Sophocles, Electra, Robert Potter (Translator), 1232

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Turn

← Previous Next →

And henceforth ever may'st thou hold him thus!

Electra

Electra. Sophocles. Robert Potter (Translator). London. 1820.

Current edition Experimental

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Robert Potter, 1788))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1232 focus

ἰὼ γοναί,

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

γοναὶ add σωμάτων ἐμοὶ φιλτάτων,

ἐμόλετ᾿ ἀρτίως,

ἐφεύρετ᾽, ἤλθετ᾽, εἴδεθ᾽ οὓς ἐχρήζετε.
1235

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

πάρεσμεν· ἀλλὰ σῖγ᾽ ἔχουσα πρόσμενε.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

τί δ᾽ ἔστιν ἔστι ἔστιν ;

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

σιγᾶν ἄμεινον, μή τις ἔνδοθεν κλύῃ.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τὰν ἀλλ᾽ οὐ μὰ τὰν οὓ τἂν Ἄρτεμιν τὰν αἰὲν ἀδμήταν

τόδε μὲν οὐ ποτ᾿ ἀξιώσω τρέσαι
1240

περισσὸν ἄχθος ἔνδον

γυναικῶν ὂν ἀεί.

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

ὅρα γε μὲν δὴ κἀν γυναιξὶν ὡς Ἄρης

ἔνεστιν· εὖ δ᾽ ἔξοισθα πειραθεῖσά που.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

*ὀτοτοτοῖ ὀττοτοῖ ,
1245

ἀνέφελον ἐπέβαλες 2nd ε from ι ὑπέβαλες οὔ ποτε καταλύσιμον,

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

οὐδέ ποτε λησόμενον, ἁμέτερον

οἷον ἔφυ κακόν.

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

ἔξοιδα καὶ ταῦτ᾽· ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν παρουσία

φράζῃ, τότ᾽ ἔργων τῶνδε μεμνῆσθαι χρεών.
1250

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1232-1287 focus

Ἠλέκτρα

ἰὼ γοναί,

γοναὶ σωμάτων ἐμοὶ φιλτάτων,

ἐμόλετʼ ἀρτίως,

ἐφηύρετʼ, ἤλθετʼ, εἴδεθʼ οὓς ἐχρῄζετε.
1235

Ὀρέστης

πάρεσμεν· ἀλλὰ σῖγʼ ἔχουσα πρόσμενε.

Ἠλέκτρα

τί δʼ ἔστιν;

Ὀρέστης

σιγᾶν ἄμεινον, μή τις ἔνδοθεν κλύῃ.

Ἠλέκτρα

ἀλλʼ οὐ μὰ τὴν ἄδμητον αἰὲν Ἄρτεμιν,

τόδε μὲν οὔ ποτʼ ἀξιώσω τρέσαι,
1240

περισσὸν ἄχθος ἔνδον

γυναικῶν ὂν αἰεί.

Ὀρέστης

ὅρα γε μὲν δὴ κἀν γυναιξὶν ὡς Ἄρης

ἔνεστιν· εὖ δʼ ἔξοισθα πειραθεῖσά που.

Ἠλέκτρα

ὀτοτοτοτοῖ τοτοῖ,
1245

ἀνέφελον ἐνέβαλες οὔ ποτε καταλύσιμον,

οὐδέ ποτε λησόμενον ἁμέτερον

οἷον ἔφυ κακόν.
1250

Ὀρέστης

ἔξοιδα, παῖ, ταῦτʼ· ἀλλʼ ὅταν παρουσία

φράζῃ, τότʼ ἔργων τῶνδε μεμνῆσθαι χρεών.

1253

Ἠλέκτρα

ὁ πᾶς ἐμοί,

ὁ πᾶς ἂν πρέποι παρὼν ἐννέπειν

τάδε δίκᾳ χρόνος·
1255

μόλις γὰρ ἔσχον νῦν ἐλεύθερον στόμα.

Ὀρέστης

ξύμφημι κἀγώ· τοιγαροῦν σῴζου τόδε.

Ἠλέκτρα

τί δρῶσα;

Ὀρέστης

οὗ μή ʼστι καιρὸς μὴ μακρὰν βούλου λέγειν.

Ἠλέκτρα

τίς οὖν ἂν ἀξίαν γε σοῦ πεφηνότος
1260

μεταβάλοιτʼ ἂν ὧδε σιγὰν λόγων;

ἐπεί σε νῦν ἀφράστως

ἀέλπτως τʼ ἐσεῖδον.

Ὀρέστης

τότʼ εἶδες, εὖτε θεοί μʼ ἐπώτρυναν μολεῖν

1265

Ἠλέκτρα

ἔφρασας ὑπερτέραν

τᾶς πάρος ἔτι χάριτος, εἴ σε θεὸς ἐπόρισεν

ἁμέτερα πρὸς μέλαθρα· δαιμόνιον

αὐτὸ τίθημʼ ἐγώ.
1270

Ὀρέστης

τὰ μέν σʼ ὀκνῶ χαίρουσαν εἰργαθεῖν, τὰ δὲ

δέδοικα λίαν ἡδονῇ νικωμένην.

1273

Ἠλέκτρα

ἰὼ χρόνῳ μακρῷ φιλτάταν ὁδὸν

ἐπαξιώσας ὧδέ μοι φανῆναι,

μή τί με, πολύπονον ὧδʼ ἰδὼν
1275

Ὀρέστης

τί μὴ ποήσω;

Ἠλέκτρα

μή μʼ ἀποστερήσῃς

τῶν σῶν προσώπων ἁδονὰν μεθέσθαι.

Ὀρέστης

ἦ κάρτα κἂν ἄλλοισι θυμοίμην ἰδών.

Ἠλέκτρα

ξυναινεῖς;
1280

Ὀρέστης

τί μὴν οὔ;

Ἠλέκτρα

ὦ φίλαι, ἔκλυον ἃν ἐγὼ οὐδʼ ἂν ἤλπισʼ αὐδάν,

οὐδʼ ἂν ἔσχον ὁρμὰν

ἄναυδον οὐδὲ σὺν βοᾷ κλύουσα,

τάλαινα. νῦν δʼ ἔχω σε· προυφάνης δὲ
1285

φιλτάταν ἔχων πρόσοψιν,

ἇς ἐγὼ οὐδʼ ἂν ἐν κακοῖς λαθοίμαν.

Translations (4)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1232 focus

O dearest women, Argives of my home!

Ye see Orestes, dead in craft, but now

By that same craft delivered and preserved.

CH

We see, dear daughter, and the gladsome tear

Steals from our eye to greet the bright event.

EL

Offspring of him I loved beyond all telling!

Ah! thou art come,—hast found me, eye to eye

Behold’st the face thou didst desire to see.
1235

OR

True, I am here; but bide in silence still.

EL

Wherefore?

OR

Hush! speak not loud, lest one within should hearken.

EL

By ever-virgin Artemis, ne’er will I

Think worthy of my fear

This useless mass of woman-cowardice
1240

Burdening the house within,

Not peering out of door.

OR

Yet know that women too have might in war.

Of that methinks thou hast feeling evidence.

EL

Ah me! thou hast unveiled
1245

And thrust before my gaze

That burning load of my distress

No time will soothe, no remedy will heal.

OR

I know that too. But when we are face to face

With the evildoers,—then let remembrance work.
1250

EL

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1232 focus

Otheurer Sproß,

Strophe.

Elektra.

Sproß jenes uns, ach, so geliebten Manns,

Du kamst endlich, ja,

Du kamest, fandest, sahest, die dein Herz ersehnt!
1210

Orestes.

Ich bin gekommen; aber schweigend harre noch.

Warum das?

Wohl ziemt zu schweigen, eh man uns im Haus vernimmt.

Elektra.

Nein, bei der ewig unbezwungnen Artemis!¹

Wahrlich, ich fürchte nicht die nuzlose Last,
1215

Dies Volk der Weiber mehr, das im Haus stets sich umtreibt.

Orestes.

Doch sei behutsam, auch in Weiberseelen glüht

Kampfmuth: du weißt es; denn Erfahrung lehrte dich's.

Elektra.

Oweh, o Graun, o Graun!

Du nennst unverhüllt das unvertilgbare,
1220

In der Erinnerung nie zu verschmerzende,

Das Leid, das ich litt!

Orestes.

Wohl weiß ich das; doch dieses Jammers mußt du mir

Dann erst gedenken, wann die rechte Zeit erscheint.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1232 focus

Oh ! ye are come, my friends, in happiest hour,

E'en to behold, to find again the man

Whom your souls wished for, ye are come.

Chorus

We are ;

Electra

Wherefore in silence ?

Chorus

Lest our foes within

Should hear thee.

Electra

Never, by the virgin power

Of chaste Diana, will I hide my joys,
1240

Nor meanly stoop to fear an idle throng

Of helpless women.

Orestes

Women have their power,

And that thou knowest.

Electra

Alas ! and so I do ;
1245

For oh ! thou hast called back the sad remembrance

Of that misfortune which admits no cure,

And ne'er can be forgot.

Orestes

A fitter time

May come when we must think of that.
1250

Electra

English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1232-1285 focus

Electra

O seed, seed of the person to me most dear, you have just now come,

you have come, and have found and seen her whom your heart desired!
1235

Orestes

I am with you; but keep silence and wait.

Electra

What do you mean?

Orestes

It is better to be silent so that no one inside may hear.

Electra

No, by ever-virgin Artemis,

I will never think it right to tremble before eternally house-bound women, that useless burden on the ground!
1240

Orestes

Yes, but remember that Ares dwells in women, too. You know this well by experience, I believe.

Electra

oh, no! ah, me! You have reminded me of my sorrow, one which by its nature cannot be veiled,
1245

cannot be done away with, cannot be forgotten!
1250

Orestes

I know this, too; but when occasion prompts, we must recall those crimes.

1253

Electra

Each moment of all time, as it comes, would be a proper occasion

for me to make these just complaints. Scarcely now have I had my lips set free.
1255

Orestes

Yes, I agree; therefore guard your freedom.

Electra

What must I do?

Orestes

When it is inopportune, do not want to speak too much.

Electra

No, who could exchange due silence for speech, when you have appeared? For now my eyes have seen you, beyond all thought and hope!
1260

Orestes

You saw me when the gods moved me to come.

Electra

You have told me of a grace higher still than the first, if a god brought you to our house;
1265

I acknowledge in it the work of the divine.
1270

Orestes

On the one hand I hesitate to curb your gladness, but on the other I fear that you may be overwhelmed by too much joy.

1273

Electra

O you who, after such a long time, saw fit to make your most happy journey and appear to me,

do not, now that you have seen me in all my misery—
1275

Orestes

What should I not do?—

Electra

—Do not rob me of the comfort of your face; do not force me to forego it!

Orestes

I would be angry, indeed, if I saw another attempt it.

Electra

You give your consent?

Orestes

Why would I not?
1280

Electra

My friends, I heard a voice that I could never have hoped to hear; nor could I have restrained my emotion in silence and without a cry, when I heard it.

ah, me! But now I have you. You have appeared with that dear face, which I could never, even in misery, forget.
1285

Commentary

Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))

mvp-comment-139-1 τούτοις ¹

mvp-comment-140-1 εἴ τῳ πρόσκειμαι χρηστῷ ²

mvp-comment-141-1 ξυνναίοιμ’ ³

mvp-comment-141-2 εὔκηλος ⁴

mvp-comment-141-3 γονέων ⁵ ἐκτίμους ⁶

mvp-comment-141-4 ἐκτίμους ἵσχουσα ⁷

mvp-comment-141-5 πτέρυγας … γόων ⁸

mvp-comment-141-6 ὀξυτόνων ⁹

mvp-comment-142-1 εἰ γὰρ ¹⁰

mvp-comment-142-2 γᾶ ¹¹

mvp-comment-142-3 οὐδὲν ¹² ὢν ¹³ εἰ ¹⁴

mvp-comment-142-4 Electra is contrasting her father, whose earthly life has been cut short, with his murderers, who survive. But she believes that his spirit lives in the world below, and will be active in aiding the vengeance (453 ff.).

mvp-comment-142-5 πάλιν ¹⁵

mvp-comment-142-6 ἀντιφόνους δίκας ¹⁶

mvp-comment-143-1 ἔρροι τ’ ¹⁷

mvp-comment-143-2 αἰδὼς ¹⁸ εὐσέβεια ¹⁹

mvp-comment-144-1 ἐγὼ μὲν ²⁰

mvp-comment-144-2 καὶ ²¹ τὸ σὸν … καὶ τοὐμὸν ²²

mvp-comment-145-1 νίκα ²³

mvp-comment-145-2 ἅμα ²⁴

mvp-comment-146-1 πολλοῖσι θρήνοις ²⁵

mvp-comment-147-1 ἀλλὰ … γὰρ ²⁶

mvp-comment-148-1 ἥτις εὐγενὴς γυνή ²⁷

mvp-comment-149-1 πατρῷα … πήματα ²⁸

mvp-comment-150-1 κατ’ εὐφρόνην ²⁹

mvp-comment-150-2 θάλλοντα ³⁰

mvp-comment-151-1 ᾗ ³¹

mvp-comment-151-2 πρῶτα μὲν … εἶτα … ἔπειτα ³² ᾗ ³³

mvp-comment-151-3 τὰ μητρὸς ³⁴

mvp-comment-151-4 ἔχθιστα συμβέβηκεν ³⁵

mvp-comment-152-1 κἀκ τῶνδ’ ἄρχομαι ³⁶

mvp-comment-153-1 λαβεῖν … τὸ τητᾶσθαι ³⁷

mvp-comment-154-1 ποίας ³⁸ δοκεῖς ³⁹

mvp-comment-155-1 ἴδω ⁴⁰ εἰσίδω δ’ ⁴¹ ἴδω δὲ ⁴²

mvp-comment-155-2 μὲν ⁴³

mvp-comment-156-1 ἐσθήματα ⁴⁴

mvp-comment-156-2 ἐκείνῳ ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-156-3 παρεστίους … λοιβάς ⁴⁶ ἔνθ’ ἐκεῖνον ὤλεσεν ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-156-4 Acc. to Homer. Hymn. 29. 4 ff., feasts began and ended with libations to Hestia:

οὐ γὰρ ἄτερ σοῦ

εἰλαπίναι θνητοῖσιν, ἵν’ οὐ πρώτῃ πυμάτῃ τε

Ἱστίῃ ἀρχόμενος σπένδει μελιηδέα οἶνον

. Soph. fr. 658

<*> πρῷρα λοιβῆς Ἑστία

. Other divinities, including Zeus

σωτήρ

, were similarly honoured; then the paean was sung, and the

πότος

began ( Plat. Symp.p. 176 A).

mvp-comment-157-1 τούτων ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-158-1 αὐτοέντην ⁴⁹

mvp-comment-158-2 Brunck first adopted αὐτοέντην ⁵⁰ αὐτοφόντην ⁵¹

mvp-comment-158-3 ἡμὶν ⁵²

mvp-comment-159-1 ταλαίνῃ ⁵³

mvp-comment-160-1 ταύτην … τῷδε ⁵⁴

mvp-comment-161-1 μιάστορι ⁵⁵ Ἐρινὺν ⁵⁶

mvp-comment-162-1 ἐγγελῶσα τοῖς ποιουμένοις ⁵⁷

mvp-comment-163-1 εὑροῦς’ ⁵⁸ τότε ⁵⁹

mvp-comment-163-2 The conjecture φρουροῦς’ ⁶⁰ τηροῦς’ ⁶¹

mvp-comment-164-1 χοροὺς ἵστησι ⁶²

mvp-comment-164-2 μηλοσφαγεῖ … ἱερὰ ⁶³

mvp-comment-164-3 ἔμμην’ ἱερά ⁶⁴

mvp-comment-164-4 τοῖς σωτηρίοις ⁶⁵

mvp-comment-164-5 Argive tradition placed Agamemnon's death on the 13th of Gamelion (about the end of January). So said ‘the Argive historians’ (

οἱ Ἀργολικοὶ συγγραφεῖς

),— according to an Argive writer named Deinias, who lived about 225 B.C. (Schol. here: Müller, Frag. Hist. vol. III. p. 25.) Possibly, then, the idea of Clytaemnestra's hideous festival may have been suggested to the poet by some actual commemoration of the event in Argolis. There was a cult of Agamemnon in various places,—notably in Laconia. (Cp. Roscher's Lexicon, p. 96.)

mvp-comment-165-1 ἡ δύσμορος ⁶⁶ κατὰ στέγας ⁶⁷

mvp-comment-166-1 τέτηκα ⁶⁸

mvp-comment-166-2 πατρὸς ⁶⁹

mvp-comment-166-3 The

δαίς

is the feast which, in Homeric fashion ( Il. 1. 467 ), would follow the sacrifice (281). Acc. to Eustathius p. 1507. 61 (on Hom. Od. 4. 524 ff.),

Ἀγαμεμνόνειος δαὶς

(or

τράπεζα

) was a proverb

ἐπὶ τῶν ἐπ’ ὀλέθρῳ εὐωχουμένων

. The poet may mean that Clytaemnestra called the festival

Ἀγαμεμνόνειος δαίς

, in direct allusion to

δεῖπνα ἄρρητα

(203): and this would give a special point to

ἐγγελῶσα

(277). Cp. Eur. Or. 1008

τά τ’ ἐπώνυμα δεῖπνα Θυέστου

. But the words do not necessarily imply more than that she called it

Ἀγαμεμνόνεια

mvp-comment-167-1 αὐτὴ πρὸς αὑτήν ⁷⁰ αὑτήν ⁷¹

mvp-comment-167-2 κλαῦσαι ⁷²

mvp-comment-167-3 ἡδονὴν φέρει ⁷³

mvp-comment-168-1 ἡ λόγοισι γενναία ⁷⁴

mvp-comment-169-1 φωνοῦσα ⁷⁵

mvp-comment-170-1 δύσθεον ⁷⁶

mvp-comment-170-2 μίσημα ⁷⁷

mvp-comment-170-3 σοὶ μόνῃ ⁷⁸

mvp-comment-170-4 τέθνηκεν ⁷⁹

mvp-comment-170-5 ἐν πένθει ⁸⁰

mvp-comment-171-1 ἐκ γόων ⁸¹

mvp-comment-171-2 οἱ κάτω θεοί ⁸²

mvp-comment-172-1 τάδ’ ⁸³

mvp-comment-172-2 ἥξοντ’ Ὀρέστην ⁸⁴

mvp-comment-173-1 παραστᾶς’ ⁸⁵

mvp-comment-174-1 ἥτις ⁸⁶

mvp-comment-174-2 ὑπεξέθου ⁸⁷

mvp-comment-175-1 ἀλλ’ ἴσθι τοι τείσουσά γ’ ⁸⁸

mvp-comment-176-1 ὑλακτεῖ ⁸⁹

mvp-comment-176-2 σὺν ⁹⁰

mvp-comment-176-3 πέλας ⁹¹ παρών ⁹²

mvp-comment-176-4 301 The adv. πάντα ⁹³

mvp-comment-176-5 ἄναλκις ⁹⁴

mvp-comment-176-6 ἡ πᾶσα βλάβη ⁹⁵

mvp-comment-177-1 σὺν γυναιξὶ ⁹⁶

mvp-comment-177-2 τὰς μάχας ⁹⁷

mvp-comment-178-1 ἐφήξειν ⁹⁸

mvp-comment-179-1 μέλλων … δρᾶν τι ⁹⁹

mvp-comment-179-2 τὰς οὔσας τε … καὶ τὰς ἀπούσας ¹⁰⁰

mvp-comment-179-3 μου ¹⁰¹ μοι ¹⁰²

mvp-comment-179-4 διέφθορεν ¹⁰³

mvp-comment-180-1 σωφρονεῖν ¹⁰⁴ εὐσεβεῖν ¹⁰⁵

mvp-comment-180-2 ἔν τοι κακοῖς ¹⁰⁶

mvp-comment-180-3 πολλή )στ’ ἀνάγκη ¹⁰⁷ κἀπιτηδεύειν κακά ¹⁰⁸

mvp-comment-180-4 I place only a comma, not a colon, after πάρεστιν ¹⁰⁹

mvp-comment-181-1 ὄντος … βεβῶτος ¹¹⁰

mvp-comment-182-1 ἦ κάρτα ¹¹¹

mvp-comment-182-2 θυραῖον ¹¹²

mvp-comment-182-3 οἰχνεῖν ¹¹³

mvp-comment-182-4 ἀγροῖσι ¹¹⁴

mvp-comment-182-5 τυγχάνει ¹¹⁵

mvp-comment-183-1 ἦ κἂν … ἱκοίμην ¹¹⁶ ἦ τ<*>ν ¹¹⁷ ἦ δἂν ¹¹⁸

mvp-comment-183-2 ἐς λόγους τοὺς σοὺς ἱκοίμην ¹¹⁹

mvp-comment-184-1 ὡς νῦν ¹²⁰ ὥς νυν ¹²¹

mvp-comment-184-2 ἱστόρει· τί σοι φίλον ¹²² τό ¹²³ τά ¹²⁴

mvp-comment-184-3 With the other punctuation, ἱστόρει τί σοι φίλον ¹²⁵

mvp-comment-185-1 καὶ δὴ ¹²⁶

mvp-comment-185-2 τοῦ κασιγνήτου τί φής ¹²⁷

mvp-comment-185-3 ἥξοντος ¹²⁸ ἢ μέλλοντος ¹²⁹

mvp-comment-186-1 φησίν γε ¹³⁰

mvp-comment-186-2 ποεῖ ¹³¹

mvp-comment-187-1 καὶ μὴν ἔγωγ’ ¹³² γε ¹³³

mvp-comment-187-2 οὐκ ὄκνῳ ¹³⁴

mvp-comment-188-1 ἀρκεῖν ¹³⁵

mvp-comment-189-1 ἐπεί ¹³⁶

mvp-comment-189-2 μακρὰν ¹³⁷

mvp-comment-189-3 324 Here, as in 316, νῦν ¹³⁸ νυν ¹³⁹

mvp-comment-189-4 δόμων ¹⁴⁰ φέρουσαν ¹⁴¹

mvp-comment-190-1 ὅμαιμον ¹⁴²

mvp-comment-190-2 φύσιν ¹⁴³

mvp-comment-191-1 Χρυσόθεμιν ¹⁴⁴

mvp-comment-192-1 οἷα ¹⁴⁵ νομίζεται ¹⁴⁶

mvp-comment-193-1 πρὸς θυρῶνος ἐξόδοις ¹⁴⁷ φωνεῖς ¹⁴⁸ ἐλθοῦσα ¹⁴⁹ αὖ ¹⁵⁰

mvp-comment-193-2 330 For the absence of caesura, cp. Ph. 101 n.

mvp-comment-194-1 θυμῷ … χαρίζεσθαι ¹⁵¹

mvp-comment-195-1 καίτοι τοσοῦτόν γ’ οἶδα ¹⁵²

mvp-comment-195-2 κἀμαυτήν, ὅτι ¹⁵³

mvp-comment-195-3 333 f. For the repeated ἄν ¹⁵⁴

mvp-comment-195-4 οἶ) αὐτοῖς φρονῶ ¹⁵⁵

mvp-comment-196-1 ὑφειμένῃ ¹⁵⁶ πλεῖν ¹⁵⁷

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

ἄκροισι λαίφους κρασπέδοις

(with close-reefed sails)

ὑπεκφυγεῖν

τὴν σὴν στόμαργον, ὦ γύναι, γλωσσαλγίαν

: Ar. Ran. 997

ἀλλ’ ὅπως, ὦ γεννάδα

, |

μὴ πρὸς ὀργὴν ἀντιλέξεις

, |

ἀλλὰ συστείλας, ἄκροισι

χρώμενος τοῖς ἱστίοις κ.τ.λ.

: and conversely Soph. Ant. 715

ναὸς ὅστις ἐγκρατῆ πόδα

τείνας ὑπείκει μηδέν

. Ovid Epist. 1. 8. 71

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

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

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

mvp-comment-197-1 καὶ μὴ δοκεῖν ¹⁵⁸

mvp-comment-198-1 τοιαῦτα δ’ ἄλλα ¹⁵⁹ ἀλλὰ ¹⁶⁰ ἄλλα ¹⁶¹

mvp-comment-199-1 καίτοι τὸ μὲν δίκαιον ¹⁶²

mvp-comment-199-2 κρίνεις ¹⁶³

mvp-comment-199-3 εἰ … με δεῖ ¹⁶⁴

mvp-comment-199-4 ἐλευθέραν ¹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-199-5 ζῆν ¹⁶⁶

mvp-comment-199-6 πάντ’ ¹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-199-7 ἀκουστέα ¹⁶⁸

mvp-comment-200-1 δεινόν γε ¹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-201-1 τῆς … τικτούσης ¹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-201-2 μέλειν ¹⁷¹

mvp-comment-202-1 τἀμὰ νουθετήματα ¹⁷²

mvp-comment-202-2 κείνης διδακτά ¹⁷³

mvp-comment-202-3 ἐκ σαυτῆς ¹⁷⁴

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

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

ἔπειτα

),—that being so,—give up the attempt at a compromise. Make a choice (

ἑλοῦ γε

). You can be imprudent (

φρονεῖν κακῶς

),—as you say that I am,—and loyal to your dead father. Or you can be prudent (

φρονοῦσα

), and forgetful of him,—as you actually are; you who (

ἥτις

) say, indeed, that you would show your hatred of the murderers if you could; and yet, when I do resist them, you try to turn me from my purpose. You merely add the shame of cowardice to our woes.’

mvp-comment-203-3 ἔπειθ’ ¹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-203-4 ἑλοῦ γε ¹⁷⁶

mvp-comment-203-5 φρονεῖν κακῶς ¹⁷⁷

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

φρονοῦσα

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

mvp-comment-204-1 τῶν φίλων ¹⁷⁸

mvp-comment-205-1 ἥτις ¹⁷⁹ φρονοῦσα ¹⁸⁰ μῖσος ¹⁸¹

mvp-comment-206-1 πάντα ¹⁸²

mvp-comment-206-2 τιμωρουμένης ¹⁸³

mvp-comment-207-1 οὔτε … τε ¹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-207-2 τήν τε δρῶσαν ¹⁸⁵

mvp-comment-208-1 πρὸς κακοῖσι ¹⁸⁶

mvp-comment-208-2 δειλίαν ἔχει ¹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-209-1 ἐπεὶ ¹⁸⁸

mvp-comment-209-2 ἢ μάθ’ ἐξ ἐμοῦ ¹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-210-1 ἐπαρκούντως ¹⁹⁰

mvp-comment-211-1 προσάπτειν ¹⁹¹

mvp-comment-211-2 εἴ τις ἔστ’ ἐκεῖ χάρις ¹⁹²

mvp-comment-212-1 ἡμὶν ¹⁹³ ξύνει ¹⁹⁴

mvp-comment-213-1 τὰ σὰ … δῶῤ ¹⁹⁵

mvp-comment-213-2 ἐφ’ οἶσι ¹⁹⁶

mvp-comment-213-3 χλιδᾷς ¹⁹⁷

mvp-comment-214-1 ὑπεικάθοιμι ¹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-214-2 πλουσία ¹⁹⁹

mvp-comment-214-3 περιρρείτω ²⁰⁰

mvp-comment-215-1 τοὐμὲ μὴ λυπεῖν ²⁰¹

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

κείνοις ἂν ἤλγουν· τοῖσδε δ’ οὐκ ἀλγύνομαι

( Ant. 468 ). There, too, we have a Sophoclean triad of clauses, the third echoing the first,—as

τῆς σῆς δ’ οὐκ ἐρῶ τιμῆς τυχεῖν

here reiterates the sense of

σοὶ δὲ πλουσία... βίος

(n. on Ant. 465 ff.).

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

τοῦτο μόνον ἐμὲ βοσκέτω, τὸ μὴ λυπεῖν ἐμὲ αὐτήν, εἰ

(‘as I should do, if’)

τοῖς φονεῦσι τοῦ πατρὸς πείθεσθαι ἀναγκασθήσομαι

.—The conjectures have been numerous: see Appendix.

mvp-comment-216-1 οὐδ’ ἂν σὺ ²⁰²

mvp-comment-217-1 παῖδα ²⁰³

mvp-comment-217-2 κεκλῆσθαι ²⁰⁴

mvp-comment-218-1 πλείστοις ²⁰⁵

mvp-comment-219-1 μηδὲν ²⁰⁶ πρὸς ὀργὴν ²⁰⁷

mvp-comment-220-1 ἀμφοῖν ²⁰⁸ τοῖς λόγοις ²⁰⁹

mvp-comment-221-1 τῆσδε … αὕτη ²¹⁰ πάλιν ²¹¹

mvp-comment-222-1 ἐγὼ μὲν ²¹²

mvp-comment-222-2 πως ²¹³

mvp-comment-222-3 μύθων ²¹⁴

mvp-comment-223-1 οὐδ’ ²¹⁵ κοὐδ’ ²¹⁶ ποτέ ²¹⁷

mvp-comment-224-1 ἰὸν ²¹⁸

mvp-comment-224-2 σχήσει ²¹⁹

mvp-comment-225-1 τὸ δεινὸν ²²⁰

mvp-comment-225-2 εἰ γὰρ τῶνδέ μοι ²²¹ εἰ ²²²

mvp-comment-226-1 γὰρ ²²³

mvp-comment-226-2 γόων ²²⁴ λόγων ²²⁵

mvp-comment-227-1 ἐνταῦθα ²²⁶

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

mvp-comment-227-3 ζῶσα ²²⁸

mvp-comment-227-4 κατηρεφεῖ ²²⁹

mvp-comment-227-5 χθονὸς τῆσδ’ ἐκτὸς ²³⁰

mvp-comment-227-6 ὑμνήσεις ²³¹

mvp-comment-228-1 πρὸς ταῦτα ²³²

mvp-comment-228-2 Nauck reads κοὔ ²³³ καί ²³⁴

mvp-comment-228-3

ἐν καλῷ, εὔκαιρον

schol.: H. 4. 3. 5

νομίσαντες οὐκ ἐν καλῷ εἶναι πρὸς τοὺς ὁπλίτας ἱππομαχεῖν

: so, too, Eur. Heracl. 971 , etc. Cp.

καλόν

(

ἐστι

καίριον

in Soph. Ph. 1155 ; and

εἰς καλόν

καιρίως

in O.T. 78.

mvp-comment-229-1 ἦ ταῦτα δὴ ²³⁵ ἦ … δὴ ²³⁶ ἦ … γὰρ ²³⁷

mvp-comment-229-2 καὶ βεβούλευνται ²³⁸

mvp-comment-230-1 ἀλλ’ ἐξίκοιτο ²³⁹

mvp-comment-230-2 τοῦδέ γ’ οὕνεκ’ ²⁴⁰

mvp-comment-231-1 τίνα … τόνδ’ ²⁴¹

mvp-comment-231-2 τάλαινα ²⁴²

mvp-comment-232-1 εἴ τι τῶνδε ²⁴³

mvp-comment-233-1 ποῦ ποτ’ εἶ φρενῶν ²⁴⁴

mvp-comment-234-1 ὅπως ²⁴⁵ ὑμῶν ²⁴⁶

mvp-comment-234-2 προσώτατ’ ²⁴⁷ προσωτάτω φύγω ²⁴⁸

mvp-comment-235-1 βίου … τοῦ παρόντος ²⁴⁹

mvp-comment-236-1 καλὸς γὰρ ²⁵⁰

mvp-comment-236-2 θαυμάσαι ²⁵¹

mvp-comment-237-1 τοῖς φίλοις ²⁵²

mvp-comment-238-1 εἰκαθεῖν ²⁵³

mvp-comment-239-1 ταῦτα ²⁵⁴ οὐκ ἐμοὺς ²⁵⁵

mvp-comment-240-1 γε ²⁵⁶ μέντοι ²⁵⁷

mvp-comment-240-2 μὴ )ξ ²⁵⁸

mvp-comment-240-3 πεσεῖν ²⁵⁹

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

παθόντες ἂν ξυγγνοῖμεν ἡμαρτηκότες

mvp-comment-241-1 συγγνώμην ²⁶⁰

mvp-comment-242-1 τἄπη ²⁶¹

mvp-comment-242-2 πρὸς κακῶν ²⁶²

mvp-comment-243-1 μή πω ²⁶³

mvp-comment-244-1 οἷπερ … ὁδοῦ ²⁶⁴

mvp-comment-245-1 τῷ φέρεις ²⁶⁵

mvp-comment-245-2 ἔμπυρα ²⁶⁶

mvp-comment-246-1 τυμβεῦσαι χοάς ²⁶⁷

mvp-comment-247-1 βροτῶν ²⁶⁸

mvp-comment-248-1 ὃν ἔκταν’ αὐτή ²⁶⁹ ὅν γ’ ²⁷⁰

mvp-comment-249-1 τῷ τοῦτ’ ἤρεσεν ²⁷¹

mvp-comment-250-1 δείματος ²⁷²

mvp-comment-250-2 δοκεῖν ἐμοί ²⁷³

mvp-comment-251-1 θεοὶ πατρῷοι ²⁷⁴

mvp-comment-251-2 συγγένεσθέ γ’ ²⁷⁵

mvp-comment-251-3 ἀλλὰ νῦν ²⁷⁶

mvp-comment-252-1 εἴποιμ’ ἂν τότε ²⁷⁷

mvp-comment-253-1 ἐπὶ σμικρὸν ²⁷⁸ ἐπὶ σμικρῶν ²⁷⁹

mvp-comment-253-2 φράσαι ²⁸⁰

mvp-comment-254-1 σμικροὶ λόγοι ²⁸¹

mvp-comment-255-1 πατρὸς … δευτέραν ὁμιλίαν ²⁸²

mvp-comment-255-2 ἐφέστιον πῆξαι ²⁸³

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

χρύσεον

( Il. 2. 268 , etc.), prob. as being ornamented with gold foil, or studded with gold nails ( Il. 1. 246

χρυσείοις ἥλοισι πεπαρμένον

). Among the objects found at Mycenae are some supposed remains of such sceptres (Schliem., Myc. 201, etc.).

mvp-comment-255-4 οὑφόρει ποτέ ²⁸⁴

mvp-comment-256-1 ἔκ τε ²⁸⁵ ἐκ δὲ ²⁸⁶

mvp-comment-256-2 βρύοντα ²⁸⁷

mvp-comment-256-3 ᾧ … γενέσθαι ²⁸⁸

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

τὴν δὲ ἄμπελον ἐπισχεῖν τὴν Ἀσίην πᾶσαν

. The

ὀνειροπόλοι

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):

ἐδόκεε...ἐστεφανῶσθαι ἐλαίης θαλλῷ, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ἐλαίης τοὺς κλάδους γῆν πᾶσαν ἐπισχεῖν

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.);

ναὶ μὰ τόδε σκῆπτρον· τὸ μὲν οὔποτε φύλλα καὶ ὄζους

φύσει, ἐπεὶ δὴ πρῶτα τομὴν ἐν ὄρεσσι λέλοιπεν

, |

οὐδ’ ἀναθηλήσει

mvp-comment-257-1 του παρόντος ²⁸⁹ τοῦ ²⁹⁰ παρόντος ²⁹¹ του ²⁹²

mvp-comment-257-2 Ἡλίῳ δείκνυσι τοὖναρ ²⁹³

mvp-comment-258-1 οὐ κάτοιδα, πλὴν ²⁹⁴

mvp-comment-258-2 πέμπει με κείνη ²⁹⁵

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

πρός νυν θεῶν κ.τ.λ.

