Sophocles Electra 558

Robert Potter (Translator)

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Then I will speak. My father by thy hand
Was slain: thou freely dost avow the deed.
And can there be a deed of blacker stain,
E'en though he justly died? But I will say
That not with justice didst thou strike the blow.
No: the persuasions of that wicked man,
Thy base compeer in guilt, allured thee. Ask
The huntress queen Diana, why so long
At Aulis vengeful she restrain'd the winds;
Or I will tell thee; her thou may'st not ask!
My father, sporting in her sacred grove,
Once roused a dappled Hart, that bore aloft.
His branching horns; and glorying in the prize
Utter'd some vaunting words: at these incensed
The daughter of Latona in that port
Detain'd the fleet of Greece, that for her Hart,
A recompense my father might present...
His daughter: to the goddess thus she fell
A victim; else the fleet had been detain'd
560
Moor'd in that bay, and not a gale had 'swell'd
560
Their sails for Troy, or to the ports of Greece.
560
For this, reluctant and by sad constraint,
560
He sacrificed his daughter, just to Greece,
560
Not for his brother's sake. But (to allow
560
Thy plea) to grace the Spartan had his wille
560
Been to the deed assenting, for that cause
560
Behoved it thee to slay him? By what fight?
Take heed thou givest not sanction to a law
'Mongst mortals, which with vengeance will recoil
On thine own head. If blood must be repaid
With blood, if justice doth her office, thou: A
The first must die. Take heed, nor urge a plea
Of no avail. But tell me, if thy will
Assents to tell me, why dost thou persist
In actions most disgraceful to thy fame?
Why with a blood-stain'd murderer share thy couch,
Thy vile associate in my father's death?
How canst thou bear him children, and expose .TYD
As outcasts those, who from an hallow'd bed
Sprung hallow'd? How can I approve these things?
Or wilt thou say that for thy daughter's death/
These deeds are done to satiate thy revenge?
Shame on thee if thou say'st so; for to wedi
An hostile ruffian for a daughter's sake, d
Throws a foul stain on honour. But thy soul
Rejects monition: ever on thy tongue
Is this complaint, that we with rudé reproach({
Insult our mother: Am I then thy child?
Rather thy slave, and lead a servile life, fina
Ever beneath the yoke of ills oppress'd TI
By thee and thy compeer. Thy other child,
The poor Orestes, scarce escaped thy handjofT TVD
With misery, exiled from his country, lives
Oft dost thou taunt me that I train the Youth
To vengeance on thee: be thou well assured
This I had done, had I the pow'r. Now go,
Proclaim me to the world as base of soul, O
As insolent of tongue, as lost to shamed wo
If in these arts I am expert, they showlon is
That nor thy nature I disgrace, nor thee.

