Sophocles Philoctetes 342

mvp-comment-696-1 ἥσθην ¹

mvp-comment-696-2 ἀμὸν ² γε ³

mvp-comment-697-1 ὧν … σου τυχεῖν ⁴

mvp-comment-697-2 ἐφίεμαι ⁵

mvp-comment-698-1 τὰς μὲν ἐκ θεῶν τύχας δοθείσας ⁶ ἐκ ⁷

mvp-comment-699-1 ἑκουσίοισιν ⁸

mvp-comment-699-2 ἔγκεινται ⁹

mvp-comment-700-1 ἠγρίωσαι ¹⁰ οὔτε … τε ¹¹

mvp-comment-701-1 εὐνοίᾳ ¹² εὔνοιάν σοι λέγων ¹³

mvp-comment-701-2 δυσμενῆ θ’ ¹⁴

mvp-comment-702-1 Ζῆνα … ὅρκιον ¹⁵

mvp-comment-703-1 γράφου φρενῶν ἔσω ¹⁶

mvp-comment-703-2 γράφου ¹⁷

mvp-comment-704-1 σὺ γὰρ ¹⁸

mvp-comment-704-2 ἐκ θείας τύχης ¹⁹

mvp-comment-705-1 τὸν ἀκαλυφῆ σηκὸν ²⁰

mvp-comment-705-2 κρύφιος οἰκουρῶν ὄφις ²¹ οἰκουρῶν ²²

mvp-comment-705-3 The sacred precinct of Chrysè, with the serpent, is depicted on a

(wine-jar) of about 400 C.B. , now in the Campana collection at the Louvre. The image of Chrysè stands in the open air on a low pedestal; just in front of it is a low and rude altar, with fire burning on it; close to this is the serpent, at which Agamemnon is striking with his sceptre, while the wounded Philoctetes lies on the ground, with Achilles and others around him. See Introd. § 21.

mvp-comment-706-1 παῦλαν ²³ τυχεῖν ²⁴ ἐντυχεῖν ²⁵ ἂν τυχεῖν ²⁶

mvp-comment-706-2 μήποτ’ ²⁷

mvp-comment-707-1 ἕως ἂν ²⁸ ὡς ἂν ²⁹

mvp-comment-707-2 αὑτὸς ἥλιος ³⁰ αὑτὸς ³¹ οὗτος ³² οὗτος ³³ ταύτῃ, τῇδε ³⁴

mvp-comment-707-3 αἴρῃ ³⁵

mvp-comment-708-1 ἑκὼν αὐτὸς ³⁶

mvp-comment-709-1 ἐντυχὼν ³⁷

mvp-comment-709-2 τῶν παρ’ ἡμῖν … Ἀσκληπιδῶν ³⁸

mvp-comment-709-3 This verse implies that both the sons of Asclepius were to have a part in the cure; and so in 1378 f. the plural is used. But, in the prevailing form of the legend, Machaon alone was the healer; probably because, in post-Homeric poetry, Machaon was the representative of surgery, as his brother was of medicine (cp. Preller, 1. p. 409). So Lesches in the Little Iliad, acc. to Proclus, p. 481 ed. Gaisford: the Orphic

, 342 ff., where Machaon uses a powder made from a stone called : Tzetzes, Posthom. 580 ff., where the stone is : Propertius 2. 1. 59. An epic poet, Dionysius, represented Apollo as putting Ph. to sleep, when Machaon amputated the diseased part (Tzetzes on Lycophron 911: schol. Pind. P. 1. 109 ). Quintus Smyrnaeus is singular in making the healer Podaleirius (9. 463).

mvp-comment-709-4 The scene of the cure occurs on a fragment of a bronze mirror (found in south Etruria, and ascribed to the 5th or 4th cent. B.C.), now in the archaeological Museum of the University of Bologna. It bears an Etruscan legend, Pheltute (Philoctetes), Machan (Machaon). The healer is in the act of bandaging the hero's foot; a sponge and a box of ointment rest on a sort of camp-stool (

) between them. (Milani, Mito di F., pl. III. 49; pp. 104 ff.)

mvp-comment-709-5 This verse has been thought inconsistent with 1437: but see n. there.

