He does not seem to have come to do any petty trading in the battle, nor to shame the making of his long journey—he is Parthenopaeus of Arcadia. Such is the man, and aiming to make full payment for the fine support given him in Argos, his adopted land, he now threatens our fortifications—may God not fulfil his threats!
ἐλθὼν δʼ ἔοικεν οὐ καπηλεύσειν μάχην,μακρᾶς κελεύθου δʼ οὐ καταισχυνεῖν πόρον,Παρθενοπαῖος Ἀρκάς· ὁ δὲ τοιόσδʼ ἀνὴρμέτοικος, Ἄργει δʼ ἐκτίνων καλὰς τροφάς,πύργοις ἀπειλεῖ τοῖσδʼ ἃ μὴ κραίνοι θεός.
Eteocles:If only they would get from the gods what they wish for, because of those unholy boasts of theirs, then surely they would perish in utter ruin and misery. There is a man for this one, too, whom you name an Arcadian, a man who does not boast, but who knows the thing to do—Actor, brother of him I named before. He will not allow words that lack deeds to overrun his gate and increase fear, nor will he let in a man who carries on his hostile shield the image of the ravenous, detested beast.
Ἐτεοκλής:εἰ γὰρ τύχοιεν ὧν φρονοῦσι πρὸς θεῶν,αὐτοῖς ἐκείνοις ἀνοσίοις κομπάσμασιν·ἦ τἂν πανώλεις παγκάκως τʼ ὀλοίατο.ἔστιν δὲ καὶ τῷδʼ, ὃν λέγεις τὸν Ἀρκάδα,ἀνὴρ ἄκομπος, χεὶρ δʼ ὁρᾷ τὸ δράσιμον,Ἄκτωρ ἀδελφὸς τοῦ πάρος λελεγμένου·ὃς οὐκ ἐάσει γλῶσσαν ἐργμάτων ἄτερἔσω πυλῶν ῥέουσαν ἀλδαίνειν κακά,οὐδʼ εἰσαμεῖψαι θηρὸς ἐχθίστου δάκουςεἰκὼ φέροντα πολεμίας ἐπʼ ἀσπίδος·
That beast outside his shield will blame the man who carries her into the gate, when she has taken a heavy beating beneath the city’s walls. If the gods are willing, what I speak may prove true! Exit Actor.
ἣ ʼξωθεν εἴσω τῷ φέροντι μέμψεται,πυκνοῦ κροτησμοῦ τυγχάνουσʼ ὑπὸ πτόλιν.θεῶν θελόντων τἂν ἀληθεύσαιμʼ ἐγώ.
Chorus:His words penetrate to my heart, my hair stands on endas I hear the loud threats of these loud-boasting, impious men. May the gods destroy them here in our land!
Χορός:ἱκνεῖται λόγος διὰ στηθέων,τριχὸς δʼ ὀρθίας πλόκαμος ἵσταται,μεγάλα μεγαληγόρων κλυούσᾳἀνοσίων ἀνδρῶν. εἴθε γὰρθεοὶ τοῦδʼ ὀλέσειαν ἐν γᾷ.
Scout:The sixth man I will name is of the highest moderation and a seer brave in combat, mighty Amphiaraus.
Ἄγγελος:ἕκτον λέγοιμʼ ἂν ἄνδρα σωφρονέστατον,ἀλκήν τʼ ἄριστον μάντιν, Ἀμφιάρεω βίαν·
Stationed at the Homoloid gate, he repeatedly rebukes mighty Tydeus with evil names “Murderer, maker of unrest in the city, principal teacher of evils to the Argives, summoner of vengeance’s Curse, servant of Slaughter, counselor to Adrastus in these evil plans.” And next, with eyes looking upward, he addressed your own brother, mighty Polynices who shares your blood, and called him by name, dwelling twice upon its latter part. These were his words:
Ὁμολωίσιν δὲ πρὸς πύλαις τεταγμένοςκακοῖσι βάζει πολλὰ Τυδέως βίαν·τὸν ἀνδροφόντην, τὸν πόλεως ταράκτορα,μέγιστον Ἄργει τῶν κακῶν διδάσκαλον,Ἐρινύος κλητῆρα, πρόσπολον φόνου,κακῶν τʼ Ἀδράστῳ τῶνδε βουλευτήριον.καὶ τὸν σὸν αὖθις προσθροῶν ὁμόσπορον,ἐξυπτιάζων ὄμμα, Πολυνείκους βίαν,δίς τʼ ἐν τελευτῇ τοὔνομʼ ἐνδατούμενος,καλεῖ. λέγει δὲ τοῦτʼ ἔπος διὰ στόμα·
“Will such a deed as this be pleasing to the gods, fine to hear of and to relate to those in the future—that you sacked the city of your ancestors and your native gods and launched a foreign army against them? What justice is it to drain dry the font of your existence?”“And how shall your fatherland, captured by the spear for the sake of your ambition, be won over to your cause? As for me, I will enrich this earth, a seer interred beneath enemy soil. Let us fight! I anticipate no dishonorable death.”
ἦ τοῖον ἔργον καὶ θεοῖσι προσφιλές,καλόν τʼ ἀκοῦσαι καὶ λέγειν μεθυστέροις,πόλιν πατρῴαν καὶ θεοὺς τοὺς ἐγγενεῖςπορθεῖν, στράτευμʼ ἐπακτὸν ἐμβεβληκότα;μητρός τε πηγὴν τίς κατασβέσει δίκη;πατρίς τε γαῖα σῆς ὑπὸ σπουδῆς δορὶἁλοῦσα πῶς σοι ξύμμαχος γενήσεται;ἔγωγε μὲν δὴ τήνδε πιανῶ χθόνα,μάντις κεκευθὼς πολεμίας ὑπὸ χθονός.μαχώμεθʼ, οὐκ ἄτιμον ἐλπίζω μόρον.
So the seer spoke as untroubled he held his all-bronze shield. No symbol was fixed to his shield’s circle. For he does not wish to appear the bravest, but to be the bravest, as he harvests the fruit of his mind’s deep furrow, where his careful resolutions grow.
τοιαῦθʼ ὁ μάντις ἀσπίδʼ εὐκήλως ἔχωνπάγχαλκον ηὔδα· σῆμα δʼ οὐκ ἐπῆν κύκλῳ.οὐ γὰρ δοκεῖν ἄριστος, ἀλλʼ εἶναι θέλει,βαθεῖαν ἄλοκα διὰ φρενὸς καρπούμενος,ἐξ ἧς τὰ κεδνὰ βλαστάνει βουλεύματα.
I advise you to send wise and brave opponents against him. He who reveres the gods is to be feared.
τούτῳ σοφούς τε κἀγαθοὺς ἀντηρέταςπέμπειν ἐπαινῶ. δεινὸς ὃς θεοὺς σέβει.
Eteocles:Ah, the pity of fate’s omen when it makes a just man associate with the irreverent! In all things, nothing is more evilthan evil partnership. Its fruit should not be gathered in: the field of recklessness yields a harvest of death. For it may be that a pious man, embarked shipboard with sailors hot for some crime, perishes along with the sort of men hated by the gods;or, a man, though upright himself, when among fellow-citizens who hate all strangers and neglect the gods, may fall undeserving into the same trap as they, and be subdued, struck by the scourge of God that strikes all alike. Just so the seer, Oecles’ son,although a moderate, just, noble, reverent man and a great prophet, mixes with impious, rash-talking men against his own judgment, men stretching out in a procession that is long to retrace, and, if it is Zeus’s will, he will be be dragged down in ruin along with them.
