Before the palace of Oedipus in Thebes. Suppliants of all ages are seated on the steps of the altars. Oedipus enters, in the robes of a king: for a moment he gazes silently on the groups at the altars, then speaks.Oedipus:My children, latest-born wards of old Cadmus, why do you sit before me like this with wreathed branches of suppliants, while the city reeks with incense,rings with prayers for health and cries of woe? I thought it unbefitting, my children, to hear these things from the mouths of others, and have come here myself, I, Oedipus renowned by all. Tell me, then, venerable old man—since it is proper that youspeak for these—in what mood you sit here, one of fear or of desire? Be sure that I will gladly give you all my help. I would be hard-hearted indeed if I did not pity such suppliants as these.
Οἰδίπους:ὦ τέκνα, Κάδμου τοῦ πάλαι νέα τροφή,τίνας ποθʼ ἕδρας τάσδε μοι θοάζετεἱκτηρίοις κλάδοισιν ἐξεστεμμένοι;πόλις δʼ ὁμοῦ μὲν θυμιαμάτων γέμει,ὁμοῦ δὲ παιάνων τε καὶ στεναγμάτων·ἁγὼ δικαιῶν μὴ παρʼ ἀγγέλων, τέκνα,ἄλλων ἀκούειν αὐτὸς ὧδʼ ἐλήλυθα,ὁ πᾶσι κλεινὸς Οἰδίπους καλούμενος.ἀλλʼ ὦ γεραιέ, φράζʼ, ἐπεὶ πρέπων ἔφυςπρὸ τῶνδε φωνεῖν, τίνι τρόπῳ καθέστατε,δείσαντες ἢ στέρξαντες; ὡς θέλοντος ἂνἐμοῦ προσαρκεῖν πᾶν· δυσάλγητος γὰρ ἂνεἴην τοιάνδε μὴ οὐ κατοικτίρων ἕδραν.
Priest of Zeus:Oedipus, ruler of my land, you see the age of those who siton your altars—some, nestlings still too tender for flight, others, bowed with age, priests, like me of Zeus, and some, these here, the chosen youth. The rest of the folk sitwith wreathed branches in the market-place, and before the shrines of Pallas, and where Ismenus gives answer by fire. For the city, as you yourself see, is now sorely vexed, and can no longer lift her head from beneath the angry waves of death.A blight has fallen on the fruitful blossoms of the land, the herds among the pastures, the barren pangs of women. And the flaming god, the malign plague, has swooped upon us, and ravages the town: he lays waste to the house of Cadmus, but enriches Hades withgroans and tears. It is not because we rank you with the gods that I and these children are suppliants at your hearth, but because we deem you the first among men in life’s common fortunes and in dealings with the divinities:
Ἱερεύς:ἀλλʼ ὦ κρατύνων Οἰδίπους χώρας ἐμῆς,ὁρᾷς μὲν ἡμᾶς ἡλίκοι προσήμεθαβωμοῖσι τοῖς σοῖς· οἱ μὲν οὐδέπω μακρὰνπτέσθαι σθένοντες, οἱ δὲ σὺν γήρᾳ βαρεῖς,ἱερῆς, ἐγὼ μὲν Ζηνός, οἵδε τʼ ᾐθέωνλεκτοί· τὸ δʼ ἄλλο φῦλον ἐξεστεμμένονἀγοραῖσι θακεῖ πρός τε Παλλάδος διπλοῖςναοῖς, ἐπʼ Ἰσμηνοῦ τε μαντείᾳ σποδῷ.πόλις γάρ, ὥσπερ καὐτὸς εἰσορᾷς, ἄγανἤδη σαλεύει κἀνακουφίσαι κάραβυθῶν ἔτʼ οὐχ οἵα τε φοινίου σάλου,φθίνουσα μὲν κάλυξιν ἐγκάρποις χθονός,φθίνουσα δʼ ἀγέλαις βουνόμοις τόκοισί τεἀγόνοις γυναικῶν· ἐν δʼ ὁ πυρφόρος θεὸςσκήψας ἐλαύνει, λοιμὸς ἔχθιστος, πόλιν,ὑφʼ οὗ κενοῦται δῶμα Καδμεῖον, μέλας δʼἍιδης στεναγμοῖς καὶ γόοις πλουτίζεται.θεοῖσι μέν νυν οὐκ ἰσούμενόν σʼ ἐγὼοὐδʼ οἵδε παῖδες ἑζόμεσθʼ ἐφέστιοι,ἀνδρῶν δὲ πρῶτον ἔν τε συμφοραῖς βίουκρίνοντες ἔν τε δαιμόνων συναλλαγαῖς·
when you came to the city of the Cadmeans, you freed us from the tax that we rendered to the hard songstress, and that when you knew no more than anyone else, nor had you been taught, but rather by the assistance of a god, as the story goes, you uplifted our life.
ὅς γʼ ἐξέλυσας ἄστυ Καδμεῖον μολὼνσκληρᾶς ἀοιδοῦ δασμὸν ὃν παρείχομεν,καὶ ταῦθʼ ὑφʼ ἡμῶν οὐδὲν ἐξειδὼς πλέονοὐδʼ ἐκδιδαχθείς, ἀλλὰ προσθήκῃ θεοῦλέγει νομίζει θʼ ἡμὶν ὀρθῶσαι βίον·
Now, Oedipus, king glorious in our eyes, we, your suppliants, beseech you to find some defence for us, whether you hear it from some divine omen, or learn of it from some mortal. For I see that the outcome of the councils of experienced menmost often have effect. On, best of mortals, uplift our state! On, guard your fame, since now this land calls you savior on account of your former zeal. Let us not remember of your reign thatwe were first restored and then cast down: lift this state so that it falls no more! With good omen you provided us that past happiness: show yourself the same now too, since if you are to rule this land just as you do now, it is better to be lord of men than of a wasteland.Neither walled town nor ship is anything, if it is empty and no men dwell within.
