Sophocles Electra 1384

mvp-comment-194-1 θυμῷ … χαρίζεσθαι ¹

mvp-comment-195-1 καίτοι τοσοῦτόν γ’ οἶδα ²

mvp-comment-195-2 κἀμαυτήν, ὅτι ³

mvp-comment-195-3 333 f. For the repeated ἄν ⁴

mvp-comment-195-4 οἶ) αὐτοῖς φρονῶ ⁵

mvp-comment-196-1 ὑφειμένῃ ⁶ πλεῖν ⁷

mvp-comment-196-2 For the image, cp. Eur. Med. 524

(with close-reefed sails) | : Ar. Ran. 997 , | , | | : and conversely Soph. Ant. 715 | . Ovid Epist. 1. 8. 71

moderatius opta, | Et voti, quaeso, contrahe vela tui.

Shakesp. Henry VI., pt. iii, act 3 sc. 3. 5

‘Now Margaret | Must strike her sail, and learn awhile to serve | Where kings command.’

mvp-comment-197-1 καὶ μὴ δοκεῖν ⁸

mvp-comment-198-1 τοιαῦτα δ’ ἄλλα ⁹ ἀλλὰ ¹⁰ ἄλλα ¹¹

mvp-comment-199-1 καίτοι τὸ μὲν δίκαιον ¹²

mvp-comment-199-2 κρίνεις ¹³

mvp-comment-199-3 εἰ … με δεῖ ¹⁴

mvp-comment-199-4 ἐλευθέραν ¹⁵

mvp-comment-199-5 ζῆν ¹⁶

mvp-comment-199-6 πάντ’ ¹⁷

mvp-comment-199-7 ἀκουστέα ¹⁸

mvp-comment-200-1 δεινόν γε ¹⁹

mvp-comment-201-1 τῆς … τικτούσης ²⁰

mvp-comment-201-2 μέλειν ²¹

mvp-comment-202-1 τἀμὰ νουθετήματα ²²

mvp-comment-202-2 κείνης διδακτά ²³

mvp-comment-202-3 ἐκ σαυτῆς ²⁴

mvp-comment-203-1 The text, which has been suspected (cr. n.), is sound; but the train of thought is somewhat obscured by compression.

mvp-comment-203-2 ‘You forget your father, and care only for your mother. All your counsels to me come from her. Then (

),—that being so,—give up the attempt at a compromise. Make a choice ( ). You can be imprudent ( ),—as you say that I am,—and loyal to your dead father. Or you can be prudent ( ), and forgetful of him,—as you actually are; you who ( ) say, indeed, that you would show your hatred of the murderers if you could; and yet, when I do resist them, you try to turn me from my purpose. You merely add the shame of cowardice to our woes.’

mvp-comment-203-3 ἔπειθ’ ²⁵

mvp-comment-203-4 ἑλοῦ γε ²⁶

mvp-comment-203-5 φρονεῖν κακῶς ²⁷

mvp-comment-203-6 Other explanations are:—(1) ‘Choose to be thought either lost to right feeling, or, if you have such feeling, then at least forgetful of your duty.’ (2) ‘Choose to seem either unintelligent (if you are merely the blind instrument of our rulers); or, if you act with clear understanding (

),—thinking to benefit me,—at least forgetful of your father.’ Both these views assume that the question is merely between two interpretations which might be placed on the present conduct of Chrysothemis. But Electra is putting the dilemma between imprudent loyalty and prudent disloyalty.

mvp-comment-204-1 τῶν φίλων ²⁸

mvp-comment-205-1 ἥτις ²⁹ φρονοῦσα ³⁰ μῖσος ³¹

mvp-comment-206-1 πάντα ³²

mvp-comment-206-2 τιμωρουμένης ³³

mvp-comment-207-1 οὔτε … τε ³⁴

mvp-comment-207-2 τήν τε δρῶσαν ³⁵

mvp-comment-208-1 πρὸς κακοῖσι ³⁶

mvp-comment-208-2 δειλίαν ἔχει ³⁷

mvp-comment-209-1 ἐπεὶ ³⁸

mvp-comment-209-2 ἢ μάθ’ ἐξ ἐμοῦ ³⁹

mvp-comment-210-1 ἐπαρκούντως ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-211-1 προσάπτειν ⁴¹

mvp-comment-211-2 εἴ τις ἔστ’ ἐκεῖ χάρις ⁴²

mvp-comment-212-1 ἡμὶν ⁴³ ξύνει ⁴⁴

mvp-comment-213-1 τὰ σὰ … δῶῤ ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-213-2 ἐφ’ οἶσι ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-213-3 χλιδᾷς ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-214-1 ὑπεικάθοιμι ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-214-2 πλουσία ⁴⁹

mvp-comment-214-3 περιρρείτω ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-215-1 τοὐμὲ μὴ λυπεῖν ⁵¹

mvp-comment-215-2 Remark the resemblance to the passage where Antigone—summing up her position—compares the moral pain of neglecting her duty with those penalties which she contemns:—

( Ant. 468 ). There, too, we have a Sophoclean triad of clauses, the third echoing the first,—as here reiterates the sense of (n. on Ant. 465 ff.).

mvp-comment-215-3 One of the scholia recognises the traditional reading, and explains it correctly: —

(‘as I should do, if’) .—The conjectures have been numerous: see Appendix.

mvp-comment-216-1 οὐδ’ ἂν σὺ ⁵²

mvp-comment-217-1 παῖδα ⁵³

mvp-comment-217-2 κεκλῆσθαι ⁵⁴

mvp-comment-218-1 πλείστοις ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-219-1 μηδὲν ⁵⁶ πρὸς ὀργὴν ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-220-1 ἀμφοῖν ⁵⁸ τοῖς λόγοις ⁵⁹

mvp-comment-221-1 τῆσδε … αὕτη ⁶⁰ πάλιν ⁶¹

mvp-comment-222-1 ἐγὼ μὲν ⁶²

mvp-comment-222-2 πως ⁶³

mvp-comment-222-3 μύθων ⁶⁴

mvp-comment-223-1 οὐδ’ ⁶⁵ κοὐδ’ ⁶⁶ ποτέ ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-224-1 ἰὸν ⁶⁸

mvp-comment-224-2 σχήσει ⁶⁹

mvp-comment-225-1 τὸ δεινὸν ⁷⁰

mvp-comment-225-2 εἰ γὰρ τῶνδέ μοι ⁷¹ εἰ ⁷²

mvp-comment-226-1 γὰρ ⁷³

mvp-comment-226-2 γόων ⁷⁴ λόγων ⁷⁵

mvp-comment-227-1 ἐνταῦθα ⁷⁶

mvp-comment-227-2 ἔνθα μή ποτε … προσόψει ⁷⁷

mvp-comment-227-3 ζῶσα ⁷⁸

mvp-comment-227-4 κατηρεφεῖ ⁷⁹

mvp-comment-227-5 χθονὸς τῆσδ’ ἐκτὸς ⁸⁰

mvp-comment-227-6 ὑμνήσεις ⁸¹

mvp-comment-228-1 πρὸς ταῦτα ⁸²

mvp-comment-228-2 Nauck reads κοὔ ⁸³ καί ⁸⁴

mvp-comment-228-3

schol.: H. 4. 3. 5 : so, too, Eur. Heracl. 971 , etc. Cp. ( )= in Soph. Ph. 1155 ; and = in O.T. 78.

mvp-comment-229-1 ἦ ταῦτα δὴ ⁸⁵ ἦ … δὴ ⁸⁶ ἦ … γὰρ ⁸⁷

mvp-comment-229-2 καὶ βεβούλευνται ⁸⁸

mvp-comment-230-1 ἀλλ’ ἐξίκοιτο ⁸⁹

mvp-comment-230-2 τοῦδέ γ’ οὕνεκ’ ⁹⁰

mvp-comment-231-1 τίνα … τόνδ’ ⁹¹

mvp-comment-231-2 τάλαινα ⁹²

mvp-comment-232-1 εἴ τι τῶνδε ⁹³

mvp-comment-233-1 ποῦ ποτ’ εἶ φρενῶν ⁹⁴

mvp-comment-234-1 ὅπως ⁹⁵ ὑμῶν ⁹⁶

mvp-comment-234-2 προσώτατ’ ⁹⁷ προσωτάτω φύγω ⁹⁸

mvp-comment-235-1 βίου … τοῦ παρόντος ⁹⁹

mvp-comment-236-1 καλὸς γὰρ ¹⁰⁰

mvp-comment-236-2 θαυμάσαι ¹⁰¹

mvp-comment-237-1 τοῖς φίλοις ¹⁰²

mvp-comment-238-1 εἰκαθεῖν ¹⁰³

mvp-comment-239-1 ταῦτα ¹⁰⁴ οὐκ ἐμοὺς ¹⁰⁵

mvp-comment-240-1 γε ¹⁰⁶ μέντοι ¹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-240-2 μὴ )ξ ¹⁰⁸

mvp-comment-240-3 πεσεῖν ¹⁰⁹

mvp-comment-240-4 399 A woman, speaking of herself in the plur., uses the masc.: Ant. 926

.

mvp-comment-241-1 συγγνώμην ¹¹⁰

mvp-comment-242-1 τἄπη ¹¹¹

mvp-comment-242-2 πρὸς κακῶν ¹¹²

mvp-comment-243-1 μή πω ¹¹³

mvp-comment-244-1 οἷπερ … ὁδοῦ ¹¹⁴

mvp-comment-245-1 τῷ φέρεις ¹¹⁵

mvp-comment-245-2 ἔμπυρα ¹¹⁶

mvp-comment-246-1 τυμβεῦσαι χοάς ¹¹⁷

mvp-comment-247-1 βροτῶν ¹¹⁸

mvp-comment-248-1 ὃν ἔκταν’ αὐτή ¹¹⁹ ὅν γ’ ¹²⁰

mvp-comment-249-1 τῷ τοῦτ’ ἤρεσεν ¹²¹

mvp-comment-250-1 δείματος ¹²²

mvp-comment-250-2 δοκεῖν ἐμοί ¹²³

mvp-comment-251-1 θεοὶ πατρῷοι ¹²⁴

mvp-comment-251-2 συγγένεσθέ γ’ ¹²⁵

mvp-comment-251-3 ἀλλὰ νῦν ¹²⁶

mvp-comment-252-1 εἴποιμ’ ἂν τότε ¹²⁷

mvp-comment-253-1 ἐπὶ σμικρὸν ¹²⁸ ἐπὶ σμικρῶν ¹²⁹

mvp-comment-253-2 φράσαι ¹³⁰

mvp-comment-254-1 σμικροὶ λόγοι ¹³¹

mvp-comment-255-1 πατρὸς … δευτέραν ὁμιλίαν ¹³²

mvp-comment-255-2 ἐφέστιον πῆξαι ¹³³

mvp-comment-255-3 This sceptre is described in the Iliad (2. 101 f.) as the work of Hephaestus, who gave it Zeus; Hermes transmitted it to Pelops, from whom it passed to Atreus and Agamemnon. The Homeric sceptre is often called

( Il. 2. 268 , etc.), prob. as being ornamented with gold foil, or studded with gold nails ( Il. 1. 246 ). Among the objects found at Mycenae are some supposed remains of such sceptres (Schliem., Myc. 201, etc.).

mvp-comment-255-4 οὑφόρει ποτέ ¹³⁴

mvp-comment-256-1 ἔκ τε ¹³⁵ ἐκ δὲ ¹³⁶

mvp-comment-256-2 βρύοντα ¹³⁷

mvp-comment-256-3 ᾧ … γενέσθαι ¹³⁸

mvp-comment-256-4 The vision resembles that of Astyages, who dreamed that a vine sprang from his daughter Mandanè, the wife of Cambyses,

. The explained this to mean that her son (Cyrus) should reign in his grandfather's stead. ( Her. 1. 108. ) The spreading branches figure also in the dream of Xerxes (7. 19): .

mvp-comment-256-5 In choosing the sceptre of Agamemnon as the stock from which the wondrous growth is put forth, Sophocles may have had in mind the words of Achilles ( Il. 1. 234 ff.);

| , | .

mvp-comment-257-1 του παρόντος ¹³⁹ τοῦ ¹⁴⁰ παρόντος ¹⁴¹ του ¹⁴²

mvp-comment-257-2 Ἡλίῳ δείκνυσι τοὖναρ ¹⁴³

mvp-comment-258-1 οὐ κάτοιδα, πλὴν ¹⁴⁴

mvp-comment-258-2 πέμπει με κείνη ¹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-259-1 These three verses, which the MSS. give to Electra, and which several recent critics reject (cr. n.), clearly belong to Chrysothemis, and are genuine. Electra's exclamation of joy (411) caused Chrysothemis to ask if her sister had any ground for hope (412). Electra replied that, when she had heard the dream, she would say. This showed her sister that Electra relied merely on the fact that Clytaemnestra had seen some fearful vision. Now, therefore, instead of asking for Electra's interpretation, she merely repeats her counsel (383 f.) before proceeding on her errand. The words

(428 ff.) show the train of her thought. To Chrysothemis, the alarm of Clytaemnestra (427) is more important than the apparition of Agamemnon. The dream is only a new reason why Electra should be cautious,—not why she should hope.

mvp-comment-259-2 The current ascription of the verses to Electra was doubtless prompted by verse 413. It was supposed that the recital of Chrysothemis must be immediately followed by the comments of Electra. But, as Hermann observed, the phrase

would alone suffice to show that the verses belong to Chrysothemis ( cp. 398 ). Nor could the warning, , be fitly uttered by Electra.

mvp-comment-259-3 τῶν ἐγγενῶν ¹⁴⁶

mvp-comment-260-1 ἀβουλίᾳ ¹⁴⁷

mvp-comment-260-2 σὺν κακῷ ¹⁴⁸

mvp-comment-260-3 μέτει ¹⁴⁹

mvp-comment-261-1 ἀλλ’ ¹⁵⁰

mvp-comment-261-2 ὦ φίλη ¹⁵¹ τούτων μὲν ¹⁵²

mvp-comment-262-1 οὐ … θέμις ¹⁵³ οὐδ’ ὅσιον ¹⁵⁴

mvp-comment-262-2 ἐχθρᾶς ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ¹⁵⁵

mvp-comment-262-3 κτερίσματ’ ¹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-262-4 λουτρὰ ¹⁵⁷

mvp-comment-263-1 ἀλλ’ ἢ πνοαῖσιν ¹⁵⁸ ῥοαῖσιν ¹⁵⁹

mvp-comment-263-2 κρύψον ¹⁶⁰

mvp-comment-263-3 νιν ¹⁶¹

mvp-comment-263-4 ἔνθα μή ποτ’ ¹⁶² ἔνθεν ¹⁶³

mvp-comment-263-5 εὐνὴν ¹⁶⁴

mvp-comment-264-1 ἀλλ’ ὅταν θάῃν ¹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-264-2 The conjecture ἔστ’ ἂν ¹⁶⁶ ὅταν ¹⁶⁷ σῳζέσθω ¹⁶⁸

mvp-comment-264-3 κειμήλἰ ¹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-265-1 ἀρχὴν ¹⁷⁰ τλημονεστάτη ¹⁷¹

mvp-comment-266-1 ἔβλαστε ¹⁷²

mvp-comment-267-1 ὅν γ’ … τῷδ’ ¹⁷³

mvp-comment-267-2 ἐπέστεφε ¹⁷⁴

mvp-comment-267-3 442 f. The position of αὐτῇ ¹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-267-4 δέξεσθαι ¹⁷⁶

mvp-comment-267-5 It seems, then, a reasonable inference that here, where the reference is to future time, he would have written δέξεσθαι ¹⁷⁷ δέξασθαι ¹⁷⁸

mvp-comment-267-6 444 ff. Join θανὼν ἄτιμος ¹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-267-7 ἐμασχαλίσθη ¹⁸⁰

mvp-comment-267-8 Two different motives are assigned by the Greek commentators; viz.:—(1) the desire to render the dead incapable of wreaking vengeance (

): (2) the desire to make an atonement ( ). There can be little doubt that the first of these motives was the primitive origin of the custom. If the second was afterwards blended with it, the idea may have been that of offering the severed portions to the gods below,—as a victim was devoted to death by cutting off a lock of hair ( Eur. Alc. 75 ). Apollonius Rhodius seems to present the practice in this light (4. 477): Jason, having slain a foe, . Cp. Etym. Magn.: .

mvp-comment-267-9 κἀπὶ λουτροῖσιν ¹⁸¹

mvp-comment-267-10 ἐξέμαξ ν ¹⁸²

mvp-comment-267-11 ἆρα μὴ ¹⁸³

mvp-comment-268-1 οὐκ ἔστιν ¹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-268-2 ταῦτα μὲν μέθες· σὺ δὲ ¹⁸⁵

mvp-comment-269-1 βοστρύχων ἄκρας φόβας ¹⁸⁶

mvp-comment-269-2 κἀμοῦ ταλαίνης ¹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-270-1 †ἀλιπαρῆ ¹⁸⁸ λιπαρῆ ¹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-270-2 We come, therefore, to a dilemma. (1) The words

may conceal some corruption: ought possibly to be τήνδε τ’ ¹⁹⁰ ἀλίπαρον ¹⁹¹

mvp-comment-270-3 (2) Or else, if the text be sound,

may mean . There is no doubt that , ‘fat,’ is the root both of , ‘shining,’ and of , ‘sticking’; cp. Plat. Crat. 427 B