Ἐτεοκλής:φεῦ τοῦ ξυναλλάσσοντος ὄρνιθος βροτοῖςδίκαιον ἄνδρα τοῖσι δυσσεβεστέροις.ἐν παντὶ πράγει δʼ ἔσθʼ ὁμιλίας κακῆςκάκιον οὐδέν, καρπὸς οὐ κομιστέος·ἄτης ἄρουρα θάνατον ἐκκαρπίζεται.ἢ γὰρ ξυνεισβὰς πλοῖον εὐσεβὴς ἀνὴρναύταισι θερμοῖς καὶ πανουργίᾳ τινὶὄλωλεν ἀνδρῶν σὺν θεοπτύστῳ γένει,ἢ ξὺν πολίταις ἀνδράσιν δίκαιος ὢνἐχθροξένοις τε καὶ θεῶν ἀμνήμοσιν,ταὐτοῦ κυρήσας ἐκδίκως ἀγρεύματος,πληγεὶς θεοῦ μάστιγι παγκοίνῳ ʼδάμη.οὕτως δʼ ὁ μάντις, υἱὸν Οἰκλέους λέγω,σώφρων δίκαιος ἀγαθὸς εὐσεβὴς ἀνήρ,μέγας προφήτης, ἀνοσίοισι συμμιγεὶςθρασυστόμοισιν ἀνδράσιν βίᾳ φρενῶν,τείνουσι πομπὴν τὴν μακρὰν πάλιν μολεῖν,Διὸς θέλοντος ξυγκαθελκυσθήσεται.
So then, I expect that he will not even charge the gates: not because he lacks courage or is weak-willed, but because he knows that he must meet his end in battle, if the prophecies of Loxias are to come to fruition—the god usually either holds silent or speaks to the point.
δοκῶ μὲν οὖν σφε μηδὲ προσβαλεῖν πύλαιςοὐχ ὡς ἄθυμος οὐδὲ λήματος κάκῇ,ἀλλʼ οἶδεν ὥς σφε χρὴ τελευτῆσαι μάχῃ,εἰ καρπὸς ἔσται θεσφάτοισι Λοξίου·φιλεῖ δὲ σιγᾶν ἢ λέγειν τὰ καίρια.
Just the same, I will station a man against him, mighty Lasthenes, a gate-keeper who hates foreigners. He has the wisdom of an old man, but his body is at its prime: his eyes are quick, and he does not let his hand delay for his spear to seize what is left exposed by the shield.
ὅμως δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ φῶτα, Λασθένους βίαν,ἐχθρόξενον πυλωρὸν ἀντιτάξομεν,γέροντα τὸν νοῦν, σάρκα δʼ ἡβῶσαν φύει,ποδῶκες ὄμμα, χεῖρα δʼ οὐ βραδύνεταιπαρʼ ἀσπίδος γυμνωθὲν ἁρπάσαι δόρυ.
Still it is God’s gift when mortals succeed. Exit Lasthenes.
θεοῦ δὲ δῶρόν ἐστιν εὐτυχεῖν βροτούς.
Chorus:Gods, hear our just prayers and fulfil them, that the city may have good fortune! Turn aside the evils suffered in war onto those who invade our land! May Zeus strike themwith his thunderbolt outside the walls and slay them!
Χορός:κλύοντες θεοὶ δικαίας λιτὰςἁμετέρας τελεῖθʼ, ὡς πόλις εὐτυχῇ,δορίπονα κάκʼ ἐκτρέποντες ⟨ἐς⟩ γᾶςἐπιμόλους· πύργων δʼ ἔκτοθενβαλὼν Ζεύς σφε κάνοι κεραυνῷ.
Scout:Last I will tell of the seventh champion, him at the seventh gate, your own brother, and of what fate he prays for and calls down on the city. His prayer is that after he mounts the battlements and is proclaimed king in the land,and shouts the paian in triumph over its capture, he may then meet you in combat, and once he kills you, that he may perish at your side, or, if you survive, make you pay with banishment in the same way as you dishonored him with exile. Mighty Polynices shouts such threats andinvokes his native gods, the gods of his fatherland, to watch over his prayers in every way. He holds a shield, a perfect circle, newly-made, with a double symbol cleverly fastened on it:a woman modestly walking in the fore leads a man in arms made, it appears, of hammered gold. She claims to be Justice, as the lettering indicates, “I will bring this man back and he will have his city and move freely in his father’s halls.” Such are the inventions fixed to their shields.
Ἄγγελος:τὸν ἕβδομον δὴ τόνδʼ ἐφʼ ἑβδόμαις πύλαιςλέξω, τὸν αὐτοῦ σοῦ κασίγνητον, πόλειοἵας ἀρᾶται καὶ κατεύχεται τύχας·πύργοις ἐπεμβὰς κἀπικηρυχθεὶς χθονί,ἁλώσιμον παιᾶνʼ ἐπεξιακχάσας,σοὶ ξυμφέρεσθαι καὶ κτανὼν θανεῖν πέλας,ἢ ζῶντʼ ἀτιμαστῆρα τὼς ἀνδρηλάτηνφυγῇ τὸν αὐτὸν τόνδε τείσασθαι τρόπον.τοιαῦτʼ ἀυτεῖ καὶ θεοὺς γενεθλίουςκαλεῖ πατρῴας γῆς ἐποπτῆρας λιτῶντῶν ὧν γενέσθαι πάγχυ Πολυνείκους βία.ἔχει δὲ καινοπηγὲς εὔκυκλον σάκοςδιπλοῦν τε σῆμα προσμεμηχανημένον.χρυσήλατον γὰρ ἄνδρα τευχηστὴν ἰδεῖνἄγει γυνή τις σωφρόνως ἡγουμένη.Δίκη δʼ ἄρʼ εἶναί φησιν, ὡς τὰ γράμματαλέγει κατάξω δʼ ἄνδρα τόνδε καὶ πόλινἕξει πατρῴων δωμάτων τʼ ἐπιστροφάς.τοιαῦτʼ ἐκείνων ἐστὶ τἀξευρήματα.
[Quickly determine yourself whom you think it best to send.] Know that you will find no fault with me in the substance of my report, but you yourself determine on what course to pilot the city. Exit.
[σὺ δʼ αὐτὸς ἤδη γνῶθι τίνα πέμπειν δοκεῖ·]ὡς οὔποτʼ ἀνδρὶ τῷδε κηρυκευμάτωνμέμψῃ, σὺ δʼ αὐτὸς γνῶθι ναυκληρεῖν πόλιν.
Eteocles:O my family sired by Oedipus, steeped in tears,driven to madness by the gods and by the gods detested! Ah, now indeed our father’s curses are brought to fulfillment. But neither weeping nor wailing is proper for me now, lest a grief even harder to bear is brought to life. As for him whose name is so very fitting, Polynices, we shall know soon enough what the symbol on his shield will accomplish,whether the babbling letters shaped in gold on his shield, together with his mind’s wanderings, will bring him back. If Justice, Zeus’s maiden daughter, were attending his actions and his thoughts, this might be so. But as it is, neither when he escaped the darkness of his mother’s womb,nor in childhood, nor at any point in his early manhood, nor when the beard first thickened on his cheek, did Justice acknowledge him and consider him worthy. And even now I do not think that she is standing by his side to aid the destruction of his fatherland.
Ἐτεοκλής:ὦ θεομανές τε καὶ θεῶν μέγα στύγος,ὦ πανδάκρυτον ἁμὸν Οἰδίπου γένος·ὤμοι, πατρὸς δὴ νῦν ἀραὶ τελεσφόροι.ἀλλʼ οὔτε κλαίειν οὔτʼ ὀδύρεσθαι πρέπει,μὴ καὶ τεκνωθῇ δυσφορώτερος γόος.ἐπωνύμῳ δὲ κάρτα, Πολυνείκει λέγω,τάχʼ εἰσόμεσθα τοὐπίσημʼ ὅποι τελεῖ,εἴ νιν κατάξει χρυσότευκτα γράμματαἐπʼ ἀσπίδος φλύοντα σὺν φοίτῳ φρενῶν.εἰ δʼ ἡ Διὸς παῖς παρθένος Δίκη παρῆνἔργοις ἐκείνου καὶ φρεσίν, τάχʼ ἂν τόδʼ ἦν·ἀλλʼ οὔτε νιν φυγόντα μητρόθεν σκότον,οὔτʼ ἐν τροφαῖσιν, οὔτʼ ἐφηβήσαντά πω,οὔτʼ ἐν γενείου ξυλλογῇ τριχώματος,Δίκη προσεῖδε καὶ κατηξιώσατο·οὐδʼ ἐν πατρῴας μὴν χθονὸς κακουχίᾳοἶμαί νιν αὐτῷ νῦν παραστατεῖν πέλας.
