1-3.
mvp-comment-1-1
Before the dialogue begins, the suppliants are seen to enter on the spectator's right, with wool-wreathed olivewands in their left hands (Aesch. Suppl. 193). Marshalled by the Priests, they eagerly approach the altars, on the steps of which they lay their wands (Ib. 242). Before this movement is completed, Oedipus enters to them by the central door. There was probably at least one altar on either side of this, that of Apollo Lycaeus (1.919) being one, and the approach of Creon, who comes from the country, would be seen by those on the spectator's left (11. 78, 9), before becoming visible to Oedipus or to the Priest of Zeus, who remains on the right.
1.
mvp-comment-2-1
Ω τέκνα .. τροφή Oedipus addresses the Thebans as the strangerprince, who will soon be discovered to belong to the race which he governs. Cp. the answer in l. 14, which recalls his foreign origin, and see infr. 452-453, εἶτα δ᾽ ἐγγενής | φανήσεται Θηβαῖος.
1.
mvp-comment-2-2
τροφή,
objects of my care, expressing the tenderness not of Cadmus but of Oedipus for his children; a rare use of abstract for concrete. See Essay on Language, p. 94. Κάδμου is gen. of origin.
O latest offspring of old Cadmus, children who are my care.
2.
mvp-comment-3-1
μοι is
precatory, adding a tone of pleading affectionateness to the question. Cp. Εl. 144, τί μοι τῶν δυσφόρων ἐφίει; τίνας . . ἕδρας τάσδε.. θοάζετε =
Why do ye thus sit (or kneel) here with so much haste? The king in entering has observed (or before entering has heard from others, 11. 6, 7) the earnestness with which the suppliants have taken their places by the altars, and he regards this as one of the signs of trouble in the city. The meaning here given to θοάζω is that which it has everywhere in Euripides, who uses it frequently. Another θοάζω = θάσσω is mentioned by grammarians, and has been generally assumed to be the verb found in this and two other places of classical Greek, viz. Aesch. Suppl. 595, Emped. 1. 18. But it is at least questionable whether the meaning
to hasten is not admissible in both of these. And in the present case it is unobjectionable. For however slow and staid the movements on the proscenium actually were, they are often described in the dialogue as rapid and hurried. (El. 872, O. C. 887.) Cp. esp. Aesch. Suppl. 209, μή νυν σχόλαζε, addressed by Danaus to the suppliant maidens, who are taking their places at the altar. It must be admitted, however, that the authority of Plutarch (de Aud. Poet. 2. 22 E) counts for something in favour of the other meaning, and that it suits the context equally well.
3.
mvp-comment-4-1
Instead of saying simply
equipped with suppliant boughs, the more descriptive ἐξεστεμμένοι =
enfilleted (infr. 1. 19) is used, occasioning a pleonasm like that in Pind. Nem. 10. 43, ἀργυρωθέντες σὺν οἰνηραῖς φιάλαις. ἐξεστεμμένοι, i. e. στέμμασιν ἐξεσταλμένοι,
Well provided with woollen wreaths.
4.
mvp-comment-5-1
πόλις δ΄ The form of interrogation is dropped. The pleonastic ἄλλων, ('who are not myself,') in apposition to ἀγγέ λων, makes the antithesis more explicit. Cp. Eur. Or. 532, τί μαρτύρων | ἄλλων ἀκούειν δεῖ μ᾽, ἅ γ᾽ εἰσορᾶν πάρα; Hdt. 7. 50, εἰ μὴ χρεώμενοι γνώμῃσι τοιαύτῃσι ἄλλους συμβούλους εἶχον τοιούτους.
4-5.
mvp-comment-6-1
The expression is slightly inaccurate. Oedipus begins with the antithesis of what is seen and heard, and the further antithesis (between the signs of hope and grief) is suggested to him. Hence the second ὁμοῦ has a double use.
The city is at the same time full of offerings of incense, and of groanings which mingle with the sounds of the paean.
6.
mvp-comment-7-1
ἅ
The things of which I ask, especially the subject of Il. 4.5.