νῦν τʼ, ὦ κράτιστον πᾶσιν Οἰδίπου κάρα,ἱκετεύομέν σε πάντες οἵδε πρόστροποιἀλκήν τινʼ εὑρεῖν ἡμίν, εἴτε του θεῶνφήμην ἀκούσας εἴτʼ ἀπʼ ἀνδρὸς οἶσθά του·ὡς τοῖσιν ἐμπείροισι καὶ τὰς ξυμφορὰςζώσας ὁρῶ μάλιστα τῶν βουλευμάτων.ἴθʼ, ὦ βροτῶν ἄριστʼ, ἀνόρθωσον πόλιν,ἴθʼ, εὐλαβήθηθʼ· ὡς σὲ νῦν μὲν ἥδε γῆσωτῆρα κλῄζει τῆς πάρος προθυμίας·ἀρχῆς δὲ τῆς σῆς μηδαμῶς μεμνώμεθαστάντες τʼ ἐς ὀρθὸν καὶ πεσόντες ὕστερον.ἀλλʼ ἀσφαλείᾳ τήνδʼ ἀνόρθωσον πόλιν·ὄρνιθι γὰρ καὶ τὴν τότʼ αἰσίῳ τύχηνπαρέσχες ἡμῖν, καὶ τανῦν ἴσος γενοῦ.ὡς εἴπερ ἄρξεις τῆσδε γῆς, ὥσπερ κρατεῖς,ξὺν ἀνδράσιν κάλλιον ἢ κενῆς κρατεῖν·ὡς οὐδέν ἐστιν οὔτε πύργος οὔτε ναῦςἔρημος ἀνδρῶν μὴ ξυνοικούντων ἔσω.
Oedipus:My piteous children, I know quite well the desires with which you have come: I know well thatyou all are sick, and though you are sick I know well that there is not one of you who is as sick as I. Your pain comes on each of you for himself alone, and for no other, but my soul is in pain at once for the city, for myself, and for you.
Οἰδίπους:ὦ παῖδες οἰκτροί, γνωτὰ κοὐκ ἄγνωτά μοιπροσήλθεθʼ ἱμείροντες· εὖ γὰρ οἶδʼ ὅτινοσεῖτε πάντες, καὶ νοσοῦντες, ὡς ἐγὼοὐκ ἔστιν ὑμῶν ὅστις ἐξ ἴσου νοσεῖ.τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὑμῶν ἄλγος εἰς ἕνʼ ἔρχεταιμόνον καθʼ αὑτὸν κοὐδένʼ ἄλλον, ἡ δʼ ἐμὴψυχὴ πόλιν τε κἀμὲ καὶ σʼ ὁμοῦ στένει.
Thus you are not awakening me from sleep: no, be sure that I have wept many tears, wandered far and wide in my thought. I have made use of the only remedy which I could find after close consideration: I sent my relativeCreon, Menoeceus’ son, to Apollo’s Pythian residence to learn what we might do or say to protect this city. And now, when the lapse of days is reckoned, I am troubled about what he is doing, for he has been away an unreasonably long timebeyond what is fitting. But when he arrives, I would be no true man if did not perform all that the god reveals.
ὥστʼ οὐχ ὕπνῳ γʼ εὕδοντά μʼ ἐξεγείρετε,ἀλλʼ ἴστε πολλὰ μέν με δακρύσαντα δή,πολλὰς δʼ ὁδοὺς ἐλθόντα φροντίδος πλάνοις·ἣν δʼ εὖ σκοπῶν ηὕρισκον ἴασιν μόνην,ταύτην ἔπραξα· παῖδα γὰρ ΜενοικέωςΚρέοντʼ, ἐμαυτοῦ γαμβρόν, ἐς τὰ Πυθικὰἔπεμψα Φοίβου δώμαθʼ, ὡς πύθοιθʼ ὅ τιδρῶν ἢ τί φωνῶν τήνδε ῥυσαίμην πόλιν.καί μʼ ἦμαρ ἤδη ξυμμετρούμενον χρόνῳλυπεῖ τί πράσσει· τοῦ γὰρ εἰκότος πέραἄπεστι πλείω τοῦ καθήκοντος χρόνου.ὅταν δʼ ἵκηται, τηνικαῦτʼ ἐγὼ κακὸςμὴ δρῶν ἂν εἴην πάνθʼ ὅσʼ ἂν δηλοῖ θεός.
Priest:You have spoken opportunely, since at this time these people here indicate that Creon is drawing near.
Ἱερεύς:ἀλλʼ εἰς καλὸν σύ τʼ εἶπας οἵδε τʼ ἀρτίωςΚρέοντα προσστείχοντα σημαίνουσί μοι.
Oedipus:Lord Apollo, may he come to us in the brightness of saving fortune, even as his face is bright!
Οἰδίπους:ὦναξ Ἄπολλον, εἰ γὰρ ἐν τύχῃ γέ τῳσωτῆρι βαίη λαμπρὸς ὥσπερ ὄμματι
Priest:He seems to bring comfort, since otherwise he would not be coming crowned so thickly with berry-laden bay.
Ἱερεύς:ἀλλʼ εἰκάσαι μέν, ἡδύς· οὐ γὰρ ἂν κάραπολυστεφὴς ὧδʼ εἷρπε παγκάρπου δάφνης.
Oedipus:We will soon know: he is within hearing-range.To Creon.
Οἰδίπους:τάχʼ εἰσόμεσθα· ξύμμετρος γὰρ ὡς κλύειν.
Prince, my kinsman, child of Menoeceus, what news have you brought us from the god?
ἄναξ, ἐμὸν κήδευμα, παῖ Μενοικέως,τίνʼ ἡμὶν ἥκεις τοῦ θεοῦ φήμην φέρων;
Creon:Good news. I tell you that even troubles hard to bear will end in perfect peace if they find the right issue.
Κρέων:ἐσθλήν· λέγω γὰρ καὶ τὰ δύσφορʼ, εἰ τύχοικατʼ ὀρθὸν ἐξελθόντα, πάντʼ ἂν εὐτυχεῖν.