τὸ λιπαρὸν καὶ τὸ κολλῶδες

( Curt. Etym. § 340 ). Similarly , ‘sticky,’ came to mean ‘importunate.’ It is barely possible that, in coining a new negative compound, the poet may have transferred the sense of to : but it seems improbable.

mvp-comment-271-1 ζῶμα ¹⁹²

mvp-comment-271-2 χλιδαῖς ¹⁹³

mvp-comment-272-1 προσπίτνουσα ¹⁹⁴ αὐτὸν ¹⁹⁵

mvp-comment-273-1 ἐξ ὑπερτέρας χερός ¹⁹⁶

mvp-comment-273-2 ζῶντ’ ¹⁹⁷

mvp-comment-274-1 ἀφνεωτέραις ¹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-274-2 στέφωμεν ¹⁹⁹

mvp-comment-274-3 δωρούμεθα ²⁰⁰

mvp-comment-275-1 οἶμαι μὲν οὖν ²⁰¹

mvp-comment-275-2 If μέλον ²⁰² μέλειν ²⁰³ μέλον ²⁰⁴

mvp-comment-276-1 σοί ²⁰⁵

mvp-comment-277-1 βροτῶν ²⁰⁶

mvp-comment-278-1 πρὸς εὐσέβειαν ²⁰⁷

mvp-comment-279-1 δράσω ²⁰⁸

mvp-comment-279-2 τὸ γὰρ δίκαιον ²⁰⁹

mvp-comment-279-3 (1)

is an acc. of general reference, and is impersonal. ‘With regard to what is (clearly) right, it is unreasonable for two persons to dispute; rather both should hasten on the doing (of it).’ With we supply the notion from the negative (as from in O. C. 1402 ff.; cp. O. T. 817 ff.). For the form of the sentence, cp. H. 7. 3. 7 . So here the acc. , which represents the object of , is separated from it by the parenthesis . (The first scholium gives substantially this view: .)

mvp-comment-279-4 (2) Or

might be nom.: ‘that which is clearly right does not afford any ground ( ) for two persons to dispute,’ etc. So the second schol.: . So far as the verb is concerned, this sense is quite admissible: cp. Thuc. 2. 41 ( ). The objection is that the phrases , which are very common, regularly mean, ‘to be reasonable,’ ‘to be unreasonable.’ This is so both in the personal and in the impersonal constr.; as Plat. Phaedop. 62 D : Dem. or. 36 § 54 ; The supposed sense, ‘not to afford a reason,’ is unexampled.

mvp-comment-279-5 δυοῖν ²¹⁰

mvp-comment-280-1 παρ’ ὑμῶν ²¹¹

mvp-comment-281-1 πικρὰν ²¹² δοκῶ με … τολμήσειν ²¹³ ἔτι ²¹⁴

mvp-comment-282-1 εἰ μὴ )γὼ ²¹⁵

mvp-comment-282-2 γνώμας λειπομένα ²¹⁶

mvp-comment-283-1 ἁ πρόμαντις Δίκα ²¹⁷

mvp-comment-283-2 δίκαια φερομένα χεροῖν κράτη ²¹⁸

mvp-comment-284-1 μέτεισιν ²¹⁹

mvp-comment-284-2 οὐ μακροῦ χρόνου ²²⁰

mvp-comment-285-1 ὕπεστί μοι θράσος ²²¹ κλύουσαν ²²²

mvp-comment-285-2 ἁδυπνόων … ὀνειράτων ²²³

mvp-comment-286-1 ἀμναστεῖ γ’ ὁ φύσας ς’ ²²⁴

mvp-comment-287-1 χαλκόπλακτος ²²⁵

mvp-comment-287-2 γένυς ²²⁶

mvp-comment-287-3 The very axe (

, 99) with which the blow was dealt is imagined as nourishing a grudge against the murderers who had set it such a task. Such a personification recalls that practice of Athenian law by which inanimate objects which had caused death were brought to a formal trial in the court called , and, after sentence, cast beyond the boundaries, in the presence of the Archon Basileus and the sacrificial officers of the tribes ( ). Aeschin. or. 3 § 244 . (Cp. Dem. or. 23 § 76 .) A like conception was implied in the English law (repealed in 1846) of ‘deodands’ (Deo danda), i.e., personal chattels (whether animals or things) which, having caused the death of a human being, were forfeited to the Crown for pious uses.

mvp-comment-288-1 ἐν αἰκίαις ²²⁷

mvp-comment-289-1 καὶ πολύπους καὶ πολύχειρ ²²⁸

mvp-comment-290-1 λόχοις ²²⁹

mvp-comment-290-2 χαλκόπους ²³⁰

mvp-comment-291-1 ἄλεκτρ’ ἄνυμφα ²³¹

mvp-comment-291-2 γάμων ἁμιλλήμαθ’ ²³²

mvp-comment-291-3 ἐπέβα ²³³

mvp-comment-292-1 πρὸ τῶνδέ τοι … συνδρῶσιν ²³⁴

mvp-comment-292-2 Verses 495—497 (

) answer metrically to vv. 479—481 , where the text is certain, save for the doubt whether or should stand in 479. Here we must first decide two points.

mvp-comment-292-3 (1) Are the words πρὸ τῶνδε ²³⁵

mvp-comment-292-4 (2) Could

(etc.) mean, ‘ the belief possesses me, that’ etc.? Surely not. No real parallel for so strange a phrase has been produced. It is irrelevant to quote those impersonal verbs which directly express the occurrence of a thought to the mind; as Xen. An. 6. 1. 17 (‘the thought came to them, how they might,’ etc.): Thuc. 6. 78. § 1 Either, then, the subject to has dropped out, or the words conceal a corruption.

mvp-comment-292-5 The following remedies are possible: I incline to the first, as involving least change. (1) Reading in 479

, we may read here | etc. (It may be remarked that is in harmony with the tone of in 479.) Another available word is (cp. Ant. 279 ). (2) Or, reading in 479 , we could read here . On either view, the of in 480 is long (as several critics have assumed). It should be noted that (1) involves a different constitution of the verses: see p. lxxxii.

mvp-comment-292-6 In those MSS. which have μή ποτε μή ποθ’ ἡμῖν ²³⁶

mvp-comment-293-1 ἀψεγές ²³⁷ ἀψεφές ²³⁸

mvp-comment-293-2 πελᾶν ²³⁹

mvp-comment-294-1 τοῖς δρῶσι ²⁴⁰ τοῖς συνδρῶσιν ²⁴¹

mvp-comment-295-1 μαντεῖαι βροτῶν ²⁴²

mvp-comment-296-1 εὖ κατασχήσει ²⁴³

mvp-comment-297-1 ἱππεία ²⁴⁴

mvp-comment-297-2 Oenomaüs, king of Pisa in Elis, had promised the hand of his daughter Hippodameia to the suitor who should defeat him in a chariot-race; the penalty of failure being death. The young Pelops, son of Tantalus, offered himself as a competitor. Myrtilus, the charioteer of Oenomaüs, was persuaded (either by Hippodameia or by Pelops) to betray his master. He did so by leaving out one or both of the linch-pins by which the naves of the chariot-wheels were secured to the axles. Tzetzes on Lycophron 156

(= , the naves) . According to another story, he substituted a linch-pin of wax for a real one ( schol. Apoll. Rh. 752 ). So Pelops won the race, and the bride. But Oenomaüs was soon avenged on the traitor; for Myrtilus insulted Hippodameia, and was thrown into the sea by Pelops; upon whose house he invoked a curse, as he sank.

mvp-comment-297-3 Euripides, too, ( Or. 990 ff., Helen. 386 f.) refers to this chariot-race as the event with which the troubles of the Pelopidae began. Apollonius Rhodius briefly describes the critical moment of the race as one of the subjects embroidered on the cloak of Jason (1. 752 ff.); there Oenomaüs was seen, ‘falling sideways, as the axle broke at the naves of the wheels,’—

| .

mvp-comment-297-4 The eastern pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia ( circ. 450 B.C.) was adorned with sculptures by Paeonius, representing the preparation for this contest ( Paus. 5. 10. 6 ). The fragments found on the site have sufficed for a reconstruction of the group. Zeus occupied the centre; to the right of him were Pelops and Hippodameia; to the left, Oenomaüs and his wife Steropè. On each side was a chariot drawn by four horses. Myrtilus was sitting in front of his team, with his face turned away from his master.

mvp-comment-297-5 In the older and nobler form of the myth, Pelops won, not by a fraud, but by the grace of Poseidon, who gave him winged horses (Pindar O. 1. 87

). On the chest ( ) of Cypselus, seen by Pausanias in the Heraeum at Olympia ( Paus. 5. 17. 5 ), Pelops was driving two winged horses.

mvp-comment-298-1 αἰανὴς ²⁴⁵

mvp-comment-298-2 The form

has the best authority, and some critics hold that (Hesych.) was a Byzantine invention. But in Aesch. Eum. 416 , (so L, schol., and Tzetzes on Lycophron 406), is far less suitable.

mvp-comment-299-1 εὖτε ²⁴⁶

mvp-comment-299-2 ὁ ποντισθεὶς Μυρτίλος ²⁴⁷

mvp-comment-299-3 A vase found at Capua shows Pelops and Hippodameia in a ship, from which Myrtilus is falling backwards into the water. A winged Erinys hovers in the air above, brandishing a sword over the head of Pelops (Baumeister, Denkmäler p. 1204, referring to Mon. Inst. x. 25).

mvp-comment-299-4 ἐκοιμάθη ²⁴⁸

mvp-comment-300-1 παγχρυσέων δίφρων ²⁴⁹

mvp-comment-301-1 πρόρριζος ²⁵⁰

mvp-comment-301-2 ἐκριφθείς ²⁵¹

mvp-comment-302-1 ἔλειπεν ²⁵² ἔλιπεν ²⁵³ οἴκου ²⁵⁴ οἴκους ²⁵⁵ πω ²⁵⁶

mvp-comment-303-1 πολύπονος ²⁵⁷ αἰκία ²⁵⁸

mvp-comment-304-1 ἀνειμένη ²⁵⁹ μέν ²⁶⁰

mvp-comment-304-2 ὡς ἔοικας ²⁶¹

mvp-comment-304-3 στρέφει ²⁶²

mvp-comment-304-4 Clytaemnestra begins in the same strain as Chrysothemis, who likewise emphasised her reproof by the word αὖ ²⁶³

mvp-comment-305-1 μή τοι θυραίαν γ’ ²⁶⁴

mvp-comment-305-2 αἰσχύνειν φίλους ²⁶⁵

mvp-comment-306-1 καίτοι ²⁶⁶

mvp-comment-306-2 δὴ ²⁶⁷ πολλούς ²⁶⁸

mvp-comment-306-3 ἐξεῖπάς με … ὡς ²⁶⁹

mvp-comment-306-4 θρασεῖα ²⁷⁰ τραχεῖα ²⁷¹

mvp-comment-306-5 ἄρχω ²⁷²

mvp-comment-307-1 ὕβριν … οὐκ ἔχω ²⁷³ κακῶς κλύουσα ²⁷⁴

mvp-comment-308-1 πατὴρ γάρ ²⁷⁵

mvp-comment-308-2 πρόσχημα ²⁷⁶

mvp-comment-309-1 ἡ γὰρ Δίκη ²⁷⁷

mvp-comment-310-1 ᾗ χρῆν σ’ ἀρήγειν ²⁷⁸

mvp-comment-311-1 The order of words in the MSS.,

, is probably right; the words would then fall from her with a certain deliberate bitterness. Cp. 542 : Ant. 44 (n.): Ph. 101 .

mvp-comment-312-1 μοῦνος ²⁷⁹ Ἑλλήνων ²⁸⁰

mvp-comment-312-2 Nauck requires

instead of , because Agamemnon's unique crime was the slaughter of his own child: as if the text did not convey this. Clytaemnestra means, ‘while mourning a father, you forget a sister.’

mvp-comment-312-3 532 f. The regular mode of expression would be,

. But, having written , the poet explains by repeating the comparison in a new form, . (For or after , cp. Lys. or. 19 § 36

ἡγοῦντο... τὰ ἐκεῖ...εἶναι ἴσα ὥσπερ τὰ ἐνθάδε

.) Those who reject v. 533 omit to notice that, without it, the words would be unintelligible. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1417 | .

mvp-comment-312-4 This assertion of the mother's superior claim is a counterpart to the doctrine of Athena in Aesch. Eum. 658 f.,

| . Cp. above, Aesch. Eum. 366 n.

mvp-comment-313-1 τοῦ χάριν, τίνων ²⁸¹

mvp-comment-313-2 The alternative, which most editors have preferred, is to take

as the participle. But there is an insuperable objection to this, which seems to have escaped notice. The words, ; could mean only, ‘paying a debt of gratitude for what?’ They could not mean, ‘paying a debt of gratitude to whom?’ The latter would be ; See ( e.g.) Aesch. P. V. 985 : Aesch. Ag. 821 | . Hence the question, ; could not possibly be answered by . For, evidently, the latter word could not mean, (‘for a benefit conferred by) the Greeks.’ A scholiast in the Baroccian MS. (cr. n. on 545), who explains by , plainly meant, ‘showing gratitude for what?’—and his paraphrase was correct; only he overlooked the context.

mvp-comment-314-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ μετῆν ²⁸²

mvp-comment-315-1 ἀλλ’ ἀντ’ ἀδελφοῦ δῆτα ²⁸³ κτανὼν ²⁸⁴

mvp-comment-315-2 ἀντὶ ἀδελφοῦ ²⁸⁵

mvp-comment-315-3 τἄμ’ ²⁸⁶

mvp-comment-316-1 παῖδες … διπλοῖ ²⁸⁷

mvp-comment-316-2 540 f. Nauck would prefer a single verse in place of these two, viz.

.

mvp-comment-317-1 ἢ ²⁸⁸

mvp-comment-317-2 ἢ τῶν ἐμῶν Ἅιδης ²⁸⁹

mvp-comment-318-1 δαίσασθαι ²⁹⁰

mvp-comment-318-2 The conj. λῄσασθαι ²⁹¹

mvp-comment-319-1 πανώλει ²⁹²

mvp-comment-319-2 παρεῖτο ²⁹³

mvp-comment-319-3 The sense does not absolutely require us to take Μενέλεω δ’ ²⁹⁴

mvp-comment-320-1 ἀβούλου ²⁹⁵

mvp-comment-320-2 κακοῦ γνώμην ²⁹⁶

mvp-comment-321-1 δοκῶ μέν ²⁹⁷

mvp-comment-321-2 εἰ καὶ ²⁹⁸

mvp-comment-322-1 εἰ φωνὴν λάβοι ²⁹⁹

mvp-comment-323-1 τοῖς πεπραγμένοις ³⁰⁰

mvp-comment-324-1 γνώμην δικαίαν σχοῦσα ³⁰¹

mvp-comment-325-1 ἐρεῖς μὲν οὐχὶ ³⁰² ἐρεῖς ³⁰³ ἐρεῖς … μ’ ὡς ³⁰⁴

mvp-comment-325-2 ἄρξασά τι λυπηρὸν ³⁰⁵

mvp-comment-325-3 τάδ’ ἐξήκους’ ³⁰⁶

mvp-comment-326-1 τοῦ τεθνηκότος θ’ ὕπερ ³⁰⁷

mvp-comment-327-1 καὶ μὴν ³⁰⁸

mvp-comment-327-2 λόγους ἐξῆρχές με ³⁰⁹

mvp-comment-328-1 Clytaemnestra has argued that she was justified in slaying Agamemnon, because he had slain Iphigeneia. The topics of Electra's reply are as follows.

mvp-comment-328-2 (1) 558—562. The wife who slew her husband would be a criminal, even if the motive had been just retribution; but the real motive was her love for Aegisthus. (2) 563—576. Agamemnon was not a free agent in slaying Iphigeneia; the act was forced upon him by Artemis. (3) 577—583. Suppose, however, that he was a free agent, and wished to please his brother; still she was not justified in taking his life. (4) 584—594. And in any case her plea does not excuse her for living with the man who helped to slay her husband.—The speech then closes in a strain of reproach and defiance (595 —609).

mvp-comment-328-3 καὶ δὴ λέγω σοι ³¹⁰ πατέρα ³¹¹ φὴς ³¹²

mvp-comment-329-1 εἴτ’ οὖν … εἴτε ³¹³

mvp-comment-329-2 λέξω ³¹⁴ δείξω ³¹⁵

mvp-comment-330-1 ὡς οὐ δίκῃ γ’ ³¹⁶ ἔσπασεν ³¹⁷ πειθὼ ³¹⁸

mvp-comment-331-1 κυναγὸν ³¹⁹

mvp-comment-331-2 ποινὰς ³²⁰

mvp-comment-331-3 τὰ πολλὰ πνεύματ’ ἔσχ’ ³²¹ τὰ πολλὰ ³²² ἔσχε ³²³

mvp-comment-331-4 Acc. to Aesch. ( Aesch. Ag. 149 f., Aesch. Ag. 192 ), the Greeks were detained by adverse winds, blowing from the N.E. : and this seems to have been the account given in the Cypria ( c. 776 B.C.), Proclus Chrest. p. 455:

