---
title: "Suppliant Women · Ἱκέτιδες"
author: "Euripides"
translator: "Edward P. Coleridge"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 2 of 2
url: https://scriptura.si/works/euripides-suppliants/2/
cite: "Euripides, tr. Edward P. Coleridge, Suppliant Women · Ἱκέτιδες, section 2. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/euripides-suppliants/2/"
---

# Suppliant Women · Ἱκέτιδες

*Euripides, tr. Edward P. Coleridge*

The mothers of the Seven ask Athens to recover their sons’ bodies for burial.

> Greek: ed. Gilbert Murray, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0006.tlg008, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Edward P. Coleridge, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0006.tlg008.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (line numbers), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 2. Lines 598–1234

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/euripides-suppliants/2/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/euripides-suppliants/2/#p-N

[¶0] 1st Half-Chorus:
Unhappy mothers of those hapless chiefs! How wildly in my heart pale fear stirs up alarm!
2nd Half-Chorus:
What is this new cry thou utterest?

> Greek: Χορός:
— ὦ μέλεαι μελέων ματέρες λοχαγῶν,
ὥς μοι ὑφʼ ἥπατι χλωρὸν δεῖμα θάσσει —
— τίνʼ αὐδὰν τάνδε προσφέρεις νέαν;

[¶1] 1st Half-Chorus:
I fear the issue of the strife, whereto the hosts of Pallas march.

> Greek: — στράτευμα πᾷ Παλλάδος κριθήσεται;

[¶2] 2nd Half-Chorus:
Dost speak of issues of the sword, or interchange of words?

> Greek: — διὰ δορὸς εἶπας, ἢ λόγων ξυναλλαγαῖς;

[¶3] 1st Half-Chorus:
That last were gain indeed; but if the carnage of battle, fighting, and
the noise of beaten breasts again be heard in the land, what, alas! will be said of me, who am the cause thereof?

> Greek: — γένοιτʼ ἂν κέρδος· εἰ δʼ ἀρείφατοι
φόνοι μάχαι στερνοτυπεῖς τʼ ἀνὰ πτόλιν
κτύποι φανήσονται, τάλαι-
να, τίνα λόγον, τίνʼ ἂν τῶνδʼ αἰτία λάβοιμι;

[¶4] 2nd Half-Chorus:
Yet may fate again bring low the brilliant victor;’tis this brave thought that twines about my heart.

> Greek: Χορός:
— ἀλλὰ τὸν εὐτυχίᾳ λαμπρὸν ἄν τις αἱροῖ
μοῖρα πάλιν· τόδε μοι θράσος ἀμφιβαίνει.

[¶5] 1st Half-Chorus:
Thou speak’st of the gods as if they were just.

> Greek: — δικαίους δαίμονας σύ γʼ ἐννέπεις.

[¶6] 2nd Half-Chorus:
For who but they allot whate’er betides?

> Greek: — τίνες γὰρ ἄλλοι νέμουσι συμφοράς;

[¶7] 1st Half-Chorus:
I see many a contradiction in their dealings with men.

> Greek: — διάφορα πολλὰ θεῶν βροτοῖσιν εἰσορῶ.

[¶8] 2nd Half-Chorus:
The former fear hath warped thy judgment. Vengeance calls vengeance forth; slaughter calls for slaughter,
but the gods give respite from affliction, holding in their own hands each thing’s allotted end.

> Greek: — φόβῳ γὰρ τῷ πάρος διόλλυσαι·
δίκα δίκαν δʼ ἐκάλεσε καὶ φόνος φόνον,
κακῶν δʼ ἀναψυχὰς θεοὶ
βροτοῖς νέμουσι, πάντων τέρμʼ ἔχοντες αὐτοί.

[¶9] 1st Half-Chorus:
Would I could reach yon plains with turrets crowned, leaving Callichorus, fountain of the goddess!
2nd Half-Chorus:
O that some god would give me wings to fly to the city of rivers twain!

> Greek: Χορός:
— τὰ καλλίπυργα πεδία πῶς ἱκοίμεθʼ ἄν,
Καλλίχορον θεᾶς ὕδωρ λιποῦσαι —
— ποτανὰν εἴ σέ τις θεῶν κτίσαι.
— διπόταμον ἵνα πόλιν μόλω.

[¶10] 1st Half-Chorus:
So might’st thou see and know the fortunes of thy friends.

> Greek: — εἰδείης ἂν φίλων εἰδείης ἂν τύχας.

[¶11] 2nd Half-Chorus:
What fate, what issue there awaits the valiant
monarch of this land?

> Greek: — τίς ποτʼ αἶσα, τίς ἄρα πότμος
ἐπιμένει τὸν ἄλκιμον
τᾶσδε γᾶς ἄνακτα;

[¶12] 1st Half-Chorus:
Once more do we invoke the gods we called upon before; yea, in our fear this is our first and chiefest trust.

> Greek: Χορός:
— κεκλημένους μὲν ἀνακαλούμεθʼ αὖ θεούς·
— ἀλλὰ φόβων πίστις ἅδε πρώτα.

[¶13] 2nd Half-Chorus:
O Zeus, father to the child the heifer-mother bore in days long past, that daughter of Inachus!

> Greek: — ἰὼ Ζεῦ, τᾶς παλαιομάτορος
παιδογόνε πόριος Ἰνάχου.

[¶14] 1st Half-Chorus:
O be gracious, I pray, and champion this city!

> Greek: — πόλει μοι ξύμμαχος γενοῦ τᾷδʼ εὐμενής.

[¶15] 2nd Half-Chorus:’Tis thy own darling, thy own settler in the city of Argos that I am striving to rescue for the funeral pyre from outrageous insult.

> Greek: — τὸ σὸν ἄγαλμα, τὸ σὸν ἵδρυμα
πόλεος, ἐκκομίζομαι
πρὸς πυρὰν ὑβρισθέν.

[¶16] Messenger:
Ladies, I bring you tidings of great joy, myself escaped—for I was taken prisoner in the battle
which cost those chieftains seven their lives near Dirce’s fount—to bear the news of Theseus’ victory. But I will save thee tedious questioning; I was the servant of Capaneus,
whom Zeus with scorching bolt to ashes burnt.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
γυναῖκες, ἥκω πόλλʼ ἔχων λέγειν φίλα,
αὐτός τε σωθείς· ᾑρέθην γὰρ ἐν μάχῃ,
ἣν οἱ θανόντων ἑπτὰ δεσποτῶν λόχοι
ἠγωνίσαντο ῥεῦμα Διρκαῖον πάρα·
νίκην τε Θησέως ἀγγελῶν. λόγου δέ σε
μακροῦ ἀποπαύσω· Καπανέως γὰρ ἦ λάτρις,
ὃν Ζεὺς κεραυνῷ πυρπόλῳ καταιθαλοῖ.

[¶17] Chorus:
Friend of friends, fair thy news of thy own return, nor less the news about Theseus; and if the host of Athens, too, is safe, welcome will all thy message be.

> Greek: Χορός:
ὦ φίλτατʼ, εὖ μὲν νόστον ἀγγέλλεις σέθεν
τήν τʼ ἀμφὶ Θησέως βάξιν· εἰ δὲ καὶ στρατὸς
σῶς ἐστʼ Ἀθηνῶν, πάντʼ ἂν ἀγγέλλοις φίλα.

[¶18] Messenger:’Tis safe, and all hath happened as I would it had befallen Adrastus
and his Argives, whom from Inachus he led, to march against the city of the Cadmeans.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
σῶς, καὶ πέπραγεν ὡς Ἄδραστος ὤφελεν
πρᾶξαι ξὺν Ἀργείοισιν, οὓς ἀπʼ Ἰνάχου
στείλας ἐπεστράτευσε Καδμείων πόλιν.

[¶19] Chorus:
How did the son of Aegeus and his fellow-warriors raise their trophy to Zeus? Tell us, for thou wert there and canst gladden us who were not.

> Greek: Χορός:
πῶς γὰρ τροπαῖα Ζηνὸς Αἰγέως τόκος
ἔστησεν οἵ τε συμμετασχόντες δορός;
λέξον· παρὼν γὰρ οὐ παρόντας εὐφρανεῖς.

[¶20] Messenger:
Bright shone the sun, one levelled line of light, upon the world, as by Electra’s gate I stood to watch, from a turret with a far outlook. And lo! I saw the host in three divisions, deploying its mail-clad warriors
on the high ground by the banks of Ismenus; this last I heard; and with them was the king himself, famous son of Aegeus; his own men, natives of old Cecropia, were ranged upon the right; while on the left,
hard by the fountain of Ares, were the dwellers by the sea, harnessed spearmen they; on either wing were posted cavalry, in equal numbers, and chariots were stationed in the shelter of Amphion’s holy tomb. Meantime, the folk of Cadmus set themselves before the walls,
placing in the rear the bodies for which they fought. Horse to horse, and car to car stood ranged. Then did the herald of Theseus cry aloud to all: “Be still, ye folk! hush, ye ranks of Cadmus,”
“hearken! we are come to fetch the bodies of the slain, wishing to bury them in observance of the universal law of Hellas; no wish have we to lengthen out the slaughter.”

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
λαμπρὰ μὲν ἀκτὶς ἡλίου, κανὼν σαφής,
ἔβαλλε γαῖαν· ἀμφὶ δʼ Ἠλέκτρας πύλας
ἔστην θεατὴς πύργον εὐαγῆ λαβών.
ὁρῶ δὲ φῦλα τρία τριῶν στρατευμάτων·
τευχεσφόρον μὲν λαὸν ἐκτείνοντʼ ἄνω
Ἰσμήνιον πρὸς ὄχθον, ὡς μὲν ἦν λόγος,
αὐτόν τʼ ἄνακτα, παῖδα κλεινὸν Αἰγέως,
καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ, δεξιὸν τεταγμένους
κέρας, παλαιᾶς Κεκροπίας ⟨τʼ⟩ οἰκήτορας,
ἴσους ἀριθμόν· ἁρμάτων δʼ ὀχήματα
αὐτόν τε Πάραλον ἐστολισμένον δορὶ
κρήνην παρʼ αὐτὴν Ἄρεος· ἱππότην δʼ ὄχλον
πρὸς κρασπέδοισι στρατοπέδου τεταγμένον.
Κάδμου δὲ λαὸς ἧστο πρόσθε τειχέων,
νεκροὺς ὄπισθεν θέμενος, ὧν ἔκειτʼ ἀγών,
ἔνερθε σεμνῶν μνημάτων Ἀμφίονος.
ἱππεῦσι δʼ ἱππῆς ἦσαν ἀνθωπλισμένοι
τετραόροισί τʼ ἀντίʼ ἅρμαθʼ ἅρμασιν.
κῆρυξ δὲ Θησέως εἶπεν ἐς πάντας τάδε·
Σιγᾶτε, λαοί· σῖγα, Καδμείων στίχες,
ἀκούσαθʼ· ἡμεῖς ἥκομεν νεκροὺς μέτα,
θάψαι θέλοντες, τὸν Πανελλήνων νόμον
σῴζοντες, οὐδὲν δεόμενοι τεῖναι φόνον.