Oedipus:But what is the oracle? So far, your wordsneither encourage nor frighten me.
Οἰδίπους:ἔστιν δὲ ποῖον τοὔπος; οὔτε γὰρ θρασὺςοὔτʼ οὖν προδείσας εἰμὶ τῷ γε νῦν λόγῳ.
Creon:If you want to hear in the presence of these people, I am ready to speak: otherwise we can go inside.
Κρέων:εἰ τῶνδε χρῄζεις πλησιαζόντων κλύειν,ἕτοιμος εἰπεῖν, εἴτε καὶ στείχειν ἔσω.
Oedipus:Speak to all. The sorrow that I bear for these is more than for my own life.
Οἰδίπους:ἐς πάντας αὔδα· τῶνδε γὰρ πλέον φέρωτὸ πένθος ἢ καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς ψυχῆς πέρι.
Creon:I will tell you what I heard from the god. Phoebus our lord clearly commands us to drive out the defilement which he said was harbored in this land, and not to nourish it so that it cannot be healed.
Κρέων:λέγοιμʼ ἂν οἷʼ ἤκουσα τοῦ θεοῦ πάρα.ἄνωγεν ἡμᾶς Φοῖβος ἐμφανῶς ἄναξμίασμα χώρας, ὡς τεθραμμένον χθονὶἐν τῇδʼ, ἐλαύνειν μηδʼ ἀνήκεστον τρέφειν.
Oedipus:With what sort of purification? What is the manner of the misfortune?
Οἰδίπους:ποίῳ καθαρμῷ; τίς ὁ τρόπος τῆς ξυμφορᾶς;
Creon:By banishing the man, or by paying back bloodshed with bloodshed, since it is this blood which brings the tempest on our city.
Κρέων:ἀνδρηλατοῦντας ἢ φόνῳ φόνον πάλινλύοντας, ὡς τόδʼ αἷμα χειμάζον πόλιν.
Oedipus:And who is the man whose fate he thus reveals?
Οἰδίπους:ποίου γὰρ ἀνδρὸς τήνδε μηνύει τύχην;
Creon:Laius, my lord, was the leader of our land before you assumed control of this state.
Κρέων:ἦν ἡμίν, ὦναξ, Λάϊός ποθʼ ἡγεμὼνγῆς τῆσδε, πρὶν σὲ τήνδʼ ἀπευθύνειν πόλιν.
Oedipus:I know it well—by hearsay, for I never saw him.
Οἰδίπους:ἔξοιδʼ ἀκούων· οὐ γὰρ εἰσεῖδόν γέ πω.
Creon:He was slain, and the god now bids us to take vengeance on his murderers, whoever they are.
Κρέων:τούτου θανόντος νῦν ἐπιστέλλει σαφῶςτοὺς αὐτοέντας χειρὶ τιμωρεῖν τινας.
Oedipus:Where on earth are they? Where shall the dim track of this old crime be found?
Οἰδίπους:οἳ δʼ εἰσὶ ποῦ γῆς; ποῦ τόδʼ εὑρεθήσεταιἴχνος παλαιᾶς δυστέκμαρτον αἰτίας;
Creon:In this land, the god said. What is sought for can be caught; only that which is not watched escapes.
Κρέων:ἐν τῇδʼ ἔφασκε γῇ· τὸ δὲ ζητούμενονἁλωτόν, ἐκφεύγειν δὲ τἀμελούμενον.
Oedipus:Was it in the house, or in the field, or on foreign soil that Laius met his bloody end?
Οἰδίπους:πότερα δʼ ἐν οἴκοις ἢ ʼν ἀγροῖς ὁ Λάϊοςἢ γῆς ἐπʼ ἄλλης τῷδε συμπίπτει φόνῳ;
Creon:He left our land, as he said, on a mission to Delphi.And once he had set forth, he never again returned.
Κρέων:θεωρός, ὡς ἔφασκεν, ἐκδημῶν, πάλινπρὸς οἶκον οὐκέθʼ ἵκεθʼ, ὡς ἀπεστάλη.
Oedipus:And was there none to tell? Was there no travelling companion who saw the deed, from whom tidings might have been gained, and used?
Οἰδίπους:οὐδʼ ἄγγελός τις οὐδὲ συμπράκτωρ ὁδοῦκατεῖδʼ, ὅτου τις ἐκμαθὼν ἐχρήσατʼ ἄν;
Creon:All perished, save one who fled in fear, and he could tell with assurance only one thing of all that he saw.
Κρέων:θνῄσκουσι γάρ, πλὴν εἷς τις, ὃς φόβῳ, φυγὼνὧν εἶδε πλὴν ἓν οὐδὲν εἶχʼ εἰδὼς φράσαι.
Oedipus:And what was that? One thing might hold the clue to many, if we could only get a small beginning for hope.
Οἰδίπους:τὸ ποῖον; ἓν γὰρ πόλλʼ ἂν ἐξεύροι μαθεῖν,ἀρχὴν βραχεῖαν εἰ λάβοιμεν ἐλπίδος.
Creon:He said that robbers fell upon them, not one man alone, but with a great force.
Κρέων:λῃστὰς ἔφασκε συντυχόντας οὐ μιᾷῥώμῃ κτανεῖν νιν, ἀλλὰ σὺν πλήθει χερῶν.
Oedipus:How then, unless some intrigue had been worked with bribesfrom here in Thebes, would the robbers have been so bold?
Οἰδίπους:πῶς οὖν ὁ λῃστής, εἴ τι μὴ ξὺν ἀργύρῳἐπράσσετʼ ἐνθένδʼ, ἐς τόδʼ ἂν τόλμης ἔβη;
Creon:Such things were surmised. But once Laius was slain no avenger arose in the midst of our troubles.
Κρέων:δοκοῦντα ταῦτʼ ἦν· Λαΐου δʼ ὀλωλότοςοὐδεὶς ἀρωγὸς ἐν κακοῖς ἐγίγνετο.
Oedipus:But when royalty had fallen in this way, what trouble prevented a full search?
