v. 30. Before whose eyes.] Amphiaraus, one of the seven kings who besieged Thebes. He is said to have been swallowed up by an opening of the earth. See Lidgate’s Storie of Thebes, Part III where it is told how the “Bishop Amphiaraus” fell down to hell. And thus the devill for his outrages, Like his desert payed him his wages. A different reason for his being doomed thus to perish is assigned by Pindar. [GREEK HERE] Nem ix.
For thee, Amphiaraus, earth,
By Jove’s all-riving thunder cleft
Her mighty bosom open’d wide,
Thee and thy plunging steeds to hide,
Or ever on thy back the spear
Of Periclymenus impress’d
A wound to shame thy warlike breast
For struck with panic fear
The gods’ own children flee.