DIGGLE, JAMES, Notes on the "Hecuba" of Euripides , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
23:4 (1982:Winter) p.315 

Notes on the Hecuba of Euripides 

James Diggie 

T HE TEXTUAL TRADITION of Hecuba has been surveyed fully by 
K. Matthiessen.1 In this paper I cite manuscript readings from 
the collations of his own which Dr Matthiessen, with very great 

generosity, has allowed me to use.2 

1. Hecuba 414-22 
(Po') 
HE. 
Po. 
HE. 
Po. 
HE. 
Po. 
HE. 
Po. 

"',..., "t ,..." ~ ~ , , 
W f-LTJTEp, W TEKOV(T , a1TEtf.U UTJ KaTW . 
." (J' ." 5:1' • A..~ 5:1 \ ' W vyaTEp, TJf..£EtC; u EV 'fI"Et uOV",EV(TOf-LEV. 
" .. A.a.,...' I if"",..., ,..., 
avv~c; aVVf-LEvawc; wv f-L EXPTJV TVXEtv. 

• \ " • (J\' 5:1" \ , OtKTpa (TV, TEKVOV, a ",ta u eyw YVVTJ. 
• "5:1' • <lA 5:1' "(J EKEt u EV tuOV KEtU'Of.,£at XWptC; erE EV • 

• , '5:1' "\' a' Otf..£Ot· Tt upa(TW; 1TOt TE",EVTTJ(TW fJWV; 
5:1 '\ (J" ,." "\ (J , 
uOV"'TJ avov/.uXt, 1TaTpoc; OV(T E",EV EpOV. 
~ ,..., ~\ , " " , 

TJf..£EtC; uE 1TEVTTJKOVTa)' af-Lf..£OpOt TEKVWV. 

, '<IE'"'' " , Tt (TOt 1TpOC; KTOP TJ )'EpOVT Et1TW 1TO(TtV; 

415 

420 

The sequence of exchanges between Polyxena and Hecuba has caused 
no offence to editors.3 At certain points, however, it proceeds without 
the close logical or syntactical connections which we should expect to 
find. 

1 Studien zur Textilberliejerung der Hekabe des Euripides (Heidelberg 1974). To his list of 
papyri (108) add P. Oxy. XL V 3215 fr.2 (Jines 223-28). But one papyrus should be 
subtracted from the list: Fitzwilliam Museum inv. 2 (Pack2 1571), identified by F. M. 
Heichelheim (AlP 61 [1940] 209-10) as the scanty remains of lines 20-21 and 503-04, 
as well as of fA 790-91 and Soph. Ant. 689-90, has been identified as Coptic not Greek 
by R. V. Nicholls, Senior Keeper in the Fitzwilliam Museum, and J. M. Plumley, Emeri­
tus Professor of Egyptology in the University of Cambridge. Mr P. J. Parsons, who was 
kind enough to inspect the papyrus at my request, endorses their identification. 

2 I refer to the following editions: R. Porson (ed. 2, London 1802), G. Schaefer (ed. 
2, Leipzig 1803), A. Matthiae (Leipzig 1813 [text], 1821 [commentary)), G. Hermann 
(ed. 2, Leipzig 1831), F. H. Bothe (ed. 2, Leipzig 1837), W. Dindorf (Oxford 1839), F. 
A. Paley (ed. 2, London 1874), H. Weil (ed. 2, Paris 1879), W. S. Hadley (Cambridge 
1894), N. Wecklein (Leipzig 1902), G. Murray (Oxford 1902), L. Meridier (Paris 
1927), M. Tierney (Dublin 1946), S. G. Daitz (Leipzig 1973). 

3 With two exceptions. J. King (Cambridge 1726) transposed 415 with 416 and de­
leted 417 ("mira vel audacia vel negligentia," Musgrave). This is not reported by 
Wecklein. And A. Jenni deleted 419-21 (presumably in his Kritische Mittheilungen zu 
Euripides I [Frauenfeld 1865], which I have not seen), and this deletion is adopted by 
Wecklein. 

