(The Plays of Sophocles 2) Jan Coenraad Kamerbeek - The Trachiniae-BRILL (1970)

THE PLAYS OF SOPHOCLES
THE PLAYS OF SOPHOCLES

BY
J. C KAMERBEEK Litt. Dr.

Professor o f A ncient G reek in the U niversity o f A m sterdam
COMMENTARIES
PART II
T H E TRACHINIAE
LEIDEN
E. J. BRILL
1970
R E P R IN T E D 1970
Copyright 1970 by E, J, Brill, Leiden, Netherlands

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P R A E F A T IO
Nimis longo temporis intervallo mihi contigit ut hanc secundam

partem operis mei absolverem — ‘absolverem’ dico ? ‘concluderem’
dicere debebam. Magis magisque enim Sophoclem interpretanti,
poetam inter paucos ‘classicum’, terminos laboris non extare
perspicere didici. Rationem commentandi quam in Atace secutus
sum non multum immutavi, de eventu, quem sane longiore usu
rerum necnon censuris utilibus edoctus paulo meliorem fore spero,
alii iudicent. Commodo lectorum inservire studui nimias copiosas
disputationes nimiamque brevitatem pariter evitando. Duplicem
commentarium, cuius altera pars in rebus grammaticis, ad stilum
pertinentibus etc., altera in arte dramatica et poetica versaretur,
consideravi, sed malui unitatem officii philologici quantum fieri
potuit conservare. Omnes enim illae res artissime inter se cohaerent.
Sophoclis peritis nimis simplicia explicari nonnumquam videbuntur :
reputent, quaeso, hos commentarios studiosis quoque usui esse me
voluisse.
Quod autem attinet ad linguam Anglicam quae hic rursus ad
hibita est: ipse textum Anglice scripsi, singula quae opere proce
dente scripseram ad D. A. S. Reid, virum benevolentissimum, in
Universitate Amstelodamensi linguae Anglicae docendae adiutorem,
detuli; postremo opus perfectum T. B. L. Webster v. cl. auctore ad
Claram Campbell (Cantabrigiensem), mense Aprili MCMLVIII,
misi, quae pro sua sagacitate multa correxit, plura suggessit.
Utrique nimirum maximas gratias hic agere libenter volo; quae
cumque auribus Amglicis in hoc libro non displicuerint, ea illorum
beneficio se debere existiment, vitia autem mea esse. William
M. Calder III, nunc Universitatis cui nomen Columbia socius,
sponte sua mihi tabulas, omnes locos qui in ‘Kiihner-Gerth’ ad
Trachinias pertinent continentes, misit, quod auxilium more vere
Americano oblatum grato animo commemoro.
Santpoort, mense Aprili, MCMLIX j. C. K.

HISCE LOCIS TEXTUS AB OXONIENSI QUEM CONSTITUIT
A. C. PEARSON DIFFERT
(in siglis adhibendis Alexandrum Turyn secutus sum)

12, 13 τύπω / βούκρανος codd. : κύτει / βούπρωρος Strabo 4 5 $,
multi edd. post Brunckium, Pearson : τύπω / βούπρωρος
Kuiper.
53 το σόν■
66 φέρει codd. : φέρειν Valckenaer, al., Pearson.
79 ώς oi L R (accentus variant): ως ή A, edd., Pearson.
80 τον ύστερον codd. : τό γ’ ύστερον Reiske, edd., Pearson.
88, 89 retinentur, εΐα Vauvilliers, edd.: έα codd., Pearson, qui
versus seel. Hermannum secutus.
108 φέρουσαν codd.: τρέφουσαν Casaubon, al., Pearson.
117 f τρέφει, το δ’ αυξει βιότου y codd.: στρέφει Reiske, al.,
Pearson.
122 άδεια codd.: αιδοία Musgrave, al., Pearson.
159 ούπω A, οΰπω L: ούτω Tournier, al., Pearson.
161 οτι: ο τι Pearson, al.
164 τρίμηνον codd.: τρίμηνος Wakefield, al., Pearson.
179 χαράν LA : χάριν R K (= Laur. 31, 10; cf. Turyn, Stud, in
the Manuscript Tradition of the Trag, of Soph. p. 168),
Pearson.
188 πρόσπολος codd. : προς πολλούς Hermann, multi edd., Pearson.
189 κλυών.
205 άνολολύξεται Elmsley: άνολολύξετε codd. : άνολολυξάτω Burges,
al., Pearson.
206 έφεστίοισιν Radermacher: έφεστίοις codd., Pearson, άλαλαϊς
L A R : άλαλαγαΐς Thom. Mag., al., Pearson.
220 ύποστρέφων codd. : έπιστρέφων Pearson.
233 Ήρακλέα codd. : Ηρακλή Pearson.
236 ποϋ γης, πατρώας, ε’ίτε βαρβάρου ; λέγε.
243 ξυμφορα L: ξυμφοραι A, multi edd., Pearson.
266 λίποιτο L RE^: λείποιτο A, Pearson.
267 φωνεΐ rec. : φώνει LA : φωνή Pearson.
271 κλειτύν.
2J2 θητέρα.
326 δακρυρρόει LPC: δακρυρροεΐ fortasse Lac, Pearson, al.
V III H I S C E LO C IS T E X T U S AB O X O N I E N S I D I F F E R T
328 αυτή γ ’ L R A al.: αυτή γ’ Zr (= Marc. 616), Pearson.

334 έγώ δέ L R: εγώ τε A (teste Dain), Turneb., Pearson, al.
337 έκμάθης θ’ L R: έκμάθης Τ, Pearson.
362-364 retinentur: τόνδ’ rec. (cf. Jebb): τώνδ’ LA, Pearson, qui
τήν . . . πατέρα secl. Hartung secutus.
365 καί νιν Brunck, Dain-Mazon: καί νυν codd., Pearson.
366 ώς codd., Hermann: ές Brunck, al., Pearson.
368 έντεθέρμανται codd. : έκτεθέρμανται Dindorf, Pearson.
377 ώ, δύστηνος Dain: ώ δύστηνος codd., Pearson.
379 φύσιν ;
382 έφώνει,
422, 425 κλυεΐν.
470 πείθου codd. : πιθοΰ Dindorf, Pearson.
475 έννέπει ·
5i l άπό.
520 άμφίπλεκτοι codd. : άμφίπλικτοι Pearson.
526 Ί' έγώ δέ μάτηρ μέν οΐα φράζω- j
528 ελεεινόν codd.: έλεινον Porson, edd., Pearson.
554 λύπημα codd. : λώφημα Jebb, Pearson.
564 ήν L: ή ’v Cobet, Pearson.
602 f τόνδε γ ’ εύυφή j LAA : possis τόνδε τον άϋφή : τόνδε ταναϋφή
Wunder, al., Pearson.
621 ουτοί, L: ού τι A, Pearson.
623 ών έχεις codd. Σ~: ήν λέγεις Blaydes, Pearson.
628 αυτήν θ’ L: αύτή θ’ Koechly, Pearson.
636 Μηλίδα codd. : Μαλίδα Blaydes, Pearson.
639 καλέονται codd.: possis καλεϋνται: κλέονται Musgrave, edd.,
Pearson.
647, 8 πάντα codd.: παντα Nauck, Pearson.
654 έξέλυσ’ codd. : έξέλυσεν Pearson.
662 συγκραθείς codd. : συντακείς Blaydes, Pearson, επί προφάσει
θηρός codd. : θηρος υπο παρφάσει Pearson.
673 λαβεϊν LA: μάθειν ΑΣΤΡ, Pearson.
675 έχριον άργήτ’, codd.: έχριον, άργής Blaydes, Pearson.
682 ούδέν codd. : ούδέν’ van Herwerden, Pearson.
684 retinetur.
696 retinetur.
747 κλυών.
7&7 προσπτύσσετο codd. : προσπτύσσεται Musgrave, Pearson.
770 όδαγμος codd.: άδαγμος Phot., Pearson.
H I S C E L O C IS T E X T U S A B O X O N I E N S I D IFFE R T IX
788 Λοκρών ορειοι codd. : Λοκρών τ’ ορειοι Diog. L. X 137,

Pearson, άκρο«, codd. : άκρα Diog. F, Pearson.
816 καλώς L A al. : καλός T, Pearson.
829 επίπονον <πόνων> Gleditsch, Jebb. : επίπονον codd., Pearson.
834 ετεκε codd. : έτρεφε Lobeck, Pearson.
837 φάσματι codd. : νήματι Pearson.
839 Νέσσου ύποφόνια Gleditsch, Jebb: νέσ(σ)ου θ’ υπο φοίνια L Α:
φόνια Schneidewin, Pearson.
841 άοκνον codd. : άοκνος Musgrave, Pearson.
8431 4 t τ<* μεν °u τι προσέβαλεν j codd. : τά μέν αυτά προσέβαλεν
Blaydes (Nauck), Pearson.
854 ούπώ<ποθ’> άγακλειτόν Ήρακλέους ego: οΰπω άγακλειτόν
Ήρακλέους L: Ήρακλέα Α: <υπ’> οΰπω............ άγακλειτόν
Pearson.
869 άήθης codd. : άηδής anon., Pearson.
870 σημαίνουσα L A al.: σημανοΰσα Τ, Pearson.
882-884 — τίς θυμός, ή τίνες νόσοι, / τάνδ’ αίχμά βέλεος κακοϋ /
ξυνεΐλε; Hermann:—τίς θυμός, ή τίνες νόσοι; / Τρ. τάνδ’
αίχμά βέλεος κακού ξυνεΐλε. Pearson (αίχμά Τ, αίχμάν
L A al. Σ1).
910 άνακαλουμένη.
9ΙΙ ουσίας codd. Σ: οικίας Pearson.
922 κοίταισι. εόνήτριαν codd. : εύνάτριαν Nauck, Pearson.
924 ω codd. : fj Wakefield, Pearson.
940 βάλοι codd. : ’μβάλοι Pearson.
941 όθούνεκ’ εκ codd. : όθούνεχ’ εις Nauck, Pearson.
942 βίον codd. : βίου Wakefield, Pearson.
946 πάθη codd.: παρη Turner, Pearson.
951 μένομεν Erfurdt : μελόμεν’ Hermann, Pearson (μέλλομεν codd.).
956 Διάς L A al. : Ζηνός T, Pearson.
973 ώμοι.
987 ή δ’.
988 έξηδη σ’ Wecklein (έξήδης L A al. Σ^) : έξήδησθ’ Cobet,
Pearson.
1004-1006 j έάτέ μ’, έάτε <νϋν>, ύστατον εύνάσαι,
δύσμορον εύνάσαι, έάτέ με δύστανον f cf. commentarium.
ΙΟΙΟ ή δ’.
ιο ι ι οΰς codd.: οΐς Wakefield, Pearson.
1014 ούκ εγχος τις όνήσιμον; ούκ άποτρέψει ; codd. (; ante ούκ
addidi): ούκέτι τρέψει ; Postgate, Pearson.
X H I S C E L O C IS T E X T U S A B O X O N I E N S I D I F F E R T
1015 non antistropha, sed stropha.

1015-1017 7 ούδ’ άπαράξαι <— μόλων
κράτα θέλει βίου <τε> στυγερού <λΰσαι>
<τον στυγερον> φευ φεΰ y cf. commentarium.
1019, 1020 7 σοί τε γάρ, οϊμαι, / έκπέλει, ούχί δ’ έμοί, σώζειν f et.
commentarium.
1024 non stropha, sed antistropha.
1040 Lacunam post ώλεσεν statuit Dain. Pearson huc ώ γλυκύς
’Άιδας transtulit, Seidlerum secutus.
1041-1043 ώ Διάς αύθαίμων, ώ γλυκύς ’Άιδας,
εύνασον εύνασόν μ’ ώκυπέτα μόρω
τον μέλεον φθίσας.
I0 Ô 2 φύσιν codd. : φύσις Valckenaer, Pearson.
1074 έσπόμην codd. : είπόμην Σ ad Ai. 318, Pearson.
1082 εθαλψεν LA : έθαλψέ μ’ Κ, Pearson.
1084 διαβόρος.
1091 δέ κείνοι L: εκείνοι A, Pearson.
1096 βίαν L A ah: βία rec., Pearson.
1160 υπο codd. : ποτέ Musgrave, Pearson.
1167 είσεγραψάμην codd.: έξεγραψάμην Elmsley, Pearson.
1186 έξειρήσεται;
1191 υψιστον codd.: ύψίστου Wakefield, Pearson.
1208 ών codd. : ώς Hermann, Pearson.
1220 ώστ’ codd. : ώς γ ’ Schaefer, Pearson.
1234 ao'L r ’ codd.: σοί δ’ Schaefer, Pearson.
1270 έφοροί codd.: άφορα Wakefield, Pearson.
1275-1278 Choro attribuuntur.
1275 άπ’ οΐκων L A al., Mazon: έπ’ οίκων T Σ TP, multi edd.,
Pearson.
1277 καινοπαθή Ls- : καινοπαγή L A A.
IN T R O D U C T IO N
i. Sources
We would be better off if our information about the epic poem or
poems from which Sophocles drew his material in writing the
Trachiniae was less scrappy than it in fact is. This is the more to be
regretted since he was probably the first to conceive of creating a
tragedy out of the story of Heracles, Deianeira and I ole. Aeschylus
and the other older tragedians had not thought of it; as it happens,
the Trachiniae is the earliest of the few extant plays based on the
Heracles-saga (if indeed as seems fairly certain it is anterior to
Euripides’ Heracles), and a better knowledge of its epic sources
would enable us to form an estimate of Sophocles’ method and
technique in dramatizing epic poetry not handled by his prede
cessors, and of his originality in combining elements from the saga.
The epos Οΐχαλίας άλωσις, attributed to Homer or to the Samian
Creophylus x), dealt with Heracles’ passion for I ole daughter of
Eurytus s), and the destruction of Oechalia, Eurytus’ town, located
at Euboea 3), as it also is by Sophocles. Did it treat also of Heracles’
death by means of the garment anointed with Nessus’ venom, and
of Deianeira’s act and fate? We do not know. It did mention
Medea’s murdering of Creon, king of Corinth, φαρμάκοις4) : so
possibly a parallel was drawn between the deeds of the two for
saken wives. If so, it would not mean that Deianeira was repre
sented as a deliberate murderess 5) : she might equally well have
been set in contrast with Medea. Creophylus is quoted once in the
scholia (ad Track. 266), for the number of Eurytus’ sons.
Our oldest information on Heracles’ death in connection with the
garment is found in the Hesiodean catalogue B). There Deianeira
is apparently listed as the last of Althaea’s and Oeneus’ children;
then the fragmentary lines run as follows:1234
1) Cf. th e te s tim o n ia in H omeri Opera V rec. T h. W . A llen pp. 144-147.

2) C all, epigr. 6 W ., E u s ta th . 330. 41
3) P a u s. IV 2. 3.
4) Schol. E u r. M ed. 264.
6) Contra F . Stoessl, Der Tod des Herakles, 1945, p. 16 a n d follow ing
P . J . C onradie, Herakles in dieGriekse Tragédie, th e sis U tre c h t 1958, p. 30.
G) F 4. 14 sq q . M erkelbach.
K a m e r b e e k , T rach in iae i
IN TR O D U C T IO N
ή τέχ’ ύ~οδμηθεΐ[σα βίη Ήρακληεί]-/]

'Ύλλον και Γλήνον και [Κτήσιππον] καί Όνείτην·
20 τούς τέκε καί δειν[όν] τευξεν πόσεϊ] μεγαθύμω
όπ[πότ]ε φάρμακο[ν ούλον ένιστά]ξασα χιτώνι
λώπ[ο]ς κη[ρα μέλαιναν εχον προύπεμ]ψεν ανακτι etc.
Though much is conjectural in these words, it is certain that the

poet knew of the venom and the garment (called χιτών, as it is time
and again by Sophocles) but we cannot tell whether or not the story
was thought of as connected with Heracles’ passion for I ole.
Our knowledge of Pisander’s Ήρακλεία is too scanty to allow of
more than mere guesswork. It is likely however that Sophocles
owed something to Panyassis’ extensive Heracles-epos ; Panyassis
was Herodotus’ uncle or cousin and we may readily suppose that
Plerodotus made his friend acquainted with the poetry of his
kinsman. The Omphale episode and the capture of Oechalia were
dealt with in it ; but again, as in the case of Creophylus, we are left
in the dark about Deianeira and Nessus. Our scholia do not mention
either Pisander or Panyassis.
Although Heracles—who was not at all a specifically Dorian
hero—was very well known to Homer, in whose text much evidence
of older poetry about Pleracles occurs (the murdering of Iphitus is
mentioned, but without a personal motive 2) ; and so is the killing
of Eurytus the archer by Apollo ®) and though traces of Aetolian
mythology are fairly frequent in Homer 4), we do not hear anything
about the capture of Oechalia and the story of Deianeira. We notice
a lively interest in Heracles, the Theban hero, in the school of
Hesiod; it was here that the connection with Aetolian saga was
evidently established but the combination of Heracles-Iole with
Heracles-Deianeira, if ever this was made in epic poetry, remains
elusive.
Our oldest evidence in literature of Heracles, Deianeira and
Nessus is presented by Archilochus, who treated the story in one
of his poems (epodes, according to Lasserre’s rather hazardous1*34
1) T h o u g h we c a n n o t feel c e rta in a b o u t tlie c o n n e c tio n ; to o m u c h is m ad e

of it b y S toessl o.l. p p . 35 sqq., a n d R E X V I I I (2) (1949) s.v. P a n y a ssis
K ol. 910-913 ; ci. A. Lesley, Trag. D ichtung der Hellenen, 1956, p. 17.
η Od. X X I 14-30.
3) Od. V I I I 226 sqq.
4) II. I X 524-600, I I 641 sq., X IV 115-118, V I 216 sqq.
IN TR O D U CT IO N 3
conjecture1)). Cf. Dio Chrysost. LX i (fr. 147 Bgk.) : Έχεις μοιλΰσαι

ταύτην την άπορίαν, πότερον δικαίως έγκαλοΰσιν- οί μέν τω Άρχιλόχω,
οί δέ τω Σοφοκλεΐ περί των κατά τον Νέσσον καί την Δηιάνειραν ή ου;
φασί γάρ οί μέν τον ’Αρχίλοχον ληρεΐν, ποιοϋντα την Δηιάνειραν έν τω
βιάζεσθαι υπό του Κενταύρου προς τον Ήρακλέα ραψωδοΰσαν, άναμι-
μνήσκουσαν τής του ’Αχελώου μνηστείας καί των τότε γενομένων · ώστε
πολλήν σχολήν είναι τω Νέσσω ό τι έβούλετο πράξαι · οί δέ τον Σοφοκλέα
προ του καιρού πεποιηκέναι την τοξείαν, διαβαινόντων αυτών έ'τι τον
ποταμόν · ουτω γάρ άν καί την Δηιάνειραν άπολέσθαι, άφέντος τού
Κενταύρου.
It goes without saying that the words προς . . . . γενομένων refer
to Deianeira’s calling Heracles to her aid with a supplication which
was too lengthy in the eyes of some critics and certainly not to an
incantation on her part meant to delay Heracles 12). The schol. L
ad Ap. Rhod. 1 1212 also mentions the poem: (Heracles) άνεΐλεν έν
Εύήνω ποταμώ Νέσσον Κένταυρον. The natural interpretation of
these words is that Heracles killed Nessus in the river (not on its
bank, though at a pinch the words might have that meaning3)) just
as he does in Sophocles (566), but since the strictures on Sophocles’
treatment are directed against Heracles’ άκαιρος τοξεία, we may
guess that he used another weapon in Archilochus. Lasserre’s
arguments 4) in favour of the sword — cf. fr. 174 Bgk. κοπόεν
ξίφος—are not convincing: if Heracles did not use his bow, he may
very well have used his club. From the words in Dio it follows that
Heracles’ fight against Acheloiis was pictured at some length in
Archilochus’ poem. This is confirmed by schol. Ven. B Φ237:
’Αρχίλοχος μέν ούκ έτόλμησεν ’Αχελώον ώς ποταμόν Ήρακλεΐ συμβαλεΐν,
άλλ’ ώς ταύρον. We may perhaps infer that Sophocles, in composing
507 sqq., remembered his predecessor and Lasserre may be right in
attributing some additional Archilochean fragments to this poem
on account of their showing some similarity to certain details in
Sophocles’ stasimon. We do not, however, come across any con
nection between the Nessus story and Heracles’ death in the scanty
remains of Archilochus’ poem 5).—The same negative statement
1) Cf. F . L asserre, Les Epodes d ’Archiloque, 1950, p p . 191 sqq.

2) Contra Stoessl op. cit. p. 23 a n d follow ing B. Snell, P h ilo lo g u s X C.V II,
1949, p. 400, M. P o h len z, Erläuterungen*, p. 87, C on rad ie op. cit. p. 32.
3) T h u s Q uilling in R o sc h e r s.v. Nessos.
4) Op. cit. pp. 198 sq.
5) A nd in d eed if H eracles d id n o t use h is bow th is c o n n ectio n is ru le d o u t.
IN T R O D U C T IO N
holds good for another fragmentary piece of evidence, viz. the

remains of a choral lyric preserved on a now lost Berlin papyrus;
Bowra included it among the fragmenta incerti wuctoris in his edition
of Pindar, but Pindar’s authorship is unlikely and it is now found
among the dubia in Snell's last editions of Bacchylides !). Simonides
is also a possible attribution. Here follows Snell’s text:
Άλ[κ]μην[ πυριδαες ομμα[
άγει τ’ έκ κ[ φόνον τε και δ[
τονας ένθεν [ άφατος- ού προ[
πορθμευοντ[ έν δαΐ βρομώ. [
ΙΟ νηιδα ροδόπ[αχυν 25 έν δέ χειρ! δεξ[ι
τα χερσί πεδα[ ρόπαλον μέγα[
διά ποταμόν.[ φη[ρ]ός άγρίου[
ϊπποις εχων[ ουατος μέσσαν[
άλλ’ οτε δή πελ[ συνάραξέ τε π[
15 αφροδισίαν μ[ 30 όμμάτων τε σ[
Κένταυρος αϊ[ όφρύων τε·πε[
κελάδησε δε δ[ πόδεσσιν άθα[
φίλον πόσιν ΐκ[ετευ ναιξ[ . ] ξιν επε[
σπεύδ[ει]ν επη[ . . . . ]ανδρου[
20 γυναικός φον[
In contrast to Deianeira’s story in Sophocles (cf. note ad 566) it
appears that here in crossing the river, Nessus is leading the way:
otherwise σπεύδειν (ig) would hardly be intelligible, as Snell rightly
observes2). Further Nessus is killed by the club, whether in the
stream or on the bank we cannot say. In any case there seems
to have been no occasion for Nessus’ fatal advice to Deianeira, the
less so since Heracles apparently did not make use of his bow. In
Sophocles’ story we have to infer that Heracles is already some
distance from the bank when Deianeira cries for aid; Nessus on
arriving at the bank has the opportunity, while dying, to deliver
his guileful suggestions. If the poem is Bacchylides’ we are forced
to the conclusion that in composing his poem on Heracles, Deianeira
and Iole (XVI), he changed his mind not only as to the details
of the adventure but also as to the connection, non-existent in the
previous poem, between Nessus’ and Pleracles’ death. For, in my
P P a p . B erol. 1 6 1 4 0 = [P in d .] 341 B o w ra = B acch. fr. 64 [dub.) Snell a n d
cf. B. Snell, Drei Berliner P a p y r i, m it Stücken alter Chorlyrik, H e rm e s 1940,
p p . 177-191.
p P . 180.
IN TR O D U C T IO N 5
opinion, Snell is right in supposing that Heracles’ bow-shot has been

brought into the story in order to create this connection. In litera
ture we do not hear of it before Sophocles and Bacchylides XVI;
the older monuments (viz. those before Sophocles’ time) do not
represent Heracles in the act of shooting Nessus: invariably he
uses his club or his sword 1). So we are confronted with the problem
of the relative chronology of Bacch. XVI and the Trachiniae.
So long as a late date in Sophocles’ career was generally assumed
for the Trachiniae *2), the problem was easily solved. Nowadays,
however, when many authorities hold that our play is eligible for
assignment to the poet’s earlier period, a definite solution seems
impossible. The date of Bacchylides’ death is unknown. His floruit is
placed by Eusebius in 0 1 . 78. 2 (467) 3) ; the same notes under 0 1 .
87. 2 (431) that Bacch. έγνωρίζετο. Among his preserved poems VI
and VII are the latest whose date (452) can be established. Even
if we follow Koerte in supposing his death to have occurred circa
45° 4) (which seems rather arbitrary), the priority of his poem
cannot be considered as an inevitable consequence. The manner in
w'hich Bacch. refers to the elements of the saga is such that his
public must have been well acquainted with it in order to under
stand the poem at all. Heracles is represented as having left the
burning Oechalia; he is bringing offerings to Zeus Cenaeus, Athene
and Poseidon (in Soph, he brings them to Zeus alone) ; nothing is
said of the robe, but the poet continues thus :
τότ’ άμαχος δαίμων 30 ά δύσμορος, à τάλαιν’, οίον
έμήσατ[ο ·
Δαϊανείρα πολύδακρυν υφα[νε φθόνος εύρυβίας νιν άπώλεσεν,
μητιν έπίφρον’ έπεί δνόφεόν τε κάλυμμα των
πύθετ’ αγγελίαν ταλαπενθέα, ύστερον ερχομένων,
Ίόλαν ότι λευκώλενον οτ’ επ’ ροδόεντι Λυκόρμα
Διός υιός άταρβομάχας 35 δέξατο Νέσσου πάρα δαιμόνιου
άλοχον λιπαρόν ποτί δόμον πέμποι. τέρ[ας
x) Cp., how ever, th e fra g m e n t of th e A rgive H e ra io n w h ere a C e n ta u r s h o t
b y a n arro w a n d th r e a te n e d w ith a sw o rd a p p a re n tly calls u p o n a w o m a n fo r
a id ; cf. Ch. D ugas, L a M o r t duC entaure Nessos, R ev . d. É t. A nc., 1943, p. 21.
B u t does th e fra g m e n t illu s tra te th e s to ry of H eracles, N essus a n d D e ia n e ira ?
2) T h is opinion w as a d v o c a te d b y v. W ila m o w itz (Herakles I p. 152), A.
D ie te ric h (Kl. Sehr. p. 48), T . v. W ilam o w itz (Dram. Techn. des Soph., 1917,
p. 90) am o n g o th ers.
3) F o r a discussion cf. A. S ev erijn s, Bacchylide, E ssai Biographique, 1933;
he in cludes X V I am o n g th e w orks of B a c c h .’s y o u th p. 134.
4) H erm es L I I I , 1918, p. 145.
IN TR O D U C TIO N
What strikes the reader most in these lines is the fact that Deia-
neira’s fate is interpreted more tragico ; the intricacies by which the
web of D.’s destiny is woven are represented in the same manner
as in Track. 841-850. A choral poet, having been struck by a perform
ance of the Trachiniae,—as we may easily imagine—must almost
have felt bound to deal with the story as Bacch. does if he wras
writing for the same audience: and nothing prevents us from
assuming that Bacch. did compose this dithyramb for an Athenian
public, as is generally believed of the Ήίθεοι1). There is, however,
an important detail which makes me shrink from the otherwise
fairly obvious conclusion: I mean the words έπεί πύθετ’ αγγελίαν
ταλαπενθέα, Ίόλαν ότι . . . . πέμποι. The natural interpretation of
these is that the poet had before his eyes a scene in which a mes
senger reports to the queen that I ole is coming, without D. setting
eyes on her rival (I concede that the words admit of another inter
pretation, if we compare Track. 365 sq., but it would be a strained
one, more or less pour le besoin de la cause) *2). Now the most im
pressive touch in the play is precisely the confrontation of the two
women3). The mythographic tradition in Diodorus and ‘‘Apollo
dorus” 4) does not speak of it : Lichas (or 6 κήρυξ) is sent by Heracles
to fetch a robe, but not to escort the captive women to Trachis
before Heracles’ arrival; Lichas breaks the news of Heracles’ love
for lole to Deianeira. The story as told by the mythographers
shows some further divergences from Sophocles’ version 5) ; it is
apparently not based on Sophocles, though perhaps influenced by
him. The natural inference is that it derives from epic tradition
(either Creophylus or Panyassis or both). We are, then, left with
the conclusion that both Sophocles and Bacchylides took the
b Cf. A. W . P ic k a rd -C a m b rid g e , D ithyram b Tragedy an d Comedy, 1927,
p. 44, Λ¥. S chm id, Ges. d. Gr. L it. I p. 529 n. 1. F o r th is reaso n C o n rad ie’s
line of a rg u m e n t (op. cit. p p . 36, 37) is w eak.
'2) A liter C on rad ie op. cit. p p . 40, 41.
3) Cf. th e v e ry sen sitiv e tr e a tm e n t b y A. B eck, Der E m p f a n g Ioles, tie n n e s
L X X X I , 1953, p p . 10-21.
4) D iod. IV 37 sq., A pollod. I I 7. 7 sqq. Cf. am o n g o th e rs L. I i . G alia rt,
Beiträge su r Mythologie des Bakchylides, th e sis F re ib u rg (Schw .) 1910, p p .
69 sqq.
°) D iod. IV 36 (N essus) παρεκελεύσατο . . . λαβοϋσαν τόν έξ αύτου πεσόντα
γόνον, καί τούτω προσμίξασαν ελαιον καί τό άπδ τής άκίδος άττοστάζον αίμα
(cf. A pollod. I I 7· 6) ~ Track. 572 sqq. E v id e n tly Soph, p re fe rre d to o m it
th is cru d e d e ta il b u t th e w ords in D iod. a n d A pollod. do n o t im p ly t h a t in
th e epic tr a d itio n th e ra p e of D eia n e ira a c tu a lly to o k p lace (contra C o n rad ie
o.l. pp. 39 sq .).
whole of the saga-complex from the epic, that Sophocles brought

lole before the eyes of Deianeira and that Bacchylides adhered
more closely to the epic version. Whether or not the latter is to be
considered as Sophocles’ debtor remains uncertain; that his pre
sentation of the chain of events is similar to its evaluation in the
tragedy seems obvious, but we should never forget that the tra
gedians chose and reshaped those myths and sagas that lent them
selves to their own tragic interpretation. It goes without saying
that Sophocles did not borrow his subject-matter from Bacchylides’
allusive treatment; the latter’s similarity to Track. 841-850 points
rather in the opposite direction.
We cannot say for certain whether Sophocles was the first trage
dian to deal with the saga of Deianeira and Heracles’ death. Ion of
Chios wrote an Alcmena, Eurytidae, and Omphale (a satyr play) and
it has been suggested that a third tragedy may have dealt with i t x) ;
Webster *2) considers the possibility that Ion anticipated Sophocles
(“the difficult lines—Track. 265-9—· · ·> would be much easier to
understand (for an Athenian audience) if Ion had already drama
tised the scene” ). But the story of Heracles at Eurytus’ banquet
was popular from of old, as is shown by the famous Corinthian
crater in the Louvre. The words in question are not so difficult as to
demand such an explanation and, generally speaking, an indebt
edness of Sophocles to Ton—though not beyond the range of
possibility—is in itself not very probable. It is however, an im
portant fact that Sophocles’ Trachiniae does not stand alone in the
\Tth century output of tragedies as regards its mythic subject-
matter, the interest in which may be due to Panyassis.
On Spintharus of Heraclea’s Ηρακλής περικαιόμενος our infor
mation amounts to nothing 3).
2. The Prior Assumptions of the Play

It is only with the object of helping the reader of the play that we
now embark on the somewhat unnatural task of extracting its prior
assumptions as they appear gradually during its course : unnatural,
because their full effectiveness depends upon the stage of the story
b W . S chm id, Ges. cl. Gr. L it. I I p. 517 n. 7.

2) T. B. L. W eb ste r, Sophocles a n d Io n of Chios, H erm es L X X I, 1936,
p. 267.
3) S chm id, op. cit. p. 384.
at which they are brought into the open. For example, the oracle
laying down that Heracles is not to die by any living creature’s
agency is not disclosed before 1160 and there it has its proper
function of revealing to Heracles as well as to the audience the
inevitability of the hero’s death ; there it works as a shock and brings
about Heracles’ decision to burn himself alive on the pyre. But
listing it among the prior assumptions of the play, we are taking
the life out of it and the same (mutatis mutandis) holds good for all
the significant details—oracular and others—which lend life and
substance to every scene and song. But such is the price paid for any
analytical treatment of a work of art ; it is justifiable only in so far as
it furthers understanding of the work.
Heracles has been united in marriage with Deianeira, daughter
of Oeneus, for many years. His marrying her had been the result
of his triumphing over the river-god Acheloiis, who had wooed her
to her horror and dismay. The years of her marriage had been for
her one long story of fear and anxiety on behalf of her husband,
who was always far away on his perilous expeditions. As a result
of Heracles’ treacherous murdering of Iphitus, son of Eurytus,
he and his wife had to go into exile from Tiryns *) and lived in
Trachis, that is to say Deianeira with their eldest son Hyllus and
perhaps some more of their children has been living there for fifteen
months when the play begins. Heracles had immediately left her
to serve Omphale, queen of Lydia, for a year, by order of his father
Zeus, as an atonement for his murder of Eurytus. He had not told
her his destination but, when leaving, had entrusted to her an old
tablet, in which an oracular response of Dodona had been re
corded 12). Its contents ran as follows: a period of twelve years
would bring the end of his labours, and the capture of Oechalia
(Eurytus’ town in the isle of Euboea) would mark his deliverance
from his toils. The fifteen months between his departure from
Trachis and the tragic day of the play’s action are the last of the
twelve years’ period mentioned in the oracle3). At his departure,
he had warned his wife that when a year and three months should
have passed, he was either to die or to live henceforth a care-free life.
The murder of Iphitus had been an act of revenge on Heracles’
part for having been slighted by Eurytus some time before: as a
1) Cf. 38 sqq. — 269 sqq.
2) Cf. 46-48, 76-81, 157-172, 821-827, 1164-J171.
3) Cf. 44 sq., 164 sqq., n o te ad 64S.
guest at the latter’s palace he had been taunted by his host and,
when drunk, flung from the door. But the real cause of Heracles’
grudge against Eurytus was the fact that his request to take as his
concubine the king’s daughter Iole, for whom he had conceived a
passion, had been refused. So after the year of humiliation at
Omphale’s court in Lydia he raised an army, conquered and
destroyed Oechalia, killed the king and his sons and took possession
of I ole 1). His passion for her was such that he decided to take her
unlike his many other paramours into his home.
We note that Heracles’ and Deianeira’s marriage is dated before
Heracles’ άθλα 12), and that Megara, Heracles’ Theban wife, and her
children do not exist : except for his arriving from Thebes 3) when
he comes to Pleuron to woo Deianeira, nothing is said of his Theban
associations. We do not hear of the circumstances under which
Heracles has been in the service of Eurystheus and it is not explicitly
stated to what destination he was taking his bride when carrying
her off from Pleuron he entrusted her to the Centaur Nessus to take
her across the river Euenus4). Nessus had not resisted the temp
tation to try to violate his charge and had been shot by Heracles’
arrow at Deianeira’s cry for help. Before dying he had advised her
to gather his clotted blood from the arrow dyed with the hydra’s
venom and to keep it carefully to use as a philtre in ca.se she should
need it for retaining Heracles’ love ; and Deianeira had followed the
advice. This clot of the dead Centaur’s envenomed blood, kept by
Heracles’ loving wife, proves the means by which the second oracle
delivered long ago to Heracles by his father Zeus (προς των πνεόντων
μηδενος θανεΐν υπο) 5) comes true.
3. The Course of the Action and the Structure of the Play

Prologue (1-93). Deianeira comes upon the stage, followed at
some distance by the Τροφός. She does not address the latter, but
1) Cf. n o te a d 361. W e m u s t assu m e w ith K ra n z (A u fb a u und Gehalt der
Track, des Soph., S o k rates, Ja h re sb e ric h te des P hilo l. V ereins zu B erlin 1921,
pp. 39 sqq.) t h a t tire p o e t m ean s us to u n d e rs ta n d t h a t H eracles conceived
h is passion for Iole w h en lie w as a g u e st a t E u r y tu s ’ h o u se ; th e ‘w hole t r u t h ’
a b o u t th e sto ry has to be in ferred b y co m b in in g L ic h a s’ a n d th e M essenger’s
w o rd s; in 361 th e ele m e n t of tr u t h in L ic h a s’ re p o rt is b e little d on p u rp o se.
2) In c o n tra s t w ith o rd in a ry m y th o g ra p h ic tra d itio n .
3) Cf. 510 sqq.
b Cf. 562 sq.
5) Cf. 1160 sq.
IO IN TR O D U C T IO N
in a monologue she gives an exposition of her present situation

as it arose from her past life. She narrates Acheloiis’ wooing, her
marriage to Heracles after the latter’s victory over the river-god,
the anxieties and loneliness of her married life, the reason for her
living in Trachis, her anguish at Heracles’ being absent for fifteen
months without tidings, heightened by a tablet he gave her at his
departure. This introductory rhesis is without parallel in Sophocles’
extant work and most Euripidean monologizing prologue-speeches
are widely different (Andromache’s comes nearest to it). Although
its function is indubitably expositive in the narrower sense, it is
much more than th a t1). It shows the central figure of the play
seeing herself and appearing to the audience in the perspective
of her past life and at grips with the fearful present situation from
which the tragic action will proceed. Deianeira’s words give the
impression of coming from her inner nature ; they do not strike us
in any way as a programme-note which the poet feels his audience
require of him. They are hardly less organically connected with the
play as a whole than e.g. the introductory dialogue of the Antigone.
Then the Τροφός addresses her mistress in her distress (cp. Eur.
Andr. 56 sqq., but there the servant had not been present during
Andromache’s speech; moreover she is coming with news, whereas
the Nurse is wanting to advise Deianeira). She gives her the advice
to send out Hyllus in order to make inquiries about Heracles—this
motif is reminiscent of Telemachus in the Odyssey. Hyllus arrives
at the palace at this moment; his arrival is unprepared—a rare
device in Sophocles—but does not strike us as unnatural, for he is
living with his mother. He brings the news that Heracles, after a
year’s serfdom to a Lydian woman, is just about to besiege Eurytus’
town in Euboea. Deianeira remembers that according to the oracles
—apparently noted down in the tablet mentioned before—this
expedition is to bring the end of Heracles’ toils, for better or for
worse. So the consciousness of crisis grows in the mind of mother
and son and is brought home to the audience as well. Hyllus
departs on his errand.
So, at the end of the Prologue, we have been brought to a state of
suspense about the result of Heracles’ expedition against Oechalia
because our pity for Deianeira’s plight has been roused and because
of our knowledge of the oracle. Heracles’ alleged or real motives
1) Cf. K . R e in h a rd t, Sophokles1, p. 47.

for attacking the town have not been mentioned (as might have been
the case in a prologue of Euripidean style) ; Deianeira and Hyllus
may be assumed to connect it with Iphitus’ murder and Heracles’
humiliating atonement for this deed but nothing of the sort has
been stated explicitly. We may, however, ask ourselves whether or
not the poet means us (his audience) to be unaware of Deianeira’s
ignorance; that is to say, are we supposed to be acquainted with
the main outlines of the story and should we bear them in mind
while attending to the beginning of the play or are we supposed to
be (or make ourselves) as ignorant as the dramatis personae? I
personally think that the Greek audience did know the story and
that the poet always meant his audience (or his readers) to respond
in two opposite ways to the action : by entering into the sorrows and
into the suspense in which the dramatis personae are shown to live
and by reflecting upon the “real” state of affairs of which the latter
are unaware. For a tragedy is on the one side a chain of actions
succeeding each other under the conditions of Time (implying
ignorance of things to come, suspense as to the outcome etc. on the
part of the actors and the audience too, which, up to a point, sym
pathetically submits its consciousness to the conventions of the
dramatic “Time” ). On the other hand it is an interpretation of
human destiny in which the parts have to be considered in their
mutual relation, in which the beginning presupposes the end not
less than the reverse, in which the parts in addition to their own
effect in their natural sequence reveal their full meaning only when
seen in the light they shed on each other and that shed on them all
by the whole. Sophocles’ use of so-called “dramatic irony”, if
anything, clearly demonstrates that we should take such a view of
his tragedies. The last words of the scene (92, 3), significant as is
often the case, take their full ominous meaning only when con
sidered in connection with Hyllus’ return and his awful message.
They also help us to understand better why Hyllus should appear at
all in the Prologue when he is only to reappear as the messenger
of catastrophe and again in the Exodos as Heracles’ help and
assistant (cf. σύμμαχον 1175, συμπράσσειν H 77 '—' ξυνέρξων 83)
but in another sense than envisaged by Deianeira. In the light of
subsequent events the Prologue reveals the pathos of human
ignorance as much as it rouses our suspense about further develop
ments. The fears and expectations of the dramatis personae are
real enough and the audience will enter into them under the spell of
the poetry ; they will and will not come true and the consciousness
of this, mingled with the feeling of suspense in the mind of the
spectator, means ‘tragedy’. The “irony” pervades the whole Pro
logue : a loving wife is shown intent on her husband’s safe return—
and she will herself supply the means of his destruction; she is
dependent on the Nurse’s prompting to rouse her to the simple
action of sending off her son—and the only time she acts on her own
initiative will prove disastrous.
Parodos (94-140). When Hyllus, the Nurse and Deianeira have
left the stage, the Chorus of Trachinian maidens make their entry.
D. reenters between the second strophe and antistr. or possibly does
not leave the stage at all but remains in the background for some
time. The Chorus sing of Heracles’ absence and his wife’s sorrowful
longing for his return, and of the hero’s toilsome life, protected by
divine aid; addressing Deianeira they exhort her to consider the
alternation of grief and joy as life’s essential condition, to draw
hope from that fact and from Heracles’ descent from Zeus.
Apart from the relevance of this choral song at this particular
juncture of the action we are, again, struck by the double impli
cations of its tenor considered in connection with the play as a
whole. To be sure, the statement επί πημα κoù yapà πσ.σι κυκλοϋσιν
(ΐ29, and the same holds good for 132-135) is at its face value a
comfort for Deianeira and at the report of Heracles’ triumph it
seems to prove true in its primary, restricted sense; but κυκλοϋσιν
implies the return of grief after joy as surely as the reverse and
indeed the joy is succeeded by distress at Heracles’ real motive for
destroying Oechalia, ending in final grief and disaster after the
uncertain expectations founded on the use of the anointed garment,
έπει τις ώδε τέκνοισι Ζην’ αβουλον ειδεν; 1) will reveal in the light of
subsequent events its awful meaning as stated in 11. 1268 sq. and the
final words of the play.
First Epeisodion (141-496) I 141-179. In a thesis that is little
shorter than the introductory one of the Prologue Deianeira expounds
her unhappy situation to the Chorus. Several points which have been
briefly dealt with in the Prologue are now set forth in more detail :
the circumstances of Heracles’ last departure, when in contrast
with former leave-takings he had left instructions for the inheri
tance of his property, and the exact nature of the δέλτος containing
the μαντεία (only here does it become clear that 46 sq. and 76 sq.
allude to the same thing). The theme of the present day’s critical
character is heavily dwelt upon (164-168, 173 sq. ~ 44-46, 79-85).
The mention of her nightly anguish (another recurrent motif, cf.
29 sq., 149) closes the speech on a highly pathetic note.
The Coryphaeus announces the arrival of a Messenger bringing
happy tidings.
II 180-224. The Messenger (cp. note ad 180), anticipating the
arrival and function of the herald Lichas, announces Heracles’
victory and prospective safe return ; Heracles is engaged in bringing
thank-offerings for the gods. All seems well. Zeus of Oeta has at
last bestowed joy upon Deianeira (200 sq.—we note the cruel irony
of these words) and at her request the Chorus breaks into a joyous
dancing song. The steeply rising hope of lines 178-224 has its coun
terpart in the despair of 734-863 ; in the intervening passages the
curve of the mood fluctuates without touching the same heights or
depths, and after the announcement of the catastrophe it never
climbs again.
The outburst of joy, of great effect in this most gloomy tragedy,
must be remembered when the Chorus sings the sad dirge at Hera
cles’ arrival at the palace, δόμος ό μελλόνυμφος 1) has an ironical
connotation in connection with Iole approaching the house. The
song with its swift movement is in marked contrast with the
opening of the next scene: the mournful train of weeping captives
slowly drawing near. In this respect few transitions in Greek Trag
edy are comparable. ,
III 225-334. Lichas enters with the captive women among whom
one distinguishes Iole herself by her dignified self-restraint and
beauty. Heracles, as we hear again from Lichas’ answers to Deia-
neira’s eager questions, is safe and sound; he is offering to Zeus
Cenaeus; the women are part of the booty taken after the capture
of Eurytus' town. In reply to Deianeira’s question as to the cause
of Heracles’ long absence, the herald expounds the chain of events
which have led up to the destruction of Oechalia: the shameful
treatment Heracles received from Eurytus, Heracles’ treacherous
murder of Iphitus, and his atonement for it by the year’s serfdom
to Omphale at the behest of Zeus. We have to take it that none
of this is untrue; nothing is at variance with the supposed facts;
14
but it is not the whole truth. For Lichas is leaving out the main
cause of it all, Heracles’ passion for I ole and Eurytus' refusal to let
him take her as his concubine. In order to realize the dramatic
meaning of the scene we should not forget that Iole is present, and
also the Messenger who knows the truth. It is to her and her com
panions’ unhappy plight that Deianeira’s thoughts turn after
hearing Lichas’ story: the captives are a telling illustration of the
Chorus’ words 129-135 and remind Deianeira of the condition of
man (296 sq., 303-30.6). Her natural desire to know the identity
of the young woman for whom she feels pity meets with Lichas’
feigned ignorance and lole’s silence. Sophocles had at his disposal
no more than three actors; here if anywhere we see how a great
artist turns to the fullest account the restraints imposed on him
by the conventions of his art, for we cannot imagine how a speaking
I ole could have added to the dramatic force of the scene 1). More
than once and with good reason this scene has been compared with
Ag. 1035-1071 *2). It is very probable that Sophocles intended
Deianeira’s manner towards lole to be a foil to Clytaemestra’s
towards Cassandra; his Deianeira, indeed, seems to have been
conceived as a marked contrast to Agamemnon’s vindictive wife.
We have to take into account, it is true, the fact that Deianeira in
introducing her rival into the house with pity and love is ignorant
of the real state of affairs, as Clytaemestra is not, but even when
she does know all she does not form any designs 3) against lole’s
person. The audience for their part may for a moment share in
Deianeira’s ignorance, but on the other hand their curiosity as to
Iole’s identity has been roused (Lichas’ answers had shown an un
mistakable element of constraint) ; moreover they are, up to a
certain point, informed about the outcome. So again, feeling the
suspense, they will be aware of the dramatic irony of the moment
when lole passes into the house. At any rate, in retrospect and in
the light of the action as a whole, the moment appears to be of
supreme importance.
b Cf. A. B eck, Der E m p f a n g Ioles, l.c. p. 16.

2) Cf. T. B. L. W e b ste r, Sophocles’ Trachiniae, G reek P o e try a n d Life, p.
168; C. M. B ow ra, Sophoclean Tragedy, pp . 124, 140.
3) So F . Solm sen, D as In trig uem n otif in den Tragödien des Sophokles u n d
E u rip id es, P h ilo lo g u s N .F . X L I, 1932, p p . 1-17, is n o t ju s tifie d in co n n e c tin g
th e Track, w ith th e E u rip id e a n d ra m a s of in trig u e of th e y e a rs 430-420. Cf.
Lesley, Trag. D. d. Hellenen, p. 119, a n d R e in h a rd t, op. cit. p. 254.
IV 335-392. Deianeira, being about to follow Lichas and the

captives into the house, is held back by the Messenger. He informs
her of what he has heard from Lichas when the latter, before his
arrival at the house, was speaking to the assembled crowd of Trachis.
It was Heracles’ passion for Eurytus’ daughter, not the humiliation
under Omphale, which drove him to the sacking of Oechalia.
Now he has sent his paramour to his house; for it is she, the beauti
ful captive, whose identity Lichas did not care to reveal.
The veils of pretence are rent; suddenly confronted with the
unbearable truth Deianeira takes the opinion of the Chorus, who
advise her to cross-question Lichas. We are left looking forward
to the unmasking of Lichas and wondering what steps Deianeira
will decide to take in the rnatter. (On the transition from this scene
to the following see note ad 390-392).
V 391-496. Lichas comes out of the house, intending to return
to his master. The scene, comparable (up to a point) to O.T.
m o sqq., does not develop into a ‘‘Dreigespräch” proper1) ; a short
stichomythia between Deianeira and Lichas is followed by a
rather vehement altercation between the latter and the Messenger
which leads nowhere owing to Lichas’ stubbornness in concealing
the truth. At last, when Lichas is trying to eliminate his adversary
by suggesting he is out of his mind, Deianeira embarks on a long
and moving speech in order to win him over. This speech is remark
able in more than one respect. It shows her keenly realizing the
invincibility of Eros’ power and prepared to accept Heracles’
submission to it. She refers to her forbearance towards her hus
band’s former infidelities; her pity for I ole, whose beauty proved
her ruin, is based on her own experience in this respect (465 ~ 25,
528-530) ; she has a just view of what is happening to herself be
cause she has a just understanding of the human condition (439 sq.
r'-'isqq., 129-135, 295-306, 473). In the light of her subsequent
action we might be tempted to consider this speech as a “Trugrede”
as much as that of Ajax. There is indubitably a certain analogy
between the two 12) : but Ajax is deceiving others, and not himself,
1) Cf. J o h a n n a H ein z, Z u r D atierung der Track., H erm es, 1937, PP- 2 75
sqq., W . Jen s, Die SHchomythie in der frühen griechischenTragödie, Z e te m a ta
η . 1955. ΡΡ· 75-87·
2) R e in h a rd t, op. cit. p. 57 goes m u c h to o fa r in th is resp ect. Cf. B ow ra,
op. cit. p. 124; H . W ein sto ck , Sophokles1, p. 131 ; W e b ste r, Sophocles’ T ra c h i
niae, he. p. 172: “ she is sp e a k in g w ith a w isdom be)m nd h e r s tre n g th ” ;
C. H . W h itm a n , Sophocles, 1951, p. 118.
ι6 IN TR O D U C T IO N
by marking out the course of conduct he would follow if he were

another man, in order to commit his suicide undisturbed; Deianeira
is showing her true nature and the standards she has been wont to
live up to, deceiving herself (and the others) only in so far as the
challenge of this particular situation will prove, on a closer scrutiny,
too strong for her standards of forbearance and the leniency of her
nature, as it would seem bound to do for anyone who is not prepared
to give up the conditions which make life tolerable. After the two
lines of the Coryphaeus (470 sq.—note their ironical bearing on
Lichas’ subsequent fate) Lichas tells the whole truth ; its concealment
had by no means been enjoined on him by Heracles; he, Lichas, had
wanted to spare his mistress’ feelings (and we may guess at the
impression produced by this piece of information on Deianeira’s
mind: does it tell in favour of Heracles’ honesty or is it, rather,
symptomatic of his passion for Iole, ruthless to the point of causing
unfeeling cruelty towards his wife ?).
Deianeira bids Lichas enter the house once more (cf. note ad 493).
She wants to entrust him with a message to Heracles and to hand
over to him άντί δώρων δώρα (494; we are meant to understand that
the plan for the fatal gift is taking shape in her mind, see note a.l. x) ;
the words κουτοί . . . δυσμαχοϋντες are not deceitful but spoken
under the delusion that overt resistance against Iole’s presence
would mean the θεομαχία she wants to avoid). The very wording of
Deianeira’s short reply, its tragic irony and concealed bitterness
prepare us for the decisive action of the next epeisodion. We feel
strongly that the course of events cannot be stemmed. Hope against
our better knowledge, fear roused by the ominous character of these
words, and pity for human ignorance and bewilderment, are the
effect of this act on our state of mind.
First Stasimon (497-530). Implicitly referring to Heracles’ sub
jugation to his passion for Iole the Chorus celebrates the all-trium
phant power of Aphrodite, illustrating it by the struggle of Heracles
and Acheloiis for Deianeira’s hand. So the past and the present are
poignantly connected with each other and we get a natural transi
tion to the next epeisodion, in which Deianeira’s acting in order to
regain her husband’s love is presented.
Second Epeisodion (531-632). Lichas stays indoors for the moment
x) O n th is d iffic u lt p ro b lem I agree w ith J e b b a.l. a g a in s t W e b ste r,

Sophocles’ Track., p. 172.
IN TR O D U C T IO N *7
(cf. note ad 493), Deianeira comes out from the house carrying a
casket and addresses the Chorus: for the third time in this play a
long rhesis of hers opens the act. The speech divides into three parts
(531-554. 5 5 5 -5 7 7 . 5 7 8 -5 8 7 )· 1) She insists on the impossibility of
living under the same roof with I ole, fearing that Heracles will
become known as the latter’s “lover” (άνήρ) and her “husband”
(πόσις) 1). 2) She relates the story of Nessus and how and to what
purpose she gathered his blood. 3) With it she has anointed a
garment, contained in the casket. By its working she hopes to
prevail against lole in Heracles’ affection but she is prepared to
abandon her course of action should the Chorus condemn it. “ Deeds
of wicked daring” (Jebb) *2) she emphatically rejects. Here again,
the past is linked to the present. Heracles has been driven into his
love for lole by the same irresistible force which had compelled
him to wrestle with Acheloiis for the sake of Deianeira. Deianeira
hopes to regain Heracles’ affection by means of the philtre she
gathered from the wound of the monster which had died by Heracles’
hand for having dared to desire her. The Coryphaeus, though
somewhat reserved in his replies, does not dissuade her from her
purpose, Whereupon Lichas comes out of doors and events take their
inexorable course. She gives him her express instructions about the
conditions which Heracles must observe in putting on the garment
—words of an almost unbearable and perhaps overstressed tragic
irony. He protests his loyalty and his joy at having witnessed the
friendly reception given to lole and so is sent away on his fateful
errand.
There is a marked and natural contrast between the moods of the
two scenes in this epeisodion, which is as great as the contrast
between their functions. The first is necessary to explain the action
of the second (just as in the Prologue) and shows the anxiety
from which Deianeira’s action takes rise; in the second where the
decisive action (the handing over of the garment) happens a mood
of almost feverish expectancy seems implicit in Deianeira’s orders
to Lichas, which leads on to the joyous next stasimon. The audience
x) F o r a m o d ern p a ra lle l to th is lim it on a w ife’s in d u lg en ce cf. C o lette’s
La Seconde.
2) 582. Cf. Jo h . H ein z, op. cit. p p . 292 sq. T o sp e a k of D e ia n e ira ’s ‘K o p f
lo sig k eit’ a n d to co m p a re h e r w ith G o e th e ’s G re tc h e n ( ! S ch m id o.l. p . 378
n. 2) is, of course, e n tire ly beside th e p o in t. W e m a y sp e a k of a ‘m ista k e of
ju d g e m e n t’ (B ow ra o.l. p. 131) b u t t h a t is n o t to sa y t h a t “ b y G reek s t a n
d a rd s, D . is now o p en to severe c o n d e m n a tio n ” (id. ib. p . 127).
K a m e r b e e k , Tra chiniae 2
iS IN TR O D U CT IO N
or the reader will again, at one level, share in the joy, while at the
same time realizing the awful delusion by which a philtre origin
ating from a monster out of the gruesome past, and one who was
Heracles’ natural enemy, is resorted to as a remedy for the present
evil. Deianeira’s detailed account of the Nessus-story and the
unmistakable tragic irony of almost all she says to Lichas contribute
together to such a feeling. The tragedy is halfway on its course.
Second Stasimon (632-662). This is a song of almost buoyant
expectancy well calculated to provide a contrast with the fear and
anxiety in which the following epeisodion opens. Soon the inhabi
tants of the surrounding district will hear the festive music for the
occasion of Heracles’ return home. (Actually the mountains will
resound with his screams of pain). They wish he may come home
without delay, gently disposed towards his wife, thanks to the
working of Nessus’ charm. (Home he will come, a dying man and
cursing his wife for the sufferings she has caused). For Deianeira
the end of the war means the end of her sorrows. (In fact, she will
soon die by her own hand).
We note also the contrast with the preceding stasimon. There the
situation of the moment is set in the perspective of past events;
here the false hope of future happiness sets the tone.
Third Epeisodion (663-820). I 663-730 (733). Again Deianeira
comes out of the house (this time, we must suppose, in an agitated
hurry), meets the Chorus and confesses to the maidens her fear
and misery. In fact it is the Chorus and not the Nurse who assume
the rôle of confidante; in this tragedy there is no room for a Τροφός-
rôle comparable to the one in Euripides’ Hippolytus. Deianeira’s
uneasiness in the first scene of the preceding epeisodion, which
made room for a seemingly resolute determination in the scene
with Lichas, has shifted now to a mood of deep anxiety and almost
despair. The cause is briefly set out in the short dialogue preceding
her long thesis. This dialogue’s simple but wonderful structure
( 2 - | - i + 2 - j - i - | - 2 - l - i lines; two questions of the Chorus, one
imperative) and wording (note the summarizing effect of the
highly significant sentence άθυμώ . . . καλής 666, y) screw up the
tension to a high pitch. She then proceeds to relate the event by
w'hich her fears have been roused. The story is told in three stages :1)
the bunch of wool with which she had anointed the robe has disap
peared in an unaccountable, horrifying way. 2) Nessus had told her to
keep the unguent always protected from the effects of fire and sun.
IN TR O D U C T IO N IQ
3) She had thrown away the bunch of wool, and lying in the heat
of the sun it has disintegrated completely. The awful and circum
stantial account of the working of the venom on the wool serves
as a sort of préfiguration of Heracles’ fate (cf. notes on this passage,
esp. ad 701). Deianeira draws the right conclusion from this sign,
this σύμβολον; her acting on Nessus’ advice had been rash; she will
be the cause of Heracles’ death, and if so she wants to die herself
also. A short dialogue (2 -j- 2 -j- 2 + 2 lines, the Coryphaeus trying
to offer some comfort, Deianeira rejecting it) closes the scene and
Hyllus’ arrival is announced.
II 731 (734)-820. Hyllus had been sent away in the Prologue
to make inquiries about his father. By the poet’s clever device he
does indeed return with news about his father, but in quite another
sense than envisaged1). He has witnessed the offering-scene,
Lichas’ arrival, Heracles putting on the robe, his awful sufferings,
and Lichas’ unhappy fate. He has seen it all, he knows all, except
for one thing: Deianeira’s innocence and Nessus’ complicity in the
chain of events which have brought on Heracles the fate ordained
by the gods. So he curses his mother, who without alleging anything
in her defence steals off the stage *2). By using Hyllus instead of a
Messenger the poet has heightened the dramatic tension of pathos
of the scene, and has enhanced our sense of the unity of the action.
We can envisage that he might have used Hyllus to bring the news
of Heracles’ victory; but besides the fact that Lichas was the person
traditionally designed for that task and for handing over the robe
to Pleracles, this would have set several awkward problems to solve:
Hyllus could not tell his mother about lole; and the poet could
not have entrusted the robe to him. His ignorance of Deianeira’s
innocence and of the tragic issues at stake serves the dramatic
purpose much better than a Messenger’s would have done. We have
been prepared for the scene described in Hyllus’ speech by several
preceding passages: 237 sq., 287 sq., 609 sqq., 659. (Apparently
the poet attached much importance to the motif of the sacrificer
becoming the victim and to the fact that Heracles’ cruel fate
befalls him at the altar of Zeus, his father, cf. 993 sqq.).
In the structure of this epeisodion Hyllus’ rhesis balances Deia-
x) Cf. W eb ster, A n Introduction to Sophocles, p. 103.

2) Cf. E u ry d ic e in A n t. b u t th e p a ra lle lism h as no b e a rin g on th e re la tiv e
ch ro n o lo g y of th e plays.
IN TR O D U CT IO N
neira’s and forms its counterpart: the significance of the ominous

event described in one is revealed in the other, and the fears and
forebodings are confirmed.—Deianeira has nothing to add to the
words she spoke when anticipating the event (719-722). We
perceive the irony of το δ’ είδένοα τί δεινόν ; (459)·
Third Stasimon (821-862). A dirge commenting on the tragic
interrelation and concatenation of events. The oracle predicting
the end of Heracles’ labours after a twelve years’ term has come
true; for by death man’s troubles are ended. And die Heracles must,
since the Hydra’s venom working in Nessus’ blood is Death’s
own offspring. The doom has been brought about by Deianeira’s
following the guileful advice of the Centaur after lole entered the
house. Alas for the capture of Oechalia at Aphrodite’s instigation;
it is the latter who φανερά τώνδ’ έφάνη πράκτωρ.
In this song, the text of which suffers from some deplo
rable corruptions, the poet summarizes at unusual length the
events and underlying causes of the tragedy. It is a very fine
composition in which the various themes of the play merge into
each other and reveal their full meaning by their interrelation and
mutual adjustment, forming together the moving lyrical illustration
of Fate’s intricate ways. It aptly sets the tone for the two sad
final acts.
Fourth Epeisodion (871-946). Laments are heard from the house
and after a few introductory lines spoken by the leaders of the semi
choruses and the Coryphaeus (see note a.l.) the Nurse comes out
of the house and announces. Deianeira’s suicide. Here again there is
occasion to admire Sophocles’ economy. We saw the Nurse in the
Prologue before Hyllus entered, now she reappears after him;
Hyllus’ departure had been at her instigation; Deianeira’s suicide
which is the reason for the Nurse’s entry here has resulted from
Hyllus’ curse and the news he brought. It is the Nurse who warns
Hyllus and is witness of his repentance when he has heard, too late,
of Deianeira’s innocence (932 sqq.). So, again, the poet has saved
himself the need to use an Exangelos, and by bringing on the Nurse
once more enhances the unity of the play.
The epeisodion, which consists of only one scene, divides into a
kommos between Nurse and Chorus and the long rhesis of the
Nurse which serves the same purpose as a Messenger’s speech
would have done (and, of course, its character is entirely similar,
cp. e.g. O.T. 1237-1285). Deianeira is shown in her desolation and
IN TR O D U C T IO N 21 .
despair and the circumstances of her suicide are narrated with

pathos. Especially important, in view of the Exodos and indeed for
a just appraisal of the whole tragedy, is the insistence on the fact of
Deianeira’s innocence as realized by Hyllus (932, 940). Just before
Heracles’ arrival our sense of pity for her is stimulated to a high
pitch.
Fourth Stasimon (947-970). The effect of this short mournful
lyric, sung as if en sourdine, is partly based on its very simplicity.
The Chorus is at a loss to make out which of the two calamities is
the more to be lamented. From deadly fear of the horrifying sight
they foresee, they wish themselves far away. Heracles’ bearers are
already drawing near; is he dead, is he asleep ?
We may measure the distance between human delusion and fate
ful reality by comparing this stasimon, its contents and mood, with
the third and with 205-225. On the interrelations of the choral songs
cf. n. ad 860-862. Its half-whisper leads up to the heavy atmos
phere in which the Exodos opens.
Exodos (971-1278). A long kommos (971-1042) of very intricate
structure is followed by what may be rightly called the last Act
of the drama—almost exclusively between Heracles and his son—
closed by anapaests recited by Heracles, Hyllus and the Coryphaeus
(the Exodos proper).
That Heracles is carried onto the stage asleep and not screaming or
lamenting renders his awakening with the crescendo of his out
bursts possible 1). This device was necessary in order to achieve
a climax of pathetic effect and to avoid monotony; it is needless to
suppose that the poet borrowed anything from the awakening-
scene in Euripides’ Heracles 2). The tension in the minds of the
audience is produced by the second antistrophe of the stasimon and
the short dialogue between Hyllus and the Old Man. The sight of the
helpless hero on the litter presents a melancholy contrast with the
expectations entertained of his triumphant return. In contrast,
again, with the idea of the indomitable son of Zeus are the long and
impotent laments, cries for help and passionate words expressing
the wish to be killed at once which follow. Longing for death
and thirst for revenge on Deianeira are the dominating features of
*) C.f. on th is scene R. C am crcr, Z o rn u n d Groll in der soph. Trag., 1936,

p p . 70-76.
*) Cf. P ohlunz, Erläuterungen* *, p . 85, R e in h a rd t op. eil. p. 68, L esk y
op. cit. p. 118.
his mood. After the lyric passage, in which the hexameters alter
nating with metres expressive of the strongest emotion seem to
suggest Heracles’ heroic past broken by the pathetic plight of the
moment, a long thesis (1046-m i) follows (the iambics are only
interrupted at 1081 and 1085 sq., where he is overcome by a new
access of his sufferings), the main outlines of which may be indi
cated thus: 1) never in his toilful life did he meet with anything so
destructive as this, the guileful garment by which a mere woman,
his own wife, has entrapped him. 2) He asks Hyllus to deliver
Deianeira into his hands “ως εΐδώ σάφα / εί τούμόν άλγεΐς μάλλον ή
κείνης όρων / λωβητόν είδος έν δίκη κακούμενον” (1067 sqq.). 3) He
lifts his veils and shows his limbs affected by the devouring disease,
whereupon the new attack of his pain intervenes, a well-calculated
but grim device; then he addresses them and 4) passes on to an
enumeration of his labours 1), after which the themes of 1) and
2) are restated in other terms. Wretched and impotent though he is,
he feels equal to overpowering the authoress of his woes if only she
will draw near him : then he will teach her to proclaim to the whole
world “on, / καί ζών κακούς γε καί θανών έτεισάμην”. (iiiosq.).
How does the poet mean us to take this Heracles? As a man
overcome by his bodily sufferings of course, but above all as a hero
who is unaware of his real condition. The tragic irony of his last
words (quoted supra) affords a hint of this. The revenge of the
dead on the living is being wreaked upon himself. As to his mis-
judgment of Deianeira, up to this point the poet leaves us quite at
liberty to ascribe it entirely to the pain he suffers and to the pre
sumption that she is guilty. But when Hyllus in the following dia
logue (1114-1142) has told him of her death (note Heracles’ very
barbarous reaction at line 1133) and the circumstances of her deed,
he has no single thought or word of pity for her. O11 hearing Nessus
mentioned, he leaps to the conclusion that his own fate is unes-
capable, and forgets all about Deianeira. We are left with the in
ference that Sophocles means us to understand that, as far as
Heracles is concerned, Deianeira whether alive or dead is of no
account whatever. This fact means a deepening of her tragedy12), for
1) A n e n u m e ra tio n n o t to he le ft o u t in a tra g e d y on .Heracles b u t also

serv in g a d ra m a tic purp o se.
2) I t is in d e e d w ro n g to co n sid er H eracles as th e c e n tra l figure of th e p lay ,
as K itto docs, Grech T ra g ed y1, p p . 290-300. Cf. G. M. K irk w o o d , The D r a
matic U n ity of S o p h .’ Track., T .A .P h .A . 1941, p. 203. Cf. id. ib. p. 209:
a full estimation of which we have been kept waiting until this

final act. Our sense of the waste and frustration of Deianeira’s life
and destiny, never absent in the preceding parts of the play, is
confirmed and intensified.
Heracles immediately grasps the truth about his fate when he
hears of Nessus. It must be noted that details of the nature of the
φίλτρον are left out in Hyllus’ words; Heracles cannot possibly
know them: he may be supposed to guess them, whereas the
audience is aware of the philtre’s ingredients. But the point is
irrelevant. Heracles’ certainty about his doom is based on his con
necting Nessus, the enemy killed long ago, with the oracle—not
mentioned before in the play—which he is now going to reveal.
The poet keeps the audience in suspense by letting Heracles first
ask his son to call Alcmene and the other children, in reply to which
Hyllus explains their absence (a passage otiose but for its function
of intensifying the suspense). Then Heracles proceeds to disclose
the oracle (1159-1161), its bearing upon the part played by Nessus
and its accordance with the other oracle which referred to the end
of his toils χρόνω τω ζώντι καί παροντι νυν (1169, cf. 82, 173 sq.).
It is noteworthy that the poet does not let Heracles utter a single
further groan of lament after he has stated his ineluctable fate.
Awareness of his real condition restores the hero to his true nature.
The contrast with the preceding part of the Exodos thus achieved
is very striking.
So Sophocles is able to follow the mythical tradition of Heracles’
self-cremation on Mount Oeta in such a wray that it seems naturally
to proceed from the inflexibility of his heroic nature, although
this tradition is not entirely consistent with the Nessus-motif, on
the strength of which he ought to die by the anointed garment Χ).
In a grim dialogue the hero persuades his reluctant son to assist
him in carrying out his purpose, which seems to assume the double
character of a supreme consummation of his heroism and the only
remedy for his sufferings. Still more reluctantly, after an angry and
painful dispute—the third and last part of the dialogue after
Heracles has become aware of the real situation— does Hyllus*1
“ H eracles’ (a ttitu d e ) is re m a rk a b le fo r its d isre g a rd of all t h a t p e rta in s to D .

a n d its callousness to w a rd e v e ry th in g b u t his ow n d esire ” .
1) T h is in co n siste n c y is o v e rs ta te d b y I. M. L in fo rth , The P y r e on M o u n t
Oeta i n S o p h ’s Trach., U n iv . of Cal. P u b l. in Class. P h il., 1952, p p . 261 sqq.,
in a n o th erw ise p e n e tra tin g p a p e r.
24 IN TR O D U C T IO N
yield to Heracles’ awful command that he shall marry lole. Here,

again, a mythological tradition whose relevance would seem
disputable in the dramatic context of this play, is made acceptable
by the poet’s portraiture of Heracles; we must take it into account
when considering the relation between Heracles and Deianeira
intended by the poet and the tragic figure of Hyllus rent by
conflicting loyalties x). Small wonder, then, that in the Exodos
proper, after Heracles’ last stoical words when being lifted to be
carried to the pyre, it is Hyllus who speaks the words of rebellion
and despair which have given rise to so much controversy (see n.
ad 1264 sq.). But ούδέν τούτων 6 τι μή Ζεύς.
4· Unity and Meaning of the Play
In the preceding section much has already been said that is
relevant to the unity as well as to the meaning of the Trachiniae:
It is in fact the present author’s firm conviction that to discuss a
play’s construction and the course of the action without keeping in
view the problems of unity and meaning is of small use and indeed
hardly practicable. The sequence of events itself, the presence or
absence of the dramatis personae in a given scene or succession of
scenes, the interrelations between the scenes, the contrasts, the
transitions, the various ‘moods’ of the stasima, all these things and
many more have as much bearing on meaning as on structure. Up
to a point the meaning is conveyed and brought home to the
audience by the structure. That is to say, the poet is driven to such
and such a mode of construction by the meaning he wants to ex
press. Form (of which structure is one aspect) and meaning are
to be considered as functions of each other, joint aspects of the
integral whole which is the work of art. Now in the case of classical
Greek Tragedy, both structure and meaning are to a high degree
determined by tradition, in that the permissible forms of dramatic
technique are already largely delimited and the myth or saga al
ready has its content of meaning susceptible of variation it is true,
but none the less something which must be reckoned with. The
particular meaning of a given play is nothing else than the poet’s
personal interpretation of the myth as expressed through his parti-1
1) Of. W e b ste r, A n Introduction to Sophocles, p. 74. B o w ra ’s an sw e r to

th e p ro b lem w h y H y llu s sh o u ld m a rry Iole is, in m y opinion, m ista k e n :
"T h e g re a t h e ro still loves lo le, fo r w hom he h as d o n e so m u c h a n d fo r w hom ,
in a sense, he d ies” (op. cit. p . 142).
cular modifications and handling of the traditional forms and by

the way he brings his characters to life in their actions and reactions,
always within those limits of the tradition which he does not feel
at liberty to transgress. This personal interpretation is based on
some fundamental conceptions held by the poet, but it would be
false to identify these conceptions, which may be distilled from
a given play, with its meaning. For this amounts to confusing a
‘lesson to be learned' with meaning. For example, although one can
rightly suppose on the strength of the Trachiniae s action itself
that Sophocles was persuaded that Man’s happiness is frail and the
Gods are almighty, to contend that this is the ‘meaning’ of the play
would be unhelpful and misleading.
So much for theory. In the particular case of this play I want
to point to the following facts. The story of Heracles and Deianeira
is, for three quarters of the tragedy’s length, treated from the point
of view of Deianeira. In this major section the interest is centred
on her. On her the poet has bestowed all the resources of his art of
bringing to life a central character. He shows her in the intimate
essence of her nature and experience ; we are enabled to understand
her reactions to the bewildering present by having been acquainted
with the fearful past by which her mental constitution was moulded.
Her existence is entirely dependent on Heracles’ *) ; for him her
fears and anxieties, her sleepless nights. But this dependence does
not go to the point of slavishness. Hers is a noble nature, conscious
of its dignity as well as aware of the human condition. She is essen
tially human. Her act of rashness proceeds from a jealousy she is
entitled to feel by virtue of her faithfulness and from her instincts
of self-respect and self-preservation.
It would seem then that the meaning of the play could be summed
up thus: it demonstrates a noble and faithful woman’s fate; shows
her struggling against her husband’s infidelity and destroyed by a
crafty stroke of fate which makes her involuntarily cause his death ;
so unaccountable is human destiny and such are the gods’ inscru
table ways.
But this will not do : there is Heracles ; the last quarter of the play
has to do with him, and with Deianeira only in a so to speak negative1
1) T h u s rig h tly , a m o n g o th ers, G. M. K irkw ood, op. cit. p. 205. Cf. G.

M u rray , In tro d . to The W ife of Heraclee, 1947, P- 8 : “ D. is a ty p e of t h a t u tte r
d ev o tio n so m etim es sh o w n b y w om en to th e d o m in eerin g force of th e fig h tin g
m ale” .
sense, and Deianeira’s existence is shown to be bound up with his 1).

Now the portrayal of Heracles, whatever else we may call it, is not
human *2). The poet has not done anything to humanize the barbar
ous violence, the immense appetites, the superhuman dimensions
of the figure of saga. On the contrary, his superlative masculinity
and force, moving on a non-human level, form a polar contrast
with Deianeira’s very human womanliness and dependence.
Furthermore much stress is laid on the predestined character of
Heracles’ fate. This is achieved by the constant mention throughout
the play of one of the two oracles and by the combination and eluci
dation of both of them at its end. Nothing of the sort is mentioned
where Deianeira is concerned, and this confirms our feeling that her
existence and destiny are bound up with Heracles’. So, making
Heracles our starting-point, we may make another attempt to sum
up : a ruthless, superhuman hero’s predestined fate is brought about
by the very ruthlessness of his disloyalty towards his wife; his
wife trying to win back his love by magic is the involuntary cause of
his ruin and her own. Not even the son of Zeus can escape from the
will of the gods but has to bow before the inevitable δαίμων of his
being. Dangerous and incongruous is an ordinary mortal’s union
with a superhuman demigod.—These two aspects in combination
would seem more or less to meet the need for a succinct statement
of the play’s meaning.
Its message is melancholy, much more so than that conveyed by
the Antigone and even the Ajax. The modern reader may perhaps be
easily reconciled to Heracles’ fate, but the poet, in leaving out the
apotheosis, does not seem to have aimed at any redeeming feature
except the everlasting glory of his deeds, which yet at the same time
render his sufferings the more poignant. Something of the same sort
holds good for Deianeira: if anything reconciles us to the fearful
human state, as revealed by her life and death, it is her character
P Cf. P o h len z, D ie Griechische Tragödie-, p. 206; B o w ra op. d t . p. 116

“ th e d e stin y w h ich in v o lv es e a c h in th e o th e r’s ru in ” .
2) Cf. H . W ein sto ck , op. cit. p. 139 "H e ra k le s . . Ü b e rm e n sc h : das W o rt
in all sein er H ä r te ” , W e b ste r, Soph.’ Track., p . 176, “ H e ra c le s . . . . is so m e
th in g of a m o n s te r” , B o w ra op. cit. p. 136. T h e re rem ain s so m e th in g to be
said [pace R e in h a rd t op. cit. p . 251) fo r W ila m o w itz ’ view t h a t H eracles
re ta in s m u c h of th e figure of saga, w h ereas D eia n e ira h a s m u c h in com m on
w ith an A th e n ia n w o m an of th e age of P ericles ; a t a n y ra te she m o v es o n a
h u m a n level a n d H eracles does n o t. Cf. n o te s a d 100, 101; 543-546. T h e fact
t h a t she is M eleager’s siste r is n e v e r m en tio n ed .
in its gentleness, its loyalty, its human understanding, the very

qualities by which her fate is rendered the more tragic χ).
To revert to the unity of the play, this is based 1) on the closely-
knit texture of the various mythical strands; 2) on the oracles by
which the working of the gods is set in contact with the human
level and, as it were, shown to organize the events; 3) above all
on the two principal figures shown in their interrelation and inter
dependence. As always with Sophocles, the substance of the play
lies in the characters. It would be incorrect to assert that the tragedjr
could equally well have derived its title from Deianeira. The poet
and the Ancients apparently did not think so. At the same time
it is entirely wrong to consider Heracles as its central figure. It was
a brilliant touch of Murray’s to publish his translation under the
title : The Wife of Heracles. In this way both characters are given
their due according to their respective rank.
5. Dating of the Play

A communis opinio on the problem of the date is far from having
been reached. Since we have no external data this is only what we
should expect and the new discovery in the case of Aeschylus’
Supplices will render us the more wary of relying too rashly on
internal evidence whatever its nature.
For many years the ascription of a late date to the play by
Wilamowitz and A. Dieterich, based on its supposed dependence
on Euripides’ Heracles, has held the field 12) (and we still find it e.g.
in Schmid), though divergent opinions were not wanting at the time.
Stylometric research, in so far as it deals with elision, resolution,
the use of antilabae (there are 2 instances of them in Trach., 8 in
Ai., o in Ant. against 10 in 0 .7 '., 15 in El., 30 in Phil., 44 in O.C.),
the use of particles etc., has proved inconclusive in the case of
Sophocles, though some of its results are not entirely valueless; at
any rate they do not argue against a relatively early date for the
Trachiniae·3). More weight is to be attached to the results of
1) Cf. A. C. Schlesinger, Can We Moderns Write T r a g e d y ? T. A. P h . A.,
1946, pp. 4-5.
2) Cf. p. 5, 11. 2. S ch m id o.l. I I p p . 374 sq.
*) H . Siess, Chronolog. Unters, in den Trag, des Soph., W ien e r S tu d ., 1914,
pp. 244-295 a n d 1915, p p . 27-62. H . D . F. K itto , Sophocles, Statistics and the
Trachiniae, A m . J . P h ilo h , 1939, pp. 178-194 (p. 189: “ Soph, v a rie d his ra te
of reso lu tio n n o t fro m d ecad e to d ecad e b u t from m in u te to m in u te ” .) —
I c a n n o t ac c e p t K itto ’s ra th e r la te d a te ( ± 420).
IN TR O D U CT IO N
Earp’s stylistic study by which it is made probable that the use

of Sophoclean words in this play “suggests affinity with the style
of the Ajax and Antigone rather than with the later plays” 1). The
large number of periphrases and epithets points in the same direc
tion. Generally speaking, in my view, Earp has made a strong case
for an early date on stylistic grounds, without however being able
to prove i t 12). An early date is also made plausible by a consideration
of the general structure of the play. The so-called diptych form,
which it has in common with the Ajax and the Antigone (though
the treatment differs), does not occur after the O.T.
Furthermore — but much caution is needed in these matters—
the ‘Dreigespräch’ (if we ma}? designate the scene between Deianeira,
Messenger and Lichas by that name) shows a considerably less ad
vanced technique than the comparable scene between Oedipus, the
Corinthian and Laius’ Servant in the O.T. The words spoken by the
dramatis personae have more the character of ‘reaction’ than of
‘action’ (cf. Reinhardt3), but in my opinion his view's are in this
respect too evolutionistic. The ‘monologizing’ nature of much of
the dialogue may be equally well ascribed to Deianeira’s particular
individuality as to a relatively early stage in Sophocles’ devel
opment).
The only probable terminus ante quern that I know of is provided
by the choral song in Euripides’ Hipp., in which the Iole-story is
referred to 4). I do not consider—as many scholars do—the date
of the Ale. (438) as a plausible terminus post quern, since it cannot
be proved and is in fact improbable that Deianeira’s leavetaking-
scene owes anything to that of Alcestis’. 5).
To argue from the poet’s ‘development in his dramatic and
tragic way of thinking’ 6) that an early date must be assumed, or
the reverse, is in my opinion a very risky proceeding which inevita
bly leads to petitio principii.
At the same time, it seems not wholly amiss to note that the
1) F . R . E a rp , The Style of Sophocles, p p . 79, 108.

2) Cp. M u rra y ’s v e rd ic t (o.l. p. 12) “ n o t p ro v e n ” .—See also E a r p ’s sh o rt
p a p e r in Cl. R ev . 1939, p p . 113-115, a g a in st P e r r o tta ’s v e ry la te d a tin g of
th e play.
3) Op. cit. p p . 45, 62. A v e ry e a rly d a te is assu m e d b y M azon, notice, p. 9.
4) Cf. am o n g o th e rs B ow ra, op. cit. p. 134.
5) C o n tra P ohlenz, E r l.2· p. 86, Lesley, o.l. p. 119 a n d in a g re e m e n t w ith
R e in h a rd t, op. cit. p. 66.
°) K itto , A m . J . P hilol. 1939, p. 193.
elaboration with which Deianeira is pictured suggests the budding

forth of the same faculty which in Electra flowered to produce a
still more detailed character-study; and that the tragic view of life
underlying the Trach. is essentially the same as that in the O.T.,
though there its expression reaches a higher level of perfection.
It seems, then, reasonable to range the Trachiniae with the Ajax
and the Antigone and to confess our inability to name a more
precise date, particularly since the relative chronology of Bacch.
XVI and Sophocles’ play cannot be settled.
C O M M EN TA R Y
Proloôue 1 -9 3
The Prologue starts with Deianeira’s monologue, though the

Τροφός is presumably already present. In this it differs from the
Prologues of the other plays and shows some similarity to Euripid-
ean Prologues (Andromache’s, e.g.) but not so close that we should
be justified in thinking of it as an imitation 1).
1 . Λόγος: “saying” , άνθρώπων genit, subjecti, cf. Pind. Ne:n. 1 X 6

έστι δε τις λόγος άνθρώπων, Archil. 89 D., άνθρώποις Cramer Α.Ο.
IV 3*28·2Ι is clearly a vulgarisation.
εστ’ . . . . φανείς: έστι does not function as an auxiliary; αρχαίος,
predicate, goes closely with φανείς: <a truth> “disclosed long ago”.
The saying is ascribed to Solon: Arist. Eth. Nie. 1100 a 11 χρεών
τέλος όραν and Hdt. I 32 ; Jebb ad O.T. 1529; cf .fr. 646 P. 2).
Eur. Andr. 100 sqq. comes close to our passage: χρή δ’ουποτ’ είπεϊν
ούδέν’ όλβιόν βροτών / πριν αν θανόντος την τελευταίαν ΐδης / όπως πε-
ράσας ήμέραν ήξει κάτω. The thought is of the very stuff that
Tragedy is made of. It is restated in a more stringent form infra
945 sq. (cf. Eur. Heracl. 865).
We may note 1) D. quotes the saying in order to add that she
indeed does know, before her death, the hardness of her fate. 2) But
in saying that she is shown to be ignorant of what this tragic day
has in store for her.
2. αιών': proleptic.; one’s “time of life” and “lot in life” , “des
tiny” (as often in Pind. ; never “eternity” in Soph.). For the potent,
with άν see Schwyzer-Debrunner II p. 326.
3 . τω: άπό κοινού in the second member of the clause.
5 . έξοιδ’: cf. έκμάθοις 2.
P Cf. T. B. L. W e b ste r, A n Introduction to Sophocles, p. n o .

