ἐξήκους’ , as if by rumour from a far-off place: cp. Aesch. Eum. 397

πρόσωθεν ἐξήκουσα κληδόνος βοήν

. Above, in 378 and 472, this compound was merely a strengthened

ἀκούω

.

ὄπωπα δ’ οὐ μάλα . Cp. Hieron 1. 12

οἱ δὲ τύραννοι οὐ μάλα

( nequaquam)

ἀμφὶ θεωρίας ἔχουσιν

. The emphasis contrasts the sufferings known only by hearsay with those which have just been so vividly placed before their eyes.

τὸν πελάταν . Ixion treacherously murdered his father-in-law,

Δηϊονεύς

, and, when no mortal would minister the rites of purification to him, was cleansed of his crime by Zeus. He requited this grace by attempting the bed of Hera; and Zeus then commanded Hermes to bind him on a wheel of fire in the lower world.

The comparison with Ixion is the more forcible here, since reference has just been made to the gratitude shown by Philoctetes (672). Ixion was the great example of ingratitude. Cp. Pind. P. 2. 21 | | | .

λέκτρων … τῶν Διὸς : cp. 1406

βέλεσι τοῖς Ἡρακλέους

. Buttmann preferred the Triclinian

τοῦ Διός

,—which is admissible (cp. Ant. 10 n.),—as emphasising the proper name; but τῶν is clearly right.

κατὰ δρομάδ’ ἄμπυκα … Κρόνου παῖς . As given in the MSS. (see cr. n.), these verses are longer than the corresponding vv. of the antistrophe, 693 f.,

παρ’ ᾧστόνον...αἱματηρόν

. If both Ἰξίονα and δέσμιον are to be kept here, the antistrophic verses must be expanded. But those verses appear to be sound as they stand. The question is, then, whether Ἰξίονα or δέσμιον should be omitted here. I prefer to omit Ἰξίονα , for two reasons.

(1) The poet's tendency to omit the proper name in mythical allusion, when the context made his meaning clear, might be illustrated from Ant, 133, where Capaneus is described, yet not named; and from 966—987 of the same play, where Cleopatra—whose fate is being compared with Antigone's—is only indicated as the mother of the Phineidae (980) and the daughter of Boreas (985).

(2) δέσμιον is not, indeed, necessary to the sense. As in prose we have

ἀναβιβάζειν ἐπὶ τὸν τροχόν

( Andoc. or. 1 § 43), so, here, the sense would be adequately given by κατ’ ἄμπυκα … ἔβαλεν . And it might fairly be suggested that

δέσμιον

had crept into the text from the schol.,

κατ’ ἄμπυκα δὴ

]

κατὰ τὸν τρόχον

(which should be

τροχὸν

, see Soph. Ant. 1065 n.)

δεδεμένον

. Then, omitting δέσμιον , we might keep the order of the MS. words, merely changing κατ’ to ἀν’ :

Ἰξίον’ ἀν’ ἄμπυκα δὴ δρομάδ’ ὡς ἔβαλεν (where

δή

= ‘as men say’). But, on the other hand, poetical considerations seem in favour of δέσμιον . It adds force to the picture of a terrible doom imposed by an irresistible power. —Other views are discussed in the Appendix.

ἄμπυκα , here, the rim of the wheel; elsewhere always ‘head-band.’ But its etymology (

ἀμπί

=

ἀμφί

) might easily suggest this poet. use, esp. as δρομάδα (perh. suggested by

τροχός

) helps it out. The schol. seems to have read

ἄμπυκα

.

Cp. Hesych., . Musgrave's ἄντυγα is certainly tempting, and may be right; but it does not seem necessary.

τοῦδ’ =

ἢ τόνδ’

: cp. 597

θατέρου

, n.

οὔτ’ ἔρξας τιν’, οὔ τι νοσφίσας . A partial reminiscence of Od. 4. 690

οὔτε τινὰ ῥέξας ἐξαίσιον οὔτε τι εἰπών

, as Eustathius saw (p. 763, Od. 2 ):

Ὁμηρικὸν δέ τι καὶ παρὰ Σοφοκλεῖ ἐν Φιλοκτήτῃ τὸ οὔτε τι ῥέξας, κακὸν δηλαδή· οὕτω γὰρ νοεῖται, εἰ καὶ παντελῶς ἐκεῖ σιωπᾶται τὸ ῥεχθέν

. Here the last three words prove two things,—viz., that Eustath. read

οὔτε νοσφίσας

, and that

οὔτε τι ῥέξας

in his citation of Sophocles was a mere slip for

οὔτ’ ἔρξας τιν’

: since, if his text of our verse had really contained

τι

, he could not have said,

σιωπᾶται τὸ ῥεχθέν

. (He has other such slips: see Appendix on Ant. 292. ) Schneidewin's emendation, οὔ τι for οὔτε , appears certain.