(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

ἀβουλίᾳ πεσεῖν

would alone suffice to show that the verses belong to Chrysothemis ( cp. 398 ). Nor could the warning,

σὺν κακῷ μέτει πάλιν

, be fitly uttered by Electra.

mvp-comment-259-3 τῶν ἐγγενῶν ²⁹⁶

mvp-comment-260-1 ἀβουλίᾳ ²⁹⁷

mvp-comment-260-2 σὺν κακῷ ²⁹⁸

mvp-comment-260-3 μέτει ²⁹⁹

mvp-comment-261-1 ἀλλ’ ³⁰⁰

mvp-comment-261-2 ὦ φίλη ³⁰¹ τούτων μὲν ³⁰²

mvp-comment-262-1 οὐ … θέμις ³⁰³ οὐδ’ ὅσιον ³⁰⁴

mvp-comment-262-2 ἐχθρᾶς ἀπὸ γυναικὸς ³⁰⁵

mvp-comment-262-3 κτερίσματ’ ³⁰⁶

mvp-comment-262-4 λουτρὰ ³⁰⁷

mvp-comment-263-1 ἀλλ’ ἢ πνοαῖσιν ³⁰⁸ ῥοαῖσιν ³⁰⁹

mvp-comment-263-2 κρύψον ³¹⁰

mvp-comment-263-3 νιν ³¹¹

mvp-comment-263-4 ἔνθα μή ποτ’ ³¹² ἔνθεν ³¹³

mvp-comment-263-5 εὐνὴν ³¹⁴

mvp-comment-264-1 ἀλλ’ ὅταν θάῃν ³¹⁵

mvp-comment-264-2 The conjecture ἔστ’ ἂν ³¹⁶ ὅταν ³¹⁷ σῳζέσθω ³¹⁸

mvp-comment-264-3 κειμήλἰ ³¹⁹

mvp-comment-265-1 ἀρχὴν ³²⁰ τλημονεστάτη ³²¹

mvp-comment-266-1 ἔβλαστε ³²²

mvp-comment-267-1 ὅν γ’ … τῷδ’ ³²³

mvp-comment-267-2 ἐπέστεφε ³²⁴

mvp-comment-267-3 442 f. The position of αὐτῇ ³²⁵

mvp-comment-267-4 δέξεσθαι ³²⁶

mvp-comment-267-5 It seems, then, a reasonable inference that here, where the reference is to future time, he would have written δέξεσθαι ³²⁷ δέξασθαι ³²⁸

mvp-comment-267-6 444 ff. Join θανὼν ἄτιμος ³²⁹

mvp-comment-267-7 ἐμασχαλίσθη ³³⁰

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 (

ὥσπερ τὴν δύναμιν ἐκείνων ἀφαιρούμενοι

): (2) the desire to make an atonement (

ἐξιλάσασθαι τὴν δολοφονίαν—ἀφοσιοῦσθαι τὸν φόνον

). 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,

ἐξάργματα τάμνε θανόντος

. Cp. Etym. Magn.:

ἀπάργματα λέγεται τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν τραγῳδῶν λεγόμενα μασχαλίσματα

mvp-comment-267-9 κἀπὶ λουτροῖσιν ³³¹

mvp-comment-267-10 ἐξέμαξ ν ³³²

mvp-comment-267-11 ἆρα μὴ ³³³

mvp-comment-268-1 οὐκ ἔστιν ³³⁴

mvp-comment-268-2 ταῦτα μὲν μέθες· σὺ δὲ ³³⁵

mvp-comment-269-1 βοστρύχων ἄκρας φόβας ³³⁶

mvp-comment-269-2 κἀμοῦ ταλαίνης ³³⁷

mvp-comment-270-1 †ἀλιπαρῆ ³³⁸ λιπαρῆ ³³⁹

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

τήνδ’ ἀλιπαρῆ τρίχα

may conceal some corruption:

τήνδ’

ought possibly to be τήνδε τ’ ³⁴⁰ ἀλίπαρον ³⁴¹

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

ἀλιπαρῆ

may mean

οὐ λιπαράν

. There is no doubt that

λιπ

, ‘fat,’ is the root both of

λι^παρός

, ‘shining,’ and of

λι—παρής

, ‘sticking’; cp. Plat. Crat. 427 B

τὸ λιπαρὸν καὶ τὸ κολλῶδες

( Curt. Etym. § 340 ). Similarly

γλίσχρος

, ‘sticky,’ came to mean ‘importunate.’ It is barely possible that, in coining a new negative compound, the poet may have transferred the sense of

λιπαρός

λιπαρής

: but it seems improbable.

mvp-comment-271-1 ζῶμα ³⁴²

mvp-comment-271-2 χλιδαῖς ³⁴³

mvp-comment-272-1 προσπίτνουσα ³⁴⁴ αὐτὸν ³⁴⁵

mvp-comment-273-1 ἐξ ὑπερτέρας χερός ³⁴⁶

mvp-comment-273-2 ζῶντ’ ³⁴⁷

mvp-comment-274-1 ἀφνεωτέραις ³⁴⁸

mvp-comment-274-2 στέφωμεν ³⁴⁹

mvp-comment-274-3 δωρούμεθα ³⁵⁰

mvp-comment-275-1 οἶμαι μὲν οὖν ³⁵¹

mvp-comment-275-2 If μέλον ³⁵² μέλειν ³⁵³ μέλον ³⁵⁴

mvp-comment-276-1 σοί ³⁵⁵

mvp-comment-277-1 βροτῶν ³⁵⁶

mvp-comment-278-1 πρὸς εὐσέβειαν ³⁵⁷

mvp-comment-279-1 δράσω ³⁵⁸

mvp-comment-279-2 τὸ γὰρ δίκαιον ³⁵⁹

mvp-comment-279-3 (1)

τὸ δίκαιον

is an acc. of general reference, and

οὐκ ἔχει λόγον

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

ἀλλ’ ἐπισπεύδειν

we supply the notion

δεῖ

from the negative

οὐκ ἔχει λόγον

(as from

οὐκ ἔξεστι

in O. C. 1402 ff.; cp. O. T. 817 ff.). For the form of the sentence, cp. H. 7. 3. 7

τοὺς περὶ Ἀρχίαν...οὐ ψῆφον ἀνεμείνατε, ἀλλὰ ὁπότε πρῶτον ἐδυνάσθητε ἐτιμωρήσασθε

. So here the acc.

τὸ δίκαιον

, which represents the object of

δρᾶν

, is separated from it by the parenthesis

οὐκ

ἔχει λόγον δυοῖν ἐρίζειν

. (The first scholium gives substantially this view:

οὐκ ἔχει λόγον φιλονεικεῖν περὶ τοῦ δικαίου, ὥστε περὶ αὐτοῦ δύο ὄντας ἐρίζειν

mvp-comment-279-4 (2) Or

τὸ δίκαιον

might be nom.: ‘that which is clearly right does not afford any ground (

οὐκ ἔχει λόγον

) for two persons to dispute,’ etc. So the second schol.:

ἢ τὸ οὐκ ἔχει λόγον ἀντὶ τοῦ οὐ παρέχει πρόφασιν

. So far as the verb

ἔχει

is concerned, this sense is quite admissible: cp. Thuc. 2. 41

οὔτε τῷ πολεμίῳ ἐπελθόντι ἀγανάκτησιν ἔχει

(

ἡ πόλις

). The objection is that the phrases

ἔχειν λόγον, οὐκ ἔχειν λόγον

, 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

τὸ γὰρ μὴ ἀγανακτεῖν...οὐκ ἔχει λόγον

: Dem. or. 36 § 54

πῶς ἔχει λόγον σὲ...δίκην ἀξιοῦν λαμβάνειν

; The supposed sense, ‘not to afford a reason,’ is unexampled.

mvp-comment-279-5 δυοῖν ³⁶⁰

mvp-comment-280-1 παρ’ ὑμῶν ³⁶¹

mvp-comment-281-1 πικρὰν ³⁶² δοκῶ με … τολμήσειν ³⁶³ ἔτι ³⁶⁴

mvp-comment-282-1 εἰ μὴ )γὼ ³⁶⁵

mvp-comment-282-2 γνώμας λειπομένα ³⁶⁶

mvp-comment-283-1 ἁ πρόμαντις Δίκα ³⁶⁷

mvp-comment-283-2 δίκαια φερομένα χεροῖν κράτη ³⁶⁸

mvp-comment-284-1 μέτεισιν ³⁶⁹

mvp-comment-284-2 οὐ μακροῦ χρόνου ³⁷⁰

mvp-comment-285-1 ὕπεστί μοι θράσος ³⁷¹ κλύουσαν ³⁷²

mvp-comment-285-2 ἁδυπνόων … ὀνειράτων ³⁷³

mvp-comment-286-1 ἀμναστεῖ γ’ ὁ φύσας ς’ ³⁷⁴

mvp-comment-287-1 χαλκόπλακτος ³⁷⁵

mvp-comment-287-2 γένυς ³⁷⁶

mvp-comment-287-3 The very axe (

φόνιος πέλεκυς

, 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

τὸ ἐπὶ Πρυτανείῳ

, and, after sentence, cast beyond the boundaries, in the presence of the Archon Basileus and the sacrificial officers of the tribes (

φυλο‐

βασιλεῖς

). Aeschin. or. 3 § 244

τὰ μὲν ξύλα καὶ τοὺς λίθους καὶ τὸν σίδηρον, τὰ ἄφωνα καὶ ἀγνώμονα, ἐάν τῳ ἐμπεσόντα ἀποκτείνῃ, ὑπερορίζομεν

. (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 ³⁷⁷

mvp-comment-289-1 καὶ πολύπους καὶ πολύχειρ ³⁷⁸

mvp-comment-290-1 λόχοις ³⁷⁹

mvp-comment-290-2 χαλκόπους ³⁸⁰

mvp-comment-291-1 ἄλεκτρ’ ἄνυμφα ³⁸¹

mvp-comment-291-2 γάμων ἁμιλλήμαθ’ ³⁸²

mvp-comment-291-3 ἐπέβα ³⁸³

mvp-comment-292-1 πρὸ τῶνδέ τοι … συνδρῶσιν ³⁸⁴

mvp-comment-292-2 Verses 495—497 (

πρὸ τῶνδέ τοι...τέρας

) answer metrically to vv. 479—481

ὕπεστί μοι...ὀνειράτων

, where the text is certain, save for the doubt whether

θράσος

θάρσος

should stand in 479. Here we must first decide two points.

mvp-comment-292-3 (1) Are the words πρὸ τῶνδε ³⁸⁵

mvp-comment-292-4 (2) Could

ἔχει με, μήποτε τέρας πελᾶν

(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

εἰσῄει αὐτοὺς ὅπως ἂν καὶ ἔχοντές τι οἴκαδε ἀφίκοιντο

(‘the thought came to them, how they might,’ etc.): Thuc. 6. 78. § 1

εἰ δέ τῳ ἄρα παρέστηκε, τὸν μὲν Συρακόσιον...πολέμιον εἶναι κ.τ.λ.

Either, then, the subject to

ἔχει

has dropped out, or the words

μ’ ἔχει

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

ὕπεστί μοι θράσος

, we may read here

πρὸ τῶνδέ τοί μ’ ἔχει

<θάρσος τι>, μήποθ’ ἡμῖν

etc. (It may be remarked that

τι

is in harmony with the tone of

ὕπεστί μοι

in 479.) Another available word is

ξύννοια

(cp. Ant. 279 ). (2) Or, reading in 479

ὕπεστί μοι θάρσος

, we could read here

πρὸ τῶνδέ τοι θάρσος ἴσχει με

. On either view, the

ἁδυπνόων

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 ³⁸⁶

mvp-comment-293-1 ἀψεγές ³⁸⁷ ἀψεφές ³⁸⁸

mvp-comment-293-2 πελᾶν ³⁸⁹

mvp-comment-294-1 τοῖς δρῶσι ³⁹⁰ τοῖς συνδρῶσιν ³⁹¹

mvp-comment-295-1 μαντεῖαι βροτῶν ³⁹²

mvp-comment-296-1 εὖ κατασχήσει ³⁹³

mvp-comment-297-1 ἱππεία ³⁹⁴

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

ταῖς χοινίκισι

πλήμναις

, the naves)

τῶν τροχῶν οὐκ ἐμβαλὼν τοὺς ἥλους

. According to another story, he substituted a linch-pin of wax for a real one ( schol. Apoll. Rh. 752

ἐμβαλόντα κήρινον ἔμβολον ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀκραξονίου

). 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,’—

ἄξονος ἐν πλήμνῃσι παρακλιδὸν ἀγνυμένοιο

πίπτεν

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

ἔδωκεν δίφρον τε χούσεον πτεροῖσίν τ’ ἀκάμαντας ἵππους

). On the chest (

λάρναξ

) 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 ³⁹⁵

mvp-comment-298-2 The form

αἰανὴς

has the best authority, and some critics hold that

αἰανὸς

(Hesych.) was a Byzantine invention. But in Aesch. Eum. 416 ,

ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν νυκτὸς αἰανῆς τέκνα

(so L, schol., and Tzetzes on Lycophron 406),

αἰανῆ

is far less suitable.

mvp-comment-299-1 εὖτε ³⁹⁶

mvp-comment-299-2 ὁ ποντισθεὶς Μυρτίλος ³⁹⁷

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 ³⁹⁸

mvp-comment-300-1 παγχρυσέων δίφρων ³⁹⁹

mvp-comment-301-1 πρόρριζος ⁴⁰⁰

mvp-comment-301-2 ἐκριφθείς ⁴⁰¹

mvp-comment-302-1 ἔλειπεν ⁴⁰² ἔλιπεν ⁴⁰³ οἴκου ⁴⁰⁴ οἴκους ⁴⁰⁵ πω ⁴⁰⁶

mvp-comment-303-1 πολύπονος ⁴⁰⁷ αἰκία ⁴⁰⁸

mvp-comment-304-1 ἀνειμένη ⁴⁰⁹ μέν ⁴¹⁰

mvp-comment-304-2 ὡς ἔοικας ⁴¹¹

mvp-comment-304-3 στρέφει ⁴¹²

mvp-comment-304-4 Clytaemnestra begins in the same strain as Chrysothemis, who likewise emphasised her reproof by the word αὖ ⁴¹³

mvp-comment-305-1 μή τοι θυραίαν γ’ ⁴¹⁴

mvp-comment-305-2 αἰσχύνειν φίλους ⁴¹⁵

mvp-comment-306-1 καίτοι ⁴¹⁶

mvp-comment-306-2 δὴ ⁴¹⁷ πολλούς ⁴¹⁸

mvp-comment-306-3 ἐξεῖπάς με … ὡς ⁴¹⁹

mvp-comment-306-4 θρασεῖα ⁴²⁰ τραχεῖα ⁴²¹

mvp-comment-306-5 ἄρχω ⁴²²

mvp-comment-307-1 ὕβριν … οὐκ ἔχω ⁴²³ κακῶς κλύουσα ⁴²⁴

mvp-comment-308-1 πατὴρ γάρ ⁴²⁵

mvp-comment-308-2 πρόσχημα ⁴²⁶

mvp-comment-309-1 ἡ γὰρ Δίκη ⁴²⁷

mvp-comment-310-1 ᾗ χρῆν σ’ ἀρήγειν ⁴²⁸

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

ἐπεὶ πατὴρ οὗτος σός

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

ἦ γὰρ νοεῖς θάπτειν σθ’

(n.): Ph. 101

λέγω σ’ ἐγὼ δόλῳ Φιλοκτήτην λαβεῖν

mvp-comment-312-1 μοῦνος ⁴²⁹ Ἑλλήνων ⁴³⁰

mvp-comment-312-2 Nauck requires

τὴν αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ

instead of

τὴν σὴν ὅμαιμον

, 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,

οὐκ ἴσον λύπης καμὼν ἐμοί, ὁ σπείρας τῇ τικτούσῃ

. But, having written

ὅτ’ ἔσπειρε

, the poet explains

ἐμοί

by repeating the comparison in a new form,

ὥσπερ ἡ τίκτουσ’ ἐγώ

. (For

ὡς

ὥσπερ

after

ἴσος

, 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

οὐκ ἴσον καμὼν ἐμοί

would be unintelligible. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1417

ἔθυσεν αὑτοῦ παῖδα, φιλτάτην ἐμοὶ

ὠδῖν’

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.,

οὐκ ἔστι μήτηρ ἡ κεκλημένου τέκνου

τοκεύς, τροφὸς δὲ κύματος νεοσπόρου

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

mvp-comment-313-1 τοῦ χάριν, τίνων ⁴³¹

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

τίνων

as the participle. But there is an insuperable objection to this, which seems to have escaped notice. The words,

τοῦ χάριν τίνων

; 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

τῷ χάριν τίνων

; See ( e.g.) Aesch. P. V. 985

καὶ μὴν ὀφείλων ἂν τίνοιμ’ αὐτῷ χάριν

: Aesch. Ag. 821

τούτων θεοῖσι χρὴ πολύμνηστον χάριν

τίνειν

. Hence the question,

τοῦ χάριν τίνων

; could not possibly be answered by

Ἀργείων

. 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

τοῦ χάριν τίνων

τίνος χάριν ἀποδιδούς

, plainly meant, ‘showing gratitude for what?’—and his paraphrase was correct; only he overlooked the context.

mvp-comment-314-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ μετῆν ⁴³²

mvp-comment-315-1 ἀλλ’ ἀντ’ ἀδελφοῦ δῆτα ⁴³³ κτανὼν ⁴³⁴

mvp-comment-315-2 ἀντὶ ἀδελφοῦ ⁴³⁵

mvp-comment-315-3 τἄμ’ ⁴³⁶

mvp-comment-316-1 παῖδες … διπλοῖ ⁴³⁷

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

οὓς Ἰφιγενείας εἰκὸς ἦν θνῄσκειν πάρος

mvp-comment-317-1 ἢ ⁴³⁸

mvp-comment-317-2 ἢ τῶν ἐμῶν Ἅιδης ⁴³⁹

mvp-comment-318-1 δαίσασθαι ⁴⁴⁰

mvp-comment-318-2 The conj. λῄσασθαι ⁴⁴¹

mvp-comment-319-1 πανώλει ⁴⁴²

mvp-comment-319-2 παρεῖτο ⁴⁴³

mvp-comment-319-3 The sense does not absolutely require us to take Μενέλεω δ’ ⁴⁴⁴

mvp-comment-320-1 ἀβούλου ⁴⁴⁵

mvp-comment-320-2 κακοῦ γνώμην ⁴⁴⁶

mvp-comment-321-1 δοκῶ μέν ⁴⁴⁷

mvp-comment-321-2 εἰ καὶ ⁴⁴⁸

mvp-comment-322-1 εἰ φωνὴν λάβοι ⁴⁴⁹

mvp-comment-323-1 τοῖς πεπραγμένοις ⁴⁵⁰

mvp-comment-324-1 γνώμην δικαίαν σχοῦσα ⁴⁵¹

mvp-comment-325-1 ἐρεῖς μὲν οὐχὶ ⁴⁵² ἐρεῖς ⁴⁵³ ἐρεῖς … μ’ ὡς ⁴⁵⁴

mvp-comment-325-2 ἄρξασά τι λυπηρὸν ⁴⁵⁵

mvp-comment-325-3 τάδ’ ἐξήκους’ ⁴⁵⁶

mvp-comment-326-1 τοῦ τεθνηκότος θ’ ὕπερ ⁴⁵⁷

mvp-comment-327-1 καὶ μὴν ⁴⁵⁸

mvp-comment-327-2 λόγους ἐξῆρχές με ⁴⁵⁹

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 ⁴⁶⁰ πατέρα ⁴⁶¹ φὴς ⁴⁶²

mvp-comment-329-1 εἴτ’ οὖν … εἴτε ⁴⁶³

mvp-comment-329-2 λέξω ⁴⁶⁴ δείξω ⁴⁶⁵

mvp-comment-330-1 ὡς οὐ δίκῃ γ’ ⁴⁶⁶ ἔσπασεν ⁴⁶⁷ πειθὼ ⁴⁶⁸

mvp-comment-331-1 κυναγὸν ⁴⁶⁹

mvp-comment-331-2 ποινὰς ⁴⁷⁰

mvp-comment-331-3 τὰ πολλὰ πνεύματ’ ἔσχ’ ⁴⁷¹ τὰ πολλὰ ⁴⁷² ἔσχε ⁴⁷³

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:

ἐπέσχεν αὐτοὺς τοῦ πλοῦ χειμῶνας ἐπιπέμπουσα

. But other authorities speak of a calm. Thus I. A. 9 ff.

οὔκουν φθόγγος γ’ οὔτ’ ὀρνίθων

οὔτε θαλάσσης· σιγαὶ δ’ ἀνέμων

τόνδε κατ’ Εὔριπον ἔχουσιν

. Schol. Eur. Or. 647

ἐπειράθη τῆς θεοῦ ὀργιζομένης καὶ κατεχούσης τοὺς ἀνέμους

. Tzetzes on Lycophron 183

χολωθεῖσα δ’ ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἡ θεὸς τοὺς ἀνέμους κατέσχεν

. Ovid ( Met. 13. 183 ) combines both versions:

exspectata diu, nulla aut contraria classi | Flamina sunt.

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

σκεύη πολεμικά

: 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 (

στονόεντα πορθμόν

, Soph. Ant. 1145 :

παλιρρόχθοις ἐν Αὐλίδος τόποις

, Aesch. Ag. 191 ).

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

ὁ πατήρ

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

ἐπ’ Αὐλίδι

. Cp. Ph. 1119

ἔχε

δύσποτμον ἀρὰν ἐπ’ ἄλλοις

mvp-comment-331-7 The conjecture πλοῖα ⁴⁷⁴

mvp-comment-331-8 Αὐλίδι ⁴⁷⁵

mvp-comment-332-1 ἢ )γὼ φράσω ⁴⁷⁶ κείνης ⁴⁷⁷

mvp-comment-333-1 ὡς ἐγὼ κλύω ⁴⁷⁸

mvp-comment-333-2 θεᾶς … κατ’ ἄλσος ⁴⁷⁹

mvp-comment-333-3 παίζων ⁴⁸⁰

mvp-comment-333-4 ποδοῖν ⁴⁸¹

mvp-comment-334-1 ἔλαφον ⁴⁸²

mvp-comment-334-2 στικτὸν ⁴⁸³

mvp-comment-334-3 κεράστην ⁴⁸⁴

mvp-comment-334-4 οὗ κατὰ σφαγὰς ⁴⁸⁵

mvp-comment-335-1 ἐκκομπάσας ἔπος τι τυγχάνει ⁴⁸⁶ βαλών ⁴⁸⁷

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

τυγχάνει

with

βαλών

, as=‘he shoots and hits’; cp. Il. 15. 581

θηρητὴρ ἐτύχησε βαλών

: Her. 3. 35

εἰ...τοῦ παιδὸς...βαλὼν τύχοιμι

. The vaunt must then precede the hit.

mvp-comment-335-3 Others take βαλὼν ⁴⁸⁸ ἔπος ⁴⁸⁹

mvp-comment-335-4 Monk, with Musgrave, took σφαγὰς ⁴⁹⁰

mvp-comment-336-1 ἐκ τοῦδε ⁴⁹¹

mvp-comment-336-2 μηνίσασα ⁴⁹²

mvp-comment-336-3 Λητῴα κόρη ⁴⁹³

mvp-comment-337-1 ὡς ⁴⁹⁴ ἀντίσταθμον ⁴⁹⁵

mvp-comment-337-2 ἐκθύσειε ⁴⁹⁶

mvp-comment-338-1 ὧδ’ ἦν ⁴⁹⁷

mvp-comment-338-2 τὰ … θύματ’ ⁴⁹⁸

mvp-comment-338-3 λύσις ⁴⁹⁹

mvp-comment-338-4 πρὸς οἶκον ⁵⁰⁰

mvp-comment-339-1 πολλὰ ⁵⁰¹

mvp-comment-339-2 ἀντιβὰς ⁵⁰²

mvp-comment-339-3 μόλις ⁵⁰³

mvp-comment-340-1 εἰ δ’ οὖν ⁵⁰⁴

mvp-comment-340-2 ἐρῶ γὰρ καὶ τὸ σόν ⁵⁰⁵

mvp-comment-341-1 τούτου … οὕνεκ’ ⁵⁰⁶

mvp-comment-341-2 νόμῳ ⁵⁰⁷

mvp-comment-342-1 ὅρα ⁵⁰⁸ μὴ … τιθῇς ⁵⁰⁹ τίθης ⁵¹⁰

mvp-comment-342-2 Here, either

τίθης

τιθῇς

would be suitable. (1) With

τίθης

:—‘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

τιθῇς

: —‘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

εἰ δίκης γε τυγχάνοις

), against which Electra warns her. On the whole, I now prefer

τιθῇς

. Cp. 1003

ὅρα κακῶς πράσσοντε μὴ μείζω κακὰ

κτησώμεθ’

: fr. 82

ἀλλ’ ὅρα μὴ κρεῖσσον ᾖ

mvp-comment-342-3 τιθεῖσα … νόμον ⁵¹¹

mvp-comment-343-1 εἰ γὰρ κτενοῦμεν ⁵¹²

mvp-comment-343-2 πρώτη ⁵¹³

mvp-comment-344-1 εἰσόρα ⁵¹⁴

mvp-comment-344-2 οὐκ οὖσαν ⁵¹⁵

mvp-comment-344-3 τίθης ⁵¹⁶

mvp-comment-344-4 εἰ … θέλεις ⁵¹⁷

mvp-comment-345-1 τῷ παλαμναίῳ ⁵¹⁸

mvp-comment-345-2 πρόσθεν ἐξαπώλεσας ⁵¹⁹

mvp-comment-346-1 παιδοποιεῖς ⁵²⁰

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

Ἠριγόνη

. 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 ⁵²¹

mvp-comment-346-4 κἀξ εὐσεβῶν ⁵²²

mvp-comment-346-5 By

τοὺς...πρόσθεν εὐσεβεῖς

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

φίλον ...ἐσθλὸν ἐκβαλεῖν

. Eur. El. 62

τεκοῦσα δ’ ἄλλους παῖδας Αἰγίσθῳ πάρα

πάρεργ’ Ὀρέστην κἀμὲ ποιεῖται δόμων.

mvp-comment-346-6 βλαστόντας ⁵²³

mvp-comment-346-7 ἐκβαλοῦσ’ ἔχεις ⁵²⁴

mvp-comment-347-1 πῶς ταῦτ’ ἐπαινέσαιμ’ ἄν ⁵²⁵

mvp-comment-347-2 ἢ ⁵²⁶ ἦ ⁵²⁷ καὶ τοῦτ’ ⁵²⁸ ἄποινα ⁵²⁹

mvp-comment-348-1 αἰσχρῶς δ’ ⁵³⁰ δ’ ⁵³¹

mvp-comment-348-2 ἐάν περ καὶ λέγῃς ⁵³²

mvp-comment-348-3 ἐχθροῖς γαμεῖσθαι ⁵³³

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 ⁵³⁴

mvp-comment-349-2 πᾶσαν ἵης γλῶσσαν ⁵³⁵

mvp-comment-350-1 κακοστομοῦμεν ⁵³⁶

mvp-comment-350-2 καί σ’ ἔγωγε δεσπότιν ⁵³⁷

mvp-comment-350-3 εἰς ἡμᾶς ⁵³⁸ ἣ ⁵³⁹

mvp-comment-351-1 βίον μοχθηρόν ⁵⁴⁰

mvp-comment-351-2 ἔκ τε σοῦ ⁵⁴¹ κακοῖς … ξυνοῦσα ⁵⁴²

mvp-comment-351-3 συννόμου ⁵⁴³

mvp-comment-352-1 ὁ δ’ ἄλλος ⁵⁴⁴

mvp-comment-352-2 χεῖρα σὴν ⁵⁴⁵

mvp-comment-352-3 τρίβει βίον ⁵⁴⁶

mvp-comment-352-4 603 The reason for writing δή με σοὶ ⁵⁴⁷ δή μέ σοι ⁵⁴⁸

mvp-comment-352-5 μιάστορα ⁵⁴⁹

mvp-comment-353-1 τοῦδέ γ’ οὕνεκα ⁵⁵⁰

mvp-comment-354-1 εἰς ἅπαντας ⁵⁵¹

mvp-comment-354-2 χρῇς ⁵⁵²

mvp-comment-354-3 στόμαργον ⁵⁵³

mvp-comment-355-1 τῶνδε τῶν ἔ|ργων ἴδρις ⁵⁵⁴

mvp-comment-355-2 σχεδόν τι ⁵⁵⁵

mvp-comment-355-3 οὐ καταισχύνω ⁵⁵⁶

mvp-comment-356-1 ὁρῶ μένος πνέουσαν ⁵⁵⁷ μένος πνέουσαν ⁵⁵⁸

mvp-comment-356-2 σὺν δίκῃ ξύνεστι ⁵⁵⁹

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

φροντίδος

(612) is plainly an echo of

φροντίδ’

(611). But: ( a) it does not follow that

φροντίδ’

is not Electra's thought. ( b) It is surely clear that

πνέουσαν

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 ⁵⁶⁰ ἐμοὶ ⁵⁶¹ μοι ⁵⁶² δεῖ ⁵⁶³

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 ⁵⁶⁴

mvp-comment-358-2 τηλικοῦτος ⁵⁶⁵

mvp-comment-358-3 ἆρα ⁵⁶⁶

mvp-comment-358-4 χωρεῖν ἂν ⁵⁶⁷ εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ⁵⁶⁸

mvp-comment-359-1 εὖ νυν ἐπίστω ⁵⁶⁹

mvp-comment-359-2 ἔξωρα ⁵⁷⁰

mvp-comment-359-3 προσεικότα ⁵⁷¹

mvp-comment-360-1 ἀλλὰ … γὰρ ⁵⁷²

mvp-comment-360-2 ἡ … ἐκ σοῦ δυσμένεια ⁵⁷³

mvp-comment-360-3 ἐξαναγκάζει ⁵⁷⁴ αἰσχροῖς ⁵⁷⁵

mvp-comment-360-4 622 f. The word θρέμμα ⁵⁷⁶

mvp-comment-360-5 ἦ σ’ ἐγὼ ⁵⁷⁷

mvp-comment-361-1 νιν ⁵⁷⁸

mvp-comment-361-2 εὑρίσκεται ⁵⁷⁹

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 ⁵⁸⁰

mvp-comment-362-2 δέσποιναν ⁵⁸¹

mvp-comment-362-3 Ἄρτεμιν ⁵⁸²

mvp-comment-362-4 θράσους τοῦδ’ οὐκ ἀλύξεις ⁵⁸³ μόλῃ ⁵⁸⁴

mvp-comment-363-1 ὁρᾷς ⁵⁸⁵

mvp-comment-363-2 ἐκφέρει ⁵⁸⁶

mvp-comment-363-3 The v. l. παρεῖσα ⁵⁸⁷

mvp-comment-364-1 οὐδὲ ⁵⁸⁸

mvp-comment-364-2 ὑπ’ εὐφήμου βοῆς ⁵⁸⁹

mvp-comment-364-3 ἐπειδὴ σοί γ’ ⁵⁹⁰

mvp-comment-364-4 πᾶν λέγειν ⁵⁹¹

mvp-comment-365-1 κελεύω ⁵⁹²

mvp-comment-365-2 τοὐμὸν στόμ’ ⁵⁹³

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 ⁵⁹⁴

mvp-comment-365-4 ἡ παροῦσά μοι ⁵⁹⁵

mvp-comment-365-5 θύματα … πάγκαρπα ⁵⁹⁶

mvp-comment-366-1 λυτηρίους … δειμάτων ⁵⁹⁷

mvp-comment-366-2 ἀνάσχω ⁵⁹⁸

mvp-comment-367-1 κλύοις ἂν ⁵⁹⁹

mvp-comment-367-2 προστατήριε ⁶⁰⁰

mvp-comment-368-1 κεκρυμμένην ⁶⁰¹

mvp-comment-368-2 οὐ γὰρ ἐν φίλοις ⁶⁰²

mvp-comment-369-1 πρὸς φῶς ⁶⁰³

mvp-comment-370-1 πολυγλώσσῳ ⁶⁰⁴

mvp-comment-370-2 σπείρῃ ⁶⁰⁵

mvp-comment-370-3 ματαίαν ⁶⁰⁶

mvp-comment-371-1 ὧδ’ ⁶⁰⁷

mvp-comment-372-1 γὰρ ⁶⁰⁸

mvp-comment-372-2 δισσῶν ὀνείρων ⁶⁰⁹

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 ⁶¹⁰

mvp-comment-373-1 ἐσθλά … ἐχθρά ⁶¹¹

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

εἴ τι φλαῦρον εἶδες, αἰτοῦ τῶνδ’ ἀποτροπὴν τελεῖν

, |

τὰ δ’ ἀγάθ’ ἐκτελῆ γενέσθαι σοί τε καὶ τέκνῳ σέθεν κ.τ.λ.

mvp-comment-373-3 ἔμπαλιν μέθες ⁶¹²

mvp-comment-374-1 εἴ τινες ⁶¹³

mvp-comment-375-1 ἀλλ’ ὧδε ⁶¹⁴

mvp-comment-375-2 ἀβλαβεῖ βίῳ ⁶¹⁵

mvp-comment-376-1 δόμους ⁶¹⁶

mvp-comment-376-2 ἀμφέπειν ⁶¹⁷

mvp-comment-376-3 φίλοισι ⁶¹⁸

mvp-comment-377-1 εὐημεροῦσαν ⁶¹⁹

mvp-comment-377-2 καὶ τέκνων ⁶²⁰ ὅσων ⁶²¹

mvp-comment-377-3 We might also take

τέκνων

as standing, by attraction, for

τέκνοις

. When the antecedent is thus attracted, it usually comes after the relative ( O.C. 56); but sometimes precedes it, as in Tr. 151 f.

τότ’ ἄν τις εἰσίδοιτο

... | ...

κακοῖσιν

(for

κακά

)

ο<*>ς ἐγὼ βαρύνομαι

. 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

τέκνων

as partitive, it may be added that this suits the distinction between two groups of

τέκνα

. By

ὅσων

she means Chrysothemis, Iphianassa, and the offspring o<*> her union with Aegisthus (157; 589).

mvp-comment-377-4 ἐμοὶ … πρόσεστιν ⁶²²

mvp-comment-378-1 πᾶσιν ἡμῖν ⁶²³

mvp-comment-379-1 τὰ δ’ ἄλλα πάντα ⁶²⁴

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

ξένος Φωκεύς

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

mvp-comment-379-3 πῶς ἂν εἰδείην ⁶²⁵

mvp-comment-380-1 ἦ καὶ ⁶²⁶

mvp-comment-380-2 ἐπεικάζων κυρῶ ⁶²⁷

mvp-comment-380-3 πρέπ<*> γὰρ ⁶²⁸

mvp-comment-381-1 μάλιστα πάντων ⁶²⁹

mvp-comment-381-2 ἥδε σοι κείνη πάρα ⁶³⁰

mvp-comment-381-3 666 f. The ὦ ⁶³¹ χαῖρε ⁶³²

mvp-comment-382-1 ἐδεξάμην τὸ ῥηθέν ⁶³³

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

δέχομαι τὸν οἰωνόν

τὸν ὄρνιν

( Her. 9. 91 ; Ar. Pl. 63 ). But

δέχομαι

alone was enough ( Xen. An. 1. 8. 17 : cp. Aesch. Ag. 1653

δεχομένοις λέγεις θανεῖν σε

). The phrase used here recurs in Her. 8. 114

δεξάμενος τὸ ῥηθὲν ἀπαλλάσσετο

: cp. also Eur. El. 622

προσηκάμην τὸ ῥηθέν

mvp-comment-382-3 εἰδέναι … σου ⁶³⁴

mvp-comment-383-1 Φανοτεὺς ⁶³⁵

mvp-comment-383-2 πρᾶγμα πορσύνων μέγα ⁶³⁶

mvp-comment-384-1 τὸ ποῖον ⁶³⁷

mvp-comment-385-1 ἐν βραχεῖ ξυνθεὶς ⁶³⁸

mvp-comment-386-1 τί φής, τί φής ⁶³⁹ ξεῖνε ⁶⁴⁰

mvp-comment-386-2 ταύτης ⁶⁴¹

mvp-comment-387-1 νῦν τε καὶ πάλαι ⁶⁴²

mvp-comment-388-1 οὐδέν εἰμ’ ἔτι ⁶⁴³

mvp-comment-389-1 τὰ σαυτῆς πρᾶσς’ ⁶⁴⁴

mvp-comment-389-2 διόλλυται ⁶⁴⁵

mvp-comment-390-1 κἀπεμπόμην ⁶⁴⁶ καὶ … φράσω ⁶⁴⁷

mvp-comment-391-1 γὰρ ⁶⁴⁸

mvp-comment-392-1 πρόσχημ’ ἀγῶνος ⁶⁴⁹ Ἑλλάδος ⁶⁵⁰

mvp-comment-392-2 πρόσχημα ⁶⁵¹

mvp-comment-392-3 Δελφ. ἄθλων ⁶⁵²

mvp-comment-393-1 ὀρθίων ⁶⁵³

mvp-comment-393-2 δρόμον … οὗ πρώτη κρίσις ⁶⁵⁴

mvp-comment-394-1 εἰσῆλθε ⁶⁵⁵

mvp-comment-395-1 ἰσώσας * τἀφέσει ⁶⁵⁶ τῇ φύσει ⁶⁵⁷

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

δόλιχος

, 2.

στάδιον

, 3.

δίαυλος

. 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),

δολίχου τε ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ καὶ παραυτίκα σταδίου λαβὼν νίκην προσέθηκε διαύλου σφίσι τὴν τρίτην

. It would agree, then, with the words

οὗ πρώτη κρίσις

(684) if the

δόλιχος

were meant here. [As to Legg. 833 D, see Appendix.]

mvp-comment-395-3 For

ἄφεσις

as=‘starting-place,’ cp. Suidas ( s.v.

ἀπὸ γραμμῆς

γραμμῆς, ἣν ἄφεσιν καὶ βαλβῖδα καλοῦσιν

: Paus. 6. 20. 9

ᾗ τοῖς σταδιοδρόμοις ἄφεσις πεποίηται

: id. 5. 15. 5

ἐν δὲ τῶν ἵππων τῇ

ἀφέσει, ἐν μὲν τῷ ὑπαίθρῳ τῆς ἀφέσεως κ.τ.λ.

—Dindorf notes that in Aristeides vol. I. p. 339 the words

τῆς ἀφέσεως

were corrupted to

τῆς φύσεως

mvp-comment-395-4 The proposed versions of the vulgate τῇ φύσει ⁶⁵⁸

mvp-comment-396-1 νίκης … γέρας ⁶⁵⁹

mvp-comment-397-1 χὥπως μὲν ⁶⁶⁰

mvp-comment-397-2 Others explain:—

οὐκ οἶδα δὲ ὅπως τοιοῦδ’ ἀνδρὸς ἔργα καὶ κράτη λέγω σοι παῦρα ἐν πολλοῖς

: ‘I do not know how to describe his deeds to you briefly, when they were so many.’ The place of

οἶδα

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

ἐν παύροις

, or the like. And (2)

ἐν πολλοῖσι

is then awkward.

mvp-comment-398-1 ὅσων ⁶⁶¹

mvp-comment-398-2 εἰσεκήρυξαν ⁶⁶²

mvp-comment-398-3 βραβῆς ⁶⁶³

mvp-comment-399-1 δρομων διαύλων ⁶⁶⁴

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

τούτων

in 692 to

ἄθλων

mvp-comment-400-1 ἐνεγκὼν ⁶⁶⁵

mvp-comment-400-2 τἀπινίκια ⁶⁶⁶

mvp-comment-401-1 ὠλβίζετ’ ⁶⁶⁷ ἀνακαλ ⁶⁶⁸

mvp-comment-401-2 Ἀγαμέμνονος ⁶⁶⁹

mvp-comment-401-3 ἀγείραντος ⁶⁷⁰

mvp-comment-402-1 καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τοιαῦθ’ ⁶⁷¹

mvp-comment-402-2 βλάπτῃ ⁶⁷²

mvp-comment-402-3 ἰσχύων ⁶⁷³

mvp-comment-403-1 ἄλλης ἡμέρας ⁶⁷⁴

mvp-comment-403-2 ἱππικῶν ⁶⁷⁵

mvp-comment-404-1 ἡλίου τέλλοντος ⁶⁷⁶

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 ⁶⁷⁷

mvp-comment-406-1 Λίβυες ⁶⁷⁸

mvp-comment-406-2 ζυγωτῶν ⁶⁷⁹ ἐπιστάται ⁶⁸⁰

mvp-comment-407-1 κἀκεῖνος ⁶⁸¹

mvp-comment-407-2 ἐν τούτοισι ⁶⁸² ἐπὶ ⁶⁸³

mvp-comment-407-3 Θεσσαλὰς … ἵππους ⁶⁸⁴

mvp-comment-408-1 ξανθαῖσι ⁶⁸⁵

mvp-comment-408-2 πώλοις ⁶⁸⁶

mvp-comment-408-3 Μάγνης ⁶⁸⁷

mvp-comment-409-1 λεύκιππος ⁶⁸⁸

mvp-comment-409-2 Αἰνιὰν ⁶⁸⁹

mvp-comment-410-1 τῶν θεοδμήτων ⁶⁹⁰

mvp-comment-411-1 ἄλλος ⁶⁹¹ ἐκπληρῶν ⁶⁹²

mvp-comment-412-1 στάντες ⁶⁹³

mvp-comment-412-2 †ὅθ’ αὐτοὺς ⁶⁹⁴ ὅθ’ ⁶⁹⁵ ἵν’ ⁶⁹⁶ ὅτ’ ⁶⁹⁷

mvp-comment-412-3 βραβῆς ⁶⁹⁸ οἱ τεταγμένοι ⁶⁹⁹

mvp-comment-412-4 710 *

κλήρους ἔπηλαν

. I should much prefer to read

αὐτοῖς

in 709: but

αὐτοὺς

is defensible, and I refrain from change. Two views are possible; the first is generally received, and is perhaps simplest. (1)

αὐτοὺς

depends on

κλήρους ἔπηλαν

as=

ἐκλήρωσαν

: cp. Ar. Eccl. 683

κληρώσω πάντας

, ‘I will place them all by lot,’

ἕως ἂν

εἰδὼς ὁ λαχὼν ἀπίῃ κ.τ.λ.

