Ajax. 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-36-1 τί δῆτα 1
mvp-comment-36-2 ἐπεμπίπτει 2 τήνδε … βάσιν 3
mvp-comment-37-1 ἐν ὑμῖν 4
mvp-comment-38-1 ἦ καὶ 5
mvp-comment-38-2 ὡς ἐπ’ Ἀργείοις 6
mvp-comment-39-1 κἂν ἐξεπράξατ’ 7
mvp-comment-40-1 ποίαισι 8 ταῖσδε 9 ποίαισι 10
mvp-comment-41-1 νύκτωρ 11
mvp-comment-42-1 ἦ καὶ 12
mvp-comment-42-2 παρέστη 13
mvp-comment-43-1 καὶ δὴ 14 δισσαῖς … στρατηγίσιν πύλαις 15
mvp-comment-44-1 καὶ πῶς 16 ἐπέσχε 17 φόνου 18 μαιμῶσαν 19
mvp-comment-45-1 ἐγώ 20
mvp-comment-45-2 δυσφόρους 21
mvp-comment-46-1 γνώμας 22 λήμας 23
mvp-comment-46-2 Join τῆς ἀνηκέστου χαρᾶς 24 γνώμας 25
mvp-comment-46-3 Others take the gen. as depending on ἀπείργω 26 βαλοῦσα 27
mvp-comment-47-1 πρός τε ποίμνας 28
mvp-comment-47-2 σύμμικτά τε … φρουρήματα 29 λείας 30 βουκόλων 31
mvp-comment-48-1 ἄδαστα 32 ἄδαστα 33
mvp-comment-49-1 ἔκειρε … φόνον 34
mvp-comment-49-2 πολύκερων φόνον 35
mvp-comment-50-1 ῥαχίζων 36
mvp-comment-50-2 κἀδόκει μὲν 37
mvp-comment-51-1 φοιτῶντ’ 38
mvp-comment-52-1 ὤτρυνον, εἰσέβαλλον 39
mvp-comment-52-2 εἰς ἕρκη κακά 40
mvp-comment-53-1 κἄπειτ’ ἐπειδὴ 41
mvp-comment-53-2 ἐλώφησεν 42
mvp-comment-53-3 πόνου 43
mvp-comment-54-1 αὖ 44
mvp-comment-55-1 ἄνδρας 45
mvp-comment-55-2 εὔκερων 46
mvp-comment-56-1 καὶ σοὶ 47
mvp-comment-56-2 δείξω … περιφανῆ 48
mvp-comment-56-3 θροῇς 49
mvp-comment-57-1 μηδὲ συμφορὰν δέχου τὸν ἄνδρα 50 δέχου 51
mvp-comment-57-2 ἀποστρόφους 52 ἀπείρξω … εἰ<*>ιδεῖν 53
mvp-comment-57-3 These three verses have been rejected (cr. n.), on the ground that, after this promise from Athena, Odysseus had no cause to feel the alarm which he shows in vv. 74 ff., or to ask the question (v. 84) which elicits a renewal of that promise (85). But the poet wished to render the preparation for the hero's entrance as impressive as possible; and chose, therefore, to represent Odysseus—a brave man—as still uneasy, until the assurance given to him had been repeated in a yet more explicit and emphatic form.
mvp-comment-58-1 οὗτος 54
mvp-comment-58-2 σὲ τὸν 55
mvp-comment-58-3 αἰχμαλωτίδας 56
mvp-comment-58-4 ἀπευθύνοντα 57
mvp-comment-58-5
Cp.
Eur.
Andr. 719
ὧδ’, ὦ κάκιστε, τῆσδ’ ἐλυμήνω χέρας; | βοῦν ἢ λέοντ’ ἤλπιζες ἐντείνειν βρόχοις; (‘strain with cords’). Ajax fancies himself to be tying the hands of human prisoners behind them, when he fastens the fore feet of an ox or sheep to its hind feet.
Cp. 299
.
mvp-comment-59-1 τί δρᾷς 58
mvp-comment-59-2 μηδαμῶς σφ’ ἔξω κάλει 59
mvp-comment-60-1 οὐ σῖγ’ ἀνέξει μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρεῖ 60
mvp-comment-60-2 σῖγ’ ἀνέξει 61
mvp-comment-60-3 δειλίαν ἀρεῖ 62 ἀρεῖς 63 α^ 64
mvp-comment-61-1 ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων 65
mvp-comment-62-1 τί μὴ γένηται 66
mvp-comment-62-2 ἀνὴρ 67
mvp-comment-63-1 ἐχθρός γε 68
mvp-comment-64-1 οὔκουν γέλως ἥδιστος 69
mvp-comment-65-1 ἐμοὶ μὲν 70
mvp-comment-66-1 φρονοῦντα γὰρ 71
mvp-comment-66-2 ἐξέστην 72
mvp-comment-67-1 οὐδὲ νῦν 73
mvp-comment-68-1 ὀφθαλμοῖς … τοῖς αὐτοῖς 74
mvp-comment-69-1 δεδορκότα 75
mvp-comment-70-1 γένοιτο 76
mvp-comment-70-2 μέντἂν 77
mvp-comment-70-3 θεοῦ 78
mvp-comment-71-1 μένοιμ’ ἄν 79
mvp-comment-71-2 ἤθελον δ’ ἂν 80
mvp-comment-71-3 ἐκτὸς ὢν τυχεῖν 81
mvp-comment-72-1 οὗτος 82
mvp-comment-72-2 Αἴας 83
mvp-comment-72-3 τῆς συμμάχου 84
mvp-comment-73-1
Ajax enters from the tent, carrying the heavy, blood-stained thong, with which he has been scourging the cattle (241 f.). Hence the title
μαστιγοφόρος (see Argument to the Play).
mvp-comment-73-2 Διογενὲς τέκνον 85
mvp-comment-74-1 παρέστης 86
mvp-comment-74-2 στέψω 87
mvp-comment-74-3 λαφύροις 88 παγχρύσοις 89
mvp-comment-75-1 ἐκεῖνο 90
mvp-comment-75-2 ἔγχος 91
mvp-comment-75-3 εὖ 92 πρὸς Ἀργείων στρατῷ 93
mvp-comment-76-1 τὸ μή 94
mvp-comment-77-1 ᾔχμασας χέρα 95 πρὸς 96 ᾕμαξας 97
mvp-comment-78-1 ὥστ’ 98
mvp-comment-78-2 Αἴαντ’ 99
mvp-comment-79-1 τὸ σὸν 100
mvp-comment-80-1 θανόντες … ἀφαιρείσθων 101
mvp-comment-80-2 τἄμ’ 102
mvp-comment-81-1 εἶεν 103
mvp-comment-81-2 τί γὰρ δὴ 104
mvp-comment-81-3 ποῦ σοι τύχης ἕστηκεν 105
mvp-comment-81-4 σοι 106
mvp-comment-82-1 τοὐπίτριπτον 107 κίναδος 108
mvp-comment-82-2 ἐξήρου μ’ ὅπου 109
mvp-comment-83-1 ἔγωγ’ 110
mvp-comment-83-2 Ὀδυσσέα 111
mvp-comment-83-3 ἐνστάτην 112
mvp-comment-84-1 ἥδιστος 113
mvp-comment-85-1 κίον’ ἑρκείου στέγης 114 κίον’ 115
mvp-comment-85-2 δεθεὶς πρὸς κίον’ 116
mvp-comment-85-3
δεῖν
πρὸς κίονα (properly, ‘to
take and bind to a pillar’), not
πρὸς κίονι
117
mvp-comment-86-1 ἐργάσει 118 ἐργάσῃ 119
mvp-comment-87-1 πρὶν ἂν … φοινιχθεὶς θάνῃ 120
mvp-comment-87-2 φοινιχθεὶς 121
mvp-comment-88-1 αἰκίσῃ 122
mvp-comment-89-1 χαίρειν … σ’ ἐφίεμαι 123
mvp-comment-89-2 χαίρειν … τἄλλα 124
mvp-comment-90-1 σὺ σ’ οὖν 125
mvp-comment-90-2 τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾶν 126
mvp-comment-90-3 χρῶ χειρί, φείδου 127
mvp-comment-90-4 μηδὲν 128 ὧν 129
mvp-comment-91-1 τοῦτο σοὶ δ’ ἐφίεμαι 130
mvp-comment-92-1 ὁρᾷς 131 τὴν … ἰσχὺν ὅση 132
mvp-comment-92-2 τὴν θεῶν ἰσχὺν 133
mvp-comment-93-1 τίς ἂν ηὑρέθη 134
mvp-comment-93-2 προνούστερος 135
mvp-comment-93-3 δρᾶν … τὰ καίρια 136
mvp-comment-94-1 ἐγὼ μὲν 137 καίπερ 138
mvp-comment-95-1 ἄτῃ συγκατέζευκται 139
mvp-comment-96-1 οὐδὲν τὸ τούτου 140
mvp-comment-97-1 εἴδωλ’ … σκιάν 141
mvp-comment-98-1 αὐτὸς 142
mvp-comment-99-1 ὄγκον 143
mvp-comment-99-2 ἄρῃ 144 α^ 145 ἄρῃς 146
mvp-comment-100-1 βρίθεις 147
mvp-comment-100-2 μακροῦ 148
mvp-comment-100-3 πλούτου βάθει 149 βάρει 150
mvp-comment-101-1 ἡμέρα 151
mvp-comment-101-2 κλίνει 152
mvp-comment-101-3 κἀνάγει 153
mvp-comment-102-1 κακούς 154
mvp-comment-103-1 Τελαμώνιε παῖ 155
mvp-comment-103-2 Σαλαμῖνος 156 βάθρον 157
mvp-comment-103-3 τῆς ἀμφιρύτου Σαλαμῖνος … ἀγχιάλου 158 τῆς ἀμφιρύτου 159 ἀγχιάλου 160
mvp-comment-103-4
ἀγχίαλος was properly said of a place
on the sea-coast (
Il. 2. 640
Χαλκίδα τ’ ἀγχίαλον). In
Aesch.
