Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Oedipus Tyrannus

[1134] Soph. has the epic ἦμος in two other places of dialogue, Soph. Trach. 531 （answered by τῆμος） and 155; also once in lyrics Soph. Aj. 935; Eur. once in lyrics （Eur. Hec. 915）; Aesch. and Comedy, never.

τὸν Κιθαιρῶνος τόπον The sentence begins as if it were meant to proceed thus: τὸν Κ. τόπον ὁ μὲν διπλοῖς ποιμνίοις ἔνεμεν, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἑνὶ （ἔνεμον）, πλησιάζων αὐτῷ: but, the verb ἔνεμε having been postponed, the participle πλησιάζων is irregularly combined with the notion of ἔνεμον and turned into a finite verb, ἐπλησίαζον: thus leaving τὸν Κ. τόπον without any proper government. （In the above explanation, the act. voice of νέμω has been used, since this was specially said of shepherds: cp. Xen. Cyrop. 3.2.20 “ἐπεὶ ὄρη ἀγαθὰ ἔχετε, ἐθέλοιτ᾽ ἂν ἐᾶν νέμειν ταῦτα τοὺς Ἀρμενίους;” The midd. would also be correct, as = “to range over. ”） For the irregular but very common change of participle into finite verb cp. Soph. El. 190 “οἰκονομῶ ... ὧδε μὲν ἀεικεῖ σὺν στολᾷ ι κεναῖς δ᾽ ἀμφίσταμαι τραπέζαις” （instead of ἀμφισταμένη）: so Soph. Ant. 810 “（ὔμνος ὔμνησεν” instead of ὕμνῳ ὑμνηθεῖσαν）: Soph. Trach. 676 “ἠφάνισται, διάβορον πρὸς οὐδενὸς ι τῶν ἔνδον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐδεστὸν ἐξ αὑτοῦ φθίνει.” Thuc. 4.100 “προσέβαλον τῷ τειχίσματι, ἄλλῳ τε τρόπῳ πειράσαντες καὶ μηχανὴν προσήγαγον.” Though we can have δῶμα πελάζει （Eur. Andr. 1167）, “is carried towards the house,” the dat.τῷδε τἀνδρὶ after ἐπλησίαζον here is proof in itself that the verb does not govern τόπον: further the sense required is not “approached,” but “occupied.” Brunck, taking τῷδε τἀνδρὶ as = ἐμοί, was for changing ἐπλησίαζον to ἑπλησίαζε: which only adds the new complication of an irregular μέν and δέ. The text is probably sound. Heimsoeth's conjecture, νέμων for ὁ μέν, with ἐπλησίαζε, is attractive, but the parenthetic ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἑνί is then very awkward. Nauck proposes ἐν Κιθαιρῶνος νάπαις ι （this with Blaydes） νομεὺς διπλοῖσι ποιμνίοις ἐπιστατῶν ι ἐπλησίαζε: but this is to re-write, not to correct.