Campbell City (part 7 of 13)

2. Also in other ways the Oedipus Coloneus shows a relaxation of the Sophoclean severity. The action of the Oedipus Tyrannus yields no place to subordinate interests. The public calamities of which we hear at the beginning only bring the person of the hero into a clearer light, and are lost sight of in the consummation of his fate. But in the Oedipus Coloneus the destiny of Oedipus, although the central, ever-present object, is by no means the sole constituent element. The relzgzo loct of Colonus, the glory of Athens, the enmity of Thebes, are also largely present. All these are woven, in subordination to the principal motive, into an artistic whole; but the unity which results is of a different order from the unity of the Oedipus Tyrannus or the Antigone. The interest of the Ajax was doubtless largely reinforced by national pride'. The hero of Aegina and Salamis was associated with glorious memories, and every Athenian was interested in the vindication of his heroic virtue. But the epithet attached to Salamis, and the single mention of Athens by the hero in his last speech, are the only direct indications of this feeling. For parallels to this aspect of the Oedipus Coloneus we must again have recourse to Euripides*. The subject of the Philoctetes is not national, although Neoptolemus, like Ajax, is an Aeacid: but a cognate element of subordinate interest may be found in the allusions to persons and events at Troy. (Phil. 410-460.)

3. The differences here pointed out may be partly accounted for by the fact that the Philoctetes and Oedipus Coloneus are not tragedies ending in a disaster, but dramas of reconciliation, in which there is a change from evil to good fortune, a long struggle of some kind being presupposed. Such dramas are necessarily epzsodzcal, because the fable does not of itself supply a natural culmination of dramatic interest'. The central motive, being of a feebler kind, is more apt to be reinforced from without. And some of the preceding remarks might be applied to the Eumenides of Aeschylus?, in which the fate of the hero is bound up with the loc' and with the pride of Athens in her Areopagus. It is true also that the general theme of the final vindication of a noble spirit has been anticipated in the concluding portion of the Ajax. But the Eumenides was probably one of a trilogy, and in any case amongst the last plays of Aeschylus: and the peculiarities in question are not found in the Ajax. The fact. that they are found in the Oedipus Coloneus and Philoctetes, as in no other of the seven plays, gives probability to the tradition which assigns them to a distinct period.

4. And this probability is greatly strengthened when it is further observed that in these two plays a certain meditative inwardness begins to take the place of dramatic energy. The intensity of the action in the Oedipus Tyrannus, while dispensing with external adjuncts, also leaves less room for quiet contemplation. The emotions that are aroused are not unaccompanied with deep thoughts: but these are flashed upon the mind, not brooded over. Whereas the spectator who had before him the blind Oedipus, or the lame Philoctetes, through five long scenes, had time to think about the hero's wrongs, and to reflect on the ethical and religious aspects of the situation. While the catastrophe of both dramas is produced by external means, - (the 'dreadful summoner' in the Oedipus Coloneus, the apparition of Heracles in the Philoctetes), - and not developed from the action itself, as in the Antigone, Electra, and Oedipus Tyrannus, - the real percpetec'a or culmination of interest in both is of an inward nature, turning upon mental conditions. There is abundance of sustained interest, but that which keeps the spectator in suspense is not the imminence of some fatal act or discovery, but the resolution of such questions as these, Will the Coloniatae, will Theseus, acknowledge the essential innocence of Oedipus notwithstanding his reputed crimes: will they prove their nobility by protecting him, and having once undertaken his defence, will they continue true? We know that on this depends at once the final peace of Oedipus and the glory of Athens: but the problem has an interest apart from consequences. Again, will ambition or faithfulness win the final mastery in the breast of Neoptolemus? 'This inward problem divides our interest with the contemplation of the obdurate resentment of the frank-hearted Philoctetes. Both together throw into the shade the more practical question, which the comes in to solve, Will Philoctetes return to Troy?

This contemplative tendency may be regarded as indicative of Sophocles' later manner for two chief reasons, both as coincident with the growth of ethical reflection at Athens towards the end of the fifth century B.C., i.e. during the last decade of the life of Socrates, and as evincing. that or mellowness of spirit, which the poet's contemporaries observed especially in his later years.

5. And here there occurs a remarkable parallel between the most perfect of ancient and the greatest of modern tragic poets. The words in which a recent writer has characterized the last group of Shakspeare's dramas might be applied with little modification to the Qedipus Coloneus. 'From the tragic passion which reached its climax' (shall we say in the Oedipus Tyrannus ' we pass suddenly to beauty and serenity: from the plays concerned with the violent breaking of human bonds, to a group of plays which are all concerned with the knitting together of human bonds, the reunion of parted kindred, - 'the atonement for wrong.' - 'In these plays there are two sets of dramatis personae: the great sufferers, aged and experienced, - 'and the young and beautiful children in the brightness of the morning of life - ' There is a romantic element about these plays. In all there is the same romantic element of lost children recovered by those to whom they are dear.' - ' In all there is a beautiful romantic background of sea or mountain' (of grove or island) *.. The same writer reminds us that the Tempest has been supposed to reflect Shakspeare's personal feeling: just as in parts of the Oedipus Coloneus the poet gives indirect expression to his love of home, and to his consciousness of the burden of age (il. 62, 3, 668 1556 ff.).

The only important words omitted in the foregoing extract have reference to the forgiveness of injuries. This Christian grace is wholly absent both from Oedipus and Philoctetes. They are as great in their resentment as in their wrongs. Oedipus is reconciled to the Erinyes : he has peace with the gods, and goodwill for the Athenian 'men of goodwill,' but like Ajax he is inexorable towards his persecutors, and leaves a curse behind him as well as a blessing.

It is this darker side of the Oedipus Coloneus that has often suggested another Shakspearian parallel, that of King Lear. And certainly there is no personage in Shakspeare whom the aged Oedipus more nearly resembles. He has the same consciousness of being 'more sinned against than sinning :' the same fond clinging to parental and kingly honours: the same calamity,in being driven from home and kindred by his offspring : the same vehemence in cursing them ; and he finds in Antigone the same comfort which Lear finds in Cordelia. But he has more true dignity than Lear ever had, and he knows well throughout the differing qualities of his children. He is assured that the hard life which his daughters have lived has been compensated by his affection for them.

6. Even when descending occasionally from the summit of tragedy, and expatiating in milder regions, Sophocles still remains the supreme artist. 'The Coloneus is different in kind from the Tyrannus, but it is not less wonderful. The author of the first Greek argument is perfectly justified in saying:

From first to last the mind dwells with unbroken sympathy on the person of Oedipus, who from the moment when he appears to the chorus never leaves the stage, until the time arrives for his mysterious

This central interest is enhanced by various shades of contrast, in which this drama is unusually rich, some of the gradations being peculiarly soft and gentle. Old age and childhood, religion and superstition, horror and pity, royal courtesy and royal sorrow, peace and contention, the blessing and the curse, all pass before us in impressive harmony.

We see the effect produced by the person of Oedipus on an ordinary Athenian, and again on the rustic villagers, who shudder when they hear his name: we see them calmed and partly reconciled by the fearless affectionate pleading of the girl Antigone. The arrival of Ismene, while furthering the action, presents us with a minor contrast between the sisters, both faithful, one heroic in her faithfulness. The princely nobleness of Theseus gives assurance of peace and victory, and the praises of Colonus are sung. The contention with Creon, whom we are made to hate, and the curse on Polynices, whom we pity while condemning him, only delay the rest which they cannot destroy. The gloom attending the departure of Polynices, and the contrast between the acceptance of Oedipus and the rejection of one who 'found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully,' makes a profoundly solemn impression on the mind of the chorus. Yet we foresee that even the doom of Polynices will be ultimately softened by the far-reaching affection of Antigone. The 'natural tears' of the two children do not break the tranquil spell for the Athenian spectator, - in whose land 'the kindness of the dead' has been laid up for evermore'.