315 



DIGGLE, JAMES, Notes on the "Hecuba" of Euripides , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
23:4 (1982:Winter) p.315 

316 NOTES ON THE HECUBA OF EURIPIDES 

415: Hecuba, in reply to Polyxena's valediction, says that she will 
live the life of a slave on earth. 1. D. Denniston4 has some difficulty 
in classifying the BE. Citing LSJ s. v. 11.4, he observes that BE is nor­
mally postponed after a vocative "when the speaker turns from one 
person to another," and he is obliged to admit this passage as an 
exception, together with Soph. DC 1459. But in that passage BE 
introduces a question, and in such circumstances BE is regularly 
postposed (see Denniston 174). Denniston, however, is unduly re­
strictive. There is no question of the speaker turning from one per­
son to another at [Aesch.] PV 3 "'H</xrUTTE, eTO' BE KTA., or Soph. DC 
592 6J ~PE, fJvJ.W~ B' Ell KaKo£~ ov ~!-«I>opOll ("BE sometimes cor­
rects or objects," Jebb pertinently observes), or Hdt. 1.115.2 6J BEeT-
7TOTa, EYW Be (again, a correction or objection). In fact, as is noted by 
KUhner/Gerth I 51, such postponement also occurs "beim Ubergang 
zu einem neuen Gedanken," and "von der Erzahlung zu einem 
Anrufe." An essential difference between our passage and the ma­
jority of the passages cited by Denniston and KUhner/Gerth is that 
(whether or not the speaker turns to a new person or a new point) in 
those passages the BE-clause contains remarks applicable to the ad­
dressee, which our BE-clause does not. We shall have to take the BE 
as introducing a contrast with the preceding statement ("I shall go 
below the earth" - "But I shall live a life of slavery"), which seems 
acceptable, even if no exact parallel exists. 

416: Polyxena ignores Hecuba's statement and adds an appositional 
clause to her own preceding statement. 

417: Hecuba remarks upon her daughter's pitiful state and her own 
misery, aptly enough. 

418: EKE'i B' is a mildly surprising beginning, for EKE£ provides a link 
not with Polyxena's immediately preceding line but with her last but 
one (414 a1rEL#-U B';' Kchw). While it may be held that 414, 416, 418 
form a reasonable continuous discourse, the direct point of reference 
for EKE'i is a long way back. 

419: Hecuba's expression of helplessness and her wish to die are a 
satisfactory continuation. "This line is in answer to the preceding 
one, in which Polyxena lamented her impending separation from her 
mother. Hecuba replies with a wish, expressed in question form, that 
she too might find death" (Hadley).5 

4 The Greek Particles 2 (Oxford 1954) 189. 
6 110L TEAEl11'7/UW {3Wv; is faultless: "ad quem exitum vitam perducam?" (Matthiae), 

"vers queUe fin precipiter rna vie?" (WeiO, "whither shall I take my life and end it?" 
(Hadley). There is no need for nil, attributed by editors to A. Nauck (Euripideische 
Studien I [MemSt-Petersb 7.1 (859)] 9) but already reported by Hermann from 'Aug. 



DIGGLE, JAMES, Notes on the "Hecuba" of Euripides , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
23:4 (1982:Winter) p.315 

JAMES DIGGLE 317 

420: Polyxena's "I shall die a slave" also follows well enough. 
421: "And 1 (shall die) bereft of fifty children." We cannot help 

supplying the verb (JavovJLE(Ja, but it is not the verb that we should 
most wish to supply. "I shall live bereft of fifty children" would 
excite pity, but "I shall die bereft of fifty children" seems a muddled 
thing to say. 

422: "What am 1 to say to Hector or Priam?" is an acceptable 
continuation. 

Now see what we gain if lines 415-16 are placed after 420: 
(P ) '!I"" ~ ,..."" ~ , , o. W IJ,"flTEP, W TEKOV(]' , a1T'Et/-U u'Y) KaTW. 
H "" 'I (J\.' s::::' , \ , E. OtKTpa (]'V, TEKVOV, a I\.ta u EyW yvV'Y). 
P '''~, , <fA ~, \'(J O. EKEt u EV tuOV KEWOJ,Uxt XWPtl) (],E EV. 

