Aeschylus Eumenides 276

Herbert Weir Smyth (Translator)

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Eumenides. Aeschylus. Herbert Weir Smyth (Translator). New York. 1926.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Eumenides (English) (Aeschylus, Volume 2. Smyth, Herbert Weir, translator. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1926. (Modernized by Perseus.))

Editions (12)
Εὐμενίδες First1KGreek (Aeschyli Tragoediae. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.) — 299-396 focus
Εὐμενίδες Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 2. Smyth, Herbert Weir, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1926.) — 276 focus
Εὐμενίδες (1518 edition; OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Eumenides, 1518 edition. VLM-assisted OCR with native lineation and automated correspondence to the Smyth edition.) — 276 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Guilielmus Dindorfius, 1882.) — 276 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Gottfried Hermann, 1852.) — 276 focus
ΕΥΜΕΝΙΔΕΣ (OCR draft) Experimental (ΕΥΜΕΝΙΔΕΣ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 276 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Arthur Sidgwick, 1887.) — 276 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. N. Wecklein, 1885.) — 276 focus
ἐγὼ διδαχθεὶς ἐν κακοῖς ἐπίσταμαι
πολλοὺς καθαρμούς, καὶ λέγειν ὅπου δίκη
σιγᾶν θ᾽ ὁμοίως· ἐν δὲ τῷδε πράγματι
φωνεῖν ἐτάχθην πρὸς σοφοῦ διδασκάλου·
βρίζει γὰρ αἷμα καὶ μαραίνεται χερός,
280
μητροκτόνον μίασμα δ᾽ ἔκπλυτον πέλει.
ποταίνιον γὰρ ὂν πρὸς ἑστίᾳ θεοῦ
Φοίβου καθαρμοῖς ἠλάθη χοιροκτόνοις.
πολὺς δέ μοι γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ἐξ ἀρχῆς λόγος,
ὅσοις προσῆλθον ἀβλαβεῖ ξυνουσίᾳ.
285
[χρόνος καθαιρεῖ πάντα γηράσκων ὁμοῦ.]
καὶ νῦν ἀφ᾽ ἁγνοῦ στόματος εὐφήμως καλῶ
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Martin L. West, 1990.) — 276 focus
Aeschyli Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschyli Eumenides. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1914.) — 276 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek text of Aeschylus' Eumenides, edited by F. A. Paley, 1885.) — 276 focus
ἐγὼ, διδαχθεὶς ἐν κακοῖς, ἐπίσταμαι
πολλοὺς καθαρμοὺς, καὶ λέγειν ὅπου δίκη,
σιγᾶν θ᾽ ὁμοίως· ἐν δὲ τῷδε πράγματι
φωνεῖν ἐτάχθην πρὸς σοφοῦ διδασκάλου·
βρίζει γὰρ αἷμα καὶ μαραίνεται χερός,
270
μητροκτόνον μίασμα δ᾽ ἔκπλυτον πέλει·
ποταίνιον γὰρ ὂν πρὸς ἑστίᾳ θεοῦ
Φοίβου καθαρμοῖς ἠλάθη χοιροκτόνοις.
πολὺς δέ μοι γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ἐξ ἀρχῆς λόγος,
ὅσοις προσῆλθον ἀβλαβεῖ ξυνουσίᾳ.
275
χρόνος καθαίρει πάντα γηράσκων ὁμοῦ.
καὶ νῦν ἀφ᾽ ἁγνοῦ στόματος εὐφήμως καλῶ
χώρας ἄνασσαν τῆσδ᾽ ᾿Αθηναίαν ἐμοὶ
μολεῖν ἀρωγόν· κτήσεται δ᾽ ἄνευ δορὸς
αὐτόν τε καὶ γῆν καὶ τὸν ᾿Αργεῖον λεών,
280
πιστὸν δικαίως ἐς τὸ πᾶν τε σύμμαχον.
ἀλλ᾽ εἴτε χώρας ἐν τόποις Λιβυστικοῖς,
Τρίτωνος ἀμφὶ χεῦμα γενεθλίου πόρου,
τίθησιν ὀρθὸν ἢ κατηρεφή πόδα
φίλοις ἀρήγουσ᾽, εἴτε Φλεγραίαν πλάκα,
285
θρασύς ταγοῦχος ὡς ἀνὴρ, ἐπισκοπεῖ,
ἔλθοι,-κλύει δὲ καὶ πρόσωθεν ὢν θεὸς, -
ὅπως γένοιτο τῶνδ᾽ ἐμοὶ λυτήριος.
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek text of Aeschylus' Eumenides, edited by Friedrich Blass, 1907.) — 276 focus
ἐγὼ διδαχθεὶς ἐν κακοῖς ἐπίσταμαι
πολλῶν τε καιρούς, καὶ λέγειν ὅπου δίκη
σιγᾶν θ᾽ ὁμοίως· ἐν δὲ τῶιδε πράγματι
φωνεῖν ἐτάχθην πρὸς σοφοῦ διδασκάλου.
βρίζει γὰρ αἷμα καὶ μαραίνεται χερός,
280
μητροκτόνον μίασμα δ᾽ ἔκπλυτον πέλει.
ποταίνιον γὰρ ὂν πρὸς ἑστίᾶι θεοῦ
Φοίβου καθαρμοῖς ἠλάθη χοιροκτόνοις.
πολὺς δέ μοι γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ἐξ ἀρχῆς λόγος,
ὅσοις προσῆλθον ἀβλαβεῖ ξυνουσίαι.
285
χρόνος καθαίρει πάντα γηράσκων ὁμοῦ.
καὶ νῦν ἀφ᾽ ἁγνοῦ στόματος εὐφήμως καλῶ
χώρας ἄνασσαν τῆσδ᾽ Ἀθηναίαν ἐμοὶ
μολεῖν ἀρωγόν· κτήσεται δ᾽ ἄνευ δορὸς
αὐτόν τε καὶ γῆν καὶ τὸν Ἀργεῖον λεὼν
290
πιστὸν δικαίως ἐς τὸ πᾶν τε σύμμαχον.
ἀλλ᾽ εἴτε χώρας ἐν τόποις Λιβυστικῆς,
Τρίτωνος ἀμφὶ χεῦμα γενεθλίου πόρου,
