Τὰ δὲ πρὶν ἔργα χερσὶ μέγιστ' ἀρετᾶς
the prior greatest works of excellence by hands (are) unfriendly to the unfriendly
Translated by David Whitehead29 Sep 2013Vetting: high4 revisions
Translation
That is, the previous greatest works of the excellence of his -- i.e. Ajax's -- hands are [held] in low esteem by the sons of Atreus. Sophocles [sc. writes this]
Greek original · Adler’s text
Τὰ δὲ πρὶν ἔργα χερσὶ μέγιστ' ἀρετᾶς, ἄφιλα παρ' ἀφίλοις· τουτέστι τὰ πρότερα μέγιστα τῆς ἀρετῆς τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἔργα, ἤγουν τοῦ Αἴαντος, ἐν ὀλιγωρίᾳ εἰσὶ τοῖς Ἀτρείδαις. Σοφοκλῆς.
Betacode
*ta\ de\ pri\n e)/rga xersi\ me/gist' a)reta=s, a)/fila par' a)fi/lois: toute/sti ta\ pro/tera me/gista th=s a)reth=s tw=n xeirw=n au)tou= e)/rga, h)/goun tou= *ai)/antos, e)n o)ligwri/a| ei)si\ toi=s *)atrei/dais. *sofoklh=s.
Notes
- A version of Sophocles, Ajax 618-620 (exhibiting several differences from the text that most modern editions print, but without much impact on the meaning: see web address 1), with explanation from the scholia there. The online text omits the last three words of the headword sentence.
For the Atreidai cf. alpha 4388.
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Neighbouring entries
τ15Τάδε ἐκ τοῦ τρίποδοςthese things [come] out of the tripodτ16Τάδε Μῆδος οὐ φυλάξειthese the Mede will not (?)protectτ17Τὰ δὲ πρὶν ἔργα χερσὶ μέγιστ' ἀρετᾶςthe prior greatest works of excellence by hands (are) unfriendly to the unfriendlyτ18Τάδ' οὐ παρὰ Κενταύροισιthese things not among Centaursτ19Τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἁμαξῶν σκώμματαthe jibes from out of the carts
Revision history4 revisions · last 17 Jun 2022
- expanded note — Catharine Roth
- minor tweak to note, raised status — William Hutton
- x-ref — David Whitehead
- added link, set status — Catharine Roth
- Translated — David Whitehead