Oedipus had not long remained in Thebes after the day of horror. Creon, who had hesitated to cast him forth when he himself desired it, had afterwards yielded to the solicitation of the citizens, who were bent on 'driving out the pollution.' ,The sons made no resistance, and the blind and feeble king was forced to wander forth alone. After a time, Antigone, as she grewolder and felt the first motions of her heroic nature, first stasimon of this play. which he was that the Oedipus Coloneus was exthen composing,' is almost certainly apocryhibited by the younger Sophocles in the archonship of Micon, four years after the author's death, may be accepted as being probably taken from the without admitting the assumption that it was then produced forthe first time. But the opinion, that the drama was written in old age, seems to have been universally received in antiquity. (Cic. de Senectute, c. 7; Plutarch de Rep. ab Sene gerenda, p. 785 a.) And although the story 'that Sophocles, when accused of dotage by his sons, convinced his judges by reading the phal (notwithstanding Ar. Rhet. 3. 15), and as Hermann (1841) has shown, is probably based on a fancy of Aristophanes', yet it is traced to the first century B.c., and presupposes the general belief that this drama was a late work of Sophocles. But even were this story credited, and the statement of the second accepted without reserve, it would not be necessary to believe that this immortal work was composed at the age of 90. Political causes may have delayed its appearance, See below, p. 275.

followed her father into the wilds, and led him up and down to beg a scanty subsistence from village to village. Once only they had a visit from Ismene, who came secretly to tell them of an oracle which the Thebans had received, affecting her father's destiny. Thus time elapsed, and Oedipus was now wayworn and old, when led by knowledge of the oracles, and also drawn by some mysterious guidance, he came into the plain of Attica. this moment he appears on the stage. He is changed alike from the pride of his former power, and from the fury of his despair. He is dignified by the consciousness of a grief unlike other men, and of a sacred mission. As a sign of their approaching some city, they have met several wayfarers, and each one has told them that they are drawing near to Athens. At last Oedipus, still prompted by the inward monitor, desires to rest, ('by some sacred precinct if so be'), and the next person who comes near (an Athenian from the neighbourhood) informs him that he is violating the sacred ground of the Eumenides. He accepts the omen. In the oracle which had first pointed to his calamities, it had been contained that he should end his life in such a spot, and in doing so, bless the country that received him and be revenged upon his enemies. From this moment he is fully conscious of the Divine favour, and waits patiently, though not without anxiety, for the miraculous consummation. His peace is assured, but not yet attained. He has no fear of the Erinyes: they have done their worst, and are now really to him the ' kind goddesses,' 'sweet daughters of old Night' (1. 106). He knows that they will receive him, and not cast him out. This means, not merely that he is longing for the repose of death ; but that by an inward enlightenment, following upon his sufferings, his noble nature is purified and calmed, and he looks onwards with a good hope that is yet full of awe (1 - 110).

his knowledge is not shared by the rustic guardians of the sacred grove, in whose persons the narrowness of local superstition is contrasted with the larger spirit of piety which the poet upholds. These men are summoned by the informant of Oedipus, who, at their request, bears the news to Theseus. They insist on all minutest ceremonies of the shrine of which they are the protectors, but know little of the inward meaning of any of them. 'They are filled with horror at the idea of one having encroached upon their holy place, and they shrink at the very sight of the offender. But when they see that he is ragged, old, and blind, though their wonder is even more excited, they begin to pity him, until, in reply to their interrogations, he gives his name. 'The unhappy Oedipus, indeed! Nay, rather, to their apprehension, the polluted wretch, whose presence within their borders is sure to bring calamity. Antigone appeals to them to show mercy to the unfortunate; and Oedipus tells them that they are mistaken, if in rejecting the suppliant they think to do honour to the Gods. 'The guardians of the ground, though superstitious, are not innumane; and they are impressed by the solemn words of the old stranger. When he declares that he is come to bless Athens, they are so far pacified as to wait until Theseus, who has taken the

(First émetod5cov) - Ismene comes, and reports the impending struggle between the brothers at Thebes, adding that Creon is on his way with a commission to take Oedipus home, since Phoebus has declared that victory will be with those who have him on their side. But though the Thebans desire to get him into their power, yet because of his past calamities they will not receive him, nor give him burial in their land.

Oedipus is thus confirmed in his presage, and in his resolution to remain at Colonus. He pronounces the curse upon his sons, and declares more openly than before that his advent is a blessing to Athens and a calamity to Thebes (313-460).

The chorus, on whom this scene has made some impression, although their scruples are by no means overcome, advise Oedipus to make atonement at the shrine of the Erinyes, with the usual ceremonies, which they carefully describe. Ismene goes to perform these: and, in the interval that still remains before the coming of Theseus, Oedipus answers the importunate questions of the chorus by again pleading the unconsciousness and therefore the innocence of his past actions (461-548).

(Second 56 18. arrives, and in a few gracious words expresses the true sympathy of one who has had experience of adversity. Oedipus does not disdain this courtesy of a princely nature, but, instead of asking for assistance, gives himself to Athens. The day is coming when all will not go so smoothly between Athens and Thebes, and when the grave of Oedipus will be the pledge of victory. He only claims protection from the attempt of Creon. Theseus accepts the boon with the same noble confidence with which he had at first offered help, and in modest words assures Oedipus of his protection (549- 647).

(First ordotov) - The peacefulness of the situation is for the present restored, and the chorus at last give the Stranger an unreserved welcome to Colonus and Athens, exalting in their song the beauties of their rural district and the divine privileges which are there treasured for the great city (668-719).

(Third arrival of Creon again disturbs the tranquillity of the scene. Although he has already intercepted Ismene when about her offering, he at first affects to use persuasion, and would make it appear that Oedipus is perverse in refusing to return home. This draws a torrent of invective from the old man, who exposes the duplicity of the Thebans. --- A [6 some altercation, Creon avows the capture of Ismene, and, resorting to open violence, gives a sign to his attendants, who carry off Antigone. He is himself laying hands on the person of Oedipus, when the shouting of the inhabitants brings Theseus to the spot (720-886).

The prince had not gone far, but with a religious feeling apparently prompted by the Stranger s advent, had been sacrificing at the neiglibouring altar of Poseidon. He sends word to those attending the sacrifice, to set out instantly in pursuit of the servants of Creon, who were carrying off the maidens, and indignantly expostulates with Creon for the violence of his acts. Creon asserts, in his defence, that he was provoked by the bitter words of Oedipus, and adds with a sneer, that he had not thought the great Athens, whose court of Areopagus had ' purged the gentle weal,' would have given protection to an incestuous parricide. To this Oedipus replies in a passionate outburst, in which much of his early impetuosity is recalled, that his crimes were involuntary, and that he is innocent. - In order to make his innocence appear complete, the murder of his father, which in the Oedipus Tyrannus is represented as perpetrated in anger, is here spoken of as having been done in self-defence. - Theseus, who loves deeds more than words, simply bids Creon lead to where the maidens are (887-1043).

(Second ordoyov) - Oedipus is now left alone upon the stage, and the chorus console him with an imaginary description of the victorious pursuit and rescue of the captive maidens (1044-1095).

But the father's gratitude is immediately put to a severe test. Theseus has been told that there is a suppliant at the altar of Poseidon: and by the description given of him, Oedipus knows the suppliant to be Polynices.

On this Theseus goes forth, and the chorus (in the third mourn over the incessant vexations to which the old age of Oedipus is exposed (1096-1248).

(Fifth éreeoddvov) - Polynices comes and begs with tears that his father would cease from his anger against him, and take his part. But Oedipus, who had refused to strengthen the Theban side, is no less obdurate to the prayer of his eldest son, and calls the justice of Heaven to, witness the curses he invokes on both his sons alike for their unfilial conduct. Antigone tenderly beseeches her brother to desist from his fatal attempt: but he goes onward to his doom, and only asks for her kind offices in his burial. (Compare the Antigone.) (1249-1446.)

The hour is now come. The destiny of Oedipus is full. The promised sign of thunder is heard; the scene is darkened; the storm rages. (xouparind) - Theseus is again summoned, and when he arrives, Oedipus renews his solemn promise, and bids the king follow, while he himself leads the way, no longer taking the hand of any one, to his last resting-place (1447-1555).

(Fourth pjows) - The chorus send after him a few words of prayer: and soon one of the attendants returns and makes an impressive report of the marvellous but peaceful end (1556- 1666).

EoS0s) - The passionate lament of the daughters, who ask in vain to see their father's grave, is soothed by Theseus on his return. He promises to send them home to Thebes, and the drama closes (1667-1779).

Of the main situation in the Oedipus Coloneus there is no clear trace in the earlier literature, except the lines quoted at the beginning of this Introduction from the Phoenissae of Euripides. Unless we set aside the received date of either play, and assume an imitation of the elder by the younger poet here as in Phoen. 1758 ff., the grave of Oedipus must have been the subject of a legend known to them both, in which the blind hero was led to Colonus by Antigone in consequence of an oracle. If Euripides followed the traditional story, as in such an incidental allusion is most likely, Sophocles has here, as elsewhere, deepened his composition by interposing an indefinite time, viz. between Oedipus' departure from Thebes and his arrival in Attica. So in the Oedipus Tyrannus, whereas others had supposed the discovery to take place in the very year of the fatal union with Jocasta', Sophocles (or Aeschylus before him) imagines a long interval of prosperity and in the Trachiniae he puts many years between the marriage of Heracles to Deianira and his death, which others had described as following immediately on that event*. In the present instance his invention of a long period of wandering, during which Oedipus and Creon had become old men, was favoured by the many monuments of Oedipus that were associated with the cultus of the Eumenides or of Demeter in various parts of the borderland between Boeotia and Attica', in all of which Oedipus may be imagined to have sojourned from time to time °.

While bringing on the stage a new fable, Sophocles by no means parts company with tradition: and in all that relates to the attempt of Polynices® and Adrastus, and the curse of Oedipus, he probably had in his mind the Thebais of Arctinus, the Oedipodea of Cinaethon, and other popular authorities, from which he selected what he found suitable, altering where he chose, and rigorously rejecting all that he found irrelevant. But the Cyclic poetry has perished, and we are only able to distinguish two particulars in which he has recast the heroic legend.

Polynices, whom Euripides, apparently in accordance with the common tradition", represents as the younger brother, is here made the elder. This has the double effect of making the usurpation of Eteocles less excusable, and so increasing the guilt of the Theban party, and of heightening the interest of the spectators in Polynices, who, whatever his previous conduct may have been, has now been wronged. It may also be observed that the curse of Oedipus is more impressive when uttered upon his firstborn son, who, however pitiable now, was originally most bound to protect his father.

