Trachiniae. Sophocles. Robert Potter (Translator). London. 1820.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Robert Potter, 1788))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
mvp-comment-108-1 κοινὸς 1 τὸν εὐφ. Ἀπ 2 ἴτω κλαγγὰ 3
mvp-comment-109-1 ἀνάγετ’ 4
mvp-comment-110-1 Ἄρτεμιν Ὀρτυγίαν 5
mvp-comment-110-2
Artemis was worshipped on the coasts near Malis (637 n.), but we have no proof that the name
Ὀρτυγία was specially given to her there. Perhaps the poet uses it here merely as one of her standing epithets.
mvp-comment-110-3 ἐλαφαβόλον 6
mvp-comment-110-4 ἀμφίπυρον 7
mvp-comment-110-5 Νύμφας 8
mvp-comment-111-1 ἀείρομ’ 9
mvp-comment-112-1 τὸν αὐλόν 10 ὦ τύραννε 11 τᾶς ἐμᾶς φρενός 12
mvp-comment-113-1 ἰδού μ’ 13 εὐοῖ 14 ἀναταράσσει 15
mvp-comment-113-2 ὁ κισσός 16
mvp-comment-113-3 βακχίαν … ἅμιλλαν 17
mvp-comment-114-1 ἰὼ ἰὼ Παιάν 18
mvp-comment-115-1 ἵδ’ 19 ἴδε ἴδ’ 20
mvp-comment-116-1 τάδ’ 21
mvp-comment-116-2 ἐναργῆ 22 ἀντίπρῳρα 23
mvp-comment-117-1 οὐδέ μ’ ὄμματος φρουρὰν παρῇλθε 24 παρῆλθε 25 φρουρὰ 26
mvp-comment-118-1 προὐννέπω 27
mvp-comment-118-2 φέρεις 28 καὶ 29
mvp-comment-119-1 ἀλλ’ 30
mvp-comment-120-1 κατ’ ἔργου κτῆσιν 31
mvp-comment-120-2 ἄνδρα γὰρ 32
mvp-comment-120-3 καλῶς πράσσοντ’ 33 καλῶς 34 καλά 35
mvp-comment-121-1 ἃ πρῶτα βούλομαι 36 ‐εα 37
mvp-comment-122-1 ἔγωγέ τοι 38
mvp-comment-122-2 ἔλειπον 39 ζῶντα 40 τε καί 41 ἰσχύοντα 42 καί 43 θάλλοντα 44
mvp-comment-123-1 ποῦ γῆς 45 πατρῴας εἴτε βαρβάρου 46 εἴτε 47 εἴτε 48
mvp-comment-123-2 ποῦ γῆς; πατρῴας εἴτε βαρβάρου; λέγε 49
mvp-comment-123-3 ποῦ γῆς; πατρῴας εἴτε βαρβάρου, λέγε 50
mvp-comment-123-4 πατρῴας 51
mvp-comment-124-1 Εὐβοίς 52
mvp-comment-124-2 ὁρίζεται βωμοὺς 53 βωμοὺς 54
mvp-comment-124-3 τέλη τ’ ἔγκαρπα 55
mvp-comment-125-1 εὐκταῖα … ἢ )πὸ μαντείας 56
mvp-comment-125-2 φαίνων 57
mvp-comment-126-1 εὐχαῖς 58
mvp-comment-126-2 ἀνάστατον 59
mvp-comment-127-1 ὧν 60
mvp-comment-127-2 ἐν ὄμμασιν 61
mvp-comment-128-1 τοῦ ποτ’ εἰσὶ 62 ἐκεῖνος 63
mvp-comment-129-1 οἰκτραὶ γάρ 64
mvp-comment-129-2 ξυμφοραὶ 65 ξυμφορᾷ 66
mvp-comment-130-1 ἐξείλεθ’ 67 αὑτῷ 68 θεοῖς 69
mvp-comment-131-1 ἦ κἀπὶ 70
mvp-comment-131-2 ἄσκοπον 71
mvp-comment-131-3 ἡμερῶν 72 ἀνήριθμον 73 χρόνον 74
mvp-comment-131-4
The form
ἀνήριθμος is of a frequent type. When the second part of a compound adj. has a disyllabic stem (usu. a verbal stem), beginning with a short vowel, this vowel may be lengthened. Such forms were oft. convenient in poetry (as
ἀνήροτος, εὐήνεμος, φιλήρετμος), but many of them were equally current in good prose (as
ἀνήκεστος, ἀνήνυτος, ἀνηλεῶς, εὐώνυμος). The restriction of
ἀνήριθμος to classical poetry and late prose (as Athen. p. 253 F) is not due to 1ts form, but to the fact that classical prose preferred
ἀναρίθμητος. Tragedy uses
ἀνάριθμος (
α^) where it suits the metre (as in
El.225
). In Theocr. 15. 45
ἀνάριθμοι (
α—) is Doric for
ἀνήριθμοι.
mvp-comment-132-1 τὸν μὲν πλεῖστον … χρόνον 75 ὡς φήσ’ αὐτός 76
mvp-comment-133-1 ἐμποληθείς 77
mvp-comment-133-2 τοῦ λόγου … φθόνον 78
mvp-comment-133-3 προσεῖναι 79
mvp-comment-133-4 ὅτου 80 ὅτου 81 τοῦ λόγου 82
mvp-comment-133-5 πράκτωρ φανῇ 83
mvp-comment-133-6 The meaning is:—‘You may think that the humiliation of Heracles ought not to be related by his servant to his wife. But this humiliation was imposed by Zeus himself, and can therefore be related without reflecting upon Heracles.’
mvp-comment-134-1 κεῖνος δὲ 84 ἐν Λυδοῖς 85 χρόνον 86
mvp-comment-134-2 πραθεὶς … Ὀμφάλῃ 87
mvp-comment-134-3
Two tragic poets of the fifth century B.C., Ionof Chios and Achaeus, had written an
Ὀμφάλη σατυρική. Two poets of the Middle Comedy, Antiphanes (Athen. 112 C) and Cratinus jun. (id. 669 B) wrote an
Ὀμφάλη, picturing Heracles abandoned to sensuous pleasures. Itis the more noteworthy how Sophocles, in lightly touching on this episode, has guarded his hero's dignity. For he speaks only of servile
labours for the Lydian taskmistress (70
It, 356
); and marks how the bondsman felt his disgrace (254).
