[1] Scene: —Before the palace of Oedipus at Thebes. In front of the large central doors (
βασίλειος θύρα) there is an altar; a smaller altar stands also near each of the two side-doors: see verse 16. Suppliants—old men, youths, and young children—are seated on the steps of the altars. They are dressed in white tunics and cloaks, —their hair bound with white fillets. On the altars they have laid down olive-branches wreathed with fillets of wool. The PRIEST OF ZEUS, a venerable man, is alone standing, facing the central doors of the palace. These are now thrown open: followed by two attendants (
πρόσπολοι), who place themselves on either side of the doors, OEDIPUS enters, in the robes of a king: for a moment he gazes silently on the groups at the altars, and then speaks. See Appendix, Note 1, sect. 1.
Oedipus asks why they are suppliants. The Priest of Zeus, speaking for the rest, prays him to save them, with the gods' help, from the blight and the plague. Oedipus answers that he has already sent Creon to consult Apollo at Delphi, and will do whatever the god shall bid.
νέα
last-born (not “young,” for
τέκνα includes the old men, v. 17), added for contrast with
τοῦ πάλαι. Oedipus, —who believes himself a Corinthian (774), —marks his respect for the ancient glories of the Theban house to whose throne he has been called: see esp. 258 f. So the Thebans are
στρατὸς Καδμογενής
Aesch. Seven 303
,
Καδμογενὴς γέννα
Eur. Phoen. 808
, or
Καδμεῖο.
τροφή
=
θρέμματα (abstract for concrete);
Eur. Cycl. 189
ἀρνῶν τροφαί
=
ἄρνες ἐκτεθραμμέναι. Cadmus, as guardian genius of Thebes, is still
τροφεύς of all who are reared in the
δῶμα Καδμεῖον (v. 29). Campbell understands, “my last-born care derived from ancient Cadmus,” —as though the
τροφεύς were Oedipus. But could
Κάδμου τροφή mean “[;
my]; nurslings [;
derived from]; Cadmus”? It is by the word
τέκνα that Oedipus expresses his own fatherly care.
ἕδρας
The word
ἕδρα= “posture,” here, as usu.,
sitting: when
kneelingis meant, some qualification is added, as
Eur. Phoen. 293
γονυπετεῖς ἕδρας προσπίτνω σ’,
“I supplicate thee on my knees.” The suppliants are sitting on the steps (
βάθρα) of the altars, on which they have laid the
κλάδοι: see 142: cp. 15
προσήμεθα, 20
θακεῖ
: Aesch. Eum. 40
(Orestes a suppliant in the Delphian temple)
ἐπ’ ὀμφαλῷ (on the omphalos)
ἕδραν ἔχοντα προστρόπαιον … ἐλαίας θ’ ὑψιγέννητον κλάδον.
θοάζετε
prob. =
θάσσετε, “sit,”
ἕδρας being cognate acc. In Eur.
θοάζω(
θοός) always =“to hasten” (transitive or intrans.). But Empedocles and Aesch. clearly use
θοάζω as =
θάσσω, the sound and form perh. suggesting the epic
θαάσσω, θόωκος. See Appendix.
ἱκτηρίοις κλάδοισιν
The suppliant carried a branch of olive or laurel (
ἱκετηρία), round which were twined festoons of wool(
στέφη, στέμματα, —which words can stand for the
ἱκετηρία itself, below 913,
Hom. Il. 1.14
):
Plut. Thes. 18
ἦν δὲ [ἡ ἱκετηρία] κλάδος ἀπὸ τῆς ἱερᾶς ἐλαίας, ἐρίῳ λευκῷ κατεστεμμένος.
He laid his branch on the altar (
Eur. Her. 124
βωμὸν καταστέψαντες
), and left it there, if unsuccessful in his petition (
Eur. Supp. 259
); if successful, he took it away (
Eur. Supp. 359
, below 143).
ἱκτηρίοις κλάδοισιν ἐξεστεμμένοι
=
ἱκτηρίους κλάδους ἐξεστεμμένους ἔχοντες:
Xen. Anab. 4.3.28
διηγκυλωμένους τοὺς ἀκοντιστὰς καὶ ἐπιβεβλημένους τοὺς τοξότας,
“the javelin-throwers
with javelins
grasped by the thong(
ἀγκύλη), and the archers
with arrows
fitted to the string.” So 18
ἐξεστεμμένον absol., = provided with
στέφη (i.e. with
ἱκετηρίαι: see last note). Triclinius supposes that the suppliants, besides carrying boughs, wore garlands(
ἐστεφανωμένοἰ, and the
priests may have done so: but
ἐξεστεμμ. does not refer to this.
ὁμοῦ μὲν … ὁμοῦ δὲ
The verbal contrast is merely between the
fumes of incense burnt on the altars as a propitiatory offering (
Hom. Il. 8.48
τέμενος βωμός τε θυήεις),
and the
sounds — whether of invocations to the Healer, or of despair.
ἄλλων
Redundant, but serving to contrast
ἀγγέλων and
αὐτός, as if one said, “from messengers,—at second hand.” Blaydes cp.
Xen. Cyrop. 1.6.2
ὅπως μὴ δῑ ἄλλων ἑρμηνέων τὰς τῶν θεῶν συμβουλίας συνείης, ἀλλ’ αὐτὸς … γιγνώσκοις.
ὧδ’
=
δεῦρο, as in vv. 144, 298, and often in Soph.: even with
βλέπειν, ὁρᾶν, as in
Soph. Trach. 402
βλέφ’ ὧδε
=
βλέπε δεῦρο.
ὁ πᾶσι κλεινὸς … καλούμενος
πᾶσι with
κλεινός (cp. 40
πᾶσι κράτιστον), not with
καλούμενος: “called Oedipus famous in the sight of all,” not “called famous Oed. by all.” Cp.
πασίγνωστος, πασίδηλος, πασιμέλουσα, πασίφιλος. The tone is Homeric (
Hom. Od. 9.19
εἴμ’ Ὀδυσεύς … καί μευ κλέος οὐρανὸν ἵκει,
imitated by
Verg. Aen. 1.378
sum pius Aeneas … fama super aethera notus
): Oedipus is a type, for the frank heroic age, of Arist.'s
μεγαλόψυχος—ὁ μεγάλων αὑτὸν ἀξιῶν, ἄξιος ὤν (
Aristot. Nic. Eth. 4.3
).
ἔφυς
which is more than
εἶ, refers, not to appearance(
φυή), but to the natural claim (
φύσις) of age and office combined.
πρὸ τῶνδε
“in front of,” and so “on behalf of,” “
for” these. Ellendt: “
Non est
ἀντὶ τῶνδε, nec
ὑπὲρ τῶνδε, sed
μᾶλλον s.
μάλιστα τῶνδε,
prae ceteris dignus propter auctoritatem et aetatem.” Rather
ἀντὶ τῶνδε = “as their deputy”:
ὑπὲρ τῶνδε = “as their champion”:
πρὸ τῶνδε = “as their spokesman.” So
Soph. OC 811
ἐρῶ γὰρ καὶ πρὸ τῶνδε.
τίνι τρόπῳ
with
καθέστατε
only:
δείσαντες ἢ στέρξαντες =
εἴτε ἐδείσατέ τι, εἴτε ἐστέρξατε (not
πότερον δείσαντες; ἢ στέρξαντες;), “in what mood are ye set here, whether it be one of fear or of desire?”
στέρξαντες
“having formed a desire”: the aor. part., as
Soph. Aj. 212
ἐπεί σε … | στέρξας ἀνέχει
“is constant to the love which he hath formed for thee.”
Soph. El. 1100
καὶ τί βουληθεὶς πάρει
;
Soph. Aj. 1052
αυτὸν ἐλπίσαντες … ἄγειν.
Cp.
Soph. OC 1093
καὶ τὸν ἀγρευτὰν Ἀπόλλω | καὶ κασιγνήταν … | στέργω διπλᾶς ἀρωγὰς | μολεῖν,
“I
desire”: where, in such an invocation(
ἰὼ … Ζεῦ, … πόροις, κ.τ.λ.), στέργω surely cannot mean, “I
am content.” Oed. asks: “Does this supplication mean that
some new dread has seized you (
δείσαντες)? Or that
ye have set your hearts (
στέρξαντες)
on some particular boon which I can grant?”—Others render
στέρξαντες “
having acquiesced.” This admits of two views. (i) “Are ye
afraid of suffering? Or have ye already
learned to bear suffering?” To this point the glosses
ὑπομείναντες, παθόντες. But this seems unmeaning. He
knows that the suffering has come, and he does not suppose that they are
resigned to it (cp. v. 58). (ii) Prof. Kennedy connects
ἢ στέρξαντες ὡς θέλοντος ἂν | ἐμοῦ προσαρκεῖν πᾶν; i.e. are ye come in vague terror, or
in contentment, as believing that I would be willing to help you? This is ingenious and attractive. But (a) it appears hardly consonant with the kingly courtesy of this opening speech for Oedipus to assume that their belief in his good-will would reconcile them to their present miseries. (b) We seem to require some direct and express intimation of the king's willingness to help, such as the words
ὡς θέλοντος … πᾶν give only when referred to
φράζε. (c) The rhythm seems to favour the question at
στέρξαντες. —στέξαντες, explained as “
having endured,” may be rejected, because (1) the sense is against it—see on (i) above: (2)
στέγειν in classical Greek = “to be proof against,” not “to suffer”: (3)
στέξω, ἔστεξα are unknown to Attic, which has only the pres. and the imperf.
ὡς θέλοντος ἂν
(to be connected with
φράζε) implies the apodosis of a conditional sentence. Grammatically, this might be either (a)
εἰ δυναίμην, θέλοιμι ἄν, or (b)
εἰ ἠδυνάμην, ἤθελον ἄν: here, the sense fixes it to (a).
ὡς
, thus added to the gen. absol., expresses the
supposition on which the agent acts.
Xen. Mem. 2.6.32
ὡς οὐ προσοίσοντος (ἐμοὖ τὰς χεῖρας, … δίδασκε·
“as (you may be sure) I will not lay hands on you, teach me.”
κατοικτίρων
οἰκτίρω, not
οἰκτείρω, is the spelling attested by Attic inscriptions of circ. 550-350 B.C.: see Meisterhans,
Grammatik der Attischen Inschriften, p. 89.
μὴ οὐ κατοικτίρων
. An infinitive or participle, which for any reason would regularly take
μή, usually takes
μὴ οὐ if the principal verb of the sentence is negative. Here,
δυσάλγητος =
οὐκ εὐάλγητος:
Dem. 19.123
(πόλεις) χαλεπαὶ λαβεῖν … μὴ οὐ χρόνῳ καὶ πολιορκίᾳ
(sc.
