52.
mvp-comment-34-1
καρατόμοις χλιδαῖς] ‘With shorn locks luxuriant.' Cp.
infr. 901, νεώρη βόστρυχον. The word χλιδή perhaps marks the luxuriance of the youthful Orestes' locks. Cp. Plat. Phaedo, 89 B, αὔριον δή, ἔφη, ἴσως, ὦ Φαίδων, τὰς καλὰς ταύτας κόμας ἀποκερεῖ.
54.
mvp-comment-35-1
'Holding uplifted in our hands the shapely urn with sides of brass.' The Scholiast rightly compares the construction of τύπωμα with ᾐρμένοι to such expressions as πώγωνα καθειμένος, – ἀντὶ τοῦ κεχαλασμένον ἔχων. But he does not observe that in both cases the verb is in the middle voice. τύπωμα is literally, A moulded form.' Cp. Ant. 430, ἐκ δ' εὐκροτήτου .. πρόχου, κ.τ.λ. For χαλκόπλευρον, cp. Aesch. Cho. 686, λέβητος χαλκέου πλευρώματα.
55.
mvp-comment-36-1
(1) Which, as I believe (που) you know, is hidden in the brake.' For οἰσθά που, cp.
infr. 948, 9, παρουσίαν μὲν λέγων, | οἶσθα καὶ σὺ που φίλων | ὡς. κ.τ.λ. (2) The v. r. μοι for που is also possible. Which I have, as you know, hidden in the brake.' μοι, if genuine, is not dative of the agent, but of remote reference not I have hidden it, but 'I have it hidden.'
56.
mvp-comment-37-1
λόγῳ κλέπτοντες] 'Stealing our advance through feigned words.' The participle is equally emphatic with the verb.
57.
mvp-comment-38-1
φέρωμεν] The optative cannot be defended here.
59-60.
mvp-comment-39-1
The precise construction would be either λυπεῖ.. ὅτε σώζομαι, or λυπήσει . . ὅταν σωθῶ. But as the sentence proceeds the mind of Orestes dwells more than at first on the futurity of the event.
60.
mvp-comment-40-1
κἀξενέγκωμαι κλέος] ‘And win renown.' Cp. Od. 1. 298, οἷον κλέος ἔλλαβε δῖος Ορέστης.
61.
mvp-comment-41-1
δοκῶ μέν] Cp.
infr. 547: О. С. 995, δοκῶ μέν, εἴπερ ζῆν φιλεῖς, κ.τ.λ.: Fr. 83, δοκῶ μέν, οὐδείς: Plato, Meno, 94 C, δοκῶ μέν, ἐβούλετο, Methinks, no word is inauspicious that is accompanied with gain.' Cp. Eur. Hel. 1050 foll. (quoted by Brunck), ΕΛ. βούλει λέγεσθαι, μὴ θανών, τεθνηκέναι; ΜΕΝ. κακὸς μὲν ὄρνις· εἰ δὲ κερδανῶ λέγων, | ἕτοιμός εἰμι μὴ θανών λόγῳ θανείν.
62-66.
mvp-comment-42-1
Some such story as that of Aristeas of Proconnesus, Hdt. 4. 13-16, is probably in the mind of the poet, who need not however be accused of the anachronism of making Orestes refer to this or any similar story (as of Pythagoras, Epimenides, Solon, Zaleucus, or Zamolxis). Hermann finds here an allusion to some banished Athenian citizen, who (like the late Lord Brougham) may have ambitiously spread the rumour of his own death.
63.
mvp-comment-43-1
μάτην] ‘Without reality. For the pleonasm, see E. on L. § 40. p. 75.
64.
mvp-comment-44-1
ἐκτετίμηνται πλέον] ‘Their name stands higher than before.' For this intensive use of the perfect, cp. ἐσπούδακα, τετεύτακα, and similar words.
65-66.
mvp-comment-45-1
Even so I, having indeed come to life in consequence of this report, shall yet, I trust, flash like a comet on my foes.' δεδορκότα is used intensively for βλέποντα = ζῶντα, but this natural use of language is assisted by the image of the star. (See L. and S. s. ν. δέρκομαι.) The star of Orestes in the ascendant will be of evil omen to his enemies. Cp. Il. 22. 30, λαμπρότατος μὲν ὅδ᾽ ἐστί, κακὸν δὲ τε σῆμα τέτυκται. For ἔτι meaning 'Hereafter, though not now, cp.
infr. 471: Trach. 256, 7, ἢ μὴν τὸν ἀγχιστῆρα τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους | ξὺν παιδὶ καὶ γυναικὶ δουλώσειν ἔτι: Ant. 69: Phil. 1359. Compare with ll. 59-66 the comic words of Falstaff, Shak. I Hen. 4. 5. 4. 120, 'To counterfeit dying, when a man thereby liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true and perfect image of life indeed.'
68.
mvp-comment-46-1
Receive me and let me prosper in this my coming. The participle is proleptic. For ταῖσδε ταῖς ὁδοῖς, cp. Ὁ. C. 553, τανῦν θ᾽ ὁδοῖς | ἐν ταῖσδ᾽ ἀκούων μᾶλλον ἐξεπίσταμαι.
70.
mvp-comment-47-1
δίκῃ καθαρτής] ‘A rightful purifier.' See E. on L. § 14. р. 20. Ср. Shak. J. C. 2. 1. 180, We shall be called purgers, not murderers.'
72.
mvp-comment-48-1
ἀλλ᾽ ἀρχέπλουτον] Sc. καταστήσατε, the positive notion elicited from the negative, -E. on L. § 36. p. 64. (1) But make me the founder of a wealthy line.' This would seem to be the meaning of the compound, according to the analogy of ἀρχέκακος. The word in this sense may possibly be construed with δόμων, 'Beginner of wealth to the house. Others explain it as equal to ἀρχαιόπλουτος, (2) ‘Enjoying ancient wealth. For this, cp. ἀρχεδίκης, Pind. Pyth. 4. 189-195, ἀρχαίαν κομίζων πατρὸς ἐμοῦ βασιλευομέναν | οὐ κατ' αἶσαν .... τιμάν. | πεύθομαι γάρ νιν Πελίαν . . | ἁμετέρων ἀποσυλᾶσαι βιαίως ἀρχεδικᾶν τοκέων.
74.
mvp-comment-49-1
τὸ σὸν .. φρουρῆσαι χρέος] 'Go thy way and watchfully execute thy duty.' Lit. Watch thy service,' i. e. perform thy service which requires watchfulness. τὸ σὸν . . χρέος is cognate acc. after φρουρῆσαι, but also in the first instance the subject of μελέσθω, to which φρουρῆσαι is added as an explanatory infinitive.
75.
mvp-comment-50-1
καιρὸς γάρ] Sc. ἐστί. For the occasion is here. See E. on L. § 39. p. 72, 1 α.
75-76.
mvp-comment-51-1
ὅσπερ, κ.τ.λ.] 'And of all powers that direct men's enterprises, Occasion is chief.'
77-86.
mvp-comment-52-1
As the function of the chorus, see Introduction, is to respond to Electra, who gives the principal interest to the play, their entrance is preceded by a monody from her, which draws the sympathy of the spectators to the chief person, and prepares them to enter more fully into the spirit of the action. And-less to whet the purpose of Orestes, than to show his firmness- he is allowed to hear her wailing from within. It is easy to see how this must excite him. But it does not alter his determination to rely upon himself alone. And thus, although for the moment eager to hear more, he yields at once to the counsel of the old man, that nothing should delay the action for which the moment is come. After l. 85, exeunt Orestes, the Paedagogus, and Pylades, leaving the proscenium vacant.
77.
mvp-comment-53-1
-------. A paroemiac, consisting wholly of long syllables, like
infr. 88, 89, 105, and other lines in the following lament. See the scheme of metres below.
78-79.
mvp-comment-54-1
'Methinks there comes from the doors a sound as of some handmaiden moaning within them.' The harshness of the unusual genitive, θυρῶν ='In the direction of the doorway,' 'e regione ostii,' is softened by the addition of ἔνδον, with which θυρῶν is to be resumed. For the genitive of the place from which an object strikes the sense, cp.
infr. 900, 1, ἐσχάτης ὁρῶ | πυρᾶς νεώρη βόστρυχον τετμημένον.
81.
mvp-comment-55-1
There is no valid objection to the Scholiast's explanation of this as καὶ ἀνακούσωμεν, ‘And let us hear afresh,' or 'hear further.' Hermann prefers καὶ ἐνακούσωμεν. Neither form is found elsewhere, and Nauck conj. κάπακούσωμεν. But, as Prof. Paley observes, this is unnecessary.
82-83.
mvp-comment-56-1
μηδὲν πρόσθεν] Sc. ποιώμεθα, which is absorbed in πειρώμεθ᾽ ἔρδειν. κἀπὸ τῶνδ᾽ ἀρχηγετεῖν] ‘And with this rite initiate our act.
84-85.
mvp-comment-57-1
ταῦτα γὰρ . . δρωμένων] 'For this brings victory within our grasp, and gives us command over our exploit.' φέρει (sc. ἡμῖν) is to be resumed with κράτος, but ἐφ' ἡμῖν is to be joined to νίκην, as a supplementary predicate. See E. on L. $ 19. p. 29. 4, and § 24. p. 40, 2.
85-86.
mvp-comment-58-1
They go all together to perform the libation at the tomb, after which the old man will return to the palace, and Orestes and Pylades will go to the place where they have hidden the urn (
supr. 55). Orestes, in
supr. 73, 4, spoke as if the old man was at once to begin his part. But the time is not yet come for this, and, by going to join in the solemn rite at the grave of his old master, he leaves the proscenium vacant for the scenes from l. 86 to l. 659. If we are inclined to quarrel with this long delay, our scruple is pacified by the words ὅταν σε καιρὸς εἰσάγῃ in
supr. 39.
86-250.
mvp-comment-59-1
In this long lament there are two principal movements, each of which admits of subdivision. First, the monody of Electra, consisting of two anapaestic systems, of which one (ll. 86-102) is retrospective, and the other (ll. 103-120) is prospective. Secondly, there is the commatic parodos :-the chorus on their entrance address Electra with lyric strains, to which she responds also in lyric measures. This movement consists of three strophes and antistrophes. In στρ. and ἀντ. α' (ll. 121-152), the chorus gently, but gloomily, expostulate with Electra, who is inconsolable. In στρ. and ἀντ. β΄ (ll. 153-192), they vainly try to cheer her. In στρ. and ἀντ. γ΄ (ll. 193- 232), they remind her of her past and present troubles, and exhort her not to add to them. All this is followed by a ῥῆσις of Electra (ll. 254-309) in reply to the coryphaeus, who, at l. 324, again speaks to call attention to Chrysothemis' approach.
86-250.
mvp-comment-59-2
Metres. The anapaests in 86-120, although for the most part regular are in so far of the freer kind which belong to laments as to admit the spondaic paroemiacs near the commencement of each system in ll. 88, 9, 105, 6, which, with the opening half line, have a strange effect of heaviness and of struggle and pain. The two systems so nearly correspond, both in this respect and in the number of the lines, that one is tempted to believe that the half line that would complete the antistrophic effect has been lost somewhere between 113 and 117. But anapaestic systems are seldom exactly antistrophic, and the pause after the (dactylic) invocation in l. 115 may be intentional.
86-92.
mvp-comment-60-1
Electra tells her sorrows to the daylight and to the air of Heaven, as she has told them all night long to her sleepless chamber. The holy light contrasts with the pollutions of the house of Pelops; the illimitable air,- which searches even to earth's remotest corners, and is common to Orestes and herself, both contrasts with the narrowness of her lot, and can alone contain the boundlessness of her grief.
86.
mvp-comment-61-1
ὦ φάος ἁγνόν] For the sacred purity of the elements as opposed to the impurity of man, cp. O. T. 1427, 8, τὸ μήτε γῆ μήτ᾿ ὄμβρος ἱρὸς μήτε φῶς προσδέξεται.
87-90.
mvp-comment-62-1
ὥς μοι .. αἱμασσομένων] ‘How many tones of my lamenting. how many blows that bruised my bleeding breast, have thrilled you!' στέρνων is objective genitive with πληγάς, but is to be resumed with ἀντήρεις, lit. 'planted firmly against.'
91.
mvp-comment-63-1
ὑπολειφθῇ] 'Hath ceased,' lit. 'Has been outrun,' i.e. by the day. Cp. Αj. 672, 3, ἐξίσταται δὲ νυκτὸς αἰανὴς κύκλος | τῇ λευκοπώλῳ φέγγος ἡμέρᾳ φλέγειν.
92-93.
mvp-comment-64-1
τὰ δὲ.. οἴκων] ‘And when night comes on, the detested chamber in this weary house knows too well what festive hours I pass.' There is a bitter irony that can hardly be rendered, in using the word παννυχίς, generally a festal celebration, of the sleepless nights of mourning. Cp. Ant. 152, 3, θεῶν δὲ ναοὺς χοροῖς | παννυχίοις πάντας ἐπέλθωμεν, and, for the general sense, cp. Od. 19. 518 foll. ὡς δ᾽ ὅτε Πανδαρέου κούρη, χλωρηΐς ᾿Αηδών, | καλὸν ἀείδῃσιν, ἔαρος νέον ἱσταμένοιο, | δενδρέων ἐν πετάλοισι καθεζομένη πυκινοῖσιν, | ἥ τε θαμὰ τρωπῶσα χέει πολυηχέα φωνήν, | παῖδ᾽ ὀλοφυρομένη Ἴτυλον φίλον, ὅν ποτε χαλκῷ | κτεῖνε δι᾽ ἀφραδίας, κοῦρον Ζήθοιο ἄνακτος· | ὣς καὶ ἐμοὶ δίχα θυμὸς ὀρώρεται ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα. See below, ll. 107, 148, 9. ἤδη contrasts παννυχίδων with what precedes.
95-96.
mvp-comment-65-1
Cp. Od. 11. 408-411, where Agamemnon says, οὔτε μ᾿ ἀνάρσιοι ἄνδρες ἐδηλήσαντ᾽ ἐπὶ χέρσου· | ἀλλά μοι Αίγισθος τεύξας θάνατόν τε μόρον τε ἕκτα σὺν οὐλομένῃ ἀλόχῳ, οἰκύνδε καλέσσας, | δειπνίσσας, ὥς τις κατέκτανε βοῦν ἐπὶ φάτνῃ. See below, ll. 203, 4. And for ῎Αρης οὐκ ἐξένισεν, ' War did not give hospitable repose,' cp. Aesch. Cho. 351-3, πολύχωστον ἂν εἶχες | τάφον διαποντίου γᾶς | δώμασιν εὐφόρητον: Ag. 455, ἐχθρὰ δ᾽ ἔχοντας ἔκρυψεν : Verg. Aen. 1. 97, 'Mene Iliacis occumbere campis | Non potuisse.'
98.
mvp-comment-66-1
Cp. II. 13. 389, ἤριπε δ', ὡς ὅτε τις δρῦς ἤριπεν, ἢ ἀχερωΐς, | ἠὲ πίτυς βλωθρή, την τ' οὔρεσι τέκτονες ἄνδρες ἐξέταμον πελέκεσσι νεήκεσι, νήϊον εἶναι. But the unfeeling act of the woodman is more prominent in the present passage than the grandeur of the tree.
100-101.
mvp-comment-67-1
κοὐδεὶς.. φέρεται] ‘And no pity' (or mourning) 'on account of this goes forth from any one but me.' For the genitive, cp. Ο. Τ. 185, λυγρῶν πόνων ἱκτῆρες ἐπιστενάχουσιν. And for the attraction in the gender of οὐκ ἄλλης, cp.
infr. 885, 6, ἐγὼ μὲν ἐξ ἐμοῦ τε κοὐκ ἄλλης σαφή | σημεῖ᾿ ἰδοῦσα, κ.τ.λ. For φέρεται, of the utterance of feeling, cp. Pind. Pyth. 1. 170, εἴ τι καὶ φλαῦρον παραιθύσσει, μέγα τοι φέρεται | πὰρ σέθεν.
102.
mvp-comment-68-1
αἰκῶς] Although the MSS. agree in ἀδίκως, the Scholiast gives ἀεικῶς as a various reading. And ἀδίκως, which is appropriate in
infr. 113, is frigid here.
105.
mvp-comment-69-1
Hermann's rejection of the first λεύσσω (see v. rr.) is clearly the best emendation of this passage, which in the MSS. has two long syllables too many. παμφεγγεῖς ῥιπάς] 'The bright tremblings of the stars.' On παν in comp. see Essay on L. § 55. p. 101, 6. φέγγος has a special application to the light of the moon and stars as distinguished from daylight :-Plat. Rep. 6. Ρ. 508 C, ὀφθαλμοί, ὅταν μηκέτι ἐπ᾿ ἐκεῖνά τις αὐτοὺς τρέπῃ ὧν ἂν τὰς χρόας τὸ ἡμερινὸν φῶς ἐπέχῃ, ἀλλ᾽ ὧν νυκτερινὰ φέγγη. For ῥιπή, lit. 'beating' or 'pulsation,' as applied to the twinkling of the stars, cp. Tennyson's 'Beat, happy stars, timing with things below.'
107.
mvp-comment-70-1
τεκνολέτειρα] 'That has lost' (or 'slain') 'her child,' viz. Itylus, according to the story followed in the Odyssey, 1. c. (19. 518 foll.) As the song of the nightingale is meant, and not the cry of the bird whose nest is robbed, Ant. 423-5 is not really parallel. The idiomatic use of τις does not prevent the identification of the nightingale with the mythical daughter of Pandion. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 55, 6, ἤ τις ᾿Απόλλων, | ἢ Πάν, ἢ Ζεύς.
107-109.
mvp-comment-71-1
But like some Philomela for her son destroyed, I will peal for all to hear a note of lamentation in front of these my father's doors.' ἐπὶ κωκυτῷ is an adverbial expression like ἐπὶ ψόγοισι in Ant. 759. See Essay on L. § 19. p. 27. It implies that the noise that echoed round about the palace was sustained by the force of her impetuous crying. Cp.
infr. 241-3, γονέων ἐκτίμους ἴσχουσα πτέρυγας | ὀξυτόνων γόων.
111.
mvp-comment-72-1
'Hermes of the Shades' is invoked here as in the Choephori, because he had guided the soul of Agamemnon to Hades and might be expected to guide his Avenger. πότνι' ἀρά] Agamemnon was ἀραῖος to Clytemnestra on account of her crime. Cp. Ó. T. 417, 8, καί σ᾽ ἀμφιπλὴξ μητρός τε καὶ τοῦ σοῦ πατρὸς | ἐλᾷ ποτ᾽ ἐκ γῆς τῆσδε δεινόπους ἀρά.
112.
mvp-comment-73-1
The Erinyes are here invoked in their most general character, and are not named specifically as daughters of Earth and Night, but vaguely as 'children of gods.'
114.
mvp-comment-74-1
They are the avengers not only of murder, but of every great breach of law. Cp. Αj. 836, δρώσας πάντα τὰν βροτοῖς πάθη: Aesch. Eum. 895, ΑΘ. (to the Eumenides) ὡς μή τιν' οἶκον εὐθενεῖν ἄνευ σέθεν : ib. 835. And Aegisthus, who is the great offender in Electra's sight, is guilty on both counts of this indictment. Cp.
infr. 271, 2, τὴν τελευταίαν ὕβριν τὸν αὐτοφόντην ἡμὶν ἐν κοίτῃ πατρός.
119-120.
mvp-comment-75-1
'My single force no longer countervails the stress of woe.' Lit. 'I no longer have strength alone to lift the weight of grief that presses in the opposite scale.'
121-127.
mvp-comment-76-1
Electra's monody, like the soliloquy of Deianeira. Trach. I fol., has indicated the loneliness of her sorrow. But she is not friendless. The women of Argos feel with her and would comfort her if they could. In this long 'commatic parodos,' which at once enlists the sympathies of the spectator, and prepares his mind by contrast for the rapidity of the action which is to follow, there are seven choric strains, to which Electra responds with μέλη ἀπὸ σκηνῆς. If, as seems most probable, a single voice is heard each time, the front row of choreutae would alone take part. Thus, supposing the five dots to represent the πρωτόσταται, i. e. the coryphaeus and those on either side of him, the parts might be assigned as follows:- ἀντ. β'. ἀντ.α΄. στρ.α΄. στρ.β. στρ. γ΄. ἀντ. γ'. ἐπ. The choreutae immediately to right and left of the coryphaeus would address Electra twice, and when the epode was finished, the coryphaeus would make a new beginning with the senarii in ll. 251-3, after which, each of the five would speak once again, ending with the coryphaeus. The metres are as follows:-
121.
mvp-comment-77-1
παῖ is first the natural address of an elder person to a younger, and is then repeated in a different sense with the genitive in regimen. 'O child Electra! Child of a most wretched mother!' For the moral association in δυστανοτάτας, cp. Aj. 1290, δύστηνε, ποῖ βλέπων ποτ᾿ αὐτὰ καὶ θροεῖς;
122-123.
mvp-comment-78-1
τίν᾿ ἀεὶ .. οἰμωγάν] ‘Why this never-ceasing lament which piningly thou pourest out over thy father?' For this adverbial' use of the interrogative pronoun, cp. Ο. Τ. 2, τίνας ποθ᾽ ἕδρας τάσδε μοι θοάζετε; and see Essay on L. § 42. p. 81. τάκεις οἰμωγάν ἰς literally, Dost cause the cry to melt from thee; i.e. Dost waste thyself with crying. In the sentence which follows, τὸν.. ᾿Αγαμέμνονα is governed by τάκεις .. οἰμωγάν taken as one word = οἰμώζεις. Ε. on L. § 16. p. 23 b. With ἀκόρεστον, Immoderate, contrast ll. 23. 157, γόοιο μὲν ἔστι καὶ ἆσαι : Od. 4. 103, αἰψηρὸς δὲ κύρος κρυεροῖο γόοιο.
124.
mvp-comment-79-1
ἀθεώτατα] In heinous defiance of the gods.' Cp. Aesch. Cho. 46, δύσθεος γυνά: Trach. 1036, σὰ μάτηρ ἄθεος.
126.
mvp-comment-80-1
κακᾷ τε χειρὶ πρόδοτον] ‘And delivered over to destruction with wicked violence.' Cp.
infr. 206, 7, χειροῖν | αἱ τὸν ἐμὸν εἶλον βίον | πρόδοτον, αἱ μ᾿ ἀπώλεσαν. The fear of Aegisthus, who is sovereign de facto, prevents the chorus from mentioning him by name. Cp. Trach. 383, 4, and note.
129.
mvp-comment-81-1
γενέθλα] Here, and in
infr. 226, Doric for γενέθλη. “Offspring of noble sires.' Two glosses on γενναίων, viz. (1) πατέρων, (2) τοκέων, have found their way into different MSS., while, curiously enough, no MS. has the line uninterpolated.