[¶21] Not a word would Creon let his herald answer back, but there he stood in silence under arms. Then did the drivers of the four-horse cars
begin the fray; on, past each other they drave their chariots, bringing the warriors at their sides up into line. Some fought with swords, some wheeled the horses back to the fray again for those they drove.

> Greek: κοὐδὲν Κρέων τοῖσδʼ ἀντεκήρυξεν λόγοις,
ἀλλʼ ἧστʼ ἐφʼ ὅπλοις σῖγα. ποιμένες δʼ ὄχων
τετραόρων κατῆρχον ἐντεῦθεν μάχης·
πέραν δὲ διελάσαντες ἀλλήλων ὄχους,
παραιβάτας ἔστησαν ἐς τάξιν δορός.
χοἳ μὲν σιδήρῳ διεμάχονθʼ, οἳ δʼ ἔστρεφον
πώλους ἐς ἀλκὴν αὖθις ἐς παραιβάτας.

[¶22] Now when Phorbas, who captained the cavalry of the Erechthidae, saw the thronging chariots, he and they who had the charge of the Theban horse met hand to hand, and by turns were victors and vanquished. The many horrors happening there I saw, not merely heard about, for I was at the spot
where the chariots and their riders met and fought, but which to tell of first I know not,—the clouds of dust that mounted to the sky, the warriors tangled in the reins and dragged this way and that,
the streams of crimson gore, when men fell dead, or when, from shattered chariot-seats, they tumble headlong to the ground, and, mid the splinters of their cars, gave up the ghost. But Creon, when he marked our cavalry’s success on one wing,
caught up a shield and rushed into the fray, ere that despondency should seize his men; but not for that did Theseus recoil in fear; no! snatching up at once his glittering harness he hied him on. And the twain, clashing their shields together as they met in the midst of the assembled host,
were dealing death and courting it, shouting loudly each to his fellow the battle-cry: “Slay, and with thy spear strike home against the sons of Erechtheus.” Fierce foes to cope with were the warriors whom the dragon’s teeth to manhood reared; so fierce, they broke
our left wing, albeit theirs was routed by our right and put to flight, so that the struggle was evenly balanced. Here again our chief deserved all praise, for this success was not the only advantage he gained; no! next he sought that part of his army which was wavering;

> Greek: ἰδὼν δὲ Φόρβας, ὃς μοναμπύκων ἄναξ
ἦν τοῖς Ἐρεχθείδαισιν, ἁρμάτων ὄχλον,
οἵ τʼ αὖ τὸ Κάδμου διεφύλασσον ἱππικόν,
συνῆψαν ἀλκὴν κἀκράτουν ἡσσῶντό τε.
λεύσσων δὲ ταῦτα κοὐ κλύων — ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἦ
ἔνθʼ ἅρματʼ ἠγωνίζεθʼ οἵ τʼ ἐπεμβάται —
τἀκεῖ παρόντα πολλὰ πήματʼ, οὐκ ἔχω
τί πρῶτον εἴπω, πότερα τὴν ἐς οὐρανὸν
κόνιν προσαντέλλουσαν, ὡς πολλὴ παρῆν,
ἢ τοὺς ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω φορουμένους
ἱμᾶσιν, αἵματός τε φοινίου ῥοάς,
τῶν μὲν πιτνόντων, τῶν δὲ θραυσθέντων δίφρων
ἐς κρᾶτα πρὸς γῆν ἐκκυβιστώντων βίᾳ
πρὸς ἁρμάτων τʼ ἀγαῖσι λειπόντων βίον;
νικῶντα δʼ ἵπποις ὡς ὑπείδετο στρατὸν
Κρέων τὸν ἐνθένδʼ, ἰτέαν λαβὼν χερὶ
χωρεῖ, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν ξυμμάχοις δυσθυμίαν.
καὶ συμπατάξαντες μέσον πάντα στρατὸν
ἔκτεινον ἐκτείνοντο, καὶ παρηγγύων
κελευσμὸν ἀλλήλοισι σὺν πολλῇ βοῇ·
Θεῖνʼ· ἀντέρειδε τοῖς Ἐρεχθείδαις δόρυ.
καὶ μὴν τὰ Θησέως γʼ οὐκ ὄκνῳ διεφθάρη,
ἀλλʼ ἵετʼ εὐθὺς λάμπρʼ ἀναρπάσας ὅπλα·
λόχος δʼ ὀδόντων ὄφεος ἐξηνδρωμένος
δεινὸς παλαιστὴς ἦν· ἔκλινε γὰρ κέρας
τὸ λαιὸν ἡμῶν· δεξιοῦ δʼ ἡσσώμενον
φεύγει τὸ κείνων· ἦν δʼ ἀγὼν ἰσόρροπος.
κἀν τῷδε τὸν στρατηγὸν αἰνέσαι παρῆν·
οὐ γὰρ τὸ νικῶν τοῦτʼ ἐκέρδαινεν μόνον,
ἀλλʼ ᾤχετʼ ἐς τὸ κάμνον οἰκείου στρατοῦ.

[¶23] and loud he called to them, that the earth rang again, “My sons, if ye cannot restrain the earth-born warriors’ stubborn spear, the cause of Pallas is lost.” His word inspired new courage in all the Danaid host. Therewith himself did seize a fearsome mace, weapon of Epidaurian warfare,
and swung it to and fro, and with that club, as with a sickle, he shore off necks and heads and helmets thereupon. Scarce even then they turned them- selves to fly. For joy cried I, and danced
and clapped my hands; while to the gates they ran. Throughout the town echoed the shrieks of young and old, as they crowded the temples in terror. But Theseus, when he might have come inside the walls, held back his men, for he had not come, said he,
to sack the town, but to ask for the bodies of the dead.

> Greek: ἔρρηξε δʼ αὐδήν, ὥσθʼ ὑπηχῆσαι χθόνα·
Ὦ παῖδες, εἰ μὴ σχήσετε στερρὸν δόρυ
σπαρτῶν τόδʼ ἀνδρῶν, οἴχεται τὰ Παλλάδος.
θάρσος δʼ ἐνῶρσε παντὶ Κραναϊδῶν στρατῷ.
αὐτός θʼ ὅπλισμα τοὐπιδαύριον λαβὼν
δεινῆς κορύνης διαφέρων ἐσφενδόνα
ὁμοῦ τραχήλους κἀπικείμενον κάρα,
κυνέας θερίζων κἀποκαυλίζων ξύλῳ.
μόλις δέ πως ἔτρεψαν ἐς φυγὴν πόδα.
ἐγὼ δʼ ἀνηλάλαξα κἀνωρχησάμην
κἄκρουσα χεῖρας. οἳ δʼ ἔτεινον ἐς πύλας.
βοὴ δὲ καὶ κωκυτὸς ἦν ἀνὰ πτόλιν
νέων γερόντων, ἱερά τʼ ἐξεπίμπλασαν
φόβῳ. παρὸν δὲ τειχέων ἔσω μολεῖν,
Θησεὺς ἐπέσχεν· οὐ γὰρ ὡς πέρσων πόλιν
μολεῖν ἔφασκεν, ἀλλʼ ἀπαιτήσων νεκρούς.

[¶24] Such the general men should choose, one who shows his bravery in danger, yet hates the pride of those that in their hour of fortune lose the bliss they might have enjoyed,
through seeking to scale the ladder’s topmost step.

> Greek: τοιόνδε τὸν στρατηγὸν αἱρεῖσθαι χρεών,
ὃς ἔν τε τοῖς δεινοῖσίν ἐστιν ἄλκιμος
μισεῖ θʼ ὑβριστὴν λαόν, ὃς πράσσων καλῶς
ἐς ἄκρα βῆναι κλιμάκων ἐνήλατα
ζητῶν ἀπώλεσʼ ὄλβον ᾧ χρῆσθαι παρῆν.

[¶25] Chorus:
Now do I believe in the gods after seeing this unexpected day, and I feel my woes are lighter now that these have paid their penalty.

> Greek: Χορός:
νῦν τήνδʼ ἄελπτον ἡμέραν ἰδοῦσʼ ἐγὼ
θεοὺς νομίζω, καὶ δοκῶ τῆς συμφορᾶς
ἔχειν ἔλασσον, τῶνδε τεισάντων δίκην.

[¶26] Adrastus:
O Zeus, why do men assert the wisdom of the wretched
human race? On thee we all depend, and all we do is only what thou listest. We thought our Argos irresistible, ourselves a young and lusty host, and so when Eteocles was for making terms,
in spite of his fair offer we would not accept them, and so we perished. Then in their turn those foolish folk of Cadmus, to fortune raised, like some beggar with his newly-gotten wealth, waxed wanton, and, waxing so, were ruined in their turn. Ye foolish sons of men! who strain your bow like men who shoot
beyond their mark, and only by suffering many evils as ye deserve, though deaf to friends, yet yield to circumstances; ye cities likewise, though ye might by parley end your mischief, yet ye choose the sword instead of reason to settle all disputes.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ὦ Ζεῦ, τί δῆτα τοὺς ταλαιπώρους βροτοὺς
φρονεῖν λέγουσι; σοῦ γὰρ ἐξηρτήμεθα
δρῶμέν τε τοιαῦθʼ ἃν σὺ τυγχάνῃς θέλων.
ἡμῖν γὰρ ἦν τό τʼ Ἄργος οὐχ ὑποστατόν,
αὐτοί τε πολλοὶ καὶ νέοι βραχίοσιν·
Ἐτεοκλέους τε σύμβασιν ποιουμένου,
μέτρια θέλοντος, οὐκ ἐχρῄζομεν λαβεῖν,
κἄπειτʼ ἀπωλόμεσθα. ὁ δʼ αὖ τότʼ εὐτυχής,
λαβὼν πένης ὣς ἀρτίπλουτα χρήματα,
ὕβριζʼ, ὑβρίζων τʼ αὖθις ἀνταπώλετο
Κάδμου κακόφρων λαός. ὦ καιροῦ πέρα
τὸ τόξον ἐντείνοντες· ὦ κενοὶ βροτῶν,
καὶ πρὸς δίκης γε πολλὰ πάσχοντες κακά,
φίλοις μὲν οὐ πείθεσθε, τοῖς δὲ πράγμασιν·
πόλεις τʼ, ἔχουσαι διὰ λόγου κάμψαι κακά,
φόνῳ καθαιρεῖσθʼ, οὐ λόγῳ, τὰ πράγματα.

[¶27] But wherefore these reflections? This I fain would learn, the way thou didst escape; and after that I will ask thee of the rest.