7.
mvp-comment-8-1
For the emphatic αὐτός, cp. Hdt. 4. 76 (of King Saulios), ὁ δέ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπικόμενος, ὡς εἶδε, κ.τ.λ.
8.
mvp-comment-9-1
'The world-renowned Oedipus by name.' This line introduces Oedipus to the spectators in the simple manner of ancient tragedy, and strengthens the impression of his perfect security.
9-10.
mvp-comment-10-1
.
Since you stand forth as the person naturally fitted to speak before or
on behalf of these. πρέπειν here appears in transition from
being conspicuous to
being suitable. πρό is partly foremost amo among,' partly
in behalf of. Cp. II. 13. 693, 699, πρὸ Φθίων θωρηχθέντες.
10.
mvp-comment-11-1
τίνι τρόπῳ καθέστατε means not merely,
How are you? but,
In what wise are ye present here? Oedipus addresses the priest and his companions, who are evidently there to crave an audience. The exact word for this is καθεστάναι. Cp. Pind. Pyth. 4. 135, καί β᾽ ἦλθον Πελίου μέγαρον, ἐσσύμενοι δ᾽ εἴσω κατέσταν: Hdt. 1. 152, καταστάς, ἔλεγε πολλά. Also κατάστασις in Hdt. 3.46. (Trin. gl. ἐπεστήκατε.) The 1st pers. in προσήμεθα 1. 15, ἑζόμεσθα 1. 32, ἱστώμεσθα 1. 147, does not necessarily imply that the priest spoke in the attitude of supplication. But on comparing Aesch. Suppl. 208, Eur. Heracl. 238, this does seem possible, and might add to the apparent greatness of Oedipus. For καθέστατε in this case, cр. О. С. 23, κατέσταμεν, where Oedipus is sitting.
11.
mvp-comment-12-1
δείσαντες ἢ στέρξαντες στέ ξαντες, which appears in some later MSS, but not in all, and as a very late correction of L, was perhaps invented to suit the gloss, ὑπομείναντές τι κακόν, a late meaning of στέγειν being
to endure. Cp. gloss in Par. Essay on l. 341, στέγω ὑπομένω, ἔστεξα is not an Attic form. στέρξαντες is right in the sense of desiring or having the affections fixed on something. Cp. O. C. 1094, στέργω ἀρωγὰς | μολεῖν: Plat. Legg. 10. 907 C, ἑαυτοὺς μὲν μισῆσαι, τὰ δ᾽ ἐναντία πως ἤθη στέρξαι, and see ἱμείροντες in l.59.
In what manner do you stand here? in consequence of what fear? or of what desire? i.e.
What desire or fear has brought you? The force of the interrogative is continued in the participles. στέρξαντες is quoted by the Scholiast, who interprets, οἷον, ἤδη πεπονθότες. But Oedipus asks, not, 'Is the evil present or past?'-that some blow had fallen was clear-but, What is the feeling with which you come?' Others connect ὡς, κ.τ.λ., immediately with στέρξαντες in the sense of
being resigned.
Having made up your minds to suffer, in the belief that, etc. But although this interpretation gives the more ordinary meaning to στέρξαντες, it has the capital fault of making Oedipus express his main assurance to the people in a parenthesis, or in a suppressed clause. ὡς refers to φράζε,
Tell me, and believe, etc. 12,
13.
mvp-comment-13-1
δυσάλγητος .. εἴην Sc. εἰ μὴ θέλοιμι, which is further explained by μὴ οὐ, κ.τ.λ.
13.
mvp-comment-13-2
μὴ οὐ For the redundant οὐ here, see Essay on Language § 29, 3. c. p. 50. The participial epexegesis implies a negative condition (i. e. εἰ μὴ κατοικτείραιμι) of the negative statement δυσάλγητος ἂν εἴην, and has pointed reference to the case actually present.
