On the borders of Argolis.Peasant:O ancient plain of land, the streams of Inachus, from which king Agamemnon once mounted war on a thousand ships and sailed to the land of Troy. After he had slain Priam, the ruler of Ilium,and captured the famous city of Dardanus, he came here to Argos and set up on the high temples many spoils of the barbarians. And in Troy he was successful; but at home he died by the guile of his wife Clytemnestraand the hand of Aegisthus, son of Thyestes. And he left behind the ancient scepter of Tantalus, and is dead; but Aegisthus rules the land, possessing Agamemnon’s wife, the daughter of Tyndareus. Now as for those whom he left in his house when he sailed to Troy,his son Orestes and his young daughter Electra: when Orestes was about to die at the hand of Aegisthus, his father’s old servant stole him away and gave him to Strophius to bring up in the land of the Phocians. Electra stayed in her father’s house,and when she came to the blooming season of youth, the foremost suitors of the land of Hellas asked for her in marriage. But Aegisthus feared she might bear to some chieftain a son who would avenge Agamemnon, and so he kept her at home and did not betroth her to any bridegroom.
Αὐτουργός:ὦ γῆς παλαιὸν ἄργος, Ἰνάχου ῥοαί,ὅθεν ποτʼ ἄρας ναυσὶ χιλίαις Ἄρηἐς γῆν ἔπλευσε Τρῳάδʼ Ἀγαμέμνων ἄναξ.κτείνας δὲ τὸν κρατοῦντʼ ἐν Ἰλιάδι χθονὶΠρίαμον, ἑλών τε Δαρδάνου κλεινὴν πόλιν,ἀφίκετʼ ἐς τόδʼ Ἄργος, ὑψηλῶν δʼ ἐπὶναῶν ἔθηκε σκῦλα πλεῖστα βαρβάρων.κἀκεῖ μὲν εὐτύχησεν· ἐν δὲ δώμασιθνῄσκει γυναικὸς πρὸς Κλυταιμήστρας δόλῳκαὶ τοῦ Θυέστου παιδὸς Αἰγίσθου χερί.χὣ μὲν παλαιὰ σκῆπτρα Ταντάλου λιπὼνὄλωλεν, Αἴγισθος δὲ βασιλεύει χθονός,ἄλοχον ἐκείνου Τυνδαρίδα κόρην ἔχων.οὓς δʼ ἐν δόμοισιν ἔλιφʼ ὅτʼ ἐς Τροίαν ἔπλει,ἄρσενά τʼ Ὀρέστην θῆλύ τʼ Ἠλέκτρας θάλος,τὸν μὲν πατρὸς γεραιὸς ἐκκλέπτει τροφεὺςμέλλοντʼ Ὀρέστην χερὸς ὑπʼ Αἰγίσθου θανεῖνΣτροφίῳ τʼ ἔδωκε Φωκέων ἐς γῆν τρέφειν·ἣ δʼ ἐν δόμοις ἔμεινεν Ἠλέκτρα πατρός,ταύτην ἐπειδὴ θαλερὸς εἶχʼ ἥβης χρόνος,μνηστῆρες ᾔτουν Ἑλλάδος πρῶτοι χθονός.δείσας δὲ μή τῳ παῖδʼ ἀριστέων τέκοιἈγαμέμνονος ποινάτορʼ, εἶχεν ἐν δόμοιςΑἴγισθος οὐδʼ ἥρμοζε νυμφίῳ τινί.
When even this filled him with great fear, that she might secretly bear children to some noble lord, Aegisthus planned to kill her, but her mother, although cruel at heart, rescued her from his hand. For she had a pretext for having slain her husband,but she feared that she would be despised for the murder of her children. So then, for these reasons, Aegisthus devised such a scheme: he promised gold to anyone who should kill Agamemnon’s son, who had left the country as an exile, while Electra he gavein marriage to me. My ancestors were Mycenaeans; in that respect at least I am not to blame. My family was noble in race but poor in money—which is the ruin of good birth. He gave her to a powerless man so that his fear might lose its power.
ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τοῦτʼ ἦν φόβου πολλοῦ πλέων,μή τῳ λαθραίως τέκνα γενναίῳ τέκοι,κτανεῖν σφε βουλεύσαντος, ὠμόφρων ὅμωςμήτηρ νιν ἐξέσῳσεν Αἰγίσθου χερός.ἐς μὲν γὰρ ἄνδρα σκῆψιν εἶχʼ ὀλωλότα,παίδων δʼ ἔδεισε μὴ φθονηθείη φόνῳ.ἐκ τῶνδε δὴ τοιόνδʼ ἐμηχανήσατοΑἴγισθος· ὃς μὲν γῆς ἀπηλλάχθη φυγὰςἈγαμέμνονος παῖς, χρυσὸν εἶφʼ ὃς ἂν κτάνῃ,ἡμῖν δὲ δὴ δίδωσιν Ἠλέκτραν ἔχεινδάμαρτα, πατέρων μὲν Μυκηναίων ἄπογεγῶσιν — οὐ δὴ τοῦτό γʼ ἐξελέγχομαι·λαμπροὶ γὰρ ἐς γένος γε, χρημάτων δὲ δὴπένητες, ἔνθεν ηὑγένειʼ ἀπόλλυται —ὡς ἀσθενεῖ δοὺς ἀσθενῆ λάβοι φόβον.
For if some man of high position got her, he would have roused the sleeping blood of Agamemnon and judgment would have come at some time to Aegisthus. But I have never (Cypris knows this too) dishonored her in bed; she is still a virgin indeed.
εἰ γάρ νιν ἔσχεν ἀξίωμʼ ἔχων ἀνήρ,εὕδοντʼ ἂν ἐξήγειρε τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονοςφόνον δίκη τʼ ἂν ἦλθεν Αἰγίσθῳ τότε.ἣν οὔποθʼ ἁνὴρ ὅδε — σύνοιδέ μοι Κύπρις —ᾔσχυνεν εὐνῇ· παρθένος δʼ ἔτʼ ἐστὶ δή.
I am ashamed to have the daughter of a wealthy man and violate her, when I was not born of equal rank. And I groan for the wretched Orestes, called my kinsman, if he shall ever return to Argos and see the unfortunate marriage of his sister.
αἰσχύνομαι γὰρ ὀλβίων ἀνδρῶν τέκναλαβὼν ὑβρίζειν, οὐ κατάξιος γεγώς.στένω δὲ τὸν λόγοισι κηδεύοντʼ ἐμοὶἄθλιον Ὀρέστην, εἴ ποτʼ εἰς Ἄργος μολὼνγάμους ἀδελφῆς δυστυχεῖς ἐσόψεται.
And whoever says I am a fool if I do not touch a young girl when I have her in my house, let him know that he measures soundness of mind by worthless standards of judgment, and he himself is a fool.
ὅστις δέ μʼ εἶναί φησι μῶρον, εἰ λαβὼννέαν ἐς οἴκους παρθένον μὴ θιγγάνω,γνώμης πονηροῖς κανόσιν ἀναμετρούμενοςτὸ σῶφρον ἴστω καὐτὸς αὖ τοιοῦτος ὤν.
Electra:O black night, nurse of the golden stars,in which I go to the river’s streams, bearing this pitcher resting on my head—not because I have come to such a point of necessity, but so that I may show to the gods Aegisthus’ insolence—and send forth laments into the wide sky, to my father.