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)) — 558 focus
καὶ δὴ λέγω σοι, πατέρα φὴς κτεῖναι. τίς ἂν
τούτου λόγος γένοιτ' ἂν αἰσχίων ἔτι ἐτ΄...? ἔτ᾽ ἂν L. ἔτι AFL2.,
εἴτ᾿ οὖν δικαίως εἴτε μή; λέξω δέ σοι,
560
ὡς οὐ οὖν L. δίκῃ γ᾽ ἔκτεινας, ἀλλά σ᾽ ἔσπασεν
πειθὼ πιθὼ L Pal. κακοῦ πρὸς ἀνδρός, ᾧ τανῦν ξύνει.
ἐροῦ δὲ τὴν κυναγὸν Ἄρτεμιν, τίνος
ποινὰς ποινῆς A. ποινὰς 13. ποινᾶς Γ Pal. V. τὰ πολλὰ πνεύματ᾽ ἔσχεν gl. ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐπέσχεν ἐν τῇ V'. Αὐλίδι ηὐδίωι L. αὐλίδι C.·
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 516-822 focus
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 558 focus
Then I will speak. You say you slew him. Where
Could there be found confession more depraved,
Even though the cause were righteous? But I’ll prove
No rightful vengeance drew thee to the deed,
But the vile bands of him you dwell with now.
Or ask the huntress Artemis, what sin
She punished, when she tied up all the winds
Round Aulis.—I will tell thee, for her voice
Thou ne’er may’st hear! ’Tis rumoured that my sire,
Sporting within the goddess’ holy ground,
His foot disturbed a dappled hart, whose death
Drew from his lips some rash and boastful word.
Wherefore Latona’s daughter in fell wrath
Stayed the army, that in quittance for the deer
My sire should slay at the altar his own child.
So came her sacrifice. The Achaean fleet
Had else no hope of being launched to Troy
560
Nor to their homes. Wherefore, with much constraint
560
And painful urging of his backward will,
560
Hardly he yielded;—not for his brother’s sake.
560
But grant thy speech were sooth, and all were done
560
In aid of Menelaüs; for this cause
560
Hadst thou the right to slay him? What high law
560
Ordaining? Look to it, in establishing
560
Such precedent thou dost not lay in store
Repentance for thyself. For if by right
One die for one, thou first wilt be destroyed
If Justice find thee.—But again observe
The hollowness of thy pretended plea.
Tell me, I pray, what cause thou dost uphold
In doing now the basest deed of all,
Chambered with the blood-guilty, with whose aid
Thou slewest our father in that day. For him
You now bear children—ousting from their right
The stainless offspring of a holy sire.
How should this plead for pardon? Wilt thou say
Thus thou dost ’venge thy daughter’s injury?
O shameful plea? Where is the thought of honour,
If foes are married for a daughter’s sake?—
Enough. No words can move thee. Thy rash tongue
With checkless clamour cries that we revile
Our mother. Nay, no mother, but the chief
Of tyrants to us! For my life is full
Of weariness and misery from thee
And from thy paramour. While he abroad,
Orestes, our one brother, who escaped
Hardly from thy attempt, unhappy boy!
Wears out his life, victim of cross mischance.
Oft hast thou taunted me with fostering him
To be thy punisher. And this, be sure,
Had I but strength, I had done. Now for this word,
Proclaim me what thou wilt,—evil in soul,
Or loud in cursing, or devoid of shame:
For if I am infected with such guilt,
Methinks my nature is not fallen from thine.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 558 focus
Wohlan, so red' ich. Du bekennst des Vaters Mord.
Wo gibt's ein grauenvoll'res Wort, als dieses ist,
Du möchtest Recht thun oder nicht? Doch sag' ich dir,
Es war ein Unrecht, dieser Mord! Dich hat verlockt,
545
Beschwazt der Frevler, dem du jezt als Weib gehörst.
Frag' Artemis, die Jägerin, um welche Schuld
Sie zürnend aller Winde Macht in Aulis band.
Nein, sag' ich's selbst; denn sie zu fragen ziemt sich nicht.
Mein Vater (also ward mir kund) erging sich einst
550
Im Hain der Göttin und erjagt' in raschem Lauf
Den bunten hochgehörnten Hirsch, und als er ihn
Erlegt, entfiel ihm prahlerisch ein stolzes Wort.
Drob zürnte Leto's Tochter ihm und hielt zurück 1
Das Heer Achäa's, bis der Vater als Ersaz
555
Des Wildes ihr die eigne Tochter opferte.
So wurde sie das Opfer; Nichts vermochte sonst
Heimwärts das Heer zu fördern oder Troja zu.
Hiefür, nach vielem Sträuben und gezwungen, gab
Er sie zum Opfer, aber für Menelaos nicht.
560
Doch wenn er denn nun red' ich auch in deinem Sinn -
Um ihm zu helfen, solches that: verdient' er wohl
Deßhalb den Tod von deiner Hand? Nach welchem Recht?