> Greek: ἀτὰρ τί ταῦτα; κεῖνο βούλομαι μαθεῖν,
πῶς ἐξεσώθης· εἶτα τἄλλʼ ἐρήσομαι.

[¶28] Messenger:
During the uproar which prevailed in the city owing to the battle, I passed the gates, just as the host had entered them.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
ἐπεὶ ταραγμὸς πόλιν ἐκίνησεν δορί,
πύλας διῆλθον, ᾗπερ εἰσῄει στρατός.

[¶29] Adrastus:
Are ye bringing the bodies, for the which the strife arose?

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ὧν δʼ οὕνεχʼ ἁγὼν ἦν, νεκροὺς κομίζετε;

[¶30] Messenger:
Ay, each of the seven chiefs who led their famous hosts.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
ὅσοι γε κλεινοῖς ἕπτʼ ἐφέστασαν δόμοις.

[¶31] Adrastus:
What sayest thou? the rest who fell—say, where are they?

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
πῶς φῄς; ὁ δʼ ἄλλος ποῦ κεκμηκότων ὄχλος;

[¶32] Messenger:
They have found burial in the dells of Cithseron.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
τάφῳ δέδονται πρὸς Κιθαιρῶνος πτυχαῖς.

[¶33] Adrastus:
On this or that side of the mount? And who did bury them?

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
τοὐκεῖθεν ἢ τοὐνθένδε; τίς δʼ ἔθαψέ νιν;

[¶34] Messenger:
Theseus buried them ’neath the shadow of Eleutherae’s cliff.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
Θησεύς, σκιώδης ἔνθʼ Ἐλευθερὶς πέτρα.

[¶35] Adrastus:
Where didst thou leave the dead he hath not buried?

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
οὓς δʼ οὐκ ἔθαψε ποῦ νεκροὺς ἥκεις λιπών;

[¶36] Messenger:
Not far away; earnest haste makes every goal look close.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
ἐγγύς· πέλας γὰρ πᾶν ὅ τι σπουδάζεται.

[¶37] Adrastus:
No doubt in sorrow slaves would gather them from the carnage.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἦ που πικρῶς νιν θέραπες ἦγον ἐκ φόνου;

[¶38] Messenger:
Slaves! not one of them was set to do this toil.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
οὐδεὶς ἐπέστη τῷδε δοῦλος ὢν πόνῳ.

[¶39] Adrastus:
…

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
…

[¶40] Messenger:
Thou wouldst say so, hadst thou been there to see his loving tendance of the dead.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
φαίης ἄν, εἰ παρῆσθʼ ὅτʼ ἠγάπα νεκρούς.

[¶41] Adrastus:
Did he himself wash the bloody wounds of the hapless youths?

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἔνιψεν αὐτὸς τῶν ταλαιπώρων σφαγάς;

[¶42] Messenger:
Ay, and strewed their biers and wrapped them in their shrouds.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
κἄστρωσέ γʼ εὐνὰς κἀκάλυψε σώματα.

[¶43] Adrastus:
An awful burden this, involving some disgrace.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
δεινὸν μὲν ἦν βάσταγμα κᾀσχύνην ἔχον.

[¶44] Messenger:
Why, what disgrace to men are their fellows’ sorrows?

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
τί δʼ αἰσχρὸν ἀνθρώποισι τἀλλήλων κακά;

[¶45] Adrastus:
Ah me! how much rather had I died with them!

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
οἴμοι· πόσῳ σφιν συνθανεῖν ἂν ἤθελον.

[¶46] Messenger:’Tis vain to weep and move to tears these women.

> Greek: Ἄγγελος:
ἄκραντʼ ὀδύρῃ ταῖσδέ τʼ ἐξάγεις δάκρυ.

[¶47] Adrastus:
Methinks ’tis they who give the lesson. Enough of that! My hands I lift at meeting of the dead, and pour forth a tearful dirge to Hades, calling on my friends,
whose loss I mourn in wretched solitude; for this one thing, when once ’tis spent, man cannot recover, the breath of life, though he knoweth ways to get his wealth again.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
δοκῶ μέν, αὐταί γʼ εἰσὶν αἱ διδάσκαλοι.
ἀλλʼ εἶἑν· αἴρω χεῖρʼ ἀπαντήσας νεκροῖς
Ἅιδου τε μολπὰς ἐκχέω δακρυρρόους,
φίλους προσαυδῶν, ὧν λελειμμένος τάλας
ἔρημα κλαίω· τοῦτο γὰρ μόνον βροτοῖς
οὐκ ἔστι τἀνάλωμʼ ἀναλωθὲν λαβεῖν,
ψυχὴν βροτείαν· χρημάτων δʼ εἰσὶν πόροι.

[¶48] Chorus:
Joy is here and sorrow too,—
for the state fair fame, and for our captains double meed of honour. Bitter for me it is to see the limbs of my dead sons, and yet a welcome sight withal, because I shall behold the unexpected day
after sorrow’s cup was full.

> Greek: Χορός:
— τὰ μὲν εὖ, τὰ δὲ δυστυχῆ.
πόλει μὲν εὐδοξία
καὶ στρατηλάταις δορὸς
διπλάζεται τιμά·
ἐμοὶ δὲ παίδων μὲν εἰσιδεῖν μέλη
πικρόν, καλὸν θέαμα δʼ, εἴπερ ὄψομαι,
τὰν ἄελπτον ἁμέραν
ἰδοῦσα, πάντων μέγιστον ἄλγος.

[¶49] Chorus:
Would that Father Time had kept me unwed from my youth up e’en till now when I am old! What need had I of children?

> Greek: Χορός:
— ἄγαμόν μʼ ἔτι δεῦρʼ ἀεὶ
Χρόνος παλαιὸς πατὴρ
ὤφελʼ ἁμερᾶν κτίσαι.
τί γάρ μʼ ἔδει παίδων;

[¶50] Methinks I should not have suffered excessively, had I never borne the marriage-yoke; but now I have my sorrow full in view, the loss of children dear.

> Greek: τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἤλπιζον ἂν πεπονθέναι
πάθος περισσόν, εἰ γάμων ἀπεζύγην,
νῦν δʼ ὁρῶ σαφέστατον
κακόν, τέκνων φιλτάτων στερεῖσα.

[¶51] Chorus:
Lo! I see the bodies
of the fallen youths. Woe is me! would I could join these children in their death and descend to Hades with them!

> Greek: Χορός:
ἀλλὰ τάδʼ ἤδη σώματα λεύσσω
τῶν οἰχομένων παίδων· μελέα
πῶς ἂν ὀλοίμην σὺν τοῖσδε τέκνοις
κοινὸν ἐς Ἅιδην καταβᾶσα;

[¶52] Adrastus:
Mothers, raise the wail for the dead departed;
cry in answer when ye hear my note of woe.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
στεναγμόν, ὦ ματέρες,
τῶν κατὰ χθονὸς νεκρῶν
ἀύσατʼ ἀπύσατʼ ἀντίφωνʼ ἐμῶν
στεναγμάτων κλύουσαι.

[¶53] Chorus:
My sons, my sons! O bitter words for loving mothers to address to you! To thee, my lifeless child, I call.

> Greek: Χορός:
— ὦ παῖδες, ὦ πικρὸν φίλων
προσηγόρημα ματέρων,
προσαυδῶ σε τὸν θανόντα.

[¶54] Adrastus:
Woe! woe!

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἰὼ ἰώ.

[¶55] Chorus:
Ah me, my sufferings!

> Greek: Χορός:
τῶν γʼ ἐμῶν κακῶν ἐγώ.

[¶56] Adrastus:
Alas!

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
αἰαῖ.

[¶57] Chorus:
…

> Greek: Χορός:
…

[¶58] Adrastus:
We have endured, alas!—

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἐπάθομεν ὤ …

[¶59] Chorus:
Sorrows most grievous.

> Greek: Χορός:
τὰ κύντατʼ ἄλγη κακῶν.

[¶60] Adrastus:
O citizens of Argos! do ye not behold my fate?

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ὦ πόλις Ἀργεία, τὸν ἐμὸν πότμον οὐκ ἐσορᾶτε;

[¶61] Chorus:
They see thee, and me the hapless mother,
reft of her children.

> Greek: Χορός:
— ὁρῶσι κἀμὲ τὰν τάλαι-
ναν, τέκνων ἄπαιδα.

[¶62] Adrastus:
Bring near the blood-boltered corpses of those hapless chiefs, foully slain by foes unworthy, with whom lay the decision of the contest.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
προσάγετε ⟨τῶν⟩ δυσπότμων
σώμαθʼ αἱματοσταγῆ,
σφαγέντας οὐκ ἄξιʼ οὐδʼ ὑπʼ ἀξίων,
ἐν οἷς ἀγὼν ἐκράνθη.

[¶63] Chorus:
Let me embrace and hold my children to my bosom in my enfolding arms.

> Greek: Χορός:
— δόθʼ, ὡς περιπτυχαῖσι δὴ
χέρας προσαρμόσασʼ ἐμοῖς
ἐν ἀγκῶσι τέκνα θῶμαι.

[¶64] Adrastus:
There, there! thou hast—

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἔχεις ἔχεις.

[¶65] Chorus:
Sorrows heavy enough to bear.

> Greek: Χορός:
— πημάτων γʼ ἅλις βάρος.

[¶66] Adrastus:
Ah me!

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
αἰαῖ.

[¶67] Chorus:
Thy groans mingle with those of their parents.

> Greek: Χορός:
τοῖς τεκοῦσι δʼ οὐ λέγεις;

[¶68] Adrastus:
Hear me.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἀίετέ μου.

[¶69] Chorus:
O’er both of us thou dost lament.

> Greek: Χορός:
στένεις ἐπʼ ἀμφοῖν ἄχη.

[¶70] Adrastus:
Would God the Theban ranks had laid me dead in the dust!

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
εἴθε με Καδμείων ἔναρον στίχες ἐν κονίαισιν.

[¶71] Chorus:
Oh that I had ne’er been wedded to a husband!

> Greek: Χορός:
— ἐμὸν δὲ μήποτʼ ἐζύγη
δέμας ἐς ἀνδρὸς εὐνάν.

[¶72] Adrastus:
Behold this sea of troubles!
Ah! hapless mothers.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἴδετε κακῶν πέλαγος, ὦ
ματέρες τάλαιναι τέκνων.

[¶73] Chorus:
Our nails have ploughed our cheeks in furrows, and o’er our heads have we strewn ashes.

> Greek: Χορός:
— κατὰ μὲν ὄνυξιν ἠλοκίσμεθʼ, ἀμφὶ δὲ
σποδὸν κάρᾳ κεχύμεθα.

[¶74] Adrastus:
Ah me! ah me! Oh that earth’s floor would swallow me,
or the whirlwind snatch me away, or Zeus’s flaming bolt descend upon my head!