Ἠλέκτρα:ὦ νὺξ μέλαινα, χρυσέων ἄστρων τροφέ,ἐν ᾗ τόδʼ ἄγγος τῷδʼ ἐφεδρεῦον κάρᾳφέρουσα πηγὰς ποταμίας μετέρχομαι —οὐ δή τι χρείας ἐς τοσόνδʼ ἀφιγμένη,ἀλλʼ ὡς ὕβριν δείξωμεν Αἰγίσθου θεοῖς —γόους τʼ ἀφίημʼ αἰθέρʼ ἐς μέγαν πατρί.
For the deadly daughter of Tyndareus, my mother, has cast me out of the house to please her husband; since she has borne other children in her union with Aegisthus, she considers Orestes and me secondary in the home.Peasant:Why, unhappy one, do you do this work, laboring for my sake,though you were well brought up before, and do not stop, even when I tell you this?
ἡ γὰρ πανώλης Τυνδαρίς, μήτηρ ἐμή,ἐξέβαλέ μʼ οἴκων, χάριτα τιθεμένη πόσει·τεκοῦσα δʼ ἄλλους παῖδας Αἰγίσθῳ πάραπάρεργʼ Ὀρέστην κἀμὲ ποιεῖται δόμων —Αὐτουργός:τί γὰρ τάδʼ, ὦ δύστηνʼ, ἐμὴν μοχθεῖς χάρινπόνους ἔχουσα, πρόσθεν εὖ τεθραμμένη,καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐμοῦ λέγοντος οὐκ ἀφίστασαι;
Electra:I hold you equal to the gods in kindness, for in my distress you have not insulted me. It is a great allotment for mortalsto find a healer for ill fortune, such as I have in you. And so, even though unbidden, I ought to share your labors, relieving you of work as far as I have strength, so that you may bear it more easily. You have enough to do outside; I must keep the housein order. It is pleasant for the worker coming in from outside to find things within right.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἐγώ σʼ ἴσον θεοῖσιν ἡγοῦμαι φίλον·ἐν τοῖς ἐμοῖς γὰρ οὐκ ἐνύβρισας κακοῖς.μεγάλη δὲ θνητοῖς μοῖρα συμφορᾶς κακῆςἰατρὸν εὑρεῖν, ὡς ἐγὼ σὲ λαμβάνω.δεῖ δή με κἀκέλευστον εἰς ὅσον σθένωμόχθου ʼπικουφίζουσαν, ὡς ῥᾷον φέρῃς,συνεκκομίζειν σοι πόνους. ἅλις δʼ ἔχειςτἄξωθεν ἔργα· τἀν δόμοις δʼ ἡμᾶς χρεὼνἐξευτρεπίζειν. εἰσιόντι δʼ ἐργάτῃθύραθεν ἡδὺ τἄνδον εὑρίσκειν καλῶς.
Peasant:Go, then, if you wish; and in fact the springs are not far from my house. When it is day, I will drive the oxen to my lands and sow the fields.
Αὐτουργός:εἴ τοι δοκεῖ σοι, στεῖχε· καὶ γὰρ οὐ πρόσωπηγαὶ μελάθρων τῶνδʼ. ἐγὼ δʼ ἅμʼ ἡμέρᾳβοῦς εἰς ἀρούρας ἐσβαλὼν σπερῶ γύας.
For no idler, though he has the gods’ names always on his lips, can gather a livelihood without hard work. Exeunt Peasant and Electra. Enter Orestes and Pylades.
ἀργὸς γὰρ οὐδεὶς θεοὺς ἔχων ἀνὰ στόμαβίον δύναιτʼ ἂν ξυλλέγειν ἄνευ πόνου.
Orestes:Pylades, I hold you first among men as a kind and trusted friend to me. You alone of my friends have honored me, Orestes,being as I am in dreadful suffering from Aegisthus, who killed my father, he and my most deadly mother. I have come from the mystic shrine of the god to Argive land, and no one knows it, to repay my father’s murderers with murder.
Ὀρέστης:Πυλάδη, σὲ γὰρ δὴ πρῶτον ἀνθρώπων ἐγὼπιστὸν νομίζω καὶ φίλον ξένον τʼ ἐμοί·μόνος δʼ Ὀρέστην τόνδʼ ἐθαύμαζες φίλων,πράσσονθʼ ἃ πράσσω δείνʼ ὑπʼ Αἰγίσθου παθών,ὅς μου κατέκτα πατέρα — χἡ πανώλεθροςμήτηρ. ἀφῖγμαι δʼ ἐκ θεοῦ μυστηρίωνἈργεῖον οὖδας οὐδενὸς ξυνειδότος,φόνον φονεῦσι πατρὸς ἀλλάξων ἐμοῦ.
During this past night, going to my father’s tomb, I wept and cut off a lock of my hair as an offering and sacrificed over the altar the blood of a slaughtered sheep, unnoticed by the tyrants who rule this land. And now I do not set foot within the walls,but I have come to the borders of this land combining two desires: I may escape to another country if anyone on the watch should recognize me; and, looking for my sister (for they say that she lives here, joined in marriage, and is no longer a virgin),I may meet with her and, having her as an accomplice for murder, I may learn clearly what is happening within the walls. And now, since dawn is lifting up her bright eye, let us step aside from this path. For either some plowman or serving maidwill come in our sight, from whom we may ask if my sister lives in this place. But now that I see this maidservant, bearing a weight of water on her shorn head, let us sit down, and inquireof this slave girl, if we may receive some word about the matter, Pylades, for which we have come to this land. They retire a little.
νυκτὸς δὲ τῆσδε πρὸς τάφον μολὼν πατρὸςδάκρυά τʼ ἔδωκα καὶ κόμης ἀπηρξάμηνπυρᾷ τʼ ἐπέσφαξʼ αἷμα μηλείου φόνου,λαθὼν τυράννους οἳ κρατοῦσι τῆσδε γῆς.καὶ τειχέων μὲν ἐντὸς οὐ βαίνω πόδα,δυοῖν δʼ ἅμιλλαν ξυντιθεὶς ἀφικόμηνπρὸς τέρμονας γῆς τῆσδʼ, ἵνʼ ἐκβάλω ποδὶἄλλην ἐπʼ αἶαν, εἴ μέ τις γνοίη σκοπῶν,ζητῶν τʼ ἀδελφήν· φασὶ γάρ νιν ἐν γάμοιςζευχθεῖσαν οἰκεῖν οὐδὲ παρθένον μένειν·ὡς συγγένωμαι καὶ φόνου ξυνεργάτινλαβὼν τά γʼ εἴσω τειχέων σαφῶς μάθω.νῦν οὖν — ἕως γὰρ λευκὸν ὄμμʼ ἀναίρεται —ἔξω τρίβου τοῦδʼ ἴχνος ἀλλαξώμεθα.ἢ γάρ τις ἀροτὴρ ἤ τις οἰκέτις γυνὴφανήσεται νῷν, ἥντινʼ ἱστορήσομενεἰ τούσδε ναίει σύγγονος τόπους ἐμή.ἀλλʼ — εἰσορῶ γὰρ τήνδε προσπόλον τινά,πηγαῖον ἄχθος ἐν κεκαρμένῳ κάρᾳφέρουσαν — ἑζώμεσθα κἀκπυθώμεθαδούλης γυναικός, ἤν τι δεξώμεσθʼ ἔποςἐφʼ οἷσι, Πυλάδη, τήνδʼ ἀφίγμεθα χθόνα.
Electra:Hasten your step, it is time; go onward, onward, weeping! Ah me!
Ἠλέκτρα:σύντεινʼ — ὥρα — ποδὸς ὁρμάν· ὤ,ἔμβα, ἔμβα κατακλαίουσα·ἰώ μοί μοι.
