Aeschylus Eumenides 39-45.blass-pass4-cont-4

ed. Friedrich Blass

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Eumenides. Aeschylus. ed. Friedrich Blass. Berlin. 1907.

Current edition Experimental

Kommentar zu den Eumeniden (OCR draft) (German) (German commentary on Aeschylus' Eumenides by Friedrich Blass, 1907.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (12)
Εὐμενίδες First1KGreek (Aeschyli Tragoediae. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.) — 1-142 focus
Εὐμενίδες Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 2. Smyth, Herbert Weir, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1926.) — 1-142 focus
Εὐμενίδες (1518 edition; OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Eumenides, 1518 edition. VLM-assisted OCR with native lineation and automated correspondence to the Smyth edition.) — 34 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Guilielmus Dindorfius, 1882.) — 34 focus
ἡ δεινὰ λέξαι, δεινὰ δ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖς δρακεῖν,
πάλιν μ᾽ ἔπεμψεν ἐκ δόμων τῶν Λοξίου,
35
ὡς μήτε σωκεῖν μήτε μ᾽ ἀκταίνειν βάσιν·
τρέχω δὲ χερσὶν, οὐ ποδωκείᾳ σκελῶν·
δείσασα γὰρ γραῦς οὐδὲν, ἀντίπαις μὲν οὖν.
ἐγὼ μὲν ἕρπω πρὸς πολυστεφῆ μυχόν·
ὁρῶ δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ὀμφαλῷ μὲν ἄνδρα θεομυσῆ
40
ἕδραν ἔχοντα προστρόπαιον, αἵματι
στάζοντα χεῖρας καὶ νεοσπαδὲς ξίφος
ἔχοντ᾽ ἐλάας θ᾽ ὑψιγέννητον κλάδον,
λήνει μεγίστῳ σωφρόνως ἐστεμμένον,
ἀργῆτι μαλλῷ· τῇδε γὰρ τρανῶς ἐρῶ.
45
πρόσθεν δὲ τἀνδρὸς τοῦδε θαυμαστὸς λόχος
εὕδει γυναικῶν ἐν θρόνοισιν ἥμενος.
οὔτοι γυναῖκας, ἀλλὰ Γοργόνας λέγω,
οὐδ᾽ αὖτε Γοργείοισιν εἰκάσω τύποις.
εἶδόν ποτ᾽ ἤδη Φινέως γεγραμμένας
50
δεῖπνον φερούσας· ἄπτεροί γε μὴν ἰδεῖν
αὗται, μέλαιναι δ᾽ ἐς τὸ πᾶν βδελύκτροποι·
ῥέγκουσι δ᾽ οὐ πλατοῖσι φυσιάμασιν·
ἐκ δ᾽ ὀμμάτων λείβουσι δυσφιλῆ λίβα·
καὶ κόσμος οὔτε πρὸς θεῶν ἀγάλματα
55
φέρειν δίκαιος οὔτ᾽ ἐς ἀνθρώπων στέγας.
τὸ φῦλον οὐκ ὄπωπα τῆσδ᾽ ὁμιλίας,
οὐδ᾽ ἥτις αἷα τοῦτ᾽ ἐπεύχεται γένος
τρέφουσ᾽ ἀνατὶ μὴ μεταστένειν πόνον.
τἀντεῦθεν ἤδη τῶνδε δεσπότῃ δόμων
60
αὐτῷ μελέσθω Λοξίᾳ μεγασθενεῖ.
ἰατρόμαντις δ᾽ ἐστὶ καὶ τερασκόπος
καὶ τοῖσιν ἄλλοις δωμάτων καθάρσιος.
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Gottfried Hermann, 1852.) — 34 focus
δεινὰ λέξαι, δεινὰ δ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖς δρακεῖν,
35
πάλιν μ' ἔπεμψεν ἐκ δόμων τῶν Λοξίου,
ὡς μήτε σθένειν μήτε μ' ἀκταίνειν βάσιν·
τρέχω δὲ χερσίν, οὐ ποδωκίᾳ σκελῶν·
δείσασα γὰρ γραῦς οὐδέν, ἀντίπαις μὲν οὖν.
ἐγὼ μὲν ἕρπω πρὸς πολυστεφῆ μυχόν·
40
ὁρῶ δ᾽ ἐπ' ὀμφαλῷ μὲν ἄνδρα θεομυσῆ
ἕδραν ἔχοντα, προςτρόπαιον, αἵματι
στάζοντα χεῖρας, καὶ νεοσπαδὲς ξίφος
ἔχοντ', ἐλαίας θ' ὑψιγέννητον κλάδον,
λῆνῃ μεγίστῃ σωφρόνως ἐστεμμένον,
45
ἀργῆτι μαλλῷ, τῇδε γὰρ τρανῶς ἐρῶ.
πρόσθεν δὲ τἀνδρὸς τοῦδε θαυμαστὸς λόχος
εὕδει γυναικῶν ἐν θρόνοισιν ἥμενος.
οὔτοι γυναῖκας, ἀλλὰ Γοργόνας λέγω·
οὐδ᾽ αὖτε Γοργείοισιν εἰκάσω τύποις·
50
εἶδόν ποτ᾽ ἤδη Φινέως γεγραμμένας
δεῖπνον φερούσας· ἄπτεροί γε μὴν ἰδεῖν
αὗται, μέλαιναι δ᾽ ἐς τὸ πᾶν βδελύκτροποι·
ῥέγκουσι δ᾽ οὐ πλαστοῖσι φυσιάμασιν·
55
ἐκ δ᾽ ὀμμάτων λείβουσι δυςφιλῆ λίβα·
καὶ κόσμος οὔτε πρὸς θεῶν ἀγάλματα
ΕΥΜΕΝΙΔΕΣ (OCR draft) Experimental (ΕΥΜΕΝΙΔΕΣ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 34 focus
Ἦ δεινὰ λέξαι, δεινὰ δ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖς δρακεῖν
πάλιν μ' ἔπεμψεν ἐκ τόπων τῶν Λοξίου,
35
ὡς μήτε σωκεῖν μήτε μ' ἀκταίνειν στάσιν βάσιν,
τρέχω δὲ χερσίν, οὐ ποδωκίᾳ -κεία σκελῶν·
δείσασα γὰρ γραῦς οὐδέν, ἀντίπαις μὲν οὖν.
Ἐγὼ μὲν ἔρπω πρὸς πολυστεφῆ μυχόν,
ὁρῶ δ' ἐπ' ὀμφαλῷ μὲν ἄνδρα θεομυσῆ -μυσῆι -μισῆ
40
ἕδραν ἕδρας ἔχοντα -τι προστρόπαιον, αἵματι
στάζοντα χεῖρας καὶ νεοσπαδὲς ξίφος
ἔχοντ' ἐλαίας θ' ὑψιγέννητον κλάδον
λήνει μεγίστῳ σωφρόνως ἐστεμμένον,
ἀργῆτι μαλλῷ· τῇδε γὰρ τρανῶς ἐρῶ.
45
Πρόσθεν δὲ τἀνδρὸς τοῦδε θαυμαστὸς λόχος
εὕδει γυναικῶν ἐν θρόνοισιν ἥμενος·
οὔτοι γυναῖκας, ἀλλὰ Γοργόνας λέγω·
οὐδ᾽ αὖτε Γοργείοισιν εἰκάσω τύποις·
εἶδόν ποτ' ἤδη ποτ' εἶδον Φινέως γεγραμμένας
50
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Arthur Sidgwick, 1887.) — 34 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. N. Wecklein, 1885.) — 34 focus
ἢ δεινὰ λέξαι, δεινὰ δ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖς δρακεῖν
πάλιν μὲ ἔπεμψεν ἐκ δόμων τῶν Λοξίου,
35
ὡς μήτε σωκεῖν μήτε μὲ ἀκταίνειν βάσιν·
