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Ἡρακλῆς

καὶ νῦν προσελθὼν στῆθι πλησίον πατρός,

σκέψαι θʼ ὁποίας ταῦτα συμφορᾶς ὕπο

πέπονθα· δείξω γὰρ τάδʼ ἐκ καλυμμάτων.

ἰδού, θεᾶσθε πάντες ἄθλιον δέμας,

ὁρᾶτε τὸν δύστηνον, ὡς οἰκτρῶς ἔχω.
1080

αἰαῖ, ἆ τάλας,

ἔθαλψεν ἄτης σπασμὸς ἀρτίως ὅδʼ αὖ,

διῇξε πλευρῶν, οὐδʼ ἀγύμναστόν μʼ ἐᾶν

ἔοικεν ἡ τάλαινα διάβορος νόσος.

ὦναξ Ἀίδη, δέξαι μʼ,
1085

ὦ Διὸς ἀκτίς, παῖσον,

ἔνσεισον, ὦναξ, ἐγκατάσκηψον βέλος,

πάτερ, κεραυνοῦ· δαίνυται γὰρ αὖ πάλιν,

ἤνθηκεν, ἐξωρμήκεν. ὦ χέρες χέρες,

ὦ νῶτα καὶ στέρνʼ, ὦ φίλοι βραχίονες,
1090

ὑμεῖς δὲ κεῖνοι δὴ καθέσταθʼ, οἵ ποτε

Νεμέας ἔνοικον, βουκόλων ἀλάστορα

λέοντʼ, ἄπλατον θρέμμα κἀπροσήγορον,

βίᾳ κατειργάσασθε, Λερναίαν θʼ ὕδραν,

διφυῆ τʼ ἄμικτον ἱπποβάμονα στρατὸν
1095

θηρῶν, ὑβριστὴν ἄνομον, ὑπέροχον βίαν,

Ἐρυμάνθιόν τε θῆρα, τόν θʼ ὑπὸ χθονὸς

Ἅιδου τρίκρανον σκύλακʼ, ἀπρόσμαχον τέρας,

δεινῆς Ἐχίδνης θρέμμα, τόν τε χρυσέων

δράκοντα μήλων φύλακʼ ἐπʼ ἐσχάτοις τόποις.
1100

ἄλλων τε μόχθων μυρίων ἐγευσάμην,

κοὐδεὶς τροπαῖʼ ἔστησε τῶν ἐμῶν χερῶν.

νῦν δʼ ὧδʼ ἄναρθρος καὶ κατερρακωμένος

τυφλῆς ὑπʼ ἄτης ἐκπεπόρθημαι τάλας,

ὁ τῆς ἀρίστης μητρὸς ὠνομασμένος,
1105

ὁ τοῦ κατʼ ἄστρα Ζηνὸς αὐδηθεὶς γόνος.

ἀλλʼ εὖ γέ τοι τόδʼ ἴστε, κἂν τὸ μηδὲν ὦ

κἂν μηδὲν ἕρπω, τήν γε δράσασαν τάδε

χειρώσομαι κἀκ τῶνδε· προσμόλοι μόνον,

ἵνʼ ἐκδιδαχθῇ πᾶσιν ἀγγέλλειν ὅτι
1110

καὶ ζῶν κακούς γε καὶ θανὼν ἐτισάμην.

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)) — 1076 focus

καὶ νῦν προσελθὼν στῆθι πλησίον πατρός,

σκέψαι δ᾽ ὁποίας ταῦτα συμφορᾶς ὕπο
1070

πέπονθα· δείξω γὰρ τάδ᾽ ἐκ καλυμμάτων.

ἰδού, θεᾶσθε πάντες ἄθλιον δέμας,

ὁρᾶτε τὸν δύστηνον δύστανον δύστηνον, ὡς οἰκτρῶς ἔχω.

αἰαῖ, ὦ τάλας, ἔ ἔ, αἱ αἱ ὦ τάλας αἰαἰ αἱ αἱ ὦ τάλας αἱ αἱ αἱ αἱ ὦ τάλας ἔ ἔ

ἔθαλψεν ἄτης σπασμὸς ἀρτίως ὅδ᾽ αὖ ὁ δ᾽ αὖ,
1075

διῇξε πλευρῶν, οὐδ᾽ ἀγύμναστόν μ᾽ ἐᾶν

ἔοικεν ἡ τάλαινα διαβόρος νόσος.

