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201-595

The first

ἐπεισόδιον

falls into two principal parts. In the first (201—332), the hero's plight is made clear by the exchange of tidings between Tecmessa and the Chorus, each learning what the other has to tell. In the second part (333—595), Ajax himself speaks with the Chorus and Tecmessa; his words foreshadow a resolve to die. The first part opens with a kommos between the Chorus and Tecmessa (201—262); the second, with a kommos between the Chorus and Ajax (348—429).

vαὸς ἀρωγοὶ , i.e., rendering service in it; Ajax addresses them as

γένος ναΐας ἀρωγὸν τέχνας

(356). The Iliad (2. 557) assigns twelve ships to Ajax.

γενεᾶς : for the gen., cp. Plat. Prot. 316B

Ἀπολλοδώρου υἱός, οἰκίας μεγάλης.

χθονίων ἀπ’ Ἐρεχθειδᾶν : for

ἀπὸ

with ref. to descent, cp. Ant. 193

παίδων τῶν ἀπ’ Οἰδίπου

Erechtheus,

ὁ γηγενής

( Her. 8. 55 ), ‘whom Earth, the grain-giver, brought forth, and Athena, daughter of Zeus, fostered’ ( Il. 2. 547 ), is representative of the Athenian claim to be

αὐτόχθονες

. It was in his reign, acc. to Her. 8. 44 , that the folk once called

Κραναοί

, and then

Κεκροπίδαι

, were first named

Ἀθηναῖοι

. For

Ἐρεχθεῖδαι

as=

Ἀθηναῖοι

, cp. Pind. I. 2. 19

κλειναῖς Ἐρεχθειδᾶν χαρίτεσσιν ἀραρὼς | ταῖς λιπαραῖς ἐν Ἀθάναις

, ‘having attained to the glorious honours given by the Erechtheidae in shining Athens.’ (In Soph. Ant. 981 f., however, the patronymic has a narrower sense, denoting merely the family of Erechtheus.) So, again, the Athenians are

Θησεῖδαι

( Soph. O. C. 1066 ), the Thebans

Καδμεῖοι

, the Trojans or Romans Aeneadae; and an unknown poet (frag. adesp. 274) calls the Argives

χθονίους Ἰναχίδας

, where Hesychius explains the adj. by

αὐτόχθονας καὶ οὐκ ἐπήλυδας

,— the sense of χθονίων here. (Cp. O. C. 948 n.)

Salamis is in this play a kingdom independent of Athens, but the Salaminians are of Athenian stock, and revere ‘sacred Athens’ (1222) as the metropolis of their race. See Introduction, § 4.

τηλόθεν instead of

τηλοῦ

: cp. Tr. 315

γέννημα τῶν ἐκεῖθεν

(n.). It goes with

τοῦ..οἴκου

, not with

κηδόμενοι

ὠμοκρατὴς denotes the rugged, massive, untamed strength of Ajax, and is meant to suggest a contrast with his present affliction; so 548

ὠμοῖς..νόμοις

, 885

ὠμόθυμος

, 931

ὠμόφρων

. (The word was absurdly taken by some to mean, ‘with strong shoulders,’—as the Iliad mentions his

εὐρέας ὤμους

, 3. 227.)

θολερῷ (

θολός, ὁ

, mud), ‘turbid,’ with ref. to his clouded mind: cp. Her. 4. 53 (of a river)

ῥέει τε καθαρὸς παρὰ θολεροῖσι

. So Aesch. P. V. 885

θολεροὶ δὲ λόγοι παίουδ’ εἰκῇ | στυγνῆς πρὸς κύμασιν ἄτης

,—words turbid with passion.— χειμῶνι : cp. Soph. Ph. 1194

ἀλύοντα χειμερίῳ | λύπᾳ

: ib. 1460

χειμαζομένῳ.

νοσήσας , ‘stricken’: this aor., in the ‘ingressive’ sense (‘ fell ill’), is frequent in Attic: e.g. Thuc. 1. 138 § 4

νοσήσας τελευτᾷ τὸν βίον

: Plat. Tim.p. 84 C

ὅταν..νοσήσῃ

τί δὲ βάρος ἐνήλλακται νὺξ ἥδε τῆς ἡμερίας ; ‘And what heaviness (heavy trouble) has the past night received in exchange for the (already grievous) fortune of the day?’ ἐνήλλακται in a midd. sense; cp. Diod. frag. 60

ἐγένετο βασίλισσα ἰδιωτικῆς ἑστίας ἐξηλλαγμένη ἡγεμονίαν

. The fact that

ἤλλαγμαι

has more often a passive sense in Attic is quite compatible with such an exceptional use; thus Antiphon can say,

τὸν πλοῦν πεποιημένος

( or. 5 § 21 ), and

τετιμωρημένος ἑαυτόν

(

β. β.

§ 8). But it is more doubtful whether such a notion as

μοίρας, πράξεως

, or

καταστάσεως

can here be supplied with

τῆς ἡμερίας

. The parallels adduced are such as

ἡ ἑῴα, ἡ ἑωθινή, ἡ ὀψία, ἡ πρωΐα, τὴν θερείην

(‘in summer,’ Her. 1. 189 ),

τὴν χειμερινήν

( id. 1. 202). There was indeed a tendency in Greek idiom to make substantives out of fem. adjectives; i.e. to use the fem. adj. alone, whenever the subst. (such as

γῆ, ὁδός, ὥρα, μοῖρα, δίκη

) could readily be understood. And that tendency must be considered here.

No tolerable emendation has been made. ἠρεμίας , ‘stillness,’ though possible, is very feeble. εὐμαρίας (=

εὐμαρείας

), which Nauck adopts, is directly contrary to the sense; for, even before the dread rumour arose, the Chorus had been disquieted by the long seclusion and inaction of Ajax (194 f.). ἀμμορίας , without some further definition (such as

τῆς πρὶν

), would be too vague. And the words νὺξ ἥδε suggest that there was some mention of day. On the whole, the traditional reading, though difficult, is less open to objection than any remedy which has been proposed.

The schol. in L has:

γρ. δὲ ἀημερίας ἀντὶ τῆς ἀηδοῦς φορᾶς

(‘unpleasant course’),

καὶ ἔσται ὁ νοῦς, ποῖον βάρος ἔλαβεν αὕτη ἡ νὺξ ἀπὸ τῆς προτέρας ἀηδίας;

This explanation of

ἀημερίας

ἀηδοῦς φορᾶς

and

ἀηδίας

indicates (I think) a reference, not to

ἡμέρα

—as if

ἀημερία

could mean

δυσημερία

—but to

ἥμερος

: the original scholium may have had

ἀνημερίας

(meant as ‘unkindly fortune’).

Φρυγίου Τελεύταντος . Cp. 331 : 488. Similar examples confirm this reading: fr. 796

Ἀλφεσίβοιαν ἣν ὁ γεννήσας πατήρ

(it is improbable that Sophocles wrote

Ἀλφησίβοιαν

): Aesch. Th. 488

Ἱππομέδοντος σχῆμα

: Suppl. 889

Παρθενοπαῖος, εἶδος ἐξοχώτατος

. ( Aesch. Th. 547 ,

Παρθενοπαῖος Ἀρκάς

, is rejected by many critics.) Indeed, such license was not strictly confined to proper names, to judge by Aesch. Ch. 1049

φαιοχίτωνες

Lobeck remarks that the father of Tecmessa is called Teuthras by Malela and others, Tethras by Cedrenus, and Teuthas by Tzetzes.

λέχος , concubine,

ὁμευνέτις

(501): being

δουριάλωτος

, she is

δούλη

(489). Cp. Tr. 360

κρύφιον ὡς ἔχοι λέχος

(Iolè).

σε … στέρξας ἀνέχει : lit., ‘having conceived a love for thee, he upholds thee,’— i.e., ‘he is constant in his affection for thee’: so Eur. Hec. 123

βάκχης ἀνέχων λέκτρ’ Ἀγαμέμνων

, ‘constant to’ her bed. (In Soph. O. C. 674 , where

τὸν οἰνῶπ’ ἀνέχουσα κισσὸν

is the common reading, we should probably read

τὸν οἰνωπὸν ἔχουσα κισσόν

ὑπείποις , ‘hint,’ ‘give a clue’: they do not yet surmise, from her words in 205—207, with what terrible fulness of detail she can speak.

λέγω , subjunct.

θανάτῳ … ἴσον : O. C. 529

θάνατος μὲν τάδ’ ἀκούειν

. In the Creusa, fr. 332, Sophocles used

ἰσοθάνατον

as=

οὐ πάνυ ἀνεκτόν

, acc. to Pollux 6. 174.

μανίᾳ γὰρ : notice the

γάρ

in two successive clauses ( El. 180 n.): here it prefaces the statement ( O. T. 277 n.).— ἡμὶν , ethic dat.: El. 272.

νύκτερος , adverbial: cp. 930

πάννυχα καὶ φαέθοντ’ ἀνεστέναζες

. Il. 1. 497

ἠερίη δ’ ἀνέβη

. The word is irregularly placed, as if the speaker had meant to designate Ajax by

ὁ κλεινὸς

only, and had then added

Αἴας

: for similar irregularities, cp. El. 693 f., n.

ἀπελωβήθη , a somewhat rare pass. aor.: Ph. 330

ἐξελωβήθην

: Plat. Gorg. 473 C

λώβας..λωβηθείς

τοιαῦτ’ , introducing the ground for the statement; cp. 164 n.— αἱμοβαφῆ : cp. 95

ἔβαψας ἔγχος εὖ..;

χρηστήρια , with tragic pathos, since the word denoted holy sacrifices to the gods (properly, before consulting an oracle): Aesch. Theb. 230

σφάγια καὶ χρηστήρια | θεοῖσιν ἔρδειν

. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 645

παιᾶνα τόνδ’ Ερινύων

221-232

A strophe, to which vv. 245—256 form the antistrophe. For the metres, see Metrical Analysis.

ἀνέρος … ἀγγελίαν : for the objective gen., cp. 998 : Ant. 11

μῦθος.. φίλων

(n.).

αἴθονος , ‘fiery’; cp. 1088 : Aesch. Theb. 448

αἴθων..λῆμα

: in v. 147 the word is applied to a bright sword. This inflexion (instead of

αἴθωνος

) occurs elsewhere only in Hes. Op. 361

αἴθονα λιμόν

(Bergk's correction of the MS.

αἴθοπα

), a reading which is made certain by Aeschin. or. 3 § 184

λιμόν τ’ αἴθωνα κρατερόν τ’ ἐπάγοντες Ἄρηα

, and Callim. Hymn. Cer. 68

ἔμβαλε λιμόν, | αἴθωνα, κρατερόν

: where the fig. sense of the epithet is ‘fierce.’

The v.l. αἴθοπος is impossible here, as in the verse of Hesiod; it could refer only to complexion. Cp. Eustathius p. 862. 10

φέρεται αἴθων βοῦς καὶ σίδηρος καὶ ἄνθρωπος καὶ λέων· αἴθοψ δὲ οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν λέγοιτ’ ἄν, ἀλλὰ τοὔνομα οἴνῳ μέλανι ἐπιτίθεται

. The variant was doubtless due, in both passages, to the rarity, for

αἴθων

, of the inflexion with ο : which is illustrated by the dat. pl.

νήφοσι

in Theognis 481, and by such alternative forms of the gen. as

Αἴσονος, Ἀκταίονος

, etc.

ἄτλατον οὐδὲ φευκτάν , unendurable, and yet one from which there is no escape: for

οὐδέ

as=

ἀλλ’ οὐ

, cp. El. 132 , El. 1034.

τῶν μεγάλων Δαναῶν are clearly not the Greek chiefs (

οἱ μεγάλοι βασιλῆς

, 189), but the Greek army at large. It is the popular fury that the Salaminians are now thinking of: in 228

περίφαντος..θανεῖται

alludes to public stoning, the

λιθόλευστον Ἄρη

of v. 253.

κλῃζομέναν , noised abroad by them: cp. Tr. 659

κλῄζεται θυτήρ

, he is rumoured to be sacrificing; and ib. 1268

κλῃζόμενοι | πατέρες

ὁ μέγας μῦθος : cp. 173

ὦ μεγάλα φάτις

(n.).

ἀέξει , αὔξει, increases by diffusing it. (Not, ‘exaggerates.’)

περίφαντος : cp. 1311

θανεῖν προδήλως

παραπλάκτῳ , frantic: Eur. H. F. 935

γέλωτι παραπεπληγμένῳ

. The adj. is more usually

παραπλήξ

. Cp. 40

δυσλόγιστον..χέρα.

συγκατακτὰς , slain in a confused heap, cattle and men together. (In Eur. Or. 1089

συγκατέκτανον

=‘ helped to slay.’) For the nonthematic aor., cp. Soph. Tr. 38

ἔκτα

(n.).— κελαινοῖς here suggests both the dark, gleaming metal, and the dark stains of blood upon it. Cp. Soph. Tr. 856

κελαινὰ λόγχα

(n.).

ξίφεσιν , poet. plur.: cp. Pind. P. 4. 242

Φρίξου μάχαιραι

: Eur. Ion 192

ἅρπαις

(the scimitar of Perseus). The dat.

ξίφεσιν

, following

χερί

, defines the instrument used (slain by the hand with the sword): cp. 310

ὄνυξι συλλαβὼν χερί

. Eur. Helen. 373

ὄνυχι..γένυν | ἔδευσε φοινίαισι πλαγαῖς

ἱππονώμας , ‘guiding horses,’ refers to riding in both the other places where it occurs ( Eur. Hipp. 1399 , of Hippolytus; Nub. 571, of Poseidon Hippius). Here, βοτῆρας , closely following βοτά , must mean the herdsmen who tended the sheep and oxen (=

ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις

, 27). It would be forced, then, to suppose that

ἱππονώμας

means ‘ tending horses,’—with ref. to the horses of the Greeks on the

λειμὼν ἱππομανής

(143 f.). That would be as if one said, ‘the cattle, and their herdsmen, who also tended horses.’ Herdsmen in charge of great flocks and herds, on a wide plain, and near a watchful foe, might well be mounted. It is no objection— and least of all, in an Attic tragedy— that the Homeric warrior does not ride. —The reading

ἱππονώμας

, instead of ἱππονόμους (‘horse-feeding’), is made certain by metre (v. 245), and is confirmed by the first hand in L (cr. n.).

ἄρα , ‘then,’ marks her new perception: cp. 927 , 934, 1026: Tr. 1172 , etc.

ἤλυθε . This form, not used by Aesch. , occurs only here in Soph. ; Eur. has it not only in lyrics ( Eur. Or. 813 , etc.), but also in dialogue ( Eur. El. 598 , Eur. Tro. 374 ).

ὧν (neut.), instead of

ἧς

, since ποίμνην is a ‘noun of multitude’; cp. O. C. 1070

ἄμβασις, οἳ κ.τ.λ.

(n.). Then τὴν μὲν ( sc.

ποίμνην

) follows

ὧν

, as it might have followed

ἧς

: cp. Thuc. 1. 2 § 3

τῆς γῆς ἡ ἀρίστη

, ib. 5 § 1

τὸν πλεῖστον τοῦ βίου

. Finally, τὰ δὲ ( sc.

βοτὰ

) refers to

ὧν

.—The antithesis to

τὴν μὲν

is given by

τὰ δέ

, not (as some have thought) by

δύο δ’

ἔσω , ‘within the house,’ refers to all the incidents that followed his arrival (

ἤλυθε

). Schneidewin wrongly joins ἔσω σφάζε (‘stach tot’), comparing Aesch. Ag. 1343

πέπληγμαι καιρίαν πληγὴν ἔσω

. But

σφάζε

denotes ‘cutting the throat,’ not ‘stabbing’; cp. 298 .

ἐπὶ γαίας , where they stood upon the floor; as distinguished from those animals which he caught up and rent asunder.

πλευροκοπῶν , slashing at their sides with his sword: a compound like

θαλαττοκοπεῖν

( Ar. Eq. 830 ),

μετεωροκοπεῖν

( Ar. Pax 92 ).

ἀργίποδας : for the rt. ARG, denoting ‘brightness,’ and its derivatives, cp. O. C. 670 n. As Ajax purposed to flog Odysseus (110), the ram which suffers that fate here might naturally be identified with him. The first ram, which is beheaded at once, might then represent Agamemnon; and Menelaüs would here be ignored. On this view, however, there is a discrepancy with verses 97—110, since both the Atreidae are there supposed to be dead, while Odysseus has still to suffer. Here one ram (Agamemnon) is slain, and the other (Odysseus) flogged, in rapid succession.

If the two rams are the two Atreidae, then Odysseus is ignored here. This would be consistent both with vv. 97— 110 and with 298—306. The flogging of the second ram here would correspond with the words

τοὺς δὲ δεσμίους | ᾐκίζεθ’

in 299 f. Then came the colloquy of Ajax with Athena (301); after which, he slowly regained his sanity,—before he had inflicted the lash upon Odysseus. That the ‘two rams’ are here the royal brethren might be suggested by the analogy of the two eagles in Ag. 115. On the other hand, the special ferocity with which Ajax treats the second ram rather indicates that it represents Odysseus. There would be no point in so distinguishing Menelaüs from Agamemnon. On the whole, it seems most probable that the poet meant Agamemnon and Odysseus, but was careless of strict consistency with vv. 97—110.

κεφαλὴν καὶ γλῶσσαν ἄκραν . He first shears off the head; then, still holding it, while the carcass drops to the ground, cuts off the end of the tongue; and next hurls both head and tongue from him.

ἄκρα γλῶσσα

can mean the extremity, the tip, of the tongue, as in Theocr. 9. 30

ἐπὶ γλώσσας ἄκρας

: so in Ph. 748

ἄκρον πόδα

is the heel. It could not mean, ‘the tongue from the roots,’

γλῶσσαν πρυμνήν

( Il. 5. 292 ).—It was customary to cut out the tongues of animals slain for sacrifice, and to offer them separately ( Od. 3. 332 : Ar. Pax 1060 ). But I doubt whether there is any reference here to the sacrificial custom; the act of Ajax rather expresses merely fierce hatred of a slanderer.

ῥιπτεῖ has the support of the MSS., not only here, but also in Ant. 131 , Tr. 780. In the latter place, it is confirmed by Athenaeus p. 65 F, for he has

ῥιπτοῦντα

in his paraphrase.

ῥιπτεῖν

, used only in pres. and impf., was current in Attic ( Ar. Eccl. 507

ῥιπτεῖτε χλαίνας

). It has good authority in Thuc. 5. 103 § 1 (

ἀναρριπτοῦσι

), and Cyneg. 9. 20 (

ῥιπτοῦσι

). In Tragedy it is nowhere required by metre; and Elmsley (on Eur. Heracl. 150 ) supposes that the tragic poets used only

ῥίπτω

. No difference of sense between

ῥιπτέω

and

ῥίπτω

can be clearly shown; though it has been fancied that

ῥιπτέω

implies the frequency or vehemence of the act ( iacto as compared with iacio).

ὀρθὸν ἄνω … δήσας : i.e., making the animal stand on its hind legs, with its forefeet lashed up to the pillar—as if they were the hands of a human prisoner.

κίονι , lit., ‘ at a pillar,’ a dat. of place (cp. El. 174 n.); not, ‘ to a pillar’ (

πρὸς κίονα

, El. 108 ).

ἱπποδέτην ῥυτῆρα , a leathern strap or thong, belonging to the harness of a horse,—such as the reins of a bridle ( O. C. 900

σπεύδειν ἀπὸ ῥυτῆρος

), or driving-reins ( Il. 16. 475 , where see Leaf). Hesiod Scut. 308

ῥυτὰ χαλαίνοντες

, ‘slackening the reins.’ Ajax makes a

διπλῆ μάστιξ

, a whip with two thongs, by doubling the strap. Cp. Aeschin. or. 2 § 157

λαβὼν ῥυτῆρα μαστιγοίην αἰχμάλωτον

λιγυρᾷ , Homeric: Il. 11. 532

μάστιγι λιγυρῇ

κακὰ δεννάζων ῥήμαθ’ , like

ὀνειδίζων ὀνείδη

: see on Ant. 759

δεννάσεις.

δαίμων : cp. O. T. 1258

λυσσῶντι δ’ αὐτῷ δαιμόνων δείκνυσί τις· | οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀνδρῶν οἳ παρῆμεν ἐγγύθεν

ἤδη τοι κρᾶτα . The reading of the best MSS., both here and in the strophe (221 f.), can be retained, if in the strophe we make the slight change of ἀνδρὸς to ἀνέρος . If, on the other hand, we strike out τοι here, then we must also change κρᾶτα to κάρα , or else, keeping

κρᾶτα

, change ἐδήλωσας in 221 to ἔδειξας or ἔφηνας . (The impf. ἐδήλους would be unsuitable.) Here τοι is quite in place, as introducing the comment. ἤτοι , as a correction of

ἤδη τοι

, is doubly impro bable, since

ἤδη

is emphatic, and

ἤτοι

would be somewhat weak. See Appendix.

κρᾶτα … κρυψάμενον , in token of grief and shame. Plat. Phaedop. 117 C

ἐγκαλυψάμενος ἀπέκλαιον ἐμαυτόν

: Aeschin. or. 2 § 111

τά γε δὴ καταγέλαστα παντελῶς, ἐφ’ οἷς οἱ συμπρέσβεις ἐνεκαλύψαντο

. Liv. 4. 12

Multi ex plebe spe amissa..capitibus obvolutis se in Tiberim praecipitaverunt.

ποδοῖν κλοπὰν ἀρέσθαι : cp. Aesch. Pers. 481

οὐκ εὔκοσμον αἴρονται φυγήν

: [Eur. ] Rhes. 54 (

νυκτέρῳ πλάτῃ

)

αἴρεσθαι φυγήν

. The verb here means, ‘to take up,’ ‘betake oneself to’; not ‘to win,’ ‘secure’: see Appendix on 75. For κλοπὰν , cp. Eur. Or. 1499

ἐξέκλεπτον ἐκ δόμων πόδα

θοὸν , properly the epithet of εἰρεσίας , is transferred to ζυγὸν (cp. Ant. 794 n.):

ζυγὸν ἕζομαι

, as Aesch. Ag. 183

σέλμα..ἡμένων

, Eur. Or. 956

τρίποδα καθίζων

ναῒ μεθεῖναι , ‘to let the ship go,’—

ἡνίας

, or the like, being understood. Cp. Eur. fr. 779

κρούσας δὲ πλευρὰ πτεροφόρων ὀχημάτων | μεθῆκεν

(‘he let his horses go’)

· αἱ δ’ ἔπταντ’ ἐπ’ αἰθέρος πτυχάς

. The elliptical use of

μεθιέναι

, with dat., in this sense, seems to be rare: but it is parallel with that of

ἐφιέναι

as= indulgere ( e.g. Plat. Rep. 388E

ὅταν τις ἐφιῇ..γέλωτι

τοίας : 164 n.

ἐρέσσουσιν , ‘ply,’—properly, to ply the oar; then, to put anything in lively motion; Ant. 158

μῆτιν ἐρέσσων

, ‘revolving’ thoughts in the mind. Cp. the elegiac poet Dionysius ap. Athen. p. 669 A

εἰρεσίῃ γλώσσης ἀποπέμψομεν εἰς μέγαν αἶνον

(‘by our swift strains will we waft him to the haven of fame’).

δικρατεῖς Ἀτρεῖδαι , the two princely Atreidae: cp. 390

τούς τε δισσάρχας..βασιλῆς

: O. C. 1055

τὰς διστόλους | ...ἀδελφὰς

, i.e., the two journeying sisters; and ib. 17 n.

πεφόβημαι : 139 n.

λιθόλευστον Ἄρη , a violent death by stoning; cp. Ant. 36

φόνον..δημόλευστον

. Aesch. Ag. 1616

δημορριφεῖς..λευσίμους ἀράς

. When, as here,

Ἄρης

stands for the notion of a ‘violent death,’ it always, of course, implies an onslaught; as in Soph. O. C. 1679

ὅτῳ μήτ’ Ἄρης | μήτε πόντος ἀντέκυρσεν

(death in battle, or by drowning): Aesch. P. V. 860

θηλυκτόνῳ | Ἄρει δαμέντων

, i.e., by the onslaught of murderous women. (In Pind. P. 11. 36

χρονίῳ σὺν Ἄρει

is best taken, with Gildersleeve, as =‘by tardy help of Ares.’) The initial A is long here (answering to the penult. of

συγκατακτὰς

in 230), as in 614, Soph. Ant. 139 , Soph. El. 96.

The accus. is, in the first place, object to πεφόβημαι , but is felt also as a cognate acc. to ξυναλγεῖν (like

ἄλγος ἀλγῶ

), and could be, further, an acc. of the inner object with τυπείς ( Il. 24. 420

ἕλκεα... ὅσσ’ ἐτύπη

): it is one of those cumulative constructions which Greek idiom (esp. in poetry) favours. Note that a simple inf. after

φοβοῦμαι

usu. denotes what one is afraid to do ( Aesch. Ch. 46

φοβοῦμαι δ’ ἔπος τόδ’ ἐκβαλεῖν

), but can also denote what one fears to suffer: Plat. Phaedop. 68 E

φοβούμενοι..ἡδονῶν στερηθῆναι

αἶσ’ ἄπλατος , a fate such that no one can approach him, or stand at his side, without being involved in his doom. The Nemean lion is

ἄπλατον θρέμμα

, Tr. 1093.

The words λαμπρᾶς ἄτερ στεροπῆς go with λήγει , not with ᾄξας : they stand first, because they express the foremost thought,—viz., that the violence of his frenzy is past. ‘Attended by the lightning-flash no more, the storm in his soul is subsiding, after a sharp outburst (

ᾄξας ὀξύς

), like the wind of the south.’ A key to these much-discussed verses may be found, I think, in a passage which seems to have been overlooked. The Greeks had observed that, when the

Νότος

was a stormy wind, it was accompanied by clouds; but, when gentler, by a clear sky: Problem. 26. 20 (p. 942 a 34)

ὁ νότος, ὅταν μὲν ἐλάττων ᾖ, αἴθριός ἐστιν, ὅταν δὲ μέγας, νεφώδης

. The mood of Ajax is now once more becoming

αἴθριος

, like the milder south-wind; lately it was like a fierce storm from the south, and

νεφώδης

, dark with the clouds from which the

στεροπή

of his madness was flashing. Compare the description of the mad Ajax by Arctînus in the Iliupersis ( ap. Eustath. p. 859. 47),

ὄμματά τ’ ἀστράπτοντα βαρυνόμενόν τε νόημα

.— For other views of this passage, and the attempts to amend it, see Appendix.

οἰκεῖα πάθη , those which one brings on himself: so El. 215

οἰκείας εἰς ἄτας | ἐμπίπτεις.

παραπράξαντος , having acted ‘at the side,’ i.e., ‘having had a hand in the matter,’—‘having contributed to the result.’ This sense nowhere else belongs to

παραπράσσω

(which in Her. 5. 45 means ‘to do something beyond’ one's proper task, and in Plut. Agis 16 ‘to exact unjustly’); but for the force of the prep., cp.

παραίτιος

( Aesch. Ch. 910 , etc.), as=‘partly the cause.’— Not, ‘having done amiss’ (=

παραβάντος

ὑποτείνει : lit., ‘lays to’ (or ‘beneath’) the mind: [Dem. ] or. 13 § 19

τὰς ἐλπίδας ὑμῖν ὑποτείνων

πέπαυται , sc.

ὁ Αἴας τῆς νόσου

: cp. 279 . The subject to εὐτυχεῖν is rather

ἡμᾶς

than

αὐτόν

: the thought is,

δοκῶ ὅτι εὐτυχοῖμεν ἄν

. Cp. O. T. 87

λέγω γὰρ καὶ τὰ δύσφοῤ, εἰ τύχοι | κατ’ ὀρθὸν ἐξελθόντα, πάντ’ ἂν εὐτυχεῖν

. In the omission of the subject to the inf., as in

πέπαυται

and in

τοῦ κακοῦ

, there is a shade of reticence which suits the recent sense of horror in the speaker's mind.

φρούδου γὰρ κ.τ.λ.: the gen. is not absol., but depends on λόγος . Cp. fr. 346

μύχθου γὰρ οὐδεὶς τοῦ παρελθόντος λόγος

. Their thought is that, if he is himself again, his value to the Greeks will plead for pardon of his frenzy.

πότερα is used, instead of

πότερον

, to avoid an anapaest, as in 460, and O. C. 333.

The words κοινὸς ἐν κοινοῖσι mean strictly, ‘a partner among partners,’ =

κοινωνὸς ἐν κοινωνοῖς

: cp. O. T. 239

μήτ’ ἐν θεῶν εὐχαῖσι μήτε θύμασιν | κοινὸν ποεῖσθαι

. Similarly kinsfolk can be termed

κοινοί

, as sharers in a common lineage ( O. T. 261 n.). The iteration,

κοινὸς ἐν κοινοῖς

, emphasises the idea of mutual sympathy: cp. 467

μόνος μόνοις

(and 1283

μόνος μόνου

), 620

ἄφιλα παρ’ ἀφίλοις

, and n. on Tr. 613.

τὸ … διπλάζον , intrans., ‘that which is double’ (cp.

ἰσάζω

, ‘to be equal’): but the verb is trans. in Andoc. or. 4 § 11

τὸν φόρον..διπλάσειεν

, unless we should there read

διπλασιάσειεν

Though οὐ νοσοῦντος (gen. abs.) is an easy and specious conjecture, yet οὐ νοσοῦντες is better; because (1) it gives a rhetorical antithesis to

ἀτώμεσθα

which suits her point; and (2) it suggests the identity of their interest with that of Ajax. The figurative sense of

νοσεῖν

is often found in juxtaposition with the literal, as in O. T. 60

νοσεῖτε πάντες, καὶ νοσοῦντες, ὡς ἐγὼ | οὐκ ἔστιν ὑμῶν ὅστις ἐξ ἴσου νοσεῖ

ἀτώμεσθα , i.e. we are worse off than before: the word is a forcible one ( cp. 384 ), but occurs elsewhere also where the sense is only comparative: Ant. 17

οὔτ’ εὐτυχοῦσα μᾶλλον οὔτ’ ἀτωμένη

: cp. ib. 314.

πῶς … ὅπως . The language here, to which groundless exception has been taken (cr. n.), expresses the musing wonder of simple minds.

οἷσιν εἴχετ’ ἐν κακοῖς =

κακοῖς ἐν οἷς εἴχετο

: cp. 1144 : Her. 9. 37

ἐν τούτῳ τῷ κακῷ ἐχόμενος

. The antecedent

κακοῖς

is drawn into the relative clause, though here its case is not thereby affected: cp. Ant. 404

θάπτουσαν ὃν σὺ τὸν νεκρὸν | ἀπεῖπας

φρονοῦντας is far better than the v.l. βλέποντας : it hints what is meant by the vague κακοῖς .

κἀνέπνευσε : after the actual cessation ( ἔληξε ), a brief space is still needed to permit

ἀναπνοή

. Cp. Il. 11. 382

ἀνέπνευσαν κακότητος

: and n. on O. C. 1113 f.

