Sophocles Electra 108

mvp-comment-227-1 ἐνταῦθα ¹

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

mvp-comment-227-3 ζῶσα ³

mvp-comment-227-4 κατηρεφεῖ ⁴

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

mvp-comment-227-6 ὑμνήσεις ⁶

mvp-comment-228-1 πρὸς ταῦτα ⁷

mvp-comment-228-2 Nauck reads κοὔ ⁸ καί ⁹

mvp-comment-228-3

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

mvp-comment-229-1 ἦ ταῦτα δὴ ¹⁰ ἦ … δὴ ¹¹ ἦ … γὰρ ¹²

mvp-comment-229-2 καὶ βεβούλευνται ¹³

mvp-comment-230-1 ἀλλ’ ἐξίκοιτο ¹⁴

mvp-comment-230-2 τοῦδέ γ’ οὕνεκ’ ¹⁵

mvp-comment-231-1 τίνα … τόνδ’ ¹⁶

mvp-comment-231-2 τάλαινα ¹⁷

mvp-comment-232-1 εἴ τι τῶνδε ¹⁸

mvp-comment-233-1 ποῦ ποτ’ εἶ φρενῶν ¹⁹

mvp-comment-234-1 ὅπως ²⁰ ὑμῶν ²¹

mvp-comment-234-2 προσώτατ’ ²² προσωτάτω φύγω ²³

mvp-comment-235-1 βίου … τοῦ παρόντος ²⁴

mvp-comment-236-1 καλὸς γὰρ ²⁵

mvp-comment-236-2 θαυμάσαι ²⁶

mvp-comment-237-1 τοῖς φίλοις ²⁷

mvp-comment-238-1 εἰκαθεῖν ²⁸

mvp-comment-239-1 ταῦτα ²⁹ οὐκ ἐμοὺς ³⁰

mvp-comment-240-1 γε ³¹ μέντοι ³²

mvp-comment-240-2 μὴ )ξ ³³

mvp-comment-240-3 πεσεῖν ³⁴

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

.

mvp-comment-241-1 συγγνώμην ³⁵

mvp-comment-242-1 τἄπη ³⁶

mvp-comment-242-2 πρὸς κακῶν ³⁷

mvp-comment-243-1 μή πω ³⁸

mvp-comment-244-1 οἷπερ … ὁδοῦ ³⁹

mvp-comment-245-1 τῷ φέρεις ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-245-2 ἔμπυρα ⁴¹

mvp-comment-246-1 τυμβεῦσαι χοάς ⁴²

mvp-comment-247-1 βροτῶν ⁴³

mvp-comment-248-1 ὃν ἔκταν’ αὐτή ⁴⁴ ὅν γ’ ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-249-1 τῷ τοῦτ’ ἤρεσεν ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-250-1 δείματος ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-250-2 δοκεῖν ἐμοί ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-251-1 θεοὶ πατρῷοι ⁴⁹

mvp-comment-251-2 συγγένεσθέ γ’ ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-251-3 ἀλλὰ νῦν ⁵¹

mvp-comment-252-1 εἴποιμ’ ἂν τότε ⁵²

mvp-comment-253-1 ἐπὶ σμικρὸν ⁵³ ἐπὶ σμικρῶν ⁵⁴

mvp-comment-253-2 φράσαι ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-254-1 σμικροὶ λόγοι ⁵⁶

mvp-comment-255-1 πατρὸς … δευτέραν ὁμιλίαν ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-255-2 ἐφέστιον πῆξαι ⁵⁸

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

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

mvp-comment-255-4 οὑφόρει ποτέ ⁵⁹

mvp-comment-256-1 ἔκ τε ⁶⁰ ἐκ δὲ ⁶¹

mvp-comment-256-2 βρύοντα ⁶²

mvp-comment-256-3 ᾧ … γενέσθαι ⁶³

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

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

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

| , | .

mvp-comment-257-1 του παρόντος ⁶⁴ τοῦ ⁶⁵ παρόντος ⁶⁶ του ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-257-2 Ἡλίῳ δείκνυσι τοὖναρ ⁶⁸

mvp-comment-258-1 οὐ κάτοιδα, πλὴν ⁶⁹

mvp-comment-258-2 πέμπει με κείνη ⁷⁰

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

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

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

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

mvp-comment-259-3 τῶν ἐγγενῶν ⁷¹

mvp-comment-260-1 ἀβουλίᾳ ⁷²

mvp-comment-260-2 σὺν κακῷ ⁷³

mvp-comment-260-3 μέτει ⁷⁴

mvp-comment-261-1 ἀλλ’ ⁷⁵

mvp-comment-261-2 ὦ φίλη ⁷⁶ τούτων μὲν ⁷⁷

mvp-comment-262-1 οὐ … θέμις ⁷⁸ οὐδ’ ὅσιον ⁷⁹

mvp-comment-262-2 ἐχθρᾶς ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ⁸⁰

mvp-comment-262-3 κτερίσματ’ ⁸¹

mvp-comment-262-4 λουτρὰ ⁸²

mvp-comment-263-1 ἀλλ’ ἢ πνοαῖσιν ⁸³ ῥοαῖσιν ⁸⁴

mvp-comment-263-2 κρύψον ⁸⁵

mvp-comment-263-3 νιν ⁸⁶

mvp-comment-263-4 ἔνθα μή ποτ’ ⁸⁷ ἔνθεν ⁸⁸

mvp-comment-263-5 εὐνὴν ⁸⁹

mvp-comment-264-1 ἀλλ’ ὅταν θάῃν ⁹⁰

mvp-comment-264-2 The conjecture ἔστ’ ἂν ⁹¹ ὅταν ⁹² σῳζέσθω ⁹³

mvp-comment-264-3 κειμήλἰ ⁹⁴

mvp-comment-265-1 ἀρχὴν ⁹⁵ τλημονεστάτη ⁹⁶

mvp-comment-266-1 ἔβλαστε ⁹⁷

mvp-comment-267-1 ὅν γ’ … τῷδ’ ⁹⁸

mvp-comment-267-2 ἐπέστεφε ⁹⁹

mvp-comment-267-3 442 f. The position of αὐτῇ ¹⁰⁰

mvp-comment-267-4 δέξεσθαι ¹⁰¹

mvp-comment-267-5 It seems, then, a reasonable inference that here, where the reference is to future time, he would have written δέξεσθαι ¹⁰² δέξασθαι ¹⁰³

