[151] The Chorus consists of Theban elders—men of noble birth, “the foremost in honour of the land” (1223) —who represent the
Κάδμου λαός just summoned by Oedipus (144). Oedipus having now retired into the palace, and the suppliants having left the stage, the Chorus make their entrance
)πάροδος( into the hitherto vacant
ὀρχήστρα. For the metres see the Analysis which follows the Introduction.
1st strophe )151-158(. Is the god's message indeed a harbinger of health? Or has Apollo some further pain in store for us?
1st antistrophe )159-166(. May Athene, Artemis, and Apollo succour us!
2nd strophe )167-178(. The fruits of the earth and the womb perish.
2nd antistrophe )179-189(. The unburied dead taint the air: wives and mothers are wailing at the altars.
3rd strophe )190-202(. May Ares, the god of death, be driven hence: may thy lightnings, O Zeus, destroy him.
3rd antistrophe )203-215(. May the Lycean Apollo, and Artemis, and Dionysus fight for us against the evil god.
φάτι
of a god's utterance or oracle )1440(, a poet. equivalent for
φήμη: cp. 310
ἀπ’ οἰωνῶν φάτιν.
Διὸς
, because Zeus speaks by the mouth of his son;
Aesch. Eum. 19
Διὸς προφήτης δ’ ἐστὶ Λοξίας πατρός.
ἁδυεπὲς
, merely a general propitiatory epitnet: the Chorus have not yet heard whether the response is comforting or not. It is presently told to them by Oed. )242(. Cp.
Soph. El. 480
ἁδυπνόων … ὀνειράτων,
dreams breathing comfort )from the gods(.
τίς ποτε … ἔβας;
What art thou that hast come? i.e. in what spirit hast thou come? bringing us health or despair?
τᾶς πολυχρύσου
, “rich in gold,” with allusion to the costly
ἀναθήματα dedicated at Delphi, and esp. to the treasury of the temple, in which gold and silver could be deposited, as in a bank, until required for use.
Hom. Il. 9.404
οὐδ’ ὅσα … λαϊνος οὐδὸς ἀφήτορος ἐντὸς ἐέργει | Φοίβου Ἀπόλλωνος, Πυθοῖ ἐνὶ πετρηέσσῃ.
Thuc. 1.121
ναυτικόν τε ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπαρχούσης τε οὐσίας ἐξαρτυσόμεθα, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν Δελφοῖς καὶ Ὀλυμπίᾳ χρημάτων.
Athen. 233 F
τῷ μὲν οὖν ἐν Δελφοῖς Ἀπόλλωνι τὸν πρότερον ἐν τῇ Λακεδαίμονι χρυσὸν καὶ ἀργυνον [;πρότερον = before the time of Lysander];
ἱστοροῦσιν ἀνατεθῆναι.
Eur. Andr. 1093
θεοῦ | χρυσοῦ γέμοντα γύαλα
)recesses(,
θησαυροὺς βροτῶν.
Eur. Ion 54
Δελφοί σφ’ ἔθεντο
)the young Ion(
χρυσοφύλακα τοῦ θεοῦ, | ταμίαν τε πάντων.
Pind. P. 6.8
ἐν πολυχρύσῳ Ἀπολλωνίᾳ … νάπᾳ
) i.e.
ἐν Πυθοἷ.
Πυθῶνος
from Pytho (Delphi): for the gen. see on 142
βάθρων | ἵστασθε.
The bold use of
ἐκτέταμαι
is interpreted by
φοβερὰν φρένα, δείματι πάλλων
, which is to be taken in close connection with it.
ἐκτείνεσθαι is not found elsewhere of
mental tension )though
Dion. Hal. Comp. Verb. 15
ad fin. has
ἡ τῆς διανοίας ἔκτασις καὶ τὸ τοῦ δείματος ἀπροσδόκητον. Cp.
Xen. Cyrop. 1.3.11
ἕως παρατείναιμι τοῦτον, ὥσπερ οὗτος ἐμὲ παρατείνει ἀπὸ σοῦ κωλύων,
—
‘rack,’ ‘torture’ him. But
παρατείνεσθαι, when used
figuratively, usually meant “to be worn out,” “fatigued to death”: e.g.
Plat. Lysis 204c
παραταθήσεται ὑπὸ σοῦ ἀκούων θαμὰ λέγοντος,
enecabitur, he will be tired to death of hearing it. So
Xen. Mem. 3.13.6
παρατέταμαι μακρὰν ὁδὸν πορευθείς.
Triclinius explains here, “I am
prostrated by dread”(
ἐκπέπληγμαι, παρ’ ὅσον οἱ ἐκπλαγέντες ἔκτασιν σώματος καὶ ἀκινησίαν πάσχουσιν: cp.
Eur. Med. 585
ἓν γὰρ ἐκτενεῖ σ’ ἔπος)
: so
Soph. Phil. 858
ἐκτέταται νύχιος
(of a sleeper). But the context favours the other view.