Instead of κεῖνος , we might have looked for

αὐτός

: but the former has been preferred, because it better marks the antithesis between Ajax and his friends.

πᾶς , adverbial: Ph. 386

πόλις γάρ ἐστι πᾶσα τῶν ἡγουμένων.

ἐλήλαται : Tr. 1045 (

συμφορὰς

)

οἵαις.. ἐλαύνεται

(n.). For the emphatic perf., cp. El. 64. Here it expresses that complete prostration has at once followed the return of sanity: cp. Plat. Phaedop. 80 D

ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ..ἀπαλλαττομένη τοῦ σώματος εὐθὺς διαπεφύσηται καὶ ἀπόλωλεν

ἆῤ =

ἆρ’ οὐ;

O. T. 822

ἆρ’ ἔφυν κακός;

El. 614.

δὶς τός’ =

διπλᾶ

. Cp. Il. 1. 213

τρὶς τόσσα..δῶρα

: Eur. El. 1092

δὶς τόσως

(‘in double measure’).— ἐξ ἁπλῶν : Soph. Tr. 619 (

χάρις

)

ἐξ ἁπλῆς διπλῆ

δέδοικα μὴ … ἥκῃ . Though ἥκει is tenable (‘I fear that it certainly has come’), ἥκῃ seems better, since there is still a real uncertainty and anxiety in their minds. See on El. 580. ( ἥκοι , which was the common reading, is of course impossible here.)

πῶς γάρ , sc.

ἄλλως ἔχει;

Normally,

πῶς γάρ

follows a negative statement, as in El. 911

οὐδ’ αὖ σύ· πῶς γάρ;

( sc.

ἔδρασας

): while

πῶς γὰρ οὔ

follows an affirmative, as ib. 1307

οἶσθα μὲν τἀνθένδε, πῶς γὰρ οὔ;

The use of

πῶς γάρ

here is thus peculiar, though the sense is clear.

εἰ πεπαυμένος κ.τ.λ. The fact that despair has succeeded to frenzy argues that he is under the spell of some angry god. When the malady passed away, his mind ought to have recovered a healthy tone. They had already hinted at a

θεία νόσος

as a possibility (186).

μηδέν τι : Eur. Andr. 1234

μηδέν τι λίαν

: Eur. Alc. 522

οὐδέν τι μᾶλλον οἶδα

ὡς ὧδ’ ἐχόντων

κ.τ.λ.

ὡς

marks the point of view to be taken: the gen. abs. presents the state of the facts as the condition under which one's opinion must be formed. Cp. Aesch. P. V. 760

ὡς τοίνυν ὄντων τῶνδέ σοι μαθεῖν πάρα

. Eur. Med. 1311

ὡς οὐκέτ’ ὄντων σῶν τέκνων φρόντιζε δή

. Thuc. 7. 15 § 1

ὡς..τῶν στρατιωτῶν..μὴ μεμπτῶν γεγενημένων οὕτω τὴν γνώμην ἔχετε

. Xen. An. 1. 3. 6

ὡς ἐμοῦ οὖν ἰόντος ὅπῃ ἂν καὶ ὑμεῖς, οὕτω τὴν γνώμην ἔχετε

. See also below, , .

τίς γάρ : for

γάρ

in question, cp. Ph. 161 , Ph. 327 , Ph. 651.

προσέπτατο , as if winged to its aim by the god; Aesch. P. V. 644 (the heaven-sent trouble)

ὅθεν μοι σχετλίᾳ προσέπτατο

: Eur. Alc. 420

κοὐκ ἄφνω κακὸν τόδε | προσέπτατ’

From the Homeric

ἔπτατο

( Il. 13. 592 , etc.) Tragedy borrows this non-thematic aor. (of which the active form would be

ἔπτην

): cp. 693 . The aor. of

πέτομαι

in Attic Comedy and prose is usu.

ἐπτόμην

(see Veitch, Irreg. Verbs, 2nd ed., p. 530): and of this we have the inf.

πτέσθαι

in O. T. 17 ,—again in accord with Homeric precedent ( Il. 4. 126

ἐπιπτέσθαι

τύχας depends on δήλωσον . The change to τύχαις , dependent on ξυναλγοῦσιν (cr. n.), is not only groundless, but injures the rhythm of the verse.

κεῖνος γὰρ : here

γὰρ

merely prefaces the narrative ( O. T. 277 n.).

ἄκρας νυκτός , as the context shows, means here, ‘at dead of night.’ The only other instance of

ἄκρος

so used (natural though the use is) seems to be Theocr. II. 36

τυρὸς δ’ οὐ λείπει μ’ οὔτ’ ἐν θέρει οὔτ’ ἐν ὀπώρῃ

οὐ χειμῶνος ἄκρω

(‘depth of winter’). Elsewhere

ἄκρα νύξ

means either (1) the beginning of night, nightfall, as in Aratus 775

ἄκρῃ νυκτί

: or (2) the verge between night and dawn, as ib. 308

ἀκρόθι νυκτός

. In Theophrastus De Sign. Pluv. 1. § 2 (p. 389 ed. Wimmer) the

ἀκρόνυχοι ἀνατολαί

of stars are their risings

ὅταν ἅμα δυομένῳ ἀνατέλλῃ

(

τὰ ἄστρα

), i.e. soon after sunset, at nightfall. The sense of

ἀκρέσπερος

varies like that of

ἄκρα νύξ

. In Hippocr. Epidem. 7. 653

ἀκρέσπερος φρίκη

is a chill at the approach of evening (as Galen Exeg. p. 418 explains); while in Nicander Ther. 25

ἀκρέσπερος

is explained by the schol. as=‘at the close of evening,’ ‘at nightfall.’ The latter is the sense of

ἄκρᾳ σὺν ἑσπέρᾳ

in Pindar P. 11. 10. [In H. A. 9. 34, p. 619 b 21, the words

ἄχρις ἑσπερίου

have been conjecturally changed to

τὴν ἀρχέσπερον

, from Athen. p. 353 B; or to

τὴν ἀκρέσπερον

: the sense required is ‘at nightfall.’]

λαμπτῆρες . These were braziers, raised on stands, in which pine-wood was burned, at once for light and for heat ( Od. 19. 64

φόως ἐμὲν ἠδὲ θέρεσθαι

). Od. 18. 307

αὐτίκα λαμπτῆρας τρεῖς ἵστασαν ἐν μεγάροισιν

, |

ὄφρα φαείνοιεν· περὶ δὲ ξύλα κάγκανα θῆκαν

, | ..

καὶ δαΐδας μετέμισγον

. As Helbig remarks ( Das Hom. Epos p. 78), the smoke thus caused explains why the Homeric

μέγαρον

is sometimes called

αἰθαλόεν

( Il. 2. 414 , Od. 22. 239 ).

For this mode of indicating the time, cp. Her. 7. 215

περὶ λύχνων ἁφάς

: Propert. 3. 8. 1

ad extremas..lucernas

: Aul. Gellius 3. 2

post primam facem.

ἔγχος : cp. 95 .

ἐξόδους ἕρπειν : cp. Thuc. 1. 15 § 2

ἐκδήμους στρατείας .. οὐκ ἐξῄεσαν.

κενάς , i.e., with no apparent object; cp. El. 1054

θηρᾶσθαι κενά

The general word, ἄκλητος , is defined by the two clauses in apposition with it,

οὔθ’ ὑπ’ ἀγγέλων κληθείς, οὔτε σάλπιγγός του κλύων

. Here the double οὔτε is more emphatic than a double

οὐδέ

: with the latter, the sense would be, ‘uncalled, and not summoned,’ etc. Cp. Tr. 391

οὐκ ἐμῶν ὑπ’ ἀγγέλων | ἀλλ’ αὐτόκλητος

. Aesch. Cho. 838

ἥκω μὲν οὐκ ἄκλητος, ἀλλ’ ὑπάγγελος

ἀφορμᾷς , intrans., as in Thuc. 4. 78 § 5

ἐκ τῆς Μελιτίας ἀφώρμησεν

(‘he started’): πεῖραν is cogn. acc.; cp. Plat. Parm.p. 135 D

ἡ ὁρμὴ ἣν ὁρμᾷς.

σάλπιγγος : a non-Homeric trait; . Cp. fr. 357

ἀσάλπιγκτον ὥραν

μέσην νύκτα.

πᾶς εὕδει στρατός . Cp. the phrases

περὶ πρῶτον ὕπνον

( Thuc. 2. 2 § 1),

nocte concubia

( Liv. 25. 9 § 8).

ὑμνούμενα ,

decantata.

Schol.

ἀεὶ θρυλούμενα ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων καὶ κοινά

. Plat. Rep.p. 549 D

καὶ ἄλλα δὴ ὅσα καὶ οἷα φιλοῦσιν αἱ γυναῖκες περὶ τῶν τοιούτων ὑμνεῖν

. Phorm. 3. 2. 10

cantilenam eandem canis.

γυναιξὶ κ.τ.λ.: cp. Eur. Heracl. 476

γυναικὶ γὰρ σιγή τε καὶ τὸ σωφρονεῖν | κάλλιστον

. In Ar. Lys. 514 f. the Attic wife describes a like incident:

τί δέ σοι ταῦτ’ ; ἦ δ’ ὃς ἂν ἁνήρ· | οὐ σιγήσει; κἀγὼ )σίγων.

κόσμον : cp. fr. 61. 4

αἷς κόσμος ἡ σιγή τε καὶ τὰ παῦρ’ ἔπη

μαθοῦς’ , literally, ‘having perceived’ hismood.

ἐσσύθη =

ἐσύθη

, an epic license allowed in narrative. Cp. Theog. 183

ἀπέσσυθεν

(3rd pl.).

συθείς

occurs in O. C. 119 , and

συθῶμεν

ib. 1724:

ἐσύθη

in Helen. 1302 (lyr.).

τὰς ἐκεῖ … πάθας : briefly described by Athena, 55—60. The Chorus knew no details (230 f.). τύχας (cr. n.) is a weaker v.l. The fem.

πάθη

occurs also in Ant. 979 and O. C. 7.

κύνας βοτῆρας : schol.

τοὺς ποιμενικοὺς κύνας· οὐ γὰρ ἀναιρεῖ κατὰ τὴν σκηνὴν ἄνθρωπον.

εὔερον is a certain emendation of εύκερων , which was doubtless due to a reminiscence of v. 64. (Bellermann, who retains

εὔκερων

, refers it to the horns of the rams; while Prof. Campbell, who also keeps it, says, ‘The word describes all the cattle, small and great, excepting the bulls, which have been mentioned separately.’) The form

εὔερος

(Attic for

εὔειρος

). from

εἶρος

, ‘wool,’ occurs in Tr. 675 (

οἰὸς εὐέρου

) and is proved by metre in Ar. Av. 121. The mention of the shepherd's dogs is naturally followed by that of the sheep.

ηὐχένιζε (a word not elsewhere found in classical Greek) means here, ‘beheaded,’ by a blow on the

αὐχήν

( cervix), or hinder part of the neck. (Cp. Pind. P. 2. 93

ἐπαυχένιον .. ζυγόν

.) The Homeric

δειρορομεῖν

( Il. 21. 89 , etc.) may have suggested

αὐχενίζειν

ἄνω τρέπων , turning the heads of the victims upwards, so as to expose the throats to the sword. Cp. Il. 1. 459

αὐέρυσαν μὲν πρῶτα καὶ ἔσφαξαν καὶ ἔδειραν

: where

αὐέρυσαν

is now explained as =

ἀv‐vέρυσαν

, by assimilation for

ἀν‐vερ

, ‘they lifted up’ the heads of the victims (not

αὐ ἔρυσαν

, ‘drew back,’ as it was formerly taken): see Leaf ad loc.

ἔσφαζε (235), cut the

σφαγή

, iugulum. The whole neck is

τράχηλος

, collum.

κἀρράχιζε : .

δεσμίους : cp. 239 ff.

ὥστε =

ὡς

, an epic use frequent with Aesch. and Soph. : Soph. O. C. 343 , etc.

φῶτας , here opposed, as

ἄνδρας

is in 64, to

θῆρας

: sometimes

φώς

is opp. to

θεός

( Il. 17. 98 etc.).

ὑπᾴξας is not a certain reading here; but (despite the fact that the first hand in L wrote

ἀπᾶξας

) it has, on the whole, at least as good authority as ἀπᾴξας . The latter makes good sense enough, ‘rushing away from me’; but

ὑπᾴξας

, expressing the sudden rush forward, as if towards something which had suddenly caught his attention, adds a picturesque touch which is absent from the other reading. For this sense of

ὑπό

in comp., cp.

ὑπάγω

, etc. The third possibility, ἐπᾴξας , would properly denote a rush onwards in a direction which had already been taken; and is thus less fitting here.

σκιᾷ τινὶ : Tecmessa, of course, followed Ajax to the door, but Athena was invisible to her: . Ajax seemed to speak with some phantom,—some creature of his brain.

λόγους ἀνέσπα ; the phrase denotes the abrupt, spasmodic manner in which his words were jerked forth. They were wild and incoherent (21—116). Cp. Plat. Theaet.p. 180 A

ὥσπερ ἐκ φαρέτρας ῥηματίσκια αἰνιγματώδη ἀνασπῶντες ἀποτοξεύουσι

. Menander

*(παπιζομένης

fr. 7

πόθεν τούτους ἀνεσπάκασιν οὗτοι τοὺς λόγους;

Ar. Ran. 903

τὸν δ’

(Aeschylus)

ἀνασπῶντ’ αὐτοπρέμνοις

(

‐ους

?) |

τοῖς λόγοισιν κ.τ.λ.

, (where the idea is that of tearing up trees by the roots; but the use of

ἀνασπᾶν

in ref. to a bold style is suggestive). Eustathius p. 679. 61

οὐ μόνον ἐπὶ φυτῶν τὸ ἀνασπᾶν λέγεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ ἀλαζονείας, ὡς δηλοῖ τὸ παρὰ Σοφοκλεῖ λόγους ἀνέσπα

Ἀτρειδῶν κάτα : for

κατά

placed after its case, cp. 969 .

ἀμφ’ Ὀδυσσεῖ : for

ἀμφί

with dat. in this sense, cp. 340 , 684: El. 1180

ἀμφ’ ἐμοὶ στένεις.

συντιθεὶς γέλων πολύν , ‘combining,’ ‘mingling,’ much laughter with the vaunts: cp. Suppl. 65

ξυντίθησι δὲ παιδὸς μόρον

, blends that theme with her lament.—Not, ‘fabricating,’ with reference to the unreality of the triumph.

γέλων , as in Ant. 647 : but

γέλωτ’

below, Ant. 382 , Ant. 958. Eur. too uses

γέλων

where it is metrically convenient ( Eur. Ion 1172 ). The form implies an Attic declension, like that of

νεώς

. In Hom. Od. 18. 350 and 20. 346

γέλον

should prob. be read; in the former place the MSS. give also

γέλω

and

γέλων

. Stems in τ are post-Homeric, as Monro observes ( Hom. Gr. § 107 n.).

ὕβριν is plainly that which he inflicts, not that which he punishes; though the latter would be suggested by the usual sense of

ἐκτίνεσθαι

, as in Eur. H. F. 547

μή ποτε Κρέοντος θάνατον ἐκτεισαίατο

(‘avenge’). Here the verb means, ‘inflict in vengeance.’

ἐκτείσαιτο (for the spelling, ), not ἐκτείσοιτο : the latter would be tenable only if

αὐτοῦ

could replace αὐτῶν . When he spoke with Athena, he fancied that he had already slain the Atreidae (100); and Odysseus, though reserved for further chastisement, was already

δεσμώτης

(105).

ἰών (=

ὅτε ᾔει

) adds animation; see on Ant. 768

δράτω, φρονείτω μεῖζον ἢ κατ’ ἄνδρ’ ἰών

ἐπᾴξας is better here than ἀπᾴξας . The regular sense of

ἐπᾴσσειν

is ‘to rush at,’ or ‘ against’; here it denotes that he rushes in again as if to renew the attack.

ἀπᾴξας

, on the other hand, would be somewhat awkward, since he was coming towards the speaker; and certainly cannot be defended by Tr. 693

εἴσω δ’ ἀποστείχουσα

, where Deianeira means, ‘as I was going away from you into the house.’ It is quite needless to write

ἐσᾴξας.

αὖθις … πάλιν : O. C. 1418 n.

μόλις πως , by some slow and painful process, which she cannot analyse. Plat. Prot.p. 328 D

μόγις πως ἐμαυτὸν ὡσπερεὶ ουναγείρας

. So

μόλις ποτέ

Helen. 896. For

πως

thus used, cp. also Il. 14. 104

μάλα πώς με καθίκεο θυμὸν ἐνιπῇ

, ‘thou hast strangely moved me.’

ἄτης , the havoc made by him; cp. Ant. 1260 (alluding to the corpse of Haemon),

οὐκ ἀλλοτρίαν | ἄτην

, ‘the work of no stranger's madness.’

)θώϋξεν . In O. C. 1624 this word begins a trimeter, the augment being omitted, as often in

ῥήσεις

(see O. T. 1249 n.): here, however, it is better to suppose aphaeresis. Cp. 1337

)κράτησα.

ἐρειπίοις is defined by νεκρῶν , wrecks consisting of corpses; and this phrase, again, by ἀρνείου φόνου , corpsewrecks of slain sheep. Thus both the genitives here serve to define; while in

λείας..βουκόλων φρουρήματα

(54), the first gen. defines, and the second is possessive. Cp. 465 , 616 f. The phrase

νεκρῶν ἐρείπια

occurs also in Eur. fr. 266. 2; and

χλανιδίων ἐρειπίοις

(which seems to verge on bathos) in frag. incert. 7 (ed. Nauck).

ἐρειφθεὶς : the pres. pass.

ἐρείπεται

(‘crashes down’) occurs in O. C. 1462 ; this aor., in Arrian Anab. 1. 21. 4 (of a tower)

οὐδὲ..χαλεπῶς ἂν ἠρείφθη

. Ol. 2. 47 has

ἐριπέντι

. The old v.l. ἐρεισθεὶς would mean, ‘supported on,’ but is wretchedly weak. The very fact that ἐρειφθεὶς follows ἐρειπίοις —that the slayer is prostrate among the slain—gives the word a singular force and pathos.

ἀπρὶξ … συλλαβὼν , tightly clutching: Plat. Theaet. 155 E

οὗ ἂν δύνωνται ἀπρὶξ τοῖν χεροῖν λαβέσθαι

. Cp. fr. 328. 3

τοῦ γε κερδαίνειν ὅμως | ἀπρὶξ ἔχονται

. The word is from the rt. of

πρίω

, as=‘to grip’ (1030 n.), with euphonic a: Aesch. uses

ἄπριγδα

( Aesch. Pers. 1057 ). Cp. the Latin phrase mordicus tenere.

ὄνυξι … χερί , with the hand, by the nails; both datives are instrumental, but one (

ὄνυξι

) more closely defines the other; f. (

χερὶ..ξίφεσιν

καὶ τὸν μὲν ἧστο πλεῖστον

κ.τ.λ.

The bold order of words is explained by

ἔπειτα

in 312: i.e., the thought is; ‘for one part of the time—the longest —he sat mute; then,’ etc. By separating

τὸν

from

πλεῖστον

, the writer obtains the same effect as if he had said,

καὶ πρῶτον μὲν καὶ τὸν πλεῖστον χρόνον κ.τ.λ.

τὰ δείν’ … ἔπη , ‘ those dread threats’ (which still haunt my memory): cp. 650 , 1226: Soph. Ph. 180

ποῦ δ’, ὃς τὰ δεινὰ τῇδ’ ἐφυβρίζει πόλει | Καπανεύς;

‘ those dread vaunts’ (of which we have heard). See Soph. Tr. 476 , and Appendix there, p. 192.

φανοίην . The optat. of the fut.

φανέω

is formed with the modal suffix ιη , like the pres. optat. of contracted verbs,

δρα‐ο‐ιη‐ν, δρῴην

. Cp. Xen. Cyr. 3. 1. 14

ἐροίη

(opt. of fut.

ἐρέω

): Platonic Epist. 7. p. 339 D

διαβαλοίην

ἐν τῷ πράγματος : cp. Ant. 1229

ἐν τῷ συμφορᾶς διεφθάρης

; Ph. 174

ἐπὶ παντί τῳ χρείας

The words κἀγώ, φίλοι, δείσασα are apologetic; she would gladly have spared him the details which his threats constrained her to relate.

πρὸς γὰρ κακοῦ τε : for the prep., cp. 581 , 1071. He always set forth, laid down as a rule,

τοιούσδε γόους ἔχειν πρὸς ἀνδρὸς κακοῦ

, pertain to him, are characteristic of him. The words,

πρὸς ἀνδρὸς κακοῦ κ.τ.λ.

, are equiv. to an adverb with the intrans.

ἔχειν

: i.e., as we can say,

γόοι ἀνάνδρως ἔχουσι

, so

γόοι ἔχουσι πρὸς κακοῦ ἀνδρός

. This intrans. use of

ἔχειν

with phrases of an adverbial kind is frequent with Herodotus; e.g. 2. 91

ἀγῶνα γυμνικὸν <*>ιὰ πάσης ἀγωνίης ἔχοντα

, ‘ consisting in every sort of contest’: see other examples on O. T. 709. —The alternative explanation is, ‘he taught that it (was) the part of a craven

ἔχειν γόους τοιούσδε

, to indulge in such laments.’

ἔχειν

would then be used as in Od. 24. 515

δῆριν ἔχουσι

. But this implies an impossible ellipse of

ἐ=ναι

after

ἐξηγεῖτο

βαρυψύχου , ‘heavy-hearted,’ lacking the buoyant spirit which quickly rallies itself from despondency. Ajax was emphatically a soldier. (The schol.'s paraphrase,

μικροψύχου

, conveys a different idea.) The word occurs nowhere else,

βαρυθυμος

being the usual term; but cp.

βαρύφρων

, and the post-classical

βαρυκάρδιος

. Plutarch illustrates the poet's meaning when he speaks ( Mor.p. 477 E) of men

ἐν ὀδυρμοῖς τὰ πολλὰ καὶ βαρυθυμίαις καὶ μερίμναις..διατρίβοντας

. So Heracles says, Tr. 1074 ,

ἀλλ’ ἀστένακτος αἰὲν εἱπόμην κακοῖς

ἐξηγεῖτ’ : the word implies authoritative exposition (as of the sacred law by the

ἐξηγηταί

), and suggests the submissive reverence with which Tecmessa listened to her lord.

ἀψόφητος … κωκυμάτων : cp. O. C. 677

ἀνήνεμον..χειμώνων

(n.).— ὑπεστέναζε , groaned low; cp. El. 79

ὑποστενούσης.

ὀξέων : Ant. 423

πικρᾶς | ὄρνιθος ὀξὺν φθόγγον.

ταῦρος ὣς βρυχώμενος : Theog. 832

ταῦρος ἐριβρύχης

. The word expresses deep, sullen tones, such as might come from a bull in pain: it usually implies a sound of anger or anguish, whereas

μυκᾶσθαι

can denote the mere lowing of oxen; hence Nonnus 29. 311

βρυχηδὸν ἐμυκήσαντο

. The unhappy conjecture βριμώμενος (‘snorting’) was prompted by a supposed inconsistency between

βρυχώμενος

and

ὑπεστέναζε

: but there is no reason why deep tones should not be also muffled.

νῦν δ’ contrasts his present behaviour with that described in 317. The contrast is not with

ὑπεστέναζε

(322), as though he were now wholly silent.

ἄσιτος . Od. 4. 788 (Penelope in her anxiety for Telemachus)

κεῖτ’ ἄρ’ ἄσιτος ἄπαστος ἐδητύος ἠδὲ ποτῆτος

σιδηροκμῆσιν : as the dead are

οἱ καμόντες, οἱ κεκμηκότες

, so

σιδηροκμής

is one who has died by the sword: cp. Aesch. Cho. 365

δουρικμῆτι λαῷ

: ib. 889

ἀνδροκμῆτα πέλεκυν

(an axe by which men die).

ὥς τι δρασείων , instead of

δρασείων τι

simply: cp. O. C. 630

ὡς τελῶν ἐφαίνετο

: Xen. An. 1. 5. 9

δῆλος ἦν Κῦρος ὡς σπεύδων

: Lys. or. 12 § 90

δῆλοι ἔσεσθε ὡς ὀργιζόμενοι.

δρασείων : cp. Ph. 1001

ἐργασείεις

(n.). Vesp. 168

ἄνθρωπος οὗτος μέγα τι δρασείει κακόν

τοιαῦτα is qualified by πως : something in his utterances, which she cannot define, suggests this. Cp. Xen. Cyr. 3. 3. 7

ἔλεξεν ὧδέ πως εἰς τὸ μέσον.

καὶ λέγει κὠδύρεται . The word ἥσυχος in 325 does not imply silence; it contrasts the quietness of his present demeanour with his former frenzy, and with the first vehemence (317) of his grief. His occasional words, or laments (such as

ἰώ μοί μοι

, 333), are in a tone which foreshadows the worst.

The verse is rejected by Nauck and others as though it were inconsistent with v. 325, and had been patched up from v. 383. There is no ground for this view. On the other hand, after

ἥσυχος

in 325, the fear expressed in 326 would be unintelligible, if no reason were subjoined. Bergk, who joins in condemning the verse, allows that Sophocles is usually careful of logical coherence in drama (‘pflegt .. sorgfältig zu motiviren’); but suggests that here the neglect of it might be ‘a mark of the archaic style’ ( Jahr. f. Class. Phil. 97. 378).

ἐστάλην , her (self-imposed) errand; cp. El. 404

οἷπερ ἐστάλην ὁδοῦ

: O. C. 20

προὐστάλης

εἰσελθόντες . Dramatic effect required that, instead of the Chorus literally complying with this request, the interior of the tent should be disclosed to them (346).

λόγοις . The φίλοι of the MSS. was doubtless in its origin a mere oversight, but may have been helped to keep its place in the text by the construction in 1353,

κρατεῖς τοι τῶν φίλων νικώμενος

Τελεύταντος : 210 n.

ἡμῖν could be joined with λέγεις : for we sometimes find a word devoid of emphasis standing first in a trimeter, though a slight pause follows; e.g. 847

ἴδῃς

: Aesch. Ag. 1130

οὐ κομπάσαιμ’ ἂν θεσφάτων γνώμων ἄκρος | εἶναι, κακῷ δέ τῳ προσεικάζω τάδε

: Aesch. P. V. 673

διάστροφοι | ἦσαν, κεραστὶς δ’ κ.τ.λ.

But on the whole it seems better to have a comma after

λέγεις

, and to take

ἡμῖν

as ethic dat. (‘to our sorrow’): though this, too, is slightly harsh; for such an ethic dat. ought not to stand first, but to follow some significant word, as in 216

μανίᾳ γὰρ ἁλοὺς ἡμὶν ὁ κλεινός

: El. 272

τὸν αὐτοέντην ἡμίν

διαπεφοιβάσθαι : the compound occurs only here.

φοιβάζω

, from

Φοῖβος

, meant ‘to inspire,’ as Apollo inspires the divine frenzy of

μάντις

or of poet; Anthol. 9. 525. 22

Φοῖβον, φοιβάζοντα, φιλοστέφανον, φιλογηθῆ

: Longinus 8 § 4

πάθος φοιβάζον τοὺς λόγους

. (The word could mean also ‘to utter prophetically,’ as in Lycophron 6

δαφνηφάγων φοίβαζεν ἐκ λαιμῶν ὄπα

.) Tecmessa has just described both the recent frenzy of Ajax—which she had already pictured in vv. 233 ff.—and his present despair. By

διαπεφοιβάσθαι

the Chorus mean that a malign power has taken permanent possession of his mind. The mental trouble outlasts the frenzy (279 f.). Both

διά

, and the perfect tense, serve to mark this. By κακοῖς they mean his troubles in regard to the arms of Achilles.

ἰώ μοί μοι . Cp. El. 77 , where a similar cry (behind the scenes) is a prelude to the heroine's entrance.

μᾶλλον : we understand

νοσήσει

, or the like.

ἢ οὐκ : the same crasis as in O. T. 555 , O. T. 993 , O. T. 1140.

Αἴαντος, οἵαν κ.τ.λ.: cp. 785

ὅρα..τόνδ’ ὁποἶ ἔπη θροεῖ

. As in 308

)θώϋξεν

marked the first pangs of his despair, θωΰσσει here denotes a fresh access.

τοῖς πάλαι νοσήμασι ξυνοῦσι =

τοῖς πάλαι ξυνοῦσι ν.

: for the irregular order, cp. Ph. 1316

τὰς..ἐκ θεῶν | τύχας δοθείσας

(n.). The sense is

τοῖς ν. ἃ πάλαι ξυνῆν

. If the order of words were normal, ξυνοῦσι would be predicate; ‘vexed by his former maladies, as they haunt him,’

ὅτε ξύνεστιν

. But then (1) the alternative to

ἢ νοσεῖν

is less clearly marked, since the old

νοσήματα

are, in a sense, still with him; and (2)

ξυνοῦσι

, as referring merely to a memory of them, is somewhat forced.

παρών , being, as he is, in the presence of his own handiwork. The implied antithesis is with what he might feel if told of things which he had done elsewhere, but which he could not see. Cp. 1131 , 1156.

ἰὼ παῖ παῖ . One of the signs that he is resolved to die is the way in which his thoughts dwell upon his son; he cannot rest till he sees him (530—544). The child is the heir of his fame, and may live to clear it of the stain (556 f.). As Eurysaces is not at once brought to him, he next cries (342), Τεῦκρον καλῶ : Teucer is his second thought, for to Teucer he will commit the care of his son (562).

Prof. Campbell understands

ἰὼ παῖ παῖ

as meaning Teucer, whom an elder brother might so address. Tecmessa, at least, did not so take the words.

ὤμοι τάλαιν’ : the nom. as in 800, El. 788 , and oft.

Εὐρύσακες , so named from the shield of Ajax (19): cp. 574 n. The first syll. of a dactyl in the third foot is usually either the last syllable of a word, or else a monosyllable; but proper names are exempt from the rule.

ἀμφὶ σοὶ : for the prep., cp. 303 : in 562 the sense is different.

ποῦ ποτ’ εἶ ; She had sent the child out of the tent, in charge of servants (531—539), and now fears that he has not been removed to a sufficient distance.

Τεῦκρον : the son of Telamon by Hesionè (1302), and half-brother of Ajax, whose mother was Eriboea (569).

τὸν εἰσαεὶ … χρόνον : the phrase

τὸν ἀεὶ χρόνον

is frequent. The separation of

τὸν εἰσαεὶ

from

χρόνον

deserves notice, as suggesting the possibility that

τὸν ἀεὶ

may sometimes have been used (without

χρόνον

) as=‘for ever’: a usage which, however, lacks proof: see on El. 1075. — λεηλατήσει : he had gone to the uplands of Mysia (720), ‘in pursuit of foes’ (564) to be despoiled. Cp. Thuc. 1. 11 § 1 (the Greeks at Troy)

φαίνονται...πρὸς γεωργίαν τῆς Χερσονήσου τραπόμενοι καὶ λῃστείαν τῆς τροφῆς ἀπορίᾳ

. The Iliad glances at such predatory expeditions ( e.g. 1. 366; 9. 328).—Note the light touch with which the poet accounts for the absence of Teucer—a necessity of the plot, since Teucer might have averted his brother's suicide.

