On the sea-shore, in the Tauric Chersonese, near a temple of Artemis.Iphigenia:Pelops, son of Tantalus, coming to Pisa with swift horses, married Oenomaus’ daughter, and she gave birth to Atreus, whose children are Menelaus and Agamemnon; from him I was born,his child Iphigenia, by the daughter of Tyndareus. Where Euripus rolls about its whirlpools in the frequent winds and twists the darkening waves, my father sacrificed me to Artemis for Helen’s sake, or so he thought, in the famous clefts of Aulis.
Ἰφιγένεια:Πέλοψ ὁ Ταντάλειος ἐς Πῖσαν μολὼνθοαῖσιν ἵπποις Οἰνομάου γαμεῖ κόρην,ἐξ ἧς Ἀτρεὺς ἔβλαστεν· Ἀτρέως δὲ παῖςΜενέλαος Ἀγαμέμνων τε· τοῦ δʼ ἔφυν ἐγώτῆς Τυνδαρείας θυγατρὸς Ἰφιγένεια παῖς,ἣν ἀμφὶ δίναις ἃς θάμʼ Εὔριπος πυκναῖςαὔραις ἑλίσσων κυανέαν ἅλα στρέφει,ἔσφαξεν Ἑλένης οὕνεχʼ, ὡς δοκεῖ, πατὴρἈρτέμιδι κλειναῖς ἐν πτυχαῖσιν Αὐλίδος.
For there lord Agamemnon mustered his expedition of a thousand ships of Hellas, wanting to take the crown of Troy in glorious victory and avenge the outrage to Helen’s marriage, doing this favor for Menelaus.
ἐνταῦθα γὰρ δὴ χιλίων ναῶν στόλονἙλληνικὸν συνήγαγʼ Ἀγαμέμνων ἄναξ,τὸν καλλίνικον στέφανον Ἰλίου θέλωνλαβεῖν Ἀχαιοῖς τούς θʼ ὑβρισθέντας γάμουςἙλένης μετελθεῖν, Μενέλεῳ χάριν φέρων.
But when he met with dreadful winds that would not let him sail, he went to burnt sacrifices, and Calchas had this to say: “Lord and general of Hellas, Agamemnon, you will not set free your ships from land until Artemis has your daughter Iphigenia”“as a victim. For you once vowed to sacrifice to the torch-bearing goddess the most beautiful creature brought forth that year; then your wife, Clytemnestra, bore a child in your house—ascribing the prize of beauty to me—whom you must sacrifice.” And by the craft of Odysseus,they took me from my mother, pretending a marriage with Achilles. I came to Aulis; held up high over the altar, I, the unhappy one, was about to die by the sword; but Artemis gave the Achaeans a deer in exchange for me and stole me from them; conducting me through the bright air,she settled me here in the land of the Taurians. A barbarian rules this land of barbarians: Thoas, who runs as quickly as the flight of birds, and so he received his name for his swiftness of foot. Artemis has made me the priestess in this temple.
δεινῆς δʼ ἀπλοίας πνευμάτων τε τυγχάνων,ἐς ἔμπυρʼ ἦλθε, καὶ λέγει Κάλχας τάδε·ὦ τῆσδʼ ἀνάσσων Ἑλλάδος στρατηγίας,Ἀγάμεμνον, οὐ μὴ ναῦς ἀφορμίσῃ χθονός,πρὶν ἂν κόρην σὴν Ἰφιγένειαν Ἄρτεμιςλάβῃ σφαγεῖσαν· ὅ τι γὰρ ἐνιαυτὸς τέκοικάλλιστον, ηὔξω φωσφόρῳ θύσειν θεᾷ.παῖδʼ οὖν ἐν οἴκοις σὴ Κλυταιμήστρα δάμαρτίκτει — τὸ καλλιστεῖον εἰς ἔμʼ ἀναφέρων —ἣν χρή σε θῦσαι. καί μʼ Ὀδυσσέως τέχναιςμητρὸς παρείλοντʼ ἐπὶ γάμοις Ἀχιλλέως.ἐλθοῦσα δʼ Αὐλίδʼ ἡ τάλαινʼ ὑπὲρ πυρᾶςμεταρσία ληφθεῖσʼ ἐκαινόμην ξίφει·ἀλλʼ ἐξέκλεψεν ἔλαφον ἀντιδοῦσά μουἌρτεμις Ἀχαιοῖς, διὰ δὲ λαμπρὸν αἰθέραπέμψασά μʼ ἐς τήνδʼ ᾤκισεν Ταύρων χθόνα,οὗ γῆς ἀνάσσει βαρβάροισι βάρβαροςΘόας, ὃς ὠκὺν πόδα τιθεὶς ἴσον πτεροῖςἐς τοὔνομʼ ἦλθε τόδε ποδωκείας χάριν.ναοῖσι δʼ ἐν τοῖσδʼ ἱερέαν τίθησί με·
Here I begin the rites, which the goddess delights in, of a banquet noble in name only—I am silent as to the rest, for I fear the goddess— [for I sacrifice, by a custom of the city established earlier, any Hellene who comes to this land.]
ὅθεν νόμοισι τοῖσιν ἥδεται θεὰἌρτεμις, ἑορτῆς, τοὔνομʼ ἧς καλὸν μόνον —τὰ δʼ ἄλλα σιγῶ, τὴν θεὸν φοβουμένη —[θύω γὰρ ὄντος τοῦ νόμου καὶ πρὶν πόλει,][ὃς ἂν κατέλθῃ τήνδε γῆν Ἕλλην ἀνήρ.]
But others carry out the sacrifices, not to be spoken of, within the temple of the goddess.
κατάρχομαι μέν, σφάγια δʼ ἄλλοισιν μέλειἄρρητʼ ἔσωθεν τῶνδʼ ἀνακτόρων θεᾶς.
But the strange visions which the night brought with it, I will tell to the air, if that is any relief. I dreamed that I had left this landto live in Argos, and to sleep in the midst of the maidens’ rooms; but the earth’s back was shaken by a tossing swell. When I escaped and stood outside, I saw the cornice of the house fall, and the whole roof hurled in ruins on the ground, from the highest pillars.
ἃ καινὰ δʼ ἥκει νὺξ φέρουσα φάσματα,λέξω πρὸς αἰθέρʼ, εἴ τι δὴ τόδʼ ἔστʼ ἄκος.ἔδοξʼ ἐν ὕπνῳ τῆσδʼ ἀπαλλαχθεῖσα γῆςοἰκεῖν ἐν Ἄργει, παρθένοισι δʼ ἐν μέσαιςεὕδειν, χθονὸς δὲ νῶτα σεισθῆναι σάλῳ,φεύγειν δὲ κἄξω στᾶσα θριγκὸν εἰσιδεῖνδόμων πίτνοντα, πᾶν δʼ ἐρείψιμον στέγοςβεβλημένον πρὸς οὖδας ἐξ ἄκρων σταθμῶν.
One support of my father’s house was left, I thought, and it had yellow locks of hair waving from its capital, and took on human voice. In observance of the art of slaughtering strangers that I practice here, I gave it holy water as if it were about to die, while I wept.This is my interpretation of this dream: Orestes, whom I consecrated by my rites, is dead. For male children are the supports of the house; and those whom I purify with holy water die. [I cannot connect this dream to my friends,][for Strophius, when I perished, had no son.] Now I wish to give libations to my brother, though he is absent from me—for I would be able to do this—with the attendants given me by the king, Hellene women. But whyare they not yet here? I will go inside this temple of the goddess where I live. Exit Iphigenia.