mvp-comment-135-1 ἐνιαυτὸν 88
mvp-comment-136-1 λαβὼν 89
mvp-comment-137-1 ὅρκον αὑτῷ προσβαλὼν 90
mvp-comment-137-2 ἦ μὴν 91
mvp-comment-137-3 τὸν ἀγχιστῆρα τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους 92
mvp-comment-137-4 No emendation is probable. Nauck's αὐτόχειρα 93
mvp-comment-138-1 ξὺν παιδὶ καὶ γυναικὶ 94 παισὶ 95
mvp-comment-138-2 ἔτι 96
mvp-comment-139-1 κοὐχ ἡλίωσε τοὔπος 97
mvp-comment-139-2 ὅθ’ ἁγνὸς ἦν 98 ἁγνός 99
mvp-comment-140-1 στρατὸν … ἐπακτὸν 100
mvp-comment-140-2 ἔρχεται 101
mvp-comment-140-3 πόλιν τὴν Εὐρυτείάν 102
mvp-comment-141-1 ἐφέστιον 103 ἐς δόμους 104 ἐλθόντ’ … ἐφέστιον 105
mvp-comment-142-1 ξένον παλαιὸν ὄντα 106
mvp-comment-143-1 ἐπερρόθησε 107
mvp-comment-143-2
From
ἐπερρόθησε a verb of more general sense, such as
ὕβρισε, is to be supplied with
ἀτηρᾷ φρενί
108
γόγοις
109
φρενί
110
δείπνοις δ’
111
mvp-comment-143-3 Others understand :—‘railed against him both with (rude) words and with evil intent.’ To this there are two objections. (1) Since all the supposed affronts are then verbal, the antithesis would require an epithet for λόγοις 112 ἀτηρᾷ 113 πολλὰ μὲν … πολλὰ δέ 114
mvp-comment-143-4 The text is clearly (I think) sound. It is unwarrantable, as it is undesirable, to strike out πολλὰ δ’ … χεροῖν μὲν 115
mvp-comment-144-1 λέγων χεροῖν μὲν 116 δὲ 117 λέγων 118
mvp-comment-144-2 τῶν ὧν τέκνων 119
mvp-comment-144-3 λείποιτο 120
mvp-comment-145-1 φωνεῖ δὲ 121 ῥαίοιτο 122
mvp-comment-145-2 ἀνδρὸς … ἐλευθέρου 123 δοῦλος 124
mvp-comment-145-3 ῥαίοιτο 125
mvp-comment-145-4
The conject.
φανεὶς δὲ δοῦλος ἀνδρος
ἀντ’ ἐλευθέρου (cr. n.) has been received by several edd., who cite
Ai.1020
δοῦλος λόγοισιν ἀντ’ ἐλευθέρου φανείς. There, however, the force of
φανείς depends on
λόγοισιν: ‘represented,’ ‘made out,’ in his taunting words, to be a slave. Here
φανείς would mean simply, ‘found to be.’
mvp-comment-145-5 δείπνοις 126
mvp-comment-145-6 ᾠνωμένος 127
mvp-comment-145-7 ἔρριψεν ἐκτὸς αὐτόν 128
mvp-comment-145-8 ὧν ἔχων χόλον 129
mvp-comment-146-1 αὖθις 130
mvp-comment-146-2 Τιρυνθίαν … κλιτύν 131 υ^ 132 κλιτύν 133
mvp-comment-146-3 ἵππους νομάδας 134 νομάδας 135
mvp-comment-147-1 ἄλλοσ’ … ὄμμα, θατέρᾳ δὲ νοῦν ἔχοντ’ 136 θατέρᾳ 137 ἄλλοσε 138
mvp-comment-147-2 πυργώδους πλακός 139
mvp-comment-148-1 ὁ τῶν ἁπάντων 140
mvp-comment-149-1 πρατόν νιν ἐξέπεμψεν 141 οὐδ’ ἠνέσχετο 142 ὁθούνεκ’ 143 μοῦνον 144
mvp-comment-150-1 ἠμύνατο 145
mvp-comment-151-1 χειρουμένῳ 146
mvp-comment-151-2 οὐδὲ δαίμονες 147
mvp-comment-152-1 κεῖνοι δ’ 148
mvp-comment-152-2 ὑπερχλίοντες 149
mvp-comment-152-3 ἐκ γλώσσης κακῆς 150
mvp-comment-152-4 282 For αὐτοὶ μὲν 151 κεῖνοι 152 πόλις δὲ 153
mvp-comment-152-5 οἰκήτορες 154
mvp-comment-153-1 τάσδε 155 ἅσπερ 156 ἐξ ὀλβίων 157
mvp-comment-154-1 χωροῦσι πρὸς σέ 158
mvp-comment-154-2 πόσις τε … ἐγὼ δὲ 159 ἐφεῖτο 160 τελῶ 161
mvp-comment-155-1 ἁγνὰ θύματα 162 τῆς ἁλώσεως 163
mvp-comment-156-1 φρόνει νιν ὡς ἥξοντα 164 νιν 165 ὡς 166
mvp-comment-157-1 καλῶς 167
mvp-comment-158-1 νῦν σοι τέρψις ἐμφανὴς κυρεῖ 168
mvp-comment-158-2 τῶν μὲν 169 τὰ δὲ 170
mvp-comment-159-1 πανδίκῳ φρενί 171
mvp-comment-160-1 τῇδε 172 τοῦτο 173
mvp-comment-160-2 The rejection of this verse (see cr. n.) would be deplorable. Deianeira rejoices, but <*>ls a certain sadness, and knows that she cannot help showing it; all the more she wishes to assure them how real her joy is.
mvp-comment-161-1 τοῖσιν εὖ σκοπουμένοις 174
mvp-comment-161-2 ταρβεῖν τὸν εὖ πράσσοντα 175
mvp-comment-161-3 This shadow which flits across Deianeira's joy is the more dramatically impressive for the spectators, because it arises so naturally out of her tender sympathy for the captives. It is a touch worthy of the greatest master.