Pers. 888
it is a mere general epithet for
islands (Lemnos, Icaros, etc.). Here, in the Athenian poet's mind, it has its proper sense, for he is thinking of Salamis as a fringe of the Attic coast; and it is again the Athenian's point of view which interprets the true relation of
ἀγχιάλου to
ἀμφιρύτου.
mvp-comment-103-5 ἔχων 161
mvp-comment-104-1 σὲ μὲν εὖ πράσσοντ’ ἐπιχαίρω 162
mvp-comment-105-1 πληγὴ Διὸς 163
mvp-comment-105-2 ζαμενὴς 164
mvp-comment-105-3 λόγος … κακόθρους 165
mvp-comment-105-4 ἐπιβῇ 166
mvp-comment-106-1 πεφόβημαι 167
mvp-comment-106-2 πτηνῆς 168
mvp-comment-106-3 ὄμμα πελείας 169
mvp-comment-107-1 τῆς νῦν φθιμένης νυκτὸς 170
mvp-comment-107-2 ἐπὶ δυσκλείᾳ 171
mvp-comment-108-1 τὸν ἱππομανῆ λειμῶν’ 172
mvp-comment-109-1 βοτὰ καὶ λείαν 173 λοιπὴ 174
mvp-comment-109-2 αἴθωνι σιδήρῳ 175
mvp-comment-110-1 ψιθύρους 176
mvp-comment-110-2 πᾶσιν Ὀδυσσείς 177
mvp-comment-111-1 εὔπειστα 178 εὔπειστα 179 εὔπιστα 180
mvp-comment-112-1 τοῦ λέξαντος 181
mvp-comment-113-1 ἄχεσιν καθυβρίζων 182
mvp-comment-114-1 τῶν … μεγάλων ψυχῶν 183
mvp-comment-114-2 ἱεὶς 184
mvp-comment-114-3 ἁμάρτοις 185 ἁμάρτοι 186
mvp-comment-114-4 κατὰ δ’ ἄν τις ἐμοῦ 187
mvp-comment-115-1 τὸν ἔχονθ’ 188
mvp-comment-115-2 ὁ φθόνος 189
mvp-comment-116-1 πύργου ῥῦμα 190
mvp-comment-117-1 μετὰ 191 ὑπό 192
mvp-comment-117-2 ὀρθοῖθ’ 193
mvp-comment-118-1 τούτων γνώμας 194 προδιδάσκειν 195
mvp-comment-119-1 τοιούτων 196
mvp-comment-119-2 ἀπαλέξασθαι 197
mvp-comment-120-1 ἀλλ’ ὅτε γὰρ δὴ … πτήξειαν ἄφωνοι 198 δ’ 199
mvp-comment-120-2 (1) ἀλλὰ 200
mvp-comment-120-3 (2) ἀλλὰ … γὰρ 201
mvp-comment-120-4 (3) The reading μέγαν αἰγυπιὸν δ’ ὑποδείσαντες 202 ἀπέδραν 203
mvp-comment-120-5 (4) This reading is confirmed by the fact that since ὑποδείσαντες 204
mvp-comment-120-6 ὅτε … δὴ 205
mvp-comment-120-7 ἀπέδραν 206
mvp-comment-120-8 αἰγυπιὸν 207
mvp-comment-120-9 τάχ’ ἂν 208 ἐξαίφνης 209 πτήξειαν 210
mvp-comment-120-10 σιγῇ πτήξειαν ἄφωνοι 211
mvp-comment-121-1 The Chorus being now drawn up in the orchestra (134 n.), the lyric part of the Parodos begins. Strophe 172—182=antistr. 183—193: epode 194 —200. For metres, see Metrical Analysis.
mvp-comment-121-2 ἦ ῥά σε 212 ἦ 213 ἠέ 214
mvp-comment-121-3 The sailors ask whether Artemis or Ares can have driven Ajax to such a deed. In connection with their chief, the deities of hunting and war naturally occur to them. They do not think of Athena.
mvp-comment-121-4 Ταυροπόλα 215
mvp-comment-121-5
It is possible that Sophocles here was thinking
only of the
Ταυροπόλος proper, and names her simply because bulls had been among the victims of Ajax. On the other hand, the savage nature of the bloody onslaught might suggest that she was associated in his thought with the
Ταυρική. Such an association occurs as early as
I. T. 1457 where the Brauronian Artemis (
ἐπώνυμον γῆς Ταυρικῆς, 1454) is called
Ταυροπόλος. The dithyrambic poet Timotheus of Miletus (
c. 400 B.C.) addressed the Ephesian Artemis as
μαινάδα, θυιάδα, φοιβάδα, λυσσάδα (Bergk fr. 1). See Appendix.
mvp-comment-121-6 Διὸς 216
mvp-comment-122-1 μεγάλα 217
mvp-comment-122-2 μᾶτερ αἰσχύνας ἐμᾶς 218
mvp-comment-123-1 πανδάμους … βοῦς 219
mvp-comment-124-1 ἦ που 220
mvp-comment-124-2 νίκας τινὸς ἀκάρπωτον χάριν 221 ἤ ῥα … ψευσθεῖσα ἐνάρων 222 εἴτ’ ἀδώροις ἐλαφαβολίαις 223
mvp-comment-124-3 νίκας ἀκάρπωτον χάριν 224
mvp-comment-124-4 ἤ ῥα 225 ἢ … εἴτε 226
mvp-comment-124-5 κλυτῶν 227
mvp-comment-124-6 ψευσθεῖσα 228
mvp-comment-124-7 ἀδώροις … ἐλαφαβολίαις 229 δώροις 230 ἀδώροις 231
mvp-comment-124-8 ἐλαφαβολίαις 232
mvp-comment-124-9
The causes here conjectured for her wrath remind us of her anger with Oeneus, who had failed to render firstfruits at harvest-tide (
Il. 9. 534
χωσαμένη, ὅ οἱ οὔ τι θαλύσια γουνῷ ἀλωῆς | Οἰνεὺς ῥέξ’). Cp.
Eur.
