Sir Richard C. Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Antigone

μηδ᾽ ἀρεσθείη. Cp. 686. If sound (as it seems to be), this is a solitary example of the aor. pass. “ἠρέσθην” as=‘became pleasing,’ and must be defended by the pass. (or midd.) “ἀρέσκομαι” as used by , Herod. 6. 128“ἠρέσκοντο”, ‘they were approved’ (or, ‘they pleased’): 9. 79 “μήτε Αἰγινήτῃσι ἅδοιμι μήτε τοῖσι ταῦτα ἀρέσκεται” (those who approve this course). Considering the Ionic affinities of Attic Tragedy, this use of “ἀρέσκομαι” in Ionic prose seems a sufficient warrant for a corresponding use of “ἠρέσθην”, whether we take it as properly passive (‘was approved’), or as a pass. form used to supplement the middle (‘pleased’). I do not add Eur. fr. 942 “θεοῖς ἀρέσκου”, because there I should read “θεοὺς ἀρέσκου”, ‘propitiate the gods,’ the Attic use of the midd.; cp. Xen. Mem. 4.3.16 “νόμος δὲ δήπου πανταχοῦ ἐστι κατὰ δύναμιν ἱεροῖς θεοὺς ἀρέσκεσθαι”, ‘to propitiate the gods with sacrifice. The Attic passive meant ‘I am pleased,’ Thuc. 1.129 “τοῖς λόγοις τοῖς ἀπὸ σοῦ ἀρέσκομαι”, 5. 37 “οἱ βοιωτάρχαι ἠρέσκοντο”, but occurs only in pres. and impf.: “ἠρέσθην”, as the corresponding aor., appears only in later Greek, as Paus. 2.13.8 “οὐκ ἀρεσθεὶς τῷ δοθέντι πώματι”. The traditional “ἀρεσθείη”, then, is at least not less probable than Hermann's ἀρεσθείην, when the whole question is viewed in the light of attested usage. As to Elmsley's neat ἀρέστ᾽ εἴη, a fatal objection to it is the change to the impers. plur.; as if one said, ‘not one of your words pleases me; and never may I feel pleasure:’ (without, ‘in them’).