2) Cf. W . A ly, Volksmärchen etc., 1921, p. 37: “ W e n n . . . Soph, d e n
selben G ed an k en a u sssp ric h t, so w ird H d t. ih n a n g e re g t h a b e n , ebenso w ie
die zahllosen E rw ä h n u n g e n d e r S olon g esch ich te in d e r g riechischen L ite r a tu r
a u sn ah m slo s m it H d t. in B ezieh u n g zu setzen sin d ” . P e rh a p s. B u t H d t. did
n o t go o u tsid e A ttic p o p u la r tr a d itio n fo r th e m a te ria l for his sto ries
a b o u t Solon.
COMMENTARY
4, 5 . τον έμόν: object of έχουσα with δυστυχή τε καί βαρύν as

predicates.
But by its placing τον έμόν stands in a similar relation to έξοιδ’ as
αιών’ to έκμάθοις.
6. μεν: solitarium. “The antithesis does not come till 27” (Den-
nistonG.P.2 p. 381) ; we cannot say that χρόνω δ’ i8 is the correlate.
Note the difference between her situation and Andromache’s
(Eur. Andr. 5 sq.) : ζηλωτός εν γε τω πριν ’Ανδρομάχη χρόνω, / νυν δ’,
εί τις άλλη, δυστυχεατάτη γυνή.
7 . ναίουσ’ έτ’ έν : Erfurdt’s correction for L’s impossible ναίουσ’ έν.
ναίουσ’ ένί A and Chig (R) strikes one as a rather clever correction by
somebody who did not consider 1) that ένί does not occur as a pre
position in Soph. 2) that πλ- does not lengthen a preceding syllable
in tragic dialogue. Homeric usage (ένί θρόνοισι, ένί μεγάροισι) may
have given rise to the idea, but though Sophocles is όμηρικώτατος
in many respects it cannot be accepted. '
νυμφείων: νυμφεΐον “bridechamber”, νυμφεΐα “nuptial rites” >mar
riage which = the more common νυμφεύματα.
δκνον : δτλον appears from the schob to be an old v. 1. (cf. Aesch.
Sept. 18 παιδείας δτλον, Hesych. δτλον = μόχθον), but there is no
sufficient reason to put it in the text: “the point is the anguish of
her dreadful suspense” (thus rightly Jebb).
8. άλγιστον . . . εΐ τις Αίτωλίς γυνή: εϊ τις Αίτωλίς γυνή οκνον
νυμφείων εσχεν, έγώ τούτον άλγιστον εσχον. Cf. Eur. Andr. 6 and in
general K.-G. II 573 and note ad Ai. 488. Thesleff, Studies on
Intensification in Early and Classical Greek § 381, 0 . Schwab,
Historische Syntax der griechischen Comparution III p. 87.
10. έν τρισίν μορφαϊσιν: the horror of this monstrous wooer in
itself points to the superiority of the reading οκνον.
1 1 . έναργής; “in bodily form”, manifestus (cf. 224). As the words
stand it certainly goes with ταύρος but it is probably to be under
stood with the two other phrases also. The word refers often to
“gods appearing in their own forms” *) (cf. II. XX 131) and to
dreams, άλλοτ’ : also to be understood with the preceding phrase of
the sentence.
αίόλος : refers to the glittering scales of the serpent.
1 2 . 1 3 . άνδρείω τύπω / βούκρανος: thus all MSS of Soph. ; the Pap.
Ox. 1805 does not help us, except for τύπω being more probable than
b L .-S c. s.v.
COM MENTARY 33
κύτει. Since Brunck most edd. read with Strabo 458 άνδρείω κύτει /
βούπρωρος (Hcsych. S.v. βούπρωρον- σημαίνει δέ και τήν βουπρόσωπον
does not refer to our passage; de Marco’s *) supposition is unwar
ranted). Some mss of Strabo however have τύπω and one βούκρανος.
Mazon *2) has made a good case for the rejected reading: κύτος =
“trunk” or “torso” as contrasted with the head, τύπος = "form”,
“shape” (not implying any contrast but referring to the body as a
whole). Now Acheloiis’ beard indicates that his head is partly hu
man, whereas βούπρωρος means "with the face of an ox” cf. αντί
πρωρα 22g, καλλίπρωρος Aesch. Sept. 533, Ag. 235 3). His forehead
is a bull’s, since he has horns; so βούκρανος (“with a bull’s skull”,
κρανίον) seems to be a better word than βούπρωρος. Cf. Empedocl.
61 D. βουγενή άνδρόπρωρα and άνδροφυη βούκρανα. Both readings may
be very old; in fact both may be attributed to the poet.
12 . έλικτός : διά το σκολιόν τω ν ρευμάτω ν.
1 3 . δασκίου γενειάδος : Aesch. Pers. 316 δάσκιον γενειάδα, (for the
relation with δασύς cf. Schwyzer I 307 γ i.).
1 4 . διερραίνοντο: “dripped around”, “flowed in streams” .
κρηναίου ποτού: a partitive genitive, not a separativus, as the
schob will have it. The abundance of the flowing water is suggested
by the abundance of the phrase; cp. e.g. Ant. 1008, infra 698,
703 sq. ; Bind. Pyth. IV 38 sqq.
1 5 . προσδεδεγμένη : used with the same meaning as the epic par
ticiple ποτιδέγμενος “dans l’attente de” (Mazon) and as δεδεγμένα
II. XX III 273 ίππηας τάδ’ άεθλα δεδεγμένα κεΐτ’ έν άγώνι (cf. the
schob a.h ; but II. XI 124 δεδεγμένος must mean “having received”).
It is an instance of the intensive perfect, cp. πεφόβημαι, τεθαύμακα
(cp. Schwyzer-Debrunner II p. 263 sq.); we might paraphrase by:
“in a state of anxious expectation” ; cf. προσμένουσα infra 525.
The other interpretation (exceptum habens, Wecklein, nacta,
Schn.-Raderm., “avec un tel prétendant” , Masqueray) has to be
rejected.
17. έμπελασθηναι : πελάζω, έμπελάζω or πελάζομαι, and έμπελά-
ζομαι can take a dative or a genit. The phrase arose from αιδώς: cf.
Aesch. Prom. 897 μηδέ πλαθείην / γαμέτα τινί των έξ ουρανού; Eur.
Anclr. 25 πλαθεισ’ Άχιλλέως παιδί, Riles. 911 Φρυγιών λεχέων πλαθεΐσα;
x) De Scholiis in Sophoclis Tragoedias veteribus, A tti d ella R . Acc. dei

L incei S. V I vol. V I 1937, P· 222·
2) Notes sur Sophocle, R ev . de P h ilo b , 1951, p. 7.
3) Cf. E . F ra e n k e l a.l.
K a m e r b e e k , T rachiniae 3
34 COMMENTARY
O.T. Ι Ι Ο Ο Πανός πελα.σθεΐσα.. (έμον λέχος άντιόωσα.ν II. I 31 is a

similar phrase).
ποτέ: the emphatic ποτέ at the end of a line is characteristic of
Sophocles’ style.
τήσδε: approaching τοιήσδε, as often.
1 8 . χρόνιο: as is aptly noted by Campbell, the sentence begins
as if with the usual χρόνω "in course of time” ; but an antithesis
("late, it is time, yet—though late—to my joy” ) intervenes; the
first limb of the antithesis is linked to the opening of the sentence,
ύστέρω expresses rather a contrast to the implied "not soon” than
the comparative concept “at a later time” (this is already given in
χρόνω).
άσμένη δέ μοι: cf. phrases like έμο'ι βουλομένω έστίν, έμοί δέ κεν
άσμένω είη.
1 9 . ό κλεινός . . . πα.ϊς : note the triumphant and solemn tone in
which Heracles’ arrival is mentioned. It speaks to us of the hero,
her husband, on whom her veneration and her thoughts are cen
tred.
2 0 . συμπεσών: concurrens pugnando, cf. Ai. 467 ξυμπεσών μόνος
μόνοις.
άγώνα μάχης : cf. for the explicative genit. Ai. 1163 with note;
cf. Bruhn, Anhang § 205; cp. the Homeric examples έ'ρις πολέμοιο,
νεικος πολέμοιο 1). Schob ad 19: τούτο γάρ ήν παρά Οίνέως ώρισμένον,
τω νικώντι ’Αχελώον α.ύτήν δώσειν. In this way the myth is fitted to
a well-known pattern. We do not hear in Soph, of Heracles’ and
Meleager’s encounter in Hades, on which occasion the latter named
Deianeira as a possible wife to Heracles (Bacch. V 165-175).
21. έκλύετα.ι: we often find the middle of compounds of λύειν
without being able to account for its occurrence. Perhaps here:
“with his own hand” (Campbell).
2 1 - 2 3 . τρόπον μέν . . . λέγοι: the combat is, in fact, described in
the stasimon 497-530 as an instance of Aphrodite’s power. The
relation of this choral song to D.’s prologue-speech is clear; the myth
of the combat, wrought into the texture of the play, is used as
dramatic material by which light is thrown on Heracles’ relation to
Deianeira and the latter’s destiny and feelings. Dramatic economy
and an unfailing sense of occasion have led the poet to save the
1) See H . T rü m p y , Kriegerische Fachcmsdriicke ini Gr. Epos, th esis B asel

1950, pp. i 24 sq.
COM MENTARY 35
picture of the combat for the choral song, which has a function
comparable to the modern “flash back” .
πόνων: the fight, the “fray” .
2 2 , 2 3 . ήν /θακών: these go together (= an emphatic έθάκει—
these periphrastic phrases abound in Soph.) and άτοφβής is in
apposition to the subject.
θακών: neither θακών nor θωκών is possible; the MSS often show
uncertainty or are at variance (cf. Ant. 999 θάκον L, θώκον A).
We must everywhere read θα.κέω or θακος (cf. Groeneboom ad
Aesch. Prom. 279, Ed. Fraenkel ad Ag. 519)· On the ä see Björck,
Alpha Impurum, p. 148. άτοφβής: one of the countless compounds
with cr. privans that take the genit.
2 3 . öS’: referring to the preceding οστις, ci. Ant. 463 sq.
2 5 . μή . . . έξεύροι: “lest . . . should lead to . . Cf. O.T. 120 εν
γάρ πόλλ’ άν έξεύροι μαθεΐν. The line is rashly rejected by some
critics (along with 24 by Dobree, on its own by Nauck and Rader-
macher; also by Kranz, Sokrates 1921, p. 32) although it conveys
one of the themes of the play: cf. infra 465 Deianeira on Iole.
Their connected destiny is strikingly suggested by this echo and
we should consider the choral song 497-530 in this light also.
Note, besides, the dramatic irony: the seemingly happy issue of the
combat will in the end prove as fatal as Acheloiis’ victory ; her κάλλος
was destined to bring her άλγος, as was Iole’s. Reinhardt (Sopho
kles1 p. 253) rightly opposes the rejection of the line but his inter
pretation is far-fetched: "betäubt vor Furcht — um den Geliebten :
Furcht, dass Herakles um ihretwillen, also ihrer Schönheit willen,
unterliegen würde”. Much better the schol. ad 25: μή SG. το κάλλος
άλγηδόνι περιπέσω τώ Άχελώω γαμηθεΐσα. Cp. Campbell’s excellent
note.
ποτέ: cf. ad 17, but h.l. the meaning is: “in the end”, “en fin de
compte” (Mazon).
2 6 . Ζεύς ά γώ νιος: “arbiter of the strife”, cf. Έ ρ μ η ς άγώ νιος Pinch
Isthm. I 60.
But according to the chorus 515 Aphrodite was the umpire. Jebb
wrongly compares άγώνιοι θεοί Aesch. Suppl. 189 (cf. Ed. Fraenkel
ad Ag. 513).
τέλος δ’εθηκε . . . καλώς: is τέλος to be taken as object or as ad
verbial accus. ? Commentators are silent as to this problem. The
schol. appears to have chosen the former course: ό άγώνιος Ζεύς
ευτυχώς τω άγώνι τέλος έπέθηκε; as far as can be seen from his
COM MENTARY
translation, Jebb chose the latter: “But finally the Zeus of battles
ordained well” and so did Murray and Masquera}-7; no inference
can be drawn from Mazon’s “ Cependant le Zeus des Tournois régla
heureusement l’affaire” . Adverbial τέλος δέ occurs frequently in
Soph. But we must ask whether τιθέναι καλώς can be used without
an object : this is denied by Ed. Fraenkel ad /lg. 913 and 1673 and
by Groeneboom ad /lg. 1673. As a matter of fact the numerous
passages with τιθέναι καλώς argue against its absolute use ; we might,
it is true, supply μάχην or αγώνα from 1. 20 but the distance is too
great. Since τέλος is an excellent word to denote “ultimate issue” 1),
“final settlement” , particularly when Zeus is the subject of the
sentence, we may safely considerit as the object. (Cf. Sem. 1. 2).
2 6 , 2 7 . (καλώς), / εί δή (καλώς): “if indeed”, “if really”. Cf. Eur.
Or. 17 6 κλεινός, εί δή κλεινός, ’Αγαμέμνων, Her. 41 κάμ’—εΐ τι δή χρή
κάμ’ έν άνδράσιν λέγειν γέροντ’ άχρειον (see G.P.*2 ρ. 223 sq.). Cf.
also Ar. Ran. 74 εί καί τοΰτ’ άρα.
2 7 . λέχος γά.ρ: the words explain εί δή καλώς; moreover they con
tinue the story of her unhappiness, of which the first part —
before her marriage—is narrated from 6-27; this second part—
her married life—takes the place of the sentence with δέ we were
expecting after ήτις —ατρός μεν 6.
2 7 , 2 8 λέχος . . . ξυστασ’ : A i. 491 τ° σόν λέχος ξυνήλθον has often
been compared, but there λέχος is doubtless = ές λέχος, here λέχος
must be nomin. (“as his bride”—the metonymy is not uncommon2)).
Thus Jebb rightly against Campbell among others.
κριτόν: “chosen”, = έ'κκριτον, cf. infra 245, Find. Pyth. IV 50.
The interpretation “adjudged” , “assigned” may be considered,
though other examples of κριτός in that sense are lacking, but
κρίνειν does sometimes have this meaning and cp. schol. A ad II. I
56 έν τή του μήλου κρίσει (perhaps cf. also Pind. Nem. VI 2 κεκρι-
μένα δύναμις).
2 8 . ξυστασ’: “united”, “joined”. Nothing prevents us from
taking the reflexive aorist in a passive sense. The aor. participle
simply means: “since the moment I was united . .
τρέφω: the vox Sophoclea τρέφω (an intensified έχω) is used with
particular appropriateness in this context (ά.εί τιν’ έκ φόβου φόβον).
2 9 . κείνου προκηραίνουσα : cf. schol. άγωνιώσα, μεριμνώσα κατά το
P Cf. διά μάχης . . . τέλους A esch. S u p p l. 475-

2) Cf in fra 360, εύνή E u r. A n d r . 907, H ip p . 835.
COMMENTARY 37
κέαρ etc. and schol. ad Eur. Iiipp. 223 κηραίνεις· μέριμνας φροντί
ζεις, έν τω κέαρι έχεις. The compound only occurs here.
2 9 , 3 0 νύξ . . . πόνον: “night after night, in continual succession,
raises and dispels disturbing thoughts” . With δια.δεδεγμένη, seem
ingly absolute, τήν νύκτα must be supplied as object; the perf.
partie, has the same function as προσδεδεγμένη supra 15. Both
εισάγει and απωθεί must be taken with both the first and the second-
νύξ; this relation is made clear by δια.δεδεγμένη.
3 1 - 3 3 It is impossible to accept Mazon’s interpretation: “II
s’agit d’un petit cultivateur qui a pris à ferme un domaine éloigné,
laissant sa propre terre aux soins de sa femme et de ses enfants,
qu’il ne revient aider lui-même qu’au moment des grands travaux” .
The simile must, I am convinced, be understood, as follows: A
farmer has a field far-off; he comes there only at seed- and harvest
time ~ Heracles has a wife and children, but his visits are so rare
that Deianeira may say, with bitterness, that he “sees” them only
when begetting them and once, for a moment, when they are
grown. The metaphor ploughland / womb must lie at the back of
the simile. But the two terms of the simile are interwoven: in
σπείρουν . . . άπαξ the thing compared is expressed by what logically
belongs to the other term of the comparison. Of course we may
rationalize, saying for instance that the full sentence should run:
ους κείνος ποτέ, γήτης όπως........ άπαξ, άπαξ προσεΐδε, but this does
not do full justice to the sentiments expressed and the idea implied,
απείρων προσεΐδε, when only referring to the children, is an un
acceptable sarcasm, which is hardly mitigated by interpreting
προσεΐδε as “to see to” ; έξαμών too can only be understood in the
light of the other term of the comparison. Both phrases are
to be taken not literally and as limited to the thing compared, but
as suggesting by their position some points of comparison beyond
the general idea of “rarity”. The idea of the “father whose paternal
and conjugal functions are confined to begetting children and
seeing them when they are grown up” is unmistakably implied.
ποτέ : “at some time” ; the vagueness has as is rightly remarked by
Campbell, a pathetic force.
3 2 . γήτης: γήτης and γήτης are both possible formations1);
the word occurs only here.
έ'κτοπος: “distant” ; thus only here, but cf. Ar. Av. 1474.
b O n th e denominativa e n d in g in -της (-ιτης) ci. J. C. F . N u ch elm an s,
Die N o m i n a des sophokleischen Wortschatzes, p. 20.
38 COMMENTARY
3 4 . αιών: cf. ad 2.
3 4 , 3 5 . ές δόμους τε
κάκ δόμων/άεΐ . . . έπεμπε: "(qui), sans répit,
quand il rentrait chez lui, l’en éloignait bien vite” . (Mazon).
τον άνδρ’: either “my husband” (thus among others Masqueray)
or with the function of a personal pronoun.
λατρεύοντά: “to be enslaved to” (lit. “work for pay”—λάτρον cf.
Aesch. Suppl, io n ) ; cf. infra 70. τω: either ominis causa or from
disdain she refrains from calling Eurystheus by name.
3 6 . ύπερτελής: having “surmounted” and “accomplished” . Cf.
on the possible derivations Ed. Fraenkel ad Ag. 286. In my opinion
the lit. meaning is: “rising above” λ) > “getting over” cf. ύπερτε-
λέσαι μέγα δουλείας γάγγαμον Ag. 359 but since τέλος, τελείv “ful
filment” , “fulfil”, “completion” , “complete” can easily be heard
in the word, this idea may be implied by the context.
έφυ: not different from έπλετο, έστι.
3 7 . ταρβήσασ’ έχω : this periphrastic perfect is often used by Soph.
(Goodwin § 47) *2). Beginning and continuation of the action or the
state expressed by the participle are united in the phrase ; it is not
entirely equrvalent to the simple perfect. If τετάρβηκα often means
"I am fearing” implying “I started to fear and now am in a state of
fear”, the same is explicitly expressed by the periphrasis.
3 8 . έκτα: cf. note ad Ai. 230. Iphitus’ murder is related infra
270 sqq. For the moment we are left in the dark as to its circum
stances; Deianeira does not know of the servitude to Omphale,
the penance for murder imposed by Zeus.
3 9 . ήμεις: Deianeira and some (?) of her children (cf. 1151-1156).
ανάστατοι.: driven from home (i.e. Tiryns).
! 4 0 . ξένω παρ’ άνδρί: since Soph, did not intend to assign a rôle to
Ceyx, king of Trachis, nephew of Amphitryon, in his play, he leaves
out the name altogether. The fact of D.’s not living at her own
house is indeed of small consequence in the play and seems almost
forgotten infra 920 sqq. It is perhaps the easiest supposition (but
the text is silent about the matter) to think that D. does not live in
Ceyx’ palace but in a separate house, ξένω παρ’ άνδρί does not
necessarily imply “living at his house” .
όπου: needless to read οποί with Brunck, since βέβηκεν = οίχό-
μενος κυρεΐ or the like.
4 E u r. I o n 1549.
2) S chw yzer I p. 812.
COM MENTARY 39
41. πλήν: often used after negations in the sense of “except

(that)” ; here it amounts to Latin nisi quod, nisi tamen: “La seule
chose sûre, c’est que . . . ” (Mazon).
4 1 . 4 2 . προσβολών: προσβάλλειν “assign to”, “procure for”,
“cause something to somebody” in malam or in bonam partem
is common in classical Greek.
4 2 . ωδίνας: fig. painful and anxious tension. Cf. Ai. 794 ώστε
μ’ώδίνειν τί φής, where see note.
αύτοϋ: genitive of the object.
4 3 . σχεδόν . . . έπίσταμαι : cf. Eur. Troad. 898 άτάρ σχεδόν μέν οίδά
σοι μισούμενη.
4 4 . βαιόν: cf. note ad Ai. 90.
4 4 , 4 5 . δέκα / μήνας προς άλλοις πέντ’ : the interval of time after
which Heracles’ fate will be sealed; but the significance of this is
only revealed by 76-85 and 164-174.
άκήρυκτος: ού μηνυόμενος δπου πότ’ έστιν, “with no tidings” ; a rare
usage.
4 6 . Note the increasing vehemence of her expression of fear.
"Yes, there must have been some terrible misfortune” (Campbell’s
second rendering, preceded by Jebb’s “ Yes” ).
τοιαύτην: as often, τοιοϋτος introduces the cause of the preceding
statement.
4 7 . δέλτον : the word is common in the 5th century but unknown
to Homer; doubtless πίναξ πτυκτός denotes the same.
τήν: among the Tragedians Soph, makes the most frequent use
of the forms with τ- as relatives. Possibly with him it is an ionisrn;
metrical necessity is here wanting.
4 8 άρώμαι . . . λαβεΐν : the interpretation advocated by Schn.-N.-
Raderm. (“ D. wünscht, sie möge jenes Blatt ohne Schädigung für
sich in die Hand nehmen . . .” ) is certainly wrong. The aor. inf.
expresses an action anterior to the main -verb. Correctly among
others Campbell: “I pray that no ill may follow my having re
ceived it” .
The Nurse who, we may naturally suppose, has been present on
the scene from the beginning, keeping somewhat in the background
and watching Deianeira, probably reacting by gesture to her words,
now steps to the front.
4 9 . πολλά μέν: since πολλά μέν . . . νϋν S’ form an antithesis, it
is natural to take πολλά adverbially: “often” . It is possible, but
in my opinion not necessary, that πολλά goes with the cognate
COMMENTARY
accusative πανδάκρυτ’ όδύρματα: cf. Phil. 1456-1461 οδ πολλάκι δή

τούμόν έτέγχθη / κρατ’ ενδόμυχον πληγήσι νότου,/πολλά δε φωνής της
ήμετέρας / Έρμαΐον όρος παρέπεμψεν έμοί / στόνον άντίτυπον
κτλ.
5 0 . πανδάκρυτ’: cf. note ad 5 ° 5 >6. -δακρυτ’ = full of tears
(neither “active” nor “passive” ).
5 0 . 51 . κατεΐδον . . . γοωμένην : the context lends κατεΐδον, to a
small extent, the well-known connotation of περιοράν and εΐσοράν:
<without intervening»; so it is less remarkable that γοωμένην de
pends on a verbum videndi.
5 1 . τήν Ηράκλειον: we cannot say why the poet has preferred
the masculine form; cf. 576, perhaps for reasons of euphony,
undiscoverable by us.
γοωμένην: always middle in the Tragedians, cf. infra 937.
5 2 sqq. The apodosis of the εΐ-clause is either κάμε . . . σόν or the
question introduced by πώς. The second course is followed by Jebb
and Radermacher (then it seems better to leave out the comma
before κάμε), but the former, by which the Nurse’s advice is brought
into greater relief, seems preferable. Then a colon after σόν is the
best punctuation.
5 2 . δίκαιον: “meet” (Jebb), “suitable” .
φρενοϋν: "make wise”, cf. Ant. 754, with the connotation of vou-
θετεΐν (cf. schol.).
5 3 . γνώμαισι δούλαις : it seems best to take the dative as a dative
of the instrument: “with the opinions, the counsels of a slave” ,
γνώμη conveys the notion of “knowing how to act”, δούλος as an
adjective is fairly common in Soph, and Eur. ; cf. e.g. infra 302,
O.C. 917.
χρή: licet, not oportet; “it is right” (Campbell).
Note the inf. praes, φρενοϋν contrasting with the inf. aor. φράσαι.
τό σόν: “what you should do” . To read τόσον weakens the sense;
moreover τόσος, as remarked by Campbell, occurs only in the
phrase δίς τόσα (Ai. 277) in the trimeters of Soph. The balance of the
sentence (τούς ελευθέρους, γνώμαισι δούλαις—general— Χέμέ, το σόν
—particular—) is upset by reading τόσον. The exact meaning of τό
σόν is of course defined by the context: cf. El. 522 “your point of
view” , Ai. 1313 “your interest” etc.
5 4 . πώς: the asyndeton lends a very suitable directness to the
question.
μεν . . . άτάρ : on this combination cf. Denniston G.P.2 p. 54 and p.
COMMENTARY 41
370 ; ού δέ is avoided, άτάρ is sometimes used where a strong adver

sative is required; cf. Aesch. Prom. 340 sq., O.T. 1051 sq.
πληθύεις: always intr. πληθύοι αύτω οίκος παίδων γοναΐς LG. 12 (g).
1179. 38 (Euboea, 2. c. A.D.) provides us with a good parallel.
5 5 . άνδρος κατά ζήτησιν : cf. the epic phrases πλεΐν κατά πρήξιν,
πλάζεσθαι κατά ληΐδα, Thuc. VI 31· ϊ κατά θέαν ήκεν, Hdt. I 94. 6
άποπλέειν κατά βίου τε καί γης ζήτησιν, Ar. Αν. 1178.
The schob enumerates four sons of Heracles and Deianeira; as to
the question whether or not other children of Heracles are supposed
to be present, cf. ad 1155.
5 6 . δνπερ είκδς: πέμπειν.
5 6 , 5 7 . ε ί. . . δοκεΐν: the oblique optative because the clause
depends on δνπερ είκδς.
πατρδς: the genit, depends on ώραν; νέμοι τιν’ ώραν = φροντίζοι τι,
hence the genit, instead of the expected dative with νέμειν (cf. 1238),
νέμειν ώραν being itself a somewhat refined variation of έχειν ώραν
(cf. O.C. 386) !).
ώραν: prob, to be considered as an ionism, atticized by the ä 12).
τοϋ καλώς πράσσειν δοκεΐν: a second genitive dependent on ώραν.
The whole rather entangled construction is excellently rendered
by Jebb: “care, on his father’s account, for his being deemed” (to
fare well). Dindorf’s quotation of Alexis fr. 9. 6-7K. των δ’ ώνου-
μένων, προνοούμενοι τοϋ τάς κεφαλάς υγιείς έχειν yields a good parallel.
The genit, πατρδς could also be taken as a genit, obiectivus going
with the whole clause and anticipating the subject of δοκεΐν (πατέρα).
5 8 . δδ’ αύτδς: “le voici qui . . .” .
άρτίπους: schob δ έστιν άρτίως καί ήρμοσμένως τω καιρω πορεύεται.
The epic sense of the word "sound of foot”, though also later the
normal sense (Hesych. άρτιος τοΐς ποσίν, ύγιόπους), is in vain de
fended by Campbell; the use of the word here is etymological and
catachrestic. On the one hand we must hear in άρτι- άρτίως as e.g.
at O.T. 78 οΐδε τ’ άρτίως / Κρέοντα προσστείχοντα σημαίνουσί μοι, on
the other phrases like άρτια βάζειν “speak to the purpose” ; more
over compounds like κοινόπους “arriving together” {El. 1104),
δολιόπους “stealthily striding along” {El. 1392) should be remem
bered.
1) On νέμειν a n d th e like cf. V a lc k e n a e r’s v e ry le a rn e d n o te a d E u r. H ip p .

1321.
2) Cf. H . W itte k in d , Sermo Sophocleus quatenus cum scriptoribus Ionicis
congruat differat ab Atticis, th e sis G iessen, 1S95, p. 39. .
42 COMMENTARY
θρώσκει δόμους: cp. e.g. Aesch. Suppl. 501 ήγεΐσθε βωμούς αστικούς.
5 9 . έννέπειν: the Tragedians use the verb as the present of είπεΐν.
προς καιρόν: “in season” , cf. El. 31 εί μή τι καιρού τυγχάνω = εΐ μή
επιτήδεια λέγω.
6 0 . τάνδρί: τω "\'λλω.
τοΐς τ’ έμοΐς λόγοις : τ’ s.l. in A, omitted in six “Thoman” mss. 1).
The reading would mean: “Hyllus can make use of my advice” but
seems worthless.
6 1 . άρα: for this use with verb in the present cf. G.PA p. 35.
άγεννήτων: somewhat catachrestically used instead of άγεννής,
δυσγενής. (The proper sense is found O.C. 973). For “not-begotten”
= “low-born” cf. the upstart in Tacitus who seemed to be ex se
natus {Ann. XI 21.2).
61 . μύθοι καλώς πίπτουσιν: Ellendt, Jebb and others think of the
metaphor from dice, cf. fr. 895 άεί γάρ ευ πίπτουσιν οί Διός κύβοι ; this
is possible, but not certain. Campbell’s “fall from the lips” (coming
forth unexpectedly) is perhaps preferable: Deianeira cannot judge
of the outcome of the Nurse’s advice.
6 3 . The verse is remarkable for its caesura trithemimeres com
bined with the diaeresis after the third foot ; the latter is smoothed
by the elision in δ’.
6 4 . εί διδακτά μοι: schob εί προσήκει μοι μαθεΐν. For the plur.
cf. K.-G. I 66 sq.
6 5 . 66. Valckenaer’s φέρειν (φέρει MSS) has won general favour ;
Dain alone retains φέρει. The purpose of the conjecture is of course
to have Deianeira quote the advice of the Nurse in indirect speech
depending on εΐρηκεν ελεύθερον λόγον. But if we closely consider her
words, they do not seem at all to repeat the words of the Nurse,
unless we interpret these in a way quite different from that followed
by all commentators (and very strained). Nothing, in fact, pre
vents us from assuming that Deianeira, rather abruptly, tells
Hyllus in direct speech the implications of the words spoken by the
Nurse. So I prefer φέρει.
Construe: τό μή σέ πυθέσθαι πατρός ούτω δαρόν έξενωμένου πού ’στιν
<σοί> αισχύνην φέρει.
6 5 . πατρός: άκούειν, κλύειν, πυνθάνεσθαι are construed with the
genit, denoting the person about whom something is heard. Cf. e.g.
Ant. 1182, Phil. 426.
1) A. T u ry n , M a n u s c rip t Tradition p. 52.

CO Μ M EN'J AK Y 43
δάρον: in dialogue Doric ä occurs in the words not used in Attic

prose; such is the case with δαρόν 1).
έξενωμένον: in the rare sense of “residing abroad” (L.-Sc.), cf.
Eur. Ion 820: here έξενωμένον means “brought to a foreign country”
6 7 . μύθοις: “rumours” , “ce que l’on raconte” * 2); μύθος “ Ru
mour” Ai. 226.
68. κλύεις: the present where a perfect might be expected, as is
often the case with άκούομ πυνθάνομαι and the like.
6 9 . μεν: the expected member with δέ does not follow; we might
say that <νΰν δέ> logically belonging to Hyllus’ words 74 sq. is
rendered superfluous (and indeed impossible) by Deianeira’s
question που δήτα νυν κτλ.
άροτον: for “year” also infra 825 (Hesych. : άρότους· τούς ενιαυτούς,
οΰτω Σοφ. ). Similar are phrases like δεκέτεσιν σποραΐσιν Eur. El. 1152,
δεκασπόρω χρόνω l'road. 20, επτά . . . καρπιμους έτών κύκλους Hel. 112.
έν μήκει χρόνου: “all this while” (Campbell); the same phrase.
Aesch. Ag. 610.
7 0 . Λυδη γυναικί: double disgrace! The name Omphale infra 252.
λάτριν: ci. λατρεύοντα. 35. The word is not in itself contemptuous:
cf. Eur. Ion 4 (Hermes) δαιμόνων λάτριν.
πονεΐν: in direct speech έπόνει (K.-G. I 194 anm. 5).
7 1 . παν: “anything” .
τοίνυν: "well then” representing “the answer as springing from
the actual words of the previous speaker” (G.P.2 p. 569).
εί καί τοΰτ’ έτλη : I prefer DennistoiTs (G.P.2 p. 304) “even that”
to Jebb’s “if he indeed bore this” (αληθώς schol.). Anyway καί does
not go closely with εΐ.
7 2 . έξαφεΐται: “set free from” (the verb is rare in classical Greek;
I dm. 156 it means “let slip from” ); its ambiguous sense (thus
rightly Jebb; cf. infra 1171 λύσιν τελεΐσθαι) gives rise to Deianeira’s
ζών ή θανών.
τοΰδέ γ ’: γε with limitative force ; it is better not to assume a
close connection between άλλ’ and γ ’.
7 4 . Εύβοΐδα: it would be incorrect to write Εύβοίδα, the uncon
tracted form should be Εΰβοιιδα.
7 5 . ή μέλλεIV ετι: "or that he is still about to do so” . We should
understand έπιστρατεύσειν.
x) Cf. G. B jörck, Das A lp h a im pu ru m , p. 126.

2) M azon.
44 COMMENTARY
76 sq. Again we note the economy with which the constituents

of the story are brought in when needed and with dramatic aptness.
In my opinion it is highly improbable that we should assume
Deianeira to infer from Hyllus’ words that the war against Oechalia
will be Heracles’ last πόνος. The words τήσδε τής χώρας are only
natural if we suppose her to be reminded, by Hyllus’ words, of the
name of the country mentioned by the oracle. The poet could of
course have made her mention or remember the name for herself
(for instance after 45) but he did not do so for obvious reasons of
dramatic technique. If the spectator had heard at 1. 45 that
Heracles must by now be on Euboea, he would inevitably have
asked: "why did she not send somebody there?” Hyllus could have
been sent on his errand before the start of the play, but the dram
atic texture would have been the poorer for it. A very fine paral
lelism between Prologue and Exodos would be lost. In the Prologue
it is Hyllus who mentions to his mother the name of the country
which, as she knows from the oracle, is destined to decide Heracles’
fate; in the Exodos the same Hyllus mentions the name of Nessus,
author of Pleracles’ doom, to his father (1141) ; from an oracle, again,
Heracles knows he will die by οστις "Αιδου φθίμενος οικήτωρ πέλοι.
7 7 . αρ’ . . . δήτ’ : on δήτα following an interrogative particle cf.
G.P.Z p. 271; δήτα “denotes that the question springs out of some
thing which another person has just said” (ib. p. 269).
ελειπε: the imperfect is as good a tense of narration as the aorist,
esp. (but by no means exclusively) in Homer, only it “dwells on the
course of an event instead of merely stating its occurrence” 1). The
scene of Heracles’ leave-taking is here thought of as a lasting image
in D.’s mind of an action past, but not closed. Cf. infra 234 ελειπον
“at my departure he was” . H.l. we might paraphrase thus: “he
proceeded to go away entrusting me with μαντεία πιστά” (but cp.
supra 47, where the same action appears in another aspect: he
entrusted me with such a tablet and then proceeded to go away).
7 8 . τά ποια : the article is used with τις, τί, ποιος when the
question refers to a thing or person mentioned before. Cf. O.C. 893,
El. 671, Phil. 1229. (K.-G. I 625).
τον λόγον: “de quoi tu veux parler” (Mazon). We have to re
member that λόγος denotes the word(s) as well as the res referred
to *2). τον seems to mean a little more than the ordinary article.
P G oodw in, M . and T. §35.
2) “ T he m a tte r ” to w hich you refer (C am pbell).
COMMENTARY 45
7 9 . ώς οί: thus L and R (Chig) (R has ώς oî), A and others ώς ή,

adopted by the editors.
Reading οί we must assume χώρα as the first subject of μέλλει;
in the second part of the sentence Heracles becomes the subject.
The harshness of this construction is somewhat mitigated by the
intervening participle άρας; or we may supply <έλεγε> (from έλειπε
μοι μαντεία) with ή τούτον άρας . . . . έχειν (then έχειν must be
considered as a prophetic present or as a present of the categories
listed by K.-G. I 138 b and c).
If we read ώς ή Heracles is the only subject of μέλλει and τελευτήν
του βίου τελεΐν means τελευτάν; if we read ώς οί, τελεΐν means “bring
to pass” . For the former cf. O.C. 1720 sq. άλλ’ έπεί όλβίως γ ’ έλυαεν
το τέλος, ώ ωίλαι, βίου ; τελευτήν is a cognate accus.1) ; as to the latter
cf. e.g. O.T. 1330 ’Απόλλων . . . ό κακά κακά τελών έμά τάδ’ έμά
πάθεα. ή;
8 0 . τούτον άρας άθλον : strictly speaking άθλος = “contest”,
άθλον = “prize of contest” ; αίρεσθαι (cf. φέρεσθαι) often means
"carry off” , “win” . Possibly άρας means no more than “having
taken up <and accomplished/’ (cf. L.-Sc. s.v. I 4), unless α’ίρειν
bears the meaning of “removing” (an obstacle : “lift and take away”
L.-Sc. s.v. Ill i, but cf. Denniston ad Eur. El. 942). According
to Campbell the meaning lies between emolitus and amolitus.
ές τον ύστερον: thus all the MSS. Masqueray and Campbell retain
the reading, most editors reject it; Jebb, Pearson, and Dain adopt
Reiske’s τό γ ’, others suspect the existence of a much deeper cor
ruption in this and the next line. Jebb is right in contesting the
cogency of El. 1075 and O.C. 1584 quoted by Campbell in favour
of the ellipsis of χρόνον ; none the less I feel inclined to accept this
ellipsis on the analogy of the common ellipsis of ημέρα (ή έπιοΰσα, ή
υστεραία, ή δευτέρα, ή πρωία). Moreover χρόνος ύστερος is a common
phrase, cf. supra 18 and O.C. 614; ές τό ύστερον does not occur in
Soph., though ές ύστερον is found Ant. 1194. (K. G. I 265 lists χρόνος
among the nouns often to be understood with their expressed
attributes but does not give examples; perhaps έν όλίγω PI. Ap. 22 b
affords an instance).
8 1 . τόν λοιπόν . . . βίοτον εύαίων’: cf. Aesch. Fers. 711 βίοτον
εύαίωνα ΙΙέρσαις ώς θεός διήγαγες: “a happy life-time” . It is not
1j Cp. also A p. R h o d . I 251, 2 δειλή Ά λκιμ έδη . . . . ούδ’ Ιτέλεσσας επ άγλαΐη

βιότοιο (sc. βίον o r τελευτήν του βίου).
φ COM MENTARY
entirely correct to consider the second component of this and similar

compounds as redundant in phrases like the present one : either fate
or duration are expressed or stressed by it; cf. supra 34 and 0 .1'.
518 βίου του μακραίωνος, Eur. Sappl. 960 δυσαίων βίος, Hel. 213.
The reverse is found at Aesch. Pers. 262 μα.κροβίοτος αιών.
8 2 . έν . . . . κειμένω: ci. Jebb’s excellent rendering “when his fate
is thus trembling in the scale” , ροπή = discrimen; cf. Ale. 141. 4
L.-P. ά δ’ έχετα.ι ρόπας, Aesch. Clio. 6ΐ ροπή δ’έπισκοπεΐ Δίκα.ς (Bacch.
XVI 25 Δίκα.ς ρέπει τάλαντου) 1). Heracles’ fate is bound up with the
“turn of the scale” on this particular tragic day 2). This day (χρόνω
τω ζώντι καί παρόντι νυν nbg) is to bring the fulfilment of his
destiny.
8 2 - 8 5 . To reject 1. 84, as is done by most editors, is doubtless
the simplest way out of the difficulties. It is then tempting to
consider the line as a ‘doublet’ originating from the poet himself : we
may easily imagine him writing in margine of 1. 85 ή . . . . έξολω-
λότος, a comment as it were on ή οίχόμεσθ’ άμα, and rejecting the
line after all in order to avoid the ominous σοϋ πα.τρος έξολωλότος
spoken by Deianeira.
8 3 . σεσώμεθα. : on αέσωμαι, σέσωσμαι, σέσωμαι cf. Groeneboom
ad Hg. 618. ^ ^
8 5 ή οίχόμεσθ’ : a not very common case of synaloephe; ή ούκ
is met with frequently, cp. also Eur. El. 1097 ή ευγένειαν, I .T. 1048
ή εΐδότος.
8 7 . βάξιν: “utterance” esp. of an oracle, cf. Empedocl. 112. 11,
Aesch. Prom. 663 εναργής βάξις ήλΟεν Ίνάχω. Also “rumour",
“report” or simply “words” (cf. El. 638).
κάν πάλαι: on καί as a particle of emphasis "with temporal ad
verbs denoting length of time” cp. G.PS p. 318: Ant. 289, O.C.
1252, Phil. 1218.
8 8 - 9 1 . Plere again we get the impression of a ‘doublet’; the 11.
90 and 91 appear to be written in order to replace 88 and 89 which
represent a first draft. If indeed έα was what Soph, wrote we can
easily understand his dissatisfaction with these lines ; on the other
hand they contained too much that is good readily to expunge them
altogether. The small correction εία (Vauvilliers ; moreover Wake-*)
x) Oil th e “ scales of fa te ” cf. G. B jö rck , Die Schicksalswaage, E ra n o s 1945,

pp. 58-66.
*) Cf. J. C. K ara e rb e e k , De Philoloog i n P iëria ’s Hof , 1951, p. 12.
COM MENTARY 47
field and Campbell would replace νϋν S’ 88 by πρίν S'), yields, it is

true, a better sense and Jebb may be right in arguing that the
repetition of νϋν "is excused by the change of sense” r) and that νΰν
sometimes occurs with a past tense, but nevertheless the idea that
we have to do with a doublet seems to me unavoidable and so I
prefer, with Pearson, to leave the lines as transmitted and to
consider them as a v. 1. of the poet’s, not entirely rejected by him.
88. πότμος: with Homer always of Death, evil fate, with Pind.
and the Tragg. vox media. With ό ξυνήθης πότμος cp. Pinch Nem. V 40
πότμος συγγενής. We may say that h.l. πότμος comes near to δαίμων:
for one’s ήθος is one’s δαίμων; cf. Eur. Ale. 499 (Heracles) : καί τόνδε
τούμοϋ δαίμονος πόνον λέγεις. Moreover the context allows us to
hear the idea of “good luck” in it.
8 9 . προταρβεΐν : not "to fear beforehand” but “to be anxious for”,
cp. Ant. 83 μή ’μου προτάρβει- τον σόν έξόρθου πότμον. (See L.-Sc. S.V.)„
Sometimes, in classical Greek, προ- = ύπερ-. Possibly προ-has also
to be taken with δειμαίνειν.
9 0 . ξυνίημι: with its Homeric sense; the present is used as a
perfect, as is often the case with άκούομ κλύω etc.
τό μή : Brunck’s τό μή ού is certainly unnecessary. A negated verb
of negation, it is true, is often followed by (το) μή ού, the two
negations expressing a double negative reflex (not to be rendered
in English or Dutch) but (τό) μή has often been felt as sufficient
and esp. so before the period of highly developed rhetorical prose.
So we should not follow Wccklein in reading τί γάρ ελλείπει μή <ού>
πα ρα πα ίειν Aesch. Prom. 1056 * 2). Ci. Ai 96 κόμπος π ά ρ εσ τι κούκ άπα.ρ-
νοϋμαι τό μή, Ant. 443» Ο.Τ. 13S7, infra 226; see K.-G . II 218 and on
τό μή and τό μή ού Schwyzer-Debrunner II 3 7 1 scl· 3) »' A. C. Moor-
house, Cl. Quart. 1940, yosqq.; Denniston-Page ad Aesch. ,-lg.
1169-71.
ελλείπω prop. = “fall short” . The whole phrase ούδέν έλλείψο) τό
μή is well rendered bj? Jebb: “I will spare no pains to”. (Instances
of ελλείπω (τό) μή with inf. are unknown to me).
9 2 , 3 . καί: καί has to be taken with ύστέρω (“dem welcher später
kommt, als er sollte” Raderm.) in the sense of “even”.
b A t SS νϋν S’ in tro d u c e s realis (" b u t, as it is” or " b u t, as it w as” ) a fte r

u rcatis, a t 90 it is p u rely tem p o ra l.
2) As is done b y W ilam ow itz, G roeneboom a n d M u rray , b u t n o t b y M azon.
3) τό μή m a y hav e th e fu n ctio n , here as elsew here, of τοϋ μή, since ελλείπω
m ay ta k e th e genetive.
4S COMMENTARY
το εΰ πράσσειν: “faring well”.

κέρδος έμπολα: the subject is the action of the preceding clause
and έμπολαν here means "to bring in a profit” *2). The optative
πύθοιτο lends a general character to the sentence: every word of it
is related to the present situation but as a whole its form is
gnomic.— The words are ominous 2).
Parodos 9 4 -1 4 0
We cannot say for certain whether Deianeira goes into the house
and reenters the stage at 1. 122 (in accordance with a fairly common
device) or remains before the house throughout the Parodos. The
Nurse would certainty leave the stage: the actor of this rôle must
change to reappear as the Messenger.
9 4 , 5 . αίόλα: “star-spangled” (L.-Sc.), cf. ποικιλείμ,ων νύξ Aesch.
Prom. 24, νύξ άστροχίτων Argon. Orph. 1026, νύξ αίολόχρως Eur .fr.
593, certainty not = μέλαινα as a schob a.h.l. will have it (μέλαινα
ως oi νεώτεροι; possibly the mistaken interpretation arose from
infra 132 and similar instances).
έναριζομένα . . . φλογιζόμενον: a poetical image, not a “volks
tümlicher Naturmythos” 3) (Radermacher a.l., but he qualifies his
opinion in Der homerische H ermeshy n nus p. 12).
έναριζομένα: cf. Jebb: “slain and despoiled” (> deprived of its
lustre).
τίκτει: cf. Aesch. Ag. 264,5.
The theme made explicit at 132 sqq. is already implied in these
words with their wonderful chiasmus.
κατευνάζει: cf. Ant. S33 and for the dying rays of the sun cf. Eur.
Ion 1136 προς τελευτώσας βίον. φλογιζόμενον: passive (thus rightly
Ellendt).
It is tempting to assume that the Trachiniae served as the first
play of the trilogy and that the chorus does in fact invoke the rising
sun at dawn; cf. the choral song άκτίς άελίου Ant. 100 sqq.
9 7 . τούτο: announces the words dependent on καρΰξαι. τούτω
*) T his seem s b e tte r th a n to co n sid er το εύ πράσσειν as th e su b je c t, as is

done b y M azon am o n g o th ers.
2) Cf. T. B. L. W eb ster, Sophocles’ Trachiniae, G reek P o e tr y a n d L ife
p. 165.
®) Cf. th e in m y o p in io n erro n eo u s ju d g m e n t of H esseling, V it Hellas'
Heden en Verleden, p. 87.
COMMENTARY 49
(i.e. τούτω) L A (referring to Hyllus) is unacceptable. R (Chig) has

the correct reading.
9 7 ,8 . τον Άλκμήνας . . . παΐς : the construction is incompletely
proleptic. Cf. Eur. Her. 840 (ώς) γνω μεν τον 'Ήρας οί,ός έστ’ αύτω
χόλος, / μάθη δέ τον έμόν . . ., Eur. fr. 773 -I(S> (Pi-aëtll.) Ήλιου μολών
δόμους / τούς σούς ελέγξω, μήτερ, εΐ σαφείς λόγοι.; Ar. Ran. 426 και
έκλαε καί έκεκράγεΐ / Σεβΐνον, οστις έστίν 'Αναφλάστιος Q. It is
precisely the difficulty of παΐς which renders the idea of its inter
polation (assumed by Porson followed e.g. by Dain) improbable;
if we consider this line and 1. 107 as closing a period (so that the
second syllable of άλλα is brevis in longo) no alteration of the text
is called for; πόθι μοι πόθι μοι. excellently continues or echoes the
movement of "Αλιον, "Αλιον; this effect is spoiled by reading e.g.
πόθι μοι πόθι παΐς (Τ followed by Jebb among others; but Triclinius’
reading was obviously meant as a remedy against the supposed
metrical defect). These repetitions are the more impressive in
Sophocles since they are relatively (e.g. in comparison with Eur.)
rare.
9 9 . ναίει : the construction with πόντιας αυλώνας and δισσαΐσιν
άπείροις κλιθείς is somewhat zeugmatic, but since ναίειν is used trans.
= “to inhabit” “to dwell in” as well as intrans. = “to stay” the
shift is not unnatural.
ώ λαμπρά στεροπα φλεγέθων : στεροπή prop, “flash of lightning” ,
here of the sun’s light or gleam, cf. n. ad Ai. 257 and the adj.
στέροψ Ant. 1126. φλεγέθω *2), like φλέγω, is used trans, and intrans.
1 0 0 , 1 0 1 . As to the vexed problem of the precise meaning of these
words, Mr. H. Lloyd-Jones 3) seems in the main to be right: πόντιας
αυλώνας = the straits of the Black Sea (Bosporus, Propontis,
Hellespont), δισσαΐσιν άπείροις κλιθείς “leaning against the two
continents” (Europe and Africa—prob, regarded as a part of Asia)
with reference to the Pillars of Hercules: “Surely the poet imagined
Heracles as resting from his labours with an arm around each of
the gigantic columns” . So the two phrases express in an ornate way:
“either in the east or in the west” and the schol. ad ιο ί άντί του καί
προς τα έώα καί δυτικά “was originally meant to paraphrase the
whole disjunctive clause”. Only thus can the partie, aor. κλιθείς
b Cf. K .-G . I I 579.4.

2) O n th e fo rm a tio n cf. C h a n tra in e , Grammaire Homérique I 1 p. 327.
3) Sophoclea, Cl. Q u a rt. 1954, PP· 9 1 sqq.
K a m e r b e e k , Trachiniae
5o COMMENTARY
(“for a moment leaning against . . .” ) have its exact meaning. For

πόντιος with this meaning cf. Aesch. Sept. 941 (2) 1).
πόντιας: L is prob, right, for αύλών seems to have often been
feminine in poetry (Ath. 189 d), but cp. Groeneboom ad Aesch.
Prom. 731 αυλώνα . . . Μαιωτικόν; for αύλών “strait” see ib.
It does not seem to tell against Lloyd-Jones’ interpretation that
in this way Heracles is pictured very much as a mythical giant
rather than as Deianeira’s human husband: indeed, this twofold
aspect of the hero belongs to the substance of the play.
1 0 2 . κρατιστεύων: only here in Tragedy; Pinch has the word fr. 180
(170 Bowra) ; cf. άριστεύειν. One of the Sun's essential functions
(as a deity) is to see.
κατ’ ομμα: cf. O.T. 1087 κατά γνώμαν ΐδρις and infra 379.
1 0 3 - 1 1 1 . First of all it has to be noted that άεί 104 does not
belong to άμφινεική but goes logically with τρύχεαθαι and, in a
wider sense, denotes the never-ceasing flood of her woes. The
sentence does not run smoothly because of the negative phrase
(ουποτ’ εύνάζειν) inserted between άεί . . . . τρύχεσθαι. The clause
άλλα. . . αίσαν shows the very common pattern partie, —inf. (instead
of the finite verb). — partie., in which the first partie, describes,
the second sums up her plight; the words amount to: “She is, hap
less one, all the time, in fear and trembling, expecting a fearful
stroke of fate”. —
This lyrical portrait of the heroine, pathetic and penetrating,
shows us how the poet meant his hearers to understand D.’s
character. She is governed by πόθος, by faithful remembrance and
by fear. She, the much-wooed bride of yore, now experiences only
the torments of a widowed couch, πόθος is among the major themes
of the play: cf. 368, 431, 631, 1142, 632.
1 0 3 . ποθουμένα: the middle only occurs here, but is rightly
defended by Eustath. 806. 57 and is comparable to κλάεσθαι (infra
153 and elsewhere in Tragedy), γοασθαι, δακρύεσθαι, χαίρεσθαι; it has
intensifying force.
1 0 4 . άμφινεικη: refers to the combat between Heracles and
Acheloiis; cf. infra 527 άμφινείκητος. It is possible that the poet
wants us to hear h.l. in her name “άμφί ήν άνδρες δήιοι άλλήλοις ήσαν” .
We may be certain that in earlier versions of the myth the combat
for D.’s hand was still much more important than in Sophocles.*)
*) Cf. G roeneboom ad Sept. l.c. p. 240 11. 1079.

COM MENTARY 51
The schol. interprets άμφινεικής by περίμαχητος. The word is used

of Helen Aesch. Ag. 6S6; there a gloss in Tr. runs: περί ήν δύο έφι-
λονείκουν; this seems better: άμφι- often retains its original sense
(cf. Ed. Fraenkel ad Aesch. Ag. l.c.).
1 0 5 . οία: έπιρρηματικώς (schob); cf. infra 130 olov, O.T. 751 οΓ
άνήρ άρχηγετής.
τιν’ άθλιον ορνιν : the schol. L a.h.l. runs γράφε άλιον ορνιν, άλκυόνα·
ή άηδόνα. It is of course misleading to consider άλιον as a v.l. (as
Pearson’s apparatus would have us do) : it is the worthless (and
metrically impossible) conjecture of someone who was seeking to
add force to his idea that the άλκυών was meant. Now this idea is
in itself far from absurd: cf. Eur. I.T. 1089, II. IX 563 and other
instances of its “plaintive and melancholy note” listed by D’Arcy
Thompson, A Glossary of Greek Birds s.v. p. 47.
But we may equally well think of the nightingale (cf. El. 148,
Aesch. Ag. 1x42 sqq., infra 963) or indeed of any bird (cf. Ant. 423).
Since άθλιος is sometimes an adj. of two endings, ορνιν may be
considered as feminine, just as at Ant. l.c.
1 0 6 . άδακρύτων : proleptic predicate, cf. άδικους in σύ καί δικαίων
αδίκους / φρένας παρασπάς επί λώβα A nt. 791·
εύνάζειν: to calm, to soothe; with χόλον Ap. Khod. Ill 1000; syno
nymous with κοιμίζειν Ai. 674, (with πόθον) A.P. V 215.2 and with
κοιμάειν Pi'.il. 650; likewise κατευνάζειν, κατακοιμάειν.
1 0 8 . φέρουσαν: Casaubon’s τρέψουσαν has met with much favour:
most modern editors, even Dain, have adopted it. But I follow
Campbell, Kuiper and Kadermacher who read φέρουσαν. I fail to see
why δεΐμα should be less suitable to φέρειν than πένθος (0 .7 '. 93
τώνδε γάρ πλέον φέροί j το πένθος) as Jebb maintains: We may be
bent down by fear as well as by distress. λ-Ve find as object with
φέρειν: λυγρά, άτην, πημονάς, τύχας.
εΰμναστον άνδρός δεΐμα . . . οδού: Jebb recommends us to construe:
εύμνα.στον δεΐμα όδοϋ άνδρός but the word-order induces me to prefer
(with Campbell) εΰμναστον άνδρός δεΐμα (άνδρός depending on both
εΰμναστον and δεΐμα, lit. “the never-forgetting fear for”, (on behalf
of) “her husband” ), considering όδοϋ as a genit, of respect, added
epexegetically : “on account of his being av'ay”, "his journeys” .
1 0 9 , 1 0 . άνανδρώτοισι: since άνδρόω means “change into a man” or
“rear up unto manhood” (L.-Sc.) we should not consider this as a
compound of άνδρωτος and α privans but as the verbal adjective
of άνανδρόω, denom. of άνανδρος = wdthout husband.
COM MENTARY
ένθυμίοις: lit. present in <her> mind, i.e. lying heavy on <her> soul;
cf. 0 .Ί . 739 1). So the words ένθυμίοις . . . άνανδρώτοισι mean lit.:
“by the desolate bed (= the desolateness of her bed) ever present
in her mind (= lying heavy on her soul)” . Jebb is right in re
jecting the interpretation of εύναΐς as a locative.
111. δύστανον: goes of course with the subject.
1 1 2 - 1 1 9 . It is at any rate clear as a starting point that
Heracles’ never ending toils of which his life is composed are com
pared to the never resting waves of a stormy sea. For life seen as a
“sea of troubles” cp. e.g. Aesch. Pers. 433, Prom. 746; Ant. 586-592.
Apart from κύματα εύρέι 114, where Wakefield’s κύματ’ άν seems
preferable to Erfurdt’s έν (cf. infra 699 sq. ώστε αν βλέψειας), 11.
I I 2 - I I 5 present us with no serious problems. But as to 116-119 we
must ask ourselves: 1) is the MSS reading τρέφει sound esp. in view
of the following αύξει? 2) which is the subject of τρέφει (and αύξει) ?
3) which is the meaning of αύξει? The schol. interprets as follows:
το μέν των κακών έχει α.ύτον το δέ αύξεται κατ’ αύτοΰ. This implies the
intransitive use of αύξω, α.ύξάνω, not to be found elsewhere in
classical Greek before Aristotle 12). The subject is βιότου πολύπονον
which may be understood as standing for οί πολλοί πόνοι του βίου;
we may paraphrase the whole sentence thus οΰτω δε οί μεν τώ>ν
πολλών πόνων τρέφουσι τον Καδμογενή, οί δέ αύξάνοντα.ι. The use of
τρέφω may be illustrated by Eur. Hipp. 367 ώ πόνοι τρέφοντες
βροτούς, with Weil’s note: “Les souffrances . . . sont l’élément dans
lequel les mortels vivent” (and cp. O.T. 374 μιας τρέφη προς νυκτός,
fr. 583.5 P- τερπνιώς γάρ άεί παϊδας άνοια τρέφει).
If we do not accept the intransitive use of αΰξω and want to
retain τρέφει we could consider the following interpretation :
subject of τρέφει is <τό μέν> <κϋμα>, of αύξει likewise τό δ’ <κΰμα>,
αύξει being transitive with βιότου πολύπονον as object. No meaning
can be elicited from the words as transmitted to us if we take
βιότου πολύπονον as the subject and τον Καδμογενή as the object of
both τρέφει and αύξει (τό δ’ in itself could mean “partim” with <τό
μέν> “partim" to be supplied in the first member). In that case it
becomes impossible to see the point of the contrasted τρέφει and
αύξει.
1) T h is m e an in g is u n u su a l; cf. W ilam o w itz ad E u r. Her. 722, L. lvugler,

De Sophoclis quae vocantur abusionibus, th e sis G o ettin g e n , 1905, p. 44.
2) I n o te a n in s ta n c e in a la te e p ig ram (P eek 575.1):
ώς φυτον άρτιθαλές, δροσεροϊς παρά νάμασιν αδξον.
COMMENTARY 53
Many editors read with Reiske στρέφει, e.g. Jebb whose trans
lation shows clearly his way of interpretation: “so the trouble of
his life, stormy as the Cretan sea, now whirls back the son of
Cadmus, now lifts him to honour” 1). But apart from the dubious
meanings ascribed to στρέφειν and to αίίξειν, the following άλλα is
against this explanation : we do not expect an even partly favour
able view of Heracles’ toils in the words preceding άλλά. If we
accept the conjecture and accept the meanings attributed to the
verbs, Jebb’s view may be defended (as indeed it is by himself) by
considering το δ’ αΰξει as a parenthesis.
(Perhaps we may consider reading τόδ’ and taking αυξει as a
dative of *αδξις or conjecturing αΰξη—PI. Resft. 5 21 e σώματος
αυξη καί φθίσις, lb. 509 b την γένεσιν καί αϋξην καί τροφήν—; βιότου
then must go with αυξη “in the growth of his life” (for the dative
cf. Ant. 1353 γήρα το φρονεΐν έδίδαξαν, 0.1 . TJ2 τόκοισι), and τόδε
πολύπονον is the subject. But τόδε (or τόδε πολύπονον) seems an
unsatisfactory subject2) ; moreover the comparison loses much of
its point if there is nothing in the apodosis corresponding to βάντ’
έπιόντα. τ’ in the protasis).
1 1 3 . ή . . . ή: we should not think of conflicting winds but only
of the waves lashed either by Notos or by Boreas; the two are
mentioned to satisfy the need for “polarity” , νότου and βορέα
are genit, subjectivi, cf. II. II 396, 7.
1 1 4 . àv: Erfurdt’s έν would also necessitate ΐδη, since the potent,
optat, without αν in comparisons is not Attic. So the conjecture àv
serves a double purpose.
1 1 5 . βάντ’ έπιόντ’: as soon as a wave has passed by, another
comes on.
1 1 8 . ώσπερ: A, U (Veil. 467), Y (Vind. 48); ώσπερ τι and τε
some re.cc. ; ώστε L R T (and others). Cf. Turyn, Studies in the
Manuscript I'radition of Soph. p. 181 sq., who considers ώσπερ as a
correction “engendered by the Triclinian spirit” . But it should be
noted that T agrees with L and R. In any case the reading, By
zantine or not, should be accepted.
1) M azon’s tr a n s la tio n a m o u n ts to th e sam e: “ ainsi n o tre T h é b a in est

ta n t ô t cu lb u té e t ta n t ô t e x a lté p a r les flo ts d ’une vie a u x la b e u rs san s fin,
p areille à la m er, à la m e r de C rète” .
-) P e rh a p s τόδε <ττέλαγος> ττολύπονον; ττολύττονον m ig h t.b e p ro le p tic p re d i
c a te going w ith th e o b ject.
COMMENTARY
1 1 9 . Κρήσιον: a particular sea is mentioned (cf. Θρήσσησιν . . .

πνοαϊς Ant. 58g) by a device common to all ancient poetry.
' 120. άναμπλάκητον : although the ethical connotation of the verb
is very ancient (cf. Archil. 73 D., Ibyc. 22 D.and see Wilamowitz,
Gl. d. Η. II 120 sq.), the schol. ad 120 άπταιστον is decidedly right as
compared with the preceding one (άναμάρτητον καί δίκαιον οντα) 1) ; it
is a proleptic predicate. Cf. 0 .1 '. 472 Κήρες άναπλάκητοι “unfailing”.
1 2 1 . έρύκει: the construction is as in μηδέ μ’ έρυκε μάχης. Jebb’s
remark: “a somewhat strange phrase, since it might suggest that
he wished to reach Hades” does not do full justice to the intentions
of the text: in a sense all Heracles’ expeditions are journeys to
Hades. The words contain a tragic irony: this time it will be seen
that Heracles does not remain άναμπλάκητος (this is true even if
ethical connotations of the word are reckoned with).
1 2 2 . ών έπιμεμφομένας: All commentators and editors read
έπιμεμφομένα σ’. But i) έπιμέμφομαι normally takes the dativus
personae and σ’ cannot represent σοι; 2) in that case ών refers back
to D.’s laments 103-in. If we read έπιμεμφομένας, ών refers back
to Heracles’ perilous adventures 112-119, and we must mentally
supply either σου or αυτής as the subject of έπιμεμφομένας. Then σου
έπιμεμφομένας (in the sense of “complaining of” rather than of
“reprehending” ) is either a genit, abs. or a genit, proleptically
dependent on άντία.
122, 3 . άδεια: most editors follow Musgrave reading αιδοία,
a most ingenious conjecture; but is it necessary? First we may ask
whether or not Soph, can be thought to have used άδεια as a neutr.
plur. form. We find [Hes.] Scut. 348 οξεία χρέμισαν, Theocr. I 95
ήνθέ γε μάν άδεια καί ά Ινύπρις γελάοισα (where Gow is inclined to
follow the schol. a.l., who thinks it a neutr. pi.), Aratus 1068
θήλεια δέ μήλα, Nie .fr. 71 δριμεΐα πέτηλα. Inscr. Ther. LG. 12. 3. 330 :
95 (200 a. Chr.) τέκνα τά μέν θήλεια 12).
If we do not accept this, we can take άδεια as fem. sing, going
with the subject, contrasting with άντία object of οΐσω: “bene
quidem tibi cupiens, sed tamen tibi obloquar” (K.-B. I 445 Anm. 3).
L. 63 supra is then up to a point comparable. For ήδύς of persons
“welcome”, “pleasing” cf. O.T. 82, Eur. Hel. 1105.
1) In L .-Sc. o u r p assag e is listed to g e th e r w ith A esch. Ag. 345, w ro n g ly in

m y opinion.
2) Cp. also W ilam o w itz, Gl. cl. Η . I I 114 n. 2 o n A rchiloch. fr. 58.1 D.,
w here Τ οϊς Οεοϊς ΐΟεϊ’ άπαντα is po ssib ly w h a t we o u g h t to read.
COMMENTARY 55
ο’ίσω: φέρειν “put forward”, “advance”, cf. O.C. 166 (quoted by

Jebb).
άντία: since άντίος used in a literal sense often takes the genit.,
it is possible that έπιμεμφομένας depends on it by anticipation.
1 2 4 . άποτρύειν: prop, “wear out” , h.l. ^ = lose, cf. διαφθείρειν
Eur. Hipp. 389.
1 2 5 . ελπίδα τάν άγαθάν: as contrasting with κακάν έλπίζουσαν
αΐσαν n o , η .
1 2 6 . ανάλγητα: "a painless lot” (Jebb).
ούδ’: Jebb’s “a painless lot not even Zeus hath appointed” is
beside the point; rightly Denniston (G.PA p. 195 II) “By a process
of inversion frequently found in the case of καί, ουδέ, especially in a
clause or sentence giving a reason, sometimes represents a negative
idea which, logically speaking, is prior to another idea, as posterior
to it” : The fact is that Zeus never gave a painless lot to mortals;
so you must never despair, either. Cp. Mazon’s: “Aussi bien, le roi
qui règle tout, n’a pas . .
1 2 7 . 8. κραίνων . . . Κρονίδας: Radermacher considers this an in
stance of etymologizing word-play x) but the case for his view is
dubious.
1 2 7 . κραίνων: the meanings of the verb vary from “accomplish”
to “reign”, “rule” (cf. in general on κραίνειν Ed. Fraenkel ad Aesch.
Ag. 369); it may mean “ordain” .
1 2 8 . επέβαλε: έπιβάλλειν is used with words denoting “sorrow”
and “punishment” as objects; so the poet chose the verb starting
from the idea that the human fate is bound up with sorrow. The
aorist is gnomic (this is stated by Campbell but denied by Jebb)
as it is in Pind. 01. VII 43 έν S’ άρετάν έβαλεν καί χάρματ’ άνθρώποισί,
Προμαθέος Αιδώς, επέβαλλε (MSS except Laur. XXXII 20) is not
only metrically but also syntactically impossible.
1 2 9 - 1 3 1 . επί. . . . κυκλοϋσιν: “come round in turn upon”, επί
stands in tmesis. Not “circle round over the heads of all” (without
tmesis), which is G. Hermann’s and Ellendt’s interpretation. The
point is not that sorrow and joy always await all but that they
come in turn to everybody, cf. Archil. 7.7 sqq, Aesch. Prom. 276,
Eur. Heracl. 610 sqq. The changes of a man’s fate run a circular
course, in which luck and ill-luck alternate: the turns indeed of
x) Cp. άΐδηλον "Αιδαν A i . 60S, Πυθικά . . . πύθοιθ’ OST. 70-72, m o re i n
stan ces a re g iven b y L. P h . R a n k , Etymologisering en Verwante Verschijnselen
bij Homerus, th esis U tre c h t. 1951, p. 24 n. 82.
56 COMMENTARY
Fortune’s wheel. This eternal circle is illustrated by the circling

course of the Bear. Cf. Fielt. I 207.2 κύκλος των άνθρωπηίων έστί
—ρηγμάτων, περιφερόμενος δε ούκ έά αίεί τούς αυτούς εύτυχέειν: nor
δυστυχέειν we may add. The idea is used in consolations as well as
in admonitions. (Cf. Thuc. VII 77. 3,4). The image of the κύκλος
in relation to man’s fate occurs in fr. 575 P. 9, 10 πάντα γάρ τροχού
δίκην / τις κύκλει τύχη and ρ. 871 Ρ. άλλ’ ούμός αίεί πότμος έν πυκνω
θεού / τροχω κυκλεΐται και μεταλλάσσει φύσιν 1). For Pindar cf. G.
Norwood, Pindar ρ. 132 with notes (cp. e.g. 01. II 36, 37 ούτω δε
Μοΐρ' . . . επί τι καί πήμ’ άγει, παλιντράπελον άλλω χρόνω) 12).
επί- as in έπήλυθον ώραι Od. II 107 (after each other, in succession).
1 3 2 . μένει . . . ουτ’ . . . νύξ: cf. Ai. 672 sq. and Plerodotus’ con
siderations I 5.4. The alternation of night and day (and of summer
and winter) are image and guarantee for the alternations of man’s
fortune; note the paratactical expression and the repetition of
αίόλα (94).
κήρες: συμφοραί Hesych. In view' of Phil. 42, 1166 we might think
of diseases in particular. But the word is often used of evils in
general.
1 3 3 . άφαρ: with Soph, the word occurs exclusively in the Trach.
(cf. 529, 821, 958); the sense combines the notions of “swiftly” and
“forthwith” (celeriter and continuo).
1 3 4 . βέβακε: the perfect emphasizes the swiftness of the going by
expressing the completed action. Grammatically speaking πλούτος
is the only subject of βέβακε, logically the others must be under
stood in the same function. There is an interplay between two lines
of thought: the same person does not always have good or bad
fortune; good and bad fortune come to people in turn. (Cf. the idea
expressed by Pindar with relation to the generations of one race
Nem. XL 37-43).
1 3 4 , 5 . The chiasmus is significant: from the man whom
Wealth deserted the attention turns immediately to the one to
whom Gladness comes, with its inevitable associate (note τε καί)
Bereavement (στέρεσθαι). Cf. Mazon’s very subtle translation:
“tout cela un jour brusquement a fui, et c’est déjà au tour d’un
autre de jouir — avant de tout perdre” .
Note the correlations between βέβακε and βάντ’ ιΐ5 and between
1) Cp. th e a u th o r ’s Sophocle et Héraclite, S tu d ia V ollgraff pp. 90, 91,
W eb ster, Introd. p. 32.
2) See also D. M. R o b in so n , P indar, a poet of eternal Ideas, 1936, p p . 50, 51.
COMMENTARY 57
επέρχεται and έπιόντα I I 5 , έπι . . . κυκλοΰσι 129 sq. στέρεσθαι is

echoed by έστερημένην 177.
1 3 6 - 1 4 0 . ά . . . τάδ’: in Greek the relative pronoun may be taken
up in the relative clause by a demonstrative, standing in apposition
to it. Cf. Eur. Andr. 1115 ών Κλυταιμήστρας τόκος / εις ήν άπάντων
τώνδε μηχανορράφος (here, as is argued by Jebb, ών may be masc.
referring to λόχος), id. ib. 650 (γυναίκα) ήν χρήν σ’έλαύνειν / τήνδ’
υπέρ Νείλου ροάς (here another explanation is impossible without
alteration of the text), id. ib. 709 ήν 6 γ ’ έξ ήμών γεγώς / έλα δι’
οΐκων τήνδ’ έπισπάσας κόμης, id. Ι.Α . 155 σφραγίδα φύλασσ’ ήν επί
δέλτω / τήνδε κομίζεις; Hyperid. I ll 3 ών ούδεμία δήπου των αιτιών
τούτων ούδέν κοινωνεϊ τω εΐσαγγελτικω νόμω.
This seems better than the alternative, viz. to take à as an acc.
of respect “as to which things” (Jebb following G. Hermann) and
τάδ’ as referring to Heracles’ destiny; for ά can only refer to the
good expectations concerning Heracles’ destiny implied in the
preceding lines (from 126 onwards), τάδ’ is too vague a way to refer
in itself to Heracles’ destiny and it can not announce the following
sentence because of έπεί. So I deem Campbell’s first translation
correct : “Which truths I bid thee also, who art a Queen, to hold fast
in looking forward”.
1 3 7 . λέγω: iubeo, cf. Aesch. Ciio. 553, Hg. 925; Pi.il. 101 J).
έλπίσιν : for the archaic dative without έν cf. Thuc. II 8.5 οργή ειχον,
Eur. Her. 54 καθήμεθ’ απορία σωτηρίας *2), infra 147.
1 3 9 . ϊσχειν: to “hold fast” something one has heard: PI. Theaet.
198 a επιστήμην λαβόντα ϊσχειν and cf. Phil. 853 γνώμαν ι'σχεις.
1 3 9 , 1 4 0 . These lines convey very strong dramatic irony and
should be set beside 1268 sq. Cf. with this confident assertion Eur.
Ion 506-508 ούτ’ επί κερκίσιν ούτε λόγοις φάτιν άιον εύτυχίας μετέχειν
τέκνα Ονατοΐς. άβουλον: “inconsiderate”. Cf. El. 546 ού ταΰτ’ άβούλου
καί κακού γνώμην πατρός ;
F irst epeisodion 1 4 1 - 4 9 6
Since the choral song 205-224 does not show the charac
teristics of a regular stasimon it would be better for us to
consider this section as one “act” than as tw o3); there is,
however, nothing entirely similar in structure in Sophocles,
b O th e r in sta n c e s in De Aeschyli Diet y alcis, M neni. 3954, Ρ· ι ο ί .
2) O th e r in stan ces are q u o te d b y V ollgraff, Le Décret d'Argos relatif à un
pacte entre Knossos et Tylissos, V erh. K on. N ed. A k. N. R. L I n. 2 n. 80.
3) N o t so R e in h a rd t, Sophokles1, p. 50.
COMMENTARY
though the second epeisodion of 0 .1'. and the first of Phil, are up
to a point comparable.—Deianeira has been on the scene either
since 1. 122 or since 1. 124.
141. ώς άπεικάσαι: “as one may guess” 1), less common than
έπεικάσαι or εΐκάσαι; άπεικάζειν means normally “form from a
model” , “express by comparison” and the like, but Campbell
rightly argues that άπο- has the force of something done "on the
spur of the moment” . Cf. Eur. Or. 1298.
πεπυσμένη μέν : What D. means to say comes to this (as is sug
gested by μέν . . . S’ 142) : from hearsay you know of my sufferings
and hence you are here <and said what you did say>; but only by
experience could you be fully aware of them; my wish for you is
that you will be spared that experience which you have not had.
There is more restrained bitterness in D.’s words than most
translations of this passage show (in fact the subtle play with μέν
and S’, with opt. and indie, in 143 is hardly translatable at all).
She too is here, like Soph.’s other protagonists, a being sorely
tried by life’s experiences, the sister of Electra and Philoctetes
in this respect. She is delineated with that psychic realism which
recurs again and again in Soph, and endowed with an egotism of
suffering similar to Electra’s and others’, only to a lesser degree,
(έγώ 142). The π- and Θ- alliteration (cf. also 153 sq.) is note
worthy.
1 4 2 . θυμοφθορώ: only here; cp. αχός θυμοφθόρον Od. IV 716.
143 . εκμάθοις παθοϋσ α: a llu d in g to πάθει μάθος Aesch. Ag. 177
a n d cf. H d t. I 207. 1.
μήτε . . . νΰν S’ : wish for the future and statement of the present
state of things are paratactically expressed; ούτε (or μήτε) . . . δέ
occurs often where a contrast is implied (cf. Denniston, G.P ,2
51V VI).
μήτ’ εκμάθοις παθοϋσα in a sense takes the place of εκμάθοις αν
παθοϋσα (cf. 151); the sentence gets its peculiar twist from the
unexpected negative optative.
1 4 4 . το νεάζον: the neuter participle with the article used as an
abstract noun became very common in the second half of the 5th
century (esp. in Thuc.). Here its function lies between abstract
and collective: “youth”, “la jeunesse” , “the young”.
τοιοΐσδε: such as to shield them from experience.
b T h u s L .-S c.
COMMENTARY 59
βόσκεται: for the metaphorical picture of youth cf. Ai. 558 sq. If
we must think of plants, as indeed is suggested by καί νιν ού . . .
κλονεΐ and perhaps by εξαιρεί 147 1), it has to be noted that βόσ-
κεται is a metaphor within a metaphor: for it is nowhere else used
of plants.
1 4 4 . 5 . έν . . . . χώροισιν αυτού: “dans un domaine qui n’appar
tient qu’à elle” (Mazon). The young live like the gods: cf. Od. VI
43 sq. ; they live έν γαλήνη *2) ; the poet thinks of the Elysian fields
(thus rightly Radermacher, who quotes Epigr. 649.5 Kaibel3) ού
χειμών λυπεί σ’, ού καύμα, ού νοϋσος ενοχλεί), cf. also the blissful life
of the birds Ar. Αν. 1088-1100.
1 4 5 . θάλπος θεού: of the Sun. We must remember that θάλπειν
and θάλπος are often used figuratively to denote progress or state
of disease, passion etc. Cf. infra 1082 έθαλψεν άτης σπασμός, El. 888
θάλπη τωδ’ άνηκέστω πυρί; Ant. 1086.
1 4 6 . ομβρος: not “rain”, but “gust” , storm of rain. Cf. Oedipus
on Antigone O.C. 350 πολλοΐσι δ’ομβροις ήλιου τε καύμασι / μοχθούσα.
πνευμάτων ούδέν : cf. note ad Ai. 558 sq.
κλονεΐ: slightly zeugmatic. The sense amounts to: agitates, dis
turbs. Cp. perhaps Sappho 43.5 L.-P. άκαλα κλόνει and O.C. 1241-
1244 where literal and figurative uses show up very clearly.
The schol. ad 145 has the useful note ού θάλπος κ. έ] άντί ούδεμία
μεταβολή. Now this word is terminus technicus for the climatic
changes of the seasons: cf. Hdt. II 77.3, Hippocr. De aere acjuis locis
i ; the μεταβολαί and the πνεύματα give rise to diseases. Κλονέω is
also used by medical authors (Hippocr., Aretaeus). So it is probable
that the wording is tinged with medical (or climatological, which
amounts to the same thing) terminology and metaphor.
1 4 7 . εξαιρεί, βίον: “vita erigi cum dicitur idem est quod alacri et
erecto spe ac fiducia animo vivere” (G. Hermann).
ήδοναΐς : either = έν ήδοναΐς (cf. note ad 137) or (better) a dativ.
modi with the function of a participle.—For the general thought
cf. fr. 583.5 P. (Tereus).
1 4 8 . τις: an instance like this shows clearly how the sense of τις
ranges from “somebody” to “one” (Fr. “on” ) and “everybody” ,
ές τούθ’, εως τις implies: “<such is > every maiden’s lot until fin-
P II. X V I I I 56 6 S’ άνέδραμεν ερνε'ί Ισος.

2) έν τοΐς τόποις της άμερί,μνίας schol. a d 144·
3) 1830 Peek.
6o COM MENTARY
ally . . For the subjunctive without ά.ν after έως cp. Goodwin
M. and 7 .*2 § 620, K.-G. II 44g a. 4, n. ad Ai. 554 sq.
1 4 9 . έν νυκτί: 150 rules out our thinking of the wedding night;
we have the same motif as in 11. 29-30. If we insist on taking it to
mean the night of marriage 1), we are bound to reject 150 as
spurious, as was in fact done by Dindorf and Wecklein. iVIusgrave
and Hermann join έν νυκτί φροντίδων “anxiety by night”, a rather
strained construction.
1 5 0 . προς: ή προς άντί τής υπέρ schob, wrongly. The sense of the
line amounts to: "since either her husband or her children cause
anxiety to her” . But the participle is not passive (thus rightly
Jebb).
1 5 1 . είσίδοιτο: the middle has intensifying force (cf. ad 103).
αυτού: a remarkable instance of the use of the masculine “where
women are spoken of in a general way” . (Campbell). When a
woman referring to herself uses the plural, adjuncts and attributes
commonly take masculine endings (K.-G. I p. 83) 2) and other
generalizing plural forms sometimes show the same tendency (cf.
Eur. Andr. 712 sq.). Here τις produces the same effect: the personal
and direct μήτ’ έκμάθοις παθοΰσα 143 is taken up by the more
abstract τότ’ άν τις είσίδοιτο. A similar problem is raised by El. 771.-—
1 5 2 . πρδίξι,ν: to be derived from intr. πράττειν. Cf. Ai. 7Qo.
κακοΐσιν οίς: either = οίς κακοΐσιν by attraction instead of τά
κακά οΐς or = οΐοις κακοΐσιν, the clause approximating to an in
direct question. In view of ώς εγώ θυμοφθορώ 142 I prefer the latter
course, which renders the words more forcible.
1 5 3 . μεν ούν δή : μέν is preparatory (for S’ 154); ούν δή is very
common in Hdt. and Ph, does not occur in Aesch. and Eur., in
Soph, also Ai. 873. ούν is transitional, δή lending emphasis; the
combination μέν ούν δή occurs only here in Tragedy (cf. Denniston
G.P.2 46g, 470). Of course we may say that μέν is both preparatory
and in combination with ούν transitional.
1 5 4 . εν . . . έξερώ: we may paraphrase (with Raderm.) έν δέ, δ
αύτίκ’ έξερώ, <έκλαυσάμην πάθος> οίον ούπω πρόσθεν <έκλαυσάμην>
but should not forget that it is just the conciseness which gives
vigour and full meaning to the sentence.
Sophocles displays a keen instinct for bringing out the one
disquieting thing as a dramatic factor of importance ; cf. 0 .7 '. 120, 748.
‘ ) Cf. fr. 5S3.11 P. (Tereus).
2) Cf. infra 492, A n t. 926, E u r. Ale. 3S3, A n d r. 355.
COM MENTARY 6ι
155. όδον τήν τελευταίαν: at their face-value the words mean

only “the last of his <many> journeys”, but we may hear in them
"his last journey” (with all its pathetic implications) — dramatic
irony again.
ήμος: rare in prose, except in Ionian writers. “At which time” but
often (and perhaps etymologically correctly) “on which day” or
“at which time of day” (cf. e.g. II. XI 86-90, τήμος to-day Ap. Rhod.
ΙλΓ 252, igoo, τάμον to-day Thess.). The day he left for Lydia is
meant, fifteen months before the present day.
157,8 . παλαιάν . . . ξυνθήμαΟ’ : Those who hold with Radermacher
inter alios that the δέλτος is meant to contain Heracles’ last will are
mistaken ; it actually contains Heracles’ memorandum of the oracle
he received at Dodona, the μαντεία καινά of 1. 1165. ξύνθημα does
not mean here “agreement” , “covenant” but has its precise meaning
of “conventional sign” , “symbol”, “letter” (cf. PI. Crat. 433 e
συνθήματα, είναι τα ονόματα). (It means “token”, “sign” O.C. 46,
“pledges of a covenant” ib. 1594).
The construction is best illustrated by Vergil’s Graecism Buc. Ill
106 inscripti nomina regum flores.
1 5 9 . ουπω: I reject the reading οΰτω (some recentiores, L and R
having ουπω), adopted by Tournier, Pearson, Dain; it would imply
that on former occasions Heracles did allude to the oracle but in
vaguer terms, which is absurd, ούκ . . . ουπω is as excellent Greek as
ουκ . . . ούδείς; combined with ποτέ it yields a very strong “never
yet” . The intermediate words and the passionate emphasis with
which she is speaking account for the repetition of the negation.
πολλούς αγώνας έξιών: “though he had gone forth on many
labours” (Campbell), αγώνας is an acc. of the internal object, cf.
Al. 290 άφορμας πείραν.
1 6 0 . ώς: here has much more force than normally with the fut.
partie.
1 6 1 . 2 . According to Attic law' (or usage) the widow receives her
προΐξ and the gifts given to her by her husband during his life
time *). (Cf. also the law of Gortyn III 20-22: Beauchet III 135,
137 speaks of a donatio propter nuptias with the characteristics of a
donatio mortis causa). So I prefer the MSS reading οτι to 6 τι: “that
P T h u s, v e ry sensibly, th e first schol. a d 162 ελεγεν προσήκειν εμέ λαβεϊν

τήν προίκα καί τά δώρα ά ύπέρ τοϋ λέχους έκτησάμην. T h e seco n d schol. a d 162
(and also th e schol. a d 161) h as th e follow ing q u ite a b su rd id e a : ή προ-
νοεϊσθαι ετέρου άνδρος ή σώζειν το λέχος.
COMMENTARY
I should take my marriage portion” and not “what I should take as

marriage portion”. There is also a grammatical objection to the
latter interpretation since in that case one would expect ήν or
ήντινα in stead of 6 τι. έλέσθα.ι does not necessarily mean “choose”
but may equally well denote “take to oneself” .
162, 3 . ήν . . . . μοίραν . . . διαιρετόν: his sons are entitled to equal
shares, so Heracles assigns these to each of them; this, of course,
may refer to the well-known partition of the Peloponnese among
Heracles’ sons. Euripides who was more of an antiquarian than
Sophocles would perhaps have made more detailed statements.
τέκνοις: i.q. έκάστω τέκνων implied in διαιρετόν.
νέμοι : the reading μένειν (A) is not grammatically impossible
(supply χρείη) but seems to have risen from a mistaken interpreta
tion of the preceding sentence; it is also less good in view of διαι
ρετόν.
1 6 4 . 5 . τρίμηνον . . . κάνια.ύσιος: the difficulty of the text as
transmitted is often smoothed away by reading either τρίμηνος
(Wakefield) or κάνια.ύσιον (Brunck). Campbell and Jebb retain the
MSS reading. I prefer the harsh construction by which <χρόνον >
τρίμηνον and ενιαύσιος βεβώς are on a par (cf. my note ad 122,3
supra).
χρόνον -ροτάξας: “having fixed (in advance) a length of time (or
“term” ) saying that”, χρόνον is not simply an anticipation of
<χρόνον> in the ώς-clause but is in fact the object of προτάξας;
προτάξας has pregnant force from the fact that both χρόνον and the
ώς-clause are construed with it. χρόνον has to be supplied with
τρίμηνον as an acc. of duration.
ήνίκα: Dawes’ necessan/ correction of the impossible ήνίκ’ άν.
For ενιαύσιος cf. phrases like χρόνιος ήλθες, εύδον παννύχιοι etc.
The variation of the construction has been caused by the supple
mentary βεβώς1).
1 6 5 . χώρας άπείη . . . βεβώς: "would be absent from the country
on his journey” . The perfect participle denotes duration (Jebb’s
“after his departure” is misleading).
1 6 6 . τωδε τω χρόνω : as far as I can see, none of the existing
commentaries does full justice to these words. If they belong to the
indirect speech in which Heracles’ words are rendered they are no
more than a pleonastic repetition of τότ’ (Jebb leaves them out
1) T he ad j. does n o t o ccu r elsew here in S o p h .; it does in Lon’s Omphale
fr. 21 N .2.
COMMENTARY 63
altogether in his translation, Mazon’s “l’heure décisive serait venue

pour lui” is better but not yet entirely satisfactory). We should
read : τότ' ή Θανεΐν χρείη σφε — τωδε τω χρόνω — and consider these
last words as inserted by Deianeira and not belonging to the
indirect speech. “At this moment of time that has now come round,
to-day” . The τότε of the indirect speech does in fact coincide with
the terrible νΰν of direct speech. Cf. infra 1169 χρόνω τω ζώντι καί
παρόντι νυν. By these words the same is meant as by χρόνου του νυν
παρόντος IgS sq.
1 6 7 . τουθ’ . . .του χρόνου τέλος: much more than “that term”
(Jebb’s translation) : the idea of “ultimate issue” , “final settlement”
(cf. supra 26 and τελεσθήναι infra 174) “enforced by Time” is im
plied.
ύπεκδραμόντα: cf. Hdt. I 156 ήν τό παρεόν ύπεκδράμωαι, Ant. 1086
(τοξεύματα) των σύ Θάλπος ούχ ύπεκδραμή. The meaning of the verb
(“run out from under”, “escape, slip away from the grip of”)
renders almost necessary the meaning of τέλος defended above;
Time is represented as a living agent.
1 6 8 . Cf. 81; in epic style the words would have been the same;
the more literary diction of drama prefers variation. For the dative
cf. ήδοναΐς 147.
1 6 4 - 1 6 7 . χρόνον . . . . χρόνω . . . . χρόνου: far from rendering these
lines suspect this repetition of χρόνος expresses Deianeira’s ob
session with Time.
1 6 9 . 1 7 0 . τοιαΰτ’ . . . . πόνων: έκτελευτάω tr. means “accom
plish” , “bring to an end”, intr. “turn out” (cf. Aesch. Suppl. 411,
see L.-Sc.). L.-Sc. gives for our passage: “be the end of” ; thus
τοιαΰτα is the internal subject of τελευτάσθαι (= τοιαύτην τελευτήν)
and the genit, depends on the nominal idea (“end” ) implied in the
inf. (είμαρμένα adhering to τοιαϋτα). Cf. Thuc. II 13.2 τά δε πολλά
τοϋ πολέμου γνώμη καί χρημάτων περιουσία κρατεϊσθαι, V ΐό.Ι ώς διά
την εκείνου κάθοδον παρανομηθεΐσαν ταϋτα ξυμβαίνοι. This is, in sub
stance, Campbell’s interpretation of the words, rejected by Jebb
and Radermacher: they prefer to take the genit. = περί with genit. :
"He said that such things were destined to be accomplished in regard
to the toils of Heracles” (έκτελευτασθαι depending on είμαρμένα), cf.
O.C. 355 (μαντεία) ά τοΰδ’ έχρήσθη σώματος. But I prefer the slightly
catachrestic use of έκτελευτασθαι = τελευτήν γίγνεσθαι to this
strained construction. I reject G. Hermann’s sortem talem exituram
COM MENTARY
laborum on the same grounds; the genit, may also be taken as

separative: “such issue from his labours” .
The subject of έφραζε is Heracles. It is foolish to strike out 1. 170
(as is done by Wecklein) inter alia because it would be strange that
Heracles himself should be speaking about Ηρακλείων πόνων, for
two obvious reasons: 1) the wording of the oracle is rendered as
literally as possible; 2) for a person to speak about himself and
then use his name instead of a pronoun is a well-known stylistic
device of pathetic effect: cf. e.g. 0 .7’. 1366 εί δέ τι πρεσβύτερον
έτι κακού κακόν, / τοϋτ’ ελαχ’ Οίδίπους. τοϋδε τάνδρος infra 1256 is
similar.
171, 2 . δισσών έκ Πελειάδων: we must understand Πελειάδες
as the ritual name of the priestesses comparable to Μέλισσαι
denoting the priestesses of Delphi (Pind. Pyth. IV 60). Nilsson’s
remark on Sophocles in this context (Ges. der Gr. Rel. I*2 p. 424) is
somewhat misleading; though we are certainly reminded of Hdt.
II 55, there is 110 reason why we should suppose the poet to mean
“doyesh in a literal sense nor that he is here following Hdt. Though
we do not find until as late as Pausanias the express statement
that the priestesses of Dodona were called Γίελειάδες (X i2.io),
nothing prevents us from assuming that Sophocles names them here
in accordance with contemporary usage. Referring to these pro
phetesses he calls them τάς θεσπιωδούς ιερέας Δωδωνίδας fr. 456 Ρ-
W. R. Halliday in Greek Divination p. 265 thinks of women in birds’
dress. The origin of the name may be found in the cult of an ori
ginally theriomorphic goddess at Dodona (there were cults of
Dione and Aphrodite; the “dove-goddess” may now be read of in
two Pylos tablets, cf. Ventris and Chadwick, Documents p. 288)
and there may have been a popular etymological play on words
with πέλεια = πολιά (cf. Hesych. πελείους· Κωοι καί οί Ήπειρώται
τούς γέροντας καί πρεσβύτιδας 1)). Cp. Jebb’s very sound judgment
on this matter in his Appendix on the Oracle at Dodona (pp. 201-
207). It has to be noted that Sophocles speaks of two and not of
three priestesses, as most authorities do. (The schol. ad 172 is not
clear as to the number found in other authors. It is three in Euri
pides ; perhaps two in Pindar 2) ?).
P Cf. schol. a d 172 καί γάρ τούς γέροντας οί Μολοσσοί πελείους (L in m a r

gine) όνομάζουσιν.
2) fr. 58 S ch ro e d e r = 49 B oivra.
COM MENTARY 65
έκ: “by the mouth of”.