Bedenke, wenn du dies Gesez den Menschen gibst,
Ob du dir selbst nicht herbes Leid und Reue schaffst.
565
Denn wenn der Mord des Einen büßt des Andern Mord,
Stirbst du zuerst wohl, wenn es nach dem Rechte geht.
Doch siehe nur: welch eitlen Vorwand schaffst du dir!
Denn sage, (wenn es dir gefällt) warum du jezt
Der grauenvollsten Thaten dich erkühnen magst,
570
Du, die des Mörders Lager theilt, mit welchem du
Verbunden meinen Vater mir vordem erschlugst,
Mit dem du Kinder zeugest, und die ächten, einst 2
Aus ächter Eh' entspross'nen, ausgetrieben hast.
Wie könnt' ich dieses loben? Oder wirst du hier
575
Auch sagen, daß du Rache für die Tochter nahmst?
Schmach, es nur zu sagen! Denn nie ziemt es sich,
Der Tochter wegen einem Feind sich anzutrau'n.
Doch dich zurechtzuweisen ist mir nicht vergönnt;
Denn tausendfältig russt du, daß wir ungescheut
580
Die Mutter lästern; freilich dünkt es mich, du seist
Viel mehr die Herrin, als die Mutter, gegen uns:
In solcher Mühsal leb' ich, so durch deine Schuld
Und deines Buhlen duld' ich stets vielfache Noth.
So schleppt Orestes, deinen Händen kaum entfloh'n,
585
Auswärts in Jammer ein verlor'nes Leben hin,
Er, welchen ich dir, wie du mich schon oft gezieh'n,
Als Rachegeist erziehe: traun, vermöcht' ich das,
Ich thät' es, sei versichert! So verrufe mich
Vor aller Welt denn immerhin als arggesinnt,
590
Als zungenfrech, als ledig alles Schamgefühls.
Denn wenn ich dieser Laster wohlerfahren bin,
Gereich' ich deinem Stamme doch zur Schande nicht.
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 558 focus
Hast thou not confessed
That thou didst slay my father ? Whether justice
Approve or not, 'twas horrid to confess it :
But justice never could persuade thee — no !
I'll tell thee who it was, it was ^gisthus.
The wretch wdth whom thou liv'st. Go ask the goddess.
The immortal huntress, why the winds were stayed
So long at Aiilis. But thou must not ask
The chaste Diana ! Take it, then, from me.
My father once, as for the chase prepared,
Cai'eless he wandered through her wecret grove,
Forth from its covert roused a spotted hind
Of fairest form, with towering antlers graced,
Pursued and slew her. Of the deity
Something with pride elate he uttered then
Disdainful. Quick resenting the affront,
Latona's daughter stayed the Grecian fleet,
Nor would forgive, till for her slaughtered beast
560
Th' offending father sacrificed his child.
560
Thus Iphigenia fell ; and but for her
560
Greece ne'er had seen or Ilion's lofty towers,
560
Or her own native soil. The father strove
560
In vain to save, and not for Menelaus
560
He gave her up at last, but for his country.
560
Suppose a brother's fondness had prevailed,
560
And she was given for him, would that excuse
560
Thy horrid deed? What laAv required it of thee ?
That law alone by w^hich thyself must fall ;
If blood for blood be due, thy doom is fixed.
Plead not so poorly then, but tell me why
Thou liv'st adultrous thus with a vile ruflian,
Thy base assistant ? Why are those who sprung
From thy first nuptials cast unkindly forth
For his new race ? Was this thy piety ?
Was this, too, to revenge thy daughter's death ?
In pure revenge to wed her deadhest foe
Was noble, was it not ? But I forget :
You are my mother — so it seems you say —
And I must hold my peace. But I deny it ;
I say your are my mistress, not my mother —
A cruel mistress that afliicts my soul,
And makes this weary life a burthen to me.
Orestes too, the hapless fugitive.
Who once escaped thy fatal hand, now drags
A loathsome being. Him, thou sayst, I looked for
To join in my revenge, and so I did ;
T would have been revenged, I tell thee so.
Say, I am base, malicious, impudent,
Abusive, what thou wilt ; for if I am
It speaks my birth, and I resemble thee.
Chob. Kesentment deep hath fired the virgin's
breast ;
Whether with truth and justice on her side
She speak, I know not.
Cly. Can they plead for her ?
What care, what love, or tenderness is due
To an abandoned child, who shameless thus
Keviles a pai-ent ? I*-tttere, iifteF^isT^
A criTQft in nature shajgould blush to act ?
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 516-820 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-223-1 οὐδ’ 1 κοὐδ’ 2 ποτέ 3

