φρενὸς οἰοβώτας, ‘a lonely pasturer of his thoughts,’—i.e., one who nurses lonely thoughts. They allude to the gloomy and ominous despair which has replaced his frenzy. The ending “-βώτης” could mean either “βοσκόμενος”, as in Ph. 1148“οὐρεσιβώτας” (“θῆρας”), or “βόσκων”. The latter seems best here; his “φρήν” represents the flock; he is the shepherd. Cp. Suppl. 304 “ποῖον” “πανόπτην οἰοβουκόλον λέγεις;” (Argus,— Io being his sole charge.) Simonides fr. 133 “Ὄσσα, Κιθαιρῶνός τ᾽ οἰονόμοι σκοπιαί”. Other compounds in which “οἶος” has a like force are “οἰόφρων” (“πέτρα”, Suppl. 795), “οἰόζωνος” ( O. T. 846).
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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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