μόνος λελεῖφθαι στῦλος εἷς ἔδοξέ μοιδόμων πατρῴων, ἐκ δʼ ἐπικράνων κόμαςξανθὰς καθεῖναι, φθέγμα δʼ ἀνθρώπου λαβεῖν,κἀγὼ τέχνην τήνδʼ ἣν ἔχω ξενοκτόνοντιμῶσʼ ὑδραίνειν αὐτὸν ὡς θανούμενον,κλαίουσα. τοὔναρ δʼ ὧδε συμβάλλω τόδε·τέθνηκʼ Ὀρέστης, οὗ κατηρξάμην ἐγώ.στῦλοι γὰρ οἴκων παῖδές εἰσιν ἄρσενες·θνῄσκουσι δʼ οὓς ἂν χέρνιβες βάλωσʼ ἐμαί.[οὐδʼ αὖ συνάψαι τοὔναρ ἐς φίλους ἔχω·][Στροφίῳ γὰρ οὐκ ἦν παῖς, ὅτʼ ὠλλύμην ἐγώ.]νῦν οὖν ἀδελφῷ βούλομαι δοῦναι χοὰςπαροῦσʼ ἀπόντι — ταῦτα γὰρ δυναίμεθʼ ἄν —σὺν προσπόλοισιν, ἃς ἔδωχʼ ἡμῖν ἄναξἙλληνίδας γυναῖκας. ἀλλʼ ἐξ αἰτίαςοὔπω τίνος πάρεισιν; εἶμʼ ἔσω δόμωνἐν οἷσι ναίω τῶνδʼ ἀνακτόρων θεᾶς.
Orestes:(entering cautiously.) Look out, take care that no one is in the path.
Ὀρέστης:ὅρα, φυλάσσου μή τις ἐν στίβῳ βροτῶν.
Pylades:I am looking, and turning my eyes everywhere, in examination.
Πυλάδης:ὁρῶ, σκοποῦμαι δʼ ὄμμα πανταχῆ στρέφων.
Orestes:Pylades, do you think this is the hall of the goddess,for which we set sail from Argos?
Ὀρέστης:Πυλάδη, δοκεῖ σοι μέλαθρα ταῦτʼ εἶναι θεᾶςἔνθʼ Ἀργόθεν ναῦν ποντίαν ἐστείλαμεν;
Pylades:Yes, Orestes; and you must think so too.
Πυλάδης:ἔμοιγʼ, Ὀρέστα· σοὶ δὲ συνδοκεῖν χρεών.
Orestes:And the altar, that drips with the slaughter of Hellenes?
Ὀρέστης:καὶ βωμός, Ἕλλην οὗ καταστάζει φόνος;
Pylades:Its dedications of hair, at least, are red with blood.
Πυλάδης:ἐξ αἱμάτων γοῦν ξάνθʼ ἔχει τριχώματα.
Orestes:Do you see the spoils hanging from the very walls?
Ὀρέστης:θριγκοῖς δʼ ὑπʼ αὐτοῖς σκῦλʼ ὁρᾷς ἠρτημένα;
Pylades:Trophies of strangers that have been slain. But I must look all around and keep careful watch.
Πυλάδης:τῶν κατθανόντων γʼ ἀκροθίνια ξένων.ἀλλʼ ἐγκυκλοῦντʼ ὀφθαλμὸν εὖ σκοπεῖν χρεών.
Orestes:O Phoebus, where have you again brought me into the snare, by your oracles, since I avenged my father’s blood by the murder of my mother, and was driven by successive Furies,a fugitive, away from the land, and completed many winding courses; and coming to you I asked how I might arrive at an end to whirling madness and my labors, which I have carried out, wandering all over Hellas....And you told me to go to the boundaries of the Tauric land, where Artemis, your sister, has an altar, and to take the statue of the goddess, which is said here to have fallen to this temple from heaven; and, taking it by craft of some stroke of luck,to complete the venture by giving it to the Athenian land—what was to come next was not spoken of—and if I did this, I would have rest from my labors.
Ὀρέστης:ὦ Φοῖβε, ποῖ μʼ αὖ τήνδʼ ἐς ἄρκυν ἤγαγεςχρήσας, ἐπειδὴ πατρὸς αἷμʼ ἐτεισάμην,μητέρα κατακτάς, διαδοχαῖς δʼ Ἐρινύωνἠλαυνόμεσθα φυγάδες ἔξεδροι χθονὸςδρόμους τε πολλοὺς ἐξέπλησα καμπίμους,ἐλθὼν δέ σʼ ἠρώτησα πῶς τροχηλάτουμανίας ἂν ἔλθοιμʼ ἐς τέλος πόνων τʼ ἐμῶν,οὓς ἐξεμόχθουν περιπολῶν καθʼ Ἑλλάδα —σὺ δʼ εἶπας ἐλθεῖν Ταυρικῆς μʼ ὅρους χθονός,ἔνθʼ Ἄρτεμίς σοι σύγγονος βωμοὺς ἔχοι,λαβεῖν τʼ ἄγαλμα θεᾶς, ὅ φασιν ἐνθάδεἐς τούσδε ναοὺς οὐρανοῦ πεσεῖν ἄπο·λαβόντα δʼ ἢ τέχναισιν ἢ τύχῃ τινί,κίνδυνον ἐκπλήσαντʼ, Ἀθηναίων χθονὶδοῦναι — τὸ δʼ ἐνθένδʼ οὐδὲν ἐρρήθη πέρα —καὶ ταῦτα δράσαντʼ ἀμπνοὰς ἕξειν πόνων.
I have come here, obedient to your words, to an unknown, inhospitable land. I ask you,Pylades, for you are my accomplice in this task, what shall we do? You see that the surrounding walls are high; shall we ascend the steps leading up to the house? But how might we escape notice? Or loosening the bronze bars of the door with levers,of which we know nothing? If we are caught opening the gates and contriving an entrance, we shall die. No, but before we die, let us escape on the ship in which we sailed here.
ἥκω δὲ πεισθεὶς σοῖς λόγοισιν ἐνθάδεἄγνωστον ἐς γῆν, ἄξενον. σὲ δʼ ἱστορῶ,Πυλάδη — σὺ γάρ μοι τοῦδε συλλήπτωρ πόνου —τί δρῶμεν; ἀμφίβληστρα γὰρ τοίχων ὁρᾷςὑψηλά· πότερα δωμάτων προσαμβάσειςἐκβησόμεσθα; πῶς ἂν οὖν λάθοιμεν ἄν;ἢ χαλκότευκτα κλῇθρα λύσαντες μοχλοῖς —ὧν οὐδὲν ἴσμεν; ἢν δʼ ἀνοίγοντες πύλαςληφθῶμεν ἐσβάσεις τε μηχανώμενοι,θανούμεθʼ. ἀλλὰ πρὶν θανεῖν, νεὼς ἔπιφεύγωμεν, ᾗπερ δεῦρʼ ἐναυστολήσαμεν.
Pylades:Flight is not to be endured, nor are we accustomed to it,and we must not bring reproach on the god’s oracle; let us leave the temple and hide in a cave which the black sea washes with its moisture—far from the ship, so that no one, seeing it, may tell the ruler, and then seize us by force.
Πυλάδης:φεύγειν μὲν οὐκ ἀνεκτὸν οὐδʼ εἰώθαμεν,τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ δὲ χρησμὸν οὐ κακιστέον·ναοῦ δʼ ἀπαλλαχθέντε κρύψωμεν δέμαςκατʼ ἄντρʼ ἃ πόντος νοτίδι διακλύζει μέλας —νεὼς ἄπωθεν, μή τις εἰσιδὼν σκάφοςβασιλεῦσιν εἴπῃ κᾆτα ληφθῶμεν βίᾳ.
But when the eye of gloomy night comes on, then we must dare to take the polished statue from the shrine, by any means. See where between the triglyphs there is an empty space to let ourselves down. The brave endure their labors,the cowardly are worth nothing at all.
ὅταν δὲ νυκτὸς ὄμμα λυγαίας μόλῃ,τολμητέον τοι ξεστὸν ἐκ ναοῦ λαβεῖνἄγαλμα πάσας προσφέροντε μηχανάς.ὅρα δέ γʼ εἴσω τριγλύφων ὅποι κενὸνδέμας καθεῖναι· τοὺς πόνους γὰρ ἁγαθοὶτολμῶσι, δειλοὶ δʼ εἰσὶν οὐδὲν οὐδαμοῦ.
Orestes:Yes, we did not come on a long sea voyage only to undertake a return home before the end; but you have spoken wel, we must obey. We should go wherever we can hide and escape notice.