130.
mvp-comment-82-1
παραμύθιον may be in apposition (1) with the subject of ἥκετε or (2) with the verb itself. The latter (2), conveying more exactly the notion of an intention to console, is probably right. But for the former (1), cp. Thuc. 5. 103, ἐλπὶς κινδύνῳ παραμύθιον οὖσα.
131.
mvp-comment-83-1
τάδ'] Either (1) Your kind intention, or (2) That my sorrow is importunate.' Cp.
infr. 222. The Scholiast prefers (2).
132.
mvp-comment-84-1
οὐδ᾽ ἐθέλω προλιπεῖν τόδε] ‘But I will not give this up.' δé is adversative, though it is unnecessary to write οὐ δ' with Hermann.
134.
mvp-comment-85-1
(1) 'But, O ye who exchange with me the tender grace of every sort of mutual affection, - ἀμειβόμεναι vocative. Or (2), supposing the participle to agree with the subject of ἐᾶτε, 'But O, in return for all manner of love' (which ye have had from me). Musgrave objects to this that Electra had no power of conferring kindnesses, and that if she had, she would not thus have reminded her friends of them. He ingeniously renders, Exchanging for this (?) service all your varied kindnesses. But his argument is hypercritical. It is the strength of her wish, and not the sense of her merit, that is really emphasized in παντοίας (of which Ellendt rightly says, Nihil nisi multum s. magnum significat.') And φιλότης is simply affection.' Schndw. explains, So conferring on me a kindness equivalent to all manner of friendship:'-Wecklein, Ye who return the grace of all manner of love (for mine).'
137-138.
mvp-comment-86-1
τόν γ᾽ ἐξ ᾿Αΐδα λίμνας] i.e. τὸν ἐν . . λίμνᾳ ἐκ . . λίμνας, according to a familiar idiom of condensation. λίμνας] Viz. the 'palus Acherontis,' on the shores of which dwelt the dead.
139.
mvp-comment-87-1
Cp. Il. 24.550, 1, οὐ γάρ τι πρήξεις ἀκαχήμενος υἷος ἐῆος, | οὐδέ μιν ἀνστήσεις, πρὶν καὶ κακὸν ἄλλο πάθῃσθα. For the line as it stands, a glyconic with a spondee after the close, cp. Eur. Med. 159, τάκου δυρομένα σὸν εὐνάταν: 183, πένθος γὰρ μεγάλως τόδ᾽ ὀρμᾶται. The short syllable at the end of the previous line, and the iambic base of the glyconic, are avoided by reading *θρήνοις for γόοις.
139.
mvp-comment-87-2
Dindorf retains the order of the words, and reads παγκοίνου λίμνας πατέρ᾽ ἀν | στάσεις οὔτε γόοισιν οὔτ᾽ *ἄνταις (a double glyconic with spondee at close). ἄνταις is the conjecture of Hermann from Hesychius: ἄντήσει (sic), λιτανείαις, ἀντήσεσι. But is not ἀντήσεσι: λιτανείαις an equally probable emendation of the corrupt reading in Hesychius? For λιταῖσι, cp.
supr. 110 foll. Prof. Paley suggests πατέρ᾽ ἀν | στάσεις οὔτε γόοισιν οὔτ᾽ εὐχαῖς.
140-141.
mvp-comment-88-1
ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ .. διόλλυσαι] ‘But, forsaking moderation, you go to an extreme in your grief, to your own ruin.' To account for the prepositions some idea of motion must be gathered from the verbs, e.g. προϊοῦσα ἐν στοναχαῖς.
142.
mvp-comment-89-1
ἐν οἷς .. κακῶν] (1) ‘A course which brings no way of release from woes.' The antecedent to ois is to be inferred from the preceding words: sc. ἐν τοῖς οὐ μετρίοις τούτοις ἀλγήμασιν, The meaning of the chorus, at present rather gently hinted than expressed, is that by continued lamentation Electra only involves herself in fresh trouble and deepens the misery of her situation. Cp.
infr. 213-20. Otherwise (2), 'In a case where there is no release.' Badham conj. ἀνάδυσις.
144.
mvp-comment-90-1
τί . . ἐφίει] 'Beseech thee, why dost thou set thy heart on troubles?'- i.e. aim at bringing them on thyself.
146.
mvp-comment-91-1
ἐμέ γ᾽ ὁ στονόεσσ᾽ ἄραρεν φρένας] That creature of lament is congenial to my soul.' Is the swallow or the nightingale the bird intended here? The nightingale was mentioned above (l. 107), and is spoken of by Sappho, quoted by the Scholiast on this passage, as the messenger of Spring-ἦρος ἄγγελος ἰμερόφωνος ἀηδών. On the other hand, the swallow is more generally represented in this way, and the lines of Horace, Od. 4. 12. 5 foll., Nidum ponit, Ityn flebiliter gemens,' etc., certainly refer to Procne, who was usually thought to have been changed into a swallow. But of the legend of Tereus there seem to have been many conflicting modifications. The word ἀτυζομένα may be fancifully suggestive of the uncertain, 'bewildered' flight of the swallow. But the mention of song, both here and in the passage of Horace, agrees better with the thought of the nightingale. In any case the Scholiast is probably right in explaining Διὸς ἄγγελος of the intimation of Spring and the beginning of the Διὸς μεγάλου ἐνιαυτός. The nightingale or swallow, thus distinguished with Divine favour, is also the most sorrowful of birds.
150.
mvp-comment-92-1
σὲ δ᾽ ἔγωγε νέμω θεόν] I count thee Divine,' i.e. blessed, -μακαρίζω σέ.
151-152.
mvp-comment-93-1
Cp. Ant. 823-32. The prehistoric colossal figure cut out of the rock on a northward crag of Mount Sipylus, so as to be visible from the plain below Sardes, is supposed by Prof. Sayce, who has examined it, to have originally represented some elemental deity, possibly Cybele, but uncertain whether male or female. It was from an early period identified by the Greek settlers with the Niobe of Theban and Argive legend. The limestone drippings from the over-hanging rock have produced an incrustation about face, chest, and lap (the image is in a sitting posture)-that, quite apart from poetical description, is wonderfully suggestive of a flood of tears. This πετραία βλάστα (Ant. 827) must have been apparent before the time of Sophocles. It is less distinctly suggested by the words in Homer, Il. 24. 617, θεῶν ἐκ κήδεα πέσσει. Prof. Sayce adds that the θεάων · εὐναὶ νυμφάων of Il. 1. c. (in reality prehistoric tombs) are still distinctly recognisable in the crags on either side: also that just below the Niobe was a large lake, which was drained some forty years ago, when the columns of a Greek temple were found at the bottom. This, Mr. Sayce thinks, must have been the site of the city of Sipylus, which was overthrown by an earthquake in the time of Tiberius, and the ruins covered by the waters of a lake. All that now remains of the lake is a small pool at the foot of the crag on which the figure of Niobe is carved, along with a stream. Both stream and pool are fed by a number of springs, some of which are warm and saline; and the pool is called by the modern Greeks the tears of Niobe.'
153-157.
mvp-comment-94-1
Thou art not all alone unhappy that thou shouldest thus grieve more than those within, who are of the same lineage and of kindred blood with thee, and shouldst not live the same bright life which they, Chrysothemis and Iphianassa, live.' The indefinite pronoun ὅ, τι is occasioned by the negative preceding. In πρὸς ὅ τι, πρός corresponds to a long syllable, Ζεύς, in the antistrophe. Perhaps, πρός γ᾽ ὅ, τι? εἰ περισσά] Sc. ἐν τῷ λυπεῖσθαι. In distinguishing between Iphigeneia and Iphianassa, Sophocles is said to have followed the Cypria. 'Sophocles here seems to recognize the digamma in Fιφιάνασσα.' Paley.
159-160.
mvp-comment-95-1
κρυπτᾷ τ᾿ ἀχέων ἐν ἤβα ὄλβιος] And he whose fortunate youth is hidden out of the way of sorrow.' For the genitive, see Essay on L. § 8. p. 11, 2. Hermann says, Audacior quidem haec structura, sed amat talia Sophocles. Ejusdem modi est, quod statim dicit, Διὸς βήματι pro πομπῇ Διός.' Orestes is 'fortunate,' because his tranquil youth gives promise of final good fortune. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 695, 6, Ορέστης, ἦν γὰρ εὐβόλως ἔχων, | ἔξω κομίζων ὀλεθρίου πηλοῦ πόδα. Others take ἀχέων as a participle. But κρυπτᾷ without the genitive is poor, and the notion of Orestes sorrowing is out of place. The Chorus could not know of it, and if they did they would have suppressed the mention of it as inauspicious.
160-163.
mvp-comment-96-1
'Orestes, whom the land of this people, with her glory unimpaired, shall receive as the successor of his father's fame, sped hither by the kind will of Zeus.'
162.
mvp-comment-97-1
Διὸς εὔφρονι βήματι] ί.ε. Διὸς εὐφρόνως βήσαντος αὐτόν. The verbal has a causative meaning. See Essay on L. § 53 b. p. 98; or else a causal meaning is contained in the genitive. Ibid. § 9. p. 12 a. There is a correlation between κλεινά and εὐπατρίδαν, both being proleptic and denoting the consequence of the return of Orestes.
164-165.
mvp-comment-98-1
The mention of her brother gives a new direction to Electra's complaint. Cp.
supr. 119, 20.
165.
mvp-comment-99-1
Cp. Ant. 815, 917-8.
166-167.
mvp-comment-100-1
τὸν . . πόνων] Oppressed with my troublous destiny that has no good issue.' The article as in O. T. 1153, τὸν γέροντά μ' αἰκίσῃ, -equivalent to a relative clause, ὅς ἐστιν ἀνήνυτος, ἀνήνυτον, Accomplishing nothing,' i. e. Suffered in vain. Cp. O. C. 1565, 6, πολλῶν γὰρ ἂν καὶ μάταν | πημάτων ἱκνουμένων, κ.τ.λ., and note.
169.
mvp-comment-101-1
ὧν τ᾽ ἔπαθ', ὧν τ᾽ ἐδάη] 'His wrongs, and the lesson he has been taught,' viz. by the Paedagogus (
supr. 3. 13. 14) and by the messages from Electra.
169-170.
mvp-comment-102-1
(1) For what missive that I send doth not return (ἔρχεται) discomfited? Others take the words to mean, (2) What message' (from Orestes) 'comes to me, whose promise does not fail?'
171-172.
mvp-comment-103-1
i e. in reply to my messages I always hear of his longing to come but never of his coming.
174.
mvp-comment-104-1
This line (see v. rr.) seems to have been interpolated so as to supplement the locative dative and the ellipse of ἐστίν. μέγας is the predicate. 'Zeus is still great in heaven.'
176-177.
mvp-comment-105-1
'Committing unto him thine exceeding indignation, be neither overburdened with enmity against thy foes, nor yet forget them;' i.e. Let the thought that Zeus will some day avenge thee serve to calm and moderate thy rage. The structure is paratactic (Essay on L. § 36. p. 68), for Without forgetting your enemies. be moderate in assailing them, and trust in the Divine vengeance.'
179.
mvp-comment-106-1
For Time is a god of easiness,' i.e. a god who makes things easy or possible. The meaning is, not that Time assuages sorrow, but that what at one time seems impossible may prove easily possible in the course of years. Cp. Plat. Rep. 6. 502 B, ὡς μὲν γὰρ χαλεπὸν σωθῆναι, καὶ ἡμεῖς ξυγχωροῦμεν, ὡς δὲ ἐν παντὶ τῷ χρόνῳ . . οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἶς σωθείη, ἔσθ' ὅστις ἀμφισβητήσει; Shak. Cor. 5. 3.61, Murdering impossibility, to make What cannot be slight work. For the personification, cp. Phil. 837, καιρὸς.. πάντων γνώμαν ἴσχων:
supr. 76: and esp. Eur. Ion, 337, ἀργὸς ἡ θεός, sc. αἰδώς.
180-181.
mvp-comment-107-1
τὰν Κρῖσαν.. ἀκτάν] · Who dwells in Crisa, that pastoral shore-ward land. So Hermann. Others would read Κρίσας, οι Κρίσᾳ. 'Who dwells amid the shoreward-pastures of Crisa.'
182.
mvp-comment-108-1
He, Agamemnon's heir.. will yet turn unto his own, and so will he that reigns, a God, by Acheron.' ἀπερίτροπος is to be taken in a different sense with παῖς ᾿Αγαμεμνονίδας and with what follows. Or, what comes to the same thing, another verb must be supplied in thought with the second clause. Orestes shall return: Agamemnon shall regard his house and offspring. The derivation from περιτρέπω suggests the idea of a coming revolution, (1) in the action of Orestes, (2) in the awakening from apparent slumber and forgetfulness of the gods below, or of the spirit of Agamemnon.
184.
mvp-comment-109-1
Nor he who ruleth as a god beside the ghostly river.' Cp.
supr. 110. (1) The subject of this line has commonly been supposed to be Hades. Another interpretation has occurred independently to Mr. Blaydes, Prof. Paley, and the present editor, viz. (2) that θεὸς may refer to Agamemnon as a δαίμων. In support of this, cp.
supr. 150 Νιόβα, σὲ δ' ἔγωγε νέμω θεόν,
infr. 839-41 (of Amphiaraus), νῦν ὑπὸ γαίας . . ἀνάσσει, and note; and the following places of the Choephori:-157, σέβας, ὦ δέσποτ᾽: 356, 7, κατὰ χθονὸς ἐμπρέπων | σεμνότιμος ἀνάκτωρ : 475-8, θεῶν τῶν κατὰ γᾶς ὅδ᾽ ὕμνος. ΧΟ. ἀλλὰ κλύοντες, μάκαρες χθόνιοι, | τήσδε κατευχῆς πέμπετ᾿ ἀρωγὴν | παισὶν προφρόνως ἐπὶ νίκῃ : also Persae, 157, θεοῦ μὲν εὐνάτειρα Περσῶν, θεοῦ δὲ καὶ μήτηρ ἔφυς: 644, Περσᾶν Σουσιγενή θεόν, -although the analogy in these two instances is weakened by the words being put into the mouths of Persians; but see also Ag. 1548, ἐπ᾿ ἀνδρὶ θείῳ. Agamemnon, in Aesch. Ag. 925, says to Clytemnestra, λέγω κατ᾿ ἄνδρα, μὴ θεόν, σέβειν ἐμέ. But that is in his lifetime. And considering the honours that are paid at his tomb, and the tone in which he is spoken of by Electra throughout, the chorus may speak of him to her as θεός by an allowable hyperbole, especially if the word is taken, not with the article as subject of the sentence, but as supplementary predicate with ἀνάσσων. If this hypothesis is not admissible, the god intended is probably not Pluto, but (3) Hermes. Cp.
supr. 111.
185-186.
mvp-comment-110-1
But my life hath in great part already passed from me and left me hopeless and forlorn.' The life is separable from the person, cp. О. Т. 612, τὸν παρ᾽ αὑτῷ βίοτον. ἀνέλπιστος is proleptic, and in idea belongs, by hypallage, to ἐμέ, -' is passed without bringing me any hope.' The exact sense of ὁ πολύς is not to be pressed. The article is deictic, as in Aj. 1149, τὴν πολλὴν βοήν:
infr. 931.
186.
mvp-comment-111-1
οὐδ᾽ ἔτ᾿ ἀρκῶ] 'And I am no longer of any avail. Cp. Thuc. 2. 47. § 5, οὔτε γὰρ ἰατροὶ ἤρκουν.
187.
mvp-comment-112-1
ἄνευ τοκέων] Her father is dead, and her mother is worse than lost to her.
187.
mvp-comment-112-2
τοκέων occurs in one MS. (Vind. 281) and is adopted by Nauck. Cp.
supr. 164, ἄτεκνος. It may be thought more suited to Electra's age to feel the want of children than of parents. But her filial piety is the chief motive of the play.
189-190.
mvp-comment-113-1
ἁπερεί τις .. πατρός] ‘Like some despised sojourner, I tend the chambers of my father's house." Cp. Aesch. Cho. 84, δμωαὶ γυναῖκες, δωμάτων εὐθήμονες. For the absolute use of ἀνάξιος, cp. Phil. 439, ἀναξίου.. φωτός, 'A fellow of no esteem.' Hermann joined this word with what follows it ('I am undeservedly made to do menial service'), on the ground that an ἔποικος was ἀναξία as a matter of course. But, on the other hand, the addition of ἀναξία to the bare statement οἰκονομῶ θαλάμους πατρός, certainly weakens the expression, while the pleonasm in ἔποικος ἀναξία is rather emphatic, and is supported, as Ellendt pointed out, by the Homeric expression, ὡσεί τιν᾿ ἀτίμητον μετανάστην, ΙΙ. 9. 648, 16. 59.
190-191.
mvp-comment-114-1
ὧδε . . ἀεικεῖ . . στολᾷ] Electra is a woman speaking to women. Cp. Aesch. Pers. 846-8, (῎Ατοσσα.) μάλιστα δ᾽ ἥδε συμφορὰ δάκνει, | ἀτιμίαν γε παιδὸς ἀμφὶ σώματι | ἐσθημάτων κλύουσαν, ἥ νιν ἀμπέχει.
192.
mvp-comment-115-1
κεναῖς δ᾽ ἀμφίσταμαι τραπέζαις] And the table at which I stand is bare.' Hermann had conjectured ἀμφίσταμαι, which restores the metre, before he observed that it was quoted by Eustathius. Cp. Pind. Ol. 1. 80, τραπέζαισι .. ἀμφί, and, for the thought, Od. 20. 259, δίφρον ἀεικέλιον καταθεὶς ὀλίγην τε τράπεζαν :
infr. 361, 2, σοὶ δὲ πλουσία | τράπεζα κείσθω καὶ περιρρείτω βίος : Pind. Ο1. 2. 116, κεινὰν παρὰ δίαιταν.
194.
mvp-comment-116-1
οἰκτρὰ μὲν νόστοις αὐδά] 'Piteous were thy tones at the time of thy father's return.' In the Agamemnon of Aeschylus, the Watchman and the Chorus, i. e. the household and the people, express a vague misgiving, which is not sufficiently definite to enable them to warn Agamemnon. Sophocles here, as elsewhere, concentrates in an individual what in Aeschylus was general. It is quite consistent with his conception of the character of Electra, that, young as she then was, and totally unable, both from her inexperience (
infr. 1024) and her dependent position, of averting the harm which she may have vaguely foreseen, she had a sufficiently clear perception of the situation to be sad instead of joyful on the occasion of her father's coming home, and her sadness would be aggravated by her helplessness :-ἐπεὶ ἐχθίστη ὀδύνη πολλὰ φρονέοντα μηδενὸς κρατέειν. Her friends, of the same age with her, observed this, and in recollecting it, now understand the cause. ooi is easily supplied, both because the whole of Electra's last speech refers to herself, and because σοί occurs immediately afterwards as an ethical' dative. πατρός is no less easily supplied with νόστοις for a similar reason, both because the word occurs three lines above, and because it is implied in πατρώαις in the following line. νόστοις is dative of the occasion, E. on L. § 11. p. 18. For the sense, cp. Aesch. Pers. 935, 6, πρόσφθογγόν σοι νόστου τὰν | κακοφάτιδα βοάν, κακομέλετον ἰὰν | Μαριανδυνοῦ θρηνητῆρος | πέμψω πολύδακρυν ἰακχάν.
195-197.
mvp-comment-117-1
οἰκτρὰ δ'.. πλαγά] 'And piteous was thy crying where thy father lay, when thou hadst seen launched the death-stroke of the solid brazen axe.' If Sophocles (see Introduction) follows the form of the legend known to us from Homer, according to which Agamemnon was slain at a feast given in honour of his return, ἐν κοίταις probably means, (1) 'Where he lay in death.' And this is supported by 203. The poet might, no doubt, have so far modified the legend as to suppose Agamemnon after the feast to have been lured by Clytemnestra to his chamber and there slain. ἐν κοίταις might then belong to the relative clause (ὅτε ἐν κ.), and mean 'in his chamber. But this is inconsistent with 203 and 270. For (1) cp. Aesch. Ag. 1494, 1518, Eur. Med. 437, O. C. 1707. The bath, and the entangling garment, which are so prominent in the Agamemnon and Choephori, are in any case not thought of here. Some (including Wecklein) understand aὐδά in both clauses of the death-shriek of the king. σοι (Ε. on L. § 13. p. 19 f.) marks that Electra was the chief sufferer from all that happened. This explanation is rightly defended by Triclinius. Cp. Tennyson's Elaine, -Through her own side she felt the sharp lance go.' Hermann, understanding aὐδά of the people's voice, rejects σοι and reads οἱ instead. The hiatus, which he defends from Trach. 650, ὁ δὲ οἱ φίλα δάμαρ (cp.
supr. 157), is still exceptional, but a stronger objection to the removal of σοί is that the connection between this speech and Electra's is thus destroyed.
197-200.
mvp-comment-118-1
Sophocles seems here to have in his mind the passage of the Agamemnon where Clytemnestra impersonates the Alastor of Atreus, Aesch. Agam. 1500-1504: Craft pointed out the way, lust murdered him. Between them they produced a monstrous birth, whether he who did this thing were a god or one of mortal mould.' μορφάν the immediate agent and the act itself, as an embodied horror, seem to be confused. See E. on L. § 48. p. 92.
201-212.
mvp-comment-119-1
In
supr. 185-92, Electra refused consolation and drew attention to her hopeless misery. The women then call to mind how they had pitied her at the time of her father's death. This opens anew the flood-gates of her sorrow. Cp. Ant. 857 foll., ἔψαυσας ἀλγεινοτάτας ἐμοὶ μερίμνας, κ.τ.λ.
203.
mvp-comment-120-1
δείπνων] The feast which preceded the murder, according to Od. 4. 535. Agamemnon (see next note) is supposed to have been murdered at table : ὡσεί τε κατέκτανε βοῦν ἐπὶ φάτνῃ (Od. 1. c.).
205.
mvp-comment-121-1
For ἄχθη, the grammatical antecedent, the more definite θάνατοι is substituted and taken into the relative clause. The horror of that feast-I mean the death which followed it.'
206.
mvp-comment-122-1
διδύμαιν χειροῖν] ‘Effected by joint violence' of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.
207-208.
mvp-comment-123-1
αΐ.. πρόδοτον] 'That wrought treason on my life and ruined me.'
209.
mvp-comment-124-1
ois refers to the antecedent implied in χειροῖν, viz. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.
211.
mvp-comment-125-1
'And never may they have any good of their magnificence.' Cp.
infr. 267-281: Od. 17. 244, 5, τῷ κέ τοι ἀγλαΐας γε διασκεδάσειεν ἁπάσας, | τὰς νῦν ὑβρίζων φορέεις.
214-216.
mvp-comment-126-1
'Seest thou not through what courses thou hast fallen thus cruelly into calamities that come home to thee?' or, with a slightly different shade of meaning, 'which thou hast brought upon thyself.' Cp. Aj. 260: Pind. Nem. 1. 81, τὸ γὰρ οἰκεῖον πιέζει πάνθ᾽ ὁμῶς. ἐξ οἵων is otherwise explained by one Scholiast :-ἐξ οἴων ἀγαθῶν εἰς τί ἀνιαρὸν ἐλήλυθας. Cp.
infr. 392. But it is more natural that the Chorus should remind her of the cause of the persecution she is undergoing.
