Ichneutae
Lines 96–138 of theIchneutae on a fragment of thepapyrus roll that provides the basis for our knowledge of the play (P.Oxy. IX 1174 col. iv–v)
Written by	Sophocles
Chorus	Satyrs
Characters	Apollo Silenus Cyllene (oread) Hermes (not present in the extant fragments)
Place premiered	Athens
Original language	Ancient Greek
Genre	Satyr play
Setting	Mount Cyllene inArcadia

TheIchneutae (Ancient Greek:Ἰχνευταί,romanized: Ikhneutaí,lit. 'trackers'), also known as theSearchers,Trackers orTracking Satyrs, is a fragmentarysatyr play by the fifth-century BCAtheniandramatistSophocles. Three undistinguished quotations in ancient authors were all that was known of the play until 1912,^[1] when the extensive remains of a second-century CEpapyrus roll of theIchneutae were published among theOxyrhynchus Papyri. With more than four hundred lines surviving in their entirety or in part, theIchneutae is now the best preserved ancient satyr play afterEuripides'Cyclops, the only fully extant example of the genre. The manuscript is now kept in theBritish Library in London.^[2]

The plot of the play was derived from the inset myth of theHomeric Hymn to Hermes. A newbornHermes has stolenApollo's cattle, and the older god sends achorus of satyrs to retrieve the animals, promising them the dual rewards of freedom and gold should they be successful. The satyrs set out to find the cattle, tracking their footprints. Approaching the cave where baby Hermes is hiding, they hear him playing thelyre, which he has just invented. Scared by the strange sound, the satyrs debate their next move. The nymph of the mountain in which Hermes is hiding,Cyllene, explains to them the nature of the musical instrument. Outside the cave, the satyrs see some sewn cow-hides and are convinced that they have found the thief. Apollo returns as the papyrus breaks off.

• The Ichneutae of Sophocles, edited and translated by Richard Johnson Walker (1919) London: Burns and Oates Ltd.
• "The Searchers" (Ιχνευται), pp. 140–177 inSophocles, vol. 3, translated byHugh Lloyd-Jones (1996)Loeb Classical Library Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard.

• Hunt, A.S. (1912)The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IX. London.
• Milne, H.J.M. (1927)Catalogue of the Literary Papyri in the British Museum. London.
• Seaford, R.A.S. (1984)The Cyclops of Euripides. Oxford.
• Antonopoulos, A.P. (2010)Sophocles' Ichneutai 1-220, edited with introduction & commentary. (diss.) Exeter.
• Antonopoulos, A.P. (2013) 'Select Notes on the Papyrus Text of Sophocles'Ichneutai (P.Oxy. IX. 1174)',ZPE 186, 77–91.
• Antonopoulos, A.P. (2014) 'Sophocles'Ichneutai 176-202: A lyric dialogue (?) featuring an impressive mimetic scene',Hermes 142, 246–254.
• Antonopoulos, A.P. (2014) 'A Puzzling Threat by Silenos: On Sophocles’Ichneutai 168’,GRBS 54, 579-583.

• The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus

EnglishWikisource has original text related to this article:

Ichneutae

• English translation of theIchneutae by Ann Mahoney (accompanied by the Greek text from P.Oxy. IX) at thePerseus Digital Library.
• English translation of theIchneutae byRoger Lancelyn Green at the Special Collections Research Center,Syracuse University
• A.S. Hunt,The Oxyrhynchus Papyri: Part IX, including theeditio princeps of the first discovered fragments at theInternet Archive.

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