Ὀρέστης:οὔ τοι μακρὸν μὲν ἤλθομεν κώπῃ πόρον,ἐκ τερμάτων δὲ νόστον ἀροῦμεν πάλιν.ἀλλʼ εὖ γὰρ εἶπας, πειστέον· χωρεῖν χρεὼνὅποι χθονὸς κρύψαντε λήσομεν δέμας.
For it will not be the god’s fault if his sacred oracle falls to the ground without effect. We must endure. Exeunt Orestes and Pylades.
οὐ γὰρ τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ γʼ αἴτιον γενήσεταιπεσεῖν ἄχρηστον θέσφατον· τολμητέον·μόχθος γὰρ οὐδεὶς τοῖς νέοις σκῆψιν φέρει.
Chorus:Keep a holy silence, you who inhabit the double clashingrocks of the Black Sea!
Χορός:εὐφαμεῖτʼ, ὦπόντου δισσὰς συγχωρούσαςπέτρας Ἀξείνου ναίοντες.
O daughter of Leto, Dictynna of the mountains, to your hall, to the golden walls of your temple with beautiful pillars,I, the servant of the holy key-holder, bend my holy virgin steps. For I have left the towers and walls of Hellas, famous for horses, andEurope with its forests, my father’s home.
ὦ παῖ τᾶς Λατοῦς,Δίκτυννʼ οὐρεία,πρὸς σὰν αὐλάν, εὐστύλωνναῶν χρυσήρεις θριγκούς,πόδα παρθένιον ὅσιον ὁσίαςκλῃδούχου δούλα πέμπω,Ἑλλάδος εὐίππου πύργουςκαὶ τείχη χόρτων τʼ εὐδένδρωνἐξαλλάξασʼ Εὐρώπαν,πατρῴων οἴκων ἕδρας.
I have come. What is the news? What is troubling you? Why have you brought me, brought me to the shrine, you who are the daughter of Atreus’ son, master of a thousand ships and ten thousand soldiers,who came to the towers of Troy with a famous fleet?
ἔμολον· τί νέον; τίνα φροντίδʼ ἔχεις;τί με πρὸς ναοὺς ἄγαγες ἄγαγες,ὦ παῖ τοῦ τᾶς Τροίας πύργουςἐλθόντος κλεινᾷ σὺν κώπᾳχιλιοναύταμυριοτευχοῦς Ἀτρείδα; [τῶν κλεινῶν;]
Iphigenia:Oh! My servants, how I am involved in mournful dirges,in laments unfit for the lyre, of a song that is not melodious, alas! alas! wailing for my family. Ruin has come to me; I am lamenting the life of my brother,such a vision I saw in my dreams, in the night whose darkness is now over.I am lost, lost! My father’s house is no more; alas for my vanished family,alas for the sufferings of Argos! O fate, I had one brother only and you carry him off and send him to Hades. For him,I am about to pour over the back of the earth these libations and the bowl of the dead: streams of milk from mountain cows, and offerings of wine from Bacchus,and the labor of the tawny bees; these sacrifices are soothing to the dead.
Ἰφιγένεια:ἰὼ δμωαί,δυσθρηνήτοις ὡς θρήνοιςἔγκειμαι, τᾶς οὐκ εὐμούσουμολπᾶς [βοὰν] ἀλύροις ἐλέγοις, αἰαῖ,αἰαῖ, κηδείοις οἴκτοισιν·αἵ μοι συμβαίνουσʼ ἆται,σύγγονον ἁμὸν κατακλαιομέναζωᾶς, οἵαν ⟨οἵαν⟩ ἰδόμανὄψιν ὀνείρωννυκτός, τᾶς ἐξῆλθʼ ὄρφνα.ὀλόμαν ὀλόμαν·οὐκ εἴσʼ οἶκοι πατρῷοι·οἴμοι ⟨μοι⟩ φροῦδος γέννα.φεῦ φεῦ τῶν Ἄργει μόχθων.ἰὼ δαῖμον,μόνον ὅς με κασίγνητον συλᾷςἈίδᾳ πέμψας, ᾧ τάσδε χοὰςμέλλω κρατῆρά τε τὸν φθιμένωνὑδραίνειν γαίας ἐν νώτοιςπηγάς τʼ οὐρείων ἐκ μόσχωνΒάκχου τʼ οἰνηρὰς λοιβὰςξουθᾶν τε πόνημα μελισσᾶν,ἃ νεκροῖς θελκτήρια κεῖται.
(To a servant) Give me the golden vessel and the libation of Hades.
ἀλλʼ ἔνδος μοι πάγχρυσοντεῦχος καὶ λοιβὰν Ἅιδα.
O child of Agamemnon beneath the earth, I send these to you as one dead. Accept them; for I will not bring to your tomb my yellow hair or my tears.
ὦ κατὰ γαίας Ἀγαμεμνόνιονθάλος, ὡς φθιμένῳ τάδε σοι πέμπω·δέξαι δʼ· οὐ γὰρ πρὸς τύμβον σοιξανθὰν χαίταν, οὐ δάκρυʼ οἴσω.
I live far indeed from your country and mine, where I am thought to lie, unhappily slaughtered.
τηλόσε γὰρ δὴ σᾶς ἀπενάσθηνπατρίδος καὶ ἐμᾶς, ἔνθα δοκήμασικεῖμαι σφαχθεῖσʼ ἁ τλάμων.
Chorus:I will sing for you, my mistress, responsive songs anda barbarian cry of Asian hymns; this song, dear to the dead,Hades sings in laments, in chants—not songs of triumph.
Χορός:ἀντιψάλμους ᾠδὰς ὕμνων τʼἈσιητᾶν σοι βάρβαρον ἀχὰνδεσποίνᾳ γʼ ἐξαυδάσω,τὰν ἐν θρήνοισιν μοῦσαννέκυσι μελομέναν, τὰν ἐν μολπαῖςἍιδας ὑμνεῖ δίχα παιάνων.
Alas for the house of the Atreidae; the light of their scepter, alas, of the ancestral house, is lost. Once they ruledas prosperous kings in Argos, but troubles dart out from troubles: Pelops, on his horses swiftly whirling, made his cast; the sun changed from its seat the holy beam of its rays.One pain comes after another, to the house of the golden lamb.... from that earlier time when the Tantalids were killed,punishment came to the house, and fate presses what you do not want upon you.
οἴμοι, τῶν Ἀτρειδᾶν οἴκων·ἔρρει φῶς σκήπτρων, οἴμοι,πατρῴων οἴκων.ἦν ἐκ τῶν εὐόλβων Ἄργειβασιλέων ἀρχά,μόχθος δʼ ἐκ μόχθων ᾄσσει·δινευούσαις ἵπποισι ⟨ῥιφαὶ⟩⟨Πέλοπος⟩ πταναῖς· ἀλλάξας δʼ ἐξἕδρας ἱερὸν ⟨ἱερὸν⟩ ὄμμʼ αὐγᾶςἅλιος. ἄλλαις δʼ ἄλλα προσέβαχρυσέας ἀρνὸς μελάθροις ὀδύνα,φόνος ἐπὶ φόνῳ, ἄχεα ἄχεσινἔνθεν τῶν πρόσθεν δμαθέντωνΤανταλιδᾶν ἐκβαίνει ποινά γʼεἰς οἴκους, σπεύδει δʼ ἀσπούδαστʼἐπὶ σοὶ δαίμων.
Iphigenia:From the beginning my fate was unhappy, from that first night of my mather’s marriage;from the beginning the Fates attendant on my birth directed a hard upbringing for me, wooed by Hellenes, the first-born child in the home,whom the unhappy daughter of Leda, by my father’s fault, bore as a victim and a sacrifice not joyful, she brought me up as an offering. In the horse-drawn chariot,they set me as a bride on the sands of Aulis, oh woe, a wretched bride for the son of the Nereid, alas! But now, as a stranger I live in an unfertile home on this sea that is hostile to strangers,without marriage, or children, or city, or friends, not raising hymns to Hera at Argos, nor embroidering with my shuttle, in the singing loom, the likeness of Athenian Pallas and the Titans; but... a bloody fate, not to be hymned by the lyre, of strangers who wail a piteous cry and weep piteous tears. And now I must forget these things,and lament my brother, killed in Argos, whom I left at the breast, still a baby, still an infant, still a young child in his mother’s arms and at her breast,the holder of the scepter in Argos, Orestes.