See above on 123, Ar. Eccl. 556. (2)

κλήρους ἔπηλαν καὶ

κλήρους πήλαντες

, a parenthetic construction (

διὰ μέσου

), so that

αὐτοὺς

is governed by

κατέστησαν

only, and

δίφρους

is a second acc., defining

αὐτούς

, as in

μέθες με...χεῖρα

( Soph. Ph. 1301 ). f.

mvp-comment-412-5 ἔπηλαν ⁷⁰⁰

mvp-comment-413-1 χαλκῆς ⁷⁰¹

mvp-comment-413-2 ὑπαὶ ⁷⁰²

mvp-comment-413-3 οἱ δ’ ⁷⁰³

mvp-comment-414-1 ὁμοκλήσαντες ⁷⁰⁴

mvp-comment-415-1 ἐν δὲ ⁷⁰⁵

mvp-comment-415-2 κροτητῶν ⁷⁰⁶

mvp-comment-415-3 I formerly took

κροτητῶν

as=‘welded,’ ‘hammered,’ with ref. to the metal-work of the chariots: cp. Il. 23. 503

ἅρματα δὲ χρυσῷ πεπυκασμένα κασσιτέρῳ τε

: 10. 438

ἅρμα δέ οἱ χρυσῷ τε καὶ ἀργύρῳ εὖ ἤσκηται

: 4. 226

ἅρματα ποικίλα χαλκῷ

. (Cp. Helbig, H. E. p. 90.) For this sense of

κροτεῖν

, cp. Pind. fr. 194

κεκρότηται χρυσέα κρηπὶς...ἀοιδαῖς

mvp-comment-416-1 φορεῖθ’ ⁷⁰⁷

mvp-comment-417-1 κέντρων ⁷⁰⁸

mvp-comment-417-2 ὡς ὑπερβάλοι ⁷⁰⁹ τις ⁷¹⁰

mvp-comment-417-3 χνόας ⁷¹¹

mvp-comment-417-4 φρυάγμαθ’ ἱππικά ⁷¹²

mvp-comment-418-1 ὁμοῦ γὰρ ἀμφὶ νῶτα ⁷¹³

mvp-comment-418-2 τροχῶν βάσεις ⁷¹⁴

mvp-comment-418-3 εἰσέβαλλον ⁷¹⁵

mvp-comment-419-1 ὑπ’ αὐτὴν ⁷¹⁶

mvp-comment-419-2 ἐσχάτην στήλην ⁷¹⁷

mvp-comment-420-1 ἔχριμπτ’ ἀεὶ σύριγγα ⁷¹⁸ ἔχριμπτ’ ⁷¹⁹

mvp-comment-420-2 δεξιὸν δ’ ἀνεὶς κ.τ.λ. ⁷²⁰

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

τὸν δεξιὸν ἵππον

κένσαι ὁμοκλήσας, εἶξαί τέ οἱ ἡνία χερσίν·

ἐν νύσσῃ δέ τοι ἵππος ἀριστερὸς ἐγχριμφθήτω

, |

ὡς ἄν τοι πλήμνη γε δοάσσεται ἄκρον ἱκέσθαι

κύκλου ποιητοῖο

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

mvp-comment-421-1 πρὶν μὲν ⁷²¹ ἔπειτα δ’ ⁷²²

mvp-comment-421-2 ἕστασαν ⁷²³

mvp-comment-422-1 ἄστομοι ⁷²⁴

mvp-comment-422-2 βίᾳ φέρουσιν ⁷²⁵

mvp-comment-422-3 ἐκ δ’ ὑποστροφῆς ⁷²⁶

mvp-comment-423-1 τελοῦντες κ.τ.λ. ⁷²⁷

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

δίαυλος

, 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 (

ἐξ ὑποστροφῆς

), 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

δωδεκάγναμπτον... τέρμα δρόμου

ἵππων

( Pind. O. 3. 33 : cp. Pind. O. 2. 55 , Pind. O. 6. 75 , Pind. P. 5. 33 ). If the

ἱππικὸν

(=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 ⁷²⁸

mvp-comment-424-1 ἐξ ἑνὸς κακοῦ ⁷²⁹ ἔθραυε καὶ ἐνέπιπτε ⁷³⁰

mvp-comment-424-2 ναυαγίων ⁷³¹

mvp-comment-424-3 Κρισαῖον … πέδον ⁷³²

mvp-comment-425-1 γνοὺς δ’ ⁷³³

mvp-comment-425-2 κἀνοκωχεύει ⁷³⁴

mvp-comment-425-3 κλύδων’ ⁷³⁵

mvp-comment-426-1 ἔσχατος μὲν ⁷³⁶

mvp-comment-426-2 ὑστέρας ἔχων ⁷³⁷ φέρων ⁷³⁸ πίστιν φέρων ⁷³⁹

mvp-comment-426-3 Those who read

ὑστέρας δ’

understand, ‘last, indeed, but last by his own choice.’ This is possible, but less simple. The

μὲν

after

ἔσχατος

probably led to the insertion of

δ’

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 ⁷⁴⁰

mvp-comment-428-1 ἐνσείσας. ⁷⁴¹

mvp-comment-429-1 κἀξισώσαντε ζυγὰ ⁷⁴²

mvp-comment-429-2 τότ’ … ἄλλοθ’ ⁷⁴³

mvp-comment-429-3 ἄλλος … ἅτερος ⁷⁴⁴

mvp-comment-429-4 κάρα προβάλλων ⁷⁴⁵

mvp-comment-429-5 For προβάλλων ⁷⁴⁶

mvp-comment-430-1 τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους πάντας ⁷⁴⁷

mvp-comment-430-2 ἀσφαλεῖς ⁷⁴⁸

mvp-comment-430-3 ὠρθοῦθ’ ⁷⁴⁹ ὀρθὸς ἐξ ὀρθῶν δί‐ ⁷⁵⁰ φρων ⁷⁵¹

mvp-comment-431-1 λύων ἡνίαν ἀριστερὰν ⁷⁵²

mvp-comment-432-1 χνόας ⁷⁵³ μέσας ⁷⁵⁴

mvp-comment-433-1 ἀντύγων ⁷⁵⁵

mvp-comment-433-2 σὺν δ’ ἑλίσσεται ⁷⁵⁶ τμητοῖς ⁷⁵⁷

mvp-comment-434-1 διεσπάρησαν εἰς μέσον δρόμον ⁷⁵⁸

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

ἔνθα μιν ἐκπεσέειν ὀΐω σύν θ’ ἅρματα ἆξαι

, |

αἱ δ’

[ sc.

ἵπποι

]

ἐξηρώησαν, ἐπεὶ μένος ἔλλαβε θυμόν

(‘rushed out of the course’).

mvp-comment-435-1 στρατὸς ⁷⁵⁹

mvp-comment-435-2 δίφρων ⁷⁶⁰

mvp-comment-435-3 ἀνωλόλυξε ⁷⁶¹

mvp-comment-435-4 οἷ’ … οἷα ⁷⁶²

mvp-comment-436-1 φορούμενος πρὸς οὖδας ⁷⁶³

mvp-comment-436-2 ἄλλοτ’ ⁷⁶⁴

mvp-comment-436-3 οὐρανῷ σκέλη προφαίνων ⁷⁶⁵

mvp-comment-437-1 διφρηλάται ⁷⁶⁶

mvp-comment-437-2 κατασχεθόντες ⁷⁶⁷

mvp-comment-438-1 κέαντες ⁷⁶⁸

mvp-comment-438-2 ἐν βραχεῖ χαλκῷ ⁷⁶⁹

mvp-comment-438-3 μέγιστον ⁷⁷⁰

mvp-comment-438-4 σῶμα … σποδοῦ ⁷⁷¹

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

πυρωθὲν ἐξ Ἰλίου

φίλοισι πέμπει βραχὺ

ψῆγμα δυσδάκρυτον, ἀντήνορος σποδοῦ γεμίζων λέβητας εὐθέτου

. Suppl. 1130

σποδοῦ τε πλῆθος ὀλίγον ἀντὶ σωμάτων

εὐδοκίμων

. 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 ⁷⁷²

mvp-comment-439-2 ἐκλάχῃ ⁷⁷³

mvp-comment-440-1 τοιαῦτά σοι ⁷⁷⁴ ταῦτ’ ἐστίν ⁷⁷⁵

mvp-comment-440-2 ὡς μὲν ἐν λόγῳ ⁷⁷⁶

mvp-comment-440-3 τοῖς δ’ ἰδ., οἵπερ εἴδομεν ⁷⁷⁷

mvp-comment-440-4 764 f. The word δεσπόταισι ⁷⁷⁸

mvp-comment-440-5 πρόρριζον ⁷⁷⁹

mvp-comment-441-1 ὦ Ζεῦ ⁷⁸⁰

mvp-comment-441-2 λέγω ⁷⁸¹

mvp-comment-442-1 τῷ νῦν λόγῳ ⁷⁸²

mvp-comment-443-1 δεινὸν ⁷⁸³

mvp-comment-443-2 πάσχοντι ⁷⁸⁴ ὧν τέκῃ ⁷⁸⁵

mvp-comment-444-1 μάτην ἄρ’ ἡμεῖς κ.τ.λ. ⁷⁸⁶

mvp-comment-445-1 μάτην λέγοις ⁷⁸⁷

mvp-comment-446-1 ψυχῆς ⁷⁸⁸

mvp-comment-447-1 μαστῶν κ.τ.λ. ⁷⁸⁹

mvp-comment-447-2 ἀποστὰς ⁷⁹⁰

mvp-comment-447-3 ἀπεξενοῦτο ⁷⁹¹

mvp-comment-448-1 φόνους ⁷⁹²

mvp-comment-449-1 ὥστ’ οὔτε … στεγάζειν ⁷⁹³

mvp-comment-449-2 ἐξ ἡμέρας ⁷⁹⁴

mvp-comment-449-3 στεψάζειν ⁷⁹⁵

mvp-comment-449-4 ὁ προστατῶν χρόνος ⁷⁹⁶

mvp-comment-449-5 διῆγε ⁷⁹⁷

mvp-comment-449-6 783 f. The perf. ἀπήλλαγμαι ⁷⁹⁸

mvp-comment-449-7 μείζων ⁷⁹⁹

mvp-comment-450-1 τοὐμὸν ⁸⁰⁰

mvp-comment-450-2 ἐκπίνους’ ⁸⁰¹

mvp-comment-450-3 ἄκρατον ⁸⁰²

mvp-comment-450-4 νῦν δ’ ⁸⁰³

mvp-comment-450-5 ἕκηλα ⁸⁰⁴

mvp-comment-450-6 οὕνεχ’ ⁸⁰⁵

mvp-comment-450-7 ἡμερεύσομεν ⁸⁰⁶

mvp-comment-451-1 οἴμοι τάλαινα ⁸⁰⁷

mvp-comment-451-2 οἰμῶξαι ⁸⁰⁸

mvp-comment-452-1 ἆρ’ ἔχει καλῶς ⁸⁰⁹

mvp-comment-453-1 οὔτοι σὺ ⁸¹⁰

mvp-comment-454-1 Νέμεσι ⁸¹¹

mvp-comment-454-2 τοῦ θανόντος ἀρτίως ⁸¹²

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

Νέμεσιν ἀπὸ τῆς ἑκάστῳ διανεμήσεως

, Mund. 7. p. 401 b. 13). The ‘Nemesis of the dead man’ is the avenger of wrong done to him; as the Greeks said

Δίκη τινός

( Aesch. Ag. 1432 ),

Ἐρινύς τινος

. Cp. Aesch. fr. 266

ἡμῶν γε μέντοι Νέμεσις

(‘ our Nemesis’)

ἔσθ’ ὑπερτέρα

, |

καὶ τοῦ θανόντος ἡ Δίκη πράσσει κότον

. At Athens

Νεμέσεια

were certain rites in honour of the dead ( Dem. or. 41 § 11 ),

ἐπεὶ ἡ Νέμεσις ἐπὶ τῶν ἀποθανόντων τέτακται

(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 ⁸¹³

mvp-comment-455-2 κἀπεκύρωσεν ⁸¹⁴

mvp-comment-456-1 οὔκουν … τάδε ⁸¹⁵

mvp-comment-457-1 οὐχ ὅπως σε παύσομεν ⁸¹⁶

mvp-comment-458-1 πολλῶν ἂν ἥκοις ⁸¹⁷ ἔπαυσας ⁸¹⁸ παύσαις ⁸¹⁹

mvp-comment-458-2 πολλῶν ⁸²⁰ ἄξιος ⁸²¹ τυχεῖν ⁸²²

mvp-comment-459-1 εὖ κυρεῖ ⁸²³

mvp-comment-459-2 800 f. With πράξειας ⁸²⁴

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

ἄν

seem, then, superfluous. The change of καταξίως ⁸²⁵ πράξειας ⁸²⁶

mvp-comment-459-4 τοῦ πορεύς. ξένου ⁸²⁷

mvp-comment-460-1 τῶν φίλων ⁸²⁸

mvp-comment-461-1 ἆρ’ ὑμὶν ⁸²⁹

mvp-comment-461-2 ὧδ’ ⁸³⁰

mvp-comment-462-1 ὥς μ’ ἀπώλεσας θανών ⁸³¹

mvp-comment-463-1 ἀποσπάσας ⁸³² αἵ ⁸³³

mvp-comment-464-1 μολεῖν ⁸³⁴

mvp-comment-465-1 δουλεύειν ⁸³⁵

mvp-comment-465-2 πάλιν ⁸³⁶

mvp-comment-466-1 ἆρά μοι καλῶς ἔχει ⁸³⁷

mvp-comment-467-1 τοῦ λοιποῦ χρόνου ⁸³⁸

mvp-comment-467-2 818 *

εἴσειμ’

, Hermann's correction of

ἔσσομ’

, is made certain by

ἀλλὰ τῇδε πρὸς πύλῃ

. No dative is needed to explain ξύνοικος ⁸³⁹

mvp-comment-468-1 παρεῖσ’ ἐμαυτὴν ⁸⁴⁰

mvp-comment-468-2 αὐανῶ ⁸⁴¹

mvp-comment-469-1 χάρις ⁸⁴²

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.,

ΗΛ. φεῦ. ΧΟ. μηδὲν μέγ’ ἀΰσῃς. ΗΛ. ἀπολεῖς. ΧΟ. πῶς

; ). 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

κομμοί

inserted in

ἐπεισόδια

: 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 ⁸⁴³

mvp-comment-470-4 φαέθων ⁸⁴⁴

mvp-comment-470-5 ἐφορῶντες ⁸⁴⁵

mvp-comment-470-6 κρύπτουσιν ⁸⁴⁶

mvp-comment-471-1 τί δακρύεις ⁸⁴⁷

mvp-comment-472-1 μηδὲν μέγ’ ἀΰσῃς ⁸⁴⁸

mvp-comment-472-2 ἀΰσῃς ⁸⁴⁹

mvp-comment-473-1 ἀπολεῖς ⁸⁵⁰

mvp-comment-474-1 τῶν … οἰχομένων ⁸⁵¹ φανερῶς ⁸⁵² ἐλπίδα ⁸⁵³

mvp-comment-475-1 κατ’ ἐμοῦ τακομένας ⁸⁵⁴ ἐπεμβάσει ⁸⁵⁵ κατ’ ἐμοὶ τακομένᾳ ⁸⁵⁶

mvp-comment-476-1 οἶδα γὰρ ⁸⁵⁷

mvp-comment-476-2 Ἀμφιάρεων ⁸⁵⁸ ἄνακτα ⁸⁵⁹

mvp-comment-477-1 χρυσοδέτοις ἕρκεσι ⁸⁶⁰ γυναικῶν ⁸⁶¹

mvp-comment-477-2 κρυφθέντα ⁸⁶²

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 ⁸⁶³

mvp-comment-479-1 πάμψυχος ⁸⁶⁴

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

μαντική

. The

Ἀμφιάρειον

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

mvp-comment-480-1 φεῦ ⁸⁶⁵

mvp-comment-480-2 φεῦ δῆτ’ ⁸⁶⁶ ὀλοὰ γὰρ ⁸⁶⁷ ἐδάμη ⁸⁶⁸ ὀλοὰ ⁸⁶⁹

mvp-comment-480-3 ἐδάμη ⁸⁷⁰ ναί ⁸⁷¹

mvp-comment-481-1 μελέτωρ ⁸⁷²

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

ὁ διὰ Ψωφῖδος

(produced in 438 B.C.), dealing with his absolution, and the second,

ὁ διὰ Κορίνθου

, with a later episode. Acc. to a grammarian in Anecd. Oxon. II. p. 337, 4, the form of the name used by Eur. was

Ἀλκμέων

mvp-comment-482-1 τὸν ἐν πένθει ⁸⁷³

mvp-comment-483-1 ἀναρπασθείς ⁸⁷⁴

mvp-comment-484-1 δειλαία δειλαίων ⁸⁷⁵

mvp-comment-485-1 ἴστωρ ⁸⁷⁶

mvp-comment-486-1 πανσύρτῳ … αἰῶνι ⁸⁷⁷ αἰῶνι ⁸⁷⁸

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

πανσύρτῳ

seems rightly explained in one scholium as

πάντα σύροντι τὰ κακά

: i.e., it has an active sense, like

χαλκόπλακτος

(484 n.),

ἀμφίπλακτος

( Ph. 688 ),

πανάλωτος

(

ἄτη

, Aesch. Ag. 361 ). The genitive,

πολλῶν δεινῶν στυγνῶν τ’

, may depend upon it, as in Soph. Ant. 1184 f.

θεᾶς..προσήγορος

θεὰν προσηγοροῦσα

. But we might also join the genitive with

αἰῶνι

, as=‘a life of’ (made up of) these things. For the verb

σύρω

in ref. to a torrent, cp. Ar. Eq. 527

διὰ τῶν ἀφελῶν πεδίων ἔρρει, καὶ τῆς στάσεως παρασύρων

ἐφόρει τὰς δρῦς

: Plut. Mor.p. 5 F

πόλεμος χειμάρρου δίκην πάντα σύρων

. Thus παμμήνῳ ⁸⁷⁹

mvp-comment-486-3 This view gives

πανσύρτῳ

a more forcible and more poetical sense than if it be taken as=‘swept together from every side.’ The meaning then would be, ‘a life, through all the months, of many dread horrors, accumulated from every quarter,’—the epithet

πανσύρτῳ

being transferred from the troubles to the life itself. It would still, indeed, be possible to make

πανσύρτῳ

active; ‘a life which draws troubles together from all sides’; but such an active sense would be somewhat harsher, on this interpretation, than on that which supposes the image of a torrent.

mvp-comment-487-1 ἁθρήνεις ⁸⁸⁰ ἃ θροεῖς ⁸⁸¹ ἃ θρηνεῖς ⁸⁸²

mvp-comment-488-1 μή μέ νυν ⁸⁸³

mvp-comment-488-2 παραγάγῃς ⁸⁸⁴

mvp-comment-488-3 ἵν’ ⁸⁸⁵

mvp-comment-489-1 τί φής ⁸⁸⁶

mvp-comment-490-1 πάρεισιν ἐλπίδων ἔτι ⁸⁸⁷

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

εὐπατρίδων τ’

, both epithets belong to

ἐλπίδων

, and

ἐλπίδες κοινότοκοι εὐπάτριδές τε

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

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

εὐπατριδᾶν

is more significant than that they also have

τ’

, which might easily creep in. Suidas, who omits

τ’

, has

εὐπατριδᾶν

, or (in codd. A and C)

εὐπατριδῶν

: but the latter variant can hardly be said to confirm

εὐπατρίδων τ’

.—At 162 Orestes is called

εὐπατρίδαν

. The fem.

εὔπατρις

occurs at 1081.

mvp-comment-491-1 ἔφυ ⁸⁸⁸

mvp-comment-492-1 χαλαργοῖς ⁸⁸⁹

mvp-comment-493-1 τμητοῖς ⁸⁹⁰

mvp-comment-494-1 ἄσκοπος ⁸⁹¹

mvp-comment-494-2 ἁ λώβα ⁸⁹²

mvp-comment-495-1 ξένος ⁸⁹³

mvp-comment-496-1 ἄτερ ἐμᾶν χερῶν ⁸⁹⁴

mvp-comment-497-1 κέκευθεν ⁸⁹⁵

mvp-comment-497-2 οὔτε του ⁸⁹⁶

mvp-comment-497-3 ἀντιάσας ⁸⁹⁷

mvp-comment-497-4 τάφου … γόων ⁸⁹⁸

mvp-comment-498-1 ὑφ’ ἡδονῆς τοι ⁸⁹⁹ τοι ⁹⁰⁰ σοι ⁹⁰¹

mvp-comment-499-1 τὸ κόσμιον ⁹⁰²

mvp-comment-499-2 873 For the place of ὦν ⁹⁰³

mvp-comment-500-1 σὺ ⁹⁰⁴ ἴασιν οὐκ ἔνεστ’ ἰδεῖν ⁹⁰⁵

mvp-comment-501-1 ἐναργῶς ⁹⁰⁶

mvp-comment-502-1 ἀλλ’ ἦ ⁹⁰⁷

mvp-comment-502-2 τοῖς ⁹⁰⁸

mvp-comment-503-1 μὰ τὴν πατρῴαν ἑστίαν ⁹⁰⁹

mvp-comment-503-2 ἀλλ’ οὐχ ὕβρει ⁹¹⁰

mvp-comment-503-3 ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνον ⁹¹¹ ὡς ⁹¹²

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

νόει

for νῷν ⁹¹³

mvp-comment-504-1 ἐξ ἐμοῦ ⁹¹⁴ τε καί ⁹¹⁵

mvp-comment-505-1 ἰδοῦσα πίστιν ⁹¹⁶

mvp-comment-505-2 εἰς τί μοι ⁹¹⁷

mvp-comment-505-3 ἀνηκέστῳ ⁹¹⁸

mvp-comment-505-4 πυρί ⁹¹⁹

mvp-comment-506-1 σὺ δ’ οὖν ⁹²⁰

mvp-comment-506-2 τῷ λόγῳ ⁹²¹

mvp-comment-507-1 καὶ δὴ ⁹²²

mvp-comment-507-2 κατειδόμην ⁹²³

mvp-comment-508-1 ἀρχαῖον τάφον ⁹²⁴

mvp-comment-509-1 κολώνης ἐξ ἄκρας ⁹²⁵

mvp-comment-509-2 γάλακτος ⁹²⁶

mvp-comment-509-3 περιστεφῆ … ἀνθέων ⁹²⁷

mvp-comment-509-4 ἔστιν ⁹²⁸

mvp-comment-509-5 θήκην ⁹²⁹

mvp-comment-510-1 ἔσχον θαῦμα ⁹³⁰

mvp-comment-510-2 ἐγχρίμπτῃ ⁹³¹ ἐγχρίμπτει ⁹³²

mvp-comment-511-1 ἐν γαλήνῃ ⁹³³

mvp-comment-512-1 ἐσχάτης … πυρᾶς ⁹³⁴

mvp-comment-512-2 νεώρη ⁹³⁵

mvp-comment-513-1 ἐμπαίει κ.τ.λ. ⁹³⁶ ὄμμα ⁹³⁷

mvp-comment-513-2 σύνηθες ⁹³⁸ ὁρᾶν ⁹³⁹

mvp-comment-513-3 The intrans.

ἐμπαίειν

(a stronger

ἐμπίπτειν

) occurs only here; but cp. O. T. 1252

βοῶν γὰρ εἰσέπαισεν Οἰδίπους

. In Aesch. Ag. 187

ἐμπαίοις τύχαισι

are ‘the fortunes which have suddenly struck him’: cp. ib. 347

εἰ πρόσπαια μὴ τύχοι κακά.

mvp-comment-513-4 ψυχῇ ⁹⁴⁰

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

ψυχῇ σύνηθες ὄμμα

]

ὅραμα ὃ ἀεὶ ἐφανταζόμην κατὰ ψυχήν

: i.e., the writer took

ὅμμα

to mean ‘a sight’; a sense possible for it only when, as here, it denotes the human face or form ( Ai. 977 : ib. 1004: Aesch. Ch. 238 ). This scholium cannot be claimed, however, as indicating that the scholiast read φάσμα ⁹⁴¹

mvp-comment-514-1 βαστάσασα ⁹⁴²

mvp-comment-514-2 δυσφηυῶ μὲν οὔ ⁹⁴³ οὔ ⁹⁴⁴

mvp-comment-515-1 νῦν θ’ ὁμοίως καὶ τότ’ ⁹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-515-2 μή του ⁹⁴⁶

mvp-comment-515-3 ἀγλάϊσμα ⁹⁴⁷

mvp-comment-515-4 911 f. The elliptical πῶς γὰρ ⁹⁴⁸ ᾗ γε ⁹⁴⁹ μηδὲ ⁹⁵⁰ πρὸς θεοὺς ⁹⁵¹

mvp-comment-515-5 ἀκλαύστῳ ⁹⁵²

mvp-comment-516-1 ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ μὲν δὴ ⁹⁵³

mvp-comment-517-1 οὔτε δρῶσ’ ἐλάνθαν’ ἄν ⁹⁵⁴

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

ν ἐφελκυστικόν

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

φόβον παρέσχ’ ἂν οὐ μέσως ὅδε κτύπος

(

παρέσχεν

MSS.;

παρέσχ’ ἂν

Heath).

mvp-comment-517-3 But is ἐλάνθανεν ⁹⁵⁵ δρῶσα ⁹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-517-4 If ἐλάνθαν’ ἄν ⁹⁵⁷ ἔληθεν ἄν ⁹⁵⁸

mvp-comment-517-5 915 *

τἀπιτύμβια

is Dindorf's certain correction of τἀπιτίμια ⁹⁵⁹

mvp-comment-518-1 θάρσυνε ⁹⁶⁰

mvp-comment-518-2 οὐχ αὑτὸς ἀεί ⁹⁶¹

mvp-comment-519-1 νῷν ἧν ⁹⁶² δ’ ⁹⁶³

mvp-comment-519-2 κῦρος ⁹⁶⁴

mvp-comment-520-1 φεῦ τῆς ἀνοίας ὥς ⁹⁶⁵

mvp-comment-521-1 ὅποι γῆς … φέρει ⁹⁶⁶

mvp-comment-522-1 πῶς δ’ οὐκ ἐγὼ κάτοιδ’ ⁹⁶⁷

mvp-comment-523-1 τἀκείνου … σωτήρια ⁹⁶⁸

mvp-comment-524-1 καὶ ποῦ ⁹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-524-2 ὑπέρχεται ⁹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-525-1 μητρὶ ⁹⁷¹

mvp-comment-526-1 τὰ πολλὰ ⁹⁷² πρὸς τάφον ⁹⁷³

mvp-comment-527-1 μάλιστ’ ⁹⁷⁴

mvp-comment-527-2 μνημεἶ ⁹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-528-1 ὦ δυστυχής ⁹⁷⁶

mvp-comment-528-2 τοιούσδ’ ⁹⁷⁷

mvp-comment-529-1 ἵν’ ἦμεν ἄτης ⁹⁷⁸

mvp-comment-530-1 λύσεις ⁹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-531-1 οὐκ ἔσθ’ ὅ γ’ εἶπον ⁹⁸⁰

mvp-comment-532-1 φερέγγυος ⁹⁸¹

mvp-comment-533-1 τλῆναι … δρῶσαν ⁹⁸²

mvp-comment-534-1 ὠφέλειά γ’ ⁹⁸³

mvp-comment-535-1 ὅρα ⁹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-535-2 πόνου … εὐτυχεῖ ⁹⁸⁵

mvp-comment-536-1 ξυνοίσω ⁹⁸⁶

mvp-comment-537-1 ποεῖν ⁹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-538-1 παρουσίαν ⁹⁸⁸

mvp-comment-538-2 καὶ σύ που ⁹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-539-1 λελείμμεθον ⁹⁹⁰

mvp-comment-540-1 θάλλοντ’ ἔτ’ ⁹⁹¹ βίῳ ⁹⁹²

mvp-comment-541-1 πράκτοῤ ⁹⁹³

mvp-comment-542-1 εἰς σὲ δὴ βλέπω ⁹⁹⁴

mvp-comment-543-1 κατοκνήσεις ⁹⁹⁵ κατοκνήσῃς ⁹⁹⁶

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

κατοκνήσῃς

,’ alludes to the rule laid down by R. Dawes (ob. 1766) in Miscellanea Critica (p. 227), and once known as the canon Davesianus, that

ὅπως

could not be used with the first aor. subjunct. act. or midd. Among many examples that refute it are

ἐκπλεύσῃ

in the passage just quoted from Xen. (the fut. being

ἐκπλεύσεται

), and

κλαύσω

in 1122 (the fut. being

κλαύσομαι

mvp-comment-544-1 κρύπτειν ⁹⁹⁷

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

ἐχθροῖς

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

mvp-comment-545-1 ποῖ … μενεῖς ⁹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-545-2 βλέψας’ ⁹⁹⁹

mvp-comment-546-1 κτῆσιν ¹⁰⁰⁰ ἐστερημένῃ ¹⁰⁰¹

mvp-comment-547-1 ἐς τοσόνδε τοῦ χρόνου ¹⁰⁰²

mvp-comment-548-1 ἄλεκτρα … ἀνυμέναια ¹⁰⁰³

mvp-comment-548-2 γηράσκουσαν ¹⁰⁰⁴

mvp-comment-549-1 τῶνδε ¹⁰⁰⁵

mvp-comment-549-2 ὅπως ¹⁰⁰⁶

mvp-comment-550-1 ἢ κἀμὸν ¹⁰⁰⁷ πημονὴν ¹⁰⁰⁸

mvp-comment-551-1 ἐπίσπῃ ¹⁰⁰⁹

mvp-comment-552-1 εὐσέβειαν … οἴσει ¹⁰¹⁰ θανόντος ¹⁰¹¹ κάτω ¹⁰¹²

mvp-comment-552-2 970 ff. The compound ἐξέφυς ¹⁰¹³

mvp-comment-552-3 καλεῖ ¹⁰¹⁴

mvp-comment-552-4 τὰ χρηστὰ ¹⁰¹⁵

mvp-comment-553-1 λόγων γε μὴν εὔκλειαν ¹⁰¹⁶ λόγων ¹⁰¹⁷

mvp-comment-554-1 ἀστῶν ἢ ξένων ¹⁰¹⁸

mvp-comment-554-2 δεξιώσεται ¹⁰¹⁹

mvp-comment-555-1 ἴδεσθε ¹⁰²⁰

mvp-comment-556-1 εὖ βεβηκόσιν ¹⁰²¹

mvp-comment-556-2 ἀφειδήσαντε ¹⁰²²

mvp-comment-556-3 προὐστήτην φόνου ¹⁰²³ ἐχθροῖς ¹⁰²⁴ φόνου ¹⁰²⁵

mvp-comment-556-4 981 f. For τούτω … τώδε ¹⁰²⁶ ἑορταῖς ¹⁰²⁷ πανδήμῳ πόλει ¹⁰²⁸ τοι ¹⁰²⁹

mvp-comment-557-1 συμπόνει ¹⁰³⁰ σύγκαμνε ¹⁰³¹

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

ἀρωγόν

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

mvp-comment-557-3 Nauck miserably defaces this passage by adopting the corrupt v. l. ἀδελφῇ ¹⁰³² ἐμέ ¹⁰³³

mvp-comment-557-4 παῦσον ἐκ κακῶν ¹⁰³⁴

mvp-comment-557-5 989 In τοῖς καλῶς πεφυκόσιν ¹⁰³⁵

mvp-comment-558-1 ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ¹⁰³⁶ καὶ κλύοντι ¹⁰³⁷ σύμμαχος ¹⁰³⁸

mvp-comment-558-2 993 For the place of μὴ ¹⁰³⁹

mvp-comment-558-3 ἐσῴζετ’ ¹⁰⁴⁰

mvp-comment-559-1 ἐμβλέψασα ¹⁰⁴¹ θράσος … ὁπλίζει ¹⁰⁴²

mvp-comment-560-1 εἰσορᾷς ¹⁰⁴³

mvp-comment-560-2 γυνὴ μὲν ¹⁰⁴⁴

mvp-comment-560-3 σθένεις δ’ ἔλασσον … χερί ¹⁰⁴⁵

mvp-comment-561-1 ἀπορρεῖ ¹⁰⁴⁶

mvp-comment-561-2 κἀπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεται ¹⁰⁴⁷

mvp-comment-562-1 τοιοῦτον ¹⁰⁴⁸

mvp-comment-562-2 ἄλυπος ἄτης ¹⁰⁴⁹

mvp-comment-563-1 κτησώμεθ’ ¹⁰⁵⁰

mvp-comment-564-1 λύει ¹⁰⁵¹ ἡμᾶς ¹⁰⁵² ἡμῖν ¹⁰⁵³

mvp-comment-564-2 δυσκλεῶς θανεῖν ¹⁰⁵⁴

mvp-comment-565-1 οὐ γἀρ θανεῖν ¹⁰⁵⁵ γὰρ ¹⁰⁵⁶

mvp-comment-566-1 κἀξερημῶσαι γένος ¹⁰⁵⁷

mvp-comment-567-1 ἄρρητα … κἀτελῆ ¹⁰⁵⁸ σοι ¹⁰⁵⁹

mvp-comment-568-1 ἀλλὰ τῷ χρόνῳ ποτέ ¹⁰⁶⁰

mvp-comment-569-1 The difference between πείθου ¹⁰⁶¹ πιθοῦ ¹⁰⁶²

mvp-comment-570-1 καλῶς δ’ ¹⁰⁶³

mvp-comment-571-1 αὐτόχειρί μοι ¹⁰⁶⁴

mvp-comment-571-2 μόνῃ τε ¹⁰⁶⁵

mvp-comment-571-3 οὐ γὰρ δὴ ¹⁰⁶⁶ γε ¹⁰⁶⁷

mvp-comment-571-4 κενόν ¹⁰⁶⁸

mvp-comment-572-1 εἴθ’ ὤφελες ¹⁰⁶⁹

mvp-comment-572-2 πᾶν γὰρ ἂν κατειργάσω ¹⁰⁷⁰

mvp-comment-573-1 φύσιν γε ¹⁰⁷¹ τότε ¹⁰⁷²

mvp-comment-574-1 ὡς οὐχὶ συνδράσουσα ¹⁰⁷³

mvp-comment-574-2 νουθετεῖς ¹⁰⁷⁴

mvp-comment-575-1 εἰκὸς γὰρ ¹⁰⁷⁵ ἐγχειροῦντα ¹⁰⁷⁶ πράσσειν ¹⁰⁷⁷

mvp-comment-576-1 ζηλῶ ¹⁰⁷⁸

mvp-comment-577-1 ἀνέξομαι ¹⁰⁷⁹

mvp-comment-578-1 μὴ πάθῃς τόδε ¹⁰⁸⁰

mvp-comment-579-1 τὸ κρῖναι ¹⁰⁸¹ μακρὸς ¹⁰⁸²

mvp-comment-579-2 χὡ λοιπὸς χρόνος ¹⁰⁸³

mvp-comment-580-1 μητρὶ … σῇ ¹⁰⁸⁴

mvp-comment-581-1 οὐδ’ αὖ ¹⁰⁸⁵ οὐδ’ ¹⁰⁸⁶

mvp-comment-581-2 ἔχθος ¹⁰⁸⁷

mvp-comment-582-1 ἀλλ’ οὖν … γ’ ¹⁰⁸⁸

mvp-comment-582-2 οἷ … ἀτιμίας ¹⁰⁸⁹

mvp-comment-583-1 ἀτιμίας μὲν οὔ ¹⁰⁹⁰

mvp-comment-584-1 τῷ σῷ δικαίῳ ¹⁰⁹¹ δῆτ’ ¹⁰⁹²

mvp-comment-585-1 ἦ δεινὸν ¹⁰⁹³

mvp-comment-585-2 εὖ λέγουσαν ¹⁰⁹⁴ ἐξαμαρτάνειν ¹⁰⁹⁵

mvp-comment-586-1 ᾧ σὺ πρόσκεισαι κακῷ ¹⁰⁹⁶

mvp-comment-587-1 τί δ); οὐ δοκῶ σοι ¹⁰⁹⁷

mvp-comment-588-1 εἰ ποήσεις ¹⁰⁹⁸

mvp-comment-589-1 καὶ μὴν ¹⁰⁹⁹

mvp-comment-590-1 βουλεύσει πάλιν ¹¹⁰⁰

mvp-comment-591-1 φρονεῖν ¹¹⁰¹

mvp-comment-592-1 ταῦτα ¹¹⁰² νεωστί ¹¹⁰³ ι ¹¹⁰⁴

mvp-comment-593-1 τολμᾷς ¹¹⁰⁵

mvp-comment-594-1 οὔ σοι μὴ μεθέψομαι ¹¹⁰⁶

mvp-comment-595-1 καὶ τὸ θηρᾶσθαι κενά ¹¹⁰⁷ καὶ ¹¹⁰⁸

mvp-comment-595-2 κενά ¹¹⁰⁹

mvp-comment-596-1 ὅταν γὰρ ¹¹¹⁰

mvp-comment-596-2 βεβήκῃς ¹¹¹¹

mvp-comment-597-1 ἄνωθεν ¹¹¹²

mvp-comment-597-2 οἰωνοὺς ¹¹¹³

mvp-comment-598-1 ἐσορώμενοι ¹¹¹⁴ ἀφ’ ὧν ¹¹¹⁵

mvp-comment-599-1 εὕρωσι ¹¹¹⁶

mvp-comment-599-2 ἐπ’ ἴσας ¹¹¹⁷

mvp-comment-600-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ τὰν ¹¹¹⁸

mvp-comment-601-1 τὰν οὐρανίαν Θέμιν ¹¹¹⁹

mvp-comment-602-1 ἀπόνητοι ¹¹²⁰

mvp-comment-603-1 χθονία ¹¹²¹ βροτοῖσι ¹¹²²

mvp-comment-603-2 φάμα ¹¹²³

mvp-comment-603-3 Some write Φάμα ¹¹²⁴

mvp-comment-604-1 κατά … βόασον ¹¹²⁵

mvp-comment-604-2 μοι ¹¹²⁶

mvp-comment-605-1 Ἀτρείδαις ¹¹²⁷

mvp-comment-605-2 ἀχόρευτα ¹¹²⁸ ὀνείδη ¹¹²⁹

mvp-comment-606-1 νοσεῖ ¹¹³⁰ δή ¹¹³¹

mvp-comment-607-1 τὰ δὲ πρὸς τέκνων ¹¹³²

mvp-comment-607-2 διπλῆ φύλοπις ¹¹³³

mvp-comment-607-3 οὐκέτ’ ἐξισοῦται ¹¹³⁴ φιλοτασίῳ διαίτᾳ ¹¹³⁵

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

φιλοτασίῳ διαίτᾳ

as depending on

ἐξισοῦται

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

mvp-comment-608-1 σαλεύει ¹¹³⁶

mvp-comment-609-1 Ἠλέκτρα, †τὸν ἀεὶ πατρὸς ¹¹³⁷

mvp-comment-609-2 Hence it is now generally held that this verse is corrupt. But no certain correction has yet been proposed. The word ἀεὶ ¹¹³⁸ πατρὸς ¹¹³⁹

mvp-comment-609-3 Far the best conjecture is Heath's, ἁ παῖς, οἶτον ἀεὶ πατρὸς ¹¹⁴⁰

mvp-comment-610-1 πάνδυρτος ¹¹⁴¹

mvp-comment-611-1 οὔτε … τε ¹¹⁴²

mvp-comment-611-2 τὸ … μὴ βλέπειν ¹¹⁴³

mvp-comment-612-1 διδύμαν … Ἐρινύν ¹¹⁴⁴

mvp-comment-613-1 τίς ἂν εὔπατρις ¹¹⁴⁵

mvp-comment-614-1 οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀγαθῶν <γὰρ> ¹¹⁴⁶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ¹¹⁴⁷

mvp-comment-615-1 ζῶν κακῶς ¹¹⁴⁸

mvp-comment-615-2 νώνυμος ¹¹⁴⁹

mvp-comment-616-1 πάγκλαυτον αἰῶνα κοινὸν ¹¹⁵⁰

mvp-comment-616-2 εἵλου ¹¹⁵¹

mvp-comment-617-1 τὸ μὴ καλὸν καθοπλίσασα ¹¹⁵² ἀπολακτίσασα ¹¹⁵³

mvp-comment-617-2 If καθοπλίσασα ¹¹⁵⁴

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

καταπολεμήσασα τὸ αἰσχρόν

), i.e., having overcome the temptation of ignoble ease and security.