. But other authorities speak of a calm. Thus I. A. 9 ff. | | . Schol. Eur. Or. 647 . Tzetzes on Lycophron 183 . Ovid ( Met. 13. 183 ) combines both versions:

mvp-comment-331-5 It has been objected that vessels provided with oars need not have been detained by a calm. But the ships of the Greek fleet were not light craft. Each carried from 50 to 120 armed men, besides

: and the warriors were also the rowers (cp. Thuc. 1. 10 ). It is intelligible, then, that they should await the aid of wind before attempting the passage of the Aegaean. We must remember, too, the strong and shifting currents in the Euripus ( , Soph. Ant. 1145 : , Aesch. Ag. 191 ).

mvp-comment-331-6 We cannot well render:—(1)‘He suffered those tedious winds,’—supplying

from v. 558. Nor: (2) ‘She directed those tedious winds at Aulis,’—a version which would at least require . Cp. Ph. 1119 | .

mvp-comment-331-7 The conjecture πλοῖα ³²⁴

mvp-comment-331-8 Αὐλίδι ³²⁵

mvp-comment-332-1 ἢ )γὼ φράσω ³²⁶ κείνης ³²⁷

mvp-comment-333-1 ὡς ἐγὼ κλύω ³²⁸

mvp-comment-333-2 θεᾶς … κατ’ ἄλσος ³²⁹

mvp-comment-333-3 παίζων ³³⁰

mvp-comment-333-4 ποδοῖν ³³¹

mvp-comment-334-1 ἔλαφον ³³²

mvp-comment-334-2 στικτὸν ³³³

mvp-comment-334-3 κεράστην ³³⁴

mvp-comment-334-4 οὗ κατὰ σφαγὰς ³³⁵

mvp-comment-335-1 ἐκκομπάσας ἔπος τι τυγχάνει ³³⁶ βαλών ³³⁷

mvp-comment-335-2 This is the reason against taking

with , as=‘he shoots and hits’; cp. Il. 15. 581 : Her. 3. 35 . The vaunt must then precede the hit.

mvp-comment-335-3 Others take βαλὼν ³³⁸ ἔπος ³³⁹

mvp-comment-335-4 Monk, with Musgrave, took σφαγὰς ³⁴⁰

mvp-comment-336-1 ἐκ τοῦδε ³⁴¹

mvp-comment-336-2 μηνίσασα ³⁴²

mvp-comment-336-3 Λητῴα κόρη ³⁴³

mvp-comment-337-1 ὡς ³⁴⁴ ἀντίσταθμον ³⁴⁵

mvp-comment-337-2 ἐκθύσειε ³⁴⁶

mvp-comment-338-1 ὧδ’ ἦν ³⁴⁷

mvp-comment-338-2 τὰ … θύματ’ ³⁴⁸

mvp-comment-338-3 λύσις ³⁴⁹

mvp-comment-338-4 πρὸς οἶκον ³⁵⁰

mvp-comment-339-1 πολλὰ ³⁵¹

mvp-comment-339-2 ἀντιβὰς ³⁵²

mvp-comment-339-3 μόλις ³⁵³

mvp-comment-340-1 εἰ δ’ οὖν ³⁵⁴

mvp-comment-340-2 ἐρῶ γὰρ καὶ τὸ σόν ³⁵⁵

mvp-comment-341-1 τούτου … οὕνεκ’ ³⁵⁶

mvp-comment-341-2 νόμῳ ³⁵⁷

mvp-comment-342-1 ὅρα ³⁵⁸ μὴ … τιθῇς ³⁵⁹ τίθης ³⁶⁰

mvp-comment-342-2 Here, either

or would be suitable. (1) With :—‘See that, in making this rule, you are not making woe for yourself.’ This means that to make the rule (as she is doing) is at once (logically) to make the woe. (2) With : —‘See lest, in making this rule, you make woe for yourself’: i.e., the rule may have the woe as a consequence. The woe is a future contingency (583 ), against which Electra warns her. On the whole, I now prefer . Cp. 1003 | : fr. 82 .

mvp-comment-342-3 τιθεῖσα … νόμον ³⁶¹

mvp-comment-343-1 εἰ γὰρ κτενοῦμεν ³⁶²

mvp-comment-343-2 πρώτη ³⁶³

mvp-comment-344-1 εἰσόρα ³⁶⁴

mvp-comment-344-2 οὐκ οὖσαν ³⁶⁵

mvp-comment-344-3 τίθης ³⁶⁶

mvp-comment-344-4 εἰ … θέλεις ³⁶⁷

mvp-comment-345-1 τῷ παλαμναίῳ ³⁶⁸

mvp-comment-345-2 πρόσθεν ἐξαπώλεσας ³⁶⁹

mvp-comment-346-1 παιδοποιεῖς ³⁷⁰

mvp-comment-346-2 Erigonè, daughter of Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra (Tzetzes on Lyc. 1374 ), was mentioned by the early cyclic poet Cinaethon ( Paus. 2. 18. 6 ), and was the theme of Sophocles in his

. Hyginus ( Hyg. Fab. 122 ) notices a son of Aegisthus named Aletes, who gives his name to a play by Sophocles, but does not record the mother: see p. xliii note 4.

mvp-comment-346-3 εὐσεβεῖς ³⁷¹

mvp-comment-346-4 κἀξ εὐσεβῶν ³⁷²

mvp-comment-346-5 By

Electra means Orestes and herself. Both are ‘cast out’ of their just rights. Cp. O.T. 611 . Eur. El. 62 |

mvp-comment-346-6 βλαστόντας ³⁷³

mvp-comment-346-7 ἐκβαλοῦσ’ ἔχεις ³⁷⁴

mvp-comment-347-1 πῶς ταῦτ’ ἐπαινέσαιμ’ ἄν ³⁷⁵

mvp-comment-347-2 ἢ ³⁷⁶ ἦ ³⁷⁷ καὶ τοῦτ’ ³⁷⁸ ἄποινα ³⁷⁹

mvp-comment-348-1 αἰσχρῶς δ’ ³⁸⁰ δ’ ³⁸¹

mvp-comment-348-2 ἐάν περ καὶ λέγῃς ³⁸²

mvp-comment-348-3 ἐχθροῖς γαμεῖσθαι ³⁸³

mvp-comment-348-4 These two verses, though not indispensable, seem genuine. Were they omitted, the transition from 592 to 595 would be somewhat abrupt.

mvp-comment-349-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ γὰρ ³⁸⁴

mvp-comment-349-2 πᾶσαν ἵης γλῶσσαν ³⁸⁵

mvp-comment-350-1 κακοστομοῦμεν ³⁸⁶

mvp-comment-350-2 καί σ’ ἔγωγε δεσπότιν ³⁸⁷

mvp-comment-350-3 εἰς ἡμᾶς ³⁸⁸ ἣ ³⁸⁹

mvp-comment-351-1 βίον μοχθηρόν ³⁹⁰

mvp-comment-351-2 ἔκ τε σοῦ ³⁹¹ κακοῖς … ξυνοῦσα ³⁹²

mvp-comment-351-3 συννόμου ³⁹³

mvp-comment-352-1 ὁ δ’ ἄλλος ³⁹⁴

mvp-comment-352-2 χεῖρα σὴν ³⁹⁵

mvp-comment-352-3 τρίβει βίον ³⁹⁶

mvp-comment-352-4 603 The reason for writing δή με σοὶ ³⁹⁷ δή μέ σοι ³⁹⁸

mvp-comment-352-5 μιάστορα ³⁹⁹

mvp-comment-353-1 τοῦδέ γ’ οὕνεκα ⁴⁰⁰

mvp-comment-354-1 εἰς ἅπαντας ⁴⁰¹

mvp-comment-354-2 χρῇς ⁴⁰²

mvp-comment-354-3 στόμαργον ⁴⁰³

mvp-comment-355-1 τῶνδε τῶν ἔ|ργων ἴδρις ⁴⁰⁴

mvp-comment-355-2 σχεδόν τι ⁴⁰⁵

mvp-comment-355-3 οὐ καταισχύνω ⁴⁰⁶

mvp-comment-356-1 ὁρῶ μένος πνέουσαν ⁴⁰⁷ μένος πνέουσαν ⁴⁰⁸

mvp-comment-356-2 σὺν δίκῃ ξύνεστι ⁴⁰⁹

mvp-comment-356-3 Other interpretations are:—(1) ‘I see that Electra is wroth; but as to whether she is in the right, I see no concern (anywhere),’—a timid way of saying that Clytaemnestra shows no such concern. So the schol. (2) ‘I see that Clytaemnestra is angry, but not that she cares whether she is right’:—an inference from some gesture. Both these versions rely on the fact that

(612) is plainly an echo of (611). But: ( a) it does not follow that is not Electra's thought. ( b) It is surely clear that must be Electra; and ( c) as in Ant. 471 f., the second clause naturally refers to the same person.

mvp-comment-357-1 ποίας δ’ ἐμοὶ δεῖ ⁴¹⁰ ἐμοὶ ⁴¹¹ μοι ⁴¹² δεῖ ⁴¹³

mvp-comment-357-2 Others understand: (1) ‘If Electra has no consideration for justice, why should I have any consideration for her,— i.e., show her any tenderness?’ Or: (2) ‘If she heeds not justice, why should I heed her?’ Neither view seems well suited to the context.

mvp-comment-358-1 καὶ ταῦτα ⁴¹⁴

mvp-comment-358-2 τηλικοῦτος ⁴¹⁵

mvp-comment-358-3 ἆρα ⁴¹⁶

mvp-comment-358-4 χωρεῖν ἂν ⁴¹⁷ εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ⁴¹⁸

mvp-comment-359-1 εὖ νυν ἐπίστω ⁴¹⁹

mvp-comment-359-2 ἔξωρα ⁴²⁰

mvp-comment-359-3 προσεικότα ⁴²¹

mvp-comment-360-1 ἀλλὰ … γὰρ ⁴²²

mvp-comment-360-2 ἡ … ἐκ σοῦ δυσμένεια ⁴²³

mvp-comment-360-3 ἐξαναγκάζει ⁴²⁴ αἰσχροῖς ⁴²⁵

mvp-comment-360-4 622 f. The word θρέμμα ⁴²⁶

mvp-comment-360-5 ἦ σ’ ἐγὼ ⁴²⁷

mvp-comment-361-1 νιν ⁴²⁸

mvp-comment-361-2 εὑρίσκεται ⁴²⁹

mvp-comment-361-3 Cp. Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus (in his Prose Works, ed. Symmons, vol. I. p. 236): ‘I might also tell them [the prelates], what Electra in Sophocles, a wise virgin, answered her wicked mother, who thought herself too violently reproved by her the daughter: ‘' Tis you that say it, not I; you do the deeds, | And your ungodly deeds find me the words.’’

mvp-comment-362-1 οὐ μὰ ⁴³⁰

mvp-comment-362-2 δέσποιναν ⁴³¹

mvp-comment-362-3 Ἄρτεμιν ⁴³²

mvp-comment-362-4 θράσους τοῦδ’ οὐκ ἀλύξεις ⁴³³ μόλῃ ⁴³⁴

mvp-comment-363-1 ὁρᾷς ⁴³⁵

mvp-comment-363-2 ἐκφέρει ⁴³⁶

mvp-comment-363-3 The v. l. παρεῖσα ⁴³⁷

mvp-comment-364-1 οὐδὲ ⁴³⁸

mvp-comment-364-2 ὑπ’ εὐφήμου βοῆς ⁴³⁹

mvp-comment-364-3 ἐπειδὴ σοί γ’ ⁴⁴⁰

mvp-comment-364-4 πᾶν λέγειν ⁴⁴¹

mvp-comment-365-1 κελεύω ⁴⁴²

mvp-comment-365-2 τοὐμὸν στόμ’ ⁴⁴³

mvp-comment-365-3 634 f. An altar, and probably an image, of Apollo stand before the palace. The attendant of Clytaemnestra carries offerings of various fruits, which she is now commanded to raise, as with a gesture of solemn oblation ( ἔπαιρε ⁴⁴⁴

mvp-comment-365-4 ἡ παροῦσά μοι ⁴⁴⁵

mvp-comment-365-5 θύματα … πάγκαρπα ⁴⁴⁶

mvp-comment-366-1 λυτηρίους … δειμάτων ⁴⁴⁷

mvp-comment-366-2 ἀνάσχω ⁴⁴⁸

mvp-comment-367-1 κλύοις ἂν ⁴⁴⁹

mvp-comment-367-2 προστατήριε ⁴⁵⁰

mvp-comment-368-1 κεκρυμμένην ⁴⁵¹

mvp-comment-368-2 οὐ γὰρ ἐν φίλοις ⁴⁵²

mvp-comment-369-1 πρὸς φῶς ⁴⁵³

mvp-comment-370-1 πολυγλώσσῳ ⁴⁵⁴

mvp-comment-370-2 σπείρῃ ⁴⁵⁵

mvp-comment-370-3 ματαίαν ⁴⁵⁶

mvp-comment-371-1 ὧδ’ ⁴⁵⁷

mvp-comment-372-1 γὰρ ⁴⁵⁸

mvp-comment-372-2 δισσῶν ὀνείρων ⁴⁵⁹

mvp-comment-372-3 Jacobs Fr.( ap. Wunder) understood, ‘ two dreams,’—as if Clyt.'s vision consisted of two parts,—the return of Agamemnon, and the growth from the sceptre (417—423). This seems forced. Still less can we assume that there was some second dream which Clyt. did not relate even to the Sun-god (425).

mvp-comment-372-4 Λύκεἰ ἄναξ ⁴⁶⁰

mvp-comment-373-1 ἐσθλά … ἐχθρά ⁴⁶¹

mvp-comment-373-2 Cp. Aesch. Pers. 217 , where the Chorus are advising Atossa how to propitiate the gods after her dream:

, |

mvp-comment-373-3 ἔμπαλιν μέθες ⁴⁶²

mvp-comment-374-1 εἴ τινες ⁴⁶³

mvp-comment-375-1 ἀλλ’ ὧδε ⁴⁶⁴

mvp-comment-375-2 ἀβλαβεῖ βίῳ ⁴⁶⁵

mvp-comment-376-1 δόμους ⁴⁶⁶

mvp-comment-376-2 ἀμφέπειν ⁴⁶⁷

mvp-comment-376-3 φίλοισι ⁴⁶⁸

mvp-comment-377-1 εὐημεροῦσαν ⁴⁶⁹

mvp-comment-377-2 καὶ τέκνων ⁴⁷⁰ ὅσων ⁴⁷¹

mvp-comment-377-3 We might also take

as standing, by attraction, for . When the antecedent is thus attracted, it usually comes after the relative ( O.C. 56); but sometimes precedes it, as in Tr. 151 f. ... | ... (for ) . In examples of the latter kind, however, the acc. (and not, as it would be here, the dat.) is elsewhere the case attracted. In favour of taking as partitive, it may be added that this suits the distinction between two groups of . By she means Chrysothemis, Iphianassa, and the offspring o<*> her union with Aegisthus (157; 589).

mvp-comment-377-4 ἐμοὶ … πρόσεστιν ⁴⁷²

mvp-comment-378-1 πᾶσιν ἡμῖν ⁴⁷³

mvp-comment-379-1 τὰ δ’ ἄλλα πάντα ⁴⁷⁴

mvp-comment-379-2 660 Following the directions given in vv. 39 ff., the Paedagogus now appears as a

. Cp. O.T. 924 ff., where the messenger from Corinth presents himself to Iocasta and the Chorus.

mvp-comment-379-3 πῶς ἂν εἰδείην ⁴⁷⁵

mvp-comment-380-1 ἦ καὶ ⁴⁷⁶

mvp-comment-380-2 ἐπεικάζων κυρῶ ⁴⁷⁷

mvp-comment-380-3 πρέπ<*> γὰρ ⁴⁷⁸

mvp-comment-381-1 μάλιστα πάντων ⁴⁷⁹

mvp-comment-381-2 ἥδε σοι κείνη πάρα ⁴⁸⁰

mvp-comment-381-3 666 f. The ὦ ⁴⁸¹ χαῖρε ⁴⁸²

mvp-comment-382-1 ἐδεξάμην τὸ ῥηθέν ⁴⁸³

mvp-comment-382-2 Instant recognition of an utterance as well-omened was a way of appropriating the omen. The proper formula was

or ( Her. 9. 91 ; Ar. Pl. 63 ). But alone was enough ( Xen. An. 1. 8. 17 : cp. Aesch. Ag. 1653 ). The phrase used here recurs in Her. 8. 114 : cp. also Eur. El. 622

προσηκάμην τὸ ῥηθέν

.

mvp-comment-382-3 εἰδέναι … σου ⁴⁸⁴

mvp-comment-383-1 Φανοτεὺς ⁴⁸⁵

mvp-comment-383-2 πρᾶγμα πορσύνων μέγα ⁴⁸⁶

mvp-comment-384-1 τὸ ποῖον ⁴⁸⁷

mvp-comment-385-1 ἐν βραχεῖ ξυνθεὶς ⁴⁸⁸

mvp-comment-386-1 τί φής, τί φής ⁴⁸⁹ ξεῖνε ⁴⁹⁰

mvp-comment-386-2 ταύτης ⁴⁹¹

mvp-comment-387-1 νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι ⁴⁹²

mvp-comment-388-1 οὐδέν εἰμ’ ἔτι ⁴⁹³

mvp-comment-389-1 τὰ σαυτῆς πρᾶσς’ ⁴⁹⁴

mvp-comment-389-2 διόλλυται ⁴⁹⁵

mvp-comment-390-1 κἀπεμπόμην ⁴⁹⁶ καὶ … φράσω ⁴⁹⁷

mvp-comment-391-1 γὰρ ⁴⁹⁸

mvp-comment-392-1 πρόσχημ’ ἀγῶνος ⁴⁹⁹ Ἑλλάδος ⁵⁰⁰

mvp-comment-392-2 πρόσχημα ⁵⁰¹

mvp-comment-392-3 Δελφ. ἄθλων ⁵⁰²

mvp-comment-393-1 ὀρθίων ⁵⁰³

mvp-comment-393-2 δρόμον … οὗ πρώτη κρίσις ⁵⁰⁴

mvp-comment-394-1 εἰσῆλθε ⁵⁰⁵

mvp-comment-395-1 ἰσώσας * τἀφέσει ⁵⁰⁶ τῇ φύσει ⁵⁰⁷

mvp-comment-395-2 Now there is evidence that the customary order for the foot-races was, 1.