I am Agamemnon’s child, and Clytemnestra, hated daughter of Tyndareus, bore me; the citizens call me unhappy Electra.
ἐγενόμαν Ἀγαμέμνονοςκαί μʼ ἔτεκεν Κλυταιμήστραστυγνὰ Τυνδάρεω κόρα,κικλήσκουσι δέ μʼ ἀθλίανἨλέκτραν πολιῆται.
Alas for my cruel pain and hateful life! O father, Agamemnon, you lie in Hades, by the butchery of your wife and Aegisthus.
φεῦ φεῦ σχετλίων πόνωνκαὶ στυγερᾶς ζόας.ὦ πάτερ, σὺ δʼ ἐν Ἀΐδακεῖσαι, σᾶς ἀλόχου σφαγαῖςΑἰγίσθου τʼ, Ἀγάμεμνον.
Electra:Come, waken the same lament, take up the enjoyment of long weeping.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἴθι τὸν αὐτὸν ἔγειρε γόον,ἄναγε πολύδακρυν ἁδονάν.
Electra:Hasten your step, it is time; go onward, onward, weeping. Ah me!
Ἠλέκτρα:σύντεινʼ — ὥρα — ποδὸς ὁρμάν· ὤ,ἔμβα, ἔμβα, κατακλαίουσα·ἰώ μοί μοι.
In what city and what household do you wander about, my wretched brother, leaving your pitiable sister in our ancestral home, to great pain?
τίνα πόλιν, τίνα δʼ οἶκον, ὦτλᾶμον σύγγονʼ, ἀλατεύειςοἰκτρὰν ἐν θαλάμοις λιπὼνπατρῴοις ἐπὶ συμφοραῖςἀλγίσταισιν ἀδελφάν;
Come to me, the unhappy one, as a deliverer from this pain, oh Zeus, Zeus, and as a defender for my father against his most hateful bloodshed; bring the wanderer to shore in Argos.
ἔλθοις τῶνδε πόνων ἐμοὶτᾷ μελέᾳ λυτήρ,ὦ Ζεῦ Ζεῦ, πατρί θʼ αἱμάτωνἐχθίστων ἐπίκουρος, Ἄρ-γει κέλσας πόδʼ ἀλάταν.
Electra:Take this pitcher from my head and put it down, so that I may cry aloud the night-time laments for my father. A wail, a song of death, of death, for you, father, under the earth, I speak the lamentsin which I am always engaged, day by day, tearing my skin with my nails, and striking my cropped head with my hand, for your death.
Ἠλέκτρα:θὲς τόδε τεῦχος ἐμῆς ἀπὸ κρατὸς ἑ-λοῦσʼ, ἵνα πατρὶ γόους νυχίουςἐπορθροβοάσω,ἰαχάν, Ἀΐδα μέλος,Ἀΐδα, πάτερ, σοικατὰ γᾶς ἐνέπω γόουςοἷς ἀεὶ τὸ κατʼ ἦμαρδιέπομαι, κατὰ μὲν φίλανὄνυχι τεμνομένα δέρανχέρα τε κρᾶτʼ ἐπὶ κούριμοντιθεμένα θανάτῳ σῷ.
Electra:Oh, oh, tear my face; as a clear-sounding swan beside the river’s streams calls to its dearest father, dying in the crafty snares of thenet, so I lament you, my unhappy father,
Ἠλέκτρα:αἶ αἶ, δρύπτε κάρα·οἷα δέ τις κύκνος ἀχέταςποταμίοις παρὰ χεύμασινπατέρα φίλτατον καλεῖ,ὀλόμενον δολίοις βρόχωνἕρκεσιν, ὣς σὲ τὸν ἄθλιον,πάτερ, ἐγὼ κατακλαίομαι,
Electra:washed by the very last bath, in the most piteous bed of death. Oh, me,your bitter cleaving by the axe, father, the bitter plans of the way from Troy! Your wife welcomed you with no victor’s garlands or crowns, but with a two-edged sword,making you the mournful victim of Aigisthus, she got a treacherous bed-fellow.
Ἠλέκτρα:λουτρὰ πανύσταθʼ ὑδρανάμενον χροῒκοίτᾳ ἐν οἰκτροτάτᾳ θανάτου.ἰώ μοι, ⟨ἰώ⟩ μοιπικρᾶς μὲν πελέκεως τομᾶςσᾶς, πάτερ, πικρᾶς δʼ ἐκΤροΐας ὁδίου βουλᾶς·οὐ μίτραισι γυνή σεδέξατʼ οὐδʼ ἐπὶ στεφάνοις,ξίφεσι δʼ ἀμφιτόμοις λυγρὰνΑἰγίσθου λώβαν θεμέναδόλιον ἔσχεν ἀκοίταν.
Chorus:O Electra, daughter of Agamemnon, I have come to your rustic courtyard. A milk-drinker from Mycenae has come, he has come,a mountain walker; he reports that the Argives are proclaiming a sacrifice for the third day from now, and that all maidens are to go to Hera’s temple.
Χορός:Ἀγαμέμνονος ὦ κόρα,ἤλυθον, Ἠλέκτρα, ποτὶσὰν ἀγρότειραν αὐλάν.ἔμολέ τις ἔμολεν γαλακτοπότας ἀνὴρΜυκηναῖος ὀρειβάτας·ἀγγέλλει δʼ ὅτι νῦν τριταί-αν καρύσσουσιν θυσίανἈργεῖοι, πᾶσαι δὲ παρʼ Ἥ-ραν μέλλουσιν παρθενικαὶ στείχειν.
Electra:My unhappy heart beats fast, friends, but not at adornment or gold; nor will I set up choruses with the maidens of Argosand beat my foot in the mazes of the dance. By tears I pass the night; tears are my unhappy care day by day. See if my filthy hair,and the rags of my dress, will be fit for a princess, a daughter of Agamemnon, or for Troy, once taken, which remembers my father.
Ἠλέκτρα:οὐκ ἐπʼ ἀγλαΐαις, φίλαι,θυμὸν οὐδʼ ἐπὶ χρυσέοιςὅρμοις ἐκπεπόταμαιτάλαινʼ, οὐδʼ ἱστᾶσα χοροὺςἈργείαις ἅμα νύμφαιςεἱλικτὸν κρούσω πόδʼ ἐμόν.δάκρυσι νυχεύ-ω, δακρύων δέ μοι μέλειδειλαίᾳ τὸ κατʼ ἦμαρ.σκέψαι μου πιναρὰν κόμανκαὶ τρύχη τάδʼ ἐμῶν πέπλων,εἰ πρέποντʼ Ἀγαμέμνονοςκούρᾳ ʼσται βασιλείᾳτᾷ Τροίᾳ θʼ, ἃ ʼμοῦ πατέροςμέμναταί ποθʼ ἁλοῦσα.
Chorus:Mighty is the goddess; come then, and borrow from me thick-woven clothes to wear, and gold—as a favor to me—accessories to adornment. Do you think to rule over your enemies by tears, if you do not revere the gods?Honoring the gods not by lamentation but by prayers, you will have good fortune, child.
Χορός:μεγάλα θεός· ἀλλʼ ἴθι,καὶ παρʼ ἐμοῦ χρῆσαι πολύ-πηνα φάρεα δῦναι,χρύσεά τε — χαρίσαι — προσθήματʼ ἀγλαΐας.δοκεῖς τοῖσι σοῖς δακρύοιςμὴ τιμῶσα θεούς, κρατή-σειν ἐχθρῶν; οὔτοι στοναχαῖς,ἀλλʼ εὐχαῖσι θεοὺς σεβί-ζουσʼ ἕξεις εὐαμερίαν, ὦ παῖ.