218-219.
mvp-comment-127-1
σᾷ . . πολέμους] Ever creating new conflicts for thy burdened soul.'
219-220.
mvp-comment-128-1
τὰ δὲ.. πλάθειν] ‘But strife with the powerful is hopeless.' The vague rá is to be supplemented from what precedes and follows,- sc. τὰ πολεμούμενα, οι τὰ ἐρίδος ἐχόμενα. Cp. Plat. Symp. 206 C, ταῦτα δ᾽ ἐν τῷ ἀναρμόστῳ, -sc. κυούμενα καὶ γεννώμενα, - Pind. Nem. 10. 135, χαλεπὰ δ' ἔρις ἀνθρώποις ὁμιλεῖν κρεσσόνων: ΟΙ. 11. 48, νεῖκος δὲ κρεσσόνων ἀποθέσθ᾽ ἄπορον. πλάθειν, sc. τοῖς δυνατοῖς, is epexegetic infinitive.
221.
mvp-comment-129-1
The Chorus (l. 214) have reminded Electra of the violent words by which she has earned her present misery. She replies that such words were wrung from her by a fearful cause, viz. by the murder of her father and the subsequent conduct of the murderers. Cp.
infr. 271 foll.
222.
mvp-comment-130-1
'I know, I am conscious of my passion, viz. that it is inordinate. Cp.
infr. 617, 8, μανθάνω δ᾽ ὁθούνεκα | ἔξωρα πράσσω κοὐκ ἐμοὶ προσεικότα : 1011, κατάσχες ὀργήν.
223-224.
mvp-comment-131-1
But amid deeds of horror I will not curb or moderate these my calamitous ways' (as ye call them). She echoes the words of the Chorus (l. 215) in a different sense. They meant by οἰκείας ἄτας, 'self-caused calamities:' -she means by ταύτας άτας, 'this infatuate,' or 'fatal,' course,' of which by implication they have accused her.
226-228.
mvp-comment-132-1
Electra relapses into despair. If even these Argive women, who know her so well, cannot give her a word of comfort, whence is it to come? 'At whose mouth, then, kind band of friends, can I hope to hear a word of comfort, prompted by seasonable thought?' For the uncommon dative, see E. on L. § 13. p. 20.
229.
mvp-comment-133-1
'Press not on me with your consolations,' and cp. Eur. El. 1182, διὰ πυρὸς ἔμολον ἁ τάλαινα ματρὶ τᾷδ᾽.
230.
mvp-comment-134-1
For ye shall find this sorrow irremoveable.'
234.
mvp-comment-135-1
Like a true-hearted mother.' For this form of expressing sympathy from one woman to another, cp. Trach. 526, ἐγὼ δὲ μάτηρ μὲν οἷα φράζω.
235.
mvp-comment-136-1
ἄταν ἄταις] Cp. Αj. 866, πόνῳ πόνον, and note.
236.
mvp-comment-137-1
καὶ τί μέτρον κακότατος ἔφυ;] 'And is not my trouble infinite?' (So the Scholiast, -πρὸς γὰρ ἄμετρον κακὸν καὶ ἀμέτρων δεῖται θρήνων.) Cp.
infr. 1249, 50, ἁμέτερον οἷον ἔφυ κακόν. For the meaning, cp. Shak. Ant. and Cleo. 4. 15. 4, But comforts we despise; our size of sorrow, Proportioned to our cause, must be as great As that which makes it.'
237.
mvp-comment-138-1
ἐπὶ τοῖς φθιμένοις ἀμελεῖν] To treat the dead with forgetfulness.' E. on L. § 19. p. 27.
238.
mvp-comment-139-1
ἐν τίνι . . ἀνθρώπων] 'Where amongst men hath such a mind sprung up?'
239.
mvp-comment-140-1
τούτοις] Sc. ἐν οἷς τοῦτο ἔβλαστε, the indefinite plural taking the place of the indefinite singular. E. on L. § 20. p. 31. 3. Cp. Hdt. 9. 79. § 3. ἐγὼ δ᾽ οὖν τούτου εἵνεκα μήτε Αἰγινήτῃσι ἅδοιμι, μήτε τοῖσι ταῦτα ἀρέσκεται· ἀποχρᾷ δ᾽ ἐμοί, Σπαρτιήτῃσι ἀρεσκόμενον, ὅσια μὲν ποιέειν, ὅσια δὲ καὶ λέγειν.
240.
mvp-comment-141-1
εἴ τῳ πρόσκειμαι χρηστῷ] · If I have near me any good,' = εἴ τι χρηστὸν πρόσκειταί μοι : Ε. on L. § 42. p. 80 β. Cp.
infr. 1040, ᾧ σὺ πρόσκεισαι κακῷ.
241-243.
mvp-comment-142-1
γονέων .. γόων] • Holding back the wings of my shrill wailings from doing honour to my sire.' Each fresh utterance of the unabating sorrow is imagined as a bird that is eager to fly. ἐκτίμους is predicative and proleptic, = ὥστε ἔξω εἶναι τοῦ τιμᾶν. See E. on L. $ 54. p. 100 d, § 10. p. 16 f., § 23. p. 38 81, § 38. p. 71.
244.
mvp-comment-143-1
ya] Prof. Jebb reads ya, i.e. 'buried,' adding, 'it is difficult to believe that yῆ could stand for σποδός.' But the expression is hyperbolical-' mere clay.' Cp. ψήγμα in Aesch. Ag. 442.
251-252.
mvp-comment-144-1
καὶ τὸ σὸν.. καὶ τοὐμὸν αὐτῆς] 'More in care for thee than for myself. This is really the meaning, although, by the usual Greek litotes, 'as much as' is put for more than.' The most important matter is put first. E. on L. § 41. p. 78.
253.
mvp-comment-145-1
ἑψόμεσθ'] Cp.
infr. 1052.
254-255.
mvp-comment-146-1
I am ashamed of seeming to you, as I must seem, to be too impatient in multiplying lamentations.' δοκῶ is indicative.
258.
mvp-comment-147-1
πατρῷ᾽ ὁρῶσα πήματ'] 'Seeing woful things performed against her sire.' Electra's filial affection for Agamemnon is kept prominently before us as her chief motive; and every insult to his memory, including her own sufferings, is regarded by her as part of the wrong done to him. πατρῷα is at first general, but in the antecedent to a it becomes individual, -' of my father.'
260.
mvp-comment-148-1
θάλλοντα .. καταφθίνονθ'] “Not lessening but increasing.'
260-261.
mvp-comment-149-1
ᾖ.. συμβέβηκεν] 'Since, first of all, I have found in my own mother the deepest cause for hatred.' This (Paley, etc.) is better than my mother is my enemy.'
264.
mvp-comment-150-1
κἀκ τῶνδ᾽ ἄρχομαι] ‘And I am in subjection to them. Cp. O. C. 67, ἐκ τοῦ κατ᾿ ἄστυ βασιλέως τάδ' ἄρχεται.
270.
mvp-comment-151-1
ἔνθ᾽ ἐκεῖνον ὤλεσεν] Here again Sophocles seems to follow the account that is given in the fourth book of the Odyssey, ll. 529 foll., according to which Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon at or after a banquet. Hence he is said to have destroyed him beside the hearth. Cp.
infr. 1495.
271-274.
mvp-comment-152-1
Further, when I see their crowning insult, when I see, forsooth, the author of his death reclining on my father's couch, beside my wretched mother, if so I must call this woman, when cohabiting with him!' The clause τὸν αὐτοφόντην κ.τ.λ. is in the same construction with ὕβριν, governed by ἴδω. ἡμίν is ethical dative, and has a sarcastic force; i.e. That is what I am compelled to look upon.' The participle (κείμενον) which should have gone with ἐν κοίτῃ is absorbed and resumed in συγκοιμωμένην.
363-364.
mvp-comment-153-1
ἐμοὶ γὰρ . . βόσκημα] (1) ‘For I would have such maintenance alone as will not cause me pain:' i. e. through compliance with my father's enemies. The reading λυποῦν is implied in the first scholion here, which, although giving a wrong explanation, deserves for this reason to be transcribed:-ἐμοί, φησίν, ἔστω τροφή, ἡ τῇ ἀνάγκῃ μόνον ἁρμόζουσα, καὶ τὴν πείνην ἀπελαύνουσα· οὐ δέομαι γὰρ τοιαύτης τροφῆς ἀφ᾿ ἧς ἡδονὴν σχήσω. (2) The MS. reading, which is also acknowledged in the scholia, -τοὐμὲ μὴ λυπεῖν (Schol. τοῦτο μόνον ἐμὲ βοσκέτω, τὸ μὴ λυπεῖν ἐμὲ αὐτήν, εἰ τοῖς φονεῦσι τοῦ πατρὸς πείθεσθαι ἀναγκασθήσομαι) is possibly right, but the use of ἐμέ for ἐμαυτήν is hardly justified, and the expression seems forced. Ср., however, Eur. Cycl. 336-8, ὡς τοὐμπιεῖν γε καὶ φαγεῖν τοὐφ᾽ ἡμέραν, | Ζεὺς οὗτος ἀνθρώποισι τοῖσι σώφροσι, | λυπεῖν δὲ μηδὲν αὐτόν.
364.
mvp-comment-154-1
The genitive, after ἐρῶ, is to be resumed with τυχεῖν, which is epexegetic infinitive.
365-367.
mvp-comment-155-1
νῦν δ᾽ ἐξὸν .. τῆς μητρός] But now, when you might be called the daughter of the noblest of all sires, be called your mother's child.' Here, and in
supr. 341, 2, there is a reminiscence of that depreciation of the maternal relationship, which is more fully expressed in the Eumenides of Aeschylus. For another trace of this, cp. Eur. Fr. 1048, στέργω δὲ τὸν φύσαντα τῶν πάντων βροτῶν | μάλισθ'· ὁρίζω τοῦτο, καὶ σὺ μὴ φθώνει· | κείνου γὰρ ἐξέβλαστον. οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἰς ἀνὴρ | γυναικὸς αὐδήσειεν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ πατρός.
369.
mvp-comment-156-1
μηδὲν πρὸς ὀργήν] Sc. λέξης. Say nothing in anger,'-lit. 'tending that way. Cp.
infr. 464.
373.
mvp-comment-157-1
οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἐμνήσθην ποτέ) 'And would never have mentioned the subject. This refers to
supr. 330, 1.
376.
mvp-comment-158-1
Exceptions to the rule of the Porsonic pause are not infrequent where γάρ comes in the first place of the fifth foot: e.g. O. C. 115, ἐν γὰρ τῷ μαθεῖν.
376-377.
mvp-comment-159-1
Electra will not admit that any trouble can be greater than what she endures already in seeing the insults that are heaped upon her father.
382.
mvp-comment-160-1
χθονὸς τῆσδ᾽ ἐκτός] Beyond the Argive boundary, so as not to bring pollution upon the state. Cp. Ant. 773, ἄγων ἔρημος ἔνθ᾽ ἂν ᾖ βροτῶν στίβος κρύψω πετρώδει ζῶσαν ἐν κατώρυχι : Ο. C. 399, 400, ὥς σ' ἄγχι γῆς στήσωσι Καδμείας, ὅπως | κρατῶσι μέν σου, γῆς δὲ μὴ ᾿μβαίνῃς ὅρων. ὑμνήσεις κακά] 'You shall chant your song of woe.' Cp.
infr. 802, 3, τήνδε δ᾽ ἔκτοθεν βοᾶν | ἔα τά θ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ τῶν φίλων κακά.
383-384.
mvp-comment-161-1
καί με . μέμψῃ] Being warned, Electra will have no cause to blame Chrysothemis. Cp.
infr. 1056, 7, ὅταν γὰρ ἐν κακοῖς | ἤδη βεβήκῃς, τἄμ᾽ ἐπαινέσεις ἔπη.
384.
mvp-comment-162-1
νῦν γὰρ .. φρονεῖν] ‘For now you have a good opportunity of adopting the wiser course.' Cp. Plat. Rep. Β. 9. p. 571 Β, τὸ τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν .. οὔ μοι δοκοῦμεν ἱκανῶς διῃρῆσθαι. . οὐκοῦν, ἢ δ᾽ ὅς, ἔτ᾽ ἐν καλῷ;
385.
mvp-comment-163-1
And have they really determined to do this to me?' καί adds a sarcastic emphasis.
390.
mvp-comment-164-1
ποῦ ποτ᾽ εἰ φρενῶν;] 'What are you thinking of?' Cp. Ant. 42, ποῦ γνώμης ποτ' εἶ; There is the same doubt in both cases, whether el is from εἰμί or εἶμι. For the latter, which gives greater liveliness, cp. Eur. Iph. Α. 479, 80, καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἐξαφίσταμαι λόγων, | οὐκ εἰς σὲ δεινός· εἶμι δ᾽ οὗπερ εἶ σὺ νῦν. On the other hand it may be urged that ποῖ would be more natural with the verb of motion. Electra in
supra l. 354 has said, οὐ ζῶ; κακῶς μὲν, οἶδ᾽, ἐπαρκούντως δ᾽ ἐμοί. Chrysothemis interprets this as if she had meant that she had something to lose.
395.
mvp-comment-165-1
τοῖς φίλοις] Viz. τῷ πατρί.
397.
mvp-comment-166-1
ταῦτα is an adverbial accusative. οὐκ ἐμοὺς τρόπους λέγεις] 'You speak not of my ways; i.e. Your words indicate a line of conduct that can never be mine.
399.
mvp-comment-167-1
τιμωρούμενοι] Cp.
supr. 349.
400.
mvp-comment-168-1
τούτων.. συγγνώμην] For this genitive, see Essay on L. § 9. p. 12, d 2, and cp. esp. Trach. 250, τοῦ λόγου .. φθόνον.
401.
mvp-comment-169-1
Such words are for the base to approve.' Although, grammatically speaking, ἔπη is the subject of the sentence, and ἐπαινέσαι is epexegetic infinitive, the real meaning is, πρὸς κακῶν ἐστὶ τὸ ἐπαινέσai ταῦτα τὰ ἔπη. As constantly happens in Greek, an attribute which belongs to the verb is attached to the noun.
403.
mvp-comment-170-1
μή πω .. κενή] 'I trust I may not prove so void of understanding!' For this use of πω, in which the temporal meaning has disappeared, cp; Ο. Τ. 105, οὐ γὰρ εἰσεῖδόν γέ πω, and note. The adverbial use of τοσόνδε is an Epic touch; cp. Od. 21. 253, 4, ἀλλ᾽ ἐἰ δὴ τοσσόνδε βίης ἐπιδευέες εἰμὲν | ἀντιθέου Ὀδυσῆος, ὅτ᾽ οὐ δυνάμεσθα, κ.τ.λ.
404.
mvp-comment-171-1
οἶπερ ἐστάλην ὁδοῦ] ‘To the place whither I was sent upon my way.' For the idiomatic partitive genitive, cp.
supr. 390, ποῦ ποτ' εἶ φρενῶν ; Phil. 899, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνθάδ᾽ ἤδη τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους κυρῶ.
405.
mvp-comment-172-1
τῷ] 'For whom?' i.e. 'To be offered to whom?'
406.
mvp-comment-173-1
τυμβεῦσai χοάς] Το pour libation on his tomb;' i.e. ἐπιτυμβίους χέαι χοάς,-the attribute of the noun being attached to the verb. See Essay on L. § 17. p. 25 с.
409.
mvp-comment-174-1
τῷ τοῦτ᾽ ἤρεσεν] 'Whose pleasure was this?' Cp. Aj. 1243, & τοῖς πολλοῖσιν ἤρεσκεν κριταῖς.
410.
mvp-comment-175-1
ἐκ δείματος] Sc. πεισθεῖσα.
411.
mvp-comment-176-1
At the mention of 'nightly fear,' Electra instantly rushes to the conclusion that Clytemnestra has had some Divine warning. Her hope at once revives, and she looks up to heaven. For ἀλλὰ νῦν, 'now, though not heretofore,' cp. Ant. 552, τί δῆτ᾽ ἂν ἀλλὰ νῦν σ᾽ ἔτ᾿ ὠφελοῖμ᾽ ἐγώ. And for the connection, cp. Aesch. Cho. 515, 6, ΟΡ. πόθεν χοὰς ἔπεμψεν, ἐκ τίνος λόγου | μεθύστερον τιμῶσ᾽ ἀνήκεστον πάθος; ib. 523-5, ΧΟ. οἶδ', ὦ τέκνον· παρῆ γάρ. ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνειράτων | καὶ νυκτιπλάγκτων δειμάτων πεπαλμένη | χοὰς ἔπεμψε τάσδε δύσθεος γυνή. In this line and
supr. 345 γε belongs in sense to the word that follows it. Or rather, the particle emphasizes the whole sentence as a comment on the preceding words. 'Ay, now, at last, come to our aid!'
413.
mvp-comment-177-1
Electra is eager to know the vision, and will not confess her hopes till she has heard it.
414.
mvp-comment-178-1
ἐπὶ σμικρόν is to be resumed with φράσai, which is epexegetic infinitive.
415.
mvp-comment-179-1
λέγ᾽ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο] 'Tell me but this;'-this little, if nothing more. Cp. Trach. 320, εἴπ', ὦ τάλαιν', ἀλλ᾽ ἡμὶν ἐκ σαυτῆς. πολλά τοι κ.τ.λ.] Cp. Aesch. Cho. 204, σμικροῦ γένοιτ' ἂν σπέρματος μέγας πυθμήν: Ο. Τ. 120, 1, ἓν γὰρ πόλλ᾽ ἂν ἐξεύροι μαθεῖν, | ἀρχὴν βραχεῖαν εἰ λάβοιμεν ἐλπίδος.
417.
mvp-comment-180-1
λόγος τις.. ἐστιν] It is said,' viz. by the attendant who heard her tell her vision to the Sun,
infr. 424, 5.
417-419.
mvp-comment-181-1
πατρὸς ἐς φῶς] Our father again amongst us, revisiting the realm of light; i.e. τὸν πατέρα δεύτερον ὁμιλοῦντα (τοῖς ἐνθάδε), -abstract for concrete.
419.
mvp-comment-182-1
εἶτα, κ.τ.λ.] These words depend immediately on λόγος τίς ἐστιν. Chrysothemis proceeds to narrate the vision as a matter of fact.
421.
mvp-comment-183-1
τανῦν δ᾽ Αἴγισθος] Sc. φέρει.
424.
mvp-comment-184-1
τοῦ παρόντος] 'The one who was present.' As a matter of course Clytemnestra was not wholly unattended in the day-time. Hence the article. Some editors have preferred the indefinite του; but the use of παρόντος = παραγενομένου is less natural in this case, and the double predicate παρόντος, ἐξηγουμένου, is awkward. A female attendant is meant, the masculine form being used, as in Trach. 151, etc. See Essay on L. § 20. p. 30. 2.
428.
mvp-comment-185-1
πρὸς . . θεῶν τῶν ἐγγενῶν] · By the gods of our race,' i.e. the gods who are not only the protectors of our race, but also its progenitors, Inachus, etc. Chrysothemis in her solemn adjuration uses τὸν ἐπιχώριον ὅρκον τὸν μέγιστον (Thuc. 5. 18. § 9). Cp. Ant. 938, θεοὶ προγενεῖς, and note.
430.
mvp-comment-186-1
σὺν κακῷ μέτει πάλιν] 'You will seek me another day, when the evil has overtaken you.'
431.
mvp-comment-187-1
Electra scarcely hears the concluding words of Chrysothemis. Her attention is absorbed by the vision and the hopes which it has aroused in her mind, and she is determined to prevent the offering of the libation, which she represents to her sister as at once an offence to Agamemnon and useless to Clytemnestra. The former is her own feeling, the latter (ll. 446-8) occurs to her as a rhetorical argument. She also takes the opportunity of sending an offering to the tomb, as if to remind her father that the hour of vengeance for him was at hand. ὦ φίλη] 'She tries affectionate persuasion, and no longer reproaches.' Paley. Or rather, her resentment is forgotten in the revival of hope. Cp.
supr. 367.
433-434.
mvp-comment-188-1
ἱστάναι | κτερίσματα] Το (institute or) perform funereal rights.'
435-438.
mvp-comment-189-1
Not κρύψον from l. 436, but some more general word, such as ἀφάνισον, is to be supplied with πνοαίσιν. For the form of sentence, cp. О. Т. 1410-2, ἔξω μέ που | καλύψατ', ἢ φονεύσατ', ἢ θαλάσσιον | ἐκρίψατ᾽, ἔνθα μήποτ᾽ εἰσόψεσθ᾽ ἔτι. βαθυσκαφεῖ κόνει] 'In deeply hollowed dust,' i.e. buried deep in the ground.
437-438.
mvp-comment-190-1
ἀλλ᾿ ὅταν θάνῃ . . κάτω] 'But let this be treasured underground for her, against the day when she shall die.' σωζέσθω is passive, and there is an ellipse οἱ εἰς ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον or the like words.
441.
mvp-comment-191-1
οὐκ ἄν.. ἐπέστεφε] 'She would not have sought to give by way of honour.' Cp. Ant. 431, χοαῖσι τρισπόνδοισι τὸν νέκυν στέφει.
442-443.
mvp-comment-192-1
For only think whether you can suppose the dead man in his grave will receive this gift kindly at her hand.' For αὐτῇ as dative of the remote object with προσφιλῶς δέξασθαι, cp.
supr. 226, 7, τίνι . . πρόσφορον ἀκούσαιμ᾽ ἔπος; It may also be taken with προσφιλῶς separately, but rather follows both words as combined in one expression.
444.
mvp-comment-193-1
'Who slew him dishonourably as a personal foe.' Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1374, ἐχθροῖς ἐχθρὰ πορσύνων: ibid. 1492-4, κεῖσαι . κοίταν τάνδ᾽ ἀνελεύθερον.
445.
mvp-comment-194-1
ἐμασχαλίσθη] ‘He was mutilated' (by cutting off the extremities and placing or tieing them under the armpits). Clytemnestra had adopted this barbarous means of disabling the spirit of her enemy. Aesch. Cho. 439, ἐμασχαλίσθη δ᾽ ἔθ᾽, ὡς τόδ᾽ εἰδῇς.
445-446.
mvp-comment-195-1
And his head was used to wipe the stains away in washing' (the hearth). This additional circumstance of savagery is known to us only from Sophocles, but is probably not due to his invention. See Introd. to Aj. p. 1. Interpreters have supposed a change of subject, supplying ἡ ς ἡ Κλυταιμνήστρα ας nominative to ἐξέμαξεν. But this is unnecessary if it is borne in mind that verbs active in grammar are often used in Greek to express a passive condition. Essay on L. § 30. p. 52 d. Prof. Jebb understands the construction in the same way, with a slightly different nuance of interpretation: - 'And by way of funeral ablution received the print of the sword-stains on his head.' Mr. Paley translates, And at the washing of the body she wiped off the blood-stains on his head.' But did she wash the body?
