1468, 9. ὅπως | τὸ συγγενές τοι κἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ θρήνων τύχῃ. The candour of the messenger here resembles that of the Corinthian in O. T. 1005, καὶ μὴν μάλιστα τοῦτ᾽ ἀφικόμην, ὅπως | σοῦ πρὸς δόμους ἐλθόντος εὖ πράξαιμί τι. Cp. also the Old Man in the Electra, when assuming a similar character, 772, μάτην ἄρ᾽ ἡμεῖς, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἥκομεν.
192.
mvp-comment-148-1
αὐτός] 'Lichas himself.' εἴπερ εὐτυχεῖ] Sc. ὁ Λίχας. If all is well with him.'
193.
mvp-comment-149-1
οὐκ εὐμαρείᾳ χρώμενος πολλῇ] 'Being not altogether his own master; i. e. he is detained, not quite of his own free will.
194.
mvp-comment-150-1
Μηλιεύς .. λεώς] The Melian people and the Trachinians are the same in the mind of Sophocles. Cp. his indifference about Calydon and Pleuron in l. 7. The gentile substantive is used for the adjective, as often elsewhere. 'All the Melian folk press round and question him (cp. infr. 314), nor can he advance a step.'
195.
mvp-comment-151-1
κρίνει . . ἔχει] There is no difficulty in the change of subject. See
Essay on L. § 36. p. 65.
196.
mvp-comment-152-1
τὸ . . ποθοῦν.. ἐκμαθεῖν] Το satisfy his longing with full information.' For this use of the active neuter participle, see
Essay on L. § 30. p. 51.
The abstract notion is here put for the object, the desire of knowledge, for the knowledge desired. Cp. Shak. Temp. 1. 2. 176, For still 'tis beating in my mind.'
197.
mvp-comment-153-1
οὐκ ἂν μεθεῖτο] (1) 'Refuse to let him go. The third person is used as the first might have been, οὐκ ἂν μεθείμην σε, 'I will not let thee go.' See Aristophanes, Ran. 830, οὐκ ἂν μεθείμην τοῦ θρόνου: Αj. 313, εἰ μὴ φανοίην, and note. Or (2), 'He is not likely to be let go.' καθ' ἡδονήν] ‘To their heart's content.' κατά, as in κατὰ νοῦν.
198.
mvp-comment-154-1
οὐχ ἑκών, ἑκοῦσι δέ] 'Not of his will, but by theirs.' Cp. Odyss. 5. 155, παρ᾿ οὐκ ἐθέλων ἐθελούσῃ.
200.
mvp-comment-155-1
foll. The mention of the precinct on Mount Oeta, which was sacred to Zeus (infr. 436, 1191), is preparatory to the death of Heracles on that spot. ἄτομον, * Inviolate.' Cp. Hymn Merc. 72, where the oxen of the gods are λειμῶνες ἀκηράσιοι, a Cretan inscription (Corp. Inscr. 2. 1103), ἵνα μηθεὶς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ Δικταίου μήτε ἐννέμῃ μήτε ἐναυλοστατῇ μήτε σπείρῃ μήτε ξυλεύῃ : Eur. Hipp. 73, σοὶ τόνδε πλεκτὸν στέφανον ἐξ ἀκηράτου, κ.τ.λ.: Hom H. Ven. 269, 70, ἑστᾶσ᾽ ἠλίβατοι· τεμένη δέ ἑ κικλήσκουσιν | ἀθανάτων· τὰς δ᾽ οὔτι βροτοὶ κείρουσι σιδήρῳ.
201.
mvp-comment-156-1
ἀλλὰ σὺν χρόνῳ] 'At length, though late.' Cp. Ant. 552, τί δῆτ᾽ ἂν ἀλλὰ νῦν σ᾽ ἔτ᾿ ὠφελοῖμ᾽ ἐγώ ;
202-203.
mvp-comment-157-1
αἵ τ᾿ εἴσω στέγης.. αἵ τ᾿ ἐκτὸς αὐλῆς] The variety of expression has little or no significance. Deianira addresses herself to the women who belong to the house, as well as to the Chorus who have come to visit her, and are standing before the gates.
203-204.
mvp-comment-158-1
We now reap the gladness of a vision of hope that has arisen unexpectedly on me in the utterance of this auspicious word.' On the mixed metaphor, see
Essay on L. § 58. p. 105.
ὄμμα] The notions of an act and of an object of vision, as well as of the instrument, are contained in this word. See
Essay on L. § 54. p. 99.
Hence it comes to mean anything which suddenly affects (1) the eye, or (2) (metaphorically) the mind. Cp. esp. El. 902, 3, ἐμπαίει τί μοι | ψυχῇ ξύνηθες ὄμμα. ἐμοί is in construction with ἀνασχόν, and also with ἄελπτον. φήμης is genitive of origin. The news is regarded as a star or sun from which the new light proceeds. For ἀνασχεῖν of a sudden event, cp. Hdt. 7. 14, τάδε τοι ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀνασχήσειν.