Electra:No god attends to the voice of the ill-fated one,or to the slaying of my father long ago. Alas for the dead, and for the living vagabond, who dwells in another land somewhere,miserably wandering to a slave’s hearth, yet born of that renowned father. I myself live in a poor man’s house, wasting my life away, an exile from my father’s house,on the mountain crags. But my mother, with a new husband, makes her home in a bed stained by blood.
Ἠλέκτρα:οὐδεὶς θεῶν ἐνοπᾶς κλύειτᾶς δυσδαίμονος, οὐ παλαι-ῶν πατρὸς σφαγιασμῶν.οἴμοι τοῦ καταφθιμένουτοῦ τε ζῶντος ἀλάτα,ὅς που γᾶν ἄλλαν κατέχει,μέλεος ἀλαί-νων ποτὶ θῆσσαν ἑστίαν,τοῦ κλεινοῦ πατρὸς ἐκφύς.αὐτὰ δʼ ἐν χερνῆσι δόμοιςναίω ψυχὰν τακομέναδωμάτων πατρίων φυγάς,οὐρείας ἀνʼ ἐρίπνας.μάτηρ δʼ ἐν λέκτροις φονίοιςἄλλῳ σύγγαμος οἰκεῖ.
Chorus Leader:Helen, your mother’s sister, is the cause of many evils to the Hellenes and to your house.
Χορός:πολλῶν κακῶν Ἕλλησιν αἰτίαν ἔχεισῆς μητρὸς Ἑλένη σύγγονος δόμοις τε σοῖς.
Electra: Catching sight of Orestes and PyladesAh! Women, I have broken off my lament; strangers, who had their lair at the altar, are rising from ambush towards the household. Let us escape the villains by flight, you along the path and I to the house.
Ἠλέκτρα:οἴμοι, γυναῖκες, ἐξέβην θρηνημάτων.ξένοι τινὲς παρʼ οἶκον οἵδʼ ἐφεστίουςεὐνὰς ἔχοντες ἐξανίστανται λόχου·φυγῇ σὺ μὲν κατʼ οἶμον, ἐς δόμους δʼ ἐγὼφῶτας κακούργους ἐξαλύξωμεν ποδί.
Orestes:Stay, poor girl; do not fear my hand.
Ὀρέστης:μένʼ, ὦ τάλαινα· μὴ τρέσῃς ἐμὴν χέρα.
Electra:O Phoebus Apollo! I beseech you to spare my life.
Ἠλέκτρα:ὦ Φοῖβʼ Ἄπολλον· προσπίτνω σε μὴ θανεῖν.
Orestes:May I kill others more hated than you!
Ὀρέστης:ἄλλους κτάνοιμι μᾶλλον ἐχθίους σέθεν.
Electra:Go away! Do not touch one whom you must not touch.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἄπελθε, μὴ ψαῦʼ ὧν σε μὴ ψαύειν χρεών.
Orestes:There is no one I have a better right to touch.
Ὀρέστης:οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅτου θίγοιμʼ ἂν ἐνδικώτερον.
Electra:Then why are you in ambush, with drawn sword, near my house?
Ἠλέκτρα:καὶ πῶς ξιφήρης πρὸς δόμοις λοχᾷς ἐμοῖς;
Orestes:Wait and hear, and you will soon say the same.
Ὀρέστης:μείνασʼ ἄκουσον, καὶ τάχʼ οὐκ ἄλλως ἐρεῖς.
Electra:I am still; in any case, I am yours, since you are the stronger.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἕστηκα· πάντως δʼ εἰμὶ σή· κρείσσων γὰρ εἶ.
Orestes:I have come to bring you word from your brother.
Ὀρέστης:ἥκω φέρων σοι σοῦ κασιγνήτου λόγους.
Electra:Oh best of friends! Is he alive or dead?
Ἠλέκτρα:ὦ φίλτατʼ, ἆρα ζῶντος ἢ τεθνηκότος;
Orestes:Alive; for I want to tell you the good news first.
Ὀρέστης:ζῇ· πρῶτα γάρ σοι τἀγάθʼ ἀγγέλλειν θέλω.
Electra:May you be happy, as a reward for your most welcome tidings.
Ἠλέκτρα:εὐδαιμονοίης, μισθὸν ἡδίστων λόγων.
Orestes:I give that blessing for us two to have in common.
Ὀρέστης:κοινῇ δίδωμι τοῦτο νῷν ἀμφοῖν ἔχειν.
Electra:Where does the unhappy one live, in his unhappy exile?
Ἠλέκτρα:ποῦ γῆς ὁ τλήμων τλήμονας φυγὰς ἔχων;
Orestes:He goes miserably about, not following the customs of any one city.
Ὀρέστης:οὐχ ἕνα νομίζων φθείρεται πόλεως νόμον.
Electra:Surely he does not want for a living, day by day?
Ἠλέκτρα:οὔ που σπανίζων τοῦ καθʼ ἡμέραν βίου;
Orestes:He has that, but an exile is a helpless man at best.
Ὀρέστης:ἔχει μέν, ἀσθενὴς δὲ δὴ φεύγων ἀνήρ.
Electra:What is this message you have come bringing from him?
Ἠλέκτρα:λόγον δὲ δὴ τίνʼ ἦλθες ἐκ κείνου φέρων;
Orestes:If you are alive, and if so, how you are.
Ὀρέστης:εἰ ζῇς, ὅπως τε ζῶσα συμφορᾶς ἔχεις.
Electra:Well then, you see first of all how withered my body is.
Ἠλέκτρα:οὐκοῦν ὁρᾷς μου πρῶτον ὡς ξηρὸν δέμας.
Orestes:Yes, so wasted with sorrow that I sigh for it.
Ὀρέστης:λύπαις γε συντετηκός, ὥστε με στένειν.
Electra:And my head and hair, close shaven as if by a Scythian’s razor.
Ἠλέκτρα:καὶ κρᾶτα πλόκαμόν τʼ ἐσκυθισμένον ξυρῷ.
Orestes:Your brother and your dead father perhaps gnaw at your heart.
Ὀρέστης:δάκνει σʼ ἀδελφὸς ὅ τε θανὼν ἴσως πατήρ.
Electra:Alas! For what is dearer to me than they?
Ἠλέκτρα:οἴμοι, τί γάρ μοι τῶνδέ γʼ ἐστὶ φίλτερον;
Orestes:Ah! What are you to your brother, do you think?
Ὀρέστης:φεῦ φεῦ· τί δαὶ σὺ σῷ κασιγνήτῳ, δοκεῖς;
Electra:He is far away, not here to be my friend.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἀπὼν ἐκεῖνος, οὐ παρὼν ἡμῖν φίλος.
Orestes:Why are you living here, far from the city?
Ὀρέστης:ἐκ τοῦ δὲ ναίεις ἐνθάδʼ ἄστεως ἑκάς;
Electra:I am married, stranger; a deadly match.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἐγημάμεσθʼ, ὦ ξεῖνε, θανάσιμον γάμον.
Orestes:I pity your brother. Is your husband a Mycenaean?
Ὀρέστης:ᾤμωξʼ ἀδελφὸν σόν. Μυκηναίων τίνι;
Electra:Not one to whom my father ever hoped to give me.
Ἠλέκτρα:οὐχ ᾧ πατήρ μʼ ἤλπιζεν ἐκδώσειν ποτέ.