ἀνοίγετε : a usual form of summons, addressed to no particular person, but to the inmates of the house generally; Aesch. Ch. 877

ἀλλ’ ἀνοίξατε

: Adelph. 4. 4. 26

aperite, aliquis.

Ajax had

πρόσπολοι

, though they were not at this time in the house (539).—We should not explain the plur. as addressed by the choregus to the choreutae and Tecmessa.

αἰδῶ … λάβοι : cp. Ph. 1078

φρόνησιν.. λάβοι

: Tr. 669 f.

προθυμίαν | ... λαβεῖν.

κἀπ’ ἐμοὶ : for this modest

καί

, cp. Ph. 192

εἴπερ κἀγώ τι φρονῶ

, and n. on Ant. 719. βλέψας should naturally go with

κἀπ’ ἐμοί

, though

βλέπειν ἐπί τινι

seems to occur nowhere else, and

ἐπιβλέπειν τινί

only in Lucian Astr. 20

καὶ σφίσι γινομένοισι τῷ μὲν ἡ Ἀφροδίτη τῷ δὲ ὁ Ζεὺς...ἐπέβλεψαν

(‘looked with favour’). The alternative is to take

ἐπ’ ἐμοί

as= ‘in my case,’ and

βλέψας

as epexegetic; but this is certainly harsh.

διοίγω : cp. O. T. 1287

διοίγειν κλῇθρα

, and ib. 1295.

πράγη , deeds: cp. 21 .

The

ἐκκύκλημα

is now pushed on through the central door. It was a small stage, but large enough to allow of Ajax being shown surrounded by some of the slaughtered animals. The word

πράγη

in 347, and the language of vv. 351 ff., show that the carnage was represented. The other plays in which Soph <*>es has used the eccyclema are the Antigone (1294, where see n.), and the Electra (1464 f., n.).

Ajax, sitting among his victims, and meditating his own destruction, was the subject of a famous picture by Timomachus of Byzantium. Philostratus ( Vit. Apoll. 2. 22 § 5) thus describes it:

τὸν Αἴαντα τὸν Τιμομάχου..ἀπεκτονότα τἀν τῇ Τροίᾳ βουκόλια καθῆσθαι ἀπειρηκότα

[cp. v. 325

ἥσυχος θακεῖ

βουλὴν ποιούμενον καὶ

ἑαυτὸν διαφθεῖραι

. The picture was at Cyzicus in 70 B.C. ( Cic. In Verr. 2. 4. 60 ), but was afterwards bought by Julius Caesar for the Temple of Venus Genetrix in Rome ( N. H. 7. 38 § 126). See Introduction § 20.

348-429

This kommos serves, like the last (201—262), as a lyric expression of tragic pathos; after which the situation is further developed, as in the former case, by iambic dialogue. But in one respect this kommos differs from its predecessor. In order to bring the mind of Ajax into fuller relief, the lyrics are given to him alone, while the Chorus and Tecmessa speak only trimeters.

The structure is as follows:—1st strophe 348—355=1st antistr. 356—363: 2nd str. 364—378=2nd ant. 379—393: 3rd str. 394—411=3rd ant. 412—429. For the metres see Metrical Analysis.

ἰὼ φίλοι ναυβάται : his first words mark the affection which was so deep in the rugged nature.

ἐμμένοντες : Cp. O. T. 351 (

τῷ κηρύγματι

)

ἐμμένειν.

ὀρθῷ νόμῳ , the right, sound rule of loyalty to friendship—which the Greek chiefs have forsaken.

ἴδεσθέ μ’ : for this midd. aor., cp. Ph. 351 n. The constr. is as in Aesch. P. V. 92

ἴδεσθέ μ’ οἷα πρὸς θεῶν πάσχω θεός.

κῦμα is the bloodshed; ζάλης , the storm of frenzy by which it was caused: cp. Pind. O. 12. 11

οἱ δ’ ἀνιαραῖς | ἀντικύρσαντες ζάλαις ἐσλὸν βαθὺ πήματος ἐν μικρῷ πεδάμειψαν χρόνῳ

. The epithet φοινίας , denoting the effect of the

ζάλη

( i.e., really belonging, in sense, to

κῦμα

), has a more vivid fitness than in Soph. O. T. 24 , where by

βυθῶν..φοινίου σάλου

is meant the pestilence.

ἀμφίδρομον , ‘running around’ me.— κυκλεῖται : this rare midd. is read in Her. 8. 16 ,

μηνοειδὲς ποιήσαντες τῶν νεῶν ἐκυκλεῦντο ὡς περιλάβοιεν αὐτούς

. But in fr. 787. 2

κυκλεῖται

is pass.; and so Ellendt would take it here (‘ is rolled around me’),—needlessly, I think. κυκλοῦται would be the more usual midd. form ( Her. 3. 157 , and oft.).

οἴμ’ : this elision occurs in 587; Ant. 320 , Ant. 1270 ; Ar. Ach. 590. Though it breaks the rule of Tragedy against eliding diphthongs, it was doubtless too familiar to offend the ear. The

οἲ ἐμὲ δειλήν

in Anth. 9. 408 does not warrant us in supposing that

οἴμ’

οἴ με

ἀφροντίστως ἔχει . Cp. Tr. 366

πέμπων οὐκ ἀφροντίστως

: Xen. Cyr. 1. 6. 42

μηδέποτ’ οὖν ἀφροντίστως ἔχε

, ‘never be heedless.’ For the pass. form of the word, cp.

δυσλόγιστον

(40 n.). It is not easy to decide whether the subject to

ἔχει

is Ajax, or

τοὔργον

: but the usage of the adverb rather favours the view that it is Ajax. The phrase is designedly euphemistic and reticent.

ναΐας ἀρωγὸν τέχνας , helpful of the seaman's art, i.e., its ministers: the gen., as in Aesch. Eum. 486

ἀρωγὰ τῆς δίκης ὁρκώματα

. Cp. 201 .

ἅλιον ὃς ἐπέβας is the best correction of ἁλίαν ὃς ἐπέβας . The two short syllables

ὃς ἐπ‐

then correspond with a long syllable (the first of

ἐμμένοντες

) in v. 350; as the dochmiac metre allows. Hermann's later emendation, ὃς ἁλίαν ἔβας , avoids, indeed, resolving the long syllable, but unwarrantably alters

ἐπέβας

: nor is there much force in his reason for preferring it, viz., that the gloss

ἐπέβας τῶν νεῶν

points to

ἁλιᾶν.. πλατᾶν

, and this to

ἁλίαν

(rather than

ἅλιον

)

πλάταν

. Cp. Eur. Heracl. 82

ἁλίῳ πλάτᾳ

ὃς follows γένος , as in 760

ὅστις

refers to

σώματα

in 758, and in Ant. 707 ff.

ὅστις

is resumed by

οὗτοι.

ἐπέβας , absol., ‘embarked’ (as in Thuc. 7. 62 § 2

ἐπιβήσονται

),—recalling the moment when they set forth from Salamis together; a point which is lost if

ἐπέβας

be taken as =‘thou hast come hither.’

ἐλίσσων : cp. Eur. Or. 171

πόδα σὸν εἱλίξεις

, i.e., ‘move swiftly.’

πημονὰν ἐπαρκέσοντ’ : cp. Il. 2. 873

οὐδέ τί οἱ τό γ’ ἐπήρκεσε λυγρὸν ὄλεθρον

: Od. 17. 568

οὔτε τι Τηλέμαχος τό γ’ ἐπήρκεσεν οὔτε τις ἄλλος

. Thus, though

ἐπαρκεῖν

could not mean literally ‘to ward off,’ epic precedent warranted its use in an equivalent sense, which was strictly that of bringing one help against a danger. In lyrics, at least, where epic associations have a large scope, it seems needless to write ἀπαρκέσοντ’ .

The traditional reading ποιμένων is explained by the schol. in L,

τῶν ἐμὲ ποιμαινόντων καὶ θαλπόντων

: i.e., the sense was taken to be, ‘I see that thou, alone of my shepherds (=of those who care for me), canst help.’ But

ποιμένων

, in such a context, would suggest rather the idea of chieftainship (cp.

ποιμένα λαῶν, ναῶν ποιμένες

in Suppl. 767): and there can be little doubt that πημονὰν is right.

ἀλλά , appealing: cp. O. T. 14 , etc.: Pind. O. 6. 22

ὦ Φίντις, ἀλλὰ ζεῦξον ἤδη μοι σθένος ἡμιόνων

(‘ come, yoke’).— For the enclitic με before its verb, cp. El. 1359

ἀλλά με | λόγοις ἀπώλλυς.

συνδάϊξον :

ἅμα τοῖς βοτοῖς

εὔφημα φώνει : cp. 591 .— κακὸν κακῷ διδοὺς ἄκος : so fr. 74

ἐνταῦθα μέντοι πάντα τἀνθρῶπων νοσεῖ

, |

κακοῖς ὅταν θέλωσιν ἰᾶσθαι κακά

. Her. 3. 53

μὴ τῷ κακῷ τὸ κακὸν ἰῶ

: Thuc. 5. 65 § 2

διανοεῖται κακὸν κακῷ ἰᾶσθαι

: Plat. Prot.p. 340 E

ἰώμενος μεῖζον τὸ νόσημα ποιῶ

.— τὸ πῆμα τῆς ἄτης : cp. Soph. Ph. 765

τὸ πῆμα.. τῆς νόσου

: Hom. Od. 3. 152

ἐπὶ γὰρ Ζεὺς ἤρτυε πήμα κακοῖο

.—Not, ‘make the present woe worse than the ( original) plague’:

τῆς ἄτης

would then need further definition.

θρασύν , bold, enterprising; εὐκάρδιον , stout-hearted in facing danger; ἄτρεστον , intrepid in the critical stress of fight. The good sense of

θρασύς

is frequent in poetry from Homer onwards, though in Attic prose the bad sense predominates.

ἀφόβοις , fearing no harm from man;—a pathetic epithet, which is marred by taking it as=‘not formidable’ to man.

ἀφόβοις..θηρσὶ

is not an oxymoron (as if it meant, ‘wild creatures which are not wild,’ ‘tame beasts’):

θηρσί

is a generic term; he attacked beasts instead of men: cp. fr. 855. 12

ἐν θηρσίν, ἐν βροτοῖσιν, ἐν θεοῖς ἄνω

δεινὸν χέρας : cp. Il. 7. 457

ἀφαυρότερος χεῖράς τε μένος τε

οἴμοι γέλωτος : for the gen., cp. 908

ὤμοι ἐμᾶς ἄτας

: O. C. 1399

οἴμοι κελεύθου κ.τ.λ.

δέσποτ’ , as in 485: she is a

δούλη

(489).

οὐκ ἐκτός; οὐκ ἄψορρον

κ.τ.λ.

It seems more probable that in v. 384 the MSS. have lost a syllable (as

μήν

) than that here we should omit the second

οὐκ

. Cp. O. T. 430 f.:

οὐκ εἰς ὄλεθρον; οὐχὶ θᾶσσον; οὐ πάλιν | ἄψορρος οἴκων τῶνδ’ ἀποστραφεὶς ἄπει

; If here we read, οὐκ ἐκτὸς ἄψορρον ἐκνεμεῖ πόδα ; the verse becomes much tamer; while

ἐκτὸς

, taken with

ἄψορρον ἐκνεμεῖ

, is positively weak. It may be added that the first syllable of

ἄψορρον

here, and of

καίπερ

in 384, must then be treated as having the time-value of -u: whereas all the other trimeters in this kommos are normal.

For ἐκτὸς cp. O. T. 676

οὔκουν μ’ ἐάσεις κἀκτὸς εἶ;

ἄψορρον is probably the adv., as in Tr. 902

ὅπως ἄψορρον ἀντῴη πατρί

, El. 53

ἄψορρον ἥξομεν.

ἐκνεμεῖ here gives the notion, ‘take forth into other pastures.’ This rare compound occurs in Theophr. Hist. Plant. 9. 16 § 1

ὀλίγος ὁ τόπος ὁ φέρων, καὶ τοῦτον αἱ αἶγες ἐκνέμονται

, depascunt, ‘the region which bears (the plant dictamnum) is small, and is stripped of it by the browsing goats.’ The analogy of Pind. N. 6. 15 ,

ἴχνεσιν ἐν Πραξιδάμαντος ἑὸν πόδα νέμων

, would certainly point to ἐκνεμεῖς , but we must allow for the poetical use of the middle voice, so frequent with Sophocles. Of the midd. fut., Thuc. 4. 64 § 5 has

νεμούμεθα

, Dem. or. 21 § 203

νεμεῖσθαι

ὦ πρὸς θεῶν

κ.τ.λ.

The MSS. seem right in giving this verse to the Chorus. Just after so violent a rebuke, the timid Tecmessa would scarcely venture on praying her ‘master’ to be ‘sane’; while the intercession of the Chorus is natural enough.

ὢ δύσμορος : cp. Ant. 1319

ὢ μέλεος

, where

ὢ

is exclamatory, and stronger than the mere sign of the vocative (

ὦ

ὃς , with causal force; El. 160 n.

χερὶ μὲν μεθῆκα , instead of

χερὶ μεθῆκα μὲν

: for the irregular place of

μέν

, cp. Ph. 279

ὁρῶντα μὲν ναῦς

.. | ..

βεβώσας, ἄνδρα δ’ οὐδέν’ ἔντοπον

(instead of

ὁρῶντα ναῦς μὲν

). χερὶ belongs in sense to

ἔδευσα

no less than to

μεθῆκα

τοὺς ἀλάστορας : in O. C. 788 and Tr. 1235 the word denotes ‘avenging spirits’; here, ‘accursed wretches,’ as the polluted Orestes calls himself

ἀλάστορα

( Aesch. Eum. 236 ): cp. Dem. or. 18 § 296

ἄνθρωποι μιαροὶ καὶ κόλακες καὶ ἀλάστορες, ἠκρωτηριασμένοι τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἕκαστοι πατρίδας

(‘who have crippled their respective cities’),—a passage which suggests that

ἀλάστωρ

, as said of a man, meant rather one who is a ‘curse’ or ‘plague’ to his neighbours, than one who is driven by an avenging spirit; indeed, such a passive sense is not easily conceived.

κλυτοῖς : from the Homeric

κλυτὰ μῆλα

( Od. 9. 308 ).

αἰπολίοις : Il. 11. 679

αἰπόλια πλατἔ αἰγῶν

. This is the only express mention of goats among his victims; but there is no reason to think that

αἰπόλιον

could be used as merely =

ποίμνιον.

ἐρεμνὸν : suggested doubtless by Aesch. Ag. 1390

ἐρεμνῇ ψακάδι φοινίας δρόσου.

αἷμ’ ἔδευσα : cp. Tr. 848

τέγγει δακρύων ἄχναν

(n.).

ἐπ’ ἐξειργασμένοις :

ἐπὶ

denotes the condition: Aesch. Ag. 1379

ἕστηκα δ’ ἔνθ’ ἔπαισ’ ἐπ’ ἐξειργασμένοις

. (The phrase occurs also in Aesch. Pers. 525. ) Cp. Soph. Ant. 556

ἐπ’ ἀρρήτοις..τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις

(n.).

οὐ γὰρ γένοιτ’ ἂν κ.τ.λ. Two modes of expression are here mixed: (1)

οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο τοῦτο οὐχ ὧδ’ ἔχειν

, it could not come to pass that this should not be thus. (2)

οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο ὅπως τοῦτο οὐχ ὧδ’ ἕξει

,—with the same meaning: cp. O. T. 1058f.

οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο τοῦθ’, ὅπως ἐγὼ … | … οὐ φανῶ τοὐμὸν γένος

. In other words, the constr. would be plain if ὅπως were struck out. The irregular presence of

ὅπως

is due to its association with statements of impossibility in the formula

οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως οὐ

( O. C. 97 , El. 1479 ): its place is explained by the analogy of such a sentence as O. T. 1058

οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο τοῦθ’, ὅπως κ.τ.λ.

, where

τοῦτο

is subject to

γένοιτο

. The declension of

οὐδεὶς‐ὅστισοὐ

, as an integral equivalent for

πᾶς τις

, similarly illustrates the manner in which the associations of idiom could sometimes generate anomalies in grammar.

For the sentiment, cp. Tr. 742

τὸ γὰρ | φανθὲν τίς ἂν δύναιτ’ ἂν ἀγένητον ποεῖν;

(n.).

πάνθ’ ὁρῶν : as Philoctetes says to Odysseus, Ph. 1013

ἀλλ’ ἡ κακὴ σὴ διὰ μυχῶν βλέπουσ’ ἀεὶ | ψυχή κ.τ.λ.

, ‘thy base soul, ever peering from some ambush.’ The conjecture

πάντα δρῶν

is not only weak, but incorrect, since the sense would require

πᾶν δρῶν

ἁπάντων τ’ . It is needless to change τ’ to δ’ : though

δέ

often occurs thus in ‘epanaphora,’ as Ant. 806

τὰν νεάταν ὁδὸν | στείχουσαν, νέατον δὲ φέγγος λεύσσουσαν

(n.). Here the case for δ’ would be stronger if

ἅπανθ’

(and not

πάνθ’

) had preceded.

κακῶν ὄργανον : cp. Ph. 407 (of Odysseus)

ἔξοιδα γάρ νιν παντὸς ἂν λόγου κακοῦ | γλώσσῃ θιγόντα καὶ πανουργίας

ἄλημα , ‘fine meal’ (

ἀλέω

), hence, ‘a subtle knave,’—a word found only here and in 389.

παιπάλη

(reduplicated from

πάλη

) had the same senses, literal and figurative; and

παιπάλημα

was a current term ( Ar. Av. 430 , Aeschin. or. 2 § 40 ). In fr. 827 Odysseus is called

πάνσοφον κρότημα

, as in Ph. 927

πανουργίας | δεινῆς τέχνημ’ ἔχθιστον

.—For the early repetition of

ἄλημα

, in 389, cp. that of

κείσομαι

in Ant. 76 (n.).

ἦ που : cp. 176 .

ἄγεις . The phrase

ἄγειν γέλωτα

denotes frequent or continued derision, as

ἄγειν κτύπον

=‘to keep up a noise’: Eur. Or. 182

κτύπον ἠγάγετ)· οὐχὶ σῖγα κ.τ.λ.

νεῖκος ἄγειν

, to sustain a conflict ( Pind. P. 9. 33 ):

σχολὴν ἄγειν

, etc.

ξὺν τῷ θεῷ . Those who write

ξύν τοι θεῷ

here do so on the ground that

σὺν θεῷ

, not

σὺν τῷ θεῷ

, is the regular phrase when the sense is general, ‘with the divine aid’; whereas in O. T. 146

σὺν τῷ θεῷ

refers to a particular god (Apollo). But there is an arbitrary rigour in this doctrine.

ὁ θεός

often means ‘the divine power’ generally: e.g. frag. adesp. 471

ὁ γὰρ θεὸς μέγιστος ἀνθρώποις νόμος

: and 496. 2

πόρρω γὰρ ἑστὼς ὁ θεὸς ἐγγύθεν βλέπει

. And this very phrase,

σὺν τῷ θεῷ

, occurs once, at least, in a passage where the context plainly indicates that the sense is general, viz. Eur. fr. 490

σὺν τῷ θεῷ χρὴ τοὺς σοφοὺς ἀναστρέφειν | βουλεύματ’ ἀεί

. There, indeed, as here, Nauck changes

τῷ

τοι

, but without any warrant.

ἵδοιμι κ.τ.λ. The question whether the MSS. have lost a syllable here depends on the view taken of 369. I have given reasons for thinking that the second

οὐκ

in that verse is genuine; from which it would follow that there is a defect here. Bellermann, indeed, is content to hold that Sophocles neglected an exact correspondence; but this seems very unlikely. L. Dindorf's remedy

ἴδοιμι < μήν> νιν

, has this advantage over the others (cr. n.), that it gives a light adversative force, and so fitly responds to v. 383,

ξὺν τῷ θεῷ κ.τ.λ.

‘Triumph, like defeat, is the gift of heaven.’—‘ Yet would that I could see him,’ etc. The next best conjecture is perhaps that of Apitz,

ἴδοιμί νύν νιν

μηδὲν· μέγ’ εἴπῃς : cp. El. 830

μηδὲν μέγ’ ἀΰσῃς

(n.).

προπάτωρ , a word used by Pindar, Eur. , and Herodotus. The reading πάτερ (requiring χεροῖν instead of

χερὶ μὲν

in 372) had an obvious and prosaic motive; viz., that Aeacus, the grandfather of Ajax, was the son of Zeus ( Il. 21. 189 ), so that Zeus could not properly be called an ‘ancestor’ of the hero's ‘ancestors.’ But when the poet wrote

προγόνων προπάτωρ

, it was enough for him that it expressed the thought, ‘author of my line’; he did not trouble himself with this subtlety.—It was the nymph Aegina who bore Aeacus to Zeus ( Plat. Gorg.p. 526 E:

τὸν δικαστὴν τὸν τῆς Αἰγίνης υἱόν

πῶς ἂν … θάνοιμι : cp. Ph. 531 f.

πῶς ἂν ὑμὶν ἐμφανὴς | ἔργῳ γενοίμην

(n.).

δισσάρχας (found only here):

δικρατεῖς.

ὀλέσσας : cp. Ph. 1163

πέλασσον

. (Below, in 927, some edd. read

ἐξανύσσειν

: see n. there.) This epic licence in tragic lyrics is illustrated by their toleration of such forms as

τόσσον

(185),

μέσσος, ζώειν

( El. 157 , O. C. 1213 ),

πνείειν

( Ant. 1146 ), etc.

βασιλῆς is the form which the grammarians Draco and Herodian read here (cr. n.). But, so far as Attic inscrr. are available, they indicate that the acc. plur. from

ευ

stems ended in

‐έα—ς

, always uncontracted; while the contraction in

‐εῖς

(not

‐ῆς

) was the rule from the Macedonian age onwards. (The earliest example of

τοὺς βασιλεῖς

quoted by Meisterhans, Gramm. Att. Inschr. § 39, belongs to 318—311 B.C.) We must regard the acc.

βασιλῆς

here, then, not as an old Attic, but as a poetical form. On the other hand,

βασιλῆς

was the form of the nom. plur. in the older Attic ( cp. 189 ). Herodian ( l. c., cr. n.) cites

νομῆς

from Xenophon, as if it were an acc. pl. like

βασιλῆς

here: but in the place to which he apparently refers ( I. Cyr. 1 § 2) it is nom., and the best recent edd. give

νομεῖς

θάνοιμι καὐτός : cp. Aesch. Cho. 438

ἔπειτ’ ἐγὼ νοσφίσας ὀλοίμαν

σκότος , the darkness of death, as the gates of Hades are

σκότου πύλαι

( Eur. Hec. 1 ): ἔρεβος , as in Soph. O. C. 1389

τὸ Ταρτάρου | στυγνὸν...ἔρεβος

. So, too, in Il. 8. 368 it is merely a term for ‘the nether gloom’ (

ἐξ ἐρέβευς ἄξοντα

), not a definitely named region, Erebos.

ὡς ἐμοί : for this limiting force of

ὡς

, cp. O. C. 20

μακρὰν...ὡς γέροντι

: Plat. Soph.p. 226 C

ταχεῖαν, ὡς ἐμοί, σκέψιν

ἕλεσθ’ ἕλεσθέ μ’ : the most probable reading; . Here the midd. means, ‘ take to yourselves’ (and not, as normally, ‘ choose’): it is thus more expressive than

ἕλετε

: cp. O. T. 887

κακά νιν ἕλοιτο μοῖρα

. Conversely we find

εὑρεῖν

where

εὑρέσθαι

would be normal ( El. 1061 ).

γένος , as well as ὄνασιν , is governed by εἰς : cp. O. T. 734

Δελφῶν κἀπὸ Δαυλίας

: ib. 1205

τίς ἄταις ἀγρίαις, τίς ἐν πόνοις

: El. 780

οὔτε νυκτὸς..οὔτ’ ἐξ ἡμέρας.

ἄξιος . For the ellipse of

εἰμί

, cp. 813 n.

βλέπειν , to look for help; cp. El. 958

ἐς τίν’ ἐλπίδων | βλέψασ’ ἔτ’ ὀρθήν;

ἁ Διὸς … θεὸς : cp. 450 : O. C. 623

χὡ Διὸς Φοῖβος.

ὀλέθριον should answer metrically to

εὔφρονες

in 420. If it be sound, the first syllable must represent the anacrusis, which is omitted before

εὔφρονες

: and the

is long, as it is in 799 (

ὀλεθρίαν

), O. T. 1341 (

ὀλέθριον

), and O. C. 1683 (

ὀλεθρία

): though we find

ε^

in Tr. 845 (

ὀλεθρίαισι

), and ib. 878 (

ὀλεθρία

). The neatest emendation is οὔλιον (cr. n.).

φύγῃ … μενῶ . For the delib. subjunct. combined with fut. indic., cp. Tr. 973

τί πάθω; τί δὲ μήσομαι;

εἰ τὰ μὲν φθίνει

κ.τ.λ.

The conjectures of various critics are recorded and classified in the Appendix. Here I will briefly state what seem the main points of the problem.

(1) The antistrophic verses, 423—427 (

ἐξερῶ...πρόκειμαι

), appear sound. The changes which have been proposed in them have all been designed to suit some emendation in 405 ff., and would have no probability if verses 423 ff. were considered simply on their own merits.

(2) There is only one real discrepancy of metre between the traditional text here and that of the antistrophe; viz., that τοῖσδ’ in 406 answers to the τινα of

οὔτινα

in 424, where the

, being the last syllable of a verse, could be either long or short, and is here long. (Some, indeed, read

οὔτιν’ ἁ

: cr. n.) That is, instead of

τοῖσδ’

, we require u-. As to

ἐξερέω

in 423, answering to

εἰ τὰ μὲν

in 405, we should write

ἐξερῶ

. With regard to the diction of 405 ff., the most suspicious point is the redundancy ὁμοῦ πέλας , suggesting that one of the words was a gloss upon the other.

(3) If, then, we assume that the antistrophe is sound, we may conclude that the fault in the strophe lies within the words

εἰ τὰ μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, τοῖσδ’ ὁμοῦ πέλας

. A very slight change will restore the metre, viz. τοιοῖσδ’ for τοῖσδ’ : cp. the words of Ajax in 453

ὥστ’ ἐν τοιοῖσδε χεῖρας αἱμάξαι βοτοῖς

. There he points to the slain cattle around him; and so he probably does here also. We could then understand the sense to be: ‘If those things (

τὰ μὲν

, his glories in the past) perish, my friends,

ὁμοῦ τοιοῖσδε

, along with ( i.e., by the slaughter of) such creatures,

πέλας

, near me there.’ But

πέλας

may have been a marginal gloss (on

ὁμοῦ

), which has displaced some other word: e.g., the poet may have written τοιοῖσδ’ ὁμοῦ βοτοῖς (cp. v. 453).

(4) Whatever may have been the original form of the words

εἰ τὰ μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, τοῖσδ’ ὁμοῦ πέλας

, it is at least highly probable that their general sense was, ‘If my old renown is perishing.’ This is suggested by the other passages where we find the same sequence of ideas,— i.e., the thought of his past glory closely followed by that of his present disgrace; see (1) 421—427: (2) 437—456: (3) 612—621.

(5) Those who believe that the antistrophic verses 423—427 are corrupt have a freer hand for emendation here; and, as will be seen in the Appendix, some of the proposed restorations have been very bold. But such remedies pass into the region of pure guess-work.

προσκείμεθα , ‘addicted’ to them. Her. 3. 34

φιλοινίῃ...προσκέεσθαι

. The word can also denote, in a good sense, that to which the attention is given, as Thuc. (1. 93 § 7) says of Themistocles,

ταῖς γὰρ ναυσὶ μάλιστα προσέκειτο.

μώραις . L has μωραῖς (as it has

μωρὰν

in El. 890 ), that being the later accent, according to the general rule that adjectives in

‐ρος

are oxytone. But the grammarians attest that the Attic accent was

μῶρος

. See, e.g., Eustath. p. 245. 17

μῶρος παρ’ Ἀττικοῖς, ὁ παρὰ τοῖς ὕστερον μωρός

: and Chandler, Greek Accentuation, § 404 (2nd ed.).

δίπαλτος , in active sense (cp.

ἄψαυστος ἔγχους

, O. T. 969 n.), wielding their swords with both hands, i.e., with their utmost force. I. T. 323

ὡς δ’ εἴδομεν δίπαλτα πολεμίων ξίφη

. That the word had passed into a figurative sense (in which

δι‐

was merely equiv. to ‘fiercely’), is indicated by

τριπάλτων πημάτων

in Aesch. Th. 985 , woes hurled on one with crushing force.

δίπαλτος

should not be explained with ref. to the two spears of the Homeric warrior ( Il. 5. 495

πάλλων δ’ ὀξέα δοῦρε

φωνεῖν , exclamatory: Aesch. Eum. 837

ἐμὲ παθεῖν τάδε

. It was common in colloquial Attic; see e.g. Vesp. 835

βάλλ’ ἐς κόρακας· τοιουτονὶ τρέφειν κύνα

. For this inf. with the article added, see Ph. 234

φεῦ τὸ καὶ λαβεῖν

(n.).

ἔτλη , of what one brings oneself to do; here, ‘deigned.’ Cp. 528 , Tr. 158.

πόροι ἁλίρροθοι : probably ‘paths or straits of the sounding sea,’ as in Aesch. Pers. 367

ἔκπλους φυλάσσειν καὶ πόρους ἁλιρρόθους

: meaning here the waters of the Hellespont. His thought passes from those waters to the πάραλα ἄντρα beside them, and thence to the neighbouring woodlands. For the form of the phrase, cp. Soph. O. C. 1062

ῥιμφαρμάτοις...ἁμίλλαις

.—The other version, ‘paths by the sounding sea,’ is possible, but less probable.

νέμος , properly pasture simply; but associated with trees in Il. 11. 480

ἐν νέμεϊ σκιερῷ

(a phrase repeated in Anth. 7. 55). In the Lat. nemus the notion of ‘woodland’ is seen dominant.

As I have noted in writing on the Troad elsewhere, ‘nearly all the plains and hills are more or less well-wooded. Besides the valonia oak, the elm, willow, cypress and tamarisk shrub abound. Lotus, galingale, and reeds are still plentiful, as in Homeric days, about the streams in the Trojan plain.’ ( Encyc. Brit., art. ‘Troad,’ vol. XXIII. p. 578.)

πολὺν πολύν με

κ.τ.λ.

This order of words has the best authority, and is confirmed by the metre. Cp. 396 .

δὴ merely emphasises δαρόν .