Δωδώνι: schol. ώς άπ’ ευθείας τής ή Δωδών ώς Πλευρών. Cp.
μελεδώνες and μελεδώνη.
1 7 3 . συμβαίνει: the meaning ranges between: “comes to fulfil
ment”, “is borne out” and “tallies”. (Dutch “komt uit” ). Cf. e.g.
Thuc. II 17.2 καί μοι δοκεϊ το μαντεΐον τουναντίον ξυμβήναι ή προσε-
δέχοντο.
τώνδε ναμέρτεια: τάδε ναμερτή γιγνόμενα. τώνδε denotes the
prophecy and the event. (On the ä see Björck, Alpha Impurum
pp. 128 and 230).
1 7 3 , 4 . χρόνου / . . . παρόντος: genit, denoting the time in the
course of which something will come to pass (or less often comes to
pass or came to pass; cf. Schwyzer-Debrunner II 112 sq.). Here
no distinction between present and future can be made. The genit,
is similarly used Ar. Ran. 586 του λοιπού χρόνοο, Ai. 21 νυκτός τήσδε,
Hdt. V 36.1 συνέπιπτε του αύτοΰ χρόνου πάντα ταΰτα συνελθόντα.
The words go both with συμβαίνει and with τελεσθήναι χρεών, ώς
τελεσθήναι χρεών: οίστε τελεσθήναι χρεών είναι1). In substance the
correct interpretation of the whole sentence is given by the schol.
ad 173: καί των είρημένων υπό Ήρακλέους άλήθεια νυν αποβαίνει έν τω
παρόντι χρόνω ώστε όπότερον πραχθήναι. Only one point is missed
by this, viz. the tallying of the length of time predicted with the
present moment, expressed by συμ-(βαίνει) immediately followed
by χρόνου του νυν παρόντος.
We note again Deianeira’s extraordinary preoccupation with
Time in connection with the prophecy, on which to a large extent
the structure of the tragedy is founded.
1 7 5 . ήδέως : since Greek feeling, in no less a degree than modern
sentiment, considered sleep as a “gentle thing” (cp. esp. Phil. 827)
alterations of the text like Iierwerden’s ευθέως condemn themselves.
1 7 6 . φόβω: goes with έκπχδαν (G. Hermann and Campbell), not
with ταρβοϋσαν (Ellendt and Jebb) ; the enjambment is typically
Sophocleam Cp. Mazon’s fine translation: “une terreur soudaine
m’a jetée à bas de mon lit: je tremble, mes amies, à l ’idée de rester
privée du plus noble de tous les hommes” .
P Since th e ellipsis of είναι w o u ld seem r a th e r h a rsh , we h a d p e rh a p s

b e tte r assum e th e ellipsis of έστί; fo r ώς = ώστε w ith indic, cf. Aescli. Pars.
730, in fra 590 (G oodw in § 6 0 8 ); th e ellipsis of έστί w ith χρεών, how ever,
is so com m on, esp. in Soph., t h a t it could be alleged to excuse th e ellipsis of
είναι here. In a n y case ώς is not " a s ” .
Kamerbeek, Trachiniae 5
COM MENTARY
1 7 6 , 7 . μένειν . . . έστερημένην : the schol. has μένειν ■αντί τοϋ ζην i.e.
"to live on” ; this is prob, better than to strain the meaning of
μένειν by assuming either that we are meant to understand: "to
remain for ever bereaved of ” (with reference to her bereavement
of the past and present: "rester privée” Mazon) or that we should
take the inf. and the partie, closely together, μένειν coming near to
ύπομένειν: “to submit to be bereaved” .
1 7 8 . ευφημίαν: the coryphaeus asks her to abstain from inaus
picious speech (her last words were ominous in a high degree),
since a messenger of joyous tidings is approaching, recognizable
as such by an olive-or laurel-wreath. For good tidings conjectured
from messengers wearing a wreath cf. O.T. 78-83 and perhaps
Aesch. Ag. 493 (but cp. Fraenkel a.I.) ; cp. also Chairemon fr. 6 N.2
στεφάνους τεμόντες αγγέλους ευφημίας (quoted by Fraenkel ad Ag.
i-c·)·
1 7 8 , 9 . προς χαράν λόγων: the words go with καταστεφή στείχονθ’
denoting that the man wears his wreath because his tidings are
good and that he is approaching in order to deliver these joyful
tidings, προς combines the notions of "purpose” and of “in accor
dance with” ; we may start from the second notion and paraphrase
thus: “in accordance with the joyfulness of the tidings he wants to
deliver” (the words going with καταστεφή) or from the first, para
phrasing: “for the deliverance of joyful tidings” (the words going
with στείχονθ'). But indubitably the words καταστεφή στείχονθ’ . . .
προς χαράν λόγων suggest two ideas through one image. The reading
προς χάριν (cf. Ant. 30) has to be discarded.
καταστεφή: cf. κατά.σκιος Aesch. Ag. 493 and πολυατεφής O.T. 83,
περιστεφής El. 895.
1 8 0 . πρώτος αγγέλων: this old man (184), a busy-body bent on
gain and on playing a rôle, has some traits in common with the
Phylax of Antigone and the Messenger from Corinth of O.T. He
duly emphasizes the fact that he is the first to bring the good
tidings. For his important function in the dramatic texture see the
Introduction.
1 8 1 . οκνου: the meaning of the word is often fairly strong, esp.
in Soph., not differing from φόβος; cf. O.T. 1175 and ib. 1000 ~ 1002.
1 8 2 . κρατούντα: “triumphant” , cf. Ai. 765.
1 8 3 . άγοντ’ άπαρχάς: thus the train of captives, whose arrival
is one of the main points of the drama, is announced in vague
terms. Cf. 245.
COMMENTARY 67
184. True to life she cannot at once throw off her anxieties; she
could have said with the coryphaeus in the Agamemnon 268 πώς
φής; ~έφευγε τούπος έξ απιστίας.
1 8 5 . πολύζηλον: “much envied and admired” ; cf. Ai. 502,3
Αΐαντος, ος μεγίστου ΐσχυσε στρατού, / οΐας λατρείας άνθ’ όσου ζήλου
τρέφει; the meaning comes near to “glorious” . Cf. Bacch. X 63 σύν
πολυζήλω βασιλεΐ; (different O.T. 381 τώ πολυζήλω βίω).
1 8 6 . φανέντα: the aorist participle, not denoting an action
anterior to ήξειυ, suggests how all at once he will appear before her,
in the glory of his triumph.
σύν κράτει νικηφόρω: Heracles’ κράτος “mastery” νίκην φέρεται;
he is accompanied by his κράτος; in the concrete the words also
refer to the train of captives and other booty he will bring home,
the visible sign of his triumphant mastery.
1 8 7 . καί: expressing “a strong degree of surprise” : “why” .
(Denniston, G.P.2 p. 310 (b)).
αστών ή ξένων: an instance of Soph.’s countless "polar” phrases.
1 8 8 . έν βουθερεΐ λειμώνι: Hesych. έν ώ βόες θέρους ώρα νέμονται . . .
“where the oxen in summer feed” (Campbell), -θερης to be con
nected with intr. θερίζω “pass the summer” (Xen. An. Ill 5.15)
rather than with θέρω “make hot” (thus Radermacher) or with tr.
θερίζω “reap” 1).
πρόσπολος: MSS defended by Mazon. G. Hermann’s προς πολλούς
has been accepted by most editors and it must be admitted that
the conjecture is plausible (cf. 352, 423, 456). But perhaps we
correct the poet by adopting it and πρόσπολος makes good sense,
provided we put commas after θροεΐ and κήρυξ (cf. also Ellendt s.v. ).
1 8 9 . κλυοχν: the aorist is certainly better than the present
participle.
1 9 0 . τοι: “to tell the honest truth” . Messengers are given to
pursuing gain and they avow their object frankly: cf. O.T. 1005,
El. 772.
πρώτος: cf. 180.
192. αύτος . . . εύτυχεΐ: as a rule commentators take Lichas as
the subject of both verbs (the schol. took another view of the
passage: εΐ εύτυχεΐ ό 'Ηρακλής πώς άπεστιν ό Λίχας καί ούκ ήλθε
ταχέως άπαγγέλλων). εύτυχεΐ, then, presents us with a difficulty,
which the translations have a tendency to blur: “If all is well with
b P ag e envisages a p ro p e r n a m e ; cf. H . L lo y d -Jo n e s, Cl. Q u. 1954 P·
93 n. X.
68 COMMEN TARY
him” (Campbell), “alors qu’il a pareille chance” (Mazon) etc. Its

best justification is perhaps to be found in άνδρα καλώς πράσσοντ’
230 sq. Mr. Lloyd-Jones 4) is inclined to consider Heracles the
subject of both verbs, Deianeira’s mind being still on Heracles;
the Messenger, then, takes her to refer to Lichas. The idea is tem pt
ing but, as Mr. L.- J. himself admits, such a misunderstanding
between characters on the stage is without parallel. Moreover
it would be strange that the poet, if he meant us to understand
that Deianeira is referring to Heracles, did not make her revert to
her question about her husband, after the Messenger’s report of
Lichas’ difficulties.
193. εύμαρεία: opportunity sc. to move o n 2). The phrase is of
course an instance of litotes and amounts to; “he is practically
unable to move forward” . For ευμάρεια ci. Phil. 284, 704 and Anon,
ap. Suidam (quoted by L.-Sc.) εύμάρεια φυγής.—For the situation
cf. Ar. Plut. 749 sq.
194. Μηλιεύς: Trachis belongs to the district called Malis.
195. κρίνει: = άνακρίνει cf. ad Ai. 586.
ούδ’ . . . πρόσω: paratactical = ώστε <αύτόν> μή εχειν βήναι
πρόσω.
196. 7 . το γάρ ποθούν . . . μεθεΐτο: το ποθούν: the neuter participle
with the article denotes a state or an activity of mind ; the tendency
to use it in this and similar ways increases during the Vth cen
tury 3). Cf. τό βουλόμενον, τό όργιζόμενον τής γνώμης Thuc. I go.2 , II
59.3· Phil- 674,5 τ° Ύ®Φ / νοσούν ποθεί σε συμπαραστάτην λαβεΐν is
also, up to a point, comparable. Things would be easy if we were
justified in assuming that in τό ποθούν the object of the longing is
identified with the longing itself, as is suggested by the schol. a. 1.
(τό ποθούν- τό ποθούμενον), but Jebb seems right in rejecting this
view ; and besides, why then did Sophocles not write τον πόθον ? If
τό ποθούν goes with έκμαθεΐν, the latter must be taken to have a
pregnant sense: this course is considered by Jebb (2) and defended
by Mazon4): τό ποθούν έκ(πλήσαι) μαθών, satisfaire son désir en
apprenant', then μεθεΐτο means “let go” with Lichas as object.
But perhaps it is better to consider τό ποθούν as the object of
q In his ab o v e -c ite d p a p e r, p. 94.

2) O u r passag e is w ro n g ly liste d in L .-S c. u n d e r th e h e a d in g : “ of in te rn a l
c o n d itio n ” .
3) Cf. J . H . F in ley , Thucydides p. 264 a n d passim .
4) R ev u e de Philologie 1951, p p . 8 sq.
COMMENTARY 69
μεθεΐτο (“give up” ), μεθίεμαι, it is true, as a rule takes the genitive,

but there are some instances of the accusative (Eur. Plioen. 519,
Ar. Vesp. 416—MSS—, perhaps Eur. Med. 736 and Soph. El. 1277)
and if the meaning is “to give up” rather than “to desist from”
the accusative is easily understandable: the function of the form,
then, has to be considered as purely middle. The whole sentence
can be regarded either as a general truth or as referring only to
the people surrounding Lichas. I reject G. Hermann’s interpre
tation (adopted by Ellendt and Masqueray among others) : το
ποθούν = οί ποθοϋντες, έκαστος . . . θέλων being a partitive appo
sition to the subject of the sentence.
197. καθ’ ηδονήν : “to their heart’s content” (Campbell),
fs 1 9 8 , 9 . ούχ έκών, έκοϋσι δέ: this pointed diction brings him
near to the Watcher in the Antigone : 276 πάρειμι δ’άκων ούχ έκοϋσιν.
2 0 0 . Deianeira, making the gesture of praying, is supposed to
face Mount Oeta, mentioned here for the first time, and further on
at 436, 635, 1191. The invocation has its dramatic significances in
view of the whole of the play: the χαρά will pi'ove illusive and on
Mount Oeta Heracles will be burnt.
άτομον λειμών’ : such pastures, sacred to a god, are called όργάδες *).
Cf. Eur. Hipp. 73 άκήρατος λειμών, Horn. Hymn. Merc. 72 λειμώνες
άκηράσιοι.
201. άλλα σύν χρόνω: the full force of άλλά in this and similar
phrases can be felt if we consider the sentence as an apodosis with
suppressed protasis, thus e.g. : <though you kept me waiting a long
time>, still you have given me, at last, joy. “At length, though late”
(Campbell). Cf. Eur. Ήel. 990 εϊ μή προς οίκους δυνάμεθ’, άλλά
(“then, at any rate” ) προς νεκρούς. Elliptical phrases: El. 1013
αυτή δέ νουν σχές άλλά τώ χρόνω ποτέ, Phil. 1041 τείσασθε τείσασθ’
άλλά τώ χρόνω ποτέ, El. 411 ώ θεοί πατρώοι, συγγένεσθέ γ ’ άλλά νυν,
Ant. 552 τί δήτ’ άν άλλά νυν σ’ ετ’ ώφελοΐμ’ εγώ; Cp. also infra 320
(Denniston, G.P.2 p. 13).
χαράν: cf. 179.
2 0 2 . 3 . φωνήσατ’ . . . ώς: prob, not “proclaim loudly how”, but
“uplift your voices, since” (Jebb). A colon before ώς would also
be possible.
The paragraphus before 202 in L, denoting a change of speaker,
*) A ccording to th e schol., b u t όργάς is fa r from ex clu siv ely u sed in t h a t

w ay.
7o COM MENTARY
can only refer to the coryphaeus, but it must be mistaken in view of

έμοί in combination with καρπούμεθα.
203. αύλής : not esp. the courtyard but the house, the palace
itself1); only a variety of expression, at ε’ΐσω στέγης: the women
within the house, at έκτος αύλής: the Chorus.
2 0 3 , 4 . άελπτον όμμ’ . . . φήμης άνασχόν τήσδε: a combination of
two ideas, ομμα in a metaphorical sense is that which brings light,
salvation, comfort etc. 12). Cf. Pincl. Pyth. V 56 ομμα ξείνοισι, Soph.
O.T. 987 μύγας γ’ οφθαλμός οί πατρός τάφοι, Eur. Andr. 406 3).
But from άνασχόν it appears that the image of the rising sun,
the eye of heaven, has also to be taken into account (thus already a
Schol. ad 203; cf. Eur. I.T . 194, Ant. 104 χρυσέας άμέρας βλέφαρον—
invoked after the preservation of Thebes—and for intr. άνέχω—
άνίσχω—orior Hdt. I ll 98.2, Aesch. Ag. 93 λαμπάς άνίσχει). φήμης
τήσδε seems an explicative genitive rather than a genitive of
origin : the φήμη is visualized as a rising sun of hope and salvation
(cf. the image of a torch implied in έλαμψε . . . φάμα O.T. 473-475).
άελπτον . . . άνασχόν: cf. O.C. I I 2 0 τέκνα . . . φανέντ’ άελπτα.
καρπούμεθα: fruor, in Soph, only here; cf. Aesch. P. Ox. 2256,9a.29
τοιάνδε μοίραν παρά θεών καρπουμένη, Eur. Andr. 9 3 5 -
2 0 5 - 2 2 5 . The schol. ad 216: τό γάρ μελιδάριον ουκ έστι στάσιμον
άλλ’ ύπό τής ηδονής όρχοϋνται is misleading because it implies that
στάσιμα are not danced. If we apply the name ύπόρχημα to this and
similar odes4) in Sophocles — “odes occurring at moments of
sudden joy or expectation” 5)—we must be aware of the looseness
and arbitrariness of our terminology. For a ύπόρχημα is (probably)
sensu stricto a dance in which the dancers accompanied singers who
did not dance; now this may have been the case in our instance
but we do not know for a certainty. We may of course, guess that
in an apparently lively and quick dance like this—216-220 must be
illustrated by the action—singing and dancing at the same time was
impossible for the same choreutai and that, therefore, the chorus
1) Cf. A esch. Prom. 122 τήν Διάς αυλήν.

O n th e fig u ra tiv e use of ομμα a n d οφθαλμός cf. F a rn e ll a d F in d . P ylh.
V 17.
3) Cf. th e co n je c tu re ομμα τι O .T . 81, a d o p te d b y G ro en eb o o m 4 (cf. H oek,
M nem osyne 1944, p p . 77 sq q .).
4) A i . 693 sqq., A n t. 1115 sqq., O.T. 1086 sq q ., b u t th e se th re e d iffer
from Track. 205-225, in t h a t th e y are in d u b ita b ly “ s ta sim a ” in th e sense of
c h o ral songs o ccu rrin g b e tw een tw o " a c ts ” .
5) P ick ard -C a m b rid g e , Dramatic Festivals, p. 261.
COMMENTARY ?!
must have been divided into two parts, one dancing, the other
singing; we may even consider the possibility that αί εΐσω στέγης
γυναίκες enter the orchestra and dance while the choreutai are
singing x). Perhaps we had better call the song a paean tinged with
dithyrambic elements. Supposing that the whole song is not sung by
all the choreutai together, 205-215 may have been sung by one
semi-chorus, the other dancing, 216-220 vice versa, and 221-224
by the whole chorus. Certainty is not to be arrived at in these
matters.—The transmission of the text is not verj·7 good and the
absence of antistrophic responsion makes matters worse.
2 0 5 - 2 0 7 . άνολολύξεταί: Elmsley, followed by Raderm. and
Mazon. άνολολύξετε (MSS, some recentiores have άνολολύξατε) is a
vox nihili and Elmsley’s correction is better than Burges’ άνολολυ-
ξάτω for palaeographic reasons ; the future has almost the function
of an imperative. Since the schol. ad 206 has ό πας οίκος Ήρακλέους
θυσίας καί εύχάς ποιείτω it seems best to adopt Burges’ δόμος (MSS
δόμοις, possibly caused by the following έφεστίοισ<ιν>). There is no
metrical objection to this if we consider δόμος as the end of a verse
or if we divide with Dain thus: Άνολολύξεταί δόμος έφεστίοι- / σιν
άλαλαΐς ό μελλόνυμ- / φος, έν δέ κοινός άρσένων : 2 dochm. 4~ pae. -|-
ia. + 2 ia. in synaphy. δόμος... ο μελλόνυμφος must then mean :
“the house which is soon to receive the husband” or: “the bride” ,
“la maison fiancée” (Mazon) *2). There is no need to read ά μελλό
νυμφος (retaining δόμοις) in order to obtain in this sentence a sub
ject corresponding and contrasting with κοινός άρσένων κλαγγά in
the next, since άρσένων and παρθένοι, ’Απόλλωνα and ’Άρτεμιν form
two pairs of contrasting elements, which show that άρσένων is meant
to be understood with reference to the following, not to the pre
ceding words.
άνολολύξεταί δόμος: cf. Eur. El. 690,1 ώς ήν μεν έλθη πύστις ευτυχής
σέθεν, / όλολύξεται παν δώμα, άνολολύζω Aesch. Ag. 5 $7 ·
έφεστίοισ<ιν> άλαλαΐς: it seems better, in order to restore the
metre, to read with Radermacher and Mazon έφεστίοισ<ιν> than to
adopt the very doubtful άλαλαγαΐς.
2 0 7 . έν δε: “and besides” ; the κοινός άρσένων κλαγγά does not
P Cf. id. ib. pp. 260 sqq., o u r n o te ad A i . 693 sqq.

2) Cf. M azon, R ev u e de P hilo l. 1951, p. 9 ; th e p h ra se is om inous in view
of Io le ’s a rriv a l: " r e a d y fo r a m a rria g e ” (T .B .L . W e b ste r in G reek P o e try
a n d Life, p. 167).
COMMENTARY
refer to the άλαλα.ί (cries of joy) but to a regular paean in honour

of Apollo.
κοινός άρσένων: “of all the men together” , κοινός only here as an
adj. of two terminations.
2 0 8 , 9 . ϊτω κλαγγά τον . . . ’Απόλλωνα: the acc. because ’ίτω κλαγ-
γά = ύμνείτω. The men must celebrate Apollo, the maidens Artemis,
just as in Hor. Carni. Saec. 33 sqq.
εύφοφέτραν : for the formation cf. infra 640 καλλιβόας, Eur. Ale.
570 εύλύρας1). κλαγγά of the voice of human beings is rare; cf.
Denniston-Page ad Aesch. Ag. 1152,3.
2 0 9 . ’Απόλλωνα.: Dindorf, Jebb, and Dain read Άπόλλω in order
to render the trimeter cretic-bacchiac, but there is nothing to
prove that it is necessarily so.
2 1 1 . άνάγετ’ : “break into” , “raise” , cf. Eur. Phoen. 1350 ανάγετε
κωκυτόν.
2 1 2 . όμόσπορον: common in poetry since Horn. Iiynm. Ccr. 85.
Cf. the abnormal meaning O.T. 260.
2 1 3 . Όρτυγίαν: “born in Ortygia” , wherever that is to be
located: Delos, Rheneia, Syracusan Ortygia, a lucus Ortygia at
Ephesus (cf. Wilamowitz, Gl. d. Η. I 324 n. 4) have their claims;
a schol. ad Ap. Rh. I 419 asserts πασα.ι Όρτυγία.ι άποικίαι εΐσί
τής κατ’ Αιτωλίαν Όρτυγίας, so the name may belong to Aetolian
mythical tradition, to which Deianeira herself belongs (cf. Allen -
Halliday-Silces ad Horn. Hymn. Ap. 16). We do not know whether
the Artemis referred to infra 637 was especially so called.
έλαφαβόλον: cf. Scol. Anon. 3.3 Diehl έλαφηβόλον τ’ άγροτέραν,
Anacr. i.i, Horn. Hymn. XXVII 2 and perhaps Ale. (?) 304 I 9
L.-P. 12).
2 1 4 . άμφίπυρον: with a torch in each hand. Cf. O.T. 207 sq.
2 1 6 . άείρομ’: the elision of (μ)α.ι, common in Homer, rare in
Tragedy 3),must be accepted for metrical reasons. The word must
be accompanied by an upward movement of the bodies of the
dancers, expressing the surrender to the ecstatic music of the αύλός
(cf. Eur. Bacch. 128, 149). The music is here prob, in the Phrygian
mode (cf. Vit. Soph, in fine ^ Aristot. Politic. 7. (VIII) 7. 1342 b).
ούδ’ άπώσομαι: cf. Eur. Bacch. 5 3 1·
1) Cf. C h an tra in e , F orm ation des N om s, p. 28.

2) E . L obei, D. P age, A new Fragment of Aeolic Verse, Cl. Q u. 1952,
p. 2.
3) K .-B . I 237-239.
COMMENTARY 73
2 1 7 . ώ τύραννε τας εμάς φρενός : with a sudden apostrophe to the

αυλός, the Music (not to Apollo), reminiscent of Pindar (01. II i,
Pyth. I. i ‘—197 sq.). Campbell aptly quotes Gray, calling the lyre
“The sovran of the willing soul”.
2 1 8 - 2 2 0 . Whether or not the choreutai during this song really
wear ivy-crowns or they “imagine themselves to be bacchanals” ,
the music of the αύλός suggesting the spell of the ivy (thus Jebb),
must remain an unanswered question. I for one should like to
imagine them wreathing themselves at the start of the song.
2 1 8 . ιδού: μ’ cannot depend on ιδού by reason of its interjectional
character; it depends on άναταράσσει. So if we retain μ’ in 219 this
repeats the first μ’ after the interjection εύοΐ (cf. O.C. 1279 quoted
by Radermacher), and also goes with ύποστρέφων.
άναταράσσει: excitat, only here in Tragedy.
2 1 9 . εύοΐ: interjection; exclamation belonging to the cult of
Dionysus, cf. Eur. Bacch. 141, Troad. 325; not in Aesch., and only
here in Soph. 1). It cannot be considered a verbal form, as Heath
took it. Possibly extra -metrum.
ύποστρέφων: “ (gradually) turning round about” , with μ’ as object
and άμιλλαν βακχίαν as internal object: “turning me round in the
Bacchic speedy course” *2). Others take άμιλλαν βακχίαν as the
object, but the sense thus obtained seems weak and the construction
less good in connection with the second μ’ (its function would
indeed be nil). I agree with Jebb that ύπο- does not here mean
back. The idea of speed in άμιλλα here predominates. I do not under
stand Pearson’s conjecture έπιστρέφων; the schol.’s interpretation
άπό λύπης εις ηδονήν μετάγων ή ύποβάλλων seems less probable.
2 2 1 . ίώ ίώ, Παιάν: prob, extra metrum. — Enter Lichas and the
train of captives.
2 2 2 . ΐδε, ΐδ’, ώ φίλα γύναι: Pearson, following G. Hermann,
retains the text as transmitted, rightly in my opinion. The pause
after ΐδε and an incidental reminiscence of epic f may account for
the hiatus, cf. Aesch. Ag. 1125; the metre (cp. 205, 206,
if we reject docbmiac scansion) is entirely satisfactory.
2 2 3 . αντίπρωρα: “face to face” ; the nautical metaphor has faded.
Cf. the weakened use of πρώρα in compounds like καλλιπρώρου
Aesch. Ag. 235; Prom. 423 όξυπρωροισι.... έν αίχμαΐς; see Fraenkel
ad Ag. l.c.
b B u t cf. εΰιον O.T. 2 11.
2) C f.T . B. L. W ebster, S ophocles’ Trachiniae, G reek P o e try a n d Life, p. 167.
74 COMMENTARY
2 2 4 . εναργή: the strongest word denoting “clear”, “distinct”

known in Greek, cf. n . “Here is the thing face to face, present and
palpable to sight”. In the rhythm of the two last lines we hear the
dance coming to a stop.
2 2 5 , 6. δμματος / φρουράν : Musgrave’s conjecture for φρουρά,
rightly adopted by most editors (not by Kuiper and Dain-Mazon).
The objection to φρουρά is μ’ 1); reading φρουράν we can easily
account for it : δμματος φρουράν = φρουρούν δμμα, hence the Ho
meric construction με δμματος φρουράν παρήλθε. For δμμα in con
nection with φρουρέω cf. infra 914 sq. φρουρά, φρουρέω are more
graphic than τήρησις τηρέω.
παρήλθε: the subject is either <τάδε> or στόλος.
μή λεύιγσειν: ώστε μή λεύσσειν. Hermann’s μή ού is unnecessary,
see note ad 1. 90.
στόλον: train, procession, “cortège” (Mazon), agmen adventan
tium (cf. 496).
2 2 7 . προυννέπω : I proclaim (not : first I say). For the construction
cf. Eur. Cycl. ιο ί χαίρειν προσεΐπα πρώτα τον γεραίτατον. In a similar
situation: Aesch. Ag. 538 κήρυξ ’Αχαιών χαιρε τών άπό στρατού. She
means to say χαιρετώ ό κήρυξ (I bid the herald welcome), but
χαίρειν also retains its full force, as appears from χαρτόν εΐ τι και
φέρεις.
2 2 8 . χαρτόν ε’ί τι καί φέρεις: χαρτόν· άξιον χαράς (schob), καί:
“really”, but at the same time it lends emphasis to the play on
χαίρειν . . . χαρτόν.
I cannot agree with Denniston’s citing these lines as an example
of καί in the protasis logically referring to the apodosis (G.P.2
304 (V)). Radermacher appositely cites Eur. Andr. 1079: άκουσον,
εί καί σοΐς φίλοις άμυναθεΐν / χρήζεις, τό πραχθέν, . . . Deianeira does
not dare to believe in her good luck. The ambiguity of this scene
(apparently joyful, but leading up to catastrophe) is thus fore
shadowed in the words of the protagonist. With φέρεις (note the
v.l. in A φέρει) she addresses Lichas directly.
2 2 9 sqq. Lichas’ first words, as often with Sophocles’ heralds
and messengers, are highly artificial. The very elaborateness of his
speeches betrays a certain uneasiness; the poet is at pains to show
us a man conscious of the unpleasant facts beneath the cheerful
surface.
d F o r: “ th e w a tc h of m y eye p assed m e u n h e e d e d ” m a k e s no sense.

COMMENTARY 75
εδ μέν . . . εδ δε . . . κατ’ έργου κτήσιν : Such a coordination usually

stresses the second clause ; here the relation between the two
clauses is more subtle. The words εδ μέν ίγμεθ’ dismiss Deianeira’s
doubts ; his coming home is felicitous, so her welcoming speech is in
keeping; this idea is stressed by κατ’ έ'ργου κτήσιν. The έργου κτήσις
is the νίκη itself, “le succès remporté” (Mazon) ; Jebb is right in
rejecting Zielinski’s interpretation of the words “the booty made by
the deed” . There is of course an antithesis between words and deed
(προσφωνούμεθα. — εργον).
230 . γάρ: refers to the second clause, or rather to the fitness of
the parallel between Heracles’ happy deeds and Deianeira’s happy
words.
231. άνάγκη: “ It is but natural” (Campbell).
χρηστά κερδαίνειν έπη: cf. Pind. Istkm. V 26 sq. : καί γάρ ηρώων
άγαθοί πολεμισταί / λόγον έκέρδαναν ·.
232 . πρώθ’ ά πρώτα βούλομαι: Is πρώτα adjective or adverb?
Ο.T. 547 τοϋτ’ αύτό νυν μου πρώτ’ άκουσον would make me favour the
second interpretation (cf. Ar. Nub. 636) but cf. Ant. 238 φράσαι
θέλω σοι πρώτα τάμαυτοΰ.
βούλομαι: sc. διδαχθήναι; the need to supply this is decidedly in
favour of πρώτα as an adjective.
233 . zi ζώνθ’ Ήρακλέα προσδέξομαι: To appreciate the poignancy
of these words, one has to bear in mind that she will not.
Ήρακλέα: it is unnecessary to read with Dindorf, Pearson, and
Masqueray Ηρακλή. The anapaest is excused by the proper name:
cf. O.C. 507.
234 . 5 . Why does the poet make Lichas i° answer evasively 20
overemphasize Heracles’ good health? The answer is evasive, but
unconsciously so; all the conditions for a safe return are fulfilled;
Lichas cannot possibly know that things will turn out otherwise
through Deianeira’s action, neither can she herself surmise such a
thing. So the effect of Lichas’ statement is one of fearful dramatic
irony. The same holds good for the overemphasis. The hearer will
remember these words when Heracles appears on the scene, the
wreck of his former self. Besides, the words are psychologically
justified at this moment by Lichas’ eagerness to gratify his queen’s
wish and to quieten his own uneasiness.
θάλλοντα κού νόσω βαρύν : a strong instance of Sophoclean “polar”
expression, loaded with dramatic explosiveness. For ΐσχύοντά τε / καί
ζώντα καί θάλλοντα cf. Aesch. Ag. 677 with Fraenkel’s note.
COMMENTARY
2 3 6 . πατρφας, είτε βαρβάρου: εί'τε πατρώας, είτε βαρβάρου. Ci.

).Τ. 5 τ 7 - The words do not convey anything more specific than
"the whole world” ; one may supply: που γης έ'λειπες, είτε πατρώας
που, είτε βαρβάρου έλειπες. She does not ask whether Lichas left him
on Greek or on barbarous soil, but where he left him, let the place
be in Greek or barbarous country. The interpunction adopted is
Jebb’s.
2 3 7 . άκτή τις έστ' Εύβοιάς: As to this geographical formula cp.
W. Aly, Formprobleme der frühen griechischen Prosa, Philol. Suppl.
21.3, pp. 50, 51. Cf. infra 752, Eur. Hipp. 1199. Cape Cenaeum lies
at the north-western extremity of Euboea, opposite the Malian
Gulf (Aesch. fr. 30 N.2). On Zeus Cenaeus’ sanctuary cf, B.C.H.
48, 1924, p. 480.
2 3 7 . ορίζεται.: όρίζειν is: to mark out by boundaries, to mark out.
Cf. infra 754, Eur. Hel. 1670. The middle here has the same signi
ficance; it denotes at the same time the setting up of the altars
(κατασκευάζει., ίστησιν schol.). With τέλη έ'γκαρπα the construction
is slightly zeugmatic : he determines what tributes of fruit are to be
given to the god. There is to be a τέμενος, that will yield the tributes.
2 3 9 . ευκταία φαίνων : fulfilling what he had promised, votum
solvens. Hesych. εύκταΐα· τα κατ’ εύχήν αποδιδόμενα, (ευκταία =
prayers, Aesch. Suppl. 631).
2 4 0 . εύχαΐς: dative of reason (the more difficult reading—A and
others have εύκταΐ’—and therefore preferable).
δθ’ ήρει : the temporal clause goes with the verbal notion in
εύχαΐς (== <όρίζεται> επειδή ταϋτα ηυξατο). ήρει = “he set forth to
sack” (Murray), “il cherchait à conquérir” (Mazon). άνάστατον is
proleptic; Lichas thinks of Oechalia’s state after the conquest.
(Not: “he conquered and made homeless” Campbell).
ών: by attraction, έν ομμασιν: before your eyes (cf. 223,4).
2 4 2 . του ποτ’ είσί: άντί τίνος είσΐ δεσπότου (schol.). So Jebb,
Murray, Masqueray. “dis-moi leur origine” Mazon; but I doubt
whether the singular του admits of this interpretation; I fear not.
οίκτραί γάρ : “γάρ gives the motive for saying that which has just
been said” (Denniston, G.P.2 60): <1 show interest, concern for
them>, for.
2 4 3 . ξυμφοραί A al. schol. ; ξυμφοράι L (1 added by diorthotes) al.
Campbell adopts this reading, κλέπτειν in either case = to deceive,
to produce a wrong impression. I consider ξυμφορά the lectio
difficilior and the sense it yields unimpeachable; moreover, the
COM MENTARY 77
singular sounds a little more natural, ξυμφορά denoting the unhappy

plight of all the maidens.
2 4 4 . Εύρύτου . . . πόλιν: cf. 74. From these words Deianeira
knows that this fateful town has been captured (cf. 77, 79 sqq.).
2 4 5 . αύτω . . . θεοΐς: the answer to τοϋ 242. Strictly speaking,
έξείλεθ’ goes only with αύτω; supply έξεΐλε with θεοΐς. Some of the
captured women will serve as temple-slaves (cf. 183). Lichas’
words throughout have a boastful, somewhat false ring.
κριτόν = εκκριτον (supra 27).
2 4 6 . 7 . A striking instance of the inner self revealed, the
anxiety long hoarded up bursting forth in an effusion, tense and
richly worded.
2 4 6 . καί: “actually”, “indeed”. Cf. Ai. 44, 48, 97. For the in
credulous ring in it cp. 69-71.
άσκοπος: cuius ratio iniri nequit, prop, extending beyond the
field of vision, hence immeasurable, incalculable. Cf. Ellendt s.v.
The usage of the word Ai. 21, El. 864 indicates what overtones
are implied here.
2 4 7 . ήμερων άνήριθμον: these words stress and expand άσκοπον.
Cp. e.g. O.T. 727 ψυχής πλάνημα κάνακίνησις φρένων.
άνήρι,θμον : the convenient form for the trimeter, άνάριθμος
El. 232, O.T. 179 in lyric passages (but cp. Ai. 604); in prose
αναρίθμητος. Lit. "without count of days” : a time of countless days.
The genit, also at El. and O.T. 11. cc., cf. K.-G. I 401 a. 5. L’s reading
(the reading of the great majority of MSS) is a puzzle; perhaps it
intruded into the text at a time when άρίθμιος was a known concept
of astrology (Vett. Val. 145.23). If, as A. Turyn has it1), this
reading άνήριθμον (AUY) is really a Byzantine conjecture, one is
left feeling perplexed at the learning of the Byzantines.
For Deianeira’s anxious counting of the days cf. supra 44, 45;
cf. also infra 648.
βεβώς ήν: “stayed away” . Cf. οπού βέβηκεν 40 sq. It is not of
course the same as έβεβήκειν.
248 . τον μεν πλεΐστον χρόνον: a year (253, cf. 69). This explains
648 sq. : δυοκαιδεκάμηνον . . . χρόνον, where πελάγι,ον refers to his
staying in Asia.
ώς φησ’ αύτός: Lichas is on his guard against telling these un
pleasant details without warrant.
b Studies i n the M a n u s c rip t Tra ditio n of Soph., 1952, p . 182.

78 COMMENTARY
2 5 0 . έμποληθείς: prop.: “bought as a slave” . Dutch: “ver

handele!” ; έμπολάω is not, strictly speaking, “to sell”. We must
imagine Deianeira making a gesture of abhorrence at these words,
cf. 71.
τοϋ λόγου: as often λόγος denotes the facts and the tale at the
same time; cf. 78. Gen. objecti.
φθόνον: offence (indignation) at the λόγος, not as Jebb (who takes
οτου as neut.) “dislike (felt by the hearer for the narrator)” .
Nevertheless, πράκτωρ is in contrast with τοϋ λόγου.
2 5 1 . πράκτωρ : auctor. Soph, uses the word both in this sense and in
that of vindex (its only sense in Aesch. ; Eur. does not use the word).
φανή : subj. gen. without αν.
2 5 2 . πραθείς: the form in Tragedy and Attic prose; the old verb
πέρνημι denotes export for sale to foreign countries, esp. of captives
and slaves. The verb is more precise than έμπολαν.
2 5 3 . ένιαυτόν έξέπλησεν : cf. 69, 648.
2 5 4 . έδήχθη : the normal metaphorical use, very frequent with
Soph.
2 5 5 . όρκον αύτω προσβαλών: the όρκος is a duty imposed upon
himself ; the time of the participle is coincident with that of the
verb: “the actions of the verb and the participle are practically
one” (Goodwin § 150).
2 5 6 . τον άγχιστήρα: τόν αίτιον (καί σχεδόν αύτόν ποιήσαντα) τοϋ
πάθους schob, se. Eurytus. The word only occurs here ; Nuchelmans x)
counts 26 άπαξ λεγάμενα in Soph, among the 37 nomina agentium
of the type -τηρ, -τειρα, -τρία, -τρις. It presupposes a verb *άγχίζω =
“herbeiführen” . Jebb is right in rejecting the explanation άγχισ-
τήρ = άγχιστεύς genere proximus (Ellendt); similarly Campbell
and Radermacher.
2 5 7 . ετι : this use of ετι in threats, oaths, and anxious expec
tations, implying: “the day will come”, "one day” , aliquando, is
fairly common : ή μήν ετ’ έμοΰ . . . χρείαν εξει μακάρων πρύτανις
Aesch. Prom. 167 sqq., ή μήν ετι Ζεύς . . . εσται ταπεινός id. ib. 907 sq. ;
ώς κάμ’ έπαυχω . . . . έχθροΐς άστρον ώς λάμψειν ετι El. 66; cf. Al.
607, El. 471. δίκας δέ δώσεις σοϊσι κηδεσταΐς ετι Eur. Ale. 7 3 Τ ετι σε,
πότνια, μετατροπά / τώνδ’ επεισιν έργων id. Andr. 4 9 2 >cf. Eacch. 306,
534. 536 and passim in Eur.
2 5 8 . κούχ ήλίωσε τοόπος: words are like missiles or darts; cf.l
l ) Die N o m in a des sophoklei sehen Wortschatzes, th e sis N ijm eg en 11)49,

p. 18.
COM MENTARY 79
Aesch. Eum. 676, Eur. Ilec. 334, my note ad Andr. 365. It is clear
that Soph, modelled his words on Horn. II. XVI 737 ούδ’ άλίωσε βέ
λος. Among classical authors only Horn, and Soph, have the word;
neither Aesch., nor Eur. use αλιος (O.C. 1469, άλίως Phil. 840).
δθ’ άγνός ήν: the poet does not tell us whether by a formal
κάθαρσις or by the effect of the δουλεία. Apparently, however, the
latter is meant (cf. 276) and Soph, does not know, or ignores, the
stories we find in Àpollod. II 129 sq.x)
259. επακτόν: συμμαχικόν, οόκ ίδιον; cf. Aesch. Sept. 583, but the
cases of Polynices and Heracles are far from being the same; for
Oechalia is not Heracles’ native country, as Thebes is for Polynices.
Heracles’ exile is of small account in this context; he enlisted an
army of allies from several tribes or πόλεις and that is all. έπακτός
was the term reserved for an alien or mercenary force.
2 5 9 , 2 6 0 . πόλιν / τήν Εύρυτείαν : cf. Τελαμώνιε παΐ Ai. 134. τω
Λαβδακείω παιδί Ο.Τ. 267, φόνον / τον Λαΐειον 0 .7 . 4 5 Η cf· Ι 2ΐ 6,
θρόνοις / τοϊς Κρεοντείοις Ο.Τ. 400, Πηλέα τον Αίάκειον fr. 487.1 Ρ.
The words being completely equivalent to Εύρύτου πόλιν, Lichas
proceeds with τόνδε.
μεταίτιον : cf. αύτός σύ τούτων ού μεταίτιος πέληι, / άλλ’ εις τό παν
έπραξας ων παναίτιος Aesch. Eum. 199 sq. Zeus was αίτιος, Eurytus,
alone of mortals, μεταίτιος (= in prose, συναίτιος) ; cf. infra 1234.
2 6 2 - 2 8 0 . In the following account it must not be forgotten that
Lichas shirks speaking the whole truth. Without lying he omits so
much that his tale becomes hardly understandable. I think it
probable that the involved construction of 262-269 reflects his
efforts at concealing the truth from Heracles’ wife. Starting from
the insult offered to Heracles by Eurytus, he does not mention the
fact that Heracles visited Oechalia in order to conquer Iole with his
bow. The murder of Iphitus was his revenge on Eurytus. The sack
of Oechalia was his second revenge after the humiliation at Om-
phale’s palace. But Lichas again omits to say that it was his
passion for Iole that drove him to the deed.
2 6 2 . ός: it is impossible to settle the question whether Lichas
wishes to be thought of as reporting Heracles’ comments or as
stating his own view of the affair. The Greek, never consistently
expressing oratio obliqua, admits of this ambiguity. In any case he
speaks for himself from 269 onwards (ών έχων χόλον).
g I I 6. 2.
So COMMENTARY
262, 3. έφέστιον, ξένον παλαιόν όντα: εφέστιον goes closely with

έλθόντ’, but the two appositions, placed the one after the other,
stress the invidia of the outrage, εφέστιος with verbs of motion
occurs already in Homer.
2 6 3 , 4 . έπερρόθησε: with acc. only here, in the sense of
“rage against”, “abuse” (L.-Sc). Cp. το-.ΰτα . . . έρρόθουν έμοί Ant.
290. The verb has almost the meaning of κακώς λέγειν, δεννάζειν,
λοιδορεΐν, ύβρίζειν and so their construction.
πολλά μεν — πολλά S’ : a zeugmatic construction, as advocated by
Jebb (έπερρόθησε implying ύβρισε in the second member of the
phrase), seems too harsh. The anaphora of πολλά adds emphasis
(cf. Campbell, Essay on Language, § 40, p. 76). The meaning is only:
λόγοις καί άτηρα διανοία (“intent” ) πολλά αυτόν ύβριστικώς έπερρό-
θησεν. λόγοις . . . διανοία forms a hendiadis. Jebb’s objections to this
(“the antithesis would require an epithet for λόγοις” and "the
formula πολλά μεν . . . πολλά δέ would be out of place” ) can be
answered thus : άτηρα may be thought of as going with λόγοις also ;
διπλήν μεν . . . διπλήν δέ Phil. 1370 sq. offers a similar emphasizing
antithesis. (Cf. also Ant. 200 sq.).
άτηρα: ambiguous. It is “mischievous” (against Heracles), but
implies also the άτη that will result for Eurytus himself. The con
cepts of “delusion” , “guilt” , “ruin” , “ill-fate” are always simul
taneously present in άτη. Eurytus’ demeanour was ά.τη, and ά.ρχή of
the things to come (II. VI 356). Cf. Agamemnon speaking (II. XIX
88 ) φρεσίν έ'μβαλον άγριον ά.την ; ότω φρένας Θεός ά.γει προς ά.ταν A nt. 624.
There is no antithesis λόγοι — φρήν, as in Phil. 1271 sq.
2 6 5 - 2 6 7 . λέγων . . . μεν — φωνεΐ δέ: transition from participial
to finite construction. (Denniston, G.P.2 369 n. 1). μέν is preparatory
for δέ 267 (as if φωνών was written) ; its place is apparently deter
mined by metrical convenience, its function slight. There is no
antithesis χεροΐν μέν ... δέ. Those who read φωνή, supposing an
antithesis modelled on έ'ργω . . . λόγω, obtain only a forced sym
metry at the cost of a very unsatisfactory sense, forgetting that
Sophocles is not Isocrates. As stated before, Lichas’involved and
asymmetric sentence mirrors the embarrassment of his state of
mind. Moreover, the almost stumbling clauses do justice to the
vehemence of the scene and the talk recorded.
"Apollodorus” II 128 1) says: άφικόμενος ουν εις Οίχαλίαν καί τή
1) I I 6. i . 2.
COMMENTARY 8l
τοξική κρείττων αυτών γενόμενος ούκ έτυχε του γάμου, Ίφίτου μεν του
πρεσβυτέρου των παίδων λέγοντος διδόναι τώ Ήρακλεΐ, Εύρύτου δέ καί
των λοιπών άπαγορευόντων etc. Now, if Heracles had really surpassed
Eurytus’ sons in archery, it is improbable that εχων has adversative
force. So Mazon’s translation seems correct: “Si tu as en main des
“traits infaillibles’’, tu restes par là même inférieur à mes fils dans
un concours d’archers” .
2 6 6 . ών: δς suus (dir. and indir.) five times in Soph., twice in
Aesch., one certain case and a few dubious ones in Eur.
λίποιτο: reading thus (with L) one makes Eurytus say, after the
bow-trial, that as Heracles had unerring arrows he had been inferior
to his sons (i.e. in skill, though he had beaten them) : εχων άφυκτα
βέλη έλίπου. I see no reason to prefer λείποιτο (έ.ά.β. λείπη).
προς: in respect of. It does not differ from εις or έν in this context,
(lit. when it came to the bow-trial).
λείπεσθαι to lag behind; to be inferior to.
2 6 7 . φωνεΐ: the better tradition has φώνει, and the syllabic
augment might be omitted, as Lichas’ ρήσις is αγγελική. But the
hist. pres, φωνεΐ fits much better into the context. (The hist. pres,
is a secondary tense, so the opt. can follow, Goodwin § 171). “ Cried
aloud” . The details are characteristic of a symposium, where host
and guest get drunk.
δούλος άνδρος . . . ελευθέρου : that he—Heracles, slave of a free
man (Eurystheus), . . . .
2 6 8 . ραίοιτο: was (always) being crushed (direct speech ραίη) ;
had (always) to suffer (at the hands of others). It is not necessary
mentally to supply όπ’ αύτοϋ and impossible to take, with the
schol., the genit, as a genit, auctoris (λείπει ή υπό). Eurytus, in
conformity with this utterance, thrusts Heracles from his doors,
as the under-dog he deems him to be.
δείπνοις: “at a banquet” . For the plural cf. O.T. 779, El. 203.
2 6 9 . ών : ών ενεκα.
2 7 0 . αύθις : hereafter. Cf. Ai. 1086.
Iphitus came to Tiryns in search of the horses which Eurytus
accused Heracles of having stolen (Apollod. II 129 x)); but Auto
lycus was the culprit, according to Apollodorus. In Homer (Od.
XXI 22-30) Heracles was the thief and held the horses, after
murdering Iphitus. It is impossible to say which version Sophocles
had in mind.
b B u t he is sp eak in g of βόες; I I 6 .2 .i.
K a m e r b e e k , Trachiniae 6
COMMENTARY
271. κλειτύν: we have to write it thus 1), as appears from Herod.

II 416.20 and LG. XII 5, 1076.38 τά έγ Κλειτυϊ and the MS reading
Eur. Ba. 411 ; Limenius 2 also has δικόρυψον κλειτύν.
The word is rather rare (Horn., not in Aesch., twice in Soph.,
five times in Eur.). “Slope”. The wording T. πρ. κλ. is not ornamen
tal but prepares for άπ’ . . . . πλακός.
νομάδας: impossible to say whether the adj. is to be taken as
fern, or masc. The suffix -αδ denotes the masc. also in early com
binations 12). But animals in the plur. are very often fem. The
sense required here is "roaming” , or even: “gone astray”, “lost” .
έξιχνοσκοπών : Problably Aesch. coined the simplex ίχνοσκοπέω
(Cho. 228); since έξιχνεύω meant the same thing (“to track out” ,
τάς βοϋς όπη βεβάσι lehn. 160), έξιχνοσκοπέω could be readily
formed by Soph, (the middle occurs at Ai. 997).
2 7 2 . τότ’ : in correlation with ώς 270.
θητέρα: It is perhaps better to follow the tradition of L here and
O.C. 497 than to read θατέρα 3) ; cf. Ar. Lys. 85, Eur. Rhes. 449. τη
έτέρα: aliorsum.
άλλοσε . . . . θητέρα: perhaps variatio. Cf. El. 739 τότ’ άλλος, άλλοθ’
άτερος κάρα προβάλλων. The metrically difficult έτέρωσε is not used
by the Tragedians. But the question arises whether άλλοσε and
θητέρα form an antithesis, as stated by Jebb (cp. Mazon: “au
moment même où il avait l’oeil d’un côté, l’esprit d’un autre” ). If
it is right to assume with Raderm. that Iph. “späht von der Berg
kuppe aus vergebens nach ihnen und versinkt darüber in Ge
danken, wo sie sein möchten” (and it is hard to imagine another
meaning for the words), then it follows that the direction of δμμα
and νους (“attention” ) is one and the same. Thus θητέρα specifies
the more general άλλοσε, implying "the wrong direction” (cp.
έτέρως “otherwise than should be” ): he should have been on his
guard. Masqueray’s translation,,ses yeux étaient tournés ailleurs,
comme son esprit”, though somewhat shallow, comes nearer to the
truth than Jebb’s and Mazon’s. The schol. τότ’ άλλοσ’ αύτόν ομμα:
άλλαχόσε τον νοϋν έχοντα καί ούδέν δεινόν πείσεσθαι προσδοκώντα etc.
does not solve the problem ; perhaps it is truncated.
1) See W ack ern ag el, Spracht. Unters, zu Hont., 1916, p. 75, S chw yzer I
5 °6 4. 7.
2) S chw yzer I 507.6. Cf. O.T. 467.
3) Cp. K .-B . I 223, an m . 2, S ch w y zer I 401.7.
COMMENTARY 83
2 7 3 . άπ’ . . . . πλακάς: The hill of Tiryns is not very suitable for

this exploit.
But Jebb and others are, in my opinion, quite right in considering
■άκρα πλάξ as the flat top, not of the hill, but of one of the buildings,
a tower for instance. There is then a slight and quite Sophoclean
abusio in πυργώδους; "du haut d’une terrasse des remparts” (Mazon)
is the best rendering I know, -ώδης indeed so often becomes
merely a suffix that πυργώδης can surely have the function of πύργου.
Mythographic tradition always shows us Heracles flinging Iphitus
from a tower or from the walls of Tiryns : Pherec. F 82 b J., Apollod.
II 6. 2.2, Diod. Sic. IV 31. 3.
2 7 4 . έκατι : cf. infra 353, Phil. 669; denoting ope, propter, quod
attinet ad in Aesch. ; very frequent in Eur. It takes the place of
ένεκα owing to its metrical convenience and not being a word used
in prose it shows “doric” ä J).
2 7 5 . ό των απάντων πατήρ: implying that Zeus is bound to up
hold δίκη and that Heracles’ slavery is to be seen in this light; cf.
250 sq.
2 7 6 . πρατόν: “for sale” ; only here in classical Greek.
ούδ’ ήνέσχετο: paratactic parenthesis instead of a causal clause;
ούδ’ = ού γάρ. As the dependent clause with άνέχεσθαι is always in
the form of a partie., a genit, with partie., or (rarely) an infinitive
it is better to take όθούνεκ’ = “because” going with πρατόν viv
έξέπεμψεν than as dependent on ήνέσχετο. ήνέσχετο is absolute or
one might supply either something like τούτο συγγιγνωσκων or (viv)
τούτο ποιήσαντα. (Not, with Campbell: “And would not endure it,
that” ).
2 7 7 . αύτον μοΰνον ανθρώπων: Zeus’ wrath is the greater because
Heracles transgressed his own standards of conduct, δόλω by its
placing has the full emphasis.
2 7 8 . ήμύνατο: “had revenged himself”. (The note in Suidas
άμύνασθαι Θουκυδίδης μέν αντί τού άμείβεσθαι, Σιμωνίδης δέ άντί τού
χάριν άποδιδόναι, Σοφοκλής δέ άντί τού άπαλεξήσαι does not suit this
passage, nor O.C. 873).
2 7 9 . χειρουμένω: used as e.g. at Eur. Her. 570 τω καλλινίκω τωδ’
οπλω χειρώσομαι.
ξύν δίκη : The revenge itself was ξύν δίκη. The words mean : Zeus
would have consented to his justly punishing him. The possibility1
1) Cf. G. B jö rck , Das A lp h a I m p u r u m , p p . 122 sq. ; sp e c u la tiv e sem asiology
in L e u m an n , Homerische Wörter, p p . 251 sqq.
COMMENTARY
of taking χειρουμένω as a passive form with Iphitus as subject has

very little to recommend it.
2 8 0 . ΰβριν: this, of course, refers to Eurytus’ misconduct.
στέργουσιν: as often, the sense approximates to “tolerate” (cf.
Ant. 292) or even to “acquiesce in ” (cf. infra 486).
ούδε: any more than men. Cf. Denniston G.P. 2 194.
With εί γάρ..........δαίμονες, and especially with the last line,
Lichas’ speech returns to the fate of Eurytus, his sons and his
town. Of course, it is not the poet who takes side with Heracles’
behaviour; it is Lichas, who rather akwardly tries to give a plau
sible account of his conduct, leaving out his passion for lole. One
may ask whether 1. 280 is not, by the poet, meant as double-edged.
2 8 1 . κείνοι δ’: Eurytus cum suis-, remoteness, not only in place
but in time also (fuerunt), seems to be implied.
ύπερχλίοντες : the verb belongs to the same region of ideas as
υβρις. χλίειν superbire Aesch. Clio. 137 oi S’ . . . εν τοΐσι σοϊς πόνοισι
χλίουσιν μέγα, έγχλίειν insultare Aesch. Suppl. 914 'Έλλησιν έγχλίεις
άγαν, χλιδάο) Aesch. Suppl. 833 (?), fr- 3 Ι 3 - Prom. 97 L Soph. El.
360, and often in Eur. “to live delicately” , “to pride oneself” ,
“to show insolence”, ύπερχλίοντες, the rarer form, is to be read here,
έκ γλώσσης κακής "with reviling words” (Campbell) goes with
ύπερχλίοντες, denoting the manner of the insult; the participle
represents the imperfect tense.
2 8 2 . 3 . αύτοί μέν . . . πόλις δε : formally a distributive ap
position, but the second clause expands the original subject; cf.
Ai. 1387.
£,Αιδου . . . οίκήτορες: cf. ad Ai. 396.
2 8 3 . τάσδε: in the acc. by attraction to άσπερ.
2 8 4 . εξ ολβίων: εξ in formulae denoting a reversal of fortune is
quite common. A paraphrase should run thus: "being formerly
happy they now have found instead of their happiness an unen
viable life”, “from their former happiness they have fallen into
an unenviable life” . Cp. e.g. Eur. Heracl. 796, 939 sq. έκ γάρ ευτυ
χούς . . . άνδρα δυστυχοϋνθ’, infra 1075·
2 8 4 . άζηλον: ο ούκ άν τις ζηλώσειεν Suid. ; Aesch. Prom. 143» Cho.
T017; El. 1455, infra 745; Eur. I.T. 619 άζηλά γ ’, ώ νεάνι, κούκ
εύδαίμονα, ib. 650.
2 8 5 , 6 τε . . . δέ: “The explanation of the irregularity probably
is that the idea of contrast is added to the original idea of addition”
(Denniston, G.P.2 p. 513). Cf. infra 333, Ant. 1096, Phil. 1313.
COMMENTARY 85
286. πιστός: loyal and obedient; cf. schol. ώς προσετάγην.

287, 8. αυτόν δ’έκεΐνον: “ as for himself” . The words announce
viv (289).
άγνά: not simply “holy”, but “purifying, expiatory” : δταν διά
της θυσίας καθάρη αυτόν άπό τού φόνου (schol.). By the sacrifice
Heracles will be made ritually pure 1) ; but at the same time it is
a votive-offering for the capture of the town; the genit, άλώσεως
is to be joined with θύματα, or possibly as a causal genit, with
θύματα ρέξη.
πατρωψ Ζηνι: the words convey no more than: “his father Zeus”,
(not the patron of his tribe).
2 8 9 . φρόνει νιν ώς ήξοντα: prop, “think that (as you may assume)
he will come”, i.e. “be assured that he will come”, "ώς only adds
emphasis to the expression” *2). Cf. Phil. 253, 415, 567. For cases
with genit, absol. cf. ad Hi. 281.
γάρ: it is not quite correct to say here: “γάρ gives the motive for
saying that which has just been said” (G.P,2 p. 60). We may as
sume that these last words have a final ring (accompanied with a
gesture of finality) and that γάρ explains his stopping here. Jebb’s
rendering “indeed” is not incorrect.
2 8 9 , 2 9 0 . As Radermacher rightly observes, Lichas gives a
personal turn to the conventional λόγος λέλεκται (cp. Phil. 389).
καλώς : refers not to the speech but to its auspicious contents ; for
the meaning of καλώς cp. supra 26.
2 9 1 . σοι τέρψις εμφανής κυρεΐ: either: “manifest joy comes to you”
(thus Ellendt, cp. O.C. 1290 τοϋτ’ άφ’ υμών βουλήσομαι κυρεΐν έμοί,
Eur. Rhes. 7 4 5 ! κυρεΐν = contingere) or “now your joy is (prop,
turns out to be, happens to be) manifest” .
2 9 2 . τών μέυ παρόντων . . . τά δέ πεπυσμένη : combination of genit,
abs. with a participle in another case.
τών μέν: the maidens before her, who are evidence of Heracles’
victory; cf. 223 sq. It is needless to remark the poignancy of this
dramatic irony. Victory, offerings, booty: they will prove only
destruction for man and wife, and Heracles’ coming will only
crown the misery. Cp. the antithesis 947-952.
2 9 3 . Deianeira’s hesitation in accepting the happiness that
seems to come to her forms part of the very elaborate individual
h O n άγνός etc. cf. P . C h a n tra in e & O. M asson in F e stsc h rift D e b ru n n e r
(1954). P· s 5 sqq.
2) G oodw in, §916. K .-G . I I p p . 93, 94, S ch w .-D eb r. 397.
86 COMMENTARY
characterization lavished on her by the poet’s art. It is of course

impossible to say how far this is due to the situation in which he
places her and how far the reverse is true.
2 9 4 . πραξιν: either (with εύτυχή) “faring well” (L.-Sc.) x) or
“achievement” (with εύτυχή = “success”).
πανδίκω φρενί: “with a heart that has every reason to rejoice”
(Campbell), μετά πάσης δικαιοσύνης (schob), πάνδικος (adj.) occurs
only at Aesch. Suppl. 776, but the adverb is fairly frequent in
Soph.; the normal wording would be πανδίκως τη φρενί (Campbell).
2 9 5 . τούτο: το εμέ χαίρειν. τη δ’ : τη ευτυχεί πράξει.
συντρέχειν: “to coincide” .
2 9 6 . ένεστι: cum dat. pers. and inf. : “it is in the nature of . . .
[Ant. 213 ένεστί σοι “it is in your power”).
2 9 7 . τον εδ πράσσοντα: proleptic acc. of the object.
Cf. Aesch. Niob. 116.19 sq. Mette [άλλ’ οΐ γάρ] εδ πράσσοντες ου
ποτ’ ήλπισα[ν] [σφαλέν]τες έκχεΐν ήν έχουσ’ [εύπραξίαν], The schob
cites : καί τούτο τούπος έστίν άνδρός ευφρονος δταν καλώς πράσση τις,
έλπίζειν κακά. (ad. 46° Ν.2). For these misgivings cf. Hdt. I ll 40
(Amasis and Polycrates). Here they are aroused in Deianeira
by the sight of the captives, which reminds her of the frailty of the
human condition.
2 9 8 . εΐσέβη: cf. Eur. Hyps. 1 IV 19 (Italie) κάμε γάρ το δυσχερές /
τοϋτ’είσβέβηκεν ·. More usual is έμπίπτειν: Phil. 965 έμοί μέν οίκτος
δεινός έμπέπτωκέ τις, cf. O.C. 942. Eur. Hel. Ι 395>Η ec. 857, Ι·Α. 8ο8,
or εισέρχομαι: Med. 931 είσήλθέ μ’ οίκτος εί γενήσεται τάδε, Or. Ι 324 >
Ι.Α. 492 άλλως τέ μ’ έ'λεος της ταλαιπώρου κόρης / έσήλθε, Hdt. I l l
14.11. φόβος, έλεος, έρως, οίκτος, πόθος are the subjects.
3 0 0 . άπάτοράς: not “de eis, quarum patria non esset” (Ellendt),
but simply “fatherless” : the fathers are dead (282).
άοίκους άπάτοράς τ’ : one of the numberless instances of adjectives
with ά-privans following in succession, creating a pathetic effect
(here enhanced by the rhythm, often (esp. with Eur.) by asyndeton).
3 0 1 . πριν μέν ήσαν . . . . άνδρών: To take exception to these words
on logical grounds is inept, because 1) ’ίσως is regularly used de re
satis certa (cf. Ellendt), 2) ήσαν έξ ελευθέρων άνδρών implies that
their position was in keeping with this fact.
3 0 2 . δοΰλον: for the adjectival use, cf. supra 53.
3 0 3 . ώ Ζεΰ τροπαΐε: not to be explained, with the schob, by:
1) Cf. A i . 790, 792; su pra 152, in fra 375.

COMMENTARY 87
αποτρεπτικέ, άλεξίκακε but as: “ giver of victory”, “ Zeus de la

Déroute" (Mazon), just as at Ant. 143 (thus rightly Jebb and
Campbell).
3 0 4 . προς . . . χωρήσαντα: in hostile sense, like προς ... στείχοντα
Ant. 10, χωροϋσιν έφ’ Eur. Rhes. 672.
ποι: the adverb denotes in this context “on any occasion” .
3 0 5 . Properly speaking the words do not convey more than what
has already been said : for τήσδέ γε ζώσης έτι is implied in είσιδοιμι.
τήσδε: δεικτικώς άντί του έμοϋ Χ) ; cf. infra 1013,' the substantival
usage is not common.
δράσειας or something like that has to be supplied after μηδ·.
3 0 6 . The line closes the passage that begins at 1. 298. There is
“Ring-Komposition”, particularly as the concepts of οίκτος (δεινός)
and δέδοικα are much the same. Psychologically and "morally”
οίκτος (έλεος) and φόβος are akin and they are often interchan
geable *2). For οίκτος takes hold of one’s soul at the sight of misfor
tune at the same time as the fear lest the misfortune may happen to
oneself, οίκτος as it were places man on the verge of an abyss, the
abyss of human destiny. Again, dramatic irony, a savage one, plays
its part, pervading all her words; Deianeira cannot realize, how
fearsomely true her sentiments are. In her ignorance, but also
driven by intuition (and Sophocles’ portraiture is true to life) she
accosts lole.
3 0 7 . νεανίδων: maidens or young women (cf. Eur. Andr. 192).
3 0 8 . άνανδρος, ή τεκνοΰσα : the question is asked with true Greek
"directness” . MSS have τεκοϋσα and as a v.l. τεκνοΰσα. With Brunck
most editors have τεκνοϋσσα (τεκνόεσσα). I am not so sure that this
is right, because 1) τεκνόεις is not very well attested, and the
contraction would be an exception (cf. Chantraine, Formation
des Noms, p. 272). 2) it would mean “well-provided with children” .
3) τεκοϋσα makes good sense (“did you already bear a child, are
you already a mother?” ) 4) τεκνοΰσα itself does not seem impossible ;
τεκνόω, it is true, is normally used with the man as subject (“to be
get” ), but a) τίκτω is indifferently used for “to bear” and “to
engender” b) τεκνόω is properly speaking “furnish with a child”
or with children Eur. Her. 7; so τεκνοΰσα could mean: (are you al-
b Cf. W . S ch ad ew ald t, Die Niobe des Aischylos, S itz. b er. H eid elb . A k.
1934, p . 14 n. I .
2) Cp. W . S ch ad ew ald t, H erm es L X X X I I I 1955, p p 129 sqq.
88 COM MENTARY
ready) “furnishing (a man) with children” i.e. (are you already)

"married?” (Cp. 536).
3 0 8 , 9 . προς . . . τις : The usual explanation of these words is
this: “from your looks all this (—i.e. marriage and motherhood—)
is strange to you. But you are noble” 1). Now, with this interpre
tatio n 12), the antithesis implied by μέν . . . δέ is very strange.
Commentators did not fail to notice that but their comments are
far from being satisfactory. Even if one assumes no antithesis, the
combination: “you are not married and you are noble” strikes one
as bizarre. Moreover, in that case, γάρ must refer to άνανδρος, ή
τεκνοϋσα, which is not easy to explain (Jebb, Masqueray, Bowra,
Reinhardt3) leave it out in their translations; one could try
“indeed” but would have to confess that άλλά προς φύσιν would be
much easier). Therefore, in my opinion, there is much to be said for
Mazon’s unorthodox rendering of the passage: “Tout ton être
répugne à pareille misère. Serais-tu pas de noble sang” . That is to
say, Iole stands before her, beautiful, silent, self-possessed, the
picture of an unbroken maiden of noble birth. Her bodily appear
ance strikes D. as belonging to one who, hitherto, did not know
the miseries of the moment (πάντων τώνδε). γάρ refers to the fact of
Deianeira’s accosting her, and the combination of “ignorant of
misery” and “of noble birth” is natural (γενναία implying also:
“of noble character” ).
φύσιν: “appearance” ; φύσις = species, μορφή, μορφής φύσις
(Aesch. Suppl. 496) 4) ; O.T. 740. προς, as often, “to judge by” .
3 1 0 . As lole remains silent (just as Cassandra does at Aesch.
Ag. 1035 sqq.; the scenes are comparable in some respects), Deia-
neira asks Lichas.
ποτ’: repeats ποτ’ vs. 307 and underlines D.’s anxious desire to
know.
3 1 1 . ό φιτύσας πατήρ: a formula, cp. Ai. 1296, Eur. Ale. 1137,
I.A. 1177.
313. οσωπερ καί φρονεΐν οίδεν μόνη: much better rendered by
Mazon: “d’autant qu’elle est seule à se dominer” than by Kitto 56)
1) T h u s B ow ra, Soph. Trag., p . 123.
2) O ne cou ld co m p a re H a b ro to n o n ’s p a th e tic w ords Men. E p itr. 302,3 K .3
ούδ’ εγώ τότε, / οΰπω γάρ, άνδρ’ ήδειν τί έστι.
3) Sophokles1, ρ. 54·
4) Cf. D. H o lw erd a, Comm, de vocis quae est Φύσις vi atque usu, th esis,
G roningen 1955, § 13 B.
6) Greek Tragedy, p. 146 n. 2.
COMMENTARY 89
“inasmuch as she alone can understand her situation” . Surely

φρονεΐν = σωφρονεΐν. One has to bear in mind that Lichas’ descript
ion of lole’s demeanour during the journey is false; the antithesis
construed by Jebb ("While the other captives are comparatively
callous, she appears to D. as one whose sense of the calamity is such
as might be looked for in a maiden of noble birth and spirit” ) is not
justified by the text. On the contrary, we must imagine the other
captives lamenting without restraint in contrast to lole’s self-
control and we must not forget that the latter is entering Heracles’
house as his mistress.
οσωπερ: a dative “mensurae” as if πλεΐστον occurred in the relat.
clause also; the superlative notion, indeed, is implied in μόνη.
3 1 4 . κρινοις: cf. supra 195.
καί: stresses the content of the verb: “Why should you ask me?”
(Denniston, G.P.2 315). Cp. Ai. 1290, 0 .7 '. 1129 ποιον άνδρα καί
λέγεις ; Lichas’ state of mind is to be compared with the Θεράπων’β
O.T. 1144 sqq.
3 1 5 . γέννημα . . . ύστάτοις: cp. O.T. I167 των Λαΐου τοίνυν τις ήν
γεννημάτων, (γέννημα “child” is a vox Sophoclea ; not in Aesch. and
Eur.).
The construction of the words is not certain: is it γέννημα των
έκεΐθεν ούκ έν ύστάτοις ον (as the schol. has it) or γέννημα των έκεΐθεν
οΰκ έν ύστάτοις οντων (Radermacher) ? The former is doubtless the
more natural (we understand έκεΐθεν better), των έκεΐθεν may be a
genit, originis (Jebb) or a partitivus (Campbell: supply γεννημάτων) :
the latter seems more probable as D. does not want to know whether
lole’s parents are Oichalians (she knows), but whether she is of high
birth or not. So we have to construe: ΐσως γέννημα ούκ έν ύστάτοις
(= εύγενεστάτη) των έκεΐθεν (γεννημάτων).
In this case it is hardly right to say that έκεΐθεν = έκεΐ.
3 1 6 . μή των τυράννων: Note the anxiety expressed by the inter
rogative μή.
των τυράννων: (she did not belong) to the royal family (did
she).
Εύρύτου σπορά τις ήν : It is impossible to have D. ask the question :
"had Eurytus any issue” (for the whole of Lichas’ story dealt with
this) and equally impossible to assume that σπορά has the special
meaning of female offspring. So we have to interpret: “was she
Eurytus’ offspring” (prop, an offspring of Eurytus’) (as to the
imperf. tense cp. supra 301) or we have to write: Εύρύτου σπορά τίς
go COMMENTARY
ήν; “Who were the children of Eurytus?’’ x) (or: μή των τυράννων,

Εύρύτου σπορά ; τίς ήν ; who was she ?)
3 1 7 . It is just possible that D. passes over L.’s “ούκ οιδα”, if the
interpretation given supra is correct, whereas it is inconceivable if
D. has asked: “Eurytos avait-il des enfants?”
ούδ’ άνιστόρουν μακράν : he did not go a long way (he did not go
out of his way) to investigate. Cf. O.T. 220, Phil. 26.
3 1 8 . των ξυνεμπόρων: those who made the journey with her (her
companions). Cf. έμπορος viator O.C. 25, 303, 901.
εχεις: you have been told, yop know. Cf. Phil. 789.
3 1 9 . Lichas, making the best of his awkward situation, plays the
part of the faithful servant. There is a touch of comedy in these
virtuous words; a Daos could have said them, άνύτω (esp. Attic
form of άνύω) to finish, to accomplish (a journey, a task).
3 2 0 . ε’ίπ’ . . . . σαυτής: “Well, tell me yourself, since Lichas
cannot” (Denniston, G .P 2 p. 13 (3)). It is clear that άλλά refers to έκ
σαυτής (thus already Campbell).
3 2 1 . και ξυμφορά τοι: “really a pity, you know” , “an actual
misfortune” {G.P.2 p. 297) (one of the many cases of και “even”,
“actually” in a causal clause, here adhering more closely to the
following word than to the conjuction). τοι is persuasive (“a caress”
G.P.2 p. 541); Meineke’s το is a needless conjecture, which impairs
the sense.
Of course the words are deeply imbued with tragic irony. The
knowledge will seal D.’s fate. Cp. the very tragic words infra 459
το δ’εΐδέναι τί δεινόν ;
3 2 2 . 2 3 . ου........ γλώσσαν : If one takes διοίσει γλώσσαν in the
sense of: “she will speak” (or if one writes διήσει γλώσσαν “she will
open her lips”, "she will speak” ), one has to choose between: “she
will, I grant you, just as before (hitherto) not say anything” (ως
ούκ έλάλησε πρώην ουδέ νυν λαλήσει, second schob ad 322) and
“<if she speaks at all> that will not be at all in conformity with her
former behaviour” (εάν αίδουμένη σε φθέγξηται κατ’ ούδέν άρα έξ
ίσου τω πρόσθεν χρόνω προκομίσειεν αυτής τήν γλώτταν, first schob).
The second course is, in my opinion, the best; for 1) with the first
interpretation one would have expected something like : άλλά τω γε
πρόσθεν εξ ’ίσου ού διοίσει (or διήσει) τήν γλώτταν. It is more natural,
as Jebb saw, to take together ούδέν έξ ’ίσου. If it is objected that
Lichas speaks after some moments of silence and that his words1
1) F o r th e in te rro g a tiv e follow ing th e su b je c t cf. 459.
COMMENTARY 91
mean “you see, she will not say anything”, my answer is that, in
that case, the present tense would be more natural than the fu
ture. 2) Lichas’ anxious desire that lole should keep silence shows
more clearly. 3) His insistence on Iole’s silence during the journey
is stronger; his turn of words is typical of a liar who insists on
having spoken the truth.
G. Hermann’s interpretation (διαφέρειν = to differ): “Just as
hitherto she will maintain an even tenour as to her tongue” 1) is
very improbable. If διαφέρειν cannot mean virtually the same as
διιέναι — “carry the words (= γλώτταν) <through the lips>” or:
“put in motion” (L.-Sc.)—we have to read διήσει (Wakefield,
Jebb, Pearson and others). Perhaps the sense “put in motion”
can be defended as a weakening of the sense known from such cases
as Eur. Suppl. 715 οπλισμα . . . λαβών / δεινής κορύνης διαφέρων
έσφενδόνα, Ι.Α. 1195 ή σκήπτρά αοι / μόνον διαφέρειν καί στρατηλατεΐν
μέλει; Βα. 1087, Or. 1261. And compare the στρεπτή γλώσσα of II. XX
248 and γλώσσαν . . . νέμων Aesch. Ag. 685.
3 2 3 . ήτις : “<she> who, indeed” . . .
3 2 4 . προύφηνεν: in the sense of dicta proferre (E.) is rare (not in
Aesch. and Eur.).
ούτε μείζον’ ουτ’ ελασσόνα: neuter pi. ; a good instance of Sopho-
clean “polar” expression.
3 2 5 . ώδίνουσα: cf. ad Ai. 794.
3 2 6 . It is a question of some importance whether we ought to
write δακρυρρόει or δακρυρροεΐ; L A E (έδάκρυεν) have the imperfect
tense and that is as one would exspect, to judge by 313 ; it is, in fact,
inconceivable that lole stands weeping before D. The missing
augment could be excused by considering Lichas’ words as part
of a herald’s speech; the perfect λέλοιπεν is no objection. If we read
δακρυρροεί, we have to take the form as praesens historicum (instead
of imperf.); or else Lichas says, without heeding lole’s real behav
iour, now any more than in the past: “she is always weeping etc.”
One has to admit that the imperfect makes things easier.
3 2 7 . διήνεμον: schol. έρημον, υψηλήν · ‘Όμηρος ήνεμόεσσάν φησι.
Jebb calls it far-fetched to follow the first interpretation of the
schol., as Hermann did, but I must say that διήνεμον (a hapax
legomenon) as epitheton ornans seems very otiose; so I accept
Mazon’s translation: “dispersée aux vents” . (Cf. Aesch. Ag. 818-
820).1
1) C am pbell’s ren d erin g .
92 COM MENTARY
327. 8. τύχη: (this) state to which she has been reduced by ill-
fortune; cf. εν τοιάδε κείμενος κακή τύχη Ai. 323·
3 2 8 . μέν . . . άλλά: “the second clause states a consideration
which goes someway towards invalidating the first” . (G.P2. p. 5).
It is better in my opinion to follow L in reading αυτή than to read
αύτη (αύτή would be preferable), because with this reading γ’ is
more natural.
συγγνώμην έχει: habet cur ignoscas, “gives cause for forbearance” .
Cf. Eur. Plioen. 995 τούμόν δ’ούχί συγγνώμην έχει,/προδότην γενέσθαι
πατρίδος.
έχειν = to involve, admit of (cf. L.-Sc. s.v. A n ) ; Eur. Andr. 244
τά γ ’ αισχρά κάνθάδ’ α.ίσχύνην εχει. D. acts accordingly.
3 2 9 . δ’ούν: “permissive” δ’ούν, "all right then” .
έάσθω: not sc. χαίρειν (that would be unkind), but “let her be
left in peace” (Jebb).
3 3 0 . ούτως όπως ήδιστα. : in whatever manner is most agreeable
to her.
κακοΐς / τοΐς ούσιν : the τύχη of 327.
3 3 1 . άλλην . . . λύπην λάβοι: the conjecture of F. W. Schmidt
(Radermacher, Mazon) διπλήν (λάβοι) has something to recommend
it: lole’s recounting her former state would in itself double her
grief, it would indeed be a case of renovare dolorem. But I think the
mistake by anticipation (λύπην instead of άλλην or perhaps διπλήν)
more plausible. So I prefer the Triclinian άλλην (πρός γ ’), with
Campbell, Jebb and Pearson; λοιπήν seems a bad make-shift.
λάβοι: there is nothing to be said for Blaydes’ and Jebb's λάβη:
it destroys, to some extent, the gentleness of D.’s words.
333. ως σύ θ’ οι θέλεις / σπεύδης: a technical device to prepare for
Lichas’ returning to Heracles ; in the preceding lines we did not hear
about Lichas’ desire or duty to return. Therefore one cannot be
absolutely sure that L’s θέλης is mistaken.
3 3 3 . 4 . Θ’ . . . δέ: one case, out of many, where the MSS
reading τε . . . δέ has to be restored (cf. ad 286).
3 3 4 . τάνδον έξαρκή τιθώ: (j’irai) “tout ordonner, comme il con
vient dans la maison” . The woman is responsible for τά ένδον (cf.
Xen. Oec. VII 22).
έξαρκή “that they may be satisfactory” , “that they meet the
circumstances”, a rare word.
3 3 5 . άμμείνασ’ : it would seem that the v.l. έμμείνασ' is simply a
corruption that arose from failure to understand the apocope. (Cp.
COM MENTARY 93
Radermacher, Rhein. Mus. 73, 454). For άναμένειν morari cf. El.
1389.
γε . . . άμ,μείνασ’: before you go, you must wait a moment. (Sup
plying χώρει one may paraphrase the force of γε with the aor.
partie.: “yes, go, but not before having waited” ). For βαιόν, pan-,
lisper (= χρόνον βαιόν supra 44) cp. O.C. 1653.
336, 7 . L and R have the metrically impossible ουστινας
without τ’ or γ’, A the senseless σ’, some MSS γ ’ (a make-shift),
Trick conjectured τ’. In 337 L and R have έκμάθης 0 ’, A έκμάθης γ ’.
I think it unsafe not to follow L in 337 and I prefer to construe
(with Campbell) : όπως μάθης I° ουστινας άγεις έσω, 2° ταΰτα ών
ούδέν είσήκουσας, καί οότως έκμάθης ά. δει, supplying with Trick τ’
in 336, but not omitting Θ’ in 337. Thus έκμάθης, the compound after
the simple verb, has a summarizing function, the placing of τ’
affords no difficulties, and the two things the Angelos is eager to
mention are neatly correlated by τ’ . . . τ’. Of course Θ’ after έκ
μάθης does not ask for a corresponding τ ’ after μάθης.
άνευ τώνδ’ : with a gesture in the direction of the house.
3 3 8 . πάντ’: adverbial, “in all respects” going with the whole
sentence, τούτοι depending on έπιστήμην. For the postponement of
γάρ cp. G.P.2 p. 96. (I fail to see in it a characterization of the
Angelos). The objections to the text as stated by Radermacher and
J. Jackson1) do not convince me (Jackson’s τούτων — έχω γάρ
πάντ’ — έπιστήμων έγώ strikes me as very shrewd indeed, but also
very tautological). Even if we were compelled to take τούτων πάντ’
as direct object of έχω έπιστήμην (= έπίσταμα.ι)—which we are
not—I should be inclined to accept the words as they stand.
339. του . . : βάσιν : τίνος ένεκεν την πορείαν καί την είσοδον
ίστας καί κωλύεις; (schob).
This is the course adopted by Jebb, Campbell, Mazon and
others; έφίστασθαι is causal (not found elsewhere in pres., it is
found in the aor.), τήνδε βάσιν is accus, of respect: “in this move
ment” ; the active έφίστημι in the sense of "make to halt” is com
mon. The other possibility is to take τήνδε βάσιν as cogn. accus,
(referring to the Angelos’ step) and με as object of τήνδ’ έφίστασαι
βάσιν in the sense of ώδε επιβαίνεις, "why do you come upon me
in such manner?” But έπιβαίνειν with acc. of the person is always
metaphorical (cp. e.g. Ai. 138). One could say that D.’s feels the
hurried approach of the Angelos as an attack and compare προσ-
x) M a rgin alia Scaenica, 1955, p. 130.
94 COMMENTARY
βάλλειν πρός Men. Epitr. 27. lehn. 168 (= VII 10) cannot be alleged
in defence of this interpretation (as it is by Radermacher) for there
Pearson is probably correct in writing [ά]φίστω.
It seems, then, necessary to accept the first interpretation,
(unless we read μοι instead of με (Madvig)). Perhaps σταθεΐσ’ (340)
is in favour of it, but I do not think that τήνδ' can afford us an
argument.
3 4 0 . 1 . ούδέ . . ούδέ: Jebb is right in stating that ούδέ . . . ούδέ
is not = ούτε . . . ούτε, but the corresponsion is nevertheless the
same as if the wording had been ώσπερ ούδέ τον πάρος, ούτως ούδέ
νυν (cp. PI. Ale. 2.141 a) and the element “even” in the first ούδέ is
pleonastic in the same sense as καί in many relative and other
clauses (cp. the examples G.P.2 p. 324.2 and the discussions pp. 193
and pp. 195 sq.). So I fail to see why this is “not a case of para
taxis” (Jebb): “ούδέ, appearing in both limbs, takes over . . . the
function of corresponsive καί” (G.P.2 p. 196) 1).
3 4 1 . μάτην: i.e. "without the event proving the truth of my
words” (Campbell).
δοκώ: sc. σε μάτην τον μύθον άκούσεσθαι.
3 4 2 . δήτα: For δητα following interrogative particles cf. G.P.2
p. 271 (4).
αύθις πάλιν: The combination of these two is fairfy frequent in
Soph, and Eur. ; they intensify each other; πάλιν denotes “back”
(retro), αύθις “again” (rursus \ i.e. “de re in pristinum statum
restituta” Ellendt).
3 4 4 . σοί ταΐσδέ τ ’ ούδέν εϊργεται: σοί ταΐσδέ τ ’ έξειπεΐν <έμοί> ούδέν
εΐργεται: “I do not feel at all prevented from making things known
to you and these maidens”. Or perhaps: “ Nothing is kept away
(lit.) for (i.e. from) you and these” = “I have no secrets for you
and these”. Cf. schol. άντί τοϋ ούδέν ούτε προς σε ούτε προς ταύτας
άπόρρητον.
έ'α: perhaps Deianeira is thought to make a gesture as if she
would enter the palace.
3 4 5 . καί δή βεβασι: καί δή denotes that the requirement implied
in τούτους δ’έ'α has been satisfied 2) ; so the Messenger can proceed
with his tale. I think it probable that there is also a certain corre-
1) T h ere is som e in c o n siste n c y in D e n n isto n ’s s ta te m e n ts p. 193 a n d p. 196

as to th e recip ro cal re la tio n of ούδέ . . . ούδέ.
2) G . p .2 p. 251 ( n i ) .
COMMENTARY 95
lation between the two xoc'i’s ; in any case the paratactical structure
of the sentence has the force of: “since they are gone, you can
now . . .
ό λόγος σημαινέτω: “ Now then let your speech declare your
meaning” 1). D.’s anxious concern for the tale makes her personify
it, just as often in Plato the λόγος (although in another sense) is
personified; here there is hardly any difference between μϋθος and
λόγος (the speech, the story told, tale in the sense of account of
the matter).
3 4 6 . άνήρ 68’: The Messenger indiscriminately refers to Lichas
by 68s or οδτος, just as e.g. Thuc.. refers to the war he describes by
όδε and οδτος.
3 4 7 . δίκης ές ορθόν: “conformably with the straight rule of
honesty” Jebb, who rightly compares Eur. Hec. 602 οίδεν τό γ’
αισχρόν κανόνι του καλοϋ μαθών.
φωνεΐ : it is better to take this, not as a praesens historicum, but as
a present of duration; the words in fact mean “there is no truth in
what he said” . So, in my opinion, we have to supply εστι with κακός
and take νϋν in its proper sense. The meaning of κακός (“dishonest” )
is brought out by ού δίκαιος, δίκη itself meaning in this context
“honesty” , "uprightness” .
3 4 8 . πρόσθεν: έν βουθερεϊ λειμώνι etc. 188 sqq.
3 4 9 . παν όσον νοείς: precisely “tout ce que tu as dans l’esprit”
(Mazon).
3 5 0 . à μεν γάρ έξείρηκας: either direct object of άγνοια1 2) μ’
έχει = άγνοώ or one has to supply τούτων depending on άγνοια;
the words mean: “I fail to understand” .
μεν: Denniston G.P .2 p. 377 ranges this usage under the heading:
"The μέν clause is contrasted with what precedes, not with what
follows” . But I think μέν is here emphatic, not elliptically antithe
tical.
3 5 1 . 2 . ώς goes with λέγοντος.
πολλών παρόντων μαρτύρων: very emphatic and consistent with
188.
3 5 2 . 3 . της κόρης / ταύτης : the characteristically Sophoclean
enjambment heavily stresses the phrase.
3 5 3 . κείνος : Heracles, εκατι : cf. ad 274 supra.
1) C am pbell.
2) T h e a is long, as so m etim es in p o e try (Phil. 129); cf. o n -iS a n d -ιά
S chw yzer I 469, C h a n tra in e , Formation des N om s, p . 91.
96 COMMENTARY
3 5 4 . ύψίπυργον: in Soph, only here; Aesch. Eum. 688, metaphor.

Suppl. 97. (One of the typically Aeschylean words occurring in the
dialogue of this tragedy, cp. F. R. Earp, The Style of Sophocles,
p. 40).
3 5 5 . μόνος θεών: cp. μόνον βροτών 2 Ö I and Ζεύς οτου πράκτωρ φανη
251.
θέλξειεν: Soph, has the verb only here and infra 710 χ). The
“spell” of Eros is spoken of in Horn. Od. XVIII 212: έρω δ’άρα
θυμόν έθελχθεν, cf. ib. I 57 i Aesch. Suppi. 1004 δμματος θελκτήριον /
τόξευμ’ επεμψεν; Eur. Hipp. 1274 θέλγει δ’Έρως, Bacch. 404 θελξί-
φρονες . . . ’Έρωτες, θέλγειν with inf. Aesch. Prom. 865 ίμερος θέλξει
τό μή κτεΐναι; the sense is “to persuade by charming”, “to beguile
into doing” .
αίχμάσαι τάδε: καταπράξασθαι τη αιχμή “to perform these feats of
arms” (L.-Sc.) ; the usage is somewhat different at Ai. 97.
3 5 6 . 7 . ού τάπί Λυδοΐς ουτ’ έπ’ Όμφάλη πόνων / λατρεύματ’:
πονούν λατρεύματα forms a whole; so the construction runs: ού τά
επί Λυδοΐς ούτε έπ’ Όμφάλη λατρεύματα. Note the derisive amplifi
cation of one and the same thing. The reading is uncertain; but
the objections to ουτ’ (ούδ’ A among others) are unjustified, cp.
G.PS p. 509. I do not see why επί could not have the sense of “at
the bidding of”, “in the power of” with Λυδοΐς also, nor why it
could not have the locative meaning in the first instance and the
sense of “in the power of” in the second (as opposed by Jebb, but
advocated as a second course by Campbell). But we have to bear
in mind that επ’ is in rasura in L and though ύπ’ was probably not
L’s first reading, this conjecture of Herwerden’s makes things
easier; if one accepts it, one is free to read ουθ’ or ούδ’ (the latter
has ms authority) ; υπό has the sense of: "in subjection to” *2).
πόνων λατρεύματ’: πόνων is a genit, explicativus 3). For λάτρευμα
“service” , “servitude” cp. λατρεύειν supra 35, λάτρις jo, λατρεία
infra 830.
3 5 7 . ο ριπτός μόρος: cf. Ant. 36 φόνον . . . δημόλευστον, Ai. 254
λιθόλευστος ’’Αρης. For the cognate accusative (“ριπτειν μόρον” )
underlying this phrase Campbell compares Eur. Or. 990 sq. Μυρ-
τιλου φόνον δικών........
x) I t occurs six tim e s in A esch., fo u r tim e s in E u r.

