Sophocles Oedipus at Colonus 33

mvp-comment-33-1 As 78 shows, the man who has just entered is supposed to belong to Colonus, which, like the rest of Attica, was subject to the king of Athens (v. 67) . The designation ξένος was probably suggested merely by ὦ ξεῖν’ in 33 .

mvp-comment-33-2 τὰ πλείον’ ¹

mvp-comment-34-1 οὐχ ἁγνὸν πατεῖν ²

mvp-comment-35-1 τοῦ θεῶν νομίζεται ³

mvp-comment-36-1 ἄθικτος οὐδ’ οἰκητός ⁴

mvp-comment-37-1 Γῆς τε καὶ Σκότου κόραι ⁵

mvp-comment-38-1 τίνων … κλύων ⁶

mvp-comment-39-1 πάνθ’ ὁρώσας ⁷

mvp-comment-39-2 Εὐμενίδας ⁸

mvp-comment-40-1 ἄλλα δ’ ἀλλαχοῦ καλά ⁹

mvp-comment-41-1 μὲν ¹⁰

mvp-comment-41-2 τὸν ἱκέτην ¹¹

mvp-comment-41-3 δεξαίατο ¹²

mvp-comment-42-1 ὡς ¹³

mvp-comment-42-2 γῆς ¹⁴

mvp-comment-42-3 >ἂν ἐξέλθοιμ’ ¹⁵

mvp-comment-43-1 τί δ’ ἐστὶ τοῦτο; ¹⁶

mvp-comment-43-2 ξυμφορᾶς ξύνθημ’ ἐμῆς ¹⁷

mvp-comment-44-1 ἐμοί ¹⁸

mvp-comment-44-2 τοὐξανιστάναι ¹⁹

mvp-comment-45-1 δίχ’ ²⁰

mvp-comment-45-2 ἐνδείξω τί δρῶ ²¹

mvp-comment-46-1 ξεῖνε ²²

mvp-comment-46-2 μὴ μ’ ἀτιμάσῃς ²³

mvp-comment-47-1 τίς ἔσθ’ ²⁴

mvp-comment-48-1 κἀγώ ²⁵

mvp-comment-49-1 Ποσειδῶν ²⁶

mvp-comment-49-2 ἐν δ’ ²⁹

mvp-comment-50-1 Προμηθεύς ³⁰

mvp-comment-50-2 τόπον ³¹

mvp-comment-51-1 ὀδός ³²

mvp-comment-51-2 χαλκόπους ³³

mvp-comment-52-1 The name — though κολωνός was so familiar a word — is traced in the usual Greek fashion to a hero Colonus, the ἐπώνυμος of the deme; and, to justify the epithet of the place, ἵππιος , he is called ἱππότης , horseman, or knight. In the roads about Colonus (

715 ) men first learned to use Poseidon's gift of the horse. With τόνδ’ cp. 65

τοῦδε τοῦ θεοῦ

. In the case of the tribes, at least, statues of eponymi were familiar to Athenians (cp. Aristoph. Pax 1183

τὸν ἀνδριάντα τὸν Πανδίονος

). A statue of the hero Colonus on the stage would be an effective device for giving greater vividness to the local legend. The speaker could point to it with dramatic fitness, since Antigone is with her blind father.

mvp-comment-53-1 ἀρχηγός ³⁴

mvp-comment-54-1 And all (the δημόται , supplied κατὰ σύνεσιν from γύαι as= δῆμος ) bear his name in common ( κοινόν , in their capacity as Κολωνεῖς ), being designated thereby. τοὔνομα , acc. of object to φέρουσι , is also cognate accus. to ὠνομασμένοι , which is added to mark the fixity of the deme-name,—a title not merely ornamental (like Ἐρεχθεῖδαι for Athenians), but regular.

mvp-comment-55-1 σοι ³⁵

mvp-comment-55-2 λόγοις ³⁶

mvp-comment-56-1 τῇ ξυνουσίᾳ ³⁷

mvp-comment-57-1 ἦ γάρ ³⁸

mvp-comment-58-1 καὶ κάρτα ³⁹

mvp-comment-58-2 θεοῦ ⁴⁰

mvp-comment-59-1 Elmsley reads ἄρχει τίς αὐτῶν; " Who is their king?" But Oed. rather asks,

It would be a prosaic objection that the question is hardly suited to the heroic age of