mvp-comment-267-6 444 ff. Join θανὼν ἄτιμος ¹⁰⁴

mvp-comment-267-7 ἐμασχαλίσθη ¹⁰⁵

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

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

mvp-comment-267-9 κἀπὶ λουτροῖσιν ¹⁰⁶

mvp-comment-267-10 ἐξέμαξ ν ¹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-267-11 ἆρα μὴ ¹⁰⁸

mvp-comment-268-1 οὐκ ἔστιν ¹⁰⁹

mvp-comment-268-2 ταῦτα μὲν μέθες· σὺ δὲ ¹¹⁰

mvp-comment-269-1 βοστρύχων ἄκρας φόβας ¹¹¹

mvp-comment-269-2 κἀμοῦ ταλαίνης ¹¹²

mvp-comment-270-1 †ἀλιπαρῆ ¹¹³ λιπαρῆ ¹¹⁴

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

may conceal some corruption: ought possibly to be τήνδε τ’ ¹¹⁵ ἀλίπαρον ¹¹⁶

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

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

τὸ λιπαρὸν καὶ τὸ κολλῶδες

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

mvp-comment-271-1 ζῶμα ¹¹⁷

mvp-comment-271-2 χλιδαῖς ¹¹⁸

mvp-comment-272-1 προσπίτνουσα ¹¹⁹ αὐτὸν ¹²⁰

mvp-comment-273-1 ἐξ ὑπερτέρας χερός ¹²¹

mvp-comment-273-2 ζῶντ’ ¹²²

mvp-comment-274-1 ἀφνεωτέραις ¹²³

mvp-comment-274-2 στέφωμεν ¹²⁴

mvp-comment-274-3 δωρούμεθα ¹²⁵

mvp-comment-275-1 οἶμαι μὲν οὖν ¹²⁶

mvp-comment-275-2 If μέλον ¹²⁷ μέλειν ¹²⁸ μέλον ¹²⁹

mvp-comment-276-1 σοί ¹³⁰

mvp-comment-277-1 βροτῶν ¹³¹

mvp-comment-278-1 πρὸς εὐσέβειαν ¹³²

mvp-comment-279-1 δράσω ¹³³

mvp-comment-279-2 τὸ γὰρ δίκαιον ¹³⁴

mvp-comment-279-3 (1)

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

mvp-comment-279-4 (2) Or

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

mvp-comment-279-5 δυοῖν ¹³⁵

mvp-comment-280-1 παρ’ ὑμῶν ¹³⁶

mvp-comment-281-1 πικρὰν ¹³⁷ δοκῶ με … τολμήσειν ¹³⁸ ἔτι ¹³⁹

mvp-comment-282-1 εἰ μὴ )γὼ ¹⁴⁰

mvp-comment-282-2 γνώμας λειπομένα ¹⁴¹

mvp-comment-283-1 ἁ πρόμαντις Δίκα ¹⁴²

mvp-comment-283-2 δίκαια φερομένα χεροῖν κράτη ¹⁴³

mvp-comment-284-1 μέτεισιν ¹⁴⁴

mvp-comment-284-2 οὐ μακροῦ χρόνου ¹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-285-1 ὕπεστί μοι θράσος ¹⁴⁶ κλύουσαν ¹⁴⁷

mvp-comment-285-2 ἁδυπνόων … ὀνειράτων ¹⁴⁸

mvp-comment-286-1 ἀμναστεῖ γ’ ὁ φύσας ς’ ¹⁴⁹

mvp-comment-287-1 χαλκόπλακτος ¹⁵⁰

mvp-comment-287-2 γένυς ¹⁵¹

mvp-comment-287-3 The very axe (

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

mvp-comment-288-1 ἐν αἰκίαις ¹⁵²

mvp-comment-289-1 καὶ πολύπους καὶ πολύχειρ ¹⁵³

mvp-comment-290-1 λόχοις ¹⁵⁴

mvp-comment-290-2 χαλκόπους ¹⁵⁵

mvp-comment-291-1 ἄλεκτρ’ ἄνυμφα ¹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-291-2 γάμων ἁμιλλήμαθ’ ¹⁵⁷

mvp-comment-291-3 ἐπέβα ¹⁵⁸

mvp-comment-292-1 πρὸ τῶνδέ τοι … συνδρῶσιν ¹⁵⁹

mvp-comment-292-2 Verses 495—497 (

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

mvp-comment-292-3 (1) Are the words πρὸ τῶνδε ¹⁶⁰

mvp-comment-292-4 (2) Could

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

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

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

mvp-comment-292-6 In those MSS. which have μή ποτε μή ποθ’ ἡμῖν ¹⁶¹

mvp-comment-293-1 ἀψεγές ¹⁶² ἀψεφές ¹⁶³

mvp-comment-293-2 πελᾶν ¹⁶⁴

mvp-comment-294-1 τοῖς δρῶσι ¹⁶⁵ τοῖς συνδρῶσιν ¹⁶⁶

mvp-comment-295-1 μαντεῖαι βροτῶν ¹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-296-1 εὖ κατασχήσει ¹⁶⁸

mvp-comment-297-1 ἱππεία ¹⁶⁹

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

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

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

| .