Schol. 1.375. Polynices is the one who provokes the curse in the passage from a Thebais quoted by Athenaeus, 11, 465 F.

The other change is in the place given to the curse of Oedipus, 'which, though still in part referrible to the irascibility of age, is more immediately connected with the unfilial behaviour of his sons, and with the Divine Nemesis, which is denounced against the whole people of Thebes, for having unrighteously condemned the guiltless. Besides this ethical motive there is a dramatic reason for bringing Polynices before his father at the last. The horror which the scene leaves on the spectator prepares him to be rightly impressed by what succeeds. The peal of thunder following so soon upon the curse must have made the flesh creep. And the description of the calm end of Oedipus coming after this must have brought with it a sense of consolation mingled with awe. It is curious that the poet in so far returns to the original story as to represent the curses which he puts into the mouth of Oedipus as repetitions of a curse which had been pronounced by him at an earlier time (1. 1375).

There is considerable variety of character in the Oedipus Coloneus : and although there is comparatively little action, each of the persons lives and breathes as a real human being. We enter perfectly into the situation and motives of each individually, while they affect us also in their relations to the central figure. There are some subtle traits; such as the mingled tact and boldness of the child Antigone in interceding with the elders for her father, and with her father for Polynices; the degree of querulousness, not amounting to any loss of dignity, that marks the old age of Oedipus; the natural pity that tempers the fanaticism of the chorus; also the contrast between their sacred horror, and the matter-of-fact piety of the The character of Theseus is that of a true prince, generous and considerate to the unfortunate, irresistibly commanding, by the force of simple justice, to his subjects and his enemies. His noble love of action in preference to words assists the progress of the drama at the points where it is most in danger of flagging. The person of Oedipus is at once profoundly sacred and intensely human. The deep solemnity that breathes throughout the play arises greatly from his consciousness of a destiny unlike that of other men. Yet the poet does not shrink from representing in him the feebleness and caution of old age {113 ff., 174 ff.), together with an irascible spirit in which the impetuosity of the first Oedipus is still perceptible (761 ff. etc.). His royal dignity peers through his discoloured raiment (75,6). He bears with him a softened memory of his misfortunes (1130 ff.). But above all, his affection for his daughters shines forth most brightly when he is about to leave them (1610 ff.) This union of tenderness with vindictiveness, of which Electra is also a signal example, belongs essentially to the sentiment of the ancient world. Lastly, it is remarkable that while Polynices is utterly condemned, his person engages the interest of the spectator, and does not forfeit the sympathy of the poet, who, like Dante, can feel tenderly without softening judgment.

The language of the Oedipus Coloneus is distinguished, (1) by an ornate fulness and expansiveness, and also (2) by extreme reflectiveness and refinement. The latter remark (2) applies chiefly to the lyrical portions, which are separated in style from the iambic more than elsewhere in Sophocles, the dialogue in the more level passages being characterized by the same vernacular ease as in the Philoctetes. See esp. ll. 720-760, 896-959. But what is true in this respect of the lyric measures is still applicable, though in a less degree, to the senaril.

(a.) We observe especially the frequency of compound words for simple: e.g. 1. 17, (where the Scholiast observes of 57, 482, little more than 540, 900, 1055, 1081,

The tendency to periphrasis and the use of Epic Greek may be recognized in several of the above instances. 'The love of amplification appears also in ornamental epithets and twofold expressions such as ois (1522).

The poet's peculiarities have become more pronounced, and also the ultra-refinement of the period has influenced the diction, - without, however, injuring its beauty.

(c) In like manner, the influence of the Sophistic tendency is perceptible in many of the A modern reader is apt to feel that the contentions between Oedipus and Creon and the scenes with Polynices are too long, and that this takes something from the main impression. As in the latter part of the Ajax, there is a rhetorical prolixity that seems tO us inconsistent with ideal poetry. But while Sophocles at his highest and best subdues this tendency into just conformity with his tragic motive, it is everywhere present in him, and the indulgence of it must have been extremely popular. As in the word-contest of Teucer and Menelaus the Athenians saw an image of the debates in the ecclesia, so in the pleadings of Oedipus they would find an echo of the forensic oratory, and of the ethical disputations of which they had now grown fond. The of the period is reflected here |

INTRODUCTION. 271 elyconic. The structure of the four stasima is extremely regular. (In the second the glyconics are mixed with trochees and in the third with iambi. The second strophe and antistrophe of the first stasimon are choriambic.) At the same time, both in the stasima, and still more in the the metre is studiously varied, above all in the remarkable 'commatic parodos,' where it is to be observed that the anapaests which accompany changes of position are of the freer kind. The changes of rhythm in 212 foll. are especially noticeable. 'The dactyloiambic movement which ends this passage, Il. 228-254, is recalled in the opening of the final commos, Il. 1674-6, 1700-2, which as it proceeds, however, becomes chiefly iambic. There are many places in which the reading has been questioned on the ground of metre, and it is sometimes hard to decide between the possibility of corruption and that of experiments in rhythm. In particular it admits of discussion whether in this play and the Philoctetes Sophocles allows ' polyschematism' in logaoedic lines, as Euripides has occasionally done, and also whether in some places the correspondence of long (or 'irrational') syllables to short ones may not be justified by a retardation of rhythm such as may be clearly traced in the zamézc trimeters of the commos in O. T. 1312-1366. Seethe note* on 241. This may be assumed with more confidence with respect to dochmiacs than to glyconics, as recitative (wapaxaradoyn) admits of more licence than choral song. See notes on Il. 198, 522, 1069, 1560, 1561, 1568, 1570.

The senarii of the dialogue have an easy and regular flow, rising in some places to a grandeur which recalls the Oedipus Tyrannus, (see esp. ll. 969-99, 1360-96), but for the most part running on with an even tenour, not swelling into waves. There is an increase in the variety of pauses and the number of 'light endings,' though this is less marked than in the Philoctetes, and a corresponding increase in the number of lines that are divided between different persons'. The rhythm of ll. 1169, 1414, is unlike anything elsewhere in Sophocles, and the division of the trisyllabic foot in Il. 26, 823, 1008, is noticeable.

1 In Aj. 591-5, 981-6, such division occurs only at the caesura, and except in 986 at the penthemimeral caesura. In the Electra there is an increase in the number of such lines, and the hepthemimeral division is more frequent. One line is thus divided - | and one (1502) is divided between three Religious and moral. It is perceived at once that the Oedipus Coloneus is full of religious feeling; and in this we may distinguish two pervading elements, which, though for moment they seem to jar, are held in harmonious combination by the poet's skill - the religio loc', and the inward religious sentiment of peace.

There breathes throughout the most affectionate reverence for Colonus; for the numen of Poseidon, who inhabits there, of Prometheus, of the Erinyes; for the mystery of the brazen threshold, the groves of the Academy, the neighbouring hill of Demeter ; together with a proud and tender fondness for the natural beauties of the region.

All these, however, with their manifold associations, are but the apt setting of the chief jewel, - the holy calmness of spirit with which Oedipus goes to his mysterious doom. In vain would the guardians of the local rites warn him from the inviolable ground. His inward consciousness has sealed his acceptance, and in his blindness he has a light from heaven. He knows that the divine powers do not ratify the narrow judgments of their ministers, who, in paying honour to the gods, dishonour them. One soul may prevail with them in place of thousands if it approach them with a pure intent. He feels assured of final peace before any outward sign has befallen, by an intimation which, though not conveyed through the senses, he recognizes as coming to him from the dread powers. 'The external ceremony of purification is performed for him by another, and though he acknowledges the importance of the form of prayer, he permits it to be offered for him more for the satisfaction of others, than because he feels it to be necessary to his own security. His every word betrays the consciousness that he is now a sacred person, chosen by Fate for the punishment of his enemies and the protection of Athens, and that this sacredness is in some way connected with the sorrow by which he has expiated an involuntary crime. He has throughout been pure from all taint of guilt, which can only attach to those who have knowingly done wrong; although his misery is such as outwardly to put a gulf between him and Theseus. The guilt is on the head of those who, under pretence of ' driving out pollution' from their state, have wronged the innocent, and on that of the unnatural sons, who put forth no hand to save their father.