, 2. , 3. . See Boeckh C. I. G. no. 1590 and 1591 (referring to games at Thespiae, circ. 240 B.C.): also no. 2214 (games at Chios, circ. 100—80 B.C.). Paus. 6. 13. 3 (of the athlete Polites at Olympia), . It would agree, then, with the words (684) if the were meant here. [As to Legg. 833 D, see Appendix.]

mvp-comment-395-3 For

as=‘starting-place,’ cp. Suidas ( s.v. ): : Paus. 6. 20. 9 : id. 5. 15. 5 —Dindorf notes that in Aristeides vol. I. p. 339 the words were corrupted to .

mvp-comment-395-4 The proposed versions of the vulgate τῇ φύσει ⁵⁰⁸

mvp-comment-396-1 νίκης … γέρας ⁵⁰⁹

mvp-comment-397-1 χὥπως μὲν ⁵¹⁰

mvp-comment-397-2 Others explain:—

: ‘I do not know how to describe his deeds to you briefly, when they were so many.’ The place of can be justified by O.T. 1251. But: (1) thus construed, the words ought to mean, ‘I do not know how to describe his deeds as few.’ The other meaning would require , or the like. And (2) is then awkward.

mvp-comment-398-1 ὅσων ⁵¹¹

mvp-comment-398-2 εἰσεκήρυξαν ⁵¹²

mvp-comment-398-3 βραβῆς ⁵¹³

mvp-comment-399-1 δρομων διαύλων ⁵¹⁴

mvp-comment-399-2 On the whole, I should incline to delete 691, and alter

in 692 to .

mvp-comment-400-1 ἐνεγκὼν ⁵¹⁵

mvp-comment-400-2 τἀπινίκια ⁵¹⁶

mvp-comment-401-1 ὠλβίζετ’ ⁵¹⁷ ἀνακαλ ⁵¹⁸

mvp-comment-401-2 Ἀγαμέμνονος ⁵¹⁹

mvp-comment-401-3 ἀγείραντος ⁵²⁰

mvp-comment-402-1 καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τοιαῦθ’ ⁵²¹

mvp-comment-402-2 βλάπτῃ ⁵²²

mvp-comment-402-3 ἰσχύων ⁵²³

mvp-comment-403-1 ἄλλης ἡμέρας ⁵²⁴

mvp-comment-403-2 ἱππικῶν ⁵²⁵

mvp-comment-404-1 ἡλίου τέλλοντος ⁵²⁶

mvp-comment-404-2 The Pythian hippodrome was in the Crisaean plain (180 n.), near its upper or northern end, where the rocky gorge of the river Pleistus opens upon a level tract. The site of Crisa, on a spur of Parnassus, overlooked it from the north, and Delphi from the north-east. Beautiful as was Olympia, the scene of the Pythian festival was unrivalled in the grandeur of its natural surroundings.

mvp-comment-405-1 Ἀχαιός ⁵²⁷

mvp-comment-406-1 Λίβυες ⁵²⁸

mvp-comment-406-2 ζυγωτῶν ⁵²⁹ ἐπιστάται ⁵³⁰

mvp-comment-407-1 κἀκεῖνος ⁵³¹

mvp-comment-407-2 ἐν τούτοισι ⁵³² ἐπὶ ⁵³³

mvp-comment-407-3 Θεσσαλὰς … ἵππους ⁵³⁴

mvp-comment-408-1 ξανθαῖσι ⁵³⁵

mvp-comment-408-2 πώλοις ⁵³⁶

mvp-comment-408-3 Μάγνης ⁵³⁷

mvp-comment-409-1 λεύκιππος ⁵³⁸

mvp-comment-409-2 Αἰνιὰν ⁵³⁹

mvp-comment-410-1 τῶν θεοδμήτων ⁵⁴⁰

mvp-comment-411-1 ἄλλος ⁵⁴¹ ἐκπληρῶν ⁵⁴²

mvp-comment-412-1 στάντες ⁵⁴³

mvp-comment-412-2 †ὅθ’ αὐτοὺς ⁵⁴⁴ ὅθ’ ⁵⁴⁵ ἵν’ ⁵⁴⁶ ὅτ’ ⁵⁴⁷

mvp-comment-412-3 βραβῆς ⁵⁴⁸ οἱ τεταγμένοι ⁵⁴⁹

mvp-comment-412-4 710 *

. I should much prefer to read in 709: but is defensible, and I refrain from change. Two views are possible; the first is generally received, and is perhaps simplest. (1) depends on as= : cp. Ar. Eccl. 683 , ‘I will place them all by lot,’ | See above on 123, Ar. Eccl. 556. (2) = , a parenthetic construction ( ), so that is governed by only, and is a second acc., defining , as in ( Soph. Ph. 1301 ). See on 466

f.

mvp-comment-412-5 ἔπηλαν ⁵⁵⁰

mvp-comment-413-1 χαλκῆς ⁵⁵¹

mvp-comment-413-2 ὑπαὶ ⁵⁵²

mvp-comment-413-3 οἱ δ’ ⁵⁵³

mvp-comment-414-1 ὁμοκλήσαντες ⁵⁵⁴

mvp-comment-415-1 ἐν δὲ ⁵⁵⁵

mvp-comment-415-2 κροτητῶν ⁵⁵⁶

mvp-comment-415-3 I formerly took

as=‘welded,’ ‘hammered,’ with ref. to the metal-work of the chariots: cp. Il. 23. 503 : 10. 438 : 4. 226 . (Cp. Helbig, H. E. p. 90.) For this sense of , cp. Pind. fr. 194 .

mvp-comment-416-1 φορεῖθ’ ⁵⁵⁷

mvp-comment-417-1 κέντρων ⁵⁵⁸

mvp-comment-417-2 ὡς ὑπερβάλοι ⁵⁵⁹ τις ⁵⁶⁰

mvp-comment-417-3 χνόας ⁵⁶¹

mvp-comment-417-4 φρυάγμαθ’ ἱππικά ⁵⁶²

mvp-comment-418-1 ὁμοῦ γὰρ ἀμφὶ νῶτα ⁵⁶³

mvp-comment-418-2 τροχῶν βάσεις ⁵⁶⁴

mvp-comment-418-3 εἰσέβαλλον ⁵⁶⁵

mvp-comment-419-1 ὑπ’ αὐτὴν ⁵⁶⁶

mvp-comment-419-2 ἐσχάτην στήλην ⁵⁶⁷

mvp-comment-420-1 ἔχριμπτ’ ἀεὶ σύριγγα ⁵⁶⁸ ἔχριμπτ’ ⁵⁶⁹

mvp-comment-420-2 δεξιὸν δ’ ἀνεὶς κ.τ.λ. ⁵⁷⁰

mvp-comment-420-3 Sophocles has in mind the words of Nestor to Antilochus, Il. 23. 336

| | , | | (‘so that just the nave of the well-wrought wheel may seem to graze it’).

mvp-comment-421-1 πρὶν μὲν ⁵⁷¹ ἔπειτα δ’ ⁵⁷²

mvp-comment-421-2 ἕστασαν ⁵⁷³

mvp-comment-422-1 ἄστομοι ⁵⁷⁴

mvp-comment-422-2 βίᾳ φέρουσιν ⁵⁷⁵

mvp-comment-422-3 ἐκ δ’ ὑποστροφῆς ⁵⁷⁶

mvp-comment-423-1 τελοῦντες κ.τ.λ. ⁵⁷⁷

mvp-comment-423-2 The Aenian, closely followed by the others, had just completed his sixth

, or double course, in the hippodrome: i.e., he had just passed, for the sixth time, round the goal nearest to the starting-place, and was on the point of beginning his seventh course. Just as he was passing the goal, his horses bolted. Hence he could not work them quite round into the track. They turned out of the left-ward curve ( ), and ran straight on. Meanwhile, one of the two Libyan chariots had swept round the goal in a wider circle, on the Aenian's right. The Aenian's horses dashed head-foremost into the Libyan's team, striking it on the left side.

mvp-comment-423-3 In the four - horse chariot - race at Olympia the number of double courses was twelve. Hence the goal farthest from the starting-place is

| ( Pind. O. 3. 33 : cp. Pind. O. 2. 55 , Pind. O. 6. 75 , Pind. P. 5. 33 ). If the (=4 stadia) be taken as the length of one double course in the hippodrome, twelve such courses give about 51/2 English miles. (Cp. art. Hippodromus in Smith's Dict. Ant., 3rd ed., p. 965 a.)

mvp-comment-423-4 Βαρκαίοις ὄχοις ⁵⁷⁸

mvp-comment-424-1 ἐξ ἑνὸς κακοῦ ⁵⁷⁹ ἔθραυε καὶ ἐνέπιπτε ⁵⁸⁰

mvp-comment-424-2 ναυαγίων ⁵⁸¹

mvp-comment-424-3 Κρισαῖον … πέδον ⁵⁸²

mvp-comment-425-1 γνοὺς δ’ ⁵⁸³

mvp-comment-425-2 κἀνοκωχεύει ⁵⁸⁴

mvp-comment-425-3 κλύδων’ ⁵⁸⁵

mvp-comment-426-1 ἔσχατος μὲν ⁵⁸⁶

mvp-comment-426-2 ὑστέρας ἔχων ⁵⁸⁷ φέρων ⁵⁸⁸ πίστιν φέρων ⁵⁸⁹

mvp-comment-426-3 Those who read

understand, ‘last, indeed, but last by his own choice.’ This is possible, but less simple. The after probably led to the insertion of .

mvp-comment-426-4 Wunder cp. Acad. Pr. 2. 29. 94 Ego enim, ut agitator callidus, prius quam ad finem veniam, equos sustinebo.

mvp-comment-427-1 ὅπως δ’ ὁρᾷ ⁵⁹⁰

mvp-comment-428-1 ἐνσείσας. ⁵⁹¹

mvp-comment-429-1 κἀξισώσαντε ζυγὰ ⁵⁹²

mvp-comment-429-2 τότ’ … ἄλλοθ’ ⁵⁹³

mvp-comment-429-3 ἄλλος … ἅτερος ⁵⁹⁴

mvp-comment-429-4 κάρα προβάλλων ⁵⁹⁵

mvp-comment-429-5 For προβάλλων ⁵⁹⁶

mvp-comment-430-1 τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους πάντας ⁵⁹⁷

mvp-comment-430-2 ἀσφαλεῖς ⁵⁹⁸

mvp-comment-430-3 ὠρθοῦθ’ ⁵⁹⁹ ὀρθὸς ἐξ ὀρθῶν δί‐ ⁶⁰⁰ φρων ⁶⁰¹

mvp-comment-431-1 λύων ἡνίαν ἀριστερὰν ⁶⁰²

mvp-comment-432-1 χνόας ⁶⁰³ μέσας ⁶⁰⁴

mvp-comment-433-1 ἀντύγων ⁶⁰⁵

mvp-comment-433-2 σὺν δ’ ἑλίσσεται ⁶⁰⁶ τμητοῖς ⁶⁰⁷

mvp-comment-434-1 διεσπάρησαν εἰς μέσον δρόμον ⁶⁰⁸

mvp-comment-434-2 Cp. Il. 23. 467

, | [ sc. ] (‘rushed out of the course’).

mvp-comment-435-1 στρατὸς ⁶⁰⁹

mvp-comment-435-2 δίφρων ⁶¹⁰

mvp-comment-435-3 ἀνωλόλυξε ⁶¹¹

mvp-comment-435-4 οἷ’ … οἷα ⁶¹²

mvp-comment-436-1 φορούμενος πρὸς οὖδας ⁶¹³

mvp-comment-436-2 ἄλλοτ’ ⁶¹⁴

mvp-comment-436-3 οὐρανῷ σκέλη προφαίνων ⁶¹⁵

mvp-comment-437-1 διφρηλάται ⁶¹⁶

mvp-comment-437-2 κατασχεθόντες ⁶¹⁷

mvp-comment-438-1 κέαντες ⁶¹⁸

mvp-comment-438-2 ἐν βραχεῖ χαλκῷ ⁶¹⁹

mvp-comment-438-3 μέγιστον ⁶²⁰

mvp-comment-438-4 σῶμα … σποδοῦ ⁶²¹

mvp-comment-438-5 Cp. Aesch. Ag. 440 (Ares)

| | . Suppl. 1130 | . Propert. 2. 9. 13 (Briseïs with the ashes of Achilles), et tanti corpus Achillei | Maximaque in parva sustulit ossa manu.

mvp-comment-439-1 ἄνδρες Φωκέων ⁶²²

mvp-comment-439-2 ἐκλάχῃ ⁶²³

mvp-comment-440-1 τοιαῦτά σοι ⁶²⁴ ταῦτ’ ἐστίν ⁶²⁵

mvp-comment-440-2 ὡς μὲν ἐν λόγῳ ⁶²⁶

mvp-comment-440-3 τοῖς δ’ ἰδ., οἵπερ εἴδομεν ⁶²⁷

mvp-comment-440-4 764 f. The word δεσπόταισι ⁶²⁸

mvp-comment-440-5 πρόρριζον ⁶²⁹

mvp-comment-441-1 ὦ Ζεῦ ⁶³⁰

mvp-comment-441-2 λέγω ⁶³¹

mvp-comment-442-1 τῷ νῦν λόγῳ ⁶³²

mvp-comment-443-1 δεινὸν ⁶³³

mvp-comment-443-2 πάσχοντι ⁶³⁴ ὧν τέκῃ ⁶³⁵

mvp-comment-444-1 μάτην ἄρ’ ἡμεῖς κ.τ.λ. ⁶³⁶

mvp-comment-445-1 μάτην λέγοις ⁶³⁷

mvp-comment-446-1 ψυχῆς ⁶³⁸

mvp-comment-447-1 μαστῶν κ.τ.λ. ⁶³⁹

mvp-comment-447-2 ἀποστὰς ⁶⁴⁰

mvp-comment-447-3 ἀπεξενοῦτο ⁶⁴¹

mvp-comment-448-1 φόνους ⁶⁴²

mvp-comment-449-1 ὥστ’ οὔτε … στεγάζειν ⁶⁴³

mvp-comment-449-2 ἐξ ἡμέρας ⁶⁴⁴

mvp-comment-449-3 στεψάζειν ⁶⁴⁵

mvp-comment-449-4 ὁ προστατῶν χρόνος ⁶⁴⁶

mvp-comment-449-5 διῆγε ⁶⁴⁷

mvp-comment-449-6 783 f. The perf. ἀπήλλαγμαι ⁶⁴⁸

mvp-comment-449-7 μείζων ⁶⁴⁹

mvp-comment-450-1 τοὐμὸν ⁶⁵⁰

mvp-comment-450-2 ἐκπίνους’ ⁶⁵¹

mvp-comment-450-3 ἄκρατον ⁶⁵²

mvp-comment-450-4 νῦν δ’ ⁶⁵³

mvp-comment-450-5 ἕκηλα ⁶⁵⁴

mvp-comment-450-6 οὕνεχ’ ⁶⁵⁵

mvp-comment-450-7 ἡμερεύσομεν ⁶⁵⁶

mvp-comment-451-1 οἴμοι τάλαινα ⁶⁵⁷

mvp-comment-451-2 οἰμῶξαι ⁶⁵⁸

mvp-comment-452-1 ἆρ’ ἔχει καλῶς ⁶⁵⁹

mvp-comment-453-1 οὔτοι σὺ ⁶⁶⁰

mvp-comment-454-1 Νέμεσι ⁶⁶¹

mvp-comment-454-2 τοῦ θανόντος ἀρτίως ⁶⁶²

mvp-comment-454-3 Nemesis is the goddess who requires that each man should receive his due (