ἀμπνοὰς ἔχοντα =

ἔμπνουν ὄντα

. The proper sense of

ἀναπνοή

is (1) ‘recovery of breath’; or (2) =

εἰσπνοή

as opp. to

ἐκπνοή

, the drawing in of breath. Here, however, it means merely

πνοή

, as=‘the breath of life.’ Cp. Eur. Or. 421

μητρὸς οἴχονται πνοαί

Σκαμάνδριοι … ῥοαί : cp. Il. 2. 467

ἐν λειμῶνι Σκαμανδρίῳ ἀνθεμόεντι

. The Scamander, still called the Mendere, is the most important river of the Troad. Rising in Ida, it flows through the central plain which now bears the name of the town Bairamitch, and thence passes northward into the plain of Troy. On the confines between the two plains, where the river winds in large curves through deep gorges in limestone rocks, its scenery is striking. From the south border of the Trojan plain to the Hellespont, the Mendere has a course of between seven and eight miles.

εὔφρονες Ἀργείοις : as supplying them with water. So in 863 the

ποταμοί

of the plain are called

τροφῆς

.— Not: ‘friendly to my Greek foes, but hostile to me.’ Nor should the words be taken adverbially with

οὐκέτ’ ἄνδρα μὴ τόνδ’ ἴδητ’

, as meaning, ‘No longer, allies of the Greeks, will ye see me,’— i.e., ‘You will no longer see me victorious beside your favouring stream.’

οὐκέτ’ ἄνδρα μὴ τόνδ’ ἴδητ’ :

οὐ μὴ

with subjunct. gives a strong emphasis; cp. 83 , 560.

ἐξερῶ gives an exact correspondence with

εἰ τὰ μὲν

in 405. The ἐξερέω of the MSS. might, indeed, be compared with El. 178

ὑπεράχθεο

, O. C. 227

ὑπέσχεο

, ib. 1244

κλονέουσιν

. (In Tr. 639

καλέονται

should be

κλέονται

.) But

ἐξερέω

was so familiar as the Homeric form that it could easily have displaced

ἐξερῶ

here. It is not likely that the poet would have written

ἐξερέω

if he had meant the word to be scanned -u- by synizesis.

Join οὔτινα with στρατοῦ : cp. 1175

κεἴ τινα στρατοῦ.

χθονὸς μολόντ’ ἀπὸ | Ἑλλανίδος : for the place of

ἀπό

, and for the hiatus, cp. Tr. 510

Βακχίας ἀπὸ | ἦλθε...Θήβας

This vaunt of Ajax (modified only by the half-apologetic

ἔπος ἐξερῶ μέγα

) is epic in tone; thus Achilles says of himself ( Il. 18. 105),

τοῖος ἐὼν οἷος οὔτις Αχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων

: Odysseus, ( Od. 9. 19,)

ὃς πᾶσι δόλοισιν

ἀνθρώποισι μέλω, καί μευ κλέος οὐρανὸν ἵκει

. Such a tone is better suited, indeed, to epos (in which speech is sometimes little more than audible thought) than to drama. But here, at least, as in the case of Heracles ( Tr. 1101 f.), it has the excuse of being prompted by the anguish of a sudden overthrow. (Cp. n. on O. T. 8 , where Oedipus speaks of himself as

ὁ πᾶσι κλεινός

πρόκειμαι : lie prostrate (323 ff.): cp. 1059 .—The v.l. πρόκειται was caused by ἄνδρα … τόνδε : but cp. O. C. 1329 , where

τῷδ’ ἀνδρὶ

ἐμοὶ

) is immediately followed by

τοὐμοῦ

, as in O. T. 534

τοῦδε τἀνδρὸς

τῆς ἐμῆς

. See also below, O. T. 865.

οὔτοι … οὐδ’ . There can be little doubt that the

οὔθ’

of the MSS. should be

οὐδ’

here. In El. 1197 and 1412 L has

οὔθ’

, where

οὐδ’

is right; as in O. C. 496

μήθ’

instead of

μηδ’

. As to the conditions under which οὐ … οὔτε was admitted in Attic poetry, see on Tr. 1058 f.

ὅπως ἐῶ (subjunct.), the indirect form of the ‘deliberative’

πῶς ἐῶ;

(‘how am I to allow..?’) Cp. O. T. 1367

οὐκ οἶδ’ ὅπως σε φῶ βεβουλεῦσθαι καλῶς

: Dem. or. 9 § 54

οὐκ ἔχω τί λέγω

ἂν … ᾤεθ’ , ‘could have thought’; cp. 119

τίς ἂν..ηὑρέθη;

ἐπώνυμον here goes closely with ξυνοίσειν , ‘would agree so significantly’ with my woes. Hence in 914 he is called

δυσώνυμος

. For the verb, cp. Ar. Eq. 1232

καὶ μήν σ’ ἐλέγξαι βούλομαι τεκμηρίῳ

, |

εἴ τι ξυνοίσεις τοῦ θεοῦ τοῖς θεσφάτοις

, i.e., ‘agree’ with the description of the person mentioned in them. For the adj., cp. Hom. Od. 7. 54

Ἀρήτη δ’ ὄνομ’ ἐστὶν ἐπώνυμον

: ib. 19. 409

τῷ δ’ Ὀδυσεὺς ὄνομ’ ἔστω ἐπώνυμον

: where in each case

ἐπώνυμον

means that the name is significant (the queen was the ‘desired one’; the child was to be ‘a man of wrath’). This usage of

ἐπώνυμος

, with ref. to the aptness of a name (or surname), is different from that in which a person or thing is said to be

ἐπώνυμός τινος

, either as (1) being named from it, or (2) giving a name to it. Cp. 574 .

Pindar adopts the derivation of

Αἴας

from

αἰετός

: I. 5. 53

καί νιν ὄρνιχος φανέντος κέκλετ’ ἐπώνυμον εὐρυβίαν Αἴαντα

. This was the popular etymology (schol. Apoll. Rh. 1. 1289 ; schol. Theocr. 13. 37 : Apollod. 3. 12 § 7 ). But the association of

Αἴας

with

αἶ αἶ

appears in the legend that a hyacinth (on whose petals the letters AI were supposed to be legible, Moschus 3. 6) sprang from the blood of Ajax, as it had sprung from that of Hyacinthus: Ov. Met. 13. 397:

Littera communis mediis pueroque viroque | Inscripta est foliis; haec nominis (Ajax), illa querelae

(the wail of Hyacinthus).

So Odysseus was associated with

ὀδύσσομαι

( Od. 1. 62

τί νύ οἱ τόσον ὠδύσαο, Ζεῦ

; imitated by Soph. , fr. 880): Pentheus, with

πένθος

( Eur. Bacch. 507 ): Polyneices, with

νεῖκος

( Aesch. Th. 577 , etc., Soph. Ant. 110 f.): Meleager, with

μελέα ἄγρα

( Eur. fr. 517): Sidêro with

σίδηρος

( Soph. fr. 597): and Helen is

ἐλέναυς

, etc. ( Aesch. Ag. 689 ).

Such play on names did not seem to the Greeks unworthy of grave poetry, because to them the omens conveyed by words (

ὀμφαί, κληδόνες

) were so serious. In modern poetry, too, it has sometimes been used with tragic pathos. Thus Dante Purg. XIII. 109

Savia non fui, avvegna che Sapía Fossi chiamata:

and Shakesp. Rich. II. act 2 sc. 1. 73 (Gaunt)

O how that name befits my composition! | Old Gaunt indeed; and gaunt in being old

etc. The king asks,

Can sick men play so nicely with their names? No

, is the reply,

misery makes sport to mock itself.

The real etymology of

Αἴας

is uncertain. Vase-inscriptions show that the original form was

Αἴvας

, and Sonne (in Kuhn's Zeitschr. 10 p. 126) compares Indog. aiva, Skr. eva (‘course’)—a derivation which Brugmann approves ( Stud. z. griech. u. lat. Gramm. 4. 180). The sense, ‘swift runner,’ would suit

Οἰλῆος ταχὺς Αἴας

better than the son of Telamon: and it is not improbable (as Fleischer suggests in Roscher's Lex.p. 139) that the names of the two heroes, though identical in form, were of distinct origin.

καὶ δὶς … καὶ τρίς : cp. Ph. 1238

δὶς ταὐτὰ βούλει καὶ τρὶς ἀναπολεῖν μ’ ἔπη;

τοιούτοις γὰρ : for

γάρ

in two successive sentences, cp. 186 .

πατὴρ : Telamon, whom Heracles brought with him to the war at Troy, as Pindar relates ( Isthm. 5. 27 ff.), and rewarded with the hand of Hesionè (1300 ff.).

τὰ πρῶτα καλλιστεἶ ἀριστεύσας , a free poetical mode of saying, ‘having won by prowess the first meed of honour.’ The word

καλλιστεῖα

(properly ‘prize for beauty’) may have been chosen because the prize was Hesionè. Cp. 1300

στρατοῦ τὰ πρῶτ’ ἀριστεύσας

τόπον Τροίας , i.e.

Τροίαν

: a periphrasis like

τὸν Κιθαιρῶνος τόπον

( O. T. 1134 ). Here

Τροία

is used in the Homeric manner, to denote not only the city but the country;

ἡ Τρῳάς

, as=‘the Troad,’ occurs first in Herodotus (5. 122).

ἐπελθὼν , after Telamon; cp.

ἐπιγίγνομαι

ἀρκέσας has here (though not elsewhere) a sense which

ἐπαρκεῖν

with acc. often bears, viz., ‘to furnish at need’: Aesch. Ag. 1170

ἄκος δ’ οὐδὲν ἐπήρκεσαν

. The strict meaning is then, ‘having rendered no less service by the deeds of my hand.’

441—

τοσοῦτόν γ’ ἐξεπίστασθαι : cp. O. T. 1455

καίτοι τοσοῦτόν γ’ οἶδα

(and El. 332 ). Her. 7. 152

ἐπίσταμαι δὲ τοσοῦτο, ὅτι κ.τ.λ.

Here the omission of

ὅτι

adds vigour to εἰ ζῶν κ.τ.λ.

εἰ … κρίνειν ἔμελλε , ‘if he had been going to award,’ ‘if it had devolved upon him to award.’ The imperfect (here referring to an unreal condition in past, not in present, time) is rightly used, because it expresses the constraint of a supposed situation. But in the apodosis, the aor., οὐκ ἄν τις ἔμαρψεν , is used, because the taking of the prize is an act done at a given moment.

ὅπλων τῶν ὧν πέρι , i.e. in a case where they were the prize. Sophocles has

ὅς

, suus, (epic

ἑός

,) in O. T. 1248 (

οἷσιν

), O. C. 1639 and Tr. 266 (

ὧν

), ib. 525 (

ὅν

). Here it is emphatic: ‘his own arms,’—of which he could dispose with the best right.

κρίνειν … κράτος ἀριστείας , to award the first place for prowess; cp. Pind. I. 7. 5

ἀέθλων..κράτος

, victory in them. For the pres. inf.

κρίνειν

with

ἔμελλε

, cp. Soph. O. C. 1774 n.

ἔμαρψεν , praeripuisset; the prize due to Ajax was snatched from him.

ἀντ’ ἐμοῦ : so Aesch. P. V. 467

οὔτις ἄλλος ἀντ’ ἐμοῦ

νῦν δ’ , with ref. to a past moment (‘but as it was’); so in 450, Tr. 88 , El. 1334.

παντουργῷ occurs only here as=

πανούργῳ

: cp.

παντότολμος

as=

πάντολμος

. Cp. Aesch. Th. 671

φωτὶ παντόλμῳ φρένας

ἔπραξαν . Though

πράσσειν

oft. denotes intrigue ( O. T. 125 ), the phrase

πράσσειν τί τινι

(‘to procure a thing for one by intrigue’) is peculiar. Cp. Plut. Pomp. 51

πράττειν μὲν ἑαυτοῖς ἐπαρχιῶν καὶ στρατοπέδων ἡγεμονίας.

ἀπώσαντες , ‘having thrust out of account,’=

ἀτιμάσαντες

. The midd. is usual as=‘to reject’ ( Tr. 216 ); but the act. here is not a mere equivalent for it.

κράτη : cp. El. 689

οὐκ οἶδα τοιοῦδ’ ἀνδρὸς ἔργα καὶ κράτη

τόδ’ ὄμμα : some force and pathos are lost by reading

τό τ’ ὄμμα

(with

χαἱ

). Cp. Athena's words (51)

δυσφόρους ἐπ’ ὄμμασι | γνώμας βαλοῦσα.— διάστροφοι

: Aesch. P. V. 673 (Io speaking of herself)

εὐθὺς δὲ μορφὴ καὶ φρένες διάστροφοι | ἦσαν.

τῆς ἐμῆς is emphatic: my true purpose: so 100

τἄμ’

: 442

τῶν ὧν

οὐκ ἄν ποτε … ἐψήφισαν : i.e., they would have died before they could repeat such a villainy. See on v. 100,

θανόντες ..ἀφαιρείσθων

. The midd.

ψηφίζομαι δίκην

means ‘to decide a cause by one's vote’; Isae. or. 3 § 7

τοῖς περὶ αὐτοῦ τούτου τὴν δίκην μέλλουσι ψηφιεῖσθαι

. And for κατ’ ἄλλου φωτὸς cp. Plat. Gorg.p. 515 E

οὐδεμίαν αἰσχρὰν δίκην κατεψηφίσαντο αὐτοῦ

. The act.

ψηφίζω

usu.=‘to count’ (as Polyb. 5. 26

κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ψηφίζοντος βούλησιν

, ‘at the reckoner's will’). Here, δίκην ἐψήφισαν has the general sense of

δίκην ἐψηφίσαντο

: but it is not directly modelled on that prose idiom: rather it is a new poetical phrase, meaning strictly, ‘ get a cause decided by

ψῆφοι

.’ It implies that the votes against Ajax were secured by the intrigues of the chiefs: cp. Pind. N. 8. 26 f.

κρυφίαισι γὰρ ἐν ψάφοις Ὀδυσσῆ Δαναοὶ θεράπευσαν· | χρυσέων δ’ Αἴας

στερηθεὶς ὅπλων φόνῳ πάλαισεν

. [

ἐψήφισαν

certainly has not the technical sense of

ἐπεψήφισαν

, as if the Atreidae were the

ἡγεμόνες δικαστηρίου

, who put the issue to the vote. Even if the simple

ψηφίζω

could be so used, this would be too technical and prosaic.]

ἡ Διὸς … θεὰ : cp. 401 .

γοργῶπις , as in fr. 760. 2 the poet calls her

τὴν Διὸς γοργῶπιν Ἐργάνην

. Cp. Il. 1. 199 , where Athena appears to Achilles:

αὐτίκα δ’ ἔγνω | Παλλάδ’ Ἀθηναίην· δεινὼ δέ οἱ ὄσσε φάανθεν.

ἀδάματος is the form required by metre in O. T. 205 , O. T. 1315 , and O. C. 1572 ; though in all three passages L gives the epic form

ἀδάμαστος

ἐπεντύνον<*> ‘making ready’: schol.

εὐτρεπίζοντα

. Il. 8. 374

ἀλλὰ σὺ μὲν νῦν νῶιν ἐπέντυε μώνυχας ἵππους

. Oppian Hal. 5. 562

ἤδη γὰρ δελφῖσιν ἐπεντύνουσιν Ἄρηα

.—The reading ἐπευθύνοντ’ seems less fitting in reference to the purpose which the goddess foiled. It rather pictures him as already in the act of stretching forth his hand against his foes. But Athena had not suffered him to arrive in their presence; he had only reached their doors (49). If, however,

ἐπευθύνοντ’

is to mean merely, ‘ preparing for use against them,’ then it is decidedly less vivid than

ἐπεντύνοντ’

. The chief recommendation of

ἐπευθύνοντ’

is the fact that it was first written by the scribe of L, though corrected either by him or by an early hand. But (since

εὐθύνω

was so familiar) it may easily have been a mere slip for the rarer and more exquisite word

ἐπεντύνοντ’

λυσσώδη νόσον : cp. 59 : fr. 855. 4

λύσσα μαινάς

. In Il. 13. 53 Hector is

λυσσώδης, φλογὶ εἴκελος

ἐπεγγελῶσιν . A compound used in Attic prose, but otherwise peculiar to this play; it recurs in vv. 969, 989.

ἐμοῦ μὲν : the particle merely emphasises the pron.: cp. 121 n.

βλάπτοι : cp. El. 696

ὅταν δέ τις θεῶν | βλάπτῃ, δύναιτ’ ἂν οὐδ’ ἂν ἰσχύων φυγεῖν

(n.).

ὅστις , causal. It is needless to read

δρᾶν μ’

. See on O. C. 263

κἄμοιγε ποῦ ταῦτ’ ἐστίν; οἵτινες κ.τ.λ.

( i.e.

ἐπεὶ ὑμεῖς

μισεῖ δέ μ’ : the relative clause passes into an independent sentence; see appendix on O. C. 424. — πεδία : for the tribrach in the 5th foot, consisting of a single word, cp. O. T. 719

ἄβατον ὄρος

(n.), ib. 1496

πατέρα πατήρ

πότερα : cp. 265 n.

ναυλόχους … ἕδρας . Cp. Eur. Hec. 1015

Ἀχαιῶν ναύλοχοι περιπτυχαί

(the Greek camp at the ships, with its

τεῖχος

μόνους τ’ Ἀτρείδας (

λιπών

), i.e., leaving them bereft of my aid. Eur. Med. 52

πῶς σοῦ μόνη Μήδεια λείπεσθαι θέλει;

Cp. Il. 9. 437 , where Phoenix imagines himself remaining with the army at Troy after Achilles has gone home,—

πῶς ἂν ἔπειτ’ ἀπὸ σεῖο, φίλον τέκος, αὖθι λιποίμην | οἶος;

καὶ ποῖον ..; for

καί

in questions, cp. O. C. 263 (n.), El. 236.

ὄμμα : so O. T. 1371

ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδ’ ὄμμασιν ποίοις βλέπων | πατέρα ποτ’ ἂν προσεῖδον

: Ph. 110

πῶς οὖν βλέπων τις ταῦτα τολμήσει λακεῖν;

γυμνὸν is defined by

τῶν ἀριστείων ἄτερ

: cp. Ph. 31

κενὴν οἴκησιν ἀνθρώπων δίχα

: O. T. 57

ἔρημος ἀνδρῶν μὴ ξυνοικούντων ἔσω

: Ant. 445

ἔξω βαρείας αἰτίας ἐλεύθερον

ὧν … εὐκλείας στέφανον (‘a glory-crown of which’..): both genitives define the quality of the

στέφανος

, but

εὐκλείας

goes more closely with it: cp. 308 f.

ἐρειπίοις | νεκρῶν...ἀρνείου φόνου

ἀλλὰ δῆτ’ , introducing another alternative, as in El. 537 (n.).

ἔρυμα , their city-wall; cp. Her. 7. 223

τὸ ἔρυμα τοῦ τείχεος.

μόνος μόνοις : for the doubled adj., . The point of μόνοις is that the Trojans will not have their attention distracted by any other Greek foe. The phrase is thus an expression of the warrior's proud self-reliance ( cp. 423 f.): it is marred by reading

πολλοῖς μόνος

(cr. n.).

δρῶν τι χρηστόν : for the order of words, cp. Ar. Ach. 128

ἀλλ’ ἐργάσομαί τι δεινὸν ἔργον καὶ μέγα

. The sense of

δρᾶν τι

alone is often similar: El. 30 5n. The pres. part., not

δράσας

, because he would die in the act.—There was a legend, which the poet glances at here, that Ajax, in his madness, attacked the Trojans with success; manu restituit praelium insaniens ( Cic. Tusc. 4. 23 ); and that his death was caused by an arrow from the bow of Paris: see n. on the Argument to the play, line 33.

Ἀτρείδας … εὐφράναιμί που . Verg. Aen. 2. 104

Hoc Ithacus velit et magno mercentur Atreidae.

οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα , as in Tr. 449 : but

οὐκ ἔστι

simply, ib. 709, Ant. 289 , El. 448.

δηλώσω … γεγώς : cp. Thuc. 1. 21 § 2

δηλώσει...μείζων γεγενημένος

: Andoc. or. 4 § 14

ἐδήλωσε τῶν νόμων καταφρονῶν.

μή τοι φύσιν γ’ : for

μή τοι...γε

, see on El. 518. τοι (‘at any rate,’ Lat. sane) limits, while γε emphasises the word which it follows. Note that οὔ τοι could be used here, if the result were viewed simply as a fact; O. C. 1353 (

ἀκούσας

)

τοιαῦθ’ ἃ τὸν τοῦδ’ οὔ ποτ’ εὐφρανεῖ βίον

. But μή τοι is used, because the result is viewed as an aim; i.e., the relative clause is virtually a final clause: cp. Isocr. or. 11 § 49

τοιαῦτα ζητήσεις λέγειν, ἐξ ὧν μήτ’ αὐτὸς χείρων εἶναι δόξεις μήτε τοὺς μιμουμένους λυμανεῖ μήτε τὴν περὶ τοὺς λόγους παίδευσιν διαβαλεῖς.

ἄσπλαγχνος , only here in this sense; but cp.

κακόσπλαγχνος

( Aesch. Th. 237 ),

θρασύσπλαγχνος

: and

εὐσπλαγχνία

[Eur. ] Rhes. 192.

τοῦ μακροῦ … βίου , i.e., the normal span of life; cp. O. T. 518

οὔτοι βίου μοι τοῦ μακραίωνος πόθος

κακοῖσιν … μηδὲν ἐξαλλάσσεται , finds no variation in respect to his woes; for the dat. cp. O. T. 25

φθίνουσα μὲν κάλυξιν

: Xen. Cyr. 4. 1. 8

διεφθάρθαι..ταῖς γνώμαις

. The generic negative μηδὲν is used, because

ὅστις

refers to a class or type. (Cp. Soph. Ant. 178 f.

ὅστις..μὴ..ἅπτεται

.) For the sentiment, cp. Soph. Ant. 463

ὅστις γὰρ ἐν πολλοῖσιν, ὡς ἐγώ, κακοῖς | ζῇ, πῶς ὅδ’ οὐχὶ κατθανὼν κέρδος φέρει;

fr. 866

ὅστις γὰρ ἐν κακοῖσιν ἱμείρει βίου

, |

ἢ δειλός ἐστιν ἢ δυσάλγητος φρένας

παρ’ ἦμαρ ἡμέρα , ‘the successive’ (not, ‘ alternate’) ‘days’: the series formed by placing each new day at the side of its predecessors, as

ἀνὴρ παρ’ ἄνδρα

could be said of forming men in rank. The sense is: ‘When a man's miseries are unbroken,

τί τέρπειν ἔχει ἡμέρα παρ’ ἦμαρ

, what power to please him has each successive day, προσθεῖσα (

αὐτὸν

)

τῷ κατθανεῖν

, when it has brought him close up to death,

κἀναθεῖσα τοῦ κατθανεῖν

, and then again moved him back from death?’ Death is the boundary-line (

γραμμή

) on the field of life: Eur. El. 955

πρὶν ἂν πέλας | γραμμῆς ἵκηται καὶ τέλος κάμψῃ βίου

( mors ultima linea rerum). The man who is captive to evil fortune is like a

πεσσός

on the draughtboard, at one moment moved close up to the line, and then again withdrawn from it a little; but it is death, after all,—death and nothing else,—that awaits him (

τοῦ γε κατθανεῖν

). This is not the platitude, ‘all men must die’, but a thought sug gested by the case of the man ‘whose woes are unvarying.’ Life has nothing in store for him; the question is merely whether he is to die at once, or to have a short and wretched reprieve. This is brought out by v. 479:

καλῶς ζῆν

is denied to him; and that being so, the next best thing is to die honourably and quickly—

καλῶς τεθνηκέναι

προσθεῖσα : cp. I. A. 540

πρὶν Ἅιδῃ παῖδ’ ἐμὴν προσθῶ λαβών

: Hec. 368

Ἅιδῃ προστιθεῖσ’ ἐμὸν δέμας

. The dat.

τῷ κατθανεῖν

is easily supplied from the genitive, which is adapted to the nearer participle.

κἀναθεῖσα . Cp.

ἀνατίθεσθαι

, to ‘take back’ a move, to ‘retract’ an opinion ( Xen. Mem. 1. 2 § 44, etc.).

πριαίμην : cp. Eur. fr. 934

φίλον πρίασθαι χρημάτων πολλῶν σαφῆ.

λόγου here=‘estimate,’ ‘rate of value’: cp. O. C. 1225

μὴ φῦναι τὸν ἅπαντα νικᾷ λόγον

(n.).

τεθνηκέναι : for the perf., cp. 275 n.: for the sentiment, El. 1320 ,

ἢ γὰρ ἂν καλῶς | ἔσωσ’ ἐμαυτήν, ἢ καλῶς ἀπωλόμην.

πάντ’ ἀκήκοας λόγον : cp. Tr. 876

πάντ’ ἀκήκοας

: Ph. 241

οἶσθα δὴ τὸ πᾶν

: Aesch. Ag. 582

πάντ’ ἔχεις λόγον

ὑπόβλητον :

ὑποβαλλόμενοι

. Eustath. p. 106. 7

Σοφοκλῆς ὑποβολιμαίους εἶπε λόγους τοὺς μὴ γνησίους

. (In O. C. 794 ,

ὑπόβλητον στόμα

, the sense is, ‘suborned.’)

γε μέντοι : O. T. 442 n.— κρατῆσαι , aor., as the sense is, ‘to gain a victory.’ Cp. 1353 .

τῆς ἀναγκαίας τύχης . The phrase means simply, ‘a fortune imposed by

ἀνάγκη

,’—by necessity, fate; but it has different shades of meaning according to the context. Here, it is the fortune by which

ἀνάγκη

has doomed her to be a slave; but there is no direct reference to slavery in the words. Cp. 803 . In El. 48

ἀναγκαίας τύχης

is the ‘fatal chance’ by which Orestes was killed. In Il. 16. 836

ἦμαρ ἀναγκαῖον

is ‘the day of doom’ hanging over Troy.

εἴπερ τινὸς σθένοντος ,=

σθένοντος, εἴ τις ἔσθενε

: cp. O.C. 733

πρὸς πόλιν δ’ ἐπίσταμαι | σθένουσαν ἥκων, εἴ τιν’ Ἑλλάδος, μέγα

(n.).

ἐν πλούτῳ , lit., amid wealth; i.e., the phrase = ‘strong and rich,’ rather than, ‘strong in riches.’ Cp. Aesch. Eum. 996

χαίρετ’ ἐν αἰσιμίαισι πλούτου

θεοῖς : for the synizesis, cp. 1129 : El. 1264 n.

μάλιστα : i.e., as the immediate and visible agent of the gods.

τοιγαροῦν , ‘So then’—marking that she turns away from the mournful past.

τὸ σὸν λέχος ξυνῆλθον :

λέχος

is acc., as after a verb of motion: Eur. Phoen. 817

ἡ δὲ ξύναιμον λέχος ἦλθεν

. (In Soph. Tr. 28

λέχος

is rather nom., ‘as bride.’)

τὰ σά , acc. of respect, instead of

σοι

ἐφεστίου Διὸς , the god of the domestic

ἑστία

. In Her. 1. 44 the

Ἐπίστιος Ζεύς

is the god who punishes a wrong done to the hearth by an abuse of hospitality. Cp. Eustath. p. 1930. 28

ἐν τῇ κατ’ οἶκον ἑστίᾳ Δΐ ἐγίνοντο θυσίαι, ὃν οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι ἐφέστιον, Ἡρόδοτος δὲ Ἰωνικῶς λέγει ἐπίστιον

συνηλλάχθης : cp. Eur. Andr. 1245

Ἑλένῳ συναλλαχθεῖσαν εὐναίοις γάμοις

,—where, as here, the bride became such by the fortune of war.

βάξιν λαβεῖν … ὑπ’ ἐχθρῶν : cp. Her. 9. 78

ἔπαινον ἕξεις..ὑπὸ πάντων

: Eur. Phoen. 576

κλέος | τοιόνδε..ὑφ’ Ἑλλήνων λαβεῖν.

χειρίαν =

ὑποχείριον

: Eur. Cycl. 177

ἐλάβετε Τροίαν τὴν Ἑλένην τε χειρίαν.

ἐφεὶς , having yielded up: Thuc. 1. 95 § 6

οἷς οὐκέτι ἐφίεσαν οἱ ξύμμαχοι τὴν ἡγεμονίαν

ᾗ γὰρ θάνῃς σὺ

κ.τ.λ.

The reason for preferring Bothe's ᾗ to εἰ is that it brings out her thought with greater force: the last day of his life will be the first of her misery. There is no objection to

εἰ

with the subjunctive, even in trimeters; cp. O. C. 1443

εἴ σου στερηθῶ

, and see O.T. 198 n. Either

εἰ

ᾗ

would have been written EI by Sophocles.

ἀφῇς , sc.

με

: but it is needless to write

μ’ ἀφῇς

with Brunck. For the omission of the pron. in acc., cp. Ph. 801

ἔμπρησον

(‘burn me’): ib. 769

ἕκηλον εὕδειν

( sc.

αὐτόν

): ib. 1368

πέμψον

( sc.

με

): O.T. 461

κἂν λάβῃς ἐψευσμένον

.—For the sense of

ἀφῇς

, cp. Ant. 887

ἄφετε μόνην, ἔρημον

: Her. 8. 70

ἀπέντες τὴν ἑωυτῶν ἀφύλακτον

ξυναρπασθεῖσαν . Ajax being now viewed as a public enemy (1132), his property, including the

δούλη

and her son, would be seized by the Greek chiefs.— δουλίαν : the comparative rarity of the fem. form led to δούλιν displacing it in some MSS. (cr. n.); but cp. Aesch. Ag. 1084

δουλίᾳ..φρενί

: Her. 3. 14

ἐσθῆτι δουλίῃ

(or

δουληίῃ

). The Attic prose word would be

δουλικήν.

τροφή , mode of life; El. 1183

δυσμόρου..τροφῆς

: O.C. 1687

δύσοιστον ἕξομεν τροφάν

καί τις

κ.τ.λ.

A reminiscence of Il. 6. 459 ff. (where Hector forebodes the fate of Andromachè)

καί ποτέ τις εἴπῃσιν, ἰδὼν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσαν· | ‘Ἕκτορος ἥδε γυνή, ὃς ἀριστεύεσκε μάχεσθαι | Τρώων ἱπποδάμων, ὅτε Ἴλιον ἀμφεμάχοντο.’

πικρὸν πρόσφθεγμα … ἐρεῖ describes what will be said, not to her, but of her; cp. Polit. p. 287 E

ἀγγεῖον ὃ δὴ μιᾷ κλήσει προσφθεγγόμεθα

(call by that name). Cp. El. 1213

οὔ σοι προσήκει τήνδε προσφωνεῖν φάτιν

( sc.

αὐτόν

), i.e., to speak of him as dead. The reference of πικρὸν is not only to the scornful word

ὁμευνέτιν

, but also to

οἵας λατρείας κ.τ.λ.