Οἰδίπους:κακὸν δὲ ποῖον ἐμποδών, τυραννίδοςοὕτω πεσούσης, εἶργε τοῦτʼ ἐξειδέναι;
Creon:The riddling Sphinx had forced us to let things that were obscure go, and to investigate the pressing trouble.
Κρέων:ἡ ποικιλῳδὸς Σφὶγξ τὸ πρὸς ποσὶν σκοπεῖνμεθέντας ἡμᾶς τἀφανῆ προσήγετο.
Oedipus:I will start afresh, and once more make dark things plain. Worthily has Phoebus Apollo—and worthily have you—bestowed this care on behalf of the dead. And so, as is fitting, you will find me allied with youin seeking vengeance for this land, and for the god as well. I will dispel this taint not on behalf of far-off friends, but for my own benefit. For whoever killed Laiusmight wish to take vengeance on me also with a hand as fierce. Avenging Laius, therefore, I serve myself. Come, my children, as quickly as possible rise from the altar-steps, and lift these suppliant boughs. Let someone summon here Cadmus’ people, warning them that I will leave nothing untried.For with the god’s help our good fortune—or our ruin—will be made certain.
Οἰδίπους:ἀλλʼ ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς αὖθις αὔτʼ ἐγὼ φανῶ·ἐπαξίως γὰρ Φοῖβος, ἀξίως δὲ σὺπρὸ τοῦ θανόντος τήνδʼ ἔθεσθʼ ἐπιστροφήν·ὥστʼ ἐνδίκως ὄψεσθε κἀμὲ σύμμαχονγῇ τῇδε τιμωροῦντα τῷ θεῷ θʼ ἅμα.ὑπὲρ γὰρ οὐχὶ τῶν ἀπωτέρω φίλων,ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ τοῦτʼ ἀποσκεδῶ μύσος.ὅστις γὰρ ἦν ἐκεῖνον ὁ κτανών, τάχʼ ἂνκἄμʼ ἂν τοιαύτῃ χειρὶ τιμωροῦνθʼ ἕλοι.κείνῳ προσαρκῶν οὖν ἐμαυτὸν ὠφελῶ.ἀλλʼ ὡς τάχιστα, παῖδες, ὑμεῖς μὲν βάθρωνἵστασθε, τούσδʼ ἄραντες ἱκτῆρας κλάδους,ἄλλος δὲ Κάδμου λαὸν ὧδʼ ἀθροιζέτω,ὡς πᾶν ἐμοῦ δράσοντος· ἢ γὰρ εὐτυχεῖςσὺν τῷ θεῷ φανούμεθʼ ἢ πεπτωκότες.
Priest:My children, let us rise. What we came to seek, this man promises of his own accord. And may Phoebus, who sent these oracles,come to us as savior and deliverer from the pestilence.The chorus of Theban elders enters.
Ἱερεύς:ὦ παῖδες, ἱστώμεσθα· τῶνδε γὰρ χάρινκαὶ δεῦρʼ ἔβημεν ὧν ὅδʼ ἐξαγγέλλεται.Φοῖβος δʼ ὁ πέμψας τάσδε μαντείας ἅμασωτήρ δʼ ἵκοιτο καὶ νόσου παυστήριος.
Chorus:O sweetly-speaking message of Zeus, in what spirit have you come to glorious Thebes from golden Pytho? I am on the rack, terror shakes my soul, O Delian healer to whom wild cries rise,in holy fear of you, wondering what debt you will extract from me, perhaps unknown before, perhaps renewed with the revolving years. Tell me, immortal Voice, child of golden Hope.
Χορός:ὦ Διὸς ἁδυεπὲς φάτι, τίς ποτε τᾶς πολυχρύσουΠυθῶνος ἀγλαὰς ἔβαςΘήβας; ἐκτέταμαι φοβερὰν φρένα, δείματι πάλλων,ἰήιε Δάλιε Παιάν,ἀμφὶ σοὶ ἁζόμενος τί μοι ἢ νέονἢ περιτελλομέναις ὥραις πάλιν ἐξανύσεις χρέος.εἰπέ μοι, ὦ χρυσέας τέκνον Ἐλπίδος, ἄμβροτε Φάμα.
Chorus:First I call on you, daughter of Zeus, immortal Athena,and on your sister, Artemis, guardian of our earth, who sits on her glorious throne above the circle of our market-place, and on far-shooting Apollo: oh shine forth for me, my three-fold help against death!If ever before you drove a fiery pest from our borders to stop ruin rushing upon our city, come now also!
Χορός:πρῶτα σὲ κεκλόμενος, θύγατερ Διός, ἄμβροτʼ Ἀθάναγαιάοχόν τʼ ἀδελφεὰνἌρτεμιν, ἃ κυκλόεντʼ ἀγορᾶς θρόνον εὐκλέα θάσσει,καὶ Φοῖβον ἑκαβόλον, ἰὼτρισσοὶ ἀλεξίμοροι προφάνητέ μοι,εἴ ποτε καὶ προτέρας ἄτας ὕπερ ὀρνυμένας πόλειἠνύσατʼ ἐκτοπίαν φλόγα πήματος, ἔλθετε καὶ νῦν.
Chorus:Alas, countless are the sorrows I bear.A plague is on all our people, and thought can find no weapon for defense. The fruits of the glorious earth do not grow; by no birth of offspring do women surmount the pangs in which they shriek.
Χορός:ὦ πόποι, ἀνάριθμα γὰρ φέρωπήματα· νοσεῖ δέ μοι πρόπας στόλος, οὐδʼ ἔνι φροντίδος ἔγχοςᾧ τις ἀλέξεται. οὔτε γὰρ ἔκγονακλυτᾶς χθονὸς αὔξεται οὔτε τόκοισινἰηίων καμάτων ἀνέχουσι γυναῖκες·
You can see life after life speed away, like a bird on the wing, swifter than irresistible fire, to the shore of the western god.