Hipp. 147
where the Chorus suggest that the Cretan Dictynna may be wroth with Phaedra, as
ἀνίερος ἀθύτων πελάνων (for having failed to make holy offerings of honey-cakes).
mvp-comment-125-1 ἢ 233 μὴ 234 ἤ 235 μή 236 δή 237 σοί 238 εἴ 239 ἦ 240
mvp-comment-125-2 Ἐνυάλιος 241
mvp-comment-126-1 μομφὰν ἔχων 242
mvp-comment-126-2 ξυνοῦ δορὸς 243 ξυνοῦ 244
mvp-comment-126-3 ἐννυχίοις μαχαναῖς 245
mvp-comment-126-4 ἐτείσατο 246
mvp-comment-127-1 φρενόθεν γ’ 247 γε 248
mvp-comment-127-2 ἐπ’ ἀριστερὰ … ἔβας 249
mvp-comment-127-3 τόσσον 250
mvp-comment-127-4 πίτνων 251
mvp-comment-128-1 ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν 252 γὰρ 253
mvp-comment-128-2 From verse 172 down to this point, the Chorus have been asking whether the rumour can be true. Now they pass to the alternative:—‘But if it is untrue, then up and refute it.’
mvp-comment-128-3 Ζεὺς … Φοῖβος 254
mvp-comment-129-1 ὑποβαλλόμενοι 255
mvp-comment-130-1 κλέπτουσι μύθους 256 ὑποβαλλόμενοι 257 κλέπτουσι 258 μύθους 259
mvp-comment-130-2 οἱ μεγάλοι βασιλῆς 260
mvp-comment-131-1 ἢ τᾶς 261
mvp-comment-131-2 ἀσώτου 262
mvp-comment-131-3 Σισυφιδᾶν 263
mvp-comment-132-1 μή, μή μ’, ἄναξ 264 μ’ 265 κακὰν φάτιν ἄρῃ 266
mvp-comment-132-2
The simplest remedy is that which is proposed by Prof. v. Wilamowitz-Möllendorff (cr. n.), who, referring to the hiatus after
ἄνα in 193, would here omit
μ’
267
μή, μή, ἄναξ
268
μὴ μηκέτ’, ὦναξ
269
mvp-comment-132-3 κλισίαις ὄμμ’ ἔχων 270 ὧδ’ 271 ἄρῃ 272 α 273
mvp-comment-133-1 ἄνα 274
mvp-comment-133-2 ὅπου … ποτέ 275 ποτὲ 276 ποτὶ 277
mvp-comment-133-3 ἀγωνίῳ σχολᾷ 278
mvp-comment-134-1 ἄταν οὐρανίαν φλέγων 279
mvp-comment-135-1 ἀτάρβητα 280 ὧδ’ 281 ἀτάρβητος 282 ἀτάρβητα 283 ἀτάρβητα ὁρμᾶται 284
mvp-comment-135-2 εὐανέμοις 285 α^ 286 α— 287
mvp-comment-135-3 βάσσαις 288
mvp-comment-136-1 καγχαζόντων 289 καχαζόντων 290
mvp-comment-136-2 βαρυάλγητα 291 βαρυάλγητ’ 292
mvp-comment-136-3 ἕστακεν 293
mvp-comment-137-1 vαὸς ἀρωγοὶ 294
mvp-comment-138-1 γενεᾶς 295
mvp-comment-138-2 χθονίων ἀπ’ Ἐρεχθειδᾶν 296
mvp-comment-138-3
Erechtheus,
ὁ γηγενής (
Her. 8. 55
), ‘whom Earth, the grain-giver, brought forth, and Athena, daughter of Zeus, fostered’ (
Il. 2. 547
), is representative of the Athenian claim to be
αὐτόχθονες. It was in his reign, acc. to
Her. 8. 44
, that the folk once called
Κραναοί, and then
Κεκροπίδαι, were first named
Ἀθηναῖοι. For
Ἐρεχθεῖδαι as=
Ἀθηναῖοι, cp.
Pind.
I. 2. 19
κλειναῖς Ἐρεχθειδᾶν χαρίτεσσιν ἀραρὼς | ταῖς λιπαραῖς ἐν Ἀθάναις, ‘having attained to the glorious honours given by the Erechtheidae in shining Athens.’ (In
Soph.
Ant. 981
f., however, the patronymic has a narrower sense, denoting merely the family of Erechtheus.) So, again, the Athenians are
Θησεῖδαι (
Soph.
O. C. 1066
), the Thebans
Καδμεῖοι, the Trojans or Romans
Aeneadae; and an unknown poet (frag. adesp. 274) calls the Argives
χθονίους Ἰναχίδας, where Hesychius explains the adj. by
αὐτόχθονας καὶ οὐκ ἐπήλυδας,— the sense of
χθονίων
297
mvp-comment-138-4 Salamis is in this play a kingdom independent of Athens, but the Salaminians are of Athenian stock, and revere ‘sacred Athens’ (1222) as the metropolis of their race. See Introduction, § 4.
mvp-comment-139-1 τηλόθεν 298
mvp-comment-140-1 ὠμοκρατὴς 299
mvp-comment-141-1 θολερῷ 300 χειμῶνι 301
mvp-comment-141-2 νοσήσας 302
mvp-comment-142-1 τί δὲ βάρος ἐνήλλακται νὺξ ἥδε τῆς ἡμερίας 303 ἐνήλλακται 304
mvp-comment-142-2 No tolerable emendation has been made. ἠρεμίας 305 εὐμαρίας 306 ἀμμορίας 307 νὺξ ἥδε 308
mvp-comment-142-3
The schol. in L has:
γρ. δὲ ἀημερίας ἀντὶ τῆς ἀηδοῦς φορᾶς (‘unpleasant course’),
καὶ ἔσται ὁ νοῦς, ποῖον βάρος ἔλαβεν αὕτη ἡ νὺξ ἀπὸ τῆς προτέρας ἀηδίας; This explanation of
ἀημερίας by
ἀηδοῦς φορᾶς and
ἀηδίας indicates (I think) a reference, not to
ἡμέρα—as if
ἀημερία could mean
δυσημερία—but to
ἥμερος: the original scholium may have had
ἀνημερίας (meant as ‘unkindly fortune’).
mvp-comment-143-1 Φρυγίου Τελεύταντος 309
mvp-comment-143-2 Lobeck remarks that the father of Tecmessa is called Teuthras by Malela and others, Tethras by Cedrenus, and Teuthas by Tzetzes.
mvp-comment-144-1 λέχος 310
mvp-comment-144-2 σε … στέρξας ἀνέχει 311
mvp-comment-145-1 ὑπείποις 312
mvp-comment-146-1 λέγω 313
mvp-comment-146-2 θανάτῳ … ἴσον 314
mvp-comment-147-1 μανίᾳ γὰρ 315 ἡμὶν 316
mvp-comment-147-2 νύκτερος 317
mvp-comment-147-3 ἀπελωβήθη 318
mvp-comment-148-1 τοιαῦτ’ 319 αἱμοβαφῆ 320
mvp-comment-148-2 χρηστήρια 321
mvp-comment-149-1 A strophe, to which vv. 245—256 form the antistrophe. For the metres, see Metrical Analysis.
mvp-comment-149-2 ἀνέρος … ἀγγελίαν 322
mvp-comment-149-3 αἴθονος 323
mvp-comment-149-4 The v.l. αἴθοπος 324 ο 325
mvp-comment-149-5 ἄτλατον οὐδὲ φευκτάν 326
mvp-comment-150-1 τῶν μεγάλων Δαναῶν 327
mvp-comment-150-2 κλῃζομέναν 328
mvp-comment-151-1 ὁ μέγας μῦθος 329
mvp-comment-151-2 ἀέξει 330
mvp-comment-152-1 περίφαντος 331
mvp-comment-153-1 παραπλάκτῳ 332
mvp-comment-153-2 συγκατακτὰς 333 κελαινοῖς 334
mvp-comment-154-1 ξίφεσιν 335
mvp-comment-154-2 ἱππονώμας 336 βοτῆρας 337 βοτά 338 ἱππονόμους 339
mvp-comment-155-1 ἄρα 340
mvp-comment-155-2 ἤλυθε 341
mvp-comment-156-1 ὧν 342 ποίμνην 343 τὴν μὲν 344 τὰ δὲ 345
mvp-comment-156-2 ἔσω 346 ἔσω σφάζε 347
mvp-comment-156-3 ἐπὶ γαίας 348
mvp-comment-156-4 πλευροκοπῶν 349
mvp-comment-157-1 ἀργίποδας 350
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 351
mvp-comment-159-1 ῥιπτεῖ 352
mvp-comment-159-2 ὀρθὸν ἄνω … δήσας 353
mvp-comment-159-3 κίονι 354
mvp-comment-160-1 ἱπποδέτην ῥυτῆρα 355
mvp-comment-161-1 λιγυρᾷ 356
mvp-comment-162-1 κακὰ δεννάζων ῥήμαθ’ 357
mvp-comment-162-2 δαίμων 358
42. mvp-comment-34-1 'But why, then, this raid upon the flock? The construction of ὅπλων, as genitive of the reason after βαρυνθείς, is assisted by the substantive χόλῳ preceding.
44. mvp-comment-35-1 'And was this blow, then, really aimed against the Argives?'
45. mvp-comment-36-1 κἂν ἐξεπράξατ'] 'He would actually have accomplished his design.' The middle voice is preferable as the harder reading, and signifies that the plan and execution would have been alike Ajax' own.
46. mvp-comment-37-1 'What bold attempt inspired by recklessness do your words imply ( ταῖσδε)?'
47. mvp-comment-38-1 δόλιος] i.e. ἐπὶ δόλῳ, 'With crafty intent.' E. on L. §23. p. 39.
48. mvp-comment-39-1 παρέστη] Sc. ἡμῖν.