λαμβάνοντι,) where
χαλεπαί =
οὐ ῥᾴδιαι· “cities
not easy to take,
unless by a protracted siege.” The participial clause,
μὴ οὐ κατοικτίρων, is equivalent to a protasis,
εἰ μὴ κατοικτίροιμι. Prof. Kennedy holds that the protasis is
εἰ μὴ θέλοιμι understood, and that
μὴ οὐ κατοικτίρων is epexegetic of it: —“Yes(
γάρ) I should be unfeeling,
if I did not wish (to help you): that is, if I refused to pity such a supplication as this.” But the double negative
μὴ οὐ could not be explained by a negative in the protasis
(εἰ μὴ θέλοιμἰ· it implies a negative in the apodosis
(δυσάλγητος ἂν εἴην). Since, then, the resolution into
οὐκ εὐάλγητος ἂν εἴην is necessary, nothing seems to be gained by supposing a suppressed protasis,
εἰ μὴ θέλοιμι.
βωμοῖσι τοῖς σοῖς
The altars of the
προστατήριοι θεοί in front of the palace, including that of Apollo
Λύκειος (919).
μακρὰν πτέσθαι
. So Andromache to her child —
νεοσσὸς ὡσεὶ πτέρυγας ἐσπίτνων ἐμάς
Eur. Tro. 746
. The proper Attic form for the aor. of
πέτομαι was
ἐπτόμην, which alone was used in prose and Comedy. Though forms from
ἐπτάμην sometimes occur in Tragedy, as in the Homeric poems, Elms. had no cause to wish for
πτάσθαι here.
σὺν γήρᾳ βαρεῖς
=
βαρεῖς ὡς γήρᾳ συνόντες.
Soph. OC 1663
σὺν νόσοις | ἀλγεινός
:
Soph. Aj. 1017
ἐν γήρᾳ βαρύς.
ἐγὼ μὲν
The answering clause,
οἱ δὲ ἄλλων θεῶν, must be supplied mentally: cp.
Hom. Il. 5.893
τὴν μὲν ἐγὼ σπουδῇ δάμνησ’ ἐπέεσσι
(sc.
τὰς δὲ ἄλλας ῥᾳδίως). It is slightly different when
μέν, used alone, emphasizes the personal pronoun, as in
ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ οἶδα
Xen. Cyrop. 1.4.12
.
οἵδε τ’
. The conjecture
οἱ δ’ ἐπ’(“chosen to represent the youth”) involves a questionable use of
ἐπί· cp.
Soph. Ant. 787
n.
ᾐθέων
, unmarried youths:
Hom. Il. 18.593
ἠΐθεοι καὶ παρθένοι
:
Eur. Phoen. 944
Αἵμονος … γάμοι | σφαγὰς ἀπείργουσ’· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ᾔθεος
:
Plut. Thes. 15
ᾐθέους ἑπτὰ καὶ παρθένους.
ἐξεστεμμένον
see on 3.
ἀγοραῖσι
local dative, like
οἰκεῖν οὐρανῷ
Pind. N. 10.58
. Thebes was divided from N. to S. into two parts by the torrent called Strophia. The W. part, between the Strophia and the Dirce, was the upper town or Cadmeia: the E. part, between the Strophia and the Ismenus, was
ἡ κάτω πόλις. The name
Καδμεία was given especially to the S. eminence of the upper town, the acropolis. (1) One of the
ἀγοραί meant here was on a hill to the north of the acropolis, and was the
ἀγορὰ Καδμείας. See
Paus. 9.12.3
. (2) The other was in the lower town.
Xen. Hell. 5.2.29
refers to this
—ἡ βουλὴ ἐκάθητο ἐν τῇ ἐν ἀγορᾷ στοᾷ, διὰ τὸ τὰς γυναῖκας ἐν τῇ Καδμείᾳ θεσμοφοριάζειν: unless
Καδμεία has the narrower sense of “acropolis.” Cp.
Aristot. Pol. 4.12.2
on the Thessalian custom of having two
ἀγοραί— one,
ἐλευθέρα, from which everything
βάναυσον was excluded.
πρός τε Παλλάδος … ναοῖς
. Not “
both at the two temples,” etc. as if this explained
ἀγοραῖσι, but “
and,” etc.: for the
ἀγοραί would have their own altars of the
ἀγοραῖοι θεοί, as of Artemis (161). One of the
διπλοῖ ναοί may be that of
Παλλὰς Ὄγκα, near the
Ὀγκαία πύλη on the W. side of Thebes(
πύλας | Ὄγκας Ἀθάνας
Aesch. Seven 487
,
Ὄγκα Παλλάς
Aesch. Seven 501
), whose statue and altar
ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ Paus. mentions (9. 12. 2). The other temple may be that of Athene
Καδμεία or of Athena
Ἰσμηνία— both mentioned by the schol., but not by Paus. Athena
Ζωστηρία, too, had
statues at Thebes (
Paus. 9.17.3
). The schol. mentions also
Ἀλαλκομενία, but her shrine was at the village of Alalcomenae near Haliartus (
Paus. 9.23.5
). It was enough for Soph. that his Athenian hearers would think of the Erechtheum and the Parthenon—the shrines of the Polias and the Parthenos—above them on the acropolis.
ἐπ’ Ἰσμ. μ. σποδῷ
“The oracular ashes of Ismenus” = the altar in the temple of Apollo
Ἰσμήνιος, where divination by burnt offerings(
ἡ δῑ ἐμπύρων μαντεία) was practised. So the schol., quoting Philochorus (in his
περὶ μαντικῆς, circ. 290 B.C.).
σποδῷ
: the embers dying down when the
μαντεῖον has now been taken from the burnt offering: cp.
Soph. Ant. 1007
. Soph. may have thought of
Ἀπόλλων Σπόδιος, whose altar(
ἐκ τέφρας τῶν ἱερείων) Paus. saw to the left of the Electrae gates at Thebes: 9. 11. 7.
Ἰσμηνοῦ
, because the temple was by the river Ismenus:
Paus. 9.10.2
ἔστι δὲ λόφος ἐν δεξιᾷ τῶν πυλῶν
(on the right of the
Ἠλέκτραι πύλαι on the S. of Thebes, within the walls)
ἱερὸς Ἀπόλλωνος· καλεῖται δὲ ὅ τε λόφος καὶ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσμήνιος, παραρρέοντος τοῦ ποταμοῦ ταύτῃ τοῦ Ἰσμηνοῦ. Ismenus (which name
Curt. Etym. 617
, connects with rt
ἰς, to wish, as = “desired”) was described in the Theban myths as the son of Asopus and Metope, or of Amphion and Niobe. The son of Apollo by Melia (the fountain of the Ismenus) was called Ismenius. Cp.
Hdt. 8.134
(the envoy of Mardonius in the winter of 480-79)
τῷ Ἰσμηνίῳ Ἀπόλλωνι ἐχρήσατο· ἔστι δὲ κατάπερ ἐν Ὀλυμπίῃ ἱροῖσι χρηστηριάζεσθαι·
Pind. O. 8.1 ff.
Οὐλυμπία | … ἵνα μάντιες ἄνδρες | ἐμπύροις τεκμαιρόμενοι παραπειρῶνται Διός.
In
Pind. P. 11.4
the Theban heroines are asked to come
πὰρ Μελίαν (because she shared Apollo's temple) “to the holy treasure-house of golden tripods, which Loxias hath honoured exceedingly, and hath named it
Ismenian, a truthful seat of oracles” (MSS.
μαντείων, not
μαντίων, Fennell): for the tripod dedicated by the
δαφναφόρος, or priest of Ismenian Apollo, see
Paus. 9.10.4
. Her. saw offerings dedicated by Croesus to Amphiaraus
ἐν τῷ νηῷ τοῦ Ἰσμηνίου Ἀπόλλωνος (1. 52), and notices inscriptions there (5. 59). The
Ἰσμήνιον, the temple at Abae in Phocis, and that on the hill
Πτῶον to the E. of Lake Copais, were, after Delphi, the chief shrines of Apollo in N. Greece.
βυθῶν
“from the depths,” i.e. out of the trough of the waves which rise around. Cp.
Soph. Ant. 337
περιβρυχίοισιν | περῶν ὑπ’ οἴδμασιν,
under swelling waves which threaten to engulf him. Arat. 426
ὑπόβρυχα ναυτίλλονται.
φοινίου
here merely poet. for
θανασίμου, as
Soph. Trach. 770
φοινίας | ἐχθρᾶς ἐχίδνης ἰός
:
Soph. OC 1689
φόνιος Ἀΐδας.
But in
Soph. Aj. 351
φοινία ζάλη
= the madness which drove Ajax to
bloodshed.
ἔτ’ οὐχ οἵα τε
: for position of
ἔτ’
, cp.
Soph. Trach. 161
ὡς ἔτ’ οὐκ ὤν
,
Soph. Phil. 1217
ἔτ’ οὐδέν εἰμι.
With
οἷός τε the verb is often omitted, as 1415,
Soph. OC 1136
,
Soph. Trach. 742
,
Aristoph. Kn. 343
.
φθίνουσα μὲν … φθίνουσα δέ
rhetorical iteration(
ἐπαναφορά); cp. 259, 370,
Soph. OC 5, 610
, etc. The anger of heaven is shown (1) by a
blight
(φθίνουσἀ on the fruits of the ground, on flocks and on child-birth: (2) by a
pestilence
(λοιμός) which ravages the town. Cp. 171 ff. For the threefold blight,
Hdt. 6.139
ἀποκτείνασι δὲ τοῖσι Πελασγοῖσι τοὺς σφετέρους παῖδάς τε καὶ γυναῖκας οὔτε γῆ καρπὸν ἔφερε οὔτε γυναῖκές τε καὶ ποῖμναι ὁμοίως ἔτικτον καὶ πρὸ τοῦ
:
Aeschin. 3.111
μήτε γῆν καρποὺς φέρειν μήτε γυναῖκας τέκνα τίκτειν γονεῦσιν ἐοικότα, ἀλλὰ τέρατα, μήτε βοσκήματα κατὰ φύσιν γονὰς ποιεῖσθαι.
Schneid. and Blaydes cp.
Philostr. Apoll. 3.20
, p. 51. 21
ἡ γῆ οὐ ξυνεχώρει αὐτοῖς ἵστασθαι· τήν τε γὰρ σπορὰν ἣν ἐς αὐτὴν ἐποιοῦντο, πρὶν ἐς κάλυκα ἥκειν, ἔφθειρε, τούς τε τῶν γυναικῶν τόκους ἀτελεῖς ἐποίει, καὶ τὰς ἀγέλας πονηρῶς ἔβοσκεν.