τίθησιν ὀρθὸν οὐ κατηρεφῆ πόδα,
φίλοις ἀρήγουσ᾽, εἴτε Φλεγραίαν πλάκα
295
θρασὺς ταγοῦχος ὡς ἀνὴρ ἐπισκοπεῖ,
ἔλθοι, κλύει δὲ καὶ πρόσωθεν ὢν θεός,
ὅπως γένοιτο τῶνδ᾽ ἐμοὶ λυτήριος.
Translations (10)
The Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (The Eumenides. Theodore Alois Buckley, 1849.) — 276 focus
I, taught in evils, know many ablutions; and to speak, when it is proper, and to be silent in like manner: but in this thing I was enjoined to speak by a wise teacher: for the blood sleeps and fades from my hand, and the matricidal pollution is washed out. For being fresh, at the hearth of the god Phœbus it was banished by ablations from the sacrifice of swine 3
. But it would be a long tale to me from the beginning [to tell] how many I approached with harmless intercourse. Time removes 4
all things growing old at the same time. And now from pure mouth piously I call on Minerva, queen of this region, to come to me an assistant; and she shall possess without the spear both me myself, and my land, and the Argive people, justly faithful, and an ally for ever. But whether in the places of the Lybian region around the wave of Triton, her native stream, she sets her foot upright or covered 1
, aiding her friends, or surveys the Phlegraean plain, like a bold leader, let her come, (and she hears even afar, being a goddess,) that she may be a deliverer to me from these things.
LES EUMÉNIDES (OCR draft) Experimental (LES EUMÉNIDES. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 276 focus
tout garde fidèle empreinte.
The Furies (OCR draft) Experimental (The Furies. Robert Potter, 1779.) — 276 focus
Train'd in affliction's rigid lore, I know
305
Many ablutions: when to ſpeak I know,
When to be filent: inſpiration now
With heav'nly wisdom prompts my tongue to plead.
The faded blood is vaniſh'd from my hands,
Nor from my mother's ſlaughter leaves a ſtain;
310
The recent crimſon at Apollo's ſhrine
Waſh'd off with lavers pure, with offer'd victims
Aton'd.
This honeſt prelude might be graced
With many' an argument: nor came I hither
315
Conforted with a vile and impious band.
All things with time grow old, and wear away.
And now from hallow'd lips my pious pray'r
Invokes the pow'r preſiding o'er this realm,
Royal Minerva, that ſhe haſte to aid
320
Her ſuppliant: ſo with voluntary zeal
Myſelf, my country, all the Argive people,
To her with justice I devote for ever.
If in the coaſts of Libya, on the banks
Of Triton, native ſtreame, ſhe ſets her foot
325
Or bare, or buſkin'd, prompt to aid her friends;
If o'er the plains of Phlegra, like a chief
That marſhals his bold troops, ſhe darts her eye,
Her preſence I implore; tho' diſtant far,
The Goddeſs hears; to free me from these ills.
330
Eschilo, Le Eumenidi: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli (OCR draft) Experimental (Eschilo, Le Eumenidi: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli. Ettore Romagnoli, 1922.) — 276 focus
Dalle sciagure ammaestrato, appresi
305
ciò che convenga in ogni evento; e so
quando parlar convien, quando il silenzio.
Saggio maestro or favellar m'impone.
Langue su la mia man, si strugge il sangue :
del matricidio la recente macchia
310
lavata è già con sangue espiatorio
presso l'ara del Dio fu cancellata :
lungo sarebbe annoverare quanti
contatto ebbero meco, e illesi andarono.
E santamente e con pio labbro, adesso
315
chiamo la Dea di questa terra, Atena,
che a soccorrermi giunga. Ella, senz'armi,
e me stesso e la terra e il popol d'Argo
fido alleato ognor guadagnerà.
O sia che tu ne le contrade libiche
320
su'l fluviale tramite tritonio
che ti die' vita, a sostener gli amici,
o nascosto o palese il piede avanzi,
o sia che, ardita guidatrice, vigili
con virile saldezza il pian di Flegra,
325
tu, che sei Dea, che pur da lungi m'odi,
amami, e me da queste pene salva.
Aeschylus, Eumenides: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Eumenides: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii. Ioannes Sanravius, 1555.) — 276 focus