πάλλων
transitive, governing
φρένα,
making my heart to shake; not intransitive, for
παλλόμενος, with
φρένα as accus. of the part affected. An intransitive use of
πάλλω in this figurative sense is not warranted by such instances as
Aristoph. Lys. 1304
κοῦφα πάλλων,
“lightly leaping in the dance”:
Eur. El. 435
ἔπαλλε δελφίς (
=
ἐσκίρτἀ, “the dolphin leaped”:
Eur. El. 477
ἵπποι ἔπαλλον
“quivered” (in death). Cp.
Aesch. PB 881
κραδία φόβῳ φρένα λακτίζει
: so, when the speaker is identified with the troubled spirit within him, we can say
φρένα πάλλω, —where
φρένα has a less distinctly physical sense than in
Aesch. PB 881
, yet has physical associations which help to make the phrase less harsh.
Δάλιε
The Delphian Apollo is also Delian—having passed, according to the Ionic legend, from his native Delos, through Attica, to Delphi (
Aesch. Eum. 9
). A Boeotian legend claimed Tegyra as the birthplace of Apollo: Plut.
Pelop. 16
ἐνταῦθα μυθολογοῦσι τὸν θεὸν γενέσθαι, καὶ τὸ μὲν πλησίον ὄρος Δῆλος καλεῖται. We can scarcely say, however, with Schneidewin that
Δάλιε here “bewrays the Athenian,” when we remember that the Theban Pindar hails the Delphian Apollo as
Λύκιε καὶ Δάλου ἀνάσσων Φοῖβε (
Pind. P. 1.39
).
ἰήιε
(again in 1096), invoked with the cry
ἰή: cp.
Soph. Trach. 221
ἰὼ ἰὼ Παιάν.
Soph. has the form
παιών, παιήων as = “a healer” (not with ref. to Apollo),
Soph. Phil. 168
, 832.
ἁζόμενος
(rt.
ἁγ, whence
ἄγιος) implies a
religious fear: cp.
Hom. Od. 9.478
σχέτλῑ, ἐπεὶ ξείνους οὐχ ἅζεο σῷ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ | ἐσθέμεναι.
τί μοι … χρέος
: “what thing thou wilt accomplish for me”: i.e., what expiation thou wilt prescribe, as the price of deliverance from the plague. Will the expiation be of a new kind(
νέον)? Or will some ancient mode of atonement be called into use once more(
πάλιν )?
πάλιν recalls
Aesch. Ag. 154
μίμνει γὰρ φοβερὰ παλίνορτος | οἰκονόμος δολία μνάμων μῆνις τεκνόποινος.
νέον
, adjective with
χρέος:
πάλιν
, adverb with
ἐξανύσεις. τί μοι νέον χρέος ἐξανύσεις; ἢ τί χρέος πάλιν ἐξανύσεις; The
doubling of
ἤ harshly co-ordinates
νέον and
πάλιν, as if one said
τίνας ἢ μαχομένους ἢ ἀμαχεὶ ἐνίκησαν;
χρέος
here =
χρῆμα, “matter” (implying importance): cp.
Aesch. Supp. 374
(of a king)
χρέος | πᾶν ἐπικραίνεις:
Eur. Her. 530
τί καινὸν ἦλθε τοῖσδε δώμασιν χρέος;
Others take it as = “obligation” (cp.
Soph. OC 235
), but against this is
ἐξανύσεις
, which could not mean either to “impose” or to “exact” it. Whitelaw renders, “what requirement thou wilt enact (by oracular voice),” finding this use of
ἀνύω in
Soph. OC 454
,
Soph. Ant. 1178
; but there (as below, 720) it has its normal sense, “fulfil.”
περιτελλομέναις ὥραις
an epic phrase which
Aristoph. Birds 697
also has.
Hom. Od. 14.293
ἀλλ’ ὅτε δὴ μῆνές τε καὶ ἡμέραι ἐξετελεῦντο | ἂψ περιτελλομένου ἔτεος, καὶ ἐπήλυθον ὧραι.
χρυσέας
κ.τ.λ. The answer (not yet known to them) sent by Apollo is personified as
Φάμα
, a divine Voice, —“the daughter of golden hope,” because—whether favourable or not—it is the
issue of that hope with which they had awaited the god's response.
κεκλόμενος
is followed in 164 by
προφάνητέ μοι instead of
εὔχομαι προφανῆναι. Cp.
Plat. Laws 686d
ἀποβλέψας γὰρ πρὸς τοῦτον τὸν στόλον οὗ πέρι διαλεγόμεθα ἔδοξέ μοι πάγκαλος … εἶναι.
Antiph. 3.2.10
ἀπολυόμενος δὲ ὑπό τε τῆς ἀληθείας τῶν πραχθέντων ὑπό τε τοῦ νόμου καθ’ ὃν διώκεται, οὐδὲ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων εἵνεκα δίκαιοι τοιούτων κακῶν ἀξιοῦσθαί ἐσμεν.