Here are contained, though still chiefly in the form of feeling, several ethical principles belonging to the latest stage of reflection in Greece, and some which find their full expression only in the New Testament. That mercy is better than sacrifice, and is weightier than the tithing of anise, mint, and cummin ; that involuntary actions are properly exempt from blame; that the intention is everything in a religious service ; that the height of impiety is cruelty done in the name of the Gods : - these are so many ways of expressing the inwardness and the moral nature of religion.

theism, with the minute observance of a traditional ritual, and with the belief in omens and signs from heaven. But a moment's reflection shows that, while philosophy separates, and that only gradually and in part, between true ideas and the forms of the imagination, it is of the essence of poetry to combine them. And in dramatic poetry, the thoughts which lie deepest in the poet's heart, and towards which he is more or less consciously working, can only appear (though they are the true light of all his seeing) in so far as they are conducive to the most effective development of his subject. The plastic art of Sophocles is nowhere more evident than in the harmony which he has produced between the external and internal religious elements in this tragedy. This will become more evident if we consider (a) the traditional framework and (6) the ethical motive of the composition. a. The Oedipus Coloneus supplies a good illustration of the separateness of each Grecian cultus'. The poet (for whatever reason) holds firmly to his design of honouring the sacred things of his own deme exclusively. There was a 'grave of Oedipus' in the temple of the Eumenides on the Areopagus, as elsewhere in Greece*. But although the spectators are seated under the Acropolis, and the Areopagus is mentioned, there is no thought of any shrine of the Furies but in the grove at Colonus, or of any monument of Oedipus elsewhere. In like manner, if Athena is mentioned, it (1. 1070, cp. Paus. 1. 30), if Poseidon, it is as the tamer of the steed, if the olive is celebrated, it is not the plant in the Acropolis, but the popia in the Academy. At the same time, the holy things of Colonus were in great part a repetition of those of the Acropolis, and in celebrating them the poet indirectly appeals to universal Athenian sentiment', | The temples of the Furies, or Dirae, and also those of Demeter (Schol. on O. 1. 91) in various parts of Greece, appear to have had amongst their sacred things a monument of Oedipus, who, like Adrastus, was the impersonation of atonement for unwitting crime, and whose name was therefore associated in the popular belief with sacrifices or peace-offerings for homicide. As one who above all others had stood in need of propitiation, and had found it from the dreadful deities, his memory was cherished by those who came to seek a similar boon. The worshippers figured to themselves that Oedipus or Adrastus had been accepted, and hence conceived the hope that they themselves might be cleansed from their sin. The craving for atonement, to which the worship of the Eumenides was due, thus found a passing satisfaction. That such a tendency was growing about this time in Greece we have evidence in its emphatic condemnation by Plato, who may have included Oedipus and Adrastus, and perhaps Orestes, among the (Rep. 2. 366 A, cp. Legg. 906 C).

8 Thus the hill of Demeter Euchlotis is not to be confounded with the shrine of Demeter Chloé at Athens. It is probably the larger knoll about a quarter of a mile

Another proof of the widely-extended cultus of Oedipus is the mention in Herodotus (4. 149) of a temple at Thera, dedicated by Aegidae from Sparta (originally a Cadmean family) to the Erinyes of Oedipus and Laius. 'This worship, with various modifications of the legend, which were peculiar to each neighbourhood, probably existed in several parts of Boeotia and Attica - as, for instance, at the place called Potniades in the Citheron country. At Colonus it seems to have been associated with the traditional reverence for one or more sacred spots, which in some mysterious way were thought to have communication with Hades, and also, together with the sacred olive-trees, to be the Palladium of the city's freedom. 'The possession of the grave of Oedipus, or rather, according to Sophocles, of the place where he passed from the upper air, was said to make Athens secure against Theban invasion. Compare the importance of the bones of Orestes in the early struggles between Sparta and Tegea, and of the grave of Eurystheus in Eur. Heracl. 1026 ff. This, however, was only one of the local sanctities of the Coloniate district. 'The land was full of divine presences having two chief aspects, first as Gods of Sea and Fire and Earth and of the underworld, and secondly as patrons of the Horsemen; the hero-knight Colonus being claimed as the eponymus of the deme. The whole region, even to the 'hollow pear-tree and the stone tomb,' was loved by Sophocles as his early home, and was inseparably connected in his mind with the glory and prosperity of Athens. See below, p. 277.

The poet had therefore a peculiar satisfaction in taking the Passing of Oedipus as a subject for dramatic treatment. And having made this selection, he was naturally disposed to connect this Attic fable with his own former handling of the Theban legend.

6. Here a new motive enters into his design, and it becomes important to remember that the work belongs to a late phase of the Greek drama. The limits of the tragic art had long been prescribed by the idea of Fate, which Sophocles had already interpreted as an inscrutable Divine Will. 'Tragedy had darkly mirrored forth 'the wonder and the mystery' of human life. But in the act of doing so she had stirred such questionings as these. 'Is man then the sport of a capricious power, which deceives and ruins him without his fault? Are we to the Gods "as flies to wanton boys?" And do you tell us that the Gods are just? What justice is there in taking revenge for an unconscious wrong? Is a princely and loyal nature like that Oedipus to be afflicted without end for his father's disobedience, even if his rash impetuosity, by those who are "potent with such spirits," has been made the means of plunging him into an abyss of horrors? If human goodness is indeed divine, why are good men afflicted? Why are innocent men allowed to fall into error? If justice calls for expiation, does not a higher justice require that the "demand of a good conscience"' shall be satisfied ?'

Sophocles, who reflects even the latest feeling of his age, was fully conscious of these difficulties, which he expresses through the person of Philoctetes (Phil. ll. 450, 1, be? ;) - and in thinking over the legend of his native deme, which was known to comparatively few, he seemed to himself to have found a partial solution of them. Oedipus, who is the type of tragic suffering, is also the type of consolation. The Gods do not contend for ever with those whom they rebuke and chasten : they will not reject the plea of ignorance: they distinguish voluntary from involuntary crime: they will accept the atonement of a pure soul though from a faltering hand. And, while they cannot, or will not, undo the consequences even of an unwitting action, they will yet turn the evil into good, and cause a great sorrow to be a great possession.. The oppressed and afflicted man, to whom death appears the only refuge, shall find peace at last, honoured by the Gods, sought out and reverenced by the noblest men, blessed in himself, and a source of lasting benediction to others. Such at least had been the end of Oedipus, and by such thoughts the poet's treatment of the fable is modified.

2. Historical and political associations'. Although the value of a great ideal poem can be but slightly affected by the consideration of outward events, the question which has been already touched in p. 261, whether, besides the religious motive, this drama has not also a political side, is pressed on us by the nature of the subject.

(a) Historical circumstances. The Oedipus Coloneus evidently conveys, more directly than the Ajax, an expression of Athenian patriotism, and in this respect is very closely akin to the Supplices and Heracleidae of Euripides. These three plays (with the doubtful addition of Eur. H. F.) may be said, in point of subject, to form a separate group, apart from all other tragedies composed in the second half of the fifth century B.c. They agree in glorifying Athens as the home of equity, the universal refuge for the oppressed: they are concerned with her relations towards Thebes and Argos. Theseus in O. C. and Suppl., his son Demophon in Heracl. are representatives of the same spirit of piety and mercy. In the Supplices there is a threatened contention between Athens under Theseus and Thebes under Creon. In the Heracleidae the grave of Eurystheus is represented as giving Athens the assurance of victory. Certain minute coincidences make it not improbable that two at least of the three plays were produced about the same time 2, which, if we are right in assuming the Oedipus

1 Ideal poetry may often be coloured experience of a time of contention. by actual circumstances and events, and 2 Cp. esp. Eur. Suppl. 581-7, with O. it is antecedently probable that an Athenian 1019 ff., 58. 314-23, with O. C. 939 ff.; drama, in which the chief persons are Athe- 85. 339 with O. C. 560, 5. 623 with O. C. nian and Theban, should bear some trace 1715, 8. 930 with O. 632, S, 1109 of the hostile relation of Thebes to Athens: with O. C. r21z, 8. 1202 with O. although it does not follow that the 1593. Bockh, de Trag, Gr. Principibus, p. dramatist, whose scene is laid inthe heroic 187, assigns Eur. Suppl. to B.c. 420, the age, must make pointed allusions to par- year of the treaty with Argos. But the ticular incidents of the war. When Milton tone of Theseus to Adrastus is far from speaks of 'Necessity the tyrant's plea" or conciliatory, and the advice of Athena 'Close ambition varnished o'er with zeal,' indicates profound mistrust. Cp. Thuc. he is not alluding to particular acts or 8. 25,27. The subject of the Heraclidae persons, and yet he is clearly reflecting the 5015 well with B.c. 417, though ll. 1034-7

Coloneus to be a late play of Sophocles, must have been during the later years of the Peloponnesian War. And certainly there was no time in which Athens was more absorbed in her own destiny, or stood in more need of consolation: none in which her relations to other states in Greece, and the confidence reposed in her by her allies, were more naturally causes of anxiety'; none consequently in which the spectator of tragedy was more likely to feel respecting the subjects of these three dramas, (Thue. 2. 36). In Eur. Suppl. the reflection of contemporary feeling about the conduct of Argos may be distinctly traced. See esp. ll. 1185, 6.

That Athens was at war with Thebes when the O. C. was written might be inferred, even if history did not make it certain, from the hope of conquest over the Cadmeans which is assured to the possessors of Oedipus' grave. But the passages in which they are represented as at peace together are such as to suggest that a strong hope of ultimate friendship must have been entertained. Theseus cannot imagine how bitterness should ever come in between them. He says that the hearth of warlike friendship ever subsists between Athens and the Cadmeans. Not Thebes, but men of Thebes who are unworthy of her virtuous training are regarded by him as really in fault (lL 919, 20). The poet carries back his audience to a time when it was not the wont of Thebes to nurture unrighteous men. This is certainly a noble way of speaking, and also of hearing, about an enemy. Does it arise simply frem the ideal point of view, or is it prompted by some oligarchical sympathy (see below), or by the desire to strengthen the pro-Athenian party at Thebes? However this may be, Sophocles has not forgotten his own maxim, that a foe is to be hated as if he were one day to be a friend. He may have seen the policy of representing Thebes as only temporarily misled by her present rulers. Or it may have been inconsistent with his sacerdotal feeling? to speak ill of the city and home of Dionysus*.