τρέχω δὲ χερσίν, οὐ ποδωκείᾳ σκελῶν·
δείσασα γὰρ γραὺς οὐδέν, ἀντίπαις μὲν οὖν.
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Martin L. West, 1990.) — 34 focus
ἦ δεινὰ λέξαι, δεινὰ δ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖς δρακεῖν
πάλιν μ᾽ ἔπεμψεν ἐκ δόμων τῶν Λοξίου,
35
Aeschyli Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschyli Eumenides. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1914.) — 34 focus
δεινὰ λέξαι δεινὰ δ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖς δρακεῖν
πάλιν μ᾽ ἔπεμψεν ἐκ δόμων τῶν Λοξίου,
35
ὡς μήτε σωκεῖν μήτε μ᾿ ἀκταίνειν στάσιν·
τρέχω δὲ χερσίν, οὐ ποδωκείαι σκελῶν·
δείσασα γὰρ γραῦς οὐδέν, ἀντίπαις μὲν οὖν.
ἐγὼ μὲν ἕρπω πρὸς πολυστεφῆ μυχόν,
ὁρῶ δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ὀμφαλῶι μὲν ἄνδρα θεομυσῆ
40
ἕδρας ἔχοντα προστρόπαιον, αἵματι
στάζοντα χεῖρας καὶ νεοσπαδὲς ξίφος
ἔχοντ᾽ ἐλαίας θ᾽ ὑψιγέννητον κλάδον,
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek text of Aeschylus' Eumenides, edited by F. A. Paley, 1885.) — 34 focus
ἢ δεινὰ λέξαι δεινὰ δ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖς δρακεῖν
πάλιν μ᾿ ἔπεμψεν ἐκ δόμων τῶν Λοξίου,
35
ὡς μήτε σωκεῖν μήτε μ᾿ ἀκταίνειν βάσιν·
τρέχω δὲ χερσὶν, οὐ ποδωκίᾳ σκελῶν·
δείσασα γὰρ γραῦς οὐδέν· ἀντίπαις μὲν οὖν.
ἐγὼ μὲν ἕρπω πρὸς πολυστεφῆ μυχόν.
ὁρῶ δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ὀμφαλῷ μὲν ἄνδρα θεομυσή
40
ἕδραν ἔχοντα προστρόπαιον, αἵματι
στάζοντα χεῖρας, καὶ νεοσπαδὲς ξίφος
ἔχοντ᾽, ἐλαίας θ᾽ ὑψιγέννητον κλάδον
λήνει μεγίστῳ σωφρόνως ἐστεμμένον,
ἀργῆτι μαλλῷ. τῇδε γὰρ τρανῶς ἐρῶ.
45
πρόσθεν δὲ τἀνδρὸς τοῦδε θαυμαστὸς λόχος
εὕδει γυναικῶν ἐν θρόνοισιν ἥμενος.
οὔτοι γυναῖκας, ἀλλὰ Γοργόνας λέγω·
οὐδ᾽ αὖτε Γοργείοισιν εἰκάσω τύποις·
εἶδόν ποτ᾽ ἤδη Φινέως γεγραμμένας
50
δεῖπνον φερούσας· ἄπτεροί γε μὴν ἰδεῖν
αὗται, μέλαιναι δ᾽ ἐς τὸ πᾶν βδελύκτροποι·
ῥέγκουσι δ᾽ οὐ πλατοῖσι φυσιάμασιν·
ἐκ δ᾽ ὀμμάτων λείβουσι δυσφιλῆ λίβα·
καὶ κόσμος οὔτε πρὸς θεῶν ἀγάλματα
55
φέρειν δίκαιος, οὔτ᾽ ἐς ἀνθρώπων στέγας.
τὸ φῦλον οὐκ ὄπωπα τῆσδ᾽ ὁμιλίας,
οὐδ᾽ ἥτις αἷα τοῦτ᾽ ἐπεύχεται γένος
τρέφουσ᾽ ἀνατὶ μὴ μεταστένειν πόνον.
τἀντεῦθεν ἤδη τῶνδε δεσπότῃ δόμων
60
αὐτῷ μελέσθω Λοξίᾳ μεγασθενεῖ.
ἰατρόμαντις δ᾽ ἐστὶ καὶ τερασκόπος,
καὶ τοῖσιν ἄλλοις δωμάτων καθάρσιος.
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek text of Aeschylus' Eumenides, edited by Friedrich Blass, 1907.) — 34 focus
Ἦ δεινὰ λέξαι, δεινὰ δ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖς δρακεῖν,
πάλιν μ᾽ ἔπεμψεν ἐκ δόμων τῶν Λοξίου,
35
ὡς μήτε σωκεῖν μήτε μ᾿ ἀκταίνειν βάσιν·
τρέχω δὲ χερσίν, οὐ ποδωκείᾶι σκελῶν·
δείσασα γὰρ γραῦς οὐδέν, ἀντίπαις μὲν οὖν.
ἐγὼ μὲν ἕρπω πρὸς πολυστεφῆ μυχόν·
ὁρῶ δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ὀμφαλῶι μὲν ἄνδρα θεομυσῆ
40
ἕδραν ἔχοντα προστρόπαιον, αἵματι
στάζοντα χεῖρας καὶ νεοσπαδὲς ξίφος
ἔχοντ᾽ ἐλάιας θ᾽ ὑψιγέννητον κλάδον,
λήνει μεγίστωι σωφρόνως ἐστεμμένον,
ἀργῆτι μαλλῶι· τῆιδε γὰρ τρανῶς ἐρῶ.
45
πρόσθεν δὲ τἀνδρὸς τοῦδε θαυμαστὸς λόχος
εὕδει γυναικῶν ἐν θρόνοισιν ἥμενος.
οὔτοι γυναῖκας, ἀλλὰ Γοργόνας λέγω,
οὐδ᾽ αὖτε Γοργείοισιν εἰκάσω τύποις.
εἶδόν ποτ᾽ ἤδη Φινέως γεγραμμένας
50
δεῖπνον φερούσας· ἄπτεροί γε μὴν ἰδεῖν
αὗται, μέλαιναι δ᾽, ἐς τὸ πᾶν βδελύκτροποι·
ῥέγκουσι δ᾽ οὐ πλατοῖσι φυσιάμασιν·
ἐκ δ᾽ ὀμμάτων λείβουσι δυσφιλῆ λίβα·
καὶ κόσμος οὔτε πρὸς θεῶν ἀγάλματα
55
φέρειν δίκαιος οὔτ᾽ ἐς ἀνθρώπων στέγας.
τὸ φῦλον οὐκ ὄπωπα τῆσδ᾽ ὁμιλίας,
οὐδ᾽ ἥτις αἷα τοῦτ᾽ ἐπεύχεται γένος
τρέφουσ᾽ ἀνατεὶ μὴ μεταστένειν πόνον.
τἀντεῦθεν ἤδη τῶνδε δεσπότηι δόμων
60
αὐτῶι μελέσθω Λοξίαι μεγασθενεῖ.
ἰατρόμαντις δ᾽ ἐστὶ καὶ τερασκόπος
καὶ τοῖσιν ἄλλοις δωμάτων καθάρσιος.
Translations (11)
Eumenides Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 2. Smyth, Herbert Weir, translator. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1926. (Modernized by Perseus.)) — 1-140 focus
The Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (The Eumenides. Theodore Alois Buckley, 1849.) — 34 focus
Certainly things dreadful to tell, and dreadful to behold with eyes have sent me back from the abodes of Loxias, so that I neither have strength, nor can uplift my steps: but I run with my hands, not by swiftness of legs; for an affrighted old woman is nothing, like a child [in strength]. I creep, indeed, towards the shrine of many garlands 3