mvp-comment-162-1 ἐμοὶ … εἰσέβη 176
mvp-comment-162-2 δεινὸς 177
mvp-comment-163-1 ἀπάτορας 178
mvp-comment-163-2 301 f. For ἴσως 179 ἐξ ἐλευθέρων ἀνδρῶν 180 ἀνδρῶν 181 ἀπάτορας 182
mvp-comment-164-1 ὦ Ζεῦ τροπαῖε 183
mvp-comment-164-2 τοὐμὸν σπέρμα 184
mvp-comment-164-3 χωρήσαντα 185 εἰς 186 πρὸς 187 σε 188 που 189
mvp-comment-165-1 μηδ’, εἴ τι δράσεις 190 εἰ 191 ζώσης 192
mvp-comment-165-2 This verse is a development of μή ποτ’ εἰσίδοιμι 193
mvp-comment-165-3
The objection to the verse as illogical assumes that the
δέ in
μηδέ
194
mvp-comment-166-1 τεκνοῦσσα 195 τεκοῦσα 196
mvp-comment-166-2 πρὸς … φύσιν 197 πάντων … τῶνδε 198
mvp-comment-166-3 γενναία 199
mvp-comment-167-1 ὁ φιτύσας πατήρ 200
mvp-comment-167-2 ᾤκτισα 201
mvp-comment-167-3 ὅσῳπερ 202 μόνη 203
mvp-comment-167-4 φρονεῖν οἶδεν 204 φρονεῖν 205
mvp-comment-167-5 314 f. For καὶ 206 κρίνοις 207
mvp-comment-167-6 γέννημα τῶν ἐκεῖθεν 208 οὐκ ἐν ὑστάτοις 209
mvp-comment-168-1 μὴ τῶν τυράννων 210
mvp-comment-168-2 Εὐρύτου σπορά τις ἦν 211 τις 212
mvp-comment-169-1 ἀνιστόρουν 213
mvp-comment-169-2 μακράν 214
mvp-comment-170-1 ξυνεμπόρων 215
mvp-comment-170-2 ἔχεις 216
mvp-comment-170-3 ἤνυτον 217
mvp-comment-171-1 ἀλλ’ ἡμὶν 218
mvp-comment-172-1 καὶ 219 ξυμφορά 220
mvp-comment-173-1 οὔ τἄρα 221 οὐδὲν ἐξ ἴσου 222 τῷ γε πρόσθεν χρόνῳ 223 ἐξ ἴσου 224 διοίσει 225 γλῶσσαν 226 διοίσει 227
mvp-comment-173-2 ἤτις 228
mvp-comment-173-3 οὐδαμὰ 229
mvp-comment-174-1 οὔτε μείζον’ οὔτ’ ἐλάσσονα 230
mvp-comment-175-1 ὠδίνουσα … βάρος 231
mvp-comment-176-1 διήνεμον 232 πάτραν 233
mvp-comment-176-2 ἡ … τὐχη 234
mvp-comment-176-3 αὐτῇ γ’ 235 γ’ 236
mvp-comment-176-4 συγγνώμην ἔχει 237
mvp-comment-177-1 ἡ δ’ οὖν 238 ἡ δ’ 239 ἥδ’ 240
mvp-comment-177-2 οὕτως ὅπως ἥδιστα 241
mvp-comment-177-3
331 Among the attempts to amend
λύπην...λύπην (cr. n.), the two best, I think, are, (1)
ἄλλην … λύπην
242
λύπην … διπλῆν
243
διπλῆν
244
mvp-comment-177-4 Almost all edd. retain the optat. λάβοι 245 λάβῃ 246
mvp-comment-178-1 οἷ θέλεις σπεύδῃς 247
mvp-comment-178-2 ἐγὼ δὲ 248 σύ θ’ 249
mvp-comment-178-3 ἐξαρκῆ τιθῶ 250
mvp-comment-179-1
The
ἄγγελος (180), who has listened in silence, now places himself between Deianeira and the door through which she is about to follow Lichas and the captives.
mvp-comment-179-2 αὐτοῦ γε πρῶτον βαιὸν ἀμμείνας’ 251 γε 252
mvp-comment-179-3 ἀμμείνας’ 253
mvp-comment-180-1 ἄνευ 254 τ’ 255 μάθῃς 256 μάθῃς 257 ἐκμάθῃς 258 οὕστινας 259
mvp-comment-180-2 ὧν τ’ οὐδὲν εἰσήκουσας 260
mvp-comment-181-1 πάντ’ 261
mvp-comment-182-1 τί δ’ ἔστι 262
mvp-comment-182-2 τοῦ 263
mvp-comment-182-3 ἐφίστασαί με 264 τήνδε βάσιν 265
mvp-comment-182-4
The midd.
ἐφίσταμαι does not elsewhere occur in a causal sense (except in the aor., as
Xen.
Cyr.8. 2. 19
φρουροὺς ἐπεστησά μην). But the causal use of
καθίσταμαι (
Aesch.
Eum.706
φρούρημα γῆς καθίσταμαι ,
Thuc.2. 6
τά τ’ ἐν τῇ πόλει καθίσταντο) appears to warrant a like use of
ἐφίσταμαι, where, as here, the context helps to explain it. Cp. also
Plat.
Tim. 63 C
γεώδη γένη διϊστάμενοι, ‘separating.’ [But we cannot properly compare
O. C.916
παρίστασαι, ‘you bring
to your own side,’ ‘subjugate’: nor
Plat.
Rep. 565C
ἕνα τινὰ...δῆμος εἴωθε...προΐστασθαι ἑαυτοῦ: where there is a special reason for using the midd.] The midd.
προσορωμένα in
Soph.
O. C.244
is similarly unique, and has a like justification.
mvp-comment-182-5
A fact which confirms this view is that
ἐφιστάναι, ἐφίστασθαι were regularly used with ref. to a halt.
Xen.
An.2. 4. 26
ἐπορεύετο δὲ ἄλλοτε καὶ ἄλλοτε ἐφιστάμενος. ὅσον δὲ χρόνον τὸ ἡγούμενον τοῦ στρατεύματος ἐπιστήσειε, τοσοῦτον ἦν ἀνάγκη χρόνον δἰ ὅλου τοῦ στρατεύματος γίγνεσθαι τὴν ἐπίστασιν. (For
ἐπίστασις, ‘a halt,’ cp.
Soph.
Ant.225
n.) Polyb. 16. 34. 2
ἐπιστήσαντες...τὴν ὁρμήν.
Diod.17. 112
τὴν ὁδὸν...ἐπιστήσας.
Plut.