Indeed, Justice would truly be false to her name, if she should ally herself with a man so utterly audacious in his plans. Trusting in this fact I will go and stand against him—I myself in person. Who else has a more just claim? Commander against commander, brother against brother,enemy against enemy, I will take my stand. Quick, bring my greaves to protect against spears and stones!
ἦ δῆτʼ ἂν εἴη πανδίκως ψευδώνυμοςΔίκη, ξυνοῦσα φωτὶ παντόλμῳ φρένας.τούτοις πεποιθὼς εἶμι καὶ ξυστήσομαιαὐτός· τίς ἄλλος μᾶλλον ἐνδικώτερος;ἄρχοντί τʼ ἄρχων καὶ κασιγνήτῳ κάσις,ἐχθρὸς σὺν ἐχθρῷ στήσομαι. φέρʼ ὡς τάχοςκνημῖδας, αἰχμῆς καὶ πέτρων προβλήματα.
Chorus:No, son of Oedipus, most dear of our men, do not be like in temperament to him who is called by such an evil name. It is enough that Cadmeansare advancing to close combat with Argives. That bloodshed can be expiated. But when men of the same blood kill each other as you desire, the pollution from this act never grows old.
Χορός:μή, φίλτατʼ ἀνδρῶν, Οἰδίπου τέκος, γένῃὀργὴν ὁμοῖος τῷ κάκιστʼ αὐδωμένῳ·ἀλλʼ ἄνδρας Ἀργείοισι Καδμείους ἅλιςἐς χεῖρας ἐλθεῖν· αἷμα γὰρ καθάρσιον.ἀνδροῖν δʼ ὁμαίμοιν θάνατος ὧδʼ αὐτοκτόνος,οὐκ ἔστι γῆρας τοῦδε τοῦ μιάσματος.
Eteocles:If indeed a man should suffer evil, let it be without dishonor, since that is the only benefit for the dead.
Ἐτεοκλής:εἴπερ κακὸν φέροι τις, αἰσχύνης ἄτερἔστω· μόνον γὰρ κέρδος ἐν τεθνηκόσι·
But you cannot speak of any glory for happenings that are at once evil and held in dishonor.
κακῶν δὲ κᾀσχρῶν οὔτινʼ εὐκλείαν ἐρεῖς.
Chorus:For what are you so eager, child? Do not let mad lust for battle fill your soul and carry you away. Reject this evil passion while it is still young.
Χορός:τί μέμονας, τέκνον; μή τί σε θυμοπλη-θὴς δορίμαργος ἄτα φερέτω· κακοῦ δʼἔκβαλʼ ἔρωτος ἀρχάν.
Eteocles:Since God hastens the deed so urgently,let the whole race of Laius, hated by Phoebus, be swept on the wind to Cocytus’ destined flood!
Ἐτεοκλής:ἐπεὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα κάρτʼ ἐπισπέρχει θεός,ἴτω κατʼ οὖρον κῦμα Κωκυτοῦ λαχὸνΦοίβῳ στυγηθὲν πᾶν τὸ Λαΐου γένος.
Chorus:A savage desire eats away at you, drives you to murder, blood-sacrifice proscribed by divine law, whose only fruit is bitterness.
Χορός:ὠμοδακής σʼ ἄγαν ἵμερος ἐξοτρύ-νει πικρόκαρπον ἀνδροκτασίαν τελεῖναἵματος οὐ θεμιστοῦ.
Eteocles:True, my own beloved father’s hateful, ruinous curse hovers before my dry, unweeping eyes, and informs me of benefit preceding subsequent death.
Ἐτεοκλής:φίλου γὰρ ἐχθρά μοι πατρὸς τάλαινʼ ἀρὰξηροῖς ἀκλαύτοις ὄμμασιν προσιζάνει,λέγουσα κέρδος πρότερον ὑστέρου μόρου.
Chorus:No, do not let yourself be driven to it. You will not be called a coward if you retain life nobly. Will not the avenging Erinys in her dark aegisleave your house, when the gods receive sacrifice from your hands?
Χορός:ἀλλὰ σὺ μὴ ʼποτρύνου· κακὸς οὐ κεκλή-σῃ βίον εὖ κυρήσας· μελάναιγις [δʼ·] οὐκεἶσι δόμων Ἐρινύς, ὅταν ἐκ χερῶνθεοὶ θυσίαν δέχωνται;
Eteocles:The gods, it seems, have already banished us from their care, yet they admire the grace we offer them when we perish. So then, why should we cringe and shy away from deadly fate?
Ἐτεοκλής:θεοῖς μὲν ἤδη πως παρημελήμεθα,χάρις δʼ ἀφʼ ἡμῶν ὀλομένων θαυμάζεται·τί οὖν ἔτʼ ἂν σαίνοιμεν ὀλέθριον μόρον;
Chorus:It is only at this moment that death stands close by you, for the divine spirit may change its purpose even after a long time and come on a gentler wind. But now it still seethes.
Χορός:νῦν ὅτε σοι παρέστακεν· ἐπεὶ δαίμωνλήματος ἐν τροπαίᾳ χρονίᾳ μεταλ-λακτὸς ἴσως ἂν ἔλθοι θελεμωτέρῳπνεύματι· νῦν δʼ ἔτι ζεῖ.
Eteocles:Yes, the curses of Oedipus have made it seethe in fury.
Ἐτεοκλής:ἐξέζεσεν γὰρ Οἰδίπου κατεύγματα·
Too true were the phantoms in my sleeping visions, predicting the division of our father’s wealth!
ἄγαν δʼ ἀληθεῖς ἐνυπνίων φαντασμάτωνὄψεις, πατρῴων χρημάτων δατήριοι.
Chorus:Obey us women, although you do not like to.
Χορός:πιθοῦ γυναιξί, καίπερ οὐ στέργων ὅμως.
Eteocles:Recommend something that can be accomplished; your request need not be lengthy.
Ἐτεοκλής:λέγοιτʼ ἂν ὧν ἄνη τις· οὐδὲ χρὴ μακράν.
Chorus:Do not yourself take the road to the seventh gate!
Χορός:μὴ ʼλθῃς ὁδοὺς σὺ τάσδʼ ἐφʼ ἑβδόμαις πύλαις.
Eteocles:Let me assure you, you will not blunt my sharpened purpose with words.
Ἐτεοκλής:τεθηγμένον τοί μʼ οὐκ ἀπαμβλυνεῖς λόγῳ.
Chorus:And yet any victory, even a cowardly one, is nonetheless held in honor by God.
Χορός:νίκην γε μέντοι καὶ κακὴν τιμᾷ θεός.
Eteocles:A soldier must not embrace that maxim.
Ἐτεοκλής:οὐκ ἄνδρʼ ὁπλίτην τοῦτο χρὴ στέργειν ἔπος.
Chorus:But are you willing to harvest the blood of your own brother?
Χορός:ἀλλʼ αὐτάδελφον αἷμα δρέψασθαι θέλεις;
Eteocles:When it is the gods who give you evils, you cannot flee them. Exit.
Ἐτεοκλής:θεῶν διδόντων οὐκ ἂν ἐκφύγοις κακά.
