Θῆβαι. A courteous exoneration of Thebes accords with the hereditary “ξενία” which this play supposes: see on 632, and cp. the compliments to Thebes in 929, 937. It has been seriously suggested that all these touches must have been inserted by Sophocles the grandson, because in the poet's time Athens and Thebes were not usually on the best terms. ἐπαίδευσαν, more than “ἔθρεψαν”, implying a moral and mental training: cp.
: so of the Spartan public training, Thuc. 1.84 “ἀμαθέστερον τῶν νόμων τῆς ὑπεροψίας παιδευόμενοι”. Athens is “τῆς Ἑλλάδος παίδευσις” (id. 2. 41).“οὔτοι με ξένον
οὐδ᾽ ἀδαήμονα Μοισᾶν ἐπαίδευσαν κλυταὶ
Θῆβαι
”Pind. fr. 180