ἔρδειν τινά τι

can mean, ‘to do a wrong to a man’:

ἔρδειν τινά

, without

τι

, could not possibly mean it. Ought we, then, to write οὐκ (for

οὔτ’

)

ἔρξας

? Probably not. Cp. Ant. 249

οὔτε του γενῇδος ἦν

|

πλῆγμ’, οὐ δικέλλης ἐνβολή

, and O. C. 972 n.— νοσφίσας , robbed, defrauded. We find not only

νοσφίζειν τινά τινος

, but also

νοσφίζειν τινά τι

(as Pind. N. 6. 64

σέ τ’ ἐνόσφισε

... |

κλᾶρος...ἄνθἐ Ὀλυμπιάδος

); and this is the constr. here. The antithesis is between

βια

( ἔρξας ) and

δόλος

( νοσφίσας ): Ixion had murdered his father-in-law, and had sought to steal the love of Hera.

ἴσος ὢν ἴσοις , lit. ‘equitable towards the equitable’ (

ἴσοις

dat. of relation),—respecting the rights of others, as they respected his. In describing a man of peaceful and estimable character, the Greek tendency is to say, ‘he neither did nor suffered wrong’; i.e., he was not aggressive, nor was he forced into unpleasant relations with his fellow-men by their action,—since he provoked no enmities. See, e.g., Lysias or. 12 § 4

οὐδενὶ πώποτε οὔτε ἡμεῖς οὔτε ἐκεῖνος δίκην οὔτε ἐδικασάμεθα οὔτε ἐφύγομεν, ἀλλ’ οὕτως ᾠκοῦμεν δημοκρατούμενοι ὥστε μήτε εἰς τοὺς ἄλλους ἐξαμαρτάνειν μήτε ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἀδικεῖσθαι

. This is the Athenian ideal of the

χρηστός, ἐπιεικής, ἀπράγμων

. And this is what ἴσος ὢν ἴσοις expresses here. It does not imply that he dealt with

ἴσοι

in one way, and with

ἄδικοι

in another, but merely denotes that reciprocity of fair dealing which his fairness caused. Hence the version, ‘living at peace with his fellowmen,’ is truer to the sense than ( e.g.), ‘just among the just.’ Cp. Ai. 267

κοινὸς κοινοῖσι λυπεῖσθαι

, to share the grief of friends who grieve. For ἴσος as= aequus, said of persons, cp. O. T. 677 n.

L has ἴσως ( sic) ἐν ἴσοις . The objection to reading ἔν γ’ is twofold. (1) The idea suggested would then be the same as in Eur. fr. 693 (quoted by Schneidewin),

τοῖς μὲν δικαίοις ἔνδικος, τοῖς δ’ αὖ κακοῖς

| ...

πολέμιος

. Here, however, the point is the generally inoffensive life of Ph. ,— not the distinction between his conduct towards just and unjust men respectively. (2) The participle

ὤν

, though not indispensable, is very desirable. It is possible that the blunder

ἴσως

in L may be connected with the original presence of

ὤν

in the text.

ὤλλυθ’ : for the impf., cp. 252

διωλλύμην

.

The MS. text here is ὤλλυθ’ ὧδ’ ἀναξίως· τόδε θαῦμ’ ἔχει με . A comparison with the antistrophe (701 f.) strongly confirms Erfurdt's transposition,

θαῦμά μ’ ἔχει

, and Dindorf's insertion of

τοι

after

τόδε

, since τόδε τοι θαῦμά μ’ ἔχει then corresponds with the certainly genuine words in 702, τότ’ ἂν εἰλυόμενος . The next question is how ὤλλυθ’ ὧδ’ ἀναξίως should be reconciled with the MS. words

ἕρπει γὰρ ἄλλοτ’ ἄλλᾳ

in v. 701. Hermann's change of εἷρπε γὰρ to εἷρπε δ’ has been generally received; it is gentler than that of ὤλλυθ’ to ὠλέκεθ’ (Dindorf), or to ὤλλυτο τῇδ’ (Campbell). It is less easy to decide whether ἀναξίως or ἄλλᾳ should be altered. Keeping

ἄλλᾳ

, Dindorf changes

ἀναξίως

to

ἀτίμως

, and Wecklein to

ἀεικῶς

: Linwood proposed

ἀνοίκτως

. We must then suppose that

ἀναξίως

was a gloss, since such a corruption of the letters would be difficult. But it seems better to keep

ἀναξίως

, and to suppose, with Campbell, that

ἄλλᾳ

has come from ἀλλ ( αχ ) ᾷ .—See Appendix.

