καιρὸς, the need of the moment; for the semi-personification, cp. 1450; El. 75“καιρὸς γάρ, ὅσπερ ἀνδράσιν” | “μέγιστος ἔργου παντός ἐστ᾽ ἐπιστάτης”: ib. 39 “ὅταν σε καιρὸς εἰσάγῃ.” καλεῖ, as Eur. Hec. 1042“βούλεσθ᾽ ἐπεισπέσωμεν; ὡς ἀκμὴ καλεῖ” | “Ἑκάβῃ παρεῖναι”. Lucian (Demonactis vita 65) quotes, as a familiar stage ‘tag,’ “καιρὸς δὲ καλεῖ μηκέτι μέλλειν”.
This text is part of:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part IV: The Philoctetes. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1932.
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