Sophocles Ajax 1316

ed. Lewis Campbell

Current edition Experimental

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Greek) (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Translations (1)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1316 focus
O Fürst Odysseus, recht zur Zeit erscheinst du hier,
Wenn du den Streit versöhnen, nicht entflammen willst.
1270

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-779-1 καιρὸν 1 ξυνάψων 2 συλλύσων 3

mvp-comment-779-2 1318 f. The conciliatory temper of Odysseus is marked at once by the courteous form of address,

ἄνδρες
,—by the honourable patronymic
Ἀτρειδῶν
,—and by the designation of Ajax as
ἄλκιμος
.

mvp-comment-779-3 βοὴν Ἀτρειδῶν 4

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

1316. mvp-comment-843-1 καιρόν] For this adverbial accusative, cp. supr. 34 and note: Pind. Pyth. 1. 156, καιρὸν εἰ φθέγξαιο.

1316-1317. mvp-comment-844-1 (1) 'If you are come not to entangle, but to assist in adjusting this matter.' Or, (2) 'If not in time to begin the fray, at all events you are here to help in ending it.' The expression seems in either case to be proverbial. In support of (2) it may be said that the Chorus can have no doubt that the coming of Odysseus will help to compose strife. In this case (2) the verbs ἴσθι, πάρει, without connecting particle, may be either viewed as an asyndeton, or πάρει may be regarded as a resumption of ἐληλυθώς, returning to the indicative mood. The interpretation turns upon the question, which is the more natural image, that of a knot (or complication), for which, cp. Ant. 40, λύουσ᾽ ἂν ἢ 'φάπτουσα, or that of joining battle ( ξυνάπτειν τινὰς ἐς μάχην, νείκεα λύειν). 'Odysseus comes at the end of a fray.'