---
title: "Ajax · Αἴας"
author: "Sophocles"
translator: "Richard Jebb"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 1 of 3
url: https://scriptura.si/works/sophocles-ajax/1/
cite: "Sophocles, tr. Richard Jebb, Ajax · Αἴας, section 1. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/sophocles-ajax/1/"
---

# Ajax · Αἴας

*Sophocles, tr. Richard Jebb*

Denied the arms of Achilles, the great warrior is driven mad by Athena, and wakes to his shame.

> Greek: ed. Francis Storr, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0011.tlg003, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Richard Jebb, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0011.tlg003.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.

## 1. Lines 1–499

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/sophocles-ajax/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/sophocles-ajax/1/#p-N

[¶0] Athena:
Always, son of Laertes, have I observed you on the prowl to snatch some means of attack against your enemies. So now at the tent of Ajax by the ships where he has his post at the camp’s outer edge, I watch you
for a long time as you hunt and scan his newly pressed tracks, in order to see whether he is inside or away. Your course leads you well to your goal, like that of a keen-scenting Laconian hound. For the man has just now gone in,
with sweat dripping from his head and from his hands that have killed with the sword. There is no further need for you to peer inside these doors. Rather tell me what your goal is that you have shown such eagerness for, so that you may learn from her who holds the knowledge.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ἀεὶ μέν, ὦ παῖ Λαρτίου, δέδορκά σε
πεῖράν τινʼ ἐχθρῶν ἁρπάσαι θηρώμενον·
καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ σκηναῖς σε ναυτικαῖς ὁρῶ
Αἴαντος, ἔνθα τάξιν ἐσχάτην ἔχει,
πάλαι κυνηγετοῦντα καὶ μετρούμενον
ἴχνη τὰ κείνου νεοχάραχθʼ, ὅπως ἴδῃς
εἴτʼ ἔνδον εἴτʼ οὐκ ἔνδον. εὖ δέ σʼ ἐκφέρει
κυνὸς Λακαίνης ὥς τις εὔρινος βάσις.
ἔνδον γὰρ ἁνὴρ ἄρτι τυγχάνει, κάρα
στάζων ἱδρῶτι καὶ χέρας ξιφοκτόνους.
καί σʼ οὐδὲν εἴσω τῆσδε παπταίνειν πύλης
ἔτʼ ἔργον ἐστίν, ἐννέπειν δʼ ὅτου χάριν
σπουδὴν ἔθου τήνδʼ, ὡς παρʼ εἰδυίας μάθῃς.

[¶1] Odysseus:
Voice of Athena, dearest to me of the gods,
how clearly, though you are unseen, do I hear your call and snatch its meaning in my mind, just as I would the bronze tongue of the Tyrrhenian trumpet! And now you have discerned correctly that I am circling my path on the track of a man who hates me, Ajax the shield-bearer.

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
ὦ φθέγμʼ Ἀθάνας, φιλτάτης ἐμοὶ θεῶν,
ὡς εὐμαθές σου, κἂν ἄποπτος ᾖς ὅμως,
φώνημʼ ἀκούω καὶ ξυναρπάζω φρενὶ
χαλκοστόμου κώδωνος ὡς Τυρσηνικῆς.
καὶ νῦν ἐπέγνως εὖ μʼ ἐπʼ ἀνδρὶ δυσμενεῖ
βάσιν κυκλοῦντʼ, Αἴαντι τῷ σακεσφόρῳ·

[¶2] It is he and no other that I have been tracking so long. For tonight he has done us a deed beyond comprehension—if he is indeed the doer. We know nothing for certain, but drift in doubt. And so I of my of accord took up the burden of this search.

> Greek: κεῖνον γάρ, οὐδένʼ ἄλλον, ἰχνεύω πάλαι.
νυκτὸς γὰρ ἡμᾶς τῆσδε πρᾶγος ἄσκοπον
ἔχει περάνας, εἴπερ εἴργασται τάδε·
ἴσμεν γὰρ οὐδὲν τρανές, ἀλλʼ ἀλώμεθα·
κἀγὼ ʼθελοντὴς τῷδʼ ὑπεζύγην πόνῳ.

[¶3] For we recently found all the cattle, our plunder, dead—yes, slaughtered by human hand—and with them the guardians of the flocks. Now, all men lay responsibility for this crime to him. And further, a scout who had seen him
bounding alone over the plain with a newly-wet sword reported to me and declared what he saw. Then immediately I rush upon his track, and sometimes I follow his signs, but sometimes I am bewildered, and cannot read whose they are. Your arrival is timely, for truly in all matters, both those of the past
and those of the future, it is your hand that steers me.

> Greek: ἐφθαρμένας γὰρ ἀρτίως εὑρίσκομεν
λείας ἁπάσας καὶ κατηναρισμένας
ἐκ χειρὸς αὐτοῖς ποιμνίων ἐπιστάταις.
τήνδʼ οὖν ἐκείνῳ πᾶς τις αἰτίαν νέμει.
καί μοί τις ὀπτὴρ αὐτὸν εἰσιδὼν μόνον
πηδῶντα πεδία σὺν νεορράντῳ ξίφει
φράζει τε κἀδήλωσεν· εὐθέως δʼ ἐγὼ
κατʼ ἴχνος ᾄσσω, καὶ τὰ μὲν σημαίνομαι,
τὰ δʼ ἐκπέπληγμαι κοὐκ ἔχω μαθεῖν ὅτου.
καιρὸν δʼ ἐφήκεις· πάντα γὰρ τά τʼ οὖν πάρος
τά τʼ εἰσέπειτα σῇ κυβερνῶμαι χερί.

[¶4] Athena:
I know it, Odysseus, and some time ago I came on the path as a lookout friendly to your hunt.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ἔγνων, Ὀδυσσεῦ, καὶ πάλαι φύλαξ ἔβην
τῇ σῇ πρόθυμος εἰς ὁδὸν κυναγίᾳ.

[¶5] Odysseus:
And so, dear mistress, do I toil to good effect?

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
ἦ καί, φίλη δέσποινα, πρὸς καιρὸν πονῶ;

[¶6] Athena:
Know that that man is the doer of these deeds.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι.

[¶7] Odysseus:
Then to what end did he thrust his hand so senselessly?

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
καὶ πρὸς τί δυσλόγιστον ὧδʼ ᾖξεν χέρα;

[¶8] Athena:
He was mad with anger over the arms of Achilles.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων.

[¶9] Odysseus:
Why, then, his onslaught upon the flocks?

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
τί δῆτα ποίμναις τήνδʼ ἐπεμπίπτει βάσιν;

[¶10] Athena:
It was in your blood, he thought, that he was staining his hand.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
δοκῶν ἐν ὑμῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ.

[¶11] Odysseus:
Then was this a plot aimed against the Greeks?

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
ἦ καὶ τὸ βούλευμʼ ὡς ἐπʼ Ἀργείοις τόδʼ ἦν;

[¶12] Athena:
Yes, and he would have accomplished it, too, had I not been attentive.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
κἂν ἐξεπράξατʼ, εἰ κατημέλησʼ ἐγώ.

[¶13] Odysseus:
And what reckless boldness was in his mind that he dared this?

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
ποίαισι τόλμαις ταῖσδε καὶ φρενῶν θράσει;

[¶14] Athena:
Under night’s cover he set out against you, by stealth and alone.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
νύκτωρ ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς δόλιος ὁρμᾶται μόνος.

[¶15] Odysseus:
And did he get near us? Did he reach his goal?

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
ἦ καὶ παρέστη κἀπὶ τέρμʼ ἀφίκετο;

[¶16] Athena:
He was already at the double doors of the two generals.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
καὶ δὴ ʼπὶ δισσαῖς ἦν στρατηγίσιν πύλαις.

[¶17] Odysseus:
How, then, did he restrain his hand when it was eager for murder?