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἰὼ ἰώ μοί μοι·
κατά με πέδον γᾶς ἕλοι,
διὰ δὲ θύελλα σπάσαι,
πυρός τε φλογμὸς ὁ Διὸς ἐν κάρᾳ πέσοι.

[¶75] Chorus:
Bitter the marriages thou didst witness, bitter the oracle of Phoebus!

> Greek: Χορός:
— πικροὺς ἐσεῖδες γάμους,
πικρὰν δὲ Φοίβου φάτιν·

[¶76] The curse of Oedipus, fraught with sorrow, after desolating his house, is come on thee.

> Greek: ἔρημά σʼ ἁ πολύστονος Οἰδιπόδα
δώματα λιποῦσʼ ἦλθʼ Ἐρινύς.

[¶77] Theseus:
I meant to question thee when thou wert venting thy lamentations to the host, but I will let it pass; yet, though I dropped the matter then
and left it alone, I now do ask Adrastus, Of what lineage sprang those youths, to shine so bright in chivalry? Tell it to our younger citizens of thy fuller wisdom, for thou art skilled to know. Myself beheld their daring deeds, too high for words to tell,
whereby they thought to capture Thebes. One question will I spare thee, lest I provoke thy laughter; the foe that each of them encountered in the fray, the spear from which each received his death-wound. These be idle tales alike for those who hear
or him who speaks, that any man amid the fray, when clouds of darts are hurtling before his eyes, should declare for certain who each champion is. I could not ask such questions, nor yet believe those who dare assert the like;

> Greek: Θησεύς:
μέλλων σʼ ἐρωτᾶν, ἡνίκʼ ἐξήντλεις στρατῷ
γόους, ἀφήσω· τοὺς ἐκεῖ μὲν ἐκλιπὼν
εἴασα μύθους, νῦν δʼ Ἄδραστον εἰσορῶ·
πόθεν ποθʼ οἵδε διαπρεπεῖς εὐψυχίᾳ
θνητῶν ἔφυσαν; εἰπέ γʼ ὡς σοφώτερος
νέοισιν ἀστῶν τῶνδʼ· ἐπιστήμων γὰρ εἶ.
εἶδον γὰρ αὐτῶν κρείσσονʼ ἢ λέξαι λόγῳ
τολμήμαθʼ, οἷς ἤλπιζον αἱρήσειν πόλιν.
ἓν δʼ οὐκ ἐρήσομαί σε, μὴ γέλωτʼ ὄφλω,
ὅτῳ ξυνέστη τῶνδʼ ἕκαστος ἐν μάχῃ
ἢ τραῦμα λόγχης πολεμίων ἐδέξατο.
κενοὶ γὰρ οὗτοι τῶν τʼ ἀκουόντων λόγοι
καὶ τοῦ λέγοντος, ὅστις ἐν μάχῃ βεβὼς
λόγχης ἰούσης πρόσθεν ὀμμάτων πυκνῆς
σαφῶς ἀπήγγειλʼ ὅστις ἐστὶν ἁγαθός.
οὐκ ἂν δυναίμην οὔτʼ ἐρωτῆσαι τάδε
οὔτʼ αὖ πιθέσθαι τοῖσι τολμῶσιν λέγειν·

[¶78] for when a man is face to face with the foe, he scarce can see even that which ’tis his bounden duty to observe.

> Greek: μόλις γὰρ ἄν τις αὐτὰ τἀναγκαῖʼ ὁρᾶν
δύναιτʼ ἂν ἑστὼς πολεμίοις ἐναντίος.

[¶79] Adrastus:
Hearken then. For in giving this task to me thou findest a willing eulogist of friends, whose praise I would declare in all truth and sincerity.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἄκουε δή νυν· καὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἄκοντί μοι
δίδως ἔπαινον ὧν ἔγωγε βούλομαι
φίλων ἀληθῆ καὶ δίκαιʼ εἰπεῖν πέρι.

[¶80] Dost see yon corpse by Zeus’s bolt transfixed? That is Capaneus; though he had ample wealth, yet was he the last to boast of his prosperity; nor would he ever vaunt himself above a poorer neighbour, but shunned the man whose sumptuous board had puffed him up too high
and made him scorn mere competence, for he held that virtue lies not in greedy gluttony, but that moderate means suffice. True friend was he, alike to present or to absent friends the same; of such the number is not great. His was a guileless character,
a courteous address, that left no promise unperformed either towards his own household or his fellow-citizens. The next I name is Eteocles; a master he of other kinds of excellence; young, nor richly dowered with store, yet high in honour in the Argive land.

> Greek: ὁρᾷς τὸν ἁβρόν, οὗ βέλος διέπτατο;
Καπανεὺς ὅδʼ ἐστίν· ᾧ βίος μὲν ἦν πολύς,
ἥκιστα δʼ ὄλβῳ γαῦρος ἦν· φρόνημα δὲ
οὐδέν τι μεῖζον εἶχεν ἢ πένης ἀνήρ,
φεύγων τραπέζαις ὅστις ἐξογκοῖτʼ ἄγαν
τἀρκοῦντʼ ἀτίζων· οὐ γὰρ ἐν γαστρὸς βορᾷ
τὸ χρηστὸν εἶναι, μέτρια δʼ ἐξαρκεῖν ἔφη.
φίλοις τʼ ἀληθὴς ἦν φίλος, παροῦσί τε
καὶ μὴ παροῦσιν· ὧν ἀριθμὸς οὐ πολύς.
ἀψευδὲς ἦθος, εὐπροσήγορον στόμα,
ἄκραντον οὐδὲν οὔτʼ ἐς οἰκέτας ἔχων
οὔτʼ ἐς πολίτας. τὸν δὲ δεύτερον λέγω
Ἐτέοκλον, ἄλλην χρηστότητʼ ἠσκηκότα·
νεανίας ἦν τῷ βίῳ μὲν ἐνδεής,
πλείστας δὲ τιμὰς ἔσχʼ ἐν Ἀργείᾳ χθονί.

[¶81] And though his friends oft offered gifts of gold, he would not have it in his house, to make his character its slave by taking wealth’s yoke upon him. Not his city, but those that sinned against her did he hate, for a city is no wise to be blamed
if it get an evil name by reason of an evil governor.

> Greek: φίλων δὲ χρυσὸν πολλάκις δωρουμένων
οὐκ εἰσεδέξατʼ οἶκον ὥστε τοὺς τρόπους
δούλους παρασχεῖν χρημάτων ζευχθεὶς ὕπο.
τοὺς δʼ ἐξαμαρτάνοντας, οὐχὶ τὴν πόλιν
ἤχθαιρʼ· ἐπεί τοι κοὐδὲν αἰτία πόλις
κακῶς κλύουσα διὰ κυβερνήτην κακόν.

[¶82] Such another was Hippomedon, third of all this band; from his very boyhood he refrained from turning towards the allurements of the Muses, to lead a life of ease; his home was in the fields, and gladly would he school his nature to hardships
with a view to manliness, aye hasting to the chase, rejoicing in his steeds or straining of his bow, because he would make himself of use unto his state. Next behold the huntress Atalanta’s son, Parthenopaeus, a youth of peerless beauty;
from Arcady he came even to the streams of Inachus, and in Argos spent his boyhood. There, when he grew to man’s estate, first, as is the duty of strangers settled in another land, he showed no pique or jealousy against the state, became no quibbler, chiefest source of annoyance
citizen or stranger can give, but took his stand amid the host, and fought for Argos as he were her own son, glad at heart whenso the city prospered, deeply grieved if e’er reverses came; many a lover though he had midst men and maids,
yet was he careful to avoid offence.

> Greek: ὁ δʼ αὖ τρίτος τῶνδʼ Ἱππομέδων τοιόσδʼ ἔφυ·
παῖς ὢν ἐτόλμησʼ εὐθὺς οὐ πρὸς ἡδονὰς
Μουσῶν τραπέσθαι πρὸς τὸ μαλθακὸν βίου,
ἀγροὺς δὲ ναίων, σκληρὰ τῇ φύσει διδοὺς
ἔχαιρε πρὸς τἀνδρεῖον, ἔς τʼ ἄγρας ἰὼν
ἵπποις τε χαίρων τόξα τʼ ἐντείνων χεροῖν,
πόλει παρασχεῖν σῶμα χρήσιμον θέλων.
ὁ τῆς κυναγοῦ δʼ ἄλλος Ἀταλάντης γόνος
[παῖς] Παρθενοπαῖος, εἶδος ἐξοχώτατος,
Ἀρκὰς μὲν ἦν, ἐλθὼν δʼ ἐπʼ Ἰνάχου ῥοὰς
παιδεύεται κατʼ Ἄργος. ἐκτραφεὶς δʼ ἐκεῖ
πρῶτον μέν, ὡς χρὴ τοὺς μετοικοῦντας ξένους,
λυπηρὸς οὐκ ἦν οὐδʼ ἐπίφθονος πόλει
οὐδʼ ἐξεριστὴς τῶν λόγων, ὅθεν βαρὺς
μάλιστʼ ἂν εἴη δημότης τε καὶ ξένος.
λόχοις δʼ ἐνεστὼς ὥσπερ Ἀργεῖος γεγὼς
ἤμυνε χώρᾳ, χὡπότʼ εὖ πράσσοι πόλις,
ἔχαιρε, λυπρῶς δʼ ἔφερεν, εἴ τι δυστυχοῖ.
πολλοὺς δʼ ἐραστὰς κἀπὸ θηλειῶν ὅσας
ἔχων ἐφρούρει μηδὲν ἐξαμαρτάνειν.

[¶83] Of Tydeus next the lofty praise I will express in brief; no brilliant spokesman he, but a clever craftsman in the art of war, with many a shrewd device; inferior in judgment to his brother Meleager,
yet through his warrior skill lending his name to equal praise, for he had found in arms a perfect science; his was an ambitious nature, a spirit rich in store of deeds, with words less fully dowered. From this account then wonder not,
Theseus, that they dared to die before the towers; for noble nurture carries honour with it, and every man, when once he hath practised virtue, scorns the name of villain. Courage may be learnt, for even a babe doth learn
to speak and hear things it cannot comprehend; and whatso’er a child hath learnt, this it is his wont to treasure up till he is old. So train up your children in a virtuous way.