H " , ~, "...' a' E. Ot/-t0t' Tt upa(]'w; 1TOt TEI\.EVT'Y)(]'W ~tOV; 

P ~ ''I. (J" \ ""''I. (J , o. uOVI\.YJ avov,."at, 1TaTpOI) ov(]' EI\.EV EpOV. 

H '" (J' ." ~, , ,I,.,i, ~ \ ' E. W vyaTEp, YJJLEtl) u EV o/"Et uOVI\.EV(]'0f.,l,EV. 

Po. avvJL<fxJ1) avv,."EvatOl) WV J.L' EXP1JV TVXELV. 
H ~ f"'I s:::' , " " , 

E. YJJ.LEtl) uE 1TEVT'Y)KOllTa y aJ.Lf.,l,Opot TEKVWV. 

414 
417 
418 
419 
420 
415 
416 
421 

A minor gain is that Polyxena's statement in 418 is now the im­
mediate continuation of her statement in 414, with EKEt 8' picking up 
KCl:TW. The greatest gain is at 420-15, where Polyxena's 80VA'Y) (Jav­
ov,."at could hardly be better answered than it is by Hecuba's 6J fJVya­
TEP, r,/-tEtl) 8' EV ¢aEt 80VAEV(]'OJLEV. The 8e is now as natural as could 
be, for Hecuba is providing a precise verbal antithesis to the state­
ment that precedes. Polyxena's next line (416 avvJL<fxJ1) avvjJ.evawl) 
wv /-t' EXP1JV TVXeLV) is a much better continuation of 80VAYJ (Javov­
,."at, 1TaTpOI) oiJ(]" EAEv(Jepov than it was of a1TEt/-U 87] KaTw, for it 
continues the syntax of the appositional phrase 1TaTpOI) oiJ(]" EAEV­

(Jepov by adding a second, parallel expression in apposition. And this 
lament by Polyxena for the marriage of which she will be deprived is 
now most aptly followed by Hecuba's lament for her own greatest 

c.' (= Monac.gr. 501, on which see A. Turyn, The Byzantine Manuscript Tradition of the 
Tragedies of Euripides [Urbana 19571 135) and adopted by Schaefer. For 7TOL with nAEV­

niv (or the like) see Aesch. Pers. 735, 787-88, Sept. 157, 659, Supp. 603, Cho. 528, 
Eur. Tro. 1029, PI. Symp. 181 E, Leg. 630B, KUhner/Gerth I 545. (Contrast Soph. DC 
476 TO 8' ~V(JEV 7Tm TEAEVTI;O'ui ~ XpT,; where 7Tfj [Elmsley, Dawe1 is probably right [it 
is impugned by M. L. West, Gnomon 53 (981) 5251: as Dr Dawe points out to me, we 
must distinguish between 'end' and 'perform', and here the question is clearly 'how' 
the rite is to be performed, and the question is answered in those terms; the last ele­
ments of the rite come later.) Still less do we need Nauck's alternative proposal T£i8E 
for {3iov (accepted with the further change of TEAWT'J]O'W to TEAEVTT,O'H by A. Y. Camp­
bell, Hermes 86 [19581 175). Three further proposals (not noticed by Wecklein) may 
be found in J. Kvieala, DenkschrWien 30 (880) 133. 



DIGGLE, JAMES, Notes on the "Hecuba" of Euripides , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
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318 NOTES ON THE HECUBA OF EURIPIDES 

loss (421 TJJ..LEI,c; Se TrElJTT,KOlJnX y' aJ..LJ..LOPOL TEKlJWlJ), which gives a 
perfect syntactical balance with Polyxena's preceding line, and in 
which the verb to be supplied is no longer (JalJovj..LE(Ja but 'I shall 
live' (supplied from TJJ..LEI,c; S' ElJ cpaet, SOVAEVUOj..LElJ). 

2. Hecuba 619-21 
(H ) 1" , ,,, "" " ,...., ~, 

E. W UX'T1J,.LaT OLKWlJ, W TrOT EVTVXEL~ u0J..LOL, 
1" \,..., ,,, '\\ '" , W TrI\ELUT EXWlJ Kal\.l\LUTa T , EVTEKlJWTaTE 

TI I I (J' "!Ol' ., I I pLaJ..LE, yEpaLa 'T1u EyW J..L'T1T'T1P TEKlJWlJ ... 