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
καὶ πῶς ἐπέσχε χεῖρα μαιμῶσαν φόνου;

[¶18] Athena:
It was I who prevented him, by casting over his eyes oppressive notions of his fatal joy, and I who turned his fury aside on the flocks of sheep and the confused droves guarded by herdsmen, the spoil which you had not yet divided.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ἐγώ σφʼ ἀπείργω, δυσφόρους ἐπʼ ὄμμασι
γνώμας βαλοῦσα τῆς ἀνηκέστου χαρᾶς,
καὶ πρός τε ποίμνας ἐκτρέπω σύμμικτά τε
λείας ἄδαστα βουκόλων φρουρήματα·

[¶19] Then he fell upon them and kept cutting out a slaughter of many horned beasts as he split their spines in a circle around him. At one time he thought that he was killing the two Atreidae, holding them in his very hand; at another time it was this commander, and at another that one which he attacked. And I, while the man ran about in diseased frenzy,
I kept urging him on, kept hurling him into the snares of doom. Soon, when he rested from this toil, he bound together the living oxen along with with all the sheep and brought them home, as though his quarry were men, not well-horned cattle. And now he abuses them, bound together, in the house. But to you also will I show this madness openly, so that when you have seen it you may proclaim it to all the Argives. Be of good courage and stand your ground, and do not regard the man as a cause of disaster for you. I will turn away the beams of his eyes
and keep them from landing on your face.
To Ajax.

> Greek: ἔνθʼ εἰσπεσὼν ἔκειρε πολύκερων φόνον
κύκλῳ ῥαχίζων· κἀδόκει μὲν ἔσθʼ ὅτε
δισσοὺς Ἀτρείδας αὐτόχειρ κτείνειν ἔχων,
ὅτʼ ἄλλοτʼ ἄλλον ἐμπίτνων στρατηλατῶν.
ἐγὼ δὲ φοιτῶντʼ ἄνδρα μανιάσιν νόσοις
ὤτρυνον, εἰσέβαλλον εἰς ἕρκη κακά.
κἄπειτʼ ἐπειδὴ τοῦδʼ ἐλώφησεν πόνου,
τοὺς ζῶντας αὖ δεσμοῖσι συνδήσας βοῶν
ποίμνας τε πάσας εἰς δόμους κομίζεται,
ὡς ἄνδρας, οὐχ ὡς εὔκερων ἄγραν ἔχων,
καὶ νῦν κατʼ οἴκους συνδέτους αἰκίζεται.
δείξω δὲ καὶ σοὶ τήνδε περιφανῆ νόσον,
ὡς πᾶσιν Ἀργείοισιν εἰσιδὼν θροῇς.
θαρσῶν δὲ μίμνε μηδὲ συμφορὰν δέχου
τὸν ἄνδρʼ· ἐγὼ γὰρ ὀμμάτων ἀποστρόφους
αὐγὰς ἀπείρξω σὴν πρόσοψιν εἰσιδεῖν.

[¶20] You there, you who bind back your captive’s arms, I am calling you, come here! I am calling Ajax! Come out in front of the house!

> Greek: οὗτος, σὲ τὸν τὰς αἰχμαλωτίδας χέρας
δεσμοῖς ἀπευθύνοντα προσμολεῖν καλῶ·
Αἴαντα φωνῶ· στεῖχε δωμάτων πάρος.

[¶21] Odysseus:
What are you doing, Athena? Do not call him out.

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
τί δρᾷς, Ἀθάνα; μηδαμῶς σφʼ ἔξω κάλει.

[¶22] Athena:
Hold your peace! Do not earn a reputation for cowardice!

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
οὐ σῖγʼ ἀνέξει μηδὲ δειλίαν ἀρεῖ;

[¶23] Odysseus:
No, by the gods, let it content you that he stay inside.

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
μὴ πρὸς θεῶν, ἀλλʼ ἔνδον ἀρκείτω μένων.

[¶24] Athena:
What is the danger? Was he not a man before?

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
τί μὴ γένηται; πρόσθεν οὐκ ἀνὴρ ὅδʼ ἦν;

[¶25] Odysseus:
Yes, a man hostile to me in the past, and especially now.

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
ἐχθρός γε τῷδε τἀνδρὶ καὶ τανῦν ἔτι.

[¶26] Athena:
And is not the sweetest mockery the mockery of enemies?

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
οὔκουν γέλως ἥδιστος εἰς ἐχθροὺς γελᾶν;

[¶27] Odysseus:
I am content that he stay within his tent.

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
ἐμοὶ μὲν ἀρκεῖ τοῦτον ἐν δόμοις μένειν.

[¶28] Athena:
Do you fear to see a madman right before your eyes?

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
μεμηνότʼ ἄνδρα περιφανῶς ὀκνεῖς ἰδεῖν;

[¶29] Odysseus:
I would not shrink from him in fear, if he were sane.

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
φρονοῦντα γάρ νιν οὐκ ἂν ἐξέστην ὄκνῳ.

[¶30] Athena:
But he will not see you now, even though you stand nearby.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ νῦν σε μὴ παρόντʼ ἴδῃ πέλας.

[¶31] Odysseus:
How could that be, if he still sees with the same eyes?

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
πῶς, εἴπερ ὀφθαλμοῖς γε τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὁρᾷ;

[¶32] Athena:
I shall darken them, though their sight is keen.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ἐγὼ σκοτώσω βλέφαρα καὶ δεδορκότα.

[¶33] Odysseus:
It is true: all is possible when a god contrives.

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
γένοιτο μέντἂν πᾶν θεοῦ τεχνωμένου.

[¶34] Athena:
Stand silent, then, and stay where you are.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
σίγα νυν ἑστὼς καὶ μένʼ ὡς κυρεῖς ἔχων.

[¶35] Odysseus:
I must stay. But I would prefer to be far from here!

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
μένοιμʼ ἄν· ἤθελον δʼ ἂν ἐκτὸς ὢν τυχεῖν.

[¶36] Athena:
You there, Ajax, once again I call you! Why do you show so little regard for your ally?
Enter Ajax, holding a blood-stained whip in his hand.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ὦ οὗτος, Αἴας, δεύτερόν σε προσκαλῶ.
τί βαιὸν οὕτως ἐντρέπει τῆς συμμάχου;

[¶37] Ajax:
Welcome, Athena! Welcome, daughter sprung from Zeus! How well have you stood by me! I will crown you with trophies of pure gold in gratitude for this quarry!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ὦ χαῖρʼ Ἀθάνα, χαῖρε Διογενὲς τέκνον,
ὡς εὖ παρέστης· καί σε παγχρύσοις ἐγὼ
στέψω λαφύροις τῆσδε τῆς ἄγρας χάριν.

[¶38] Athena:
A fine pledge. But tell me this—have you dyed your sword well in the Greek army?

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
καλῶς ἔλεξας· ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνό μοι φράσον,
ἔβαψας ἔγχος εὖ πρὸς Ἀργείων στρατῷ;

[¶39] Ajax:
I can make that boast. I do not deny it.

> Greek: Αἴας:
κόμπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦμαι τὸ μή.

[¶40] Athena:
And have you launched your armed hand against the Atreidae?

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ἦ καὶ πρὸς Ἀτρείδαισιν ᾔχμασας χέρα;

[¶41] Ajax:
Yes, so that never again will they dishonor Ajax.

> Greek: Αἴας:
ὥστʼ οὔποτʼ Αἴανθʼ οἵδʼ ἀτιμάσουσʼ ἔτι.

[¶42] Athena:
The men are dead, as I interpret your words.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
τεθνᾶσιν ἄνδρες, ὡς τὸ σὸν ξυνῆκʼ ἐγώ.

[¶43] Ajax:
Dead they are. Now let them rob me of my arms!

> Greek: Αἴας:
θανόντες ἤδη τἄμʼ ἀφαιρείσθων ὅπλα.

[¶44] Athena:
I see. And the son of Laertes, how does his fortune with respect to you? Has he escaped you?

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
εἶεν, τί γὰρ δὴ παῖς ὁ τοῦ Λαερτίου,
ποῦ σοι τύχης ἕστηκεν; ἢ πέφευγέ σε;

[¶45] Ajax:
That blasted fox! You ask me where he is?

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἦ τοὐπίτριπτον κίναδος ἐξήρου μʼ ὅπου;

[¶46] Athena:
Yes, I do. I mean Odysseus, your adversary.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ἔγωγʼ· Ὀδυσσέα τὸν σὸν ἐνστάτην λέγω.

[¶47] Ajax:
My most pleasing prisoner, mistress, he sits inside. I do not wish him to die just yet.

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἥδιστος, ὦ δέσποινα, δεσμώτης ἔσω
θακεῖ· θανεῖν γὰρ αὐτὸν οὔ τί πω θέλω.

