1-116: Prologue
Prologue. Oedipus has sat down to rest, when a man of the place warns him that he is on holy ground. It is the grove of the Eumenides. At that word, Oedipus knows that he has found his destined goal; and, when the stranger has gone to summon the men of Colonus, invokes the goddesses.—Steps approach; Oedipus and his daughter hide themselves in the grove.
γέροντος
. Sophocles marks the length of interval which he supposes between the
O. T.
and the
O. C.
by
v. 395,
γέροντα δ’ ὀρθοῦν φλαῦρον ὃς νέος πέσῃ
. In the
O. T.
Oedipus cannot be imagined as much above 40,—his two sons being then about 15 and 14, his two daughters about 13 and 12 respectively. It was "long" after his fall when Creon drove him into exile (
437
,
441
). It would satisfy the data of both plays to suppose that about 20 years in the life of Oedipus have elapsed between them.
Ἀντιγόνη
. An anapaest can hold only the first place in a tragic trimeter, unless it is contained in a proper name, when it can hold any place except the sixth. Soph. has the name
Ἀντιγόνη only four times in iambics. Here, in
1415
, and in
Ant. 11
the anapaest holds the fifth place; in
O. C. 507
, the 4th. But Eur. prefers the anapaest of
Ἀντιγόνη in the 4th place: see
Ph. 88
,
757
,
1264
,
1323
,
1465
,
1636
(4th place) as against
58
,
1476
,
1588
(5th). The anapaest must be wholly in the proper name: hence
Eur.
I. A. 1570
ἔλεξε δ’, ὦ θηροκτόν’ Ἄρτεμι παῖ Διός
was amended by Porson,
ἔλεξε δ’, ὦ θηροκτόν’ Ἄρτεμις Διός
Eur. IA 1570
.
χώρους
, like
loca , vaguely, "region" (so
O.T. 798
): but sing.
χῶρος below (
16
,
37
,
54
), of a definite spot. Oed. already knows that they are near
Athens (
25
), but it is time that the day's journey was ended (
20
); will this rural region—or town—supply their needs if they halt? The exordium has something of a Homeric tone,—due not merely to the form of the question (like that of Odysseus on awakening in Phaeacia,
Od. 6.119
, and in Ithaca,
Od. 13.200
τέων αὖτε βροτῶν εἰς γαῖαν ἱκάνω;
), but also to the epic phrase
ἀνδρῶν πόλιν (
Il. 17.737
etc.).
πλανήτην
: cp.
Eur.
Heracl. 878
ξένοι πλανήτην εἴχετ’ ἄθλιον βίον
. The word is not in itself opprobrious: in
123
it is merely opp. to
ἔγχωρος : cp.
Plat.
Rep. 371D
καλοῦμεν...τοὺς...πλανήτας ἐπὶ τὰς πόλεις, ἐμπόρους
. In
O. T. 1029
πλάνης
, said by Oed. to the Corinthian, takes its colour from the added
ἐπὶ θητείᾳ , "a vagrant hireling."
σπανιστοῖς
, made scanty, given scantily: so Philostratus (
circ. 235 A.D. ) p. 611
ἄρωμα...σπανιστόν , "rare." This implies
σπανίζω τι as="to make a thing scanty" or rare, which occurs in Greek of the
2nd cent. B.C. (
Philo Byzant.
De septem mirabil. 4
): cp.
Shaksp.
Lear 1. 1. 281
"you have obedience scanted."
For a different use see
Strabo 15. 727
(a land)
σπανιστὴ καρποῖς , "poor in...," implying
σπανίζω τινά as="to make one needy," whence the perf. pass.
ἐσπανίσμεθ’ ἀρωγῶν (
Aesch.
Pers. 1024
): and here again cp.
Shaksp.
Merch. 2. 1. 17
"if my father had not scanted me."
δέξεται
:
Xen.
Anab. 5.5.24
ξενίοις... δέχεσθαι
:
Plat.
Legg. 919A
καταλύσεσιν ἀγαπηταῖς δεχόμενος.
δωρήμασιν
, food, and shelter for the night:
Od. 14.404
ἐς κλισίην ἄγαγον καὶ ξείνια δῶκα
(whereas
δῶρα , or
ξεινήϊα δῶρα , in Hom. usu.=special presents, as of plate or the like,
Od. 24.273
).
ἐξαιτοῦντα
, "asking
earnestly. " This compound has a like force in
O. T. 1255
,
Trach. 10
; and so the midd. below,
586
,
1327
. Cp.
ἐξεφίεται ,
straitly enjoins,
Ai. 795
. In prose, the special sense of
ἐξαιτεῖν was "to demand the
surrender of" a person, answering to
ἐκδιδόναι :
Antiph. or. 6 § 27
εἰ...θεράποντας ἐξαιτοῦσι μὴ ἤθελον ἐκδιδόναι.
σμικροῦ
is better than
μικροῦ , since the rhetorical
ἐπαναφορά (cp.
610
,
O.T. 25
) needs the same form in both places.
μικρός having prevailed in later Attic (as in Xen. and the orators), our MSS. in the tragic texts often drop the
ς . But, metre permitting, tragedy preferred
σμικρός . In
Soph. fr. 38
εἰ μικρὸς ὢν τὰ φαῦλα νικήσας ἔχω
, the word="of short stature," in which sense
Il. 5.801
too has
Τυδεύς τοι μικρὸς μὲν ἔην δέμας
, though in
17. 757
σμικρῇσι
.
Curtius (
Etym. p. 622)
, comparing
σμυκτήρ and
μυκτήρ , remarks that analogy speaks for the antiquity of the
ς in
σμικρός , while it is possible that the
μ was not original, but arose from some other sound.
φέροντα
=
φερόμενον :
O. T. 590
πάντ’ ἄνευ φόβου φέρω
: cp.
1411
.
καὶ τόδ’
. As
καὶ οὖτος (like
et is ,
isque ), or
καὶ ταῦτα , introduces a strengthening circumstance (
Her. 6. 11
εἶναι δούλοισι, καὶ τούτοισι ὡς δρηπέτῃσι
), so here
καὶ τόδε marks the last step of a climax. Some edd. point thus,
φέροντα· taking
ἐξαρκοῦν as=
ἐξαρκεῖ , "and that suffices me": but this (
a ) supposes a very harsh ellipse of
ἐστί , (
b ) maims the rhythm, (
c ) weakens the force of the series
σμικρὸν—μεῖον—ἐξαρκοῦν .
ἐμοί
after
Οἰδίπουν : cp.
1329
: as
O.T. 535
τῆς ἐμῆς
after
τοῦδε τἀνδρός (like
Tr. 1073 f.
):
Ai. 865
μυθήσομαι
after
Αἴας θροεῖ :
Plat.
Euthyphro 5 A
οὐδέ τῳ ἂν διαφέροι Εὐθύφρων τῶν πολλῶν...εἰ μὴ εἰδείην
.
στέργειν
, absol., cp.
519
,
Dem.
De Cor. § 112
), or an accus.
εἰ δέ φησιν οὖτος, δειξάτω, κἀγὼ στέρξω καὶ σιωπήσομαι
: usu. with accus., as
Ph. 538
ἀνάγκῃ προὔμαθον στέργειν κακά
. Like
στέργειν ,
αἰνεῖν is sometimes absol. in this sense (
Eur.
Suppl. 388
κἂν μὲν θέλωσιν αἰνέσαι
), but
ἀγαπᾶν almost always takes a clause with
ὅτι, εἰ or
ἐάν (
Od. 21.289
οὐκ ἀγαπᾷς ὃ ἕκηλος ...
δαίνυσαι
αἱ πάθαι
:
Her. 1 207
τὰ δέ μοι παθήματα ἐόντα ἀχάριτα μαθήματα γέγονε
:
Aesch.
Ag. 177
τὸν πάθει μάθος
θέντα κυρίως ἔχειν.
ὁ χρόνος
, the time (through which I live), attending on me (
ξυνών ) in long course (
μακρός ). Cp.
O. T. 963
(Polybus died of disease)
.
καὶ τῷ μακρῷ γε συμμετρούμενος χρόνῳ
,
"and of the long years which he had told."
For
ξυνών cp.
O. T. 863
εἴ μοι ξυνείη...μοῖρα
:
Ai. 622
παλαιᾷ... ἔντροφος ἁμέρᾳ
:
Pind.
Pyth. 4.157
ἤδη με γηραιὸν μέρος ἁλικίας
ἀμφιπολεῖ
διδάσκει
, verb agreeing with nearest subject: cp.
Ant. 830
,
1133
:
[Xen.]
Resp. Athen. (
circ. 420 B.C.) 1 § 2
δικαίως αὐτόθι καὶ οἱ πένητες καὶ ὁ δῆμος πλέον ἔχει
:
Plat.
Symp. 190C
αἱ τιμαὶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἱερὰ τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἠφανίζετο
:
Cic.
Ad Att. 9. 10, 2
"nihil libri, nihil litterae, nihil doctrina prodest."
τρίτον
, as completing the lucky number:
Ai. 1174
κόμας ἐμὰς καὶ τῆσδε καὶ σαυτοῦ τρίτου
:
O. T. 581
(where see n.).
θάκησιν
is in itself a correct form.
θάκησις (
θακέω ) is (1) the act of sitting, (2) the means of sitting, as
οἴκησις (
οἰκέω ) is (1) the act of dwelling, (2) the house. It is not found elsewhere, but cp.
Soph.
Ph. 18
, a twofold means of sitting in the sun. With the MS. reading
θάκοισιν construe: —
στῆσόν με ἢ πρὸς θάκοις βεβήλοις, εἴ τινα (θᾶκον) βλέπεις , etc. (We could not render
εἴ τινα βλέπεις "if thou seest any
man ," since the need for a halt did not depend on that condition.) This is a construction much less clear and simple than that with
θάκησιν .
βεβήλοις may have induced the change of
θάκησιν into
θάκοισιν .
ἡλίου διπλῆ
πάρεστιν ἐνθάκησις
βεβήλοις
, neut. plur. (cp.