2) I h a v e to re sist a m ild te m p ta tio n to re a d oil τά π ί Λυδοΐς, oü / ύπ’
Ό μ φ ά λη etc.
3) “to ilso m e se rv itu d e ” Je b b
COMMENTARY 97
The use of θέλξειεν is of course somewhat zeugmatic ; we have to

supply the idea of urging or goading on with the last three subjects.
3 5 8 . ov: refers to ’Έρως, παρωθεΐν has the sense of “putting on
one side” ; the metaphor is of the same kind as that in πρόσχημα
“pretext” , and the like.
έμπαλιν: contra atque ante; prop, “turning in an opposite direct
ion” -1) (cf. πάλιν έρέει II. IX 56).
3 5 9 . φυτοσπόρον: άπαξ in Soph, and classical Greek, typical of
the όγκος of this Messenger’s speech.
3 6 0 . κρύφιον . .. λέχος : predicate, <αύτήν> being the object. For
■the metonymy of λέχος cp. Ai. 211 σε λέχος δουριάλωτον . . . άνέχει . . .
Αΐας; κρύφιον λέχος means παλλακή, concubine.
3 6 1 . έγκλημα μικρόν αιτίαν θ’: another amplification. With these
slighting words the Messenger refers to Lichas’ story. Of course the
two versions are not mutually exclusive. We have to assume that,
according to Sophocles, Heracles had been thrown from Eurytus’
palace, had murdered Iphitus and had been Omphale’s slave as a
punishment for this murder; only Lichas left out the main motive.
But we have to confess that one point is not made very clear. Did
Heracles ask for lole before the whole lamentable story told by
Lichas, or afterwards before falling upon the town? If one con
siders that in the original myth lole would have been the reward
of the victor in the bow-contest, the first alternative is much more
probable.
3 6 2 - 3 6 4 . There are some difficulties in these words but not so
great as to warrant Hartung’s (and Pearson’s) bracketing of την
ταύτης . . . . πατέρα. “........ they are in character with the speaker,
who, like the Φύλαξ in the Antigone, has already shown a fondness
for false emphasis and superfluous words”. Thus, rightly, Campbell.
In order to avoid the reproach of falling a victim to “documentary
fallacy” 12), we may say that the wording is part of the poet’s art
of bringing this character to life as an individual in this situation.
πατρίδα τήν ταύτης, έν fj : the words are meant to bring home to
Deianeira that it was only because it was the maiden’s country
that Heracles attacked Oichalia3).
363. είπε: the subject is Lichas; the change of subject is harsh,
but nobody could mistake the meaning.
1) F o r th e fo rm a tio n see S ch w y zer I 619.
2) Cf. A. J . A. W ald o ck , Sophocles the Dramatist, 1951, p p . Ti sqq.
3) T h e fin e st c o m m e n ta ry is E u r. H i p p . 545 sqq.
K a m e r b e e k , T rach in iae 7
COM MENTARY
τόνδ’ : though τώνδ’ is not altogether impossible, it is perhaps

better to accept this lectio facilior. (If τώνδ’ is read, one may take
it as depending on δεσπόζειν θρόνων = βασιλεύειν).
3 6 4 . It does not make any difference to the authenticity of
κτείνει . . . . πατέρα whether D.’s words 377 sq. really inquire
after Iole’s name and identity or not. For D., in her bewilderment,
may very well be thought of as asking again about what she finds
difficult to believe. Jebb’s: "So she must have understood άνακτα in
364 to mean, not "the king”, but some (minor) "prince” or “chief” ”
is really a case of “documentary fallacy”. Nobody could mistake
άνακτα for another than king Eurytus after the preceding line.
3 6 5 . viv: This conjecture of Brunck’s, adopted by Dain-Mazon,
seems very probable, because 1) we want an object going with
πέμπων and it is hard to supply it mentally 2) after the king and
the town we expect lole to be mentioned with a certain emphasis
3) vGv is rather otiose, viv satisfies all the requirements.
ήκει: h.l. he (Heracles) is coming. It is a mistake to assume that
ήκειν everywhere has the force of a perfect tense.
3 6 5 . 6. δόμους / ώς τούσδε: G. Hermann was probably right in
his defence of ώς *) ; the house includes the inmates of the house
(thus, rightly, Campbell); cf. also O.T. 1481. The words go with
πέμπων.
3 6 6 . ούκ άφροντίστως: άντί του ούχ ώς έτυχεν άλλά διά πολλής
φροντίδος έχων αυτήν καί άγαπών (schob ).
3 6 7 . ώστε: this adverbial use is very frequent in the three
Tragedians, but alien to attic prose.
μηδε προσδόκα τόδε: the vile character of the man, the obtrusi
veness of his πολυπραγμοσύνη is strikingly revealed by this as by his
other comments.
3 6 8 . ε’ίπερ έντεθέρμανται πόθω : with Campbell and others I fail
to see why we should read with Dindorf έκτεθέρμανται; just as
ένθερμος is good Greek (cf. μειράκιον ένθε[ρμον] Com. Ad. 24.9 D.),
so is ένθερμαίνειν, with the sense of εντός θερμαίνειν.
We may ask whether the poet here means a sort of dramatic
irony. In any case there is a structural connection between this
traditionally metaphorical phrase 2) 1 and έθαλψε μ’ άτης σπασμός
άρτίως 6δ’ αύ infra 1082.
εί'περ: as normally in Attic, siquidem, "since” .
1) T h e u sag e is a c c ep ted b y S c h w y z e r-D e b ru n n e r I I 534.
2) Cp. e.g. A esch. Prom . 590, 650, (θάλπειν).
COM MENTARY 99
3 7 0 » τοΰδε : cf. ad 346; the v.l. ά (Π ί1)) has something to re

commend it; after the collective το παν it would be very natural
and a corruption ά < δ is easier to understand than the reverse.
3 7 1 . He insists on the many witnesses; cp. 352, 188, 194.
3 7 1 . 2 . προς μέση . . . . άγορά: The place must be the same as
188: έν βουθερεΐ λειμώνι. But does άγορά here denote the place?
Schol. explains: άθροίσματι and so among others Radermacher and
Jebb (though he translates: “in the public place where the Trachi-
nians were assembled” ). I cannot understand how the listeners could
be said to hear in the midst (or near the centre) of the assembly;
of course it is possible mentally to supply αύτοϋ λέγοντος, πρός μέση
άγορά going with <λέγοντος>, but this is rather intricate and less
probable since 423 presents the same difficulty. We shall have to
assume that άγορά means public place, but not market-place, not
forum to the thought of as forming the centre of the town ; the usage
is the same as in Od. Vi 266 (cp. ib. V I I I 16). I think the difference
between προς h.l. and έν 423 is negligible. Τραχινίων depends on
άγορά, not on πολλοί, as the latter passage shows.
3 7 2 . συνεξήκουον ωσαύτως έμοί : another instance of the pleonastic,
disagreeable emphasis by which the poet characterizes this man.
It is vain to ask whether έμοί depends on συν- or on ωσαύτως; it
depends on both.
3 7 3 . ώστ’ έξελέγχειν: subject πολλοί, object Lichas, εξελέγχει
has its full force of: convincere (“convict” ), “überführen” .
3 7 3 , 4 . εί δε μή λέγω φίλα, / ούχ ήδομαι: the old man is in
sincere, as a comparison with his words at 180 sqq. shows us.
3 7 4 . το ορθόν: "the truth”, cf. 347; O.T. 1220, O.C. 518 etc.
3 7 5 . που . . πράγματος: cf. Ai. 314 and the note, πράγμα is to be
thought as belonging to the sphere of intr. πράττειν and denoting
“faring”, state or fortune = πραξί,ς12) (Ai. 790. 792, Aesch. Prom. 695).
3 7 6 , 7 . τίν’ ........ λαθραΐον: The construction of these words is
not at all sure. The alternatives are:
1) τίνα πημονήν is the object, ύπόστεγον going with the verb as a
prolepsis, λαθραΐον being in apposition to (τίνα) πημονήν.
2) τίνα is the object, ύπόστεγον going with the verb, πημονήν
λαθραΐον in apposition to τίνα.
3) πημονήν ύπόστεγον forms a whole, τίνα πημονήν ύπόστεγον is the
object, λαθραΐον its apposition.
1) P a p . O x. 1805.
2) O r: πράγματα A esch. Prom. 971. C f. supra 152, 294.
COM MENTARY
4) πημονήν ύπόστεγον forms a whole going with the verb, τίνα is

the object, λαθραΐον is a) either its apposition b) or in ap
position to πημονήν ύτίόστεγον.
We have to bear in mind that τις is not used in exclamations x) ;
the question is rhetorical just as that preceding it is (I cannot be
lieve that she inquires after lole’s identity). All things well con
sidered I prefer the first interpretation; it gives the best account
of D.’s outburst of feelings.
3 7 7 . ώ, δύστηνος: thus rightly Dain: an exclamation.
άρ’: as often the particle has the force of nonne (άρ’ ού), here
with ironical and perhaps sarcastic or bitter overtones.
ανώνυμος: schol. άρα άσημος ούτως έστί καί δυσγενής ώς μηδέ το
δνομα αυτής γιγνώσκεσθαι. We have to assume that D. did hear and
understand the Messenger’s words 362-364; so her question comes
to this: “we see clearly, do we not, that the maiden is nameless” .
There is some ambiguity in άνοονυμος, as it means “without name”
and “nameless, inglorious” as well. D. wants the Messenger now to
mention the name ; his answer refers to both meanings of ανώνυμος.
3 7 8 . διώμνυτο: this is of course an indignant overstatement of
Lichas’ words; but cp. Ai. 1233.
3 7 9 . With Pearson and G. Schiassi1 2) I follow L in giving these
words to Deianeira, reading with Heath ή κάρτα. But then it is, in
view of 308, much more satisfying to take φύσις, just as there, to
denote lole’s physical aspect3). ομμα is to be taken literally: eye
(or “glance” ). In my opinion πέφυκεν does not tell against my
interpretation of φύσιν; it can stand even if πέφυκεν denotes more
than έστιν, which seems improbable.
Those who give the words to the Messenger have some difficulty
with ομμα; therefore Jebb and Dain read with Froehlich ονομα;
perhaps this is not necessary (Radermacher, Campbell, Mas-
queray retain ομμα) — ομμα however strikes me as more poignant
if the words are D.’s. For it points to the erotic power of the eye;
cp. infra 527 and PI. Phaedr. 253 e 5 το ερωτικόν ομμα, which
Hackforth and Yerdenius 4) mistake for “the person of the be
loved” (cp. ib. 254 b 4).
1) In th is re sp e c t I p a r t c o m p a n y w ith M azon’s tra n sla tio n .
2) "le p a ro le assu m o n o in b o cca di D . u n to n o che v o rre b b e essere ironico
e riesce so lta n to doloroso e a m a ro ” .
3) D. H o lw erd a, Φ Ύ ΣΙΣ, th esis G ro n in g en 1955, is n o t su re w h ich m e a n in g
φύσις h a s h.l. (cp. p. 133). O f course, it could d en o te origin, b irth , etc.
4) Notes on Plato’s “Phaedrus” , M nem osyne 1955, p. 282.
COMMENTARY ΙΟ Ι
3 8 0 . μεν: “solitarium” : it is as if “the Messenger meant to add

further details” (G.P.*2 p. 380).
γένεσιν is ace. limit., Εύρύτου genit, orig, going with οδσα, πατρός
is used predicatively. “Taking lineage from Eurytus for her sire”
(Campbell).
ποτέ : it is not correct to say, as Jebb does, that this belongs only
to ’καλείτο; it belongs to οδσα as well, cp. 301, where see the note
for the imperfect tense ’καλείτο: i.e. “they used to call her” .
3 8 1 . ούδαμά : as the temporal sense of the adverb seems to be
firmly established, I think the possible meaning “not at all” deri
vative from it (just as in Engl, “never” ). We may perhaps think
that ούδαμά . . . έφώνει implies: “he never could be prevailed upon
to say’ (cp. the use of the imperf. of πείθειν with a negation).
3 8 2 . βλάστας: See infra 401 and cf. O.C. 972 βλάστας γενεθλίους
πατρός. The usage at 0 .7 '. 717 is not the same.
δήθεν: δήθεν expresses contempt and indignation, conveying the
untruth of ούδέν ίστορών. Here it precedes the words it qualifies,
as it does at Eur. Or. 1119, Rhes. 719; so we have to put a comma
before it.
(Cp. G.P.2 p. 266 and Jebb’s contrary opinion; this fairly fre
quent but abnormal placing of δήθεν may be founded on its ety
mology, if Wackernagel is right x)).
As the words surely' echo Lichas’ ούδ’ άνιστόρουν μακράν (317),
ίστορεΐν must have the same sense as άνιστορεΐν there (“because he
had not been inquiring” ; thus rightly Jebb).
3 8 3 . 4 . ολοιντο . . . . κακά: the best rendering is perhaps Mas-
queray’s: “Périssent, je ne dis pas tous les êtres malhonnêtes,
mais celui qui etc.” (The scholion’s interpretation ολοιντο μή
πάντες άνθρωποι άλλ’ οί κακοί καί όσοι κτλ. is impossible). Compa
rable, but only to a certain extent, are Phil. 961 ολοιο μήπω, πριν
μάθοιμ’ εΐ καί πάλιν / γνώμην μετοίσεις· and Eur. Med. 83 ολοιτο μέν
μή · δεσπότης γάρ έστ’ έμός· άτάρ κακός γ ’ών ές φίλους άλίσκεται. We
may' ask whether the meaning of the optative could be concessive
(a Homeric usage cp. Schwyzer-Debrunner II 625, 322, K.-G. I
228.4 2)): “For my part, there is no need for all bad people to
perish, but <perish> the man w h o ........ ” . There is no question of
“eine ironische Spitze” 3) against the informer.
η Zeitschr. f. vergl. Sprachf. X X X I I I 23, G .P .2 264.
2) G oodw in § 13.
3) R a d e rm a c h e r a.l.
COM MENTARY
3 8 4 . μή πρέπονθ’ αύτώ : as these words are not so very striking

in relation to Lichas, it is possible to surmise that the coryphaeus
(i.e. Sophocles) is thinking of Heracles more than of Lichas; this
does not mean that we must assume an aside.
ασκεί . . . κακά : cf. Aesch. Prom. 1066 κακότητ’ άσκεΐν, Eur.
Bacch. 476 ασέβειαν άσκοϋντ’. With λαθρα'ΐ’ . . . κακά as an object
the meaning becomes: μηχανασθαι.
3 8 5 . ώς: <I ask you> “for” .
3 8 5 . 6. λόγοις / τ ο ί ς νυν παρουσιν: with great, tautological (νΰν)
emphasis. The παρόντες λόγοι are at the same time τά παρόντα, the
situation of the moment, which for Deianeira conveys αμηχανία,
απορία.
3 8 6 . κυρώ: cf. ad Ai. 314.
3 8 7 . πεύθου : the verb occurs in Soph, only here and O.T. 604;
the sense warrants the present tense.
ώς: causal.
σαφή: the truth; on the omission of the article cf. K.-G. I 608; cp.
El. 1223 έκμαθ’ εί σαφή λέγω.
3 8 8 . κρίνειν: see ad 195 supra, προς βίαν: this occurs in O.T. 1x52,
not here 1).
3 8 9 . άλλ’: “expression of willingness to act in a required way” .
(G.PA 17). Cf. 86, 490, 600; Phil. 645, O.C. 1284.
καί γάρ: “for indeed” (“in fact” ).
ούκ άπό γνώμης: ούκ άνευ συνέσεως (sclioL). The second inter
pretation of the schol. τούτο κάμοί άρέσκει is less satisfactory, be
cause D. at the moment had no γνώμη of her own. άπό*2) has the
same sense in άπ’ ελπίδων El. 1127: the origin of the phrase clearly
shows itself in ού . . . άπό σκοπού ούδ’ άπό δόξης Od. Äl 3 4 4 i άπό
τρόπου, άπό σκοπού, άπό καιρού occur in Piato.
390 . G. Piermann was certainly correct in attributing the line
to the Messenger (against L, vainly defended by Campbell).
3 9 0 , 3 9 1 , 2 . The transition to the following scene is cleverly
managed, D. makes a step in the direction of the house, the Mes
senger asks his. question, not -wanting to be overlooked; enter
Lichas, who had no further business in the palace and is in a hurry
to return to Heracles. Lichas’ haste to a certain extent confirms the
Messenger’s charge. The “Dreigespräch” is properly speaking a brier
dialogue between D. and Lichas, a longer one between him and the
b Cf, J . H ein z, Z u r Datierung der Track., H e rm e s 1937, P- 275.
2) Cf. also m y n o te a d A esch. Isthin. 91, M nem osyne 1955, P· 11 : άπό in
all th e se p h ra se s lit. m e a n s: “ a t a, d ista n c e fro m ” .
COMMENTARY IO 3
Messenger, followed by "rheseis” of D. and L. The Messenger is

lost sight of after 435 : the same holds good for the Φύλαξ in Ant.
after 44.5· There is some awkwardness in this, but none in the fact
that the three present on the stage do not partake in the conversation
at the same time; for it would have been an offence against style 1)
and dignity alike if D. had intervened time and again. Of course,
her mere presence lends to the dispute between the two men its
true dramatic force.
391, 2 . ούκ έμών υπ’ άγγέλων / άλλ’ αυτόκλητος : polar expres
sion. The verbal element (= κληθείς or κεκλημένος) in αυτόκλητος
explains the phrase ούκ . . . αγγέλων, the latter elucidates the
function of αΰτο- = ύφ’ εαυτού.
Aesch. Eum. 170 has the adj. 12) with just the same sense a nullo
vocatus, = sponte veniens (Italie).
3 9 1 , 2 . 68’ άνήρ . . . πορεύεται: “here he comes”, as Ant. 155
άλλ’ οδε γάρ δή βασιλεύς χώρας . . . χωρεΐ, Ant. 526, O.C. III πορεύον
ται γάρ οϊδε δή τινες, O.C. J 2j ; cp. with ούτος El. 1432 i K.-G. I 642.
394. ώς έρποντος είσορας εμού : It we consider these words as a
confusion of two constructions (ώς είσορσ.ς έμε έρποντα and ώς
έρποντος εμού), as Campbell does, we may as well take είσορας as a
parenthesis; for the difference is slight. I do not think the objections
to this are very convincing; for if όρας is normalfy used as a paren
thesis, we can accept είσορας ; that δρίχς (ορατέ) has in that case an
interrogative ring is no difficulty: είσορας can also be taken as
interrogative, but to me that seems not necessary. Of the other
theories, viz. είσορας -|- genit.3), or ώς, έρποντος εμού, τούτο είσορας, or
(with asyndeton) ώς έρποντος εμού, είσορας only the last seems at all
possible, provided 4) that we make τί . . . . λέγειν dependent on
δίδαξον and put a colon before ώς. In that case the asyndeton is
causal5), as it is at Phil. 667, O.T. 1061, O.C. 741, Ai. 581 (in all
these cases an imperative precedes) ; but then we have to assume
that a verbum videndi has the same construction as is familiar with
1) Cf. S chm id, Gr. Lit. I I 59 n. 1 ; cp. j . H einz, o.l. p p . 273 sqq.
2) T h e sam e fo rm a tio n is fo u n d in Soph, o n ly in αύτόκτιτος, αύτόσσυτος,
αύτόγνωτος, cf. N uchelrnans, Die N o m i n a des soph. Wortschatzes, th esis
N ijm egen 1949, § 4.
3) Cf. R a d e rm a c h e r a d Ar. Ran. S15; th e a n a lo g y w ith αίσθάνεσΟαι is
n o t v e ry strik in g , th e less so as Soph, h a s αίσθ. + gen. + p a r t, o n ly once
(El. 79).
4) Cf. L o b eck a d A i . 281.
5) K .-G . I I 3 4 4 8 .
COMMENTARY
the verbs έπίστασθαι, γιγνώσκειν, είδέναι, cf. Ai. 281, K.-G. II 93ß
and that remains very questionable.
είσορώα’ (Nauck-Radermacher) does not help at all. ώς όρσ.ς
(Wakefield, Jebb) strikes me as flat. Mazon-Dain accept the
parenthesis.
395 . έκ ταχείας: cf. εξ εκούσιας = έκουσίως infra 727. One can
supply ορμής.
σύν χρόνω βραδεΐ: σύν χρόνω and χρόνω express “after a (long)
time”. The time of the seemingly good tidings was, for D., slow to
come; there is a pointed antithesis with ταχείας, cf. O.C. 1602
ταχεΐ . . . σύν χρόνω.
396 . ασσεις: the verb stresses the swiftness, the suddenness of
his departure (cf. O.T. 1074).
κάννεώσασθαι : καί άνανεώσασθαι ; Hermann’s reading for καί
νεώσασθαι is probable x) in view of the schol. (άνακαινίσασθαι καί αδθις
όμιλήσαι ακριβώς έκ νέας) and Eustath. 811.20. The usage of the
verb at the only place where it recurs in Tragedy (Eur. Hcl. 722) is
different. “Even before I have conversed again with you” .
πριν . . . καί: "even before” (before even).
3 9 7 . ίστορεΐν: cf. 317, 382, 404, 418, 415. For άλλ’ cf. 389.
πάρειμ’: “I am at your disposal”, “service” .
3 9 8 . ή καί: the usage of καί is not the same as supra 246. The idea
is <you are at my disposal, but will you> “also” . . . . Nauck’s νεμεΐς
is certainly right; the verb does not mean “observe” (L.-Sc.),
“maintain” (Campbell, wrongly referring to Aesch. Ag. 685 γλώσσα
έν τύχα νέμούν), but “allot” cp. e.g. 1238 (to her as her due); thus
rightly Jebb. (“Will you tell me the truth, as I have a right to it” ).
το πιστόν τής άληθείας : emphatic periphrasis of τήν πιστήν αλήθειαν.
In τής ελευθερίας τω πιστω (Thuc. II 4 °·5 )> τού πιστού τής επιστή
μης (id. VI 7 2·4 ) the two parts of the phrases have more inde
pendent value.
3 9 9 . γ ’ : limitative, ών . . . . : τήν αλήθειαν τούτων ά. Or perhaps
the genit, depends on έξειδώς, as if it were an adjective (thus L.-Sc.).
Soph, makes Lichas speak with the emphasis of a man who is on
his guard.
4 0 0 . δήτ’: connective, but also emphatic; it “does not immedia
tely follow the. interrogative word”, as sometimes in verse (G.PA
P- 270 (3 ))·1
1) A nd a c c e p te d b y m o st ed ito rs, b u t n o t b y C am p b ell; w ith H e rm a n n ’s
re ad in g th e re is apocope as in άμμείνασ’ 335; cf. K .-B . i 1S0.
COMMENTARY IO 5
4 0 1 . The answer is evasive (Εύβοιίς answers a question τις γυνή,

not τις ή γυνή) and ambiguous; ούκ έχω λέγε tv has two meanings,
έβλαστεν: cf. 382.
4 0 2 . οΰτος: hens tu, cf. ad Ai. 71.
ώδε: “hither” , a usage esp. frequent in Soph., once found in
Aesch. {Suppl. 744), once in Eur. {Ion 208 ώδε δερκόμεσθα).
4 0 3 . έρωτήσας -1) έχεις: “periphrasis of the perfect” does not
quite do justice to the implications of the phrase; Soph, could have
said: τι τοϋτο έρωτας or τί τοϋτο ήρώτησας, hardly ήρώτηκας. We
must say that the asking of the question, a moment before, and the
questioning attitude of the Messenger now, are compressed together
in this phrase. Of course, there are many cases of this construction
(frequent in Soph, and Eur. cp. K.-G. II 61.11 12)) where it denotes
hardly more than a perfect (cf. ad Ai. 22), but it seems worth while
to make distinctions; O.C. 817 ποίω σύν έργω τοΰτ’ άπειλήσας έχεις
is a perfect parallel.
σύ δ’ : on the note of indignation in the connective δέ cf. G.P.2
p· 173·
404. The Messenger’s attitude is defiant throughout; so I think
the words he uses have to be taken in their full force, τόλμησον:
“dare” (not "have the goodness” ), εΐ φρονείς “si du moins tu es
sain d’esprit” (Mazon: not “if thou comprehendest the question”
Jebb), 6 σ’ ιστορώ going with εΐπεΐν (as is clear from εΐ . . . . μάταια
4 ° 6 -7 ) ■
4 0 6 , 7 . 0 ’: the function of the particle, in my opinion, is this:
in correlation with τε 407 it links δάμαρτα Ήρακλέους with δεσπότιν
τήν έμήν, both being appositions to Δηάνειραν, Οϊνέως κόρην. So an
alteration of Θ’ into δ’ (Blaydes and others) has to be rejected.
4 0 7 . λεύσσων μάταια: μάταια (internal or adverbial accusat.)
has the sense of “delusive images”, “vain phantoms” or the like,
μάταιος infra 863 = inani specie deceptus.
δεσπότιν: just the same as δέσποινα; the latter already in Horn.,
the former here for the first time ; they are used in turn for metrical
convenience only, δέσποινα remaining the normal word. Once
Soph, used the artificial δεσπότειρα {fr. 1040 P.).
1) T h e read in g έρωτήσασ’ is d u e to a w h o lly m ista k e n d is trib u tio n of th e

lines, for w hich cf. th e schol. a d 402. Cf. J . H ein z, Z u r D atierung der Track.,
H erm es 1937, Ρ· -75-
2) G oodw in § 47. B esides H es. Erg. 42 we h a v e now as an e a rly in sta n c e
S a p p h o 98.3-4 L .-P .
ιο6 COMMENTARY
4 0 8 . The man’s asyndeta and anaphora underline the eagerness

with which he leaps to corner Lichas. For the anaphora cf. O.T.
1013 τοΰτ’ αυτό, πρέσβυ, τοΰτό μ’ εΐσαει φοβεϊ (cp. Webster, Intro
duction, ρ. 159)·
τοΰτ’ αυτ’: “that is just the thing . . .
4 0 9 . δίκαια γάρ: “yes, for it is true” (sc. that she is my δέσποινα) ;
δίκαια not differing from δίκαιον, cf. ad Ai. 887, 1126 (δίκαια).
4 1 0 . τί δήτα; δήτα has logical connective force.
άξιοΈς : with its full sense of : "think . . . worthy" ; “think . . . fit” ;
cf. Pherecr. 93 τί σαυτόν άποτίνειν άξιοΐς ; Ar. Ran. 1012 τί παθεΐν
φήσεις άξιος είναι.
440, 1 1 . δίκην and δίκαιος take up, in a pointed way, Lichas’
δίκαια. Cp. e.g. Ant. 742 sq. Creon: ώ παγκάκιστε, διά δίκης ίων
πατρί. Haem. : ου γάρ δίκαιά σ’ εξαμαρτάνονθ’ όρώ. δίκαιος: cf. 348·
4 1 2 . ποικίλας: From Hes. onwards ποικίλος denotes “subtle”,
“artful” , “wily” (L.-Sc. I ll 3 c) ; it is used as the reverse of άπλοϋς;
cf. O.C. 762, Phil. 130.
The verb occurs in its metaphor, sense for the first time here
(and infra, 1121) ; cf. O.T. 130 ποικιλωδος Σφίγξ; ύφαΐνειν is of course
to be compared.
ποικίλας έχεις: the phrase is here very near to mere periphrasis
of the perfect (cf. ad 403).
4 1 3 . τοϋτο ορών: ποικίλλων.
4 1 4 . δ’: = γάρ.
Jebb, Campbell, Mazon take πάλαι with κλύων ; in my opinion
it goes with μωρός ή ; the imperfect tense expresses a fact which is
just recognized as such by the speaker. Usually this imperf. is
accompanied by άρα (Goodwin § 39).
μωρός (ή) . . . κλύων: “a fool ... in listening” 1) ; for the personal
construction cf. ad Ai. 635.
4 1 5 . ού: you will do nothing of the sort, ούκ άπει. βραχύ is to be
taken άπο κοινού, but primarily with ιστορούμενος (= έρωτώμενος).
4 1 6 . Cf. Eur. Suppl. 567 λέγ’, εΐ τι βούλη· καί γάρ ού σιγηλός εϊ
(Theseus addressing Kopreus).
καί γάρ: “for . . . in fact . . .”.
4 1 7 . έπεμψας: in the "Homeric” sense of “conduct”, “escort” ,
as Phil. 913; cf. ib. 133 Έρμης 6 πέμπων; fairly frequent in Aesch.,
e.g. Suppl. 219.
P C am pb ell.
COMMENTARY IO7
Note the placing of την αιχμάλωτον at the beginning of line and

sentence and the almost demonstrative force of the article.
418. κάτοισθα δήπou: “you know her I presume” (in questions
δήπου suggests an affirmative reply; the usage is rare in Tragedy —
cp. G.P.2 p. 267 (2) — but commoner in comedy : this is in keeping
with the general tone of the Messenger’s words) i.e. “ when I speak
about the captive, you know whom I mean, I suppose?”
4 1 9 - 4 2 0 , ουκουν . . . έ'φασκες: “why, did you not say . . . On
ουκουν in questions, “characteristic of the emotional style of
tragedy” cf. G.P.2 p. 431.
ην ύπ’ άγνοιας όρας: if these words are sound, they must mean ; "at
whom you look as if not knowing her” . On ύπο c. genit, denoting
accompaniment and so even manner (h.l. : acting as if not knowing
her, i.e. not knowing her name and parents) cf. Schw.-Debr. II pp.
530 sq. El. 630 ουκουν έάσεις ούδ' ύπ’ εύφήμ,ου βοής/θϋσαί μ’, Eur.
Hipp. 1299 ώς ύπ’ εύκλειας θάνη, Her. 289 δειλίας . . . . ύπο, Time.
I ll 33-3 ύπο σπουδής.
The real difficulty7 lies in όρδίς; Iole is not present and the word
must, refer to Lichas’ attitude in the preceding scene. The words
would sound less strange if the Messenger said : ήν ύπ’ άγνοία.ς άγεις :
“whom you bring here in ignorance of her name etc.” ; then, the
present expressing duration would be more natural. It is possible
tha.t the neighbourhood of άγειν and, on the other hand, the ending
of 418 (ΐστ-ορεΐς) have caused the reading όρδίς (the rhetorical
avoidance of άγεις . . . άγειν does not hold good for Soph. ; cp. e.g.
Eur. Med. 7 7 7 sq.). J. Jackson’s x) ουκουν σύ ταύτην — μή μ’ ύπ’
άγνοιας ορα — is certainly7 witty, but not convincing.
4 2 0 . Εύρύτου σποράν: cf. φυτοσπόρος 3 5 9 , 3l6.
4 2 1 . τίς πόθεν: On “mehrzielige Fragesätze” cf. Schw.-
Debr. II p. 630.2.
4 2 2 . παρών: ironically7echoed by the Messenger at .431; of course
Campbell, Pearson, and Dain are right not to adopt Bothe’s πάρα,
as Jebb and Rademiacher do. It goes with κλυειν (cf. 431) and 1. 431
also makes it probable that we ought to write κλυειν (inf. aor.).
The rhymie μολών . . . παρών lends a false rhetorical pathos to
Lichas’ words; τίς πόθεν has a similar effect. — In μαρτυρήσει Lichas
unwittingly7echoes the Messenger’s μαρτύρων 352.
4 2 3 . πολλοΐσιν αστών: not πολλοΐς έν ά. (Wakefield); one may7
) M arg in a lia Scaenica, 1955, ρ. m o .

ιο8 COMMENTARY
supply έν from 421. For the circumstances cp. 188 sqq., 351 sqq.
έν μέση κτλ. : again emphasis is brought about by the asyndeton.
Cf. ad 408. In view of the general forcefulness of the words, we
should perhaps write πολύς σοϋ.
τίχυτά γ ’: em phatically repeats τούτα 422.
425. Lichas does not as yet realize that the Messenger himself
had been a witness to his words.
ταύτο δ’ούχ'ι γίγνεται: γίγνεται is more forcible than έστί: “it does
not come to the same thing” .
4 2 6 . δόκησιν . . . λόγον: "to tell what you fancy <yourself to have
heard> and to make an exact statement <of the real happenings>”.
I think λόγον does not refer to ειπεϊν (in that case the meaning would
be: “to state a fancy and make true your statement” ; but then
λόγον should have the article). The main antithesis, as Jebb puts it,
is between δόκησιν and έξακριβώσαι, but all the same there are also
antitheses between δόκησιν and λόγον, between ειπεϊν and έξακρι-
βώσαι and even between ειπεϊν and λόγον. The words are highly
pointed, and perhaps betray sophistic influence; one is reminded
of Prodicus’ επί. τοΐς όνόμασιν άκριβολογίαν (Prodikos A 9)· πότερα
γάρ μου κατηγορείς είδώς ακριβώς ή δοξάζων Gorg. Palavi. 22 (B
I I α 22).
έξακριβώσαι: άκριβόω occurs in Eur. in a context where sophistical
eloquence is censured: Hec. 1192 σοφοί μέν ούν εΐσ’ οί τάδ’ ήκριβω-
κότες (sc. εδ λέγειν τά άδικα) 1). έξα.κριβόω does not recur before
Aristotle, ξύνεσις ήκριβωμένη Ar. Ran. 1483 means: perfect faculty
of comprehension, perfect intellect.
4 2 7 . ποιαν δόκησιν: a colloquial phrase, very frequent in comedy;
cf. V. Leeuwen ad Ar. Ran. 529 (Ξαν3-........ τοΐς θεοΐσιν έπιτρέποκ
Διον. ποίοις θεοΐς: not “which gods do you mean” but “quid deos
loqueris” ). “ Une opinion, allons donc!” (Mazon). Cf. Eur. Hel. 567
and Ed. Fraenkei ad Aesch. Ag. 1119.
έπώμοτος : “on oath” , only here ; ένώμοτος Ai. 1113. The impression
conveyed by the phrase έπώμοτος λέγουν is of a more formal oath
than it is possible to visualise in this case. But cf. 378.
429. δάμαρτα: δάμαρ is the old, poetical word denoting the
legitimate wife ; Lichas had used it a moment ago referring to Deia-
neira. Perhaps we have to suppose he did not use it in reference to
P T h e w o rd lias a glorious h is to ry in th e tr a d itio n of g ra m m a r a n d
sch o larsh ip in g en e ra l: cp.e.g. X e n . M em . IV 2. 10 a n d C cd ren u s Hist. comp.
P .G . C X X I 485 c άκριβοϋν τά αντίγραφα.
COMMENTARY IO 9
Iole and that there is an element of δείνωσις in the Messenger’s

reminder.
εγώ δάμαρτα : note the expressiveness of the ellipsis.
4 3 0 . ο ξένος : there is a ring of scornful disdain in the use of the
word.
4 3 1 . παρών: cf. ad 422.
ταύτης : ~ τησδ’ 433 : cf. ad 346. πόθω is dativ. causae.
4 3 2 . πόλις . . . πάσα: not “a whole city”, but “the whole city” :
on the omission of the article see note ad At. 1105.
ή Λυδία.: Omphale; i.e. his grudge at the όνειδος of his enslavement
to her.
4 3 3 . φανείς: “having arisen” (Campbell). The aor. implies the
suddenness of Heracles’ passion.
4 3 4 . άποστήτω : cf. Eur. II el. 1023 εγώ δ’ άποστασ’ εκποδών
σιγήσομαι.
4 3 5 . ληρεΐν: only here in tragedy, frequent in comedy and Plato,
διαλέγεσθαι νοσουντι results in idle talk (λήρος) ; the sense of ληρεΐν is
proleptic as determined by its indirect object; the construction is
determined by the underlying idea of διαλέγεσθαι. — For the genit,
cf. Schwyzer-Debrunner II p. 123 sq.
νοσουντι: the sense is clearly brought out by its antithesis σώ-
φρονος, “of sound mind”.
ούχί : does not go with σώφρονος but with the omitted έστιν.
4 3 6 . On Ζεύς Οΐταΐος cp. ad 200 supra.
πρός σε του etc. : <λίασομαί> σε προς τοϋ . . . Enclitics stand near the
beginning of the sentence 1). Cf. Phil. 468, Eur. Med. 324 2).
Without σε El. 1208.
4 3 7 . καταστράπτοντος : the compound only here in older literature.
Of course the words imply a warning against lying; Zeus’ lightning
might strike the liar.
εκκλέψεις λόγον: “disguise the matter” .
4 3 8 . τούς λόγους: “your words”.
κακή : with full ethical meaning.
To show her dismay, the bitterness of her betrayed love in the
presence of Lichas is completely impossible for Deianeira; he is
not her confidant (as the Paedagogus is Creusa’s in Eur.’s Ion), but
Heracles’. It would be απρεπές (as it is not in regard to the maidens
of the chorus), it would go against the very instincts of woman-
b W ackernagel, I . F . I 333 sqq. ; S ch w y zer 1 388.
3) S c h w y z e r-D e b ru n n e r I I 316.
no COM MENTARY
liness (and D. is the most female of Soph.’s major characters), it

would be contrary to the instinct of self-preservation. So she shows
herself the wise, dispassionate, understanding wife to whom Lichas
may safely entrust the whole truth; she plays that rôle only too
well because she has often had to condone Heracles’ love-affairs.
In all this, Sophocles shows her as a creature not crafty and deceitful,
but human and dignified. The next scene will make it clear *) that
this time her own fading youth, lole’s beauty and the fact that she
has to admit her into her house do not permit her to be resigned ; for
once she will seize at the means of self-defence she imagines to be
at her disposal and so, unwittingly, she fails on this day of destiny,
through that very power, Eros, against whom it is in her own
words useless to fight.
4 3 9 . ούδ’ ήτις: “and not such a one who . . . .”
τάνθρώπων: “the condition of man”, τά άνθρώπεια πράγματα.
4 4 0 . For this motif cp. supra i sqq. and above all 126-135;
297 sqq. (see also 473). If we take τάνθρώπων in the above mentioned
sense and think of these lines, we should take χαίρειν . . . . άεί as
follows: “it is not in the nature of things for the same people always
to be happy” . Thus inter alios Campbell and Schiassi.
Of course the words admit of another interpretation: τάνθρώπων
= “human nature” could be taken as subject to πέφυκεν, τοΐς
αύτοΐς neutr. pi. going with χαίρειν as a dativ. instrum. (Jebb,
Raderm., Mazon). In the first case she is referring to herself, in the
second to Heracles; the former interpretation yields a deeper
meaning, the latter is, grammatically speaking, more natural and
easier. (Perhaps one can follow Jebb’s construction, but then confer
a double meaning on the words, viz. that they apply to Deianeira
as well).
4 4 1 . To a certain extent D.’s argument is akin to Ajax’ Ai.
666 sqq. Like Ajax she is dissembling with a purpose and up to a
certain point, but the element of deception is less and there is but
a small amount of ambiguity (441-444). Again, like Ajax (666),
she professes submission to divine power, but we get the impression
that she is not, as Ajax is, wholly at variance with her own words.
Note that κάμοϋ γε (444), in its ambiguity, points to the main
spring of her future behaviour : for her act will be performed at the
same time in revolt against and in submission to Eros.
P H e r re a l se n tim e n ts we k n o w a lre a d y fro m 375-379.

COMMENTARY III
μέν νυν: not different from transitional μέν ούν; cf. O.T. 31.
άντανίσταται: for the first time and only here in classical Greek;
to be taken with ές χεΐρας.
4 4 2 . πύκτης όπως: a remarkably suggestive image to denote the
idea of the θεομάχος.
ές χεΐρας: <to come> to close quarters; cf. Aesch. Sept. 680, O.C.
975·
Jebb is right in noting that the resemblance to Anacr. 27.2. D. ώς
δή προς ’Έρωτα πυκταλίζω is only verbal.—The structure of the
sentence becomes more difficult, if we put a comma before πύκτης
(Fraenkel ad Ag. 1316), than if ές χεΐρας goes with άντανίσταται
(Jebb).
4 4 3 . Cf. Anacr. 28.3 D. δδε καί θεών δυναστής, δδε καί βροτούς
δαμάζει, Ant. 7S1-801; Xen. Cyr. VI 1.36.
καί θεών : instead of the expected καί βροτΐον, there follows with a
pathetic directness κάμοΰ γε. Perhaps we should not forget here that
Heracles is a demigod.
4 4 4 . οΐας γ’ έμοΰ: οΐα γ’ έγώ είμί, or ώς γ ’ έμοΰ; the attraction
has as it were swallowed the whole relative clause.
4 4 5 . Do we delude ourselves if we hear a certain mental con
straint in these disagreeable alliterations on τ?
τ’: in correlation with ή 447, cf. G.P.2 p.514 (IV); Groeneboom
Aesch. Eum. p. 170 n. 4.
4 4 6 . μεμπτός: active, and of two terminations; “throwing blame
upon” (L.-Sc.). This is the only instance of the active sense.
4 4 7 . ληφθέντι: λαμβάνειν is used “of fevers and sudden illnesses”
(L.-Sc.): Hippocr., Thuc. II 49.2; έρωτι Xen. Cyr. VI 1.31.
μεταιτία: cf. 260, 1234. Here, in any case, not “quae in culpa est”
(E.), but “quae unä in culpa est” (the normal sense in Aesch. cf.
Eum. 199) 1).
448. έμοί: n o t of course to be tak en άπό κοινού w ith μηδέν αισχρού,
unless th e m eaning of th e dative should be: "in m y eyes” .
It is not clear whether here Deianeira is deceiving herself or others.
449. μαθών / μάθησιν . . . έκμανθάνεις: a rather frigid play upon
the words.
ούκ έστι ταΰτ’: “There is no such thing” (Campbell). The im
plication of dangerous jealousy on her side is thus dismissed.
P I t is im possible to u n d e rs ta n d w ith J . H ein z (o.l. p. 2S0) : “ d as nicht
sch u ld ist, w enn ih r se lb st ein αισχρόν u n d κακόν w id e rfä h rt, (schuld ist
v ie lm e h r E ro s)” .
COMMENTARY
4 5 1 . αύτόν 12) : = σαυτόν; cf. Aesch. Cho. 1014, Ag. 1141, O.C. 966;
a common usage in Indo-European languages, K.-G. I 571 sqq.,
Schw.-Debr. II 197.
4 5 2 . γενέσθαι: “to prove yourself” .
οφθήση: φανήση, εύρεθήση, just as at Ant. 709 ; cf. also PI. Phaedr.
239 c.
4 5 4 . κήρ: “disgrace” ; cf. Fraenkel ad Aesch. Ag. 206; or “ble
mish” like a κηλίς, or μύσος; cf. the plur. PI. Leg. 937 d τοϊς καλοΐς
olov κήρες έπιπεφύκασιν 2). A reputation for lying attaches to a free
man as a stain on his shield. But in κήρ “doom” is also heard;
so perhaps there is tragic irony. The dative ψευδεϊ by attraction.
4 5 5 . όπως . . . γίγνεται: emphatic for: ούδ’ εσθ’ όπως λήσεις.
4 5 6 . πολλοί: the predicate, with ellipsis of είσίν.
οΐ : and they . . .
4 5 7 . ού καλώς ταρβεϊς: “your fear is senseless”, δέδοικας— τοφ-
βεϊς : variatio.
έπεί : at the end of the line (as very frequently in Soph.,
esp. in O.T.) at the same time achieving a supple connection be
tween the lines and bringing out the statement of the next line in
full relief.
4 5 8 . το μή πυθέσθαι : μή because the underlying thought is : εΐ μή
πυθοίμην.
τοϋτο: takes up the subject emphatically: "that is the thing, that
would . . .” .
4 5 9 . το δ’είδέναι τί δεινόν : these words are as it were a brief sum
mary of the tragic implications of the Oedipus Tyrannus. We
should not forget that later in the play Deianeira, at the moment
when she does know all about her own fate and Heracles’, commits
suicide.
4 6 0 . πλείστας άνήρ εις : άνήρ είς, in apposition to the subject, inten
sifies πλείστας by contrast. Cf. O.T. 1380, many examples in
Fraenkel’s note ad Ag. 1455, and unus with superlative in Latin.
εγημε δή : a case like this proves that the vèrb γαμεΐν in itself does
not denote “lawful wedlock”. The Athenians were as monogamous
as any people.
4 6 1 . κουπω: οΰπω: never yet.
4 6 1 , 2 . λόγον κακόν / ήνέγκατ’ : somewhat more forcible than
ήκουσε.
1) αύτόν L is im possible.
2) Cp. W ilam o w itz, Gl. d. Η . T 270 sq.. M alten , R E S u p p l. IV S90.
COMMENTARY US
φέρεαθαι “to carry away with oneself” is more often used of good
than evil. Campbell compares PI. Leg. VI 762 a ονείδη ©ερέσθωσαν
and the ironical καλόν άρα το γέρας . . . ήνέγκατο Resp. I ll 406 b.
462. ήδε τ ’ ούδ’ άν εί : τ’ : Campbell supposes τε to have been written
here instead of δέ for the sake of euphony. One may ask whether
there is not some correlation with καί 459. The treatment of καί . . .
τε in G.P.2 p. 535 is not wholly convincing. In my opinion ήδε τ’
has the sense of: "and so this g irl. . . ” . The words are elliptical
and stand for: ήδε τε <ούκ> άν <ονειδος ένέγκαιτο> ούδ’ ε'ί έντακείη.
4 6 2 , 3 . έντακείη τω φιλεΐν: In the debate on the problem whether
the subject is Heracles (schob, Campbell, Masqueray, Bignone,
Schiassi) or lole (Jebb, Radermacher, Mazon), I unhesitatingly
side with the former. Jebb’s remark implying that for Deianeira to
believe lole in love with Heracles would mitigate rather than
increase what she suffers as a wife is in itself correct; but that is
just what ούδ’ εί forbids us to assume.
The change of subject is rather harsh, but not uncommonly so.
Above all the remarkable phrase έντακείη τω φιλεΐν x) should be
considered in the light of Heracles’ subsequent fate, cp. 833 προσ-
τακέντος ίοϋ, 836 δεινοτάτω μέν υδρας προστετακώς φάσματι. The
robe was meant as a φίλτρον! έντήκεσθαι. means lit. “to be poured
in while molten” , “to sink deep into”, “to be absorbed by” ; the
usage is still more forcible than with Κύπρις as subject: Fr. 941.7
έντήκεται γάρ πλευμόνων δσοις ενι / ψυχή ·
4 6 4 . ωκτιρα κ.τ.λ. : cf. 312 (whether οικτίρω or οίκτίζω is used is
determined by the metre).
4 6 5 . οτι I ........ διώλεσεν: this was not the cause of D.’s com
passion expressed in 313; but it may be implied there too; the feel
ings underlying 307 sqq. are complex. Moreover it should be noted
that D.’s sentiments in regard to lole are enforced by her personal
experience: cp. supra 25.
4 6 6 . This statement of D.’s is only possible now she has heard
Heracles’ real motives in sacking Oechalia.
4 6 7 . 8. αλλά . . . . ούρον : not a nautical metaphor, but rather an
image “of things drifting along a surface-current made by the wind”
(Campbell). For the moment she dismisses the discussion of lole’s
plight and its implications for herself, οδρος is “wind” , not “fair
wind” ; at the same time one may hear in these words: “fate must
b colliquefactum inhaerere alicui G. H e rm a n n .

K a m e r b e e k , Trach iniae 8
COM MENTARY
take its course with these things” x). Cp. Aesch. Sept. 690; cf. also
Hdt. IV 163.3 (oracle).
468, 9 . The structure of the sentence is paratactical, the first
phrase conveying the meaning: “though you may be false to
others” . The verb άψευδεΐν occurs here for the first time.
4 7 0 . πείθου: “be persuaded” . It is quite unnecessary to alter the
reading of the MSS into ταθου (Dindorf, Jebb, Pearson, Raderm.);
D.’s words (άψευδεΐν άεί) do not call for an imper, aor. on the part
of the Chorus.
ού μέμψη: “you will not be dissatisfied with . . . ”
4 7 1 . κάπ’ έμοϋ κτήση χάριν: “ Der Hinweis auf den zu erwartenden
Da n k . . . . rechnet mit der Gewinnsucht des kleinen Mannes”
(Radermacher) : this comment is wrong; for the Greek mind
behaviour towards others is always determined by χάρις.
4 7 2 . άλλ’: assentient (“alors” ), cf. ad 389.
4 7 3 . θνητήν φρονούσαν θνητά: these words form a whole; they
mean primarily that D. being a mortal does not revolt against
divine power, that she acquiesces in the condicio humana, cf. fr.
590.1 P. (Tereus); secondarily that she understands the plight of
other mortals.
άγνώμονα: may be neut. pi., but I prefer to take it as fern, sing.,
with the schol. and Raderm. (inter alios) 12). The meaning is pri
marily άσύνετον (thus the schol.), secondarily “inconsiderate” 3),
“unfeeling” (cf. e.g. O.C. 86). The words refer to D.’s 438-445.
The parallels to θνητήν φρονούσαν θνητά are many: fr. 590 θνητά
φρονεΐν χρή θνητήν φύσιν, Aesch. Pers. 820, Pind. Isthrn. Y 16,
Epich. 263 K. θνατά χρή τον θνατόν, ούκ άθάνατα τον θνατον φρονεΐν,
Eur. Bacch. 396. Ale. 79 9 > Μ· Antiphanes 289), trag. fr. ad. 308
άνθρωπον οντα δει φρονεΐν άνθρώπινα. Aristotle’s criticism (Eth. N.
X.7.1177 b 32) does not do full justice to the implications of these
maxims; no tragedian would have denied that man should πάντα
ποιεΐν προς το ζην κατά το κράτιστον των εν αύτω. Moreover, as we
see clearly in the present context, the words state a rule of be
haviour not only for the individual in respect of his own state and
fate but also in regard to his fellow-creatures.
1) "W ell, le t w in d a n d w av e ta k e t h a t ” . (W ebster, Sophocles' Trachiniae,

G reek P o e tr y a n d L ife p. 169).
2) B ecau se of th e fo rm u la ry c h a ra c te r of Ο.φρ.θ.; m o reo v er th e s tru c tu re
of th e line p o in ts to th is in te rp re ta tio n .
3) w ith even an u n d e rto n e of “ reckless” .
COMMENTARY US
4 7 4 . The polar character of φράσω ουδέ κρύψομαι is well brought

out by the fact that logically παν τάληθές can only be the object
of κρύψομαι, as well, if we consider φράσω ούδέ κρύψομαι. as a whole.
κρύψομαι: for the middle cf. Ai. 647.
4 7 5 . Dain rightly puts a colon after έννέπει, which makes the
asyndeton clearer.
4 7 6 . ο δεινός iίμερος: Jebb is right in rejecting the idea that ό
δεινός here means “very potent”. We may then relate ό δεινός
ίμερος to the words of the Messenger (that overmastering passion
of which he has spoken) or we may assume that the words mean:
the mighty passion (such as that with which Eros inspires man,
and esp. a man like Heracles).
ταύτης: τήσδ’ 477, cf. ad 346.
Ηρακλή: Ήρακλεΐ L is impossible with διήλθε; it could stand
with επήλθε.
4 7 7 . διήλθε: as if it were a fit of an illness, the convulsions of
madness, cf. Phil. 743.
πολύφθορος: full of misery, abounding in ruin.
4 7 9 . τό προς κείνου: “what is in his favour”, “ce qui est à sa
décharge” (Mazon) (the usage is quite understandable as derived
from the primär}^ meaning “on the side of” , cf. Eur. Ale. 57 πρός
των έχόντων . . . τον νόμον τίθης, perhaps Ο.Τ. 1 3 4 )·
4 8 0 . είπε: iussit.
4 8 1 . 2 . τό σόν . . . στερνόν: to be taken with δειμαίνων and with
άλγύνοιμι as well.
4 8 3 . τι: acc. adv. τήνδ’: by attraction instead of τόδ’ (“this
proceeding of mine” ).
νέμεις: “to deem”, “to reckon” , as often.
4 8 4 . γε μέν δή : on the combination cf. G.P? p. 395. It should be
rendered by “however” .
4 8 5 . κοινήν : the word sums up and stresses κείνου and σήν ; έξ ίσου
denotes that the participation of H. and D. in the χάρις will be
equal and so emphasizes κοινήν.
4 8 6 . 7 . λόγους / ους είπας: 329 sqq., 447 sq., 462 sqq.
έμπέδως: so that you will έμπεδοϋν “make good” those words.
4 8 8 , 9 . To a certain extent, he echoes D.’s own argument 441 sqq.
εις άπανθ’: the same as παντάπασι.
Cf. Ar. Nub. 1081 καί εκείνος (Ζευς) ως ήττων έρωτός έστι καί
γυναικών ·
4 9 0 . άλλ’ : with assentient force cf. 389; καί following the de-
ιι6 COM MENTARY
monstrative: “such is just my way of thinking” (cf. G.P.2 p. 307).

It “marks the correspondence between Lichas’ advice and D.’s
state of mind” (Campbell); at the same time ώδε prepares for
ώστε ταΰτα δράν.
4 9 1 . επακτόν: αυθαίρετον, ultro contractum. Cp. Dem. XIX 259
αύθαίρετον αύτοΐς έπάγονται δουλείαν, έξαίρεσθαι is known from Horn,
in the sense of: “carry off for oneself”, “earn” (L.-Sc.) ; its use here
in malam partem seems natural. I reject Mazon’s interpretation:
"Je n’irai pas par des charmes attirer aucun mal sur lui” : the
middle is against it and the normal sense of the verb too 1).
4 9 2 . θεοΐσι δυσμαχοϋντες : cf. ad 441, but the phrase has wider
implications; strife against Eros means strife against the divine
powers in general, against nature and Fate itself. (It is just the thing
for doing which she will be crushed). For δυσμαχέω cf. Ant. 1106
άνάγκη δ’ούχί δυσμαχητέον ; the verb means “to fight in vain
against” . It does not occur in Aesch. and Eur.
4 9 3 . λόγων έπιστολάς: “a verbal message”, έπιστολαί (always in
the plur. in the Tragedians) may be verbal or written; λόγων
moreover has a certain antithetical force as opposed to δώρα.
εΐσω στέγης: message and gift are to be given to Lichas in the
next scene, not in but before the house. We could imagine a scene in
which D. and Lichas come out of the house, Lichas carrying the
άγγος and D. bidding him farewell; the dialogue between D. and
the Chorus could have followed Lichas’ departure. Such a scene
would have been wholly consistent with these words. Of course,
Sophocles could hardly have made Lichas wait for the queen out
of doors during the stasimon. Still less could he represent the
handing over of the robe indoors. But this very dramatic moment
had to be brought before the eyes of the spectators; all its impli
cations could only be understood after D.’s dialogue with the
Chorus, in which Lichas could not partake. So the course followed
by the poet was unavoidable and the slight inconsistency between
these words and the action of the next scene had to be taken as
part of the bargain: D. must provide some motive to make Lichas
enter the house.
J T h o u g h επακτός could m e a n “ a ttir é su r la tê te d ’u n h o m m e p a r u n e

o p é ra tio n m ag iq u e ” , M azon, R ev . de Philologie, 1951, p. 9, q u o tin g R.
W ü n sch , D e fix io n u m tabellae atticae p. X X I I I ; cf. επακτόν “ spell” G. D . I.
3545. A sim ilar, b u t obscure, e x p la n a tio n of th e w o rd s is fo u n d in T h.
Z ielinski’s Excurse z u den Trachinierinnen (Philol. L V p. 533,4 a n m . 14).
COM MENTARY 117
4 9 3 . 5 . φέρης . . . άγης: there is no difference here between the

two words (cf. 602).
4 9 4 . άντί δώρων δώρα : among the δώρα is Iole, a costly gift : cf.
5 4 0 -5 4 2 .
προσαρμόσου : in my opinion the poet means us to understand that
Deianeira has already conceived her fatal plan; the verb προσαρ
μόσου makes us think of the peplos or of the philtrum (cf. 687) or
of both; at the same time the verb, with δώρα, can be understood
as meaning: “to make a suitable return-gift” .
4 9 5 . καί ταϋτ’ : taking up δώρα with a certain emphasis,
κενόν: empty-handed (already in Homer), δίκαιά: = δίκαιόν.
4 9 5 , 6. κενόν . . . συν πολλω στόλω: with these words, which point
back to the beginning of this epeisodion, its end is meaningfully
rounded off. Deianeira and the spectators have learnt the full
significance of this στόλος ; her words convey a bitter irony.
F irst stasim on 497-530

If we compare this stasimon 12) with the parodos, the affinities
in structure are conspicuous. Here too we have a strophe, with
antistrophe, in which dactylo-epitrites or the like combined with
iambic metres form the metrical pattern. Here too, as at the end
of the parodos, an epode, mainly iambic, winds up the song.
There is not much to be said for Wilamowitz’ way of making the
epode more iambic by reading 517 : τότ ’ ήν χερός πάταγος, ήν δε τόξων
and by dividing 520 sq. thus : ήν δ’ άμφίπλεκτοι κλίμακες / ήν δέ
μετώπων όλόεντα πλήγματα2).
In my opinion the dactylic cola in the first period of this epode
link it, metrically speaking, more closely to the preceding strophe
and the parodos and this is the more welcome as the contents of this
stasimon also corresponds with that of the parodos in many respects.
There attention is focussed on Heracles’ staying away from home,
here on Deianeira’s former lot, her loneliness being already manifest
at the time when the contest for her hand was fought. The two
themes which in their mutual relation represent an integral part
of the play’s substance (they appear together in Deianeira’s mono
logue 1-48) are dealt with in these two choral songs in the specific
ally choral manner.
1) “ Im gan zen Sophokles ein U n icu m , v o n b a lla d e sk e rz ä h le n d e r . . .
A rt” (R e in h a rd t, Sophokles1, p. 253).
2) Gr. Vsk., p. 528.
Ιΐδ COM MENTARY
4 9 7 . 8. έκφέρεται: “carries off”, cp. El. 6o κάξενέγκωμαι κλέος.

We have to reject Campbell’s interpretation: “Aphrodite ever
advances unchecked in mighty conquering force” .
σθένος νικάς: “triumph” . This is implied in σθένος alone, as also
often in κράτος 1), and νίκας is genit, explic. Cp. Ant. 781 ’Έρως
άνίκατε μάχαν after the scene with Haemon. Here also the words
of the Chorus are closely connected with the preceding scene: cf.
354, 431, 433, 441 sqq., 476, 488. The Chorus proceeds to illustrate
the truth of the first sentence, manifest from Heracles’ demeanour,
by another instance.
By means of a praeteritio they point out Aphrodite’s power over
the gods: Zeus, Hades and Poseidon yield to it; mythology here
undoubtedly has cosmological meaning: she exercises sway over
the universe. Cp. Sophocles’ very impressive words on Aphrodite’s
power fr. 941 P. and more particularly Eur. Hipp. 525 sqq.
But this is only introductory (echoing vs. 443) ; the Chorus wants
to tell of Aphrodite’s power at the time of Heracles' and Acheloiis’
contest for the bride, expatiating on D.’s words in the prologue.
Thus, in a very subtle way, this song is woven into the texture of
the play.
The passion of the superhuman creatures, inspired by Aphrodite,
is grimly and somewhat gruesomely depicted in their bitter fight ; in
consequence the more pathos attaches to the picture of the fair
bride, passively waiting for its issue.
In so vehement a way, we are meant to understand, Heracles
fought for Deianeira; with .the same vehemence he fought for Iole;
and it was all Aphrodite’s doing.
4 9 8 . τά θεών: “what happened with gods” .
4 9 9 . παρέβαν: A thought or a feeling that has been made the
object of reflection is often stated in the aor., where modern
languages use the present tense. Cf. Ai. 693 εφριξ’ ερωτι.
I doubt whether Jebb and Campbell are right in quoting a.It.I.
Pind. 01. I 35 εστι δ’ άνδρί φάμεν έοικός άμφί δαιμόνων καλά 12). I do
not think Sophocles considers it a shame for the other gods to be
deceived by Aphrodite nor a sin for himself to mention such
happenings and if he did consider it so, the sin would have been
committed with a vengeance by this praeteritio.
1) A w ell-k n o w n H o m eric u sag e; cf. T riim p v , Kriegerische Fachausdrücke
im griech. Epos, 1950, p p . 202-206.
2) Cf. W e b ste r, Introduction, p. 21 a n d n. 2.
COM MENTARY HQ
Κρονίδαν άπάτασεν : one thinks of course, in the first place, of the

Homeric Διος άπάτη, but the occasions were many.
5 0 1 . ‘Άιδαν: we only hear about his love for Persephone; Po
seidon’s love-affairs were numerous. It is possible that the use of
άπάτησεν is to a certain extent zeugmatic.
5 0 2 . τινάκτορα : h.l. for the first time, cf. II. XX 57 and Aesch.
Prom. 924 γης τινάκτειρα νόσος (P.’s trident), Horn. Hymn. XXII 2
γαίης κινητήρα (quoted by Jebb).
5 0 3 . έπί: used with the thing (or the person, as here) one seeks
to obtain.
άκοιτιν: a proleptic predicate.
άρ’: goes with τίνες, supplied from the schol. by Hermann.
(Σ εκείνα δε λέγω τίνες ήγωνίσαντο). The placing is exceptional
(cf. G.P,2p. 40 ; Denniston (39) remarks on άρσ. with the interrogat. :
(it) “forecasts the effect of the enlightenment which the answer
will bring” ). As to the interrogative form used emphatically to
introduce the characters of an action, cf. II. I 8 τίς τ’ άρ σφωε θεών
and the numerous cases where before a battle-scene it is asked who
killed whom first etc.
5 0 4 . άμφίγυοι: in Horn, always epith. of έγχος “double-pointed” ;
Horn, also uses άμφιγυήεις, either: “with both feet crooked” , or
"with strong arms on both sides”.
The most probable interpretation is: άμφότεροι ίσχύοντες τοϊς
γυίοις.
Cf. Ai. 252 δικρατεΐς Άτρεΐδαι “the two commanders, the Atrei-
dae”, Ant. 145 δικρατεΐς λόγχας “two spears, both triumphant” .
Of course it is possible that each champion separately is called
άμφίγυος.
κατέβαν: the old Homeric form. For the sense cp. descendere,
καθήκειν Aesch. Cho. 455.
5 0 4 . πρό γάμων: not "to win it” (Jebb and Schwyzer-Debrunner
II p. 506, but neither O.T. 134 nor El. 495 are really comparable),
but “before” *).
5 0 5 , 6. έξήλθον: cf. 159. The schol. correctly explains: άντί του
διήνυσαν, έπεξήλθον, ήγωνίσαντο. λέγει δε οτι παν είδος άγωνίσματος
κατ’ άλλήλων ένεδείξαντο.
άεθλ’ αγώνων : = άγώνας ; άθλον often denotes the contest itself, cf.
Phil. 508 πολλών δυσοίστων πόνων άθλα.1
1) T h u s in te r al. E lle n d t, M asq u eray , M azon, Schiassi.

120 COMMENTARY
πάμπληκτα παγκόνιτά τ ’ : “wherein all was full of blows and dust” ,

παν- tends towards merely intensifying the second part of the
compound; so we may render: “full of vehement blows and clouds
of dust” . Jebb rightly warns against explaining it as referring to
various kinds of blows ; cf. supra 50 πανδάκρυτ’ οδύρματα. (We find in
Soph. 64 compounds with παν- or παντο-, ten of which are formed
from adj. verb, in -τος; these two occur nowhere else 1)).
5 0 7 . ποταμού σθένος: Cf. II. XVIII 607 έν δ’ έτίθει ποταμοΐο μέγα
σθένος Ώκεανοΐο, and periphrases with βίη, μένος, ί'ς. But the phrase
is not a formula here and emphasizes Acheloiis’ actual strength.
5 0 8 . τετραόρου: schol. τετρασκελοϋς. Elsewhere the word means
“yoked four together” . Probably the poet lent the w'ord a new' sense
by etymologizing thus: επί τέσσαρσιν άειρόμενος 12). In this he w'as not
followed. (The reading in Eustathius τετράορον has all the appear
ance of being a rhetorical smoothing).
ύψίκερω: cf. Od. X 158 (a deer). For the accentuation cf. Schwyzer
1 392;
5 0 9 . φάσμα ταύρου : of course much more than a periphrasis. The
effect is the same as that produced by φοιτών εναργής ταύρος ; there
is an interplay between the meanings monstrum, prodigium, phan
tasm, spectre. Φάσμα is said of the Sphinx Epigr. 1016.3 Kaibel,
of the Hydra infra 837; ονείρων φάσματα Aesch. Ag. 274; El. 644;
in the sense “spectre” , "ghost” cf. the title of Menander’s play.
5 1 0 . Οίνιαδάν: Οίνιάδαι is a town on the Acheloiis; it is balanced
by Θήβας. (Probably there existed some relation between this
name and that of D.’s father).
Βακχίας: it is very natural that in a tragic choral song the con
nection of Thebes with Dionysus is stressed (cf. Ant. 1122).
512. παλίντονα: "resilient” (I find the interpretation given by
L.-Sc. viz. “bent backward, i.e. the opposite way to that in which
they w'ere drawn” hard to believe; and even if it is correct, the
implied meaning must be just the same, “resilient” ). Cf. Stanford
ad Od. XXI 11 and Groeneboom ad Aesch. Cho. 161 Σκυθικά
παλίντονα βέλη 3).
1) Cf. J. C. F . N u ch elm a n s, Die N o m i n a des soph. Wortschatzes, th esis

N ijm egen 1949, p p . 95, 96.
2) Cf. L. K ugler, De Sophoclis quae vocantur abusionibus, th e sis G o ettin g en
1905, p. 67.
3) I t w ill n o t do to co m p a re H eracl. fr. 51, for th e re παλίντροπος is th e
b e tte r tran sm issio n .
COM MENTARY I2I
λόγχας: two spears, as is the custom with the epic heroes. We

may note that in Homer Heracles’ weapon is the bow, in Pisander
the club, and that here he has both and λόγχαι too.
Θήβας: sing, and plur. occur in dialogue and lyric passages indis
criminately, so we may suppose that the sing, is preferred here
in order to avoid monotony in view of Οίνιαδαν.
-ανάσσων : there is nothing to be said for the v.l. τινάξας occurring
in Z n 1) Par. 2787 and Zg 1) Laur. 32.2 (Thomas’ recension).
Note the very refined chiasmos by which the antagonists’
mutual approach is rendered:
ποταμού σθένος παΐς Διάς,
ύψίκερω τετραόρου φάσμα ταύρου παλίντονα . . . . τινάσσων
άπ’ Οίνιαδαν Βακχίας άπο Θήβας
5 1 2 . τινάσσων: with τόξα the use is slightly zeugmatic (but its
range of meaning is rather wide). Note the word of the same stem
in the strophe.
5 1 3 , 4 . Also answering the corresponding words in the strophe
in sense.
άολλεΐς: the schol. has two interpretations 1) καταχρηστικάς
εΐπεν επί δύο το άολλεΐς· επί πλήθους γάρ λέγεται· 2) ή άολλεΐς άντί του
λίαν άλέντες ■ 'Όμηρος οί'μησεν δε άλείς. The meaning here may be
approximately rendered by “coming to close quarters” , άολλεΐς ΐσαν
is more graphic than όμόσε ΐσαν. “Together” is a misleading trans
lation ; in Horn, the word is used of men of the same army going into
battle etc., but here the two adversaries stride to attack each other
and close with a terrible clash of their struggling bodies. Something
like that is implied in άολλεΐς, as Campbell saw; cf. άολλήδην =
όμοϋ (of two persons) Mosch. II 49 and άολλεΐ = συνάγει Hesych.
5 1 4 . ίέμενοι: έπιθυμοϋντες. Ahrens distinguished between Ρίεμαι
and the middle of ΐημι, but certainly, in Attic, linguistic conscious
ness did not do this (the aor. έεισάμην does not occur in Attic). Their
related meaning furthered the fusion of the two.
5 1 5 , 6. εΰλεκτρος: “the goddess of love” , "bringing wedded
happiness” (L.-Sc.); the usage is causal: cp. ‘Ύπνε, εύαίων άναξ
Phil. 829, εύκαρπον (giver of fertility to plants) Κυθέρειαν fr. 847 P.,
εύχλοος O.C. 1600 (of Demeter), and not quite the same as in
εύλέκτρου νύμφας Ant. 796 sq.
P T u ry n ’s sigla.
122 COM MENTARY
Aphrodite is said to be the regulator of the contest, herself

present; we may surmise that Soph, means us to understand that
both rivals acted under the spell of Aphrodite.
5 1 6 . ραβδονόμει: only here1); ραβδονόμος = “umpire” Hesych.
ραβδούχος “umpire” in a contest PI. Prot. 338 a. The βραβευτής has a
ράβδος in Philod. de vitiis p. 25 Jensen; the δικασταί of an Athenian
court carry a βακτηρία (Dem. XVIII 210; ci. Arist. Άθ. Πολ. 65.2):
We are also for a moment reminded of the magic significance of the
staff, but should reject that idea: έν μέσω stresses her rôle as an
umpire, as perhaps μόνα too (in contests more than one umpire
was the normal thing). So the schob: μόνη δέ ή Κύπρις παρούσα
εβράβευεν καί διέτασσεν is right. The very precise image that rises
before our eyes from these words makes it almost certain that Soph,
had a work of art in mind when writing them down. It was not the
group in the Megarian θησαυρός at Olympia (Paus. VI 19.12, cf.
Jebb) ; perhaps it was ή προς ’Αχελώον Ήρακλέους πάλη of the throne
at Amyclae (Paus. I ll 18. 16) ?
5 1 7 . χερός: not meant literally in the singular, any more than
e.g. γόνυ Eur. Hel. 894.
5 1 8 . πάταγος: of falling trees (II. XVI 769), of thunder (Ar. Nub.
382), of clashing weapons (Aesch. Sept. 103, Eur. Heract. 832);
crepitus. But it is not entirely clear how we are to understand τόξων
πάταγος; probably it denotes the thud of bow and arrow during a
shot, for it would be άπρεπες if Heracles delivered blows with his
bow.
5 1 9 . άνάμιγδα: “therewithal” (Campbell); but perhaps we must
take it as describing the confused noise of the three sounds together.
(The ordinary form is άμμιγα infra 839 or άναμίξ; for the formation
cf. κρύβδα, κύβδα, φύγδα). The horns are Acheloiis’ weapons.
5 1 7 , 5 2 0 , 5 2 1 . ήν . . . ήν . . . ήν . . . ήν: an impressive anaphora;
in 520 we find schema Pindaricum (verb in singular followed by
subject in the plural) caused by the desire not to interrupt the
anaphora; moreover the subject is felt as a collectivum and perhaps
we may add that ήν is the old plural form surviving in Doric.
5 2 0 . 1 . κλιμαξ: Hesych. κλίμακες: πάλης είδος. After turning the
adversary round with a shove the other mounts his back (G.
Hermann, Campbell among others). Ov. Met. IX 54 Impulsumque
manu / Protinus avertit tergoque onerosus inhaesit, άμφίπλεκτοι
1) W ith o u t a u g m e n t, as so m etim es in ly rics a n d in M essengers’ speeches
(cf. P ag e a d Med. 1141).
COMMENTARY I2 3
“intertwining” (“active” use of the adj. verb. x)) denotes the effect
of the act of mounting. Ov. l.c. 58 vix solvi duros a corpore
nexus.
Pearson’s άμφίπλικτοι, which is due to άμφιπλίξ fr. 596 and to
Hesych. πλίγμα = “crossing the legs in walking or wrestling” ,
is quite unnecessary, though there are cases that indicate con
fusion between πλέκειν and πλίασειν in antiquity; cf. Hesych. περι
πεπλεγμένα- περιπεπλεγμένα τοΐς σκέλεσιν and Gow’s discussion ad
Theocr. XVIII 8 (here he chooses περιπλέκτοις). Cf. περίπλοκα!
esp. metaphorically used of λόγοι but surely a metaphor derived
from wrestling.
5 1 7 - 5 2 1 . There is a peculiar effect of sound and rhythm in the
sequence: τόξων — κεράτων — μετώπων — άμφοΐν.
521. μετώπων . . . πλήγματα: Ον. l.c. 45 frontem fronte pre
mebam.
5 2 3 . εύώπις: only here in Soph., not in Aesch.; Eur. has εΰωπός
Or. 918, Io 1611 (in a more general sense); “fair-eyed” or “fair
faced” . Od. VI 113 of Nausicaä, Find. 01. X 74 of the moon.
άβρά: suggests the delicacy of her virginal beauty; it is in Sappho
an epithet of the Graces fr. 128 L.-P.
5 2 4 . τηλαυγει παρ’ οχθω : τηλαυγής is “far-shining” or “far-seen” ,
but for the Greek mind these are two aspects of the same idea:
αύγάζειν is “illumine” and “discern” , αύγή is “light”, “gleam” but
in the plur. used for “eyes”. Another possible interpretation is “far-
seeing”, i.e. “whence one can see far”, τήλε πέμπουσα τάς αύγάς των
ομμάτων (thus Campbell), “dont la vue s’étend au loin” (Mazon) 2).
οχθω: “rising-ground” , “hill” or “high river-bank” ?
As a rule the latter is denoted by όχθη. But cf. Sappho 95. 13
δχθοις Άχέροντος 3), Aesch. Ag. 1161 Άχερουσίους οχθους, Eur.
Suppl. 655 Ίσμήνιον προς δχθον. The use of παρά with the dative
perhaps argues for this interpretation : Od. VI 97 δεΐπνον . . . είλοντο
παρ’ οχθήσιν ποταμοΐο. But I fail to see that Nonnus XLIII 13 makes
D. watch the fight from the bank of a river (see jebb) : we find
nothing of the sort in Nonnus.
5 2 5 . τον δν άκοίταν: “the husband who was to be hers” (Jebb).* )
P B u t cp. W ack em ag el, Vovl. über S y n t a x I 288 a n d E d . F ra e n k e l ad

A esch. A g . 12 a n d 238.
*) Cp. th e A ttic ep ig ra m ( ± 4 0 0 , P e e k , Griech. Vers-Inschriften 1961. 1)
Καλλιμάχο Ουγατρος τηλαυγές μνήμα <τόδ’ Ιστίν>.
·’ ) T h e read in g is a lm o st c e rta in .
COMMENTARY
5 2 6 . εγώ δέ μάτηρ μέν οία φράζω: locus conclamatus1').

Schol. L: εγώ, φησίν, ενδιαθέτους (i.e. “from the heart” *2) cf. Her-
mog. Id. 2.7) ώσει μήτηρ λέγω. Campbell defends this interpretation:
“they feel a mother’s tenderness for her” . The obvious objection to it
is of course that the Chorus consists of young maidens (cp. 143 sqq.).
But of the many conjectures none is convincing: θατήρ Zielinski
accepted by Raderm., Masqueray and Dain-Mazon is in my opinion
frigid, μάρτυς (Wilamowitz accepted by Perrotta and Schiassi) a little
better, Jebb’s άγων δε μαργα is unworthy of its author, and so forth.
In the Triclinian scholia the words ως μήτηρ λέγω are followed by
παρεΐσα τά πολλά, τά τέλη ?\έγω των πραγμάτοΰν. It is possible that
these words point in the direction of a varia lectio lost to us, meaning
something like: “I relate only the main points of the story” (could
τά τέλη mean that?), but the conjectures based on that assumption,
e.g. Wecklein’s εγώ δε μάν τέρματ’ οία φράζω are unsatisfactory.
Jebb rejects with contempt another explanation of the words
as transmitted, viz. “I tell the story as her mother told it” , but
is it too absurd to suppose that the Chorus says: “I tell the story
as my mother told it me” ? (thus, with misgivings, Tournier). But if
this interpretation is correct, we should not take the words as a paren
thesis but as leading up to the next sentence. Cf. perhaps Eur ,fr. 484.1.
5 2 7 , 8. άμμένει: the present tense may be taken as a praes, hist.,
but I think Wilamowitz’ 3) comment is right: “ Nicht nur da sie
auf den Gatten wartete, tat sie das; sie wartet immer noch, mag sie
auch jetzt keine νύμφη mehr sein. Und sie hat plötzlich von der
Mutter fortgemusst, wie das Kälbchen von der Kuh. Plötzlich ist
sie damals geschieden, aber ώστε πορτις έρήμα ist sie noch, in dem
Hause des Gatten, der sie einer neuen Gattin zuliebe verstossen
kann. Dass man den Gegensatz der Tempora scharf auffasst, ist die
Hauptsache, dass man das Ethos fasst, sich nicht daran stösst,
sondern freut, wenn der Moment, wo sie dem Gatten und zugleich
einer ungewissen Zukunft ausgeliefert war, wo sie von der Mutter
schied, zusammenfliesst mit der Gegenwart, in der sie immer noch
τέλος άμμένει und έρημα ist” . The Chorus means : “I tell my mother’s
story, it is true, but D.’s present condition, now visible to us all,
is the outcome of those past events” 4). Past and present are seen as
q 25 co n je c tu re s a re g iven in C a n ta re lla ’s e d itio n (1926).

2) T h e w o rd n e v e r m e a n s “ p a re n th e tic a lly ” as J e b b (A pp.) w ill h a v e it.
3) Gr. Vsk., p p . 529, 30.
4) Cp. th e re m a rk s of A. B eck, Der E m p fa n g Ioles, H erm es 81, 1953p. n n . i.
COMMENTARY 125
a whole and the relevance of this choral song to the dramatic

context is greatly enhanced by this interpretation, which is the
more probable since Deianeira’s prologue-speech shows a similar
texture. Cf. also 648-652, where άμμένειν, one of the play’s key
words, is used.
527 . άμφινείκητον : cf. 104. It is possible that Sophocles etymo
logizes her name in these words. As love is kindled by the ομμα,
άμφινείκητονΤ going with it, is not merely a rhetorical device,
ομμα νύμφας: much more than a periphrasis, cf. Ai. 139, 140.
5 2 8 . ελεεινόν : since Men. Sam. 156 has this form, nothing prevents
us retaining it here ; then we have the metrical unit cf.
O.T. 1209 θαλαμηπόλο» πεσεΐν and Wilamowitz’ τέλος, supplied in
order to avoid the strange becomes unnecessary, άμμένει is
“absolute” and ελεεινόν is probably in apposition to ομμα. Jebb and
others prefer to take it as an acc. adv. But “awaits (the result)
with a piteous look” seems rather strained and Phil. 1130 is not a
good parallel (ή που έλεινόν όρας).
529 . άφαρ: cf. 133.
βέβαχ’ : the perfect states that the action is completed at the
present time; D. is still έρημα, as she was after the parting from her
mother. (If Wilamowitz’ interpretation is not accepted, we should
regard βέβαχ’ as a perfect in the function of a hist, pres., cf. Schwyzer-
Debrunner II 287 quoting Xen. Hell. VII 1.41). The simile shows
some affinity with Anacr. 39 D. and with Sappho 104 L.-P. To a
certain extent Ov. l.c. 46 sq. is a reminiscence.
Second Epeisodion 5 3 1 -6 3 2
Deianeira’s real state of mind is revealed in the first scene.

Chorus and spectators are informed of her scheme, of the nature,
origin and history of the δώρον by which she is going to regain
Heracles’ love; the present situation is linked with the weird past,
just as in the prologue and the preceding stasimon, by Deianeira’s
story of Nessus, and the fatal action is launched by Nessus’ counsel
and gift becoming operative through D.’s desperate decision. The
uncanny details of Deianeira’s receipt of Nessus’ present lend a
threatening gloom to the scene of Lichas’ departure.
531, 533 . ήμος . . . . τημος: Soph, alone among the Tragedians
uses the epic τήμος (only here), Aesch. does not use ήμος either,
Eur. only once. (Hec. 915).
126 COM MENTARY
5 3 1 . ξένος: rather loosely used: “our guest” (thus rightly J.).

θροεΐ: “is conversing with” .
5 3 2 . ώς επ’ έξόδω: “with his departure in view” (Campbell).
5 3 3 . θυραΐος: very frequently of persons who pass or have
passed out of doors. Of two terminations also El. 313.
λάθρα: Λίχου.
5 3 4 . 5 . Her intentions are performed in inverse order from
that in which they are announced. Such chiastic devices are only
natural, and very frequent.
χερσίν is by position rather sharply contrasted with πάσχω.
άτεχνησάμην: the connotation “cunningly” is almost always
implied or may be heard in the verb (cp. e.g. Ant. 494).
5 3 5 . συγκατοικτιουμένη : in order to lament with you over my
misfortunes.
5 3 6 . κόρην . . . . ούκέτ’ : cf. 308. Her inference is natural and
true: cf. infra 1225; έζευγμένην opp. κόρην.
παρεσδέδεγμοα: παρα- has a connotation of something slipping
in by stealth, secretly.
5 3 7 . φόρτον ώστε ναυτίλος: i.e. an extra cargo, surreptitiously
brought aboard, ruinous for ship and master.
5 3 8 . έμπόλημα: “thing trafficked in” in apposition to κόρην . . . .
έζευγμένην (for it is better to take φόρτον ώστε ναυτίλος together;
to consider λωβητόν έμπόλημα as an apposition to the action —
Campbell — makes things needlessly difficult).
λωβητόν: in an active sense and with a genit, of the object (τής
έμής φρενός) : “qui doit m’empoisonner le coeur” (Mazon) *). This
seems better than making τής έμής φρενός depend on έμπόλημα so
that the words would mean : ‘‘malam officii erga Herculem praestiti
mercedem” (E.).έμπόλημα does not mean “reward” and the close
connection of the metaphor with the preceding simile would be
lost, τής έμής φρενός is more than a periphrasis of έμοϋ; Ant. 1063
ώς μή ’μπολήσων ϊσθι. την έμήν φρένα is not comparable in all respects.
5 3 9 . 4 0 . With graphic and rather cynical bitterness the situation
is summed up.
δύ’ ουσαι: more forcible than άμφω and in vivid contrast with
~ 9\
μιας -1).
μίμνομεν: “dobbiamo attendere” (thus rightly Schiassi).12
1) O r, w ith tra g ic irony, "d e s tru c tiv e of m y w its” (cf. W e b ste r in G reek
P o e tr y a n d L ife p. 172).
2) Cf. e.g. A n t. 13, 989 a n d also O.T. 1505.
COMMENTARY I27
μιας ύπό χλαίνης: cf. Pearson ad fr. 483 and Gow ad Theocr.
XVIII 19. μία χλαΐνα is, as it were, the symbol for a pair of lovers1) ;
the two women will have to share the one χλαΐνα of Heracles’ love.
ύπαγκάλισμα: Eur. has the word twice: Hel. 242 Διός ύ. σεμνόν
‘Ήρα and Troad. 757 ώ νέον ύπαγκάλισμα μητρί φίλτατον ; in both
places it means ‘‘that which is clasped in the arms”. The same
holds good for παραγκάλισμα Ant. 650 and for άγκάλισμα Luc. Am. 14,
Lycophr. 308 (but metaph. = “embrace” Tim. Pers. 91) ; εναγκάλισμα
“that which embraces” Secund. Sent. 2 (L.-Sc.). It seems impossible
to take ύπαγκάλισμα here in apposition to the subject in the sense of
“object of embrace”, nor as object, with μίμνομεν, in the sense
of “one that embraces” ; it must be the object of μίμνομεν, but in
the sense of “embrace” . In Ionic the ending -μα is often used in the
function of -σις 12). Only in this way can we feel that “the sense of
μιας is continued” (Campbell). Jebb’s translation is in accordance
with this interpretation, but in his commentary he refers only to
Ant. 650 n. Ellendt’s rendering is right: amplexus.
The only alternative to this, it seems to me, is that Heracles is
the “object of embrace” , but in my opinion this is hardly acceptable.
5 4 0 - 5 4 2 . τοιάδ’ . . . οίκούρι’ : the asyndeton renders the words
more forcible and is in keeping with their bitter and sarcastic ring.
οίκούρια: reward for taking charge of the house; for the for
mation cf. ζωάγρια. του μακροϋ χρόνου: genit, as in μηνός μίσθος and
the like 3) ; sc. της οίκουρίας, but as they stand, the words have a
pathetic ring; the article retains some demonstrative force. Cf.
Eur. lier. 1371-73 σέ τ ’ ούχ ομοίως, ώ τάλαιν’, άπώλεσα / ώσπερ σύ
τάμά λέκτρ’ εσωζες ασφαλώς, / μακράς διαντλοΰσ’ έν δόμοις οίκουρίας.
5 4 1 . 6 πιστός ήμΐν κάγαθός καλούμενος: Ο.Τ. 385 Κρέων ό πιστός,
ούξ άρχής φίλος, ήμΐν goes in the first place with ό πιστός κάγαθός,
then with καλούμενος and is to be supplied with άντέπεμψε.
5 4 3 - 5 4 6 . In these words the singular character of Heracles’
faithlessness in this case is clearly stated. In themselves, Heracles’
many passions are no cause of anger to D. She feels herself threaten
ed in her position of housewife. I think it probable that Soph,
imagines her situation as that of an Athenian housewife’s, who is
threatened by the intrusion of a παλλακή. νοσοϋντι is not hypothe
tical-concessive, as Schiassi will have it.
1) Cf. A sc le p .d ,P . V 169 όπόταν κρύψη μία τούς φιλέοντας /χλαΐνα. A lciplir. IV
2) Schw yzer I 523, C h a n tra in e Form ation des N om s, 189 sq. [11.4 Sch.
3) T he genit, m a y also d e p e n d on άντι-, cf. E u r. Ale. 340.
COMMENTARY
5 4 5 . αύ: reinforces the antithesis; το . . . ξυνοικεΐν, at the be

ginning of the sentence, brings out in full relief the cause of her
indignation.
5 4 6 . κοινωνοΰσα των αυτών γάμων: sharing <with the other> the
same marriage (i.e. the marriage with one and the same husband).
5 4 7 - 5 4 9 . She, the woman past her prime, will, she fears, be
worsted by her young rival.
5 4 7 , 8. ήβην τήν μεν . . . τήν δέ : respectively Iole’s and D.’s
“flower of age” . But she expresses her meaning in almost general
terms.
ερπουσαν πρόσω: going forwards, i.e. still growing towards its
acme. For έρπειν “grow” ci.fr. 255-3 P- βότρυς / επ’ ήμαρ ερπει.
5 4 8 , 9 . ών: ηβών; genit, partit., άνθος = το άνθος τής άνθούσης
ηβης.
τών δ’: genit, separat.; the women past their flower are meant;
the personal plural instead of the expected τής S’ — τής φθινούσης
ήβης.
οφθαλμός: the lover’s eye. It is not necessary to take as the
subject of ύπεκτρέπει the lover himself, because ύπεκτρέπει πόδα
may mean either: “shrinks back from” (πόδα being the foot of
personified Love, implied in οφθαλμός), or “causes him (the lover)
to turn aside” (πόδα denoting the foot of the lover).
The imagery is in the tradition of Mimnermus’ ήβης άνθεα άρπαλέα
(ι.η D., 2.3 and 7 D.). For the sentiment cf. PI. Symp. 183 e (ο του
σώματος μάλλον ή τής ψυχής ερών) άμα τώ τοϋ σώματος άνθει λήγοντι,
ουπερ ήρα “οΐχεται άποπτάμενος” and also id. ib. 196 a, b. (Rader-
macher’s τώνδ’ with which the words would mean "Gewohnheit
tötet die Liebe” would be necessary only if we had to read with A
ύπεκτρέπειν).
5 5 0 . ταϋτ’: “For this reason” (thus rightly Jebb), but gram
matically it is an internal accusative with φοβούμαι, referring to
what precedes: “These are the reasons for my fear lest . . . .” ; it
does not announce the clause with μή.
5 5 0 , 1 . πόσις . . . άνήρ: In this context πόσις (rare in prose)
“lawful husband”, “spouse” is contrasted with "mate” with its
physical implications, άνήρ has the same crude ring as in Eur. Hipp.
491 ού λόγων εύσχημόνων / δει σ’, άλλα τάνδρος. ή is not to be supplied
with άνήρ.
5 5 2 , 3 . Referring to 543 and 445 sqq. όργαίνειν intr. cf. Eur. Ale.
1106; tr. O.T. 335.
COMMENTARY I29
553 , 4 . ή . . . τήδ’ . . . φράσω: “the way in which I have . . . I

will tell you exactly”.
λυτήριον λύπη μα: a) schol. ad 551 2 τής λύπης ίαμα; schol. ad 554
άντί του τής λύπης. If this is right, we have a verbal noun, used
substantively, governing an accusative as in Aesch. Ag. 1199
παιώνιον governs πήμα γενναίως παγέν1) (but most editors reject the
reading) ; cp. in general Schwyzer-Debrunner II p. 73 c.
b) If we take λυτήριον as an attribute of λύπημα, the words mean :
“a delivering pain” , i.e. "a painful remedy” and may be regarded
as an oxymoron. But it is hardly possible that D. refers to the
philtre or to the garment by the word λύπημα, unless we could take
it in the sense of: “an awkward thing” ; then the words would
mean “a remedy, be it an awkward one” .
c) We may consider the interpretation “how I find that my pain
is remediable” 2) (λυτήριον = λυτόν), but it distorts the meaning
of εχω. d) G. Hermann and Ellendt interpret the words thus: ή
δ’ εχω λυτήριον <εμαυτή>, λύπημα τήδ’ ( = Iole), ύμΐν φράσω. I am
not as sure as Jebb and others are that this would be "wholly
unsuited to Deianeira”.
On the whole I am inclined to accept b), if a) has to be rejected,
λυτήριος liberatorius occurs thrice in Soph.’s Electra (447, 635, 1490) ;
cf. Aesch. Eum. 298, Suppl. 1073 λυτηρίοις μηχαναΐς, ib. 268 άκη
τομαΐα καί λυτήρια, Eur. Mel. S. 17 άκη πόνων . . . καί λυτήρια.
555 , 6. ήν . . . θηρός: παλαιόν δώρον: “a gift received long ago”,
ποτέ “once” may be considered as going with the idea of “giving”
implied in δώρον, but since αρχαίου does not refer to Nessus’ age but
to his living long ago 3), we may equally well take it with αρχαίου:
“once living long ago”. But of course the words are a complex
whole stressing the many years since her reception of the gift.
556 . θηρός: “the Centaur” or "a Centaur” ? The question is
unanswerable ; if we consider that Deianeira tells the story as a tale
of olden times unknown to the maidens of the Chorus we shall
prefer “a” ; but if we only imagine Deianeira remembering things
past, “the” is better. Commentators disagree.
1) See m y p a p e r M nem os. 1939 49-57. S olm sen (Phil. N .F . X L I 1932 p. 11 )
accep ts J e b b ’s λώφημα.
2) C am pbell is inclin ed to a c c e p t it; M asq u e ra y tr a n s la te s : “ c o m m e n t il
p e u t ê tre rém éd ié à m o n m a lh e u r” ; it w o u ld th e n b e b e tte r to w rite, w ith
P aley , εχει in s te a d of εχω.
3) “ L ’a n tiq u e C e n ta u re ” M asq u eray , a n d n o t “ le v ie u x C e n ta u re ”
M azon.
COMMENTARY
λέβητι: “urn” cf. Aesch. Cho. 686, Ag. 444; El. 1401. (I do not
think the translation "casket” —L.-Sc. — is justified).
5 5 7 . δασυστέρνου: cf. Hes. Op. 514. Centaurs are shaggy, cf. II.
Π 743-
5 5 8 . Νέσσου : According to Apollod. Bibi. II 5.4 Nessus fled to the
river Euenos after the battle of the Centaurs against Pholos and
Heracles; since this feat of Heracles’ is mentioned by him 1095 sq.,
we may not be far wrong if we consider Nessus’ assault as an act of
revenge.
εκ φονών: while φόνοι is not found in the sense “blood shed by
slaying” , φοναί on the contrary which is not used in the sing, often
has this sense. Bergk’s reading must therefore be accepted. “Je
l’avais recueilli sur la plaie sanglante de Nessos” (Mazon).
5 5 9 , 6 0 . πόρευε: with double accusative (object and space
traversed) as at Eur. Ale. 442 sq. As D.’s story has here to a certain
extent the character of a Messenger’s speech, it is hardly necessary
to write ’πόρευε.
τον βαθύρρουν Ευηνον : in accordance with the facts. The Ευηνος
passes through Aetolia and enters the Corinthian Gulf.
5 6 0 , 1 . χερσίν . . . νεώς: he carried men across, in his arms,
not in a rowing- or sailing-boat. We may take έρέσσων as expanding
the dativ. instrum, πομπίμοις κώπαις or as zeugmatically going with
λαίφεσιν νεώς also.
πομπίμοις: as in Aesch. Sept. 371 σπουδή διώκων πομπίμους χνόας
ποδών this is mittens, not comitans ; it is said of that which makes you
reach your destination.
λαΐφος: in the sense of “sail” since Ale. Z 2.7 (cp. B 1 (c) 4) or
Horn. II. Ap. 406; thrice in Aesch., not elsewhere in Soph.
5 6 2 . τον πατρωον στόλον: "cognate” acc. to έσπόμην -1) ; στόλος has
the sense of “being sent away” ; so the words are equivalent to ύπό
του πατρος σταλεΐσα, άποσταλεΐσα ; it comes to the same thing, to state
that έσπόμην takes the function of έστάλην. For στόλος “journey”,
"departure” cf. Eur. Suppl. 1048 τέκνον, τίς αύρα; τις στόλος; O.C.
35§ τίς σ’ έξήρεν οί'κοθεν στόλος; Phil. 243 S<T τίνι / στόλω προσέσχες
τήνδε γην; For the construction cf. O.C. 1400 οΐον άρ’ όδοϋ τέλος /
"Αργους άφωρμήθημεν (Campbell), and supra 135 sq. It may be,
as is noted by Mazon, that the words point to a detail of the legend
1) O r is it b e tte r to sa y : th e a c c u sa tiv e is in a p p o sitio n to th e a c tio n of th e
se n te n c e ? T h e c o n stru c tio n is also a k in to th o se n u m e ro u s cases w h e re th e
space o r th e ro a d is d e n o te d b y th e acc. II. V I 292 etc. (K .-G . I 312.5).
COMMENTARY ISI
unknown to us; vase-pictures representing Nessus’ death show us

Oineus assisting at the scene; so Mazon’s translation "sur la route
choisie par mon père” may hit the mark.
ξύν . . . έσπόμην: already in Horn. Od. VII 304.
το πρώτον: going with έσπόμην and at the same time with εύνις,
or perhaps it is better to say, with εύνις έσπόμην.
εύνις: = εύνέτις “wife” , only here in Soph.; Eur. Or. 929, I.A.
397, S07; not in Aesch. The interpretation orba, έρημος (schol. and
accepted by Ellendt and Zielinski) is to be discarded in view of το
πρώτον, though ώστε πόρτις έρημα 53° might argue in its favour, as is
rightly noted by Schiassi. (εύνις “bereaved of” occurs, elsewhere
than in Homer, thrice in Aesch.).
5 6 2 - 5 6 4 . κάμε: καί goes with φέρων έπ’ ώμοις.
ήν: even if we accept the view that the first pers. of the ind.
imperf. must be ή, it is unnecessary to read with Cobet (and inter
alios Pearson) ή ’v, for the third pers. will do very well here and
μέσω πόρω is as good without έν as with it.
5 6 5 . ψαύει: the historical present, very frequent in Messengers’
speeches and the like.
ματαίαις χερσίν: for this use of μάταιος (“lewd” ) cf. Aesch. Suppl.
229 πώς δ’ άν γαμών ακόυσαν άκοντος πάρα / άγνός γένοιτ’ άν ; ουδέ μη ’ν
‘Άιδου θανών / φύγη ματαίων αιτίας, πράξας τάδε, ib. 762 ματαίο^ν
άνοσίων τε κνωδάλων; Eur. El. 1064 (Clytaemestra and Helena)
άμφω ματαίω.
έκ δ’ ήυσ’ : the compound only here ; note the expressive force of
the tmesis.
5 6 6 . έπιστρέψας: intrans, "turn round” ; cf. Hdt. II 103.2 έν-
θεϋτεν δέ έπιστρέψας όπίσω ήιε; Xen. Cyn. X 15 (of a wild boar); in
crossing the river Heracles had been leading the way.
5 6 7 . κομήτης : a variation on the epic πτερόεις.
πλεύμονας: thus, rightly, our best tradition (πνεύμων is the form
originating from the association with πνέω 1)); for the rest cp. II.
IV 528.
5 6 8 . στέρνων διερροίζησεν : for the genit, going with the δια-
compound cp. infra 1083, perhaps 717, O.C. 963, Pind. Isthm. I l l 18,
Ap. Rhod. I 687, and my note ad Eur. AndrS 1044.
έκθνήσκων: though the verb’s regular sense is "to swoon away”
I prefer Campbell’s rendering “as he breathed his last” . The word*)
*) πλεύμονι in th e I I / I I l c e n tu ry epigr. 993.3 Peek.