14.
mvp-comment-14-1
The priest, speaking for the people, recounts the calamities of the state and adjures Oedipus to be once more their saviour. Of his power and wisdom they have no doubt; they only ask that he shall be willing to save them. He is the lord of circumstance, the proved friend of Heaven; once he has rescued them from destruction let him not suffer them again to fall. This is so expressed as to show how unconscious all the persons are, (1) of the designs of the gods respecting Oedipus, (2) of the impiety which he will display when tempted (31), (3) of the coming destruction not of the city but of Oedipus himself.
15.
mvp-comment-15-1
ὁρᾷς μὲν ἡμᾶς Opposed to τὸ δ' ἄλλο φύλον, κ.τ.λ.,
l. 19
.
15.
mvp-comment-15-2
ἡλίκοι
Of what ages,-young children, chosen youths, and aged priests; the ages most befitting supplication. The priest calls attention to this point in order to conciliate the sympathy of the king. At thy altars,' i. e. the altars (of Apollo and perhaps other deities), before the king's palace. Cp. 919.
Thou seest how we, who are of such different ages, are seated at thine altars; some not yet able to go far (lit.
fly, the familiar Greek image of νεοσοί),
some weak with age, who are priests, as I am of Zeus; and these chosen youths. πτέσθαι = πέτεσθαι.
16.
mvp-comment-16-1
Some take βωμοῖσι as a poetical plural, others suppose more than one altar. The latter is more probable. See opening note.
17.
mvp-comment-17-1
σὺν γήρᾳ βαρεῖς
Weighed down with the burden of years. Ср. О. С. 7, ὁ χρόνος ξυνὼν μακρός. See Essay on Language § 48. a. p. 91.
18.
mvp-comment-18-1
οἵδε τ᾽ ᾐθέων λεκτοί The priest points out the youths who are near him. This is the most probable reading. The Epic οἱ δέ τε is without parallel in Sophocles, and probably in tragedy. (In Aesch. Cho. 490, δ᾽ ἔπ', or δ' ἔτ', may be read.) οἱ δ' ἐπ', an early conjecture of Wunder's (cp. Suidas, λεκτός, ἐπίλεκτος, οἱ δὲ τ᾽ ἠθέων λεκτοί. Σοφοκλῆς), and since extracted by Dübner from the Laurentian MS, has not really the authority of this MS. for the letter is lost, and was more probably the form 66, i. e. ετε without elision), and is of doubtful meaning, though it may slightly be confirmed by Ant. 790, οὔθ' ἁμερίων ἐπ᾿ ἀνθρώπων. The erasure has most probably been occasioned by the form 66 for ετε (in οἱ δέ τε), which the corrector altered for the sake of dividing the words. The word λεκτοί at the beginning of the line (cp. Homer), although to be taken strictly with ᾐθέων only, helps to point the more general antithesis between ἡμᾶς and τὸ ἄλλο φύλον. For the meaning of ἠθεος,
unmarried youth, cp. the Homeric παρθένος ἠἰθεός Te, and Eur. Phoen. 945, οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ᾔθεος. Also Plato, Legg. 8. 840 D, μέχρι μὲν παιδογονίας ἠἴθεοι καὶ ἀκήρατοι γάμων τε ἁγνοὶ ζῶσιν.
19.
mvp-comment-19-1
τὸ δ᾽ ἄλλο φύλον, κ.τ.λ.
And there is another gathering which, etc. The article is appositional, as in the Homeric τὸ δὲ μέγα κεῖται ἄεθλον (11. 22.163). And ἄλλος has an adverbial force. Cp. El. 601, ὁ δ᾽ ἄλλος ἔξω ..
19.
mvp-comment-19-2
Ορέστης.
And besides ourselves there is a gathering in the Agora. See Essay on Language § 21. p. 33.
20.
mvp-comment-20-1
ἀγοραῖσι Two different marketplaces are mentioned by Xenophon (Hell. 5. 2, 29) and Pausanias. But the plural is more probably simply poetical, as in Od. 8. 16, καρπαλίμως δ' ἔμπληντο βροτῶν ἀγοραί τε καὶ ἕδραι | ἀγρομένων. The shrine of Artemis Eucleia (1. 161) and probably others also, were in the Agora.
