ἐναργὴς, in visible form, before the eyes of Oeneus: cp. 224. The word suggests that sense of awe which came to a Greek at the thought of a “δαίμων” actually appearing to a mortal: Il.20. 131“χαλεποὶ δὲ θεοὶ φαίνεσθαι ἐναργεῖς”: ‘'tis perilous when a god is seen face to face.’ Od.16. 161“οὐ γάρ πω πάντεσσι θεοὶ φαίνονται ἐναργεῖς”: ib. 3. 420 (Athena) “ἥ μοι ἐναργὴς ἦλθε”. Verg. Aen. 4. 358 “ipse deum manifesto in lumine vidi.” Acheloüs occurs in works of art under each of the three forms which he takes here. (1) ταῦρος. This regular embodiment of a river-god symbolised both the roar of the torrent, and, as Strabo adds, the twistings of the stream (“καμπαί”), “ἃς καλοῦσι κέρατα” (10. 458). Coins of Acarnania (after 300 B.C.) show Acheloüs as a bull with human head; and Soph. may have had this type in mind, for it appears on coins of Magna Graecia as early as 500 B.C. (2) αἰόλος δράκων ἑλικτός. The image is peculiarly appropriate, since the Acheloüs, in parts of its course, is so tortuous. For “αἰόλος”, ‘gleaming,’ cp. n. on Ph.1157.A vase-painting shows the Acheloüs, in combat with Heracles, as a serpent with the head and arms of a man, and an ox's horns (Gerhard, Auserl. Vasenbilder, vol. 2, no. 115). (3) ἀνδρείῳ κύτει βούπρῳρος κ.τ.λ. A human figure, with human face, and a shaggy beard, but with the forehead, horns, and ears of an ox. The Acheloüs appears thus on an archaic coin of Meta pontum in Lucania (Millingen, Anc. Coins of Greek Cities and Kings, pl. 1, no. 21). The words “ἐκ δὲ δασκίου γενειάδος, κ.τ.λ.”, coupled with such evidence, make it clear that βούπρῳρος means, ‘with front’ (not, ‘head’) of ox. In this sense, it is fitter than βούκρανος: and Strabo 's reading (cr. n.) is thus confirmed. κύτει. The word “κύτος” (rt “κυ”) means ‘a cavity,’ then ‘a vessel’: hence, fig., the human body as encasing the vital organs: Plat. Tim. 74 A “ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς διὰ παντὸς τοῦ κύτους”. See Appendix.
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part V: The Trachiniae. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1902.
The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.