καθοπλίζω

elsewhere means to ‘arm’ or ‘equip,’ never ‘to subdue by arms’; if it has the latter sense here, it follows the analogy of such compounds as

κατακοντίζω, καταιχμάζω, κατατοξεύω

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

mvp-comment-618-1 φέρειν ¹¹⁵⁵

mvp-comment-618-2 ἐν ἑνὶ λόγῳ ¹¹⁵⁶

mvp-comment-619-1 καθύπερθεν ¹¹⁵⁷

mvp-comment-619-2 τεῶν ¹¹⁵⁸ τῶν ¹¹⁵⁹ τοσόνδ’ ¹¹⁶⁰

mvp-comment-620-1 ὑπόχειρ ¹¹⁶¹

mvp-comment-621-1 μοίρᾳ … οὐκ ἐν ἐσθλᾷ βεβῶσαν ¹¹⁶²

mvp-comment-622-1 μέγιστα … νόμιμα ¹¹⁶³

mvp-comment-622-2 ἔβλαστε ¹¹⁶⁴

mvp-comment-622-3 τῶνδε φερομέναν ἄριστα ¹¹⁶⁵ τῶνδε ¹¹⁶⁶

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

ἄριστα

being then an adv., while

φερομέναν

is used as in Thuc. 2. 60 § 3

καλῶς..φερόμενος τὸ καθ’ ἑαυτόν

: 5. 15 § 2

εὖ φερόμενοι

: 5. 16 § 1

εὖ φερόμενος ἐν στρατηγίαις

. This view is recommended by the fact that

φερομέναν ἄριστα

then forms a clear antithesis to

μοίρᾳ..οὐκ ἐν ἐσθλᾷ βεβῶσαν

. But two points are against it. (1)

τῶνδε

, as a genitive of relation, is somewhat awkward; though we might compare Thuc. 3. 92 § 4

τοῦ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους πολέμου καλῶς ἐδόκει αὐτοῖς ἡ πόλις καθίστασθαι...τῆς τε ἐπὶ Θρᾴκης παρόδου χρησίμως ἕξειν

: and id. 1. 36 § 2

Σικελίας καλῶς παράπλου κεῖται

. (2) The poet's usage, as we have seen, favours the other sense of

φερομέναν

mvp-comment-623-1 τᾷ Ζηνὸς εὐσεβείᾳ ¹¹⁶⁷ Διὸς ¹¹⁶⁸ Ζηνὸς ¹¹⁶⁹

mvp-comment-624-1 εἰσηκούσαμεν ¹¹⁷⁰

mvp-comment-624-2 ὀρθῶς θ’ ¹¹⁷¹ δ’ ¹¹⁷² θ’ ¹¹⁷³ τε ¹¹⁷⁴ δέ ¹¹⁷⁵

mvp-comment-624-3 ἔνθα ¹¹⁷⁶

mvp-comment-625-1 Αἴγισθον ¹¹⁷⁷ ᾤκηκεν ¹¹⁷⁸

mvp-comment-626-1 ἀλλ’ ¹¹⁷⁹

mvp-comment-626-2 χὡ φράσας ¹¹⁸⁰

mvp-comment-626-3 ἀζήμιος ¹¹⁸¹

mvp-comment-627-1 τίς … φράσειεν ἄν ¹¹⁸²

mvp-comment-627-2 ποθεινὴν ¹¹⁸³

mvp-comment-627-3 κοινόπουν ¹¹⁸⁴

mvp-comment-628-1 τὸν ἄγχιστον ¹¹⁸⁵

mvp-comment-629-1 ἴθ’, ὦ γύναι ¹¹⁸⁶

mvp-comment-630-1 οὐ δή ποθ’ ¹¹⁸⁷

mvp-comment-631-1 τὴν σὴν κληδόν’ ¹¹⁸⁸

mvp-comment-631-2 Στρόφιος ¹¹⁸⁹

mvp-comment-632-1 φέροντες ¹¹⁹⁰ κομίζομεν ¹¹⁹¹

mvp-comment-633-1 τοῦτ’ ἐκεῖν’ ¹¹⁹²

mvp-comment-633-2 πρόχειρον ¹¹⁹³

mvp-comment-633-3 ἄχθος ¹¹⁹⁴

mvp-comment-634-1 κέκευθεν ¹¹⁹⁵

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

ὡς τἀποκλαῦσαι κἀποδύρασθαι τύχας

mvp-comment-635-1 δότε ¹¹⁹⁶ ἥτις ἐστί ¹¹⁹⁷

mvp-comment-635-2 ἐπαιτεῖται ¹¹⁹⁸

mvp-comment-635-3 πρὸς αἵματος ¹¹⁹⁹

mvp-comment-635-4 φύσιν ¹²⁰⁰

mvp-comment-636-1 ψυχῆς Ὀρέστου λοιπόν ¹²⁰¹

mvp-comment-636-2 ἀπ’ ἐλπίδων ¹²⁰²

mvp-comment-636-3 Then οὐχ ὧνπερ ¹²⁰³

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

οὐχ ὧνπερ

and

ἀπ’

, to take

ἀπ’ ἐλπίδων

as=‘ with hopes.’ The prep. would then be used as when it denotes a resource: 1378

ἀφ’ ὧν ἔχοιμι

: Thuc. 1. 91 § 7

ἀπὸ ἀντιπάλου παρασκευῆς

. (Observe that in Soph. Tr. 667

ἀπ’ ἐλπίδος καλῆς

is not really similar; it means, ‘as the outcome of a fair hope.’) The prevailing usage of

ἀπό

condemns this view.

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

οὐχ ὧνπερ

, to change

ἀπ’

, with Schaefer, to

ὑπ’

. Cp. Eur. Hec. 351

ἐθρέφθην ἐλπίδων καλῶν ὕπο

. This is possible; though

ὑπό

, when thus used, commonly denotes an external accompaniment ( Soph. Tr. 419 n.); as, indeed, even in Hec. l. c., the hopes are not merely Polyxena's own, but those of her friends. Further:

ὥς σ’ ἀπ’ ἐλπίδων— ἀπό

meaning ‘contrary to’—strikes the note of despair more forcibly.

mvp-comment-636-6 (3) Keeping

ἀπ’

as=‘contrary to,’ to alter

οὐχ ὧνπερ

either to οὐχ ὅνπερ ¹²⁰⁴ οὐχ ὥσπερ ¹²⁰⁵

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

ἀπ’

ὧνπερ

is unsound.

mvp-comment-637-1 νῦν μὲν γὰρ ¹²⁰⁶

mvp-comment-637-2 οὐδὲν ὄντα ¹²⁰⁷

mvp-comment-637-3 βαστάζω ¹²⁰⁸

mvp-comment-637-4 λαμπρὸν ¹²⁰⁹

mvp-comment-638-1 ὡς ὤφελον ¹²¹⁰

mvp-comment-638-2 The v.l. ὤφελες ¹²¹¹ κλέψασα ¹²¹²

mvp-comment-638-3 τοῖνδε ¹²¹³

mvp-comment-638-4 κἀνασώσασθαι ¹²¹⁴

mvp-comment-638-5 φόνου ¹²¹⁵

mvp-comment-639-1 ὅπως … ἔκεισο ¹²¹⁶

mvp-comment-639-2 τύμβου πατρῴου ¹²¹⁷

mvp-comment-640-1 φυγὰς ¹²¹⁸

mvp-comment-641-1 ἐν ¹²¹⁹

mvp-comment-641-2 φίλαισι ¹²²⁰

mvp-comment-642-1 λουτροῖς σ’ ἐκόσμης’ ¹²²¹

mvp-comment-643-1 ἄθλιον βάρος ¹²²²

mvp-comment-644-1 ἐν ξέναισι χερσὶ κηδευθεὶς ¹²²³

mvp-comment-644-2 σμικρὸς … ὄγκος ¹²²⁴

mvp-comment-645-1 τῆς ἐμῆς … τρ. ἀνωφελήτου ¹²²⁵

mvp-comment-645-2 παρέσχον ¹²²⁶

mvp-comment-646-1 ἢ κἀμοῦ ¹²²⁷

mvp-comment-646-2 μητρὸς … φίλος ¹²²⁸

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

τὸ δὲ φίλος ἀντὶ ὄφελος

. But P. N. Papageorgius corrects

ὄφελος

ὦ φίλος

( Scholia in Soph. Trag. Vetera, Leipsic, 1888). And this is confirmed by the first part of the same scholium:

οὐκ ἦσθα τῆς μητρὸς ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐμοῦ

: i.e., the scholiast understood, ‘for thou didst not belong to thy mother more than to me,’ and took

φίλος

as=a vocative.

mvp-comment-647-1 οἱ κατ’ οἶκον ¹²²⁹ ἦσαν ¹²³⁰

mvp-comment-647-2 ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ τροφός ¹²³¹

mvp-comment-648-1 ἀδελφὴ σοὶ ¹²³²

mvp-comment-648-2 προσηυδώμην ¹²³³

mvp-comment-649-1 ἐκλέλοιπε ¹²³⁴

mvp-comment-649-2 θανόντι ¹²³⁵

mvp-comment-649-3 συναρπάσας ¹²³⁶

mvp-comment-649-4 θύελλ’ ¹²³⁷

mvp-comment-650-1 τέθνηκ’ ἐγὼ σοί ¹²³⁸ σοί ¹²³⁹ τέθνηκ’ ἐγώ σοι ¹²⁴⁰

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

τῷδε δ’ οἴχομαι

(‘in his purpose, I am dead’). But this is less suitable to the context. (2) ‘I am dead to thee, as thou to me,’— i.e., we are now parted from each other by the barrier between earth and Hades.—The objection to τέθνηκ’ ἐγώ· σὺ ¹²⁴¹

mvp-comment-651-1 μήτηρ ἀμήτωρ ¹²⁴²

mvp-comment-651-2 ἧς ¹²⁴³

mvp-comment-651-3 1160—

mvp-comment-652-1 οἴμοι μοί ¹²⁴⁴

mvp-comment-653-1 κελεύθους ¹²⁴⁵

mvp-comment-653-2 ἀπώλεσας ¹²⁴⁶

mvp-comment-653-3 δῆτ’ ¹²⁴⁷

mvp-comment-654-1 τοιγὰρ σὺ δέξαι μ’ ¹²⁴⁸

mvp-comment-654-2 τὴν μηδὲν ¹²⁴⁹

mvp-comment-654-3 τὸ μηδὲν ¹²⁵⁰

mvp-comment-655-1 μετεῖχον τῶν ἴσων ¹²⁵¹

mvp-comment-655-2 μὴ ἀπολείπεσθαι ¹²⁵²

mvp-comment-656-1 τοὺς ¹²⁵³ θανόντας ¹²⁵⁴

mvp-comment-657-1 θνητοῦ ¹²⁵⁵ θνητὸς ¹²⁵⁶

mvp-comment-657-2 φρόνει ¹²⁵⁷

mvp-comment-658-1 πᾶσιν γὰρ ἡμῖν ¹²⁵⁸ τοῦτ’ ¹²⁵⁹

mvp-comment-659-1 φεῦ φεῦ, τί λέξω ¹²⁶⁰

mvp-comment-659-2 λόγων ¹²⁶¹ ποῖ ¹²⁶² ἀμηχανῶν ¹²⁶³

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

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

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

mvp-comment-660-4 ἔσχες ἄλγος ¹²⁶⁴

mvp-comment-661-1 κλεινὸν ¹²⁶⁵

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

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

mvp-comment-662-3 καὶ μάλ’ ¹²⁶⁶

mvp-comment-663-1 ταλαίνης ¹²⁶⁷ συμφορᾶς ¹²⁶⁸

mvp-comment-664-1 οὐ ¹²⁶⁹

mvp-comment-665-1 ἀτίμως ¹²⁷⁰ κἀθέως ¹²⁷¹

mvp-comment-666-1 ἢ )μὲ ¹²⁷²

mvp-comment-666-2 δυσφημεῖς ¹²⁷³ ἄλλην ¹²⁷⁴ ξένε ¹²⁷⁵

mvp-comment-667-1 ἀνύμφου ¹²⁷⁶

mvp-comment-667-2 τροφῆς ¹²⁷⁷

mvp-comment-668-1 τί δή ποτ’ ¹²⁷⁸ μοι ¹²⁷⁹ ἐπισκοπῶν ¹²⁸⁰ τί ¹²⁸¹

mvp-comment-669-1 ἐν τῷ … τῶν εἰρημένων ¹²⁸²

mvp-comment-670-1 ὁρῶν σὲ ¹²⁸³ σὲ ¹²⁸⁴ σε ¹²⁸⁵ τῶν ἐμῶν ¹²⁸⁶ σέ ¹²⁸⁷

mvp-comment-670-2 ἐμπρέπουσαν ¹²⁸⁸

mvp-comment-671-1 πόθεν ¹²⁸⁹

mvp-comment-672-1 εἶτα ¹²⁹⁰

mvp-comment-672-2 δουλεύω ¹²⁹¹

mvp-comment-673-1 ἀνάγκῃ … προτρέπει ¹²⁹²

mvp-comment-674-1 ἐξισοῖ ¹²⁹³

mvp-comment-675-1 χερσὶν ¹²⁹⁴ λύμη βίου ¹²⁹⁵

mvp-comment-676-1 οὑπαρήξων ¹²⁹⁶

mvp-comment-677-1 προὔθηκας ¹²⁹⁷

mvp-comment-678-1 ποτέ ¹²⁹⁸ ἐμέ ¹²⁹⁹ νύν μ’ ¹³⁰⁰

mvp-comment-679-1 τοῖσι σοῖς ¹³⁰¹ τοῖς ἴσοις ¹³⁰²

mvp-comment-679-2 The word ξυγγενὴς ¹³⁰³ τοῖσι σοῖς ¹³⁰⁴ τοῖς ἴσοις ¹³⁰⁵

mvp-comment-680-1 τὸ τῶνδε ¹³⁰⁶

mvp-comment-681-1 νυν ¹³⁰⁷

mvp-comment-682-1 πιθοῦ ¹³⁰⁸ πείθου ¹³⁰⁹

mvp-comment-683-1 πρὸς γενείου ¹³¹⁰

mvp-comment-683-2 The reading of the MSS., μ<*> )ξέλη ¹³¹¹ μ’ ἐξέλῃ ¹³¹²

mvp-comment-683-3 ἐξέλῃ ¹³¹³

mvp-comment-683-4 τὰ φίλτατα ¹³¹⁴

mvp-comment-684-1 οὐ φήμ’ ἐάσειν ¹³¹⁵

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

ἀντιλαβή

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

mvp-comment-684-3 τάλαιν’ ἐγὼ σέθεν ¹³¹⁶

mvp-comment-685-1 εἰ στερήσομαι ¹³¹⁷

mvp-comment-686-1 ὦ φίλτατον φῶς ¹³¹⁸

mvp-comment-687-1 ὦ φθέγμ’ ¹³¹⁹

mvp-comment-687-2 μηκέτ’ ἄλλοθεν πύθῃ ¹³²⁰

mvp-comment-688-1 ἔχω … ἔχοις ἀεί ¹³²¹

mvp-comment-689-1 πολίτιδες ¹³²²

mvp-comment-690-1 μηχαναῖσι ¹³²³

mvp-comment-690-2 σεσωσμένον ¹³²⁴

mvp-comment-691-1 συμφοραῖσι ¹³²⁵

mvp-comment-691-2 γεγηθὸς … δάκρυον ¹³²⁶

mvp-comment-692-1 A

μέλος ἀπὸ σκηνῆς

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

mvp-comment-693-1 γοναὶ σωμάτων ¹³²⁷

mvp-comment-694-1 ἀρτίως ¹³²⁸

mvp-comment-694-2 οὓς ¹³²⁹

mvp-comment-694-3 ἐχρήζετε ¹³³⁰

mvp-comment-695-1 σῖγ’ ἔχουσα ¹³³¹

mvp-comment-696-1 ἀλλ’ οὐ μὰ ¹³³²

mvp-comment-696-2 τὴν ἄδμητον ¹³³³

mvp-comment-696-3 Ἄρτεμιν ¹³³⁴

mvp-comment-697-1 τόδε μὲν … ὂν ἀεί ¹³³⁵

mvp-comment-697-2 περισσὸν ἄχθος ¹³³⁶

mvp-comment-697-3 ἔνδον … ὂν ἀεί ¹³³⁷

mvp-comment-698-1 γε μὲν δὴ ¹³³⁸

mvp-comment-698-2 Ἄρης ¹³³⁹

mvp-comment-698-3 εὖ δ’ ἔξοισθα ¹³⁴⁰

Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus

86-250. mvp-comment-59-1 In this long lament there are two principal movements, each of which admits of subdivision. First, the monody of Electra, consisting of two anapaestic systems, of which one (ll. 86-102) is retrospective, and the other (ll. 103-120) is prospective. Secondly, there is the commatic parodos :-the chorus on their entrance address Electra with lyric strains, to which she responds also in lyric measures. This movement consists of three strophes and antistrophes. In στρ. and ἀντ. α' (ll. 121-152), the chorus gently, but gloomily, expostulate with Electra, who is inconsolable. In στρ. and ἀντ. β΄ (ll. 153-192), they vainly try to cheer her. In στρ. and ἀντ. γ΄ (ll. 193- 232), they remind her of her past and present troubles, and exhort her not to add to them. All this is followed by a ῥῆσις of Electra (ll. 254-309) in reply to the coryphaeus, who, at l. 324, again speaks to call attention to Chrysothemis' approach.

86-250. mvp-comment-59-2 Metres. The anapaests in 86-120, although for the most part regular are in so far of the freer kind which belong to laments as to admit the spondaic paroemiacs near the commencement of each system in ll. 88, 9, 105, 6, which, with the opening half line, have a strange effect of heaviness and of struggle and pain. The two systems so nearly correspond, both in this respect and in the number of the lines, that one is tempted to believe that the half line that would complete the antistrophic effect has been lost somewhere between 113 and 117. But anapaestic systems are seldom exactly antistrophic, and the pause after the (dactylic) invocation in l. 115 may be intentional.

239. mvp-comment-140-1 τούτοις] Sc. ἐν οἷς τοῦτο ἔβλαστε, the indefinite plural taking the place of the indefinite singular. E. on L. § 20. p. 31. 3. Cp. Hdt. 9. 79. § 3. ἐγὼ δ᾽ οὖν τούτου εἵνεκα μήτε Αἰγινήτῃσι ἅδοιμι, μήτε τοῖσι ταῦτα ἀρέσκεται· ἀποχρᾷ δ᾽ ἐμοί, Σπαρτιήτῃσι ἀρεσκόμενον, ὅσια μὲν ποιέειν, ὅσια δὲ καὶ λέγειν.

240. mvp-comment-141-1 εἴ τῳ πρόσκειμαι χρηστῷ] · If I have near me any good,' = εἴ τι χρηστὸν πρόσκειταί μοι : Ε. on L. § 42. p. 80 β. Cp. infr. 1040, ᾧ σὺ πρόσκεισαι κακῷ.

241-243. mvp-comment-142-1 γονέων .. γόων] • Holding back the wings of my shrill wailings from doing honour to my sire.' Each fresh utterance of the unabating sorrow is imagined as a bird that is eager to fly. ἐκτίμους is predicative and proleptic, = ὥστε ἔξω εἶναι τοῦ τιμᾶν. See E. on L. $ 54. p. 100 d, § 10. p. 16 f., § 23. p. 38 81, § 38. p. 71.

244. mvp-comment-143-1 ya] Prof. Jebb reads ya, i.e. 'buried,' adding, 'it is difficult to believe that yῆ could stand for σποδός.' But the expression is hyperbolical-' mere clay.' Cp. ψήγμα in Aesch. Ag. 442.

251-252. mvp-comment-144-1 καὶ τὸ σὸν.. καὶ τοὐμὸν αὐτῆς] 'More in care for thee than for myself. This is really the meaning, although, by the usual Greek litotes, 'as much as' is put for more than.' The most important matter is put first. E. on L. § 41. p. 78.

253. mvp-comment-145-1 ἑψόμεσθ'] Cp. infr. 1052.

254-255. mvp-comment-146-1 I am ashamed of seeming to you, as I must seem, to be too impatient in multiplying lamentations.' δοκῶ is indicative.

258. mvp-comment-147-1 πατρῷ᾽ ὁρῶσα πήματ'] 'Seeing woful things performed against her sire.' Electra's filial affection for Agamemnon is kept prominently before us as her chief motive; and every insult to his memory, including her own sufferings, is regarded by her as part of the wrong done to him. πατρῷα is at first general, but in the antecedent to a it becomes individual, -' of my father.'

260. mvp-comment-148-1 θάλλοντα .. καταφθίνονθ'] “Not lessening but increasing.'

260-261. mvp-comment-149-1 ᾖ.. συμβέβηκεν] 'Since, first of all, I have found in my own mother the deepest cause for hatred.' This (Paley, etc.) is better than my mother is my enemy.'

264. mvp-comment-150-1 κἀκ τῶνδ᾽ ἄρχομαι] ‘And I am in subjection to them. Cp. O. C. 67, ἐκ τοῦ κατ᾿ ἄστυ βασιλέως τάδ' ἄρχεται.

270. mvp-comment-151-1 ἔνθ᾽ ἐκεῖνον ὤλεσεν] Here again Sophocles seems to follow the account that is given in the fourth book of the Odyssey, ll. 529 foll., according to which Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon at or after a banquet. Hence he is said to have destroyed him beside the hearth. Cp. infr. 1495.

271-274. mvp-comment-152-1 Further, when I see their crowning insult, when I see, forsooth, the author of his death reclining on my father's couch, beside my wretched mother, if so I must call this woman, when cohabiting with him!' The clause τὸν αὐτοφόντην κ.τ.λ. is in the same construction with ὕβριν, governed by ἴδω. ἡμίν is ethical dative, and has a sarcastic force; i.e. That is what I am compelled to look upon.' The participle (κείμενον) which should have gone with ἐν κοίτῃ is absorbed and resumed in συγκοιμωμένην.

363-364. mvp-comment-153-1 ἐμοὶ γὰρ . . βόσκημα] (1) ‘For I would have such maintenance alone as will not cause me pain:' i. e. through compliance with my father's enemies. The reading λυποῦν is implied in the first scholion here, which, although giving a wrong explanation, deserves for this reason to be transcribed:-ἐμοί, φησίν, ἔστω τροφή, ἡ τῇ ἀνάγκῃ μόνον ἁρμόζουσα, καὶ τὴν πείνην ἀπελαύνουσα· οὐ δέομαι γὰρ τοιαύτης τροφῆς ἀφ᾿ ἧς ἡδονὴν σχήσω. (2) The MS. reading, which is also acknowledged in the scholia, -τοὐμὲ μὴ λυπεῖν (Schol. τοῦτο μόνον ἐμὲ βοσκέτω, τὸ μὴ λυπεῖν ἐμὲ αὐτήν, εἰ τοῖς φονεῦσι τοῦ πατρὸς πείθεσθαι ἀναγκασθήσομαι) is possibly right, but the use of ἐμέ for ἐμαυτήν is hardly justified, and the expression seems forced. Ср., however, Eur. Cycl. 336-8, ὡς τοὐμπιεῖν γε καὶ φαγεῖν τοὐφ᾽ ἡμέραν, | Ζεὺς οὗτος ἀνθρώποισι τοῖσι σώφροσι, | λυπεῖν δὲ μηδὲν αὐτόν.

364. mvp-comment-154-1 The genitive, after ἐρῶ, is to be resumed with τυχεῖν, which is epexegetic infinitive.

365-367. mvp-comment-155-1 νῦν δ᾽ ἐξὸν .. τῆς μητρός] But now, when you might be called the daughter of the noblest of all sires, be called your mother's child.' Here, and in supr. 341, 2, there is a reminiscence of that depreciation of the maternal relationship, which is more fully expressed in the Eumenides of Aeschylus. For another trace of this, cp. Eur. Fr. 1048, στέργω δὲ τὸν φύσαντα τῶν πάντων βροτῶν | μάλισθ'· ὁρίζω τοῦτο, καὶ σὺ μὴ φθώνει· | κείνου γὰρ ἐξέβλαστον. οὐδ᾽ ἂν εἰς ἀνὴρ | γυναικὸς αὐδήσειεν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ πατρός.

369. mvp-comment-156-1 μηδὲν πρὸς ὀργήν] Sc. λέξης. Say nothing in anger,'-lit. 'tending that way. Cp. infr. 464.

373. mvp-comment-157-1 οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἐμνήσθην ποτέ) 'And would never have mentioned the subject. This refers to supr. 330, 1.

376. mvp-comment-158-1 Exceptions to the rule of the Porsonic pause are not infrequent where γάρ comes in the first place of the fifth foot: e.g. O. C. 115, ἐν γὰρ τῷ μαθεῖν.

376-377. mvp-comment-159-1 Electra will not admit that any trouble can be greater than what she endures already in seeing the insults that are heaped upon her father.

382. mvp-comment-160-1 χθονὸς τῆσδ᾽ ἐκτός] Beyond the Argive boundary, so as not to bring pollution upon the state. Cp. Ant. 773, ἄγων ἔρημος ἔνθ᾽ ἂν ᾖ βροτῶν στίβος κρύψω πετρώδει ζῶσαν ἐν κατώρυχι : Ο. C. 399, 400, ὥς σ' ἄγχι γῆς στήσωσι Καδμείας, ὅπως | κρατῶσι μέν σου, γῆς δὲ μὴ ᾿μβαίνῃς ὅρων. ὑμνήσεις κακά] 'You shall chant your song of woe.' Cp. infr. 802, 3, τήνδε δ᾽ ἔκτοθεν βοᾶν | ἔα τά θ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ τῶν φίλων κακά.

383-384. mvp-comment-161-1 καί με . μέμψῃ] Being warned, Electra will have no cause to blame Chrysothemis. Cp. infr. 1056, 7, ὅταν γὰρ ἐν κακοῖς | ἤδη βεβήκῃς, τἄμ᾽ ἐπαινέσεις ἔπη.

384. mvp-comment-162-1 νῦν γὰρ .. φρονεῖν] ‘For now you have a good opportunity of adopting the wiser course.' Cp. Plat. Rep. Β. 9. p. 571 Β, τὸ τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν .. οὔ μοι δοκοῦμεν ἱκανῶς διῃρῆσθαι. . οὐκοῦν, ἢ δ᾽ ὅς, ἔτ᾽ ἐν καλῷ;

385. mvp-comment-163-1 And have they really determined to do this to me?' καί adds a sarcastic emphasis.

390. mvp-comment-164-1 ποῦ ποτ᾽ εἰ φρενῶν;] 'What are you thinking of?' Cp. Ant. 42, ποῦ γνώμης ποτ' εἶ; There is the same doubt in both cases, whether el is from εἰμί or εἶμι. For the latter, which gives greater liveliness, cp. Eur. Iph. Α. 479, 80, καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἐξαφίσταμαι λόγων, | οὐκ εἰς σὲ δεινός· εἶμι δ᾽ οὗπερ εἶ σὺ νῦν. On the other hand it may be urged that ποῖ would be more natural with the verb of motion. Electra in supra l. 354 has said, οὐ ζῶ; κακῶς μὲν, οἶδ᾽, ἐπαρκούντως δ᾽ ἐμοί. Chrysothemis interprets this as if she had meant that she had something to lose.

395. mvp-comment-165-1 τοῖς φίλοις] Viz. τῷ πατρί.

397. mvp-comment-166-1 ταῦτα is an adverbial accusative. οὐκ ἐμοὺς τρόπους λέγεις] 'You speak not of my ways; i.e. Your words indicate a line of conduct that can never be mine.

399. mvp-comment-167-1 τιμωρούμενοι] Cp. supr. 349.

400. mvp-comment-168-1 τούτων.. συγγνώμην] For this genitive, see Essay on L. § 9. p. 12, d 2, and cp. esp. Trach. 250, τοῦ λόγου .. φθόνον.

401. mvp-comment-169-1 Such words are for the base to approve.' Although, grammatically speaking, ἔπη is the subject of the sentence, and ἐπαινέσαι is epexegetic infinitive, the real meaning is, πρὸς κακῶν ἐστὶ τὸ ἐπαινέσai ταῦτα τὰ ἔπη. As constantly happens in Greek, an attribute which belongs to the verb is attached to the noun.

403. mvp-comment-170-1 μή πω .. κενή] 'I trust I may not prove so void of understanding!' For this use of πω, in which the temporal meaning has disappeared, cp; Ο. Τ. 105, οὐ γὰρ εἰσεῖδόν γέ πω, and note. The adverbial use of τοσόνδε is an Epic touch; cp. Od. 21. 253, 4, ἀλλ᾽ ἐἰ δὴ τοσσόνδε βίης ἐπιδευέες εἰμὲν | ἀντιθέου Ὀδυσῆος, ὅτ᾽ οὐ δυνάμεσθα, κ.τ.λ.

404. mvp-comment-171-1 οἶπερ ἐστάλην ὁδοῦ] ‘To the place whither I was sent upon my way.' For the idiomatic partitive genitive, cp. supr. 390, ποῦ ποτ' εἶ φρενῶν ; Phil. 899, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνθάδ᾽ ἤδη τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους κυρῶ.

405. mvp-comment-172-1 τῷ] 'For whom?' i.e. 'To be offered to whom?'

406. mvp-comment-173-1 τυμβεῦσai χοάς] Το pour libation on his tomb;' i.e. ἐπιτυμβίους χέαι χοάς,-the attribute of the noun being attached to the verb. See Essay on L. § 17. p. 25 с.

409. mvp-comment-174-1 τῷ τοῦτ᾽ ἤρεσεν] 'Whose pleasure was this?' Cp. Aj. 1243, & τοῖς πολλοῖσιν ἤρεσκεν κριταῖς.

410. mvp-comment-175-1 ἐκ δείματος] Sc. πεισθεῖσα.

411. mvp-comment-176-1 At the mention of 'nightly fear,' Electra instantly rushes to the conclusion that Clytemnestra has had some Divine warning. Her hope at once revives, and she looks up to heaven. For ἀλλὰ νῦν, 'now, though not heretofore,' cp. Ant. 552, τί δῆτ᾽ ἂν ἀλλὰ νῦν σ᾽ ἔτ᾿ ὠφελοῖμ᾽ ἐγώ. And for the connection, cp. Aesch. Cho. 515, 6, ΟΡ. πόθεν χοὰς ἔπεμψεν, ἐκ τίνος λόγου | μεθύστερον τιμῶσ᾽ ἀνήκεστον πάθος; ib. 523-5, ΧΟ. οἶδ', ὦ τέκνον· παρῆ γάρ. ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνειράτων | καὶ νυκτιπλάγκτων δειμάτων πεπαλμένη | χοὰς ἔπεμψε τάσδε δύσθεος γυνή. In this line and supr. 345 γε belongs in sense to the word that follows it. Or rather, the particle emphasizes the whole sentence as a comment on the preceding words. 'Ay, now, at last, come to our aid!'

413. mvp-comment-177-1 Electra is eager to know the vision, and will not confess her hopes till she has heard it.

414. mvp-comment-178-1 ἐπὶ σμικρόν is to be resumed with φράσai, which is epexegetic infinitive.

415. mvp-comment-179-1 λέγ᾽ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο] 'Tell me but this;'-this little, if nothing more. Cp. Trach. 320, εἴπ', ὦ τάλαιν', ἀλλ᾽ ἡμὶν ἐκ σαυτῆς. πολλά τοι κ.τ.λ.] Cp. Aesch. Cho. 204, σμικροῦ γένοιτ' ἂν σπέρματος μέγας πυθμήν: Ο. Τ. 120, 1, ἓν γὰρ πόλλ᾽ ἂν ἐξεύροι μαθεῖν, | ἀρχὴν βραχεῖαν εἰ λάβοιμεν ἐλπίδος.

417. mvp-comment-180-1 λόγος τις.. ἐστιν] It is said,' viz. by the attendant who heard her tell her vision to the Sun, infr. 424, 5.

417-419. mvp-comment-181-1 πατρὸς ἐς φῶς] Our father again amongst us, revisiting the realm of light; i.e. τὸν πατέρα δεύτερον ὁμιλοῦντα (τοῖς ἐνθάδε), -abstract for concrete.

419. mvp-comment-182-1 εἶτα, κ.τ.λ.] These words depend immediately on λόγος τίς ἐστιν. Chrysothemis proceeds to narrate the vision as a matter of fact.

421. mvp-comment-183-1 τανῦν δ᾽ Αἴγισθος] Sc. φέρει.

424. mvp-comment-184-1 τοῦ παρόντος] 'The one who was present.' As a matter of course Clytemnestra was not wholly unattended in the day-time. Hence the article. Some editors have preferred the indefinite του; but the use of παρόντος = παραγενομένου is less natural in this case, and the double predicate παρόντος, ἐξηγουμένου, is awkward. A female attendant is meant, the masculine form being used, as in Trach. 151, etc. See Essay on L. § 20. p. 30. 2.

428. mvp-comment-185-1 πρὸς . . θεῶν τῶν ἐγγενῶν] · By the gods of our race,' i.e. the gods who are not only the protectors of our race, but also its progenitors, Inachus, etc. Chrysothemis in her solemn adjuration uses τὸν ἐπιχώριον ὅρκον τὸν μέγιστον (Thuc. 5. 18. § 9). Cp. Ant. 938, θεοὶ προγενεῖς, and note.

430. mvp-comment-186-1 σὺν κακῷ μέτει πάλιν] 'You will seek me another day, when the evil has overtaken you.'

431. mvp-comment-187-1 Electra scarcely hears the concluding words of Chrysothemis. Her attention is absorbed by the vision and the hopes which it has aroused in her mind, and she is determined to prevent the offering of the libation, which she represents to her sister as at once an offence to Agamemnon and useless to Clytemnestra. The former is her own feeling, the latter (ll. 446-8) occurs to her as a rhetorical argument. She also takes the opportunity of sending an offering to the tomb, as if to remind her father that the hour of vengeance for him was at hand. ὦ φίλη] 'She tries affectionate persuasion, and no longer reproaches.' Paley. Or rather, her resentment is forgotten in the revival of hope. Cp. supr. 367.