Chorus:I shudder in terror at the goddess who lays ruin to homes, a goddess unlike other divinities, who is an unerring omen of evil to come. I shudder that the Erinys invoked by the father’s prayer will fulfil the over-wrathfulcurses that Oedipus spoke in madness. This strife that will destroy his sons drives the Erinys to fulfillment.
Χορός:πέφρικα τὰν ὠλεσίοικονθεόν, οὐ θεοῖς ὁμοίαν,παναλαθῆ κακόμαντινπατρὸς εὐκταίαν Ἐρινὺντελέσαι τὰς περιθύμουςκατάρας Οἰδιπόδα βλαψίφρονος·παιδολέτωρ δʼ ἔρις ἅδʼ ὀτρύνει.
Chorus:A stranger distributes their inheritance, a Chalybian immigrant from Scythia, a bitter divider of wealth,savage-hearted iron that apportions land for them to dwell in, as much as they can occupy in death when they have lost their share in these wide plains.
Χορός:ξένος δὲ κλήρους ἐπινωμᾷ,Χάλυβος Σκυθᾶν ἄποικος,κτεάνων χρηματοδαίταςπικρός, ὠμόφρων σίδαρος,χθόνα ναίειν διαπήλας,ὁπόσαν καὶ φθιμένοισιν κατέχειν,τῶν μεγάλων πεδίων ἀμοίρους.
Chorus:But when both have died, each killingthe other in mutual slaughter, and the earth’s dust has swallowed the black streams of their blood, who could offer sacrifice that might make purification? Who could cleanse them of their pollution?O, the new troubles of this house mixed with its evils of before!
Χορός:ἐπεὶ δʼ ἂν αὐτοκτόνωςαὐτοδάικτοι θάνωσι,καὶ γαΐα κόνις πίῃμελαμπαγὲς αἷμα φοίνιον,τίς ἂν καθαρμοὺς πόροι,τίς ἄν σφε λούσειεν; ὦπόνοι δόμων νέοι παλαι-οῖσι συμμιγεῖς κακοῖς.
Chorus:Indeed I speak of the ancient transgression, now swift in its retribution. It remains even into the third generation,ever since Laius—in defiance of Apollo who, at his Pythian oracle at the earth’s center, said three times that the king would save his city if he died without offspring—
Χορός:παλαιγενῆ γὰρ λέγωπαρβασίαν ὠκύποινον·αἰῶνα δʼ ἐς τρίτον μένει·Ἀπόλλωνος εὖτε Λάιοςβίᾳ, τρὶς εἰπόντος ἐνμεσομφάλοις Πυθικοῖςχρηστηρίοις θνᾴσκοντα γέν-νας ἄτερ σῴζειν πόλιν,
Chorus:Ever since he, overcome by the thoughtlessness of his longing, fathered his own death, the parricide Oedipus, who sowed his mother’s sacred field, where he was nurtured,and endured a bloody crop. Madness united the frenzied bridal pair.
Χορός:κρατηθεὶς δʼ ἐκ φίλων ἀβουλιᾶνἐγείνατο μὲν μόρον αὑτῷ,πατροκτόνον Οἰδιπόδαν,ὅστε ματρὸς ἁγνὰνσπείρας ἄρουραν, ἵνʼ ἐτράφη,ῥίζαν αἱματόεσσανἔτλα· παράνοια συνᾶγενυμφίους φρενώλεις.
Chorus:Now it is as if a sea of evils pushes its swell onward. As one wave sinks, the sea raises up another,triple-crested, which crashes around the city’s stern. In between a narrow defense stretches—no wider than a wall. I fear that the city will be overthrown along with its kings.
Χορός:κακῶν δʼ ὥσπερ θάλασσα κῦμʼ ἄγει·τὸ μὲν πίτνον, ἄλλο δʼ ἀείρειτρίχαλον, ὃ καὶ περὶ πρύμ-ναν πόλεως καχλάζει.μεταξὺ δʼ ἀλκὰ διʼ ὀλίγουτείνει, πύργος ἐν εὔρει.δέδοικα δὲ σὺν βασιλεῦσιμὴ πόλις δαμασθῇ.
Chorus:For the compensation is heavy when curses uttered long ago are fulfilled, and once the deadly curse has come into existence, it does not pass away. When the fortune of seafaring merchants has grown too great,it must be thrown overboard.
Χορός:τελειᾶν γὰρ παλαιφάτων ἀρᾶνβαρεῖαι καταλλαγαί· τὰ δʼ ὀλοὰπελόμενʼ οὐ παρέρχεται.πρόπρυμνα δʼ ἐκβολὰν φέρειἀνδρῶν ἀλφηστᾶνὄλβος ἄγαν παχυνθείς.
Chorus:For whom have the gods and divinities that share their altar and the thronging assembly of men ever admiredso much as they honored Oedipus then, when he removed that deadly, man-seizing plague from our land?
Χορός:τίνʼ ἀνδρῶν γὰρ τοσόνδʼ ἐθαύμασανθεοὶ καὶ ξυνέστιοι πόλεος ὁπολύβατός τʼ ἀγὼν βροτῶν,ὅσον τότʼ Οἰδίπουν τίον,τὰν ἁρπαξάνδρανκῆρʼ ἀφελόντα χώρας;
Chorus:But when, his sanity regained, he grew miserable in his wretchedmarriage, then carried away by his grief and with maddened heart he accomplished a double evil. With the hand that killed his father he struck out his eyes, which were dearer to him than his children.
Χορός:ἐπεὶ δʼ ἀρτίφρωνἐγένετο μέλεος ἀθλίωνγάμων, ἐπʼ ἄλγει δυσφορῶνμαινομένᾳ κραδίᾳδίδυμα κάκʼ ἐτέλεσεν·πατροφόνῳ χερὶ τῶνκρεισσοτέκνων ὀμμάτων ἐπλάγχθη·
Chorus:Next he launched brutal, wrathful words against the sons he had bred—ah! curses from a bitter tongue—that wielding iron in their hands they would one day divide his property.So now I tremble in fear that the swift-running Erinys will bring this to fulfillment.Enter Messenger.
Χορός:τέκνοις δʼ ἀγρίαςἐφῆκεν ἐπικότους τροφᾶς,αἰαῖ, πικρογλώσσους ἀράς,καί σφε σιδαρονόμῳδιὰ χερί ποτε λαχεῖνκτήματα· νῦν δὲ τρέωμὴ τελέσῃ καμψίπους Ἐρινύς.
Messenger:Take heart, you daughters who were nurtured by your mother. Our city has escaped the yoke of slavery; the boasts of the powerful men have fallen to the ground.
Ἄγγελος:θαρσεῖτε, παῖδες μητέρων τεθραμμέναι.πόλις πέφευγεν ἥδε δούλιον ζυγόν·πέπτωκεν ἀνδρῶν ὀβρίμων κομπάσματα·
The city enjoys fair weather and has taken on no water even though it has been buffeted by many waves. The walls hold, and we have fortified the gates with champions fully capable in single-handed combat. For the most part all is well, at six of the gates.
πόλις δʼ ἐν εὐδίᾳ τε καὶ κλυδωνίουπολλαῖσι πληγαῖς ἄντλον οὐκ ἐδέξατο.στέγει δὲ πύργος, καὶ πύλας φερεγγύοιςἐφραξάμεσθα μονομάχοισι προστάταις·καλῶς ἔχει τὰ πλεῖστʼ, ἐν ἓξ πυλώμασι·
But lord Apollo, the reverend leader of the seventh, took for himself the seventh gate, accomplishing upon the children of Oedipus the ancient follies of Laius.
τὰς δʼ ἑβδόμας ὁ σεμνὸς ἑβδομαγέτηςἄναξ Ἀπόλλων εἵλετʼ, Οἰδίπου γένεικραίνων παλαιὰς Λαΐου δυσβουλίας.
Chorus:What novel happening will further affect the city?