205-224.
mvp-comment-159-1
The Chorus in response to Deianira raise this strain, accompanied, at least in the latter part of it (216 foll.), with dancing, or some rapid motion to and fro. Cp. Aj. 693-717, О. Т. 1086–1109, Ant. 1115-1152, for similar expressions of hope before some catastrophe. See also O. C. 1044 foll., El. 1384-1397. The maidens who are come to visit Deianira (1) challenge the maidens within the house to shout for joy, and (2) invite the young men to accompany them; (3) they encourage each other to raise the hymn to Artemis, (4) they dance under the excitement of the flute and the thyrsus, (5) they call attention to the coming of Lichas with the captives. These quick changes mark the feeling of trepidation which the situation is calculated to produce.
205.
mvp-comment-160-1
ἀνολολύξατε δόμοις] There is no cause for changing the MS. reading of this line, which, as Hermann pointed out, has the same metre as El. 1384, ἴδεθ᾽ ὅπου προνέμεται. The plur. imperative is addressed to all within the house (young men and maidens), who are mentioned separately afterwards.
206.
mvp-comment-161-1
ὁ μελλόνυμφος is either (1) used collectively-the indefinite singular for the indefinite plural (
Essay on L. § 20. p. 31
)-or (2) there is an ellipse of χόρος (κατὰ σύνεσιν). The former (1) is more probable, and the gender is to be accounted for, as in l. 151 supr., τὴν αὑτοῦ σκοπῶν πρᾶξιν. The word μελλόνυμφος may be suggested by Deianira's description in ll. 144-150. Those to whom marriage is in futurity. Such echoes of the dialogue are frequent in the choric songs. ἐν δέ] · And therewith.'
Essay on L. § 18. p. 26.
κοινός] Mingling' with the voices of the maidens. Cp. O. C. 1500, τίς αὖ παρ᾽ ὑμῶν κοινὸς ἠχεῖται κτύπος; κοινὸς feminine occurs only here.
207.
mvp-comment-162-1
ἴτω] Nauck well quotes Fr. 435, ἴτω δὲ Πυθιὰς βοὰ θεῷ : Eur. Fr. Phaeth. 775, l. 52, ἴτω τελεία γάμων ἀοιδά. τὸν .. προστάταν] The accusative is governed by the general notion of celebrating' implied in the preceding words. See
E. on L. § 16. p. 23.
εὐφαρέτραν] ‘Lord of the quiver,' an epithet which either (1) simply brings the figure of the god vividly before the eye, cp. ἀργυρότοξος, or (2) implies his propitious power.
209.
mvp-comment-163-1
προστάταν] “The protector,' Apollo προστάτης οι προστατήριος, is rightly invoked by those within the house, as having his altar at the gate. El. 637-
210.
mvp-comment-164-1
παιᾶνα παιᾶν] The repetition imitates the hymn itself, in which the same sounds would be often renewed. ἀνάγετε] Cp. Eur. Phoen. 1350, ἀνάγετε κωκυτόν. ὦ παρθένοι] The Chorus now address themselves, as below l. 821, ἴδ᾽ οἷον, ὦ παῖδες, προσέμιξεν ἄφαρ, κ τ.λ.
211.
mvp-comment-165-1
βοᾶτε τὰν .. "Αρτεμιν] ‘Call aloud the name of Artemis.' Cp. supr. 207. ὁμόσπορον] ‘His sister. See the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, ll. 14 foll., and the Hymn to Artemis, l. 2.
212.
mvp-comment-166-1
Ὀρτυγίαν] Two accounts are given of the use of this epithet: (1) that as, according to the Scholiast of Apollonius Rhodius, the name Ortygia primarily belonged to Artemis as worshipped in Aetolia, she is so named here in compliment to Deianira: (2) that Artemis Ortygia was believed to haunt some place in the neighbourhood of Trachis. The latter is confirmed by l. 637, and by the most natural meaning of γείτονας in this passage, viz. 'in our neighbourhood.' The comparison of the Syracusan Ortygia (Pind. Pyth. 2. 10, 11, 'Ορτυγίαν ποταμίας ἕδος᾿ Αρτέμιδος) may suggest that the goddess was imagined to haunt wooded promontories or peninsulas, which had been left wild from being difficult of access. The quail (ὄρτυξ) may have been peculiarly abundant in such places. For γείτονας, i.e. Μηλιάδας, cp. Phil. 725, Μηλιάδων νυμφᾶν, κ.τ.λ.
214.
mvp-comment-167-1
ἀμφίπυρον] Artemis is commonly represented with a torch in either hand. Cр. О. Т. 207, 8, τάς τε πυρφόρους | ᾿Αρτέμιδος αἴγλας ξὺν αἷς | Λύκι᾿ ὄρεα διάσσει.