λόγοις ἰάπτων , lit. ‘shooting with words,’—launching taunts like missiles. The instrum. dat. λόγοις marks the figurative sense of ἰάπτων , just as

τόξοις

defines its literal sense in Aesch. Ag. 510 (

τόξοις ἰάπτων μηκέτ’ εἰς ἡμᾶς βέλη

): the object answering to the literal

βέλη

(such as

ὀνείδη

) is left to be understood. Cp. Rhianus (3rd cent. B.C.) ap. Stobaeus Flor. 4. 34. 9

μακάρεσσιν ἐπὶ ψόγον αἰνὸν ἰάπτει

(by tmesis for

ἐπιάπτει

). This seems truer than to suppose that the constr. is

λόγοις ἰάπτων

(

με

), ‘assailing me with taunts,’ though the latter view might be supported by the rare use of

ἰάλλω

in Od. 13. 142

πρεσβύτατον καὶ ἄριστον ἀτι‐

μίῃσιν ἰάλλειν

. As to the root of

ἰάπτω

, Curtius holds that

ἰα‐π

is expanded from

ἰα

(=Skt. jA, ‘go’), in a causative sense, by the determinative

, just as the Lat. <*>a-c is by k. ( Greek Verb, p. 167 Eng. ed.) Cp. 700 .

ἵσχυσε would usu. be an ‘ingressive’ aor. (‘became powerful’), like

ἐνόσησε

etc. Here, however, it refers to the past period of his pre-eminence; as the reign of a king is summed up in retrospect by

ἦρξε, ἐβασίλευσε

. Cp. the aor. in El. 1144 (

τροφῆς

)

τὴν ἐγὼ θάμ’ ἀμφὶ σοὶ | πόνῳ γλυκεῖ παρέσχον

: where Electra looks back on a closed chapter of her life.

οἵας … ὅσου : for this double relative in contrasts, cp. 923 , El. 751 , Tr. 1045 , etc.; Thuc. 5. 7 § 2, Thuc. 7. 75 § 6.

ζήλου , enviable happiness; cp. Dem. or. 23 § 64

ἃ καὶ ζῆλόν τινα καὶ τιμὴν φέρει τῇ πόλει.

τρέφει , only a stronger

ἔχει

,—has around her in her daily life. Cp. 503 : Tr. 817

ὄγκον..ὀνόματος..τρέφειν

: Ph. 795

τρέφοιτε..νόσον

κἀμὲ μὲν

κ.τ.λ.

The chief emphasis is on the clause σοὶ δ’ αἰσχρὰ κ.τ.λ.: she merely glances at the results to herself; ‘while I shall suffer, thou and thine will be disgraced.’ ἐλᾷ , vexabit, as in 756; cp. also 275.

αἰσχρὰ : Ajax had said that it was

αἰσχρόν

, in such a case as his, to go on living (473). Tecmessa wishes him to feel that it would be

αἰσχρόν

to die. But Ajax believes that Teucer's care will avert the evils which she fears (562).

αἴδεσαι … προλείπων . The participle, when used with

αἰσχύνομαι

αἰδοῦμαι

, implies that the person is doing, or has done, the act which causes shame. The infinitive implies that he has not yet done it. Cp. Xen. Cyr. 5. 1 § 21

καὶ τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ αἰσχύνομαι λέγων· τὸ δ’ ‘ἐὰν μένητε παρ’ ἐμοί, ἀποδώσω,’.. αἰσχυνοίμην ἂν εἰπεῖν

: (‘I am not ashamed of saying this; but I should be ashamed to say that.’) Here, προλείπων is more forcible than an infinitive. Since his words pointed to a fixed resolve (479 f.), she speaks as if he were already engaged in the deed.

κληροῦχον is not elsewhere thus used, but the fact that a word had a technical (and prosaic) sense was no bar to its figurative use in Attic poetry; cp.

πράκτωρ

and

εὔθυνος

( El. 953 n.). Isocr. or. 5 § 136 has the phrase

εὐνοίας..κληρονόμους

(‘heirs’).

ἀρᾶται , in a good sense, as in O. C. 1445 , where see n.

οἴκτιρε .. εἰ κ.τ.λ. A clause with

εἰ

and fut. indic. often denotes an object of pity or indignation ( El. 1210 , Ph. 988 ). Cp. Lys. or. 13 § 15

οὐκ ἐλεοῦντες..τὰ τείχη, εἰ πεσεῖται, οὐδὲ κηδόμενοι τῶν νεῶν, εἰ..παραδοθήσονται.— νέας τροφῆς

, the nurture suitable to the young: O. C. 345

ἐξ ὅτου νέας | τροφῆς ἔληξε

(n.).

διοίσεται , sc.

βίον

, ‘pass his life’: schol.

διάξει, βιώσεται

. The midd. has this absolute sense in Hippocr. De artic. p. 823

ὑγιηροὶ τἄλλα..διαφέρονται

(‘they pass through life’): Xen. Mem. 2. 1. 24

σκοπούμενος διοίσει

(a correction of

διέσῃ

). We find also

διαφέρειν βίον

αἰῶνα

( Her. 3. 40 , Helen. 10), or

διαφέρειν

only ([Eur. ] Rhes. 982).—Others explain

διοίσεται

as pass., diripietur, ‘(if) he shall be plundered.’ In this sense the usual word is

διαφορεῖν

, though Eur. Bacch. 754 has

διέφερον

in a kindred sense, and Arist. Poet. 8 § 4 the pass.

διαφέρεσθαι

: but such a meaning, which would fix attention on the boy's property, is utterly out of place here. [Lobeck, and Blaydes after him, cite Dion or. 41 p. 506 C

ὑπ’ ὀρφανιστῶν διασπασθήσεται

: but the correct reference is or. 43 p. 506 C, and the words,

ὑπὸ τῶν συγγενῶν καὶ ἐπιτρόπων διασπασθῆναι

.]— σοῦ … μόνος : cp. Soph. O. C. 1250

ἀνδρῶν γε μοῦνος

: Eur. Med. 52

σοῦ μόνη

ὑπ’ ὀρφανιστῶν (

διοίσεται

), if he shall have his life controlled by them: cp.

ὑπό

with the midd.

πορεύεται

in 1253 f.: O. C. 681

θἁλλει δ’..ὑπ’ ἄχνας

. The sense is not merely, ‘live under them,’ as if

ὑπό

with the genitive here took the sense of

ὑπό

with the dative ( subditus illorum imperio, Ellendt).

The word

ὀρφανιστής

(found only here) =

ἐπίτροπος

, ‘guardian.’ Eustathius (p. 533. 30), on Il. 5. 158

χηρωσταὶ δὲ διὰ κτῆσιν δατέοντο

, explains

χηρωσταί

as those who administered the property of persons who left no direct heirs (

τοὺς χηρεύοντας διαδόχων

); adding,

οἵτινες κατὰ λόγον ἄλλον καὶ ὀρφανισταὶ ἐκαλοῦντο, ὡς ὀρφανῶν ὑπεριστάμενοι, καθὰ καὶ Σοφοκλῆς δηλοῖ

. Apparently, then, he knew the word only from this verse. (The verb

ὀρφανίζω

usu.=to make

ὀρφανός

μὴ φίλων (the generic

μή

), of no friendly kind; for the order, cp. Aesch. Eum. 903

ὁποῖα νίκης μὴ κακῆς ἐπίσκοπα

. [The

μὴ

could also be explained by

εἰ

in 510: but this is less simple.]

Compare Andromachè's description, in her lament over Hector, of the lot in store for her child,

ἦμαρ δ’ ὀρφανικὸν παναφήλικα παῖδα τίθησιν

, ‘the day of orphanhood makes a child companionless,’ etc.: Il. 22. 490 —498.

βλέπω , pres. subjunct.: this is the indirect form of

εἰς τί βλέπω;

Cp. 428

ἐῶ

(n.).

ᾔστωσας . There is no other certain instance of

ᾀστόω

for

ἀϊστόω

. (In fr. 493,

κόρον ἀϊστώσας πυρί

, Kuster's conjecture

κηρὸν

, if right, would point to

ᾀστώσας

.) The ordinary form occurs in Tr. 881

αὑτὴν διηΐστωσε.

δορί . As to this form versus δόρει , see on O.C. 1304.

ἄλλη μοῖρα . Destiny, working through Ajax, ravaged her country. Destiny in some other form brought her father and mother to the grave. The poet did not wish to represent Tecmessa as living with the man who had slain her parents; and so followed, or invented, a legend which ascribed their deaths to a different agency. Throughout this speech, the Homeric scene between Hector and Andromachè is present to the mind of Sophocles. Andromachè's father had been slain by Achilles; her mother, by the visitation of Artemis ( Il. 6. 414 —428).

καθεῖλεν … οἰκήτορας (proleptic), brought them low, so that they should be dwellers, etc. After Ἅιδου, θανασίμους is redundant; but cp. Tr. 1161

ἀλλ’ ὅστις Ἅιδου φθίμενος οἰκήτωρ πέλοι

: though ib. 282 we have simply,

Ἅιδου πάντες εἴσ’ οἰκήτορες

. For

θανάσιμος

said of the dead, cp. O.T. 959, Ph. 819.

πατρίς : Cp. Xen. An. 1. 3 § 6

νομίζω γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἐμοὶ εἶναι καὶ πατρίδα καὶ φίλους καὶ συμμάχους

ἐν σοὶ … σῴζομαι : cp. O. T. 314

ἐν σοὶ γὰρ ἐσμέν

(n.). The prep. expresses that her safety is in his power,—depends on him. πᾶς’ , adverbial: cp. 275 .

κἀμοῦ : as well as of his parents and his son.

προσεῖναι , of a quality or attribute; cp. 1079 , Ant. 720.

τερπνὸν εἴ τί που πάθοι : cp. Dido's words to Aeneas ( Aen. 4. 316 ff.)

Per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenaeos, | Si bene quid de te merui, fuit aut tibi quicquam | Dulce meum, miserere.

For the optat., marking the generality of the statement, cp. 1344 : Ant. 666

ἀλλ’ δ\ν πόλις στήσειε, τοῦδε χρὴ κλύειν

(n.).

χάρις χάριν γάρ : Helen. 1234

χάρις γὰρ ἀντὶ χάριτος ἐλθέτω

. For the place of

γάρ

, cp. Aesch. P. V. 29

θεὸς θεῶν γάρ κ.τ.λ.

: for that of the art., Soph. O. T. 139

ἐκεῖνον ὁ κτανών.

τίκτους’ : cp. the proverb in Zenobius 3. 328

δίκη δίκην ἔτικτε καὶ βλάβη βλάβην

ἀπορρεῖ : cp. 1267 : El. 1000 n.

γένοιτ’ , cannot ‘become’ such, in the sense, ‘cannot finally be ranked as such.’ Whatever his other merits may be, their sum will not amount to true nobleness.

ἔχειν σ’ ἂν … θέλοιμ’ ἄν : the first

ἄν

, as well as the second, belongs to

θέλοιμι

: cp. 537 : O.T. 339 n.

ὡς κἀγὼ , sc.

ἔχω

. Cp. Il. 6. 476

δότε δὴ καὶ τόνδε γενέσθαι | παῖδ’ ἐμόν, ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ, ἀριπρεπέα Τρώεσσιν

: this also illustrates the use of

καί

, on which see O.C. 53

ὅσ’ οἶδα κἀγώ

(n.).

καὶ κάρτ’ . Here

καὶ

=‘and.’ But where

καὶ κάρτα

replies to a question ( O.C. 65 and 301), the verb being understood,

καὶ

merely emphasises (‘Yea, surely’), and

καὶ κάρτα

is then equiv. to

ἦ κάρτα

( El. 312 ). Similarly in

καὶ μάλα, καὶ

sometimes=‘and,’ but sometimes merely strengthens the adv. ( vel maxime): El. 1178 n.

τὸ ταχθὲν =

ὃ ἂν ταχθῇ

: he has not yet given his command. Cp. Tr. 1187

ἦ μὴν ἐμοὶ τὸ λεχθὲν ἔργον ἐκτελεῖν

, i.e.

ὃ ἂν λεχθῇ.

τολμᾷ , bring herself to do it: cp. 411 : Ph. 481

τόλμησον

, ‘make the effort.’ Instead of agreeing to take her advice (

ἔπη

), Ajax replies that he will be ready to praise her obedience.

For the alliteration (

παρήχησις

) cp. 1112 : O.T. 371

τυφλὸς τά τ’ ὦτα τόν τε νοῦν τά τ’ ὄμματ’ εἶ

(n.).

ἀλλ’ , in assent; cp. Ph. 48 n.

ὡς ἴδω : cp. 538 . The words express his impatient yearning.

καὶ μὴν φόβοισί γ’ . The formula

καὶ μήν

(lit. ‘and verily’) introduces a new fact or thought; as in Tragedy it often announces a new comer (1168). When this new fact or thought raises a difficulty in the way of something proposed by the last speaker, then

καὶ μήν

acquires an adversative force. Thus here, its literal sense, ‘and verily,’ ‘indeed,’ is tinged by the context with the sense, ‘oh, but,’ or ‘nay, but.’ The effect of γε is to place a slight stress on φόβοισι . The combination καὶ μήν … γε is very frequent with Sophocles: cp. 539 : O. T. 290 , O. T. 345 , O. T. 836 , O. T. 987 , O. T. 1004 , O. T. 1066 : O. C. 396 : Ant. 221 : Ph. 660 : El. 1045 , El. 1188. In all these passages the effect of γε is the same; i.e., it does not modify the sense of

καὶ μήν

, but emphasises the word or phrase with which it is immediately connected.

φόβοισι , causal dat.: the plur. as in O. T. 585

ξὺν φόβοισι

. Her fears were indicated at v. 340.

ἐξελυσάμην , lit. ‘released’: i.e., allowed him to leave the tent. The midd.

ἐκλύομαι

means to ‘release,’ ‘set free,’ in O.T. 1003, Ant. 1112 , Tr. 21 : H. 7. 1. 25

ἐξελύσαντο τοὺς Ἀργείους

. The choice of the word seems to be prompted by a wish not to say more than is implied in

φόβοισι

, or to imply that she had rescued the child from a danger. She speaks merely as if (in her undefined ‘fears’) she had left the care of the child to others. Then the blunt and impatient question of Ajax—

ἐν τοῖσδε τοῖς κακοῖσιν κ.τ.λ.

—startles her into speaking plainly,—

μὴ σοί γέ που δύστηνος κ.τ.λ.

The conjecture ἐξερρυσάμην (cr. n.), ‘rescued,’ would efface this trait of reticence. It is inferred from the scholiast's phrase,

τῶν φόβων χάριν ῥύσασθαι θέλουσα ἐξήγαγον

. But

ἐξήγαγον

is there the important word, while the words

ῥύσασθαι θέλουσα

are merely the scholiast's expansion of the motive implied in

φόβοισι

κακοῖσιν : a half-euphemistic phrase, as in 272, 431, 433.

μὴ σοί γε

κ.τ.λ.

Here

γε

replies to his question (‘ Yes, lest..’), and qualifies the whole sentence (cp. Ant. 648 n.): but it also adds to the emphasis on σοί .

πρέπον γέ τἂν ἦν . For

γέ τοι

cp. Ph. 823 n.

δαίμονος , fortune: El. 1306

τῷ παρόντι δαίμονι

. A gen. after

πρέπων

is very rare, but analogous to the gen. after

ἄξιος

: Plat. Menex.p. 239 C

πρεπόντως τῶν πραξάντων

. [In Plat. Rep.p. 400 B

ὕβρεως ἢ μανίας καὶ ἄλλης κακίας πρέπουσαι βάσεις

, the gen. seems to depend on

πρέπουσαι

: but might be possessive.]

ἀλλ’ οὖν (‘well, at any rate’), followed by γε (emphasising the word before it), occurs also in Ant. 84 , Ph. 1305 , El. 233 , El. 1035 , etc.

)φύλαξα : cp. 308

)θώϋξεν.

ἀρκέσαι , infin. of purpose: cp. O. T. 198 n. For the sense, defendere, cp. Il. 20. 289

ἢ κόρυθ’ ἠὲ σάκος, τό οἱ ἤρκεσε λυγρὸν ὄλεθρον

: Eur. El. 1300 (

πῶς

)

οὐκ ἠρκέσατον κῆρας μελάθροις;

ἐπῄνες’ : for the aor., cp. El. 668 n.

ἔθου : cp. 13 n.

ὡς ἐκ τῶνδ’ : i.e., seeing that the child has been sent away, and that Ajax approves of her precaution (536). She wishes to divert him from the desire of seeing his son. But he instantly recurs to it.—For ἐκτῶνδε , ‘under these conditions,’ cp. Tr. 1109 (n.). ὡς gives a limiting force (as in

ὡς ἐμοί

, Tr. 395 ): Eur. Andr. 1184

οὗτός τ’ ἂν ὡς ἐκ τῶνδ’ ἐτιμᾶτ’ ἄν, γέρον

, |

θανών

. Thuc. 4. 17 § 1

ὡς ἐκ τῶν παρόντων

. There is a verbal likeness to Soph. Ant. 552

τί δῆτ’ ἂν ἀλλὰ νῦν σ’ ἔτ’ ὠφελοῖμ’ ἐγώ

;

καὶ μὴν here announces a fact which favours the last speaker's wish, and not, as in 531, a fact opposed to it; here, therefore, it becomes an expression of assent.

γε emphasises πέλας.

προσπόλοις , dat. of agent; rare, except with the perf. pass.; but cp. Ant. 1218

θεοῖσι κλέπτομαι

, and ib. 504 f. (n.).

μὴ οὐ , since τί μέλλει is equiv. to

μὴ μελλέτω

: cp. Aesch. P. V. 627

τί δῆτα μέλλεις μὴ οὐ γεγωνίσκειν τὸ πᾶν;

παρουσίαν ἔχειν =

παρεῖναι

: a periphrasis like

θήραν ἔχων

(564),

ἔχει στίβον

( Ph. 157 ).

εὐθύνων : cp. Eur. Heracl. 728

εὐθύνων πόδα

ἕρποντι φωνεῖς ...; the partic. expresses the leading idea; cp. O. C. 1038

χωρῶν ἀπείλει νῦν

(n.).

λελειμμένῳλόγων , unable to catch the sound of thy words; schol. in L,

οὐκ ἀκούοντι

. Cp. Eur. Or. 1085

ἦ πολὺ λέλειψαι τῶν ἐμῶν βουλευμάτων

(‘laggest far behind them,’—failest to comprehend them): Helen. 1246

λέλειμμαι τῶν ἐν Ἕλλησιν νόμων

(‘am not versed in them’).

καὶ δὴ , ‘already’: O. C. 31 n.

αἶρε δεῦρο . The child is led in by an attendant: Ajax means, ‘lift him’ (from the ground) ‘to my arms.’ Some take

αἶρε

as=‘bring,’ comparing Il. 6. 264

μή μοι οἶνον ἄειρε

, Ar. Pax 1

αἶρ’ αἶρε μᾶζαν ὡς τάχιστα κανθάρῳ

: but this is less simple, and less fitting.

ταρβήσει γὰρ οὒ : for

οὐ

placed after the verb, see on Ant. 96. This passage recalls Il. 6. 466 —470, where Hector is about to take his little son from the nurse's arms, but the child shrinks back, frightened by the helmet,—

ταρβήσας χαλκόν τε ἰδὲ λόφον ἱππιοχαίτην

νεοσφαγῆ … φόνον , the adj. compounded with a word akin in sense to the subst.; cp. Ant. 1283

νεοτόμοισι πλήγμασιν

.—There is no reason to doubt the genuineness of που , which gives a touch of grim irony. L's reading, τοῦ , certainly points to τοῦτόν γε : but this is very in ferior to the vulgate. Wecklein, reading του , thinks that Ajax wishes to avoid saying

μου

δικαίως , in a full and true sense: cp. O. T. 852

οὔτοι ποτ’, ὦναξ, τόν γε Λαΐου φόνον | φανεῖ δικαίως ὀρθόν

, i.e. ‘properly fulfilled.’

τὰ πατρόθεν is re dundant, but not pointless; the qualities derived from the father will prevail over any weaker qualities derived

μητρόθεν

ὠμοῖς … ἐν νόμοις , the rugged usages of a warrior inured to the sight of bloodshed. For the adj., cp. 205

ὠμοκρατής

, n. In saying

νόμοις

rather than

τρόποις

, he speaks with a certain heroic grandeur (

μεγαλοφρονῶν

, as the schol. remarks). Cp. C. 2. 15. 11

non ita Romuli | Praescriptum et intonsi Catonis | Auspiciis veterumque norma.

πωλοδαμνεῖν , to break him in like a colt. The word was familiar in Attic ( Xen. Oec. 3. 10 , etc.). Cp. Plut. Mor. 13 E

οὕτω σκιρτῶσα νεότης πωλοδαμνεῖται

. Lucian Amor. 45

τὴν νεότητα πωλοδαμνήσας

. For the metaphor implicit in the compound verb, cp. Ant. 994

ἐναυκλήρεις πόλιν

κἀξομοιοῦσθαι is passive, and

αὐτόν

(the object of

πωλοδαμνεῖν

) is its subject, φύσιν being acc. of respect. For the infinitives, linked by

καί

, yet having different subjects, cp. Plat. Rep.p. 359 E (

λέγουσιν

)

αὐτὸν ἀφανῆ γενέσθαι τοῖς παρακαθημένοις, καὶ διαλέγεσθαι

[ sc.

αὐτοὺς

]

ὡς περὶ οἰχομένου

ὦ παῖ

κ.τ.λ.

Paraphrased by Attius, Armorum Iudicium fr. 10, Virtuti sis par, dispar fortunis patris: and imitated by Verg. Aen. 12. 435 (Aeneas to Ascanius), Disce, puer , virtutem ex me verumque laborem, | Fortunam ex aliis.

τὰ δ’ ἄλλ’ ὅμοιος : so Hector prays for Astyanax that he may be like his father, —

ὧδε βίην τ’ ἀγαθὸν καὶ Ἰλίου ἶφι ἀνάσσειν

: but adds the nobler prayer that men may say,

πατρός γ’ ὅδε πολλὸν ἀμείνων

. ( Il. 6. 476 ff.)

καίτοι … καὶ νῦν : nay, even now—while that prayer still awaits fulfilment—the child is happier than his father, in unconsciousness of evil.

σε is better here than σὲ (which L has), though the emphasis could be defended (‘I, the man, might envy thee, the child’).

τοῦτό γε : this acc. of respect (instead of the ordinary genitive) with

ζηλοῦν

is unusual; but the same constr. sometimes occurs with words of a like sense, e.g. Vesp. 588

τουτὶ γάρ τοί σε μόνον..μακαρίζω

οὐδὲν is best taken as acc. governed by ἐπαισθάνει : cp. 996 : O. T. 424

ἄλλων δὲ πλῆθος οὐκ ἐπαισθάνει κακῶν

. It might, however, be adv. (cp. Ant. 1183

τῶν λόγων ἐπῃσθόμην

ἐν τῷ φρονεῖν μηδὲν : i.e., before there is any intelligent consciousness of joy or sorrow (555).

554 b [ τὸ μὴ φρονεῖν γὰρ κ.τ.λ.] Such an unconsciousness is an ‘evil,’ as excluding

τὸ χαίρειν

, but ‘painless,’ as exempt from

τὸ λυπεῖσθαι

. This verse was probably written in the margin, as a parallel passage to v. 554, and then crept into the text. It may come (as Valckenär thought) from some other play of Sophocles; its tone seems less suggestive of Euripides. That it was a familiar quotation, may be seen from the way in which it is brought in by the novelist Eustathius (or Eumathius), in

τὸ καθ’ Ὑσμίνην καὶ Ὑσμινίαν σρᾶμα

( c. 1100 A.D. ?), ch. 2 § 7 ( Erot. Scriptores vol. II. p. 174 ed. Hercher),

τοῦ ἔπους ἐμνήσθην ὡς τὸ μὴ φρονεῖν κάρτ’ ἀνώδυνον κακόν

. It is translated, along with v. 553, in the sentences of Publilius Syrus ( c. 45 B.C.), 876 f.,

Suavissima haec est vita, si sapias nihil: | Nam sapere nil doloris expers est malum.

But those two verses are doubtless later interpolations in the text of Publilius: they are wanting in the best MS. (Monac. lat. 6292).

ἕως , without

ἄν

: so Ph. 764 , Tr. 148.

ἵκῃ πρὸς τοῦτο , i.e.

πρὸς τὸ μαθεῖν

. Cp. 1365 .

δεῖ σ’ ὅπως … δείξεις : see on Ph. 54 f.

τὴν Φιλοκτήτου σε δεῖ | ψυχὴν ὅπως λόγοισιν ἐκκλέψεις λέγων.— )τράφης

suggests the inbred qualities of the race; cp. Ph. 3

κρατίστου πατρὸς Ἑλλήνων τραφείς

. For the prodelision of the augment in the 6th foot of the v., cp. Ant. 457

)φάνη

: Helen. 263 (

εἴθε

)

αἴσχιον εἶδος ἀντὶ τοῦ καλοῦ )λαβον

τέως , ‘meanwhile,’ referring to the limit of time marked by v. 556. So in Od. 15. 127 ,

τῆος δὲ φίλῃ παρὰ μητρὶ | κείσθω

, the ref. is to the limit marked by

ἐς γάμου ὥρην

just before. And ib. 230

εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν | εἶχε βίῃ· ὁ δὲ τῆος...δέδετο

. Other usages of

τέως

are: (1) when it answers to

ἕως

: Ar. Pax 32

τέως ἕως λάθοις σαυτὸν διαρραγείς

: and (2) when it means, ‘for a time’ (or, ‘hitherto’), and is followed by a clause with

δέ

ἀλλά

: Her. 1. 82

τέως μὲν δὴ..τέλος δέ κ.τ.λ.

κούφοις πνεύμασιν , light airs, gentle breezes, such as nourish young plants. Lobeck quotes Dion Chrysostomus or. 12 p. 202 B

τρεφόμενοι τῇ διηνεκεῖ τοῦ

πνεύματος ἐπιρροῇ ἀέρα ὑγρὸν ἕλκοντες ὥσπερ νήπιοι παῖδες

. Pliny H. N. 18. 34 Zephyrum dicit in plantas nutricium exercere. Lucian Bix accus. § 1

τοὺς ἀνέμους φυτουργοῦντας

. We might add Catull. 62. 39 ut flos.. | Quem mulcent aurae , firmat sol, educat imber.

νέαν ψυχὴν ἀτάλλων . Cp. Tr. 144

τὸ γὰρ νεάζον ἐν τοιοῖσδε βόσκεται | χώροισιν αὑτοῦ

etc. (n.). The word

ἀτάλλω

(which in Il. 13. 27 means ‘to gambol’) bears the sense of ‘cherishing’ in Hom. epigr. 4. 2

νήπιον αἰδοίης ἐπὶ γούνασι μητρὸς ἀτάλλων

, and Pind. fr. 214

γλυκεῖά οἱ καρδίαν ἀτάλλοισα

... |

ἐλπίς

. The Homeric form in this sense is

ἀτιτάλλω

, Hom. Od. 18. 323

παῖδα δὲ ὣς ἀτίταλλε

The word

ἀτάλλω

may have been suggested to Sophocles by a trait in the scene between Hector and Andromachè: Il. 6. 400

παῖδ’ ἐπὶ κόλπῳ ἔχουσ’ ἀταλάφρονα, νήπιον αὔτως

χαρμονήν might be acc. in appos. with

ψυχὴν

only; but is better taken as acc. in appos. with the whole sentence (see on El. 130

ἥκετ’ ἐμῶν καμάτων παραμύθιον

).—The conjecture χαρμονή is no gain.

560 It is strange that exception should have been taken to the parenthetic οἶδα , which is not rare; cp. 938 , O. C. 1615 , El.|354.

οὔτοι … μή : cp. 83 , 421.

τοῖον : cp. 164 , 218, 251.

πυλωρὸν , warder, guardian; Eur. Tro. 956 (

πύργων

), I. T. 1227 (

ναῶν

τροφῆς ἄοκνον : any adj. compounded with a privativum can take a genitive; and here the gen. is the more natural since

ἅοκνος

suggests the notion of

ἀφειδής.

ἔμπα : this form occurs in Pind. N. 4. 36 , and Callim. Epigr. 13 (

καί σφιν ἀνιηρὸν μὲν ἐρεῖς ἔπος, ἔμπα δὲ λέξον

). A Doric form

ἔμπα—ν

is used by Pind. P. 5. 51. In 122 and 1338, as in Soph. Ant. 845 , we have

ἔμπας

. (The form

ἔμπακ’

, once read here, was a mere blunder: see cr. n.)— κεἰ stands here (as in 692 and 962) where

εἰ καί

would be normal, since the reference is to an actual fact: cp. Soph. O. T.appendix on v. 305, p. 224.

τηλωπὸς , properly ‘of distant aspect’ (

ὤψ

), here merely ‘distant,’ as in Ph. 216

βοᾷ τηλωπὸν ἰωάν.

οἰχνεῖ : cp. El. 165 n.

θήραν ἔχων : for the periphrasis, cp. 540 : Ph. 839

θήραν | τήνδ’ ἁλίως ἔχομεν

. He had gone on a foray (343) in the highlands of Mysia (720).

ἀσπιστῆρες . The Salaminian followers of Ajax are at once seamen and warriors; as Thuc. (1. 10 § 4) says of the Greeks who went against Troy,

αὐτερέται.. ἦσαν καὶ μάχιμοι πάντες.

χάριν , this act of kindness; viz., care for the child.

ὅπως … δείξει is the object clause to

ἀγγείλατ’ ἐντολήν

. A final clause,

ὅπως..δείξῃ

, would be less fitting here.

Ἐριβοίᾳ λέγω . The dat. is more forcible than the acc. would be, as it keeps the command,

ὅπως δείξει μητρί

, before the mind; cp. Aesch. fr. 175

τῆς Ἀντικλείας ἆσσον ἦλθε Σίσυφος

, |

τῆς σῆς λέγω τσι μητρός

. Dem. or. 19 § 152

περὶ ..μειζόνων, λέγω δὲ Φωκέων καὶ Πυλῶν

. Ajax adds these words to show that he does not mean Teucer's mother, Hesionè (1300). Eriboea was the daughter of Alcathoüs, king of Megara: Pindar mentions her as the mother of Ajax ( I. 5. 45). She is called Periboea by Apollodorus (3. 12 § 7) and Pausanias (1. 42. 1).

μέχρις οὗ . This verse is doubtless due to an interpolator who wished to limit

εἰσαεί

. It has three marks of spuriousness. (1)

μέχρι

, not

μέχρις

, is the Attic form. (2) The anapaest in the first foot is a needless harshness, when either

ἕως

ἔστ’ ἂν

was available. (3) The division of an anapaest (in the first foot) between two words has no Sophoclean parallel except in Phil. 795

τὸν ἴσον χρόνον τρέφοιτε τήνδε τὴν νόσον

: and the Philoctetes was one of the latest plays ( 409 B.C.).—It might be added that

μυχοὺς κίχωσι

is a somewhat strange phrase; though we may compare Il. 21. 128

ἄστυ κιχείομεν

. The use of

κίχω

in 657 is slightly different.