Ego edoctus in malis ſcio
Multas expiationes, & dicere ubi iuſticia ſit,
270
Tacereq; ſimiliter, in hoc uerò negotio
Sapere conſtitutus ſum à docto præceptore.
Torpet enim ſanguis, & tabefacit manum.
Maternū ſcelus dilutum est.
Recens enim in ara dei exiſtens
275
Phœbi, purgationibus expulſum est manufactis.
Multus uerò mihi fiat à principio ſermo,
Qui acceſsi innocuo conſortio,
Tempus purgat omnia ſeneſcens ſimul.
Et nunc ex casto ore ſuauiter uoco.
280
Regionis reginam huius Minerua, mihi
Venire in auxilium, poſsidebit uerò ſine hasta
Ipſum, & terram, & Argiuum populum,
Fidelem iuſtè in omnibus ſocium.
Sed ſi in locis regionis Libyſticis,
285
Tritonis circum fluctum genitalis uadi
Ponit rectum & longè ducentem pedem,
Amicis opitulans, ſiue Phlegræam glebam.
Audaciæ dux tanquam uir ſpeculatur,
Venit, audit uerò procul deus exiſtens,
290
Vtcunq; sit mihi horum liberator.
Aeschylus, Die Eumeniden: German translation (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Die Eumeniden: German translation. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1919–1923.) — 276 focus
Es waltet im Schoſse der Erden
der Sterblichen mächtiger Richter,
der Herr im Reiche des Todes.
275 Allsehend bucht er jede Schuld.
Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (Eumenides. Anna Swanwick, 1886.) — 276 focus
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.) — 276 focus
I, schooled in many miseries, have learnt
How many refuges of cleansing shrines
320
There be; I know when law alloweth speech
And when imposeth silence. Lo, I stand
Fixed now to speak, for he whose word is wise
Commands the same. Look, how the stain of blood
Is dull upon mine hand and wastes away,
325
And laved and lost therewith is the deep curse
Of matricide; for while the guilt was new,
'Twas banished from me at Apollo's hearth,
Atoned and purified by death of swine.
Long were my word if I should sum the tale,
330
How oft since then among my fellow-men
I stood and brought no curse. Time cleanses all—
Time, the coeval of all things that are.
Now from pure lips, in words of omen fair,
I call Athena, lady of this land,
335
To come, my champion: so, in aftertime,
She shall not fail of love and service leal,
Not won by war, from me and from my land
And all the folk of Argos, vowed to her.
Now, be she far away in Libyan land
340
Where flows from Triton's lake her natal wave,—
Stand she with planted feet, 1 or in some hour
Of rest conceal them, champion of her friends
Where'er she be,—or whether o'er the plain
Phlegræan she look forth, as warrior bold—
345
I cry to her to come, where'er she be,
(And she, as goddess, from afar can hear,)
And aid and free me, set among my foes.
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.) — 276 focus
In langer Leidensschule ward ich wohlvertraut
265
Mit vielen Sühngebräuchen, weiß, wo Reden ziemt,
Wo Schweigen recht ist. Aber hier an diesem Ort
Gebot ein weiser Meister laut zu reden mir.
Schläft doch das Blutmal und verbleicht an meiner Hand;
Des Muttermordes Gräuel ist hinweggespült.
270
Frisch waren seine Flecken noch, am Seherherd
Vertilgt' ihn Phöbos durch der Opferferken Blut.
Viel Worte braucht' ich, zählt' ich auf, wie Viele schon
Mit mir verkehrten, ohne daß sie Schaden traf.
Die Zeit entsündigt Alles und sie selbst ergraut.
275
So fleh' ich reinen Mundes nun mit frommem Wort
Zu dieses Landes Herrscherin Athene, mir
Hülfreich zu nahen. Dann gewinnt sie sonder Kampf
Mich selbst, der Argossöhne Land und Volk zugleich,
Wahrhaft zu treuer, steter Wehrgenossenschaft.
280
Drum, ob sie jetzt in fernen Fluren Libya's,
Am Wasser Tritons, ihrer heimatlichen Flut,
Den Fuß gesenkt hat oder hochhinschreitend eilt 1
Zum Schuß der Ihren, oder ob sie Phlegra's Feld
Heerschaaren ordnend überschaut, ein kühner Held:
285
Sie komme, (denn auch ferne ja vernimmt ein Gott,)
Auf daß sie dieser Leiden mich erledige!
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

