μόνην. If L's “μόνην δ᾽” were sound, then “στείλαντες” (“μέν”) and “ἔχοντες δέ” would express two reasons why the conduct of the Atreidae was bad:—‘when they had brought thee from home, and when that was their only way of taking Troy,’— the second clause implying that, as his presence was so momentous, his claim to good treatment was the stronger. But “μόνην”, without “δ̓”, is clearly right. Then “ἔχοντες” is causal, expressing the motive of “στείλαντες”,—‘having brought thee,... since they had no other way,’ etc. The insertion of “δ̓”, if not a mere error, may have been due to a corrector who, not perceiving the relation of the two participles, thought that they required a copula. ἅλωσιν, means of capture: Thuc. 2. 75“χῶμα ἔχουν πρὸς τὴν πόλιν, νομίζοντες ταχίστην αἵρεσιν” [“τὴν αἵρεσιν” Classen] “ἔσεσθαι αὐτῶν” (the quickest way of taking the place).
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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