κάλυξιν ἐγκάρποις
The datives mark the points or parts in which the land
φθίνει.
κάλυξιν ἔγκαρπος is the shell or case which encloses immature fruit, —whether the blossom of fruit-trees, or the era of wheat or barley:
Theophr. Hist. Plant. 8.2.4
(of
κριθή and
πυρός) πρὶν ἂν προαύξηθεὶς (ὁ στάχυς) ἐν τῇ κάλυκι γένηται.
ἀγέλαις βουνόμοις
(paroxyt.) =
ἀγέλαι βοῶν νεμομένων: but
ἀκτὴ βούνομος, proparoxyt., a shore on which oxen are pastured,
Soph. El. 181
. Cp.
Soph. El. 861
χαλαργοῖς ἐν ἁμίλλαις
=
ἁμίλλαις ἀργῶν χηλῶν:
Pind. P. 5.28
ἀρισθάρματον … γέρας
=
γέρας ἀρίστου ἅρματος. The epithet marks that the blight on the flocks is closely connected with that on the pastures: cp. Dionys. Hal. 1. 23 (describing a similar blight)
οὔτε πόα κτήνεσιν ἐφύετο διαρκής.
τόκοισι
, the labours of child-bed:
Eur. Med. 1031
στερρὰς ἐνεγκοῦσ’ ἐν τόκοις ἀλγηδόνας
:
Eur. IT 1466
γυναῖκες ἐν τόκοις ψυχορραγεῖς.
Dion. Hal. 1.23
ἀδελφὰ δὲ τούτοις
(i.e. to the blight on fruits and crops)
ἐγίνετο περί τε προβάτων καὶ γυναικῶν γονάς· ἢ γὰρ ἐξημβλοῦτο τὰ ἔμβρυα, ἢ κατὰ τοὺς τόκους διεφθείρετο ἔστιν ἂ καὶ τὰς φερούσας συνδιαλυμηνάμενα.
ἀγόνοις
abortive, or resulting in a still birth.
ἐν δ’
, adv., “and among our other woes,” “and withal”: so 183,
Soph. Trach. 206
,
Soph. Aj. 675
. Not in “tmesis” with
σκήψας, though Soph. has such tmesis elsewhere,
Soph. Ant. 420
ἐν δ’ ἐμεστώθη,
Soph. Ant. 1274
ἐν δ’ ἔσεισεν.
For the simple
σκήψας, cp.
Aesch. Ag. 308
εἶτ’ ἔσκηψεν,
“then it swooped.” So
Aesch. Pers. 715
λοιμοῦ τις ἦλθε σκηπτός.
ὁ πυρφόρος θεὸς
, the bringer of the plague which spreads and rages
like fire (176
κρεῖσσον ἀμαιμακέτου πυρός, 191
φλέγει μἐ· but also with reference to
fever,
πυρετός.
Hippoc. 4.140
ὁκόσοισι δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πῦρ (
=
πυρετὸς) ἐμπίπτῃ:
Hom. Il. 22.31
καί τε φέρει
(Seirius)
πολλὸν πυρετὸν δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσι (the only place where
πυρετός occurs in
Il. or
Od.). In
Soph. OC 55
ἐν δ’ ὁ πυρφόρος θεὸς | Τιτὰν Προμηθεύς
refers to the representation of Prometheus with the narthex, or a torch, in his right hand (
Eur. Phoen. 1121
δεξιᾷ δὲ λαμπάδα | Τιτὰν Προμηθεὺς ἔφερεν ὥς
). Cp.
Aesch. Seven 432
ἄνδρα πυρφόρον, | φλέγει δὲ λαμπάς, κ.τ.λ.
Here also the Destroyer is imagined as
armed with a deadly brand, —against which the Chorus presently invoke the holy fires of Artemis (206) and the “blithe torch” of Dionysus (214). For
θεὸς
said of
λοιμός, cp. Simonid. Amorg. fr. 7. 101
οὐδ’ αἶψα λιμὸν οἰκίης ἀπώσεται, | ἐχθρὸν συνοικητῆρα, δυσμενέα θεόν. Soph. fr. 837
ἀλλ’ ἡ φρόνησις ἁγαθὴ θεὸς μέγας.
μέλας δ’
elision at end of v. is peculiar in Trag. to Soph., who is said to have adopted it from a poet Callias (Athen. 10 p. 453 E): hence it was called
εἶδος Σοφόκλειον. Examples:
δ’ 785, 791, 1224;
Soph. OC 17
;
Soph. Ant. 1031
;
Soph. El. 1017
:
τ’ below, 1184:
ταῦτ’ 332. [;In
Soph. OC 1164
μολόντ’
should prob. be
μόνον.]; In Comedy:
δ’
Eur. Hipp. 1716
,
Aristoph. Eccl. 351
:
μ’
Aristoph. Frogs 298
.
πλουτίζεται
with allusion to
Πλόύτων, as Hades was called by an euphemism(
ὑποκοριστικῶς, schol.
Aristoph. Pl. 727
),
ὅτι ἐκ τῆς κάτωθεν ἀνίεται ὁ πλοῦτος (crops and metals), as Plato says,
Plat. Crat. 403a
. Cp. Soph. fr. 251 (Nauck(2)) (from the satyric drama
Inachus )
Πλούτωνος (=
Ἅιδοὐ ἥδ’ ἐπείσοδος: Lucian
Timon 21(
Πλοῦτος speaks),
ὁ Πλούτων (Hades)
ἀποστέλλει με παρ’ αὐτοὺς ἅτε πλουτοδότης καὶ μεγαλόδωρος καὶ αὐτὸς ὤν· δηλοῖ γοῦν καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι. Schneid. cp.
Statius Theb. 2.48
pallentes devius umbras Trames agit nigrique Iovis vacua atria ditat Mortibus.
μέν νυν
as in
Soph. Trach. 441
.
οὐκ ἰσούμενόν σ’
, governed by
κρίνοντες in 34. But he begins as if instead of
ἑζόμεσθ’ ἐφέστιοι, ἱκετεύομεν were to follow: hence
ἰσούμενον instead of
ἴσον. It is needless to take
ἰσούμενον (1) as accus. absol., or (2) as governed by
ἑζόμεσθ’ ἐφέστιοι in the sense of
ἱκετεύομεν, —like
φθορὰς … ψήφους ἔθεντο
Aesch. Ag. 814
, or
γένος … νέωσον αἶνον
Aesch. Supp. 533
. Musgrave conj.
ἰσούμενοι as = “deeming equal,” but the midd. would mean “making
ourselves equal,” like
ἀντισουμένου
Thuc. 3.11
. Plato has
ἰσούμενον as passive in
Plat. Phaedrus 238e
, and
ἰσοῦσθαι as passive in
Plat. Parm. 156b
: cp. 581
ἰσοῦμαι.
δαιμόνων συναλλαγαῖς
= “conjunctures” caused by gods (subjective gen.), special visitations, as opposed to the
ordinary chances of life(
συμφοραῖς βίου). Such
συναλλαγαί were the visit of the Sphinx (130) and of the
πυρφόρος θεός (27). Cp. 960
νόσου συναλλαγῇ, a visitation in the form of disease (defining gen.). Here, the sense might indeed be, “dealings (of men) with gods,” =
ὅταν ἄνθρωποι συναλλάσσωνται δαίμοσιν: but the absolute use of
συναλλαγή for “a conjuncture of events” in
Soph. OC 410
(n.) favours the other view. In
Soph. Trach. 845
ὀλεθρἱαισι συναλλαγαῖς
= “at the fatal meeting” of Deianeira with Nessus. But in
Soph. Ant. 157
θεῶν συντυχίαι
= fortunes sent
by gods. The common prose sense of
συναλλαγή is “reconciliation,” which Soph. has in
Soph. Aj. 732
.
ὅς γ’
The
γ’
of the MSS. suits the immediately preceding verses better than the conjectural
τε, since the judgment(
κρίνοντες) rests solely on what Oed. has done, not partly on what he is expected to do. Owing to the length of the first clause (35-39)
τ’ could easily be added to
νῦν in 40 as if another
τε had preceded.
ἐξέλυσας … δασμὸν
. The notion is not, “paid it in full,” but “loosed it,” —the thought of the tribute suggesting that of the riddle which Oed. solved. Till he came, the
δασμός was as a knotted cord in which Thebes was bound. Cp.
Soph. Trach. 653
Ἄρης … ἐξέλυσ’ | ἐπίπονον ἁμέραν,
“has burst the bondage of the troublous day.”
Eur. Phoen. 695
ποδῶν σῶν μόχθον ἐκλύει παρών,
“his presence dispenses with (solves the need for) the toil of thy feet.” This is better than (1) “freed the city from the songstress, in respect of the tribute,” or (2) “freed the city from the tribute(
δασμόν by attraction for
δασμοῦ) to the songstress.”
σκληρᾶς
“hard,” stubborn, relentless.
Eur. Andr. 261
σκληρὸν θράσος.
In 391
κύων expresses a similar idea.
καὶ ταῦθ’
“and that too”:
Soph. Ant. 322
(
ἐποίησας τὸ ἔργον) καὶ ταῦτ’ ἐπ’ ἀργυρῷ γε τὴν ψυχὴν προδούς:
Soph. El. 614
.
οὐδὲν … πλέον
, nothing more than anyone else knew; nothing that could help thee.
Plat. Crat. 387a
πλέον τι ἡμῖν ἔσται,
we shall gain something.
Plat. Sym. 217c
οὐδὲν γάρ μοι πλέον ἦν,
it did not help me.
ἐξειδὼς … ἐκδιδαχθείς
: not having heard (incidentally)—much less having been
thoroughly schooled.
προσθήκῃ θεοῦ
“by the aid of a god.”
Dem. 25.24
ἡ εὐταξία τῇ τῶν νόμων προσθήκῃ τῶν αἰσχρῶν περίεστι,
“discipline, with
the support of the laws, prevails against villainy.”
Dion. Hal. 5.67
προσθήκης μοῖραν ἐπεῖχον οὗτοι τοῖς ἐν φάλαγγι τεταγμένοις,
“these served as
supports to the main body of the troops.”
προστίθεσθαί τινι, to take his side:
Thuc. 6.80
τοῖς ἀδικουμένοις … προσθεμένους
: so
Soph. OC 1332
οἷς ἂν σὺ προσθῇ.
(The noun
προσθήκη does not occur as = “
mandate,” though
Hdt. 3.62
has
τό τοι προσέθηκα πρῆγμα.) The word is appropriate, since the achievement of Oed. is viewed as essentially a triumph of human wit: a divine agency prompted him, but remained in the background.