Χορός:τί δʼ ἔστι πρᾶγμα νεόκοτον πόλει πλέον;
Messenger:The city is saved, but the kings born of the same seed—Chorus:Who? What did you say? I am out of my mind with fear of your report.
Ἄγγελος:πόλις σέσωσται· βασιλέες δʼ ὁμόσποροι—Χορός:τίνες; τί δʼ εἶπας; παραφρονῶ φόβῳ λόγου.
Messenger:Control yourself now and listen. The sons of Oedipus—Chorus:Ah, miserable me, I am prophet of these evils.
Ἄγγελος:φρονοῦσα νῦν ἄκουσον· Οἰδίπου τόκοι —Χορός:οἲ ʼγὼ τάλαινα, μάντις εἰμὶ τῶν κακῶν.
Messenger:In truth, beyond all question, struck down in the dust—Chorus:Are they lying out there? This is hard to bear, but say it just the same.
Ἄγγελος:οὐδʼ ἀμφιλέκτως μὴν κατεσποδημένοι—Χορός:ἐκεῖθι κεῖσθον; βαρέα δʼ οὖν ὅμως φράσον.
Messenger:The men are dead, murdered by their very own hands.
Ἄγγελος:ἅνδρες τεθνᾶσιν ἐκ χερῶν αὐτοκτόνων.
Chorus:Then with hands so fraternal did they each kill the other together?
Χορός:οὕτως ἀδελφαῖς χερσὶν ἠναίρονθʼ ἅμα;
Messenger:Yes, so all too equal was their destiny to them both. All alone, in truth, it consumes the ill-fated family. We have cause in this for joy and tears—the one because the city fares well, the other because the leaders, the two generals, have divided the whole of their property with hammered Scythian steel. They will possess only that land they take in burial, swept away as they were in accordance with their father’s curses.
Χορός:οὕτως ὁ δαίμων κοινὸς ἦν ἀμφοῖν ἄγαν.αὐτὸς δʼ ἀναλοῖ δῆτα δύσποτμον γένος.τοιαῦτα χαίρειν καὶ δακρύεσθαι πάρα·πόλιν μὲν εὖ πράσσουσαν, οἱ δʼ ἐπιστάται,δισσὼ στρατηγώ, διέλαχον σφυρηλάτῳΣκύθῃ σιδήρῳ κτημάτων παμπησίαν.ἕξουσι δʼ ἣν λάβωσιν ἐν ταφῇ χθονός,πατρὸς κατʼ εὐχὰς δυσπότμως φορούμενοι.
[The city is saved, but through their mutual murder the earth has drunk the blood of the two kings born of the same seed.] Exit.
[πόλις σέσωσται· βασιλέοιν δʼ ὁμοσπόροιν][πέπωκεν αἷμά γαῖʼ ὑπʼ ἀλλήλων φόνῳ.]
Chorus:O great Zeus and the divine powers that guard our city, you who indeed protect these walls of Cadmus,should I rejoice and shout in triumph for the unharmed safety of the city, or should I lament our leaders in war,now wretched, ill-fated and childless? Indeed, in exact accordance with their name and as “men of much strife,” they have perished through their impious intent.
Χορός:ὦ μεγάλε Ζεῦ καὶ πολιοῦχοιδαίμονες, οἳ δὴ Κάδμου πύργουςτούσδε ῥύεσθε,πότερον χαίρω κἀπολολύξωπόλεως ἀσινεῖ σωτῆρι..,ἢ τοὺς μογεροὺς καὶ δυσδαίμοναςἀτέκνους κλαύσω πολεμάρχους;οἳ δῆτʼ ὀρθῶς κατʼ ἐπωνυμίανκαὶ πολυνεικεῖςὤλοντʼ ἀσεβεῖ διανοίᾳ.
Chorus:O black curse on the family, Oedipus’ curse, now brought to fulfillment! A chill of horror falls about my heart.
Χορός:ὦ μέλαινα καὶ τελείαγένεος Οἰδίπου τʼ ἀρά,κακόν με καρδίαν τι περιπίτνει κρύος.
In frenzy like a maenad I make my song for the grave as I hear of their corpses dripping with blood, how they died through the workings of cruel fate. This song of the spear, sung to the flute, is indeed born of an ill omen.
ἔτευξα τύμβῳ μέλοςΘυιὰς αἱματοσταγεῖςνεκροὺς κλύουσα δυσμόρωςθανόντας· ἦ δύσορνις ἅ-δε ξυναυλία δορός.
Chorus:The curseful utterance of their father has done its work and not fallen short. Laius’ plans, made in disobedience, have kept their force. I am anxious for our city; divine decrees do not lose their edge. The funeral procession with the bodies of the brothers comes into view.
Χορός:ἐξέπραξεν, οὐδʼ ἀπεῖπενπατρόθεν εὐκταία φάτις·βουλαὶ δʼ ἄπιστοι Λαΐου διήρκεσαν.μέριμνα δʼ ἀμφὶ πτόλιν·θέσφατʼ οὐκ ἀμβλύνεται.
Chorus:O bringers of immense grief, you have done in this a deed beyond belief, yet lamentable troubles have indeed come.
ἰὼ πολύστονοι, τόδʼ ἠρ-γάσασθʼ ἄπιστον· ἦλθε δʼ αἰ-ακτὰ πήματʼ οὐ λόγῳ.
The events are self-evident; the messenger’s report is plain to see. Twofold is our distress—double disasterof kindred murder, this double suffering has come to fulfillment. What shall I say? What else indeed than that sorrow born of sorrows surround this house’s hearth? But sail upon the wind of lamentation, my friends,and about your head row with your hands’ rapid stroke in conveyance of the dead, that stroke which always causes the sacred slack-sailed, black-clothed ship to pass over Acheron to the unseen land where Apollo does not walk,the sunless land that receives all men. But here come Antigone and Ismene to do their bitter duty, the dirge over their brothers both. With all sincerity, I think, will theypour forth their fitting grief from their lovely, deep-bosomed breasts. But it is right for us, before their singing, to cry out the awful hymn of the Erinys and thereaftersing the hated victory song of Hades. Ah, sisters most unfortunate in your kin of all women who clasp their girdle about their robes, I weep, I groan, and there is no feigning in the shrill cries that come straight from my heart.
Χορός:τάδʼ αὐτόδηλα, προῦπτος ἀγγέλου λόγος·διπλαῖ μέριμναι, διδυμάνορακάκʼ αὐτοφόνα, δίμοιρα τέ-λεια τάδε πάθη. τί φῶ;τί δʼ ἄλλο γʼ ἢ πόνοι πόνωνδόμων ἐφέστιοι;ἀλλὰ γόων, ὦ φίλαι, κατʼ οὖρονἐρέσσετʼ ἀμφὶ κρατὶ πόμπιμον χεροῖνπίτυλον, ὃς αἰὲν διʼ Ἀχέροντʼ ἀμείβεταιτὰν ἄστολον μελάγκροκον [ναύστολον] θεωρίδα,τὰν ἀστιβῆ Ἀπόλλωνι, τὰν ἀνάλιονπάνδοκον εἰς ἀφανῆ τε χέρσον.ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἥκουσʼ αἵδʼ ἐπὶ πρᾶγοςπικρὸν Ἀντιγόνη τʼ ἠδʼ Ἰσμήνη,θρῆνον ἀδελφοῖν· οὐκ ἀμφιβόλωςοἶμαί σφʼ ἐρατῶν ἐκ βαθυκόλπωνστηθέων ἥσειν ἄλγος ἐπάξιον.ἡμᾶς δὲ δίκη πρότερον φήμηςτὸν δυσκέλαδόν θʼ ὕμνον Ἐρινύοςἰαχεῖν Ἀίδα τʼἐχθρὸν παιᾶνʼ ἐπιμέλπειν.ἰώ, δυσαδελφόταται πασῶν ὁπόσαιστρόφον ἐσθῆσιν περιβάλλονται,κλαίω, στένομαι, καὶ δόλος οὐδεὶςμὴ ʼκ φρενὸς ὀρθῶς με λιγαίνειν.
