σεμνῶν ὀργίων … φλὸξ, ‘the flame of the solemn rites,’ i.e., the flame from the sacrifice on the altar. “ὄργια” could not literally mean “θύματα” (the word by which the schol. explains it); but the sense is the same. In Ant.1013, too, “ὀργίων” are ‘rites,’ not ‘victims.’ The flame is called “αἱματηρά”, because the burning flesh was so. It is needless to take “ἀπό” with “ὀργίων”. πιείρας δρυός: the wood of the pine (“πεύκη”) is resinous (“ῥητινώδης”),—a quality conducive to the bright flame which was prized as an omen ( Ant.1007 n.). The original meaning of “δρῦς” was simply ‘tree’ (schol. Il.11. 86; Curt. Etym. § 275). In 1168 and 1195 it means ‘oak.’
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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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