πατρικαὶ βασιλεῖαι

(Thuc. I. 13) .

mvp-comment-59-2 ἢ ’πὶ τῷ πλ. λόγος; ⁴¹

mvp-comment-60-1 ἐκ ⁴³

mvp-comment-61-1 οὗτος … τίς (ὢν) … κρατεῖ ⁴⁴

mvp-comment-61-2 λόγῳ τε καὶ σθένει ⁴⁵

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 (

Thuc. 2.15 ). Isocr. or. 10 § 18 speaks of Theseus as . 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.

mvp-comment-63-1 ἆρ’ ἄν τις … μόλοι; ⁴⁶

mvp-comment-63-2 αὐτῷ ⁴⁷

mvp-comment-63-3 πομπός ⁴⁸

mvp-comment-64-1 ὡς πρὸς τί ⁴⁹

mvp-comment-64-2 The reading and explanation of the verse hinge on the question whether ὡς (1) belongs to πρὸς τί , = "with what view?" or (2) is final, = "in order that." Now (1) is strongly supported by two other places of Soph., in each of which this formula stands, as here, at the beginning of a question: O. T. 1174

Tr.1182

ΥΑ. ὡς πρὸς τί πίστιν τήνδ’ ἄγαν ἐπιστρέφεις;

The simple πρὸς τί ; (also freq. in Soph.) = merely "with reference to what?" while ὡς πρὸς τί = "with reference to what, in your conception or intention ( ὡς )?": hence the latter is appropriate when the questioner cannot imagine the agent's motive.

mvp-comment-64-3 καταρτύσων μολεῖν ⁵⁰

mvp-comment-64-4 With L's μόλοι ( ὡς being then final), we must render: "That Theseus might come with what view ( πρὸς τί ), —to say or to arrange (what)?" The opt. can stand (in spite of

72 ), since

ἆρ’ ἂν μόλοι;

(70) puts the case hypothetically: see on 11

. But: ( a ) the double μόλοι , at the end of two successive verses, is intolerable. Dindorf, therefore, conjecturally reads παρῇ , which Wecklein and others adopt. ( b ) The antithesis between λέξων and καταρτύσων is hardly clear. Wecklein explains, πρὸς ποῖον λόγον ἢ ἔργον; Certainly τί λέξων ἢ δράσων could mean, "for what conceivable purpose?" (cp. O.T. 71

ὅ τι δρῶν ἢ τί φωνῶν

): but καταρτύσων would be a very strange substitute for δράσων .

mvp-comment-65-1 μὴ ⁵¹

mvp-comment-66-1 ὁρῶντα ⁵²

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.

37. mvp-comment-28-1 οὐχ ἁγνὸν πατεῖν i. e. ὃν πατεῖν οὐχ ὅσιόν ἐστιν. Cp. Eur. Heracl. 1011, οὐχ ἁγνός εἰμι τῷ κτανόντι κατθανεῖν.

38. mvp-comment-29-1 τοῦ θεῶν νομίζεται Το which of the Gods is it assigned by custom?

41. mvp-comment-30-1 What is their dread name, that I may address my prayers to them? i. e. τίσιν ἂν εὐξαίμην, κλύων αὐτῶν τὸ σεμνὸν ὄνομα ;

42. mvp-comment-31-1 ὁ γ᾽ ἐνθάδ' * ἄν The MSS, Suidas, and Eustathius agree in reading ὤν, which has been altered to avoid the omission of ἄν. For this see Essay on Language § 27. p. 45, and cp. Ar. Av. 180, πόλος; τίνα τρόπον; ΠΕ. ὥσπερ εἴποι τὶς τόπος, as well as Aesch. Ag. 339, τοιαῦτά τοι γυναικὸς ἐξ ἐμοῦ κλύοις: Ibid. 1163: Supp. 727. But ὤν has no meaning here and ἄν is better.

43. mvp-comment-32-1 ἄλλα δ᾽ ἀλλαχοῦ καλά These words are best taken generally. The different names of the Furies illustrate the truth that Different customs are honoured in different places. Cp. Pind. Fr. 200, Ἄλλο δ᾽ ἄλλοισιν νόμισμα. The Stranger, while insisting on the sanctity of the spot, is aware that customs vary. His gentleness and moderation contrast with the fanaticism of the chorus. The name Ἐρινύες is avoided.

