Aeschylus Eumenides 299

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

Εὐμενίδες (Greek) (Aeschylus, Volume 2. Smyth, Herbert Weir, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1926.)

Editions (11)
Εὐμενίδες First1KGreek (Aeschyli Tragoediae. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.) — 299-396 focus
Εὐμενίδες (1518 edition; OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Eumenides, 1518 edition. VLM-assisted OCR with native lineation and automated correspondence to the Smyth edition.) — 299 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Guilielmus Dindorfius, 1882.) — 299 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Gottfried Hermann, 1852.) — 299 focus
ΕΥΜΕΝΙΔΕΣ (OCR draft) Experimental (ΕΥΜΕΝΙΔΕΣ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 299 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Arthur Sidgwick, 1887.) — 299 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. N. Wecklein, 1885.) — 299 focus
οὔτοι σ᾽ Ἀπόλλων οὐδ᾽ Ἀθηναίας σθένος
ῥύσαιτ᾽ ἂν ὥστε μὴ οὐ παρημελημένον
300
ἔρρειν, τὸ χαίρειν μὴ μαθόνθ᾽ ὅπου φρενῶν,
ἀναίματον βόσκημα δαιμόνων σκιά·
οὐδ᾽ ἀντιφωνεῖς, ἀλλ᾽ ἀποπτύεις λόγους,
ἐμοί τραφείς τε καὶ καθιερωμένος;
καὶ ζῶν με δαίσεις οὐδὲ πρὸς βωμῷ σφαγείς·
305
ὕμνον δ᾽ ἀκούσῃ τόνδε δέσμιον σέθεν.
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Εὐμενίδες. Martin L. West, 1990.) — 299 focus
Aeschyli Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschyli Eumenides. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1914.) — 299 focus
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek text of Aeschylus' Eumenides, edited by F. A. Paley, 1885.) — 299 focus
οὔτοι σ᾽ ᾿Απόλλων οὐδ᾽ ᾿Αθηναίας σθένος
ῥύσαιτ᾽ ἂν, ὥστε μὴ οὐ παρημελημένον
290
ἔρρειν, τὸ χαίρειν μὴ μαθόνθ᾽ ὅπου φρενών,
ἀναίματον βόσκημα δαιμόνων, σκιάν.
οὐδ᾽ ἀντιφωνεῖς, ἀλλ᾽ ἀποπτύεις λόγους,
ἐμοὶ τραφείς τε καὶ καθιερωμένος;
καὶ ζῶν με δαίσεις, οὐδὲ πρὸς βωμῷ σφαγείς·
295
ὕμνον δ᾽ ἀκούσει τόνδε δέσμιον σέθεν.
Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek text of Aeschylus' Eumenides, edited by Friedrich Blass, 1907.) — 299 focus
οὔτις σ᾽ Ἀπόλλων οὐδ᾽ Ἀθηναίας σθένος
ῥύσαιτ᾽ ἄν, ὥστε μὴ οὐ παρημελημένον
300
ἔρρειν, τὸ χαίρειν μὴ μαθόνθ᾽ ὅπου φρενῶν,
ἀναιμάτωι βόσκημα δαιμόνων σκιᾶι.
σὺ δ᾽ ἀντιφωνεῖς; ἀλλ᾽ ἀποπτύσηι λόγους
ἐμοὶ τραφείς τε καὶ καθιερωμένος,
καὶ ζῶν με δαίσεις οὐδὲ πρὸς βωμῶι σφαγείς·
305
ὕμνον δ᾽ ἀκούσηι τόνδε δέσμιον σέθεν.
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.)) — 299 focus
The Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (The Eumenides. Theodore Alois Buckley, 1849.) — 299 focus
By no means shall Apollo, or the might of Minerva set you free, so as not to perish neglected, not having learnt where in your mind to rejoice, the bloodless food of demons, a shadow. Dost thou not reply, but dost thou disdain my words, thou who art both nourished for, and devoted to me 2
. And alive you shall feed me, not slain at the altar, and you shall hear this hymn that charms you.
LES EUMÉNIDES (OCR draft) Experimental (LES EUMÉNIDES. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 299 focus
enfin!
The Furies (OCR draft) Experimental (The Furies. Robert Potter, 1779.) — 299 focus
No: not Apollo, nor Minerva's pow'r
Shall ſet thee free, but that an abject outcaſt
Thou drag thy ſteps, ſeeking in vain to find
Reſt to thy joyleſs ſoul, exhausted, worn,
A lifeleſs ſhadow.
335
Yet thy pride replies not,
Me, and my threats deſpiſing, tho' to me
Devoted, my rich victim, and alive
To feed my rage, not offer'd on the altar.
Eschilo, Le Eumenidi: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli (OCR draft) Experimental (Eschilo, Le Eumenidi: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli. Ettore Romagnoli, 1922.) — 299 focus
Apollo non potrà, non la possanza
potrà d'Atena farti salvo.
Andrai
330
Aeschylus, Eumenides: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Eumenides: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii. Ioannes Sanravius, 1555.) — 299 focus
Ne te Apollo neq; Minerue robur
Liberet, ut neglectus
Euaneſcas, gaudium nesciens mentis.
Sine ſanguine cibus dæmonum tenebræ,
295
Neq; contrà clames, ſed expuas uerba,
Mihi conuerſus, & conſecratus.
Aeschylus, Die Eumeniden: German translation (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Die Eumeniden: German translation. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1919–1923.) — 299 focus
Nicht soll Apollon noch Athenas starke Hand
300 dich retten. Weichen werden sie von dir. Du musst
hinunter, wo der Seele jedes Lustgefühl
abstirbt, der Leib zum Schatten ausgemergelt wird:
Eumenides (OCR draft) Experimental (Eumenides. Anna Swanwick, 1886.) — 299 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.) — 299 focus
Thee not Apollo nor Athena's strength
Can save from perishing, a castaway
350
Amid the Lost, where no delight shall meet
Thy soul—a bloodless prey of nether powers,
A shadow among shadows. Answerest thou
Nothing? dost cast away my words with scorn,
Thou, prey prepared and dedicate to me?
355
Not as a victim slain upon the shrine,
But living shalt thou see thy flesh my food.
Hear now the binding chant that makes thee mine.
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.) — 299 focus
Nicht soll Apollon, nicht Athene's hohe Macht
Dir Schuß gewähren, daß du nicht verlassen einst
Hinfährst, vergessend, wo im Herzen Freude wohnt,
290
Blutleer, von Göttern aufgezehrt, ein Schattenbild! -
Nichts widersprichst du, dir erstirbt das Wort im Mund,
Du mir genährtes, mir geweihtes Opferthier?
Du labst mich lebend, nicht am Herd geschlachtet erst.
Nun höre meinen Reigen, der dich bannen soll!
295
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.)