ἀμφιπλάκτων : the Doric form is clearly required in a strophe which contains

πελάταν, μοίρᾳ, θνατῶν, βιοτάν

. Cp. Ai. 597

ἁλίπλακτος

, El. 484

χαλκόπλακτος

. For the active sense, cp. O. T. 969 n. The

ἀμφίπλακτα ῥόθια

are those which beat around the rocky promontory near his cave (1455). Hesych. defines

ῥόθιον

as

κῦμα μετὰ ψόφου γινόμενον

: cp. Ant. 259 n.—The corrupt κλύζων in L (for

κλύων

), which violates both sense and metre, was taken by the schol. as=

κλυζόμενος

. (Buttmann strangely accepted this, comparing, for the gen., the Homeric

λούεσθαι...ποταμοῖο

.)

βιοτὰν κατέσχεν , obtinuit, ‘kept his hold upon’ the life which might well have slipped from him. This is a common sense of

κατέχω

, though a bold application of it. Not, sustinuit, ‘endured,’ as Dindorf renders.

ἵν’ αὐτὸς ἦν πρόσουρος , where he was his own sole neighbour. So when a man sends no

ἀγγελία

before him, he is said to arrive as his own

ἄγγελος

: when no herald precedes him, he is

αὐτὸς κῆρυξ

(n. on 500). Cp. Aesch. Cho. 866

μόνος ὢν ἔφεδρος

|

δισσοῖς

, ‘his own sole supporter against two foes,’ i.e., there is no

ἔφεδρος

at his back, to fight the man who vanquishes him. Lucian Timon 43

θεοῖς θυέτω καὶ εὐωχείσθω, μόνος ἑαυτῷ γείτων καὶ ὅμορος

(where

ὅμορος

strongly suggests that Lucian was thinking of our passage). Martial 5. 24. 8 Hermes (the gladiator) suppositicius sibi ipse, ‘his own substitute,’ i.e., never requiring one, because never defeated. Seneca Herc. Fur. act 1 sc. 1 Quaeris Alcidae parem? | Nemo est nisi ipse. Massinger, Duke of Milan act 4 sc. 3, ‘And, but herself, admits no parallel.’ —Remark that

ἑαυτῷ

(which Meineke sought to represent by changing ἦν to οἱ ) is not needed, since πρόσουρος =‘near the borders,’ i.e., ‘neighbour to the place’ (in which Ph. was), and thus represents, not

γείτων

simply, but

γείτων τῇ χώρᾳ

. For the Ionic form cp.

ὅμουρος, ξύνουρος, τηλουρός

( Soph. O. T. 194 n.).

οὐκ ἔχων βάσιν , without the power to walk; cp. 632

ἄπουν

. —Bothe's πρόσουρον οὐκ ἔχων βάσιν (‘hearing no footstep of neighbour’) is plausible at first sight. Then

αὐτὸς ἦν

=‘he was alone’ ( O. C. 1650 n.). But the vulgate is far more forcible. By his πρόδουλον … βάσιν Seyffert meant, ‘having no foot to serve him.’—The conjecture,

οὐχ ἔχων βάσιν

| οὔτιν’ ἐς ἔγχωρον (‘having access to no neighbour’) is very weak. Those who adopt it (cp. cr. n.) join

κακογείτονα

with

στόνον

: see next n.

κακογείτονα =

κακῶν

(or

κακοῖς

)

γείτονα

, a neighbour to his sufferings: i.e., one to be near him while he suffers. The word does not imply (as some have objected), ‘a neighbour in ( i.e., sharing in) his sufferings.’ Nor is there any ground for saying that

κακογείτων

could mean only

κακὸς γείτων

.

Compounds to which gives the first part are of two classes, according as the element is (1) adj. or (2) subst. In class (1) there are again two types. ( a) The commonest is that of , = : i.e., the compound denotes ‘possessing’ the subst. as qualified by . ( b) A rarer, chiefly poet., type is that of as simply= . In class (2) ( a) the is most often equiv. to the subst. or in the acc., governed by a verb: as = . ( b) But sometimes this represents a gen. or dat., depending on another noun: thus , ‘prophet of evil’ ( Aesch. Pers. 10 etc.)= . Cratinus used as = (‘cruel to slaves’), fr. 7. And so could belong either to (1) b,= : or, as it actually does here, to (2) b, . Cp. .