446-447.
mvp-comment-196-1
Electra tries to influence Chrysothemis, not only with fear of her dead father, but also by pointing out the uselessness of the action for Clytemnestra's purpose, and so quieting her sister's conscience in this respect.
448.
mvp-comment-197-1
σὺ δέ] For the introduction of the personal pronoun without real emphasis, in such antitheses, see Essay on L. § 41. p. 79.
449.
mvp-comment-198-1
Clipping off a little from thy luxuriant curls.' The words call attention to the abundance of Chrysothemis' hair in comparison with Electra's. Cp- Eur. Or. 128, 9, εἴδετε παρ᾿ ἄκρας ὡς ἀπέθρισεν τρίχας, | σώζουσα κάλλος.
451.
mvp-comment-199-1
τήνδε †λιπαρή τρίχα] The adjective here is puzzling, whichever reading we adopt. Hermann thought the MS. reading ἀλιπαρή might bear the sense of 'unmeet for supplication.' But λιπαρεῖν is hardly near enough in meaning to λιτανεύειν to make this possible. The Scholiast and Suidas explain the alternative reading λιπαρή, by ἱκέτιν, ἐξ ἧς αὐτὸν λιπαρήσομεν.
451.
mvp-comment-199-2
But this is wanting in point. And a confusion of λιπαρής with λιπαρός (i.e. ἀλιπαρῆ = αὐχμηράν) is not to be thought of. Perhaps λιπαρή, in the sense of 'patient,' 'persistent,' may have conveyed some shade of meaning suitable to the passage. Or possibly ΛΙΠΑΡΗ may be a corruption of AYC-ΠΙΝΗ. Ср. О. С. 1597, εἶτ᾿ ἔλυσε δυσπινεῖς στολάς. I cannot think, with Mr. Paley, that this and the following line are an interpolation. The words ἄχω, δὸς αὐτῷ, are too pathetic for this.
452.
mvp-comment-200-1
οὐ χλιδαῖς ἠσκημένον] 'Not elegantly neat.' The dative of manner in χλιδαῖς has an adverbial force. Essay on L. § 14. p. 20. Electra's girdle had not been beautifully got up' and 'laid in lavender,' like her sister's.
453-454.
mvp-comment-201-1
The belief in the real presence of the spirits of the dead on great occasions, which is so powerful in the Oresteia of Aeschylus, still survives in the Sophoclean drama, but is much less vividly and realistically felt. It has become more ideal.
455.
mvp-comment-202-1
ἐξ ὑπερτέρας χερός] • With overpowering might.'
456.
mvp-comment-203-1
ζῶντ᾽ ἐπεμβῆναι ποδί] Either (1) In the fulness of life (ζῶντα) should trample with his foot' (ποδί expletive); or (2) Should trample with a foot of living power' (ζῶντι.. ποδί). The latter is rendered improbable by the unusual elision, for which, however, cp. Trach. 675, ἀργῆτ᾽ οἰὸς εὐείρῳ πόκῳ, where see note. See also Pind. Ol. 13. 114, καρταίποδ᾽ ἀναρύῃ Γαιαóχῳ. In either case ζῆν is used in the secondary sense of being vigorous. Cp. Ant. 456, 7, ἀεί ποτε | ζῇ ταῦτα: Ο. Τ. 44, 5, and note.
459-460.
mvp-comment-204-1
'Indeed, I do believe some care on his part caused the appalling dream to come to her.' For the use of the neuter participle, see Essay on L. § 30. p. 51 α. Although μέλον here has not the article, it should be added to the six examples there given. μὲν οὖν interposes the incidental thought, that even without their prayers Agamemnon was minded to interfere. Then, in 461, the main drift is resumed with ὅμως. 'Still, let us not omit this offering!'
461.
mvp-comment-205-1
σοί is here equivalent to σαυτῇ, but occurring here as one of several coordinate terms, can hardly be adduced to justify the use of ἐμέ for ἐμαυτήν in
supr. 363, which becomes necessary if λυπεῖν is read.
466-467.
mvp-comment-206-1
τὸ γὰρ .. δρᾶν] ‘For when a thing is right, people should not quarrel over it, but hasten to do it.' Two points are doubtful in the construction of these words. a. Either (1) τὸ δίκαιον is subject of ἔχει, and ἐρίζειν is epexegetic infinitive, or (2) ἐρίζειν is the subject of ἔχει, and τὸ δίκαιον an accusative loosely governed by the words that follow it. b. τὸ δρᾶν is either (1) the direct object of ἐπισπεύδειν, or (2) epexegetic infinitive after ἐπισπεύδειν (i.e. ἐπισπεύδειν τὸ δίκαιον, ὥστε δρᾶν αὐτό). For the article in this case, cp. O. T. 1416, 7, ἐς δέον πάρεσθ᾽ ὅδε | Κρέων τὸ πράσσειν καὶ τὸ βουλεύειν :
infr. 1030, μακρὸς τὸ κρῖναι ταῦτα χὼ λοιπὸς χρόνος. The addition of δυοῖν belongs to the same tendency to make numbers explicit, which appears in καὶ τὸ γενναῖον τρίτον (Ο. C. 8) and the like phrases. For the sense, cp. Fr. 76, τοῖς γὰρ δικαίοις ἀντέχειν οὐ ῥάδιον. In the second clause, ἀλλ' ἐπισπεύδειν, κ.τ.λ., a positive notion is understood from the negative. Essay on L. § 36. p. 64, β, 1 а.
468-471.
mvp-comment-207-1
These lines are intended to emphasize at once the timidity of Chrysothemis and the harshness of Clytemnestra.
471-515.
mvp-comment-208-1
The following short ode, the first stasimon, consisting of a single strophe, antistrophe, and epode, dwells, first, on the renewal of hope which is brought to the upholders of the righteous cause by the announcement of the dream, secondly, on the guilt of those whom Vengeance will now assail, and thirdly, on the long chain of troubles, of which their crime is the continuation. The rhythm, beginning from three short glyconian lines, is chiefly iambic and trochaic, with an increasing number of long syllables toward the close of each movement. The metrical scheme is the following:-
472-473.
mvp-comment-209-1
Ср. О. Τ. 1086, εἴπερ ἐγὼ μάντις εἰμὶ καὶ κατὰ γνώμην ἴδρις.
475.
mvp-comment-210-1
ὁ πρόμαντις Δίκα] 'Presaging Justice,' i.e. the just Power that has warned Clytemnestra through the dream.
476.
mvp-comment-211-1
δίκαια κράτη] Either (1) 'Bringing with her the victorious strength of righteous action,' or (2) And shall bear away the victory in a righteous deed.' In the latter case (2) the participle is proleptic. The former interpretation (1) is on the whole more probable. For this use of φερομένα, cp. Hdt. 7. 50. § 8, πολλὴν φορβὴν φερόμενοι πορευόμεθα.
479-481.
mvp-comment-212-1
These lines echo the language of the dialogue,
supr. 412, ἔχεις τι θάρσος τοῦδε τοῦ τάρβους πέρι;
480.
mvp-comment-213-1
ἁδυπνόων] · Breathing of gladness,' i.e. auspicious. Cp. O. T. 151, ὦ Διὸς ἀδυεπὲς φάτι.
480.
mvp-comment-213-2
κλύουσαν] For this accusative, with the dative preceding, as if after θαρρύνει or some such word, see Essay on L. $ 6. p. 23, and cp. Aesch. Cho. 410, 11, πέπαλται δ᾽ αὐτέ μοι φίλον κέαρ τόνδε κλύουσαν οἶκτον.
484.
mvp-comment-214-1
ὁ φύσας] It must be borne in mind that Electra is present during the chanting of this ode. Cp.
supr. 184 and note.
485.
mvp-comment-215-1
'Nor that oid two-edged axe of sharpened bronze.' χαλκόπλακτος is literally, 'Smiting with bronze,' χαλκέας πληγὰς ἔχων. See Essay on L. $ 53: p. 98. χαλκόπακτος, • Of solid bronze,' is the conjecture of Kvidala. The axe is imagined as giving evidence, much as in early times a weapon might be accused of homicide. For a somewhat similar fancy, attributing feeling to an inanimate instrument, cp. Philoctetes, 1130 foll., ἢ που ἐλεινὸν ὁρᾷς, κ.τ.λ., Hab. 2, 11, The nail shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it, Woe unto him,' etc.
486.
mvp-comment-216-1
αἰσχίσταις ἐν αἰκίαις] These words are an echo of
supr. 444-6.
488-489.
mvp-comment-217-1
καὶ πολύπους | καὶ πολύχειρ] With exceeding swiftness and might.' Like πᾶς and αὐτός in composition (E. on L. $ 55. p. 101), πολύς has here an intensive force, without having an exactly defined significance. Ср. πολύγλωσσος,
infr. 798.
490.
mvp-comment-218-1
Cp.
infr. 1396, 7, δόλον σκότῳ κρύψας πρὸς αὐτὸ τέρμα.
491.
mvp-comment-219-1
χαλκόπους] 'With adamantine,' i.e. (1) unwearying, 'footsteps.' Cp. χαλκὸς ἀτειρής. Or (2) Irresistible.'
492.
mvp-comment-220-1
ἐπέβα] «There came on,' as a dangerous event (οἶσιν = τούτων οἷς).
495-498.
mvp-comment-221-1
πρὸ τῶνδε .. συνδρῶσιν] ‘In the face of these things I feel assured that the portent which comes near to the doer or the abettor of the deed cannot be other than baneful.' In Sophocles, not as in Aeschylus, Aegisthus is the author, Clytemnestra the accessory, of the murder. In Aesch. Ag. 1609, he claims a greater share than the poet really attributes to him. For μήποτε, see E. on L. § 24. p. 41, y 2, and cp. Aj. 183.
499.
mvp-comment-222-1
μαντεῖαι βροτῶν] 'Divination, as an art in which mortals are concerned.' Cp. Ο. Τ. 709, βρότειον οὐδὲν μαντικῆς ἔχον τέχνης, and see Essay on L. § 40. p. 75.
500.
mvp-comment-223-1
οὐδ᾽ ἐν θεσφάτοις] The indication of the dream is as express and clear as any oracle. If the one fail of accomplishment, so must the other.
501.
mvp-comment-224-1
εὐ κατασχήσει] 'Shall happily reach its destination,' i. e. shall have a fortunate issue. Cp. Trach. 826, 7, καὶ τάδ᾽ ὀρθῶς | ἔμπεδα κατουρίζει.
504-505.
mvp-comment-225-1
'O chariot-race of Pelops in the former time, that hast caused many troubles, how pregnant was thine occurrence with sorrow for this land!' Sophocles passes over the quarrels of Atreus and Thyestes, and goes back at once to the homicide of which Pelops, the author of the whole race, was guilty. This made Hermes the father of Myrtilus send the golden ram, which led to the fatal dissension between the brothers. Eur. Or. 988-1012. The act of Orestes in the present drama is destined to put an end to the series of disasters which then began.
506.
mvp-comment-226-1
On the question between αἰανής and αἰανή, cp. Aj. 672 and note.
510.
mvp-comment-227-1
*παγχρυσέων] The chariot of the wealthy Pelops on his bridal journey was encrusted with gold. Cp. Pind. Ol. 1.87. παγχρύσεος is the Homeric form, and if a change is necessary, this seems to be the simplest. The metre is the same as in 512. Others read παγχρύσων ἐκ δίφρων. Μ. has πολυχρύσων.
511.
mvp-comment-228-1
δυστάνοις αἰκίαις] Myrtilus,
511-512.
mvp-comment-229-1
although a traitor to Oenomaus, was a benefactor to Pelops. Observe the repetition of the word from
supr. 486, also
infr. 515.
512.
mvp-comment-230-1
πρόρριζος ἐκριφθείς] «Uprooted and flung forth.'
513-515.
mvp-comment-231-1
'Never since that day has sad dishonour left the house.' Some editors read ἔλιπεν ἐκ τοῦδ᾽ οἴκου, ‘Has failed out of this house,' which is less probable. Wecklein reads οἴκους | πολυπάμονας, which is supported by the scholion on 508, οὐ διέλιπεν αἰκία τοὺς πολυκτήμονας δόμους. But see E. on L. § 44. pp. 83, 4.
516.
mvp-comment-232-1
The dialectic of the following scene may be compared with Aj. 1047 foll., Ant. 632 foll.
517.
mvp-comment-233-1
The spectator is a second time informed of Aegisthus' absence, which is so necessary to the plot.
Supr. 310 foll.
518.
mvp-comment-234-1
θυραίαν γ'.. φίλους] ‘To go out of doors and bring disgrace upon your relatives:'-i.e. your appearance and conduct in the house are a sufficient disgrace to them. Cp.
supr. 312, 3.
521.
mvp-comment-235-1
ὡς θρασεῖα] Sc. εἰμί.
522.
mvp-comment-236-1
σὲ καὶ τὰ σά] • Thee and thine.' Clytemnestra thus acknowledges that Electra's complaints were never for herself alone, but for her father.
525-526.
mvp-comment-237-1
πατήρ .. τέθνηκεν] Your father, that is what you are always holding forth, (how that he) died by my act. By a kind of attraction, the main sentence, as it proceeds, becomes subordinated to the parenthesis.
529.
mvp-comment-238-1
ᾖ] Sc. τῇ Δίκῃ.
531.
mvp-comment-239-1
μοῦνος Ἑλλήνων] i. e. either (1) he did what no other Greek could have had the heart to do, in sacrificing his child, or (2) while the army consented to the sacrifice, he had the sole responsibility, as commander-in-chief, or (3) when all shrank from the sacrificial act, he himself took the knife to slay his daughter. For (3) cp. Aesch. Ag. 225, ἔτλη δ᾽ οὖν θυτὴρ γενέσθαι θυγατρός, κ.τ.λ., ib. 210, 231 foll.
534.
mvp-comment-240-1
τοῦ χάριν τίνων] 'On whose account?' lit. Absolving an obligation to whom?' Others read τοῦ χάριν, τίνων; 'Wherefore, on whose account?'
536.
mvp-comment-241-1
1.ε. ἀλλ᾽ οὐ μετὴν αὐτοῖσι τῆς γ' ἐμῆς, ὥστε τὴν ἐμὴν κτανεῖν.
537-538.
mvp-comment-242-1
But if for his brother Menelaus' sake he slew my child, was it to be expected that I should not requite him for this?'
539.
mvp-comment-243-1
παῖδες.. διπλοῖ] Megapenthes and Hermione, the children of Menelaus and Helen.
542-543.
mvp-comment-244-1
Or had Death somehow a greater longing to devour my offspring than Helen's?' δαίσασθαι is epexegetic infinitive, sc. τἀμὰ τέκνα δαίσασθαι.
544-545.
mvp-comment-245-1
Or had that accursed father given up all care for his children by me, while preserving his affection for Menelaus' offspring?"
548.
mvp-comment-246-1
Contrast with this the feeling of Antigone, Ant. 515, οὐ μαρτυρήσει ταῦθ᾽ ὁ κατθανὼν νεκύς.
549-550.
mvp-comment-247-1
ἐγὼ. .δύσθυμος] ‘For my part, then, the past causes me no misgiving. She will not confess her alarm before Electra. τοῖς πεπραγμένοις is dative of the reason: Essay on L. § 14. p. 21. Cp. Thuc. 3. 98. § 6, τοῖς πεπραγμένοις φοβούμενος τοὺς ᾿Αθηναίους.
551.
mvp-comment-248-1
If you must blame others, do so on just grounds,' lit. Having got hold of a just notion of the case.' These words are a challenge to Electra to show cause why Agamemnon should not have been slain, as the mere fact of his death (
supr. 525, 6) was no sufficient reason for her continued abuse. The stress is on the participial clause, or rather on the word δικαίαν.
552-553.
mvp-comment-249-1
έρε ἐρεῖς . . λυπηρόν] The death of Iphigenia was a painful subject to Electra.
556-557.
mvp-comment-250-1
εἰ δὲ μ᾿ ὧδ' ἀεὶ λόγους | ἐξήρχες] 'If your speeches to me were always tuned in that key.' με is governed κατὰ σύνεσιν by the whole phrase, as equivalent to ὧδε προσηγόρευες, ἐξάρχειν is used as in ἐξάρχειν μέλος. Electra is imagined as sounding the note to which Clytemnestra responds.
561.
mvp-comment-251-1
δίκῃ] 'As moved thereto by Justice:'-dative of the cause.
563-564.
mvp-comment-252-1
τίνος .. Αὐλίδι] ‘In requital for what' either (1) He endured that mighty wind at Aulis?' or (2) That great tempest fell upon Aulis?' or (3) She directed (ἐπέσχεν) that mighty wind at Aulis? It may be objected to (1), that if Agamemnon is the subject of ἔσχε, the words πατὴρ οὐμός in 566 are unnecessary. For (3) requiring ἔσχεν to be equivalent to ἐπέσχεν, see Essay on L. § 55. p. 101, 4, and L. and S., s. v. ἔχω, Α. ii. 7, and cp. Il. 14. 57, οἱ δ᾽ ἐπὶ νηυσὶ θοῇσι μάχην ἀλίαστον ἔχουσιν: 11.271, (εἰλειθυῖαι) πικρὰς ὠδῖνας ἔχουσai.
565.
mvp-comment-253-1
κείνης.. μαθεῖν] ‘For you may not learn from her;' i. e. Artemis will not hold communication with one so polluted. Clytemnestra notwithstanding appeals to Artemis,
infr. 626.
566-569.
mvp-comment-254-1
Electra's point is that Agamemnon's fault which provoked Artemis was a light and all but involuntary offence.
567.
mvp-comment-255-1
ἐξεκίνησεν ποδοῖν] ‘Startled by his tread.' The language is softened so as to convey the impression that Agamemnon put up the stag accidentally.
569.
mvp-comment-256-1
He chanced to let fall some word of boasting.' There is a stress on the participle ἐκκομπάσας.
571-572.
mvp-comment-257-1
Electra does not raise the question whether the will of Artemis was just or not. She is contented with shifting the responsibility from Agamemnon.
575.
mvp-comment-258-1
The words πολλὰ καὶ ἀντιβάς form a separate clause, unless πολλά be joined to βιασθείς, which is improbable. For which cause, and not for Menelaus'sake, under compulsion, -ay, after many a struggle, he reluctantly sacrificed her.' After making this elaborate statement of the immediate cause, it occurs to Electra that everything connected with the expedition was in one sense done on Menelaus' account. Hence she resumes, with εἰ δ' οὖν, by admitting this, as if for the sake of argument.
579.
mvp-comment-259-1
ποίῳ νόμῳ] 'On what principle?' Cp. Ant. 908, τίνος νόμου δὴ ταῦτα πρὸς χάριν λέγω;
584.
mvp-comment-260-1
οὐκ οὖσαν] 'Unreal;' i.e. οὐκ ἀληθῆ. Cp. Τhuc. 6. 16, προσποίησίν τε ξυγγενείας .. καὶ μὴ οὖσαν.
589.
mvp-comment-261-1
τοὺς δὲ πρόσθεν] Sc. παΐδας, understood πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον from παιδοποιεῖς. Essay on L. § 36. p. 64.
590.
mvp-comment-262-1
εὐσεβῶν] i. e. ᾿Αγαμέμνονος. Poetical plural. ἐκβαλοῦσ᾽ ἔχεις] «You have cast out from favour. Electra is virtually an outcast, and Orestes, although not banished by his mother's act, durst not return openly to his home.
591.
mvp-comment-263-1
πῶς.. ἄν] «Do you expect me to approve of this?'-referring to
supr. 550.
591-592.
mvp-comment-264-1
ἢ.. λαμβάνεις] « Or will you say that in this, too, you are vindicating your daughter?' τοῦτο, accusative in apposition with τῆς θ. α. λ.
593.
mvp-comment-265-1
αἰσχρῶς] Sc. ἐρεῖς. οὐ γὰρ καλόν, κ. τ. λ.]. There is little virtue in,' etc. See on Aj. 1132, 1349.
595-597.
mvp-comment-266-1
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ . . κακοστομοῦμεν 'But then one may not even reason with you, since you reply with all your vehemence that I am reviling my mother.' For ἀλλ᾽ οὐ .. γάρ without apodosis, cp. O. C. 988 foll., ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ οὔτ᾽ ἐν τοῖσδ᾽ ἀκούσομαι κακὸς | γάμοισιν, κ.τ.λ. πᾶσαν ἵης γλῶσσαν = πᾶσαν γλῶσσαν ἱεῖσα λέγεις. Cp. Plat. Legg. 10. p. 890 D, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν, τὸ λεγόμενον, φωνὴν ἱέντα τῷ παλαιῷ νόμῳ ἐπίκουρον γίγνεσθαι λόγῳ.
597.
mvp-comment-267-1
νέμω] ·And truly I account thee rather my mistress than my mother.' καί has a sarcastic tone as in interrogation, and is nearly = καί τοι, - as in Aj. 92 it may be said to have the force of καὶ μήν.
601.
mvp-comment-268-1
ὁ δ᾽ ἄλλος ἔξω] 'And he, moreover, in a foreign land. The article is demonstrative, and ἄλλοs is predicative or adverbial. See Essay on L. § 21. pp. 33, 5. χεῖρα . . φυγών] Electra implies that Clytemnestra would have killed Orestes
601-602.
mvp-comment-269-1
if she could, either at the time of Agamemnon's murder, or afterwards.
603.
mvp-comment-270-1
σοὶ .. μιάστορα] ‘An avenger of blood against thee.' μιάστωρ is properly one who stains others with his own guilt; here it is one who fixes the stain of guilt by executing vengeance for it. Compare the use of the verb 'to stain' in Elizabethan English: e.g. Shaksp. Ant. and Cleo. 3. 4, 'I'll raise the preparation of a War | Shall stain your brother.'
606.
mvp-comment-271-1
εἴτε † χρή) ‘Whether you must call me,' etc. Here, as in Aj. 1373, the reading of the MSS, which is possibly idiomatic, is preferred το χρῇς = χρήζεις, which is a doubtful emendation.
608.
mvp-comment-272-1
τῶνδε τῶν ἔργων] ‘Of actions which have this character.' Cp. O. T. 864, 5, τὰν εὔσεπτον ἁγνείαν λόγων ἔργων τε πάντων, ὧν, κ.τ.λ., and note.
609.
mvp-comment-273-1
καταισχύνω] Cp. Aj. 1304, 5. ἆρ᾽ ὧδ᾽ ἄριστος ἐξ ἀριστέοιν δυοῖν | βλαστὼν ἂν αἰσχύνοιμι τοὺς πρὺς αἵματος;
610.
mvp-comment-274-1
ὁρῶ μένος πνέουσαν] Sc. τὴν Κλυταιμνήστραν. This appears from her reply, and also from the comparison οἱ εἰ δὲ σὺν δίκῃ, κ.τ.λ, with
supr. 528. Here, as in O. T. 746, Aesch. Ag. 1306, τί δ' ἐστὶ χρῆμα; τίς σ᾽ ἀποστρέφει φόβος; -the dialogue contains a reference to by-play.