Notes on the current edition

Eumenides

1. Literally, she places her foot upright or covered over. The poet may have in mind statues of the goddess: ὀρθόν referring to upright posture, κατηρεφῆ to her long garment falling over her foot when she was represented as sitting.
2. The scene of the battle of the Gods and Giants, in which Athena slew Enceladus.

Commentary

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

277. καὶ λέγειν , i. e. and I know where it is right to speak. The double construction of ἐπίσταμαι is perhaps a little harsh, but there is no reason to suspect it.

285. ἀβλαβεῖ , harmless; proving that he was purified.

290. αὐτόν , myself: the 'me' is not wanted after emphatic ἐμοί

293. Τρίτων was in the stories of Athena a Libyan lake from which she was supposed to have sprung; afterwards identified with the large salt lake in the south of Tunis.

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

mvp-comment-202-1 φωνεῖν: φρωνεῖν vitium Ald. unde φρονεῖν Turn.

mvp-comment-203-1 χερός: Iacobsius Anthol. t. XII. p. 10. ad epigr. incert. 239. scribendum putabat βρίζει γὰρ αἷμα καὶ μαραίνεται χρέος μητροκτόνον, μίασμα δ᾽ ἔκπλυτον πέλει. Εt distinctio haec est in ed. Rob. Equidem, quum libri habeant χέρος, neque id reprehendi possit, nihil novandum esse existimo.

mvp-comment-204-1 ἔκπλυτον: ἔκπλητον Ald. Eadem mox τοταίνιον.

mvp-comment-205-1 χοιροκτόνοις: χειροκτόνοις Rob. χοιροκτόνοις supra adscripto χει Par. teste Boissonado adnot. in Zachariam scholast. p. 408.

mvp-comment-206-1 ὅσοις ... ἀβλαβεῖ: 8ools M. G. Par. Ven. Flor. Rob. östois Ald. unde öçTIS infelici coniectura Turn. aßhaß Par. et ante correctionem G.

