ἦν μοι: the imperf., because she has now used it. ποτὲ belongs in sense to δῶρον, as though we had “ἐδόθη ποτέ”. If the comma after θηρός were omitted, and “ἦν” joined with “κεκρυμμένον” (as=“ἐκέκρυπτο”), then “ποτὲ” would go with the verb: but “κεκρυμμένον” seems to be an afterthought. παλαιὸν, because she has had it long; ἀρχαίου, because he lived long ago. This emphasis on the past is natural in one who is looking back sadly to the days of her youth, and speaking to young maidens for whom Nessus is only a legendary name. θηρός: so Il.1. 268“φηρσὶν ὀρεσκῴοισι”. They are called “κένταυροι” in Il.11. 832, as in the Odyssey (21. 295). Cp. below, 680. λέβητι: properly a deep basin; also a kind of kettle used in cooking: but the poets can use the word to describe a cinerary urn (as El.1401). Here it means some kind of urn or jar.
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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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