298. γένοιτο , regular sequence after ἔλθοι. In English we say May she come, and therefore naturally have the primary sequence, that she may prove .

301. ὅπου φρενῶν , where in the heart it lies.

302. δαιμόνων is the powers below, i, e. both the Furies who will drink his blood and Hades (1. 274) who ordains and directs the vengeance.

302. σκιάν , a shadow, not a ghost, for he was to be carried off below yet living (1. 267): but all the vigour sucked out of him with his blood. [Schol. reads σκιά with MSS., and takes it voc. Unlikely.]

306. ὕμνον δέσμιον σέθεν , the song that binds thee, the choric song acting as an infernal spell to make Orestes their prey: and perhaps accompanied by mysterious binding gestures.

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

mvp-comment-213-1 οὔτοι σ' Ἀπόλλων οὐδ᾽ Ἀθηναίας σθένος ῥύσαιτ᾽ ἂν ὥςτε μὴ οὐ παρημελημένον ἔρρειν, τὸ χαίρειν μὴ μαθόνθ' ὅπου φρενῶν, ἀναίματον βόσκημα τῶνδε δαιμόνων.: Hos versus inter tres Furias distribuendos esse indicavi in Opusc. VI. 2. p. 61. τῶνδέ μοι Farn. ovtis o Ven. Farn. et adscripto in margine yo. ovτoi σè Flor. Deinde vains Farn. áðŋvalois Ven. et ad ultimam syllabam supra adscripto as Flor. Jos tε pro stɛ Ald. qui tam mirus error ex eo ortus est, quod in G. quum librarius neglecto çre scripsisset in, statim autem animadverso errore hanc voculam mutasset in wore, confusi ductus litterarum un et a negligentius considerati speciem praebent similem litterarum ρου. μαθῶν θ' Rob. Libri αναίματον βόσκημα δαιμόνων σκιά. Scholiastes ἀναίματον ita interpretatur, simul aliam lectionem, ἐναίματον, commemorans, ὁ μηδὲ αἷμα σχήσων ἐξ ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ γενησόμενος σκιά· οφήσομεν γάρ σου τὸ αἷμα (conf. v. 261.). ἢ ἐναίματον, ἀντὶ τοῦ. ζῶντά σε νεκρὸν ποιήσομεν. Heathii coniecturam, σκιάν, Schutzius recepit, post δαιμόνων commate interpungens, ut δαίμονες intelligerentur Furiae. Verum sic σκιάν languidius adiectum est. Quare olim ita interpunxi, αναίματον βόσκημα, δαιμόνων σκιάν, ut acerbe diceretur Orestes futurus esse umbra dei alicuius, quemadmodum in Iliade V.242. de diis dicitur τούνεκ' αναίμονές εισι. Postea in Annalium Vindobonensium vol. CXI. p. 250. aliam et, ut puto, veriorem rationem ineundam esse ostendi. Nam δαίμονες dicuntur sane Furiae: sed accuratius definiendum erat illud δαιμόνων. Quod autem libri habent, σκιά, ex interpretatione in ipsius poetae versum illatum est. Quare scripsi, ἀναίματον βόσκημα τῶνδε δαιμόνων.

mvp-comment-214-1 ἀλλ᾽: οὐδ pro ἀλλ' Ven. Flor.

mvp-comment-215-1 καθιερωμένος: καθιερωμένος Ald. Addidi interrogationis signum. V. Opusc. VI. 2. p. 61. VII. p. 19.