ὧναξ ᾿Αΐδη, δέξαι μ' με,

ὦ Διὸς ἀκτίς, παῖσον.

ἔνσεισον, ὦναξ ὤναξ, ἐγκατάσκηψον βέλος,
1080

πάτερ, κεραυνοῦ. δαίνυται γὰρ αὖ πάλιν,

ἤνθηκεν, ἐξώρμηκεν.

ὦ χέρες χέρες,

ὦ νῶτα καὶ στέρν, ὦ φίλοι βραχίονες,

ὑμεῖς ἐκεῖνοι ὑμεῖσ δὲ κεῖνοι ὑμεῖς ἐκεῖνοι δὴ καθέσταθ' κατεστάθ᾽ καθέσταθ', οἵ ποτε
1085

Νεμέας ἔνοικον, βουκόλων ἀλάστορα,

λέοντ᾽, ἄπλατον θρέμμα κἀπροσήγορον,

βίᾳ κατειργάσασθε κατειγάσασθε, Λερναίαν θ᾽ ὕδραν,

διφυῆ τ᾽ ἄμικτον ἱπποβάμονα στρατὸν

θηρῶν, ὑβριστήν, ἄνομον, *ὑπέροχον ὑπείροχον βίαν,
1090

Ερυμάνθιόν τε θῆρα, τόν θ᾽ ὑπὸ χθονὸς

"Αιδου τρίκρανον σκύλακ᾽, ἀπρόσμαχον τέρας,

δεινῆς Ἐχίδνης θρέμμα, τόν τε χρυσέων

δράκοντα μήλων φύλακ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτοις τόποις.

ἄλλων τε μόχθων μυρίων ἐγευσάμην,
1095

κοὐδεὶς τροπαῖ᾽ τρόπαι' ἔστησε τῶν ἐμῶν χερῶν.

νῦν δ᾽ ὧδ᾽ ἄναρθρος καὶ κατερρακωμένος

τυφλῆς ὑπ᾿ ἄτης ἐκπεπόρθημαι τάλας,

ὁ τῆς ἀρίστης μητρὸς ὠνομασμένος,

ΤΡΑΧΙΝΙΑΙ.

ὁ τοῦ κατ᾿ ἄστρα Ζηνὸς αὐδηθεὶς αὐθηδὴσ αὐδηθεὶς γόνος.

ἀλλ᾽ εὖ γέ τοι τόδ᾽ ἴστε, κἂν τὸ μηδὲν ὦ

κἂν μηδὲν ἕρπω, τήν γε δράσασαν τάδε

χειρώσομαι κἀκ τῶνδε. προσμόλοι μόνον,

ἵν᾽ ἐκδιδαχθῇ πᾶσιν ἀγγέλλειν ὅτι
1110

καὶ ζῶν κακούς γε καὶ θανὼν ἐτισάμην.

ΧΟ.

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

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1076 focus

Sezt tritt heran an deines Vaters Seite, Kind,

Und sich, von welchem Schicksal ich so bittres Leid

Erdulde; denn ich zeig' es ohne Hülle dir.
1055
(er enthüllt sich.)

Schaut her, betrachtet alle mein unselig Bild,

Seht an mich Armen, wie bejammernswerth ich bin!

Ach, ach! Wehe mir!

O, o!

Des Schmerzes Zucken, eben glüht es wieder auf,
1060

Durchtobt die Seiten; ungemartert läßt sie mich

Nicht mehr, so scheint's, die zehrend grauenvolle Qual.

O Fürst Hades, nimm mich auf!

Strahl des Zeus, erschlage mich!

Schwing' her, o König, schleudre dein Geschoß herab,
1065

Den Bliz, o Vater! Wieder wühlt es ungestüm,

In vollen Gluten tobt es! Händ', ihr Hände, weh,

O Brust, o Rücken! Ihr geliebten Arme hier,

Seid ihr dieselben, die des Hirtenvolkes Grau'n

Vormals, den Löwen, der gehaust bei Nemea,
1070

Die Brut, unnahbar, ungesellig wilder Art,

Mit starker Kraft vertilgten, Lerna's Hyder auch,

Der Ungehener Zwitterheer von Mann und Roß,

Das stolze, zuchtvergess'ne, frech gewaltige,

Und Erymanthos' Eber, auch der Schattenwelt
1075

Dreiköpfigen Hund, den unbezwingbar'n Kerberos,

Echidne's Sohn, der grausen, auch den Drachen, der

Die goldnen Aepfel hütet' an der Erde Saum?