614.
mvp-comment-275-1
τηλικοῦτος] 'At her age.' Cp.
infr. 961, 2:-i.e. Her words are not those of a petulant girl, which might be safely disregarded.
616-619.
mvp-comment-276-1
The harshness of Electra is not native to her character, but superinduced, and she is painfully conscious of this.
623.
mvp-comment-277-1
πόλλ᾽ ἄγαν λέγειν ποιεῖ] 'Make you to say too much: '-i.e. Are too much the theme of your discourse, in which you say much that you should not.
624.
mvp-comment-278-1
viv is here neuter plural = αὐτά.
624-625.
mvp-comment-279-1
Translated by Milton:-''Tis you that say it, not I; you do the deeds, And your ungodly deeds find me the words.'
626.
mvp-comment-280-1
μὰ τὴν .. "Αρτεμιν] Cp.
supr. 565, and note. θράσους is genitive of cause.
627.
mvp-comment-281-1
For the repetition of οὐκ, see Essay on L. § 29. p. 48. We are again reminded that Aegisthus is from home. Cp.
supr. 517.
628-629.
mvp-comment-282-1
μεθεῖσά μοι χρήζοιμ 'After giving me leave to say what I chose.'
Supr. 556.
630.
mvp-comment-283-1
οὐδ᾽ ὑπ᾿ εὐφήμου βοῆς], 'Not even in silence from clamour:' - i. e. Not even without being pestered by your noise.
632.
mvp-comment-284-1
κελεύω] 'I urge it on you:'- i.e. as knowing what need you have to propitiate the gods.
634.
mvp-comment-285-1
ἡ παροῦσά μοι] ‘Thou that art with me.' Cp.
supr. 424. In Sophocles the attendants are never called by name, -as the Nurse is in Aesch. Cho. 732.
634-635.
mvp-comment-286-1
θύμαθ᾽.. πάγκαρπ'] 'Rich offerings of various produce.'
635.
mvp-comment-287-1
ἄνακτι . . τῷδ'] 'The king in presence here; '-Apollo Lyceius,
infr. 645: ср. О. Т. 919,
supr. l. 7.
635-636.
mvp-comment-288-1
ὅπως.. ἔχω] 'That I may offer up a prayer for release from the terrors which are now haunting me.' The words, δειμάτων & νῦν ἔχω, are added in construction with λυτηρίους. For the sense, cp. O. Τ. 921, ὅπως λύσιν τιν' ἡμὶν εὐαγῆ πόρῃς.
639-640.
mvp-comment-289-1
οὐδὲ πᾶν . . ἐμοί] 'Nor is it fitting that I unfold everything to light while she is near me.' In listening to these words the spectator recollects
640-642.
mvp-comment-290-1
that Electra is already in possession of the whole truth about the dream. Cp.
supr. 417 foll.
641-642.
mvp-comment-291-1
'Lest with inauspicious and noisy outcry she disseminate a lewd report throughout the city.' φθόνῳ is lit. *odium.' ματ ματαίαν is not merely 'causeless,' but 'wanton,' conveying the notion of positive mischief. In πολυγλώσσῳ the first part of the compound is intensive. Cp.
supr. 488, 9,
infr. 798.
643.
mvp-comment-292-1
But hear it, even in the (vague) form in which I will make it known.' Cp. O. C. 484, for the importance attached to the form of words used in prayer.
644.
mvp-comment-293-1
γάρ introduces the promised statement.
645.
mvp-comment-294-1
δισσῶν is supposed by some to mean, 'Ambiguous; but it is simpler and more natural to understand it either of two different dreams, or of the same dream repeated. Cp. Plat. Phaedo, 60 E, πολλάκις μοι φοιτῶν τὸ αὐτὸ ἐνύπνιον ἐν τῷ παρελθόντι βίῳ, ἄλλοτ᾽ ἐν ἄλλῃ ὄψει φαινόμενον, τὰ αὐτὰ δὲ λέγον, κ.τ.λ.
647.
mvp-comment-295-1
ἔμπαλιν] 'On the contrary,'- because ἐμοί is understood with τελεσφόρα in l. 646. μέθες] 'Let it fall instead.'
648-649.
mvp-comment-296-1
'And if there is one who plans to cast me forth by guile from my present high estate, do not permit it to him.' Though τινες is plural, Orestes is meant, just as Aegisthus is indicated by the vague φίλοισι in
infr. 652. Cp.
supr. 590. The spectator knows that the will of Apollo is directly opposed to this petition. For it is difficult to suppose either here or in O. Τ. 908, 919, an entire separation of the Lyceian from the Pythian Apollo. See Introduction.
653.
mvp-comment-297-1
καὶ τέκνων ὅσων] ‘And with the children from whom." τέκνοις, the antecedent to ὅσων, is attracted into the case of the relative. Essay on L. § 35. p. 59. She is thinking of Chrysothemis and Iphianassa (
supr. 157) to the exclusion of Electra.
654.
mvp-comment-298-1
λύπη] ‘Vexation,' in an active sense.
655.
mvp-comment-299-1
This part of the prayer is merely formal, and is uttered in a loud voice, the rest having been spoken aside.
655.
mvp-comment-299-2
This part of the prayer is merely formal, and is uttered in a loud voice, the rest having been spoken aside.
660.
mvp-comment-300-1
The coming-in of the Old Man prepares the way for the peripeteia by obtaining entrance for the disguised Orestes. It also brings out the heroic character of Electra, by reducing her to a position of despair, and makes more effective her subsequent recognition of Orestes.
660.
mvp-comment-300-2
ξέναι] He speaks as a Phocian.
660.
mvp-comment-300-3
The coming-in of the Old Man prepares the way for the peripeteia by obtaining entrance for the disguised Orestes. It also brings out the heroic character of Electra, by reducing her to a position of despair, and makes more effective her subsequent recognition of Orestes.
660.
mvp-comment-300-4
ξέναι] He speaks as a Phocian.
663.
mvp-comment-301-1
δάμαρτα] Sc. οὖσαν.
663.
mvp-comment-301-2
δάμαρτα] Sc. οὖσαν.
664.
mvp-comment-302-1
πρέπει . . εἰσορᾶν] Though no longer Queen of Agamemnon, the daughter of Tyndareus still wears a royal mien.
664.
mvp-comment-302-2
πρέπει . . εἰσορᾶν] Though no longer Queen of Agamemnon, the daughter of Tyndareus still wears a royal mien.
667.
mvp-comment-303-1
φίλου παρ᾿ ἀνδρός] Phanoteus, as the enemy of Strophius, Agamemnon's friend, is imagined to be the close ally of Aegisthus. Cp.
supr. 45, and note.
667.
mvp-comment-303-2
φίλου παρ᾽ ἀνδρός] Phanoteus, as the enemy of Strophius, Agamemnon's friend, is imagined to be the close ally of Aegisthus. Cp.
supr. 45, and note.
668.
mvp-comment-304-1
ἐδεξάμην τὸ ῥηθέν] I accept the omen.' For this customary mode of appropriating auspicious words, cp. Hdt. 1. 63, Πεισίστρατος δέ, συλλαβὼν τὸ χρηστήριον, καὶ φὰς δέκεσθαι τὸ χρησθέν, ἐπῆγε τὴν στρατιήν: Aesch. Ag. 1652, 3, ΑΙ. .. πρόκωπος οὐκ ἀναίνομαι θανεῖν. | ΧΟ. δεχομένοις λέγεις θανεῖν σε.
668.
mvp-comment-304-2
ἐδεξάμην τὸ ῥηθέν] I accept the omen.' For this customary mode of appropriating auspicious words, cp. Hdt. 1. 63, Πεισίστρατος δέ, συλλαβὼν τὸ χρηστήριον, καὶ φὰς δέκεσθαι τὸ χρησθέν, ἐπῆγε τὴν στρατιήν: Aesch. Ag. 1652, 3, ΑΙ. .. πρόκωπος οὐκ ἀναίνομαι θανεῖν. | ΧΟ. δεχομένοις λέγεις θανεῖν σε.
670.
mvp-comment-305-1
πρᾶγμα.. μέγα] 'Having on his hands the care of a great matter.' The report is identified with the event.
670.
mvp-comment-305-2
πρᾶγμα.. μέγα] 'Having on his hands the care of a great matter.' The report is identified with the event.
675.
mvp-comment-306-1
τί φής, τί φής...] For this eager repetition, cp. O. C. 1099, ΟΙ. ποῦ ποῦ; τί φής; πῶς εἶπας; ΑΝ. ὦ πάτερ, πάτερ, κ.τ.λ.
675.
mvp-comment-306-2
τί φής, τί φής...] For this eager repetition, cp. O. C. 1099, ΟΙ. ποῦ ποῦ; τί φής; πῶς εἶπας; ΑΝ. ὦ πάτερ, πάτερ, κ.τ.λ.
676.
mvp-comment-307-1
I have been saying all this while, and now repeat, that Orestes is dead.' For the participial construction, ср. О. Т. 463-5, and note.
676.
mvp-comment-307-2
I have been saying all this while, and now repeat, that Orestes is dead.' For the participial construction, ср. О. Т. 463-5, and note.
678.
mvp-comment-308-1
σὺ μὲν . . πρᾶσσ'] 'You, mind your own affairs!' i. e. Do not interrupt us.
678.
mvp-comment-308-2
σὺ μὲν . . πρᾶσσ'] 'You, mind your own affairs!' i. e. Do not interrupt us.
680.
mvp-comment-309-1
The Old Man now fills up with great spirit (though without an 'oath') the outline which Orestes gave him,
supr. 48-50. This narrative, while directly pertinent to the action, also helps to relieve it at a point where it was becoming monotonous. The ornate and exaggerated diction (especially in 730-3) is suited to a fabricated account. Contrast in this respect the speech of Hyllus in Trach. 749 foll.
680.
mvp-comment-309-2
The Old Man now fills up with great spirit (though without an 'oath') the outline which Orestes gave him,
supr. 48-50. This narrative, while directly pertinent to the action, also helps to relieve it at a point where it was becoming monotonous. The ornate and exaggerated diction (especially in 730-3) is suited to a fabricated account. Contrast in this respect the speech of Hyllus in Trach. 749 foll.
681-682.
mvp-comment-310-1
εἰς τὸ κοινὸν . . ἀγῶνος] ‘Το that contest which is the universal pride of Hellas.' ἀγῶνος is to be taken closely with πρόσχημα, as a genitive of definition. Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 6.
681-682.
mvp-comment-310-2
εἰς τὸ κοινὸν . . ἀγῶνος] ‘Το that contest which is the universal pride of Hellas.' ἀγῶνος is to be taken closely with πρόσχημα, as a genitive of definition. Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 6.
685.
mvp-comment-311-1
He entered the arena, glorious to behold, and drew all men's eyes towards him.' For λαμπρός, cp. Plat. Rep. 8. 560 E, λαμπρὰς μετὰ πολλοῦ χοροῦ κατάγουσιν : Aeschin. 34. 40.
685.
mvp-comment-311-2
He entered the arena, glorious to behold, and drew all men's eyes towards him.' For λαμπρός, cp. Plat. Rep. 8. 560 E, λαμπρὰς μετὰ πολλοῦ χοροῦ κατάγουσιν : Aeschin. 34. 40.
686.
mvp-comment-312-1
And having finished his courses in a manner worthy of his looks.' Lit. 'Having made the completion of his courses adequate to his personal appearance.' This line has been needlessly and mistakenly altered. φύσις, the outward promise of the man, is an abridgment or resumption of εἰσῆλθε λαμπρός. Cp. Trach. 308, where πρὸς μὲν . . φύσιν is To judge from her appearance:' Pind. Isthm. 6. 30, φέρει γὰρ Ἰσθμοῖ νίκαν παγκρατίου· σθένει τ' ἔκπαγλος ἰδεῖν τε μορφάεις· ἄγει δ' ἀρετὰν οὐκ αἴσχιον φυᾶς: Nem. 3. 32, ἐὼν καλὸς ἔρδων τ' ἐοικότα μορφᾷ. The conjecture of Musgr. (ἰσώσας τἀφέσει τὰ τέρματα, Having finished at the starting-place') is forced and meaningless. On the verb ἰσόω, see E. on L. § 51. p. 96.
686.
mvp-comment-312-2
And having finished his courses in a manner worthy of his looks.' Lit. 'Having made the completion of his courses adequate to his personal appearance.' This line has been needlessly and mistakenly altered. φύσις, the outward promise of the man, is an abridgment or resumption of εἰσῆλθε λαμπρός. Cp. Trach. 308, where πρὸς μὲν . . φύσιν is To judge from her appearance:' Pind. Isthm. 6. 30, φέρει γὰρ Ἰσθμοῖ νίκαν παγκρατίου· σθένει τ' ἔκπαγλος ἰδεῖν τε μορφάεις· ἄγει δ' ἀρετὰν οὐκ αἴσχιον φυᾶς: Nem. 3. 32, ἐὼν καλὸς ἔρδων τ' ἐοικότα μορφᾷ. The conjecture of Musgr. (ἰσώσας τἀφέσει τὰ τέρματα, Having finished at the starting-place') is forced and meaningless. On the verb ἰσόω, see E. on L. § 51. p. 96.
688-689.
mvp-comment-313-1
And I know not, indeed, how to tell you a few out of the many successful exploits of such a hero.' This is naturally opposed to what follows, where, instead of selecting particular feats, the Old Man sums up all in a single statement. A slight
688-689.
mvp-comment-313-2
And I know not, indeed, how to tell you a few out of the many successful exploits of such a hero.' This is naturally opposed to what follows, where, instead of selecting particular feats, the Old Man sums up all in a single statement. A slight
688-691.
mvp-comment-314-1
emendation of l. 688, χὤπως μὲν ἐν παύροισι πολλά, κ.τ.λ., Το tell you much in few, I know of no such (other) hero's achievements and victories,' would make the line clearer in itself, but would destroy the connection with ἓν δ᾽ ἴσθι. But see the end of note on l. 691.
688-691.
mvp-comment-314-2
emendation of 1. 688, χὤπως μὲν ἐν παύροισι πολλά, κ.τ.λ., Το tell you much in few, I know of no such (other) hero's achievements and victories,' would make the line clearer in itself, but would destroy the connection with ἓν δ᾽ ἴσθι. But see the end of note on 1. 691.
691.
mvp-comment-315-1
Porson's emendation of this line is extremely probable. If the letters περ were displaced, πεν(τ)άθλα might easily be suggested. The relation of ll. 686, 7, to 688- 695, may be questioned. He is describing the first day's performances, and in ll. 686, 7, either (1) states generally what is expanded afterwards, or (2) describes the first race, and then in what follows sums up the remaining contests of the same day. The plural τέρματα, and the structure of the whole passage, decide the point in favour of (1), making each of the two sentences refer to all the foot-races together. Otherwise (3), supposing the language to be more than usually inexact, the lines may be taken to mean, To tell only a little when there is much to tell, I know no feats to be compared with his. One thing you may know,' etc.
691.
mvp-comment-315-2
Porson's emendation of this line is extremely probable. If the letters περ were displaced, πεν(τ)άθλα might easily be suggested. The relation of 11. 686, 7, to 688- 695, may be questioned. He is describing the first day's performances, and in 11.686, 7, either (1) states generally what is expanded afterwards, or (2) describes the first race, and then in what follows sums up the remaining contests of the same day. The plural τέρματα, and the structure of the whole passage, decide the point in favour of (1), making each of the two sentences refer to all the foot-races together. Otherwise (3), supposing the language to be more than usually inexact, the lines may be taken to mean, To tell only a little when there is much to tell, I know no feats to be compared with his. One thing you may know,' etc.
693-695.
mvp-comment-316-1
He received the congratulations of the crowd, being known by proclamation as an Argive, named Orestes, son of Agamemnon, who levied once the famous armament of Hellas.'
693-695.
mvp-comment-316-2
He received the congratulations of the crowd, being known by proclamation as an Argive, named Orestes, son of Agamemnon, who levied once the famous armament of Hellas.'
696-697.
mvp-comment-317-1
ὅταν . . βλάπτῃ] 'But when some god is thwarting.'
696-697.
mvp-comment-317-2
ὅταν . . βλάπτῃ] 'But when some god is thwarting.'
699.
mvp-comment-318-1
ἡλίου τέλλοντος] “At sunrise:' i.e. beginning then.
699.
mvp-comment-318-2
ἡλίου τέλλοντος] “At sunrise:' i.e. beginning then.
702.
mvp-comment-319-1
ζυγωτῶν ἁρμάτων ἐπιστάται] Masters of yoked cars.' Hdt. 4. 189, τέσσερας ἵππους συζευγνύναι παρὰ Λιβύων οἱ Ἕλληνες μεμαθήκασι. Hence, possibly, the position of this general epithet. The fame of Cyrene in chariot-racing is known to us from Pindar.
702.
mvp-comment-319-2
ζυγωτῶν ἁρμάτων ἐπιστάται] Masters of yoked cars.' Hdt. 4. 189, τέσσερας ἵππους συζευγνύναι παρὰ Λιβύων οἱ Ἕλληνες μεμαθήκασι. Hence, possibly, the position of this general epithet. The fame of Cyrene in chariot-racing is known to us from Pindar.
703.
mvp-comment-320-1
Θεσσαλάς] Orestes was exiled from the plain of ῎Αργος ἱππόβοτον, and Phocis was too mountainous for horse-breeding.' The Athenian spectator might here be reminded of his faithful allies, the Thessalian horsemen. The five first mentioned come from Dorian states, the rest being either Ionic or Aeolian. ἐν τούτοισι, ' Enter-
703.
mvp-comment-320-2
Θεσσαλάς] Orestes was exiled from the plain of ῎Αργος ἱππόβοτον, and Phocis was too mountainous for horse-breeding.' The Athenian spectator might here be reminded of his faithful allies, the Thessalian horsemen. The five first mentioned come from Dorian states, the rest being either Ionic or Aeolian. ἐν τούτοισι, 'Enter-
703-706.
mvp-comment-321-1
ing himself with the foregoing,' calls attention to this difference.
703-706.
mvp-comment-321-2
ing himself with the foregoing,' calls attention to this difference.
705-706.
mvp-comment-322-1
The descriptive epithets in this and the next line, while adding vividness to the picture, may have had some special appropriateness that would be felt by the Greek hearer.
705-706.
mvp-comment-322-2
The descriptive epithets in this and the next line, while adding vividness to the picture, may have had some special appropriateness that would be felt by the Greek hearer.
706.
mvp-comment-323-1
Αἰνιάν] Hdt. 7. 132, 198.
706.
mvp-comment-323-2
Αἰνιάν] Hdt. 7. 132, 198.
707.
mvp-comment-324-1
The ornate epithet is reserved for Athens.
707.
mvp-comment-324-2
The ornate epithet is reserved for Athens.
708.
mvp-comment-325-1
δέκατον ἐκπληρῶν ὄχον] ‘Making ten chariots in all.' Cp. Hdt. 9. 30, σὺν δὲ Θεσπιέων τοῖσι παρεοῦσι ἐξεπληροῦντο αἱ ἕνδεκα μυριάδες, -and, for the use of the ordinal numeral, ib. 1. 51, ἕλκων σταθμὸν ἔννατον ἡμιτάλαντον, and the like expressions. There is a slight confusion or condensation of δέκατον ὄχον ἐλαύνων and ἐκπληρῶν τοὺς δέκα ὄχους.
708.
mvp-comment-325-2
δέκατον ἐκπληρῶν ὄχον] ‘Making ten chariots in all.' Cp. Hdt. 9. 30, σὺν δὲ Θεσπιέων τοῖσι παρεοῦσι ἐξεπληροῦντο αἱ ἕνδεκα μυριάδες, -and, for the use of the ordinal numeral, ib. 1. 51, ἕλκων σταθμὸν ἔννατον ἡμιτάλαντον, and the like expressions. There is a slight confusion or condensation of δέκατον ὄχον ἐλαύνων and ἐκπληρῶν τοὺς δέκα ὄχους.
710.
mvp-comment-326-1
'Had set the chariots in order after sorting them with lots.' κλήρους ἔπηλαν would have been a simpler construction, but πάλλειν is used absolutely of casting lots, and then receives the addition of an instrumental dative. Cp.
supr. l. 21, and note. The construction of the whole line is paratactic for πήλαντες κατέστησαν. Essay on L. § 36. p. 68. αὐτούς in the previous line is in a general construction with what follows.
710.
mvp-comment-326-2
'Had set the chariots in order after sorting them with lots.' κλήρους ἔπηλαν would have been a simpler construction, but πάλλειν is used absolutely of casting lots, and then receives the addition of an instrumental dative. Cp.
supr. l. 21, and note. The construction of the whole line is paratactic for πήλαντες κατέστησαν. Essay on L. § 36. p. 68. αὐτούς in the previous line is in a general construction with what follows.
711.
mvp-comment-327-1
ήξαν] 'The start was made.' The verb has a vague subject in which horses, charioteers, and chariots, are included in one notion. Off they went!' Hence in what follows the charioteers are particularized with the demonstrative οἱ.
711.
mvp-comment-327-2
ήξαν] 'The start was made.' The verb has a vague subject in which horses, charioteers, and chariots, are included in one notion. Off they went!' Hence in what follows the charioteers are particularized with the demonstrative οἱ. ἅμα] 'At the same moment;' i. e. All together at the moment of the start.
711-712.
mvp-comment-328-1
ἅμα] 'At the same moment;' i. e. All together at the moment of the start.
714.
mvp-comment-329-1
κροτητῶν] 'Rattling along:' i.e. the parts of each chariot being rattled against each other, and all against the ground, made a din which filled the place. On the use of the verbal adj., see E. on L. § 53. p. 98.
714.
mvp-comment-329-2
κροτητῶν] 'Rattling along:' i.e. the parts of each chariot being rattled against each other, and all against the ground, made a din which filled the place. On the use of the verbal adj., see E. on L. § 53. p. 98.
716-717.
mvp-comment-330-1
ὡς .. ἱππικά] Either (1) Whenever any one of them shot ahead of the axle-ends (of the others) and the snorting of the steeds;' i.e. For the most part they were mingled in a confused throng; but when one drew before the rest, then was the moment of excitement, -for the breath of the foaming steeds immediately behind him was an incentive to make him drive faster still. Or (2) Each of them that he might get away from the wheel-naves and the snorting of the steeds :'- each was eager to escape from the neighbourhood of the rest, so as to have free course. But the following lines, which speak of a rival pursuing
716-717.
mvp-comment-330-2
ὡς .. ἱππικά] Either (1) Whenever any one of them shot ahead of the axle-ends (of the others) and the snorting of the steeds;' i.e. For the most part they were mingled in a confused throng; but when one drew before the rest, then was the moment of excitement, -for the breath of the foaming steeds immediately behind him was an incentive to make him drive faster still. Or (2) Each of them that he might get away from the wheel-naves and the snorting of the steeds :'- each was eager to escape from the neighbourhood of the rest, so as to have free course. But the following lines, which speak of a rival pursuing
717-719.
mvp-comment-331-1
closely in the rear, cannot be equally applicable to all the ten. For the phraseology, cp. Eur. Iph. A. 228-30, οἷς παρεπάλλετο | Πηλείδας σὺν ὅπλοισι παρ᾿ ἄντυγα | καὶ σύριγγας ἁρματείους. (3) Supposing the general sense to be as in (1), χνόας and φρυάγματα may possibly be accusatives of 'limitation,' 'drew ahead with car and team.'
