Aeschylus Eumenides 64

ed. Arthur Sidgwick

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Eumenides. Aeschylus. ed. Arthur Sidgwick. Oxford. 1887.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Current edition Experimental

Εὐμενίδες (OCR draft) (Greek) (Εὐμενίδες. Arthur Sidgwick, 1887.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (11)
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.) — 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. 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 (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.) — 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
Chorus
Surely: just homage just regard requites.
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. πλατοῖσι πλαστοῖσι MSS. corr. Elmsl.
ἐκ δία M. G. βίαν V. Fl. Fa. corr. Burges.
ἥτις αἷα εἴ τις γαῖα G. ἥτι γαῖα V. Fl. Fa. text M.
πόνον πόνων MSS. corr. Arn. from Schol.
ἐπεὶ ἐπὶ G.
μισήματ᾿ μίσημά τ' G.

Commentary

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

38. ἀντίπαιs , rather a strange compound, the preposition ἀντί governing (so to speak) the waῖς, and not some word outside as usual. Aeschylus is fond of these compounds : ἀντίκεντρον 136, 466, ἀντίφερνον Ag. 406, ἀντήνωρ ib. 443, ἀντίδουλος Cho. 135.

38. μὲν οὖν , corrective, as usual. 'Nay, she is as a child.'

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.

46. λόχος , ‘troop:' for the number of the Eumenides see Introduction.

48. Γοργόνας . : Aeschylus describes these in the Prometheus (899) as 'Three winged sisters with snakes for hair, loathed of men, whom no mortal shall see and live:' and the Furies are compared to them, Cho. 1047, 'In dusky robes and twined with many snakes, like Gorgons.’

51. γε μήν , ‘yet,' adversative as usual: γε μέντοι, γε μὲν δή (and in Homer γε μέν), also used in the same way. So σπορᾶς γε μὴν ἐκ τῆσδε Ρ. V. 871, σὺν χρόνῳ γε μήν Ag. 1378.

53. οὐ πλατοῖσι , ‘unapproachable:' for the breath was deadly with blood and fire, and withered up what it touched (138). MSS. read πλαστοῖσι, feigned: but the other is far more forcible.

55. κόσμος , their garb.

59. μὴ μεταστένειν πόνον , without repenting of its toil, is an elaborate repetition and explanation of ἀνατί, unharmed. [The inf. is literally the object of ἐπεύχεται : 'boasts that having reared... it does not repent,' i. e. 'boasts to rear without repenting'].

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-31-1 οὐδέν, ἀντίπαις μὲν οὖν: Male μὲν οὖν olim mutaveram in μένος. Nam οὐδέν significat quod nos dicimus es ist nichts damit. Inde explicatio addi potest, quae, si οὐδέν graviorem haberet significationem, supervacanea atque inepta foret. Suppl. v. 719. γυνὴ μονωθεῖσ᾽ οὐδέν· οὐκ ἔνεστ᾽ Ἄρης. Euripides Hec. v. 626. τὰ δ᾽ οὐδén· ἄλλως φροντίδων βουλεύματα, γλώσσης τε κόμποι. Huius οὐδέν exempla inveniuntur etiam in Phoen. v. 417. εὖ πρᾶσσε· τὰ φίλων δ᾽ οὐδέν, ἤν τις δυςτυχῇ. Androm. v. 642. σὺ δ᾽ οὐδὲν εἶ. Iph. Taur. v. 114. τοὺς πόνους γὰρ ἀγαθοὶ τολμῶσι, δειλοὶ δ᾽ εἰσὶν οὐδὲν οὐδαμοῦ. Cycl. v. 639. ἄνδρες πονηροὶ κοὐδὲν οἶδε σύμμαχοι.

