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.
14-15.
mvp-comment-13-1
This answers τίνων ἀνδρῶν πόλιν; i. e.
We are not yet come to the city, whose towers are seen from far.
15.
mvp-comment-14-1
στέγουσιν
Protect. Cp. Aesch. Sept. 216, 797, where, however, the word is used without the acc. of that which is protected. This is a simpler and more natural expression than στέφουσιν, which is therefore an unnecessary conjecture.
15.
mvp-comment-14-2
ὡς ἀπ᾿ ὀμμάτων (1)
Το judge of them by the eye, sc. εἰκάζειν or κρίνειν, or more simply without supplying an infinitive, (2)
to the eye.
Are far away for the eye to reach, i. e.
We have but a distant view of them,
16.
mvp-comment-15-1
χῶρος δ᾽ ὅδ' ἱρός Answering to τίνας χώρους ἀφίγμεθα; in l. 2, and to ἢ πρὸς ἄλσεσιν θεῶν in l. 10.
16.
mvp-comment-15-2
ὡς ἀπεικάσαι The reading ὡς σάφ' εἰκάσαι,
As one may guess with certainty, though it has some MS. authority, is less in keeping with the moderation of the style. Cp. Tr. 141, πεπυσμένη μέν, ὡς ἀπεικάσαι, πάρει | πάθημα τοὐμόν. ἀπο as in ἀπομαντεύεσθαι, ἀποπειρᾶσθαι : i. e. ἀπεικάσαι is
to hazard a conjecture.
16.
mvp-comment-15-3
βρύων governs the genitive with the general notion of fulness. Ср. О. Т. 83, πολυστεφὴς . . δάφνης.
17.
mvp-comment-16-1
πυκνόπτεροι The compound adds picturesqueness to the expression.
Many-winged nightingales, i. e. Many fluttering nightingales. See Essay on Language p. 101. For the synaphea, cp. O. T. 29, Ar. Av. 1716.
20.
mvp-comment-17-1
Since the way you have travelled is long for an aged man.
21.
mvp-comment-18-1
τὸν τυφλόν For the article, cp. Ο. Τ. 1323, τὸν τυφλὸν κηδείων.
22.
mvp-comment-19-1
I have had time enough to learn that well.
23.
mvp-comment-20-1
When Oedipus is seated, he repeats his inquiry. The repetition is marked by δή.
Now, can you tell me-?
25.
mvp-comment-21-1
τοῦτό *γ᾽ is obviously right, though only found in one MS, Par. F. τοῦτον has arisen from χῶρον in the preceding line. The verse is given to Antig. by L, but the 2nd hand has put a line against this and the following verse, and a cross in the margin. The initials of the persons after 21 are by a recent hand.
27.
mvp-comment-22-1
ἐξοικήσιμος.. οἰκητός
If it is habitable.
It is indeed inhabited. The latter word is more definite. Antigone sees clear signs of habitation. The compound with ἐξ gives emphasis and completeness to the idea: cp. Thuc. 2. 17, ὑπὸ τῆς παραχρῆμα ἀνάγκης ἐξῳκήθη: also words like ἐξεστεμμένος, ἐκκοσμεῖν, ἐξανδρόομαι. Ε. on L. p. 101. The reason of the condition, εἴπερ κ.τ.λ., is simply that in an uninhabited place there would be no one to ask. Sch. καλῶς δὲ τὰ τῆς οἰκονομίας, ἵνα μὴ μόνος ὁ Οἰδίπους ἀπολειφθῇ.
30.
mvp-comment-23-1
Do you mean coming forth from the town and advancing hitherwards? On the inverted order, see Essay on Language § 41, b, p. 78.
31-32.
mvp-comment-24-1
Nay: he is actually in our presence: and whatever you think good to say at this moment, say on, for the man is here.
33.
mvp-comment-25-1
ἀκούων The reply in l. 36 suits with the aposiopesis, and the change to ἀκούω is not a happy one.
34-35.
mvp-comment-26-1
οὔνεχ᾽.. ἀδηλοῦμεν
Since so fortunately we have met with you, who come to inform our ignorance. The genitive follows σκοπός, and φράσαι is epexegetic, αἴσος
happy,
fortunate, as a good omen is called αἴσιος ὄρνις. σκοπός, properly
one sent to look, hence
one who brings intelligence. Cp. the figurative use of σκοπός in infr. 1096, τῷ σκοπῷ μὲν οὐκ ἐρεῖς | ὡς ψευδόμαντις.
35.
mvp-comment-27-1
The MS. reading τῶν is very possibly erroneous, as in El. 422, βλαστεῖν βρύοντα θαλλόν, τῷ κατάσκιον (L), where the metre decides for ᾧ. The early corruption τῶν ἃ δηλοῦμεν, however, is a proof of the antiquity of the reading τῶν, for had the words been ὧν ἀδηλοῦμεν, nobody would have thought of altering them to ὧν ἃ δηλοῦμεν. ἀδηλέω is not found elsewhere; but cp. Hesych. ἀδηλίαν, ἄγνοιαν, and the analogy of ἀλαστεῖν, etc. Essay on Language p. 102.
35.
mvp-comment-27-2
ΞΕΝΟΣ The Stranger, so called in relation to Oedipus, is an Athenian, but from the neighbourhood of Colonus, as appears from l. 70, ἆρ᾽ ἄν τις αὐτῷ πομπὺς ἐξ ὑμῶν μόλοι.
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,
φρονῶ δὴ ξυμφορᾶς ἵν᾽ ἔσταμεν.
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.