Chorus:Ah, pity you senseless men, whom friends could not persuade and evils could not wear down! To your misery you have captured your father’s house with the spear.
Χορός:ἰὼ ἰὼ δύσφρονες,φίλων ἄπιστοι καὶ κακῶν ἀτρύμονες,δόμους πατρῴους ἑλόν-τες μέλεοι σὺν αἰχμᾷ.
Chorus:To their misery, indeed,they found a miserable death in the outrage done their house.
μέλεοι δῆθʼ οἳ μελέους θανάτουςεὕροντο δόμων ἐπὶ λύμῃ.
Ah, you brothers who were poised to cast over the walls of your home and looked—to your sorrow—for sole rule, now you have beenreconciled by the iron sword. The great Erinys of your father Oedipus has fulfilled it all truly.
Χορός:ἰὼ ἰὼ δωμάτωνἐρειψίτοιχοι καὶ πικρὰς μοναρχίαςἰδόντες, ἤδη διήλ-λαχθε σὺν σιδάρῳ.κάρτα δʼ ἀληθῆ πατρὸς Οἰδιπόδαπότνιʼ Ἐρινὺς ἐπέκρανεν.
Chorus:Pierced through your left sides, pierced indeed—through those sides that were born from one womb! Ah, strange ones! Ah, the curses that demand death for death!
Χορός:διʼ εὐωνύμων τετυμμένοι,τετυμμένοι δῆθʼ,ὁμοσπλάγχνων τε πλευρωμάτων…αἰαῖ δαιμόνιοι,αἰαῖ δʼ ἀντιφόνωνθανάτων ἀραί.
Right through, as you say, were they struck, with blows to house and body by an unspeakable wrath and by the doom, called down by their father’s curse, which they shared without discord.
διανταίαν λέγεις [πλαγὰν] δόμοισι καὶσώμασιν πεπλαγμένους, [ἐννέπω]ἀναυδάτῳ μένειἀραίῳ τʼ ἐκ πατρὸς⟨οὐ⟩ διχόφρονι πότμῳ.
Chorus:Groaning spreads throughout the city, too: the walls groan; the land that loves its sons groans. But for those who come after them there remains their property, on which account the strifeof those terrible-fated men came to fulfillment in death. In their haste to anger they apportioned their property so that each has an equal share. To those who loved them their reconciler is not blameless,nor is Ares agreeable.
Χορός:διήκει δὲ καὶ πόλιν στόνος,στένουσι πύργοι,στένει πέδον φίλανδρον· μένεικτέανα δʼ ἐπιγόνοις,διʼ ὧν αἰνομόροις,διʼ ὧν νεῖκος ἔβα[καὶ] θανάτου τέλος.ἐμοιράσαντο δʼ ὀξυκάρδιοικτήμαθʼ, ὥστʼ ἴσον λαχεῖν.διαλλακτῆρι δʼ οὐκἀμεμφεία φίλοις,οὐδʼ ἐπίχαρις Ἄρης.
Chorus:Under strokes of iron they are come to this, and under strokes of iron there await them—what, one might perhaps ask—shares in their father’s tomb.
Χορός:σιδαρόπλακτοι μὲν ὧδʼ ἔχουσιν,σιδαρόπλακτοι δὲ τοὺς μένουσι,τάχʼ ἄν τις εἴποι, τίνες;τάφων πατρῴων λαχαί.
Our shrill, heart-rending wail goes with them—product of lamentation and pain felt of its own accord—a wail from a distressed mind, joyless, pouring forth tears from a heartthat wastes away as I weep for these two princes.
ὅδʼ ἁμῶν μάλʼ ἀχέτας τοὺςπροπέμπει δαϊκτὴρ γόος αὐ-τόστονος, αὐτοπήμων,δαϊόφρων [δʼ·], οὐ φιλογαθής, ἐτύμωςδακρυχέων ἐκ φρενός, ἃκλαιομένας μου μινύθειτοῖνδε δυοῖν ἀνάκτοιν.
Chorus:Over these poor men it can be said that they did much to harm our citizens and also the ranks of all the foreignerswho died in abundance in the fighting. Ill-fated beyond all women who are called by the name of mother is she who bore them. After she made her own child her own husband,she gave birth to these sons, who have thus ended their lives with kindred hands giving death for death.
Χορός:πάρεστι δʼ εἰπεῖν ἐπʼ ἀθλίοισινὡς ἐρξάτην πολλὰ μὲν πολίτας,ξένων τε πάντων στίχαςπολυφθόρους ἐν δαΐ.δυσδαίμων σφιν ἁ τεκοῦσαπρὸ πασᾶν γυναικῶν ὁπόσαιτεκνογόνοι κέκληνται.παῖδα τὸν αὑτᾶς πόσιν αὑτᾷ θεμένατούσδʼ ἔτεχʼ, οἱ δʼ ὧδʼ ἐτελεύ-τασαν ὑπʼ ἀλλαλοφόνοιςχερσὶν ὁμοσπόροισιν.
Chorus:Of the same seed, in truth, they were utterly destroyed in unloving divisions,in maddened discord, in the ending of their strife. Their hatred has ceased. Their life has been mingled in the blood-soaked earth. Now truly their blood is one.
Χορός:ὁμόσποροι δῆτα καὶ πανώλεθροι,διατομαῖς οὐ φίλοις,ἔριδι μαινομένᾳ,νείκεος ἐν τελευτᾷ.πέπαυται δʼ ἔχθος, ἐν δὲ γαίᾳζόα φονορύτῳμέμεικται· κάρτα δʼ εἴσʼ ὅμαιμοι.
Ruthless is that which resolved their strife, the stranger from across the sea, sharpened iron rushed from the fire. Ruthless, too, was Ares, the cruel divider of their property, who made their father’s curses come true.
πικρὸς λυτὴρ νεικέων ὁ πόντιοςξεῖνος ἐκ πυρὸς συθεὶςθακτὸς σίδαρος· πικρὸς δὲ χρημάτωνκακὸς δατητὰς Ἄρης ἀρὰν πατρῴ-αν τιθεὶς ἀλαθῆ.
Chorus:They hold in misery their allotted portion of god-given sorrows. Beneath their corpses there will be boundless wealth of earth. Ah, you have wreathedyour race with many troubles! In the final outcome the Curses have raised their piercing cry, now that the family is turned to flight in all directions. A trophy to Ruin now stands at the gatewhere they struck each other and where, having conquered them both, the divine power stayed its hand.The following antiphonal dirge is sung by the two sisters—Antigone standing by the bier of Polynices, Ismene by that of Eteocles.
Χορός:ἔχουσι μοῖραν λαχόντες οἱ μέλεοιδιοδότων ἀχθέων·ὑπὸ δὲ σώματι γᾶςπλοῦτος ἄβυσσος ἔσται.ἰὼ πολλοῖς ἐπανθίσαντεςπόνοισι γενεάν·τελευταῖαι δʼ ἐπηλάλαξανἈραὶ τὸν ὀξὺν νόμον, τετραμμένουπαντρόπῳ φυγᾷ γένους.ἕστακε δʼ Ἄτας τροπαῖον ἐν πύλαις,ἐν αἷς ἐθείνοντο, καὶ δυοῖν κρατή-σας ἔληξε δαίμων.
Antigone:You were struck as you struck.
Ἀντιγόνη:παισθεὶς ἔπαισας.
Ismene:You died as you killed.
Ἰσμήνη:σὺ δʼ ἔθανες κατακτανών.
Antigone:By the spear you killed—
Ἀντιγόνη:δορὶ δʼ ἔκανες—
Ismene:By the spear you died—
Ἰσμήνη:δορὶ δʼ ἔθανες—
Antigone:Your deed made you wretched.