[¶48] Athena:
Until you do what? Or win what greater advantage?

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
πρὶν ἂν τί δράσῃς ἢ τί κερδάνῃς πλέον;

[¶49] Ajax:
Until he be bound to a pillar beneath my roof—

> Greek: Αἴας:
πρὶν ἂν δεθεὶς πρὸς κίονʼ ἑρκείου στέγης.

[¶50] Athena:
What evil, then, will you inflict on the poor man?

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
τί δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ἐργάσει κακόν;

[¶51] Ajax:
—and have his back crimsoned by the lash, before he dies.

> Greek: Αἴας:
μάστιγι πρῶτον νῶτα φοινιχθεὶς θάνῃ.

[¶52] Athena:
Do not abuse the poor man so cruelly!

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
μὴ δῆτα τὸν δύστηνον ὧδέ γʼ αἰκίσῃ.

[¶53] Ajax:
In all else, Athena, I bid you take your pleasure, but he will pay this penalty and no other.

> Greek: Αἴας:
χαίρειν, Ἀθάνα, τἄλλʼ ἐγώ σʼ ἐφίεμαι·
κεῖνος δὲ τίσει τήνδε κοὐκ ἄλλην δίκην.

[¶54] Athena:
Well, then, since it delights you to do so, put your arm to use; spare no portion of your plan.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
σὺ δʼ οὖν, ἐπειδὴ τέρψις ἥδε σοι τὸ δρᾶν,
χρῶ χειρί, φείδου μηδὲν ὧνπερ ἐννοεῖς.

[¶55] Ajax:
I go to my work. And I give you this commission: be always for me the close-standing ally that you have been for me today!
Exit Ajax.

> Greek: Αἴας:
χωρῶ πρὸς ἔργον· σοὶ δὲ τοῦτʼ ἐφίεμαι,
τοιάνδʼ ἀεί μοι σύμμαχον παρεστάναι.

[¶56] Athena:
Do you see, Odysseus, how great is the strength of the gods? Whom could you have found more prudent than this man,
or better able to do what the situation demanded?

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
ὁρᾷς, Ὀδυσσεῦ, τὴν θεῶν ἰσχὺν ὅση;
τούτου τίς ἄν σοι τἀνδρὸς ἢ προνούστερος
ἢ δρᾶν ἀμείνων ηὑρέθη τὰ καίρια;

[¶57] Odysseus:
I know of no one, but in his misery I pity him all the same, even though he hates me, because he is yoked beneath a ruinous delusion—I think of my own lot no less than his.

> Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς:
ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδένʼ οἶδʼ· ἐποικτίρω δέ νιν
δύστηνον ἔμπας, καίπερ ὄντα δυσμενῆ,
ὁθούνεκʼ ἄτῃ συγκατέζευκται κακῇ,
οὐδὲν τὸ τούτου μᾶλλον ἢ τοὐμὸν σκοπῶν·

[¶58] For I see that all we who live are nothing more than phantoms or fleeting shadow.

> Greek: ὁρῶ γὰρ ἡμᾶς οὐδὲν ὄντας ἄλλο πλὴν
εἴδωλʼ ὅσοιπερ ζῶμεν ἢ κούφην σκιάν.

[¶59] Athena:
Therefore since you witness his fate, see that you yourself never utter an arrogant word against the gods, nor assume any swelling pride, if in the scales of fate you are weightier
than another in strength of hand or in depth of ample wealth. For a day can press down all human things, and a day can raise them up. But the gods embrace men of sense and abhor the evil.
Exit Odysseus and Athena. Enter the Chorus of Salaminian Sailors, followers of Ajax.

> Greek: Ἀθήνα:
τοιαῦτα τοίνυν εἰσορῶν ὑπέρκοπον
μηδέν ποτʼ εἴπῃς αὐτὸς εἰς θεοὺς ἔπος,
μηδʼ ὄγκον ἄρῃ μηδένʼ, εἴ τινος πλέον
ἢ χειρὶ βρίθεις ἢ μακροῦ πλούτου βάθει.
ὡς ἡμέρα κλίνει τε κἀνάγει πάλιν
ἅπαντα τἀνθρώπεια· τοὺς δὲ σώφρονας
θεοὶ φιλοῦσι καὶ στυγοῦσι τοὺς κακούς.

[¶60] Chorus:
Son of Telamon, you who hold
your throne on wave-washed Salamis near the open sea, when your fortune is fair, I rejoice with you. But whenever the stroke of Zeus, or the raging rumor of the Danaans with the clamor of their evil tongues attacks you, then I shrink with great fear and shudder in terror,
like the fluttering eye of the winged dove. Just so with the passing of the night loud tumults oppressed us to our dishonor, telling how you visited the meadow wild with horses and destroyed
the cattle of the Greeks, their spoil, prizes of the spear which had not yet been shared, how you killed them with flashing iron. Such are the whispered slanders that Odysseus moulds and breathes into the ears of all,
and he wins much belief. For now he tells tales concerning you that easily win belief, and each hearer rejoices with spiteful scorn at your burdens more than he who told. Point your shaft at a noble spirit,
and you could not miss; but if a man were to speak such things against me, he would win no belief. It is on the powerful that envy creeps. Yet the small without the great are a teetering tower of defence.

> Greek: Χορός:
Τελαμώνιε παῖ, τῆς ἀμφιρύτου
Σαλαμῖνος ἔχων βάθρον ἀγχιάλου,
σὲ μὲν εὖ πράσσοντʼ ἐπιχαίρω·
σὲ δʼ ὅταν πληγὴ Διὸς ἢ ζαμενὴς
λόγος ἐκ Δαναῶν κακόθρους ἐπιβῇ,
μέγαν ὄκνον ἔχω καὶ πεφόβημαι
πτηνῆς ὡς ὄμμα πελείας.
ὡς καὶ τῆς νῦν φθιμένης νυκτὸς
μεγάλοι θόρυβοι κατέχουσʼ ἡμᾶς
ἐπὶ δυσκλείᾳ, σὲ τὸν ἱππομανῆ
λειμῶνʼ ἐπιβάντʼ ὀλέσαι Δαναῶν
βοτὰ καὶ λείαν,
ἥπερ δορίληπτος ἔτʼ ἦν λοιπή,
κτείνοντʼ αἴθωνι σιδήρῳ.
τοιούσδε λόγους ψιθύρους πλάσσων
εἰς ὦτα φέρει πᾶσιν Ὀδυσσεύς,
καὶ σφόδρα πείθει· περὶ γὰρ σοῦ νῦν
εὔπειστα λέγει, καὶ πᾶς ὁ κλύων
τοῦ λέξαντος χαίρει μᾶλλον
τοῖς σοῖς ἄχεσιν καθυβρίζων.
τῶν γὰρ μεγάλων ψυχῶν ἱεὶς
οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοις· κατὰ δʼ ἄν τις ἐμοῦ
τοιαῦτα λέγων οὐκ ἂν πείθοι·
πρὸς γὰρ τὸν ἔχονθʼ ὁ φθόνος ἕρπει.
καίτοι σμικροὶ μεγάλων χωρὶς
σφαλερὸν πύργου ῥῦμα πέλονται·

[¶61] For the lowly stand most upright and prosperous when allied with the great, and the great when served by less. But foolish men cannot learn good precepts in these matters beforehand. It is men of this sort that subject you to tumult, and
we lack the power to repel these charges without you, O King. For when they have escaped your eye, they chatter like flocking birds. But, terrified by a mighty vulture,
perhaps, if you should appear, they would quickly cower without voice in silence.

> Greek: μετὰ γὰρ μεγάλων βαιὸς ἄριστʼ ἂν
καὶ μέγας ὀρθοῖθʼ ὑπὸ μικροτέρων.
ἀλλʼ οὐ δυνατὸν τοὺς ἀνοήτους
τούτων γνώμας προδιδάσκειν.
ὑπὸ τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν θορυβεῖ
χἠμεῖς οὐδὲν σθένομεν πρὸς ταῦτʼ
ἀπαλέξασθαι σοῦ χωρίς, ἄναξ.
ἀλλʼ ὅτε γὰρ δὴ τὸ σὸν ὄμμʼ ἀπέδραν,
παταγοῦσιν ἅπερ πτηνῶν ἀγέλαι·
μέγαν αἰγυπιὸν δʼ ὑποδείσαντες
τάχʼ ἂν ἐξαίφνης, εἰ σὺ φανείης,
σιγῇ πτήξειαν ἄφωνοι.

