Sophocles Ajax 231

Richard Jebb (Translator)

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Ajax. Sophocles. Richard Jebb (Translator). Cambridge. 1893.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Experimental

Ajax (English) (Sophocles the plays and fragments, Part 7: The Ajax. Jebb, Richard Claverhouse, Sir, translator. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1891. (Modernized by Perseus.))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (4)
Αἴας μαστιγοφόρος First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Aiax. Lobeck Christian, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1866.) — 215-257 focus
Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 214-262 focus
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 233 focus
ὤμοι· κεῖθεν κεῖθεν ἄρ᾽ ἡμῖν
δεσμῶτιν ἄγων ἤλυθε ποίμναν·
ὧν τὴν μὲν ἔσω σφάζ᾽ ἐπὶ γαίας,
230
τὰ τὰσδέ τὰς δὲ τὰσδὲ δὲ πλευροκοπῶν δίχ᾽ ἀνερρήγνυ ἂν ἐρρήγνυ ἀνερρήγνυ.
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 233 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 233 focus
Such horrid victims mightst thou see
Huddled beneath yon canopy,
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 233 focus
Weh! Dorther, dorther kam er zu uns,
225
Und führte die Heerd' in gefesseltem Zug;
Und die einen erwürgt' er am Boden im Zelt,
Und die anderen hieb er mitten entzwei,
Griff zween weißfüßige Widder sodann,
Mäht' einem das Haupt und die Zunge herab,
230
Und warf sie hinweg;
Und den anderen band er am Pfeiler empor,
Und faßte den Roßzaum doppelt und schwang
Und geißelte, daß hell schwirrte der Schlag,
Schmachworte zugleich ausschüttend, die nur
235
Ein Gott, kein Mensch, ihm gelehrt hat.
Gegenstrophe.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 233 focus
How shall 1 declare
Sadder than death th' unutterable woe !
This night, with madness seized, hath Ajax done
A dreadful deed ; within thou mayst behold
230
The tent 's o'erspread with bloody carcases
230
Of cattle slain, the victims of his rage.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 233 focus
Ah, what a grief! Thence, thence he came, and led
The herds as captives; some within the tent
He slew, and on the ground some mangled lie.
Two rams of snow-white fleece he seized; from one
He rent away the tongue, smote off the head,
And threw it from him; to a pillar high
230
The other bound, then snatch'd his chariot-reins,
230
And scourges it with many a sounding stroke,
230
Reviling it with loud and shameful taunts,
The dictates of some Fury, not of man.

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-155-1 ἄρα 1

mvp-comment-155-2 ἤλυθε 2

mvp-comment-156-1 ὧν 3 ποίμνην 4 τὴν μὲν 5 τὰ δὲ 6

mvp-comment-156-2 ἔσω 7 ἔσω σφάζε 8

mvp-comment-156-3 ἐπὶ γαίας 9

mvp-comment-156-4 πλευροκοπῶν 10

mvp-comment-157-1 ἀργίποδας 11

mvp-comment-157-2 If the two rams are the two Atreidae, then Odysseus is ignored here. This would be consistent both with vv. 97— 110 and with 298—306. The flogging of the second ram here would correspond with the words

τοὺς δὲ δεσμίους | ᾐκίζεθ’
in 299 f. Then came the colloquy of Ajax with Athena (301); after which, he slowly regained his sanity,—before he had inflicted the lash upon Odysseus. That the ‘two rams’ are here the royal brethren might be suggested by the analogy of the two eagles in Ag. 115. On the other hand, the special ferocity with which Ajax treats the second ram rather indicates that it represents Odysseus. There would be no point in so distinguishing Menelaüs from Agamemnon. On the whole, it seems most probable that the poet meant Agamemnon and Odysseus, but was careless of strict consistency with vv. 97—110.

mvp-comment-158-1 κεφαλὴν καὶ γλῶσσαν ἄκραν 12

mvp-comment-159-1 ῥιπτεῖ 13

mvp-comment-159-2 ὀρθὸν ἄνω … δήσας 14

mvp-comment-159-3 κίονι 15

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

221-232. mvp-comment-165-1 The metrical scheme (Logaoedic, with frequent syncope) is the following...

229. mvp-comment-170-1 περίφαντος.. θανεῖται] 'He will be discovered and will die.' περίφαντος is explained by the words that follow, παραπλήκτῳ χερί, κ.τ.λ. The nature of the crime defies concealment.

231. mvp-comment-171-1 κελαινοῖς ξίφεσιν] · With darkened brand.' The plural, as in Ant. 820, ξιφέων ἐπίχειρα, denotes the action of the sword rather than the sword itself. The epithet κελαινοῖς, as in Trach. 856, κελαινὰ λόγχα, suggests the colour of a sword or spear that has been much used in battle. βοτήρας] Supr. 27, αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις. This fact is known to the mariners from the report of the army, not from Tecmessa. ἱππονώμας] Either (1) because captive horses, like those of Rhesus, were included in the spoil (this might add force to ἱππομανῆ, supr. 143), or rather (2) because the herdsmen were mounted, as might well happen where the herd was so extensive.

235. mvp-comment-172-1 ὧν τὴν μέν] Sc. ποίμναν. 'Whereof one part.' The plural ὧν is equivalent to a collective ἧς, referring to ποίμναν supr. The force of ἔσω ('in the tent') is continued to the subsequent clauses. For τὴν μέν followed by τὰ δέ, see Essay on L. § 20. p. 31.

236. mvp-comment-173-1 πλευροκοπών δίχ᾽ ἀνερρήγνυ] 'He smote beneath the ribs and ripped asunder.' The two white-footed rams are probably Agamemnon and Odysseus. Menelaus may have been imagined to be slain in combat, while the king of men was brought away in triumph to be the object of more condign vengeance. Ll. 105 foll. leave no room to doubt that the second ram is intended by Ajax for Odysseus.

237. mvp-comment-174-1 ἀνελών] · Having lifted,' i.e. by the forefeet.

238-239. mvp-comment-175-1 'He sheared off and threw away (first) the tongue-tip and (then) the head.' E. on L. § 41. p. 78 β, b. The tongue, which had pronounced the judgment, the head, which was the seat of sovereignty, are the first to suffer. For ῥιπτεῖ, cp. Hdt. 4. 61, ὁ θύσας, τῶν κρεῶν καὶ τῶν σπλάγχνων ἀπαρξάμενος, ῥίπτει ἐς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν.

240. mvp-comment-176-1 ‘Bound up to a pillar erect.' ἄνω marks that the bonds were fastened from above, so as almost to suspend the creature from the ground.