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.

mvp-comment-36-1 πρόσθεν δὲ τἀνδρὸς ... θαυμαστὸς λόχος: προέθεν Rob. Deinde δὲ τἀνδρὸς Ven. Flor. Turn. δέ τ' ἀνδρὸς M. G. Ald. Rob. Deinde θαυμαστὸς λόγος M. Ven. Flor. Rob. Turn. θαυμαστὸν λέχος G. (sic G.) Par. Ald.

mvp-comment-37-1 εὕδει: ἅδει pro εὕδει Ald.

mvp-comment-38-1 Γοργόνας: Similitudinem Furiarum cum Gorgonibus latius quam par erat extendit Böttigerus in libro de personis Furiarum p. 13. seqq. et p. 112. seqq. Sequemur, ut certa, quae ipse Aeschylus veteresque. tradunt: hic in Prometheo v. 799. πέλας δ᾽ ἀδελφαὶ τῶνδε τρεις κατάπτεροι, δρακοντόμαλλοι Γοργόνες βροτοστυγεῖς. Choeph. v. 1045. ποῖαι γυναῖκες αἵδε Γοργόνων δίκην φαιοχίτωνες καὶ πεπλεκτανημέναι πυκνοῖς δράκουσιν ; ex illis autem Pausanias I. 28, 6. πρῶτος δέ σφισιν (Furiis) Αισχύλος δράκοντας ἐποίησεν ὁμοῦ ταῖς ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ θριξὶν εἶναι.

mvp-comment-39-1 εἶδόν ποτ᾽ ἤδη: εἶδόν ποτ' ἤδη M. G. Ald. Rob. Τurn. εἶδόν ποτ᾽ εἶδον Ven. Flor. Farn. Ante hunc versum Wakefieldius et Northmorus versum excidisse putarunt, scholiis eam suspicionem adiuvare visis. Scholiastae in codice M. ad v. 50. haec est adnotatio, nullo praemisso lemmate, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ Αρπυίας αὐτὰς λέγω. εἶδον γὰρ αὐτὰς ἐν γραφῇ πτερωτάς. At non potest ex isto scholio versus restitui qualem confinxit Wakefieldius, metro laborantem, aut qualem Schutzius, metri vitio carentem. Excidisse videntur ante versum 52. plures versus, in quibus sacerdos dixerat, cur terrificae illae mulieres non viderentur esse Gorgones, et deinde Harpyias nominaverat. V. Opusc. VI. 2. p. 20. Dindorfio post haec verba, εἶδόν ποτ᾽ ἤδη, lacunam statuenti assensus est Linwoodius. De ea re ambigi potest: illud certum est, mancam esse sacerdotis orationem.

mvp-comment-40-1 βδελύκτροποι: βδελύκτροποι M. G. Turn, βδελύκτοποι Ald. κδελύτροποι Rob. quod in corrigendis in βδελύτροποι mulari iubetur. βδελύτροποι Ven. Flor. Farn.

mvp-comment-41-1 οὐ πλαστοῖσι φυσιάμασιν: Schutzius haec ita interpretatus est, slertunt autem halitu, cui periculosum est appropinquare. Haec interpretatio si vera esset, scribendum esset οὐ πλατοῖσι, ut Elmsleius voluit ad Eur. Med. v. 149. Sed quod libri habent, οὐ πλαστοῖσι φυσιάμασιν, recte puto Stanleium interpretatum esse non fictis flatibus. Similiter Aeschylus loquitur in Prometheo v. 1034. πρὸς ταῦτα βούλευ· ὡς ὁδ᾽ οὐ πεπλασμένος ὁ κόμπος, ἀλλὰ καὶ λίαν εἰρημένος. In Sept. c. Th. 894. ἐτύμως δακρυχέων ἐκ φρενός. In Eum. v. 489. πολλὰ δ᾽ ἔτυμα παιδότρωτα πάθεα προςμένει τοκεῦσιν μεταὖθις ἐν χρόνῳ.

mvp-comment-42-1 λείβουσι δυςφιλῆ λίβα: λοίβουσι δυσφαλῆ Rob. Deinde δία M. G. Ald. codex Robortelli. βίαν Rob. ex coniectura Sophiani et Turnebus, et habent βίαν Ven. Flor. et, ut videtur, Farn. Egregie Burgesius λίβα. V. ad Choeph. v. 299. Similiter dixit Aeschylus in Choeph. v. 1055. κἀς ὀμμάτων στάζουσιν αἷμα δυςφιλές.