[¶62] Chorus:
Was it Artemis ruler of bulls, Zeus’s daughter, that drove you, O powerful Rumor, O mother of my shame,
drove you against the herds of all our people? Was she exacting retribution, perhaps, for a victory that had paid her no tribute, whether it was because she had been cheated of the glory of captured arms, or because a stag had been slain without gifts for recompense? Or can the bronze-cuirassed Lord of War
have had some cause for anger arising out of an alliance of spears, and taken vengeance for the outrage by contrivance shrouded in night?

> Greek: Χορός:
ἦ ῥά σε Ταυροπόλα Διὸς Ἄρτεμις—
ὦ μεγάλα φάτις, ὦ
μᾶτερ αἰσχύνας ἐμᾶς—
ὥρμασε πανδάμους ἐπὶ βοῦς ἀγελαίας,
ἦ πού τινος νίκας ἀκάρπωτον χάριν,
ἤ ῥα κλυτῶν ἐνάρων
ψευσθεῖσʼ, ἀδώροις, εἴτʼ ἐλαφαβολίας;
ἢ χαλκοθώραξ μή τινʼ Ἐνυάλιος
μομφὰν ἔχων ξυνοῦ δορὸς ἐννυχίοις
μαχαναῖς ἐτίσατο λώβαν;

[¶63] Chorus:
For never of your own heart alone, son of Telamon, would you have gone so far down the sinister path
as to fall upon the flocks. When the gods send madness, it cannot but reach its target, but may Zeus and Phoebus avert the evil rumor of the Greeks! And if it is the great kings who slander you with their furtive stories,
or if it is he born of the abject line of Sisyphus, do not, my king, do not win me an evil name by keeping your face still hidden in the tent by the sea.

> Greek: Χορός:
οὔ ποτε γὰρ φρενόθεν γʼ ἐπʼ ἀριστερά,
παῖ Τελαμῶνος, ἔβας
τόσσον, ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων·
ἥκοι γὰρ ἂν θεία νόσος· ἀλλʼ ἀπερύκοι
καὶ Ζεὺς κακὰν καὶ Φοῖβος Ἀργείων φάτιν.
εἰ δʼ ὑποβαλλόμενοι
κλέπτουσι μύθους οἱ μεγάλοι βασιλῆς
ἢ τᾶς ἀσώτου Σισυφιδᾶν γενεᾶς,
μὴ μή, ἄναξ, ἔθʼ ὧδʼ ἐφάλοις κλισίαις
ὄμμʼ ἔχων κακὰν φάτιν ἄρῃ.

[¶64] Chorus:
Come now, up from your seat, wherever you are settled in this long-lived pause from battle
and are making the flame of disaster blaze up to the sky! The violent insolence of your enemies rushes fearlessly about in the breezy glens, while the tongues of all the army cackle out a load of grief.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἀλλʼ ἄνα ἐξ ἑδράνων, ὅπου μακραίωνι
στηρίζει ποτὲ τᾷδʼ ἀγωνίῳ σχολᾷ
ἄταν οὐρανίαν φλέγων.
ἐχθρῶν δʼ ὕβρις ὧδʼ ἀτάρβητα
ὁρμᾶται ἐν εὐανέμοις βάσσαις,
πάντων καγχαζόντων
γλώσσαις βαρυάλγητα·

[¶65] For me, sorrow stands firmly planted.
Enter Tecmessa.

> Greek: ἐμοὶ δʼ ἄχος ἕστακεν.

[¶66] Tecmessa:
Mates of the ship of Ajax, offspring of the race that springs from the Erechtheids, the soil’s sons, cries of grief are the portion of us who care from afar for the house of Telamon.

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ναὸς ἀρωγοὶ τῆς Αἴαντος,
γενεᾶς χθονίων ἀπʼ Ἐρεχθειδῶν,
ἔχομεν στοναχὰς οἱ κηδόμενοι
τοῦ Τελαμῶνος τηλόθεν οἴκου.

[¶67] Ajax, our terrible, mighty lord of untamed power, now lies plagued by a turbid storm of disease.

> Greek: νῦν γὰρ ὁ δεινὸς μέγας ὠμοκρατὴς
Αἴας θολερῷ
κεῖται χειμῶνι νοσήσας.

[¶68] Chorus:
And what is the heavy change from the fortune of yesterday which this night has produced?

> Greek: Χορός:
τί δʼ ἐνήλλακται τῆς ἡμερίας
νὺξ ἥδε βάρος;

[¶69] Daughter of Teleutas the Phrygian, speak, since for you his spear-won mate bold Ajax maintains his love, so that with some knowledge you could suggest an explanation.

> Greek: παῖ τοῦ Φρυγίου Τελεύταντος,
λέγʼ, ἐπεὶ σὲ λέχος δουριάλωτον
στέρξας ἀνέχει θούριος Αἴας·
ὥστʼ οὐκ ἂν ἄϊδρις ὑπείποις.

[¶70] Tecmessa:
Oh, how am I to tell a tale too terrible for words?

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
πῶς δῆτα λέγω λόγον ἄρρητον;

[¶71] Grave as death is the suffering which you will hear. By madness our glorious Ajax was seized in the night, and he has been subjected to utter disgrace. All this you may see inside his dwelling—butchered victims bathed in blood,
sacrifices of no hand but his.

> Greek: θανάτῳ γὰρ ἴσον βάρος ἐκπεύσει.
μανίᾳ γὰρ ἁλοὺς ἡμὶν ὁ κλεινὸς
νύκτερος Αἴας ἀπελωβήθη.
τοιαῦτʼ ἂν ἴδοις σκηνῆς ἔνδον
χειροδάϊκτα σφάγιʼ αἱμοβαφῆ,
κείνου χρηστήρια τἀνδρός.

[¶72] Chorus:
What report of the fiery warrior have you revealed to us, unbearable, nor yet escapable—
a report which the great Danaans propound, which their powerful storytelling spreads! Ah, me, I shudder at the future’s advancing step. In public view the man will die
because the dark sword in his frenzied hand massacred the herds and the horse-guiding herdsmen.

> Greek: Χορός:
οἵαν ἐδήλωσας ἀνέρος αἴθονος
ἀγγελίαν ἄτλατον οὐδὲ φευκτάν,
τῶν μεγάλων Δαναῶν ὕπο κλῃζομέναν,
τὰν ὁ μέγας μῦθος ἀέξει.
οἴμοι φοβοῦμαι τὸ προσέρπον· περίφαντος ἁνὴρ
θανεῖται, παραπλάκτῳ χερὶ συγκατακτὰς
κελαινοῖς ξίφεσιν βοτὰ καὶ βοτῆρας ἱππονώμας.

[¶73] Tecmessa:
Ah! Then it was from there, from there that he came to me with his captive flock!

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ὤμοι· κεῖθεν κεῖθεν ἄρʼ ἡμῖν
δεσμῶτιν ἄγων ἤλυθε ποίμνην·

[¶74] Of part, he cut the throats on the floor inside; some, striking their sides, he tore asunder. Then he caught up two white-footed rams and sheared off the head of one and its tongue-tip, and flung them away;
the other he bound upright to a pillar, and seizing a heavy strap from a horse’s harness he flogged it with a whistling, doubled lash, while he cursed it with awful imprecations which a god, and no mortal, had taught him.

> Greek: ὧν τὴν μὲν ἔσω σφάζʼ ἐπὶ γαίας,
τὰ δὲ πλευροκοπῶν δίχʼ ἀνερρήγνυ.
δύο δʼ ἀργίποδας κριοὺς ἀνελὼν
τοῦ μὲν κεφαλὴν καὶ γλῶσσαν ἄκραν
ῥιπτεῖ θερίσας, τὸν δʼ ὀρθὸν ἄνω
κίονι δήσας
μέγαν ἱπποδέτην ῥυτῆρα λαβὼν
παίει λιγυρᾷ μάστιγι διπλῇ,
κακὰ δεννάζων ῥήμαθʼ, ἃ δαίμων
κοὐδεὶς ἀνδρῶν ἐδίδαξεν.