> Greek: Τυδέως δʼ ἔπαινον ἐν βραχεῖ θήσω μέγαν·
[οὐκ ἐν λόγοις ἦν λαμπρός, ἀλλʼ ἐν ἀσπίδι]
[δεινὸς σοφιστής, πολλά τʼ ἐξευρεῖν σοφά.]
[γνώμῃ δʼ ἀδελφοῦ Μελεάγρου λελειμμένος,]
[ἴσον παρέσχεν ὄνομα διὰ τέχνης δορός,]
[εὑρὼν ἀκριβῆ μουσικὴν ἐν ἀσπίδι·]
φιλότιμον ἦθος πλούσιον, φρόνημα δὲ
ἐν τοῖσιν ἔργοις, οὐχὶ τοῖς λόγοις, ἴσον.
ἐκ τῶνδε μὴ θαύμαζε τῶν εἰρημένων,
Θησεῦ, πρὸ πύργων τούσδε τολμῆσαι θανεῖν.
τὸ γὰρ τραφῆναι μὴ κακῶς αἰδῶ φέρει·
αἰσχύνεται δὲ τἀγάθʼ ἀσκήσας ἀνὴρ
κακὸς γενέσθαι πᾶς τις. ἡ δʼ εὐανδρία
διδακτός, εἴπερ καὶ βρέφος διδάσκεται
λέγειν ἀκούειν θʼ ὧν μάθησιν οὐκ ἔχει.
ἃ δʼ ἂν μάθῃ τις, ταῦτα σῴζεσθαι φιλεῖ
πρὸς γῆρας. οὕτω παῖδας εὖ παιδεύετε.

[¶84] Chorus:
Alas! my son, to sorrow I bare thee and carried thee within my womb,
enduring the pangs of travail; but now Hades takes the fruit of all my hapless toil, and I that; had a son am left, ah me! with none to nurse my age.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἰὼ τέκνον, δυστυχῆ σʼ
ἔτρεφον, ἔφερον ὑφʼ ἥπατος
πόνους ἐνεγκοῦσʼ ἐν ὠδῖσι· καὶ
νῦν Ἅιδας τὸν ἐμὸν
ἔχει μόχθον ἀθλίας,
ἐγὼ δὲ γηροβοσκὸν οὐκ ἔχω, τεκοῦσʼ
ἁ τάλαινα παῖδα.

[¶85] Theseus:
As for the noble son of Oecleus, him, while yet he lived, the gods snatched hence to the bowels of the earth, and. his chariot too, manifestly blessing him; while I myself may truthfully tell the praises of the son of Oedipus, that is, Polynices,
for he was my guest-friend ere he left the town of Cadmus and crossed to Argos in voluntary exile. But dost thou know what I would have thee do in this matter?

> Greek: Θησεύς:
καὶ μὴν τὸν Οἰκλέους γε γενναῖον τόκον
θεοὶ ζῶντʼ ἀναρπάσαντες ἐς μυχοὺς χθονὸς
αὐτοῖς τεθρίπποις εὐλογοῦσιν ἐμφανῶς·
τὸν Οἰδίπου τε παῖδα, Πολυνείκην λέγω,
ἡμεῖς ἐπαινέσαντες οὐ ψευδοίμεθʼ ἄν.
ξένος γὰρ ἦν μοι πρὶν λιπὼν Κάδμου πόλιν
φυγῇ πρὸς Ἄργος διαβαλεῖν αὐθαίρετος.
ἀλλʼ οἶσθʼ ὃ δρᾶσαι βούλομαι τούτων πέρι;

[¶86] Adrastus:
I know naught save this,—to yield obedience to thy hests.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
οὐκ οἶδα πλὴν ἕν, σοῖσι πείθεσθαι λόγοις.

[¶87] Theseus:
As for yon Capaneus, stricken by the bolt of Zeus—

> Greek: Θησεύς:
τὸν μὲν Διὸς πληγέντα Καπανέα πυρὶ …

[¶88] Adrastus:
Wilt bury him apart as a consecrated corpse?

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἦ χωρὶς ἱερὸν ὡς νεκρὸν θάψαι θέλεις;

[¶89] Theseus:
Even so; but all the rest on one funeral pyre.

> Greek: Θησεύς:
ναί· τοὺς δέ γʼ ἄλλους πάντας ἐν μιᾷ πυρᾷ.

[¶90] Adrastus:
Where wilt thou set the tomb apart for him?

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ποῦ δῆτα θήσεις μνῆμα τῷδε χωρίσας;

[¶91] Theseus:
Here near this temple have I builded him a sepulchre.

> Greek: Θησεύς:
αὐτοῦ παρʼ οἴκους τούσδε συμπήξας τάφον.

[¶92] Adrastus:
Thy thralls forthwith must undertake this toil.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
οὗτος μὲν ἤδη δμωσὶν ἂν μέλοι πόνος.

[¶93] Theseus:
Myself will look to those others; let the biers advance.

> Greek: Θησεύς:
ἡμῖν δέ γʼ οἵδε· στειχέτω δʼ ἄχθη νεκρῶν.

[¶94] Adrastus:
Approach your sons, unhappy mothers.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
ἴτʼ, ὦ τάλαιναι μητέρες, τέκνων πέλας.

[¶95] Theseus:
This thy proposal, Adrastus, is anything but good.

> Greek: Θησεύς:
ἥκιστʼ, Ἄδραστε, τοῦτο πρόσφορον λέγεις.

[¶96] Adrastus:
Must not the mothers touch their sons?

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
πῶς; τὰς τεκούσας οὐ χρεὼν ψαῦσαι τέκνων;

[¶97] Theseus:
It would kill them to see how they are altered.

> Greek: Θησεύς:
ὄλοιντʼ ἰδοῦσαι τούσδʼ ἂν ἠλλοιωμένους.

[¶98] Adrastus:’Tis bitter, truly, to see the dead even at the moment of death.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
πικρὰ γὰρ ὄψις αἷμα κὠτειλαὶ νεκρῶν.

[¶99] Theseus:
Why then wilt thou add fresh grief to them?

> Greek: Θησεύς:
τί δῆτα λύπην ταῖσδε προσθεῖναι θέλεις;

[¶100] Adrastus:
Thou art right. Ye needs must patiently abide, for the words of Theseus are good. But when we have committed them unto the flames, ye shall collect their bones. O wretched sons of men!
Why do ye get you weapons and bring slaughter on one another? Cease therefrom, give o’er your toiling, and in mutual peace keep safe your cities. Short is the span of life, so ’twere best to run its course as lightly as we may, from trouble free.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
νικᾷς. μένειν χρὴ τλημόνως· λέγει γὰρ εὖ
Θησεύς· ὅταν δὲ τούσδε προσθῶμεν πυρί,
ὀστᾶ προσάξεσθε. ὦ ταλαίπωροι βροτῶν,
τί κτᾶσθε λόγχας καὶ κατʼ ἀλλήλων φόνους
τίθεσθε; παύσασθʼ, ἀλλὰ λήξαντες πόνων
ἄστη φυλάσσεθʼ ἥσυχοι μεθʼ ἡσύχων.
σμικρὸν τὸ χρῆμα τοῦ βίου· τοῦτον δὲ χρὴ
ὡς ῥᾷστα καὶ μὴ σὺν πόνοις διεκπερᾶν.

[¶101] Chorus:
No more a happy mother I, with children blest; no more I share, among Argive women, who have sons, their happy lot; nor any more will Artemis in the hour of travail kindly greet these childless mothers.

> Greek: Χορός:
— οὐκέτʼ εὔτεκνος, οὐκέτʼ εὔ-
παις, οὐδʼ εὐτυχίας μέτε-
στίν μοι κουροτόκοις ἐν Ἀργείαις·
οὐδʼ Ἄρτεμις λοχία
προσφθέγξαιτʼ ἂν τὰς ἀτέκνους.

[¶102] Most dreary is my life, and like some wandering cloud I drift before the howling blast.

> Greek: δυσαίων δʼ ὁ βίος,
πλαγκτὰ δʼ ὡσεί τις νεφέλα
πνευμάτων ὑπὸ δυσχίμων ἀίσσω.

[¶103] Chorus:
The seven noblest sons in Argos once we had,
we seven hapless mothers; but now my sons are dead, I have no child, and on me steals old age in piteous wise, nor ’mongst the dead nor ’mongst the living do I count myself,
having as it were a lot apart from these.

> Greek: Χορός:
— ἑπτὰ ματέρες ἑπτὰ κού-
ρους ἐγεινάμεθʼ αἱ ταλαί-
πωροι κλεινοτάτους ἐν Ἀργείοις·
καὶ νῦν ἄπαις ἄτεκνος
γηράσκω δυστανοτάτως,
οὔτʼ ἐν φθιμένοις
οὔτʼ ἐν ζωοῖσιν ἀριθμουμένη,
χωρὶς δή τινα τῶνδʼ ἔχουσα μοῖραν.

[¶104] Chorus:
Tears alone are left me; in my house sad memories of my son are stored; mournful tresses shorn from his head, chaplets that he wore, libations for the dead departed,
and songs, but not such as golden-haired Apollo welcometh; and when I wake to weep, my tears will ever drench the folds of my robe upon my bosom.

> Greek: Χορός:
— ὑπολελειμμένα μοι δάκρυα·
μέλεα παιδὸς ἐν οἴκοις
κεῖται μνήματα, πένθιμοι
κουραὶ καὶ στέφανοι κόμας,
⟨λοιβαί τε νεκύων φθιμένων,⟩
ἀοιδαί θʼ ἃς χρυσοκόμας
Ἀπόλλων οὐκ ἐνδέχεται·
γόοισι δʼ ὀρθρευομένα
δάκρυσι νοτερὸν ἀεὶ πέπλων
πρὸς στέρνῳ πτύχα τέγξω.

[¶105] Chorus:
Ah! there I see the sepulchre ready e’en now for Capaneus, his consecrated tomb, and the votive offerings Theseus gives unto the dead outside the shrine, and nigh yon lightning-smitten chief
I see his noble bride, Evadne, daughter of King Iphis. Wherefore stands she on the towering rock, which o’ertops this temple, advancing along yon path?

> Greek: Χορός:
— καὶ μὴν θαλάμας τάσδʼ ἐσορῶ δὴ
Καπανέως ἤδη τύμβον θʼ ἱερὸν
μελάθρων τʼ ἐκτὸς
Θησέως ἀναθήματα νεκροῖς,
κλεινήν τʼ ἄλοχον τοῦ καπφθιμένου
τοῦδε κεραυνῷ πέλας Εὐάδνην,
ἣν Ἶφις ἄναξ παῖδα φυτεύει.
τί ποτʼ αἰθερίαν ἕστηκε πέτραν,
ἣ τῶνδε δόμων ὑπερακρίζει,
τήνδʼ ἐμβαίνουσα κέλευθον;

[¶106] Evadne:
What light, what radiancy did the sun-god’s car dart forth, and the moon athwart the firmament, while round her in the gloom swift stars careered,
in the day that the city of Argos raised the stately chant of joy at my wedding, in honour of my marriage with mail-clad Capaneus?

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
τί φέγγος, τίνʼ αἴγλαν
ἐδίφρευε τόθʼ ἅλιος
σελάνα τε κατʼ αἰθέρα,
λαμπάδʼ ἵνʼ ὠκυθόαι νύμφαι,
ἱππεύουσι διʼ ὀρφναίας,
ἁνίκα ⟨γάμων⟩ γάμων
τῶν ἐμῶν πόλις Ἄργους
ἀοιδάς, εὐδαιμονίας,
ἐπύργωσε καὶ γαμέτα
χαλκεοτευχοῦς, αἰαῖ, Καπανέως.