620 KaAAuTTa T' FGPPaRZZcZmTI et B2Kley3: -Ta K' MBKYTz 
et Os A lC:_T(a) OALSXXaXb 

" ... 0 you who had very many and very fine possessions, most 
blessed with children Priam." Disquiet has often been felt over the 
banal OJ 7TAEtUT' EXWlJ KaAALuTCl T'. In itself TrAEtUTa . . . KaULuTa TE 
is acceptable Greek: Ar. Ran. 1254-55 7TOAV 7TAEtUTa ST, Kai KaULu­
Ta J..LEA'T1' cf Hor. Epist. 1.8.3 multa et pulchra minantem. But while OJ 
7TAEtuT' EXWlJ KaULuTa TE ... TIpiaj..LE might be tolerable, the addi­
tion of a further epithet EVTEKlJWTaTE makes the invocation very 
oddly expressed, though I have not seen this feature remarked on by 
editors. The oddity would be lessened if we could take EVTEKlJWTaTE 
as exemplifying TrAEtUT' EXWlJ KaAALuTa TE, as Weil, Hadley, and 
Meridier do. "I see no difficulty in understanding from EVTEKlJW'Ta'TE 
in this line and 'TEKlJWlJ in the next TEKlJa as object of EXWlJ: reference 
to the number and beauty of Priam's children is frequent and here 
appropriate" (Hadley). But this is very artificia1.6 The variant KEV­
'TEKlJWTa'TE,7 accepted by Kirchhoff and Wecklein, scarcely helps. 

Porson, in his second edition, punctuated KaAALU'Ta T' EVTEKlJW­
TaTE, but there appears to be no parallel for KaA.W~ or KaA.A.LUTa 
qualifying a superlative, although we find KaA.W~ qualifying an adjec­
tive at Aesch. fr.317 N. (628 MJ = Soph. fr.848 N. (934 Pearson and 
Radt) 'TOlJ KaAw~ Ev8aiJ..LOlJa, an expression parodied by the comic 
poets (see Nauck and Radt ad locc.). 

1. N. Madvig's KEVTEXlJWTaTa and F. W. Schmidt's KeihEXlJ' op­
yalJa are absurd.8 Substitutes for KaAALuTa T', like ayaAJ,.La'T' or 
KEI.J..LT,AL' (Wecklein),9 oA{3iuJ,.La'T' or KaAA'T1 TrOT' (Murray), have no 

6 This interpretation is as old as the gloss in Gu (Gudianus gr. 15, on which see 
Turyn [supra n.5] 61-66, Matthiessen [supra n.1] 50, 94-95) KrTuuna i/ TEKva (377 of 
W. Dindorf's edition of the scholia). 

7 For the crasis see my Studies on the Text of Euripides (Oxford 1981) 70. 
8 The former in Adversaria I (Copenhagen 1871) 109-10, the latter in Kritische Stu­

dien zu den griechischen Dramatikern II (Berlin 1886) 85-86. 
9 The former in lhrbClasPhil121 (880) 392, the latter in SitzMiinchen 1921, 8-9. 



DIGGLE, JAMES, Notes on the "Hecuba" of Euripides , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
23:4 (1982:Winter) p.315 

JAMES DIGGLE 319 

plausibility. Much the best solution is J. E. Harry's ~Af.(T'Ta T' EV­
TEKJlWTaTE.10 See Hipp. 1421 ~At(TTa cptATaTO<;, D. L. Page on Med. 
1323, LSJ s. v. ~Aa 111.3, KUhner/Gerth I 27, O. Schwab, Historische 
Syntax der griechischen Comparation III (WUrzburg 1895) 69-72. For 
the corruption see Herae!. 794 ~At(TTa, 7Tpaga~ 1" (Elmsley: 8' L) 11 

EK (J€WV KaAAt(TTa (apogr. Par.: ~At(TTa L) 8..q (though here the 
corruption was influenced by the preceding ~Ata-Ta), Soph. OT 1172 
KaAAta-T' plerique (KaAta-T' V: ~Ata-T' HNac [conj. Nauck]).12 If 
7TAE'ia-T' EXWJI should seem a rather bare expression, compare Eur. 
fr.580.5 ~<; 8' aJl 7TAELa-T' EX7Jt (though here we understand xpT,/-W-Ta 

from the preceding clause).13 For wealth coupled with children as the 
mark of a prosperous man see Eur. HF 64-67, Hom. Od. 14.206. 