μήτ’ … θήσους’ : depending on

ὅπως

in 567. Cp. Od. 11. 546 (referring to the contest from the arms),

ἔθηκε δὲ πότνια μήτηρ

(Thetis), ‘offered them as a prize.’

ἀγωνάρχαι (a word found only here)=

ἀγωνοθέται

, the presidents of the games, such as the Amphictyons were at the Pythian festival. The presidents appointed the

ἐπιμεληταί

who actually supervised the contests, such as the

Ἑλλανοδίκαι

at Olympia. (Cp. El. 690 n.)

μήθ’ ὁ λυμεὼν ἐμός . Only two parallels for the place of

ἐμός

are brought from classical Greek literature. (1) Eur. Hipp. 683

Ζεύς σ’ ὁ γεννήτωρ ἐμός

: where G. Wolff would omit

ὁ

. (2) Theocr. 27. 58

τὠμπέχονον ποίησας ἐμὸν ῥάκος

: where Schaefer's remedy,

ἐμοὶ

, is quite admissible; Hermann wrote

ἀμπεχόναν..ἐμάν

. The nearest analogy to such a license as

ὁ λυμεὼν ἐμός

is afforded by such instances as

τὸν ἐμὸν πατέρ’ ἄθλιον

( Eur. El. 133 n.), where

ἄθλιον

is a mere epithet, but ought, by position, to be a predicate. Remembering the originally pronominal sense of the art., we may hesitate to affirm that an Attic poet could not have ventured to write

ὁ λυμεὼν ἐμός

, meaning, ‘that destroyer of mine.’

No correction is very probable. We cannot read

μήθ’ ὁ λυμεὼν ἐμοῦ

, since, though

μου

can represent the possessive pron., such a use of

ἐμοῦ

would be unexampled. (See Krüger, Gr. Sprachlehre, § 47. 9. 13.) The dat.

ἐμοί

is also untenable. It is possible that the poet wrote μήτε λυμεὼν ἐμός : but the article, if not indispensable, is at least very desirable here.

αὐτό , that,—with an emphasis due to the place of the word.

ἐπώνυμον , ‘that gives thee thy name’; as at Athens the

ἐπώνυμοι

were the heroes who gave names to the Attic tribes. Cp. 430 n.

πολυρράφου … πόρπακος . This must be interpreted by the usage of the poet's day, not by Homeric practice. The

πόρπαξ

may be seen on shields depicted in Greek vase-paintings; an example is reproduced in Smith's Dict. of Antiquities (3rd ed., vol. I. p. 459, art. clipeus). It was a leathern thong, running round the inner edge of the shield, and fixed at intervals of six inches or so by pins or nails, so as to form a succession of loops. The name,

πόρπαξ

, was derived from these pins (

πόρπαι

), which could be taken out, when it was wished to remove the

πόρπαξ

and so to unfit the shield for immediate use. (It is made a charge against Cleon in Ar. Eq. 849 that he had dedicated the shields taken at Pylos

αὐτοῖσι τοῖς πόρπαξιν

But a loop at the edge of the shield, such as the

πόρπαξ

offered to the warrior's hand ( Helen. 1376

ἐμβαλὼν πόρπακι γενναίαν χέρα

), would not suffice to give him control. Hence, in the vasepainting noticed above, we see the

πόρπαξ

combined with another contrivance, viz., a band (of metal, or wood), placed vertically across the inside of the shield, and furnished at the middle with an arrangement of small bars, forming a support for the arm just below the elbow. This band was the

ὄχανον

ὀχάνη

.—See Appendix.

πολυρράφου (‘much, or well, stitched’) is a general epithet for elaborate leatherwork, and is again illustrated by the vase-painting cited above, where ornamental tassels hang from the pins which divide the loops of the

πόρπαξ

. In Theocr. 25. 265,

πολύρραπτόν τε φαρέτρην

, the epithet probably refers to braiding; quivers were often made of hide or leather.

ἑπτάβοιον =epic

ἑπταβόειον

: see n. on 19. The second part of the compound is not

βοῦς

, but

βοεία

, ox-hide ( Il. 12. 296 ). The shield was the work of

Τυχίος, σκυτοτόμων ὄχ’ ἄριστος

,—so essentially was the currier's art that which it chiefly demanded ( Il. 7. 220 ). Tychios dwelt at

Ὕλη

,—probably the Boeotian ( Il. 2. 500 ). The number of seven layers of hide was probably exceptional; in Il. 15. 479 Teucer has a

σάκος τετραθέλυμνον

, i.e., with four such layers.

τεθάψεται . Here, as at 1141, the fut. perf. gives a peremptory tone. Athena uses it in I. T. 1464:

οὗ καὶ τεθάψει

. (Cp. Nub. 1436

τεθνήξεις

.) The ordinary fut. pass. was

ταφήσομαι

. The practice of burying a warrior's arms with him was a primitive Aryan custom; witness the swords found in the graves at Mycenae. Sophocles in this play follows the legend that the body of Ajax was interred, and not, as was the ordinary practice in the heroic age, burned ( cp. 1166 n.). The reference to the burial of the arms is thus perfectly fitting. There was less meaning in the practice, noticed by Homer, of burning a warrior's armour with him; Il. 6. 418

ἀλλ’ ἄρα μιν κατέκηε σὺν ἔντεσι δαιδαλέοισιν

: Od. 11. 74

ἀλλά με κακκῆαι σὺν τεύχεσιν

. It may have come down from the earlier days when interment was the rule. No arms are burned on the pyre of Patroclus ( Il. 23. 165 ff.), Hector (24. 785 ff.), or Achilles ( Od. 24. 65 ff.).

κοίν’ ἐμοὶ· κοινὰ

is here adv.: cp. Ant. 546

μή μοι θάνῃς σὺ κοινά

πάκτου .

πακτόω

(

πακτός

πηκτός

) is used by Her. 2. 96 (in the compound

ἐμ‐

), and by Vesp. 128, of ‘stopping up’ holes, ‘caulking,’ and this may have been its special sense. But the general sense, ‘to make fast,’ occurs in Ar. Lys. 264

μοχλοῖς τε καὶ κλήθροισι τὰ προπύλαια πακτοῦν

. Eustathius, who explains it by

ἀσφαλίζεσθαι

(p. 742. 43), seems to regard the use of the word with ref. to closing doors as peculiarly Attic (p. 1937. 62

τὸ συγκλεῖσαι, πακτῶσαι παρ’ Ἀττικοῖς

). According to Pollux 10. 27, however, Archilochus had used

πακτῶσαι

as=

κλεῖσαι

ἐπισκήνους =

ἐπὶ τῇ σκηνῇ

, at the tent, i.e., in front of it. Cp. Ant. 1247

ἐς πόλιν γόους | οὐκ ἀξιώσειν, ἀλλ’ ὑπὸ στέγης ἔσω, κ.τ.λ.

φιλοίκτιστον : schol. on Il. 22. 88

φίλοικτον χρῆμα ἡ γυνή

. Eur. H. F. 536

τὸ θῆλυ γάρ πως μᾶλλον οἰκτρὸν ἀρσένων

. For the neut., cp. Eur. El. 1035

μῶρον μὲν οὖν γυναῖκες

: O. C. 592 n. The adj. is formed from the midd.

οἰκτίζομαι

as= ‘to lament’ ( I. T. 486, etc.).

πύκαζε : the vague word (‘to close,’ ‘cover up’) is explained by the preceding

δῶμα πάκτου

. Cp. Hes. Op. 622

νῆα δ’ ἐπ’ ἠπείρου ἐρύσαι, πυκάσαι τε λίθοισι | πάντοθεν

(‘protect’ it): perh. the nearest approach to the use of the word here, in ref. to shutting the door of a dwelling.

οὐ πρὸς ἰατροῦ : for the prep., cp. 319 .

θρηνεῖν ἐπῳδὰς : as to the medical use of

ἐπῳδαί

, see on O. C. 1194

φίλων ἐπῳδαῖς ἐξεπᾴδονται φύσιν

. The transition from gentle incantations to drastic surgery is similarly implied in Tr. 1000

τίς γὰρ ἀοιδός, τίς ὁ χειροτέχνης | ἰατορίας, ὃς τήνδ’ ἄτην | χωρὶς Ζηνὸς κατακηλήσει;

(n.)

τομῶντι means here, not

ἐπιθυμοῦντι τέμνειν

, but

δεομένῳ τομῆς

: cp. Lucian Lexiphanes 4

τὰ ὄμματά μοι φαρμακᾷ

δεῖται φαρμάκων

. Ov. Met. 1. 190

Cuncta prius tentata; sed immedicabile vulnus | Ense recidendum est, ne pars sincera trahatur.

προθυμίαν , the eagerness expressed by

πύκαζε θᾶσσον.

ἀρέσκει with acc., as often in Attic: Eur. Hipp. 185

οὐδέ σ’ ἀρέσκει τὸ παρόν

(and ib. 106

οὐδείς μ’ ἀρέσκει

): Vesp. 776

τουτί μ’ ἀρέσκει

: Th. 406 , Ran. 103 , Pl. 353. Cp. El. 147

ἐμέ γ’...ἄραρεν

(n.).

τεθηγμένη : cp. Aesch. P. V. 311

τραχεῖς καὶ τεθηγμένους λόγους

δρασείεις : cp. 326 .

φρενί is not weak, because his wish for seclusion was not in itself disquieting.

κρῖνε =

ἀνάκρινε

: Ant. 399

καὶ κρῖνε κἀξέλεγχε

οἴμ’ ὡς : 354.

μὴ προδοὺς γένῃ : Ph. 773 (

μὴ

)

κτείνας γένῃ

(n.).

ἄγαν γε λυπεῖς : cp. 951 : Ant. 573

ἄγαν γε λυπεῖς καὶ σὺ καὶ τὸ σὸν λέχος.

ἀρκεῖν , to render service (439 n.).

ὀφειλέτης : the gods hate him (457); he has no hope from them,—they are doing their worst (399—403): he owes them no duty. When Hermes reproaches Prometheus with not wishing to conciliate Zeus, the sufferer ironically answers,

καὶ μὴν ὀφείλων γ’ ἂν τίνοιμ’ αὐτῷ χάριν

( Aesch. P. V. 985 ).

εὔφημα φώνει , as in 362.

τοῖς ἀκούουσιν λέγε : cp. Theocr. 15. 90

πεισομένοις ἐπίτασσε

. Euripides has what seems an echo of this verse in the Hercules Furens (a play referable to 421— 416 B.C., and so later than the Ajax), 1184

ΘΗ. εὔφημα φώνει. ΑΜΦ. βουλομένοισιν ἐπαγγέλλει

The division of the verse between two speakers (

ἀντιλαβή

) is here used for the first time in the play, to mark the tension of feeling.

ξυνέρξεθ’ ,=

συγκλείσετε

, fut. of

ξυνείργω

: but in Ph. 1407 we find

εἴρξω

, a form which the poet may have preferred there, because in the verse before he had used

ἔρξεις

as fut. of

ἔρδω

. (In Tr. 83

ξυνέρξων

is fut. of

ξυνέρδω

.) The command is given to the

πρόσπολοι

(544).

ἄρτι : i.e. this new hope (if such she has) is one of which long experience might have taught her the vanity.

Ajax is now withdrawn into the tent on the eccyclema (

εἰσκυκλεῖται

), and the entrance is closed. Tecmessa and her child retire by another door into the part of the dwelling which is supposed to represent the

γυναικών

. They re-enter after the Choral ode, and are present while Ajax speaks (see 684 ff.). Some, indeed, suppose that they remain on the scene during the ode; but the command of Ajax to Tecmessa in 579 f.,

μηδ’ ἐπισκήνους γόους | δάκρυε

, is against this.

Welcker thinks that not only Tecmessa (with the child), but Ajax also, remain present during the ode. ( Rhein. Mus. for 1829, part 3, p. 87.) It is clear, however, from v. 593 that Ajax withdraws into the tent.

Commentary on Sophocles: Ajax. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. 1907.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Experimental

Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (English) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (4)

Αἴας μαστιγοφόρος First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Aiax. Lobeck Christian, editor. Berlin: Weidmann, 1866.) — 1-171 focus

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ἀεὶ μὲν, ὦ παῖ Λαρτίου, δἐδορκά σε
1

πεῖράν τιν’ ἐχθρῶν ἁρπάσαι θηρώμενον.

καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ σκηναῖς σε ναυτικαῖς ὁρῶ

Αἴαντος, ἔνθα τάξιν ἐσχάτην ἔχει,

πάλαι κυνηγετοῦντα καὶ μετρούμενον
5

ἴχνη τὰ κείνου νεοχάραχθ’, ὅπως ἴδῃς

εἴτ’ ἔνδον, εἴτ’ οὐκ ἔνδον· εὑ δέ σ’ ἐκφέρει

κυνὸς Λακαίνης ὥς τις εὔρινος βάσις.

ἔνδον γὰρ ἁνὴρ ἄρτι τυγχάνει κάρα

στάζων ἱδρῶτι καὶ χέρας ζιφοκτόνους,
10

καί σ’ οὐδὲν εἴσω τἧςδε παπταίνειν πύλης

ἔτ’ ἔργον ἐστὶν, ἐννέπειν δ’ ὅτου χάριν

σπουδὴν ἔθου τήνδ’, ὡς παρ’ εἰδυίας μάθης.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ὦ φθέγμ’ Ἀθανᾶς, φιλτάτης ἐμοὶ θεῶν,

ὡς εὔμαθές σου, κἂν ἄποπτος ᾖς, ὅμως
15

φώνημ’ ἀκούω καὶ ξυναρπάζω φρενὶ,

χαλκοστόμου κώδωνος ὡς Τυρσηνικῆς.

καὶ νῦν ἐπέγνως εὖ μ’ ἐπ’ ἀνδρὶ δυςμενῖ

βάσιν κυκλοῦντ’, Αἴαντι τῷ σακεσφόρῳ.

κεῖνον γὰρ, οὐδἐν’ ἄλλον, ἰχνεύω πάλαι.
20

νυκτὸς γὰρ ἡμᾶς τἧςδε πρᾶγος ἄσκοπον

ἔχει περάνας, εἴπερ εἴργασται τάδε.

ἴσμεν γὰρ οὐδὲν τρανὲς ἀλλ’ ἀλώμεθα.

κἀγὼ ’θελοντὴς τῷδ’ ὑπεζύγην πόνῳ.

ἐφθαρμένας γὰρ ἀρτίως εὑρίσκομεν
25

λείας ἁπάσας καὶ κατηναρισμένας·

ἐκ χειρὸς, αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις.

τήνδ’ οὖν ἐκείνῳ πᾶς τις αἰτίαν νέuει.

καὶ μοί τις ὀπτὴρ αὐτὸν εὶςιδὼν μόνον

πηδῶντα πεδία σὺν νεορράντῳ ξίφει,
30

φράζει τε κἀδήλωσεν· εὐθέως δ’ ἐγὼ

κατ’ ἴχνος ᾄσσω· καὶ τὰ μὲν σημαίνομαι,

τὰ ὸ’ ἐκπέπληγμαι, κοὐκ ἔχω μαθεῖν ὅτου·

καιρὸν δ’ ἐφήκεις· πάντα γὰρ, τά τ’ οὖν πάρος,

τά τ’ εὶσἐπειτα, σῇ κυβερνῶμαι χερί.
35

ΑΘΗΝΑ

ἐγνων, Ὀδυσσεῦ, καὶ πάλαι φύλαξ ἔβην

τῇ σῇ πρόθυμος εἰς ὁδὸν κυνηγίᾳ.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ἦ καὶ, φίλη δέσποινα, πρὸς καιρὸν πονῶ;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Καὶ πρὸς τί δυςλόγιστον ὧδ’ ᾖξεν χέρα;
40

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδ’ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Δοκῶν ὲν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ἦ καὶ τὸ βούλευμ’ ὡς ἐπ’ Ἀργείοις τόδ’ ἦν;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Κὰν ὲξἐπραξεν, εἰ κατημέλησ’ ἐγώ.
45

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Ποίαισι τόλμαις ταῖςδε καὶ φρενῶν θράσει;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Νύκτωρ ὲφ’ ὑμάς δόλιος ὁρμᾶται μόνος.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Ἡ καὶ παρέστη κἀπὶ τἐρμ’ ἀφίκετο;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Καὶ δὴ ’πὶ δισσαῖς ἦν στρατηγίσιν πύλαις.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Καὶ πῶς ἐπέσχε χεῖρα μαιμῶσαν φόνου;
50

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ἐγώ σφ’ ἀπείργω δυςφόρους ἐπ’ ὄμμασι

γνώμας βαλοῦσα τῆς ἀνηκέστου χαράς,

καὶ πρός τε ποίμνας ὲκτρέπω σύμμικτά τε

λείας, ἄδαστα βουκόλων φρουρήματα·

ἔνθ’ εkπεσὼν ἔκειρε πολύκερων φόνον,
55

κύκλῳ ῥαχίζων· κἀδόκει μὲν ἔσθ’ ὅτε

δισσοὺς Ἀτρείδας αὐτόχειρ κτείνειν ἔχων,

ὅτ’ ἄλλοτ’ ἄλλον, ἐμπίτνων, στρατηλατῶν.

ἐγὼ δὲ φοιτῶντ’ ἄνδρα μανιάσιν νόσοις

ὤτρυνον, εἰςέβαλλον εἰς ἕρκη κακά.
60

κἀπειτ , ἐπειδὴ τοῦδ’ ἐλώφησεν πόνου,

τοὺς ζῶντας αὖ δεσμοῖσι συνδήσας βοῶν

ποίμνας τε πάσας εἰς δόμους κομίζεται,

ὡς ἄνδρας, οὐχ ὡς εὔκερων ἄγραν ἔχων.

καὶ νῦν κατ’ οἴκους ζυνδέτους αἰκίζεται.
65

δείξω δὲ καὶ σοὶ τήνδε περιφανῆ νόσον,

ὡς πᾶσιν Ἀργείοισιν εἰσιδὼν θροῇς.

θαρσῶν δὲ μίμνε μηδὲ συμφορὰν δέχου

τὸν ἄνδρ’· ἐγὼ γὰρ ὀμμάτων ἀποστρόφους

αὐγὰς ἀπείρξω, σὴν πρόςοψιν εἰςιδεῖν.
70

οὗτος, σὲ, τὸν τὰς αἰχμαλωτίδας χέρας

δεσμοῖς ἀπευθύνοντα, προςμολεἷν καλῶ.

Αἴαντα φωνῶ· στεῖχε δωμάτων πάρος,

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Τί δρᾷς, Ἀθάνα; μηδαμῶς σφ’ ἔξω κάλει.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Οὐ σῖγ’ ἀνέξει, μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρεῖς;
75

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

μὴ πρὸς θεῶν· ἀλλ’ ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Τί μὴ γένηται; πρόςθεν οὐκ ἀνὴρ ὅδ’ ἦν;

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ἐχθρός γε τῷδε τἀνδρὶ καὶ τανῦν ἔτι.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Οὔκουν γέλως ἥδιστος εἰς ἐχθροὺς γελᾷν;

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀρκεῖ τοῦτον ὲν δόμοις μένειν.
80

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Μεμῃνότ’ ἄνδρα περιφανῶς ὀκνεῖς ἰδεῖν;

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Φρονοῦντα γάρ νιν οὐκ ἂν ἐξέστην ὄκνῳ.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ νῦν σε μὴ παρόντ’ ἴδῃ πέλας.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Πῶς, εἴπερ ὀφθαλμοῖς γε τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὁρᾷ;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

ἐγὼ σκοτώσω βλέφαρα καὶ δεδορκότα.
85

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Γένοιτο μέντ’ ἂν πᾶν, θεοῦ τεχνωμένου.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Σίγα νυν ἑστὼς καὶ μέν’ ὡς κυρεῖς ἔχων.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Μένοιμ’ ἄν· ἤθελον δ’ ἂν ἐκτὸς ὢν τυχεῖν.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

ὦ οὗτος, Αἴας, δεύτερόν σε προςκαλῶ.

τί βαιὸν οὕτως ἐντρέπει τῆς ξυμμάχου;
90

ΑΙΑΣ

ὦ χαῖρ’, Ἀθάνα, χαῖρε Διογενὲς τέκνον,

ὡς εὖ παρέστης· καί σε παγχρύσοις ἐγὼ

στέψω λαφύροις τἡςδε τῆς ἄγρας χάριν.

ΑΗΝΛ. Καλῶς ἔλεξας· ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖνό μοι φράσον,

ἔβαψας ἔγχος εὖ πρὸς Ἀργείων στρατῷ;
95

ΑΙΑΣ

Κόμπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

ἦ καὶ πρὸς Ἀτρείδαισιν ᾔχμασας χέρα;

ΑΙΑΣ

ὥστ’ οὔποτ’ Αἴαντ’ οἵδ’ ἀτιμάσουσ’ ἔτι.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

τεθνᾶσιν ἅνδρες, ὡς τὸ σὸν ζυνὴκ’ ἐγώ;

ΑΙΑΣ

Θανόντες ἤδη τἄμ’ ἀφαιρείσθων ὅπλα.
100

ΑΘΗΝΑ

εἶεν· τί γὰρ δὴ παῖς ὁ τοῦ Λαερτίου;

ποῦ σοι τύχης ἕστηκεν; ἢ πέφευγέ σε;

ΑΙΑΣ

ἦ τοὐπίτριπτον κίναδος ἐξήρου μ’, ὅπου;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ἔγωγ’· Ὀδυσσέα, τὸν σὸν ἐνστάτην, λέγω.

ΑΙΑΣ

ἥδιστος, ὦ δέσποινα, δεσμώτης ἔσω
105

θακεῖ· θανεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν οὔ τί πω θέλω.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Πρὶν ἂν τί δρόσης ἢ τί κερδάνῃς πλέον;

ΑΙΑΣ

Πρὶν ἂν δεθεὶς πρὸς κίον’ ἑρκείου στέγης —

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Τί δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ἐργάσει κακόν;

ΑΙΑΣ

Μάστιγι πρῶτον νῶτα φοινιχθεὶς θάνῃ.
110

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Mὴ δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ὧδέ γ’ αἰκίσῃ.

ΑΙΑΣ

Χαίρειν, Ἀθάνα, τἄλλ’ ἐγώ σ’ ἐφίεμαι,

κεῖνος δὲ τίσει τήνδε κοὐκ ἄλλην δίκην.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Σὺ δ’ οὖν, ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾷν,

χρῶ χειρί· φείδου μηδὲν ὧνπερ ὲννοεῖς.
115

ΑΙΑΣ

Χωρῶ πρὸς ἔργον· τοῦτό σοι δ’ ἐφίεμαι,

τοιάνδ’ ἀεί μοι ξύμμαχον παρεστάναι.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ὁρᾷς, Ὀδυσσεῦ, τὴν θεῶν ἰσχὺν, ὅση;

τούτου τις ἄν σοι τἀνδρὸς ἢ προνούστερος,

ἢ δρᾷν ἀμείνων εὑρέθη τὰ καίρια;
120

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδέν’ οἶδ’· ἐποικτείρω δέ νιν

δύστηνον ἔμπας, καίπερ ὄντα δυςμενὴ,

ὁθούνεκ’ ἄτῃ ξυγκατέζευκται κακῇ,

οὐδὲν τὸ τούτου μᾶλλον ἢ τοὐμὸν σκοπῶν.

ὁρῶ γὰρ ἡμάς οὐδὲν ὄντας ἄλλο πλὴν
125

εἴδωλ’, ὅσοιπερ ζῶμεν, ἢ κούφην σκιάν.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Τοιαῦτα τοίνυν εἰσορῶν, ὑπέρκοπον

μηδέν ποτ’ εἴπῃς αὐτὸς εἰς θεοὺς ἔπος,

μηδ’ ὄγκον ἄρῃς μηδέν’, εἴ τινος πλέον

ἢ χειρὶ βρίθεις ἢ μακροῦ πλούτου βάθει.
130

ὡς ἡμέρα κλίνει τε κἀνάγει πάλιν

ἅπαντα τἀνθρώπεια· τοὺς δὲ σώφρονας

θεοὶ φιλοῦσι καὶ στυγοῦσι τοὺς κακούς.

ΠΑΡΟΛΟΣ ΧΟΡΟΥ

Τελαμώνιε πaῖ, τῆς ἀμφιρύτου

Σαλαμῖνος ἔχων βάθρον ἀγχιάλου,
135

σὲ μὲν εὖ πράσσοντ’ ἐπιχαίρω·

σὲ δ’ ὅταν πληγὴ Δῖός ἢ ζαμενὴς

λόγος ἐκ Δαναῶν κακόθρους ἐπιβῇ,

μέγαν ὄκνον ἔχω καὶ πεφόβημαι

πτηνῆς ὡς ὄμμα πελείας.
140

Ὡς καὶ τῆς νῦν φθιμένης νυκτὸς

ιιεγάλοι θόρυβοι κατέχουσ’ ἡμᾶς

ἔπι δυςκλείᾳ, σὲ τὸν ἱππομανῆ

λειμῶν’ ὲπιβάντ’ ὀλέσαι Δαναῶν

βοτὰ καὶ λείαν,
145

ἥπερ δορίληπτος ἔτ’ ἦν λοιπὴ,

κτείνοντ’ αἴθωνι σιδήρῳ.

Τοιούςδε λόγους ψιθύρους πράσσων

εἰς ὦτα φέρει πᾶσιν Ὀδυσσεὺς,

καὶ σφόδρα πείθει· περὶ γὰρ σοῦ νῦν
150

εὔπειστα λέγει· καὶ πᾶς ὁ κλύων

τοῦ λἐξαντος χαίρει μᾶλλον,

τοῖς σοῖς ἄχεσιν καθυβρίζων.

Τῶν γὰρ μεγάλων ψυχῶν ἱεὶς

οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι· κατὰ δ’ ἄν τις ἐμοῦ
155

τοιαῦτα λέγων οὐκ ἂν πείθοι·

πρὸς γὰρ τὸν ἔχονθ’ ὁ φθόνος ἕρπει.

καίτοι σμικροὶ μεγάλων χωρὶς

σφαλερὸν πύργου ῥῦμα πέλονται·

μετὰ γὰρ μεγάλων βαιὸς ἄριστ’ ἂν,
160

καὶ μέγας ὀρθοῖθ’ ὑπὸ μικροτέρων.

ἀλλ’ οὐ δυνατὸν τοὺς ἀνοήτους

τούτων γνώμας προδιδάσκειν.

ὑπὸ τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν θορυβεῖ,

χἠμεῖς οὐδὲν σθένομεν πρὸς ταῦτ’
165

ἀπαλέξασθαι σοῦ χωρὶς, ἄναξ.

ἀλλ’, ὅτε γὰρ δὴ τὸ σὸν ὄμμ’ ἀπέδρav,

παταγοῦσιν ἅτε πτηνῶν ἀγέλαι,

μέγαν αἰγυπιὸν δ’ ὑποδείσαντες

τάχ’ ἂν, ἐξαίφνης εἰ σὺ φανείης,
170

σιγῇ πτήξειαν ἄφωνοι.

Αἴας First1KGreek (Sophocles. Sophoclis Fabulae. Pearson, Alfred Chilton, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924.) — 1-171 focus

Ἀθήνα

Ἀεὶ μέν, ὦ παῖ Λαρτίου, δέδορκά σε
1

πεῖράν τινʼ ἐχθρῶν ἁρπάσαι θηρώμενον·

καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ σκηναῖς σε ναυτικαῖς ὁρῶ

Αἴαντος, ἔνθα τάξιν ἐσχάτην ἔχει,

πάλαι κυνηγετοῦντα καὶ μετρούμενον
5

ἴχνη τὰ κείνου νεοχάραχθʼ, ὅπως ἴδῃς

εἴτʼ ἔνδον εἴτʼ οὐκ ἔνδον. εὖ δέ σʼ ἐκφέρει

κυνὸς Λακαίνης ὥς τις εὔρινος βάσις.

ἔνδον γὰρ ἁνὴρ ἄρτι τυγχάνει, κάρα

στάζων ἱδρῶτι καὶ χέρας ξιφοκτόνους.
10

καί σʼ οὐδὲν εἴσω τῆσδε παπταίνειν πύλης

ἔτʼ ἔργον ἐστίν, ἐννέπειν δʼ ὅτου χάριν

σπουδὴν ἔθου τήνδʼ, ὡς παρʼ εἰδυίας μάθῃς.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ὦ φθέγμʼ Ἀθάνας, φιλτάτης ἐμοὶ θεῶν,

ὡς εὐμαθές σου, κἂν ἄποπτος ᾖς ὅμως,
15

φώνημʼ ἀκούω καὶ ξυναρπάζω φρενὶ

χαλκοστόμου κώδωνος ὡς Τυρσηνικῆς.

καὶ νῦν ἐπέγνως εὖ μʼ ἐπʼ ἀνδρὶ δυσμενεῖ

βάσιν κυκλοῦντʼ, Αἴαντι τῷ σακεσφόρῳ.

κεῖνον γάρ, οὐδένʼ ἄλλον, ἰχνεύω πάλαι.
20

νυκτὸς γὰρ ἡμᾶς τῆσδε πρᾶγος ἄσκοπον

ἔχει περάνας, εἴπερ εἴργασται τάδε·

¹²

ἴσμεν γὰρ οὐδὲν τρανές, ἀλλʼ ἀλώμεθα·

κἀγὼ ʼθελοντὴς τῷδʼ ὑπεζύγην πόνῳ.

ἐφθαρμένας γὰρ ἀρτίως εὑρίσκομεν
25

λείας ἁπάσας καὶ κατηναρισμένας

ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις.

τήνδʼ οὖν ἐκείνῳ πᾶς τις αἰτίαν νέμει.

καί μοί τις ὀπτὴρ αὐτὸν εἰσιδὼν μόνον

πηδῶντα πεδία σὺν νεορράντῳ ξίφει
30

φράζει τε κἀδήλωσεν· εὐθέως δʼ ἐγὼ

κατʼ ἴχνος ᾄσσω, καὶ τὰ μὲν σημαίνομαι,

τὰ δʼ ἐκπέπληγμαι, κοὐκ ἔχω μαθεῖν ὅτου.

καιρὸν δʼ ἐφήκεις· πάντα γὰρ τά τʼ οὖν πάρος

τά τʼ εἰσέπειτα σῇ κυβερνῶμαι χερί.
35

Ἀθήνα

ἔγνων, Ὀδυσσεῦ, καὶ πάλαι φύλαξ ἔβην

τῇ σῇ πρόθυμος εἰς ὁδὸν κυναγίᾳ.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἦ καί, φίλη δέσποινα, πρὸς καιρὸν πονῶ;

Ἀθήνα

ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι.

Ὀδυσσεύς

καὶ πρὸς τί δυσλόγιστον ὧδʼ ᾖξεν χέρα;
40

Ἀθήνα

χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων.

