ἀφόβοις, fearing no harm from man;—a pathetic epithet, which is marred by taking it as=‘not formidable’ to man. “ἀφόβοις..θηρσὶ” is not an oxymoron (as if it meant, ‘wild creatures which are not wild,’ ‘tame beasts’): “θηρσί” is a generic term; he attacked beasts instead of men: cp. fr. 855. 12 “ἐν θηρσίν, ἐν βροτοῖσιν, ἐν θεοῖς ἄνω”. δεινὸν χέρας: cp. Il. 7. 457“ἀφαυρότερος χεῖράς τε μένος τε”.
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Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part VII: The Ajax. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1907.
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