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

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

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

mvp-comment-298-1 αἰανὴς ¹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-298-2 The form

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

mvp-comment-299-1 εὖτε ¹⁷¹

mvp-comment-299-2 ὁ ποντισθεὶς Μυρτίλος ¹⁷²

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

mvp-comment-299-4 ἐκοιμάθη ¹⁷³

mvp-comment-300-1 παγχρυσέων δίφρων ¹⁷⁴

mvp-comment-301-1 πρόρριζος ¹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-301-2 ἐκριφθείς ¹⁷⁶

mvp-comment-302-1 ἔλειπεν ¹⁷⁷ ἔλιπεν ¹⁷⁸ οἴκου ¹⁷⁹ οἴκους ¹⁸⁰ πω ¹⁸¹

mvp-comment-303-1 πολύπονος ¹⁸² αἰκία ¹⁸³

mvp-comment-304-1 ἀνειμένη ¹⁸⁴ μέν ¹⁸⁵

mvp-comment-304-2 ὡς ἔοικας ¹⁸⁶

mvp-comment-304-3 στρέφει ¹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-304-4 Clytaemnestra begins in the same strain as Chrysothemis, who likewise emphasised her reproof by the word αὖ ¹⁸⁸

mvp-comment-305-1 μή τοι θυραίαν γ’ ¹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-305-2 αἰσχύνειν φίλους ¹⁹⁰

mvp-comment-306-1 καίτοι ¹⁹¹

mvp-comment-306-2 δὴ ¹⁹² πολλούς ¹⁹³

mvp-comment-306-3 ἐξεῖπάς με … ὡς ¹⁹⁴

mvp-comment-306-4 θρασεῖα ¹⁹⁵ τραχεῖα ¹⁹⁶

mvp-comment-306-5 ἄρχω ¹⁹⁷

mvp-comment-307-1 ὕβριν … οὐκ ἔχω ¹⁹⁸ κακῶς κλύουσα ¹⁹⁹

mvp-comment-308-1 πατὴρ γάρ ²⁰⁰

mvp-comment-308-2 πρόσχημα ²⁰¹

mvp-comment-309-1 ἡ γὰρ Δίκη ²⁰²

mvp-comment-310-1 ᾗ χρῆν σ’ ἀρήγειν ²⁰³

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

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

mvp-comment-312-1 μοῦνος ²⁰⁴ Ἑλλήνων ²⁰⁵

mvp-comment-312-2 Nauck requires

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

mvp-comment-313-1 τοῦ χάριν, τίνων ²⁰⁶

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

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

mvp-comment-314-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ μετῆν ²⁰⁷

mvp-comment-315-1 ἀλλ’ ἀντ’ ἀδελφοῦ δῆτα ²⁰⁸ κτανὼν ²⁰⁹

mvp-comment-315-2 ἀντὶ ἀδελφοῦ ²¹⁰

mvp-comment-315-3 τἄμ’ ²¹¹

mvp-comment-316-1 παῖδες … διπλοῖ ²¹²

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

.

mvp-comment-317-1 ἢ ²¹³

mvp-comment-317-2 ἢ τῶν ἐμῶν Ἅιδης ²¹⁴

mvp-comment-318-1 δαίσασθαι ²¹⁵

mvp-comment-318-2 The conj. λῄσασθαι ²¹⁶

mvp-comment-319-1 πανώλει ²¹⁷

mvp-comment-319-2 παρεῖτο ²¹⁸

mvp-comment-319-3 The sense does not absolutely require us to take Μενέλεω δ’ ²¹⁹