Xen. Cyrop. 8.8.10
ἦν δὲ αὐτοῖς νόμιμον … νομίζοντες.
The repetition of
ἄμβροτ’ has provoked some weak and needless conjectures: see on 517.
γαιάοχόν
holding or guarding our land; so
Aesch. Supp. 816
γαιάοχε παγκρατὲς Ζεῦ.
In
Soph. OC 1072
it is the Homeric epithet of Poseidon, “girdling the earth,”
τὸν πόντιον γαιάοχον. Cp.
Παλλὰς πολιοῦχος
Aristoph. Kn. 581
(
πολιάοχος
Pind. O. 5.10
),
πολισσοῦχοι θεοί
Aesch. Seven 69
.
κυκλόεντ’ ἀγορᾶς θρόνον
=
κυκλοέσσης ἀγορᾶς θρόνον: cp.
Soph. Ant. 793
νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν ξύναιμον,
Soph. Trach. 993
ὦ Κηναία κρηπὶς βωμῶν.
“Round throne of the marketplace” means simply (I now think) “throne consisting of the round marketplace.” The sitting statue of Artemis is in the middle of the agora; hence the agora itself is poetically called her throne. The word
κύκλος in connection with the Athenian agora, of which it perhaps denoted a special part; schol.
Aristoph. Kn. 137
ὁ δὲ κύκλος Ἀθήνησίν ἐστι καθάπερ μάκελλος, ἐκ τῆς κατασκευῆς
(form)
τὴν προσηγορίαν λαβών. ἔνθα δὴ πιπράσκεται χωρὶς κρεῶν τὰ ἄλλα ὤνια, καὶ ἐξαιρέτως δὲ οἱ ἰχθύες. Cp.
Eur. Orest. 919
ὀλιγάκις ἄστυ κἀγορᾶς χραίνων κύκλον,
“the circle of the agora,” i.e. “its bounds”: cp.
Thuc. 3.74
τὰς οἰκίας τὰς ἐν κύκλῳ τῆς ἀγορᾶς,
“all round” the agora. In
Hom. Il. 18.504
, cited by Casaubon on
Theophr. Char. 2.4
,
ἱερῷ ἐνὶ κύκλῳ refers merely to the
γέροντες in council. This is better than (1) “her round seat in the agora”—
κυκλόεντα meaning that the pedestal of the statue was circular; (2) “her throne in the agora, round which
κύκλιοι χοροί range themselves.” This last is impossible.
εὐκλέα
, alluding to Artemis
Εὔκλεια, the vipgin goddess of Faip Fame, wopshirred esr. by Locpians and Boeotians:
Plut. Arist. 20
βωμὸς γὰρ αὐτῇ καὶ ἄγαλμα παρὰ πᾶσαν ἀγορὰν ἵδρυται, καὶ προθύουσιν αἵ τε γαμούμεναι καὶ οἱ γαμοῦντες
: also at Corinth,
Xen. Hell. 4.4.2
. Pausanias saw a temple of
Ἄρτεμις Εὔκλεια, with a statue by Scopas, near the
Προιτίδες πύλαι on the N.E. side of Thebes. Near it were statues of Apollo Boedromios and Hermes Agoraios. The latter suggests that the Agora of the Lower Town (which was deserted when Pausanias visited Thebes) may have been near. In mentioning the
ἀγορά, Soph. may have been further influenced by the fact that Artemis was worshipped as
Ἀγοραία: thus in the altis at Olympia there was an
Ἀρτεμίδος Ἀγοραίας βωμός near that of
Ζεὺς Ἀγοραῖος (
Paus. 5.15.4
).
ἄτας ὕπερ
“
on account of ruin” (i.e. “to avert it”): cp.
Soph. Ant. 932
κλαύμαθ’ ὑπάρξει βραδυτῆτος ὕπερ.
So
Aesch. Seven 111
ἴδετε παρθένων ἱκέσιον λόχον δουλοσύνας ὕπερ,
“to avert slavery.” Cp. 187.
ὀρνυμένας πόλει
: the dat. (poet.) as after verbs of
attacking, e.g.
ἐπιέναι, ἐπιτίθεσθαι. Musgrave's conj.
ὑπερορνυμένας πόλει (the compound nowhere occurs) has been adopted by some editors.
ἠνύσατ’ ἐκτοπίαν
made
ἐκτοπίαν, =
ἐξωρίσατε, a rare use of
ἀνύω like
ποιεῖν, καθιστάναι, ἀποδεικνύναι: for the ordinary use, cp. 720
ἐκεῖνον ἤνυσεν | φονέα γενέσθαι,
effected that he should become. In
Soph. Ant. 1178
τοὔπος ὡς ἄρ’ ὀρθὸν ἤνυσας,
the sense is not ‘made right,’ but ‘
brought duly
to pass.’