Cim. 1
ἐπιστήσας...τὴν πορείαν. Arrian 5. 16. 1
ἐπέστησε τοὺς ἱππέας τοῦ πρόσω.
mvp-comment-182-6 Another explanation is: τοῦ με ἐφίστασαι 266 τήνδε βάσιν 267 με 268 μοι 269 τοῦ 270 ἐφ’ οὗ 271 με 272
mvp-comment-183-1 οὐδὲ τὸν πάρος … οὐδὲ νῦν 273 οὐδὲ 274 οὔτε 275
mvp-comment-183-2 μάτην 276
mvp-comment-183-3 δοκῶ 277
mvp-comment-184-1 ἐκείνους 278 τούτους δ’ ἔα 279 ἄνευ τῶνδ’ 280
mvp-comment-184-2 ἢ )μοὶ ταῖσδέ τ’ 281
mvp-comment-185-1 σοὶ ταῖσδέ τ’ οὐδὲν εἴργεται 282 οὐδὲν 283 σοὶ ταῖσδέ τ’ 284
mvp-comment-186-1 καὶ δὴ 285
mvp-comment-186-2 χὡ λόγος σημαινέτω 286
mvp-comment-187-1 δίκης ἐς ὀρθόν 287
mvp-comment-187-2 ἢ νῦν … ἢ πρόσθεν … παρῆν 288 κακός 289
mvp-comment-188-1 ἃ μὲν γὰρ ἐξείρηκας 290
mvp-comment-188-2 ἀγνοία 291
mvp-comment-189-1 μαρτύρων 292
mvp-comment-189-2 Εὔρυτόν θ’ ἕλοι τήν θ’ ὑψίπ. Οἰχαλίαν 293
mvp-comment-189-3 τὴν ὑψίπυργον 294
mvp-comment-189-4 Οἰχαλίαν 295
mvp-comment-190-1 μόνος θεῶν 296
mvp-comment-190-2 θέλξειεν 297
mvp-comment-191-1 οὐ τἀπὶ Λυδοῖς 298 ὑπ’ 299 ἐπ’ 300 τἀπὶ 301 ἐπ’ 302
mvp-comment-191-2 πόνων λατρεύματ’ 303
mvp-comment-191-3 ὁ ῥιπτὸς … μόρος 304
mvp-comment-191-4 Heracles had really killed Iphitus. The denial here refers only to the place which the murder held in the story told by Lichas. Heracles was instigated, not by the Lydian servitude which punished his crime, or by those affronts (262 ff.) which Lichas represented as having moved him to the crime, but, in reality, by the refusal of Eurytus to give him Iolè.
mvp-comment-192-1 ὃν 305 ὃ 306 ὃν … παρώσας 307
mvp-comment-193-1 ἀλλ’ ἡνίκ’ 308 οὐκ ἔπειθε 309
mvp-comment-193-2 τὸν φυτοσπόρον 310
mvp-comment-194-1 κρύφιον ὡς ἔχοι λέχος 311 αἰτίαν 312
mvp-comment-194-2 ἑτοιμάσας 313
mvp-comment-194-3 362—
mvp-comment-195-1 ἐπιστρατεύει … ἄνακτα πατέρα 314 τόνδ’ 315 τῶνδ’ 316
mvp-comment-195-2
(1) It was needless to say that the girl's
πατρίς was also the realm of Eurytus:
cp. 244
f.: 283 ff.: 315. The excuse must be that the Messenger himself had not yet said so; he is wordy, and anxious, in his own fashion, to be lucid. The reading
τόνδ’
317
τῶνδ’
318
mvp-comment-195-3 (2) Heracles is subject to ἐπιστρατεύει 319 κτείνει 320 εἶπε 321 δεσπόζειν 322 εἶπε 323
mvp-comment-195-4
(3) At v. 377 Deianeira asks,
ἆρ’ ἀνώνυμος |
πέφυκεν
; i.e., ‘is she of obscure birth?’—and then, for the first time, learns that the girl's father is
Eurytus. So she must have understood
ἄνακτα
324
mvp-comment-195-5 The only course which removes all these three difficulties is Hartung's,—who brackets the words τὴν ταύτης … πατέρα 325
mvp-comment-195-6
Others read
τῶν Εὐρύτου
τόνδ’, rendering: ‘in which (Lichas) said that Heracles (
τόνδ’) holds’ [or ‘wishes to hold’] the throne of Eurytus.’ But Heracles simply laid Oechalia waste; there was no question of his reigning there.—Wecklein ingeniously reads
τὸν ἐργάτην
326
τῶνδ’
327
mvp-comment-195-7 For the change of tenses, cp. Ant.406 n.
mvp-comment-196-1 ἥκει 328 ἔπερσε 329 ἐντεθέρμανται 330 ἥκει 331
mvp-comment-196-2 δόμους ὡς τούσδε 332
mvp-comment-197-1 οὐδ’ εἰκός 333
mvp-comment-197-2 ἐντεθέρμανται 334 ἐν‐ 335 ἐκ‐ 336
mvp-comment-198-1 πρὸς μέσῃ Τραχινίων ἀγορᾷ 337 ἐν 338
mvp-comment-198-2 ἀγορᾷ 339
mvp-comment-198-3 Join ὡσαύτως ἐμοί 340
mvp-comment-199-1 τὸ δ’ ὀρθὸν 341
mvp-comment-200-1 ποῦ … πράγματος 342
mvp-comment-200-2 ὑπόστεγον 343
mvp-comment-201-1 ὦ δὐστηνος 344 πέφυκεν 345
mvp-comment-201-2 This question seems strange after the words κτείνει τ’ ἄνακτα πατέρα τῆσδε 346
mvp-comment-201-3 διώμνυτο 347
mvp-comment-202-1 ἦ κάρτα 348
mvp-comment-202-2 The conject. ὄνομα 349 ὄμμα 350 ἆρ’ ἀνώνυμος πέφυκεν 351 ὄνομα 352 φύσιν 353 κατ’ ὄμμα 354
mvp-comment-202-3 φύσιν 355
mvp-comment-202-4 In some ancient texts this verse was given to Deianeira. Among recent editors, Paley shares that view. But: (1) If Deianeira has already answered her own question, the Messenger's speech opens weakly with v. 380. (2) It agrees best with the practice of Sophocles to suppose that ἦ κάρτα 356 ἢ 357 ἦ 358 φύσιν 359 διώμνυτο 360
mvp-comment-203-1 πατρὸς μὲν οὖσα 361 Ἰόλη )καλεῖτο 362 ποτέ 363 )καλεῖτο 364 οὖσα 365
mvp-comment-203-2 Ἰόλη 366
mvp-comment-203-3 τῆς 367
mvp-comment-204-1 βλάστας 368
mvp-comment-204-2 οὐδὲν ἱστορῶν 369
mvp-comment-204-3 Many editors place a comma after ἐφώνει 370 δῆθεν 371 δῆθεν 372 οὐδὲν ἱστορῶν 373
mvp-comment-205-1 ὄλοιντο 374
mvp-comment-205-2
The comment is aimed at Lichas in the first instance; but its vague form seems purposed, so that the hearers may extend it, if they please, to Heracles. Deianeira herself is in doubt whether the dissimulation practised by Lichas was prompted by her lord (449): Lichas explains that it was not so (479 f.). The schol.'s paraphrase shows that he wished to punctuate thus:
ὄλοιντο, μή τι πάντες, οἱ κακοί, etc.: ‘perish, not all men, but the evil; and (especially) he,’ etc.