Ἰφιγένεια:ἐξ ἀρχᾶς μοι δυσδαίμωνδαίμων τᾶς ματρὸς ζώναςκαὶ νυκτὸς κείνας· ἐξ ἀρχᾶςλόχιαι στερρὰν παιδείανΜοῖραι ξυντείνουσιν θεαί,τᾷ μναστευθείσᾳ ʼξ Ἑλλάνων,ἃν πρωτόγονον θάλος ἐν θαλάμοιςΛήδας ἁ τλάμων κούρασφάγιον πατρῴᾳ λώβᾳκαὶ θῦμʼ οὐκ εὐγάθητονἔτεκεν, ἔτρεφεν εὐκταίαν·ἱππείοις δʼ ἐν δίφροισιψαμάθων Αὐλίδος ἐπέβασαννύμφαιον, οἴμοι, δύσνυμφοντῷ τᾶς Νηρέως κούρας, αἰαῖ.νῦν δʼ ἀξείνου πόντου ξείναδυσχόρτους οἴκους ναίω,ἄγαμος ἄτεκνος ἄπολις ἄφιλος,οὐ τὰν Ἄργει μέλπουσʼ Ἥρανοὐδʼ ἱστοῖς ἐν καλλιφθόγγοιςκερκίδι Παλλάδος Ἀτθίδος εἰκὼ⟨καὶ⟩ Τιτάνων ποικίλλουσʼ, ἀλλʼαἱμόρραντον δυσφόρμιγγαξείνων αἱμάσσουσʼ ἄταν βωμούς,οἰκτράν τʼ αἰαζόντων αὐδὰνοἰκτρόν τʼ ἐκβαλλόντων δάκρυον.καὶ νῦν κείνων μέν μοι λάθα,τὸν δʼ Ἄργει δμαθέντα κλαίωσύγγονον, ὃν ἔλιπον ἐπιμαστίδιον,ἔτι βρέφος, ἔτι νέον, ἔτι θάλοςἐν χερσὶν ματρὸς πρὸς στέρνοις τʼἌργει σκηπτοῦχον Ὀρέσταν.
Chorus Leader:Look, here comes a herdsman, who has left the shores of the sea to bring you some new message.
Χορός:καὶ μὴν ὅδʼ ἀκτὰς ἐκλιπὼν θαλασσίουςβουφορβὸς ἥκει σημανῶν τί σοι νέον.
Herdsman:Daughter of Agamemnon, and of Clytemnestra, hear a strange report from me.
Βουκόλος:Ἀγαμέμνονός τε καὶ Κλυταιμήστρας τέκνον,ἄκουε καινῶν ἐξ ἐμοῦ κηρυγμάτων.
Iphigenia:And what is amazing in your news?
Ἰφιγένεια:τί δʼ ἔστι τοῦ παρόντος ἐκπλῆσσον λόγου;
Herdsman:Two young men have come to this land, fleeing the dark Symplegades in their ship, an offering and sacrifice pleasing to the goddess Artemis. Be quick to preparethe purifications and the first offerings.
Βουκόλος:ἥκουσιν ἐς γῆν, κυανέαν Συμπληγάδαπλάτῃ φυγόντες, δίπτυχοι νεανίαι,θεᾷ φίλον πρόσφαγμα καὶ θυτήριονἈρτέμιδι. χέρνιβας δὲ καὶ κατάργματαοὐκ ἂν φθάνοις ἂν εὐτρεπῆ ποιουμένη.
Iphigenia:What country are the strangers from? How are they dressed?
Ἰφιγένεια:ποδαποί; τίνος γῆς σχῆμʼ ἔχουσιν οἱ ξένοι;
Herdsman:They are Hellenes; I know this one thing, and nothing further.
Βουκόλος:Ἕλληνες· ἓν τοῦτʼ οἶδα κοὐ περαιτέρω.
Iphigenia:Can’t you tell me their names? Did you hear them?
Ἰφιγένεια:οὐδʼ ὄνομʼ ἀκούσας οἶσθα τῶν ξένων φράσαι;
Herdsman:One was called Pylades by the other.
Βουκόλος:Πυλάδης ἐκλῄζεθʼ ἅτερος πρὸς θατέρου.
Iphigenia:What is the name of his companion?
Ἰφιγένεια:τοῦ ξυζύγου δὲ τοῦ ξένου τί τοὔνομʼ ἦν;
Herdsman:No one knows; we didn’t hear it.
Βουκόλος:οὐδεὶς τόδʼ οἶδεν· οὐ γὰρ εἰσηκούσαμεν.
Iphigenia:How did you see them? How did you come upon them and catch them?
Ἰφιγένεια:πῶς δʼ εἴδετʼ αὐτοὺς κἀντυχόντες εἵλετε;
Herdsman:At the edge of the breakers of the Black Sea—
Βουκόλος:ἄκραις ἐπὶ ῥηγμῖσιν ἀξένου πόρου —
Iphigenia:And what do herdsmen have to do with the sea?
Ἰφιγένεια:καὶ τίς θαλάσσης βουκόλοις κοινωνία;
Herdsman:We came to wash our cattle in the salt water.
Βουκόλος:βοῦς ἤλθομεν νίψοντες ἐναλίᾳ δρόσῳ.
Iphigenia:Go back to the earlier question, how did you take them, and in what way, for I want to know this. They have come after a long time; the altar of the goddess has not yet been reddened by streams of Hellene blood.
Ἰφιγένεια:ἐκεῖσε δὴ ʼπάνελθε, πῶς νιν εἵλετετρόπῳ θʼ ὁποίῳ· τοῦτο γὰρ μαθεῖν θέλω.χρόνιοι γὰρ ἥκουσʼ· οὐδέ πω βωμὸς θεᾶςἙλληνικαῖσιν ἐξεφοινίχθη ῥοαῖς.
Herdsman:When we were driving the cattle, that feed in the forest, into the sea that flows through the Symplegades, there was a broken cleft, hollowed by the constant surge of waves, shelter for those who hunt the purple-fish. Here one of the herdsmen saw two youths,and made a retreat on tip-toe. He said: “Don’t you see them? These are deities that sit there.” One of us, who revered the gods, lifted up his hands and prayed, as he saw them:
Βουκόλος:ἐπεὶ τὸν ἐσρέοντα διὰ Συμπληγάδωνβοῦς ὑλοφορβοὺς πόντον εἰσεβάλλομεν,ἦν τις διαρρὼξ κυμάτων πολλῷ σάλῳκοιλωπὸς ἀγμός, πορφυρευτικαὶ στέγαι.ἐνταῦθα δισσοὺς εἶδέ τις νεανίαςβουφορβὸς ἡμῶν, κἀπεχώρησεν πάλινἄκροισι δακτύλοισι πορθμεύων ἴχνος.ἔλεξε δʼ· Οὐχ ὁρᾶτε; δαίμονές τινεςθάσσουσιν οἵδε. — θεοσεβὴς δʼ ἡμῶν τις ὢνἀνέσχε χεῖρα καὶ προσηύξατʼ εἰσιδών·
“O son of the sea-goddess Leukothea, guardian of ships, lord Palaemon, be propitious to us! Or do you sit on our shores, twin sons of Zeus? Or the darlings of Nereus, father of the chorus of fifty Nereids?”
ὦ ποντίας παῖ Λευκοθέας, νεῶν φύλαξ,δέσποτα Παλαῖμον, ἵλεως ἡμῖν γενοῦ,εἴτʼ οὖν ἐπʼ ἀκταῖς θάσσετον Διοσκόρω,ἢ Νηρέως ἀγάλμαθʼ, ὃς τὸν εὐγενῆἔτικτε πεντήκοντα Νηρῄδων χορόν.
Another, who was foolish and bold in his lawlessness, laughed at the prayers and asserted that ship-wrecked sailors were sitting on the cliff, in fear of our custom, having heard that we sacrifice strangers here.
ἄλλος δέ τις μάταιος, ἀνομίᾳ θρασύς,ἐγέλασεν εὐχαῖς, ναυτίλους δʼ ἐφθαρμένουςθάσσειν φάραγγʼ ἔφασκε τοῦ νόμου φόβῳ,κλύοντας ὡς θύοιμεν ἐνθάδε ξένους.