ἔλθετε καὶ νῦν
, an echo of
προφάνητέ μοι, προτέρας having suggested
καὶ νῦν: as in 338
ἀλλ’ ἐμὲ ψέγεις repeats
ὀργὴν ἐμέμψω τὴν ἐμήν.
ὧ πόποι
is merely a cry like
παπαῖ:
Soph. Trach. 853
κέχυται νόσος, ὦ πόποι, οἷον, κ.τ.λ.
στόλος
like
στρατός (
Pind. P. 2.46
, etc.), =
λαός.
ἔνι
=
ἔνεστι, is available.
φροντίδος ἔγχος
not, a weapon
consisting in a device, but a weapon
discovered by human wit,
ἔγχος ᾧ τις ἀλέξεται being a bold equivalent for
μηχανὴ ἀλεξητηρία.
This future has the support of the best MSS. in
Xen. Anab. 7.7.3
οὐκ ἐπιτρέψομεν … ὡς πολεμίους ἀλεξόμεθα
: and of grammarians, Bekk.
Anecd. p. 415: the aorist
ἀλέξαι, ἀλέξασθαι also occurs. These forms are prob. not from the stem
ἀλεξ (whence present
ἀλέξω, cp.
ἀέξω, ὀδάξω) but from a stem
ἀλκ with unconsciously developed
ε, making
ἀλεκ (cp.
ἄλ‐αλκον): see Curtius,
Verb, 11.258, Eng. tr. 445. Homer has the fut.
ἀλεξήσω, and Her.
ἀλεξήσομαι. —Cp. 539.
τόκοισιν
by births. Women are released from travail, not by the birth of living children, but either by death before delivery, or by still births. See on 26, and cp.
Hes. WD 244
οὐδὲ γυναῖκες τίκτουσιν.
If
τόκοισιν= “
in child-bed” (and so the schol.,
ἐν τοῖς τόκοις), the meaning would be simply, “women die in child-bed,” —not necessarily “before child-birth”; but the point here is the blight on the fruits of earth and womb, —not merely the mortality among women.
ἄλλον δ’ … ἄλλῳ
“one
after another.” The dative here seems to depend mainly on the notion of adding implied by the iteration itself; though it is probable that the neighbourhood of
πρός in
προσίδοις may have been felt as softening the boldness. That
προσορᾶν could be used as = “to see
in addition”is inconceivable; nor could such use be justified by that of
ἐνορᾶν τινι as =
ὁρᾶν ἔν τινι. And no one, I think, would be disposed to plead lyric license for
ἄλλῳ πρὸς ἴδοις on the strength of
ἀκτὰν πρὸς ἑσπέρου θεοῦ in 177. Clearly there was a tendency (at least in poetry) to use the dative thus, though the
verb of the context generally either (a) helps the sense of “adding,” or (b) leaves an alternative. Under (a) I should put
Soph. El. 235
τίκτειν ἄταν ἄταις
:
Eur. Hel. 195
δάκρυα δάκρυσί μοι φέρων.
Under (b),
Eur. Orest. 1257
πήματα πήμασιν ἐξεύρῃ
:
Eur. Phoen. 1496
φόνῳ φόνος | Οἰδιπόδα δόμον ὤλεσε
: where the datives
might be instrumental. On the whole, I forbear to recommend
ἄλλον δ’ ἂν ἄλλᾳ προσίδοις, though easy and tempting; cp.
Thuc. 2.4
ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλῃ τῆς πόλεως σποράδην ἀπώλλυντο.
ὄρμενον
aor. part. (
Hom. Il. 2.571
δοῦρα … ὄρμενα πρόσσω
), “sped,” “hurried,” since the life is quickly gone.
κρεῖσσον … πυρὸς
, because the
πυρφόρος λοιμός drives all before it.
ἀκτὰν πρὸς
for
πρὸς ἀκτάν, since the attributive gen.
ἑσπέρου θεοῦ is equiv. to an adj. agreeing with
ἀκτάν: cp.
Soph. OC 84
ἕδρας | πρώτων ἐφ’ ὑμῶν,
Soph. OC 126
ἄλσος ἐς … κορᾶν
:
Soph. El. 14
τοσόνδ’ ἐς ἥβης
: so
Aesch. PB 653
,
Aesch. Seven 185
:
Eur. Orest. 94
.
ἑσπέρου θεοῦ
: as the Homeric Erebos is in the region of sunset and gloom (
Hom. Od. 12.81
), and Hades is
ἐννυχίων ἄναξ
Soph. OC 1559
.
ὧν … ἀνάριθμος
ὧν, masc., referring to
ἄλλον … ἄλλῳ, — “to such (deaths) knowing no limit”: cp.
ἀνάριθμος θρήνων
Soph. El. 232
,
μηνῶν | ἀνήριθμος
Soph. Aj. 602
. An adj. formed with
α privative, whether from noun or from verb, constantly takes a gen. in poetry: see on 190(
ἄχαλκος),885(
ἀφόβητος).