, Mund. 7. p. 401 b. 13). The ‘Nemesis of the dead man’ is the avenger of wrong done to him; as the Greeks said ( Aesch. Ag. 1432 ), . Cp. Aesch. fr. 266 (‘ our Nemesis’) , | . At Athens were certain rites in honour of the dead ( Dem. or. 41 § 11 ), (Bekker Anecd. I. 282). Nemesis appears in art, too, as a goddess of the dead (Baumeister, Denkm., p. 1008).

mvp-comment-455-1 ἤκουσεν ὧν δεῖ ⁶⁶³

mvp-comment-455-2 κἀπεκύρωσεν ⁶⁶⁴

mvp-comment-456-1 οὔκουν … τάδε ⁶⁶⁵

mvp-comment-457-1 οὐχ ὅπως σε παύσομεν ⁶⁶⁶

mvp-comment-458-1 πολλῶν ἂν ἥκοις ⁶⁶⁷ ἔπαυσας ⁶⁶⁸ παύσαις ⁶⁶⁹

mvp-comment-458-2 πολλῶν ⁶⁷⁰ ἄξιος ⁶⁷¹ τυχεῖν ⁶⁷²

mvp-comment-459-1 εὖ κυρεῖ ⁶⁷³

mvp-comment-459-2 800 f. With πράξειας ⁶⁷⁴

mvp-comment-459-3 The emendations which aim at introducing

seem, then, superfluous. The change of καταξίως ⁶⁷⁵ πράξειας ⁶⁷⁶

mvp-comment-459-4 τοῦ πορεύς. ξένου ⁶⁷⁷

mvp-comment-460-1 τῶν φίλων ⁶⁷⁸

mvp-comment-461-1 ἆρ’ ὑμὶν ⁶⁷⁹

mvp-comment-461-2 ὧδ’ ⁶⁸⁰

mvp-comment-462-1 ὥς μ’ ἀπώλεσας θανών ⁶⁸¹

mvp-comment-463-1 ἀποσπάσας ⁶⁸² αἵ ⁶⁸³

mvp-comment-464-1 μολεῖν ⁶⁸⁴

mvp-comment-465-1 δουλεύειν ⁶⁸⁵

mvp-comment-465-2 πάλιν ⁶⁸⁶

mvp-comment-466-1 ἆρά μοι καλῶς ἔχει ⁶⁸⁷

mvp-comment-467-1 τοῦ λοιποῦ χρόνου ⁶⁸⁸

mvp-comment-467-2 818 *

, Hermann's correction of , is made certain by . No dative is needed to explain ξύνοικος ⁶⁸⁹

mvp-comment-468-1 παρεῖσ’ ἐμαυτὴν ⁶⁹⁰

mvp-comment-468-2 αὐανῶ ⁶⁹¹

mvp-comment-469-1 χάρις ⁶⁹²

mvp-comment-470-1 Kommos. 1st strophe, 823—835, =1st antistr., 836—848: 2nd str., 849—859, =2nd antistr., 860—870. For metres see Metrical Analysis. Changes of person occur within a verse (as in 829 ff.,

; ). This indicates that the Chorus is here represented by the coryphaeus; it is, in fact, a lyric duet between the leader and Electra. Similar duets occur in O. T. 649 —697 and O. C. 510 —548, passages which further resemble this as being inserted in : also in the parodos of the O. C.(as at 178 ff.), and its exodos (as at 1677 ff.): and in Ph. 1081 —1217 (as at 1184 f.).

mvp-comment-470-2 These lyrics mark the climax of Electra's grief. The comforter vainly seeks to rouse her from despair.

mvp-comment-470-3 ποῦ ποτε ⁶⁹³

mvp-comment-470-4 φαέθων ⁶⁹⁴

mvp-comment-470-5 ἐφορῶντες ⁶⁹⁵

mvp-comment-470-6 κρύπτουσιν ⁶⁹⁶

mvp-comment-471-1 τί δακρύεις ⁶⁹⁷

mvp-comment-472-1 μηδὲν μέγ’ ἀΰσῃς ⁶⁹⁸

mvp-comment-472-2 ἀΰσῃς ⁶⁹⁹

mvp-comment-473-1 ἀπολεῖς ⁷⁰⁰

mvp-comment-474-1 τῶν … οἰχομένων ⁷⁰¹ φανερῶς ⁷⁰² ἐλπίδα ⁷⁰³

mvp-comment-475-1 κατ’ ἐμοῦ τακομένας ⁷⁰⁴ ἐπεμβάσει ⁷⁰⁵ κατ’ ἐμοὶ τακομένᾳ ⁷⁰⁶

mvp-comment-476-1 οἶδα γὰρ ⁷⁰⁷

mvp-comment-476-2 Ἀμφιάρεων ⁷⁰⁸ ἄνακτα ⁷⁰⁹

mvp-comment-477-1 χρυσοδέτοις ἕρκεσι ⁷¹⁰ γυναικῶν ⁷¹¹

mvp-comment-477-2 κρυφθέντα ⁷¹²

mvp-comment-477-3 Some vase-paintings, representing the departure of Amphiaraüs for Thebes, show Eriphylè carrying the bribe in her hand. In one of these, on a very ancient vase from Caere, it appears as a necklace of large white pearls (Baumeister, Denkm. p. 67): in another, on a lekythos from Cervetri (Roscher, Lex.p. 295), it is a collar, with projecting rays.

mvp-comment-478-1 ἒ ἔ· ἰώ ⁷¹³

mvp-comment-479-1 πάμψυχος ⁷¹⁴

mvp-comment-479-2 The cult of Amphiaraüs had its chief seat in Boeotia, but afterwards spread thence to Argos, and throughout Greece. He was a chthonian deity, like Melampus; associated with Dionysus, and then with the Apollinar

. The near Thebes, a dream-oracle, was consulted by Mardonius ( Her. 8. 134 ). In later times the shrine near Oropus was more famous ( I. Paus. 34. 2 ).

mvp-comment-480-1 φεῦ ⁷¹⁵

mvp-comment-480-2 φεῦ δῆτ’ ⁷¹⁶ ὀλοὰ γὰρ ⁷¹⁷ ἐδάμη ⁷¹⁸ ὀλοὰ ⁷¹⁹

mvp-comment-480-3 ἐδάμη ⁷²⁰ ναί ⁷²¹

mvp-comment-481-1 μελέτωρ ⁷²²

mvp-comment-481-2 Amphiaraüs was avenged by his son Alcmaeon ,—the counterpart, in this story, of Orestes. Before setting out for Thebes, the seer had charged him with this duty. Eriphylè, bribed once more, prevailed upon her son to lead the Epigoni against Thebes. After its fall, he returned to Argos, and slew her. Pursued by the Erinyes, he fled to Psophis in Arcadia, and there was purified. He was the subject of a play by Sophocles, and of two by Euripides,—the first,

(produced in 438 B.C.), dealing with his absolution, and the second, , with a later episode. Acc. to a grammarian in Anecd. Oxon. II. p. 337, 4, the form of the name used by Eur. was .

mvp-comment-482-1 τὸν ἐν πένθει ⁷²³

mvp-comment-483-1 ἀναρπασθείς ⁷²⁴

mvp-comment-484-1 δειλαία δειλαίων ⁷²⁵

mvp-comment-485-1 ἴστωρ ⁷²⁶

mvp-comment-486-1 πανσύρτῳ … αἰῶνι ⁷²⁷ αἰῶνι ⁷²⁸

mvp-comment-486-2 The literal sense then is:—‘(I know this) by a life which, through all the months, is a turbid torrent of many things dread and horrible.’

seems rightly explained in one scholium as : i.e., it has an active sense, like (484 n.), ( Ph. 688 ), ( , Aesch. Ag. 361 ). The genitive, , may depend upon it, as in Soph. Ant. 1184 f. = . But we might also join the genitive with , as=‘a life of’ (made up of) these things. For the verb in ref. to a torrent, cp. Ar. Eq. 527 | : Plut. Mor.p. 5 F . Thus παμμήνῳ ⁷²⁹

mvp-comment-486-3 This view gives

a more forcible and more poetical sense than if it be taken as=‘swept together from every side.’ The meaning then would be, ‘a life, through all the months, of many dread horrors, accumulated from every quarter,’—the epithet being transferred from the troubles to the life itself. It would still, indeed, be possible to make active; ‘a life which draws troubles together from all sides’; but such an active sense would be somewhat harsher, on this interpretation, than on that which supposes the image of a torrent.

mvp-comment-487-1 ἁθρήνεις ⁷³⁰ ἃ θροεῖς ⁷³¹ ἃ θρηνεῖς ⁷³²

mvp-comment-488-1 μή μέ νυν ⁷³³

mvp-comment-488-2 παραγάγῃς ⁷³⁴

mvp-comment-488-3 ἵν’ ⁷³⁵

mvp-comment-489-1 τί φής ⁷³⁶

mvp-comment-490-1 πάρεισιν ἐλπίδων ἔτι ⁷³⁷

mvp-comment-490-2 With the other reading,

, both epithets belong to , and mean, ‘hopes from brothers and princes,’— i.e., ‘hopes from a princely brother’: the sense is unchanged, but the phrase is more artificial.

mvp-comment-490-3 That the MSS. have

is more significant than that they also have , which might easily creep in. Suidas, who omits , has , or (in codd. A and C) : but the latter variant can hardly be said to confirm .—At 162 Orestes is called . The fem. occurs at 1081.

mvp-comment-491-1 ἔφυ ⁷³⁸

mvp-comment-492-1 χαλαργοῖς ⁷³⁹

mvp-comment-493-1 τμητοῖς ⁷⁴⁰

mvp-comment-494-1 ἄσκοπος ⁷⁴¹

mvp-comment-494-2 ἁ λώβα ⁷⁴²

mvp-comment-495-1 ξένος ⁷⁴³

mvp-comment-496-1 ἄτερ ἐμᾶν χερῶν ⁷⁴⁴

mvp-comment-497-1 κέκευθεν ⁷⁴⁵

mvp-comment-497-2 οὔτε του ⁷⁴⁶

mvp-comment-497-3 ἀντιάσας ⁷⁴⁷

mvp-comment-497-4 τάφου … γόων ⁷⁴⁸

mvp-comment-498-1 ὑφ’ ἡδονῆς τοι ⁷⁴⁹ τοι ⁷⁵⁰ σοι ⁷⁵¹

mvp-comment-499-1 τὸ κόσμιον ⁷⁵²

mvp-comment-499-2 873 For the place of ὦν ⁷⁵³

mvp-comment-500-1 σὺ ⁷⁵⁴ ἴασιν οὐκ ἔνεστ’ ἰδεῖν ⁷⁵⁵

mvp-comment-501-1 ἐναργῶς ⁷⁵⁶

mvp-comment-502-1 ἀλλ’ ἦ ⁷⁵⁷

mvp-comment-502-2 τοῖς ⁷⁵⁸

mvp-comment-503-1 μὰ τὴν πατρῴαν ἑστίαν ⁷⁵⁹

mvp-comment-503-2 ἀλλ’ οὐχ ὕβρει ⁷⁶⁰

mvp-comment-503-3 ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνον ⁷⁶¹ ὡς ⁷⁶²

mvp-comment-503-4 The v.l.

for νῷν ⁷⁶³

mvp-comment-504-1 ἐξ ἐμοῦ ⁷⁶⁴ τε καί ⁷⁶⁵

mvp-comment-505-1 ἰδοῦσα πίστιν ⁷⁶⁶

mvp-comment-505-2 εἰς τί μοι ⁷⁶⁷

mvp-comment-505-3 ἀνηκέστῳ ⁷⁶⁸

mvp-comment-505-4 πυρί ⁷⁶⁹

mvp-comment-506-1 σὺ δ’ οὖν ⁷⁷⁰

mvp-comment-506-2 τῷ λόγῳ ⁷⁷¹

mvp-comment-507-1 καὶ δὴ ⁷⁷²

mvp-comment-507-2 κατειδόμην ⁷⁷³

mvp-comment-508-1 ἀρχαῖον τάφον ⁷⁷⁴

mvp-comment-509-1 κολώνης ἐξ ἄκρας ⁷⁷⁵

mvp-comment-509-2 γάλακτος ⁷⁷⁶

mvp-comment-509-3 περιστεφῆ … ἀνθέων ⁷⁷⁷

mvp-comment-509-4 ἔστιν ⁷⁷⁸

mvp-comment-509-5 θήκην ⁷⁷⁹

mvp-comment-510-1 ἔσχον θαῦμα ⁷⁸⁰

mvp-comment-510-2 ἐγχρίμπτῃ ⁷⁸¹ ἐγχρίμπτει ⁷⁸²

mvp-comment-511-1 ἐν γαλήνῃ ⁷⁸³

mvp-comment-512-1 ἐσχάτης … πυρᾶς ⁷⁸⁴

mvp-comment-512-2 νεώρη ⁷⁸⁵

mvp-comment-513-1 ἐμπαίει κ.τ.λ. ⁷⁸⁶ ὄμμα ⁷⁸⁷

mvp-comment-513-2 σύνηθες ⁷⁸⁸ ὁρᾶν ⁷⁸⁹

mvp-comment-513-3 The intrans.

(a stronger ) occurs only here; but cp. O. T. 1252 . In Aesch. Ag. 187 are ‘the fortunes which have suddenly struck him’: cp. ib. 347

mvp-comment-513-4 ψυχῇ ⁷⁹⁰

mvp-comment-513-5 The scholium in L runs thus:—

] : i.e., the writer took to mean ‘a sight’; a sense possible for it only when, as here, it denotes the human face or form ( Ai. 977 : ib. 1004: Aesch. Ch. 238 ). This scholium cannot be claimed, however, as indicating that the scholiast read φάσμα ⁷⁹¹

mvp-comment-514-1 βαστάσασα ⁷⁹²

mvp-comment-514-2 δυσφηυῶ μὲν οὔ ⁷⁹³ οὔ ⁷⁹⁴

mvp-comment-515-1 νῦν θ’ ὁμοίως καὶ τότ’ ⁷⁹⁵

mvp-comment-515-2 μή του ⁷⁹⁶

mvp-comment-515-3 ἀγλάϊσμα ⁷⁹⁷

mvp-comment-515-4 911 f. The elliptical πῶς γὰρ ⁷⁹⁸ ᾗ γε ⁷⁹⁹ μηδὲ ⁸⁰⁰ πρὸς θεοὺς ⁸⁰¹

mvp-comment-515-5 ἀκλαύστῳ ⁸⁰²

mvp-comment-516-1 ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ μὲν δὴ ⁸⁰³

mvp-comment-517-1 οὔτε δρῶσ’ ἐλάνθαν’ ἄν ⁸⁰⁴

mvp-comment-517-2 It is quite true that such elision was rare; the

more usually averted it. The mistake is to deny that it was admissible. Porson's keen observation and fine instinct led him to no such rule; he found no offence ( e.g.) in Eur. Hec. 1113 ( MSS.; Heath).

mvp-comment-517-3 But is ἐλάνθανεν ⁸⁰⁵ δρῶσα ⁸⁰⁶

mvp-comment-517-4 If ἐλάνθαν’ ἄν ⁸⁰⁷ ἔληθεν ἄν ⁸⁰⁸

mvp-comment-517-5 915 *

is Dindorf's certain correction of τἀπιτίμια ⁸⁰⁹

mvp-comment-518-1 θάρσυνε ⁸¹⁰

mvp-comment-518-2 οὐχ αὑτὸς ἀεί ⁸¹¹

mvp-comment-519-1 νῷν ἧν ⁸¹² δ’ ⁸¹³

mvp-comment-519-2 κῦρος ⁸¹⁴

mvp-comment-520-1 φεῦ τῆς ἀνοίας ὥς ⁸¹⁵

mvp-comment-521-1 ὅποι γῆς … φέρει ⁸¹⁶

mvp-comment-522-1 πῶς δ’ οὐκ ἐγὼ κάτοιδ’ ⁸¹⁷

mvp-comment-523-1 τἀκείνου … σωτήρια ⁸¹⁸

mvp-comment-524-1 καὶ ποῦ ⁸¹⁹

mvp-comment-524-2 ὑπέρχεται ⁸²⁰

mvp-comment-525-1 μητρὶ ⁸²¹

mvp-comment-526-1 τὰ πολλὰ ⁸²² πρὸς τάφον ⁸²³

mvp-comment-527-1 μάλιστ’ ⁸²⁴

mvp-comment-527-2 μνημεἶ ⁸²⁵

mvp-comment-528-1 ὦ δυστυχής ⁸²⁶

mvp-comment-528-2 τοιούσδ’ ⁸²⁷

mvp-comment-529-1 ἵν’ ἦμεν ἄτης ⁸²⁸

mvp-comment-530-1 λύσεις ⁸²⁹

mvp-comment-531-1 οὐκ ἔσθ’ ὅ γ’ εἶπον ⁸³⁰

mvp-comment-532-1 φερέγγυος ⁸³¹

mvp-comment-533-1 τλῆναι … δρῶσαν ⁸³²

mvp-comment-534-1 ὠφέλειά γ’ ⁸³³

mvp-comment-535-1 ὅρα ⁸³⁴

mvp-comment-535-2 πόνου … εὐτυχεῖ ⁸³⁵

mvp-comment-536-1 ξυνοίσω ⁸³⁶

mvp-comment-537-1 ποεῖν ⁸³⁷

mvp-comment-538-1 παρουσίαν ⁸³⁸

mvp-comment-538-2 καὶ σύ που ⁸³⁹

mvp-comment-539-1 λελείμμεθον ⁸⁴⁰

mvp-comment-540-1 θάλλοντ’ ἔτ’ ⁸⁴¹ βίῳ ⁸⁴²

mvp-comment-541-1 πράκτοῤ ⁸⁴³

mvp-comment-542-1 εἰς σὲ δὴ βλέπω ⁸⁴⁴

mvp-comment-543-1 κατοκνήσεις ⁸⁴⁵ κατοκνήσῃς ⁸⁴⁶

mvp-comment-543-2 Brunck's comment, ‘ soloece vulgo

,’ alludes to the rule laid down by R. Dawes (ob. 1766) in Miscellanea Critica (p. 227), and once known as the canon Davesianus, that could not be used with the first aor. subjunct. act. or midd. Among many examples that refute it are in the passage just quoted from Xen. (the fut. being ), and in 1122 (the fut. being ).