49. mvp-comment-40-1 καὶ δή] ‘ Actually.’
50. mvp-comment-41-1 Join ἐπέσχε φόνου. μαιμῶσαν is more expressive than the v. τ. διψῶσαν, which is probably meant to be construed with φόνου. For πῶς, 'How came it that-?' cp. O. T. 1177, πῶς δῆτ᾿ ἀφῆκας;
51. mvp-comment-42-1 ἀπείργω] The vivid present (see v. rr.) is preferable to the aorist, as the less obvious reading. Join ἀπείργω with χαρᾶς, which is added in further explanation. δυσφόρους γνώμας] ‘Overpowering fancies.' δύσφορος has been supposed to be here equivalent το παράφορος, 'false,' or 'misleading;' but this, (though a possible association of the word) is unnecessary. The natural meaning of 'grievous,' 'intolerable,' is slightly modified by the association of 'hard to resist,' or 'bear up against.' Ajax could not withstand the fatal illusion.
52. mvp-comment-43-1 τῆς ἀνηκέστου χαρᾶς] ‘From his fatal pleasure.' The harm once done would have been irrevocable. For χαpâς, cp. infr. 114, ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾶν.
53-54. mvp-comment-44-1 πρός τε ποίμνας.. φρουρήματα] 'I turned him off upon the flocks, and the mixed charge of the herdsmen that was not yet divided from the spoil,' i. e. simply the sheep and oxen. Schndw. distinguishes between the sheep, which he assumes to have been kept in common to be slaughtered as food, and the oxen, which were gradually distributed as booty. That no such exact definition is intended here is proved by supr. 25-7, λείας ἁπάσας .. αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις. The words λείας ἄδαστα are added, to show that the act of Ajax would provoke the whole army to be enraged against him with one consent. Cp. infr. 145-6, 408-9.
55. mvp-comment-45-1 ἔκειρε is imperfect. The syllable κειρ is echoed in πολύκερων. The cognate accusative and hypallage together cannot be literally rendered in English. 'He made bloody havoc with the horned multitude, felling them on all sides of him.'
57. mvp-comment-46-1 ἔχων] ‘Having them in his power.' μέν (l. 56) with δέ in l. 59, contrasts the belief of Ajax with the reality described in 59, 60. Or, possibly (2) μέν points forward to a dé which is lost in l. 58, 1.ε. ἐστὶ μὲν .. ἐστὶ δὲ .. Cp. Ant. 165-7, τοῦτο μὲν .. τοῦτ᾽ αὖθις.
58. mvp-comment-47-1 i.e. ἔσθ' ὅτε ἐδόκει κτείνειν ἄλλους τῶν στρατηλατῶν, ἄλλοτε ἄλλον, ('somebody else, now one and now another,') ἐμπίτνων, sc. τῇ ἀγέλῃ.
59-60. mvp-comment-48-1 (1) And as the man ranged to and fro, I urged him with maddening frenzy, and drave him into the evil net;' or (2), construing μανιάσιν νόσοις with φοιτώντα, ‘As he bounded to and fro in frenzy, I urged and drave him,' etc. In the latter case the expression is proleptic. The Scholion οι ἕρκη, εἰς ἐρινῦν κακήν, perhaps conceals a v. r. eἰς ἄρκυν κακήν. But cp. Od. 21. 238, 384, ἀνδρῶν ἡμετέροισιν ἐν ἕρκεσι.
61. mvp-comment-49-1 'And then, when he had remission of this toil.' πόνου, the more general word, is better than φόνου, which is tautological. πόνου in connection with the preceding words, implies that the vain task was imposed on Ajax by the will of Athena.
63. mvp-comment-50-1 ποίμνας τε πάσας] When the chief of the flock were bound and dragged away, the rest would follow. Cp. infr. 296.
64. mvp-comment-51-1 εὔκερων] This epithet applies to the sheep as well as to the kine.
65. mvp-comment-52-1 συνδέτους is rather 'tied together' than bound hand and foot.'
66. mvp-comment-53-1 (1) 'Come, I will show thee this affliction in full sight.' περιφανή predicative. Or (2), taking the word attributively, 'this signal frenzy.' Cp. infr. 81 and note, infr. 229.
67. mvp-comment-54-1 ὡς .. θροῇς]· That you may noise it abroad.' Cp. infr. 149, εἰς ὦτα φέρει πᾶσιν Ὀδυσσεύς.
68. mvp-comment-55-1 συμφορὰν δέχου τὸν ἄνδρα] 'Look for his coming as a misfortune:' sc. ὡς συμφοράν. Cp. Ο. C. 142, μή μ', ἱκετεύω, προσίδητ᾽ ἄνομον. And see E. on L. § 39. p. 73.
69-70. mvp-comment-56-1 ὀμμάτων .. εἰσιδεῖν] I will divert the effluence of his eyes, and debar them from the sight of you.' ἀποστρόφους is predicative: i.e. ἀποστρέφουσα αὐτάς. On the ancient theory of vision and its effect on language, see E. on L. $ 54. p. 99. μή is omitted after εἴργω, as after κωλύω: i.e. τὸ μὴ εἰσιδεῖν νιν σὴν πρόσοψιν, ‘I will turn away the light of his eyes, so that your form shall be invisible to him.' Cp. Phil. 1407, εἴρξω πελάζειν.
71. mvp-comment-57-1 Athena faces the tent and raises her voice.
72. mvp-comment-58-1 ἀπευθύνοντα has been taken literally, 'to bind straight or fast.' But although the image of a constrained position is suggested by the word, it retains its more general meaning of 'reducing to order or subjection,' as in Eur. Bacch. 884-6, ἀπευθύνει δὲ βροτῶν | τοὺς τ᾿ ἀγνωμοσύναν τιμῶντας καὶ μὴ τὰ θεῶν | αὔξοντας ξὺν μαινομένᾳ δόξα.
74. mvp-comment-59-1 σφ', although omitted by L, is probably genuine.
75. mvp-comment-60-1 μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρεῖς] ‘And not give way to cowardice.' See E. on L. § 30. p. 52 d. ἀρεῖ, which Schndw. and Dindorf prefer, would mean, 'Do not bring upon yourself the imputation of cowardice,' a less appropriate expression.
76. mvp-comment-61-1 ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων] 'Enough that he is there, but let him not come forth.' E. on L. § 36. p. 63 а.
77. mvp-comment-62-1 'For fear of what? Is he now for the first time a man?' Athena ironically rallies Odysseus on his fear of seeing the madman. As Odysseus presently finds, Ajax in his madness is to be pitied, not to be feared. For the emphatic ἀνήρ, cp. Ο. C. 393, ὅτ' οὐκέτ᾽ εἰμί, τηνικαῦτ᾽ ἄρ᾽ εἴμ᾿ ἀνήρ ; Others take the words to mean, 'Up to this time was he not a (mortal) man?' in which is implied the thought, 'Is he more than a man now?' In either case the general meaning is, 'You used not to be afraid of him; why should you be so now?'
79. mvp-comment-63-1 γελᾶν] The epexegetic infinitive follows the adjective ἥδιστος, and εἰς ἐχθρούς is to be taken both with γέλως and γελάν. 'Is not laughter pleasantest at foes?'
81. mvp-comment-64-1 περιφανώς may be taken either with (1) μεμηνότα, or (2) with ἰδεῖν. Other uses of περιφανῶς are in favour of (1).
81. mvp-comment-64-2 the former (1), but it makes better sense to join the adverb here with the whole expression; i.e. not. 'You shrink from seeing a man who is clearly insane,' but, 'You shrink from seeing plainly a man's madness.' Cp. infr. 229, περίφαντος. The same meaning may be obtained, however, by supposing the adverb in (1) to be used proleptically, (3) 'You shrink from seeing a man's madness clearly shown.'
84. mvp-comment-65-1 ὀφθαλμοῖς γε] γε adds emphasis; i.e. though his mind is alienated, he surely has not changed eyes.
85. mvp-comment-66-1 καὶ δεδορκότα) καὶ = καίπερ. Cp. Pind. Ol. 7. 55, αἱ δὲ φρενῶν ταραχαὶ παρέπλαγξαν καὶ σοφόν.
86. mvp-comment-67-1 μένταν] • Well, after all.' μέντοι admits and enforces the correcting statement, which it sets over against that which is corrected, viz. l. 84. For γένοιτ' ἂν.. πᾶν, cp. Hdt. 4. 195, εἴη δ᾽ ἂν πᾶν.
88. mvp-comment-68-1 μένοιμ' ἄν] I shall have to stay. ἐκτός] 'Out of the way,' as in ἐκτὸς κλαυμάτων, πημάτων ('out of harm's way'). See L. and S. s. v.