mvp-comment-320-1 ἀβούλου ²²⁰

mvp-comment-320-2 κακοῦ γνώμην ²²¹

mvp-comment-321-1 δοκῶ μέν ²²²

mvp-comment-321-2 εἰ καὶ ²²³

mvp-comment-322-1 εἰ φωνὴν λάβοι ²²⁴

mvp-comment-323-1 τοῖς πεπραγμένοις ²²⁵

mvp-comment-324-1 γνώμην δικαίαν σχοῦσα ²²⁶

mvp-comment-325-1 ἐρεῖς μὲν οὐχὶ ²²⁷ ἐρεῖς ²²⁸ ἐρεῖς … μ’ ὡς ²²⁹

mvp-comment-325-2 ἄρξασά τι λυπηρὸν ²³⁰

mvp-comment-325-3 τάδ’ ἐξήκους’ ²³¹

mvp-comment-326-1 τοῦ τεθνηκότος θ’ ὕπερ ²³²

mvp-comment-327-1 καὶ μὴν ²³³

mvp-comment-327-2 λόγους ἐξῆρχές με ²³⁴

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

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

mvp-comment-328-3 καὶ δὴ λέγω σοι ²³⁵ πατέρα ²³⁶ φὴς ²³⁷

mvp-comment-329-1 εἴτ’ οὖν … εἴτε ²³⁸

mvp-comment-329-2 λέξω ²³⁹ δείξω ²⁴⁰

mvp-comment-330-1 ὡς οὐ δίκῃ γ’ ²⁴¹ ἔσπασεν ²⁴² πειθὼ ²⁴³

mvp-comment-331-1 κυναγὸν ²⁴⁴

mvp-comment-331-2 ποινὰς ²⁴⁵

mvp-comment-331-3 τὰ πολλὰ πνεύματ’ ἔσχ’ ²⁴⁶ τὰ πολλὰ ²⁴⁷ ἔσχε ²⁴⁸

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

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

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

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

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

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

mvp-comment-331-7 The conjecture πλοῖα ²⁴⁹

mvp-comment-331-8 Αὐλίδι ²⁵⁰

mvp-comment-332-1 ἢ )γὼ φράσω ²⁵¹ κείνης ²⁵²

mvp-comment-333-1 ὡς ἐγὼ κλύω ²⁵³

mvp-comment-333-2 θεᾶς … κατ’ ἄλσος ²⁵⁴

mvp-comment-333-3 παίζων ²⁵⁵

mvp-comment-333-4 ποδοῖν ²⁵⁶

mvp-comment-334-1 ἔλαφον ²⁵⁷

mvp-comment-334-2 στικτὸν ²⁵⁸

mvp-comment-334-3 κεράστην ²⁵⁹

mvp-comment-334-4 οὗ κατὰ σφαγὰς ²⁶⁰

mvp-comment-335-1 ἐκκομπάσας ἔπος τι τυγχάνει ²⁶¹ βαλών ²⁶²

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

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

mvp-comment-335-3 Others take βαλὼν ²⁶³ ἔπος ²⁶⁴

mvp-comment-335-4 Monk, with Musgrave, took σφαγὰς ²⁶⁵

mvp-comment-336-1 ἐκ τοῦδε ²⁶⁶

mvp-comment-336-2 μηνίσασα ²⁶⁷

mvp-comment-336-3 Λητῴα κόρη ²⁶⁸

mvp-comment-337-1 ὡς ²⁶⁹ ἀντίσταθμον ²⁷⁰

mvp-comment-337-2 ἐκθύσειε ²⁷¹

mvp-comment-338-1 ὧδ’ ἦν ²⁷²

mvp-comment-338-2 τὰ … θύματ’ ²⁷³

mvp-comment-338-3 λύσις ²⁷⁴

mvp-comment-338-4 πρὸς οἶκον ²⁷⁵

mvp-comment-339-1 πολλὰ ²⁷⁶

mvp-comment-339-2 ἀντιβὰς ²⁷⁷

mvp-comment-339-3 μόλις ²⁷⁸

mvp-comment-340-1 εἰ δ’ οὖν ²⁷⁹

mvp-comment-340-2 ἐρῶ γὰρ καὶ τὸ σόν ²⁸⁰

mvp-comment-341-1 τούτου … οὕνεκ’ ²⁸¹

mvp-comment-341-2 νόμῳ ²⁸²

mvp-comment-342-1 ὅρα ²⁸³ μὴ … τιθῇς ²⁸⁴ τίθης ²⁸⁵

mvp-comment-342-2 Here, either

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

mvp-comment-342-3 τιθεῖσα … νόμον ²⁸⁶

mvp-comment-343-1 εἰ γὰρ κτενοῦμεν ²⁸⁷

mvp-comment-343-2 πρώτη ²⁸⁸

mvp-comment-344-1 εἰσόρα ²⁸⁹

mvp-comment-344-2 οὐκ οὖσαν ²⁹⁰

mvp-comment-344-3 τίθης ²⁹¹

mvp-comment-344-4 εἰ … θέλεις ²⁹²

mvp-comment-345-1 τῷ παλαμναίῳ ²⁹³

mvp-comment-345-2 πρόσθεν ἐξαπώλεσας ²⁹⁴

mvp-comment-346-1 παιδοποιεῖς ²⁹⁵

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

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

mvp-comment-346-3 εὐσεβεῖς ²⁹⁶

mvp-comment-346-4 κἀξ εὐσεβῶν ²⁹⁷

mvp-comment-346-5 By

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

mvp-comment-346-6 βλαστόντας ²⁹⁸

mvp-comment-346-7 ἐκβαλοῦσ’ ἔχεις ²⁹⁹

mvp-comment-347-1 πῶς ταῦτ’ ἐπαινέσαιμ’ ἄν ³⁰⁰

mvp-comment-347-2 ἢ ³⁰¹ ἦ ³⁰² καὶ τοῦτ’ ³⁰³ ἄποινα ³⁰⁴

mvp-comment-348-1 αἰσχρῶς δ’ ³⁰⁵ δ’ ³⁰⁶

mvp-comment-348-2 ἐάν περ καὶ λέγῃς ³⁰⁷

mvp-comment-348-3 ἐχθροῖς γαμεῖσθαι ³⁰⁸

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

mvp-comment-349-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ γὰρ ³⁰⁹

mvp-comment-349-2 πᾶσαν ἵης γλῶσσαν ³¹⁰

mvp-comment-350-1 κακοστομοῦμεν ³¹¹

mvp-comment-350-2 καί σ’ ἔγωγε δεσπότιν ³¹²

mvp-comment-350-3 εἰς ἡμᾶς ³¹³ ἣ ³¹⁴

mvp-comment-351-1 βίον μοχθηρόν ³¹⁵

mvp-comment-351-2 ἔκ τε σοῦ ³¹⁶ κακοῖς … ξυνοῦσα ³¹⁷

mvp-comment-351-3 συννόμου ³¹⁸

mvp-comment-352-1 ὁ δ’ ἄλλος ³¹⁹

mvp-comment-352-2 χεῖρα σὴν ³²⁰

mvp-comment-352-3 τρίβει βίον ³²¹

mvp-comment-352-4 603 The reason for writing δή με σοὶ ³²² δή μέ σοι ³²³

mvp-comment-352-5 μιάστορα ³²⁴

mvp-comment-353-1 τοῦδέ γ’ οὕνεκα ³²⁵

mvp-comment-354-1 εἰς ἅπαντας ³²⁶

mvp-comment-354-2 χρῇς ³²⁷

mvp-comment-354-3 στόμαργον ³²⁸

mvp-comment-355-1 τῶνδε τῶν ἔ|ργων ἴδρις ³²⁹

mvp-comment-355-2 σχεδόν τι ³³⁰

mvp-comment-355-3 οὐ καταισχύνω ³³¹

mvp-comment-356-1 ὁρῶ μένος πνέουσαν ³³² μένος πνέουσαν ³³³

mvp-comment-356-2 σὺν δίκῃ ξύνεστι ³³⁴

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

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

mvp-comment-357-1 ποίας δ’ ἐμοὶ δεῖ ³³⁵ ἐμοὶ ³³⁶ μοι ³³⁷ δεῖ ³³⁸

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

mvp-comment-358-1 καὶ ταῦτα ³³⁹

mvp-comment-358-2 τηλικοῦτος ³⁴⁰

mvp-comment-358-3 ἆρα ³⁴¹

mvp-comment-358-4 χωρεῖν ἂν ³⁴² εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ³⁴³