20.
mvp-comment-20-2
διπλοῖς Schol. τὸ μὲν Ὀγκαίας, τὸ δὲ οισ in erasure M².
20.
mvp-comment-20-3
Ἰσμηνίας· οἱ δὲ τὸ μὲν Ἀλαλκομενίας, τὸ δὲ Καδμείας.
21.
mvp-comment-21-1
ἐπ᾿ Ἰσμηνοῦ The river Ismenus, a son of Apollo, was supposed to have an interest in the temple of Apollo on his bank, where divination was practised through burnt-sacrifice (Hdt. 8. 134). The prescient embers' are the ashes of such burnt-sacrifices.
By the ashes of divination that are sacred to Ismenus; i.e. Where men use divination through burnt-sacrifice at Ismenus' shrine.'
22.
mvp-comment-22-1
ὥσπερ.. εἰσορᾷς See 11.4.5.
For our state. as you perceive, begins to be overwhelmed by the storm, and can no longer raise her head out of the depths of the cruel seas. Cp. Plato, Legg. 923, ἐν νόσοις ἢ γήρᾳ σαλεύοντας: Ant. 169, πολλῷ σάλῳ σείσαντες.
24.
mvp-comment-23-1
ἔτ᾿ οὐχ See Essay on Language § 41, γ. b. p. 78.
26.
mvp-comment-24-1
βουνόμοις i. e. ἀ. νεμομένων βοῶν. Wasting in the herds of oxen at their pastures: ταῖς ἀγέλαις ἐν αἷς αἱ βόες νέμονται. The expression is not quite exact, but the latter part of the compound is subordinate. See Essay on Language p. 101; ib. § 40. p. 75. βούνομος is differently used by Aesch. Fr. 245.
26.
mvp-comment-24-2
τόκοισί τε ἀγόνοις A sort of oxymoron. Cp. 163-164, οὔτε τύκοισιν | ἰηίων καμάτων ἀνέχουσι γυναῖκες.
In the labours of women who have no strength to bring forth. ἐv is (1) adverbial, and (2) is to be resumed with σκήψας, suggesting ἐνσκήψας. ‘And there, too, has lighted that fire from heaven, a hateful plague which harasses the city. For the use of θεός, cp. El. 179, χρόνος γὰρ εὐμαρὴς θεός: Simonides Amorgin. Fr. 7. 102, λιμὸς δυσμενὴς θεός. The personification is carried further by the chorus,
l. 191
, Ἄρεά τε τὸν μαλερόν, κ. τ. λ. here the symbol not of fever but of destruction. Cp. 191,470. The article d marks the vividness with which the thing mentioned is present to the mind of the speaker.
29.
mvp-comment-25-1
δῶμα Καδμεῖον The city is the home of Cadmus, as the citizens are his family (1. 1).
30.
mvp-comment-26-1
στεναγμοῖς καὶ γόοις πλουτίζεται
Is enriched by lamentations and groans; probably with an allusion to Πλούτων, which is hardly translatable in English. Cp. Plat. Crat. 403 Α, τὸ δὲ Πλούτωνος, τοῦτο μὲν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πλούτου δόσιν. The groans of the dying and the lamentations over the dead augment the honours of the god of death. Cp. Ant. 519, ὁ γ' Ἅιδης τοὺς νόμους τούτους ποθεῖ.
31.
mvp-comment-27-1
θεοῖσι .. οὐκ ἰσούμενον The suppliants are sitting at the family altars of the king (which have the same kind of sacredness that belongs to the hearth), revering him not as a god but for his human and inspired wisdom. The pious moderation of the chorus is contrasted with the impiety afterwards displayed by the king and queen; and their description of Oedipus as the child of success and Providence points bitterly to the sequel, see esp. 1. 35, ἄστυ Καδμεῖον μολών : (ἵνα καὶ ἡ ἀπὸ ξένης αὐτοῦ ἄφιξις δηλαθῇ, Schol.) ἰσούμενόν σ'] σε is governed, πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον, by the verbal notion in ἑζόμεσθ' ἐφέστιοι = προσίγμεθα. To you we pray not as if you were the equal of the gods.' The expression becomes more personal as the sentence proceeds, so that κρίνοντες takes the place of ὄντα οι φαινόμενον. To sit at the altar of the palace was, like sitting at the hearth, a form of supplicating the king. Cp. Eur. Heracl. sub init. vero
33.
mvp-comment-28-1
ἔν τε συμφοραῖς
In the common accidents of life, and in the visitations of Heaven, or
when we have to do with the gods. συναλλαγή here as elsewhere has the meaning of intercourse or connection with.
