ω στυγνὸς αἰών: for the nom., cp. 1186, 1213. “αἰών” is here tinged with the notion of ‘fortune,’ cp. 179. ἄνω: cp. Ant. 1068“τῶν ἄνω” (the living): El. 1167“ἡνίκ᾽ ἦσθ᾽ ἄνω.” ἀφῆκας … μολεῖν: for the inf. (which was unnecessary) cp. Her. 1. 194“τὸ πλοῖον... ἀπιεῖσι κατὰ τὸν ποταμὸν φέρεσθαι”. The one feeling which now makes Ph. waver is reluctance to repel the kindly entreaties of Neoptolemus. His hatred of the Greek chiefs is undiminished by the knowledge that they were unconscious instruments of destiny. Nor is he moved by the assurance of health and fame.
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part IV: The Philoctetes. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1932.
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.
