Sophocles

1
Sophocles PhiloctetesIt was here, child bred
of the man who was the noblest of the Greeks,
Neoptolemus son of Achilles, that I exposed 5
long ago the native of Malis, Poeas' son, on the
express command of the two chieftains to do so,
because his foot was all running with a gnawing
disease.
2
Little Iliad suicide of Ajax, fetching of
Philoctetes, wooden horseSophocles Ajax,
Philoctetes
Iliad 2 These with their seven ships were led
by Philoctetes, well-skilled in archery, 720
and on each ship embarked fifty oarsmen well
skilled to fight with the bow. But Philoctetes
lay suffering grievous pains in an island, even
in sacred Lemnos, where the sons of the Achaeans
had left him in anguish with an evil wound from a
deadly water-snake. There he lay suffering
725 yet full soon were the Argives beside their
ships to think about king Philoctetes. However,
these men were not leaderless, though they longed
for their own leader. Odyssey 8 Only Philoctetes
excelled me with the bow 220 in the land of the
Trojans, when we Achaeans shot.
3
Od. 11.505-37 As touching your dear son,
Neoptolemus, I will tell you all the truth, as
you bid me. I brought him from Scyros in my ship
to join the host of the well-greaved Archaeans.
510 And truly, as often as we took counsel
around the city of Troy, he was ever the first to
speak, and made no miss of words godlike Nestor
and I alone surpassed him. But as often as we
fought with the bronze on the Trojan plain, he
would never remain behind in the throng or press
of men, 515 but would ever run forth far to the
front, yielding to none in his might and many
men he slew in dread combat. All of them I could
not name, all the host that he slew in defense of
the Argives but what a warrior was that son of
Telephus whom he slew with the sword, 520 the
prince Eurypylus! Yes, and many of his comrades,
the Ceteians, were slain about him, because of
gifts a woman craved. He truly was the most
handsome man I saw, next to goodly Memnon. And
again, when we, the best of the Argives, were
about to go down into the horse which Epeus made,
and the command was laid upon me, 525 both to
open and to close the door of our stout-built
ambush, then the other leaders and counselors of
the Danaans wiped away tears from their eyes, and
each man's limbs shook beneath him, but never did
my eyes see his fair face grow pale at all, nor
see him 530 wiping tears from his cheeks but
he earnestly asked me to let him go forth from
the horse, and kept handling his sword-hilt and
his spear heavy with bronze, and was eager to
work harm to the Trojans. But after we had sacked
the lofty city of Priam, he went on board his
ship with his share of the spoil and a goodly
prize 535 all unscathed he was, neither
smitten with the sharp spear nor wounded in close
fight, as often befalls in war.
4
Neoptolemus My birthplace is the island
Scyros, and I am sailing 240 homeward. I am
the son of Achilles, by name Neoptolemus. Now
you know everything.Philoctetes O son of a
father I loved, and of soil I cherished! Ward of
aged Lycomedes, on what mission have you touched
this shore?
Phthia
Malis
5
Sophocles Philoctetes 409 BC1-134 Prologue
2 Neoptolemus 3 Odysseus 135-218 Choral
Dialogue 2 Neoptolemus219-542 1
Philoctetes 2 Neoptolemus543-627 1
Philoctetes 2 Neoptolemus 3 Merchant628-675 1
Philoctetes 2 Neoptolemus676-729 Choral
Ode730-826 1 Philoctetes 2 Neoptolemus827-866
Choral Dialogue867-975 1 Philoctetes 2
Neoptolemus976-1080 1 Philoctetes 2
Neoptolemus 3 Odysseus1081-1221 Choral
Dialogue1222-1260 2 Neoptolemus 3
Odysseus1261-1292 1 Philoctetes 2
Neoptolemus1293-1302 1 Philoctetes 2
Neoptolemus 3 Odysseus1303-1407 1 Philoctetes 2
Neoptolemus1408-1471 1 Philoctetes 2
Neoptolemus 3 Herakles
6
NatureYou must cheat the mind of Philoctetes by
speaking 55 by means of tricks. When he asks
you who and from where you are, say that you are
the son of Achilles it is not in that detail
that you will cheat him. But tell him you are
sailing homeward, and have left the fleet of the
Achaean warriors, after coming to hate them with
unbounded hatred. 60 Give him this reason
when, with no other hope of taking Ilium, they
had summoned you by their prayers to come from
home, they judged you not worthy of the arms of
Achilles, not worthy to receive them even
though you had come and were claiming them by
right but instead handed them over to
Odysseus.Say what you 65 will of me even
the vilest of vile insults. You will not harm me
at all by that. But if you fail to do as I say,
you will inflict pain on all the Argives, for if
that man's bow is not seized, you can never sack
the realm of Dardanus.Well I know, my son, that
by nature you are not apt 80 to utter or
contrive such treachery. Yet knowing that
victory is a sweet prize to gain, steel yourself
to do it.We shall appear just another time.