mvp-comment-216-1 καὶ ζῶν με δαίσεις, οὐδὲ πρὸς βωμῷ σφαγείς: Hunc et sequentem versum choro continuandum esse vidit Stanleius. In G. Ald. Turn. Apollini tributi sunt. In M. versui 302. lineola praefixa est. Nulla personae nota in Ven. Flor. καὶ ζῶν μἐδαίσεις Ven. Farn. πρὸς βοροσφαγείς codex Robortelli: ipse ex Sophiani emendatione dedit προς βωμῷ σφαγείς, quod est in celeris libris.

mvp-comment-217-1 ὕμνον δ᾽ ἀκούσει: ὕμνον ἀκούση Ven. ὕπνον ἀκούσῃ Flor. Ceteri ὕμνον δ᾽ ἀκούσῃ.

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

mvp-comment-104-1 οὔτοι κ.τ.λ.] 'No! not Apollo nor yet Athene's might can protect you from perishing (going to the bad') in utter neglect, without knowing the feeling of joy in your mind,a bloodless victim of us deities, a shadow of your former self.' There is a pause after this, and as Orestes makes no reply, the second Fury says, What! not a word in reply? Do you spurn converse, you who are fed and consecrated as my victim? The third adds, A victim too who shall be devoured alive, &c. Then the whole body of the chorus chant the spell, or binding hymn, which is to entrance the victim and place him wholly in their power. The fourteen introductory anapaestics form the parode.

mvp-comment-105-1 τραφείς] There is an allusion to the human victims called φαρμακοὶ οι δημόσιοι, who were sacrificed by the Athenians at the feast of Thargelia. See Photius in v. φαρμακός.

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-121-1 ὁ μηδὲ αἷμα σχήσων ἐξ ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ γενησόμενος σκιά· ῥοφήσομεν γάρ σου τὸ αἷμα. ἢ ἐναίματον, ἀντὶ τοῦ ζῶντά σε νεκρὸν ποιήσομεν.

mvp-comment-122-1 οὐκ ἀποκρίνηι, ἢ ἀντὶ τοῦ) οὐδὲ ἀντιφωνήσεις μοι, ἀλλὰ σοῦ βουλομένου λαλεῖν τὸ φθέγμα δεθήσεται.

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-177-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 274

mvp-comment-177-2 παρημελημένον d. i. so dafs keiner nach dir fragt ( ἄιστον ἄπυστον). Sept. 689

θεοῖς μὲν ἤδη πως παρημελήμεθα
.

mvp-comment-178-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 274

mvp-comment-178-2 ,,Ohne erfahren zu haben wo im Herzen die Freude wohnt“, weil du keine Freude genieſsen wirst. Vgl. 426 ὅπου τὸ χαίρειν μηδαμοῦ νομίζεται. Etwas anders Soph. Oed. K. 1217

τὰ τέρποντα δ᾽ οὐκ ἂν ἴδοις ὅπου
.

mvp-comment-179-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 274

mvp-comment-179-2 Du eine blutleere Weide, nur Schatten von solchen die Blut haben, erwiderst mir nicht einmal?

mvp-comment-180-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 275

mvp-comment-180-2 καὶ ζῶν . . οὐδὲ . . σφαγείς, sogar lebend und nicht erst geschlachtet. οὐδὲ für καὶ οὐ wie öfter bei Dichtern ( Krüger II § 69, 60 ). μὲ δαίσεις wie Eur. Or. 15

ἔδαισε δ᾽ οὖν νιν τέκν᾽ ἀποκτείνας Ατρεύς.

mvp-comment-180-3 1

mvp-comment-181-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 275

mvp-comment-181-2 δέσμιον σέθεν wie δέσμιος φρενῶν 333: zu Cho. 235 . Der besinnungraubende" Gesang der Erinyen ,, schlingt die Bande um den Frevler". Der Ausdruck erinnert an magische Künste (vgl. Plat. Ges. XI p. 933 A μαγγανείαις καὶ ἐπῳδαῖς καὶ καταδέσεσι).

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

ὅπου φρενῶν , where in the heart it lies.

mvp-sidgwick-154-1-1 A bloodless victim she calls Orestes, consistently with the threat ( ll. 264, 267

), I will drain thee dry and carry thee below.

δαιμόνων is the powers below, i, e. both the Furies who will drink his blood and Hades ( l. 274

) who ordains and directs the vengeance.

σκιάν , a shadow, not a ghost, for he was to be carried off below yet living ( l. 267

): but all the vigour sucked out of him with his blood. [Schol. reads σκιά with MSS., and takes it voc. Unlikely.]

mvp-sidgwick-155-1-1 Orestes maintains a patient and scornful silence: which rouses the Chorus to still greater fury. There would be a dramatic pause before this line; then the furious threat l. 305

. There is no need to divide the speech between different speakers, as Hartung, Paley, and others, following M. G.

ὕμνον δέσμιον σέθεν , the song that binds thee, the choric song acting as an infernal spell to make Orestes their prey: and perhaps accompanied by mysterious binding gestures.