(2) Polttical affinities. Here we touch on ground that is very uncertain, and net very important. But it is difficult not to connect the probability that the Oedipus Coloneus was amongst the later plays of Sophocles, with the fact that the open ground of Colonus was chosen by the authors of the revolution of the 400 for the place of are curious, if the truce with Sparta was formally unbroken. 'The Heraclidae has some minute coincidences with the Philocthe passion for autonomy in the several states of Hellas. The worship of Zeus, Apollo, Athena, Hera, Poseidon, etc., was

2 It has hardly been enough considered, what influence religious persons (including the dramatic poets) may have exercised in counteracting the isolating tendency of all-pervading, and although Dionysus was a late comer, yet the people assembled at his festival were drawn together by powerful constraining bonds. In treaties it was before all else provided that the common ceremonies shall be securely and properly observed, See esp. Thuc. 5. 18. § 1, wept Cp. Ar. Av. 180, 90.

the assembly that was to ratify the appointment of the new council'. The formalities with which that assembly was constituted must have included some acknowledgment of the sanctities of Colonus ; probably an offering to the same Poseidon Hippius to whom 'Theseus sacrifices in this play* Was there any predisposing cause for this remarkable choice of a place for that assembly? The meeting of the democratic reaction was held in the Munychian theatre *, in the midst of the sailor population. Was the Colonus Hippius in some special sense the Knights' Quarter*? If so, we can understand why the poet's celebration of his birth-place should find acceptance with an important section of his countrymen: who at one moment may have even desired to nationalize the worship of their patrician ' Mons Sacer.'

(c) It has been common to remark that in the Oedipus Coloneus Sophocles has given expression to his love of home. But the motive of a dramatic writing can never be accounted for without considering the temper of the audience. This taken in connexion with the preceding observations may permit us to entertain the hypothesis that the play was prepared for the Great Dionysia of s.c. 411. And although the following passages may have been written entirely without reference to passing events, yet, on the above supposition, they would be peculiarly effective.

(c') 11. 811, 2. pe | The years 412-10 B.c., when the whole of the Peloponnesian fleet had been liberated by the Athenian failure at Syracuse, was preeminently a time of naval blockades.

(4) The author of the second Greek argument has preserved a singular tradition, according to which the Oedipus Coloneus was produced in the spring of 401 B.c., four years after the death of Sophocles. Now, suppose for a moment that the play was first performed at the Great Dionysia of B.c. 411, when the appointment

1 Thuc. 8. 67. of all powers in Greece proper alone 2 Cp. Thuc. 8. 70. possessed a formidable cavalry, had a pecu- 3 Thuc. 8. 93. liar significance for the Athenian 'Immeis. 4 Ll. 62, 3 and 1070-3 of O. C. ac- The obscure allusion in Ar. Av. 997, quire fresh significance under this hypo- may also be accounted for, if Meton as of the new council was an accomplished fact': one can easily understand that after their deposition it would not be performed a second time: Colonus had strange associations for the unwilling members of the silent ecclesia: but in the years after the amnesty, a time of which, as Grote remarks, the political history is extremely obscure, the suppressed drama, having no associations with the reign of the thirty, might be successfully revived.

(1) It appears improbable that the Oedipus Coloneus should be composed between B.c. 411 and 405, the year of the poet's death, because in the Dionysiac theatre, which was neutral ground ?, it would be undesirable to remind the people of the scene of the appointment of the 400.

(2) Yet the Oedipus Coloneus is admitted to be a late work of Sophocles, and for the reasons adduced on p. 275, may be plausibly referred to the period following 413 B.c.

(3) If the remarks on pp. 276, 7, have any force, Sophocles in glorifying Athens through Colonus is in so far supporting those who believed that the salvation of the state depended on a more ' prudent' method of administration *.

(4) It is in agreement with these considerations to suppose that the play may have been performed in the spring of B.c. 411, at the Great Dionysia, and revived in B.c. 401, after being suppressed in the interim.

(5) The lasting significance of the Oedipus Coloneus is wholly independent of any such transitory associations, which notwithstanding, as is seen in Dante and Milton, may sometimes lend vividness to thoughts and feelings of universal range.

3. Historic conceptions. The reference to Xerxes and to Archidamus, which have been generally recognized in Il. 702, 3, * ot, | is not out of keeping with the main design. The events so distantly alluded to had become historical, and were proudly remembered by every Athenian citizen.

Another point is interesting as throwing some light on the poet's conception of the ancient condition of 'what is now called Hellas.' The preface of Thucydides, from which these words are quoted, is evidence of the activity of speculation on this subject in the

1 The Lenaea of 411 B.c., which preceded the revolution, is not suggested here, because the poet is more likely to have written in the interest of a de facto government than of a political plot.

The Sophocles, who; according to Ar, Rhet. 3. 18. § 6, was one of the probuli, and is there said to have admitted that he voted for the new constitution, because 'though bad the best, it was the best possible,' may be a distinct personage, But though the poet at 55, when already holding a command, seemed to Ion of Chios like any other respectable Athenian, it is not antecedently improbable that at 82 he should be one of the ten elderly citizens chosen as 'safe men,' later years of the fifth century B.c., and the chapters which he devotes to this subject, together with the third book of Plato's Laws, are probably a mere fragment of what in modern language may be called the literature of the question. And, although historic truth is not the business of the tragic poet, there are differences in this respect between Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, which are not wholly without significance. The picture of King Pelasgus, and the description of his wide dominion, in the Supplices of Aeschylus, imply no slight effort of historical imagination, and although the indications in the Oresteia are too slight to enable us to infer the poet's conception of the old Argive empire, yet the absence of all mention of Mycenae and Sparta, and the description of Menelaus by the Argive chorus in Ag. 619, as sufficiently indicate a point of view distinctly differing from that of Sophocles in the Ajax, and from the Odyssey*. Are not the two brothers represented as holding at Argos a joint power like that of the Heracleid kings of Sparta in the later history, and as ruling the whole Peloponnese, while having allies in Phocis and elsewhere in Northern Greece? Similarly in the Oedipus Coloneus, Sophocles has striven to carry the spectators back to a time, not only before the institution of democracy, but before the demes of Attica were firmly united in one 'The deme Colonus is felt by its own members to be a distinct community, owning the sovereignty of Theseus, the king of Athens, which they speak of as their metropolis, but retaining the custody of their own sacred rites, and regarding the at the Acropolis, with respect indeed, but still from without; with the friendship of neighbours rather than with the affection of citizens*. 'Thus the imagination is stationed at the point of time when according to a tradition which 'Thucydides believed *, Theseus, by a far-sighted policy which he had power to enforce, brought under one government the several districts which had previously had their own magistracies and councils, and had even been at war with one another',

Relation To Earlier Dramas

1. The obvious connection between the Oedipus Coloneus and the Oedipus Tyrannus must not be pressed too closely. There are certain outward resemblances, which amidst so many striking differences may be merely accidental, such as the number of lines in the opening speech of Oedipus (13, the coincidence is remarked by Schndw.), and the long scene which follows the first stasimon T. 512-862, O. C. 720-1043), similarly broken by short commatic passages and the entrance of an additional person (Jocasta, Theseus). The connection of thought between the two dramas has been already indicated. The Oedipus Tyrannus maintains the absoluteness of the Eternal Laws, which crush him who violates them, whether he do so consciously or

A more doubtful question is, How far has Sophocles cared to observe consistency in his treatment of the fable? For instance, Creon refuses to expel Oedipus without again consulting Apollo (O. T. 1438). This refusal is clearly referred to in the Oedipus Coloneus (1. 766): and we read there of a response received by the Cadmeans, which was brought secretly to Oedipus by Ismene. If we assume a close connection between the plays, we should infer that this is the response obtained by Creon in pursuance of the intention expressed by him in O. T. 1438, and that Ismene brought it to her father at the moment when he was being drivenforth. But if it pointed to his finding rest in Attica, it is strange that the Thebans should not have been aroused to jealousy and have sought to detain him. It is better to consider this point as being external to both dramas, and the oracle as one having reference to the ultimate fate of Oedipus; and to suppose it brought by Ismene to him during the earlier period of his wanderings, after he had been exiled from Thebes.

That the character of Creon is the same in both dramas will hardly be maintained. In the Oedipus Tyrannus he is gentle, although cold: in the Oedipus Coloneus, where he plays the part of ' advocatus diabolz, he is painted in much darker colours.

The feeling of Oedipus towards his parents in the two plays is different, but the difference involves no discrepancy. There is no trace in the Oedipus Coloneus of the remorse expressed in the Oedipus Tyrannus. Nor is it imagined on the other hand that ties so violently severed can be renewed. Hespeaks gently of his mother, but of Laius, though this point is obscure, he seems to imply more than once his unreserved condemnation (ll. 271, 1390).

In the aged Oedipus we are more than once reminded of the grand, passionate impetuosity of the previous impersonation. There is no effort to maintain exact conformity, and the portraiture is in a different manner, but in working out his new motive the artist is manifestly conscious of the impression which his former work has made. See esp. Il. 765 ff, 969 ff., 1375 ff.