mvp-comment-207-1 χρόνος καθαιρεῖ πάντα γηράσκων ὁμοῦ.: καθαίρει malebat Stanleius. Deinde γηράσκων M. G. Ald. Rob. Turn. ye didúozor Ven. Farn. et yɛ supra adscripto Flor. Nexum turbare hunc versum et ab hoc loco alienum esse dixi in Opusc. VI. 2. p. 55. seq. Delendum eum esse viderat iam Musgravius. Adscriptus fuit ad versus 277. 278. Similis versus apud Stobaeum CXXVI. 8. legitur, χρόνος δ᾽ ἀμαυροῖ πάντα κεἰς λήθην ἄγει.

mvp-comment-208-1 Ἀργεῖον: ἀργείων Ven.

mvp-comment-209-1 Λιβυστικοῖς: Libri ßvorizois. Ea adiectivi forma Aeschylus usus est in Suppl. v. 266. et in Myrmidonibus fr. 145. Tzetzes ad Lycophr. v. 519. καὶ Αἰσχύλος μυθικῶς “ εἶτ᾽ ἀμφὶ χεῦμα γενεθλίου σπόρου Τρίτωνος ἐν τόποις Λιβυστίοις,” ita enim codices duo Vitebergenses aliique et Favorinus in v. tqiyέvvytos. Auratus et Casaubonus scribendum putarunt Aißvotizs. Eo non opus est: zooaç enim, ut saepius in huiusmodi formulis, abundat.

mvp-comment-210-1 χεῦμα ... πόρου: ἀμφιχεῦμα Ald. σπόρου Tzetzes.

mvp-comment-211-1 κατηρεφῆ: zatŋoeg лóda si scripsit Aeschylus, non videtur aliud significare potuisse quam pedem nube amictum, ut hoc dixerit, sive palam incedens, sive latens opem fert amicis, oppositumque sit ỏo òv nóða Tidéra, i. e. recto pede in campo stare, inter ipsos quibus praesidio est. Comparari quodammodo potest quod Sophocles dixit in Oed. R. v. 419. βλέποντα νῦν μὲν ὄρθ᾽, ἔπειτα δὲ σκότον. V. Opusc. VI. 2. p. 56. seqq. VII. p. 4. seq. Dubitari tamen potest an non scripserit Aeschylus xaτηorqй. Et videri potest aliud legisse scholiastes qui haec ita interpretatus est, καταβάλλει γὰρ ἡ ὀρθοῖ, quod scholion non invenitur in M. G. sed Triclinii esse videtur. Burgesius zaraqεon, similiterque Fritzschius (Zweiter anhang zu O. Müllers Eumeniden p. 39.) zaτηfεoñ scribendum esse censuit, ut intelligeretur Minerva aut stans inter eos quibus praesidio est, aut deorsum ex aere delata. Neque caret haec con-. iectura probabilitate.

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

mvp-comment-96-1 Orestes addresses the spectators perhaps rather than the chorus. He says he has had a lesson in suffering, and his acquaintance with many forms and rites of expiation (sup. 230) has taught him when to speak and when to be silent; but on this occasion, although murderers as a rule can neither speak nor be spoken to, he has been ordered by Apollo himself to plead his own cause, and to assert his innocence.

mvp-comment-97-1 ἀβλαβεῖ] 'It would be long to tell how many I have visited since the first commission of the crime, and the first purification at Delphi, none of whom have received any harm from converse with me.' Schol.

ἐβλάπτοντο γὰρ οἱ μυσαροῖς ξυντυγχάνοντες.

mvp-comment-98-1 καὶ νῦν] ‘And accordingly now, viz. as I have the full right and even the command to speak. See on Agam. 1 8.

mvp-comment-99-1 πιστόν] This is one of the many allusions in tragedy to treaties either made or contemplated between Athens and Argos. It is again alluded to in v. 733. Schol.