90. mvp-comment-69-1 Athena affects to rally Ajax for disregarding her help on this occasion, as he had before scornfully rejected it. Cp. infr. 774, 5. This helps to bring out his unconsciousness of her displeasure. τῆς συμμάχου] Cp. l. 60.
91. mvp-comment-70-1 Ajax enters with the scourge in his hand. It is from this scene that the play takes its name of Alaς μαστιγοφόρος. ll. 91-3 may be contrasted with 176 foll. Ajax is not by nature impious, although in the pride of his youth he may have been guilty of impiety; but he speaks to the goddess with the blunt familiarity of a comrade in arms. καί in l. 92 has an encouraging, almost patronizing, sound.
93. mvp-comment-71-1 στέψω] 'I will grace' or 'honour' thee.
94. mvp-comment-72-1 ἐκεῖνο] 'That other thing.' For a similar emphatic use of the pronoun (with comic exaggeration), cp. Aristoph. Nub. 655-7, οὐ γάρ, ᾠζυρέ, τούτων ἐπιθυμῶ μανθάνειν οὐδέν. ΣΩ. τί δαί; | ΣΤ. ἐκεῖν ἐκεῖνο, τὸν ἀδικώτερον λόγον.
96. mvp-comment-73-1 κόμπος πάρεστι] 'I am free to boast' (of that).
97. mvp-comment-74-1 πρὸς ᾿Ατρείδαισιν ἤχμασας χέρα] 'Did you make an armed attack upon the Atreidae?' The construction with πρός is continued from l. 95. χέρα, ας supr. 40, is cogn. accus. in the sense of 'a violent act.' Cp. Trach. 355. Musgr. conj. ήμαξας. Cp. infr. 453. The use of χέρα here as cogn. accus. without an epithet is somewhat singular.
98. mvp-comment-75-1 οἵδ'] He believes them to be lying dead within the tent. Cp. infr. 237 ff.
101. mvp-comment-76-1 εἰεν, τί γὰρ δή] «Enough. For I would know.' She professes to turn her thoughts from the Atreidae to Odysseus, who is more interesting as the especial enemy of Ajax.
102. mvp-comment-77-1 ποῦ σοι τύχης ἕστηκεν ;] · What have you done with him? Where stands he now?' σοι implies that Odysseus is in Ajax' power.
103. mvp-comment-78-1 τοὐπίτριπτον κίναδος] «The accursed fox.' The verbal, by a sort of prolepsis, expresses what ought to be. Cp. the Homeric οὐλόμενος. -The fox is at once noxious and cunning.
104. mvp-comment-79-1 The stop after ἔγωγ' makes the expression more pointed, and agrees better with the use of λέγω than if ἔγωγ᾽ Οδυσσέα, κ.τ.λ. were read. ἐνστάτην] 'Opponent.' Cp. Thuc. 8. 69, ἤν τις ἐνιστῆται τοῖς ποιουμένοις.
105. mvp-comment-80-1 ἥδιστος] 'Most welcome.' Cp. Εl. 929, ἡδύς, οὐδὲ μητρὶ δυσχερής.
106. mvp-comment-81-1 θακεῖ] The ram taken for Odysseus had already been made to sit upwards against the pillar ( infr. 240, cp. 108).
107. mvp-comment-82-1 κερδάνῃς] This is said in bitter irony. Ajax is not gaining but losing all.
108. mvp-comment-83-1 κίον᾿ ἑρκείου στέγης] ‘The roof-supporting pillar of my house.'
110. mvp-comment-84-1 It has been thought necessary to alter this line because of the pleonasm of θάνῃ, which, however, is natural enough after the interruption. Cp. Trach. 1130-3, τέθνηκεν . . πρὶν ὡς χρῆν σφ᾽ ἐξ ἐμῆς θανεῖν χερός: Phil. 1329-1334, παῦλαν .. μήποτ᾿ ἂν τυχεῖν | νόσου βαρείας.. | πρὶν ἂν | τῶν παρ᾿ ἡμῖν ἐντυχὼν ᾿Ασκληπιδῶν | νόσου μαλαχθῇς τῆσδε. The principal notion is expressed by the participle. 'He shall not die till he is whipped to death.' πρῶτον resumes πρὶν ἄν, l. 108. φοινιχθείς] «Crimsoned.' The word conveys the murderous energy of Ajax' mood.
111. mvp-comment-85-1 Athena affects pity for Odysseus in order to rouse Ajax more, and so to make the situation more striking to Odysseus.
112. mvp-comment-86-1 'In all else, Athena, I would have thee to enjoy thy will.' For the construction, cp. Aesch. Cho. 1038-9.
114. mvp-comment-87-1 σὺ δ᾽ οὖν] 'Well, and you for your part.' τέρψις ἥδε.. τὸ δρᾶν] i. e. τέρψις τὸ δρᾶν ὧδε. Essay on L. § 35. p. 60.
116. mvp-comment-88-1 τοῦτό σοι δ' ἐφίεμαι] These words have been unnecessarily altered by some editors because of the postponement of δέ. For the omission of the vocative, giving a tone of peremptoriness and familiarity, cp. O. Τ. 637, οὐκ εἰ σύ τ' οἴκους, κ.τ.λ. The proximity of ἐφίεμαι in 112 suggests the repetition of the word in a slightly different sense.
117. mvp-comment-89-1 Ajax retires into the hut.
119-120. mvp-comment-90-1 τίς ἄν σοι.. εὑρέθη] 'Whom could you have found, if you had sought for such a one formerly?' The aorist with av here denotes possibility in past time, as in Trach. 707, 8, πόθεν γὰρ ἂν .. | ἐμοὶ παρέσχ᾽ εὔνοιαν? προνούστερος] The Ajax of Sophocles is clear-sighted as well as prompt in action. This touch prepares us for his profound feeling of the situation, when he awakes from his madness. Cp. Il. 7. 197, where Ajax says, Οὐ γάρ τις με βίῃ γε ἑκὼν ἀέκοντα δίηται, | οὐδὲ μὲν ἰδρείῃ, κ.τ.λ.
121. mvp-comment-91-1 For this division of the senarius, cp. El. 1302.
122. mvp-comment-92-1 ἔμπης (or ἔμπας) is to be joined in sense with ἐποικτείρω. It is strange that Hermann should have joined it to δύστηνον. Like ὅμως, εὐθύς, and other words, which strictly belong to the apodosis, ἔμπας verbally adheres to the protasis. Cp. infr. 563.
123. mvp-comment-93-1 'Because he is fast yoked with an evil doom.' The calamity from which he cannot disengage himself is imagined as a yokefellow of Ajax that is too strong for him.
128. mvp-comment-94-1 αὐτός] Odysseus is warned not to do as Ajax had done. Cp. infr. 773. Hence the emphatic pronoun.
129. mvp-comment-95-1 μηδ' ὄγκον ἄρῃ μηδέν'] 'Nor take on thee a lofty mien.' The middle voice (see above, l. 75) is here more appropriate. Cp. the expression ὄγκον περιθείναί τινι, Plut. Pericl. 4.
130. mvp-comment-96-1 χειρί] 'In might.' μακροῦ πλούτου βάθει] The v. r. βάρει may be supported from Eur. El. 1287, δότω πλούτου βάρος, but is less likely with βρίθεις preceding than βάθει, for which, cp. βαθύπλουτος. μακρός in poetry is often equivalent to μέγας. L. and S. s. v. 1. 4. Some new verb, such as πληθύεις, is to be supplied with βάθει.
131. mvp-comment-97-1 ἡμέρα] 'Time in its course,' i. e. ἡ ἀεὶ οὖσα ἡμέρα. For this generalized use, cp. especially infr. 624, παλαίᾳ ἕντροφος ἁμέρα: Ο. C. 1138, ἐς τόδ' ἡμέρας. For the sentiment, cp. Ant. 1158-60, τύχη γὰρ ὀρθοῖ καὶ τύχη καταρρέπει | τὸν εὐτυχοῦντα τὸν τε δυστυχοῦντ᾽ ἀεί· | καὶ μάντις οὐδεὶς τῶν καθεστώτων βροτοῖς. But the point here lies in the combination of the two γνῶμαι. The two considerations are urged side by side, that Fortune is unstable, and that God cares for the righteous. Therefore, do not trust to fortune, but be righteous.
131-132. mvp-comment-98-1 'Time makes all human things to set and rise again, but the gods love the righteous, while they abhor the wicked."
132-133. mvp-comment-99-1 σώφρονας .. κακούς] For the inexact antithesis of the general to the specific word, see Essay on L. § 51. p.97.