[¶75] Chorus:
The time has come for each of us to veil his head and steal away on foot, or to sit and take on the swift yoke of rowing,
giving her way to the sea-faring ship. So angry are the threats which the brother-kings, the sons of Atreus, speed against us! I fear to share in bitter death beneath an onslaught of stones,
crushed at this man’s side, whom an untouchable fate holds in its grasp.

> Greek: Χορός:
ὥρα τινʼ ἤδη τοι κρᾶτα καλύμμασι
κρυψάμενον ποδοῖν κλοπὰν ἀρέσθαι
ἢ θοὸν εἰρεσίας ζυγὸν ἑζόμενον
ποντοπόρῳ ναῒ μεθεῖναι.
τοίας ἐρέσσουσιν ἀπειλὰς δικρατεῖς Ἀτρεῖδαι
καθʼ ἡμῶν· πεφόβημαι λιθόλευστον Ἄρη
ξυναλγεῖν μετὰ τοῦδε τυπείς, τὸν αἶσʼ ἄπλατος ἴσχει.

[¶76] Tecmessa:
It grips him no longer. For like a southerly wind after it has started up sharply without bright lightning he grows calm. And now in his right mind he has new pain.

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
οὐκέτι· λαμπρᾶς γὰρ ἄτερ στεροπῆς
ᾄξας ὀξὺς νότος ὣς λήγει,
καὶ νῦν φρόνιμος νέον ἄλγος ἔχει·

[¶77] To look on self-made suffering, when no other has had a hand in it—this induces sharp pains.

> Greek: τὸ γὰρ ἐσλεύσσειν οἰκεῖα πάθη,
μηδενὸς ἄλλου παραπράξαντος,
μεγάλας ὀδύνας ὑποτείνει.

[¶78] Chorus:
But if he has stopped his madness, I have good hope that all may yet be well, since the trouble is of less account once it has passed.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἀλλʼ εἰ πέπαυται, κάρτʼ ἂν εὐτυχεῖν δοκῶ·
φρούδου γὰρ ἤδη τοῦ κακοῦ μείων λόγος.

[¶79] Tecmessa:
And which, if the choice were given you, would you choose—to distress your friends, and have joy yourself, or to share the grief of friends who grieve?

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
πότερα δʼ ἄν, εἰ νέμοι τις αἵρεσιν, λάβοις,
φίλους ἀνιῶν αὐτὸς ἡδονὰς ἔχειν,
ἢ κοινὸς ἐν κοινοῖσι λυπεῖσθαι ξυνών;

[¶80] Chorus:
The twofold sorrow, lady, is certainly the greater evil.

> Greek: Χορός:
τό τοι διπλάζον, ὦ γύναι, μεῖζον κακόν.

[¶81] Tecmessa:
Then we are ruined now, although the plague is past.

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ἡμεῖς ἄρʼ οὐ νοσοῦντες ἀτώμεσθα νῦν.

[¶82] Chorus:
What do you mean? I do not understand what you say.

> Greek: Χορός:
πῶς τοῦτʼ ἔλεξας; οὐ κάτοιδʼ ὅπως λέγεις.

[¶83] Tecmessa:
That man, while afflicted, found joy for himself in the dire fantasies that held him, though his presence distressed us who were sane. But now, since he has had pause and rest from the plague,
he has been utterly subjected to lowly anguish, and we similarly grieve no less than before. Surely, then, these are two sorrows, instead of one?

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ἁνὴρ ἐκεῖνος, ἡνίκʼ ἦν ἐν τῇ νόσῳ,
αὐτὸς μὲν ἥδεθʼ οἷσιν εἴχετʼ ἐν κακοῖς,
ἡμᾶς δὲ τοὺς φρονοῦντας ἠνία ξυνών·
νῦν δʼ ὡς ἔληξε κἀνέπνευσε τῆς νόσου,
κεῖνός τε λύπῃ πᾶς ἐλήλαται κακῇ
ἡμεῖς θʼ ὁμοίως οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἢ πάρος.
ἆρʼ ἔστι ταῦτα δὶς τόσʼ ἐξ ἁπλῶν κακά;

[¶84] Chorus:
Indeed, I agree, and so I fear that a blow sent by a god has hit him. How could it be otherwise, if his spirit is no lighter
than when he was plagued, now that he is released?

> Greek: Χορός:
ξύμφημι δή σοι καὶ δέδοικα μὴ ʼκ θεοῦ
πληγή τις ἥκῃ. πῶς γάρ, εἰ πεπαυμένος
μηδέν τι μᾶλλον ἢ νοσῶν εὐφραίνεται;

[¶85] Tecmessa:
This, you must know, is how matters stand.

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ὡς ὧδʼ ἐχόντων τῶνδʼ ἐπίστασθαί σε χρή.

[¶86] Chorus:
In what way did the plague first swoop down on him? Tell us who share your pain how it happened.

> Greek: Χορός:
τίς γάρ ποτʼ ἀρχὴ τοῦ κακοῦ προσέπτατο;
δήλωσον ἡμῖν τοῖς ξυναλγοῦσιν τύχας.

[¶87] Tecmessa:
You will hear all that took place, since you are involved.

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ἅπαν μαθήσει τοὔργον ὡς κοινωνὸς ὤν.

[¶88] In the dead of night when the evening lamps were no longer aflame, he seized a two-edged sword and wanted to leave on an aimless foray. Then I admonished him and said, “What are you doing, Ajax? Why do you set out unsummoned on this expedition,”
“neither called by messenger, nor warned by trumpet? In fact the whole army is sleeping now.” But he answered me curtly with that trite jingle: “Woman, silence graces woman.” And I, taking his meaning, desisted, but he rushed out alone.

> Greek: κεῖνος γὰρ ἄκρας νυκτός, ἡνίχʼ ἕσπεροι
λαμπτῆρες οὐκέτʼ ᾖθον, ἄμφηκες λαβὼν
ἐμαίετʼ ἔγχος ἐξόδους ἕρπειν κενάς.
κἀγὼ ʼπιπλήσσω καὶ λέγω· τί χρῆμα δρᾷς,
Αἴας; τί τήνδʼ ἄκλητος οὔθʼ ὑπʼ ἀγγέλων
κληθεὶς ἀφορμᾷς πεῖραν οὔτε τοῦ κλύων
σάλπιγγος; ἀλλὰ νῦν γε πᾶς εὕδει στρατός.
ὁ δʼ εἶπε πρός με βαίʼ, ἀεὶ δʼ ὑμνούμενα·
γύναι, γυναιξὶ κόσμον ἡ σιγὴ φέρει.
κἀγὼ μαθοῦσʼ ἔληξʼ, ὁ δʼ ἐσσύθη μόνος.

[¶89] What happened out there, I cannot tell. But he came in with his captives hobbled together—bulls, herding dogs, and his fleecy quarry. Some he beheaded; of some he cut the twisted throat or broke the spine; others
he abused in their bonds as though they were men, though falling only upon cattle. At last he darted out through the door, and dragged up words to speak to some shadow—now against the Atreidae, now about Odysseus—with many a mocking boast of all the abuse that in vengeance he had fully repaid them during his raid.

> Greek: καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖ μὲν οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν πάθας·
ἔσω δʼ ἐσῆλθε συνδέτους ἄγων ὁμοῦ
ταύρους, κύνας βοτῆρας, εὔερόν τʼ ἄγραν.
καὶ τοὺς μὲν ηὐχένιζε, τοὺς δʼ ἄνω τρέπων
ἔσφαζε κἀρράχιζε, τοὺς δὲ δεσμίους
ᾐκίζεθʼ ὥστε φῶτας ἐν ποίμναις πίτνων.
τέλος δʼ ὑπᾴξας διὰ θυρῶν σκιᾷ τινι
λόγους ἀνέσπα, τοὺς μὲν Ἀτρειδῶν κάτα,
τοὺς δʼ ἀμφʼ Ὀδυσσεῖ, συντιθεὶς γέλων πολύν,
ὅσην κατʼ αὐτῶν ὕβριν ἐκτίσαιτʼ ἰών·

[¶90] After that he rushed back again into the house, and somehow by slow, painful steps he regained his reason. And as he scanned the room full of his disastrous madness, he struck his head and howled; he fell down, a wreck amid the wrecked corpses of the slaughtered sheep, and there he sat
with clenched nails tightly clutching his hair. At first, and for a long while, he sat without a sound. But then he threatened me with those dreadful threats, if I did not declare all that had happened, and he demanded to know what on earth was the business he found himself in.