433-434. mvp-comment-188-1 ἱστάναι | κτερίσματα] Το (institute or) perform funereal rights.'

435-438. mvp-comment-189-1 Not κρύψον from l. 436, but some more general word, such as ἀφάνισον, is to be supplied with πνοαίσιν. For the form of sentence, cp. О. Т. 1410-2, ἔξω μέ που | καλύψατ', ἢ φονεύσατ', ἢ θαλάσσιον | ἐκρίψατ᾽, ἔνθα μήποτ᾽ εἰσόψεσθ᾽ ἔτι. βαθυσκαφεῖ κόνει] 'In deeply hollowed dust,' i.e. buried deep in the ground.

437-438. mvp-comment-190-1 ἀλλ᾿ ὅταν θάνῃ . . κάτω] 'But let this be treasured underground for her, against the day when she shall die.' σωζέσθω is passive, and there is an ellipse οἱ εἰς ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον or the like words.

441. mvp-comment-191-1 οὐκ ἄν.. ἐπέστεφε] 'She would not have sought to give by way of honour.' Cp. Ant. 431, χοαῖσι τρισπόνδοισι τὸν νέκυν στέφει.

442-443. mvp-comment-192-1 For only think whether you can suppose the dead man in his grave will receive this gift kindly at her hand.' For αὐτῇ as dative of the remote object with προσφιλῶς δέξασθαι, cp. supr. 226, 7, τίνι . . πρόσφορον ἀκούσαιμ᾽ ἔπος; It may also be taken with προσφιλῶς separately, but rather follows both words as combined in one expression.

444. mvp-comment-193-1 'Who slew him dishonourably as a personal foe.' Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1374, ἐχθροῖς ἐχθρὰ πορσύνων: ibid. 1492-4, κεῖσαι . κοίταν τάνδ᾽ ἀνελεύθερον.

445. mvp-comment-194-1 ἐμασχαλίσθη] ‘He was mutilated' (by cutting off the extremities and placing or tieing them under the armpits). Clytemnestra had adopted this barbarous means of disabling the spirit of her enemy. Aesch. Cho. 439, ἐμασχαλίσθη δ᾽ ἔθ᾽, ὡς τόδ᾽ εἰδῇς.

445-446. mvp-comment-195-1 And his head was used to wipe the stains away in washing' (the hearth). This additional circumstance of savagery is known to us only from Sophocles, but is probably not due to his invention. See Introd. to Aj. p. 1. Interpreters have supposed a change of subject, supplying ἡ ς ἡ Κλυταιμνήστρα ας nominative to ἐξέμαξεν. But this is unnecessary if it is borne in mind that verbs active in grammar are often used in Greek to express a passive condition. Essay on L. § 30. p. 52 d. Prof. Jebb understands the construction in the same way, with a slightly different nuance of interpretation: - 'And by way of funeral ablution received the print of the sword-stains on his head.' Mr. Paley translates, And at the washing of the body she wiped off the blood-stains on his head.' But did she wash the body?

446-447. mvp-comment-196-1 Electra tries to influence Chrysothemis, not only with fear of her dead father, but also by pointing out the uselessness of the action for Clytemnestra's purpose, and so quieting her sister's conscience in this respect.

448. mvp-comment-197-1 σὺ δέ] For the introduction of the personal pronoun without real emphasis, in such antitheses, see Essay on L. § 41. p. 79.

449. mvp-comment-198-1 Clipping off a little from thy luxuriant curls.' The words call attention to the abundance of Chrysothemis' hair in comparison with Electra's. Cp- Eur. Or. 128, 9, εἴδετε παρ᾿ ἄκρας ὡς ἀπέθρισεν τρίχας, | σώζουσα κάλλος.

451. mvp-comment-199-1 τήνδε †λιπαρή τρίχα] The adjective here is puzzling, whichever reading we adopt. Hermann thought the MS. reading ἀλιπαρή might bear the sense of 'unmeet for supplication.' But λιπαρεῖν is hardly near enough in meaning to λιτανεύειν to make this possible. The Scholiast and Suidas explain the alternative reading λιπαρή, by ἱκέτιν, ἐξ ἧς αὐτὸν λιπαρήσομεν.

451. mvp-comment-199-2 But this is wanting in point. And a confusion of λιπαρής with λιπαρός (i.e. ἀλιπαρῆ = αὐχμηράν) is not to be thought of. Perhaps λιπαρή, in the sense of 'patient,' 'persistent,' may have conveyed some shade of meaning suitable to the passage. Or possibly ΛΙΠΑΡΗ may be a corruption of AYC-ΠΙΝΗ. Ср. О. С. 1597, εἶτ᾿ ἔλυσε δυσπινεῖς στολάς. I cannot think, with Mr. Paley, that this and the following line are an interpolation. The words ἄχω, δὸς αὐτῷ, are too pathetic for this.

452. mvp-comment-200-1 οὐ χλιδαῖς ἠσκημένον] 'Not elegantly neat.' The dative of manner in χλιδαῖς has an adverbial force. Essay on L. § 14. p. 20. Electra's girdle had not been beautifully got up' and 'laid in lavender,' like her sister's.

453-454. mvp-comment-201-1 The belief in the real presence of the spirits of the dead on great occasions, which is so powerful in the Oresteia of Aeschylus, still survives in the Sophoclean drama, but is much less vividly and realistically felt. It has become more ideal.

455. mvp-comment-202-1 ἐξ ὑπερτέρας χερός] • With overpowering might.'

456. mvp-comment-203-1 ζῶντ᾽ ἐπεμβῆναι ποδί] Either (1) In the fulness of life (ζῶντα) should trample with his foot' (ποδί expletive); or (2) Should trample with a foot of living power' (ζῶντι.. ποδί). The latter is rendered improbable by the unusual elision, for which, however, cp. Trach. 675, ἀργῆτ᾽ οἰὸς εὐείρῳ πόκῳ, where see note. See also Pind. Ol. 13. 114, καρταίποδ᾽ ἀναρύῃ Γαιαóχῳ. In either case ζῆν is used in the secondary sense of being vigorous. Cp. Ant. 456, 7, ἀεί ποτε | ζῇ ταῦτα: Ο. Τ. 44, 5, and note.

459-460. mvp-comment-204-1 'Indeed, I do believe some care on his part caused the appalling dream to come to her.' For the use of the neuter participle, see Essay on L. § 30. p. 51 α. Although μέλον here has not the article, it should be added to the six examples there given. μὲν οὖν interposes the incidental thought, that even without their prayers Agamemnon was minded to interfere. Then, in 461, the main drift is resumed with ὅμως. 'Still, let us not omit this offering!'

461. mvp-comment-205-1 σοί is here equivalent to σαυτῇ, but occurring here as one of several coordinate terms, can hardly be adduced to justify the use of ἐμέ for ἐμαυτήν in supr. 363, which becomes necessary if λυπεῖν is read.

466-467. mvp-comment-206-1 τὸ γὰρ .. δρᾶν] ‘For when a thing is right, people should not quarrel over it, but hasten to do it.' Two points are doubtful in the construction of these words. a. Either (1) τὸ δίκαιον is subject of ἔχει, and ἐρίζειν is epexegetic infinitive, or (2) ἐρίζειν is the subject of ἔχει, and τὸ δίκαιον an accusative loosely governed by the words that follow it. b. τὸ δρᾶν is either (1) the direct object of ἐπισπεύδειν, or (2) epexegetic infinitive after ἐπισπεύδειν (i.e. ἐπισπεύδειν τὸ δίκαιον, ὥστε δρᾶν αὐτό). For the article in this case, cp. O. T. 1416, 7, ἐς δέον πάρεσθ᾽ ὅδε | Κρέων τὸ πράσσειν καὶ τὸ βουλεύειν : infr. 1030, μακρὸς τὸ κρῖναι ταῦτα χὼ λοιπὸς χρόνος. The addition of δυοῖν belongs to the same tendency to make numbers explicit, which appears in καὶ τὸ γενναῖον τρίτον (Ο. C. 8) and the like phrases. For the sense, cp. Fr. 76, τοῖς γὰρ δικαίοις ἀντέχειν οὐ ῥάδιον. In the second clause, ἀλλ' ἐπισπεύδειν, κ.τ.λ., a positive notion is understood from the negative. Essay on L. § 36. p. 64, β, 1 а.

468-471. mvp-comment-207-1 These lines are intended to emphasize at once the timidity of Chrysothemis and the harshness of Clytemnestra.

471-515. mvp-comment-208-1 The following short ode, the first stasimon, consisting of a single strophe, antistrophe, and epode, dwells, first, on the renewal of hope which is brought to the upholders of the righteous cause by the announcement of the dream, secondly, on the guilt of those whom Vengeance will now assail, and thirdly, on the long chain of troubles, of which their crime is the continuation. The rhythm, beginning from three short glyconian lines, is chiefly iambic and trochaic, with an increasing number of long syllables toward the close of each movement. The metrical scheme is the following:-

472-473. mvp-comment-209-1 Ср. О. Τ. 1086, εἴπερ ἐγὼ μάντις εἰμὶ καὶ κατὰ γνώμην ἴδρις.

475. mvp-comment-210-1 ὁ πρόμαντις Δίκα] 'Presaging Justice,' i.e. the just Power that has warned Clytemnestra through the dream.

476. mvp-comment-211-1 δίκαια κράτη] Either (1) 'Bringing with her the victorious strength of righteous action,' or (2) And shall bear away the victory in a righteous deed.' In the latter case (2) the participle is proleptic. The former interpretation (1) is on the whole more probable. For this use of φερομένα, cp. Hdt. 7. 50. § 8, πολλὴν φορβὴν φερόμενοι πορευόμεθα.

479-481. mvp-comment-212-1 These lines echo the language of the dialogue, supr. 412, ἔχεις τι θάρσος τοῦδε τοῦ τάρβους πέρι;

480. mvp-comment-213-1 ἁδυπνόων] · Breathing of gladness,' i.e. auspicious. Cp. O. T. 151, ὦ Διὸς ἀδυεπὲς φάτι.

480. mvp-comment-213-2 κλύουσαν] For this accusative, with the dative preceding, as if after θαρρύνει or some such word, see Essay on L. $ 6. p. 23, and cp. Aesch. Cho. 410, 11, πέπαλται δ᾽ αὐτέ μοι φίλον κέαρ τόνδε κλύουσαν οἶκτον.

484. mvp-comment-214-1 ὁ φύσας] It must be borne in mind that Electra is present during the chanting of this ode. Cp. supr. 184 and note.

485. mvp-comment-215-1 'Nor that oid two-edged axe of sharpened bronze.' χαλκόπλακτος is literally, 'Smiting with bronze,' χαλκέας πληγὰς ἔχων. See Essay on L. $ 53: p. 98. χαλκόπακτος, • Of solid bronze,' is the conjecture of Kvidala. The axe is imagined as giving evidence, much as in early times a weapon might be accused of homicide. For a somewhat similar fancy, attributing feeling to an inanimate instrument, cp. Philoctetes, 1130 foll., ἢ που ἐλεινὸν ὁρᾷς, κ.τ.λ., Hab. 2, 11, The nail shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it, Woe unto him,' etc.

486. mvp-comment-216-1 αἰσχίσταις ἐν αἰκίαις] These words are an echo of supr. 444-6.

488-489. mvp-comment-217-1 καὶ πολύπους | καὶ πολύχειρ] With exceeding swiftness and might.' Like πᾶς and αὐτός in composition (E. on L. $ 55. p. 101), πολύς has here an intensive force, without having an exactly defined significance. Ср. πολύγλωσσος, infr. 798.

490. mvp-comment-218-1 Cp. infr. 1396, 7, δόλον σκότῳ κρύψας πρὸς αὐτὸ τέρμα.

491. mvp-comment-219-1 χαλκόπους] 'With adamantine,' i.e. (1) unwearying, 'footsteps.' Cp. χαλκὸς ἀτειρής. Or (2) Irresistible.'

492. mvp-comment-220-1 ἐπέβα] «There came on,' as a dangerous event (οἶσιν = τούτων οἷς).

495-498. mvp-comment-221-1 πρὸ τῶνδε .. συνδρῶσιν] ‘In the face of these things I feel assured that the portent which comes near to the doer or the abettor of the deed cannot be other than baneful.' In Sophocles, not as in Aeschylus, Aegisthus is the author, Clytemnestra the accessory, of the murder. In Aesch. Ag. 1609, he claims a greater share than the poet really attributes to him. For μήποτε, see E. on L. § 24. p. 41, y 2, and cp. Aj. 183.

499. mvp-comment-222-1 μαντεῖαι βροτῶν] 'Divination, as an art in which mortals are concerned.' Cp. Ο. Τ. 709, βρότειον οὐδὲν μαντικῆς ἔχον τέχνης, and see Essay on L. § 40. p. 75.

500. mvp-comment-223-1 οὐδ᾽ ἐν θεσφάτοις] The indication of the dream is as express and clear as any oracle. If the one fail of accomplishment, so must the other.

501. mvp-comment-224-1 εὐ κατασχήσει] 'Shall happily reach its destination,' i. e. shall have a fortunate issue. Cp. Trach. 826, 7, καὶ τάδ᾽ ὀρθῶς | ἔμπεδα κατουρίζει.

504-505. mvp-comment-225-1 'O chariot-race of Pelops in the former time, that hast caused many troubles, how pregnant was thine occurrence with sorrow for this land!' Sophocles passes over the quarrels of Atreus and Thyestes, and goes back at once to the homicide of which Pelops, the author of the whole race, was guilty. This made Hermes the father of Myrtilus send the golden ram, which led to the fatal dissension between the brothers. Eur. Or. 988-1012. The act of Orestes in the present drama is destined to put an end to the series of disasters which then began.

506. mvp-comment-226-1 On the question between αἰανής and αἰανή, cp. Aj. 672 and note.

510. mvp-comment-227-1 *παγχρυσέων] The chariot of the wealthy Pelops on his bridal journey was encrusted with gold. Cp. Pind. Ol. 1.87. παγχρύσεος is the Homeric form, and if a change is necessary, this seems to be the simplest. The metre is the same as in 512. Others read παγχρύσων ἐκ δίφρων. Μ. has πολυχρύσων.

511. mvp-comment-228-1 δυστάνοις αἰκίαις] Myrtilus,

511-512. mvp-comment-229-1 although a traitor to Oenomaus, was a benefactor to Pelops. Observe the repetition of the word from supr. 486, also infr. 515.

512. mvp-comment-230-1 πρόρριζος ἐκριφθείς] «Uprooted and flung forth.'

513-515. mvp-comment-231-1 'Never since that day has sad dishonour left the house.' Some editors read ἔλιπεν ἐκ τοῦδ᾽ οἴκου, ‘Has failed out of this house,' which is less probable. Wecklein reads οἴκους | πολυπάμονας, which is supported by the scholion on 508, οὐ διέλιπεν αἰκία τοὺς πολυκτήμονας δόμους. But see E. on L. § 44. pp. 83, 4.

516. mvp-comment-232-1 The dialectic of the following scene may be compared with Aj. 1047 foll., Ant. 632 foll.

517. mvp-comment-233-1 The spectator is a second time informed of Aegisthus' absence, which is so necessary to the plot. Supr. 310 foll.

518. mvp-comment-234-1 θυραίαν γ'.. φίλους] ‘To go out of doors and bring disgrace upon your relatives:'-i.e. your appearance and conduct in the house are a sufficient disgrace to them. Cp. supr. 312, 3.

521. mvp-comment-235-1 ὡς θρασεῖα] Sc. εἰμί.

522. mvp-comment-236-1 σὲ καὶ τὰ σά] • Thee and thine.' Clytemnestra thus acknowledges that Electra's complaints were never for herself alone, but for her father.

525-526. mvp-comment-237-1 πατήρ .. τέθνηκεν] Your father, that is what you are always holding forth, (how that he) died by my act. By a kind of attraction, the main sentence, as it proceeds, becomes subordinated to the parenthesis.

529. mvp-comment-238-1 ᾖ] Sc. τῇ Δίκῃ.

531. mvp-comment-239-1 μοῦνος Ἑλλήνων] i. e. either (1) he did what no other Greek could have had the heart to do, in sacrificing his child, or (2) while the army consented to the sacrifice, he had the sole responsibility, as commander-in-chief, or (3) when all shrank from the sacrificial act, he himself took the knife to slay his daughter. For (3) cp. Aesch. Ag. 225, ἔτλη δ᾽ οὖν θυτὴρ γενέσθαι θυγατρός, κ.τ.λ., ib. 210, 231 foll.

534. mvp-comment-240-1 τοῦ χάριν τίνων] 'On whose account?' lit. Absolving an obligation to whom?' Others read τοῦ χάριν, τίνων; 'Wherefore, on whose account?'

536. mvp-comment-241-1 1.ε. ἀλλ᾽ οὐ μετὴν αὐτοῖσι τῆς γ' ἐμῆς, ὥστε τὴν ἐμὴν κτανεῖν.

537-538. mvp-comment-242-1 But if for his brother Menelaus' sake he slew my child, was it to be expected that I should not requite him for this?'

539. mvp-comment-243-1 παῖδες.. διπλοῖ] Megapenthes and Hermione, the children of Menelaus and Helen.

542-543. mvp-comment-244-1 Or had Death somehow a greater longing to devour my offspring than Helen's?' δαίσασθαι is epexegetic infinitive, sc. τἀμὰ τέκνα δαίσασθαι.

544-545. mvp-comment-245-1 Or had that accursed father given up all care for his children by me, while preserving his affection for Menelaus' offspring?"

548. mvp-comment-246-1 Contrast with this the feeling of Antigone, Ant. 515, οὐ μαρτυρήσει ταῦθ᾽ ὁ κατθανὼν νεκύς.

549-550. mvp-comment-247-1 ἐγὼ. .δύσθυμος] ‘For my part, then, the past causes me no misgiving. She will not confess her alarm before Electra. τοῖς πεπραγμένοις is dative of the reason: Essay on L. § 14. p. 21. Cp. Thuc. 3. 98. § 6, τοῖς πεπραγμένοις φοβούμενος τοὺς ᾿Αθηναίους.

551. mvp-comment-248-1 If you must blame others, do so on just grounds,' lit. Having got hold of a just notion of the case.' These words are a challenge to Electra to show cause why Agamemnon should not have been slain, as the mere fact of his death ( supr. 525, 6) was no sufficient reason for her continued abuse. The stress is on the participial clause, or rather on the word δικαίαν.

552-553. mvp-comment-249-1 έρε ἐρεῖς . . λυπηρόν] The death of Iphigenia was a painful subject to Electra.

556-557. mvp-comment-250-1 εἰ δὲ μ᾿ ὧδ' ἀεὶ λόγους | ἐξήρχες] 'If your speeches to me were always tuned in that key.' με is governed κατὰ σύνεσιν by the whole phrase, as equivalent to ὧδε προσηγόρευες, ἐξάρχειν is used as in ἐξάρχειν μέλος. Electra is imagined as sounding the note to which Clytemnestra responds.

561. mvp-comment-251-1 δίκῃ] 'As moved thereto by Justice:'-dative of the cause.

563-564. mvp-comment-252-1 τίνος .. Αὐλίδι] ‘In requital for what' either (1) He endured that mighty wind at Aulis?' or (2) That great tempest fell upon Aulis?' or (3) She directed (ἐπέσχεν) that mighty wind at Aulis? It may be objected to (1), that if Agamemnon is the subject of ἔσχε, the words πατὴρ οὐμός in 566 are unnecessary. For (3) requiring ἔσχεν to be equivalent to ἐπέσχεν, see Essay on L. § 55. p. 101, 4, and L. and S., s. v. ἔχω, Α. ii. 7, and cp. Il. 14. 57, οἱ δ᾽ ἐπὶ νηυσὶ θοῇσι μάχην ἀλίαστον ἔχουσιν: 11.271, (εἰλειθυῖαι) πικρὰς ὠδῖνας ἔχουσai.

565. mvp-comment-253-1 κείνης.. μαθεῖν] ‘For you may not learn from her;' i. e. Artemis will not hold communication with one so polluted. Clytemnestra notwithstanding appeals to Artemis, infr. 626.

566-569. mvp-comment-254-1 Electra's point is that Agamemnon's fault which provoked Artemis was a light and all but involuntary offence.

567. mvp-comment-255-1 ἐξεκίνησεν ποδοῖν] ‘Startled by his tread.' The language is softened so as to convey the impression that Agamemnon put up the stag accidentally.

569. mvp-comment-256-1 He chanced to let fall some word of boasting.' There is a stress on the participle ἐκκομπάσας.

571-572. mvp-comment-257-1 Electra does not raise the question whether the will of Artemis was just or not. She is contented with shifting the responsibility from Agamemnon.

575. mvp-comment-258-1 The words πολλὰ καὶ ἀντιβάς form a separate clause, unless πολλά be joined to βιασθείς, which is improbable. For which cause, and not for Menelaus'sake, under compulsion, -ay, after many a struggle, he reluctantly sacrificed her.' After making this elaborate statement of the immediate cause, it occurs to Electra that everything connected with the expedition was in one sense done on Menelaus' account. Hence she resumes, with εἰ δ' οὖν, by admitting this, as if for the sake of argument.

579. mvp-comment-259-1 ποίῳ νόμῳ] 'On what principle?' Cp. Ant. 908, τίνος νόμου δὴ ταῦτα πρὸς χάριν λέγω;

584. mvp-comment-260-1 οὐκ οὖσαν] 'Unreal;' i.e. οὐκ ἀληθῆ. Cp. Τhuc. 6. 16, προσποίησίν τε ξυγγενείας .. καὶ μὴ οὖσαν.

589. mvp-comment-261-1 τοὺς δὲ πρόσθεν] Sc. παΐδας, understood πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον from παιδοποιεῖς. Essay on L. § 36. p. 64.

590. mvp-comment-262-1 εὐσεβῶν] i. e. ᾿Αγαμέμνονος. Poetical plural. ἐκβαλοῦσ᾽ ἔχεις] «You have cast out from favour. Electra is virtually an outcast, and Orestes, although not banished by his mother's act, durst not return openly to his home.

591. mvp-comment-263-1 πῶς.. ἄν] «Do you expect me to approve of this?'-referring to supr. 550.

591-592. mvp-comment-264-1 ἢ.. λαμβάνεις] « Or will you say that in this, too, you are vindicating your daughter?' τοῦτο, accusative in apposition with τῆς θ. α. λ.

593. mvp-comment-265-1 αἰσχρῶς] Sc. ἐρεῖς. οὐ γὰρ καλόν, κ. τ. λ.]. There is little virtue in,' etc. See on Aj. 1132, 1349.

595-597. mvp-comment-266-1 ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ . . κακοστομοῦμεν 'But then one may not even reason with you, since you reply with all your vehemence that I am reviling my mother.' For ἀλλ᾽ οὐ .. γάρ without apodosis, cp. O. C. 988 foll., ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γὰρ οὔτ᾽ ἐν τοῖσδ᾽ ἀκούσομαι κακὸς | γάμοισιν, κ.τ.λ. πᾶσαν ἵης γλῶσσαν = πᾶσαν γλῶσσαν ἱεῖσα λέγεις. Cp. Plat. Legg. 10. p. 890 D, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν, τὸ λεγόμενον, φωνὴν ἱέντα τῷ παλαιῷ νόμῳ ἐπίκουρον γίγνεσθαι λόγῳ.

597. mvp-comment-267-1 νέμω] ·And truly I account thee rather my mistress than my mother.' καί has a sarcastic tone as in interrogation, and is nearly = καί τοι, - as in Aj. 92 it may be said to have the force of καὶ μήν.

601. mvp-comment-268-1 ὁ δ᾽ ἄλλος ἔξω] 'And he, moreover, in a foreign land. The article is demonstrative, and ἄλλοs is predicative or adverbial. See Essay on L. § 21. pp. 33, 5. χεῖρα . . φυγών] Electra implies that Clytemnestra would have killed Orestes

601-602. mvp-comment-269-1 if she could, either at the time of Agamemnon's murder, or afterwards.

603. mvp-comment-270-1 σοὶ .. μιάστορα] ‘An avenger of blood against thee.' μιάστωρ is properly one who stains others with his own guilt; here it is one who fixes the stain of guilt by executing vengeance for it. Compare the use of the verb 'to stain' in Elizabethan English: e.g. Shaksp. Ant. and Cleo. 3. 4, 'I'll raise the preparation of a War | Shall stain your brother.'

606. mvp-comment-271-1 εἴτε † χρή) ‘Whether you must call me,' etc. Here, as in Aj. 1373, the reading of the MSS, which is possibly idiomatic, is preferred το χρῇς = χρήζεις, which is a doubtful emendation.

608. mvp-comment-272-1 τῶνδε τῶν ἔργων] ‘Of actions which have this character.' Cp. O. T. 864, 5, τὰν εὔσεπτον ἁγνείαν λόγων ἔργων τε πάντων, ὧν, κ.τ.λ., and note.

609. mvp-comment-273-1 καταισχύνω] Cp. Aj. 1304, 5. ἆρ᾽ ὧδ᾽ ἄριστος ἐξ ἀριστέοιν δυοῖν | βλαστὼν ἂν αἰσχύνοιμι τοὺς πρὺς αἵματος;

610. mvp-comment-274-1 ὁρῶ μένος πνέουσαν] Sc. τὴν Κλυταιμνήστραν. This appears from her reply, and also from the comparison οἱ εἰ δὲ σὺν δίκῃ, κ.τ.λ, with supr. 528. Here, as in O. T. 746, Aesch. Ag. 1306, τί δ' ἐστὶ χρῆμα; τίς σ᾽ ἀποστρέφει φόβος; -the dialogue contains a reference to by-play.

614. mvp-comment-275-1 τηλικοῦτος] 'At her age.' Cp. infr. 961, 2:-i.e. Her words are not those of a petulant girl, which might be safely disregarded.

616-619. mvp-comment-276-1 The harshness of Electra is not native to her character, but superinduced, and she is painfully conscious of this.

623. mvp-comment-277-1 πόλλ᾽ ἄγαν λέγειν ποιεῖ] 'Make you to say too much: '-i.e. Are too much the theme of your discourse, in which you say much that you should not.

624. mvp-comment-278-1 viv is here neuter plural = αὐτά.

624-625. mvp-comment-279-1 Translated by Milton:-''Tis you that say it, not I; you do the deeds, And your ungodly deeds find me the words.'

626. mvp-comment-280-1 μὰ τὴν .. "Αρτεμιν] Cp. supr. 565, and note. θράσους is genitive of cause.

627. mvp-comment-281-1 For the repetition of οὐκ, see Essay on L. § 29. p. 48. We are again reminded that Aegisthus is from home. Cp. supr. 517.

628-629. mvp-comment-282-1 μεθεῖσά μοι χρήζοιμ 'After giving me leave to say what I chose.' Supr. 556.

630. mvp-comment-283-1 οὐδ᾽ ὑπ᾿ εὐφήμου βοῆς], 'Not even in silence from clamour:' - i. e. Not even without being pestered by your noise.

632. mvp-comment-284-1 κελεύω] 'I urge it on you:'- i.e. as knowing what need you have to propitiate the gods.

634. mvp-comment-285-1 ἡ παροῦσά μοι] ‘Thou that art with me.' Cp. supr. 424. In Sophocles the attendants are never called by name, -as the Nurse is in Aesch. Cho. 732.

634-635. mvp-comment-286-1 θύμαθ᾽.. πάγκαρπ'] 'Rich offerings of various produce.'

635. mvp-comment-287-1 ἄνακτι . . τῷδ'] 'The king in presence here; '-Apollo Lyceius, infr. 645: ср. О. Т. 919, supr. l. 7.

635-636. mvp-comment-288-1 ὅπως.. ἔχω] 'That I may offer up a prayer for release from the terrors which are now haunting me.' The words, δειμάτων & νῦν ἔχω, are added in construction with λυτηρίους. For the sense, cp. O. Τ. 921, ὅπως λύσιν τιν' ἡμὶν εὐαγῆ πόρῃς.

639-640. mvp-comment-289-1 οὐδὲ πᾶν . . ἐμοί] 'Nor is it fitting that I unfold everything to light while she is near me.' In listening to these words the spectator recollects

640-642. mvp-comment-290-1 that Electra is already in possession of the whole truth about the dream. Cp. supr. 417 foll.

641-642. mvp-comment-291-1 'Lest with inauspicious and noisy outcry she disseminate a lewd report throughout the city.' φθόνῳ is lit. *odium.' ματ ματαίαν is not merely 'causeless,' but 'wanton,' conveying the notion of positive mischief. In πολυγλώσσῳ the first part of the compound is intensive. Cp. supr. 488, 9, infr. 798.

643. mvp-comment-292-1 But hear it, even in the (vague) form in which I will make it known.' Cp. O. C. 484, for the importance attached to the form of words used in prayer.

644. mvp-comment-293-1 γάρ introduces the promised statement.

645. mvp-comment-294-1 δισσῶν is supposed by some to mean, 'Ambiguous; but it is simpler and more natural to understand it either of two different dreams, or of the same dream repeated. Cp. Plat. Phaedo, 60 E, πολλάκις μοι φοιτῶν τὸ αὐτὸ ἐνύπνιον ἐν τῷ παρελθόντι βίῳ, ἄλλοτ᾽ ἐν ἄλλῃ ὄψει φαινόμενον, τὰ αὐτὰ δὲ λέγον, κ.τ.λ.

647. mvp-comment-295-1 ἔμπαλιν] 'On the contrary,'- because ἐμοί is understood with τελεσφόρα in l. 646. μέθες] 'Let it fall instead.'

648-649. mvp-comment-296-1 'And if there is one who plans to cast me forth by guile from my present high estate, do not permit it to him.' Though τινες is plural, Orestes is meant, just as Aegisthus is indicated by the vague φίλοισι in infr. 652. Cp. supr. 590. The spectator knows that the will of Apollo is directly opposed to this petition. For it is difficult to suppose either here or in O. Τ. 908, 919, an entire separation of the Lyceian from the Pythian Apollo. See Introduction.

653. mvp-comment-297-1 καὶ τέκνων ὅσων] ‘And with the children from whom." τέκνοις, the antecedent to ὅσων, is attracted into the case of the relative. Essay on L. § 35. p. 59. She is thinking of Chrysothemis and Iphianassa ( supr. 157) to the exclusion of Electra.

654. mvp-comment-298-1 λύπη] ‘Vexation,' in an active sense.

655. mvp-comment-299-1 This part of the prayer is merely formal, and is uttered in a loud voice, the rest having been spoken aside.

655. mvp-comment-299-2 This part of the prayer is merely formal, and is uttered in a loud voice, the rest having been spoken aside.

660. mvp-comment-300-1 The coming-in of the Old Man prepares the way for the peripeteia by obtaining entrance for the disguised Orestes. It also brings out the heroic character of Electra, by reducing her to a position of despair, and makes more effective her subsequent recognition of Orestes.

660. mvp-comment-300-2 ξέναι] He speaks as a Phocian.

660. mvp-comment-300-3 The coming-in of the Old Man prepares the way for the peripeteia by obtaining entrance for the disguised Orestes. It also brings out the heroic character of Electra, by reducing her to a position of despair, and makes more effective her subsequent recognition of Orestes.

660. mvp-comment-300-4 ξέναι] He speaks as a Phocian.

663. mvp-comment-301-1 δάμαρτα] Sc. οὖσαν.

663. mvp-comment-301-2 δάμαρτα] Sc. οὖσαν.

664. mvp-comment-302-1 πρέπει . . εἰσορᾶν] Though no longer Queen of Agamemnon, the daughter of Tyndareus still wears a royal mien.

664. mvp-comment-302-2 πρέπει . . εἰσορᾶν] Though no longer Queen of Agamemnon, the daughter of Tyndareus still wears a royal mien.

667. mvp-comment-303-1 φίλου παρ᾿ ἀνδρός] Phanoteus, as the enemy of Strophius, Agamemnon's friend, is imagined to be the close ally of Aegisthus. Cp. supr. 45, and note.

667. mvp-comment-303-2 φίλου παρ᾽ ἀνδρός] Phanoteus, as the enemy of Strophius, Agamemnon's friend, is imagined to be the close ally of Aegisthus. Cp. supr. 45, and note.

668. mvp-comment-304-1 ἐδεξάμην τὸ ῥηθέν] I accept the omen.' For this customary mode of appropriating auspicious words, cp. Hdt. 1. 63, Πεισίστρατος δέ, συλλαβὼν τὸ χρηστήριον, καὶ φὰς δέκεσθαι τὸ χρησθέν, ἐπῆγε τὴν στρατιήν: Aesch. Ag. 1652, 3, ΑΙ. .. πρόκωπος οὐκ ἀναίνομαι θανεῖν. | ΧΟ. δεχομένοις λέγεις θανεῖν σε.

668. mvp-comment-304-2 ἐδεξάμην τὸ ῥηθέν] I accept the omen.' For this customary mode of appropriating auspicious words, cp. Hdt. 1. 63, Πεισίστρατος δέ, συλλαβὼν τὸ χρηστήριον, καὶ φὰς δέκεσθαι τὸ χρησθέν, ἐπῆγε τὴν στρατιήν: Aesch. Ag. 1652, 3, ΑΙ. .. πρόκωπος οὐκ ἀναίνομαι θανεῖν. | ΧΟ. δεχομένοις λέγεις θανεῖν σε.

670. mvp-comment-305-1 πρᾶγμα.. μέγα] 'Having on his hands the care of a great matter.' The report is identified with the event.

670. mvp-comment-305-2 πρᾶγμα.. μέγα] 'Having on his hands the care of a great matter.' The report is identified with the event.

675. mvp-comment-306-1 τί φής, τί φής...] For this eager repetition, cp. O. C. 1099, ΟΙ. ποῦ ποῦ; τί φής; πῶς εἶπας; ΑΝ. ὦ πάτερ, πάτερ, κ.τ.λ.

675. mvp-comment-306-2 τί φής, τί φής...] For this eager repetition, cp. O. C. 1099, ΟΙ. ποῦ ποῦ; τί φής; πῶς εἶπας; ΑΝ. ὦ πάτερ, πάτερ, κ.τ.λ.

676. mvp-comment-307-1 I have been saying all this while, and now repeat, that Orestes is dead.' For the participial construction, ср. О. Т. 463-5, and note.

676. mvp-comment-307-2 I have been saying all this while, and now repeat, that Orestes is dead.' For the participial construction, ср. О. Т. 463-5, and note.

678. mvp-comment-308-1 σὺ μὲν . . πρᾶσσ'] 'You, mind your own affairs!' i. e. Do not interrupt us.

678. mvp-comment-308-2 σὺ μὲν . . πρᾶσσ'] 'You, mind your own affairs!' i. e. Do not interrupt us.

680. mvp-comment-309-1 The Old Man now fills up with great spirit (though without an 'oath') the outline which Orestes gave him, supr. 48-50. This narrative, while directly pertinent to the action, also helps to relieve it at a point where it was becoming monotonous. The ornate and exaggerated diction (especially in 730-3) is suited to a fabricated account. Contrast in this respect the speech of Hyllus in Trach. 749 foll.

680. mvp-comment-309-2 The Old Man now fills up with great spirit (though without an 'oath') the outline which Orestes gave him, supr. 48-50. This narrative, while directly pertinent to the action, also helps to relieve it at a point where it was becoming monotonous. The ornate and exaggerated diction (especially in 730-3) is suited to a fabricated account. Contrast in this respect the speech of Hyllus in Trach. 749 foll.

681-682. mvp-comment-310-1 εἰς τὸ κοινὸν . . ἀγῶνος] ‘Το that contest which is the universal pride of Hellas.' ἀγῶνος is to be taken closely with πρόσχημα, as a genitive of definition. Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 6.

681-682. mvp-comment-310-2 εἰς τὸ κοινὸν . . ἀγῶνος] ‘Το that contest which is the universal pride of Hellas.' ἀγῶνος is to be taken closely with πρόσχημα, as a genitive of definition. Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 6.

685. mvp-comment-311-1 He entered the arena, glorious to behold, and drew all men's eyes towards him.' For λαμπρός, cp. Plat. Rep. 8. 560 E, λαμπρὰς μετὰ πολλοῦ χοροῦ κατάγουσιν : Aeschin. 34. 40.

685. mvp-comment-311-2 He entered the arena, glorious to behold, and drew all men's eyes towards him.' For λαμπρός, cp. Plat. Rep. 8. 560 E, λαμπρὰς μετὰ πολλοῦ χοροῦ κατάγουσιν : Aeschin. 34. 40.

686. mvp-comment-312-1 And having finished his courses in a manner worthy of his looks.' Lit. 'Having made the completion of his courses adequate to his personal appearance.' This line has been needlessly and mistakenly altered. φύσις, the outward promise of the man, is an abridgment or resumption of εἰσῆλθε λαμπρός. Cp. Trach. 308, where πρὸς μὲν . . φύσιν is To judge from her appearance:' Pind. Isthm. 6. 30, φέρει γὰρ Ἰσθμοῖ νίκαν παγκρατίου· σθένει τ' ἔκπαγλος ἰδεῖν τε μορφάεις· ἄγει δ' ἀρετὰν οὐκ αἴσχιον φυᾶς: Nem. 3. 32, ἐὼν καλὸς ἔρδων τ' ἐοικότα μορφᾷ. The conjecture of Musgr. (ἰσώσας τἀφέσει τὰ τέρματα, Having finished at the starting-place') is forced and meaningless. On the verb ἰσόω, see E. on L. § 51. p. 96.

