σέβας must be acc. in appos. with “τεύχεα”: it cannot be (as the first schol. suggests) a vocative addressed to the goddess. The armour of Achilles, made by the god Hephaestus, is a “σέβας”, an object on which men gaze with reverent wonder. So Thetis describes these arms as “καλὰ μάλ̓, οἰ̔̂ οὔπω τις ἀνὴρ ὤμοισι φόρησεν” ( Il. 19. 11). Cp. El. 685(Orestes) “εἰσῆλθε λαμπρός, πᾶσι τοῖς ἐκεῖ σέβας”. The dat. “τῷ Λαρτίου” must be taken with “παρεδίδοσαν”, which requires it. And it seems best not to take that dat. with “σέβας” also. If we did so, the phrase would mean, ‘an object of reverence’ to Odysseus; not, an ‘honour’ or ‘glory’ to him. But, though “τῷ Λαρτίου” is not construed with “σέβας”, their juxtaposition is forcible; ‘to him—those peerless arms.’ The long separation of the verb from its dative is excused by the fact that the interposed “ἰὼ μάκαιρα... ἔφεδρε” prepares the indignant emphasis on “τῷ Λαρτίου”. We should not, then, change σέβας to γέρας. As Nauck remarks, the two words are confused in the schol. on Eur. Or. 383(vol. 2, p. 122, Eur. Or. 18Dind.). L affords an instance of “γ” corrupted to “ς” in 571 (“ἔσω” for “ἐγώ”). In uncials “σέβας” might have originated from B for P. But the sense given by “γέρας” would be tamer.
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.
