Διονυσιάζουσαι (fr. 6)

67

κατέμαθεν Cf. on ν. 10 καταμαθών.
τον Οϊνέα Due to his sufferings in old age, Oeneus was the emblematic
miserable old man in Greek mythology; cf. Ar. Ach. 418-9 δύσποτμος γεραιός
“the ill-fated old man”, in a list of the most pitiable of Euripides’ characters; Stob.
4.48bl6, where under the heading ότι οί άτυχοϋντες χρήιζουσι των συμπασχόντων
“that the unfortunate need persons feeling sympathy”, the first exemplum comes
from Euripides’ Oineus (fr. 563 Kannicht). Oeneus was the King of Calydon in
Aetolia. He was driven from his kingdom by the sons of his brother Agrius, but
was restored with the help of his grandson Diomedes. But the great misfortunes he
suffered drove him into melancholy, and finally he left Calydon, died on the way
to Argolis, and was buried by Diomedes in the town named Oenoe after him. For
his story cf. Hom. II. 2.641-2; 6.216-23; 9.533-99; 14.113-25; Pherecyd. FGrHist
3 F 122; [Apollod.] Bibl. 1.64-79. Tragedies entitled Oeneus were also written by
Philocles, Ion, Sophocles (perhaps) and Chaeremon; a homonymous comedy was
written by Dinolochus. Cf. Gantz 1993, 328-33; Olson 2002, on Ar. Ach. 418-9.
19 συμφοράς ... στένει στένειν συμφοράς is typical of tragic heroes,
when bewailing their misfortunes on stage (e. g. A. Ag. 18 κλαίω τότ’ οϊκου τοϋδε
συμφοράν στένων “then I weep, sighing for the misfortunes of this house”; Ch.
931 στένω μεν ούν και τώνδε συμφοράν διπλήν “I lament even the double mis-
fortune of these two”; S. El. 1179-80; E. IT 470). The spectator compares (v. 18
έννοούμενος) his own misfortunes (ατυχήματα) with those of tragic heroes and
realizes that he has to lament less than if he had not attended the suffering hero
(and, perhaps, as the language indicates, less than the heroes themselves lament
on stage).