Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Antigone

πόλεως ἄνδρες, like “γῆς τῆσδέ τις” (O. T. 236 n.).

ἐρρόθουν, muttered: 259n.

ἐμοί, against me, dat. of object, as after “χαλεπαίνω, μέμφομαι”, etc.

κάρα σείοντες, ‘tossing the head,’ in defiant menace (so “caput quassans,” Verg. Aen. 12. 894), instead o going quietly under the yoke. Mor 170 E “τοὺς τυράννους ἀσπάζονται,...ἀλλὰ μισοῦσι σιγῇ κάρα σείοντες” (alluding to this v.). So, acc. to Suidas, s.v., Soph. used “ἀναχαιτίζειν” (prop. said of a horse throwing the mane back, rearing) as=“ἀπειθεῖν καὶ ἀντιτείνειν”, ‘to be restive.’

ὑπὸ ζυγῷ. Cp. Aesch. Ag. 1639 “ζεύξω βαρείαις” (“ζεύγλαις”).

λόφον, the back of the neck, a word used of draughtanimals (of the human nape, perh. only once, Il. 10.573): hence, fig., Eur. fr. 175 “ὅστις δὲ πρὸς τὸ πῖπτον εὐλόφως φέρει ι τὸν δαίμον᾽, οὗτος ἧσσόν ἐστ᾽ ἀνόλβιος”. id. Eur. Tro. 302“κάρτα τοι τοὐλεύθερον ι ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις δυσλόφως φέρει κακά”, ‘impatiently.’ ( Shaksp. Henry VI. Pt. III. 3. 1. 16 “yield not thy neck To fortune's yoke.”）—Nauck writes the verse thus, “νῶτον δικαίως εἶχον εὐλόφως φέρειν”, because Eustathius, in alluding to it, once represents it by “νῶτον εὐλόφως εἶχον” (on Od. 5.285), and twice by “νῶτον εὐλόφως φέρειν” (on Il. 10.573, Od. 10.169). But Eustath. was quoting, or rather paraphrasing, from memory, and confused our verse with Eur. fr. 175 (quoted above); also, perhaps, with Lycophron 776 “εὐλόφῳ νώτῳ φέρειν”. His references to Sophocles are often loose and inexact. See Appendix.

δικαίως, loyally. Donaldson had a too ingenious view that the word here meant, ‘with

equal poise’ (New Crat. 371).—“ὡς ῀ ὥστε” (O. T. 84): στέργειν, tolerare: Tr. 486(Lichas advising Deianeira with regard to Iolè) “στέργε τὴν γυναῖκα”, be patient of her.