Ἀντιγόνη:μελεοπόνος.
Ismene:You suffering made you wretched.
Ἰσμήνη:μελεοπαθής.
Antigone:Let the lament come.
Ἀντιγόνη:ἴτω γόος.
Ismene:Let the tears come.
Ἰσμήνη:ἴτω δάκρυ.
Antigone:You are laid out for mourning—
Ἀντιγόνη:πρόκεισαι —
Ismene:Though you did the killing.
Ἰσμήνη:κατακτάς.
Antigone:Ah me!
Ἀντιγόνη:ἠέ.
Antigone:My heart is mad with wailing.
Ἀντιγόνη:μαίνεται γόοισι φρήν.
Ismene:My heart groans within me.
Ἰσμήνη:ἐντὸς δὲ καρδία στένει.
Antigone:Ah, the grief, brother all-lamentable.
Ἀντιγόνη:ἰὼ ἰὼ πάνδυρτε σύ.
Ismene:And you also, brother all-wretched.
Ἰσμήνη:σὺ δʼ αὖτε καὶ πανάθλιε.
Antigone:You perished at the hands of your nearest and dearest.
Ἀντιγόνη:πρὸς φίλου [γʼ·] ἔφθισο.
Ismene:And you killed your nearest and dearest.
Ἰσμήνη:καὶ φίλον ἔκτανες.
Antigone:Twofold to tell of—
Ἀντιγόνη:διπλᾶ λέγειν—
Ismene:Twofold to look upon—
Ἰσμήνη:διπλᾶ δʼ ὁρᾶν—
Antigone:Are these sorrows so close to those.
Ἀντιγόνη:ἄχθεα τῶνδε τάδʼ ἐγγύθεν.
Ismene:Fraternal sorrows stand close by fraternal sorrows.
Ἰσμήνη:πέλας ἀδελφέʼ ἀδελφεῶν.
Chorus:O Fate, giver of grievous troubles, and awful shade of Oedipus, black Erinys, you are indeed a mighty force.
Χορός:ἰὼ Μοῖρα βαρυδότειρα μογερά,πότνιά τʼ Οἰδίπου σκιά,μέλαινʼ Ἐρινύς, ἦ μεγασθενής τις εἶ.
Antigone:Ah, me
Ἀντιγόνη:ἠέ.
Antigone:Sorrows hard to behold—
Ἀντιγόνη:δυσθέατα πήματα —
Ismene:He showed me when he returned from exile.
Ἰσμήνη:ἔδειξεν ἐκ φυγᾶς ἐμοί.
Antigone:But he made no return after he had killed.
Ἀντιγόνη:οὐδʼ ἵκεθʼ ὡς κατέκτανεν.
Ismene:He was saved, but lost his life.
Ἰσμήνη:σωθεὶς δὲ πνεῦμʼ ἀπώλεσεν.
Antigone:He lost it, all too truly.
Ἀντιγόνη:ὤλεσε δῆτʼ ⟨ἄγαν⟩.
Ismene:And took this one’s life away.
Ἰσμήνη:καὶ τὸν ἐνόσφισεν.
Antigone:Wretched family!
Ἀντιγόνη:τάλαν γένος.
Ismene:Wretched suffering!
Ἰσμήνη:τάλαν πάθος.
Antigone:Kindred sorrows full of groans!
Ἀντιγόνη:δύστονα κήδεʼ ὁμαίμονα.
Ismene:Sorrows steeped in tripled griefs.
Ἰσμήνη:δίυγρα τριπάλτων πημάτων.
Chorus:O Fate, giver of grievous troubles, and awful shade of Oedipus, black Erinys, you are indeed a mighty force.
Χορός:ἰὼ Μοῖρα βαρυδότειρα μογερά,πότνιά τʼ Οἰδίπου σκιά,μέλαινʼ Ἐρινύς, ἦ μεγασθενής τις εἶ.
Antigone:Now you know of the Erinys by experience—
Ἀντιγόνη:σὺ τοί νιν οἶσθα διαπερῶν—
Ismene:And you are made aware no later—
Ἰσμήνη:σὺ δʼ οὐδὲν ὕστερος μαθών—
Antigone:When you came back to our city,
Ἀντιγόνη:ἐπεὶ κατῆλθες ἐς πόλιν,
Ismene:Yes, to face him with your spear.
Ἰσμήνη:δορός γε τῷδʼ ἀντηρέτας.
Antigone:A tale of destruction!
Ἀντιγόνη:ὀλοὰ λέγειν.
Ismene:Destruction to look upon!
Ἰσμήνη:ὀλοὰ δʼ ὁρᾶν.
Antigone:Oh, the grief—
Ἀντιγόνη:ἰὼ πόνος—
Ismene:Oh, the evils—
Ἰσμήνη:ἰὼ κακά—
Antigone:For home and land.
Ἀντιγόνη:δώμασι καὶ χθονί.
Ismene:Above all for me,
Ἰσμήνη:πρὸ πάντων δʼ ἐμοί.
Antigone:And more also for me.
Ἀντιγόνη:καὶ τὸ πρόσω γʼ ἐμοί.
Ismene:Ah I pity your grievous suffering, my king.
Ἰσμήνη:ἰὼ ἰὼ δυστόνων κακῶν, ἄναξ.
Antigone:Pity for you both, most lamentable of all men.
Ἀντιγόνη:ἰὼ πάντων πολυστονώτατοι.
Ismene:You were possessed by delusion.
Ἰσμήνη:ἰὼ ἰὼ δαιμονῶντες ἄτᾳ.
Antigone:Where shall we lay them in the earth?
Ἀντιγόνη:ἰὼ ἰώ, ποῦ σφε θήσομεν χθονός;
Ismene:Ah, where their honor is greatest.
Ἰσμήνη:ἰώ, ὅπου ⟨ʼσʼτι⟩ τιμιώτατον.
Antigone:To lie beside their father, a cause for him of sorrow.Enter a Herald.
Ἀντιγόνη:ἰὼ ἰώ, πῆμα πατρὶ πάρευνον.
Herald:It is my duty to announce the will and decrees of the council on behalf of the people of this our Cadmean city. It is decreed, first, that Eteocles here, on account of his goodwill towards the city, is to be buried in a kindly grave in its soil;
Κῆρυξ:δοκοῦντα καὶ δόξαντʼ ἀπαγγέλλειν με χρὴδήμου προβούλοις τῆσδε Καδμείας πόλεως·Ἐτεοκλέα μὲν τόνδʼ ἐπʼ εὐνοίᾳ χθονὸςθάπτειν ἔδοξε γῆς φίλαις κατασκαφαῖς·
for hating the enemy he chose death in the city and driven by piety towards his ancestral shrines, he died without reproach where it is an honor for the young to die. This is how I was commanded to speak regarding him. But as for his brother, it is decreed that this corpse of Polyneicesis to be cast out of the city unburied to be torn by dogs, since he would have been the destroyer of the land of the Cadmeans, if one of the gods had not used his brother’s spear to prevent him. Even in death he will retain the stain of his guilt against his fathers’ gods, whom he dishonoredwhen he launched a foreign army against the city to take it. For this reason it is decreed that he will receive his reward by being buried without honor beneath the winged birds; and that no labor of the hands shall attend him by building up a burial mound nor shall anyone offer him reverence in shrill-sung laments.He is to be refused the honor of being carried in funeral procession by his loved ones. Such is the decree of the Cadmean authorities.