mvp-comment-205-3 τὰ δὲ 375 δὲ 376
mvp-comment-205-4 μὴ 377 πρέπονθ’ αὑτῷ 378
mvp-comment-206-1 ποεῖν 379
mvp-comment-207-1 πεύθου 380 πυθοῦ 381
mvp-comment-207-2 σαφῆ 382
mvp-comment-208-1 οὐκ ἀπὸ γνώμης 383
mvp-comment-208-2
The accent in L here,
ἄπο γνώμης, represents the theory that this prep. should be paroxytone when it means ‘at a distance from,’ as in the phrases cited above, and in
ἀπὸ τείχεος (
Il.9. 353
),
ἀπὸ σεῖο (
ib. 437), etc. But this was merely a refinement due to comparatively late grammarians: see Ellendt,
Lex. Soph. p. 79
a: Matthiae
Gr. § 572 n.
b.
mvp-comment-209-1 οὐκ ἐμῶν ὑπ’ ἀγγέλων 384 αὐτόκλητος 385
mvp-comment-210-1 ὡς ὁρᾷς 386 εἰσορᾷς 387 εἰσορᾷς 388 ὡς 389 ἕρποντος ἐμοῦ, εἰσορᾷς 390 ὡς ἕρποντος ἐμοῦ 391 εἰσορᾷς 392 εἰσορᾷς ὡς ἕρποντος ἐμοῦ 393 εἰσορᾷς 394
mvp-comment-210-2 As regards ὡς ὁρᾷς 395 ὡς 396
mvp-comment-211-1 ἐκ ταχείας 397
mvp-comment-211-2 σὺν χρόνῳ … βραδεῖ 398
mvp-comment-211-3 πρὶν ἡμᾶς κἀννεώσασθαι λόγους 399
mvp-comment-212-1 ἦ καὶ 400
mvp-comment-212-2 τὸ πιστὸν τῆς ἀλη‐ 401 θείας 402
mvp-comment-212-3 νεμεῖς 403
mvp-comment-212-4 Even without the hint in the schol. (cr. n.), it would have been clear that νεμεῖς 404 νέμεις 405
mvp-comment-213-1
As to Nauck's change in the order of these verses (cr. n.), it is enough to observe that (1) Lichas could not reply to the question of his
δέσποινα with such a rebuff as
σὺ δ’ εἰς τί δή με
406
τόλμησον εἰπεῖν, εἰ φρονεῖς
407
mvp-comment-214-1 οὗτος, βλέφ’ ὧδε 408
mvp-comment-215-1 σὺ δ’ 409
mvp-comment-216-1 τόλμησον 410
mvp-comment-216-2 εἰ φρονεῖς 411
mvp-comment-216-3 ἱστορῶ 412
mvp-comment-216-4 406 f. If δάμαρτα 413 δεσπότιν 414 θ’ 415 δ’ 416 δέ … δέ 417 τε … τε. — λεύσσων μάταια 418
mvp-comment-217-1 δίκαια 419
mvp-comment-218-1 δίκαιος 420
mvp-comment-219-1 ποικίλας 421
mvp-comment-220-1 ἱστορούμενος 422
mvp-comment-221-1 κάτοισθα 423
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.
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.
329. mvp-comment-255-1 ἥδ᾽ οὖν] ἡ δ' οὖν is sometimes read here, as in O. T. 669. But while δέ is unnecessary, the opposition of πάντες in what follows is enough to justify the use of the demonstrative ἥδε. στέγας] For the accus. cp. 58, δύμους.
330. mvp-comment-256-1 ἥδιστα] For this sense of ἡδύς, ср. О. C. 639, 40, εἰ δ᾽ ἐμοῦ στείχειν μέτα | τόδ᾽ ἡδύ.
331. mvp-comment-257-1 This line in LA (see v. rr.) has manifestly suffered from corruption, some other word being replaced either by the first or the second λύπην. The Triclinian reading which is adopted in the text, although possibly due to conjecture, is more probable than any other of the various changes which have been proposed. It is not necessary to change λάβοι το λάβῃ. The optative slightly varies the expression, I would not have her,' etc.
333. mvp-comment-258-1 For τε.. δέ, see Essay on L. §36. p. 65 f , and cp. supr. 143. The antithesis is introduced after the sentence is begun. οἱ θέλεις] Viz. to rejoin Heracles.
334. mvp-comment-259-1 ἐξαρκή] ‘As they should be.' Cp. infr. 625.
335. mvp-comment-260-1 ἀμμείνασα] Sc. χωροῖς ἄν. Ср. Phil. 645, χωρῶμεν, ἔνδοθεν λαβών. For the use of the participle with ye = 'Not until,' cp. Plat. Phaedr. 228 D, δείξας γε πρῶτον, ὦ φιλότης, κ.τ.λ. The "Αγγελος is rude, and something of a busy-body, but honest and well-meaning.
336. mvp-comment-261-1 ἄνευ τῶνδε] When Lichas and the captives are not present.'
337. mvp-comment-262-1 ἐκμάθῃς θ' ἃ δεῖ] The change from τε to γε in AVR is an attempt to simplify the sentence, but still leaves an awkward resumption. The Αγγελος, full of the importance of his message, and yet afraid to speak it too soon, hurries over the latter part of the sentence, 'That you may learn, first who they are whom you are taking within, and then what else is hidden from you, and (in short) that you may learn fully what you ought to know.'
338. mvp-comment-263-1 l. 338 is characteristic of the man's self-importance. There is a certain ὄγκος in the postponement of γάρ (Aj. 522, El. 492); and the expression πάντ᾽ ἐπιστήμη, 'Knowledge as to all things, Absolute knowledge,' has also a mockheroic (almost 'Pistol'-like) air.
339. mvp-comment-264-1 τί δ᾽ ἐστί] 'What is the matter? Why do you stay my footsteps here with your interruption?" τοῦ for τίνος = τίνος ἕνεκα. See Essay on L. § 10. p. 15 d. The punctuation (that of L) is rendered probable by comparing Ο. Τ. 938, τί δ᾽ ἔστι; ποίαν δύναμιν ὧδ᾽ ἔχει διπλῆν ; ἐφίστασαι] The present middle of ἵστημι is used transitively in Hdt. 7. 9, πολέμους ἵστανται, 'They set up wars amongst themselves.' παρίστασθαι is so used by Sophocles, O. C. 916, ἄγεις θ' ἃ χρήζεις καὶ παρίστασαι βίᾳ, and by other writers: καθίσταμαι by Eur. Suppl. 522, πόλεμον οὐ καθίσταμαι: προίστασθαι by Plato and Demosthenes : διίστασθαι by Plato, Tim. 63 C. It is therefore possible that ἐφίστασθαι here and in Aj. 869 (ἐπίσταται MSS.) may mean, 'To arrest.' τήνδε . . βάσιν] The second accusative expresses the respect in which Deianira was stopped: 'In this going,' i.e. in going, as I have just begun to do. The above interpretation, which is that of the Scholiast, agrees better with the context than if ἐφίστασαι were taken intransitively: Why do you stand before me in this your coming?' See esp. l. 335, αὐτοῦ. . ἀμμείνασα, and 340, σταθεῖσα.