γένεθλα
(
πόλεως), “her sons”: cp. 1424
τὰ θνητῶν γένεθλα, the sons of men.
νηλέα
, unpitied;
ἀνοίκτως
, without
οἶκτος, lament, made for them: they receive neither
ταφή nor
θρῆνος. Cp.
Thuc. 2.50
πολλῶν ἀτάφων γιγνομένων
(in the plague, 430 B.C.).
ἐν δ’
cp. on 27.
ἔπι
, adv.:
Hdt. 7.65
τόξα δὲ καλάμινα εἶχον, … ἐπὶ δέ, σίδηρον
(v. l.
‐ος) ἦν. But
ἔπι =
ἔπεστι,
Hom. Il. 1.515
.
ἀκτὰν παρὰ βώμιον
“at the steps of the altars”:
Aesch. Lib. 722
ἀκτὴ χώματος,
the edge of the mound:
Eur. Her. 984
ἀμφὶ βωμίαν | ἔπτηξε κρηπῖδ’,
at the base of the altar.
ἄλλοθεν ἄλλαν
(with
ἐπιστενάχουσι), because the sounds are heard from various quarters.
ἱκτῆρες
with
λυγρῶν πόνων
, entreating on account of (for release from) their woes, causal gen.: cp.
ἀλγεῖν τύχης,
Aesch. Ag. 571
.
λάμπει
473
ἔλαμψε … φάμα:
Aesch. Seven 104
κτύπον δέδορκα.
ὅμαυλος
, i.e. heard at the same time, though not
σύμφωνος with it.
ὧν ὕπερ
see on 165.
εὐῶπα ἀλκάν
cp.
ἀγανὴ σαίνουσ’ | ἐλπίς,
Aesch. Ag. 101
(where Weil
προφανεῖσ’), ἱλαρὸν φέγγος
Aristoph. Frogs 455
.
Ἄρεά τε
κ.τ.λ. The acc. and infin.
Ἄρεα … νωτίσαι depend on
δός or the like, suggested by the preceding words. Cp.
Hom. Il. 7.179
Ζεῦ πάπερ, ἢ Αἴαντα λαχεῖν ἢ Τυδέος υἱόν
(grant that).
Aesch. Seven 253
θεοὶ πολῖται, μή με δουλείας τυχεῖν.
μαλερόν
, raging: cp.
μαλεροῦ πυρός
Hom. Il. 9.242
:
μαλερῶν … λεόντων
Aesch. Ag. 141
. Ares is for Soph. not merely the
war-god, but generally
βροτολοιγός,
the Destroyer: cp.
Soph. Aj. 706
. Here he is identified with the fiery plague.
ἄχαλκος ἀσπίδων
(cp.
Soph. El. 36
ἄσκευον ἀσπίδων
:
Eur. Phoen. 324
ἄπεπλος φαρέων
): Ares comes not, indeed, as the god of
war (
ὁ χαλκοβόας Ἄρης,
Soph. OC 1046
), yet shrieks of the dying surround him with a cry(
βοή) as of battle.
περιβόατον
could not mean “crying loudly”: the prose use (“famous” or “notorious”
Thuc. 6.31
) confirms the pass. sense here.
ἀντιάζω
, attacking:
Hdt. 4.80
ἠντίασάν μιν
(acc.)
οἱ Θρήϊκες. Aesch. has the word once only, as = “to meet” (not in a hostile sense),
Aesch. Ag. 1557
πατέρ’ ἀντιάσασα
: Eur. always as = “to entreat”; and so
Soph. El. 1009
. Dindorf reads
φλέγει με περιβόατον (the accus. on his own conject.),
ἀντιάζω (suggested by Herm.), “I
pray that” etc. But the received text gives a more vivid picture.
νωτίσαι
to turn the back in flight (
Eur. Andr. 1141
πρὸς φυγὴν ἐνώτισαν),
a poet. word used by Aesch. with acc.
πόντον, to
skim (
Aesch. Ag. 286
), by
Eur. Phoen. 651
(Dionysus)
κισσὸς ὃν … ἐνώτισεν as = “to cover the back of.”
δράμημα
, cognate acc.:
πάτρας
, gen. after verb of parting from: see on
βάθρων, 142.
ἔπουρον
=
ἐπουριζόμενον (ironical). Lidd. and Scott s. v. refer to Clemens Alexandr.
Paed. 130
τῷ τῆς ἀληθείας πνεύματι ἔπουρος ἀρθείς, “lifted
on a prospering gale by the spirit of Truth.” So
Soph. Trach. 815
οὖρος ὀφθαλμῶν ἐμῶν | αὐτῇ γένοιτ’ ἄπωθεν ἑρπούσῃ καλῶς
:
Soph. Trach. 467
ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν | ῥείτω κατ’ οὖρον.
Active in
Soph. Trach. 954
ἔπουρος ἑστιῶτις αὔρα
(schol.