Now, however, give yourself to me for one brief,
shameless day, and then for the rest of time 85
may you be called the most pious of all humankind.
7
Pity180 That man inferior in no way,
probably, to any man belonging to the oldest
families lies alone without companions and
stripped of all life's gifts 185 among the
dappled or shaggy beasts. He is a man to be
pitied for his torments and his hunger alike,
enduring anguish that has no cure. But to his
bitter cries the mountain nymph, babbling Echo,
coming from afar, 190 gives answer. Surely he
toils by the plan of some god so that he may not
bend against Troy the invincible arrows divine,
until the time be fulfilled at which, men say,
200 by those arrows Troy is fated to fall.
Though he had wronged no one by force or
thievery, 685 but conducted himself fairly
towards the fair, he was left to perish so
undeservedly.
8
Neoptolemus storyThey came for me in a ship
elaborately ornamented, shining Odysseus, and he
who fostered my father, 345 and said whether
truly or falsely, I do not know that since my
father had perished, fate now forbade that anyone
but I should take the towers of Troy. I,
unhappy, 360 when I had wept for him, went
before long to the Atreids, to friends, as it was
reasonable to suppose, and claimed my father's
arms and all else that had been his. O, their
reply was bold and shameless! Seed of Achilles,
you may take all else 365 that was your
father's. But of those arms another man now is
lord, the son of Laertes. The tears came quick
to my eyes as I sprang up in passionate anger and
said in my bitterness, Madman! Have you dared
give my arms 370 to another man in my place,
without asking me? 410 No, that is not at
all a wonder to me, but rather that the elder
Ajax, if he was there, could bear to see this.
9
No evil thing has ever been known to perish. No,
the gods take excellent care of their kind. They
find a strange joy in turning back from Hades all
things criminal 450 and crooked, while they are
always dispatching the just and the good from
life. theodicy
10
Consider me a small side-task (parergon). Great
is 475 your disgust, well I know, at such a
cargo. Yet bear with it all the same to noble
minds baseness is hateful, and a good deed is
glorious. 610 Helenus then prophesied for
them whatever matter they asked, and, pertaining
to Troy, he foretold that they would never sack
its towers, unless by winning words they should
bring Philoctetes here from the island where he
now dwells. Alas! Has he, the utter plague,
sworn to fetch me back to the Achaeans by
persuasion? For if that were to happen, I could
be persuaded, when dead, to come back up 625
from Hades into the light, as his father
did!Sisyphus
11
IxionI have heard a rumor, but never seen with
my eyes, how the man who once approached the bed
of Zeus was bound upon a 680 swift wheel by the
almighty son of Cronus. Apollodorus, Epitome
1.20 Ixion fell in love with Hera and attempted
to force her and when Hera reported it, Zeus,
wishing to know if the thing were so, made a
cloud in the likeness of Hera and laid it beside
him and when Ixion boasted that he had enjoyed
the favours of Hera, Zeus bound him to a wheel,
on which he is whirled by winds through the air
such is the penalty he pays.
12
Charis and PhiliaNeoptolemus Is that indeed
the famous bow which you hold?Philoctetes
655 This, and no other, that I carry in my
hand.Neoptolemus Is there any way that I
might have a closer view of it and handle it,
and salute it as divine?Philoctetes To you
alone, my son, this shall be granted, along with
anything else in my power that is in your
interest. Neoptolemus 672 I am not sorry that
I found you and have gained your friendship
(philia), since whoever knows how to render
benefit (charis) for a benefit received must
prove a friend more valuable than any possession.
O son, noble youth, seize me, 800 burn me
up, true friend, in that fire famed as Lemnian.