mvp-comment-224-1 ἰὸν 4

mvp-comment-224-2 σχήσει 5

mvp-comment-225-1 τὸ δεινὸν 6

mvp-comment-225-2 εἰ γὰρ τῶνδέ μοι 7 εἰ 8

mvp-comment-226-1 γὰρ 9

mvp-comment-226-2 γόων 10 λόγων 11

mvp-comment-227-1 ἐνταῦθα 12

mvp-comment-227-2 ἔνθα μή ποτε … προσόψει 13

mvp-comment-227-3 ζῶσα 14

mvp-comment-227-4 κατηρεφεῖ 15

mvp-comment-227-5 χθονὸς τῆσδ’ ἐκτὸς 16

mvp-comment-227-6 ὑμνήσεις 17

mvp-comment-228-1 πρὸς ταῦτα 18

mvp-comment-228-2 Nauck reads κοὔ 19 καί 20

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 21 ἦ … δὴ 22 ἦ … γὰρ 23

mvp-comment-229-2 καὶ βεβούλευνται 24

mvp-comment-230-1 ἀλλ’ ἐξίκοιτο 25

mvp-comment-230-2 τοῦδέ γ’ οὕνεκ’ 26

mvp-comment-231-1 τίνα … τόνδ’ 27

mvp-comment-231-2 τάλαινα 28

mvp-comment-232-1 εἴ τι τῶνδε 29

mvp-comment-233-1 ποῦ ποτ’ εἶ φρενῶν 30

mvp-comment-234-1 ὅπως 31 ὑμῶν 32

mvp-comment-234-2 προσώτατ’ 33 προσωτάτω φύγω 34

mvp-comment-235-1 βίου … τοῦ παρόντος 35

mvp-comment-236-1 καλὸς γὰρ 36

mvp-comment-236-2 θαυμάσαι 37

mvp-comment-237-1 τοῖς φίλοις 38

mvp-comment-238-1 εἰκαθεῖν 39

mvp-comment-239-1 ταῦτα 40 οὐκ ἐμοὺς 41

mvp-comment-240-1 γε 42 μέντοι 43

mvp-comment-240-2 μὴ )ξ 44

mvp-comment-240-3 πεσεῖν 45

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 46

mvp-comment-242-1 τἄπη 47

mvp-comment-242-2 πρὸς κακῶν 48

mvp-comment-243-1 μή πω 49

mvp-comment-244-1 οἷπερ … ὁδοῦ 50

mvp-comment-245-1 τῷ φέρεις 51

mvp-comment-245-2 ἔμπυρα 52

mvp-comment-246-1 τυμβεῦσαι χοάς 53

mvp-comment-247-1 βροτῶν 54

mvp-comment-248-1 ὃν ἔκταν’ αὐτή 55 ὅν γ’ 56

mvp-comment-249-1 τῷ τοῦτ’ ἤρεσεν 57

mvp-comment-250-1 δείματος 58

mvp-comment-250-2 δοκεῖν ἐμοί 59

mvp-comment-251-1 θεοὶ πατρῷοι 60

mvp-comment-251-2 συγγένεσθέ γ’ 61

mvp-comment-251-3 ἀλλὰ νῦν 62

mvp-comment-252-1 εἴποιμ’ ἂν τότε 63

mvp-comment-253-1 ἐπὶ σμικρὸν 64 ἐπὶ σμικρῶν 65

mvp-comment-253-2 φράσαι 66

mvp-comment-254-1 σμικροὶ λόγοι 67

mvp-comment-255-1 πατρὸς … δευτέραν ὁμιλίαν 68

mvp-comment-255-2 ἐφέστιον πῆξαι 69

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 70

mvp-comment-256-1 ἔκ τε 71 ἐκ δὲ 72

mvp-comment-256-2 βρύοντα 73

mvp-comment-256-3 ᾧ … γενέσθαι 74

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 75 τοῦ 76 παρόντος 77 του 78