ἄνεμος οὔριος ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκίας), “wafting,” The v.l.
ἄπουρον would go with
πάτρας, “
away from the
borders of my country” —from Ionic
οὖρος =
ὅρος, like
ὅμουρος (
Hdt. 1.57
),
πρόσουρος (
Soph. Phil. 691
),
ξύνουρος (
Aesch. Ag. 495
),
τηλουρός. Pollux 6. 198 gives
ἔξορος, ἐξόριος, but we nowhere find an Ionic
ἄπουρος: while for Attic writers
ὄφορος (from
ὅρος) would have been awkward, since
ἄφορος “sterile” was in use.
μέγαν | θάλαμον Ἀμφιτρίτας
, the Atlantic.
θάλαμος Ἀμφιτρίτης
alone would be merely “the sea” (
Hom. Od. 3.91
ἐν πελάγει μετὰ κύμασιν Ἀμφιτρίτης),
but
μέγαν
helps to localise it, since the Atlantic(
ἡ ἔξω στηλέων θάλασσα ἡ Ἀτλαντὶς καλεομένη,
Hdt. 1.202
) was esp.
ἡ μεγάλη θάλασσα. Thus
Polyb. 3.37
calls the Mediterranean
τὴν καθ’ ἡμᾶς,— the Atlantic,
τὴν ἔξω καὶ μεγάλην προσαγορευομένην. In
Plat. Phaedo 109b
the limits of the known habitable world are described by the phrase,
τοὺς μέχρι τῶν Ἡρακλείων στηλῶν ἀπὸ Φάσιδος (which flows into the Euxine on the E.),
Eur. Hipp. 3
,
ὅσοι τε πόντου (the Euxine)
τερμόνων τ’ Ἀτλαντικῶν | ναίουσιν εἴσω:
Eur. Her. 234
ὥστ’ Ἀτλαντικῶν πέρα | φεύγειν ὅρων ἄν.
ἀπόξενον
Aesch. has the word as = “estranged from”(
γῆς,
Aesch. Ag. 1282
), cp.
ἀποξενοῦσθαι. Here it means “
away from strangers” in the sense of “keeping them at a distance.” Such compounds are usu.
passive in sense: cp.
ἀπόδειπνος (Hesych., =
ἄδειπνος), ἀπόθεος, ἀπόμισθος, ἀπόσιτος, ἀπότιμος (215),
ἀποχρήματος.
ἀπόξενος ὅρμος
, the Euxine: an oxymoron, =
ὅρμος ἄνορμος, as in
Soph. Phil. 217
ναὸς ἄξενον ὄρμον.
Strabo 7.298
ἄπλουν γὰρ εἶναι τότε τὴν θάλατταν ταύτην καὶ καλεῖσθαι Ἄξενον διὰ τὸ δυσχείμερον καὶ τὴν ἀγριότητα τῶν περιοικούντων ἐθνῶν καὶ μάλιστα τῶν Σκυθικῶν, ξενοθυτούντων, κ.τ.λ.
The epithet
Θρῄκιον here suggests the savage folk to whom Ares is
ἀγχίπτολις on the W. coast of the Euxine (
Soph. Ant. 969
).
Ovid Trist. 4.4.55
Frigida me cohibent Euxini litora Ponti: Dictus ab antiquis Axenus ille fuit.
τελεῖν γὰρ … ἔρχεται
Reading
τελεῖν, as Herm. suggested, instead of
τέλει, I construe thus:
—εἴ τι νύξ ἀφῇ, ἦμαρ ἐπέρχεται τελεῖν τοῦτο, “If night omit anything (in the work of destruction), day comes after it to accomplish this.”
τελεῖν
is the infin. expressing purpose, as often after a verb of going or sending, where the fut. participle might have been used: cp.
Hdt. 7.208
ἔπεμπε … κατάσκοπον ἱππέα, ἰδέσθαι
[; =
ὀψόμενον];
ὁκόσοι τέ εἰσι, κ.τ.λ.·
Thuc. 6.50
δέκα δὲ τῶν νεῶν προὔπεμψαν ἐς τὸν μέγαν λιμένα πλεῦσαί τε καὶ κατασκέψασθαι … καὶ κηρῦξαι.
Here the
pres. inf. is right, because the act is not single but repeated. Observe how strongly
τελεῖν
is supported by the position of the word (“To accomplish, —if night omit aught, —day follows”). No version of
τέλει
explains this. The most tolerable is: —“
In fulness— if night omit aught—day attacks(
ἐπέρχεται) this”: but I do not think that such a rendering can stand. See Appendix.
εἰ … ἀφῇ
Cp. 874
εἰ ὑπερπλησθῇ (lyric):
Soph. OC 1443
εἰ στερηθῶ
(dialogue):
Soph. Ant. 710
κεἴ τις ᾖ
(do.). In using
εἰ with subjunct., the Attic poets were influenced by the epic usage, on which see Monro,
Homeric Grammar sect. 292. The instances in classical prose are usu. doubtful, but in
Thuc. 6.21
εἰ ξυστῶσιν
has good authority.