, and I behold at the marble navel stone 4
a man under the curse 5
of god, sitting as a suppliant, with his hands dripping with blood, and hold­ ing a newly-drawn 1
sword, and a high-grown branch of olive, wreathed decorously with much 2
wool, with a white fleece: for so I will clearly declare. But before this man a wondrous troop of women sleeps seated in the seats; by no means women, but Gorgons I call them; nor again will I liken them to Gorgon forms 3
, [for] I have seen once on a time [the Harpies] painted, carrying off the food of Phineus; but these are wingless to behold, and black, abominable in kind. And they snore with breathings not to be approached, and from their eyes they distil hateful violence 4
. And their dress is fit to wear neither at the images of gods, nor within the dwellings of men. I have not beheld the tribe of this sisterhood; nor [do I know] what land can boast of having nourished this race with impunity, so as not to groan on account of its troubles. Let what ensues now be a care to the ruler of these abodes mighty Loxias himself: but he is healing-seer and diviner and purifier of abodes 5
to others. The interior of the temple, with the tripod and omphalus, is disclosed, and ORESTES is dis­ covered sitting on the omphalus, the chorus of FURIES sleeping on seats around him. APOLLO standing by his side, and HERMES in the background 1
.
LES EUMÉNIDES (OCR draft) Experimental (LES EUMÉNIDES. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 34 focus
Ah! horrible à dire, horrible à voir de ses yeux le spec-
tacle qui me rejette hors du temple de Loxias — si horrible que me voici là impuissante, incapable de me tenir droite, et que mes mains courent seules, pour mes jambes alourdies. Une vieille qui prend peur est sans force; ou, plutôt, ce n'est qu'une enfant. J'allais vers le lieu saint,
encombré d'offrandes, quand je vois près de l'Ombilic 1 , un homme chargé d'une souillure, accroupi en suppliant, les mains dégouttantes de sang, avec une épée frais sortie d'une blessure, et un long rameau d'olivier, dévotement
entouré d'un épais réseau de bandelettes — une vraie toison blanche, le mot sera plus clair. En face de l'homme, une troupe étrange de femmes dort, assise sur les sièges. Mais que dis-je, des femmes? Des Gorgones plutôt... Et encore, non! ce n'est pas l'aspect des Gorgones que je rappro-
cherai du leur... J'ai bien vu naguère, en peinture, les
The Furies (OCR draft) Experimental (The Furies. Robert Potter, 1779.) — 34 focus
Things horrible to tell, and horrible
To fight, have forc'd me from the fane again:
Trembling with fear my lax limbs ill ſupport
My frame, ſave that my hands with eager graſp
Uphold my ſinking weakness as I paſs.
50
As to the ſhrine with many' a garland crown'd
I bend my age-enfeebled ſteps, beneath
The central dome I ſee a man abhorr'd
By the juſt Gods, a ſuppliant it ſhou'd ſeem,
For ſuch his poſture; but his hands are ſtain'd
55
With blood; in one he holds a new-drawn ſword,
High in the other crown'd with ample wreaths
An olive branch, with wreaths of ſnowy wool
Handſomely wrought: thus far I ſpeak aſſur'd.
Before him lies a troop of hideous women
60
Stretch'd on the feats, and ſleeping; yet not women,
But Gorgons rather, nor the Gorgon form
Exactly repreſenting, as I have ſeen them
Drawn by the painter's imitative pencil,
Eschilo, Le Eumenidi: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli (OCR draft) Experimental (Eschilo, Le Eumenidi: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli. Ettore Romagnoli, 1922.) — 34 focus
Ahi! terribile a dire, e piú terribile
a vederlo, mi scaccia uno spettacolo
fuor dal tempio del Nume!
Io non ho forze
45
piú: non mi reggo piú: sovra le palme
io mi trascino, e non sui piedi.
Aeschylus, Eumenides: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Eumenides: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii. Ioannes Sanravius, 1555.) — 34 focus
Certè grauia dicere, & grauia uidere,
Rurſus me miſit ex æde Loxiæ.
35
Vt neq; poſset, neq; attollere ſeditionem.
Curro manibus, non uelocitate crurium.
Verita enim uetula nihil contraria filio quidem.
Ego quidem repo ad multicoronatum antrum,
Video enim in umbilico quidem uirum Deo inuiſo
40
Sedem habentem pollutum ſanguine,
Pandentem manus, & recenter strictum enſem