(Vater's correction of
καὶ πρὸς τὰ βατά ):
Bekker
Anecd. 325. 13
= oracles to which
access was easy, as opp. to those hidden in temple-archives.
ἀβάτων ἀποβάς
, 167
), places which may be trodden,
profana , opp. to
ἱερά, ἄθικτα : cp.
fr. 86. 6
δεινὸς γὰρ ἕρπειν πλοῦτος ἔς τε τἄβατα
καὶ πρὸς βέβηλα
ἀβέβηλα τὰ ἄβατα χωρία καὶ ἱερὰ καὶ μὴ τοῖς τυχοῦσι βάσιμα, μόνοις δὲ τοῖς θεραπεύουσι τοὺς θεούς. βέβηλα δὲ ἐλέγετο τὰ μὴ ὅσια μηδὲ ἱερά· οὕτω Σοφοκλῆς
. (This ignores the classical use of
ὅσιος as opp. to
ἱερός : in
Aristoph.
Lys. 743
ὅσιον χωρίον
=
βέβηλον .) In
Eur.
Her. 404
καὶ βέβηλα καὶ κεκρυμμένα
λόγια
ἢ πρὸς ἄλσεσιν
does not necessarily imply entrance on the
ἄλση . But the contrast with
πρὸς βεβήλοις is unmeaning unless Oed. thinks of a seat
on sacred ground, and not merely
near it. So Antigone, who recognises the grove as sacred
(16)
, seats him within it
(19)
. This grove at Colonus was
ἀστιβές
(126)
because the cult of the Eumenides so prescribed. Sacred groves were often open to visitors, as was the
κυκλοτερὲς ἄλσος of the Nymphs, with an altar "whereon all wayfarers were wont to make offerings,"
ὅθι πάντες ἐπιρρέζεσκον ὁδῖται
(
Od. 17.208)
. Hence Pausanias sometimes mentions that a particular
ἄλσος was
not open to the public. At Megalopolis, in the precinct of Zeus Philios, there was an
ἄλσος of which he says,
ἐς μὲν δὴ τὸ ἐντὸς ἔσοδος οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνθρώποις
(8. 31. 5)
. At Pellene, again, there was a walled
ἄλσος of Artemis Soteira;
ἔσοδός τε πλὴν τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἄλλῳ γε οὐδενὶ ἔστιν ἀνθρώπων
(7. 27. 3).
ἐξίδρυσον
, place me in a seat; cp.
ἐκ in
ἐξορθόω (to render
ὀρθόν ).
ἐξίδρυσον , without addition, could hardly mean,
seat me
apart ,
i.e.out of the path. In
Eur. fr. 877
(the only other example of
ἐξιδρύω ) it is the context which fixes this sense,
τηλοῦ γὰρ οἴκων βίοτον ἐξιδρυσάμην ,
"I fixed the seat of my life far apart from men's homes."
πυθώμεθα
.
πυθοίμεθα is impossible here. After a primary tense, the optative in a final clause with
ὡς, ὅπως , etc., occurs only:—(1) in Homeric Greek, where the case is merely imaginary:
Od. 17.250
:
:
τόν ποτ’ ἐγὼν …
ἄξω τῆλ’ Ἰθάκης, ἵνα μοι βίοτον πολὺν ἄλφοι
"him
some day I will take far from Ithaca,—so that (if I should do so) he might bring me large gain,"
—implying,
εἰ ἄγοιμι, ἄλφοι ἄν . (2) After words expressing an
aspiration or
prayer (and not, like
στῆσον here, a simple order):
Aesch.
Eum. 297
ἔλθοι, κλύει δὲ καὶ πρόσωθεν ὢν θεός,
ὅπως γένοιτο … λυτήριος
"may she come—and a god hears e'en afar— that [so] she might prove my deliverer."
Aesch.
Suppl. 670 ff.
, by which Campb. defends
πυθοίμεθα , would come under (2), if the text were certain, but there
τώς is a
v.l. for
ὡς . (3) More rarely, where the primary tense implies a secondary:
Dem.
In Androt. § 11
τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον ὁ νόμος...ἵνα μηδὲ πεισθῆναι μηδ’ ἐξαπατηθῆναι γένοιτ’ ἐπὶ τῷ δήμῳ
:
"the law
stands thus [=
was made thus], that the people
might not even have the power"
etc.:
i.e.
ἔχει implies
ἐτέθη .
μανθάνειν … ἥκομεν
, we have come to learning, = are in such plight that we must learn: the infin. as after verbs of duty or fitness (
ὀφείλω, προσήκει , etc.). Cp.
O. T. 1158
εἰς τόδ’ ἥξεις
(
sc.
εἰς τὸ ὀλέσθαι ).
ξένοι πρὸς ἀστῶν
: cp. the address of Oedipus the King to the Theban elders (
O. T. 216ff.
), esp.
vv. 222 f.,
νῦν δ’, ὕστερος γὰρ ἀστὸς εἰς ἀστοὺς τελῶ,
ὑμῖν προφωνῶ κ.τ.λ.
Οἰδίπους
, the more frequent voc. (cp.
O. T. 405
crit. n.): but
Οἰδίπου
below,
557
,
1346
. Athens is a little more than a mile S.E. of Colonus. The picture which Sophocles meant
πύργοι to suggest probably included both the Acropolis—a beautiful feature in the view—and the line of city-walls with their towers. So the city-walls of Thebes are
πύργοι,
Ant. 122
.
οἳ
at the end of the verse: cp.
O. T. 298
,
El. 873
,
Tr. 819
.
στέγουσιν
, the reading of all MSS., is probably right. It is true that in class. Greek
στέγω usually means either (1) "cover, conceal," as
El. 1118
ἄγγος... σῶμα...στέγον
, or (2) "keep out," as
Aesch.
Theb. 216
πύργον στέγειν εὔχεσθε πολέμιον δόρυ
. But the first sense — "cover" — might easily pass into "protect," and
Xen.
Cyr. 7.1.33
has
αἱ ἀσπίδες ...στεγάζουσι τὰ σώματα
. Wakefield's
στέφουσιν ("girdle") is specious; we have
στεφάνωμα or
στεφάνη πύργων (
Ant. 122
,
Eur.
Hec. 910
),
Βαβυλῶνα...τείχεσιν ἐστεφάνωσε
(Dionys. Periegetes 1006)
,
ὅπλοισιν Μεγάλη πόλις ἐστεφάνωται
(Paus. 9. 15)
. But it does not follow that
πύργοι πόλιν στέφουσιν could stand.
στέφω never occurs as = "to be set around," but either as (1) "to set around" —
ἄνθη περὶ κεφαλὴν στέφεις , or (2) "to crown" —
ἄνθεσι κεφαλὴν στέφεις ,—sometimes in the fig. sense of "honouring," as with libations or offerings (
Ant. 431
etc.).
ὡς ἀπ’ ὀμμάτων
,
sc.
εἰκάσαι , to judge from sight (alone), without exact knowledge:
schol.
ὡς ἔστιν ἐκ προόψεως τεκμήρασθαι
: cp.
Thuc. 1. 10
εἰκάζεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς φανερᾶς ὄψεως
, to be estimated by the mere external aspect.
χῶρος δ’ ὅδ’ ἱρός
. Cp.
Plat.
Phaedr. 230B
, where Socrates recognises the sacred character of the spot by the Ilissus:
Νυμφῶν τέ τινων καὶ Ἀχελῴου ἱερὸν ἀπὸ τῶν κορῶν τε καὶ ἀγαλμάτων
(the votive dolls and images)
ἔοικεν εἶναι
. There, too,
τὸ σύσκιον was a feature.
ὡς σάφ’ εἰκάσαι
, A's reading, is preferable to
ὡς ἀπεικάσαι , which would imply a more diffident guess. The poet of Colonus intends that the sacred character of the grove should at once impress the Theban maiden; and
σάφα is confirmed by the emphasis of
δάφνης, ἐλαίας, ἀμπέλου . It has been objected that
σάφα is inconsistent with
εἰκάσαι . But it merely expresses the speaker's own belief that her guess is right; as we can say, "a certain conjecture." In L's reading,
ὡς ἀφεικάσαι , it seems more likely that a second
ς should have been lost than that
π should have become
φ . For the constr. with
ὡς , cp.
Tr. 1220
ὥς γ’ ἐπεικάζειν ἐμέ.
ὡςis omitted below,
152
.
βρύων
takes a dat. in its literal sense of "sprouting" (
βρύει ἄνθεϊ
Il. 17.56
), but either a dat. (as
Aristoph.
Nub. 45
) or a gen. in its figurative sense of "being full."
[Plat.]
Axiochus 371 C
ἄφθονοι μὲν ὧραι παγκάρπου γονῆς βρύουσι
(evidently pieced together from some poet).
ἀμπέλου
.
Cyril (
Jerem. Homil. 4. 41)
, speaking of the later pagan practice, says,
εἰς ἄλση ὅταν φυτεύωσι ξύλα, φυτεύουσιν οὐ τὰ καρποφόρα, οὐ συκῆν οὐδ’ ἄμπελον, ἀλλὰ μόνον τέρψεως χάριν ἄκαρπα ξύλα
. But in earlier times, at least,
τὰ καρποφόρα were not rare in sacred groves; cp.
Xen.
Anab. 5.3.12
(referring to the shrine of the Ephesian Artemis at Scillus)
περὶ δ’ αὐτὸν τὸν ναὸν ἄλσος ἡμέρων δένδρων ἐφυτεύθη, ὅσα ἐστὶ τρωκτὰ ὡραῖα
.
Paus. 1.21.7
(in an
ἄλσος of Apollo at Athens)
δένδρων καὶ ἡμέρων καὶ ὅσα τῶν ἀκάρπων ὀσμῆς παρέχεταί τινα ἢ θέας ἡδονήν
.
πυκνόπτεροι
, poet. for
πυκναί , the second element being equivalent to a separate epithet,
πτεροῦσσαι : cp.
717
ἑκατομπόδων Νηρῃδων
,
1055
διστόλους
,
O. T. 846
οἰόζωνος ἀνήρ
, a lonely way farer (where see n.). Such an epithet as "thickly-feathered" would be unmeaning here. The
many nightingales, heard to warble from the thick covert, argue the undisturbed sanctity of the inner grove. Antigone notices an indication which her blind father can recognise.