216.
mvp-comment-168-1
This line seems to mark the point where the dance, or the rapid movement of the Chorus, begins. The elision of the termination in ἀείρομαι is very unusual.
216.
mvp-comment-168-2
ἀείρομ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἀπώσομαι τὸν αὐλόν] 'I am uplifted, and will not repel the flute;' i.e. I will yield to its power. The following words are not addressed to Deianira, but are an apostrophe to the power of the flute, 'The sovran of the willing soul' (as Gray calls the lyre, in summing up the first Pythian), which is compelling them to the dance. Cp. Αj. 693, περιχαρής δ᾽ ἀνεπτάμαν.
219-220.
mvp-comment-169-1
ἰδοὺἅμιλλαν] • Behold even now (glory to Iacchos), the ivy stirs up my soul, and makes me quick to turn in' (or 'into') 'the Bacchic course!' The ivy upon their brows, or wound about the thyrsus, with which they incite each other to the dance. βακχίαν .. ἅμιλλαν is probably acc. in app. with the action of ὑποστρέφων. Turning me' either in,' or 'into the Bacchic course.' Others, with the Scholiast, would render, Converting my soul (from sorrow) to the Bacchic dance.'
222.
mvp-comment-170-1
ἰὼ, ἰὼ Παιάν] The Chorus are just leading up the Paean, which from its monotony could not have been continued with dramatic effect, when Lichas arrives, and they break off. The correction of the text is due to Dindorf, who also reads γυναικῶν. But there is no reason to assume that the three lines must be alike. The iambic tripody with a pause makes a good transition to the other form, CICIC!!. (Qy. ἰδέ· | ἴδ᾽ ὦ φ. γ.?)
223-224.
mvp-comment-171-1
τάδ' .. ἐναργῆ] ‘Here is the thing face to face, present and palpable to sight.' ἐναργῆ] 'Beyond the possibility of mistake.'
225-226.
mvp-comment-172-1
ὄμματος .. στόλον] The subject of παρῆλθε is the vague τάδε (l.223) resumed with more distinctness in τόνδε .. στόλον : i. e. οὐ παρῆλθέ μ' ὅδε ὁ στόλος, μὴ λεύσσειν αὐτόν. παρῆλθε, 'Escaped,' as in Dem. 550. 26, τουτὶ .. μικροῦ παρῆλθέ με εἰπεῖν, 'I see it, dear friends, nor hath this escaped the vigilance of my eye.' τόνδε, sc. ὄντα τοιόνδε. For the second acc. (με governed by ὀμμ. Φ. π. = ἔλαθε) see
Essay on L. § 16. p. 23
, and cp. Ο. C. 113, καὶ σύ μ᾿ ἐξ ὁδοῦ πόδα | κρύψον. While Musgrave's correction is adopted in the text, as having a high degree of probability, the MS. reading may be defended as meaning, 'Vigilance has not (so) passed from my eye.' But such a meaning of παρῆλθε is questionable.
226.
mvp-comment-173-1
μὴ λεύσσειν] Although μὴ οὐ would be in place here, we are not in a position to say that μή by itself is wrong.
227-228.
mvp-comment-174-1
χρόνῳ | πολλῷ] Cp. Phil. 715, δεκέτει χρόνῳ: Aesch. Ag. 521, δέξασθε κύσμῳ βασιλέα πολλῷ χρόνῳ. χαρτὸν φέρεις] For the direct address following the third person, cp. Ο. Τ. 162, καὶ Φοῖβον ἑκαβόλον .. προφάνητε. There is an obvious play of words, to which καί gives emphasis, Joy to thee, herald, if thou bringest joyful news. For the order of words, ср. О. С. 665, Φοῖβος εἰ προϋπεμψέ σε.
229.
mvp-comment-175-1
ἀλλ᾽ εὐ μὲν ἵγμεθ᾽] ἀλλά sets aside the doubt expressed in εἰ . . φέρεις. Cp. Phil. 232, ἀλλ᾽, ὦ ξέν᾽, ἴσθι τοῦτο πρῶτον, κ.τ.λ., ‘Our coming is happy, be assured, and happily are we addressed, lady, as the deed which has been achieved is happy.'
230.
mvp-comment-176-1
κατ᾿ ἔργου κτῆσιν = ὥσπερ ἔργῳ ἐκτησάμεθα, sc. ἀγαθά implied in ev. ἄνδρα.. ἔπη] 'He who is fortunate cannot fail to win good words.' For ἀνάγκη, which may seem rather abrupt, cp. 295, πολλή ᾿στ᾿ ἀνάγκη τῇδε τοῦτο συντρέχειν, where, as here, the expression is stronger than the thought, 'It cannot be otherwise,' meaning only, 'It is but natural.'
232.
mvp-comment-177-1
φίλτατ᾿ ἀνδρῶν] For the affectionate address arising simply from the effusion of joy, cp. Εl. 1227, ὦ φίλταται γυναῖκες, ὦ πολίτιδες, κ.τ.λ. Lichas has also, of course, a claim on Deianira's gratitude for having brought the news. βούλομαι] Sc. διδαχθῆναι.