ἐπ’ … ἔρχεται
for the adverbial
ἐπί separated from
ἔρχεται, cp.
Soph. OC 1777
μηδ’ ἐπὶ πλείω | θρῆνον ἐγείρετε.
This is “tmesis” in the larger sense: tmesis proper is when the prep. is essential to the sense of the verb:
Hom. Il. 8.108
οὔς ποτ’ ἀπ’ Αἰνείαν ἑλόμην
=
οὓς ἀφειλόμην Αἰνείαν: cp. Monro
H. G. sect. 176.
τόν
=
ὅν, sc.
Ἄρεα (190). Cp. 1379 n.
Λύκειε
Apollo, properly the god of light(
λυκ), whose image, like that of Artemis, was sometimes placed before houses (
Soph. El. 637
Φοῖβε προστατήριε,
Aesch. Seven 449
προστατηρίας | Ἀρτέμιδος
), so that the face should catch the first rays of the morning sun(
δαίμονες … ἀντήλιοι
Aesch. Ag. 519
): then, through
Λύκειος being explained as
λυκοκτόνος (
Soph. El. 7
), Apollo the
Destroyer of foes:
Aesch. Seven 145
Λύκεῑ ἄναξ, Λύκειος γενοῦ | στρατῷ δαΐῳ.
Cp. below, 919.
ἀγκυλᾶν
ἀγκύλη, a cord brought round on itself, a noose or loop, here = the
νευρά of the
bent bow.
ἀγκύλων, the reading of L and A, was taken by Eustath. 33.3 of the
bow
(ἄγκυλα τόξἀ.
ἐνδατεῖσθαι
pass., to be distributed, i.e.
showered abroad on the hostile forces. The order of words, and the omission of
σέ, are against making
ἐνδατ. midd., though elsewhere the pass. occurs only in
δέδασμαι: Appian, however, has
γῆς διαδατουμένης 1.1. It is possible that Soph. may have had in mind
Hom. Il. 18.263
ἐν πεδίῳ, ὅθι περ Τρῶες καὶ Ἀχαιοὶ | ἐν μέσῳ ἀμφότεροι μένος Ἄρηος δατέονται,
“share the rage of war,” give and take blows. Others understand, “I would fain
celebrate,”a sense of
ἐνδατεῖσθαι derived from that of
distributing words
(λόγους ὀνειδιστῆρας ἐνδατούμενος,
Eur. Her. 218
). The bad sense occurs in
Soph. Trach. 791
τὸ δυσπάρευνον λέκτρον ἐνδατούμενος
: the good, only in Aesch. fr. 340
ὁ δ’ ἐνδατεῖται τὰς ἑὰς εὐπαιδίας, “celebrates his happy race of children.”
προσταθέντα
from
προΐστημι, not
προστείνω. Cp.
Soph. Aj. 803
πρόστητ’ ἀναγκαίας τύχης.
Soph. El. 637
Φοῖβε προστατήριε.
Soph. OT 881
θεὸν οὐ λήξω προστάταν ἴσχων.
For 1st aor. pass. part., cp.
κατασταθείς
Lys. 24.9
,
συσταθείς
Plat. Laws 685c
. The conject.
προσταλέντα (as = “launched”) is improbable (1) because it would mean rather “having set out on a journey”; cp.
Soph. OC 20
: (2) on account of the metaphor in
ἀρωγά. προσταθέντα from
προστείνω (a verb which does not occur) would scarcely mean “directed against the enemy,” but rather “strained against the bowstring.”
προσταχθέντα, found in one MS., would make
ἀρωγά prosaic, while
προσταθέντα— if not strictly suitable—is at least poetical: the difference is like that between speaking of “auxiliary forces” and of “champions.”
Ἀρτέμιδος αἴγλας
the torches with which Artemis was represented, —holding one in each hand (
Aristoph. Frogs 1362
διπύρους ἀνέχουσα λαμπάδας
,
Soph. Trach. 214
Ἄρτεμιν ἀμφίπυρον
), —in her character of
Διϊλύκη, σελασφόρος, φωσφόρος, ἀνθήλιος, —names marking her connection with Selene; cp. Aesch. fr. 164
ἀστερωπὸν ὄμμα Λητῴας κόρης.
Λύκῑ ὄρεα διᾴσσει
as
ἐλαφηβόλος, ἀγροτέρα, huntress:
Hom. Od. 6.102
οἵη δ’ Ἄρτεμις εἶσι κατ’ οὔρεος ἰοχέαιρα, | … τερπομένη κάπροισι καὶ ὠκείῃς ἐλάφοισιν· | τῇδέ θ’ ἅμα νύμφαι.