COM MENTARY
does not occur elsewhere in Tragedy; εκπνέω may have encouraged

its use (cf. Ai. 1026).
5 7 0 , 1 . τοσόνδ’: “this much”, “at least this” .
των έμών . . . πορθμών: “from the fact of having been ‘ferried’ by
me” . The plur. is comparable to τροφαί e.g. ; πορθμός = πορθμεία.
δνήση : of course the word is ambiguous; the ‘profit’ may turn out
an injury.
όθούνεχ’ . . . εγώ : the motive, as uttered by the dying Centaur,
is capable of carrying conviction and is related by D. to convince
herself and the Chorus of the reasonableness of her purpose.
5 7 2 . γάρ: explanatory “after a forward-pointing pronom, adject.”
G.P.*2 59 (3 )·
5 7 2 - 7 4 . άμφίθρεπτον : “clotted round” (L.-Sc.) but not round
the wound but round the arrow: ή “at the spot—on the arrow—
where” (so this clause is to be taken first with άμφίθρεπτον, then
also with ένέγκη χερσίν), έ'βαψεν ιούς θρέμμα Λερναίας υδρας, “the
hydra, Lerna’s monstrous creature, dyed Heracles’ arrows (as it did
this one x)) with its black gall” (μελαγχόλους is proleptic).
των έμών σφαγών: to be taken with αίμα: “the blood of my
wound” .
εάν . . . ένέγκη χερσίν: lit.: “when you will have gathered with your
hands” . (The same meaning as expressed by άνειλόμην 558).
This interpretation is on the whole the one found in Nauck-
Radermacher and implies rejecting 1) the idea that θρέμμα υδρας
should mean the virus of the Hydra 2)—there is no connection
between άμφίθρεπτον and θρέμμα — 2) the secondary dependence
of τών έμών σφαγών upon ένέγκη (Campbell) 3) the idea that D.
literally took the mixture of blood and venom from the wound
(there is no inconsistency with 558 ; there the facts are stated in a
more general way : she had to take it from the arrow, when removed
from the wound). This interpretation is based on the fact that
otherwise fj defies a satisfactory explanation.
5 7 5 . φρενός: English “the heart” .
κηλητήριον: just like κήλημα 3) “charm” , “spell” . But it is im
possible to discern whether κηλητήριον is adj. neutr. or substant.:
b I c a n n o t believ e t h a t ιούς d e n o te s th is p a rtic u la r arro w , as N a u c k -

R ad errn . w ill h a v e it.
2) R ig h tly o p p o sed b y J e b b a n d o th ers.
3) U sed in th e p lu ra l E u r. Troad. 893 αίρει γάρ άνδρών ομματ’ . . . ώδ’ έχει
κηλήματα. I n th e sing. id. H y p s . F r. 32.7. κηλητήριος a d j. liée. 535.
COMMENTARY I33
in either case it is the predicate and τούτο (referring to αίμα) the

subject and the genit, objectivus is as plausible with the subst. as
with the adj.
5 7 6 . 7 . μήτιν’ . . . στέρξει: though ού is the regular negative of
the indicative after ώστε, μή can be explained thus: “ώστε μή
seems to have a final sense with the future, like a final relative”
(Goodwin, M. and T. § 606). (Cf. infra 800, Ai. 659 1)). On the other
hand, the use of the future after ώστε is in itself very rare and
expresses the certainty of the prediction; it may, then, be that we
must suppose a return to the indicative from the infinitive which
should have followed ώστε μή (Campbell) ; or μή is felt simply as
more forcible than ού (cp. the irregularity Ant. 685).
5 7 7 . άντί σου πλέον : άντί σου and σου πλέον are combined in this
phrase, cf. Ant. 182 (Nauck-Raderm.).
5 7 8 . τοΰτ’ : the κηλητήριον itself, as appears from the next clause.
έννοήσασ’ : the aor. brings the sense close to that of μνησθεϊσα.
“Bethinking me of this” Campbell and jebb.
δόμοις : Neither Eur. Ale. 160 nor Eur. El. 870 induces me to believe
that δόμοις could in itself mean chest, box (“Truhe” Nauck-
Raderm.) ; it means “in the house” (or perhaps: in my room).
5 7 9 . κείνου θανόντος: the words strike the reader as irrelevant ;
they must mean usque a morte eius rather than eo mortuo ; there is
an antithesis with ζών 581.
5 8 0 . χιτώνα τόνδ’ : the garment is not visible ; she points to the
box she (or a servant) is holding; see 614 sq., 691 sq.
έβαψα: what she did is more clearly related at 689; instead of
saying : "I dipped it in the poison” , she says more vaguely : “I dipped
it, προσβαλοϋσ’ όσα. . .” It is possible that the verb βάπτειν implies
the diluting of the poison with water *2) 3) ; but the use of the verb
may also refer to 574, and as in any case it is a miraculous substance
it is perhaps vain to ask such questions.
προσβαλοϋσ’: the scholiast’s explanation “τοΰτό φησιν ώς κατ’
εντολήν Νέσσου καί άλλα τινά συμμίξασα” must be rejected; Soph,
seems to ignore the mythographic tradition (Apollod. II 7.6.6,
Diod. IV 36.5) of mixing Nessus’ blood with his seed, and even if
q A nd K.-Cx. I I 188.
2) Cf. p e rh a p s A r. Eccl. 215,6 τάρια / βάπτουσι θερμω, w here, it w ould
seem , th e d y ein g of th e w ool b y a c o lo u rin g -m a tte r d ilu te d w ith h o t w a te r
is m e a n t.
3) O r w ith oil; cf. D iod. IV 36.5.
χ 34 COMMENTARY
he did not, the mixture was formed immediately after Nessus’

death (cf. Apollod. ib. 6 in fine). So if we maintain the reading
προσβαλοΰσ’ we should understand it to mean: "adding”, “ap
plying” , not "having added” ; the aorist participle denotes that
in which the action of the verb consists, as often, and expresses a
time coincident with that of the verb (Goodwin § 150). Rader -
macher’s conjecture προσβάλλουσ’, though a simple one,, is un
necessary; on the supposed meaning “attending to” , “observing”
see discussion ad 844.
όσα . . . είπε: the mixture of blood and venom.
5 8 1 . ζών: cf. ad 579.
πεπείρανται : epic form Od. XII 37 sq., retaining its protraction
metri causa, (not elsewhere to be found in Tragedy).
καί . . . τάδε : the words strike us as though Deianeira is trying to
see her undertaking as an impartial observer would and they form
a contrast with the passionate outburst in the next lines, in which
her uneasiness shows itself dramatically.
5 8 2 . κακάς τόλμας: she means magic practices by which harm is
done to the person aimed at, or as the schol. puts it: μή είδείην κα-
κοϊς πράγμασιν έπιχειρεΐν οΐον δολοφονήσαι αυτόν ή τι τοιοΰτον άλλ’
άχρι του μεταθεΐναι αύτοϋ τήν γνώμην διά του κατασκευάσματος
τούτου.
The stepmother of the plaintiff in Antiph. I charged with
administering poison to her husband (τω πατρί τω ήμετέρω θάνατον
μηχανωμένην φαρμάκοις) defended herself by saying ούκ έπί θανάτω
διδόναι άλλ’ έπί φίλτροις (Antiph. I 9, quoted by Jebb). The unea
siness noted above originates from the suspicion with which magic
etc. is generally regarded 1) and certainly also from the surrender
of her own dignity involved in its use (cf. C. H. Whitman, Sophocles,
p. 115). But Whitman is certainly right in opposing the ideas of
Bowra and others 12) and denying that Sophocles means us to under
stand that D. is guilty because she resorts to it, nor must we think
that D. was obliged, in Athenian eyes, to submit to Heracles’ will in
respect of lole. The status of the παλλακή in Athens wras certain
ly not such that we must deem it improper for the legal wife to
fight for her rights. Isaeus III 39, Lys. I 31, Dem. LIX 122 3)
1) Cf. E u r. H i p p . 518.
2) Cf. W h itm a n p. 114; B ow ra 's o p in io n is n o t clea r (Soph. Trag. p.
128—147).
3) q u o te d b y B o w ra p. 127.
COM MENTARY 135
do not by any means indicate that “the concubine and her children
had their recognized place in the home” 1). D.’s situation is com
parable to the indulgent wife’s in Colette’s La Seconde at the
moment when the husband, for the first time, introduces his
concubine into their home. We must ask ourselves also whether
Athenian standards of conduct necessarily apply to Deianeira, a
question belonging to the greater problem of the relation between
history and poetry (and legend) in Greek tragedy. I for one cannot
but feel that D., though moving in the world of heroic legend,
must have appealed strongly to Sophocles’ contemporaries because
of her resemblance to them; and so their standards do apply
to her to a certain extent. (Here I differ from Mr. Whitman’s
otherwise sensible remarks p. 266 n. 34).
5 8 1 - 2 έ-',σταίμην . . . . έκμάθοιμι : if it is asked what is meant
exactly by this very full expression with its change of verbal aspect,
we may answer: “may I not now nor ever be taken as knowing
bad and reckless deeds nor learn them (at any time)” .
5 8 4 . εάν (πως): “if haply”, “in the hope that” ; the idea of
purpose (or hope) is implied. The protasis does not really depend
on its apodosis but on this implied idea (cf. Goodwin §§ 486-489).
The case is not different from the very common usage (in Homer,
and also in Attic), but for the clause with εάν coming first12). In a
translation it would be better to put it thus: “By love charms I
only hope to surpass the fascination of this girl; to that purpose the
means have been contrived” .
5 8 5 . θέλκτροισι τοΐς έφ’ Ήρακλεΐ: φίλτροις is emphatically am
plified by its synonym 3) ; but in τοΐς έφ’ Ήρακλεΐ, meaning “used
with the view of influencing Heracles” (Campbell), it seems that
the article is used so as to imply the spell of lole also; there is a
small shift in the function of the dative: φίλτροις is purely instru
mental, θέλκτροισι τοΐς έφ’ Ήρα.κλεΐ is limitative, as is only natural
with a verbum superandi. (Lit. “surpass the girl by love charms
and in the spell on Heracles” ). — θέλκτρα. is in the same relation to
the epic θελκτήρια 4) as μείλικτρα Ap. Rhod. IV 712 to μειλικτήρια
Aesch. Pers. 610.
1) Cf. B eau ch et, Droit privé I, p p . 82-107.
2) T h e e m p h a tic p o sitio n of φίλτροις (in a n tith e s is to κακάς τολμάς) m a y
h a v e been th e cause of th is e x tr a o rd in a ry c o n stru c tio n .
3) Cf. E u r. H ip p . 509.
4) G. M arxer, Die Sprache des A p o llon ius R h o diu s in ihren Beziehungen zu
Homer, th esis Z ürich 1935, p. 59 n. 6.
COMMENTARY
5 8 6 . μεμηχάνηται: passive, as often (but Soph, also used μηχανάν,

Ai. 1037 and Inackos 21 (Page, LP I 6, Tebt. Pap. 692 col. I ll 2)).
zl τι . . . . μάταιον: the clause refers to the whole preceding sen
tence but especially to the idea of purpose implied (see note ad 584) ;
πράσσειν, as is rightly remarked by Schiassi, denotes the present
course of action. We may paraphrase: "<such is my intention»,
unless . . . ” It is hard to make out whether τι is object of πράσσειν
(going with μάταιον) or adverbial accus, (“perchance” , Jebb and
others) ; I prefer the first, since πράσσειν μάταιον without τι seems
less good Greek.
εί δε μή : i.e. εί δέ δοκώ πράσσειν μάταιον. εί δέ μή “otherwise”
is a phrase fossilized to such a degree that it is used after negatives
as well. (K.-G. II 486.6, Goodwin §478; modern Greek: ειδεμή(ς),
Schw.-Debr. II 687).
5 8 7 . πεπαύσομαι: the future perfect is more emphatic than the
future; besides “it denotes the continuance of an action, or the
permanence of its results, in the future” (Goodwin § 78).
The emphatic character enables us to hear in it: “I shall desist
immediately”, but we also have to understand: “and shall remain
inactive” . Cf. in Soph. Phil. 1276, Ai. 1141 12), Ant. 91 ούκοΰν, όταν δε
μή σθένω, πεπαύσομαι2). It is noteworthy that in our passage and at
Phil. 1276 the fut. perfect occurs in the neighbourhood of perfect
forms: δέδοκται Phil. 1274, δέδοκται ib. 1277, πέπαυμαι !2δθ (itself an
emphatic παύσομαι) ; here μεμηχάνηται, βεβουλεΰσθαι. It would seem,
then, that the passages in their entirety are tinged with the ‘per
fective’ aspect.
5 8 8 - 9 . The answer is non-committal, as often in a chorus reply.
In the great crises of decision the heroes live through, the Sopho-
clean chorus usually keep a somewhat dispassionate aloofness.
πίστις έν τοΐς δρωμένοις: not the same as πίστις τοΐς δρωμένοις
(= πιστεύεις), but : “ (if) in the things you are in the act of achieving
there is some cause for confidence”, cf. ένεστι 591.
βεβουλεΰσθαι: note the antithesis to δρωμένοις.
παρ’ ήμΐν : “in our eyes” , (prop, “before” a judge Hdt. I ll 160.1
παρά Δαρείω κριτή etc.).
1) W h ere th e e m p h a tic force is c e rta in ly c lea rer th a n th e id ea of c o n

tin u a n c e .
2) T h e fo rm occurs o n ly h e re a n d a t A n t. 91, also in H ip p o cr. a n d in la te r
a u th o rs ; it w ill n o t d o to re g a rd it as th e tr u e a ttic form = παύσομαι (Moeris
p. 293 P .).
COM MENTARY IS?
5 9 0 . ούτως έχει γ’ ή πίστις : “My confidence amounts to this” (thus

rightly Denniston G.P.12 p. 133). Metrical convenience probably
accounts for the postponement of γε. I cannot but feel at least
some limitative force in γ' ; in any case it stresses the limitation
implied in ούτως . . . . ώς.
ώς: = ώστε, a rare usage 1) if the indie, follows; cf. Aesch. Pers.
730 προς τάδ’ ώς Σούσων μέν άστυ παν κενανδρίαν στένει. Hdt. il 135-5
Οΰτω δή τι κλεινή έγένετο ώς καί οί πάντες “Ελληνες 'Ροδώπιος το ουνομα
έξέμαθον, id. I 163.3, HI Ι 3°·5 i Xen.Cyr. V 4·11, VU 5-Si, Hell. IV
4.16 (the loci from Goodwin § 608).
το δοκεϊν: “the seeming likely” to succeed, giving rise to her
“exspecting” to do so (Jebb prefers what amounts to the reverse).
I think this a striking instance of the objective and subjective
meanings of δοκεϊν in combination.
5 9 1 . ενεστι: έν τοΐς δρωμένοις.
προσωμίλησα: “to be conversant with” (L.-Sc.); only here;
όμιλέω often occurs in the sense “attend to” , “busy oneself with” ,
όμιλεΐν αρχή, πολέμω, “meet with” ευτυχία Eur. Or. 354. In my
opinion we must understand: τοΐς δρωμένοις 2), πείρα being a dativ.
instrumenti or modi (but the other course is not impossible).
5 9 2 . 3 . A harping on the ideas of εΐδέναι, δοκεϊν, δραν, πειρασθαι
comparable with Ant. 323; here is something of το πικρόν καί κατά-
τεχνον3) of Sophocles' middle period, in accordance with the
relatively early date we assume for the Trach.
5 9 2 . δρώσαν : not δράσασαν for the Chorus is thinking of the whole
course of action: χρή σε δραν όπως εϊση. “Pour être sûr, il faut agir”
(Mazon).
έ'χειν: sc. γνώμα. δοκεϊς: “think” , “fancy” .
γνώμα: φ τι γιγνώσκεται “token” , “test” ; cf. Ed. Fraenkel ad Ag.
1352, where the word is equivalent to γνώμη, just as at Eur. Heracl.
407. Only here in Soph.
594. The wavering replies of the Chorus may be thought to imply
its consent, esp. the words άλλ’ εΐδέναι χρή δρώσαν. Lichas’ entry
cuts short further discussion. She takes the decisive step not un
aware that some risk is involved: her desire to see the results
demands the action4). It is πολύπλαγκτος ελπίς which drives her
1) . Io n ic acco rd in g to G roeneboom ad Pers. 730.

2) O r τοΐς φίλτροις.
b P lu t. De Prof, in Virt. 7, 7S B.
*) As is to a c e rta in e x te n t th e case w ith O edipus.
COMMENTARY
to it: for το κακόν δοκεΐν ποτ’ έσθλόν τώδ’ <εστιν> ότω φρένα.ς θεός άγει,
προς άταν.
άλλ’ . . . . εϊσόμεσθα. : when Lichas will have delivered the garment
to Heracles.
5 9 5 . έλεύσεται: “depart” (to Heracles). Note the staccato of the
brief sentences.
5 9 6 . μόνον: almost with the same function as dummodo.
στεγοίμεθ’ : the person, instead of the thing (her counsel) to be
concealed, is the subject; strikingly well rendered by Mazon:
“ne me découvrez pas” .
5 9 6 , 7 . ώ ς........ πράσσης: it is indeed hard to believe that
Soph, makes her say: “if you achieve shameful deeds” ; so I can
agree with W hitman1), who argues for πράσσειν = “to fare” ; cf.
Aesch. Ag. 1443 άτιμα. S’ ούκ έπρα.ξάτην, Sept. 337 βέλτερα τώνδε
πράσσειν, 33 9 δυστυχή πρά.σσει, Eur. El. 1359 εύδα.ίμονα πράσσει,
Or. 538 επραξεν ένδικα.*2). If this is rig h t3), the words must refer
to her being put to shame in the event of her attempt falling flat ;
then, if nobody discloses the means by which she tried to win back
Heracles’ love, the shame will be for herself alone and she will not
fall disgracefully.
σκότω: εν σκότω (thus Ant. 494). For σκότος cf. El. 1396, lb. 1494,
πώς, τόδ’ εί καλόν τουργον, σκότου δει. By its placing (syntactically
it belongs to the protasis) it is stressed, κα.ί goes with αισχρά (cf.
J. Heinz o.l. pp. 291 sq.).
αισχύνη : dative of manner (thus, rightly, Jebb).
πράσσης: άντι τοϋ πράσση τις . . . (schob).
5 9 9 . βραδείς: “belated”, cf. n. ad Ai. 738 and supra 395.
τω μα.κρω χρόνω: i.e. by the long time spent here.
6 0 0 . α.ύτά τα.ΰτα. : “just the thing(s)” (i.e. the instructions, the
commission) “you are asking for” ; the words moreover prepare
for the final clause with όπως.
κα.ί: “binds the demonstr. more closely to the following words”
(Denniston, G.P.2 p. 307, quoting inter alia Ο.Γ. 148, 582) ; it stresses
that she is about to do the very thing he wants; there is a close
connection with αυτά.
b Sophocles, p. 115 and. n. 37, p. 266.

*) Cf. E d . F ra e n k e l ad A g . l.c. a n d D e n n isto n a d Eur. E l . l.c.
3) W e m ig h t also th in k t h a t she m ean s “ ev en αισχρά <and th is is n o t
αίσχρόν>” , cf. J H einz, o.l. p. 292.
COMMENTARY I39
6 0 0 , 6 0 1 . πράσσω . . . εως . . . ήγορώ : logically πρά,σσω <καί ήδη

έπρασσον> εως . . . .
έσωθεν: h.l. in no respect different from εί'σω (Aesch. Ay. 991 is not
wholly comparable).
ήγορώ: epic verb, only here in Tragedy.
6 0 2 . ταναϋφή: Thus W under1) and almost all recent editors
(except Campbell), τόνδε γ ’ εόυφή is suspect on account of the rather
otiose γε; moreover L has ·ά· supra εύ and ΣΤΡ άϋφή. If Wunder’s
idea is right, the word must mean “woven long” (and not “woven
long and finely” , λεπτοϋφή). But I think it possible that the v.l.
should run thus: τόνδε τον άϋφή, ά- being the intensive (or copu
lative) prefix (cp. e.g. ατενής) and even that this is the original
reading, εύυφή having intruded into the text. — εύυφής occurs
Tim. Pers. 180.
πέπλον: for πέπλος denoting, as a general word for a “garment”,
a man’s dress, where a χιτών is meant, cp. e.g. Aesch. Pers. 1060.
6 0 3 . τής έμής χερός: Lichas may understand: “woven by my
hands” but Mazon’s translation (“ C’est le cadeau qu’ont préparé
mes mains” ) preserves exactly the ambiguity of the phrase.
έκείνω τάνδρί : “à l’époux qui t ’attencl là-bas” (Mazon). Here
she hands over the casket with the robe.
6 0 4 . φράζ’ όπως: for verbs of asking, entreating, exhorting etc.
with όπως instead of an object infinitive, cp. Goodwin § 355. The
meaning is φράζε <σκοπεΐν> όπως.
6 0 5 . άμφιδύσεται: sc. τόνδε τον πέπλον; purely middle.
6 0 6 . νιν: πέπλον. The natural metaphor underlying οψεται
φέγγος ήλιου zeugmatically extends over ερκος and σέλας also.
ερκος ίρόν : a holy precinct (with flaming altar).
6 0 7 . εφέστιον σέλας: a glowing fireplace.
AVe are, of course, to understand that all these precautions spring
from Nessus’ precepts. But Heracles is bound to get the impression
that the peplos is sacred and has to be kept carefully before being
shown to the gods, brand-new, on a solemn occasion.
6 0 8 . φανερός έμφανώς : by their placing the words reinforce each
other; syntactically φανερός goes with σταθείς, έμφανώς with δείξει.
6 0 9 . ημέρα ταυροσφάγω : is she thinking of the thanksgiving day
(sc. for the gods’ assistance in sacking Oechalia) or, more generally,
of “a day when bulls are slain” (J.) ? ημέρα is personified, as often:
l) F ro m H esycli., Suid., P h o t., b u t th e re th e w o rd is n o t a scrib ed to
Sophocles.
COMMENTARY
ταυροσ φ άγω prop, bull-slaying. Cf. Aesch. Cho. 261 βουθύτοις έν

ήμασιν, Eur. Hel. 1474. Possibly Soph, means the words as omi
nous; Aeg. with Clyt. killed Agamemnon ώς τίς τε κατέκτανε βουν
επί φάτνγ) ; cp. Ed. Fraenkel ad Ag. 1126 (άπεχε τής βοός τον ταύρον).
6 1 0 . ηυγμην: voveram; cf. Aesch. Ag. 963.
611 . π α ν δ ίκ ω ς: schob άνενδοιάστω ς. Then it goes with κ λ ύ ο ιμ ι: thus
Mazon: "de façon sûre” , and passages like Aesch. Cho. 681 π α νδ ίκ ω ς
(“alstipt” Boutens) μεμνημένος, Eum. 804, Sept. I / Ι κ λύετε π α νδίκω ς
may argue for this interpretation; on the other hand a sense like
"as in duty bound” or recte et ordine (E.) (then it goes with στελεΐν)
may seen more satisfactory.
6 1 2 . στελεΐν . . . . φανεΐν: SC. αυτόν, στέλλειν “ f u rn is h w i t h ” ,
"array i n ” (L.-Sc.).
6 1 3 . θυτήρα . . . πεπλώματι: surely the words convey a very
poignant tragic irony, καινός in itself, like νέος, often has the same
terrifying connotations as novus. The effect is heightened by the
figure of speech traductio', καινω καινόν1); Deianeira only means
to say that Heracles will seem a “new” sacrificer owing to the new
garment ; her words unwittingly convey the notion that this
sacrificer, owing to the new garment, will appear an unusual sacri
ficer in so far as he will become the victim himself. Cf. the πάνθυτα
θέσμι’ Ai. 712 with the note.
6 1 4 . 5 . '0 . . . . επ’ ομμα θήσεται : all editors, except Campbell,
reject this reading and accept Billerbeck’s έπόν μαθήσεται; Campbell
(with the schob) takes έπ’ with θήσεται and ο ευμαθές as the object
of the whole phrase (κατά σύνεσιν = οψεται). But perhaps we should
take the words in the literal sense of “which . . . . he will put
before his eye(s)” (prop, “bring towards his eye” ), Eur. Suppl.
1153 can say: είσοράν επ’ όμμάτων ; then the implied sense, facilitated
by the predicative ευμαθές, will be: “see and recognize” .
σήμα: “token” , which will be “easy to know” “from this bezel of
my signet-ring” *2) i.e. the impression in wax of my signet, applied
to the casket.
τώνδε: “of your commissions”.
άποίσεις: you will carry with you to Heracles.
6 1 6 - 6 1 9 . φύλασσε π ρ ώ τα . . . . έ'πειθ’ ό π ω ς: έπ ε ιτα <σκόπει> όπω ς.
x) Cf. E l. 742. W e b ste r Introd. ρ. ι6 ο .

2) I p re fe r to ta k e σφραγϊδος ερκος as a p e rip h ra sis of αφραγίς, ερκος
d e n o tin g th e σφενδόνη (bezel), to C am p b ell’s n o t im possible e x p la n a tio n :
“ safeg u ard co n sistin g in a seal” .—Cf. E u r. H i p p . 862-864.
COMMENTARY I4I
On πρώτα μέν . . . έπειτα see G.P.*2 p. 377. On δπως αν Goodwin

§ 348·
νόμον: “ (the) rule” . One may doubt whether the word is object or
predicate.
6 1 7 . πομπός ών: nominat, for it refers to the subject of the main
clause (he must feel that the general rule applies to him personally),
πομπός seems to have h.l. the more general meaning of “messenger” ,
έπιθυμειν: rare in tragedy, only Aesch. Ag. 216, Eur. Ale. 867.
περισσά δράν: cf. Ant. 68. schob: εμφαίνει δε αύτω μή άποσφρα-
γίσαντα περιεργάζεσθαι τί έγκειται, (cf. ώς έχει 622).
6 1 8 , 9 . κείνου . . . κάμοΰ : the genitivi are subjectivi, but show a
tendency to be separativi (with ξυνελθοΰσ’) as well.
έξ απλής διπλή: instead of “single”, “double” . In view of Lichas’
subsequent fate the dramatic irony is manifest.
6 2 0 . Cf. the epigram LG. I2 631*) and PI. Leg. XII 941 a.
Έρμου: i.e. (this art) sacred to and patronized by Hermes ό
πομπός (O.C. 1548; we should perhaps remember that Hermes is i.a.
ψυχοπομπός).
τήνδε πομπεύω τέχνην: τήνδε πομπού τέχνην άσκώ (Nauck-
Raderm.).
βέβαιον: predicate, lit.: "as a reliable one”, i.e. “so that you can
trust me in the practice of this art”.
6 2 1 . ου τι: the choice between this and L’s τοι is open.
έν σοί: “in what concerns you” 2), almost erga te. Cf. Aesch.
Suppl. 994 έν μετοικώ γλώσσαν ευτυκον φέρει/κακήν, Ai. 1315 έν έμο'ι
θρασύς (cf. ib. 1092).
6 2 2 . μή ού: K.-G. II 211.5, Goodwin §815.
άγγος: a word of more general applicability, here for ζύγαστρον
(692).
ώς έχει: “intact” (esp. with reference to the seal).
δεΐξαι φέρων: φέρειν τε καί δεΐξαι (= “to deliver” 3)).
6 2 3 . λόγων τε πίστιν ών έχεις έφαρμόσαι: “and add the fitting
assurance of the arguments (the grounds of this gift) you have” .
There is no point in altering the text. It is necessary for Lichas to
narrate Deianeira’s vow (610 sqq.) for only then will Heracles deal
with the garment as required. The λόγοι indeed refer to D.’s words,
but έχεις makes it necessary to stress, in a translation, their con-
b F rie d la n d e r-H o ffle it 105.
2) Cp. in w ith a b la t. in L a tin .
3) Cf. J . G onda, ΔεΕκνυμι, th e sis U tre c h t 1929, p p . 33 sq.
142 COMMENTARY
tents, λόγων ών εχεις cannot simply mean “the words you speak”
(and still less : “have spoken” ).
Radermacher’s comment (“Also auch Lichas traut der Sache
nicht” etc.) is wholly unwarranted.
6 2 4 . στείχοις αν ήδη: a very courteous formula of dismissal.
6 2 6 . σεσωμένα: cf. ad Ai. 692.
6 2 7 . άλλ’ . . . μέν δή : emphatically progressive, leading up to a
new point (cf. G.P.2 p. 395 ; the split form in Soph. only).
6 2 8 . αυτήν Θ’ : thus L and the Leiden palimpsest. I think this
reading preferable to A’s αυτήν, as a lectio difficilior. We are to take
αυτήν as referring to D. herself (on the scene a gesture prevents
ambiguity; somebody who did not think of this omitted 0’; then
αυτήν refers to lole but, in my opinion, bears too much emphasis).
The object of έδεξάμην is to be supplied from τής ξένης, φίλως by its
position receives the main emphasis.
6 2 9 . έκπλαγήναί.: of joy also Aesch. Cho. 233 and cp. Eur. Ale.
1125. Lichas’ utterance seems somewhat overdone.
6 3 0 - 6 3 2 . These last words are very moving. They convey the
one thing important to her: she is longing for him; she knows the
reverse is not true; so she had better let this message remain in
abeyance. Instead of it she sends the charm. The words sum up
her tragic plight, as final words should.
6 3 0 . γάρ: because the preceding sentence implies: ούδέν άλλο σε
λέγειν άμεί,νόν εστ',ν.
6 3 1 . πρω “too soon” . Cp. όψέ often = too late, sero etc. Aesch.
Prom. 696. In correlation with πριν also PI. Farm. 135 c.
λέγοις άν : sc. εί λέγοις. The potential optative with άν can follow μή
after a verb expressing fear (K.-G. II 395.7, Goodwin § 368,
Schwyzer-Debrunner II 327). In this way the fear is very mildly
expressed.
6 3 2 . τάκεΐθεν: τά άπ’ εκείνου i.e. his feelings; from this one may
supply ύπ’ εκείνου with ποθούμεθα. But the wording is much more
refined and restrained than these bald glosses suggest; the plur.
modestiae ποθούμεθα is wholly in keeping with this truly Attic
reserve.
Second Stasim on 633-662

The Chorus, in a mood of glad expectation1), addresses the in-
b T h e sta sim o n is n o t ‘‘a w ild song of jo y ” (W eb ster, Sophocles’ T r a c h i
niae, G reek P o e tr y a n d L ife p . 172).
COMMENTARY M3
habitants of the neighbourhood: for they will witness, with Hera

cles’ return, the return of music and festivity. May the hero, for
whose coming Deianeira looked out for so long, arrive without
delay and full of desire for her under the influence of Nessus’
charm. Mood and function bear a certain resemblance to Ai. 693
sqq., O.T. 1086 sqq.. Ant. 1116 sqq. Gladness is possible through
delusion, the expectant mood creates a tragically ironic contrast to
the sobering down and the disillusion of the next scene. There the
consciousness of catastrophic reality is heightened by human
delusion here.
6 3 3 - 6 3 9 . By this invocation the geographic environment is, in
a sense, set in relation to the action of the drama. This is the scene
which wall witness, not Heracles’ triumphant return, but his ruin.
The θερμά λουτρά of Thermopylae are said to have been created by
Athena for Heracles (when he w7as tired by his labours) : cf. Pisander
in schob Ar. Nul·. 1050 τω S’ έν Θερμοπύλησι θεά γλαυκώπις Άθήνη /
ποιεί θερμά λοετρά παρά ρηγμΐνι θαλάσσης.1) It maybe supposed that
Soph, alludes here to that mythological detail.
6 3 3 - 6 3 5 . It is wrong, in my opinion, to construe the words as is
sometimes done, thus : ώ ναύλοχα καί πετραΐα θερμά λουτρά, και παρα-
ναιετάοντες πάγους Οΐτας or ώ παραναιετάοντες ναύλοχα, καί λουτρά,
καί πάγους (theoretically ναύλοχον might be a substantive).
But the sentence balance requires rather : ώ παραναιετάοντες /
ναύλοχα καί πετραΐα / θερμά λουτρά καί πάγους Οΐτας.
The θερμά λουτρά are the hot springs in the eastern part of
Thermopylae, south of the pass proper. But the whole region is
meant, as appears from ναύλοχα.
ναύλοχα: i.e. in whose neigbourhood ships lie, where ships har
bour. (The word is epic).
πετραΐα: “springing from the rocks”, if referring to the springs
themselves, “rocky” if one thinks of the region.
πάγους: the "spurs” of Oeta, which reach to the pass. The word
means rock, crag, rocky hill, not necessarily mountain-top.
παραναιετάοντες: as appears from the following words, the accu
sativi are felt as going more with παρα- than with -ναιετάοντες.
-ναιετάω is an epicism, only here in Tragedy and, by conjecture,
Ant. 1123.
6 3 5 . μέσσαν: the word admits of two interpretations: either it
Cp. J . H . Croon, The H e rd sm a n of the Dead, th e sis A m ste rd a m 1952, pp.

6-7.
144 COMMENTARY
denotes that the λίμνα Μηλίς is “surrounded by the lands of Euboea,

Trachis, and Phthiotis” (thus Campbell) or “the innermost part
of the deep recess which it forms” (Jebb). It is impossible to trans
late (with Radermacher) “zwischen den θερμά λουτρά und
πάγοι Οϊτας’ because this is contrary to the facts. To construe
μέσσαν (substantively: the region between λουτρά and πάγοι) with
παραναιετάοντες, Μηλίδα πάρ λίμναν being a separate adjunct of place,
would be very awkward; and it is, indeed, quite unnecessary be
cause we are not bound to take πάγοι as the “summits” .
πάρ: a metrically convenient correction by Triclinius instead of
παρά, but I am not quite sure of its urgency; for as a
choriambic dimeter, could correspond to ---- . "Apocope” is
scarce in Ionic and Attic and it would be the only instance with
παρά in Sophocles.
6 3 6 . Μηλίδα: Raderm., Masqueray and Dain are problably right
in retaining η with the MSS (cf. Phil. 725 and Björck, Alpha
Impurum p. 239).
6 3 7 . χρυσαλακάτου κόρας: Artemis. The epithet is Homeric and
leaves us in the dark as to whether a special cult is meant. The
schob ad 637 says : έν Εύβοια, τιμάται χρυσότοξος ’Άρτεμις x) and
Campbell thinks of Cape Artemisium. But this is surely impossible
in view of the next relative clause. Wilamowitz Vsk. p. 531 iden
tifies this goddess with Demeter’s daughter, whose sanctuary was in
Anthela and who was the patroness of the Amphictyony of Thermo
pylae (Hdt. VII 200). But I think it improbable that Sophocles
would say χρυσαλάκατος *I2) when meaning Persephone, the more so
since Hdt. II 156.6 considers Aeschylus’ identification of Artemis
with Persephone (cp. Guthrie, The Greeks and their Gods p. 101) as a
great singularity (cp. Farnell, Cults II 572 n. 55).
So I think it better to assume that the coast near Thermopylae
with the adjacent coast is thought to stand under Artemis’ pro
tection3). (Thus, in substance, Jebb).
6 3 8 . άγοραί Έλλάνων: the Amphictyonie Council originally held
its meetings near the temple of Demeter in Anthela (Delphi became
the second sacral centre only later).
P Cp. th e e p ig ra m I.G . V II 53, 3-4 (Peek, Griechische Vers-Inschriften

I 9 a, p. 4) τοί μέν ύπ’ Εύβοια καί Παλίω, ένθα καλεϊτε / άγνδς Ά ρτέμ ιδο ς το-
ξοφόρου τέμενος.
η B u t cf. J e b b a d B acch . V I I I (IX ) 1.
3) Cp. A p. R h o d . I 570-572, Call. H y m . I I I 39.
COMMENTARY I45
639. Πυλάτιδες: the meeting was called ή Πυλαία (sc. σύνοδος; cf.
Hdt. VII 213.2, Hesych. S.V. πυλάτιδες άγοραί· όπου συνίασιν οί Άμφι-
κτύονες εις την λεγομένην Πυλαίαν έν τη πανηγύρει). The form is arti
ficial instead of Πυλαία, as if a masculine Πυλάτης existed (it occurs
only here).
καλεϋνται: either: “are summoned” (καλέω = συγκαλέω) or
“ (where) are held (the Έλλάνων άγοραί) called (Πυλάτιδες)” ; cf.
L.-Sc. s.v. καλέω II g a : II. XI 758 Άλησίου ένθα κολώνη/κέκληται,
Αρ. Rhod. IV 115 ΐνα κριού καλέονται/εύναί etc. Most modern editors f
read, with Musgrave, κλέονται (“where are held the famous meet
ings” cf. Ap. Rhod. I 238 ένθα περ άκταί/κλείονται Παγασαί) but I
prefer the MSS reading (καλέονται with synizesis = καλεϋνται, thus
Hermann and Bergk).
6 4 0 , 1 . καλλιβόας . . . αύλός: Simonid. 46.3 B., Ax.Av. 682,3 2).
έπάνεισιν: music "will return” with Heracles’ home-coming.
ούκ άναρσίαν : ούκ έχθράν ούδε θρήνων βοήν ; the αυλός often accom
panies the θρήνος (but this function of the αύλός will now be in
conceivable).
6 4 2 . αχών: thus Elmsley and many editors, but not Campbell
(MSS ίάχων). άχέω = ήχέω (cf. infra 866) "to sound”, “to let
sound”. Our MSS tradition often has forms of ΐάχω, ΐαχέω, where
editors alter; but Groeneboom retains ίαχεΐν Aesch. Sept. 868. Here
ΐάχων (or ιαχών) would correspond to Οίτας (^^> — )> but the a
is possibly lengthened and perhaps we should read ίa- with synizesis ;
cp. ίαχείτω Eur. Or. 965, where ίαχει- corresponds to ίώ ίώ and
Eur. Phoen. 1301, where στενακτάν ίαχάν corresponds to ίώ Ζεΰ, ίώ
γα. Cp. Ellendt s.v. So Elmsley’s correction is not quite certain.
καναχάν: of the αύλός Find. Pyth. X 39, Bacch. II 12.
6 4 2 , 3 . θείας άντίλυρον μούσας: either “ (a sound) responsive to
the lyre, of divine music” (when the music imagined would consist
of αύλός and lyre), or “ (a sound) of divine music, equal to (the
music of) the lyre”. Jebb’s “a sound of music made to the gods”
has to be rejected. The genitive θείας μούσας may depend on the
idea λύρα in άντίλυρον: “sound equal to the lyre, <instrument>
of divine music” or “<instrument> of the divine Μούσα” .
6 4 4 . Triclinius’ omission of τε after Άλκμήνας is perhaps re-9
9 B u t n o t C an tare lla.
a) F o r th e fo rm a tio n cf. C h a n tra in e , F orm ation des N o m s , p . 27.
K a m e r b e e k , Trachiniae ίο
146 COMMENTARY
quired by the metre and Jebb is right in stating that Άλκμήνας

κόρος forms a single notion (“Zeus’s Alcmena-son” ).
6 4 5 . σεϋτοα: a radical present, comparable to κεΐται, στεΰται
Schwyzer I 679; Campbell and Dain are right in not adopting
Elmsley’s change into σοϋται. (My note ad Ai. 1414 σούσθω should
be corrected; σου, σοϋσθε, σούσθω, σοϋνται are to be derived from
*σο5 όομοα). “is hurrying home” .
6 4 5 , 6. πάσας άρετας /λάφυρ’: “spoils, such as are the meed of
supreme valour” (Campbell). On λάφυρα see n. ad Ai. 93.
6 4 7 , 8. πάντα: I fail to see why we should read παντσ. (the word
is not found elsewhere in Soph.) ; if we divide after πάντα 1) (thus L)
we have, at the beginning of the strophe, two “telesilleia” with
resolved base and expanded, the first by a spondee, the second by a
bacchiac.
Then we may connect πάντα either with χρόνον ("a whole twelve-
month” ) or, (better, in my opinion) with άπόπτολιν (“absolutely
absent” ) : cf. El. 301 ό πάντ' άναλκις, Ai. 1415 τού πάντ’ άγαθω, O.C.
1458 τ°ν πάντ’ άριστον. (Not different from *παναπόπτολί,ν).
ον άπόπτολιν εΐχομεν: “whom we had far from our town” i.e.
“who was absent from us and our town” *2). άπόπτολις: always in
this form (for the formation cf. άγχίαλος, φρούδος, άπόθεος etc.
Debrunner, Wortbildungslehre, § 50).
648. δυοκαιδεκάμηνον : at 44 Deianeira mentions a fifteen-month’s
absence, 164: fifteen months is the term at the end of which
Heracles’ fate will be sealed. On the other hand Heracles was given
an oracle in Dodona, twelve years before his death, purporting
that the end of the twelfth year would bring the end of his toils
(cf. 824 and 1169 sq.). The δέλτος entrusted by him to Deianeira
fifteen months before (46 sqq.) was founded on this oracle. The stay
with Omphale (69, 248, 253) and the siege and sack of Oechalia
covered these fifteen months. The words of the Chorus may either
be thought inaccurate or taken to refer to the year with Omphale
only, or to the last of the twelve years: cf. 824 sq. The emphasis
J) As m a n y e d ito rs d o ; of w hom som e n e v erth eless re a d τταντδ (Jebb,

R a d erm ., Schiassi, D ain ).
2) A. p e rip h ra stic c o n stru c tio n εΐχομεν . . . άμμένουσαι is n o t p ro b ab le,
since th e use of th e p a rtie , p raes, w ould be e x c e p tio n a l: b u t cp. leur. Troad.
317, a n d th e p a rt. perf. Phil. 600.
COM MENTARY I47
of δυοκαιδεκάμηνον χρόνον is such that, in my opinion, carelessness

on the part of the poet is not likely 1).
6 4 9 . πελάγιον: if this could mean “across the sea” , it would point
to the stay with Omphale and δυοκοαδεκάμηνον likewise; but the
natural sense of the word is “a wanderer over sea” (Jebb). All the
same, the word may refer to Heracles’ departure over sea, fifteen
months ago, to an unknown destination. Now they know that he
went to Omphale and that he stayed with her for exactly a year;
εϊχομεν refers to a past period and δυοκοαδεκάμηνον in close relation
with πελάγιον (he was no longer πελάγιος when besieging Oechalia)
limits the period of their anxious waiting in the light of subsequent
knowledge, ϊδριες ούδέν: Ox. P. XXIII 2369 Col. II 3 (Inachus)
ταυτ’ ούκέτ’ ϊδρις είμί.
6 5 0 . ά δέ: the pronoun announces the subject, as often in Horn. ;
cf. Eur. Hel. 1025, Her. 1039, El. 781, Hipp. 47. The contrast of the
wife with the husband is stressed, οί has possessive function; the
hiatus is Homeric.
6 5 1 . τάλαιναν: the correction is metrically necessary and im
proves the sense. For the figure of speech cf. supra 613.
6 5 2 . πάγκλαυτος: in active sense.
6 5 3 . 4 . ’Άρης . . . άμέραν: the schob paraphrases rightly: μανείς
ο περί τήν Οίχαλίαν πόλεμος έξέλυσεν ημάς της ανίας ήν έφ’ έκάστης
ημέρας εϊχομεν.
οίστρηθείς: “stung to madness” (οίστρος is the “gad-fly” by which
lo was driven to madness). The words are only superficially similar
to Ai. 706 ελυσεν αίνον άχος άπ’ όμμάτων "Αρης *2) but the relation
between subject and object there and here is analogous. There
Ares = Ajax’ infatuation, which <having ceased> swept away the
cloud of sorrow from his eyes, here Ares = Heracles’ bellicose fury,
which <having succeeded in its purpose» unloosed the “day of
sorrows” for Deianeira (and the Chorus)—not for Heracles, as the
context shows. The words are, to say the least, not inconsistent
with the view that δυοκοαδεκάμηνον refers to PI.’ stay with Omphale.
6 5 4 . έξέλυσ’ : Pearson’s έξέλυσεν is unnecessary.
έξέλυσ’ επίπονον άμέραν -w- corresponds to
συγκραθείς έπι προφάσει θηρός---- ------------
The cretics in the strophe are felt to be equivalent to the molossi
in the antistrophe from the fact that a pair of molossi precedes in
x) Cf. B ow ra, Sophoclean Tragedy, p. 121 n. 2.
2) W ilam ow itz, Gl. d. Η . I I 177 n. 2.
COM MENTARY
either. ( ^ ^ -o is a dochmiac of the form ----- ). Ικλύειν: “un

loose” , “unstring”, “relax”, "make an end of” : O.T. 35 έξέλυσα.ς
σκληρας άοιδοϋ δασμόν, Eur. Pi-.oen. 695 μόχθον εκλύει.
επί—ονον άμέρα.ν: άμέρα. tends to denote “fate” (cp. the Homeric
phrases δούλιον ήμα.ρ etc.). The Chorus should be understood as
meaning: the sack of Oechalia puts an end to Deianeira’s sorrowful
plight. But I suspect that the poet speaks ambiguously: for anyone
who wishes may hear in the words : the sack of Oechalia (and its
consequences) “lets loose the fatal Day” 12). This ambiguity would
be in keeping with the oracle’s double meaning: cf. the WOrding of
1169-1171.
6 5 5 . άφίκοιτ’ άφίκοιτο: for the gemination cf. 96, 98.
6 5 6 . όχημα, να.ός: Since όχημα, denotes “carriage” as well as
“ship”, the adjunct is not pleonastic; cf. Eur. I.T. 410 νάϊον όχημα.
6 5 7 . άνύσειε: the optative after πριν, by assimilation to the opt.
of the main sentence (Goodwdn § 643). άνύω (beside wdiich Attic
άνύτω or άνύτω) in the sense of “finishing a journey”, “getting over a
distance”, "arriving” already in Homer; here one may mentally
supply οδόν or κέλευθον (cp. the original meaning of πράσσω).
Cf. Eur. Hipp. 743 Εσπερίδων δ’ έπί μηλόσπορον άκτάν / άνύσαιμι;
Ant. 804 sq. τον . . . θάλα.μον . . άνύτουσα.ν, Ai. 607 άνύσειν ‘Άιδα.ν.
In the sense of Latin evadere (εύδα.ίμων άνύσει κα.Ι μεγα.ς) Phil. 720.
6 5 8 . νασιώτιν εστίαν: this refers to 237 and 287, Heracles’
offering to Zeus Cenaeus.
6 5 9 . άμείψας: άμείβειν means entering or leaving a place. Ci. Phil.
1262.
ένθα κλήζετα.ι θυτήρ: “where he is rumoured to be sacrificing”.
Cf. Aesch. Ag. 631 πότερα γάρ αυτού ζώντος ή τεθνηκότος / φάτις προς
άλλων ναυτίλων έκλήζετο. Nevertheless the verbal substantive
suggests something more than θύων (cf. Eur. Hel. 132 θανών . . .
κλήζεται.) : we see Heracles standing before the altar in his dignity
as a triumphant sacrificer.
6 6 0 . πανάμερος: interpretations starting from άμέρα. "day” are
all very unsatisfactory. In my opinion the word derives from ήμερος
(then the ä is perhaps a hyper-dorism 2), due to the transmission or
to Sophocles himself: the Tab. Heracl. 1.172 have ήμερος) : “wholly
1) Cp. m y le c tu re De Philoloog in P ieria ’s Hof, p p . 11-16, H . F ra e n k e l

M a n ’s Ephemeres N a tu re according to P in d a r an d others, T .A .P h .A .
L X X V I I 1946, ρ ρ . 131-145.
2) B u t cp. th e tra n sm issio n in A esch. Ag. 721.
COMMENTARY 149
subdued” “softened” 4) (so as to agree with D.’s wishes). We have

to bear in mind that the wish will be fulfilled, but in another sense
than the Chorus means : Heracles, tamer of wild monsters, will come
home wholly “tamed” and subdued (χειρωθείς 1057, Ύυνή · ■· κα"
θεΐλε 1063 sqq.). Cf. Âesch. Ag. 1632 κρατηθείς δ’ήμερώτερος ψανή.
In the second schob ad 660 the interpretations based on ημέρα
and ήμερος are mixed up: ευμενής έν τή αύτή ήμερα έλθοι etc. This
confusion perhaps arose from the process of steady abridgement
to which all corpora of scholia were subject. In any case the inter
pretation based on ήμερος was known in antiquity.
661. Πειθοϋς: Πειθώ belongs to Aphrodite’s retinue.
παγχρίστω: πάγχριστον is used substantively in the sense of either
the robe on which the charm has been spread or the charm itself ;
in the latter case παν- may denote: “ (spread) all over (the robe)” 12)
or refer to the force of the “balm” (“baume tout-puissant” Mazon).
Cf. άρτίχριστον infra 687. On παν- as a reinforcing prefix cf. Nuchel-
rnans, Die Nomina des sophokleischen Wortschatzes, p. 96.
662. συγκραθείς: probably παγχρίστω depends on this participle:
“steeped in . . .”, “tout imprégné . . (Masqueray); it may, then,
secondarily, go with πανάμερος too. But it may also mean: “closely
attached to” (“reconciled” G. Hermann) (sc. to Deianeira) :
Xen. Cyr. I 4. 1 καί ταχύ μεν τοϊς ήλικιώταις συνεκέκρατο ώστε οίκείως
διακεϊσθαι. The relation of παγχρίστω to πανάμερος and συγκραθείς is
in that case the reverse and the part, denotes the result of πανάμερος
τας πειθοϋς παγχρίστω.
έπί προφάσει θηρός: Can we ascribe the meaning “according to” to
επί with dative? L.-Sc. gives, besides our case, επί τοϊς νόμοις Lex ap.
Dem. XXIV 56 and επί πασι δικαίοις ποιούμεθα τούς λόγους, id. XX 88.
I prefer “in consequence of ” : cf. Hdt. I 137 επί μιή αίτίη άνήκεστον
πάθος έ'ρδειν. It is in my opinion certain that Greek knew, originally,
two words πρόφασις (distinguished as are φάσις — φαίνω— and
φάσις — φημι) ; here we have the derivative from πρόφημι "to say
beforehand” 34). So we may translate: “in consequence of what
Nessus said before” or "announced” , “proclaimed” 4). Interpreta
tions starting from πρόφασις = “pretext”, “alleged motive” do not
succeed and lead to unwarranted alterations of the text. Of course
1) M eekly s u b m ittin g to D .’s love.
2) O r possib ly H eracles him self.
3) T he w ord occurs late.
4) I t is tr u e t h a t c o n ta m in a tio n b e tw e e n d e riv a tiv e s fro m φαίνω a n d φημί
is p o ssib le; cp. th e d iffic u lty P in d . Ol. V I I I 16.
IS« COMMENTARY
the derivation and meaning claimed for πρόφασις do not widely

diverge from "precept” and the like. Cp. πρόρρητα infra 684.
T hird Epeisodion 663-731-821

After the mood of expectation, of almost joyous exaltation in
the choral song the anxiety leading up to the disclosure of cata
strophe is introduced by Deianeira’s feeling that she has gone
beyond bounds in her action 1).
663. περαιτέρω: υπέρ την συμφέρουσαν χρείαν καί πλείω τοϋ δέοντος.
For περάω “transgress the limits” cf. O.C. 155.
664. εδρών : cp. supra 588 τοϊς δρωμένοις, 5 9 *2 δρώσαν ; δραν
conveys fully its “dramatic” implications in these contexts. We
can understand the use of the imperfect tense, as she is still in the
dark about the outcome of her endeavour (contrast the aor. part,
έκπράξασ’).
665. The formality of the address is in keeping with D.'s grave
words. Jebb rightly compares Ant. 1098; cp. also Ai. 331 Τέκμησσα
δεινά παΐ Τελεύταντος λέγεις . . . .
666. άθυμώ . . . εΐ φανήσομαι: for the future indicative in present
supposition cp. Goodwin § 407. εί does not here introduce an inter
rogative clause, as Schn.-Raderm. would have i t 2) ; it comes closer
to ότι than to μή 3). Eur. Andr. 61 φόβω μέν, εΐ τις δεσποτών αΐσθήσεται
is rightly compared by Jebb. His translation “ (I) feel a misgiving
that I shall presently be found . . . .” is better than Mazon’s “je me
demande anxieusement, si je ne vais pas bientôt apparaître . . .” .
Cf. supra 176. Campbell (On the Language of Sophocles, p. 46 § 28)
points to the "peculiar ethical force” of εΐ in this and similar cases,
= “when I think that”, “at the very idea of”.
667. άπ’ έλπίδος καλής: “starting from a fair hope” (but the
words of course imply that the reverse of its fulfilment will come to
pass; so we are also reminded of such cases as PI. Phaed. 98 b άπο δή
θαυμαστής έλπίδος . . . ωχόμην φερόμενος). On ελπίς as “a mood of
wild confidence” , cf. e.g. Bowra, Sophoclean Tragedy p. 128.
668. ού δή : on this combination, introducing a surprised or
incredulous question and peculiar to Soph. 4), cf. G.P.2 p. 223. The
b O.T. 767 δέδοικ’ έμαυτόν . . . μή πολλ1 άγαν εϊρημέν’ ή μοι . . .
2) Cf. also K .-G . I I 396 b a n d v a n L eeuw en ad A r. Eccl. 584.
3) Cp. O.T. 747 δεινώς άθυμώ μή βλέπων ό μάντις ή.
4) Eight times : E l . 1108, 1180, 1202; O . T . 1472 \ A n t . 381 ; P h i l . 900; in fra
876.
COMMENTARY I51
thing asked “is suspected to be true, but either too strange, or too
good, or . . . too bad, to be at once believed” (Campbell).
των σών . . . δωρημάτων: the genit, depends on λέγεις (to be under
stood) and τι is adverbial; Mazon’s translation “Tu ne veux pour
tant pas parler de tes présents à Héraclès” hits the mark exactly.
This seems better than to make the genit, dependent on τι. The
plural is “poetic” and lends some vagueness to the phrase; the
dative as in Aesch. Pers. 523 γη τε και φθιτοΐς δωρήματα, Ar. Nub.
305 ούρανίοις τε θεοΐς δωρήματα (cp. ν. Leeuwen a.h.L), Theocr.
XXVIII 2.
6 6 9 . μάλιστά γ ’ : <such is> most certainly <the case>; cp. O.T. 994.
6 6 9 , 7 0 . προθυμίαν / άδηλον έργου: “a readiness for action1)
working in the dark” ; of course the outcome of the action is meant
to be άδηλον, but the adjective is very strikingly construed with
προθυμίαν, since the προθυμία itself moves as it were in the dark.
The words are very important for Sophocles’ view of Deianeira’s
act in particular and of human action in general. For the inf. with
άν cp. O.T. 375 and Goodwin § 211.
6 7 1 . δίδαξον, εί διδακτόν: cp. supra 64.
6 7 2 . τοιοϋτον έκβέβηκεν: prob, “such a thing has happened”,
but it is possible to understand: “it (viz. τοϋτο δ έδρων) has turned
out such . . . ” (but I prefer the first interpretation).
6 7 2 , 3 . τοιοϋτον . . . olov . . . λαβεΐν: The interpretation is com
plicated by the fact that besides λαβεΐν the readings μαθεΐν and
παθεΐν are attested. The construction can run on the following lines :
1) If we take ύμΐν with φράσω (comma after ύμΐν: so Masqueray,
Dain), we can supply υμάς as the subject of μαθεΐν (or παθεΐν)
or as the object of λαβεΐν (cf. Ar. Αν. 511 ) ; in either case
θαϋμ’ άνέλπιστον is in apposition to oiov, object or subject of
the clause.
2) ύμΐν does not go with φράσω, but all the same <ύμάς> is the
subject of μαθεΐν (or παθεΐν; then λαβεΐν is impossible). Cf.
Aesch. Sept. 730 ξένος δέ κλήρους έπινωμα . . . χθόνα ναίειν δια-
πήλας / όπόσαν καί φθιμένοισι κατέχειν; Thuc. VI 12.2 νομί
σατε . . . τό πράγμα . . . μή οίον νεωτέρω βουλεύσασθαί τε καί
όξέως μεταχειρίσαι; cp. K.-G. II 511 anm. 2.
3) We have to assume an ellipse of είναι (or έσται), and that
μαθεΐν (or παθεΐν) is inf. epex. to θαϋμ’ άνέλπιστον.
x) N o te th e c o n tr a s t w ith άθυμώ.
152 COM MENTARY
I think this last course the least probable (in view of the
very harsh ellipse) but in my opinion this is what the false
reading μαθεϊν (παθεϊν being only a corruption of μαθεϊν, as
often) was meant to convey. For I do not believe in a corrupt
ion λαβεΐν <μαθεϊν, because λαβεΐν is the last word of 670.
The rather difficult but “correct” construction with λαβεΐν
(ύμΐν going with φράσω) was not understood and λαβεΐν altered
into the seemingly convenient μαθεϊν.
λαβεΐν is the reading of L and Leid, and the meaning of the
words is much more forcible than with μαθεϊν, however construed.
6 7 4 -6 7 6 . ώ . : . οίός εύείρω πόκω / τοΰτ’ ήφάνισται: “that with
which . . . ., a fleecy bunch of sheep’s wool, has disappeared . . .
As the subject of the main clause is τούτο, ώ is neuter, εύείρω πόκω
being in apposition to it; it is not a case of the “antecedent” being
drawn into the preceding relative clause.
6 7 4 . τον ένδυτηρα πέπλον: “the robe” ; for the instrumental usage
of the nomina agentis with -τηρ and -της suffix, cp. Debrunner,
Griech. Wortbildungslehre § 347; έπενδύτης Soph. fr. 439 P. is a case
in point.
6 7 5 . άργήτ’ : άργήτα goes with ένδυτηρα πέπλον as an epithet, not
as the proleptic predicate. It is impossible to consider it a dative
going with πόκω and alterations of the text (αργής Blaydes, Pearson,
άργής . . . εύέρου πόκος Lobeck, Jebb) are quite unnecessary.
εύείρω: though εύερος (Ar. Αν. I 2 i , Crat .fr. 175) is the Attic form,
we may safely accredit Soph, with this Ionic form (not in Witte-
kind, Sermo Sophocleus pp. i i sq.).
6 7 6 . διάβορον : pass., taken up by έδεστόν 6 j j ; for the act. διαβόρος
cf. infra 1084. We know the word only from Soph.
6 7 6 , 7 . προς ούδενός / των έ'νδον: it is very difficult to choose
between two courses of interpretation: does ούδενός derive from
ούδείς or from ούδέν? Jebb and Nauck-Raderm. inter al. adopt the
latter, Ellendt, Mazon and others the former course. This is perhaps
more in accordance with the general usage of πρός = ύπό but
the result is far from convincing (“II n’a point été avalé pourtant
par personne de la maison” Mazon). So I prefer Jebb’s interpretation
but without a comma after ήφάνισται.; πρός ούδενός is to be taken
άπό κοινού with ήφάνισται and διάβορον, just like έξ αυτού with
έδεστόν and φθίνει.
ήφάνισται . . . φθίνει: the πόκος as such has already disappeared,
and the process of disintegration still follows its horrifying course.
COM MENTARY i 53
6 7 8 . καί ψή κατ’ άκρας σπιλάδος: ψήν tr. “wipe”, “rub” , h.l. intr.
"crumble away” . The scholiast’s interpretation of κατ’ άκρας σπι-
λάδος (σπιλάς ή πέτρα- ώς ούν επί λίθου θ-εμένη αύτο τοϋτό ωησι-κατα-
τήκεται ούν καί ρεΐ καί διαλύεται άπο του λίθου διαρρέον), adopted
by Jebb among others, is not very convincing *) : it introduces a
rather arbitrary feature into the description. Neither will Rader -
macher’s opinion do (the words should stand as a colloquial phrase
with the sense of “von oben nach unten” ). In my opinion Mazon *2)
rightly explains the words thus: “Le flocon de laine, en se décom
posant, s’est répandu, étalé sur le sol”. For κατά cf. ΰδουρ κατά
χειρός Ar. Vesp. 1216; σπιλάς has to be taken in the collective
meaning of "dallage” , “the tiles” ; κατ’ άκρας σπιλάδος = "à la
surface du dallage” .
Perhaps "dallage” is too precise a meaning for σπιλάς; “rocky” or
“stony ground” (of the court-yard cf. 697) will suffice.
6 7 9 . μείζον’ έκτενώ λόγον: cf. Aesch. Choeph. 51° άμεμφή τόνδ’
έτείνατον λόγον, μακράν τείνειν (At. 1040) ; Thuc. IV 17.2 (with
Krüger’s note).
6 8 0 - 6 8 2 . ών . . . . θεσμών ούδέν: ούδέν των θεσμών ά or ους.
There is no reason to write ούδέν’ (with van Herwerden and Pearson),
particularly since Soph, knew the plur. θεσμά (fr. 92).
ό θήρ . . . Κένταυρος: cf. infra 1162; usually ο θήρ without K.;
the words may be rendered by “the savage Centaur” ; we may doubt
whether θήρ is in apposition with Κένταυρος or the reverse (either
Κένταυρος / ό θήρ or ό/θήρ Κένταυρος like άνδρες νομήες, παρ’ άνδρος
Φανοτέως etc.) 3).
6 8 0 . 1. πονών/ . . . . γλωχΐνι: οτε τήν πλευράν ήλγει τώ βέλει
τρωθείς- (schol.).
6 8 1 . πικρά: as in Homer with όιστός and βέλεμνα; πικρός cf. ad
Ai. 1025.
γλωχΐνι: in Homer only II. XXIV 274 prob, “end of the yoke-
strap” (L.-Sc.) 4). In classical authors only here; the schol. ex
plains: γλωχΐνι δέ άπο μέρους τω βέλει- γλωχίν γάρ ή άκίς ο λέγει
‘Όμηρος όγκον ί.β. “barb” . Nonnus has the word with τριαίνης
(XXXVI i n ) , κεραίης (I 193), of the moon’s horns (XL 314);
P N o te τυγχάνω ρίψασά πως 695, th e n a tu r a l im p lic a tio n of -which is t h a t
th e πόκος h a d been th ro w n aw^ay on th e floor o r th e e a rth .
2) R ev u e de Philologie, 1951, p. 10.
3) S c h w y zer-D eb ru m ie r I I p . 614, R a d e rm a c h e r a d Soph. Phil. 726,
b u t th e re 6 χάλκασπις άνήρ θεός is a b a d c o n jec tu re.
-) B u t H o m er h a s όιστω τριγλώ χινι II. V 393.
COM MENTARY
βέλη γλωχινωτά ("barbed” ) Paulus Aegineta VI 88 *). The use of

the rare Homeric word in this sense, different from Homer’s, is tobe
considered a mannerism, characteristic of Sophocles’ earlier period.
προυδιδάξατο: ci. note ad Ai. 163; the middle perhaps implies:
“for his own sake” but Phil. 1015 shows that the difference between
active and middle is slight in this case.
6 8 2 . παρήκα: “neglexi” or "omisi”.
έσωζόμην : the comparison in 683 clearly points to the
meaning “memoria servare”, implying “observare” . Cf. Aesch.
Isthiii. 32 (Mette) εί δ' οΰν έσώζου τήν πάλαι παροιμίαν, Eum. 241
σωζων έφετμάς Λοξίου; Ant. 1114 τούς καθεστώτας νόμους . . σωζοντα,
El. 1257 τοιγαροΰν σωζου τόδε.
6 8 3 . For the image (and the wording) cf. Aesch. Suppl. 179
φυλάξαι θ’ άμ’ έπη δελτουμένας, Prom. 789 ήν εγγράφου σύ μνήμοσιν
δέλτοις φρένων, Choeph. 450 τοιαΰτ’ άκούων έν φρεσίν γράφου, Eum. 275
δελτογράφω φρενί; Find. Ol. X I Τον Όλυμπιονίκαν άνάγνωτέ μοι
Άρχεστράτου παΐδα πόθι φρενύς εμάς γέγραπται; Soph.fr. 597 (Tript.)
σε ο’ έν φρενύς δέλτοισι τούς έμούς λόγους, Phil. 1325 και ταΰτ’ έπίστω,
καί γράφου φρένων έσω. A very extensive use of the image is made by
Plato in several passages dealing with memory: Phil. 38 e sqq., Tim.
26 C olov εγκαύματα άνεκπλύτου γραφής έμμονά μοι γέγονεν; cp. the
έκμαγεΐον image Theaet. 191 c sqq. *2).
Here the special image of the χαλκη δέλτος is already implied in
the θεσμοί: Pollux VIII 128 δέλτοις χαλκαΐς ήσαν πάλαι έντετυπω-
μένοι οί νόμοι οί περί των ιερών καί των πατρίων.
δύσνιπτον: onty here; cf. PI. Theaet. 187 b πάντα τα πρόσθεν έξα-
λείψας; auctor π. ύ. VII 3 μνήμη δυσεξάλειπτος. χαλκής . . . εκ δέλτου :
the words go with δύσνιπτον. Jebb is certainly right in retaining
684 (against Wunder, followed by Pearson) and in putting a full stop
after 683.
6 8 4 . The syntax is rather loose, faithfully reflecting D.’s excite
ment. Strictly speaking σωζειν 686 depends on μοι τάδ’ ήν πρόρρητα
only; we may then take καί τοιαΰτ’ εδρών as a parenthesis, anti
cipating κάδρων τοιαΰτα 688. καί is well rendered by Mazon: “aussi
bien” .
πρόρρητα: προ- as in προυδιδάξατο (πρύς εμέ ύπο Νέσσου προειρη
μένα schob).
6 8 5 . το φάρμακον τοϋτ’ : the word has perhaps a more ominous
M T h u s L.-Sc.
2) P . L ouis, Les Métaphores de Platon, 1945, p p . 123 sq.
COM M ENTARY I5 5
connotation than κηλητήριον, φίλτρα, θέλκτρα (575. 5^4. 585)·

άπυρον: “untouched by fire” , or perhaps better (as rendered by
Jebb) “remote from fire”.
6 8 5 , 6. άκτΐνος . . . θερμής άθικτον: cf. 606.
6 8 7 . νιν: Elmsley’s correction of άν (cf. supra 164). Though
Goodwin is inclined to accept the cases where opt. with άν seems to
take the place of the subj. with άν of direct speech (Moods and
Tenses § 702), I think this hardly possible; so I accept the correction,
with some misgivings (cf. K.-G. II 549). The conjecture is
of some consequence for the meaning of άρτίχριστον (“newly
spread” and not “newly besmeared” ) and άρμόσαιμι (“apply” like
a remedy) ; but in my opinion the verb has been chosen in view of
the πέπλος (cf. note ad 484).
που : Heracles, not the πέπλος, is meant ; the vagueness of the ex
pression arises from D.’s anxiety (i.e. the poet’s desire to suggest it).
6 8 8 . κ ά δ ρ ω ν τ ο ια υ τ α : το φ ά ρ μ α κ ο ν ............σ ω ζειν.
δτ’ ήν έργαστέον: very suggestive of D.’s inner compulsion to act
as she did.
6 8 9 . μέν: in correlation with καί 691 (G.P.2 374).
έχρισα: “I performed the anointing” (J.); logically the object is
the peplos = δώρον 692.
κατ’ οίκον: and not outdoors, έν δόμοις: “in my apartment” .
6 9 0 . μαλλω: dat. instrum, (cf. Ar. Vesp. 701 sq. έρίω σοιν ένστά-
ζουσιν) (the schol. apparently knew a v.l. μάλλον ; it arose of course
from the need for an object), “flock of wool” i.q. πόκω 675.
λάχνην: soft woolly hair, here of the sheep’s wool, βοτοΰ: i.q.
οίός 675. Note how the poet aims at variatio both here and in de
scribing the portent.
κτηαίου: "of the domestic flock” ; if the detail is added with any
purpose, it is perhaps in view of the gruesome metamorphosis of
this ordinary tuft of wool. The word is only found Aesch. Ag. 1009.
6 9 1 . αλαμπές ήλιου: i.q. άκτΐνος θερμής άθικτον. συμπτύξασ’: in
classical Greek only here.
6 9 2 . κοίλω ζυγάστρω: εις ξύλινον σορόν τουτέστι κιβωτόν (schob);
i.q. άγγος of 622. ζύγαστρον· κιβωτός, κυρίως δέ ξύλινη σορός, παρά τό
έζυγώσθαι, Phot. ; Xen. Cyr. VII 3·1· In Delphic inscriptions =
γραμματοφυλάκιον.1) (For the formation cp. στέγαστρον). κοίλω: Eur.
Ion 19 κοίλης . . . άντίπηγος.
1) Cf. S .I.G . (D itte n b e rg e r3) 241.49, 146.

156 COM M ENTARY
ώσπερ εΐδετε: they saw her come outside carrying the casket
containing the garment. This coming out of the house is in
Deianeira’s mind, as appears from εΐσω δ' άποστείχουσα 693.
6 9 3 , 4 . δέρκομαι........ μαθεΐν : δέρκομαι is much more forcible
than όρώ, cp. El. 1116 πρόχειρον άχθος, ώς έοικε, δέρκομαι (Electra
on seeing Orestes’ urn), ib. 1466.
φάτιν / άφραστον: φάτιν is the object and not, as Radermacher
would have it, άφραστον (with φάτιν on a par with μαθεΐν), άξύμ-
βλητον. φάτιν άφραστον is an oxymoron, in which φάτις, the uttering
of the thing seen, replaces the thing itself (just as λόγος is used to
denote the res ipsa) and άφραστον (from φράζειν, not from φρά-
ζεσθαι1)) denies the possibilitjr of adequate expression. But in
view of the following words and of the ominous purport of the facts
described, it is possible that the special meaning of φάτις, viz.
“voice from heaven” , “omen” (O.T. 310 άπ’ οιωνών φάτιν) is to be
considered too. In Soph, άφραστος recurs only infra 1057 (possibly
with the same sense) ; cf. Aesch. Pers. 165. On the whole, Jebb’s
“a thing too wondrous for words” seems to me better than Mazon’s
“une chose inimaginable” .
6 9 4 , άξύμβλητον: in the sense of “not to be guessed” only here in
classical Greek*2); PI. Crat. 384 a συμβαλεΐν τήν Κρατύλου μαντείαν;
O.C. 14741 Eur. Med. 675 σοφώτερ’ ή κατ’ άνδρα συμβαλεΐν έπη.
j 6 9 5 . κάταγμα: κατάγειν “spin” (cp. ή κατάγουσα, statue by
Praxiteles Plin. H.N. XXXIV 69) ; κάταγμα prop, “wool spun out”
(κατάσπασμα ή μήρυμα Phot.), “thread of wool”. But here i.q. πόκος,
μαλλός.
6 9 6 . Pearson, following Dobree and Wunder, is certainly wrong
in rejecting this line 3). The circumstantiality lends “ethos” to D.’s
story, cp. note ad 684. άκτΐν’ ές ήλιώτιν explains ές μ,έσην φλόγα:
cp. Mazon “en plein dans le feu, entendez: au milieu d’un rayon
de soleil” .
6 9 5 , 6. ρίψασά . . . προύχριον: note the difference of aspect.
6 9 8 . ρεΐ: “liquefy” , “run” 4) ; cp. also PI. Phaed. 87 d εί ρέοι τό
σώμα καί άπολλύοιτο and καταρρέο.) “fall in ruins” Dem. II 10.
άδηλον : proleptic predicate ; the bunch of wool loses its substance
and shape, disappearing as such.
q C o n tra ry o p in io n in E lle n d t.
z) E u r. h a s άξύνετος.
3) S eneca knew it, cf. H ere. Oet. 725 m edios in ignes solis e t c la ra m facem .
4) L .-S c .; i.q. ψη 678.
COM M ENTARY I57
κατέψηκται: “is ground to dust”, the perfect denoting the state

into which the πόκος is instantly brought. The underlying metaphor
is that of the jaws of the fire (Aesch. Choeph. 325 ττυρός μαλερά
γνάθος, Prom. 368 ποταμοί, πυρος δάπτοντες άγρίαις γνάθοις; Eur.
Med. 1187 sqq. νάμα παμφάγου πυρός, πέπλοι δέ λεπτοί . . . . λευκήν
έδαπτον σάρκα τής δυσδαίμονος) prefiguring the διαβόρος νόσος (io8q)
destined to devour Heracles’ flesh. Possibly Nicander had our
passage in mind when he wrote καί ή πριόνεσσι τομαίη / κέδρος,
πουλυόδουσι καταψηχθεΐσα γενείοις [Plier. 52 sq.). Ihe implied jaws
of the fire are explicitly compared to the teeth of a saw. χθονί is a
locative and certainly not a dative of “direction” (cf. 678).
6 9 9 . μορφή: dative of respect.
είκαστόν: “comparable”, followed by a clause with ώστε instead
of by a dative, ώστε = (ομοίως) ώσπερ is very frequent in Soph.,
Aesch., Eur., but with a finite verb following it is rather rare: supra
I12, fr. 474.4 sq. P. ί'σον μέτρων οφθαλμόν, ώστε τέκτονος / παρά
στάθμην ιόντος ορθούται κ α νώ ν (cf. Pearson’s note).
6 9 9 . 7 0 0 . πρίονος / έκβρώματ’ : i.q. παραπρίσματα Ar. Ran. 881.
7 0 0 . έν τομή ξύλου : “quand nous coupons du bois” (Mazon).
7 0 1 . τοιόνδε κεΐται προπετές : έρριμμένον καί προπεσόν χαμαί (schob),
“where it was thrown down” (J. ). But it is hardly conceivable that
the recurrence of the word infra 976 (Heracles) ζή γάρ προπετής
does not stand in any relation to its use and meaning here. The
word does not occur elsewhere in Soph, and the fate of the wool
must be considered an omen, a préfiguration of Heracles’ own fate.
So the idea "near to annihilation” must be implied; we might
paraphrase the word by “drooping towards its utter destruction” 1) ;
to some extent the bunch of wool may be said to be personified in
D.’s consciousness. Reinhardt’s (Sophokles1 p. 61) rendering "So
liegt’s zersetzt” is on the target and so is Mazon’s "Il est là tout
pareil, près de s’évanouir” though, here, perhaps the medical
metaphor is overstressed.
όθεν: εντεύθεν ου (ίνα).
7 0 2 . προύκειτ’ : “era stato gettato prima” (Schiassi) ; but 1) πρού-
κειτο does not necessarily denote a moment of time anterior to
άναζέουσι, if the latter is historic present (cf. Jebb) 2) πρόκειμαι is
said of the dead who lie exposed (cf. note ad Ai. 427) ; this meaning,
metaphorically applied to the wool, may be accepted here, or we may
b Ci. liu r . A le. 908 πολιάς έπί χαίτας / ήδη προπετής ών.
158 COM M ENTARY
follow Nauck- Radermacher’s in conspectu propositum erat, θρομ

βώδεις άφροί: θρόμβος "clot” 1) (espec. of blood, cf. Aesch. Choeph.
533, 546, Eum. 184) ; as the venom contained Nessus’ blood, we
must prob, understand “foam full of bloody clots”.
άναζέουσι: cf. the echo 83g sq. φόνια δολιόμυθα κέντρ’ επιζέσαντα.
7 0 3 . ώστε: here, as frequently, adverbially with a genit, absol.
πίονος ποτού: the new' wine, the must is meant (“pinguia musta”
Tib. I 1.10*2)).
οπώρας: fruit (frequent sense in classical poetry and prose),
γλαυκός of grapes prob, already Ale. 115.8 L.-P.
Construe: ώστε (as <when>) πίονος ποτοϋ γλαυκής οπώρας από
Βακχίας αμπέλου / ές γην χυθέντος.
The foam and the colour gave rise to the simile, but also the
fermentation, indicative of the charm’s lasting power.
7 0 5 . πέσω: more pathetic than έλθω or τράπωμαι. Cf. Ichn. 11
προς τόλμαν πεσεΐν.
7 0 6 . μ’: on the reflexive function of the personal pronoun cp.
Schwyzer-Debrunner II 193 sq. 34). In the following words we note
that there is no comment upon the annihilation of the wool. The
ominous significance is considered as certain, but not stated ex
plicitly. This is much more poetic and dramatic and in keeping with
the Greek allusive manner than an explicit comparison between
the wool’s fate and what is now expected to befall Heracles would
be. But Deianeira draw's the inference: the misjudgment is hers and
Heracles’ fate seems sealed by her hand.
7 0 7 . πόθεν . . . . άντί του : cf. El. 958 ποΐ γάρ μενεΐς ράθυμος, ες τίν’
ελπίδων / βλέψασ’ έτ’ ορθήν ; -)
7 0 8 . υπέρ: Heracles killed Nessus in defence of D.’s honour. All
the same we may translate with Jebb: “on whose account” .
7 0 9 . ούκ έστιν : in πόθεν is implied “the possibility of such a
thing” .
7 1 0 . έθελγέ μ’: cp. supra 355. The v.l. έθελγεν would mean: he
practised his charm.
ών: the neut. plur. refers as freely to the contents of the preceding
words as e.g. επ’ αυτά Thue. II 36.4; cf. supra 269.
P S u p ra 572.
*) A nd cp. Cic. B ru t. 288 n o v a is ta q u asi de m u sto ac lacu fe rv id a o ra tio .
3) A nd th e lite ra tu re ib. p. 186.
4) K .-G . I I 586.8.
COM M ENTARY 159
7 1 1 . άρκεΐ: “avails”, subject ή μάθησής (thus rightly jebb; on

άρκέω ci. my note aci Ai. 76).
For the end of the verse cf. Eur. Andr. 696 τήν δόκησιν άρνυται
(but there is no question of periphrasis).
The words sum up D.’s tragic situation. Certainly “Late Learn
ing” 1) represents an important aspect of the meaning of this play.
Too late also, in various ways, are Tecmessa’s insight Ai. 807
and Creon’s Ant. m i .
7 1 2 . 3 . εΐ . . . .γνώμης: i.e. if the outcome will not belie my
present insight. Neither Jebb's “unless my foreboding prove false”
nor Mazon’s “si du moins ma raison ne s’égare pas” is entirely
satisfying.
7 1 3 . έξαποφθερώ : a very strong and rare word 1
2). (έξαπο- in Soph,
only in έξαπαλλάσσω, έξαπόλλυμι, έξαποφθείρω 3)).
7 1 4 . άτρακτον: "spindle” and “arrow” (cf. perhaps χρυσηλά-
κατος), the latter apparently a Laconian usage (Thuc. IV 40.2).
τον βαλόντ’ άτρακτον: sc. Νέσσον. Do we have to assume that one
arrow only was dipped in the Hydra’s “blood” and was always
recovered by Heracles from his victims’ wounds ? But cp. 573 sq.
7 1 5 . καί θεόν / Χείρωνα πημήναντα : “did hurt even an immortal,
Chiron” . According to mythical tradition Chiron was accidentally
wounded by Heracles’ arrow (Apollod. II 5.4).
χώνπερ: Wakefield’s conjecture seems absolutely essential.
7 1 6 . τά πάντα κνώδαλ’: “the whole host of wild creatures”, much
more comprehensive than πάντα τά κνώδαλα (cp. οί πάντες άνθρωποι
“die ganze Menschheit” K.-G. I 632).
7 1 6 - 7 1 9 . The problems of this passage are many:
a) Does τοϋδ’ refer to the arrow or to Nessus, or does έκ τοϋδ’
mean: “nachgerade” (Raclerm.)?
b) If τοϋδ’ refers to Nessus, does it depend on σφαγών, έκ going
with σφαγών, or does it go with έκ, σφαγών depending on διελθών?
c) Does ιος mean “arrow” or “venom” ?
a, b) των έμών σφαγών 5/2 points to the interpretation “coming
from the wound of Nessus”. She uses τοϋδ’, οδε, τόνδε referring
respectively to Nessus, the venom and Heracles, the three ideas
uppermost in her mind, διελθών: "after having passed through it” ;
1) T he title of W h itm a n ’s c h a p te r on th e T ra ch in ia e.
2) A esch. P ers. 464.
®) O n th e completive m ea n in g of έξ- a n d άπο- cf. H. Thesleff, Stu d ies on
In te n sifica tio n in E a r ly and Classical Greek, H elsingfors 1954, §§252, 253.
COM M ENTARY
σφαγών does not depend on it but is, by position, closely associated

with it (if it had to depend on it, σφαγάς would be much more
usual, but see note ad 1083). ιός αίματος μέλας: “the black venom
consisting in blood” : not onty because, as Jebb remarked, “the
poison from the arrow had become mixed with the blood”, but also
because the venom itself was after all the hydra’s blood. A depen
dence of αίματος on διελθών may also be considered.
c) Of course it is, in a certain sense, true that the arrow wall kill
Heracles; but if we take ιός in this sense, διελθών and above all
αίματος μέλας lose much of their point ; and then, moreover, αίματος
must depend on μέλας, a rather harsh construction.
Besides it is impossible to attribute this meaning to ιός infra 833.
The schob ad 716 seems to know another interpretation: εκ τουδε :
έκ του Νέσσου· άντ'ι του διά Νέσσου. So we must, according to the
schob, take the words thus: “ By Nessus’ agency, this venom after
having passed through his wound, the black venom consisting in
blood will certainly destroy Heracles also”.
7 1 8 . δόξη γοϋν έμή -1) : sc. όλεί καί τόνδε. Cf. Xen. Veci. 5.2 καί οότοί
γε ώς έμή δοξγ] παραλόγως σκοποΰσιν (quoted by K.-G. I 421) ; the
dative is, in my opinion, rather an instrumental dative or a dative
of respect 12), than a dative proper (of the type ό λόγος αισχρός τοΐς
σκοπουμένοις) as K.-G. will have it.
γοϋν: a strong γε.
7 1 9 . καίτοι: “howbeit” (J.). Cp. G.P.2 559 for "continuative”
καίτοι (rare in poetry). Mazon’s rendering “or”, with all the preg
nant force this adverb can convey in French, is also very good
(much better than Masqueray’s “aussi” ).
σφαλήσεται: cf. supra 297. In this context the verb has a rather
euphemistic ring.
7 2 0 . ταύτγ) συν άρμη: uno eodëmque impetu, sc. fati. Cf. δαι-
μονίη . . . ορμή licit. VII 18.3. δρμή is used of κϋμα, of fire, it de
notes the sudden impulses of the human heart. As there can be no
question of a ορμή dependent on Heracles’ w ill3), she must mean
the sweeping force of fate, to which she will yield, in a way com-
1) U n d o u b te d ly th e rig h t re a d in g ; δόξει γοϋν Ιμοί A is a b a d lectio facilior.
2) T h e sam e as κατά την έμήν δόξαν PI. Gorg. 472 e; cf. στόχω A esch. S u p p l.
243·
3) T h e v.l. οργή, d efen d ed am o n g o th e rs b y E lle n d t (of course w ith o u t
S te p h a n u s’ co rre c tio n ταύτή for ταύτη) ("αυτή οργή d ic itu r p ro p te r H ercu lem ,
si ita a ccid a t, p e re m tu m c o n c e p ta ” ), is in m y o p in io n h a rd to a c c e p t (p e r
h a p s i t aro se fro m a m ista k e n v ie w of 1. 933).
COM M ENTARY ι6 ι
parable to Eteocles Sept. 689-691. As to σύν ορμή cp. Ant. 135,

Theocr. XXV 251 and Gow on Theocr. I I 136. — Note the pathetic
pleonasm of ταύτή, καί, συν-, άμα.
721, 2 . This is Ajax’ point of view, and the essence of heroic
ethics. Cf. note ad Ai. 480, Webster, Introduction, p. 43.
κακή πεφυκέναι: nobility of character is implied in nobility of
birth, but doubtless the former is meant (there is a shift in the
meaning of κακός as compared with Theognis’ usage of the word).
προτιμά: “wishes above all” , “cares to” (cp. Eur. Med. 343).
Only here in Soph. Here, as so often, the ουσία and the δόξα, the
“true nature” and the “reputation” are inextricably mixed up.
Cf. schol. γυναίκα κακοδοξούσαν ού δει ζην ήτις μή θέλει δοκεΐν έκ
φύσεως είναι κακή, μή is “generic” .
7 2 3 sq. What the Chorus means comes to this : your fear is
natural, but only the outcome can eventually justify despair. The
1. 724 may be literally rendered thus: “but one should not decide
what one has to hope or to fear before the event” , ελπίς shows
clearly its character of vox media. Deianeira’s reply takes up the
favourable meaning only.
7 2 5 . μή: "generic” , cp. 722.
7 2 6 . ουδ’ ελπίς, ήτις καί θράσος τι προξενεί: “not even hope, that is
to say hope of a sort really warranting confidence” . Cp. G.P.2 p. 295
(“καί following a relative (esp. the universalizing δστις) often gives
an effect of limitation, by imposing an additional qualification” ).
προξενεί: in the general sense of “manage” , “lend” , “procure”
here for the first time, παρέχει schol. Cf. O.T. 1483 προυξένησαν:
εΐργάσαντο, αίτιοι εγένοντο schol.
7 2 7 . άμφί: with dat. “propter, ubi de cura, metu, ira sermo”
(E.), but perhaps the best Latin rendering would be mwith ablat.
("in the case of” J.).
σφαλεΐσι: h.l. i.q. άμαρτοϋσι.
έξ εκούσιας: cf. Thuc. VIII 27.3 καθ’ έκουσίαν and εκούσια v.l.
Dem. XXI 42. Perhaps supply γνώμης. Soph, used the noun
άκουσία: fr. 746 P. έξαίρετον τίθημι τήν άκουσίαν 1). For the under
lying thought cf. fr. 665 P. and cf. Webster, Introduction, p. 35.
οργή πέπειρα: πέπων, πέπεφα like πίων, πίειρα. Metaphorically
‘soft” (cp. πεπειροτέρους γεγονότας Dion. Hal. IX 49); cp. Aesch.
Suppl. 187 ωμή ξύν οργή.
1) O n th e difference b e tw e e n έκών άκων a n d έκούσιος άκούσιος cp. D e-
b ru n re r, M useum H e lv e tic u m I p. 40.
K a m e r b e e k , T rach in iae ιϊ
IÖ2 COM M ENTARY
τής: on the fairly frequent use of the forms with τ as relat. pron.
cp. Ellendt12 p. 485 II.
729. S’: “yes, b u t” (Sheppard, quoted by Denniston G.P.2
p. 582).
τοϋ κακοϋ: as is often the case, we cannot be sure whether “evil
deed” or “evil” , “trouble” , is meant. Dutch “kwaad” retains the
ambiguity x).
730. οΐκοι: Wakefield’s conjecture, accepted by all editors. It
seems to me more figurative (“für seine Person” Raderm.) than
the MSS reading οΐκοις; I am not convinced of the absolute ne
cessity for it.
731. άν άρμόζοι: a very mild and urbane manner of exhortation;
cp. Ant. 444 σύ μέν κομίζοις άν σεαυτον, El. 637 κλύοις αν ήδη, Phil.
674 χωροΐς εϊσω (Goodwin § 237)·
τον πλείω λόγον: λόγον, though attested only by the diorthotes
of L, is much better than χρόνον (MSS). The words mean: “your
further speech” (cp. Phil. 576 μή νυν μ’έ'ρη τά πλείονα, O.C. 36 πριν
νυν τά πλείον’ ΐστορεΐν). j
732. εΐ μή τι λέξεις : well rendered by the schol. : εί μή άρα τι τω σω
παιδί μέλλεις έρεΐν; the original force of the future, denoting desire
or w ill2), is clearly perceptible. (Cp. Mazon’s translation: “à moins
que tu ne veuilles que ton fils ait vent de la chose” ), τι may be the
object or acc. adv. (“perhaps” ).
733. μαστήρ πατρός: a nomen agentis3) in apposition to ος,
functioning as a future participle. (Construe : πάρεστι <ούτος>, δς πριν
μαστήρ πατρός = ζητήσων πατέρα, κατά ζήτησιν πατρός — cf. 55 —
ωχετο). (Aesch. Suppl. 162 sq. has μήνις μάστειρα, ib. 920 Έρμη . . .
μαστηρίω, Soph. O.C. 456 Κρέοντα πεμπόντων έμοΰ/μαστήρα, Eur.
Bacch. 986 όρειδρόμων μαστήρ Καδμείων).
734. ώς: prop, exclamatory, accompanying the expression of a
wish referring to an object not attainable (it occurs sometimes with
the opt., more often with ώφελον). It is impossible to maintain that
άν είλόμην refers to the past; the first two unattainable wishes
refer to the present, the third to the past. This follows from the
context and not from the forms of the verb.
1) N o t: “ d e r m it seinem U n h e il te ilt” (R e in h a rd t, Sophokles1, p. 63).
2) S c h w y z e r-D e b ru n n e r I I p. 290, v. G roningen, I n the G rip of the P ast,
p. i n .
3) O n th e n o m in a a g e n tis in -τηρ cf. N u ch elm a n s o.l. p p . 16-18. Soph,
uses 29 “ re a l” nom . ag. in -τηρ, as c o m p ared w ith 17 in -τωρ, 94 in -της a n d
-τις.
COM M ENTARY 163
ώς άν εΐλόμην is virtually the same as Latin mallem.

