Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Trachiniae

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ναίουσ᾽ <ἔτ̓> ἐν Πλευρῶνι. This insertion of ἔτ̓ is the best remedy. The word is forcible, as marking that her sorrows began while she was still a young maiden. Cp. Ph.23, where, as here, the text of L has lost “ἔτ̓” before a word beginning with “ε”.

To A's reading, “ναίουσ᾽ ἐνὶ Πλευρῶνι”, there are two objections. (a) While “ἔνι” (=“ἔνεστι”) is frequent, there is no instance of “ἐνί” for “ἐν” in tragic iambics; though Eur. admits it in lyrics. (b) There is no example in tragic iambics of a short vowel thus lengthened before πλ at the beginning of the next word; though such lengthening would have been legitimate in the epic hexameter. Cp. W. Christ, Metrik § 18 (2nd ed.).—Paley reads ναίουσα δ̓ (with B): but the “δέ” would be weak here.

Πλευρῶνι. The ancient Pleuron stood in a fertile plain of Aetolia, near the mountain called “Κούριον”, a few miles W.N.W. of Calydon. About 230 B.C. that site was deserted, and a new Pleuron was founded more to the S.W., not far from the modern Mesolonghi. (Strabo 10. 451: Leake, North. Gr. I. 115 ff.) In the Iliad Pleuron figures among the chief Aetolian towns (2. 639, with four others: 13. 217, with Calydon only).

Calydon was usually represented as the seat of Oeneus ( Il.9. 529 ff.: Apollod.2. 7. 5: Diod.4. 34); and Ovid calls Deianeira Calydonida ( Ov. Met.9. 112). It is not known whether Sophocles was following some earlier poet in preferring Pleuron. But it is noteworthy that a tragedy of Phrynichus, dealing with the death of Meleager, was called “Πλευρώνιαι” (Paus. 10. 31 § 4); and the Chorus would naturally belong to the home of Althaea (the wife of Oeneus).

ὄκνον. The v. l. ὄτλον (‘trouble,’ rt “ταλ”) is a less fitting word here: the point is the anguish of her dreadful suspense (15, 24). Though “ὀτλεῖν” is not rare, the noun occurs only in Aesch. Th.18“παιδείας ὄτλον”.