τοιγὰρ τὸ σὸν θ.: "wherefore they (sc. “αἱ Ἀραί”) have the control over thy supplication (to Poseidon) and thy throne" (said bitterly—“"the throne of which thou dreamest"”). “τὸ δόν” (etc.) is like the ironical use of inverted commas: cp. El. 1110, Ph. 1251, Ant. 573. Polyneices has two pleas: (1) As “ἱκέτης” of Poseidon, he had adjured his father to remember “Αἰδώς”, who is enthroned with Zeus, and to bless his enterprise, 1267. (2) As eldest-born, he claimed the throne by right, 1293. Oedipus answers that Δίκη, no less than “Αἰδώς”, sits with Zeus. The son has broken the eternal laws (ἀρχαῖοι νόμοι) of natural duty. Therefore this highest Δίκη annuls both his pleas. His father's curse has the final control. θάκημα as 1160, 1179: to make it a mere hendiadys with θρόνους would grievously enfeeble these words. κρατοῦσιν, with acc., not of the person conquered (as more often), but of the domain over which the rule extends: cp. Aesch. Suppl. 254 “καὶ πᾶσαν αἶαν”.. .. “κρατῶ”.
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part II: The Oedipus Coloneus. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1899.
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