Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 30

Lewis Campbell (Translator)

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ATH
Lord Theseus, child of Aegeus, our late king.

Oedipus at Colonus. Sophocles. Lewis Campbell (Translator). London, New York and Toronto. 1906.

Current edition Experimental

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 30 focus
ἦ δεῦρο προσστείχοντα κἀξορμώμενον ;
30
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1-116 focus
Translations (4)
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 33 focus
Ich höre, Freund, von dieser, die für mich zugleich
Und sich umherschaut, daß du ganz gelegen kommst,
Bericht von dem zu geben, was uns dunkel blieb
35
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 30 focus
Antigone
Scene III. (Edi. My daughter, is he gone ?
He is, and thou mayst safely speak, for I
Alone am with thee.
Since in your seats my wearied steps have found
Their first I'epose, not inauspicious smile
On Phoebus and on me ! For know, the god
Who 'gainst unhappy (Edipus denounced
Unnumbered woes, foretold that here at last
I should liave rest, within this hallowed grove
These hospitable shades, and finish here
A life of misery : happy those, he said.
Who should receive me, glorious their reward,
And woe to them who strove to drive me hence
Inhuman. This he promised to confirm
By signs undoubted ; thunder, or the sound
Of dreadful earthquake, or the lightning's blast
Launched from the arm of Jove. I doubt it not,
From you some happy omen hither led
My prosperous steps, that first to you I came
Pure to the pure ] and here on this rude seat
Reposed me, could not be the work of chance ;
Wherefore, ye powers ! as Phoebus hath decreed,
Here let me find a period of my woes,
Here end my wi^etched life ! unless the man,
Who long hath groaned beneath the bitterest ills
That mortals feel, still seem to merit more.
Daughters of Ancient Night ! oh, hear me now !
And thou, from great Minerva called, the best
And noblest city, Athens ! pity me,
Pity the shadow of poor CEdipus ;
For, oh ! I am not what I was.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 30 focus
Oedipus
Would one of you
70
A message to him bear?
70
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1-115 focus

Commentary

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

mvp-comment-62-1 Sophocles conceives the union of the Attic communes (commemorated by the annual festival of the συνοίκια in August) as already accomplished by Theseus. Athens is the capital, all the people of Attica being reckoned as its citizens (

ἁπάντων ἤδη ξυντελούντων ἐς αὐτήν,
Thuc. 2.15 ). Isocr. or. 10 § 18 speaks of Theseus as
ὁ λεγόμενος μὲν Αἰγέως, γενόμενος δ’ ἐκ Ποσειδῶνος
. Aegeus, too, was said to have been king of Athens: see on 297
; and was the eponymus of one of the ten Attic tribes (
Αἰγηὶς φυλή,
Andoc. or. 1 § 62 ). He gave the title to a lost play of Sophocles.

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

1-116. mvp-comment-1-1 The scene of the πρόλογος, ll. 1-116, is probably on the north side of Colonus, with Athens in the distance. See Introduction, p. 282. The spot so familiar to the audience (οὐ λόγοις τιμώμεν' ἀλλὰ τῇ συνουσίᾳ, infr. 63-64) would probably be recalled by the representation on the stage of some striking objects, especially those which marked the religio loci. Oedipus enters (right?), led by Antigone, and sits down in the middle of the proscenium, where he remains until Antigone descries the approach of the chorus.