Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Oedipus Tyrannus

[175] ἄλλον δ᾽ ... ἄλλῳ “one after another.” The dative here seems to depend mainly on the notion of adding implied by the iteration itself; though it is probable that the neighbourhood of πρός in προσίδοις may have been felt as softening the boldness. That προσορᾶν could be used as = “to see in addition”is inconceivable; nor could such use be justified by that of ἐνορᾶν τινι as = ὁρᾶν ἔν τινι. And no one, I think, would be disposed to plead lyric license for ἄλλῳ πρὸς ἴδοις on the strength of ἀκτὰν πρὸς ἑσπέρου θεοῦ in 177. Clearly there was a tendency （at least in poetry） to use the dative thus, though the verb of the context generally either (a) helps the sense of “adding,” or (b) leaves an alternative. Under (a) I should put Soph. El. 235 “τίκτειν ἄταν ἄταις”: Eur. Hel. 195 “δάκρυα δάκρυσί μοι φέρων.” Under (b), Eur. Orest. 1257 “πήματα πήμασιν ἐξεύρῃ”: Eur. Phoen. 1496 “φόνῳ φόνος ι Οἰδιπόδα δόμον ὤλεσε”: where the datives might be instrumental. On the whole, I forbear to recommend ἄλλον δ᾽ ἂν ἄλλᾳ προσίδοις, though easy and tempting; cp. Thuc. 2.4 “ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλῃ τῆς πόλεως σποράδην ἀπώλλυντο.”