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WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 


BY 


C. S. JERRAM, M.A. 


Late Scholar of Trinity College, Oxford 
Editor of *Cebetis Tabula; Lucian'’s ‘Vera Historia; Euripides ‘Helena, &t, 


Third Edition, Revised. 


Oxford 
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 


M DCCC XC 


[All rights reserved ἢ 


PREPACE TO SECOND EDITION. 


Tue notes in this edition have been carefully revised, and 
in some cases re-written, upon reconsideration of the points 
involved, or from the suggestions of several friends and 
correspondents who have favoured me with their communi- 
cations. With respect to the present note on ]. 52, I agree 
with Mr. Sidgwick in regarding the use of the optative for 
the subjunctive, and not the omission of ἄν, as the proper 
subject of enquiry. I may state however that this had 
occurred to me independently of his note on Agamemnon, 
]. 20; but I am glad to have the opportunity of expressing 
my entire concurrence with the view which he there main- 


tains. 
C. 5: JERRAM. 


WoopcoTe Houskt ScHOOL, WINDLESHAM, 
August, 1883. 


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ENT RODUCTION. 


Early career of Euripides.—Plot of the Alcestis—Tragedy and the 
‘Satyric’ Drama.—The Alcestis a ‘ pro-satyric’ play.—Forms of the 
original myth, and Euripides’ treatment of it.— Arrangement of scenes. 
—The characters of the play: Alcestis, Admetus, Pheres, Heracles.— 
The concluding scene.—Criticism of the play.—Euripides compared 
with his predecessors ; his religious and political opinions.—Alcestis by 
other authors.—Text of this edition and MSS. of Euripides. 


EurRIPIDES, the son of Mnesarchus or Mnesarchides, was born 
B.C. 480, the year of the battle of Salamis. He was thus a 
younger contemporary of Aeschylus, about fifteen years junior 
to Sophocles, and eleven or twelve years older than Socrates, 
who afterwards became his friend and one of his chief supporters. 
He appears to have devoted himself in early life to the pursuit of 
literature and the fine arts, and to have been the pupil of Anaxa- 
goras, Protagoras, and Prodicus. In 455 B.C. (the year Aeschylus 
died) Euripides produced his first tragedy, the Peliades, no longer 
extant; and in 441 he gained the first tragic prize for a ‘ trilogy,’ 
or group of three plays, the names of which have not been pre- 
served. Two years later (B.C. 439) came the group containing 
the ALCESTIS and three others; for these Euripides gained only 
the second prize, the first being awarded to Sophocles. From 
this it is clear that although <A/cestis is the earliest play that has 
survived (except the doubtful Réesus), it is by no means a youth- 
ful effort, since it was produced when the author was over forty 
years of age, and in the maturity of his powers. It may be well 
to bear this in mind, when we come to examine the criticism, 
favourable or adverse, that has been passed upon the play itself. 


Vill INTRODUCTION. 


The plot is briefly as follows. Admetus, king of Pherae, being 
destined to die, Apollo, grateful to him for past kindness during 
an enforced term of servitude, obtains leave of the Fates for 
the king to provide a substitute. After all his friends and rela- 
tives, even his aged parents, have declined to grant him the 
favour of dying in his stead, his wife Alcestis alone is found 
willing to undertake such a sacrifice; she accordingly dies, after 
taking an affectionate farewell of her husband and children. In 
the midst of their mourning Heracles arrives on his road to 
Thrace, where he has a certain ‘labour’ to perform at the bid- 
ding of his master Eurystheus. Admetus welcomes him as an 
old friend, and without mentioning his great sorrow presses him 
to accept hospitality, but excuses himself from joining his guest 
in the banquet-hall. During the meal Heracles scandalises the 
attendant by his boisterous behaviour in a house of mourning; 
but learning from him the true state of the case, he abandons in 
a moment his ill-timed levity, and rushes forth to the tomb, re- 
solved to do battle with Death for his victim. After a severe 
struggle he rescues Alcestis from the grasp of her destroyer, 
brings her back to the palace veiled, and places her in the arms 
of her husband. ‘This done, the hero goes on his way, promising 
to visit Admetus again on his return from the Thracian land. 

It was the custom at Athens, during the greater Dionysiac 
festival, to present three tragedies in succession, usually but not 
always on kindred subjects; these were followed by a short after- 
piece of a lighter kind, known as a ‘Satyric’ play, and the 
whole formed a ‘tetralogy’ or series of four plays. Now, since 
the Alcestis was the last of such a series, it has been thought to 
be either a genuine satyric piece, or at least to partake of the 
satyric character. This is not a mere question about a name, 
and the answer to it must be sought in the origin of the Athenian 
drama, That drama took its rise from the dithyramb (διθύραμβοςῚ, 
a name given to lyric odes (afterwards developed into regular 
choruses) expressing the ‘sufferings’ (πάθη) of Dionysus, Here-— 
in, under the figure of varying fortunes undergone by the god 
himself, the natural changes of the seasons were pourtrayed. 
These odes constituted acts of worship, and the worshippers 
identified themselves with Dionysus, and imagined themselves to 


INTRODUCTION. 1X 


be similarly affected. The actors? (as we may now call them) 
wore the costume of Satyrs, the traditional companions of 
Bacchus, and thus the Satyric disguise was an integral element 
in Tragedy? from the very first. But soon, by a process of 
refinement of which we have no exact account, the choruses 
were transferred from subjects connected with Dionysus to the 
other gods and heroes of Greek mythology, and then of course 
the costume and dances of Satyrs became inappropriate. This 
gave rise to the ‘Satyric drama’ as distinct from tragedy proper; 
a sportive piece, though not a comedy, in which Satyrs and such- 
like creatures still played a prominent part. The separation of 
this kind of drama from tragedy is supposed to have taken place 
about 520 B.C. or perhaps a little later; and it explains the cus- 
tom we have noted, of introducing a ‘Satyric’ farce as an after- 
piece to the series of three tragedies, known as a ‘trilogy.’ The 
only extant specimen is the Cyclops of Euripides, in which we 
have a Chorus of Satyrs introduced as servants of Polyphemus, 
and finally delivered from their bondage by Ulysses and his 
companions. A comparison of the plot of this play with that 
of the Alcestis will show that the latter is not one of the true 
‘Satyric’ kind; though we have seen that it occupied the place 
of one in the tetralogy above referred to. The connexion is not 
difficult to trace. The old Satyric drama was formed of tragic 
materials; its constituents were firstly Satyrs, that is beings far 
removed from civilisation, immodest and uncouth, but com- 
paratively harmless to mankind; nay even beneficent sometimes, 
in a clumsy sort of way, as representing the jovial side of human 
nature. Secondly, there were brutal monsters, half divine and 
half human, who spurn all laws, and whose vast strength and 
powers of mischief render them positive nuisances to society. 
Hence it is the function of heroes, especially of Hercules, to rid 
the earth of such pests; and thus the subjugation of savage 


1 The addition of an actor (ὑποκριτής). answering the chorus, and thus 
giving rise to a regular dialogue, came much later. We are now speak- 
ing only of the members of the chorus itself, which was the germ of the 
whole. 

2 There is little doubt that the name τραγῳδία arose from the ‘ goat- 
like’ appearance of the actors in their Satyr dress, 


x INTRODUCTION. 


monsters by superior force became the staple of a Satyric play. 
Neither of these elements is wanting in the dl/cestis. Its plot 
turns upon the subjugation of Thanatos, or Death, a most 
injurious monster, who excites terror from the first scene 
onwards, until he is forced by Heracles to surrender his victim. 
Again, in the banquet-scene the hero exhibits that jovial satyr- 
like side of his character, which enabled him in intervals of 
relaxation to give full vent to mirth and jollity, and made him 
the traditional companion of Satyrs on all festive occasions. The 
Alcestis therefore, in virtue of such scenes as these, was no un- 
fitting substitute for the conventional Satyric after-piece. 

In its main situations it is a tragedy of the most pathetic kind, 
and this notwithstanding its happy termination, although Aristotle 
asserts that this is fatal to the essence of a true tragic plot. We 
do not think that Euripides would have accepted this dictum, 
since so many of his plays either have a distinctly fortunate end, 
or at least provide something by way of compensation for the 
previous misfortunes of the hero. And if, as Aristotle implies, 
the proper design of Tragedy be to excite and afterwards allay 
the emotions by means of pity and fear’, there are few plays 
better calculated to produce the desired effect than the one we 
are considering. It has been called a ‘tragi-comedy’; but this, 
in our opinion, is a mistake. Of the three scenes usually cited 
in support of this view, that between Admetus and his father is 
too real, too terribly earnest, to be in any sense comic; while 
Apollo’s dialogue with Death and the banquet scene of Heracles 
have been referred to their proper place in the Satyric drama, 
which had no connexion with comedy. At the same time it may 
be admitted, that the A/cestis never reaches the summit of tragic 
terror, as compared with other plays, for instance the Mecea. 


1 He speaks of ‘the purgation (κάθαρσις) of the emotions through pity 
and fear.’ Whatever may be the exact meaning of this much disputed 
phrase, the metaphor is obviously a medical one, and describes the 
calming and moderation of these emotions after a sort of feverish excite- 
ment previously aroused. By learning to keep his ‘pity and fear’ within 
due bounds, and to direct them upon right objects, a man will attain 
the true pleasure derivable from tragedy. 


INTRODUCTION. ΧΙ 


The whole plot is so managed as to call forth the softer emo- 
tions!, and is, as Hartung describes it, ‘idyllic’ rather than 
‘tragic’ in the most exact sense of the term. 

The original myth on which the plot rests is told by different 
writers with certain variations. Its earliest form appears to 
be this. Apollo, being forced to serve Admetus because he 
had slain the Cyclopes?, and having been well treated by 
his master, helped him to get Alcestis in marriage from 
her father Pelias, king of Iolcos, the condition being that 
the intended husband should yoke together a boar and a lion in 
one chariot. Next Admetus incurred the anger of Artemis by 
neglecting to sacrifice to her at the marriage feast; and being in 
danger of his life he was saved by Apollo’s intercession and the 
substitution of Alcestis in his room. Euripides takes up the 
story at this point, and alleges the slaughter of the Cyclopes, 
‘forgers of the divine fire,’ as the reason of Apollo’s servitude. _ 
Another version made this servitude an act of expiation on the 
part of the god for having slain the Python, which obliged him to 
purify himself from the stain of bloodshed. Pherae was the place 
of this purification, and the whole scene was enacted every eighth 
year in a theoria, or sacred procession, between that town and 
Delphi. Now whereas the Python represented a demon power 
and was associated with the old Chthonian or Earth-worship, it has 
been supposed that Apollo’s master was none other than Hades 
himself, who was often designated by the title of “Adunros, or the 
‘Invincible.’ This seems to be confirmed by the fact that Hecate, 
a goddess of the under-world, was worshipped at Pherae under the 
title of Θεὰ Pepaia. Hermann sees in the whole account a 
mythical representation of actual events in connexion with the 
Delphian Apollo. He supposes that when an attempt was first 
made to substitute his purer worship for the old Chthonian rites 
(symbolised by the Python, as the guardian of the Earth’s oracle at 
Delphi), the votaries of the god were driven to take refuge at 


1 Hence Wilken, in his dissertation De Alcestide Euripidea (1868), 
proposes a fourth division of the drama, to which he would give the 
distinctive name of ‘ pathetic.’ 

2 See Alcestis, 11. 5-7. Another version of the story is given further on. 


ΧΙ INTRODUCTION. 


Pherae, where they were hospitably received and allowed to build 
atemple. Afterwards the inhabitants of the neighbouring Iolcos 
were admitted, in consideration of their superior resources, to a 
’ share in their solemnities, and the ritual of Apollo was celebrated 
with increased splendour by both states conjointly. This is 
thought to be symbolised in the marriage of the Pheraean 
Admetus with the Iolcian Alcestis, whose name (derived from 
ἀλκή) indicates wealth and power. Some dissensions having 
arisen, the new cu/tus soon began to decline, and was only saved 
from perishing by the voluntary surrender of the temple treasures, 
which however were afterwards recovered by the aid of a 
superior foreign force. It is unnecessary to point out the bearing 
of these latter incidents upon the traditional story of Admetus, and 
it is far from improbable that some real events, such as Hermann 
suggests, may have determined the form in which it appears. 
Lastly, the legend has been referred to that ever-recurring series 
of old-world myths, which the sun in his yearly course, the 
alternations of light and darkness, and all the varying phenomena 
of Nature are supposed to have suggested. In these the bondage 
of Apollo in the house of Admetus and the subjection of Heracles 
to Eurystheus alike represent the Sun, toiling in his unwearied 
round for the benefit of mortal men; and in the tale of Alcestis 
Heracles appears ‘as the kindly benefactor, who goes down into 
the dark land, and there wrests from the grasp of death the fair 
twilight, which dies away at sundown, to be brought back again 
in the morning!’ 

But however interesting it may be to speculate upon the 
probable sources of the myth, what we have chiefly to consider 
is the use made of it by Euripides as a dramatist. He of course 
took the story as he found it, selecting such incidents as suited 
his purpose, and treated it simply as a domestic drama of modern 
Athenian life, the supernatural element being assumed as perfectly 
familiar in what must have been to most of the spectators a 
‘nursery tale’ of their childhood. But since, as Aristotle ob- 
serves in his Poetics, there are some to whom even the best 
known stories are unknown?, the poet, following the fashion of 

1 Cox, Tales of Ancient Greece, Introduction, p. xxxiii. 

? Also for an opposite reason. The very fact that these legendary 


INTRODUCTION. xiii 


his time, introduces his plot by a short explanatory prologue, 
spoken in the person of Apollo, and afterwards passing into a 
dialogue between him and Death. This latter portion has been 
censured by some critics’; unjustly as we think. If there seems 
to be anything repulsive fer se in the notion of a barter of lives 
with Death, we must remember that this is an integral part 
of the legend; moreover the failure of Apollo to establish a 
commercial transaction with his adversary is quite in keeping 
with the character of one who ‘alone of all deities regardeth not 
bribes.’ That Phoebus should appear in direct conflict with the 
monster from whose power he had already delivered Admetus is 
natural enough, and the colloquial style of their encounter is 
sufficiently excused, at least in a ‘ pro-satyric’ play”, by the well- 
known fondness of the Athenians for disputations of this kind. 
We may be sure that Euripides purposely so arranged his opening 
scenes, that from the outset he might arouse the interest and 
amuse the fancy of his audience. As to the exquisite art with 
which the first Act is managed, there can be no question. The 
radiant Archer-god, ‘a stationed glory *’ at the portal, the black- 
robed demon Death, the chorus distraught with fears for the 
royal house, and hoping even against hope—all this appeals most 
powerfully to the feelings, and marks the poet as a consummate 
master of his art. Asa dramatic personage*, Thanatos may be 
put by the side of Cratos and Bia (Strength and Force) in the 
Prometheus, Lyssa (Madness) in the Hercules Furens, and the Lar 
Familiaris in the 4ulularia of Plautus. Similarly in the old 


stories were so well known may have made the poet less careful about 
‘spoiling the plot’ (as we should say) by giving a sketch of it before- 
hand. 

1 The Quarterly Review, for instance, characterises the dialogue 
between Apollo and Death as ‘only fit for a couple of higglers at a 
pig-fair.’ Q.R. on Monk’s Alcestis, vol. xv. p. 115 (1816). 

2 See pp. viii, ix. 

3 Browning, Balaustion, p. 25. The whole of this passage should be 
read in illustration of the text. 

* J, e. not merely personified in narrations or addresses, as in Hom. 1]. 
iv. 231; Soph. Aias, 864, &c, 


Xiv INTRODUCTION. 


English ‘Morality plays’ Death and the Fool are pitted against 
each other, the latter trying various shifts to elude his adversary, 
but always being beaten by him in the end. Milton also, in the 
Paradise Lost, introduces Sin and Death as persons, who were 
intended to appear as characters in his drama, according to the 
original design of the poem. 


The character of 4/cestis, in whom the chief interest of the 
play is centred, presents less difficulty than those of Admetus and 
his father Pheres. She is a model of female heroism and wifely 
devotion, unrivalled in history or fiction; and her self-sacrifice is 
due, not to any depreciation of her own life—yuyijs yap οὐδέν ἐστι 
τιμιώτερον (1. 301)—but to a high sense of duty combined with 
pure unselfishness. Even her love for Admetus, though un- 
questionably real, is not represented as the ruling motive of her 
action. Her last address to him is rather dignified than tender. 
She speaks of her voluntary death as an act prompted by 
‘reverence’ toward himself; one moreover that she was in no 
way bound to perform, had not his parents failed in what was 
clearly their duty. But since ‘the gods had so ordered it,’ her 
life must needs be sacrificed for the life of him, upon whom the 
fortunes of the royal house depended. All her expressions of 
love and tenderness are reserved for her children, the future 
‘rulers of my house?,’ and all her thoughts, till the moment of 
her departure, are occupied with anxiety about their welfare. 
The conception of a heroine so noble, even if it stood alone in 
his plays, would be sufficient to show that Euripides was not the 
persistent ‘woman-hater’ he is commonly supposed to have been?, 
The recognition of unselfish patriotism as the ruling motive in 
the case of Alcestis may help us to understand the conduct of 
Admetus, both as regards his wife, and as regards his father 


1 φούτους ἀνάσχου δεσπότας ἐμῶν δόμων, 1. 304. 

° This epithet (μισογύνης), so far as it describes his hatred of female 
profligacy prevalent in his day, is amply justified by numerous passages 
in his plays. Yet we may appeal to his conception of heroines like 
Alcestis, Iphigenia, Macaria, and others, to show that he could appre- 
ciate the virtues of the other sex wherever he found them. 


INTRODUCTION. XV 


Pheres. At first sight he is simply a craven, and all his profes- 
sions of conjugal affection seem mere hypccrisy, because after all 
he might have resigned himself to his fate, and neither sought 
nor accepted any substitute. Hence various alterations of the 
plot have been suggested; that of Hermann, for instance, who 
thinks Alcestis might have been made to devote herself without 
the knowledge of Admetus, who should have discovered the truth 
only when too late to save her life’, But this would be to re- 
write, not only the play, but the legend on which it is founded. 
The story required that somehow Admetus should save his own life 
at another’s expense, and Euripides had to deal with this require- 
ment as he best could. This he does very cleverly; for by con- 
centrating our attention upon the crowning virtues of Admetus, 
his piety and his hospitality to strangers, and by describing his 
sorrow fer the lost one in language that seems to assure us of its 
reality, he contrives to make us forget that the queen’s life might 
have been saved, and that no ‘inevitable bond of necessity ?,’ but 
the free will of a loving wife, fulfilling her husband’s desire, was 
the occasion of her doom. But in fact the conduct of Admetus 
needed little excuse to an Athenian audience. From the Greek 
point of view the life of one man was better than that of ten 
thousand women ὃ, and the life of a king, ruling for his subjects’ 
good, was the most valuable of all. This patriotic consideration 
is taken for granted, and is implied rather than distinctly urged 
even in the altercation between Admetus and Pheres, where the 
value of their respective lives is the principal point in question. 
That scene is outrageously repulsive to modern feeling; not so, 
we presume, to the minds of the original spectators, to whom it 
would be only too real. The extreme contempt for old age 
prevalent in Athens during the fifth century B.c. is remarkable 
even in that enterprising time, when, as we can easily understand, 
the feebleness of declining years must have been an unmitigated 


* This device is adopted by Wieland, also (with variations) in the 
lately published play of Alcestis by Mr. Todhunter, who works out his 
plot from this starting-point with considerable skill. 

* Chorus, 1. 984 καί σ᾽ ἐν ἀφύκτοισι χερῶν εἷλε θεὰ δεσμοῖς. 

* εἷς ¥ ἀνὴρ κρείσσων γυναικῶν μυρίων ὁρᾶν φάος. Iph. in Aulide, 1394. 


Ὁ 


Xvi INTRODUCTION, 


misfortune’. Yet the fact is patent to every student of the 
Athenian dramatists, and the language of Admetus to his father 
by no means exaggerates it. Pheres perhaps excites more of our 
sympathy than Euripides might have thought justifiable, and may 
appear to τῷ to get rather the best of the argument; but no 
Athenian of that time would for one moment hesitate to condemn 
the deplorable selfishness of an old man, who preferred dragging 
out an ignominious existence to the glory of dying for his son ”, 
who was the king of the land. The culminating point of base- 
ness is reached in his avowal—kak@s ἀκούειν ov μέλει θανόντι μοι, 
which Admetus, true to Greek ideas about ‘reputation after 
death,’ stigmatises as a ‘shameless sentiment*.? When besides 
all this we consider the amusement which this smart wordy 
encounter would afford to a repartee-loving Athenian audience, 
we may safely conclude that the scene in question was one of the 
most popular in the play. 

We must not then, if we would understand the Alcestis aright, 
allow our modern ideas either of gallantry or of reverence to old 
age to warp the judgment, when dealing with those of another 
people and of other times, however revolting to our imagination 
such views of conduct may be*. Nevertheless, although Euri- 
pides has done the best for Admetus under the circumstances, 


1 See Mahaffy’s Euripides, p. 108, and the passage he quotes from 
the Supplices, 1. 1080, beginning ὦ δυσπάλαιστον γῆρας, ὡς μισῶ σ᾽ ἔχων. 
2 Contrast the sentiment of Andromache (I. 410 of the play), when, 
called to choose between her own life and that of her son, she exclaims — 
ἐμοὶ δ᾽ ὄνειδος μὴ θανεῖν ὑπὲρ τέκνου. 
8 Joddrell compares the prayer of Maecenas in Seneca, who calls it ‘a 
base begging for life’— 
*Debilem facito manu, 
Debilem pede, coxa; 
Tuber adstrue gibberum ; 
Lubricos quate dentes. 
Vita dum superest, bene est.’ 
* As was the case with Ovid, writing thus to his wife from exile— 
‘Si mea mors redimenda tua, guod abomuinor, esset, 
Admeti conjunx, quam sequereris, erat.’ 
Epist. ex Ponto, iii, 1, 105. 


INTRODUCTION. XVii 


he has hardly succeeded in making his character interesting. 
He is pious, liberal, hospitable even to a fault,—the whole plot 
indeed turns upon the reward of piety—he will do nothing that 
he considers base, he loves the company of the good; but he 
lacks the active manly virtues of stoutheartedness, resolute de- 
fiance of danger, even of fortitude under misfortune. Euripides 
himself seems to have had some misgivings on this point, since he 
makes Admetus deprecate the probable reproach of ‘an enemy’ 
(he says nothing about its justice) for his cowardly fear of death 
and want of filial affection. And though his life was spared, 
he was left so hopelessly wretched, as to make the remainder 
of it useless to himself and his people. Hence, to avert a public 
misfortune, some means of restoring Alcestis must be found; and 
what so welcome to an age that was shortly to produce the 
Phaedo, as a sequel which told of a triumph over the powers of 
the infernal world? 


The character of Heracles will be best understood from our 
previous observations on the Satyric drama. The banquet scene, 
in which he plays so boisterous a part, would indeed have been 
out of place in a pure tragedy, but is quite in keeping with the 
requirements of a piece, such as we believe the Alcestis to be. In 
this play Heracles appears to great advantage in comparison with 
his true ‘Satyric’ character, so far as we can judge from the 
fragments that have come down to us. The dramatists gene- 
rally take strange liberties with the redoubtable Tirynthian hero, 
representing him as a voracious glutton, whom no amount of 
meat and drink can satisfy. ‘If you could but see him eat!’ 
says Epicharmus in the Busiris. ‘How he clashes his jaws, 
gnashes his grinders, snorts through his nostrils and lifts his 
ears! and hark, what a blast of wind comes roaring through 
his gullet!’ In the A/cestis there is just enough of this element 
(taking the servant’s report as literal fact) to give a flavour to the 
scene. But in the main Heracles appears as an intrepid generous 
soul, enjoying the good things of life while he may, and accept- 
ing its rough side with cheerfulness, even death itself, if needful. 
He is not drunk, but ‘filled with food and gladness;’ he esteems 
the present hour alone as worth enjoying, and invites the 


b 


XVili INTRODUCTION. 


servant to join in his mirth, because he cannot bear to see a 
fellow-creature in melancholy mood, when he believes there is 
no occasion for it. But mark the sudden change when he learns 
the truth about Alcestis. The knowledge of it sobers him in 
a moment; he is instantly ready for action and rushes to the 
rescue. Vow, as Mr. Browning finely expresses it— 


‘In a spasm and splendour of resolve 
All at once did the god surmount the man!;’ 


and Heracles appears in his true character as the ‘helper of 
mankind.’ So regardless is he of good cheer merely for its 
own sake and at the wrong time, that even after his fierce 
struggle with the demon king he will not stay and share the 
rejoicings of Admetus for the recovery of Alcestis, but starts 
at once upon a new enterprise. The heroism of Heracles has 
been profitably contrasted with that of Alcestis?. If 4e had been 
required to perish by some lingering malady to save the life 
of his friend, he would never have consented; for by such an 
act no meed of valour, no manly fame was to be won, nor was 
there anything to counterbalance the sacrifice of a noble and 
most valuable life. Even for Admetus to contend with his wife 
on this ground would, as we have seen, according to Greek 
notions have been inexcusable. 

With respect to the alleged ‘stupidity of Heracles, in not con- 
jecturing the cause of the mourning in the house of Admetus’*,’ 
we do not think the ailegation is well founded. As a wild adven- 
turous rover, little accustomed to scenes of domestic life, he 
would hardly be expected to know the precise amount of sorrow 
the death of a ‘stranger woman’ might cause in the royal house- 
hold, especially after the assurance of his host that the deceased 
had been a dear friend of the family.. Moreover (as Hermann 
justly observes), had Heracles guessed the truth at once, and 
insisted on his apprehensions being satisfied, so impulsive a crea- 
ture must have rushed instantly to the rescue, and thus have 


1 Balaustion, p. 119. Mr. Browning’s delineation of the character of 
Heracles is perhaps his most successful effort. 

2 Hartung, Euripides Restitutus, 

S Quarterly Review, vol. xv. p. 116. 


INTRODUCTION. XiX 


precipitated the catastrophe of the play. It was far better to 
make the deliverance of Alcestis an act of expiation for abused 
hospitality, though the fault were committed unwillingly and in 
ignorance’. It has been judged an unnecessary aggravation of 
his dulness of understanding to make Heracles aware of the 
queen’s undertaking to save her husband’s life. There is some 
justice in this criticism, although it is not unreasonable to sup- 
pose that Heracles might have been informed of a fact well 
known in the surrounding district®, All we can say is that 
Euripides could not have managed otherwise, taking the scene 
as it stands, since Admetus had no other way of justifying the 
double entente—éatw τε κοὐκέτ᾽ éotww—than by reference to the 
undertaking which made her ‘as good as dead’ to him. He 
could not have related the circumstances here, without interrupt- 
ing the dialogue, as well as repeating what had been previously 
told in the opening scene of the play; hence it was simpler to 
suppose his guest to be already aware of the facts. On the 
whole, Heracles is a fine noble character, second to none, save 
that of the heroine herself. ‘The contrast of his homely practi- 
cal force with the luxurious effusiveness of Admetus is one of the 
happiest features in the play. His victory moreover is greatly 
enhanced by the powerlessness of Apollo, the friend of the house, 
to obtain more than an exchange of victims: and the grim dia- 
logue of Apollo and Death is clearly intended to show the 
miraculous powers of the mighty hero *,’ 


The last scene (from 1. 1006 onwards) is admirably contrived. 
A sudden formal restoration of Alcestis to her husband would 
have made but a tame conclusion; but the sustained mystery 


1 Bia δὲ θυμοῦ τάσδ᾽ ὑπερβαλὼν πύλας 
ἔπινον ἀνδρὸς ἐν φιλοξένου δόμοις. 1]. 820, 830. 
? Wilken, de Alcestide, p. 25, commenting on 1, 524— 
οἶδ᾽ ἀντὶ σοῦ ye κατθανεῖν ὑφειμένην. 
3. The maid-servant tells the Chorus, 1. 156— 
καὶ ταῦτα μὲν δὴ πᾶσ᾽ ἐπίσταται πόλις. 
This certainly includes the township of Pherae, even if it has no wider 
application. See note on 1. 156. 
* Mahaffy, Euripides, p, 106. 


XX INTRODUCTION. 


about the veiled lady raises the excitement of the spectators to the 
highest pitch. More than once does Admetus seem in danger of 
losing his wife for ever by his persistent refusal to receive the 
stranger, and only when she is actually placed in his arms and 
the veil removed do we feel sure that the tale of Orpheus and 
Eurydice is not about to be reproduced with variations. The 
turn of the dialogue gives Heracles an opportunity of retaliating 
upon his host in a friendly way for the previous mystification as 
to the cause of his sorrow, while Admetus is enabled to prove his 
constancy to the departed by asserting his resolve to comply with 
her dying request that he would never marry again’. Moreover, 
the generosity of his nature is a second time put to the test, 
when he is required to receive a strange woman (as he believes) 
into his house under such trying circumstances. Yet even this 
trial, though he shrinks at first, he will not forego; all for the 
love of his friend. 

The silence of Alcestis is at first sight strange, especially as an 
opportunity would otherwise have been afforded for introducing 
pathetic addresses, in the composition of which Euripides ex- 
celled. But first there was the difficulty about employing a third 
actor, and secondly there was a real belief in the necessity of 
silence before purification in cases of ceremonial uncleanness*. 
Also by representing Alcestis as not even yet entirely eman- 
cipated from the power of Hades, the fact of her having really 
died, which might otherwise have been doubted, is clearly en- 
forced*, The combat with Death might indeed have been 
described by a messenger, or by Heracles himself. This how- 
ever would only have prolonged the action of the play un- 
necessarily, and would not have been an original idea, for we 
learn from a fragment of the earlier 4/cestis of Phrynichus that 
some such combat was there described. There are, it must be 
admitted, signs of hurry in the conclusion. The short speech 


1 Compare the request of Alcestis, 1. 305— 
καὶ μὴ ᾿πιγήμῃς τοῖσδε μητρυιὰν τέκνοις --- 
with Il. 1087, etc. 
? See note on 1. 1143. 
3 Hermann, Dissertatio de Alcestide, p. xiii (Monk). 


INTRODUCTION. ΧΧΙ 


οἵ Admetus especially, ending with the bare statement οὐ γὰρ 
εὐτυχῶν ἀρνήσομαι, seems inadequate to the joy of the occasion, 
But in his bewilderment at such an unexpected change of fortune, 
few words were perhaps best for him, and Euripides probably felt 
that the play was already long enough for its purpose, as the 
fourth of a tetralogy, and that its main interest was over by this 
time. 

Although the Alcestis cannot, from its exceptional character, 
be fairly taken as a representative play, it is not lacking in sugges- 
tive materials for the student of Euripides as a dramatist. To 
assign this poet his true place in tragedy has always been a diffi- 
cult task, and from his own time to the present he has been 
praised or censured alternately, as the legitimate improver or the 
vulgar degrader of tragic art. Lately a reaction has arisen in his 
favour, and there is danger lest his merits should even be over- 
rated; but modern critics are at any rate alive to the fact, that 
any estimate of Euripides must be one-sided which fails to take 
into account the exceptional circumstances of the times’. That 
was a period of transition, of free thought and enquiry, and our 
poet had become deeply imbued with the sceptical spirit, which 
pervaded Athenian society towards the close of the fifth century 
B.c. Hence he is necessarily inconsistent, and often self-con- 
tradictory in dealing with questions of religion, politics, social 
order, and public or private morality. Now inasmuch as the 
drama had long been recognised at Athens as a legitimate vehicle 
of instruction”, it follows that the mental attitude of the poet 
towards all these questions will be found reflected in his plays. 
What this means in the case of Euripides is best seen by com- 
paring him with his two great predecessors. 

Aeschylus, with his earnest reverent faith in the reality of 
divine government, made Nemesis, or the law of divine retri- 
bution, the predominant motive of his tragedies. So absorbed 
was he in this one great religious idea, that he concentrates the 


1 See Paley’s Preface to vol. i of his Euripides ; Symonds’ Greek Poets, 
1st Series, chap. vii; Mahaffy’s Euripides, p. 30. 
* ‘The Greek drama has been regarded as combining the functions of 
the modem pulpit and of the daily press. It did all this, and more. 
b3 


XXil INTRODUCTION. 


whole attention upon its working, and introduces his heroes less 
as individual characters than as living illustrations of the law. 
Sophocles, while he upholds the law in all its rigour, bids us mark 
the characters of those under its influence; we are shown the 
men, Oedipus, Aias, and the rest; and their sins and consequent 
suffering are viewed as a discipline or ‘school of affliction.’ The 
ancestral curse of the legend is there, but in the back-ground, 
and the moral law reigns supreme. With Euripides all this is 
so greatly changed, that some have denied his belief in tragic 
destiny or in any ‘moral order’ of things whatever’. This is 
untrue. Euripides takes humanity just as he finds it; only he 
does not dogmatise upon the causes of human misfortune, 
ascribing it either to the anger of an avenging deity or to 
breaches of the ‘unwritten laws divine*.’” He was a thinker, 
and lived, as we have said, in a thinking age, which was sub- 
jecting the old foundations of belief to a most rigorous scrutiny. 
Hence he varies in his assertions, at one time referring the 
conduct of human affairs to Chance (τύχη), at another time to 
Necessity (ἀνάγκη). He could not honestly uphold the popular 
creed as a whole, seeing that much of it was degrading and 
immoral; yet he hesitates to adopt the conclusion that xo reli- 
gion is best for man. His desire was for a system of practical 
morality, freed from the element of superstition; and though he 
sometimes despairs, he seems on the whole to have believed that 
such a system was attainable. But since the popular creed was a 
deep-seated fact, he could not ignore its existence, nor banish 
the gods entirely from his stage. The time-honoured con- 
stituents of tragedy might not be altered or set aside, but often, 
it must be confessed, the poet is at war with his materials. The 
Alcestis is a good instance of such a conflict; the more so, because 
it exhibits no overt signs of rebellion against orthodox beliefs. It 
is founded upon an ancient sacerdotal legend; its moral is the 
reward of piety—not in the abstract, but to a god as a god; the 
continued prosperity of Admetus being the result of his good 


1 Bunsen, God in History; Schlegel, Dramatic Literature: Donaldson, 
Greek Theatre. 
2 ἄγραπτα κἀσφαλῇ θεῶν νόμιμα. Soph. Antigone, 454. 


INTRODUCTION. XXiii 


services first to Apollo, secondly to Heracles’. Still there is an 
amount of ‘free handling’ of sacred subjects, that might well 
have shocked tle sensibilities of a devout old-fashioned Athenian. 
The human element of deity, in its least creditable aspect, is 
emphasised, not to say exaggerated, in the record of the mutual 
jealousies of Zeus and Apollo, with which the play opens, and 
in the unseemly wrangle of the latter with Death about their 
respective ‘prerogatives.’ Here certainly, and to some extent in 
the ‘banquet scene’ also, we feel that Euripides is taking full 
advantage of the licence which a ‘ pro-satyric’ piece allowed him, 
of saying in effect to his audience—‘ These be the gods ye 
worship!’ Again, the irresistible power of destiny, so strongly 
manifested throughout the play and in the fine ode to Necessity 
(ll. 964, &c.), is overcome at last by mere physical force, in the 
rescue of one of Death’s victims without any compensation to the 
infernal powers. Lastly, the heroine herself is actuated rather by 
a sense of practical piety than of religion. Her attitude towards 
the gods is one of resignation”, nor does she neglect the cus- 
tomary acts of devotion, prayer and the decoration of altars ὃ, 
when the fatal day has come. Still on her death-bed she seems 
hardly to recognise the deities, save as adverse powers that vex 
her, calling not upon them, but upon the clear light of day‘, the 
fleeting clouds and the halls of her loved Iolcos, in spite of her 
husband’s solicitation—Aicgou δὲ τοὺς κρατοῦντας οἰκτεῖραι θεούς. 
Compared with some of our author’s later plays, the A/cestis 
is not altogether an extreme specimen of innovation upon earlier 
dramatic traditions. Its emotional and pathetic character, the 
predominant interest of its plot”, its scenic effects, exhibitions 
of repartee and other accessories—all mark it as distinctively 


δσίου γὰρ ἀνδρὺς ὅσιος ὧν ἐτύγχανον, 1. το. 
θεοσεβῆ φῶτα κεδνὰ πράξειν, 1. 605. 


51]. 297, 298. 3.11. 162-172. 
Α ‘Sun and thou light of day, and heavenly dance 
Ο᾽ the fleet cloud-figure . . . nuptial chamber 


‘In that Iolkos of my ancestors. —Brownine. 
5 See Mahafly, Euripides, pp. 45, 46, for the distinction between 
dramas of ‘ plot’ and those of ‘ character’ and ‘situation.’ 


XXIV INTRODUCTION, 


‘Euripidean.’ On the other hand, the complications of the plot do 
not excite our curiosity so far as to draw off our attention from 
the separate characters of the play, two of whom, Admetus and 
Heracles, have always been a fertile subject for discussion. We 
miss also the later devices of the deus ex machina, or arbitrary 
interference of a god at the conclusion, and of the long ex- 
planatory prologue; that in the d/cestis being merely a brief 
summary of the previous circumstances, but not (save by a bare 
hint at 1]. 65, &c.), anticipating the catastrophe. The Chorus 
especially retains the functions assigned to it in the older drama. 
Originally it performed its part alone; after one or more actors 
were introduced, it still spoke or sang in sympathy with them, 
and as one deeply interested in the action. But in proportion to 
the development of the dialogue, this function of the Chorus 
decreased in importance; soon the Chorus itself became a mere 
accessory, and finally ceased to appear at all. The religious ele- 
ment of the drama, in connexion with the worship of Dionysus, 
was giving way to the purely theatrical; and this was a sign of the 
times which no poet, even had he wished, could have effectually 
resisted. But in the Alcestis, as in Hecuba and some other plays, 
the Choral odes are all in harmony with the successive scenes of 
the action. The interest felt by the old men of Pherae in the 
fortunes of the royal house is intense; they mourn or rejoice in 
concert with their king, ‘as friend with friend ?,’ in accordance 
with the rule afterwards laid down by the Roman critic— 


‘ Actoris partes chorus officiumque virile 
Defendat, neu quid medios intercinat actus 
Quod non proposito conducat et haereat apte%.’ 


The story of A/cestis has been dramatised by other poets 
besides Euripides. A verse, apparently from a satyric play, by 
Sophocles, describing the servitude of Apollo, is quoted by 


1 As in the Hippolytus, Supplices, Ion, Helena, Electra, Orestes, and prob- 
ably in both the Jphigenias, 

2 ὡς φίλος φίλῳ, 1. 369. 

3. Horace, Ars Poet. 1932. See the sequel of this citation in the note 
on ]. 674. 


INTRODUCTION, XXV 


Plutarch. Phrynichus we have already mentioned (p. xx), and 
Athenaeus has preserved some lines of an Alcestis by the comic 
poet Antiphanes. In Latin, Naevius, Accius, and possibly Ennius, 
treated the same subject, but it is doubtful whether the work of 
Accius was an original effort of genius, or merely a translation 
from Euripides. Passing to modern times, we find an Italian 
Alceste by Martello (1715), in which great liberties are taken 
with the old plot; and towards the end of the same century 
Alfieri translated and afterwards imitated the Euripidean play. 
On the French stage a revival of the Greek drama by means of 
translations and adaptations began about the sixteenth century. 
Euripides was especially popular, and <A/cestis was a favourite 
theme. An opera with this title by Quinault and Lully was per- 
formed in 1674; Grange-Chancel wrote an d/ceste in 1703, (in 
which the heroine, on her return from Hades, utters the single 
word ‘ Adméte’); in 1727 appeared Boissy’s play entitled Admeéte 
et Alceste. It is said also that Racine, struck by the beauty of the 
legend, designed an <dlceste to follow his dAndromaque (1668), but 
changed his mind shortly before his death. Mr. Todhunter’s 
Alcestis (1879) has been mentioned above (p. xv). Previously 
no English poet seems to have chosen this theme (Mr. Browning’s 
Balaustion being professedly a ‘transcript from Euripides’ with 
comments between); but Shakespeare had made use of the con- 
clusion of the story in the last scene of his Winter’s Tale’. 


The text of this edition follows the readings of the best MSS. 
so far as possible. It therefore fairly represents the text of 
Kirchhoff (ϑνο. edition). Emendations are marked with an 
asterisk, and passages retained on the authority of the MSS., but 
obviously corrupt, are marked with an obelus. 

It may be well to state briefly that the most trustworthy MSS. 
of Euripides, containing the A/cestis, are the Codex Vaticanus of 
the twelfth century, and the Codex Havniensis of a later date, 
marked by Kirchhoff as B and C respectively. Those of fair 


1 See note to l. 1121, 


XXVI INTRODUCTION, 


repute are the Harleian (from 1. 1031 to end of play), the Pala- 
tine, No. 287, in the Vatican library, and the Florentine, No. 2, 
marked 4, B, and C; four others (one Parisian and three 
Florentines), marked a, b, c, d, by the same editor, are of quite 
secondary importance. 

A small treatise entitled Euripidea', by Siegfried Mekler, has 
lately been published at Vienna. One at least of his suggestions 
deserves notice. In ll. 673, 674 the chorus interposes with the 
distich— ν 

παύσασθ᾽- ἅλις yap ἣ παροῦσα συμφορὰ, 
ὦ παῖ" πατρὸς δὲ μὴ παροξύνῃς φρένας. 


Here the words ὦ παῖ were reasonably suspected by more than 
one editor, as unsuitable in the mouth of courtiers addressing 
their king, and as probably repeated by mistake from the follow- 
ing line—6 παῖ, τίν᾽ αὐχεῖς, &c. Also the plural παύσασθε seemed 
inappropriate, when only one of the parties had as yet spoken. 
Mekler, therefore, noticing that elsewhere the chorus always 
addresses Admetus by his name, has proposed to read ᾿Αδμηθ᾽ 
ἅλις yap, &c., and παῦσαι for ὦ παῖ in the next line. He endea- 
vours to show, by a comparison of the two readings when 
written in capitals, how the mistake might have arisen. In. 795 
he suspects an interpolation from ll. 829, 832 of the words τάσδ᾽ 
ὑπερβαλὼν πύλας (τύχας), στεφάνοις πυκασθείς, and a similar inter- 
polation in 1. 817 of καὶ κουρὰν... στολμούς τε, proposing to read 
ὑμῖν for ἡμῖν and assigning the whole line (with καὶ κουρὰν, &c., 
omitted) to Heracles. We leave these last conjectures to the 
judgment of competent critics, but have thought it worth while 
to record them, as among the latest contributions to text criti- 
cism upon this play. 


1 Euripidea, Textkritische Studien, von Siegfried Mekler, Wien, 1879. 
2 The MSS, reading: the present text has ὦναξ, 


Pee KhisS TS. 


DRAMATIS PERSONAE. 


APOLLO } 
ALCESTIS 
PHERES 


played by the First Actor. 
HERACLES 


‘THANATOS 
ADMETUS 
MAID-SERVANT 
MAN-SERVANT \ 
EUMELUS, a Auta Persona (1. 394). 


CHORUS of Pheraean Old Men. 


played by the Second Actor. 


ΠΟΙ ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ ἌΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 


ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ. 


Ὦ, δώματ᾽ ᾿Αδμήτει᾽, ἐν οἷς ἔτλην ἐγὼ 
θῆσσαν τράπεζαν αἰνέσαι, θεός περ ὦν. 
Ζεὺς γὰρ κατακτὰς παῖδα τὸν ἐμὸν αἴτιος 
᾿Ασκληπιὸν, στέρνοισιν ἐμβαλὼν φλόγα" 
Ὁ Ν Ν , 7 Ν 
οὗ δὴ χολωθεὶς τέκτονας δίου πυρὸς 
, a 5 7 , Ν 
κτείνω Κύκλωπας" καί με θητεύειν πατὴρ 
θνητῷ παρ᾽ ἀνδρὶ τῶνδ᾽ ἄποιν᾽ ἠνάγκασεν. 
ἐλθὼν δὲ γαῖαν τήνδ᾽ ἐβουφόρβουν ξένῳ, 
\ , > ” > 9 43 ς / 
καὶ τόνδ᾽ ἔσωζον οἶκον ἐς τόδ᾽ ἡμέρας. 
ΣΕ ς Ν 5 Ν “ x ΡΤ Νβ 
ὁσίου γὰρ ἀνδρὸς ὅσιος ὧν ἐτύγχανον, 
Ν / A tal 5 / 
παιδὸς Φέρητος, ὃν θανεῖν ἐρρυσάμην 
Μοίρας δολώσας" ἤνεσαν δέ μοι θεαὶ 
ν BoA Ἂς 5 5 lal 
Αὗμητον ἄδην τὸν TapavTix ἐκφυγεῖν, 
ἄλλον διαλλάξαντα τοῖς κάτω νεκρόν. 
πάντας δ᾽ ἐλέγξας καὶ διεξελθὼν φίλους, 
/ / > ef a) oe. / 
πατέρα γεραιάν θ᾽ ἥ σφ᾽ ἔτικτε μητέρα, 
9 - Ν \ “ " 
οὐχ εὗρε πλὴν γυναικὸς ἥτις ἤθελε 
θανεῖν πρὸ κείνου μηδ᾽ ἔτ᾽ εἰσορᾶν φάος, 
ἃ a > ν 2 » / 3 
ἣ νῦν κατ᾽ οἴκους ἐν χεροῖν βαστάζεται 
Wrxoppayotoa’ τῇδε γάρ σφ᾽ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ 
θανεῖν πέπρωται καὶ μεταστῆναι βίου. 
B 2 


Io 


Cn 


20 


ἈΠ. 
ΘΑ. 
ΑΠ. 
ΘΑ. 
AIT. 
OA. 
AIT. 
ΘΑ. 
AII. 
OA. 
All. 
OA. 
All. 
OA. 


EYPIMIAOY 


ἐγὼ δὲ, μὴ μίασμά μ᾽ ἐν δόμοις κίχῃ, 
λείπω μελάθρων τῶνδε φιλτάτην στέγην. 
ἤδη δὲ τόνδε Θάνατον εἰσορῷ πέλας, 
ἱερῆῇ θανόντων, ὅς νιν εἰς “Αἰδου δόμους 
μέλλει κατάξειν" συμμέτρως δ᾽ ἀφίκετο 


e 


φρουρῶν τόδ᾽ ἦμαρ, ᾧ θανεῖν αὐτὴν χρεών. 


t 


OANATOS. 


a 8 
a a. 
τί σὺ πρὸς μελάθροις ; τί σὺ τῇδε πολεῖς, 
Φοῖβ᾽ ; ἀδικεῖς αὖ τιμὰς ἐνέρων 
»} , Ν / 
ἀφοριζόμενος καὶ καταπαύων. 
> 7+ / , > le 
οὐκ ἤρκεσέ σοι μόρον ᾿Αδμήτου 
διακωλῦσαι, Μοίρας δολίῳ 
σφήλαντι τέχνῃ; νῦν δ᾽ ἐπὶ τῇδ᾽ αὖ 
/ / roa! ¢ 7 
χέρα τοξήρη φρουρεῖς ὁπλίσας, 
ἃ 459 ς / 7 3 / > 
ἣ TOO ὑπέστη πόσιν ἐκλύσασ 
αὐτὴ προθανεῖν Πελίου παῖς. 
Ν 
θάρσει" δίκην τοι καὶ λόγους κεδνοὺς ἔχω. 
/ “ , y+ 3 / BA 
τί δῆτα τόξων ἔργον, εἰ δίκην ἔχεις; 
/ DEN a / > , 
σύνηθες ἀεὶ ταῦτα βαστάζειν ἐμοί. 
καὶ τοῖσδέ γ᾽ οἴκοις ἐκδίκως προσωφελεῖν. 
φίλου γὰρ ἀνδρὸς συμφοραῖς βαρύνομαι. 
καὶ νοσφιεῖς με τοῦδε δευτέρου νεκροῦ; 
tal , 
GAN οὐδ᾽ ἐκεῖνον πρὸς βίαν σ᾽ ἀφειλόμην. 
πῶς οὖν ὑπὲρ γῆς ἐστὶ κοὐ κάτω χθονός: 
a δ / 
δάμαρτ᾽ ἀμείψας, ἣν σὺ νῦν ἥκεις μέτα. 
5 , / / « \ / 
κἀπάξομαί ye veptépay ὑπὸ χθόνα. 
λαβὼν ἴθ᾽" οὐ γὰρ οἷδ᾽ ἂν εἰ πείσαιμί σε. 
ἕ ᾿ γι ! 
κτείνειν ὃν ἂν χρῇ; τοῦτο yap τετάγμεθα. 
οὐκ, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μέλλουσι θάνατον ἐμβαλεῖν. 
b) / 
ἔχω λόγον δὴ καὶ προθυμίαν σέθεν. 


25 


30 


35 


40 


5° 


All. 
OA. 
AII. 
OA. 
ΑΠ. 
ΘΑ. 
ΑΠ. 
ΘΑ. 
ATI. 
OA. 
All. 
OA. 
ΑΠ. 


ΘΑ. 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 


» Ε] μὴ “ἤ ” ΕῚ Lod , 
ἐστ οὖν ὅπως ᾿Αλκηστις ἐς γῆρας μόλοι; 
οὐκ ἔστι" τιμαῖς κἀμὲ τέρπεσθαι δόκει. 
οὔτοι πλέον γ᾽ ἂν ἢ μίαν ψυχὴν λάβοις. 
νέων φθινόντων μεῖζον ἄρνυμαι γέρας. 

x a » ’ὔ ΓΑ 

κἂν γραῦς ὄληται, πλουσίως ταφήσεται. 

Ν na 5 , val Ν , / 
πρὸς τῶν ἐχόντων, Φοῖβε, Tov νόμον τίθης. 
πῶς εἶπας; GAN ἦ καὶ σοφὸς λέληθας ὦν; 
ὠνοῖντ᾽ ἂν οἷς πάρεστι γηραιοὺς θανεῖν. 
οὔκουν δοκεῖ σοι τήνδε μοι δοῦναι χάριν; 

NG ee eee s ae toe PS, , 

οὐ δῆτ᾽ " ἐπίστασαι δὲ τοὺς ἐμοὺς τρόπους. 
ἐχθρούς γε θνητοῖς καὶ θεοῖς στυγουμένους. 
> x» / / tae a re al 
οὐκ ἂν δύναιο πάντ ἔχειν ἃ μή σε δεῖ. 