mvp-comment-43-1 τὸ φῦλον οὐκ ὄπωπα τῆσδ᾽ ὁμιλίας: Vix quisquam explicet, quomodo Schutzius adduci potuerit, ut haec ita interpretaretur, nusquam vidi mulierum genus, quocum hunc coetum comparare possem. . Hoc dicitur, genus huius societatis, vel nationem huius gentis non vidi.

mvp-comment-44-1 οὐδ᾽ ἥτις αἶα: οὐδ᾽ ἥτις αλα M. Rob. οὐδ᾽ ὅτι γαῖα Ven. (sic Ven. Flor. Farn. οὐδ᾽ εἴτις γαῖα G. Ald. οὐ δή τι γαῖα Turn.

mvp-comment-45-1 ἀνατὶ ... πόνον: ἀνατὶ Dindorfius. ἀνατεῖ Turn. ἀνατεί ceteri. Deinde μεμετὰ στένειν Turn. Denique πόνον Arnaldus. Libri πόνων. Legit πόvor etiam scholiastes, in cuius adnotatione, τὸ τῆς ἀνατροφῆς, scribendum est τὸν pro τό. Euripides Phoen. v. 1434. ἔκλαι, ἐθρήνει τὸν πολὺν μαστῶν πόνον στένουσα.

mvp-comment-46-1 τἀντεῦθεν ἤδη: τἀντεῖθεν ήδη M. G. Ald. Rob. Turn. τάντεῦθε μὲν οὖν Ven. Flor. Farn.

mvp-comment-47-1 δωμάτων: δομάτων G. Non opus est Wakefieldii coniectura, δειμάτων.

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.

mvp-comment-64-1 ἐκνόμων σέβας: τόδ' ἐκνύμων σέβας M. G. Ven. τόδ᾽ ἐκ νόμων σέβας Ald. Rob. Turn. xvóμwr an ix róuor habeant Flor. Farn. ignoratur. In Opusc. VI. 2. p. 25. putabam scribendum esse izvóµws, valde. Nihil mutandum est, sed retinendum τόδ᾽ ἐκνόμων σέβας. Recte scholiastes τὸ τῶν ἱκετῶν σέβισμα καὶ δέημα οὐ μόνον τιμᾷ ὁ Ζεύς, ἀλλὰ καὶ σέβει, ὁρῶν αὐτὸ ὁρμώμενον προςηκούσῃ τύχῃ. Suidas et Zonaras ἐκνόμοις, παρανόμοις. Est autem afinitas quaedam vocabulorum scelere contaminatos significantium et eos qui ob hanc caussam supplices ad templa deorum accedunt. Sic oоçτóñάiç sceleratum significat, idque etiam in talibus locis, a quibus propria huius vocabuli significatio alienissima est, ut in hac ipsa fabula v. 236. 437. Vt hic ¿zróµwv ot- Bas, ita v. 433. oeuvòs noosíztwo dicitur. Significatur autem misericordiam non deesse sceleratis a fido comite adiutis.

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

mvp-comment-18-1 ἀντίπαις] Rather she is as a child. Cf. Cho. 128

κἀγὼ μὲν ἀντίδουλος,
‘and I am no better than a slave.'

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-

mvp-comment-21-1 τύποις] The earliest sculptures were ugly Gorgonheads cut in shallow relief, and called τύποι perhaps from a resemblance to heads on coins. She proceeds to say that she has seen drawings or paintings of winged winged harpies rying off the dinner from Phineus; but these Furies were different, in that they had no wings. The Argonautic story was well known to both Aeschylus and Pindar. It is alluded to also in Cho. 620 seqq.

mvp-comment-22-1 οὐ πλατοῖσι] not to be approached.

mvp-comment-23-1 καὶ κόσμος] Their dress, too, was such as neither could be brought as an offering to the statues of the gods (like the peplus to Pallas) nor admitted into the abodes of men.

mvp-comment-24-1 τὸ φύλον] the tribe or race to which they could be supposed to belong. Schol.

