κλύοντες θεοὶ δικαίας λιτὰς
ἁμετέρας τελεῖθ᾽, ὡς πόλις εὐτυχῇ,
δορίπονα κάκ᾽ ἐκτρέποντες ἐς γᾶς
ἐπιμόλους· πύργων δ᾽ ἔκτοθεν
βαλὼν Ζεύς σφε κάνοι κεραυνῷ.
Is ἐς γᾶς ἐπιμόλους a poetic inversion? Should it be understood as “onto the invaders of our land” or “into the land of the invaders”?
Seven Against Thebes 628
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Seven Against Thebes 628
“One might get one’s Greek from the very lips of Homer and Plato." "In which case they would certainly plough you for the Little-go. The German scholars have improved Greek so much.”
Joel Eidsath -- jeidsath@gmail.com
Joel Eidsath -- jeidsath@gmail.com
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Re: Seven Against Thebes 628
Why should it be? The Seven are invading the land (i.e., this our land). Reinforced in the very same verse... "πύργων δ᾽ ἔκτοθεν βαλὼν" (surely not their towers!)
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Re: Seven Against Thebes 628
Clearly the correct meaning is "against the invaders of our land" for the reasons that anphph has observed.The land is in genitive so it qualifies the Invaders
“into the land of the invaders” seems to imply a possessive genitive. But γᾶς is I think an objective genitive.
Edited becausebwho posted what was rather garbled in my original.
Persuade tibi hoc sic esse, ut scribo: quaedam tempora eripiuntur nobis, quaedam subducuntur, quaedam effluunt. Turpissima tamen est iactura, quae per neglegentiam fit. Et si volueris attendere, maxima pars vitae elabitur male agentibus, magna nihil agentibus, tota vita aliud agentibus.