Kommos
ἰὼ γενεαὶ βροτῶν,
ὡς ὑμᾶς ἴσα καὶ τὸ μηδὲν ζώσας ἐναριθμῶ.
τίς γάρ, τίς ἀνὴρ πλέον
1190 τᾶς εὐδαιμονίας φέρει
τοσοῦτον ὅσον δοκεῖν
καὶ δόξαντʼ ἀποκλῖναι;
τὸν σόν τοι παράδειγμʼ ἔχων,
τὸν σὸν δαίμονα, τὸν σόν, τλᾶμον Οἰδιπόδα, βροτῶν
1195 οὐδὲν μακαρίζω·
ὅστις καθʼ ὑπερβολὰν
τοξεύσας ἐκράτησε τοῦ πάντʼ εὐδαίμονος ὄλβου,
Ζεῦ, κατὰ μὲν φθίσας
τὰν γαμψώνυχα παρθένον
1200 χρησμῳδόν, θανάτων δʼ ἐμᾷ
χώρᾳ πύργος ἀνέστα·
ἐξ οὗ καὶ βασιλεὺς καλεῖ
ἐμὸς καὶ τὰ μέγιστʼ ἐτιμάθης, ταῖς μεγάλαισιν ἐν
Θήβαισιν ἀνάσσων.
τανῦν δʼ ἀκούειν τίς ἀθλιώτερος;
1205 τίς ἄταις ἀγρίαις, τίς ἐν πόνοις
ξύνοικος ἀλλαγᾷ βίου;
ἰὼ κλεινὸν Οἰδίπου κάρα,
στέγας λιμὴν
αὑτὸς ἤρκεσεν
παιδὶ καὶ πατρὶ θαλαμηπόλῳ πεσεῖν;
1210 πῶς ποτε πῶς ποθʼ αἱ πατρῷαί σʼ ἄλοκες φέρειν, τάλας,
σῖγʼ ἐδυνάθησαν ἐς τοσόνδε;
ἐφηῦρέ σʼ ἄκονθʼ πάνθʼ ὁρῶν χρόνος,
δικάζει τʼ ἄγαμον γάμον πάλαι
1215 τεκνοῦντα καὶ τεκνούμενον.
ἰώ, Λαΐειον τέκνον,
εἴθε σʼ εἴθε σε
μήποτʼ εἰδόμαν.
δύρομαι γὰρ ὥσπερ ἰάλεμον χέων
ἐκ στομάτων. τὸ δʼ ὀρθὸν εἰπεῖν, ἀνέπνευσά τʼ ἐκ
1220 σέθεν
καὶ κατεκοίμασα τοὐμὸν ὄμμα.
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An open-access project
Jebb 1912
Loeb
Jebb, Cambridge, 1912 · 1912
The Editor

Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb (1841–1905) was one of the greatest Greek scholars in the English-speaking world. Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge and Member of Parliament for the University, Jebb produced monumental commentaries on Sophocles (7 volumes, 1883–1896) that remain indispensable. His editions combined minute textual criticism with a profound sensitivity to Greek poetry and dramatic art.

About This Edition

Jebb's editions of Sophocles, published by Cambridge University Press, set a new standard for Greek dramatic commentary. Each play received a critical text, prose translation, and detailed commentary that addressed textual, linguistic, dramatic, and archaeological questions. Jebb's texts are conservative, preferring the manuscript tradition where defensible, and his commentary remains the starting point for serious study of each play. While the OCT by Lloyd-Jones and Wilson (1990) now provides the standard critical text, Jebb's commentary is still regularly consulted.

Translator

F. Storr (Loeb Classical Library)

Text Basis

Text based on Jebb's Cambridge edition. Storr translated for the Loeb Classical Library.

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