And in the pathetic scene between Antigone and Polynices, who goes forth under his father's curse, the poet indulges in a distinct allusion to the legend which he had long since made beautiful. This is far from being misplaced, however, as it casts a softening light over what would otherwise be too black a shadow. The girl Antigone, at once affectionate and fearless, and gifted with strength and wisdom beyond her years, may well be imagined to grow up afterwards into the heroic maid: and the more prominent part in the action which is here given to Ismene, though it makes-some compensation for the way in which she is allowed to disappear in the Antigone, does not obliterate the contrast of character between the two sisters. But Creon appears in the Oedipus Coloneus as an old man, although in the Antigone he is represented as in the meridian of life at a later period. See esp. Ant. 1023, And the fable of this play is not presupposed in the Antigone.

Yet Sophocles admits no such glaring discrepancy between his treatment of the same fable at different times as Euripides must have done, if the lines quoted by the Scholiast as from the Oedipus of Euripides? are really his *.

2. Besides the resemblance of subject already noticed, between the Oed. Col. and Eur. Suppl. and Heracl., this play presents some points for comparison with the Eumenides of Aeschylus.

The Eumenides is related to the Areopagus with its Cave of the Furies (where also there was a grave of Oedipus) much as the Oedipus Coloneus is to Colonus. What most strikes us in making the comparison is the different spirit in which the Dreadful Ones are treated in the two plays. With the bold familiarity of an earlier worship Aeschylus brings the Erinyes in all their horrors upon the stage. It is true that after coming to curse they remain to bless - just as their ministers in Sophocles first bid Oedipus avaunt, and then receive him kindly. But in the later drama the whole conception of these Powers is softened and beautified®, and partakes something of the delicate grace of the region over which they preside*. They are still Sewames, 'of dread aspect,' but we hear nothing of their trailing robes and their serpent-hair: they are the 'all-seeing,' as elsewhere in Sophocles: but a holy silence is observed about their vengeful deeds. It is still more remarkable that in threatening the Thebans with his d\dorwp-Oedipus makes no pointed reference to the Erinyes whose protection he has sought, and that he asks their indulgence before launching his curse at Creon. He does invoke them incidentally in cursing Polynices, but without naming them, although in the same breath he invokes by name both Tartarus and the God of Strife. And Polynices, in naming the Erinyes of Oedipus, makes no allusion to the Eumenides. Almost everywhere in Sophocles Deity is an impalpable presence withdrawn from sight, while not on that account less powerfully felt. But throughout the Oedipus Coloneus there reigns a silent awe, a spirit of which, although intensely Greek, is unequalled elsewhere in Greek literature. The habit professed by the chorus (Il. 129 ff.) is steadily observed, and not the Erinyes only, but also Demeter and

2 It has been thought an inconsistency in the Oedipus Coloneus that the sons of Oedipus should be cursed for obeying the oracle which said that the possession of the person of Oedipus was necessary to the security of their country. But if the Thebans had understood the real purpose of the Gods, they would have received Oedipus and buried him in Theban soil, notwithstanding his unwitting parricide. And oracles, especially in connection with the driving out of pollution, had become so much a matter of course on both sides of every political struggle, that Sophocles and his audience might both pass lightly ment for the blood of Laius, of which Sophocles does not seem to have felt the need. The case with respect to this might have been different had Oedipus returned to Fhebes. O.C. 271, 1390.

4 So in the Colonus of to-day, perhaps at the very spot where Oedipus is supposed to disappear, the Holy Virgin is worshipped as which the sacristan explains to mean not 'the merciful,' (from but 'the guardian of the olive,

1. Oedipus is told by the Athenian that the place where he rests is called 'the indestructible threshold or basement' of Colonus or of Attica. And in the description of his passing away he is said to pause and put on fresh garments after an ablution, when he arrived at the steep-down threshold, rooted in earth with steps or foundations of brass (or with indestructible foundations). Is the thing meant in either passage the same or different?

It is no doubt possible that they are different. We may either suppose that two_places in the grove where the native rock appeared were similarly named, or that the whole ground of the Eumenides was called the threshold of the brazen floor, while a particular spot, where the path became precipitous, (and there were perhaps brazen steps), was called the The Scholiast on |. 192 assumes that the platform where Oedipus is allowed to rest is the same on which he sits at first and that it is literally paved with brass. If so, this would symbolize the primitive worship of the adamantine, indestructible basement of rock. Or we may read in the second passage only and in the first, although the context does not favour this. But if the place called in the two passages is one and the same?, it becomes necessary to suppose a change of scene, And this is not impossible. For it is conceivable that in the the scene is laid near the spot where Oedipus is finally to pass away, on the side of the grove which is furthest from Athens, and that when Oedipus and Antigone, on seeing the approach of the chorus, have hidden themselves, the scene is changed to the entrance of the grove on the side nearest to Athens. In favour of this supposition it may be remarked (1) that Oedipus in the occupies ground which it is not permissible to tread, but is afterwards made to sit where all may and it is probable that on both occasions he occupied the centre of the stage: (2) that the chorus speak of having wandered all round the grove: cp. Aj. 868, | yap ; In either case the word ' brazen' is

2 This is assumed by K. Miller, in Aj., Ant., EL, O. T., Trach., is separable Eum. § 83, but he does not explain the from the rest of the play, although there is discrepancy. no change of scene, probably used in the sense of 'adamantine,' 'indestructible,' and is rather 'floor' than 'threshold.' The native limestone rock, perhaps with some rifted appearance not now visible, was associated by primitive religious feeling at once with the 'strong foundations of the Earth,' as the symbol of permanence, and with the ' house of darkness' to which any opening in it seemed directly to lead. This fancy may have originally occasioned the conservation of the place, as of similar places on the Areopagus, and on the northern and eastern sides of the Acropolis, to the chthonian powers.

2. In characterizing the spot where Oedipus was last seen on earth, the poet makes mention of various objects which seem to have partaken of the sanctity which especially marked this place; the bowl on which the compact of Theseus with Pirithous was commemorated ; the hollow pear tree - whose ancient look, familiar to Sophocles, is transferred by him to the Thesean period : - the stone-tomb, probably a sarcophagus of unknown origin: and the bit of rock from Thoricus, mérpos, some survival of primitive worship, perhaps a piece of Laurian ore, cp. the of Schol. on 1]. 27.

3. Other minute features of the locality are mentioned. We can never hope to trace them now that the hill of Colonus, long since bare of foliage, is become a quarry for road metal. When Oedipus is still within the sacred precinct the chorus express a fear, lest he should stumble into the sacred grassy dell, where no voice is ever heard, but the moist basin gathers pure water, - or where water is mingled with honey. The place of offering beyond the grove, to which Ismene is directed by a more circuitous path, must have been near to this - where the sacristan dwelt, and the carefully wrought vessels for the service were kept.

The Colonus must have been for the most part open ground, else it could not have been made the meeting-place for the ecclesia which elected the four hundred. But the grove of the Eumenides, round its eastern declivity, looking towards the hill which was probably that of Demeter Euchloitis (a quarter of a mile off), was held peculiarly sacred. The space in front of this, and at its entrance, at the south-eastern angle, is the scene of the greater part of the play. The place of offering, where the ministrant poured libations looking towards the daybreak, was probably at the eastern end, and at the north-eastern angle (where is now the shrine of was the most sacred place, with the memorial of the descent of Theseus to the underworld, with the memory of Oedipus' last moments, and the associations which surrounded these. Close by, and still northward, were the gardengrounds of the Coloniate deme, watered continually by runnels from the Cephisus. And almost blending with these westwards were the groves of Academus, and the Morian olives, scarce less sacred than the plant in the Acropolis, from which one legend spoke of them as derived. 'The knoll was crowned with an altar of Poseidon, worshipped here as in the Erechtheum as the author of horsemanship.

4. A singularity of the Oedipus Colonus is the requirement of the occasional presence of a fourth actor, which is further complicated by the difficulty of distributing the parts amongst three actors without dividing the part of Theseus amongst all three. It has been observed that the difficulty occurs entirely in the latter half of the play, in which Ismene is almost a and it has been accordingly suggested that this part may have been here assumed by a supernumerary The part of Ismene having been thus divided, that of Theseus also has to be divided between the second and third . actors. 'Thus: -

This is ingenious. But it is equally possible that four actors were employed (as in Eur. And.), though in each scene the rule is still observed - zne guarta logui persona laboret. And Schneidewin, who is a good judge of such matters, seems inclined to adopt this conclusion.

State Of The Text

Amongst the seven plays the Coloneus was one of those least frequently read and copied, although it is evident from the ancient scholia that it was carefully studied by the learned in Alexandria. The corrections in L are comparatively few, and a large proportion of these and of the marginal readings are by hands which were intermediate between the copying of the scholia and the recensions of the 14th century. Little has been added to Elmsley's account of the existing MSS. 'Three chief families are distinguishable, those of L, B, and T, the recension of Triclinius. This last, however, has but little independent value, as it is founded on a MS. of the second family. Amongst those which agree most nearly with L, a minor distinction may be made between A, with which R agrees, and V%, from which Aldus appears to have printed. In some important readings L? is independent of L. Some good readings are quoted from F, a more recent MS. very closely related to L. Thus we have

Only a few lines of this play remain in V; see esp. 1. 1517. Ven. 617 has never been collated. It is of the L family, but corrected by a disciple of Triclinius.