Habentem, oliuæq;
alte genitum ramum,
Lana maxima coronatum modeſtè.
45
Candida ualde, manifeſtè huic dicam.
Ante uirum hunc mirabilis manipulus
Dormit mulierum in ſolijs ſedens.
Non mulieres, ſed Gorgonas dico.
Neq; rurſus Gorgijs aſsimilabo formis.
50
Vidi aliquando depictas Phinei
Prandium ferentes celeres uisu: tamen
Ipſæ, nigræ enim omnino execratæ ſunt.
Stertunt uerò non fictis flatibus
Ex oculis ſtillant inimicam uiolentiam.
55
Et ornatus, neq; ad deorum ſtatua:s
Ferre dignus, neq;
ad hominum domos.
Amicitiam non uidi huius conuerſationis.
Neq; ulla terra hoc optat genus
60
Alens impune, neq; lugere laborem.
Hinc iam domino domuum hæc
Ipſi ſint curæ Loxiæ fortiſsimo,
Medicouates eſt & prodigiorum ſpeculator.
Et alijs domorum purgatio.
65
Aeschylus, Die Eumeniden: German translation (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Die Eumeniden: German translation. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1919–1923.) — 34 focus
Aus Phoibos' Hause jagt ein Anblick mich zurück,
35 den Augen grau'nvoll, grau'nvoll zu beschreiben auch.
Mir schwinden meine Sinne, wanken meine Knie,
die Arme fliegen zitternd, doch der Fuſs ist steif.
Das Alter wird vor Schrecken hilflos, wird zum Kind.
Ein tret' ich in das kranzbehang'ne Heiligtum,
40 da seh' ich einen Menschen nah dem Nabelstein.
Schutzflehend sitzt er und entweiht den heil'gen Ort.
Blut trieft von seinen Händen, die das nackte Schwert
noch halten und des Ölbaums hochgewachs'nen Zweig,
den keusch ein weithin wallendes Gewand verhüllt,
45 die weiſse Wollenbinde, deutlich sag' ich so.
Vor diesem Menschen aber auf den Stühlen sitzt
und schläft von Weibern eine wundersame Schar,
nein, Weiber nicht, Gorgonen mögen's eher sein
Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (Eumenides. Anna Swanwick, 1886.) — 39 focus
ORESTES
embracing the sacred image of PALLAS.
Athena queen, at Loxias' behest
I hither come; view kindly one accused,
Not blood-polluted, nor with hands unclean,
For blunted now and worn the edge of crime
At other shrines, and in the paths of men.
230
Passing alike o'er continents and seas,
Obedient to the word oracular
Of Loxias, thy sacred shrine I reach,
Thy image, goddess! Taking here my stand,
I will abide the issue of my cause.
Leader
'Tis well; sure token this, the man is here.
Follow the leading of this voiceless guide;
For still we track, as hound the wounded fawn,
By blood and reeking drops, our destined prey;
With many a toilsome, man-outwearing gasp
Pant my deep vitals, for on every spot
240
Of the wide earth my charge I shepherded,
And now in hot pursuit with wingless flight
Swift as swift galley o'er the sea I course;
Here in some nook ensconced the game must lie;
254
Odour of human blood I snuff with joy.
Chorus
1, 2
Look here! Look there!
Take heed! Beware!
Lest, scathless in flight, illuding our sight,
The matricide 'scape unaware.
3, 4
Lo! yonder enshrined,
Round the goddess entwined,
A verdict he seeks through her aid 'gainst the right.
250
5, 6
But baseless his trust;
Mother's blood from the dust
Is hard to recover, as earth-fallen rain.
7, 8
Lo, suffer thou must
In requital most just,
And I from thy members the life-blood will drain.
9, 10
The red draught I'll taste,
Thy strength I will waste,
Then drag thee still living to regions below,
260
The forfeit to pay for thy mother's death-blow.
11, 12
There thou shalt see in durance drear,
'Gainst god or guest or parents dear,
Like thee who sinned, receiving their due meed.
13, 14
For Hades, ruler of the nether sphere,
Exactest auditor of human kind,
Graved on the tablet of his mind
Doth every trespass read.
ORESTES
To me, long disciplined in woe, are known
Divers lustrations; when to speak I know,
When to be silent; but in present need
By sapient teacher I was charged to speak.
Pale now and dim the blood-mark on my hand;
270
Washed clean away the matricidal stain;
For while yet fresh, by rites of sacred swine,
At Phobos' altar it was duly purged ;—
Tedious the tale, were I to reckon o'er
How many fared with me nor suffered harm.
Time, as it waxeth, purifieth all ;-
Now, with pure lip, I piously invoke
Athena, of this region queen, to come,
My pleader: so she weaponless shall earn
Myself, my realm, and all the Argive host,
280
Honestly true, allies for evermore.
