Sophocles Ajax 603

ed. Lewis Campbell

Current edition Experimental

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

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (3)
Αἴας μαστιγοφόρος First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Aiax. Lobeck Christian, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1866.) — 592-633 focus
Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 596-645 focus
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 596-645 focus
Translations (2)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 609 focus
Ajas, schwer zu beschicken, ist 1
585
Mir gesellt, und erneut den Kampf, ach, ach!
Durch göttliche Wuth getrieben,
Er, den du sandtest einst, als er im Waffensturm
So groß war; nun verirrt, schwärmt er auf einsamer
Trift, die Freunde mit herber Qual marternd.
590
Was sein tapferer Arm
Ehmals herrlich vollbracht,
Von der Atriden Haß
Verkannt fiel's, von der Thoren Undank.
Zweite Strophe.
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 596-645 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-360-1 Ἰδαῖα 1

mvp-comment-360-2 1. The metre (logaoedic) is clear: no suspicion rests on the antistrophic verses, 613—615

κρατοῦντ’ ... ηὕρηται
. Metre proves, then, that ( a) instead of L's
ἰδαία
, we require --u, which is given by
Ἰδαῖα
. ( b) Instead of
λειμωνίᾳ ποίᾳ
we require --uu-u, which is satisfied by
λειμώνἰ ἔπαυλα
. ( c) Instead of
εὐνόμᾳ
, we require ---.

mvp-comment-360-3 2. εὐνῶμαι 2 μίμνων 3

mvp-comment-360-4 3. μηνῶν 4 μηνῶν ἀνήριθμος 5

mvp-comment-360-5 What remains doubtful, then, is only how we should correct the words,

ἰδαῖα... λειμωνίᾳ ποίᾳ
. Now, in favour of
Ἰδαῖα.. λειμώνἰ ἔπαυλα
, let it be noted that, if
ἔπαυλα
was the genuine word, then the corruption of
μηνῶν
into μήλων 6

mvp-comment-360-6 The construction then is,

εὐνῶμαι Ἰδαῖα λειμώνια ἔπαυλα
, ‘I am encamped in quarters on the fields of Ida,’
μηνῶν ἀνήριθμος
, ‘through countless months.’ For the acc. with
εὐνῶμαι
, cp. such phrases as
ζυγὸν ἕζομαι
(249 n.),
κεῖμαι τόπον
( Ph. 144 f.). For
εὐνῶμαι
with ref. to camping, cp. Il. 10. 408
Τρώων φυλακαί τε καὶ εὐναί
: Aesch. Ag. 559
εὐναὶ γὰρ ἦσαν δαΐων πρὸς τείχεσιν· | ἐξ οὐρανοῦ δὲ κἀπὸ γῆς λειμώνιαι | δρόσοι κατεψάκαζον
—a passage which Sophocles may have had in mind.

mvp-comment-360-7 For other views of the passage, and other emendations, see Appendix.