Orestes:Tell me so that I may hear and inform your brother.
Ὀρέστης:εἴφʼ, ὡς ἀκούσας σῷ κασιγνήτῳ λέγω.
Electra:I live in his house, at a distance from the city.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἐν τοῖσδʼ ἐκείνου τηλορὸς ναίω δόμοις.
Orestes:A ditch-digger or a herdsman is worthy of the house.
Ὀρέστης:σκαφεύς τις ἢ βουφορβὸς ἄξιος δόμων.
Electra:He is a man poor but noble, and respectful to me.
Ἠλέκτρα:πένης ἀνὴρ γενναῖος ἔς τʼ ἔμʼ εὐσεβής.
Orestes:What is this respect that your husband has?
Ὀρέστης:ἡ δʼ εὐσέβεια τίς πρόσεστι σῷ πόσει;
Electra:He has never dared to touch me in bed.
Ἠλέκτρα:οὐπώποτʼ εὐνῆς τῆς ἐμῆς ἔτλη θιγεῖν.
Orestes:Does he hold some form of religious chastity, or does he think you unworthy?
Ὀρέστης:ἅγνευμʼ ἔχων τι θεῖον ἤ σʼ ἀπαξιῶν;
Electra:He did not think himself worthy to insult my family.
Ἠλέκτρα:γονέας ὑβρίζειν τοὺς ἐμοὺς οὐκ ἠξίου.
Orestes:And how was he not delighted to make such a marriage?
Ὀρέστης:καὶ πῶς γάμον τοιοῦτον οὐχ ἥσθη λαβών;
Electra:He thinks the person who gave me did not have that right, stranger.
Ἠλέκτρα:οὐ κύριον τὸν δόντα μʼ ἡγεῖται, ξένε.
Orestes:I understand; he fears that he may someday be punished by Orestes.
Ὀρέστης:ξυνῆκʼ· Ὀρέστῃ μή ποτʼ ἐκτείσῃ δίκην.
Electra:He does fear that, but he is also a virtuous man.
Ἠλέκτρα:τοῦτʼ αὐτὸ ταρβῶν, πρὸς δὲ καὶ σώφρων ἔφυ.
Orestes:Ah! You have described a noble man, and he must be treated well.
Ὀρέστης:φεῦ·γενναῖον ἄνδρʼ ἔλεξας, εὖ τε δραστέον.
Electra:Yes, if ever the one now absent comes home.
Ἠλέκτρα:εἰ δή ποθʼ ἥξει γʼ ἐς δόμους ὁ νῦν ἀπών.
Orestes:But did your mother, who gave you birth, endure this?
Ὀρέστης:μήτηρ δέ σʼ ἡ τεκοῦσα ταῦτʼ ἠνέσχετο;
Electra:Women love their husbands, stranger, not their children.
Ἠλέκτρα:γυναῖκες ἀνδρῶν, ὦ ξένʼ, οὐ παίδων φίλαι.
Orestes:Why did Aegisthus insult you in this way?
Ὀρέστης:τίνος δέ σʼ οὕνεχʼ ὕβρισʼ Αἴγισθος τάδε;
Electra:He planned for me to bear powerless children, when he gave me to such a man.
Ἠλέκτρα:τεκεῖν μʼ ἐβούλετʼ ἀσθενῆ, τοιῷδε δούς.
Orestes:So that you might not bear sons to punish him, of course?
Ὀρέστης:ὡς δῆθε παῖδας μὴ τέκοις ποινάτορας;
Electra:That was his plan; may he make amends to me for it!
Ἠλέκτρα:τοιαῦτʼ ἐβούλευσʼ· ὧν ἐμοὶ δοίη δίκην.
Orestes:Does your mother’s husband know that you are a virgin?
Ὀρέστης:οἶδεν δέ σʼ οὖσαν παρθένον μητρὸς πόσις;
Electra:He does not know; we steal that from him by our silence.
Ἠλέκτρα:οὐκ οἶδε· σιγῇ τοῦθʼ ὑφαιρούμεσθά νιν.
Orestes:Are these women who hear our talk friends of yours?
Ὀρέστης:αἵδʼ οὖν φίλαι σοι τούσδʼ ἀκούουσιν λόγους;
Electra:They will keep both your words and mine well hidden.
Ἠλέκτρα:ὥστε στέγειν γε τἀμὰ καὶ σʼ ἔπη καλῶς.
Orestes:What then could Orestes do in this matter if he comes to Argos?
Ὀρέστης:τί δῆτʼ Ὀρέστης πρὸς τόδʼ, Ἄργος ἢν μόλῃ;
Electra:Do you ask this? You have said a shameful word; isn’t it the critical time now?
Ἠλέκτρα:ἤρου τόδʼ; αἰσχρόν γʼ εἶπας· οὐ γὰρ νῦν ἀκμή;
Orestes:But if he does come, how might he kill his father’s murderers?
Ὀρέστης:ἐλθὼν δὲ δὴ πῶς φονέας ἂν κτάνοι πατρός;
Electra:By daring such things as his enemies dared against my father.
Ἠλέκτρα:τολμῶν ὑπʼ ἐχθρῶν οἷʼ ἐτολμήθη πατήρ.
Orestes:And would you dare, with him, to kill your mother?
Ὀρέστης:ἦ καὶ μετʼ αὐτοῦ μητέρʼ ἂν τλαίης κτανεῖν;
Electra:Yes, with that same axe by which my father died.
Ἠλέκτρα:ταὐτῷ γε πελέκει τῷ πατὴρ ἀπώλετο.
Orestes:Am I to tell him this, and that your purpose is steadfast?
Ὀρέστης:λέγω τάδʼ αὐτῷ, καὶ βέβαια τἀπὸ σοῦ;
Electra:Once I had shed my mother’s blood, I might die!
Ἠλέκτρα:θάνοιμι μητρὸς αἷμʼ ἐπισφάξασʼ ἐμῆς.
Orestes:Ah! Would that Orestes were near by, to hear that!
Ὀρέστης:φεῦ·εἴθʼ ἦν Ὀρέστης πλησίον κλύων τάδε.
Electra:But, stranger, I would not know him if I saw him.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἀλλʼ, ὦ ξένʼ, οὐ γνοίην ἂν εἰσιδοῦσά νιν.
Orestes:No wonder, for you were both young when you were parted.
Ὀρέστης:νέα γάρ, οὐδὲν θαῦμʼ, ἀπεζεύχθης νέου.
Electra:There is only one of my friends who would recognize him.
Ἠλέκτρα:εἷς ἂν μόνος νιν τῶν ἐμῶν γνοίη φίλων.
Orestes:The man who is said to have stolen him away from murder?
Ὀρέστης:ἆρʼ ὃν λέγουσιν αὐτὸν ἐκκλέψαι φόνου;
Electra:Yes, the old man, my father’s old servant.
Ἠλέκτρα:πατρός γε παιδαγωγὸς ἀρχαῖος γέρων.
Orestes:Did the dead man, your father, find burial?
Ὀρέστης:ὁ κατθανὼν δὲ σὸς πατὴρ τύμβου κυρεῖ;
Electra:He found what he could, cast out of the house.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἔκυρσεν ὡς ἔκυρσεν, ἐκβληθεὶς δόμων.
Orestes:Alas, the things you have said! For perception of suffering, even another’s, gnaws at mortals. Speak, so that when I know, I may tell your brother the story, unpleasant, but necessary to hear. Pity is not present at all in clownishness,but in wise men. And indeed it is not without mischief for the wise to have overly profound thoughts.