ὡς τότε συμμαχούντων ᾿Αργείων ᾿Αθηναίοις.

mvp-comment-100-1 Τρίτωνος] The name of the goddess, Tritogenia, the real or mystical meaning of which we do not know, was referred to a lake and river Triton in Libya. See Herod. Iv. 180 , Pind. Pyth. 1v. 36 .

mvp-comment-101-1 ὀρθὸν κ.τ.λ.] The description refers to ancient statues of the goddess in a standing or sitting posture. - φίλοις, in allusion perhaps to the aid afforded by Athens to the EUM. Libyan king Inaros. See Thuc. 1. 104, 109 . The Schol. remarks that the address well suits Orestes who himself requires a staunch protectress.

mvp-comment-102-1 Φλεγραίαν] Another epithet of the goddess, Νίκη, is here alluded to, as appears from Eur. Ion 1528

μὰ τὴν παρασπίζουσαν ἅρμασίν ποτε Νίκην ᾿Αθάναν Ζηνὶ γηγενεῖς ἔπι.

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-110-1 ἐγὼ

mvp-comment-114-1 κοιμάται.

mvp-comment-115-1 ἐκκεκαθαρμένον.

mvp-comment-116-1 ἐβλάπτοντο γὰρ οἱ μυσαροῖς (Steph. f. -ροὶ) ξυντυγχάνοντες.

mvp-comment-117-1 λείπει ἐμέ. ὡς τότε συμμαχούντων Ἀργείων Αθηναίοις.

mvp-comment-118-1 ὅτι

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-161-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 272

mvp-comment-161-2 zweites Epeisodion. Orestes ruft Athena zu Hilfe. Die Chorführerin weist jeden Beistand zurück.

mvp-comment-162-1 1

mvp-comment-162-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 272

mvp-comment-162-3 καιρούς d. i. die rechte Zeit für das Reden wie für das Schweigen, vgl. Plat. Staat p. 374 Cov παριεὶς τοὺς καιρούς und zu Cho. 580 . Diese Stelle scheint die Vorlage für frg. I der Eumen. des Ennius gewesen zu sein: Ita sapere opino esse optumum, ut pro viribus Tacere ac fabulari tute noveris.

mvp-comment-163-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 272

mvp-comment-163-2 μητροκτόνον μίασμα: Vgl. κηλὶς μητροκτόνος Eur. Iph. T. 1200 und zu Ag. 735 . Wenn die Erinyen 247 u. a. immer noch Blut sehen, so wollen sie jede Möglichkeit der Reinigung eines Muttermörders in Abrede stellen.

mvp-comment-164-1 2

mvp-comment-164-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 272

mvp-comment-164-3 ποταίνιον ὄν, als es noch frisch war. Vgl. Cho. 1053 . πρὸς ἑστία θ. Φ. gehört zu ἠλάθη. χοιροκτόνοις (zu Ag. 735 ): Ferkelblut galt als entsühnend und wurde bei Reinigungsopfern vielfach gebraucht, so bei den περίστια vor Be- ginn der Volksversammlung (Schol. zu Aristoph. Ekkl. 128 , Poll. VIII 104 ), denen die römischen suovetaurilia entsprechen, und sonst, vgl. zu 453 und Plaut. Men. 292 . Einl. S. 17 N. 2.

mvp-comment-165-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 273

mvp-comment-165-2 πολὺς . . ἐξ ἀρχῆς λόγος d.i. ich würde viel zu sagen haben, wenn ich von Anfang an erzählen wollte.

mvp-comment-166-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 273

mvp-comment-166-2 Schol. ἐβλάπτοντο γὰρ οἱ μυσαροῖς ξυντυγχάνοντες.

mvp-comment-167-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 273

mvp-comment-167-2 Der Vers, welcher dem Zusammenhange der Stelle, nach der Phöbos den Orestes gereinigt hat, nicht entspricht, ist von Musgrave ausgeschieden worden. Der Sinn ist:,,alles (also auch die Befleckung) entkräftet die mit ihm alternde Zeit" d. i. je älter eine Sache wird, um so mehr wird sie geschwächt. Die Zeit wird als alternd mit dem Alternden gedacht, vgl. Prom. 1013

ἀλλ' ἐκδιδάσκει πάνθ' ὁ γηράσκων χρόνος
. Ein ähnlicher Vers findet sich bei Stob. fl. 126, 8 χρόνος δ᾽ ἀμαυροῦ πάντα κεἰς λήθην ἄγει.

mvp-comment-168-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 273

mvp-comment-168-2 Ἀθηναία, die alte feierliche, in Inschriften bis auf die Zeit des Euklides herab häufig (gewöhnlich mit Artikel ἡ ᾿Αθηναία) vorkommende Form, auch 299, 617, Eur. Iph. T. 1436 , sonst bei den Tragikern Ἀθάνα.

mvp-comment-169-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 273

mvp-comment-169-2 κτήσεται, nämlich als Herrin dieses Landes ", also für Attika. Vgl. zu 765.

mvp-comment-170-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 273

mvp-comment-170-2 αὐτόν scil. ἐμέ. τὸν Ἀργεῖον λεὼν . . σύμμαχον: Schol. :

ὡς τότε συμμαχούντων Ἀργείων Ἀθηναίοις
. Einl. S. 23. δικαίως, ὀρθῶς, ἀληθῶς, aufrichtig, ehrlich. Vgl. πανδίκως εὐσεβής Suppl. 424
ὀρθῶς ἐνδίκως τ᾽ ἐπώνυμον
 Sept. 392
ἣν εὑρεθῇς ἐς τήνδε μὴ δίκαιος ὤν
 Soph. Trach. 411 .

mvp-comment-171-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 273

mvp-comment-171-2 Die Gottheit hört gern von den Stätten, wo sie besonders verehrt wird. Daher ist bei Anrufungen der Götter die Aufzählung solcher Örtlichkeiten beliebt. Vgl. Soph. Ant. 1118 f. Mit εἴτε — εἴτε, wie hier, Aristoph. Wo. 269

ἔλθετε εἴτ᾽ ἐπ᾽ Ὀλύμπου κορυφαῖς ἱεραῖς χιονοβλήτοισι κάθησθε κτέ. χώρας τόποις
steht wie ein einziger Begrif, daher Λιβυστικοῖς. Vgl. ποῖον . . γαίας πέδον Sept. 291
, χθονὸς . . τηλουρόν. . πέδον
 Prom. 1
τὸ Πυθικὸν Θεοῦ μαντείον
 Soph. Oed. T. 242
ὄγκον ὀνόματος μητρῷον
 Trach. 817
, Ηπειρώτις ψυχὴ γυναικῶν
 Eur. Andr. 159 u. Ähnliches oft, z. B. unten 327.

mvp-comment-172-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 273

mvp-comment-172-2 γενεθλίου: Schol. ( σημείωσαι) ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο οἴεται αὐτὴν Τριτογένειαν. Nach Herod. IV 180 (vgl. Paus. I 14, 6 ) glaubten die am Tritonischen See wohnenden Auseer (indem sie eine ihrer Gottheiten mit Athena identifizierten) τὴν ᾿Αθηναίην Ποσειδέωνος εἶναι θυγατέρα καὶ τῆς Τριτωνίδος λίμνης. Dals Aschylos der gewöhnlichen Sage sich anschliefst, zeigt 667 f. Er scheint also den Ort der Geburt an den See oder vielmehr Strom ( πόρου) Triton zu verlegen. In Wirklichkeit ist es ur- sprünglich die gleiche Vorstellung, wenn Athena als Blitzgöttin dem Haupte des Wolkensammlers Zeus, dem Wolkenberge, und wenn sie der Tritonischen See, den himmlischen Wassern, entstammt. Denn dafs die Tritonische See ursprünglich am Himmel war, ergiebt sich schon daraus, dafs sie nicht nur in Libyen, sondern auch anderwärts angenommen wurde ( Paus. VIII 26, 6 u. IX 33, 7, Strab. IX p. 407 ). Vgl. Schwartz, Der Ursprung der Mythologie. S. 87.

mvp-comment-173-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 274

mvp-comment-173-2 τίθησιν . . πόδα erklärt man ,,aufrecht schreitet oder sitzt" (vgl. Hom. p 158 ἥμενος ἢ ἕρπων), weil der sitzenden Göttin die Füfse mit dem Gewande bedeckt sind. Aber eine solche Erklärung von κατηρεφῆ ist mindestens weit hergeholt. In der Deutung von Dutheil „visible ou invisible" und Hermann: sive palam incedens sive latens ( Hom. E 186