Most of us thought that he spoke well,and that we ought to hunt down the customary offerings to the goddess. At this moment, one of the strangers left the rock, and stood, shaking his head up and down and groaning, with hands trembling, wandering in madness; and like a hunter, he cried aloud:
ἔδοξε δʼ ἡμῶν εὖ λέγειν τοῖς πλείοσι,θηρᾶν τε τῇ θεῷ σφάγια τἀπιχώρια.κἀν τῷδε πέτραν ἅτερος λιπὼν ξένοινἔστη κάρα τε διετίναξʼ ἄνω κάτωκἀπεστέναξεν ὠλένας τρέμων ἄκρας,μανίαις ἀλαίνων, καὶ βοᾷ κυναγὸς ὥς·
“Pylades, do you see her? Don’t you see hell’s dragon, how she wants to kill me, fringed with her dreadful vipers against me? and the one who breathes fire and slaughter from her robe and wings her way, my mother”“in her arms—the rocky mass, how she hurls it at me! Ah, she will kill me! Where can I escape?”We could not see these shapes; but he alternated the sounds of sheep and howling of dogs... to send forth the Furies’ imitations.
Πυλάδη, δέδορκας τήνδε; τήνδε δʼ οὐχ ὁρᾷςἍιδου δράκαιναν, ὥς με βούλεται κτανεῖνδειναῖς ἐχίδναις εἰς ἔμʼ ἐστομωμένη;ἣ δʼ ἐκ χιτώνων πῦρ πνέουσα καὶ φόνονπτεροῖς ἐρέσσει, μητέρʼ ἀγκάλαις ἐμὴνἔχουσα — πέτρινον ὄχθον, ὡς ἐπεμβάλῃ.οἴμοι, κτενεῖ με· ποῖ φύγω;παρῆν δʼ ὁρᾶνοὐ ταῦτα μορφῆς σχήματʼ, ἀλλʼ ἠλλάσσετοφθογγάς τε μόσχων καὶ κυνῶν ὑλάγματα,ἃς φᾶσʼ Ἐρινῦς ἱέναι μιμήματα.
Astonished, we cowered together and sat in silence; but he drew his sword and rushed like a lion into the midst of our cattle, striking their flanks with his iron sword and thrusting it into their sides, thinking in this way to ward off the Furies,so that the waves of the sea blossomed red with blood. And all of us, as we saw our herds falling and ravaged, took arms, blew our conch shells, and collected the neighbors; for we thought cowherds would make a poor fight of itagainst well-grown and young foreigners. After a long time, our numbers were complete. But the stranger fell down, his pulsing beat of madness gone, his chin dripping with foam; when we saw him, so conveniently fallen, each of us went to work,hurling and striking at him. The other stranger wiped off the foam and tended his body, covering him with a finely-woven robe, looking out for the attacking blows, treating his friend kindly with his care.
ἡμεῖς δὲ συσταλέντες, ὡς θαμβούμενοι,σιγῇ καθήμεθʼ· ὃ δὲ χερὶ σπάσας ξίφος,μόσχους ὀρούσας ἐς μέσας λέων ὅπως,παίει σιδήρῳ λαγόνας ἐς πλευράς θʼ ἱείς,δοκῶν Ἐρινῦς θεὰς ἀμύνεσθαι τάδε,ὡς αἱματηρὸν πέλαγος ἐξανθεῖν ἁλός.κἀν τῷδε πᾶς τις, ὡς ὁρᾷ βουφόρβιαπίπτοντα καὶ πορθούμενʼ, ἐξωπλίζετο,κόχλους τε φυσῶν συλλέγων τʼ ἐγχωρίους·πρὸς εὐτραφεῖς γὰρ καὶ νεανίας ξένουςφαύλους μάχεσθαι βουκόλους ἡγούμεθα.πολλοὶ δʼ ἐπληρώθημεν ἐν μακρῷ χρόνῳ.πίπτει δὲ μανίας πίτυλον ὁ ξένος μεθείς,στάζων ἀφρῷ γένειον· ὡς δʼ ἐσείδομενπρούργου πεσόντα, πᾶς ἀνὴρ ἔσχεν πόνονβάλλων ἀράσσων. ἅτερος δὲ τοῖν ξένοινἀφρόν τʼ ἀπέψη σώματός τʼ ἐτημέλειπέπλων τε προυκάλυπτεν εὐπήνους ὑφάς,καραδοκῶν μὲν τἀπιόντα τραύματα,φίλον δὲ θεραπείαισιν ἄνδρʼ εὐεργετῶν.
The stranger, now in his senses, started up from his fall and realized the surge of enemies close at hand and the present danger to them both, with a groan; we did not let up our attack with stones, pressing hard from all sides.
ἔμφρων δʼ ἀνᾴξας ὁ ξένος πεσήματοςἔγνω κλύδωνα πολεμίων προσκείμενονκαὶ τὴν παροῦσαν συμφορὰν αὐτοῖν πέλας,ᾤμωξέ θʼ· ἡμεῖς δʼ οὐκ ἀνίεμεν πέτροιςβάλλοντες, ἄλλος ἄλλοθεν προσκείμενοι.
Then we heard his dreadful exhortation: “Pylades, we shall die, but let us die with glory; draw your sword, and follow me.”But when we saw our enemies brandishing their two swords, we fled and filled up the rocky glens.
οὗ δὴ τὸ δεινὸν παρακέλευσμʼ ἠκούσαμεν·Πυλάδη, θανούμεθʼ, ἀλλʼ ὅπως θανούμεθακάλλισθʼ· ἕπου μοι, φάσγανον σπάσας χερί. —ὡς δʼ εἴδομεν δίπαλτα πολεμίων ξίφη,φυγῇ λεπαίας ἐξεπίμπλαμεν νάπας.
But while some would flee, others pressed on and attacked them; if they drove those back, the ones who had just given way struck them with stones again. But it was hard to believe; with so many hands, no one succeeded in hitting these offerings to the goddess.
ἀλλʼ, εἰ φύγοι τις, ἅτεροι προσκείμενοιἔβαλλον αὐτούς· εἰ δὲ τούσδʼ ὠσαίατο,αὖθις τὸ νῦν ὑπεῖκον ἤρασσεν πέτροις.ἀλλʼ ἦν ἄπιστον· μυρίων γὰρ ἐκ χερῶνοὐδεὶς τὰ τῆς θεοῦ θύματʼ εὐτύχει βαλών.
We got the better of them with difficulty; not by daring, but by surrounding them in a circle, with stones we took away their swords; they sank on their knees to the ground, in weariness. Then we brought them to the lord of this land. He saw them, and at oncesent them to you, for purification and slaughter. You have prayed for such sacrificial victims as these strangers, lady; if you destroy them, Hellas will make atonement for your murder and pay the penalty for the sacrifice in Aulis.
μόλις δέ νιν τόλμῃ μὲν οὐ χειρούμεθα,κύκλῳ δὲ περιβαλόντες ἐξεκλέψαμενπέτροισι χειρῶν φάσγανʼ, ἐς δὲ γῆν γόνυκαμάτῳ καθεῖσαν. πρὸς δʼ ἄνακτα τῆσδε γῆςκομίζομέν νιν. ὃ δʼ ἐσιδὼν ὅσον τάχοςἐς χέρνιβάς τε καὶ σφαγεῖʼ ἔπεμπέ σοι.ηὔχου δὲ τοιάδʼ, ὦ νεᾶνί, σοι ξένωνσφάγια παρεῖναι· κἂν ἀναλίσκῃς ξένουςτοιούσδε, τὸν σὸν Ἑλλὰς ἀποτείσει φόνονδίκας τίνουσα τῆς ἐν Αὐλίδι σφαγῆς.
Chorus Leader:You have told an amazing story about this madman, whoever he is, who has come from Hellas to the Black Sea.
Χορός:θαυμάστʼ ἔλεξας τὸν μανένθʼ, ὅστις ποτὲἝλληνος ἐκ γῆς πόντον ἦλθεν ἄξενον.