686. mvp-comment-312-2 And having finished his courses in a manner worthy of his looks.' Lit. 'Having made the completion of his courses adequate to his personal appearance.' This line has been needlessly and mistakenly altered. φύσις, the outward promise of the man, is an abridgment or resumption of εἰσῆλθε λαμπρός. Cp. Trach. 308, where πρὸς μὲν . . φύσιν is To judge from her appearance:' Pind. Isthm. 6. 30, φέρει γὰρ Ἰσθμοῖ νίκαν παγκρατίου· σθένει τ' ἔκπαγλος ἰδεῖν τε μορφάεις· ἄγει δ' ἀρετὰν οὐκ αἴσχιον φυᾶς: Nem. 3. 32, ἐὼν καλὸς ἔρδων τ' ἐοικότα μορφᾷ. The conjecture of Musgr. (ἰσώσας τἀφέσει τὰ τέρματα, Having finished at the starting-place') is forced and meaningless. On the verb ἰσόω, see E. on L. § 51. p. 96.

688-689. mvp-comment-313-1 And I know not, indeed, how to tell you a few out of the many successful exploits of such a hero.' This is naturally opposed to what follows, where, instead of selecting particular feats, the Old Man sums up all in a single statement. A slight

688-689. mvp-comment-313-2 And I know not, indeed, how to tell you a few out of the many successful exploits of such a hero.' This is naturally opposed to what follows, where, instead of selecting particular feats, the Old Man sums up all in a single statement. A slight

688-691. mvp-comment-314-1 emendation of l. 688, χὤπως μὲν ἐν παύροισι πολλά, κ.τ.λ., Το tell you much in few, I know of no such (other) hero's achievements and victories,' would make the line clearer in itself, but would destroy the connection with ἓν δ᾽ ἴσθι. But see the end of note on l. 691.

688-691. mvp-comment-314-2 emendation of 1. 688, χὤπως μὲν ἐν παύροισι πολλά, κ.τ.λ., Το tell you much in few, I know of no such (other) hero's achievements and victories,' would make the line clearer in itself, but would destroy the connection with ἓν δ᾽ ἴσθι. But see the end of note on 1. 691.

691. mvp-comment-315-1 Porson's emendation of this line is extremely probable. If the letters περ were displaced, πεν(τ)άθλα might easily be suggested. The relation of ll. 686, 7, to 688- 695, may be questioned. He is describing the first day's performances, and in ll. 686, 7, either (1) states generally what is expanded afterwards, or (2) describes the first race, and then in what follows sums up the remaining contests of the same day. The plural τέρματα, and the structure of the whole passage, decide the point in favour of (1), making each of the two sentences refer to all the foot-races together. Otherwise (3), supposing the language to be more than usually inexact, the lines may be taken to mean, To tell only a little when there is much to tell, I know no feats to be compared with his. One thing you may know,' etc.

691. mvp-comment-315-2 Porson's emendation of this line is extremely probable. If the letters περ were displaced, πεν(τ)άθλα might easily be suggested. The relation of 11. 686, 7, to 688- 695, may be questioned. He is describing the first day's performances, and in 11.686, 7, either (1) states generally what is expanded afterwards, or (2) describes the first race, and then in what follows sums up the remaining contests of the same day. The plural τέρματα, and the structure of the whole passage, decide the point in favour of (1), making each of the two sentences refer to all the foot-races together. Otherwise (3), supposing the language to be more than usually inexact, the lines may be taken to mean, To tell only a little when there is much to tell, I know no feats to be compared with his. One thing you may know,' etc.

693-695. mvp-comment-316-1 He received the congratulations of the crowd, being known by proclamation as an Argive, named Orestes, son of Agamemnon, who levied once the famous armament of Hellas.'

693-695. mvp-comment-316-2 He received the congratulations of the crowd, being known by proclamation as an Argive, named Orestes, son of Agamemnon, who levied once the famous armament of Hellas.'

696-697. mvp-comment-317-1 ὅταν . . βλάπτῃ] 'But when some god is thwarting.'

696-697. mvp-comment-317-2 ὅταν . . βλάπτῃ] 'But when some god is thwarting.'

699. mvp-comment-318-1 ἡλίου τέλλοντος] “At sunrise:' i.e. beginning then.

699. mvp-comment-318-2 ἡλίου τέλλοντος] “At sunrise:' i.e. beginning then.

702. mvp-comment-319-1 ζυγωτῶν ἁρμάτων ἐπιστάται] Masters of yoked cars.' Hdt. 4. 189, τέσσερας ἵππους συζευγνύναι παρὰ Λιβύων οἱ Ἕλληνες μεμαθήκασι. Hence, possibly, the position of this general epithet. The fame of Cyrene in chariot-racing is known to us from Pindar.

702. mvp-comment-319-2 ζυγωτῶν ἁρμάτων ἐπιστάται] Masters of yoked cars.' Hdt. 4. 189, τέσσερας ἵππους συζευγνύναι παρὰ Λιβύων οἱ Ἕλληνες μεμαθήκασι. Hence, possibly, the position of this general epithet. The fame of Cyrene in chariot-racing is known to us from Pindar.

703. mvp-comment-320-1 Θεσσαλάς] Orestes was exiled from the plain of ῎Αργος ἱππόβοτον, and Phocis was too mountainous for horse-breeding.' The Athenian spectator might here be reminded of his faithful allies, the Thessalian horsemen. The five first mentioned come from Dorian states, the rest being either Ionic or Aeolian. ἐν τούτοισι, ' Enter-

703. mvp-comment-320-2 Θεσσαλάς] Orestes was exiled from the plain of ῎Αργος ἱππόβοτον, and Phocis was too mountainous for horse-breeding.' The Athenian spectator might here be reminded of his faithful allies, the Thessalian horsemen. The five first mentioned come from Dorian states, the rest being either Ionic or Aeolian. ἐν τούτοισι, 'Enter-

703-706. mvp-comment-321-1 ing himself with the foregoing,' calls attention to this difference.

703-706. mvp-comment-321-2 ing himself with the foregoing,' calls attention to this difference.

705-706. mvp-comment-322-1 The descriptive epithets in this and the next line, while adding vividness to the picture, may have had some special appropriateness that would be felt by the Greek hearer.

705-706. mvp-comment-322-2 The descriptive epithets in this and the next line, while adding vividness to the picture, may have had some special appropriateness that would be felt by the Greek hearer.

706. mvp-comment-323-1 Αἰνιάν] Hdt. 7. 132, 198.

706. mvp-comment-323-2 Αἰνιάν] Hdt. 7. 132, 198.

707. mvp-comment-324-1 The ornate epithet is reserved for Athens.

707. mvp-comment-324-2 The ornate epithet is reserved for Athens.

708. mvp-comment-325-1 δέκατον ἐκπληρῶν ὄχον] ‘Making ten chariots in all.' Cp. Hdt. 9. 30, σὺν δὲ Θεσπιέων τοῖσι παρεοῦσι ἐξεπληροῦντο αἱ ἕνδεκα μυριάδες, -and, for the use of the ordinal numeral, ib. 1. 51, ἕλκων σταθμὸν ἔννατον ἡμιτάλαντον, and the like expressions. There is a slight confusion or condensation of δέκατον ὄχον ἐλαύνων and ἐκπληρῶν τοὺς δέκα ὄχους.

708. mvp-comment-325-2 δέκατον ἐκπληρῶν ὄχον] ‘Making ten chariots in all.' Cp. Hdt. 9. 30, σὺν δὲ Θεσπιέων τοῖσι παρεοῦσι ἐξεπληροῦντο αἱ ἕνδεκα μυριάδες, -and, for the use of the ordinal numeral, ib. 1. 51, ἕλκων σταθμὸν ἔννατον ἡμιτάλαντον, and the like expressions. There is a slight confusion or condensation of δέκατον ὄχον ἐλαύνων and ἐκπληρῶν τοὺς δέκα ὄχους.

710. mvp-comment-326-1 'Had set the chariots in order after sorting them with lots.' κλήρους ἔπηλαν would have been a simpler construction, but πάλλειν is used absolutely of casting lots, and then receives the addition of an instrumental dative. Cp. supr. l. 21, and note. The construction of the whole line is paratactic for πήλαντες κατέστησαν. Essay on L. § 36. p. 68. αὐτούς in the previous line is in a general construction with what follows.

710. mvp-comment-326-2 'Had set the chariots in order after sorting them with lots.' κλήρους ἔπηλαν would have been a simpler construction, but πάλλειν is used absolutely of casting lots, and then receives the addition of an instrumental dative. Cp. supr. l. 21, and note. The construction of the whole line is paratactic for πήλαντες κατέστησαν. Essay on L. § 36. p. 68. αὐτούς in the previous line is in a general construction with what follows.

711. mvp-comment-327-1 ήξαν] 'The start was made.' The verb has a vague subject in which horses, charioteers, and chariots, are included in one notion. Off they went!' Hence in what follows the charioteers are particularized with the demonstrative οἱ.

711. mvp-comment-327-2 ήξαν] 'The start was made.' The verb has a vague subject in which horses, charioteers, and chariots, are included in one notion. Off they went!' Hence in what follows the charioteers are particularized with the demonstrative οἱ. ἅμα] 'At the same moment;' i. e. All together at the moment of the start.

711-712. mvp-comment-328-1 ἅμα] 'At the same moment;' i. e. All together at the moment of the start.

714. mvp-comment-329-1 κροτητῶν] 'Rattling along:' i.e. the parts of each chariot being rattled against each other, and all against the ground, made a din which filled the place. On the use of the verbal adj., see E. on L. § 53. p. 98.

714. mvp-comment-329-2 κροτητῶν] 'Rattling along:' i.e. the parts of each chariot being rattled against each other, and all against the ground, made a din which filled the place. On the use of the verbal adj., see E. on L. § 53. p. 98.

716-717. mvp-comment-330-1 ὡς .. ἱππικά] Either (1) Whenever any one of them shot ahead of the axle-ends (of the others) and the snorting of the steeds;' i.e. For the most part they were mingled in a confused throng; but when one drew before the rest, then was the moment of excitement, -for the breath of the foaming steeds immediately behind him was an incentive to make him drive faster still. Or (2) Each of them that he might get away from the wheel-naves and the snorting of the steeds :'- each was eager to escape from the neighbourhood of the rest, so as to have free course. But the following lines, which speak of a rival pursuing

716-717. mvp-comment-330-2 ὡς .. ἱππικά] Either (1) Whenever any one of them shot ahead of the axle-ends (of the others) and the snorting of the steeds;' i.e. For the most part they were mingled in a confused throng; but when one drew before the rest, then was the moment of excitement, -for the breath of the foaming steeds immediately behind him was an incentive to make him drive faster still. Or (2) Each of them that he might get away from the wheel-naves and the snorting of the steeds :'- each was eager to escape from the neighbourhood of the rest, so as to have free course. But the following lines, which speak of a rival pursuing

717-719. mvp-comment-331-1 closely in the rear, cannot be equally applicable to all the ten. For the phraseology, cp. Eur. Iph. A. 228-30, οἷς παρεπάλλετο | Πηλείδας σὺν ὅπλοισι παρ᾿ ἄντυγα | καὶ σύριγγας ἁρματείους. (3) Supposing the general sense to be as in (1), χνόας and φρυάγματα may possibly be accusatives of 'limitation,' 'drew ahead with car and team.'

717-719. mvp-comment-331-2 closely in the rear, cannot be equally applicable to all the ten. For the phraseology, cp. Eur. Iph. A. 228-30, οἷς παρεπάλλετο | Πηλείδας σὺν ὅπλοισι παρ᾿ ἄντυγα | καὶ σύριγγας ἁρματείους. (3) Supposing the general sense to be as in (1), χνόας and φρυάγματα may possibly be accusatives of 'limitation,' 'drew ahead with car and team.'

718-719. mvp-comment-332-1 For close about his back and whirling wheels the breath of horses cast its foam.' Cp. Il. 23.373- 81, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ πύματον τέλεον δρόμον ὠκέες ἵπποι | .. τότε δὴ ἀρετή γε ἑκάστου | φαίνετ᾽, ἄφαρ δ' ἵπποισι τάθη δρόμος· ὦκα δ' ἔπειτα | αἱ Φηρητιάδαο ποδώκεες ἔκφερον ἵπποι. | τὰς δὲ μετ᾿ ἐξέφερον Διομήδεος ἄρσενες ἵπποι, | Τρώϊοι, οὐδέ τι πολλὸν ἄνευθ᾽ ἔσαν, ἀλλὰ μάλ᾽ ἐγγύς· αἰεὶ γὰρ δίφρου ἐπιβησομένοισιν ἐἰκτην, | πνοιῇ τ᾿ Εὐμήλοιο μετάφρενον εὐρέε τ᾿ ὤμα | θέρμετ᾽· ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ γὰρ κεφαλὰς καταθέντε πετέσθην.

718-719. mvp-comment-332-2 For close about his back and whirling wheels the breath of horses cast its foam.' Cp. Il. 23.373- 81, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ πύματον τέλεον δρόμον ὠκέες ἵπποι | .. τότε δὴ ἀρετή γε ἑκάστου | φαίνετ᾽, ἄφαρ δ' ἵπποισι τάθη δρόμος· ὦκα δ' ἔπειτα | αἱ Φηρητιάδαο ποδώκεες ἔκφερον ἵπποι. | τὰς δὲ μετ᾿ ἐξέφερον Διομήδεος ἄρσενες ἵπποι, | Τρώϊοι, οὐδέ τι πολλὸν ἄνευθ᾽ ἔσαν, ἀλλὰ μάλ᾽ ἐγγύς· αἰεὶ γὰρ δίφρου ἐπιβησομένοισιν ἐἰκτην, | πνοιῇ τ᾿ Εὐμήλοιο μετάφρενον εὐρέε τ᾿ ὤμα | θέρμετ᾽· ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ γὰρ κεφαλὰς καταθέντε πετέσθην.

720. mvp-comment-333-1 κεῖνος] Orestes. ὑπ᾿ αὐτὴν . . ἔχων] 'Driving close under the last pillar.' ἐσχάτην, i. e. at the extreme end of the spina. ἔχων] Sc. τοὺς ἵππους.

720. mvp-comment-333-2 κεῖνος] Orestes. ὑπ᾿ αὐτὴν . . ἔχων] 'Driving close under the last pillar.' ἐσχάτην, i. e. at the extreme end of the spina. ἔχων] Sc. τοὺς ἵππους.

721. mvp-comment-334-1 ἔχριμπτ᾿ ἀεὶ σύριγγα] ‘Grazed the nave of his wheel every time:' i.e. all but made it touch, or seemed to graze-real contact is of course not meant.

721. mvp-comment-334-2 ἔχριμπτ᾿ ἀεὶ σύριγγα] ‘Grazed the nave of his wheel every time:' i.e. all but made it touch, or seemed to graze-real contact is of course not meant.

721-722. mvp-comment-335-1 δεξιὸν .. προσκείμενον] 'And, letting go the trace-horse on the right, held in the one that was nearest to the inside of the course.' The two σειραῖοι ἵπποι, so called because not harnessed to the yoke but attached by traces right and left, were practically the leaders of the τέθριππον, or team; and their movements at the critical moment of turning the goal were of the greatest consequence. Cp. Eur. Iph. A. 221-4, τοὺς μὲν μέσους ζυγίους, | .. τοὺς δ᾽ ἔξω σειροφόρους, | ἀντήρεις καμπαῖσι δρόμων. They must be supposed to know their duty, and only to need a reminder from the charioteer, who holds each of them by a single rein (single, i.e. in his hand). The language of the present passage proves that the direction of the running was from right to left, and the δεξιός σειραῖος had consequently to describe a larger semicircle while the 'near' horse was making the turn. That the right hand horse may perform this movement successfully and thus swing the chariot round without mishap, the charioteer gives him the rein, and at the same time holds in the left-hand trace-horse, who, as nearest to the goal, is called προσκείμενος. As soon as this evolution is accomplished, however, the driver must slacken again the left-hand rein, so that both steeds may cover the θάτερον κῶλον of the race-course with equal strides. And if from over-eagerness he does this an instant too soon, he is obviously in great danger of striking the nave of the left-hand wheel against the goal, because the horse when let go will instinctively 'cut off a corner' and pull the car along a chord of the circle instead of completing the arc. This is what is supposed to happen to Orestes, infr. 743-5. (So Wecklein also explains.)

721-722. mvp-comment-335-2 δεξιὸν .. προσκείμενον] 'And, letting go the trace-horse on the right, held in the one that was nearest to the inside of the course.' The two σειραῖοι ἵπποι, so called because not harnessed to the yoke but attached by traces right and left, were practically the leaders of the τέθριππον, or team; and their movements at the critical moment of turning the goal were of the greatest consequence. Cp. Eur. Iph. A. 221-4, τοὺς μὲν μέσους ζυγίους, | .. τοὺς δ᾽ ἔξω σειροφόρους, | ἀντήρεις καμπαῖσι δρόμων. They must be supposed to know their duty, and only to need a reminder from the charioteer, who holds each of them by a single rein (single, i.e. in his hand). The language of the present passage proves that the direction of the running was from right to left, and the δεξιός σειραῖος had consequently to describe a larger semicircle while the 'near' horse was making the turn. That the right hand horse may perform this movement successfully and thus swing the chariot round without mishap, the charioteer gives him the rein, and at the same time holds in the left-hand trace-horse, who, as nearest to the goal, is called προσκείμενος. As soon as this evolution is accomplished, however, the driver must slacken again the left-hand rein, so that both steeds may cover the θάτερον κῶλον of the race-course with equal strides. And if from over-eagerness he does this an instant too soon, he is obviously in great danger of striking the nave of the left-hand wheel against the goal, because the horse when let go will instinctively 'cut off a corner' and pull the car along a chord of the circle instead of completing the arc. This is what is supposed to happen to Orestes, infr. 743-5. (So Wecklein also explains.)

725. mvp-comment-336-1 βίᾳ φέρουσιν] Sc. τὸ ἅρμα, 'Became unmanageable.' Essay on L. §53. p. 98. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 1224.

725. mvp-comment-336-2 βίᾳ φέρουσιν] Sc. τὸ ἅρμα, 'Became unmanageable.' Essay on L. §53. p. 98. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 1224.

725-726. mvp-comment-337-1 ἐκ δ᾽ ὑποστροφῆς] Either (1) 'After turning the goal,' or (2) 'Having turned sharply aside.' See next note.

725-726. mvp-comment-337-2 ἐκ δ᾽ ὑποστροφῆς] Either (1) 'After turning the goal,' or (2) 'Having turned sharply aside.' See next note.

726. mvp-comment-338-1 When finishing the sixth and now (running) the seventh course.' Not τελοῦντες, but a more general word, e.g. θέοντες, is to be supplied with ἔβδομον. Essay on L. § 36. pp. 65, 6, 2. The grammatical irregularity assists the graphic effect. The scene changes while it is being described. Ср. О. С. 1648-50, ἐξαπείδομεν | τὸν ἄνδρα, τὸν μὲν οὐδαμοῦ παρόντ᾽ ἔτι, | ἄνακτα δ᾽ αὐτόν, κ.τ.λ., and note. The masculine τελοῦντες either (1) implies that the white horses of the Aenian were, like those of Diomede in Il. 23 (1. c. supr. 718, 9), ἄρσενες ἵπποι, - which may part account for their behaviour; or (2) τελοῦντες is a nominative absolute having for subject the charioteers collectively. This line seems at first sight to support the former interpretation (1) of l. 725, ἐκ δ᾽ ὑποστροφής. But the point in the course is sufficiently indicated without such an addition; and in the other sense (2) the phrase forms a suitable preparation for l. 727. The imagination is assisted if we suppose these chariots to be somewhat wide of the goal, so that one of them might face about without striking the στήλη. In μέτωπα, as in κάρα infr. 740, the chariot and horses are thought of together as a single object. The accident happens just when the race is half finished, -six of the twelve customary courses having being run. Cp. Pind. O1. 2. 88-90, Πυθῶνι . . Χάριτες ἄνθεα τεθρίππων δυωκαιδεκαδρόμων | ἄγαγον.

726. mvp-comment-338-2 When finishing the sixth and now (running) the seventh course.' Not τελοῦντες, but a more general word, e.g. θέοντες, is to be supplied with ἔβδομον. Essay on L. § 36. pp. 65, 6, 2. The grammatical irregularity assists the graphic effect. The scene changes while it is being described. Ср. О. С. 1648-50, ἐξαπείδομεν | τὸν ἄνδρα, τὸν μὲν οὐδαμοῦ παρόντ᾽ ἔτι, | ἄνακτα δ᾽ αὐτόν, κ.τ.λ., and note. The masculine τελοῦντες either (1) implies that the white horses of the Aenian were, like those of Diomede in Il. 23 (1. c. supr. 718, 9), ἄρσενες ἵπποι, - which may part account for their behaviour; or (2) τελοῦντες is a nominative absolute having for subject the charioteers collectively. This line seems at first sight to support the former interpretation (1) of 1. 725, ἐκ δ᾽ ὑποστροφής. But the point in the course is sufficiently indicated without such an addition; and in the other sense (2) the phrase forms a suitable preparation for 1. 727. The imagination is assisted if we suppose these chariots to be somewhat wide of the goal, so that one of them might face about without striking the στήλη. In μέτωπα, as in κάρα infr. 740, the chariot and horses are thought of together as a single object. The accident happens just when the race is half finished, -six of the twelve customary courses having being run. Cp. Pind. O1. 2. 88-90, Πυθῶνι . . Χάριτες ἄνθεα τεθρίππων δυωκαιδεκαδρόμων | ἄγαγον.

731. mvp-comment-339-1 The Athenian charioteer is represented as the most skilful. It is obvious how this is calculated to sustain the interest of the audience. See also ll. 738-40.

731. mvp-comment-339-2 The Athenian charioteer is represented as the most skilful. It is obvious how this is calculated to sustain the interest of the audience. See also 11. 738-40.

732-733. mvp-comment-340-1 Pulls aside out of the way and heaves to, letting go by the surge of horses and their riders that was boiling there.' Not content with the hyperbole in supr. 730, the Old Man adds this yet stronger expression. See above, note on 680 foll.

732-733. mvp-comment-340-2 Pulls aside out of the way and heaves to, letting go by the surge of horses and their riders that was boiling there.' Not content with the hyperbole in supr. 730, the Old Man adds this yet stronger expression. See above, note on 680 foll.

734-735. mvp-comment-341-1 'Now Orestes was driving last, holding his horses back, relying on the finish.' There were six courses yet to be. See note on 726, supr. According to this reading the participial clause is explanatory of ἤλαυνε, and μέν points forward, opposing the position of Orestes before and after he saw that the Athenian alone was left. Some MSS. read ὑστέρας δ', opposing ἔσχατος to ὑστέρας ἔχων πώλους. He was last, indeed, but was holding back.'

734-735. mvp-comment-341-2 'Now Orestes was driving last, holding his horses back, relying on the finish.' There were six courses yet to be. See note on 726, supr. According to this reading the participial clause is explanatory of ἤλαυνε, and μέν points forward, opposing the position of Orestes before and after he saw that the Athenian alone was left. Some MSS. read ὑστέρας δ', opposing ἔσχατος to ὑστέρας ἔχων πώλους. He was last, indeed, but was holding back.'

736. mvp-comment-342-1 When Orestes saw that the Athenian remained alone.' So Mr. Paley, rightly.

737-738. mvp-comment-343-1 ὀξὺν . . διώκει] • He urged his swift steeds vehemently with shouts that pierced their ears, and makes for him.' ἐνσείειν is a vivid word (Essay on L. § 56. p. 102) which is more properly applicable to hurling hounds at game, throwing an attacking force into a town, etc. Cp. Eur. Or. 255, 6, ὦ μῆτερ, ἱκετεύω σε, μὴ πίσειε μοι | τὰς αἱματωποὺς καὶ δρακοντώδεις κόρας.

738-739. mvp-comment-344-1 κἀξισώσαντε ζυγὰ | ἠλαυνέτην] 'And now they were yoke by yoke, and on they drave.'

739-740. mvp-comment-345-1 τότ᾿ ἄλλος . . ὀχημάτων] 'Now one, and then the other drawing ahead.' κάρα is used analogically of man, car, and steeds, considered as one object; and the genitive ἱππικῶν ὀχημάτων is added to make this clear. (Not 'Putting his head forth from the car.') For the variation of the language in τότε-ἄλλοτε, ἄλλος - ἅτερος, cp. Trach. 457, δέδοικας . . ταρβεῖς.

741. mvp-comment-346-1 It is implied that Orestes' fall took place in the middle of the twelfth and last course.

742. mvp-comment-347-1 The ill-starred youth stood safely on a steady car.'

743-745. mvp-comment-348-1 Then in slackening the left-hand rein while the horse was making the turn, unawares he struck the edge of the goal and splintered the end of his axle-tree.' Cp. supr. 721, 2, and note. The horse making the turn is ὁ προσκείμενος.

746-747. mvp-comment-349-1 κἀξ ἀντύγων .. τμητοῖς ἱμᾶσι] And in a moment he had slipped over the rim of the chariot, and was rolled along together with it by means of the sharp-cut thongs.' Here it must be borne in mind that the reins were passed round the body of the charioteer, as, for instance, in the marble reliefs in the 'Sala della Biga' in the Vatican. Cp. Eur. Hipp. 1221, 2. This point has not escaped Mr. Browning :-' The prince around his body flung the rein.' Artemis Prologizes. Hence, when the body of the chariot was arrested by some sudden obstacle, instead of being jerked from his grasp, they would pull him over the ἄντυξ, and would drag him when the car was again in motion. σύν, sc. ταῖς ἵπποις οι τῷ ἅρματι. ἱμᾶσι is dative of the instrument. τμητοῖς, lit. 'cut,' is suggestive of the sharp edges of the reins. Cp. infr. 862, τμητοῖς ὁλκοῖς ἐγκύρσαι.

748. mvp-comment-350-1 διεσπάρησαν ἐς μέσον δρόμον]

748. mvp-comment-350-2 'Plunged wildly about the course.' μέσον, SC. ἐν μέσῳ τῶν θεατῶν, vaguely distinguishes the field generally from the line of running. διεσπάρησαν, lit. 'were scattered,' is used inaccurately to suggest aimless movement.

749. mvp-comment-351-1 στρατός] 'The assembly.' Cp. Aesch. Eum. 762, χώρᾳ τῇδε καὶ τῷ σῷ στρατῷ.

752-753. mvp-comment-352-1 φορούμενος προφαίνων] 'As he was dragged upon the ground, and now and then his legs were pointed to the sky.' The opposition with ἄλλοτε is suggested as the description proceeds. Hence not ἄλλοτε ἄλλοτε.

753. mvp-comment-353-1 διφρηλάται] Some of the charioteers from the other chariots, who had been thrown, but not seriously hurt.

758. mvp-comment-354-1 μέγιστον σῶμα δειλαίας σποδοῦ] His mighty frame reduced to' (lit. consisting of) hapless dust.' See E. on L. § 10. p. 17, 6. On the supposed great stature of Orestes, see Hdt. 1. 68, where his bones are found at Tegea :-ἐπέτυχον σόρῳ ἑπταπήχεϊ .. καὶ εἶδον τὸν νεκρὸν μήκεϊ ἴσον ἔοντα τῷ σόρῳ.

760. mvp-comment-355-1 ἐκλάχοι] The mood depends on the idea of past time contained either in φέρουσι . . τεταγμένοι, i.e. ἐτάχθησαν φέρειν, or in the whole of the previous sentence.

761. mvp-comment-356-1 τοιαῦτα . . ἐστίν] Cp. Ant. 37, οὕτως ἔχει σοι ταῦτα, and note. ὡς μὲν ἐν λόγῳ] 'In description, indeed;' ὡς is pleonastic. Cp. О. С. 15, ὡς ἀπ᾿ ὀμμάτων.

764. mvp-comment-357-1 δεσπόταισι] δεσπότης is not used elsewhere of an Hellenic ruler. Can Sophocles have forgotten for a moment that the Chorus were freewomen ( infr. 1227)? Or should the speech be given to an οἰκέτης?

765. mvp-comment-358-1 Cp. Hdt. 6. 86, Γλαύκου νῦν οὔτε ἀπόγονόν ἐστι οὐδέν,.. ἐκτέτριπταί τε πρόρριζος ἐκ Σπάρτης.

766-768. mvp-comment-359-1 Clytemnestra is awed for the moment, and her profound relief is mingled with a pang of sorrow.

770. mvp-comment-360-1 δεινὸν . . ἐστίν] 'Motherhood has strange power.'

770-771. mvp-comment-361-1 κακῶς | πάσχοντι] She regards herself as ill-treated by Orestes, because she knew that he would avenge his father if he could. Cp. supr. 293 foll., 603 foll., infr. 779.

771. mvp-comment-362-1 ὧν τέκῃ] ἄv is omitted. See Essay on L. § 27. P. 45.

772. mvp-comment-363-1 μάτην .. ἥκομεν] 'I have made a mistake in coming;' i.e. I see that I have given no satisfaction, and therefore shall receive no reward.

775. mvp-comment-364-1 τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς γεγώς] 'Sprung from my very life.' For this pathetic use of ψυχή, cp. Aesch. Cho. 749, τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς τριβήν. Το mark the horror of the situation she expresses Orestes' original nearness to her in the strongest manner. Cp. Shak. Macbeth, 2. 3, 'The near in blood, The nearer bloody.'

776. mvp-comment-365-1 μαστῶν . . ἐμῆς] 'Going aloof from my breast that gave him suck.' The words μαστῶν καὶ τροφῆς are used figuratively for the debt of obligation due from a son to his mother. Orestes at the time of Agamemnon's death must have been at least ten years old.

780-781. mvp-comment-366-1 ὥστ᾽ οὔτε νυκτός. . ἡδύν] 'So that I have no rest by night, nor can I snatch from the day a sweet moment of repose to enfold me.' στεγάζειν is adapted to ἐξ ἡμέρας-some more general word, such as ἴσχειν, being understood with νυκτός. ἐξ implies that the time is taken from the day, and would not naturally be given to sleep. ἡδύν means, if I do fall asleep, I am terrified with dreams;' i.e. I can neither sleep comfortably at night, nor take a quiet nap in the day-time.

781-782. mvp-comment-367-1 ἀλλ᾽ ὁ προστατῶν.. θανουμένην] But Time ever standing over me was a jailor who conducted me to death. The inversion (for χρόνον διῆ-

782-784. mvp-comment-368-1 yov, see Essay on L. § 42. p. 80 ß) is here forcible in personifying χρόνος. For προστατῶν, instans, cp. Aesch. Agam. 976, δείγμα προστατήριον.

783-784. mvp-comment-369-1 But then, to-day's event has rid me once for all of fears from him and her.' The suppressed or deferred apodosis is resumed in 1. 786. In τῆσδ᾽ ἐκείνου θ' the more emphatic pronoun is put first.

784-785. mvp-comment-370-1 ἥδε γὰρ . . ἦν μοι] For she, dwelling under the same roof, has been a greater bane to me.' οὖσα must be supplied either with βλάβη or with ξύνοικος, and μοι belongs to both.

785-786. mvp-comment-371-1 τοὐμὸν αἷμα] 'Incessantly draining my very life-blood.' ἄκρατον πιεῖν, 'to drink wine unqualified,' seems to have become a synonym for hard drinking. Cp. Od. 9. 297, ἀνδρόμεα κρέ᾽ ἔδων καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἄκρητον γάλα πίνων: Aesch. Cho. 577, 8, φόνου δ' Ἐρινὺς οὐχ ὑπεσπανισμένη | ἄκρατον αἷμα πίεται, τρίτην πόσιν. The force of the adjective here is simply intensive. The addition of ψυχῆς marks the figurative nature of the expression.

791. mvp-comment-372-1 οὔτοι σύ] Sc. ἔχεις καλῶς. 'You are not as I would wish you,'- viz. dead.

792. mvp-comment-373-1 Either (1) Clytemnestra takes the word Νέμεσι alone, ignoring the qualification, 'Nemesis' (the spirit of just allotment) has heard those whom she ought to hear and has nobly ratified their prayer.' Or (2) she implies a different use of the genitive, as the ἀλάστωρ ᾿Ατρέως in Aesch. Ag. 1501, 2, is the Spirit of Vengeance for the crime of Atreus; so here the Νέμεσις τοῦ θανόντος might be the Spirit which has paid him what was due. But (1) is more probable.

795. mvp-comment-374-1 Mr. Paley reads οὔκουν with a full stop after τάδε. But the reply of Electra suits better with the ironical question, 'You and Orestes will stop my insolence, will you not?'

797-798. mvp-comment-375-1 Your coming, stranger, is like to prove most worthy of reward, if you have indeed put an end to her loud outcry.' ἂν ἥκοις = ἥκεις, ὡς

798-803. mvp-comment-376-1 ἔοικαs, an objective being put for a subjective probability, as in the well. known idiom with μέλλω. Cp. Ο. Τ. 1182, τὰ πάντ᾽ ἂν ἐξήκοι σαφῆ: Aj. 186, ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος, -and notes, - infr. 1372, 3. εἰ is here used with the aor. indicative (aor. of immediate past) as elsewhere with the present, to introduce a supposition that is regarded as certain. For el with aor. indicative, of that which is granted or assumed, cp. Aesch. Pers. 217, εἴ τι φλαῦρον εἶδες. (So Ellendt, 'Siquidem effecisti, etc.')

800. mvp-comment-377-1 ἐπείπερ] Ο. C. 75, 6, ἐπείπερ εἶ | γενναῖος, ὡς ἰδόντι. καταξίως] The use of the optative without av may be defended by supposing a resumption from the preceding line. Paley's ἐπεὶ τὰν .. καταξίως is preferable to Bothe's κατάξι ἄν. Another MS. reading, κατ᾿ ἀξίαν, is also possible.

803. mvp-comment-378-1 φίλων] Orestes, including perhaps the death of Agamemnon.' Paley. Rather, including the destruction of the remaining hope that Agamemnon might be avenged. At this point Clytemnestra and the Paedagogus enter the house, and Electra is left alone upon the stage.

809. mvp-comment-379-1 ἀποσπάσας . οἴχει] 'In thy departure thou hast torn away.' For the familiar phrase, cp. O. C. 866, ψιλὸν ὄμμ᾽ ἀποσπάσας . . ἐξοίχει.

811. mvp-comment-380-1 Orestes was to come to the aid both of his father and sister:-i.e. to avenge his father and reinstate his sister. But the notions are not distinguished, for vengeance is regarded as a kind of aid. Cp. infr. 1392, ἀρωγός.

812. mvp-comment-381-1 ποῖ με χρὴ μολεῖν] ‘Whither must I turn?' Cp. Aj. 1006, ποῖ γὰρ μολεῖν μοι δυνατόν, εἰς ποίους βροτούς;

814-816. mvp-comment-382-1 Cp. supr. 263 foll., infr. 1190 foll.

816. mvp-comment-383-1 ἀράμοι καλῶς ἔχει] 'Isit well with me, then?' The repetition of the words used above, 1. 790, may be accidental (Essay on L. § 44. p. 82), but may also, as Mr. Paley suggests, refer to supr. 791. This is rather confirmed by the repetition of ξύνοικος in what follows, echoing supr. 785; i.e. 'I wonder if they will be contented now I am reduced to this! But at all events I will not trouble them henceforth by dwelling with them.'

817. mvp-comment-384-1 τοῦ λοιποῦ χρόνου] ‘For any portion of the time to come.' Essay on L. § 10. p. 17, 5.

818. mvp-comment-385-1 Hermann's suggestion, adopted in the text, affords a probable, though by no means certain, emendation of this line. ξύνοικος must be taken in a slightly pregnant or proleptic sense= ὥστε ξύνοικος εἶναι.

818-819. mvp-comment-386-1 τῇδε πρὸς πύλῃ βίον] ' I will let myself drop beside the gate and, without a friend, here wither my life away. She sinks into a half-recumbent attitude and remains so until the beginning of the commos. Sappho, Fr. 17, παρ δ᾽ ἱεῖσαι πτερά: Tennyson's Elaine, 'She slipped like water to the floor.' Mr. Paley calls this sensational.' But it is not more so than the death of Ajax, than Heracles (Trach. 1079, 80) unveiling his wounds than Oedipus appearing with eyes still bleeding, etc. The question is whether 11. 820-2, being spoken in this posture, may not be appropriate to this critical moment of darkness before dawn.'

820. mvp-comment-387-1 εἰ βαρύνεται] Clytemnestra had spoken impatiently of the vexation of having Electra in the house with her, supr. 784. 5. Electra now says, 'If her lying at the gate is a vexation to any one, let them put her out of the way, and welcome!'

823-869. mvp-comment-388-1 In this short commos, in which the broken lines are expressive of intense feeling, the several members of the Chorus, with the exception of the Coryphaeus, who, having spoken in 11. 764, 5, remains in silent sympathy with Electra, attempt to rouse her from her utter despair, partly with consolation and partly with expressions of pity. But she is, if possible, more inconsolable than before. The metres are as follows:-

823-826. mvp-comment-389-1 Orestes being dead and his father unavenged, the Powers of Heaven themselves must interfere. The sun must surely see this iniquity, the lightning must descend to punish it.

826. mvp-comment-390-1 κρύπτουσιν] Either (1) sc. ἑαυτούς, 'They They hide themselves.' Cp. κεύθω. Or (2) sc. τὸ ἐφορᾶν: i.e. 'If seeing this they make as if they saw not, and remain unmoved.' Cp. Hom. H. 26. 7, where there is a similar doubt.

828-830. mvp-comment-391-1 The words intended for consolation only wring a cry from Electra, and when asked the reason, she answers with a louder cry: on which the Chorus deprecate this excess of sorrow. μηδέν is adverbial, and μέγα cognate accusative. Cp. Aj. 1066, μηδὲν δεινὸν ἐξάρῃς μένος.

831. mvp-comment-392-1 ἀπολεῖς] Electra, when asked the reason of her weeping, and told not to cry aloud, can only understand this as a suggestion that Orestes is alive.

834-836. mvp-comment-393-1 If you will suggest a hope concerning one who is manifestly gone below, you will but press with heavier weight against my pining soul.' For the genitive τῶν.. οἰχομένων, see Essay on L. § 9. p. 13, 3, and ib. p. 12, 2. In ὑποίσεις, ὑπο is used as in ὑπεῖπον, - φέρω as in προφέρω.

836. mvp-comment-394-1 ἐπεμβάσει contains a metaphor from trampling on the fallen. Cp. supr. 456: Aj. 1348, οὐ γὰρ θανόντι καὶ προσεμβῆναί σε χρή : and κατά, 'against,' gives additional point to the expression. Essay on L. § 19. p. 27.