[¶107] Now from my home in frantic haste with frenzied mind I rush to join thee, seeking to share with thee the fire’s bright flame and the self-same tomb, to rid me of my weary
life in Hades’ halls, and of the pains of existence; yea, for ’tis the sweetest end to share the death of those we love, if only fate will sanction it.

> Greek: πρός σʼ ἔβαν δρομὰς ἐξ ἐμῶν
οἴκων ἐκβακχευσαμένα,
πυρᾶς φῶς τάφον τε
βατεύσουσα τὸν αὐτόν,
ἐς Ἅιδαν καταλύσουσʼ ἔμμοχθον
βίοτον αἰῶνός τε πόνους·
ἥδιστος γάρ τοι θάνατος
συνθνῄσκειν θνῄσκουσι φίλοις,
εἰ δαίμων τάδε κραίνοι.

[¶108] Chorus:
Behold yon pyre, which thou art overlooking, nigh thereto,
set apart for Zeus! There is thy husband’s body, vanquished by the blazing bolt.

> Greek: Χορός:
καὶ μὴν ὁρᾷς τήνδʼ ἧς ἐφέστηκας πέλας
πυράν, Διὸς θησαυρόν, ἔνθʼ ἔνεστι σὸς
πόσις δαμασθεὶς λαμπάσιν κεραυνίοις.

[¶109] Evadne:
Life’s goal I now behold from my station here; may fortune aid me in my headlong leap from this rock
in honour’s cause, down into the fire below, to mix my ashes in the ruddy blaze
with my husband’s, to lay me side by side with him, there in the couch of Persephone; for ne’er will I, to save my life, prove untrue to thee where thou liest in thy grave.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
ὁρῶ δὴ τελευτάν,
ἵνʼ ἕστακα· τύχα δέ μοι
ξυνάπτοι ποδός· ἀλλὰ τᾶς
εὐκλεΐας χάριν ἔνθεν ὁρ-
μάσω τᾶσδʼ ἀπὸ πέτρας πη-
δήσασα πυρὸς ἔσω,
σῶμά τʼ αἴθοπι φλογμῷ
πόσει συμμείξασα, φίλον
χρῶτα χρωτὶ πέλας θεμένα,
Φερσεφονείας ἥξω θαλάμους,
σὲ τὸν θανόντʼ οὔποτʼ ἐμᾷ
προδοῦσα ψυχᾷ κατὰ γᾶς.

[¶110] Away with life and marriage too! Oh! may my children live to see the dawn of a fairer, happier wedding-day in Argos! May loyalty inspire the husband’s heart,
his nature fusing with his wife’s!

> Greek: ἴτω φῶς γάμοι τε·
ἴθʼ αἵτινες εὐναὶ
δικαίων ὑμεναίων ἐν Ἄργει
φανῶσιν τέκνοις· ὅσιος δʼ
⟨ὅσιος⟩ εὐναῖος γαμέτας
συντηχθεὶς αὔραις ἀδόλοις
γενναίας [ψυχᾶς] ἀλόχοιο.

[¶111] Chorus:
Lo! the aged Iphis, thy father, draweth nigh to hear thy startling scheme, which yet he knows not and will grieve to learn.

> Greek: Χορός:
καὶ μὴν ὅδʼ αὐτὸς σὸς πατὴρ βαίνει πέλας
γεραιὸς Ἶφις ἐς νεωτέρους λόγους,
οὓς οὐ κατειδὼς πρόσθεν ἀλγήσει κλύων.

[¶112] Iphis:
Unhappy child! lo! I am come, a poor old man,
with twofold sorrow in my house to mourn, that I may carry to his native land the corpse of my son Eteocles, slain by the Theban spear, and further in quest of my daughter who rushed headlong from the house, for she was the wife of Capaneus
and longed with him to die. Ere this she was well guarded in my house, but, when I took the watch away in the present troubles, she escaped. But I feel sure that she is here; tell me if ye have seen her.

> Greek: Ἶφις:
ὦ δυστάλαιναι, δυστάλας δʼ ἐγὼ γέρων,
ἥκω διπλοῦν πένθημʼ ὁμαιμόνων ἔχων,
τὸν μὲν θανόντα παῖδα Καδμείων δορὶ
Ἐτέοκλον ἐς γῆν πατρίδα ναυσθλώσων νεκρόν,
ζητῶν τʼ ἐμὴν παῖδʼ, ἣ δόμων ἐξώπιος
βέβηκε πηδήσασα Καπανέως δάμαρ,
θανεῖν ἐρῶσα σὺν πόσει. χρόνον μὲν οὖν
τὸν πρόσθʼ ἐφρουρεῖτʼ ἐν δόμοις· ἐπεὶ δʼ ἐγὼ
φυλακὰς ἀνῆκα τοῖς παρεστῶσιν κακοῖς,
βέβηκεν. ἀλλὰ τῇδέ νιν δοξάζομεν
μάλιστʼ ἂν εἶναι· φράζετʼ εἰ κατείδετε.

[¶113] Evadne:
Why question them? Lo, here upon the rock, father, o’er the pyre of Capaneus, like some bird I hover lightly, in my wretchedness.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
τί τάσδʼ ἐρωτᾷς; ἥδʼ ἐγὼ πέτρας ἔπι
ὄρνις τις ὡσεὶ Καπανέως ὑπὲρ πυρᾶς
δύστηνον αἰώρημα κουφίζω, πάτερ.

[¶114] Iphis:
What wind hath blown thee hither, child? Whither away? Why didst thou pass the threshold of my house and seek this land?

> Greek: Ἶφις:
τέκνον, τίς αὔρα; τίς στόλος; τίνος χάριν
δόμων ὑπεκβᾶσʼ ἦλθες ἐς τήνδε χθόνα;

[¶115] Evadne:
It would but anger thee to hear what I intend, and so I fain would keep thee ignorant, my father.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
ὀργὴν λάβοις ἂν τῶν ἐμῶν βουλευμάτων
κλύων· ἀκοῦσαι δʼ οὔ σε βούλομαι, πάτερ.

[¶116] Iphis:
What! hath not thy own father a right to know?

> Greek: Ἶφις:
τί δʼ; οὐ δίκαιον πατέρα τὸν σὸν εἰδέναι;

[¶117] Evadne:
Thou wouldst not wisely judge my intention.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
κριτὴς ἂν εἴης οὐ σοφὸς γνώμης ἐμῆς.

[¶118] Iphis:
Why dost thou deck thyself in that apparel?

> Greek: Ἶφις:
σκευῇ δὲ τῇδε τοῦ χάριν κοσμεῖς δέμας;

[¶119] Evadne:
A purport strange this robe conveys, father.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
θέλει τι κλεινὸν οὗτος ὁ στολμός, πάτερ.

[¶120] Iphis:
Thou hast no look of mourning for thy lord.

> Greek: Ἶφις:
ὡς οὐκ ἐπʼ ἀνδρὶ πένθιμος πρέπεις ὁρᾶν.

[¶121] Evadne:
No, the reason why I thus am decked is strange, maybe.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
ἐς γάρ τι πρᾶγμα νεοχμὸν ἐσκευάσμεθα.

[¶122] Iphis:
Dost thou in such garb appear before a funeral-pyre?

> Greek: Ἶφις:
κἄπειτα τύμβῳ καὶ πυρᾷ φαίνῃ πέλας;

[¶123] Evadne:
Yea, for hither it is I come to take the meed of victory.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
ἐνταῦθα γὰρ δὴ καλλίνικος ἔρχομαι.

[¶124] Iphis:
“Victory!” what victory? This would I learn of thee.

> Greek: Ἶφις:
νικῶσα νίκην τίνα; μαθεῖν χρῄζω σέθεν.

[¶125] Evadne:
A victory o’er all women on whom the sun looks down.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
πάσας γυναῖκας ἃς δέδορκεν ἥλιος.

[¶126] Iphis:
In Athena’s handiwork or in prudent counsel?

> Greek: Ἶφις:
ἔργοις Ἀθάνας ἢ φρενῶν εὐβουλίᾳ;

[¶127] Evadne:
In bravery; for I will lay me down and die with my lord.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
ἀρετῇ· πόσει γὰρ συνθανοῦσα κείσομαι.

[¶128] Iphis:
What dost thou say? What is this silly riddle thou propoundest?

> Greek: Ἶφις:
τί φῄς; τί τοῦτʼ αἴνιγμα σημαίνεις σαθρόν;

[¶129] Evadne:
To yonder pyre where lies dead Capaneus, I will leap down.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
ᾄσσω θανόντος Καπανέως τήνδʼ ἐς πυράν.

[¶130] Iphis:
My daughter, speak not thus before the multitude!

> Greek: Ἶφις:
ὦ θύγατερ, οὐ μὴ μῦθον ἐς πολλοὺς ἐρεῖς.

[¶131] Evadne:
The very thing I wish, that every Argive should learn it.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
τοῦτʼ αὐτὸ χρῄζω, πάντας Ἀργείους μαθεῖν.

[¶132] Iphis:
Nay, I will ne’er consent to let thee do this deed.

> Greek: Ἶφις:
ἀλλʼ οὐδέ τοί σοι πείσομαι δρώσῃ τάδε.

[¶133] Evadne:
(as she is throwing herself).’Tis all one; thou shalt never catch me in thy grasp.

> Greek: Εὐάδνη:
ὅμοιον· οὐ γὰρ μὴ κίχῃς μʼ ἑλὼν χερί.

[¶134] Lo! I cast me down, no joy to thee, but to myself and to my husband blazing on the pyre with me.

> Greek: καὶ δὴ παρεῖται σῶμα — σοὶ μὲν οὐ φίλον,
ἡμῖν δὲ καὶ τῷ συμπυρουμένῳ πόσει.

[¶135] Chorus:
O lady, what a fearful deed!

> Greek: Χορός:
ἰώ, γύναι, δεινὸν ἔργον ἐξειργάσω.

[¶136] Iphis:
Ah me! I am undone, ye dames of Argos!

> Greek: Ἶφις:
ἀπωλόμην δύστηνος, Ἀργείων κόραι.

[¶137] Chorus: chanting
Alack, alack! a cruel blow is this to thee,
but thou must yet witness, poor wretch, the full horror of this deed.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἒ ἔ, σχέτλια τάδε παθών,
τὸ πάντολμον ἔργον ὄψῃ τάλας.

[¶138] Iphis:
A more unhappy wretch than me ye could not find.

> Greek: Ἶφις:
οὐκ ἄν τινʼ εὕροιτʼ ἄλλον ἀθλιώτερον.

[¶139] Chorus:
Woe for thee, unhappy man! Thou, old sir, hast been made partaker in the fortune of Oedipus, thou and my poor city too.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἰὼ τάλας·
μετέλαχες τύχας Οἰδιπόδα, γέρον,
μέρος καὶ σὺ ⟨καὶ⟩ πόλις ἐμὰ τλάμων.