Ὀρέστης:οἴμοι, τόδʼ οἷον εἶπας· — αἴσθησις γὰρ οὖνκἀκ τῶν θυραίων πημάτων δάκνει βροτούς.λέξον δʼ, ἵνʼ εἰδὼς σῷ κασιγνήτῳ φέρωλόγους ἀτερπεῖς, ἀλλʼ ἀναγκαίους κλύειν.ἔνεστι δʼ οἶκτος ἀμαθίᾳ μὲν οὐδαμοῦ,σοφοῖσι δʼ ἀνδρῶν· καὶ γὰρ οὐδʼ ἀζήμιονγνώμην ἐνεῖναι τοῖς σοφοῖς λίαν σοφήν.
Chorus Leader:And I have the same desire in my heart as this man. Being far from the town, I do not know the city’s scandals, and now I want to learn them.
Χορός:κἀγὼ τὸν αὐτὸν τῷδʼ ἔρον ψυχῆς ἔχω.πρόσω γὰρ ἄστεως οὖσα τἀν πόλει κακὰοὐκ οἶδα, νῦν δὲ βούλομαι κἀγὼ μαθεῖν.
Electra:I will speak, if I must—and one must speak to a friend—about my own and my father’s heavy misfortunes. Since you are setting the tale in motion, I entreat you, stranger, tell Orestes of our sorrows, mine and his. First of all, in what clothes I live like a beast in a stall,with what filth I am weighted down, under what roof I dwell, having lived in a royal home; I myself working hard on my clothes at the loom, or else I shall go barely clad and do without; always carrying water from the springs myself,with no share in the festival rites, no part in the dance. I turn away from married women, as a virgin; and I turn away from Castor, who sought me in marriage before he joined the gods, for I was his relative. But my mother, in the spoils of Troy,is seated on her throne, and at her chair stand slaves from Asia, my father’s plunder, fastening their Trojan robes with golden brooches. And still my father’s blood has rotted black on the wall, while the one who killed himmounts the same chariot and goes forth; and is proud to hold in his blood-stained hands the scepter with which my father used to command the Hellenes. Agamemnon’s grave, dishonoured, has not yet ever received any libations, or branch of myrtle,but his altar is barren of ornament. That famous one, my mother’s husband, leaps on the grave, they say, when soaked in drink, and pelts my father’s marble monument with stones, and dares to say this to us:
Ἠλέκτρα:λέγοιμʼ ἄν, εἰ χρή — χρὴ δὲ πρὸς φίλον λέγειν —τύχας βαρείας τὰς ἐμὰς κἀμοῦ πατρός.ἐπεὶ δὲ κινεῖς μῦθον, ἱκετεύω, ξένε,ἄγγελλʼ Ὀρέστῃ τἀμὰ καὶ κείνου κακά,πρῶτον μὲν οἵοις ἐν πέπλοις αὐλίζομαι,πίνῳ θʼ ὅσῳ βέβριθʼ, ὑπὸ στέγαισί τεοἵαισι ναίω βασιλικῶν ἐκ δωμάτων,αὐτὴ μὲν ἐκμοχθοῦσα κερκίσιν πέπλους,ἢ γυμνὸν ἕξω σῶμα κἀστερήσομαι,αὐτὴ δὲ πηγὰς ποταμίους φορουμένη,ἀνέορτος ἱερῶν καὶ χορῶν τητωμένη.ἀναίνομαι γυναῖκας οὖσα παρθένος,ἀναίνομαι δὲ Κάστορʼ, ᾧ πρὶν ἐς θεοὺςἐλθεῖν ἔμʼ ἐμνήστευον, οὖσαν ἐγγενῆ.μήτηρ δʼ ἐμὴ Φρυγίοισιν ἐν σκυλεύμασινθρόνῳ κάθηται, πρὸς δʼ ἕδραισιν Ἀσίδεςδμωαὶ στατίζουσʼ, ἃς ἔπερσʼ ἐμὸς πατήρ,Ἰδαῖα φάρη χρυσέαις ἐζευγμέναιπόρπαισιν. αἷμα δʼ ἔτι πατρὸς κατὰ στέγαςμέλαν σέσηπεν, ὃς δʼ ἐκεῖνον ἔκτανεν,ἐς ταὐτὰ βαίνων ἅρματʼ ἐκφοιτᾷ πατρί,καὶ σκῆπτρʼ ἐν οἷς Ἕλλησιν ἐστρατηλάτειμιαιφόνοισι χερσὶ γαυροῦται λαβών.Ἀγαμέμνονος δὲ τύμβος ἠτιμασμένοςοὔπω χοάς ποτʼ οὐδὲ κλῶνα μυρσίνηςἔλαβε, πυρὰ δὲ χέρσος ἀγλαϊσμάτων.μέθῃ δὲ βρεχθεὶς τῆς ἐμῆς μητρὸς πόσιςὁ κλεινός, ὡς λέγουσιν, ἐνθρῴσκει τάφῳπέτροις τε λεύει μνῆμα λάινον πατρός,καὶ τοῦτο τολμᾷ τοὔπος εἰς ἡμᾶς λέγειν·
“Where is your son Orestes? Is he here to defend the tomb for you nobly?” Orestes is insulted in this way while absent. But, stranger, I beg you, report these things. There are many calling him to come—I am their interpreter—these hands, this tongue, my broken heart,my shorn head, and his own father. For it is shameful, if his father exterminated the Trojans but Orestes is unable to kill a man, one against one, being young and born from a more noble father.
ποῦ παῖς Ὀρέστης; ἆρά σοι τύμβῳ καλῶςπαρὼν ἀμύνει; — ταῦτʼ ἀπὼν ὑβρίζεται.ἀλλʼ, ὦ ξένʼ, ἱκετεύω σʼ, ἀπάγγειλον τάδε.πολλοὶ δʼ ἐπιστέλλουσιν, ἑρμηνεὺς δʼ ἐγώ,αἱ χεῖρες ἡ γλῶσσʼ ἡ ταλαίπωρός τε φρήν,κάρα τʼ ἐμὸν ξυρῆκες, ὅ τʼ ἐκεῖνον τεκών.αἰσχρὸν γάρ, εἰ πατὴρ μὲν ἐξεῖλεν Φρύγας,ὁ δʼ ἄνδρʼ ἕνʼ εἷς ὢν οὐ δυνήσεται κτανεῖν,νέος πεφυκὼς κἀξ ἀμείνονος πατρός.
Chorus Leader:And look, I see him, I mean your husband,on his way home, his day’s work done.Peasant: Entering and catching sight of strangers talking to Electra.
Χορός:καὶ μὴν δέδορκα τόνδε, σὸν λέγω πόσιν,λήξαντα μόχθου πρὸς δόμους ὡρμημένον.
Oh! who are these strangers I see at my door? Why have they come here to my rustic gate? Do they want something from me? For it is shameful for a woman to be standing with young men.
Αὐτουργός:ἔα· τίνας τούσδʼ ἐν πύλαις ὁρῶ ξένους;τίνος δʼ ἕκατι τάσδʼ ἐπʼ ἀγραύλους πύλαςπροσῆλθον; ἦ ʼμοῦ δεόμενοι; γυναικί τοιαἰσχρὸν μετʼ ἀνδρῶν ἑστάναι νεανιῶν.
Electra:Dearest, do not be suspicious of me; you shall hear the truth; for these strangers have come to me as messengers of news from Orestes. But, strangers, pardon him for what he said.