οὐδέποτε τοιοῦτον γένος εἶδον.-οὐδὲ κ.τ.λ.,
‘nor know I what land can aver that it rears this brood without harm to itself, and has not to repent afterwards of its pains.' -πόνον, Schol.
τὸν
 (MS. τὸ) τῆς ἀνατροφῆς.

mvp-comment-25-1 τἀντεῦθεν] quae sequuntur. The priestess now retires, leaving to Apollo himself to get rid of the foul monsters which have beset and defiled his shrine.

mvp-comment-26-1 τοῖσιν ἄλλοις] i.e. and therefore much more so to himself. Schol.

πόσῳ μᾶλλον τῶν ἰδίων ;

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.

mvp-comment-39-1 This verse is corrupt. The Scholium is in some way confused, but the words ὁρῶν αὐτὸ ὁρμώμενον προσηκούσῃ τύχῃ suggest that he read τόδ' εἰσορῶν γέρας. Or from the gloss τὸ τῶν ἱκετῶν σέβισμα καὶ δέημα we might conjecture τόδ' ἱκτήρων οι ἱκτόρων γέρας. We can hardly defend σέβει σέβας, even if ἐκνόμων meant outlaws. Orestes here leaves the stage under the charge of Hermes, and Apollo retires, perhaps, into the adytum. After a brief pause the ghost of Clytemnestra rises through the trap-door called ἀναπίεσμα, and rouses the slumbering Furies to inform them that their captive has escaped. Schol.

ἐφίσταται τὸ εἴδωλον Κλυταιμνήστρας καὶ μεμψάμενον ἀνεγείρει.
Sleep on, ho! But we want not sleepers. While I am thus slighted by you, I am continually haunted among the other dead as a Murderess, and wander among the shades in disgrace. The syntax is equivalent to ἀεὶ ὀνειδίζομαι. The Schol. appears to have found ὧν μὲν ἔκτανον, for he explains, 'I am held in no regard by you for having killed my husband, but those who slew me are not slighted by you, but persecuted. The general sense must be, I am blamed for killing him, because you, the Furies, and the other infernal powers, are indifferent to my having been slain by my own son;' and thus attention is directed to my crime alone, and its punishment is thought to be just.

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“.

mvp-comment-25-1 τῶν Ἐρινύων.

mvp-comment-26-1 πρὸς τὸ φοβερὸν τῆς ὄψεως.

mvp-comment-27-1 ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ Αρπυίας αὐτὰς λέγω· εἶδον γὰρ αὐτὰς ἐν γραφῆι πτερωτάς.

mvp-comment-28-1 ἃς τις βδελύξαιτο καὶ ἐκτραπείη (so!) μισήσας. σκυθρωποί.

mvp-comment-29-1 οἷον αἱματηράν.

mvp-comment-30-1 ὃν ἔχουσι περικείμενον (Scal. für παρακ.) ἑαυταῖς.

mvp-comment-31-1 οὐδέποτε τοιοῦτον γένος εἶδον. συνηθείας, συνουσίας, συστήματος.

mvp-comment-32-1 τὸν (Herm. f. τὸ) τῆς ἀνατροφῆς.

mvp-comment-33-1 ὥστε εἰ θεραπείας χρεία, ἰατρός ἐστιν· εἶἴτε μαντείας, τερατοσκόπος· εἴτε καθαρμῶν, καθάρσιος.

mvp-comment-34-1 πόσωι μᾶλλον τῶν ἰδίων.