134-200. mvp-comment-100-1 The first part of the parodos consists of six anapaestic systems (ll. 134-171), during the recitation of which the Chorus pace to and fro in the orchestra, before the tent of Ajax. This long-continued movement, which betokens the restless anxiety of the mariners for their prince, also strikes a note in harmony with the feelings of the spectator, to whom the horror that is going on within has already been revealed. He knows that their dreadful apprehensions are only too true. It is followed by a strophe, antistrophe, and epode (ll. 172-200), which mark the climax of their agitation before the entrance of Tecmessa.
134. mvp-comment-101-1 Τελαμώνιε] Cp. Pind. Pyth. 2. 35, ὦ Δεινομένειε παῖ.
135. mvp-comment-102-1 ἔχων] ‘Lord of-.' Cp. Pind. Nem. 4. 78, Αἴας Σαλαμῖν ἔχει πατρώαν. ἀγχιάλου] 'Seaward.' The ancient town of Salamis was on the side of the island towards the open sea, Strabo, 9, p. 393. Cp. Pind. Ol. 10. 99, εἰναλία τ' Έλευσις : Aesch. Pers. 887.
136. mvp-comment-103-1 σὲ μέν] The Attic' accusative after the intransitive verb (Essay on L. §§ 16. p. 23) here assists the antithesis το σὲ δ᾽ ὅταν... ἐπιβῇ, κ.τ.λ.
137-138. mvp-comment-104-1 'But when a stroke from Zeus, or angry clamour from the Danaï assails thee with evil-boding words.'
139-140. mvp-comment-105-1 'I shrink and quiver with fear like the eye of any fluttering dove.' ὄkvos is the fear that paralyses action. The eye, as the part which expresses fear, is put for the whole. Cp. the expression of Keble, 'Tenderer than a dove's soft eye.' Cp. also the uses of χείρ, πούς, κάρα, βία, σθένος, στόμα, in denoting persons. πτηνῆς suggests something that is easily fluttered. Pierson's conj. φήνης ὡς ὄμμα πελειάς, ' As the dove fears the sight (?) of the falcon,' is unnecessary and tasteless. The image of the falcon would be a bad preparation for that of the small birds, 141 φθιμένης] Cp. Od. 11. 330, πρὶν γάρ κεν καὶ νὺξ φθῖτ᾽ ἄμβροτος. The genitive is in a somewhat loose connection with what follows; either (1) with ὀλέσαι, 'that in the night that is just gone thou didst destroy;' or (2) with θόρυβοι, ' in respect of the now-past night.'
142. mvp-comment-106-1 'A terrible rumour afflicts us.'
143. mvp-comment-107-1 ἐπὶ δυσκλείᾳ] ‘Threatening dishonour.' ἐπί from meaning purpose, as in ἐπὶ διαφθορῇ (Hdt. 4. 164), ἐπὶ θανάτῳ (Hdt. 9. 37), comes to express tendency. ἱππομανή] 'Where the steeds run wild,' or 'gallop at will.' Lit. 'raving with horses.' Essay on L. § 55. p. 102. The cattle were temporarily kept in the meadow where the horses of the chieftains used to be turned out to graze. The word suggests their movements, 'Fetching mad bounds, bellowing, and neighing loud,' when freed from harness and the stall.
144. mvp-comment-108-1 λειμῶν᾽ ἐπιβάντ'] The accusative implies not merely that the meadow was entered, but that it was swiftly reached.
145-146. mvp-comment-109-1 λείαν, ἥπερ δορίληπτος ἔτ᾿ ἦν λοιπή] «The cattle that still remained of those taken in war;' i. e. ἐκ τῆς δοριλήπτου λείας. Cp. supr. 53, 4, σύμμικτά τε | λείας ἄδαστα βουκόλων φρουρήματα.
147. mvp-comment-110-1 κτείνοντ'] We pass from the momentary conception of the act ( ὀλέσαι) to the continuous description of it: hence the present participle. Cp. supr. ll. 55 foll. Here, as elsewhere, the choric part contains a reminiscence of the dialogue.
148. mvp-comment-111-1 These words obviously refer to the report brought by Odysseus after receiving full information from Athena. Cp. supr. 67. But, if so, some time must be supposed to have elapsed after his exit before the entrance of the chorus.
150. mvp-comment-112-1 καὶ σφόδρα πείθει] ‘And wins much credence.' vûv is to be joined with εὔπειστα. 'Things of which it is now easy to persuade men:' now, since Ajax' defeat in the contest for the arms, which is known to have enraged him. Cp. infr. 929-36 and note.
152-153. mvp-comment-113-1 'And each who hears rejoices, more than him who spake, to insult over thy woes.' The participle is added to complete the sense of χαίρων. ἄχεσιν is dative of the cause or occasion. Cp. infr. 955.
155. mvp-comment-114-1 ἁμάρτοι] For the omission of τις, which is supplied in the next sentence, see Essay on L. § 39. P. 72, 3. This is the harder and more dignified reading.
157. mvp-comment-115-1 ἔρπει implies a stealthy advance, differing from στείχει, which would signify open menace. Cp. Pind. Nem. 8. 36, ἅπτεται δ᾽ ἐσλῶν ἀεί, χειρόνεσσι δ᾽ οὐκ ἐρίζει: Pyth. 11. 45, 6. ἴσχει γὰρ ὄλβος οὐ μείονα φθύνον· | ὁ δὲ χαμηλὰ πνέων ἄφαντον βρέμει.
158-159. mvp-comment-116-1 Some have here supposed a metaphor from building, large and small stones together making the strongest wall. This is fanciful, and not contained in the words; but in any case πύργου ῥῦμα is a 'tower of defence' (Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 6), and not 'means of defending a tower,' because ῥύεσθαι can hardly mean 'to man,' although in Aesch. S. c. T. 823, it is used of the Divine protection of Thebes. For the whole phrase, cp. Od. 11. 556 (said with reference to Ajax): τοῖος γάρ σφιν πύργος ἀπώλεο: Alc. fr. 23, ἄνδρες πόληος πύργος ἀρεύϊοι : Aesch. Pers. 347.
160-161. mvp-comment-117-1 ἄριστ᾽ ἂν. ὀρθοῖθ᾽'Will best be made secure.' Cp. Thuc. 6. 18, § 4, ὁμοῦ δὲ τό τε φαῦλον καὶ τὸ μέσον καὶ τὸ πάνυ ἀκριβὲς ἂν ξυγκραθὲν μάλιστ᾽ ἂν ἰσχύειν. βαιός] Lit. 'few,' hence 'feeble.'
161. mvp-comment-118-1 ὑπό marks that the lesser are to serve the greater: μετά, that the great require the cooperation of the less.
162-163. mvp-comment-119-1 'But foolish men cannot be instructed in these truths.' τούτων γνώμας = ' right judgments about these things.'
164. mvp-comment-120-1 τοιούτων, sc. οὕτως ἀνοήτων. 'So foolish are they that clamour against thee,' that there is no hope of bringing them to a better mind.
165. mvp-comment-121-1 πρὸς ταῦτ᾽ ἀπαλέξασθαι] Sc. ταῦτα. 'This being so, we have no strength to avert this.'
167. mvp-comment-122-1 'But then the truth is that when they have escaped from thine eye.' γάρ covers the whole sentence, and the emphasis is on the latter part, viz. μέγαν, κ.τ.λ. The Chorus mean to say: 'Though we are weak, yet Ajax is strong, and the clamour will subside when he appears.'
169. mvp-comment-123-1 The correction of Dawes, which restores the metre by the insertion of δέ, is probably right. For the meaning, cp. Alc. fr. 27. ἔπταζον ὥστ᾽ ὄρνιθες ὦκυν | αἴετον ἐξαπίνας φάνεντα, which also helps to support the punctuation in l. 170.
170. mvp-comment-124-1 τάχ᾿ ἄν] 'Soon would they.'
171. mvp-comment-125-1 σιγῇ .. ἄφωνοι] Essay on L. §40. p. 75. 'Their noise would be hushed, and they would cower without a word.'
172-200. mvp-comment-126-1 Beginning from a dactylic movement, the ode (expressing the combination of deep sadness with eager hope) continues with trochaic, iambic, and dactylic rhythms, as follows:- ... The slow movement with frequent long syllables increases towards the close.
172. mvp-comment-127-1 ἡ ῥα .. Ἄρτεμις] Can it be, as I suspect ( pa), that Artemis?' Ταυροπόλα Διὸς Ἄρτεμις] 'Bull-riding Artemis, daughter of Zeus,' conveys the image of the goddess riding on a bull, as she sometimes appears on coins. In this character (probably derived from the East) Artemis was worshipped in different places with orgiastic rites. Euripides, I. T. 1449 foll., associates this name of Artemis with the supposed derivation of her worship under this attribute from the Tauric Chersonese. She is here alluded to (1) as the subduer of cattle, (2) as the inspirer of frenzy.