341. mvp-comment-265-1 μάτην] 'Without result,' i.e. without the event proving the truth of my words. δοκῶ] Sc. τὸν μῦθον μάτην ἀκούσεσθαί σε,
342. mvp-comment-266-1 ἐκείνους] Those other people, who were here a little while ago. It may be remarked, as exemplifying the dramatic manner of Sophocles, that the words ἄνευ τῶνδε in l. 336 are unobserved by Deianira. Cp. O.Т. 360, and note.
344. mvp-comment-267-1 οὐδὲν εἴργεται] Sc. τάδε λεχθῆναι. For the passive, cp. Thuc. 8. 54, ὥστε μηκέτι διαμέλλεσθαι. τούτους] Though further off than the Chorus, Lichas and the captives are still imagined as within sight through the open door, and within call.
345. mvp-comment-268-1 χώ λόγος σημαινέτω] ‘Now then let your speech declare your meaning.' Deianira is impatient of the air of mystery which the man has hitherto assumed. For λόγος personified, ср. О. С. 574, χώ λόγος διέρχεται: Fr. inc. 782, διχοστατῶν λόγος. σημαίνειν, without an expressed object, occurs several times in Sophocles and Thucydides; and in Xenophon, Mem. 1. 1. § 4, τὸ δαιμόνιον γὰρ ἔφη σημαίνειν.
346. mvp-comment-269-1 ἀνὴρ ὅδ'] 'Lichas here' (pointing indoors). Cp. τούτους, supr. 344.
347. mvp-comment-270-1 δίκης ἐς ὀρθόν] Truly and uprightly. For δίκη in this sense, cp. Ant. 538, οὐκ ἐάσει τοῦτό σ᾽ ἡ δίκη. κακός] Sc. ἐστί. 'He is behaving badly.'
348. mvp-comment-271-1 δίκαιος] Honest.'
349. mvp-comment-272-1 πᾶν ὅσον νοεῖς] ‘All that thou knowest.'
353. mvp-comment-273-1 ἕλοι] 'Subdued,' viz. killed Eurytus and destroyed Oechalia. For a similar double use of εἶλον, cp Pind. Οl. 1. 142, ἕλεν δ' Οἰνομάου βίαν | παρθένον τε σύνευνον.
354-355. mvp-comment-274-1 Ἔρως.. μόνος θεῶν, κ.τ.λ.] The god of love, and no other, had moved him to this feat of arms.' αἰχμάσαι τάδε] 'Το enter on this warlike enterprise.’ τάδε, cognate accusative.
356-357. mvp-comment-275-1 τἀπὶ . . λατρεύματα] (1) 'Not the toilsome service at the bidding of the Lydians or of Omphale.' Or (2) the preposition may have the merely locative sense in the first instance, and the different meaning, 'In the power of,' with the second word. The labours which he performed among the Lydians and in the service of Omphale.' ἐπί = ' In the power of.' Cp. О. С. 66, ἄρχει τις αὐτῶν, ἢ ἐπὶ τῷ πλήθει λόγος;
357. mvp-comment-276-1 ὁ ῥιπτὸς.. μόρος] ‘The death by hurling from the rock. For a use of the passive of ῥίπτω (with cognate subject) corresponding to this use of the verbal adj.. cp. the oracle in Hdt. 1. 62, ἔρριπται δ᾽ ὁ βόλος (‘Now the cast is made'), τὸ δὲ δίκτυον ἐκπεπέτασται. Cp. also Eur. Or. 990, 1, Μυρτίλου φόνον | δικών, and see Essay on L. § 53. p. 98.
358. mvp-comment-277-1 ov] Referring to "Έρως, the most important subject in the preceding lines. Cp. Ο. C. 86, 7, Φοίβῳ τε καμοί, κ.τ.λ., ὅς, κ.τ.λ. The conjectures ἅ and ὅ are quite unnecessary. παρώσας] « Having thrust aside,' cp. Eur. El. 1037, τἄνδον παρώσας λέκτρα: Plat. Rep. 5. p. 471 C, δ.. παρωσάμενος .. πάντα ταῦτα εἴρηκας. ἔμπαλιν λέγει] 'Tells a different (lit. opposite) tale.'
359. mvp-comment-278-1 οὐκ ἔπειθε] 'He could not persuade.' The imperfect implies that his suit was continued for some time. φυτοσπόρος is originally ὁ σπείρας τὸ φυτόν,
360. mvp-comment-279-1 κρύφιον . . λέχος] ‘In secret marriage,' - accusative in apposition with the action.
362-363. mvp-comment-280-1 These lines have been censured for their tautology, and justly enough; but they are in character with the speaker, who, like the Φύλαξ in the Antigone, has already shown a fondness for false emphasis and superfluous words. The words ἄνακτα πατέρα τῆσδε in l. 364 are in the same manner. ἐν ἡ τὸν Εὔρυτον τόνδ' εἶπε δεσπόζειν θρόνων] 'The same wherein he told us that Eurytus of whom he spake was master of the throne.' The Messenger wants to impress on Deianira that this part of what she has heard need not be unsaid. The reading τῶνδε (see v. rr.) involves a still more superfluous use of the demonstrative.
365. mvp-comment-281-1 ὡς] Hermann's note in defence of ὡς shows a wise caution. He thinks that the rule of grammarians that ὡς for πρός can only be used with persons may be extended so as to cover a case of this kind where the house includes the inmates of the house. It is certainly better to retain a reading which, for anything we know, may be specially suited to express an authorized mission, such as that of Iole under charge of Lichas. ἥκει] 'Heracles is come.' After the words of Lichas in supr. 289, the arrival of Heracles is regarded as an accomplished fact.
366. mvp-comment-282-1 ἀφροντίστως] 'Without special care,' as he would have done, if she had merely fallen to his lot as part of the spoil. Cp. supr. 283-6.