δ’
is elided at the end of the verse, as
O.T. 29 (n.)
, so also
τ’ , as
ib. 1184
etc., and once
ταῦτα ,
ib. 332
: cp.
below, 1164
.
ὡς γέροντι
with
μακρὰν : cp.
Plat.
Soph. 226C
ταχεῖαν, ὡς ἐμοί, σκέψιν ἐπιτάττεις
(
"a rapid process of thought for such as I am"
):
Rep. 389 D
σωφροσύνης δέ, ὡς πλήθει, οὐ τὰ τοιάδε μέγιστα
;
"for the mass of men, are not the cardinal points of temperance such as these?"
Cp.
76
.
προὐστάλης
, hast fared forward: a compound not found elsewhere in Trag., except in
Aesch.
Theb. 415
Δίκη...νιν προστέλλεται
, sends him forth as her champion.
Χρόνου … οὕνεκ’
.
O.T. 857 f.
:
Her. 3. 122
εἵνεκέν τε χρημάτων ἄρξεις ἁπάσης τῆς Ἑλλάδος
(if it is merely a question of money):
Antiphon or. 5 § 8
κἂν ἀνωμότοις ὑμῖν...ἐπιτρέψαιμι..., ἕνεκά γε τοῦ πιστεύειν
,
"I would leave the verdict to you, though you were unsworn, if it were only a question of confidence."
ὅποι
, since
καθέσταμεν implies
ἥκομεν : cp.
227
,
476
: on the same principle,
Ὀλυμπίαζε
(not
Ὀλυμπίασι )
παρεῖναι
,
Thuc. 3. 8
.
γοῦν
:
"well (
οὖν ), I know
Athens (
γε ), but not this place."
Cp.
El. 233
ἀλλ’ οὖν εὐνοίᾳ γ’ αὐδῶ
,
"well, it is in kindness that I speak."
ἡμὶν
as a trochee is frequent in Soph. (Ellendt counts 26 instances), but does not occur in Eur., nor in Aesch., except in
Eum. 347
, where Porson's
ἁμίν for
ἁμῖν seems necessary. Modern edd., with Dind., usu. write
ἡμίν : others, as Nauck and Ellendt, would always write
ἧμιν , for which the old grammarians afford some warrant (cp.
Chandler,
Accent. 2nd ed. § 673
): while others, again, would distinguish an emphatic
ἡμίν from a non-emphatic
ἦμιν (cp.
Hadley and Allen,
Greek Gram. § 264
). !-- need brevia for those carets -->
ἀλλ’ ὅστις ὁ τόπος
. The tribrach is divided like that in
Eur.
Phoen. 511
ἐλθόντ|α^ συ^ν ο^πλ|οις
, where
σὺν coheres closely with
ὅπλοις , as
ὁ with
τόπος . But even where no such cohesion exists, a tribrach may be broken after the second syllable if it is also broken after the first:
e.g.
δέσποινα, σὺ τάδ’ ἔπραξας οὐ γνώμης ἄτερ
is correct: cp. n. on
O. T. 537
.
ἦ μάθω
, deliberative subjunct., of which the aor. is more frequent than the pres.: so
O. T. 364
εἴπω
: see on
O. T. 651
.
ἐξοικήσιμος
, capable of being made into a dwelling-place, "habitable," here implying "inhabited." Adjectives with the suffix
σιμο properly denote adaptability. They were primarily formed from substantives in
‐σι‐ς , as
χρήσι‐μο‐ς , fitted for use, from
χρῆσις . The noun
ἐξοίκησις is found only in the sense of "emigration,"
Plat.
Legg. 704C
, 850 B. But as from
ἱππάζομαι was formed
ἱππά‐σιμος , though no
ἵππασις occurs, so
ἐξοικήσιμος here is taken directly from
ἐξοικεῖν as="to make into a dwellingplace" (
Thuc. 2.17
ἐξῳκήθη
).
οἰκήσιμος as="habitable" occurs in later Greek. Just as
ἐξοικήσιμος is practically equivalent to
οἰκητός here, so Silius speaks of the Capitoline as
"
superis habitabile
saxum ,"
alluding to the actual shrines on it (
1. 541
). Cp.
ἁλώσιμος βάξις
(Aesch.
Ag. 10)
, tidings of an
actual , not merely
possible , capture. This poet. use is the converse of that by which
ἄρρητος
could mean "unspeakable," or
invictus , "unconquerable."
ἀλλ’ ἐστὶ μὴν
, "
nay, but it
is inhabited."
Aesch.
Pers. 233
(in a reply)
ἀλλὰ μὴν ἵμειῤ
, "
nay, but he was eager" (to take this very city). Especially in rejecting an alternative:
Eur.
Helen 1047
ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ μὴν ναῦς ἔστιν
, "nay, but neither is there a ship." Impatient for more light, Oed. asks, "Is he coming forth towards us,— so that it is really needless for thee to move?"
δεῦρο denotes the goal,
προς‐ the direction, and
ἐξ‐ the starting-point.
δεῦρο goes with both participles, which form a single expression,="coming
towards us
from the abodes" implied by
οἰκητός
(28)
. Cp.
Ai. 762
ἀπ’ οἴκων... ἐξορμώμενος
. Other explanations are:— (1) "approaching" (
δεῦρο being taken with
προσστ . only) "and setting out," as a "prothysteron" for "setting out and approaching." This is impossible. (2) "Moving, and
hastening , hither": but this obliterates
ἐξ‐ , and strains
ὁρμώμενον .
καὶ δὴ
, "already":
Aristoph.
Av. 175
ΠΕΙ. βλέψον κάτω. ΕΠ. καὶ δὴ βλέπω.
μὲν οὖν
, "nay rather" (
imo );
Aristoph.
Eq. 13
ΝΙ. λέγε σύ. ΔΗ. σὺ μὲν οὖν λέγε
.
ὦ ξεῖν’
. The Ionic voc. occurs even without metrical necessity,
Eur.
I. T. 798
ξεῖν’, οὐ δικαίως
: Soph. rarely uses
ξεῖνος except in voc.:
1014 n.
ὑπέρ τ’ ἐμοῦ
=
ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ τε : as
O. T. 258
(where see n.),
Ant.989
(of the blind Teiresias and his guide)
κυρῶ τ’ ἐγώ
=
ἐγώ τε κυρῶ :
Ph. 1294
. Cp. Tennyson's lines
"To the Princess Frederica" :
O you that were eyes and light to the King till he past away
From the darkness of life.
δὔ ἐξ ἑνὸς βλέποντε
.
οὕνεχ’ … φράσαι
: that thou hast come near,
αἴσιος σκοπὸς ὧν (=
τούτων ἃ )
ἀδηλοῦμεν , an opportune inquirer into our doubts,
φράσαι , so as to explain (epexegetic infin., cp.
50
).
σκοπὸς has its ordinary sense of "scout" (cp.
n. on 297
). Oedipus supposes that the man has been sent to make inquiry.
τούτων is objective gen. after
σκοπός .
ὧν
, by attract.:
O. T. 788
ὧν … ἱκόμην
= (
τούτων )
ἃ ἱκόμην.
ἀδηλοῦμεν
. Since
ἀδηλέω =to be
ἄδηλος , (as
ἀπειθέω to be
ἀπειθής, ἀκοσμέω to be
ἄκοσμος ,) the form strictly implies that
ἄδηλος could mean, "not
seeing clearly": but an act. sense nowhere occurs, for in
Eur.
Or. 1318
χρόᾳ δ’ ἀδήλῳ τῶν δεδραμένων πέρι
means, "faces wherein the deeds cannot
be read " (not,
"which seem to know nought of them"
). Cp. the verbs formed from the active use of verbal adjectives which were primarily passive, as
ἀλαστέω , to be unforgetting,
ἀτλητέω , to be impatient (
O. T. 515
). Conversely,
δηλόω , "to
make
δῆλος ," sometimes verges on the sense, "to
be
δῆλος " (
Ant. 20
,
242
). As
78
shows, the man who has just entered is supposed to belong to Colonus, which, like the rest of Attica, was subject to the king of Athens
(v. 67)
. The designation
ξένος was probably suggested merely by
ὦ ξεῖν’ in
33
.
τὰ πλείον’
, "the" details foreshadowed by the preamble.
Isocr. or. 5 § 63
(in a rapid sketch of Conon's career)
καὶ τί δεῖ τὰ πλείω λέγειν
; "and why dwell on the details?" So in
Soph.
Ph. 576
μή νύν μ’ ἔρῃ τὰ πλείον’
,
Tr. 731
σιγᾶν ἂν ἁρμόζοι σε τὸν πλείω λόγον
, the art. denotes "the" sequel which the previous discourse promises. In
Eur.
Med. 609
ὡς οὐ κρινοῦμαι τῶνδέ σοι τὰ πλείονα
, the gen. brings this out: "Enough —I will not dispute with thee on the further aspects of this matter."
οὐχ ἁγνὸν πατεῖν
. The poets can use
ἁγνός either like
ἱερός (
e.g.
Eur.
Andr. 253
ἁγνὸν τέμενος
), or, as here, like
ὅσιος . For the infin. active, cp.
Plat.
Phaedo 62B
λόγος οὐ...ῥᾴδιος διϊδεῖν
,
90 C
λόγου ...δυνατοῦ κατανοῆσαι
:
Eur.
Med. 316
λέγεις ἀκοῦσαι μαλθάκ’
(
auditu mollia ):
Soph.
O. T. 792
ἄτλητον...ὁρᾶν
, and n. on
O. T. 1204
.
τοῦ θεῶν νομίζεται
;
. With (1) here cp. the gen. of the deity after
ἱερός (
Plat.
Phaedo 85B
"to which of the gods is it deemed to belong?"
After verbs of being thought, called, etc., the gen. expresses "belonging" (1) to a possessor, as here and
Ant. 738
οὐ τοῦ κρατοῦντος ἡ πόλις νομίζεται
; or (2) to a class, as
Eur.