νῦν τ’
it is unnecessary to read
νῦν δ’: see on 35.
πᾶσιν
, ethical dat. masc. (cp. 8), “in the eyes of all men.”
Soph. Trach. 1071
πολλοῖσιν οἰκτρόν.
εἴτε
οἶσθα ἀλκήν, ἀκούσας φήμην θεῶν του (
by having heard a voice from some god),
εἴτε
οἶσθα ἀλκὴν ἀπ’ ἀνδρός που. We might take
ἀπ’ ἀνδρὸς with
ἀλκήν, but it is perh. simpler to take it with
οἶσθα: cp. 398
ἀπ’ οἰωνῶν μαθών,
Thuc. 1.125
ἐπειδὴ ἀφ’ ἁπάντων ἤκουσαν τὴν γνώμην
: though
παρά (or
πρός) τινος is more frequent.
φήμην
any message (as in a dream,
φήμη ὀνείρου,
Hdt. 1.43
), any rumour, or speech casually heard, which might be taken as a hint from the god.
Hom. Od. 20.98
Ζεῦ πάτερ … | φήμην τίς μοι φάσθω …
(Odysseus prays), “Let some one, I pray, show me
a word of omen.” Then a woman, grinding corn within, is heard speaking of the suitors, “may they now sup their last”:
χαῖρεν δὲ κλεηδόνι δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς, “rejoiced in the sign of the voice.”
ὀμφή was esp. the voice of an oracle;
κληδών comprised
inarticulate sounds(
κλ. δυσκρίτους,
Aesch. PB 486
).
ὡς τοῖσιν … βουλευμάτων
I take these two verses with the whole context from v. 35, and not merely as a comment on the immediately preceding words
εἴτ’ ἀπ’ ἀνδρὸς οἶσθά που. Oedipus has had practical experience(
ἐμπειρία) of great troubles; when the Sphinx came, his wisdom stood the trial. Men who have become thus
ἔμπειροι are apt to be
also
(καἴ prudent in regard to the future. Past
facts enlighten the
counsels which they offer on things still uncertain; and we observe that the issues of their counsels are not usually futile or dead, but effectual. Well may we believe, then, that he who saved us from the Sphinx can tell us how to escape from the plague. Note these points. (1) The words
ἐμπείροισι and
βουλευμάτων serve to suggest the antithesis between past and future. (2)
τὰς ξυμφορὰς … τῶν βουλευμάτων
= literally,
the occurrences connected with (resulting from)
the counsels. The phrase, “issues of counsels,” concisely expresses this. The objection which has been made to this version, that
ξυμφορά is not
τελευτή, rests on a grammatical fallacy, viz., that, in
ξυμφορὰ βουλεύματος, the genitive must be of the same kind as in
τελευτὴ βουλεύματος. τύχη is not
τελευτή, yet in
Soph. OC 1506
it stands with a gen. of connection, just as
ξυμφορά does here:
(θεῶν) τύχην τις ἐσθλὴν τῆσδ’ ἔθηκε τῆς ὁδοῦ (a good fortune connected with this coming). Cp.
Thuc. 1.140
ἐνδέχεται γὰρ τὰς ξυμφορὰς τῶν πραγμάτων οὐχ ἦσσον ἀμαθῶς χωρῆσαι ἢ καὶ τὰς διανοίας τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
:
the issues of human affairs can be as incomprehensible in their course as the thoughts of man (where, again, the “occurrences connected with human affairs” would be more literal): ib.
πρὸς τὰς ξυμφορὰς καὶ τὰς γνώμας τρεπομένους, altering their views according to the
events.
Thuc. 3.87
τῆς ξυμφορᾶς τῷ ἀποβάντι,
by the
issue which has resulted. (3)
ζώσας
is not “successful,” but “operative,” —effectual for the purpose of the
βουλεύματα: as v. 482
ζῶντα is said of the oracles which remain operative against the guilty, and
Soph. Ant. 457
ζῇ ταῦτα
of laws which are ever in force. Conversely
λόγοι θνῄσκοντες μάτην (
Aesch. Lib. 845
) are threats which come to nothing. The scholium in L gives the sense correctly:—
ἐν τοῖς συνετοῖς τὰς συντυχίας καὶ τὰς ἀποβάσεις τῶν βουλευμάτων ὁρῶ ζώσας καὶ οὐκ ἀπολλυμένας. See Appendix.
εὐλαβήθηθ’
have a care
for thy repute— as the next clause explains. Oed. is supposed to be above personal risk; it is only the degree of his future glory (55) which is in question; a fine touch, in view of the destined sequel.
τῆς πάρος προθυμίας
causal genit.:
Plat. Crito 43b
πολλάκις μὲν δή σε … εὐδαιμόνισα τοῦ τρόπου.
μεμνώμεθα
This subjunctive occurs also in
Hom. Od. 14.168
πῖνε καὶ ἄλλα παρὲξ μεμνώμεθα,
Plat. Stat. 285c
φυλάττωμεν … καὶ … μεμνώμεθα,
Plat. Phileb. 31a
μεμνώμεθα δὴ καὶ ταῦτα περὶ ἀμφοῖν.
Eustathius (1303. 46, 1332. 18) cites the word here as
μεμνῴμεθα
(optative). We find, indeed,
μεμνῷο
Xen. Anab. 1.7.5
(v. l.
μεμνῇο),
μεμνεῷτο
Hom. Il. 23.361
,
μεμνῷτο
Xen. Cyrop. 1.6.3
, but these are rare exceptions. On the other hand,
μεμνῄμην
Hom. Il. 24.745
,
μεμνῇτο
Aristoph. Pl. 991
,
Plat. Rep. 518a
. If Soph. had meant the optative he would have written
μεμνῄμεθα: cp.
Soph. Phil. 119
ἂν … κεκλῇο.
See Curtius
Greek Verb 2.226 (Eng. tr. p. 423). The personal appeal, too, here requires the subjunct., not optat.: cp.
Soph. OC 174
μὴ δῆτ’ ἀδικηθῶ,
Soph. Trach. 802
μηδ’ αὐτοῦ θάνω.
στάντες τ’
For partic. with
μέμνημαι cp.
Xen. Cyrop. 3.1.31
ἐμέμνητο γὰρ εἰπών
:
Pind. N. 2.15
θνατὰ μεμνάσθω περιστέλλων μέλη
: for
τε … καί,
Soph. Ant. 1112
αὐτός τ’ ἔδησα καὶ παρὼν ἐκλύσομαι,
as I bound,
so will I loose.
ἀσφαλείᾳ
“in steadfastness”: a dative of manner, equivalent to
ἀσφαλῶς in the proleptic sense of
ὥστε ἀσφαλῆ εἶναι. Cp.
Soph. OC 1318
κατασκαφῇ |. . δῃώσειν,
n.
Thuc. 3.56
οἱ μὴ τὰ ξύμφορα πρὸς τὴν ἔφοδον αὑτοῖς ἀσφαλείᾳ πράσσοντες,
those who
securely made terms on their own account which were not for the common good in view of the invasion.
Thuc. 2.82
ἀσφαλείᾳ δὲ τὸ ἐπιβουλεύσασθαι
(where
ἀσφάλεια is a false reading), to form designs
in security, opp. to
τὸ ἐμπλήκτως ὀξύ, fickle impetuosity. The primary notion of
ἀσφαλής (“not slipping”) is brought out by
πεσόντες and
ἀνόρθωσον.
ὄρνιθι … αἰσίῳ
like
secunda alite or
fausta avi for
bono omine. A bird of omen was properly
οἰωνός:
Hom. Od. 15.531
οὔ τοι ἄνευ θεοῦ ἔπτατο δεξιὸς ὄρνις· | ἔγνων γάρ μιν ἐσάντα ἰδὼν οἰωνὸν ἐόντα
:
Xen. Cyrop. 3.3.22
οἰωνοῖς χρησάμενος αἰσίοις.
But cp.
Eur. IA 607
ὄρνιθα μὲν τόνδ’ αἴσιον ποιούμεθα
:
Eur. Her. 730
ὄρνιθος οὕνεκα
:
Aristoph. Birds 720
φήμη γ’ ὑμῖν ὄρνις ἐστί, πταρμόν τ’ ὄρνιθα καλεῖτε, | ξύμβολον ὄρνιν, φωνὴν ὄρνιν, θεράποντ’ ὄρνιν, ὄνον ὄρνιν.
For dat., Schneid. cp. Hipponax fr. 63 (Bergk)
δεξιῷ … ἐλθὼν ῥωδιῷ(heron). In Bergk
Poet. Lyr. p. 1049 fr. incerti 27
δεξιῇ σίττῃ (woodpecker) is a conject. for
δεξιὴ σίττη.
καὶ
is better taken as = “also” than as “both” (answering to
καὶ τανῦν in 53).
ἄρξεις … κρατεῖς … κρατεῖν
κρατεῖν τινός, merely to hold in one's power;
ἄρχειν implies a constitutional rule. Cp.
Plat. Rep. 338d
οὐκοῦν τοῦτο κρατεῖ ἐν ἑκάστῃ πόλει, τὸ ἄρχον;
Her. 2. i
ἄλλους τε παραλαβὼν τῶν ἦρχε καὶ δὴ καὶ Ἑλλήνων τῶν ἐπεκράτεε, i.e. the Asiatics who were his lawful subjects, and the Greeks over whom he could exert force. But here the poet intends no stress on a verbal contrast: it is as if he had written,
εἴπερ ἄρξεις, ὥσπερ ἄρχεις. Cp.
Soph. Trach. 457
κεἰ μὲν δέδοικας, οὐ καλῶς ταρβεῖς
: below 973
προὔλεγον … | ηὔδας.
ξὺν ἀνδράσιν
not “with the help of men,” but “with men in the land,” =
ἄνδρας ἐχούσης γῆς. Cp. 207
ξὺν αἷς =
ἃς ἔχουσα.
Soph. El. 191
ἀεικεῖ σὺν στολᾷ
:
Soph. Aj. 30
σὺν νεορράντῳ ξίφει.
Soph. Ant. 116
ξύν θ’ ἱπποκόμοις κορύθεσσι.
ὡς οὐδέν ἐστιν
Thuc. 7.77
ἄνδρες γὰρ πόλις, καὶ οὐ τείχη οὐδὲ νῆες ἀνδρῶν κεναί.
Dio Cass. 56. 6
ἄνθρωποι γάρ που πόλις ἐστίν, οὐκ οἰκίαι, κ.τ.λ.
