Sophocles Oedipus Tyrannus 180

mvp-comment-472-1 The poet has neglected clearness on a minor point. The οἰκεύς— sole survivor of the four attendants—had fled back to Thebes with the news that Laius had been slain by robbers (118-123). This news came before the trouble with the Sphinx began: 126-131. And the play supposes an interval of at least several days between the death of Laius and the election of Oedipus: see on 736. Hence κεῖθεν ἦλθε καὶ … εἶδε cannot mean that the οἰκεύς, on reaching Thebes, found Oedipus already reigning. Nor can we suggest that he may have fled from the scene of the slaughter before he was sure that Laius had been killed: that is excluded by 123 and 737. Therefore we must understand:— “when he had come thence, and [ afterwards] found that not only was Laius dead, but you were his successor.” (For the parataxis σέ τε … Λάϊόν τε see on 673.) I incline to suspect, however, that Sophocles was here thinking of the man as coming back to find Oedipus already on the throne, and had overlooked the inconsistency. The conjecture Λαΐου τε δώματα for Λάϊόν τ’ ὀλωλότα (Wolff) would remove the difficulty, but seems very improbable.

mvp-comment-473-1 χειρὸς θιγὼν ¹

mvp-comment-474-1 ἀγρούς ²

mvp-comment-474-2 νομάς ³

mvp-comment-475-1 τοῦδ’ ἄποπτος ἄστεως ⁴

mvp-comment-476-1 οἶ’ ⁵ οἷα ⁶ ἄξιος ⁷

mvp-comment-477-1 φέρειν ⁸

761. mvp-comment-444-1 ἀγρούς Accusative of the place whither. ἐπί is added for variety with the second word, but is not necessary to the construction of ἀγρούς. See Essay on Language § 16. p. 22.

762. mvp-comment-445-1 τοῦδ᾽ ἄποπτος ἄστεως So as he might be furthest removed from sight of this city. For the genitive = from,' assisted by ἀπό in comp., see Essay on Language § 7. p. 11. ἄποπτος = away from sight of: away from seeing, rather than merely away from. Essay on Language § 23. p. 38. The urgency of the request (ἐξικέτευσε, see Essay on Language $ 55. 1, p. 101), though seeming to Jocasta to arise simply from affection for Laius, is to be accounted for by the οἰκεύς having recognized Oedipus as the murderer. This also helps to account for his expression of horror in 1146, οὐκ εἰς ὅλεθρον ;

763. mvp-comment-446-1 ὥς γ᾽ ἀνὴρ δοῦλος For a servant. The interpretation of the Scholiast (οἷον, τὸ αἴτημα οὐχ ὑπερέβαλεν δοῦλον) is equally consistent with of and ὥς γ'. The latter, however, is nearer to the MSS., and equally if not more suited to express the true meaning. Jocasta implies that his deserts towards her exceeded those of common service; thus unconsciously recalling the peculiar trust she had once reposed in him. Cp. 1. 1173, and see Arist. Poet. 1454. The readings ὃ δ' ἀνήρ, ὅδε γ᾽ ἀνήρ, also point to this: i.e. (1) ὥσγ', (2) ὅσγ', (3) ὅγ᾽, (4) ὅδ᾽, (5) ὅδε γ'. The way in which ἄξιοσ γάρ is written in L. (ἄξιο γάρ), shows how easily the might be lost.