Andr. 12
τῶν ἐλευθερωτάτων
οἴκων νομισθεῖσ’
ἱερὸς τοῦ αὐτοῦ θεοῦ
).
ἄθικτος οὐδ’ οἰκητός
,
sc.
ἐστιν , answering
τίς ἔσθ’ ὁ χῶρος ; cp.
1274
ἄναυδος οὐδ’ ἃμηνίεις φράσας
,
Ph. 2
ἄστειπτος οὐδ’ οἰκουμένη
. The second question,
τοῦ θεῶν νομίζεται ; is answered by
αἱ γὰρ ἔμφοβοι κ.τ.λ.
Γῆς τε καὶ Σκότου κόραι
: as in
Aesch.
Eum. 416
they call themselves
Νυκτὸς αἰανῆς τέκνα
, and invoke
μᾶτερ Νύξ
(844)
: Aesch. does not name the other parent. In
Hesiod.
Theog. 184
the mother is Earth, impregnated by the blood of Uranus,—the idea being that the Erinyes were called into life by the crime of a son (Zeus) against a father. Other versions made them daughters of Euonymè (a name for Earth) and Cronus (
Epimenides
ap. Tzetzes on Lycophron 406
), or of Earth and Phorkys (
i.e. the sea): cp.
Welcker
Griech. Götterl. 3. 81
.
τίνων … κλύων
; of whom hearing the august name might I make a prayer?
i.e.
"who may they be, whose name I am to hear, and to invoke?"
The optat. with
ἄν gives a reverential tone to the question:
εὐξαίμην ἄν refers to such propitiatory words of invocation as were uttered on approaching a shrine. The description has left the Theban stranger in doubt as to the particular deities meant. He might think of other "Daughters of Darkness," — as of the
Κῆρες (
Hes.
Theog. 217
), or of the
Μοῖραι ,—whom the Eumenides of Aeschylus address as
ματροκασιγνῆται , children of the same mother,
Νύξ (
Eum. 961
).
πάνθ’ ὁρώσας
, because no crime escapes their ken:
Ai. 835f.
τὰς ἀεί τε παρθένους
ἀεί θ’ ὁρώσας πάντα τἀν βροτοῖς πάθη,
σεμνὰς Ἐρινῦς τανύποδας.
Εὐμενίδας
, the title of the Erinyes at Sicyon (
Paus. 2.11.4
), was not used by Aeschylus in his play of that name, unless with Herm. we assume that it was in a part of Athena's speech which has dropped out after
v. 1028
. When Harpocration says that the Athena of Aeschylus,
πραΰνασα τὰς Ἐρινύας, Εὐμενίδας ὠνόμασεν
, he perh. refers to such epithets as
εὔφρονες
(
Eum. 992)
,
ἵλαοι, εὐθύφρονες
(1040)
,
Σεμναί
(1041)
. Demosthenes (
or. 23 § 66
) uses the name in referring to the trial of Orestes.
ἄλλα δ’ ἀλλαχοῦ καλά
:
schol.
ἄλλα ὀνόματα παρ’ ἄλλοις καλὰ νομίζεται
. Wunder and others quote
Plut.
Them. 27
ὦ ξένε, νόμοι διαφέρουσιν ἀνθρώπων· ἄλλα δ’ ἄλλοις καλά
. This is against rendering, "but otherwhere [the folk would give them] other fair names." Near Megalopolis, on the road to Messene, there was a shrine of the
Μανίαι :
δοκεῖν δέ μοι, θεῶν τῶν Εὐμενίδων ἐστὶν ἐπίκλησις
,
Paus. 8.34.1
. Aeschines gives the attributes of the Erinyes to the
Ποιναί (
τοὺς ἠσεβηκότας...ἐλαύνειν καὶ κολάζειν δᾷσὶν ἡμμέναις,
.or. 1 § 190
). As at Athens they were
Σεμναί , at Thebes they were
Πότνιαι (cp.
84
). Another name was
Ἀραί (
Eum. 417
).
μὲν
seems right. It implies a thought answering, rather than opposed, to
ἵλεῳ δεξαίατο :
i.e. "gracious on their part may be the welcome, (as, on mine, the duty to remain is clear)":
not , "gracious, indeed, may be their welcome, (
but , even if they should be stern, I must stay)." Cp. the
μέν , without a following
δέ , which lightly emphasises rather than contrasts:
Xen.
Cyr. 1.4.12
ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ οἶδα
(as others, perhaps, may).
τὸν ἱκέτην
, without
με (which I should at least prefer to
)μὲ or
ἐμὲ , if
μὲν were changed), is more solemn: cp.
284
ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ἔλαβες τὸν ἱκέτην.
δεξαίατο
, Ionic: so
921
πυθοίατο
,
945
δεξοίατο
,
O. T. 1274
ὀψοίατο, γνωσοίατο
, where see n.
ὡς
is clearly right. The
ὥστ’ of the MSS. would mean, "
and so " (
i.e. since they are the Eumenides). It could not mean, "and in that case,"
i.e. "if they prove kind."
ὡς is best taken as simply causal, "for" (
schol.
ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐκ ἀναστήσομαι
), rather than as="know that" (
Eur.
Phoen. 1664
ΚΡΕΩΝ. ὡς οὔτις ἀμφὶ τῷδ’ ὑγρὰν θήσει κόνιν
).
γῆς
: cp.
668
.
Eur.
Helen 797
τᾶσδε χώρας
… ἔπαυλα
ὁρᾷς τάφου τοῦδ’ ἀθλίους ἕδρας ἐμάς;
>ἂν ἐξέλθοιμ’
: the optat. with
ἄν calmly expresses a fixed resolve: cp.
O. T. 343
οὐκ ἂν πέρα φράσαιμι
.
τί δ’ ἐστὶ τοῦτο;
"What means this?" (cp.
τί δ’ ἔστι; "what now?"
O. T. 319
n.).
"What has this sudden resolve to do with the mention of the Eumenides?"
ξυμφορᾶς ξύνθημ’ ἐμῆς
.
σύνθημα =something agreed upon (
συντίθεμαι ), as
e.g. a military watchword (
Her. 9.98
). Apollo had told Oedipus that, when he reached a shrine of the
Σεμναί , then he should find rest
(90)
. This was the
σύνθημα , the sign preconcerted between them, which Oedipus has now recognised at Colonus (cp.
ἔγνωκα,
96
). He calls
his own prayer
(44 f.)
the
σύνθημα of his fate, because it embodies the two points of the
σύνθημα , — "Here are the Eumenides, — here I stay." Campbell renders, "
the word that sums my destiny," and seems to regard the notion of "sign" as blended with that of "summary." But the two notions are distinct.
σύνθημα is always parallel in sense with
συντίθεμαι as="to concert" (
βουλήν , etc.), never with
συντίθημι as="to put briefly together."
ἐμοί
is indispensable, while
οὐδὲ μέντοι would be weak.
τοὐξανιστάναι
: the art. with the infin. (whether subject or object) is esp. frequent in the dramatists, for the simple reason that it was often metrically convenient:
442
:
Ai. 114
.
τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾶν
:
Ant. 78
τὸ γὰρ
βίᾳ πολιτῶν δρᾶν ἔφυν ἀμήχανος
δίχ’
, like
ἄνευ or
χωρίς , "without the sanction of":
Ai. 768
,
,
Ai. 986
καὶ δίχα
κείνων
"e'en without the gods' help."
Nauck objects to the position: but not less bold, at least, is
O.T. 1084
ἔτι
ποτ’ ἄλλος
οὐχ ὅσον τάχος
δῆτ’ αὐτὸν ἄξεις …;
ἐνδείξω τί δρῶ
, indicate what I am doing:
δρῶ is pres. indic.:
Plat.
Gorg. 488A
ἱκανῶς μοι ἔνδειξαι τί ἔστι τοῦτο
.
Antiphon or. 6 § 37
ἐνδεῖξαι τῷ δικαστηρίῳ τὰ ἀδικήματα
. The technical
ἔνδειξις was an information laid against usurpers of public functions, or, in certain cases, against
κακοῦργοι . Schneidewin and Wecklein take
δρῶ as subjunct., understanding, —"report the matter (
and ask ) what I am to do": but the idea of
asking could not be supplied.
ξεῖνε
:
33
. !-- this isn't obvious: what's the lemma here? -->
μὴ μ’ ἀτιμάσῃς
tou/twn(genit. as after verbs of depriving)
ἅ σε προστρέπω (cp.
Ai. 831
τοσαῦτά σε... προστρέπω
),
φράσαι (epexegetic infin.): deny me not the grace of the things for which I supplicate thee, that thou shouldest declare them. Cp.
35
.
τίς ἔσθ’
,
i.e.
"what is it
called? "
In answer to the same query at
v. 38
he had only learned that part of it was
sacred. Cp.
26
.
κἀγώ
. We say: — "What
I know,
you also shall know" (
ὅσ’ οἶδ’ ἐγώ, καὶ σὺ ἐπιστήσει ). The Greeks could say: — "What
I also (=I on my part) know, you (also) shall know." The second "also" (
καί ) is absent here, since
σύ is wanting.
Xen.
Symp. 2. 25
. Cp.
below, 870
(
δοκεῖ μέντοι μοι καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀνδρῶν συμπόσια ταὐτὰ πάσχειν ἅπερ καὶ τὰ ἐν γῇ φυόμενα
.
Antiphon or. 5 § 23
ἐζητεῖτο οὐδέν τι μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἢ καὶ ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ
. So
Soph.
El. 1146
οὔτε γάρ ποτε
μητρὸς σύ γ’ ἦσθα μᾶλλον ἢ κἀμοῦ φίλος
κἀμὲ
):
Ai. 525
:
Ant. 927
.
ἐν δ’
(adv.),
sc.
ἐστίν : Prometheus did not belong to Colonus itself (as Poseidon did), but to the neighbouring Academy (see
on 56
): he is named as one of several divine presences in the vicinity. So
ἐν δ’ adds a new member to a group,
O. T. 27
(where the same words
ἐν δ’ ὁ π. θεός refer to the plague),
Ai. 675
. If, instead of
ἐν δ’ we read
ἠδ’ (which Soph. sometimes used in dialogue,
fr. 345
and
493
), this would rather link the two deities as holding Colonus.