> Greek: κἄπειτʼ ἐπᾴξας αὖθις ἐς δόμους πάλιν,
ἔμφρων μόλις πως ξὺν χρόνῳ καθίσταται,
καὶ πλῆρες ἄτης ὡς διοπτεύει στέγος,
παίσας κάρα ʼθώϋξεν· ἐν δʼ ἐρειπίοις
νεκρῶν ἐρειφθεὶς ἕζετʼ ἀρνείου φόνου,
κόμην ἀπρὶξ ὄνυξι συλλαβὼν χερί.
καὶ τὸν μὲν ἧστο πλεῖστον ἄφθογγος χρόνον·
ἔπειτʼ ἐμοὶ τὰ δείνʼ ἐπηπείλησʼ ἔπη,
εἰ μὴ φανοίην πᾶν τὸ συντυχὸν πάθος,
κἀνήρετʼ ἐν τῷ πράγματος κυροῖ ποτέ.

[¶91] And in my fear, friends, I told him all that had been done, as far as I knew it for certain. But he immediately groaned mournful groans, such as I had never heard from him before. For he had always taught that such wailing
was for cowardly and low-hearted men. He used to grieve quietly without the sound of loud weeping, but instead moaned low like a bull. And now, prostrate in such miserable fortune, tasting no food, no drink,
the man sits idly where he has fallen in the middle of the iron-slain cattle. And plainly he plans to do something terrible. Somehow his words and his laments say as much. Ah, my friends—for it was my errand to ask you this—come in and help him, if in any way you can.

> Greek: κἀγώ, φίλοι, δείσασα τοὐξειργασμένον
ἔλεξα πᾶν ὅσονπερ ἐξηπιστάμην.
ὁ δʼ εὐθὺς ἐξῴμωξεν οἰμωγὰς λυγράς,
ἃς οὔποτʼ αὐτοῦ πρόσθεν εἰσήκουσʼ ἐγώ·
πρὸς γὰρ κακοῦ τε καὶ βαρυψύχου γόους
τοιούσδʼ ἀεί ποτʼ ἀνδρὸς ἐξηγεῖτʼ ἔχειν·
ἀλλʼ ἀψόφητος ὀξέων κωκυμάτων
ὑπεστέναζε ταῦρος ὣς βρυχώμενος.
νῦν δʼ ἐν τοιᾷδε κείμενος κακῇ τύχῃ
ἄσιτος ἁνήρ, ἄποτος, ἐν μέσοις βοτοῖς
σιδηροκμῆσιν ἥσυχος θακεῖ πεσών·
καὶ δῆλός ἐστιν ὥς τι δρασείων κακόν.
τοιαῦτα γάρ πως καὶ λέγει κὠδύρεται.
ἀλλʼ, ὦ φίλοι, τούτων γὰρ οὕνεκʼ ἐστάλην,
ἀρήξατʼ εἰσελθόντες, εἰ δύνασθέ τι·

[¶92] Men of his kind can be won over by the words of friends.

> Greek: φίλων γὰρ οἱ τοιοίδε νικῶνται λόγοις.

[¶93] Chorus:
Tecmessa, daughter of Teleutas, terrible is your news that our lord has been possessed by his sorrows.
Within.
Ajax: wailing.

> Greek: Χορός:
Τέκμησσα, δεινά, παῖ Τελεύταντος, λέγεις
ἡμῖν, τὸν ἄνδρα διαπεφοιβάσθαι κακοῖς.

[¶94] Oh! Ah, me! Ah, me!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἰώ μοί μοι.

[¶95] Tecmessa:
Soon there will be more sorrow, it seems. Did you not hear
Ajax, did you not hear his resounding howl?
Ajax: wailing.

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
τάχʼ, ὡς ἔοικε, μᾶλλον· ἢ οὐκ ἠκούσατε
Αἴαντος οἵαν τήνδε θωΰσσει βοήν;

[¶96] Oh! Ah, me! Ah, me!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἰώ μοί μοι.

[¶97] Chorus:
The man seems to be sick, or else to be still pained by the disease which was recently with him, since he sees its traces.
Ajax: wailing.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἁνὴρ ἔοικεν ἢ νοσεῖν ἢ τοῖς πάλαι
νοσήμασιν ξυνοῦσι λυπεῖσθαι παρών.

[¶98] Oh my son, my son!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἰὼ παῖ παῖ.

[¶99] Tecmessa:
Ah, miserable me! Eurysaces, it is for you he calls! What can his purpose be? Where are you? I am miserable!

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ὤμοι τάλαινʼ· Εὐρύσακες, ἀμφὶ σοὶ βοᾷ.
τί ποτε μενοινᾷ; ποῦ ποτʼ εἶ; τάλαινʼ ἐγώ.

[¶100] Ajax:
Teucer! Where is Teucer? Will his raid last for ever? While I perish?

> Greek: Αἴας:
Τεῦκρον καλῶ. ποῦ Τεῦκρος; ἢ τὸν εἰσαεὶ
λεηλατήσει χρόνον, ἐγὼ δʼ ἀπόλλυμαι;

[¶101] Chorus:
He seems to be sane—open the door!

> Greek: Χορός:
ἁνὴρ φρονεῖν ἔοικεν. ἀλλʼ ἀνοίγετε.

[¶102] Perhaps merely at the sight of me he will come to a more respectable mood.

> Greek: τάχʼ ἄν τινʼ αἰδῶ κἀπʼ ἐμοὶ βλέψας λάβοι.

[¶103] Tecmessa:
There, it is open. Now you can look on this man’s deeds, and his true condition.
Ajax is discovered sitting amidst the slaughtered cattle.

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ἰδού, διοίγω· προσβλέπειν δʼ ἔξεστί σοι
τὰ τοῦδε πράγη, καὐτὸς ὡς ἔχων κυρεῖ.

[¶104] Ajax:
Ah, good sailors, you alone of my friends
who alone still abide by the true bond of friendship, see how great a wave has just now crested over and broken around me, set on by a murderous storm!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἰὼ
φίλοι ναυβάται, μόνοι ἐμῶν φίλων,
μόνοι ἔτʼ ἐμμένοντες ὀρθῷ νόμῳ,
ἴδεσθέ μʼ οἷον ἄρτι κῦμα φοινίας ὑπὸ ζάλης
ἀμφίδρομον κυκλεῖται.

[¶105] Chorus:
Ah, lady, too true, it seems, was your testimony!

> Greek: Χορός:
οἴμʼ ὡς ἔοικας ὀρθὰ μαρτυρεῖν ἄγαν.

[¶106] The fact proves that he is not sane.

> Greek: δηλοῖ δὲ τοὔργον ὡς ἀφροντίστως ἔχει.

[¶107] Ajax:
Ah, you clan staunch in maritime skill, who embarked and stroked the oar-blade upon the brine, in you, in you alone
I see a defense against suffering. Come, slay me on top of these!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἰὼ
γένος ναΐας ἀρωγὸν τέχνας,
ἅλιον ὃς ἐπέβας ἑλίσσων πλάταν,
σέ τοι σέ τοι μόνον δέδορκα πημονὰν ἐπαρκέσοντʼ·
ἀλλά με συνδάϊξον.

[¶108] Chorus:
Hush! Speak words of better omen! Do not cure evil by prescribing evil; do not increase the anguish of your mad disaster.

> Greek: Χορός:
εὔφημα φώνει· μὴ κακὸν κακῷ διδοὺς
ἄκος, πλέον τὸ πῆμα τῆς ἄτης τίθει.

[¶109] Ajax:
Do you see the bold, the strong of heart,
the dauntless in battles with the enemy—do you see me now, terrible in the force of my hands against beasts unformidable? Oh, the mockery! How I have been violated!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ὁρᾷς τὸν θρασύν, τὸν εὐκάρδιον,
τὸν ἐν δαΐοις ἄτρεστον μάχαις,
ἐν ἀφόβοις με θηρσὶ δεινὸν χέρας;
ὤμοι γέλωτος, οἷον ὑβρίσθην ἄρα.

[¶110] Tecmessa:
Ajax, my lord, I beg you, do not talk this way!

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
μή, δέσποτʼ Αἴας, λίσσομαί σʼ, αὔδα τάδε.

[¶111] Ajax:
Away with you! Will you not take yourself outside!

