Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Antigone

τοῖς κοσμουμένοις (neut.), the regulations made by “οἱ κοσμοῦντες”, the rulers: meaning here, his own edicts. For the act. “κοσμεῖν”, cp. Her. 1.59 (Peisistratus) “ἔνεμε τὴν πόλιν κοσμέων καλῶς τε καὶ εὖ”. And for the pass. thus used, ib. 100 “ταῦτα μὲν κατὰ τὰς δίκας ἐποίεε ῾δεïοξες᾿, τάδε δὲ ἄλλα ἐκεκοσμέατό οἱ”: ‘and the following regulations had also been made by him.’— Another view (also noticed by the Schol.) makes τοῖς κ. dat. of “οἱ κοσμούμενοι”, ‘the rulers.’ But (a) the only place which might seem to favour this use of the midd. is Thuc. 8.24 (the Chians, the more they prospered) “τόσῳ καὶ ἐκοσμοῦντο ἐχυρώτερον”: but there the verb may well be pass., ‘the more securely was their government organised.’ (b) As Creon is himself at once “ὁ ἀμύνων” and “ὁ κοσμῶν”, it is more natural that he should speak of his own edicts than of ‘the rulers.’—“κόσμος” was said of a constitution, esp. oligarchical ( Thuc. 4.76 “μεταστῆσαι τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἐς δημοκρατίαν...τρέψαι”: 8. 72 “μένειν ἐν τῷ ὀλιγαρχικῷ κόσμῳ”). The Cretan “κόσμοι” were oligarchical magistrates, with military as well as civil powers (Arist. Pol. 2.10).