717-719.
mvp-comment-331-2
closely in the rear, cannot be equally applicable to all the ten. For the phraseology, cp. Eur. Iph. A. 228-30, οἷς παρεπάλλετο | Πηλείδας σὺν ὅπλοισι παρ᾿ ἄντυγα | καὶ σύριγγας ἁρματείους. (3) Supposing the general sense to be as in (1), χνόας and φρυάγματα may possibly be accusatives of 'limitation,' 'drew ahead with car and team.'
718-719.
mvp-comment-332-1
For close about his back and whirling wheels the breath of horses cast its foam.' Cp. Il. 23.373- 81, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ πύματον τέλεον δρόμον ὠκέες ἵπποι | .. τότε δὴ ἀρετή γε ἑκάστου | φαίνετ᾽, ἄφαρ δ' ἵπποισι τάθη δρόμος· ὦκα δ' ἔπειτα | αἱ Φηρητιάδαο ποδώκεες ἔκφερον ἵπποι. | τὰς δὲ μετ᾿ ἐξέφερον Διομήδεος ἄρσενες ἵπποι, | Τρώϊοι, οὐδέ τι πολλὸν ἄνευθ᾽ ἔσαν, ἀλλὰ μάλ᾽ ἐγγύς· αἰεὶ γὰρ δίφρου ἐπιβησομένοισιν ἐἰκτην, | πνοιῇ τ᾿ Εὐμήλοιο μετάφρενον εὐρέε τ᾿ ὤμα | θέρμετ᾽· ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ γὰρ κεφαλὰς καταθέντε πετέσθην.
718-719.
mvp-comment-332-2
For close about his back and whirling wheels the breath of horses cast its foam.' Cp. Il. 23.373- 81, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ πύματον τέλεον δρόμον ὠκέες ἵπποι | .. τότε δὴ ἀρετή γε ἑκάστου | φαίνετ᾽, ἄφαρ δ' ἵπποισι τάθη δρόμος· ὦκα δ' ἔπειτα | αἱ Φηρητιάδαο ποδώκεες ἔκφερον ἵπποι. | τὰς δὲ μετ᾿ ἐξέφερον Διομήδεος ἄρσενες ἵπποι, | Τρώϊοι, οὐδέ τι πολλὸν ἄνευθ᾽ ἔσαν, ἀλλὰ μάλ᾽ ἐγγύς· αἰεὶ γὰρ δίφρου ἐπιβησομένοισιν ἐἰκτην, | πνοιῇ τ᾿ Εὐμήλοιο μετάφρενον εὐρέε τ᾿ ὤμα | θέρμετ᾽· ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ γὰρ κεφαλὰς καταθέντε πετέσθην.
720.
mvp-comment-333-1
κεῖνος] Orestes. ὑπ᾿ αὐτὴν . . ἔχων] 'Driving close under the last pillar.' ἐσχάτην, i. e. at the extreme end of the spina. ἔχων] Sc. τοὺς ἵππους.
720.
mvp-comment-333-2
κεῖνος] Orestes. ὑπ᾿ αὐτὴν . . ἔχων] 'Driving close under the last pillar.' ἐσχάτην, i. e. at the extreme end of the spina. ἔχων] Sc. τοὺς ἵππους.
721.
mvp-comment-334-1
ἔχριμπτ᾿ ἀεὶ σύριγγα] ‘Grazed the nave of his wheel every time:' i.e. all but made it touch, or seemed to graze-real contact is of course not meant.
721.
mvp-comment-334-2
ἔχριμπτ᾿ ἀεὶ σύριγγα] ‘Grazed the nave of his wheel every time:' i.e. all but made it touch, or seemed to graze-real contact is of course not meant.
721-722.
mvp-comment-335-1
δεξιὸν .. προσκείμενον] 'And, letting go the trace-horse on the right, held in the one that was nearest to the inside of the course.' The two σειραῖοι ἵπποι, so called because not harnessed to the yoke but attached by traces right and left, were practically the leaders of the τέθριππον, or team; and their movements at the critical moment of turning the goal were of the greatest consequence. Cp. Eur. Iph. A. 221-4, τοὺς μὲν μέσους ζυγίους, | .. τοὺς δ᾽ ἔξω σειροφόρους, | ἀντήρεις καμπαῖσι δρόμων. They must be supposed to know their duty, and only to need a reminder from the charioteer, who holds each of them by a single rein (single, i.e. in his hand). The language of the present passage proves that the direction of the running was from right to left, and the δεξιός σειραῖος had consequently to describe a larger semicircle while the 'near' horse was making the turn. That the right hand horse may perform this movement successfully and thus swing the chariot round without mishap, the charioteer gives him the rein, and at the same time holds in the left-hand trace-horse, who, as nearest to the goal, is called προσκείμενος. As soon as this evolution is accomplished, however, the driver must slacken again the left-hand rein, so that both steeds may cover the θάτερον κῶλον of the race-course with equal strides. And if from over-eagerness he does this an instant too soon, he is obviously in great danger of striking the nave of the left-hand wheel against the goal, because the horse when let go will instinctively 'cut off a corner' and pull the car along a chord of the circle instead of completing the arc. This is what is supposed to happen to Orestes,
infr. 743-5. (So Wecklein also explains.)
721-722.
mvp-comment-335-2
δεξιὸν .. προσκείμενον] 'And, letting go the trace-horse on the right, held in the one that was nearest to the inside of the course.' The two σειραῖοι ἵπποι, so called because not harnessed to the yoke but attached by traces right and left, were practically the leaders of the τέθριππον, or team; and their movements at the critical moment of turning the goal were of the greatest consequence. Cp. Eur. Iph. A. 221-4, τοὺς μὲν μέσους ζυγίους, | .. τοὺς δ᾽ ἔξω σειροφόρους, | ἀντήρεις καμπαῖσι δρόμων. They must be supposed to know their duty, and only to need a reminder from the charioteer, who holds each of them by a single rein (single, i.e. in his hand). The language of the present passage proves that the direction of the running was from right to left, and the δεξιός σειραῖος had consequently to describe a larger semicircle while the 'near' horse was making the turn. That the right hand horse may perform this movement successfully and thus swing the chariot round without mishap, the charioteer gives him the rein, and at the same time holds in the left-hand trace-horse, who, as nearest to the goal, is called προσκείμενος. As soon as this evolution is accomplished, however, the driver must slacken again the left-hand rein, so that both steeds may cover the θάτερον κῶλον of the race-course with equal strides. And if from over-eagerness he does this an instant too soon, he is obviously in great danger of striking the nave of the left-hand wheel against the goal, because the horse when let go will instinctively 'cut off a corner' and pull the car along a chord of the circle instead of completing the arc. This is what is supposed to happen to Orestes,
infr. 743-5. (So Wecklein also explains.)
725.
mvp-comment-336-1
βίᾳ φέρουσιν] Sc. τὸ ἅρμα, 'Became unmanageable.' Essay on L. §53. p. 98. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 1224.
725.
mvp-comment-336-2
βίᾳ φέρουσιν] Sc. τὸ ἅρμα, 'Became unmanageable.' Essay on L. §53. p. 98. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 1224.
725-726.
mvp-comment-337-1
ἐκ δ᾽ ὑποστροφῆς] Either (1) 'After turning the goal,' or (2) 'Having turned sharply aside.' See next note.
725-726.
mvp-comment-337-2
ἐκ δ᾽ ὑποστροφῆς] Either (1) 'After turning the goal,' or (2) 'Having turned sharply aside.' See next note.
726.
mvp-comment-338-1
When finishing the sixth and now (running) the seventh course.' Not τελοῦντες, but a more general word, e.g. θέοντες, is to be supplied with ἔβδομον. Essay on L. § 36. pp. 65, 6, 2. The grammatical irregularity assists the graphic effect. The scene changes while it is being described. Ср. О. С. 1648-50, ἐξαπείδομεν | τὸν ἄνδρα, τὸν μὲν οὐδαμοῦ παρόντ᾽ ἔτι, | ἄνακτα δ᾽ αὐτόν, κ.τ.λ., and note. The masculine τελοῦντες either (1) implies that the white horses of the Aenian were, like those of Diomede in Il. 23 (1. c.
supr. 718, 9), ἄρσενες ἵπποι, - which may part account for their behaviour; or (2) τελοῦντες is a nominative absolute having for subject the charioteers collectively. This line seems at first sight to support the former interpretation (1) of l. 725, ἐκ δ᾽ ὑποστροφής. But the point in the course is sufficiently indicated without such an addition; and in the other sense (2) the phrase forms a suitable preparation for l. 727. The imagination is assisted if we suppose these chariots to be somewhat wide of the goal, so that one of them might face about without striking the στήλη. In μέτωπα, as in κάρα
infr. 740, the chariot and horses are thought of together as a single object. The accident happens just when the race is half finished, -six of the twelve customary courses having being run. Cp. Pind. O1. 2. 88-90, Πυθῶνι . . Χάριτες ἄνθεα τεθρίππων δυωκαιδεκαδρόμων | ἄγαγον.
726.
mvp-comment-338-2
When finishing the sixth and now (running) the seventh course.' Not τελοῦντες, but a more general word, e.g. θέοντες, is to be supplied with ἔβδομον. Essay on L. § 36. pp. 65, 6, 2. The grammatical irregularity assists the graphic effect. The scene changes while it is being described. Ср. О. С. 1648-50, ἐξαπείδομεν | τὸν ἄνδρα, τὸν μὲν οὐδαμοῦ παρόντ᾽ ἔτι, | ἄνακτα δ᾽ αὐτόν, κ.τ.λ., and note. The masculine τελοῦντες either (1) implies that the white horses of the Aenian were, like those of Diomede in Il. 23 (1. c.
supr. 718, 9), ἄρσενες ἵπποι, - which may part account for their behaviour; or (2) τελοῦντες is a nominative absolute having for subject the charioteers collectively. This line seems at first sight to support the former interpretation (1) of 1. 725, ἐκ δ᾽ ὑποστροφής. But the point in the course is sufficiently indicated without such an addition; and in the other sense (2) the phrase forms a suitable preparation for 1. 727. The imagination is assisted if we suppose these chariots to be somewhat wide of the goal, so that one of them might face about without striking the στήλη. In μέτωπα, as in κάρα
infr. 740, the chariot and horses are thought of together as a single object. The accident happens just when the race is half finished, -six of the twelve customary courses having being run. Cp. Pind. O1. 2. 88-90, Πυθῶνι . . Χάριτες ἄνθεα τεθρίππων δυωκαιδεκαδρόμων | ἄγαγον.
731.
mvp-comment-339-1
The Athenian charioteer is represented as the most skilful. It is obvious how this is calculated to sustain the interest of the audience. See also ll. 738-40.
731.
mvp-comment-339-2
The Athenian charioteer is represented as the most skilful. It is obvious how this is calculated to sustain the interest of the audience. See also 11. 738-40.
732-733.
mvp-comment-340-1
Pulls aside out of the way and heaves to, letting go by the surge of horses and their riders that was boiling there.' Not content with the hyperbole in
supr. 730, the Old Man adds this yet stronger expression. See above, note on 680 foll.
732-733.
mvp-comment-340-2
Pulls aside out of the way and heaves to, letting go by the surge of horses and their riders that was boiling there.' Not content with the hyperbole in
supr. 730, the Old Man adds this yet stronger expression. See above, note on 680 foll.
734-735.
mvp-comment-341-1
'Now Orestes was driving last, holding his horses back, relying on the finish.' There were six courses yet to be. See note on 726,
supr. According to this reading the participial clause is explanatory of ἤλαυνε, and μέν points forward, opposing the position of Orestes before and after he saw that the Athenian alone was left. Some MSS. read ὑστέρας δ', opposing ἔσχατος to ὑστέρας ἔχων πώλους. He was last, indeed, but was holding back.'
734-735.
mvp-comment-341-2
'Now Orestes was driving last, holding his horses back, relying on the finish.' There were six courses yet to be. See note on 726,
supr. According to this reading the participial clause is explanatory of ἤλαυνε, and μέν points forward, opposing the position of Orestes before and after he saw that the Athenian alone was left. Some MSS. read ὑστέρας δ', opposing ἔσχατος to ὑστέρας ἔχων πώλους. He was last, indeed, but was holding back.'
736.
mvp-comment-342-1
When Orestes saw that the Athenian remained alone.' So Mr. Paley, rightly.
737-738.
mvp-comment-343-1
ὀξὺν . . διώκει] • He urged his swift steeds vehemently with shouts that pierced their ears, and makes for him.' ἐνσείειν is a vivid word (Essay on L. § 56. p. 102) which is more properly applicable to hurling hounds at game, throwing an attacking force into a town, etc. Cp. Eur. Or. 255, 6, ὦ μῆτερ, ἱκετεύω σε, μὴ πίσειε μοι | τὰς αἱματωποὺς καὶ δρακοντώδεις κόρας.
738-739.
mvp-comment-344-1
κἀξισώσαντε ζυγὰ | ἠλαυνέτην] 'And now they were yoke by yoke, and on they drave.'
739-740.
mvp-comment-345-1
τότ᾿ ἄλλος . . ὀχημάτων] 'Now one, and then the other drawing ahead.' κάρα is used analogically of man, car, and steeds, considered as one object; and the genitive ἱππικῶν ὀχημάτων is added to make this clear. (Not 'Putting his head forth from the car.') For the variation of the language in τότε-ἄλλοτε, ἄλλος - ἅτερος, cp. Trach. 457, δέδοικας . . ταρβεῖς.
741.
mvp-comment-346-1
It is implied that Orestes' fall took place in the middle of the twelfth and last course.
742.
mvp-comment-347-1
The ill-starred youth stood safely on a steady car.'
743-745.
mvp-comment-348-1
Then in slackening the left-hand rein while the horse was making the turn, unawares he struck the edge of the goal and splintered the end of his axle-tree.' Cp.
supr. 721, 2, and note. The horse making the turn is ὁ προσκείμενος.
746-747.
mvp-comment-349-1
κἀξ ἀντύγων .. τμητοῖς ἱμᾶσι] And in a moment he had slipped over the rim of the chariot, and was rolled along together with it by means of the sharp-cut thongs.' Here it must be borne in mind that the reins were passed round the body of the charioteer, as, for instance, in the marble reliefs in the 'Sala della Biga' in the Vatican. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 1221, 2. This point has not escaped Mr. Browning :-' The prince around his body flung the rein.' Artemis Prologizes. Hence, when the body of the chariot was arrested by some sudden obstacle, instead of being jerked from his grasp, they would pull him over the ἄντυξ, and would drag him when the car was again in motion. σύν, sc. ταῖς ἵπποις οι τῷ ἅρματι. ἱμᾶσι is dative of the instrument. τμητοῖς, lit. 'cut,' is suggestive of the sharp edges of the reins. Cp.
infr. 862, τμητοῖς ὁλκοῖς ἐγκύρσαι.
748.
mvp-comment-350-1
διεσπάρησαν ἐς μέσον δρόμον]
748.
mvp-comment-350-2
'Plunged wildly about the course.' μέσον, SC. ἐν μέσῳ τῶν θεατῶν, vaguely distinguishes the field generally from the line of running. διεσπάρησαν, lit. 'were scattered,' is used inaccurately to suggest aimless movement.
749.
mvp-comment-351-1
στρατός] 'The assembly.' Cp. Aesch. Eum. 762, χώρᾳ τῇδε καὶ τῷ σῷ στρατῷ.
752-753.
mvp-comment-352-1
φορούμενος προφαίνων] 'As he was dragged upon the ground, and now and then his legs were pointed to the sky.' The opposition with ἄλλοτε is suggested as the description proceeds. Hence not ἄλλοτε ἄλλοτε.
753.
mvp-comment-353-1
διφρηλάται] Some of the charioteers from the other chariots, who had been thrown, but not seriously hurt.
758.
mvp-comment-354-1
μέγιστον σῶμα δειλαίας σποδοῦ] His mighty frame reduced to' (lit. consisting of) hapless dust.' See E. on L. § 10. p. 17, 6. On the supposed great stature of Orestes, see Hdt. 1. 68, where his bones are found at Tegea :-ἐπέτυχον σόρῳ ἑπταπήχεϊ .. καὶ εἶδον τὸν νεκρὸν μήκεϊ ἴσον ἔοντα τῷ σόρῳ.
760.
mvp-comment-355-1
ἐκλάχοι] The mood depends on the idea of past time contained either in φέρουσι . . τεταγμένοι, i.e. ἐτάχθησαν φέρειν, or in the whole of the previous sentence.
761.
mvp-comment-356-1
τοιαῦτα . . ἐστίν] Cp. Ant. 37, οὕτως ἔχει σοι ταῦτα, and note. ὡς μὲν ἐν λόγῳ] 'In description, indeed;' ὡς is pleonastic. Cp. О. С. 15, ὡς ἀπ᾿ ὀμμάτων.
764.
mvp-comment-357-1
δεσπόταισι] δεσπότης is not used elsewhere of an Hellenic ruler. Can Sophocles have forgotten for a moment that the Chorus were freewomen (
infr. 1227)? Or should the speech be given to an οἰκέτης?
765.
mvp-comment-358-1
Cp. Hdt. 6. 86, Γλαύκου νῦν οὔτε ἀπόγονόν ἐστι οὐδέν,.. ἐκτέτριπταί τε πρόρριζος ἐκ Σπάρτης.
766-768.
mvp-comment-359-1
Clytemnestra is awed for the moment, and her profound relief is mingled with a pang of sorrow.
770.
mvp-comment-360-1
δεινὸν . . ἐστίν] 'Motherhood has strange power.'
770-771.
mvp-comment-361-1
κακῶς | πάσχοντι] She regards herself as ill-treated by Orestes, because she knew that he would avenge his father if he could. Cp.
supr. 293 foll., 603 foll.,
infr. 779.
771.
mvp-comment-362-1
ὧν τέκῃ] ἄv is omitted. See Essay on L. § 27. P. 45.
772.
mvp-comment-363-1
μάτην .. ἥκομεν] 'I have made a mistake in coming;' i.e. I see that I have given no satisfaction, and therefore shall receive no reward.
775.
mvp-comment-364-1
τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς γεγώς] 'Sprung from my very life.' For this pathetic use of ψυχή, cp. Aesch. Cho. 749, τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς τριβήν. Το mark the horror of the situation she expresses Orestes' original nearness to her in the strongest manner. Cp. Shak. Macbeth, 2. 3, 'The near in blood, The nearer bloody.'
776.
mvp-comment-365-1
μαστῶν . . ἐμῆς] 'Going aloof from my breast that gave him suck.' The words μαστῶν καὶ τροφῆς are used figuratively for the debt of obligation due from a son to his mother. Orestes at the time of Agamemnon's death must have been at least ten years old.
780-781.
mvp-comment-366-1
ὥστ᾽ οὔτε νυκτός. . ἡδύν] 'So that I have no rest by night, nor can I snatch from the day a sweet moment of repose to enfold me.' στεγάζειν is adapted to ἐξ ἡμέρας-some more general word, such as ἴσχειν, being understood with νυκτός. ἐξ implies that the time is taken from the day, and would not naturally be given to sleep. ἡδύν means, if I do fall asleep, I am terrified with dreams;' i.e. I can neither sleep comfortably at night, nor take a quiet nap in the day-time.
781-782.
mvp-comment-367-1
ἀλλ᾽ ὁ προστατῶν.. θανουμένην] But Time ever standing over me was a jailor who conducted me to death. The inversion (for χρόνον διῆ-
782-784.
mvp-comment-368-1
yov, see Essay on L. § 42. p. 80 ß) is here forcible in personifying χρόνος. For προστατῶν, instans, cp. Aesch. Agam. 976, δείγμα προστατήριον.
783-784.
mvp-comment-369-1
But then, to-day's event has rid me once for all of fears from him and her.' The suppressed or deferred apodosis is resumed in 1. 786. In τῆσδ᾽ ἐκείνου θ' the more emphatic pronoun is put first.
784-785.
mvp-comment-370-1
ἥδε γὰρ . . ἦν μοι] For she, dwelling under the same roof, has been a greater bane to me.' οὖσα must be supplied either with βλάβη or with ξύνοικος, and μοι belongs to both.
785-786.
mvp-comment-371-1
τοὐμὸν αἷμα] 'Incessantly draining my very life-blood.' ἄκρατον πιεῖν, 'to drink wine unqualified,' seems to have become a synonym for hard drinking. Cp. Od. 9. 297, ἀνδρόμεα κρέ᾽ ἔδων καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἄκρητον γάλα πίνων: Aesch. Cho. 577, 8, φόνου δ' Ἐρινὺς οὐχ ὑπεσπανισμένη | ἄκρατον αἷμα πίεται, τρίτην πόσιν. The force of the adjective here is simply intensive. The addition of ψυχῆς marks the figurative nature of the expression.
791.
mvp-comment-372-1
οὔτοι σύ] Sc. ἔχεις καλῶς. 'You are not as I would wish you,'- viz. dead.
792.
mvp-comment-373-1
Either (1) Clytemnestra takes the word Νέμεσι alone, ignoring the qualification, 'Nemesis' (the spirit of just allotment) has heard those whom she ought to hear and has nobly ratified their prayer.' Or (2) she implies a different use of the genitive, as the ἀλάστωρ ᾿Ατρέως in Aesch. Ag. 1501, 2, is the Spirit of Vengeance for the crime of Atreus; so here the Νέμεσις τοῦ θανόντος might be the Spirit which has paid him what was due. But (1) is more probable.
795.
mvp-comment-374-1
Mr. Paley reads οὔκουν with a full stop after τάδε. But the reply of Electra suits better with the ironical question, 'You and Orestes will stop my insolence, will you not?'
797-798.
mvp-comment-375-1
Your coming, stranger, is like to prove most worthy of reward, if you have indeed put an end to her loud outcry.' ἂν ἥκοις = ἥκεις, ὡς
798-803.
mvp-comment-376-1
ἔοικαs, an objective being put for a subjective probability, as in the well. known idiom with μέλλω. Cp. Ο. Τ. 1182, τὰ πάντ᾽ ἂν ἐξήκοι σαφῆ: Aj. 186, ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος, -and notes, -
infr. 1372, 3. εἰ is here used with the aor. indicative (aor. of immediate past) as elsewhere with the present, to introduce a supposition that is regarded as certain. For el with aor. indicative, of that which is granted or assumed, cp. Aesch. Pers. 217, εἴ τι φλαῦρον εἶδες. (So Ellendt, 'Siquidem effecisti, etc.')