mvp-comment-544-1 κρύπτειν ⁸⁴⁷

mvp-comment-544-2 In this play the fate of Aegisthus forms the climax. Electra has already said that Clytaemnestra shared in the murderous deed (97 ff., 206), and has avowed that she would have wished Orestes to wreak vengeance on her (604). But she does not suggest that she herself or her sister should slay their mother; even the plur.

in 979 need not mean more than Aegisthus. Sophocles avoids everything that could qualify our sympathy with Electra; while it suits the different aim of Euripides to make her plan the matricide. See Introduction.

mvp-comment-545-1 ποῖ … μενεῖς ⁸⁴⁸

mvp-comment-545-2 βλέψας’ ⁸⁴⁹

mvp-comment-546-1 κτῆσιν ⁸⁵⁰ ἐστερημένῃ ⁸⁵¹

mvp-comment-547-1 ἐς τοσόνδε τοῦ χρόνου ⁸⁵²

mvp-comment-548-1 ἄλεκτρα … ἀνυμέναια ⁸⁵³

mvp-comment-548-2 γηράσκουσαν ⁸⁵⁴

mvp-comment-549-1 τῶνδε ⁸⁵⁵

mvp-comment-549-2 ὅπως ⁸⁵⁶

mvp-comment-550-1 ἢ κἀμὸν ⁸⁵⁷ πημονὴν ⁸⁵⁸

mvp-comment-551-1 ἐπίσπῃ ⁸⁵⁹

mvp-comment-552-1 εὐσέβειαν … οἴσει ⁸⁶⁰ θανόντος ⁸⁶¹ κάτω ⁸⁶²

mvp-comment-552-2 970 ff. The compound ἐξέφυς ⁸⁶³

mvp-comment-552-3 καλεῖ ⁸⁶⁴

mvp-comment-552-4 τὰ χρηστὰ ⁸⁶⁵

mvp-comment-553-1 λόγων γε μὴν εὔκλειαν ⁸⁶⁶ λόγων ⁸⁶⁷

mvp-comment-554-1 ἀστῶν ἢ ξένων ⁸⁶⁸

mvp-comment-554-2 δεξιώσεται ⁸⁶⁹

mvp-comment-555-1 ἴδεσθε ⁸⁷⁰

mvp-comment-556-1 εὖ βεβηκόσιν ⁸⁷¹

mvp-comment-556-2 ἀφειδήσαντε ⁸⁷²

mvp-comment-556-3 προὐστήτην φόνου ⁸⁷³ ἐχθροῖς ⁸⁷⁴ φόνου ⁸⁷⁵

mvp-comment-556-4 981 f. For τούτω … τώδε ⁸⁷⁶ ἑορταῖς ⁸⁷⁷ πανδήμῳ πόλει ⁸⁷⁸ τοι ⁸⁷⁹

mvp-comment-557-1 συμπόνει ⁸⁸⁰ σύγκαμνε ⁸⁸¹

mvp-comment-557-2 Electra has already declared her faith that Agamemnon, in the nether world, is the ally of his children (454

: cp. 459 ). Orestes also, as she believes, is now there, working in the same cause. She asks her sister to aid their efforts.

mvp-comment-557-3 Nauck miserably defaces this passage by adopting the corrupt v. l. ἀδελφῇ ⁸⁸² ἐμέ ⁸⁸³

mvp-comment-557-4 παῦσον ἐκ κακῶν ⁸⁸⁴

mvp-comment-557-5 989 In τοῖς καλῶς πεφυκόσιν ⁸⁸⁵

mvp-comment-558-1 ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ⁸⁸⁶ καὶ κλύοντι ⁸⁸⁷ σύμμαχος ⁸⁸⁸

mvp-comment-558-2 993 For the place of μὴ ⁸⁸⁹

mvp-comment-558-3 ἐσῴζετ’ ⁸⁹⁰

mvp-comment-559-1 ἐμβλέψασα ⁸⁹¹ θράσος … ὁπλίζει ⁸⁹²

mvp-comment-560-1 εἰσορᾷς ⁸⁹³

mvp-comment-560-2 γυνὴ μὲν ⁸⁹⁴

mvp-comment-560-3 σθένεις δ’ ἔλασσον … χερί ⁸⁹⁵

mvp-comment-561-1 ἀπορρεῖ ⁸⁹⁶

mvp-comment-561-2 κἀπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεται ⁸⁹⁷

mvp-comment-562-1 τοιοῦτον ⁸⁹⁸

mvp-comment-562-2 ἄλυπος ἄτης ⁸⁹⁹

mvp-comment-563-1 κτησώμεθ’ ⁹⁰⁰

mvp-comment-564-1 λύει ⁹⁰¹ ἡμᾶς ⁹⁰² ἡμῖν ⁹⁰³

mvp-comment-564-2 δυσκλεῶς θανεῖν ⁹⁰⁴

mvp-comment-565-1 οὐ γἀρ θανεῖν ⁹⁰⁵ γὰρ ⁹⁰⁶

mvp-comment-566-1 κἀξερημῶσαι γένος ⁹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-567-1 ἄρρητα … κἀτελῆ ⁹⁰⁸ σοι ⁹⁰⁹

mvp-comment-568-1 ἀλλὰ τῷ χρόνῳ ποτέ ⁹¹⁰

mvp-comment-569-1 The difference between πείθου ⁹¹¹ πιθοῦ ⁹¹²

mvp-comment-570-1 καλῶς δ’ ⁹¹³

mvp-comment-571-1 αὐτόχειρί μοι ⁹¹⁴

mvp-comment-571-2 μόνῃ τε ⁹¹⁵

mvp-comment-571-3 οὐ γὰρ δὴ ⁹¹⁶ γε ⁹¹⁷

mvp-comment-571-4 κενόν ⁹¹⁸

mvp-comment-572-1 εἴθ’ ὤφελες ⁹¹⁹

mvp-comment-572-2 πᾶν γὰρ ἂν κατειργάσω ⁹²⁰

mvp-comment-573-1 φύσιν γε ⁹²¹ τότε ⁹²²

mvp-comment-574-1 ὡς οὐχὶ συνδράσουσα ⁹²³

mvp-comment-574-2 νουθετεῖς ⁹²⁴

mvp-comment-575-1 εἰκὸς γὰρ ⁹²⁵ ἐγχειροῦντα ⁹²⁶ πράσσειν ⁹²⁷

mvp-comment-576-1 ζηλῶ ⁹²⁸

mvp-comment-577-1 ἀνέξομαι ⁹²⁹

mvp-comment-578-1 μὴ πάθῃς τόδε ⁹³⁰

mvp-comment-579-1 τὸ κρῖναι ⁹³¹ μακρὸς ⁹³²

mvp-comment-579-2 χὡ λοιπὸς χρόνος ⁹³³

mvp-comment-580-1 μητρὶ … σῇ ⁹³⁴

mvp-comment-581-1 οὐδ’ αὖ ⁹³⁵ οὐδ’ ⁹³⁶

mvp-comment-581-2 ἔχθος ⁹³⁷

mvp-comment-582-1 ἀλλ’ οὖν … γ’ ⁹³⁸

mvp-comment-582-2 οἷ … ἀτιμίας ⁹³⁹

mvp-comment-583-1 ἀτιμίας μὲν οὔ ⁹⁴⁰

mvp-comment-584-1 τῷ σῷ δικαίῳ ⁹⁴¹ δῆτ’ ⁹⁴²

mvp-comment-585-1 ἦ δεινὸν ⁹⁴³

mvp-comment-585-2 εὖ λέγουσαν ⁹⁴⁴ ἐξαμαρτάνειν ⁹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-586-1 ᾧ σὺ πρόσκεισαι κακῷ ⁹⁴⁶

mvp-comment-587-1 τί δ); οὐ δοκῶ σοι ⁹⁴⁷

mvp-comment-588-1 εἰ ποήσεις ⁹⁴⁸

mvp-comment-589-1 καὶ μὴν ⁹⁴⁹

mvp-comment-590-1 βουλεύσει πάλιν ⁹⁵⁰

mvp-comment-591-1 φρονεῖν ⁹⁵¹

mvp-comment-592-1 ταῦτα ⁹⁵² νεωστί ⁹⁵³ ι ⁹⁵⁴

mvp-comment-593-1 τολμᾷς ⁹⁵⁵

mvp-comment-594-1 οὔ σοι μὴ μεθέψομαι ⁹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-595-1 καὶ τὸ θηρᾶσθαι κενά ⁹⁵⁷ καὶ ⁹⁵⁸

mvp-comment-595-2 κενά ⁹⁵⁹

mvp-comment-596-1 ὅταν γὰρ ⁹⁶⁰

mvp-comment-596-2 βεβήκῃς ⁹⁶¹

mvp-comment-597-1 ἄνωθεν ⁹⁶²

mvp-comment-597-2 οἰωνοὺς ⁹⁶³

mvp-comment-598-1 ἐσορώμενοι ⁹⁶⁴ ἀφ’ ὧν ⁹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-599-1 εὕρωσι ⁹⁶⁶

mvp-comment-599-2 ἐπ’ ἴσας ⁹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-600-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ τὰν ⁹⁶⁸

mvp-comment-601-1 τὰν οὐρανίαν Θέμιν ⁹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-602-1 ἀπόνητοι ⁹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-603-1 χθονία ⁹⁷¹ βροτοῖσι ⁹⁷²

mvp-comment-603-2 φάμα ⁹⁷³

mvp-comment-603-3 Some write Φάμα ⁹⁷⁴

mvp-comment-604-1 κατά … βόασον ⁹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-604-2 μοι ⁹⁷⁶

mvp-comment-605-1 Ἀτρείδαις ⁹⁷⁷

mvp-comment-605-2 ἀχόρευτα ⁹⁷⁸ ὀνείδη ⁹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-606-1 νοσεῖ ⁹⁸⁰ δή ⁹⁸¹

mvp-comment-607-1 τὰ δὲ πρὸς τέκνων ⁹⁸²

mvp-comment-607-2 διπλῆ φύλοπις ⁹⁸³

mvp-comment-607-3 οὐκέτ’ ἐξισοῦται ⁹⁸⁴ φιλοτασίῳ διαίτᾳ ⁹⁸⁵

mvp-comment-607-4 It is also possible, though (I think) less natural, to take the dat.

as depending on (‘is no longer compatible with friendly intercourse’).

mvp-comment-608-1 σαλεύει ⁹⁸⁶

mvp-comment-609-1 Ἠλέκτρα, †τὸν ἀεὶ πατρὸς ⁹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-609-2 Hence it is now generally held that this verse is corrupt. But no certain correction has yet been proposed. The word ἀεὶ ⁹⁸⁸ πατρὸς ⁹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-609-3 Far the best conjecture is Heath's, ἁ παῖς, οἶτον ἀεὶ πατρὸς ⁹⁹⁰

mvp-comment-610-1 πάνδυρτος ⁹⁹¹

mvp-comment-611-1 οὔτε … τε ⁹⁹²

mvp-comment-611-2 τὸ … μὴ βλέπειν ⁹⁹³

mvp-comment-612-1 διδύμαν … Ἐρινύν ⁹⁹⁴

mvp-comment-613-1 τίς ἂν εὔπατρις ⁹⁹⁵

mvp-comment-614-1 οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀγαθῶν <γὰρ> ⁹⁹⁶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ⁹⁹⁷

mvp-comment-615-1 ζῶν κακῶς ⁹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-615-2 νώνυμος ⁹⁹⁹

mvp-comment-616-1 πάγκλαυτον αἰῶνα κοινὸν ¹⁰⁰⁰

mvp-comment-616-2 εἵλου ¹⁰⁰¹

mvp-comment-617-1 τὸ μὴ καλὸν καθοπλίσασα ¹⁰⁰² ἀπολακτίσασα ¹⁰⁰³

mvp-comment-617-2 If καθοπλίσασα ¹⁰⁰⁴

mvp-comment-617-3 (1) ‘Having vanquished dishonour’ (schol.

), i.e., having overcome the temptation of ignoble ease and security. elsewhere means to ‘arm’ or ‘equip,’ never ‘to subdue by arms’; if it has the latter sense here, it follows the analogy of such compounds as .

mvp-comment-617-4 (2) ‘Having made ready an unlovely deed’: i.e., the vengeance on the murderers.—See Appendix.

mvp-comment-618-1 φέρειν ¹⁰⁰⁵

mvp-comment-618-2 ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ ¹⁰⁰⁶

mvp-comment-619-1 καθύπερθεν ¹⁰⁰⁷

mvp-comment-619-2 τεῶν ¹⁰⁰⁸ τῶν ¹⁰⁰⁹ τοσόνδ’ ¹⁰¹⁰

mvp-comment-620-1 ὑπόχειρ ¹⁰¹¹

mvp-comment-621-1 μοίρᾳ … οὐκ ἐν ἐσθλᾷ βεβῶσαν ¹⁰¹²

mvp-comment-622-1 μέγιστα … νόμιμα ¹⁰¹³

mvp-comment-622-2 ἔβλαστε ¹⁰¹⁴

mvp-comment-622-3 τῶνδε φερομέναν ἄριστα ¹⁰¹⁵ τῶνδε ¹⁰¹⁶

mvp-comment-622-4 I formerly understood:—‘in respect to these laws, prospering full well’:

being then an adv., while is used as in Thuc. 2. 60 § 3 : 5. 15 § 2 : 5. 16 § 1 . This view is recommended by the fact that then forms a clear antithesis to . But two points are against it. (1) , as a genitive of relation, is somewhat awkward; though we might compare Thuc. 3. 92 § 4 : and id. 1. 36 § 2 . (2) The poet's usage, as we have seen, favours the other sense of .

mvp-comment-623-1 τᾷ Ζηνὸς εὐσεβείᾳ ¹⁰¹⁷ Διὸς ¹⁰¹⁸ Ζηνὸς ¹⁰¹⁹

mvp-comment-624-1 εἰσηκούσαμεν ¹⁰²⁰

mvp-comment-624-2 ὀρθῶς θ’ ¹⁰²¹ δ’ ¹⁰²² θ’ ¹⁰²³ τε ¹⁰²⁴ δέ ¹⁰²⁵

mvp-comment-624-3 ἔνθα ¹⁰²⁶

mvp-comment-625-1 Αἴγισθον ¹⁰²⁷ ᾤκηκεν ¹⁰²⁸

mvp-comment-626-1 ἀλλ’ ¹⁰²⁹

mvp-comment-626-2 χὡ φράσας ¹⁰³⁰

mvp-comment-626-3 ἀζήμιος ¹⁰³¹

mvp-comment-627-1 τίς … φράσειεν ἄν ¹⁰³²

mvp-comment-627-2 ποθεινὴν ¹⁰³³

mvp-comment-627-3 κοινόπουν ¹⁰³⁴

mvp-comment-628-1 τὸν ἄγχιστον ¹⁰³⁵

mvp-comment-629-1 ἴθ’, ὦ γύναι ¹⁰³⁶

mvp-comment-630-1 οὐ δή ποθ’ ¹⁰³⁷

mvp-comment-631-1 τὴν σὴν κληδόν’ ¹⁰³⁸

mvp-comment-631-2 Στρόφιος ¹⁰³⁹

mvp-comment-632-1 φέροντες ¹⁰⁴⁰ κομίζομεν ¹⁰⁴¹

mvp-comment-633-1 τοῦτ’ ἐκεῖν’ ¹⁰⁴²

mvp-comment-633-2 πρόχειρον ¹⁰⁴³

mvp-comment-633-3 ἄχθος ¹⁰⁴⁴

mvp-comment-634-1 κέκευθεν ¹⁰⁴⁵

mvp-comment-634-2 1122 Cp. Aesch. P. V. 637

.