Hdt. 8.61
(Themistocles, taunted by Adeimantus after the Persian occupation of Athens in 480 B.C. with being
ἄπολις, retorted)
ἑωυτοῖσι … ως εἴη καὶ πόλις καὶ γῆ μέζων ἤπερ κείνοισι, ἔστ’ ἂν διηκόσιαι νῆές σφι ἔωσι πεπληρωμέναι.
πύργος
= the city wall with its towers: the sing. as below, 1378:
Soph. Ant. 953
οὐ πύργος, οὐχ ἁλίκτυποι | … νᾶες
:
Eur. Hec. 1209
πέριξ δὲ πύργος εἶχ’ ἔτι πτόλιν.
Lit., “void of men, when they do not dwell with thee in the city”:
ἀνδρῶν
depends on
ἔρημος
, of which
μὴ ξυνοικούντων ἔσω
is epexegetic. Rhythm and Sophoclean usage make this better than to take
ἀνδρῶν μὴ ξυνοικ. ἔ. as a gen. absol. Cp.
Soph. Aj. 464
γυμνὸν φανέντα τῶν ἀριστείων ἄτερ
:
Soph. Phil. 31
κενὴν οἴκησιν ἀνθρώπων δίχα
:
Lucret. 5.841
muta sine ore etiam, sine voltu caeca.
γνωτὰ κοὐκ ἀγνῶτα
The emphasis of this formula sometimes appears to deprecate an opposite impression in the mind of the hearer: “known, and not (
as you perhaps think) unknown.”
Hom. Il. 3.59
ἐπεί με κατ’ αἶσαν ἐνείκεσας οὐδ’ ὑπὲρ αἶσαν,
duly, and not, —as you perhaps expect me to say, —unduly.
Hdt. 3.25
ἐμμανής τε ἐὼν καὶ οὐ φρενήρης
— being mad, —for it must be granted that no man in his right mind would have acted thus.
Soph. OC 397
βαιοῦ κοὐχὶ μυρίου χρόνου,
soon, and not after such delay as thy impatience might fear.
νοσοῦντες … νοσεῖ
We expected
καὶ νοσοῦντες οὐ νοσεῖτε, ὡς ἐγώ. But at the words
ὡς ἐγώ the speaker's consciousness of his own exceeding pain turns him abruptly to the strongest form of expression that he can find
—οὐκ ἔστιν ὑμῶν ὅστις νοσεῖ,
there is not one of you whose pain is as mine. In
Plat. Phileb. 19b
(quoted by Schneid.) the source of the anacolouthon is the same:
μὴ γὰρ δυνάμενοι τοῦτο κατὰ παντὸς ἑνὸς καὶ ὁμοίου καὶ ταὐτοῦ δρᾶν καὶ τοῦ ἐναντίου, ὡς ὁ παρελθὰν λόγος ἐμήνυσεν, οὐδεὶς εἰς οὐδὲν οὐδενὸς ἂν ἡμῶν οὐδέποτε γένοιτο ἄξιος, — instead of the tamer
οὐκ ἂν γενοίμεθα.
εἰς ἕν’ … μόνον καθ’ αὑτόν
καθ’ αὑτόν, “by himself” (
Soph. OC 966
), is strictly only an emphatic repetition of
μόνον: but the whole phrase
εἰς ἕνα μόνον καθ’ αὑτόν is virtually equivalent to
εἰς ἕνα ἕκαστον καθ’ αὑτόν, each several one apart from the rest.
πόλιν τε κἀμὲ καὶ σ’
The king's soul grieves for the whole State, —for himself, charged with the care of it, —and for each several man(
σἔ. As the first contrast is between public and private care,
κἀμέ stands between
πόλιν and
σέ. For the elision of
σέ, though accented, cp. 329
τἄμ’, ὡς ἂν εἴπω μὴ τὰ σ’: 404
καὶ τὰ σ’:
Soph. El. 1499
τὰ γοῦν σ’
:
Soph. Phil. 339
οἴμοι μὲν ἀρκεῖν σοί γε καὶ τὰ σ’
:
Eur. Hipp. 323
ἔα μ’ ἁμαρτεῖν· οὐ γὰρ ἐς σ’ ἁμαρτάνω.
The modal dat.
ὕπνῳ
, more forcible than a cogn. acc.
ὕπνον, nearly = “soundly.” Cp.
Soph. Ant. 427
γόοισιν ἐξῴμωξεν
:
Soph. Trach. 176
φόβῳ, φίλαι, ταρβοῦσαν
: [;Eur.]; fr. 1132 (Nauck(2)) 40
ὀργῇ χολωθείς (where Nauck, rashly, I think, conjectures
ἔργεἰ.
Verg. Aen. 1.680
sopitum somno
.
εὕδειν, καθεύδειν (
Xen. Anab. 1.3.11
) oft. = “to be at ease” (cp.
ἔνθ’ οὐκ ἂν βρίζοντα ἴδοις, of Agam.,
Hom. Il. 4.223
): the addition of
ὕπνῳ raises and invigorates a trite metaphor.
πλάνοις
has excellent manuscript authority here; and Soph. uses
πλάνου
Soph. OC 1114
,
πλάνοις
Soph. Phil. 758
, but
πλάνη nowhere. Aesch. has
πλάνη only: Eur.
πλάνος only, unless the fragment of the
Rhadamanthus be genuine (659 Nauck(2), v. 8,
οὕτω βίοτος ἀνθρώπων πλάνἠ. Aristoph. has
πλάνος once (
Aristoph. Wasps 872
),
πλάνη never. Plato uses both
πλάνη and
πλάνος, the former oftenest: Isocrates has
πλάνος, not
πλάνη.
ηὕρισκον
“could find” (impf.). Attic inscriptions of the t=h or early t/h cent. B.C. support the temporal augment in the historical tenses of
εὑρίσκω (Meisterhans,
Gram. Att. Inschr., p. 78). Our best MS. of Soph. (L), however, preserves no trace of it, except in
Soph. Ant. 406
(see cr. n. there). Curtius (
Curt. Verb. 1.139
, Eng. tr. 93) thinks that, while the omission of the syllabic augment was an archaic and poetical license, that of the temporal was “a sacrifice to convenience of articulation, and was more or less common to all periods”: so that
εἴκαζον could exist in Attic by the side of
ᾔκαζον, εὕρισκον by the side of
ηὕρισκον.
ταύτην ἔπραξα
a terse equivalent for
ταύτῃ ἔργῳ ἐχρησάμην.
Φοίβου … ὅ τι δρῶν … τί φωνῶν
Cp.
Plat. Rep. 414d
οὐκ οἶδα ὁποίᾳ τόλμῃ ἢ ποίοις λόγοις χρώμενος ἐρῶ.
These are exceptions to the rule that, where an interrogative pronoun (as
τίς) and a relative (as
ὄστις) are both used in an indirect question, the former stands first: cp.
Plat. Crito 48a
οὐκ ἄρα … φροντιστέον, τί ἐροῦσιν οἱ πολλοὶ ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ’ ὅ τι ὁ ἐπαΐων, κ.τ.λ.
:
Plat. Gorg. 448e
οὐδεὶς ἐρωτᾷ ποία τις εἴη ἡ Γοργίου τέχνη, ἀλλὰ τίς, καὶ ὅντινα δέοι καλεῖν τὸν Γοργίαν
:
Plat. Gorg. 500a
ἐκλέξασθαι ποῖα ἀγαθὰ καὶ ὁποῖα κακά
:
Plat. Phileb. 17b
(
ἴσμεν) πόσα τέ ἐστι καὶ ὁποῖα.
δρῶν ἢ … φωνῶν
: there is no definite contrast between
doing and
bidding others to do: rather “deed” and “word” represent the two chief forms of agency, the phrase being equivalent to “in what possible way.” Cp.
Aesch. PB 659
θεοπρόπους ἴαλλεν, ὡς μάθοι τί χρὴ | δρῶντ’ ἢ λέγοντα δαίμοσιν πράσσειν φίλα.
ῥυσαίμην
(L's reading) is right:
ῥυσοίμην is grammatically possible, but less fitting. The direct deliberative form is
τί δρῶν ῥύσωμαι; the indirect,
πυνθάνομαι ὅ τι (or
τἴ δρῶν ῥύσωμαι, ἐπυθόμην ὅ τι (or
τἴ δρῶν ῥυσαίμην. This indirect deliberative occurs, not only with verbs of “doubting” (
Xen. Hell. 7.4.39
ἠπόρει ὅ τι χρήσαιτο τῷ πράγματἰ,
but also with verbs of “asking”:
Thuc. 1.25
τὸν θεὸν ἐπήροντο, εἰ παραδοῖεν … τὴν πόλιν
(oblique of
παραδῶμεν τὴν πόλιν). Kennedy wrongly says that
ῥυσαίμην here could be only the oblique of
ἐρρυσάμην (as if, in
Thuc. 1.25
,
παραδοῖεν could be only the oblique of
παρέδοσαν); and that, for the sense, it would require
ἄν. This would also be right, but in a different constr., viz., as oblique of
τί δρῶν ῥυσαίμην ἄν; Cp.
Soph. Trach. 991
οὐ γὰρ ἔχω πῶς ἂν | στέρξαιμι,
and
Soph. Ant. 270 ff.
n. In
Soph. El. 33
ὡς μάθοιμ’, ὅτῳ τρόπῳ πατρὶ | δίκας ἀροίμην,
the opt. is that of
ἠρόμην, being oblique for
ἄρωμαι, rather than of
ἀροῦμαι.
ῥυσοίμην would be oblique of
τί δρῶν ῥύσομαι; ῥυσοίμην (oblique for
ῥύσομαι) would imply that he was confident of a successful
result, and doubtful only concerning the
means; it is therefore less suitable.
καί μ’ ἦμαρ … χρόνῳ
Lit., “and already the day, compared with the lapse of time [;since his departure];, makes me anxious what he doth”: i.e. when I think what day this is, and how many days ago he started, I feel anxious.
ἤδη
, showing that
to-day is meant, sufficiently defines
ἦμαρ.
χρόνῳ
is not for
τῷ χρόνῳ,
the time since he left, —though this is implied, —but is abstract, —time in its course. The absence of the art. is against our taking
χρόνῳ as “the time which I had allowed for his journey.”
ξυμμετρούμενον
: cp.
Hdt. 4.158
συμμετρησάμενοι τὴν ὥρην τῆς ἡμέρης, νυκτὸς παρῆγον,
“having
calculated the time, they led them past the place by night”: lit., “having compared the season of the day (with the distance to be traversed).”
Eur. Orest. 1214
καὶ δὴ πέλας νιν δωμάτων εἶναι δοκῶ· | τοῦ γὰρ χρόνου τὸ μῆκος αὐτὸ συντρέχει
“for the length of time (since her departure) just tallies (with the time required for the journey).”