800.
mvp-comment-377-1
ἐπείπερ] Ο. C. 75, 6, ἐπείπερ εἶ | γενναῖος, ὡς ἰδόντι. καταξίως] The use of the optative without av may be defended by supposing a resumption from the preceding line. Paley's ἐπεὶ τὰν .. καταξίως is preferable to Bothe's κατάξι ἄν. Another MS. reading, κατ᾿ ἀξίαν, is also possible.
803.
mvp-comment-378-1
φίλων] Orestes, including perhaps the death of Agamemnon.' Paley. Rather, including the destruction of the remaining hope that Agamemnon might be avenged. At this point Clytemnestra and the Paedagogus enter the house, and Electra is left alone upon the stage.
809.
mvp-comment-379-1
ἀποσπάσας . οἴχει] 'In thy departure thou hast torn away.' For the familiar phrase, cp. O. C. 866, ψιλὸν ὄμμ᾽ ἀποσπάσας . . ἐξοίχει.
811.
mvp-comment-380-1
Orestes was to come to the aid both of his father and sister:-i.e. to avenge his father and reinstate his sister. But the notions are not distinguished, for vengeance is regarded as a kind of aid. Cp.
infr. 1392, ἀρωγός.
812.
mvp-comment-381-1
ποῖ με χρὴ μολεῖν] ‘Whither must I turn?' Cp. Aj. 1006, ποῖ γὰρ μολεῖν μοι δυνατόν, εἰς ποίους βροτούς;
814-816.
mvp-comment-382-1
Cp.
supr. 263 foll.,
infr. 1190 foll.
816.
mvp-comment-383-1
ἀράμοι καλῶς ἔχει] 'Isit well with me, then?' The repetition of the words used above, 1. 790, may be accidental (Essay on L. § 44. p. 82), but may also, as Mr. Paley suggests, refer to
supr. 791. This is rather confirmed by the repetition of ξύνοικος in what follows, echoing
supr. 785; i.e. 'I wonder if they will be contented now I am reduced to this! But at all events I will not trouble them henceforth by dwelling with them.'
817.
mvp-comment-384-1
τοῦ λοιποῦ χρόνου] ‘For any portion of the time to come.' Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 5.
818.
mvp-comment-385-1
Hermann's suggestion, adopted in the text, affords a probable, though by no means certain, emendation of this line. ξύνοικος must be taken in a slightly pregnant or proleptic sense= ὥστε ξύνοικος εἶναι.
818-819.
mvp-comment-386-1
τῇδε πρὸς πύλῃ βίον] ' I will let myself drop beside the gate and, without a friend, here wither my life away. She sinks into a half-recumbent attitude and remains so until the beginning of the commos. Sappho, Fr. 17, παρ δ᾽ ἱεῖσαι πτερά: Tennyson's Elaine, 'She slipped like water to the floor.' Mr. Paley calls this sensational.' But it is not more so than the death of Ajax, than Heracles (Trach. 1079, 80) unveiling his wounds than Oedipus appearing with eyes still bleeding, etc. The question is whether 11. 820-2, being spoken in this posture, may not be appropriate to this critical moment of darkness before dawn.'
820.
mvp-comment-387-1
εἰ βαρύνεται] Clytemnestra had spoken impatiently of the vexation of having Electra in the house with her,
supr. 784. 5. Electra now says, 'If her lying at the gate is a vexation to any one, let them put her out of the way, and welcome!'
823-869.
mvp-comment-388-1
In this short commos, in which the broken lines are expressive of intense feeling, the several members of the Chorus, with the exception of the Coryphaeus, who, having spoken in 11. 764, 5, remains in silent sympathy with Electra, attempt to rouse her from her utter despair, partly with consolation and partly with expressions of pity. But she is, if possible, more inconsolable than before. The metres are as follows:-
823-826.
mvp-comment-389-1
Orestes being dead and his father unavenged, the Powers of Heaven themselves must interfere. The sun must surely see this iniquity, the lightning must descend to punish it.
826.
mvp-comment-390-1
κρύπτουσιν] Either (1) sc. ἑαυτούς, 'They They hide themselves.' Cp. κεύθω. Or (2) sc. τὸ ἐφορᾶν: i.e. 'If seeing this they make as if they saw not, and remain unmoved.' Cp. Hom. H. 26. 7, where there is a similar doubt.
828-830.
mvp-comment-391-1
The words intended for consolation only wring a cry from Electra, and when asked the reason, she answers with a louder cry: on which the Chorus deprecate this excess of sorrow. μηδέν is adverbial, and μέγα cognate accusative. Cp. Aj. 1066, μηδὲν δεινὸν ἐξάρῃς μένος.
831.
mvp-comment-392-1
ἀπολεῖς] Electra, when asked the reason of her weeping, and told not to cry aloud, can only understand this as a suggestion that Orestes is alive.
834-836.
mvp-comment-393-1
If you will suggest a hope concerning one who is manifestly gone below, you will but press with heavier weight against my pining soul.' For the genitive τῶν.. οἰχομένων, see Essay on L. § 9. p. 13, 3, and ib. p. 12, 2. In ὑποίσεις, ὑπο is used as in ὑπεῖπον, - φέρω as in προφέρω.
836.
mvp-comment-394-1
ἐπεμβάσει contains a metaphor from trampling on the fallen. Cp.
supr. 456: Aj. 1348, οὐ γὰρ θανόντι καὶ προσεμβῆναί σε χρή : and κατά, 'against,' gives additional point to the expression. Essay on L. § 19. p. 27.
837-838.
mvp-comment-395-1
The Chorus adduce another reason for taking comfort even if Orestes be no more. The gods have not forgotten Amphiaraus, and they will not forget Agamemnon. The sudden disappearance of the prophet during the flight of the Argive host from Thebes, would naturally make a strong impression upon the Argive people.
837.
mvp-comment-396-1
ἄνακτ] Cp. Ο. Τ. 284, ἄνακτ᾿ ἄνακτι ταῦθ᾽ ὁρῶντ᾽ ἐπίσταμαι, κ.τ.λ.
838-839.
mvp-comment-397-1
χρυσοδέτοις . . γυναικών] 'Lost to sight through female snares depending on a golden chain.' χρυσοδέτοις ἔρκεσι is a condensed expression (Essay on L. pp. 39, 81) in which ἕρκεσι suggests both the entangling influence of Eriphyle and the necklace given to her by Adrastus. (So Wecklein.) In this case ἕρκεσι denotes that the necklace was indirectly an instrument of Adrastus' cunning. But it may be questioned whether such a complex association is possible. Perhaps ἔρμασι should be read, in the general sense of a woman's ornament. Cp. Od. 18. 297, ἔρματα δ᾽ Εὐρυδάμαντι δύω θεράποντες ἔνεικαν | τρίγληνα μορόεντα· χάρις δ' ἀπελάμπετο πολλή. See L. and S. s. v. ἔρμα ΙΙΙ.
840.
mvp-comment-398-1
Here Electra thinks of both her father and Orestes.
841.
mvp-comment-399-1
πάμψυχος ἀνάσσει] ‘He wields authority with mighty spirit unimpaired.' The prophet Amphiaraus is imagined as, like the prophet Teiresias, retaining all his faculties in the under-world. (So Wecklein: 'Unter der Erde aber lebte er mit vollem Leben und Bewusztsein fort und offenbarte dies durch Orakel und Heilung von Kranken. Cic. de Div. 1. 40.') From this the Chorus argue that the spirit of Agamemnon too will yet make his power to be felt.
843.
mvp-comment-400-1
φεῦ δῆτ᾽.. ὀλοὰ γάρ] The connection is difficult, and Wecklein reads μάν for γάρ. If γάρ is retained, the Chorus must be supposed to give a different turn to the interjection. Electra, thinking of her father, dwells on the sadness of Amphiaraus' death. The Choreutes, who interposes, reflects on the sadness of the whole story, including the death of Eriphyle by the hand of her son Alcmaeon (which Sophocles made the subject of a tragedy). 'Woe, indeed, you may cry! For the wretched (or baneful) woman-' Electra instantly perceives the drift, and quickly interrupts, in a tone of momentary triumph, -' Was overpowered!' Then, recollecting that he who should have done Alcmaeon's part for her is now no more, she relapses into despair.
846.
mvp-comment-401-1
μελέτωρ ἀμφὶ τὸν ἐν πένθει] 'One to care for him who was then mourned for.' ἐν πένθει is here used passively, not as
supr. 290. Cp. ἐν λόγοις.
848.
mvp-comment-402-1
φροῦδος ἀναρπασθείς] Is snatched away from the earth.' See note on Aj. 1192, ὄφελεν αἰθέρα δῦναι μέγαν, and note.
849.
mvp-comment-403-1
New misery finds thee in thy misery.'
850-852.
mvp-comment-404-1
I know that all too well, taught by a weight of fearful horror, that month by month accumulates.' Time is conceived as drawing in his train an ever-increasing burden of pollution and grief. For δεινῶν . . ἀχέων, which is unmetrical, Hermann proposed δεινῶν στυγνῶν τ᾽ αἰῶνι,-Prof. Lushington has suggested δεινῶν* τε στυγνῶν τ' *ἄχθει, which is adopted in the text. Hermann's reading means, 'In a life which month by month accumulates horror and pollution.'
854-855.
mvp-comment-405-1
μή . . παραγάγῃς] 'Draw me not aside,' as they had done for a moment by reminding her of the fate of Eriphyle.
855.
mvp-comment-406-1
ἵν'] ‘In a state of things wherein- Cp.
supr. 22, ἵν᾿ οὐκέτ᾽ ὀκνεῖν καιρός.
857-858.
mvp-comment-407-1
(οὐ) πάρεισιν .. ἀρωγαί] 'There is no longer within call the aid of hopes that rest on common birth from a most noble sire.' The language is much condensed: i.e. ἀρωγαὶ ἐν ἐλπίδι γιγνόμεναι ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐπατρίδου καὶ κοινοτόκου, sc. Ὀρέστου. See Essay on L. § 43. p. 81.
859.
mvp-comment-408-1
ἔφυ] « Is ordained by Nature.' For φῦναι, of divine appointment, cp. Ο. C. 1443, 4, ταῦτα δ' ἐν τῷ δαίμονι | καὶ τῇδε φῦναι χἀτέρᾳ.
861-863.
mvp-comment-409-1
'Is it likewise decreed by Nature to fall, as my poor brother did, on a sharp dragging-instrument amid swift-racing hoofs? For the lyrical use of the abstract word ὁλκός, cp. Eur. Ion 144, 5, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκπαύσω γὰρ μόχθους | δάφνας ὁλκοῖς. On τμητοῖς see above, note on 747.
864.
mvp-comment-410-1
ἄσκοπος ὁ λώβα] ‘The ruin is beyond thought; ' i.e. either (1) 'greater than can be conceived,' or (2) 'greater than could have been imagined beforehand.' For ἄσκοπος, cp. Aj. 21, and note; and see Essay on L. § 51. p. 96. The Scholiast says ἀπροόρατος ὁ θάνατος, and with this some interpreters are satisfied.
865-870.
mvp-comment-411-1
'Indeed it is unimaginable :- to think that he is hidden from the light of day, without my hands-Cho. Alas!-El. to deck his corpse and bury him, without our voices to lament for him!'
866.
mvp-comment-412-1
ἄτερ ἐμᾶν χερῶν] Cp.
infr. 1141, ἐν ξέναισι χερσὶ κηδευθείς: Ant. 900-3 (Antigone had the consolation which is denied to Electra).
871.
mvp-comment-413-1
What seems the illusion of Chrysothemis only adds poignancy to Electra's sorrow. Sophocles here modifies the well-known incident of the curl found at the tomb. The Electra of Aeschylus is moved by seeing the hair and the other signs of Orestes, but is incredulous when he himself appears. The Electra of Sophocles has heard and believed the news of his death, and disbelieves the signs of him, which her weaker sister has seen. Chrysothemis holding the lock from Orestes' head before Electra, who believes him to be no more, makes one of those contrasts by which Sophocles impresses the situation on the mind of the spectator.
871.
mvp-comment-413-2
διώκομαι] 'I am driven,' or 'impelled.' See L. and S. s. ν. διώκω, III. 1.
874.
mvp-comment-414-1
εἶχες] Αj. 203, ἔχομεν στοναχάς.
875-876.
mvp-comment-415-1
And where should you find relief for my woes, in which no possibility of healing is to be found?' 'σύ, always emphatic,.. with something of contemptuous incredulity.' Paley. Chrysothemis is the last person from whom Electra looks for real help.
878.
mvp-comment-416-1
ἐναργῶς.. ἐμέ] 'Unmistakably, even as you see me before you.' ἐναργῶς is stronger than σαφῶς.
879.
mvp-comment-417-1
For ἐπί, cp.
infr. 1230, 1, ὁρῶμεν, ὦ παῖ, κἀπὶ συμφοραῖσί μοι | γεγηθός ἔρπει δάκρυον ὀμμάτων ἄπο. Electra supposes that Chrysothemis must have heard of Orestes' death. This, she reminds her sister, is a sorrow common to them both.
882.
mvp-comment-418-1
ὡς παρόντα νῷν] Sc. λέγω. Cp.
supr. 317, 18, and note.
883.
mvp-comment-419-1
καὶ τίνος . . ἄγαν] • Who then in the world has told you this, that you believe in it so firmly?'-i.e. in spite of all that we have heard. καί introduces the question with indignant surprise, as in καὶ πῶς. Cp. Αj. 462, 3, καὶ ποῖον ὄμμα, κ.τ.λ.
885.
mvp-comment-420-1
The attraction of gender in
885-886.
mvp-comment-421-1
ἄλλης is no sufficient reason for rejecting the Laurentian reading here. With ἐξ ἐμοῦ in the answer of Chrysothemis ἰδοῦσα takes the place of εἰσακούσασα.
887-888.
mvp-comment-422-1
ἐς τί μοι.. πυρί] 'On what object have you fixed your gaze that has infected you with this fatal fever?' (Mr. Paley doubts whether is τι.. βλέψ. means, What hope have you conceived?' or 'What object have you seen?' But, surely, both meanings are included:What have you seen that has led you to conceive hope?') For fire as an image of passionate illusion, cp. Pind. Pyth. 4. 388, 9. ὄφρα Μηδείας τοκίων ἀφέλοιτ' αἰδῶ, ποθεινὰ δ᾽ Ἑλλὰς αὐτὰν | ἐν φρεσὶ καιομέναν δονέοι μάστιγι πειθούς.
891.
mvp-comment-423-1
εἴ σοι ἡδονή] i. e. εἴ πως ἥδει τῷ λέγειν. This is spoken in a tone of languid and supreme indifference.
893.
mvp-comment-424-1
πατρὸς ἀρχαῖον τάφον] 'The ancient sepulchre, where our father is laid.' The word ἀρχαῖος properly applies to the burial place of the kings of Argos, in which Agamemnon was laid. Sophocles seems to conceive of this as a mound with a κρηπίς of stone, of which a certain portion (θήκη) was marked off as containing the body of Agamemnon. The libation was poured high up on the mound, so as to flow down over this portion of the πυρά, or burial-site; the flowers were arranged so as to decorate the θήκη ᾿Αγαμέμνονος; the lock of hair was placed near the edge of the πυρά. But in explaining the details of the description we are left almost entirely to conjecture.
894.
mvp-comment-425-1
κολώνης ἐξ ἄκρας] Either (1) flowing from the summit, or (2) just below the summit, -cp. Ant. 411, ἄκρων ἐκ πάγων.
895.
mvp-comment-426-1
For πηγάς, cp. O. C. 479,- (χέω τάδε;) τρισσάς γε πηγάς.
895-896.
mvp-comment-427-1
περιστεφῆ.. ἀνθέων] Cp.О.Т. 83, πολυστεφὴς.. δάφνης, and note.
898.
mvp-comment-428-1
· ἐγχρίμπτει, which has some authority, is an equally good reading.' Paley. The subjunctive is more expressive of apprehension.
899.
mvp-comment-429-1
ἐν γαλήνῃ] Sc. οὖσαν. Essay on L. § 23. p. 38. For the sense, cp. Hdt. 1. 45. § 4, ἐπεί τε ἡσυχίη τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγένετο περὶ τὸ σῆμα.
900-901.
mvp-comment-430-1
ἐσχάτης.. πυρᾶς] ‘Towards the edge of the grave.' For this genitive = πρὸς .. πυρᾶς, cp.
supr. 78, 324, and notes, and see Essay on L. § 10. p. 15.46. It is difficult to give a more particular explanation of its use in this passage. Either the curl showed itself from the edge, where it lay; or it lay somewhere near the edge, not exactly on it.
901.
mvp-comment-431-1
νεώρη . . τετμημένον] Α fresh curl newly shorn.' The participle is added in further definition of νεώρη.
902-904.
mvp-comment-432-1
ἐμπαίει.. τεκμήριον] 'A familiar sight' or 'image struck upon my soul, (and told me) that I saw in this a certain token of Orestes, dearest of mankind.' ὄμμα (see Essay on L. § 54. p. 99) is here the active impression of the object of vision. ὁρᾶν depends on the general notion, 'I felt,' implied in the preceding words.
905.
mvp-comment-433-1
βαστάσασα] 'When I held it.' Cp.
infr. 1129. δυσφημῶ μὲν οὔ] ‘I uttered no ill-omened cry.' Reverence dictated silence in the immediate neighbourhood of that ancient tomb.
906.
mvp-comment-434-1
πίμπλημ᾽.. ὄμμα] ‘My eye was filled.' Essay on L. $ 30. p. 52 d.
908.
mvp-comment-435-1
τόδ᾽ ἀγλάϊσμα] ίσμα] Cp. Aesch. Cho. 193, 4, εἶναι τόδ᾽ ἀγλάϊσμα μοι τοῦ φιλτάτου | βροτῶν Ὀρέστον. The genitive is one of possession, as in this passage of the Choephori, but is also resumed with μολεῖν as a genitive of derivation. μή, not oὐ, because that which is denied is not the fact merely, but the possibility of the fact.
909.
mvp-comment-436-1
τόδε] This act of offering hair, which belongs only to the nearest relatives of the dead.
911.
mvp-comment-437-1
μηδὲ πρὸς θεούς] Religious duties formed an occasional exception to the seclusion of women in Attica. See Bernhardy, Grundriss, Part i. p. 55.
914.
mvp-comment-438-1
ἐλάνθανεν] Sc. ἡ μήτηρ. There is a slight change of construction. The omission of ar is rightly defended by Wecklein : 'ελάνθανεν statt ἐλάνθανεν ἄν bezeichnet die unausbleibliche Folge.'
915.
mvp-comment-439-1
ἔστ᾽ Ὀρέστου ταῦτα τἀπιτίμια] 'It is Orestes who has paid these dues. ἐπιτίμια occurs nowhere else with this exact meaning, and Dindorf, following
915-916.
mvp-comment-440-1
Wunder, reads τἀπιτύμβια. But such a substantive use of ἐπιτύμβιος is not found elsewhere, and ἐπιτίμια will bear the meaning required.
916.
mvp-comment-441-1
This is the only place in which θαρσύνειν is intransitive. See E. on L. §53. p. 98, 9. The use of the active verb is more energetic. Cp. παθε.
916-917.
mvp-comment-442-1
τοῖς αὐτοῖσί τοι, κ.τ.λ.] Cp. esp. Trach. 132-5, μένει γάρ, κ.τ.λ.
918.
mvp-comment-443-1
στυγνός here is rather gloomy' than 'hateful.' Cр. О. Т. 673.
919.
mvp-comment-444-1
ὑπάρξει κῦρος.. καλῶν] Either (1) Will be the consummation of much good,' or (2) Will lead the way to,' etc. i. e. ὑπάρξει καλῶν, ὥστε κῦρος ἔχειν τὰ καλά. For the accusative after ὑπάρχω, see L. and S. s. v. A 4. For (1) cp. Eur. Hec. 1229, θησαυρὸς ἄν σοι παῖς ὑπῆρχ᾽ οὔτος μέγας.
920.
mvp-comment-445-1
Wecklein punctuates differently, φεῦ τῆς ἀνοίας, ὥς σ᾽ ἐποικτείρω πάλαι.
922.
mvp-comment-446-1
'You know not where you are, nor what you say.' The metaphorical ὅποι γῆς is explained by the more literal ὅποι γνώμης.
923.
mvp-comment-447-1
Cp.
supr. 878.
927.
mvp-comment-448-1
τοῦ . . παρόντος] The individualizing article, by adding a touch of ἐνάργεια, helps to mark the certainty of Electra's belief. Cp.
supr. 424.
929.
mvp-comment-449-1
μητρί is added with the second clause to mark the unnaturalness of Clytemnestra. A welcome messenger, not displeasing to the mother there.'
930.
mvp-comment-450-1
γάρ = ' then,' asks for explanation. The death of Orestes is certain. The offerings came then from another. Who can this be? Cp. Phil. 327, 8, εὐ γ', ὦ τέκνον, τίνος γὰρ ὧδε τὸν μέγαν | χόλον κατ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐγκαλῶν ἐλήλυθas;
931.
mvp-comment-451-1
πρὸς τάφον] The accusative, because of the notion of 'bringing' implied in κτερίσματα.
934.
mvp-comment-452-1
ὦ δυστυχής] Sc. ἐγώ.
935.
mvp-comment-453-1
τοιούσδ'] 'Such,' ie. So full of joy.
938.
mvp-comment-454-1
οὕτως.. ταῦτ᾽] Electra says this with the quietness of despair.
941.
mvp-comment-455-1
Electra ironically waives rejoinder to the frigid question which is ⚫ strangely distasteful to her, and makes it felt that she has something of real practical importance in her mind. γε implies, Be that as it may, it was not my meaning.' Some read ἐς τόδ' with M.
943.
mvp-comment-456-1
τλῆναι.. δρῶσαν] The participle, as with πειρᾶσθαι.
945-946.
mvp-comment-457-1
ὅρα.. ὁρῶ.] Consider -.' 'I see that clearly.' Cp. Phil. 589, ὅρα τί ποιεῖς, παῖ. ΝΕ. σκοπῶ κἀγὼ πάλαι : and for the γνώμη, Fr. 364, οὗτοι ποθ' ἅψει τῶν ἄκρων ἄνευ πόνου.
948.
mvp-comment-458-1
The hopelessness of the present situation, which Ismene in the Antigone (Ant. 49 foll.) dwells upon as a ground of inaction, is urged by Electra as a reason for doing what ought to be done. Cp. the words of Henry V in Shakspeare, 4. 1. 1, 'Gloucester, 'tis true that we are in great danger:-The greater therefore should our courage be.'
951-952.
mvp-comment-459-1
βίῳ | θάλλοντ᾽ * ἔτ'] The correction (see v. rr.) is necessary. as βίῳ for ἐν βίῳ ὄντα would be too harsh an ellipse.
954.
mvp-comment-460-1
εἰς σὲ δὴ βλέπω] Electra knows this to be a forlorn hope, -
infr. 1017, 8, but to speak confidently is her only chance of success.
956.
mvp-comment-461-1
ξὺν τῇδ᾽ ἀδελφῇ] She adds her own claim of sisterhood to the guilt of Aegisthus, as a reason why Chrysothemis should help her.