Ὀδυσσεύς

τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδʼ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν;

Ἀθήνα

δοκῶν ἐν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἦ καὶ τὸ βούλευμʼ ὡς ἐπʼ Ἀργείοις τόδʼ ἦν;

Ἀθήνα

κἂν ἐξέπραξεν, εἰ κατημέλησʼ ἐγώ.
45

Ὀδυσσεύς

ποίαισι τόλμαις ταῖσδε καὶ φρενῶν θράσει;

Ἀθήνα

νύκτωρ ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς δόλιος ὁρμᾶται μόνος.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἦ καὶ παρέστη κἀπὶ τέρμʼ ἀφίκετο;

³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²¹³¹⁴

Ἀθήνα

καὶ δὴ ʼπὶ δισσαῖς ἦν στρατηγίσιν πύλαις.

Ὀδυσσεύς

καὶ πῶς ἐπέσχε χεῖρα μαιμῶσαν φόνου;
50

Ἀθήνα

ἐγώ σφʼ ἀπείργω, δυσφόρους ἐπʼ ὄμμασι

γνώμας βαλοῦσα, τῆς ἀνηκέστου χαρᾶς,

καὶ πρός τε ποίμνας ἐκτρέπω σύμμεικτά τε

λείας ἄδαστα βουκόλων φρουρήματα·

ἔνθʼ εἰσπεσὼν ἔκειρε πολύκερων φόνον
55

κύκλῳ ῥαχίζων, κἀδόκει μὲν ἔσθʼ ὅτε

δισσοὺς Ἀτρείδας αὐτόχειρ κτείνειν ἔχων,

ὅτʼ ἄλλοτʼ ἄλλον ἐμπίτνων στρατηλατῶν.

ἐγὼ δὲ φοιτῶντʼ ἄνδρα μανιάσιν νόσοις

ὤτρυνον, εἰσέβαλλον εἰς ἕρκη κακά.
60

κἄπειτʼ ἐπειδὴ τοῦδʼ ἐλώφησεν πόνου,

τοὺς ζῶντας αὖ δεσμοῖσι συνδήσας βοῶν

ποίμνας τε πάσας εἰς δόμους κομίζεται,

ὡς ἄνδρας, οὐχ ὡς εὔκερων ἄγραν ἔχων.

καὶ νῦν κατʼ οἴκους συνδέτους αἰκίζεται.
65

δείξω δὲ καὶ σοὶ τήνδε περιφανῆ νόσον,

ὡς πᾶσιν Ἀργείοισιν εἰσιδὼν θροῇς.

θαρσῶν δὲ μίμνε μηδὲ συμφορὰν δέχου

τὸν ἄνδρʼ· ἐγὼ γὰρ ὀμμάτων ἀποστρόφους

αὐγὰς ἀπείρξω σὴν πρόσοψιν εἰσιδεῖν.
70

οὗτος, σὲ τὸν τὰς αἰχμαλωτίδας χέρας

δεσμοῖς ἀπευθύνοντα προσμολεῖν καλῶ·

Αἴαντα φωνῶ· στεῖχε δωμάτων πάρος.

Ὀδυσσεύς

τί δρᾷς, Ἀθάνα; μηδαμῶς σφʼ ἔξω κάλει.

Ἀθήνα

οὐ σῖγʼ ἀνέξῃ μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρῇ
75
¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹²⁰²¹²²²³²⁴²⁵

Ὀδυσσεύς

μὴ πρὸς θεῶν· ἀλλʼ ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων.

Ἀθήνα

τί μὴ γένηται; πρόσθεν οὐκ ἀνὴρ ὅδʼ ἦν;

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἐχθρός γε τῷδε τἀνδρὶ καὶ τανῦν ἔτι.

Ἀθήνα

οὔκουν γέλως ἥδιστος εἰς ἐχθροὺς γελᾶν;

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀρκεῖ τοῦτον ἐν δόμοις μένειν.
80

Ἀθήνα

μεμηνότʼ ἄνδρα περιφανῶς ὀκνεῖς ἰδεῖν;

Ὀδυσσεύς

φρονοῦντα γάρ νιν οὐκ ἂν ἐξέστην ὄκνῳ.

Ἀθήνα

ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ νῦν σε μὴ παρόντʼ ἴδῃ πέλας.

Ὀδυσσεύς

πῶς, εἴπερ ὀφθαλμοῖς γε τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὁρᾷ;

Ἀθήνα

ἐγὼ σκοτώσω βλέφαρα καὶ δεδορκότα.
85

Ὀδυσσεύς

γένοιτο μέντἂν πᾶν θεοῦ τεχνωμένου.

Ἀθήνα

σίγα νυν ἑστὼς καὶ μένʼ ὡς κυρεῖς ἔχων.

Ὀδυσσεύς

μένοιμʼ ἄν· ἤθελον δʼ ἂν ἐκτὸς ὢν τυχεῖν.

Ἀθήνα

ὦ οὗτος, Αἴας, δεύτερόν σε προσκαλῶ.

τί βαιὸν οὕτως ἐντρέπῃ τῆς συμμάχου;
90

Αἴας

ὦ χαῖρʼ Ἀθάνα, χαῖρε Διογενὲς τέκνον,

ὡς εὖ παρέστης· καί σε παγχρύσοις ἐγὼ

στέψω λαφύροις τῆσδε τῆς ἄγρας χάριν.

Ἀθήνα

καλῶς ἔλεξας. ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνό μοι φράσον,

ἔβαψας ἔγχος εὖ πρὸς Ἀργείων στρατῷ;
95

Αἴας

κόμπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή.

Ἀθήνα

ἦ καὶ πρὸς Ἀτρείδαισιν ᾔχμασας χέρα;

Αἴας

ὥστʼ οὔποτʼ Αἴανθʼ οἵδʼ ἀτιμάσουσʼ ἔτι.

Ἀθήνα

τεθνᾶσιν ἅνδρες, ὡς τὸ σὸν ξυνῆκʼ ἐγώ.

Αἴας

θανόντες ἤδη τἄμʼ ἀφαιρείσθων ὅπλα.
100

Ἀθήνα

εἶεν· τί γὰρ δὴ παῖς ὁ τοῦ Λαερτίου;

²⁶²⁷²⁸²⁹³⁰³¹³²³³³⁴³⁵³⁶³⁷³⁸

ποῦ σοι τύχης ἕστηκεν; ἢ πέφευγέ σε;

Αἴας

ἦ τοὐπίτριπτον κίναδος ἐξήρου μʼ ὅπου;

Ἀθήνα

ἔγωγʼ· Ὀδυσσέα τὸν σὸν ἐνστάτην λέγω.

Αἴας

ἥδιστος, ὦ δέσποινα, δεσμώτης ἔσω
105

θακεῖ· θανεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν οὔ τί πω θέλω.

Ἀθήνα

πρὶν ἂν τί δράσῃς ἢ τί κερδάνῃς πλέον;

Αἴας

πρὶν ἂν δεθεὶς πρὸς κίονʼ ἑρκείου στέγης

Ἀθήνα

τί δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ἐργάσῃ κακόν;

Αἴας

μάστιγι πρῶτον νῶτα φοινιχθεὶς θάνῃ.
110

Ἀθήνα

μὴ δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ὧδέ γʼ αἰκίσῃ.

Αἴας

χαίρειν, Ἀθάνα, τἄλλʼ ἐγώ σʼ ἐφίεμαι·

κεῖνος δὲ τείσει τήνδε κοὐκ ἄλλην δίκην.

Ἀθήνα

σὺ δʼ οὖν, ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾶν,

χρῶ χειρί, φείδου μηδὲν ὧνπερ ἐννοεῖς.
115

Αἴας

χωρῶ πρὸς ἔργον· τοῦτο σοὶ δʼ ἐφίεμαι,

τοιάνδʼ ἀεί μοι σύμμαχον παρεστάναι.

Ἀθήνα

ὁρᾷς, Ὀδυσσεῦ, τὴν θεῶν ἰσχὺν ὅση;

τούτου τίς ἄν σοι τἀνδρὸς ἢ προνούστερος

ἢ δρᾶν ἀμείνων ηὑρέθη τὰ καίρια;
120

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδένʼ οἶδʼ· ἐποικτίρω δέ νιν

δύστηνον ἔμπας, καίπερ ὄντα δυσμενῆ,

ὁθούνεκʼ ἄτῃ συγκατέζευκται κακῇ,

οὐδὲν τὸ τούτου μᾶλλον ἢ τοὐμὸν σκοπῶν.

ὁρῶ γὰρ ἡμᾶς οὐδὲν ὄντας ἄλλο πλὴν
125

εἴδωλʼ ὅσοιπερ ζῶμεν ἢ κούφην σκιάν.

Ἀθήνα

τοιαῦτα τοίνυν εἰσορῶν ὑπέρκοπον

μηδέν ποτʼ εἴπῃς αὐτὸς ἐς θεοὺς ἔπος,

μηδʼ ὄγκον ἄρῃ μηδένʼ, εἴ τινος πλέον

³⁹⁴⁰⁴¹⁴²⁴³⁴⁴⁴⁵⁴⁶⁴⁷⁴⁸⁴⁹⁵⁰⁵¹

ἢ χειρὶ βρίθεις ἢ μακροῦ πλούτου βάθει.
130

ὡς ἡμέρα κλίνει τε κἀνάγει πάλιν

ἅπαντα τἀνθρώπεια· τοὺς δὲ σώφρονας

θεοὶ φιλοῦσι καὶ στυγοῦσι τοὺς κακούς.

Χορός

Τελαμώνιε παῖ, τῆς ἀμφιρύτου

Σαλαμῖνος ἔχων βάθρον ἀγχιάλου,
135

σὲ μὲν εὖ πράσσοντʼ ἐπιχαίρω·

σὲ δʼ ὅταν πληγὴ Διὸς ἢ ζαμενὴς

λόγος ἐκ Δαναῶν κακόθρους ἐπιβῇ,

μέγαν ὄκνον ἔχω καὶ πεφόβημαι

πτηνῆς ὡς ὄμμα πελείας.
140

ὡς καὶ τῆς νῦν φθιμένης νυκτὸς

μεγάλοι θόρυβοι κατέχουσʼ ἡμᾶς

ἐπὶ δυσκλείᾳ, σὲ τὸν ἱππομανῆ

λειμῶνʼ ἐπιβάντʼ ὀλέσαι Δαναῶν

βοτὰ καὶ λείαν,
145

ἥπερ δορίληπτος ἔτʼ ἦν λοιπή,

κτείνοντʼ αἴθωνι σιδήρῳ.

τοιούσδε λόγους ψιθύρους πλάσσων

εἰς ὦτα φέρει πᾶσιν Ὀδυσσεύς,

καὶ σφόδρα πείθει. περὶ γὰρ σοῦ νῦν
150

εὔπειστα λέγει, καὶ πᾶς ὁ κλύων

τοῦ λέξαντος χαίρει μᾶλλον

τοῖς σοῖς ἄχεσιν καθυβρίζων.

τῶν γὰρ μεγάλων ψυχῶν ἱεὶς

οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι· κατὰ δʼ ἄν τις ἐμοῦ
155

τοιαῦτα λέγων οὐκ ἂν πείθοι.

πρὸς γὰρ τὸν ἔχονθʼ ὁ φθόνος ἕρπει.

⁵²⁵³⁵⁴⁵⁵⁵⁶⁵⁷⁵⁸⁵⁹

καίτοι σμικροὶ μεγάλων χωρὶς

σφαλερὸν πύργου ῥῦμα πέλονται·

μετὰ γὰρ μεγάλων βαιὸς ἄριστʼ ἂν
160

καὶ μέγας ὀρθοῖθʼ ὑπὸ μικροτέρων.

ἀλλʼ οὐ δυνατὸν τοὺς ἀνοήτους

τούτων γνώμας προδιδάσκειν.

ὑπὸ τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν θορυβῇ

χἡμεῖς οὐδὲν σθένομεν πρὸς ταῦτʼ
165

ἀπαλέξασθαι σοῦ χωρίς, ἄναξ.

ἀλλʼ ὅτε γὰρ δὴ τὸ σὸν ὄμμʼ ἀπέδραν,

παταγοῦσιν ἅπερ πτηνῶν ἀγέλαι·

μέγαν αἰγυπιὸν δʼ ὑποδείσαντες

τάχʼ ἄν, ἐξαίφνης εἰ σὺ φανείης,
170

σιγῇ πτήξειαν ἄφωνοι.

Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1 focus

ἀεὶ μέν, ὦ παῖ Λαρτίου Λαρτίου λᾶρτίου, δέδορκά σε
1

πεῖράν τιν' ἐχθρῶν ἁρπάσαι θηρώμενον·

καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ σκηναῖς σε ναυτικαῖς ὁρῶ

Αἴαντος, ἔνθα τάξιν ἐσχάτην ἔχει,

πάλαι κυνηγετοῦντα καὶ μετρούμενον
5

ἴχνη τὰ κείνου τὰ ᾿κείνου τἀκείνου νεοχάραχθ᾽ νεοχάρακτ᾽ νεοχάρακθ', ὅπως ἴδῃς

εἴτ᾿ ἔνδον εἴτ᾿ οὐκ ἔνδον. εὖ δέ σ᾽ ἐκφέρει

κυνὸς Λακαίνης ὥς τις εὔρινος βάσις.

ἔνδον γὰρ ἁνὴρ ἁνὴρ (?) ἄρτι τυγχάνει, κάρα

στάζων ἱδρῶτι καὶ χέρας ξιφοκτόνους.
10

καί σ᾽ οὐδὲν εἴσω τῆσδε παπταίνειν πύλης

ἔτ᾽ ἔργον ἐστίν, ἐννέπειν δ᾽ ὅτου χάριν

σπουδὴν ἔθου τήνδ᾽, ὡς παρ᾽ εἰδυίας μάθῃς.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ.

ὦ φθέγμ᾽ ᾿Αθάνας, φιλτάτης ἐμοὶ θεῶν,

ὡς εὐμαθές σου, κἂν ἄпоптос ἧς ὅμως,
15

φώνημ᾽ ἀκούω καὶ ξυναρπάζω φρενὶ

χαλκοστόμου κώδωνος ὡς Τυρσηνικῆς.

καὶ νῦν ἐπέγνως εὖ μ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἀνδρὶ δυσμενεῖ

βάσιν κυκλοῦντ᾽, Αἴαντι τῷ τωι σακεσφόρῳ.

κεῖνον γάρ ᾿κεῖνον γὰρ, οὐδέν ἄλλον, ἰχνεύω πάλαι.
20

νυκτὸς γὰρ ἡμᾶς τῆσδε πρᾶγος ἄσκοπον

ἔχει περάνας, εἴπερ εἴργασται τάδε·

ἴσμεν γὰρ οὐδὲν τρανές, ἀλλ' ἀλώμεθα·

κἀγὼ ᾿θελοντὴς θελοντής τῷδ᾽ ὑπεζύγην πόνῳ.

ἐφθαρμένας γὰρ ἀρτίως εὑρίσκομεν
25

λείας ἁπάσας καὶ κατηναρισμένας

ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις ὑποστάταις ἐπιστάταισ.

τήνδ᾽ οὖν ἐκείνῳ ἐκείνω πᾶς τις αἰτίαν αἰτίον (?) νέμει τρέπει.

καί μοί τις ὀπτὴρ αὐτὸν εἰσιδὼν μόνον

πηδῶντα πεδία πεδίω σὺν νεορράντῳ ξίφει
30

φράζει τε κἀδήλωσεν· εὐθέως δ᾽ ἐγὼ

κατ᾽ ἴχνος ἄσσω, καὶ τὰ μὲν σημαίνομαι,

τὰ δ᾽ ἐκπέπληγμαι, κοὐκ ἔχω μαθεῖν ὅπου ὅτου.

καιρὸν δ᾽ ἐφήκεις· πάντα γὰρ τά τ'᾽ οὖν πάρος

τά τ᾽ εἰσέπειτα σῇ κυβερνῶμαι χερί χερί φρενί.
35

ΑΘΗΝΑ.

Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1-171 focus

Ἀθήνα

ἀεὶ μέν, ὦ παῖ Λαρτίου, δέδορκά σε
1

πεῖράν τινʼ ἐχθρῶν ἁρπάσαι θηρώμενον·

καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ σκηναῖς σε ναυτικαῖς ὁρῶ

Αἴαντος, ἔνθα τάξιν ἐσχάτην ἔχει,

πάλαι κυνηγετοῦντα καὶ μετρούμενον
5

ἴχνη τὰ κείνου νεοχάραχθʼ, ὅπως ἴδῃς

εἴτʼ ἔνδον εἴτʼ οὐκ ἔνδον. εὖ δέ σʼ ἐκφέρει

κυνὸς Λακαίνης ὥς τις εὔρινος βάσις.

ἔνδον γὰρ ἁνὴρ ἄρτι τυγχάνει, κάρα

στάζων ἱδρῶτι καὶ χέρας ξιφοκτόνους.
10

καί σʼ οὐδὲν εἴσω τῆσδε παπταίνειν πύλης

ἔτʼ ἔργον ἐστίν, ἐννέπειν δʼ ὅτου χάριν

σπουδὴν ἔθου τήνδʼ, ὡς παρʼ εἰδυίας μάθῃς.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ὦ φθέγμʼ Ἀθάνας, φιλτάτης ἐμοὶ θεῶν,

ὡς εὐμαθές σου, κἂν ἄποπτος ᾖς ὅμως,
15

φώνημʼ ἀκούω καὶ ξυναρπάζω φρενὶ

χαλκοστόμου κώδωνος ὡς Τυρσηνικῆς.

καὶ νῦν ἐπέγνως εὖ μʼ ἐπʼ ἀνδρὶ δυσμενεῖ

βάσιν κυκλοῦντʼ, Αἴαντι τῷ σακεσφόρῳ·

κεῖνον γάρ, οὐδένʼ ἄλλον, ἰχνεύω πάλαι.
20

νυκτὸς γὰρ ἡμᾶς τῆσδε πρᾶγος ἄσκοπον

ἔχει περάνας, εἴπερ εἴργασται τάδε·

ἴσμεν γὰρ οὐδὲν τρανές, ἀλλʼ ἀλώμεθα·

κἀγὼ ʼθελοντὴς τῷδʼ ὑπεζύγην πόνῳ.

ἐφθαρμένας γὰρ ἀρτίως εὑρίσκομεν
25

λείας ἁπάσας καὶ κατηναρισμένας

ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις.

τήνδʼ οὖν ἐκείνῳ πᾶς τις αἰτίαν νέμει.

καί μοί τις ὀπτὴρ αὐτὸν εἰσιδὼν μόνον

πηδῶντα πεδία σὺν νεορράντῳ ξίφει
30

φράζει τε κἀδήλωσεν· εὐθέως δʼ ἐγὼ

κατʼ ἴχνος ᾄσσω, καὶ τὰ μὲν σημαίνομαι,

τὰ δʼ ἐκπέπληγμαι κοὐκ ἔχω μαθεῖν ὅτου.

καιρὸν δʼ ἐφήκεις· πάντα γὰρ τά τʼ οὖν πάρος

τά τʼ εἰσέπειτα σῇ κυβερνῶμαι χερί.
35

Ἀθήνα

ἔγνων, Ὀδυσσεῦ, καὶ πάλαι φύλαξ ἔβην

τῇ σῇ πρόθυμος εἰς ὁδὸν κυναγίᾳ.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἦ καί, φίλη δέσποινα, πρὸς καιρὸν πονῶ;

Ἀθήνα

ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι.

Ὀδυσσεύς

καὶ πρὸς τί δυσλόγιστον ὧδʼ ᾖξεν χέρα;
40

Ἀθήνα

χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων.

Ὀδυσσεύς

τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδʼ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν;

Ἀθήνα

δοκῶν ἐν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἦ καὶ τὸ βούλευμʼ ὡς ἐπʼ Ἀργείοις τόδʼ ἦν;

Ἀθήνα

κἂν ἐξεπράξατʼ, εἰ κατημέλησʼ ἐγώ.
45

Ὀδυσσεύς

ποίαισι τόλμαις ταῖσδε καὶ φρενῶν θράσει;

Ἀθήνα

νύκτωρ ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς δόλιος ὁρμᾶται μόνος.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἦ καὶ παρέστη κἀπὶ τέρμʼ ἀφίκετο;

Ἀθήνα

καὶ δὴ ʼπὶ δισσαῖς ἦν στρατηγίσιν πύλαις.

Ὀδυσσεύς

καὶ πῶς ἐπέσχε χεῖρα μαιμῶσαν φόνου;
50

Ἀθήνα

ἐγώ σφʼ ἀπείργω, δυσφόρους ἐπʼ ὄμμασι

γνώμας βαλοῦσα τῆς ἀνηκέστου χαρᾶς,

καὶ πρός τε ποίμνας ἐκτρέπω σύμμικτά τε

λείας ἄδαστα βουκόλων φρουρήματα·

ἔνθʼ εἰσπεσὼν ἔκειρε πολύκερων φόνον
55

κύκλῳ ῥαχίζων· κἀδόκει μὲν ἔσθʼ ὅτε

δισσοὺς Ἀτρείδας αὐτόχειρ κτείνειν ἔχων,

ὅτʼ ἄλλοτʼ ἄλλον ἐμπίτνων στρατηλατῶν.

ἐγὼ δὲ φοιτῶντʼ ἄνδρα μανιάσιν νόσοις

ὤτρυνον, εἰσέβαλλον εἰς ἕρκη κακά.
60

κἄπειτʼ ἐπειδὴ τοῦδʼ ἐλώφησεν πόνου,

τοὺς ζῶντας αὖ δεσμοῖσι συνδήσας βοῶν

ποίμνας τε πάσας εἰς δόμους κομίζεται,

ὡς ἄνδρας, οὐχ ὡς εὔκερων ἄγραν ἔχων,

καὶ νῦν κατʼ οἴκους συνδέτους αἰκίζεται.
65

δείξω δὲ καὶ σοὶ τήνδε περιφανῆ νόσον,

ὡς πᾶσιν Ἀργείοισιν εἰσιδὼν θροῇς.

θαρσῶν δὲ μίμνε μηδὲ συμφορὰν δέχου

τὸν ἄνδρʼ· ἐγὼ γὰρ ὀμμάτων ἀποστρόφους

αὐγὰς ἀπείρξω σὴν πρόσοψιν εἰσιδεῖν.
70

οὗτος, σὲ τὸν τὰς αἰχμαλωτίδας χέρας

δεσμοῖς ἀπευθύνοντα προσμολεῖν καλῶ·

Αἴαντα φωνῶ· στεῖχε δωμάτων πάρος.

Ὀδυσσεύς

τί δρᾷς, Ἀθάνα; μηδαμῶς σφʼ ἔξω κάλει.

Ἀθήνα

οὐ σῖγʼ ἀνέξει μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρεῖ;
75

Ὀδυσσεύς

μὴ πρὸς θεῶν, ἀλλʼ ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων.

Ἀθήνα

τί μὴ γένηται; πρόσθεν οὐκ ἀνὴρ ὅδʼ ἦν;

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἐχθρός γε τῷδε τἀνδρὶ καὶ τανῦν ἔτι.

Ἀθήνα

οὔκουν γέλως ἥδιστος εἰς ἐχθροὺς γελᾶν;

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀρκεῖ τοῦτον ἐν δόμοις μένειν.
80

Ἀθήνα

μεμηνότʼ ἄνδρα περιφανῶς ὀκνεῖς ἰδεῖν;

Ὀδυσσεύς

φρονοῦντα γάρ νιν οὐκ ἂν ἐξέστην ὄκνῳ.

Ἀθήνα

ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ νῦν σε μὴ παρόντʼ ἴδῃ πέλας.

Ὀδυσσεύς

πῶς, εἴπερ ὀφθαλμοῖς γε τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὁρᾷ;

Ἀθήνα

ἐγὼ σκοτώσω βλέφαρα καὶ δεδορκότα.
85

Ὀδυσσεύς

γένοιτο μέντἂν πᾶν θεοῦ τεχνωμένου.

Ἀθήνα

σίγα νυν ἑστὼς καὶ μένʼ ὡς κυρεῖς ἔχων.

Ὀδυσσεύς

μένοιμʼ ἄν· ἤθελον δʼ ἂν ἐκτὸς ὢν τυχεῖν.

Ἀθήνα

ὦ οὗτος, Αἴας, δεύτερόν σε προσκαλῶ.

τί βαιὸν οὕτως ἐντρέπει τῆς συμμάχου;
90

Αἴας

ὦ χαῖρʼ Ἀθάνα, χαῖρε Διογενὲς τέκνον,

ὡς εὖ παρέστης· καί σε παγχρύσοις ἐγὼ

στέψω λαφύροις τῆσδε τῆς ἄγρας χάριν.

Ἀθήνα

καλῶς ἔλεξας· ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνό μοι φράσον,

ἔβαψας ἔγχος εὖ πρὸς Ἀργείων στρατῷ;
95

Αἴας

κόμπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή.

Ἀθήνα

ἦ καὶ πρὸς Ἀτρείδαισιν ᾔχμασας χέρα;

Αἴας

ὥστʼ οὔποτʼ Αἴανθʼ οἵδʼ ἀτιμάσουσʼ ἔτι.

Ἀθήνα

τεθνᾶσιν ἄνδρες, ὡς τὸ σὸν ξυνῆκʼ ἐγώ.

Αἴας

θανόντες ἤδη τἄμʼ ἀφαιρείσθων ὅπλα.
100

101

Ἀθήνα

εἶεν, τί γὰρ δὴ παῖς ὁ τοῦ Λαερτίου,

ποῦ σοι τύχης ἕστηκεν; ἢ πέφευγέ σε;

Αἴας

ἦ τοὐπίτριπτον κίναδος ἐξήρου μʼ ὅπου;

Ἀθήνα

ἔγωγʼ· Ὀδυσσέα τὸν σὸν ἐνστάτην λέγω.

Αἴας

ἥδιστος, ὦ δέσποινα, δεσμώτης ἔσω
105

θακεῖ· θανεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν οὔ τί πω θέλω.

Ἀθήνα

πρὶν ἂν τί δράσῃς ἢ τί κερδάνῃς πλέον;

Αἴας

πρὶν ἂν δεθεὶς πρὸς κίονʼ ἑρκείου στέγης.

Ἀθήνα

τί δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ἐργάσει κακόν;

Αἴας

μάστιγι πρῶτον νῶτα φοινιχθεὶς θάνῃ.
110

Ἀθήνα

μὴ δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ὧδέ γʼ αἰκίσῃ.

Αἴας

χαίρειν, Ἀθάνα, τἄλλʼ ἐγώ σʼ ἐφίεμαι·

κεῖνος δὲ τίσει τήνδε κοὐκ ἄλλην δίκην.

Ἀθήνα

σὺ δʼ οὖν, ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾶν,

χρῶ χειρί, φείδου μηδὲν ὧνπερ ἐννοεῖς.
115

Αἴας

χωρῶ πρὸς ἔργον· σοὶ δὲ τοῦτʼ ἐφίεμαι,

τοιάνδʼ ἀεί μοι σύμμαχον παρεστάναι.

Ἀθήνα

ὁρᾷς, Ὀδυσσεῦ, τὴν θεῶν ἰσχὺν ὅση;

τούτου τίς ἄν σοι τἀνδρὸς ἢ προνούστερος

ἢ δρᾶν ἀμείνων ηὑρέθη τὰ καίρια;
120

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδένʼ οἶδʼ· ἐποικτίρω δέ νιν

δύστηνον ἔμπας, καίπερ ὄντα δυσμενῆ,

ὁθούνεκʼ ἄτῃ συγκατέζευκται κακῇ,

οὐδὲν τὸ τούτου μᾶλλον ἢ τοὐμὸν σκοπῶν·

ὁρῶ γὰρ ἡμᾶς οὐδὲν ὄντας ἄλλο πλὴν
125

εἴδωλʼ ὅσοιπερ ζῶμεν ἢ κούφην σκιάν.

Ἀθήνα

τοιαῦτα τοίνυν εἰσορῶν ὑπέρκοπον

μηδέν ποτʼ εἴπῃς αὐτὸς εἰς θεοὺς ἔπος,

μηδʼ ὄγκον ἄρῃ μηδένʼ, εἴ τινος πλέον

ἢ χειρὶ βρίθεις ἢ μακροῦ πλούτου βάθει.
130

ὡς ἡμέρα κλίνει τε κἀνάγει πάλιν

ἅπαντα τἀνθρώπεια· τοὺς δὲ σώφρονας

θεοὶ φιλοῦσι καὶ στυγοῦσι τοὺς κακούς.

134

Χορός

Τελαμώνιε παῖ, τῆς ἀμφιρύτου

Σαλαμῖνος ἔχων βάθρον ἀγχιάλου,
135

σὲ μὲν εὖ πράσσοντʼ ἐπιχαίρω·

σὲ δʼ ὅταν πληγὴ Διὸς ἢ ζαμενὴς

λόγος ἐκ Δαναῶν κακόθρους ἐπιβῇ,

μέγαν ὄκνον ἔχω καὶ πεφόβημαι

πτηνῆς ὡς ὄμμα πελείας.
140

ὡς καὶ τῆς νῦν φθιμένης νυκτὸς

μεγάλοι θόρυβοι κατέχουσʼ ἡμᾶς

ἐπὶ δυσκλείᾳ, σὲ τὸν ἱππομανῆ

λειμῶνʼ ἐπιβάντʼ ὀλέσαι Δαναῶν

βοτὰ καὶ λείαν,
145

ἥπερ δορίληπτος ἔτʼ ἦν λοιπή,

κτείνοντʼ αἴθωνι σιδήρῳ.

τοιούσδε λόγους ψιθύρους πλάσσων

εἰς ὦτα φέρει πᾶσιν Ὀδυσσεύς,

καὶ σφόδρα πείθει· περὶ γὰρ σοῦ νῦν
150

εὔπειστα λέγει, καὶ πᾶς ὁ κλύων

τοῦ λέξαντος χαίρει μᾶλλον

τοῖς σοῖς ἄχεσιν καθυβρίζων.

τῶν γὰρ μεγάλων ψυχῶν ἱεὶς

οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοις· κατὰ δʼ ἄν τις ἐμοῦ
155

τοιαῦτα λέγων οὐκ ἂν πείθοι·

πρὸς γὰρ τὸν ἔχονθʼ ὁ φθόνος ἕρπει.

καίτοι σμικροὶ μεγάλων χωρὶς

σφαλερὸν πύργου ῥῦμα πέλονται·

μετὰ γὰρ μεγάλων βαιὸς ἄριστʼ ἂν
160

καὶ μέγας ὀρθοῖθʼ ὑπὸ μικροτέρων.

ἀλλʼ οὐ δυνατὸν τοὺς ἀνοήτους

τούτων γνώμας προδιδάσκειν.

ὑπὸ τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν θορυβεῖ

χἠμεῖς οὐδὲν σθένομεν πρὸς ταῦτʼ
165

ἀπαλέξασθαι σοῦ χωρίς, ἄναξ.

