ἐμποληθείς may be freely rendered, ‘sold into bondage,’ but its literal sense is rather, ‘made merchandise of,’ or, ‘bought.’ Hesychius, indeed, explains “ἠμπόλησεν” by “ἀπέδοτο”: but, though “ἐξεμπολᾶν”=‘to sell off,’ “ἐμπολᾶν” as=‘to sell’ lacks classical evidence. (Cp. Ph.417“ἐμπολητός”, ‘bought.’) “πραθῆναι” (252), “πεπρᾶσθαι” were the proper terms for ‘to be sold’ (as a slave). τοῦ λόγου … φθόνον, dislike (felt by the hearer for the narrator) on account of the telling. προσεῖναι, abs., to be an attendant circumstance ( Ant.1252 n.),—to attend upon the act (of telling). ὅτου, neut.: (in the case of anything) of which Zeus is seen to be the doer. Cp. Thuc.6. 14“τὸ καλῶς ἄρξαι τοῦτ᾽ εἶναι, ὃς ἂν τὴν πατρίδα ὠφελήσῃ”. We cannot make ὅτου masc. (relat. to τοῦ λόγου), because “ὁ λόγος” here denotes, not the reported deed, but the (mere) act of reporting it, as contrasted with the causing of it. πράκτωρ φανῇ: cp. 862: for “ὅτου” without “ἄν”, cp. O. T.1231 n. The agency of Zeus is explained below O. T., 274 ff. The meaning is:—‘You may think that the humiliation of Heracles ought not to be related by his servant to his wife. But this humiliation was imposed by Zeus himself, and can therefore be related without reflecting upon Heracles.’
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.
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