Iphigenia:Very well. You go and bring the strangers here; the holy rites will be my concern. Exit Herdsman.O my unhappy heart, you were gentle to strangers before,and always full of pity, measuring out tears for the sake of our common race, whenever Hellenes came into your hands. But now, after those dreams that have made me savage, thinking that Orestes is no longer alive,whoever comes here will find me harsh to them. This is true after all, my friends, I have realized: the unfortunate, when themselves doing badly, do not have kind thoughts towards those who are more unfortunate.
Ἰφιγένεια:εἶἑν· σὺ μὲν κόμιζε τοὺς ξένους μολών,τὰ δʼ ἐνθάδʼ ἡμεῖς ὅσια φροντιούμεθα —ὦ καρδία τάλαινα, πρὶν μὲν ἐς ξένουςγαληνὸς ἦσθα καὶ φιλοικτίρμων ἀεί,ἐς θοὑμόφυλον ἀναμετρουμένη δάκρυ,Ἕλληνας ἄνδρας ἡνίκʼ ἐς χέρας λάβοις.νῦν δʼ ἐξ ὀνείρων οἷσιν ἠγριώμεθα,δοκοῦσʼ Ὀρέστην μηκέθʼ ἥλιον βλέπειν,δύσνουν με λήψεσθʼ, οἵτινές ποθʼ ἥκετε.καὶ τοῦτʼ ἄρʼ ἦν ἀληθές, ᾐσθόμην, φίλαι·οἱ δυστυχεῖς γὰρ τοῖσι δυστυχεστέροιςαὐτοὶ κακῶς πράξαντες οὐ φρονοῦσιν εὖ.
But no breeze from Zeus ever came,or a boat, bringing Helen here, through the rocks of the Symplegedes—Helen who destroyed me, with Menelaus, so that I might avenge myself on them, setting an Aulis here against that one there, where the Danaids overpowered me and were going to sacrifice me like a calf,and my own father was the priest.
ἀλλʼ οὔτε πνεῦμα Διόθεν ἦλθε πώποτε,οὐ πορθμίς, ἥτις διὰ πέτρας ΣυμπληγάδαςἙλένην ἀπήγαγʼ ἐνθάδʼ, ἥ μʼ ἀπώλεσεν,Μενέλεών θʼ, ἵνʼ αὐτοὺς ἀντετιμωρησάμην,τὴν ἐνθάδʼ Αὖλιν ἀντιθεῖσα τῆς ἐκεῖ,οὗ μʼ ὥστε μόσχον Δαναΐδαι χειρούμενοιἔσφαζον, ἱερεὺς δʼ ἦν ὁ γεννήσας πατήρ.
Ah me!—I cannot forget those past evils—how often did I stroke my father’s cheek and, hanging on his knees, told him: “O father, I am brought”“to a shameful betrothal by you; but while you are killing me, my mother and the Argive women are singing wedding hymns, and the whole house is filled with the music of flutes; but I am being destroyed by you. For Achilles was Hades after all, not the son of Peleus,”“whom you held out to me as a husband, and you brought me in a chariot to a bloody wedding by treachery.” But I was modestly looking out through a fine veil, and did not take up my brother in my arms—and now he is dead—did not kiss my sister,because I was going to the house of Peleus; I put off many embraces to another time, thinking that I would come back again to Argos.
οἴμοι — κακῶν γὰρ τῶν τότʼ οὐκ ἀμνημονῶ —ὅσας γενείου χεῖρας ἐξηκόντισαγονάτων τε τοῦ τεκόντος, ἐξαρτωμένη,λέγουσα τοιάδʼ· ὦ πάτερ, νυμφεύομαινυμφεύματʼ αἰσχρὰ πρὸς σέθεν· μήτηρ δʼ ἐμὲσέθεν κατακτείνοντος Ἀργεῖαί τε νῦνὑμνοῦσιν ὑμεναίοισιν, αὐλεῖται δὲ πᾶνμέλαθρον· ἡμεῖς δʼ ὀλλύμεσθα πρὸς σέθεν.Ἅιδης Ἀχιλλεὺς ἦν ἄρʼ, οὐχ ὁ Πηλέως,ὅν μοι προσείσας πόσιν, ἐν ἁρμάτων ὄχοιςἐς αἱματηρὸν γάμον ἐπόρθμευσας δόλῳ.ἐγὼ δὲ λεπτῶν ὄμμα διὰ καλυμμάτωνἔχουσʼ, ἀδελφόν τʼ οὐκ ἀνειλόμην χεροῖν,— ὃς νῦν ὄλωλεν — οὐ κασιγνήτῃ στόμασυνῆψʼ ὑπʼ αἰδοῦς, ὡς ἰοῦσʼ ἐς Πηλέωςμέλαθρα· πολλὰ δʼ ἀπεθέμην ἀσπάσματαἐς αὖθις, ὡς ἥξουσʼ ἐς Ἄργος αὖ πάλιν.
My unhappy Orestes, if you are dead, what glories have you left, what achievements of a father!I blame the goddess’ subtleties; whichever mortal has engaged in murder, or has touched a woman in childbirth or a corpse, she drives from her altars, thinking him impure; but she herself delights in human sacrifices.
ὦ τλῆμον, εἰ τέθνηκας, ἐξ οἵων καλῶνἔρρεις, Ὀρέστα, καὶ πατρὸς ζηλωμάτων —τὰ τῆς θεοῦ δὲ μέμφομαι σοφίσματα,ἥτις βροτῶν μὲν ἤν τις ἅψηται φόνου,ἢ καὶ λοχείας ἢ νεκροῦ θίγῃ χεροῖν,βωμῶν ἀπείργει, μυσαρὸν ὡς ἡγουμένη,αὐτὴ δὲ θυσίαις ἥδεται βροτοκτόνοις.
It is not possible that Leto, the wife of Zeus, gave birth to such folly. I judge that the feast prepared by Tantalus for the gods is not to be believed, that they fed on the flesh of his son; and I think that the people here, who are themselves killers of men,ascribe to the goddess their sorry behavior. For I believe that no god is evil.
οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως ἔτεκεν ἂν ἡ Διὸς δάμαρΛητὼ τοσαύτην ἀμαθίαν. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖντὰ Ταντάλου θεοῖσιν ἑστιάματαἄπιστα κρίνω, παιδὸς ἡσθῆναι βορᾷ,τοὺς δʼ ἐνθάδʼ, αὐτοὺς ὄντας ἀνθρωποκτόνους,ἐς τὴν θεὸν τὸ φαῦλον ἀναφέρειν δοκῶ·οὐδένα γὰρ οἶμαι δαιμόνων εἶναι κακόν.
Chorus:Dark straits of the sea, dark, where the gadfly flying from Argoscrossed over the inhospitable wave... taking the Asian land in exchange for Europe. Whoever are the ones who left the lovely watersof Eurotas, green with reeds, or the holy streams of Dirce, to come here, to come to the unsociable land, where, for the divine maiden, the blood of mortals stainsthe altars and columned temples?
Χορός:κυάνεαι κυάνεαισύνοδοι θαλάσσας, ἵνʼ οἶ-στρος ὁ πετόμενος Ἀργόθεν ἄ-ξενον ἐπʼ οἶδμα διεπέρασεν —Ἀσιήτιδα γαῖανΕὐρώπας διαμείψας.τίνες ποτʼ ἄρα τὸν εὔυδρον δονακόχλοαλιπόντες Εὐρώταν ἢῥεύματα σεμνὰ Δίρκαςἔβασαν ἔβασαν ἄμεικτον αἶαν, ἔνθα κούρᾳδίᾳ τέγγειβωμοὺς καὶ περικίοναςναοὺς αἷμα βρότειον;
Chorus:Did they sail the pine-wood oars with double beat of surge, over the waves of the sea,a chariot of a ship in breezes that move the linen sails, to increase the contest of wealth for their halls? For hope is sweet, andinsatiable in mortals, to their hurt, for those who bear away the weight of wealth, wandering over the wave and crossing to barbarian cities, with one expectation. But thought of wealth comes at the wrong time for some,while for others it comes moderately.