3. Hecuba 653-57 
C \." ~, "" , , (J I 

H. 7TOI\.WJI T E7Tt KpaTa /-W-T7JP TEKJlWJI aJlOJlTWJI 
'(J I ~ I I , n ETat XEpa upV7TTETat TE 7TapEtaJl, 

8latJ.WJI oJlvxa n(JEI-"€Jla (T7Tapa1'J.WL<;. 

653 7ToAu)v MBOAFGKPPaRSXXaXbT et V2: -av LVZZcZm et 
LV 

655 TE AFGKPPaXXaXbZm et Zc1c : BE V: om. MBOLRSZZcT 
656 Biat#Wv] BiBv#Wv B,),pB3')'P02,),p 

There is nothing demonstrably amiss with the language: "The mother 
of dead children lays her hand on her grey head,14 and scratches her 
cheek, making her nail bloody by tearing." Objection has, indeed, 
been taken to the sequence TifJETat ... n(JEj.L€va,15 but "repetition of 
the neutral word TifJEa-(Jat need not cause offence."16 In fact there are 
many parallels for the occurrence of a participle and a verb of the 
same stem in the same sentenceP The expression E7Tt. KpaTa ... 

10 The Greek Tragic Poets (Cincinnati 1914) 103. 
11 See ICS 6 (1981) 88. 
12 Cf R. D. Dawe, Studies on the Text of Sophocles I (Leiden 1973) 255. 
13 Tierney's claim that "the real difficulty is in the tense of EXWII, which seems to 

require some complement such as 1TOTE" is misguided. EXWII is an imperfect participle: 
see KUhner/Gerth I 200. Ignorance of this use probably accounts for the variants at 821 
Ot ~II 'Yap OIlTE<; (MOGKLRSZZcZm et Yam: ToaoVroL APPaXXaXb et F2Gf')'P 
GZVaz')'PT: ToaoiliE BFVa) miLliE'> oVKh' eiai p.0L, as it does for the conjectures of 
Nauck (ot ~II 'Yap ~aall), Weil (1TOT' OIlTE<;), and B. Stumpo, RivlndGrltal 18 (1934) 
45 (1TapOIITE<;). 

14 1TO}.,U)1I not 1T0 A.ul: II, which is preferred by several editors and by M. L. West, BICS 
27 (1980) 12, who cites Supp. 50, where 1TOA.ullJ should be taken not with XHPWII but 
with aapKWII. 

15 E.g. by Wilamowitz, Griechische Verskunst (Berlin 1921) 547 n.2 ("die Dublette 
unertraglich ist"), and West (supra n.l4). 

16 T. C. W. Stinton, Euripides and the Judgement of Paris (London 1965) 75. 
17 See Diggle (supra n.7) 66-67, 120. 



DIGGLE, JAMES, Notes on the "Hecuba" of Euripides , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
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320 NOTES ON THE HECUBA OF EURIPIDES 

Ti(Jeral. XEpa is supported by Andr. 1210-11, El. 148-49, Hel. 372, all 
quoted below. 

The problem is largely, perhaps entirely, a metrical one. In 655 the 
copula TE, which is attested by only half the tradition, ruins the me­
tre.1S If TE is omitted, we have a form of enoplian (v v - v v - v - v - - ) 

which is found at 927 - 937 and often elsewhere in Euripides.19 But 
can we dispense with the copula? Stinton believes that we can. I do 
not. The asyndeton is most unwelcome. 