Ss Ν. Ν / ,ὔ 3 \ xX 4 

ἢ μὴν OV παῦσει καίπερ ὦμος ὧν ἄγαν" 

al / 3 x , i. % 
τοῖος Φέρητος εἶσι πρὸς δόμους ἀνὴρ, 
Εὐρυσθέως πέμψαντος ἵππειον μέτα 

/ « 
ὄχημα Θρήκης ἐκ τόπων δυσχειμέρων, 
ὃς δὴ ξενωθεὶς τοῖσδ᾽ ἐν ᾿Αδμήτου δόμοις 

a Pay / 

βίᾳ γυναῖκα τήνδε σ᾽ ἐξαιρήσεται. 
κοὔθ᾽ 7) Tap ἡμῶν σοι γενήσεται χάρις 
δράσεις θ᾽ ὁμοίως ταῦτ᾽, ἀπεχθήσει τ᾽ ἐμοί. 
πόλλ᾽ ἂν σὺ λέξας οὐδὲν ἂν πλέον λάβοις" 
« > Φ Ἂς / Ρ] σ , 

ἢ ὃ οὖν γυνὴ κάτεισιν εἰς “Atdov δόμους. 
/ ? pe δι « c , - / 
στείχω δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν, ὡς κατάρξωμαι ξίφει" 
ἱερὸς γὰρ οὗτος τῶν κατὰ χθονὸς θεῶν 

ὅτου τόδ᾽ ἔγχο ὃς ἁγνί ( 
ὅτου γχος κρατὸς ἁγνίσῃ τρίχα. 


HMIXOPION, 
τί ποθ᾽ ἡσυχία πρόσθε μελάθρων ; 
τί σεσίγηται δόμος ᾿Αδμήτου ; 
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ φίλων πέλας οὐδεὶς, 
ὅστις ἂν εἴποι πότερον φθιμένην 
Βασίλειαν χρὴ πενθεῖν, ἢ ζῶσ᾽ 


60 


65 


80 


HM. 


HM. 
HM. 
HM. 
HM. 


HM. 


HM. 
HM. 
HM. 
HM. 
HM. 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


ἔτι φῶς [τόδε] λεύσσει Πελίου παῖς 
Μ > ἧς -΄ἕ' »3 ᾽ ἃ / 
Αλκηστις, ἐμοὶ πᾶσί τ᾽ ἀρίστη 
7 NX 
δόξασα γυνὴ 
πόσιν εἰς αὑτῆς γεγενῆσθαι. 
"2 δ Αν x 

κλύει TLS ἡ στεναγμὸν ἢ 

χερῶν κτύπον κατὰ στέγας 

“Ὁ Ly 

ἢ γόον ὡς πεπραγμένων ; 

> Ν b) / >) / 

ov μὰν οὐδέ Tis ἀμφιπόλων 

στατίζεται ἀμφὶ πύλας. 

εἰ γὰρ μετακύμιος ἄτας, 

ὦ Παιὰν, φανείης. 
Μ 4 / > 5 , 
ov τὰν φθιμένης γ᾽ ἐσιώπων. 
οὐ γὰρ δὴ φροῦδός γ᾽ ἐξ οἴκων. 

/ > > lad / / 
πόθεν ; οὐκ avy. τί σε θαρσύνει; 

an x w / Υ 
πῶς ἂν ἔρημον τάφον ᾿Αὗμητος 

ἊΣ x + / 
κεδνῆς ἂν ἔπραξε γυναικός ; 

lal / 2 > er 
πυλῶν πάροιθε 6 οὐχ ὁρῶ 
πηγαῖον ws νομίζεται 
χέρνιβ᾽ ἐπὶ φθιτῶν πύλαις, 

/ 3 BA > TES 7 
χαίτα τ οὔτις ἐπὶ προθύροις 
τομαῖος, ἃ δὴ νεκύων 

Uf / > , 
πένθει πίτνει, οὐ νεολαία 

δουπεῖ χεὶρ γυναικῶν. 
καὶ μὴν τόδε κύριον ἦμαρ, 

77 7ῳ» b] n 

τί τόδ᾽ αὐδᾷς ; 

fal lal ᾿ς 7 
χρὴν σφε μολεῖν κατὰ γαίας. 


En 


θιγες ψυχῆς, ἔθιγες δὲ φρενῶν. 


mse 


χρὴ τῶν ἀγαθῶν διακναιομένων 
πενθεῖν ὅστις 
χρηστὸς ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς νενόμισται. 


1oo 


110 


AAKHSTIZ. 


ΧΟΡΟΣ. } 
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ναυκληρίαν στρ. 


ἔσθ᾽ ὅποι τις αἴας 
στείλας ἢ Λυκίας 
εἴτ᾽ ἐπὶ τὰς ἀνύδρους 
᾿Αμμωνίδας ἕδρας 
δυστάνου παραλύσαι 
ψυχάν" μόρος γὰρ ἀπότομος 
πλάθει: θεῶν δ᾽ ἐπ’ ἐσχάραις 
> ” 3 \ / 
οὐκ ἔχω ἐπὶ τίνα 
μηλοθύταν πορευθῷ. 
μόνος δ᾽ ἂν εἰ φῶς τόδ᾽ ἦν ἀντ. 
v Ἂς 
ὄμμασιν δεδορκὼς 
Φοίβου παῖς προλιποῦσ᾽ 
ἦλθεν ἕδρας σκοτίους 
“Αἰιδαό τε πύλας" 
ὃμαθέντας γὰρ ἀνίστη, 
πρὶν αὐτὸν εἷλε διόβολον 
πλῆκτρον πυρὸς κεραυνίου. 
fal ῸΝ ΒΩ “ 7] 
νῦν δὲ τίν ἔτι βίου 
ἐλπίδα προσδέχωμαι ; 
πάντα γὰρ ἤδη τετέλεσται βασιλεῦσιν, 
/ Ν cat ee “ 
πάντων δὲ θεῶν ἐπὶ βωμοῖς 
« / 9 
αἱμόρραντοι θυσίαι πλήρεις, 
399 ” _ ” > f 
οὐδ᾽ ἔστι κακῶν ἄκος οὐδέν. 
GAN ἥδ᾽ ὀπαδῶν ἐκ δόμων τις ἔρχεται 
δακρυρροοῦσα" τίνα τύχην ἀκούσομαι ; 
πενθεῖν μὲν, εἴ τι δεσπόταισι τυγχάνει, 
fee > > v9 3 \ 4 Ν. 
συγγνωστόν" εἰ δ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἐστὶν ἔμψυχος γυνὴ 
εἴτ᾽ οὖν ὄλωλεν εἰδέναι βουλοίμεθ᾽ ἄν. 


"Σ 


a. 


115 


~ 
w 
ur 


XO. 
OE. 
XO. 
OE. 
XO. 
OE. 
XO. 
OE. 
XO. 


OE. 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


ΘΕΡΑΠΑΙ͂ΝΑ. 


Ν lon » cal Ν a a 
καὶ ζῶσαν εἰπεῖν καὶ θανοῦσαν ἔστι σοι. 

\ n x CN / Ν “ 
καὶ πῶς ἂν αὑτὸς κατθάνοι τε καὶ βλέποι ; 
ΝΜ 4 2 \ “-“ 
ἤδη προνωπῆς ἐστι καὶ ψυχορραγεῖ. 

ὦ τλῆμον, οἵας οἷος ὧν ἁμαρτάνεις. 

x ΓΦ = 4 \ x , 
οὔπω τόδ᾽ οἷδε δεσπότης, πρὶν ἂν πάθῃ. 
ἐλπὶς μὲν οὐκέτ᾽ ἐστὶ σώζεσθαι βίον ; 

4 ΩΝ € J / 

πεπρωμένη yap ἡμέρα βιάζεται. 
οὔκουν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ πράσσεται τὰ πρόσφορα ; 

, ay sel. e / , 
κόσμος γ᾽ ἕτοιμος, ᾧ σφε συνθάψει πόσις. 
ἴστω νυν εὐκλεής γε κατθανουμένη 

/ > Doth. lal a aed ¢ lA a 
γυνὴ τ ἀρίστη τῶν vp ἡλίῳ μακρῳ. 

na 3 > 5 / / 3 3 / 
πῶς δ᾽ οὐκ ἀρίστη ; τίς δ᾽ ἐναντιώσεται ; 
τί χρὴ γενέσθαι τὴν ὑπερβεβλημένην 

al an x, ἃ ΄- 5 / , 
γυναῖκα ; πῶς δ᾽ ἂν μᾶλλον ἐνδείξαιτό τις 
΄ Θ᾿ ἫΝ / 3 c lal 
πόσιν προτιμῶσ᾽ ἢ θέλουσ' ὑπερθανεῖν ; 

\ an δ \ ΠΡΟ S32, , x 
καὶ ταῦτα μὲν δὴ πᾶσ᾽ ἐπίσταται πόλις 
ἃ δ᾽ ἐν δόμοις ἔδρασε θαυμάσει κλύων. 


᾿ ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἤσθεθ᾽ ἡμέραν τὴν κυρίαν 


“ “ 7 X\ , 
ἥκουσαν, ὕδασι ποταμίοις λευκὸν χρόα 
ἐλούσατ᾽, ἐκ δ᾽ ἑλοῦσα κεδρίνων δόμων 
ἐσθῆτα κόσμον T εὐπρεπῶς ἠσκήσατο, 
καὶ στᾶσα πρόσθεν ἑστίας κατηύξατο. 
“δέσποιν᾽, ἐγὼ γὰρ ἔρχομαι κατὰ χθονὺς, 
πανύστατόν σε προσπίτνουσ᾽ αἰτήσομαι, 
τέ 3 » α lel a 5 XX \ ”~ Ν ir 
kv ὀρφανεῦσαι τἀμὰ, καὶ τῷ μὲν φίλην 
σύζευξον ἄλοχον, τῇ δὲ aiov πόσ 
χον, τῇ δὲ γενναῖον πόσιν. 
3 e > lal c a3 >) ’ 
pnd ὥσπερ αὐτῶν ἢ τεκοῦσ ἀπόλλυμαι 
θανεῖν ἀώρους παῖδας, ἀλλ᾽ εὐδαίμονας 


. n”~ / \ 5 lal , > 
ἐν γῇ πατρῴᾳ τερπνὸν ἐκπλῆσαι βίον. 


πάντας δὲ βωμοὺς ot κατ᾽ ᾿Αδμήτου δόμους 


160 


170 


AAKHSTIS. 9 


a / 

προσῆλθε κἀξέστεψε καὶ προσηύξατο, 

, 5 / ΄. , 
πτόρθων ἀποσχίζουσα μυρσίνης φόβην, 
ἄκλαυστος, ἀστένακτος, οὐδὲ τοὐπιὸν 

\ 7 A > lal is 
κακὸν μεθίστη χρωτὸς εὐειδῆ φύσιν. 
ΝΜ / 3 a \ / 
κἄπειτα θάλαμον εἰσπεσοῦσα καὶ λέχος, 17 


οι 


ἐνταῦθα δὴ ᾿δάκρυσε καὶ λέγει τάδε. 
«ὦ λέκτρον, ἔνθα παρθένει:’ ἔλυσ᾽ ἐγὼ 
’’ a) Lol > eee) Ν a 7 , 
κορεύματ᾽ ἐκ τοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρὸς, οὗ θνήσκω πέρι, 
ao) > Ἂς Ἄ / > 5 vA / 
χαῖρ᾽" ov yap ἐχθαίρω σ΄. ἀπώλεσας δέ με 
μόνην" προδοῦναι γάρ σ᾽ ὀκνοῦσα καὶ πόσιν 180 
θνήσκω. σὲ δ᾽ ἄλλη τις γυνὴ κεκτήσεται, 
σώφρων μὲν οὐκ ἂν μᾶλλον, εὐτυχὴς δ᾽ tows.’ 
κυνεῖ δὲ προσπίτνουσα, πᾶν δὲ δέμνιον 
> / id / 
ὀφθαλμοτέγκτῳ δεύεται πλημμυρίδι. 
ἐπεὶ δὲ πολλῶν δακρύων εἶχεν κόρον, 185 
στείχει προνωπὴς ἐκπεσοῦσα δεμνίων, 
καὶ πολλὰ θάλαμον ἐξιοῦσ᾽’ ἐπεστράφη, 
Ν t speed | 3 7 
κἄρριψεν αὑτὴν αὖθις ἐς κοίτην πάλιν. 
Χ a μὴ / \ 3 / 
παῖδες δὲ πέπλων μητρὸς ἐξηρτημένοι 
ἔκλαιον" ἡ δὲ λαμβάνουσ᾽ ἐς ἀγκάλας 190 
ἠσπάζετ᾽ ἄλλοτ᾽ ἄλλον, ὡς θανουμένη. 
oom d ae if bs / 
πάντες δ᾽ ἔκλαιον οἰκέται κατὰ στέγας 
δέσποιναν οἰκτείροντες. ἡ δὲ δεξιὰν 
BA oy Ὁ / Μ > v4 Ν 
προὔτειν᾽ ἑκάστῳ, κοὔτις ἦν οὕτω κακὸς 
ὃν οὐ προσεῖπε καὶ προσερρήθη πάλιν. 195 
a) 5 » 8 x > / ’ 
τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐν οἴκοις ἐστὶν ᾿Αδμήτου κακά. 
καὶ κατθανών 7 ἂν Oder’, ἐκφυγὼν δ᾽ ἔχει 
& τοσοῦτον ἄλγος, οὔποθ᾽ οὗ λελήσεται. 
9 a 
XO. ἦ που στενάζει τοισίδ᾽ *“Adunros κακοῖς, 
ἐσθλῆς γυναικὸς εἰ στερηθῆναί σφε χρή; 200 
/ 2 al a 
OE. κλαίει γ᾽, ἄκοιτιν ἐν χεροῖν φίλην ἔχων, 
Ν Ν a 
Kal μὴ προδοῦναι λίσσεται, τἀμήχανα 


10 ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


an / Ν \ 4 
Grav φθίνει yap καὶ μαραίνεται voow 
/ Ν Ν + / 
παρειμένη δὲ, χειρὸς ἄθλιον βάρος, 
ὅμως δὲ καίπερ σμικρὸν ἐμπνέουσ᾽ ἔτι 205 
βλέψαι πρὸς αὐγὰς βούλεται τὰς ἡλίου, 
< Μ > 3" 5 Ν a / 
ὡς οὔποτ᾽ αὖθις, ἀλλὰ νῦν πανύστατον 
ἀκτῖνα κύκλον θ᾽ ἡλίου προσόψεται. 
5 >) = Ν Ν 4 lal / A 
ἀλλ᾽ εἰμι καὶ σὴν ἀγγελῶ παρουσίαν 
οὐ γάρ τι πάντες εὖ φρονοῦσι κοιράνοις, 210 
ὥστ᾽ ἐν κακοῖσιν εὐμενεῖς παρεστάναι. 
σὺ δ᾽ εἶ παλαιὸς δεσπόταις ἐμοῖς φίλος. 
a na c n 4 
ΗΜ. ἰὼ Ζεῦ, τίς πῶς πᾶ πόρος κακῶν OTp. a. 
γένοιτο καὶ λύσις τύχας ἃ πάρεστι κοιράνοις ; 
Ὁ 
HM. ἐἔξεισί τις ; ἢ τέμω τρίχα, 215 
ΝΜ 
καὶ μέλανα στολμὸν πέπλων ἀμφιβαλώμεθ᾽ ἤδη ; 
ΗΜ. δῆλα μὲν, φίλοι, 
δῆλά γ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως 
θεοῖσιν εὐχώμεσθα: θεῶν [γὰρ] δύναμις μεγίστα. 
ΗΜ. ὦναξ Παιὰν, 220 
/ 2 / a 
ἔξευρε pnxavay ti ᾿Αδμήτῳ κακῶν, 
Fd ~~ / - Ν / Ν 
πόριζε δὴ πόριζε" καὶ πάρος γὰρ 
τοῦδ᾽ ἐφεῦρες τοῦτο, καὶ νῦν 
λυτήριος ἐκ θανάτου γενοῦ, 
, , b »} , σ 
φόνιόν τ᾽ ἀπόπαυσον “Adar. 225 
an na a a / 
HM. παπαῖ, φεῦ, παπαῖ, φεῦ ἰὼ, id. ἀντ. α΄. 


> 


ὦ παῖ Φέρητος, of ἔπραξας δάμαρτος σᾶς στερεΐς. 
HM. dp ἄξια καὶ σφαγᾶς τάδε, 
καὶ πλέον ἢ βρόχῳ δέρην οὐρανίῳ πελάσσαι; 230 
ΗΜ. τὰν γὰρ οὐ φίλαν, 
ἀλλὰ φιλτάταν 
γυναῖκα κατθανοῦσαν ἐν ἄματι τῷδ᾽ ἐπόψει. 


ΗΜ. ἰδοὺ ἰδοὺ, 
no ἐκ δόμων δὴ καὶ πόσις πορεύεται. 


AA. 


AA. 


AA. 


AA. 


AA. 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 11 


, > / Ὁ» 7 
βόασον ὦ, στέναξον ὦ Φεραία 235 
Ν Ν 5 / 
χθὼν, τὰν ἀρίσταν : 
al / 
γυναῖκα μαραινομέναν νόσῳ 
Ν, ad , : ἯΣ, ; 
κατὰ γᾶς χθόνιον παρ᾽ “Αιδαν. 
¥ / / > / 
οὔποτε φήσω γάμον εὐφραίνειν 
, x ° = , 
πλέον ἢ λυπεῖν, τοῖς τε πάροιθεν 
τεκμαιρόμενος καὶ τάσδε τύχας 240 
/ 
λεύσσων βασιλέως, ὅστις ἀρίστης 
ἀπλακὼν ἀλόχου τῆσδ᾽ ἀβίωτον 
τὸν ἔπειτα χρόνον βιοτεύσει. 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 


“Adie καὶ φάος ἁμέρας, στρ. β΄. 
οὐράνιαί τε δῖναι νεφέλας δρομαίου. 243 
ΑΔΜΗΤΟΣ. 


ὁρᾷ σε κἀμὲ, δύο κακῶς πεπραγότας, 
ION Ν ’ 2 sy al 
οὐδὲν θεοὺς δράσαντας ἀνθ᾽ ὅτου θανεῖ. 
ar \ / , 2. ’ 
yata τε καὶ μελάθρων στέγαι ΠΡ ΤΕ  βι- 
/ 7 cal / > a 
νυμφίδιοί τε κοῖται πατρῴας ᾿Ιωλκοῦ. 
ἔπαιρε σαυτὴν, ὦ τάλαινα, μὴ προδῷς" 250 
λίσσου δὲ τοὺς κρατοῦντας οἰκτεῖραι θεούς. 
ὁρῷ δίκωπον ὁρῷ σκάφος. oTp. y’. 
A ἧς \ 
νεκύων δὲ πορθμεὺς 
ἔχων χέρ᾽ ἐπὶ κοντῷ Χάρων μ᾽ ἤδη καλεῖ" “τί μέλλεις; 
ἐπείγου" σὺ κατείργεις.᾽ τάδε τοί με σπερχόμενος τα- 
χύνει. 256 
Μ / ΞΖ / 
οἴμοι" πικράν ye τήνδε μοι νοαυκληρίαν 
ἔλεξας. ὦ δύσδαιμον, οἷα πάσχομεν. 
ἄγει p ἄγει μέ τις, οὐχ ὁρῆς ; avr. y’. 
νεκύων ἐς αὐλὰν 259 


12 EYPIITIAOT 


in ὀφρύσι κυαναυγέσι βλέπων πτερωτὸς “Αιδας. 
τί ῥέξεις ; ἄφες. οἵαν ὁδὸν ἃ δειλαιοτάτα προβαίνω. 
ΑΔ. οἰκτρὰν φίλοισιν, ἐκ δὲ τῶν μάλιστ᾽ ἐμοὶ 
Ἂν \ φ XN / 3 ”~ , 
καὶ παισὶν, οἷς δὴ πένθος ἐν κοινῷ τόδε. 263 
ΑΛ. μέθετε μέθετέ μ᾽ ἤδη. 
/ 3 > / l4 
κλίνατ᾽, ov σθένω ποσί. 
πλησίον “Αιδας" 
/ >] 9:23) »Μ \ 3 / 
σκοτία δ᾽ ἐπ’ ὄσσοις νὺξ ἐφέρτει. 
/ / 2 > “ XN 
τέκνα τέκν, οὐκέτι δὴ 270 
οὐκέτι μάτηρ σφῷν ἔστιν. 
χαίροντες, ὦ τέκνα, τόδε φάος ὁρῷτον. 
ΑΔ. οἴμοι" τόδ᾽ ἔπος λυπρὸν ἀκούω 
We \ τ Ν / lal 
καὶ παντὸς ἐμοὶ θανάτου μεῖζον. 
μὴ πρός σε θεῶν τλῇς με προδοῦναι, 27 


rae 


Ν ΟΥ̓́ ,ὔ ἃ 5 tal 
μὴ πρὸς παίδων, οὺς ὀρφανιεῖς, 
ἀλλ᾽ ἄνα τόλμα" 
a Ν / ye aR » - 
σοῦ γὰρ φθιμένης οὐκέτ᾽ ἂν εἴην 
5 \ > > Ν Ν o~ AN La 
ἐν σοὶ δ᾽ ἐσμὲν καὶ ζῆν καὶ μή 
σὴν γὰρ φιλίαν σεβόμεσθα. : 
AA. "Αδμηθ᾽, ὁρᾷς γὰρ τἀμὰ πράγμαθ᾽ ὡς ἔχει, 280 
λέξαι θέλω σοι πρὶν θανεῖν ἃ βούλομαι. 
ἐγώ σε πρεσβεύουσα κἀντὶ τῆς ἐμῆς 
ψυχῆς καταστήσασα φῶς τόδ᾽ εἰσορᾶν, 
θνήσκω, παρόν μοι μὴ θανεῖν ὑπὲρ σέθεν, 
ἀλλ᾽ ἄνδρα τε σχεῖν Θεσσαλῶν ὃν ἤθελον, 285 
Ν nt / y / 
καὶ δῶμα ναίειν ὄλβιον τυραννΐίδι, ~ 
> 5 / ~ >) cal , 
οὐκ ἠθέλησα ζῆν ἀποσπασθεῖσά σου 
\ Ν 5 tal 399 3 / 
ξὺν παισὶν dppavoiow οὐδ᾽ ἐφεισάμην 
ef ” an) 3 ° 3 ’ 
ἥβης ἔχουσα δῶρ᾽, ἐν οἷς ἐτερπόμην. 
καίτοι σ᾽ 6 φύσας xn τεκοῦσα προὔδοσαν, 290 
“ Ν ᾿ al o ΗΝ 7 
καλῶς μὲν αὐτοῖς κατθανεῖν ἧκον βίου, 
καλῶς δὲ σῶσαι παῖδα κεὐκλεῶς θανεῖν. 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 


, Ν 3 val 7 » 9 Ν Φ 
μόνος γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἦσθα, κοὔτις ἐλπὶς ἦν 
σοῦ κατθανόντος ἄλλα φιτύσειν τέκνα. 
κἀγώ τ᾽ ἂν ἔζων καὶ σὺ τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον, 
KovK ἂν μονωθεὶς σῆς δάμαρτος ἔστενες, 
καὶ παῖδας ὠρφάνευες. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν 
θεῶν τις ἐξέπραξεν ὥσθ᾽ οὕτως ἔχειν. 
εἶεν: σύ νύν μοι τῶνδ᾽ ἀπόμνησαι χάριν" 

“Ὁ » ἢ Φ ᾿ {2 Ν Μ = 
αἰτήσομαι yap σ᾽ ἀξίαν μὲν οὔποτε 
ψυχῆς γὰρ οὐδέν ἐστι τιμιώτερον" 
δίκαια δ᾽, ὡς φήσεις σύ' τούσδε γὰρ φιλεῖς 

3 φ ἄν τ cal Μ » rn des 
οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ ᾿γὼ παῖδας, εἴπερ εὖ φρονεῖς 
τούτους ἀνάσχου δεσπότας ἐμῶν δόμων, 
καὶ μὴ ᾿᾽πιγήμῃς τοῖσδε μητρυιὰν τέκνοις, 
»" 7 Φ 3 3 cal Ν. 4 
ἥτις κακίων ovo ἐμοῦ γυνὴ φθόνῳ 
τοῖς σοῖσι κἀμοῖς παισὶ χεῖρα προσβαλεῖ. 

Ν “ I eae oft > *) cal 7 δι ΄ 
μὴ δῆτα δράσῃς ταῦτά γ᾽, αἰτοῦμαί σ᾽ ἐγώ. 
ἐχθρὰ γὰρ ἡ ᾿᾽πιοῦσα μητρυιὰ τέκνοις 

tal , > τ / ION 5 / 

Tots πρόσθ᾽ ἐχίδνης οὐδὲν ἠπιωτέρα. 


12 


295 


300 


310 


καὶ παῖς μὲν ἄρσην πατέρ᾽ ἔχει πύργον μέγαν" 


Ν 3 > , n / n 
σὺ δ᾽, ὦ τέκνον μοι, πῶς κορευθήσει καλῶς ; 
ποίας τυχοῦσα συζύγου τῷ σῷ πατρί; 

V2 , > 5 Ν “ ’ 
μὴ ool τιν αἰσχρὰν προσβαλοῦσα κληδόνα 
ἤβης ἐν ἀκμῇ σοὺς διαφθείρῃ γάμους. 

/ 

ov γάρ σε μήτηρ οὔτε νυμφεύσει ποτὲ 

> a ral a 
οὔτ᾽ ἐν τόκοισι τοῖσι σοῖσι θαρσυνεῖ, 

na Ἵ 

παροῦσ᾽, ἵν᾽ οὐδὲν μητρὸς εὐμενέστερον. 
δεῖ γὰρ θανεῖν pet καὶ τόδ᾽ οὐκ εἰς αὔριον 
οὐδ᾽ ἐς τρίτην μοι μηνὸς ἔρχεται κακὸν, 

> “ co 
GAN αὐτίκ᾽ ἐν τοῖς μηκέτ᾽ οὖσι λέξομαι. 

/ 5 / . Ν - Ν , 
χαίροντες εὐφραίνοισθε' καὶ σοὶ μὲν, πόσι, 
γυναῖκ᾽ ἀρίστην ἔστι κομπάσαι λαβεῖν, 


a \ tal \ U4 / 
ὃν καὶ προσεῖπε Kal προσερρήθη πάλιν. 


315 


312 


14 


ΧΟ. 


ΑΔ. 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂: 


τ νυ Ἂς tal x ἊΝ 
ὑμῖν δὲ, παῖδες, μητρὸς ἐκπεφυκέναι. 
θάρσει: πρὸ τούτου γὰρ λέγειν οὐχ ἅζομαι:" 
fy? an 
δράσει τάδ᾽, εἴπερ μὴ φρενῶν ἁμαρτάνει. 
+ δ᾽ BA Ν / ee) , >) SDE SS 
ἔσται τάδ᾽ ἔσται, μὴ τρέσῃς" ἐπεί σ᾽ ἐγὼ 
καὶ ζῶσαν εἶχον καὶ θανοῦσ᾽ ἐμὴ γυνὴ 
/ a 
μόνη κεκλήσει, KOUTLS ἀντὶ σοῦ ποτὲ 
τόνδ᾽ ἄνδρα νύμφη Θεσσαλὶς προσφθέγξεται" 
οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτως οὔτε πατρὸς εὐγενοῦς 
V9 9S y+ 5 / / 
οὔτ᾽ εἶδος ἄλλως ἐκπρεπεστάτη γυνή. 
ἅλις δὲ παίδων" τῶνδ᾽ ὄνησιν εὔχομαι 
rad / - a Ψ te 
θεοῖς γενέσθαι: σοῦ yap οὐκ ὠνήμεθα. 
y+ Ν / > 3. / Ἂς Ἂς 
οἴσω δὲ πένθος οὐκ ἐτήσιον τὸ σὸν, 
5 > δ a) » NN ς X\ 3 / ’ὔ 
ἀλλ᾽ ἔς T ἂν αἰὼν οὑμὸς ἀντέχῃ, γύναι, 
n Ν er 2. ν 5 if > ple eI 
στυγῶν μὲν ἣ μ᾽ ἔτικτεν, ἐχθαίρων δ᾽ ἐμὸν 
/ Ἄ , τᾶν 3 ’ »” / 
πατέρα" λόγῳ yap ἦσαν οὐκ ἔργῳ φίλοι. 
\ > > an “ > lal Ἂς / 
ov 6 ἀντιδοῦσα τῆς ἐμῆς τὰ φίλτατα 
ψυχῆς ἔσωσας. apd μοι στένειν πάρα 
lad ’ « if / I A 
τοιᾶσδ᾽ ἁμαρτάνοντι συζύγου σέθεν ; 
/ SA / res > c 7 
παύσω δὲ κώμους συμποτῶν θ᾽ ὁμιλίας 


340 


" τε μοῦσάν θ᾽, ἣ κατεῖχ᾽ ἐμοὺς δόμους 
στεφάνους τε μ » ἣ κατεῖχ᾽ ἐμοὺς δόμους. 


> / 3 = dee Jae δ ‘4 ,ὔ >] ΝΜ 
οὐ yap ποτ οὔτ ἂν βαρβίτου θίγοιμ᾽ ἔτι, 
οὔτ᾽ ἂν φρέν᾽ ἐξαίροιμι πρὸς Λίβυν λακεῖν 
αὐλόν: σὺ γάρ μου τέρψιν ἐξείλου βίου. 
σοφῇ δὲ χειρὶ τεκτόνων δέμας τὸ σὸν 
a ΧΕΙ μ 
» Ἂς 3 / 3 / 
εἰκασθὲν ἐν λέκτροισιν ἐκταθήσεται, 
> an \ ΄ t 
ᾧ προσπεσοῦμαι καὶ περιπτύσσων χέρας 
» lal \ Ν. / 3 5 / 
ὄνομα καλῶν σὸν τὴν φίλην ἐν ἀγκάλαις 
, o / > 5" ” 
δόξω γυναῖκα καίπερ οὐκ ἔχων ἔχειν, 
Ν / > / 
ψυχρὰν μὲν, οἷμαι, τέρψιν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως βάρος 
D9 , fees 2: tae 
ψυχῆς ἀπαντλοίην ἄν" ἐν ὃ ὀνείρασι, 
n Eg ,ὔ 
φοιτῶσά μ᾽ εὐφραίνοις ἄν. ἡδὺ γὰρ φίλους 
ο b] \ “ 4 
Kay νυκτὶ λεύσσειν, ὅντιν᾽ ἂν παρῇ χρόνον. 


945 


on 
ο 


ww 
wu 
οι 


XO. 


AA. 


AAKHSTIS. 


‘ , an 
el δ᾽ ᾿Ορφέως μοι γλῶσσα Kat μέλος παρῆν, 
Lcd δ. δ. , / x 7 , 
ὥστ᾽ ἢ κόρην Δήμητρος ἢ κείνης πόσιν 
ὕμνοισι κηλήσαντά σ᾽ ἐξ “Αιδου λαβεῖν, 
κατῆλθον ἂν, καί μ᾽ οὔθ᾽ 6 ΠΠλούτωνος κύων 

¥ Δ᾽ διε ’ Ν 
οὔθ᾽ οὑπὶ κώπῃ ψυχοπομπὸς ἂν Χάρων 
lal lal / 
ἔσχον, πρὶν ἐς φῶς σὸν καταστῆσαι βίον. 
a / 
GAN οὖν ἐκεῖσε προσδόκα μ᾽, ὅταν θάνω, 
Ν na 3 c ὃ > ε / / 
καὶ δῶμ᾽ ἑτοίμαζ᾽, ὡς συνοικήσουσά μοι. 
ΕῚ ° > al / ee / / 
ἐν ταῖσιν αὐταῖς yap μ᾽ ἐπισκήψω κέδροις 
“-“ » / 
σοὶ τούσδε θεῖναι πλευρά τ᾽ ἐκτεῖναι πέλας 
πλευροῖσι τοῖς cots’ μηδὲ γὰρ θανών ποτε 
σοῦ χωρὶς εἴην τῆς μόνης πιστῆς ἐμοί. 
καὶ μὴν ἐγώ σοι πένθος ὡς φίλος φίλῳ 
\ / “ Ν Ν, 5. VA 
λυπρὸν συνοίσω τῆσδε" Kal yap ἀξία. 
> al 5: \ Ἂς fy? 5 ΄ 
ὦ παῖδες, αὐτοὶ δὴ Tad εἰσηκούσατε 
Ν , XN lal A Ν, 
πατρὸς λέγοντος μὴ γαμεῖν ἄλλην ποτὲ 
Ἐν a Sages! SCS ee Peer , νων ς 
γυναῖκ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ὑμῖν μηδ᾽ ἀτιμάσειν ἐμέ. 

\ a / Ν / ΄} 
καὶ νῦν γέ φημι, καὶ τελευτήσω τάδε. 

5 Ἂν a“ [αὐ ἣν 3 “ led / 

ἐπὶ τοῖσδε παῖδας χειρὸς ἐξ ἐμῆς δέχου. 

δέχομαι, φίλον γε δῶρον ἐκ φίλης χερός. 

σὺ νῦν γενοῦ τοῖσδ᾽ ἀντ᾽ ἐμοῦ μήτηρ τέκνοις. 
, > > / a Ε] 5 ἕ 

πολλὴ Y ἀνάγκη σοῦ y ἀπεστερημένοις. 

ὦ τέκν᾽, ὅτε ζῆν χρῆν μ᾽, ἀπέρχομαι κάτω. 

οἴμοι, τί δράσω δῆτα σοῦ μονούμενος ; , 

, ! ye Niche αν 19) Ae , 
χρόνος μαλάξει σ᾽" οὐδέν ἐσθ᾽ ὃ κατθανών. 
ἄγου με σύν σοι πρὸς θεῶν ἄγου κάτω. 
ἀρκοῦμεν ἡμεῖς of προθνήσκοντες σέθεν. 

ὦ δαῖμον, οἵας συζύγου μ᾽’ ἀποστερεῖς. 
καὶ μὴν σκοτεινὸν ὄμμα μου βαρύνεται. 
ἀπωλόμην ἄρ᾽, εἴ με δὴ λείψεις, γύναι. 
c “ a > ION x / pe ae 
ὡς οὐκέτ᾽ οὖσαν οὐδὲν Gv λέγοις ἐμέ. 


” , Ν / cal / 
ὄρθου πρόσωπον, μὴ λίπῃς παῖδας σέθεν. 


15 


360 


(SS) 
“1 
Οο 


SS) 
“I 
or 


ww 
ao 
ο 


16 ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΊΔΟΥ 


ΑΛ. οὐ δῆθ᾽ ἑκοῦσά γ᾽, ἀλλὰ χαίρετ᾽, ὦ τέκνα. 389 
AA. βλέψον πρὸς αὐτοὺς βλέψον. AA. οὐδέν εἰμ᾽ ἔτι. 
ΑΔ. τί δρᾷς ; προλείπεις; ΑΛ. χαῖρ᾽. 

AA. ἀπωλόμην τάλας. 
ΧΟ. βέβηκεν, οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστιν ᾿Αδμήτου γυνή. 


ΕΥ̓ΜΗΛΟΣ. 
>is , lal Ν. / 
ἰώ μοι τύχας. pata δὴ κάτω στρ. 
βέ 3 feo ef as / ¢ 4) ἁλί 
έβακεν, οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστιν, ὦ πάτερ, ὑφ᾽ GAlw, 305 
προλιποῦσα δ᾽ ἀμὸν βίον 
> / iy 
ὠρφάνισεν τλάμων. 
ἴδε γὰρ ἴδε βλέφαρον 
καὶ παρατόνους χέρας. 
ὑπάκουσον, ἄκουσον, ὦ μᾶτερ, ἀντιάζω σ᾽ 400 
ἐγώ, μᾶτερ ἐγὼ 
τον «καλοῦμαι 6 
σὸς ποτὶ σοῖσι πίτνων στόμασιν νεοσσός. 
ΑΔ. τήν» οὐ κλύουσαν οὐδ᾽ ὁρῶσαν" ὥστ᾽ ἐγὼ 
καὶ σφὼ βαρείᾳ συμφορᾷ πεπλήγμεθα. 405 
EY. νέος ἐγὼ, πάτερ, λείπομαι φίλας ἀντ. 
, , ’ Los / Ἂς Ν 
μονόστολός τε ματρός" ὦ σχέτλια δὴ παθὼν 
ἐγώ ἔργα. .. . σύ τε, 
σύγκασί μοι κούρα, 410 
/ 
«+ « - OUVETAGS® 
224+ @ TATED, 
5 / 3 >) , 3 3 / OX / 
avovat ἀνόνατ᾽ ἐνύμφευσας, οὐδὲ γήρως 
ἔβας τέλος σὺν τᾷδ᾽" 
” Ν 
ἔφθιτο γὰρ πάρος, 
> / SX a - 3» > = 
οἰχομένας δὲ σοῦ, μᾶτερ, ὄλωλεν οἶκος. a4 
, , 
XO. Αδμητ᾽, ἀνάγκη τάσδε συμφορὰς φέρειν" 
οὐ γάρ τι πρῶτος οὐδὲ λοίσθιος βροτῶν 
γυναικὸς ἐσθλῆς ἤμπλακες" γίγνωσκε δὲ 


ΑΔ. 


ΧΟ. 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 17 


ὡς πᾶσιν ἡμῖν κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται. 

, / / > ” A / 

ἐπίσταμαί Te κοὐκ ἄφνω κακὸν τόδε 420 

/ > 39> Ν ᾽ δ. ἢ 5 , / 
προσέπτατ᾽" εἰδὼς δ᾽ αὔτ᾽ ἐτειρόμην πάλαι. 

GAN ἐκφορὰν γὰρ τοῦδε θήσομαι νεκροῦ, 

πάρεστε καὶ μένοντες ἀντηχήσατε 

παιᾶνα τῷ κάτωθεν ἀσπόνδῳ θεῷ. 

nr Ν lal Ὁ 3 Ν an 
πᾶσιν δὲ Θεσσαλοῖσιν ὧν ἐγὼ κρατῶ 25 

/ \ “ lal / 
πένθους γυναικὸς τῆσδε κοινοῦσθαι λέγω 

a , \ ῃ , Ά 

κουρᾷ ξυρήκει καὶ μελαγχίμοις πέπλοις 

/ / > ἃ / \ Ud 
τέθριππά θ᾽ ot ζεύγνυσθε καὶ μονάμπυκας 

, / / > > / , 
πώλους, σιδήρῳ τέμνετ΄ αὐχένων φόβην. 

> lal a Ν 3 Μ ae. > Val / 

αὐλῶν δὲ μὴ κατ᾽ ἄστυ, μὴ λύρας κτύπος 430 

Ν / ’ > > / 

ἔστω σελήνας δώδεκ᾽ ἐκπληρουμένας" 

οὐ γάρ τιν᾽ ἄλλον φίλτερον θάψω νεκρὸν 

aD? 39) 5 Ἃ 5 5 eS | 5 Ψ / 

τοῦδ᾽ οὐδ᾽ dpeivoy εἰς ἔμ᾽" ἀξία δέ μοι 

τιμᾶν, ἐπεὶ τέθνηκεν ἀντ᾽ ἐμοῦ μόνη. 434 
ὦ Πελίου θύγατερ, oTp. a’. 

χαίρουσά μοι εἰν ᾿Αἴΐἴδα δόμοισι 
in 3 / “ > 4 
τὸν ἀνάλιον οἶκον οἰκετεύοις. 

ἴστω δ᾽ ᾿Αἴδας ὁ μελαγχαίτας θεὸς, ὅς T ἐπὶ κώπᾳ 
πηδαλίῳ τε γέρων 440 
νεκροπομπὸς ἵζει, 

Ἂς Re Ν X » 9 ἜΝ 
πολὺ δὴ πολὺ δὴ γυναῖκ᾽ ἀρίσταν 
/ > ’ὔ , 2 / , 
λίμναν “Axepovtiay πορεύσας ἐλάτᾳ δικώπῳ. 444 
’ , > , 
πολλά σε μουσοπόλοι " ἄντ. α΄. 
, > « / , > > / 
μέλψουσι καθ᾽ ἑπτατονόν T ὀρείαν 
/ » ct 5 4 / [4 

χέλυν ἐν T ἀλύροις κλείοντες ὕμνοις, 

Σπάρτᾳ κυκλὰς ἁνίκα Καρνείου περινίσσεται ὥρα 
μηνὸς ἀειρομένας 450 
παννύχου σελάνας, 

λιπαραῖσί 7 ἐν ὀλβίαις ᾿Αθάναις. 

/ a “-“ 

τοίαν ἔλιπες θανοῦσα μολπὰν μελέων ἀοιδοῖς. 454 

Cc 


18 ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


VA), 5. ον \ Ν » , 
εἴθ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ μὲν εἴη, στρ. B. 
δυναίμαν δέ σε πέμψαι 
φάος ἐξ ᾿Αἴδα τερέμνων 
Κωκυτοῦ τε ῥεέθρων 
ποταμίᾳ νερτέρᾳ τε κώπᾳ. 
Ν Ν > / > 7 “ 
σὺ γὰρ, ὦ μόνα, ὦ φίλα γυναικῶν, 460 
σὺ τὸν αὑτᾶς 
"» , > \ c 2 »-» 
ἔτλας πόσιν ἀντὶ σᾶς ἀμεῖψαι 
ψυχᾶς ἐξ “Aida. κούφα σοι 
Ν »} / / / > 7 
χθὼν ἀπάνωθε πέσοι, γύναι. εἰ δέ τι 
καινὸν ἕλοιτο λέχος πόσις, ἢ μάλ᾽ ἂν ἐμοί γ᾽ ἂν εἴη 
στυγηθεὶς τέκνοις τε τοῖς σοῖς. 465 
1A > iA 5 / 
ματέρος ov θελούσας avT. B. 
πρὸ παιδὸς χθονὶ κρύψαι 
δέμας, οὐδὲ πατρὸς γεραιοῦ, 
= = Χ 
A + > > oy δὲ 
ὃν ἔτεκον δ᾽, οὐκ ἔτλαν ῥύεσθαι 
σχετλίω, πολιὰν ἔχοντε χαίταν. 470 
Ν. ον A 
σὺ δ᾽ ev ἥβᾳ 
7 a \ wy 
νέᾳ προθανοῦσα φωτὸς οἴχει. 
τοιαύτας εἴη μοι κῦρσαι 
συνδυάδος φιλίας ἀλόχου" τὸ γὰρ 
5 , , , oid γὰρ eth ates 
ἐν βιότῳ σπάνιον μέρος" ἢ yap ἂν ἐμοί γ᾽ ἄλυπος 
δι αἰῶνος ἂν ξυνείη. 475 


ΗΡΑΚΛΗΣ, 


ξένοι, Φεραίας τῆσδε κωμῆται χθονὸς, 

» b] , μὴ 

Αὗμητον ἐν δόμοισιν apa κιγχάνω ; 
ΧΟ. ἔστ᾽ ἐν δόμοισι παῖς Φέρητος, Ἡράκλεις. 

ἀλλ᾽ εἰπὲ χρεία τίς σε Θεσσαλῶν χθόνα 

/ a BA “ , 

πέμπει, Pepatoy ἄστυ προσβῆναι τόδε. . 480 

HP. Τιρυνθίῳ πράσσω ti Ἑὐρυσθεῖ πόνον. 


XO. 
HP. 
XO. 
HP. 
XO. 
HP. 
XO. 
HP. 
XO. 
HP. 
XO. 
HP. 
XO. 
RP. 
XO. 
HP. 
XO. 
ΗΡ. 


HP: 
AA. 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 


αἱ ποῖ πορεύει ; τῷ προσέζευξαι πλάνῳ ; 

και 0 ρ ᾽ t ρ τῶ 
x / 4 / 

Θρῃκὸς τέτρωρον ἅρμα Διομήδους pera. 

“ an / 
πῶς οὖν δυνήσει; μῶν ἄπειρος εἶ ξένου ; 
ἄπειρος" οὔπω Βιστόνων ἦλθον χθόνα. 
οὐκ ἔστιν ἵππων δεσπόσαι σ᾽ ἄνευ μάχης. 
5 > 399 5 tal a , er / 
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἀπειπεῖν τοῖς πόνοις οἷόν TE μοι. 

Ν 48 Ὁ Ὁ“ x Ν 3 ΄“- val 
κτανὼν ap ἥξεις ἢ θανὼν αὐτοῦ μενεῖς. 

» , > - lal an oi / > ΜῈ ’ 
οὐ τόνδ᾽ ἀγῶνα πρῶτον ἂν δράμοιμ᾽ ἐγώ. 
τί δ᾽ ἂν κρατήσας δεσπότην πλέον λάβοις ; 
πώλους ἀπάξω κοιράνῳ Τιρυνθίῳ. 
οὐκ εὐμαρὲς χαλινὸν ἐμβαλεῖν γνάθοις. 
εἰ μή γε πῦρ πνέουσι μυκτήρων ἄπο. 

> an lal 
ἀλλ᾽ ἄνδρας ἀρταμοῦσι λαιψηραῖς γνάθοις. 
θηρῶν ὀρείων χόρτον, οὐχ ἵππων, λέγεις. 

/ »” μὰ “ “ 
φάτνας ἴδοις ἂν αἵμασιν πεφυρμένας. 
τίνος δ᾽ ὁ θρέψας παῖς πατρὸς κομπάζεται ; 
» 

Ἄρεως, ζαχρύσου Θρῃκίας πέλτης ἄναξ. 

Ν ’ > a ὔ , / 
καὶ τόνδε τοὐμοῦ δαίμονος πόνον λέγεις, 

Ν ἃς oN \ Ν = ΝΜ 
σκληρὸς γὰρ ἀεὶ καὶ πρὸς αἷπος ἔρχεται, 

> , Ν a Ν 5 7 
εἰ χρή με παισὶν ods “Apns ἐγείνατο 

/ , n Ν / 
μάχην ξυνάψαι, πρῶτα μὲν Λυκάονι, 
αὖθις δὲ Κύκνῳ, τόνδε δ᾽ ἔρχομαι τρίτον 
ἀγῶνα πώλοις δεσπότῃ τε συμβαλῶν. 
ἀλλ᾽ οὔτις ἔστιν ὃς τὸν ᾿Αλκμήνης γόνον 

7 tal Δι 
τρέσαντα χεῖρα πολεμίων ποτ᾽ ὄψεται. 

Ν Ων wy? - ἘΞΑ “ , \ 
καὶ μὴν ὅδ᾽ αὐτὸς τῆσδε κοίρανος χθονὸς 
ν 

Αὗμητος ἔξω δωμάτων πορεύεται. 
χαῖρ᾽, ὦ Διὸς παῖ Περσέως ἀφ᾽ αἵματος. 
Ν ral a 
Αὗμητε, καὶ σὺ χαῖρε, Θεσσαλῶν ἄναξ. 

/ 
θέλοιμ᾽ ἄν" εὔνουν δ᾽ ὄντα σ᾽ ἐξεπίσταμαι. 

,ὔ lal “- a / / 
τί χρῆμα Kovpa τῇδε πενθίμῳ πρέτπεις ; 

/ > 5 “.. ε / / , 
θάπτειν Tw ἐν THO ἡμέρᾳ μέλλω νεκρόν. 

Cc 5 


19 


490 


495 


500 


510 


20 


HP. 
AA. 
HP. 
AA. 
ΗΡ. 
ΑΔ. 
HIP. 
AA. 
FIP: 
AA. 
HP. 
AA. 
HP. 
AA. 
HP. 
AA. 
HP: 
AA. 
HIP. 
AA. 
FIP. 
AA. 
HP. 


AA. 
GP. 
AA. 
Tip: 
AA. 
HP. 
AA. 
HP; 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


«Αι , “ ιν Μ , 
ἀπ᾽ οὖν τέκνων σῶν πημονὴν εἴργοι θεός. 
a > ν val ἃ + Θχ 3) , 
ζῶσιν κατ᾽ οἴκους παῖδες ods ἔφυσ᾽ ἐγώ. 

πατήρ γε μὴν ὡραῖος, εἴπερ οἴχεται. 

“ lal ” 9 fal / > c / 
κἀκεῖνος ἔστι xn τεκοῦσά μ᾽, Ἡράκλεις. 
οὐ μὴν γυνή γ᾽ ὄλωλεν ἔἤΑλκηστις σέθεν ; 

a 3. ἘΦ Dex a + , 
διπλοῦς ἐπ᾽ αὐτῇ μῦθος ἔστι μοι λέγειν. 

/ A > x , + 
πότερα θανούσης εἶπας ἢ ζώσης ETL; 

ΝΜ 5 ,".5 yo a Ψ» / 

ἐστιν TE KOUKET ἔστιν, ἀλγύνει OE με. 
οὐδέν τι μᾶλλον οἶδ᾽" ἄσημα γὰρ λέγεις. 
οὐκ οἶσθα μοίρας ἧς τυχεῖν αὐτὴν χρεών ; 

#59 59 Ν a al ε 7 
010 ἀντὶ σοῦ γε κατθανεῖν ὑφειμένην. 

“ τ κα 93 ἂν » wv / 
πῶς οὖν ἔτ᾽ ἔστιν, εἴπερ ἤνεσεν τάδε ; 
μὰ Ἂς , 3 ” 5 fy) Io n 
ἃ, μὴ TpoKAae ἄκοιτιν, ἐς TOO ἀναβαλοῦ. 
τέθνηχ᾽ ὃ μέλλων, κοὐκέτ᾽ ἔσθ᾽ ὃ κατθανών. 
χωρὶς τό τ᾽ εἷναι καὶ τὸ μὴ νομίζεται. 
σὺ τῇδε κρίνεις, Ἡράκλεις, κείνῃ δ᾽ ἐγώ 

fide κρίνεις, Ἡράκλεις, κείνῃ δ᾽ ἐγώ. 
τί δῆτα κλαίεις ; τίς φίλων 6 κατθανών ; 
γυνή" γυναικὸς ἀρτίως μεμνήμεθα. 

lal lal , 
ὀθνεῖος, ἢ σοὶ συγγενὴς γεγῶσά τις ; 
ὀθνεῖος, ἄλλως δ᾽ ἦν ἀναγκαία δόμοις. 

an > »] Μ a + Ζ 
πῶς οὖν ἐν οἴκοις σοῖσιν ὦλεσεν βίον 3 

\ , 3 ANY) 3 4 
πατρὸς θανόντος ἐνθάδ᾽ ὠρφανεύετο. 
φεῦ. 
εἴθ᾽ ηὕρομέν σ᾽, ΓΑδμητε, μὴ λυπούμενον. 
ε Ν. / “ / 3 «ς / , 
ὡς δὴ τί δράσων Tovd ὑπορράπτεις λόγον ; 

/ \ ΝΜ ς 7 / 
ξένων πρὸς ἄλλων ἑστίαν πορεύσομαι. 