Προμηθεύς
is a "Titan" as son of the Titan Iapetus (
Hes.
Theog. 510
).
Welcker (
Griech. Götterl. 2. 254)
thinks that "Titan," instead of "Titanid," is used here only because, like the Titans, Prometheus rebelled against Zeus: but this seems strained. Cp.
Cic.
Tusc. 2. 10.23
(from the
Προμ. Λυόμενος of Aesch., Prometheus speaking)
Titanum suboles, socia nostri sanguinis, Generata caelo.
πυρφόρος
(55)
, because represented with a torch in the right hand:
Eur.
Phoen. 1121
(on the shield of Tydeus)
. So
πυρφόρος of Artemis (
O. T. 207
), and Capaneus (
Ant. 135
). Cp.
Philostratus p. 602
(quoting the Athenian rhetorician Apollonius,
circ. 225 A.D. )
δεξιᾷ δὲ λαμπάδα
Τιτὰν Προμηθεὺς ἔφερεν ὡς πρήσων πόλιν
ἰὼ Προμηθεῦ δᾳδοῦχε καὶ πυρφόρε
. His altar was in the Academy, just S. of Colonus, and this was the starting-point of the
λαμπαδηφορία (to the acropolis) at the three torch-festivals.
Harpocrat. 184
τρεῖς ἄγουσιν Ἀθηναῖοι ἑορτὰς λαμπάδας, Παναθηναίοις καὶ Ἡφαιστείοις καὶ Προμηθείοις
.
Schol. Aristoph.
Ran. 131
λαμπαδηφορίαι δὲ γίγονται τρεῖς ἐν τῷ Κεραμεικῷ, Ἀθηνᾶς, Ἡφαίστου, Προμηθέως
. Aesch. wrote both a
Πρ. Πυρφόρος (the 1st play of his trilogy) and a satyric
Πρ. Πύρκαεύς .
τόπον
by inverse attraction:
Lys. or. 19 § 47
τὴν οὐσίαν ἣν κατέλιπε τῷ υἱεῖ οὐ πλείονος ἀξία ἐστίν κ.τ.λ.
: cp. on
O. T. 449
.
ὀδός
. Somewhere near the grove of the Eumenides, but not within the stagescene, was a spot called "the threshold" of Hades,—a steeply-descending rift or cavern in the rock, at the mouth of which some brazen steps had been made (see
on 1590 f.
),—in accordance with the epic notion that Hades had a
χάλκεος οὐδός (
Il. 8.15
). From this
spot , the immediately adjacent
region (including the grove) was known as "
the brazen threshold ," —
χαλκόπους , borrowed from the literal
χαλκᾶ βάθρα
(1591)
, taking the general sense of "adamantine." As
"rooted on the nether rock"
(
γῆθεν ἐρριζωμένον
1591
), and also as linked by mystic sanctities with the Powers of the Under-world, this region of the "brazen threshold" is called
ἔρεισμ’ Ἀθηνῶν , the
stay of Athens: a phrase in which the idea of physical basis is joined to that of religious safeguard.
χαλκόπους
, with feet of brass (
El. 491
χ. Ἐρινύς
, untiring),
i.e. furnished with brazen steps: not, putting brass under the foot, as some have taken it: so
ἀργυρόπους, χρυσόπους etc. The name — though
κολωνός was so familiar a word — is traced in the usual Greek fashion to a hero Colonus, the
ἐπώνυμος of the deme; and, to justify the epithet of the place,
ἵππιος , he is called
ἱππότης , horseman, or knight. In the roads about Colonus (
ταῖσδε...ἀγυιαῖς
715
) men first learned to use Poseidon's gift of the horse. With
τόνδ’ cp.
65
τοῦδε τοῦ θεοῦ
. In the case of the tribes, at least, statues of eponymi were familiar to Athenians (cp.
Aristoph.
Pax 1183
τὸν ἀνδριάντα τὸν Πανδίονος
). A statue of the hero Colonus on the stage would be an effective device for giving greater vividness to the local legend. The speaker could point to it with dramatic fitness, since Antigone is with her blind father.
ἀρχηγός
, or
ἀρχηγέτης ,=esp. the founder of a family or clan, or (like
κτίστης, οἰκιστής ) of a city.
Bekker
Anecd. I. 449
ἀρχηγέται· ἡγεμόνες οἱ ἐπώνυμοι τῶν φυλῶν
, quoting from the
Γῆρας of Ar.
παρὰ τοὺς ἀρχηγέτας ,=by the statues of the ten
ἐπώνυμοι ἥρωες of the Attic tribes.
Arist. fr. 85 (Berl. ed. p. 1491 a 20)
ἀρετὴ τοῦ γένους, καὶ εὐγενεῖς οἱ ἀπὸ τούτου τοῦ γένους, οὐκ ἐὰν ὁ πατὴρ εὐγενὴς ᾖ ἀλλ’ ἐὰν ὁ ἀρχηγός
.
Isocr. or. 3 § 28
Τεῦκρος μὲν ὁ τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν ἀρχηγός
.
Plat.
Tim. 21E
τῆς πόλεως θεὸς ἀρχηγός τίς ἐστιν
(of Saïs in Egypt, which claimed origin from the goddess Neith). And all (the
δημόται , supplied
κατὰ σύνεσιν from
γύαι as=
δῆμος ) bear his name in common (
κοινόν , in their capacity as
Κολωνεῖς ), being designated thereby.
τοὔνομα , acc. of object to
φέρουσι , is also cognate accus. to
ὠνομασμένοι , which is added to mark the fixity of the deme-name,—a title not merely ornamental (like
Ἐρεχθεῖδαι for Athenians), but regular.
σοι
, ethic dat.:
El. 761
τοιαῦτά σοι ταῦτ’ ἐστίν, ὡς μὲν ἐν λόγῳ
ἀλγεινά, κ.τ.λ.
λόγοις
, "story," legend, generally, but esp. poetry, in which Colonus had not yet figured: the
Iliad
(23. 679)
buries Oedipus at Thebes: cp.
Paus. 1.30.4
(of the Oedipus-myth at Colonus)
διάφορα μὲν καὶ ταῦτα τῇ Ὁμήρου ποιήσει
.
τῇ ξυνουσίᾳ
, "by the dwelling with them":
i.e. those who live at Colonus feel the charm of its holy places grow upon them. So the Thucydidean Pericles describes the Athenians as
τὴν τῆς πόλεως δύναμιν καθ’ ἡμέραν ἔργῳ θεωμένους καὶ ἐραστὰς γιγνομένους αὐτῆς
(2. 43)
: cp.
the schol. here,
τῷ ἔργῳ καὶ τῇ πείρᾳ πλέον τιμώμενα, οὐ τοῖς λόγοις
.
ἦ γάρ
κ.τ.λ.The eager interest of Oed. in this question depends on his knowledge, derived from the oracle, that he brought
κέρδη τοῖς δεδεγμένοις
(92)
.
καὶ κάρτα
: cp.
301
:
Eur.
Hipp. 89
ΘΕ. ἆρ’ ἄν τί μου δέξαιο...; ΙΠ καὶ κάρτα γ’
.
θεοῦ
, the
hero Colonus. Though the distinction had lost nothing of its clearness at this date (cp.
Antiphon or. 1 § 27
οὔτε θεοὺς οὔθ’ ἥρωας οὔτ’ ἀνθρώπους δείσασα
),
θεός is sometimes the generic term for beings who receive divine honours: so Amphion and Zethus, the Theban heroes, are
τὼ σιώ (
Aristoph.
Ach. 905
), and Eupolis says (
Ἀστράτευτοι fr. 3
)
ἐν εὐσκίοις δρόμοισιν Ἀκαδήμου θεοῦ
(the
ἐπώνυμος of the
Ἀκαδήμεια ). Elmsley reads
ἄρχει
τίς αὐτῶν; "
Who is their king?" But Oed. rather asks,
"Have they a monarchy or a democracy?"
It would be a prosaic objection that the question is hardly suited to the heroic age of
πατρικαὶ βασιλεῖαι
(Thuc. I. 13)
.
ἢ ’πὶ τῷ πλ. λόγος;
"or does
power of discussion rest with the people?"
πλήθει , the popular
assembly , as oft.
τὸ ὑμέτερον πλῆθος in the Attic orators.
Thuc. 2.40
(Pericles, on the Athenian democracy)
οὐ τοὺς λόγους τοῖς ἔργοις βλάβην ἡγούμενοι
. The schol. paraphrases,
ἢ ἐν τῷ πλ. ἐστὶν ἡ ἰσχύς ; and
κράτος is a conject. instead of
λόγος . Elmsley and others cp.
Eur.
Cycl. 119
τίνος κλύοντες;
3
ἢ δεδήμευται κράτος;
There is no evidence for
λόγος as (1) the commanding word, "sway": (2) the deciding word, "arbitrament": or (3) the "principle" (
ratio ) of government.
ἐκ
, of the head and fount of power:
El. 264
κἀκ τῶνδ’ ἄρχομαι
:
Ant. 63
ἀρχόμεσθ’ ἐκ κρεισσόνων
.
οὗτος … τίς (ὢν) … κρατεῖ
; =
τίς ἔστιν οὗτος ὃς κρατεῖ;
Eur.
Hec. 501
τίς οὗτος σῶμα τοὐμὸν οὐκ ἐᾷς
κεῖσθαι;
λόγῳ τε καὶ σθένει
, word (counsel) and might (of deeds):
Od. 16.242
(Odysseus)
χεῖράς τ’ αἰχμητὴν ἔμεναι καὶ ἐπίφρονα βουλήν
:
Pind.
Pyth. 5.111
(may Cyrene's king be blest)
ἐπ’ ἔργοισιν ἀμφί τε βουλαῖς
:
Soph.