The schol. joined κακογείτονα as epithet with στόνον :

παρ’ ᾧ δὴ τὸν κακὸν γείτονα, τὸν αἱματηρὸν στόνον, ἀποκλαύσειε

. And so Cavallin. Bugge, again, takes κακογείτονα as a subst., ‘his evil neighbour’ ( i.e. ‘his disease’),—governed by

στόνον ...ἀποκλαύσειε

: comparing El. 123

τάκεις ...οἰμωγὰν

| ...

Ἀγαμέμνονα

.

παρ’ ᾧ : in the negative statement

παρ’ ὅτῳ

would be more usu.: cp. Ant. 220 n. For the optat. ἀποκλαύσειεν see on 281

ἀρκέσειεν.

ἀντίτυπον : Lucian De domo 3

τῆς φωνῆς ἐπανιούσης κατὰ τὸ ἀντίτυπον καὶ πρὸς αὑτὴν ἀναστρεφούσης

. The force of the epithet here is proleptic,—‘so as to excite a responsive lament.’ It reminds us that the cries of Ph. were answered by Echo alone ( cp. 1459 ).

βαρυβρῶτα … αἱματηρόν : the epithets of the

νόσος

are given to the

στόνος

prompted by it: ‘a lament for a plague that gnawed his flesh and drained his blood.’ This is not too bold for the style of tragic lyrics; and the boldness was perhaps somewhat softened to a Greek ear by the fact that στόνον was in the acc. For, though this acc. is really ‘cognate’ to

ἀποκλαύσειε

, yet the case itself might help to suggest that

βαρυβρῶτα

and

αἱματηρόν

described the object of the

κλαυθμός

. With

βαρυβρώς

cp.

διαβόρος

(v. 7, n.). Cp. 208

αὐδὰ

|

τρυσάνωρ

. Schneidewin cites also Aesch. Theb. 348

βλαχαὶ δ’ αἱματόεσσαι

|

τῶν ἐπιμαστιδίων

|

ἀρτιτρεφεῖς βρέμονται

. It seems possible that this may have been in Soph. 's mind: but it is less bold, since

βλαχαὶ αἱματόεσσαι τῶν ἐπιμ

. merely=

βλαχαὶ τῶν αἱματοέντων ἐπιμ

. (like

νεῖκος ἀνδρῶν ξύναιμον

, etc.). A truer parallel is [Eur. ] Rhes. 260

κακόγαμβρον

| ...

γόον

, =

γόον περὶ κακοῦ λαμβροῦ

. We might add Soph. El. 752

φόνιον οἰμωγὴν κλύω

. The conjectural insertions which have been made in these vv. are noticed in the Appendix on vv. 678 f.

ὃς τὰν . The MS. text has οὐδ’ ὃς τὰν ,—a syllable too much. οὐδ’ may have been conjecturally added, to link this clause to the last; while τὰν is not so likely to have been inserted. And ὃς τὰν is intrinsically better here than οὐδ’ ὃς .

αἱμάδα : schol.

τὴν τοῦ αἵματος ῥύσιν

. The word is found only here.— κηκι—ομέναν is usu. called passive. But it is surely rather a poet. middle form. A transitive

κηκίω

occurs first in postclass. Greek ( Rh. 4.600

βαρὺν ἀνακηκίει ἀτμόν

), while Phaedr. 251 B suffices to show that the intrans.

κηκίω

was familiar in There Attic. is no other example of

κηκίομαι

. Cp. 784

κηκῖον

. The

ι

is short in Homer ( Il. 7. 262

ἀνακήκι^ον

, Od. 5. 455

κήκι^ε

).

ἑλκέων , a disyll. by synizesis.

ἐνθήρου refers to the angry appearance of the ulcer, which has not been assuaged (

ἡμερώθη

) by proper treatment; cp. Aesch. Ag. 562

ἔνθηρον τρίχα

: Dioscorides 3. 11. 1

τεθηριωμένον ἕλκος

. H. N. 26. 14 efferantia se ulcera.

εἴ τις ἐμπέσοι , sc.

αἱμάς

. This, the MS. reading, is plainly right. The verb

ἐμπίπτω

was regularly used with regard to an attack of disease: cp. Tr. 1253

πρὶν ἐμπεσεῖν σπαραγμόν

: Thuc. 2. 48 (

ὁ λοιμὸς

)

ἐς τὴν Ἀθηναίων πόλιν ἐξαπιναίως ἐνέπεσε

: ib. 49

λὺγξ τοῖς πλείοσιν ἐνέπιπτε κενή

. Cp. below. 808 (the disease)

ὀξεῖα φοιτᾷ καὶ ταχεἶ ἀπέρχεται

. In the next v. Schneidewin rightly gave ἑλών for the MS. ἑλεῖν . For the constr.

κατευνάσειεν φύλλοις, ἑλὼν

(

αὐτά

), cp. Soph. O. C. 475 (

ἔρεψον

)

νεοπόκῳ μαλλῷ λαβών

(n.).