367. mvp-comment-283-1 μηδὲ προσδόκα τόδε] ‘Nay, do not look for that.' μηδέ is rather adversative to Deianira's previous impression than to the preceding words. Others have taken it to mean, 'As it is not the fact, so neither must you think it.' Cp. Aesch. Ag. 879, μηδὲ θαυμάσῃς τόδε, where there is a similar doubt.
368. mvp-comment-284-1 ἐντεθέρμανται] ἐνθερμαίνειν may surely mean ἐντὸς θερμαίνειν, ας ἐμπιμπλάναι means ἐντὸς πιμπλάναι, and unless we are to get rid of all ἅπαξ λεγόμενα, there is no good reason for exchanging this, at some one's suggestion, for ἐκτεθέρμανται, because the Scholiast explains the word by ἐκκέκανται and ἐκθερμαίνειν means somewhere, 'To chafe the limbs.' The addition of this line is suited to the character of the Messenger, whose garrulity unconsciously rubs the sore.
371. mvp-comment-285-1 πρὸς μέσῃ.. ἀγορᾷ] ‘Near the midst of the Trachinians' public place.' Lichas was standing in the midst of the ἀγορά, his audience were standing near. The expression is varied infr. 423. The word μέσῃ marks the publicity of Lichas' statement. See note on O. T. 808.
373. mvp-comment-286-1 ἐξελέγχειν] Sc. αὐτόν. · Clearly to convict him.' εἰ δὲ μὴ λέγω φίλα] From the signs of emotion which she shows, and perhaps instructed by the gestures of the Chorus, the man perceives at last how Deianira is wounded. Ср. О. Т. 746, and note. For φίλα, cp. Phil. 1178, φίλα μοι, φίλα ταῦτα παρήγγειλας.
374. mvp-comment-287-1 οὐχ ἥδομαι] ‘I am sorry.' Cp. Eur. Med. 136, οὐδὲ συνήδομαι, ὦ γύναι, ἄλγεσι δώματος, ἐπεί μοι φίλον κέκρανται.
375. mvp-comment-288-1 ποῦ . . πράγματος] ‘Where am 1?' Cp. Αj. 314, κἀνήρετ᾽, ἐν τῷ πράγματος κυροί ποτέ.
376-377. mvp-comment-289-1 What undermining trouble have I welcomed in beneath my roof?' Cp. Ant. 531, σὺ δ᾽, ἢ κατ᾿ οἴκους ὡς ἔχιδν᾽ ὑφειμένη | λήθουσά μ᾽ ἐξέπινες. ὦ δύστηνος] Sc. ἐγώ. Cp. 375, 1143, 1243, О. Т. 1155, О. С. 318. ἆρ᾿ ἀνώνυμος] Deianira thus dwells bitterly on the deceit of Lichas, whereupon the literal Messenger proclaims Iole's name.
379. mvp-comment-290-1 καὶ κατ᾿ ὄμμα καὶ φύσιν] ‘In birth, as in appearance.'
380. mvp-comment-291-1 πατρός.. Εὐρύτου] 'Taking lineage from Eurytus for her sire.' Ср. Phil. 260, ὦ παῖ πατρὸς ἐξ ᾿Αχιλλέως : Εl. 365, νῦν δ᾽ ἐξὸν πατρὸς .. παῖδα κεκλῆσθαι, καλοῦ τῆς μητρός: Ο. C. 215, τίνος εἶ σπέρματος, ὦ ξένε, φώνει, πατρόθεν. ποτέ] Once.' Cp. supr. 301, and the Homeric εἴ ποτ᾽ ἔην γε (Il. 3. 180).
381. mvp-comment-292-1 'Of whose origin he had not a word to say, pretending forsooth to have made no inquiry.' Cp. supr. 317.
382. mvp-comment-293-1 οὐδὲν ἱστορῶν] 'Because he did not inquire' at that former time. ὅτι (τότε) οὐδὲν ἱστόρει. Cp. supr. 281, ὑπερχλίοντες, and note.
383. mvp-comment-294-1 ὅλοιντο μή τι πάντες οἱ κακοί] The Chorus in a sort of aside, which Deianira is too absorbed to perceive (see infr. 386, ἐκπεπληγμένη), thus covertly direct their indignation at some one. Is this Lichas or Heracles? The prevarication of Lichas is hardly a sufficient cause for such an outburst, and the phrase 'unbecoming to himself' has no significance in relation to him. It is more probable that the Trachinian women, unheard by Deianira, thus breathe a curse on the unfaithfulness of Heracles. It should be remembered that he is not their master, so that the analogy of Medea, 83, 4, ὅλοιτο μὲν μή, δεσπότης γάρ ἐστ᾽ ἐμός, | ἀτὰρ κακός γ᾽ ὧν ἐς φίλους ἁλίσκεται, is rather in favour of this interpretation than against it. Cp. Phil. 451, 2, ποῦ χρὴ τίθεσθαι ταῦτα, ποῦ δ' αἰνεῖν, ὅταν | τὰ θεῖ᾽ ἐπαινῶν τοὺς θεοὺς εὕρω κακούς ;
386. mvp-comment-295-1 (I ask you because) ' I am struck dumb by what is now reported.'
387. mvp-comment-296-1 σαφῆ] ‘Clear truth.'
388. mvp-comment-297-1 εἰ . . θέλοις] 'If you chose to press him hard with questioning.'
389. mvp-comment-298-1 καὶ γὰρ. λέγεις] ‘For your words are not unwise.' οὐκ ἄπο γνώμης = πρὸς γνώμης. 'Thought' in such expressions = ' Wise thought,' or 'Wisdom.'
390. mvp-comment-299-1 This line, which in the Laurentian MS. is expressly given to the Chorus, has been transferred by Hermann and recent editors to the Messenger (cp. El. 772, μάτην ἄρ᾽ ἡμεῖς, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἥκομεν), on the ground that the Chorus were bound in any case to stay where they were, and moreover were helpless in this matter. But (a) τί χρὴ ποιεῖν ; does not mean, 'How shall we help you?' but, What shall we do about staying where we are?' (b) The Ajax and Eumenides show that the Chorus sometimes left the scene, and the objection is irrelevant, for the illusion of the theatre may be carried so far as to ignore stage necessities in imagination. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 1058 foll., where Hermes advises the ocean-nymphs to fly, and El. 1399, ἀλλὰ σῖγα πρόσμενε. (c) The answer of Deianira is perfectly consistent with the coryphaeus having asked, Shall we some of us accompany you, or all wait till you come back?' but is unmeaning as a reply to the question, 'Shall I wait here while you go in, or shall I go away?' which is the only sense the line will bear if given to the Messenger.
391. mvp-comment-300-1 οὐκ . . ἀγγέλων] Sc. κλητός, which is suggested by αὐτόκλητος following.