ἀλλʼ ὅτε γὰρ δὴ τὸ σὸν ὄμμʼ ἀπέδραν,

παταγοῦσιν ἅπερ πτηνῶν ἀγέλαι·

μέγαν αἰγυπιὸν δʼ ὑποδείσαντες

τάχʼ ἂν ἐξαίφνης, εἰ σὺ φανείης,
170

σιγῇ πτήξειαν ἄφωνοι.

Translations (5)

English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1 focus

Oft have I seen thee, Laërtiades,
1

Intent on some surprisal of thy foes;
1

As now I find thee by the seaward camp,

Where Aias holds the last place in your line,

Lingering in quest, and scanning the fresh print

Of his late footsteps, to be certified

If he keep house or no. Right well thy sense

Hath led thee forth, like some keen hound of Sparta!

The man is even but now come home, his head
5

And slaughterous hands reeking with ardent toil.
5

Thou, then, no longer strain thy gaze within

Yon gateway, but declare what eager chase

Thou followest, that a god may give thee light.

ODYSSEUS

Athena, ’tis thy voice! Dearest in heaven,

How well discerned and welcome to my soul

From that dim distance doth thine utterance fly

In tones as of Tyrrhenian trumpet clang!
15

Rightly hast thou divined mine errand here,
15

Beating this ground for Aias of the shield,
15

The lion-quarry whom I track to day.

For he hath wrought on us to night a deed

Past thought—if he be doer of this thing;

We drift in ignorant doubt, unsatisfied—

And I unbidden have bound me to this toil.

Brief time hath flown since suddenly we knew

That all our gathered spoil was reaved and slaughtered,

Flocks, herds, and herdmen, by some human hand,

All tongues, then, lay this deed at Aias’ door.

And one, a scout who had marked him, all alone,

With new-fleshed weapon bounding o’er the plain,
20

Gave me to know it, when immediately
20

I darted on the trail, and here in part

I find some trace to guide me, but in part

I halt, amazed, and know not where to look.

Thou com’st full timely. For my venturous course,

Past or to come, is governed by thy will.

ATH

German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1 focus

Zu jeder Stunde treff' ich dich, Laertes' Sohn,¹
1

Wie du, den Feind zu greifen, seine Fährt' erspürst;

Auch nun gewahr' ich, wie du hier am Schiffsgezelt²

Des Ajas, der des Lagers lezte Reihe hält,

Schon lange schleichst und lauerst und von seinem Tritt
5

Die frischgeprägten Spuren prüfst, um auszuspäh'n,

Ob innen er, ob außen: glücklich führt dich auch

Dein Schritt an's Ziel, scharfwitternd, gleich dem Sparterhund.³

Denn eben ist er innen, und von Schweiße triest

Das Haupt des Mannes und die mordbewehrte Hand.
10

Und nöthig hast du weiter nicht, am Thore hier

Hineinzulauschen; aber sprich, warum du so

Voll Eifer spähtest, gerne geb' ich dir Bescheid.

Odysseus.

O Stimm' Athene's, Göttin, mir vor allen lieb!

Denn deutlich tönt mir, sieht dich auch mein Auge nicht,
15

Dein Ruf; mein Herz ergreift er, gleich tyrrhenischer⁴

Drommeten Schalle, welcher tönt aus Erzesmund.

Auch jezt (du sahest richtig) kreist um einen Feind⁵

Mein Schritt, um Ajas, den der Riesenschild bedeckt;

Nach ihm, und keinem Andern, spür' ich lange schon.
20

Er hat ein unerhörtes Werk in dieser Nacht

An uns vollendet, ward von ihm die That verübt;

Denn nichts Gewisses wissen wir und schwanken noch;

Ich übernahm freiwillig diesen Späherdienst.

Denn hingeschlachtet finden wir jezt eben erst
25

Die Beuteheerden allzumal, von frevler Hand

Gemordet samt den Hütern auf der Weide dort,

Und Alle wälzen diese Schuld dem Ajas zu.

Auch hat ein Augenzeuge, der das Feld hindurch

Allein mit blutgetränktem Stahl ihn rennen sah,
30

Es mir gesagt und offenbart; ich eile flugs

Des Mannes Spur nach, finde bald ein Zeichen auf,

Bald steh' ich zweifelnd, und gewiß erkenn' ich Nichts.

Du kommst mir recht gelegen; denn in Allem ja,

Wie früher, so auch künftig, lenkt mich deine Hand.
35

Athene.

English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759)) — 1 focus

Son of Laertes, thy unwearied spirit
1

Is ever watchful to surprise the foe ;
1

I have observed thee wandering midst the tents

At th' utmost verge, and meas'ring o'er his steps

But late impressed ; like Sparta's hounds of scent

Sagacious dost thou trace him, nor in vain ;
5

For know, the man thou seekst is not far from thee :

Yonder he lies, with reeking brow and hands

Deep-stained with gore ; cease then thy search, and tell

English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1 focus

Son of Laertes, oft have I observed
1

Thy watchful promptness 'gainst the foe to seize
1

Each fit occasion; and I see thee now

Ranging long time around the naval tent

Marking the fresh impression of his steps,

That thou may'st know if in the tent he rests.

Well hast thou traced him, like the Spartan hound

Of scent sagacious: in the tent he rests,

Sweat from his temples streaming, and his hands
5

With slaughter stain'd; to cast thy searching eye
5

Within these gates is needless; but declare

The cause productive of this anxious toil,

That by my knowledge thou may'st be inform'd.

Ulysses

Ye accents of Minerva, of the gods

Minerva

English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1-170 focus

Athena

Always, son of Laertes , have I observed you on the prowl to snatch some means of attack against your enemies. So now at the tent of Ajax by the ships where he has his post at the camp’s outer edge, I watch you
1

for a long time as you hunt and scan his newly pressed tracks, in order to see whether he is inside or away. Your course leads you well to your goal, like that of a keen-scenting Laconian hound. For the man has just now gone in,
5

with sweat dripping from his head and from his hands that have killed with the sword. There is no further need for you to peer inside these doors. Rather tell me what your goal is that you have shown such eagerness for, so that you may learn from her who holds the knowledge.
10

Odysseus

Voice of Athena, dearest to me of the gods,

how clearly, though you are unseen, do I hear your call and snatch its meaning in my mind, just as I would the bronze tongue of the Tyrrhenian trumpet! And now you have discerned correctly that I am circling my path on the track of a man who hates me, Ajax the shield-bearer.
15

It is he and no other that I have been tracking so long. For tonight he has done us a deed beyond comprehension—if he is indeed the doer. We know nothing for certain, but drift in doubt. And so I of my of accord took up the burden of this search.
20

For we recently found all the cattle, our plunder, dead—yes, slaughtered by human hand—and with them the guardians of the flocks.
Now, all men lay responsibility for this crime to him. And further, a scout who had seen him
25

bounding alone over the plain with a newly-wet sword reported to me and declared what he saw. Then immediately I rush upon his track, and sometimes I follow his signs, but sometimes I am bewildered, and cannot read whose they are. Your arrival is timely, for truly in all matters, both those of the past
30

and those of the future, it is your hand that steers me.
35

Athena

I know it, Odysseus, and some time ago I came on the path as a lookout friendly to your hunt.

Odysseus

And so, dear mistress, do I toil to good effect?

Athena

Know that that man is the doer of these deeds.

Odysseus

Then to what end did he thrust his hand so senselessly?
40

Athena

He was mad with anger over the arms of Achilles.

Odysseus

Why, then, his onslaught upon the flocks?

Athena

It was in your blood, he thought, that he was staining his hand.

Odysseus

Then was this a plot aimed against the Greeks?

Athena

Yes, and he would have accomplished it, too, had I not been attentive.
45

Odysseus

And what reckless boldness was in his mind that he dared this?

Athena

Under night’s cover he set out against you, by stealth and alone.

Odysseus

And did he get near us? Did he reach his goal?

Athena

He was already at the double doors of the two generals.

Odysseus

How, then, did he restrain his hand when it was eager for murder?
50

Athena

It was I who prevented him, by casting over his eyes oppressive notions of his fatal joy, and I who turned his fury aside on the flocks of sheep and the confused droves guarded by herdsmen, the spoil which you had not yet divided.

Then he fell upon them and kept cutting out a slaughter of many horned beasts as he split their spines in a circle around him. At one time he thought that he was killing the two Atreidae, holding them in his very hand; at another time it was this commander, and at another that one which he attacked. And I, while the man ran about in diseased frenzy,
55

I kept urging him on, kept hurling him into the snares of doom. Soon, when he rested from this toil, he bound together the living oxen along with with all the sheep and brought them home, as though his quarry were men, not well-horned cattle. And now he abuses them, bound together, in the house.
But to you also will I show this madness openly, so that when you have seen it you may proclaim it to all the Argives. Be of good courage and stand your ground, and do not regard the man as a cause of disaster for you. I will turn away the beams of his eyes
60

and keep them from landing on your face.
70
To Ajax.

You there, you who bind back your captive’s arms, I am calling you, come here! I am calling Ajax! Come out in front of the house!

Odysseus

What are you doing, Athena? Do not call him out.

Athena

Hold your peace! Do not earn a reputation for cowardice!
75

Odysseus

No, by the gods, let it content you that he stay inside.

Athena

What is the danger? Was he not a man before?

Odysseus

Yes, a man hostile to me in the past, and especially now.

Athena

And is not the sweetest mockery the mockery of enemies?

Odysseus

I am content that he stay within his tent.
80

Athena

Do you fear to see a madman right before your eyes?

Odysseus

I would not shrink from him in fear, if he were sane.

Athena

But he will not see you now, even though you stand nearby.

Odysseus

How could that be, if he still sees with the same eyes?

Athena

I shall darken them, though their sight is keen.
85

Odysseus

It is true: all is possible when a god contrives.

Athena

Stand silent, then, and stay where you are.

Odysseus

I must stay. But I would prefer to be far from here!

Athena

You there, Ajax, once again I call you! Why do you show so little regard for your ally?

Enter Ajax, holding a blood-stained whip in his hand.

Ajax

Welcome, Athena! Welcome, daughter sprung from Zeus! How well have you stood by me! I will crown you with trophies of pure gold in gratitude for this quarry!

Athena

A fine pledge. But tell me this—have you dyed your sword well in the Greek army?

Ajax

I can make that boast. I do not deny it.

Athena

And have you launched your armed hand against the Atreidae?

Ajax

Yes, so that never again will they dishonor Ajax.

Athena

The men are dead, as I interpret your words.

Ajax

Dead they are. Now let them rob me of my arms!
100

101

Athena

I see. And the son of Laertes , how does his fortune with respect to you? Has he escaped you?

Ajax

That blasted fox! You ask me where he is?

Athena

Yes, I do. I mean Odysseus, your adversary.

Ajax

My most pleasing prisoner, mistress, he sits inside. I do not wish him to die just yet.
105

Athena

Until you do what? Or win what greater advantage?

Ajax

Until he be bound to a pillar beneath my roof—

Athena

What evil, then, will you inflict on the poor man?

Ajax

—and have his back crimsoned by the lash, before he dies.
110

Athena

Do not abuse the poor man so cruelly!

Ajax

In all else, Athena, I bid you take your pleasure, but he will pay this penalty and no other.

Athena

Well, then, since it delights you to do so, put your arm to use; spare no portion of your plan.

Ajax

I go to my work. And I give you this commission: be always for me the close-standing ally that you have been for me today!

Exit Ajax.

Athena

Do you see, Odysseus, how great is the strength of the gods? Whom could you have found more prudent than this man,

or better able to do what the situation demanded?
120

Odysseus

I know of no one, but in his misery I pity him all the same, even though he hates me, because he is yoked beneath a ruinous delusion—I think of my own lot no less than his.

For I see that all we who live are nothing more than phantoms or fleeting shadow.
125

Athena

Therefore since you witness his fate, see that you yourself never utter an arrogant word against the gods, nor assume any swelling pride, if in the scales of fate you are weightier

than another in strength of hand or in depth of ample wealth. For a day can press down all human things, and a day can raise them up. But the gods embrace men of sense and abhor the evil.
130
Exit Odysseus and Athena.

134

Enter the Chorus of Salaminian Sailors, followers of Ajax.

Chorus

Son of Telamon, you who hold

your throne on wave-washed Salamis near the open sea, when your fortune is fair, I rejoice with you. But whenever the stroke of Zeus, or the raging rumor of the Danaans with the clamor of their evil tongues attacks you, then I shrink with great fear and shudder in terror,
135

like the fluttering eye of the winged dove.
Just so with the passing of the night loud tumults oppressed us to our dishonor, telling how you visited the meadow wild with horses and destroyed
140

the cattle of the Greeks, their spoil, prizes of the spear which had not yet been shared, how you killed them with flashing iron.
Such are the whispered slanders that Odysseus moulds and breathes into the ears of all,
145

and he wins much belief. For now he tells tales concerning you that easily win belief, and each hearer rejoices with spiteful scorn at your burdens more than he who told.
Point your shaft at a noble spirit,
150

and you could not miss; but if a man were to speak such things against me, he would win no belief. It is on the powerful that envy creeps. Yet the small without the great are a teetering tower of defence.
155

For the lowly stand most upright and prosperous when allied with the great, and the great when served by less.
But foolish men cannot learn good precepts in these matters beforehand. It is men of this sort that subject you to tumult, and
160

we lack the power to repel these charges without you, O King. For when they have escaped your eye, they chatter like flocking birds. But, terrified by a mighty vulture,
165

perhaps, if you should appear, they would quickly cower without voice in silence.
170

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Current edition Experimental

ΑΘΗΝΑ ἐγνων, Ὀδυσσεῦ, καὶ πάλαι φύλαξ ἔβην τῇ σῇ πρόθυμος εἰς ὁδὸν κυνηγίᾳ.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ ἦ καὶ, φίλη δέσποινα, πρὸς καιρὸν πονῶ;

ΑΘΗΝΑ Ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Καὶ πρὸς τί δυςλόγιστον ὧδ’ ᾖξεν χέρα; 40

ΑΘΗΝΑ Χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδ’ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν;

ΑΘΗΝΑ Δοκῶν ὲν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ ἦ καὶ τὸ βούλευμ’ ὡς ἐπ’ Ἀργείοις τόδ’ ἦν;

ΑΘΗΝΑ Κὰν ὲξἐπραξεν, εἰ κατημέλησ’ ἐγώ. 45

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Ποίαισι τόλμαις ταῖςδε καὶ φρενῶν θράσει;

ΑΘΗΝΑ Νύκτωρ ὲφ’ ὑμάς δόλιος ὁρμᾶται μόνος.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Ἡ καὶ παρέστη κἀπὶ τἐρμ’ ἀφίκετο;

ΑΘΗΝΑ Καὶ δὴ ’πὶ δισσαῖς ἦν στρατηγίσιν πύλαις.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Καὶ πῶς ἐπέσχε χεῖρα μαιμῶσαν φόνου; 50

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Τί δρᾷς, Ἀθάνα; μηδαμῶς σφ’ ἔξω κάλει.

ΑΘΗΝΑ Οὐ σῖγ’ ἀνέξει, μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρεῖς; 75

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ μὴ πρὸς θεῶν· ἀλλ’ ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων.

ΑΘΗΝΑ Τί μὴ γένηται; πρόςθεν οὐκ ἀνὴρ ὅδ’ ἦν;

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ ἐχθρός γε τῷδε τἀνδρὶ καὶ τανῦν ἔτι.

ΑΘΗΝΑ Οὔκουν γέλως ἥδιστος εἰς ἐχθροὺς γελᾷν;

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀρκεῖ τοῦτον ὲν δόμοις μένειν. 80

ΑΘΗΝΑ Μεμῃνότ’ ἄνδρα περιφανῶς ὀκνεῖς ἰδεῖν;

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Φρονοῦντα γάρ νιν οὐκ ἂν ἐξέστην ὄκνῳ.

ΑΘΗΝΑ Ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ νῦν σε μὴ παρόντ’ ἴδῃ πέλας.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Πῶς, εἴπερ ὀφθαλμοῖς γε τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὁρᾷ;

ΑΘΗΝΑ ἐγὼ σκοτώσω βλέφαρα καὶ δεδορκότα. 85

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Γένοιτο μέντ’ ἂν πᾶν, θεοῦ τεχνωμένου.

ΑΘΗΝΑ Σίγα νυν ἑστὼς καὶ μέν’ ὡς κυρεῖς ἔχων.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ Μένοιμ’ ἄν· ἤθελον δ’ ἂν ἐκτὸς ὢν τυχεῖν.

ΑΘΗΝΑ ὦ οὗτος, Αἴας, δεύτερόν σε προςκαλῶ. τί βαιὸν οὕτως ἐντρέπει τῆς ξυμμάχου; 90

ΑΙΑΣ Κόμπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή.

ΑΘΗΝΑ ἦ καὶ πρὸς Ἀτρείδαισιν ᾔχμασας χέρα;

ΑΙΑΣ ὥστ’ οὔποτ’ Αἴαντ’ οἵδ’ ἀτιμάσουσ’ ἔτι.

ΑΘΗΝΑ τεθνᾶσιν ἅνδρες, ὡς τὸ σὸν ζυνὴκ’ ἐγώ;

ΑΙΑΣ Θανόντες ἤδη τἄμ’ ἀφαιρείσθων ὅπλα. 100

ΑΘΗΝΑ εἶεν· τί γὰρ δὴ παῖς ὁ τοῦ Λαερτίου; ποῦ σοι τύχης ἕστηκεν; ἢ πέφευγέ σε;

ΑΙΑΣ ἦ τοὐπίτριπτον κίναδος ἐξήρου μ’, ὅπου;

ΑΘΗΝΑ Ἔγωγ’· Ὀδυσσέα, τὸν σὸν ἐνστάτην, λέγω.

ΑΙΑΣ ἥδιστος, ὦ δέσποινα, δεσμώτης ἔσω 105 θακεῖ· θανεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν οὔ τί πω θέλω.

ΑΘΗΝΑ Πρὶν ἂν τί δρόσης ἢ τί κερδάνῃς πλέον;

ΑΙΑΣ Πρὶν ἂν δεθεὶς πρὸς κίον’ ἑρκείου στέγης —

ΑΘΗΝΑ Τί δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ἐργάσει κακόν;

ΑΙΑΣ Μάστιγι πρῶτον νῶτα φοινιχθεὶς θάνῃ. 110

ΑΘΗΝΑ Mὴ δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ὧδέ γ’ αἰκίσῃ.

ΑΙΑΣ Χαίρειν, Ἀθάνα, τἄλλ’ ἐγώ σ’ ἐφίεμαι, κεῖνος δὲ τίσει τήνδε κοὐκ ἄλλην δίκην.

ΑΘΗΝΑ Σὺ δ’ οὖν, ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾷν, χρῶ χειρί· φείδου μηδὲν ὧνπερ ὲννοεῖς. 115

ΑΙΑΣ Χωρῶ πρὸς ἔργον· τοῦτό σοι δ’ ἐφίεμαι, τοιάνδ’ ἀεί μοι ξύμμαχον παρεστάναι.

ΑΘΗΝΑ Ὁρᾷς, Ὀδυσσεῦ, τὴν θεῶν ἰσχὺν, ὅση; τούτου τις ἄν σοι τἀνδρὸς ἢ προνούστερος, ἢ δρᾷν ἀμείνων εὑρέθη τὰ καίρια; 120

Ἀθήνα ἔγνων, Ὀδυσσεῦ, καὶ πάλαι φύλαξ ἔβην τῇ σῇ πρόθυμος εἰς ὁδὸν κυναγίᾳ.

Ὀδυσσεύς ἦ καί, φίλη δέσποινα, πρὸς καιρὸν πονῶ;

Ἀθήνα ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι.

Ὀδυσσεύς καὶ πρὸς τί δυσλόγιστον ὧδʼ ᾖξεν χέρα; 40

Ἀθήνα χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων.

Ὀδυσσεύς τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδʼ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν;

Ἀθήνα δοκῶν ἐν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.

Ὀδυσσεύς ἦ καὶ τὸ βούλευμʼ ὡς ἐπʼ Ἀργείοις τόδʼ ἦν;

Ἀθήνα κἂν ἐξέπραξεν, εἰ κατημέλησʼ ἐγώ. 45

Ὀδυσσεύς ποίαισι τόλμαις ταῖσδε καὶ φρενῶν θράσει;

Ἀθήνα νύκτωρ ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς δόλιος ὁρμᾶται μόνος.

Ὀδυσσεύς ἦ καὶ παρέστη κἀπὶ τέρμʼ ἀφίκετο; 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Ἀθήνα καὶ δὴ ʼπὶ δισσαῖς ἦν στρατηγίσιν πύλαις.

Ὀδυσσεύς καὶ πῶς ἐπέσχε χεῖρα μαιμῶσαν φόνου; 50

Ὀδυσσεύς τί δρᾷς, Ἀθάνα; μηδαμῶς σφʼ ἔξω κάλει.

Ἀθήνα οὐ σῖγʼ ἀνέξῃ μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρῇ 75 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Ὀδυσσεύς μὴ πρὸς θεῶν· ἀλλʼ ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων.

Ἀθήνα τί μὴ γένηται; πρόσθεν οὐκ ἀνὴρ ὅδʼ ἦν;

Ὀδυσσεύς ἐχθρός γε τῷδε τἀνδρὶ καὶ τανῦν ἔτι.

Ἀθήνα οὔκουν γέλως ἥδιστος εἰς ἐχθροὺς γελᾶν;

Ὀδυσσεύς ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀρκεῖ τοῦτον ἐν δόμοις μένειν. 80

Ἀθήνα μεμηνότʼ ἄνδρα περιφανῶς ὀκνεῖς ἰδεῖν;

Ὀδυσσεύς φρονοῦντα γάρ νιν οὐκ ἂν ἐξέστην ὄκνῳ.

Ἀθήνα ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ νῦν σε μὴ παρόντʼ ἴδῃ πέλας.

Ὀδυσσεύς πῶς, εἴπερ ὀφθαλμοῖς γε τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὁρᾷ;

Ἀθήνα ἐγὼ σκοτώσω βλέφαρα καὶ δεδορκότα. 85

ΑΘΗΝΑ

ἐγνων, Ὀδυσσεῦ, καὶ πάλαι φύλαξ ἔβην

τῇ σῇ πρόθυμος εἰς ὁδὸν κυνηγίᾳ.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ἦ καὶ, φίλη δέσποινα, πρὸς καιρὸν πονῶ;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Καὶ πρὸς τί δυςλόγιστον ὧδ’ ᾖξεν χέρα;
40

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδ’ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Δοκῶν ὲν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ἦ καὶ τὸ βούλευμ’ ὡς ἐπ’ Ἀργείοις τόδ’ ἦν;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Κὰν ὲξἐπραξεν, εἰ κατημέλησ’ ἐγώ.
45

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Ποίαισι τόλμαις ταῖςδε καὶ φρενῶν θράσει;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Νύκτωρ ὲφ’ ὑμάς δόλιος ὁρμᾶται μόνος.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Ἡ καὶ παρέστη κἀπὶ τἐρμ’ ἀφίκετο;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Καὶ δὴ ’πὶ δισσαῖς ἦν στρατηγίσιν πύλαις.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Καὶ πῶς ἐπέσχε χεῖρα μαιμῶσαν φόνου;
50

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Τί δρᾷς, Ἀθάνα; μηδαμῶς σφ’ ἔξω κάλει.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Οὐ σῖγ’ ἀνέξει, μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρεῖς;
75

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

μὴ πρὸς θεῶν· ἀλλ’ ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Τί μὴ γένηται; πρόςθεν οὐκ ἀνὴρ ὅδ’ ἦν;

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ἐχθρός γε τῷδε τἀνδρὶ καὶ τανῦν ἔτι.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Οὔκουν γέλως ἥδιστος εἰς ἐχθροὺς γελᾷν;

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀρκεῖ τοῦτον ὲν δόμοις μένειν.
80

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Μεμῃνότ’ ἄνδρα περιφανῶς ὀκνεῖς ἰδεῖν;

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Φρονοῦντα γάρ νιν οὐκ ἂν ἐξέστην ὄκνῳ.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ νῦν σε μὴ παρόντ’ ἴδῃ πέλας.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Πῶς, εἴπερ ὀφθαλμοῖς γε τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὁρᾷ;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

ἐγὼ σκοτώσω βλέφαρα καὶ δεδορκότα.
85

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Γένοιτο μέντ’ ἂν πᾶν, θεοῦ τεχνωμένου.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Σίγα νυν ἑστὼς καὶ μέν’ ὡς κυρεῖς ἔχων.

ΟΔΥΣΣΕΥΣ

Μένοιμ’ ἄν· ἤθελον δ’ ἂν ἐκτὸς ὢν τυχεῖν.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

ὦ οὗτος, Αἴας, δεύτερόν σε προςκαλῶ.

τί βαιὸν οὕτως ἐντρέπει τῆς ξυμμάχου;
90

ΑΙΑΣ

Κόμπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

ἦ καὶ πρὸς Ἀτρείδαισιν ᾔχμασας χέρα;

ΑΙΑΣ

ὥστ’ οὔποτ’ Αἴαντ’ οἵδ’ ἀτιμάσουσ’ ἔτι.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

τεθνᾶσιν ἅνδρες, ὡς τὸ σὸν ζυνὴκ’ ἐγώ;

ΑΙΑΣ

Θανόντες ἤδη τἄμ’ ἀφαιρείσθων ὅπλα.
100

ΑΘΗΝΑ

εἶεν· τί γὰρ δὴ παῖς ὁ τοῦ Λαερτίου;

ποῦ σοι τύχης ἕστηκεν; ἢ πέφευγέ σε;

ΑΙΑΣ

ἦ τοὐπίτριπτον κίναδος ἐξήρου μ’, ὅπου;

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ἔγωγ’· Ὀδυσσέα, τὸν σὸν ἐνστάτην, λέγω.

ΑΙΑΣ

ἥδιστος, ὦ δέσποινα, δεσμώτης ἔσω
105

θακεῖ· θανεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν οὔ τί πω θέλω.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Πρὶν ἂν τί δρόσης ἢ τί κερδάνῃς πλέον;

ΑΙΑΣ

Πρὶν ἂν δεθεὶς πρὸς κίον’ ἑρκείου στέγης —

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Τί δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ἐργάσει κακόν;

ΑΙΑΣ

Μάστιγι πρῶτον νῶτα φοινιχθεὶς θάνῃ.
110

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Mὴ δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ὧδέ γ’ αἰκίσῃ.

ΑΙΑΣ

Χαίρειν, Ἀθάνα, τἄλλ’ ἐγώ σ’ ἐφίεμαι,

κεῖνος δὲ τίσει τήνδε κοὐκ ἄλλην δίκην.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Σὺ δ’ οὖν, ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾷν,

χρῶ χειρί· φείδου μηδὲν ὧνπερ ὲννοεῖς.
115

ΑΙΑΣ

Χωρῶ πρὸς ἔργον· τοῦτό σοι δ’ ἐφίεμαι,

τοιάνδ’ ἀεί μοι ξύμμαχον παρεστάναι.

ΑΘΗΝΑ

Ὁρᾷς, Ὀδυσσεῦ, τὴν θεῶν ἰσχὺν, ὅση;

τούτου τις ἄν σοι τἀνδρὸς ἢ προνούστερος,

ἢ δρᾷν ἀμείνων εὑρέθη τὰ καίρια;
120

Ἀθήνα

ἔγνων, Ὀδυσσεῦ, καὶ πάλαι φύλαξ ἔβην

τῇ σῇ πρόθυμος εἰς ὁδὸν κυναγίᾳ.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἦ καί, φίλη δέσποινα, πρὸς καιρὸν πονῶ;

Ἀθήνα

ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι.

Ὀδυσσεύς

καὶ πρὸς τί δυσλόγιστον ὧδʼ ᾖξεν χέρα;
40

Ἀθήνα

χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων.

Ὀδυσσεύς

τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδʼ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν;

Ἀθήνα

δοκῶν ἐν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἦ καὶ τὸ βούλευμʼ ὡς ἐπʼ Ἀργείοις τόδʼ ἦν;

Ἀθήνα

κἂν ἐξέπραξεν, εἰ κατημέλησʼ ἐγώ.
45

Ὀδυσσεύς

ποίαισι τόλμαις ταῖσδε καὶ φρενῶν θράσει;

Ἀθήνα

νύκτωρ ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς δόλιος ὁρμᾶται μόνος.

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἦ καὶ παρέστη κἀπὶ τέρμʼ ἀφίκετο;

³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰¹¹¹²¹³¹⁴

Ἀθήνα

καὶ δὴ ʼπὶ δισσαῖς ἦν στρατηγίσιν πύλαις.

Ὀδυσσεύς

καὶ πῶς ἐπέσχε χεῖρα μαιμῶσαν φόνου;
50

Ὀδυσσεύς

τί δρᾷς, Ἀθάνα; μηδαμῶς σφʼ ἔξω κάλει.

Ἀθήνα

οὐ σῖγʼ ἀνέξῃ μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρῇ
75
¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹²⁰²¹²²²³²⁴²⁵

Ὀδυσσεύς

μὴ πρὸς θεῶν· ἀλλʼ ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων.

Ἀθήνα

τί μὴ γένηται; πρόσθεν οὐκ ἀνὴρ ὅδʼ ἦν;

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἐχθρός γε τῷδε τἀνδρὶ καὶ τανῦν ἔτι.

Ἀθήνα

οὔκουν γέλως ἥδιστος εἰς ἐχθροὺς γελᾶν;

Ὀδυσσεύς

ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀρκεῖ τοῦτον ἐν δόμοις μένειν.
80

Ἀθήνα

μεμηνότʼ ἄνδρα περιφανῶς ὀκνεῖς ἰδεῖν;

Ὀδυσσεύς

φρονοῦντα γάρ νιν οὐκ ἂν ἐξέστην ὄκνῳ.

Ἀθήνα

ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ νῦν σε μὴ παρόντʼ ἴδῃ πέλας.

Ὀδυσσεύς

πῶς, εἴπερ ὀφθαλμοῖς γε τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὁρᾷ;

Ἀθήνα

ἐγὼ σκοτώσω βλέφαρα καὶ δεδορκότα.
85

Ὀδυσσεύς

γένοιτο μέντἂν πᾶν θεοῦ τεχνωμένου.

Ἀθήνα

σίγα νυν ἑστὼς καὶ μένʼ ὡς κυρεῖς ἔχων.

Ὀδυσσεύς

μένοιμʼ ἄν· ἤθελον δʼ ἂν ἐκτὸς ὢν τυχεῖν.

Ἀθήνα

ὦ οὗτος, Αἴας, δεύτερόν σε προσκαλῶ.

τί βαιὸν οὕτως ἐντρέπῃ τῆς συμμάχου;
90

Αἴας

ὦ χαῖρʼ Ἀθάνα, χαῖρε Διογενὲς τέκνον,

ὡς εὖ παρέστης· καί σε παγχρύσοις ἐγὼ

στέψω λαφύροις τῆσδε τῆς ἄγρας χάριν.

Ἀθήνα

καλῶς ἔλεξας. ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνό μοι φράσον,

ἔβαψας ἔγχος εὖ πρὸς Ἀργείων στρατῷ;
95