 | 529
warning spoken through my mouth
Lit. ''my mouth." The word
stoma,
while meaning "mouth," also means the message spoken by the mouth.
|
| 540
my father
Lit. "the one who gave me birth." The word is masculine, indicating that Oedipus asks who his male parent is.
|
| 567
68
father's seed . . . his seed
Lit. "seed fellow to his father" (
homosporos
). The word names one who sows seed in the same woman as his father, but carries the suggestion also of blood relationship to the father.
|
| 581
Fates The keres,
who execute the will of Zeus and Apollo.
|
| 584
Parnassus
The mountain home of the Muses; visible from Thebes.
|
| 592
earth . . . mouth
Lit. "from earth's mid-navel." The navel was a white stone at Delphi, at the spot where such oracles or "dooms" as mentioned here were spoken. The navel or
omphalos
was an avenue of communication to the wisdom of the earth.
|
| 595
man who reads birds
Tiresias
|
| 599
doubt
The Chorus faces a hard choice. Either they must abandon their trust in divine oracles or they must accuse Oedipus of the death of Laius. They decide that before joining the accusation against Oedipus they must have some proof, lit. a "touchstone" (
basanos
) to remove their doubt. Because no touchstone is available, they withhold any accusation.
|
| 607
no proof
Lit. "touchstone" (
basanos
). The Chorus seeks a touchstone (which streaks black when rubbed with true gold) before it will accept Tiresias' accusations. Such a touchstone would be some feud or crime that set the Corinthian royal house against the Theban House of Kadmos. But no such feud or crime is known to the Chorus.
|
| 619
charges proved against him
Here again the word "touchstone" is used, this time in a verbal form.
|
| 647
master's murderer
Oedipus' language is perhaps purposely ambiguous: he accuses Kreon proleptically of his own murder; but the phrase could accuse Kreon of Laius' murder also.
|
| 674
Laius?
Kreon has not yet heard Tiresias' charges, hence his surprise.
|
|