But whether on the distant Libyan plain
She, by her native wave of Triton stand,
Or sit, with foot enveloped, to her friends
Dispensing aid ;-or on Phlegraian fields,
Like warlike leader, marshal her array,—
Oh may she come (a goddess hears from far),
And be my saviour from these miseries.
Chorus
Thee nor Apollo, nor Athena's might
Avails to save. Spurned by the gods themselves,
290
With heart of joy oblivious, thou shalt pine,
The Furies' blood-sucked victim, a mere shade.-
How! no reply! Dost thou contemn my words,
Thou, fattened for me, thou, my victim doomed,
Slain at no altar, but my living prey?—
Our hymn, as chain to bind thee, thou shalt hear.
Full Chorus
STROPHE I.
Oh mother, hear me, Mother Night,
Who brought me forth, a living dread,
To scare the living and the dead,
Latona's son does me despite ;-
Stealing away my trembling prey,
Destined a mother's murder to requite.
Now o'er the victim lift the dread refrain,
The Furies' death-hymn, madness-fraught ;-
Torch of the brain, from Hades brought,—
Soul-binding, lyreless, mortal-blighting strain.
ANTISTROPHE I.
For Fate unswerving span, that we
320
This office hold for evermore :—
321
Mortals imbrued with kindred gore
We chase, till under earth they flee;
And when in death they yield their breath,
Not e'en in realm of Hades are they free.
Now o'er the victim lift the dread refrain,
The Furies' death-hymn, madness-fraught;-
Torch of the brain, from Hades brought,—
328
Soul-binding, lyreless, mortal-blighting strain.
STROPHE II.
For even at birth Fate assigned our career
330
Apart from the gods;-we approach not their sphere;
Their banquets we share not,
Their white robes we wear not,
334
Men's homes to destroy is the Furies' employ.
When Ares in strife
Robs a brother of life,
†Relentless, the blood-dripping caitiff we chase ;-
Though girded with strength, he must falter at length,
And falls, overpowered in the race.
ANTISTROPHE II.
No partner brook wé in our time-honoured cares,
340
341
†Nor share with the gods jurisdiction nor prayers.
For, us, the detested,—
Blood-stained, sable-vested,
High Zeus from his hall did exclude one and all.
So downward we stoop
On our foe with fell swoop,
347
And crush him with heavy footfall where he lies;
†These limbs overthrow both the swift and the slow;
Once prostrate, our victims ne'er rise.
350
STROPHE III.
Men's glory, though beneath the sky
Proudly august, below the earth
Dwindles dishonoured, nothing worth,
Before our dark-stoled company,
354
What time in bodeful dance, untired, our feet we ply.
ANTISTROPHE III.
Through evil blind, the wretch, though prone,
Knows not his fall; for dark the cloud
That doth the guilty mind o'ershroud;
And Fame proclaims with heavy groan,
The doom, like murky cloud, that wraps a house o'erthrown.
STROPHE IV. 360 354a
For such Fate's decree :-awful ministers we,-
360
Keen-eyed to conceive what untired we achieve;
†Of crime ever mindful, obdurate to prayer,
Apart from the gods our loathed mission we bear;-
To living and dead, 'neath our sunless torch-ray,
Dark and rugged our way.
ANTISTROPHE IV.
Who then without fear among mortals can hear
368
Our Fate-sanctioned warrant, our god-given right?
For not with dishonour I wield my dread might,
370
Although my hoar mission, in darkness profound,
372 377 372a 381 389
I hold 'neath the ground.
ATHENA
A voice I heard from far Scamander's banks
Invoking me, what time the land I claimed,-
Fair portion of the booty, spear-achieved,
Which chiefs and leaders of Achaia's host
Apportioned, root and branch, for ever mine,
To Theseus' sons a chosen heritage.
380
Thence have I come, plying unwearied feet,
My swelling Ægis rustling, without wings;
With stalwart coursers harnessed to my car.
And now, beholding here these uncouth guests,
I fear not, yet the marvel takes mine eye.
Who are ye? I address myself to all,
To you and also to this stranger here,
Who as a suppliant at mine image sits.
But you, like nothing that is born and dies,
Neither of goddesses by gods beheld,
390
Nor in similitude of mortal shapes ;-
But to speak ill of those who harm us not
Reason forbids, and Justice stands aloof.
English (E. D. A. Morshead, 1889, second edition) (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, The Furies — Morshead translation. Wikisource transcription; speech corresp and card milestones aligned to Smyth perseus-grc2.) — 34 focus