Ἠλέκτρα:ὦ φίλτατʼ, εἰς ὕποπτα μὴ μόλῃς ἐμοί·τὸν ὄντα δʼ εἴσῃ μῦθον· οἵδε γὰρ ξένοιἥκουσʼ Ὀρέστου πρός με κήρυκες λόγων.ἀλλʼ, ὦ ξένοι, σύγγνωτε τοῖς εἰρημένοις.
Peasant:What do they say? The man is alive and sees the light of day?
Αὐτουργός:τί φασίν; ἁνὴρ ἔστι καὶ λεύσσει φάος;
Electra:He is, at least in their report, and I believe them.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἔστιν λόγῳ γοῦν, φασὶ δʼ οὐκ ἄπιστʼ ἐμοί.
Peasant:Surely then he remembers something of your father’s wrongs and your own?
Αὐτουργός:ἦ καί τι πατρὸς σῶν τε μέμνηται κακῶν;
Electra:These are things to hope for; a man in exile is powerless.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἐν ἐλπίσιν ταῦτʼ· ἀσθενὴς φεύγων ἀνήρ.
Peasant:What message from Orestes have they come to declare?
Αὐτουργός:ἦλθον δʼ Ὀρέστου τίνʼ ἀγορεύοντες λόγον;
Electra:He sent them as spies of my wrongs.
Ἠλέκτρα:σκοποὺς ἔπεμψε τούσδε τῶν ἐμῶν κακῶν.
Peasant:Then they see a part of it, and perhaps you are telling them the rest.
Αὐτουργός:οὐκοῦν τὰ μὲν λεύσσουσι, τὰ δὲ σύ που λέγεις.
Electra:They know; they have all these things in abundance.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἴσασιν, οὐδὲν τῶνδʼ ἔχουσιν ἐνδεές.
Peasant:Then shouldn’t you have opened the doors to them long before? Go into the house; for in return for your good tidings, you shall find as much hospitality as my house holds in store.
Αὐτουργός:οὐκοῦν πάλαι χρῆν τοῖσδʼ ἀνεπτύχθαι πύλας;χωρεῖτʼ ἐς οἴκους· ἀντὶ γὰρ χρηστῶν λόγωνξενίων κυρήσεθʼ, οἷʼ ἐμὸς κεύθει δόμος.
Servants, take their baggage within the house. Do not contradict me, since you are friends coming from a friend; for, even if I am poor, I will not display manners that are ill-bred.
αἴρεσθʼ, ὀπαδοί, τῶνδʼ ἔσω τεύχη δόμων.καὶ μηδὲν ἀντείπητε, παρὰ φίλου φίλοιμολόντες ἀνδρός· καὶ γὰρ εἰ πένης ἔφυν,οὔτοι τό γʼ ἦθος δυσγενὲς παρέξομαι.
Orestes:By the gods! Is this the man who makes a fraud of your marriage,because he does not want to shame Orestes?
Ὀρέστης:πρὸς θεῶν, ὅδʼ ἁνὴρ ὃς συνεκκλέπτει γάμουςτοὺς σούς, Ὀρέστην οὐ καταισχύνειν θέλων;
Electra:This is the one who is called my husband, unhappy as I am.
Ἠλέκτρα:οὗτος κέκληται πόσις ἐμὸς τῆς ἀθλίας.
Orestes:Ah! There is no exact way to test a man’s worth; for human nature has confusion in it. For instance, I have seen before now the son of a noble fatherworth nothing, and good children from evil parents; famine in a rich man’s spirit, and a mighty soul in a poor man’s body. How then does one rightly distinguish and judge these things? By wealth? A sorry test to use.
Ὀρέστης:φεῦ·οὐκ ἔστʼ ἀκριβὲς οὐδὲν εἰς εὐανδρίαν·ἔχουσι γὰρ ταραγμὸν αἱ φύσεις βροτῶν.ἤδη γὰρ εἶδον ἄνδρα γενναίου πατρὸςτὸ μηδὲν ὄντα, χρηστά τʼ ἐκ κακῶν τέκνα,λιμόν τʼ ἐν ἀνδρὸς πλουσίου φρονήματι,γνώμην τε μεγάλην ἐν πένητι σώματι.πῶς οὖν τις αὐτὰ διαλαβὼν ὀρθῶς κρινεῖ;πλούτῳ; πονηρῷ τἄρα χρήσεται κριτῇ.
Or by those who have nothing? But poverty has a disease, it teaches a man to be wicked in his need. But shall I turn to warfare? Who, facing the enemy’s spear, could be a witness as to who is brave? It is best to leave these matters alone, at random.
ἢ τοῖς ἔχουσι μηδέν; ἀλλʼ ἔχει νόσονπενία, διδάσκει δʼ ἄνδρα τῇ χρείᾳ κακόν.ἀλλʼ εἰς ὅπλʼ ἔλθω; τίς δὲ πρὸς λόγχην βλέπωνμάρτυς γένοιτʼ ἂν ὅστις ἐστὶν ἁγαθός;κράτιστον εἰκῇ ταῦτʼ ἐᾶν ἀφειμένα.
For this man, neither important in Argos, nor puffed up by the good reputation of his family, but one of the many, has been found to be the best. Do not be foolish, you who wander about full of empty notions, but judge those noble among men by their companyand by their habits. For such men rule well both states and homes; while those bodies that are empty of mind are only ornaments in the market-place. For the strong arm does not await the battle any better than the weak;
οὗτος γὰρ ἁνὴρ οὔτʼ ἐν Ἀργείοις μέγαςοὔτʼ αὖ δοκήσει δωμάτων ὠγκωμένος,ἐν τοῖς δὲ πολλοῖς ὤν, ἄριστος ηὑρέθη.οὐ μὴ ἀφρονήσεθʼ, οἳ κενῶν δοξασμάτωνπλήρεις πλανᾶσθε, τῇ δʼ ὁμιλίᾳ βροτοὺςκρινεῖτε καὶ τοῖς ἤθεσιν τοὺς εὐγενεῖς;οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι καὶ πόλεις οἰκοῦσιν εὖκαὶ δώμαθʼ· αἱ δὲ σάρκες αἱ κεναὶ φρενῶνἀγάλματʼ ἀγορᾶς εἰσιν. οὐδὲ γὰρ δόρυμᾶλλον βραχίων σθεναρὸς ἀσθενοῦς μένει·
this depends on natural courage. But, since Agamemnon’s son, both present and not present, for whose sake we have come, is worthy of it, let us accept a lodging in this house. Calling to his servants. We must go within this house, slaves. May a man poorbut eager be a better host for me than a rich man! And so I am content with the reception into this man’s house, though I would have wanted your brother, in good fortune, to lead me to his fortunate home. Perhaps he may come; the oracles of Loxias aresure, but human prophecy I dismiss. Exeunt Orestes and Pylades.
ἐν τῇ φύσει δὲ τοῦτο κἀν εὐψυχίᾳ.ἀλλʼ — ἄξιος γὰρ ὅ τε παρὼν ὅ τʼ οὐ παρὼνἈγαμέμνονος παῖς, οὗπερ οὕνεχʼ ἥκομεν —δεξώμεθʼ οἴκων καταλύσεις. χωρεῖν χρεών,δμῶες, δόμων τῶνδʼ ἐντός. ὡς ἐμοὶ πένηςεἴη πρόθυμος πλουσίου μᾶλλον ξένος.αἰνῶ μὲν οὖν τοῦδʼ ἀνδρὸς ἐσδοχὰς δόμων,ἐβουλόμην δʼ ἄν, εἰ κασίγνητός με σὸςἐς εὐτυχοῦντας ἦγεν εὐτυχῶν δόμους.ἴσως δʼ ἂν ἔλθοι· Λοξίου γὰρ ἔμπεδοιχρησμοί, βροτῶν δὲ μαντικὴν χαίρειν ἐῶ.