Din, δὰ > rs N rod αὶ , 
οὐκ ἔστιν, @vak μὴ τοσόνδ᾽ ἔλθοι κακόν. 
λυπουμένοις ὀχληρὸς, εἰ μόλοι, ξένος. 
τεθνᾶσιν οἱ θανόντες" ἀλλ᾽ ἴθ᾽ ἐς δόμους. 
αἰσχρὸν παρὰ κλαίουσι θοινᾶσθαι φίλοις. 

\ vote te >] e 2” 3 lA 
χωρὶς Eevdves εἶσιν of σ᾽ ἐσάξομεν. 

/ 7, μὲ ἀ 
μέθες με, καί σοι μυρίαν ἕξω χάριν. 


on 
b 
σι 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 21 


AA. οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλου σ᾽ ἀνδρὸς ἑστίαν μολεῖν. 545 
ες a ἃς a ! > / 
ἡγοῦ ov, τῶνδε δωμάτων ἐξωπίους 
a ” va] ϑ a3 a / 
ξενῶνας οἴξας, τοῖς τ᾽ ἐφεστῶσιν φράσον 
- lal / 
σίτων παρεῖναι πλῆθος" ἐν δὲ κλήσατε 
θύρας μεσαύλους" οὐ πρέπει θοινωμένους 
/ na XOX a 7 
κλύειν στεναγμῶν οὐδὲ λυπεῖσθαι ξένους. 550 
a - , 
ΧΟ. τί δρᾷς ; τοιαύτης ξυμφορᾶς προκειμένης, 
"Αὗμητε, τολμᾷς ξενοδοχεῖν ; τί μῶρος et; 
ΑΔ. ἀλλ᾽ εἰ δόμων σφε καὶ πόλεως ἀπήλασα 
ξένον μολόντα, μᾶλλον ἄν μ᾽’ ἐπήνεσας ; 
μ »μ μ | ; 
> oe 3 3 ’ὔ Ν Ν » X xX 
ov δῆτ᾽, ἐπεί μοι Evudopa μὲν οὐδὲν ἂν 5 
/ Stuf γ 5 / 3 5 , 
μείων ἐγίγνετ᾽, ἀξενώτερος δ᾽ ἐγώ. 
Ν \ o Ν "ΟΣ Φ Ν 
καὶ πρὸς κακοῖσιν ἄλλο τοῦτ᾽ ἂν ἦν κακὸν, 


σι 
σι 


δόμους καλεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐμοὺς κακοξένους. 
> \ > 5 / nN / / 
αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἀρίστου τοῦδε τυγχάνω ξένου, 
ὅταν ποτ᾽ “Apyovus διψίαν ἔλθω χθόνα. 560 
XO. πῶς οὖν ἔκρυπτες τὸν παρόντα δαίμονα, 
/ / 3 \ 4. 2 Ν / 
φίλου μολόντος ἀνδρὸς, ὡς αὐτὸς λέγεις ; 
ΑΔ. οὐκ ἄν ποτ᾽ ἠθέλησεν εἰσελθεῖν δόμους, 
εἰ τῶν ἐμῶν τι πημάτων ἐγνώρισε. 
Ν “ ‘\ a ὃ lal δ᾽ > cal an 
kal τῷ μὲν, οἶμαι, δρῶν τάδ᾽ οὐ φρονεῖν δοκῶ, 565 
5.» 5 , >) Ἂς > = ’ / 
οὐδ᾽ αἰνέσει pe’ τἀμὰ δ᾽ οὐκ ἐπίσταται 
μέλαθρ᾽ ἀπωθεῖν οὐδ᾽ ἀτιμάζειν ξένους. στρ. α΄. 
ΧΟ. ὦ πολύξεινος καὶ ἐλεύθερος ἀνδρὸς ἀεί ποτ᾽ οἶκος, 
σέ τοι καὶ ὁ Πύθιος εὐλύρας ᾿Απόλλων 570 
ἠξίωσε ναίειν, 
ἔτλα δὲ σοῖσι μηλονόμας 
5 , if, 
ἐν δόμοις γενέσθαι, 
δοχμιᾶν διὰ κλιτύων 57 


σοι 


βοσκήμασι σοῖσι συρίζων 
ποιμνίτας ὑμεναίους. [ἀντ. α΄. 
σὺν δ᾽ ἐποιμαίνοντο χαρᾷ μελέων βαλιαί τε λύγκες 


AA. 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


ἔβα δὲ λιποῦσ᾽ Ὄθρυος νάπαν λεόντων 
& δαφοινὸς tra 
oe > 5 \ ἮΝ / 
χόρευσε δ᾽ ἀμφὶ σὰν κιθάραν, 
Φοῖβε, ποικιλόθριξ 
Ν ec , / 
veBpos ὑψικόμων πέραν 
/ 2 σὴ - “ / 
Batvove ἐλατᾶν σφυρῷ κούφῳ, 
7 3 ΝΜ n 
χαίρουσ εὔφρονι μολπᾷ. 


on 
n 
ι 


τοιγὰρ πολυμηλοτάταν στρ. β΄. 


« / 3 ta) Ἂς ’ὔ 
ἑστίαν οἰκεῖ παρὰ καλλίναον 
Βοιβίαν λίμναν: ἀρότοις δὲ γυᾶν 


590 


καὶ πεδίων δαπέδοις ὅρον ἀμφὶ μὲν ἀελίου κνεφαίαν 


/ n 
ἱππόστασιν αἰθέρα τὰν Μολοσσῶν τίθεται, 


, , > 3 / > 2 > 5 ~ 
πόντιόν τ’ Αἰγαίων᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀκτὰν 598 
ἀλίμενον Πηλίου κρατύνει. 
\ na , 2) / 5 / 
καὶ νῦν δόμον ἀμπετάσας ἄντ. B. 
, . a , 
δέξατο ξεῖνον νοτερῷ βλεφάρῳ, 
τᾶς φίλας κλαίων ἀλόχου νέκυν ἐν [ aide. 


δώμασιν ἀρτιθανῆ" τὸ yap εὐγενὲς ἐκφέρεται πρὸς 


5 - τὶ val SS / > ὧν, ’,ὔ 
ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖσι δὲ πάντ᾽ ἔνεστιν σοφίας. 
[ἄγαμαι] πρὸς δ᾽ ἐμᾷ ψυχᾷ θάρσος ἧσται 
θεοσεβῆ φῶτα κεδνὰ πράξειν. 
>) lal 7 > a ’ 
ἀνδρῶν Φεραίων εὐμενὴς παρουσία, 
/ Ν » , > ae! , 
νέκυν μὲν ἤδη πάντ᾽ ἔχοντα πρόσπολοι 
φέρουσιν ἄρδην πρὸς τάφον τε καὶ πυράν" 
€ - Ν Ἂν Lal Ld 7 
ὑμεῖς δὲ THY θανοῦσαν, ws νομίζεται, 
7 oS dame: fal ε , ς , 
προσείπατ᾽ ἐξιοῦσαν ὑστάτην dddv. 
καὶ μὴν ὁρῷ σὸν πατέρα γηραιῷ ποδὲ 
στείχοντ᾽, ὀπαδούς τ᾽ ἐν χεροῖν δάμαρτι σῇ 
κόσμον φέροντας, νερτέρων ἀγάλματα. 


625 


610 


AAKHSTIS. 23 


ΦΕΡΗΣ. 


a al / le 
ἥκω κακοῖσι σοῖσι συγκάμνων, τέκνον" 
ἐσθλῆς γὰρ, οὐδεὶς ἀντερεῖ, καὶ σώφρονος 615 
γυναικὸς ἡμάρτηκας. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν 
φέρειν ἀνάγκη, καίπερ ὄντα δυσμενῆ. 
δέχου δὲ κόσμον τόνδε, καὶ κατὰ χθονὸς 
ἴτω" τὸ ταύτης σῶμα τιμᾶσθαι χρεὼν, 
ἥτις γε τῆς σῆς προὔθανε ψυχῆς, τέκνον, 620 
/ > > ” 3 x +9? Μ “ 
καί μ᾽ οὐκ ἄπαιδ᾽ ἔθηκεν, οὐδ᾽ εἴασε σοῦ 
/ , 7 7, 
στερέντα γήρᾳ πενθίμῳ καταφθίνειν, 
πάσαις δ᾽ ἔθηκεν εὐκλεέστερον βίον 
γυναιξὶν, ἔργον τλᾶσα γενναῖον τόδε. 
Φ /, Ν £ > τὶ . / Ἂς 
ὦ τόνδε μὲν σώσασ᾽, ἀναστήσασα δὲ 62 
c o / - > “ / 
ἡμᾶς πίτνοντας, χαῖρε, κἀν “Atdov δόμοις 
εὖ σοι γένοιτο. φημὶ τοιούτους γάμους 
͵ὕ lal x lal > » 
λύειν βροτοῖσιν, ἢ γαμεῖν οὐκ ἄξιον. 
ΑΔ. οὔτ᾽ ἦλθες ἐς τόνδ᾽ ἐξ ἐμοῦ κληθεὶς τάφον 
ee ΟῚ / Ν ᾿ / 
οὔτ᾽ ἐν φίλοισι σὴν παρουσίαν λέγω. 630 
, Ay kA X + > efy99 5 7 ‘ 
κόσμον δὲ τὸν σὸν οὔποθ᾽ 70 ἐνδύσεται 
> / a a > Ν / 
ov yap τι τῶν σῶν ἐνδεὴς ταφήσεται. 
, a lal > “9 5 14 9 , 
τότε ξυναλγεῖν χρῆν σ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ὠλλύμην ἐγώ. 
σὺ δ᾽ ἐκποδὼν στὰς καὶ παρεὶς ἄλλῳ θανεῖν 


or 


t , A , a > , a 626 

νέῳ γέρων ὧν, τόνδ᾽ ἀποιμώζεις νεκρόν ; 35 
> 3 3 > Pe 2 5 “ a , Ἂς 

οὐκ ἦσθ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ὀρθῶς τοῦδε σώματος πατὴρ, 

393 € a / Ν 

οὐδ᾽ ἢ τεκεῖν φάσκουσα καὶ κεκλημένη 

μήτηρ μ᾽ ἔτικτε" δουλίου δ᾽ ἀφ᾽ αἵματος 

μαστῷ γυναικὸς σῆς ὑπεβλήθην λάθρα. 

ἔδειξας εἰς ἔλεγχον ἐξελθὼν ὃς εἶ, 640 
14 3 > ,ὔ lal Ν / 

καί pw ov νομίζω παῖδα σὸν πεφυκέναι. 

Ψ ΝΥ / / 5 / 

ἢ Tapa πάντων διαπρέπεις ἀψυχίᾳ, 

A / 3 OK 5» \ / 2 e / 

ὃς THALKOTO ὧν κἀπὶ τέρμ ἥκων βίου 


Nn 
aN 


XO. 


PE. 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


οὐκ ἠθέλησας, οὐδ᾽ ἐτόλμησας θανεῖν 
τοῦ σοῦ πρὸ παιδὸς, ἀλλὰ τήνδ᾽ εἰάσατε 645 
- 3 5 7 ἃ 5 Ν Ν / 
γυναῖκ᾽ ὀθνείαν, ἣν ἐγὼ Kal μητέρα 
/ > 4 > / x € , 3 , 
πατέρα τ᾽ ἂν ἐνδίκως ἂν ἡγοίμην ἐμοί. 
/ , > +# ’ > 3 an 3 » , 
καίτοι καλόν γ᾽ ἂν τόνδ᾽ ἀγῶν᾽ ἠγωνίσω, 
na lat \ \ \ \ / 
τοῦ σοῦ πρὸ παιδὸς κατθανὼν, βραχὺς de σοι 
/ ς \ 9 Zz , 
πάντως ὃ λοιπὸς ἣν βιώσιμος χρόνος" 650 
>) , > ἃ ΝΥ δ Ν Ν , 
κἀγώ T ἂν ἔζων χἤδε τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον, 
κοὐκ ἂν μονωθεὶς ἔστενον κακοῖς ἐμοῖς. 
Ν ΑΝ eden ” ‘\ o 3 / 
καὶ μὴν ὅσ᾽ ἄνδρα χρὴ παθεῖν εὐδαίμονα 
" ae N 5 ΄, 
πέπονθας" ἥἤβησας μὲν ἐν τυραννίδι, 
παῖς δ᾽ ἦν ἐγώ σοι τῶνδε διάδοχος δόμων, 655 
ὥστ᾽ οὐκ ἄτεκνος κατθανὼν ἄλλοις δόμον 
λείψειν ἔμελλες ὀρφανὸν διαρπάσαι. 
a Ἃς 5 tal / > ε 5 ty Ν Ά, 
οὐ μὴν ἐρεῖς γέ μ᾽ ὡς ἀτιμάζων τὸ σὸν 
lal cal Μ Α > “ εἰ , 
γῆρας θανεῖν mpovdmxa σ᾽, ὅστις αἰδόφρων 
, 2) oS , 5 Ν a f / 
πρός σ᾽ ἦν μάλιστα, κἀντὶ τῶνδέ μοι χάριν 660 
/ \ 3S > a 3 Din , 
τοιάνδε καὶ σὺ χὴ τεκοῦσ’ ἠλλαξάτην. 
ὃς / lal ter ie δι , 
τοιγὰρ φυτεύων παῖδας οὐκέτ᾽ ἂν φθάνοις, 
οἱ γηροβοσκήσουσι καὶ θανόντα σε 
περιστελοῦσι καὶ προθήσονται νεκρόν. 
οὐ γάρ σ᾽ ἔγωγε τῇδ᾽ ἐμῇ θάψω χερί: 665 
, x \ Cae aE ow OC Χ 
τέθνηκα γὰρ δὴ τοὐπὶ o* εἰ 6 ἄλλου τυχὼν 
σωτῆρος αὐγὰς εἰσορῶ, κείνου λέγω 
καὶ παῖδά p εἶναι καὶ φίλον γηροτρόφον. 
μάτην ἄρ᾽ οἱ γέροντες εὔχονται θανεῖν, 
“ / Ν Ν ’ ᾿ 
γῆρας ψέγοντες καὶ μακρὸν χρόνον βίου. 670 
ἣν δ᾽ ἐγγὺς ἔλθῃ θάνατος, οὐδεὶς βούλεται 
θνήσκειν, τὸ γῆρας δ᾽ οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστ᾽ αὐτοῖς βαρύ. 
ὕὔ > ed Ν c _ Ν 
παύσασθ᾽" ἅλις γὰρ ἢ παροῦσα συμφορὰ, 
> a X x x , , 
ὦ παῖ; πατρὸς δὲ μὴ παροξύνῃς φρένας. 
> a vias ΕῚ lal , b x / 
ὦ παῖ, τίν᾽ αὐχεῖς, πότερα Λυδὸν ἢ Φρύγα 675 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 


10 
ῷι 


“ 3 , 3 / / 
κακοῖς ἐλαύνειν ἀργυρώνητον σέθεν ; 
οὐκ οἶσθα Θεσσαλόν με κἀπὸ Θεσσαλοῦ 
πατρὸς γεγῶτα, γνησίως ἐλεύθερον ; 
Ν ς 4 /, , 
ἄγαν ὑβρίζεις, καὶ νεανίας λόγους 
«, 3 a ἦν > \ [τ vA 
ῥίπτων ἐς ἡμᾶς ov βαλὼν οὕτως ἄπει. 680 
ee. , 3 ¥ , > ’ 
ἐγὼ δέ σ᾽ οἴκων δεσπότην ἐγεινάμην 
κἄθρεψ᾽, ὀφείλω δ᾽ οὐχ ὑπερθνήσκειν σέθεν" 
οὐ γὰρ πατρῷ vd ἐδεξά } 

γὰρ ρῷον τόνδ᾽ ἐδεξάμην νόμον, 
παίδων προθνήσκειν πατέρας, οὐδ᾽ Ἑλληνικόν. 

fa ἃς, » Ν Μ᾽ > S 

σαυτῷ yap, εἴτε δυστυχὴς εἴτ᾽ εὐτυχὴς, 685 
” 5 ἃ. > c n fal A yy 
ἔφυς" ἃ δ᾽ ἡμῶν χρῆν σε τυγχάνειν, ἔχεις. 
πολλῶν μὲν ἄρχεις, πολυπλέθρους δέ σοι γύας 
λείψω: πατρὸς γὰρ ταῦτ᾽ ἐδεξάμην πάρα. * 
τί δῆτά σ᾽ ἠδίκηκα ; τοῦ σ᾽ ἀποστερῶ; 

X “ } on, eee Ag) 93 \ NS ee Ν a 
μὴ θνῆσχ᾽ ὑπὲρ τοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρὸς, οὐδ᾽ ἐγὼ TPO σοῦ. 690 
χαίρεις ὁρῶν φῶς, πατέρα δ᾽ οὐ χαίρειν δοκεῖς ; 
3 Ν fe \ / / 

ἦ μὴν πολύν ye τὸν κάτω λογίζομαι 

, Ν x “ \ Ψ > “ ’ 
χρόνον, τὸ δὲ ζῆν σμικρὸν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως γλυκύ. 
σὺ γοῦν ἀναιδῶς διεμάχου τὸ μὴ θανεῖν, 

Ν ( λθὰ ‘\ / / 6 
καὶ (ys παρελθὼν τὴν πεπρωμένην τύχην, 95 
ταύτην κατακτάς" εἶτ᾽ ἐμὴν ἀψυχίαν 
λέγεις, γυναικὸς, ὦ κἀκισθ᾽, ἡσσημένος, 
aA a “ “ + 7 
ἣ τοῦ καλοῦ σοῦ προὔθανεν νεανίου ; 
σοφῶς δ᾽ ἐφηῦρες ὥστε μὴ θανεῖν ποτὲ, 
εἰ τὴν παροῦσαν κατϑανεῖν πείσεις ἀεὶ 700 

ae PO ΝΕ 2. ols ὦ / / 
γυναῖχ᾽ ὑπὲρ σοῦ" Kar ὀνειδίζεις φίλοις 

fal Ν / c yy) > ey | xX , 
Tots μὴ θέλουσι Spay Tad, αὐτὸς ὧν κακός ; 

he, 2 , > ὅς ἦν 5.Ά. a a 
σίγα" νόμιζε δ᾽, εἰ σὺ τὴν σαυτοῦ φιλεῖς 

Ἂς a d e > > «ς ad lal 
ψυχὴν, φιλεῖν ἅπαντας" εἰ δ᾽ ἡμᾶς κακῶς 
ἐρεῖς, ἀκούσει πολλὰ κοὐ ψευδῆ κακά. 705 


XO. πλείω λέλεκται νῦν Te Kal τὰ πρὶν κακά" 


παῦσαι δὲ, πρέσβυ, παῖδα σὸν κακορροθῶν. 


26 


AA. 


DE. 
AA. 
@E. 
AA. 
@E. 
AA. 
@E. 
AA. 
ΦΕ. 
ΑΔ. 


ΦΕ. 
ΑΔ. 
PE. 
AA. 
PE. 
AA. 
DE. 
AA. 
DE. 
AA. 
DE. 


AA. 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


᾿Ξ a lal 
λέγ᾽, ὡς ἐμοῦ λέξαντος" εἰ δ᾽ ἀλγεῖς κλύων 

2 Ν > 2 > > Ψ de) Le 
τἀληθὲς, ov χρῆν σ᾽ εἰς ἔμ᾽ ἐξαμαρτάνειν. 
σοῦ δ᾽ ἂν προθνήσκων μᾶλλον ἐξημάρτανον. 710 

> Ν Ν «ς lal > A Ν / “ 
ταὐτὸν yap ἡβῶντ᾽ ἄνδρα καὶ πρέσβυν θανεῖν ; 
ψυχῇ μιᾷ ζῆν, οὐ δυοῖν, ὀφείλομεν. 

Ν ἿΝ , / 9 Ἃς / , 
καὶ μὴν Διός ye μείζον᾽ av ζῴης χρόνον. 

ς“ ““ “ OX x , 
ἀρᾷ γονεῦσιν, οὐδὲν ἔκδικον παθών ; 
μακροῦ βίου γὰρ ἠσθόμην ἐρῶντά σε. 718 

an ’ 
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ σὺ νεκρὸν ἀντὶ σοῦ τόνδ᾽ ἐκφέρεις ; 
σημεῖα τῆς σῆς, ὦ κἀκιστ᾽, ἀψυχίας. 

+ \ € lal > + 3. > J tal , 
οὔτοι πρὸς ἡμῶν γ᾽ ὦλετ᾽" οὐκ ἐρεῖς τόδε. 
φεῦ. ᾿ 
εἴθ᾽ ἀνδρὸς ἔλθοις τοῦδέ γ᾽ ἐς χρείαν ποτέ. 

4 Ν € / 7 
μνήστευε πολλὰς, ὡς θάνωσι πλείονες. 


πὸ 
τω 
ο 


\ a_3 » > ᾿ς wy “ 
σοὶ τοῦτ᾽ ὄνειδος" οὐ γὰρ ἤθελες θανεῖν. 
φίλον τὸ φέγγος τοῦτο τοῦ θεοῦ, φίλον. 

NX Ἂς “ > 5 τ / \ i 
κακὸν TO λῆμα κοὐκ ἐν ἀνδράσιν TO σόν. 

> 2 cal / ΓΕ , 
οὐκ ἐγγελᾷς γέροντα βαστάζων νεκρὸν. 

cal J Ν “ , 
θανεῖ ye μέντοι δυσκλεὴς, ὅταν θάνῃς. 


.« 
ιὸ 


οι 


lol 5 / > lf /, 
κακῶς ἀκούειν οὐ μέλει θανόντι μοι. 
“ Lon Ν lad c >) / , 
φεῦ φεῦ" TO γῆρας ws ἀναιδείας πλέων. 
ἥδ᾽ οὐκ ἀναιδής" τήνδ᾽ ἐφηῦρες ἄφρονα. 
ἄπελθε, κἀμὲ τόνδ᾽ ἔα θάψαι νεκρόν. 
fas ὔ 
ἄπειμι" θάψεις δ᾽ αὐτὸς ὧν αὐτῆς φονεύς. 730 
δίκας Te δώσεις σοῖσι κηδεσταῖς ETL. 
3 ἣν 8 ὧν 3 ae bu De 59) 3 
ἢ Tap “AkaoTos οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἐν ἀνδράσιν, 
> / 2 3 a a , 
εἰ μὴ σ ἀδελφῆς αἷμα τιμωρήσεται. 
ἔρροις νυν αὐτὸς χὴ ξυνοικήσασά σοι" 
ἄπαιδε παιδὸς ὄντος, ὥσπερ ἄξιοι, 735 
f > > Ν σφ 2 69) BALAN ’ 
γηράσκετ᾽ " οὐ γὰρ τῷδέ γ᾽ ἐς ταὐτὸν στέγος 
a > a na cr 
νεῖσθ᾽" εἰ δ᾽ ἀπειπεῖν χρῆν με κηρύκων ὕπο 
τὴν σὴν πατρῴαν ἑστίαν, ἀπεῖπον ἄν. 


XO. 


AAKHSTIS. 37 


«ε tal Ν 3 Ν \ +! / 4 
ἡμεῖς δὲ, τοὺν ποσὶν yap οἰστέον κακὸν, 
στείχωμεν, ὡς ἂν ἐν πυρᾷ θῶμεν νεκρόν. 749 
ἰὼ ἰώ. σχετλία τόλμης, 
ὦ γενναία καὶ μέγ᾽ ἀρίστη, 
χαῖρε πρόφρων σε χθόνιός θ᾽ “Ἑρμῆς 
“Αἰδης τε δέχοιτ᾽ " εἰ δέ τι κἀκεῖ 
/ v tl) a , / > 
πλέον ἔστ᾽ ἀγαθοῖς, τούτων μετέχουσ' 745 
σ ΓΑ A 
Atéov νύμφῃ παρεδρεύοις. 


ΘΕΡΑΠΩΝ. 

πολλοὺς μὲν ἤδη κἀπὸ παντοίας χθονὸς 
ξένους μολόντας oid’ és ᾿Αδμήτου δόμους, 
οἷς δεῖπνα προὔθηκ᾽" ἀλλὰ τοῦδ᾽ οὔπω ξένου 

Pa. 5 PIN sf > es. 
κακίον᾽ és τήνδ᾽ ἑστίαν ἐδεξάμην. 750 
ds πρῶτα μὲν πενθοῦντα δεσπότην ὁρῶν 
εἰσῆλθε κἀτόλμησ᾽ ἀμείψασθαι πύλας. 
" b x , IDLE 
ἔπειτα δ᾽ οὔτι σωφρόνως ἐδέξατο 
~ / / Ν LS 
τὰ προστυχόντα ξένια, συμφορὰν μαθὼν, 
> > Μ τ / Ν / 
ἀλλ΄ εἴ τι μὴ φέροιμεν, ὦτρυνεν φέρειν. 


wy 


fed > 3 Δ la Ν᾿, 
ποτῆρα δ᾽ ἐν χείρεσσι κίσσινον λαβὼν 

/ / \ Μ / 
πίνει μελαίνης μητρὸς εὔζωρον μέθυ, 
ἕως ἐθέρμην᾽ αὐτὸν ἀμφιβᾶσα φλὸξ ’ 

Μ ‘a / ἧς c 7 ’ 
οἴνου" στέφει δὲ κρᾶτα μυρσίνοις κλάδοις, 
ἄμουσ᾽ ὑλακτῶν, δισσὰ δ᾽ ἣν μέλη KAVELY* —- 70 
« x Ἂς > lal > 3 / an 
ὁ μὲν yap ἥδε, τῶν ἐν ᾿Αδμήτου κακῶν 

ION lal > / td 9 / 
οὐδὲν προτιμῶν, οἰκέται δ᾽ ἐκλαίομεν 

“ = » Ε] > b) / / 
δέσποιναν" ὄμμα δ᾽ οὐκ ἐδείκνυμεν ξένῳ 
τέγγοντες" ᾿Αὗμητος γὰρ ὧδ᾽ ἐφίετο. 
καὶ νῦν ἐγὼ μὲν ἐν δόμοισιν ἑστιῶ 


Ὅτ 
=)" 
σι 


/ “ lal 
ξένον, πανοῦργον κλῶπα καὶ λῃστήν τινα, 
« 
ἡ δ᾽ ἐκ δόμων βέβηκεν, οὐδ᾽ ἐφεσπόμην, 
999 ,ὔ lal 
οὐδ᾽ ἐξέτεινα χεῖρ᾽, ἀποιμώζων ἐμὴν 


ΠΡ. 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


ἃ - 

δέσποιναν, ἣ ᾿μοὶ πᾶσί τ᾽ οἰκέταισιν ἦν 
μήτηρ᾽ κακῶν γὰρ μυρίων ἐρρύετο, 770 
> Ν / > ° , s Ν ’ 
ὀργὰς μαλάσσουσ᾽ ἀνδρός. apa τὸν ξένον 
στυγῶ δικαίως, ἐν κακοῖς ἀφιγμένον ; 

as / \ Ν \ ’ 
οὗτος, τί σεμνὸν καὶ πεφροντικὸς βλέπεις ; 

> Ν. A lal / ἊΝ) , 
ov χρὴ σκυθρωπὸν τοῖς ξένοις τὸν πρόσπολον 

Ὁ / ’ 5 , / 

εἶναι, δέχεσθαι 6 εὐπροσηγόρῳ φρενί. Ti 
Ν 2 ΝΜ > «ς nn /, /, > 4 lal 

σὺ 6 ἄνδρ᾽ ἑταῖρον δεσπότου παρόνθ᾽ ὁρῶν, 


-ι 


στυγνῷ προσώπῳ καὶ συνωφρυωμένῳ 
/ / "4 Ν. Ν 
δέχει, θυραίου πήματος σπουδὴν ἔχων. 
AA, ds Ἁ > “ \ \ / 1h 
δεῦρ᾽ ἔλθ᾽, ὅπως ἂν καὶ σοφώτερος γένῃ. 
Ν Ν, id > Φ a Ν 7 
Ta θνητὰ πράγματ᾽ οἶδας ἣν ἔχει φύσιν ; 780 
= Ν Ψ Ψ' , 5 > a / 
οἶμαι μὲν οὔ πόθεν yap; GAN ἄκουέ μου. 
a) εἰ ual > 7 
βροτοῖς ἅπασι κατθανεῖν ὀφείλεται, 
᾽ ” a “ 3 , 
κοὐκ ἔστι θνητῶν ὅστις ἐξεπίσταται 
τὴν αὔριον μέλλουσαν εἰ βιώσεται" 
fal 4 
TO τῆς τύχης yap ἀφανὲς of προβήσεται, "85 
/ 
κἄστ᾽ ov διδακτὸν, οὐδ᾽ ἁλίσκεται τέχνῃ. 
na) a b) / \ \ > a J 
ταῦτ᾽ οὖν ἀκούσας καὶ μαθὼν ἐμοῦ Tapa, 
x Ν tal \ 7 c / 
εὔφραινε σαυτὸν, πῖνε, τὸν καθ ἡμέραν 
lal 4 
βίον λογίζου σὸν, τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα τῆς τύχης. 
τίμα δὲ καὶ τὴν πλεῖστον ἡδίστην θεῶν 790 
΄ a ς , 
Κύπριν βροτοῖσιν" εὐμενὴς yap ἣ θεός. 
τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλ᾽ ἔασον ταῦτα, καὶ πείθου λόγοις 
SY Ὁ 208 » > , a , : 
ἐμοῖσιν, εἴπερ ὀρθὰ σοι δοκῶ λέγειν 
ἌΝ / yy Ν " -, > \ 
οἶμαι μέν. οὔκουν τὴν ἄγαν λύπην ἀφεὶς 
πίει μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν τάσδ᾽ ὑπερβαλὼν τύχας, 795 
/ 
στεφάνοις πυκασθείς ; καὶ σάφ᾽ oid ὁθούνεκα 
τοῦ νῦν σκυθρωποῦ καὶ ξυνεστῶτος φρενῶν 
val / 2 Ν , 
μεθορμιεῖ σε πίτυλος ἐμπεσὼν σκύφου. 
” Ν Ν Ἂς Ν “ \ 
ὄντας δὲ θνητοὺς θνητὰ καὶ φρονεῖν χρεὼν, 
a a / 
ὡς τοῖς ye σεμνοῖς καὶ συνωφρυωμένοις 800 


OE 


HP. 


OE 
HP: 
ΘΕ 
HP, 
OE 
HP. 
OE. 
HP. 
OE. 
HP. 
OE 


HP. 


OE. 
HP. 
OE. 
HP. 
OE. 
HP 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤῚΣ. 29 


ἅπασίν ἐστιν, ὥς γ᾽ ἐμοὶ χρῆσθαι κριτῇ, 
οὐ βίος ἀληθῶς ὁ βίος, ἀλλὰ συμφορά. 
ἐπιστάμεσθα ταῦτα' νῦν δὲ πράσσομεν 

9 = Ν / ΝΜ 
οὐχ οἷα κώμου καὶ γέλωτος ἄξια. 

Αι; a ς an x ᾽ὔ 

γυνὴ θυραῖος ἡ θανοῦσα" μὴ λίαν 

/ , Ν a n , 
πένθει" δόμων yap ζῶσι τῶνδε δεσπόται. 


ζο 
fe) 
οι 


/ [al > / 5 , / 
τί ζῶσιν ; ov κάτοισθα τὰν δόμοις κακά. 
/ , , 5 UA 
εἰ μή τι ods pe δεσπότης ἐψεύσατο. 
> ete Υ͂ 3 > ΝΜ /, 
ἄγαν ἐκεῖνός ἐστ᾽ ἄγαν φιλόξενος. 
> “ Ὁ , “ -} a / nN 
ov χρῆν μ᾽ ὀθνείου γ᾽ οὕνεκ᾽ εὖ πάσχειν νεκροῦ; 810 
ἦ κάρτα μέντοι καὶ λίαν οἰκεῖος ἦν. 
μῶν ξυμφοράν tiv οὖσαν οὐκ ἔφραζέ μοι; 
᾽ὔ YP. ie a) lal / t 
χαίρων ἴθ᾽" ἡμῖν δεσποτῶν μέλει κακά. 
CAN > , / ΝΥ , 
ὅδ᾽ ov θυραίων πημάτων ἄρχει λόγος. 
> / / > 5 ld ᾽ Le 
οὐ γάρ τι κωμάζοντ᾽ ἂν ἠχθόμην σ᾽ ὁρῶν. 815 
GAN ἦ πέπονθα δείν᾽ ὑπὸ ξένων ἐμῶν ; 
οὐκ ἦλθες ἐν δέοντι δέξασθαι δόμοις" 
a SPT et oie) Ε \ x 7, 
πένθος γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐστί' καὶ κουρὰν βλέπεις 
/ f 
μελαμπέπλους oTOApMOUS TE. 
tis δ᾽ 6 κατθανών; 
a x / a x \ / 
μῶν ἢ τέκνων TL φροῦδον ἢ πατὴρ γέρων; 820 
γυνὴ μὲν οὖν ὄλωλεν ᾿Αδμήτου, ξένε. 
,ὔ / Ν ea Ty ff ees) / Ρ 
τί φής ; ἔπειτα δῆτά μ᾽ ἐξενίζετε ; 
ἠδεῖτο γάρ σε τῶνδ᾽ ἀπώϑῳσθαι δόμων. 
ὦ σχέτλι᾽, οἵας ἤμπλακες ξυναόρου. 
=) , / 2 ᾽7ὔ , 
ἀπωλόμεσθα πάντες, ov κείνη μόνη. 825 
5 3 > ld Ν 4 > 5» Ν lal 
ἀλλ᾽ σθόμην μὲν, ὄμμ᾽ ἰδὼν δακρυρροοῦν 
/ A , > > » / 
κουρὰν τε Kal πρόσωπον᾽ ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειθέ με 
λέγων θυραῖον κῆδος ἐς τάφον φέρειν. 
βίᾳ δὲ θυμοῦ τάσδ᾽ ὑπερβαλὼν πύλας 
ἔπινον ἀνδρὸς ἐν φιλοξένου δόμοις, 830 
“ > / / 
πράσσοντος οὕτω. κτα κωμάζω κάρα 


30 


OE 


ELP: 


AA. 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


στεφάνοις πυκασθείς ; ἀλλὰ σοῦ τὸ μὴ φράσαι, 


κακοῦ τοσούτου δώματος προκειμένου. 


a / a 
ποῦ καί σφε θάπτει; ποῦ νιν εὑρήσω μολών ; 


a 

ὀρθὴν παρ᾽ οἷμον, ἣ ᾽πὶ Λάρισσαν φέρει, 

᾽ὔ , Ν ὩΣ / 
τύμβον κατόψει ξεστὸν ἐκ προαστίου. 
ὦ πολλὰ τλᾶσα καρδία ψυχή T ἐμὴ, 
νῦν δεῖξον οἷον παῖδά σ᾽ ἡ Τιρυνθία 
᾿Ηλεκτρυόνος ἐγείνατ᾽ ᾿Αλκμήνη Διί. 
δεῖ γάρ με σῶσαι τὴν θανοῦσαν ἀρτίως 

n > / > μὰ «ς cal , 

γυναῖκα κεὶς τόνδ αὖθις ἱδρῦσαι δόμον 
» 3 / > «ς “ , 

Αλκηστιν, ᾿Αδμήτῳ θ᾽ ὑπουργῆσαι χάριν. 
ἐλθὼν δ᾽ ἄνακτα τὸν μελάμπεπλον νεκρῶν 
Θάνατον φυλάξω, καί νιν εὑρήσειν δοκῶ, 

"ὁ / / / 
πίνοντα τύμβου πλησίον προσφαγμάτων. 

Ν 4 ϑ ΑΝ I] e \ 
κἄνπερ λοχήσας αὐτὸν ἐξ ἕδρας συθεὶς 
μάρψω, κύκλον δὲ περιβάλω χεροῖν ἐμαῖν, 
οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις αὐτὸν ἐξαιρήσεται 
μογοῦντα πλευρὰ, πρὶν γυναῖκ᾽ ἐμοὶ μεθῇ. 
XK ? μὴ «ς , Los cla 2 Ἂς ᾿ς ’ 
nv δ᾽ οὖν ἁμάρτω τῆσδ᾽ ἄγρας, καὶ μὴ μόλῃ 
πρὸς αἱματηρὸν πέλανον, εἶμι τῶν κάτω 
Κόρης ἄνακτός τ᾽ εἰς ἀνηλίους δόμους, 

ΕΣ , Ν / ye ΝΜ 
αἰτήσομαί τε καὶ πέποιθ᾽ ἄξειν ἄνω 
ἤΑλκηστιν, ὥστε χερσὶν ἐνθεῖναι ξένου, 
ὅς μ᾽ ἐς δόμους ἐδέξατ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ἀπήλασε, 
καίπερ βαρείᾳ συμφορᾷ πεπληγμένος 

ρ βαρείᾳ συμφορᾷ πεπληγμένος, 

Ν τὰ Ων a 5 Ν 3 , 
ἔκρυπτε δ᾽, ὧν γενναῖος, αἰδεσθεὶς ἐμέ. 
τίς τοῦδε μᾶλλον Θεσσαλῶν φιλόξενος ; 
τίς “Ἑλλάδ᾽ οἰκῶν ; τοιγὰρ οὐκ ἐρεῖ κακὸν 
εὐεργετῆσαι φῶτα γενναῖος γεγώς. 

oN > i'd \ , 
ἰὼ ἰώ. στυγναὶ πρόσοδοι, 
στυγναὶ δ᾽ ὄψεις χήρων μελάθρων. 
ἰώ μοί μοι, αἰαῖ. 


825 


8.0 


oO 
ur 
ο 


ios) 
σι 
σι 


S60 


AAKHSTIS. 31 


cal al cr a / / \ Ν ,ὕ 
ποῖ βῶ; πᾶ στῶ; τί λέγω; τὶ δὲ μὴ; 
πῶς ἂν ὀλοίμαν. 865 
- / / 2 Ὁ 
ἢ βαρυδαίμονα μήτηρ μ᾽ ἔτεκεν. 
n / / ν 
GAG φθιμένους, κείνων ἔραμαι, 
κεῖν ἐπιθυμῶ δώματα ναίειν. 
οὔτε γὰρ αὐγὰς χαίρω προσορῶν, 
οὔτ᾽ ἐπὶ γαίας πόδα πεζεύων᾽ 


τοῖον ὅμηρόν μ᾽ ἀποσυλήσας 870 
“Αιδῃ Θάνατος παρέδωκεν. 
πρόβα mpdBa* Babs κεῦθος οἴκων, στρ. α΄. 
αἰαῖ. 


πεπονθὼς ἄξι᾽ αἰαγμάτων. 
ἐέ. 
δι’ ὀδύνας ἔβας, 
σάφ᾽ οἷδα. ΑΔ. φεῦ φεῦ. 
τὰν νέρθεν οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖς. 
WY ὦ 
id μοί μοι. 
τὸ μήποτ᾽ εἰσιδεῖν φιλίας ἀλόχου 876 
πρόσωπον ἄντα λυπρόν. 
" “ , “ 7 
ἐμνησας ὃ μου φρένας ἥλκωσεν 
, Ν 3 \ \ a c lal 
τί yap ἀνδρὶ κακὸν μεῖζον ἁμαρτεῖν 
lod 5 , / ἣν 
πιστῆς ἀλόχου ; μή ποτε γήμας 880 
” > val Ν los , 
ὥφελον οἰκεῖν μετὰ τῆσδε δόμους. 
n > " τ / o 
GAG δ᾽ ἀγάμους ἀτέκνους τε βροτῶν. 
μία γὰρ ψυχή: τῆς ὑπεραλγεῖν 
μέτριον ἄχθος" 
παίδων δὲ νόσους καὶ νυμφιδίους 885 
εὐνὰς θανάτοις κεραϊζομένας 
οὐ τλητὸν ὁρᾶν, ἐξὸν ἀτέκνους 
> / > = Ἂς , 
ἀγάμους τ᾽ εἶναι διὰ παντός. 
΄ 
τύχα τύχα δυσπάλαιστος ἥκει. ἂντ. α΄. 
αἰαῖ. 


32 


XO. 
AA. 
XO. 


XO. 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


πέρας δ᾽ οὐδὲν τίθης ἀλγέων. 
/ 
ee 


Mo 


βαρέα μὲν φέρειν, 
ὅμως δέ ΑΔ. φεῦ φεῦ. 


890 


Thaé’* ov σὺ πρῶτος ὦλεσας 


2.7. , 
. ἰώ (Ol μοι. 


4 - BS ἣν eh ef 
γυναῖκα συμφορὰ δ᾽ ἑτέρους ἑτέρα 
πιέζει φανεῖσα θνατῶν. 
ὦ μακρὰ πένθη λῦπαί τε φίλων 
τῶν ὑπὸ γαῖαν. 
τί μ᾽’ ἐκώλυσας ῥῖψαι τύμβου 
/ 5 ’ὔ 3 =! VA 
τάφρον ἐς κοίλην, καὶ μετ᾽ ἐκείνης 
“ PI SAS. a / 
τῆς μέγ᾽ ἀρίστης κεῖσθαι φθίμενον ; 
δύο δ᾽ ἀντὶ μιᾶς “Αιδης ψυχὰς 
τὰς πιστοτάτας σὺν ἂν ἔσχεν, ὁμοῦ 
χθονίαν λίμνην διαβάντε. 
2 / > b] , e , 5 , 
ἐμοί τις ἦν ἐν γένει, ᾧ κόρος ἀξιόθρηνος 
Ν 3 Ψ , 
ὦλετ᾽ ἐν δόμοισιν 
μονόπαις" ἀλλ᾽ ἔμπας 
A 
ἔφερε κακὸν ἅλις, ἄτεκνος ὧν, 
Ἂς > a. / 
πολιὰς ἐπὶ XalTas 
» x BN 
ἤδη προπετὴς ὧν 
βιότου τε πόρσω. 


. ὦ σχῆμα δόμων, πῶς εἰσέλθω ; 


πῶς δ᾽ οἰκήσω, μεταπίπτοντος 
΄ ¥ δ. Ὁ es x , . 
δαίμονος ; οἴμοι. πολὺ yap TO μέσον 
Ἂς Υ ἊΣ / 
τότε μὲν πεύκαις σὺν IInAtaow 
΄ DOG , Υ͂ x 
σύν θ΄ ὑμεναίοις ἔστειχον ἔσω, 
φιλίας ἀλόχου χέρα βαστάζων. 
πολυάχητος δ᾽ εἵπετο κῶμος 
τήν τε θανοῦσαν κἄμ᾽ ὀλβίζων, 


Ν 5 


c > ,ὔ 2 Ψ f 
ὡς εὐπατρίδαι Kal am ἀμφοτέρων 


090 


στα. β΄. 
905 


gto 


915 


920 


XO. 


AA. 


AAKHSTIS. 


» » ἢ , ὔ = 
ὄντες ἀριστέων ot uyes εἶἷμεν. 
an ᾽ ε 7, , 5 / 
viv 6 ὑμεναίων γόος ἀντίπαλος 
λευκῶν τε πέπλων μέλανες στολμοὶ 
πέμπουσί μ᾽ ἔσω 
λέκτρων κοίτας ἐς ἐρήμους. 


33 


925 


3 3 fal , 5 5 a fy? 
παρ᾽ εὐτυχῆ σοι πότμον ἦλθεν ἀπειροκάκῳ τόδ 
[4 
ἄλγος" ἀλλ᾽ ἔσωσας [ἀντ. β΄. 


td \ 4 
βίοτον καὶ ψυχάν. 
ἔθανε δάμαρ, ἔλιπε φιλίαν" 
τί νέον τόδε; πολλοὺς 
ἤδη παρέλυσεν 
θάνατος δάμαρτος. 
φίλοι, γυναικὸς δαίμον᾽ εὐτυχέστερον 
> a / ΄ὔ > a py (ΜᾺ Α 
τοὐμοῦ νομίζω, καίπερ οὐ δοκοῦνθ᾽ ὅμως 
τῆς μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἄλγος ἅψεταί ποτε, 
πολλῶν δὲ μόχθων εὐκλεὴς ἐπαύσατο. 
> \ > A > Qn lal \ Ν ’ 
ἐγὼ δ᾽, ὃν οὐ χρῆν ζῆν, παρεὶς τὸ μόρσιμον, 
λυπρὸν διάξω βίοτον" ἄρτι μανθάνω. 
“ Ν ; n . 9 , e) / 
πῶς yap δόμων τῶνδ᾽ εἰσόδους ἀνέξομαι ; 
tiv ἂν προσειπὼν, τοῦ δὲ προσρηθεὶς ὕπο, 
“ ’, > x 5 , tal / 
τερπνῆς τύχοιμ᾽ ἂν εἰσόδου ; ποῖ τρέψομαι ; 
ε x Ἂς ΝΥ 3 ΄“ > ἊΝ ,ὔ 
ἣ μὲν γὰρ ἔνδον ἐξελᾷ μ᾽ ἐρημία, 
Ν. «ΑΘ 4 + ἃ > / Ἂς 
γυναικὸς εὐνὰς εὖτ᾽ ἂν εἰσίδω κενὰς 
/ 
θρόνους τ᾽ ἐν οἷσιν ie, καὶ κατὰ στέγας 
> \ μὴ / yy 7": \ / 
αὐχμηρὸν ovdas, τέκνα ὃ ἀμφὶ γούνασι 
7 , tae | ε Ἂς , 
πίπτοντα κλαίῃ μητέρ᾽, ot δὲ δεσπότιν 
5 “ Φ Li 5» ᾿ς 
στένωσιν οἵαν ἐκ δόμων ἀπώλεσαν. 
τὰ μὲν κατ᾽ οἴκους τοιάδ᾽ " ἔξωθεν δέ με 
γάμοι τ᾽ ἐλῶσι Θεσσαλῶν καὶ ξύλλογοι 
γυναικοπληθεῖς" οὐ γὰρ ἐξανέξομαι 
λεύσσων δάμαρτος τῆς ἐμῆς ὁμήλικας. 
5 a 7, > “ > \ x cal LAN 
ἐρεῖ δέ μ᾽ ὅστις ἐχθρὸς ὧν κυρεῖ τάδε" 
D 


93° 


940 


945 


34 


: ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


“ἰδοῦ τὸν αἰσχρῶς ζῶνθ᾽, ὃς οὐκ ἔτλη θανεῖν, 955 
GAN ἣν ἔγημεν ἀντιδοὺς ἀψυχίᾳ 
, σ“ " G29 ES = a 
πέφευγεν ᾿Αιδην᾽ KaT ἀνὴρ εἶναι δοκεῖ ; 
a Ν Υν , JEAN > / 
στυγεῖ δὲ τοὺς τεκόντας, αὐτὸς οὐ θέλων 
θανεῖν. τοιάνδε πρὸς κακοῖσι κληδόνα 
ἕξω. τί μοι ζῆν δῆτα κύδιον, φίλοι, 960 
κακῶς κλύοντι καὶ κακῶς πεπραγότι ; 
pve \ Ἂς /, , 
ἐγὼ καὶ διὰ μούσας στρ. A. 
\ / > AN 
kal μετάρσιος 7€a, καὶ 
πλείστων ἁψάμενος λόγων 
an ON > , 
κρεῖσσον οὐδὲν ᾿Ανάγκας 965 
e 4 7 
ηὗρον, οὐδὲ τι φάρμακον 
Θρήσσαις ἐν σανίσιν, τὰς 
᾿Ορφεία κατέγραψεν 
γῆρυς, οὐδ᾽ ὅσα Φοῖβος ᾿Ασκληπιάδαις ἔδωκε 970 
φάρμακα πολυπόνοις ἀντιτεμὼν βροτοῖσιν. 
/ ) 6 Aa ig ES Ν 5 ’ 
μόνας ὃ οὔτ ἐπὶ βωμοὺς ἄντ. A. 
ἐλθεῖν οὔτε βρέτας θεᾶς 
sf > ’ὔ 7 
ἔστιν, ov σφαγίων κλύει. 975 
μή μοι, πότνια, μείζων 
“, bs \ Ν - ,ὔ 
ἔλθοις ἢ τὸ πρὶν ἐν βίῳ. 
\ Ἂς \ a 7, 
καὶ yap Ζεὺς ὃ τι νεύσῃ, 
σὺν σοὶ τοῦτο τελευτᾷ. 
καὶ τὸν ἐν Χαλύβοις δαμάζεις σὺ βίᾳ σίδαρον, ο8ο 
᾽ / 5 »Ἤ , 3 3 , 
οὐδέ Tis ἀποτόμου λήματός ἐστιν αἰδώς. 
καὶ σ᾽ ἐν ἀφύκτοισι χερῶν εἷλε θεὰ δεσμοῖς" 
τόλμα δ᾽" οὐ γὰρ ἀνάξεις ποτ᾽ ἔνερθεν στρ. β΄. 
(2 Ν / + 
κλαίων τοὺς φθιμένους ἄνω. 
καὶ θεῶν σκότιοι φθίνουσι 
παῖδες ἐν θανάτῳ. 999 
/ Ν (nar ty τ ὁ 3... lal 
φίλα μὲν OT ἣν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν, 
φίλα δ᾽ ἔτι καὶ θανοῦσα" 


AAKHSTIS. 35 


γενναιοτάταν δὲ πασᾶν 
ἐζεύξω κλισίαις ἄκοιτιν. 994 
n a , 5 Q/ 
μηδὲ νεκρῶν ὡς φθιμένων χῶμα νομιζέσθω ἀντ. β΄. 
τύμβος σᾶς ἀλόχου, θεοῖσι δ᾽ ὁμοίως 
τιμάσθω, σέβας ἐμπόρων. 
καί τις δοχμίαν κέλευθον 1000 
ἐμβαίνων τόδ᾽ ἐρεῖ" 
Ὁ“ XS Μ 5 5 εὖ 
αὕτα ποτὲ προὔθαν᾽ ἀνδρὸς, 
a J \ / / 
νῦν δ᾽ ἐστὶ μάκαιρα δαίμων, 
a> > ; > μὴ Ν / 
χαῖρ᾽, ὦ πότνι᾽, εὖ δὲ δοίης. 
τοῖαί νιν προσεροῦσι φᾶμαι. TOOK 
LY Ν CAN) c ΝΜ > 7 , 
καὶ μὴν ὅδ᾽, ὡς ἔοικεν, ᾿Αλκμήνης γόνος, 
Μ Ν Ν. « 7 / 
Αὗμητε, πρὸς σὴν ἑστίαν πορεύεται. 