O. T. 884
(of a
τύραννος )
εἰ δέ τις ὑπέροπτα χερσὶν ἢ λόγῳ πορεύεται
. So Theseus is described by
Thuc. 2.15
as
γενόμενος μετὰ τοῦ ξυνετοῦ καὶ δυνατός
. Sophocles conceives the union of the Attic communes (commemorated by the annual festival of the
συνοίκια in August) as already accomplished by Theseus. Athens is the capital, all the people of Attica being reckoned as its citizens (
ἁπάντων ἤδη ξυντελούντων ἐς αὐτήν,
Thuc. 2.15
).
Isocr. or. 10 § 18
speaks of Theseus as
ὁ λεγόμενος μὲν Αἰγέως, γενόμενος δ’ ἐκ Ποσειδῶνος
. Aegeus, too, was said to have been king of Athens: see on
297
; and was the eponymus of one of the ten Attic tribes (
Αἰγηὶς φυλή,
Andoc. or. 1 § 62
). He gave the title to a lost play of Sophocles.
ἆρ’ ἄν τις … μόλοι;
"I wonder if any one would go?" = I wish that some one would go.
Il. 10.303
Cp.
infra 1100
.
τίς κέν μοι τόδε ἔργον ὑποσχόμενος τελέσειε
δώρῳ ἔπι μεγάλῳ;
αὐτῷ
, poet. after the verb of motion: cp.
Il. 12.374
ἐπειγομένοισι δ’ ἵκοντο
:
Aesch.
PV 358
ἦλθεν αὐτῷ Ζηνὸς...βελος
: cp.
O. T. 711
.
πομπός
, one sent to bring a person,
O.T. 288
.
ὡς πρὸς τί
goes with both participles,
μολεῖν with the second only. The Chorus are uncertain whether Oedipus has merely some
message for Theseus, or wishes to bring him in person to the spot (as
πομπός might imply). Our pointing is better than
ὡς πρὸς τί; λ. ἢ κ. μολεῖν ; The query turns more on the motive of the appeal than on a sharp contrast between its possible forms.
λέξων should not be joined with
μολεῖν (
"
bid him come,"
Blaydes). The reading and explanation of the verse hinge on the question whether
ὡς (1) belongs to
πρὸς τί , = "with what view?" or (2) is final, = "in order that." Now (1) is strongly supported by two other places of Soph., in each of which this formula stands, as here, at the beginning of a question:
O. T. 1174
ΟΙ.
ὡς πρὸς τί χρείας;
Tr.1182
ΥΑ.
ὡς πρὸς τί πίστιν τήνδ’ ἄγαν ἐπιστρέφεις;
The simple
πρὸς τί ; (also freq. in Soph.) = merely "with reference to what?" while
ὡς πρὸς τί = "with reference to what, in your conception or intention (
ὡς )?": hence the latter is appropriate when the questioner cannot imagine the agent's motive.
καταρτύσων μολεῖν
, to prepare things (to work upon his mind, directly or indirectly), so that he shall come: for the inf. cp.
1286
:
Plat.
Rep. 562C
τὴν πολιτείαν... παρασκευάζει τυραννίδος δεηθῆναι
: and for
καταρτύω of mental or moral influence,
Plut.
Mor. 38 D
ἂν...μὴ λόγοις χρηστοῖς ἀφαιρῶν ἢ παρατρέπων καταρτύῃ τὴν φύσιν
. With L's
μόλοι (
ὡς being then final), we must render: "That Theseus might come with what view (
πρὸς τί ), —to say or to arrange (what)?" The opt. can stand (in spite of
κερδάνῃ
72
), since
ἆρ’ ἂν μόλοι;
(70)
puts the case hypothetically: see on
11
. But: (
a ) the double
μόλοι , at the end of two successive verses, is intolerable. Dindorf, therefore, conjecturally reads
παρῇ , which Wecklein and others adopt. (
b ) The antithesis between
λέξων and
καταρτύσων is hardly clear. Wecklein explains,
πρὸς ποῖον λόγον ἢ ἔργον; Certainly
τί λέξων ἢ δράσων could mean, "for what conceivable purpose?" (cp.
O.T. 71
ὅ τι δρῶν ἢ τί φωνῶν
): but
καταρτύσων would be a very strange substitute for
δράσων .
μὴ
βλέποντος, not
οὐ , since the blindness is a condition: "if he has not sight."
ὁρῶντα
: the blind man's words will be instinct with mental vision. (Cp.
O.T. 747
.) The insight is ascribed to the words themselves, not to the speaker, as at
267
πεπονθότα and
δεδρακότα are epithets of the
ἔργα , not of the agent. Cp.
Aesch.
Cho. 854
φρέν’...ὠμματωμένην
,
Suppl. 467
ὠμμάτωσα...σαφέστερον
(
λόγον ).
Milton,
Par. Lost. 3. 51
So much the rather thou, Celestial Light,
Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate; there plant eyes.
οἶσθ’ … ὡς … μὴ σφαλῇς;
dost thou know (how to act), — that thou mayest not come to harm? A modification of the phrase
οἶσθ’ ὡς ποίησον , in which
ποίησον is abruptly substituted for
δεῖ σε ποιῆσαι . So, here,
οἶσθα eagerly bespeaks attention to the advice: see on
O. T. 543
.
ὡς ἰδόντι
:
ὡς has a limiting force (as above,
20
),
Ant. 1161
ἦν ζηλωτός, ὡς ἐμοί
(cp. on
O. T. 763
). The dat. is that of the person
interested by the perception, as in
ὡς μὲν συνελόντι εἰπεῖν
(Xen.
An. 3. 1 § 38)
,
πολλὰ καὶ ἄλλα παραλιπόντι
(
Thuc. 2.51
),
συλλαμβάνοντι κατὰ τὸ ὀρθόν
(for one who rightly comprehends,
Her. 7.143
),
τῷ ἁπτομένῳ οὐ θερμὸν ἦν
(
Thuc. 2.49
), etc.
δαίμονος
,
sortis : so
1337
, and oft.: boldly in
fr. 587
μὴ σπεῖρε πολλοῖς τὸν παρόντα δαίμονα
, sow not the rumour of thy fate abroad.
μὴ κατ’ ἄστυ
is a comforting parenthesis.
μὴ is due to the preceding imperative
μέν’ : cp.
Thuc. I. 124
ψηφίσασθε τὸν πόλεμον, μὴ φοβηθέντες τὸ αὐτίκα δεινόν
:
Xen.
Cyr. 3.1.37
ἀπάγου τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τοὺς παῖδας, μηδὲν αὐτῶν καταθείς
: but it has, in itself, almost the effect of a reassuring injunction, "do not suppose that I mean." We could not make
οἱ ἐνθάδ’ αὐτοῦ μὴ κατ’ ἄστυ δημόται a single phrase, as=such of the folks as are not in the town, but here.
ἐνθάδ’ αὐτοῦ
:
Solon fr. 36. 11
τοὺς δ’ ἐνθάδ’ αὐτοῦ
(in Attica, as opp. to abroad): so
Eupolis fr. inc. 1. 4
(where Bothe after Meineke badly points
τῶν ἐνθάδ’, αὐτοῦ ), etc. The word
δημότης in
Ant. 690
,
Ai. 1071
=a common man as opp. to a chief. Here, as in Eur. (Aesch. has not the word) and Pind. (
Nem. 7. 65
),
δημόται are the "citizens" generally; though in this place the term is tinged with the notion of "demesmen."
εἰ χρή
. All our MSS. have
ἢ χρή (which Campbell retains); but, as between
ἢ and
εἰ in such a case, their authority is small: thus in
Aesch.
Cho. 994
, where
εἴτ’ is certain, L gives the senseless
ἤτ’ .
Epic usage allows
ἠὲ (
ἢ ), answered by
ἦε (
ἦ ), in an indirect question:
Il. 2.299
. But is there any Attic example of this construction? Three instances are indeed alleged from Aesch. (
P. V. 780
,
Cho. 756
,
890
), but they are most doubtful: see Appendix. Attic usage prescribed
εἰ (or
εἴτε ) as =
whether , introducing the indirect question: the correlative
or was usu.
εἴτε , but sometimes, as here,
ἤ .
ὄφρα δαῶμεν
ἢ ἐτεὸν Κάλχας μαντεύεται, ἦε καὶ οὐκί
ἡμὶν
, ethic dat.: do we find ourselves alone? Cp.
62
.
ἐν ἡσύχῳ
, in quiet case, nearly=
ἡσύχως , as
1675
ἐν πυμάτῳ
= "at the last": cp.
El. 384
νῦν γὰρ ἐν καλῷ φρονεῖν
.
μόνης πέλας
,
sc.
οὔσης
, a gen. absol. (we could not understand
ὡς ὄντι πέλας ἐμοῦ μόνης
): cp.
1588
:
O. T. 966
ὧν ὑφηγητῶν
,
sc.
ὄντων
.
πότνιαι
, fitting in his mouth, as being esp. their name at Thebes
(43)
.
δεινῶπες
: as looking sternly on sin
(42)
. The face of the Avengers is still terrible to his inner eye. Sophocles nowhere portrays the lineaments of the Furies, as Aesch. does (
Eum. 46-54
), but he leaves on the mind an impression not less awful.
εὖτε
:
νῦν ἔκαμψα ἐπὶ ἕδρας (
gen. sing. )
ὑμῶν πρώτων (possess. gen.)
τῆσδε γῆς (partitive gen.).
ἐπί can be so placed since
ὑμῶν is possessive gen. (=
ὑμετέρας
): cp.
126
,
O. T. 177
ἀκτὰν πρὸς ἑσπέρου θεοῦ.
ἔκαμψα
(
sc.
γόνυ ) absol., as
Eur.
Hec. 1079
πᾶ βῶ, πᾶ στῶ, πᾶ κάμψω;
ἀγνώμονες
, without
γνώμη , hence,
inconsiderate ; and so,
unfeeling :
Tr. 473
φρονοῦσαν θνητὰ κοὐκ ἀγνώμονα
,
i.e. not refusing to make allowance for human frailty.
Xen.
Mem. 2.8.5
ἀγνώμονι κριτῇ περιτυχεῖν
, to fall in with a judge who makes no allowance. But
ἀγνώς
= "undiscerning,"
O. T. 677
.
ἐξέχρη
, since in Attic
χράω contracts in
η :
Tyrtaeus 3. 3
:
Pind.