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-44-1 τὸ τῶν ἱκετῶν σέ-

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-27-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 255

mvp-comment-27-2 γραῦς: nach Diod. XVI 26 waren im Anfang die Priesterinnen Jungfrauen; nach der Entführung einer Priesterin aber beschlossen die Delpher, nur Frauen über 50 Jahren das Priesteramt anzuvertrauen. Diesen Gebrauch der späteren Zeit verlegt Aschylos in das Altertum. οὐδέν: Suppl. 757

γυνὴ μονωθείσ᾽ οὐδέν
, Eur. Iph. T. 115 δειλοὶ δ᾽ εἰσὶν οὐδὲν οὐδαμοῦ. ἀντίπαις wie ἀντίκεντρα 136, ἀντίδουλος Cho. 135 . μὲν οὖν (immo vero) wie Ag. 1075 , 1395.

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.

mvp-comment-32-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 256

mvp-comment-32-2 Γοργόνας: sie gleichen den Gorgonen durch die Schlangenhaare und die dunklen Gewänder. Vgl. zu Cho. 1046 u. 1048. Äschylos giebt hier welchen Gestalten er die Elemente seines Furienbildes entnommen hat. Hom. E 741 Γοργείη κεφαλὴ δεινοῖο πελώρου δεινή τε σμερδνή τε, Διός τέρας αιγιόχοιο.

mvp-comment-32-3 1

mvp-comment-33-1 2

mvp-comment-33-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 256

mvp-comment-33-3 D. i. und doch weicht ihre Gestalt auch wieder von der der Gorgonen ab. Vgl. die ähnliche Darstellung Suppl. 285

f. Λιβυστι καῖς γὰρ μᾶλλον ἐμφερέστεραι γυναιξίν ἐστε κοὐδαμῶς ἐγχωρίαις. καὶ Νεῖλος ἂν θρέψειε τοιοῦτον φυτόν, Κύπριος χαρακτήρ τ' ἐν γυναικείοις τύποις εἰκὼς πέπληκται τεκτόνων πρὸς ἀρσένων· Ἰνδάς τ᾿ ἀκούω κτέ.

mvp-comment-34-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 256

mvp-comment-34-2 γεγραμμένας d. i. gemalte weibliche Wesen. Ähnlich Eur. Ion 209

λεύσσεις ουν ἐπ᾿ Ἐγκελάδῳ γοργῶπιν πάλλουσαν ἴτυν
; Durch Φινέως δεῖπνον φερούσας (άρπαζούσας) sind sie hinreichend als die Harpyien gekennzeichnet. ,,Flügel allerdings haben diese nicht (insofern gleichen sie den Harpyien nicht), schwarz aber, durchaus scheufslich sind sie (insofern gleichen sie ihnen). ἄπτεροι: vgl. 250. Dagegen Eur. Or. 317 δρομά δες ὦ πτεροφόροι ποτνιάδες θεαί .. μελάγχρωτες Εὐμενίδες. Dunkel sind die Erinyen als die Kinder der Nacht (69). Eur. Or. 408 νυκτὶ προσφερεῖς κόρας. Nicht nur die Kleidung (353, Cho. 1047 ), sondern auch die Hautfarbe ( Eur. El. 1345 χρῶτα κελαιναί, Or. 321 μελάγχρωτες) ist schwarz, wiewohl Aristoph. Plut. 422 f. der Erinye in der Tragödie Blässe des Gesichts zugeschrieben wird. Von den Harpyien haben sie vielleicht auch lange Krallen an den Fingern und struppige Haare.

mvp-comment-35-1 3

mvp-comment-35-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 256

mvp-comment-35-3 ἀπλάτοισι : Prom. 387

θερμοῖς ἀπλάτου βέλεσι πυρπνόου ζάλης
und τη φυσιάμασιν Hor. sat. II 8, 95 velut illis Canidia adflasset peior serpentibus Afris.