The solutions that have been offered entail considerable change.2o 

Wilamowitz, combining excision with transposition, proposed 1ToAwv 
, ., " , / ~, >I (J' " / ' T E1T1. KpaTa J..UXTTJP utac.!-Wv ovvxa n El-'Eva U1Tapa'Y!-Wc.~ TEKVWV 

(JavovTwv 8plmTETac. 1TapEuXv. This is thoroughly bad in style and 
sense ("laying a bloody nail on her grey head, with tearing, she rends 
her cheek, her children being dead"). One does not rend the cheek 
while laying a bloody nail on the head; and TEKVWV (JavovTwv is very 
awkwardly placed. 

West (supra n.14) deletes 8plmTETac., changes ovvXa to OVVXc. and 
n(JE~va to TEJJ,vo~va, and accepts the variant 8i8v!-Wv for 8ial.!-Wv. 
This gives TEKVWV (JavovTwv TifJETac. XEpa, 1T'apEUx.v 8i8v!-Wv OVVxc. TEJJ,­

vo~va U'TT'apay!-W,s (to be interpreted as v - v - - v v - / ~ v - - v ~ / 
::-:- v - v v - v - -?). He quotes two passages in which "'lay hands on 
her head' is supplemented by another phrase involving OVVxc. and an 
accusative specifying the part of the head being scratched (8Epav, 
'YEVVV)." They are El. 146-49 KaTa J,A,Ev cptAav OVVxc. TEJJ,vo~va 8E­
pav XEpa TE KpaT' Em. KOVpC.!-WV (Barnes: a1T'OK- L) n(JE~va, Hel. 
372 74 • ,~ , " >I(J >I ~,. \' ,~ ,... - E1TC. uE Kpan XEpa~ E TJKEV, OVvxc. u a1T'al\,oxpoa yEVVV uEVUE 

cpoviac.uc. 1TAa'Ya'i~. He apparently takes 'lay hands on the head' to 
mean 'tear the scalp' (for which idea see El. 150 8PV1TTE Kapa). This 
interpretation is considered by 1. D. Denniston21 and rejected by him, 
rightly, in favour of the interpretation 'beat the head', which gains 
strong support from Andr. 1210-11 OVK E~C. ·1T'c.(J.y,uoJ..UXc. (Murray: 
E1TC.(J.y,U0J..UXc. E~C. codd.) Kapal. K~J..UX XEc.pO~ OAOOV;22 Head-beating 
and cheek-tearing are again juxtaposed at Tro. 279-80 apauuE KpaTa 
KOVpC.!-WV, EAK' OVVXEUUC. 8i1TTVXOV 1TapEuXv, and Or. 961-63 n(JE'iua 

18 Editors who accept the copula divide ... ~TT/P I ... Ti8ETaL / XEpa 8plJ7TTE'Tai TE 

7TapEul:II, but it is no good calling ~ ~ - ~ - ~ ~ - - a paroemiac (0. Schroeder, Euripidis 
Cantica 2 [Leipzig 1928] 42) or an enoplian (Daitz). 

19 See PCPhS N.S. 20 (1974) 19 and (supra n.7) 102. 
20 I record without comment two proposals which may otherwise pass unnoticed: 

TEKIIWII 8allollTwII del. R. Lohmann, Nova Studia Euripidea (Halle 1905) 38; a7TaA£1:II 

xEpi for Ti8ETaL XEpa C. B. Sneller, De Rheso Tragoedia (Amsterdam 1949) 123. 
21 Euripides Electra (Oxford 1939) ad 146-49. 
22 Cf, also R. Kannicht, Euripides Helena (Heidelberg 1969) ad 372-74. 



DIGGLE, JAMES, Notes on the "Hecuba" of Euripides , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
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JAMES DIGGLE 321 

\ ,., ~ , ,~ , , If h " " ",EVKOV OVvxa ota TrapTJl.Uwv ... K'TV7TOV TE KpaTO~. ,t en, ETrL KpaTa 
... Ti(JETaL xepa refers to head-beating, 8plnrTETaL, so far from mak­
ing the language "sadly redundant," is indispensable, for the parti­
cipial clause 8LaLf.,WV DvvXa Tt(JEf.LeVa uTrapayf.Lo,s describes what is 
meant by 8pVTrTETaL, not what is meant by ETri KpaTa ... Ti(JETaL xepa. 