νεφέλῃ εἰλυμένος ὤμους
) opem fert amicis, worin κατηρεφής der durch eine Wolke verhüllte Fufs sein soll, lässt sich ỏodóv schwer verstehen. Es scheint vielmehr ὀρθὸν πόδα den hohen, gleichsam steilen Fufs (vgl. ὀρθόπους Soph. Ant. 985 ) der hochgeschürzten Göttin zu bezeichnen, wie sich κατηρεφῆ auf das lange Gewand bezieht.

mvp-comment-174-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 274

mvp-comment-174-2 φίλοις ἀρήγουσα: Der Dichter scheint weniger an die Auseer als an die Athener zu denken, welche dem libyschen König Inaros zu Hilfe gezogen waren ( Thuk. I 104 ff. ). Vgl. die ähnliche Anspielung auf Zeitverhältnisse in Eur. El. 1347 νώ δ᾽ ἐπὶ πόντον Σικελὸν σπουδῇ σώσοντε νεῶν πρῴρας ἐνάλους. Φλεγραίαν πλάκα, Schauplatz des Gigantenkampfes, bei welchem Athena, Φλεγραίων ὀλέ τειρα Γιγάντων (Prokl. hymn. 32), unter anderen den Enkelados tötete ( Eur. Ion 209 ).

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

καὶ λέγειν , i. e. and I know where it is right to speak. The double construction of ἐπίσταμαι is perhaps a little harsh, but there is no reason to suspect it.

mvp-sidgwick-143-2-1 The Schol. tells us that an ἐναγής (or person under a curse) might not go near anyone or look at or speak to him till purified. So Aeschylus himself below l. 448

. But the purification is complete l. 445
; and he has been ordered by the god l. 279
; and therefore he may speak l. 287
.

mvp-sidgwick-144-1-1 In the fine figurative style of Aeschylus the blood-stain slumbers and withers.

mvp-sidgwick-145-1-1 i. e. it would be long to tell from the beginning. ἐξ ἀρχῆς is by a slight stretch of usage, used closely with λόγος, equivalent to τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς λέγειν.

ἀβλαβεῖ , harmless; proving that he was purified.

mvp-sidgwick-147-1-1 I agree with Musgr. Herm. Hart. Dind. Weil. etc., that this line is spurious. It is clearly a proverbial line about the destructiveness of time; and even if we alter καθαιρεῖ τo καθαίρει with Stanl. Pal. etc. Aeschylus could not have said ( l. 283

) that Orestes was cleansed by sacrifice, and then abruptly ( l. 286
), Time cleanses all.

αὐτόν , myself: the me is not wanted after emphatic ἐμοί

mvp-sidgwick-148-2-1 The reference to the treaty formed 459 B. C. (the year before the play) between Athens and Argos against Sparta is obvious. See Introduction.

Τρίτων was in the stories of Athena a Libyan lake from which she was supposed to have sprung; afterwards identified with the large salt lake in the south of Tunis.

mvp-sidgwick-149-2-1 The story very likely arose out of the obscure Homeric epithet for Athena, Τριτογένεια, which perhaps meant born of the water, and anyhow was not clearly understood by the later Greeks.

mvp-sidgwick-150-1-1 Whether with upright step or covered foot: whether standing as in the ordinary statues or covering her feet, i.e. sitting. Pal. quotes Strabo (13. 1) as saying

In many of the ancient images of Athena she is represented as sitting.

mvp-sidgwick-150-2-1 This seems the best interpretation of an obscure passage.

mvp-sidgwick-150-3-1 Weil suggests the allusion is to the Athenian war in Egypt, in support of the Libyan chieftain Inaros, who had rebelled against Persia; a large Athenian fleet was sent out in 460, two years before this play. This explains φίλοις ἀρήγουσ᾽.

mvp-sidgwick-151-1-1 The Phlegraean plain is the narrow promontory of Pallene in Chalkidike, north east of Greece. The story was that the gods here fought the giants; a story as old as Pindar (Nem. 1. 100), in which fight we gather that the warrior goddess Athena marshalled the hosts.

mvp-sidgwick-151-2-1 The name Phlegraean plain was afterwards given to the volcanic coast of Campania, which some strangely have supposed to be meant here.