σ’: subject of the three infinitives, but owing to its position
before εΐλόμην, it is almost comparable to the subject of an indirect
question proleptically placed as object in the main clause: so we
may render: “with regard to you”.
έκ τριών . . . εν: may be considered as the object of εΐλόμην; this
seems better than mentally to supply παθεΐν or the like. The locution
is doubtless proverbial.
7 3 5 . μηκέτ’ είναι ζώσαν: an emphatic ζην, a circumlocution not
uncommon in Soph. (Bruhn, Anhang 61, 25).
σεαωμένην: here the same as ζώσαν.
7 3 6 . άλλου . . . . μητέρ’: αίσχύνομαι γάρ έπί σοι (schob).
λώους φρένας: “des sentiments meilleurs” (Mazon).
7 3 7 . άμείψασθαι: “get in exchange” ; cf. Pind. Paean IV 15
ουτοι] νιν Βαβυλώνος άμείψομαι (L.-Sc.).
7 3 8 . πρός γ ’ έμοΰ: “coming from me” , “on my part” ; the words
go with τί δ’ έστίν.
στυγούμενον: the participle has a somewhat modal connotation:
“odio tuo dignum” ; cp. to a certain extent the modal connotations1)
in οικουμένην [Phil. 221), ούλόμενος, όνήμενος, άπεχθόμενον (Pind.
Nem. X83).
7 3 9 - 7 4 0 . Note the tension of these lines, brought about by the
placing of the words 12) : “your husband—I tell you—my / father,
dead is he by your hand, this day”. It is perhaps best to assume
that λέγω has no bearing on the construction. (Jebb prefers the
blending of two modes of expression, “since either δέ, or λέγω
should properly be absent” ).
τηδ’ έν ημέρα: a clear example of the “tragic day” 3).
7 4 1 . εξήνεγκας: “proferre” (rather rare; cp. Dutch “uitbrengen” ).
7 4 1 , 2 . λόγον / . . . . τελεσθήναι: here too we observe the inter
changeability of λόγος and the fact referred to.
7 4 3 . το / φανθέν: φαίνεσθαι fairly often = “come about” , cp. II.
II 122 τέλος ου πώ τι πέφανται. Arist. Eth. Nie. VI 2 p. 1139 b 10 τό δε
γεγονός ούκ ενδέχεται μή γενέσθαι· διό όρθώς Άγάθων “ μόνου γάρ
αότοΰ και θεός στερίσκεται, / άγένητα ποιεΐν άσσ’ αν ή πεπραγμένα”
(Agathon fr. 5 Ν.2). τα άγένητα Gorg. Palam. 23.
1) S c h w y z e r-D e b ru n n e r I I p. 17.
2) N o te also th e e ffect of th e reso lv ed firs t fo o t of 740: S. could h a v e
w ritte n γεννήτορα κτείνασα.
3) H . F ra e n k e l, M a n ’s E phem er os N a tu re according to P in d a r and others,
T .A .P h .A . 1946, p p . 131-145. Cf. a d 654 supra.
COM M ENTARY
7 4 5 . άζηλον: supra 284.

7 4 6 , 7 . Here also the word-order reflects Hyllus’ tension; note
the conspicuous placing of αύτος, ομμασιν, πατρός (grammatically
dependent on ξυμφοράν).
αύτος δεδορκώς . . . . ού . . . κλυών : on this traditional opposition
cp. Groeneboom ad Aesch. Vers. 266 (και μην παρών τε κού λόγους
άλλων κλυών; cf. Eur. Suppl. 684,1 .T. 901, Hel. 117, Med. 652).
έν ομμασιν: supra 241 ■
δεδορκώς: he saw the ξυμφορά and has it still before his eyes;
αύτος in apposition to δεδορκώς; we may supply φημί.
κατά γλώσσαν κλυών: “from hearsay” , άπό γλώσσης is the com
moner phrase, but often with other connotations: cf. O.C. 936 τω νω
θ’ ομοίως κάπο της γλώττης λέγω. If we are justified in accentuating
κλυων on the second syllable 1), the aor. denotes a relative past and
stresses the transitory character of hearing in contrast to the lasting
impression of seeing.
7 4 8 . The historic present clearly has the character of a dramatic
present. For the second person cf. e.g. O.T. 1025, 1031.
έμπελάζεις: not different from πελάζεις; intr. already in Hymn.
Merc. 523.
τάνδρί: as is often the case, functioning as a personal pronoun.
παρίστασαι: the connotations of the verb tend to lend a touch of
pathos to the sentence; it is more than a simple amplification of
έμπελάζεις. (In Ant. 41 ξυνεργάση is an amplification, making the
sentence more forceful).
7 4 9 . Hyllus’ speech has to some extent the character of a Mes
senger’s, but its pathos is greatly enhanced by his personal con
cern. It is of course a very clever device of the poet’s to entrust
the son with the Messenger’s part.
χρή . . . χρεών: variatio.
7 5 0 - 5 5 . οθ’ εΐρπε . . . άκτή τις . . . . οδ: Raderm. aptly compares
Eur. Hipp. 1198, 1201 έπεί δ’ . . . άκτή τις . . . ένθεν, Ι.Τ. 2 0 ο, 1 4 4 9 -
7 5 0 . Εύρύτου πέρσας πόλιν: cf. 244· κλεινήν is in keeping with
the style of Messengers’ speeches ; similarly τρόπαια κάκροθίνια.
7 5 1 . τρόπαια: conquered arms destined to be consecrated to
Zeus 2).*68
b Cf. W . S chulze, K lein e S chriften p. 337, E . F ra e n k e l a d A esch. A g.

680. B u t it m u s t b e a d m itte d t h a t th e case h ere is d o u b tfu l; cf. supra
68.
a) O il th e old A ttic a c c e n tu a tio n cf. H d n . G r. I 369.
COM M ENTARY 165
άκροθίνια: the firstfruits (“prémices” ) of the booty, esp. the

cattle mentioned below.
7 5 2 . 3 . cf. 237 sq. Homer would not have varied his expression.
Though άμφίκλυστος seems ornamental, the detail has its particular
function because of 780 and the whole following scene.
άκρον Κήναιον: in apposition to άκτή . . . . Εύβοιας.
ένθα: relative; note the historic present (functioning as an
imperfect) in the relative clause. Of course the logical sequence
would be: 00’ ειριτε, ώριζεν, ένθα άκτή τίς έστιν, or άγων, δθ’ εΐρπε . . .,
ένθα άκτή τίς έστιν, ώριζεν. But Cape Cenaeum, where his father was
in the act of making offerings and so forth, was the first thing seen
by Hyllus on his arrival and so this is the central point of his words.
7 5 3 . πατρωω Διι: cf. ad 288. The pathos of Heracles’ fate is
enhanced by the fact of his incurring it while offering to his father
Zeus1) (cp. 1269).
7 5 4 . βωμούς ορίζει: cf. 237.
τεμενίαν φυλλάδα: φυλλάς prop, foliage, metoiiymically for “grove” .
Cf. O.C. 676 φυλλάς μυριόκαρπος. Heracles consecrates a grove, the
firstfruits of which will be offered to Zeus (cf. ad 238).
7 5 5 . άσμενος πόθω : his longing, now at last fulfilled, was the
cause of his gladness: “ravi pour ma part d’impatiente joie”
(Mazon). Of his meeting with Heracles before Lichas’ arrival we
hear nothing except these words.
7 5 6 . πολυθύτους τεύχειν αφαγάς: τεύχειν may, according to the
nature of its object, mean “prepare” (δαΐτα) or “cause”, “bring
to pass” (κακά, στάσιν etc.); here the meaning lies somewhere in
between 12).
πολυθύτους: έν αίς πολλά θύεται 3). Or we may say that πολυθύτους
τεύχειν σφαγά.ς = θύειν πολλά σφάγια. Needless to say, the expression
used is much more forcible. Cf. Ai. 1186 πολυπλάγκτων έτέων
άριθμός i.q. έν οΐς πολλά πλανώμεθα.
7 5 7 . οικείος: “his own” (not more than that, thus rightly J.).
The context lends to ΐκετ’ the not infrequent meaning “came back” .
7 5 8 . θανάσιμον: again the metre reflects the emotion of the
titterance. The nature of her gift is stated with brief bitterness.
7 5 9 . ώς σύ προυξεφίεσο: cf. 604 sqq. We are to suppose that
Hyllus was present when Lichas delivered D.’s message, έξεφίεμαι
1) In th is re sp ect th e scene h as m u ch in com m on w ith E u r. H er. 922 sqq.
2) D u tc h “ a a n ric h te n ” .
3) O r πολλά Ουούσας cf. n o te a d A i. 1186.
COM M ENTARY
occurs at Ai. 795 (see note), the compound with προ- only here.
The emphatic word stresses D.’s guilt (“according to thy precept”
is much too feeble a translation).
7 6 0 . Ι.ταυροκτονεΐ . . . δώδεκ’ έντελεΐς . . ,/βοϋς: we cannot make
out whether βοΰς is meant to mean “cows” or “bulls”, for ταύρο- in
ταυροκτονεΐ is “not decisive” (thus rightly J.). εντελείς: “without
blemish” (Luc. de sacrif. 12 1)).
εχων: almost redundant (or “expletive” : but “possidendi vis
inest” E.). Cf. Ellendt12 p. 294, K.-G. II 87 anm. 10.
7 6 1 . απαρχήν: not different from the plur. supra 183.
άτάρ : here with weak adversative force. (On μεν.. άτάρ&.Ρ.2p. 54).
τά πάνθ’ ομοϋ : including the twelve oxen.
7 6 2 . προαήγε: the imperfect (like the hist. pres, ταυροκτονεΐ)
depicts the progress of the action and does not show its achievement ;
we shall never know whether Soph, means us to understand that
the sacrifice was completed or not.
προσηγε: sc. to the altar, a not unusual term, as may be seen from
the instances in L.-Sc. s.v. 1.
συμμιγή: cf. Ai. 53 σύμμεικτα (with the note).
7 6 3 . δείλαιος: the pathetic δείλαιος at the same place in the
trimeter as in Ant. 1241, 1272, El. 1482 ; its effect here is heightened
by the juxtaposition of ΐλεω.
ΐλεω: cf. ad Ai. 1009.
7 6 4 . κόσμω τε . . . καί στολή : a hendiadys.
κατηύχετο: the schol. strangely explains λείπει το σοι. I think we
must mentally supply των ιερών, cf. I.G. VII 235.25 (Oropus, IV
c. B.C.) 2) ; one is reminded also of Eur. Ale. 162 στασα πρόσθεν
εστίας κατηύξατο. But it may be only an emphatic ηυχετο.
7 6 5 . 6. όπως: temporal “when” (not frequent in Trag, and
Com. ; freq. with opt. iterat, in Hdt.).
σεμνών οργίων: “the holy rites”, “the sacrifice” . The genit, prob,
depends on φλοξ 3), άπο πιείρας δρυός standing on a par with αιμα
τηρά = άπο του αίματος.
έδαίετο: άνεκαίετο. I cannot accept Mazon’s "est lent à s’enflam
mer, par la faute du sang” etc.
πιείρας: “resinous” ; the πεύκη is meant, δρϋν γάρ λέγει παν δένδρον.
1) I do n o t th in k it co rre c t to see in th e n u m b e r a n allu sio n to H e ra c le s’

tw elv e lab o u rs, for th e θυσία δώδεκα ιερείων w as tra d itio n a l.
2) Q u o ted b y L .-S c.
3) N o t so th e schol.
COM M ENTARY I67
7 6 7 , 8. χρωτί: locat, “upon the skin” (proleptically with the

verbum movendi).
προσπτύσσετο : the missing augment may be accounted for by the
fact that Hyllus’ speech has the character of a Messenger’s tale.
(K.-B. II 18 sq.). It means “applicabatur”, άρτίκολλος “clinging
close” being the proleptic adjunct1).
ώστε τέκτονος: In spite of Jebb’s remarks and of C. Zijderveld’s
interpretation*2) (he thinks that the words mean: “like a work
man’s χιτών” ) τέκτων must, in my opinion, mean sculptor (cf. Eur.
Ale. 348) : ώστε τέκτονος <χιτών> lit. = “like a sculptor’s χιτών”
i.e. "like a χιτών made by a sculptor” and the comparison refers to
statues whose clothes cling closely to the body. Jebb’s argument
that “there would be little point in comparing a real robe to an
imitation in art” runs counter to Greek conceptions: cf. Aesch.
Ag. 242 πρέπουσα τώς έν γραφαΐς, Eur. Hec. 560 μαστούς τ’ έδειξε
στέρνα θ' ώς άγάλμ,ατος / κάλλιστα.
I fail to see the point of the comparison, if the words mean: “as
if glued by a carpenter” 34).
Besides it is impossible to assume that τέκτονος = ύπο τέκτονος â)
and very difficult mentally to supply κολλήσαντος. Now, a "car
penter’s χιτών” does not yield the meaning postulated by Jebb and
Webster whereas a “sculptor’s χιτών” is immediately understand
able, in the sense explained above.
So I think Mazon’s translation entirely correct: “ (voilà) la
tunique alors qui colle à ses flancs et qui s’ajuste à tous ses membres
aussi étroitement que si elle était oeuvre de statuaire” .
7 6 8 , 9 . άπαν κατ’ άρθρον: goes with προσπτύσσετο, πλευραΐσιν
with άρτίκολλος, but, as is often the case in such schemata, there are
interrelations between προσπτύσσετο and πλευραΐσιν, and between
άρτίκολλος and άπαν κατ’ άρθρον as well.
7 6 9 , 7 0 . ήλθε . . . άντίαπαστος: οστέων may depend on όδαγμος;
then άντίσπαστος must mean “spasmodic, convulsive” (L.-Sc. s.v.)
cf. άντισπασμοί Ar. Lys. 967; but it may also depend on άντίσπαστος
- “taking hold of” 5), cf. Ap. Rhod. II 598 καί τότ’ Άθηναίη στι-
q T h e w ord occurs tw ice m e ta p h o ric a lly in A esch. : Choeph. 580, Sept. 373.
2) M nem osyne 1936, p p . 175-176.
*) T. B. L. W eb ster, Greek A r t a n d L iterature 530-400 B .C ., p . 116.
4) Cp. W . J . W . K o ster, De graecorum genitivo, qui d icitu r auctoris, M n e
m osyne 1952, pp. 89-94.
5) Cf. άνθήψατο 778.
ι68 COM M ENTARY
βαρής άντέσπασε πέτρης. We may even consider the possibility of

όστέων going with ήλθε (= Si' όστέων). The aor. ήλθε stands out
in relief by its placing.
όδαγμός: MSS. It seems unnecessary to read άδαγμός (Phot.,
Anecd. Bekker 342.221)): Soph. fr. 1127 has καρδίαν ώδαγμένος.
όδάξει· τοΐς όδοϋσι δάκνει Hesych. As with όδάξ, popular etymology
apparently associated the word with οδούς; so the metaphor implied
in έδαίνυτο (recurring again 1088, 1054 etc.) is introduced by it
and though the Greeks may have heard δάκνειν in άδαγμός (rightly
or wrongly), the association with οδούς renders the metaphor more
forcible. Moreover, there is every likelihood that όδάξω is really
formed from όδάξ, άδάξω and άδαγμός simply representing variants
with vowel assimilation. In the MSS of Hippocrates both forms
occur. The meaning is: “biting” or “itching pain” .
7 7 0 » 1 . εΐτα . . . έδαίνυτο : Jebb’s translation “and then the
venom, as of some deadly, cruel viper, began to devour him”
cannot be correct, for ως belongs to ιός and Hyllus cannot speak of
“the” venom. The subject of έδαίνυτο is to be borrowed from
όδαγμός; it is the monstrous agent visible in its effect. A¥e may
translate: “and then, something like the venom of some deadly” etc.
φοινίας: the meanings “bloody” and “murderous” blend.
έχθρας: cf. Phil. 631 sq.: τής πλεΐστον έχθίστης έμοί / . . . έχίδνης.
έδαίνυτο: cf. Aesch. Ckoeph. 280 sq. σαρκών έπαμβατήρας άγρίαις
γνάθοις / λειχήνας έξέσθοντας άρχαίαν φύσιν, Phryn. fr. 5 Ν.12 ώκεΐα
μάργοις φλόξ έδαίνυτο γνάθοις, Eur. Med. 1201 γναθμοΐς άδήλοις
φαρμάκων.
7 7 2 . ’βόησε: "shouted for” ; “en criant, il prend à partie” (Mazon).
7 7 3 . τον ούδεν αίτιον: cp. O.T. 397 ό μηδέν είδώς Οίδίπους, Ant.
771»but Phil. 358 τον ούκέτ’ όντα ζώντ’ Άχιλλέα K.-G. II ρ. 202.
7 7 4 . ποίαις . . . μηχαναϊς: cf. supra 586.
7 7 5 . 6. τό σόν μόνης / δώρημ’ έ'λεξεν: the full sentence would run:
έλεξε τό δώρημα ένεγκεΐν (τό) σόν μόνης όν. The gift as such was only
Deianeira’s: he had no part in it, neither had he tampered with it.
ώσπερ ήν έσταλμένον :- Ellendt interprets = έπεσταλμένον, but
there are no instances of this meaning. So the meaning must be,
either “sent” sc. by you 2) or “made ready, prepared” and δώρημα
is the subject, “déclara que le présent venait de toi seule et qu’il
1) Cf. also H e sy ch . s.v. a n d L a t t e ’s a p p a ra tu s :
2) T h e schol. p ro b a b ly m ean s th e sam e, as fa r as we can see fro m its
co n fu sed w ording.
COM M ENTARY 169
était tel que tu l’avais envoyé” Masqueray. Jebb rightly refers to

622.
777, 8. ώς ηχούσε . . . άνθήψατο: the combination of the two
statements in one clause, incongruous as they may seem, forcibly
suggests the psychical cause of Heracles’ vehement reaction.
7 7 7 . διώδυνος: only here; for the formation cf. διήνεμος (“pos
sessive compound” , cp. Nuchelmans l.c. pp. 73 sq., Schwyzer-
Debrunner II 449).
The original force of δια- (through and through) is quite clear.
7 7 8 . σπαραγμός: prop, "tearing”, “rending” , here: "spasm” ,
“convulsion” (L.-Sc.), but the idea of “rending” remains present:
cf. infra 1254 and Aesch. fr. 169 (Lyssa speaking) έκ ποδών δ’ άνω /
ύπέρχεται σπαραγμός εις άκρον κάρα, / κέντημα γλώσσης, σκορπίου
βέλος λέγω.
πλευμόνων: the correct form 1), cf. ad 567, though L here has
πνευμόνων 12).
άνθήψατο: cf. Eur. Med. 55 φρένων άνθάπτεται, ib. 1360 καρδίας
άνθηψάμην and the other passages quoted by Page. Aristophanes
had the passage in mind (and 770 sq. as well), when he wrote:
Έχιδνά θ’ έκατογκέφα.λος, ή τά σπλάγχνα σου / διασπα.ράξει ■πλευμόνο^ν
τ’ άνθάψεται / Ταρτησία μύραινα (lanitor to Dionysus—disguised as
Heracles—Ran. 473 sqq.).
7 7 9 . λυγίζεται : on the meaning of this verb cf. E. Roos 3). It is not
the same as στρέφεται but denotes the joint’s capacity of bending
in various directions (“is supple” Jebb, “où s’infléchit l'articu
lation” Masqueray); Roos quotes Aristaen. Epist. I 1 ουτω μέντοι
σύμμετρα και τρυφερά τής Λαΐδος τά μέλη, ώς ύγροφυώς αυτής λυγί-
ζεσθαι τά οστά τω περιπτυσσομένω δοκεΐν. Heracles caught Lichas
by the ankle.
7 8 0 . προς . . . πέτραν : one of the three small rocky islands near
Cape Cenaeum, called αί Λιχάδες, with which the legend of the
unhappy Lichas was associated, Strabo IX 426. Aeschylus knew
the legend, as appears from fr. 30 άμφί Κηναίου Διάς / ακτήν, κατ’
αυτόν τύμβον άθλιου Λίχα. Ον. Met. IX 226 sqq.
έκ πόντου: “rising from the sea”, attribute of πέτραν, not de
pending on άμφίκλυστον. On this infrequent adjectival use of subst.
1) A lso acco rd in g to th e a ttic ists.

2) Cp. O nians, O rigins of E uro p ea n Thought. 36-39.
3) D ie Tragische Orchesiik im Z errbild der A ltattischen K om ödie, L u n d 1951,
pp. 23-28. λύγισμα = lu x a tio , στρέμμα = distorsio.
COM M ENTARY
with preposition, but without the article, cf. K.-G. I 610. The schol.
follows the less plausible course of interpretation : τήν έκ τοϋ πόντου
αμφοτέρωθεν κλυζομένην.
781. έκραίνει: subj. Heracles; lit. “make to fall in drops from”
(L.-Sc.). Cf. Eur. Cycl. 401 sq. παίων προς όξύν ατόνυχα πετραίου
λίθου, / εγκέφαλον έξέρρανε.
λευκόν μυελόν : i.q. εγκέφαλον (sc. μυελόν) ; to consider the avoidance
by Soph, of the proper term as due to a sort of Pythagorean taboo
(Apollodorus apud Athen. 66 a) is of course far-fetched; the word
may however have been felt too coarse for use in tragedy; cf. the
passage from Eur.’s Troad. (1176 sq.), also quoted by Athen, ib.
ένθεν έκγελα / οστέων ραγέντων φόνος, ί,’ν’ αισχρά μή λέγω.
7 8 1 , 2 . μέσου / κράτος . . . . όμοϋ: μέσον κάρα cannot but mean
the skull’s top part (“crown” ), cf. O.T. 808,g μέσον/κάρα διπλοΐς
κέντροισί μου καθίκετο. So wre must understand : “as the skull <and its
contents» wdth the blood was scattered about” . The scattering of
the skull is of course implied but not expressed (this omission
has induced many scholars wrongly to suspect the text). Mazon’s
discreet translation “cervelle et sang se répandant ensemble” is
justified.
7 8 3 . άνευφήμησεν: Neither Burnet’s note ad Phaed. 60 a, nor
L.-Sc. s.v. are, in my opinion, convincing, άνευφήμησεν οίμωγή has
to be considered as an oxymoron; instead of the ritual cry of
εύφημεΐτε there rose “a cry of awe-struck grief” (J.) and w’e may
agree with Radermacher’s note: “es sind Weherufe, die sich nicht in
bestimmte Worte kleiden” . (But his explanation of Phaed. 60 a
“ihr Jammer vcar wortlos” is disproved by the text, for Xanthippe
does utter some vrords). The catachrestic use of άνευφημέω in Eur.
Or. 1335 and PI. l.c. derives from such oxymora; Aesch. fr. 40
εύφήμοις γόοις offers another instance. (The explanation of the
schol. and of Hesyc.h.—“κατά άντίφρασιν”—is of course erroneous).
7 8 4 . τοϋ . . . . διαπε7~ραγμένου : prob, better if taken as genit,
causae than as absolute genit.
νοσοϋντος: I take the word as referring to Heracles’ mental
rather than to his corporal disease (“seeing that one was frenzied”
J., “devant cette folie” Mazon). Cf. Ai. 207, 269, 280, 337 etc.
διαπεπραγμένου : διαπράττω “destroy”, "conficere”, cf. Aesch.
Fers. 260, Choeph. 880 ούχ ώστ’ άρήξαι διαπεπραγμένω (the murdered
Aegisthus), ib. 1008 στυγερω θανάτω διεπράχθης.
7 8 5 . άντίον μολεΐν: "come before”, but perhaps Mazon’s “ai-
COM M ENTARY I71
fronter” is better: other deeds of frenzy could be expected, but

nobody dared take action against him. But their helplessness in face
of his sufferings may also be meant and their fear of being caught
by the same demonic disease (cf. 797 μή φύγγς τούμόν κακόν). (Cf.
Eur. Med. 1202).
7 8 6 . έσπάτο : “in convulsions he was dragged”.
μετάρσιος: = μετέωρος (Ionic); the aclj. is on a par with πέδονδε;
with έσπάτο the meaning is "in convulsions he leapt up” .
7 8 7 . βοών, ίύζων : asyndeton of a frequently recurring type, the
second phrase offering an intensification of the first, ίύζειν” “yell”
(with pain etc.). Cf. Aesch. Pers. 280 ϊυζ’ . . βοάν, Suppl. 872, 74. In
Phil, i i βοών, στενάζων the ms Abbat. Flor. 152 (G of Turyn)
has ήϋζον, meaning ίύζων. Phil. 752 ίυγήν καί στόνον.
άμφϊ: adv. (only here in Soph.).
έκτυπούν: epic and poetic wrord; of Zeus’ thunder, of trees falling
etc. “resound” .
7 8 8 . πρώνες: “promontory", "headland” or ορών έξοχαί (cf.
Hesych.), but ep.fr. 371 P. Πόσειδον, δς Αιγαίου μέδεις / πρώνας . . .
άκραι : only a variation on πρώνες ; the word recurs in Soph. fr.
271 P. and perhaps fr. 502.3 (παραλίαν άκραν Athen, πέτραν Har-
pocr.). There is no reason to prefer (with Pearson) the v.l. άκρα
(one ms of Diog. L.), neither must we insert τ’ after Λοκρών, because
the mss of Diog. have it; it does not appear in the Pap. Ox. 1805.
7 8 9 - 7 9 1 . έπεί δ’ άπεϊπε . . . ριπτών, . . . βοών, ένδατούμενος : ριπτών
and βοών are to be linked closely with άπεϊπε (i.q. έκαμε), ένδατού
μενος is subordinate to βοών.
On άπεΐπον with partie, cf. K.-G. II 55.5.
7 8 9 . χθονί: "proleptic” locat., cf. note ad 767.
7 9 0 . οίμωγη : dat. modi, cf. 783.
7 9 1 . ένδατούμενος: Eur. Her. 218 λόγους ονειδιστήρας ένδατούμενος:
“distribute” or “fling about” reproaches (L.-Sc.). With the acc.
objecti the verb must mean “speak in detail of” : Aesch. fr. 350
(Thetis after Achilles’ death reproaching Apollo for having cele
brated her future happiness at her wedding) δ δ’ ένδατεΐται τάς εμάς
εύπσ.ιδίας / νόσων τ’ άπειρους καί μακραίωνας βίου . . . . the “good"
and “bad” senses of the word (“celebrate” and “revile” ) may be
subsumed under the head "dwell on” ; this is perhaps better than
to derive the meaning “revile” from “divide” = “tear in pieces" 1).
1) T h u s inter alios Schiassi.

COM M ENTARY
The schol. confuses δατέομαι, δαίομαι with δαίνυμαι: λοιδορών,

μεμφόμενος, κατά μέρος των λεγομένων άνακαλών· ένδατεΐσθαι γάρ το
μερίσασθαι, ή δέ μεταφορά άπό των δαινυμένων. The “ν. 1.” έμματού-
μενος (= μασώμενος!), attested by the schol. prob, arose from a
false reading (cf. J. Jackson, Marginalia Scaenica p. 121, commenting
on Eur. fr. 611 N.*2 άντεμμάσασθαι, where he proposes to read άντεν-
δάσασθαι; the word is rendered in Hesych. by άνταποδουναι, έπι-
πλήξαι).
7 9 1 . δυσπάρευνον: "ill-mated” (L.-Sc.) only here, πάρευνος “bed
fellow” Ion Eleg. 2.91). On Soph.’s compounds with δυσ- see
Nuchelmans l.c. pp. 61-64.
7 9 2 . της ταλοάνης: in the disparaging sense which this adj. and
its synonyms often have (cp. “wretched”, “malheureux” etc.).
τον Οίνέως γάμον: second object of ενδατούμενος and, proleptically,
of κατακτήσαιτο. Either "son alliance avec Oenée” or “the marriage
granted to him by Oeneus” . Nauck-Radermacher’s note (“H.
verflucht sogar die Hochzeit des Oineus, weil aus ihr Dejaneira
entsprosz” ) is wrong.
7 9 3 . οΐον . . . λυμάντην βίου: predic. adjunct to the object,
λυμαντής i.q. λυμεών Ai. 573. We may equally well state that γάμος
is personified as that λυμαντής = λυμαντήριος (cf. Aesch. Ag. 1438,
Choeph. 764, Prom. 991) ; λυμαντής does not occur elsewhere.
7 9 4 . έκ προσέδρου λιγνύος: it is difficult to choose between two
courses of interpretation: 1) “from out of the shrouding altar-
smoke” Jebb (following Ellendt), Masqueray a.o. 2) (aus der) “Um
nachtung, die Herakles befallen hatte” (Zielinski, Radermacher,
but the interpretation derives from G. Hermann and the second
alternative of the schob). There is only one objection to this expla
nation (which is favoured by προσέδρου and διάστροφον οφθαλμόν)
and that is λιγνός 2), which we then have to take in the semi-
metaphorical sense which άχλύς often has; but λιγνός "αΐόλη πυρός
κάσις” (cp. Aesch. Sept. 494) means: “thick smoke mixed with fire” ,
“sooty smoke” etc. We should perhaps do well not to follow either
course exactly, but to think of the physical effect on Heracles’ eyes
of the “burning” garment; such is possibly the meaning of the
schol.’s words ή τής παρακείμένης καί περικεχυμένης αύτόν φλογώδους
νόσου. Mazon translates: “Brusquement il lève ses yeux révulsés,
et à travers la buée qui les enveloppe” etc. ; this is quite right and
') B u t u sed in th e co n v iv ial sense.
2) λιγνός of th e sm o k e of sacrifices: Ap. R h o d . I 437.
COM M ENTARY I73
shows clearly the feebleness of e.g. “dans la fumée qui l’entoure,

il lève un oeil hagard” (Masqueray), for nobody could have seen
him do so, if he was shrouded by the altar-smoke.
διάστροφον: cf. Ai. 447 (with my note).
7 9 5 . στρατω: “crowd” . Cf. e.g. Aesch. Did. 766.
7 9 8 . μή φύγης: cf. note ad 785.
θανόντι συνθανεΐν: like Creon and his daughter in Euripides'
Medea 1) 1210. Cf. Eur. Phoen. 1283 θανοΰσι δ’ αύτοΐς συνθανοΰσα
κείσομαι, Suppl. 1007 συνθνήσκειν θνήσκουσι φίλοις.
7 9 9 . άρον έξω: “lift me up and carry me off”.
μέθες: Wakefield με θές; MSS μέθες. Most editors accept Wake
field’s interpretation. The sense is excellent, but I am not sure of
its superiority to μέθες ; if we accept this with the meaning “abandon
me” (cf. e.g. Eur. Or. 262), as is done by Schiassi, the words are
unexceptionable, μέθες is more in harmony with εϊ δ’οϊκτον ΐσχεις
than με θές. μέθες is retained by G. Hermann and by Radermacher
who objects to μέν με θές for metrical reasons.
8 0 0 . οπού με μή τις οψεται: on the final-consecutive relative clause
cf. ad Ai. 659. Cf. O.T. 1437 'Ρΐψόν με γης έκ τήσδε..., οπού/
θνητών φανοΰμαι μηδενος προσήγορος, ib. 1412, El. 380. Goodwin § 565.
8 0 1 . εί δ’ οίκτον ΐσχεις: “but if you feel pity <so that you are not
willing to abandon me>” ; note that this would be, in Heracles’
eyes, the second best course.
(μάλιστα μέν . . . . δ’), άλλά: “at least”, “at all events” (“with a
notion of pis aller” Denniston G.P.2 p. 12). Supra 201.
8 0 2 . μηδ’ αύτοϋ θάνω : on the rare prohibitive subj. in the first
person cf. Goodwin §257, K.-G. I 220; O.C. 174, Thuc. I ll 9.3 μηδέ
τω χείρους δόξωμεν είναι.
αύτοϋ: schob ένήσχυνται γάρ αύτοϋ θανεΐν μή έγγελασθή ύπο των
Οΐχαλίων. He does not want ignominiously to die on the scene of his
triumph.
8 0 3 . The asyndeton suggests the speedy sequence of events.
τοσαΰτ’ : and not more than that. The genitive absolute lends
more indépendance to the phrase than an accus, going with σφε
(K.-G. II no). The structural difference between the relations
έπισκήψαντος and θέντες εκέλσαμεν on the one hand and θέντες
έκέλσαμεν and βρυχώμενον on the other exactly reflects the difference
1) O ften u sed (and q u ite w ro n g ly ) in a rg u m e n ts o n th e M edea's a n te
rio rity to th e Track, (cf. S te p h a n y , De Soph. T rack. Q uaestiones Chronologicae,
th esis M ü n ste r 1912, p. 86).
COM M ENTARY
between the sense relations and does so more clearly than would
έπισκήψαντα.
8 0 4 . έκέλσαμεν: “run on shore” (with σκάφος understood as
object); Jebb would have σφε governed by έκέλσαμεν as well as by
θέντες, but the usage of κέλλειν (and όκέλλειν) is against it.
μόλις: this is accounted for by βρυχώμενον σπασμοϊσι.
8 0 5 . βρυχώμενον: cf. 904, 1072, O.T. 1265, Ai. 322. The verb,
known from Horn, (perfect only), is a vox Sophoclea, not used by
Aesch. and Eur.
σπασμοϊσι: causal dative. The word only here in Soph, and infra
1082 (frequent in medic, lit.).
8 0 6 . Not ad spectatores (contra Reinhardt, o.c. p. 255).
8 0 7 . Hyllus speaks quite in the manner of an accuser (814). Cf.
Antiph. VI 16 διώμοσαντο δέ οδτοι άποκτεϊναί με Διόδοτον βουλεύ-
σαντα τον θάνατον, εγώ δέ μή άποκτεϊναί, μήτε χειρί άράμενος μήτε
βουλεύσας (see ten Berge’s comment.). Cf. Ant. 266 sq.
8 0 8 . δρώσ’ : the results of her deed have not yet been completed ;
hence the pres, partie.
8 0 8 . 9 . ών . . . τείσαιτ’: K.-G. I 380.8.
ποίνιμος: cf. Ai. 843. Δίκη is associated with Erinys Aesch. Eum.
511 ; Ai. 1390, cf. Ant. 451 ή ξύνοικος των κάτω θεών Δίκη.
8 0 9 . έπεύχομαι: the verb may be taken in the sense of precor,
but often it denotes the same as imprecor. It cannot be maintained
that something new is added, for what else do the preceding words
convey but a wish and an imprecation ? So I accept Mazon's inter
pretation: “Si un tel voeu est légitime, c’est celui qu’ici je pro
clame” .
8 1 0 . θέμις δ’: “but certainly it is (meet and right)” . Jebb quotes
Eur. Her. 141 εΐ χρή μ’, έρωτώ· χρή δ’, έπεί γε δεσπότης / υμών
καθέστηχ’, fr. 941.14 Ρ· ε>· μοι Θέμις, θέμις δέ τάληθή λέγειν; cf. also
Eur. El. 300 λέγοιμ’ άν, εί χρή — χρή δέ προς φίλον λέγειν — (Bruhn,
Anhang ΐ 5 4 ·3 )·
προύβαλες: we cannot be certain whether this reading is the
correct one. L and Leid, have προύλαβες; schob L knows both
readings; Thoman mss and A have προύβαλες, Tricl. προύλαβες1).
The schol. L explains both: έπεί σύ προτέρα την θέμιν άπέρριψας καί
παρείδες· έάν δέ προύλαβες, άντί του φθάσασα την θέμιν ούκ έξεδέξω
έως τι κατά τό δίκαιον πράξης, προλαμβάνειν can mean “anticipate”,
1) T u ry n , Stu d ies in the M a n u sc rip t T ra d itio n of Soph., p. 52.

COM M ENTARY I75
"get the start of” Xen. Cyn. 5.19 (τάς κύνας), with acc. rei Eur. Hel.
339 (γόους), Ion 407 (του θεοϋ μαντεύματα) ; Hyllus reproaches
Deianeira with her rashness ; she did not (so we could suppose him
to argue) wait till Heracles’ return and then choose a right course
of action ; her rash neglect of Θέμις gives him the right to curse her.
Or we may assume that the words mean: "you took beforehand
the law into your own hands” , which comes to the same thing.
We must admit that the interpretation is rather strained.
The reading προύβαλες must mean what the schol. says: “you
have spurned”, proiecisti, i.q. άπέρριψας (Hdt. I 32.1, Aesch. Emn.
215), cf. Ai. 830 x), and not “put forward as an argument” (L.-Sc.—
hence: "car ce droit, tu me l’as donné” Masqueray, “mi offristi
questo diritto ” Schiassi). This is more in keeping with the following
words. In either case μοι is ethical dative.
8 1 3 . Deianeira moves towards the palace; her silent exit (she
will have covered her head with a veil) is the more impressive,
since it symbolizes her character ; she exists only in her relation to
Heracles ; his death must mean hers (cf. 720) and there is nothing
more to say 12). The silent exit of Eurydice (Ant. 1244) and that of
Iocaste (O.T. 1073) are comparable only to a certain extent:
Eurydice is not a central character in the play, Iocaste retires after
vain efforts to keep Oedipus from inquiring further.
8 1 4 . όθούνεκα: δτι (frequent in Soph., rare in Eur.; not to be
found elsewhere, K.-G. II 356).
ξυνηγορεΐς . . . τώ κατηγορώ : both words are technical terms of
jurisdiction.
ούρος: cf. Aesch. Sept. 690 ΐτω κατ’ ούρον . . . παν το Λαΐου γένος.
L.-Sc. correctly translates: “let her go as quick as may be” , ούριο-
δρομείτω (schol.).
όρθαλμών έμών : the words depend on άπωθεν έρπούση (άπωθεν is
listed wrongly in L.-Sc.).
καλώς: MSS. In my opinion Mazon-Dain are justified in not
following most editors, who read καλός 3) ; for καλώς goes with the
whole sentence (not with ερπούση, which would indeed be awk
ward) : “et qu’un bon vent l’emporte très loin de mes yeux! ce
sera parfait . . (cp. K.-G. II 115.5). Cf. also infra 827.
1) T h u s J e b b , R a d e rm a c h e r; w e sh o u ld th e n w rite θέμιν w ith a c a p ita l.

2) Cp. th e e x cellen t co m m e n ts o n D e ia n e ira ’s silence b y J . H ein z,
H erm es 1937, p p . 278 sq. a n d p . 297.
3) T, B ru n c h (from schol.).
COM M ENTARY
817, 8. δγκον . . . ονόματος . . . μητρωον: “the l o f t y name of mo

ther”, not, as others (Nauck-Raderm., L.-Sc.) will have it, "pride
in the name of mother”.
άλλως: “in vain” , almost “wrongly” (“sans droit” Mazon).
τρέφειν: not quite the same as έχειν (thus schol.,cf. ad Ai. 503):
“keep” (J.) ; the subject is D. or, more generally, the antecedent of
ήτις.
8 1 8 . ήτις: qiiippe quae, μηδέν is generic and common in causal
relative clauses.
ως τεκοΰσα: not different from ώς μήτηρ.
Note the contrast ονόματος — δρα.
8 1 9 , 2 0 . έρπέτω χαίρουσα: the sarcasm of the parting formula
was already implied in 815 sq. Cp. the well-known phrase χαίρειν
λέγειν τινά (cf. note ad Ai. 112). He continues in the same vein,
την δέ τέρψιν taking up χαίρουσα.
ήν: the relative pronoun as last word of the line is one of the
noteworthy forms of Sophoclean enjambmentx).
τώμω πατρί : the same emphasis as supra 739 sq.
His imprecations are tragic in the light of the following scene and
because they are based on an erroneous idea.
T hird Stasim on 821-861

8 2 1 . ϊδ’: this 2. pers. sing, imperat., like φέρε, άγε, is used in
addressing groups, (cf. K.-G. I 84.4 a; cp. Dem. IV 10 ή βούλεσθ’,
εΐπέ μοι).
ώ παΐδες: here also it appears that the play should be called
“Maidens of Trachis".
olov: nom. sing, neut., predicatively.
προσέμειξεν: intr. cf. Phil. 106. The fulfilment of the evil “came
suddenly upon them” (L.-Sc.), joined them. Cf. Ant. 10 ή σε ?ιαν-
θάνει / προς τούς φίλους στείχοντα των εχθρών κακά.
άφαρ: cf. ad 529·
8 2 2 . θεοπρόπον: the adjectival use (“prophetic” ) II. X III 70.
8 2 3 . τάς παλαιφάτου προνοίας: πρόνοια “prévoyance” (not:
"providence” ).
παλαιφάτου : reflexively : “that revealed itself of old” (Campbell).
The genit, is doubtless not qualitatis, but subjectivus (or, if one
prefers, “der Zugehörigkeit” ).
Μ H . Siess, W ie n e r S tu d ie n 1915, p p . 27 sq q .
COM M ENTARY I77
824. δ τ’: “epic” τε 1) with relative pron. occurs in all three

tragedians; with Soph, and Eur. it is confined to lyrics. It often
(as here) conveys a generic-causal sense, quippe qui (cf. Ellendt
s.v. and G.P.*2 pp. 523 sq.).
There is nothing against taking it as the subject of έλακεν:
τουπος τδ θεοπρόπον is already personified by being the subject of
προσέμειξεν. Neither ό θεός (thus Ellendt) nor ή παλαίφατος πρόνοια
should be considered as the subject. The conjecture ά τ’ (G. Her
mann, followed by Campbell) is quite unnecessary, for the metrical
licence is doubtless justified: if ά τ’ were the original reading,
it would be hard to understand why it was altered into δ τ’, δτ’
would be very awkward in view of the following οπότε.
8 2 4 , 5 . δωδέκατος άροτος: cf. ad 648. That this oracle had been
given to him twelve years before is mentioned here for the first time.
How then could the Chorus know the period, which is not stated
46 sqq., nor at 164 sq. ? Perhaps the question is an idle one. Rader-
macher postulates the identity of this oracle with the one men
tioned in Apollod. II 4.12 (Heracles received an oracle from the
Pythia purporting that after twelve years’ bondage to Eurystheus
he would gain immortality) ; this may be right as far as the history
of myth is concerned but it does not hold good for Sophocles, though
of course the period itself was probably in the tradition. The
Chorus knows of Heracles’ being absent from home again and again ;
it can be supposed to know that this restless existence began twelve
years ago; so it is perhaps less strange than it seems that Soph,
makes the Chorus express itself as it does. It is only logical that,
if there was an oracle referring to the end of his labours, the term
was reckoned from their beginning 2).
άροτος: cf. ad 69. Note the possible connection with the imagery
of 31-33·
8 2 4 . έκφέροι: intr. “come to an end” (L.-Sc.). Cf. O.C. 1424 όρας
τά τοϋδ’ ούν ώς ές ορθόν εκφέρει / μαντεύμαθ’. On intr. φέρω cf. note
ad Ai. 798 sq. On the other hand we may compare έκφέρειν tr. =
φέρειν μέχρι τέλους: Hipp. Nat. Mul. 19 (“bring to the birth” ),
Hdt. I 193.2 Δήμητρος καρπόν έκφέρειν.
b In g en eral cp. J. G onda, The h istory and original fu n ctio n of the In d o -

E uropean particle k u e, esp. in Greek and L a tin , M nem osyne 1954, 177-214
a n d 265-295.
2) I re je c t th e e x p la n a tio n fo u n d in K .-G . I 262 τελεόμηνος δωδέκατος
άροτος = άροτος δώδεκα τελείων μηνών.
K a m e r b e e k , T rachiniae 12
COM M ENTARY
τελεόμηνος: goes closely with the verb, “with full complement

of months” . The phrase derives from τελεσφόρον εις ενιαυτόν; cp.
also τελειοτόκοι ενιαυτοί IG IX (i). 874, τέκνα τελεόμηνα Arist. H.A.
585 a 20, τελειογονέω “produce fruit in due season” x) Theophr.
C.P. I ll 18.1. δρόμον (cf. τελεοδρόμος Asclepiades A.P. V 202(3)) or
φοράν may of course be understood as the object of έκφέροι. The opt.
is obliquus.
8 2 5 . τελεΐν: Jebb rightly rejects the intr. interpretation; neither
El. 1417 τελοϋσ’ άραί, nor Aesch. Sept. 659 τάχ’ είσόμεαθα τούπίσημ’
οποί τελεί, nor Bacch. V 164 *2) χρή κείνο λέγειν ό τι καί μέλλει τελειν
afford real parallels. For τελεΐν, if intr., would here have to mean
“cease”, which lies outside its range of meaning; the subject, with
intr. τελεΐν, ought to be e.g. Heracles’ happiness.
The subject of τελεΐν must be either άροτος (or: "the end of the
twelfth year” , implied in the clause with οπότε, which comes to the
same thing) or τουπος (with the god implied, which is apparently
Mazon’s view).
άναδοχάν πόνων: these words do not mean “succession of toils”
(Jebb, Radermacher, L.-Sc.): αναδοχή is not the same as διαδοχή
(cp. διαδεδεγμένη supra 30). άναδέχομαι "take upon oneself”,
“submit to” occurs already at Od. XVII 563 (οϊζύν). So the rare
αναδοχή (in classical Attic only here) must mean “taking upon
oneself” (cf. άνδοκά “surety” Leg. Gort. 9.34, άνάδοχος “giving
security for” Men. 516); άναδοχάν πόνων = “the toils he had to
submit to” . (Thus rightly Ellendt, Campbell, Mazon).
8 2 6 . τω Διός αυτόπαιδι: “ Zeus’ own child” ; schol. γνησίω παιδί.
Cf. Ant. 864 κοιμήματα αύτογέννητα ; αύτοκασίγνητος, αύτάδελφος etc. 3)
[fr. 1029 αύτόπαιδα prob. = “a mere child”, cp. Pearson’s note).
Zeus’ fatherhood is stressed, cf. note ad 753 and cp. 139 sq., 1268 sq.
8 2 6 , 7 . κατουρίζει: ούρίζειν and its compounds occur tr. and intr.,
cf. Groeneboom ad Aesch. Pers. 602. Tr. and metaphor, e.g. O.T.
695 κατ’ ορθόν ούρίσας; έπουρίζειν tr. Eur. Andr. 610, but doubtless
intr. Ar. Thesm. 1226 τρέχε νυν κατά τάχος — εις κόρακας έπουρίσας.
If the verb is transitive here, άροτος or τουπος must again be the
subject. But the words are more impressive if we follow the schol.
in taking the verb intr. (thus J. ; Raderm. and Mazon take the other
course).
q L .-S c.
2) Q u o ted b y R a d e rm a c h e r.
3) N uch elm an s, o.l. p p . 105-107.
COM M ENTARY I79
καί: "and indeed” .

τάδ’: the things we now see and hear happen.
όρθώς: cf. O.T. l.c. κατ’ ορθόν.
έμπεδα: “without fail” (J.); the word is in harmony with the
image implied in κατουρίζει : cf. Od. VIII 30 λίσσεται έ'μπεδον είναι
(την πομπήν), X III 86 άσφαλέως θέεν εμπεδον (the Phaeacians’ ship).
We note that the Chorus had prayed for a happy voyage, a pro
pitious course, in the literal sense, on behalf of Heracles {supra
656) ; a “fair wind” has now favoured the course of fate. The irony
of fate is expressed in the sarcasm (or oxymoron) represented by
κατουρίζει; the word is as sarcastically used like τέρψιν supra 819 or
ξείνια in Archil, fr. 4 ξείνια δυσμενέσιν λυγρά χαριζόμενοι. Possibly
the proximity of οδρος 815 has led to Sophocles’ use of the image
here (or vice versa).
8 2 8 , 9 . ό μή λεύσσων: more poetic equivalent of ό μή βλέπων (only
here).
ετι: possibly going with μή λεύσσων, but it is probably better to
consider the two έτιΤ as a pathetic tautology, ετι twice O.C. 178 έτ’
οδν ετι προβώ (MSS), οόκέτι twice Sappho 1x4 L.-P. (text un
certain). We may also consider: πώς γάρ αν ό μή λεύσσων/ετι
(ετι not going with λεύσσων), πότ’ ετ’ etc. Cf. Ai. 1185 τις άρα
νέατος, ές πότε λήξει, Phil. 1089 sq.
8 2 9 , 3 0 . In order to restore the metre we have either to supply
a word in the strophe or to suppress something in the antistr.
Following Pearson’s text we have έτι ποτ’ ετ’ έπίπονον/έχοι θανών
λατρείαν corresponding to φόνια δολιόμυ-/θα κέντρ’ έπιζέσαντα.
(dochm. with iamb, dimeter). Νέσσου θ’ υπο (before φόνια, corrected
from φοίνια; δολιόμυθα corrected from δολόμυθα by Hermann) has
been deleted. There is a lacuna in L ("septem fere litterarum” )
after ποτ’ (ποτέ L) 829 and another after αίκίζει 838. So the cor
ruption may lie deeper. If we supply with Gleclitsch and Jebb
<πόνων> after επίπονον and delête θ’, 839 runs:
Νέσσου ύποφόνια δολιόμυ-/θα. But -ου abbreviated before ύ-
seems impossible. We should, then, read: Νέσσοι’ ύποφόνια δολό-
μυ- / θα, and ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 829 corresponds to
— — KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ KJ —
The genit, ending -010 is known to be used in lyrics by Aesch. and

Eur. (cf. K.-B. I 400 anm. 1), though there are no instances in
Sophocles.
επίπονον <πόνων> λατρείαν: πονούν depends on λατρείαν, cf. supra
COM M ENTARY
356 sq. πόνων / λατρεύματ’. επίπονον cf. supra 634; there is nothing
strange in the affluent language.
λατρείαν: λατρεία and its cognates are key-words of the play;
λατρεία in Soph, only here and Ai. 503, λάτρευμα only supra 357,
λατρεύω supra 35 and O.C. 105, λάτρις only supra 70.
θανών: expands, at it were, 6 μή λεύσσων.
831, 2 . δολοποιός άνάγκα: lit. “the fraud-contriving constraint” .
Heracles' ineluctable fate has been contrived by the Centaur’s
fraud. But by means of its active attribute and by being made the
subject of the sentence the doom itself is represented as the agent.
And this is the more striking, since the action of Fate is, concretely,
visible: Heracles is ensnared in its net. ανάγκη is here also
“l’étreinte” (Mazon), the inescapable grip of the garment on his
limbs.
Κενταύρου: depending either on νεφέλα or on άνάγκα (J. and most
commentators). I prefer the former.
φονία νεφέλα: Jebb’s interpretation: “with a cloud of death
around him” (“dat. of circumstance” ) is, in my opinion, impro
bable; the reference to 794 seems inappropriate. The schol., ap
parently, understood το αιμα τό θανάσιμον τού Κενταύρου, which is
still less acceptable. Wakefield thought of νεφέλη = “net” , (Ar.Av.
194, 528) and if we compare υφαντόν άμφίβληστρον 1052 (and
άφράστω πέδη 1057 ~ Aesch. Choeph. 493 πέδαις άχαλκεύτοις =
άμφίβληστρον ib. 492, Ag. 1382 the garment in which Agamemnon
was murdered) we see that the metaphor is quite in keeping with
the imagery of the p lay 1). So I accept Mazon’s: “dans le filet de
mort où le Centaure l’a pris” . (Campbell thought that the meaning
“net” might be secondarily implied).
8 3 1 . 3 . σφε . . . πλευρά: καθ’ ολον καί κατά μέρος, πλευρά is, for
metrical reasons, impossible and obviously caused by προστακέντος.
There is little difference between πλευράν and πλευρά (very rare in
the sing.) ; both denote “rib” and “side”.
8 3 2 . χρίει: = κεντρίζει (cf. 840). Hesych. έχρισεν έκέντησεν. Cf.
Aesch. Prom. 567 χρίει τις αύ με τάν τάλαιναν οίστρος with Groene-
boom’s note.
8 3 3 . προστακέντος ίοΰ: cf. 836, where the schol. rightly explains
προσκεκολλημένος (cf. 768). προστακέντος with ιός as subject and
προστετακώς, going with Heracles, are suggestive of the indisso-
') I do n o t k n o w of o th e r e x am p les of th e m e ta p h o ric a l use of νεφέλη
" n e t” .
COM M ENTARY l8 l
lubility of the fatal fetters. The words should prob, be taken as an

genit, abs. ; if they depended on νεφέλα, the perf. partie, would be
more natural.
8 3 4 . ον τέκετο θάνατος, έτεκε S’ αίόλος δράκων : middle and active
are used of either parent by Horn, and later poets; there are no
other instances of the middle in Soph., none in Aesch., but in Eur.
Troad. 265, Phoen. 649, Or. 196 the aor. med. is applied to the
mother, as compared with three cases with the father as subject:
Hel. 214, Her. 1023, 1183. So I agree with G. Hermann’s view
(accepted by Ellendt; most editors follow Lobeck’s conjecture
έτρεφε δ’), according to which the context leads us to take τέκετο
in the sense of “begat” , έτεκε = “bore” , δράκων, it is true, is mas
culine, but υδρα is meant.
α ί ό λ ο ς : cf. i i .
8 3 5 . άέλι,ον: the form is frequent in choral lyrics; the a is short as
it is e.g. at Eur. Med. 1252.
■}] τανΰν : a short cut for ή ον τανΰν όρα.
8 3 6 . 7 . μέν . . . τ’: this correlation, often wrongly suspected by
editors (Jebb accepts here Wakefield’s δ’), is very natural if no
contrast is implied (cf. G.P.2 374 sq. ; there are several instances in
Sophocles). It should be noted, moreover, that we have here a
transition from participial to finite construction (G.P.2 369 n. 1);
the original, complementary function of τε is brought out very
clearly by a sentence like this; it is, so to speak, underlined by
άμμιγα. Hypotactically rendered: “while simultaneously and
promiscuously . . . .” .
8 3 7 . φάσματι: “apparition” , “phantom” , “portent”, “mon
strum'” ; cf. supra 509. The hydra-monstrum is, in a sense, still
present and working in the venom, υδρας is an explicative genitive.
This is the more understandable as diseases are often thought of as
beings (demons or beasts) feeding on the sufferer. Cf. Sophoclea II,
Mnemos. 1948, 198-204 à propos Phil. 698 ένθήρου ποδός. Cp. supra
770, infra 987, 1010, Ι02δ, 1084. Pearson’s νήματι is based on a
somewhat compressed and confused scholion (φάσματι τουτέστι. τω
ίματίω τω κεχρισμένω τω φαρμάκω τής υδρας τουτέστι, τή χολή ) ; he
assumed φάσματι to be a corruption from ύφάσματι, itself an ex
planation of νήματι.1); the idea is ingenious, but the conjecture
deprives the words of their poetic force.
1) Cl. R ev . 1925, p p . 2-5.

lS2 COM M ENTARY
8 3 8 -8 4 0 . On the reading cf. ad 828-830. Two points may be

noted: 1) δολόμυθος (cf. δολόμητις) (MSS) is as good Greek as
δολιόμυθος (G. Hermann) 2) if the words Νέσαου υπο are omitted,
μελαγχαίτας is to be taken as a sort of kenning for “ Centaur” : it is
used as an epithet of the Centaur Mimas in [Hes.] Scut. 186; cf.
supra 557 δασύστερνος.
άμμιγα: άνάμιγα = άνάμιγδα (519) or άναμίξ; only here in So
phocles. It denotes the mingling of Nessus' blood with the Hydra’s
venom and of their effects. (Cp. 572 sqq.).
8 3 9 . δολόμυθα: because it was the guileful advice of Nessus,
which goaded the φόνια κέντρα into action.
κέντρ’ : on the play upon Κενταύρου, cp. Campbell, Essay on
Language § 44, p. 83.
8 4 0 . έπιζέσαντα: effervescere1). The Chorus imagines the effect
of the venom on the garment by inference from what happened
to the shred of wool. On every single part of his body touched by the
garment its effect is that of innumerable stings which produce sore
swelling blisters and consume his skin and flesh.
8 4 1 - 8 4 6 . If we try to make sense of these difficult words without
altering the unanimous MSS readings (except for some minor
points), we are, in the main, confronted with the following pro
blems :
1) to what, in the preceding words, does ών refer? 2) does ών
depend on τά μεν or on oil τι? 3) what exactly do the words νέων
άισσόντων γάμων mean? 4) what is the meaning of προσέβαλεν?
5) the mutual relation of τά μεν, τά S’. Among these points the
meaning of προσέβαλεν is the crucial one; the schob L understands
συνειδεν (ad 841), (ούκ) έγνω, (ού) συνήκεν (ad 843)· Jebb and others
reject the interpretation, in contrast to G. Hermann, Ellendt and
others12). Those who accept it are inclined to take the verb 580 in the
sense of attendere, observare (thus e.g. Ellendt). προσβάλλομαι seems
to have the meaning “pay heed to” II. V 879 (cf. Leaf a. 1.); we
may also compare Soph. fr. 858 P. βραδεία μέν γάρ έν λόγοισι προσ
βολή / μόλις δι’ ώτος έρχεται, “impressions through an old man’s
ears are slow” (L.-Sc.). We could surmise the meaning “turn one’s
mind to” , “attend to” (cf. Philod. Rhet. II 271 S., Plot, 5.10
“avoir l’intuition” Bréhier) “let come home to” and so “understand”.
1) N o t tiro, as s ta te d in E lle n d t.
2) E .g. S ch m id I I 382 n . 4, T o u rn ier, M asq u eray , M azon; C am pbell,
w ith o u t d e n y in g th e p o ssib ility , p refers “ h a d n o p a r t in b rin g in g to p a ss” .
COM M ENTARY 183
For the construction cp. προσέχειν τι = προσέχειν τον νοΰν τινι Crit.
25.19 D., ού προσέχει τά πράγματα Philemon 73-4 Κ· Cf. also έπι-
βάλλειν (sc. τον νουν) “give one’s attention to” in later Greek (Marc.
Anton. X λ', Εν. Marc. 14.72). ών must, then, refer not to κέντρα
840 but either to τάδε 826 or, more vaguely, to the real significance
of the oracle as set forth by the preceding pair of strophes: “of all
this . . . . ’’ It must depend on (ου) τι and τά μεν should be taken
adverbially (“on the one hand” ) ; its correlation with τά S’ is neither
smooth nor complete, for it seems hardly feasible to separate τά (S’)
from μολόντ’, so we have to understand: “on the other hand, the
things which came to pass . . .
νέων άισσόντων γάμων: since γάμος does not always mean “lawful
wedlock”, and since the plural is more usual than the sing, (γάμος
moreover tends to be used metonymically for the bride etc. cf.
infra 1139, Eur. Andr. 103) I do not consider these words as diffi
cult as Miss Dale does J). Just as βλάβη θεοΰ Eur. Ion 520 means
“mischief from a god” , so βλάβα νέων άισσόντων γάμων means “mis
chief to be expected from the new (untoward) wedlock ‘darting’
upon the house” (grammatically perhaps δόμοισι does not depend
on άισσόντων, but προσορώσα δόμοισι βλάβαν means lit. : beholding
for her home mischief).
άοκνον: “not delaying”, “hastening on”. It is not at all strange
that βλάβη is personified: cf. Ant. 1104 συντέμνουσι γάρ / θεών
ποδώκεις τους κακόφρονας Βλάβαι, where Βλάβαι = Έρινύες. We
may even compare Aesch. Ag. 746 sqq. δύσεδρος καί δυσόμιλος /
συμένα ΙΙριαμίδαισιν / πομπά Διος ξενίου / νυμφόκλαυτος Έρινύς (i.e.
Helena. In our present context βλάβαν, it is true, does not directly
refer to Iole, but the intention of the whole phrase amounts to that),
νέων άισσόντων does not differ much from νέορτος 894: there we
read: έτεκ’ έτεκε μεγάλαν ά / νέορτος άδε νύμφα / δόμοισι τοΐσδ’
Έρινύν.
If this is right, the words άοκνον . . . γάμων are, in a sense, ambi
guous: D. saw in Iole the imminent threat to her home but did not
see the extent of the threat nor how she was designed by Fate to
become the πημονή ύπόστεγος (376) ; the Chorus now realizes lole’s
rôle as an agent of Fate. So the words shift their meaning according
to whether we take them as expressing D.’s feelings at lole’s
approach or the Chorus' comprehension afterwards. Therefore the
P Cl. R ev. 1956, p. 106.

COM M ENTARY
same ambiguity is inherent in the function of the participle προσ-

ορώσα: "since D. saw the mischief <and was overwhelmed by fear>,
she did not understand” , and also: “though D. saw the mischief
<and should have reflected and acted—or not acted—accordingly >,
she did not understand” . We may even state that, in these strained
words, the tragedy of D.’s guiltless guilt is compressed.
The main conjectures proposed (and often accepted) in this
passage are:
1) άοκνος Musgrave, followed by Jebb, Radermacher, Pearson,
Dain among others. But άοκνος = securus occurs nowhere: it means
"resolute” Ai. 563, ορρ. μελλητάς Thuc. I 70.4; L.-Sc.’s rendering of
άοκνον βλάβαν “pressing, present mischief” is unimpeachable. It
means the same as: ού μέλλουσαν, cf. Phil. 567 δρώμεν’, ού μέλλοντ’ ετι.
2) αυτά (for ου τι) Nauck, Blaydes, Jebb, Radermacher, Pearson,
to make feasible the interpretation “applied” for προσέβαλεν J) and
to create an antithesis to άλλόθρου. In my opinion the conjectures
do not render the text more acceptable and create difficulties of
their own.
8 4 4 , 5 . τά . . . μολόντ’: “the things that came to pass”, “the
results” , “the issues” . Verbs of motion always tend to take the
meaning “happen” , “occur”, cf. πέλομαι, συμβαίνειν, evenire, etc. Cf.
fr. 860 P. άπαντα τάγένητα πρώτον ήλθ’ άπαξ. As to μολεΐν cf. El.
506 ώ Πέλοπος . . . ίππεία, ώς εμολες αΐανής τάδε γά.
επ’ (άπ’) άλλόθρου γνώμας : it is hard to see how άπ’ could be corrupt
ed into επ’, whereas the reverse is easily conceivable. So we have to
consider the claims of επ’ (L1“). If we had έπ’ άλλόθρου (or -ω)
γνώμα, the words could mean either : “ (the things that came to pass)
in order to bring about a stranger’s counsel” (or better: “purpose” )
(επί of purpose is fairly frequent in Soph. cf. e.g. O.T. 1457 ού γάρ
άν ποτε/θνήσκων έσώθην μή ’πί τω δεινω κακω), or: “ (the things that
came to pass) because of a stranger’s counsel”. (Cf. e.g. Thuc.
I 37.2 το S’ επί κακουργία καί ούκ άρετί] έπετήδευσαν). άλλόθρους would
then be a substantive, just as at Phil. 540; this is just possible with
the MSS reading, but it is more likely that it is an adjective with
the sense of άλλότριος. Now we find, from the c. onwards, επί
with the genit, used in cases where the dative would seem normal,
e.g. : Pind. Pyth. V I I I 89 6 δέ καλόν τι νέον λαχών / άβρότατος επι
μεγάλας έξ έλπίδος πέταται, where the sense lies between cause and
1) T h e rem ed ies ( j e b b ) ; o r “ b ro u g h t u p o n h e rself” sc. έαυτη ( R a d e r
m ach e r).
COM M ENTARY 185
circumstance; Dem. XXI 38 (and elsewhere) ούκ επί τούτου μόνον,

άλλ’ επί πάντων ; cf. also Antiph. II γ 8 επί μαρτύρων, Men. fr. 719
(Koerte) φοβούμενοι τό θειον έπί τού σοΰ πάθους, κεκλήσθαι έπί τίνος
Hdt. IV 45-3 does not differ from κεκλήσθαι άπό τίνος. So we could
consider, without altering the text, “ (the things that came to pass)
because of (on the ground of) a stranger’s advice” 1), the more
so since another dative would have been awkward in view of the
following dativus causae or modi. But I admit that έπί both with
genit, and dative depending on μολόντα is not natural. Perhaps άπ’
and επ’ are both corruptions from ύπ’, cf. O.C. 410 sq.
ολεθρίαισι συναλλαγαις : συναλλαγή means (re-)conciliation at At.
732; unless we interpret: “by baneful means of reconciliation” *2)
(referring to the poisoned garment), we can discard this sense. At
O.T. 33, 34 άνδρών δέ πρώτον έν τε συμφοραΐς βίου / κρίνοντες έν τε
δαιμόνων συναλλαγαις the last words may mean either “conjunctures
caused by the gods” or “dealings with the gods” (less probable);
O.T. 960 νόσου συναλλαγή “visitation in the form of disease” (j.) or
“the change (in this case the transition from life to death) brought
about by a disease” ; O.C. 410 ποίας φανείσης . . . συναλλαγής “con
juncture” . We may then interpret: “by fatal conjunctures”, “with
fatal results” , taking the dative as modal denoting the result.
But the rendering “by the fatal dealings” (of D. with Nessus),
“the fatal meeting” 3) (συναλλάσσειν intr. "meet” O.T. m o ), the
dative being taken as causal (not temporal), cannot be disproved.
8 4 6 . ή που: cf. Ai. 382, Pi'til. 1130;G.P.2 286 (I).
όλοά: the scholia take the form as nom. sing. : ή δυστυχής ή ή του
όλέσθαι άξία; thus Campbell. But adv. acc. seems better; cf. II.
XXIII 10 όλοοΐο γόοιο. {El. 844 is different).
The line has aroused some suspicion because of the incomplete
responsion. The licence can be defended if we consider the cola 846
and 847 as metrical units, in which small variations of metre may
occur without affecting the rhythm.
On the colon - ^ ^ ^ ----- (frequent in Soph.) and its affinities
cf. A. M. Dale, The Lyric Metres of Greek Drama p. 101.
8 4 7 , 8. τέγγει: with cognate acc. “shed” . Find. Nem. X 75. Cf.
δεύειν Ai. 376, ύδραίνειν Eur. I.T. ι6 ι (βρέχειν and άρδειν show
similar usage only with later authors).
P Cf. A ris ta rc h u s’ re a d in g II. I X 602 sq. άλλ’ επί δώρων / ερχεο.
2) T h u s B ru n ch .
3) J e b b , C am pbeil, M asq u eray , R a d e rm a c h e r.
ι86 COM M ENTARY
χλωράν: h.l. doubtless not of colour, but to denote the abundance

of the dew of her tears, not very different from Homer’s θαλερός, or
simply their moisture x).
άχναν, “all that comes off the surface” (L.-Sc.), h.l. "dew”, the
only word for dew used to denote tears (εέρση and δρόσος do not
provide us with examples). Pind. Nem. V III40 has χλωρά! έέρσαιίη the
lit. sense, χλωρόν δάκρυ (Eur. Med. 906 and elsewhere) shows the
outcome of the metaphor dew/tears.
In Latin poets we find ros lacrimarum, stillare ex oculis rorem.
(Ον. and Hor.). From these or from our passage (Vondel translated
the Trachiniae) may have originated the “dauw” on Badeloch’s
“kaken” .
άδινών (or: άδινών) : only here in Soph, "thick-falling”, but epic
formulae, like άδινόν γοόο^σα, άδινά στεναχίζων, κλαΐ’ άδινά, have
influenced Soph.’s choice of the word. (The word has a tendency
towards the meaning “abundant” , cf. Tim. Pers. 29; connected
with ά.δην, αδρός).
8 4 9 , 5 0 . έρχομένα μοίρα: Fate’s terrible approach is clearly the
main theme of this choral song.
προφαίνει: not “portends” , “foreshadows” (Campbell, Jebb,
L.-Sc.), but “shows forth” , "dévoile” (Mazon) (G. Hermann’s
interpretation).
άταν: άτη is blindness or.infatuation and its consequences, bane
or ruin. So here Heracles’ (and D.’s) ruin originating with D.’s
infatuation, caused by Nessus’ guile, is meant. Perhaps we ought to
write ’Άταν. Since the working of this ’Άτη is now only too mani
fest, the first-mentioned interpretation of προφαίνει should be
rejected.
Jebb’s remark (“the άταν is his death” ) misjudges the implications
of the sentence. The άτη is in a sense Deianeira’s, but also άλλοτρία,
not comparable to Creon’s: Ant. 1260 ούκ άλλοτρίαν/άτην, άλλ’ αύτός
άμαρτών.
8 5 1 , 2 . ερρωγεν . . . κέχυται : for the emphatic position of the
(in a sense) corresponding verbs cf. e.g. 0 .7 ’. 1213 sq. εφηύρε σ’ . . .
δικάζει.
παγά: “streams” : Aesch. Prom. 401 παρειάν νοτίοις ετεγξα πηγαϊς ;
Ant. 803. Not, as rightly pointed out by Jebb, “a source of tears
has been opened” ; cf. infra 919.
P χλωρός is u sed in c o n tra s t w ith ξηρός M en. fr. 95 (K o erte).

COMMENTARY 187
852, 3. κέχυται νόσος: perhaps rather to be compared with

άμφί δέ οί θάνατος χύτο (or the like) than to be explained by the
diffusion of the poison through his frame.
ώ πόποι: in Aesch. rather frequent, in Soph, twice (here and 0 .7 ’.
168), not in Eur.
8 5 2 - 8 5 5 . νόσος . . ., οϊον . . . πάθος: νόσος i.e. πάθος οίον . . . .
The MSS reading of οΐον . . . . οίκτίσαι runs:
olov άναρσίων - ^^ ^ -
οίίπω άγακλειτόν Ήρακλέους (Ήρακλέα A)
άπέμολε πάθος οίκτίσαι (έπέμολε T)
corresponding to: (δό)μοισ<ι> βλάβαν νέων
άισσόντων γάμων τά μέν οΰ τι * ------------^ _ Χ
προσέβαλεν, τά δ’ άπ’ άλλόθρου.
άπέμολε must be άπέμολεν and prob. Triclinius’ έπ- is right, so we
get έπέμολε<ν>.
Ήρακλέα is perhaps a reading entered by somebody who did not
understand that a πάθος Ήρακλέους could be called άγακλειτόν.
άγακλειτόν seems to correspond to τά μέν ου τι. If we read οίίπω
Ήρακλέους άγακλειτόν, we get - The hiatus is not
easily acceptable; we may conjecture ούπώποθ’; the a in Ήρα
κλέους may be scanned long (Eur. Heracl. 123, cf. Phil. 1406)
may perhaps correspond t o ------ — (Koster,
Traité*2 p. 87). We may interpret the words as follows: (lit.) “for
there was never a famous suffering of Heracles, by the agency of
his foes, so terrible as that which now has come upon him, so as to
arouse pity”.
Both genitives, άναρσίων and Ήρακλέους, depend on πάθος, as
genit, subjecti and objecti respectively. There is also a relation
between Ήρακλέους and έπέμολεν : verbs of motion, striving, aiming
at may take the genit. 1) : cf. II. IV 335 Τρώων όρμήσειε, VI 68
ένάρων επιβαλλόμενος, X III 68j έπαΐσσοντα νεών ; Aesch. Sept. 158
άκροβόλων επάλξεων λιθάς έρχεται, ib. J00 ούκ είσι δόμων Έρινύς,
perhaps Eur. Andr. 88ο2). The relation άναρσίων — πάθος is the
same as in νοΰσος Διός (Od. IX 411), κύματα παντοίων άνεμων (II.
II 396), δυσπλάνοις ‘Ήρας άλατείαις (Aesch. Prom, goo) and (above
all) Ant. ΙΟ ή σε λανθάνει / προς τούς φίλους στείχοντα των εχθρών κακά.
Somebody who did not understand the relation altered the original
reading into άπέμολε in order to make άναρσίων dependent on it as a
q K .-G . I 351.
2) Cf. m y p a p e r Aeschylea, M nem osyne 1947, p p . 77 sq.
iSS COM MENTARY
genit, sepal'. But the personal genit, is not used in Attic poetry to
denote the direction whence 1). All the same, here and at Ant. io
we may feel a certain connection between the verb and the genitivus
subjecti, which depends grammatically on the subject of the
sentence.
οίκτίσαι: epexegetic infinitive, cf. e.g. O.C. 144 ού ~άνυ μοίρας
εύδαιμονίσαι. / πρώτης; moreover the structure of the sentence with
olov has led to this infinitive; we may expand the sentence thus:
νόσος τοιαύτη οίκτίσα!. *2) οίον άναρσίων πάθος ούπώποθ’ έπέμολεν
οίκτίσα!..
άναρσίων: with pathetic effect, since this suffering was brought
upon him by the woman who loved him.
8 5 6 . κελαινά λόγχα: cf. note ad Ai. 231.
προμάχου δορός: what is said of the spear is to be understood of
Heracles himself, πρόμαχος has doubtless the Homeric sense of
“fighting in front” .
8 5 7 . θοάν νύμφαν: Laur. 32.2 (ZgTuryn) and Par. 2787 (Zn; both
of the Thoman recension) have νύμφαν θοάν; possibly a vain
attempt to restore the metre, certainly to be rejected.
τότε: referring to a near past, just as at Ant. 391.
θοάν: refers predicatively to the object of the sentence and has
almost the function of an adverb; other comparable cases in Soph,
refer to the subject: Ai. 1266, Phil. 808, O.T. 618. Cf. Od. II 257
λυσεν δ’ άγορήν αίψηρήν. The swift change of place is represented as
an experience of Iole’s consciousness (cf. Campbell).
8 5 9 . αίχμα: she was αιχμάλωτος.
8 6 0 - 6 2 . ά δ’ : cf. note ad ά δ’ 523.
άμφίπολος άναυδος: “handmaid working in silence”, in apposition
to Κύπρις. “Handmaid” not of the gods, but of man (thus rightly
I. M. Linforth 3), comparing II. I ll 386 sqq.), of Heracles’ desire 4).
πράκτωρ : in some cases the nouns of the agent ending in -τηρ and
-τωρ lack a differentiated feminine form: O.T. 80 sq. τύχη σωτήρι,
Phil. 1471, Eur. El. 993 τιμάς σωτήρας, Carcinus fr. 5.5 N.2 μαστηρα
(of Demeter), Alçm. 1.89 ίάτωρ (Schwyzer I 530).
The words of the apposition are in strong contrast to those of the
predicate, marked by the chiasmus. There is a clear parallelism of
q Cf. B ru h n ad. A n t. 10.

2) F o r τοιοϋτος w ith inf., cf. K .-G . I I 511.
3) The P y r e on M o u n t Oeta, U n iv . of Cal. Cl. S tu d . 1951, p . 260 n. 6.
4) Schol. a d 860 ή ύπηρετησαμένη τω Ή ρ α κ λεϊ προς τον έρωτα.
COMMENTARY 189
sense with the corresponding lines of the strophe. “ Cypris proved

the manifest author of these deeds” .
I reject Campbell’s interpretation (ά δ’ : Iole, Κύπρις predicate,
with φανερά πράκτωρ in apposition), but we must admit that I ole’s
silently entering the palace is strikingly suggestive of Aphrodite’s
working in silence χ). At any rate the power of love, which worked
through the agency of Iole’s beauty, proved to be the cause of evil
fate, for Heracles as well as for Deianeira, from his reactions as
well as from hers. The opening words of the first stasimon (497 sq.)
take a second, sinister meaning in the light of the subsequent events.
We may note that the first and the third stasimon are mutual
counterparts; the relation of the parodos and the second stasimon
is similar and the case is the same with the hyporchema 205-225
and the fourth stasimon.
F ourth Epeisodion, w ith Kom m os 8 6 3 -9 4 6
The lines 863-870 are delivered by the leaders of the semi

choruses and by the coryphaeus; our MSS attribute them to the
Chorus*2), but that is manifestly impossible. It seems better to
assign τί φημί to the first and not to the second speaker. We should
not, as Jebb does, speak of an epode to the stasimon ; the lines do not
give the impression of having been sung; they have the same
function as the anapaestic introductions fairly frequent in older
tragedy after a choral song (e.g. Ant. 155-162). The syncopated
iambic metres 865, 868 are of course suggestive of the anxious
expectation called forth by the οίκτος and κωκυτός in the house.
They are similar to O.T. 1468, 1471, 1475.
8 6 3 . μάταιος: “foolish”, “inani specie decepta” ; the adj. is
frequently of two terminations.
8 6 4 . άρτίως: goes with κλύω (cf. e.g. Ai. 1321) rather than with
όρμωμένου. The use of όρμασθαι is comparable to ορνυσθαι (e.g. II. X
483 των δέ στόνος ώρνυτ’ άεικής).
8 6 5 . τί φημί: lit. "what do I say” , but τί is, in a sense, used
predicatively : “what is the thing I say”, i.e. “what is this” , "how?”
Cf. O.T. 1471. The phrase is not identical with τί φώ (Radermacher
is right, Jebb wrong).
b Cf. W eb ster, Sophocles’ Trachiniae, G reek P o e try a n d L ife p . 173.

2) Cf. E u r. Her. 815-821, w here p a ra g ra p h ! a re w a n tin g in a sim ila r w ay.
COMMENTARY
866. 7 . We have either to take κωκυτόν in a zeugmatic way,

supplying φθόγγον with άσημον, or to consider άσημον as neut. sing.
(K.-G. I 309 b)) ; I prefer the second course.
ούκ άσημον: “ (une voix) dont le sens est trop clair” (Mazon).
Cf. Ant. 1004 πτερών γάρ ροΐβδος ούκ άσημος ήν, 1209 τώ δ’ άσημα
περιβαίνει βοής i.q. άσημος βοή; O.C. l668 sq. γόων γάρ ούκ άσήμονες /
φθόγγοι, σφε σημαίνουσι δεΰρ’ όρμωμένας.
8 6 7 . καινίζει: έοικέ τι νεώτερον εχειν ό οίκος, (schol.). Cf. Hesych.
καινίσαι- καινώ χρήσασθαι. (Ed. Fraenkel ad Aesch. Ag. 1071). The
verb only here in Soph., twice in Aesch. (Ag. 1071, Cho. 492), twice
in Eur. (Troad. 889, fr. 598.2 όστις τόνδ’ έκαίνισεν λόγον), always in
pregnant constructions, and always deriving its various senses from
καινός = extraordinary, unusual.
868. ξύνες δέ : “be aware” , “observe” , “behold” . Od. X V III34 τοΐιν
δε ξυνέηχ’ ιερόν μένος Άντινόοιο comes near to the sense required here.
8 6 9 . άήθης: the MSS reading must be retained (thus Campbell
and Dain-Mazon). The meaning “strange” or “unlike herself” is
quite in harmony with the preceding καινίζει. The conjectures
αηδής, κατηφής, άγηθής are, for various reasons, all equally un
acceptable.
συνωφρυωμένη : cf. Eur. Ale. 777. The verb denotes the same as
τάς οφρΰς συνάγειν, συνέλκειν, συσπάν; but cp. also Ar. Ach. 1069 τάς
όφρϋς άνεσπακώς, ώσπερ τι δεινόν άγγελών.
8 7 0 . σημαίνουσά τι: it is unnecessary to follow Triclinius and
read σημανοϋσα. For the Nurse’s mien itself σημαίνει τι (sc. καινόν)
and the words correspond with ούκ άσημον. And even if we leave
these considerations out of account, the present participle may be
taken to be used “cie conatu” .
8 7 1 . The Nurse, who in the prologue-scene exhorted the queen
to send Hyllus on his errand, is used, very plausibly, to deliver the
story of D.’s suicide resulting from Hyllus’ message.
ώς: exclamatory.
άρ’ : as is now manifest.
ού σμικρών κακών: the litotes *) has its full intensifying force.
8 7 2 . το δώρον Ήρακλεΐ τό πόμπιμον: not essentially different
from τό δώρον τό πεπεμμένον Ήρακλεΐ. In passive sense also Eur.
Hipp. 578; the normal active sense supra 560.
q H . T h esleff’s c o m m e n ts (Studies on I n te n s if ication in E a r ly and Classical
Greek, 1954, § 393) a re to o sh o rt, b u t h e s ta te s t h a t lito te s “is la rg e ly re le
v a n t fo r in te n sific a tio n .
COMMENTARY I9I
873. καινοποιηθεν: ci. 867 καινίζει. Not: “what new-fangled,

strange words are these?” (L.-Sc.) but: “what terrible mischance
have you to tell?” The verb only recurs in late authors, but cf.
καινοποιητής Xen. Cyr. ΛΤΙΙ 8.16, καινοτομέω (Ar., PL), καινουργέω
Eur. I.A. 2, 838; καινοπηγής Aesch. Sept. 642, καινοπαθής infra 1277.
The sense is not “freshly wrought”, as Campbell would have it.
8 7 4 . 5 . The words are very pathetic, but έξ άκινήτου ποδός,
contrasting with βέβηκε and bringing about an oxymoron, makes
a somewhat artificial impression. Note that βέβηκε A. in itself
already conveys the meaning: τέθνηκε Δ. ; τήν πανυστάτην όδ. άπ.
amplifies the pathetic euphemism. The sound-effect of the f s and
the co’s is unmistakable. Cf. Ant. 807 τάν νεάταν οδόν / στείχουσαν (but
there Antigone is going towards her tomb), and Bacch. P. Ox. XXIII
2362 Fr. I col. II 2 λοισθίαν ώρμασεν x). For πανύστατος cf. Ai. 858.
8 7 5 . έξ ακινήτου ποδός : with the same function as a dativ. instrum. Cf.
El. 455 εξ ύπερτέρας χερός. It would seem that the phrase originated from
a popular periphrasis for dying; “withoutstirring foot” (Campbell).
8 7 6 . ώς θανοΰσα: βέβηκε. But logically the words stand for:
ού δή ποθ’ ώς θανοΰσαν αύτήν βεβηκέναι λέγεις.
8 7 6 , 7 . The structure of the two lines with άντιλαβαί symbolizes
as it were the incredible, but ineluctable event. The rhythm of the
Chorus’ anxious questions is ascending, the answers are in des
cending rhythm.
8 7 6 . πάντ’ άκήκοας : i.e. my first words have told you all.
κομμός 8 7 8 - 8 9 5
8 7 8 . If we read ολέθρια, τάλαιν’ and όλεθρία both refer to Deia-
neira; ολ. = lost, undone. If we read ολέθρια (thus e.g. Rader-
macher) (τάλαιν’ == εγώ τάλαινα) we have to supply κλύω with
ολέθρια, “horrible things” (or the like).
I feel inclined to follow the second course.
8 7 9 . σχετλιώτατα πρός γε πράξιν: there is nothing compelling us
to assume an iambic trimeter here ; so the double short before πρός
need not trouble us and we can safely reject, with Raderm. and Dain,
the various attempts “to restore” the metre, σχετλιώτατα is adv. and
means: “most cruelly” or “most miserably” . Sc.: θανεΐν σφέ φημι.
πρός γε πράξιν: “as for the execution”. There are perhaps more
miserable ways of dying than by the sword ; but tire “mode of
infliction” (sc. by her own hand; made it so.
p B acch. S nell7 fr. 20 D 3.
COMMENTARY
8 8 0 . ξυντρέχει: with dative “to meet with” ; the phrase is un

common; but μόρω has been personified; τω θανάτω συνέπεσεν schob
8 8 1 . διηίστωσε; the compound is rare, άιστόω Horn. Trag. Pind. Hdt.
8 8 2 - 8 8 4 . The difficulties of the MSS text (τάνδ’ αίχμάν . . .
ξυνεϊλε) are the following: 1) No mention of a sword has been made
thus far; the interpretations of the schob ad 883 (βέλος εΐπεν τήν
Δηιάνειραν ότι τρόπον βέλους άνεΐλεν έαυτήν- ή ήτις ώς βέλος ίοβόλον
μέγα κακόν προσετρίψατο τω Ήρακλεΐ) are worthless. 2) ξυναιρέω
can denote “help to take, to conquer” Hdt. V 45.1, Thuc. II 29.4.
But could ξυνεϊλε mean: μεταίτιος ήν τοΰ έλεϊν = “take in hand” ?
Campbell’s interpretation, based on this assumption, cannot stand,
I fear; it would be somewhat more acceptable if we read τάδ’.
Triclinius’ reading αΐχμά, adopted by Pearson, who gives the
words to the Nurse, solves some difficulties, but leaves us with an
unconvincing abruptness x). So G. Hermann’s αΐχμα (adopted by
Jebb, Raderm., Dain) seems the best remedy and τις θυμός........
μόνα must be given to the Chorus. The Chorus takes it for granted
that she committed the deed with a sword; I admit that we are
left with this difficulty.
8 8 2 . τις θυμός: “impulse”, “impetus” rather then “fury” : this
idea is expressed by the parenthetical ή τίνες νόσοι.
8 8 3 . αίχμα βέλεος κακοΰ: “by the edge of a dire weapon” (J.).
8 8 4 . ξυνεϊλε: “destroyed” , ξυν- intensifies the meaning of the
verb (certainly not: “along with Heracles” ) 12).
πώς: the word refers to τις θυμός, τίνες νόσοι; so the Nurse’s
answer is not what the Chorus is asking for.
8 8 5 . προς θανάτω θάνατον: here of course the connection with
Heracles’ fate is indicated.
8 8 4 , 6. έμήσατο . . . άνύσασα: note that the interrelation of verb
and participle does not differ from μησαμένη . . . . ήνυσεν.
μόνα: I do not think that μόνα “means merely that she alone is
responsible for the death of Heracles as well as for her own” (Jebb) :
the Chorus, , in the preceding stasimon, did not intimate that D.
was culpable. So, in my opinion, μόνα refers to the suicide.
886. στονόεντος : epic epithet, conveying a pathetic force by its
placing. The rhythm of the ithyphallic έν . . . σιδάρου has the same
effect as πάντ’ άκήκοας, δεύτερον κλύεις 876, 877.
1) B esides, τάνδ’, a fte r αυτήν διηίστωσε, w o u ld so u n d s tra n g e r in th e
m o u th of th e N u rse th a n fro m th e C horus.
2) H . T hesleff o.l. § 240.
COMMENTARY I93
8 8 7 . έν τομα σιδάρου: instrumental. For the phrase cp. P. Ox.

2322 (Anacreon?) I 7 τλημον[ . ]ς τομή σιδήρου.
888. υβριν: I agree with Campbell, who calls the use of ΰβρις, as
applied to suicide, “catachrestic” ; the meaning is "violent deed” x),
not implying moral condemnation *2). On suicide in general cf. the
discussion in Bowra, Soph. Trag. p. 46.
έπεΐδες: it would seem that the verb implies rather: “you saw
and did not do anything to prevent it” (cf. infra 1269, El. 825) than
“were you an eye-witness?” (έφοράν, it is true, may be used esp. of
the beholding of evils), ματαία “pauvre sotte” (Mazon) points to
the former interpretation, advocated by Campbell and Schiassi.
But the Nurse is represented as taking the word with the obvious
meaning: “did you see”.
8 8 9 . ώς . . . παραστάτις: “as a bystander naturally would” (G.P,2
p. 231).
8 9 0 . τίς ήν: ποια ήν ή υβρις. The Chorus' eager and abrupt
questions lead up to the rhesis, in which at last the τίς and πώς are
answered. The κομμός itself is a direct expression of the 'désarroi'
called forth by the horrible deed.
8 9 1 . χειροποιεΐται: "perpetrate with one’s own hand” (L.-Sc.);
only here. The words only restate, more forcibly, αύτήν διηίστωσε;
αύτή πρός αυτής stresses the fact that she did it alone, on her own
impulse ; the middle intensifies the relation of the deed to herself.
8 9 2 . τί φωνεΐς: again the phrase expresses the incredulity of the
Chorus at the horror of the event.
σαφηνή: = σαφή “the truth” . (On the formation cf. Schwyzer
i 513)·
8 9 3 . ετεκ’ : Schroeder’s emendation for ετεκεν, adopted by
Pearson, renders the metre plausible (^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ w—
j w — >_> — KJ — —
8 9 3 - 8 9 5 . The fruit of Heracles’ love for lole is the ruin of his

house; Έρινύς is here the personification of calamity. But we have
also to bear in mind Heracles’ culpability in respect of lole’s family
and town.—Cf. the tragic irony of μελλόνυμφος 207.
8 9 4 . νέορτος: recens exorta (E.), “newly arisen” ; cf. O.C. 1507.
8 9 6 - 9 4 6 . The story of D.’s death has often been compared with
the maid-servant’s rhesis in Eur. Ale. (152-198) and usually the
b “ q u e s t’ o rro re” P e rr o tta , “ a c te de d ésesp o ir” M asq u eray .

2) J e b b co m p ares th e use of λώβα El. 864.
K a m erbeek, Trachiniae 33
COMMENTARY
priority of the Alcestis has been inferred from the comparison1).

I fail to see why D.’s wandering through the house and the pathetic
scene in the bridal room should have less inner necessity and
should be less bound up with her situation than Alcestis’ moving
leave-taking scene is with hers (cf. Reinhardt, Sophokles1, pp.
65 sq. 12)). We have come to know D. as one whose existence is
founded on her love for Heracles, her children and her house. Her
error had ruined her existence. This had to be made explicit by
confronting her with the ordinary objects and persons of her
surroundings, her son, her slaves, the altars, the furniture. She is
shown full of the consciousness that, by her deed, existence has been
reduced to nought for her. She sees Hyllus δέμνι,α στορνύνθ’ and as
it were automatically, like the good wife she is, she prepares
Heracles’ bed herself; but she realizes the futility of her gesture
and annihilates herself on the very spot of her former happiness.
If we do not understand the passage in this way, nobody can say
why the poet put in the details of 900 sq. (these lines also have the
function of preparing for the scene of Heracles’ home-coming but
as such they are hardly necessary) and of 915 sq. Should we assume
that the poet shows us Deianeira preparing the bed for herself so
that she can die in it comfortably ? This is an idea as absurd as the
opinion of those tvho argue that Deianeira, bent on her suicide,
had no time to spare for the proceedings as depicted and that
therefore Sophocles’ scene must derive from the scene of Alcestis,
who had. We may as well argue that Ajax had no time to spare for
his monologue (50 lines).
8 9 6 . άγαν γε: cf. Ai. 983.
εί παρούσα . . . . εδρασε: cf. Ο.T. 1237 S(T τ^*ν δε ττραχθέντων τα
μεν / άλγιστ’ άπεστιν · ή γάρ δψις ού πάρα.
8 9 7 . οΐ’ : refers apparently to all D.’s doings which the Nurse saw.
μάλλον: not to be connected with κάρτ’ but with the whole sen
tence, κάρτ’ going closely with ωκτισας.
8 9 8 . καί: “actually” . G.P. p. 311 II (b).
κτίσαι: "perpetrate” , “bring to pass” . Cf. Aesch. Myrm. 73. 10
Mette. (The cases with predicative adj. are somewhat different).
τις: renders the question general: <ever> any woman s hand.
1) Cp. e.g. W eber, E u r. A lkestis p. 108, P o h le n z G r. Tr. Erl." p. 85 a n d even

A. Lesley, D ie Tragische D ichtung der Hellenen p. 119 sq.
2) O n th e differences b e tw een th e tw o scenes cf. B ow ra, Sophoclean T r a
gedy p. 130.
COM MENTARY I 95
8 9 9 . ώστε μαρτυρεΐν έμοί: “afin cl’être en état d’en témoigner

pour moi” (Mazon) ; not: “as you will agree when you have heard
me tell it” (Campbell). (The schol.’s interpretation: ούτως ακριβώς
διηγήσομαί σοι το πράγμα ώς πεισθήναί σε δτι αληθή λέγω).
9 0 0 . έπεί : the usual beginning of a Messenger’s story. Schaefer’s
έπε'ι γάρ ήλθε 1), though plausible, is not necessary; for the asyndeton
cp. 750.
9 0 1 . κοίλα δέμνια: the rendering “empty” (L.-Sc.) seems im
possible. Ellendt and Campbell (“eadem quae μαλακά, cavantur
enim imposito corpore” , “yielding” ) are right.
9 0 2 . δπως: “that so he might” (viz. having prepared the litter)
(thus rightly Campbell).
άψορρον: adv. with the same function as a predicative άψορρος.
Hyllus is supposed to meet his father at the harbour. Nothing, in
my opinion, prevents us from assuming that the poet means us to
understand that he carried out his intention and that Hyllus, with
the litter and some attendants, is seen leaving the palace before
the next stasimon; the words of the Πρέσβυς 974 sqq. elucidate
Heracles’ plight more for the spectators than for Hyllus. So I reject
Radermacher’s opinion to the contrary as expressed ad 901
sq. 2).
9 0 3 . κρύψασ’ . . . εΐσίδοι : most commentators (but not Campbell)
understand these words as pointing to D.’s desire to commit suicide
quickly and undisturbed; in my opinion the poet represents her
hiding herself out of a sense of shame and despair. Jebb’s comment :
“His occupation reminded her that Heracles would soon arrive,
and decided her to act at once” seems wholly unwarranted : for
why, then, does she roam through the palace (άλλη κάλλη δωμάτων
στρωφωμένη) ?
ένθα μή τις εΐσίδοι: for the wording cp. Ai. 659. The opt. is instead
of the normal future in Attic, the clause being final123).
9 0 4 . βρυχάτο: cf. supra 805, infra 1072, but above all O.T. 1265
(Oedipus in a similar situation). Implicitly she is again (cf. 530)
compared to a lonely beast (as is Laius’ murderer O.T. 477 sqq.).
It has to be noted that the verb is used by Homer of the death-
cry of wounded men.
1) A d o p te d b y S c h n e id e w in -N a u c k -R a d e rm a c h e r.
2) A nd, of course, T. v. W ila m o w itz ’ re je c tio n of 11. 901-903 (p. 160, cf.
R e in h a rd t’s p ro te s t p . 235).
3) Cp. G oodw in § 573.
196 COM MENTARY
904, 5. οτι /γένοιτ’ έρήμη: by her deed she feels cut off from life;
the poet makes us feel this still more poignantly by the words which
follow: the όργανα of her daily life have become soulless things, in
which the horror of her situation is revealed to her. The βωμοί are
dwelt upon in Eur. Ale. 170 sqq. but the όργανα, characteristically,
are not. (γένοιντ’ έρημοι., Nauck’s very bad conjecture, surprisingly
disfigures Radermacher’s and Jebb’s text).
9 0 6 . δειλαία : stresses the pity of the situation and expresses the
compassion of the narrator.
9 0 8 . ε’ί του . . . δέμας: doubtless δέμας conveys more than a
periphrasis: the φίλοι, οίκέται (the servants are meant) have become
for her figures she avoids meeting ; again the words strongly suggest
her sense of exclusion that leads up to her final deed. We must not
assume that she speaks to them or is seen by them; of course the
situation and the details are quite different in Eur. Ale. 192 sqq.
9 0 9 . είσορωμένη: middle.
9 1 0 . δαίμον’: “destinée”, as often in tragedy, but, since it is felt
as a personal power, the use of άνακαλεΐσθαι (invocare with god or
man as object) is quite understandable; άνα- prob, rather “aloud”
than “again” . G. Hermann’s άγκαλουμένη does not seem necessary.
9 1 1 . τά.ς άπαιδας . . ουσίας: = το είναι αύτήν άπαιδα ές το λοιπόν. Her
children were lost to her (817 sq.). The plural form is sufficiently
warranted by instances like διαφθοράς O.C. 552 and, generally
speaking, as pluralis poeticus cf. π.ύ. 23.2, Havers, Festschrift
Kretschmer 1926, 39 sqq., Schw.-Debr. II p. 44. If we substitute
ημέρας for ούαίας the meaning of the plural can be felt. But many
commentators have taken exception to the use of ουσία “existence”
itself. If ουσία does not mean “property”, it means “essence”. We
could answer that strict differentiation between the concepts
“essence” and “existence” is only made after Sophocles’ period
and falls in any case beyond Sophocles’ scoj^e. Moreover we have
to bear in mind that D.’s “being” is bound up with her motherhood.
Finally nothing in contemporary Greek could prevent the poet
from forming the phrase άπαιδες ούσίαι, starting from άπαις οδσα, if
he chose to do so; for in any case the philosophical usage of the
word had not yet been generally accepted, if it was known at all.
The words refer to D.’s condicio in this world, not in the other;
it is this thought, together with the losing of her husband by her
άμαρτία, that drives her to death : άπαις ουσία is for her the negation
of existence itself.
COMMENTARY I97
(The word ουσία does not recur in Soph., nor in Aesch. Eur. has it
thrice in the sense of “property” , once as the abstr. subst. of είναι
“to belong to” Ion 1288).
9 1 2 . τώνδ’ : her wandering etc.
9 1 3 . θάλαμον: “nuptial chamber”. Ηράκλειον suggests that this
was not D.’s ordinary bedroom (cp. Penelope in the Odyssey).
9 1 4 . λαθραΐον ομμ’ έπεσκιασμένη : “overshadowed” i.e. “concea
led” “as to my secret gaze” i.e. in such a manner that I observed her
unseen, δμμα is acc. respectus, λαθραΐον is proleptic; moreover
Campbell is manifestly right in assuming that λαθραΐον δμμα is also
cognate accus, with φρούρουν. Of course the words form a closely
woven whole.
9 1 5 . 6. δεμνίοις / στρο^τά βάλλουσαν φάρη : not different in sense
from δέμνια στορνύνθ’ supra. The dative with βάλλειν as e.g. with
ριπτών supra 78g (Campbell). On the meaning of this pathetic
gesture cf. supra ad 896-946.
βάλλουσαν: the present part., cf. 902 στορνύνθ’, denoting the
activity throughout its course.
9 1 8 . εύνατηρίοις: cf. Aesch. Pers. 160. We cannot be sure that the
MSS reading has to be rejected (εύναστηρίοις <εύνάζομαι infra 1242) ;
in any case the ä “impurum” *) in this word is no reason to read
εύνάτριαν g22 *2), cf. Groeneboom ad Pers. 160 (he reads ib. 157
εύνήτειρα).
9 1 9 . ρήξασα: cf. supra 851. “quasi aperiendo fontes lacrimarum”
(E.), cf. Eur. Suppi. 710 έρρηξε δ’ αύδήν and the use of the less
forcible λύειν, e.g. Ar. Av. 210 λϋσον δε νόμους Ιερών ύμνων. Verg. Aen.
IV 5 5 3 -
νάματα: Björck, 0.1, p. 149. Eur. Her. 625 καί νάματ’ δσσων
μηκέτ’ έξανίετε.
9 2 0 . νυμφεΐ’ : cf. supra 1. 8; here it is concrete, “nuptial chamber” .
The plural of λέχη and νυμφεΐα is best illustrated by O.T. 1242 sq.
ές τά νυμφικά / λέχη.
9 2 1 . το λοιπόν ήδη χαίρεθ’: very well rendered by Mazon : “c’en est
fait (= ήδη) : à jamais adieu” .
9 2 2 . δέξεσθ’: it is clear that these words prevent us from taking
λέχη τε καί νυμφεΐα as a hendiadys for τά νυμφικά λέχη. We should
forget that Deianeira is only an exile in Trachis and that this
room is not, on the assumptions of the saga, her bridal chamber at
') B jö rck , D as A lp h a Im p u r u m p p . 139 a n d 239.
2) D a in h as εύνήτριαν.
COM MENTARY
all, neither should we accept an objection raised on these grounds

as an argument for Sophocles’ dependence on Eur.’s Ale. in this
passage.
εύνήτριαν: fern, to εύνητήρ only here; Aescli. has εύνά(ή)τειρα.
9 2 3 . συντόνω: “impetuous”, “vehement” . Pratinas 4.1 Diehl.
Cf. with έπιΟυμίαι τε καί έρωτες PI. Leg. 734 a. Only- here in Soph. ;
cp. έντονος fr. 842. On the transitional function of φωνήσασα cf.
Webster, Introd. p. 157.
9 2 4 . ώ: Wakefield’s f , adopted by Jebb, Pearson, and Raderni.,
is unnecessary. Jebb gives an excellent paraphrase of the MSS text :
8ς περονίδα είχε μαστών προκειμένην, and acids: “but this is less
natural” . I really do not see why. χρυσήλατος περονίς: cf. O.T. 1269
χρυσηλάτους περόνας.
9 2 5 . προύκειτο μαστών: it is impossible to understand, with Jebb,
‘ “in front of” i.e. “above” the (left) breast’. But it is equally
impossible to think that the fibula of the peplos was placed at the
centre of the bosom and not near the (left) shoulder. It would then
seem that the phrase ώ . . . . περονίς is a rather loose way of saying :
"which was held before her breasts by a gold-wrought brooch” .
Something of the kind is perhaps intimated by/ Masqueray’s
translation (he reads fj) : “ (ouvre son péplos) à l’endroit où une
agrafe cl’or le lui retenait au-dessus des seins”.
έκ . . . έλώπισεν: tmesis1); έκλωπίζειν (only/ here) “layr bare” ,
“strip” derived from λώπος = λώπη (a very old, in classical times
purely poetic word), άπολωπίζειν = λωποδυτέω fr. 1021. λωπίζειν
seems to have meant the same.
9 2 6 . εύώνυμον: goes w ith πλευράν also.
9 2 7 . δρομαία: cp. Phil. 808 ήδε μοι / οξεία φ οίτα κ α ί τα χ εΓ α π έρ
χε τα ι (cp. K .-G . I 2 7 5 )·
δσονπερ : possibly/ περ is rather limitative than intensifying.
9 2 8 . τω . . . . τάδε : though we may/ construe the sentence so that
the genit, depends on τώ παιδί, it seems better, notwithstanding
the unusual absence of an object, to make τής τεχνωμένης τάδε
dependent on φράζω. (For arguments to the contrary cf. Campbell).
For φράζειν with the genit, cf. infra 1122 sq.
τεχνω μ ένη ς: “ c o n t r i v e ” , “ d e v is e ” . T h e fre q u e n t im p lic a tio n
“ c u n n in g ” is a b s e n t.
! ) O n tm esis a n d its fu n ctio n in Sophocles (" V e ra n sc h a u lic h u n g ” ) cp.

K .-G . I 534.6. Cf. supra 565, in fra 1055.
COMMENTARY 199
929» 30. κάν . . . όρώμεν: The swiftness of the action described

is suggested by using a minimum of words and by the historical
present in both main and subordinate clauses.
το κεΐσε δεϋρό τ ’ : το κεΐσε (my running to Hyllus) και το δεύρο
(our return to the bridal room) 1).
έξορμώμεθα : prorumpere.
Logically έν φ . . . έξορμώμεθα goes with πεπληγμένην or we may
say, with Jebb, that όρώμεν αυτήν . . . πεπληγμένην = πέπληκται,
ώς όρώμεν; but, in any case, the wording is condensed, for πε
πληγμένην denotes the result, which the Nurse and Hyllus see, and
a full paraphrase should run: πλήττεται (or έπλάγη) καί άφικόμενοι
πεπληγμένην όρώμεν.
9 3 0 , 1 . άμφιπλήγι . . . πεπληγμένην : the horror of the sight is
suggested by this rather rhetorical wording.
ύφ’ ήπαρ καί φρένας: since it was her left side which had been
stripped we have probably to assume either that ήπαρ does not
precisely mean “liver" or that the poet made a slip, ήπαρ and
φρένας appear vaguely to denote the inner organs beneath the
thorax. But perhaps the stroke is meant to have been directed
from the left side obliquely inwards up to a spot that can be de
scribed as “under diaphragm and liver”.
9 3 2 - 9 4 2 . Though not inclined to follow Jernstedt and Rader-
macher in assuming an interpolation here (or a double recension),
I recognize some awkwardness in the sequence of 932 ΐδών S’ 6 παϊς
φμωξεν — 935 and 936 κάνταϋθ’ ό παΐς δύστηνος — 94*2·
9 3 2 . έγνω γάρ τάλας: no infringement of the regula Porsoniana,
γάρ going closely with έγνω.
9 3 3 . έφάψειεν: the subject is certainly Hyllus; έφάπτειν “ cause”,
prop.: “bind on” , “fix” (something as a doom, cf. Pinch Ol. IX 60,
έφήπται in Homer). (The meaning “to kindle” is not established for
έφάπτειν: Eur. Bacch. 778 and Theocr. XIV 23 cannot be adduced
for it).
κατ’ οργήν: “by his anger” .
9 3 4 . των κατ’ οίκον: not a genitive of the agent2), but a genitive
going with έκδιδαχθείς on the analogy of the genit, with μανθάνειν,
πυνθάνεσθαι etc. We must assume, κατά το σιωπώμενον, that the
household did know what the Chorus knew. Such an unevenness
b έκεΐσε καί τό δεϋρο E u r. Phoen. 266 a n d 315 show s a m u c h m ore fo rm u
la ry c h a ra c te r.
2) Cf. W . J. W . K o ste r, M nem os. 1952, 89 sqq.
200 COMMENTARY
(if it is one) does not justify suspicions as to the authenticity of the

passage.
9 3 5 . προς του θηρος: at the instigation of the Centaur. Cf. 844 sq.
“The feeling of the place (is), as is implied in ακόυσα, that Deianeira
was a passive agent, and that her act was πεπονθος μάλλον ή δεδρακός”
(Campbell).
έ'ρξειεν τάδε : referring to the gift of the poisoned robe.
9 3 6 . κάνταϋθ’ : cf. supra 772 ενταύθα δή.
δύστηνος: predicatively = δύστηνος ων (thus rightly Jebb).
9 3 6 - 3 8 . ουτ’ όδυρμάτων / έλείπετ’ ούδέν . . . ούτ’ άμφ·ιπίπτων: the
construction of έλείπετ’ is zeugmatic; with the genit, όδυρμάτων it
means: “fail in” cf. El. 474, with the participle άμφιπίπτων it comes
near to the sense of έπαύετο. We may paraphrase the first clause by
“nihil sibi reliqui faciebat lamentans” χ) (Schn.-Raderm.) but
έλείπετο is not middle with ούδέν as object; ούδέν “adverbiascit”.
The parallel to the second clause Xen. Oec. 18.5 ταΰτα μέν τοίνυν . . .
ούδέν εμού λείπει γιγνώσκων quoted by Jebb is not convincing: the
absence of the genit, compar, makes all the difference.
9 3 7 . άμφί viv : local or figur. ? In the second sense the dative with
άμφί is more common. At any rate Homeric instances like II. XVIII
339 άμφί δέ σε Τρωαί . . . κλαύσονται may be the starting-point of the
usage. (In the local sense we find the dative also : e.g. Ant. 1223).
γοώμενος: cf. supra 51.
9 3 8 . άμφιπίπτων : used like Fr. embrasser, στόμασιν is of course
not instrumental.
πλευρόθεν: = the genit, of the starting-point: "close by' her side” .
9 3 9 . πάρεις: παριέναι in the sense of proicere, cf. El. 819.
9 4 0 . ματαίως: “rashly” (implying “without grounds” ).
αίτια . . . κακή : dativ. instrum. Cf. Ai. 1244 ήμας . . . κακοΐς
βαλεΐτε. Pearson’s ’μβάλοι is a superfluous conjecture.
9 4 1 . κλαίων όθούνεκ’ : “et il pleure à l’idée que” (Mazon).
έκ δυοΐν : the sense is έκ θανάτου δυοΐν, but it is best to understand
έκ as equivalent to ύπο with the passive participle; it is hardly'
possible to make έκ δυοΐν directly' dependent 011 (ορφανισμένος.
9 4 2 . βίον: Wakefield’s conjecture for the MSS βίου seems un
avoidable. It is an acc. of respect ; the idea "deprived of subsistence”
should be rejected and so should Nauck’s conjecture εις, adopted
by Pearson.1
1) Cf. P h il. 375 ούδέν ενδεές ποιούμενος.

COMMENTARY 201
943. τοιαυτα τάνθάδ’ έστιν: cf. El. 761 τοιαϋτά σοι ταΰτ’ έστίν.
The words form a natural transition to the moralizing concluding
lines, which are typical of the end (or the beginning) of a Mes
senger’s speech. Cf. Ant. 1156 sqq., Ant. 388 scp, 437 sq.
9 4 3 , 4 . εΐ τις . . . / ή κάτι πλείους : και —λείους τις LA“° is im
possible, the correptio of -ει- being without example; πλέους does not
occur elsewhere; the repeated τις is somewhat awkward; we may
read ή καί τι with Riccard. 34 (Dain; it was also Dindorf’s reading)
or ή κάτι with v. Herwerden and Pearson.
εΐ τις . . . λογίζεται: the theme is related to the beginning of the
Prologue and the words are an illustration of the “tragic day”
concept, often underlying the action of a tragedy, ci. Ai. 131,
753 etc.
δύο . . . ήμέρας : "to-morrow in addition to to-day” (Campbell).
λογίζεται: in the sense of “compter sur” , “reckon on” .
945, 6. Not: “ Das Glück von heute ist bestimmend für das
Glück von morgen” (Raderm.) but : “ours is a day by day existence”
“we are εφήμεροι” , subject to the reversals of a day.
9 4 5 . γ ’: emphatic.
9 4 6 . πάθη: it is needless to change anything in the text; but
we have to bear in mind that εδ and πάθη are here not closely
connected.
F ourth Stasim on 9 4 7 -9 7 0
The function of this choral ode may be described thus: it con

nects Deianeira’s catastrophe to the horrible "ecce heros” of the
next scene. The dismay and the fright of the maidens prepare the
spectator for what is about to happen or, more exactly, express the
mood everybody will be in when considering the situation. The
first strophic pair gives the impression of an anxious stammering, a
muttering litany. In the second the wish to be snatched away is
followed by the confrontation of the sad and silent retinue of
Heracles’ bearers.
We have to note the contrast with 205-224, where the captives’
train appears before D.’s eyes, seemingly the guarantee of Heracles’
triumphant home-coming, and we may call this a striking scenic
"rhyme” or long-distance echo.
947. L’s reading and the variants in other MSS are impossible,
metrically and otherwise. Dindorf’s πάτερα πρότερον has rightly
20 2 COMMENTARY
met with general acceptance. For the juxtaposition cf. II. I ll 299
όππότεροι πρότεροι, Ar. Nub. 940 πότερος λέξει πρότερος, Eccl. 1082.
9 4 7 - 9 4 9 . The construction runs thus: δύσκριτ’ έμοιγε <έστιν>,
πάτερα πρότερον έπιστένω (conj. clubit.), πάτερα περαιτέρω τέλεα
<έστιν> (second indirect question, asyndetically added to the former).
πάτερα: which of the two sets of sorrows (-άθεα), D.’s or Heracles’.
τέλεα: Jebb, Raderm., Masqueray, among others, prefer Mus-
grave’s μέλεα. Jebb’s reasons for rejecting τέλεα are weak, but he is
right in opposing the view of those who take it adverbially (“which
finally and to the last degree” Campbell).
948. τέλεος (and τέλειος—both forms are common in Tragedy;
Attic inscr. have τέλεος) means “entire”, “accomplished” and is
used i.m.p. of ailments by medical authors (τέλεον νόσημα, τελειό
τατη κακία Gal.); cf. PI. Resp. 348 b αδικία τελέα “absolute” .
περαιτέρω: sc. του δέοντος cf. supra 663. The phrase περαιτέρω
τέλεα is hyperbolical and comparable to fr. 189 παν τολμήσασα καί
πέρα, Ar. Αν. 417 άπιστα καί πέρα κλύων. So the meaning is lit. :
“which of the two πάθη is, more excessively, complete” .
9 5 §s 1 . Cf. Ant. 1277-1280.
9 5 0 . τάδε . . . δόμοις : όράν should be connected not too closely
with εχομεν, δόμοις going with the latter.
9 5 1 . The MSS reading μέλλομεν is impossible as regards metre
and dubious in view of έπ’ έλτυίσιν. τάδε δε μένομεν (Erfurdt and Le,
according to Dain, many editors) seems the best, though τάδε
μέν . . . τάδε δέ is not above suspicion, μένειν “await”, “wait for”
is common enough. The MSS reading may be due to μέλλειν. Her
mann’s μελόμεν’ (Campbell, Pearson) sc. <έστιν> is good in itself,
but then the connection with έπ' έλπίσιν seems difficult.
μένομεν έπ’ έλπίσιν: “suspensae exspectamus” (E.), έπί of the
circumstances under which, cf. Ant. 556 έπ’ άρρήτοις λόγοις, O.C.
1554 έπ’ εύπραξία, Eur. Med. 192 έπί θαλίαις.
9 5 2 . κοινά . . . μέλλειν: κοινός is used to express the connection
by common origin (cf. L.-Sc. s.v. IV 1); so it may well mean
“kindred” . “To have (πάθη) and to be in expectation (of them) are
kindred things” (thus Jebb), but one step further leads us to the
schol.’s and Campbell’s: “are all one” (or “it is all one to” etc.).
(The inf. without the article may very well serve as subject). For
the structure of the sentence cf. Xen. Cyr. IV 3.13 ουκουν ταύτό γ ’
έστίν έχειν τε καί φέρειν.
9 5 3 . 4 . Similar wishes for “Entrückung” are fairly frequent
COM MENTARY 203
in Eur. Cp. e.g. Andr. 861 sqq., H-ipp. 732-751 and see, in general,
Rohde, Psyche IVs pp. 68-90.
9 5 4 . έπουρος: "blowing favourably'” (only here, but the type of
adjectival compound of έτη- with a noun denoting “furnished
with . . is well-known and so are έπουρίζειν intr. Ar. Thesm. 1226 —
fig. — and έπουρίζειν tr. Eur. Andr. 610 — fig. — ; of. supra 827
κατουρίζειν).
έστιωτις: = έφέστιος Od. VII 248; ci. O.T. 478 πετρα.ΐος δ ταϋρος.
The schob renders: έπί τής οικίας.
9 5 5 . ήτις . . . άποικίσειεν: the wishing is continued and so we have
the optative (we may speak of “attractio modi” ; “ventus qui
amoveat” in itself would run in Greek: αύρα ήτις άποικιεΐ; the same
holds good for θάνοιμι).
εκ τόπων: "from this place”, cp. κα.τά χώραν, έκ χώρας and for
the plur. Aesch. Pers. 796, Ag. 191 έν Αύλίδος τόποις, Eur. Hipp. 53.
( A temporal sense (= αύτόθεν) might be considered: cf. G. Her
mann’s interpretation of the dubious άνά τόπον Eur. Suppl. 604 and
έν τόπω, έπί τόπου, έπί τών τόπων, listed in L.-Sc. s.v. I 2).
9 5 6 . τον Διος άλκιμον γόνον: we may write Ζηνός (with Tri-
clinius) or Δΐον (with Nauck) or δέ instead of δ’ αδ 965, but we may
equally well assume licentia antistrop Idea ^ ^ ^ -).
9 5 7 . ταρβαλέα: cf. Hymn. Merc. 165, in Tragedy1 only here;
formed on the analogy of the antonym θαρσαλέος (already in Horn.).
It has here the function of a participle or a dativ. instrum.
9 5 8 . μοϋνον: adv., going with είσιδοΰσ’, the two together = έάν
μόνον είσίδω.
άφα.ρ: here = παραχρήμα (schob); cf. 133, 529, 821.
959. δυσαπαλλάκτοις: possibly· a medical term: with νοϋσος
Hippocr. Nat. Mul. 40, with άρρώστημα Arist. P.A. 671b 9. Only
here in Soph.
9 6 0 . χωρεΐν προ δόμων: if this is correct, the constr. is pregnant.
G. Hermann’s πρόδομον is attractive.
λέγουσιν : does not, in my opinion, refer to “servants of the house,
who are watching the approach of the litter” (Jebb), but must be
taken impersonally.
9 6 1 . άσπετόν τι θαϋμα.: in appos. to the action of χωρεΐν (thus
rightly Campbell). The epic άσπετος in Soph, only here. —θαϋμα:
perhaps “Fernverbindung” with 673. They see Heracles' bearers
approaching from the right.
9 6 2 sq. άγχοΰ . . . προύκλαιον: we may say (with Jebb and
COM MENTARY
Raderm.), that ov (better όντα, sc. Ήρακλέα) has to be understood

with άγχοΰ κού μακράν; or possibly the polar phrase άγχοΰ κού
μακράν expresses the short measure of time for which they wept
beforehand (προ-), which is felt as identical with the short distance
the bearers had to traverse; but then άγχοΰ is strange (cf. Camp
bell’s note: “the word suits more exactly with μακράν than with
άγχοΰ” ). Perhaps it is more natural to understand <οδσα> (not:
άγχοΰ 8’ άρα <ήν>, κού μακράν προύκλαιον). άγχοΰ in Tragedy only
here and' fr. 380.2 P.
9 6 3 . οξύφωνος ώς αηδών: refers only to προύκλαιον (thus Jebb),
not to the distance (Campbell). Cf. El. 107, 1077, Ai. 629. οξύφωνος:
in Tragedy only here, but cf. Ant. 424, El. 243 οξύτονων γόων.
9 6 4 . ξένων . . . ήδε τις βάσις: a nominal sentence = ξένοι τινές
ώδε βαίνουσιν, or — ξένοι οί'δε τινες βαίνοντες (cf. παρουσία = παρ-
όντες Eur. Ale. 606 άνδρών Φεραίων εύμενής παρουσία, Η eraci. 581
υμείς τ', αδελφών ή παροΰσ’ ομιλία). Cf. also άμβασις = οί άναβάται
O.C. loyo.
έξόμιλος: the meaning is uncertain (the word does not occur
elsewhere).
Most commentators explain: “alien” (<έξω τήσδε της ομιλίας; but
then it is perhaps better to understand “being away from their own
society” ) 1); Radermacher: “ruhig” , “still” (<“was auszerhalb des
Getümmels liegt” ). But I think the most natural interpretation:
“<taken> from the όμιλος” 12), the crowd (of strangers) in the service
of Heracles. For the formation cf. έκδημος, έκτοπος; όμιλος does not
occur in Soph., but we find it in Aesch. and Eur.
9 6 5 . S’ αύ: the function of αύ seems very weak: “and further . . . ”
π ϊ: modal (thus Jebb). (It is imposible to take the words as an
exclamation, as Mazon-Dain seem to do). In the next sentence the
Chorus answers its own question.
φορεΐ . . . . φέρει: subject βάσις, but something like: “troop” is
meant.
ώς : not exclamatory but going with φίλου : “as for a φίλος”.
9 6 6 . προκηδομένα: cf. Ant. 741.
9 6 6 , 7 . βαρεΐαν . . . βάσιν: βαρεΐαν is attribute (their otherwise
heavy soldiers’ tread), άψοφον predicate (so that they make no
noise), φέρει . . .βάσιν must be periphrasis of βαδίζει; we can hardly
1) Cf. έξομιλεΐσΟαι E u r. I . A . 735; on όμιλος “ h o st of so ld iers” cf. H .
T riim p y , Kriegerische Fachausdrücke imGriech. Epos, th e sis B asel 1950, p. 147.
2) Cf. schol. το φαινόμενον άθροισμα.
COMMENTARY 205
take viv as the object of φέρει and βαρεΐαν βάσιν as an adverbial

accusative, as is done by Campbell. But φέρειν βάσιν is a graphic
phrase for people moving on under a heavy load.
9 6 8 . The effect of this line on the scene is very moving. They
utter their dismal cry on seeing Heracles lying unconscious.
άναύδατος: = άναυδος (Erfurdt’s generally accepted correction).
9 6 9 . Alterations are needless; the licentia antistrophica is certainly
justified. ( - - ^ - u - u - u u - x - u - u — ; twoglyco-
nei of different form expanded by two syncopated iambic metra).
9 6 9 , 7 0 . τί . . . κρΐνοα: τί χρή κρΐναι, πότερον θανόντα νιν, ή καθ’
ύπνον οντα. The commentaries refer to El. 766 sq.
Exodos 9 7 1 -1 2 7 8
Its first part consists of anapaests followed by a kommos,
in which Hyllus, an Old Man—apparently the commander of
Heracles’ escort—and Heracles take part. The pathos of Hera
cles’ plight is brought home to the spectator in a manner com
parable to the kommos Ai. 348-428; only the Chorus does not
participate in it by word: doubtless it does by movement and
gesture; this is excellently suited to the youthful character of a
Chorus composed of maidens ; we may suppose them frightened out
of speech by the horror of the sight.
I do not think that the warnings of the Old Man and Hyllus’
answers argue against the assumption stated supra, that Hyllus
with the litter has actually gone to meet his father and that he is
now returning to the palace, with Heracles and his escort. For
though these words would, in reality, be more natural if Hyllus was
now to come out of the palace, they may equally well be taken as an
example of dramatic raccourci', in the context of the scene as it
passes on the stage they are natural enough. The detail 902 would
remain a loose end (and loose ends are against Sophocles’ careful
habits of construction), if we were to interpret otherwise.
9 7 1 - 7 3 . Alterations on metrical grounds seem to be unwar
ranted. Anapaestic scansion is not at all necessary:
ώμοι έγώ / σοϋ, πάτερ, ώμοι εγώ /
σοΰ μέλεος, τί πάθω; τί δέ μήσομαι; ώμοι.
These are three dactylic cola of increasing length x), the end of
the second echoing the first, the beginning of the third echoing the1
1) Cf. E u r. Hec. 165-167.

2 o6 COMMENTARY
beginning of the second and its end the beginning of the first. I
prefer to read consistently either ώμοι or οΐμοι; the authority of the
MSS, in such matters, is slight or nil.
9 7 1 , 2 . σου : genit, causae, depending, in a sense, on ώμοι, in the
second phrase also on μέλεος. Cf. K.-G. I 389.
9 7 3 . τί πάθω: quid fiam} On the juxtaposition of conj. dub. and
fut. cf. K.-G. I 223 anm. 5. On τί πάθω cf. Goodwin § 290. The
phrase ώμοι εγώ τί πάθω already occurs in Homer. Cp. also Aesch.
Sept. 1057 τί πάθω; τί δέ δρώ; τί δε μήσωμαι;
9 7 4 - 1 0 0 3 . Anapaestic systems.
9 7 4 . σίγα: “keep silent” (as you did before).
μή κίνησης: better to take the words as an asyndeton than to
consider μή as equivalent to ϊνα μή. Heracles’ οδύνη is implicitly
compared to a wild beast.
9 7 5 . ώμόφρονος: έκ των οδυνών ήγρίίομένου (schob).
9 7 6 . προπετής: “drooping” , “at the point of Death” (L.-Sc.)
προπετής εις τον θάνατον προνενευκώς ή παρειμένος (schob). The
figurative sense seems better than the more literal “lying prostrate
in the litter” (Jebb). It is perhaps possible to assume the nuance
“quickly hastening to <Death>”, cf. Eur. Hec. 150 (but here also
the interpretation is not certain). Stress is, in my opinion, laid less
on the fact of Heracles’ being alive than on its precariousness ; the
words mean “he is all but dead” rather than “he is not quite dead”
(cf. Campbell’s comment). Cf. supra ad 701.
9 7 6 . 7 . ί'σχε . . . στόμα: στόμα goes with both ί'σχε and δακών.
Cf. fr. 897 P. δάφνην φαγών όδόντι πρΐε τό στόμα “keep thy lips
tightly closed” (Pearson).
9 7 7 . ή ζή : the fact that Hyllus’ attention is arrested by ζή, more
than by προπετής, does not argue against the interpretation given
supra.
9 7 8 . ού μή : marking a strong prohibition ; cf. ad Ai. 75.
κάτοχον: pass, “kept down”, “overcome” (L.-Sc.). Cf. Aesch.
Pers. 223 with Groeneboom’s note and the subjects of κατέχω in
L.-Sc. s.v. II 5 and 6.
9 7 9 - 8 1 . κάκκινήσεις . . . νόσον: cf. ad 974.
980. φοιτάδα: cf. Phil. 808 ήδε μοι οξεία φοίτα καί ταχεϊ’ άπέρχεται,
and ib. 758, Hes. Op. 102. But something of the maddening frenzy
roused by the νόσος is also implied in the word, which is sometimes
synonymous with μαινάς (cf. also δρομάς). Note that φοιτάω is also
COMMENTARY 207
used of the visiting, the haunting of recurrent dreams, cf. Eur. Ale.
355, PI. Phaed. 60 e 1).
9 8 1 . άλλ’: G.P.1 2 p. 7, 3 (1).
επί μοι: “lies upon me”, the dative as in επ’ ώμοις φέρειν Eur.
Phoen. 1131.
9 8 2 . άπλετον: “immense” ; on the formation cf. Schwyzer I 502;
only here in Tragedy; Empedocl., Find., Hdt., PI. have the word.
εμμέμονεν: only here, cf. the epic εμμεμαώς “very eager” 2). The
asyndeton must mean <so> 3). “An immense burden of woe weighs
upon me: so my heart is full of eagerness <to utter its sorrow»”
(and I cannot keep silent). The translations "there is madness in my
heart” (Jebb), “mon coeur est éperdu” (Mazon), “j’en perds la
raison” (Masqueray), originating in the schol.’s “ένθουσιά”, over
stress the element of rage, fury, often present in μέμονα, and neglect
the idea of eagerness or purpose, rarely absent. (Purpose without
“rage” is meant Eur. I.T. 655). The schol. did not read with a stop
after άπλετον ; a remarkable rendering of the passage, taken as one
sentence, is Campbell’s : “My feelings rush upon me with resistless 4)
force” ; βάρος ά. is then acc. in apposition with the action of έμμέ-
μονε. But έμμέμονε . . . επί is very awkward. If the words must
be read as one sentence, we have to take επί μοι μελέω closely with
βάρος άπλετον. I do not recommend this interpretation.
984, 5 . ποΐ . . . . κείμαι. : cf. Od. X III 200 ώ μοι εγώ, τέων αύτε
βροτών ές γαΐαν ίκάνω (quoted by Reinhardt, Sophokles1 p. 256 in his
excellent refutation of the view of T. v. Wilamowitz and many
others about Sophocles’ dependence in this scene upon Eur. Her.
1088 sqq.). It is, indeed, very probable that Heracles’ words are a
reminiscence of the Homeric line, which is formulary (cf. Od. VI
119) and typical of someone arriving in a country he does not know
or recognize; moreover the exceptional use of τοΐσι = τέοισι (cp.
τέων) points to the same thing.
τοΐσι: cf. Od. X n o and δτοισ(ι) Ant. 1335, infra 1119; Schwyzer I
616.
πεπονημένος : confectus (E.), only instance of this passive form in
Tragedy (the middle πονέομαι is common in Horn, but also in Hdt.,
1) Cf. M azon’s tr a n s la tio n : " u n m a l a u x re to u rs te rrib le s” .

2) L eurnaiin, Homerische Wörter p . 52.
3) Cf. K .-G . I I 342.5 a.
4) H e assum es t h a t Soph, to o k άπλετος = άπλατος; th is is h a rd ly n e
cessary, even if we a c c e p t his in te rp re ta tio n of th e passage.
2 o8 COMMENTARY
Thuc., PL; πονέω tr. Find. Pyth. IV 151, πονέομαι pass. Thuc.).
9 8 5 . άλλήκτοις: Homeric, in Tragedy only here; it may be taken
as intr. or as pass.
9 8 6 . Brunck’s insertion of (rot. (adopted by most editors) is not
absolutely necessary; without μοι the line is a paroemiac (οΐμοι ’γώ) ;
for two paroemiacs in succession Campbell refers to El. 88 sq.,
105 sq.
9 8 7 . ή δ’ αυ . . . βρύκει : the νόσος is considered as a beast, cf.
ad 974 sq. On νόσος, the subject to be understood, cf. K.-G. I
57 anm. 3.
μιαρά: in moral sense also Ant. 746, “abominable” ; the usage is
certainly not specifically poetic (Ar. PI. Dem.); rare in Tragedy.
βρύκει: “bite”, “devour”, also Phil. 745; the word seems on a
level with μιαρά as regards its sphere of reference.
9 8 8 . άρ’ έξήδη σ’ : the MSS reading έξήδης must be rejected on
morphological and syntactical grounds (for the latter reason Cobet’s
έξήδησθ’ is not satisfying eitherx) : a 2nd pers. aorist would be
understandable). Wecklein’s reading is adopted by Jebb and
Radermacher. σ’, subject of κεύθειν, goes proleptically with έξήδη;
“Did I not know (and told you so) . . . .” .
σιγή κεύθειν: though κεύθω may be intr. ("to remain shrouded in
silence”, cf O.T. 968), it seems better to supply “your grief” or
“what you might wish to say”, so that the phrase means: “keep
silent” .
9 8 9 . σκεδάσαι: Sleep is like a cloud over the eyes; cf. ήέρα . . .
σκέδασεν II. XVII 649. Cp. the different use (of σκίδνημι) Eur. Ilee.
916. The verb only here in Soph, (διασκεδάννυμι O.C. 620, 1341).
9 9 2 . στέρξαιμι: the verb conveys the notion of “resignation”,
“acquiescence”, also found O.C. 7 and elsewhere (L.-Sc. s.v. iii),
cf. στέρξω και σιγήσομαι Dem. XVIII 112. κακόν τόδε may be taken
as going either with both στέρξαιμι and λεύσσων, or with λεύσσων
alone. (Cf. also Phil. 538).
9 9 3 . Cf. 237, 659, 752 sqq.
9 9 3 . Κηναία κρηπ'ις βωμών: κρ. β. is a periphrasis of βωμοί;
hence Κηναία goes with κρηπίς ; κρηπίς is terminus technicus for the
base of an altar. For the pathetic apostrophe to a place closely
interwoven with the speaker’s fate, cf. Ai. 412 sqq., O.T. 1391 sq.
9 9 4 . οϊαν οίων: cf. ad Ai. 503; infra 1045.* )
*) T h e w ords c a n n o t m e a n : “ H a s t th o u now le a r n t” (C am pbell).

COMMENTARY 209
ιερών . . . οίων: the genit, depends on χάριν. (άνθ’ . . θυμάτων MSS

is due to a gloss).
επί: may or may not be considered to stand in tmesi ; in either
case the interpretation runs: “against me, hapless one” .
9 9 5 . ήνυσας: Brunch's and Wakefield’s correction for the MSS
reading ήνύσω1) (note that L’s first hand omitted ώ, as is rightly
stated in Pearson’s apparatus). The difficulty of ήνύσω is not a
metrical one (the shortening of ω before ω can be accepted in these
anapaests), but the middle is awkward, whether Zeus is the subject
or Κηναία κρηπίς. For the natural meaning of ήνύσω would be: “did
you obtain” (cf. Aesch. Prom. 700), whereas we want something
like “did you bestow”, “accomplish” .
Though Heracles’ words begin with an apostrophe to Κηναία
κρηπίς, the natural meaning of the following words leads the hearer
to take Zeus as the subject of ήνυσας, ώ Ζεΰ being neither a passing
exclamation, nor a vocative only going with 996, but the vocative
of the person addressed here as well*2). It is, of course, possible
that we should read in 993 ώ, so as to make Κηναία κρηπίς an
exclamation, but since the altar is Zeus’, the altar personified
and the divine power to which it has been consecrated are hardly
differentiated in Heracles’ consciousness.
9 9 6 . οΐαν μ’ . . . έθου λώβαν: not = ώς έλωβήσω με, but “Quel
objet d’opprobre as-tu fait de moi” (Mazon). Cf. Eur. El. 165
(γυνή σ ε ........ ) ξίφεσι . . . άμφιτόμοις λυγράν / Αίγίσθου λώβαν θεμένα
“making you an object of Aegisthus’ insults”, Or. 1038 ΰβρισμα
θέμενος τον Άγαμέμνονος γόνον “making Agamemnon’s child an
outraged thing” (Wedd’s translation), λώβαν is a predicative
accusative. The schol. remarks appositely: λέγει δέ ταΰτα άφορών
εις τό εαυτού σώμα. Only thus do the next words become clear.
9 9 7 . ήν : referring to λώβαν, not to κρηπίς.
9 9 7 - 9 9 . καταδερχθήναι : inf. epex. to προσιδεΐν; if we accept the
schol.’s explanation άπό κοινού δέ τό ώφελον we must consider
προσιδεΐν . . . καταδερχθήναι as an asyndeton. Since τόδ’ άκήλητον
μανίας άνθος is in fact the same as the λώβα (perhaps we may say
that Heracles’ body, object of λώβα, is the effect of the άκ. μ. ά.,
which is the cause of its horrible condition), there can be no ob-
b A d o p ted b y P earso n .
2) M axon’s in te rp re ta tio n is th e sam e, th o u g h h e read s ήνύσω, w h ich is
im possible in m y opinion.
K a m e e b e e h , Trachiniae 34
COMMENTARY
jection to προσιδεΐν οσσοις with λώβα as object, if there is none to

τόδ’ άνθος καταδερχθηναι.
ό τάλας: for the article cf. Gow ad Theocr. II 72.
οσσοις: in Soph, only here andriwb 1231; but the form is used by
Aesch. and Eur.
άκήλητον : Od. X 329; only here in Trag. The νόσος is "not to be
soothed by incantations” ; the word belongs to that magic atmos
phere from which the myth derives.
9 9 9 . μανίας : the effect instead of the cause : it is the φοιτάς νόσος
in its effect on Heracles’ mind, the άτη (iooi, 1082) in its two
aspects 1).
άνθος: άκμήν (schob), cf. 1089; but we may also feel in the word
the festering of the νόσος in its visible effects on Heracles’ body,
άνθος and έξανθέω are medical terms, cf. Thuc. II 49.5 το έξωθεν
σώμα . . . φλυκταίναις και έλκεσιν έξηνθηκός. Cf. also Phil. 258 sq. ή
δ’ έμή νόσος / άεί τέθηλε and the λιχηνας έξέσθοντας άρχαίαν φύσιν
Aesch. Cho. 280 *2).
καταδερχθηναι : Soph, always uses this aorist form of δέρκομαι
and compounds.
1 0 0 0 . άοιδός: = επωδός “enchanter” (only here). Cf. A i 582.
There is a slight contamination of constructions in the wording:
After τίς άοιδός we do not expect a relative clause, but instead of
smoothly continuing with τίς χειροτέχνης the poet has preferred the
more emphatic τίς <!αθ’> ό χειροτέχνης, δς . . . (thus rightly G.
Hermann) ; ό not only prepares the relative clause but also suggests
“the famed” (Campbell).
1000, 1. χειροτέχνης / ΐατορίας: a periphrasis for physician or
surgeon.
ΐατορίας: only here and Bacch. I 149 in classical Greek; ΐάτωρ
Alcm. 1.89 D.
δς κατακηλήσει: qui leniat. (K.-G. I 175 c).
άτην: the νόσος in its calamitous results; cf. Phil. 706 δακέθυμος
άτα and infra 1082, I104.
1 0 0 2 . χωρίς Ζηνός: schob εί μή ό Ζευς βούλοιτο. Most commen
tators reject this interpretation and prefer “save only Ζεύς" or the
like. L.-Sc. side with the schob and so does Masqueray. Tournier
after the note “praeter I ovem" surprisingly adds: “Homere dit (Od.
q T he sam e m e ta p h o r b u t in a n o th e r c o n te x t is a lre a d y fo u n d in Solon
3.35 D. άτης άνθεα φυόμενα.
2) Cf. on th e se m e ta p h o rs m y Sophoclea I I , M nem os. 1948, pp. 198-204,
COMMENTARY 2II
IX 411).· Νοΰσον γ ’ οΰπως εστϊ Διάς μεγάλου άλέασθαι”. It must be

said that the schol.’s interpretation, in view of the placing of the
words, is the natural one: we have to lift them from the relative
clause in order to understand them in the way most editors prefer.
This, however, may be defended by the contamination of con
structions pointed out supra ad 1000.
1 0 0 3 . θαϋμ’ αν πόρρωθεν ίδοίμην: two thoughts are telescoped:
“It would be a miracle” (if such an άοιδός or χειροτέχνης appeared)
and “maybe I shall see him from afar”, that is to say “not near at
hand”, “not at all”. Mazon’s paraphrase is exactly right: “ Ce serait
là un miracle que je ne verrai sans doute jamais” . Radermacher
compares Eur. Hipp. 102 πρόσωθεν αύτήν άγνός ων άσπάζομαι and PI.
Resp. 499 a τά κομψά πόρρωθεν άσπάζεσθαι. Cf. also Phil. 454 sq„
ίδοίμην: the middle also El. 977, Phil. 351.
1004-1044. If the 11. 1004-1018-really correspond with 1024-
1044, as is assumed by Dain, many corruptions have to be emended
(but in any case the text is not free from corruption) and a fairly
high number of lacunae have to be admitted. Also if we admit
correspondence of 1004-1006 with 1015-1017, of 1007-1009 with
1028-1030 and of 1023-1026 with 1041-1043 as is done by Jebb,
Kuiper and Pearson, several emendations are needed. But even
Wilamowitz, who rejects categorically the idea of correspondence
in these lines (Vsk. p. 348 n. 2), finds some alterations necessary.
The weak point in Dain’s metrical structure is 1015-1017: in order
to render the lines correspondent with 1041-1043, he must constitute
his text as follows: Έ έ, / ούδ’ άπαράξαι <τις> κράτα βία θέλει /
-WW - W----111- μολών του στυγεροϋ ; Φευ φευ.
1004-1006. The MSS text has: έέ,
έάτέ μ’ έάτέ με
δύσμορον εύνάσαι, (εύνάσαι L)
έάτέ με δύστανον εύνάσαι (εύνάσαι L).
δύσμορον] ύστατον ΣΪΡ in margine 1005 .
In view of the many “transitiva” used as “intransitiva” ^ it
seems hardly necessary to tamper with εύνάσαι; but the metre of
the last line, apart from possible correspondence, seems impossible,
neither is G. Hermann's έαθ' ύστατον εύνάσαι (adopted by Pearson)
a convincing remedy. It is indeed possible that ύστατον is originally
not a v.l. of δύσμορον but the remnant of a fuller text. If this con-*
q A nd esp. b y Soph. : cf. κεύΟειν O.T. 968, χαλάν O.C. 203, αίρειν Phil. 1331.
212 COMMENTARY
sisted of dochmiac dimeters corresponding with 1023-25, it may

have run as follows:
έατέ μ’, έατε <νϋν>, ύστατον εύνάσαι,
δύσμορον εύνάσαι, έατέ με δύστανον -1).
A comparison with Dain’s text will show that I have followed
him in part, but that I have thought it necessary to bring about
synaphy between the lines.
1 0 0 7 - 1 0 0 9 . Here the correspondence of the transmitted words
with 1027-1030 is so close that it amounts to childish pigheadedness
not to accept the slight alterations (insertion of either another πά
or another ποΐ and restoration of άνατέτροφας) needed to render it
complete.
1 0 0 7 . 1018 makes it probable that Heracles, in these words,
addresses not Hyllus—as the schol. will have it—but the Old Man,
who is trying to help Heracles to lie down again.
raie. . . . ποΐ : both to be taken in local sense.
1 0 0 9 . άνατέτροφας: δ τι άν ήσυχάση του κακού τούτου πάλιν κινήσας
άνέτρεψας οίον δ τι άν των οδυνών μύση τούτο διήγειρα.ς. The meaning
of ανατρέπω here is: upset, stir up.
δ τι καί μύση:“what sleeps (sc. of the evil)—if there be aught that
sleeps” (Campbell) : thus “καί contrasts the objective reality of
an idea with its subjective reality” (Denniston, G.P.2 p. 321. (7)
with a wealth of examples). It is possible that not δ τι but νόσος is
the subject of μύση (and the object of άνατέτροφας) and that δ τι is
acc. of respect (cf. ad 987). On the subj. without άν cf. K.-G. II
426 anm. 1. For the metaphorical use of μύση cf. A.P. VII 293.6
(Isidorus Aegeates, of the winds) ά πόσον κακόν / ναύταισιν ή πνέοντες
ή μεμυκότες; καταμύειν = fall asleep Ar. Vesp. 92.
1 0 1 0 sqq. Stichic hexameters are rare in Tragedy, probably
more common in older Comedy (Cratinus, cf. Wilamowitz Lysistrata
p. 25); the method of delivery “would naturally be recitative”
(A. M. Dale, The Lyric Metres of Greek Drama, p. 28). Cf. Phil.
839-42. Hiatus and syllaba anceps prove them to be stichic.—The
“doric” ä’s, on the other hand, point to their integration into the
lyric whole.
1010. ήπταί μου........ ερπει: the editors accept the asyndeton,
strange in so far as the subject of both verbs comes before the
second (cp. the word-order Phil. 787 προσέρπει, προσέρχεται τόδ’
1) O n th e h ia tu s εύνάσαι έατε, cf. K o ster, Traité X I I 9 ; it is so fte n e d b y
th e synizesis of la .
COM MENTARY 213
εγγύς) ; moreover the hysteron proteron represented by ήπται . . .

έρπει, with αύθ’ in the second phrase, strikes me as odd. The French
could say in 1914, speaking of the Germans: “Ah, ils viennent, ils
viennent encore” , but not: "Ils nous ont attaqués, ils viennent
encore” . The schoî. ad ήπ-rai μου runs: τδ κινηθήναι ύπό σου καθή-
ψατό μου. This is impossible, but if we take the Old Man as the
subject of ήπται, we may read: ήπταί μου, τοτοτοΐ, ή δ’ αύθ’ ερπει,
rendering: “He has seized me and now the νόσος comes again” ,
τοτοτοΐ: τοτοΐ Aescii. Pers. 5 5 T 5 ^ 1 ; ότοτοΐ is more usual,
ή δ’ : νόσος, cf. ad 987.
αύθ’: αότε is epic for attic «0 (common in Aesch., only here and
perhaps Ant. 462 in Soph., not in Eur.).
ερπει : cf. Phil. 787.
πόθεν έστ’ : schob ού προς τούς φέροντάς φησιν αλλά καθόλου προς
πάντας τούς εύεργετηθέντας πρώην ύπ’ αυτού . . . . την δε έκ τόπου
σχέσιν εΐπεν άντ’ί τής έν τόπω ώς σχεδόθεν δέ οί ήλθεν Άθήνη άντί τού
σχεδόν, πόθεν άντί πού. G. Hermann and Campbell follow suit
(“unde mihi auxilio adestis?” "From whence do you show your
selves?”—“because none appeared from any quarter”—) and, in
my opinion, they are right: the usual interpretation (Ellendt, Jebb,
Radermaclier, etc.—Heracles addresses the bearers and the words
mean "of what stock are you?” ) yields an almost comic effect.
Jebb’s objection to the idea that Heracles makes a rhetorical appeal
to the absent (“In that case, he would not say, πάντων Έλλάνων
άδικώτατοι άνδρες: he had toiled for ail Hellenes” ) begs the question:
Sophocles does not say this. It is much more natural to think that
Heracles addresses the beneficiaries of his heroic actions, who fail
to succour him now, as πάντων Έλλάνων άδικώτατοι άνέρες than the
mercenaries around him at the moment: for the relative clause
ους . . . ό τάλας is, in the latter case, almost pointless. Note that
Jebb, consistently with his interpretation, takes πάντων Έλλάνων
as the antecedent to the relative clause; if we follow the scholiast,
we must consider άνέρες as the antecedent, or, better, the subject
of έστε. Mazon’s translation (“Mais de quel sang êtes-vous donc,
vous ingrats entre tous les Grecs, vous dont je me suis tué à pur
ger . . .” ) is an unfortunate combination of the two methods of
interpretation.
1011. πάντων Έλλάνων: prob, governed by the superlative; to
take the words as a part, genit, with άδικώτατοι άνέρες (“ Ye most
unrighteous men in every part of Hellas” ), considered as a second
214 COMMENTARY
course by Campbell, seems over-subtle, though not impossible.

άνέρες : the use of epic forms naturally results from the use of the
hexameter (cf. ώλεκόμαν — not in Homer —, ε’ίρυσον — not in
Homer—), though the absence of typically epic formulas makes
the effect of these lines very unhomeric.
άδικώτατοι: άδικος approximates in sense to αχάριστος.
31011, 12 . ους . . . καθαίρων : since ους may easily be taken to
stand for the countries to which the άδικώτατοι άνέρες belong, the
conjecture οίς (Wakefield, followed by Pearson) has to be rejected;
καθαίρων is construed with two accusatives, cf. II. XVI 667 κελαι-
νεφές αίμα κάθηρον . . . Σαρπηδόνα and, in general, the verbs de
noting cleansing and washing (K.-G. I 327 anm. 9). πολλά refers to
the monsters and robbers slain by Heracles.
1012. έν πόντω . . . κατά . . . δρία: graphically for εν πόντιο καί έν
χέρσω. Cf. Eur. tier. 222-226 ούδ’ Έλλάδ’ ήνεσ’ . . . . / . . . κακίστην
λαμβάνων ές παΐδ’ έμόν, / ήν χρην νεοσσοις τοϊσδε πϋρ λόγχας όπλα /
φέρουσαν έλθειν, ποντίων καθαρμάτων / χέρσου τ ’ άμοιβάς . , . Find.
Nem. I 62 (in Tiresias' prophecy of Heracles’ deeds) δσσους μέν έν
χέρσω κτανών, οσσους δε πόντω Θήρας άΐδροδίκας. The wording of the
line is reminiscent of Pind. Nem. IX 43 πολλά μέν έν κονία χέρσω, τά
δέ γείτονι πόντω φάσομαι and the first words of Od. I 4.
πάντα: goes with δρία: if on a par with πολλά, it would create an
odd contrast.
πολλά μέν . . . . τε : equivalent to πολλά μέν . . . πολλά δέ, ci. G.P.
p. 374 n. 2 and p. 375.
δρίά. : cf. Hes. Op. 530 άνά. δρία βησσήεντα, Eur. Hel. 1326 πέτρινα
κατά δρία πολυνιφέα. The sing, is δρίος, Od. XIV 3 5 3 · (το δρίος in
hellenistic poetry x) ; “thicket” (< δρυς? Schwyzer I 512)).
1 0 1 3 . ώλεκόμαν: όλέκω is rare in Trag. : Aesch. Prom·. 564 (anap.),
Ant. 1285 (lyr.), not in Eur.
The schol.’s paraphrase: εκαμνον καί εγγύς θανάτου έγενόμην is
quite correct.
1 0 1 3 , 1 4 , καί νυν. , . . άποτρέψει: schob καί νυν, φησίν, ούδείς
εκείνων ε π ’ ε μ ο ϊ νοσοϋντι ού πϋρ, ού ξίφος σωτήριον προσαγαγών απαλ
λάξει με του ζήν. This is an impossible explanation of the MSS text.
And it must be said that the latter hardly yields a satisfactory
sense ; επιτρέψει Paris, gr. 2886 is an easy, but not wholly convincing
remedy. From the schob we might assume that it was itself based onl
l ) R isch, Wortbildung der horn. Sprache ρ. n i n. i.

COMMENTARY CIS
a reading ου πυρ, ούχ εγχος τις όνησιν άγων 1) άοΐοτρέψει; άποτρέψει

would then bear its common meaning: "will avert” (sc. νόσον).
Retaining the best transmitted text, we might try to read into
άποτρέψει: άποδιδούς τρέψει “will apply in return”, άπο- denoting
return, requital for Heracles’ services; but the interpretation is
rather strained. Note that the reduplication of the negative before
άποτρέψει gives emphasis (the idea that ούκ άποτρέψει could mean
“not-avert” = "apply'" should be discarded).
But perhaps the best way to overcome the difficulty is to assume
the ellipsis of a finite verb-form with ού πυρ, ούκ εγχος: και νυν επί
τωδε νοσούντι ού πυρ, ούκ εγχος τις δνήσιμον (άξει or even καθαρεϊ ==
εύτρεπιε'ΐ, cf. Κ. Latte, Festschrift Snell ρ. 27); ούκ άποτρέψει; (τις
την νόσον).
1 0 1 5 - 1 0 1 7 . The schob ad 1016: ούδείς εκείνων, φησί, βούλεται
έλθών την κεφαλήν μου άποτεμεΐν καί έλευθερώσαι τού μ,οχθηροϋ βίου
suggests that the MSS texd is a truncated form of the original (so
that Dain’s idea of correspondence with 1041-1043 may be right
after all) and also suggests that Wakefield’s conjecture βία (adopted
by Pearson) is improbable. Something like the following e.g. may
be conjectured:
ούδ' άπαράξαι <τις *2) δεΰρ’ εμέ προσ->μολών
κράτα θέλει βίου <τε> στυγερού <λΰσαι> 3)
<τον στυγερόν> 4) φευ φευ.
1 0 1 8 . ώ παϊ τοΰδ’ άνδρός: cf. PI. Phil. 36 d.
ανήκει: the word is familiar from Hdt. (“reach up to” ) and is
very rare in poetry, μεϊζον is a. proleptic predicate. 1
τούργον τόδε: το βοηθήσαι ή βαστάξαι τον Ήρακλέα. Not = ή νόσος,
as is suggested by the schob and accepted by Ellendt.
1 § 1 9 . ή κατ’; quant pro. Cf. K.-G. II 315.8; O.C. 598 τί γάρ τό
μεϊζον ή κατ’ άνθρωπον νοσείς;
ί®1 9 , 2 0 . σοί . . . . σώζειν : the MSS tradition can hardly be
sound; I refer to Jebb’s Appendix for various unconvincing inter
pretations and emendations. I agree with Jebb and others that
όμμα must be a corruption, but Jebb’s and Pearson's σοί γάρ
έτοιμα / ές πλέον ή δι’ εμού σώζειν does not yield anything satis
factory. Neither can I accept Desrousseaux’ σοί τε γάρ άμμα / êv
!j B u t a schol. a d 1014 s ta te s : ού πυρ λείπει προσαγαγών.

2) D ain.
3) C am pbell.
4) Cf. Phil. 166, a n d cf. a d 613.
2i 6 COM MENTARY
πλέον ή δύ’ έμοϋ σώζειν (adopted in Dain’s text; άμμα is a conjecture

of Wunder’s), nor J. Jackson’s 1) σόν γάρ έτ’ δμμα / εν πλέον ή δύ’
όμοΰ · σώζε. (The meanings of δμμα, of έτι and of εν — “Even yet
the mere sight of you” — are all of them much too strained).
I propose: σοί τε γάρ, οΐμαι, (or σοί γάρ έτ’, οΐμαι,) (οΐμαι Capps)/
έκπέλει, ούχί δ’ έμοί, σώζει,ν.
έκπέλει = έξεστι is a rare word and as such may be considered
liable to corruption; it occurs only Ant. 478 ού γάρ εκπέλει / φρονεΐν
μέγ’ δστις δοϋλός έστι τών πέλας; its meaning corresponds perfectly
with μεΐζον άνήκει ή κατ’, (cf. Hesych. έξέπηλεν (έξέπελεν) ■έξεγένετο).
When έκπελει ού had given rise to έμπλεον, a noun was wanted and
found in οΐμαι > δμμα; from the perverse interpretation of έμπλεον
as a comparative form ή originated, χ was expelled, -ιδ’ έμο'ι became
δι’ έμοϋ. — In the conjectural text τε may be defended on the
strength of its correspondence with S’ (cf. for τε . . . δέ and τε . . .
ουδέ G.P.2 p. 513 sq.2)). For the correptio epica of (έκπέλ)ει, cf. i o n
(άδικώτατ)οι. For the contrast σοί . . . ούχί δ’ έμοί cf. Phil, 70 έμοί
μέν ούχί, σοί δ’ . . .
1 0 2 1 , 2 . λαθίπονον . . . οδυναν . . . έξανύσαι βίοτον: Musgrave’s
reading for the MSS όδύναν . . . βιότου, generally accepted, makes the
interpretation much easier; Dain places a colon after έξανύσαι and
reads βιότου τοιαΰτα: but can βιότου τοιαΰτα bear the meaning “ces
épreuves de l’existence” ? If so, λαθίπονον has to be taken sub-
stantivally (= λ. φάρμακον, schob ad 1021); it would be very
difficult to take βιότου as dependent on λαθίπονον οδυναν or on
οδυναν alone. With Musgrave’s text, λαθίπονον is adj. and proleptic
predicate, έξανύσαι being equivalent to Latin efficere with double
acc.
ούτ’ ένδοθεν ούτε θύραθεν : ούτε άπ’ έμαυτοΰ ούτε άπό τίνος τών ξένων
δύναμαι έξανύσαι schob ad 1021 and thus, with slight variations, the
modern commentaries. But the schob ad 1021 has τήν λαθίπονον
ϊασιν τών οδυνών ούτε διά στόματος ούτε έξωθεν προαάπτειν δύναμαι; a
“polar” mentioning of internal and external remedies would be
very much in keeping with Sophocles’ style.
έξανύσαι: for the middle in a similar context cf. Eur. Andr. 535 sq.
τί δ’ έγώ κακών μηχος έξανύσωμαι.
For the redundancy in λαθίπονον οδυναν cf. e.g. δυσπάρευνον
λέκτρον supra 791·
1) M a rg in a lia Scaenica p. 205.
z) Cf. ad 286.
COMMENTARY 217
λάθίπονος: also Ai. 711, = έπιλήσμων τής λύπης. iHor the for
mation ( ~ epic λαθικηδέα μαζόν) cf. Schwyzer I ρ. 4 4 4 -
1 0 2 2 . τοιαϋτα νέμει Ζεύς: τοιαϋτα γάρ άλγήματα δίδωσιν ό Ζεύς
(schol). Not: “The Father holds such things in his power” (Camp
bell’s first interpretation). The asyndeton is explicative; the
general meaning may be paraphrased thus: “against Heracles’
sufferings no treatment will prevail: for it is Zeus who dispenses
them” .
1 0 2 4 , 5 . These words, too, make it probable that 1007 sqq. are
spoken to the Old Man.
τάδε: cf. πσ. ioo7.
με . . . πρόσλαβε κουφίσας: in view of the common usage Jebb may
be right in denying that με πρόσλαβε could mean : “lay hold on me” ;
so he renders by “lend a helping hand in raising me thus” . But
the idea may be: “hold me closely” rather than “lay hold on me” ;
cf. Schiassi’s translation : “prendendomi con te dàmmi un sollievo” .
The actions of the participle and the finite verb coincide in time
(cf. Goodwin § 150).
1 0 2 7 . θρώσκει δ’ αύ: cf. supra 1010.
δειλαία: “wretched”, “misérable” in a disparaging sense, just as
τλήμων and δύστηνος are sometimes used. Also μέλεος cf. ad Ai. 620,
τάλαινα infra 1084.
1 0 3 0 . άποτίβατος: απροσπέλαστος (Resych. has a gloss άποτί-
πλατον’ άπροσπέλαστον), απλατος, cf. infra 1093, Ai. 256 αΐσ’ απλατος.
For “ Doric” ποτι cf. ad 1214. The word only here (possibly from
choral lyric) ; προσβατός “accessible” Xen., άπρόσβατος Arist.
άγρια: cf. Phil. 173, 265, supra 975.
1 0 3 1 . τάδε: nominative, vaguely denoting a new fit of the νόσος,
cf. Phil. 788 προσέρχεται τόδ’ εγγύς.
λωβαται: cf. 996, 1069.
1 0 3 3 . The MSS text runs τον φύσαντ’ οίκτείρας. We may choose
between Dindorf’s τον φύτορ’ οίκτίρας and Froehlich’s τον φύσαντ’
οΐκτιρ’; the former is perhaps the more elegant conjecture; οίκτίρας
εΐρυσον, παΐσον seems more authentic than οΐκτιρε, εΐρυσον, παΐσον.
άνεπίφθονον : άνεμέσητον, έφ’ ώ ούδείς σε μέμψεται ώς πατροκτόνον
(schol.). “The sword that will not create any odium”.
έγχος: “sword”, prob, also supra 1014 and often elsewhere in
Soph. (cf. ad Ai. 95).
1 0 3 4 , 5 . εΐρυσον . . . παΐσον : expressive asyndeton; Campbell
compares Phil. 747-9.
2ΐ δ COMMENTARY
1 0 3 6 . εμάς υπό κλήδος : we may ask whether “beneath the collar

bone” i.e. “in the upper region of the breast” is meant or “per
iusulum
o into the chest under the collar-bone”. The former inter-
pretation is grammatically much easier, the latter more plausible
physically.
άκου: note the durative aspect of the imper, praes, in contrast
with the preceding aorist forms.
άχος: the pain, but also the mental distress, the dolor animi.
the grief.
έχόλωσεν: “anger” ; the act. only in Horn., Hes. and h i. in Soph.
The nuance is here rather: “enraged” .
1 0 3 9 , 4 0 . Cf. Ai. 839-842. Note the madman’s rage in the words
suggested by the terribly emphatic &S' . . . αυτως, ώδ’ αυτως, ώς.
After ώλεσεν some words are missing. Those who transpose to
here ώ γλυκύς ’Άιδας may be right; if so, one dochmiac less is
wanted in 1015-1018.
1 0 4 1 , 2 . αύθαίμων : only here, αύθαιμος O.C. 1078.
Cp. the invocations of Θάνατος Phil. 797, Ai. 854.
On γλυκύς in general cf. Wilamowitz ad Men. Epitr. 17 (p. 53);
it is the natural epithet of ύπνος.
1 0 4 2 . ώκυπέτο: μόρο): cf. Ai. 833 ξύν άσφαδάστω καί ταχεϊ
πηδήματι. The image of Θάνατος as a winged figure may underlie
the epithet. Cf. also Epigr. Kaibel 148. For the relation ευνασον. . .
φθίσας ci. ad 1025. μ’ has been transposed after the second
ευνασον for obvious metrical reasons.
1044. έ'φριξα: cf. Ai. 693, K.-G. 1 164 b. Supra 312.

1045. οίαις: doubtless the correct reading, though L and A have
οΐας: one could not say Ιλαύνομαt συμφοράς.
οΐαις οΐος: cf. supra 994 and K.-G. II 101.
έλαύνεται: cf. ad Ai. 275.
1046. 7 . ώ . . . μοχθήσας εγώ: for the nom. in exclamations see
K.-G. I 46; cf. Phil. 254 ώ πόλλ’ εγώ μοχθηρός, ώ πικρός θεοϊς.
καί λόγω κακά: “grievous even in report” (how much more, then,
in reality1)) ; cf. Hdt. VII. ΙΟγ2 καϊτοί καί λόγω άκοϋσαι δεινόν . . .
(quoted by Campbell). The object of μοχθήσας is πολλά καί θερμά;
the second καί has to be taken adverbially.
θερμά: the figurative use of θερμώς here is remarkable: usually it
) Cf. C am pbell, who h o w ev er a d o p ts B o ttle ’s co n je c tu re .

COMMENTARY 219
means: hot-headed, hasty, rash, audacious; Ant. 88 θερμήν έπί

ψυχροΐσι καρδίαν έχεις is not comparable with our passage. The
meaning here is "fierce” ; the only other example I can find is the
one quoted by Radermacher Babr. 50.12 θερμοϋ δ’ έκφυγοΰσα
κινδύνου. At Ar. Plut. 415 it means "rash” . Perhaps the ύφαντόν
άμφίβληστρον, to be mentioned as a calamity surpassing all previous
trials, suggested, the use of the word.
The case for Bothe’s κού λόγω κακά, advocated by jebb and
Campbell, is not strong, in my opinion1), nor can I accept J.
Jackson's 12) καί, λόγω καλά, however much I admire the wittiness
of its presentation.
και χερσΐ και νώτοισι : Heracles’ labours offer clear examples of
both categories.
1 0 4 8 . κουπω : και "and yet”. Cf. Eur. Her. 509 όρατ’ έμ’ οσπερ ή
περίβλεπτος βροτοΐς . . . καί μ'άφείλεθ' ή τύχη (quoted by Denniston
G.P.2 292 (9)).
τοιοϋτον : not exactly κακόν, but the idea implied in θερμά.
ά.κοιτις: once in Aesch. (Pers. 684), thrice in the Track., thrice in
Eur.’s Ale.
1 0 4 9 . προύθηκεν : "appoint as a task”, same meaning Ant. 216.
1 0 5 0 . δολώπις: only here; “treacherous” : there is some con
nection with εύώπις 523 and Jebb’s “fair and false” seems justified.
1 0 5 0 - 5 2 . τόδ’: the object of καθήψεν, elaborated by Έρινύων /
υφαντόν άμφίβληστρον. Doubtless these words are a reminiscence and
a blending of Aesch. Ag. 1580 ύφαντοις έν πέπλοις Έρινύων and Tb.
1382, άπειρον άμφίβληστρον 3). Cp. moreover il·. 1115 ή δίκτυόν τι
γ ’ "Αιδου. We have to interpret: "a woven net of the Erinyes” , not
“a net, woven by the Erinyes” (on the non-existence of a "genit,
auctoris” cf. ad 768) : the real garment is meant. Of course, this
does not imply that the whole phrase could not be paraphrased by
"a garment woven by the Erinyes in which I am captured as if in a
net”. Cf. also ad 831 , and Ai. 1034 άρ’ ούκ Έρινύς τοϋτ’ έχάλκευσε
ξίφος with note ; Ant. 1205 ; Lycophr. 406,7 Έρινύων / πικράν . . .
πάγην.
1 0 5 3 . πλευραΐσι γάρ προσμαχθέν : cf. supra 767 sq. προσμάττω Ar.
Eg. 815.
1) Cic. T11.sc. I I 8 read o u r te x t. Of co u rse th is p ro v es o n ly th a t th e c o r

ru p tio n , if th e re w as an v , m u s t be old.
2) M a rginalia Scaenica p. 21S.
3) Cf. B ow ra, S op h od ea n Tragedy p. 140.
220 COMMENTARY
έσχάτας: modern commentators, referring to Hesych. έσχατον-

εσώτατον, generaUy understand = τάς έσωτάτω, “innermost’'. In my
opinion we may discard this strange semasiology, and interpret
as “the flesh of the extremities” (though πλευραϊσι προσμαχθέν the
demonic power of the άμφίβληστρον has also affected his hands and
feet: cf. δέμας / τδ παν lOgb sq., χέρες χέρες 1089, άναρθρος 1103).
1 0 5 3 - 5 5 . έκ μέν . . . έκ δέ: the combination of anaphora and
tmesis lends a pathetic emphasis to the wording.
1 0 5 4 . βέβρωκε : cf. supra 771 έδαίνυτο, infra 1084 διαβόρος, Aesch.
Clio. 281 λειχήνας έξέσθοντας άρχαίαν φύσιν.
πλεύμονός: cf. ad 5^7·
άρτηρίας: not the bronchial tubes, but the vessels in the lungs,
αρτηρία φλεβώδης Gal. U.P. VI io, shrivelled up by the νόσος. I do not
believe that ροφεϊ is a suitable verb for denoting emptying (the
tubes) of air. The schol. has τάς φλέβας.
1 0 5 5 . ξυνοικοϋν: ci. O.C. 1238, Ariphro ΙΙαιάν είς την ύγίειαν 2
(Ύγίεια) σύ δέ μοι . . . σύνοικος εϊης. Cp. also Ο.Τ. 337 S(l· (οργήν)
την σήν δ’ όμοϋ / ναίουσαν. Again, the νόσος or the venom is drastic
ally personified.
1 0 5 5 - 5 7 . The two phrases of the sentence express chiastically
the result of the two phrases of the preceding sentence. Ail the
flesh, my life-blood — my blood, my whole body.
χλωρόν: “fresh” , "vigorous” ; Cicero Tuse. II 20 mistranslates
decolorent.
αίμα . . . πέπωκεν : ci. Theocr. Il 55.
1 0 5 7 . άφράστω: either: “unutterably dreadful” (Jebb) “sans
nom” (Mazon) or “inscrutable” (Campbell) "mystérieuse” (Mas-
queray) 1).
(Cf. ad 694, and for the “distant connection” cf. προπετής 976 =
701 ). The second interpretation seems here slightly preferable,
since τυφλή άτη nog. would be in keeping with it; it would be a
weak objection to contend that the πέδη is visible, for the πέδη
does not denote the garment, but the uncanny power working in it
or its effect.
1 0 5 8 . ού . . . ουθ’ . . . ούτε: G.P P 509 (III) and n. 2.
λόγχη πεδιάς: schol. : ή έν τω πεδίω βαλλομένη. (For the formation
cf. Schwyzer I 508.3). Perhaps better is Campbell’s comment: “the
array of spearmen on the plain”, λόγχη being used collectively, cf.
d T he schol. h as b o th a n d m o reo v er a th ird (άπροσδοκήτω).

COMMENTARY 221
O.C. 1312, Eur. Phoen. 442 μυρίαν άγων λόγχην, Cret. 45 (v. Arnim)
χωρεΐτε, λόγχη.
Since ουθ’ . . . ούτε need not contain the explanation of the
member with ού 1), neither Giants nor Centaurs are meant to be
understood by λόγχη πεδιάς. The poet may have thought of the
battle with the Minyans or any other fought on a plain, ό γηγενής /
στρατός Γιγάντων: at Phlegra, cf. Pind. Nem. I 67, Apollod. II 7.1.
1 0 5 9 . θήρειος βία: indubitably “the violence of the Centaurs”,
and so the words carry a poignant dramatic irony, cf. 1096, 556,
662, 680, 707 123).
1 0 6 0 . Ελλάς: sc. γαΐα. The same has to be supplied with άγλωσ
σος.
άγλωσσος i.q. βάρβαρος, ci. παλίγγλωσος Pind. Isthm. VI 24 s).
(Though Pearson ad Eur. Phoen. 1509 sqq. is, in my opinion, mis
taken in considering Ελλάς as not equivalent there to Έλλην, I
cannot agree with those who so interpret here : the words ουθ’ όσην
εγώ γαΐαν argue strongly for the supplying of γαΐα, as strongly as
ή των προπάροιθ’ εύγενετάν ετερος argues against it in the passage
of Eur.).
1 0 6 0 , 1. ουθ’ όσην . . . γαΐαν: ούτε πάσα γαΐα ήντινα.
καθαίρων: cf. 1012. The words are a hyperbolic summuuy of the
two preceding phrases; I fail to see why Jebb denies this. If the
poet also thought of the regions "beyond the dwellings of men” ,
these are included in άγλωσσος.
1 0 6 2 . θήλυς: fairly often for θήλεια (thus already in Homer).
θήλυς ούσα κούκ άνδρός φύσιν : thus the MSS text (schol. φύσιν :
λείπει εχουσα) left unaltered by Campbell, Masqueray, Dain; most
editors follow either Steinhart and Nauck, reading θήλυς φυσά
κούκ άνδρός φύσιν4), (Jebb, Radermacher) or adopt Valckenaer’s
φύσις (Pearson). K.-G. I 305 consider the words elliptical, θήλυς
ούσα κούκ άνδρός φύσιν sc. φύσα, Schwyzer-Debr. II 75 T take φύσιν
as the verbal noun of the “suppletive” stem φυ- playing the rôle
of the verbal noun of έσ- as an accusative of the internal object
(cognate acc.) : this amounts to practically the same as to contend
that ούσα = φύσα. Grammatically άνδρός φύσιν is then comparable
1) ού . . . ούτε . . . ούτε fre q u e n tly d en o te s a sequence of th re e c o o rd in a te d
p h ra se s; th e usage is epic, b u t b y no m ean s ex clu siv ely so.
2) θήρειος in P a n y a ssis Heracl. fr. 1 K inkel.
3) Cf. E d . F ra e n k e l a d A esch. A g . 1050,1.
b B lay d es Θήλυν φύσα κούκ άνδρός φύσιν; th u s also D . H o lw e rd a Φ Υ Σ ΙΣ ,
1955. Ρ· 33· Cf. A i . 760 ανθρώπου φύσιν βλαστών, w ith n o te.
222 COMMENTARY
to Eur. Bacch. 925 sq. ούχί την Ίνοΰς στάσιν/ή τήν Άγαύης έστάναι
and to Thuc. I 37.3 ή πόλις αυτών αυτάρκη θέσιν κειμένη. K.-G.’s
explanation is a better statement of the facts : if we do not alter the
text (and I think we should not), we must say that ουσα stands
zeugmatically (first with predicate, then with internal acc.) in such
a way that in the second phrase it is equivalent to φΰσα.
1 0 6 3 . δή : on δή with μόνη cf. G.P,2 p. 205. II and cf. Ant. 38, 821.
But δή does not belong exclusively to μόνη: it “spreads its influence
over the whole clause” (G.P,2 p. 204).
Cf. Aesch. Eum. 627 καί ταΰτα προς γυναικός, ου τι θουρίοις /
τόξοις έκηβόλοισιν, ώστ’ Άμαζόνος and, in the vein of comedy,
Men. Mis. fr. 3 Koerte παιδισκάριόν με καταδεδούλωκ’ ευτελές; / ôv
ούδέ εις των πολεμίων ουπώποτε. —
1 0 6 4 . γενοΰ . . . γεγώς: δεΐξον τοις έργοις δτι άληθώς έξ Ήρακλέους
εχεις το γένος (schol.). “ Now attest, that those whom you call
fathers did beget you” .
παΐς έτήτυμος γεγώς : the predicate to γενοΰ (παΐς έτήτυμος is
predicate to γεγώς).
έτήτυμος: genuinus, cf. Aesch. Clio. 948 έτήτυμος Διάς κόρα (the
usage is not common) x). μοι: άπό κοινοΰ with γενοΰ and γεγώς.
1 0 6 5 . τό μητρος όνομα: cf. 817; but I am not sure that Mazon is
right in translating “le vain nom d’une mère”.
πλέον: more or less redundant, for πρεσβεύειν alone implies: to
honour more, cf. PL Leg. 879 b τό πρεσβύτερον τοΰ νεωτέρου έστί
πρεσβευόμενον.
1 0 6 6 - 1 0 6 9 . Perhaps the most savage passage in Greek Tragedy.
If Sophocles wanted to demonstrate how bodily torment causes
heroes, no less than ordinary men, to forget the most elementary
decency, he could not have done better. But the picture is in keeping
with the Heracles of 271-273, the devastator of Oechalia, the
murderer of Lichas. Every word of these lines is of a maniacal,
perverse cruelty, (χεροΐν σαΐν αότός λαβών ές χεΐρα, κείνης . . .
λωβητόν είδος έν δίκη κακούμενον).
1 0 6 8 . τούμόν: sc. λωβητόν είδος.
κείνης : τό κείνης.
ή: probably “or” .
1 0 6 9 . λωβητόν: cf. 1031, 9 9 ^·
έν δίκη κακούμενον: "afflicted with righteous evil” (Campbell),1
1) E . H a rriso n , Cl. Q u. 1913, p. 133.

COMMENTARY 223
but κακοϋσθαι has the not infrequent special meaning of bodily

ill-treatment, mutilation.
1 0 7 0 . τόλμησον· οί'κτφον: the two imperatives are closely
connected by τ’. The "daring” consists in the “showing pity” by
delivering Deianeira to Heracles’ revenge.
1 0 7 1 . πολλοΐσιν οίκτρόν: πολλοΐσιν is prob, masc., the dative
denoting "in the eyes of” . But a dativ. causae (“for many reasons”,
cf. Phil. 186 λιμω τ’ οίκτρός) may perhaps also be thought of. The
rareness, however, of a neuter substantival πολλοΐς and the con
trast with ούδ’ εΐς are against this possibility.
1 0 7 1 . ώστε : A and Π ; L’s ώς τις would present us with an
infraction of the regula Porsoniana, since τις — though mono
syllabic — goes with ώς.
1 0 7 2 . βέβρυχα: cf. stipra 805, 904.
1 0 7 2 - 1 0 7 4 . και τόδ’ . . . κακοϊς: cf. Eur. Her. I 353~56 άτάρ
πόνων δή μυρίων έγευσάμην · / ών ούτ’ άπεΐπον ούδεν’ ουτ’ άπ’ όμμάτων /
έσταξα πηγάς, ούδ’ άν ωόμην ποτέ / ές τουθ’ ίκέσθαι, δάκρυ’ άπ’ ομ-
μάτων βαλεΐν. Cf. Ai. 318 sqq.
καί . . . . τόνδ’ άνδρα: transition, usual in Greek, to an independent
sentence with a demonstrative instead of a second relative clause ;
but note the pathetic emphasis brought about by τόνδ’ άνδρα.
1 0 7 3 . δεδρακότα: βεβρυχότα κλαίοντα, hence the perfect, denoting
the supposed state he was in.
1 0 7 4 . έσπόμην: though, to be sure, είπόμην (reading of the
schol. ad Ai. 3x8) is easier to explain, the MSS reading έσπόμην
which must be considered the lectio difficilior may be retained and
defended on the ground that the past events are collectively taken
as a whole (cf. Goodwin § 56) and his heroic past summed up in one
formula, in which the aorist marks it as a period irrevocably closed
for ever. The words are well rendered by Campbell, who alone
among modern editors adopts the MSS reading: "I turned not
aside from trouble” , αίέν, then, goes with άστένακτος.
άστένακτος: only here and infra I200 in Soph.; cf. Eur. Ale. 173
άκλαυτος άστένακτος.
1 0 7 5 . εκ τοιούτου: “I, once such a man” , cf. ad 284. Mot: “in
consequence of such a thing” (the second interpretation of the
scholion).
ηυρημαι : the perfect denotes Heracles’ state. Ellendt renders the
passive of ευρίσκω, with a predicate, by όράσθαι έναργώς, cf. supra
41X and Ai. 615 (with note).
COMMENTARY
1 0 7 6 - 1 0 8 0 . The horrible exhibition of Heracles’ maimed limbs

and body is, in Sophoclean tragedy, comparable with the uncovering
of Ajax’ corpse Ai. 1003 sqq. and with the θέαμα τοιοϋτον οΐον καί
στυγοϋντ’ έποικτίσαι Ο.Τ. I2Ç5 sqq. It is to be noted that Heracles’
apparent purpose viz. to impress Hyllus with his gruesome plight
in order to make him obey is immediately extended into a general
lament directed to all those present ; so the scene develops into one
of those demonstrations of smitten greatness, by which Tragedy
reminds man of his frailty. We may add that it demonstrates also
the ignorance of man as to the true causes of his fate: Heracles’
craving for revenge, uttered again at the end of his speech, is due
to false assumptions.
1 0 7 8 . έκ καλυμμάτων: = έκτος καλυμμάτων, έκκεκαλυμμένα.
1 0 7 9 . άθλιον δέμας: cf. Ο.Τ. 1388, O.C. 576, El. 756.
1 0 8 2 . έθαλψεν: μ’ can easily be supplied from the context.
άτης: said of the νόσος; the word suggests its destroying force,
the ruin caused by it.
σπασμός: cf. supra 805.
1 0 8 3 . διήξε πλευρών: cf. Hipp. Mul. I 35 φρΐκαι διά του σώματος
διάσσουσι. On the genit, with δια-compounds cf. my note ad Eur.
Andr .2 1044 sqq., supra 717 (dubious), O.C. 963, Ap. Rhocl. I 687,
perhaps Ar. Vesp. 352, Eur. Suppl. 860.
άγύμναστον: “unharassed” (L.-Sc.). Cf. Eur. lid . 533 ούδ’
άγύμναστον πλάνοις, Aesch. Prom. 586 άδην με . . . πλάναι γεγυμνά-
κασι ; especially Eur. fr. 682 μών κρυμός αυτής πλευρά γυμνάζει
χολής; (quoted by Jebb). Compare the semasiology of exercitus.
1 0 8 4 . ή τάλαινα: cf. note ad 1027 δειλαία.
διαβόρος: cf. Phil. 7 νόσω διαβόρω and the passive use (διάβορος)
supra 676. Cf. 987, 1054.
1 0 8 5 , 6 . For the sporadic insertion of lyric metres in trimeter speech,
expressing an outburst of sentiment, cf. El. 1160 sqq., O.T. 1468,
1471, 1475; Koster, Traité2 XIV 10, p. 304; prob, anapaestic cola.
1 0 8 5 . δέξαι: Hades is called πολυδέκτης or πολυδέγμων, Hymn.
Cer. 9, 17, 31.
1 0 8 6 . άκτίς: of lightning also Pinel. Pyth. IV 198.
The contrast in meaning combined with the parallelism in rhythm
lends a powerful effect to the words.
1 0 8 7 . ένσεισον . . . έγκατάσκηψον : the effect of the asyndeton is
reinforced by the repetition of έν-. έγκατασκήπτω trans, also Aesch.
Pers. 514.
COMMENTARY 225
1088. δαίνυται: supra 771.

1 0 8 9 . ήνθηκεν: cf. άνθος supra 99g, τέθηλε Phil. 259· έξανθεΐν
μανίαις PI. Politic. 310 d.
έξώρμηκε: cf. ιοιο έρπει. For the intr. use cf. Eur. Troad. 1131.
Mazon’s rendering “le voilà déchaîné” brings into relief the under
lying metaphor of the wild beast broken loose.
1 0 8 9 - 1 0 9 1 . Heracles, whose being is bound up with his bodily
prowess 1), addresses what is left of his once glorious limbs. The
personification of these is doubtless more than a rhetorical device;
it is a common human experience for a moment to feel one’s own
body and its parts as separate beings with a condition and destiny
of their own, especially when, as here, they are the victims of
disease and decay. The poet could have made Heracles, as he made
Oedipus—and to a lesser extent Ajax—address the scenes of his
life’s major events in order to sum up the course of his destiny:
here he preferred the apostrophe to the tools of Heracles’ exploits
as an introduction to recalling these deeds, the essence of his life,
themselves. The method is certainly in keeping with character and
situation, and the enumeration of Heracles’ labores—an obligatory
part of a Heracles drama, which the audience would eagerly look
forward to—finds its natural and highly impressive place.
1 0 8 9 . ώ χέρες χέρες: the tautology, a device sparingly used by
Sophocles, has here its full pathetic effect, άφορών εις εν έκαστον
μέλος δυσφορεΐ δτι άφ’ ο'ίου οίον γέγονεν αυτοϋ το σώμα.
1 0 9 0 . ώ φίλοι βραχίονες: his arms are personified as the comrades
in his fighting.
1 0 9 1 . υμείς δε κείνοι: for δέ “occasionally found in passionate or
lively exclamations” seeG.P.2 p. 172 (II) ; υμείς εκείνοι (A) seems a
lectio facilior.
κείνοι δή καθέσταθ’: for emphatic (pathetic) δή after pronouns
cf. G.P,2 p. 208. According to Jebb we have here a compressed way
of saying τοιοϋτοι υμείς καθέστατε, εκείνοι δή <δντες>. (καθέστατε =
“have come to be” ); though this is the meaning we would expect,
it is hard to see how it could be drawn from the words as they stand :
it amounts to taking υμείς as the predicate and εκείνοι as the subject
which is impossible in view of the second person of the verb, or to
attributing to καθέσταθ’ a pregnant meaning, viz. “you are reduced
to such a piteous state as this” , which is improbable. Nor could we
x) Cf. R e in h a rd t, o.c. p. 70.

