654-655.
mvp-comment-489-1
Hoc innuit chorus: quum Hercules diu ubi esset ignoratus, longe dissitas regiones peragrasset, nunc bellum quod exarserit, sustulit labores.' Herm. The War-god stung to fury' is a lyrical condensation of ll. 359-365. in which Lichas described the sudden levying of the war against Eurytus. For the personification, cp. Aj. 706, ἔλυσεν αἰνὸν ἄχος ἀπ᾿ ὀμμάτων ᾿Αρης, and note. The conjectures αὖ στρωθείς, οἱ στρωθείς, though receiving some plausibility from a late variant οἰστρωθείς, are really worthless. ἐξέλυσ᾽ ἐπίπονον ἁμέραν] ‘Has freed him from the day of toil. The phrase ἐπίπονος ἁμέρα is formed on the analogy of δούλιον ἦμαρ, ἐλεύθερον ἦμαρ, and the like, in Epic Greek. For the accusative, cp. Ο. Τ. 35, ἐξέλυσας .. δασμόν. The day of toil' is the succession of labours, which had weighed on the life of Heracles, and through him on Deianira. Cp. infr. l.825, ἀναδοχὰν τελεῖν πόνων, κ.τ.λ.
655.
mvp-comment-490-1
πολύκωπον όχημα] Literally, The many-oared car. The expression is figurative, for there is no reason to suppose that here or in Aesch. Prom. 468, ὄχημα is generalised as it is in Plato, Polit. 288 A, 289 B, to signify literally, Any means of locomotion.'
656.
mvp-comment-491-1
ἀνύσειε] The optative follows the previous optative, and continues the expression of desire.
657.
mvp-comment-492-1
νασιῶτιν ἑστίαν] ‘The island altar,' viz. of Zeus Cenaeus in Euboea.
659.
mvp-comment-493-1
ἀμείψας] 'Passing from.' Cp. Phil. 1262. The other construction, τήνδε τὴν πόλιν ἀμείψας ἐκ νησιωτίδος ἑστίας, would have been equally possible. κλήζεται] Viz. since the report of Lichas, ll. 237, 8.
660.
mvp-comment-494-1
πανάμερος] Either (1) All day long, i. e. not breaking the journey (cp. infr. 740); or (2) All docile,' from ἥμερος, i. e. cured of his passion.
661-662.
mvp-comment-495-1
τᾶς πειθοῦς παγχρίστῳ συγκεραθείς] «Steeped in the full anointing of persuasion: i. e. penetrated with the virtue of the charm through which persuasion works. Cp. Pind. Pyth. 5. 24, τεᾷ τοῦτο μιγνύμενον φρενί: Hdt. 4. 152, φιλίαι . . συνεκρήθησαν. Prof. Paley, metri gratia, conjectures συντακείς. παγχρίστῳ has been suspected. But such a substantival use of the adjective does not seem impossible here. Cp. Εl. 851 foll. πανσύρτῳ παμμήνῳ, κ.τ.λ., where, however, the text is probably corrupt.
662.
mvp-comment-496-1
ἐπὶ προφάσει θηρός] · By the Centaur's precept.' πρόφασις here may mean 'Fore-telling, just as πρόφατος in Pind. Olymp. 8. 16 means 'Proclaimed.' Or if πρόφατον be, as some allege, = πρόφαντον, then προφάσει may have the meaning of προφάνσει. Cp. ἔμφασις, and Hdt. 6. 129, ἐκφάσιος. In either case it is quite unnecessary to adopt an inferior reading (ἐπιπόνων ἁμερᾶν) in the strophe (l. 655). The proscenium having been vacant during the preceding ode, Deianira- with changed countenance (?) - comes forth from the house.