Und andrer Mühen kostet' ich noch tausende,

Und Keiner trug von meinem Arm den Sieg davon.
1080

Nun starren, wie zerrissen, Haut und Glieder mir,

Ein ungeseh'nes Wehe zehrt mich Armen aus,

Mich, der ein Sohn der besten Mutter heißt, ein Sohn

Des Zeus genannt wird, welcher bei den Sternen thront.

Doch sollt ihr dieses wissen: bin ich auch ein Nichts,
1085

Und trägt mein Fuß mich nimmer, dennoch will ich sie,

Die das gethan, bezwingen. Ja, sie komme nur,

Auf daß sie lerne, Jedermann es kundzuthun,

Die Bösen straf' ich lebend und im Tode noch!

Der Chor.

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)) — 1076 focus

Come close, stand near your father and do examine the magnitude of the misfortune by which I suffer; for I will uncover my suffering. Look! See all of you this miserable body;

see how wretched, how pitiable I am!
Ah, misery! The ruinous spasm flames again; it shoots through my sides—I must wrestle once more with that cruel, devouring plague!

1080

King Hades, receive me! Strike me, O fire of Zeus! Hurl down your thunderbolt, ruler, dash it, Father, upon my head! Again the pest consumes me, it has blazed up, it has leapt to fury! O hands, my hands,
1085

O shoulders and chest and trusty arms, you are indeed those noted arms which once subdued with your might the dweller in Nemea , the scourge of herdsmen, the lion, a creature that no man might approach or confront; you tamed the Lernaean Hydra,
1090

and that monstrous army of beasts with double form, hostile, going on hoofed feet, violent, lawless, of surpassing violence; you tamed the beast in Erymanthia, and underground the three-headed whelp of Hades, a resistless terror, offspring of the fierce Echidna; you tamed the dragon
1095

that guarded the golden fruit in the farthest places of the earth. These toils and thousands more have I tasted, and no man has ever erected a trophy of victory over my hands. But now, with joints unhinged and with flesh torn to shreds, I have become the miserable spoil of an unseen destroyer,
1100

—I, who am called the son of noblest mother, I, who am reputed the seed of Zeus, lord of the starry sky.
But you may be sure of one thing: though I am nothing, though I cannot move a step, yet she who has done this deed shall feel my heavy hand even so. Let her but come to me
1105

so that she may learn to proclaim this message to all the world, that in my death, as in my life, I punished the guilty!
1110

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-551-1 καὶ νῦν … στῆθι … σκέψαι δ’ ¹ δ’ ² θ’ ³

mvp-comment-552-1 δείξω γὰρ ⁴

mvp-comment-552-2 ἐκ καλυμμάτων ⁵ ἐκ ⁶

mvp-comment-553-1 ἰδού ⁷

mvp-comment-553-2 1081 It is best to retain αἰαῖ, ὦ τάλας, αἰαῖ ⁸

mvp-comment-554-1 ἔθαλψεν ⁹

mvp-comment-554-2 ἄτης ¹⁰

mvp-comment-554-3 ὅδ’ αὖ ¹¹ ἔθαλψεν ¹²

mvp-comment-555-1 δέξαι μ’ ¹³ Ἅιδη ¹⁴ Ἀΐδη ¹⁵

mvp-comment-556-1 ἔνσεισον ¹⁶ ἐγκατάσκηψον ¹⁷

mvp-comment-556-2 δαίνυται ¹⁸

mvp-comment-557-1 ἤνθηκεν ¹⁹

mvp-comment-557-2 ὦ χέρες ²⁰

mvp-comment-557-3 ὦ νῶτα καὶ στέρν’ ²¹

mvp-comment-558-1 ὑμεῖς δὲ κεῖνοι ²² ὑμεῖς ἐκεῖνοι ²³

mvp-comment-558-2 καθέσταθ’ ²⁴ ὑμεῖς ²⁵

mvp-comment-559-1 Νεμέας ²⁶

mvp-comment-559-2 ἀλάστορα ²⁷ ἄπλατον ²⁸

mvp-comment-560-1 βίᾳ κατειργάσασθε ²⁹

mvp-comment-560-2 Λερναίαν θ’ ὕδραν ³⁰

mvp-comment-560-3 1095 f. The next two exploits are also linked. Sentby Eurystheus in quest of the

