Sophocles Philoctetes 1437

ed. Lewis Campbell

οὗτος σὲ καὶ σὺ τόνδ'. ἐγὼ δ᾽ ᾿Ασκληπιὸν

Philoctetes. Sophocles. ed. Lewis Campbell. Oxford. 1879.

Current edition Experimental

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Greek) (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Translations (1)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1445 focus
Du, der willkommenen Ruf mir gesandt
Und endlich erscheint,
1405
Wie freudig gehorch' ich deinem Gebot!

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-765-1 Ἀσκληπιὸν 1

mvp-comment-765-2 Tradition placed Sophocles in a near relation to the cult of Asclepius. The poet is said to have been invested with the ‘priesthood’ (

ἱερωσύνη
, Vit. Soph. § 6) of the hero Alcon, a healing-god akin to Asclepius; indeed, the name
Ἄλκ‐ων
is cognate, if
Ἀσκληπιός
be
Ἀλεξ‐ήπιος
, by metathesis of
σκ
=
ξ
: cp. Preller I. 423 n. 2. A paean to Asclepius by Sophocles was extant in antiquity (Lucian Enc. Dem. 27 etc.), and legend declared that the god had visited the poet's hearth ( Plut. Num. 4 § 6).

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

1433-1437. mvp-comment-945-1 καὶ σοὶ τόνδ'] These words are διὰ μέσου. Heracles turns for a moment to Neoptolemus, and then resumes his address to Philoctetes. ταῦτα refers generally to all that precedes. Neoptolemus must aid Philoctetes and not forget his obligation to the bow of Heracles.

1437. mvp-comment-949-1 ἐγὼ δ' ᾿Ασκληπιόν] Having so far broken ground with the supernatural, the poet carries the celestial machinery one step further. Machaon was the healer of Philoctetes, according to the common story which is followed supr. 1333. in the anticipation of Neoptolemus. Here it is Asclepius himself.