[¶140] Iphis:
Ah, why are mortal men denied this boon, to live their youth twice o’er, and twice in turn to reach old age? If aught goes wrong within our homes, we set it right by judgment more maturely formed, but our life we may not so correct. Now if we had a second spell of youth
and age, this double term of life would let us then correct each previous slip. I, for instance, seeing others blest with children, longed to have them too, and found my ruin in that wish. Whereas if I had had my present experience,
and by a father’s light had learnt how cruel a thing it is to be bereft of children, never should I have fallen on such evil days as these,—I who did beget a brave young son, proud parent that I was, and after all am now bereft of him. Enough of this. What remains for such a hapless wretch as me?

> Greek: Ἶφις:
οἴμοι· τί δὴ βροτοῖσιν οὐκ ἔστιν τόδε,
νέους δὶς εἶναι καὶ γέροντας αὖ πάλιν;
ἀλλʼ ἐν δόμοις μὲν ἤν τι μὴ καλῶς ἔχῃ,
γνώμαισιν ὑστέραισιν ἐξορθούμεθα,
αἰῶνα δʼ οὐκ ἔξεστιν. εἰ δʼ ἦμεν νέοι
δὶς καὶ γέροντες, εἴ τις ἐξημάρτανε,
διπλοῦ βίου λαχόντες ἐξωρθούμεθʼ ἄν.
ἐγὼ γὰρ ἄλλους εἰσορῶν τεκνουμένους
παίδων ἐραστὴς ἦ πόθῳ τʼ ἀπωλλύμην.
εἰ δʼ ἐς τόδʼ ἦλθον κἀξεπειράθην τέκνων
οἷον στέρεσθαι πατέρα γίγνεται τέκνων,
οὐκ ἄν ποτʼ ἐς τόδʼ ἦλθον εἰς ὃ νῦν κακόν·
ὅστις φυτεύσας καὶ νεανίαν τεκὼν
ἄριστον, εἶτα τοῦδε νῦν στερίσκομαι.
εἶἑν· τί δὴ χρὴ τὸν ταλαίπωρόν με δρᾶν;

[¶141] Shall I to my home, there to see its utter desolation and the blank within my life? or shall I to the halls of that dead Capaneus?—halls I smiled to see in days gone by, when yet my daughter was alive. But she is lost and gone, she that would ever draw down my cheek
to her lips, and take my head between her hands; for naught is there more sweet unto an aged sire than a daughter’s love; our sons are made of sterner stuff, but less winning are their caresses. Oh! take me to my house at once,
in darkness hide me there, to waste and fret this aged frame with fasting! What shall it avail me to touch my daughter’s bones? Old age, resistless foe, how do I loathe thy presence! Them too I hate, whoso desire to lengthen out the span of life,
seeking to turn the tide of death aside by philtres, drugs, and magic spells,—folk that death should take away to leave the young their place, when they no more can benefit the world.

> Greek: στείχειν πρὸς οἴκους; κᾆτʼ ἐρημίαν ἴδω
πολλῶν μελάθρων, ἀπορίαν τʼ ἐμῷ βίῳ;
ἢ πρὸς μέλαθρα τοῦδε Καπανέως μόλω;
ἥδιστα πρίν γε δῆθʼ, ὅτʼ ἦν παῖς ἥδε μοι.
ἀλλʼ οὐκέτʼ ἔστιν, ἥ γʼ ἐμὴν γενειάδα
προσήγετʼ αἰεὶ στόματι καὶ κάρα τόδε
κατεῖχε χειρί· πατρὶ δʼ οὐδὲν ἥδιον
γέροντι θυγατρός· ἀρσένων δὲ μείζονες
ψυχαί, γλυκεῖαι δʼ ἧσσον ἐς θωπεύματα.
οὐχ ὡς τάχιστα δῆτά μʼ ἄξετʼ ἐς δόμους;
σκότῳ δὲ δώσετʼ· ἔνθʼ ἀσιτίαις ἐμὸν
δέμας γεραιὸν συντακεὶς ἀποφθερῶ.
τί μʼ ὠφελήσει παιδὸς ὀστέων θιγεῖν;
ὦ δυσπάλαιστον γῆρας, ὡς μισῶ σʼ ἔχων,
μισῶ δʼ ὅσοι χρῄζουσιν ἐκτείνειν βίον,
βρωτοῖσι καὶ ποτοῖσι καὶ μαγεύμασι
παρεκτρέποντες ὀχετὸν ὥστε μὴ θανεῖν·
οὓς χρῆν, ἐπειδὰν μηδὲν ὠφελῶσι γῆν,
θανόντας ἔρρειν κἀκποδὼν εἶναι νέοις.

[¶142] Chorus:
Woe, woe! Behold your dead sons’
bones are brought hither; take them, servants of your weak old mistress, for in me is no strength left by reason of my mourning for my sons; time’s comrade long have I been, and many a tear for many a sorrow have I shed.

> Greek: Χορός:
— ἰὼ ⟨ἰώ·⟩
τάδε δὴ παίδων καὶ δὴ φθιμένων
ὀστᾶ φέρεται. λάβετʼ, ἀμφίπολοι,
γραίας ἀμενοῦς — οὐ γὰρ ἔνεστιν
ῥώμη παίδων ὑπὸ πένθους —
πολλοῦ τε χρόνου ζώσης μέτρα δὴ
καταλειβομένης τʼ ἄλγεσι πολλοῖς.

[¶143] For what sharper pang wilt thou ever find for mortals than the sight of children dead?

> Greek: τί γὰρ ἂν μεῖζον τοῦδʼ ἔτι θνητοῖς
πάθος ἐξεύροις
ἢ τέκνα θανόντʼ ἐσιδέσθαι;

[¶144] Children:
Poor mother mine, behold I bring my father’s bones gathered from the fire,
a burden grief has rendered heavy, though this tiny urn contains my all.

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— φέρω φέρω,
τάλαινα μᾶτερ, ἐκ πυρὸς πατρὸς μέλη,
βάρος μὲν οὐκ ἀβριθὲς ἀλγέων ὕπερ,
ἐν δʼ ὀλίγῳ τἀμὰ πάντα συνθείς.

[¶145] Chorus:
Ah me! ah me! Why bear thy tearful load to the fond mother of the dead,
a handful of ashes in the stead of those who erst were men of mark in Mycenae?

> Greek: Χορός:
— ἰὼ ἰώ,
πᾶ φέρεις δάκρυα φίλᾳ
ματρὶ τῶν ὀλωλότων;
σποδοῦ τε πλῆθος ὀλίγον ἀντὶ σωμάτων
εὐδοκίμων δήποτʼ ἐν Μυκήναις;

[¶146] Children:
Woe worth the hour! woe worth the day! Reft of my hapless sire, a wretched orphan shall I inherit a desolate house, torn from my father’s arms.

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— ἄπαις, ἄπαις·
ἐγὼ δʼ ἔρημος ἀθλίου πατρὸς τάλας
ἔρημον οἶκον ὀρφανεύσομαι λαβών,
οὐ πατρὸς ἐν χερσὶ τοῦ τεκόντος.

[¶147] Chorus:
Woe is thee! Where is now the toil I spent upon my sons? what thank have I for nightly watch? Where the mother’s nursing care? the sleepless vigils mine eyes have kept? the loving kiss upon my children’s brow?

> Greek: Χορός:
— ἰὼ ἰώ·
ποῦ δὲ πόνος ἐμῶν τέκνων,
ποῦ λοχευμάτων χάρις;
τροφαί τε ματρὸς ἄυπνά τʼ ὀμμάτων τέλη,
καὶ φίλιαι προσβολαὶ προσώπων;

[¶148] Children:
Thy sons are dead and gone. Poor mother!

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— βεβᾶσιν, οὐκέτʼ εἰσίν· οἴμοι πάτερ·

[¶149] dead and gone; the boundless air now wraps them round.
Chorus:
Turned to ashes by the flame, they have winged their flight to Hades.

> Greek: βεβᾶσιν.
Χορός:
αἰθὴρ ἔχει νιν ἤδη,
πυρὸς τετακότας σποδῷ·
ποτανοὶ δʼ ἤνυσαν τὸν Ἅιδαν.

[¶150] Children:
Father, thou hearest thy children’s lamentation; say, shall I e’er, as warrior dight, avenge thy slaughter?
Chorus:
God grant it, O my child!

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— πάτερ, μῶν σῶν κλύεις τέκνων γόους;
ἆρʼ ἀσπιδοῦχος ἔτι ποτʼ ἀντιτάσσομαι
σὸν φόνον — εἰ γὰρ γένοιτο — τεκνῶν;

[¶151] Children:
Some day, if god so will, shall the avenging of my father be my task; not yet this sorrow sleeps.

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— ἔτʼ ἂν θεοῦ θέλοντος ἔλθοι δίκα
πατρῷος·
Χορός:
οὔπω κακὸν τόδʼ εὕδει.

[¶152] Chorus:
Alas! Fortune’s sorrows are enough for me, I have troubles and to spare already.

> Greek: αἰαῖ γόων· ἅλις τύχας,
ἅλις δʼ ἀλγέων ἐμοὶ πάρεστι.

[¶153] Children:
Shall Asopus’ laughing tide ever reflect my brazen arms as I lead on my Argive troops?
Chorus:
To avenge thy fallen sire.

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— ἔτʼ Ἀσωποῦ με δέξεται γάνος
χαλκέοις ἐν ὅπλοις Δαναϊδῶν στρατηλάταν,
τοῦ φθιμένου πατρὸς ἐκδικαστάν.

[¶154] Children:
Methinks I see thee still before my eyes, my father—

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— ἔτʼ εἰσορᾶν σε, πάτερ, ἐπʼ ὀμμάτων δοκῶ …

[¶155] Chorus:
Printing a loving kiss upon thy cheek.

> Greek: Χορός:
— φίλον φίλημα παρὰ γένυν τιθέντα σόν.

[¶156] Children:
But thy words of exhortation are borne on the winds away.

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— λόγων δὲ παρακέλευσμα σῶν
ἀέρι φερόμενον οἴχεται.

[¶157] Chorus:
Two mourners hath he left behind, thy mother and thee, bequeathing to thee an endless legacy of grief for thy father.

> Greek: Χορός:
— δυοῖν δʼ ἄχη, ματρί τʼ ἔλιπεν —
σέ τʼ οὔποτʼ ἄλγη πατρῷα λείψει.

[¶158] Children:
The weight of grief I have to bear hath crushed me utterly.

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— ἔχω τοσόνδε βάρος ὅσον μʼ ἀπώλεσεν.

[¶159] Chorus:
Come, let me clasp the ashes of my son to my bosom.