ἄλλον δʼ ἂν ἄλλῳ προσίδοις ἅπερ εὔπτερον ὄρνινκρεῖσσον ἀμαιμακέτου πυρὸς ὄρμενονἀκτὰν πρὸς ἑσπέρου θεοῦ.
Chorus:With such deaths, past numbering, the city perishes.
Χορός:ὧν πόλις ἀνάριθμος ὄλλυται·
Unpitied, her children lie on the ground, spreading pestilence, with no one to mourn them. Meanwhile young wives and grey-haired mothers raise a wail at the steps of the altars, some here, some there,and groan in supplication for their terrible woes. The prayers to the Healer ring clear, and with them the voice of lamentation. For which things, golden daughter of Zeus, send us the bright face of comfort.
νηλέα δὲ γένεθλα πρὸς πέδῳ θαναταφόρα κεῖται ἀνοίκτως·ἐν δʼ ἄλοχοι πολιαί τʼ ἔπι ματέρεςἀχὰν παραβώμιον ἄλλοθεν ἄλλανλυγρῶν πόνων ἱκετῆρες ἐπιστενάχουσιν.παιὰν δὲ λάμπει στονόεσσά τε γῆρυς ὅμαυλοςὧν ὕπερ, ὦ χρυσέα θύγατερ Διός,εὐῶπα πέμψον ἀλκάν.
Chorus:Grant that the fierce god of death, who now without the bronze of shields, though among cries like those of battle, wraps me in the flames of his onset, may turn his back in speedy flight from our land, borne by a favorable wind to the great chamber of Amphitrite,or to the Thracian waves, those waters where none find haven. For if night leaves anything undone in the working of destruction, day follows to accomplish it. You who wield thepowers of fiery lightning, Zeus our father, slay him beneath your thunder-bolt.
Χορός:Ἄρεά τε τὸν μαλερόν, ὃς νῦν ἄχαλκος ἀσπίδωνφλέγει με περιβόατον, ἀντιάζωπαλίσσυτον δράμημα νωτίσαι πάτραςἔπουρον, εἴτʼ ἐς μέγαν θάλαμον Ἀμφιτρίταςεἴτʼ ἐς τὸν ἀπόξενον ὅρμωνΘρῄκιον κλύδωνα·τελεῖν γὰρ εἴ τι νὺξ ἀφῇ,τοῦτʼ ἐπʼ ἦμαρ ἔρχεται·τόν, ὦ τᾶν πυρφόρωνἀστραπᾶν κράτη νέμων,ὦ Ζεῦ πάτερ, ὑπὸ σῷ φθίσον κεραυνῷ,
Chorus:Lycean Lord, would that the shafts from your bent bow’s string of woven gold mightgo forth in their might, our champions in the face of the foe, and the flashing fires of Artemis too, with which she darts through the Lycian hills. I call him whose locks are bound with gold,who is named with the name of this land, ruddy Bacchus to whom Bacchants cry, to draw near with the blaze of his shining torch,our ally against the god unhonored among the gods.
Χορός:Λύκειʼ ἄναξ, τά τε σὰ χρυσοστρόφων ἀπʼ ἀγκυλᾶνβέλεα θέλοιμʼ ἂν ἀδάματʼ ἐνδατεῖσθαιἀρωγὰ προσταχθέντα τάς τε πυρφόρουςἈρτέμιδος αἴγλας, ξὺν αἷς Λύκιʼ ὄρεα διᾴσσει·τὸν χρυσομίτραν τε κικλήσκω,τᾶσδʼ ἐπώνυμον γᾶς,οἰνῶπα Βάκχον εὔιον,Μαινάδων ὁμόστολον,πελασθῆναι φλέγοντʼἀγλαῶπι ¯ ˘ ¯πεύκᾳ ʼπὶ τὸν ἀπότιμον ἐν θεοῖς θεόν.
Oedipus:You pray. And in answer to your prayer, if you will give a loyal reception to my words and minister to your own disease, you may hope to find help and relief from woes. These words I will speak publicly, as one who was a stranger to the report,a stranger to the deed. I would not go far on the trail if I were tracing it alone, without a clue. But as it is—since it was only after the event that I was counted a Theban among Thebans—to you, Cadmeans all, I do thus proclaim: Whoever knowsby whom Laius son of Labdacus was slain, I order him to declare all to me. And if he is afraid, I order him to remove the danger of indictment from his path by denouncing himself: he will suffer no other punishment, but will only leave this land, unhurt.
Οἰδίπους:αἰτεῖς· ἃ δʼ αἰτεῖς, τἄμʼ ἐὰν θέλῃς ἔπηκλύων δέχεσθαι τῇ νόσῳ θʼ ὑπηρετεῖν,ἀλκὴν λάβοις ἂν κἀνακούφισιν κακῶν·ἁγὼ ξένος μὲν τοῦ λόγου τοῦδʼ ἐξερῶ,ξένος δὲ τοῦ πραχθέντος· οὐ γὰρ ἂν μακρὰνἴχνευον αὐτός, μὴ οὐκ ἔχων τι σύμβολον,νῦν δʼ ὕστερος γὰρ ἀστὸς εἰς ἀστοὺς τελῶ,ὑμῖν προφωνῶ πᾶσι Καδμείοις τάδε·ὅστις ποθʼ ὑμῶν Λάϊον τὸν Λαβδάκουκάτοιδεν ἀνδρὸς ἐκ τίνος διώλετο,τοῦτον κελεύω πάντα σημαίνειν ἐμοί·κεἰ μὲν φοβεῖται, τοὐπίκλημʼ ὑπεξελεῖναὐτὸν καθʼ αὑτοῦ· πείσεται γὰρ ἄλλο μὲνἀστεργὲς οὐδέν. γῆς δʼ ἄπεισιν ἀσφαλής.