λυπεῖ τί πράσσει
Soph. Aj. 794
ὥστε μ’ ὠδίνειν τί φῄς.
τοῦ γὰρ εἰκότος πέρα
.
τὸ εἰκός is
a reasonable estimate of the time required for the journey.
Thuc. 2.73
ἡμέρας … ἐν αἶς εἰκὸς ἦν κομισθῆναι (αὐτούς),
the number of days which might reasonably be allowed for their journey (from Plataea to Athens and back). Porson conjectured
τοῦ γὰρ εἰκότος περᾷ, as = “for he overstays the due limit”—thinking v. 75,
ἄπεστι … χρόυνου, to be a spurious interpolation. The same idea had occurred to Bentley. But (1)
περᾶν with the genitive in this sense is strange (in 674
θυμοῦ περᾶν is different), and would not be readily understood as referring to
time; (2) it is Sophoclean to explain and define
τοῦ εἰκότος πέρα by
πλείω τοῦ καθήκοντος χρόνου.
εἰς καλὸν
to fit purpose, “opportunely”:
Plat. Sym. 174e
εἰς καλὸν ἥκεις.
Soph. Aj. 1168
καὶ μὴν ἐς αὐτὸν καιρὸν … | πάρεισιν.
Cp.
Aristoph. Ach. 686
εἰς τάχος
=
ταχέως,
Aristoph. Birds 805
εἰς εὐτέλειαν
=
εὐτελῶς.
οἵδε
: some of those suppliants who are nearer to the stage entrance on the spectators' left—the conventional one for an arrival
from the country— have made signs to the Priest. Creon enters, wearing a wreath of bay leaves bright with berries, in token of a favourable answer. See Appendix, Note 1, sect. 2.
ἐν τύχῃ … ὄμματι
may his radiant look prove the herald of good news.
ἐν τύχῃ
, nearly =
μετὰ τύχης, “invested with,” “attended by”: cp. 1112
ἔν τε γὰρ μακρῷ | γήρᾳ ξυνᾴδει:
Soph. Aj. 488
σθένοντος ἐν πλούτῳ.
τύχη σωτὴρ (
Aesch. Ag. 664
), like
χεὶρ πράκτωρ(
Aesch. Ag. 111
),
θέλκτωρ πειθώ (
Aesch. Supp. 1040
),
καρανιστῆρες δίκαι(
Aesch. Eum. 186
).
λαμπρὸς
with
ἐν τύχῃ κ.τ.λ., —being applicable at once to
brilliant fortune and (in the sense of
φαιδρός) to a
beaming countenance.
εἰκάσαι μέν, ἡδύς
(sc.
βαίνει). Cp.
Soph. El. 410
ἐκ δείματός του νυκτέρου, δοκεῖν ἐμοί.
Soph. OC 151
δυσαίων | μακραίων τ’, ἐπεικάσαι.
ἡδύς
, not “joyous,” but “pleasant to us,” “bringing good news”: as 510
ἡδύπολις, pleasant to the city:
Soph. El. 929
ἡδὺς αὐδὲ μητρὶ δυσχερής,
a guest welcome, not grievous, to her. In
Soph. Trach. 869
where
ἀηδὴς καὶ συνωφρυωμένη is said of one who approaches with bad news,
ἀνηδής is not “unwelcome,” but rather “sullen,” “gloomy.”
πολυστεφὴς … δάφνης
The use of the gen. after words denoting fulness is extended to the notions of encompassing or overshadowing: e.g.
περιστεφῇ … ἀνθέων θήκην (
Soph. El. 895
),
στέγην … ἦς [;v. l.
ᾗ]; κατηρεφεῖς δόμοι (
Eur. Hipp. 468
). But the dat. would also stand: cp.
Hom. Od. 9.183
σπέος … δάφνῃσι κατηρεφές
:
Hes. WD 513
λάχνῃ δέρμα κατάσκιον.
παγκάρπου
, covered with berries: cp.
Soph. OC 676
.
Plin. NH 15.30
maximis baccis atque e viridi rubentibus (of the Delphic laurel). The wreath announces good news,
Soph. Trach. 179
: so in
Eur. Hipp. 806
Theseus, returning from the oracle at Delphi to find Phaedra dead, cries
τί δῆτα τοῖσδ’ ἀνέστεμμαι κάρα | πλεκτοῖσι φύλλοις, δυστυχὴς θεωρὸς ὤν; So Fabius Pictor returned from Delphi to Rome
coronatus laurea corona (
Liv. 23.11
).
ξύμμετρος γὰρ ὡς κλύειν
He is at a just distance for hearing:
ξύμμετρος =
commensurate (in respect of his distance)
with the range of our voices (implied in
κλύειν ).
κήδευμα
“kinsman” (by marriage). =
κηδεστής, here =
γαμβρός (70).
Soph. Ant. 756
γυναικὸς ὢν δούλευμα μὴ κώτιλλέ με.
Eur. Orest. 928
τἄνδον οἰκουρήματα
=
τὰς ἔνδον οἰκουρούσας.
λέγω γὰρ … εὐτυχεῖν
Creon, unwilling to speak plainly before the Chorus, hints to Oedipus that he brings a clue to the means by which the anger of heaven may be appeased.
ἐξελθόντα
, of the
event, “having issued”; cp. 1011
μή μοι Φοῖβος ἐξέλθῃ σαφής; so 1182
ἐξήκοι. The word is chosen by Creon with veiled reference to the duty of
banishing the defiling presence (98
ἐλαύνειν).
πάντ’
predicative with
εὐτυχεῖν, “will all of them (= altogether) be well.”
λέγω
ἂν εὐτυχεῖν
=
λέγω ὅτι εὐτυχοίη ἄν.
τοὔπος
the actual oracle(
τοὔπος τὸ θεοπρόπον,
Soph. Trach. 822
):
λόγῳ
(90), Creon's own saying(
λέγω, 87).
προδείσας
, alarmed beforehand. Cp.
Hdt. 7.50
κρέσσον δὲ πάντα θαρσέοντα ἥμισυ τῶν δεινῶν πάσχειν μᾶλλον ἢ πᾶν χρῆμα προδειμαίνοντα μηδαμὰ μηδὲν παθεῖν.
No other part of
προδείδω occurs:
προταρβεῖν, προφοβεῖσθαι = “to fear beforehand,” but
ὑπερ δέδοικά σου, I fear
for thee,
Soph. Ant. 82
. In compos. with a verb of
caring for, however,
προό sometimes =
ὑπέρ, e.g.
προκήδομαι
Soph. Ant. 741
.
πλησιαζόντων
here =
πλησίον ὄντων: usu. the verb = either (i) to approach, or (2) to
consort with (dat.), as below, 1136.
εἰ … εἴτε
, as
Aesch. Eum. 468
σὺ δ’, εἰ δικαίως εἴτε μή, κρῖνον δίκην.
εἴτε καὶ στείχειν ἔσω
(χρῄζεις), (ἕτοιμός εἰμι τοῦτο δρᾶν). So
Eur. Ion 1120
(quoted by Elms., etc.)
πεπυσμέναι γάρ, εἰ θανεῖν ἡμᾶς χρεών, | ἥδιον ἂν θάνοιμεν, εἴθ’ ὁρᾶν φάος: i. e.
εἴτε ὁρᾶν φάος (χρἤ, (ἥδιον ἂν ὁρῷμεν αὐτὄ.
ἐς πάντας
Hdt. 8.26
οὔτε ἠνέσχετο σιγῶν εἶπέ τε ἐς πάντας τάδε
:
Thuc. 1.72
ἐς τὸ πλῆθος εἰπεῖν
(before the assembly).
πλέον
adverbial, as in
Soph. Aj. 1101
, etc.: schol.
περὶ τούτων πλέον ἀγωνίζομαι ἢ περὶ τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ ψυχῆς.
τῶνδε
object. gen. with
τὸ πένθος (not with
περἴ· cp.
Soph. El. 1097
τᾷ Ζηνὸς εὐσεβείᾳ.
ἢ καὶ
“than
even.” This must not be confounded with the occasional use of
ἢ καί in
negative sentences containing a comparison: e.g.
Soph. Aj. 1103
οὐκ ἔσθ’ ὅπου σοὶ τόνδε κοσμῆσαι πλέον | ἀρχῆς ἔκειτο θεσμὸς ἢ καὶ τῷδε σέ
:
Soph. El. 1145
οὔτε γάρ ποτε | μητρὸς σύ γ’ ἦσθα μᾶλλον ἢ κἀμοῦ φίλος
:
Antiph. 5.23
ἐζητεῖτο οὐδέν τι μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἢ καὶ ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ
(where
καί is redundant, = “on my part”).
λέγοιμ’ ἂν
a deferential form, having regard to the permission just given. Cp.
Soph. Phil. 674
χωροῖς ἂν εἴσω
:
Soph. El. 637
κλύοις ἂν ἤδη.
ὡς
marks that the partic.
τεθραμμένον
expresses the view held by the subject of the leading verb (
ἄνωγεν): i.e., “
as having been harboured” = “which (
he says) has been harboured.” Cp.
Xen. Anab. 1.2.1
ἔλεγε θαρρεῖν ὡς καταστησομένων τούτων εἰς τὸ δέον
: he said, “Take courage,
in the assurance that” etc.
ἐλαύνειν
for
ἐξελαύνειν was regular in this context:
Thuc. 1.126
τὸ ἄγος ἐλαύνειν τῆς θεοῦ
(i.e. to banish the Alcmaeonidae): and so 1. 127, 128, 135, 2. 13.
μηδ’ ἀνήκεστον τρέφειν
The
μίασμα is
ἀνήκεστον in the sense that it cannot be healed
by anything else than the death or banishment of the bloodguilty. But it can still be healed if that expiation is made. Thus
ἀνήκεστον is a proleptic predicate: cp.
Plat. Rep. 565c
τοῦτον τρέφειν τε καὶ αὔξειν μέγαν
:
Soph. OC 527
n. See
Antiph. 4.3.7
ἀντὶ τοῦ παθόντος
/GREEK> (in the cause of the dead)
ἐπισκήπτομεν ὑμῖν τῷ τούτου φόνῳ τὸ μήνιμα τῶν ἀλιτηρίων ἀκεσαμένους πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν καθαρὰν τοῦ μιάσματος καταστῆσαι, “to heal with this man's blood the deed which angers the avenging spirits, and so to purge the whole city of the defilement.”
ποίῳ … ξυμφορᾶς
By what purifying rite (does he command us
ἐλαύνειν τὸ μίασμα)? What is the manner of our misfortune (i.e. our defilement)?