837-838. mvp-comment-395-1 The Chorus adduce another reason for taking comfort even if Orestes be no more. The gods have not forgotten Amphiaraus, and they will not forget Agamemnon. The sudden disappearance of the prophet during the flight of the Argive host from Thebes, would naturally make a strong impression upon the Argive people.

837. mvp-comment-396-1 ἄνακτ] Cp. Ο. Τ. 284, ἄνακτ᾿ ἄνακτι ταῦθ᾽ ὁρῶντ᾽ ἐπίσταμαι, κ.τ.λ.

838-839. mvp-comment-397-1 χρυσοδέτοις . . γυναικών] 'Lost to sight through female snares depending on a golden chain.' χρυσοδέτοις ἔρκεσι is a condensed expression (Essay on L. pp. 39, 81) in which ἕρκεσι suggests both the entangling influence of Eriphyle and the necklace given to her by Adrastus. (So Wecklein.) In this case ἕρκεσι denotes that the necklace was indirectly an instrument of Adrastus' cunning. But it may be questioned whether such a complex association is possible. Perhaps ἔρμασι should be read, in the general sense of a woman's ornament. Cp. Od. 18. 297, ἔρματα δ᾽ Εὐρυδάμαντι δύω θεράποντες ἔνεικαν | τρίγληνα μορόεντα· χάρις δ' ἀπελάμπετο πολλή. See L. and S. s. v. ἔρμα ΙΙΙ.

840. mvp-comment-398-1 Here Electra thinks of both her father and Orestes.

841. mvp-comment-399-1 πάμψυχος ἀνάσσει] ‘He wields authority with mighty spirit unimpaired.' The prophet Amphiaraus is imagined as, like the prophet Teiresias, retaining all his faculties in the under-world. (So Wecklein: 'Unter der Erde aber lebte er mit vollem Leben und Bewusztsein fort und offenbarte dies durch Orakel und Heilung von Kranken. Cic. de Div. 1. 40.') From this the Chorus argue that the spirit of Agamemnon too will yet make his power to be felt.

843. mvp-comment-400-1 φεῦ δῆτ᾽.. ὀλοὰ γάρ] The connection is difficult, and Wecklein reads μάν for γάρ. If γάρ is retained, the Chorus must be supposed to give a different turn to the interjection. Electra, thinking of her father, dwells on the sadness of Amphiaraus' death. The Choreutes, who interposes, reflects on the sadness of the whole story, including the death of Eriphyle by the hand of her son Alcmaeon (which Sophocles made the subject of a tragedy). 'Woe, indeed, you may cry! For the wretched (or baneful) woman-' Electra instantly perceives the drift, and quickly interrupts, in a tone of momentary triumph, -' Was overpowered!' Then, recollecting that he who should have done Alcmaeon's part for her is now no more, she relapses into despair.

846. mvp-comment-401-1 μελέτωρ ἀμφὶ τὸν ἐν πένθει] 'One to care for him who was then mourned for.' ἐν πένθει is here used passively, not as supr. 290. Cp. ἐν λόγοις.

848. mvp-comment-402-1 φροῦδος ἀναρπασθείς] Is snatched away from the earth.' See note on Aj. 1192, ὄφελεν αἰθέρα δῦναι μέγαν, and note.

849. mvp-comment-403-1 New misery finds thee in thy misery.'

850-852. mvp-comment-404-1 I know that all too well, taught by a weight of fearful horror, that month by month accumulates.' Time is conceived as drawing in his train an ever-increasing burden of pollution and grief. For δεινῶν . . ἀχέων, which is unmetrical, Hermann proposed δεινῶν στυγνῶν τ᾽ αἰῶνι,-Prof. Lushington has suggested δεινῶν* τε στυγνῶν τ' *ἄχθει, which is adopted in the text. Hermann's reading means, 'In a life which month by month accumulates horror and pollution.'

854-855. mvp-comment-405-1 μή . . παραγάγῃς] 'Draw me not aside,' as they had done for a moment by reminding her of the fate of Eriphyle.

855. mvp-comment-406-1 ἵν'] ‘In a state of things wherein- Cp. supr. 22, ἵν᾿ οὐκέτ᾽ ὀκνεῖν καιρός.

857-858. mvp-comment-407-1 (οὐ) πάρεισιν .. ἀρωγαί] 'There is no longer within call the aid of hopes that rest on common birth from a most noble sire.' The language is much condensed: i.e. ἀρωγαὶ ἐν ἐλπίδι γιγνόμεναι ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐπατρίδου καὶ κοινοτόκου, sc. Ὀρέστου. See Essay on L. § 43. p. 81.

859. mvp-comment-408-1 ἔφυ] « Is ordained by Nature.' For φῦναι, of divine appointment, cp. Ο. C. 1443, 4, ταῦτα δ' ἐν τῷ δαίμονι | καὶ τῇδε φῦναι χἀτέρᾳ.

861-863. mvp-comment-409-1 'Is it likewise decreed by Nature to fall, as my poor brother did, on a sharp dragging-instrument amid swift-racing hoofs? For the lyrical use of the abstract word ὁλκός, cp. Eur. Ion 144, 5, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκπαύσω γὰρ μόχθους | δάφνας ὁλκοῖς. On τμητοῖς see above, note on 747.

864. mvp-comment-410-1 ἄσκοπος ὁ λώβα] ‘The ruin is beyond thought; ' i.e. either (1) 'greater than can be conceived,' or (2) 'greater than could have been imagined beforehand.' For ἄσκοπος, cp. Aj. 21, and note; and see Essay on L. § 51. p. 96. The Scholiast says ἀπροόρατος ὁ θάνατος, and with this some interpreters are satisfied.

865-870. mvp-comment-411-1 'Indeed it is unimaginable :- to think that he is hidden from the light of day, without my hands-Cho. Alas!-El. to deck his corpse and bury him, without our voices to lament for him!'

866. mvp-comment-412-1 ἄτερ ἐμᾶν χερῶν] Cp. infr. 1141, ἐν ξέναισι χερσὶ κηδευθείς: Ant. 900-3 (Antigone had the consolation which is denied to Electra).

871. mvp-comment-413-1 What seems the illusion of Chrysothemis only adds poignancy to Electra's sorrow. Sophocles here modifies the well-known incident of the curl found at the tomb. The Electra of Aeschylus is moved by seeing the hair and the other signs of Orestes, but is incredulous when he himself appears. The Electra of Sophocles has heard and believed the news of his death, and disbelieves the signs of him, which her weaker sister has seen. Chrysothemis holding the lock from Orestes' head before Electra, who believes him to be no more, makes one of those contrasts by which Sophocles impresses the situation on the mind of the spectator.

871. mvp-comment-413-2 διώκομαι] 'I am driven,' or 'impelled.' See L. and S. s. ν. διώκω, III. 1.

874. mvp-comment-414-1 εἶχες] Αj. 203, ἔχομεν στοναχάς.

875-876. mvp-comment-415-1 And where should you find relief for my woes, in which no possibility of healing is to be found?' 'σύ, always emphatic,.. with something of contemptuous incredulity.' Paley. Chrysothemis is the last person from whom Electra looks for real help.

878. mvp-comment-416-1 ἐναργῶς.. ἐμέ] 'Unmistakably, even as you see me before you.' ἐναργῶς is stronger than σαφῶς.

879. mvp-comment-417-1 For ἐπί, cp. infr. 1230, 1, ὁρῶμεν, ὦ παῖ, κἀπὶ συμφοραῖσί μοι | γεγηθός ἔρπει δάκρυον ὀμμάτων ἄπο. Electra supposes that Chrysothemis must have heard of Orestes' death. This, she reminds her sister, is a sorrow common to them both.

882. mvp-comment-418-1 ὡς παρόντα νῷν] Sc. λέγω. Cp. supr. 317, 18, and note.

883. mvp-comment-419-1 καὶ τίνος . . ἄγαν] • Who then in the world has told you this, that you believe in it so firmly?'-i.e. in spite of all that we have heard. καί introduces the question with indignant surprise, as in καὶ πῶς. Cp. Αj. 462, 3, καὶ ποῖον ὄμμα, κ.τ.λ.

885. mvp-comment-420-1 The attraction of gender in

885-886. mvp-comment-421-1 ἄλλης is no sufficient reason for rejecting the Laurentian reading here. With ἐξ ἐμοῦ in the answer of Chrysothemis ἰδοῦσα takes the place of εἰσακούσασα.

887-888. mvp-comment-422-1 ἐς τί μοι.. πυρί] 'On what object have you fixed your gaze that has infected you with this fatal fever?' (Mr. Paley doubts whether is τι.. βλέψ. means, What hope have you conceived?' or 'What object have you seen?' But, surely, both meanings are included:What have you seen that has led you to conceive hope?') For fire as an image of passionate illusion, cp. Pind. Pyth. 4. 388, 9. ὄφρα Μηδείας τοκίων ἀφέλοιτ' αἰδῶ, ποθεινὰ δ᾽ Ἑλλὰς αὐτὰν | ἐν φρεσὶ καιομέναν δονέοι μάστιγι πειθούς.

891. mvp-comment-423-1 εἴ σοι ἡδονή] i. e. εἴ πως ἥδει τῷ λέγειν. This is spoken in a tone of languid and supreme indifference.

893. mvp-comment-424-1 πατρὸς ἀρχαῖον τάφον] 'The ancient sepulchre, where our father is laid.' The word ἀρχαῖος properly applies to the burial place of the kings of Argos, in which Agamemnon was laid. Sophocles seems to conceive of this as a mound with a κρηπίς of stone, of which a certain portion (θήκη) was marked off as containing the body of Agamemnon. The libation was poured high up on the mound, so as to flow down over this portion of the πυρά, or burial-site; the flowers were arranged so as to decorate the θήκη ᾿Αγαμέμνονος; the lock of hair was placed near the edge of the πυρά. But in explaining the details of the description we are left almost entirely to conjecture.

894. mvp-comment-425-1 κολώνης ἐξ ἄκρας] Either (1) flowing from the summit, or (2) just below the summit, -cp. Ant. 411, ἄκρων ἐκ πάγων.

895. mvp-comment-426-1 For πηγάς, cp. O. C. 479,- (χέω τάδε;) τρισσάς γε πηγάς.

895-896. mvp-comment-427-1 περιστεφῆ.. ἀνθέων] Cp.О.Т. 83, πολυστεφὴς.. δάφνης, and note.

898. mvp-comment-428-1 · ἐγχρίμπτει, which has some authority, is an equally good reading.' Paley. The subjunctive is more expressive of apprehension.

899. mvp-comment-429-1 ἐν γαλήνῃ] Sc. οὖσαν. Essay on L. § 23. p. 38. For the sense, cp. Hdt. 1. 45. § 4, ἐπεί τε ἡσυχίη τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγένετο περὶ τὸ σῆμα.

900-901. mvp-comment-430-1 ἐσχάτης.. πυρᾶς] ‘Towards the edge of the grave.' For this genitive = πρὸς .. πυρᾶς, cp. supr. 78, 324, and notes, and see Essay on L. § 10. p. 15.46. It is difficult to give a more particular explanation of its use in this passage. Either the curl showed itself from the edge, where it lay; or it lay somewhere near the edge, not exactly on it.

901. mvp-comment-431-1 νεώρη . . τετμημένον] Α fresh curl newly shorn.' The participle is added in further definition of νεώρη.

902-904. mvp-comment-432-1 ἐμπαίει.. τεκμήριον] 'A familiar sight' or 'image struck upon my soul, (and told me) that I saw in this a certain token of Orestes, dearest of mankind.' ὄμμα (see Essay on L. § 54. p. 99) is here the active impression of the object of vision. ὁρᾶν depends on the general notion, 'I felt,' implied in the preceding words.

905. mvp-comment-433-1 βαστάσασα] 'When I held it.' Cp. infr. 1129. δυσφημῶ μὲν οὔ] ‘I uttered no ill-omened cry.' Reverence dictated silence in the immediate neighbourhood of that ancient tomb.

906. mvp-comment-434-1 πίμπλημ᾽.. ὄμμα] ‘My eye was filled.' Essay on L. $ 30. p. 52 d.

908. mvp-comment-435-1 τόδ᾽ ἀγλάϊσμα] ίσμα] Cp. Aesch. Cho. 193, 4, εἶναι τόδ᾽ ἀγλάϊσμα μοι τοῦ φιλτάτου | βροτῶν Ὀρέστον. The genitive is one of possession, as in this passage of the Choephori, but is also resumed with μολεῖν as a genitive of derivation. μή, not oὐ, because that which is denied is not the fact merely, but the possibility of the fact.

909. mvp-comment-436-1 τόδε] This act of offering hair, which belongs only to the nearest relatives of the dead.

911. mvp-comment-437-1 μηδὲ πρὸς θεούς] Religious duties formed an occasional exception to the seclusion of women in Attica. See Bernhardy, Grundriss, Part i. p. 55.

914. mvp-comment-438-1 ἐλάνθανεν] Sc. ἡ μήτηρ. There is a slight change of construction. The omission of ar is rightly defended by Wecklein : 'ελάνθανεν statt ἐλάνθανεν ἄν bezeichnet die unausbleibliche Folge.'

915. mvp-comment-439-1 ἔστ᾽ Ὀρέστου ταῦτα τἀπιτίμια] 'It is Orestes who has paid these dues. ἐπιτίμια occurs nowhere else with this exact meaning, and Dindorf, following

915-916. mvp-comment-440-1 Wunder, reads τἀπιτύμβια. But such a substantive use of ἐπιτύμβιος is not found elsewhere, and ἐπιτίμια will bear the meaning required.

916. mvp-comment-441-1 This is the only place in which θαρσύνειν is intransitive. See E. on L. §53. p. 98, 9. The use of the active verb is more energetic. Cp. παθε.

916-917. mvp-comment-442-1 τοῖς αὐτοῖσί τοι, κ.τ.λ.] Cp. esp. Trach. 132-5, μένει γάρ, κ.τ.λ.

918. mvp-comment-443-1 στυγνός here is rather gloomy' than 'hateful.' Cр. О. Т. 673.

919. mvp-comment-444-1 ὑπάρξει κῦρος.. καλῶν] Either (1) Will be the consummation of much good,' or (2) Will lead the way to,' etc. i. e. ὑπάρξει καλῶν, ὥστε κῦρος ἔχειν τὰ καλά. For the accusative after ὑπάρχω, see L. and S. s. v. A 4. For (1) cp. Eur. Hec. 1229, θησαυρὸς ἄν σοι παῖς ὑπῆρχ᾽ οὔτος μέγας.

920. mvp-comment-445-1 Wecklein punctuates differently, φεῦ τῆς ἀνοίας, ὥς σ᾽ ἐποικτείρω πάλαι.

922. mvp-comment-446-1 'You know not where you are, nor what you say.' The metaphorical ὅποι γῆς is explained by the more literal ὅποι γνώμης.

923. mvp-comment-447-1 Cp. supr. 878.

927. mvp-comment-448-1 τοῦ . . παρόντος] The individualizing article, by adding a touch of ἐνάργεια, helps to mark the certainty of Electra's belief. Cp. supr. 424.

929. mvp-comment-449-1 μητρί is added with the second clause to mark the unnaturalness of Clytemnestra. A welcome messenger, not displeasing to the mother there.'

930. mvp-comment-450-1 γάρ = ' then,' asks for explanation. The death of Orestes is certain. The offerings came then from another. Who can this be? Cp. Phil. 327, 8, εὐ γ', ὦ τέκνον, τίνος γὰρ ὧδε τὸν μέγαν | χόλον κατ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐγκαλῶν ἐλήλυθas;

931. mvp-comment-451-1 πρὸς τάφον] The accusative, because of the notion of 'bringing' implied in κτερίσματα.

934. mvp-comment-452-1 ὦ δυστυχής] Sc. ἐγώ.

935. mvp-comment-453-1 τοιούσδ'] 'Such,' ie. So full of joy.

938. mvp-comment-454-1 οὕτως.. ταῦτ᾽] Electra says this with the quietness of despair.

941. mvp-comment-455-1 Electra ironically waives rejoinder to the frigid question which is ⚫ strangely distasteful to her, and makes it felt that she has something of real practical importance in her mind. γε implies, Be that as it may, it was not my meaning.' Some read ἐς τόδ' with M.

943. mvp-comment-456-1 τλῆναι.. δρῶσαν] The participle, as with πειρᾶσθαι.

945-946. mvp-comment-457-1 ὅρα.. ὁρῶ.] Consider -.' 'I see that clearly.' Cp. Phil. 589, ὅρα τί ποιεῖς, παῖ. ΝΕ. σκοπῶ κἀγὼ πάλαι : and for the γνώμη, Fr. 364, οὗτοι ποθ' ἅψει τῶν ἄκρων ἄνευ πόνου.

948. mvp-comment-458-1 The hopelessness of the present situation, which Ismene in the Antigone (Ant. 49 foll.) dwells upon as a ground of inaction, is urged by Electra as a reason for doing what ought to be done. Cp. the words of Henry V in Shakspeare, 4. 1. 1, 'Gloucester, 'tis true that we are in great danger:-The greater therefore should our courage be.'

951-952. mvp-comment-459-1 βίῳ | θάλλοντ᾽ * ἔτ'] The correction (see v. rr.) is necessary. as βίῳ for ἐν βίῳ ὄντα would be too harsh an ellipse.

954. mvp-comment-460-1 εἰς σὲ δὴ βλέπω] Electra knows this to be a forlorn hope, - infr. 1017, 8, but to speak confidently is her only chance of success.

956. mvp-comment-461-1 ξὺν τῇδ᾽ ἀδελφῇ] She adds her own claim of sisterhood to the guilt of Aegisthus, as a reason why Chrysothemis should help her.

957. mvp-comment-462-1 The motive of this line, which has been suspected by some critics, is sufficiently explained by comparing supr. 126, ὁ τάδε πορών, and note. The name which the chorus there suppressed, out of habitual fear, Electra now fearlessly pronounces. She need use no concealment with Chrysothemis, for whether with or without her help, she means to act so as to anticipate prevention.

958. mvp-comment-463-1 ποῖ μενεῖς ῥαθυμος] Το what point will you remain inert?' i.e. How far must things go before you are roused to action? See Essay on L. § 24. p. 41, and cp. esp. O. С. 383, 4, τοὺς δὲ σοὺς ὅποι θεοὶ | πόνους κατοικτιοῦσιν, οὐκ ἔχω μαθεῖν.

959. mvp-comment-464-1 ἔτ᾿ ὀρθήν] 'That is not already thrown down.'

960. mvp-comment-465-1 The accusative is probably occasioned by στένειν, i.e. στένειν κτῆσιν, ἐστερημένῃ αὐτῆς, -οι αὐτήν, -though the simple verb is not elsewhere found with the accusative.

963. mvp-comment-466-1 τῶνδε] λέκτρων ὑμεναίων τε.

968. mvp-comment-467-1 εὐσέβειαν] Cp. supr. 345, 6, and note, Ant. 924. κάτω] Sc. ὄντος, absorbed in θανόντος.

971. mvp-comment-468-1 καλεῖ] Future middle for passive.

973. mvp-comment-469-1 λόγων γε μὴν . . οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅσην] 'Do you not see how great, at all events, will be the glory of renown?' etc. γε μήν emphasizes what is certain as distinguished from the hope last spoken of, in which there was necessarily some uncertainty.

976. mvp-comment-470-1 Will not point to us with such words of praise?' δεξιοῦσθαι is to extend the right hand towards a person in token of greeting or admiration. Cp. esp. Hom. H. 5. 15, 16, ἦγον ἐς ἀθανάτους, οἱ δ᾽ ἠσπάζοντο ἰδόντες, | χερσί τ' ἐδεξιόωντο.

977. mvp-comment-471-1 On the use of the masculine here, see Essay on L. § 20. p. 30, 2. It is dropped infr. 985, where Electra is speaking more familiarly and in her own person.

979. mvp-comment-472-1 εὐ βεβηκόσιν] 'When in high prosperity. The phrase literally means, Standing firmly." Cp. esp. Archil. Fr. 58, πολλάκις της ἀνατρέπουσι ανατο καὶ μάλ᾽ εὖ βεβηκότας | ὑπτίους κλίνουσι.

980. mvp-comment-473-1 προὐστήτην φόνου] 'Stood forth (1) to slay,' or (2) as avengers of blood.' The genitive is difficult, and is hardly explained by comparing Aj. 803, Eur. Andr. 221. Either (1) it expresses purpose, as in Thuc. 1. 36, καλῶς παράπλου κεῖται, and similar expressions, or (2) the phrase is equivalent to προστάται φόνου ἐγένοντο, 'Became ministers of the blood-feud.'

986. mvp-comment-474-1 συμπόνει πατρί] 'Labour in thy father's cause,-vindicate thy brother's name. As observed above in note on l. 811, the ideas of vengeance and of succour are inseparable. So συγκάμνειν is used of honouring the dead in Aj. 988.

987-988. mvp-comment-475-1 The wild and desperate hope on which this rests, and which has been suggested by the previous lines, is that, when Aegisthus is slain, the people will immediately rise in favor of the surviving representatives of the Atreidae.

991. mvp-comment-476-1 On the non-repetition of the article here see Essay on L. § 21. p. 33, b.

992-993. mvp-comment-477-1 εἰ φρενῶν.. μὴ κακῶν] If her thoughts had not been perverted.' μή belongs to the whole sentence, but its position emphasizes both the negation and the epithet κακῶν.

996. mvp-comment-478-1 As elsewhere, when αὐτός τε καί is introduced after the beginning of a sentence, the second clause has an independent construction. Plat. Rep. 4. Ρ. 427 C, αὐτός τε καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν παρακάλει.

999. mvp-comment-479-1 εὐτυχής is equally probable.

1000. mvp-comment-480-1 κἀπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεται] Cp. Fr. 786. 1.8, πάλιν διαρρεῖ κἀπὶ μηδὲν ἔρχεται. The use of μή rather than oὐ is to be explained by the abstract expression, - 'nothingness' rather than 'nothing.'

1005. mvp-comment-481-1 λύει .. ἡμᾶς οὐδέν] It brings us no release.' λύειν is not here = λυσιτελεῖν, as it is sometimes in Euripides. See O. T. 316, 7, and note.

1007-1008. mvp-comment-482-1 It is conceivable, as some editors have suggested, that these two lines may have come in from elsewhere. Cp. Aj. 554 and note. If they are part of the text, the connection is somewhat as follows: We should gain nothing by doing what, although applauded for the moment, would bring us to an ignominious death. Not death merely, but the lingering misery that might precede it, is what we should have most to dread.' We may suppose that the imagination of Chrysothemis has been impressed by the threat of immurement, which she reported supr. 379-82.

1009. mvp-comment-483-1 πανωλέθρους τὸ πᾶν . . ὀλέσθαι] Perish utterly and irredeemably.' The repetition of τὸ πᾶν, already implied in πανωλέθρους, anticipates the notion which is more fully expressed by the antithesis in the succeeding verse, -'Ere we perish in an utter destruction, in which we should involve not ourselves only but our whole race'-(since Orestes is no more).

1010. mvp-comment-484-1 κἀξερημῶσαι γένος] Cp. Ant. 58, 9, νῦν αὖ μόνα δὴ νὰ λελειμμένα σκόπει | ὅσῳ κάκιστ᾽ ὀλούμεθ'. Iphianassa ( supr. 157) seems to be forgotten.

1011. mvp-comment-485-1 κατάσχες ὀργήν] Cp. Pind. Isthm. 3. 3, (εἴ τις) σθένει πλούτου κατέχει φρεσὶν αἰανῆ κόρον.

1018. mvp-comment-486-1 ἁπηγγελλόμην] The interpretation preserved by Hesychius, -ἐπηγγελλόμην· παρεκάλουν, ἐπέστελλον, – is hardly adequate. A better meaning is obtained if the word is allowed to retain its usual force, 'The offer which I made.' In proposing that they should together compass the death of Aegisthus, Electra thinks that she has given Chrysothemis a glorious opportunity.

1020. mvp-comment-487-1 κενόν] i.e. ἀργόν, 'Unperformed.'

1022. mvp-comment-488-1 πάντα γὰρ κατειργάσω] 'You had effected everything;' i.e. would have prevented the accomplishment of the murder. For the ellipse of av here, cp. esp. Thuc. 8. 86, ἐν ᾧ σαφέστατα Ἰωνίαν καὶ Ἑλλήσποντον εὐθὺς εἶχον οἱ πολέμιοι. It deserves to be considered, whether euphony may not have been sometimes consulted in the omission of av. Certainly πᾶν γὰρ ἄν has not a pleasant sound. Cp. supr. 914: Ant. 604, 5, τίς ἀνδρῶν . . κατάσχοι; Aesch. Ag. 1163, νεογνὸς ἀνθρώπων μάθοι. For πάντα = 'Anything and everything,' cp. Trach. 17, πᾶν τοίνυν . κλύοι τις ἄν: Ο. C. 1503, 4, πάντα γὰρ . . εἰκάσαι πάρα.

1026. mvp-comment-489-1 'No, for in making the attempt one is likely to have ill success.' The masculine gender of the participle and the present tense of the infinitive give generality to the expression :-i.e. εἰκός ἐστι κακῶς πράσσειν τινά, εἰ ἐγχειροίη. καί marks correlation of act and consequence.

1028. mvp-comment-490-1 'I will listen with the same equanimity when you shall praise me;' i.e. 'As I am indifferent to your censure, so I will be to your commendation, when you have learned the truth.' The slight harshness of this, to which av in infr. 1034 is opposed, shows the rising impatience of Chrysothemis. Cp. supr. 430, inf. 1044. 1057. This interpretation is confirmed by l. 1030, μακρὸς χρόνος, ‘A long time, even all the future, is in store to determine that,' where καί is used as elsewhere in adding an equivalent or explanatory phrase. For the article with the epexegetic infinitive = ὥστε, κ.τ.λ., cp. Ο. Τ. 1417, and note.

1033. mvp-comment-491-1 σῇ] i.e. ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐμῇ. Cp. Ant. 549, Κρέοντ᾽ ἐρώτα· τοῦδε γὰρ σὺ κηδεμών.

1034. mvp-comment-492-1 Nay but I do not hate thee to that extent'-i. e. though I am vexed with you.

1035. mvp-comment-493-1 But at least you should understand into what dishonour you would bring me.' Electra's tone is softened for the moment by the affectionate tone of the previous line.

1036. mvp-comment-494-1 It is not dishonour I intend, but rather care for thee.' προμηθίας follows the case of ἀτιμίας, without having any definite construction with the preceding words. See Essay on L. $ 35. p. 60 с. The bisection of the line here and in 1038 helps to mark the earnestness of Chrysothemis, and has something of a lyric effect.

1039. mvp-comment-495-1 How strange and sad it is that she who speaks so fairly should thus err!' The phra phrase εὐ λέγουσαν refers not to any single speech of Chrysothemis, but to the general tone of complacent superiority with which she utters her sentences of prudential morality.

1040. mvp-comment-496-1 ᾧ σὺ πρόσκεισαι] Cp. supr. 240, and note.

1043. mvp-comment-497-1 Electra is revolted by the suggestion of tempering justice with expediency. Cp. supr. 397, οὐκ ἐμοὺς τρόπους λέγεις. For τούτοις.. νόμοις, cp. Ant. 191, τοιοῖσδ᾽ ἐγὼ νόμοισι τήνδ' αὔξω πόλιν.

1044. mvp-comment-498-1 Cp. infr. 1057.

1046. mvp-comment-499-1 καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἀληθές] ‘And is this real?' i.e. an intention which you will execute. Cp. Phil. 921, καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ δρᾶν νοεῖς; οὐδὲ βουλεύσει πάλιν] 'And will you not alter your resolve?' Cp. Phil. 961, εἰ καὶ πάλιν | γνώμην μετοίσεις.

1048. mvp-comment-500-1 Nothing that I say seems to make any impression on your mind.' φρονεῖν is here to be receptive of wisdom.' The prudence of Chrysothemis is more calculating than the timidity of Ismene.

1051. mvp-comment-501-1 τολμᾷς] 'Can bring yourself.' For a similar periphrasis with τολμάω, cp. Aesch. Prom. 999, 1000, τόλμησον, ὦ μάταιε, τόλμησόν ποτε | πρὸς τὰς παρούσας πημονὰς ὀρθῶς φρονεῖν.

1053. mvp-comment-502-1 Cp. Ant. 69, 70, οὔτ᾽ ἄν, εἰ θέλοις ἔτι | πράσσειν, ἐμοῦ γ᾽ ἂν ἡδέως δρῴης μέτα.

1054. mvp-comment-503-1 θηρᾶσθαι κενά] ‘Το seek for what is vain,' as the sympathy of Chrysothemis has proved itself to be.

1058-1097. mvp-comment-504-1 The Chorus lament, for Agamemnon's sake, over the quarrel between his daughters, which is added to the other troubles of his house, including the supposed death of Orestes, and express their admiration of Electra's attitude. Addressing her in the second strophe, they encourage her with words of sympathy and commendation. While Orestes lived, they bade her hope and trust. Now that they believe him to be dead, they are carried away by the heroism of her despair. That Electra remains upon the stage appears from infr. 1105.

1058-1065. mvp-comment-505-1 Agamemnon is forgotten by his daughter Chrysothemis, and by others who owed him gratitude. In this the human race shows itself inferior to the prudent stork. But though men forget, the gods remember, and will soon exact the penalty.

1058. mvp-comment-506-1 φρονιμωτάτους] Cp. esp. Plat. Polit. 263 D, οἷον δοκεῖ τὸ τῶν γεράνων, where, in a similar spirit of bitterness, the stork is again preferred to man. The expression (οιωνούς) is generalized, as elsewhere in Sophocles.

1059-1060. mvp-comment-507-1 τροφᾶς.. εὕρωσι] ‘Caring in respect of nurture for those from whom they are sprung, and from whom they have experienced good.' For the double genitive, cp. Trach. 108, ἀνδρὸς δεῖμα φέρουσαν ὁδοῦ, and for the subjunctive, cp. supr. 771, μίσος ὧν τέκῃ.

1060. mvp-comment-508-1 τάδ᾽ οὐκ ἐπ᾽ ἴσας τελοῦμεν] 'Do we not equally fulfil this duty?' For the adverbial expression (ἐπ᾽ ἴσας, sc. μοίρας), cp. Trach. 727, ἐξ ἑκουσίας.

1061. mvp-comment-509-1 ἀλλ᾽ οὐ *τάν] For the omission of μά, which the MSS. insert against the metre, cp. Ant. 758, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ, τόνδ' Ὄλυμπον : infr. 1239.

1064. mvp-comment-510-1 οὐρανίαν] Cp. Ο. Τ. 865-7, νόμοι . . οὐρανίαν | δι' αἰθέρα τεκνωθέντες.

1065. mvp-comment-511-1 δαρὸν οὐκ ἀπόνητοι] Sc. οὐ τελοῦμεν ταῦτα. The subject is ἡμεῖς, i.e. οἱ ἄνθρωποι, but the sentence, although general in form, is pointed at

1065-1066. mvp-comment-512-1 those who take part with Aegisthus. (In failing thus) 'we do not long escape from trouble.' For the passive form in ἀπόνητοι, see Essay on L. § 31. pp. 53. 4, § 53. p. 98 a, and cp. esp. Trach. 102, ποθουμένᾳ, and note.

1066. mvp-comment-513-1 ὦ χθονία.. φάμα] Ο human voice that piercest underground!' βροτοῖσι is really equivalent to a genitive, depending on the verbal notion in φάμα. More literally, Rumour on the part of mortals.' The language presupposes a communion of the living and the dead, so that the power of Rumour about things on earth is believed to extend to the world below.

1067. mvp-comment-514-1 οἰκτρὰν ὅπα] 'With lamentable sound.' ὅπα is cogn. acc. Compare with ll. 1066-8, Aesch. Pers. 639 foll. ἀχόρευτα φέρουσ᾽ ὀνείδη] · With saddening reproachful news.'

1070. mvp-comment-515-1 Various corrections of νοσεῖ have been attempted, of which Wecklein's ὀνοστά is the most ingenious. Others are νοσεῖ δή, νοσεῖται, νοσεύει, to which one more may be added, νοσώδη. The point especially indicated in this line is the supposed death of Orestes, which leaves the house of Agamemnon apparently without hope of healing or purgation.

1071-1072. mvp-comment-516-1 τὰ δὲ πρὸς τέκνων . . διαίτᾳ] (1) Most editors agree in understanding this to mean, 'While between his two children a quarrel has arisen that puts an end to the harmony of loving intercourse.' But (a) would Sophocles put φύλοπις for a private quarrel? Or (b) can φ. οὐκέτ᾽ ἐξισοῦται be construed so as to mean νείκει διίστανται? Another interpretation seems possible, if we may suppose the Chorus to have been carried away by the visionary hopes of Electra. Then (2) διπλή φύλοπις might be taken to mean the 'two-fold war-cry,' i.e. the combination of the two sisters for hostile purposes, which had seemed possible, supr. 448-71 (note esp. ll. 453-6), and which Electra had depicted in such glowing colours in supr. 967-89. This combination 'is no longer evenly maintained in concord,' since Chrysothemis has renounced her part in it. Or (3) φύλοπις may have lost its hostile association and be used etymologically (Essay on L. $ 54. p. 100 d) for 'the combined voice of the family' as a symbol of fraternal concord. The two sisters no longer 'speak the same thing.' This explanation may be further modified by taking διπλῆ τo mean 'divided.' 'The voices of their children are disparted and no longer harmoniously sustained in a life of affection.'

1072. mvp-comment-517-1 σαλεύει] 'Endures the storm.' Essay on L. § 58. p. 105.

1075-1076. mvp-comment-518-1 τὸν ἀεὶ .. στενάχουσ] Everlastingly mourning for her sire (πατρός, gen. of cause), unhappy maiden.' τὸν ἀεί, sc. χρόνον. Cp. Ο. C. 1584, 1701, and notes. If this 'idiotism' is rejected, it is necessary to have recourse to conjecture here, as well as to a forced explanation of the passages in the Oedipus Coloneus. Schndw. conjectures Ηλέκτρα πότμον ἀεὶ πατρός (retaining μá in the strophe): and this is adopted by Wecklein. Paley, Ἠλ. τὸν ἀεὶ πότμον (‘The irrevocable fate of death'). Dind., τὸν ἑὸν πότμον.

1077. mvp-comment-519-1 For the correction, *πάνδυρτος for πανόδυρτος, cp. Ο. Τ. 1219, *δύρομαι

1077-1080. mvp-comment-520-1 (MSS. ὀδύρομαι). And for the sense, cp. supr. 148 foll.

1078-1080. mvp-comment-521-1 οὔτε. Ἐρινύν] ‘Not avoiding death, but willing to die, if she may but destroy the twofold Evil Power.' Cp. supr. 399, 956, 7. Electra has only spoken of killing Aegisthus. But see note on supr. 987 foll. There is here a reminiscence of Aesch. Cho. 438, ἔπειτ' ἐγὼ νοσφίσας ὀλοίμαν.

1081. mvp-comment-522-1 τίς ἂν.. βλάστοι] When shall one' (i. e. another) arise, so worthy of a noble sire?'-i. e. Noble at once in birth and nature. Cp. Ant. 38, εἴτ᾿ εὐγενὴς πέφυκας, εἴτ᾿ ἐσθλῶν κακή. And see the strained use of the same word in supr. 858 (ἐλπίδων) εὐπατρίδων.

1082-1086. mvp-comment-523-1 οὐδεὶς.. εἵλου] (1) According to Hermann's explanation of these lines, they state with greater calmness the reason of Electra's action, for which the preceding words express unbounded admiration. It would be hard to find a parallel for Electra's conduct, and yet it is that which every noble mind would choose. The truth is (γάρ), no one of noble strain is willing to live on in misery, degradation, and oblivion. Even so thou, O my daughter, didst choose the lot which all men share and all lament' (viz. death), 'so as, arming' (against thyself acc. to Herm. acc. to Schol. 'subduing'-) 'the power of wrong, to win a twofold renown, in being celebrated for wisdom as well as for the highest filial duty.' Cp. Trach. 721, 2, ζῆν γὰρ κακῶς κλύουσαν οὐκ ἀνασχετόν, | ἥτις προτιμᾷ μὴ κακὴ πεφυκέναι : Αj. 479, 80, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ καλῶς ζῆν ἢ καλῶς τεθνηκέναι τὸν εὐγενῆ χρή. Two points in this interpretation admit of doubt, the use of αἰῶνα for the state of the dead, and the meaning given to καθοπλίσασα. For the former, cp. O. С. 1551, 2, τὸν τελευταῖον βίον κρύψων ἐς "Αιδην, and note. Hermann's explanation of καθοπλίσασα, sc. κατὰ σεαυτοῦ, was an expedient which he adopted in order to avoid that of the Scholiast, καταπολεμήσασα καὶ νικήσασα, which appeared impossible. Either (2) the Scholiast should be followed in spite of analogy, or there is some corruption. Herm. doubtfully suggested καθιππάσασα. Other conjectures are καθυπνίσασα, καταπτύσασα. Qy. καθαγνίσασα (?), i.e. ' purging away as if by fire;' cp. supr. 70, δίκῃ καθαρτὴς πρὸς θεῶν ὡρμημένος : Eur. Or. 39, 40. ἐξ ὅτου σφαγαῖς θανοῦσα μήτηρ πυρὶ καθήγνισται δέμας, According to another line of interpretation (3), the connection is to this effect :- Electra is peerless, for none amongst the nobly-born are found to allow their glory to be soiled in a life of misery, as Electra does, choosing to share the common lot of affliction, if only she may subdue the criminals, etc. But εὔκλεια cannot =ἀγλαΐα ( supr. 211), and although the sentiment that the greater number of mankind are born to trouble is not un-Greek, it is hardly Sophoclean or appropriate here. Others would read κλεινὸν for κοινόν.

1089. mvp-comment-524-1 σοφά τ᾿ ἀρίστα τε] 'Wise, as well as bravest,' or 'best, Wise, i. e. because holding fast the higher law. Cp. l. 1094.

