ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν, ‘will’ (or ‘must’) ‘come’: cp. 88 “μένοιμ᾽ ἄν”. The γὰρ here refers to a thought implied in the last sentence:—‘You would never have done this thing of your own nature; (and if you have done it in madness, that proves nothing against your nature,) for heavensent madness cannot be helped; only, may the gods avert the evil rumour!’— i.e., ‘may it prove to be false.’ From verse 172 down to this point, the Chorus have been asking whether the rumour can be true. Now they pass to the alternative:—‘But if it is untrue, then up and refute it.’ Ζεὺς … Φοῖβος. Both gods are averters of evil, “ἀλεξίκακοι, ἀποτρόπαιοι”. But Zeus is invoked with especial fitness as being the source of mysterious voices and rumours ( Il. 8. 250“ἔνθα πανομφαίῳ Ζηνὶ ῥέζεσκον Ἀχαιοί”).
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part VII: The Ajax. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1907.
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