Sophocles, Trachiniae, ed. Francis Storr, 1044

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Χορός

κλύουσʼ ἔφριξα τάσδε συμφοράς, φίλαι,

ἄνακτος, οἵαις οἷος ὢν ἐλαύνεται.
1045

Ἡρακλῆς

ὦ πολλὰ δὴ καὶ θερμὰ κοὐ λόγῳ κακὰ

καὶ χερσὶ καὶ νώτοισι μοχθήσας ἐγώ·

κοὔπω τοιοῦτον οὔτʼ ἄκοιτις ἡ Διὸς

προύθηκεν οὔθʼ ὁ στυγνὸς Εὐρυσθεὺς ἐμοί,

οἷον τόδʼ ἡ δολῶπις Οἰνέως κόρη
1050

καθῆψεν ὤμοις τοῖς ἐμοῖς Ἐρινύων

ὑφαντὸν ἀμφίβληστρον, ᾧ διόλλυμαι.

πλευραῖσι γὰρ προσμαχθὲν ἐκ μὲν ἐσχάτας

βέβρωκε σάρκας, πλεύμονός τʼ ἀρτηρίας

ῥοφεῖ ξυνοικοῦν, ἐκ δὲ χλωρὸν αἷμά μου
1055

πέπωκεν ἤδη, καὶ διέφθαρμαι δέμας

τὸ πᾶν, ἀφράστῳ τῇδε χειρωθεὶς πέδῃ.

κοὐ ταῦτα λόγχη πεδιάς, οὔθʼ ὁ γηγενὴς

στρατὸς Γιγάντων οὔτε θήρειος βία,

οὔθʼ Ἑλλὰς οὔτʼ ἄγλωσσος οὔθʼ ὅσην ἐγὼ
1060

γαῖαν καθαίρων ἱκόμην, ἔδρασέ πω·

γυνὴ δέ, θῆλυς φῦσα κοὐκ ἀνδρὸς φύσιν,

μόνη με δὴ καθεῖλε φασγάνου δίχα.

ὦ παῖ, γενοῦ μοι παῖς ἐτήτυμος γεγώς,

καὶ μὴ τὸ μητρὸς ὄνομα πρεσβεύσῃς πλέον.
1065

δός μοι χεροῖν σαῖν αὐτὸς ἐξ οἴκου λαβὼν

ἐς χεῖρα τὴν τεκοῦσαν, ὡς εἰδῶ σάφα

εἰ τοὐμὸν ἀλγεῖς μᾶλλον ἢ κείνης ὁρῶν

λωβητὸν εἶδος ἐν δίκῃ κακούμενον.

ἴθʼ, ὦ τέκνον, τόλμησον· οἴκτιρόν τέ με
1070

πολλοῖσιν οἰκτρόν, ὅστις ὥστε παρθένος

βέβρυχα κλαίων, καὶ τόδʼ οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς ποτε

τόνδʼ ἄνδρα φαίη πρόσθʼ ἰδεῖν δεδρακότα,

ἀλλʼ ἀστένακτος αἰὲν εἱπόμην κακοῖς.

νῦν δʼ ἐκ τοιούτου θῆλυς ηὕρημαι τάλας.
1075

Trachiniae. Sophocles. ed. Francis Storr. London. 1913.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Τραχίνιαι (Greek) (Sophocles, Volume 2. Storr, Francis, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann Ltd.; The Macmillan Company, 1913.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1044 focus

κλύουσ᾽ ἔφριξα τάσδε συμφοράς τάσδε συμφορᾶς τάσδε συμφοράς, φίλαι,

ἄνακτος, οἵας οἷος ὢν ἐλαύνεται.

ΗΡ.