κάπρος

( θῆρα ³¹

mvp-comment-560-4 διφυᾶ ³²

mvp-comment-560-5 ἱπποβάμονα ³³

mvp-comment-560-6 θηρῶν ³⁴

mvp-comment-560-7 ὑβριστήν, ἄνομον ³⁵

mvp-comment-561-1 Ἅιδου τρίκρανον σκύλακ’ ³⁶

mvp-comment-561-2 Ἐχίδνης θρέμμα ³⁷

mvp-comment-561-3 χρυσέων ³⁸

mvp-comment-561-4 The golden apples, brought from the garden of the gods, originally meant the winning of immortality. Hence this

ἆθλος

properly comes after the Cerberus, though the latter is sometimes made the last ( Eur. H. F.427 ).

mvp-comment-561-5 δράκοντα μήλων φύλακ’ ³⁹

mvp-comment-561-6 ἐπ’ ἐσχάτοις τόποις ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-562-1 μόχθων ⁴¹

mvp-comment-562-2 ἐγευσάμην ⁴²

mvp-comment-563-1 χερῶν ⁴³

mvp-comment-564-1 ἄναρθρος ⁴⁴

mvp-comment-565-1 ἀρίστης ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-565-2 ὠνομασμένος ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-566-1 τὸ μηδὲν ὦ ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-567-1 κἂν μηδὲν ἕρπω ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-568-1 χειρώσομαι ⁴⁹

mvp-comment-568-2 κἀκ τῶνδε ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-568-3 ἵν’ ἐκδιδαχθῇ<01> ἀγγέλλειν ⁵¹

mvp-comment-568-4 κακούς γε ⁵² γε ⁵³

mvp-comment-568-5 θανὼν ⁵⁴

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

1070. mvp-comment-759-1 οἴκτειρόν τε με] The two imperatives are connected by τε, because Heracles regards obedience to his request as inseparable from pity for his state.

1071. mvp-comment-760-1 πολλοῖσιν οἰκτρόν] i. e. 'Whom many (and not my son only) may be expected to pity.' Cp. Eur. Med. 509, πολλαῖς μακαρίαν.

1074. mvp-comment-761-1 ἑσπόμην κακοῖς] I turned not aside from trouble.' The imperfect εἱπόμην might rather have been looked for here, but the aorist, summing up the past, is not wrong. Blaydes and Meineke propose εἰχόμην, the former on the ground that evils do not require to be followed after. But (α) ἔπεσθαι is not necessarily to follow after, but also to 'accompany' (see L. and S. s. v. ἕπω, B. 1. 4.): (β) I went where trouble led me' is a fair description of the life of Heracles, whose course was one of unremitting toil. Cp. Eur. Alc. 499, 500, ΗΡ. καὶ τόνδε τοὐμοῦ δαίμονος πόνον λέγεις, | σκληρὸς γὰρ ἀεὶ καὶ πρὸς αἶπος ἔρχεται. Cp. also the Epic phrase πότμον ἐπισπεῖν.

1075. mvp-comment-762-1 ἐκτοιούτου] (1) In consequence of such a thing;' i.e. From an unseen, subtle, woman-inflicted evil (ll. 1050-2, 1057, 1062, 3, 1104). Or (2), 'After being such, i.e. After having bravely endured so much.

1076. mvp-comment-763-1 foll. Heracles first draws Hyllus nearer to show him what ravage the venom had made: then, by a sudden impulse, displays the torn and writhing frame to all. Afterwards, the pain again overcomes him, and this is marked by the broken rhythm (1081 dochmiac, 1085, 6, anapaestic dimeter brachycatalectic). Then looking again at his shrivelled members, he recalls once more their prowess in past days, contrasting it with the feebleness of the present. Last comes one more outburst of futile rage against Deianira.

1078. mvp-comment-764-1 ἐκ καλυμμάτων] Forth of coverings,' i.e. unveiled. For the emphatic use of the preposition, cp. ἀπὸ in ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος, Ο. C. 900, and similar expressions.