Some read εἴ τιν’ ἐμπέσοι , or εἵ τι συμπέσοι , keeping ἑλεῖν : ‘if any leaf should fall in his way, to pluck,’ or, ‘if it should be his fortune to pluck any leaf.’ But

ἐμπίπτειν

ought to be said of the wanderer, not of a stationary object which he finds. And

συμπέσοι

is too suggestive of a ‘coincidence’ to be a fitting word here.—Campbell, reading

φορβάδος ἔκ τε γᾶς ἑλεῖν

, takes the const. to be (

οὐκ ἦν

)

ὅστις κατευνάσειεν ἑλεῖν τε

(instead of

ἕλοι τε

). This is as if one said,

οὐχ εἶχεν ὅστις ἔλθοι καὶ βοηθεῖν.

φορβάδος : cp. 391

παμβῶτι

: fr. 279

ἐξ Ὠλένου γῆς φορβάδος κομίζομαι

.

εἷρπε

κ.τ.λ.

Join ἂν with εἷρπε : cp. 290 n.: for εἰλυόμενος , ib. As to the reading in these verses, see on 686

f. The phrase

ἄλλοτε ἀλλαχῇ

occurs in Xen. Mem. 1. 4. 12.

παῖς … ὡς : like a child that cannot yet walk firmly without the help of its nurse. Cp. Aesch. Eum. 38 , where the aged priestess, tottering with fear, is said to be

ἀντίπαις

.

ὅθεν =

ἐκεῖσε ὅθεν

: cp. Xen. An. 1. 3 § 17

μὴ ἡμᾶς ἀγάγῃ ὅθεν οὐχ οἶόν τε ἔσται ἐξελθεῖν.

ὅθεν ὑπάρχοι , after

εἷρπε ἄν

, answers to

ὅθεν ἂν ὑπάρχῃ

after a primary tense: cp. 289 n.

εὐμάρεια … πόρου , ‘facility of resource,’— i.e., the means of supplying his needs. For

εὐμάρεια

cp. 284 ; for

πόρου

, Eur. Alc. 213

τίς ἂν πόρος κακῶν

|

γένοιτο

...; He had to find food, water, fuel, and the medicinal herb (285 ff., Eur. Alc. 649 ).—Not, ‘ease on his path’ (ease in movement), as if the search for the herb alone were meant. Some read πόρων as=‘resources’: but, in this sense, the associations of the plur. would have been too prosaic for an Attic poet. For the theory that πόρον should be read, and taken with

εἷρπε

, see Appendix on 695 f.

ἐξανείη , remit its violence: 639 n.

δακέθυμος , like

δηξίθυμος, θυμοδακής, θυμοβόρος

, etc.

ἱερᾶς : cp. 391 .

αἴρων denotes the simple act of lifting, and is thus more picturesque than

αἰρόμενος

. Cp. Ar. Ran. 1339

κάλπισί τ’ ἐκ ποταμῶν δρόσον ἄρατε.

ἄλλων , such as fruits, milk, etc.: from

αἴρων

we supply a word of more general sense. The gen. is partitive ( Xen. Cyr. 1. 4. 20

λαβὼν τῶν...ἵππων τε καὶ ἀνδρῶν

). This is better than to repeat φορβὰν with it (‘food consisting in other things’). Such a constr. would be awkward when

φορβὰν

is in apposition with

σπόρον.

τῶν , relat. (14)=

τούτων ἅ

.

ἀλφησταί . The popular deriv., from

ἄλφι

and

ἐδ

(‘meal-eating’), may possibly have been in the poet's mind here; though this inference would be stronger if he had placed the word in closer connection with

σπόρον

. Curtius, on the other hand, can fairly cite Aesch. Th. 771

ἀνδρῶν ἀλφηστᾶν ὄλβος ἄγαν παχυνθείς

, in support of the sense ‘workers,’ ‘earners,’ men who eat their bread in the sweat of their brow (rt

ἀλφ

, Lat. lab-os).

ἀνέρες , with epic α— , as Tr. 1010 , O. T. 869

ἀνέρων

. There is a reminiscence of Od. 13. 261

ἀνέρας ἀλφηστάς

, as well as of ib. 9. 89

οἵτινες ἀνέρες εἶεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ σῖτον ἔδοντες

.

πτανοῖς is a purely poetical image for speed, while the Homeric

πτερόεντες ὀϊστοί

more readily suggests the actual feathers on the arrow ( Tr. 567

κομήτην ἰόν

: Aesch. fr. 135

μηχανὴν πτερώματος

: Eur. Or. 274

τόξων πτερωτὰς γλυφίδας

).