mvp-comment-635-1 δότε ¹⁰⁴⁶ ἥτις ἐστί ¹⁰⁴⁷

mvp-comment-635-2 ἐπαιτεῖται ¹⁰⁴⁸

mvp-comment-635-3 πρὸς αἵματος ¹⁰⁴⁹

mvp-comment-635-4 φύσιν ¹⁰⁵⁰

mvp-comment-636-1 ψυχῆς Ὀρέστου λοιπόν ¹⁰⁵¹

mvp-comment-636-2 ἀπ’ ἐλπίδων ¹⁰⁵²

mvp-comment-636-3 Then οὐχ ὧνπερ ¹⁰⁵³

mvp-comment-636-4 Other possibilities are the following. (1) Keeping both

and , to take as=‘ with hopes.’ The prep. would then be used as when it denotes a resource: 1378 : Thuc. 1. 91 § 7 . (Observe that in Soph. Tr. 667 is not really similar; it means, ‘as the outcome of a fair hope.’) The prevailing usage of condemns this view.

mvp-comment-636-5 (2) Still keeping

, to change , with Schaefer, to . Cp. Eur. Hec. 351 . This is possible; though , when thus used, commonly denotes an external accompaniment ( Soph. Tr. 419 n.); as, indeed, even in Hec. l. c., the hopes are not merely Polyxena's own, but those of her friends. Further: meaning ‘contrary to’—strikes the note of despair more forcibly.

mvp-comment-636-6 (3) Keeping

as=‘contrary to,’ to alter either to οὐχ ὅνπερ ¹⁰⁵⁴ οὐχ ὥσπερ ¹⁰⁵⁵

mvp-comment-636-7 On the whole, I retain the traditional reading, though not without a suspicion that either

or is unsound.

mvp-comment-637-1 νῦν μὲν γὰρ ¹⁰⁵⁶

mvp-comment-637-2 οὐδὲν ὄντα ¹⁰⁵⁷

mvp-comment-637-3 βαστάζω ¹⁰⁵⁸

mvp-comment-637-4 λαμπρὸν ¹⁰⁵⁹

mvp-comment-638-1 ὡς ὤφελον ¹⁰⁶⁰

mvp-comment-638-2 The v.l. ὤφελες ¹⁰⁶¹ κλέψασα ¹⁰⁶²

mvp-comment-638-3 τοῖνδε ¹⁰⁶³

mvp-comment-638-4 κἀνασώσασθαι ¹⁰⁶⁴

mvp-comment-638-5 φόνου ¹⁰⁶⁵

mvp-comment-639-1 ὅπως … ἔκεισο ¹⁰⁶⁶

mvp-comment-639-2 τύμβου πατρῴου ¹⁰⁶⁷

mvp-comment-640-1 φυγὰς ¹⁰⁶⁸

mvp-comment-641-1 ἐν ¹⁰⁶⁹

mvp-comment-641-2 φίλαισι ¹⁰⁷⁰

mvp-comment-642-1 λουτροῖς σ’ ἐκόσμης’ ¹⁰⁷¹

mvp-comment-643-1 ἄθλιον βάρος ¹⁰⁷²

mvp-comment-644-1 ἐν ξέναισι χερσὶ κηδευθεὶς ¹⁰⁷³

mvp-comment-644-2 σμικρὸς … ὄγκος ¹⁰⁷⁴

mvp-comment-645-1 τῆς ἐμῆς … τρ. ἀνωφελήτου ¹⁰⁷⁵

mvp-comment-645-2 παρέσχον ¹⁰⁷⁶

mvp-comment-646-1 ἢ κἀμοῦ ¹⁰⁷⁷

mvp-comment-646-2 μητρὸς … φίλος ¹⁰⁷⁸

mvp-comment-646-3 The schol. on 1146 has,

. But P. N. Papageorgius corrects to ( Scholia in Soph. Trag. Vetera, Leipsic, 1888). And this is confirmed by the first part of the same scholium: : i.e., the scholiast understood, ‘for thou didst not belong to thy mother more than to me,’ and took as=a vocative.

mvp-comment-647-1 οἱ κατ’ οἶκον ¹⁰⁷⁹ ἦσαν ¹⁰⁸⁰

mvp-comment-647-2 ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ τροφός ¹⁰⁸¹

mvp-comment-648-1 ἀδελφὴ σοὶ ¹⁰⁸²

mvp-comment-648-2 προσηυδώμην ¹⁰⁸³

mvp-comment-649-1 ἐκλέλοιπε ¹⁰⁸⁴

mvp-comment-649-2 θανόντι ¹⁰⁸⁵

mvp-comment-649-3 συναρπάσας ¹⁰⁸⁶

mvp-comment-649-4 θύελλ’ ¹⁰⁸⁷

mvp-comment-650-1 τέθνηκ’ ἐγὼ σοί ¹⁰⁸⁸ σοί ¹⁰⁸⁹ τέθνηκ’ ἐγώ σοι ¹⁰⁹⁰

mvp-comment-650-2 Others explain: (1) ‘I am dead because of thee’; ‘thou hast been the death of me.’ The dat. is then like that in Ai. 1128

(‘in his purpose, I am dead’). But this is less suitable to the context. (2) ‘I am dead to thee, as thou to me,’— i.e., we are now parted from each other by the barrier between earth and Hades.—The objection to τέθνηκ’ ἐγώ· σὺ ¹⁰⁹¹

mvp-comment-651-1 μήτηρ ἀμήτωρ ¹⁰⁹²

mvp-comment-651-2 ἧς ¹⁰⁹³

mvp-comment-651-3 1160—

mvp-comment-652-1 οἴμοι μοί ¹⁰⁹⁴

mvp-comment-653-1 κελεύθους ¹⁰⁹⁵

mvp-comment-653-2 ἀπώλεσας ¹⁰⁹⁶

mvp-comment-653-3 δῆτ’ ¹⁰⁹⁷

mvp-comment-654-1 τοιγὰρ σὺ δέξαι μ’ ¹⁰⁹⁸

mvp-comment-654-2 τὴν μηδὲν ¹⁰⁹⁹

mvp-comment-654-3 τὸ μηδὲν ¹¹⁰⁰

mvp-comment-655-1 μετεῖχον τῶν ἴσων ¹¹⁰¹

mvp-comment-655-2 μὴ ἀπολείπεσθαι ¹¹⁰²

mvp-comment-656-1 τοὺς ¹¹⁰³ θανόντας ¹¹⁰⁴

mvp-comment-657-1 θνητοῦ ¹¹⁰⁵ θνητὸς ¹¹⁰⁶

mvp-comment-657-2 φρόνει ¹¹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-658-1 πᾶσιν γὰρ ἡμῖν ¹¹⁰⁸ τοῦτ’ ¹¹⁰⁹

mvp-comment-659-1 φεῦ φεῦ, τί λέξω ¹¹¹⁰

mvp-comment-659-2 λόγων ¹¹¹¹ ποῖ ¹¹¹² ἀμηχανῶν ¹¹¹³

mvp-comment-660-1 It is well to observe the delicately gradual process which leads up to the recognition.

mvp-comment-660-2 (i) 1176—1187. She is surprised that her woes should affect the stranger, and he hints that they are his own. (ii) 1188 —1198. She is thus led to speak more in detail of her sorrows, and of her despair,—caused by her brother's death. (iii) 1199—1204. He once more expresses his pity,—and this time in words which cause her to ask whether he can be a kinsman. He does not give a direct answer, but inquires whether the Chorus are friendly, and is assured that they are so.

mvp-comment-660-3 The preparation is now complete: the actual disclosure follows. (i) 1205— 1210. He asks her to give him the urn which is in her hands: she entreats that she may be allowed to keep it, and to pay it the last honours. (ii) 1211—1217. He tells her that she ought not to mourn for her brother. ‘Why,’ she asks: ‘if these are his ashes?’ ‘They are not so,’ he replies,—taking the urn from her hands. (iii) 1218—1221. ‘Where, then,’ she asks, ‘is his grave?’ ‘The living have no grave.’ ‘He lives?’ ‘Yes,—as surely as I live.’

mvp-comment-660-4 ἔσχες ἄλγος ¹¹¹⁴

mvp-comment-661-1 κλεινὸν ¹¹¹⁵

mvp-comment-662-1 Bergk has an ingenious (though, I think, mistaken) theory concerning this passage. Seeing that v. 1180 resembles v. 1184, he suggests that 1180 was an inferior variant for 1184: and, on similar grounds, that 1183 was a feebler substitute for 1179. That is, there were two different texts of this passage. ( a) In one of them, the better, verses 1180 and 1183 were absent, and the rest stood in this order, 1178, 1181, 1182, 1179, 1184. ( b) In the other, verses 1179 and 1184 were absent, and the rest stood in this order, 1178, 1181, 1182, 1183, 1180. The present text arose from an attempt to harmonise the other two.

mvp-comment-662-2 We have only to read the dialogue with attention to perceive that this hypothesis of variants is arbitrary. Verse 1183 expresses sympathy in a more definite and emphatic manner than v. 1179: verse 1184 expresses surprise more directly and decidedly than v. 1180. There is a gradual accentuation of the stranger's interest and of Electra's perplexity. This development is the internal proof that our text has not arisen from a dittographia.

mvp-comment-662-3 καὶ μάλ’ ¹¹¹⁶

mvp-comment-663-1 ταλαίνης ¹¹¹⁷ συμφορᾶς ¹¹¹⁸

mvp-comment-664-1 οὐ ¹¹¹⁹

mvp-comment-665-1 ἀτίμως ¹¹²⁰ κἀθέως ¹¹²¹

mvp-comment-666-1 ἢ )μὲ ¹¹²²

mvp-comment-666-2 δυσφημεῖς ¹¹²³ ἄλλην ¹¹²⁴ ξένε ¹¹²⁵

mvp-comment-667-1 ἀνύμφου ¹¹²⁶

mvp-comment-667-2 τροφῆς ¹¹²⁷

mvp-comment-668-1 τί δή ποτ’ ¹¹²⁸ μοι ¹¹²⁹ ἐπισκοπῶν ¹¹³⁰ τί ¹¹³¹

mvp-comment-669-1 ἐν τῷ … τῶν εἰρημένων ¹¹³²

mvp-comment-670-1 ὁρῶν σὲ ¹¹³³ σὲ ¹¹³⁴ σε ¹¹³⁵ τῶν ἐμῶν ¹¹³⁶ σέ ¹¹³⁷

mvp-comment-670-2 ἐμπρέπουσαν ¹¹³⁸

mvp-comment-671-1 πόθεν ¹¹³⁹

mvp-comment-672-1 εἶτα ¹¹⁴⁰

mvp-comment-672-2 δουλεύω ¹¹⁴¹

mvp-comment-673-1 ἀνάγκῃ … προτρέπει ¹¹⁴²

mvp-comment-674-1 ἐξισοῖ ¹¹⁴³

mvp-comment-675-1 χερσὶν ¹¹⁴⁴ λύμη βίου ¹¹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-676-1 οὑπαρήξων ¹¹⁴⁶

mvp-comment-677-1 προὔθηκας ¹¹⁴⁷

mvp-comment-678-1 ποτέ ¹¹⁴⁸ ἐμέ ¹¹⁴⁹ νύν μ’ ¹¹⁵⁰

mvp-comment-679-1 τοῖσι σοῖς ¹¹⁵¹ τοῖς ἴσοις ¹¹⁵²

mvp-comment-679-2 The word ξυγγενὴς ¹¹⁵³ τοῖσι σοῖς ¹¹⁵⁴ τοῖς ἴσοις ¹¹⁵⁵

mvp-comment-680-1 τὸ τῶνδε ¹¹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-681-1 νυν ¹¹⁵⁷

mvp-comment-682-1 πιθοῦ ¹¹⁵⁸ πείθου ¹¹⁵⁹

mvp-comment-683-1 πρὸς γενείου ¹¹⁶⁰

mvp-comment-683-2 The reading of the MSS., μ<*> )ξέλη ¹¹⁶¹ μ’ ἐξέλῃ ¹¹⁶²

mvp-comment-683-3 ἐξέλῃ ¹¹⁶³

mvp-comment-683-4 τὰ φίλτατα ¹¹⁶⁴

mvp-comment-684-1 οὐ φήμ’ ἐάσειν ¹¹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-684-2 The division of the trimeter (

) marks agitation, as again in 1220—1226, 1323, etc. Cp. also O. T. 627 , O. C. 722 , Ph. 54 , etc.

mvp-comment-684-3 τάλαιν’ ἐγὼ σέθεν ¹¹⁶⁶

mvp-comment-685-1 εἰ στερήσομαι ¹¹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-686-1 ὦ φίλτατον φῶς ¹¹⁶⁸

mvp-comment-687-1 ὦ φθέγμ’ ¹¹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-687-2 μηκέτ’ ἄλλοθεν πύθῃ ¹¹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-688-1 ἔχω … ἔχοις ἀεί ¹¹⁷¹

mvp-comment-689-1 πολίτιδες ¹¹⁷²

mvp-comment-690-1 μηχαναῖσι ¹¹⁷³

mvp-comment-690-2 σεσωσμένον ¹¹⁷⁴

mvp-comment-691-1 συμφοραῖσι ¹¹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-691-2 γεγηθὸς … δάκρυον ¹¹⁷⁶

mvp-comment-692-1 A

between Electra and Orestes. Strophe, 1232—1352,=antistr. 1253—1272 (a verse being lost after 1264). Epode, 1273— 1287. For metres see Metrical Analysis.

mvp-comment-693-1 γοναὶ σωμάτων ¹¹⁷⁷

mvp-comment-694-1 ἀρτίως ¹¹⁷⁸

mvp-comment-694-2 οὓς ¹¹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-694-3 ἐχρήζετε ¹¹⁸⁰

mvp-comment-695-1 σῖγ’ ἔχουσα ¹¹⁸¹

mvp-comment-696-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ μὰ ¹¹⁸²

mvp-comment-696-2 τὴν ἄδμητον ¹¹⁸³

mvp-comment-696-3 Ἄρτεμιν ¹¹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-697-1 τόδε μὲν … ὂν ἀεί ¹¹⁸⁵

mvp-comment-697-2 περισσὸν ἄχθος ¹¹⁸⁶

mvp-comment-697-3 ἔνδον … ὂν ἀεί ¹¹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-698-1 γε μὲν δὴ ¹¹⁸⁸

mvp-comment-698-2 Ἄρης ¹¹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-698-3 εὖ δ’ ἔξοισθα ¹¹⁹⁰

mvp-comment-699-1 ἀνέφελον … κακόν ¹¹⁹¹

mvp-comment-699-2 The author of the scholium on 1245 read ἐνέβαλες ¹¹⁹² ἐπέβαλες ¹¹⁹³ ὑπέβαλες ¹¹⁹⁴

mvp-comment-699-3 καταλύσιμον ¹¹⁹⁵

mvp-comment-699-4 λησόμενον ¹¹⁹⁶

mvp-comment-699-5 The usual explanation is, ‘that cannot be forgotten’; but

is nowhere passive. There is, indeed, no classical fut. pass. of , for ( ) occurs only in later Greek (LXX. Ps. ix. 19 , etc.). Even =‘will forget,’ Eur. Alc. 198. — could mean, ‘that cannot escape notice’; for, though the act. is more usual in this sense ( Soph. Tr. 455 , Il. 23. 416 ), the midd. is so used by Hippocrates (2. 170), Arist. ( Pr. Anal. 2. 19), Lucian, etc. But here, especially after , such a sense would evidently be too weak.

mvp-comment-700-1 ἔξοιδα καὶ ταῦτ’ ¹¹⁹⁷ καὶ ¹¹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-700-2 παρουσία ¹¹⁹⁹ φράζῃ ¹²⁰⁰ ἔργων τῶνδε ¹²⁰¹

mvp-comment-700-3 The scholia attest

as the traditional reading, and suggest two explanations. (1) : i.e., = , the circumstances of the moment. Cp. cum res ipsa feret. (2) . Here is evidently neuter, and the meaning is, ‘when these topics come before us,’—when it is the fitting time to discuss them. Neither view is satisfactory.

mvp-comment-700-4 The v.l. παρρησία ¹²⁰² φράζῃ ¹²⁰³

mvp-comment-701-1 ὁ πᾶς … χρόνος ¹²⁰⁴ παρὼν ¹²⁰⁵ δίκᾳ ¹²⁰⁶ ἐννέπειν ¹²⁰⁷ πρέποι ¹²⁰⁸

mvp-comment-701-2 μόλις γὰρ ¹²⁰⁹ ἔσχον ¹²¹⁰

mvp-comment-702-1 σῴζου τόδε ¹²¹¹

mvp-comment-703-1 μακρὰν … λέγειν ¹²¹²

mvp-comment-704-1 τίς οὖν ¹²¹³ ἀξίαν ¹²¹⁴ σοῦ πεφηνότος ¹²¹⁵ λόγων ¹²¹⁶ μεταβάλοιτ’ ¹²¹⁷

mvp-comment-704-2 <*>δε ¹²¹⁸

mvp-comment-704-3 1264 After τότ’ εἶδες ¹²¹⁹ ὅτε ¹²²⁰ εὖτε ¹²²¹ ὅτε ¹²²² θεοὶ ¹²²³ ὅτε ¹²²⁴ τότ’ ¹²²⁵

mvp-comment-704-4 ἐπώτρυναν ¹²²⁶

mvp-comment-705-1 χάριτος ¹²²⁷

mvp-comment-705-2 ἐπόρισεν ¹²²⁸

mvp-comment-706-1 δαιμόνιον ¹²²⁹

mvp-comment-706-2 τίθημ’ ¹²³⁰

mvp-comment-706-3 Electra remembers the warning dream (417 ff.), in which she had already surmised a supernatural agency (411: 459). It is indeed

that Orestes, sent by Apollo, should arrive at this moment.

