καθ᾽ ὕπνον: Tr. 970“καθ᾽ ὕπνον ὄντα”: but here “ὤν” need not be supplied; the phrase is adverbial, with “καταυλισθεὶς κυρῇ.” καταυλισθεὶς, ‘lodged’ (cp. 19 “αὐλίου”, 153 “αὐλάς”), a word suitable to rough or temporary quarters, as to a bivouac: Xen. An. 7. 5. 15“κατηυλίσθησαν δ᾽ ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ”: so Soph. El. 304(Electra speaking of her rustic cot tage) “οἵοις ἐν πέπλοις αὐλίζομαι” (cp. ib. 168 “ἀγρότειραν αὐλάν”). κατακλιθεὶς, the weak reading of some later MSS., was prob. suggested by “καθ᾽ ὕπνον.” κυρῇ is the reading of our MSS., and, though their authority on such a point is not great, the subjunct. seems here slightly better than κυρεῖ. “ὅρα μὴ...κυρεῖ”, ‘see whether he is not,’ would imply that in the speaker's mind there was little doubt on the subject: cp. notes on Ant. 278, Ant. 1253: Plat. Charm. 163 A “ἀλλ᾽ ὅρα μὴ ἐκεῖνον κωλύει”: Lach. 196 C “ἀλλ᾽ ὁρῶμεν μὴ Νικίας οἴεταί τι λέγειν”: Theaet. 145 C “ὅρα μὴ παίζων ἔλεγεν”. These are admonitions in the polite guise of suggestions. Now here we may, indeed, conceive Odysseus as saying “μὴ...κυρεῖ”: but, in the anxious uncertainty which he actually feels, it is more natural that he should say “μὴ...κυρῇ”. If it be said that general Attic usage rather favours the indic. after “ὅρα μή”, we may refer to El. 1003 and fr. 82 (“ἀλλ᾽ ὅρα μὴ κρεῖσσον ᾖ”) as a few places out of several where the subjunct. after “ὅρα μή” is proved by metre.
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.
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