Ol. 7.92
Ἀπόλλων
χρυσοκόμης ἔχρη πίονος ἐξ ἀδύτου
ἔχρεον
(
v.l.
ἔχραον ):
Lucian
Alex. 22
ἔχρα καὶ ἐθέσπιζε
(common dialect).
τὰ πόλλ’, cp.
El. 564
τὰ πολλὰ πνεύματ’
, those frequent winds. The prophecy was made to Oedipus at Delphi when he went thither in his youth from Corinth, to ask whether he was indeed the son of Polybus, the Corinthian king, and Meropè. The god did not solve his doubt,—
ἄλλα δ’ ἄθλια καὶ δεινὰ καὶ δύστηνα προὔφηνεν λέγων
(
O. T. 789)
. Eur. makes Oedipus, while still at Thebes, tell Antigone of a
χρησμός which doomed him to die at
ἱερὸς Κολωνός (
Phoen. 1705 ff.
). Far more poetical is the conception of Sophocles, that Apollo had appointed the
sign , but not named the
place.
ταύτην ἔλεξε παῦλαν
: spoke of this as a rest. The pronominal object of the verb, instead of being
τοῦτο , is assimilated to the gender of the predicate
παῦλαν : cp.
Plat.
Crat. 433E
λέγει... εἶναι ταύτην ὀρθότητα ὀνόματος, ξυνθήκην
, he says that in
this consists the correctness of a word,—convention:
Lysias or. 12 § 37
ταύτην γὰρ ἐσχάτην δίκην δυνάμεθα παρ’ αὐτῶν λαβεῖν
,
this (death) is the extreme penalty which we can exact from them.
ἐν χρόνῳ μακρῷ
: so
El. 330
:
Ant. 422
,
Ph. 235
, etc.: but
1648
χρόνῳ βραχεῖ
(without
ἐν ). The general Attic rule was to use
ἐν in such phrases as
ἐν πολλῷ, μακρῷ, ὀλίγῳ, βραχεῖ χρόνῳ, ἐν ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις, ἐν πολλοῖς ἔτεσιν . The instances in which
ἐν is omitted are comparatively rare in poetry, and very rare (usu. doubtful) in prose, with the exception of the phrase
ὑστέρῳ χρόνῳ which in prose usu. lacks
ἐν : it takes it, however, below at
614
and
Tr. 18
.
ἐλθόντι … βίον
. Apollo said:
αὕτη παῦλά σοι ἔσται, ἐλθόντι χώραν τερμίαν, ὅπου ἂν λάβῃς θ. ς. ἕδραν καὶ ξενόστασιν· ἐνταῦθα κάμψεις κ.τ.λ.
In the orat. obliqua, if the tense of the principal verb were primary (as
λέγει ),
ὅπου ἂν λάβῃς would become
ὅπου ἂν λάβω : since it is secondary (
ἔλεξε ), we have
ὅπου λάβοιμι . The part.
ἐλθόντι expresses the first condition to be fulfilled before the
παῦλα can be attained.
ταύτην is explained by
ἐνταῦθα κάμψειν.
τερμίαν is proleptic: in whatever land he should find the Semnae, that land was to be for him
τερμία ,
i.e. was to contain the goal of his wanderings. The word occurs elsewhere only in
Ant. 1331
,
τερμίαν ἁμέραν
, one's last day. It fits the metaphor of
κάμψειν , from rounding the post in the
δίαυλος (
κάμψαι διαύλου θάτερον κῶλον πάλιν
,
Aesch.
Ag. 344
), since
τέρμα oft.=
νύσσα or
καμπτήρ , the turning-post (
Il. 23.466
εὖ σχεθέειν περὶ τέρμα
).
σεμνῶν
: see on
43
.
ξενόστασιν
, quarters for strangers.
Pollux 9. 50
μέρῃ δὲ καὶ πόλεως καὶ πανδοκεῖον καὶ ξενὼν καὶ ὡς ἐν Ἰνάχῳ Σοφοκλέους
4
, πανδόκος ξενόστασις
. The word occurs only in these two places of Soph.: so
ἱππόστασις, βούστασις .
κέρδη μέν κ.τ.λ.
: with advantages, through my having settled there (
οἰκήσαντα ), for my entertainers, and ruin for the Thebans. The conjecture
οἰκίσαντα , "having founded," deserves to be carefully weighed. Cp. the poet. use of
κτίσας below
(715)
in regard to the invention of the curb: also
Aesch.
PV 250
. This favours
οἰκήσαντα .
κέρδη and
ἄτην , accusatives in appos. with the sentence
ἐνταῦθα κάμψειν τὸν βίον : the participle
οἰκήσαντα (in antithesis with
δεδεγμένοις , cp.
13
. This is better than to refer
κέρδη and
ἄτην to the person of Oed. (
τυφλὰς ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐλπίδας κατῴκισα
. On the other hand, the blessing to Attica turned on the
personal residence of Oed. therein at the close of his life: cp.
626
κοὔποτ’ Οἰδίπουν ἐρεῖς
ἀχρεῖον οἰκητῆρα δέξασθαι
ξένοι πρὸς ἀστῶν
) serves to bring out the point on which the
κέρδη and
ἄτη depend. For the
plur. acc. in appos. cp.
Eur.
Alc. 6
καί με θητεύειν πατὴρ
...τῶνδ’ ἄποιν’ ἠνάγκασεν
"having dwelt there as a blessing"
etc.), which would suit
ἄτην , but hardly the plur.
κέρδη ,—used here instead of
κέρδος (cp.
579
) because the "blessings" were to be felt in many ways and on many occasions (see
1524 ff.
).
τοῖς πέμψασιν
is supplemented by
ἀπήλασαν , since
πέμπειν can be said of those who "speed the parting guest":
Od. 15.74
χρὴ ξεῖνον παρεόντα φιλεῖν ἐθέλοντα δὲ πέμπειν
.
παρηγγύα
cannot mean "pledged,""promised" (
ἠγγυᾶτο ), but only "passed the watchword to me,"
i.e. "
told me, as
a sign. "
Xen.
Cyr. 3.3.58
παρηγγύα ὁ Κῦρος σύνθημα, Ζεὺς σύμμαχος καὶ ἡγεμών
,
"C. proceeded to pass the watchword, 'Zeus'"
, etc.
παρεγγυάω regularly has this sense (which sometimes passes into that of "exhorting," "encouraging" one another); or else that of "putting something into another's hand," "entrusting" it to him. The omission of the temporal augment in L and other MSS. is not a sufficient ground for adopting Herwerden's
φερέγγυα ("trusty").
ἢ σεισμόν, ἢ βροντήν τιν’
, some such sign as earthquake or thunder (
τινά with both): thunder is the sign given at
1606
.
τιν’ suggests that the god spoke merely of "signs": Oed. interprets. Cp.
schol. Aristoph.
Ach. 171
διοσημία δέ ἐστιν ὁ παρὰ καιρὸν χειμών
.
Plut.
Mor. 419 F
σύγχυσιν μεγάλην περὶ τὸν ἀέρα καὶ διοσημίας πολλὰς γενέσθαι
.
ἔγνωκα μὲν
is answered
(101)
by
ἀλλά μοι...δότε .
νυν , "then," seems better than
νῦν , (though this could stand,) since the oracle is the basis of his belief.
τήνδε τὴν ὁδὸν
: acc. of extension in space (with
ἐξήγαγε ), denoting the ground traversed: cp.
1686
:
Ph. 1223
κέλευθον ἕρπεις
.
οὐκ ἔσθ’ ὅπως οὐ
, which in grammatical order immediately follows
ὡς , can be thus placed because felt as one adverbial expression="
assuredly ": so often
ἔστιν ὅτε (="sometimes"),
οὐκ ἔστιν ᾗ ("in no wise"),
οὐδεὶς ὅστις οὐ ("everybody"), etc.
πτερὸν
: no outward sign had been given. The "omen" was in the leading of his will. Cp. the feeling in the
Odyssey (more spiritual here than the
Iliad ) that the gods sometimes act directly on the human mind by inspiring a thought at a crisis.
Od. 16.282
(Odysseus to his son, when planning to slay the suitors)
: which anticipates such a
πτερόν as is meant here. For
πτερόν as=
οἰωνός or
ὄρνις (=
ὁππότε κεν πολύβουλος ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θήσει Ἀθήνη,
νεύσω μέν τοι ἐγὼ κεφαλῇ
πάνθ’ ὅσαπερ περὶ μαντείας διακρίνει
Aristoph.
Av. 719
), Schneidewin cp.
Callimachus
Lav. Pall. 124
ποίων
5
οὐκ ἀγαθαὶ πτέρυγες
,
Propert. 4. 10. 11
felicibus edita pennis
(with happy auguries).
ἐξήγαγ’
,
i.e. "to my goal" (
ἐξ‐ ), not, "aside from the highway."
Plat.
Phaedo 66B
κινδυνεύει τοι ὥσπερ ἀτραπός τις ἐκφέρειν ἡμᾶς
(and so
Soph.
Ai. 7
).
οὐ γὰρ ἄν
, "for
else ," etc., the suppressed protasis being
εἰ μὴ ἐξήγαγε
: so
125
:
O. T. 82
, and Appendix to
O. T.
p. 221.
νήφων ἀοίνοις
; the austere wanderer lights first on the shrine of the austere goddesses (
ὡς αἰεὶ τὸν ὁμοῖον ἄγει θεὸς ὡς τὸν ὁμοῖον
);
νήφων implying the thought that he has been in a manner consecrated to suffering. Water, and honey mixed with milk (
μελίκρατον
), formed the
χοὰς ἀοίνους, νηφάλια μειλίγματα
(Aesch.
Eum. 107)
of the Furies.
Pollux 6. 26
τὸ γὰρ νηφαλιεύειν τὸ νηφάλια θύειν ἔλεγον, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τὸ χρῆσθαι θυσίαις ἀοίνοις, ὧν τὰς ἐναντίας θυσίας οἰνοσπόνδους ἔλεγον
. Photius
s. v.