Eur. Phoen. 390
τίς ὁ τρόπος αὐτοῦ; τί φυγάσιν τὸ δυσχερές;
“what is the manner thereof?) sc.
τοῦ κακοῦ, exile).
ξυμφορᾶς
, euphemistic for guilt, as
Plat. Laws 934b
λωφῆσαι πολλὰ μέρη τῆς τοιαύτης ξυμφορᾶς,
to be healed in great measure of such a malady (viz., of evil-doing):
Plat. Laws 854d
ἐν τῷ προσώπῳ καὶ ταῖς χερσὶ γραφεὶς τὴν ξυμφοράν,
“with his
misfortune [;the crime of sacrilege]; branded on his face and hands.”
Hdt. 1.35
συμφορῇ ἐχόμενος
=
ἐναγής, under a ban. Prof. Kennedy understands: “what is the mode of
compliance (with the oracle)?” He compares
Soph. OC 641
τῇδε γὰρ ξυνοίσομαι
(“for with that choice I will comply”). But elsewhere, at least,
συμφορά does not occur in a sense parallel with
συμφέρεσθαι, “to agree with.”
ἀνδρηλατοῦντας
As if, instead of
ποίῳ καθαρμῷ, the question had been
τί ποιοῦντας;
ὡς τόδ’ αἷμα χειμάζον πόλιν
since it is this blood
[;τόδε, viz. that implied in
φόνον]; which brings the storm on Thebes.
χειμάζον, acc. absol.
ὡς
presents the fact as the ground of belief on which the Thebans are commanded to act: “Do thus,
assured that it is this blood,” etc. Cp.
Soph. OC 380
:
Xen. Hell. 2.4.1
οἱ δὲ τριάκοντα, ὡς ἐξὸν ἤδη αὐτοῖς τυραννεῖν ἀδεῶς, προεῖπον, κ.τ.λ.
Cp.
Eur. Supp. 268
πόλις δὲ πρὸς πόλιν | ἔπτηξε χειμασθεῖσα,
“city with city seeks shelter, when vexed by storms.”
ἀπευθύνειν
to steer in a right course. The infin. is of the imperf., =
πρότερον ἢ ἀπηύθυνες, before you were steering (began to steer). Oedipus took the State out of angry waters into smooth: cp. 696
ἐμὰν γᾶν φίλαν | ἐν πόνοις ἀλύουσαν κατ’ ὀρθὸν οὔρισας: fr. 151
πλήκτροις ἀπευθύνουσιν οὐρίαν τρόπιν, “with the helm(
πλῆκτρα, the blades of the
πηδάλιἀ they steer their bark before the breeze.”
οὐ γὰρ εἰσεῖδόν γέ πω
As Oed. knows that Laius is dead, the tone of unconcern given by this colloquial use of
οὔπω (instead of
οὔποτἐ is a skilful touch. Cp.
Soph. El. 402
ΧΡ. σὺ δ’ οὐχὶ πείσει … ; ΕΛ. οὐ δῆτα· μήπω νοῦ τοσόνδ’ εἴην κενή
:
Eur. Hec. 1278
μήπω μανείη Τυνδαρὶς τοσόνδε παῖς
:
Hom. Il. 12.270
ἀλλ’ οὔπω πάντες ὁμοῖοι | ἀνέρες ἐν πολέμῳ
: cp. our (ironical) “I have
yet to learn.”
τοὺς αὐτοέντας … τινας
τούς implies that the death
had human authors;
τινας, that they are
unknown. So in
Soph. OC 290
ὅταν δ’ ὁ κύριος | παρῇ τις,
“the master—whoever he be.”
τιμωρεῖν
, “punish.” The act., no less than the midd., is thus used even in prose:
Lys. 13.42
τιμωρεῖν ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ ὡς φονέα ὄντα
, to punish (Agoratus), on his own account, as his murderer.
χειρὶ τιμωρεῖν
, here, either “to slay” or “to expel by force,” as distinguished from merely fining or disfranchising: in 140
τοιαύτῃ χειρὶ τιμωρεῖν is explained by
κτανὼν in 139
ποῦ τόδ’ … αἰτίας;
τόδε ἴχνος αἰτίας =
ἴχνος τῆσδε αἰτίας, cp.
τοὐμὸν φρενῶν ὄνειρον
Soph. El. 1390
.
αἰτίας
,“crime”:
Soph. Aj. 28
τήνδ’ οὖν ἐκείνῳ πᾶς τις αἰτίαν νέμει.
For
δυστέκμαρτον
, hard to track, cp.
Aesch. Eum. 244
(the Furies hunting Orestes)
εἶεν· τόδ’ ἐστὶ τἀνδρὸς ἐκφανὲς τέκμαρ. The poet hints a reason for what might else have seemed strange—the previous inaction of Oedipus. Cp. 219
ἔφασκε
sc.
ὁ θεὸς (εὑρεθήσεσθαι τὸ ἴχνος).
τὸ δὲ ζητούμενον
:
δὲ has a sententious force, = “now.” The
γνώμη, though uttered in an oracular tone, is not part of the god's message. Cp. Eur. fr. 435
αὐτός τι νῦν δρῶν εἶτα δαίμονας κάλει· | τῷ γὰρ πονοῦντι καὶ θεὸς συλλαμβάνει.
συμπίπτει
The vivid historic present suits the alertness of a mind roused to close inquiry: so below, 118, 716, 1025:
Soph. Trach. 748
:
Soph. El. 679
. —Cp.
Soph. Aj. 429
κακοῖς τοιοῖσδε συμπεπτωκότα.
θεωρός
Laius was going to Delphi in order to ask Apollo whether the child (Oedipus), formerly exposed by the god's command, had indeed perished:
Eur. Phoen. 36
τὸν ἐκτεθέντα παῖδα μαστεύων μαθεῖν | εἰ μηκέτ’ εἴη.
ὡς ἔφασκεν
, as Laius told the Thebans at the time when he was leaving Thebes.
ἐκδημῶν
, not
going abroad, but
being [;= having gone]; abroad: cp.
Plat. Laws 864e
οἰκείτω τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ἐκδημῶν.
ὡς
=
ἐπεί :
Xen. Cyrop. 1.3.2
ὡς δὲ ἀφίκετο τάχιστα … ἠσπάζετο.
Cic.
Brut. 5
ut illos libros edidisti, nihil a te postea accepimus.
οὐδ’ ἄγγελός … ἐχρήσατ’ ἄν;
The sentence begins as if
ἄγγελός τις were to be followed by
ἦλθε but the second alternative,
συμπράκτωρ ὁδοῦ, suggests
κατεῖδε [;had
seen, though he did not
speak];: and this, by a kind of zeugma, stands as verb to
ἄγγελος also. Cp.
Hdt. 4.106
ἐσθῆτα δὲ φορέουσι τῇ Σκυθικῇ ὁμοίην, γλῶσσαν δὲ ἰδίην.
οὐδ’ ἀγγελός:
Hom. Il. 12.73
οὐκέτ’ ἔπειτ’ ὀΐω οὐδ’ ἄγγελον ἀπονέεσθαι.
ὅτου
, gen. masc.: from whom having gained knowledge one might have used it.
ἐκμαθὼν
= a protasis,
εἰ ἐξέμαθεν, ἐχρήσατ’ ἄν, sc.
τούτοις ἃ ἐξέμαθεν.
Plat. Gorg. 465e
ἐὰν μὲν οὖν καὶ ἐγὼ σοῦ ἀποκρινομένου μὴ ἔχω ὅ τι χρήσωμαι,
if, when you answer, I also do not know what use to make [;of your answer, sc.
τούτοις ἃ ἂν ἀποκρίνῃ), —where shortly before we have
οὐδὲ χρῆσθαι τῇ ἀποκρίσει ἤν σοι ἀπεκρινάμην οὐδὲν οἶός τ’ ἦσθα.
θνῄσκουσι
The
ι
subscript in the pres. stem of this verb is attested by Attic inscriptions )Meisterhans,
Gram. p. 86(. The practice of the Laurentian MS. fluctuates. It gives the
ι subscript here, in 623, 1457;
Soph. OC 611
;
Soph. Ant. 547
, 761;
Soph. El. 1022
. It omits the
ι subscript in
Soph. El. 63
, 113, 540, 1486;
Soph. Trach. 707
, 708;
Soph. Phil. 1085
. Cp.
Etym. M. 482, 29,
θνῄσκω, μιμνῃσκω. Δίδυμος [;circ. 30 B.C.];
χωρὶς τοῦ ι— … ἡ μέντοι παράδοσις ἔχει τὸ ι. —
φόβῳ φυγὼν
, “having fled in fear”:
φόβῳ, modal dative; cp.
Thuc. 4.88
διά τε τὸ ἐπαγωγὰ εἰπεῖν τὸν Βρασίδαν καὶ περὶ τοῦ καρποῦ φόβῳ ἔγνωσαν
:
Thuc. 5.70
ἐντόνως καὶ ὀργῇ χωροῦντες.
εἰδὼς
with sure knowledge )and not merely from confused recollection,
ἀσαφὴς δόξἁ: so 1151
λέγει γὰρ εἰδὼς οὐδὲν ἀλλ’ ἄλλως πονεῖ :
Soph. El. 41
ὅπως ἂν εἰδὼς ἡμὶν ἀγγείλῃς σαφῆ.
Iocasta says )849(, in reference to this same point in the man's testimony,
κοὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ τοῦτό γ’ ἐκβαλεῖν πάλιν.
τὸ ποῖον;
Cp. 291:
Soph. El. 670
πρᾶγμα πορσύνων μέγα. | ΚΛ. τὸ ποῖον, ὦ ξέν’; εἰπέ.
Aristoph. Peace 696
εὐδαιμονεῖ. πάσχει δὲ θαυμαστόν.
“EPM.
τὸ τί;
ἐξεύροι μαθεῖν
. One thing would find out
how to learn many things, i.e. would prove a clue to them. The infin.
μαθεῖν as after a verb of
teaching or
devising:
Hdt. 1.196
ἄλλο δέ τι ἐξευρήκασι νεωστὶ γενέσθαι.
Plat. Rep. 519e
ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ πόλει τοῦτο μηχανᾶται ἐγγενέσθαι.
ἔφασκε
sc.
ὁ φυγών )118(.
οὐ μιᾷ ῥώμῃ
=
οὐχ ἑνὸς ῥώμῃ, in the strength not of one man. Cp.
Hdt. 1.174
πολλῇ χειρὶ ἐργαζομένων τῶν Κνιδίων.
Soph. Ant. 14
διπλῇ χερί
= by the hands of twain. So perh.