If anyone knows the assassin to be an alien, from another land, let him not keep silent. I will reward him, and my thanks shall rest with him besides. But if he keeps silent, if anyone, through fear, seeks to screen himself or a friend from my orders,then hear what I shall do: I charge you that no resident of this land, which I rule, give shelter to or address that murderer, whoever he is, or make him a partner in prayer or sacrifice,or give him a share of the lustral rite. Ban him from your houses, all of you, knowing that this is the defilement, as the oracle of the Pythian god has recently shown to me. In this wayI am an ally both to the god and to the dead man. And I pray solemnly that the slayer, whoever he is, whether he alone is guilty or he has partners, may, in the horrible way he deserves, wear out his unblest life. And for myself I pray that if he should,with my knowledge, become a resident of my house, I may suffer the same things which I have just called down on others. And I order you to make all these words good, for my sake, for the sake of the god, and for the sake of our land, thus rendered unfruitful and ungodly.
εἰ δʼ αὖ τις ἄλλον οἶδεν ἐξ ἄλλης χθονὸςτὸν αὐτόχειρα, μὴ σιωπάτω· τὸ γὰρκέρδος τελῶ ʼγὼ χἠ χάρις προσκείσεται.εἰ δʼ αὖ σιωπήσεσθε, καί τις ἢ φίλουδείσας ἀπώσει τοὔπος ἢ χαὐτοῦ τόδε,ἃκ τῶνδε δράσω, ταῦτα χρὴ κλύειν ἐμοῦ.τὸν ἄνδρʼ ἀπαυδῶ τοῦτον, ὅστις ἐστί, γῆςτῆσδʼ, ἧς ἐγὼ κράτη τε καὶ θρόνους νέμω,μήτʼ εἰσδέχεσθαι μήτε προσφωνεῖν τινα,μήτʼ ἐν θεῶν εὐχαῖσι μήτε θύμασινκοινὸν ποεῖσθαι, μήτε χέρνιβας νέμειν·ὠθεῖν δʼ ἀπʼ οἴκων πάντας, ὡς μιάσματοςτοῦδʼ ἡμὶν ὄντος, ὡς τὸ Πυθικὸν θεοῦμαντεῖον ἐξέφηνεν ἀρτίως ἐμοί.ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν τοιόσδε τῷ τε δαίμονιτῷ τʼ ἀνδρὶ τῷ θανόντι σύμμαχος πέλω·κατεύχομαι δὲ τὸν δεδρακότʼ, εἴτε τιςεἷς ὢν λέληθεν εἴτε πλειόνων μέτα,κακὸν κακῶς νιν ἄμορον ἐκτρῖψαι βίον·ἐπεύχομαι δʼ, οἴκοισιν εἰ ξυνέστιοςἐν τοῖς ἐμοῖς γένοιτʼ ἐμοῦ συνειδότος,παθεῖν ἅπερ τοῖσδʼ ἀρτίως ἠρασάμην.ὑμῖν δὲ ταῦτα πάντʼ ἐπισκήπτω τελεῖν,ὑπέρ τʼ ἐμαυτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τε τῆσδέ τεγῆς ὧδʼ ἀκάρπως κἀθέως ἐφθαρμένης.
For even if the matter had not been urged upon us by a god, it still would not have been fit that you should leave the guilt unpunished as it is, when one so noble—and he your king—had perished. You should have searched it out. But now, since I hold the powers which he once held,possessing his bed and the wife who bore his children, and since, had his hope of offspring not been unsuccessful, children born of one mother would have tied us with a common bond—as it was, fate swooped upon his head—I will uphold this cause, as though it were that of my own father,and will leave no stone unturned in my search for the one who shed the blood, for the honor of the son of Labdacus and of Polydorus and the elder Cadmus and Agenor of old. And for those who do not obey me, I pray that the godssend them neither harvest of the earth nor fruit of the womb, but that they perish with the present fate, or one still worse. But to all you, the loyal Cadmeans who are satisfied by these things, may justice, our ally,and all the gods be gracious always.
Οἰδίπους:οὐδʼ εἰ γὰρ ἦν τὸ πρᾶγμα μὴ θεήλατον,ἀκάθαρτον ὑμᾶς εἰκὸς ἦν οὕτως ἐᾶν,ἀνδρός γʼ ἀρίστου βασιλέως τʼ ὀλωλότος,ἀλλʼ ἐξερευνᾶν· νῦν δʼ ἐπεὶ κυρῶ γʼ ἐγὼἔχων μὲν ἀρχὰς ἃς ἐκεῖνος εἶχε πρίν,ἔχων δὲ λέκτρα καὶ γυναῖχʼ ὁμόσπορον,κοινῶν τε παίδων κοίνʼ ἄν, εἰ κείνῳ γένοςμὴ ʼδυστύχησεν, ἦν ἂν ἐκπεφυκότα·νῦν δʼ ἐς τὸ κείνου κρᾶτʼ ἐνήλαθʼ ἡ τύχη·ἀνθʼ ὧν ἐγὼ τάδʼ, ὡσπερεὶ τοὐμοῦ πατρός,ὑπερμαχοῦμαι κἀπὶ πᾶν ἀφίξομαι,ζητῶν τὸν αὐτόχειρα τοῦ φόνου λαβεῖν,τῷ Λαβδακείῳ παιδὶ Πολυδώρου τε καὶτοῦ πρόσθε Κάδμου τοῦ πάλαι τʼ Ἀγήνορος.καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς μὴ δρῶσιν εὔχομαι θεοὺςμήτʼ ἄροτον αὐτοῖς γῆς ἀνιέναι τινὰμήτʼ οὖν γυναικῶν παῖδας, ἀλλὰ τῷ πότμῳτῷ νῦν φθερεῖσθαι κἄτι τοῦδʼ ἐχθίονι·ὑμῖν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοισι Καδμείοις, ὅσοιςτάδʼ ἔστʼ ἀρέσκονθʼ, ἥ τε σύμμαχος Δίκηχοἰ πάντες εὖ ξυνεῖεν εἰσαεὶ θεοί.
Chorus:As you have put me under oath, on my oath, my king, I will speak. I am not the slayer, nor can I reveal him. As for the investigation, it was for Phoebus, who enjoined it, to tell us who did the deed.