mvp-comment-359-1 εὖ νυν ἐπίστω ³⁴⁴

mvp-comment-359-2 ἔξωρα ³⁴⁵

mvp-comment-359-3 προσεικότα ³⁴⁶

mvp-comment-360-1 ἀλλὰ … γὰρ ³⁴⁷

mvp-comment-360-2 ἡ … ἐκ σοῦ δυσμένεια ³⁴⁸

mvp-comment-360-3 ἐξαναγκάζει ³⁴⁹ αἰσχροῖς ³⁵⁰

mvp-comment-360-4 622 f. The word θρέμμα ³⁵¹

mvp-comment-360-5 ἦ σ’ ἐγὼ ³⁵²

mvp-comment-361-1 νιν ³⁵³

mvp-comment-361-2 εὑρίσκεται ³⁵⁴

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

mvp-comment-362-1 οὐ μὰ ³⁵⁵

mvp-comment-362-2 δέσποιναν ³⁵⁶

mvp-comment-362-3 Ἄρτεμιν ³⁵⁷

mvp-comment-362-4 θράσους τοῦδ’ οὐκ ἀλύξεις ³⁵⁸ μόλῃ ³⁵⁹

mvp-comment-363-1 ὁρᾷς ³⁶⁰

mvp-comment-363-2 ἐκφέρει ³⁶¹

mvp-comment-363-3 The v. l. παρεῖσα ³⁶²

mvp-comment-364-1 οὐδὲ ³⁶³

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

mvp-comment-364-3 ἐπειδὴ σοί γ’ ³⁶⁵

mvp-comment-364-4 πᾶν λέγειν ³⁶⁶

mvp-comment-365-1 κελεύω ³⁶⁷

mvp-comment-365-2 τοὐμὸν στόμ’ ³⁶⁸

mvp-comment-365-3 634 f. An altar, and probably an image, of Apollo stand before the palace. The attendant of Clytaemnestra carries offerings of various fruits, which she is now commanded to raise, as with a gesture of solemn oblation ( ἔπαιρε ³⁶⁹

mvp-comment-365-4 ἡ παροῦσά μοι ³⁷⁰

mvp-comment-365-5 θύματα … πάγκαρπα ³⁷¹

mvp-comment-366-1 λυτηρίους … δειμάτων ³⁷²

mvp-comment-366-2 ἀνάσχω ³⁷³

mvp-comment-367-1 κλύοις ἂν ³⁷⁴

mvp-comment-367-2 προστατήριε ³⁷⁵

mvp-comment-368-1 κεκρυμμένην ³⁷⁶

mvp-comment-368-2 οὐ γὰρ ἐν φίλοις ³⁷⁷

mvp-comment-369-1 πρὸς φῶς ³⁷⁸

mvp-comment-370-1 πολυγλώσσῳ ³⁷⁹

mvp-comment-370-2 σπείρῃ ³⁸⁰

mvp-comment-370-3 ματαίαν ³⁸¹

mvp-comment-371-1 ὧδ’ ³⁸²

mvp-comment-372-1 γὰρ ³⁸³

mvp-comment-372-2 δισσῶν ὀνείρων ³⁸⁴

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

mvp-comment-372-4 Λύκεἰ ἄναξ ³⁸⁵

mvp-comment-373-1 ἐσθλά … ἐχθρά ³⁸⁶

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

, |

mvp-comment-373-3 ἔμπαλιν μέθες ³⁸⁷

mvp-comment-374-1 εἴ τινες ³⁸⁸

mvp-comment-375-1 ἀλλ’ ὧδε ³⁸⁹

mvp-comment-375-2 ἀβλαβεῖ βίῳ ³⁹⁰

mvp-comment-376-1 δόμους ³⁹¹

mvp-comment-376-2 ἀμφέπειν ³⁹²

mvp-comment-376-3 φίλοισι ³⁹³

mvp-comment-377-1 εὐημεροῦσαν ³⁹⁴

mvp-comment-377-2 καὶ τέκνων ³⁹⁵ ὅσων ³⁹⁶

mvp-comment-377-3 We might also take

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

mvp-comment-377-4 ἐμοὶ … πρόσεστιν ³⁹⁷

mvp-comment-378-1 πᾶσιν ἡμῖν ³⁹⁸

mvp-comment-379-1 τὰ δ’ ἄλλα πάντα ³⁹⁹

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

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

mvp-comment-379-3 πῶς ἂν εἰδείην ⁴⁰⁰

mvp-comment-380-1 ἦ καὶ ⁴⁰¹

mvp-comment-380-2 ἐπεικάζων κυρῶ ⁴⁰²

mvp-comment-380-3 πρέπ<*> γὰρ ⁴⁰³

mvp-comment-381-1 μάλιστα πάντων ⁴⁰⁴

mvp-comment-381-2 ἥδε σοι κείνη πάρα ⁴⁰⁵

mvp-comment-381-3 666 f. The ὦ ⁴⁰⁶ χαῖρε ⁴⁰⁷

mvp-comment-382-1 ἐδεξάμην τὸ ῥηθέν ⁴⁰⁸

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

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

προσηκάμην τὸ ῥηθέν

.