233.
mvp-comment-178-1
προσδέξομαι] Deianira, in her eager questioning, goes beyond what Lichas could possibly tell.
234.
mvp-comment-179-1
ἔλειπον] For the tense, see on l. 47. When I took leave of him he was, etc. ἰσχύοντά τε | καὶ ζῶντα] i. e. 'Not only alive but strong.' See
Essay on L. § 41. p. 78 b.
235.
mvp-comment-180-1
θάλλοντα] Flourishing,' as one who has lately done great things.
236.
mvp-comment-181-1
Where in the world either of his own land or of lands beyond?' Cp. supr. 73 for a similar condensed question. Like the Chorus, Deianira is all uncertainty as to Heracles' whereabouts, and her imagination wanders far. In supr. 163 the words πατρώας γῆς denoted the Peloponnese, as the inheritance of the sons of Heracles. Here (γῆς) πατρώας refers to Hellas generally, either (1) simply as the native land of Heracles, or (2) as the land which was under the especial protection of his father Zeus. Cp. Aesch. Fr. 157-
237.
mvp-comment-182-1
ἀκτή τις ἔστ᾽ Εὐβοιΐς, ἔνθ'] The usual formula in describing the place where anything occurred (l. 752, Ant. 966, Homer passim). ὁρίζεται] «He consecrates.' The word is literally applicable to the τέμενος, whose bounds were marked out, but is extended to the altar and what is placed on it.
238.
mvp-comment-183-1
τέλη τ' ἔγκαρπα] The 'tribute of fruitful things' is (1) that proportion of the produce of the τέμενος which was to be devoted to the immediate service of the god. Or (2) more generally, 'Offerings of the fruits of the earth.'
239.
mvp-comment-184-1
εὐκταῖα φαίνων] Το fulfil a vow.' For φαίνειν of the practical manifestation of an intention, cp. O. C. 721, νῦν σοὶ τὰ λαμπρὰ ταῦτα δὴ φαίνειν ἔπη: Hdt. 3. 36, εὔνοιαν φαίνων.
240.
mvp-comment-185-1
εὐχαῖς] ‘By reason of the vow he vowed.' For the dative of the reason, cp. infr. 1127, τοῖς γε πρόσθεν ἡμαρτημένοις. This is the reading of L supported by the lemma of the Scholiast, and is also the harder reading. On these accounts it is preferred to εὐκταῖ', the reading of Par. A, although the latter is equally good in point of sense. ἀνάστατον] Proleptic. 'He conquered and made homeless.
243.
mvp-comment-186-1
ξυμφορᾷ] 'Unless they deceive me by their misfortune,' i.e. Unless I am led by their unhappy looks to pity them more than they deserve. This, the reading of the diorthotes of L, which Schndw. adopted, is better than ξυμφορα, which is found in other MSS., because Deianira's feeling is better expressed by making the maidens the subject of the sentence, than if ξυμφοραὶ = αἱ ξυμφοραὶ αὐτῶν were the nominative.
245.
mvp-comment-187-1
καὶ θεοῖς] Cp. Eur. Ion 309, 10, τοῦ θεοῦ καλοῦμαι δοῦλος, εἰμί τ', ὦ γύναι. ΚΡ. ἀνάθημα πόλεως, ἤ, κ.τ.λ.: Phoen. 220, 1, ἴσα δ᾽ ἀγάλμασι χρυσοτεύκτοις Φοίβῳ λάτρις γενόμαν. κριτόν] Choice.' Cp. Pind. Pyth. 4. 89, κριτὸν εὑρήσει . . γένος, but the word here retains more of the verbal meaning = ἔκκριτον.
246.
mvp-comment-188-1
And was it by that city that he was absent during the vast time of which the days could not be numbered?' ἄσκοπον] That cannot be taken into the eye (or the mind).
Essay on L. § 51. p. 96.
247.
mvp-comment-189-1
For βεβώς here, see on l. 41. ἡμερῶν ἀνήριθμον] For the gen., cp. Ο. Τ. 178, ὧν πόλις ἀνάριθμος ὄλλυται, and note.
248ff.
mvp-comment-190-1
The falsehood of Lichas consists, not in the story of the servitude of Heracles to Omphale, which, whether true or false, was matter of common rumour (ll. 67 foll.), but in his assigning this as the reason for the conquest of Oechalia.
248.
mvp-comment-191-1
τὸν.. πλεῖστον] Viz. twelve months out of the fifteen (l. 253).
249.
mvp-comment-192-1
ὥς φησ᾿ αὐτός 253 ὡς αὐτὸς λέγει] The word of Heracles himself is required to confirm a statement so degrading to him.