Χορός:ὥσπερ μʼ ἀραῖον ἔλαβες, ὧδʼ, ἄναξ, ἐρῶ.οὔτʼ ἔκτανον γὰρ οὔτε τὸν κτανόντʼ ἔχωδεῖξαι. τὸ δὲ ζήτημα τοῦ πέμψαντος ἦνΦοίβου τόδʼ εἰπεῖν, ὅστις εἴργασταί ποτε.
Oedipus:Justly said. But no man on earth can force the gods to do what they do not want.
Οἰδίπους:δίκαιʼ ἔλεξας· ἀλλʼ ἀναγκάσαι θεοὺςἃν μὴ θέλωσιν οὐδʼ ἂν εἷς δύναιτʼ ἀνήρ.
Chorus:I would like to say what seems to me the next best course.
Χορός:τὰ δεύτερʼ ἐκ τῶνδʼ ἂν λέγοιμʼ ἁμοὶ δοκεῖ.
Oedipus:And if there is a third course, do not hesitate to reveal it too.
Οἰδίπους:εἰ καὶ τρίτʼ ἐστί, μὴ παρῇς τὸ μὴ οὐ φράσαι.
Chorus:I know that our lord Teiresias is the seer most like ourlord Apollo: from him, my king, an investigator might learn most clearly about these affairs.
Χορός:ἄνακτʼ ἄνακτι ταὔθʼ ὁρῶντʼ ἐπίσταμαιμάλιστα Φοίβῳ Τειρεσίαν, παρʼ οὗ τις ἂνσκοπῶν τάδʼ, ὦναξ, ἐκμάθοι σαφέστατα.
Oedipus:Not even this have I neglected. On Creon’s suggestion, I sent a man twice to bring him. And I have been wondering for some time why he is not here.
Οἰδίπους:ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐν ἀργοῖς οὐδὲ τοῦτʼ ἐπραξάμην.ἔπεμψα γὰρ Κρέοντος εἰπόντος διπλοῦςπομπούς· πάλαι δὲ μὴ παρῶν θαυμάζεται.
Chorus:Indeed—his skill apart—the rumors are but faint and old.
Χορός:καὶ μὴν τά γʼ ἄλλα κωφὰ καὶ παλαίʼ ἔπη.
Oedipus:What are the rumors? I am investigating every tale.
Οἰδίπους:τὰ ποῖα ταῦτα; πάντα γὰρ σκοπῶ λόγον.
Chorus:He was said to have been killed by some wayfarers.
Χορός:θανεῖν ἐλέχθη πρός τινων ὁδοιπόρων.
Oedipus:I too have heard that. But no one sees the one who saw it.
Οἰδίπους:ἤκουσα κἀγώ. τὸν δʼ ἰδόντʼ οὐδεὶς ὁρᾷ.
Chorus:If he knows what fear is, he will not hesitate to come forward when hehears your curses, so dire are they.
Χορός:ἀλλʼ εἴ τι μὲν δὴ δείματός γʼ ἔχει μέρος,τὰς σὰς ἀκούων οὐ μενεῖ τοιάσδʼ ἀράς,
Oedipus:When a man does not shrink from a deed, he is not scared by a word.
Οἰδίπους:ᾧ μή ʼστι δρῶντι τάρβος, οὐδʼ ἔπος φοβεῖ.
Chorus:But there is one to convict him. But here they bring at last the godlike prophet, the only man in whom truth lives.Teiresias enters, led by a boy.
Χορός:ἀλλʼ οὑξελέγξων αὐτὸν ἔστιν· οἵδε γὰρτὸν θεῖον ἤδη μάντιν ὧδʼ ἄγουσιν, ᾧτἀληθὲς ἐμπέφυκεν ἀνθρώπων μόνῳ.
Oedipus:Teiresias, whose soul grasps all things, both that which may be told and that which is unspeakable, the Olympian secrets and the affairs of the earth, you feel, though you cannot see, what a huge plague haunts our state. From which, great prophet, we find you to be our protector and only savior.
Οἰδίπους:ὦ πάντα νωμῶν Τειρεσία, διδακτά τεἄρρητά τʼ, οὐράνιά τε καὶ χθονοστιβῆ,πόλιν μέν, εἰ καὶ μὴ βλέπεις, φρονεῖς δʼ ὅμωςοἵᾳ νόσῳ σύνεστιν· ἧς σὲ προστάτηνσωτῆρά τʼ, ὦναξ, μοῦνον ἐξευρίσκομεν.
Now, Phoebus—if indeed you have not already heard the news—sent answer to our question that the only way to rid ourselves of this pest that afflicts us is to discover the slayers of Laius, and then to slay them or banish them from our land.
Φοῖβος γάρ, εἴ τι μὴ κλύεις τῶν ἀγγέλων,πέμψασιν ἡμῖν ἀντέπεμψεν, ἔκλυσινμόνην ἂν ἐλθεῖν τοῦδε τοῦ νοσήματος,εἰ τοὺς κτανόντας Λάϊον μαθόντες εὖκτείναιμεν ἢ γῆς φυγάδας ἐκπεμψαίμεθα.
So do not begrudge us the voice of the birds or any other path of prophecy, but save yourself and your state, save me, save all that is defiled by the dead. We are in your hands, and man’s noblest task is to help othersto the best of his means and powers.
σύ νυν φθονήσας μήτʼ ἀπʼ οἰωνῶν φάτινμήτʼ εἴ τινʼ ἄλλην μαντικῆς ἔχεις ὁδόν,ῥῦσαι σεαυτὸν καὶ πόλιν, ῥῦσαι δʼ ἐμέ,ῥῦσαι δὲ πᾶν μίασμα τοῦ τεθνηκότος.ἐν σοὶ γὰρ ἐσμέν· ἄνδρα δʼ ὠφελεῖν ἀφʼ ὧνἔχοι τε καὶ δύναιτο, κάλλιστος πόνων.
Teiresias:Alas, how terrible it is to have wisdom when it does not benefit those who have it. I knew this well, but let it slip from my mind: otherwise I would not have come here.