Quanta ironia subest iis verbis! Nam quis, alio sensu, homo unquam extitit ipso Oedipo calamitosior? quis Deos magis iratos expertus?
Pellucioni. Cp. infr. 1205-1311. See Introd. and the Appendix on the so called Irony of Sophocles.
35.
mvp-comment-29-1
ὅς τ' The reading is taken from the citation of the Scholiast, who writes ὥστε. The construction is similar to l. 694, ὅς τ᾽ ἐμὰν γᾶν φίλαν .. κατ᾿ ὀρθὸν οὔρισας, τανῦν τ᾽ εὔπομπος, εἰ δύναιο ; and though ye would not be out of place, τε aptly prepares the way for νῦν τε in l. 40, which is postponed by the amplification of the thought in 11. 37-39. Ср. Hdt. 8. 101, σὺ ἂν ἐμοί, καὶ γὰρ .. περὶ τῆς ναυμαχίης εὖ συνεβούλευσας .. νῦν τε συμβούλευσον. ὅς τ' has the advantage of being the harder reading.
35.
mvp-comment-29-2
ἐξέλυσας This verb governs δασμόν with ἡμῖν or ἡμᾶς understood. Cp. Tr. 655, ἐξέλυσ᾽ ἐπίπονον ἁμέραν (sc. οἱ or νιν).
35.
mvp-comment-29-3
ἄστυ is the place rather than the society, and is to be connected only with μολών. The MSS. here and in l. 29, vary between Καδμεῖον and Καδμείων.
36.
mvp-comment-30-1
σκληρᾶς ἀοιδοῦ δασμόν
The tribute levied by the inexorable songstress; i.e. the lives of those citizens who attempted to solve her riddle and failed. Cp. Eur. Phoen. 1027.
37.
mvp-comment-31-1
ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν.. πλέον
Having no advantage of information from us.
38.
mvp-comment-32-1
προσθήκῃ θεοῦ i.e. θεοῦ προσθεμένου σοι. By a god taking part with thee.' 'By a Divine aid. Cр. О. С. 1332, οἷς ἂν σὺ προσθῇ, τοῖσδ᾽ ἔφασκ᾿ εἶναι κράτος.
40.
mvp-comment-33-1
Join πᾶσιν with κράτιστον. Cp. l.8.
43.
mvp-comment-34-1
που του appears only in Land three other MSS, and may be an error arising from του in the previous line. Cp. infr. 117. Aj. 33. The repetition of του is not quite elegant, and που has a good meaning.
Or whether you know, as you may, of help coming from man. Cp. Od. 10. 486, ὅτε που σύ γε νόσφι γένηαι. ἀπ᾿ ἀνδρός, sc. ἀλκὴν γιγνομένην. There is a covert reference to Apollo in the first instance, and to Teiresias in the second.
44.
mvp-comment-35-1
ὡς τοῖσιν .. βουλευμάτων
For I see that where men have experience the issues of their counsels live and prosper. Oedipus had been tried in difficulty, and his advice, resting on experience, was the more likely to succeed. The simplicity of such a maxim is no objection to this rendering. Cp. Hdt. 1.60, οἰκότα μέν νυν βουλευομένοισι ἀνθρώποισι ὡς τὸ ἐπίπαν ἐθέλει γίνεσθαι, μὴ δὲ οἰκότα βουλευομένοισι, οὐκ ἐθέλει οὐδὲ ὁ θεὸς προσχωρέειν πρὸς τὰς ἀνθρωπηΐας γνώμας. The words are logically connected with the general meaning of the three preceding lines, and the point is, We come to you as to an experienced man.' καί expresses 'not only are the counsels good but their issues are also good.'