I, too, once deemed it lawful to do that very
service for the son of Zeus, in return for which
I received these same arms, which are now in your
keeping.
13
oathPhiloctetes Indeed, I do not think it
right to put you under oath.Neoptolemus Rest
assured it is not lawful for me to leave
without you.Philoctetes Give me your hand in
pledge!Neoptolemus I give it to stay.
14
RevelationNo, even though he hears nothing, I
see that 840 we have made this bow our quarry
to no end, if we sail without him. His must be
the victor's crown. It is he that the god
commanded we bring. It would be a foul disgrace
upon us to boast of deeds in which failure and
fraud had equal parts.888 The labor (ponos)
will not be grudged, since you and I are of one
mind. Neoptolemus 903 All is difficulty when a
man has abandoned his true nature and does what
does not suit him. Neoptolemus 906 I shall be
found to be base this is the thought that long
torments me.Philoctetes What do you mean, son?
I do not understand.Neoptolemus 915 I will
conceal nothing. You must sail to Troy, back to
the Achaeans and the forces of the Atreids.
Neoptolemus 922 A harsh necessity (anankê)
governs these events, so do not be angered at
hearing of them.
15
After Philoctetes Attack965 A terrible pity
for him has come upon me and not now for the
first time, but long ago.971 You are not in
and of yourself wicked, but you seem to have come
to me after learning the shameless lessons of
wicked masters. Now leave such behavior to
others, whom it suits, and sail from here once
you have given me back my weapons.
16
Philoctetes O Lemnos, and you all-conquering
flame kindled by Hephaestus, will you indeed
endure it that this man should take me from your
domain by force?Odysseus Zeus it is, I tell
you, Zeus, who rules this land, 990 and it is
by Zeus that these actions are decreed. I am his
servant.Philoctetes 995 Ah, misery!
Clearly, then, my father sired me to be a slave
and no free man.Odysseus Not so, but to be
the peer of the best and bravest, with whom you
are destined to take Troy and force it to the
ground.
17
He is too good for your company, but worthy of
mine, 1010 since he had no thought but to
execute his orders, and he already shows remorse
for his own errors and for the wrongs done
me.1027 I sailed of my own accord as their
mate with seven ships, me they cast out of ship
and honor. 1045 Bitter is the stranger, and
bitter his words, Odysseus. They do not bend
before the storm of his troubles.
18
Odysseus What kind of man the occasion demands,
that kind of man am I. 1050 And accordingly,
where the judgment at hand is of just and good
men, you could find no man more pious than me.
Victory, however, is my inborn desire in every
field . . .
19
Chorus 1095 It was you, you, I say, doomed
one, that chose this fate and this fortune to
which you are captive comes from no other source,
nor from a stronger man's compulsion. For when
in fact it was in your power to show sense,
1100 you chose to reject the better fate, and
to accept the worse.
20
Neoptolemus I come to undo the mistake that I
made earlier.Odysseus 1225 Your words
alarm me what mistake was that?Neoptolemus
The one I made when I obeyed you and all the
army.Odysseus What did you do that was
unworthy of you?Neoptolemus I captured a man
by disgraceful deceits and treachery.
21
Neoptolemus 1270 Is there no room, then,
for repentance? Neoptolemus It is true that
men are compelled to bear the fortunes given by
the gods but when they cling to self-inflicted
miseries, as you do, 1320 no one can justly
excuse or pity them. You have become savage
you welcome no counselor, and if someone
admonishes you, even if he speaks in all good
will, you detest him and consider him an enemy
who wishes you ill. Know also that you will
never gain relief from this grave sickness,
1330 as long as the sun still rises in the east
and sets in the west, until of your own free will
you come to the plains of Troy, find there the
sons of Asclepius, our comrades, be relieved of
this infection, and, with this bow's 1335 aid
and mine, be hailed as the sacker of Troy's
towers.
22
Heracles 1420 And for you, be sure, this fate
is ordained, that through these toils (ponoi) of
yours you will make your life far-famed. You
shall go with this man to the Trojan city, where,
first, you shall be healed of your cruel
sickness, 1425 and then, chosen out as foremost
among the warriors in prowess, with my bow you
shall sever Paris, the author of these evils,
from life. You shall sack Troy and shall receive
from the army the spoils of supreme valor to
carry home 1430 to the heights of your native
Oeta for the delight of your father Poeas. Deus
ex machina