οἷά μ᾽ ἐκκαλεῖ, ‘what dost thou call upon me to do.’ For the double acc., cp. Euthyphr. 5 A “αὐτὰ ταῦτα προκαλεῖσθαι αὐτόν”. παλαμναῖον is not weak after φονέα, because, as used in poetry, it often implies the defilement (“ἄγος”) of blood-guiltiness,—meaning, ‘accursed wretch,’ rather than merely ‘slayer.’ Cp. Aesch. Eum.448“ἄφθογγον εἶναι τὸν παλαμναῖον νόμος, κ.τ.λ.” Hence, like “μιάστωρ”, it can denote also the avenger of guilt ( I. T. 1218). Photius had this in view when he explained “παλαμναῖος” by “φονεὺς ἢ μιαρός”. Properly the word means merely ‘a man of violent hand’: cp. Ph.1206“παλάμαν”, n.
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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.
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