Χορός:ἦ ῥοθίοις εἰλατίναςδικρότοισι κώπας ἔπλευ-σαν ἐπὶ πόντια κύματα, νά-ιον ὄχημα λινοπόροις αὔραις,φιλόπλουτον ἅμιλλαναὔξοντες μελάθροισιν;φίλα γὰρ ἐλπίς γʼ, ἐπί τε πήμασιν βροτῶνἄπληστος ἀνθρώποις, ὄλ-βου βάρος οἳ φέρονταιπλάνητες ἐπʼ οἶδμα πόλεις τε βαρβάρους περῶντες,κοινᾷ δόξᾳ·γνώμα δʼ οἷς μὲν ἄκαιρος ὄλ-βου, τοῖς δʼ ἐς μέσον ἥκει.
Chorus:The rocks that rush together, the sleepless shores of Phineus—how did they cross them, running along the salty coaston Amphitrite’s surge, where the fifty daughters of Nereus... the circular choruses sing,with wind in the sails, the guiding rudder creaking under the stern, with southern breezes or by the blasts of the west wind,to the land of many birds, the white strand, Achilles’ lovely race-course, over the Black Sea?
Χορός:πῶς πέτρας τὰς συνδρομάδας,πῶς Φινεϊδᾶν ἀΰ-πνους ἀκτὰς ἐπέρασανπαρʼ ἅλιοναἰγιαλὸν ἐπʼ Ἀμφιτρί-τας ῥοθίῳ δραμόντες,ὅπου πεντήκοντα κορᾶνΝηρῄδων … χοροὶμέλπουσιν ἐγκύκλιοι,πλησιστίοισι πνοαῖςσυριζόντων κατὰ πρύμνανεὐναίων πηδαλίωναὔραις ⟨σὺν⟩ νοτίαιςἢ πνεύμασι Ζεφύρου,τὰν πολυόρνιθον ἐπʼ αἶ-αν, λευκὰν ἀκτάν, Ἀχιλῆ-ος δρόμους καλλισταδίους,ἄξεινον κατὰ πόντον;
Chorus:Would that, by my mistress’ prayers, Helen, Leda’s dear child,might happen to leave Troy and come here, where she might die, crowned over her hair by the bloody water,her throat cut by the hands of my mistress, and so pay her requital. But what a sweet message I should receive, if a sailor came from Hellas,to put an end to my wretched slavery! For may I even in dreams be at home and in my ancestral city, the enjoyment of pleasant sleep,a grace we have in common with prosperity.
Χορός:εἴθʼ εὐχαῖσιν δεσποσύνοιςΛήδας Ἑλένα φίλαπαῖς ἐλθοῦσα τύχοι τὰνΤρῳάδα λι-ποῦσα πόλιν, ἵνʼ ἀμφὶ χαί-τᾳ δρόσον αἱματηρὰνἑλιχθεῖσα λαιμοτόμῳδεσποίνας χειρὶ θάνοιποινὰς δοῦσʼ ἀντιπάλους.ἁδίσταν δʼ ἀγγελίανδεξαίμεσθʼ, Ἑλλάδος ἐκ γᾶςπλωτήρων εἴ τις ἔβα,δουλείας ἐμέθενδειλαίας παυσίπονος·κἀν γὰρ ὀνείροισι συνεί-ην δόμοις πόλει τε πατρῴ-ᾳ, τερπνῶν ὕπνων ἀπόλαυ-σιν, κοινὰν χάριν ὄλβου.
Chorus Leader:But here come the two youths, with tightly bound hands, the new sacrifice for the goddess; silence, my friends. These first-fruits of Hellas are indeedapproaching the temple; the herdman did not deliver a false message.
Χορός:ἀλλʼ οἵδε χέρας δεσμοῖς δίδυμοισυνερεισθέντες χωροῦσι, νέονπρόσφαγμα θεᾶς· σιγᾶτε, φίλαι.τὰ γὰρ Ἑλλήνων ἀκροθίνια δὴναοῖσι πέλας τάδε βαίνει·οὐδʼ ἀγγελίας ψευδεῖς ἔλακενβουφορβὸς ἀνήρ.
Lady Artemis, if this city carries out the rites in a way pleasing to you, accept the victims,which the custom among us declares to be unholy.
ὦ πότνιʼ, εἴ σοι τάδʼ ἀρεσκόντωςπόλις ἥδε τελεῖ, δέξαι θυσίας,ἃς ὁ παρʼ ἡμῖν νόμος οὐχ ὁσίας[Ἕλλησι διδοὺς] ἀναφαίνει.
Iphigenia:Enough; first, it will be my care to perform well the rites of the goddess. Unbind the strangers’ hands, so that, as holy victims, they may no longer be in chains.
Ἰφιγένεια:εἶἑν·τὰ τῆς θεοῦ μὲν πρῶτον ὡς καλῶς ἔχῃφροντιστέον μοι. μέθετε τῶν ξένων χέρας,ὡς ὄντες ἱεροὶ μηκέτʼ ὦσι δέσμιοι.
Then go into the temple and make ready what is necessary and customary at the present time.
ναοῦ δʼ ἔσω στείχοντες εὐτρεπίζετεἃ χρὴ ʼπὶ τοῖς παροῦσι καὶ νομίζεται.
(Turning to the prisoners.) Ah! Who was your mother, who gave you birth, and your father? And your sister, if you happen to have one... such two youths as she has lost,and will be without a brother! Who knows where such fortunes will arrive? For all the gods’ affairs creep on in darkness, and no one knows evil... fate leads us on towards what we cannot know.
φεῦ·τίς ἆρα μήτηρ ἡ τεκοῦσʼ ὑμᾶς ποτεπατήρ τʼ; ἀδελφή τʼ, εἰ γεγῶσα τυγχάνει —οἵων στερεῖσα διπτύχων νεανιῶνἀνάδελφος ἔσται. — τὰς τύχας τίς οἶδʼ ὅτῳτοιαίδʼ ἔσονται; πάντα γὰρ τὰ τῶν θεῶνἐς ἀφανὲς ἕρπει, κοὐδὲν οἶδʼ οὐδεὶς κακὸν⟨… ⟩ἡ γὰρ τύχη παρήγαγʼ ἐς τὸ δυσμαθές.
Unhappy strangers, where have you come from?
πόθεν ποθʼ ἥκετʼ, ὦ ταλαίπωροι ξένοι;
For you have sailed a long time to reach this land, and you will be away from your home a long time, in the world below.
ὡς διὰ μακροῦ μὲν τήνδʼ ἐπλεύσατε χθόνα,μακρὸν δʼ ἀπʼ οἴκων χρόνον ἔσεσθʼ ἀεὶ κάτω.
Orestes:Why do you lament these things, and mourn for the evils about to come upon us, lady, whoever you are? I do not think the one who is about to die wise,if he wishes to conquer the fear of death by wailing, nor the one who laments when Hades is near and there is no hope of safety; for so he puts together two ills out of one, incurring a charge of folly and dying all the same; we must let fate alone.
Ὀρέστης:τί ταῦτʼ ὀδύρῃ, κἀπὶ τοῖς μέλλουσι νῷνκακοῖσι λυπεῖς, ἥτις εἶ ποτʼ, ὦ γύναι;οὔτοι νομίζω σοφόν, ὃς ἂν μέλλων κτενεῖνοἴκτῳ τὸ δεῖμα τοὐλέθρου νικᾶν θέλῃ.οὐχ ὅστις Ἅιδην ἐγγὺς ὄντʼ οἰκτίζεταισωτηρίας ἄνελπις· ὡς δύʼ ἐξ ἑνὸςκακὼ συνάπτει, μωρίαν τʼ ὀφλισκάνειθνῄσκει θʼ ὁμοίως· τὴν τύχην δʼ ἐᾶν χρεών.
Do not grieve for us; for we are acquainted with the sacrifices here and we know them.
ἡμᾶς δὲ μὴ θρήνει σύ· τὰς γὰρ ἐνθάδεθυσίας ἐπιστάμεσθα καὶ γιγνώσκομεν.
Iphigenia:Which of you is called by the name of Pylades? I want to know this first.
Ἰφιγένεια:πότερος ἄρʼ ὑμῶν ἐνθάδʼ ὠνομασμένοςΠυλάδης κέκληται; τόδε μαθεῖν πρῶτον θέλω.