173. mvp-comment-128-1 ὦ μεγάλα φάτις] ‘Terrible thought!' The simple word μεγάλα has here the special connotation of 'tremendous' or 'overwhelming;' just as the general word κακούς, supr. 133, is opposed to the special word σώφρονας. The Chorus cannot speak of Ajax' supposed error without interposing this expression of horror.
175. mvp-comment-129-1 πανδάμους] Cp. supr. ll. 53, 4, and note. ἀγελαίας] (1) Grazing oxen are so called in contradistinction to the labouring ox that is fed at a stall. Or, possibly, (2) the word simply denotes the whole herd of oxen belonging to the host, - the πάνδημος ἀγέλη.
176. mvp-comment-130-1 ἡ που] 'Surely, it must have been.' Cp. Trach. 846, 7, where ἢ που is reiterated. τινος νίκας ἀκάρπωτον χάριν] 'Because of a gift of victory that brought her no return.' χάριν = διὰ χάριν. This unusual construction is softened by a reminiscence of the more ordinary (adverbial) use of χάριν = 'because of.' For this confusion, see Essay on L. § 36. p. 67; and cp. Eur. I. T. 566, κακῆς γυναικός χάριν ἄχαριν ἀπώλετο.
177. mvp-comment-131-1 ἤ ῥα .. εἴτε] 'Either, as I suspect,.. or whether it were.' Cp. Eur. Alc. 114, 5, ἢ Λυκίας | εἴτ᾽ ἐπὶ τὰς ᾿Αμμωνίδας ἕδρας.
177-178. mvp-comment-132-1 'Disappointed of glorious spoils, or (provoked) because the fall of the stag was followed by no gift.' The MS. reading ψευσθεῖσα δώροις, ‘deceived in the matter of gifts,' is hardly Greek. For the dative, ἀδώροις.. ἐλαφηβολίαις, see Essay on L. § 14. p. 21, and for the order of the words, ibid. § 41. p. 77.
179. mvp-comment-133-1 - By reading τιν' for ἤ τιν' a possible construction is obtained, although the text remains doubtful. 'Or can it be that Enyalius of the brazen corslet,' etc. The conjj. ἥντιν', δή τιν', εἴ τιν', are not satisfactory: σοί τιν' (Reiske) is better (sc. μομφὰν ἔχων). The repetition of the η sound in this passage (ll. 176 9, ἢ που, ἤ ῥα, ἤ, ἦ) may have had some poetical or musical effect of which we cannot judge.
180. mvp-comment-134-1 μομφὰν . . δορός] ‘Having fault to find with thee on account of his spear associated with thine,' i.e. by reason of some help which he had given thee in battle. Perhaps there is a reminiscence, although the sense is different, of the Epic ξυνὸς Ἐνυάλιος. which Eur. has otherwise applied in Phoen. 1572, κοινὸν ἐνυάλιον . . μαρναμένους. ἐννυχίοις μαχαναῖς] ‘By contriving against thee in the night.'
181. mvp-comment-135-1 ἐτίσατο λώβαν] Either (1) 'Punished the wrong done to him,'- τίσασθαι λώβην in ΙΙ. 19. 208, Od. 20. 169, Hes. Theog. 165, is 'to revenge oneself for an outrage:'-or (2) 'Did thee vengeful despite,' λώβαν cogn. acc. Cp. infr. 217, νύκτερος ἀπελωβήθη: 304, ὕβριν ἐκτίσαιτ᾽: Il. 13. 622, 3.
183. mvp-comment-136-1 φρενόθεν] Of thine own heart;' i.e. the cause must have been from without, not from within. Ajax could not be himself ( φρενήρης) and do this thing. The gods must have destroyed his senses ( φρένας ὤλεσαν).
183-185. mvp-comment-137-1 ἐπ᾿ ἀριστερά .. ἔβας τόσσον] 'Canst thou have gone so far wrong?" Cp. the metaph. uses of σκαιός, and Plat. Soph. 264 E, where πορεύεσθαι κατὰ τοὐπὶ δεξιὰ ἀεὶ μέρος is 'to make the right selection in each case.'
185. mvp-comment-138-1 ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων] ‘As to assault the flocks.' The participle is slightly proleptic (as with πειράσθαι). Cp. Ant. 752, ἢ κἀπαπειλῶν ὧδ᾽ ἐπεξέρχει θρασύς.
186. mvp-comment-139-1 ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος] 'An affliction from the gods, indeed, may have come.' For this use of av with the optative, cp. Aesch. Pers. 706, ἀνθρώπεια δ' ἄν τοι πήματ᾿ ἂν τύχοι βροτοῖς: Ag. 1507, πατρόθεν δὲ συλλήπτωρ γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ἀλάστωρ. These words develop the suggestion conveyed in φρενόθεν γε, το which they are attached with γάρ. Ajax cannot have done this; at least not of his own impulse. It may be, indeed, that a divine visitation is upon him. This possibility is a further reason for rejecting the notion that Ajax is really guilty. ὀλλά] (1) 'It may have come, but Zeus grant that the report may be untrue!' Zeus and Phoebus, as the deities of divination, are implored to grant that the truth may be less terrible than it is according to the report set in motion by the Argives. Or (2) 'It may have come, but even then let not the evil be increased with false rumours spread by Argives.'
188-189. mvp-comment-140-1 'And if, suborning tales of their own making, the mighty kings win currency for them by false means.'
190. mvp-comment-141-1 ἢ τᾶς ἀσώτου Σισ. γενεᾶς] The force of the article is continued. Essay on L. § 21. p. 336. The standing reproach against Odysseus, that he was the son of Sisyphus, although not acknowledged as true by Sophocles (see l. 1), is represented as being used against him by his enemies. Cp. especially, Phil. 417, οὑμπολητὸς Σισύφου Λαερτίῳ: Fr. 143, ὡς ὁ Σίσυφος πολὺς | ἔνδηλος ἐν σοί. For Σισυφιδᾶν γενεᾶς, where only one generation is in question, cp. Ant. 981, 2, σπέρμα Ερεχθειδᾶν, of Cleopatra the granddaughter of Erechtheus.
191. mvp-comment-142-1 μὴ μή μ', ἄναξ] For the 'Attic' accusative in general construction with what follows, as after verbs of doing good or evil, see E. on L. § 16. р. 23. 'Do not to my hurt incur reproach.' ἐφάλοις κλισίαις ὄμμ' ἔχων] (1) 'Keeping thine eye hidden within the hut by the sea.' The Epic word κλισίαις is used in the Lyric measures. We had σκηναῖς in the dialogue, supr. l. 3. The dative is one of place, as if with ev. For ὄμμα, cp. supr. 167. ἔχων · = κατέχων, 'withholding from sight.' Or (2) 'Keeping thine eye fixed upon the tents.'
194. mvp-comment-143-1 ἀλλ᾽ ἄνα ἐξ εδράνων] ‘But up from where thou sittest still.' The hiatus is excused by Hermann on the ground that ava is an interjectional abbreviation. ὅπου.. σχολᾷ] (1) 'Wheresoever thou art thus fixed in a dangerous lethargy of quarrelsome repose.' The Chorus are uncertain of Ajax' whereabouts, as Odysseus was, supr. 33. μακραίωνι implies that some time had passed since the judgment of the arms and Ajax' sullen withdrawal from the fight: cp. infr. 929 foll. ἀγωνίῳ is a difficult word. The inactivity of Ajax was his manner of contending with the chiefs: if the rumour was true, it was an inactivity in which he had been fatally active; and however his leisure was employed, it was becoming full of danger to him. The force of ἀγών, in the sense of a dangerous contest, is therefore suited to the place, and the expression is an oxymoron, 'a perilous quarrelsome rest' (for which, cp. Shak. Ant and Cleo. 1. 3, 'Tis sweating labour To bear such idleness so near the heart.") (2) Others suppose the words merely to mean 'rest from combat,' i.e. from the general combat with the Trojans.
196. mvp-comment-144-1 ἄταν οὐρανίαν φλέγων] 'Letting mischief blaze up to the sky.' Cp. Eur. Phoen. 240, 1, αΐμα δάϊον φλέγει. The image of a fire is continued in the following lines.