ΗΡ. φίλον πρὸς ἄνδρα χρὴ λέγειν ἐλευθέρως, 
᾿Αδμητε, μομφὰς δ᾽ οὐχ ὑπὸ σπλάγχνοις ἔχειν 
σιγῶντ᾽. ἐγὼ δὲ σοῖς κακοῖσιν ἠξίουν 1010 
ἐγγὺς παρεστὼς ἐξετάζεσθαι φίλος" 

Ἐξ > > Ν “ 7 / 
σὺ δ᾽ οὐκ ἔφραζες σῆς προκείμενον νέκυν 
γυναικὸς, ἀλλά μ᾽ ἐξένιζες ἐν δόμοις, 

c Ν. ’ὔ δ Ν Υ̓͂ 
ὡς δὴ θυραίου πήματος σπουδὴν ἔχων. 
κἄστεψα κρᾶτα καὶ θεοῖς ἐλειψάμην 10 


μὲ 
ur 


σπονδὰς ἐν οἴκοις δυστυχοῦσι τοῖσι σοῖς. 

‘ / Ν / \ , 
καὶ μέμφομαι μὲν μέμφομαι παθὼν τάδε, 

> Vd cal o ral ΄ 
οὐ μὴν σε λυπεῖν ἐν κακοῖσι βούλομαι. 
ὧν δ᾽ οὕνεχ᾽ ἥκω δεῦρ᾽ ὑποστρέψας πάλιν 
λέξω. γυναῖκα τήνδε μοι σῶσον λαβὼν, 1020 
“ x - a 7 + 
ἕως ἂν ἵππους δεῦρο Θρῃκία: ἄγων 
Ν Ἔ , , 
ἔλθω, τύραννον Βιστόνων κατακτανών. 

lA + iee ‘ 4 / Ν 
πράξας δ᾽ ὃ μὴ τύχοιμι, νοστήσαιμι γὰρ, 
δίδωμι τήνδε σοῖσι προσπολεῖν δόμοις. 
πολλῷ δὲ μόχθῳ χεῖρας ἦλθεν εἰς ἐμάς" 1025 
ἀγῶνα γὰρ πάνδημον εὑρίσκω τινὰς 

D 2 


AA, 


ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


τιθέντας ἀθληταῖσιν, ἄξιον πονου, 
“ 7ὔ / 4 
ὅθεν κομίζω τὴνδε νικητήρια 
λαβών" τὰ μὲν γὰρ κοῦφα τοῖς νικῶσιν ἦν 
“ BA tal > = Ἂς id 
ἵππους ἄγεσθαι, τοῖσι δ᾽ ad τὰ μείζονα 
νικῶσι, πυγμὴν καὶ πάλην, βουφόρβια" 
Ni ἀν 5.69 Mes va “ peat) , x 
γυνὴ ὃ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς εἵπετ᾽ " ἐντυχόντι δὲ 
,’ \ tal ιν. 5 fy) > f 
αἰσχρὸν παρεῖναι κέρδος ἦν τόδ᾽ εὐκλεές. 
.} > “ 9 \ iA a , 
ἀλλ΄, ὥσπερ εἶπον, σοὶ μέλειν γυναῖκα χρὴ" 
οὐ γὰρ κλοπαίαν, ἀλλὰ σὺν πόνῳ λαβὼν 
ef a , Ἂς \ , > 5 / 4 
ἥκω" χρόνῳ δὲ καὶ σύ μ᾽ αἰνέσεις ἴσως. 
ΝΜ 5 >) / 39) τ Φ cal x 
οὔτοι σ᾽ ἀτίζων οὐδ᾽ ἐν ἐχθροῖσιν τιθεὶς 
+ 2 5 “ Ν 3 / / e 
ἔκρυψ ἐμῆς γυναικὸς ἀθλίου τύχας 
ἀλλ᾽ ἄλγος ἄλγει τοῦτ᾽ ἂν ἦν προσκείμενον, 
Tf 
εἴ Tov πρὸς ἄλλου δώμαθ᾽ ὡρμήθης ξένου" 
e/ Ν 7 3. ΝΑ > 2 Ν , 
ἅλις δὲ κλαίειν τοὐμὸν nv ἐμοὶ κακὸν. 
al > y ΝΥ 5 “ / > »” 
γυναῖκα δ᾽, εἴ πως ἔστιν, αἰτοῦμαί σ᾽, ἄναξ, 
DA Ie, Ἂς , ? Je Ν 
ἄλλον τιν᾽ ὅστις μὴ πέπονθεν of ἐγὼ 
σώζειν ἄνωχθι Θεσσαλῶν" πολλοὶ δέ σοι 
" ΣΝ Xe eS: , n 
ξένοι Φεραίων" μή pw ἀναμνήσῃς κακῶν. 
an ἣν 
οὐκ ἂν δυναίμην τήνδ᾽ ὁρῶν ἐν δώμασιν 
ἄδακρυς εἶναι." μὴ νοσοῦντί μοι νόσον 
τὰ = n ΄ 
προσθῇς" ἅλις γὰρ συμφορᾷ βαρύνομαι. 
a / / 
ποῦ Kal τρέφοιτ᾽ dy δωμάτων νέα γυνή ; 
Ν lad 7 
νέα γὰρ, ὡς ἐσθῆτι καὶ κόσμῳ πρέπει. 

Na “ / ’ 
πότερα κατ᾽ ἀνδρῶν δῆτ᾽ ἐνοικήσει στέγην ; 
lal / , 
kal πῶς ἀκραιφνὴς, ἐν νέοις στρωφωμεένη, 

n / 
ἔσται; τὸν ἡβῶνθ᾽, Ἡράκλεις, od ῥάδιον 
x > Ν Ν “ / 5 
εἴργειν. ἐγὼ δὲ cod προμηθίαν ἔχω. 
a Ls / 
ἢ τῆς θανούσης θάλαμον εἰσβήσας τρέφω ; 
n n “ , 
καὶ πῶς ἐπεισφρῷῶ τήνδε τῷ κείνης λέχει ; 
διπλῆν φοβοῦμαι μέμψιν, ἔκ τε δημοτῶν, 
/ la 2 3 / Ν 5) EN > / 
μή tis pw ἐλέγξῃ τὴν ἐμὴν εὐεργέτιν 


1030 


1035 


1040 


1045 


1050 


ΧΟ. 


HP. 


HP. 


AAKHSTIS. 37 


᾽ ΝΜ 
προδόντ᾽ ἐν ἄλλοις δεμνίοις πίτνειν νέας, 
καὶ τῆς θανούσης, ἀξία δέ μοι σέβειν, τούο 
ιν , tal δὲ Ν ᾽ > / 
πολλὴν πρόνοιαν δεῖ p ἔχειν. σὺ δ᾽, ὦ γύναι, 
oe 5 ων ἃς ραν ἍΝ / 
ἥτις ToT εἶ σὺ, ταὔτ᾽ ἔχουσ᾽ ᾿Αλκήστιδι 
n / 3, ἊΨ \ / a / 
μορφῆς μέτρ᾽ ἴσθι, καὶ προσήιξαι δέμας. 
» , \ na Sy De 9 ! 
οἴμοι. κόμιζε πρὸς θεῶν am ὀμμάτων 
- 7 / I «(ἵ ες if 
γυναῖκα τήνδε, μή μ᾽ ἕλῃς ἡρημένον. 1065 
δοκῷ yap αὐτὴν εἰσορῶν γυναῖχ᾽ ὁρᾶν 
ΕΟ ΑΝ > 3s , > ὌΡΕΙ , 
ἐμὴν" θολοῖ δὲ καρδίαν, ἐκ δ᾽ ὀμμάτων 
πηγαὶ κατερρώγασιν᾽ ὦ τλήμων ἐγὼ 
ὡς ἄρτι πένθους τοῦδε γεύομαι πικροῦ. 
28 Ἃς > wv > μὴ 4 /, 
ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἔχοιμ᾽ ἂν εὖ λέγειν τύχην 1070 
Ἂς > Φ = as a a 4 
χρὴ δ᾽, ὅστις εἰ ov, καρτερεῖν θεοῦ δόσιν. 
εἰ γὰρ τοσαύτην δύναμιν εἶχον ὥστε σὴν 
ἐς φῶς πορεῦσαι νερτέρων ἐκ δωμάτων 
γυναῖκα, καί σοι τήνδε πορσῦναι χάριν. 
σάφ᾽ οἷδα βούλεσθαί σ᾽ ἄν. ἀλλὰ ποῦ τόδε; 1075 
3 Ν Ἂς / 5 Ζ ta) 
οὐκ ἔστι τοὺς θανόντας ἐς φάος μολεῖν. 
μή νυν ὑπέρβαιν᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἐναισίμως φέρε. 
ῥᾷον παραινεῖν ἢ παθόντα καρτερεῖν. 
/ 3." sk / 3 , φᾶς / 
τί δ᾽ av προκόπτοις, εἰ θέλεις ἀεὶ στένειν ; 
ἔγνωκα καὐτὸς, ἀλλ᾽ ἔρως τίς μ᾽’ ἐξάγει. 1080 
TO yap φιλῆσαι τὸν θανόντ᾽ ἄγει δάκρυ. 
- “Ὁ. 
ἀπώλεσέν με, κἄτι μᾶλλον ἢ λέγω. 
Ν 3 fol + / © a 
γυναικὸς ἐσθλῆς ἤμπλακες" Tis ἀντερεῖ ; 
ὥστ᾽ ἄνδρα τόνδε μηκέθ᾽ ἥδεσθαι βίῳ. 
χρόνος μαλάξει, νῦν δ᾽ ἔθ᾽ ἡβάσκει κακόν. τοϑ5 
χρόνον λέγοις ἂν, εἰ χρόνος τὸ κατθανεῖν. 
γυνή σε παύσει καὶ νέου γάμου πόθοι. 
σίγησον᾽ οἷον εἶπας. οὐκ av φόμην--- 
/ > lal 
τί δ᾽; ov γαμεῖς yap, ἀλλὰ χηρεύσει λέχος ; 
= e ΄- 
οὐκ ἔστιν ἥτις τῷδε συγκλιθήσεται. 1090 


38 ΕΥ̓ΡΙΠΙΔΟΥ͂ 


HP. μῶν τὴν θανοῦσαν ὠφελεῖν τι προσδοκᾷς ; 
AA. κείνην ὅπουπέρ ἐστι τιμᾶσθαι χρεών. 
HP. αἰνῶ μὲν αἰνῷ" μωρίαν δ᾽ ὀφλισκάνεις. 
AA, ὡς μήποτ᾽ ἄνδρα τόνδε νυμφίον καλῶν. 

5 / > 5 , \ “ > i 7 
HP. ἐπῃνεσ᾽ ἀλόχῳ πιστὸς ovvek εἰ φίλος. 1095 
AA. θάνοιμ᾽ ἐκείνην καίπερ οὐκ οὖσαν προδούς. 
HP. δέχου νυν εἴσω τήνδε γενναίων δόμων. 
ΑΔ. μὴ, πρός σε τοῦ σπείραντος ἄντομαι Διός. 
ΗΡ. καὶ μὴν ἁμαρτήσει γε μὴ δράσας τάδε. 

\ an - / / 

AA. καὶ δρῶν ye λύπῃ καρδίαν δηχθήσομαι. 1100 
HP. πιθοῦ τάχ᾽ ἂν yap és δέον πέσοι χάρις. 
ΑΔ. φεῦ. 

εἴθ᾽ ἐξ ἀγῶνος τήνδε μὴ ᾽λαβές ποτε. 

a / \ \ n »] / 

HP. νικῶντι μέντοι καὶ σὺ συννικᾷς ἐμοί. 
ΑΔ. καλῶς ἔλεξας" ἡ γυνὴ δ᾽ ἀπελθέτω. 
HP. ἄπεισιν, εἰ χρή" πρῶτα δ᾽ εἰ χρεὼν ἄθρει. 1105 
ΑΔ. χρὴ, σοῦ γε μὴ μέλλοντος ὀργαίνειν ἐμοί. 
ΗΡ. εἰδώς τι κἀγὼ τήνδ᾽ ἔχω προθυμίαν. 

7 >’ Ἂν « / / “ 
ΑΔ. νίκα νυν. οὐ μὴν ἁνδάνοντά μοι ποιεῖς. 
HP. ἀλλ᾽ ἔσθ᾽ ὅθ᾽ ἡμᾶς αἰνέσεις" πιθοῦ μόνον. 
ΑΔ. κομίζετ᾽, εἰ χρὴ τήνδε δέξασθαι δόμοις. 1110 
HP. οὐκ ἂν μεθείην τὴν γυναῖκα προσπύλοις. 
ΑΔ. σὺ δ᾽ αὐτὸς αὐτὴν εἴσαγ᾽, εἰ δοκεῖ, δόμοις. 

9 Ν SS > ” / / 
HP. és σὰς μὲν οὖν ἔγωγε θήσομαι χέρας. 
ΑΔ, οὐκ ἂν θίγοιμι, δῶμα δ᾽ εἰσελθεῖν πάρα. 
ΗΡ. τῇ σῇ πέποιθα χειρὶ δεξιᾷ μόνῃ. 1115 
AA. ἄναξ, βιάζει pw οὐ θέλοντα δρᾶν τάδε. 
ΠΡ, τόλμα προτεῖναι χεῖρα καὶ θιγεῖν ξένης. 
ΑΔ. καὶ δὴ προτείνω, Γοργόν᾽ ὡς καρατόμῳ. 
HP. ἔχεις ; ΑΔ, ἔχω. 
ΗΡ. ναὶ, σῶζέ νυν, καὶ τὸν Διὸς 

φήσεις ToT εἶναι παῖδα γενναῖον ξένον. 1120 


AA. 


HP. 
AA. 
HP. 
AA. 
HP. 
AA. 
HP, 
AA. 


HP. 
AA. 


HP. 
AA. 
HP. 
AA. 
HP, 


AA. 
HP. 


ΑΛΚΗΣΤΙΣ. 


βλέψον δ᾽ ἐς αὐτὴν, εἴ τί σοι δοκεῖ πρέπειν 


4 > > an 7 
γυναικί: λύπης δ᾽ εὐτυχῶν μεθίστασο. 
ὦ θεοὶ, τί λέξω ; Oadw ἀνέλπιστον τόδε" 
cal 4 / a SEN 2 4 
γυναῖκα λεύσσω τήνδ᾽ ἐμὴν ἐτητύμως, 
a / 
ἢ κέρτομός με θεοῦ τις ἐκπλήσσει χαρά; 
οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀλλὰ τήνδ᾽ ὁρᾷς δάμαρτα σήν.᾿ 
“ / lf / γὼ) F 
ὅρα ye μή τι φάσμα νερτέρων τόδ᾽ ἡ. 
3 Ἂν, , 2.9 7 / 
ov ψυχαγωγὸν τόνδ᾽ ἐποιήσω ξένον. 
a U4 
GAN ἣν ἔθαπτον εἰσορῶ δάμαρτ᾽ ἐμήν ; 


99 


1125 


σάφ᾽ ἴσθ᾽. ἀπιστεῖν δ᾽ οὔ σε θαυμάζω τύχην. 1130 


“ / / 

θίγω, προσείπω ζῶσαν ὡς δάμαρτ᾽ ἐμήν ; 

, > Bd Ἂς ad “ Μ 
πρόσειπ᾽. ἔχεις γὰρ πᾶν ὅσονπερ ἤθελες. 
> ’ Ν » ἃ, / 
ὦ φιλτάτης γυναικὸς ὄμμα καὶ δέμας, 
Ν᾽ > 47} Μ > wv n 
ἔχω o ἀέλπτως, οὔποτ ὄψεσθαι δοκῶν. 
¥ 2 , \ Ν , , a 
ἔχεις" φθόνος δὲ μὴ γένοιτό Tis θεῶν. 
ὦ τοῦ μεγίστου Ζηνὸς εὐγενὲς τέκνον, 

3 / ’ὔ > ε £ ‘\ 
εὐδαιμονοίης, καί σ᾽ ὃ φιτύσας πατὴρ 

, 4 ν Ν N a τ , 
σώζοι: σὺ yap δὴ Taw ἀνώρθωσας μόνος. 
a / 
πῶς τήνδ᾽ ἔπεμψας νέρθεν ἐς φάος τόδε ; 

/ a 

μάχην ξυνάψας δαιμόνων TO κοιράνῳ. 

a , / Ν 5 a a 
ποῦ τόνδε Θανάτῳ φὴς ἀγῶνα συμβαλεῖν ; 


τύμβον παρ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐκ λόχου μάρψας χεροῖν. 


/, / Ἷ ο΄... ΜΝ ed / 
τί yap ποθ᾽ 76 ἄναυδος ἕστηκεν γυνὴ ; 
οὔπω θέμις σοι τῆσδε προσφωνημάτων 
κλύειν, πρὶν ἂν θεοῖσι τοῖσι νερτέροις 

3 / AN / ’ / 
ἀφαγνίσηται καὶ τρίτον μόλῃ φάος. 

ἀλλ᾽ εἴσαγ᾽ εἴσω τήνδε" καὶ δίκαιος ὧν 
τὸ λοιπὸν, ᾿Αδμητ᾽, εὐσέβει περὶ ξένους. 
καὶ χαῖρ᾽" ἐγὼ δὲ τὸν προκείμενον πόνον 
Σθενέλου τυράννῳ παιδὶ πορσυνῷ μολών. 
μεῖνον παρ᾽ ἡμῖν καὶ ξυνέστιος γενοῦ. 

> 4p)? Μ a >? 3 ᾽ὔ la -“ 
αὖθις τόδ᾽ ἔσται, νῦν δ᾽ ἐπείγεσθαί με δεῖ. 


1140 


1145 


40 


AA. 


EYPITIIAOY AAKH®STIS. 


ἀλλ᾽ εὐτυχοίης, νόστιμον δ᾽ ἔλθοις ὁδόν. 
ἀστοῖς δὲ πάσῃ T ἐννέπω τετραρχίᾳ 
Ν Pe γι ὺν » nx ¢ ’ 
χοροὺς em ἐσθλαῖς συμφοραῖσιν ἱστάναι 
βωμούς τε κνισᾶν βουθύτοισι προστροπαῖς. 
νῦν γὰρ μεθηρμόσμεσθα βελτίω βίον 
τοῦ πρόσθεν" οὐ γὰρ εὐτυχῶν ἀρνήσομαι. 
πολλαὶ μορφαὶ τῶν δαιμονίων, 
πολλὰ δ᾽ ἀέλπτως κραίνουσι θεοί. 
καὶ τὰ δοκηθέντ᾽ οὐκ ἐτελέσθη, 
na 9) 9 [4 , o , 
τῶν δ᾽ ἀδοκήτων πόρον ηὗρε θεός. 
» ὦ 5S / , las 
τοιόνδ᾽ ἀπέβη τόδε πρᾶγμα. 


1155 


1160 


ἐς ius ltl Nl Sis > 


Prologue, 11. 1-27. This is an introductory monologue, explaining 
the circumstances of the play; first brought into regular use by 
Euripides, though occasionally employed by Aeschylus and Sophocles 
(as in the Eumenides and Trachiniae), At 1. 28 it passes into a dia- 
logue between Apollo and Thanatos, the whole forming the Prologue 
properly so called, which Aristotle defines as ‘all that part of a tragedy 
which precedes the first entrance of the Chorus’ (1. 77). 

Scene. A portion of the town of Pherae, with the palace of Admetus 
in the background. Enter Apotto from the interior with his bow and 
quiver. ‘House of Admetus, scene of my grateful service, farewell! God 
though I be, I have been thrall to a mortal man; so Zeus ordained, For 
his piety hath my master been blest through me; and now I have saved him 
from death, the Fates granting me this, should he find a substitute. But 
only his wife would make this sacrifice, who is even now breathing her last, 
jor the fatal day is come. But I must depart, ere pollution reach me from 
the corpse; and lo! here is Death, waiting to seize his prey.’ 

1.1, ὦ δώματ᾽ ᾿Αδμήτεια. This is an exclamation rather than an 
address. Cp.1.569n. The ‘house of Admetus’ is barely mentioned 
again in 1. 23, where Apolio gives his reason for leaving it. The object 
of this appeal is to fix the scene and define the circumstances of the 
action. So in the Electra the first speaker apostrophises the Argive 
land, his home, and the Andromache opens with the line— 

᾿Ασιατίδος γῆς σχῆμα, OnBaia πόλις. 

ἔτλην, ‘submitted,’ as in]. 572. The root is the same'as in follo, tuli, 
(t)latum, τολμάω, &c. Its primary sense is ‘ bear up’ or ‘ endure ;’ cp. 
1. 837 ὦ πολλὰ τλᾶσα καρδία. Often the notion of cruelty is involved, 
as in 1. 275 μὴ τλῇς με προδοῦναι, i.e. ‘have the heart to,’ &c. The 
English ‘ bear’ in its various senses exactly corresponds, 

1. 2. θῆσσαν, ‘menial,’ cp. θῆσσαν ἑστίαν Elect. 204. Θῆσσα is the 
fem. of θής, and the Tetes were the lowest class in Solon’s division of 
the Athenian citizens. The derivation is uncertain, 


42 ALCESTIS, 


αἰνέσαι, ‘to acquiesce in ;’ properly ‘to praise,’ as when a man makes 
the most of his condition in words, when he cannot better it. Hence 
αἰνεῖν and laudare were colloquially used as a polite form of declining 
a thing, i.e. praising it in words to avoid giving offence. Cp. 1. 525. 

1. 3. Asclepius (Aesculapius) was the son of Phoebus by the nymph 
Coronis, and was taught the healing art by Chiron. Zeus was jealous 
of his power, which could even restore the dead (1. 128), as in the case 
of Hippolytus. Virgil refers to this in Aen. vii. 770— 


‘Tum pater omnipotens aliquem indignatus ab umbris 
Mortalem infernis ad lumina surgere vitae, 

Ipse repertorem medicinae talis et artis 

Fulmine Phoebigenam Stygias detrusit in undas.’ 


1. 5. ov, ‘whereat,’ the gen. of cause. Cp. ὅπλων χολωθείς Pindar, 
Nem. viii. 25. 

δή, “οἵ course,’ as a natural result of such treatment. 

τέκτοναϑ, &c. Cp. Cic. de Divin. ii. 19 ‘non enim te puto esse eum, 
qui Jovi fulmen fabricatos esse Cyclopes in Aetna putes.” These were 
the three original Cyclopes, the sons of Heaven and Earth, Βρόντην 
τε Στερόπην τε καὶ “Apynv ὀβριμόθυμον (Hesiod. Theog. 140), Later 
tradition added to their number and made them the servants of 
Hephaestus. 

1. 7. ἄποινα. Cp. [ph. in Tauris 1458 ὅταν ἑορτάζῃ λεώς, τῆς σῆς 
σφαγῆς ἄποινα. These accusatives are said to be ‘in apposition to the 
sentence,’ i.e. to a noun implied in the verb, which might be expressed. 
Thus θητεύειν implies θητείαν, ἑορτάζειν implies ἑορτήν. Cp. Orest. 
1105 Ἑλένην κτάνωμεν, Μενέλεῳ λύπην πικράν, Soph. Aias 559 νέαν 
ψυχὴν ἀτάλλων, μητρὶ τῇδε χαρμονήν. 

1. 8. ἐβουφόρβουν. Cp. 1]. 572, Tibull. ii. 3. 11 ‘Pavit et Admeti 
tauros formosus Apollo.’ The imperfects denote continuance. ‘ Ever 
since I came here, Ihave been keeping the herds and preserving my 
master,” 

1. 9. és τόδ᾽ ἡμέρας, also in Phoenissae 425. Ἡμέρας is the partitive 
gen., lit. ‘to this point of time,’ like the Latin ad hoc temports. 

1. 10, ἐτύγχανον implies ‘I had the luck to secure.” Cf. Aesch. 
Suppl. 151 μὴ τυχοῦσαι θεῶν, i.e. ‘not securing their favour. Also in 
a bad sense, as ἀνδρὸς ἀνοσίου τυχών Bacchae 613. 

1. 11. θανεῖν -- τοῦ θανεῖν, a substantival infinitive. Spenser has imi- 
tated this construction in the lines, 


‘For not to have been dipped in Lethe lake 
Could save the sonne of Thetis from to die.’ 
But he was probably not aware that dying is an infinitive as well as a 
participle, and the proper equivalent of τὸ θανεῖν. 


NOTES, LINES 2-25. 43 


1. 12. Μοίρας δολώσας. Cp. 1. 33. Aeschylus alludes to this in 
Eumenides 693, where the Furies charge Apollo with the deed— 


Τοιαῦτ᾽ ἔδρασας καὶ Φέρητος ἐν δόμοις, 
Μοίρας ἔπεισας ἀφθίτους θεῖναι BpoTovs* wee 
σὺ τοι παλαιὰς διανομὰς καταφθίσας 

οἴνῳ παρηπάτησας ἀρχαίας θεάς. 

ἤνεσαν, “ promised,’ lit. ‘ αἰ]οιυεά. me (this favour), from the sense of 
‘acquiesce.’ See 1. 2, n. and cp. 1. 525, Med. 1157 ἀλλ᾽ ἤνεσ᾽ ἀνδρὶ 
πάντα. So κατήνεσεν in Soph. Oed. Col. 432. 

L 13. ἅδην, ‘death,’ as in Hippol. 1047 taxis gins, Aesch. Agam. 
650 ἄδην πόντιον, and elsewhere. 

1. 15. ἐλέγξας, ‘questioning.’ Cp. οὐδ᾽ ἠλέγξας Hippol. 1322. ᾿Ελέγχειν 
is ‘to put to the proof,’ especially by questions to make a man contra- 
dict himself; hence the Socratic cross-questioning was called ἔλεγχος. 

1.17. ὅστις, ‘anyone who.’ [The MSS. reading is ἥτις.] 

1. 18. κείνου, instead of αὑτοῦ, though it refers to the subject of ηὗρε. 
When ἐκεῖνος is thus used it invests the person referred to with a special 
importance. So in 1. 357 κείνης πόσιν refers to κόρην just mentioned. 
Cp. Xen. Anab. τ. 8. 26 βασιλέα καὶ τὸ ἀμφ᾽ ἐκεῖνον στῖφος, ib. iv. 3. 20 
Χειρίσοφος καὶ of σὺν ἐκείνῳ. 

1. 19. ἐν χεροῖν, inter manus. The dual brings out the idea of several 
pairs of hands employed. 

1 21. θανεῖν καὶ μεταστῆναι βίου, a common tautology. Aris- 
tophanes, Ranae 1124, makes Euripides blame Aeschylus for a similar 
expression— 

ἥκω γὰρ εἰς γῆν τήνδε καὶ κατέρχομαι (Choeph. 3), 
since ἥκω and κατέρχομαι mean the same thing. 

1. 22. The general belief in pollution caused by contact with the dead 
was shared by the Greeks with other ancient nations. (See the Mosaic 
enactments in Numbers xix. 11, &c.) The superstitious man in Theo- 
phrastus will not come near a corpse, saying τὸ μὴ μιαίνεσθαι συμφέρον 
αὐτῷ εἶναι. But in the case of the bright and pure deities, Phoebus and 
Artemis, such contact was especially to be avoided. Apollo might not 
even be invoked under circumstances of sorrow; hence in the Agamem- 
non, 1. 1041, the Chorus upbraids Cassandra for so doing, οὐ γὰρ τοιοῦτος 
ὥστε θρηνήτου τυχεῖν. In the Hippolytus, 1425, Artemis addresses the 
dying hero thus— 

Kal χαῖρ᾽, ἐμοὶ γὰρ οὐ θέμις φθιτοὺς ὁρᾶν, 
οὐδ᾽ ὄμμα χραίνειν θανασίμοισιν ἐκπνοαῖς. 

1. 25. ἱερῆ θανόντων. ὅ8εε]. 74, where Thanatos appears as a sacri- 
ficing priest. The spirits of the dead were considered as malignant 
deities, who required propitiation by sacrifice. Cp.1l. 613 n, 


44 ALCESTIS. 


1. 26. συμμέτρως = εὐκαίρως, ‘punctual to his time;’ lit. ‘measuring’ 
the time of his arrival so as to suit the day of her doom. Compare 
the use of συμμετρεῖν by Thucydides, ii. 44, ois ἐνευδαιμονῆσαί τε 6 Bios 
καὶ ἐντελευτῆσαι ξυνεμετρήθη. i.e. ‘the duration of their happiness is 
commensurate with the end of their lives.’ 


“ Enter Tuanatos, clad in black and with a drawn sword. He has pro- 

bably come up by the χαρώνειοι κλίμακες (a flight of steps leading up 
from a vault to the stage, to represent an ascent from Hades), and is 
now waiting near the door of the palace. 

Tuanartos (with a yell). ‘Ha! what dost thou here, Phoebus? Wilt 
rob me of my due this second time?’ Avouio. ‘’Twas not by force I got 
thy other victim from thee, whose wife even now takes his place—she whom 
thou seekest” Tu. ‘Aye, and I will have her too!’ Av. " Will you not 
take one of riper age?’ Tu. ‘No, a youthful victim is a fairer prize. 
Ap. ‘ But if she dies old, think of the gorgeous funercl!? Tu. ‘ That were 
a law for the rich, Phoebus, who would buy long life if they could” Ap. 
‘Vou won't oblige me then?’ Tu. ‘Not I; you know my ways.’ Ap. ‘Yes, 
detested by gods and men. But there is one coming who will tame you yet, 
and rob you of your prey; he is even now on his way hither’ Tu. ‘ Talk 
away! I go to begin my sacrifice.’ 


1. 29. wodets. Cp. Orest. 1268 τίς ὅδ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀμφὶ μέλαθρον mode; 
Πολεῖν (cp. πέλω, πέλομαι) denotes regular motion in and about a place, 
Lat. versari. So πόλος is ‘a turning-point’ or ‘axis.’ [The root is pro- 
bably the same as in col-ere, in-col-a, &c. Some have suggested a con- 
nexion with πολύς, i.e. to be much in a place, but that is from a different 
root, πλε- ‘full, which appears in πλέ-ων, πλῆ-θος, ple-nus, ple-bs, δες. 

1. 30. ad. See 1. 32. τιμάς, ‘prerogatives, cp. 1. 53, Hippol. 107 
τιμαῖσι δαιμόνων. 

1. 31. ἀφοριζόμενος = circumscribens, lit. ‘marking off’ as one’s own; 
not (as some explain it) ‘ carrying out of bounds,’ i.e. ‘carrying off.’ 

1. 33. Moipas, &c. Cp. 1. 12 note. 

1. 35. τοξήρη, with ὁπλίσας. The adj. is ‘ proleptic,’ i.e. marks the 
effect of the verb, Cp. Soph. Oecd. Col. 1200 τῶν σῶν ἀδέρκτων ὀμμάτων 
τητώμενος, Virg. Aen. iii. 237 ‘scuta latentia condunt.’ See 1. 385 ἢ. 

1. 36. τόδε, explained by προθανεῖν in apposition. Cp. Herc. Fur. 303 
ἀλλὰ καὶ τόδ᾽ ἄθλιον, Πενίᾳ σὺν οἰκτρᾷ περιβαλεῖν σωτηρίαν. 

ll. 38-63. The following dialogue is a specimen of ‘word-fencing’” 
and repartee, which an Athenian audience, accustomed to the daily 
wrangle of the law-courts, would thoroughly appreciate, however trifling 
and undignified it may appear to us. See Introduction, p. xiii. 

1. 38. θάρσει, &c. =‘ don’t be alarmed ;’ ‘ be sure (ror) I have justice 
and sound reason on my side.’ Cp. the French avoir raison. 


NOTES. LINES 26-52. 45 


1. 39. ἔργον, ‘need,’ exactly =the Latin opus est. 

1, 40. σύνηθες, &c. Cp. Hor. Od. iii. 4. 6 (of Apollo) ‘nunquam 
humero positurus arcum,’ also Hom. 7]. i. 45 τόξ᾽ ὥμοισιν ἔχων, ἀμφη- 
pepéa Te φαρέτρην. 

1. 41. προσωφελεῖν, sc. σύνηθες. As Apollo is making a second 
attempt to rob Death of his prey, such interference is justly regarded 
as his ‘custom.’ 

1. 42. γάρ, ‘yes, for, &c.,” referring to προσωφελεῖν, but of course not 
admitting the ἐκδίκως,. For γάρ in answers, requiring ‘yes’ or ‘no’ 
to be supplied from the context, cp. ll. 147, 823, 1081. 

1. 44. ἀλλά, ‘nay but,’ a protest. Cp. Aristoph. Ackarn. 408 (Dicaeo- 
polis and Euripides). Dic. ἀλλ᾽ ἐκκυκλήθητ᾽. Eur. ἀλλ᾽ ἀδύνατον. Dic. 
ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως. ‘Nay, but do turn out!’ ‘Nay, ’tis impossible.” ‘ Nay but 
do!” 

1, 46. ἀμείψας, ‘having given in exchange,’ ‘substituted.’ ᾿Αμείβειν 
means either ‘to give’ or ‘take in exchange.’ See note on 1, 462. 

ἣν μέτα, anastrophe for μεθ᾽. ἥν (hence the accent goes back a syllable 
on pera), ‘ after whom,’ i.e. ‘in quest of whom.’ Cp. ll. 66, 483. 

1. 48. οὐ γὰρ οἶδ᾽ ἄν, &c. (also in Med. 941) =ovx olda εἰ πείσαιμι ἄν, 
the ay being out of its proper place. Ei ἄν with the opt. marks a 
second implied condition, besides the one expressed by the dependent 
clause; thus in Plato, Protag. ch. 17 εἴπερ ἄλλῳ τῳ πειθοίμην ἄν, =‘if I 
were to believe anyone else (supposing he were to say so).’ So here 
ov« οἶδα, &c.=‘I am not sure wheiher I could persuade you (if I 
tried).’ 

1. 49. ὃν ἂν χρῇ, i.e. ‘the proper person.’ Death is purposely ambi- 
guous; in the next line Apollo declares his own views as to who are 
Death’s ‘ proper’ victims. 

τοῦτο, a cognate accus.=TabTny τὴν τάξιν. 

l. 50. rots péAAovot=those who will die in the natural course of 
things, i.e. the old. Cp. ὁ μέλλων 1. 527. Or ‘those who linger on’ to © 
old age. Death personified is said θάνατον ἐμβαλεῖν, as at once the 
cause and the effect. Cp. 721. in Aul. 775"Apys . . .kukAwaoas ἄρει φονίῳ, 
Aesch. Choeph. 32 φόβος. . . ἔλακε περὶ φόβῳ. So Milton, Nativity 
Hymn, 51, has ‘Peace . . . strikes a universal peace through sea and land,’ 
and in P. L. x. 269, Death is said to ‘draw . . . the savour of death’ from 
all living things. 

1, 51. ἔχω, ‘I understand,’ just as we say ‘I have it.’ Cp. Orest. 1120 
ἔχω τοσοῦτον. So in Ter. Heaut. iv. 3. 22 ‘tenes quod dicam?’ In 
1. 1107 ἔχω προθυμίαν has its usual sense =mpdOupds εἰμι. 

1, 52. For μόλοι, the opt., we should expect μόλῃ, the subj., after the 
primary tense οὐκ ἔστι. But the opt. is used to express something 
farther remoyed from possibility. ‘Is there absolutely no chance, &c.?’ 


46 ALCESTIS, 


Cp. 1. 117 οὐκ ἔσθ᾽ Stor... παραλύσαι, Aesch. Agam. 620 οὖκ ἔσθ᾽ ὅπως 
λέξαιμι τὰ Yevdq καλά, on which see Mr. Sidgwick’s note, Appendix 1. 

1. 53. τιμαῖς, Cp. 1. 30 n. In the Bacchae 321 Tiresias says of 
Dionysus κἀκεῖνος, οἶμαι, τέρπεται τιμώμενος. Cp. Hippol. 7, 8— 

ἔνεστι yap δὴ κἂν θεῶν γένει τόδε 
τιμώμενοι χαίρουσιν ἀνθρώπων ὕπο. 
The whole theory of sacrifice proceeds upon this assumption. 

1. 55. μεῖζον, i.e. ‘more valuable’ than in the case of one who must 
soon die in the course of nature (1. 50). In the next few lines both dis- 
putants purposely misunderstand each other. Apollo says that if 
Alcestis lives to be old, she will still have a rich funeral (as befits her 
station), as if this were the ‘ prize’ that Death desired. Death retorts 
by professing to understand him to refer to rich people generally, 
whereas Phoebus had spoken only of Alcestis. Hence he is twitted 
with ‘captiousness’ by his opponent for misinterpreting him. At 1. 60 
Apollo abruptly returns to the point in dispute. 

1. 57. πρὸς τῶν ἐχόντων, ‘in the interest of the rich.’ Πρός is literally 
‘from the point of view of,’ i.e. ‘on the side of.’ For οἱ ἔχοντες τε 
πλούσιοι, cp. Soph. Aias 157 πρὸς τὸν ἔχονθ᾽ ὃ φθόνος ἔρπει. 

1. 58. λέληθας, &c., i.e. ‘I did not think you were such a sophist,” 
i.e. ‘so clever.’ See above onl. 55. For σοφός in this sense cp. Med. 
296 παῖδας περίσσως ἐκδιδάσκεσθαι copovs. Euripides is very fond of this 
word and its cognates σοφία, &c. ; he uses them on all occasions in every 
shade of meaning, from wisdom to mere cunning, Aristophanes often 
applies the epithet σοφός to Euripides himself, of course depreciatingly 
or ironically—e. g. in Nubes 1377, Ranae 1413, Lysist. 368. 

1. 59. ὠνοῖντ᾽ dv, &c., ‘they who had the means would purchase 
length of days.’ Another reading, of good authority, is ὄναιντ᾽ ἄν, 
‘they would be benefited (or have the best of it), who could afford 
to purchase delay’ (Paley). Either will make good sense. With the 
former cp. Cardinal Beaufort’s dying exclamation, Shaksp. Hen. VI. 
2nd Part, iii. 3: 

‘If thou be’st death, I’ll give thee England’s treasure, 
So thou wilt let me live and feel no pain, 
[For γηραιούς some read γηραιοί. The former means that they would 
buy it for their friends, the latter for themselves (the subject of the 
sentence). | 

1. 63. ἃ p=‘ whatever,’ ie. ‘you can’t have everything that you 
have no right to,’ implying that he does manage to get a great deal. 

1. 64. ἢ pry, ‘be sure however.’ Μήν is lengthened from μέν, hence 
ἢ μήν is a strong form of asseveration, used in oaths, &c. 

παύσει, here almost passive, ‘you will have’ or ‘be made to stop.’ 
See Ll. 322 a. 


NOTES. LINES 53-77. 47 


1, 65. τοῖος, i.e. ‘so strong a man,’ Cp. οἷός τέ εἰμι, ‘I am able’ or 
equal to the task. 
1. 66. μέτα. Cp.1. 46 note. For the object of Heracles’ expedition 
see ll. 481, &c. 
1. 70. 4 χάρις, ‘the thanks’ you would get from me if you gave up 
Alcestis now. 
1. 71. δράσεις ὁμοίως. ‘you will have to do it all the same,’ i.e. sur- 
render your victim. Euripides avails himself of Apollo’s prophetic 
insight to give his audience a hint of what is coming. 
1. 72. ἂν λέξας -- εἰ λέξειας, “1 you talk ever so much.’ Cp. the 
phrase πόλλ᾽ ἂν ἔχων εἰπεῖν, ‘though I could say much.’ [In 1. 490 
τί δ᾽ ἂν κρατήσας δεσπότην πλέον AdBais ; the single av belongs to λάβοις, 
but reflects its conditional force upon κρατήσας also. ] 
1. 73. ἣ δ᾽ οὖν, ‘the lady I say.’ Ody, said to be from ἐόν, part. of 
εἰμί (but Ionic ὧν is against this derivation), means ‘as a matter of 
fact, ‘really,’ often ‘ of course,’ as in Plat. Phaedr. xx. εἰ δ᾽ ἔστιν ὥσπερ 
οὖν ἔστι. Its common meaning ‘therefore’ is derived from this. 
1. 74. Here Death appears as a sacrificing priest. See on 1.25. A tuft 
of hair was cut from the victim’s head, and thrown into the fire as firstfruits 
(primitiae) of the sacrifice. Hence the technical term κατάρχεσθαι, as in 
Aristoph. Aves 959 μὴ κατάρξῃ Tod τράγου. Cp. Virg. Aen. vi. 243: 
‘Et summas carpens media inter comua setas 
Ignibus imponit sacris, libamina prima.’ 

In Aen, iv. 698 Proserpine performs the same function: 
‘Nondum illi flavum Proserpina vertice crinem 
Abstulerat, Stygioque caput sacraverat Orco.’ 

1, 75. ἱερός, ‘devoted to, with possessive gen. as in Soph. Philoct. 
943 ἱερὰ τοῦ Ζῆνος. Cp. Cic. in Verrem ii. 18 ‘insula eorum Deorum 
sacra putatur.’ 

1. 76. ὅτου... ἁγνίσῃ. It has been said, by way of distinction, that 
the omission of ἄν makes the statement rather less indefinite than it 
would otherwise be,—‘ hat man is sacred... whose head, &c.’ Butasa 
general statement (which the subjunctive implies) must be more or less 
indefinite, the practical difference is very slight, if not altogether ima- 
ginary. The ἄν is commonly omitted in Homer, often in tragedy, as in 
1. 978 Ζεὺς 6 τι vévon, Med. 516 ὃς κίβδηλος 7. In Attic prose this 
omission is confined to a few doubtful instances, 

Exeunt Arotto and Tuanaros, 

ll. 77-111. This is the Parodos or ‘entrance-song’ of the Cuxorus, 
sung while advancing to their places in the orchestra. The metre is 
anapaestic, suited to a slow and solemn march. At Il. 93, 105 they 
divide into two sections (ἡμιχόρια) and again, at 1. 112, join in an ode 
of lamentation (to 1. 136). 


48 ALCESTIS. 


Cuorus. ‘ What means this silence? Is our lady stili alive? At least 
there is no sign or sound of mourning; all may not be over ;—is there yet 
hope? Ah no! the fatal day is surely come; let us mourn with our king. 
No power can save her now; prayers and sacrifice alike are vain. Phoebus’ 
son alone could rescue her, but he, alas! is dead, slain by the bolt of Zeus; 
there is no remedy. 

But here comes one of the handmaidens of the house; I would fain learn 
the truth from her? 

1. 80. φθιμένην, emphatic, ‘to mourn as dead.’ 

[l. 82. Many editions insert τόδε, probably an interpolation to com- 
plete the metre. Placed after φῶς it violates the rule (which however 
has its exceptions, as in Hippol. 1360, Phoen. 816, &c.) that the second 
foot in an anapaestic dimeter should end a word. Hence Kirchhoff puts 
τόδε after Πελίου. . 

1.88. ὧς πεπραγμένων, ‘as if all were over. Cp. Hippol. 680 φεῦ, 
φεῦ, πέπρακται, Lat. actunt est. 

1. 89. οὐ μὰν οὐδέ, ‘ yet on the other hand,’ &c. The Chorus waver 
between hope and fear, and interpret the doubtful signs accordingly. 
‘There is no sound or voice of woe,’ so far well; ‘ but neither is any 
attendant stationed at the gates,’ which seems to indicate that some 
great sorrow keeps them within. 

1. gt. εἰ φανείης, equivalent to a wish. Cp. 1. 1072 εἰ γὰρ εἶχον, 
Aristoph. Eguites 662 ai τριχίδες εἰ yevoiad’ ἑκατὸν τοὐβολοῦ. So in 
Latin ὁ si=utinam, as in Persius Sat. ii. 10‘ O si ebulliat patraus, prae- 
clarum funus.’ The γάρ indicates a reason why the wish may not be 
hopeless, since on the whole the signs are favourable. 

μετακύμιος drys, ‘ between the waves of our distress,’ to save us from 
being overwhelmed by them. Cp. μεταίχμιον, ‘the space between two 
armies.’ 

1. 92. Παιάν, an attribute of Apollo as the Healer or averter of evil 
(1. 220, &c.), but originally, as in Homer, a distinct deity. For the 
meanings of Παιάν see ]. 424 n. 

1. 94. οὐ δή, &c. “Αἱ any rate (ye) she has not been carried out’ for 
burial. The former speaker had adduced the silence in the house as 
a proof that Alcestis was not dead, the answer accepts the evidence as 
valid ; since, if the funeral procession had left, the house would of course 
be deserted. [The words νέκυς ἤδη, usually placed after οἴκων, have” 
been suspected as a gloss to supply a noun with φροῦδος. The Scholiast 
explains the line οὐ γὰρ ἔλαθεν ἡμᾶς προκομισθεῖσα. But the objection 
that véxis ἤδη would be a false quantity will not hold, for the -vs is 
sometimes short, as in 1. 599 véxiy ἐν δώμασιν. The difficulty is removed 
by making νέκυς ἤδη precede this line.] 

1. 95. πόθεν, &c. ‘Why so? Iam not so sure of it. What makes 


NOTES. LINES 80-107. 49 


you confident?’ But some assign each sentence to a separate semi- 
chorus, in which case πόθεν will mean ‘certainly not’ (minime) and οὐκ 
αὐχῶ will express hesitation on the part of the first speaker, ‘I do not 
say so positively. See note on αὐχεῖς 1.675. [There is some uncer- 
tainty about the arrangement of the whole passage, since the number of 
lines in the strophe (86-97) and antistrophe (98-111) is not equal. But 
perhaps, as Paley observes, the anapaestic lines (93-97 and 105-111) 
‘are not included in the antithetical arrangement.’] 

1. 96. πῶς av=a negative, i.e. ‘Admetus would never have made,’ 
&c. Cp. the colloquial phrases πῶς γάρ ; πῶς γὰρ οὔ; For the double 
ἄν cp. 464, 474, Soph. Oed. Tyr. 772 πῶς dv ποτ᾽ ἀφικοίμην dv; and see 
note on 1. 647. 

ἔρημον, i.e. without mourners. So δίκη ἐρήμη was a suit in which 
one of the parties failed to appear. 

1. 99. πηγαῖον, &c. A vessel of spring water (ὅστρακον or ἀρδάνιον) 
fetched from another house, was placed at the door, for those who 
entered to sprinkle themselves, to avoid pollution from the corpse 
(l. 22 n.). Cp. Aristoph. Eccles. 1033 ὕδατος δὲ κατάθου τοὔστρακον 
πρὸ τῆς θύρας. - ἷ 

1. τοι. xatta ... τομαῖος, &c., should mean ‘no clipped hair before 
the doors,’ but there seems to be no evidence of such a custom beyond 
the present passage. In the Supplices 972 (παιδὸς δ᾽ ἐν οἴκοις κεῖται 
μνάματα πένθιμοι κουραὶ καὶ στέφανοι κόμας) the hair is kept simply as a 
‘memorial’ of the departed, and the line quoted by Monk from Aesch. 
Choeph. 166 ὁρῶ τομαῖον τόνδε βόστρυχον τάφῳ illustrates the well- 
known custom of placing a lock of hair upon the tomb. [Another 
reading is χαίτας τομαῖος, i.e. ‘no one with shorn hair,’ a common sign 
of mourming. Cp. ll. 215, 427.] 

1. 103. πίτνει, ‘happens,’ accidit. So ‘fall’ in English =‘ befal,’ ‘as it 
fell upon a day.’ ; 

νεολαία χεὶρ γυναικῶν -- χεὶρ νέων γυναικῶν, by an inversion of the 
adj. See 1. 1059 π. and cp. γραίας ὄσσων πηγάς Herc. Fur. 450, λευκοπή- 
χεις κτύπους χεροῖν Phoen. 1351. νεολαία is here an adjective, though 
elsewhere a substantive, as in Theocr. Idyll. xviii. 24 θῆλυς νεολαία. 
But the reading is uncertain. 

1, 104. δουπεῖ expresses a dull heavy sound or ‘thud.’ Cp. Soph. 
Αἴας 631 χερύπληκτοι δ᾽ ἐν στέρνοισι πεσοῦνται δοῦποι. 

1. 105. καὶ μήν, &c., ‘and yet this is the appointed day.’ See 1. 26. 
Herodotus v. 50 has ἡ κυρίη ἡμέρη. [Some editions interpolate δή after 
τόδε and καί before τί in the next line to complete the metre.] 

1. 107. For χρῆν others read χρή. But the impf. refers back to 
the time when the decree went forth; ‘on which she was to have 
gone,’ &c. 

E 


50 ALCESTIS, 


1. 109. διακναιομένων, ‘wearing away,’ i.e. either with sorrow, re- 
ferring to Admetus and the family, or with disease, referring to Alcestis. 
Probably the latter, cp. 1. 203. Aeschylus, Prom. 94, has αἰκίαισιν 
διακναιόμενος. The primary sense of xvaiw (κνάω, κνάπτω, &c.) is ‘to 
scrape, hence ‘wear away’ as by a lingering malady. Prof. Paley 
understands it of life suddenly cut short, quoting Aesch. Agam. 65 
διακναιομένης ἐν προτελείοις κάμακος. But this need not literally mean 
‘snapt short,’ but ‘shivered’ or ‘splintered,’ from the original sense of 
the word. 

ll. 112-135. The Chorus having now taken their places combine to 
chant the stastmon or ‘stationary ode.’ The burden of it is the utter 
hopelessness of saving the queen’s life now. 

1. 113. ὅποι aias=quo terrarum. Av«tas is in the same construction, 
though Euripides does not mean ‘to what part of Lycia,’ but ‘ to what 
part of the world, whether Lycia or Libya.’ 

{Hence Monk reads Λυκίαν, without MS. authority. Some take 
Λυκίας as an adj. with ἕδρας, the prep. ἐπί being put with the second 
noun ; cp. Phoen. 291 μαντεῖα σεμνὰ Λοξίου τ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάρας. This isa 
possible construction, but the former is to be preferred. ] 

The Lycian shrine of Apollo was at Patara (Hor. Od. iii. 4. 61), where 
he was said to dwell in winter, hence ‘ hibernam Lyciam,’ Virg. Aez. 
iv. 143. 

1.115. 4... εἴτε instead of 7... 7%. Cp. Soph. Aias 176 ἢ fa κλυτῶν 
ἐνάρων ψευσθεῖσ᾽, ἀδώροις εἴτ᾽ ἐλαφηβολίαις; also, with the order re- 
versed, Iph. in Tauris 272 εἴτ᾽ οὖν én’ ἀκταῖς θάσσετον Διοσκόρω, ἢ Νηρέως 
ἀγάλματα. 