mvp-comment-710-1 νόσου μαλαχθῇς ³⁹ λωφᾶν ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-710-2 ξὺν τοῖσδε τόξοις ⁴¹ ἔχων ⁴²

mvp-comment-710-3 πέρσυς φανῇς ⁴³

mvp-comment-710-4 The language here is not strictly logical. It implies that, before the

can come, he must not only have been relieved ( ), but also have taken Troy. The explanation seems to be simply that the writer was thinking of the victory as an event which was to follow closely on the cure. So, having used , he subjoined , instead of making the second statement independent of ( e.g., ). It is much as if one said, ‘You will never be cured until you find health and glory at Troy,’—instead of, ‘find health at Troy,—where you will also find glory.’ Schneidewin and others compare Ai. 106 —110: . The parallel would be closer if, there, we had ,—meaning .

mvp-comment-710-5 We cannot remove the difficulty by supposing that

denotes merely alleviation, not cure; for the poet clearly thinks of the cure as preceding the victory (919 f.: 1345 ff.: 1424 ff.).

mvp-comment-711-1 ὡς δ’ οἶδα ταῦτα ⁴⁴

mvp-comment-712-1 γὰρ ⁴⁵

mvp-comment-712-2 ἡμῖν ἔστιν ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-712-3 Ἕλενος ⁴⁷ ἀριστόμαντις ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-713-1 ὡς δεῖ γενέσθαι ταῦτα ⁴⁹ δεῖ ⁵⁰ χρὴ ⁵¹

mvp-comment-714-1 θέρους ⁵² πᾶσαν ⁵³

mvp-comment-714-2 δίδωσ’ … ἑαυτόν ⁵⁴ κτείνειν ⁵⁵

mvp-comment-715-1 καλὴ γὰρ ἡ )πίκτησις ⁵⁶ Ἑλλήνων ἕνα ⁵⁷ κριθέντ’ ἄριστον ⁵⁸ τοῦτο μὲν ⁵⁹ εἶτα ⁶⁰ εἶτα ⁶¹

1313. mvp-comment-868-1 ἄριστα] Sc. τῶν ζώντων.

1314-1315. mvp-comment-869-1 ἥσθην.. αὐτόν τέ μ΄] 'Your praises of my father and of myself too give me a thrill of joy.' For this accusative, see E. on L. § 16. p. 23. For the aorist, see ib. § 32. p. 55. In order to avoid the double trisyllabic foot some editors prefer τὸν ἀμόν, the reading of T, for which they compare several places of the Electra. But Electra and Orestes are speaking of Agamemnon as the father of them both. Neoptolemus stands alone as the son of Achilles. And, with αὐτόν τέ μ' immediately following, the plural word is scarcely justifiable. Nauck conjectures ἥσθην γε πατέρα.

1315. mvp-comment-870-1 Whether με or ἐμέ is preferable here is a point that can hardly be determined. ὧν δέ σου τυχεῖν ἐφιέμαι] In returning to the dangerous theme, Neoptolemus tries to avoid offence ( cp. supr. 1283, εἶτα νουθετεῖς ἐμέ) by putting his exhortation in the form of a request.

1318. mvp-comment-871-1 ἑκουσίοισιν] Cp. Eur. Suppl. 151, σοφήν γ᾽ ἔλεξας τήνδ᾽ ἑκούσιον φυγήν.

1319-1320. mvp-comment-872-1 This strain of reflection about the voluntary and involuntary reminds us that we are in the age of Socrates.

1321. mvp-comment-873-1 ἠγρίωσαι] 'Art become intractable.' Cp. the use of ἀγριαίνω in Plat. Rep. 6. 493 B, 501 E, Theaet. 151 C.

1322. mvp-comment-874-1 Schndw. has observed that the reading of L points to a v. r. εὔνοιαν λέγων. Cp. O. C. 390.

1324. mvp-comment-875-1 Ζῆνα.. καλῶ] ὄρκιον is either (1) attributive, 'And I invoke Zeus, who makes oaths binding.' Cp. Plat. Rep. 5. 451 A, προσκυνῶ δὲ ᾿Αδράστειαν, ὦ Γλαύκων, χάριν οὗ μέλλω λέγειν: Eur. Hipp. 1025, ὅρκιόν σοι Ζῆνα.. ὄμνυμι. Or (2) 'I call on Zeus to witness my solemn word.' The former (1) is probably right.

1325. mvp-comment-876-1 γράφου] The middle voice ( Essay on L. § 31. p. 53 ) is used as in Aesch. Prom. 789, ἣν ἐγγράφου σὺ μνήμοσιν δέλτοις φρενῶν.