250-251.
mvp-comment-193-1
τοῦ λόγου δ᾽ οὐ χρὴ φθόνον .. προσεῖναι] 'And, lady, this must be heard without offence, as all things must in which the hand of Zeus is seen.' The expression is generalized in the relative clause. Hence the subjunctive.
251.
mvp-comment-194-1
τοῦ λόγου is an objective genitive, - 'Envy at the word' or 'tale.' Ζεύς, κ.τ.λ.] Infr. 275.
252.
mvp-comment-195-1
πραθείς repeats ἐμποληθείς with less attempt at softening the harsh fact. Cp. 276. Lichas purposely enlarges on the trouble that is past in order to lighten by contrast the effect of the discovery which must soon be made.
254.
mvp-comment-196-1
He was so stung by incurring this dishonour.' For ὄνειδος = Disgrace,' cp. O. C. 967, 984, О. Т. 1035, 1494.
255.
mvp-comment-197-1
Cp. with ὅρκον.. προσβαλών the expressions ὅρκον ἐπελαύνειν and προσάγειν τινί in Hdt. 1. 146, 6. 62.
256.
mvp-comment-198-1
τὸν ἀγχιστῆρα] 'The causer.' This being a verbal form cannot be the equivalent of ἀγχιστεύς, which is from ἄγχιστος, ας ἀριστεύς from ἄριστος. Whether a verb ἀγχίζω existed or not, it is presupposed in the formation of ἀγχιστήρ, which can only mean, 'Him who brought on' (Seidler). 'He expressly swore that he would reduce to slavery the man who brought this trouble.' αὐτόχειρα has been conjectured, but this word could hardly be applied to Eurytus with reference to the bondage of Heracles. There Eurytus was only μεταίτιος, an accomplice before the fact, which was the work of Zeus.
257.
mvp-comment-199-1
ξὺν παιδί] In Odyss. 9. 199, οὖνεκά μιν σὺν παιδὶ περισχόμεθ' ἠδὲ γυναικί, there is a various reading παισί, but there is nothing improbable in the collective use of the singular here.
Essay on L. § 20. p. 31, 2.
258.
mvp-comment-200-1
οὐχ ἡλίωσε] 'He made not void;' i. e, amply fulfilled. ἁγνός] 'Clean,' i. e. free. The bondage was a pollution incurred by the murder of Iphitus and at the same time an expiation of it. There may also have been some formal expiation not expressly mentioned. When this was over, he was pure, and might therefore look for success.
259.
mvp-comment-201-1
‘στρατὸν .. ἐπακτόν, quem dicit Sophocles, Arcades fuisse et Malienses et Locros Epicnemidios perhibet Apollodorus, 2. 7, 7; solos Arcades nominat Diodorus, 4. 37.' Herm. The point is one of no importance to the action. πόλιν] Accusative of motion to.
Essay on L. § 16. p. 22.
260.
mvp-comment-202-1
τόνδε] Sc. τὸν Εύρυτον. Α simple instance of the construction κατὰ σύνεσιν.
Essay on L. § 36. p. 64.
μεταίτιον] Alone partner with Zeus in the blame of this calamity.' Cp. Aesch. Eum. 199, 200, αὐτὸς σὺ τούτων οὐ μεταίτιος πέλει, | ἀλλ᾽ εἰς τὸ πᾶν ἔπραξας ὢν παναίτιος.
261.
mvp-comment-203-1
μόνον βροτῶν] Cp. 355, μόνος θεῶν.
262.
mvp-comment-204-1
ἐφέστιον, | ξένον παλαιὸν ὄντα] Coming to be received at his hearth, having been a friend of old.'
263-264.
mvp-comment-205-1
πολλὰ μὲν πολλὰ δέ] 'Brake forth against him with rude words and with evil intent.' The antithetical repetition adds emphasis. Eurytus not only spoke badly, but meant badly. See
Essay on L. § 40. p. 76.
ἀτηρᾷ φρενί] 'With mischief-meaning mind.' Cp. Phil. 1272, πιστός, ἀτηρὸς λάθρᾳ.
265.
mvp-comment-206-1
ἄφυκτα.. βέλη] The bow and arrows afterwards bequeathed to Philoctetes. Cp. Phil. 105.
266.
mvp-comment-207-1
τῶν ὧν.. κρίσιν] ‘He came behind his (Eurytus') sons in fitness to compete with the bow;' (i.e. πρὸς τὸ τόξῳ κρίνεσθαι.)
267.
mvp-comment-208-1
φωνεῖ δέ] 'And he utters the word.' This emphatic resumption of λέγων may be justified by the extraordinary nature of the reproach. Such a use of φωνεῖν is rare, but cp. O. Τ. 780, καλεῖ παρ᾿ οἶνῳ, κ.τ.λ.: Αj. 1047, οὗτος, σὲ φωνῶ, κ.τ.λ., and see above, λόγοις ἐπερρόθησε. The word suggests the loud tones in which the reproach was uttered. For the 'return to the indicative,' see
Essay on L. § 36. p. 64 b.