West's alternative proposal, Ti(JETaL xepa < 8w> TrapELci~ / 8LaLf.,WV 
5vvxa TL{)EI-l-~Va o"7TapaYI-l-O~C;, is open to the same objection, and it 
entails a resolution in the enoplian (w v - v w v w v - -) for which no 
parallel is quoted. 

If, as I believe, the language of the passage as a whole is faultless, 
and we need the copula with BpVTrTETaL, then the most economical 
way of mending the metre may be to suppose that a word has been 
lost: e.g. TL(JETaL xepa BpwTETaL TE <BLTrTvxov> TrapEuXv. For 8LTr­
TVXOV TrapEuXV see Tro. 280 (quoted above). And BiBvf.,Wv may have 
begun life as a gloss on 8LTrTVXoV rather than as a corruption of 8L­
aLf.,WV. The colon w w - w v - v - v - w - w - - is the same as Med. 645-
46 - 655-56, Hipp. 755-56 - 768-69. Alternatively, T' <&(JALaV> 
will give the same colon as the previous line: this colon is found 
again at Eur. fr.118.2-3.23 

4. Hecuba 828-30 
(HE.) TrOV nl~ cPiAa~ B71T' EVcPpova~ BEUEL~, avag; 

i1 nov EV EVV71t cPtATClTWV aUTraUJ,UlTWv 
, , , ~l: ,...." , ~,,' 

xapLv TtV E~EL TraL~ Ef.L'TI, KELVTJ~ u EyW; 

828 citat Etym.Magn. 137 Miller, 828-29 schol. Soph. Aj. 520 

"In what way will you show your gratitude for those nights of love 
that you call (B71T') so dear?" is Hadley's translation of 828. But he 
confesses that "TrOV BEUEIS is an odd phrase: it may = 'in what es­
teem (Trov) will you show that you hold?'" Perhaps he meant that 
we are to supply the participle ovua~ with TrOV,24 i.e. TrOV (ovua~) Ta~ 
cpLAa~ Evcppova~ BE~EL~; This is probably the best explanation avail­
able. But the expression remains unparalleled and unconvincing. Me­
ridier's translation "Comment montreras-tu ... que ses nuits te sont 
cheres?" and his note "On attendrait Ta~ Evcppova~ cpiAa~ ovua~. 
Mais ce complement de l'idee est implique dans cpiAa~. L'attribut se 
sous-entend parfois en pareil cas" are wishful thinking.25 

23 See Diggle (supra n.ll) 91-92. 
24 For its ellipse with the predicate see KUhner/Gerth II 66-67. 
25 PI. Meno 89A OVK av eZEv CPVUet oi a-yafJoi (sc. a-yafJoi), which he cites as a par­

allel, does not help (see the useful remarks of R. S. Bluck, Plato's Meno [Cambridge 
1961] ad loc.). 



DIGGLE, JAMES, Notes on the "Hecuba" of Euripides , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
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322 NOTES ON THE HECUBA OF EURIPIDES 

Attempts have been made to turn T(l~ cj>iAar; B1jT' into a predicative 
expression: BT, cj>iAar; Tllr; (or TllcTB'),26 TTpOUcj>/'Alis B1jT' (Weil), p,D/' 

cj>iAar; B1jT' (H. van Herwerden), uo/, cj>iAar; B1jT'.27 The results are 
insipid. Better sense, but at an unacceptable cost, is given by G. M. 
Sakorraphos' TTOV TOIS cj>iAO/'~ B1jT' EV cPpovwv KTA.28 (c/. Or. 802 TTOV 
yap wv BELgw cj>iAor;; fA 406 BE~El.r; BE TTOV p,D/' TTaTpor; €K TavTov 
YEYWr;;) . 