394. mvp-comment-301-1 εἰσορᾷς] Wunder conjectures ὡς ὁρᾷς. Dindorf, on the other hand, suggests that Sophocles may have used εἰσορᾷς here for the parenthetical opas to avoid the repetition of ὡs. But the parenthetical opas is interrogative, and that is unsuitable here. The best explanation of the words as they stand is to suppose that they are a confusion of two constructions, (1) ὡς εἰσορᾶς ἐμὲ ἕρποντα, (2) ὡς ἕρποντος ἐμοῦ.
395. mvp-comment-302-1 ἐκ ταχείας] For this adverbial expression, cp. infr. 727, ἐξ ἑκουσίας : Plat. Soph. p. 231 C, τὰς ἁπάσας μὴ ῥάδιον εἶναι διαφεύγειν. ὁρμῆς, or some such word, can easily be supplied. But the ellipse has become idiomatic.
395. mvp-comment-302-2 σὺν χρόνῳ βραδεῖ] 'So tardily.' Cp. Ο. С. 1602, ταχεῖ ξὺν χρόνῳ. For the meaning, cp. supr. 44, 5, χρόνον γὰρ οὐχὶ βαιόν, ἀλλ᾽ ἤδη δέκα | μῆνας πρὸς ἄλλοις πέντ᾽ ἀκήρυκτος μένει
396. mvp-comment-303-1 καὶ νεώσασθαι] ‘Before I have conversed again with you.' Hermann conjectures κάννεώσασθαι, - i. e. καὶ ἀνανεώσασθαι, cp. Od. 10. 192, ἀννεῖται. But he was hardly justified in condemning νεώσασθαι. See Essay on L. § 55. p. 101, 4. The meaning is, 'Before we can have fresh interchange of talk,' rather than, 'Before we have renewed the talk we had with you just now.'
398. mvp-comment-304-1 ἢ καὶ . . νέμεις] ‘And dost thou maintain the faithful spirit of truth?" For νέμεις, 'Dost possess, wield, use,' cp. Aesch. Ag. 685, γλῶσσαν ἐν τύχᾳ νέμων. For τὸ πιστὸν τῆς ἀληθείας, cp. Thuc. 2. 40, ἐλευθερίας τῷ πιστῷ: ib. 6. 72, τὸ πιστὸν τῆς ἐπιστήμης.
399. mvp-comment-305-1 ὧν γε = (νέμω ἀλήθειαν) τούτων ἅ.
402. mvp-comment-306-1 Ср. О. Τ. 1121, δεῦρό μοι φώνει βλέπων, The Messenger rudely calls Lichas' attention to himself. Here and elsewhere in this scene (see v. rr.) the traditional reading confuses the persons of Lichas and the Messenger.
403. mvp-comment-307-1 The reading ἐρωτήσασ' (cp. 412) has suggested to some editors a transposition of the lines, which is quite unnecessary. Thus Dindorf (Oxford, 1869) reads ΔΗ. 400, ΛΙ. 403, ΔΗ. 404, ΛΙ. 401, ΑΓ. 402. But Lichas is too courteous to Deianira and too self-possessed to have addressed so rude a question to her, instead of answering at once, and if he had done so would not have emphasized the pronoun σύ: whereas it is quite natural that he should turn abruptly on the Messenger without giving him a direct answer. And 404 suits better with the peremptoriness of the "Αγγελος than with the character of Deianira.
404. mvp-comment-308-1 τόλμησον εἰπεῖν] ‘Say frankly.' τολμᾶν is one of those words which, like ἐπιχειρεῖν, are not to be pressed too closely when used as auxiliaries. Cp. Ο. C. 184, τόλμα . . ἀποστυγεῖν: Εl. 1051, οὔτε γὰρ σὺ τἄμ᾽ ἔπη τολμᾶς ἐπαινεῖν, κ.τ.λ : Aesch. Prom. 999, 1000, τόλμησον . . ὀρθῶς φρονεῖν. εἰ φρονεῖς] «If you have the sense to know it; i.e. If your lie has not 'made such a sinner of your memory' as to make you forget to whom you spoke. Hermann strangely understands the "Αγγελος to speak ironically, as if the Messenger thought that Lichas would not dare to answer the question if he were in his right mind.
406. mvp-comment-309-1 δάμαρτά θ' Ηρακλέους] Several editors propose to read δ' for θ'.
407. mvp-comment-310-1 λεύσσων μάταια] ‘If I have not lost the sight of my eyes.' Cp. infr. 863, πότερον ἐγὼ μάταιος. Lichas professes to be shaken by the rudeness of the question, so as for the moment almost to doubt his eyesight. For the adverbial use of the accusative plural, cp. Eur. Alc. 413, ἀνόνατ᾽ ἐνύμφευσας.
408. mvp-comment-311-1 For the repetition of τοῦτο, see on supr. 362, and cp. O. T. 1013, τοῦτ᾽ αὐτὸ . . τοῦτό μ᾽ εἰσαεὶ φοβεῖ. σου μαθεῖν] ‘To understand from you.' Cp. O. Τ. 575, ἐγὼ δὲ σου | μαθεῖν δικαιῶ ταὔθ᾽ ἅπερ κἀμοῦ σὺ νῦν.
409. mvp-comment-312-1 δίκαια γάρ] 'Yes, for it is right,' that I should acknowledge this. δίκαιος only means 'true' in this indirect way, viz. because it is right to speak the truth. Cp. supr. 347.
410. mvp-comment-313-1 What punishment would you accept? i.e. do you allow that you deserve?' Cp. Ο.Τ. 944, εἰ μὴ λέγω τἀληθές, ἀξιῶ θανεῖν.
412. mvp-comment-314-1 τί ποτε ποικίλας ἔχεις ;] · What riddle have you devised?' Cp. infr. 1121, οὐδὲν ξυνίημ᾽ ὧν σὺ ποικίλλεις πάλαι,
413. mvp-comment-315-1 τοῦτο δρῶν] Sc. ποικίλλων, 'Keeping up a mystery.'
414. mvp-comment-316-1 μῶρος .. σέθεν] ‘I have been a fool in listening to you for so long.'
415. mvp-comment-317-1 ού] Sc. οὐκ ἄπει. Not until being asked you have answered one little word.' See note on O. Т. 360.
416. mvp-comment-318-1 Speak what you will-indeed you have enough to say.'
418. mvp-comment-319-1 κάτοισθα δήπου ;] 'You know, I presume?' Cp. infr. 1219, τὴν Εὐρυτείαν οἶσθα δῆτα παρθένον ;