mvp-comment-36-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 257

mvp-comment-36-2 κόσμος: Strabon III p. 175 τὰς δ᾽ ἄλλας (nämlich τὰς Καττιτερίδας) οἰκοῦσιν ἄνθρωποι μελάγ χλαινοι, ποδήρεις ἐνδεδυκότες χιτῶνας, ἐζωσμένοι περὶ τὰ στέρνα, μετὰ ῥάβδων περιπατοῦντες ὅμοιοι ταῖς τραγικαῖς Ποιναῖς. Der Gürtel, welchen sie um das lange dunkle Gewand tragen, ist nach Diog. L. VI 102 purpurrot ( ζώνη φοινική). κόσμος φέρειν δίκαιος für κόσμον φέρειν δίκαιόν ἐστι wie Hom. X 13

οὐ μέν με κτενέεις, ἐπεὶ οὔ τοι μόρσιμός είμι
, Soph. Oed. K. 37 ἔχεις γὰρ χῶρον οὐχ ἁγνὸν πατεῖν.

mvp-comment-37-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 257

mvp-comment-37-2 Geschlecht und Art dieser Gesellschaft habe ich noch nicht gesehen. Hom. E 441 οὔποτε φύλον ὁμοῖον ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων τ᾿ ἀνθρώπων.

mvp-comment-38-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 257

mvp-comment-38-2 οὐδὲ, nämlich ὄπωπα ( οἶδα).

mvp-comment-39-1 4

mvp-comment-39-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 257

mvp-comment-39-3 πόνον· τὸν τῆς ἀνατροφῆς Schol.

mvp-comment-40-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 257

mvp-comment-40-2 Λοξία μεγασθενεῖ wie Cho. 268

Λοξίου μεγασθενὴς χρησμός
.

mvp-comment-41-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 257

mvp-comment-41-2 ἰατρόμαντις wie Suppl. 269

ἰατρόμαντις παῖς Ἀπόλλωνος.
Aristoph. Plut. 11
ἰατρὸς ὢν καὶ μάντις
.

mvp-comment-42-1 Wecklein 1888, p. 257

mvp-comment-42-2 τοῖσιν ἄλλοις: er möge also auch für die Reinheit seines Hauses sorgen. Apollon, der Gott des Lichtes, ist vorzugsweise der reinigende und sühnende Gott, wie sich besonders an seine Feste Reinigungen und Sühnungen anknüpften. Nachdem die Priesterin in ihre Äschylos, Qrestie, v. WECKLEIN. Wohnung (zu 1) zurückgegangen ist, wird das Innere des Heiligtums sichtbar: στραφέντα μηχανήματα ἔνδηλα ποιεῖ τὰ κατὰ τὸ μαντείον ὡς ἔχει. καὶ γίνεται ὄψις τραγική τὸ μὲν ξίφος ἡμαγμένον ἔτι κατέχων Ὀρέστης, αἳ δὲ κύκλῳ φρουροῦσαι αὐτόν Schol. Nach diesen Worten zu schliefsen, kam nicht das ἐκκύκλημα zur Anwendung, sondern das στροφεῖον, das die Bestimmung hatte eine Fernsicht zu geben, dessen Beschaffenheit aber aus der Beschreibung bei Poll. IV 132 nicht klar wird. Man erblickt nach der Drehung der Maschinerie sofort Apollon, dem Hermes zur Seite steht, und vor Apollon den Orestes in schutzflehender Stellung. Darum erwidern die ersten Worte des Apollon die Bitte des Orestes. Auch die 282 f. erwähnte Reinigung des Orestes mufs als vorhergegangen (zwischen 34 und 63) gedacht werden. Im Hintergrunde sitzen um den weifsen Stein, welcher den ὀμφαλὸς γῆς vorstellt (40), auf welchem der mit Wolle umwickelte Ölzweig des Orestes (43) liegt, auf Stühlen die schlafenden Erinyen

mvp-comment-43-1 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

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).

mvp-comment-56-1 10

mvp-comment-56-2 Wecklein 1888, p. 259

mvp-comment-56-3 τὸ κηρύκων σέβας wie Suppl. 715

τὸ τεκόντων σέβας
. Die Unverletzlichkeit der Herolde schützt Zeus, damit diese den armen Sterblichen sicheres Geleite gewähren können. ὁρμώμενον ist zu σέβας konstruiert, während es dem Sinne nach zu κηρύκων gehört. Orestes geht, von Hermes geleitet, (durch den linken Zugang der Bühne) ab. Apollon tritt in den Hintergrund zurück.