νηφάλιοι θυσίαι ,
ἐν αἷς οἶνος οὐ σπένδεται, ἀλλὰ ὕδωρ καὶ μελίκρατον
.
ἀσκέπαρνον
(cp.
19
), not shaped by the adze (
σκέπαρνος,
fr. 724
): so Soph. is quoted by Hesychius
(1. 90)
for
ἀδρέπανον
(from
δρεπάνη
).
βίου … πέρασιν … καὶ καταστροφήν τινα
, some ending of life,—some close to my course.
βίου πέρασις is
τὸ περᾶν τὸν βίον , a passing through life to its end, a concluding of it (
Eur.
Andr. 101
τὴν τελευταίαν...περάσας ἡμέραν
):
καταστροφή adds the notion of a career which approaches its goal.
Thuc. 2.42
(of those who had fallen in the war)
δοκεῖ δέ μοι δηλοῦν ἀνδρὸς ἀρετὴν πρώτη τε μηνύουσα καὶ τελευταία βεβαιοῦσα ἡ νῦν τῶνδε καταστροφή
(the closing scene of their lives).
Polyb. 5. 54
τὴν αὐτὴν ἐποιήσαντο τοῦ βίου καταστροφήν
.
ὀμφὰς
: see on
550
.
μειόνως ἔχειν
=
μείων εἶναι
. This euphemistic mode of expression with the comparative adverb is often found where censure or disparagement is to be conveyed less bluntly.
Plat.
Phaedo 75A
ὀρέγεται μὲν πάντα ταῦτα εἶναι οἷον τὸ ἴσον, ἔχει δὲ ἐνδεεστέρως
(repeated just afterwards thus,
αὐτοῦ ἐνδεέστερά ἐστιν
):
Apol. 34 C
τάχ’ ἂν οὖν τις ταῦτα ἐννοήσας αὐθαδέστερον ἂν πρός με σχοίη
, =
αὐθαδέστερος ἂν εἴη :
Legg. 932 A
ἐάν τις ἐν τῇδε τῇ πόλει γονέων ἀμελέστερον ἔχῃ τοῦ δέοντος
=
ἀμελέστερος ᾖ . Oedipus says to the Furies: "Grant me rest, unless haply (
τι , adv., as
O. T. 969
, here with bitter irony) I seem
to be beneath such grace ,—I, who have suffered so much and so long."
μειόνως ἔχειν means here to be
μείων in the sense of "
too insignificant ," "
of too little account ," in respect of suffering:
i.e. , one who
has not yet suffered enough. Thus we arrive at the same
sense which the scholiast extorts by a
method which seems impossible. He explains
μειόνως ἔχειν as =
ἐλαττόνως ἔχειν τὰ κακά , "to
have ills in too small a degree." But (1) as Herm. said, this would be
μεῖον or
μείω ἔχειν , and (2) it is impossible to
understand
τὰ κακά . Campbell thinks that
μειόνως ἔχειν λατρεύων =
μειόνως ἔχειν λατρευμάτων : which is open to objection (1), and also to this, that the partic.
λατρεύων could not do duty for a partitive gen. after
ἔχειν . Wecklein (who follows the schol.) suggests
μειόνως ἔχειν κακῶν , and
ἀεί for
βροτῶν in
105
.
μόχθοις λατρεύων
:
Aesch.
Ag. 217
ἀνάγκας ἔδυ λέπαδνον
:
Eur.
Suppl. 877
χρημάτων ζευχθεὶς ὕπο
(in bonds to lucre).
Tr. 357
πόνων λατρεύματα
(servitude
in toils) is not similar.
ἴτ’
, in urgent petition, as
248
,
O. T. 46
ἴθ’...ἀνόρθωσον
:
1413
ἴτ’, ἀξιώσατ
.
γλυκεῖαι
, with blandishment, as
Tr. 1040
ὦ γλυκὺς Ἅιδας
. No other poet of the class. age (I think) ventures on this use of
γλυκύς
in addressing deities, which, indeed, is somewhat apt to recall the Aristophanic
ὦ γλύκων, ὦ γλυκύτατε
.
Σκότου
: on
40
.
Παλλάδος
, possessive gen. with
καλούμεναι : Athens, thou that art said to belong to Pallas, of all cities most honoured:
Eur.
Ion 8
:
ib. 311
ἔστιν γὰρ οὐκ ἄσημος Ἑλλήνων πόλις,
τῆς χρυσολόγχου Παλλάδος κεκλημένη
Λοξίου κεκλήμεθα
, I am called (the servant) of Apollo.
εἴδωλον
(cp.
393
), a mere wraith, with the semblance and speech of the man,
ἀτὰρ φρένες οὐκ ἔνι πάμπαν
, but the living heart is not therein (as Achilles says of the
εἴδωλον
of Patroclus,
Il. 23.104
). So the wraith of Helen is
εἴδωλον ἔμπνουν,
Eur.
Helen 34
.
οὐ γὰρ δὴ τό γ’
. After
:
El. 1020
τόδ’
in
109
a second
τόδ’ here would be very awkward: and the article, if not necessary, is at least desirable.
οὐ γὰρ δή is esp. used in rejecting an alternative to something already stated, and
γε is often added with the force of "at any rate"; below,
265
οὐ γὰρ δὴ τό γε
σῶμ’
οὐ γὰρ δὴ κενόν γ’ ἀφήσομεν
:
Ph. 246
οὐ γὰρ δὴ σύ γ’ ἦσθα ναυβάτης
. On the other hand
οὐ γὰρ δή
without
γε
occurs
O. T. 576
,
Ant. 46
. The grove being close to the village, the man of the place has done his errand quickly, and the elders of Colonus are already heard approaching (cp.
78
).
χρόνῳ
, dat. of circumstance with
παλαιοί , old in respect of their years,
i.e. "aged." The phrase (an unusual one) does not seem to be intensive, as Campbell makes it, "very old" (
γονῇ γενναῖε
in
O. T. 1469
is not similar), but simply pleonastic, as in
Od. 13.432
παλαιοῦ... γέροντος
, an old man of many years.
ἐπίσκοποι
here=
speculatores , explorers, but in
Ant. 217
overseers, watchers, and
ib. 1148
of Dionysus, "master" (of mystic rites).
καὶ σύ μ’ ἐξ ὁδοῦ πόδα κρύψον
all MSS. (1) This is usu. explained by partitive apposition (
σχῆμα καθ’ ὅλον καὶ μέρος ), the part
πόδα being in appos. with the whole
με : "Hide me,—that is, my foot,—apart from the road." The construction is common (
Ph. 1301
μέθες με...χεῖρα
,
Hom.
Il. 11.240
τὸν δ’ ἄορι πλῆξ’ αὐχένα
): the question here is as to the sense.
ἄγαγέ με πόδα could bear such a sense: but
κρύψον με πόδαcannot do so, unless we grant that
κρύπτειν πόδα could mean "to
guide another's steps
to a hiding place." Wholly different is
Eur.
Hec. 812
ποῖ μ’ ὑπεξάγεις πόδα;
"whither art thou withdrawing thy steps from me?" =
ποῖ με φεύγεις ; (2) Paley thinks that
πόδα is "quite redundantly used," as if
ἄγουσα had been part of the sentence. The evidence cited for a "redundant" use of
πόδα consists in (
a ) the phrase
βαίνω πόδα ,
Eur.
El. 1173
etc., where
βαίνω is trans.: (
b ) one place,
Eur.
Alc. 1153
ἀλλ’ εὐτυχοίης, νόστιμον δ’ ἔλθοις πόδα
: where,
if right,
π. is a bold cognate acc., come with returning foot: but
ὁδόν and
δόμον are
vv. ll. (3) Campbell takes
με as governed,
πρὸς τὸ σημαινόμενον , by
κρύψον πόδα as=
ὑπέξαγε : but this involves the difficulty noticed under (1). I regard as probable H. Keck's
ἐκποδὼν ὁδοῦ . Cp.
Eur.
Phoen. 978
χθονὸς τῆσδ’ ἐκποδών
. No substitute for
πόδα is satisfactory: among the conjectures are
κόρα, μέ ποι, πάλιν, πέλας, πέρα, πρόσω, τάχα, τόδε, τόδ’ ἄψ .
τῶνδ’ … ἐκμάθω τίνας λόγους ἐροῦσιν
, learn
in regard to these men what they will say; not, learn
from them (by speaking to them), since his present object is only to overhear them, unseen. This gen. of connection often goes thus with verbs of perceiving, etc.:
Xen.
Mem. 3.6.17
ἐνθυμοῦ τῶν εἰδότων ὅτι λέγουσι
.
Plat.
Gorg. 517C
ἀγνοοῦντες ἀλλήλων ὅτι λέγομεν
. Distinguish
593
ὅταν μάθῃς μου νουθέτει,
when thou hast learnt
from me.
ἐν γὰρ τῷ μαθεῖν
:
i.e. "for in learning (how the people of the place are disposed) consists the caution of (proper for) all that we are doing": we are poor strangers, who must be prepared to shape our course according to the mood of the
ἀστοί
(13)
. The spondee can stand in the 5th place, since
ἐν , to which
γάρ adheres, itself coheres closely with
τῷ μαθεῖν : so
El. 376
εἰ γὰρ τῶνδέ μοι
(where, as here, Elms. proposed
δὲ instead of
γὰρ ):
ib. 409
τῷ τοῦτ’ ἤρεσεν
; cp.
664
.
τῶν ποιουμένων
: so
El. 84
(just before an exit, as here):
. The
γνώμη here, though perhaps meant to mark the caution taught by bitter experience (cp.
273
), has the tone of Periclean Athens: cp.
Thuc. 2.40
(it is a mischief)
ταῦτα γὰρ φέρει
νίκην τ’ ἐφ’ ἡμῖν καὶ κράτος τῶν δρωμένων
μὴ προδιδαχθῆναι...λόγῳ πρότερον ἢ ἐπὶ ἃ δεῖ ἔργῳ ἐλθεῖν
:
3. 42
(Diodotus answering Cleon)
τοὺς...λόγους... διδασκάλους τῶν πραγμάτων
. Commentary on Sophocles: Oedipus at Colonus. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. 1899.
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