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”?
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!)
The land is in genitive so it qualifies the Invaders
The land is in genitive so it qualifies the Invaders
Clearly the correct meaning is “against the invaders of our land” for the reasons that anphph has observed.
“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.