Others have altered BELgE/,r;. E. Holzner's TTOV uOL ... TEV~El.r; is 
negligible.29 E. B. England's TELuEl.r; cannot give the meaning which 
he intended ("how will you repay?").30 Much the most promising 
proposal is Herwerden's OT,UEI.~ ("quo numero habebis?" "how will 
you value?"),31 for which he compared Andr. 210 TT,V BE r,KVPOV 
ovBaJ..Wv Ti071r;, Soph. Phil. 451 TTOV XpT, TtoEuOa/' TavTa, TTOV B' 
alviiv ... ; The sense is perfect. But the corruption of OT,UEtr; to 
BELgEl.r; is inexplicable. 

The same sense is given by a word with which BE~E/,r; is readily 
confused: AE~Etr;. See Med. 741 EBE/'~ar; Sigonius: EAE~ae; codd.; Supp. 
340 €~EBE~&f.L71V Hermann: €~EAE~&JJ.-TJV L; Phoen. 530 AE~at: BEt~ac. 
Stob. 4.50.l; Soph. Phil. 426 EAE~ae;: -EBEt~ae; L'YPS'YP.32 With TTOV ... 
AE~Etr; compare Soph. Ant. 183 TOVTOV ovBap,Dv AEYW.33 The verb is 
used in similar connections (with the sense 'count', 'reckon') at 906 
~ • 0 ' '\ ., \' J:.... Al 322' ~ '" ... TWV aTTOp TJTWV TTO/\,/,e; OVKEn /\'E~ 'It, C. EV TO/,e; OVKET ovu/, 

AEgof.UXt, HF 41 Et n BT, XpT, Kaf.L' €V avBpautv AEyEl.V, [Aesch.1 PV 
973 KaL uE B' €V TOVTote; AEYW, Soph. Ant. 462 KEpBoe; aih' €yw AEyW. 
For TTOV introducing a question of this type see Supp. 127 TO B' "Ap­
yoe; ""J,ii,v TTOV 'unv; with C. Collard's note. 

In 829-30 it is worth considering whether we should write ,j ... 
nv' for 7j ... Tiv'. It is the difference between "What value will you 
put on those nights of love? Or what gratitude will my daughter have 
for her favours?" and "What value will you put on those nights of 
love? Will my daughter have any gratitude ... " The latter reads 
more naturally. In its support is the late position in the sentence 

26 H. Gloel, WochKlasPhill (884) 556. 
27 T. Halbertsma, Adversaria Critica (Leiden 1896) 44. 
28 Mnemosyne N.S. 21 (893) 200. 
29 Studien zu Euripides (Vienna 1895) 48. 
30 CR 9 (1895) 171. 
31 RevPhil N.S. 2 (1878) 24. "mallem (J,JUTI" Wecklein 63. 
32 Note also Aesch. Cho. 566 8e~aLT' Turnebus: Ae~atT' M. 
33 For this use of ov8uf.,LOv see P. T. E. Stevens, Colloquial Expressions in Euripides 

(Wiesbaden 1976) 50; G. W. Bond, Euripides Herac/es (Oxford 1981) ad 841. Add 
Men. Aspis 298. 



DIGGLE, JAMES, Notes on the "Hecuba" of Euripides , Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 
23:4 (1982:Winter) p.315 

JAMES DIGGLE 323 

which the interrogative Tiv' would otherwise occup~. G. Thomson34 

includes this passage in the category which he defines thus: "When 
two questions are asked in succession, the second amplifying the 
first, the interrogative introducing the second question loses some­
thing of its force by reason of the fact that it has been anticipated, 
and therefore it is liable to be postponed." But there is no example 
on his list in which the interrogative is postponed to so late a position 
as it occupies here. 

The enclitic TtV' was silently printed by Porson, and after him by 
Matthiae and Hermann, a fact of which modern editors seem un­
aware.35 But, with the enclitic, the disjunctive T1 is less natural than 
the interrogative ,j.36 

QUEENS' COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 

June, 1982 

34 "The Postponement of Interrogatives in Attic Drama," CQ 33 (1939) 148. 
35 Herwerden, recanting his earlier proposals, also restored the enclitic, but wished to 

delete 828 and replace 1) by 1TOV: RevPhil N.S. 7 (1893) 225. Bothe deleted 829, C. G. 
Cobet, Variae Lectiones2 (Leiden 1873) 564, deleted 828-30. 

36 I am grateful to Dr R. D. Dawe for helpful comments.