ὑποστήσας, after planting them like pillars (cp. “ὑποστῆσαι κίονας, ἐρείσματα”, etc.); or, as we should say, after ‘laying them down’: the word is much more forcible than “ὑποβαλών” or “ὑποθείς.” ἐν θανοῦσιν: for “ἐν”, cp. 43 n. The dramatic function of a Chorus required that these Salaminian sailors, while loyal to Ajax, should recognise the sound elements in the speech which they have heard. Menelaüs has rightly condemned the “ὕβρις” which defies human laws. But his own “ὕβρις” menaces the laws of the gods.
This text is part of:
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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