Λύκια
: the
Lycian hills are named here in order to associate Artemis more closely with her brother under his like-sounding name of
Λύκειος. At Troezen there was even a temple of
Ἄρτεμις Λυκεία: Paus. says (2. 31. 4) that he could not learn why she was so called(
ἐς δὲ τὴν ἐπίκλησιν οὐδὲν εἶχον πυθέσθαι παρὰ τῶν ἐξηγητῶν), and suggests that this may have been her title among the Amazons—a guess which touches the true point, viz. that the
Λυκεία was a feminine counterpart of the
Λύκειος.
τὸν χρυσομίτραν
μίτρα, a snood:
Eur. Ba. 831
ΔΙ. κόμην μὲν ἐπὶ σῷ κρατὶ ταναὸν ἐκτενῶ. ΠΕΝΘΕΥΣ. τὸ δεύτερον δὲ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τί μοι; ΔΙ. πέπλοι ποδήρεις· ἐπὶ κάρᾳ δ’ ἔσται μίτρα.
τᾶσδ’ ἐπώνυμον γᾶς
As he is
Βάκχος, so is Thebes called
Βακχεία (
Soph. Trach. 510
), while he, on the other hand, was
Καδμεΐας νύμφας ἄγαλμα (1115). The
mutual relation of the names is intended here by
ἐπώνυμον. The word usually means
called after
(τινός). But
ἄρχων ἐπώνυμος, ἥρωες ἐπώνυμοι were those who
gave names to the year, the tribes: and so
Soph. Aj. 574
(
σάκος) ἐπώνυμον, the shield which
gave its name to Eurysaces. Cp.
Eur. Ion 1555
where Athena says,
ἐπώνυμος δὲ σῆς ἀφικόμην χθονός,
giving my name to thy land.
οἰνῶπα … εὔιον
“ruddy”—“to whom Bacchants cry
εὐοῖ.” Note how in this passionate ode all bright colours(
χρυσέας, εὐῶπα, χρυσοστρόφων, αἴγλας, χρυσομίτραν, οἰνῶπα, ἀγλαῶπι), and glad sounds(
ἰήιε Παιάν, εὔιον), are contrasted with the baleful fires of pestilence and the shrieks of the dying.
Μαινάδων ὁμόστολον
=
στελλόμενον ἅμα ταῖς Μαινάσιν, setting forth, roaming with the Maenads:
Apoll. Rhod. 2. 802
ὁμόστολος ὑμὶν ἕπεσθαι. The nymphs attendant on Dionysus, who nursed the infant god in Nysa, and afterwards escorted him in his wanderings, are called
Μαινάδες, θυιάδες, Βάκχαι.
Hom. Il. 6.132
μαινομένοιο Διωνύσοιο τιθήνας | σεῦε κατ’ ἠγάθεον Νυσήιον· αἱ δ’ ἅμα πᾶσαι | θύσθλα
(i.e. thyrsi and torches)
χαμαὶ κατέχευαν. Aesch. fr. 397
πάτερ θέοινε, Μαινάδων ζευκτήριε, who bringest the Maenads under thy spell.
Hom. Il. 22.460
μεγάροιο διέσσυτο, μαινάδι ἴση, | παλλομένη κραδίην.
Catull. 63.23
capita Maenades vi iaciunt hederigerae: as Pind. fr. 224
ῥιψαύχενι σὺν κλόνῳ. Lucian may have had our passage in mind, when he mentions the
μίτρα and the Maenads together:
Lucian Dial. D. 18
θῆλυς οὕτω, … μίτρᾳ μὲν ἀναδεδεμένος τὴν κόμην, τὰ πολλὰ δὲ μαινομέναις ταῖς γυναιξὶ συνών.
ἀγλαῶπι
A cretic has been lost. G. Wolff's
σύμμαχον
is simple and appropriate. Arndt's conjecture,
δαΐᾳ (“destroying, consuming,” prob. from rt.
δαv, to kindle, Curt.
Etym. sect. 258), is supported by the possibility of a corruption
ΔΑΙΔΙ having been rejected as a gloss on
πεύκᾳ. Cp.
Hom. Il. 9.347
δήϊον πῦρ,
Aesch. Seven 222
πυρὶ δαΐῳ.
But in connection with the “blithe torch” of Dionysus such an epithet is unsuitable.
τὸν ἀπότιμον
See on
ἀπόξενον196. Ares is “without honour” among the gentler gods: cp.
Hom. Il. 5.31
(Apollo speaks),
Ἆρες, Ἄρες βροτολοιγέ, μιαιφόνε, τειχεσιπλῆτα: and
Hom. Il. 5.890
where Zeus says to Ares,
ἔχθιστός τέ μοι ἔσσι θεῶν, κ.τ.λ. So the Erinyes are
στύγη θεῶν(
Aesch. Eum. 644
); and the house of Hades is hateful even to the gods (
Hom. Il. 20.65
).
θεόν
one syll., by synizesis: cp. 1519.
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.