mvp-comment-56-4 11

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

ἀντίπαιs , rather a strange compound, the preposition ἀντί governing (so to speak) the waῖς, and not some word outside as usual. Aeschylus is fond of these compounds : ἀντίκεντρον 136, 466,

ἀντίφερνον
Ag. 406 ,
ἀντήνωρ
ib. 443 ,
ἀντίδουλος
Cho. 135 .

μὲν οὖν , corrective, as usual. Nay, she is as a child.

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.

λόχος , troop: for the number of the Eumenides see Introduction.

Γοργόνας . : Aeschylus, Prometheus 899,

Three winged sisters with snakes for hair, loathed of men, whom no mortal shall see and live:
and the Furies are compared to them, Cho. 1047,
In dusky robes and twined with many snakes, like Gorgons.

mvp-sidgwick-39-1-1 If this line is right the substantive is understood: [Monsters] have I seen ere now in a picture, snatching the feast of Phineus, i.e. the Harpies.

mvp-sidgwick-39-2-1 The Harpyiae are in Homer simply the spirits of the storm who are said to have carried off those who disappear suddenly (e. g. Od. 1. 241). The story is told by later writers as follows: Phineus, king of Thrace, being falsely told that his sons were conspiring to corrupt their stepmother, put out their eyes. The gods in wrath blinded him, and sent loathsome monsters, the Harpies, to snatch away his banquet. The best known account is Vergil's, Aen. 3. 212.

mvp-sidgwick-39-3-1 [Herm. and others thinking the omission of the subst. too harsh, suppose a line lost; but it would be difficult to write one which would not separate δεῖπνον too much from Φινέως. Schol. plainly had our text.]

γε μήν , yet, adversative as usual: γε μέντοι, γε μὲν δή (and in Homer γε μέν), also used in the same way. So

σπορᾶς γε μὴν ἐκ τῆσδε
Ρ. V. 871 ,
σὺν χρόνῳ γε μήν
Ag. 1378 .

οὐ πλατοῖσι , unapproachable: for the breath was deadly with blood and fire, and withered up what it touched (138). MSS. read πλαστοῖσι, feigned: but the other is far more forcible.

κόσμος , their garb.

mvp-sidgwick-43-1-1 i. e. I know not the race nor land whence this company are sprung.

μὴ μεταστένειν πόνον , without repenting of its toil, is an elaborate repetition and explanation of ἀνατί, unharmed. [The inf. is literally the object of ἐπεύχεται : boasts that having reared... it does not repent, i. e. boasts to rear without repenting].

mvp-sidgwick-45-1-1 The horror and pollution of these monsters is too fearful: she will leave it to Apollo himself, who as seer (τερασκόπος) will understand, as prophet-healer (ἰατρόμαντις) will cure, as καθάρσιος will purify.

mvp-sidgwick-46-1-1 [The priestess retires: the scene shifts and shews the interior of the shrine: Orestes with a bloody sword seated on the ὀμφαλός, Apollo and Hermes standing by: the chorus of Furies asleep all about on stone seats or the floor.]

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 2 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.

mvp-sidgwick-60-1-1 Zeus reveres this sanctity of outlaws, which comes to men from the fortune of fair escort; a rather obscure expression, but explained by the context: Zeus reveres the claim which outlaws have (on the pity of men), a claim which springs from the (divine) power which guides them: i. e. ‘Orestes, though an outlaw, will find pity since thou wilt guide him. [Wecklein reads τὸ κηρύκων (for τόδ᾽ ἐκ.), of Hermes: certainly much simpler, though perhaps unnecessary.]

mvp-sidgwick-60-2-1 [Apollo retires; Hermes leads Orestes out ; the stage is empty. Then from below the ghost of Klytaimnestra rises.]