K a m e r b e e k , Trach iniae 15
COM MENTARY
assume that εκείνοι refers to the present state of the βραχίονες:

it must refer to their glorious past (“illi” ). So I accept, somewhat
reluctantly, Campbell’s interpretation: ' “Are the same” . However
changed they appear, these achievements remain theirs. This is
implied in the use of καθεστάναι for the substantive verb.’ x) The
bitterness of the statement is emphasized by δή.
1 0 9 2 . As a rule, the fight with the Nemean lion is considered
the first of Heracles’ labours.
ένοικον: with the genit, of the place, cf. Aesch. Prom. 415.
άλάστορα: "scourge” (Jebb and L.-Sc.).
1 0 9 3 . άπλατον: “unapproachable” ; both form and usage (viz.
as an epithet with monsters, cf. Find. Pyth. XII 9, Bacch. V 62)
are taken from choral lyric poetry (cf. Björclc, Alpha Impurum
pp. 129, 344). Cf.fr. 387 άπλατον άξύμβλητον έξεθρεψάμην.
άπροσήγορον: much the same as άπλατον, just like άξύμβλητον in
fr. 387 and like δυσπρόσοιστον in the phrase το δυσπρόσοιστον κάπροσ-
ήγορον στόμα O.C. 1277·
1 0 9 4 . Λερναίαν ΰδραν: we note that six labours are mentioned,
the first and the third at some length, the second and the fourth
very briefly, the fifth and sixth more circumstantially; in this way
poise, symmetry and swiftness are attained in Heracles’ account
and the tedium of lengthy enumerations is avoided.
1 0 9 5 . διφυή τ ’ άμεικτον ίπποβάμονα: note the increasing size of
the epithets.
διφυή: cf. Hdt. IV 9.1 έχιδνα μειξοπάρθενος διφυής; of Centaurs
Pherecydes 50 J.
άμεικτον: “unsociable”, cf. Eur. Cycl. 429.
ίπποβάμονα: Aesch. Prom. 805 στρατόν Άριμασπόν ίπποβάμονα.
Since the διφυής nature of the Centaurs is stressed Campbell’s
“tramping with horses’ feet” is better than Jebb’s “moving like
horses” . To what extent the horseman was felt in the Centaur may
be seen from Xen. Cyr. IV 3.17.
1 0 9 6 . Θηρών: cf. ad 1059.
1 0 9 6 . υβριστήν . . . βίαν: we may regard υβριστήν, άνομον, ύπέροχον
as three adjectives in apposition to στρατόν and βίαν as an accusat,
of respect going with ύπέροχον; thus the sentence, with three ad-
x) T h a t ύμεις is stre sse d also is an u n d e n ia b le fact, a n d so J e b b ’s tr a n s

lation m a y be re a d ily a c c e p te d : “ ye, now in th is p lig h t, are th e sam e w hose
force of old su b d u e d . . E x p a n d e d th e w ords w o u ld ru n : ύμεΐς <vGv τοι-
οϋτοι δντες> εκείνοι δή καθέστατε . . .
COMMENTARY 227
jectives before and three after στρατόν, is evenly balanced. Or we

may, following Ellendt, punctuate only after υβριστήν, considering
βίαν as an apposition to στρατόν (abstractum pro concreto and cf.
1059), accompanied by the attributes άνομον and ύπέροχονx). Or,
again, we could with Raderm. take together υβριστήν άνομον and
ύπέροχον βίαν. But the first course seems the most likely; the words
are reminiscent of Hes. Theog. 307 (Τυφάονα) δεινόν θ’ υβριστήν τ’
άνομον θ’. Pearson’s reading βία (with some dett.) does not recom
mend itself. —
ύπέροχον: Bentley’s correction; the epic form ύπείροχον (MSS) *2)
is unmetrical here. (Only here in Soph.).
1 0 9 7 . Θήρα: one out of many instances that show how little
fifth century authors cared about avoiding repetition of the same
word within a small compass.
1098. "Αιδου τρίκρανον σκύλακ’: Hes. Theog. 311 Άίδεω κύνα
χαλκεόφωνον, / πεντηκοντακέφαλον ; Eur. Her. 1277 '’Αιδου πυλωρόν
κύνα τρίκρανον, ib. 611 καί Θήρά γ ’ ές φως τον τρίκρανον ήγαγον. Three
headed Cerberus is the normal type in later literature (cf. e.g. Verg.
Aen. VI 417). The adj. τρίκρανος in Tragedy only here and in Eur.
Her., Parmenides 6.5 uses δίκρανος.
σκύλακ’: only here in Soph., not in Aesch., twice in Eur. (Bacch.
338, Hipp. 1276) ; only here used to denote Cerberus. The word
does not seem to convey a touch of contempt, as Campbell will
have it.
άπρόσμαχον: an expansion of the common άμαχος (only here in
Trag.); άμαχος Ant. 800, άμάχητος Phil. 198 (the Homeric αμήχανος
is not used with this meaning by the Tragedians).
1 0 9 9 . δεινής Έχίδνης θρέμμα: Cerberus is the offspring of Typhaon
and Echidna, together with Orthos, Hydra, and Chimaera (Hes.
Theog. 306 sqq.).
1 1 0 0 . επ’ έσχάτοις τόποις: τοΐς τής Λιβύης says the schol. but that
is much too precise. The descent to.Hades is commonly regarded as
Heracles’ last labour (thus Eur. Her. 427 πόνων τελευτάν, Apollod.
II 5.12) ; the order of the account here does not prove that Sophocles
thought otherwise.
1101. άλλων . . . έγευσάμ,ην : cf. Eur. Her. 1275 μυρίων τ’ άλλων
P Cf. ύπέροχον σθένος A esch. Prom. 428 (b u t th e w ords a re c o rr u p t); th u s

also L.-Sc.
2) T h u s also m o st m ss a t A esch. Prom . 428.
228 COMMENTARY
πόνων / διήλθον άγέλας and 1353 άτάρ πόνων δή μυρίων εγευσάμην 1).
The metaphorical use of γεύεσθαι (often implying, as here, a certain
sarcasm or bitterness) is as old as Homer (e.g. II. XXI 60, Od. XX
181) ; with πόνων Pind. Nem. VI 24.
1101. 2. τε . . . καί: the corresponsion expressed by τε . . . καί
amounts to what, with a subordinate clause, would run thus: καί
έν άπασιν άλλοις μόχθων όσων εγευσάμην ούδείς τροπα.Γ έ'στησε. But
perhaps τε and καί are not here corresponsive at all, τε only linking
the sentence with the preceding; καί alone, in that case, has the
function indicated in the above paraphrase; or we may say that
it comes near to the meaning “and yet”, cf. supra 1072 and 1048
(G.P.2 292 (9)).
1 1 0 2 . των έμών χερών: better not to take with Jebb χερών
metonymically = valour: at the end of the enumeration the
recurrence of the χέρες in their literal sense (cf. 1089) is in keeping
with the pathetic appeal of the passage.
τρόπαια: cf. ad 751 supra; with the dependent genitive (objecti) ;
many instances in L.-Sc. s.v.) : “trophy of victory over”.
For the contrast κούδείς . . . . νΰν δ’ . . . . cf. Ai. 423-426.
1 1 0 3 . άναρθρος: “vi artuum orbatus” (E.).
κατερρακωμένος: τάς σάρκας σαπείς καί έχων αύτάς κρεμαμένας ώς
ράκη (schob). Cf. the proleptic object in Aesch. Prom. 1021-23 Διός
. . . κύων . . . . λάβρως διαρταμήσει σώματος μέγα ράκος. The verb
does not occur elsewhere but ρακόομαι = “become wrinkled” is
said of skins of dead animals Plut. Qu. Conv. II 642 e (L.-Sc.).
1 1 0 4 . τυφλής ύπ’ άτης: cf. 1082. τυφλός has indubitably a passive
meaning, cf. ad 1057 άφράστω; fr. 593. 5, 6 (Tereus) τό δ’ ές αϋριον
αίεί τυφλόν ερπει.
εκπεπόρθημαι: in a more literal sense than διαπεπόρθημαι Ai. 896.
1 1 0 5 . 6. Mark the parallelism in the metrical and syntactical
structure of the two lines. For the repeated ό at the beginning of
the lines (and the asyndeton) cp. e.g. El. 300-302. Cp. also O.T. 385
Κρέων ό πιστός, ούξ αρχής φίλος.
1 1 0 5 . τής άρίστης μητρός: “the son of noblest mother” (J.). Very
often Heracles’ mother is mentioned when Heracles is spoken of:
cf. supra 97, 181, 644, Ai. 1303, Aesch. Ag. 1040, Eur. Ale. 505,
1006, Her. 712, 929, Troad. 805, Hipp. 553.
1 1 0 6 . αύδηθείς: cf. Phil. 240,1. In my opinion the aor. partie.,
p T h e re sem b la n ce does n o t w a rra n t a n y conclusions as to th e re la tiv e

ch ronology of th e tw o p lay s. Cf. R e in h a rd t, Sophokles1 p. 257.
COMMENTARY 229
contrasting with the perf. partie, ώνομασμένος, suggests how es

tranged he feels from his sonship to Zeus.
1 1 0 7 . το μηδέν: “all but lost” cf. n. ad Ai. 1275.
1 1 0 8 . καν μηδέν έρπω: generally explained as e.g. by Campbell:
“and have no power to move”, μηδέν being taken adverbially =
“not at all” . The interpretation is hardly satisfying and the words
strike me as a βάθος. Perhaps we should alter x) into κάς (καί ές) and
take μηδέν = “ Death” : το μηδέν Ani. 234 may be interpreted in
the sense of: “my death” ; at El. 1166 τήν μηδέν ές το μηδέν the last
words must mean: “into nothingness” = “ Death” (or: “the
grave” ).
1 1 0 7 , 8. γε . . . . γε: the first γε is emphatic, the second between
emphatic and limitative.
1 1 0 9 . κάκ τώνδε: “even under these circumstances”, cf. Ai. 537
with note.
μόνον: cf. ad 596.
1110. έκδιδαχθή πασιν άγγέλλειν: the phrase is, if one considers its
implications, of an unbearable cruelty. By the Sophoclean enjamb-
ment the ότι clause is brought into relief and forms an impressive
end to Heracles’ rhesis. On the subj. cf. Goodwin § 181.
1111. καί θανών: cf. το μηδέν 1x07; we may hear in the words a
tragic irony in connection with 1160 sq.
Again γε is emphatic.
1 1 1 2 . ώ τλήμον Ελλάς: exclamation (cf. K.-G. I 48.3), for the
following reference to Ελλάς is in the third person (otherwise we
should write, with Meineke, σφαλεΐσ’ έση). Cf. Aesch. Ag. 1468-1474
(with Fraenkel’s note).
1 1 1 3 . σφαλήσεται: σφάλλεσθαι with, genit, “to be foiled in”, “to
lose” (this is possible, because “the word implies not merely losing
him, but being disappointed of her hopes in him” Campbell).
1 1 1 4 . 1 5 . έπεί. . . . παρασχών: with Dain we should punctuate
after παρασχών, for σιγήν παρασχών contains the explanation of
παρέσχες άντιφωνήσαι. We observe the somewhat strained artifici
ality with which παρέχειν is used twice with different meanings in
one sentence, doubtless an instance of το πικρόν καί κατάτεχνον of
Sophocles’ second period (Plut. De prof, in virt. 79 b).
άντιφωνήσαι: abs., as e.g. at Ant. 271.
νοσών όμως: “malgré ton mal” (Mazon).
J) T he id ea is V o llg ra ffs (in his le c tu re s on S o p h .’s Antigone).

230 COMMENTARY
1 1 1 6 , αίτήσομαι: refers to δός μοι σεαυτόν. The future has modal

force (I would like to ask, je veux demander) ; cf. note ad Alf. 681.
ών δίκαια τυγχάνειν : “such favour as it is my due to get” . For
δίκαια cf. note ad 409.
1 1 1 7 , 1 8 . δός . . . . δύσοργος: μή τοσοΰτον δύσοργος θυμω ώς θυμω
δάκνη (Raderm.). δάκνη is not subj., as Campbell will have it.
δός μοι σεαυτόν: cf. Phil. 84, but in our passage the words have
the meaning of a forcible δός ακοήν τοΐς έμοϊς λόγοις (cf. El. 30).
θυμω goes both with δάκνη and δύσοργος. For δάκνη cf. supra 254
and Ant. 317. μή, not où, in connection with the imperative.
ού γάρ άν γνοίης: “else (i.e. εί μή δοίης σεαυτόν ήττον δύσοργος ών)
you can not learn . . .” .
1 1 1 8 , 1 9 . εν οΐς . . . . μάτην: by its placing μάτην is stressed; so it
seems best to make it go with both phrases of the clause.
έν οΐς . . . κάν ότοις: the two pronouns have exactly the same
function in this indirect question ; the words do not directly depend
on χαίρειν and άλγεΐς (thus rightly Jebb) but denote: “in what a
situation, under what circumstances”.
χαίρειν πρόθυμη : refers to Heracles’ atrocious desire for vengeance.
άλγεΐς: refers to Heracles’ angry affliction at thinking himself
his wife’s victim. Schol. : χαίρειν πρόθυμη · άνελεΐν αύτήν βουλόμενος.
1 1 2 0 , 2 1 . After Hyllus’ rather veiled terms Heracles’ curt and
impatient reply is only natural.
νόσων: referring to νοσών όμως Ι ΐ ι 5 ·
ποικίλλεις: cf. supra 4x2.
πάλαι: cf. supra 414; very often the adverb is used in phrases with
a ring of impatience (many passages in O.T. and Ant.); here the
effect is intensified by the π -alliteration.
1 1 2 2 . τής μητρός . . . τής έμής: cf. Horn. Od. XI 174 είπε δέ μοι
πατρός τε καί υίέος, ον κατέλειπον, El. 317 του κασιγνήτου τί φής, /
ήξοντος, ή μέλλοντος; O.T. J 00 sq. ερώ........ Κρέοντος, οΐά μοι
βεβουλευκώς έχει.
1 1 2 3 . οΐς θ’ ήμαρτεν: εν goes with οΐς also: άμαρτάνειν is rarefy
construed with a dative (Phil. 1011,2, quoted by Campbell, is not
a case in point) and “under what circumstances” seems more
appropriate than “by what causes” .
ήμαρτεν: without any moral implication, ούχ εκούσια: όταν γάρ
τις πατάξη τινά ή άποκτείνη ή τι των τοιούτων ποίηση μηδέν προδιανοη-
θείς, άκοντά φαμεν ποιήσαι, ώς του εκουσίου οντος έν τω διανοηθήναι.
Arist. Magn. Mor. 1188 b 29-31.
COMMENTARY 23I
1 1 2 4 . γάρ: seems to give the reason of ώ παγκάκιστε (Denniston

G.P.2 p. 80 (8) does not think so), καί (“indeed” ) intensifies the
indignant tone of the question.
παρεμνήσω: only here in Tragedy (Hdt. has the word): “make
mention of” with the idea “per occasionem” or “timide” implied
(cf. Ellendt) : we may perhaps say that κατ’ άντίφρασιν the idea
“how dare you” is suggested by παρ-.
1 1 2 5 . πατροφόντου: only here and O.T. 1441 (masc.); here it is
used for the feminine as is often the case with nomina agentium
of masculine form1) ; moreover the meaning is: “murderess of your
father” instead of the natural “murderess of her father” ; cf. Horn.
Od. I 299 (Orestes) έκτανε πατροφονήα / Αΐγισθον.
ώς κλύειν εμέ: “so dass ich es hören muss” (Raderm.).
1 1 2 6 . έχει: prob. Deianeira has to be taken as the subject.
The meaning of the words is well rendered by the schol. : το γάρ
κατ’ αυτήν, φησί, πράγμα εκτός εστιν αδικίας ώς μή δέον είναι τ ο ύ τ ο
σιωπή παραδοϋναι.
1 1 2 7 . ού . . . ήμαρτημένοις: the natural interpretation of ού δήτα
must run along the lines set out by Denniston G.P.2 p. 274 II 1 i:
“an expected denial, expressing agreement with the previous
speaker’s negative statement”, cf. Phil. 419. So we must supply
ού δήτα <σιγάν πρέπει > and not ού δήτα <ού σιγάν πρέπει > as assumed
by Mazon (“ Certes si, quand on songe à ses crimes passés” ). Now
τοΐς γε πρόσθεν ήμαρτημένοις must be a dat. causae to be rendered
by “in view of . . .” , “on account of . . . .”, “if one considers. . .”
(cf. Pearson’s note ad Ichn. 153 sq.). If we take τοΐς πρόσθεν ήμαρτη-
μένοις to mean “her past crimes” referring to the poisoning of the
robe etc., Heracles’ reply is sarcastic and amounts to: her crimes
should certainly not be kept silent. But then there is a difficulty in
the antithesis τοΐς πρόσθεν X τοΐς έφ’ ήμέραν. For both Deianeira’s
deed and her suicide have taken place in the course of this very day.
If we render the words (with Campbell) by: “ Certainly there is no
cause for silence on account of her former errors”, i.e. “No blame
requiring silence attached to her until to-day”, Heracles would
be here (and here only) shown recalling D.’s blameless life. Then the
connection with the next verse (ούδέ . . . τοΐς γ ’ έφ’ ήμέραν) is clear,
but we have to take τοΐς πρόσθεν ήμαρτημένοις as a res pro rei defectu
and it must be admitted that we expect from Heracles a sarcastic
x) Cf. C h a n tra in e , F orm ation des N o m s p . 318.

COMMENTARY
comment rather than any attitude that comes near to yielding.

However, he does yield in so far as he after all does not turn a
deaf ear to Hyllus’ words.
1128. άλλ’ . . . έρεΐς: άλλ’ ουδέ μεν δή <σιγάν πρέπειν περί αύτής>
τοΐς γ’ έφ’ ήμέραν <πεπραγμένοις or ήμαρτημένοις> έρεΐς. τοΐς έφ’ ημέραν
hodie jactis (Ε). έφ’ ήμέραν prop, “for a day” , i.e. “for this day” ,
i.e. “to-day” (“perhaps tinged with a sad irony” Jebb).
άλλ’ ούδε μέν δή : ci. Ai. 877, El. 913. άλλα . . . μέν δή, in the “split
form” is Sophoclean, cf. supra 627 (G.P.2 394, 95).
1129. Cf. supra 1064, 65.
1130. άρτίως νεοσφαγής: cf. Ai. 898 Αΐας οδ’ ήμΐν άρτίως νεοσφα-
γής / κεΐται. So άρτίως goes with νεοσφαγής. Cf. also Ant. 1283.
1131. τέρας . . . έθέσπισας: schob άπιστον γάρ διά δυσφήμων ώσπερ
έμαντεύσω. Most modern commentators follow suit, but Campbell,
comparing PI. Resp. VI 494 d άρ’ εΰπετες οί'ει είναι εΐσακοϋσαι διά
τοσούτων κακών;, translates “amidst and rising above” <my>evils.
But since Heracles is not the subject of the sentence, this inter
pretation however attractive can not be accepted. For διά cp. Eur.
Hel. 309 πόλλ’ άν γένοιτο καί διά ψευδών έπη. διά κακών does not yet,
in my opinion, imply Heracles’ anger because his vengeance has
been baffled (thus J. ). The words are excellently rendered by Mazon :
“Le merveilleux oracle que ces sinistres mots!” Cf. Aesch. Ag.
1132 sqq.
1132. αύτή προς αυτής: cf. Ai. 906 αυτός προς αύτοΰ, Ο.T. Ι 2 3 7 -
έκτοπος: peregrinus > alienus > alius χ) ; “by no one from without”
i.e. “other than herself” , έκτοπος in the sense of όθνεΐος opp. οικείος:
the words amount to προς οικείας χερός {Ant. 1176, cf. Ai. 919).
1133. However we interpret 1127 and 1131, here Heracles
speaks in the same savage vein as supra 1067 sqq., 1108 sqq.
Strictly speaking the words convey the logically impossible
τέθνηκε πριν θανεΐν (cf. note ad Ai. n o ) but 1) there is a considerable
distance between τέθνηκε and θανεΐν 2) έξ έμής χερός has the full
emphasis 3) we may supply a vaguer term than τέθνηκε 4) above
all, Heracles’ frenzy is very well expressed by the wording as is
Ajax’ l.c. We cannot be sure whether we must take the sentence
as a question.
1134. το παν: “all the facts”. Cf. El. 680, Phil. 241, O.C. 889,
supra 369.1
1) T h u s E lle n d t; cf. L. K u g ler, De Sophoclis quae vocantur abusionibus,
th e sis G o ettin g e n 1905, p. 41.
COMMENTARY 233
στραφείη : the metaphor, meaning of στρέφεσθαι “turn and change”

(L.-Sc.) is very rare. I do not know of other examples in classical
Greek, only LXX 1 Ki. 10.6 στραφήση εις άνδρα άλλον, (“si converti-
rebbe” Schiassi). Cf. μεταστρέφω, common since Homer, cf. e.g.
II. X 107.
1 1 3 5 . δεινού : as often the sense lies in between “awful” and
“strange” .
1 1 3 6 . άπαν . . . μωμένη: the schol. evidently read the sentence
without punctuation ζητούσα, φησί, χρηστόν τι διαπράξασθαι του όλου
πράγματος ήμαρτεν. Thus also Pearson. But it is much more satis
factory to put a colon (or a comma) after χρήμ’ and to consider
άπαν τό χρημ’ (“the whole matter is this” ) as introductory to
Hyllus’ fundamental statement about D.’s behaviour and deed;
doubtless these words also contain the poet’s own verdict.
μωμένη : this is the reading of Pap. Ox. 1805 and of K (Laur. 31.10 ;
here according to Turyn, Manuscript Trad. p. 168, a conjectural
correction, but in my view, here also the reading may be authentic)
as against μνωμένη in the other MSS. Heath had already made
the correction without knowing of K. The form recurs O.C. 836,
Aesch. Cho. 45, 441 ; it is probably one of Aesch.’s dorisms (μώσθαιx)
is used by Epicharmus and Theognis) adopted by Soph, τω καλόν
τι μωμένω is a convincing emendation of Nauck’s fr. 938.1 P .12) The
verb means the same as ζητεΐν as is stated by schol. ad Aesch. Cho.
441, Hesych. and elsewhere, μνωμένη (“sue for” , “sollicit for” )
is both inferior in sense and metrically hardly possible, since it
would violate the regula Porsoniana. — Cf. on the woman acquitted
by the Areopagus Arist. Magn. Mor. 1188 b 35: έδωκε μεν γάρ
φιλία, διήμαρτε δε τούτου.
1 1 3 7 . χρήστ’ . . . δρά: correctly paraphrased by Campbell: λέγεις
δεδρακέναι. The present tense δρά here does not differ in sense from
δέδρακε; cf. άδικώ in the sense of “I have been unjust” 3). κτείνασα:
for he is convinced of the finality of the deed.
1 1 3 8 . προσβαλεΐν: whatever we take προσβάλλειν to mean supra
580 and 844, here it means “apply” and we must supply σοι, to be
taken from σέθεν.
1) Schw yzer I 675.8.

2) καί μώμεναι ή μετοχή παρά Σοψοκλεΐ H ellad . ap. P h o t. bibi. 531 a 4
B ekk. o u g h t to be in clu d e d a m o n g S o p h .’s fra g m e n ts (th u s rig h tly P e a rso n
in a p p a ra tu ).
3) G oodw in § 27.
COMMENTARY
στέργημα: hapax leg. = στέργηθρον; the -η- can easily be ex

plained on the grounds of analogous formation, cf. Chantraine,
Formation des Noms p. 178.
1139. άπήμπλαχ’: the rarer verb takes up and intensifies ήμαρτε.
The compound with άπο- (“fail utterly” L.-Sc.) only here, άμπλα-
κεΐν Ant. 554, 910, 1234.
1 1 3 8 . γάρ: “c’est que . .
1 1 3 9 . ώς . . . γάμους: the clause with ώς goes with στέργημα γάρ
δοκοΰσα προσβαλεΐν (these words have the main stress). In a trans
lation δοκοΰσα should be rendered by a finite form.
τούς ένδον γάμους: a discreet phrase to denote lole, Heracles’
paramour received into the house. Though γάμοι is not exactly
“the bride” "the paramour” , the metonymous tendency is again
there (cf. supra ad 843).
1 1 4 0 . καί: “why” . . . . (denoting a strong degree of surprise
G.P.2p. 310 (b)).
φαρμακεύς: the word is rather ra re 1) but prob, very old (in
dactylic poetry its use is excluded by metre).
τοσούτος: “so potent” (J.).
1 1 4 1 . 2 . Every word in this adamantine sentence contributes
to its effect of stating the hard and irrevocable facts. Note the
bitterness of τοιώδε φίλτρω and the very strong word έκμήναι. The
result of the φίλτρον was μανία indeed, but in the sense of 1. 999.
For πόθον cf. 631 sq.
1 1 4 3 . ίου ιού: used by Sophocles when the speaker discovers his
own or another’s terrible condition: Ai. 737, Phil. 38, O.T. 1071
(ιού ιού, δύστηνε), I l 8 2 (ιού ιού- τά πάντ’ άν εξήκοι σαφή). (Cf. also
Aesch. Ag. 1214).
1 1 4 3 , 4 . οί'χομαι. . . . ολωλα: cf. e.g. Ai. 896.
φέγγος . . . "μοι: cf. Ant. 808, 9 νέατον δέ φέγγος λεύσσουσαν άελίου.
1145. φρονώ δή: “The emphasis conveyed by δή with verbs is
for the most part pathetic in tone, and it is peculiarly at home in
the great crises of drama . . .” (G.P.2 p. 214 (8)). But some temporal
force is also present: “now surely” ; El. 1482 Όλωλα δή δείλαιος,
Eur. Hipp. 1401 Ώμοι,· φρονώ δή δαίμον’ ή μ’ άπώλεσεν, Idee. 681
Οΐμοι., βλέπω δή παΐδ’ έμον τεθνηκότα. φρονεΐν = “to realize” .
ξυμφοράς ίν’: cf. Ο.Τ. 367 ούδ’ όραν ί'ν’ ει κακού, ib. 413« Ι 4 4 2 ,3
ϊν’ έσταμεν / χρείας, El. 9 3 5 >6 ούκ είδυΐ’ άρα / ον’ ήμεν άτης; Eur. Hel.
1) I t occu rs here for th e first tim e a n d n ow here else in T rag ed y .

COMMENTARY 235
1445 ήξομεν ίν’ έλθεΐν βουλόμεσθα τής τύχης. — έσταμεν = εστηκα.

The fact that Heracles does not utter a single word of amends to
Deianeira must be considered as the poet’s deliberate indication
that she does not mean anything to him; “our impression of her
desolation is not relieved” (Campbell).
1 1 4 6 , Ϊ0 ’: to be connected with κάλει; the words πατήρ . . . σοι
form a parenthesis. (There are a dozen examples in Soph, of exhor-
tatory ΐθι, ΐτε).
1 1 4 7 , 8. κάλει . . . κάλει: the repetition enhances the pathos of
the appeal.
1 1 4 8 , 9 . Διος / μάτην άκοιτιν : cf. supra 19, 97 ■ —'140, i8 i, 5 ϊ 3 >
566, 6 4 4 , 826, 956, 1268 sq. The uselessness of Heracles’ descent
from Zeus and of Alcmene’s high union, in so far as these did not
preserve Heracles from his dire fate, is one of our tragedy’s major
themes. By the enjambment and the clash of Διος X μάτην the
point is effectively brought home to the hearer.
1 1 4 9 , 5 0 . τελευταίαν έμοϋ / φήμην: schol. τήν περί τής τελευτής
μου φήμην *). There is nothing in the Greek that tells against this
interpretation, which indeed seems more plausible than the alter
native preferred by Campbell, Jebb and others: “my last (dying)
utterance of” what oracles I know. The oracles Heracles proceeds to
relate (1159-1163 and 1164-1173) are solely concerned with his
death; τελευταία φήμη “message about <my> death” is comparable
to άλώσιμον βάξιν Aesch. Ag. 10 “tidings of <her> capture” 12); φήμη
is specifically the utterance, the saying, the message of oracular
voices and is more aptly used of the oracles themselves than of
Heracles relating them. We must then take έμοϋ as a genit, object.
= περί έμοϋ and translate: “the message (or prophecies) about my
death as conveyed by such oracles as I know” , φήμη θεσφάτων =
θεσφάτων βάξις 86 sq.
1151. άλλ’ . . . άλλ’: On άλλά twice in a line cp. Denniston’s
excellent remarks G.P2 p. LXII.
1 1 5 1 - 5 3 . οϋτε . . . . δε: G.P.2 p. 511 (add perhaps Eur. Med. 443).
The second clause does not here express a contrast ; we may supply
ούτε παΐδες ένθάδ’ είσίν ■; if this had been expressed, the next clause
would have run τούς μέν γάρ . . . In fact as the words stand there is a
mild sort of anacoluthon.
1 1 5 1 . έπακτία: cf. Ai. 413. Epitheton ornans.
1) A ccep ted b y E lle n d t.

2) Cf. K .-G . I 261 sq.
COM MENTARY
1 1 5 2 . συμβέβηκεν . . . έδραν: the words amount to the same as

τυγχάνει κατοικούσα τήν Τίρυνθα. For (seemingly) redundant ώστε
cf. Phil. 656. (K.-G. II 13 anm. i i ).
1 1 5 3 . ξυλλαβουσ’: “secum habens” (E.).
1 1 5 4 . Θήβης: cf. ad 1. 512.
άν μάθοις: the nuance of this is very well rendered by Mazon:
“les autres, je puis te le dire, habitent la ville de Thèbes” .
1 1 5 5 . ημείς δ’ όσοι πάρεσμεν: Hyllus means primarily himself;
we cannot say for certain whether the poet is thinking also of other
children as present in Trachis : 1. 54 does not give a definite answer
to the question. Nowhere else, in fact, does it appear that other
sons or daughters are to be supposed to live with Deianeira in
Trachis; at any rate the poet could not use them in the economy
of his play and Hyllus’ words here strike us as a sort of retrospective
explanation of their absence. The plural, then, refers to Hyllus
and his (and Heracles’) attendants rather than to Hyllus and his
brothers.
1 1 5 6 . κλύοντες έξυπηρετήσομεν : ε’ί τι χρή . . . πράσσειν is the object
of έξυπ. and also of κλύοντες. His willingness and obedience are
emphatically expressed *). It is of course very natural that Hyllus
supposes Heracles to want to utter some last words about the
dispositions he had made, though the latter did not say so expressis
verbis.
1 1 5 7 . 8. Before proceeding to relate the oracles Heracles refers
to Hyllus’ readiness and to the task he is going to entrust to him :
the two are inseparably connected since the fulfilment of the oracles
does not allow of the least doubt that his death is imminent ; on the
other hand this certainty urges him to make his last dispositions.
1 1 5 7 . S’ ούν: permissive: “all right then” (G.P.2 p. 467) ; σύ bears
no heavy stress.
τοΰργον: by this word (and the following sentence) the hearer is
brought into a state of suspense as to Heracles’ intentions.
έξήκεις . . . ΐνα: “you are now in a situation wherein” , “the
circumstances are such that they offer you (ample opportunity to
show . . .” ). (O.T. 687, O.C. 937, O.T. 1515, 953 are only superficially
comparable).
1 1 5 8 . όποιος ών άνήρ έμός καλή: i.q. όποιος άνήρ εΐ, έμός <παΐς>
καλούμενος (you who are called my son) ; cf. infra 1205. Cf. Ar. Vesp.
530 (with Starkie’s comment).9
9 N o te έξ-.
COMMENTARY 23/
1 1 5 9 . προφαντόν: "foreshown” (by an oracle). Here for the first

time this oracle is mentioned.
1 1 6 0 . προς των πνεόντων μηδενός θανεϊν υπο: most editors either
read with Erfurdt των έμπνεόντων x) or with Musgrave ποτέ (in
stead of ΰπο) ; but though the transmitted text yields a rather harsh
construction, it does not seem impossible ; we may indeed say that
the words represent an intensified way of saying πρ. τ. πν. μή
θανεϊν: “that I should not at the hand of living creatures, in fact
not by the act of anybody alive, perish” . We may assume a confusion
of constructions resulting from the desire for emphasis.
θανεϊν: for the aor. inf. cf. K.-G. I 195 anm. 7. —
1 1 6 1 . άλλ’ δστις: “but by one who . . .” .
"Αώου οίκήτωρ : cf. ad Ai. 396. Cf. Lycophr. 51 and the prophecy
in Macbeth.
πέλοι : probably oblique for άν πέλγ], since it seems likely that the
prophecy was given before Nessus’ death. (Cf. Jebb’s remark).
1 1 6 2 . ο θήρ Κένταυρος: cf. supra 680.
1 1 6 2 . 3 ώς . . . προφαντόν : it seems best to take προφαντόν
substantially, with θεϊον as attribute.
1 1 6 3 . ουτω . . . . θανών: cf. Aesch. Cho. 886 τον ζώντα καίνειν τους
τεθνηκότας λέγω, Ant. 871 θανών έτ’ οϋσαν κατήναρέσ με, Ai. 1026, 7
είδες ώς χρόνω / έμελλέ σ’ "Εκτωρ καί θανών άποφθίσαι 12), El. 1420.
We may hear in these words an echo of the αίνιγμα in which the
oracle was expressed. (There is no Greek tradition as to the wording
of the oracle, nor as to the place of its deliverance; Seneca Here.
Oet. 1473 sqq. represents it as originating from Dodona as well as
from Delphi3)).
On this conception (“the dead reaching out to kill the living” )
cf. the excellent remarks of H. D. F. Kitto, Form and meaning in
Drama p. 193.
1 1 6 4 . τούτοισι συμβαίνοντ’ ϊ'σα: ϊσα going predicatively with
συμβαίνοντ’ reinforces the idea of “being in harmony with” conveyed
by συμβαίνοντα; τοϊς πάλαι ξυνήγορα restates and intensifies the
preceding words.
1) των π νεόντω ν των ζώντων (schol.); th u s o n ly h e re ; it is co rre c t t h a t

έμπνέων = ζών is fa irly com m on.
2) Cf. G. A. L o n g m a n Soph., El. 1478, Cl. R ev. 1954, 192-194.
3) Cf. P a rk e a n d W orm ell, The Delphic Oracle I I p. 196, w here it is w ro n g ly
s ta te d t h a t in Soph, “ o n ly D o d o n a is m e n tio n e d in this connection". (italics
a re m ine).
COMMENTARY
1 1 6 5 . ξυνήγορα: used in the very literal sense of "of the same

tenor with” (L.-Sc.). These μαντεία καινά refer to the oracle men
tioned or alluded to time and again in the course of the play (46 sqq.,
164 sq., 648, 824 sq.).
1 1 6 6 . On Dodona cf. ad 171 sq.; NilssonG.G.R. I2 pp. 423-427.
1 1 6 6 . 7 . χαμαικοιτών . . . Σελλών: II. XVI 234 sq. Σελλο'ι . . .
χαμαιεΰναι. [Lucian] has χαμαικοιτέω (De Dea Syria 55); the adj.
does not recur.
Σελλών: Nilsson o.l. p. 423 n. 3.
1 1 6 7 . είσεγραψάμην : either “je me suis fait écrire” *) or “I noted
down for my use” (Campbell), sc. εις τήν δέλτον. Elmsley’s έξεγρα-
ψάμην, accepted by Pearson, is a needless conjecture.
1 1 6 8 . προς... δρυός: “sous la dictée du chêne” (Mazon). If we are
right in considering the Πελειάδες (172) as the priestesses, Mazon’s
interpretation of είσεγραψάμην is to be preferred. We note that
Soph, calls the “oak” φηγός as well as δρυς.
πολυγλώσσου: refers to the leaves of the tree; the rustle of the
foliage is implicitly compared to the roar of a crowd, “many-
tongued”, “many-voiced” . (Different meaning El. 641, 798).
1 1 6 9 . χρόνω τώ ζώντι και παρόντι νυν: a most striking phrase to
denote the tragic moment .of time in which destiny is to be con
summated. Time is felt as a living agent. For ζώντι cf. O.T. 481, 2
τα δ’ (μαντεία sc.) αίε'ι ζώντα περιποτάται. For χρόνος as a living
agent operative in the life of Man cf. O.T. 1213 έφευρέ σ’ άκονθ’ ό
πάνθ’ ορών χρόνος, O.C. 7 χώ χρόνος ξυνών μάκρος διδάσκει. Cf. supra
79-82; for παρόντι νΰν Ι74·
1 1 7 0 . 7 1 . μόχθων τών έφεστώτο>ν: laborum impositorum. (Cf. the
usage of έπειμι L.-Sc. s.v. Ill), έμοί has to be taken άπό κοινού with
έφεστώτων and τελεΐσθαι. τελεΐσθαι is inf. fut. pass. — Cf. the
prophecy in Plut, de sera num. vind. 10, 555 c.
1 1 7 1 . κάδόκουν: "and so I lived under the delusion. . .” ; cf.
Hdt. I ll 64.4 and Reinhardt, o.c. p. 73.
1 1 7 2 . τό S’: το λύσιν τελεΐσθαι.
θανεΐν εμέ : “my death” . The inf. aor. is used without any reference
to time, simply to denote the action of dying in its finality. Cf.
O.C. 9 5 4 θυμοϋ γάρ ούδέν γηράς έστιν άλλο πλήν / θανεΐν.
1 1 7 3 . Cf. O.C. 9 5 5 . El. 1170, Aesch. fr. 255.3 άλγος δ’ ούδέν
άπτεται νεκρού, Eur. Ale. 93 7 . Plut. Cons, ad Ap. 15, 109 f.
q M azon.
COMMENTARY 239
1 1 7 4 . ταΰτ’ . . . λαμπρά συμβαίνει.: ταΰτ’ may refer to both oracles,

συμβαίνει either conveying the meaning “are borne ont” or “are
borne out in harmony with each other” . But ταΰτ’ may also refer to
the oracles and that which has now come to pass, while συμβαίνει
denotes at the same time the fulfilment of the oracles and the
congruence between them and the congruence of the events with
them, λαμπρά in apposition to the subject has to be rendered by an
adverb.
1 1 7 5 . αύ: “once more” Campbell, followed by Schiassi; this
seems more appropriate than Jebb’s "on thy part” (vicissim E.).
γενέσθαι: "to show yourself” .
1 1 7 6 . καί . . . στόμα: "and not to tarry so as to goad my tongue
to anger” or “and not to wait for my tongue to sharpen (incite)
you” (or, at a pinch, "for my tongue to grow fierce”). The second
course seems best (thus Campbell) in view of the contrast with
αυτόν εΐκαθόντα; moreover, if στόμα were to be taken as the object of
όξΰναι, the words could mean: “and to make no delay to goad my
tongue to anger”, which is absurd; an acc. and inf. with μένειν is
common, a “nom. and inf.” not (for instances cf. Steup ad Thuc.
I ll 12.2).
(The schol. has: καί μή άπειθήσας μοι παροξύνης εις λοιδορίας κατά
σου, also άπειθοΰντά μοι; perhaps this rendering may warrant our
supposing a v.l. καί μή ’πιμείναντ’ άμόν όξΰναι στόμα. The diorthotes
of L added αν supra ’π, which may point to a v.l. άναμεΐναι, but the
letters may also originate from a v.l. έπιμείναντ’).
1 1 7 7 . αυτόν: of your own accord.
εΐκαθόντα: aor. partie. Cf. Phil. 1350 sqq. πώς απιστήσω λόγοις /
τοΐς τοΰδ’, δς εΰνους ών έμοί παρήνεσεν- / άλλ’ είκάθω δήτ’;
1 1 7 7 , 8. νόμον . . . πατρί: we may construe without a comma
after έξευρόντα: έξευρόντα πειθαρχεΐν πατρί (object) νόμον κάλλιστον
(predicate), or, with a comma, take πειθαρχεΐν πατρί as an apposition
to κάλλιστον νόμον (“that best of laws” Jebb), conveying the
contents of the law (we may even saj/ that πειθαρχεΐν πατρί is oratio
obliqua for: "πειθαρχεί πατρί”).
The verb πειθαρχέω does not occur elsewhere in Tragedy, but Ar.,
PL, Xen. among others use it; Aesch. Pers. 374 has πείθαρχος, Sept.
224 πειθαρχία “obedience to command” ; Ant. 676. πειθαρχεΐν means
exactly: “obey the authority of” ; Heracles in his relation to his
son reminds us of Creon’s manner towards Haemon.
1 1 7 9 . ταρβώ: absolute. “I entertain apprehensions now that I
COM MENTARY
have reached.. ταρβώ . . . έπελθών is simply more forcible than

ταρβών . . . έπήλθον.
λόγου στάσιν: Campbell and Jebb are certainly right in rejecting
the meaning “strife of words” (thus e.g. Nauck-Radermacher
quoting O.T. 634); στάσις must mean “position”, "situation” and
Jebb’s rendering of the phrase “such a situation in our converse”
is convincing.
1 1 8 1 . έμβαλλε . . . μοι: cf. Ar. Nub. 81 (Strepsiades speaking to
his son), Ran. 754; Phil. 813.
1 1 8 2 . ως προς τί: ώς refers to Heracles’ intention: “with what
purpose in view” . Cf. O.T. 1174 ώς προς τί χρείας, Phil. 58, Thuc.
I 62.5 παρασκευαζομένους ώς ές μάχην, K.-G. I 47*2 anm. 1.
πίστιν τήνδ’ . . . επιστρέφεις; “. . . . do you urge this pledge (of
laying his hand in Heracles’) upon me” , άγαν “all too vehemently”,
“so vehemently” ; it intensifies the middle of έπιστρέφειν (“pay
attention to” ) Phil. 598 sq. έπιστρέφειν has the meaning of an
intensified έπάγειν [ingerere, inculcare E.); intrans, supra 566.
1 1 8 3 . ού . . . . μηδ’: cf. note ad Ai. 75 x). θάσσον: cf. Ai. 5812).
οϊσεις: πίστιν or χεΐρα, the former being more appropriate to the
verb.
απιστήσεις: άπιστέω = άπειθέω (frequent in Tragedy), a key
word in this scene (1224, 1229, 1240).
1 1 8 4 . προτείνω: τήν χεΐρα. Cf. Phil. 1292. The verb is used for
stretching forth (as a suppliant) and offering, tendering (the hand)
as a pledge3).
άντειρήσεται: cf. note ad 587.
1 1 8 5 . If we put a full stop at the end of the line, Heracles is
claiming absolute obedience without intending to disclose before
hand what he is going to ask of Hyllus. If we put a comma, such a
purpose can be surmised. But after Hyllus’ question his reply again
amounts to a claim for unreserved loyalty. It seems, then, better
to put a full stop and to consider 1187 as his reaction to Hyllus’
question, not as the continuation of 1185 as if he had not finished his
sentence there. 1186 is not “ein Füllvers unter dem Zwange der
Stichomythie’’ (Schn.-N.-Raderm.).
1 1 8 6 . ή μην: “in oaths and pledges, usually in indirect speech”
b A dd G oodw in, M oods and Tenses § 299.

2) Cf. H . Thesleff, Studies on Intensification § 172, p. 123.
3) Cf. F. L asserre, Les Epodes d ’Archiloqiie, in his c o m m e n t o n A rch . />.
130 B. προτείνω χεΐρα καί προίσσομαι, p. 240.
COM MENTARY 24I
(G.P.2 p. 351 (2)). καί τόδ’ έξειρήσεται; it is absolutely necessary

to punctuate in this way (“cela aussi, le diras-tu?” Mazon), since
the sense with a full stop (thus inter al. Pearson) would be: “this
also will be said (sc. by me)” and at 1188 Hyllus does not add
anything of the kind.
1 1 8 7 . το λεχθέν εργον: cf. τουργον 1157 (where, as here, το εργον is
“the thing to be done” ), το λεχθεν: δ αν λεχθη. If we ask whether the
aorist denotes any relation of time, the answer is that λεχθεν has
to be considered as denoting time past with reference to έκτελεΐν;
if the reference had been to ομνυ, λεχθησόμενον would be the form we
should expect, λεχθεν cannot denote time past with reference to
the moment of speaking, since the εργον has not yet been specified.
1 1 8 8 . έπώμοτον: here “as witness of my oath”, i.q. όρκων; cf.
supra 427.
1 1 8 9 . εί . . . . έκτος ελθοις: ει παραβαίης τούς όρκους (schob). Jebb
quotes PI. Sy mp. 183 b έκβάντι των όρκων (or τον δρκον).
πημονάς: cf. ad 48·
1 1 9 0 . The tripartition of the line lends a pathetic emphasis to
the words.
1191. oOv: purely connective, introducing the next point; as
often, in a question: “well”, “eh bien” .
υψιστον: Pearson inter al. accepts Wakefield's needless conjecture
ύψιστού.
Ζηνος: sacred to Zeus.
1 1 9 2 . θυτήρ: cf. 659 and 733; its function is not different from
θύων; ώς goes with σταθείς: lit. “as having stood” .
σταθείς: cf. 608.
1 1 9 3 - 9 7 . ενταύθα . . . έξάραντα . . . έμβαλεΐν: we must understand
“on the pyre” with έμβαλεΐν. ενταύθα “there” has to be taken with
the whole sentence in the sense of ibi and moreover with έξάραντα
(“to lift up and carry” ) in the sense of in eum locum (certainly not
in the latter sense with έμβαλεΐν, as Ellendt will have it).
1 1 9 4 . αύτόχειρα καί ξύν: “with your own arms and with the aid
of . . . . ” .
φίλων : the word does not help us much to establish the meaning
of 1. 1155, since Soph, could use it in its Homeric sense; but the
interpretation “friends” is more natural and so ημείς H55 may refer
to “I and my friends” .
1 1 9 5 , 6. κείραντα: “lopping”, “cutting off” . As contrasted with
the wild olives he will not have to fell the βαθύρριζος δρυς. We may
242 COMMENTARY
take it as certain that Heracles’ precepts as to materials of the pyre

are in accordance with the actual rites on Mount Oeta x). In the
mythological context the oak and the wild olive are the natural
kinds of wood required: the oak is sacred to Zeus and the wild
olive was brought to Greece by Heracles; the crown of the victors
at Olympia was made from it (Paus. V 7.7, Find. 01. I ll 13 sq.).
1 1 9 6 . πολλον: a rare ionism (πολλον neuter Ant. 86), not to be
found elsewhere in Tragedy.
αρσεν’ : refers to the rough and hard wood of the κότινος.
1 1 9 7 . έμβαλεΐν: as remarked above, it goes without saying that
to έμβαλεΐν we must mentally add: “on the pyre” (built with these
materials) ; έμ- = thereupon. The repetition of σώμα τουμόν is very
natural in this strict and emphatic instruction.
1 1 9 8 . 9 . The somewhat rhetorical paraphrase for the torch
leads up to the very impressive πρήσαι, which by its placing and its
briefness (the compound with έμ- is the normal word in prose)
and also by means of the pause after it dramatically suggests the
bursting into flames of the pyre and the body. Note the similar
effect with πρησαι Ant. 201.
1 1 9 9 . είσίτω: Jebb (and implicitly Campbell also) rejects the
interpretation είσίτω sc. σε; thus also Mazon “Mais que nul pleur
gémissant n’intervienne” . Campbell notes: sc. τω έργφ. Possibly
right, but the succeeding words do not convey a general prohibition
of wailing: they are especially addressed to Hyllus: he must show
himself the true offspring of Heracles. If the other course is pre
ferred, we may compare I. 298 supra, Eur. Or. 1668 and render:
“let never the thought of weeping, bound up with lamentation,
enter your mind” . That γόου δάκρυ must amount to γόοι καί δάκρυα
is proved by άστένακτος κάδάκρυτος and cp. the frequent combi
nations of the two in Eur. (e.g. I.T. 860, Andr. 92, Or. 204 etc).
1 2 0 0 . άστένακτος κάδάκρυτος: cf. Eur. Ale. 173 άκλαυτος άστένακ
τος, Hec. 691 άστένακτος άδάκρυτος άμέρα.
εΐπερ εϊ / τοϋδ’ άνδρός: cf. supra 1074· Cf. Aesch. Eum. 738, Eur.
El. 1103.
1 2 0 1 . τοΰδ’ άνδρός: cf. 1175; fifteen instances in Soph. (cf.
Ellendt s.v. όδε B i e ) .
έ'ρξον: stands out in relief by its placing.1
1) Μ. P . N ilsson, Der Flammentod des Herakles, A rch. f. R eligionsw . X X I

1922, p. 310 sqq. = Opusc. I p. 348 sqq.
COM MENTARY 243
1201, 2. μενώ . . . βαρύς: the most plausible construction espe

cially in view of the relation of the words to the structure of 1.
1202 is : μενώ σε εγώ, καί νέρθεν ών, άραΐος, είσα,εΐ βαρύς.
μενώ σε αραιός amounts to: ή έμή άρά μενεϊ σε "will await you”,
cf. Aesch. Cho. 103 τδ μόρσιμον γάρ τόν τ’ ελεύθερον μένει. The words
do not mean: "I shall, in Hades, wait for your coming thither”, but
“though in Hades, I shall be a curse to you” . The curse will, it is
true, be operative both during Hyllus’ lifetime and after his death,
but above all Heracles’ power to do evil to Hyllus from below is
stressed; that the curse will not cease after Hyllus’ death is only
implied in είσαεί. είσαεί βαρύς, in apposition to αραιός or asynde-
tically on a par with it, expands the ideas of hostile doom con
veyed by άραΐος and of eternity implied in καί νέρθεν ών. αραιός, a
word "almost confined to Tragedy” (L.-Sc.) is used in both a
passive and (as here) an active sense. Passages like Ap. Rhod. I ll
703 sq. ή σοίγε φίλοις σύν παισί θανοϋσα / εϊην έξ Άίδεω στυγερή
μετόπισθεν Έρινύς are more strictly parallel than e.g. Aesch. Eum.
175, 3 4 °- The άρά (or Άρά, embodied in the Erinys) of the dead
punishing the living is too familiar a concept to need further
elucidation.—We note in passing that Heracles thinks of himself
as staying in the nether-world after his death, not in heaven.
1 2 0 3 . τί είπας: thus L, and the hiatus should be accepted: τίν’ A
and τί μ’ T are worthless conjectures made in order to steer clear
of the hiatus : but τίν’ neut. pi. is an impossible form in Soph, and
τί μ’ does not yield a satisfactory sense. Ci. note ad Ai. 873 and
Phil. 100, 917 (τί είπας), lehn. 199. The question does not refer in
particular to Heracles’ last words but to his order as a whole.
οϊά μ’ εΐργασαι: lit. "what things have you done to me”, sc. by
requiring this.
1 2 0 4 . όποια δραστέ’ έστίν : sc. ειπον ; the words refer to τί είπας.
1 2 0 4 , 5 . εί δέ μή . . . ετι: cf. Eur. Ale. 636 sq., 667 sq., 737.
Hyllus will show himself Heracles’ παΐς ετήτυμος (1064) only if he
follows his father’s orders unhesitatingly. Heracles’ unreasonable
violence is reminiscent of Oedipus’, Aiax’ and Creon’s, showing us
a certain aspect of the typically Sophoclean hero x).
1 2 0 5 . The tone of scorn is intensified by the staccato rhythm of
the line (word-end coinciding almost everywhere with end of
P Cf. J . C. O p ste îte n , De Tragische H eld bij Sophocles en z ijn Dichter,

in De A n tie k e Tragédie, 1947, passim .
244 COM MENTARY
metrical unit : but the line is metrically saved by the fact that του
follows γενοΰ; moreover there is the elision of μηδ’).
1 2 0 6 . Cf. O.T. 1317 οΐμοι μάλ’ αύθις- g i ’o v είσέδυ μ’ άμα. For μάλ’
intensifying αύθις cf. O.C. 1731 Μ wôSs μάλ' αύθις.
έκκαλη: έκκαλεϊσθαι “call on one to do” x) does not, in this sense,
recur in Greek of the fifth century; προκαλεΐσθαι, being a bit less
strong, is common, οΐα is cognate acc.
1 2 0 7 . φονέα γενέσθαι . . . σέθεν: epexegesis of οία.
καί παλαμναΐον : “and thus defiled by blood-guiltiness” ; σέθεν goes
with the whole phrase φονέα καί παλαμναΐον. παλαμναΐος is not only
ο αύτοχειρία τινά άνελών, but also ό ενεχόμενος μιάσματι οικείοι
(Hesych.). The schob notes άλάστορα, μιαιφόνον, αύτόχειρα. Cf.
Aesch. Eum. 448.
1 2 0 8 . ού δητ' εγωγ' : sc. σε φονέα γενέσθαι έκκαλοΰμαι. ού . . .
εγωγ’ = “not I ” (G.P.2 ρ. 123 and for δητα “giving the lie to a
positive statement” ib. p. 275; ού δητ’ εγωγ’ άλλα recurs O.T.
1161, Phil. 735).
1 2 0 8 , 9 . παιώνιον . . . ίατηρα: in a sense παιώνιον corresponds
to παλαμναΐον, ίατηρα to φονέα.
ών έχω: It is not wholly satisfactory to interpret <τούτων των
κακών > & έχω, since by “supplying” τούτων των κακών in order to
render the structure of the sentence logically clear we make the
words much less natural than they are and blur the intensifying
effect of των έμών κακών. (Hermann’s ως, adopted by Pearson, is a
needless conjecture). Better, then,to say that ών έχω = τούτων ά
έχω, without adding <κακών>.
Since Hyllus, by setting fire to the pyre, will be the agent of
Heracles’ death and since only Death will deliver Heracles from his
sufferings, Heracles can call Hyllus the παιώνιος and ίατήρ of his
miseries, provided he obeys. Thus the phrase is another instance
of the τόπος of Death the healer: cf. Aesch. fr. 255 μόνος γάρ εί σύ
των άνηκέστων κακών / ιατρός (see note ad Ai. 854), Myrnvid.
P.S.I. 1211.5, 6 (Suppl. Aescll·. 73 Mette) εύπετέστερον δ’ έχοις / . . . .
βροτοΐσιν ιατρόν πόνων. For παιώνιος cf. Aesch. Ag. 512 νυν δ’ αύτε
σωτήρ ϊσθι καί παιώνιος, Suppl. 1066 χειρί παιωνία; it does not make
much difference whether we take the word as substantive or as
adjective, ίατήρ instead of ιατρός in Tragedy only here and prob.
η L.-Sc.
COMMENTARY 245
Eur. Hyps. fr. 66.3 (Italie), borrowed from Horn. For the meta
phorical use cp. also Soph. fr. 698 άλλ’ έσθ’ ό θάνατος λοΐσθος ιατρός
νόσων, Eur. Hipp. 1373 g01 θάνατος παιάν έλθοι, Diphilus fr. 88 K.
τούτων (sc. των χάχων) ο θάνατος καθάπερ Ιατρός φανείς / άνέπαυσε τούς
έχοντας.
1210. ύπαίθων: poet. = ύποκαίων (αϊθειν and its compounds are
rare in prose).
σώμ’ ίώμην : Hyllus has not grasped the full meaning of the
preceding words.
1211. άλλ’: “well then” introducing an alternative suggestion.
((HP.* p. 9).
γ ’ : A’s reading ; L’s μ’ is hardly defensible.
1212. φθόνησις: άπαξ λεγόμενον; “refusal”.
1 2 1 3 . πλήρωμα: γενήσεται. On the interrelation of substantives
formed with -μα and -σις, whose difference in sense is sometimes
slight, cf. Chantraine, Formation des Noms pp. 186 and 287. A full
paraphrase of these words would run ή καί πυράς πλήρωσε ως φθόνησις
ού γενήσεται; But Jebb is right in stating that πλήρωμα “expressing
the result, is equally correct here” .
1 2 1 4 . όσον γ’ άν αύτος . . . χεροΐν : with άν supply πληρώσαιμ,ι
or πράξαιμι. “ Dans la mesure où je le puis, sans moi-même y
mettre la main” (Mazon).
ποτι-: in dialogue only here and Aesch. Eum. 79 ποτί πτόλιν
(προσψαύω recurs in Soph. Phil. 1054, O.C. 329).
1 2 1 5 . κού καμή: “you will not have to complain” , “you will not
meet difficulty” . Since the active form of the future does not
exist, Ellendt’s and Campbell’s reading (κάμει) and interpretation
(“shall not flag” ) are impossible.
τούμον μέρος: quantum in me est, cf. O.T. 1509, O.C. 1366, Ant.
1062.
1 2 1 6 . άλλ’: expressing “acquiescence” ; “well”, “very good”
(G.P,2 p. 19) ; cf. Ant. 98.
πρόσνειμαι: the middle has intensifying function as e.g. at Aesch.
Suppl. 216 συγγνοΐτο.
1 2 1 7 . βραχεΐαν: “small” corresponding with μακροΐς and μακρά
I2l8,
διδούς : Jebb and Radermacher are possibly right in connecting
1) H orn, h a s 6 in sta n c e s of th e “ A c h a e a n ” ίητήρ, cf. C. J. R u ijg h , L ’élé
ment achéen dans la langue épique, th è se A m ste rd a m 1957, P· 126; C h a n
tra in e , F o n na tio n des N o m s p p . 326, 330.
246 COM MENTARY
this very closely with προς μακροϊς άλλοις (“sc. αυτά” ) but|to me it
seems more natural to consider it as an amplification of πρόσνειμαι
with χάριν understood; προς μακροϊς άλλοις goes with διδούς rather
than with πρόσνειμαι; we could put a comma after βραχεΐαν.
1 2 1 8 . κάρτ’ : stressed by its placing. The way in which Hyllus,
by Heracles’ words, is led into this imprudent expression of willing
ness may be considered one of the many devices by which the poet
seeks to maintain variation and suspense in this laborious scene.
1 2 1 9 . Εύρυτείαν: cf. supra 260.
δητα: connective; on δήτα in questions without an interrogative
pronoun or particle cf. G.P.*2 p. 271 (5), K.-G. II 133.4 “kennst du
gewiss?”
1 2 2 0 . ώστ’ έπεικάζειν : most editors accept Schaefer’s ώς γ ’, but
in view of Hdt. II 10.1 and PL Phaedr. 230 b it seems possible to
retain ώστ’, with the function of the common ώς (K.-G. II 508,9)
with “formulary” infinitive; of course the conjecture may be right.
In either case the meaning is: “so far as I may guess” = “if I am
not mistaken” *). On the slight difference between έπεικάζειν and
άπεικάζειν cf. supra ad 141.
1221. τοσοϋτον: just this, the χάρις βραχεία of 1217.
έπισκήπτω: with two accus., cf. Eur. I T . 701; K.-G. I 328.
1222. εύσεβεΐν : both observance of pietas towards his father and
standing by his oath 2) are meant.
1 2 2 3 . πατρώων όρκίων: “the promise exacted on oath by your
father” (Campbell).
μεμνημένος: the partie, stands in causal relation to εύσεβεΐν.
1 2 2 4 . προσθου: προστίθεσθαι “take to one” (as a friend, ally etc.) ;
only here with δάμαρτα “take her to wife” .
μηδ’ άπιστήσης πατρί: cf. 1183.
1 2 2 5 . όμοΰ: “close to” ; τοΐς έμοΐς πλευροΐς depends on it.
1 2 2 6 . λάβοι: though there is something to be said for Elmsley’s
λάβτ; (Jebb, Masqueray), the passing from command to the ex
pression of a desire (and back again to command in this case) is
very natural, cf. supra 331.
1 2 2 5 , 6. Though it is probably true that Hyllus was lole’s
husband according to old saga tradition, this does not help us to
understand why Sophocles makes Heracles thrust his paramour
on his son. For in this tragedy Heracles did not ask for lole’s
b T hese in fin itiv e s a re lim ita tiv e , S ch w .-D eb r. I I 378.
2) Cf. J . C. B o lk estein , Ό σ ιο ς en Εύσεβής, th e sis U tre c h t 1936, p. 32.
COMMENTARY 247
hand on behalf of Hyllus; the tragedy indeed turns on Heracles’

own desire for her; his nature, regardless of another’s feelings,
urged him to conquer the object of his desire. It is in keeping with
this unhuman or superhuman character of one for whom nothing
is of any interest except his own glorious deeds, his own excessive
desires and his divine descent that he requires his son to comply
with his shocking wish. It would be, according to his selfcentred
notions, a diminution of his glory, if lole were to become the wife
of anybody lower than his own blood. The thought that she is the
cause of Deianeira’s death does not for a moment enter his mind;
Hyllus’ distress does not affect him, any more than Deianeira’s
loyalty did when he sent lole to Trachis. So it appears that the poet,
as we expect a great poet to do, skilfully utilized one of the elements
of the saga (Hyllus’ marriage with lole) to achieve his own dra
matic ends. Heracles’ last expression of his will completes the
picture with a stroke which intensifies and elucidates the character
we have come to know in the course of the play.
1 2 2 7 . τοϋτο κήδευσον λέχος: κηδεύειν “contract a marriage” Aesch.
Prom. 890. τοϋτο λέχος “this marriage” is cognate accusative,
(κηδεύειν with dativ. pers. Eur. Hipp. 634). “ C’est à toi de former
ces liens” (Mazon).
1 2 2 8 , 9 . πιστεύσαντ’: = πιθόμενον; the sense is contextually
determined by the contrast with άπιστεΐν = άπειθεΐν. Cf. also 1251.
σμικροίς: dativus respectus (thus Jebb; this seems better than the
alternative “to disobey a trivial command” ) ; cf. e.g. O.T. 25 φθί-
νουσα μεν κάλυξιν κτλ.
συγχεΐ: “make of none effect”, cf. II. IV 269 Ιπεί σύν γ ’ ορκι’
έχευαν/ Τρώες and cp. εκχέω “frustrate” Phil. 13, Eur. fr. 789 N.2
όκνών δέ μόχθων των πριν έκχέοα χάριν. Cf. Αρ. Met. V 19: ceterum
incuria sequens prioris providentiae beneficia conrumpet.
γάρ τοι: cf. G.P.2 p. 549 (3).
1230. το . . . νοσοΰντι θυμοΰσθοα: “to be angry with a sick man”
(Jebb) and thus most commentators and translations. Wakefield’s
νοσοϋντα is accepted by Schn.-Raderm. : then the meaning is:
“dass ein Kranker in Zorn gerate . . . ” and 1240 sq. would seem
to recommend this. Indeed the interpretation is also possible with
νοσουντι : “for a sick man it is a bad thing to be angry” (and Heracles
will be angry if I do not comply with his wishes 1) ). 543 sq. are not
1) Likewise the schol. : το θυμουσθαι εί μή πεισθείην αύτω <κακάν> (add.
Papageorgios).
248 COMMENTARY
conclusive in favour of the usual interpretation, but the word-

order is perhaps against the other alternative.
1 2 3 1 . ώδ’: ώδε κακώς; άφρονοΰντα.
όραν: with the idea of “standing by and making no protest”
implied.
1 2 3 2 . ώς έργασείων: cf. note ad Ai. 326 (δρασείων) ; the verb
recurs Phil. 1001 τί δ’ έργασείεις; in general cf. Schwyzer I 789.
1 2 3 3 . 4 . μέν . . . τ’: cf. supra ad 1012; alteration is needless.
1 2 3 4 . μεταίτιος: cf. 260, 447. We may understand: sharer of the
blame with Heracles (Jebb) 1), with Nessus (Campbell), with Eros,
with the gods, with Zeus. The term μεταίτιος does not occur in the
other plays ; its recurrence in the Track, may be due to a preoccupa
tion on the part of the poet with men’s liability for each others’
destinies; the subject-matter of the play preeminently calls for
such a preoccupation. ·
1 2 3 3 - 1 2 3 6 . If it were less charged with the pathos of indignation,
the sentence would run: τις γάρ ποτέ ταύτην, ή ........ , αν ελοιτο, or
perhaps τις γάρ ποτέ ταΰτα άν έργάσαιτο ταύτης μοι............ μεταιτίου
(or ταύτην, ή . . . ., έλόμενος). As it is, the relative clause represents
the object of the verbal idea to be supplied with τίς γάρ ποθ’, e.g.
λάβοι, at the same time giving the reason why nobody could do such
a thing ; moreover it has to be noted that he passes from the general
(τίς etc.) to the particular (μοι etc.); the simple idea: “nobody
could take to wife the murderess of his mother and father” lies at
the bottom of the words expressed. With τίς ταΰτ’ άν . . . ελοιτο
he sums up the ideas implied in the preceding words; ταΰτ’ “all
this” ,—“the horrors which, for him, are embodied in Iole” (Jebb).
The sentence as a whole is a striking instance of expressiveness by
means of syntactical anomalousness.
1 2 3 3 . μοι: probably better taken as dativus possessivus than as
ethicus.
θανεΐν: τοϋ θανεΐν would be regular, but cf. Ant. 1173, K.-G. II
U and 12 (with anm. 10).—On the relation of the tenses (μεταίτιος
<έστι> θανεΐν) cf. Goodwin § ιοί.
1 2 3 4 . ώς εχεις εχειν: a considerate phrase to denote Heracles'
awful plight; K.-G. I I 436 gives many instances of comparable
phrases with relative pronouns or adverbs.
1 2 3 5 . νοσοΐ: opt. by attractio modi K.-G. I 255.
1) Improbable, in my opinion; Ed. Fraenkel ad A g. S11 (sharer of the

blame with Deianeira herself) is wrong.
COMMENTARY 249
έξ άλαστόρων: “by the agency of avenging deities” (τις αν ταϋτα

πράττειν ελοιτο εκτός ών μανίας καί θεηλασίας; schol.); έξ Έρινύων
would amount to the same, or έκ κακού δαίμονος (cf. Aesch. Pers.
354) ; the plural is generic. For νοσεΐν έξ άλαστόρων cf. Hippocr.
De morbo sacro i in fine; for άλάστωρ cf. Ed. Fraenkel ad Ag. 1501.
1 2 3 7 . τοΐαιν έχθίστοισι: generic plural, referring to lole, cf. El.
594·
συνναίειν όμοϋ: the pleonastic phrase, όμοϋ echoing όμοϋ 1225, ex
presses Hyllus’ horror at the idea of intimacy. Note moreover
the distant connection with 545 τό δ’ αδ ξυνοικεΐν τήδ’ όμοϋ τις αν
γυνή / δύναιτο . . . .
1 2 3 8 . άνήρ οδ’ : Heracles first gives vent to his irritation by
speaking of Hyllus in the third person; then he addresses him
again with threats.
ώς εοικεν ού νεμεΐν: on the confusion of constructions (ώς εοικεν ου
νεμεΐ, εοικεν ού νεμεΐν; it occurs often in Hdt., rarely in Attic prose,
not frequently in Tragedy, cf. Aesch. Pers. 188, 565) cf. K.-G. II
581 1). Brunch’s correction νεμεΐν (νέμειν MSS) is perhaps un
necessary.
1 2 3 8 , 9 . νεμεΐν . . . μοίραν: cf. Aesch. Prom. 291 sq. χωρίς τε
γένους ούκ έστιν οτω / μείζονα μοίραν νείμαιμ’ ή σοί; μοίρα = “the
respect due” ; see Groeneboom’s note a.l.
1 2 3 9 . άλλά τοι: G.P.2 p. 549 (1).
1 2 3 9 , 4 0 . θεών άρà / μενεΐ σ’: cf. 1201,2. That the gods’ Άρά
will await him is another way of saying that he, Heracles, will be a
curse to Hyllus. The gods invoked at Hyllus’ oath are entrusted
with the execution of Heracles’ curse ; the curse itself is represented
as a power, a divine agent; at O.C. 1375 (quoted by J.) Oedipus
summons his άραί to be his σύμμαχοι.
1241. οΐμοι . . . φράσεις: there is some ambiguity in these words.
They could simply mean: “you will tell us that your trouble is
returned” (thus Campbell) and so Heracles is supposed to take
them. But Heracles’ bodily νόσος is at the same time a mental one.
In Hyllus’ eyes his order to marry lole is the outcome of a distem
pered mind (so much is clearly implied in 1231 and 1235). So the
signs of Heracles’ returning pains are, for him, also the symptoms
of his growing madness : still worse is to be expected. So the words
are also meant to convey: “soon you will show how utterly insane
P Cf. also D. Tabacliovitz, P h é n o m è n e s d u v i e u x gre c d a n s le grec de la
Mus. Hclv. 1946, p. 156.
b a ss e ép o q u e ,
250 COMMENTARY
you are” ; ώς in itself is ambiguous (=οτι or = δσον). “Hélas! tu

vas, je crois, parler comme un dément” x) (Mazon).
1 2 4 2 . σύ . . . κακοϋ: σύ με . . . άναταράττεις άπό του καταπραϋν-
θέντος κακοϋ μή πειθόμενος (schol.).
εύνασθέντος: for the metaphoric use cf. supra ιο6, κατευνάζει
(with πόντον) Ap. Rhod. I ι± 5 5 >εύνάζειν τήν ταλαιπωρίην Aretaeus
(Medicus) C.A. 2.1.
1 2 4 3 . τάπορείν έχω: more emphatic than άπόρως έχω. The words
express strikingly his predicament of conflicting loyalties.
εις πολλά: cf. supra 489 εις άπανθ’.
1 2 4 4 . δικαιοΐς . . . κλύειν: cf. Ai. 1072.
τοΰ φυτεύσαντος: the aor. partie, is used just as in δ τεκών, ή
τεκοΰσα etc.
1 2 4 5 . άλλ’ . . . δητα: the combination of particles lends the
question a vehement tone of rejection. Cf. G.P.Z 276 (II).
δυσσεβεΐν: cf. 1222; why marrying lole would be δυσσεβές in
Hyllus’ eyes (and indeed in the view of everybody of sane mind)
is clearly stated 1233 sqq.
1 2 4 6 . ού δυσσέβεια . . . εί: for the type of phrase cf. Phil. 902 sq.
άπαντα δυσχέρεια . . . όταν.
κέαρ: 5 instances in Soph., always as last word of the trimeter,
thrice in Eur. (same place), 15 instances in Aesch. (7 in Prom.)
(same place in trim., but also in lyrics).
1 2 4 7 . πανδίκως: There is the same difficulty as in 611. If we
take the word with πράσσειν the question means : do you order me
to do these things “with full justification” ? i.e. will my act be
fully justified if I obey your order? Jebb prefers this interpretation
but it seems more natural that πανδίκως goes with άνωγας: “Is it
your full and authoritative command . . .” (Campbell), “Ainsi ce
sont là tes ordres formels?” (Mazon). πανδίκως,it is true, is not
exactly the same as παντελώς (cf. Groeneboom ad Aesch. Cho. 681)
but it often comes very near it (Lat. prohe, prorsus, cf. Italie,
Index Aeschyleus s.v.), cf. e.g. Aesch. Sept. 670 ή δητ’ αν ε’ίη
πανδίκως ψευδώνυμος / Δίκη . . ., Eum. 804 πανδίκως υπίσχομαι.
Heracles’ answer έγωγε is an indication that άνωγας, not πράσσειν,
has the main stress. Hyllus’ words 1249 sq. amount to: I will do the
deed on your responsibility.
1 2 4 9 . ποήσω κούκ άπώσομαι: polar expression of the type και
b Cf. Masqueray’s: “Hélas! bientôt, je crois, ton langage va montrer

comme tu souffres”.
COM MENTARY 251
φημί δρασαι κούκ άπαρνοΰμαι τό μή. Tor άπωθέομαι “decline” ,

“refuse” cf. Eur. fr. 789.2 N.2 καί τούς παρόντας ουκ άπωθοϋμαι
πόνους.
1 2 4 9 , 5 0 . τδ σδν / θεοΐσι δεικνύς εργον: though the form of
the words would seem to be in favour of Jebb’s interpretation
(εργον denotes the act of Heracles in prescribing the marriage and
the words mean properly: “pleading before the gods the constraint
which you have put upon me” ), the use of εργον and the analogy of
a passage like O.T. 572 τάς εμάς / ούκ αν ποτ’ είπε Αα'ίου διαφθοράς
(these words amount to: he would not have said that I am Laius’
murderer) lead me to prefer the alternative course *) : τδ σδν though
forming part of the object is to be considered as an anticipated
predicate, the whole phrase being a condensed way of saying:
θεοΐσι δεικνύς τδ εργον (i.e. the marriage) σδν είναι. So I accept
Mazon’s rendering: “mais ce sera en dénonçant aux dieux l’acte
comme tien” .
1 2 5 1 . σοί γε πιστεύσας: the sense lies in between “trusting” and
“obeying” ; Jebb’s rendering “for loyalty to thee” is excellent. Cp.
1228.
1 2 5 2 , 3 . καλώς τελευτάς: in the end you show the right spirit.
κάπί τοΐσδε: επί τοΐσδε either insuper (cf. τάπί τούτοισιν quod
superest Aesch. Ag. 255 and Hdt. IX 78.2 σύ δέ καί τά λοιπά τά επί
τούτοισι ποίησον) or, more closely connected with ταχεΐαν, (quickly
following) upon these words. The latter seems better, since επί
would be rather otiose besides προσ-, if the former course is pre
ferred. Indeed the idea “moreover” is expressed by προσ-: προστι-
θέναι χάριν does not mean “render a service” but “add a service” .
Since the predicate ταχεΐαν bears the full stress the meaning of τήν
χάριν ταχεΐαν πρόαθες is: “let quickly follow the rendering of the
(promised) service”, “add quickness to the promise of the service” .
1 2 5 4 . σπαραγμόν: cf. 778.
οίστρον : h.l. of the maddening smart of pain, access of fury.
τιν’ : prob, also to be taken with σπαραγμόν.
1 2 5 5 . άγ’: without distinct reference to number, cf. ϊδ’ 821;
Hyllus and the attendants are addressed.
έγκονεΐτ’, αίρεσθε: cf. note ad Ai. 811.
1 2 5 5 , 6. παΰλά τοι κακών / αυτή : παύλα esp. used of end of disease,
pain etc. Cf. Phil. 1329, Hippocr., Gal. Note that the cremation1
1) T a k e n inter al. b y C am p b ell w ho c o m p a re d O.T. 572.

252 COM MENTARY
means to him solely death and deliverance by death. The following

words, in apposition to the predicative παΰλα, strongly emphasize
this. For παΰλα . . . αυτή cf. O.C. 88 ταύτην έλεξε παύλαν. Cf. also
ανάπαυλα Phil. 638, 878, El. 873.
1 2 5 7 . τελειοΰσθαι: amounts to an intensified τελεΐσθαι.
1 2 5 8 . έπε'ι κελεύεις κάξαναγκάζεις : the second word shows
clearly how much Hyllus feels himself to act under compulsion.
1 2 5 9 - 1 2 7 7 . The end is composed of anapaestic systems running
to about the same length as at the end of the Ai ax. The final section
in anapaests is somewhat longer in O.C. and Phil., much briefer in
Ant. and El. and is absent from O.T. But in every instance x) the
Coryphaeus has the last word. Now the MSS and the scholia are
divided as to the question whether 1275-1278 were recited by
Hyllus or by the Chorus (that is to say, in any case, the Coryphaeus)
and so are modern editions and commentaries: Jebb, Pearson,
Kuiper, Schmid 2) and many older editors assign these lines to the
former, Radermacher, Masqueray, Dain-Mazon and Bowra {Soph.
Trag. p. 158), Weinstock (Sophokles1 p. 137), Webster (Introd.
p. 33), Opstelten {Soph, and Greek Pessimism pp. 66, 134), Pohlenz
(.Erläuterungen2 p. 89) and others assign them to the latter. Things
are complicated by the fact that the παρθένος addressed in 1. 1275
creates another problem, and that the schol. offer a v.l. επ’ instead
of the MSS text άπ’. However these problems are solved, it seems
preferable to give the lines to the Coryphaeus, since the very far-
reaching last line, though not in formal contrast with Hyllus’ bitter
complaint, strikes a different note, a note indeed of resignation
rather than of rebellion3) and so better suits the Chorus who
proclaim the poet’s own view.
1 2 5 9 . άνακινήσαι: I accept the opinion of Campbell and Rader
macher who take the verb as intr. (“before this trouble re-awa-
kens” ). Other compounds of κινεΐν are so used and to take σε (i.e.
ψυχήν) either as the subject or as the object of άνακινήσαι is equally
unsatisfactory.
1 2 6 0 . ώ ψυχή σκληρά: ψυχή is not often addressed in Soph. (cf.
Phil. 712), nor in Aesch. ; it is in Eur. Or. 466, Io 859, I.T. 839,
881, Ale. 837 v.l. Cf. Find. Pyth. I ll 61.
b I do n o t sp e a k fo r th e m o m e n t of th e p ro b lem s raised b y th e e n d of
O.T.
0 I I p. 3S3 n . 4.
3) See O p ste lte n o.l. p. 66.
COM MENTARY 253
σκληρά: here: “hardy”, "hardened”, whereas at Ai. 1361 the

sense is: “harsh”, “stubborn” , “intractable”.
1 2 6 0 , 6 1 . χάλυβος . . . παρέχουσ’: ψυχή σκληρά is asked to supply
a bridle-bit in order to prevent him from crying, χάλυψ “steel” also
Aesch. Prom. 133.
λιθοκόλλητου is explained in various ways: “set with stones”
(either to make it more drastic or as ornaments) ; κολλάω is used in
the sense of "joining one metal or other substance to another” x),
cf. Pinei. Nem. VII 78. Soph, has χρυσόκολλος “inlaid with gold”
jr. 378, cf. Eur. fr. 587 (χρυσοκόλλητος id. Phoen. 2) and there are
some other compounds with - κολλητος, among which are χαλκό-
κόλλητος and «λιθοκόλλητος (“not cemented” ). If the λίθοι are
meant as ornaments, the epithet here is irrelevant, if not, it is
difficult to see how they could reinforce the curbing action of a steel
b i t *2). Jebb has the subtle interpretation: “a curb of steel, to keep
the lips set as stone to stone” , λιθοκόλλητου then has causative force
and with λίθος a new image is introduced; in view of άλιθοκόλλητος
this is possible. But perhaps G. Hermann’s rendering ferreum saxo
rum frenum, “iron clamps, used for binding stones together” 3), "le
bon crampon de fer qu’on scelle dans le marbre” (Mazon) is still
better; in either case two images are welded together. Or we may
say that, with G. Hermann’s interpretation, the whole phrase
λιθοκόλλητου στομίου is metaphorical, στομίου being used because
the lips of the στόμα and not the stones of a building must be
bound together.
1 2 6 2 , 3 . ώς . . . έργου: since with the MSS reading τελέως the
words will not construe (unless indeed we should accept the very
clumsy interpretation: ώς (“for” ) έπίχαρτόυ <έστιυ> τελέως άεκούσιου
έργου), and since reading τελεώσ' <αι> would involve us in similar
difficulties (nor will τελεώσαι εκούσιου do), I accept Billerbeck’s
τελέουσ’ (with all modem editors). But I approve of Campbell’s
protest against the usual interpretation of the words as amended,
viz. that ως should be taken with τελέουσ’ ; for this introduces
a note of joyousness into the passage, entirely inconsistent with
Heracles’ mood and indeed with the tone of the whole scene. So
I follow Campbell’s rendering: “Performing an unwilling deed as
q l .-S c.
2) Mr. IT. L lo y d -Jo n e s, Notes on Sophocles' Antigone, Cl. Q u. 1957, p . 15
p u ts fo rw ard a c o n tra ry opinion.
3) See Je b b , A p p e n d ix .
254 COMMENTARY
a thing to rejoice at” . "To rejoice at” only in so far as death, the
«εκούσιον εργον, will release him from his sufferings.
1 2 6 4 , 5 . μεγάλην . . . συγγνωμοο"ύνην : συγγνωμοσύνη (only here,
hardly differing in sense from συγγνώμη “lenient judgement” ,
"allowance”, a formation used for the sake of contrast with the
following αγνωμοσύνη 1), a common word) is requested by Hyllus
for his deeds because he is compelled to them, μεγάλην, strongly
emphasized by its placing, well reveals his awareness how appalling
they must appear in the eyes of normal people, as appalling indeed
as the αγνωμοσύνη “the want of feeling” , “the cruelty” shown by
the gods who, in the last resort, are responsible for all that has
happened and is happening. Of course this passionate outburst
is not to be considered as the poet’s last word on Heracles’ tragedy;
but the way in which the outburst is worded is such as to justify
our feeling that he sympathizes with his character up to a certain
point; these are the words, we feel, an inexperienced young man
would speak, when confronted with the mysterious tragedy of life.
The gods are cruel and powerful, Hyllus cannot see further than
that and he is not therefore to be thought the worse of. The poet has
shown Heracles’ tragedy, the outcome of the inextricable inter
connection of the hero’s character and destiny; he passes no
judgement on Hyllus’ words nor on the gods. What Hyllus says
subjectively and by way of an only too human, passionate protest,
is, in fact, objectively and dispassionately restated by the Cory
phaeus (1276-1278), so much so that in the last line of the play the
“moral” is drawn, or rather, the human condition in its dependency
is stressed and one side of the poet’s credo appears. The context de
monstrates that this credo, at the date of the Trachiniae, came closer
to sombre, albeit wise, resignation than to cheerful acceptance
θέμενοι συγγνωμοσύνην: periphrasis of συγγνόντες (cf. Ant. 151),
here used for the sake of pointed parallelism with the following
lines (perhaps another instance of the πικρόν and κατάτεχνον of
Soph.’s second period). On άγνωμων cf. note ad 473 and see Dodds
on Eur. Bacch. 885; αγνωμοσύνη combines the notions of ruth
lessness*2) and iniquity; cf. Dem. XVIII 207 τη τής τύχης αγνω
μοσύνη τά συμβάντα παθεΐν (schol. άδικία), ib. 252 την αγνωμοσύνην
αυτού και βασκανίαν.
b See o n th e fo rm a tio n s w ith -σύνη C h a n tra in e , F orm ation des N o m s
pp. 211 sq.
2) ‘' R ü c k sic h tslo sig k e it’’.
COMMENTARY 255
1 2 6 6 , 7 . θεών . . .έργων: “ of the gods” (gen. subj.) “in the

deeds” (gen. obj.). On two genitives dependent on the same noun
cf. Schwyzer-Debrunner II p. 135 1). The v.l. θεοΐς (Vat. Palat. 287
and T s.l.) is prob, a Byzantine conjecture (we could explain its
meaning by equating είδότες to συνειδότες)12) ; Nauck’s acceptance of
it and bracketing αγνωμοσύνην είδότες έργων, is wholly unwarranted.
των πρασσομένων: prob, also including Deianeira’s death; briefly
for των πραχθέντων καί τών πρασσομένων.
1 2 6 8 . οΐ: it appears from this relative clause that θεών is “ge
neric” and that Zeus is meant. The plural has the same amplifying
force as at O.T. 1406 sqq.
κληζόμενοί.: "being called and invoked as” . Hyllus could have
said with Eur.’s Alcmene (Heracl. 719) εί S’ έστίν δσιος αύτος (Zeus)
οίδεν εις εμέ.
1 2 6 9 . έφορώσι: “look on” (with indifference).
1 2 7 0 . τά μεν ούν μέλλοντ’ ούδείς έφορα: Wakefield’s άφορα, accepted
by Pearson, is an unnecessary alteration ; the same word may recur
within a brief space with a different meaning. This is not a hint at
Heracles’ apotheosis 3) but only a slight reserve in Hyllus’ con
demnation of Zeus: the gods are powerful and anything may happen ;
by this reflection the hopeless and, for them, shameful present state
of things is expressed with the more poignancy.
1 2 7 1 . τά νυν έστώτ’ : τά νϋν καθεστώτ’ “the present state of things.”
Ci. Ant. 1156 and 1160.
1 2 7 3 . δ’ oùv: cf. G.P.2 ρ. q6i (“the consequences to Heracles are
what really matters” ).
1 2 7 4 . άτην: cf. 850, 1002, 1082, 1104. Here the idea of “ruin”
is foremost in the mind of the speaker, ύπέχειν sustinere, with notions
like κακόν, ζημίαν etc. as object.
1 2 7 5 . παρθέν’: some commentators (but not in Antiquity) have
thought of lole (e.g. Radermacher, Webster and Bowra). Without
going so far as Mazon 4), who says “Quant à supposer que παρθένε
puisse désigner Iole, c’est une fantaisie qui ne mérite pas d’être
prise au sérieux”, I agree with his conclusions. If Iole were meant,
we should verite επ’ οΐ'κων, but the MSS reading is άπ’ οΐκων. This
1) A nd cp. for a n o th e r c o m b in a tio n supra 1191.
2) P olilenz’ in te rp re ta tio n (E rläuterungen1· p. 89) 'ih r h a b t völligen
M angel an V e rstä n d n is fü r die G ö tte r bei ih rem T u n ’ is h a rd ly possible.
3) As m a n y critics w ill h a v e it ; am o n g th e m Polilenz, G r .T r .1 p. 208,
B ow ra, o.c. p. 160.
4) R ev u e de Philologie 1951, p. i l , cf. also Polilenz, E rläu teru n g en 1 p. 89.
256 COMMENTARY
can only be explained if the maidens of the Chorus are addressed

and summoned to stay away no longer from their homes. The
reading επ’ οίκων (T Σ) arose from somebody’s misunderstanding
(he thought of the palace ; it is not possible, as suggested by Camp
bell, to take μη λείπου = επου and retain άπ’ οίκων by that forced
device). So the words mean: "Toi, non plus, jeune fille, ne reste
pas là, loin de ta maison” (Mazon). For λείπομαι άπό Mazon com
pares II. IX 437 sq., 444 sq., Od. XV 10.
1 2 7 6 . θανάτους: possibly another “generic” plural; but the Chorus
were virtually witnesses of Heracles’ death1) as well, νέους: “ter
rible”, “dread” (Jebb) *2).
1 2 7 7 . καινοπαθή: “quod numquam quis pertulit”, “inauditus”.
(E.).
One of the άπαξ λεγάμενα of our play. Cp. καινοποιηθέν supra 873,
καινοπήμων Aesch. Sept. 363 and νεοπαθής Eum. 514; see for καινός
and νέος v. Wilamowitz Eur. Eerakl. 2 II p. 243 (quoted by Groene-
boom ad Sept. l.c.). The reading καινοπαγή, adopted by Pearson,
seems inferior, though it is the best transmitted one.
1 2 7 8 . κούδέν τούτων 6 τι μή Ζεύς: ούδέν τούτων ούδείς έπραξεν
εί μή μόνος ό Ζεύς (schob, Campbell) or ούδέν τούτων <έστιν> ο τι μή
Ζεύς <εστιν> (Jebb, Raderm.). But this divergence shows only too
clearly the inadequacy of such supplements. Indeed, it makes small
difference whether we assume that Zeus is or does what happened;
neither statement covers the whole truth. The happenings are
the will of Zeus, Zeus himself, if you want to put it thus, the spirit
of the κόσμος, embodied in material events.—Cf. in general A.esch.
Ag. 1485-1488. The words present us with the most sublime last
line of Sophoclean tragedies, though those of El., Ant. and O.C. come
near to it in weight)/ conclusiveness. It is inconceivable that they
are spoken by Hyllus.
x) μεγάλους = δεινούς, m ore easily u n d e rs ta n d a b le if H e ra c le s’ d e a th is

also m e a n t.
2) O n ίδοϋσα· e x te n d in g from th e first m e tro n in to th e n e x t cf. E . F ra e n k e l
a d A g . 52.

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THE PLAYS OF SOPHOCLES

THE PLAYS OF SOPHOCLES

J. C KAMERBEEK Litt. Dr.

Copyright 1970 by E, J, Brill, Leiden, Netherlands

Nimis longo temporis intervallo mihi contigit ut hanc secundam

Santpoort, mense Aprili, MCMLIX j. C. K.

(in siglis adhibendis Alexandrum Turyn secutus sum)

328 αυτή γ ’ L R A al.: αυτή γ’ Zr (= Marc. 616), Pearson.

788 Λοκρών ορειοι codd. : Λοκρών τ’ ορειοι Diog. L. X 137,

1015 non antistropha, sed stropha.

1) Cf. th e te s tim o n ia in H omeri Opera V rec. T h. W . A llen pp. 144-147.

ή τέχ’ ύ~οδμηθεΐ[σα βίη Ήρακληεί]-/]

Though much is conjectural in these words, it is certain that the

1) T h o u g h we c a n n o t feel c e rta in a b o u t tlie c o n n e c tio n ; to o m u c h is m ad e

conjecture1)). Cf. Dio Chrysost. LX i (fr. 147 Bgk.) : Έχεις μοιλΰσαι

1) Cf. F . L asserre, Les Epodes d ’Archiloque, 1950, p p . 191 sqq.

holds good for another fragmentary piece of evidence, viz. the

opinion, Snell is right in supposing that Heracles’ bow-shot has been

whole of the saga-complex from the epic, that Sophocles brought

2. The Prior Assumptions of the Play

b W . S chm id, Ges. cl. Gr. L it. I I p. 517 n. 7.

3. The Course of the Action and the Structure of the Play

in a monologue she gives an exposition of her present situation

1) Cf. K . R e in h a rd t, Sophokles1, p. 47.

b Cf. A. B eck, Der E m p f a n g Ioles, l.c. p. 16.

IV 335-392. Deianeira, being about to follow Lichas and the

by marking out the course of conduct he would follow if he were

x) O n th is d iffic u lt p ro b lem I agree w ith J e b b a.l. a g a in s t W e b ste r,

x) Cf. W eb ster, A n Introduction to Sophocles, p. 103.

neira’s and forms its counterpart: the significance of the ominous

despair and the circumstances of her suicide are narrated with

*) C.f. on th is scene R. C am crcr, Z o rn u n d Groll in der soph. Trag., 1936,

1) A n e n u m e ra tio n n o t to he le ft o u t in a tra g e d y on .Heracles b u t also

a full estimation of which we have been kept waiting until this

“ H eracles’ (a ttitu d e ) is re m a rk a b le fo r its d isre g a rd of all t h a t p e rta in s to D .

yield to Heracles’ awful command that he shall marry lole. Here,

1) Of. W e b ste r, A n Introduction to Sophocles, p. 74. B o w ra ’s an sw e r to

cular modifications and handling of the traditional forms and by

1) T h u s rig h tly , a m o n g o th ers, G. M. K irkw ood, op. cit. p. 205. Cf. G.

sense, and Deianeira’s existence is shown to be bound up with his 1).

P Cf. P o h len z, D ie Griechische Tragödie-, p. 206; B o w ra op. d t . p. 116

in its gentleness, its loyalty, its human understanding, the very

5. Dating of the Play

Earp’s stylistic study by which it is made probable that the use

1) F . R . E a rp , The Style of Sophocles, p p . 79, 108.

elaboration with which Deianeira is pictured suggests the budding

The Prologue starts with Deianeira’s monologue, though the

1 . Λόγος: “saying” , άνθρώπων genit, subjecti, cf. Pind. Ne:n. 1 X 6

P Cf. T. B. L. W e b ste r, A n Introduction to Sophocles, p. n o .

4, 5 . τον έμόν: object of έχουσα with δυστυχή τε καί βαρύν as

x) De Scholiis in Sophoclis Tragoedias veteribus, A tti d ella R . Acc. dei

O.T. Ι Ι Ο Ο Πανός πελα.σθεΐσα.. (έμον λέχος άντιόωσα.ν II. I 31 is a

1) See H . T rü m p y , Kriegerische Fachcmsdriicke ini Gr. Epos, th esis B asel

P Cf. διά μάχης . . . τέλους A esch. S u p p l. 475-

41. πλήν: often used after negations in the sense of “except

accusative πανδάκρυτ’ όδύρματα: cf. Phil. 1456-1461 οδ πολλάκι δή

370 ; ού δέ is avoided, άτάρ is sometimes used where a strong adver­

1) On νέμειν a n d th e like cf. V a lc k e n a e r’s v e ry le a rn e d n o te a d E u r. H ip p .

1) A. T u ry n , M a n u s c rip t Tradition p. 52.

δάρον: in dialogue Doric ä occurs in the words not used in Attic

x) Cf. G. B jörck, Das A lp h a im pu ru m , p. 126.

76 sq. Again we note the economy with which the constituents

7 9 . ώς οί: thus L and R (Chig) (R has ώς oî), A and others ώς ή,

1j Cp. also A p. R h o d . I 251, 2 δειλή Ά λκιμ έδη . . . . ούδ’ Ιτέλεσσας επ άγλαΐη

370 ; ού δέ is avoided, άτάρ is sometimes used where a strong adver

P Cf. schol. a d 172 καί γάρ τούς γέροντας οί Μολοσσοί πελείους (L in m a r

2 5 0 . έμποληθείς: prop.: “bought as a slave” . Dutch: “ver

3 7 0 » τοΰδε : cf. ad 346; the v.l. ά (Π ί1)) has something to re