mvp-comment-257-2 Ἡλίῳ δείκνυσι τοὖναρ 79

mvp-comment-258-1 οὐ κάτοιδα, πλὴν 80

mvp-comment-258-2 πέμπει με κείνη 81

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 82

mvp-comment-260-1 ἀβουλίᾳ 83

mvp-comment-260-2 σὺν κακῷ 84

mvp-comment-260-3 μέτει 85

mvp-comment-261-1 ἀλλ’ 86

mvp-comment-261-2 ὦ φίλη 87 τούτων μὲν 88

mvp-comment-262-1 οὐ … θέμις 89 οὐδ’ ὅσιον 90

mvp-comment-262-2 ἐχθρᾶς ἀπὸ γυναικὸς 91

mvp-comment-262-3 κτερίσματ’ 92

mvp-comment-262-4 λουτρὰ 93

mvp-comment-263-1 ἀλλ’ ἢ πνοαῖσιν 94 ῥοαῖσιν 95

mvp-comment-263-2 κρύψον 96

mvp-comment-263-3 νιν 97

mvp-comment-263-4 ἔνθα μή ποτ’ 98 ἔνθεν 99

mvp-comment-263-5 εὐνὴν 100

mvp-comment-264-1 ἀλλ’ ὅταν θάῃν 101

mvp-comment-264-2 The conjecture ἔστ’ ἂν 102 ὅταν 103 σῳζέσθω 104

mvp-comment-264-3 κειμήλἰ 105

mvp-comment-265-1 ἀρχὴν 106 τλημονεστάτη 107

mvp-comment-266-1 ἔβλαστε 108

mvp-comment-267-1 ὅν γ’ … τῷδ’ 109

mvp-comment-267-2 ἐπέστεφε 110

mvp-comment-267-3 442 f. The position of αὐτῇ 111

mvp-comment-267-4 δέξεσθαι 112

mvp-comment-267-5 It seems, then, a reasonable inference that here, where the reference is to future time, he would have written δέξεσθαι 113 δέξασθαι 114

mvp-comment-267-6 444 ff. Join θανὼν ἄτιμος 115

mvp-comment-267-7 ἐμασχαλίσθη 116

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 117

mvp-comment-267-10 ἐξέμαξ ν 118

mvp-comment-267-11 ἆρα μὴ 119

mvp-comment-268-1 οὐκ ἔστιν 120

mvp-comment-268-2 ταῦτα μὲν μέθες· σὺ δὲ 121

mvp-comment-269-1 βοστρύχων ἄκρας φόβας 122

mvp-comment-269-2 κἀμοῦ ταλαίνης 123

mvp-comment-270-1 †ἀλιπαρῆ 124 λιπαρῆ 125

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’ 126 ἀλίπαρον 127

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
to
λιπαρής
: but it seems improbable.

mvp-comment-271-1 ζῶμα 128

mvp-comment-271-2 χλιδαῖς 129

mvp-comment-272-1 προσπίτνουσα 130 αὐτὸν 131

mvp-comment-273-1 ἐξ ὑπερτέρας χερός 132

mvp-comment-273-2 ζῶντ’ 133

mvp-comment-274-1 ἀφνεωτέραις 134

mvp-comment-274-2 στέφωμεν 135

mvp-comment-274-3 δωρούμεθα 136

mvp-comment-275-1 οἶμαι μὲν οὖν 137

mvp-comment-275-2 If μέλον 138 μέλειν 139 μέλον 140

mvp-comment-276-1 σοί 141

mvp-comment-277-1 βροτῶν 142

mvp-comment-278-1 πρὸς εὐσέβειαν 143

mvp-comment-279-1 δράσω 144

mvp-comment-279-2 τὸ γὰρ δίκαιον 145

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 146

mvp-comment-280-1 παρ’ ὑμῶν 147

mvp-comment-281-1 πικρὰν 148 δοκῶ με … τολμήσειν 149 ἔτι 150

mvp-comment-282-1 εἰ μὴ )γὼ 151

mvp-comment-282-2 γνώμας λειπομένα 152

mvp-comment-283-1 ἁ πρόμαντις Δίκα 153

mvp-comment-283-2 δίκαια φερομένα χεροῖν κράτη 154

mvp-comment-284-1 μέτεισιν 155

mvp-comment-284-2 οὐ μακροῦ χρόνου 156

mvp-comment-285-1 ὕπεστί μοι θράσος 157 κλύουσαν 158

mvp-comment-285-2 ἁδυπνόων … ὀνειράτων 159

mvp-comment-286-1 ἀμναστεῖ γ’ ὁ φύσας ς’ 160

mvp-comment-287-1 χαλκόπλακτος 161

mvp-comment-287-2 γένυς 162

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 163

mvp-comment-289-1 καὶ πολύπους καὶ πολύχειρ 164

mvp-comment-290-1 λόχοις 165

mvp-comment-290-2 χαλκόπους 166

mvp-comment-291-1 ἄλεκτρ’ ἄνυμφα 167

mvp-comment-291-2 γάμων ἁμιλλήμαθ’ 168

mvp-comment-291-3 ἐπέβα 169

mvp-comment-292-1 πρὸ τῶνδέ τοι … συνδρῶσιν 170

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

mvp-comment-292-3 (1) Are the words πρὸ τῶνδε 171

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
υ
of
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 172