1082. mvp-comment-765-1 ἔθαλψεν] Hermann conjectures ἔθαλψέ μ'; but με is easily supplied. ἄτης σπασμός.. ὅδε] 'This cruel fatal spasm.' ἄτης is an attributive genitive like Ἐρινύων in supr. 1051. For the order, cp. Phil. 1050, 1.

1083. mvp-comment-766-1 οὐδ᾽ ἀγύμναστόν μ' ἐἂν] For the present tense, cp. Ant. 625, πράσσει δ᾽ ὀλιγοστὸν χρόνον ἐκτὸς ἄτας.

1091. mvp-comment-767-1 ἐκεῖνοι .. καθέσταθ΄] ‘Are the same.' However changed they appear, these achievements remain theirs. This is implied in the use of καθεστάναι for the substantive verb.

1093. mvp-comment-768-1 κἀπροσήγορον] 'And not affable.' For the irony implied in this epithet, cp. Job 41. 3, 5, Will he make many supplications unto thee? Will he speak soft words unto thee?.. Wilt thou play with him as with a bird? or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?'

1094. mvp-comment-769-1 κατειργάσασθε] Cp. Hdt. 1. 24, ἑαυτὸν κατεργάσασθαι.

1095. mvp-comment-770-1 ἄμικτον] 'Unsociable,' not mingling in friendship with mankind. ἱπποβάμονα] · Tramping with horses' feet.'

1096. mvp-comment-771-1 θηρῶν] 'Of the Centaurs,' as elsewhere in this play. But in the next line θῆρα is used in the more general sense of Wild beast.' *ὑπέροχον] The MSS. give the Epic form ὑπείροχον, which is unmetrical here.

1098. mvp-comment-772-1 σκύλακα] The word conveys a touch of contempt for Heracles' old enemy, Cerberus.

1099. mvp-comment-773-1 δεινῆς Ἐχίδνης θρέμμα] Nurse-ling of dire Echidna.' Cp. Hes. Theog. 310, where Cerberus is so designated.

1100. mvp-comment-774-1 ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτοις τόποις] 'In the farthest region. The vagueness of the expression, without γῆς or χθονός, is intentional.

1102. mvp-comment-775-1 τῶν ἐμῶν χερῶν] Genitive of the object: i. e. of that over which the triumph is celebrated.

1103. mvp-comment-776-1 κατερρακωμένος] 'Reduced to shreds,' the poison having devoured the substance of his frame. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 1023, σώματος μέγα ῥάκος,-said of Prometheus torn by the vulture.

1104. mvp-comment-777-1 τυφλῆς] ‘Blind,' i. e. 'Eluding sight.' Cp. supr. 1057, ἀφράστῳ. ἐκπεπόρθημαι] I am utterly destroyed.' Cp. Aj. 896, διαπεπόρθημαι,

1105. mvp-comment-778-1 ὠνομασμένος] Alcmena's name was often introduced in speaking of Heracles. Cp. supr. 19, 644: Aj. 130 ᾿Αλκμήνης γόνος: Aesch. Ag. 1040, παῖδα . . ᾿Αλκμήνης.

1106. mvp-comment-779-1 ὁ.. αὐδηθείς] ‘Who was named aloud.' Cp. Phil. 240, 1, αὐδῶμαι δὲ παῖς ᾿Αχιλλέως, Νεοπτόλεμος. There seems to have been a v. r. αὐθαδής, a curious instance of the mixture of mechanical and mental error which has given rise to some corruptions.

1107-1108. mvp-comment-780-1 κἂν τὸ μηδὲν ὦ | κἂν μηδὲν έρπω] 'Though I be nothingness and have no power to move.' The second μηδέν is adverbial = Not at all.'

1109. mvp-comment-781-1 προσμόλοι μόνον] · Might she but come near,'-expressing a wish, not now a command. Cp. Ant. 310-2, and note: O. T. 624.

1111. mvp-comment-782-1 καὶ θανών] ‘And when already dead,' as he was in effect even now.

Sophocles Trachiniae 1076

ed. Francis Storr

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ΤΡΑΧΙΝΙΑΙ.

ΧΟ.

Horror hath caught me as I hear this, woe,

Racking our mighty one with mightier pain.

HER

Der Chor.

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

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Experimental

ΤΡΑΧΙΝΙΑΙ.

ΧΟ.

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

HER

Der Chor.

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

Commentary

Stable identifiers

Horror hath caught me as I hear this, woe,

Racking our mighty one with mightier pain.

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.