ἀνύδρους. .. ἕδρας. Cp. Electra 732 ξηραί τ᾽ ᾿Αμμωνίδος ἕδραι. .. 
ἀπειρόδροσοι. The temple of Jupiter Ammon was on an oasis in the 
Libyan desert. Arrian describes the surrounding district as πάντα 
ἔρημα καὶ ἄνυδρα, but ‘a small spot in the midst is full of trees. and 
a fountain springs from it, which is cold at midday, but gets hotter as 
the sun goes down.’ Cp. Lucan, Pharsalia ix. 527— 

‘Solus nemus extulit Ammon. 
Silvarum fons causa loco, qui putria terrae 
Alligat, et domitas unda connectit arenas.’ 

1. 117. παραλύσαι. The opt. after a verb in a primary tense (ἔστι) 
implies absolute impossibility. See note on 1. 52, and add reference to 
Aesch. Prom. 292 οὐκ ἔστιν ὅτῳ μείζονα μοῖραν νείμαιμ᾽ ἢ σοί. 

1. 118. ἀπότομος, ‘inexorable’ (cp. 1. 982), lit. ‘ precipitous,’ Lat. 
abruptus, like the Homeric αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον, ‘ sheer destruction.” 

1. 119. ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάραις, after μηλοθύταν. 

1.120. The hiatus in ἔχω ἐπί is an Epic licence admissible in choral 
odes. Cp. Soph. Aias 349 μόνοϊ ἐμῶν φίλων, 


NOTES, LINES 109-135. 51 

1, 122. ἦν δεδορκώς = ἐδεδόρκει, but lays greater stress on the pre- 
dicate =‘had been alive and seen.’ Cp. ph. in Taur. 133 ἦμεν ἥμενοι, 
Soph. Aias 1320 κλύοντες ἐσμέν, Hat. iii. 76 στείχοντες ἔγένοντο. This 
‘analytic’ form is specially used in the pluperf., a comparatively rare 
tense in Greek. 

1. 125. ἦλθεν. Observe the change of subject from Asclepius to 
Alcestis, ‘she would have come,’ instead of ‘he would have fetched 
her.” 

Π. 126. The MSS. reading ἽΑιδα τε πύλας, does not correspond with 
the strophic line 117. Dindorf adds καί and Hermann substituted 
πυλῶνας. Many adopt Monk’s reading “Acdao, with ᾿Αμμωνίδας in 
the strophe, 1. 116. The Epic genitive occurs in Electra 468 ἀελίοιο, 
Troades 844 Πριάμοιο, and elsewhere. ‘Gates of Hades’ is also a 
regular Homeric phrase (JJ. xxiii. 71, &c.). Cp. Med. 1231, and 
σκότου πύλας Hec, 1.] 

1. 127. Spaevras, sc. θανάτῳ. Cp. Troad. 175 καὶ ζῶντες καὶ ὃμα- 
θέντες. Mr. Browning in Balaustion translates ‘ Death’s subdued ones.’ 

1. 131. προσδέχωμαι, the ‘deliberative’ subj.‘am I to expect.’ Cp. 
ll. 215, 864. The singular verb shows that the leader of the Chorus is 
speaking. So ἐμοί 1. 83. 

1. 132. τετέλεσται, i.e. ‘all due rites have been performed,’ from 
τέλος -- ‘religious ceremony.’ βασιλεῦσιν refers to Admetus alone; 
the plural indicates dignity, and is part of the ‘royal style’ (like we, 
our, &c., inaddresses from the throne). Cp. δεσπόταισι 1. 138, κοιράνοις 
1. 216. Aristotle, Rhet. ili. 6, says εἰς ὄγκον τῆς λέξεως συμβάλλεται 
τὸ ἕν πολλὰ ποιεῖν. 

1. 134. αἱμόρραντοι for ὀπέρόραςς ΝᾺ formed from the original root, 
instead of from the noun stem of αἷμα (as in αἱματο-σταγής, &c.). Cp. 
κυμοδέγμονος Hippol. 1173. 

πληρεῖς, &c. Not perhaps an inversion for βῶμοι θυσιῶν πληρεῖς, 
but in the sense of ‘complete’ or ‘abundant,’ like Homer’s τεληέσσας 
ἑκατόμβας. So in Helena 1411 χάριν πλήρη λαβεῖν. Cp. the expression 
in our Prayer Book ‘a full, perfect sacrifice.’ 

1. 135. From this line to 1. 434 is the first Episode (éreicobos), 
the name given to all that portion of a play which comes between two 
Choral odes. 


Enter Hanpmamw, Ll. 138-212. Cuorvus. ‘Zs your mistress still 
living?’ Maw. ‘She is hovering between life and death, and there is 
no hope; her funeral attire is ready” Cuno. ‘A glorious death will be 
hers, the best of woman-hind!? Mat. ‘Ay, the best indeed! But hear 
how she prepared to meet her doom. Having bathed herself in pure 
water, she put on festal attire, and prayed for her children, first before 


E2 


52 ALCESTIS. 


the hearth, then at each household altar; all without tear or groan. 
At last, entering the nuptial chamber, she gave full vent to her grief, 
watering the couch with a flood of tears. Her children clung to her 
weeping ; the servants also wept, while to each one she gave her hand 
and spoke a kind farewell. Such a woe, worse than death, has Admetus 
to bear. Even now he clasps her in his arms, beseeching her not to 
leave him; but she is fast wearing away, and with wistful eye is taking 
farewell of the sun. But I will announce thy friendly coming to my 
master.” 


1. 138. πενθεῖν, &c., addressed to the servant. εἴ τι τυγχάνει, an 
euphemism for some great calamity. Cp. Latin ‘si quid acciderit, 
just as we say ‘if anything happens.’ δεσπόταισι, cp. 1. 132 n. 

1. 140. οὖν marks an anticipated event, ‘as we fear’ (Major). 

1. 141. Cp. 1. 521 ἔστιν τε κοὐκέτ᾽ ἔστιν, also Phoenissae 357 φρονῶν 
εὖ Kov φρονῶν ἀφικόμην. Euripides was fond of these verbal paradoxes 
(ἀντιλόγιαι), and his audience could appreciate them. Aristophanes 
ridicules them in a famous scene of the Acharnians 396 &c., where 
Dicaeopolis enquiring at the door whether Euripides is at home, gets 
the answer οὐκ ἔνδον ἔνδον ἐστίν, meaning that his mind was abroad, 
though his body was indoors. 

1, 142. Kat πῶς, “ but how,’ or ‘and pray how,’ &c., indicating surprise 
or objection. Kai marks a continuation of thought, which now breaks 
forth in words. When the καί stands second, it merely introduces a 
further question, and-means ‘also,’ as ποῦ καί 1. 832. [This distinction 
does not always hold good; e.g: in 1. 482 καὶ ποῖ simply continues the 
conversation, so καὶ ποῖ in Aesch, Choeph. 528, and καὶ πότε in 1. 524 of 
the same play.] 

1. 143. tpovemys, ‘sinking,’ prona, i.e. moribunda. For its literal 
meaning 566]. 186. 

1. 144. οἵας οἷος dv, &c.=otos εἶ καὶ οἵας, &c.,a condensed expression, 
the force of which can only be given by a paraphrase; 6. g.—‘ What a 
fate for one so noble to lose so precious a wife!’ Cp. Soph. Aias 557 
οἷος ἐξ οἵου ᾽τράφης =‘ the character of thy sire reflected in thine own.’ 

1.145. πάθῃ. The subjunctive is the regular construction after the 
pres. οἷδε, ‘He knows not her worth before the blow comes.’ [But 
there is good MS. authority for the opt. πάθοι, This would refer back 
to the thought as conceived in the speaker’s mind, ‘he knows it not, zor 
could he be expected to know it, before the blow came.”| 

1. 146. €Ams μέν, &c., ‘hope then there is none,’ &c., ‘spes, ut videtur, 
nulla est’ Cp. Med. 674 θέμις μὲν ἡμᾶς χρησμὸν εἰδέναι θεοῦ ;=‘I1 take 
it for granted we may learn,’ &c. Lit. ‘one thing at least is certain.’ 
See on 1. 64. 


NOTES, LINES 138-160, 53 


1.149. κόσμος. Cp. ll. 161, 613; Herc. Fur. 442, 703; Ion 26 ἀλλ᾽ 
ἣν ἦλθεν παρθένος χλιδήν, τέκνῳ προσάψασ᾽ ἔλιπεν, ὡς Oavovpévw. By 
κόσμος is meant not only an article of dress (ἐσθῆτα ]. 161) but especially 
gold ornaments, of which many specimens have been found in ancient 
tombs. The phrase ἀναθήματα νεκροῖς, Supplices 983, points to the 
origin of this custom, i.e. the desire of propitiating the θεοὶ véprepa 
(l. 25). For the whole ceremony see Dict, of Antiquities, under Funvs. 

1. 150. ἴστω, &c., ‘let her know that she,’ &c. Cp. ἴστω πορεύσας 
1. 438. Verbs denoting knowledge, perception, &c., are regularly fol- 
lowed by a participle instead of the infin. as in Latin. If the part. 
refers to the subject of the sentence, it stands in the nom. case by 
‘attraction, otherwise in the accus., as οἷδα dy but οἷδά σε ὄντα. 
Virgil has imitated this construction in Aen. ii. 377 ‘Sensit medios 
delapsus in hostes.’ So with other verbs, as φαίνομαι, δείκνυμαι, &c. 
Cp. 1. 154 below. 

1. 151. μακρῷ, ‘by far,’ with ἀρίστη, but put at the end of the sen- 
tence for emphasis. Cp. Bacchae 1234 πάντων ἀρίστας θυγατέρας σπεῖραι 
μακρῷ. 

1.152. πῶς οὐκ, &c.=‘of course she is” &c. Cp.1.92n. These 
quick interrogative forms of expression were well suited to the liveli- 
ness of the Greek temperament. 

1, 153. ὑπερβεβλημένην, ‘ who has surpassed her;’ metaphor from an 
arrow shot beyond the mark (Paley). The force of the perfect is ‘who 
has been found to surpass her,’ guae superaverit ὃ 

1. 154. ἐνδείξαιτο προτιμῶσα. Cp. Bacch. 45 θεὸς γεγὼς ἐνδείξομαι, 
Med. 548 δείξω πρῶτα μὲν σοφὸς γεγώς. For the participial construction 
see ]. 150 n. 

With the sentiment of these lines cp. St. John xv. 13. 

1. 156. ταῦτα, i.e. the general fact, as distinguished from the details 
about to be related. 

πᾶσα πόλις (without the article) should mean ‘ every city’ according 
to rule, and would imply that the fame of Alcestis had travelled beyond 
Pherae. But it probably means ‘the whole city,’ πόλις being considered 
as a sort of proper noun, which would not take the art., e.g. πᾶσαι Φεραί. 
So πᾶσα γῆ =‘ the whole earth.’ Otherwise πᾶς for πᾶς 6 is confessedly 
rare. Even in the New Testament πᾶσα οἰκοδομή, ‘the whole building,’ 
is perhaps a solitary instance. δή, ‘ of course,’ cp. 1, 68 n. 

1. 158. κυρίαν. Cp. κύριον ἦμαρ 1. 105. 

ll. 160, 161. ἐλούσατο. So Socrates washed himself before drinking 
the hemlock. (Plato Phaedo ch. lxv.) Cp. Soph. Oed. Col. 1597, &c., 
where Oedipus preparing for death ‘ put off his travel-stained garments, 
and bade his daughters bring water from the flowing stream. ... This 
done they bathed him therein, and arrayed him in fresh apparel, as is 


54 ALCESTIS. 


the custom’ (ib. 1602). The washing was of course part of the usual 
ceremony of purification; for the ‘robes and ornaments’ see 1. 149 n. 
According to Lucian, De Luctu, one reason for the latter practice was 
that the body might not be cold on its passage to Hades. So in the 
strange story told by Herodotus ν. 92, the spirit of Melissa, wife of 
Periander, complains that she was cold, because the garments buried 
with her had not first been burnt, and therefore were of no use to her. 
δόμων, ‘chests’ or ‘ wardrobes,’ made of cedar to keep out moths and 

damp. Cp. Hom. 1]. xxiv. 191— 

αὐτὸς δ᾽ εἰς θάλαμον κατεβήσατο κηώεντα 

κέδρινον ὑψόροφον, ὃς γλήνεα πολλὰ κεχάνδει. 

[Δόμος, from 5éy-w=anything built or constructed; Lat. ‘dom-us,” 
Eng. ‘tim-ber.’ In Hesiod Works and Days 96 δόμοισιν means ‘a jar.’ 

1, 163. δέσποινα. This may have been either Hestia (Vesta), whose 
altar stood in the innermost part (μυχοί) of the house, or Artemis, who 
was both the patron goddess of Pherae (Callimachus Hymn, ad Dianam 
259), and, in the character of Ilithyia (Hor. Carm, Sec. 14), presided 
over marriage (1. 166). The words πρόσθεν ἑστίας prove nothing, since 
the altars of patron deities stood near the hearth; thus in Med. 396 
we find Medea addressing Hecate as μυχοῖς ναίουσαν ἑστίας ἐμῆς. The 
title δέσποινα was especially given to Persephone, but her authority 
appears to have been confined to the nether world. 

1. 165. τέκνα. Their names were Eumelus (1. 394) and Perimele. 
The former commanded his father’s forces before Troy (Hem. 1]. ii. 
712), and was one of those who bore the distinctive title ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν 
(ib. xxiii. 288). 

1. 166. ovfevtov. The imperat. is thrown in, as it were, between the 
two infinitives ὀρφανεῦσαι and θανεῖν, which depend upon αἰτήσομαι. 
The interchange of these two moods is not uncommon. Cp. Aristoph. 
Ranae 385 συμπαραστάτει, καὶ σῶζε τὸν σαυτῆς χορόν.. .. παῖσαί τε καὶ 
χορεῦσαι. 

1. 167. ἣ τεκοῦσα is here a substantive =parens, hence followed by 
the gen. αὐτῶν. Cp. Elect. 333 6 κείνου τεκών. 

1. 170. οἵ, &c., sc. εἰσί. Cp. Hom. Od, xx. 298 at κατὰ δώματ᾽ 
᾿Οδυσσῆος θείοιο. The verb is not regularly omitted in relative clauses, 
and the more usual construction would be τούς, with ὄντας expressed or 
understood. 

1. 171. ἐξέστεψε. So Dido before ascending the funeral pile ‘in- 
tenditque locum sertis et fronde coronat funerea’ Virg. Aen. iv. 506. 

1.172. pupotvys φόβην. Cp. Jon 120 μυρσίνας ἱερὰν φόβαν. (Others 
read μυρσινῶν or μυρσίνων (adj.), but μυρσίνης has best authority.] 
The myrtle was used at funerals as well as at banquets (1. 759). 
Cp. Elect. 512 τύμβῳ ἀμφέθηκα pupoivas. So Milton, Lycidas 2, 


NOTES. LINES 160-184. 55 


speaks of plucking the ‘myrtles brown’ in memory of his deceased 
friend. 

ἀποσχίζουσα (pres.) ‘plucking all the while.’ 

1. 173. ἄκλαυστος, ἀστένακτος, transitive as in Hom. Od. iv. 493 
οὐδέ σέ φημι δὴν ἄκλαυστον ἔσεσθαι. So ἀδάκρυτος, &c. [In Soph. 
Antig. 847 φίλων ἄκλαυστος means ‘ unwept by friends.’] 

1.175. θάλαμον, &c., ‘ bursting into the chamber and falling upon the 
couch,’ from the double sense of εἰσπίπτειν. Monk cites Virg. Aen. iv. 
650 ‘incubuitque toro dixitque novissima verba.’ 

1. 176. ἐνταῦθα δή, tum demum, ‘then at last,’ or ‘then’ (with 
emphasis). 

1.177. Cp. the dying address of Deianira to the bed of Heracles, 
Soph. Trach. 920--- 

ὦ λέχη τε καὶ νυμφεῖ᾽ ἐμά, 
τὸ λοιπὸν ἤδη χαίρεθ᾽, ὡς ἔμ᾽ οὔποτε 
δέξεσθ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἐν κοίταισι ταῖσδ᾽ εὐνητρίαν. 

1, 178. κορεύματα, &c.=‘I resigned my maidenhood,’ but ἔλυσα 
tefers to the removal of the virgin zone after marriage. Cp. Hom. 
Od. xi. 245 λῦσε δὲ παρθενίην ζώνην. ἐκ, ‘at the hands of,’ i.e. ‘ by 
marriage with.’ For the use of ἐκ to denote the agent, instead of ὑπό, 
ep. Soph. Oed. Tyr. 1454 tv’ ἐξ ἐκείνων; of μ᾽ ἀπωλλύτην, θάνω. It is 
common in Herodotus. 

πέρι, for the more usual ὑπέρ (1. 284), or πρό (1. 18), ‘for whose sake’ 
So ἀμύνεσθαι περὶ πάτρης, &c., in Homer. 

1.179. ἀπώλεσας, &c., i.e. ‘you have destroyed me, but you will destroy 
no other woman,’ for no one will do for a husband what I have done 
for him. Her marriage with Admetus, symbolised by the nuptial couch, 
had cost Alcestis her life. [Others translate ἀπώλεσας, ‘ you have lost,’ 
understanding μόνην to mean ‘me and not Admetus as well,’ because 
he might retrieve the nuptial couch by a second marriage, whereas 
Alcestis would never have married again had Admetus died. But the 
clause which suggests this, σὲ δ᾽ ἄλλη, &c., is not in immediate con- 
nexion with the present one, and the explanatory clause προδοῦναι yap, 
&c., favours the former interpretation. ] 

1. 183. σώφρων, &c., ‘one more fortunate perhaps, but none more 
true.’ For σώφρων in its distinctive sense as denoting conjugal fidelity 
cp. Med. 912 γυναικὸς ἔργα σώφρονος, Elect. 1099 σώφρονα λέχη. 

οὐκ ἄν -- ἥτις οὐκ ἂν εἴη. “Av without a verb gives the sense of likeli- 
hood. Cp. Plato, Rep. ix. ch. 4 τῶν δυνατῶν ἂν κρῖναι, ‘those who are 
likely to be good judges.’ This line is parodied by Aristophanes Equites 
1251 κλέπτης μὲν οὐκ ἂν μᾶλλον, εὐτυχὴς δ᾽ ἴσως. 

1. 184. πλημμυρίδι, properly the ‘flood tide.’ Aeschylus uses it of a 
gush of tears in Choeph. 186— 


56 ALCESTIS, 


ἐὲ ὀμμάτων δὲ δίψιοι πίπτουσί pot 
σταγόνες ἄφαρκτοι δυσχίμου πλημμυρίδος. 

1. τ86. προνωπής, ‘bending forward.’ Cp. 1. 143 for the word in 
a derived sense. 

1. 187. πόλλ᾽ ἐπεστράφη, ‘often returned to.” Cp. Hel. 83 πέθεν γῆς 
τῆσδ᾽ ἐπεστράφης πέδον, also Ion 352 πόλλ᾽ ἐπεστράφη πέδον, unless the 
meaning there be ‘ roamed o’er the plain.’ 

1, 194. κακός, ‘vile,’ in station, as in Shaksp. Hen. V. iv. 3 ‘be he 
ne’er so vile, this day shall gentle his condition’ Cp. Hom. Od. vi. 119 
ἐσθλοῖς ἠδὲ κακοῖσιν =‘high and low.’ Originally these terms denoted 
warlike excellence or the reverse, without any reference to morals, or 
even to birth and station, except in so far as ‘ goodness’ of every kind 
was presumed to accompany nobility (cp.1. 601). This is one of the 
passages in which Euripides shews his sympathy with slaves, and a 
desire to improve their despised condition. Cp. Med. 54, Orest. 870, 
Ion 854-856. 

1, 195. προσερρήθη, sc. ὑφ᾽ οὗ from ὅν preceding. ‘She spake not to, 
nor had an answer from’ (Browning). 

1. 197. The meaning is, ‘if he had died, he would have perished 
outright, but now that he has escaped death, he will have a lifelong 
sorrow.’ It is uncertain whether we should read τ᾿ ἄν (=7e ἄν) or 
τἄν (--τοι ἄν). Aé following te marks the latter statement as more 
important by contrast with the former, ‘ whereas now he has,’ &c. Te... 
ΤΕ merely connect two parallel clauses, ‘both... . and.’ 

1. 198. οὗ ποτ᾽ οὐ, &c. ‘ which he will never forget.” The inversion 
for οὔ ποτε is seemingly without parallel. Hence Nauck reads οὔ ποθ᾽ 
ov, which involves an equally awkward transposition of the relative 
pronoun. Monk takes οὐ λελήσεται = μεμνήσεται, =‘ will ever remember,’ 
but ποτέ cannot mean ‘ever’ in the sense of ‘always.’ See on οὔποτε 
φήσω 1. 238. 

1. 199. 7 που, ‘surely,’ or ‘I presume’ (often ironical). Tov is ‘some- 
where,’ hence ἤ mov=‘ surely I have some grounds for what I say.’ 

1. 200. εἰ, with indic., instead of the direct ὅτι, ‘if’ (as is the case) = 
* since.’ 

1. 203. προδοῦναι, ‘to abandon him,’ deserere, as in ll. 250, 275. 

1. 204. παρειμένη, ‘paralysed’ or ‘fainting. The ye is doubtful. 
Elmsley suggested a lost line after this one; others put a colon after 
νόσῳ, and read δέ for ye: ‘And paralysed ... still, though with little 
breath left in her, she tries to gaze upon the sun’s rays.’ 

χειρὸς ἄθλιον βάρος is best referred to Alcestis herself, as ‘a wretched 
burden in the hands’ of her supporters. [Others understand χειρός of 
the hand or arm of Alcestis, which is now a useless dead weight to her, 
—taking βάρος as the acc. of respect after παρειμένη. 


NOTES. LINES 186-229. 57 


[After 1. 206 these two lines are inserted :— 

ὡς οὔποτ᾽ αὖθις, ἀλλὰ νῦν πανύστατον 

ἀκτῖνα κύκλον θ᾽ ἡλίου προσόψεται. 
They are considered to be an interpolation from Hecuba 112, where they 
recur; and are, at all events, not necessary to complete the sense of this 
passage. The sentiment however is natural, especially from a Greek 
point of view, a last appeal to the sun as the source of light being 
regarded as a solemn religious act. Cp. 1. 243. Thus Polyxena in the 
Hecuba, 412, addresses the sun in the passage above referred to, so does 
Iphigenia in her parting words Jph. in Aul. 1505 ἰὼ λαμπαδοῦχος ἁμέρα, 
Διός τε φέγγος, &c.3; also Ajax before taking the fatal leap (Soph. Aias 
856), exclaims σὲ δ᾽ ὦ φαεννῆς ἡμέρας τὸ νῦν σέλας, καὶ τὸν διφρεύτην 
Ἥλιον προσεννέπω. 

1, 209. σήν, addressed to the leader of the Chorus. Cp. 1. 131. 

Exit Hanpmam. The Chorus now divides as before, 1. 77. [Hermann 
distributes the following Strophe among five Choreutae, making a similar 
division in the Antistrophe, 1. 226.] 

ll. 213-243. Cuorus, ‘Js there yet no deliverance? I fear there is none, 
but let us not cease our prayer. Great Paean, if thou canst, hear and save! 
But see! yonder comes Alcestis, with her husband. Mourn, cry aloud, 
Pheraean land! the best of women is departing. Never more will I praise 
wedded life; such sorrow hath it brought upon my king.’ 

1, 213. τίς πῶς, a double interrogative (some MSS. insert πᾶ). Cp. 
Helena 873 τί τἀμὰ πῶς ἔχει θεσπίσματα ; tis dv=utinam. Cp. Soph. 
Oed. Col. 1100 τίς ἂν θεῶν σοι τόνδ᾽ ἄριστον ἄνδρ᾽ ἰδεῖν Soin ; Compare 
πῶς ἂν ὀλοίμαν 1. 865. 

πόρος κακῶν, ‘way out of our troubles,’ like μηχανὰν κακῶν 
1. 222. 

1, 215. τέμω, the ‘deliberative’ subj. Cp. 1.131n. The sense is, ‘Is 
any one coming who will tell us if all is over, or shall we take it for 
granted, and begin the ceremonies of woe at once (757) ?’ Observe the 
change of number in ἀμφιβαλώμεθα. 

1. 219. θεῶν, a monosyllable, unless we omit the γάρ with some 
editions. But the reading is uncertain; see note on the antistrophic 
line 233. 

1, 220, Παιάν. Cp. 1.91 n. 

1, 222. πάρος τοῦδε, ‘before now.’ Cp. Il. 11, 32. Πάρος as a pre- 
position is oftener used of place than of time, but in Androm. 1207 
we have θανεῖν σὲ χρῆν πάρος τέκνων. [Hermann reads τῷδ᾽ ἐφεῦρες 
τοῦτο (i.e. for Admetus), and repeats στέναξον in the antistrophe, 
1. 236.] 

1, 229. Gpa=nonne (cp. ll. 341, 771), sometimes = num (as in 1. 477). 
It is not in itself interrogative, being merely a strengthened form of ἄρα. 


58 ALCESTIS, 


ἄξια σφαγᾶς, &c., means ‘enough to make one cut one’s throat, and 
more than enough to make one hang oneself.’ Cp. Aristoph. Acharn. 
125 τοῦτο δῆτ᾽ οὐκ ἀγχόνη. Suicide by the sword was thought more 
honourable than by hanging, as appears from Hel. 298— 

doxnpoves μὲν ἀγχόναι μετάρσιοι, ᾿ 

σφαγαὶ δ᾽ ἔχουσιν εὐγενές τε καὶ καλόν. 
But no such distinction is recognised here, and in Hipp. 772 the con- 
trary opinion is expressed. 

1. 230. οὐρανίῳ, ‘high in air.” Cp. Troad. 1088 τείχη οὐράνια. So 
‘aeriae palumbes’ Virg. Ecl. iii. 69. The double o in πελάσσαι is 
another instance of Epic licence in Choral odes (ep. ll. 126, 127 n.). 
This one occurs even in iambic lines, as χείρεσσι 1. 756, μέσσον ἔγχος 
Soph. Antig. 1236. 

[1.. 233. For ἐν Dindorf reads εἰν to match the strophic line 210 (if 
yap be retained there). Cp. 1. 436, Soph. Antig, 1241 εἰν “Αἰδου δόμοις. 
But both those passages are a reproduction of the Homeric phrase εἰν 
᾿Αἴδαο δόμοισιν 1]. xxxill. 179. In Hippol. 734 and Heracl. 893, where 
εἰνί appears in some editions, the MSS. read évi.] 

1. 237. μαραινομέναν παρ᾽ ἽΑιδαν, i.e. ‘wasting away (and going) to 
Hades,’ the so-called ‘ pregnant’ construction of a preposition of motion 
with a verb denoting rest; as in the well-known lines ‘I am wearing 
away to the Land of the Leal.’ Cp. 1. 363 ἐκεῖσε προσδόκα, Soph. Oed. 
Col. 1552 κρύψων nap’ “Αιδαν. 

1. 238. οὔποτε φήσω, ‘I will never maintain, not, as Monk and others 
take it=semper negabo. This would give ποτέ a sense which it cannot 
bear (see note on |. 198). So Prof. Jebb on Soph. Azas 194, ὅπου 
στηρίζει ποτέ, rightly joins ποτέ with ὅπου, because it cannot by itself= 
ἀεί mote. For the sentiment cp. ll. 879 &c., also Medea 1081 &c., 
where the Chorus recount the advantages of a single life. In the Jon 
488 the contrary opinion is expressed, τὸν ἄπαιδα 5 ἀποστυγῶ βίον, 
@ τε δοκεῖ, ψέγω. In each case Euripides is only making his characters 
say what is appropriate to the occasion, and not necessarily giving his 
own opinion. 

1. 240. 6oTts=quippe qui, ‘since having lost,’ &c. 

1, 241. ἀπλακών, instead of the more usual form ἀμπλακών with the 
euphonic p (as in ἄμβροτος, πίμπλημι, &c.). Cp. ἤμπλακες 1. 418. But 
ἀπλακεῖν, ἀπλακών, &c. are used when the first syllable is required to be 
short, as here. 

ἀβίωτον βιοτεύσει is an instance of oxymoron, a verbal paradox pro- 
duced by the combination of two opposite ideas. Cp. Bios ἀβίωτος, 
‘life that is no life,’ Hippol. 821, γάμος ἄγαμος Soph. Oed. Tyr. 1214, 

ll. 243-279. Alcestis is borne upon the stage by her attendants in a 
dying state, accompanied by Admetus and her two children, Wer 


NOTES. LINES 230-255. 59 


ejaculations, uttered in the near prospect of death, are broken by 
pathetic appeals from her husband not to desert him. 

1. 243. “Adve, &c. For addresses of dying people to the sun see note 
on |. 207. 

1. 244. δῖναι. Cp. Phoen. 164 ἀνεμώκεος δρόμον νεφέλας. Euripides 
is supposed to be alluding to the theory of his master Anaxagoras con- 
cerning the revolution or ‘rotation’ of the heavens (περιχώρησι5). which 
he elsewhere calls ai@épios ῥύμβος. The term δίνη however appears 
to have been first used by Democritus to describe the whirling motion 
(vortex) of atoms in the process of creation. This theory is ridiculed 
by Aristophanes in the Clouds 878, where Zeus is said to have been super- 
seded by one ‘ Dinus,’ as king of the universe. But surely an appeal 
to the common phenomena of drifting or eddying clouds—the ‘ heavenly 
dance οὐ the fleet cloud-figure,’ as Mr. Browning renders it—does not 
necessarily involve any such philosophical allusion; though the words 
of Admetus (1. 251) λίσσου θεούς seem to be meant as a remonstrance 
against the invocation of natural objects only. 

1. 245. The agitation of Alcestis is aptly expressed in lyric verse; 
the calmer iambics of Admetus have a soothing effect. Cp. Hel. 632, 
Ion 1441. The train of thought is—‘ Yes, the sun sees our calamity, 
though the gods deal thus hardly with us.’ 

1. 249. Tatpwas, as in Troades 164. Cp. πατρῴων Med. 430, -yepatas 
Hec. 62, all according to regular practice. Some have unnecessarily 
substituted πατρίας, πατρίων, δια. in these passages. Hermann’s dis- 
tinction between πάτριος, ‘ paternal,’ and πατρῷος, ‘ hereditary,’ does not 
always hold good. Here, for instance, Alcestis regards Iolcos rather 
as her father’s home than as an hereditary possession. 

1. 250. προδῷς, Cp. 1. 202 n. 

1, 252. δίκωπον σκάφος. Cp. ]. 433, Lucian Charon ch. 1 ἐγὼ δὲ τὴν 
δικωπίαν ἐρέττω μόνος. kaos is the Lat. scapha (Hor. Od. iii. 29, 6), 
our ‘skiff.’ Fora description of Charon’s office see Virg. Aen. vi. 302, 
&c. [The MS. addition of ἐν λίμνᾳ (sc. ᾿Αχερουσίᾳν) at the end of this 
line is a gloss to explain the allusion in σκάφος. It does not suit the 
antistrophic line 258, unless the equally needless repetition of ἄγει τις 
before ἄγει μέ τις be there adopted, and even then the « in λίμνᾳ cannot 
be shortened so as to correspond with οὐχ ὁρᾷς. 

1. 254. Perhaps Aristophanes has parodied this line in Lyststrata 605, 
where an old man is taunted with the words 6 Χάρων ce καλεῖ: σὺ δὲ 
κωλύεις ἀνάγεσθαι. 

1. 255. τάδε τοί με, &c. ‘these are the words with which he urges me, 
in his hurry to be gone.’ ταχύνει τάδε = τάδε λέγει ταχύνων. Cp. Soph. 
Αἴας 1107 τὰ σέμν᾽ ἔπη κόλαζ᾽ ἐκείνους, -- λέγε κολάζων. Dante, Inferno 
iii. 110, represents Charon as striking the loiterers with his oar, ‘ batte 


60 ALCESTIS., 


col remo qualunque s’ adagia.’. [Another reading is σὺ κατείργεις τάδ᾽ 
ἕτοιμα σπερχομένοις" τάχυνε, i.e. ‘you are delaying the preparations for 
those in a hurry; be quick!’ This has less authority than the other, 
and destroys the telling pause after cateipyets. | 

ll. 260, 261. tis with “AvSas (οὐχ ὁρᾶς being parenthetical), ‘some 
phantom like Hades, nescio quod simulacrum Orci. Cp. Virg. Aen, i. 181 
‘Anthea si quem,’ i.e. ‘any one swch as Antheus.’ 

1. 262. ἄφες, ‘unhand me,’ said to the supposed phantom. Then 
finding resistance useless she exclaims οἵαν ὅδόν, &c. 

1. 264. ἐκ δὲ τῶν -- ἐκ τούτων sc. φίλων, Cp. 1. 883, where τῆς-- 
ταύτης, Soph. Oed. Col. 742 ἐκ δὲ τῶν μάλιστ᾽ éyw. [Others make ἐκ 
τῶν =ék τῶνδε, ‘next to these,’ like ἐκ δὲ τῆς Θέμιν Aesch. Eumen. 2. 
But μάλιστα seems to imply that Admetus speaks of himself as chiefest 
among her mourning relatives. | 

1. 272. χαίροντες δρῷτον --΄ farewell and live on,’ vivite et valete 
(Monk). Cp. ll. 325, 437, though in the latter passage χαίρουσα has 
the additional sense of ‘ rejoicing.’ 

1. 273. τόδ᾽ ἔπος, i.e. the word ‘ farewell.’ 

1, 275. πρός σε θεῶν. Cp. 1. 1c98, Hippol. 607 ὦ πρός σε γονάτων, 
Soph. Phil. 468 πρὸς viv σε πατρός, ὅς. The language of emotion puts 
the pronoun σέ first, but not before the preposition, as this would 
imply a contrast between σέ and θεῶν, &c. which is not intended. This 
construction was imitated by Latin poets, as ‘per ego te deos oro’ 
Ter. Andria iii. 3, ‘ per vos et fortia facta’ Virg. Aen. x. 369. 

τλῇς (also τόλμα 1. 277). See on ἔτλην |. 2. 

1, 277. ἄνα, ‘up!’ with the force of a νεῖν, -- ἀνάστα. Cp. Soph. 
Αἴας 194 ἀλλ᾽ ἄνα ἐξ ἑδράνων. 

1. 279. ἐν σοὶ ἐσμέν, ὅζο. -- ἐν σοὶ ἔστιν ἡμᾶς καὶ ζῆν καὶ μὴ ζῆν, i.e. 
‘our life or death depends upon thee.’ 


ll. 280-368. Atcesrtis. ‘Hear, Ο Admetus, my last wishes. I have given 
my life for you; grant me this one favour in return, and let no stepmother 
come between these children and their lawful rights. I fear me much, my 
daughter, you will have to mourn a mother’s loss, when you most need her 
aid. But my time draws near; farewell, and forget me not, the best of 
wives and the best of mothers!’ Avmetus. ‘This will I do; fear not. 
Children I have enough, and these shall be my solace when thou art gone, 
All my life long will I mourn thy loss ; no sound of mirth or revelry shall 
again be heard in my halls. Thy image shall be laid upon my couch; this 
I will embrace, cold comfort though it be. Visit me, if thou canst, in my 
dreams! Had I the tongue of Orpheus, I would surely descend to Hades 
and bear thee thence, But there await my coming, since not even in death 
may we be disunited.’ 


NOTES. LINES 260-291. 61 


1, 280, τἀμὰ πράγματα is the accus. after ὁρᾷς (not the subject of 
ἔχει) according to the usual Greek idiom, occasionally found also in 
English, as ‘I know ¢hee, who thou art,’ οἷδά σε τίς εἶ, Luke iv. 34. 

1. 281. λέξαι θέλω σοι, &c. “1 wish to tell you what I desire (to have 
done).? Θέλω implies power to effect one’s purpose, βούλομαι states 
a desire which it may or may not be in one’s power to accomplish. 
Alcestis could state her wishes, but it would devolve upon Admetus to 
carry them out. Thus in 1. 285 ὃν ἤθελον is ‘whom I chose’ to wed, in 
1. 287 οὐκ ἠθέλησα, ‘I did not choose, but cp. Hom. JI. xxiv. 226 εἰ δέ 
μοι aica τεθνάμεναι. . . βούλομαι, ‘if it is my fate to die, I am ready to 
submit.’ Hence the colloquial phrases βούλει φράσω ; &c. “ would you 
like me to tell?’ [This distinction is not always observed; the seemingly 
exceptional cases in Homer, where βούλομαι is said of the will of the 
gods, are however not really so, since with them the power to act always 
accompanies the will.] 

ll. 282-287. This sentence is complicated by the insertion of a second 
principal verb θνήσκω after ἠθέλησα. Hence some have proposed to 
simplify it by beginning a fresh clause at παρόν, or by reading κοὐκ or 
οὐδέ for οὐκ in 1. 287. But the passage appears to be quite genuine as it 
stands; though it may be well in translating to repeat παρόν before 
σχεῖν, ‘but, though I might have had any husband of the Thessalians 
whom I chose, yet I preferred‘not to live,’ &c. 

1. 282. σὲ πρεσβεύουσα --προτιμῶσα, 1.155. Πρεσβεύειν properly de- 
notes the respect due to old age. Cp. Hippol. 5 τοὺς μὲν σέβοντας τἀμὰ 
πρεσβεύω κράτη. Similarly in Latin cp. Cic. ad Atticum vii. 3 ‘quod 
honestius, id mihi est antiguius,’ i,e. ‘of more value.’ 

1. 283. καταστήσασα, probably = ποιήσασα, sc. σέ, lit. ‘having caused 
you to see the light instead of living myself.’ But καθιστάναι with infin. 
in this sense is rare. It is possible to take (σὲ) φῶς τόδ᾽ εἰσορᾶν 45 -- τὸν 
σὸν βίον, i.e. ‘having secured your life in exchange for mine.’ Or 
‘reckoned your life as an equivalent for mine,’ 

1. 288. ἐφεισάμην, sc. δώρων ἥβης. 

1. 291. καλῶς μέν, &c. ‘ though they had reached a fit time of life for 
dying gloriously,’ or ‘with credit to themselves.’ ἧκον atrois= 
ἡκόντων αὐτῶν, and ἧκον is the so-called ‘accus. absolute,’ like παρόν 
1. 284, ἐξόν, δόξαν, τυχόν, &c. Ἥκειν is lit. ‘to have arrived at’ a certain 
point, hence ‘to be situated’ in it, so that καλῶς ἥκειν βίου is ‘ to be well 
situated in respect of age. Cp. Hdt. i. 30 rod βίου εὖ ἥκοντι, v. 62 
χρημάτων εὖ ἥκοντες, Elecira 751 πῶς ἀγῶνος ἥκομεν; For the sen- 
timent respecting old age cp. ll. 643, &c. (where however Admetus 
adds an argument based upon the comparative worthlessness of his 
father’s life), also Οἷς, de Senect, ch, 19 ‘Quid est tam secundum 
naturam, quam senibus emori?’ 


62 ALCESTIS, 


1. 295. ἔζων, imperf., ‘I should now be living.’ Alcestis speaks as 
though she were already dead. [Some wrongly read ἔζην, which is a 
later 2 aor. form arising from ἔζης, ἔζη of the imperf., whence also come 
the imperat. ζῆθι. But the 3rd pl. is always ἔζων. 

1. 299. εἶεν (a form of εἶα, cp. ἔπειτεν for ἔπειτα), ‘ well then,’ a for- 
mula of resignation. Alcestis passes from the ungrateful thought of 
the parents’ conduct to what she had most at heart, the welfare of 
her children. 

1. 300. ἀξίαν μὲν οὔποτε, ‘no due equivalent.’ Cp. Hom. 1]. ix. 401 
ov yap ἐμοὶ ψυχῆς ἀντάξιον οὐδ᾽ ὅσα φασὶν Ἴλιον ἐκτῆσθαι, ὅτε. 

1, 303. εἴπερ, ‘since,’ stating a fact. Cp. 1. 200 n., also 1. 326 n. 

1. 304. ἀνάσχου δεσπότας sc. ὄντας, ‘allow them to be (lit. ‘ submit 
to their being’) rulers.’ Cp. Med. 74 καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ᾿Ιάσων παῖδας ἐξανέξεται 
πάσχονταϑ. 

1. 305. ἐπιγήμῃς, &c. ‘marry over the heads of these children’ (as we 
say). Cp. ]. 373. Ἐπιγαμεῖν is to take a second wife, like the Lat. 
inducere, as in Pliny Epist. 33 ‘novercam filiae induxerat.’? This is one of 
the many passages in the classics dealing with the subject of step- 
mothers, whose cruelty has at all times been proverbial. Cp. Jon 1025 
φθονεῖν yap pact μητρυιὰν τέκνοις. Hesiod, Works and Days 823, speaks 
of lucky and unlucky days as μήτερες and μητρυιαί respectively, and 
Aeschylus, Prom. V. 727 calls the dangerous rocky coast of Salmydessus 
a μητρυιὰ νεῶν. In an epigram of Callimachus we are told how a boy 
went to place a garland on his stepmother’s tomb, which fell ux0n him 
and crushed him, out of pure spite as the verses suggest! A law of 
Charondas of Thurium enacted that none should be members of the 
senate who had brought a stepmother into their families. In Latin we 
have such passages as Hor. Epod. v. 9, 1 ‘Quid ut moverca me in- 
tueris?’ and the expressions ‘novercales stimuli,’ ‘ novercalia odia’ in 
Tacitus; also the Virgilian epithets ‘injusta,’ ‘saeva,’ ‘mala’ applied 
to a stepmother. On the other side it is but fair to quote the words 
which Propertius, v. 11. 85, &c., puts into the mouth of the dying 
Cornelia— 

‘Seu tamen adversum mutarit janua lectum, 
Sederit et nostro cauta noverca toro, 

Conjugium, pueri, laudate et ferte paternum; 
Capta dabit vestris moribus illa manus. 

Nec matrem laudate nimis; collata priori 
Vertet in offensas libera verba suas.’ 

1, 311. πύργον μέγαν, ‘a strong tower of defence,’ a common and 
obvious metaphor often used in Scripture. Cp. Soph. Oed. Tyr. 1200 
θανάτων δ᾽ ἐμᾷ χώρᾳ πύργος ἀνέστα. So arx in Latin, as in Livy vii. 29 
*arcem finitimorum Campanos adorti.’ 


NOTES, LINES 295-322. 63 


[The line ὃν καὶ προσεῖπε καὶ προσερρήθη πάλιν, inserted in old editions 
after 1. 311 is an obvious repetition of l. 195. It has been defended as 
showing how the father might protect his son; but such explanation 
is superfluous, nor would the line, if retained, be adequate for that 
purpose. Moreover the verb should rather be in the subjunctive than 
in the indicative—‘ whom he may address,’ &c.] 

1. 314. ποίας after πῶς is another instance of double interrogation 
(see 1. 213 n.). ‘ How wilt thou prosper in thy maidenhood, and what 
sort of a consort to thy father wilt thou find?’ πατρί goes closely 
with σύ, ‘father’s-consort’=‘stepmother.’ [Reiske’s proposed altera- 
tion to roias ... ἥ σοι is therefore unnecessary. | 

συζύγου. In 1. 921 the other form σύζυξ occurs. So ἀζυξ and ἄζυγος, 
yopyow and yépywros, duns and ἄδμητος, &c. were used indiscriminately. 

1. 315. py=‘I fear lest,’ &c. In these phrases there is no real 
ellipse of δέδοικα ; rather it may be said that ‘the Greek language 
formed through this μή with the subjunctive, and a certain emphasis of 
utterance, sentences expressive of care or admonition, just as there are 
sentences expressive of a wish, request, or interrogation’ (Buttmann). 

1. 316. διαφθείρῃ, i.e. ‘spoil your chances of making a good match,’ 
in order to make way for one of her own daughters. 

1. 317. The stress is on μήτηρ, ‘you will have no mother to arrange 
your marriage. Νυμφεύειν is here transitive as in Iph, in Aul. 885 
᾿Αχιλλεῖ παῖδα νυμφεύσουσα σήν. Cp. ὀρφανεῦσαι 1. 165. Like other 
verbs in -εὐω (as δουλεύω, &c.) it is usually intransitive; cp. Soph. 
Antig. 816 ᾿Αχέροντι νυμφεύσω. 

1. 321. οὐδ᾽ és τρίτην, &c. Alcestis means to say, ‘I shall die, not 
to-morrow, nor the day after, but on this very day.’ So far is plain, but 
there is a difficulty about μηνός. Some refer it to the known custom 
of demanding payment of debts on the first day of the month, and 
suppose that indulgent creditors may have allowed three ‘days of 
grace;’ but there is no further evidence of this. Others refer to a 
supposed law obliging condemned criminals to drink the hemlock 
within three days after their sentence. Whether such a law ever 
existed it is needless to enquire, since μηνός would still remain unex- 
plained. No satisfactory solution has as yet been proposed, and the 
word μηνός may not be genuine. 

1, 322. λέξομαι, in a passive sense, ‘I shall be reckoned.’ Cp. ore- 
ρήσεσθε Hippol. 1460, ὑπὸ τῶν ἱππέων οὐ βλάψονται Thuc. vi. 64. In 
some instances a reflexive force is possible, as in Plato Crito ch. 54 
παιδεύσονται ‘they will get an education,’ but not always. Originally 
the distinction between the forms in -σομαι and -θήσομαι seems to have 
been less strongly marked; hence the shorter form was often used for 
convenience, 


64 ALCESTIS. 


1. 323. χαίροντες εὐφραίνοισθε. See on ]. 272, 

1, 325. μητρός, sc. ἀρίστης from the preceding line. 

1. 326. πρὸ τούτου, &c. ‘I am not afraid to vouch for his doing it.’ 
Cp. Hom. 1]. v. 830 μηδ᾽ ἅζεο θοῦρον “Apna, Orest, 1116 οὐκ ἅζομαι. 
[Αζομαι is probably another form of ἄγαμαι (cp. ἔργον and ῥέζω), the 
radical meaning being that of astonishment and awe. ] 

1. 327. The readings vary between εἴπερ ἁμαρτάνει and ἤνπερ ἅμαρ- 
tavn. The first means ‘since he is not (as a fact) wanting in sense,’ 
(cp. 1. 303 n.); the second ‘if he be not (at some future time) 
wanting, &c.’ 

1. 331. προσφθέγξεται, ‘shall have anything to say to me as a 
husband’ (Paley). τόνδ᾽ ἄνδρα should probably be taken together in 
the usual sense=épé. Cp. ll. 690, 1084. In the Hippolytus 860 Theseus 
says of his deceased wife Phaedra, λέκτρα yap τὰ Θησέως ove ἔστι δῶμά 

᾿ ἥτις εἴσεισιν γυνή. 

1. 333. ἄλλως, ‘ besides,’ i.e. be she beautiful as well as noble. Cp. 
1. 533. So ἄλλος in such sentences as ἄνθρωποι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πρόβατα, 
‘men and cattle besides,’ οὐκ ἦν χόρτος οὔτε ἄλλο δένδρον Xen. Anab. i. 5. 

ἐκπρεπεστάτη, ‘of such surpassing beauty,’ instead of simply saying 
οὕτως ἐκπρεπής in continuation of the preceding line. [Perhaps the 
right reading is εὐπρεπεστάτη. 

1. 334. ἅλις δὲ παίδων, &c. ‘I have children enough already; in 
these I pray that I may be blest,’ (pointing to them as they stood by). 

1. 336. ἐτήσιον, the period fixed by Admetus for the public mourning 
(1. 431). The usual time at Athens seems to have been thirty days. 
Ovid, Fasti iii. 134, mentions a year as the time at Rome for a wife’s 
mourning after the death of her husband. πένθος τὸ σόν -- “ mourning 
for thee” answering to the ‘objective’ genitive (1. 426). Cp. Aesch. 
Persae 699 τὴν ἐμὴν αἰδῶ pebeis =‘ reverence toward me, Hom. Od. xi. 
202 σός Te πόθος σά τε μήδεα. 

1. 339. λόγῳ... ἔργῳ, a common rhetorical antithesis, much af- 
fected by Thucydides. Cp. Phoen. 526 οὐκ εὖ λέγειν χρὴ μὴ ᾿πὶ τοῖς 
ἔργοις καλοῖς. Admetus urges this complaint with great force against 
his father, 1.614, &c. Plato. Symposium ch. 7, says that Alcestis ‘so 
far surpassed the parents of Admetus in affection for him, as to make 
them appear strangers in comparison, and relatives only in name.’ 

1. 341. Gpa=nonne. Cp. 1. 229 n. 

1. 343. κώμους, ‘carousals,’ properly ‘ bands of revellers,’ as in Aesch. 
Agam. 1188, where Cassandra speaks of the Furies in Agamemnon’s 
house as a κῶμος δύσπεμπτος ἔξω. 

1. 344. κατεῖχε, ‘used to fill,’ of sound, as in Soph. Philoct. 10 κατεῖχ᾽ 
ἀεὶ πᾶν στρατόπεδον δυσφημίαις. 


1. 346. Λίβυν αὐλόν, called Λίβυς λωτός in Helena 170, Troades 543. 


NOTES. LINES 323-359. 65 


Flutes were made from the wood of the lotus, an African tree. λακεῖν 
here =doaz, ‘ to sing,’ as in Hippol. 55 κῶμος λέλακεν. It is a primitive 
word of sound, used of the ringing of metal in Hom. JI. xiv. 25 λάκε 
χαλκός, and of speech (but in a mock heroic strain) in Aristoph. Ach. 
410 Ti λέλακας ;=* what did you say ?’ 

1. 348. δέμας τὸ σόν, &c. This peculiar method of consolation may 
seem strange to us, and has been severely criticised. But, as Professor 
Paley observes, ‘the Greeks had a deeper feeling for sculptured forms 
than we can pretend to realise ;’ and Euripides here, as elsewhere, trans- 
fers the ideas and manners of his own time to that in which his scene is 
laid. Aeschylus, Agam. 406, represents Menelaus as so overwhelmed 
with grief at the loss of his Helen, that not even the grace of εὔμορφοι 
κολοσσοί could console him; and in Propertius y. 11. 83 the shade of 
Cornelia addresses Paullus thus — 

*Atque ubi secreto nostra ad simulacra loqueris, 
᾿ Ut responsurae singula verba jace.’ 
[Joddrell quotes an epitaph at Naples by one Bernardino Rota on his 
wife—‘ Infelix ille, qui mortua Portia cum ea sepeliri debuit. En! 
hic jingi pertulit, ut quando aliter nequit, marmorea conjuge frui 
liceat.’] 

1. 352. Cp. Helena 35 καὶ δοκεῖ μ᾽ ἔχειν, κενὴν δόκησιν, οὐκ ἔχων. 
For τέρψιν, the accus. in apposition to the sentence, see 1. 7 n. 