> Greek: Αἴας:
οὐκ ἐκτός; οὐκ ἄψορρον ἐκνεμεῖ πόδα;

[¶112] Ah, me! Ah, me!

> Greek: αἰαῖ αἰαῖ.

[¶113] Chorus:
By the gods I plead, give way and acquire good sense!

> Greek: Χορός:
ὦ πρὸς θεῶν ὕπεικε καὶ φρόνησον εὖ.

[¶114] Ajax:
My rotten fortune!—I let slip from my grasp those men who were begging for punishment,
and fell instead on cattle with twisted horns and fine goats, making their dark blood flow!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ὦ δύσμορος, ὃς χερὶ μὲν
μεθῆκα τοὺς ἀλάστορας, ἐν δʼ ἑλίκεσσι
βουσὶ καὶ κλυτοῖς πεσὼν αἰπολίοις
ἐρεμνὸν αἷμʼ ἔδευσα.

[¶115] Chorus:
Why grieve when the deed is past recall? These things can never be but as they are.

> Greek: Χορός:
τί δῆτʼ ἂν ἀλγοίης ἐπʼ ἐξειργασμένοις;
οὐ γὰρ γένοιτʼ ἂν ταῦθʼ ὅπως οὐχ ὧδʼ ἔχειν.

[¶116] Ajax:
Ah, you who spy out all things,
you ready tool of every crime, ah, son of Laertes, you filthiest sneak in all the army, I am sure you laugh loud and long for joy!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἰὼ πάνθʼ ὁρῶν ἁπάντων τʼ ἀεὶ
κακῶν ὄργανον, τέκνον Λαρτίου,
κακοπινέστατόν τʼ ἄλημα στρατοῦ,
ἦ που πολὺν γέλωθʼ ὑφʼ ἡδονῆς ἄγεις.

[¶117] Chorus:
It is at the god’s dispensation that every man both laughs and mourns.

> Greek: Χορός:
ξύν τοι θεῷ πᾶς καὶ γελᾷ κὠδύρεται.

[¶118] Ajax:
Yet if only I could see him, even shattered as I am!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἴδοιμι μήν νιν, καίπερ ὧδʼ ἀτώμενος.

[¶119] Oh! Oh!

> Greek: ἰώ μοί μοι.

[¶120] Chorus:
Make no big threats! Do you not see the trouble you are in?

> Greek: Χορός:
μηδὲν μέγʼ εἴπῃς· οὐχ ὁρᾷς ἵνʼ εἶ κακοῦ;

[¶121] Ajax:
O Zeus, forefather of my forebears, if only I might destroy that deep dissembler, that hateful sneak, and
the two brother-kings, and finally die myself, also!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ὦ Ζεῦ, προγόνων προπάτωρ,
πῶς ἂν τὸν αἱμυλώτατον, ἐχθρὸν ἄλημα,
τούς τε δισσάρχας ὀλέσσας βασιλῆς
τέλος θάνοιμι καὐτός;

[¶122] Tecmessa:
When you make that prayer, pray at the same time for me that I, too, may die. What reason is there for me to live when you are dead?

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ὅταν κατεύχῃ ταῦθʼ, ὁμοῦ κἀμοὶ θανεῖν
εὔχου· τί γὰρ δεῖ ζῆν με σοῦ τεθνηκότος;

[¶123] Ajax:
Ah, Darkness, my light!
O Gloom of the underworld, to my eyes brightest-shining, take me, take me to dwell with you—yes, take me. I am no longer worthy to look for help to the race of the gods,
or for any good from men, creatures of a day. No, the daughter of Zeus, the valiant goddess, abuses me to my destruction. Where, then, can a man flee? Where can I go to find rest?

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἰὼ
σκότος, ἐμὸν φάος,
ἔρεβος ὦ φαεννότατον, ὡς ἐμοί,
ἕλεσθʼ ἕλεσθέ μʼ οἰκήτορα,
ἕλεσθέ μʼ· οὔτε γὰρ θεῶν γένος οὔθʼ ἁμερίων
ἔτʼ ἄξιος βλέπειν τινʼ εἰς ὄνασιν ἀνθρώπων.
ἀλλά μʼ ἁ Διὸς
ἀλκίμα θεὸς
ὀλέθριʼ αἰκίζει.
ποῖ τις οὖν φύγῃ;
ποῖ μολὼν μενῶ;

[¶124] If my past achievements go to ruin, my friends, along with such victims as these near me, and if I am inclined to foolish plunderings, then with sword driven by both hands all the army would murder me!

> Greek: εἰ τὰ μὲν φθίνει, φίλοι, τοιοῖσδʼ
ὁμοῦ πέλας, μώραις δʼ ἄγραις προσκείμεθα,
πᾶς δὲ στρατὸς δίπαλτος ἄν με
χειρὶ φονεύοι.

[¶125] Tecmessa:
Ah, what misery for me that a valuable man should speak words of a sort which he would never before now have endured to speak!

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ὦ δυστάλαινα, τοιάδʼ ἄνδρα χρήσιμον
φωνεῖν, ἃ πρόσθεν οὗτος οὐκ ἔτλη ποτʼ ἄν.

[¶126] Ajax:
Ah! You paths of the sounding sea, you tidal caves and wooded pastures by the shore, long, long, too long indeed
have you detained me here at Troy. But no more will you hold me, no more so long as I have the breath of life. Of that much let sane men be sure. O neighboring streams of Scamander,
kindly to the Greeks, no more shall you look on Ajax, whose equal in the army—here I will boast—
Troy has never seen come from the land of Hellas. But now deprived of honor I lie low here in the dust!

> Greek: Αἴας:
ἰὼ
πόροι ἁλίρροθοι
πάραλά τʼ ἄντρα καὶ νέμος ἐπάκτιον,
πολὺν πολύν με δαρόν τε δὴ
κατείχετʼ ἀμφὶ Τροίαν χρόνον· ἀλλʼ οὐκέτι μʼ, οὐκ
ἔτʼ ἀμπνοὰς ἔχοντα· τοῦτό τις φρονῶν ἴστω.
ὦ Σκαμάνδριοι
γείτονες ῥοαί,
εὔφρονες Ἀργείοις,
οὐκέτʼ ἄνδρα μὴ
τόνδʼ ἴδητʼ, ἔπος
ἐξερῶ μέγʼ, οἷον οὔτινα
Τροία στρατοῦ δέρχθη χθονὸς μολόντʼ ἀπὸ
Ἑλλανίδος· τανῦν δʼ ἄτιμος
ὧδε πρόκειμαι.

[¶127] Chorus:
In truth I do not know how to restrain you, nor how to let you speak further, when you have fallen on such harsh troubles.

> Greek: Χορός:
οὔτοι σʼ ἀπείργειν οὐδʼ ὅπως ἐῶ λέγειν
ἔχω, κακοῖς τοιοῖσδε συμπεπτωκότα.

[¶128] Ajax:
Aiai! Who would ever have thought that my name would so descriptively suit my troubles? For well now may Ajax cry “Aiai”—yes, twice and three times. Such are the harsh troubles with which I have met. Look, I am one whose father’s
prowess won him the fairest prize of all the army, whose father brought every glory home from this same land of Ida; but I, his son, who came after him to this same ground of Troy with no less might and proved the service of my hand in no meaner deeds,
I am ruined as you see by dishonor from the Greeks. And yet of this much I feel sure: if Achilles lived, and had been called to award the first place in valor to any claimant of his arms, no one would have grasped them before me.

> Greek: Αἴας:
αἰαῖ· τίς ἄν ποτʼ ᾤεθʼ ὧδʼ ἐπώνυμον
τοὐμὸν ξυνοίσειν ὄνομα τοῖς ἐμοῖς κακοῖς;
νῦν γὰρ πάρεστι καὶ δὶς αἰάζειν ἐμοὶ
καὶ τρίς· τοιούτοις γὰρ κακοῖς ἐντυγχάνω·
ὅτου πατὴρ μὲν τῆσδʼ ἀπʼ Ἰδαίας χθονὸς
τὰ πρῶτα καλλιστεῖʼ ἀριστεύσας στρατοῦ
πρὸς οἶκον ἦλθε πᾶσαν εὔκλειαν φέρων·
ἐγὼ δʼ ὁ κείνου παῖς, τὸν αὐτὸν ἐς τόπον
Τροίας ἐπελθὼν οὐκ ἐλάσσονι σθένει
οὐδʼ ἔργα μείω χειρὸς ἀρκέσας ἐμῆς,
ἄτιμος Ἀργείοισιν ὧδʼ ἀπόλλυμαι.
καίτοι τοσοῦτόν γʼ ἐξεπίστασθαι δοκῶ·
εἰ ζῶν Ἀχιλλεὺς τῶν ὅπλων τῶν ὧν πέρι
κρίνειν ἔμελλε κράτος ἀριστείας τινί,
οὐκ ἄν τις αὔτʼ ἔμαρψεν ἄλλος ἀντʼ ἐμοῦ.