197-200. mvp-comment-145-1 The arrangement of these lines is difficult. The elision of the last syllable of ὁρμᾶται and the hiatus after ἀτάρβητα and βαρυάλγητα are doubtful points. It can hardly be questioned that the a of εὐανέμοις (for εὐηνέμοις) is long. καχαζόντων is rightly restored for καγχαζόντων. Brambach, (Sophokl. Gesänge) suggesting εὐανέμοις, gives the following scheme... But the difficulties are not thus removed. Perhaps we may venture...
197. mvp-comment-146-1 ὧδ'] 'Thus,' as in supr. 141-53.
198. mvp-comment-147-1 εὐανέμοις] 'With favouring breezes.' As applied to a harbour, εὐήνεμος is 'sheltered from rough winds;' but the image here is rather that of a forest glade, where, when a little fire is kindled, the wind that is not strong enough to extinguish it only fans it to strength. Cp. I1. 20. 490, 1, ὡς δ᾽ ἀναμαιμάει βαθέ᾽ ἄγκεα θεσπιδαὲς πῦρ | οὔρεος ἀζαλέοιο, βαθεῖα δὲ καίεται ὕλη.
200. mvp-comment-148-1 ἐμοὶ .. ἕστακεν] 'I have a grief that will not be removed.'
201. mvp-comment-149-1 The exposition of the situation in the Ajax, like the ἀναγνώρισις in the Oed. Tyr., is effected through the meeting of those who on either side know only half the truth. Tecmessa, whose affection for Ajax exceeds that of his own people, comes forth to meet the chorus of mariners before the hut. They learn from her the truth of the calamity. She learns from them the extent of it. Schol. διδάσκει τὸν χόρον ὅτι Αἴας ἐστὶν ὁ σφάξας τὰ ποίμνια. πυνθάνεται δὲ παρὰ τοῦ χοροῦ ὅτι Ἑλληνικὰ ἦν τὰ σφαγέντα, ἑκάτερος οὖν παρ' ἑκατέρου τὸ ἀγνοούμενον μανθάνει.
202. mvp-comment-150-1 γενεάς, κ.τ.λ.] 'Of race derived from the Earth-born Erechtheidae.' The Salaminians are, by an anachronism which is repeated infr. 861, counted as originally one with the Athenian people.
203. mvp-comment-151-1 ἔχομεν στοναχάς] ‘It is ours to groan.' She claims the sympathy of the chorus, of which they assure her, infr. 210.
204. mvp-comment-152-1 τηλόθεν] Sc. ὄντος or σκοπουμένου. Cp. O. T. 1259, οἱ παρῆμεν ἐγγύθεν. The word is not to be immediately joined with κηδόμενοι. Salamis, which she has never seen, seems far away to Tecmessa, whose hopes are notwithstanding centred there.
205. mvp-comment-153-1 ὁ δεινὸς μέγας ὠμοκρατής] · Our dread hero, rugged in might.' Various compounds of ὠμός are used to indicate the fierce impetuosity of Ajax, that cannot be reduced to rule: infr. 885, τὸν ὠμόθυμον : 931, ὠμόφρων : 548, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτίκ᾿ ὠμοῖς αὐτὸν ἐν νόμοις πατρὸς | δεῖ πωλοδάμνειν κάξομοιοῦσθαι φύσιν. See also infr. 613, θουρίῳ | κρατοῦντ᾽ ἐν᾿ Αρει. Others would render ὠμοκρατής, 'mighty-shouldered,' comparing the description of Ajax in Il. 3. 227 as ἔξοχος ᾿Αργείων κεφαλὴν ἠδ᾽ εὐρέας ὤμους !
206. mvp-comment-154-1 θολερῷ.. χειμῶνι] 'Through a turbid storm.' The darkened mind of Ajax is compared either to the troubling of waters by a flood, or to atmospheric disturbance, as we speak of 'dirty weather.' Cp. Ant. 420, 1, ἐν δ᾽ ἐμεστώθη μέγας | αἰθήρ, μύσαντες δ᾽ εἴχομεν θείαν νόσον, and, for the metaphorical use of θολερός, Aesch. Prom. 885, 6, θολεροὶ δὲ λόγοι παίουσ' εἰκη | στυγνῆς πρὸς κύμασιν ἄτης.
207. mvp-comment-155-1 κεῖται] • Is overthrown.' Cp. Plat. Rep. 5. p. 451 Α, κείσομαι, περὶ ἃ ἥκιστα δεῖ σφάλλεσθαι. νοσήσας] ‘Having fallen into madness.' The aorist expresses the suddenness of the stroke.
208. mvp-comment-156-1 'What heavy change from the condition of the day hath last night experienced?' This is Triclinius' explanation of τῆς ἁμερίας, sc. καταστάσεως. As in the case of other feminine words used substantively, we need not be precise in supplying the ellipse. Lobeck prefers ὥρας. Ajax' condition on the previous day was lamentable enough: what new trouble has arisen during the night?
210. mvp-comment-157-1 Τελεύταντος] The first syllable is to be scanned as long : cp. Ἱππομέδων, Παρθένοπαῖος in Iambic verse. Others read Φρυγίοιο for Φρυγίου, which is questionable both as to the form of the genitive and the division of the line.
211. mvp-comment-158-1 λέχος δουριάλωτον] ' In a spear-won marriage.' λέχος cogn. acc.
212. mvp-comment-159-1 στέρξας ἀνέχει] 'Having fixed his affection on thee, remains constant to thee.' The mariners accept Tecmessa as their master's choice, although they could have wished a nobler bride for him. For ἀνέχει, see E. on L. § 52. p. 97, and cp. Eur. Hec. 123, Βάκχης ἀνέχων λέκτρ᾽ ᾿Αγαμέμνων: Alc. 304, τούτους ἀνάσχου δεσπότας ἐμῶν δόμων, where the middle voice has a similar force. For cognate uses of ἀνέχω, cp. Fr. 146, Pind. P. 2. 163.
213. mvp-comment-160-1 'So that you know, and can tell us what we want to know.' ὑπό in comp. seems here to have the force of 'supplying an answer, or supplying the word that is wanting.' Cp. ὑποκρίνομαι.
215. mvp-comment-161-1 πάθος, as the appropriate word, is preferable to βάρος, which may have slipped in in from supr. 209.
217. mvp-comment-162-1 νύκτερος] 'In the night.' Essay on L. § 23. p. 36.
218. mvp-comment-163-1 τοιαῦτ᾽ ἂν ἴδοις] For τοιοῦτος adducing proof, see Essay on L. § 22. p. 35 a.
220. mvp-comment-164-1 χρηστήρια] Either (1) simply 'victims,' or (2) with superstitious reference to the δαίμων of madness. 'Offerings demanded by his rage.'
221-232. mvp-comment-165-1 The metrical scheme (Logaoedic, with frequent syncope) is the following...
221. mvp-comment-166-1 ἀνδρὸς αἴθονος] ‘Concerning the fiery man.' Essay on L. § 9. p. 12, 2. If τοι is retained in infr. 245, we may read here οἵαν ἐδήλωσας *κατ᾿ ἀνδρὸς αἴθονος. The short syllable in αἴθονος is sufficiently supported by αΐθονα occurring in Hesychius in the right alphabetical order (immediately after αἶθον). Although αἴθοπος (see v. rr.) may be defended, on the ground that the second part of a compound has sometimes little significance (see esp. infr. 954, κελαινώπαν θυμών), yet αἴθων, which directly expresses character, is more appropriate here, and has the preponderance of MS. authority in its favour.
222. mvp-comment-167-1 ἄτλατον οὐδὲ φευκτάν] ‘That can neither be avoided nor endured.'
225. mvp-comment-168-1 μεγάλων] 'Terrible.' The mariners, in their feebleness ( supr. 165 foll.), are afraid of the opinion of the host. These words are added as a comment on οὐδὲ φευκτάν. The consequences of the fact cannot be eluded, since it is known to the host, and magnified by rumour.
226. mvp-comment-169-1 ὁ μέγας μῦθος] ‘The formidable power of rumour.' Supr. 172, ὦ μεγάλα φάτις. μῦθος is the rumour about this particular thing, with a suggestion of rumour in general. ἀέξει] Not 'exaggerates,' for the evil could not be exaggerated, but, 'which the mighty power of rumour spreads abroad.'
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.
241. mvp-comment-177-1 'With a great harness-thong.' ῥυτήρ is (1) a trace, (2) a rein, (3) any strap used in harnessing.
242. mvp-comment-178-1 'He smites him with resounding double lash ;' i.e. He holds the thong by the middle, and plies it, thus doubled, with a whizzing noise.
243. mvp-comment-179-1 ἃ δαίμων, κ.τ.λ.] i.e. The words gave evidence of superhuman passion. Ср. О. Т. 1258, 9, δαιμόνων δείκνυσί τις, οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀνδρῶν.