Aeschylus Eumenides 64

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.) — 1-142 focus
Εὐμενίδες Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 2. Smyth, Herbert Weir, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1926.) — 64 focus
Εὐμενίδες (1518 edition; OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Eumenides, 1518 edition. VLM-assisted OCR with native lineation and automated correspondence to the Smyth edition.) — 64 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Guilielmus Dindorfius, 1882.) — 64 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Gottfried Hermann, 1852.) — 64 focus
ΕΥΜΕΝΙΔΕΣ (OCR draft) Experimental (ΕΥΜΕΝΙΔΕΣ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 64 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Arthur Sidgwick, 1887.) — 64 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. N. Wecklein, 1885.) — 64 focus
οὔτοι προδώσω· διὰ τέλους δέ σοι φύλαξ
ἐγγὺς παρεστὼς καὶ πρόσω δ᾽ ἀποστατῶν
65
ἐχθροῖσι τοῖς σοῖς οὐ γενήσομαι πέπων.
καὶ νῦν ἁλούσας τάσδε τὰς μάργους ὁρᾷς
ὕπνῳ, πεσοῦσαι δ᾽ αἱ κατάπτυστοι κόραι,
γραῖαι παλαιαὶ παῖδες, αἷς οὐ μίγνυται
θεῶν τις οὐδ᾽ ἄνθρωπος οὐδὲ θήρ ποτε.
70
κακῶν δ᾽ ἕκατι κἀγένοντ', ἐπεὶ κακὸν
σκότον νέμονται Τάρταρον θ᾽ ὑπὸ χθονός,
μισήματ᾽ ἀνδρῶν καὶ θεῶν Ὀλυμπίων.
ὅμως δὲ φεῦγε μηδὲ μαλθακὸς γένῃ.
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Martin L. West, 1990.) — 64 focus
Aeschyli Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschyli Eumenides. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1914.) — 64 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek text of Aeschylus' Eumenides, edited by F. A. Paley, 1885.) — 64 focus
οὔτοι προδώσω· διὰ τέλους δέ σοι φύλαξ
ἐγγὺς παρεστὼς, καὶ πρόσω δ᾽ ἀποστατῶν,
65
ἐχθροῖσι τοῖς σοῖς οὐ γενήσομαι πέπων.
καὶ νῦν ἁλούσας τάσδε τὰς μάργους ὁρᾷς·
† ὕπνῳ πεσοῦσαι δ᾽ αἱ κατάπτυστοι κόραι,
γραῖαι, παλαιαὶ παῖδες, αἷς οὐ μίγνυται
θεῶν τις, οὐδ᾽ ἄνθρωπος, οὐδὲ θήρ ποτε·
70
κακῶν δ᾽ ἕκατι κἀγένοντ᾽· ἐπεὶ κακὸν
σκότον νέμονται, Τάρταρόν θ᾽ ὑπὸ χθονὸς,
μισήματ᾿ ἀνδρῶν καὶ θεῶν Ὀλυμπίων,
ὅμως δὲ φεύγε, μηδὲ μαλθακὸς γένῃ.
ἐλῶσι γάρ σε καὶ δι' ἠπείρου μακρᾶς
75
βιβῶντ᾽ ἀν᾿ ἀεὶ τὴν πλανοστιβῆ χθόνα,
ὑπέρ τε πόντον καὶ περιρρύτας πόλεις.
καὶ μὴ πρόκαμνε τόνδε βουκολούμενος
πόνον· μολὼν δὲ Παλλάδος ποτὶ πτόλιν
ἵζου παλαιὸν ἄγκαθεν λαβὼν βρέτας·
80
κἀκεῖ δικαστὰς τῶνδε καὶ θελκτηρίους
μύθους ἔχοντες μηχανὰς εὑρήσομεν,
ὥστ᾽ ἐς τὸ πᾶν σε τῶνδ᾽ ἀπαλλάξαι πόνων.
καὶ γὰρ κτανεῖν σ᾽ ἔπεισα μητρῷον δέμας.
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek text of Aeschylus' Eumenides, edited by Friedrich Blass, 1907.) — 64 focus
ἄναξ Ἄπολλον, οἶσθα μὲν τὸ μὴ ἀδικεῖν·
85
ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἐπίστᾶι, καὶ τὸ μὴ ἀμελεῖν μάθε·
σθένος δὲ ποιεῖν εὖ φερέγγυον τὸ σόν.
Translations (10)
The Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (The Eumenides. Theodore Alois Buckley, 1849.) — 64 focus
By no means will I forsake you: but till the end standing near you as a guardian, even though far off, to your enemies I will not be gentle. And now you behold these mad ones caught; but the abhorred virgins, aged chil­ dren have fallen in sleep 2
, whom neither one of the gods, nor man, nor beast, at any time embraces; but for the sake of evils they were born; since they inhabit evil darkness, and Tartarus beneath the earth, things hated by men and Olym­ pian gods. But nevertheless fly, nor be softened in spirit; for they will pursue with impunity you even through the long continent as you proceed 3
along the land trod in your wander­ ings, and over the deep, and the sea-girt cities. And be not wearied, driven herd-like 4
through this toil: but coming to the city of Pallas sit down having taken in your arms 5
the ancient image; and there, having judges of these things and soothing words, we will find means, so as completely to deliver you from these toils: for truly I persuaded you to slay your mother.
LES EUMÉNIDES (OCR draft) Experimental (LES EUMÉNIDES. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 64 focus
même les maisons d'autrui.
The Furies (OCR draft) Experimental (The Furies. Robert Potter, 1779.) — 64 focus
No: I will not forſake thee: to the end
My guardian care ſhall favour and aſſiſt thee
Preſent, or diſtant far: but to thy foes
85
I know not mercy.
See this griefly troop,
Sleep has oppreſs'd them, and their baffled rage
Shall fail, grim-viſag'd hags, grown old
In loath'd virginity: nor God, nor man
90
Approach'd their bed, nor ſavage of the wilds;
For they were born for mischiefs, and their haunts
In dreary darkneſs 'midſt the yawning gulfs
Of Tartarus beneath, by men abhorr'd,
And by th' Olympian Gods.
95
Fly then, nor yield
To weak diſtruſt: they, be thou fure, will follow
With unremitting chace thy flying ſteps
Wide wand'ring o'er the firm terrene, and o'er
The humid ſea, and wave-furrounded towns.
100
But faint thou not, ſink not beneath thy toils;
Fly to the city of Minerva, take
Thy ſuppliant ſeat, with reverence in thy arms
Graſp
Eschilo, Le Eumenidi: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli (OCR draft) Experimental (Eschilo, Le Eumenidi: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli. Ettore Romagnoli, 1922.) — 64 focus
lo non ti tradirò. Presso o lontano,
t'assisterò sino alla fine, e mite
mai non sarò per gl'inimici tuoi.
Vedi che queste Furie infine ho colte:
80
giaccion nel sonno le odïose vergini,
le antiche figlie della notte, a cui
non dei Superi alcuno e non degli uomini
né fiera alcuna mescesi.
Ministre
85
qui di ruina vennero: ché pure
sotto la terra, in ruinosa tenebra,
han dimora, nel Tartaro; e degli uomini
le aborrisce la stirpe e degli Olimpî.
Ma pur, tu fuggi, e non fiaccarti: ch'esse
90
Aeschylus, Eumenides: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Eumenides: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii. Ioannes Sanravius, 1555.) — 64 focus
Non certè prodā, ad finem uſq;
uerò tibi custos ero
Propè aſtans, & procul abſens
A tuis inimicis, & non ero impotens.
Et nunc uides captas has ſurtis
70
Somno cadentes uerò ſpuentes puellæ,
Vetulæ, ſenes puellæ, quibus non miſcetur
Deorum aliquis, neq;
homo, neq; fera unquam.
Malorum uerò gratia ſunt, & in malo
75
Tenebras inhabitant & tartarum ſub terra.
Inuiſæ hominibus & dijs cælestibus.
Tamen fuge, neq; mollis esto,
Perſequentur te per longam Epirum
Aſcendentem ſine detrimento erraticam terram.
80
Et ſupra Pontum, mariq; clauſas urbes.
Et ne defatigeris hunc mitigans
Laborem, migrans uerò ad urbem Palladis,
Sede antiquum apprehendens ulmis ſimulacrum.
Et illic iudices, & horum blandos
85
Sermones habentes, machinas inueniemus,
Vt omnino libereris ab his laboribus.
Nam te interficere perſuaſi maternum corpus.
Aeschylus, Die Eumeniden: German translation (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Die Eumeniden: German translation. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1919–1923.) — 64 focus
Ich will dich nicht verlassen. Mag ich nahe dir
65 zur Seite weilen oder fern: stets wart' ich dein
und gebe niemals schwächlich deinen Feinden nach.
Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (Eumenides. Anna Swanwick, 1886.) — 64 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.) — 64 focus
Lo, I desert thee never: to the end,
Hard at thy side as now, or sundered far,
I am thy guard, and to thine enemies
Implacably oppose me: look on them,
85
These greedy fiends, beneath my craft subdued!
See, they are fallen on sleep, these beldames old,
Unto whose grim and wizened maidenhood
Nor god nor man nor beast can e'er draw near.
Yea, evil were they born, for evil's doom,
90
Evil the dark abyss of Tartarus
Wherein they dwell, and they themselves the hate
Of men on earth, and of Olympian gods.
But thou, flee far and with unfaltering speed;
For they shall hunt thee through the mainland wide
95
Where'er throughout the tract of travelled earth
Thy foot may roam, and o'er and o'er the seas
And island homes of men. Faint not nor fail,
Too soon and timidly within thy breast
Shepherding thoughts forlorn of this thy toil;
100
But unto Pallas' city go, and there
Crouch at her shrine, and in thine arms enfold
Her ancient image: there we well shall find
Meet judges for this cause and suasive pleas,
Skilled to contrive for thee deliverance
105
From all this woe. Be such my pledge to thee,
For by my hest thou didst thy mother slay.
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.) — 64 focus
Nie werd' ich dich verlassen; nein, ich stehe stets
Zur Seite dir als Hüter, auch entfernt von dir, 1
65
Und werde deinen Feinden nie befreundet sein.
So siehst du jetzt gefangen dort die Nasenden;
Vom Schlaf gebunden ruhen sie, die scheußlichen
Jungfraun, die greisen Mädchen, die kein Gott umarmt,
Und denen liebend weder Mensch noch Thier sich naht.
70
Zu finstern Thaten wurden sie; denn finstre Nacht,
Der Tartaros tief unten, ist ihr Aufenthalt;
Sie sind ein Gräul den Menschen, wie den Himmlischen.
Doch fliehe nur vor ihnen, darfst nicht lässig sein.
Denn über Festlands Weiten treibt dich diese Schaar
75
In ruheloser Irre durch die Erde hin,
Und über Meer und meerumrauschtes Inselland.
Auf dieser Mühen banger Fahrt ermatte nicht
Zu frühe! Wenn du hingelangst in Pallas' Burg,
So size nieder und umschling' ihr altes Bild.
80
Dort werden wir die Richter über solche Schuld,
Das Wort der Sühne finden und erspäh'n die Bahn,
Die deiner Mühen aller dich erledige.
Denn auch zum Muttermorde trieb ich selbst dich an.
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. Hermes is the guide of the living on their journeys; as he is also the conductor of the souls of the dead to the nether world.

Commentary

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

64. διὰ τέλους , idiomatic expression for ever.

68. ὕπνῳ πεσοῦσαι , ‘prostrate in sleep' [they lie] : πεσοῦσαι used rather loosely for the perfect, like θανόντes for τεθνηκότες. But the construction is rather harsh, with a strained tense and no verb: and not improbably πεσοῦσαι is corrupt for some verb. The best suggestion is Weil's πεδῶνται : (others πρέπουσι, πέλουσι : παρεῖνται Weckl.).

69. μίγνυται , 'consorts.”

69. γραῖαι , παλαιαὶ παῖδες, ‘old, wrinkled maidens;' a bold and contemptuous oxymoron to express loathing.

78. βουκολούμενος . (mid. as Schol. interprets), tending, i. e. brooding over; a bold metaphor characteristic of the poet.

80. ἄγκαθεν , in thy arms, from ἄγκη, ‘the bent arm:' like the Homeric ἀγκὰς ἑλεῖν or ἔχειν, to take in the arms: cf. Ag. 3.

81. θελκτηρίους , ‘persuasive,' to the judges of the Areiopagos.

88. σε . φρέναs, the acc. of whole and part, common from Homer down: like Τρῶας τρόμος αἰνὸς ὑπήλυθε γυῖα ἕκαστον ; τὸν βάλε κνήμην; and μέθες με πρὸς θεῶν χεῖρα etc.

90. κάρτα δ᾽ ὧν ἐπώνυμος , true to thy name, give guidance : the title πομπαῖος meaning the guider .

169. μάντις ὤν , i. e. ‘though a seer,' and thus the last who should have allowed pollution.

174. τόν , Orestes: for Epic form cp. 137, 357.

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

mvp-comment-48-1 οὔτοι προδώσω: Personae notam omittunt G. Ald. Sed in G. adscriptum στροφή. πρὸς Ὀρέστην Απόλλων, ἀπέστη γὰρ ἡ ἱέρεια. In M. adseriptum πρὸς Ὀρέστην φησίν. ἀπέστη γὰρ ἡ ἱέρεια. Scholiastes ἐπιφανεὶς Ἀπόλλων συμβουλεύει Ὀρέστῃ καταλιπεῖν μὲν τὸ μαντεῖον, φυγεῖν δὲ εἰς ᾿Αθήνας, καὶ δευτέρα δὲ γίνεται φαντασία, στραφέντα γὰρ μηχανήματα ἔνδηλα ποιεῖ τὰ κατὰ τὸ μαντεῖον ὡς ἔχει. καὶ γίνεται ὄψις τραγική, τὸ μὲν ξίφος ᾑμαγμένον· ἔτι κατέχων Ὀρέστης, αἳ δὲ κύκλῳ φρουροῦσαι αὐτόν. Haec non recte ad hunc versum adscripta esse videntur, quum deberent ad v. 97. adnotari. Eodem modo scholion, quod ad ipsum fabulae initium ponendum fuerat, ad v. 48. adscriptum est. Certe hic non cogitandum est de versis machinis. Nam non solum nulla caussa erat cur nunc Furiae conspicerentur, sed etiam importune poeta animos spectatorum novo isto et terribili adspectu Furiarum avocasset ab audiendo Apollinis et Orestis colloquio. Prodeunt ex templo Apollo, Orestes, Mercurius. Dixi de hac re in Opusculis vol. VI. 2. p. 163. et in Anualium Vindobonensium vol. CXI. p. 246. seqq. προδόσω G. Ald. προδώσο Rob.

mvp-comment-49-1 καὶ πρόσω γ᾽ ἀποστατῶν: Recte Blomfieldius καὶ πρόσω γ' ἀποστατῶν. Libri καὶ πρόσω δ᾽ ἀποστατῶν. Sed hic quidem και - δέ ineptum est.

mvp-comment-50-1 ἐχθροῖσι: ἐχθροῖς Ald. Pro πρέπων aliam lectionem, πέπων, memorat scholiastes.

mvp-comment-51-1 ἁλούσας: εἰλούσας Rob. Interpunctionem, quae post vлvo erat, post dous recte transtulit Bothius.

mvp-comment-52-1 ὕπνῳ πεσοῦσαι δ': Libri πεσοῦσαι δ', nisi quod πεσοῦμαι δ' Ven. πεποῦσαι δ' Ald. Quod in Opusc. VI. 2. p. 23. putabam, participium pro verbo finito positum esse, probari non potest, quia participium aoristi ita usurpari nequit. Non puto tamen aliquid mutandum esse, quamquam non inepte scriberetur ὕπνῳ πνέουσι δ', ut in Choeph. v. 611. sed videtur potius huiusmodi versus excidisse, ἐν τοῖςδε τοῖς θρόνοισιν ἀσθενεῖς πάρα. Quare lacunae signa posui.

mvp-comment-53-1 γραῖαι, παλαιαὶ παῖδες: Libri γραῖαι παλαιαὶ παῖδες. Adscriptum est in M. hoc scholion, sine lemmate, πολιαὶ γάρ (hoc ad γραῖαι παλαιαί pertinet). παῖδες, διὰ τὸ νέον· ἢ ἐπειδὴ ἄγαμοι καὶ παρθένοι εἰσί. τὸ ἀλλόκοτον δὲ τῆς φύσεως διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων τραγικώτερον διασύρει. Valckenarius ad Callimachi elegiarum fragmenta p. 147. "primum corrigebam,” inquit, “πέλουσι δ' αἱ κατάπτυστοι κόραι Γαίας παλαιαὶ παῖδες. et certe, secundum Hesiodum Theog. v. 185, Furias terra genuit: postea credere malui, vocem youîai esse vicinarum interpretamentum, Aeschylum dedisse Νυκτὸς παλαιαὶ παῖδες· ut infra v. 322. 419. 748. 1036.” (319. 408. 737. 1015.) "Servius in Virg. Αen. III. 212.” Ex his πέλουσι miror viro summo in mentem venisse, quem meminisse oportebat Euripidi facilius quam Aeschylo convenire huiusmodi expositionem, quae ad solos spectatores pertineret. Illud alterum autem, Νυκτός, et ingeniosum est et videtur esse verum.

mvp-comment-54-1 κἀγένοντ', ἐπεὶ κακὸν: ἐπὶ κακὸν G. Ald. Turn.

mvp-comment-55-1 μισήματ᾽: μίσημα τ' ἀνδρῶν G. Ald.

mvp-comment-56-1 ἐλῶσι ... μακρᾶς: ἑλῶσι G. Ald. μακρὰς G.

mvp-comment-57-1 βιβῶντ᾽ ἀν' ἀεὶ τὴν πλανοστιβῆ χθόνα: βεβῶντ᾽ ἂν αἰεὶ τὴν M. Par. Rob. βεβῶντ᾽ ἂν ἀείτην G. Ald. βεβόντ᾽ ἂν αἰεὶ τὴν Ven. Flor. βεβόντ' αἰεὶ τὴν Farn. βεβῶντ' ἀνατεὶ τὴν Turn. Deinde πλανοστηβῆ χθόνα Rob. Stephanus probavit ἀνατεί, sed βεβῶτα aut βιβῶντα scribendum putavit. Ει βεβῶν ἀνατεί editores receperunt. Dixi in Opusc. VI. 2. p. 24. scribendum esse ἂν ἀεί, ea praepositionis collocatione, a qua ne prosa quidem oratio abstinuit. Sic enim Plato Leg. VIII. p. 832. C. ἀλλ' ἀκόντων ἑκοῦσα ἄρχει σὺν ἀεί τινι βίᾳ. Verum non erat retinendum βεβῶτα, sed recepta altera Stephani coniectura, βιβῶντα, quae in librorum scriptura latet, ita scribendum, βιβῶντ᾽ ἂν ἀεὶ τὴν πλανοστιβῆ χθόνα. Non obstat quod ßißor in iis quas habemus tragicorum fabulis non invenitur. Vtitur eo verbo praeter epicos Pindarus.

mvp-comment-58-1 πόντον: πόντον Turnebus. πόντου M. G. Ven. Flor. Farn. Ald. Rob.

mvp-comment-59-1 βουκολούμενος: Non satis accurate scholiastes βουκολούμενος per περιέπων explicat. Inest enim in hoc verbo diu frustrati laboris significatio, neque active, sed passive intelligendum est.

mvp-comment-60-1 Παλλάδος ποτὶ πτόλιν: παλλάδος ποτὶ πτόλιν G. Ven. Flor. Ald. Turn. et ex emendatione Sophiani Rob. ποτὶ πτόλιν παλλάδος M. et codex Robortelli: sed in M. verus verborum ordo litteris asupra adscriptis indicatur.

mvp-comment-61-1 ἵζου ... ἄγκαθεν: ἕζου 'Turn. Αγκαθεν scholiastes recte interpretatur ἐν ἀγκάλαις. V. ad Ag. v. 3.

mvp-comment-62-1 μὴ ἀδικεῖν: μὴ ἀδικεῖν Ven. Flor. Farn. In Flor. Farn. συνίζησις adscriptum. μὴ ἀδικεῖν M. Rob. μὴδικεῖν G. Ald. Turn. μὴ δοκεῖν codex Robortelli.

mvp-comment-63-1 ἐπίστᾳ ... μὴ ἀμελεῖν: ἐπίστα Porsonus. ἐπίσται Μ. ἐπίστα ceteri. Deinde μὴ ἀμελεῖν Ven. Flor. Farn. συνίζησις adscriptum in Flor. Farn. μὴ μελεῖν Μ. μὴμελεῖν G. Turn. μὴ μελεῖν Ald. Rob.

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

mvp-comment-27-1 Apollo himself appears (apparently as an actor on the stage, though this is not certain). No! he exclaims, I will not desert you! I will watch over and guard you to the end, either at your side or from a distance, and I will show no gentleness to your enemies. We might conceive that Apollo appeared as in the air, by the μηχανὴ, and that this verse really means Even though far from you, as much as if I were close by you. Yet, as an interlocutor throughout the play, it would be difficult to suppose he always spoke from the μηχανή. - The use of καὶ δὲ is not common in tragedy, though very frequent in the later Attic prose. See Pers. 263, 548 . -πέπων, mitis, opposed to ὠμός, stern.

mvp-comment-28-1 This verse is corrupt, and the scholia give no help. Perhaps κόπῳ δ᾽ ὑπνώσσουσ᾽ αἱ κ. κ., in which case ἁλούσας, caught, will mean in my power, unable to stir, the capturers being themselves captured.

mvp-comment-29-1 οὐ μίγνυται] The sense is purposely ambiguous between cohabit and associate. So Homer says of Calypso, Od. νι. 288

οὐδέ τις αὐτῇ μίσγεται οὔτε θεῶν οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.

mvp-comment-30-1 κακῶν ἕκατι] Their very existence is due to the existence of evil; if there were no crimes there would be no Furies to punish them. This is inferred from the race being altogether hellish and excluded from heaven.

mvp-comment-31-1 ὅμως] Though they are now asleep, you must continue your flight, for they will pursue you even through the spacious mainland, as well as over the sea and to island settlements.

mvp-comment-32-1 βιβῶντ'] This is an epic and Pindaric form. (See Veitch, Gr. V. p. 132 .) The Med. has βεβῶντ'. For the separation of avà Hermann compares Plat. Legg. VIII. p. 832 c

σὺν ἀεί τινι βίᾳ.
So also Eur. El. 1121
ὁρᾷς; ἀν᾿ αὐ σὺ ζωπυρεῖς νείκη νέα.

mvp-comment-33-1 βουκολούμενος] Brooding over. Schol.

περιέπων.
Cf. Ag. 652
έβουκολοῦμεν φροντίσιν νέον πάθος.
 For προκάμνειν, to give in too soon, cf. Herc. F. 119
μὴ προκάμητε πόδα βαρύ τε κώλον.
 Thuc. 11. 39
περιγίγνεται ἡμῖν τοῖς μέλλουσιν ἀλγεινοῖς μὴ προκάμνειν.

mvp-comment-34-1 ἵζου] sit as a suppliant at the ancient wooden image (distinguished as Πολιάς) in the Erechtheum. -ἄγκαθεν, Schol.

ταῖς ἀγκάλαις.
See Ag. 3 .

mvp-comment-35-1 ἔπεισα] The emphasis is on this word: You were persuaded to slay your mother, and therefore it was not altogether ἑκὼν φόνος.—κτανεῖν, as inf. 96 ἔκτανον, a somewhat rare form for the usual Attic ἀποκτεῖναι.

mvp-comment-36-1 Orestes, in acknowledging the universally received title of Apollo as the god of Justice, begs him to use his omnipotence in looking after and protecting him. It is remarkable that these three verses are the only words that Orestes utters till he arrives at the Athenian Acropolis, ν. 226.

mvp-comment-37-1 μέμνησο] This refers to the injunction just given μὴ πρόκαμνε κ.τ.λ. Cf. Agam. 803 .

mvp-comment-38-1 κάρτα ἐπώνυμος, as in Theb. 655 , is true to your name, a brief phrase for κάρτα παρέχων πομπὴν ἧς ἐπώνυμος εἶ.

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-35-1 ἐπιφανεὶς Ἀπόλλων συμβουλεύει Ὀρέστηι καταλιπεῖν μὲν τὸ μαντεῖον, φυγεῖν δὲ εἰς Ἀθήνας. καὶ δευτέρα δὲ γίνεται φαντασία. στραφέντα γὰρ μηχανήματα ἔνδηλα ποιεῖ τὰ κατὰ τὸ μαντεῖον ὡς ἔχει καὶ γίνεται ὄψις τραγική· τὸ μὲν ξίφος ἡιμαγμένον ἔτι κατέχων Ορέστης, αἱ δὲ κύκλωι φρουροῦσαι αὐτόν. πρὸς Ὀρέστην φησίν· ἀπέστη γὰρ ἡ ἱέρεια.

mvp-comment-36-1 ἐπίστασαι,

mvp-comment-37-1 τὸ δὲ σὸν σθένος ἀσφαλές ἐστιν εἰς τὸ εὖ ποιεῖν.

mvp-comment-38-1 γράφεται πρέπων“, οὐχ ὅμοιος (Paley st. - ον)· αἱ μὲν γὰρ καθεύδουσιν, ἐγὼ δὲ ἐγρήγορα.

mvp-comment-39-1 πολιαὶ γάρ· παῖδες διὰ τὸ νέον, ἢ ἐπειδὴ ἄγαμοι καὶ παρθένοι εἰσί. τὸ ἀλλόκοτον δὲ τῆς φύσεως διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων τραγικώτερον διασύρει.

mvp-comment-40-1 ἕνεκεν τοῦ κακοποιεῖν.

mvp-comment-41-1 ἐλάσουσι (Ddf. f. -ωσι).

mvp-comment-42-1 περιέπων.

mvp-comment-43-1 ταῖς ἀγκάλαις.

mvp-comment-45-1 ὅδιος γὰρ ὁ θεός (auch f).

mvp-comment-46-1 φυλάσσων. βισμα καὶ δέημα οὐ μόνον τιμᾶι ὁ Ζεύς, ἀλλὰ καὶ σέβει, ὁρῶν αὐτὸ ὁρμώμενον προσηκούσηι τύχηι.

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-43-1 1

mvp-comment-43-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 257

mvp-comment-43-3 πρόσω διχοστατῶν, getrennt und fern von dir. Vgl. διχοστα τοῦντα 389.

mvp-comment-44-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 257

mvp-comment-44-2 πέπων, μαλθακός (74), mürbe. Vgl. Ag. 1642 .

mvp-comment-45-1 2

mvp-comment-45-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 258

mvp-comment-45-3 ὕπνῳ παρείνται (sind erschlafft) wie Eur. Kykl. 591

τῷ δ᾽ ὕπνῳ παρειμένος
. Die Stellung von δέ wie 623. Vgl. zu Ag. 744 .

mvp-comment-46-1 3

mvp-comment-46-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 258

mvp-comment-46-3 Νυκτὸς παῖδες: vgl. 322 f., 419, 748, 796, 1034. Bei Sophokles (Oed. K. 40) heifsen sie Γῆς τε καὶ Σκότου κόραι. Nach Hes. Theog. 185 sind sie von der Erde geboren aus den Blutstropfen des von Kronos entmannten Uranos. Vgl. auch Lykophr. 437

αἱ Νυκτὸς κόραι
, Ovid. Met. IV 452 sorores Nocte .. genitas, Verg. Aen. VI 250 matri Eumenidum, XII 846 Dirae quas Nox . . uno eodemque tulit partu. Ζη παλαιαὶ παῖδες vgl. παῖδες ἄπαιδες 1034. Doch s. Anhang. αἷς οὐ μίγνυται: Soph. Ai. 835
καλῶ τὰς ἀεί τε παρθένους σεμνὰς Ἐρινῆς τανύποδας
. Der Ausdruck wie Hom. η 247 Καλυψώ .. δεινὴ Θεός· οὐδέ τις αὐτῇ μίσγεται οὔτε θεῶν οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.

mvp-comment-47-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 258

mvp-comment-47-2 θήρ: Suppl. 1010

θῆρες δὲ κηραίνουσι καὶ βροτοί. τί μήν
; Besonders werden damit die Kentauren bezeichnet. Soph. Trach. 1096
διφυῆ τ᾽ ἄμικτον ἱπποβάμονα στρα τὸν θηρῶν
, 556, 568 u. δ.

mvp-comment-48-1 4

mvp-comment-48-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 258

mvp-comment-48-3 ἐλῶσι, ἐλάσουσι. — Du mufst dich auf eine lange Irrsal gefafst machen ( μὴ μαλθακὸς γένῃ); denn wenn du auch durch das weite Festland geschritten den Boden unter den Fülsen verlierst, werden sie dich über das Meer verfolgen. βεβὼς wie Eur. Bakch. 646

φαίνῃ πρὸς οἴκοις τοῖς ἐμοῖς, ἔξω βεβώς. Ζυ αμείψης
vgl. Cho. 569 . - περιρρύτας πόλεις, νήσους. Wegen der Form περιρρύτας vgl. Hymn. auf Apoll. 251 ἀμφιρύτας κατὰ νήσους und zu Ag. 1527 .

mvp-comment-49-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 258

mvp-comment-49-2 πρόκαμνε, vor der Zeit. βουκολούμενος, Schol. περιέπων, abweidend d.i. durchmachend. Wakefield erklärt es passivisch: agitatus ut bos. Mit βουκολούμενος πόνον wäre dann τοὺς ὑπερμήκεις δρόμους γυμνάζεται Prom. 616 zusammen zu stellen. Vgl. Ag. 674 .

mvp-comment-50-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 258

mvp-comment-50-2 ποτί im Trimeter wie auch einmal bei Sophokles ( Trach. 1214

ποτιψαύων
).

mvp-comment-51-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 258

mvp-comment-51-2 παλαιὸν βρέτας, das altheilige hochverehrte Holzbild der ᾿Αθηνῶ Πολιάς auf der Akropolis. Vgl. Eur. El. 1254 ἐλθὼν δ᾽ Ἀθήνας Παλλά δος σεμνὸν βρέτας πρόσπτυξον, C. I. Gr. I n. 160 ἐπιστάται τοῦ νεω τοῦ ἐν πόλει ἐν ᾧ τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἄγαλμα, Paus. I 26, 6 τὸ δὲ ἁγιώτατον ἐν κοινῷ πολλοῖς πρότερον νομισθὲν ἔτεσιν ἢ συνῆλθον ἀπὸ τῶν δήμων (d. i. vor dem s. g. Synoikismos des Theseus) ἐστὶν Ἀθηνᾶς ἄγαλμα ἐν τῇ νῦν ἀκροπόλει, τότε δὲ ὀνο μαζομένῃ πόλει (in diesem Sinne kann man hier auch Παλλάδος πτό- λιν nehmen). φήμη δὲ ἐς αὐτὸ ἔχει πεσεῖν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (also ein ξόανον διιπετές). ἄγκαθεν, ταῖς ἀγκάλαις Schol. Vgl. 258 περὶ βρέ τει πλεχθείς und πρόσπτυξον in der a. St. des Euripides.

mvp-comment-52-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 259

mvp-comment-52-2 οἶσθα τὸ μὴ ἀδικεῖν, vgl. 752 τὸ μὴ ἀδικεῖν σέβοντες. Der Gedanke ist: Deine Worte zeigen, dafs du dich darauf verstehst, nicht Unrecht zu thun d.h. dafs du weifst was du zu thun schuldig bist (deinem Versprechen gemäfs, Cho. 1036 f. ), es kommt nur darauf an, dafs du daran denkst; die Macht fehlt dir ja nicht. ἐπίστα wie 584, δύνα Soph. Phil. 849 , Oed. Τ. 696. φερέγγυον: Schol. :

τὸ δὲ σὺν σθένος ἀσφαλές ἐστιν εἰς τὸ ποιεῖν εὖ.
Vgl. Sept. 383
προστατεῖν φερέγγυος
.

mvp-comment-53-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 259

mvp-comment-53-2 μέμνησο: sei dessen eingedenk, was du gesagt hast, dafs ich die Macht habe dich zu schützen, und fürchte dich darum nicht. σὲ . . φρένας: Krüger II § 46, 16, 3 .

mvp-comment-54-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 259

mvp-comment-54-2 αὐτάδελφον: Sept. 705

ἀλλ' αὐτάδελφον αἷμα δρέψασθαι θέλεις
; Soph. Ant. 1
ὦ κοινὸν αὐτάδελφον Ισμήνης κάρα
. Man braucht αὐτάδελφον nicht auf die gemeinsame Mutter ( Hesych. :
ἀδελφοί· οἱ ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς δελφύος γεγονότες· δελφὺς γὰρ ἡ μήτρα λέγεται
) zu beziehen und eine Abweichung von der_gewöhnlichen Abstammung des Hermes ( Cho. 809 ) anzunehmen.

mvp-comment-55-1 5

mvp-comment-55-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 259

mvp-comment-55-3 ὢν ἐπώνυμος πομπαῖος ἴσθι: Sept. 8

Ζεὺς ἀλεξητήριος ἐπώνυμος γένοιτο Καδμείων πόλει
und zu Ag. 517 . Hermes ist zunächst Geleiter der Seelen in die Unterwelt ( ψυχοπομπός, vgl. Soph. Ai. 832
καλῶ δ᾽ ἅμα πομπαίον Ἑρμῆν χθόνιον εὖ με κοιμίσαι
, Hom. ω 3 ), dann aber Geleiter überhaupt (πομπαῖος, πομπός).

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

διὰ τέλους , idiomatic expression for ever.

mvp-sidgwick-48-1-1 If MSS. καὶ πρόσω δέ is right, it means and even when far away, i. e. ' I will watch over you when near, and even when afar, and I will punish your foes.' This makes good sense and need not be altered, though καὶ πρόσω γε Blom. is possibly right.

ὕπνῳ πεσοῦσαι , prostrate in sleep [they lie] : πεσοῦσαι used rather loosely for the perfect, like θανόντes for τεθνηκότες. But the construction is rather harsh, with a strained tense and no verb: and not improbably πεσοῦσαι is corrupt for some verb. The best suggestion is Weil's πεδῶνται : (others πρέπουσι, πέλουσι : παρεῖνται Weckl.).

μίγνυται , consorts.

γραῖαι , παλαιαὶ παῖδες, old, wrinkled maidens; a bold and contemptuous oxymoron to express loathing.

mvp-sidgwick-51-1-1 The least alteration of MSS. is to read βιβῶντ᾽ ἀν᾿ ἀεὶ τὴν π. χ., ever pacing the travelled earth. This involves the displacement of the preposition ἀνά by ἀεί, a very rare and harsh licence: H. P. quote Plato σὺν ἀεί τινι βίᾳ, but ἀεί τινι is far less harsh an interruption than ἀεί alone. [This we shall see if we try it in English, rule with always some violence, is less impossible than walk over always the earth.] A better example is Laws 797 D ἐν ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν οὐ τοῖς μὲν τοῖς δ᾽ οὐ.

mvp-sidgwick-51-2-1 The conjectures are very numerous 1 but do not convince : ἀνάγκῃ Musgr. is perhaps the best: or to read περῶντα δ᾽ ἀεί with Weil and Weckl. I leave the ἀν' ἀεί, as it is perhaps barely possible.

mvp-sidgwick-51-3-1 The Homeric βιβῶντ' (used also by Pindar) is a better correction than βεβῶτ', as nearer the MSS. and more likely to have been corrupted.

mvp-sidgwick-52-1-1 Notice περιρρύτας, fem. form from compd. adj. So

περικλυστά
Pers. 596 ,
εὐφιλητάν
Theb. 108 ,
δυσοιστά (?)
Eum. 789 ,
παναρκέτας (?)
Cho. 69 .

βουκολούμενος . (mid. as Schol. interprets), tending, i. e. brooding over; a bold metaphor characteristic of the poet.

ἄγκαθεν , in thy arms, from ἄγκη, the bent arm: like the Homeric ἀγκὰς ἑλεῖν or ἔχειν, to take in the arms: cf. Ag. 3 .

θελκτηρίους , persuasive, to the judges of the Areiopagos.

mvp-sidgwick-56-1-1 Learn also to take heed, though to our ears it sounds too bold to be said to a god, is not so meant in the Greek, nor does Apollo so take it: it is simply forget me not, O god. Notice ἐπίστᾳ contracted for ἐπίστασαι; so we find δύνᾳ.

mvp-sidgwick-57-1-1 Thy strength is warrant thou wilt aid me; taking eὖ ποιεῖν together.

σε . φρέναs, the acc. of whole and part, common from Homer down: like Τρῶας τρόμος αἰνὸς ὑπήλυθε γυῖα ἕκαστον ; τὸν βάλε κνήμην; and μέθες με πρὸς θεῶν χεῖρα etc.

κάρτα δ᾽ ὧν ἐπώνυμος , true to thy name, give guidance : the title πομπαῖος meaning the guider.