Chorus Leader:Now more than before, Electra, I feel the warmth of joy at my heart; for perhaps good fortune, advancing with difficulty, might come to a good resting-place.
Χορός:νῦν ἢ πάροιθεν μᾶλλον, Ἠλέκτρα, χαρᾷθερμαινόμεσθα καρδίαν· ἴσως γὰρ ἂνμόλις προβαίνουσʼ ἡ τύχη σταίη καλῶς.
Electra:O reckless man, why, knowing the poverty of your house,did you welcome these strangers, greater than you?
Ἠλέκτρα:ὦ τλῆμον, εἰδὼς δωμάτων χρείαν σέθεντί τούσδʼ ἐδέξω μείζονας σαυτοῦ ξένους;
Peasant:What? If they are really as noble as they seem, won’t they be equally content among great and small?
Αὐτουργός:τί δʼ; εἴπερ εἰσὶν ὡς δοκοῦσιν εὐγενεῖς,οὐκ ἔν τε μικροῖς ἔν τε μὴ στέρξουσʼ ὁμῶς;
Electra:Since you, one of the small, have now made this error, go to my father’s dear old servant,who tends his flocks, an outcast from the city, by the river Tanaus which cuts a boundary between Argive land and the land of Sparta; bid him come, since these men have arrived at my house, and provide something for the guests’ meal.
Ἠλέκτρα:ἐπεί νυν ἐξήμαρτες ἐν σμικροῖσιν ὤν,ἔλθʼ ὡς παλαιὸν τροφὸν ἐμοῦ φίλον πατρός,ὃς ἀμφὶ ποταμὸν Τάναον Ἀργείας ὅρουςτέμνοντα γαίας Σπαρτιάτιδός τε γῆςποίμναις ὁμαρτεῖ πόλεος ἐκβεβλημένος·κέλευε δʼ αὐτὸν τῶνδʼ ἐμοὐσαφιγμένωνἐλθεῖν, ξένων τʼ ἐς δαῖτα πορσῦναί τινα.
He will be glad, and will offer prayers to the gods, when he hears that the child, whom he once saved, is alive. I cannot get anything from my mother or from my father’s house; for we would bring bitter news, if she, the hard-hearted, were to learn that Orestes is still alive.
ἡσθήσεταί τοι καὶ προσεύξεται θεοῖς,ζῶντʼ εἰσακούσας παῖδʼ ὃν ἐκσῴζει ποτέ.οὐ γὰρ πατρῴων ἐκ δόμων μητρὸς πάραλάβοιμεν ἄν τι· πικρὰ δʼ ἀγγείλαιμεν ἄν,εἰ ζῶντʼ Ὀρέστην ἡ τάλαινʼ αἴσθοιτʼ ἔτι.
Peasant:I will take this message to the old man, if you wish; but go inside the house at once and make things ready there. Surely a woman, if she wants to, can find many additions to a meal. Really there is still enough in the houseto cram them with food for one day at least. It is in such cases, whenever I fail in my intentions, that I see how wealth has great power, to give to strangers, and to expend in curing the body when it falls sick; but money for our daily foodcomes to little; for every man when full, rich or poor, gets an equal amount. Exeunt Electra and Peasant.
Αὐτουργός:ἀλλʼ, εἰ δοκεῖ σοι, τούσδʼ ἀπαγγελῶ λόγουςγέροντι· χώρει δʼ ἐς δόμους ὅσον τάχοςκαὶ τἄνδον ἐξάρτυε. πολλά τοι γυνὴχρῄζουσʼ ἂν εὕροι δαιτὶ προσφορήματα.ἔστιν δὲ δὴ τοσαῦτά γʼ ἐν δόμοις ἔτι,ὥσθʼ ἕν γʼ ἐπʼ ἦμαρ τούσδε πληρῶσαι βορᾶς.ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις δʼ ἡνίκʼ ἂν γνώμης πέσω,σκοπῶ τὰ χρήμαθʼ ὡς ἔχει μέγα σθένος,ξένοις τε δοῦναι σῶμά τʼ ἐς νόσους πεσὸνδαπάναισι σῷσαι· τῆς δʼ ἐφʼ ἡμέραν βορᾶςἐς σμικρὸν ἥκει· πᾶς γὰρ ἐμπλησθεὶς ἀνὴρὁ πλούσιός τε χὡ πένης ἴσον φέρει.
Chorus:O famous ships, you that once with countless oars went to Troy, conducting dances with the Nereids,where the music-loving dolphin leapt and rolled at your dark-blue prows, bringing Achilles, the son of Thetis, light in the leap of his foot,with Agamemnon to the banks of Trojan Simois.
Χορός:κλειναὶ νᾶες, αἵ ποτʼ ἔβατε Τροίαντοῖς ἀμετρήτοις ἐρετμοῖςπέμπουσαι χοροὺς μετὰ Νηρῄδων,ἵνʼ ὁ φίλαυλος ἔπαλλε δελ-φὶς πρῴραις κυανεμβόλοι-σιν εἱλισσόμενος,πορεύων τὸν τᾶς Θέτιδοςκοῦφον ἅλμα ποδῶν Ἀχιλῆσὺν Ἀγαμέμνονι Τρωίαςἐπὶ Σιμουντίδας ἀκτάς.
Chorus:The Nereids, leaving Euboea’s headlands, brought from Hephaestus’ anvil his shield-work of golden armor,up to Pelion and the glens at the foot of holy Ossa, the Nymphs’ watch-tower... where his father, the horseman, was training the son of Thetis as a light for Hellas,sea-born, swift-footed for the sons of Atreus.
Χορός:Νηρῇδες δʼ Εὐβοῖδας ἄκρας λιποῦσαιμόχθους ἀσπιστὰς ἀκμόνωνἩφαίστου χρυσέων ἔφερον τευχέων,ἀνά τε Πήλιον ἀνά τε πρυ-μνὰς Ὄσσας ἱερᾶς νάπαςΝυμφαίας σκοπιὰςκόρας μάτευσʼ, ἔνθα πατὴρἱππότας τρέφεν Ἑλλάδι φῶςΘέτιδος εἰνάλιον γόνονταχύπορον πόδʼ Ἀτρείδαις.
Chorus:I heard, from someone who had arrived at the harbor of Nauplia from Ilium, thaton the circle of your famous shield, O son of Thetis, were wrought these signs, a terror to the Phrygians: on the surrounding base of the shield’s rim, Perseus the throat-cutter, overthe sea with winged sandals, was holding the Gorgon’s body, with Hermes, Zeus’ messenger, the rustic son of Maia.
Χορός:Ἰλιόθεν δʼ ἔκλυόν τινος ἐν λιμέσινΝαυπλίοισι βεβῶτοςτᾶς σᾶς, ὦ Θέτιδος παῖ,κλεινᾶς ἀσπίδος ἐν κύκλῳτοιάδε σήματα, δείματαΦρύγια, τετύχθαι·περιδρόμῳ μὲν ἴτυος ἕδρᾳΠερσέα λαιμοτόμαν ὑπὲρἁλὸς ποτανοῖσι πεδί-λοισι φυὰν Γοργόνος ἴ-σχειν, Διὸς ἀγγέλῳ σὺν Ἑρ-μᾷ, τῷ Μαί-ας ἀγροτῆρι κούρῳ·