ὦ φθέγμ̓. A beautifully natural expression of her new joy in his living presence. So the solitary Philoctetes welcomes the sound of Greek speech,—“ὦ φίλτατον φώνημα” ( Ph. 234). Cp. Ai. 14“ὦ φθέγμ᾽ Ἀθάνας”. O. C. 863(Oed. to Creon) “ὦ φθέγμ᾽ ἀναιδές.” μηκέτ᾽ ἄλλοθεν πύθῃ. Cp. 1474: O. C. 1266“τἀμὰ μὴ ᾿ξ ἄλλων πύθῃ”. For “μηκέτ̓”, cp. Pind. O. 1. 114“μηκέτι πάπταινε πόρσιον”.
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Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part VI: The Electra. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1894.
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