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[645] ἀλλά contrasts the thing prayed for with the actual circumstances to which it is tacitly opposed. The formula is common enough at the beginning of prayers in later Greek; e.g. Soph. El. 415 “λέγ᾽ ἀλλὰ τοῦτο” Soph. El., 411 “ὦ θεοὶ πατρῶιοι, συγγένεσθέ γ᾽ ἀλλὰ νῦν”. In all these cases “ἀλλά” emphasizes the following word; here the thought seems to be ‘All is lost, unless thou, Father Zeus, will save us — none other can.’

The Iliad, edited, with apparatus criticus, prolegomena, notes, and appendices. Walter Leaf. London. Macmillan. 1900.

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    • Sophocles, Electra, 411
    • Sophocles, Electra, 415
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