mvp-comment-382-3 εἰδέναι … σου ⁴⁰⁹

mvp-comment-383-1 Φανοτεὺς ⁴¹⁰

mvp-comment-383-2 πρᾶγμα πορσύνων μέγα ⁴¹¹

mvp-comment-384-1 τὸ ποῖον ⁴¹²

mvp-comment-385-1 ἐν βραχεῖ ξυνθεὶς ⁴¹³

mvp-comment-386-1 τί φής, τί φής ⁴¹⁴ ξεῖνε ⁴¹⁵

mvp-comment-386-2 ταύτης ⁴¹⁶

mvp-comment-387-1 νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι ⁴¹⁷

mvp-comment-388-1 οὐδέν εἰμ’ ἔτι ⁴¹⁸

mvp-comment-389-1 τὰ σαυτῆς πρᾶσς’ ⁴¹⁹

mvp-comment-389-2 διόλλυται ⁴²⁰

mvp-comment-390-1 κἀπεμπόμην ⁴²¹ καὶ … φράσω ⁴²²

mvp-comment-391-1 γὰρ ⁴²³

mvp-comment-392-1 πρόσχημ’ ἀγῶνος ⁴²⁴ Ἑλλάδος ⁴²⁵

mvp-comment-392-2 πρόσχημα ⁴²⁶

mvp-comment-392-3 Δελφ. ἄθλων ⁴²⁷

mvp-comment-393-1 ὀρθίων ⁴²⁸

mvp-comment-393-2 δρόμον … οὗ πρώτη κρίσις ⁴²⁹

mvp-comment-394-1 εἰσῆλθε ⁴³⁰

mvp-comment-395-1 ἰσώσας * τἀφέσει ⁴³¹ τῇ φύσει ⁴³²

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

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

mvp-comment-395-3 For

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

mvp-comment-395-4 The proposed versions of the vulgate τῇ φύσει ⁴³³

mvp-comment-396-1 νίκης … γέρας ⁴³⁴

mvp-comment-397-1 χὥπως μὲν ⁴³⁵

mvp-comment-397-2 Others explain:—

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

mvp-comment-398-1 ὅσων ⁴³⁶

mvp-comment-398-2 εἰσεκήρυξαν ⁴³⁷

mvp-comment-398-3 βραβῆς ⁴³⁸

mvp-comment-399-1 δρομων διαύλων ⁴³⁹

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

in 692 to .

mvp-comment-400-1 ἐνεγκὼν ⁴⁴⁰

mvp-comment-400-2 τἀπινίκια ⁴⁴¹

mvp-comment-401-1 ὠλβίζετ’ ⁴⁴² ἀνακαλ ⁴⁴³

mvp-comment-401-2 Ἀγαμέμνονος ⁴⁴⁴

mvp-comment-401-3 ἀγείραντος ⁴⁴⁵

mvp-comment-402-1 καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τοιαῦθ’ ⁴⁴⁶

mvp-comment-402-2 βλάπτῃ ⁴⁴⁷

mvp-comment-402-3 ἰσχύων ⁴⁴⁸

mvp-comment-403-1 ἄλλης ἡμέρας ⁴⁴⁹

mvp-comment-403-2 ἱππικῶν ⁴⁵⁰

mvp-comment-404-1 ἡλίου τέλλοντος ⁴⁵¹

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

mvp-comment-405-1 Ἀχαιός ⁴⁵²

mvp-comment-406-1 Λίβυες ⁴⁵³

mvp-comment-406-2 ζυγωτῶν ⁴⁵⁴ ἐπιστάται ⁴⁵⁵

mvp-comment-407-1 κἀκεῖνος ⁴⁵⁶

mvp-comment-407-2 ἐν τούτοισι ⁴⁵⁷ ἐπὶ ⁴⁵⁸

mvp-comment-407-3 Θεσσαλὰς … ἵππους ⁴⁵⁹

mvp-comment-408-1 ξανθαῖσι ⁴⁶⁰

mvp-comment-408-2 πώλοις ⁴⁶¹

mvp-comment-408-3 Μάγνης ⁴⁶²

mvp-comment-409-1 λεύκιππος ⁴⁶³

mvp-comment-409-2 Αἰνιὰν ⁴⁶⁴

mvp-comment-410-1 τῶν θεοδμήτων ⁴⁶⁵

mvp-comment-411-1 ἄλλος ⁴⁶⁶ ἐκπληρῶν ⁴⁶⁷

mvp-comment-412-1 στάντες ⁴⁶⁸

mvp-comment-412-2 †ὅθ’ αὐτοὺς ⁴⁶⁹ ὅθ’ ⁴⁷⁰ ἵν’ ⁴⁷¹ ὅτ’ ⁴⁷²

mvp-comment-412-3 βραβῆς ⁴⁷³ οἱ τεταγμένοι ⁴⁷⁴

mvp-comment-412-4 710 *

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

f.