στυγῶν γὰρ ἐχθροὺς θάνατον εἵλετʼ ἐν πόλειἱερῶν πατρῴων δʼ ὅσιος ὢν μομφῆς ἄτερτέθνηκεν οὗπερ τοῖς νέοις θνῄσκειν καλόν.οὕτω μὲν ἀμφὶ τοῦδʼ ἐπέσταλται λέγειν·τούτου δʼ ἀδελφὸν τόνδε Πολυνείκους νεκρὸνἔξω βαλεῖν ἄθαπτον, ἁρπαγὴν κυσίν,ὡς ὄντʼ ἀναστατῆρα Καδμείων χθονός,εἰ μὴ θεῶν τις ἐμποδὼν ἔστη δορὶτῷ τοῦδʼ·. ἄγος δὲ καὶ θανὼν κεκτήσεταιθεῶν πατρῴων, οὓς ἀτιμάσας ὅδεστράτευμʼ ἐπακτὸν ἐμβαλὼν ᾕρει πόλιν.οὕτω πετηνῶν τόνδʼ ὑπʼ οἰωνῶν δοκεῖταφέντʼ ἀτίμως τοὐπιτίμιον λαβεῖν,καὶ μήθʼ ὁμαρτεῖν τυμβοχόα χειρώματαμήτʼ ὀξυμόλποις προσσέβειν οἰμώγμασιν,ἄτιμον εἶναι δʼ ἐκφορᾶς φίλων ὕπο.τοιαῦτʼ ἔδοξε τῷδε Καδμείων τέλει.
Antigone:I at least will say something to the rulers of the Cadmeans: even if no one else is willing to share in burying him, I will bury him alone and risk the perilof burying my own brother. Nor am I ashamed to act in defiant opposition to the rulers of the city. A thing to be held in awe is the common womb from which we were born, of a wretched mother and unfortunate father. Therefore, my soul, willingly share his evils, even though they are unwilling,and live in kindred spirit with the dead. No hollow-bellied wolves will tear his flesh—let no one “decree” that! Even though I am a woman, I will myself find the means to give him burial and a grave,carrying the earth in the fold of my linen robe. With my own hands I will cover him over—let no one “decree” it otherwise. Take heart, I will have the means to do it.
Ἀντιγόνη:ἐγὼ δὲ Καδμείων γε προστάταις λέγω·ἢν μή τις ἄλλος τόνδε συνθάπτειν θέλῃ,ἐγώ σφε θάψω κἀνὰ κίνδυνον βαλῶθάψασʼ ἀδελφὸν τὸν ἐμόν, οὐδʼ αἰσχύνομαιἔχουσʼ ἄπιστον τήνδʼ ἀναρχίαν πόλει.δεινὸν τὸ κοινὸν σπλάγχνον, οὗ πεφύκαμεν,μητρὸς ταλαίνης κἀπὸ δυστήνου πατρός.τοιγὰρ θέλουσʼ ἄκοντι κοινώνει κακῶνψυχή, θανόντι ζῶσα συγγόνῳ φρενί.τούτου δὲ σάρκας οὐδὲ κοιλογάστορεςλύκοι σπάσονται· μὴ δοκησάτω τινί.τάφον γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ κατασκαφὰς ἐγώ,γυνή περ οὖσα, τῷδε μηχανήσομαι,κόλπῳ φέρουσα βυσσίνου πεπλώματος.καὐτὴ καλύψω, μηδέ τῳ δόξῃ πάλιν·θάρσει, παρέσται μηχανὴ δραστήριος.
Herald:I forbid you to act thus in violation of the city.
Κῆρυξ:αὐδῶ πόλιν σε μὴ βιάζεσθαι τάδε.
Antigone:I forbid you to make useless proclamations to me.
Ἀντιγόνη:αὐδῶ σὲ μὴ περισσὰ κηρύσσειν ἐμοί.
Herald:And yet a citizenry that has escaped evil can be harsh.
Κῆρυξ:τραχύς γε μέντοι δῆμος ἐκφυγὼν κακά.
Antigone:Let it be harsh! This man will not be unburied.
Ἀντιγόνη:τράχυνʼ· ἄθαπτος δʼ οὗτος οὐ γενήσεται.
Herald:What! Will you honor with burial a man whom the city detests?
Κῆρυξ:ἀλλʼ ὃν πόλις στυγεῖ, σὺ τιμήσεις τάφῳ,;
Antigone:For a long time now the gods have ceased to hold him in honor.
Ἀντιγόνη:ἤδη τὰ τοῦδε διατετίμηται θεοῖς.
Herald:No, he was honored until he put this land in jeopardy.
Κῆρυξ:οὔ, πρίν γε χώραν τήνδε κινδύνῳ βαλεῖν.
Antigone:He suffered evil and gave evil in return.
Ἀντιγόνη:παθὼν κακῶς κακοῖσιν ἀντημείβετο.
Herald:But this act was against all the citizens, not only one man.
Κῆρυξ:ἀλλʼ εἰς ἅπαντας ἀνθʼ ἑνὸς τόδʼ ἔργον ἦν.
Antigone:Discord is the last of the gods to close an argument. I will bury him. Put an end to your big talk.
Ἀντιγόνη:ἔρις περαίνει μῦθον ὑστάτη θεῶν.
Herald:Well then, follow your own rash plan, but I forbid it. Exit.
ἐγὼ δὲ θάψω τόνδε· μὴ μακρηγόρει.
Chorus:Ah, misery!O Erinyes, far-famed destroyers of families, goddesses of death who have thus laid ruin to the family of Oedipus, digging it up from the roots! What will happen to me? What should I do? What plan shall I devise? How can I have the heart neither to weep for younor escort you to your tomb? But I am afraid and turn away in terror of the citizens. You, at least, Eteocles, will have many mourners, while he, wretched man, departs without lamentationand has a dirge sung only by one sister. Now who could comply with that?
Κῆρυξ:ἀλλʼ αὐτόβουλος ἴσθʼ, ἀπεννέπω δʼ ἐγώ.Χορός:φεῦ φεῦ.ὦ μεγάλαυχοι καὶ φθερσιγενεῖςΚῆρες Ἐρινύες, αἵτʼ Οἰδιπόδαγένος ὠλέσατε πρυμνόθεν οὕτως,τί πάθω; τί δὲ δρῶ; τί δὲ μήσωμαι;πῶς τολμήσω μήτε σὲ κλαίεινμήτε προπέμπειν ἐπὶ τύμβον·ἀλλὰ φοβοῦμαι κἀποτρέπομαιδεῖμα πολιτῶν.σύ γε μὴν πολλῶν πενθητήρωντεύξει· κεῖνος δʼ ὁ τάλας ἄγοοςμονόκλαυτον ἔχων θρῆνον ἀδελφῆςεἶσιν· τίς ἂν οὖν τὰ πίθοιτο;
First Half-Chorus:Let the city take action or not take action against those who lament for Polynices. We, at all events, will go andbury him with her, following the funeral procession. For this grief is shared by all our race, and the city approves as just different things at different times.
Ἡμιχόριον Α:δράτω ⟨τι⟩ πόλις καὶ μὴ δράτωτοὺς κλαίοντας Πολυνείκη.ἡμεῖς μὲν ἴμεν καὶ συνθάψομεναἵδε προπομποί. καὶ γὰρ γενεᾷκοινὸν τόδʼ ἄχος, καὶ πόλις ἄλλωςἄλλοτʼ ἐπαινεῖ τὰ δίκαια.
Second Half-Chorus:We will go with this other corpse, as the city and justice, too, approves.
Ἡμιχόριον Β:ἡμεῖς δʼ ἅμα τῷδʼ, ὥσπερ τε πόλιςκαὶ τὸ δίκαιον ξυνεπαινεῖ.
For after the blessed gods and powerful Zeus, he it was who saved the city of the Cadmeans from being capsized and flooded by a wave of foreign men—he beyond all others. Exeunt omnes.
μετὰ γὰρ μάκαρας καὶ Διὸς ἰσχὺνὅδε Καδμείων ἤρυξε πόλινμὴ ʼνατραπῆναι μηδʼ ἀλλοδαπῷκύματι φωτῶνκατακλυσθῆναι τὰ μάλιστα.