ἰοῖς (restored by Brunck) was evidently lost through the likeness of ending in

πτανοῖς

. Then the gap was filled by inserting

πτανῶν

(to agree with

τόξων

), and

πτανοῖς

was explained as, ‘with birds’ ( Ai. 168

πτηνῶν ἀγέλαι

).

ψυχά, ὃς : cp. Il. 18. 177

οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ βίη Ἡρακλῆος φύγε Κῆρα

, |

ὅσπερ φίλτατος ἔσκε Διὶ Κρονίωνι ἄνακτι

. Cp. Ant. 341 n.

ὃς μηδ’ , ‘ one who did not’...: the generic

μή

with causal force: cp. 170 n.

ἥσθη , with a gen., such as follows verbs of enjoying,

ἀπολαύω, εὐωχοῦμαι

, etc.: Il. 11. 780

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τάρπημεν ἐδητύος ἠδὲ ποτῆτος.

οἰνοχύτου :

οἰνόχ. πῶμα

=

οἴνου κεχυμένου π

.: cp. 208 n., Eur. Cycl. 66

κρήναις παρ’ ὑδροχύτοις

.

δεκέτει χρόνῳ . The simple dat. here denotes the time within which a thing has not happened ( cp. 769 ). For this sense

ἐν

is usu. added. But, as

ἐν χρόνῳ μακρῷ

(235), and

χρόνῳ μακρῷ

simply (598 n.), can alike mean ‘ after a time,’ so the use of the simple dat. is extended to that sense for which

ἐν

is more specially needed,—‘ within a time.’ The acc., δεκέτη χρόνον , which Blaydes reads, is less suitable here. The point is that, for ten years, Ph. has not once tasted wine. A prose-writer would usu. express this by

δέκα ἐτῶν

: cp. Plat. Gorg. 448A

οὐδείς μέ πω ἠρώτηκε καινὸν οὐδὲν πολλῶν ἐτῶν

. In our v., the acc. would rather suggest that Ph. had not had ten years continuous enjoyment of wine. Cp. Lys. or. 19 § 60

ὀλίγον μὲν χρόνον δύναιτ’ ἄν τις πλάσασθαι τὸν τρόπον τὸν αὑτοῦ

(the dissimulation being continuous):

ἐν ἑβδομήκοντα δὲ ἔτεσιν οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς λάθοι πονηρὸς ὤν

( i.e., at some moment or other within the 70 years he will be found out).

λεύσσων , absol., looking about him, ὅπου γνοίη (to see) where he could perceive (stagnant water), προσενώμα , he used to bend his way towards it. εἰς στατὸν ὕδωρ is joined with

προσενώμα

, instead of standing (without

εἰς

) as object to γνοίη . The latter is oblique for

ὅπου γνῷ

(delib. subjunct.). Cp. Ai. 890

ἄνδρα μὴ λεύσσειν ὅπου

: O. C. 135

ὃν ἐγὼ

λεύσσων περὶ πᾶν οὔπω

|

δύναμαι τέμενος γνῶναι ποῦ μοί

|

ποτε ναίει

(n.). προσενώμα intrans.: cp. 168 n.—The usage of

λεύσσειν

in Soph. makes this constr. preferable to the other, which is possible:

λεύσσων εἰς στατὸν ὕδωρ

(fixing his gaze on it),

ὅπου γνοίη

, wherever he might perceive it (oblique of

ὅπου ἂν γνῷ

).— στατὸν … ὕδωρ , water collected in stagnant pools: cp. Arist. fr. 207 (Berl. ed. p. 1515 b 25)

πρόσφατόν ἐστι καὶ νέον ὕδωρ τὸ ὑόμενον, ἕωλον δὲ καὶ παλαιὸν τὸ λιμναῖον

. Her. 2. 108

πλατυτέροισι ἐχρέωντο τοῖσι πόμασι, ἐκ φρεάτων χρεώμενοι

(‘somewhat brackish’). Odysseus remembered a spring near the cave (21), and Ph. speaks of

κρῆναι

(1461): but the imagination of the Chorus

ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον πάντα δεινοῖ

.

ἀνδρῶν ἀγ ., Peleus and Achilles; cp. 384 .

ὑπαντήσας in prose would mean, ‘having come to meet,’ and would take a dat. A poet might feel that the gen. was sufficiently warranted by the Homeric

ἀντήσω γὰρ ἐγὼ τοῦδ’ ἀνέρος

( Il. 16. 423 ), etc.: indeed, the gen. differs from the dat. only by its more vivid suggestion of the idea, ‘face to face’ (

ἀντίον τινός

). Cp. 320 n. Here the phrase, ‘having come face to face’ with him, suggests not merely the good fortune of the meeting, but the intercourse,—frank on the side of Philoctetes,—which had followed it.—As Ph. and Neoptolemus are now seen to be leaving the cave, the Chorus once more speaks language designed to support N.'s plan.