> Greek: Χορός:
— φέρʼ, ἀμφὶ μαστὸν ὑποβάλω ⟨φίλαν⟩ σποδόν.

[¶160] Children:
I weep to hear that piteous word; it stabs me to the heart.

> Greek: Παῖδες:
— ἔκλαυσα τόδε κλύων ἔπος
στυγνότατον· ἔθιγέ μου φρενῶν.

[¶161] Chorus:
My child, thou art undone; no more shall I behold thee, thy own fond mother’s treasure.

> Greek: Χορός:
— ὦ τέκνον, ἔβας· οὐκέτι φίλον
φίλας ἄγαλμʼ ὄψομαί σε ματρός.

[¶162] Theseus:
Adrastus, and ye dames from Argos sprung, ye see these children bearing in their hands the bodies of their valiant sires whom I redeemed; to thee I give these gifts, I and Athens. And ye must bear in mind the memory of this favour,
marking well the treatment ye have had of me. And to these children I repeat the self-same words, that they may honour this city, to children’s children ever handing on the kindness ye received from us. Be Zeus the witness, with the gods in heaven,
of the treatment we vouchsafed you ere you left us.

> Greek: Θησεύς:
Ἄδραστε καὶ γυναῖκες Ἀργεῖαι γένος,
ὁρᾶτε παῖδας τούσδʼ ἔχοντας ἐν χεροῖν
πατέρων ἀρίστων σώμαθʼ ὧν ἀνειλόμην·
τούτοις ἐγώ σφε καὶ πόλις δωρούμεθα.
ὑμᾶς δὲ τῶνδε χρὴ χάριν μεμνημένους
σῴζειν, ὁρῶντας ὧν ἐκύρσατʼ ἐξ ἐμοῦ,
παισίν θʼ ὑπειπεῖν τούσδε τοὺς αὐτοὺς λόγους,
τιμᾶν πόλιν τήνδʼ, ἐκ τέκνων ἀεὶ τέκνοις
μνήμην παραγγέλλοντας ὧν ἐκύρσατε.
Ζεὺς δὲ ξυνίστωρ οἵ τʼ ἐν οὐρανῷ θεοὶ
οἵων ὑφʼ ἡμῶν στείχετʼ ἠξιωμένοι.

[¶163] Adrastus:
Theseus, well we know all the kindness thou hast conferred upon the land of Argos in her need, and ours shall be a gratitude that never waxeth old, for your generous treatment makes us debtors for a like return.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
Θησεῦ, ξύνισμεν πάνθʼ ὅσʼ Ἀργείαν χθόνα
δέδρακας ἐσθλὰ δεομένην εὐεργετῶν,
χάριν τʼ ἀγήρων ἕξομεν· γενναῖα γὰρ
παθόντες ὑμᾶς ἀντιδρᾶν ὀφείλομεν.

[¶164] Theseus:
What yet remains, wherein I can serve you?

> Greek: Θησεύς:
τί δῆτʼ ἔθʼ ὑμῖν ἄλλʼ ὑπουργῆσαί με χρή;

[¶165] Adrastus:
Fare thee well, for such is thy desert and such thy city’s too.

> Greek: Ἄδραστος:
χαῖρʼ· ἄξιος γὰρ καὶ σὺ καὶ πόλις σέθεν.

[¶166] Theseus:
Fare thee well, for such is thy desert and such thy city’s too.

> Greek: Θησεύς:
ἔσται τάδʼ· ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺ τῶν αὐτῶν τύχοις.

[¶167] Athena:
Hearken, Theseus, to the words that I Athena utter, telling thee thy duty, which, if thou perform it, will serve thy city.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ἄκουε, Θησεῦ, τούσδʼ Ἀθηναίας λόγους,
ἃ χρή σε δρᾶσαι, δρῶντα δʼ ὠφελεῖν τάδε.

[¶168] Give not these bones to the children to carry to the land of Argos, letting them go so lightly; nay, take first an oath of them that they will requite thee and thy city for your efforts. This oath must Adrastus swear, for as their king it is his right
to take the oath for the whole realm of Argos. And this shall be the form thereof: “We Argives swear we never will against this land lead on our mail-clad troops to war, and, if others come, we will repel them.” But if they violate their oath and come against the city, pray
that the land of Argos may be miserably destroyed.

> Greek: μὴ δῷς τάδʼ ὀστᾶ τοῖσδʼ ἐς Ἀργείαν χθόνα
παισὶν κομίζειν ῥᾳδίως οὕτω μεθείς,
ἀλλʼ ἀντὶ τῶν σῶν καὶ πόλεως μοχθημάτων
πρῶτον λάβʼ ὅρκον. τόνδε δʼ ὀμνύναι χρεὼν
Ἄδραστον· οὗτος κύριος, τύραννος ὤν,
πάσης ὑπὲρ γῆς Δαναϊδῶν ὁρκωμοτεῖν.
ὁ δʼ ὅρκος ἔσται, μήποτʼ Ἀργείους χθόνα
ἐς τήνδʼ ἐποίσειν πολέμιον παντευχίαν,
ἄλλων τʼ ἰόντων ἐμποδὼν θήσειν δόρυ.
ἢν δʼ ὅρκον ἐκλιπόντες ἔλθωσιν, πάλιν
κακῶς ὀλέσθαι πρόστρεπʼ Ἀργείων χθόνα.

[¶169] Now hearken while I tell thee where thou must slay the victims. Thou hast within thy halls a tripod with brazen feet, which Heracles, in days gone by, after he had o’erthrown the foundations of Ilium and was starting on another enterprise,
enjoined thee to set up at the Pythian shrine. O’er it cut the throats of three sheep; then grave within the tripod’s hollow belly the oath; this done, deliver it to the god who watches over Delphi to keep, a witness and memorial unto Hellas of the oath.

> Greek: ἐν ᾧ δὲ τέμνειν σφάγια χρή σʼ, ἄκουέ μου.
ἔστιν τρίπους σοι χαλκόπους ἔσω δόμων,
ὃν Ἰλίου ποτʼ ἐξαναστήσας βάθρα
σπουδὴν ἐπʼ ἄλλην Ἡρακλῆς ὁρμώμενος
στῆσαί σʼ ἐφεῖτο Πυθικὴν πρὸς ἐσχάραν.
ἐν τῷδε λαιμοὺς τρεῖς τριῶν μήλων τεμὼν
ἔγγραψον ὅρκους τρίποδος ἐν κοίλῳ κύτει,
κἄπειτα σῴζειν θεῷ δὸς ᾧ Δελφῶν μέλει,
μνημεῖά θʼ ὅρκων μαρτύρημά θʼ Ἑλλάδι.

[¶170] And bury the sharp-edged knife, wherewith thou shalt have laid the victims open and shed their blood, deep in the bowels of the earth, hard by the pyres where the seven chieftains burn; for its appearance shall strike them with dismay, if e’er against thy town they come, and shall cause them to return with sorrow.

> Greek: ᾗ δʼ ἂν διοίξῃς σφάγια καὶ τρώσῃς φόνον
ὀξύστομον μάχαιραν ἐς γαίας μυχοὺς
κρύψον παρʼ αὐτὰς ἑπτὰ πυρκαιὰς νεκρῶν·
φόβον γὰρ αὐτοῖς, ἤν ποτʼ ἔλθωσιν πόλιν,
δειχθεῖσα θήσει καὶ κακὸν νόστον πάλιν.

[¶171] When thou hast done all this, dismiss the dead from thy land. And to the god resign as sacred land the spot where their bodies were purified by fire, there by the meeting of the triple roads that lead unto the Isthmus. Thus much to thee, Theseus, I address; next to the sons of Argos I speak; when ye are grown to men’s estate, the town beside Ismenus shall ye sack,
avenging the slaughter of your dead sires; thou too, Aegialeus, shalt take thy father’s place and in thy youth command the host, and with thee Tydeus’ son marching from Aetolia,—him whom his father named Diomedes. Soon as the beards your cheeks o’ershadow
must ye lead an armed Danaid host against the battlements of Thebes with sevenfold gates. For to their sorrow shall ye come like lion’s whelps in full-grown might to sack their city. No otherwise is it to be;
and ye shall be a theme for minstrels’ songs in days to come, known through Hellas as “the After-born” so famous shall your expedition be, thanks to Heaven.

> Greek: δράσας δὲ ταῦτα πέμπε γῆς ἔξω νεκρούς.
τεμένη δʼ, ἵνʼ αὐτῶν σώμαθʼ ἡγνίσθη πυρί,
μέθες παρʼ αὐτὴν τρίοδον Ἰσθμίας θεοῦ·
σοὶ μὲν τάδʼ εἶπον· παισὶ δʼ Ἀργείων λέγω·
πορθήσεθʼ ἡβήσαντες Ἰσμηνοῦ πόλιν,
πατέρων θανόντων ἐκδικάζοντες φόνον,
σύ τʼ ἀντὶ πατρός, Αἰγιαλεῦ, στρατηλάτης
νέος καταστάς, παῖς τʼ ἀπʼ Αἰτωλῶν μολὼν
Τυδέως, ὃν ὠνόμαζε Διομήδην πατήρ.
ἀλλʼ οὐ φθάνειν χρὴ συσκιάζοντας γένυν
καὶ χαλκοπληθῆ Δαναϊδῶν ὁρμᾶν στρατὸν
ἑπτάστολον πύργωμα Καδμείων ἔπι·
πικροὶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἥξετʼ, ἐκτεθραμμένοι
σκύμνοι λεόντων, πόλεος ἐκπορθήτορες.
κοὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλως· Ἔκγονοι δʼ ἀνʼ Ἑλλάδα
κληθέντες ᾠδὰς ὑστέροισι θήσετε·
τοῖον στράτευμα σὺν θεῷ πορεύσετε.

[¶172] Theseus:
Queen Athena, I will hearken to thy bidding; for thou it is dost set me up, so that I go not astray. And I will bind this monarch by an oath; do thou but guide my
steps aright. For if thou art friendly to our state, we shall henceforth live secure.

> Greek: Θησεύς:
δέσποινʼ Ἀθάνα, πείσομαι λόγοισι σοῖς·
σὺ γάρ μʼ ἀνορθοῖς, ὥστε μὴ ʼξαμαρτάνειν·
καὶ τόνδʼ ἐν ὅρκοις ζεύξομαι· μόνον σύ με
ἐς ὀρθὸν ἵστη· σοῦ γὰρ εὐμενοῦς πόλει
οὔσης τὸ λοιπὸν ἀσφαλῶς οἰκήσομεν.

[¶173] Chorus:
Let us go, Adrastus, and take the oath to this monarch and his state; for the service they have already done us claims our warm regard.

> Greek: Χορός:
στείχωμεν, Ἄδρασθʼ, ὅρκια δῶμεν
τῷδʼ ἀνδρὶ πόλει τʼ· ἄξια δʼ ἡμῖν
προμεμοχθήκασι σέβεσθαι.