Most MSS. have φώνει, the imperfect without augment. Brunck substituted for this the vivid present. Hermann suspected the word, and conjectured φανείς. I formerly suggested φύσει (ΙΙ. 19. 95 foll., O. С. 1295).
268.
mvp-comment-209-1
ῥαίοιτο] 'Was being crushed,' viz. by Eurystheus. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 189, ὅταν ταύτῃ ῥαισθῇ. δείπνοις] ‘At a feast. O. Τ. 779 and note. ἦν οἰνώμενος] Sc. ὁ Ἡρακλῆς. Ας Epic and Ionic forms are sometimes employed in narration, it is not worth while to alter the MS. reading to ᾠνώμενος here. Cp. μοῦνον, l. 277.
270.
mvp-comment-210-1
αὖθις] ‘Again,' on another occasion. Τιρυνθίαν πρὸς κλιτύν] Το the Tirynthian height.'
271.
mvp-comment-211-1
ἵππους νομάδας] ‘His horses, which had been loose at pasture.' His mind was following the horses, wondering where they were. This gave Heracles the opportunity for his single act of guile.
273.
mvp-comment-212-1
Hurled him from the towering cliff.' ἀπ᾿ ἄκρας . . πυργώδους πλακός, From the tower-like crown of the cliff,' is an expression which recalls the appearance of Tiryns as seen from below.
275.
mvp-comment-213-1
τῶν ἁπάντων] Of all, and not only of Heracles, to whom therefore he could not forgive this wrong.
276-277.
mvp-comment-214-1
οὐδ᾽ ἠνέσχετο, | ὁθούνεκ'] 'And would not endure it, that-.' μοῦνον ἀνθρώπων] Unlike the rest of those whom he had slain. See the story of Iphitus told in Od. 21. 14-41.
278.
mvp-comment-215-1
εἰ . . ἠμύνατο] ‘If he had made requital openly.'
279.
mvp-comment-216-1
Zeus manifestly would have consented' either (1) to his being justly punished,' or (2) 'to his justly punishing him.' In the former case, (1) χειρουμένῳ used passively involves a change of subject. In the latter, (2) the same word used actively is without an object. τοι gives a note of preparation for what follows, in which the connection, though not fully expressed, is obvious; viz. 'Zeus punished Heracles for his guile, certainly not out of any love for Eurytus' proud race, who for their over-weening insolence have now been destroyed.' So Lichas returns from the digression, with which he laboured to assign a motive for the siege of Oechalia. His prolixity in doing this (which has brought the passage under suspicion), is really a stroke of art, by which the poet reminds the spectators of the simplicity of the real motive.
280.
mvp-comment-217-1
'It is not to be supposed that the gods any more than men favour the proud.' Of this the ruin of Oechalia is a proof.
281.
mvp-comment-218-1
κεῖνοι] 'And they too'-Eurytus and his sons, who must be supposed to have joined with him in his transgression. ἐκ γλώσσης κακῆς] 'With reviling words.' ἐκ here denotes rather the manner than the origin of the offence. ὑπερχλίοντες is in the imperfect tense. See
Essay on L. § 32. p. 54
, and cp. Thuc. 3. 9. § 3, ἐν τῇ εἰμήνῃ τιμώμενοι.
282.
mvp-comment-219-1
῞Αιδου οἰκήτορες] Cp. infr. 1161, ὅστις "Αιδου φθίμενος οἰκήτωρ πέλοι.
283.
mvp-comment-220-1
τάσδε] For this attraction of the antecedent, see
Essay on L. § 35. p. 59,
and cp. supr. 152.
284.
mvp-comment-221-1
ἐξ ὀλβίων] Sc. οὐσῶν. As if the sentence were ἐξ ὀλβίων ἄζηλοι γενόμενοι.
286.
mvp-comment-222-1
πιστὸς ὢν κείνῳ] Deianira remembers this afterwards, ll. 617-20.
287.
mvp-comment-223-1
αὐτὸν . . ἐκεῖνον] Resumed in νιν, l. 289, where Hense unnecessarily conjectures φρόνησον. ἁγνὰ θύματα] ‘'Pure sacrifices,' consecrating the victory by acknowledging the help of the gods.
288.
mvp-comment-224-1
τῆς ἁλώσεως] For the capture,' as a thank-offering. To be joined with θύματα.
Essay on L. § 10. p. 15 d.
πατρῴῳ Ζηνί] Schndw. says that although Zeus was the father of Heracles he was here worshipped by him as the god of the whole race (of Amphitryon?). But Zeus was πατρῷος to Heracles in a peculiar sense-'The Zeus of fatherhood,' i e. 'The author of being.' Cp. infr. 753. Qy. φρονεῖν (see v. rr.)?
290.
mvp-comment-225-1
καλῶς λεχθέντος] ‘Of many words fair to hear this is the fairest.' πολλοῦ has been questioned and ὅλου conjectured by Otto Hense. But ὅλου is inexact. For the account of Heracles' bondage to Omphale (ll. 248-53) was not fair to hear.'
292.
mvp-comment-226-1
i. e. You have not only the words of Lichas, but the presence of the captives, to vouch for the coming of Heracles. That which assures the joy of Deianira is to be the cause of her misery. So little does the 'coming event cast its shadow before.' Cp. 862.
294.
mvp-comment-227-1
πανδίκῳ φρενί] 'With a heart that has every reason to rejoice':-πανδίκως τῇ φρενί.
295.
mvp-comment-228-1
'This cannot fail' either (1) 'to coincide with that' (the joy with the news), or (2) 'to coincide in this way.' In (1) τῇδε = τῇ πράξει. In (2) τῇδε is adverbial and τοῦτο is the news and the rejoicing in one. The former (1) is best. Such news must needs be met by such rejoicing.' This line, with many others that could be dropped without ruining the connection, has been needlessly suspected as an interpolation.
296.
mvp-comment-229-1
ἔνεστι τοῖσιν εὖ σκοπουμένοις] Either (1) There is occasion in the eyes of those who consider well' (the middle voice occurs in O. Τ. 964, τί δῆτ᾽ ἄν, ὦ γύναι, σκοποῖτό τις, κ.τ.λ.): -the dative, as in O. T. 616, καλῶς ἔλεξεν εὐλαβουμένῳ πεσεῖν : -or (2), 'There is room, when things are well considered.' In this case the dative is governed by ἐν in ἔνεστι.
298.
mvp-comment-230-1
For οἶκτος of pity mixed with apprehension, cp. Eur. Med. 931, εἰσῆλθέ μ' οἶκτος εἰ γενήσεται τάδε. δεινός] Overpowering,' of strong feeling. Cp. infr. 476, ταύτης ὁ δεινὸς ἵμερος: Plat. Theaet. 169 Β, οὕτω τις ἔρως δεινὸς ἐνδέδυκε τῆς περὶ ταῦτα γυμνασίας.
300.
mvp-comment-231-1
Homeless, because Oechalia was destroyed; Fatherless,' because its chief men had been slain in battle.
301.
mvp-comment-232-1
πρίν] In their former life, when they had a home.
302.
mvp-comment-233-1
δοῦλον) The adjectival use of δοῦλος, which occurs here and supr. l. 53, is not found in earlier Greek.
303.
mvp-comment-234-1
τροπαῖε] 'Giver of victory." Deianira has been commonly understood to address Zeus thus as the averter of evil (ἀποτρόπαιος). But elsewhere τροπαίος means the god who turns armies in battle. On this occasion Zeus has driven the army of Oechalia before Heracles and his allies. Deianira apprehends the possibility of some descendant of the Heracleidae being similarly defeated and made captive through the same god favouring another race.
304.
mvp-comment-235-1
ποι after the verb of motion = που.
305.
mvp-comment-236-1
τῆσδέ γε ζώσης ἔτι, Sc. δράσειας
306.
mvp-comment-237-1
ὁρωμένη) The middle adds a touch of feeling, like the ethical dative, Le Looking at them with reflection. Cp. Ο. Τ. 1487, νοούμενος τὰ λοιπὰ τοῦ πικροῦ βίου.
307.
mvp-comment-238-1
Iole is naturally silent and downcast in the presence of Deianira, who in her quick sympathy interprets this as an expression of sorrow. The foremost captive, she observes, shows more feeling than the rest (312).
308.
mvp-comment-239-1
τεκνοῦσσα (see v. rr.) is obtained from the lemma of the Scholiast. φύσιν] 'Appearance.' Cp. O. Т. 740, 1, φύσιν τιν εἶχε, φράζε.
309.
mvp-comment-240-1
πάντων. . τῶνδε] Sc. τοῦ ἄνδρα τε καὶ τέκνα σχεῖν.
313.
mvp-comment-241-1
φρονεῖν οἶδεν] 'Has the sense to feel her position." See note on 307. For this pleonastic use of οἶδεν = ἐπίσταται. cp. Hom. Il. 7. 238, οἶδ᾽ ἐπὶ δεξιά, εἶδ' ἐπ᾿ ἀριστερὰ νωμῆσαι βῶν: Phil. 1010, ὃς οὐδὲν ἤδη πλὴν τὸ προσ ταχθὲν ποιεῖν: Arist. Vesp. 376, ν᾽ εἰδῇ μὴ πατεῖν τὰ τῶν θεῶν ψηφίσματα.
314.
mvp-comment-242-1
τί δ' ἄν με καὶ κρίνοις; καὶ opposes the question to the reply. I cannot answer, and why should you ask??
315.
mvp-comment-243-1
τῶν ἐκεῖθεν] Sc. γεννημάτων. Ср. О. Т. 1167, τῶν Λαΐου τοίνυν τις ἦν γεννημάτων. οὐκ ἐν ὑστάτοις] 'Not far down.' The phrase is equivalent to an attributive adjective agreeing with γέννημα.
316.
mvp-comment-244-1
μὴ τῶν τυράννων] Sc. γέννημα. 'Can she have been of the royal stock?' Εὐρύτου σπορά τις ἦν] Either (1) 'Is it possible she is Eurytus' offspring?' τις = πως. See
Essay on L. § 22. p. 36, sub fin.,
and cp. Ó. T. 1167, quoted above. Or (2) Had Eurytus any offspring?" So Hermann.
317.
mvp-comment-245-1
οὐδ᾽ ἀνιστόρουν μακράν] 'I did not carry my inquiries far.'
318.
mvp-comment-246-1
τῶν ξυνεμπόρων] Of those travelling with her and you,' viz. the other captives. ἔχεις = πέπυσαι. Cp. Phil. 789, ἔχετε τὸ πρᾶγμα.
319.
mvp-comment-247-1
τοὐμὸν ἔργον] The herald's task of bringing the captives home.
320.
mvp-comment-248-1
Deianira, baffled in her compassionate eagerness, now turns to Iole herself in a tone of entreaty. ἀλλά belongs to ἐκ σαυτῆς or to the whole sentence, not to ἡμίν. (Cр. О. С. 238, ὦ ξένοι, . . ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεί, κ.τ.λ.)
321.
mvp-comment-249-1
καὶ ξυμφορά τοι] These words express Deianira's strong sympathy. 'Verily, I am distressed not to know who thou art.' A narrator might say of her in the language of Herodotus, καὶ συμφορὴν ἐποιέετο, τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι τὴν ξείνην ἥ τις εἴη. It has been observed that the particles ἐπεὶ καί τοι are not found together elsewhere. But each of the three words has a distinct and apposite meaning. 'For' (ἐπεί) ‘I tell you' (τοι) 'I am even' (καί) ' distressed.' γε simply emphasizes σé, i. e. 'You, who have awakened such an interest in me.'
322ff.
mvp-comment-250-1
Lichas hurriedly interposes to prevent disclosure with a significant warning to Iole to hold her peace. The first Scholiast's explanation of these words gives a rational meaning: ἐὰν αἰδουμένη σε φθέγξηται, κατ᾿ οὐδὲν ἄρα ἐξίσου τῷ πρόσθεν χρόνῳ προκομίσειεν (ἂν ?) αὐτῆς τὴν γλῶσσαν· τὸν γὰρ πρὸ τοῦ χρόνου ἐσιώπα: i.e. he understands the stress of the sentence to be on the words οὐδὲν ἐξ ἴσου τῷ γε πρόσθεν χρόνῳ (
Essay on L. § 24. p. 40
). It will not be in accordance with (her demeanour in) the previous time that she will bring out her tongue (if she does so).' The doubt is whether διαφέρειν can mean, 'To bring between the lips,' and so answer the προκομίζειν of the Scholiast. Wakefield's conjecture διήσει, ' Will let pass through her lips,' is supported by Ο. C. 963 (ὅστις φόνους . .) τοῦ σοῦ διῆκας στόματος. Hermann explained the words to mean, Just as hitherto (τῷ γε πρόσθεν ἐξ ἴσου χρόνῳ) she will maintain an even tenour (οὐδὲν διοίσει) as to her tongue.' Dindorf (agreeing with the second Scholiast), 'She will not employ her tongue' (οὐ.. διοίσει οι διήσει γλῶσσαν) 'inconsistently with what she has done hitherto.'
323-324.
mvp-comment-251-1
οὐδαμὰ | προὔφηνεν] ‘Made no sign.
325.
mvp-comment-252-1
But travailing with the weight of her calamity she has wept over it ever since.' The accusative is to be joined both with ὠδίνουσα and δακρυρροεῖ. Cp. Shak. Pericles, 5. 1, 'I am great with woe and shall deliver weeping.'
327.
mvp-comment-253-1
διήνεμον] It is difficult to determine whether this is (1) a mere epithet, 'Wind-swept,' like the Homeric ἠνεμόεσσα, descriptive of a city on a hill, or (2) a supplem. pred. = διήνεμον οὖσαν, ‘Desolate,' 'Open to the winds.' The first (1) may be supported by comparing several picturesque touches in this play, but the other (2) is more dramatic. Both are given in the scholia, ἔρημον (2), ὕψηλον (1). ἡ δέ τοι] This is better than ἥδε τοι, which leaves an unmeaning asyndeton. Her case is unfortunate, I mean for herself, but suggests a reason for indulgence' (on our part); i. e. 'Her misfortune may excuse her silence.'
328.
mvp-comment-254-1
For ἔχει, cp. Thuc. 2. 41. § 3, ἀγανάκτησιν ἔχει ('Gives cause for complaint'): Eur. Phoen. 995, τοὐμὸν δ᾽ οὐχὶ συγγνώμην ἔχει.