1. 353. οἶμαι, ‘to be sure,’ ‘no doubt,’ Lat. sane. Cp. 1. 565. It is 
often ironical (credo and wt puto) as in Med. 311 σὺ δ᾽, οἶμαι, σωφρονῶν 
édpas τάδε, “ of course you did all this discreetly.’ 

1. 354. ἀπαντλοίην, ‘lighten, properly said of pumping water out of 
aship’s hold. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 84 τῶνδ᾽ ἀπαντλῆσαι πόνων. Similarly 
in Hippol. 767 a man is said to be ὑπέραντλος συμφορᾷ, lit. * water- 
logged.’ 

1. 355. φίλους... παρῇ, possibly a change from plural to singular, as 
in Androm. 421 οἰκτρὰ yap τὰ δυστυχῆ βροτοῖς ἅπασι, κἂν θυραῖος ὧν κυρῇ, 
but more likely παρῇ is impersonal, ‘it may be allowed’ to see them. 
{Others read φίλος, i.e. ‘a friend is a pleasant thing to see;’ cp. Κύπρις 
οὐ φορητόν Hippol. 445, ‘triste lupus stabulis”’ Virg. Ecl. iii. 80, &c.] 

1. 357. Cp. Iph. in Aul. 1211 &c., where the maiden, pleading for 
her life, exclaims, εἰ μὲν τὸν ’Oppéws εἶχον, ὦ πατέρ, λόγον... ἐνταῦθ᾽ 
ἂν ἦλθον. Also Moschus, iii. 122, on the death of Bion, εἰ δυνάμαν δέ, 
ὡς ᾿Ορφεὺς καταβὰς... κἠγὼ τάχ᾽ ἂν és δόμον ἦλθον Πλούτεος. 

1. 358. ὥστ᾽ ἤ, corrected from ὡς τήν. Κόρη was used without the 
article as a title of Persephone (like βασιλεύς for the king of Persia), 
For keivys referring to the nearest noun cp. 1. 8 n. 

1. 359. κηλήσαντα. Cp. Hor. Od. iii. 11. 15 ‘ Cessit immanis tibi 
blandienti janitor aulae.’ 


F 


66 ALCESTIS, 


1. 361. οὗπὶ κώπῃ. Cp. |. 428 bs τ᾽ ἐπὶ κώπᾳ. .. ἵζει: 

1. 362. ἔσχον-- κατέσχον, ‘should hold me back.’ The pres. is com- 
monly ἔσχω in this sense. For the plural verb after ἢ... ἤ ep. Hec. 87 
Ἑλένου ψυχὴν ἢ Κασάνδρας, ὥς μοι κρίνωσιν ὀνείρους. Here the idea is 
suggested of Charon and Cerberus combining their strength. 

σὸν βίον -- 16 vivam, as in Bacch. 1339 σὸν καθιδρύσει βίον. 

1. 263. ἐκεῖσε, ‘ yonder,’ a vague euphemism for the other world. 
For the adverb of motion, ‘expect me when I come thither,’ see 
1. 237 n. 

1. 364. This points to a definite belief in the possibility of reunion 
after death, depending (as the ydp in the next line implies) in some 
measure upon the bodies being buried in one tomb. In the Orestes 
1053 Electra prays that one coffin may receive her brother's corpse 
and her own, and in Homer Od. xxiv. 76 the bones of Patroclus are 
laid with those of Achilles. An epitaph by Boethius Torquatus, in 
the Sth century a.b., concludes thus— 

“Ut thalami cumulique comes, nec morte revellar, 
Et socios vitae nectat uterque cinis.’ 

1. 365. κέδροις. Cp.1. 160. Pliny, Nat. Hist. xxiv. 5 says, ‘Cedrus 
defuncta corpora incorrupta aevis servat. The Egyptians used cedar 
oil in embalming (Hdt. ii. 87). Sandys, Travels, book ii., speaks of 
the ‘juice of cedars, which, by the extreme bitterness and siccative 
faculty, hath preserved [the bodies] uncorrupted.’ 

1. 366. σοί, after ταῖσιν αὐταῖς, ‘the same coffin with thee.’ Cp. 
Elect. 320 és ταὐτὰ βαίνων ἅρματ᾽ ἐκφοιτᾷ πατρί. The expression 
πλευρὰ ἐκτεῖναι would be inaccurate if the corpse of Alcestis was to 
be burnt, as is implied in πρὸς τάφον τε καὶ πυράν 1. 608. The 
bodies of the dead were sometimes buried and sometimes burnt; in 
the latter case the ashes were collected and entombed. The verbs 
θάπτειν and sepelire denoted either process. 

1. 368. This line also (cp. ll. 182, 253) is parodied in the Acharnians 
895, where Dicaeopolis addresses a fine eel μηδὲ γὰρ θανών ποτε σοῦ 
χωρὶς εἴην évrereutLavwpéevns— dressed with beet-root’! Aristophanes, 
we should think, might well have spared such a passage as this. 

Ll. 369-434. Cuorus. “1 too, as a friend, will share thy sorrow’ 
Auc. ‘Hear now, my children, your father’s promise! (to ApMeEtus) Receive 
these children from my hands? Avo. ‘I do receive them, and what I have 
said I will perform—Take me with thee, I pray, to the world below!’ 
Auc. ‘It cannot be; my death suffices—But my eye grows dim, Farewell, 
my children! farewell!” Avm. ‘Ah me! I am undone” (πο. ‘ The wife 
of Admetus is no more.’ Evumetus. ‘My mother is gone; she has left me 
desolate. Hear, mother, thine own child who calls thee!’ An. ‘ She hears 
not, nor sees thee; a hard fate is ours!’ Ev. ‘Sad indeed is my lot; 


NOTES. _ LINES 361-384. 67 


and thine too, my sister! In vain, father, didst thou wed, since she has 
gone before thee.’ (πο. ‘ Admetus, thou must bear thy fate, which comes 
not on thee alone. Avm. ‘I know it too well, But I go to make ready 
for the burial. Stay ye here, and raise the dirge. Let there be a whole 
year’s mourning throughout my realm, since she is worthy of all honour 
from me, who kas given her life for mine.’ 

1. 369. καὶ pay, ‘be sure that.’ Cp. 1. 64 n. 

πένθος τῆσδε. See note on ]. 336. 

1. 372. μὴ γαμεῖν, ‘that he will not wed.’ Γαμεῖν is the fut. from 
the primitive stem yap- of the verb. Cp. 1. 1089. Homer uses the 
intermediate uncontracted form, as in 1]. ix. 391 οὐδέ μιν ὡς γαμέω. 
Afterwards γαμήσω was formed from γαμέω, the pres. in use. 

1. 373. ἐφ᾽ ὑμῖν. See on ἐπιγήμῃς 1. 305. 

1. 375. ἐπὶ τοῖσδε, ‘on these conditions.’ Cp. Phoen. 1240 ἐπὶ τοῖσδε 
δ᾽ ἐσπείσαντο. So ἐπὶ τούτοις, ἐφ᾽ Ste, &c. The anapaest in the first 
foot of an iambic line is freely employed by Euripides, but never by 
Aeschylus or Sophocles, except when the foot consists of a single 
word. 

1. 377. So the dying Cornelia entreats Paullus for her children, 
‘Fungere maternis vicibus, pater’ (Propert. v. 11. 75). Cp. the old 
ballad of the Babes in the Wood (Norfolk Tragedy) :— 

‘You inust be father and mother both, 
And uncle all in one.’ 

1. 378. Each ye in this line has its own force. ‘ Sore need they will 
have, when they have lost you. Cp. Phoen. 554 τά γ᾽ ἀρκοῦνθ᾽ ἱκανὰ 
τοῖς γε σώφροσιν. 

1. 381. χρόνος μαλάξει, repeated at 1. 1085. Thus Dido, in her trans- 
port of grief, exclaims, ‘Tempus inane peto, requiem spatiumque furori’ 
(Virg. Aen. iv. 433). 

οὐδέν, i.e. non-existent, and therefore incapable of grieving you. 

1. 382. This is a practical comment upon Admetus’ words ἄρτι pav- 
θάνω 1.940. In the bitterness of parting he asks for what, if granted, 
would have made his wife’s self-sacrifice futile. There is a quiet dignity 
in her reply, which is almost as much as to say, ‘ One life is enough, 
and that life might have been your own, but now, by your act, it is 
mine.’ 

1. 383. ot προθνήσκοντες. When a woman speaks of herself in the 
plural, she uses the masculine gender. Cp. Soph. Elect. 399 πεσούμεθ᾽. 
εἰ χρή, πατρὶ τιμωρούμενοι. [She may however use a plural verb only, 
and proceed with a participle in the fem. sing., as in [ph. in Tauris 349 
ἠγριώμεθα, δοκούσ᾽ ᾽Ορέστην μηκέθ᾽ ἥλιον βλέπειν.ἢ 

1. 384. ὦ δαῖμον, &c. In accusing destiny Admetus ignores the fact 
that it was all his own doing. Cp. 1. 382 ἢ. 


F2 


68 ALCESTIS, 


1. 383. σκότεινον is ‘ proleptic,’ i.e. expresses the effect of βαρύνεται, 
‘My eye is weighed down in darkness.’ Cp. 1. 35 n. 

1. 387. ὡς οὐκέτ᾽ οὖσαν οὐδέν, ‘as a thing of nought now.’ Cp. 
1, 381 n. 

1. 389. Here Alcestis in her turn is forced by the agony of the mo- 
ment to say what was not strictly true, since her act had been voluntary, 
Cp.1.17. But how true to nature is the whole scene! 

1. 391. προλείπεις, ‘abandon me,’ like προδοῦναι in 1]. 202, 250. So 
προλιποῦσα 1. 396. [Some render the πρό, ‘ prematurely,’ but πρυλείπειν 
means rather ‘to go forth and leave.’] 

With the word χαῖρε Alcestis breathes her last, so that ‘we have 
death literally acted on the stage’ (Paley). This is also the case in the 
Hippolytus 1457, where however the hero veils his face, that the moment 
of death may not be apparent. [Horace, Ars Poet. 185, lays down the 
rule, ‘ne pueros coram Medea trucidet;’ but there is a wide difference 
between such harrowing exhibitions and a quiet death-scene like 
this.] 

1. 394. The part of Eumelus was recited by one of the Chorus from 
behind the scenes, while the child acted it on the stage. Hence such a 
part was called παρασκήνιον or παραχορήγημα. Thus in the Andromache 
1. 504 the child Molossus laments in concert with his mother. Usually 
children had no speaking part assigned them, e.g. in [ph. in Aul. 1241 
Iphigenia begs her infant brother to intercede for her life, exclaiming 
ἴδου, σιωπῶν λίσσεταί σ᾽ ὅδ᾽, ὦ πάτερ. In Soph. Aias 550 Ajax addresses 
his son Eurysaces at some length, but the boy does not reply. The 
children of Medea (Med. 1271) are heard crying out behind the scenes, 
but do not appear. Miiller, Literature of Greece, p. 360, observes that 
‘Euripides brings children on the stage more frequently than his pre- 
decessors, perhaps for the same reason that made people produce their 
children to the judges, in order to touch their hearts by the sight of 
their innocence and helplessness.’ 

μαῖα, here ‘mother,’ usually ‘nurse’=7pégos, as in Hippol. 243, 
Hom. Od. ii. 372, xix. 500, where Telemachus and Odysseus respec- 
tively address Euryclea by this venerable title. [The root in pai-a 
=‘great,’ being softened from that of péy-as, mag-nus, &c., as in 
mai-or and in our own migh-t, H.G. mach-t. Hence Maia, the ‘great 
mother,’ was identified with Δη- μήτηρ, or Mother Earth; cp. Aesch. 
Choeph. 45 ὦ γαῖα pata. | 

1. 396. προλιποῦσα. Cp. 1. 391 n. 

ἀμὸν βίον is something like σὸν βίον 1. 362 n., only here βίον is 
more strongly emphasised;—‘ having abandoned the substance of my 
life,’ i.e. ‘having abandoned me when I most needed her support.’ Cp. 
the words of ,Alcestis, 1. 379, ὅτε ζῆν χρῆν μ᾽, ἀπέρχομαι κάτω, 


NOTES. LINES 385-422 69 


᾿Αμὸς, or duds is Doric for ἡμέτερος, but used for ἐμός, as ἡμεῖς for 
ἐγώ. by the tragedians. Cp. ὑμός for ὑμέτερος. 

1. 397. τλάμων, ‘cruel,’ lit. ‘one who can bear’ to do cruel things. 
See note on ἔτλην 1. 1. 

1. 403. νεοσσός, ‘chick,’ used of a young child, as in Androm. 442, 
Heracl. 240, Troad. 746, and elsewhere. So pullus in Latin; cp. Hor. 
Sat. i. 3. 45 ‘appellat pullum,... male parvus si cui filius est.’ 

1. 407. μονόστολος, ‘desolate,’ properly used of a ship without 
convoy. 

ματρός depends on λείπομαι; cp. Ion 680 λελειμμένη τέκνων, 

ὦ παθὼν ἐγώ. Cp. Soph. Trach. 104 ὦ πολλὰ μοχθήσας ἔγώ 

σχέτλια ἔργα, ‘a cruel fate.” Cp.1. 469 n. 

1. 412. dvévar’ évipdevoas, ‘a bootless marriage was thine.’ So 
Admetus had said, 1. 335, σοῦ γὰρ οὐκ ὠνήμεθα. ᾿Ανόνατα is adverbial ; 
cp. Hippol. 1145 ἔτεκες ἀνόνητα. Nuppeveew=both uxorem ducere and 
nubere, but the latter is commonly νυμφεύεσθαι. It also means ‘to give 
in marriage,’ as μήτηρ σε νυμφεύσει 1. 317. 

1. 413. γήρως τέλος, ‘the full time,’ or ‘completion of age.’ Τέλος 
signifies perfection, not termination. So ἥβης τέλος Med. 920, ‘ the full 
flower of youth.’ 

1. 417. Cp. Hippol. 834— 

ov σοὶ τάδ᾽, ὦναξ, ἦλθε δὴ μόνῳ κακά, 
πολλῶν μετ᾽ ἄλλων δ᾽ ὥλεσας κεδνὸν λέχος. 

The same strain of consolation:—‘the commonplace and vacant 
chaff well-meant for grain’ (Tennyson, Zn Mem. vi.)—is repeated 
Il. 892, 932. 

So the queen to Hamlet. i. 2. 7— 

**Tis common; all that lives must die.’ 
Cp. Cic. Tuse. Disp. iii. 33 ‘Ne illa quidem firmissima consolatio est, 
quanquam usitata est, non tibi hoc soli. Prodest haec quidem, sed nec 
semper nec omnibus.’ 

1. 421. προσέπτατο, ‘lighted on me,’ as a bird swoops down upon 
its prey. Cp. Soph. Aias 282 τίς yap ποτ᾽ ἀρχὴ τοῦ κακοῦ mpocéntaTo ; 

1. 422. ἀλλά goes with πάρεστε, the clause ἐκφορὰν yap... νεκροῦ being 
parenthetical, so that γάρ practically=émei. Often the verb with ἀλλά 
has to be supplied from the context, e.g. in Soph. Antig. 155 the 
Chorus breaks off exclaiming ἀλλ᾽ ὅδε γὰρ δὴ βασιλεὺς. . . χωρεῖ, ‘but 
(we must pause) for here comes the king.” Thus ἀλλὰ γάρ (like sed 
enim or at enim) became a mere colloquial phrase=‘but however,’ 
marking a sudden transition of thought, or introducing an imaginary 
objection. 

ἐκφοράν, ‘burial.’ Cp. Aesch. Sept. ς. Thebas 1024 ἄτιμον ἐκφορᾶς, 
So ἐκφέρειν and ἐκκομίζειν =Oanrev, because of the sanitary law, which 


40 ALCESTIS. 


forbade interment within the walls of a town. LEfferre has the same 
meaning, as in Hor. Sat. iv. 5. 84 ‘anus est elata,’ Juv. Sat. i. 72 
‘nigros efferre maritos,’ and even metaphorically, as ‘elata respublica’ 
Livy xxviii. 28. 

1. 423. ἀντηχήσατε. The ἀντί refers to the antistrophe of the follow- 
ing chorus, l. 445. 

1. 424. παιᾶνα here=‘a dirge,’ and is therefore properly addressed to 
Hades. Cp. Aesch. Sept. c. Theb. 869 ἽΑιδᾳ τ᾽ ἐχθρὸν παιᾶν᾽ ἐπιμέλπειν. 
Otherwise the mention of a paean so addressed would be remarkable, as 
we are distinctly told that Hades (or Thanatos) was not honoured with 
the paean, μόνος θεῶν yap θάνατος οὐ παιωνίζεται (Aesch. Niobe Fragment). 
Cp. Iph. in Tauris 185 μοῦσαν τὰν ἐν μολπαῖς “Aidas ὑμνεῖ δίχα παιάνων. 
Usually the paean, or hymn of victory, was distinguished from the 
‘ Linus-song’ or ‘ dirge,’ which it was said to have superseded, as was 
symbolised in the myth of Linus overcome and slain by Apollo. 

κάτωθεν -- κάτω, an adverb of motion for one of rest. Cp. ll. 237, 
363 n., also Soph. Trach. 601 ἕως σὺ ταῖς ἔσωθεν ἠγορῶ ξέναις. 

ἀσπόνδῳ, ‘inexorable,’ whom no libations can appease. 

1. 426. For πένθους, some read πένθος. Either construction is pos- 
sible after κοινοῦσθαι, the gen. meaning ‘to make oneself a partaker of’ 
a thing, the accus. ‘to have it in common’ with another, 

γυναικός, ‘for my wife.’ Cp. 1. 336 n. 

1. 427. κουρᾷ ξυρήκει, the usual sign of mourning. Cp. 1. 215. 

[Κουρὰ (κείρειν) and ξυρόν are variations of the same werd, thus: 
the stem Kep- (κυρ-, koup-) came by loss of an original o from σκερ- 
(oxup-, &c.), and this transposed becomes kovp-, &c, i.e. Eup-.] 

μελαγχίμοις πέπλοις. Another reading is μελαμπέπλῳ στολῇ. Nearly 
the same line as in the text occurs in Phoenissae 372. 

1. 428. μονάμπυκας, ‘single horses,’ also called «éAnres and μόν- 
immot. Ζεύγνυσθαι means ‘to saddle’ one horse, as well as ‘to yoke’ 
a pair. Cp. Aristoph. Pax 127 κάνθαρον ζεύξαντ᾽ ἐλαύνειν. The 
dunvé, ‘frontlet,’ is a poetic ornamental addition to the bare adj. 
pdvos. So povdppovpoy ἕρκος, ‘sole defence,’ Aesch. Agam. 257; 
δικρατεῖς λόγχας, ‘double lances,’ Soph. Ant. 146; ὀπισθόπους κῶμος, 
‘attendant train,’ Hippol. 54. [Aristophanes, Acharn. 671, parodies 
the Pindaric epithet λιπαράμπυξ, applying it to a kind of sauce, Θασίαν 
λιπαράμπυκα.ἢ 

1. 429. σιδήρῳ, &c. So the Persians mourned for Masistius, σφέας 
τε αὐτοὺς κείροντες καὶ τοὺς ἵππους (Hadt. ix. 24). According to Plutarch 
the Thebans clipped their horses’ manes at the funeral of Pelopidas, and 
Alexander did the’same at that of Hephaestion. Orders were also given 
that music should cease throughout the camp. 

1. 430. ἐκπληρουμένας, (pres. part.) lit. ‘while twelve moons are ful- 


Ns“ 


NOTES, LINES 423-447. ψι 


filling their course,’ i.e. fora whole twelvemonth. For the usual period 
of mourning see 1. 336 n. 

1. 434. τιμᾶν. Two inferior MSS. read τιμῆς. Compare 1. 229 
ἴξια σφαγᾶς with 1. 1060 ἀξία μοι σέβειν, but the personal construction 
with ἄξιος or ἀξία usually takes the passive infin. as ἀξία ἐστὶ τιμᾶσθαι --: 
digna est quae honoretur, 

The corpse of Alcestis is now carried into the house, Admetus fol- 
lowing with the children. 

Ll. 435-475. Cuorus. ‘ Daughter of Pelias, all joyous be thy dwelling 
in Hades! the noblest that ever crossed the stream of the underworld. Oft 
in Athens and Lacedaemon shall the minstrels celebrate thy fame with lyre 
and song. O that I could bring thee back to life! for thou alone, in the 
flower of thy youth, wast found to redeem thy spouse from the grave. Light 
fall the mould of thy tomb, and woe to him, if he take another wife in thy 
stead! Rare indeed is his lot, who finds a consort like thee.’ 

1. 436. χαίρουσα combines the meanings of ‘farewell,’ and ‘may’st 
thou have joy in thy dwelling.’ 

μου is the so-called dat. ethicus=‘I pray thou mayest,’ &c. 

This line is almost a quotation from Homer JI. xxiii. 179 χαῖρέ μοι, ὦ 
Πάτροκλε, καὶ εἰν ’Aidao δόμοισιν. Cp. 1. 233 n. 

1. 437. Cp. 1. 852, Herc. Fur. 607 ἐξ ἀνηλίων μυχῶν “Αἰδου, Virg. 
Aen. vi. 534 ‘ tristes sine sole domos.’ Dante, Inferno iii. 23, speaks of 
the lower world as ‘I’ aere senza stelle.’ 

οἰκετεύοις = οἰκοῖς, from οἰκέτης, properly ‘an inmate of the house,’ 
but generally ‘a servant.’ The verb οἰκετείειν scems not to occur 
elsewhere. 

1, 438. ἴστω wopevoas. Cp. 1. 150n. For Charon’s office see 1. 
361 n. 

1. 443. For the two accusatives, one of the direct object, the other of 
the space travelled over, cp. Soph. Trach. 560 ὃς τὸν βαθύρρουν ποταμὸν 
.««- βροτοὺς μισθοῦ ’πόρευε. So trajicere, as in Caesar B. G. i. 55 
‘equitum magnam partem flumen transjecit.’ 

mopevoas would strictly apply to Charon alone, as the ferryman of 
the dead, but he acts under the command of Hades. 

1. 445. πολλά, adverbial -- πολλάκις. Cp. ἀνόνατα 1. 412 ἡ. 

1, 446. μουσοπόλοι, ‘ minstrels,’ lit. ‘ versed in song.’ For πολεῖν and 
its cognates see l. 29 ἢ. 

A song on the subject of Admetus and Alcestis, sung as a ‘ scolion’ 
at banquets, is alluded to by Aristophanes, Vespae 1238, and is also men- 
tioned by Athenaeus. It began, ᾿Αδμήτου λόγον μαθὼν τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς φίλει. 

1. 447. χέλυν, the tortoiseshell, of which Hermes is said to have made 
the first lyre. Cp. Hor. Od. iii. 11. 5 ‘¢estudo resonare septem callida 
nervis.’ 


72 ALCESTIS. 


ἑπτάτονον = ἑπτάχορδον, since the strings of the lyre differed by the 
interval of a tone or a semitone only. [The original lyre had only 
four strings (some appear to have had no more than three); but in 
650 B.c. Terpander is said to have added three more for the service of 
the gods.] 

ἄλυροι ὕμνοι represent epic as distinguished from lyric poetry, being 
recited without accompaniment; though the lyre seems to have been 
used for preludes and interludes in the Epos. 

1. 449. The Carneia was the great Spartan festival of Apollo, cele- 
brated at the neighbouring town of Amyclae. It lasted nine days, from 
the 7th of the Carneian month (nearly corresponding with our August). 
In connexion with the praises of Apollo the story of Admetus would 
hold a prominent place. Callimachus in his Hymn to Apollo traces the 
progress of this festival from Sparta to the isle of Thera, and thence to 
the Greek colony of Cyrene on the coast of Africa. It was the Carneia 
that hindered the Lacedaemonians both at Marathon and Thermopylae 
(Hdt. vi. 106, vii. 206). 

kukAds, a probable emendation for κύκλος, ‘the circling season comes 
round.’ [With the reading κύκλος, ὥρας is probably the acc. pl. after 
περινίσσεται, ‘goes round the seasons, though some take it as a gen. 
after μηνός. 

1. 452. λιπαραῖσι, a favourite epithet of Athens, whose inhabitants 
prided themselves on the sunny splendour of their city and their joyous 
happy life—det διὰ λαμπροτάτου βαίνοντες ἁβρῶς αἰθέρος (Med. 830). 
[Aristophanes, Eguites 1329, has ὦ ταὶ λιπαραὶ καὶ ἰοστέφανοι καὶ ἀριζή- 
λωτοι ᾿Αθῆναι, but in the Acharnians 1. 640 he rallies his fellow-citizens 
on their fondness for the epithet λιπαρός, which he says would apply 
equally well to anchovies or sardines !] 

1. 457. τεράμνων. Cp. Hippol. 536 Πυθίοις τεράμνοις. The word (also 
written τέρεμνονν) is said to denote a solid edifice, from orépeos with the 
loss of the initial σι Cp. στέγος and tegere, scutum and κύτος, στορ-έννυμι 
and ¢orus. But this etymology lacks proof. 

1. 459. ποταμίᾳ veptépa τε κώπᾳ -- κώπῃ ποταμοῦ νερτέρου, ‘the oar 
that dips in the stream of the under-world,’ so that νερτέρᾳ agrees in 
sense with the gen. implied in ποταμίᾳ. Cp. Soph. Elect. 857 ἐλπίδων 
κοινοτόκων εὐπατρίδων τ᾽ ἀρωγαί-- ἐλπίδων κοινοῦ τόκου εὐπατρίδου, 
‘hopes from a noble brother.’ 

1. 460. φίλα γυναικῶν (like Homer’s δία γυναικῶν, πότνα θεάων, &c.), 
‘dear among women.’ Cp. Virg. Aez. iv. 576 ‘sancte deorum,.’ This 
construction has been imitated in English, e.g. ‘ precious of all trees,’ 
Milton P. L, ix. 795. 

1, 461. αὑτᾶς --σεαυτᾶς. So with the first person, as in Soph. Oed. 
Tyr. 138 αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ (-- ἐμαυτοῦ) τοῦτ᾽ ἀποσκεδῶ μύσος, and in the 


NOTES. LINES 448-474. 73 


plural, as in Plato, Phaedo xxv. δεῖ ἡμᾶς ἀνερέσθαι ἑαυτούς. The pro- 
noun is simply reflexive, the person being indicated by the verb or 
some other word in the sentence; but it generally represents the third 
person. : 

ἀμεῖψαι, &c., ie. ‘rescue your husband from death by taking his 
place.” In 1. 46 δάμαρτ᾽ ἀμείψας meant ‘putting his wife into his own 
place” ᾿Αμείβειν means both ‘to give’ and ‘to take in exchange,’ but 
the middle is oftener used in the latter sense. See note on ἀμείψασθαι 
πύλας 1. 752. 

1. 463. κούφα σοι, &c. Cp. Tibullus ii. 4. 28 ‘terraque securae sit 
super ossa levis. So in one of Byron's Occasional Pieces, the wish is 
expressed, ‘ Light be the turf of thy tomb,’ and in another— 


“Ὁ snatched away in beauty’s bloom 
On thee shall press no ponderous tomb.’ 


Tn the Helena 852 Menelaus says that ‘the gods make light the mould 
over the brave man’s tomb.’ This feeling, natural at all times, had a 
stronger significance when the departed spirit was believed to share 
the fortunes of the body. Lucian ridicules this belief, when he re- 
presents the shade of Mausolus as burdened by the weight of his marble 
monument. 

1. 468. Here a line has been lost, containing the principal verb, and 
answering to 1. 458 in the strophe. It may have repeated the statement 
that Alcestis died for her husband, or that Admetus was doomed to die. 

1. 469. σχετλίω, ‘hard-hearted.’ Cp. 1. 407. In lL 741 it means 
‘ stout-hearted,’ in 1. 824 ‘miserable.’ All these meanings spring from 
the original sense of ‘ bearing’ and ‘ enduring,’ implied in σχεῖν (ἔχω). 

1. 473. τοιαύτης εἴη por, &c. A general sentiment, not suited to the 
persons of the Chorus, who are old men. Prof. Paley would render it, 
* give me such a partner.’ 

συνδυάϑος, adj. with ἀλόχου, ‘such a dear wedded wife as this.’ 

[τό, corrected from the MS. reading τοῦτο to match εἰ δέ τι in the 
strophic line 463. See note on ἐκ δὲ τῶν 1. 264, and cp. ll. 767, 937-] 

1. 474. ἄλυπος, transitive, ‘causing no sorrow,’ as in Bacchae 
432 οἴνου τέρψιν ἄλυπον. The passive sense ‘unpained’ is more 
common. 

From 1. 476 to 1. 568 is the second ‘episode’ of the play. See note 
on 1. 135. Enter Heractes with his club and robe of lion-skin. He 
accosts the Chorus. The sudden change of scene at this moment is 
very effective. 

Ll. 476-508. Heracues. ‘Is my lord Admetus within?’ Cuorus, ‘He 
is; but what quest brings thee hither?’ UHer. ‘Eurystheus hath sent me to 
Thrace to fetch the horses of Diomede.” Cuo, ‘’Twill be a struggle of life 


74 ALCESTIS. 


or death for thee; these steeds rend the flesh of men. Her. “7 shun no 
toil, nor is this conflict my first. But their master—whose ‘son is he?’ 
Cuo. ‘ The son of Ares. Her. ‘ How persistent is my fate, always to fight 
with the children of Ares! But Alcmena’s son never trembles at a foe.’ 
Cuo. ‘ Here is Admetus himself, the lord of this land.’ 

1. 476. κωμῆται, ‘villagers, Ξε γείτονες, i.e. dwellers in the district 
round Pherae. From very early times Thessaly comprised a number 
of separate communities (πόλεις), of which Pherae, Pharsalus, and 
Larissa were among the most important, each having its cluster of 
dependent villages. 

1. 477. For the force of ἄρα in questions cp. Il. 229, 341 n. 

κιγχάνω, prob. the subj. mood, ‘ may I (expect to) find;’ but it may 
be the indicative, just as we say ‘do 1?’ for ‘ shall 1?’ 

προσβῆναι --αὥστε προσβῆναι, but the Greek infin., like the English, 
can express a result, very nearly equivalent to a purpose. This is 
imitated by Latin poets, as in Virg. Aen. 1. 527 ‘Libycos populare Penates 
venimus.” 

1. 481. Τιρυνθίῳ. Eurystheus was king of Mycenae, but both Tiryns 
and Mycenae were in the territory of Argos. Hence the epithets 
‘Argive, ‘ Tirynthian,’ and ‘Mycenaean’ were promiscuously applied 
to Heracles and Eurystheus. 

1. 482. καὶ wot. See latter part of note on καὶ πῶς 1. 142. 

1. 483. τέτρωρον ἅρμα. Cp. 1. 66. For μέτα, ‘in quest of,’ cp. 1. 
46n. “Appa is the chariot and horses, or perhaps the horses alone; 
cp. Hippol. 1229 rérpwpov ἐκμαίνων ὄχον. So in Virg. Georg. iii. gt 
‘currus Achillei’ =‘ equi.’ 

1. 484. μῶν, originally from μὴ οὖν, indicates surprise,—‘ Are you then 
ignorant?’ implying ‘surely you must be.’ 

1. 487. ἀπειπεῖν, lit. ‘to say xo to’ anything, hence ‘ decline’ or ‘ faint 
at, from the idea of saying that one can do no more. Cp. 1. 737 n. 
In the latter sense it usually takes the dative, and some MSS. read 
τοῖς πόνοις here. [But in Andromache 87 ἀπαυδᾷς ἐν κακοῖς φίλοισι σοῖς 
means ‘ you renounce’ or ‘ fail your friends in trouble.’] 

1. 489. πρῶτον, in apposition with ἀγῶνα, τα" this would not be the 
first contest I have undertaken.’ Cp. 1. 648 καλόν γ᾽ ἂν τόνδ᾽ ἀγῶν᾽ 
ἠγωνίσω, Soph. Aias 1121 οὐ γὰρ βάναυσον τὴν τέννην ἐκτησάμην, ‘it 
was no vulgar art I acquired.’ This is called the ‘Tertiary Pre- 
dicate.’ 

1. 490. ἂν κρατήσας, &c., cp. 1. 72 n. 

1. 493. εἰ μή ye, &c.,=xnisi forte, ‘(easy enough) unless indeed, &c.’ 
Cp. Heracl. 272, where Demophoon, being forbidden to strike a herald, 
answers εἰ μή γ᾽ 6 κῆρυξ σωφρονεῖν μαθήσεται, *\ but I will) at least if he 
do not learn discretion,’ 


NOTES. LINES 476-507. 75 


1. 494. λαιψηραῖς, ‘ ravenous,’ properly ‘ quick-moving,’ since λαιψηρός 
by loss of A becomes αἰψηρός, Cp. λείβειν and εἴβειν and perhaps Aa- 
φύσσειν and ἀφύσσειν. 

1. 496. Cp. Herc. Fur. 381 πώλους Διομήδεος, at φονίαισι φάτναις 
ἀχάλιν᾽ ἐθόαζον κάθαιμα σῖτα γένυσι, χαρμοναῖσιν ἀνδροβρῶσι δυστράπεζοι, 
also Ovid, Met. ix. 194— 

‘Quid quod Thracas equos humano sanguine pingues, 
Plenaque corporibus laceris praesepia vidi.’ 

This story was afterwards explained away, as meaning that Diomedes 
spent all his substance in breeding horses; hence they were called ‘de- 
vourers of men.’ 

αἵμασιν, ‘gouts of blood.” Cp. Elect. 1172 νεοφόνοις ἐν αἵμασι. So 
in Virg. Aen. iv. 687 ‘atros siccabat veste eruores.’ 

1. 497. ὃ θρέψας, ‘their keeper’ or ‘ breeder.’ Cp. Aristoph. Nubes 
109 τοὺς φασιανοὺς ois τρέφει Λεωγόρας. 

1. 498. ζαχρύσου πέλτηΞ. Cp. Rhesus 370 τὴν ζάχρυσον πέλταν. 
[The intensive prefix ζα- in (ά-χρυσος, ζά-θεος, ζα-μενής, &c., is the same 
as δα- in δα-φοινός, &c., and probably = διά, i.e. ‘thorough.’] The gold- 
mines of Thrace were in the Pangaean mountains between Scapte Hyle 
and the Strymon. (Thuc. iv. 104.) 

πέλτη May --πελταστῶν, as in Rhes. 410 ἔρρηξα πέλτην. So χιλίη 
ἵππος Hat. vii. 41, ‘a thousand horse,’ ἀσπὶς μυρία -- ὁπλῖται, and in Latin 
arma often=armati, But it is perhaps simpler to take it here in its 
literal sense. Cp. κώπης ἄναξ Aesch. Pers. 380. 

1. 499. τόνδε, &c., ‘this labour you speak of (cp. 1. 489 n.) is of 
a piece with my destiny,’ i.e. to be always fighting with the sons of 
Ares. 

1. 500. πρὸς atmos, ‘uphill, i.e. ‘arduous. Cp. Hel. 1443 ἕλκουσι 
δ᾽ ἡμῖν πρὸς λέπας τὰς συμφοράς, ‘as we drag our fortunes uphill.’ 

1. 501, εἰ χρή, ‘since I must,’ stating a fact. Cp. 1. 327 ἢ. 

1. 502. Lycaon the son of Ares is not mentioned elsewhere, but 
Heracles is said to have slain a Lycaon, the son of Peleus king of Pylos, 
at the siege of that town. The combat with Cycnus is alluded to in 
Herc. Fur. 391, and related at length in the Shield of Heracles, ascribed 
to Hesiod. 

1. 507. καὶ μήν marks the entrance of a new character on the stage. 
Cp. ll. 611, 1006. 

Enter Apmerus. 11. 509-567. Ανμ. ‘Hail, thou son of Zeus!’ HER. 
‘Admetus, all hail! But why this garb of mourning? Is any one dead? 
thy children or thy sire?’ Ap. ‘ These are alive and well; it is my wife’s 
state that troubles me” Her. ‘Speakest thou of her as alive or as dead?’ 
Aom. ‘Knowest thou not her destiny? how lives she then?’ Her. ‘ Never 
grieve before the time; but tell me, who is dead?’ Av. ‘’iwas of a 


76 ALCESTIS. 


tcoman I spoke,—an alien, yet most dear? Ter. ‘Alas that I should find 
thee sorrowing! I will even go elsewhere? Avo. ‘ That must not, that 
shail not be, Heracles! the guest-rooms are ready, and thou shalt have 
good cheer, (Exit Heracres.) Ap. ‘Could I refuse the man who came 
to me as a guest? Or tell the truth, and so drive him. from my doors? 
That were a blot upon my hospitable name, a calamity worse than all 
beside,’ 

1. 509. Alcmena, the mother of Heracles, was the daughter of 
Electryon, the son of Perseus, who claimed descent from Zeus. 

1. 511. θέλοιμ᾽ dv, sc. χαίρειν, in the sense of ‘rejoice,’ though 
Heracles had used it in the ordinary way of greeting. So in Hec. 426 
Polyxena exclaims χαῖρ᾽, ὦ τεκοῦσα. to which Hecuba replies χαίρουσιν 
ἄλλοι, μητρὶ δ᾽ οὐκ ἔστιν τόδε. [Cp. Livy i. 28 (story of Lucretia) 
‘quaerenti viro “Satin salvae?” ‘‘ Minime,” inquit, “quid enim salvi 
est mulieris amissa pudicitia ?””] 

1, 512. τί χρῆμα mpémets ; ‘why dost thou appear?’ Πρέπειν is ‘to be 
conspicuous,’ ‘to show oneself,’ &c. Cp. 1. 1050, Hel. 1204 ws ἐσθῆτι 
δυσμόρφῳ πρέπει, Aesch. Agam. 30 6 φρυκτὸς πρέπει, ‘the beacon is 
clear.” [The radical meaning of πρέπειν seems to be that of coming 
close to or pressing close upon the senses, generally of sight, but 
sometimes of hearing, as βοὴν πρέπειν Aesch. Agam. 312. Hence 
Conington in his note on Agam. 30 supposes it to be akin to prope, 
proprius, &c.] 

1. 514. ἀπ᾽ οὖν τέκνων. A preposition is often separated from its 
case by a participle such as οὖν, μέν, τοι, &c. Sometimes two or more 
words are interposed. as in Plato, Crito xii. πρὸς μὲν ἄρα σοι τὸν πατέρα. 
So in Demosthenes, περὶ μὲν τοίνυν, ἔφην ἔγώ, τούτου. 

1. 516. ὡραῖος, ‘of ripe age.’ i.e. for the grave. Cp. Phoen. 968 
αὐτὸς δ᾽, ἐν ὡραίῳ γὰρ ἵσταμαι βίῳ, θνήσκειν ἕτοιμος. So the Lat. 
tempestivus, as in Virg. Georg. i. 250 ‘aut tempestivam silvis evertere 
pinum.’ 

1, 518, οὐ phy, &c., ‘surely your wife Alcestis is not dead?’ 

1. 520. This question was too direct really to admit of evasion. 
The answer ἔστιν τε κοὐκέτ᾽ ἔστιν is not, like that of the maidservant, 
1. 141, admissible under the circumstances, since Alcestis could not now 
in any possible sense be said to be alive. 

1. 523. μοίρας, for μοῖραν, by attraction into the case of the relative 
js. Cp. Soph. Trach. 151 τότ᾽ ἄν τις εἰσίδοιτο.... κακοῖσιν ois βαρύνομαι. 
This kind of attraction rarely occurs, except when the antecedent would 
otherwise have been in the accusative. 

1. 524. ὑφειμένην, ‘submitted.’ Euripides has been blamed for an 
oversight here in making Heracles aware of the self-sacrifice of Alcestis, 
See answer to this objection in the Introduction, p. xviii, 


NOTES, LINES 509-537. 77 


1. 525. qvecev, ‘promised,’ as in 1. 12. See also 1. 2 ἢ. 

1. 526. és τόδε, lit. ‘till the fact,’ ie. ‘till the time comes.’ [Some 
read τότε, without authority. ] 

1.527. ‘He who is doomed is (as one) dead, and he who is dead is 
no more.’ The continuation of the argument would be ‘but Alcestis 
is doomed, and therefore dead; hence I was right in saying οὐκέτ᾽ ἔστιν 
of her,’ But see note on l. 520. 

1. 528. A blunt remark, going straight to the point;—‘being and 
not being are generally considered different things. χωρὶς νομίζεται, 
lit. ‘are thought of apart.’ Cp. Soph. Oed. Col. 808 xwpis τό τ᾽ εἰπεῖν 
πολλὰ καὶ τὰ καίρια. So ἀμφίς in Hom. 1]. ii. 13 οὐ γὰρ ἔτ᾽ ἀμφὶς 
ἀθάνατοι φράζονται, lit. ‘do not think on two sides,’ i.e. ‘are not divided 
in opinion,’ 

1, 529. Admetus replies in effect—‘Z choose to regard a thing, when 
fated, as accomplished; you refuse to allow this, and each has a right 
to his own opinion.’ 

1. 530. Heracles, assuming that some one was really dead (and thus 
showing that he was not satisfied with Admetus’ quibble, 1. 521, and 
its pretended solution), asks τίς φίλων ὁ κατθανών; Admetus now 
enters on a new line of deception, turning upon the acceptation of the 
word ὀθνεῖος. Hence arises the natural mistake, by which Heracles 
afterwards excuses his behaviour (Il. 81o, 828, 1014). It is not till 
he announces his intention of going elsewhere (1. 538) that Admetus 
drops his equivocal language, and devotes himself to the task of de- 
taining his guest at all hazards. 

1. 531. γυναικός, &c., ‘it was a woman I meant just now,’ i.e. ‘ when 
I spoke of burying a corpse.’ 

μεμνῆσθαι = memorare, ‘to mention.’ 

1. £32. ὀθνεῖος, probably from ἔθνος, i.e. one of the same tribe or 
nation, but not a kinsman (ovyyevjs). The inhabitants of Iolcos 
(1. 249) and Pherae would belong to the same ἔθνος. [Some derive 
ὀθνεῖος by transposition from voGetos (νόθος), i.e. ‘a foreigner,’ but 
the two words appear to be from different roots.] 

1. 533. ἄλλως, ‘besides,’ or ‘in another sense’ (Paley). Cp. 1. 333 n. 

ἀναγκαία, ‘an intimate friend,’ Lat. necessaria. 

1. 537. ὑπορράπτειξ, ‘subjoin,’ but also implying some hidden design. 
Both parts of the compound suggest this; ὑπό denotes crafty or ‘ under- 
hand dealing (as ὑπήγετο, ‘led him on craftily,’ Xen. Azab. ii. τ. 18), 
and ῥάπτειν with its compounds (as pnxavoppados, &c.) has the same 
force, from the notion of ‘ patching’ or ‘stitching.’ 

{This is illustrated in Artaphernes’ remark to Histiaeus about the 
Tonic revolt (Hdt. vi. 1), τοῦτο τὸ ὑπόδημα ἔρραψας σύ, ἐκεῖνος δὲ 
ὑπεδήσατο, ‘this shoe was of your stitching, but he put his foot into 


“8 ALCESTIS. 


it.” So swere in Latin, as in Terence, Phorm. iii. 2 ‘ne quid suo suat 
capiti,’ whence sztela, ‘a cunning trick.’] 

1. 538. With ξένων ἄλλην ἑστίαν (constituting the figure called 
Hypallage) cp. Soph. Aias 860 πατρῷον ἑστίας βάθρον, Trach. 994 Knvaia 
κρηπὶς βωμῶν, &c. In such expressions the two substantives form one 
notion, with which the adjective agrees. [Another reading, of good 
authority, is ἄλλων for ἄλλην.] 

1. 540. εἰ μόλοι, ‘if he were to come,’ sc. ἂν εἴη with ὀχληρός. Cp. 
Soph. Aias 921 ws ἀκμαῖος, εἰ Bain, μόλοι, ‘how timely would his coming 
be, if he were to arrive.’ 

1.542. παρᾶ κλαίουσι. A short final vowel is not usually lengthened 
before a mute and a liquid, unless the mute consonant be β, y, 
or 6. Cp. ἄρᾶ κλύουσα Elect, 1058. Here the close connexion be- 
tween the preposition and its case softens the effect. Before p a short 
a seems to be uniformly lengthened by Euripides, except in Bacchae 
1338. 

1. 546. σύ, to the attendant. Royal personages were usually at- 
tended on the stage by slaves. Soin Aesch. Choeph. 712, Clytaemnestra, 
breaking off her conversation with Orestes, directs the servant dy’ αὐτὸν 
cis ἀνδρῶνας εὐξείνους δόμων, [For τῶνδε some read τῷδε, in reference 
to Heracles.] 

ἐξωπίους, with δωμάτων, ‘out of sight of these rooms.’ Cp. 1. 543. 
In a large house there would be special gev@ves for the guests; other- 
wise some of the regular ἀνδρῶνες were used for the purpose. [From 
the street-door a vestibule led into a court (αὐλή), round which were 
the men’s apartments, called Andronitis; opposite was another passage, 
closed by doors (θύραι μέσαυλοι 1. 549), and leading to the αὐλή of the 
Gynaeconitis, or women’s apartments. For a full description of a Greek 
house see Becker’s Charicles, and the article Domus in Smith’s Dict. of 
Antiquities.) 

1. 548. ἐγκλήσατε, to the other servants, ‘shut to’ the doors. For 
the ¢mesis in a compound verb cp. ll. 579 σὺν δ᾽ ἐποιμαίνοντο, gol σὺν 
av ἔσχεν, Hec. 1172 ἐκ δὲ πηδήσας éyw. It is a remnant of ancient 
usage, when prepositions were still recognised as local adverbs, and is 
common enough in Homer, but not in tragic dialogue. [Others trans- 
late ἐν, ‘also,’ a sense it sometimes bears, as in Soph. Aias 675 ἐν δ᾽ ὁ 
παγκρατὴς ὕπνος λύει. j 

1. 551. προσκειμένης, ‘pressing upon you.’ [Others read προκειμένης. 

ll. 553, &c. In the Choephori Orestes, planning to get admission into 
the house of Aegisthus, says— 

καὶ δὴ θυρωρῶν οὔτις ἂν φαιδρᾷ φρενὶ 
δέξαιτ᾽, ἐπειδὴ δαιμονᾷ δόμος κακοῖς, 
and expects, as a matter of course, to be refused, This is in harmony 


NOTES. LINES 538-579. 79 


with the views of the Chorus here, and represents the normal state of 
Greek feeling on the subject. But Admetus exaggerates the duty of 
a host, nor does he take into account the feelings of his guest, who 
(as he presently admits, 1. 565) would not have entered the house 
had he known the truth. 

1. 557. Cp. ll. 1039, 1040, where the same sentiment is repeated to 
Heracles. 

1. 559. τυγχάνω. Cp.1. ro note. So in Homer 1]. vi. 224, Diomede 
says to Glaucus— 

τῷ viv σοὶ μὲν ἔγὼ ἐεῖνος φίλος "Αργεῖ μέσσῳ 
εἰμὶ, σὺ δ᾽ ἐν Λυκίῃ, ὅτε κεν τῶν δῆμον ἵκωμαι. 

1. 560. διψίαν. Wordsworth, Hist. of Greece, observes of the district 
between Nauplia and Mycenae, ‘The plain over which we pass is dry 
and dusty, and has few objects to relieve its bare level... The higher 
parts of this plain suffer from want of water, whence the epithet applied 
to it by Homer (moAvdixiov), indicative of the thirstiness of the soil.’ 

,. 1. 561. πῶς --τί; ‘how came you to hide?’ &c. 

1. 565. τῷ, i.e. to Heracles. He does actually make this remon- 
strance, ll, 1008, &c. 

1. 566. οὐκ ἐπίσταται (with infin. only), ‘does not understand,’ i.e. ‘can- 
not.’ Cp. Soph. Trach. 543 ἔγὼ δὲ θυμοῦσθαι μὲν οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι νοσοῦντι. 

Ll. 568-605. Cuorus. ‘O house ever large and free! in thee Phoebus 
once deigned to dwell, piping to the flocks upon thy downs, At whose glad 
music the wild creatures of the grove stood entranced, and came tripping to 
the sound of the lyre. Wherefore thy master hath flocks and herds in abun- 
dance, and broad lands beside the Boebian mere. And now in nobleness of 
soul hath he taken into his house a guest, though his eye is moist with weeping. 
Surely in the good all wisdom dwells, and the pious man shall prosper in his 
days,’ 

1. 569. ὦ, with the nom. admirantis est potius quam compellantis. Cp. 
1,1 n., but here the address is continued in σέ τοι, &c, 

1. 570. τοὺ emphasises σέ, ‘ thee’ beyond all others. 

εὐλύρας, in contrast to συρίζων (1. 576). 

1.572. ἔτλα. See on ἔτλην 1. 1. In σοῖσι there seems to be a trans- 
ition from the house to Admetus, who is the real object of the address. 
[Or δόμοις may be the separate parts, ‘ halls’ or ‘ chambers’ of the οἶκος. 
From this legend Apollo had the title of νόμιος, according to Callima- 
chus, Hymn to Apollo 46. Cp. Theocr. Id. xxv. 22 ᾿Απόλλωνος νομίοιο. 

1. 575. δοχμιᾶν, ‘sloping,’ the opposite of ὀρθός. See on δοχμίαν 
κέλευθον 1. 1000. 

1. 578. ποιμνίτας tpevatous, ‘pastoral strains ;’ properly ‘marriage 
songs,’ love being the shepherd’s favourite theme. 

1. 579. σύν, i.e. with the flocks, So Ovid, Faséi ii. 88, represents 


80 ALCESTIS. 


the hind consorting with the lioness to hear Arion’s music. For the 
tmesis of preposition and verb cp. 1. 548 n. 

βαλιαί, ‘spotted,’ lyzces variae in Virg. Georg. iii. 264. Cp. Iph. in 
Aul. 222 πώλους λευκοστίκτῳ τριχὶ Badrtovs. So βαλιὰν ἔλαφον Hec. go, 
βαλιαῖσι πώλοις Rhesus 356. [In the last two passages it is sometimes 
rendered ‘swift,’ a sense which it must bear in the phrase πνοιαὶ βαλιῶν 
ἀνέμων. The primary idea (from βάλλειν) seems to be that of spots 
cast or dashed upon a ground colour, hence the varying play of light 
upon a coloured surface (cp. ‘shot’ silk). The transition to ‘swift’ is 
easy. So αἰόλος means both ‘ quick-moving’ and ‘ variegated.’] 