Things fell to speak of, fell for eyes to see,
Have sped me forth again from Loxias' shrine,
45
With strength unstrung, moving erect no more,
But aiding with my hands my failing feet,
Unnerved by fear. A beldame's force is naught—
Is as a child's, when age and fear combine.
For as I pace towards the inmost fane
50
Bay-filleted by many a suppliant's hand,
Lo, at the central altar I descry
One crouching as for refuge—yea, a man
Abhorred of heaven; and from his hands, wherein
A sword new-drawn he holds, blood reeked and fell:
55
A wand he bears, the olive's topmost bough,
Twined as of purpose with a deep close tuft
Of whitest wool. This, that I plainly saw,
Plainly I tell. But lo, in front of him,
Crouched on the altar-steps, a grisly band
60
Of women slumbers—not like women they,
But Gorgons rather; nay, that word is weak,
Nor may I match the Gorgons' shape with theirs!
Such have I seen in painted semblance erst—
Winged Harpies, snatching food from Phineus' board,—
65
But these are wingless, black, and all their shape
The eye's abomination to behold.
Fell is the breath—let none draw nigh to it—
Wherewith they snort in slumber; from their eyes
Exude the damned drops of poisonous ire:
70
And such their garb as none should dare to bring
To statues of the gods or homes of men.
I wot not of the tribe wherefrom can come
So fell a legion, nor in what land Earth
Could rear, unharmed, such creatures, nor avow
75
That she had travailed and had brought forth death.
But, for the rest, be all these things a care
Unto the mighty Loxias, the lord
Of this our shrine: healer and prophet he,
Discerner he of portents, and the cleanser
80
Of other homes—behold, his own to cleanse!
[ The scene opens, disclosing the interior of the temple: Orestes clings to the central altar; the Furies lie slumbering at a little distance; Apollo and Hermes appear from the innermost shrine.
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1854; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylos. Deutsch in den Versmaßen der Urschrift. Stuttgart: Hoffmann, 1854. Native Donner line citations, Smyth card correspondence, selected textual readings and metrical facsimiles. Remaining OCR differences and unattributed reading notes are documented in the linked review inventory.) — 34 focus
Ha, Gräuel auszusprechen, Gräuel anzuschau'n!
Es treibt mich wieder aus Apollons Haus zurück,
35
Daß mir die Glieder brechen, daß mein Schritt erstarrt;
Die Hände, nicht die schnellen Füße, tragen mich.
Schreck macht die Greisin nichtig, ja dem Kinde gleich.
Ich schleiche hin zum vielbekränzten Heiligthum;
Und sizen seh' ich einen fluchbeladnen Mann
40
Am Nabelsteine, der um Sühne fleht, von Blut
Die Hände triefend, und ein frischgezücktes Schwert,
Auch eines Delbaums hochgewachsnen Zweig zur Hand,
Den sorgsam rings die reichgewundne Flocke kränzt,
Das weiße Wollband; also leg' ich's deutlich dar.
45
Und vor dem Mann liegt eine wunderſame Schaar
Von Frauen schlummernd auf die Sessel hingestreckt.
Nicht Frauen wahrlich, nein, Gorgonen nenn' ich sie;
Doch auch Gorgonenbildern gleicht ihr Aeußres nicht.
Wohl auf Gemälden sah ich einst, die raschbeschwingt
50
Das Mahl des Phineus raubten; aber flügellos
Sind diese, schwarz, entseylich, daß mir's Grauen wedt.
Tiefschnarchend haucht ihr Odem unnahbaren Hauch,
Und aus den Augen träufeln sie graunvolles Gift.
Gewand umhüllt die Glieder, wie sich nicht geziemt
55
Vor Götterbildern oder in der Menschen Haus.
Genossen dieses Stammes sah mein Auge nie,
Noch mag ein Land sich rühmen, solch unholde Brut
Straflos zu nähren, ohne Nachgefühl des Weh's.
Das Weit're sei dem Fürsten dieses Heiligthums
60
Selbst heimgestellt, dem hochgewalt'gen Loxias!
Wahrsagerarzt und Zeichendeuter ist er ja,
Und kann die Häuser Andrer auch entsündigen.
(Die Seherin geht ab. Man erblickt das Innere des delphischen Heilig. thums, in demselben auf Sesseln umher den Chor der Erinnyen. Apollon tritt mit Orestes aus dem Hintergrunde des Tempels.)
English (Smyth; revised Bannon and Nagy, CHS) (OCR draft) Experimental (CHS Primary Sources revision of Herbert Weir Smyth’s translation by Cynthia Bannon and Gregory Nagy, with transliterated Greek terms tagged and aligned to the Smyth edition.)