[¶129] But now the Atreidae have made away with them to a man without scruples and thrust away the triumphs of Ajax. And if these eyes and this warped mind had not swerved from the purpose that was mine, they would have never in this way procured votes in judgment against another man.

> Greek: νῦν δʼ αὔτʼ Ἀτρεῖδαι φωτὶ παντουργῷ φρένας
ἔπραξαν, ἀνδρὸς τοῦδʼ ἀπώσαντες κράτη.
κεἰ μὴ τόδʼ ὄμμα καὶ φρένες διάστροφοι
γνώμης ἀπῇξαν τῆς ἐμῆς, οὐκ ἄν ποτε
δίκην κατʼ ἄλλου φωτὸς ὧδʼ ἐψήφισαν.

[¶130] As it was, the daughter of Zeus, the grim-eyed, unconquerable goddess, tripped me up at the instant when I was readying my hand against them, and shot me with a plague of frenzy so that I might bloody my hands in these grazers. And those men exult to have escaped me—
not that I wanted their escape. But if a god sends harm, it is true that even the base man can elude the worthier. And now what shall I do, when I am plainly hated by the gods, abhorred by the Greek forces and detested by all Troy and all these plains?

> Greek: νῦν δʼ ἡ Διὸς γοργῶπις ἀδάματος θεὰ
ἤδη μʼ ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς χεῖρʼ ἐπεντύνοντʼ ἐμὴν
ἔσφηλεν, ἐμβαλοῦσα λυσσώδη νόσον,
ὥστʼ ἐν τοιοῖσδε χεῖρας αἱμάξαι βοτοῖς·
κεῖνοι δʼ ἐπεγγελῶσιν ἐκπεφευγότες,
ἐμοῦ μὲν οὐχ ἑκόντος· εἰ δέ τις θεῶν
βλάπτοι, φύγοι τἂν χὠ κακὸς τὸν κρείσσονα.
καὶ νῦν τί χρὴ δρᾶν; ὅστις ἐμφανῶς θεοῖς
ἐχθαίρομαι, μισεῖ δέ μʼ Ἑλλήνων στρατός,
ἔχθει δὲ Τροία πᾶσα καὶ πεδία τάδε.

[¶131] Shall I leave my station at the ships and the Atreidae to their own devices in order to go home across the Aegean? And how shall I face my father Telamon, when I arrive? How will he bear to look on me, when I stand before him stripped, without that supreme prize of valor
for which he himself won a great crown of fame? No, I could not bear to do it! But then shall I go against the bulwark of the Trojans, attacking alone in single combats and doing some valuable service, and finally die? But, in so doing I might, I think, gladden the Atreidae.

> Greek: πότερα πρὸς οἴκους, ναυλόχους λιπὼν ἕδρας
μόνους τʼ Ἀτρείδας, πέλαγος Αἰγαῖον περῶ;
καὶ ποῖον ὄμμα πατρὶ δηλώσω φανεὶς
Τελαμῶνι; πῶς με τλήσεταί ποτʼ εἰσιδεῖν
γυμνὸν φανέντα τῶν ἀριστείων ἄτερ,
ὧν αὐτὸς ἔσχε στέφανον εὐκλείας μέγαν;
οὐκ ἔστι τοὔργον τλητόν. ἀλλὰ δῆτʼ ἰὼν
πρὸς ἔρυμα Τρώων, ξυμπεσὼν μόνος μόνοις
καὶ δρῶν τι χρηστόν, εἶτα λοίσθιον θάνω;
ἀλλʼ ὧδέ γʼ Ἀτρείδας ἂν εὐφράναιμί που.

[¶132] That must not happen. Some enterprise must be sought whereby I may prove to my aged father that in nature, at least, his son is not gutless. It is a stain upon a man to crave the full term of life, when he finds no variation from his ignominious troubles.

> Greek: οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα. πεῖρά τις ζητητέα
τοιάδʼ ἀφʼ ἧς γέροντι δηλώσω πατρὶ
μή τοι φύσιν γʼ ἄσπλαγχνος ἐκ κείνου γεγώς.
αἰσχρὸν γὰρ ἄνδρα τοῦ μακροῦ χρῄζειν βίου,
κακοῖσιν ὅστις μηδὲν ἐξαλλάσσεται.

[¶133] What joy is there in day following day, now advancing us towards, now drawing us back from the verge of death? I would not buy at any price the man who feels the glow of empty hopes.
The options for a noble man are only two: either live with honor, or make a quick and honorable death. You have heard all.

> Greek: τί γὰρ παρʼ ἦμαρ ἡμέρα τέρπειν ἔχει
προσθεῖσα κἀναθεῖσα τοῦ γε κατθανεῖν;
οὐκ ἂν πριαίμην οὐδενὸς λόγου βροτὸν
ὅστις κεναῖσιν ἐλπίσιν θερμαίνεται·
ἀλλʼ ἢ καλῶς ζῆν ἢ καλῶς τεθνηκέναι
τὸν εὐγενῆ χρή. πάντʼ ἀκήκοας λόγον.

[¶134] Chorus:
No man shall say that you have spoken a bastard word, Ajax, or one not bred of your own heart. Yet at least pause; dismiss these thoughts, and grant friends the power to rule your purpose.

> Greek: Χορός:
οὐδεὶς ἐρεῖ ποθʼ ὡς ὑπόβλητον λόγον,
Αἴας, ἔλεξας, ἀλλὰ τῆς σαυτοῦ φρενός·
παῦσαί γε μέντοι καὶ δὸς ἀνδράσιν φίλοις
γνώμης κρατῆσαι, τάσδε φροντίδας μεθείς.

[¶135] Tecmessa:
Ajax, my lord, the fortune that humans are compelled to endure is their gravest evil. I was the daughter of a free-born father mighty in wealth, if any Phrygian was. Now I am a slave, for somehow the gods so ordained,
and even more so did your strong hand. Therefore, since I have come into your bed, I wish you well, and I do beg you, by the Zeus of our hearth, by your marriage-bed in which you coupled with me, do not condemn me to the cruel talk
of your enemies, do not leave me to the hand of a stranger! On whatever day you die and widow me by your death, on that same day, be sure, I shall also be seized forcibly by the Greeks and, with your son, shall obtain a slave’s portion.

> Greek: Τέκμησσα:
ὦ δέσποτʼ Αἴας, τῆς ἀναγκαίας τύχης
οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν μεῖζον ἀνθρώποις κακόν.
ἐγὼ δʼ ἐλευθέρου μὲν ἐξέφυν πατρός,
εἴπερ τινὸς σθένοντος ἐν πλούτῳ Φρυγῶν·
νῦν δʼ εἰμὶ δούλη· θεοῖς γὰρ ὧδʼ ἔδοξέ που
καὶ σῇ μάλιστα χειρί. τοιγαροῦν, ἐπεὶ
τὸ σὸν λέχος ξυνῆλθον, εὖ φρονῶ τὰ σά,
καί σʼ ἀντιάζω πρός τʼ ἐφεστίου Διὸς
εὐνῆς τε τῆς σῆς, ᾗ συνηλλάχθης ἐμοί,
μή μʼ ἀξιώσῃς βάξιν ἀλγεινὴν λαβεῖν
τῶν σῶν ὑπʼ ἐχθρῶν, χειρίαν ἐφείς τινι.
ᾗ γὰρ θάνῃς σὺ καὶ τελευτήσας ἀφῇς,
ταύτῃ νόμιζε κἀμὲ τῇ τόθʼ ἡμέρᾳ
βίᾳ ξυναρπασθεῖσαν Ἀργείων ὕπο
ξὺν παιδὶ τῷ σῷ δουλίαν ἕξειν τροφήν.