1, 580. λεόντων. This is no poetical exaggeration. Aristotle, Hist. 
Animal. vi. 31, says there are no lions in Europe, except between the 
Achelous and the Nestus; this would include Thessaly. 

1. 581. δαφοινός, ‘tawny.’ Cp. Hom. Jl. ii. 308 δράκων ἐπὶ νῶτα 
δαφοινός, xi. 474 δαφοινοὶ θῶες, Aesch. Prom. 1022 δαφοινὸς ἀετός. 
[Some translate it ‘murderous,’ but it is doubtful whether δαφοινός 
ever has properly this meaning. ‘ Blood-stained,’ or ‘ bloody,’ appears 
to be its primary sense, and this passed into the more general one 
of ‘dark-coloured,’ ‘tawny,’ or ‘black.’] The prefix éa- is the same 
as (a- in ζά-χρυσος, &c. See l. 498 n. 

1. 582. In xépevoe the augment is omitted, as in δέξατο 1. 598, Sire, 
τέκετο Phoen. 641 and elsewhere in choral odes. This licence is not 
used in iambic lines, except in the narratives of messengers, as κυκλοῦτο, 
σίγησε, γυμνοῦντο Bacch. 1066, 1084, 1134. Such instances must not 
be confounded with those where the augment is elided after a long 
vowel, as ἐνταῦθα δὴ ᾽δάκρυσε 1. 176. 

1. 585. πέραν βαίνουσα, &c., ‘stepping out beyond the pine-forests’ 
into the open lawns between. 

1. 588. τοίγαρ, i.e. because Apollo had blessed the land with his 
presence. 

1. 589. οἰκεῖ, sc. Admetus, the real subject of the ode. The address 
to Phoebus (from 1. 582) is parenthetical. 

1, 590. Homer, Jl. ii. 270, places the home of Admetus παραὶ 
Βοιβηΐδα λίμνην. 

ἀρότοις γυᾶν -- γύαις ἀροσίμοις, ‘ plough-lands’ as distinguished from 
πεδίων δαπέδοις, “ pasture-lands.’ 

1. 591. ὅρον, in apposition to αἰθέρα, ‘he sets as a limit...the clime 
of the Molossi.’ 

ἀελίου, &c., ‘the dusky stable of the sun,’ i.e. ‘ where the sun stables 
his steeds at dusk,’ meaning ‘the west.’ 

Ἰ. 594. αἰθέρα, fem., as in Elect. g91, Androm. 1228. Aeschylus 
always has it masculine; also Sophocles, except in Oed. Tyr. 865. 
The dominion of Admetus can hardly have extended as far as the 


NOTES. LINES 579-613. 81 


Molossi, who occupied the central region of Epirus. But it may have 
reached to the eastern side of the Pindus range, which bounds Thessaly 
on the west. 

1.595. Αἰγαίωνα (for the old reading Αἰγαῖον), the name of the 
sea-god for the sea itself. Some take it as an adj. with ἀκτάν, ‘the 
harbourless Aegean sea-coast of Pelion,’ others make πόντιον Αἰ- 
γαιῶνα = Αἰγαῖον πόντον, ---“ he sways the Aegean main as far as the 
harbourless coast of Pelion.’ [Aegaeon was the same as Briareus 
(Hom. 11. i. 403) ; he was the personification of storms and earthquakes, 
and his name probably means ‘ violent’ or ‘ rushing,’ from ἀΐσσω.] 

1. 601. ἐκφέρεται, &c. ‘is self-impelled towards,’ i.e. ‘tends to produce 
a sense of honour.’ Αἰδώς is that self-respect (verecundia) that causes 
a man to regard the feelings of others; and this is an especial mark of 
good breeding (εὐγεν ἐς) ---τὸ γὰρ τραφῆναι μὴ κακῶς αἰδῶ τρέφει Suppl. 
913. Compare the maxim zoblesse oblige. 

[l. 603. All the MSS. insert ἄγαμαι after σοφίας extra metrum, but it 
is doubtless interpolated. 

1. 604. ἧσται, ‘sits enthroned.’ Cp. Aesch. Agam. 950 θάρσος εὐπιθὲς 
ἵζει φρενὸς φίλον θρόνον. 

1. 605. κεδνὰ πράξειν, ‘will fare well” Cp. Troad. 679 πράξειν τε 
κεδνόν, also (for adverbial neut. pl.) ll. 412, 445, Orest. 531 ἔπραξεν ἔνδικα. 

From 1. 606 to 1. 961 constitutes the third Episode of the play. See 
ΟΠ]. 136. Meanwhile Admetus has been making preparations for the 
funeral. He re-enters, inviting the Chorus to join in the obsequies. 
The procession is stopped by the sudden entrance of Pheres (1. 614). 

1. 606. Φεραίων εὐμενὴς παρουσία = Φεραῖοι εὐμενῶς παρόντες. So in 
Soph. Trach. 964 ἐένων ἐξόμιλος βάσις = ξένοι ἐξερχόμενοι. 

1. 607. πάντα, i.e. τὰ πρόσφορα 1. 148. See note on κόσμος 1. 149. 

1. 608. ἄρδην (from αἴρω with adv. suffix -δην, as in κρύβ-δην, &c.), 
‘aloft,’ i.e. on their shoulders. Cp. λαβεῖν ἀέρδην Aesch. Agam. 226. 

In τάφον καὶ πυράν the order of proceeding is reversed. See note on 
Greek burial rites, 1. 366. 

1. 609. ὡς νομίζεται, referring to the usual χαῖρε at funerals (1. 625). 
So the Romans repeated Vale three times. The Chorus obeys this in- 
junction at 1. 743, after the dispute with Pheres. 

1. 610. ὑστάτην δδόν, i.e. the journey to Hades, not the procession to 
the grave. Cp. Soph. Antig. 807 τὰν νεάταν ὁδὸν στείχουσαν. 

1,611. For καὶ μήν introducing a fresh speaker see 1. 507 ἢ, 

1. 613. κόσμον, &c. Cp. 1. 149 n. The véprepor were not only the 
gods of the lower world, but the spirits of the dead also, who were 
regarded as δαίμονες (1. 1140) requiring propitiation (1. 25 n.). Hence 
in Aesch. Persae 609 the offerings Atossa brings to the tomb of Darius 
are called mpevpeveis xoai and νεκροῖσι μειλικτήρια. 


G 


Py 
/ 


82 ALCESTIS. 


Enter Pueres, with a train of attendants, 614-746. Pueres. “1 come 
to share thy mourning. Take these ornaments for the dead; since she is 
worthy of all respect, the saviour of our house.’ Avmetus, ‘ Who bade thee 
hither? I will take nought from thee, who didst desert thy son in his 
distress, old though thou art, and she so young! Sure I am no child of 
thine, nor shall this hand inter thy corpse. °Tis the way of old men; they 
murmur at long life, yet shrink from death when he comes. Pueres. ‘Am 
1 thy slave, that thou revilest me thus? Hear this in return. I owe 
thee not my life, nor do I claim thine. A father die for his son? ’tis 
not in nature nor in custom. Life is as sweet to me as to thee. Thou 
art the coward, not I, thou less than woman! Cease, lest thou hear 
truths not to thy liking” Av. ‘Say on; take thy fill of life, since thou 
wouldst not save hers or mine. PueEr. ‘Lay not her death at my door, 
the blame is thine own.’ Av. ‘And thine the disgrace: coward, thou 
wilt die inglorious!’ Puer. ‘ What then?’ Av. ‘ Hast thou no shame? 
depart, and let me be. Purr. ‘I go; but thou shalt smart for it yet. 
Ap. ‘ Take thy wife and begone! this house ts no home for you. (Exit 
Pueres.) Perform we the last rites. Exit ADMETUS. 

Cuorus. ‘ Farewell, noblest one; Hermes speed thee on thy way, and may 
all happiness in Hades’ realms be thine!’ 

1. 615. Cp. ll. 418, 1083 γυναικὸς ἐσθλῆς ἤμπλακες. 

{l. 617. For δύσφορα some read δυσμενῆ, which is rarely used of 
things. Cp. however Soph. Elect. 440 δυσμενεῖς xods.] 

1. 618. κατὰ χθονὸς ἴτω. The trinkets, &c., when burnt or buried 
with the corpse, were supposed to accompany the spirit to Hades. 

1, 620. ἥτις, guippe quae, ‘because she, &c.’ Cp. 1. 659. 

1. 621. οὐκ with ἄπαιδα, not with the verb, ‘ prevented my becoming 
childless.’ 

1. 623. εὐκλεέστατον, “ of highest repute.’ The reputation of women 
at Athens was not high in the time of Euripides. [Another reading is 
εὐκλεέστερον. 

1. 625. ἡμᾶς, i.e. the whole family, of which Admetus was the hope 
and stay. 

1, 628. λύει -ελυσιτελεῖ; ‘profits. The full phrase is λύειν τέλη, ‘to 
pay dues,’ and so clear oneself of liabilities. Cp. Soph. Oed. Tyr. 316 
ἔνθα μὴ τέλη Aver φρονοῦντι. 

4, ‘or else,’ alioguin. The Greeks had a proverb, ἢ τοιαύτην χρὴ 
γαμεῖν ἢ μὴ γαμεῖν. 

1. 630. ἐν φίλοισι, lit. ‘among the things I love,’ i.e. ‘nor do I love 
thy presence.’ 

1. 632. τῶν σῶν ἐνδεής, ‘needing anything of thine,’ i.e. ‘ beholden to 
thee for anything.’ 

1. 633. ὠλλύμην (imperf.), ‘I was in danger of perishing.’ Cp. Jph. 


NOTES. LINES 615-657. 83 


in Tauris 27 ἐκαινόμην ξίφει, ‘I was on the point of being sacrificed,’ ib. 
60 ὅτ᾽ ὠλλύμην ἐγώ. 

1. 634. ἄλλῳ, masculine, because the general idea of a substitute is 
more prominent than that of the actual person, Alcestis, So ἄλλου 
σωτῆρος 1. 666. 

1. 636. τοῦδε σώματος, ‘this body of mine,’ more emphatic than ἐμοῦ. 
So in Heracl. 528 Macaria says, ἡγεῖσθ᾽ ὅπου δεῖ σῶμα κατθανεῖν τόδε. 

ἄρα marks an inference from Pheres’ conduct, ‘so then you were not,’ 
or ‘after all’ Cp. Soph. Philoct. 978, where Philoctetes, discovering 
Odysseus, exclaims, 65’ ἦν dpa, ‘so it was he after all!’ So ergo in 
Latin, as in Hor. Od. i. 24, 5 ‘Ergo Quinctilium perpetuus sopor 
urget?’ 

1. 639. ὑπεβλήθην. Hence the terms τέκνα ὑποβολιμαῖα for ‘ suppo- 
sititious,’ or substituted children, as in Hdt. i. 137 and elsewhere. 

1. 640. eis ἔλεγχον, ‘to the test,’ said of persons coming forth to be 
examined in court. ΟΡ. ]. 15 n. 

ὃς εἶ, qui sis, =otos εἶ, ‘ your true character.’ 

1. 643. τηλικόσϑε, ‘old as you are. So in Soph. Antig. 726 Creon 
says in answer to his son’s remonstrance, ‘Shall I at my age (οἱ τηλι- 
koide) be taught my duty by a mere stripling (πρὸς τηλικοῦδε) ?” 

1. 644. οὐκ ἠθέλησας, ‘you did not choose’ (though you had the 
power). Cp. 1. 281n. 

1. 645. εἰάσατε. By using the plural verb Admetus includes his 
mother in his censure. 

1. 646. d@vetav. See l. 532 n. 

1. 647. πατέρα τ᾽ dv, a correction of the old reading πατέρα τέ γε. 
The first ἄν gives warning that the sentence is going to be conditional, 
and also emphasises πατέρα. Cp. Hippol. 480 % tap’ ἂν ὀψέ γ᾽ ἄνδρες 
ἐξεύροιεν ἄν. In Aristoph. Acharn. 212 this usage is ludicrously ex- 
aggerated, where the Chorus, enraged with Dicaeopolis, exclaim ov« ἂν 
ὑπ᾽ ἐμῆς ye νεότητος... ὧδε φαύλως Gv οὗτος... . ἐξέφυγεν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν 
ἐλαφρῶς ἂν ἀπεπλίξατο. 

1. 648. The position of καλόν makes it emphatic; ‘ fair strife had been 
thine to strive’ (Browning). Cp. 1.489 n. Pheres answers this at 1. 683. 

1, 650. πάντως with βραχύς, ‘short in any case.’ 

1. 653. Kai μήν, ‘and indeed,’ or ‘and yet’ you have had prosperity 
enough to satisfy any man. Cp.1. 1099. Admetus here passes on to 
answer a possible objection (which Pheres actually does make at 1. 691), 
that an old man might well wish to enjoy his short remnant of life. 

1. 657. διαρπάσαι, ad diripiendum. The Greek infin, is more elastic 
than the Latin, and more like the English. It may even express a 
purpose, as in Hom. JI. vii. 351 ᾿Αργείην Ἑλένην . . . δώσομεν ᾿Ατρείδῃ- 
ow ἄγειν. Cp.1.480n. The verb διαρπάσαι well describes the rush 

G2 


84 ALCESTIS, 


of needy relatives upon the unprotected house, which they make their 
prey. Cp. Ovid’s picture of the suitors rioting in the house of Ulysses 
during his absence (Heroides i. 89)— 
‘Inque tua regnant, nullis prohibentibus, aula; 
Viscera nostra, tuae dilaniantur opes.’ 

1. 658. οὐ μὴν é€pets, &c., ‘you surely will not say that from dis- 
respect to your old age I gave you up to death.’ This Admetus had 
done in intent by making the request (Il. 15, 16). [Others read ἀτιμά- 
Cov7a and προὔδωκας, ‘that you abandoned me to my fate, because I 
did not respect your age.’] 

1. 659. ὅστις, ‘ since I have always been,’ &c. See note on ἥτις 1. 620. 

αἰδόφρων, ‘respectful. For αἰδώς see 1. 601 ἢ. 

1. 661. ἠλλαξάτην, ‘paid in return. For ἀλλάσσειν, ἀμείβειν, &c., 
words denoting exchange, cp. ll. 14, 461 n. 

1. 662. οὐκέτ᾽ Gv φθάνοις, ‘you cannot now be too soon,’ i.e. ‘lose no 
time about getting.’ Cp. Aristoph. Plutus 1133 ἀποτρέχων οὐκ ἂν φθάνοις. 

ll. 663, 664. Cp. Medea 1032-1034— 

ἢ μήν ποθ᾽ ἡ δύστηνος εἶχον ἐλπίδας 
πολλὰς ἐν ὑμῖν γηροβοσκήσειν τ᾽ ἐμέ, 
καὶ κατθανοῦσαν χερσὶν εὖ περιστελεῖν. 
There was a law at Athens ἐάν τις μὴ τρέφῃ τοὺς γονέας, ἄτιμος ἔστω. 

The technical term for ‘dressing’ the corpse before burial (see on 
1. 149) was περιστέλλειν (ornare). This was done by the women of 
the family. Then the body was ‘laid out’ (προτίθεσθαι) to certify the 
fact of death. See Funus in Dict. of Antiquities. 

1. 666. τοὐπὶ σέ (τὸ ἐπὶ σέ), quantum in te fuit, i.e. ‘it is no thanks to 
you that I am alive. Cp. Hec. 514 ἡμεῖς δ᾽ ἄτεκνοι τοὐπὶ σέ. 

For the masc. ἄλλου (and κείνου next line) see 1. 634 n. He means 
to say, ‘ You have forfeited all claim to my regard; the duty I once 
owed to you I now transfer to another.’ 

ll. 669-672. These lines (only with πολύν for μακρόν) recur in a 
fragment of Menander. ‘There is an evident allusion to the fable of the 
Old Man and Death. 

1. 671. οὐδ] εὶς βού | Aerat, This violates the rule that a spondee 
in the fifth foot must consist of one word, or of two words closely con- 
nected (as ἄκου | σόν μου | πάτερ), unless the first half of the spondee 
be a monosyllable. [Hence Porson proposed οὐδ᾽ | εἷς βού | Aerat.] But 
this rule is not always observed. Cp. Jon 1, Heracl. 530. [The MS. read- 
ing ὦ παῖ (for ὦναξ) may have come in by error from ὦ παῖ in next line. ] 

1. 674. παροξύνῃξ, ‘exasperate, whence our word paroxysm. The 
Chorus performs its proper function, according to Horace, A. P, 196— 

“1116 bonis faveatque et consilietur amice, 
Et regat iratos et amet pacare tumentes.’ 


NOTES, LINES 658-694. 85 


1. 675. αὐχεῖς with ἐλαύνειν, ‘whom do you presume you are assail- 
ing?’ For αὐχεῖν, ‘to assert confidently,’ ‘boast,’ &c., see 1. 95 n. 

Λυδὸν ἢ Φρύγα. Asia Minor was the great slave-mart of Greece and 
Rome. In Xen. Anab. iii. 1, 31 one Apollonides is taunted with having 
his ears bored, like a Lydian slave. There was a Latin proverb, ‘ Phry- 
gem plagis fieri solere meliorem.’ 

1. 676. κακοῖς ἐλαύνειν, =‘ probris agitare.” Cp. Androm. 31 κακοῖς... 
σχετλίοις ἐλαύνομαι. 

σέθεν may be the possess. gen. ‘slave of yours,’ or with ἀργυρώνητον, 
‘bought with your money.’ The gen. of the agent usually takes a 
preposition, but there are several instances like πατρὸς τραφείς Soph. 
Philoct. 3, πληγεὶς θυγατρύς Orest. 497. 

1. 678. γνησίως, ‘free-born,’ not enfranchised or having purchased 
liberty. See Acts xxii. 28. 

1. 679. νεανίας, ‘headstrong,’ ‘insolent.’ This use of the word 
would be familiar at Athens, where the fashionable young men of the 
day were in the habit of committing assaults upon respectable citizens. A 
gross case is recorded by Demosthenes, in which the defendant belonged 
to a regular set, called the Triballi, like the ‘Mohocks’ of the last century. 

1. 680. With βαλών, probably supply λόγους ; but βάλλειν may be used 
absolutely, ‘to assault,’ as in Plato, Symposium, βαλών γε οἴει ἐκφεύξεσθαι. 

οὕτως, ‘as you are,’ i.e. ‘with impunity.’ Cp. Heracl. 375 οὐκ οὕτως 
ἃ δοκεῖς κυρήσεις, ‘ you shan’t get just what you expect.’ 

1. 682. οὐκ, with ὀφείλω, but transposed for emphasis, ‘ bound I am 
not. Cp. Hippol. 407 χρῆν μὲν οὔ σ᾽ ἁμαρτάνειν, Bacch, 1348 ὀργὰβ 
πρέπει θεοὺς OVX ὁμοιοῦσθαι βροτοῖς. 

ll. 683, 684. Contrast the language of Andromache, Andr. 410, ἐμοὶ 
δ᾽ ὄνειδος μὴ θανεῖν ὑπὲρ τέκνου, also Evander’s exclamation on the death 
of his son, ‘ vivendo vici mea fata’ Virg. Aen. xi. 160. 

“Ἑλληνικόν, i.e. not like barbarians, who kill the old and infirm when 
they become useless. Yet the principle of rating men’s lives according 
to their usefulness to the state was fully recognized in Greece, and to be 
ἄχρειος, ‘ unserviceable,’ was a great reproach. See Introduction, p. xvi. 

1. 685. σαυτῷ, i.e. to shift for yourself, and not be dependent on me. 

1. 687. For the extent of Admetus’ domains see ll. 588, &c. 

1. 690. τοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρός, common in tragedy for ἐμοῦ. Cp. ll. 331, 719, 
1084. Soin Hor. Sat. i. 9, 47 ‘hunc hominem’ =me. 

1. 691. Quoted by Aristophanes against Euripides in Thesmoph. 194, 
and parodied in the Clouds 1415, where a son justifies himself for beat- 
ing his father by pleading κλαίουσι παῖδες" πατέρα δ᾽ οὐ κλαίειν δοκεῖς ; 

1. 692. 4 μήν, ‘I can assure you.’ Cp. 1. 64 n. 

1, 694. σὺ γοῦν, &c., ‘you at least (ought to admit this since) you 
fought so shamelessly for your life.’ 


86 ALCESTIS. 


διεμάχου τὸ μὴ θανεῖν is literally ‘ you fought hard not to die.’ 

1. 697. γυναικός, the gen., because ἡσσημένος virtually =the compar. 
ἥσσων, ‘worsted by’ or ‘inferior to’ a woman. Cp. Hec. 1252 ἡσση- 
μένος δούλης. 

1. 698. τοῦ, expressing scorn, ‘fine manly youth that you are!’ Or 
perhaps (as Mr. Browning translates) ‘ her handsome spark,’ referring to 
Alcestis. 

1. zoo. ἀεί, ‘for the time being,’ a frequent sense of the word. Cp. 
Aesch. Prom. 937 τὸν κρατοῦντ᾽ ἀεί. [Livy in his Preface has ‘ novi 
semper scriptores, meaning ‘successive historians.’] 

1. 702. rots μὴ θέλουσι, ‘if they do not choose,’ i.e. anyone 
who does not. Οὐ would point to some particular friends as 
instances. ‘O μὴ Sp@v=si quis non faciat, ὁ ov δρῶν =is gui non 
Facit. 

1, 705. κακά, ‘reproaches,’ as in 1. 676. 

ll. 706, 707. See note on 1. 673. πλείω, ‘foo many,’ a common force 
of the comparative. The standard of comparison (here τοῦ d€ovTos) is 
understood. 

1. 708. ὡς ἐμοῦ λέξαντος, ‘since I have had my say’ (Paley). He 
does not mean to speak any more at length; only a few sentences are 
spoken on each side before they part. [Others read λέξοντος, ‘since I 
shall say what I choose.’] 

1. 710. dv belongs to the verb, but reflects its force on the participle 
also. Cp.1. 490 n. 

1, 712. Ψυχῇ μιᾷ, &c., i.e. our own natural lives, and not another’s in 
addition. 

1. 713. καὶ μήν, &c. ‘you however would live (if you could) longer 
than Zeus,’ in spite of your protest about being content with ‘one 
life.’ 

1. 714. ἀρᾷ. The curse consists in the tone, and the implied misery 
of old age (1.715). Thus Tithonus, in the old legend, found immortality 
a curse. Compare what Swift says in Gulliver’s Travels about the 
Struldbrugs in the kingdom of Luggnagg. 

1. 715. yap, &c., ‘why I saw,’ &c. Cp. St. Matt. xxvii. 23 τί γὰρ 
κακὸν ἐποίησε ; 

1. 717. σημεῖα, in apposition to the general notion of the sentence, 
τὸ ἐμὲ τόνδε νεκρὸν ἐκφέρειν, rather than with νεκρόν only. For the 
plural see 1. 1028 n. 

1. 722. θεοῦ, the Sun-god, as the source of light, and the visible re- 
presentative of deity. See 1. 207 n. 

1. 723. κοὐκ ἐν dvipdow=‘unmanly.’ Ἔν denotes likeness or uni- 
formity. Compare the French ‘ voyager en prince,’ ‘to travel in a 
princely style.” Cp. 1. 732. 


NOTES, LINES 694-741. 87 


1. 724. Pheres means that Admetus is baulked of the pleasure he 
had expected to enjoy in burying his poor old father. 

1. 726, κακῶς ἀκούειν, male audire, ‘to be in evil repute.’ This dis- 
regard of fame after death Admetus calls ‘ effrontery’ (dvaidea). 

1. 728. ἄφρονα, ‘weak’ or ‘simple,’ in dying for you. 

1. 731. τε, a better reading than δέ, =‘ and what is more.’ 

κηδεσταῖς, relations by marriage (κῆδος). The duty of avenging his 
sister’s death would devolve on Acastus. This was a sacred duty, and 
stringently enforced ; no one but a kinsman might perform it. 

1. 732. ἐν ἀνδράσιν. Pheres retorts upon Admetus in his own 
words (1. 723): ‘Acastus surely is not worthy the name of a man, 
unless,’ &c. : 

1. 733. τιμωρεῖσθαι usually takes an acc. of the thing for which 
vengeance is taken, as well as of the personal object. But sometimes 
the former is put in the gen., as ἐγώ σφεας τιμωρήσομαι τῆς ἐνθάδε 
ἀπίξιος Hat. iii. 145. 

1. 734. ἔρροις, τε αδὲ in malam rem, a sort of imprecation. Admetus 
does not say 9 μήτηρ, having already repudiated both his parents, 
ll. 636, 666. 

1. 735. παιδὸς ὄντος, prob. the gen. absolute, ‘ childless, though your 
son lives.’ [It may be governed by ἄπαιδε, like παίδων ἄπαιδας Androm. 
612. Cp. ἄπεπλος φαρέων Phoen. 324, ἀψόφητος κωκυμάτων Soph. 
Aias 321. 

1. 736. τῷδε-- pol, as in 1. 690, to be taken after ταὐτόν, ‘the same 
roof with me.’ So idem takes the dat. as in Hor. A. P. 567 ‘ invitum 
qui servat idem facit occidenti. 

1, 737. νεῖσθε =ibitis, νεῖσθαι, like ἰέναι, having a future sense. 

ἀπειπεῖν, ‘to disown.’ See onl. 457. 

κηρύκων ὕπο, 1. 6. like a formal declaration of war. The technical 
term for disinheriting was ἀποκηρύξαι. 

1. 739. ἡμεῖς δέ, to the Chorus and attendants. 

τοὖν ποσίν, ‘the present.” Cp. Troad. 938 τἀν ποσὶν λέγειν. So πρὸ 
ποδός, παρὰ ποδός, &c. Cp. ‘quod ante pedes est’ Ter. Adelphi iii. 4, 22. 

1. 740. ὡς dv expresses a purpose with some implied condition, 
generally the consent of the person addressed, =‘ that (so please you) we 
may place.’ Hence the difference between ds and ὡς ἄν is often very 
slight. For the funeral ceremonies see 1. 366 n. 

1. 741. σχετλία, ‘unflinching,’ For the meanings of σχέτλιος see on 
1. 470, and cp. ἔτλην 1. I. 

τόλμης, gen. of respect. Cp. σχέτλιος παθέων Androm. 1179, τλήμων 
τόλμης Ion 260, &c. So with interjections, as οἴμοι τῶν κακῶν, &c. 
Latin writers imitate this construction, as infelix animi, laeta la- 
borum, &c. 


88 ALCESTIS. 


1. 743. χθόνιος, the title of Hermes as conductor of souls to Hades 
(ψυχαγωγός) as distinguished from οὐράνιος, his title in heaven. So 
Plutarch says, τῶν μὲν χθόνιος ὃ Ἕρμης τῶν δὲ οὐράνιος. Cp. Hor. 
Od. i. 10, 17 ‘tu pias laetis animas reponis sedibus.’ 

1, 744. ἐκεῖ, ‘yonder,’ like ἐκεῖσε 1. 363, a common euphemism for 
the world of spirits. Cp. Soph. Elect, 356 εἴ τις ἔστ᾽ ἐκεῖ χάρις. 

1. 745. ἀγαθοῖς, &c. Compare the splendid apostrophe of Tacitus 
to the dead Agricola, Agric. 46, ‘si quis piorum manibus locus, si...non 
cum corpore extinguuntur magnae animae, placide quiescas,’ &c. Euri- 
pides here places Alcestis on a level with the heroes, for whom special 
honours were reserved ; that of being co-assessor (πάρεδρος) with Hades 
and Persephone being the highest of all. 

As the Chorus sing this farewell ode, they move slowly off the 
stage. The Chorus rarely went off in the course of a play; it 
does so however in the Helena 386, and in Soph. Aas 814. 

Enter Servinc-man (one of the ἐφεστῶτες mentioned in 1. 547), to 
Heracles sitting at his meal. 

Ll. 747-860. Servant. ‘A ruder guest than this Heracles have I never 
seen! entering my master’s house in spite of our sorrow; then falling to at 
the feast and the wine, with uncouth songs, and a garland on his brow—we 
mourning for our mistress all the while, who was a mother to us all. How 
I hate him! and justly too—the villain!’ MWHeractes. ‘Ho, there! why 
those doleful looks, that frowning brow? all for a stranger too! Come 
hither and be wise. All men (thou know’st) must die; and fortune is fickle. 
Drink then with me and be merry; put off thy gloom, while thou mayest ; 
else life is not worth the living.’ Serv. ‘ This is no time for mirth ; knowest 
thou not our trouble?’ Her, ‘A stranger (so he told me) died here but 
now. Serv. ‘A home friend rather—But leave us to our mourning, 
Her. (aside) ‘Am 1 deceived? (To the Servant.) Who is dead here? 
the truth, I pray? Serv. ‘’Tis my lord’s wife, Alcestis, that is gone. 
Her, ‘How sayest thou?—And then to make me your guest?’ Serv. ‘Nay, 
he would have it so.” Her. ‘ What a tale hath he put upon me! else would 
1 never. (He dashes the chaplet on the ground.) Where is the 
tomb, the tomb, I say?’ Serv. ‘Yonder, up the hill, Larissa-wards. 
Exit Servant. Her, ‘Courage, heart of mine; now show thy progeny! 
I will seek Death at the tomb and deliver her from his hands: strong 
though he be, he shall not hold his prey. All this and more for his sake, 
who is my best friend, my most noble host. 

1. 747. παντοίας, ‘every sort of land,’ barbarian as well as Greek. 

1. 752. ἀμείψασθαι, ‘to pass,’ lit. ‘to change’ one’s position from 
outside to inside, or vice versa. Thus in Elect. 750 ἄμειψον δώματα 
means ‘leave the house,’ but in Aesch. Choeph. 573 ἀμείψω βαλόν is “1 
will cross the threshold.’ See on ἀμεῖψαι 1. 461. 


NOTES. LINES 743-767. 89 


1. 754. τὰ προστυχόντα, ‘what was set before him.’ Admetus had 
ordered σίτων παρεῖναι πλῆθος (1. 548), but it seems this was not enough. 
The voracity attributed to Heracles is quite a common-place with the 
comic poets, the titles ἀδηφάγος, βουφάγος, &c. being freely applied to 
him. Aristophanes has an amusing scene in the Frogs, 549, &c., and 
Epicharmus in his Busiris describes the gluttony of Heracles and his 
bestial manner of eating. Lucian represents him as a god who does 
not care for ‘smokeless offerings,’ but likes plenty of good meat. All 
this is part of his character as an athlete, according to Greek ideas of 
training-diet, which ran decidedly in the direction of over-feeding. 

1. 755. εἰ, with opt.=si guando, ‘ whenever we did not bring anything, 
he would urge us (imperf.) to do so.’ 

1. 756. χείρεσσι. This Epic form also occurs in Soph. Antig. 1297. 
Such forms are rare in iambic lines; here it suits the mock heroic tone 
the servant is made to assume in this and the following lines, which 
have been thought to be borrowed from some scolium, or drinking song. 

κίσσινον, probably ‘made of ivy-wood,’ since Euripides speaks of a 
σκύφος κισσοῦ in Cyclops 399. It is called κισσύβιον in Hom. Od. ix. 
346, and Theocr. Jd. i. 27. [Potter renders it ‘wreathed with ivy,’ 
which is possible. ] 

1. 757. μητρός, i.e. the grape, dark wine being reputed strongest; or 
it may be the vine. Anacreon calls wine γόνον ἀμπέλους Cp. Aesch. 
Persae 620 ἀκήρατόν τε μητρὸς ἀγρίας ἄπο ποτόν, παλαιᾶς ἀμπέλου 
γάνος τόδε. So in Plautus, Amphitryon i. 1, 174. ‘eam ego (hirneam), 
ut matre fuerat natum, eduxi meri.’ 

evfwpov, prob. from ζοερός, ‘lively ;) hence =a«paros, ‘ unmixed,’ i. 6. 
‘strong’ wine. A drunkard was said ζωρότερον πίνειν. 

1. 758. ἐθέρμηνε, past tense in connexion with the historical pres. 
πίνει (1. 757). 

ἀμφιβᾶσα, ‘getting round him,’ like a flame encircling a caldron. 
This, and ll. 760 &c., may be compared with Cyclops 424 ἐγὼ δὲ... 
σπλάγχν᾽ ἐθέρμαινον ποτᾷ᾽ ἄδει δὲ παρὰ κλαίουσι συνναύταις ἐμοῖς ἄμουσα. 

1.759. μυρσίνηΞ. (ρ.]. 172 η. Here the myrtle is festive, being 
sacred to Venus. See Hor. Od. i. 38, 6; ii. 7, 23, &e. 

1. 762. προτιμῶν, ‘caring for.” Cp.1. 155 n. 

1. 764. téyyovres. For the participle after δεικνύναι and similar verbs 
see ll. 150, 155, 439 ἢ. 

ἐφίετο (imperf.), ‘repeatedly enjoined us.’ 

1, 767. πανοῦργον, ‘rascally.”? For derivation see Lexicon. Aristotle, 
Ethics vi. 12, defines πανουργία thus :—‘ There is a faculty called clever- 
ness (δεινότης), which can avail itself of every possible means towards 
a given object. If the object be good, the faculty is praiseworthy; but 
if bad, it becomes rascality (mavoupyia).’ 


90 ALCESTIS. 


1. 768. ἐξέτεινα χεῖρα, in token of farewell to the deceased. Cp. 
Aesch. Choeph. 8 οὐδ᾽ ἐξέτεινα χεῖρ᾽ ἐπ᾿ ἐκφορᾷ νεκροῦ. 

1. 771. ὀργάξ, ‘angry moods.’ So irae, as ‘ temperat iras’ Virg. Aen. 
i. 57. Cp. ‘the furious winter’s rages’ in Cymbeline. For the mutual 
affection between Alcestis and her servants see ll. 192, &c. 

dpa=zonne, as in ll. 229, 341. 

1. 772. κακοῖς, ‘our troubles.’ Cp. Aesch. Agam. 1580 ὑβρίζειν ἐν 
κακοῖσιν ov σέβω. 

1. 773. οὗτος, ‘you there!’ used in familiar addresses ; cp. Hec. 1127 
οὗτος, τί πάσχεις ; Soph. Oed. Col. 1627 ὦ οὗτος οὗτος, Οἰδίπους, &c. It 
thus refers to the 2nd person (Lat. iste), as ὅδε does to the rst, and 
denotes some one near, that is familiar; whereas ἐκεῖνος (ile) implies 
distant respect. 

σεμνόν, ‘solemn’ (as in 1]. 800), in a reproachful sense. Cp. Hipp. 93 
tis δ᾽ οὐ σεμνὸς ἀχθεινὸς βρότων ; where it is contrasted (as here 1. 775) 
with εὐπροσήγορος, ‘affable.’ It denotes a gloomy, reserved, unsocial 
temper. [Σεμνός is for σεβ-νός, from σέβ-ω, lit. =reverendus. | 

πεφροντικός, ‘ thought-absorbed’ (Browning). The perf. part. implies 
a settled state of mind. So βλέπειν σεσαρός, ἔγρηγορός, ὅτε. 

1. 774. τὸν πρόσπολον, as we say, ‘a servant, the article denoting 
a class, not an individual. To receive guests with a sullen look was 
not only wrong from a social point of view, but was regarded as an 
ill omen. Prof. Paley notes how in Aesch. Agam. 503 the statues of 
the gods are bidden to greet the king on his return with cheerful 

countenances (φαιδροῖσιν ὄμμασι). 

1. 777. συνωφρυωμένῳ. (ρ.]. 800, also Hor, Sat. ii. 2, 125 ‘ contractae 
seria frontis.’ 

1. 778. θυραίου πήματος. Admetus had told Heracles that he was in 
mourning for a ‘stranger’ (ὀθνεῖος), 1. 533. 

1. 119. ὅπως ἄν, &c.=‘so shall you become (if you listen to me).’ 
For ws ἄν marking an implied condition see 1. 740 n. 

kat is slightly ironical, ‘that you may e’en become wiser,’ implying 
that a little more wisdom would do him no harm. 

1. 780. οἶδας. This Ionic form for οἷσθα is very rare in Attic Greek, 
but there is no reason to suspect its genuineness. The plurals οἴδαμεν, 
&c. also occur, but seldom. 

1. 781. πόθεν =‘ of course not.’ Cp. 1. 95 n. 

1. 782. Cp. 1. 419, Soph. Elect. 1173 (of death) πᾶσιν γὰρ ἡμῖν τοῦτ᾽ ὀφεί- 
λεται παθεῖν. So Phaedrus Fab. xxy. Ig ‘mors vicina flagitab't debitum, 

1. 783. Cp. Anacreontica xv. 9— 

TO σήμερον μέλει μοι" 
τὸ δ᾽ αὔριον τίς oder; 
also Hor. Od. iv. 7, 17. 


NOTES. LINES 768-810. ΟἹ 
1. 785. τὸ τῆς τύχης, ‘the course of fortune ;’ not a mere periphrasis 
for τύχη. Cp. τὰ τῆς ἐμπειρίας (Thue. vii. 49), ‘the results of their ex- 
perience,’ and similar phrases. 

ot προβήσεται, ‘whither it will tend,’ i.e. ‘the issue” Cp. Med. 
111} καραδοκῶ τἀκεῖθεν of προβήσεται. 

1. 786, ἁλίσκεται, ‘is attained’ or ‘ discovered.” Cp. Soph. Oed. Tyr. 
110 τὸ ζητούμενον GAwrév, ‘is discoverable.’ 

τέχνῃ, the soothsayer’s art, often ridiculed by Euripides, e.g. in Elect. 
400 μαντικὴν χαίρειν ἐῶ, and elsewhere. 

1. 790. For the double superlatives cp. μέγιστον ἐχθίστη Med. 1323, 
μάλιστα φίλτατος Hippol. 1421. So ‘most Highest,’ ‘most principal,’ 
&c. in the Bible. In the Hippolytus, 1. 6, Aphrodite threatens ruin to 
those who neglect her worship. 

1. 792. τὰ ἄλλα, ‘these gloomy’ or ‘ill-timed thoughts ;’ lit. 
‘other’ than the occasion demands. Cp. Here. Fur. 116 τὰ δ᾽ 
ἄλλ᾽ ἔα. 

[l. 795. Some editors adopt the Aldine reading τύχας, rendering 
imepBadwy, ‘having surmounted,’ and supposing the Servant to have 
stepped forward at the words δεῦρ᾽ ἐλθέ (1. 779) towards the table, at 
which Heracles was seated. But πύλας (though an unusual word for the 
door of a room) has good MSS. authority. The words τάσδ᾽ ὑπερβαλὼν 
πύλας recur at 1. 829. ] 

1. 797. ξυνεστῶτος, ‘sullenness,’={voracs φρενῶν Hippol. 983. Cp. 
Οἷς. Tuse. Disp. iv. 31 ‘animi contractio. The metaphor is either 
from gathering clouds, or from the general idea of solidity, sternness, or 
rigour of mind. 

1. 798. μεθορμιεῖ σε, ‘shall change you,’ lit. ‘unmoor. Cp. Med. 441 
μεθορμίσασθαι μόχθων πάρα. 

πίτυλος, ‘the plash’ of the wine in the goblet. So δακρύων πίτυλος 
Hippol. 1464. The derivation is doubtful. 

1. 799. Cp. the maxim of Sardanapalus, quoted in the Anthologia— 

εὖ εἰδὼς ὅτι θνητὸς ἔφυς τὸν θυμὸν ἄεξε, 
τερπόμενος θαλίῃσι" θανόντι σοὶ οὔτις ὄνησις. 

1. 802. Cp. Mart. Epigr. “vi. 70 ‘non est vivere, sed valere, vita ;’ 
Seneca Efist. 99 ‘intelligas in longissima vita minimum esse quod vivitur.’ 

1. 803. πράσσομεν, &c. i.e. ‘our prescnt business is not one of mirth,’ 
&c. [But πράσσομεν may =‘ we fare,’ if οἷα be taken adverbially, like 
κεδνὰ πράξειν 1. 605.) 

1. 807. τί ζῶσιν ; ‘how (say you) they live?’ Cp. Phoen. 1726, where 
Oedipus exclaims δείν᾽ ἔγὼ rAds, and Antigone answers τί tAds; So in 
Terence, Andria v. 3, Simo replies to his son Pamphilus ‘ Quid mi pater?’ 

1, 810. οὐ χρῆν, &c. ‘ought I not to be well treated?’ i.e. ‘ ought I 
to lose good cheer, just because of a stranger’s death?’ 


92 ALCESTIS. 

οὕνεκα, ‘for the sake of, i.e. ‘notwithstanding.’ Cp. Soph. Elect. 
787 τῶν τῆσδ᾽ ἀπειλῶν οὕνεχ᾽ ἡμερεύσομεν, ‘ we will rest at peace for all 
her threatenings.’ 

1. 811. οἰκεῖος, ‘a home friend.” [There is little doubt as to the 
right reading, but many read θυραῖος, supposing it to be ironical—‘ very 
much of a stranger she was to be sure!’] The use of οἰκεῖος, ‘one of 
the family,’ does not actually let out the secret, though it arouses Hera- 
cles’ suspicions. 

1. 812. Heracles tries to think whether Admetus might not have 
mentioned some greater calamity. 

1. 813. χαίρων ἴθι, lit. ‘go with a blessing,’ a formula of getting rid 
of a person. So in Phoen. 921 Creon says to Teiresias χαίρων ἴθ᾽, ob yap 
σῶν pe δεῖ μαντευμάτων. 

1.816. ἀλλ᾽ ἦ, ὅζο. ‘have I really?° or ‘can it be that I have been 
served so ill?’ &c. 

1.817. Cp. Hippol.g23 οὐ γὰρ ἐν δέοντι λεπτουργεῖς, πάτερ, =intempestive. 

δέξασθαι, ut te exciperent. For the Greek infinitive see 1. 657 n. 

1. 819. Heracles interrupts the Servant with the crucial question 
‘Who is dead?’ thus forcing him to tell. He forgot, or perhaps 
ignored, what Admetus had told him about his parents and children 
(1. 515, 517)- 

[l. 820. τι φροῦδον, the reading of the best MSS. Others have τις 
φροῦδος, which would be correct in spite of the neuter τέκνων, Cp. 
Soph. Oed. Tyr. 1167 Λαΐου τις ἣν γεννημάτων. 

1. 821. μὲν οὖν, ‘nay rather,’ immo, correcting the last speaker. Cp. 
Plato, Gorgias, ἔγὼ ov φημι; φημὶ μὲν οὖν ἔγωγε, ‘I deny it? nay rather, 
1 assert it’ : 

1. 822. ἔπειτα, ‘after that, i.e. ‘notwithstanding this” In Medea 
1398 Jason exclaims κἄπειτ᾽ extras; ‘didst thou nevertheless slay (thy 
children),’ in spite of thy professed love for them ? 

1. 824. For σχέτλιε see 1]. 470 n.; for ἤμπλακες 1. 242 Π. 

1. 827. ἔπειθε (imperf.), ‘urged his persuasions.” 

1. 829. Bia θυμοῦ, invito animo. So φρενῶν Big Aesch. Sept. c. Theb. 
608. 

1. 831. kara. See note on ἔπειτα 1. 822. At these words he tears 
the garland from his head. 

1. 832. ἀλλὰ σοῦ, &c. ‘ but it was your fault,’ &c. or the gen. of ex- 
clamation, ‘to think of your not telling me!’ like τῆς ἐμῆς κάκης, ‘ to 
think of my weakness!’ Med. 1051 (Paley). 

1. 833. δώματος after κακοῦ. 

[For προσκειμένου another reading is προκειμένου = παρόντος. Cp. 
1. 551 note. | 

1. 834. ποῦ Kat; ‘where?’ (with emphasis), or ‘but tell me, where.’ 


NOTES, LINES 810-859. 93 


See 1. 142 n. on the difference made by the position of καί in καὶ πῶς, 
πῶς Kai, Sc. 

1. 835. wap’ οἶμον (accus.), ‘as you go along the road,’ secundum 
viam. The custom of building tombs along the wayside is well known. 
In Rhesus 881 Hector orders the dead to be buried λεωφόρους πρὸς 
éxtporas, ‘at the turning-off from the public road.’ The wayside tomb 
of one Brasilas is mentioned by Theocritus, Zdyll. vii. 11, imitated by 
Virgil, Ecl. ix. 60. Burial within the city walls was forbidden from 
early times both in Grecce and at Rome. One of the Laws of the XII 
Tables was Hominem mortuum in urbe ne sepelito neve urito. 

1. 836. ἐκ -- ἔξω, ‘ outside of.’ 

The Servant having left the stage, Heracles utters the following soli- 
loquy, ll. 837-860. 

1. 837. καρδία, &c. So Odysseus (Hom. Od. xx. 18) summons up 
courage, addressing his φίλον ἦτορ thus, τέτλαθι δή, κραδίη, καὶ κύντερον 
ἄλλο ποτ᾽ ἔτλης. 

1. 829. For the pedigree of Heracles see 1. 509 ἢ. Alcmena is called 
Τιρυνθία because of her marriage with Amphitryon, king of Tiryns. 

1.843. Here, as elsewhere, Thanatos is identified with Hades as 
‘king of the dead.’ Cp. 1.1140. In 1. 25 he is simply the ‘ sacrificer.’ 

1. 844. φυλάξω, ‘ watch for, as in Hom. Od. iv. 670 αὐτὸν ἰόντα λοχή- 
copa ἠδὲ φυλάξω. Cp. φρουρῶν τόδ᾽ jyap 1. 27. 

1. 845. προσφαγμάτων, gen. after πίνοντα, ‘ drinking of the offerings.’ 
These are probably blood-offerings (1. 851) preceding the customary 
ones of milk, honey, and wine (Aesch. Persae 616, &c). But in Hom. 
Od. xi. 25, &c. the sacrifice of a victim seems to follow these other 
offerings (τὰ δὲ μῆλα λαβὼν ἀπεδειροτόμησα, &c.). 

1. 849. πρίν, for πρὶν ἄν, with subj., as πρὶν μάθῃς Soph. Philoct. 
917. The ἄν is often omitted by the poets, sometimes also in prose, 
as Thue. viii. 9 πρίν τι καὶ ἰσχυρὸν λάβωσι. Πρὶν (av) with subj. 
always follows a negative clause or its equivalent, as οὐ ποιήσω πρὶν (ἂν) 
ἔλθῃς. 

1. 850. ἣν δ᾽ οὖν, &c. ‘but if I should miss” Οὖν - really’ (1. 73n.), 
is best rendered by an emphasis on the verb. 

1,851. αἱματηρὸν πέλανον, ‘clotted blood” See 1. 845 n. Cp. 
πέλανος αἱματοσταγής Aesch. Persae 812. In the Choephori 89 πέλανος 
isa liquid. Pausanias says that Cecrops, thinking it wrong to sacrifice 
animals, substituted cakes, called πέλανοι. 

τῶν κάτω, after δόμους, with Képns, δες, in apposition. 

1. 852, For Κόρη as a title of Persephone see 1. 358 n. 

ἀνηλίους. Cp. 1. 437 n. 

1, 857. αἰδεσθείΞξ. For the meaning of αἰδώς cp. 1. 601 n. 

1. 859. κακόν here -- ἀγνώμονα, " ungrateful,’ 


/ 


f 


94 ALCESTIS. 


ll. 861-934. Heracles sallies forth in quest of Thanatos at the tomb. 
Admetus, returning from the funeral, stops at the palace-doors, which he 
dares not enter, and vents his grief in lyric verse, the Chorus responding. 
This kind of lament, sung by an actor and the Chorus alternately, was 
called a Commos (koupés). How Heracles managed to avoid meeting 
Admetus on his way from the tomb does not appear. This may be an 
oversight on the part of Euripides. 

1. 865. πῶς ἄν here=wtinam. The same expression occurs in Med. 
97- 
1. 867. κείνων ἔραμαι, ‘I long for their state,’ i.e. of the dead. Cp. 
ἐκεῖ 1. 744. Perhaps Aristophanes parodied this in the Vespae 751, 
where the law-loving Philocleon says, κείνων ἔραμαι, κεῖθι “γενοίμαν, iv 
6 κῆρυξ φησί" “τίς ἀψήφιστος ς ἀνιστάσθω.᾽ 

1. 869. πόδα, often added after verbs of motion, as ἐκβὰς πόδα 


‘Heracl. 802. Cp. προβὰς κῶλον δεξιόν Phoen. 1412. 


1. 870. ὅμηρον, a ‘hostage’ for his life, because she died for him. 

1. 874. δι᾿ ὀδύνας ἔβας, also in Elect. 1210. Cp. Hippol. 1164 δι’ 
ἔχθρας ἀφιγμένος, Xen. Anab. iii. 2, 8 διὰ φιλίας ἰέναι. 

1. 875. οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖΞ. A story is told of Solon lamenting his son’s 
death, that when one said ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲν ἀνύττεις, he replied δι᾽ αὐτὸ τοῦτο 
δακρύω, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἀνύττω. 

1.877. The antistrophic line 894 shows that a syllable is wanting 
here. [Paley proposes to read κάταντα.] 

1. 878. ἥλκωσεν. Cp. Suppl. 222 ἥλκωσας οἴκους. The metaphor is 
from a festering wound (ἕλκος). 

1. 879. Perhaps ἤ is to be supplied before ἁμαρτεῖν, or ἁμαρτεῖν -- τοῦ 
ἁμαρτεῖν, but this latter construction is rare. It may be better to take 
it thus—‘ What loss (τί ἁμαρτεῖν) is a worse evil than (the loss of) a 
faithful wife?’ condensed for τοῦ ἁμαρτεῖν πιστῆς ἀλόχου. 

1. 880. μὴ ὥφελον οἰκεῖν, -- ὥφελον μὴ οἰκεῖν, since ὥφελον literally 
means ‘I ought,’ i.e. ‘would that I, &c. Cp. Soph. Philoct. 969 
μήποτ᾽ ὥφελον λιπεῖν. 

ll. 882, &c. Cp. ll. 238, &c. and the passage from Medea quoted in 
the note there, beginning καί φημι βροτῶν οἵτινές εἰσιν πάμπαν ἄπειροι, &c. 

1. 883. There is a similar passage in Hippol. 258 τὸ δ᾽ ὑπὲρ δισσῶν 
μίαν ὠδίνειν ψυχὴν χαλεπὸν βαρὸς ὡς κἀγὼ τῆσδ᾽ ὑπεραλγῶ, i.e. it is 
enough for each soul to bear its own bitterness, without having to bear 
another’s also. 

τῆς --ἐκείνης. See on l. 264. 

1, 886. Cp. Hom. Jl. x. 63 θαλάμους κεραϊζομένους. [The derivation 
from κέρας, as if referring to the attack of horned animals, is doubtful. 
It is more probably from rep, the stem of κείρειν, ‘to shear’ or ‘cut,’ 
i.e. ‘to ravage,’ like τέμνειν γῆν. 