957.
mvp-comment-462-1
The motive of this line, which has been suspected by some critics, is sufficiently explained by comparing
supr. 126, ὁ τάδε πορών, and note. The name which the chorus there suppressed, out of habitual fear, Electra now fearlessly pronounces. She need use no concealment with Chrysothemis, for whether with or without her help, she means to act so as to anticipate prevention.
958.
mvp-comment-463-1
ποῖ μενεῖς ῥαθυμος] Το what point will you remain inert?' i.e. How far must things go before you are roused to action? See Essay on L. § 24. p. 41, and cp. esp. O. С. 383, 4, τοὺς δὲ σοὺς ὅποι θεοὶ | πόνους κατοικτιοῦσιν, οὐκ ἔχω μαθεῖν.
959.
mvp-comment-464-1
ἔτ᾿ ὀρθήν] 'That is not already thrown down.'
960.
mvp-comment-465-1
The accusative is probably occasioned by στένειν, i.e. στένειν κτῆσιν, ἐστερημένῃ αὐτῆς, -οι αὐτήν, -though the simple verb is not elsewhere found with the accusative.
963.
mvp-comment-466-1
τῶνδε] λέκτρων ὑμεναίων τε.
968.
mvp-comment-467-1
εὐσέβειαν] Cp.
supr. 345, 6, and note, Ant. 924. κάτω] Sc. ὄντος, absorbed in θανόντος.
971.
mvp-comment-468-1
καλεῖ] Future middle for passive.
973.
mvp-comment-469-1
λόγων γε μὴν . . οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅσην] 'Do you not see how great, at all events, will be the glory of renown?' etc. γε μήν emphasizes what is certain as distinguished from the hope last spoken of, in which there was necessarily some uncertainty.
976.
mvp-comment-470-1
Will not point to us with such words of praise?' δεξιοῦσθαι is to extend the right hand towards a person in token of greeting or admiration. Cp. esp. Hom. H. 5. 15, 16, ἦγον ἐς ἀθανάτους, οἱ δ᾽ ἠσπάζοντο ἰδόντες, | χερσί τ' ἐδεξιόωντο.
977.
mvp-comment-471-1
On the use of the masculine here, see Essay on L. § 20. p. 30, 2. It is dropped
infr. 985, where Electra is speaking more familiarly and in her own person.
979.
mvp-comment-472-1
εὐ βεβηκόσιν] 'When in high prosperity. The phrase literally means, Standing firmly." Cp. esp. Archil. Fr. 58, πολλάκις της ἀνατρέπουσι ανατο καὶ μάλ᾽ εὖ βεβηκότας | ὑπτίους κλίνουσι.
980.
mvp-comment-473-1
προὐστήτην φόνου] 'Stood forth (1) to slay,' or (2) as avengers of blood.' The genitive is difficult, and is hardly explained by comparing Aj. 803, Eur. Andr. 221. Either (1) it expresses purpose, as in Thuc. 1. 36, καλῶς παράπλου κεῖται, and similar expressions, or (2) the phrase is equivalent to προστάται φόνου ἐγένοντο, 'Became ministers of the blood-feud.'
986.
mvp-comment-474-1
συμπόνει πατρί] 'Labour in thy father's cause,-vindicate thy brother's name. As observed above in note on l. 811, the ideas of vengeance and of succour are inseparable. So συγκάμνειν is used of honouring the dead in Aj. 988.
987-988.
mvp-comment-475-1
The wild and desperate hope on which this rests, and which has been suggested by the previous lines, is that, when Aegisthus is slain, the people will immediately rise in favor of the surviving representatives of the Atreidae.
991.
mvp-comment-476-1
On the non-repetition of the article here see Essay on L. § 21. p. 33, b.
992-993.
mvp-comment-477-1
εἰ φρενῶν.. μὴ κακῶν] If her thoughts had not been perverted.' μή belongs to the whole sentence, but its position emphasizes both the negation and the epithet κακῶν.
996.
mvp-comment-478-1
As elsewhere, when αὐτός τε καί is introduced after the beginning of a sentence, the second clause has an independent construction. Plat. Rep. 4. Ρ. 427 C, αὐτός τε καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν παρακάλει.
999.
mvp-comment-479-1
εὐτυχής is equally probable.
1000.
mvp-comment-480-1
κἀπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεται] Cp. Fr. 786. 1.8, πάλιν διαρρεῖ κἀπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεται. The use of μή rather than oὐ is to be explained by the abstract expression, - 'nothingness' rather than 'nothing.'
1005.
mvp-comment-481-1
λύει .. ἡμᾶς οὐδέν] It brings us no release.' λύειν is not here = λυσιτελεῖν, as it is sometimes in Euripides. See O. T. 316, 7, and note.
1007-1008.
mvp-comment-482-1
It is conceivable, as some editors have suggested, that these two lines may have come in from elsewhere. Cp. Aj. 554 and note. If they are part of the text, the connection is somewhat as follows: We should gain nothing by doing what, although applauded for the moment, would bring us to an ignominious death. Not death merely, but the lingering misery that might precede it, is what we should have most to dread.' We may suppose that the imagination of Chrysothemis has been impressed by the threat of immurement, which she reported
supr. 379-82.
1009.
mvp-comment-483-1
πανωλέθρους τὸ πᾶν . . ὀλέσθαι] Perish utterly and irredeemably.' The repetition of τὸ πᾶν, already implied in πανωλέθρους, anticipates the notion which is more fully expressed by the antithesis in the succeeding verse, -'Ere we perish in an utter destruction, in which we should involve not ourselves only but our whole race'-(since Orestes is no more).
1010.
mvp-comment-484-1
κἀξερημῶσαι γένος] Cp. Ant. 58, 9, νῦν αὖ μόνα δὴ νὰ λελειμμένα σκόπει | ὅσῳ κάκιστ᾽ ὀλούμεθ'. Iphianassa (
supr. 157) seems to be forgotten.
1011.
mvp-comment-485-1
κατάσχες ὀργήν] Cp. Pind. Isthm. 3. 3, (εἴ τις) σθένει πλούτου κατέχει φρεσὶν αἰανῆ κόρον.
1018.
mvp-comment-486-1
ἁπηγγελλόμην] The interpretation preserved by Hesychius, -ἐπηγγελλόμην· παρεκάλουν, ἐπέστελλον, – is hardly adequate. A better meaning is obtained if the word is allowed to retain its usual force, 'The offer which I made.' In proposing that they should together compass the death of Aegisthus, Electra thinks that she has given Chrysothemis a glorious opportunity.
1020.
mvp-comment-487-1
κενόν] i.e. ἀργόν, 'Unperformed.'
1022.
mvp-comment-488-1
πάντα γὰρ κατειργάσω] 'You had effected everything;' i.e. would have prevented the accomplishment of the murder. For the ellipse of av here, cp. esp. Thuc. 8. 86, ἐν ᾧ σαφέστατα Ἰωνίαν καὶ Ἑλλήσποντον εὐθὺς εἶχον οἱ πολέμιοι. It deserves to be considered, whether euphony may not have been sometimes consulted in the omission of av. Certainly πᾶν γὰρ ἄν has not a pleasant sound. Cp.
supr. 914: Ant. 604, 5, τίς ἀνδρῶν . . κατάσχοι; Aesch. Ag. 1163, νεογνὸς ἀνθρώπων μάθοι. For πάντα = 'Anything and everything,' cp. Trach. 17, πᾶν τοίνυν . κλύοι τις ἄν: Ο. C. 1503, 4, πάντα γὰρ . . εἰκάσαι πάρα.
1026.
mvp-comment-489-1
'No, for in making the attempt one is likely to have ill success.' The masculine gender of the participle and the present tense of the infinitive give generality to the expression :-i.e. εἰκός ἐστι κακῶς πράσσειν τινά, εἰ ἐγχειροίη. καί marks correlation of act and consequence.
1028.
mvp-comment-490-1
'I will listen with the same equanimity when you shall praise me;' i.e. 'As I am indifferent to your censure, so I will be to your commendation, when you have learned the truth.' The slight harshness of this, to which av in
infr. 1034 is opposed, shows the rising impatience of Chrysothemis. Cp.
supr. 430, inf. 1044. 1057. This interpretation is confirmed by l. 1030, μακρὸς χρόνος, ‘A long time, even all the future, is in store to determine that,' where καί is used as elsewhere in adding an equivalent or explanatory phrase. For the article with the epexegetic infinitive = ὥστε, κ.τ.λ., cp. Ο. Τ. 1417, and note.
1033.
mvp-comment-491-1
σῇ] i.e. ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐμῇ. Cp. Ant. 549, Κρέοντ᾽ ἐρώτα· τοῦδε γὰρ σὺ κηδεμών.
1034.
mvp-comment-492-1
Nay but I do not hate thee to that extent'-i. e. though I am vexed with you.
1035.
mvp-comment-493-1
But at least you should understand into what dishonour you would bring me.' Electra's tone is softened for the moment by the affectionate tone of the previous line.
1036.
mvp-comment-494-1
It is not dishonour I intend, but rather care for thee.' προμηθίας follows the case of ἀτιμίας, without having any definite construction with the preceding words. See Essay on L. $ 35. p. 60 с. The bisection of the line here and in 1038 helps to mark the earnestness of Chrysothemis, and has something of a lyric effect.
1039.
mvp-comment-495-1
How strange and sad it is that she who speaks so fairly should thus err!' The phra phrase εὐ λέγουσαν refers not to any single speech of Chrysothemis, but to the general tone of complacent superiority with which she utters her sentences of prudential morality.
1040.
mvp-comment-496-1
ᾧ σὺ πρόσκεισαι] Cp.
supr. 240, and note.
1043.
mvp-comment-497-1
Electra is revolted by the suggestion of tempering justice with expediency. Cp.
supr. 397, οὐκ ἐμοὺς τρόπους λέγεις. For τούτοις.. νόμοις, cp. Ant. 191, τοιοῖσδ᾽ ἐγὼ νόμοισι τήνδ' αὔξω πόλιν.
1044.
mvp-comment-498-1
Cp.
infr. 1057.
1046.
mvp-comment-499-1
καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἀληθές] ‘And is this real?' i.e. an intention which you will execute. Cp. Phil. 921, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ δρᾶν νοεῖς; οὐδὲ βουλεύσει πάλιν] 'And will you not alter your resolve?' Cp. Phil. 961, εἰ καὶ πάλιν | γνώμην μετοίσεις.
1048.
mvp-comment-500-1
Nothing that I say seems to make any impression on your mind.' φρονεῖν is here to be receptive of wisdom.' The prudence of Chrysothemis is more calculating than the timidity of Ismene.
1051.
mvp-comment-501-1
τολμᾷς] 'Can bring yourself.' For a similar periphrasis with τολμάω, cp. Aesch. Prom. 999, 1000, τόλμησον, ὦ μάταιε, τόλμησόν ποτε | πρὸς τὰς παρούσας πημονὰς ὀρθῶς φρονεῖν.
1053.
mvp-comment-502-1
Cp. Ant. 69, 70, οὔτ᾽ ἄν, εἰ θέλοις ἔτι | πράσσειν, ἐμοῦ γ᾽ ἂν ἡδέως δρῴης μέτα.
1054.
mvp-comment-503-1
θηρᾶσθαι κενά] ‘Το seek for what is vain,' as the sympathy of Chrysothemis has proved itself to be.
1058-1097.
mvp-comment-504-1
The Chorus lament, for Agamemnon's sake, over the quarrel between his daughters, which is added to the other troubles of his house, including the supposed death of Orestes, and express their admiration of Electra's attitude. Addressing her in the second strophe, they encourage her with words of sympathy and commendation. While Orestes lived, they bade her hope and trust. Now that they believe him to be dead, they are carried away by the heroism of her despair. That Electra remains upon the stage appears from
infr. 1105.
1058-1065.
mvp-comment-505-1
Agamemnon is forgotten by his daughter Chrysothemis, and by others who owed him gratitude. In this the human race shows itself inferior to the prudent stork. But though men forget, the gods remember, and will soon exact the penalty.
1058.
mvp-comment-506-1
φρονιμωτάτους] Cp. esp. Plat. Polit. 263 D, οἷον δοκεῖ τὸ τῶν γεράνων, where, in a similar spirit of bitterness, the stork is again preferred to man. The expression (οιωνούς) is generalized, as elsewhere in Sophocles.
1059-1060.
mvp-comment-507-1
τροφᾶς.. εὕρωσι] ‘Caring in respect of nurture for those from whom they are sprung, and from whom they have experienced good.' For the double genitive, cp. Trach. 108, ἀνδρὸς δεῖμα φέρουσαν ὁδοῦ, and for the subjunctive, cp.
supr. 771, μίσος ὧν τέκῃ.
1060.
mvp-comment-508-1
τάδ᾽ οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἴσας τελοῦμεν] 'Do we not equally fulfil this duty?' For the adverbial expression (ἐπ᾽ ἴσας, sc. μοίρας), cp. Trach. 727, ἐξ ἑκουσίας.
1061.
mvp-comment-509-1
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ *τάν] For the omission of μά, which the MSS. insert against the metre, cp. Ant. 758, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ, τόνδ' Ὄλυμπον :
infr. 1239.
1064.
mvp-comment-510-1
οὐρανίαν] Cp. Ο. Τ. 865-7, νόμοι . . οὐρανίαν | δι' αἰθέρα τεκνωθέντες.
1065.
mvp-comment-511-1
δαρὸν οὐκ ἀπόνητοι] Sc. οὐ τελοῦμεν ταῦτα. The subject is ἡμεῖς, i.e. οἱ ἄνθρωποι, but the sentence, although general in form, is pointed at
1065-1066.
mvp-comment-512-1
those who take part with Aegisthus. (In failing thus) 'we do not long escape from trouble.' For the passive form in ἀπόνητοι, see Essay on L. § 31. pp. 53. 4, § 53. p. 98 a, and cp. esp. Trach. 102, ποθουμένᾳ, and note.
1066.
mvp-comment-513-1
ὦ χθονία.. φάμα] Ο human voice that piercest underground!' βροτοῖσι is really equivalent to a genitive, depending on the verbal notion in φάμα. More literally, Rumour on the part of mortals.' The language presupposes a communion of the living and the dead, so that the power of Rumour about things on earth is believed to extend to the world below.
1067.
mvp-comment-514-1
οἰκτρὰν ὅπα] 'With lamentable sound.' ὅπα is cogn. acc. Compare with ll. 1066-8, Aesch. Pers. 639 foll. ἀχόρευτα φέρουσ᾽ ὀνείδη] · With saddening reproachful news.'
1070.
mvp-comment-515-1
Various corrections of νοσεῖ have been attempted, of which Wecklein's ὀνοστά is the most ingenious. Others are νοσεῖ δή, νοσεῖται, νοσεύει, to which one more may be added, νοσώδη. The point especially indicated in this line is the supposed death of Orestes, which leaves the house of Agamemnon apparently without hope of healing or purgation.
1071-1072.
mvp-comment-516-1
τὰ δὲ πρὸς τέκνων . . διαίτᾳ] (1) Most editors agree in understanding this to mean, 'While between his two children a quarrel has arisen that puts an end to the harmony of loving intercourse.' But (a) would Sophocles put φύλοπις for a private quarrel? Or (b) can φ. οὐκέτ᾽ ἐξισοῦται be construed so as to mean νείκει διίστανται? Another interpretation seems possible, if we may suppose the Chorus to have been carried away by the visionary hopes of Electra. Then (2) διπλή φύλοπις might be taken to mean the 'two-fold war-cry,' i.e. the combination of the two sisters for hostile purposes, which had seemed possible,
supr. 448-71 (note esp. ll. 453-6), and which Electra had depicted in such glowing colours in
supr. 967-89. This combination 'is no longer evenly maintained in concord,' since Chrysothemis has renounced her part in it. Or (3) φύλοπις may have lost its hostile association and be used etymologically (Essay on L. $ 54. p. 100 d) for 'the combined voice of the family' as a symbol of fraternal concord. The two sisters no longer 'speak the same thing.' This explanation may be further modified by taking διπλῆ τo mean 'divided.' 'The voices of their children are disparted and no longer harmoniously sustained in a life of affection.'
1072.
mvp-comment-517-1
σαλεύει] 'Endures the storm.' Essay on L. § 58. p. 105.
1075-1076.
mvp-comment-518-1
τὸν ἀεὶ .. στενάχουσ] Everlastingly mourning for her sire (πατρός, gen. of cause), unhappy maiden.' τὸν ἀεί, sc. χρόνον. Cp. Ο. C. 1584, 1701, and notes. If this 'idiotism' is rejected, it is necessary to have recourse to conjecture here, as well as to a forced explanation of the passages in the Oedipus Coloneus. Schndw. conjectures Ηλέκτρα πότμον ἀεὶ πατρός (retaining μá in the strophe): and this is adopted by Wecklein. Paley, Ἠλ. τὸν ἀεὶ πότμον (‘The irrevocable fate of death'). Dind., τὸν ἑὸν πότμον.
1077.
mvp-comment-519-1
For the correction, *πάνδυρτος for πανόδυρτος, cp. Ο. Τ. 1219, *δύρομαι
1077-1080.
mvp-comment-520-1
(MSS. ὀδύρομαι). And for the sense, cp.
supr. 148 foll.
1078-1080.
mvp-comment-521-1
οὔτε. Ἐρινύν] ‘Not avoiding death, but willing to die, if she may but destroy the twofold Evil Power.' Cp.
supr. 399, 956, 7. Electra has only spoken of killing Aegisthus. But see note on
supr. 987 foll. There is here a reminiscence of Aesch. Cho. 438, ἔπειτ' ἐγὼ νοσφίσας ὀλοίμαν.
1081.
mvp-comment-522-1
τίς ἂν.. βλάστοι] When shall one' (i. e. another) arise, so worthy of a noble sire?'-i. e. Noble at once in birth and nature. Cp. Ant. 38, εἴτ᾿ εὐγενὴς πέφυκας, εἴτ᾿ ἐσθλῶν κακή. And see the strained use of the same word in
supr. 858 (ἐλπίδων) εὐπατρίδων.
1082-1086.
mvp-comment-523-1
οὐδεὶς.. εἵλου] (1) According to Hermann's explanation of these lines, they state with greater calmness the reason of Electra's action, for which the preceding words express unbounded admiration. It would be hard to find a parallel for Electra's conduct, and yet it is that which every noble mind would choose. The truth is (γάρ), no one of noble strain is willing to live on in misery, degradation, and oblivion. Even so thou, O my daughter, didst choose the lot which all men share and all lament' (viz. death), 'so as, arming' (against thyself acc. to Herm. acc. to Schol. 'subduing'-) 'the power of wrong, to win a twofold renown, in being celebrated for wisdom as well as for the highest filial duty.' Cp. Trach. 721, 2, ζῆν γὰρ κακῶς κλύουσαν οὐκ ἀνασχετόν, | ἥτις προτιμᾷ μὴ κακὴ πεφυκέναι : Αj. 479, 80, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ καλῶς ζῆν ἢ καλῶς τεθνηκέναι τὸν εὐγενῆ χρή. Two points in this interpretation admit of doubt, the use of αἰῶνα for the state of the dead, and the meaning given to καθοπλίσασα. For the former, cp. O. С. 1551, 2, τὸν τελευταῖον βίον κρύψων ἐς "Αιδην, and note. Hermann's explanation of καθοπλίσασα, sc. κατὰ σεαυτοῦ, was an expedient which he adopted in order to avoid that of the Scholiast, καταπολεμήσασα καὶ νικήσασα, which appeared impossible. Either (2) the Scholiast should be followed in spite of analogy, or there is some corruption. Herm. doubtfully suggested καθιππάσασα. Other conjectures are καθυπνίσασα, καταπτύσασα. Qy. καθαγνίσασα (?), i.e. ' purging away as if by fire;' cp.
supr. 70, δίκῃ καθαρτὴς πρὸς θεῶν ὡρμημένος : Eur. Or. 39, 40. ἐξ ὅτου σφαγαῖς θανοῦσα μήτηρ πυρὶ καθήγνισται δέμας, According to another line of interpretation (3), the connection is to this effect :- Electra is peerless, for none amongst the nobly-born are found to allow their glory to be soiled in a life of misery, as Electra does, choosing to share the common lot of affliction, if only she may subdue the criminals, etc. But εὔκλεια cannot =ἀγλαΐα (
supr. 211), and although the sentiment that the greater number of mankind are born to trouble is not un-Greek, it is hardly Sophoclean or appropriate here. Others would read κλεινὸν for κοινόν.
1089.
mvp-comment-524-1
σοφά τ᾿ ἀρίστα τε] 'Wise, as well as bravest,' or 'best, Wise, i. e. because holding fast the higher law. Cp. l. 1094.
1089.
mvp-comment-524-2
Enter Orestes and Pylades, with attendants, as the ἄνδρες Φωκέων τεταγμένοι of
supr. 759. The urn is carried, not by Orestes as might be expected from
supr. 54. but by one of the attendants (
infr. 1123).
1090.
mvp-comment-525-1
'Mayest thou live, I pray, as far superior to thy foes in wealth and might as now thou art fallen beneath them!' Cp. Hdt. 8. 60, τῶν ἐχθρῶν κατύπερθε γενέσθαι: ΙΙ. 16. 722.
1091.
mvp-comment-526-1
*τεῶν is Hermann's correction of τῶν. Others (Lange, Wecklein) read τοσόνδ'.
1093.
mvp-comment-527-1
ὑπὸ †χεῖρα] Hermann's conjecture, ὑπόχειρ (cp. ἐπίχειρ), has been received by subsequent editors. But, although it gives regularity to the metre, the word is not found elsewhere, and ὑπὸ χεῖρα appears idiomatic. Hermann himself (1839) read ὑπὸ χέρα.
1094-1095.
mvp-comment-528-1
μοίρᾳ . . βεβῶσαν] Not placed in happy fortune.' Cр. О. С. 1358, 59, ὅτ᾽ ἐν πόνῳ | ταὐτῷ βεβηκὼς τυγχάνεις κακῶν ἐμοί.
1095-1097.
mvp-comment-529-1
ἃ δὲ μέγιστ᾽ ἔβλαστε.. εὐσεβεία] Either (1) But prospering most highly, through Zeus-loved piety, in respect of those laws that are mightiest in their origin,' or (2) But endowed with the noblest gifts from those laws which are of mightiest origin, because of thy piety to Zeus.' For μέγιστ' ἔβλαστε, ср. О. Т. 865-72, Ant. 454-7. For the genitive τῶνδε in (2), see Essay on L. § 10. p. 14 b. And for τᾷ Ζηνὸς εὐσεβείᾳ in (1), cp. Phil. 1442, 3, ὡς τἄλλα πάντα δεύτερ᾽ ἡγεῖται πατὴρ | Ζεύς· ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια συνθνήσκει βροτοῖς. Wecklein reads ἄριστον αἶνον δι' εὐσέβειαν, Nauck, ἄριστα τὰν σὰν δι᾽ εὐσέβειαν.