44. mvp-comment-33-1 The MS. reading τόνδ' is shown by the metre to be wrong. Cp. infr. 52 and note. *τὸν ἱκέτην = their suppliant.

45. mvp-comment-34-1 *ὡς The meaning is much the same whether we read ὥστε, with the MSS, or ὡς, which is favoured by the interpretation of the Scholiast, and is on the whole more probable. For I will not depart; cp. infr. 1528,9. The reading of the MSS, ὥστε, is only explainable, if at all, as a confused or mixed thought; Oedipus expressing in a single clause his prayer that he may not be driven away, and his determination to remain, That I may remain in this land which I will not leave. Cp. Thuc. 3. 34, ὥστε ἢν μηδὲν ἀρεστὸν λέγῃ, πάλιν αὐτὸν καταστήσειν, where the fut. inf. arises from a slight confusion of a similar kind. ὡs is simpler and better: i e. May they be kind to me, for I mean to stay.

45. mvp-comment-34-2 The vagueness of γῆς τῆσδε has been objected to. But the meaning of Oedipus is that he is to rest in the soil of Attica. Cp. 84, 5, ἕδρας.. τῆσδε γῆς.

46. mvp-comment-35-1 τί δ᾽ ἔστι τοῦτο What does this mean? The Stranger is awestruck by the unexpected firmness of Oedipus.

46. mvp-comment-35-2 ξυμφορᾶς ξύνθημ᾿ ἐμῆς The word that sums my destiny. For ξυμφορά, of the position in which one is placed by destiny, cp. Τr. 1145,

ξύνθημα (from συντιθέσθαι) is an appointed sign, generally in speech or writing, and especially one giving direction at a critical moment. Oedipus is thinking of the language of the oracles which he remembers. Cp. Trach. 157, δέλτον ἐγγεγραμμένην | ξυνθήματ'. Whether the notion of comprising much in little belongs to the word accidentally, or is assisted by some association from συντιθέναι (Εl. 673, ἐν βραχεῖ συνθεὶς λέγω), is not easy to determine. Cp. inf. 586, ἀλλ' ἐν βραχεῖ δὴ τήνδε μ' ἐξαιτεῖ χάριν. Oedipus means that in praying the dread goddesses to receive him to rest finally in Attica, he is uttering the word which expresses his condition and destiny. The broken line has here the effect, not of hurried excitement, but of intense solemnity.

47. mvp-comment-36-1 Indeed I am no less afraid to raise you up, without the city knowing of it.' By raising him from sanctuary, the Stranger would become responsible for his protection. The conjecture οὐδ᾽ ἐμοί τοι, suggested by the errors of the MSS, introduces a false emphasis, οὐδέ refers to a suppressed clause. The Stranger has told him to depart, and he has expressed his determination to remain. After his last words the Stranger is unwilling to incur the responsibility of removing him. But without the authority of the state,' he says, I can no more remove you than I can let you remain. μέντοι is therefore preferable.

48. mvp-comment-37-1 πρίν γ᾽ ἂν .. δρῶ (1) ‘Until I have first shown the matter, (so as to be advised) what I must do: (the indirect question depends on the notion of consulting implied in ἐνδείξω): or (2), if δρῶ is taken as indicative, what I am doing. This (2) is simpler and more natural. Cp. τί δρᾷς ; infr. 829, Phil. 974.

50. mvp-comment-38-1 ὧν σε προστρέπω φράσαι In respect of the things which I entreat you to tell.

52. mvp-comment-39-1 τίς ἔσθ The omission of δέ, though supported only by Vat., and Par. B., is favoured by the context, since there is no opposition between this and the previous line. If δέ is genuine, the words must be regarded as a repetition verbatim of the question in 38.

53. mvp-comment-40-1 You shall know all that I myself know.' For καί, see Essay on Language § 25. a. 1, p. 42, O. T. 1239 and note. Poseidon is the guardian deity of the whole region: particular spots are sacred to several deities, such as the fire-bringer, the Titan Prometheus. 55, ff. Apollodorus, quoted by the Scholiast, mentions an altar of Prometheus in the temple of Athena in the Academy, and at the entrance of the same temple a pedestal on which was represented in relief an altar of Hephaestus and Prometheus in common, together with the figures of both deities.

56. mvp-comment-41-1 ὃν δ᾽ ἐπιστείβεις τόπον .. Ἀθηνῶν But the place where you rest, or the place where you have set your foot, is called the brazen-floored threshold of this land, the stay of Athens. Cp. Od. 17. 196, where οὐδόν is the ground.