NOTES. LINES 861-915. 95 


1. 890. πέρας, &c. said in reference to Admetus’ incessant exclamations 
of woe. 

1. 892. See on ]. 417, &c. 

1. 893. Cp. Orest. 979 ἕτερα δ᾽ ἕτερος ἀμείβεται πήματα. 

1. 896. ὑπὸ γαῖαν (accus. of motion), ‘who have gone below.’ Cp. 
1, 238 ἢ. 

1. 897. ῥῖψαι, ‘throw myself’ as in Cyclops 166 ῥίψει τ᾽ és ἄλμην 
λευκάδος πέτρας ἄπο. Many active verbs are thus used intransitively, as 
κρύπτειν, πάλλειν, ἔγείρειν, βάλλειν, τρέπειν, φέρειν, &&c. With ῥίπτειν cp. 
Milton, L’ Allegro 113, ‘ out of doors he flings.’ 

1. gor. σὺν ἂν ἔσχεν, another instance of tmesis; cp. ll. 548, 579 n. 
Here it is less observable, because σύν has the adverbial force of simul, 
instead of forming the compound συνέχειν =cohibere. 

1. 902. διαβάντε, masc., though in apposition with ψυχάς, which is in 
sense masculine, or at least common. Cp. Hom. JI. vili. 455, where 
two goddesses are said to be wAnyévte κεραύνῳ. In Soph. Oed. Col. 
1676 Antigone speaks of herself and sister as ἰδόντε καὶ παθοῦσα. There 
was probably only one original form for the dual in adjectives. In the 
article especially τώ and τοῖν are used with feminine nouns, as τὼ 
γυναῖκε, &c. 

1. 903. ἐν γένει, ‘a relative.’ Cp. Soph. Oed. Tyr. 1016 ἣν σοι 
Πόλυβος οὐδὲν ἐν γένει. Some suppose an allusion to Pericles, but he 
had two sons, who died nearly at the same time; others to Anaxagoras, 
who is said to have exclaimed, on hearing of his son’s death, ‘I knew I 
had begotten a mortal child.’ But the case is very likely an imaginary 
one. 

1. 907. ἅλις, ‘moderately,’ lit. ‘enough and no more.’ Cp. Med. 629 
εἰ © ἅλις ἔλθοι Κύπρις, οὐκ GAAG θεὸς εὔχαρις οὕτω. 

l. gto. βιότου πόρσω = longe provectus aetate. So πόρρω τοῦ βίου 
Plato, Apol. Socr. ch. 29, πρόσω ἀρετῆς Hat. vii. 237. These are geni- 
tives of respect. See on ἧκον βίου ]. 291. 

1. o11. σχῆμα δόμων, not a mere periphrasis for δόμοι, but giving a 
picture of the old familiar form of the house, as it strikes his eye. Cp. 
σχήματ᾽ οἴκων Hec. 619, ᾿Ασιάτιδος γῆς σχῆμα Androm. τ. 

1. 912. μεταπίπτοντος, ‘changing,’ perhaps a metaphor from the fall 
of the dice. Cp. Jon 412 μεταπέσοι βελτίονα, ‘may there be a change 
for the better.’ 

1. 914. τὸ μέσον, ‘the difference.” So in Hdt. i. 126 the Persians, 
comparing a day of toil with one of festivity, say πολλὸν εἶναι τὸ μέσον. 

1. 915. πεύκαις, i.e. nuptial torches (taedae). Mount Pelion, which 
overlooked Iolcos the home of Alcestis (1. 249), was famed for its pine- 
groves. The ‘Pelian pine’ is mentioned in Medea 3, 4, as furnishing 
materials for the ship Argo. 


96 ALCESTIS. 


1. 920. am’ ἀμφοτέρων, ‘ by parents on both sides.’ Admetus’ parents 
were Pheres and Clymene, those of Alcestis were Pelias and Anaxibia. 

1. g21. εἶμεν, a less common, but a genuine Attic form of εἴημεν. 
Plato also has εἴτην and εἶτε. 

1. 922. Cp. Med. 1176 ἀντίμολπον ὀλολυγῆς κώκυτον, ‘a cry of wailing 
instead of a cry of joy.’ ᾿Αντίπαλοι must be repeated with στολμοί before 
πέπλων in the next line. 

1. 925. λέκτρων κοίτας, for λέκτρα, a common pleonasm (not quite 
like σχῆμα δόμων 1. 911). So θρήνων ὀδυρμοί, πέπλων φάρος, &c. Cp. 
μελάθρων στέγαι 1. 248. 

1. 926, παρά implies contrast with former prosperity, making the pre- 
sent loss more bitter. With the accus. after ἦλθεν it means ‘following 
close upon.” Paley quotes Heracl. 611 παρὰ δ᾽ ἄλλαν ἄλλα μοῖρα διώκει. 
{Similarly secundum, as in Livy xxi. 45 ‘secundum precationem caput 
pecudis saxo elisit,’ i.e. ‘directly after the prayer.’] For the sense cp. 
Hel. 418, Troad. 634. 

ἀπειροκάκῳ. Cp, Thuc. v. 105 μακαρίσαντες ὑμῶν τὸ ἀπειρόκακον οὐ 
ζηλοῦμεν τὸ ἄφρον. 

1. 934. δάμαρτος with παρέλυσεν, ‘has parted from a wife. [If παρέ- 
λυσεν contains a metaphor from unyoking one ox of a pair (Paley), 
we are reminded of Virgil’s description of the plague-stricken ox in 
Georg. iii. 517 ‘It tristis arator, maerentem abjungens fraterna morte 
juvencum.’ The old reading was πολλοῖς in 1. 932, i.e. ‘the death of a 
wife has loosed the bond of love (φιλίαν supplied) to many.’] 

ll. 935-961. Apmervus. ‘Surely her lot is more blest than mine; for she is 
freed from pain and sorrow. But how shall I bear the desolation within 
these walls and the maiden throngs without? My enemies too will point at 
me and say—‘*‘ See the man who dared not die!” Better far is death than 
such a life 

1. 935. δαίμονα, ‘fate.’ Cp. Jon 1269 ἐσθλοῦ δ᾽ ἔκυρσα δαίμονος. 

1, 936. ὅμως, ‘still (it is so).’ Ὅμως is often attached to a participle, 
though it belongs to the principal clause. Cp. Med. 282 ἐρήσομαι δέ, 
καὶ κακῶς πάσχουσ᾽ ὅμωξ. 

1, 937. For the sentiment cp. Soph. Oed. Col. 955 θανόντων δ᾽ οὐδὲν 
ἄλγος ἅπτεται. 

1. 938. εὐκλεής, ‘ glorified,’ in contrast with his own inglorious state 
(1. 961). 

1. 939. οὐ χρῆν (imperf.), ‘ought not to be alive’ (1.955 n.). Cp. 
1. 379. Admetus almost repeats his father’s words, now feeling the 
force of them, παρελθὼν τὴν πεπρωμένην τύχην (1. 695). 

1. g40. ἄρτι μανθάνω, ‘now (at last) I know it.’ The foreboding of 
the maidservant, 1. 146, is realised, for the blow kas come. See note 
there, also on 1. 382. 


; ἡ 


NOTES. LINES 920-967. 97 


1. 942. For the double ἄν see 1. 72 n. 

1, 944. ἐξελᾷ, the Attic contracted future (ἐλάσω, -ἄω, -@). Cp. ἐλῶσι 
l.g51. Only a few verbs in -dw, -éw have this future ; mostly those in 
-άννυμι, and several in -άζω, as βιβάζω, &c. 

1. 948. of, 1.6. the servants, as shown by δέσποτιν following. 

1. 951. γάμοι, ‘nuptials’ or ‘nuptial-feasts,” a common meaning of 
y2os in the plural. 

ἐλῶσι (see 1. 944 n.), ‘will drive me away,’ or perhaps ‘drive me 
distracted,’ Lat. agitare. 

1. 952. So γυναικοπληθὴς ὅμιλος, Aesch. Pers. 127. 

1. 955. τὸν αἰσχρῶς Lavra, ‘who to his shame yet lives, -- ὃν οὐ χρῆν 
(iv 1. 939. Ζῆν is simply ‘to be alive;’ the manner or course of life is 
expressed by βιοτεύειν. 

1. 957. δοκεῖ, ‘wishes to be thought’ or ‘pretends to be.’ Cp. 
Aristoph. Eqguit. 392 κᾷτ᾽ ἀνὴρ ἔδοξεν εἶναι. For εἶτα see 1]. 822, 831 n. 

1. 959. πρὸς κακοῖσι. Cp. 1.557. 

1. 960. κύδιον, οἴζεη -- κρεῖσσον simply, but is here ‘ more glorious,’ by 
contrast with αἰσχρῶς, κακῶς, &c. 

11. 962-1005. Cuorus. ‘ Nothing is stronger than Necessity; neither 
drug nor magic spell. She heeds not prayer or sacrifice, and nought may. 
soften her relentless breast. Even Zeus worketh his will by her aid. Thou, 
Admetus, art in her grasp; for thou canst not restore thy lost one—dear in 
death as in life. Yet mourn her not as dead, but worship her, for she is: 
a spirit blest. 

1. 962. A Chorus in the Medea, 1. 1081, opens in a similar way— 
πολλάκις ἤδε διὰ λεπτοτέρων μύθων ἔμολον, &c. Here the poet is 
doubtless alluding to his own knowledge of natural science, acquired 
chiefly from Anaxagoras. The mention however of Orphic doctrines 
derived from the neighbouring Thrace (1. 967) is suited to the character 
of his Pheraean chorus. 

povoas=literature generally, but especially verse, as distinguished 
from λόγων, the maxims of philosophers and the arguments Of sophists. 

1. 963. μετάρσιος, ‘ soaring aloft’ in the highest regions of philosophy 
and literature; but there is a special reference to Euripides’ favourite 
study of astronomy. Devotion to the study of μετέωρα was a special 
(though utterly unfounded) charge against Socrates, and is made much 
of by Aristophanes in the Clouds, 

1. 965. ᾿Ανάγκας, &c. Cp. Hel. 514 δείνης ἀνάγκης οὐδὲν ἰσχύειν 
πλέον, and the passage in Horace, Od. i. 35, 17 beginning ‘Te sem- 
per anteit saeva Necessitas” In reply to the question ‘What is 
strongest?’ Thales is said to have answered ἰσχυρότατον ᾿Ανάγκη, 
κρατεῖ “γὰρ πάντων. 

1. 967. The so-called ‘Orphic’ mysteries were rites (τελεταῦ of 

H 


98 ALCESTIS. 


purification, but Orpheus was also credited with medical lore, possibly 
from being confounded with Musaeus his alleged disciple. Aristophanes 
distinguishes between them, Ranae 1032. The σανίδες are tablets 
containing prescriptions; these were kept in a temple of Dionysus on 
Mount Haemus in Thrace. 

1. 967. tas=ds. This ancient use of 6, 4, τό occurs even in an 
jambic line, Aesch. Agam. 507 Διὸς μακέλλῃ, τῇ κατείργασται πέδον. 
Only once do we find it in the nominative, épws 6 κατ᾽ ὀμμάτων στάζεις 
πόθον, Hippol. 52; and there the reading is doubtful. 

4. 968. “Opdeta yijpus=‘the melodious Orpheus,’ like Καδμείαν pé- 
pipvav Phoen. 1064, Πιτθέως γῆρας Hippol. 794. Cp. Homer's βίη 
Ἡρακληείη, and ‘ vis Geryonai,’ ‘ Herculeus labor,’ &c. in Latin. 

1.970. For Aesculapius, the son of Phoebus, see 1.4n. Here the 
Greek ‘medical schools’ are alluded to, whose members claimed descent 
from him. Of these Hippocrates of Cos was the most famous. 

1. 972. ἀντιτεμών refers to the shredding of herbs as antidotes for 
diseases. Cp. Pindar, Pyth, iv. 393 ἀντίτομα orepedy ὀδυνᾶν, Aesch. 
Agam. 17 ἀντίμολπον ἐντέμνων ἄκος, 

1. 973. μόνας, i.e. Hades (or Thanatos) excepted. Cp. 1. 424 π. 

1.976, μείζων, ‘with greater force.” Cp. Med. 627 ἔρωτες ἄγαν 
ἐλθόντες, the opposite of εἰ δ᾽ ἅλις ἔλθοι (quoted on 1. 997). 

1.978. 6 τι νεύσῃ. For the omission of ay see note on ὅτου ἁγνίσῃ, 
1, 76. The will of Zeus was represented by his ‘nod’ (hence the word 
numen). Cp. Hom. Jl. i, 526 οὐδ᾽ ἀτελεύτητον, 6 τι κεν κεφαλῇ 
κατανεύσω. 

1.979. σὺν σοί, because even Zeus ‘cannot evade his destiny’ 
(Aesch. Prom. 526), and is therefore powerless without the aid of 
Necessity. 

1. 980. δαμάζεις, ‘you subdue,’ i.e. ‘soften’ or ‘melt,’ or perhaps 
‘reduce’ the iron from the ore (as Paley explains it). The Chalybes 
were iron-workers of Pontus in Asia Minor, mentioned by Herodotus 
i. 28, and by Xenophon, Azab. v. 5. The usual form of the name is 
Χάλυβες, from Χάλυψ, but the nom. sing. Χάλυβος occurs in Aesch. 
Sept. c. Thebas 725. 

1. 981. ἀποτόμου, ‘harsh,’ ‘relentless.’ Cp. 1. 118n. So ‘animo 
praeruptus’ Tac. Ann, xvi. 17. 

αἰδώς, ‘compunction, from the idea of ‘respect,’ as explained on 
1. Gor. 

1. 982. καὶ σέ, ‘thee too,’ addressing Admetus. 

1. 989. σκότιοι φθίνουσι, ‘perish darkling,’ 1.6. in the darkness of 
death. [Others make σκότιοι -ε νόθοι, as in Hom. 7]. vi. 24 σκότιον δέ 
é γείνατο μήτηρ, in allusion to the secret amours of the gods with 
mortal women, whence heroes sprung. ] 


NOTES, LINES 967-1014. 99 


1. 995. φθιμένων νεκύων, a common pleonasm, from Homer’s νεκύων 
κατατεθνηώτων, νεκύεσσι καταφθιμένοισι, &C. 

ll. 996, &c. 1.6. ‘let not her tomb be a mere mound of earth, but a 
shrine to worship at.’ 

θεοῖσιν ὁμοίως, a shortened form of comparison for θεῶν ναοῖς ὁμοίως. 
Cp. Hom. 1]. xvii. 51 κομαὶ Xapitecow ὁμοῖαι, ‘hair like (that of) the 
Graces.’ 

1. 1000. δοχμίαν, ‘winding,’ to get up the hiil (ὀρθὴν οἶμον 1. 885). 
Cp. 1. 575 n. 

1, 1004. εὖ δὲ Solys. The δαίμονες, or spirits of the dead, were 
believed to have the power of conferring blessings on men. Hence in 
Aesch. Persae 224 the spirit of Darius is invoked ἐσθλὰ πέμπειν “γῆς 
ἔνερθεν εἰς φάος. 

/ 1. 1006. kat μήν. Cp. 1. 507 πη. 

7 Enter Heractes, supporting a woman with her face veiled. 
11. roo8—-1158. Heractes. “1 would speak, Admetus, as a friend to a friend, 
Why didst thou conceal thy loss, and feast me in thy house of mourning? 
For this I cannot but blame thee. But to my errand. Take this woman, 
whom I have just won as a prize in a great contest, and keep ber for me 
against my return. Apvmerus. ‘It cannot be; this would add sorrow to 
sorrow, How can I keep her here free from harm? I fear the report of 
men. Surely she is like Alcestis! Take her away; the sight troubles my 
soul.” Her. ‘Would that I could restore thy wife! Cease thy vain 
grieving ; time will do much? Av. ‘Ay, if time and death be one; but 
now— Her, ‘Wilt thou not wed again? A new spouse might cheer 
thee. Av. ‘Perish the thought! ’twere an insult to the dead.” Her. 
‘Receive now this woman. Av. ‘Urge me not, I pray. Her. “1 have 
good reasons; trust me. (Admetus consents.) Nay, to thy hands alone I 
commit her. Hold her fast; look now upon her!’ Av, ‘Alcestis?’? Her. 
© Tis even she ; thou hast thy wife again.’ Avm. ‘The blessing of Zeus be upon 
thee! But why stands she mute?? Her. ‘The spell of death is on her, and 
three days must pass, But I go to my task.’ Av, ‘Stay here on thy return, 
and fare thee well. Keep we now high festival, since blest is my lot indeed !’ 

1. 1009. μομφάξ, ‘ ground of complaint.’ Cp. 1. 1017. 

ὑπὸ σπλάγχνοιξ ἔχειν, ‘to hide within one’s breast,’ i.e. say nothing 
about them. 

1. 1010, ἠξίουν, ‘ claimed the right,’ ‘ expected,’ 

1. torr. ἐξετάζεσθαι, ‘to be treated;’ lit. ‘to be proved after ex- 
amination (ἐξέτασις). So Demosthenes, de Corona, speaks of himself 
as ἐξεταζόμενος, ‘tried and proved’ in his policy. Cp. the Latin 
‘ spectatus amicus.’ 

1. 1014. ὡς δή, ‘as if forsooth. The δή, emphasising ws, gives the 
notion of pretence. 

H 2 


100 ALCESTIS., 


1. rors. ἐλευψάμην, usually active; but cp. χοὰς χέασθαι Aesch. 
Persae 221. 

1. 1021. ἵππους Opykias. See Il. 68, 483. 

1. 1023. τύχοιμι, νοστήσαιμι, both real optatives, ‘ what I trust I may 
not meet with, for J hope I may return.’ Τυχεῖν takes the accus. as well 
as the gen.; cp. Aesch. Choeph. 698 τυχεῖν τὰ πρόσφορα, Soph. Antig. 
1168 τοῦτο τυχεῖν. 

1. 1024. προσπολεῖν δόμοις, ‘to serve your house’ as a handmaiden 
(mpdcmodos), not ‘in your house.’ Cp. Troad. 264 τύμβῳ προσπολεῖν 
᾿Αχιλλέως. 

[l. 1027. Another reading of good authority is ἄξιον πόνου. 

1. 1028, νικητήρια. A plural noun is often put poetically in apposition 
with a noun singular. Cp. σημεῖα 1. 717, Hec. 265 Ἑλένην τάφῳ 
προσφάγματα, Orest. 1053 μνῆμα ἕν, κέδρου τεχνάσματα, Hom. 1]. xxi. 
268 χρυσὸς δῶρα θεοῖο. So ‘clipeum Volcani dona,’ Virg. Aen. vill. 720. 

1. 1029. τὰ κοῦφα, after νικῶσιν, combines the ideas of ‘smaller 
contests’ (opp. τὰ μείζονα) and of ‘ feats of agility,’ such as foot-racing. 
The woman was part of the larger prize for boxing and wrestling. [In 
Homer, JI. xxiii. 262, &c. the first prize is a woman and a tripod, the 
second a mare in foal, and the third a caldron. | 

1, 1033. παρεῖναι (παρίημι), ‘to let slip,’ praetermittere. 

ἦν, with αἰσχρόν, ‘it were a shame,’ =‘it would have been,’ The 
imperf. without dv is often conditional, when the general sense shows 
that the thing did not actually occur. So καλῷς εἶχε, ἐβουλόμην, &c., 
and in Latin poteram, oportebat, 8&c. for possem, &c. 

1. 1037. ἐν ἐχθροῖσιν τιθείς, ‘counting you as an enemy;” lit. 
‘placing you among’ or ‘in the class of enemies.’ Cp. Plato, Rep. v. 
ch. 19 ὥς γ᾽ ἐν φιλοσόφοις τιθέναι. This is in answer to Heracles’ 
remonstrance, l. IoITI. 

1, 1039. Cp. 1. 557 καὶ πρὸς κακοῖσιν, &c. 

1. 1042. ἔστιν, emphatic (as the accent shows), ‘it is possible.’ 

1. 1045. μὴ μ᾽ ἀναμνήσῃΞ. This is the reading of some MSS. of fair 
repute, but some editions have μιμνήσκῃς (corrected from μιμνήσκεις) 
with a comma after Φεραίων. The latter would mean ‘(I fear) dest you 
should remind me of my misfortunes,’ not ‘do mot remind me,’ which 
would require the aorist subj., as in the text. 

1, 1049. ποῦ kat, ‘where too’ or ‘ besides, where.’ Cp. ll. 482, 834n, 
also l. 1056. 

1. 1050. πρέπει, ‘she clearly shows,’ not impersonal. Cp. 1. 512 π. 

1, 1051. ἀνδρῶν after στέγην which is governed by κατά. [Some 
take κατ᾽ dvipav =‘among the men,’ and make στέγην the acc. after 
ἐνοικήσει, but this would seem to require yerd.] For the ‘men’s 
apartments’ (ἀνδρῶνες) see 1. 546 n. 


NOTES. LINES 1015-1077. 101 


1, 1052. στρωφωμένη, ‘moving freely,’ Lat. versari. 

l. 1054. σοῦ, emphatic, ‘for your credit’ as well as my own; because 
Heracles had brought her there. 

1. 1055. etoByoas. Cp. Bacchae 466 Διόνυσος ἡμᾶς εἰσέβησε. This 
transitive aor. is not common in Attic Greek, but βῆσε is frequent in 
Homer. 

1. 1056. καὶ w&s=‘ pray, how.’ See references given on 1. 1049 ἢ. 

ἐπεισφρῶ, subj. ‘am I to introduce her?’ Cp. Elect. 1032 λέκτροις 
ἐπείσφρησε. Ἑἰσφρεῖν is a distinctive Attic word=cicdyev. So διαφρεῖν 
Thuc. vii. 32. The simple verb is not used. 

1. 1058. ἐλέγξῃ, ‘should reproach me,’ followed by πίτνειν. The 
sense of ‘accusation’ comes from that of ‘questioning’ suspected 
criminals, Cp. 1. 15 n. 

1. 1059. ἄλλοις = ἄλλης (with νέας), which some read. The adj. is 
often thus transposed ; cp. Orest. 988 ποτανὸν δίωγμα πώλων =‘ pursuit 
of winged steeds,’ lit. ‘ winged steed-pursuit.’ See 1. 103 n. 

1, 1060. τῆς θανούσης. This should strictly be καὶ éx τῆς θανούσης to 
correspond with ἐκ τε δημότων 1.1057. But the word μέμψιν would 
not properly apply to Alcestis, who was dead. 

1, 1062. ἔχουσα. For the participle with to@ see Il. 150, 438 n.; 
and for ταὐτά with dative, ‘the same as,’ 1. 736n. 

1. 1063. προσήιξαι, a perf. mid. form from the stem of εἴκω, found 
also in the Homeric pluperf. é&x7o or ἤϊκτο, and in the active éixrov for 
éoixatov. Cp. Hom. Od. iv. 796 δέμας δ᾽ ἤϊκτο γυναικί. 

1. 1065. μή μ᾽ ἕλῃς ἡρημένον, a sort of proverb, ‘do not slay the 
slain,’ meaning much the same as τὸν θανόντ᾽ ἐπικτανεῖν Soph. Antig. 
1030. 

1, 1067. θολοῖ, ‘troubles,’ turbat. So θολερός, turbidus, is often used 
of grief and misfortune. Θόλος is the black fluid emitted by the cuttle- 
fish, which discolours the water. 

1. 1069. ἄρτι yevopar. Cp. 1. g40 n. 

1. 1071. ὅστις εἶσι, guisguis veniet, ‘whatever god shall visit us.’ 
[Eio. is Hermann’s correction for εἶ σύ, which some editors retain, 
i.e. ‘in whatever state thou art,’ gualiscunque es, in reference to 
τύχην. 

καρτερεῖν δόσιν. Cp. Androm. 262 ἔγκαρτερεῖς δὴ θάνατον. 

1. 1072. εἰ yap =‘ would that I,’ &c. Cp.l. 91n. ἘΕἰ or εἴθε with 
imperf.=‘I wish it were so now;’ with aor. ‘I wish it had been’ 
(1. 1102); with opt. ‘I wish it might be hereafter,’ as εἰ φανείης 1. gt. 

1. 1075. ποῦ τόδε; ‘to what purpose is this?’ i.e. what is the good 
of saying this? Lat. guorsum haec? 

1.1076. οὐκ ἔστι. Cp. 1. 1042 n. 

]. 1077. μή νυν ὑπέρβαινε, ‘do not then (igitur) give way to excess 


102 ALCESTIS, 


(of grief’). [Some read ὑπέρβαλλε, which means much the same, but 
the other word (besides having better authority) suits ἐναισίμως best, 
since ὑπερβαίνειν is especially used of transgressing Jaws. See next 
note. | 

ἐναισίμως, ‘moderately,’ lit. ‘with due regard to the decrees of fate 
(αἶσα). Cp.the Homeric κατ᾽ αἶσαν =‘ duly,’ ‘rightly.’ 

1, 1078. A sentiment as common as it is true. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 271 
ἐλαφρὸν ὅστις πημάτων ἔξω πόδα ἔχει παραίνειν, &c., and Ter. Andria ii. 
1 ‘facile omnes, quum valemus, recta consilia aegrotis damus.’ 

1. 1079. τί ἂν προκόπτοιξ, ‘ what progress do you expect to make?’ 
Cp. Hippol. 23 πάλαι mpoxdpaca. So in St. Luke ii. 52 προέποπτε 
copia. ‘The metaphor is probably taken from pioneers clearing the 
road in front of an army. 

εἰ θέλεις (indic.), ‘if (as a fact) you wish,’ i.e. ‘sizce you wish,’ or ‘it 
being your pleasure.’ Cp. ll. 200, 327 n. 

1. 1080. ἔρως probably means ‘desire of grief,’ in reference to the 
natural relief one finds in giving vent to sorrow. Cp. Suppl. 79 
ἄπληστος ἅδε μ᾽ ἐξάγει χάρις γόων. So in Hom. Od. iv. 102 Menelaus 
says yow φρένα τέρπομαι, and Lucan, Pharsalia ix. 111, says of Cornelia 
mourning for her husband ‘ perfruitur lacrimis, et amat pro conjuge 
luctum. Cp. also Constance’s reply to Philip, in Shakspere King ohn 
iii. 4 ‘Then have I reason to be fond of grief.’ Heracles (1. 1081) 
understands Admetus to mean his love for Alcestis. 

ἐξάγει, ‘ carries me away,’ said of strong excitement. 

1. 1082. ἀπώλεσεν, sc. ΓΑλκήστις, or perhaps τὸ φιλῆσαι, which comes 
to the same thing. See on ἀπώλεσας, 1. 179. 

1, 1084. ὥστε, &c. refers to preceding line, =‘ my loss is such that,’ 
δια. ~Avipa τόνδε = ἐμέ, as in 1]. 331, 690. 

1. 1085. χρόνος μαλάξει. The very words of Alcestis when dying, 
1. 381. 

"Backer, ‘is in its prime,’ lit. ‘is reaching maturity,’ properly said of 
youths coming to manhood (ἥβη). 

1, 1086. εἰ xpdvos, &c. ‘if time means my death-time,’ i.e. ‘death alone 
can end my grief.’ 

1. 1090. τῷδε. Cp. 1. 1084 n. 

1, 1092. ὅπουπέρ ἐστι refers not so much to her lace (i.e. whether 
here or in Hades) as to her state in the other world, and especially to 
the question whether she could know what was passing on earth. So 
Alcmena in Heracl. 946 speaks of her dead son as τὸν ὄνθ᾽ ὅπου ᾽στί. 

1, 1093. See ὀφλισκάνω in Lexicon, and cp. γέλωτα ὀφλεῖν Med. 403, 
ἀμαθίαν ὀφλήσομεν Hec. 327. The full phrase ‘to owe the penalty 
(δίκην) for a crime’ was shortened into ‘ owe the crime’ itself. 

1, 1094. ὧς, &c. sc. αἴνει με from previous line; ‘ (praise me, but).on 


NOTES, LINES 1077-1125. 103 


condition that’ &c. Or perhaps supply ἴσθι, ‘be sure that, &c. 
Καλῶν is the Attic future from καλέ(ζσγων. See on ἐξελᾷ 1. 944. 
1, 1095. €wyveoa=‘ you have my promise.’ The aorist marks the 
simple action of the verb, without reference to time past or present. In 
English this idea is expressed by the present tense. So in Med. 708 
οὐδ᾽ ἐπήνεσα--“1 do not approve, ib. 791% ὥμωξα, “1 mourn for;’ in 
Aristoph, Eguit. 695 ἥσθην ἀπείλας, ἔγέλασα τε 1 like your threats, I 

laugh at them.’ 

1. 1098. μή, i.e. ‘don’t force me.’ For mpés σε, &c. cp. 1. 275 n. 

σπείραντος. Cp. the Latin ‘ satws Anchisa,’ &c. 

1. 1099. καὶ pry, ‘and yet ;’ see on 1. 653. 

1. 1101. és δέον; ‘ opportunely.’ Cp. ἐν δέοντι 1. 817. 

1. 1102, εἴθε €XaBes. See 1. 1072 n. 

1, 1103. He means that his host will also gain a prize in getting back 
his wife ; but Admetus understands it of sharing the joy of victory with 
his friend. 

1. 1104, καλῶς ἔλεξας =‘ thank you; 
benigne (dicts), 

1. 1106. χρή. &c.=‘she really must go, at least if you will not be 
angry’ at my insisting upon it. Here Admetus first shows signs of 
yielding ; this prepares us for his next words νίκα νυν, &c. 

1. 1109. ἐσθ᾽ ὅτε, ‘some day,’ aliguando. So ἔσθ᾽ ὅπου, ἔσθ᾽ ὅπως, ὅτε. 

1. 1110. κομίζετε, said to the attendants. 

1. 1111. For μεθείην τήν some read μεθείμην σοῖς. But the con- 
struction of μεθέσθαι with an accus. is at least doubtful, and Heracles 
means ‘to mere attendants,’ not ‘ your attendants’ in particular. 

1. 1118. καὶ δή, &c. ‘well, I do stretch it forth, as to the severed 
Gorgon’s head;’ i.e. with averted eyes, because the Gorgon’s head 
turned the beholder to stone. For the story of Medusa see Hesiod, 
Theog. 280. ‘The elision of the ε in the dative Tépyov is rare, but 
there is an instance of it in Soph. Oed. Col. 1436 θανόντ᾽, ἐπεὶ οὐ μοι 
ζῶντί γ᾽ αὖθις ἕξετον. 

1, 1121. βλέψον, &c. Here he removes the veil from the face of 
Alcestis. 

πρέπειν, ‘to resemble,’ as in Bacch. 915 πρέπεις δὲ Κάδμου θυγατέρων 
μορφῇ μιᾷ. Lit. ‘to strike’ one as being like; see on 1.512. With 
what follows compare the last scene of the Winzéer’s Tale. 

[1.- 1123. For λέξω some good MSS. have λεύσσω. This may be an 
error caused by λεύσσω in the next line, or it may be the right word 
altered to λέξω to avoid repetition. ] 

1, 1125. κέρτομος, ‘delusive,’ perhaps =‘ heart-cutting,’ i.e. ‘ taunting.” 
Cp. Soph. Philoct, 1235 πότερα κερτομῶν λέγεις τάδε, i.e. ‘in mockery.’ 
[Though «épropos is said to be from κέαρ and τέμνειν, it is probably a deri- 


> a polite form of assent. Lat. 


104 ALCESTIS. 


vative from the root Kep in κείρ-ειν, ‘to shear’ with added τ (ὃ as in 
cur-t-us, &c., and in Sanscrit kart=‘cut. Cp.1. 886 n., Hel. 619.) 
θεοῦ, ‘from heaven,’ -- θεοῦ τινος χάρα. Θεοῦ is a monosyllable. 

1, 1127. Spa μὴ ἡ, ‘ beware lest it be;’ ὅρα μή ἐστιν would mean ‘ see 
whether it be not,’—an enquiry. 

1, 1128. οὐ  Wuxaywydv, &c. ‘he whom you made your guest is ro 
necromancer,’ or ‘raiser of spirits.’ Cp. 1.489 n. In Thessaly there 
were professed ‘ spiritualists, and Euripides may have had in his mind 
similar impostors at Athens. The Chorus in the Persae invokes the 
infernal powers to send up the ghost of Darius; and in Herodotus v. 92 
Periander sends to a νεκυομαντεῖον in Epirus to raise the spirit of his 
wife Melissa. 

1. 1130. ἀπιστεῖν τύχῃ, ‘mistrust fortune. [The MSS. reading 
τύχην would mean ‘ disbelieve (the fact of) thy good fortune.”] 

1. 1131. Oty, &c. ‘may I touch?’ licetne tangere? 

1. 1135. φθόνος, &c., in allusion to the wide-spread belief, that any 
great prosperity excited the jealousy of the gods and caused a man’s 
downfall. Thus in Orestes 964 Electra says of the once glorious house 
of Pelops, φθόνος νιν εἷλε θεόθεν. The story of Polycrates (Hdt. iii. 40) 
is well known, to whom his friend Amasis wrote, saying—‘ Thy great 
successes please me not, knowing how jealous the gods are.’ So in 
Livy v. 21 Camillus prays that some light mishap may befal him in the 
hour of victory, to avert the izvidia of the gods. 

1, 1138. σώζοι, ‘keep you safe,’ the pres. denoting continuance, 

1, 1140. Satpdvwv=‘the dead,’ who were worshipped as δαίμονες. 
Cp. ll. 25, 1004 n. Death is styled ‘ king of the dead,’ 1. 843, as well as 
their ‘ priest,’ 1. 25. Usually an attributive gen. has the article when 
the other noun has it (τῷ τῶν δαιμόνων κοιράνῳ), but there are exceptions, 
though these are rare in prose authors. Cp. however Xen. Cyrop. vi. 3, 8 
ἱππέων τοὺς ἡγεμόνας. (Another, but an inferior reading is κυρίῳ. 

1. 1142. τύμβον παρ᾽ αὐτόν, ‘close by the tomb.’ Mapa with accus. 
marks extension in space as well as motion, as παρ᾽ ἄλληλα, ‘side by 
side,’ παρὰ πρυμνήσια νῆος Hom. Od. xil. 32. 

1. 1143. ἄναυδος. for two reasons ; 1st because Alcestis was represented 
by a mute, there being no third actor in this play; 2ndly because of the 
belief that one under pollution could not speak till after purification. 
In Aesch. Eum. 426 this superstition is quoted in the case of a 
murderer, ἄφθογγον εἶναι τὸν παλαμναῖον λόγος. 

1.1146. ἀφαγνίσηται, lit. ‘unconsecrate herself,’ i.e. release herself 
from her bond of consecration to the infernal powers (1. 76). The dat. 
θεοῖσι implies that the necessary rites of ‘deconsecration’ must be 
offered to those gods; else we should expect the gen. θεῶν after the ἀπό 
in the compound verb. 


NOTES, LINES 1125-1159. 105 


τρίτον, possibly an allusion to the τρίτα, or offerings made to the 
δαίμων on the third day after death; but more likely in reference to the 
well-known mystic character of the number three. Reputed instances 
of a return from death to life are so rare, that we can hardly expect to 
find illustrations elsewhere. 

1. 1147. δίκαιος ὦν, not ‘as you ought’ (though it could mean this), 
but ‘because you are a righteous man, continue to act piously,’ &c. 
(pres. imp.). Heracles here defends Admetus for his hospitality, which 
he had thought excessive (1. 1017). 

l. 1150. Eurystheus was the son of Sthenelus, who was the son of Per- 
seus and Andromeda. Perseus claimed descent from Zeus by Danae. 

1. 1152. αὖθις, ‘some other day.’ Cp. Hel. 713 6 & οὐ πονήσας αὖθις 
ὄλλυται κακῶς. 

1.1153. πόδα, cognate accus. ΟΡ. ]. 869, also νόστιμον πόδα, Hec. 939. 
[Other readings are ὁδόν and δόμον. 

1. 1154. terpapxia. Thessaly was anciently divided into four dis- 
tricts,—Pthiotis, Thessaliotis, Hestiaeotis, and Pelasgiotis. If Admetus’ 
dominions were as extensive as described in 1]. 592 &c., they would 
include at least two of these. But Euripides may mean the four 
townships of Pherae, Iolcos, Boebe, and Glaphyra, mentioned by 
Homer, 17. ii. 711, as forming the dominions of Admetus. 

1. 1155. ἐπ᾽ ἐσθλαῖς συμφοραῖσιν, ‘on this auspicious event.’ Cp. 
Aristoph. Eguit. 655 ἐπὶ συμφοραῖς ἀγαθαῖσι θύειν. 

ἱστάναι, ‘to institute,’ the official term. The poet transfers to 
Thessaly what was done at Athens by command of the oracles of 
Delphi and Dodona, referred to by Demosthenes in Midiam, i.e. χοροὺς 
ἱστάναι καὶ κνισσᾶν ἀγυιὰς Kal στεφανηφορεῖν. 

1. 1156. βουθύτοισι προστροπαῖς, ‘prayers accompanied by the 
sacrifice of oxen;” Lat. supplicatio. Προστροπή is any prayer, but 
especially one offered with the view of averting pollution. 

1. 1157. μεθηρμόσμεσθα, &c., ‘we have changed’ (lit. ‘ disposed 
ourselves’) ‘toa better life.’ For μετά denoting change cp. μεταλλάσσειν, 
μεταβάλλειν, μετανοεῖν, &c. βίον is the accus. of the state into which 
the change is made. Cp. Aesch. Prom. 316 μεθάρμοσαι τρόπους νέους. 

1. 1158. εὐτυχῶν ἀρνήσομαι, ‘deny that Iam prosperous.’ Cp. ἀρνεῖ 
κατακτάς Orest. 1581. So φαίνομαι, οἶδα, &c., with participle implying 
the reality of the fact. See on ἴστω πορεύσας 1. 444. 

1. 1159. δαιμονίων =‘ divine dispensations.’ These lines also conclude ~ 
the Helena, Bacchae, Andromache, and Medea; only in the last play the 
first line runs πολλῶν ταμίας Ζεὺς ἐν ᾿Ολύμπῳ. They are purely con- 
ventional, and would suit any play having an unexpected catastrophe. 


IND EX: 


The references are in all cases to the Notes. 


Accusative absolute, 201. 

-— in apposition to sentence, 7, 352, 
717. 

ae number of in this play, 1143. 

Adjective, inversion of, 103, 1059. 

— used ‘proleptically, 35, 385. 

Admetus, extent of his domains, 594, 
1154. 

Aesculapius, 3, 128, 970. 

det, special sense of, 700. 

Aegaeon, meaning of his name, 595. 

αἰδώς, meanings of, 601, 659, 981. 

αἰνεῖν, meanings of, 2, 12, 525. 

αἰθήρ, sometimes feminine, 594. 

ἅλις, special sense of, 907. 

ἀλλὰ γάρ, construction of, 422. 

ἄλλος, peculiar sense of, 792. 

ἀμείβειν and ἀμείβεσθαι, 46, 461, 
752. 

ἯΣ a form of ἡμέτερος, 306. 

ἄν omitted, 76, 978. 

— repeated in the same clause, 95, 
464, 474, 647. 

— with verb omitted, 183. 

— transposed, 48. 

— with participles, 72, 490. 

‘Analytic’ forms in the verb, 122. 

Anaxagoras, instructor of Euripides, 
962. 

Aorist with sense of present, 1095. 

ἀπειπεῖν, its meaning and construc- 
tion, 487. 

ἀπιστεῖν, with dat. or accus, 1130. 

Apollo Nomius, 572. 

ἀπότομοϑ, meaning of, 118, 981. 

dpa, peculiar force of, 636. 

ἄρα, force of in questions, 229, 341, 


411: 


ἄρδην, derivation of, 608. 
Aristophanes, his parody of Euripi- 
des, 183, 254, 368, 691, 867. 

Article, generalising force of, 774. 

Athenian love of repartee, 38. 

— youth, insolence of, 679. 

Attic future, 944. 

“ Attraction’ of antecedent into case 
of relative, 523. 

Augment omitted in tragedy, 582. 

αὑτοῦ, αὑτόν, &c,, used for ist and 
2nd persons, 461. 

αὐχεῖν, meanings of, 95, 675. 

Avenger of homicide, 731. 


βαλιός, senses of, 579. 
Burial and cremation of the dead, 


306. 


Carnean festival, 449. 

Cedar-wood, use of by the ancients, 
365. 

Chalybes, the, 980. 

Children brought on the stage, 394. 

χαίρειν, senses of, 272, 325, 4375 
813. 

χθόνιος, a title of Hermes, 743. 

χορὸν ἱστάναι, meaning of the phrase, 
1158. 

Commos in tragedy, 861. 

Comparison, short form of, 997. 

Cremation and burial, 366. 

Cyclopes, notices of the, 5. 


Dativus Ethicus, 436. 
δαφοινός, senses of, 581. 

δέ following re, 197. 

Death acted on the stage, 391. 


108 


Death, priestly function of, 25, 74. 
Destiny, absolute power of, 979. 
δίκην ὀφλεῖν, meaning of the phrase 
1093. 
Diomedes of Thrace, 496. 
Dominions of Admetus, 594, 1154. 
Double interrogation, 213, 314. 
δόμος, meaning and derivation of, 
161, 
δόχμιος, meaning of, 575. 
Dual forms in adjectives, 902. 
Dying addresses to the sun, 207, 


243. 


εἰ expressing a wish, 91, 1072. 

— with indicative, = ‘since,’ 200, 
303; 327- 

— with optative, 755. 

εἰδέναι, &c., with participle, 150, 
154, 438, 1158. 

εἶεν, force of, 299. 

εἶμεν for εἰήμεν, 921. 

εἰσφρεῖν, use of, 1056. 

εἶτα. ἔπειτα, special force of, 822, 
831. 

éx, of the agent, for ὑπό, 178. 

ἐκεῖ, ἐκεῖσε, euphemism for ‘the 
lower world,’ 363, 744. 

ἐκφέρειν, special meaning of, 422. 

ἐλέγχειν, EAeyXOS, &c., 15, 640, 
1058. 

Elision of « in the Dative, 1118. 

ἐν ἀνδράσιν, meaning of, 723, 732. 

ἐν ποσίν, meaning of the phrase, 739. 

ἐπιγαμεῖν, meaning of, 305. 

Epic licence in tragedy, 120, 126, 
330, 756. 

‘Episode’ of a Greek play, 135. 

ἐπὶ τοῖσδε, meaning of, 375. 

Euripides, a pupil of Anaxagoras, 
962. 

— his dislike of soothsayers, 786. 

— his favourite studies, 962, 963. 

— his fondness for verbal paradoxes, 
141, 520. 

— — the use of σοφός, 58. 

— his sympathy with slaves, 194. 

— parodies of, by Aristophanes, 183, 
254, 368, 691. 


INDEX. 


Eurystheus, 481, 1150. 

ev (wpos, etymology of, 757. 
ἐξετάζεσθαι, meaning of, 1011. 
ἤ continued by εἴτε, 115. 

ἦ μήν, force of, 64, 692. 

ἢ ποῦ, meaning of, 199. 


Funeral rites of the Greeks, 149, 
160, 609, 613, 663. 

Future state after Death, 364, 437, 
745. 937, 1092. 


γάρ in answers, 42, 147, 823, 1081. 

Genitive of agent without preposi- 
tion, 676. 

Genitive of cause, 5. 

— of partition, 9. 

— of respect, 291, 741. 

Gorgon’s head, story of, 1118. 

Greek house, 546. 


Heracles, his pedigree, 509. 
— his voracity, 754. 
Hermes, his double function, 743. 


t elided in the dative, 1118. 

Imperative and Infinitive 
changed, 166, 

Imperfect, force of, 8, 107, 295, 
344, 633, 764, 827, 939. 

Infinitive, expressing a purpose, 480, 
6575 517. 

— substantival, 11. 

Intransitive use of active verbs, 897. 

ἱστάναι χορόν, meaning of the 
phrase, 1155. 


inter- 


Jealousy of the Gods, 1135. 
Jupiter Ammon, temple of, 115. 


καὶ μήν, introducing a new character, 
507, 611, 1000. 

— usual force of, 653, 713, 1099. 

καὶ πῶς and πῶς καί, &c., 142, 482, 
834. 

κακός, denoting rank or station, 194. 

κακῶς ἀκούειν, meaning of, 726. 

κεῖνος, referring to subject of verb, 


18, 357. 


INDEX, 


κεραΐζεσθαι, etymology of, 886. 

κέρτομος, etymology of, 1125. 

κναίειν and its cognates, 109. 

κοινοῦσθαι, with genitive and accusa- 
tive, 426. 

Κύρη, a title of Proserpine, 358. 

κουρά, etymology of, 427. 


λαιψηρός, etymology of, 494. 
λακεῖν = ‘to sing,’ 346. 

λιπαραΐ, an epithet of Athens, 452. 
λύειν, ‘to profit,’ 628. 

Lustration at funerals, 90. 


pata, meanings and derivation of, 


394. 
Masculine Gender, used by a woman 
speaking, 383. 
Medical schools of Greece, 970. 
Medusa, fable of, 1118. 
μὲν οὖν, force of, 821. 
μετά = ‘in quest of,’ 46, 66, 483. 
— in compounds, 1157. 
μεταπίπτειν, meaning of, 912. 
μή and ov with participle, 702. 
— = ‘I fear lest, &c.’, 315. 
μήν, meaning and derivation of, 64. 
Middle future in passive sense, 322. 
Mourning customs, 429. 
— period of, at Athens, 336. 
Myrtle, use of at funerals and at 
banquets, 172, 759. 
Mystic rites of Orpheus, 967. 


Naval metaphors, 354, 407. 

Necessity, ode to, 965. 

Neuter plural, adverbial, 412, 445, 
605. 

Nomius, a title of Apollo, 572. 

νυμφεύειν, senses Of, 317, 412. 


6, use of for οὗτος, &c., 264, 883, 


6, 7, τό, as a relative pronoun, 

oe 967. > 

ὅδε ἀνήρ = ἔγώ, 331, 690, 719, 
1084, 

ὀθνεῖος, etymology of, 532. 


109 


Offerings to the dead, 845. 

οἶδας for οἷσθα, 780. 

Old age, how regarded by Greeks, 
291, 643. 

ὅμως with participle, 936. 

Optative and Subjunctive in depen- 
dent clauses, 52, 117, 145. 

— with ay, 48. 

ὅρα μή, with indicative or subjunc- 
tive, 1127. 

Orphic mysteries, 967. 

és and és ἄν, with subjunctive, 76. 

ὅστις, force of, 620, 659. 

οὖν, its meanings and derivation, 73, 
140, 850. 

οὗτος, in addresses, 773. 

οὕτως, special sense of, 680. 

ὀφλεῖν δίκην, meaning of the phrase, 
1093. 

‘Oxymoron,’ 241. 

ὦ with nominative, 1, 569. 

ws av, force of, 740. 

ὡς δή, force of, 1014. 

ὥφελον, construction of, 880. 


Παιάν, meanings of, 92, 424. 

πανοῦργος, meaning and derivation 
of, 767. 

mapa, with accusative, 926, 1142. 

‘Parodos’ of the Chorus, 77. 

Participle, following εἰδέναι, &c., 
150, 154, 438, 1158. 

Partitive Genitive, 9. 

πᾶς, with and without the article, 
156. 

πάτριος and πατρῷος, 249. 

πέλανος, meaning of, 851. 

περί for ὑπέρ or πρό, 178. 

πίτυλος, meaning and derivation of, 
798. 

Pleonasm with genitive case, 925. 

Plural for singular, in apposition, 
717, 1028. 

— use of in ‘royal style,’ 132. 

— verb after disjunctives 7... 7, 
362. 

πόδα, after verbs of motion, 869. 

Poetical compound epithets, 428. 

Pollution from a corpse, 22. 


110 


πολεῖν, its meaning and derivation, 
20. 

ποτέ, proper use of, 198, 238. 

πόθεν, special force of, 95, 781. 

πρέπειν, senses of, 512, 1050, 1121. 

Prepositions, ‘pregnant’ construction 
of, 23,7. 

Preposition separated from its case, 
514. 

πρεσβεύειν, meaning of, 282. 

πρίν ἴοτ πρὶν ἄν, 840. 

προκόπτειν, meaning and derivation 
of, 1079. 

‘ Prologue’ of tragedy, 1. 

προνωπής, senses of, 143, 186. 

πρός σε θεῶν, &c., 275, 1098. 

πρός with genitive, 57. 

προστροπή, meaning of, 1156. 

φθόνος, attributed to the Gods, 
1135. 


‘Relative attraction,’ 523. 
— clauses, omission of verb in, 170. 


σεμνός, meaning and derivation of, 


713: 

Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale, referred 
to, I121. 

Soothsayers, ridiculed by Euripides, 
786. 

σοφός, Euripidean use of, 58. 

σχέτλιος senses of, 407, 469, 741, 
824. 

σώφρων, used of conjugal fidelity, 
183. 

Spirit-worship, 1140. 

Spondee in fifth foot, when allowable, 
671. 

‘Stasimon’ of the Chorus, 112. 

Statues, Greek affection for, 348. 

Stepmothers, ancient feeling about, 


395- 


INDEX. 


Subjunctive and optative in depen- 
dent clauses, 52, 117, 145. 

— the ‘ deliberative,’ 214. 

Substantival infinitive, 11. 

Suicide, modes of, 229. 

Sun, addressed by dying persons, 


207, 243. 


τέλος, proper sense of, 413. 

τέρεμνον, derivation of, 457. 

‘ Tertiary Predicate,’ 489, 499, 648. 

Thessaly, ancient divisions of, 476, 
1154. 

θέλω and βούλομαι, distinguished, 
281. 

θῆσσαν τράπεζαν, 2. 

θολοῦν, meaning of the verb, 1067. 

τιμωρεῖσθαι, construction of, 733. 

τλῆναι, senses of, I, 275, 572, 837. 

‘Tmesis’ in compound verbs, 548, 


579. 
τόνδ᾽ ἄνδρα = ἐμέ, 331, 690, 1084. 


ὑπερβάλλειν, metaphorical use of, 


153- ε 
ὑποβάλλειν, special meaning of, 639. 
ὑπορράπτειν, meaning and derivation 
of, 537- 
Verb omitted in relative clauses, 170. 
Verbs active used intransitively, 897. 
Verbal paradoxes in Euripides, 141, 
521. 


Wayside tombs, 825. 

Winter’s Tale, reference to, 1121. 

Women, reputation of, at Athens, 
623. 

Worship of spirits (δαίμονες), 1140. 


ξυρόν, etymology of, 427. 


(a-, force of prefix, 498. 


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