No corresponding passage available

Commentary

Commentary on Aeschylus: Eumenides (Aeschylus. Eumenides. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1887.)

40. ὀμφαλός , navel, was the name given to Delphi, as the centre of the earth, and particularly (as here) to a white stone in the μυχός of the temple¹. Strabo tells us (9. 3.) that 'an ὀμφαλός bound with fillets' was shown in the temple; and Pausanias (10. 16. 3) that 'the Delphians said their ὀμφαλός, which was made of white stone, was the centre of the earth, and quoted from Pindar a passage which agreed with their account. 1 The ὀμφαλός as a round or oval object is often found on coins or vases or sculptures relating to Delphi.

40. μέν answers δέ 1. 46.

41. προστρόπαιον , lit. turning toward, hence suppliant. The supplication might be for vengeance (as Ag. 1587, Cho. 286), or more commonly for purification, as here. Hence the word contracts another meaning, guilty; see below 11. 234, 237.

43-45. σωφρόνως seems to mean duly , piously.

Critical apparatus to Eumenides (OCR draft) (Latin and Greek critical apparatus to Gottfried Hermann's 1852 edition of Eumenides.) focus

mvp-comment-32-1 ὀμφαλῷ ... θεομυσῆ: ὀφθαλμῷ Ven. θεομυσῆ Μ. θεομυσῇ Rob. θεομιση G. Ven. Farn. Ald. Θεομισεῖ Turn.

mvp-comment-33-1 ἕδραν ἔχοντα: ἕδρας Flor. Farn. ἔχοντα Ven. Flor. Turn. et in corrigendis Robortellus. Sic, ut videtur, etiam Farn. ἔχοντι M. G. Par. Ald. Rob.

mvp-comment-34-1 νεοσπαδὲς: νεοσπαδὲς M. G. Ald. Rob. Turn. νεοσπαθές Ven. Flor. Farn.

mvp-comment-35-1 λῆνῃ μεγίστῃ σωφρόνως ἐστεμμένον: Libri λήνει μεγίστῳ σωφρόνως ἐστεμμένον, nisi quod λίνει habent Ven. Flor. Farn. Rob. et μεγίστω sine iota subscripto G. Ald. Rob. Valckenarius ad Phoen. v. 994. “pro λήνει μεγίστῳ,” inquit, “Georg. Arnaldus in margine libri posuerat λήγει μὲν ολός, quae correctio mihi quidem Hemsterbusii videtur, quem docentem audierat." Exemplum dicit editionis Victorianae: id ego nunc possideo. Coniectura autem illa, cuiuscumque sit, non est talis quae inventori laudem parere possit. Nam nec uév hic locum habet, ut vidit Abreschius, neque, quod Schützius intellexit, opus habitura essent haec verba explicatione quam adiecit poeta. Mirum quantum differt illud, ἅλω δὲ πολλήν, ἀσπίδος κύκλον λέγω, ab Iosepho Scaligero, quem memoral Valckenarius, ad Varronem p. 49. comparatum. Sed ut λήνει μεγίστῳ a poeta dictum esse existimem, adduci non possum. Videtur Aeschylus scripsisse λήνει μεγιστοσοφρόνως ἐστεμμένον. Sic μεγιστότιμος invenitur in Suppl. v. 679.

Commentary on the Eumenides (OCR draft) (Brief English notes on Aeschylus' Eumenides by F. A. Paley, 1885.) focus

mvp-comment-19-1 The recent act of murder is described, as the Schol. remarks, in this verse.

mvp-comment-20-1 τῇδε γάρ] For in this respect (viz. the size of the tufts and the sober method of the arrangement, unlike that of some mad fanatic) I will give a clear account. Cf. Soph. El. 643

ἀλλ᾽ ὧδ᾽ ἄκουε, τῇδε γὰρ κἀγὼ φράσω.
The Schol. says the interior of the shrine was seen by the spectators; but this does not seem certain. There is nothing in the narrative to suggest more than a description of what has scared the speaker. Indeed, the statement here is inconsistent with that at v. 64, where he says the interior of the shrine is now displayed by the eccyclema. car-

Selected scholia accompanying Blass's Eumenides (OCR draft) (The mixed Greek, Latin, and German scholia register printed with Friedrich Blass's 1907 edition, aligned to O. L. Smith's later recensional editions.) focus

mvp-comment-22-1 ἱκέτην.

mvp-comment-23-1 (zu νεοσπ.) ἐμφατικῶς τοῦτο νεωστὶ ηὐθεντηκότα (αὐθ. Μ) παρίστησιν. νεωστὶ ἐσπασμένον.

mvp-comment-24-1 εἰώθασιν, ὅταν ἀσαφές τι εἴπωσιν, οἱ ποιηταὶ ἐπεκδιδάσκειν αὐτό. Ὅμηρος (Ε 586) „κύμβαχος ἐν κονίηισιν, ἐπὶ βρεγμόν τε καὶ ὤμους“.

Wecklein’s commentary on Eumenides (1888; German; OCR draft) (Explanatory commentary, pp. 251–322; HW42J8 and HXJHA8 OCR collated, with missing comparison pages 294–295 explicitly marked. Unresolved OCR and provisional reference mappings are explicitly marked.) focus

mvp-comment-1-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 251

mvp-comment-1-2 Prolog, wenn man das Erwachen der Erinyen 140-178 als Parodos und das zweite Erscheinen derselben 244-275 als Epiparodos gelten läfst. Andernfalls müfste man den Prolog bis zum eigentlichen Auftreten des Chors als der wirklichen Parodos, also 1-243 rechnen. Die Pythia, welche als Greisin (38) sich auf einen Stab stützt, kommt (durch eine Seitenthüre der Hinterwand) aus einem Nebenraume des Tempels zum Haupteingange desselben und verrichtet vor dem Eintritt ein Gebet (30 f.). Sie hat die χρηστηρία ἐσθής wie Kasandra in Agamemnon (zu Ag. 774 ). Gut bemerkt der Schol. :