mvp-comment-412-5 ἔπηλαν ⁴⁷⁵

mvp-comment-413-1 χαλκῆς ⁴⁷⁶

mvp-comment-413-2 ὑπαὶ ⁴⁷⁷

mvp-comment-413-3 οἱ δ’ ⁴⁷⁸

mvp-comment-414-1 ὁμοκλήσαντες ⁴⁷⁹

mvp-comment-415-1 ἐν δὲ ⁴⁸⁰

mvp-comment-415-2 κροτητῶν ⁴⁸¹

mvp-comment-415-3 I formerly took

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

mvp-comment-416-1 φορεῖθ’ ⁴⁸²

mvp-comment-417-1 κέντρων ⁴⁸³

mvp-comment-417-2 ὡς ὑπερβάλοι ⁴⁸⁴ τις ⁴⁸⁵

mvp-comment-417-3 χνόας ⁴⁸⁶

mvp-comment-417-4 φρυάγμαθ’ ἱππικά ⁴⁸⁷

mvp-comment-418-1 ὁμοῦ γὰρ ἀμφὶ νῶτα ⁴⁸⁸

mvp-comment-418-2 τροχῶν βάσεις ⁴⁸⁹

mvp-comment-418-3 εἰσέβαλλον ⁴⁹⁰

mvp-comment-419-1 ὑπ’ αὐτὴν ⁴⁹¹

mvp-comment-419-2 ἐσχάτην στήλην ⁴⁹²

mvp-comment-420-1 ἔχριμπτ’ ἀεὶ σύριγγα ⁴⁹³ ἔχριμπτ’ ⁴⁹⁴

mvp-comment-420-2 δεξιὸν δ’ ἀνεὶς κ.τ.λ. ⁴⁹⁵

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

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

mvp-comment-421-1 πρὶν μὲν ⁴⁹⁶ ἔπειτα δ’ ⁴⁹⁷

mvp-comment-421-2 ἕστασαν ⁴⁹⁸

mvp-comment-422-1 ἄστομοι ⁴⁹⁹

mvp-comment-422-2 βίᾳ φέρουσιν ⁵⁰⁰

mvp-comment-422-3 ἐκ δ’ ὑποστροφῆς ⁵⁰¹

mvp-comment-423-1 τελοῦντες κ.τ.λ. ⁵⁰²

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

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

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

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

mvp-comment-423-4 Βαρκαίοις ὄχοις ⁵⁰³

mvp-comment-424-1 ἐξ ἑνὸς κακοῦ ⁵⁰⁴ ἔθραυε καὶ ἐνέπιπτε ⁵⁰⁵

mvp-comment-424-2 ναυαγίων ⁵⁰⁶

mvp-comment-424-3 Κρισαῖον … πέδον ⁵⁰⁷

mvp-comment-425-1 γνοὺς δ’ ⁵⁰⁸

mvp-comment-425-2 κἀνοκωχεύει ⁵⁰⁹

mvp-comment-425-3 κλύδων’ ⁵¹⁰

mvp-comment-426-1 ἔσχατος μὲν ⁵¹¹

mvp-comment-426-2 ὑστέρας ἔχων ⁵¹² φέρων ⁵¹³ πίστιν φέρων ⁵¹⁴

mvp-comment-426-3 Those who read

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

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

mvp-comment-427-1 ὅπως δ’ ὁρᾷ ⁵¹⁵

mvp-comment-428-1 ἐνσείσας. ⁵¹⁶

mvp-comment-429-1 κἀξισώσαντε ζυγὰ ⁵¹⁷

mvp-comment-429-2 τότ’ … ἄλλοθ’ ⁵¹⁸

mvp-comment-429-3 ἄλλος … ἅτερος ⁵¹⁹

mvp-comment-429-4 κάρα προβάλλων ⁵²⁰

mvp-comment-429-5 For προβάλλων ⁵²¹

mvp-comment-430-1 τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους πάντας ⁵²²