χερὶ διδύμᾳ
Pind. P. 2.9
.
σὺν πλήθει
cp. on 55.
εἴ τι μὴ
if some intrigue, aided by (
ξὺν
) money, had not been working from Thebes.
ti is subject to
ἐπράσσετο: distinguish the adverbial
τι (= “perchance”) which is often joined to
εἰ μή in diffident expressions, as 969
εἴ τι μὴ τὠμῷ πόθῳ | κατέφθιτ’, ‘unless
perchance’: so
Soph. OC 1450
,
Soph. Trach. 586
etc. Schneid. cp.
Thuc. 1.121
καί τι αὐτῷ καὶ ἐπράσσετο ἐς τὰς πόλεις ταύτας προδοσίας πέρι
: and
Thuc. 5.83
ὑπῆρχε δέ τι αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Ἄργους αὐτόθεν πρασσόμενον.
ἐπράσσετο … ἔβη
the imperf. refers here to a
continued act in past time, the aor. to an act done at a definite past moment. Cp. 402
ἐδόκεις—ἔγνως: 432
ἱκόμην—ἐκάλεις.
δοκοῦντα … ἦν
expresses the vivid presence of the
δόξα more strongly than
ταῦτα ἐδόκει would have done )cp. 274
τάδ’ ἔστ’ ἀρέσκονθ’(:
Hdt. 1.146
ταῦτα δὲ ἦν γινόμενα ἐν Μιλήτῳ.
ἐμποδών
sc.
ὄν, with
κακὸν, not with
εἶργε, “what trouble (being) in your path?” Cp. 445
παρὼν … ἐμποδὼν | ὀχλεῖς.
τυραννίδος
. Soph. conceives the Theban throne as having been vacant from the death of Laius—who left no heir—till the election of Oed. The abstract
τυραννίδος suits the train of thought on which Oed. has already entered, —viz. that the crime was the work of a Theban faction )124( who wished to destroy, not the king merely, but the kingship. Cp.
Aesch. Lib. 973
ἵδεσθε χώρας τὴν διπλῆν τυραννίδα
)Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus(.
ποικιλῳδὸς
singing
ποικίλα,
subtleties,
αἰνίγματα: cp.
Plat. Sym. 182a
ὁ περὶ τὸν ἔρωτα νόμος ἐν μὲν ταῖς ἄλλαις πόλεσι νοῆσαι ῥᾴδιος· ἁπλῶς γὰρ ὤρισται· ὁ δὲ ἐνθάδε καὶ ἐν Λακεδαίμονι ποικίλος.
Hdt. 7.3
πρόμαντις δὲ ἡ χρέουσα, κατάπερ ἐν Δελφοῖσι, καὶ οὐδὲν ποικιλώτερον,
“the chief prophetess is she who gives the oracles, as at Delphi, and in no wise of darker speech.”
προσήγετο
The constr. is
προσήγετο ἡμᾶς, μεθέντας τὰ ἀφανῆ, σκοπεῖν τὸ πρὸς ποσί.
προσήγετο, was drawing us )by her dread song(, said with a certain irony, since
προσάγεσθαι with infin. usually implies a
gentle constraint )though, as a milit. term,
ἀνάγκῃ προσηγάγοντο,
reduced by force,
Hdt. 6.25
(: cp.
Eur. Ion 659
χρόνῳ δὲ καιρὸν λαμβάνων προσάξομαι | δάμαρτ’ ἐᾶν σε σκῆπτρα τἄμ’ ἔχειν χθονός.
τὸ πρὸς ποσὶ
)cp.
ἐμποδὼν 128(, the
instant, pressing trouble, opp. to
τὰ ἀφανῆ, obscure questions )as to the death of Laius( of no present or practical interest.
Pind. I. 7.12
δεῖμα μὲν παροιχόμενον | καρτερὰν ἔπαυσε μέριμναν· τὸ δὲ πρὸς ποδὸς ἄρειον ἀεὶ σκοπεῖν | χρῆμα πᾶν.
Soph. Ant. 1327
τἂν ποσὶν κακά.
ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς
i.e. taking up anew the search into the death of Laius.
Aristot. Soul 2.1
πάλιν δ’ ὥσπερ ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς ἐπανίωμεν
: so
πάλιν οὖν οἷον ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς
Aristot. Rh. 1.1.14
:
Dem. 40.16
πάλιν ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς λαγχάνουσί μοι δίκας.
The phrase
ἐν τῇ τῆς ἐπιστήμης ὑπαρχῇ occurs in the paraphrase by Themistius of Arist.
περὶ φυσικῆς ἀκροάσεως 8. 3 )Berlin ed. vol. 1. 247 b 29(: elsewhere the word occurs only in
ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς. Cp.
Soph. El. 725
ὑποστροφῆς
=
ὑποστραφέντες:
Hdt. 5.116
ἐκ νέης
:
Thuc. 3.92
ἐκ καινῆς.
αὖθις
, as he had done in the case of the Sphinx's riddle:
αὔτ’
=
τὰ ἀφνῆ.
ἐπαξίως
)which would usually have a genitive( implies the standard—worthily of his
own godhead, or
of the occasion— and is slightly stronger than
ἀξίως
. Cp.
Eur. Hec. 168
ἀπωλέσατ’, ὠλέσατ’
:
Eur. Orest. 181
διοιχόμεθ’, οἰχόμεθ
:
Eur. Alc. 400
ὑπάκουσον, ἄκουσον.
πρὸ
on behalf of, cp.
πρὸ τῶνδε 10,
Soph. OC 811
:
Xen. Cyrop. 8.8.4
εἴ τις … διακινδυνεύσειε πρὸ βασιλέως
: 1. 6. 42
ἀξιώσουσι σὲ πρὸ ἑαυτῶν βουλεύεσθαι. Campb. reads
πρὸς τοῦ θανόντος, which here could mean only “
at the instance of the dead.”
πρός never = “on behalf of,” “for the sake of,” but sometimes “
on the side of”: e.g.
Hdt. 1.124
ἀποστάντες ἀπ’ ἐκείνου καὶ γενόμενοι πρὸς σέο,
“ranged themselves on your side”:
Hdt. 1.75
ἐλπίσας πρὸς ἑωυτοῦ τὸν χρησμὸν εἶναι,
that the oracle was on his side: below, 1434,
πρὸς σοῦ … φράσω, I will speak on your side, —in your interest:
Soph. Trach. 479
καὶ τὸ πρὸς κείνου λέγειν,
to state his side of the case also.
ἐπιστροφήν
a turning round (
Soph. OC 1045
), hence, attention, regard:
ἐπιστροφὴν τίθεσθαι )like
σπουδήν, πρόνοιαν τίθ.,
Soph. Aj. 13
, 536( =
ἐπιστρέφεσθαί )τινος(,
Soph. Phil. 599
.
Dem. 23.136
οὐκ ἐπεστράφη
“heeded not” =
οὐδὲν ἐφρόντισε
Dem. 23.135
.
ὑπὲρ γὰρ οὐχὶ
i.e. not merely in the cause of Laius, whose widow he has married. The arrangement of the words is designed to help a second meaning of which the speaker is unconscious: “in the cause of a friend who is
not far off” )his own father(. The reference to Laius is confirmed by
κείνῳ προσαρκῶν in 141.
αὑτοῦ
=
ἐμαυτοῦ. The reflexive
αὑτοῦ, etc., is a pron. of the 1st pers. in
Soph. OC 966
,
Soph. El. 285
,
Soph. Aj. 1132
: of the n)d pers., in
Soph. OC 853
, 930, 1356,
Soph. Trach. 451
.
ἀποσκεδῶ
, dispel, as a taint in the air: cp.
Hom. Od. 8.149
σκέδασον δ’ ἄπο κήδεα θυμοῦ
:
Plat. Phaedo 77d
μὴ … ὁ ἄνεμος αὐτὴν )τὴν ψυχὴν( ἐκβαίνουσαν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος διαφυσᾷ καὶ διασκεδάννυσιν.
ἐκεῖνον ὁ κτανών
ἐκεῖνον has emphasis: cp. 820.
τοιαύτη
referring to
κτανὼν, implies
φονίᾳ: on
τιμωρεῖν see 107. The spectator thinks of the time when Oed. shall be blinded by his own hand. —For the double
ἂν
cp. 339, 862, 1438.
παῖδες
The king here, as the priest in 147, addresses
all the suppliants.
ἄλλος )144( is one of the king's attendants.
βάθρων ἵστασθε
Cp.
Soph. Ant. 417
χθονὸς … ἀείρας
:
Soph. Phil. 630
νεὼς ἄγοντα.
Prose would require a compound verb:
Xen. Sym. 4.31
ὑπανίστανται … θάκων.
ἄραντες
.
Aesch. Supp. 481
κλάδους γε τούτους αἶψ’ ἐν ἀγκάλαις λαβὼν | βωμοὺς ἐπ’ ἄλλους δαιμόνων ἐγχωρίων | θές.
πᾶν … δράσοντος
to do everything = to leave nothing untried: for
ὡς cp. 97.
Plat. Apol. 39a
ἐάν τις τολμᾷ πᾶν ποιεῖν καὶ λέγειν.
Xen. Hell. 7.4.21
πάντα ἐποίει ὅπως, εἰ δύναιτο, ἀπαγάγοι.
εὐτυχεῖς … πεπτωκότες
: “fortunate,” if they succeed in their search for the murderer, who, as they now know, is in their land )110(: “ruined,” if they fail, since they will then rest under the
ἀνήκεστον μίασμα )98(. The unconscious speaker, in his last word, strikes the key-note of the destined
περιπέτεια.
ὦ παῖδες
see on 142.
—καὶ δεῦρ’ ἔβημεν, we
e'en came here: i.e. this was the motive of our coming in the first instance.
Soph. Phil. 380
ἐπειδὴ καὶ λέγεις θρασυστομῶν
:
Lys. 12.29
παρὰ τοῦ ποτε καὶ λήψεσθε δίκην;
ἐξαγγέλλεται
, proclaims on his own part )midd.(, of himself: i.e. promises unasked,
ultro pollicetur. Cp.
Soph. Aj. 1376
ἀγγέλλομαι … εἶναι φίλος,
“I offer friendship.” Eur. has thus used
ἐξαγγ. even where metre permitted the more usual
ἐπαγγέλλομαι:
Eur. Heraclid. 531
κἀξαγγέλλομαι | θνῄσκειν,
I offer to die.
ἅμα
i.e. may the god, who has summoned us to put away our pollution,
at the same time come among us as a healing presence.
Commentary on Sophocles: Oedipus Tyrannus. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge, UK. 1885.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.