There are many slight corruptions, and some grave ones, in which all the MSS. agree. The peculiarities of language and of metre already noticed make the correction of these unusually difficult.

Oiaitioys, Ohsey2

The scene of the mpddovyos, 1]. 1-116, is probably on the north side of Colonus, with Athens in the distance. See Introduction, p. 282. The spot so familiar to the audience (od infr. 63, 4) would probably be recalled by the representation on the stage of some striking objects, especially those which marked the 'religio loci.' Oedipus enters (right?), led by Antigone, and sits down in the middle of the proscenium, where he remains until Antigone descries the approach of the chorus.

1. A word or two in the dialogue serves to introduce the persons, as in O. T. 8, which is intentionally contrasted.

3. Oedipus, like Orestes, before coming to Athens, has wandered far since the pollution was first found upon him. Cp. Aesch. Eum. 337. 8, od | Te |

4. " With scanted alms.' Cp. Shak. Lear, 3. 2, 67, 'their scanted courtesy.' The verbal 'made small,' is explained by the words which follow, For the situation, cp. Od. 15. 312, al Tis

5. It is difficult to suppose that two forms of the same word can have occurred in the same line, although the reading of L, is supported by the alliteration of which is opposed to it.

'And the length of the time that is with me.' Time is partly personified; E. on L. p. 19. Cp. of paves, O. T. 1082, Shak. Tro. and Cress. 4, 5, 'That hast so long walked hand in hand with time.' The position of paxpés is emphatic. E. on L. § 41. p. 76. is added by a familiar pleonasm. Ib. pp. 69, 75.

9. Ricc. 34 has anticipating Seidler's conjecture. The reading admits of a possible explanation. 'At some sitting place, if you see any seat - either by a place where all may sit, or by a sacred grove, let me stop and sit down. dat. of place, supplemented by and in construction with But the reading in the text is simpler and smoother, and the corruption may have arisen from a very simple itacism. Cp. Phil. 17, 18, | where, as here, is ' opportunity of sitting.' And this is exactly the meaning which the context requires, Essay on L. p.

Io, For the neut. adj., cp. 167, The line prepares the way for what is to follow. Oedipus is led by a divine presentiment towards the sacred grove of the Eumenides; cp. infr. 97, | és GAgos. See also the second to this play, The suppliant in clinging to the altar, etc., inevitably trespassed on things sacred. Cp. Eur. Suppl. 63, Ovpéras.

Where the optative expresses a remote intention. Here the uncertainty of the mood accords with the feeling of the blind and weary Oedipus.

12. like other verbs of motion, is used with a mixed literal and figurative meaning: 'We are come where we must learn,' i.e. partly 'we are here to learn,' partly 'we are reduced to the point of learning" Cp. O. T. 1433, El. 1201, yap E, on. L. § 52. p. 97.

13. The omission of in L is indefensible. has some MS. authority, and may be right, notwithstanding the objection which is made to the double crasis (for But Elmsley's correction is more probable.

15. oréyovow | 'Protect.' Cp. Aesch. Sept. 216, 797, where, however, the word is used without the acc. of that which is protected. This is a simpler and more natural expression than o7é- which is therefore an unnecessary conjecture.

(1) 'To judge of them by the eye,' sc. or or more simply without supplying an infinitive, (2) 'to the eye.' 'Are far away for the eye to reach,' 1.6. 'We have but a distant view of them.' as The reading ws 'AS one may guess with certainty,' though it has some MS. authority, is less in keeping with the modera~- tion of the style. Cp. Tr. 141, ws as in : i.e. is 'to hazard a conjecture.'

17. wmuxvérrepor] The compound adds picturesqueness to the expression. 'Many-winged nightingales,' i.e. Many fluttering nightingales. See E. on L. p. 101. For the synaphea, cp. T. 29, Ar. Av. 1716.

22, foll. The persons here and 22. det: L. 23. (3, A cross + against this line by C?. 27. B Vat.

The verse is given to Antig. by L, but the 2nd hand has put a line against this and the following verse, and a cross in the margin. The initials of the persons after 21 are by a recent hand.

27. &ouxnouros .. 'If it is habitable." 'It is indeed inhabited.' The latter word is more definite. Antigone sees clear signs of habitation. The compound with gives emphasis and completeness to the idea: cp. Thuc. 2. 17, ans : also words like E. on L, p. 101. The reason of the condition, «.7.A., is simply that in an uninhabited place there would be no one to ask. Sch. iva 6

34, 35. . 'Since so fortunately we have met with you, who come to inform our ignorance.' The genitive follows and is epexegetic, 'happy,' 'fortunate,' as a good omen is called dps. properly 'one sent to look,' hence 'one who brings intelligence.' Cp. the figurative use of in infr. 1096, | ws

rev Bpvovra TH (L), where the metre decides for The early corruption however, is a proof of the antiquity of the reading for had the words been nobody would have thought of altering them to Aéw is not found elsewhere; but cp. Hesych. and the analogy of etc. E. on L. p. 102.

The Stranger, so called in relation to Oedipus, is an Athenian, but from the neighbourhood of Colonus, aS appears from 1. 70, dp' dy

42. *dv] The MSS, Suidas, and Eustathius agree in reading ay, which has been altered to avoid the omission of For this see Essay on L. 8 27. p. 45, and cp. Ar. Av. 180, TIE. Témos, as well as Aesch. Ag. 339, Ibid. 1163: Supp. 727. But has no meaning here and is better.

43. These words are best taken generally. The different names of the Furies illustrate the truth that ' Different customs are honoured in different places.' Cp. Pind. Fr. 200, "AAAo The Stranger, while insisting on the sanctity of the spot, is aware that customs vary. His gentleness and moderation contrast with the fanaticism of the chorus. The name is avoided.

45. *as| The meaning is much the same whether we read with the MSS, or which is favoured by the interpretation of the Scholiast, and is on the whole more probable. 'For I will not depart ;' cp. infr.1528,9. The reading of the MSS, is only explainable, if at ail, as a confused or mixed thought; Oedipus expressing in a single clause his prayer that he may not be driven away, and his determination to remain, 'That I may remain in this land which I wiil not leave.' Cp. Thuc. 3. 34, where the fut. inf. arises from a slight confusion of a similar kind. ws is simpler and better:

The vagueness of yfjs has been objected to. But the meaning of Oedipus is that he is to rest in the soil of Attica. Cp. 84, 5, ys.

'The word that sums my destiny.' For of the position in which one is placed by destiny, cp. Tr. 1145, gup- (from is an appointed sign, generally in speech or writing, and especially one giving direction at a critical moment. Oedipus is thinking of the language ofthe oracles which heremembers. Cp. Trach. 157, | Whether the notion of 'comprising much in little' belongs to the word accidentally, or is assisted by some association from (El. 673, is not easy to determine. Cp. inf. 586, ev Oecdipus means that in praying the dread goddesses to receive him to rest finally in Attica, he is uttering the word which expresses his condition and destiny. The broken line has here the effect, not of hurried excitement, but of intense solemnity.

47. 'Indeed I am no less afraid to raise you up, without the city knowing of it.' By raising him from sanctuary, the Stranger would become responsible for his protection. The conjecture suggested by the errors of the MSS, introduces a false emphasis, refers toa suppressed clause. The Stranger has told him to depart, and he has expressed his determination to remain. After his last words the Stranger is unwilling to incur the responsibility of removing him. 'But without the authority of the state,' he says, 'I can no more remove you than I can let you remain.' is therefore preferable.

48. (1) 'Until Ihave first shown the matter, (so as to be advised) what 1 must do? (the indirect question depends on the notion of 'consulting' implied in : or (2), if dpw is taken as indicative, 'what Iam doing. This (2) is simpler and more natural. Cp. ; infr. 829, Phil. 974.

52. The omission of though supported only by Vat., and Par. B., is favoured by the context, since there is no opposition between this and the previous line. If is genuine, the words must be regarded as a repetition verbatim of the question in 38. |

53- 'You shall know all that I myself know.' For see Essay on L. § 25. a. 1, p. 42, O. T. 1239 and note. Poseidon is the guardian deity of the whole region: particular spots are sacred to several deities, such as the fire-bringer, the Titan Prometheus.

55, ff. Apollodorus, quoted by the Scholiast, mentions an altar of Prometheus in the temple of Athena in the Academy, and at the entrance of the same temple a pedestal on which was represented in relief an altar of Hephaestus and Prometheus in common, together with the figures of both deities.

56. .. 'But the place where you rest,' or 'the place where you have set your foot,' 'is called the brazen-fioored threshold of this land, the stay of Athens.' Cp, Od. 17.196, where is 'the ground.'

57. | Lit.' Having a foundation of brass." A compound adjective, in which, as in supr. 17, modes, O. T. 866, the force of the termination is partially lost. The meaning is nearly the same as in 1591, xaAxois = 'indissoluble,' as in Pind. Pyth. 10. 27, xaAneos ovpavds. On the question of reconciling this passage with 1590, where Oedipus is described as halting when he reached the out of sight of the spectators, see the Intreduction to this play, p. 282.

58. Sophocles supposes the tradition which associated the tomb of Oedipus with the glory of Athens to have been foreshadowed in the local belief: an anticipation similar to that by which the Athenians are calied 'Theseidae' in Theseus' time, 1. 1066. Schndw. supposes to mean that this 'thresheld of the land' was part of the rock on which the city was built. But though this fancy may have been included in the early belief, it does net agree with the word in 1,56. Cp. Pind. Fr. 46,

59. 'Colonus, god of horsemen, who is present with them here.' Cp. 65, There is no need of altering into : the presence of the guardian deity, who may cr may not have been represented by a statue on the stage, is assumed.

62, 3. 'Honoured, not in story, but more highly, by loving resort.' Thus the peet honours scenes which were familiar to his audience, and probably his own home. They were as yet uncelebrated in poetry, and he was going te make them famous. If recent scholars are right in assigning the Phoenissac to the spring of 410 B.c., the allusion in Phoen. 1707 would be subsequent to C., according to the reasoning on p. 278, supra.

people allowed to have a voice?" The reading vis..; cannot be defended. The inversion, although of course allowable, gives a false emphasis.

67. 'This place depends for its government upen the king in the city.' On the use of see Essay on L. § 19. p. 27. There are many indications of the poet's wish to carry the spectators into the past. Cp. infr. 303, not applicable to a time when Colonus was a suburb of Athens.

68. 'And whe is thus supreme in word and power?' The emphatic use of tis, as the real predicate,=7is wy, accounts for the Inversion. Essay on L. § 41. p. 78. See Introd. p. 277.

71. 'That Theseus might come for what purpose of speech or decision?' Cp. 1. 68, The reading avoids the awkwardness of repeating with a different subject, but whether the line is then taken to mean, (1) 'To what purpose is he to speak to him? Or is he to ars range for him to come?' or (2) speak to him, or arrange for him to come, for what purpose?' the Stranger is thus made to ignore the obvious meaning of in the question of Oedipus. The optative (ws for ws dy is occasioned by the optative preceding.

74. 'All that I utter shall be full of light.' Cp. Aesch. Choeph. 844, and the passive uses of caecus in Latin. The inversion of active and passive expressions is especially frequent in connection with perception by sight. See Essay on L. pp. 98, 99. The Stranger, on seeing the noble bearing of Oedipus, thinks it will be enough if he reports the matter not to the city, cp. Il. 47, but to the elders of the deme.

tackle's torn | Thou show'st a noble vessel" Od. 14. 214, | ib. 20. 194, 7

78, ' These here on the spot. For the pleonasm, in which the words are epexegetic of see Essay on L. 75. And, for the use of which requires the epexegesis, ibid. § 22. p. 34. Cp. supra, l. 59, Tévde..

84. 'O revered forms of dread.' Cp. Aesch. Cho. 1048 ff. For the reduplication of adjectives without a connecting particle, see Essay on L. § 23. 37: .

84. 5. 'Since it is on seat of yours that I have rested first in thisland.' 15 probably to be joined with (cp. supr. 19, TéTpov), and is used absolutely for Supr. 10. E. on L. p. 98. Eur. Hec. 1079, BQ; ; For the position of before the subordinate genitive, 127, és : E. on L. 8 41. p. 77. For the sense, cp. Od. 13. 228,

86. The order of actual sequence is inverted, and the first of the two words, being the more emphatic, is the antecedent to ds. Essay on L. § 41. p. 78.

89. 'When I came to a land at the end of my wanderings, where I should find a seat belonging to the dread goddesses and auspicious shelter afforded by them, there I should end my ill fated life.' gt. The metaphor in is taken from a race. Cp. Eur. El. 755, | mépas : Hipp. 87, Hel. 1666, The turning-point 1s regarded in the figure as the end of the race. The construction as in 'The infinitive follows and is coordinate with

92. Sc. 'Having fixed my habitation there, - a benefit to those who had received me, but a calamity to those who sent me forth, who banished me.' and are accusatives in apposition to the action of the verb, expressing the result of the action. If it is objected that the tense is momentary, and the result is only to be realised afterwards, this applies equally to Eur. Or, 1103, : although some such consideration has probably occasioned the v. Cp. 626, Oi- | | has been conjectured, but is not used in the sense required.

96-8. 'And I am sure that some true intimation from you has led me to my destination in this grove.' Cp. Pind. Ol. 6. 663, Il. 24. 53, 4.

07. Some true intimation from you.' The meaning of an 'omen' or 'sign' is generalized so as to apply to a pr esentiment or inward intimation. Schol. : For a similar mental influence, cp. El. 459, | : also Phil. 1039, 7

102. Not 'a passing out of life, but a 'passing away of life.' The person is not thought of distinct from the life. So the Schol. Cp. infr. 1551 and note, and see E. on L. § 42 p. 80. The genitive however, is to be taken more closely with than with

Io4, 5. ph 'Unless haply my afflictions seem too light, who am always suffering the greatest calamities which can afflict mortals.' Schol. é Cp. Morris' Story of Sigurd, p. 374, 'And if all be little enough and the Gods begrudge me rest.' is naturally opposed to and is to be taken in close connection with what follows: i.e. = Herm. takes as equivalent to pelovos But this is hardly legitimate, and gives a poor meaning.

' Welcome daughters.' This epithet is not here merely propitiatory (like Edyevides, etc.), but expresses the real feeling of Oedipus. He has no fear of the who have 'done their worst,' and are now to give him the rest for which he longs; cp. Aj. 394, where, in a different mood, Ajax more passionately invokes Erebus as to him most br ight.

109. ' Pity this miserable shadow of the man that Oedipus once was. For this emphatic sense of Cp. 393, Aj. 77, The degree of emphasis in these passages varies. It is less in Aj. 77, than in O.C. 393. And in the present passage it is still more slight, suggesting rather than expressing the contrast of conditions.

110. The reading of Aldus, which various editors have approved without adopting it, is found in Ven. 467, from which he no doubt derived it. See Introd. p. 284.

112. 'I will say nothing. But take and hide me out of the way. is governed, by the phrase which is substituted for or the like. Cp. Essay on L. § 16. p. 2

114. sea Until Llearn of these men.' Gen. of perception and also of ' respect.' E. on L. pp. 16,13. For 'to learn perfectly, cp.

117 ff. Exit Oedipus and Antigone leading him. The scene is changed (?) to the entrance of the sacred grove. The chorus enter from the spectators' right. see Introduction, p. 282.

117. It is doubtful whether here is literally past, or, as infra 150, 1696, equivalent to an emphatic éo7:=' Who can it be?' according to the use noticed in the Essay on L. 32, 6. p. 55. Schol. 6 Tis

For ll. 117-254, cp. Phil. 135-219, Eur. Or. 140-207, Ion 184-236, Heracl. 73-83, where there is a similar interchange of lyrical measures between the chief actor on the stage and the chorus on their first entrance. The 'commatic parodos' of the Electra, Il. 121-250, is more regular in structure, and is rather

As in other places where the part assigned to the chorus is much broken, it has been attempted to distribute it amongst the fifteen choreutae, who are supposed to speak one at atime. But although some such arrangement is probable in itself and confirmed by the comparison of other passages, such as Aj. 866-960. El. 823-870, Trach. 871-895, it is impossible to determine the details of it with any approach to certainty. For instance whether ll. 117- 137, 149-169, were chanted by (the asyndeta giving the effect of doubt amidst eager search), or divided amongst several persons, or in what order the individual members of the chorus took part, are questions which may be asked but not answered. Ll. 176, 7, 203-6, 229-36, may be assigned with some probability to the Coryphaeus. See Hermann's notes.

It is also uncertain how far an antistrophic arrangement of the metres is to be maintained. Thus ll. 117-137 clearly correspond to ll. 149-169. But the anapaestic movement, ll. 138-148, is not exactly answered by ll. 170-177: cp. Eur. Ion 227-9: and, while 1]. 178- 181, 184-187, severally correspond (though in the MSS. not perfectly) to 194-8, 203-6, there is again a want of correspondence between ll. 182, 3, and 199-202. Although these are not anapaestic measures, it may be observed that they accompany movements of Oedipus, which, if they were lo be represented at all naturally, were necessarily interrupted and irregular, and while it is of course possible that some lines have been lost after £83, it is also conceivable that there may have been an interval of silence, or that a pause in the dialogue may have been filled up with instrumental music. Cp. infr. 1692 ff. and note, Phil. 1170-1217. However this may have been, the correction which brings 1. 197 into accordance with 182, is probably right.

The long passage 207-254, which may be regarded as a double epode, is even less regular, the rhythm changing several times with the situation. But the similarity of 207 ff. to 237 ff., which led Hermann to arrange this passage also antistrophically, suggests the idea of a strain which after being interrupted is again renewed. And the dactylic measures of the chorus (229 ff.) are resumed, though with a difference, in the supplication of Antigone (241 ff.).

The prevailing metre is logaoedic, with free anapaestic systems coming between. But ll. 212-15, where a fresh cause of agitation arises, are Ionic a minore; and the passage which follows presents a curious alternation of single paroemiacs wih ~GuU-UGt Wu. The concluding lines, 229 ff., contain a series of rapid dactylic measures modified with an occasional glyconic or iambic rhythm. ;