ἔχει … κῦρος, lit., "have validity," = κεκύρωται, sancta sunt. Cp. El. 919 “πολλῶν...κῦρος...καλῶν” ("sanction of"), Aesch. Suppl. 391 “οὐκ ἔχουσι κῦρος...ἀμφὶ σοῦ”, "authority over thee." — Two meanings are possible: (1) "These promises of Theseus are certain to hold good": or, more generally, (2) "These events have assuredly been ordained past recall" (by the gods). Most commentators prefer (1). But (2) seems more fitting at the conclusion. The last soothing words of the Chorus convey a precept of resignation to the divine will. Fr. Ritter rejects the last three verses, as he rejects the choral clausulae of all the other six plays (Philol. XVII. 422-436): cp. O. T. 1524 cr. n. Here, at least, there is not a shadow of ground for the suspicion. It did not require a Sophocles to write vv. 1777-1779, but the burden of proof rests with those who deny that he wrote them.
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part II: The Oedipus Coloneus. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1899.
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