ἃ τὸν μέγαν Πακτωλὸν εὔχρυσον νέμεις,
Philoctetes. Sophocles. ed. Lewis Campbell. Oxford. 1879.
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Current edition Experimental
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Greek) (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
Editions (1)
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 391-402 focus
Χορός
ὀρεστέρα παμβῶτι Γᾶ, μᾶτερ αὐτοῦ Διός,
ἃ τὸν μέγαν Πακτωλὸν εὔχρυσον νέμεις,
σὲ κἀκεῖ, μᾶτερ πότνιʼ, ἐπηυδώμαν,
395
ὅτʼ ἐς τόνδʼ Ἀτρειδᾶν ὕβρις πᾶσʼ ἐχώρει,
ὅτε τὰ πάτρια τεύχεα παρεδίδοσαν,
ἰὼ μάκαιρα ταυροκτόνων
400
λεόντων ἔφεδρε, τῷ Λαρτίου
σέβας ὑπέρτατον.
ὀρεστέρα παμβῶτι Γᾶ, μᾶτερ αὐτοῦ Διός,
ἃ τὸν μέγαν Πακτωλὸν εὔχρυσον νέμεις,
σὲ κἀκεῖ, μᾶτερ πότνιʼ, ἐπηυδώμαν,
395
ὅτʼ ἐς τόνδʼ Ἀτρειδᾶν ὕβρις πᾶσʼ ἐχώρει,
ὅτε τὰ πάτρια τεύχεα παρεδίδοσαν,
ἰὼ μάκαιρα ταυροκτόνων
400
λεόντων ἔφεδρε, τῷ Λαρτίου
σέβας ὑπέρτατον.
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 392 focus
NEO
How to shield me, how to aid me?
How to shield me, how to aid me?
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 391 focus
Bergmutter, Erd', Alnährerin, welcher Zeus selbst entsproß,
1
385
Die waltet bei Paktolos' großem, goldnem Strom!
Schon dort, hehre Mutter, dort rief ich zu dir,
Da schmachvollen Hohn ihm des Atreus Geschlecht bot,
Da sie des Vaters Wehr ihm an Laertes' Sohn
Hingaben, als des Ruhms höchsten Preis,
390
du Sel'ge, die auf Berglöwen hoch,
Den Stierwürgern, thront!
Bergmutter, Erd', Alnährerin, welcher Zeus selbst entsproß,
1
385
Die waltet bei Paktolos' großem, goldnem Strom!
Schon dort, hehre Mutter, dort rief ich zu dir,
Da schmachvollen Hohn ihm des Atreus Geschlecht bot,
Da sie des Vaters Wehr ihm an Laertes' Sohn
Hingaben, als des Ruhms höchsten Preis,
390
du Sel'ge, die auf Berglöwen hoch,
Den Stierwürgern, thront!
Philoktetes.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 392 focus
Philoctetes
Well, I now go; but first address this land.
Farewell thou mansion, guardian of my life!
Ye Nymphs, that o'er th' irriguous vales preside,
Farewell, and thou loud roar of dashing waves !
1455
Oft hath your foam within this cavern'd rock,
Driv'n by the stormy South, bedew'd my head.
And thou, Hermæan mountain, who my groans
Hast oft re-echoed in my storms of woe!
Now, O ye fountains, and ye dulcet streams,
I leave you, now I leave you: this my thoughts
Never presaged. Farewell, thou wave-wash'd shore
Of Lemnos; speed my course, and send me safe
Whither my glorious destiny now calls,
1465
The counsels of my friends, and that high pow'r
Whose sovereign will these great events ordain'd!
Well, I now go; but first address this land.
Farewell thou mansion, guardian of my life!
Ye Nymphs, that o'er th' irriguous vales preside,
Farewell, and thou loud roar of dashing waves !
1455
Oft hath your foam within this cavern'd rock,
Driv'n by the stormy South, bedew'd my head.
And thou, Hermæan mountain, who my groans
Hast oft re-echoed in my storms of woe!
Now, O ye fountains, and ye dulcet streams,
I leave you, now I leave you: this my thoughts
Never presaged. Farewell, thou wave-wash'd shore
Of Lemnos; speed my course, and send me safe
Whither my glorious destiny now calls,
1465
The counsels of my friends, and that high pow'r
Whose sovereign will these great events ordain'd!
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 391-400 focus
Chorus
Goddess of the hills, Earth all-nourishing, mother of Zeus himself, you through whose realm the great Pactolus
rolls golden sands! There, there also, dread Mother, I called upon your name, when all the insults of the Atreids landed upon this man, when they handed over his father’s armor, that sublime marvel,
395
to the son of
Laertes
. Hear it, blessed queen, who rides on bull-slaughtering lions!
400
Goddess of the hills, Earth all-nourishing, mother of Zeus himself, you through whose realm the great Pactolus
rolls golden sands! There, there also, dread Mother, I called upon your name, when all the insults of the Atreids landed upon this man, when they handed over his father’s armor, that sublime marvel,
395
to the son of
Laertes
. Hear it, blessed queen, who rides on bull-slaughtering lions!
400
Commentary
Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))
Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus
391-402;507-518. mvp-comment-280-1 The Chorus show their interest and support Neoptolemus by these strains, which are interwoven with the action, like those in O. T. 660 foll., 689 foll., О. С. 1447-1456, 1477-1485. They wish to assist their master by simulating hatred of the Atreidae and sympathy with Philoctetes. That both feelings are merely assumed, and that the Chorus really understand the situation, is obvious from the exaggerated strength of expression in 510, εἰ δὲ πικρούς, ἄναξ, ἔχθεις ᾿Ατρείδας. Their feigned excitement, to which the mixture of dochmiac and iambo-bacchic metre is well suited, was no doubt expressed with gestures accompanying the recitation, by the two half-choruses, of strophe and antistrophe severally.
392. mvp-comment-282-1 ἃ . . νέμεις) 'That givest the mighty river Pactolus to be rich in gold.' For νέμω, meaning, 'To dispense or give forth,' cp. O. C. 687, Κηφισοῦ νομάδες ῥεέθρων. εὔχρυσον is a supplementary predicate = ὥστε εὔχρυσον εἶναι οἱ ῥεῖν. μέγας is, 'Deserving awe and reverence.' Cp. Plato, Phaedo, 62 Β, ὁ . . ἐν ἀπορρήτοις λόγος . . μέγας τέ τίς μοι φαίνεται καὶ οὐ ῥάδιος διϊδεῖν. The Pactolus comes from the mountains of Phrygia, and its peculiar virtue is attributed to the bounty of the universal mother, whose home was there.