mvp-comment-430-2 ἀσφαλεῖς ⁵²³

mvp-comment-430-3 ὠρθοῦθ’ ⁵²⁴ ὀρθὸς ἐξ ὀρθῶν δί‐ ⁵²⁵ φρων ⁵²⁶

mvp-comment-431-1 λύων ἡνίαν ἀριστερὰν ⁵²⁷

mvp-comment-432-1 χνόας ⁵²⁸ μέσας ⁵²⁹

mvp-comment-433-1 ἀντύγων ⁵³⁰

mvp-comment-433-2 σὺν δ’ ἑλίσσεται ⁵³¹ τμητοῖς ⁵³²

mvp-comment-434-1 διεσπάρησαν εἰς μέσον δρόμον ⁵³³

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

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

mvp-comment-435-1 στρατὸς ⁵³⁴

mvp-comment-435-2 δίφρων ⁵³⁵

mvp-comment-435-3 ἀνωλόλυξε ⁵³⁶

mvp-comment-435-4 οἷ’ … οἷα ⁵³⁷

mvp-comment-436-1 φορούμενος πρὸς οὖδας ⁵³⁸

mvp-comment-436-2 ἄλλοτ’ ⁵³⁹

mvp-comment-436-3 οὐρανῷ σκέλη προφαίνων ⁵⁴⁰

mvp-comment-437-1 διφρηλάται ⁵⁴¹

mvp-comment-437-2 κατασχεθόντες ⁵⁴²

mvp-comment-438-1 κέαντες ⁵⁴³

mvp-comment-438-2 ἐν βραχεῖ χαλκῷ ⁵⁴⁴

mvp-comment-438-3 μέγιστον ⁵⁴⁵

mvp-comment-438-4 σῶμα … σποδοῦ ⁵⁴⁶

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

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

mvp-comment-439-1 ἄνδρες Φωκέων ⁵⁴⁷

mvp-comment-439-2 ἐκλάχῃ ⁵⁴⁸

mvp-comment-440-1 τοιαῦτά σοι ⁵⁴⁹ ταῦτ’ ἐστίν ⁵⁵⁰

mvp-comment-440-2 ὡς μὲν ἐν λόγῳ ⁵⁵¹

mvp-comment-440-3 τοῖς δ’ ἰδ., οἵπερ εἴδομεν ⁵⁵²

mvp-comment-440-4 764 f. The word δεσπόταισι ⁵⁵³

mvp-comment-440-5 πρόρριζον ⁵⁵⁴

mvp-comment-441-1 ὦ Ζεῦ ⁵⁵⁵

mvp-comment-441-2 λέγω ⁵⁵⁶

mvp-comment-442-1 τῷ νῦν λόγῳ ⁵⁵⁷

mvp-comment-443-1 δεινὸν ⁵⁵⁸

mvp-comment-443-2 πάσχοντι ⁵⁵⁹ ὧν τέκῃ ⁵⁶⁰

mvp-comment-444-1 μάτην ἄρ’ ἡμεῖς κ.τ.λ. ⁵⁶¹

mvp-comment-445-1 μάτην λέγοις ⁵⁶²

mvp-comment-446-1 ψυχῆς ⁵⁶³

mvp-comment-447-1 μαστῶν κ.τ.λ. ⁵⁶⁴

mvp-comment-447-2 ἀποστὰς ⁵⁶⁵

mvp-comment-447-3 ἀπεξενοῦτο ⁵⁶⁶

mvp-comment-448-1 φόνους ⁵⁶⁷

mvp-comment-449-1 ὥστ’ οὔτε … στεγάζειν ⁵⁶⁸

mvp-comment-449-2 ἐξ ἡμέρας ⁵⁶⁹

mvp-comment-449-3 στεψάζειν ⁵⁷⁰

mvp-comment-449-4 ὁ προστατῶν χρόνος ⁵⁷¹

mvp-comment-449-5 διῆγε ⁵⁷²

mvp-comment-449-6 783 f. The perf. ἀπήλλαγμαι ⁵⁷³

mvp-comment-449-7 μείζων ⁵⁷⁴

mvp-comment-450-1 τοὐμὸν ⁵⁷⁵

mvp-comment-450-2 ἐκπίνους’ ⁵⁷⁶

mvp-comment-450-3 ἄκρατον ⁵⁷⁷

mvp-comment-450-4 νῦν δ’ ⁵⁷⁸

mvp-comment-450-5 ἕκηλα ⁵⁷⁹

mvp-comment-450-6 οὕνεχ’ ⁵⁸⁰

mvp-comment-450-7 ἡμερεύσομεν ⁵⁸¹

mvp-comment-451-1 οἴμοι τάλαινα ⁵⁸²

mvp-comment-451-2 οἰμῶξαι ⁵⁸³

mvp-comment-452-1 ἆρ’ ἔχει καλῶς ⁵⁸⁴

mvp-comment-453-1 οὔτοι σὺ ⁵⁸⁵

mvp-comment-454-1 Νέμεσι ⁵⁸⁶

mvp-comment-454-2 τοῦ θανόντος ἀρτίως ⁵⁸⁷

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

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

mvp-comment-455-1 ἤκουσεν ὧν δεῖ ⁵⁸⁸

mvp-comment-455-2 κἀπεκύρωσεν ⁵⁸⁹

mvp-comment-456-1 οὔκουν … τάδε ⁵⁹⁰

mvp-comment-457-1 οὐχ ὅπως σε παύσομεν ⁵⁹¹

mvp-comment-458-1 πολλῶν ἂν ἥκοις ⁵⁹² ἔπαυσας ⁵⁹³ παύσαις ⁵⁹⁴

mvp-comment-458-2 πολλῶν ⁵⁹⁵ ἄξιος ⁵⁹⁶ τυχεῖν ⁵⁹⁷

mvp-comment-459-1 εὖ κυρεῖ ⁵⁹⁸

mvp-comment-459-2 800 f. With πράξειας ⁵⁹⁹

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

seem, then, superfluous. The change of καταξίως ⁶⁰⁰ πράξειας ⁶⁰¹

mvp-comment-459-4 τοῦ πορεύς. ξένου ⁶⁰²

mvp-comment-460-1 τῶν φίλων ⁶⁰³

mvp-comment-461-1 ἆρ’ ὑμὶν ⁶⁰⁴

mvp-comment-461-2 ὧδ’ ⁶⁰⁵

mvp-comment-462-1 ὥς μ’ ἀπώλεσας θανών ⁶⁰⁶

mvp-comment-463-1 ἀποσπάσας ⁶⁰⁷ αἵ ⁶⁰⁸

mvp-comment-464-1 μολεῖν ⁶⁰⁹

mvp-comment-465-1 δουλεύειν ⁶¹⁰

mvp-comment-465-2 πάλιν ⁶¹¹

mvp-comment-466-1 ἆρά μοι καλῶς ἔχει ⁶¹²

mvp-comment-467-1 τοῦ λοιποῦ χρόνου ⁶¹³

mvp-comment-467-2 818 *

, Hermann's correction of , is made certain by . No dative is needed to explain ξύνοικος ⁶¹⁴

mvp-comment-468-1 παρεῖσ’ ἐμαυτὴν ⁶¹⁵

mvp-comment-468-2 αὐανῶ ⁶¹⁶

mvp-comment-469-1 χάρις ⁶¹⁷

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

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

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

mvp-comment-470-3 ποῦ ποτε ⁶¹⁸

mvp-comment-470-4 φαέθων ⁶¹⁹

mvp-comment-470-5 ἐφορῶντες ⁶²⁰

mvp-comment-470-6 κρύπτουσιν ⁶²¹

mvp-comment-471-1 τί δακρύεις ⁶²²

mvp-comment-472-1 μηδὲν μέγ’ ἀΰσῃς ⁶²³

mvp-comment-472-2 ἀΰσῃς ⁶²⁴

mvp-comment-473-1 ἀπολεῖς ⁶²⁵

mvp-comment-474-1 τῶν … οἰχομένων ⁶²⁶ φανερῶς ⁶²⁷ ἐλπίδα ⁶²⁸

mvp-comment-475-1 κατ’ ἐμοῦ τακομένας ⁶²⁹ ἐπεμβάσει ⁶³⁰ κατ’ ἐμοὶ τακομένᾳ ⁶³¹

mvp-comment-476-1 οἶδα γὰρ ⁶³²

mvp-comment-476-2 Ἀμφιάρεων ⁶³³ ἄνακτα ⁶³⁴

mvp-comment-477-1 χρυσοδέτοις ἕρκεσι ⁶³⁵ γυναικῶν ⁶³⁶

mvp-comment-477-2 κρυφθέντα ⁶³⁷

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

mvp-comment-478-1 ἒ ἔ· ἰώ ⁶³⁸

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.