mvp-comment-293-1 ἀψεγές 173 ἀψεφές 174

mvp-comment-293-2 πελᾶν 175

mvp-comment-294-1 τοῖς δρῶσι 176 τοῖς συνδρῶσιν 177

mvp-comment-295-1 μαντεῖαι βροτῶν 178

mvp-comment-296-1 εὖ κατασχήσει 179

mvp-comment-297-1 ἱππεία 180

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 181

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 182

mvp-comment-299-2 ὁ ποντισθεὶς Μυρτίλος 183

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 184

mvp-comment-300-1 παγχρυσέων δίφρων 185

mvp-comment-301-1 πρόρριζος 186

mvp-comment-301-2 ἐκριφθείς 187

mvp-comment-302-1 ἔλειπεν 188 ἔλιπεν 189 οἴκου 190 οἴκους 191 πω 192

mvp-comment-303-1 πολύπονος 193 αἰκία 194

mvp-comment-304-1 ἀνειμένη 195 μέν 196

mvp-comment-304-2 ὡς ἔοικας 197

mvp-comment-304-3 στρέφει 198

mvp-comment-304-4 Clytaemnestra begins in the same strain as Chrysothemis, who likewise emphasised her reproof by the word αὖ 199

mvp-comment-305-1 μή τοι θυραίαν γ’ 200

mvp-comment-305-2 αἰσχύνειν φίλους 201

mvp-comment-306-1 καίτοι 202

mvp-comment-306-2 δὴ 203 πολλούς 204

mvp-comment-306-3 ἐξεῖπάς με … ὡς 205

mvp-comment-306-4 θρασεῖα 206 τραχεῖα 207

mvp-comment-306-5 ἄρχω 208

mvp-comment-307-1 ὕβριν … οὐκ ἔχω 209 κακῶς κλύουσα 210

mvp-comment-308-1 πατὴρ γάρ 211

mvp-comment-308-2 πρόσχημα 212

mvp-comment-309-1 ἡ γὰρ Δίκη 213

mvp-comment-310-1 ᾗ χρῆν σ’ ἀρήγειν 214

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 215 Ἑλλήνων 216

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
or
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 217

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
by
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 218

mvp-comment-315-1 ἀλλ’ ἀντ’ ἀδελφοῦ δῆτα 219 κτανὼν 220

mvp-comment-315-2 ἀντὶ ἀδελφοῦ 221

mvp-comment-315-3 τἄμ’ 222

mvp-comment-316-1 παῖδες … διπλοῖ 223

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 224

mvp-comment-317-2 ἢ τῶν ἐμῶν Ἅιδης 225

mvp-comment-318-1 δαίσασθαι 226

mvp-comment-318-2 The conj. λῄσασθαι 227

mvp-comment-319-1 πανώλει 228

mvp-comment-319-2 παρεῖτο 229

mvp-comment-319-3 The sense does not absolutely require us to take Μενέλεω δ’ 230

mvp-comment-320-1 ἀβούλου 231

mvp-comment-320-2 κακοῦ γνώμην 232

mvp-comment-321-1 δοκῶ μέν 233

mvp-comment-321-2 εἰ καὶ 234

mvp-comment-322-1 εἰ φωνὴν λάβοι 235

mvp-comment-323-1 τοῖς πεπραγμένοις 236

mvp-comment-324-1 γνώμην δικαίαν σχοῦσα 237

mvp-comment-325-1 ἐρεῖς μὲν οὐχὶ 238 ἐρεῖς 239 ἐρεῖς … μ’ ὡς 240

mvp-comment-325-2 ἄρξασά τι λυπηρὸν 241

mvp-comment-325-3 τάδ’ ἐξήκους’ 242

mvp-comment-326-1 τοῦ τεθνηκότος θ’ ὕπερ 243

mvp-comment-327-1 καὶ μὴν 244

mvp-comment-327-2 λόγους ἐξῆρχές με 245

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 246 πατέρα 247 φὴς 248

mvp-comment-329-1 εἴτ’ οὖν … εἴτε 249

mvp-comment-329-2 λέξω 250 δείξω 251

mvp-comment-330-1 ὡς οὐ δίκῃ γ’ 252 ἔσπασεν 253 πειθὼ 254

mvp-comment-331-1 κυναγὸν 255

mvp-comment-331-2 ποινὰς 256

mvp-comment-331-3 τὰ πολλὰ πνεύματ’ ἔσχ’ 257 τὰ πολλὰ 258 ἔσχε 259

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 260

mvp-comment-331-8 Αὐλίδι 261

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

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.