1089. mvp-comment-524-2 Enter Orestes and Pylades, with attendants, as the ἄνδρες Φωκέων τεταγμένοι of supr. 759. The urn is carried, not by Orestes as might be expected from supr. 54. but by one of the attendants ( infr. 1123).

1090. mvp-comment-525-1 'Mayest thou live, I pray, as far superior to thy foes in wealth and might as now thou art fallen beneath them!' Cp. Hdt. 8. 60, τῶν ἐχθρῶν κατύπερθε γενέσθαι: ΙΙ. 16. 722.

1091. mvp-comment-526-1 *τεῶν is Hermann's correction of τῶν. Others (Lange, Wecklein) read τοσόνδ'.

1093. mvp-comment-527-1 ὑπὸ †χεῖρα] Hermann's conjecture, ὑπόχειρ (cp. ἐπίχειρ), has been received by subsequent editors. But, although it gives regularity to the metre, the word is not found elsewhere, and ὑπὸ χεῖρα appears idiomatic. Hermann himself (1839) read ὑπὸ χέρα.

1094-1095. mvp-comment-528-1 μοίρᾳ . . βεβῶσαν] Not placed in happy fortune.' Cр. О. С. 1358, 59, ὅτ᾽ ἐν πόνῳ | ταὐτῷ βεβηκὼς τυγχάνεις κακῶν ἐμοί.

1095-1097. mvp-comment-529-1 ἃ δὲ μέγιστ᾽ ἔβλαστε.. εὐσεβεία] Either (1) But prospering most highly, through Zeus-loved piety, in respect of those laws that are mightiest in their origin,' or (2) But endowed with the noblest gifts from those laws which are of mightiest origin, because of thy piety to Zeus.' For μέγιστ' ἔβλαστε, ср. О. Т. 865-72, Ant. 454-7. For the genitive τῶνδε in (2), see Essay on L. § 10. p. 14 b. And for τᾷ Ζηνὸς εὐσεβείᾳ in (1), cp. Phil. 1442, 3, ὡς τἄλλα πάντα δεύτερ᾽ ἡγεῖται πατὴρ | Ζεύς· ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια συνθνήσκει βροτοῖς. Wecklein reads ἄριστον αἶνον δι' εὐσέβειαν, Nauck, ἄριστα τὰν σὰν δι᾽ εὐσέβειαν.

1101. mvp-comment-530-1 ᾤκηκεν] Hath his abode.' The perfect tense ironically suggests the supposed permanence of Aegisthus' rule.

1104. mvp-comment-531-1 ποθεινήν] ‘Wishful, i. e. with desire to see them. It is a courteous phrase, for which cp. Shak. Mids. N. D. 1. 1, 'With duty and desire we follow you,'-but may have suggested to the spectators Orestes longing for his home and Electra's longing for him. For the active use of ποθεινός, cp. Eur. Phoen. 1737, ποθεινὰ δάκρυα.

1105. mvp-comment-532-1 τὸν ἄγχιστον] 'Nearest,' i.e. as daughter to the Queen. But the word is calculated to move Orestes, to whom Electra is indeed nearest. The masculine gives generality. Cp. supr. 1026, and note.

1110. mvp-comment-533-1 οὐκ οἶδα .. κληδόν] ‘I know not what report you speak of.' Orestes must seem ignorant of the coming of the Paedagogus, who professed to have been sent by Phanoteus, and had therefore nothing to do with Strophius, from whom Orestes is supposed to come. The evidence appears to flow through two channels, which are independent of each other.

1115. mvp-comment-534-1 Some editors punctuate after ἐκεῖνο, some do not punctuate at all between τοῦτ᾽ .. ἄχθος. The pause at σαφές seems on the whole most probable. Ah! here is that we heard of now made clear. I see the burden ready (as it would seem) to my hand.'

1116. mvp-comment-535-1 πρόχειρον may either mean (1) 'Before my hand,' i. e. ready to be taken up; or (2) Held in the hand' of another.'

1117. mvp-comment-536-1 τι .. τῶν Ὀρεστείων κακῶν] The litotes suggests not only his death, but the ruin of his house. Cp. ll. 1121, 2.

1123-1124. mvp-comment-537-1 οὐ γὰρ οὐσ'] The form of expression may be simply occasioned by antithesis. But friends of Strophius might have reason to suspect those about Aegisthus of being unfriendly to Orestes.

1125. mvp-comment-538-1 ἢ.. φύσιν] ‘Or of his natural kin.' For πρὸς αἵματος, cp. Aj. 1305, τοὺς πρὸς αἵματος, and for φύσιν, see Essay on L. § 17. p. 25. 4, and cp. supr. 325-

1126-1128. mvp-comment-539-1 O sole memorial and relic of the living Orestes, dearest of mankind to me, how far otherwise than I had hoped do I receive thee! with thoughts how different from those with which I sent thee forth!" By a confusion to which double negatives are liable (Essay on L. § 29. p. 49), the negative implied in ἀπό is first expanded in a negative sense, and then ἀπό is resumed with ὧνπερ in a different (positive) sense. For a negative similarly ignored in the relative clause, cp. Ant. 1064-7, κάτισθι, μὴ πολλοὺς .. τελῶν | ἐν οἷσι, κ.τ.λ. Wecklein in l. 1128 reads οὐχ ὅνπερ with an inferior MS. • How contrary to my hopes I receive- not him whom I sent forth.'

1130. mvp-comment-540-1 λαμπρόν] 'Bright,' i.e. full of promise. Cp. supr. 685, εἰσῆλθε λαμπρός. ἐγώ has a pathetic, not a logical emphasis, and reminds the spectator that Electra's action at the critical moment was the saving of her father's house. Cp. supr. 12.

1131. mvp-comment-541-1 The v. r. ὡς ὤφελες (suggested by 1134) is far inferior to ὡς ὤφελον. The struggle of the intervening years now seems worse than yain.

1139-1140. mvp-comment-542-1 οὔτε .. βάρος] ‘Nor took up, as I should have done, from the all-consuming fire, the miserable remains.' See E. on L. § 8. p. 11. For βάρος, cp. Aesch. Ag. 442, βαρὺ ψήγμα, παμφλέκτου suggests that the fire has done its utmost. Cp. Od. 11. 220, 1, ἀλλὰ τὰ μέν τε πυρὸς κρατερὸν μένος αἰθομένοιο | δαμνᾷ, ἐπεί κε πρῶτα λίπῃ λεύκ᾿ ὄστεα θυμός. See Essay on L. $ 53. p. 98.

1143. mvp-comment-543-1 She now goes back in memory to the happier time before the death of Agamemnon.

1143-1144. mvp-comment-544-1 τῆς ἐμῆς ἀνωφελήτου] 'The care which of old I spent on thee-in vain!' τροφή is active here, as in Eur. Tro. 1187, αἵ τ᾿ ἐμαὶ τροφαί.

1145-1146. mvp-comment-545-1 οὔτε . . φίλος] ‘For never wast thou bound to thy mother by such close ties as thou wast to me.' φίλος implies reciprocal affection. Clytemnestra was already alienated from Agamemnon's offspring in those early days. καί marks the stress on ἐμοῦ. Cp. Ο.Τ. 94, ἢ καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς, κ.τ.λ.

1147. mvp-comment-546-1 And I was more thy nurse than the domestics were.' A natural picture of the fondness of an elder sister for a little brother.

1148. mvp-comment-547-1 (1) 'And thou didst ever call me "sister."" Or (2) And the sister of Orestes was the name by which I was ever called,' ie. I was the one sister who was specially connected with thee. At this word, as Wecklein observes, all doubt is removed from the mind of Orestes.

1152. mvp-comment-548-1 τέθνηκ᾽ ἐγώ σοι] 'I am dead because of thee,' or 'Thou hast been the death of me.' Cp. supr. 808, ὥς μ' ἀπώλεσας θανών: Eur. Androm. 334, τέθνηκα τῇ σῇ θυγατρὶ καί μ᾿ ἀπώλεσε. E. on L. § 13. p. 20.

1154-1156. mvp-comment-549-1 ἧς is governed first by φήμας, = περὶ ἧς, and is then placed in a more definite construction with τιμωρός. Essay on L. § 9. p. 13. 3.

1158. mvp-comment-550-1 προϋπεμψεν] The same word (l. 1155) is repeated in a different connection. See Essay on L. § 44. pp. 83, 84.

1159. mvp-comment-551-1 καὶ σκιὰν ἀνωφελῆ] 'And a vain shadow of thee;' i. e. the remembrance of him revived by the sight of the urn, an imagination which brought no help with it.

1160-1162. mvp-comment-552-1 For this short lyric (anapaestic) outburst, cp. especially Trach. 1085, 6, ὦναξ ᾿Αίδη, κ.τ.λ.

1161. mvp-comment-553-1 ὦ δέμας οἰκτρόν] ‘Poor form!' She sees in imagination the mangled body of Orestes: supr. 756.

1162-1163. mvp-comment-554-1 δεινοτάτας κελεύθους] Sent on a terrible journey;' i.e. dismissed from life by a calamitous death. Cp. Trach. 874, 5, βέβηκε Δῃάνειρα τὴν πανυστάτην | ὁδῶν ἁπασῶν ἐξ ἀκινήτου ποδός. Others explain this of the bringing of the ashes from Phocis to Argos.

1164. mvp-comment-555-1 Still gazing at the urn, she calls her brother by the most endearing name: Ant. 899, 915.

1169. mvp-comment-556-1 To die and share thy burial.'

1170. mvp-comment-557-1 She contrasts the tranquillity of the lifeless ashes before her with her own sorrow.

1171-1173. mvp-comment-558-1 Unable to give real consolation, the Chorus fall back on the common-place that loss is common to the race.' Ср. О. Т. 1319, 20, and note. For a speech of three lines in a similar position, cp. Aj. 784-6.

1174. mvp-comment-559-1 Orestes is overcome by compassion in witnessing Electra's grief for him, and, contrary to his first intention, now prepares to disclose himself to her.

1174-1175. mvp-comment-560-1 ποῖ .. ἔλθω] «Το what words must I have recourse, when I know not what to say?' Cp. Phil. 897-9, Ν. οὐκ οἶδ᾽ ὅποι χρὴ τάπορον τρέ τρέπειν ἔπος. Φ. ἀπορεῖς δὲ τοῦ σύ; μὴ λέγ', ὦ τέκνον, τάδε. Ν. ἀλλ᾽ ἐνθάδ᾽ ἤδη τοῦδε τοῦ πάθους κυρῶ.

1176. mvp-comment-561-1 Some omit the point after ἄλγος. Cp. supr. 316. In that case the pronoun í is again supposed to be equivalent to ὅ, τι.

1179-1187. mvp-comment-562-1 Before revealing himself, Orestes gazes fixedly at Electra, as if to realize by actual observation the depth of her misery, and in doing so utters brief ejaculations, to which she replies amazedly.

1181-1182. mvp-comment-563-1 O ruined form, disowned both of men and gods! ! El. Those inauspicious words of yours, O Stranger, can apply to none but me.'

1183. mvp-comment-564-1 'Alas, for thy forlorn and ill-starred life! For ἀνύμφου, cp. supr. 961, 2, πάρεστι δ᾽ ἀλγεῖν ἐς τοσόνδε τοῦ χρόνου | ἄλεκτρα γηράσκουσαν ἀνυμέναιά τε. And for τροφῆς = ' Condition,' cp. Ο. C. 362, ζητοῦσα τὴν σήν, ποῦ κατοικοίης, τροφήν.

1184. mvp-comment-565-1 Why, I pray thee, Stranger, dost thou thus look steadfastly and groan?' ἐπισκοπῶν] · With fixed look,'-as if studying something deeply.

1185. mvp-comment-566-1 How utterly ignorant was I of my own sorrow!'

1186. mvp-comment-567-1 ἐν τῷ .. τῶν εἰρημένων] · In what that has been said did you discern this?' τῶν εἰρημένων marks Electra's unconsciousness that it is the sight of herself and her condition, and not any word spoken, that has moved the 'stranger.'

1187. mvp-comment-568-1 In seeing the sight of thee clothed with many sorrows.' Perhaps a reminiscence of Aesch. Cho. 16-18, καὶ γὰρ Ἠλέκτραν δοκῶ | στείχειν ἀδελφὴν τὴν ἐμὴν πένθει λυγρῷ | πρέπουσαν. Cp. Eur. Suppl. 1056, πένθιμος πρέπεις ὁρᾶν.

1191. mvp-comment-569-1 πόθεν .. κακόν] Orestes, still maintaining his disguise, professes amazement at the sudden mention of a murder. In what quarter can have arisen the mischief you thus make known to me?' i. e. What crime is this, with the knowledge of which you seem so familiar? (Not, 'By whom perpetrated?' with which the answer of Electra does not correspond.)

1193. mvp-comment-570-1 Either (1) 'Who drives you into this bondage?' the dative being equivalent to εἰς with the acc.; cp. ἄχεϊ προτραπέσθαι. Or (2) 'Who thus compels you?'— ἀνάγκῃ, instr. dat. The former (1) is best. See Essay on L. § 11. p. 18, 3.

1194. mvp-comment-571-1 οὐδὲν ἐξισοῖ = οὐδὲν ποιεῖ ἴσον : οὐδέν, cogn. acc.

1195. mvp-comment-572-1 χερσίν, ἢ λύμῃ βίου] 'By violence, or oppression?'

1198. mvp-comment-573-1 ὃς ἦν] Cp. supr. 847. σποδόν] Sc. (1) τούτου, or (2) τοῦτον.

1200. mvp-comment-574-1 μόνος ποτέ] i.e. οὐδείς ποτε ἄλλος ἐπῴκτειρεν.

1201. mvp-comment-575-1 (1) 'I am the only one who brings with him a feeling of the same misfortunes.' τοῖς ἴσοις, like τῶν ἴσων, supr. 1168, implies rather 'identity' than 'equality.' Orestes does not mean that his personal sufferings have been like Electra's, but first that in the essential point, viz. that their father has been murdered and is unavenged, they share equally in the same sorrow, and also that her sorrows are felt by him as his own. Cp. Aesch. Cho. 222, 3, ΗΛ. ἀλλ᾽ ἐν κακοῖσι τοῖς ἐμοῖς γελᾶν θέλεις. ΟΡ. κἀν τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἄρ᾽, εἴπερ ἔν γε τοῖσι σοῖς ( ubi τοῖς ἴσοις M. pr.). This parallel favours the other reading here, (2) τοῖσι σοῖς, which, as Prof. Paley argues, gives a simpler meaning, and may also be thought more pathetic. But it is less in keeping with the subtle gradations of this recognition-scene.

1206. mvp-comment-576-1 μὴ.. τοῦτό μ' ἐργάσῃ] Orestes has reached forth his hand to take the urn from her.

1209. mvp-comment-577-1 Orestes again offers to take away the urn.

1210. mvp-comment-578-1 ὦ.. σέθεν] Cp. especially Trach. 972, ὤμοι ἐγὼ σοῦ μέλεος.

1211. mvp-comment-579-1 εὔφημα φώνει] 'Speak no such ill-omened words,'—as to mention a tomb in connection with the living: infr. 1219.

1213-1214. mvp-comment-580-1 The language by which Orestes tries to undeceive his sister is so worded as to seem cruel to her, as if she were unworthy to hold her brother's urn.

1215. mvp-comment-581-1 οὐδενός] The pronoun (masc.) has a strong pathetic emphasis. 'Dishonoured in no way!' See Essay on L. § 22. p. 36 fin.

1218. mvp-comment-582-1 At this point Electra is more than ever forlorn. But at the word ζῶντος in 1219 a ray of hope strikes her in spite of herself.

1220. mvp-comment-583-1 ὦ παῖ;] Electra's bewilderment, and the contrast of appearance and fact, are equally marked by her thus artlessly addressing the Stranger as if he were her younger brother. Cp. O. T. 1030; Aj. 339, and notes.

1223-1224. mvp-comment-584-1 There is a pause here, during which Electra examines the seal.

1225. mvp-comment-585-1 ὦ φθέγμ᾽] Essay on L. § 50. p. 94.

1226. mvp-comment-586-1 ὡς . . ἔχοις] ‘As I would that you may have me evermore.’

1231. mvp-comment-587-1 γεγηθὸς .. δάκρυον] Essay on L. § 42. p. 8ο γ.

1232. mvp-comment-588-1 In the following passage Electra in her ecstasy utters lyric (chiefly dochmiac) strains, to which Orestes, who is trying to calm her, replies in senarii. The lyric metres may be arranged (though, as the text stands, not perfectly) in a scheme of strophe, antistrophe, and epode, as follows:—
στρ. (ll. 1232-1252).
- u - - - | - u - -
- u u - u - | - u - -
u - u - u - -
1 Senarius.
1 Senarius.
- u - u - | - u - -
u - u - | u - -
1 Senarius.
1 Senarius.
- u - u - | - u u | - u u | u - -
- u - - | u - - -
u - u - u - | u - u -
- u - -
2 Senarii.

ἀντ. (ll. 1253-1263).
- u - | u - -
u u - u - | u u - u - -
u - - u u -
1 Senarius.
1 Senarius.
u u - u - u u -
u - u - | u - u - u - -
2 Senarii.

ἐπ. (ll. 1273-1287).
u u - u - u - -
- - - u -
u u - | u u - | u u - | u u -
- u - | - u -
1 Senarius.
2 - - u u - -
2 Senarii.
¹²

1232. mvp-comment-588-2 1 The correspondence of στρ. and ἀντ. here is doubtful.

1232. mvp-comment-588-3 2 In the Epode Orestes also for a moment becomes lyrical.

1232-1233. mvp-comment-589-1 γοναὶ .. φιλτάτων] 'Offspring of one most dear to me;' i.e. of Agamemnon. Poetical plural. E. on L. § 20. p. 30.

1234-1235. mvp-comment-590-1 For the aorists, see Essay on L. § 32. p. 55 , and for the feeling in οὓς ἐχρήζετε, cp. O. T. 1274, οὓς δ᾽ ἔχρῃζεν οὐ γνωσοίατο.

1236. mvp-comment-591-1 'We are here. Only abide the event in silence.' In πάρεσμεν Orestes probably includes Pylades, but not necessarily. Cp. the doubt in Trach. 390.

1239. mvp-comment-592-1 This line as in L, which is followed in the text, has an iambic rhythm which in so far corresponds to 1260. In a passage of so much wildness there may have been a special motive for using long syllables in the strophe where in the antistrophe the iambics are 'pure.' Wecklein reads in στρ., μὰ τὰν ᾿Αρτεμιν | τὰν ἀδμῆτ᾽ ἀεί, and in ἀντ., τίς οὖν ἀξίαν | σοῦ γε πεφηνότος?

1240-1242. mvp-comment-593-1 τόδε.. ἀεί] 'Never will I account as worthy of my fear this unprofitable burden of womankind that never stirs abroad.' Electra does not remember that she is a woman. She is one with Orestes, who is come to vindicate the man. She might say with Athena in the Eumenides 738, κάρτα δ᾽ εἰμὶ τοῦ πατρός. Orestes reminds her that Clytemnestra is not an enemy to be despised.

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

And henceforth ever may'st thou hold him thus!

Electra

Current edition Experimental

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ. γοναὶ add σωμάτων ἐμοὶ φιλτάτων, ἐμόλετ᾿ ἀρτίως, ἐφεύρετ᾽, ἤλθετ᾽, εἴδεθ᾽ οὓς ἐχρήζετε. 1235

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ. πάρεσμεν· ἀλλὰ σῖγ᾽ ἔχουσα πρόσμενε.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ. τί δ᾽ ἔστιν ἔστι ἔστιν ;

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ. σιγᾶν ἄμεινον, μή τις ἔνδοθεν κλύῃ.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ. ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τὰν ἀλλ᾽ οὐ μὰ τὰν οὓ τἂν Ἄρτεμιν τὰν αἰὲν ἀδμήταν τόδε μὲν οὐ ποτ᾿ ἀξιώσω τρέσαι 1240 περισσὸν ἄχθος ἔνδον γυναικῶν ὂν ἀεί.

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ. ὅρα γε μὲν δὴ κἀν γυναιξὶν ὡς Ἄρης ἔνεστιν· εὖ δ᾽ ἔξοισθα πειραθεῖσά που.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ. *ὀτοτοτοῖ ὀττοτοῖ , 1245 ἀνέφελον ἐπέβαλες 2nd ε from ι ὑπέβαλες οὔ ποτε καταλύσιμον,

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ. οὐδέ ποτε λησόμενον, ἁμέτερον οἷον ἔφυ κακόν.

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ. ἔξοιδα καὶ ταῦτ᾽· ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν παρουσία φράζῃ, τότ᾽ ἔργων τῶνδε μεμνῆσθαι χρεών. 1250

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

Ἠλέκτρα ἰὼ γοναί, γοναὶ σωμάτων ἐμοὶ φιλτάτων, ἐμόλετʼ ἀρτίως, ἐφηύρετʼ, ἤλθετʼ, εἴδεθʼ οὓς ἐχρῄζετε. 1235

Ὀρέστης πάρεσμεν· ἀλλὰ σῖγʼ ἔχουσα πρόσμενε.

Ἠλέκτρα τί δʼ ἔστιν;

Ὀρέστης σιγᾶν ἄμεινον, μή τις ἔνδοθεν κλύῃ.

Ἠλέκτρα ἀλλʼ οὐ μὰ τὴν ἄδμητον αἰὲν Ἄρτεμιν, τόδε μὲν οὔ ποτʼ ἀξιώσω τρέσαι, 1240 περισσὸν ἄχθος ἔνδον γυναικῶν ὂν αἰεί.

Ὀρέστης ὅρα γε μὲν δὴ κἀν γυναιξὶν ὡς Ἄρης ἔνεστιν· εὖ δʼ ἔξοισθα πειραθεῖσά που.

Ἠλέκτρα ὀτοτοτοτοῖ τοτοῖ, 1245 ἀνέφελον ἐνέβαλες οὔ ποτε καταλύσιμον, οὐδέ ποτε λησόμενον ἁμέτερον οἷον ἔφυ κακόν. 1250

Ὀρέστης ἔξοιδα, παῖ, ταῦτʼ· ἀλλʼ ὅταν παρουσία φράζῃ, τότʼ ἔργων τῶνδε μεμνῆσθαι χρεών.

Ἠλέκτρα ὁ πᾶς ἐμοί, ὁ πᾶς ἂν πρέποι παρὼν ἐννέπειν τάδε δίκᾳ χρόνος· 1255 μόλις γὰρ ἔσχον νῦν ἐλεύθερον στόμα.

Ὀρέστης ξύμφημι κἀγώ· τοιγαροῦν σῴζου τόδε.

Ἠλέκτρα τί δρῶσα;

Ὀρέστης οὗ μή ʼστι καιρὸς μὴ μακρὰν βούλου λέγειν.

Ἠλέκτρα τίς οὖν ἂν ἀξίαν γε σοῦ πεφηνότος 1260 μεταβάλοιτʼ ἂν ὧδε σιγὰν λόγων; ἐπεί σε νῦν ἀφράστως ἀέλπτως τʼ ἐσεῖδον.

Ὀρέστης τότʼ εἶδες, εὖτε θεοί μʼ ἐπώτρυναν μολεῖν 1265

Ἠλέκτρα ἔφρασας ὑπερτέραν τᾶς πάρος ἔτι χάριτος, εἴ σε θεὸς ἐπόρισεν ἁμέτερα πρὸς μέλαθρα· δαιμόνιον αὐτὸ τίθημʼ ἐγώ. 1270

Ὀρέστης τὰ μέν σʼ ὀκνῶ χαίρουσαν εἰργαθεῖν, τὰ δὲ δέδοικα λίαν ἡδονῇ νικωμένην.

Ἠλέκτρα ἰὼ χρόνῳ μακρῷ φιλτάταν ὁδὸν ἐπαξιώσας ὧδέ μοι φανῆναι, μή τί με, πολύπονον ὧδʼ ἰδὼν 1275

Ὀρέστης τί μὴ ποήσω;

Ἠλέκτρα μή μʼ ἀποστερήσῃς τῶν σῶν προσώπων ἁδονὰν μεθέσθαι.

Ὀρέστης ἦ κάρτα κἂν ἄλλοισι θυμοίμην ἰδών.

Ἠλέκτρα ξυναινεῖς; 1280

Ὀρέστης τί μὴν οὔ;

O dearest women, Argives of my home! Ye see Orestes, dead in craft, but now By that same craft delivered and preserved.

CH We see, dear daughter, and the gladsome tear Steals from our eye to greet the bright event.

EL Offspring of him I loved beyond all telling! Ah! thou art come,—hast found me, eye to eye Behold’st the face thou didst desire to see. 1235

OR True, I am here; but bide in silence still.

EL Wherefore?

OR Hush! speak not loud, lest one within should hearken.

EL By ever-virgin Artemis, ne’er will I Think worthy of my fear This useless mass of woman-cowardice 1240 Burdening the house within, Not peering out of door.

OR Yet know that women too have might in war. Of that methinks thou hast feeling evidence.

EL Ah me! thou hast unveiled 1245 And thrust before my gaze That burning load of my distress No time will soothe, no remedy will heal.

OR I know that too. But when we are face to face With the evildoers,—then let remembrance work. 1250

EL

Otheurer Sproß, Strophe.

Elektra. Sproß jenes uns, ach, so geliebten Manns, Du kamst endlich, ja, Du kamest, fandest, sahest, die dein Herz ersehnt! 1210

Orestes. Ich bin gekommen; aber schweigend harre noch. Warum das? Wohl ziemt zu schweigen, eh man uns im Haus vernimmt.

Elektra. Nein, bei der ewig unbezwungnen Artemis! 1 Wahrlich, ich fürchte nicht die nuzlose Last, 1215 Dies Volk der Weiber mehr, das im Haus stets sich umtreibt.

Orestes. Doch sei behutsam, auch in Weiberseelen glüht Kampfmuth: du weißt es; denn Erfahrung lehrte dich's.

Elektra. Oweh, o Graun, o Graun! Du nennst unverhüllt das unvertilgbare, 1220 In der Erinnerung nie zu verschmerzende, Das Leid, das ich litt!

Orestes. Wohl weiß ich das; doch dieses Jammers mußt du mir Dann erst gedenken, wann die rechte Zeit erscheint.

Oh ! ye are come, my friends, in happiest hour, E'en to behold, to find again the man Whom your souls wished for, ye are come.

Chorus We are ;

Electra Wherefore in silence ?

Chorus Lest our foes within Should hear thee.

Electra Never, by the virgin power Of chaste Diana, will I hide my joys, 1240 Nor meanly stoop to fear an idle throng Of helpless women.

Orestes Women have their power, And that thou knowest.

Electra Alas ! and so I do ; 1245 For oh ! thou hast called back the sad remembrance Of that misfortune which admits no cure, And ne'er can be forgot.

Orestes A fitter time May come when we must think of that. 1250

Electra

Electra O seed, seed of the person to me most dear, you have just now come, you have come, and have found and seen her whom your heart desired! 1235

Orestes I am with you; but keep silence and wait.

Electra What do you mean?

Orestes It is better to be silent so that no one inside may hear.

Electra No, by ever-virgin Artemis, I will never think it right to tremble before eternally house-bound women, that useless burden on the ground! 1240

Orestes Yes, but remember that Ares dwells in women, too. You know this well by experience, I believe.

Electra oh, no! ah, me! You have reminded me of my sorrow, one which by its nature cannot be veiled, 1245 cannot be done away with, cannot be forgotten! 1250

Orestes I know this, too; but when occasion prompts, we must recall those crimes.

Electra Each moment of all time, as it comes, would be a proper occasion for me to make these just complaints. Scarcely now have I had my lips set free. 1255

Orestes Yes, I agree; therefore guard your freedom.

Electra What must I do?

Orestes When it is inopportune, do not want to speak too much.

Electra No, who could exchange due silence for speech, when you have appeared? For now my eyes have seen you, beyond all thought and hope! 1260

Orestes You saw me when the gods moved me to come.

Electra You have told me of a grace higher still than the first, if a god brought you to our house; 1265 I acknowledge in it the work of the divine. 1270

Orestes On the one hand I hesitate to curb your gladness, but on the other I fear that you may be overwhelmed by too much joy.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

γοναὶ add σωμάτων ἐμοὶ φιλτάτων,

ἐμόλετ᾿ ἀρτίως,

ἐφεύρετ᾽, ἤλθετ᾽, εἴδεθ᾽ οὓς ἐχρήζετε.
1235

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

πάρεσμεν· ἀλλὰ σῖγ᾽ ἔχουσα πρόσμενε.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

τί δ᾽ ἔστιν ἔστι ἔστιν ;

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

σιγᾶν ἄμεινον, μή τις ἔνδοθεν κλύῃ.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τὰν ἀλλ᾽ οὐ μὰ τὰν οὓ τἂν Ἄρτεμιν τὰν αἰὲν ἀδμήταν

τόδε μὲν οὐ ποτ᾿ ἀξιώσω τρέσαι
1240

περισσὸν ἄχθος ἔνδον

γυναικῶν ὂν ἀεί.

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

ὅρα γε μὲν δὴ κἀν γυναιξὶν ὡς Ἄρης

ἔνεστιν· εὖ δ᾽ ἔξοισθα πειραθεῖσά που.

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

*ὀτοτοτοῖ ὀττοτοῖ ,
1245

ἀνέφελον ἐπέβαλες 2nd ε from ι ὑπέβαλες οὔ ποτε καταλύσιμον,

ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.

οὐδέ ποτε λησόμενον, ἁμέτερον

οἷον ἔφυ κακόν.

ΟΡΕΣΤΗΣ.

ἔξοιδα καὶ ταῦτ᾽· ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν παρουσία

φράζῃ, τότ᾽ ἔργων τῶνδε μεμνῆσθαι χρεών.
1250

Ἠλέκτρα

ἰὼ γοναί,

γοναὶ σωμάτων ἐμοὶ φιλτάτων,

ἐμόλετʼ ἀρτίως,

ἐφηύρετʼ, ἤλθετʼ, εἴδεθʼ οὓς ἐχρῄζετε.
1235

Ὀρέστης

πάρεσμεν· ἀλλὰ σῖγʼ ἔχουσα πρόσμενε.

Ἠλέκτρα

τί δʼ ἔστιν;

Ὀρέστης

σιγᾶν ἄμεινον, μή τις ἔνδοθεν κλύῃ.

Ἠλέκτρα

ἀλλʼ οὐ μὰ τὴν ἄδμητον αἰὲν Ἄρτεμιν,

τόδε μὲν οὔ ποτʼ ἀξιώσω τρέσαι,
1240

περισσὸν ἄχθος ἔνδον

γυναικῶν ὂν αἰεί.

Ὀρέστης

ὅρα γε μὲν δὴ κἀν γυναιξὶν ὡς Ἄρης

ἔνεστιν· εὖ δʼ ἔξοισθα πειραθεῖσά που.

Ἠλέκτρα

ὀτοτοτοτοῖ τοτοῖ,
1245

ἀνέφελον ἐνέβαλες οὔ ποτε καταλύσιμον,

οὐδέ ποτε λησόμενον ἁμέτερον

οἷον ἔφυ κακόν.
1250

Ὀρέστης

ἔξοιδα, παῖ, ταῦτʼ· ἀλλʼ ὅταν παρουσία

φράζῃ, τότʼ ἔργων τῶνδε μεμνῆσθαι χρεών.

Ἠλέκτρα

ὁ πᾶς ἐμοί,

ὁ πᾶς ἂν πρέποι παρὼν ἐννέπειν

τάδε δίκᾳ χρόνος·
1255

μόλις γὰρ ἔσχον νῦν ἐλεύθερον στόμα.

Ὀρέστης

ξύμφημι κἀγώ· τοιγαροῦν σῴζου τόδε.

Ἠλέκτρα

τί δρῶσα;

Ὀρέστης

οὗ μή ʼστι καιρὸς μὴ μακρὰν βούλου λέγειν.

Ἠλέκτρα

τίς οὖν ἂν ἀξίαν γε σοῦ πεφηνότος
1260

μεταβάλοιτʼ ἂν ὧδε σιγὰν λόγων;

ἐπεί σε νῦν ἀφράστως

ἀέλπτως τʼ ἐσεῖδον.

Ὀρέστης

τότʼ εἶδες, εὖτε θεοί μʼ ἐπώτρυναν μολεῖν

1265

Ἠλέκτρα

ἔφρασας ὑπερτέραν

τᾶς πάρος ἔτι χάριτος, εἴ σε θεὸς ἐπόρισεν

ἁμέτερα πρὸς μέλαθρα· δαιμόνιον

αὐτὸ τίθημʼ ἐγώ.
1270

Ὀρέστης

τὰ μέν σʼ ὀκνῶ χαίρουσαν εἰργαθεῖν, τὰ δὲ

δέδοικα λίαν ἡδονῇ νικωμένην.

Ἠλέκτρα

ἰὼ χρόνῳ μακρῷ φιλτάταν ὁδὸν

ἐπαξιώσας ὧδέ μοι φανῆναι,

μή τί με, πολύπονον ὧδʼ ἰδὼν
1275

Ὀρέστης

τί μὴ ποήσω;

Ἠλέκτρα

μή μʼ ἀποστερήσῃς

τῶν σῶν προσώπων ἁδονὰν μεθέσθαι.

Ὀρέστης

ἦ κάρτα κἂν ἄλλοισι θυμοίμην ἰδών.

Ἠλέκτρα

ξυναινεῖς;
1280

Ὀρέστης

τί μὴν οὔ;

O dearest women, Argives of my home!

Ye see Orestes, dead in craft, but now

By that same craft delivered and preserved.

CH

We see, dear daughter, and the gladsome tear

Steals from our eye to greet the bright event.

EL

Offspring of him I loved beyond all telling!

Ah! thou art come,—hast found me, eye to eye

Behold’st the face thou didst desire to see.
1235

OR

True, I am here; but bide in silence still.

EL

Wherefore?

OR

Hush! speak not loud, lest one within should hearken.

EL

By ever-virgin Artemis, ne’er will I

Think worthy of my fear

This useless mass of woman-cowardice
1240

Burdening the house within,

Not peering out of door.

OR

Yet know that women too have might in war.

Of that methinks thou hast feeling evidence.

EL

Ah me! thou hast unveiled
1245

And thrust before my gaze

That burning load of my distress

No time will soothe, no remedy will heal.

OR

I know that too. But when we are face to face

With the evildoers,—then let remembrance work.
1250

Otheurer Sproß,

Strophe.

Elektra.

Sproß jenes uns, ach, so geliebten Manns,

Du kamst endlich, ja,

Du kamest, fandest, sahest, die dein Herz ersehnt!
1210

Orestes.

Ich bin gekommen; aber schweigend harre noch.

Warum das?

Wohl ziemt zu schweigen, eh man uns im Haus vernimmt.

Elektra.

Nein, bei der ewig unbezwungnen Artemis!¹

Wahrlich, ich fürchte nicht die nuzlose Last,
1215

Dies Volk der Weiber mehr, das im Haus stets sich umtreibt.

Orestes.

Doch sei behutsam, auch in Weiberseelen glüht

Kampfmuth: du weißt es; denn Erfahrung lehrte dich's.

Elektra.

Oweh, o Graun, o Graun!

Du nennst unverhüllt das unvertilgbare,
1220

In der Erinnerung nie zu verschmerzende,

Das Leid, das ich litt!

Orestes.

Wohl weiß ich das; doch dieses Jammers mußt du mir

Dann erst gedenken, wann die rechte Zeit erscheint.

Oh ! ye are come, my friends, in happiest hour,

E'en to behold, to find again the man

Whom your souls wished for, ye are come.

Chorus

We are ;

Electra

Wherefore in silence ?

Chorus

Lest our foes within

Should hear thee.

Electra

Never, by the virgin power

Of chaste Diana, will I hide my joys,
1240

Nor meanly stoop to fear an idle throng

Of helpless women.

Orestes

Women have their power,

And that thou knowest.

Electra

Alas ! and so I do ;
1245

For oh ! thou hast called back the sad remembrance

Of that misfortune which admits no cure,

And ne'er can be forgot.

Orestes

A fitter time

May come when we must think of that.
1250

Electra

O seed, seed of the person to me most dear, you have just now come,

you have come, and have found and seen her whom your heart desired!
1235

Orestes

I am with you; but keep silence and wait.

Electra

What do you mean?

Orestes

It is better to be silent so that no one inside may hear.

Electra

No, by ever-virgin Artemis,

I will never think it right to tremble before eternally house-bound women, that useless burden on the ground!
1240

Orestes

Yes, but remember that Ares dwells in women, too. You know this well by experience, I believe.

Electra

oh, no! ah, me! You have reminded me of my sorrow, one which by its nature cannot be veiled,
1245

cannot be done away with, cannot be forgotten!
1250

Orestes

I know this, too; but when occasion prompts, we must recall those crimes.

Electra

Each moment of all time, as it comes, would be a proper occasion

for me to make these just complaints. Scarcely now have I had my lips set free.
1255

Orestes

Yes, I agree; therefore guard your freedom.

Electra

What must I do?

Orestes

When it is inopportune, do not want to speak too much.

Electra

No, who could exchange due silence for speech, when you have appeared? For now my eyes have seen you, beyond all thought and hope!
1260

Orestes

You saw me when the gods moved me to come.

Electra

You have told me of a grace higher still than the first, if a god brought you to our house;
1265

I acknowledge in it the work of the divine.
1270

Orestes

On the one hand I hesitate to curb your gladness, but on the other I fear that you may be overwhelmed by too much joy.

Electra

O you who, after such a long time, saw fit to make your most happy journey and appear to me,

do not, now that you have seen me in all my misery—
1275

Orestes

What should I not do?—

Electra

—Do not rob me of the comfort of your face; do not force me to forego it!

Orestes

I would be angry, indeed, if I saw another attempt it.

Electra

You give your consent?

Orestes

Why would I not?
1280

Electra

My friends, I heard a voice that I could never have hoped to hear; nor could I have restrained my emotion in silence and without a cry, when I heard it.

ah, me! But now I have you. You have appeared with that dear face, which I could never, even in misery, forget.
1285