φαίνεται ἐπὶ σκηνῆς τὸ μαντεῖον· η δὲ προφῆτις πρόεισιν ἐπικλήσεις, ὡς ἔθος, τῶν θεῶν ποιησομένη, ἀπροόπτως τε ἰδοῦσα τὰς Ἐρινύας κύκλῳ τοῦ Ὀρέστου καθευδούσας πάντα μηνύει τοῖς θεαταῖς, οὐχ ὡς διηγουμένη τὰ ὑπὸ τὴν σκηνήν, τοῦτο γὰρ νεωτερικὸν Εὐριπίδειον, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς ἐκπλήξεως τὰ θορυβήσαντα αὐτὴν καταμηνύουσα φιλοτέχνως
(d. h. die Exposition ist nicht unvermittelt wie bei Euripides, sondern wohl motiviert). τὰ δὲ πρῶτα εὐχαὶ καὶ ἐπικλήσεις θεῶν, ἵνα ἀπὸ τῶν εὐφημοτέρων ἄρξηται ἡ προφῆτις (in der That breitet das Gebet der Priesterin über den Anfang eine weihevolle Stimmung aus). οἰκονομικῶς δὲ οὐκ ἐν ἀρχῇ διώκεται Ὀρέστης, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ δράματος κατατάττει, ταμιευόμενος τὰ ἀκμαιότατα ἐν μέσῳ.

mvp-comment-28-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 255

mvp-comment-28-2 Die Orakelstätte war, wie in Theben der Vogelschauersitz des Tiresias ( Eur. Bakch. 350 ), mit στέμ ματα (wollenen Binden) gekennzeichnet. Vgl. Einl. S. 17 N. 2. Eur. Ion 222

μέσον ομφαλὸν .. στέμμασί γ᾽ ἐνδυτόν
, 1309 ΚΡ. ἤν γ᾽ ἐντὸς ἀδύτων τῶνδέ με σφάξαι θέλῃς. ΙΩΝ. τίς ἡδονή σοι θεοῦ θανεῖν ἐν στέμμασι; Aristoph. Plut. 39
τί δῆτα Φοῖβος ἔλακεν ἐκ τῶν στεμ μάτων; μυχόν
 und ὀμφαλῷ wie Cho. 953 . Die Auflösung im fünften Furse ist wie Prom.52 gebildet.

mvp-comment-29-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 255

mvp-comment-29-2 ἕδραν προστρόπαιον: dafs Orestes als Schutzflehender dort kniet, verrät besonders der Zweig, von dem weifse wollene Bänder herabhängen. Vgl. Cho. 1033 , Soph. Oed. T. 2 τίνας ποθ᾽ ἕδρας τάσδε μοι θοάζετε ἱκτηρίοις κλάδοισιν ἐξεστεμμένοι; αἵματι στάζοντα χεῖρας wie Soph. Ai. 10

κάρα στάζων ἱδρῶτι. νεοσπαδές
, wofür Burges νεοσταγές vermutet, verbindet zwei Vorstellungen:,,gezückt und von frischem Blut gerötet".

mvp-comment-30-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 256

mvp-comment-30-2 Vgl. zu Cho. 1033 .

mvp-comment-31-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 256

mvp-comment-31-2 λῆνος wird als minder gewöhnliches, vielleicht sakrales Wort im folg. V. erklärt. Vgl. Sept. 476

ἅλω δὲ πολλήν, ἀσπίδος κύκλον λέγω
. Zwischen μεγίστῳ und σωφρόνως besteht scheinbar ein Widerspruch, in Wirklichkeit nicht, weil hier die Gröfse (die Länge der wollenen Binden) ein Kennzeichen der Unterwürfigkeit ist.

Commentary (Arthur Sidgwick, 1887) (OCR draft) (Arthur Sidgwick's commentary on the Eumenides, aligned to the canonical Greek text.) focus

mvp-sidgwick-32-1-1 The inner sanctuary of Delphi (μυχός) contained the statue of Apollo: the ὀμφαλός, see next note: the altar with the eternal fire, fed only with fir-wood; and the roof all hung with garlands (πολυστεφή). In the centre was the chasm with the tripod where the priestess sate, and inhaled the intoxicating fumes of the smoke which came up from below.

ὀμφαλός , navel, was the name given to Delphi, as the centre of the earth, and particularly (as here) to a white stone in the μυχός of the temple¹. Strabo (9. 3.) tells us that

an ὀμφαλός bound with fillets
was shown in the temple; and Pausanias (10. 16. 3) reports that
the Delphians said their ὀμφαλός, which was made of white stone, was the centre of the earth, and quoted from Pindar a passage which agreed with their account.
 1 The ὀμφαλός as a round or oval object is often found on coins or vases or sculptures relating to Delphi.

μέν answers δέ l. 46

.

προστρόπαιον , lit. turning toward, hence suppliant. The supplication might be for vengeance (as Ag. 1587 , Cho. 286 ), or more commonly for purification, as here. Hence the word contracts another meaning, guilty; see below ll. 234, 237

.

mvp-sidgwick-34-2-1 Some take it here agreeing with ἄνδρα; but rhythm and order indicate that it goes with ἕδραν, a suppliant seat; so Soph. O. C. 1309 , π. λιταί.

mvp-sidgwick-35-1-1 The olive-branch, with tufts of wool attached, was the regular sign of the suppliant :

ἱκετῶν ἐριοστέπτοισι κλάδοισι
Suppl. 23 ,
κλάδοις κατάσκιον ὅμιλον
ib. 354 ,
ἱκτηρίοις κλάδοισιν ἐξεστεμμένοι
Ο. Τ. 3 .

σωφρόνως seems to mean duly, piously.

mvp-sidgwick-36-1-1 For so will I plainly tell, i. e. about the suppliant there was nothing strange : the horrible and mysterious part of the sight she goes on to describe.