1326. mvp-comment-877-1 νοσεῖς τόδ' ἄλγος] Cogn. acc. i. e. ἔχεις τήνδε ἀλγεινὴν νόσον.

1327. mvp-comment-878-1 πελασθείς] 'In consequence of having come near.' The participle is parallel to ἐκ θείας τύχης, which it helps to explain. Cp. the epexegetic use of λοχευθείς in O. C. 1322.

1327-1328. mvp-comment-879-1 The serpent guarded the shrine of the nymph Chrysa, who is sometimes identified with Athena. Cp. the sacred serpent of Athena Polias in the Erectheum.

1329. mvp-comment-880-1 ἐντυχεῖν] For this Auratus and Elmsley substituted ἂν τυχών, and Porson, followed by recent editors, conj. ἂν τυχεῖν. But for the aor. infin. in prophecy, cp. Aesch. Prom. 667, κεἰ μὴ θέλοι, πυρωπὸν ἐκ Διὸς μολεῖν | κεραυνόν. παῦλαν is best taken as the subject of ἐντυχεῖν, sc. σοί.

1330. mvp-comment-881-1 ὡς ἄν] 'Whilst.' Not for ἕως ἄν, but an instance of the temporal use of as being accompanied by ἄν. See Essay on L. § 28, 4. P 47.

1331. mvp-comment-882-1 ταύτῃ μὲν τῇδε δ'] He points first to the right and then to the left of the λογεῖον.

1333. mvp-comment-883-1 τῶν . . ᾿Ασκληπιδών] The genitive does not depend primarily on ἐντυχών, but is causal with μαλαχθῆς. See L. and S. s. v. ἐντυγχάνω. ' And by the sons of Asclepius in our camp. having there met with them, you shall be soothed from the pain of this disease.' For the resumption of παῦλαν in μαλαχθῇς, cp. Aj. 106-10, θανεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν οὐ τί πω θέλω.. πρὶν ἂν .. θάνῃ. In infr. 1437, Heracles further reveals what is still unknown to Neoptolemus, that Asclepius will himself come to heal Philoctetes. μαλαχθῇς does not guarantee a complete cure, perhaps because the common story (as in Pindar) represented Philoctetes as still lame. Blaydes conjectures μεταστῆς τῆσδε But such harsh assonance is improbable here.

1335. mvp-comment-884-1 ξύν is used in two slightly different senses ( cp. Shak. Jul. C. 3. 1, 'As here by Caesar and by you cut off'). For ξύν of the instrument (literally, 'With the help of') cp. Aesch. Pers. 755, πλοῦτον ἐκτήσω ξὺν αἰχμῇ: Aj. 1245, ἢ σὺν δόλῳ κεντήσεθ' οἱ λελειμμένοι.

1336. mvp-comment-885-1 ὡς] 'How.'

1338. mvp-comment-886-1 ἀριστόμαντις] 'Prophet-prince.' On the compound, see E. on L. § 55. p. 101.

1339. mvp-comment-887-1 ὡς] 'That.'

1341-1342. mvp-comment-888-1 ἢ.. λέγων] 'Else, should this word of his be falsified, he willingly offers himself for death.' For the combination of ἤ with the hypothetical clause, cp. Plat. Rep. 6. 490 A, ἢ ἀλαζόνι ὄντι (i. e. ἐὰν ἀλάζων ᾗ) μηδαμῇ μετεῖναι φιλοσοφίας ἀληθινῆς. And for the mode of expression, cp. supr. 618, 9.

1343. mvp-comment-889-1 Philoctetes had heard some of this before (l. 604 foll.), but in a narrative which he had learned to disbelieve (l. 1306). Now he knows it on the authority of one who has given a pledge of his good faith. συγχώρει] · 'Agree.' Cp. Hdt. 3. 83, ὡς συνεχώρεον οἱ ἐξ ἐπὶ τούτοισι.

1344. mvp-comment-890-1 καλὴ γὰρ ἡ ᾿πίκτησις] «For it is a noble prospect of gain.' The compound word with ἐπι- corresponds to the cumulative statement, 'Not only to be healed but to take Troy moreover and to win this great renown.' ἕνα] 'Above all others.' Cp. Aj. 1340, ἕν᾽ ἄνδρ᾿ ἰδεῖν ἄριστον, and note.