ἀνύσει εὐδαίμων ( sc.

ὤν

, cp. Ant. 177 ), will finish his course in happiness; =

τελευτῶν εὐδαιμονήσει

. (Not, I think, ‘will succeed in becoming happy,’ sc.

γενέσθαι

.)

ἐκ κείνων (neut.) after those troubles: cp. 271 .

ποντοπόρῳ : epith. of

ναΐ

in Ai. 250.

δούρατι : the only example of this epic form in Soph. (for

δορί

and

δόρει

cp. Soph. O. C. 1304 ). Aesch. has

δουρίκλυτος, δουρίπληκτος

, and

ευρ. δούρατα

. Cp. Pind. P. 4. 27

εἰνάλιον δόρυ

( trabs), Aesch. Pers. 411

ἐπ’ ἄλλην

( sc.

ναῦν

)

ἄλλος ηὔθυνεν δόρυ.

πλήθει … μηνῶν , after the ten years at Lemnos: 598 n.

πατρίαν is prob. a true correction of πατρῴαν . There is no other instance in Soph. of

πατρῷος

with the 2nd syll. short (though he often shortens

αι

before a vowel, Soph. Ant. 1310 ). In Eur. there are a few such instances, but in all of them

πάτριος

should be restored, as by Porson in Eur. Hec. 78 (=82 Dind.). As to the sense, either word would serve here: properly,

πατρίαν

=ancestral;

πατρῴαν

, belonging to one's father: but Tragedy does not always observe the distinction ( cp. 398 n.: conversely, O. C. 736

θεῶν πατρῴων

=

πατρίων

).

Μαλιάδων : the Ionic form ( cp. 4 n.), which the MSS. give, can hardly be kept here: cp. 688

ἀμφιπλάκτων. Μαλ. νυμφᾶν

is more naturally joined with αὐλὰν than (as Cavallin prefers) with ὄχθας : ‘his ancestral abode, haunt of the Malian nymphs,’ is a phrase which suggests the hills, woods and streams of Malis. So the nymphs of Helicon ( O. T. 1109 ), Parnassus ( Ant. 1128 ), and Lemnos (below, Ant. 1454 ) are associated with the rural scenery of those places. For

αὐλή

in the general sense, ‘abode,’ cp. Ant. 786

ἀγρονόμοις αὐλαῖς

: Eur. Alc. 259

νεκύων ἐς αὐλάν.

παρ’ ὄχθας . Unless, with Blaydes, we change Σπερχειοῦ τε to Σπερχειοῖο , the acc. is necessary here. The MSS. give ὄχθαις . For other instances in which the case of the noun after

παρά

has prob. been corrupted, cp. nn. on Ant. 966 , Ant. 1123 f. As to the topography, cp. 490 n.

ὁ χάλκασπις ἀνὴρ , Heracles. The epithet has an archaeological interest. In the Homeric poems, when reference is made to the exploits of Heracles, his weapon is the bow ( Il. 5. 395 : Od. 8. 224 , Od. 11. 607 ). Some ancient writers, however, expressly say that the equipment of Heracles with bow, club, and lion's skin was a comparatively late invention of the poets, and that in the oldest works of art he was represented with the armour of the ordinary Homeric warrior. According to Strabo (15. 688), the innovation could be traced back to the epic

Ἡράκλεια

, ascribed to Peisander ( circ. 650 B.C.):

καὶ ἡ τοῦ Ἡρακλέους δὲ στολὴ τοιαύτη πολὺ νεωτέρα τῆς Τρωικῆς μνήμης ἐστί, πλάσμα τῶν τὴν Ἠράκλειαν ποιησάντων, εἴτε Πείσανδρος ἦν, εἴτ’ ἄλλος τις· τὰ δ’ ἀρχαῖα ζόανα οὐχ οὕτω διεσκεύασται

(implying that he had seen old images or statues in which Heracles had armour). Athenaeus (12. 512 F) quotes Megacleides (who wrote

περὶ Ὁμήρου

, prob. in the 4th cent. B.C.), as referring the invention to Stesichorus ( c. 620 B.C.), and adding that Xanthus, an earlier lyric poet, had clad Heracles in the Homeric armour:—

ταῦτα πλάσαι πρῶτον Στησίχορον τὸν Ἱμεραῖον. καὶ Ξάνθος δ’ ὁ μελοποιός, πρεσβύτερος ὢν Στησιχόρου,...οὐ ταύτην αὐτῷ περιτίθησι τὴν στολήν, ἀλλὰ τὴν Ὁμηρικήν

. Strabo and Megacleides, then, agree thus far,— that the invention was not older than the 7th cent. B.C.