57. mvp-comment-42-1 χαλκόπους Lit. Having a foundation of brass. A compound adjective, in which, as in πυκνόπτεροι supr. 17, ὑψίποδες, Ο. Τ. 866, the force of the termination is partially lost. The meaning is nearly the same as in 1591, χαλκοῖς βάθροισι γῆθεν ἐρριζωμένον. χάλκεος = indissoluble, as in Pind. Pyth. 10. 27, ὁ χάλκεος οὐρανός. On the question of reconciling this passage with 1590, where Oedipus is described as halting when he reached the καταρράκτης ὀδός, out of sight of the spectators, see the Introduction to this play, p. 282.

58. mvp-comment-43-1 ἔρεισμ᾽ Ἀθηνῶν Sophocles supposes the tradition which associated the tomb of Oedipus with the glory of Athens to have been foreshadowed in the local belief: an anticipation similar to that by which the Athenians are called Theseidae in Theseus' time, 1. 1066. Schndw. supposes ἔρεισμα to mean that this threshold of the land' was part of the rock on which the city was built. But though this fancy may have been included in the early belief, it does not agree with the word τόπον in l. 56. Cp. Pind. Fr. 46, Ἑλλάδος ἔρεισμα, κλειναὶ Ἀθῆναι.

59. mvp-comment-44-1 Colonus, god of horsemen, who is present with them here.' Cp. 65, τοῦδε τοῦ θεοῦ. There is no need of altering τόνδε into τόν: the presence of the guardian deity, who may or may not have been represented by a statue on the stage, is assumed.

62-63. mvp-comment-45-1 οὐ λόγοις τιμώμεν, ἀλλὰ τῇ ξυνουσίᾳ πλέον Honoured, not in story, but more highly, by loving resort. Thus the poet honours scenes which were familiar to his audience, and probably his own home. They were as yet uncelebrated in poetry, and he was going to make them famous. If recent scholars are right in assigning the Phoenissae to the spring of 410 B.C., the allusion in Phoen. 1707 would be subsequent to O. C., according to the reasoning on p. 278, supra.

66. mvp-comment-46-1 Have they a ruler, or, are the people allowed to have a voice?' The reading ἄρχει τίς..; cannot be defended. The inversion, although of course allowable, gives a false emphasis.

67. mvp-comment-47-1 This place depends for its government upon the king in the city.' On the use of ἐκ, see Essay on Language § 19. p. 27. There are many indications of the poet's wish to carry the spectators into the past. Cp. infr. 303, μακρὰ κέλευθος, not applicable to a time when Colonus was a suburb of Athens.

68. mvp-comment-48-1 And who is thus supreme in word and power?' The emphatic use of τίς, as the real predicate, = τίς ὤν, accounts for the inversion. Essay on Language § 41. p. 78. See Introd. p. 277.

70. mvp-comment-49-1 Could any one from you (i. e. from near Colonus) go to fetch him?' πομπός, = στελῶν in infr. 298.

71. mvp-comment-50-1 That Theseus might come for what purpose of speech or decision?' Cp. 1. 68, λόγῳ τε καὶ σθένει. The reading μολεῖν avoids the awkwardness of repeating μόλοι with a different subject, but whether the line is then taken to mean, (1) To what purpose is he to speak to him? Or is he to arrange for him to come?' or (2) To speak to him, or arrange for him to come, for what purpose?' the Stranger is thus made to ignore the obvious meaning of πομπός in the question of Oedipus. The optative (ὡς μόλοι for ὡς ἂν μόλῃ) is occasioned by the optative preceding.

72. mvp-comment-51-1 ὡς ἂν.. κερδάνῃ Oedipus, in expressing his own purpose, returns to the more direct form of expression.

73. mvp-comment-52-1 μή Essay on Language p. 48. 2, b.

74. mvp-comment-53-1 All that I utter shall be full of light. Cp. Aesch. Choeph. 844, πῶς ταῦτ᾽ ἀληθῆ καὶ βλέποντα δοξάσω; and the passive uses of caecus in Latin. The inversion of active and passive expressions is especially frequent in connection with perception by sight. See Essay on Language pp. 98, 99. The Stranger, on seeing the noble bearing of Oedipus, thinks it will be enough if he reports the matter not to the city, cp. 1. 47, but to the elders of the deme.