mvp-comment-706-4 The punctuation given in the text seems best. The Aldine has only a comma after

: but then we should need a colon after .

mvp-comment-707-1 τὰ μὲν … τὰ δὲ ¹²³¹

mvp-comment-708-1 ὁδὸν … φανῆναι ¹²³²

mvp-comment-709-1 τί μὴ ποήσω ¹²³³

mvp-comment-710-1 μή μ’ ἀποστερήσῃς … ἁδονὰν ¹²³⁴

mvp-comment-710-2 μεθέσθαι ¹²³⁵

mvp-comment-711-1 ξυναινεῖς ¹²³⁶

mvp-comment-711-2 τί μὴν οὔ ¹²³⁷

mvp-comment-712-1 ὦ φίλαι ¹²³⁸ ὦ φίλ’, ὅτ’ ¹²³⁹ φίλαι ¹²⁴⁰

mvp-comment-712-2 αὐδάν ¹²⁴¹ οὐδ’ ἂν ἤλπις’ ¹²⁴²

mvp-comment-712-3 1283 f. There can be no doubt that something has been lost before ἔσχον ¹²⁴³ οὐδ’ ἂν ¹²⁴⁴ ὁρμὰν ¹²⁴⁵

mvp-comment-712-4

in Sophocles means either (1) ‘anger,’ or (2) ‘disposition’: Ant. 875 : ib. 355 : Ai. 639 . Neither sense can be fitted into any probable interpretation. Some have supposed the meaning to be that Electra ‘restrained her anger in silence,’ when Clyt. was exulting in the death of Orestes; but, in fact, her anger found a voice (see 792). Others understand that she ‘restrained her emotion’ (of grief), on hearing the sad news; but she did not do so (see 823—870): nor could mean ‘emotion’ in that sense.

mvp-comment-712-5 On the other hand

and were easily confused in MSS. Thus in Tr. 720 , where is right, has been written over in L, and is actually the reading of A, and of the Aldine. Cp. also O. T. 337.

mvp-comment-712-6 The context is the best guide to the sense which should be restored. Through out these lyrics, Orestes has been endeavouring to repress Electra's cries, lest she should be overheard (1236, 1238, 1251 f., 1257, 1259, 1271 f.). The corrupt words probably referred to this. ὁρμὰν ¹²⁴⁶

mvp-comment-712-7 οὐδ’ ἂν ἔσχον ¹²⁴⁷ ἄναυδον ¹²⁴⁸

mvp-comment-712-8 Other interpretations and conjectures will be found in the Appendix.

mvp-comment-713-1 τάλαινα ¹²⁴⁹

mvp-comment-714-1 The first part of the third

began, at 1098, with the entrance of Orestes. Now, after the (1232—1287), comes the second part, going down to the point at which the avengers pass into the house, followed by Electra.

mvp-comment-714-2 τὰ … περισς. τῶν λόγων ¹²⁵⁰

mvp-comment-715-1 καὶ μήτε μήτηρ ¹²⁵¹

mvp-comment-715-2 Conington ( Journ. of Philology, I. p. 156) supposes an allusion to Eur. El. 300—338 , where Electra, speaking to the disguised Orestes, mentions her own sufferings, her mother's splendours, and the insolence of Aegisthus. But such an allusion seems improbable: that speech is not long; it comes in with dramatic fitness; nor does it refer to the wasteful profusion of Aegisthus, which is the main point here. A later speech of Electra's in the same play ( Eur. El. 907—951 ) would in some respects suit the words here better; but that is spoken over the corpse of Aegisthus, and could scarcely be regarded as delaying the action.

mvp-comment-715-3 Another theory, that Sophocles alludes to the earlier part of the Choephori, is certainly mistaken. Possibly he had no particular work in view, but was merely glancing at a tendency which he had noticed in contemporary drama.

mvp-comment-716-1 πατρῴαν ¹²⁵² δόμων ¹²⁵³ ἀντλεῖ, τὰ δ’ ἐκχεῖ ¹²⁵⁴

mvp-comment-716-2 ἐκχεῖ ¹²⁵⁵ διασπείρει μάτην ¹²⁵⁶ ἀντλεῖ ¹²⁵⁷

mvp-comment-717-1 χρόνου … καιρὸν ¹²⁵⁸

mvp-comment-717-2 ἐξείργοι ¹²⁵⁹

mvp-comment-717-3 Hermann took

as= , ‘the opportune moment of time.’ The meaning would then be that the might hinder them from seizing that moment. But the phrase is a strange one, scarcely to be justified by Sertor. 16, where is virtually personified,— .

mvp-comment-717-4 The schol. has:

. This only shows that he took as ‘opportunity,’ not as ‘due limit.’ It does not warrant the view that, instead of , he read or .

mvp-comment-718-1 φανέντες ¹²⁶⁰ κεκρυμμένοι ¹²⁶¹ γελῶντας ¹²⁶²

mvp-comment-719-1 οὕτω δὲ ¹²⁶³ ὅπως ¹²⁶⁴

mvp-comment-719-2 )πιγνώσεται ¹²⁶⁵

mvp-comment-719-3 νῷν ¹²⁶⁶

mvp-comment-719-4 ἐπελθόντοιν δόμους ¹²⁶⁷

mvp-comment-720-1 μάτην ¹²⁶⁸ μὴ ¹²⁶⁹ τῇ ¹²⁷⁰

mvp-comment-720-2 εὐτυχησωμεν ¹²⁷¹

mvp-comment-721-1 καὶ σοὶ ¹²⁷²

mvp-comment-721-2 ὧδ’ … τῇδε ¹²⁷³

mvp-comment-721-3 τοὐμὸν ¹²⁷⁴ φίλον ¹²⁷⁵

mvp-comment-722-1 κοὐκ ἐμὰς ¹²⁷⁶

mvp-comment-723-1 κοὐδ’ ¹²⁷⁷ βραχὺ ¹²⁷⁸ καὶ ¹²⁷⁹ λυπήσασα ¹²⁸⁰ δεξαίμην ¹²⁸¹

mvp-comment-724-1 ὑπηρετοίην ¹²⁸² ὑπηρετοίμην ¹²⁸³ δαίμονι ¹²⁸⁴

mvp-comment-725-1 τἀνθένδε ¹²⁸⁵

mvp-comment-726-1 στέγας ¹²⁸⁶ οἴκοις ¹²⁸⁷

mvp-comment-726-2 δείσῃς … ὡς … ὄψεται ¹²⁸⁸

mvp-comment-727-1 ἐντέτηκε ¹²⁸⁹

mvp-comment-728-1 χαρᾷ ¹²⁹⁰ χαρᾶς ¹²⁹¹ δακρυρροοῦσα ¹²⁹²

mvp-comment-729-1 ἥτις ¹²⁹³

mvp-comment-729-2 ἐσεῖδον ¹²⁹⁴

mvp-comment-729-3 ᾶσκοπα ¹²⁹⁵

mvp-comment-730-1 ὅτε ¹²⁹⁶

mvp-comment-730-2 τοιαύτην ¹²⁹⁷

mvp-comment-730-3 ὥς σοι ¹²⁹⁸ ὡς σοὶ ¹²⁹⁹

mvp-comment-731-1 οὐκ ἂν δυοῖν ἥμαρτον ¹³⁰⁰

mvp-comment-732-1 σιγᾶν … χωροῦντος ¹³⁰¹

mvp-comment-732-2 ἐπῄνες’ ¹³⁰²

mvp-comment-732-3 ἐπ’ ἐξόδῳ ¹³⁰³

mvp-comment-732-4 τῶν ἔνδοθεν ¹³⁰⁴

mvp-comment-733-1 ἄλλως τε καὶ φέροντες ¹³⁰⁵

mvp-comment-733-2 οἷ’ ἂν … ἀπώσαιτ’ ¹³⁰⁶

mvp-comment-734-1 τητώμενοι ¹³⁰⁷

mvp-comment-734-2 παρ’ οὐδὲν ¹³⁰⁸

mvp-comment-735-1 οὐ παρ’ αὐτοῖς ¹³⁰⁹ αὐτοῖς ¹³¹⁰

mvp-comment-736-1 σταθμοῖσι ¹³¹¹

mvp-comment-737-1 ὑμὶν … ὑμῶν ¹³¹²

mvp-comment-737-2 τὰ δρώμεν’ ¹³¹³ τὰ σώματα ¹³¹⁴

mvp-comment-738-1 νῦν δ’ … καὶ νῦν ¹³¹⁵

mvp-comment-739-1 σὺν χαρᾷ βοῆς ¹³¹⁶

mvp-comment-740-1 ἀπηλλάχθαι ¹³¹⁷

mvp-comment-741-1 It has been held that these verses, or at least 1340—1344, are spurious (cr. n.). Certainly Orestes has already heard from Electra that Clytaemnestra exults in the news of his death (1153—1156). Still, it is natural that he should make some reference (as he does in 1341) to his emissary's performance of the task. Not less natural is the question in 1343, since the old man, who entered the house at v. 803, is the only person who can tell whether the feeling described by Electra still exists.

mvp-comment-741-2 τἀντεῦθεν ¹³¹⁸

mvp-comment-742-1 ὑπάρχει ¹³¹⁹ σε … τινά ¹³²⁰

mvp-comment-743-1 ὡς ἔοικεν, ὡς τεθν ¹³²¹

mvp-comment-744-1 εἷς τῶν ἐν Ἅιδου … ἀνήρ ¹³²² ἐνθάδε ¹³²³

mvp-comment-745-1 χαίρουσιν οὖν τούτοισιν ¹³²⁴ ἐν ¹³²⁵ οὖν ¹³²⁶

mvp-comment-746-1 τελουμένων ¹³²⁷

mvp-comment-746-2 ὡς δὲ νῦν ἔχει ¹³²⁸ τὰ κείνων πάντα καλῶς ¹³²⁹ καὶ τὰ μὴ καλῶς ¹³³⁰

mvp-comment-747-1 οὐχὶ ξυνίης ¹³³¹

mvp-comment-747-2 οὐδέ γ’ εἰς θυμὸν φέρω ¹³³² οὐδέ ¹³³³

mvp-comment-748-1 ποίῳ ¹³³⁴ ὅτῳ ¹³³⁵ οἶσθα ¹³³⁶

mvp-comment-748-2 οὗ … χεροῖν ¹³³⁷

mvp-comment-748-3 πέδον ¹³³⁸

mvp-comment-748-4 ὑπεξεπέμφθην ¹³³⁹

mvp-comment-748-5 σῇ προμηθίᾳ ¹³⁴⁰

mvp-comment-749-1 προσηῦρον πιστὸν ¹³⁴¹

mvp-comment-750-1 φῶς ¹³⁴²

mvp-comment-751-1 τόνδε κἄμ’ ¹³⁴³

mvp-comment-751-2 ἔσωσας ¹³⁴⁴ κεῖνος ¹³⁴⁵

mvp-comment-752-1 ὦ … χεῖρες ¹³⁴⁶

mvp-comment-753-1 οὐδ’ ἔφαινες ¹³⁴⁷ ἀλλά με ¹³⁴⁸

mvp-comment-754-1 ἔργ’ ἔχων ¹³⁴⁹ ἐμοί ¹³⁵⁰ με ¹³⁵¹

mvp-comment-755-1 πατέρα ¹³⁵² χαῖῤ, ὦ πάτερ ¹³⁵³ πατέρα ¹³⁵⁴

mvp-comment-756-1 τοὺς … ἐν μέσῳ λόγους ¹³⁵⁵

mvp-comment-756-2 The acc. τοὺς … λόγους ¹³⁵⁶ ταῦτα ¹³⁵⁷

mvp-comment-756-3 κυκλοῦνται ¹³⁵⁸ κυκλοῦσι ¹³⁵⁹

mvp-comment-757-1 σφῷν δ’ ἐννέπω γε ¹³⁶⁰ γε ¹³⁶¹

mvp-comment-758-1 τούτοις ¹³⁶² ἄλλοισι ¹³⁶³ σοφωτέροις ¹³⁶⁴ τούτων ¹³⁶⁵

mvp-comment-758-2 Another view is that

in 1369 refers to Aegisthus and his armed followers, while τούτοις ¹³⁶⁶

mvp-comment-759-1 οὐδὲν ¹³⁶⁷

mvp-comment-760-1 πατρῷα ¹³⁶⁸

mvp-comment-760-2 ἕδη ¹³⁶⁹ πρόπυλα ¹³⁷⁰

mvp-comment-760-3 προσκύσαντε ¹³⁷¹

mvp-comment-761-1 ἀφ’ ὧν ¹³⁷²

mvp-comment-761-2 ἔχοιμι ¹³⁷³

mvp-comment-761-3 λιπαρεῖ ¹³⁷⁴

mvp-comment-761-4 Blaydes and Wecklein read )πέστην ¹³⁷⁵

mvp-comment-762-1 ἐξ οἵων ἔχω ¹³⁷⁶ αἰτῶ ¹³⁷⁷

mvp-comment-762-2 1380 I read προπίπτω ¹³⁷⁸ προπίτνω ¹³⁷⁹ ι^ ¹³⁸⁰ ι— ¹³⁸¹

mvp-comment-763-1 τἀπιτίμια ¹³⁸²

mvp-comment-764-1 ἴδεθ’ ¹³⁸³ ὅπου ¹³⁸⁴

mvp-comment-764-2 προνέμεται ¹³⁸⁵

mvp-comment-764-3 Campbell suggests that the image in

is from fire ‘eating its way’ forward, and compares Her. 5. 101 . This hardly agrees so well with the idea of a stealthy advance.

mvp-comment-765-1 τὸ δυσέριστον αἷμα ¹³⁸⁶

mvp-comment-765-2 φυσῶν ¹³⁸⁷

mvp-comment-766-1 δωμάτων ὑπόστεγοι ¹³⁸⁸

mvp-comment-767-1 μετάδρομοι … κύνες ¹³⁸⁹

mvp-comment-768-1 ἀμμενεῖ ¹³⁹⁰

mvp-comment-769-1 τοὐμὸν φρενῶν ὄνειρον ¹³⁹¹

mvp-comment-769-2 αἰωρούμενον ¹³⁹²

mvp-comment-770-1 ἐνέρων … ἀρωγός ¹³⁹³

mvp-comment-771-1 ἀρχαιόπλουτα ¹³⁹⁴

mvp-comment-772-1 νεακόνητον αἷμα χειροῖν ἔχων ¹³⁹⁵

mvp-comment-772-2 The bold use of αἷμα ¹³⁹⁶ χειροῖν ἔχων ¹³⁹⁷ αἷμα ¹³⁹⁸

mvp-comment-772-3 If νεάκονητον ¹³⁹⁹ α ¹⁴⁰⁰

mvp-comment-773-1 ὁ Μαίας δὲ παῖς ¹⁴⁰¹

mvp-comment-773-2 Ἑρμῆς σφ’ ἄγει ¹⁴⁰² ς ¹⁴⁰³ σφ’ ¹⁴⁰⁴

mvp-comment-774-1 A kommos. It falls into two principal parts. (1) 1398—1421; the death of Clytaemnestra. (2) 1422— 1441; Orestes and Pylades re-enter; Aegisthus approaches; and they prepare to receive him.

mvp-comment-774-2 The general structure of this kommos is clearly strophic; but critics differ on details. The simplest view is that of Dindorf and others, that vv. 1398—1421 form a single strophe,=antistr. 1422— 1441. The lyric verses 1407, 1413—4, and 1419—1421, correspond respectively with 1428, 1433—4, and 1439—1441: for these, see Metrical Analysis. It is usually held, with Hermann, that the correspondence of the iambic trimeters also must be exact. This makes it necessary to assume a gap in our text after v. 1427 (n.), and a second after 1429 (n.), besides the defect in 1432. See Appendix.

mvp-comment-774-3 Electra hastens out of the house. She performs the part of an

, so far as to describe the situation at this moment in the house: then Clytaemnestra's cry is heard, like that of the dying king in Aesch. Ag. 1343 ff. In the Orestes (408 B.C.) Electra has a similar part, perhaps suggested by this. Helen's cry is heard within, and Electra says to the Chorus (1297), .

mvp-comment-775-1 τελοῦσι ¹⁴⁰⁵

mvp-comment-776-1 τάφον ¹⁴⁰⁶

mvp-comment-776-2 λέβητα ¹⁴⁰⁷

mvp-comment-776-3 κοσμεῖ ¹⁴⁰⁸