Orestes:That one, if you have any pleasure in the knowledge.
Ὀρέστης:ὅδʼ, εἴ τι δή σοι τοῦτʼ ἐν ἡδονῇ μαθεῖν.
Iphigenia:Of what city of Hellas were you born a citizen?
Ἰφιγένεια:ποίας πολίτης πατρίδος Ἕλληνος γεγώς;
Orestes:What would you gain by learning this, lady?
Ὀρέστης:τί δʼ ἂν μαθοῦσα τόδε πλέον λάβοις, γύναι;
Iphigenia:Are you brothers, from one mother?
Ἰφιγένεια:πότερον ἀδελφὼ μητρός ἐστον ἐκ μιᾶς;
Orestes:By friendship, yes; we are not brothers by birth, lady.
Ὀρέστης:φιλότητί γʼ· ἐσμὲν δʼ οὐ κασιγνήτω, γύναι.
Iphigenia:What name did your father give you?
Ἰφιγένεια:σοὶ δʼ ὄνομα ποῖον ἔθεθʼ ὁ γεννήσας πατήρ;
Orestes:I might rightly be called Unfortunate.
Ὀρέστης:τὸ μὲν δίκαιον Δυστυχὴς καλοίμεθʼ ἄν.
Iphigenia:I do not ask that; ascribe that to fortune.
Ἰφιγένεια:οὐ τοῦτʼ ἐρωτῶ· τοῦτο μὲν δὸς τῇ τύχῃ.
Orestes:If I die unnamed, I would not be mocked at.
Ὀρέστης:ἀνώνυμοι θανόντες οὐ γελῴμεθʼ ἄν.
Iphigenia:Why do you begrudge this? Are you so proud?
Ἰφιγένεια:τί δὲ φθονεῖς τοῦτο; ἦ φρονεῖς οὕτω μέγα;
Orestes:You will sacrifice my body, not my name.
Ὀρέστης:τὸ σῶμα θύσεις τοὐμόν, οὐχὶ τοὔνομα.
Iphigenia:Can you not say what city you are from?
Ἰφιγένεια:οὐδʼ ἂν πόλιν φράσειας ἥτις ἐστί σοι;
Orestes:You are seeking nothing profitable, since I am going to die.
Ὀρέστης:ζητεῖς γὰρ οὐδὲν κέρδος, ὡς θανουμένῳ.
Iphigenia:What hinders you from doing me this favor?
Ἰφιγένεια:χάριν δὲ δοῦναι τήνδε κωλύει τί σε;
Orestes:The famous Argos I claim as my native land.
Ὀρέστης:τὸ κλεινὸν Ἄργος πατρίδʼ ἐμὴν ἐπεύχομαι.
Iphigenia:By the gods, truly, stranger, were you born there?
Ἰφιγένεια:πρὸς θεῶν, ἀληθῶς, ὦ ξένʼ, εἶ κεῖθεν γεγώς;
Orestes:Yes, from Mycenae, which was once prosperous.
Ὀρέστης:ἐκ τῶν Μυκηνῶν ⟨γʼ⟩, αἵ ποτʼ ἦσαν ὄλβιαι.
Iphigenia:Have you left your country as an exile, or by what fate?
Ἰφιγένεια:φυγὰς ⟨δʼ⟩ ἀπῆρας πατρίδος, ἢ ποίᾳ τύχῃ;
Orestes:My flight is in some manner willed and unwilled.
Ὀρέστης:φεύγω τρόπον γε δή τινʼ οὐχ ἑκὼν ἑκών.
Iphigenia:Could you then tell me something that I wish to know?
Ἰφιγένεια:ἆρʼ ἄν τί μοι φράσειας ὧν ἐγὼ θέλω;
Orestes:It will be no great addition to my own misfortune.
Ὀρέστης:ὡς ἐν παρέργῳ τῆς ἐμῆς δυσπραξίας.
Iphigenia:Indeed, I am so glad that you have come from Argos!
Ἰφιγένεια:καὶ μὴν ποθεινός γʼ ἦλθες ἐξ Ἄργους μολών.
Orestes:I am not; but if you are, take pleasure in it.
Ὀρέστης:οὔκουν ἐμαυτῷ γʼ· εἰ δὲ σοί, σὺ τοῦτʼ ἔρα.
Iphigenia:Perhaps you know Troy, whose fame is everywhere.
Ἰφιγένεια:Τροίαν ἴσως οἶσθʼ, ἧς ἁπανταχοῦ λόγος.
Orestes:Would that I did not, even seen in a dream!
Ὀρέστης:ὡς μήποτʼ ὤφελόν γε μηδʼ ἰδὼν ὄναρ.
Iphigenia:They say it is no more, lost to the spear.
Ἰφιγένεια:φασίν νιν οὐκέτʼ οὖσαν οἴχεσθαι δορί.
Orestes:It is so; you have heard nothing that has not happened.
Ὀρέστης:ἔστιν γὰρ οὕτως οὐδʼ ἄκραντʼ ἠκούσατε.
Iphigenia:Has Helen come back to Menelaus’ home?
Ἰφιγένεια:Ἑλένη δʼ ἀφῖκται δῶμα Μενέλεω πάλιν;
Orestes:She has; it was an unfortunate arrival for one dear to me.
Ὀρέστης:ἥκει, κακῶς γʼ ἐλθοῦσα τῶν ἐμῶν τινι.
Iphigenia:And where is she? She deserves an ill turn from me also.
Ἰφιγένεια:καὶ ποῦ ʼστι; κἀμοὶ γάρ τι προυφείλει κακόν.
Orestes:She lives at Sparta with her former bedfellow.
Ὀρέστης:Σπάρτῃ ξυνοικεῖ τῷ πάρος ξυνευνέτῃ.
Iphigenia:Creature hated by Hellas, not by me alone!
Ἰφιγένεια:ὦ μῖσος εἰς Ἕλληνας, οὐκ ἐμοὶ μόνῃ.
Orestes:I have also had some benefit from the marriage of that woman!
Ὀρέστης:ἀπέλαυσα κἀγὼ δή τι τῶν κείνης γάμων.
Iphigenia:Have the Achaeans returned, as reported?
Ἰφιγένεια:νόστος δʼ Ἀχαιῶν ἐγένεθʼ, ὡς κηρύσσεται;
Orestes:How you put everything together and ask me all at once!
Ὀρέστης:ὡς πάνθʼ ἅπαξ με συλλαβοῦσʼ ἀνιστορεῖς.
Iphigenia:Before you die, I want to profit by your answers.
Ἰφιγένεια:πρὶν γὰρ θανεῖν σε, τοῦδʼ ἐπαυρέσθαι θέλω.
Orestes:Question me, since you desire this; I will tell you.
Ὀρέστης:ἔλεγχʼ, ἐπειδὴ τοῦδʼ ἐρᾷς· λέξω δʼ ἐγώ.
Iphigenia:Has a certain Calchas, a prophet, come back from Troy?
Ἰφιγένεια:Κάλχας τις ἦλθε μάντις ἐκ Τροίας πάλιν;
Orestes:He is dead, as the story goes in Mycenae.
Ὀρέστης:ὄλωλεν, ὡς ἦν ἐν Μυκηναίοις λόγος.
Iphigenia:O goddess, how good that is! What about Odysseus?
Ἰφιγένεια:ὦ πότνιʼ, ὡς εὖ. — τί γὰρ ὁ Λαέρτου γόνος;
Orestes:He has not yet returned, but is alive, they say.
Ὀρέστης:οὔπω νενόστηκʼ οἶκον, ἔστι δʼ, ὡς λόγος.
Iphigenia:May he die and never achieve a return to his country!
Ἰφιγένεια:ὄλοιτο, νόστου μήποτʼ ἐς πάτραν τυχών.
Orestes:Do not pray against that man; all is misery for him.
Ὀρέστης:μηδὲν κατεύχου· πάντα τἀκείνου νοσεῖ.
Iphigenia:But is the son of Thetis the Nereid still alive?
Ἰφιγένεια:Θέτιδος δʼ ὁ τῆς Νηρῇδος ἔστι παῖς ἔτι;