In this play Heracles figures especially as the former possessor of the invincible bow. Why, then, has Soph. here chosen an epithet, χάλκασπις , which suggests the hoplite type of Heracles? The answer seems to turn on two points. (1) A compromise between the hoplite and the archer type of Heracles can sometimes be traced in ancient art. Thus a statue belonging to the east pediment of the Aeginetan temple gives Heracles a helmet (or bonnet) of lion's skin, a bow, and a

θώραξ

(Baumeister, Denkm. p. 335: cp. ib. p. 652 a). Sophocles himself makes a similar compromise when in Tr. 510 ff. he arms Heracles with bow, club, and two spears. (2) The Heracles of this play is associated with the legends of Oeta and Trachis. In them, as in those of Boeotia, Heracles was preeminently the warrior, who sacked Oechalia ‘with the spear’ ( Tr. 478 ), and for whom Hephaestus had wrought the

ἀσπίς

described in the Hesiodic poem.

πλάθει . The aor.

ἐπλα—/θην

is used by Aesch. and Eur. ; and πλάθη (Bergk) is tempting here: but the historic pres. seems confirmed by such examples as Soph. O. T. 113 (

συμπίπτει

), ib. 560 (

ἔρρει

). Heracles was burned alive, by his own command, on the top of Mount Oeta. As the flames rose, a storm broke forth; and, amid thunder and lightning, the hero was taken up to heaven. Apollod. 2. 7. 14

καιομένης δὲ τῆς πυρᾶς λέγεται

νέφος ὑποστὰν μετὰ βροντῆς αὐτὸν εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀναπέμψαι

. Diod. 4. 38. 4

κεραυνῶν ἐκ τοῦ περιέχοντος πεσόντων ἡ πυρὰ πᾶσα κατεφλέχθη

. By θείῳ πυρὶ παμφαής the poet probably meant to suggest both the flaming pyre and the splendour of the lightnings.

*

πατρὸς

is my emendation of the corrupt πᾶσι . In the str., 716, ὅπου is clearly sound; and a long syllable is metrically impossible here. Nor can we save πᾶσι by transposition: both πλάθει and θείῳ are plainly genuine. Hermann's conjecture,

θεοῖς

|

πλάθει θεὸς

, presupposes that πᾶσι was either a gloss, or an arbitrary substitute for a lost word; but it was more probably a corruption of the true word. Now we might certainly expect here some reference to Zeus. Oeta was sacred to him; his were the lightnings (cp. Tr. 436

τοῦ κατ’ ἄκρον Οἰταῖον πάγον

|

Ζηνὸς καταστράπτοντος

); and it was as his son that Heracles entered Olympus. At this moment, above all others, there is a poetical fitness in some allusion to the hero's divine parentage, which is elsewhere made so prominent in the play (802, Tr. 943 , Tr. 1415 ). πατρὸς supplies this touch.

The burning of Heracles, and his apotheosis, are combined in some vase paintings. (1) A bowl ( ) of the 4th cent. B.C., now in the Collegio Rainone at Agata S. dei Goti: Milani, Mito di Filottete, p. 65: Baumeister, Denkm., p. 307, fig. 322. In the lower part of the picture is the still burning pyre, which a Nymph on the left is trying to quench by pouring water from a jug. The trunk of the hero's mortal body lies on the pyre. On the right, a bearded figure in a peaked cap is hastily receding. This is either Poeas or Philoctetes: at his side is the quiver given him by the hero for kindling the pyre. Above, a Doric portal represents the entrance to Olympus. Apollo, laurel-crowned, sits on the left of it; a four-horse chariot approaches him, preceded by Hermes. It is driven by a winged goddess (a ): on her left sits Heracles, crowned with laurel, his club in his left hand; a light garment (a sort of chlamys) floats round his shoulders. (2) A Lucanian vase, now at Munich: Baumeister, p. 669, fig. 734. Below is the pyre, with the trunk of Heracles on it: the fire is being quenched by two Nymphs on the right and (an Attic fountain). On the left are two Satyr figures. Above, Athena Nikè, with helmet, lance, and chequered aegis worn as a corslet, is driving Heracles to Olympus; his left hand holds the club, and round his left arm is wound his chlamys.—We notice how the participation of Nymphs in these scenes illustrates the poet's (v. 725).

ὄχθων (

ὄχθος

), not

ὀχθῶν

(

ὄχθη

): cp. Ant. 1132 n.