44.
mvp-comment-35-2
τὰς ξυμφορὰς .. τῶν βουλευμάτων
The results of their plans.
45.
mvp-comment-36-1
ζώσας The metaphorical use of ζῆν is comparatively rare. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 819, ἄτης θύελλαι ζῶσι: infr. 483, ζῶντα περιποτᾶται : Ant. 457. Eur. Fr. 35, ἀεὶ τὸ μὲν ζῇ, τὸ δὲ μεθίσταται κακόν. The explanation of τὰς ξυμφορὰς τῶν βουλευμάτων as = the conference of counsels,' (Aesch. Pers. 528, πιστοίσι πιστὰ ξυμφέρειν βουλεύματα), is ingenious. but increases the difficulty of ζώσας, which can never mean are habitual,' and it is not consistent with the laudatory tone of the address to advise Oedipus, who is the first of men, to take counsel with others. Cp. Thuc. 1. 140, τὰς ξυμφορὰς τῶν πραγμάτων.
47.
mvp-comment-37-1
εὐλαβήθηθ᾽ The tone of warning in the latter part of the speech is the first presage of the misfortunes that are to follow.
48.
mvp-comment-38-1
τῆς πάρος προθυμίας
For your former zeal. προμηθίας is a various reading. The two words are often confused in MSS, and προμηθίας has been thought to agree better with 11.47 and 51. But προθυμίας, implying no doubt of Oedipus' power to save the people if he will, is really preferable.
49.
mvp-comment-39-1
μεμνώμεθα The subjunctive is more in harmony with the imperatives before and after than the optative. μεμνώμεθα, or rather μεμνήμεθα, which some editors have pre preferred (in the spirit of Protagoras' objection to μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, viz. that commands should not be given to a superior.) Ср. О. С. 174: ὦ ξένοι, μὴ δῆτ᾽ ἀδικηθῶ. The quasi-imperative expresses a stronger confidence than the optative, which implies some degree of uncertainty. σόντες has the chief emphasis. See Essay on Language p. 78. The participles are in construction with μεμνώμεθα.
Let not this be our memory of your reign, that we stood upright only to fall again. For the metaphorical expression, cp. Pind. Pyth. 3. 53, 96, Isthm 6. 12. πε
51.
mvp-comment-40-1
ἀσφαλείᾳ (1) Dative of the manner. The noun is used with a consciousness of the verb σφάλλεσθαι, referring to πεσόντες.
Let your restoration of this city be without failure or falling. Cp. Thuc. 3. 22, ἀσφαλείας ἕνεκα τῆς πρὸς τὸν πηλόν. Also Thuc. 2.44, ἐκ τε τοῦ μὴ ἐρημοῦσθαι καὶ ἀσφαλείᾳ. Or (2) the word is used proleptically, i.e. ἀσφαλείᾳ = εἰς ἀσφάλειαν.
Restore us to security. Cp. Ant. 163, ἀσφαλῶς ὤρθωσαν. The words ὄρνιθι . . αἰσίῳ support the former explanation.
54.
mvp-comment-41-1
ἄρξεις .. κρατεῖς
If you will rule this land as you are now her lord. Cp. Thuc. 5. 105, οὗ ἂν κρατῇ, ἄρχειν.
57.
mvp-comment-42-1
μὴ ξυνοικούντων is epexegetic of ἔρημος ἀνδρῶν, and, as often in such cases, the negative implied in ἔρημος is made explicit. Without men to dwell therein.' Cp. Hdt. 2. 91, φεύγουσι Χρασθαι χρᾶσθαι .. μηδέ, κ.τλ. Ib. 4. 76. See Essay on Language § 40, 1. p. 74. Some edd. put a comma after ἔρημος, which lessens the force of ἀνδρῶν. Cp. Thuc. 7. 77, ἄνδρες γὰρ πόλις, καὶ οὐ τείχη οὐδὲ νῆες ἀνδρῶν κεναί.