ὦ πολλὰ δὴ καὶ θερμὰ *κοὐ καὶ λόγῳ κακὰ

καὶ χερσὶ χεϊρὶ καὶ νώτοισι μοχθήσας ἐγώ·
1040

κοὔπω τοιοῦτον οὔτ᾽ ἄκοιτις ἡ Διὸς

προὔθηκεν οὔθ᾽ ὁ στυγνὸς Εὐρυσθεὺς ἐμοὶ

οἷον τόδ᾽ ἡ δολῶπις Οἰνέως κόρη

καθῆψεν ὤμοις ἐμοῖ ἐμοῖσ τοῖς ἐμοῖς Ἐρινύων Ἐριννύων

ὑφαντὸν ἀμφίβληστρον, ᾧ διόλλυμαι διώλλυμαι διόλλυμαι.
1045

πλευραῖσι γὰρ προσμαχθὲν ἐκ μὲν ἐσχάτας

βέβρωκε σάρκας, πνεύμονός πλευμονοσ πλεύμονας τ᾽ ἀρτηρίας

ῥοφεῖ ξυνοικοῦν· ἐκ δὲ χλωρὸν αἷμά μου

πέπωκεν πέπτωκεν ἤδη, καὶ διέφθαρμαι δέμας

τὸ πᾶν, ἀφράστῳ τῇδε χειρωθεὶς πέδῃ.
1050

κοὐ ταῦτα λόγχη πεδιάς, οὔθ᾽ ὁ γηγενὴs

στρατὸς Γιγάντων Γηγαντων, οὔτε θήρειος βία θήριος βίαι θήρειος βία,

οὔθ᾽ ῾Ελλάς, οὔτ᾽ ἄγλωσσος, οὔθ᾽ ὅσην ἐγὼ

γαῖαν καθαίρων ἱκόμην, ἔδρασέ πω·

γυνὴ δέ, θήλυς οὖσα κοὐκ κ from α ἀνδρὸς φύσιν,
1055

μόνη με δὴ καθεῖλε φασγάνου δίχα.

ὦ παῖ, γενοῦ μοι παῖς ἐτήτυμος γεγώς,

καὶ μὴ τὸ μητρὸς ὄνομα πρεσβεύσῃς πλέον.

δός μοι χεροῖν σαῖν αὐτὸς ἐξ οἴκου λαβὼν

ἐς χεῖρα τὴν τεκοῦσαν, ὡς εἰδῶ εἴδω εἰδῶ σάφα
1060

εἰ τοὐμὸν ἀλγεῖς μᾶλλον ἢ κείνης ὁρῶν

λωβητὸν εἶδος ἐν δίκῃ κακούμενον.

ἴθ᾽, ὦ τέκνον, τόλμησον· οἴκτειρόν τέ με

πολλοῖσιν οἰκτρόν, ὅστις ὥστις ὥστε ὥστε παρθένος

βέβρυχα κλαίων· καὶ τόδ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἶς ποτε
1065

τόνδ' ἄνδρα φαίη φέρη πρόσθ᾿ ἰδεῖν δεδρακότα,

ἀλλ᾽ ἀστένακτος αἰὲν ἑσπόμην κακοῖς.

νῦν δ᾽ ἐκ τοιούτου θήλυς εὕρημαι τάλας.

Translations (5)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1044 focus

Horror hath caught me as I hear this, woe,

Racking our mighty one with mightier pain.

HER

Let her come near, that, mastered by my might,

She may have this to tell the world, that, dying,

As living, I gave punishment to wrong.

CH

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1044 focus

Mit Schaudern hör' ich, welche Qual, o Freundinnen,

Den König (welchen Helden, ach!) grimmvoll bestürmt.

Herakles.

Ha, vieles Leid und heißes, schon im Worte schwer,

Rang ich mit Arm und Nacken muthig duldend aus!

Und dennoch hat Zeus' Gattin niemals solche Qual
1025

Mir aufgebürdet noch Eurystheus' bittrer Haß,¹

Wie nun des Deneus Tochter, die voll arger List

Um meine Schultern dieses Nez mir schlingend warf,

Das ihr Erinnen woben, mir zu sichrem Tod.

Denn festgeschmiegt an meine Seiten, zehrt es mir
1030

Das lezte Fleisch ab, schlürst die Lungen aus und dringt

In ihre tiefsten Adern ein; schon trank es mir

Das frische Blut weg; ganz dahin, vernichtet schwand

Mein Leib, in diese Fesseln unsichtbar verstrickt.

Kein Kampf im Felde, noch der erdentstiegenen
1035

Giganten Heerzug, noch der Ungeheuer Wuth,

Kein Mann in Hellas, kein Barbar, kein andres Land,

Zu dem ich säubernd wallte, hat mir das gethan.

Ein Weib, ein schwaches Wesen, nicht von Mannesart,

Hat jezt allein mich ohne Schwert hinweggerafft.
1040

Mein Sohn, beweise du dich als mein ächter Sohn,

Und laß der Mutter Namen dir nicht theurer sein!

Mit deinen Händen schleppe sie vom Hause, gib

In meine Hand die Mutter, daß ich sehen mag,

Ob mehr dich jammre mein Geschick, als ihre Schmach,
1045

Ihr Bild zu schauen, das mit Recht geschändet wird.

Auf, wage muthig und erbarm', o Sohn, dich mein,

Der Vielen weckt Erbarmen, der, dem Mädchen gleich,

Ausschluchzt in Thränen. Nimmer kann ein Sterblicher

Behaupten, daß er also je mich thun gesehn :
1050

Nein, ohne Seufzen trug ich stets mein Mißgeschick.

Ein solcher Held einst, steh' ich nun als weibisch da.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1044 focus

The anguish of th' unhappy man, my friends,

Is terrible ; I tremble but to hear him.

Hercules

What hath this body suffered? Oh ! the toils,

The labours I endured, the pangs I felt,

Unutterable woes ! but never aught

So dreadful as this sore calamity.

Oppressed Alcides ! Not the wife of Jove,

Nor vile Enrystliens, could torment me thus,

As, CEneus, thy deceitful daughter hath.

Oh ! 1 am tangled in a cruel net,

Woven by the Fui-ies : it devours my flesh.

Dries up my veins, and drinks the vital blood ;

My body 's withered, and I cannot Ijreak

Th' indissoluble chain. Nor hostile spear.

Nor earth-born giants, nor the savage herd,

The wild Barbarian, or the Grecian host,

Not all the nations I have journeyed o'er

Could do a deed like this. At last I fall,

Like a poor coward, by a woman's hand,

Unarmed and unassisted. O my son !

Now prove thyself the ofi'spring of Alcides ;

Nor let thy reverence of a mother's name

Surpass thy duty to an injured father.

Go, bring her hither, give her to my wrath,

That 1 may see whom thou wilt most lament

When thou beholdst my vengeance fall on her.

Fear not, my son, but go. Have pity on me,

Pity thy father : all must pity me.

Whilst they behold, e'en as the tender maid,

Alcides weep, who never wept before.

I bore my sorrows all without a groan.

But now thou seest I am a very woman.

Come near, my child. Oh ! think what I endure.

For I will show thee. Look on this poor body —

Let all behold it : what a sight is here !

O me ! again the cruel poison tears

My entrails, nor affords a moment's ease.

Oh ! take me, Pluto, to thy gloomy reign ;

Father of lightning, mighty Jove, send down

Thy bolt, and strike me now ! Again it racks,

It tortures me ! O hands ! that once had strength,

And you, my sinewy arms, was it by you

The terrible Nemsean lion fell.

The dreadful hydra, and the lawless race

Of centaurs ? Did this withered hand subdue

The Erymanthian boar — wide-wasting plague !

^nd from the shades of Orcus drag to light

The triple-hen ded monster ? By this arm

Did the fierce guardian of the golden fruit

In Libya's deserts fall ? Unnumbered toils

Have I endured of old, and never yet

Did mortal bear a trophy from Alcides.

But nerveless now this arm— see, from the bone

Darts the loose flesh. I waste beneath the power

Of this dark pestilence. O Hercules !

Why boast thy mother sprung of nobler race,

And vainly call thyself the son of Jove?

But, mark me well : this creeping shadow still,

Poor as it is, shall yet revenge itself

On her who did the execrable deed.

Would she were here to feel my wrath, to know

And teach mankind that Hercules, though dead,

As whilst he lived, can scourge the guilty still !

Chorus

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1044 focus

My friends, chill horror shakes me as I hear

The miseries, which th' illustrious hero bears.

Hercules

What fiery and unutterable pains

With rankling venom pierce my hands, my back

Such not the wife of Jove to me assign'd,

Nor stern Eurystheus, as this treacherous dame,

Daughter of Eneus, whose entangling net,

The texture of the furies, burns my limbs,

And works me death; close to my sides it sticks,

Eats through my skin, and rioting beneath

My vitals drains; already hath it drank

The fresh streams of my blood, and all my flesh

Is wasted, by these gnawing bands consumed.

This not the spear on the ensanguined plain

Uplifted, nor the terrible array

Of earth-born giants, nor the furious force

Of savage beasts roused from their horrid dens,

Nor Grecian, nor Barbarian, nor the rage

Of ruffian bands from which I purged the earth,

Effected; but a single woman, form'd

By nature weak, a woman to the ground

Without a sword hath brought me. But, my son,

Now prove thyself my son, nor more revere

A mother's name; but bring her from the house,

And give her to my hands, that I may know

If more my wretched state afflicts thy heart

Than hers, when thou shalt see her ruin'd form

Defaced by my just vengeance. Go, my son,

Dare this; have pity on me; many feel

The touch of pity for me, as I weep

Like a sick girl lamenting: till this hour

No man can say that e'er his eyes beheld

Such weakness in me; but without a groan

Toils and afflictions always I sustain'd:'.

But now my firmness sinks, and I am found

Amidst my ills a woman. But, my son,

Come to me, nearer stand, come all, observe

From what a malady these torturing pains

I suffer; look, I throw my vests aside,

Behold this wretched body; what a sight

To move your pity! Ah, this burning spasm

Rends me afresh, it plerces through my sides,

No rest this cruel, gnawing best pest allows

Receive me, O thou monarch of the dead!

Strike me, ye bolts of Jove; O king supreme,

Roll thy red thunders, hurl them on this head,

My father! for it riots now again,

Gains strength, grows fiercer. O my hands, my hands,

My back, my breast, my arms! Are these the nerves

In which I gloried once, whose matchless strength

Quell'd the Nemæan lion which the blood

Of slaughter'd herds distain'd, whose savage rage

None dared approach? Are these the nerves, whose might

Crush'd the Lernæan Hydra, and subdued

The host of monsters to the horse's strength

Joining the human form, a lawless band,

To outrage train'd, exulting in brute force?

The Boar of Erymanthus; the grim Dog

Of hell, three-headed monster, by no arms

To be attack'd, from dire Echidna sprung;

The Dragon, guardian of the golden fruit

On earth's remotest verge? These glorious toils,

Theseus

and a thousand more have I achieved ;

But never mortal o'er my glory raised

A trophy: nevertheless now this hardy frame

Is shatter'd, and beneath this blind, disease

I waste away; my mother's virtuous name

Avails me not, nor through the starry skies:

That I am call'd the son of thundering Jove.

Yet know you this, though I am nothing now,

A weak exhausted nothing, yet e'en thus

I will inflict just vengeance on her head

Who brought me to this state; that she may learn,

And publish to the world, that it is mine //

In life or death to punish impious deeds.

Chorus

English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1044 focus

Chorus

I shudder, friends, to hear these sorrows

which our King suffers. What a man is here, and what misfortunes lash at him!
1045

Heracles

Ah, many and hot and cruel not in name alone have been the labors of these hands, the burdens hoisted upon these shoulders! And yet no toil ever laid on me by the bedfellow of Zeus or by the hateful Eurystheus was as harsh

as this thing which the daughter of Oeneus, fair and false, has fastened upon my back, this woven net of the Erinyes in which I perish! Plastered to my sides, it has eaten away my inmost flesh and sucks the channels of my lungs,
1050

making my body its home. Already it has drunk away my fresh lifeblood, and my whole body is wasted, conquered by these indescribable bonds. Not spearmen on the battlefield, nor the Giants’ earth-born army, nor the might of savage beasts,
1055

not Hellas , nor the land of the barbarian, nor any land which I came to purify has ever done this to me. No, a woman, a weak woman, born not to the strength of man, all alone has brought me down without a stroke of the sword!
Son, show yourself my trueborn son,
1060

and do not honor your mother’s name above your father’s. Bring out the woman that bore you, and give her with your own hands into my hand, that I may know for certain which sight grieves you more—my tortured frame, or hers, when she suffers her just punishment!
1065

Go, my son, be bold! Show your pity for me, whom many might think deserving of pity—pity me moaning and weeping like a girl! No one could say that he had ever seen this man do that before. No, always without complaint I used to pursue my troubles.
1070

But now in my misery I have been found a woman, instead of the man I used to be.
1075

Commentary

Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))

mvp-comment-535-1 οἵαις ¹ οἵας ²

mvp-comment-536-1 ὦ πολλὰ δὴ ³

mvp-comment-536-2 Cicero's version is essentially that of an orator; the true test for it would be declamation. But even a reader can feel its sonorous vigour, and its Roman gravity; Cicero succeeds as Lord Derby succeeded in much of the Iliad. The rendering of the Greek is very free, sometimes inadequate, but always manly, and highly terse; indeed, the 57 lines of the original become 45; in one place, eleven verses (1079—1089) are reduced to four (vv. 30—33).

mvp-comment-536-3 θερμὰ ⁴

mvp-comment-536-4 κοὐ λόγῳ κακὰ ⁵ θερμά ⁶ οὐ λόγῳ ⁷

mvp-comment-536-5 The MS. reading, καὶ λόγῳ κακὰ ⁸

mvp-comment-537-1 χερσὶ ⁹ νώτοισι ¹⁰ στέρνοισι ¹¹ μοχθήσας ¹²

mvp-comment-538-1 κοὔπω ¹³

mvp-comment-538-2 ἄκοιτις ἡ Διὸς ¹⁴

mvp-comment-538-3 προὔθηκεν ¹⁵

mvp-comment-538-4 Εὐρυσθεὺς ¹⁶

mvp-comment-539-1 οἷον τόδ’ ¹⁷

mvp-comment-539-2 δολῶπις ¹⁸

mvp-comment-539-3 Ἐρινύων … ἀμφίβληστρον ¹⁹ ὑφαντὸν ²⁰

mvp-comment-540-1 προσμαχθὲν ²¹

mvp-comment-540-2 πλεύμονός τ’ ἀρτηρίας ²²

mvp-comment-541-1 ῥοφεῖ ²³ ξυνοικοῦν ²⁴

mvp-comment-541-2 χλωρὸν ²⁵

mvp-comment-542-1 ἀφράστῳ ²⁶

mvp-comment-542-2 χειρωθεὶς ²⁷

mvp-comment-543-1 κοὐ … οὔθ’ ²⁸ οὔθ’ ²⁹ οὐδ’ ³⁰

mvp-comment-543-2 λόγχη πεδιάς ³¹

mvp-comment-543-3 στρατὸς Γιγάντων ³²

mvp-comment-543-4 θήρειος βία ³³

mvp-comment-544-1 ἄγλωσσος ³⁴ Ἑλλὰς ³⁵

mvp-comment-544-2 οὔθ’ ὅσην ³⁶

mvp-comment-544-3 γαῖαν ³⁷

mvp-comment-545-1 θῆλυς ³⁸ οὖσα ³⁹ φῦσα ⁴⁰ ἀνδρὸς ⁴¹ ἀνὴρ ⁴²

mvp-comment-545-2 καθεῖλε ⁴³

mvp-comment-545-3 φασγάνου δίχα ⁴⁴

mvp-comment-546-1 γενοῦ ⁴⁵ γεγώς ⁴⁶ ἐτήτυμος ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-546-2 πρεσβεύσῃς ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-547-1 εἰδῶ ⁴⁹ ἴδω ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-547-2 εἰ τοὐμὸν ⁵¹ κακούμενον ⁵²

mvp-comment-547-3 Cicero represents this passage by a single verse, Iam cernam , mene an illam potiorem putes. Hence Nauck rejects v. 1069. But the inference is most unsafe, as another instance will show. The passage beginning with

ἰδού

(1079) and ending with

ἐξώρμηκεν

(1089) shrinks, in Cicero's version, to three lines and a half, viz., Videte cuncti: tuque, caelestum sator, | Iace, obsecro, in me vim coruscam fulminis! | Nunc , nunc dolorum anxiferi torquent vertices: | Nunc serpit ardor. Thus Cicero wholly ignores vv. 1085 ff.: he ignores vv. 1080—1084 also, except in so far as their general sense is blended with his version of 1088 f.,

δαίνυται...ἐξώρμηκεν

. Yet the Greek text there is clearly sound.

mvp-comment-548-1 ἴθ’ ⁵³ τόλμησον ⁵⁴

mvp-comment-548-2 ὥστε παρθένος ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-549-1 ἀστένακτος ⁵⁶

mvp-comment-549-2 εἱπόμην ⁵⁷ τόνδ’ ἄνδρα ⁵⁸ ἑσπόμην ⁵⁹ αἰὲν ⁶⁰

mvp-comment-549-3 εἱπόμην κακοῖς ⁶¹

mvp-comment-550-1 ἐκ τοιούτου ⁶²

Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus

1040. mvp-comment-740-1 αὕτως, ὧδ᾽ αὕτως, ὡς μ᾿ ὤλεσεν] 'Even as she destroyed me, in the very way ye see me now.' For γλυκύς in addressing a deity, cp. Ο. C. 106, ἴτ', ὦ γλυκεῖαι παίδες ἀρχαίου Σκότου. The MSS. have ὦ Διὸς αὐθαίμων, ὦ γλυκὺς ῾Αίδας. The transposition, made for metrical reasons, also improves the sense by restoring the climax.

1042. mvp-comment-741-1 εὔνασον εὔνασόν *μ'] Here also the MSS. are at fault, giving εὔνασόν μ᾿ εὔνασον. The metre is dochmiac. ὠκυπέτᾳ] (1) • Flying,' or (2), 'Descending swiftly,' in the shape of a thunderbolt. Cp. infr. 1086, 7: O. С. 1460, Διὸς πτερωτός .. βροντή.

1045. mvp-comment-742-1 οἵας οἷος ὤν] Cp. Αj. 923, οἷος ὢν οἵας ἔχεις. The MS. reading olas may be defended as following the case of its antecedent συμφοράς, and also as cognate accusative. Others read oἵais.

1046. mvp-comment-743-1 ὦ . . ἐγώ, κ.τ.λ.] For this mode of expression, cp. O. C. 337 foll, ὦ πάντ᾽ ἐκείνω . . τροφάς, κ.τ.λ. *κοὐ λόγῳ κακά] Evils that were so not in name only. This is Bothe's emendation of the MS. reading καὶ λόγῳ, which is certainly as old as Cicero's translation (Tusc. Disp. 2. 20), Multa dictu gravia, perpessu aspera.' This may be explained to mean, 'Even in report' (how much more, then, in reality!). Cp. Hdt. 7. 10, § 10, καίτοι καὶ λόγῳ ἀκοῦσαι δεινόν, ἐπ᾿ ἀνδρί γε ἑνὶ πάντα .. γεγενήσθαι. Wunder conjectures καὶ λόγων πέρα, which yields a fair sense, but κοὐ λόγῳ is simpler and more forcible. Cp. Aesch. S. c. Τ. 847, ἦλθε δ᾽ αἰακτὰ πήματ᾽ οὐ λόγῳ.

1047. mvp-comment-744-1 καὶ νώτοισι] Some have supposed an allusion here to Heracles having relieved Atlas of his burden. But cp. infr. 1090 foll.

1048. mvp-comment-745-1 κοὔπω] καὶ = καίτοι. Cp. infr. 1072: Phil. 385, κοὐκ αἰτιῶμαι τοῦτον: Essay on L. § 25. p. 42.

1050. mvp-comment-746-1 δολῶπις] ‘Of the deceitful eye.' The remembrance of Deianira's beauty returns involuntarily.

1050-1052. mvp-comment-747-1 τόδ' Ἐρινύων ἀμφίβληστρον] Aesch. Ag. 1115, δίκτυον .. "Αιδου: Cho. 492, μέμνησο δ᾽ ἀμφίβληστρον ὡς ἐκαίνισαν : ib. 999.

1053. mvp-comment-748-1 προσμαχθέν] Supr. 767-9. ἐκ.. βέβρωκε] Tmesis. ἐσχάτας] i.e. 'Even to the bone.'

1054. mvp-comment-749-1 πνεύμονος.. ξυνοίκουν] 'Lodging in the lung it drains the passages;' i.e. It has penetrated the lung and is shrivelling up the vessels there. ξυνοίκουν, sc. τῷ πνεύμονι.

1055. mvp-comment-750-1 Hath already sucked away my fresh life-blood.' For χλωρόν, see above, note on l. 849.

1057. mvp-comment-751-1 ἄφραστος is, ‘Baffling the mind,' and is here applied to that which cannot be overcome because it cannot be discerned, - Inscrutable.'

1058. mvp-comment-752-1 λόγχη πεδιάς] 'The array of spearmen on the plain. λόγχη is used collectively, like ἡ ἵππος, etc. Whether Heracles is thinking of the battle with the Minyans, or of some other exploit, we cannot determine.

1059. mvp-comment-753-1 θήρειος βία is probably, The violence of the Centaurs,' cp. infr. 1095, 6, and not generally, of wild beasts.'

1060. mvp-comment-754-1 Ἑλλάς] Sc. γαῖα. The word is strictly adjectival here. Some have supplied ἀνήρ οι βία, supposing that ἄγλωσσος could not be an epithet of a country. But why not ἄγλωσσος γαῖα as well as βάρβαρον αἷαν, Εl. 95? ἄγλωσσος] Without speech,' = 'A Without intelligible speech, just as ἀγέννητος = δυσγενής, supr. 61 : ἄδημος = ἀπόδημος, Fr. 577. Pindar (Isthm. 6 (5). 24) uses παλίγγλωσσος in this sense.

1062. mvp-comment-755-1 θήλυς οὖσα κοὐκ ἀνδρὸς φύσιν] 'A woman, and not of manly mould.' θήλυς for θήλεια occurs several times in Greek poetry, e.g. Eur. Нес. 659, θῆλυν σποράν. The construction of the remaining words is difficult: but ἀνδρός may be (1) a genitive of derivation, in accordance with the ancient notion that the female element came from the mother and the male from the father, - ‘Being female and not derived from the male in her birth; or (2) a genitive of quality = ἀνδρώδης. For φύσιν, Αj. 760, ἀνθρώπου φύσιν βλαστών, which has suggested several emendations of this line, e. g. θῆλυν σχοῦσα κοὐκ ἀνδρὸς φύσιν (Reiske), etc.

1064. mvp-comment-756-1 γενοῦ .. γεγώς] Cp. infr. 1157, ἐξήκεις δ' ἵνα | φανεῖς ὁποῖος ὢν ἀνὴρ ἐμὸς καλεῖ. The tautology γενοῦ . γεγώς adds a pathetic emphasis.

1065. mvp-comment-757-1 Cp. El. 366, 7, καλοῦ | τῆς μητρός, and note. We are to imagine the effect of this on Hyllus, who has just been bewailing his mother's death.

1068. mvp-comment-758-1 ἤ is probably not 'than,' but 'or.' 'If my form tormented or hers afflicted with righteous evil be a sight that causes you more pain.'

Sophocles Trachiniae 1044

ed. Francis Storr

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Χορός

κλύουσʼ ἔφριξα τάσδε συμφοράς, φίλαι,

ἄνακτος, οἵαις οἷος ὢν ἐλαύνεται.
1045

Current edition Experimental

κλύουσ᾽ ἔφριξα τάσδε συμφοράς τάσδε συμφορᾶς τάσδε συμφοράς, φίλαι,

ἄνακτος, οἵας οἷος ὢν ἐλαύνεται.

ΗΡ.

ὦ πολλὰ δὴ καὶ θερμὰ *κοὐ καὶ λόγῳ κακὰ

νῦν δ᾽ ἐκ τοιούτου θήλυς εὕρημαι τάλας.

Horror hath caught me as I hear this, woe,

Racking our mighty one with mightier pain.

HER

Let her come near, that, mastered by my might,

She may have this to tell the world, that, dying,

As living, I gave punishment to wrong.

CH

Mit Schaudern hör' ich, welche Qual, o Freundinnen,

Den König (welchen Helden, ach!) grimmvoll bestürmt.

The anguish of th' unhappy man, my friends,

Is terrible ; I tremble but to hear him.

Chorus

My friends, chill horror shakes me as I hear

The miseries, which th' illustrious hero bears.

Chorus

Chorus

I shudder, friends, to hear these sorrows

which our King suffers. What a man is here, and what misfortunes lash at him!
1045

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Χορός κλύουσʼ ἔφριξα τάσδε συμφοράς, φίλαι, ἄνακτος, οἵαις οἷος ὢν ἐλαύνεται. 1045

Current edition Experimental

κλύουσ᾽ ἔφριξα τάσδε συμφοράς τάσδε συμφορᾶς τάσδε συμφοράς, φίλαι, ἄνακτος, οἵας οἷος ὢν ἐλαύνεται.

ΗΡ. ὦ πολλὰ δὴ καὶ θερμὰ *κοὐ καὶ λόγῳ κακὰ

νῦν δ᾽ ἐκ τοιούτου θήλυς εὕρημαι τάλας.

Horror hath caught me as I hear this, woe, Racking our mighty one with mightier pain.

HER

Let her come near, that, mastered by my might, She may have this to tell the world, that, dying, As living, I gave punishment to wrong.

CH

Mit Schaudern hör' ich, welche Qual, o Freundinnen, Den König (welchen Helden, ach!) grimmvoll bestürmt.

The anguish of th' unhappy man, my friends, Is terrible ; I tremble but to hear him.

Chorus

My friends, chill horror shakes me as I hear The miseries, which th' illustrious hero bears.

Chorus

Chorus I shudder, friends, to hear these sorrows which our King suffers. What a man is here, and what misfortunes lash at him! 1045

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Χορός

κλύουσʼ ἔφριξα τάσδε συμφοράς, φίλαι,

ἄνακτος, οἵαις οἷος ὢν ἐλαύνεται.
1045

κλύουσ᾽ ἔφριξα τάσδε συμφοράς τάσδε συμφορᾶς τάσδε συμφοράς, φίλαι,

ἄνακτος, οἵας οἷος ὢν ἐλαύνεται.

ΗΡ.

ὦ πολλὰ δὴ καὶ θερμὰ *κοὐ καὶ λόγῳ κακὰ

Horror hath caught me as I hear this, woe,

Racking our mighty one with mightier pain.

Let her come near, that, mastered by my might,

She may have this to tell the world, that, dying,

As living, I gave punishment to wrong.

Mit Schaudern hör' ich, welche Qual, o Freundinnen,

Den König (welchen Helden, ach!) grimmvoll bestürmt.

The anguish of th' unhappy man, my friends,

Is terrible ; I tremble but to hear him.

My friends, chill horror shakes me as I hear

The miseries, which th' illustrious hero bears.

Chorus

I shudder, friends, to hear these sorrows

which our King suffers. What a man is here, and what misfortunes lash at him!
1045