Τειρεσίας:φεῦ φεῦ, φρονεῖν ὡς δεινὸν ἔνθα μὴ τέληλύῃ φρονοῦντι· ταῦτα γὰρ καλῶς ἐγὼεἰδὼς διώλεσʼ· οὐ γὰρ ἂν δεῦρʼ ἱκόμην.
Oedipus:What now? How disheartened you have come!
Οἰδίπους:τί δʼ ἔστιν; ὡς ἄθυμος εἰσελήλυθας.
Teiresias:Let me go home. For you will bear your own burden to the end, and I will bear mine, if you consent.
Τειρεσίας:ἄφες μʼ ἐς οἴκους· ῥᾷστα γὰρ τὸ σόν τε σὺκἀγὼ διοίσω τοὐμόν, ἢν ἐμοὶ πίθῃ.
Oedipus:Your words are strange and unkind to the state which nurtured you, since you withhold this response.
Οἰδίπους:οὔτʼ ἔννομʼ εἶπας οὔτε προσφιλῆ πόλειτῇδʼ, ἥ σʼ ἔθρεψε, τήνδʼ ἀποστερῶν φάτιν.
Teiresias:I see that you, for your part, speak inappropriately.Therefore do not speak, so I will not suffer the same.
Τειρεσίας:ὁρῶ γὰρ οὐδὲ σοὶ τὸ σὸν φώνημʼ ἰὸνπρὸς καιρόν· ὡς οὖν μηδʼ ἐγὼ ταὐτὸν πάθω—
Oedipus:For the love of the gods, do not turn away, if you have knowledge: all we suppliants implore you on our knees.
Οἰδίπους:μὴ πρὸς θεῶν φρονῶν γʼ ἀποστραφῇς, ἐπεὶπάντες σε προσκυνοῦμεν οἵδʼ ἱκτήριοι.
Teiresias:For all of you are without knowledge. But never will I reveal my troubles—not to call them yours.
Τειρεσίας:πάντες γὰρ οὐ φρονεῖτʼ· ἐγὼ δʼ οὐ μή ποτετἄμʼ, ὡς ἂν εἴπω μὴ τὰ σʼ, ἐκφήνω κακά.
Oedipus:What are you saying? Do you know the secret and refuse to tell it? Will you betray and destroy the state?
Οἰδίπους:τί φής; ξυνειδὼς οὐ φράσεις, ἀλλʼ ἐννοεῖςἡμᾶς προδοῦναι καὶ καταφθεῖραι πόλιν;
Teiresias:I will grieve neither myself nor you. Why do you ask these things in vain? You will not learn the answers from me.
Τειρεσίας:ἐγὼ οὔτʼ ἐμαυτὸν οὔτε σʼ ἀλγυνῶ. τί ταῦτʼἄλλως ἐλέγχεις; οὐ γὰρ ἂν πύθοιό μου.
Oedipus:Will you not, basest of the base—you would anger a stone—speak out? can nothing touch you? Will you never make an end?
Οἰδίπους:οὐκ, ὦ κακῶν κάκιστε, καὶ γὰρ ἂν πέτρουφύσιν σύ γʼ ὀργάνειας, ἐξερεῖς ποτε,ἀλλʼ ὧδʼ ἄτεγκτος κἀτελεύτητος φανεῖ;
Teiresias:You blame my anger, but do not perceive your own: no, you blame me.
Τειρεσίας:ὀργὴν ἐμέμψω τὴν ἐμήν, τὴν σὴν δʼ ὁμοῦναίουσαν οὐ κατεῖδες, ἀλλʼ ἐμὲ ψέγεις.
Oedipus:Who would not be angry hearing such words,with which you now are slighting the city?
Οἰδίπους:τίς γὰρ τοιαῦτʼ ἂν οὐκ ἂν ὀργίζοιτʼ ἔπηκλύων, ἃ νῦν σὺ τήνδʼ ἀτιμάζεις πόλιν;
Teiresias:The future will come of itself, though I shroud it in silence.
Τειρεσίας:ἥξει γὰρ αὐτά, κἂν ἐγὼ σιγῇ στέγω.
Oedipus:Since it must come anyway, it is right that you tell it to me.
Οἰδίπους:οὐκοῦν ἅ γʼ ἥξει καὶ σὲ χρὴ λέγειν ἐμοί.
Teiresias:I will speak no further: rage, if you wish, with the fiercest wrath your heart knows.
Τειρεσίας:οὐκ ἂν πέρα φράσαιμι. πρὸς τάδʼ, εἰ θέλεις,θυμοῦ διʼ ὀργῆς ἥτις ἀγριωτάτη.
Oedipus:In my anger I will not spare to speak all my thoughts. Know that you seem to me to have helped in plotting the deed, and to have done it, short of performing the actual murder with your own hands: if you had eyesight, I would have said that you had done even this by yourself.
Οἰδίπους:καὶ μὴν παρήσω γʼ οὐδέν, ὡς ὀργῆς ἔχω,ἅπερ ξυνίημʼ· ἴσθι γὰρ δοκῶν ἐμοὶκαὶ ξυμφυτεῦσαι τοὔργον εἰργάσθαι θʼ, ὅσονμὴ χερσὶ καίνων· εἰ δʼ ἐτύγχανες βλέπων,καὶ τοὔργον ἂν σοῦ τοῦτʼ, ἔφην εἶναι μόνου.
Teiresias:In truth? I order you to abide by you own decree, and from this day forth not to speak to these men or to me: you are the accursed defiler of this land.
Τειρεσίας:ἄληθες; ἐννέπω σὲ τῷ κηρύγματιᾧπερ προεῖπας ἐμμένειν, κἀφʼ ἡμέραςτῆς νῦν προσαυδᾶν μήτε τούσδε μήτʼ ἐμέ,ὡς ὄντι γῆς τῆσδʼ ἀνοσίῳ μιάστορι.
Oedipus:So brazen with your blustering taunt?Where do you think to escape to?
Οἰδίπους:οὕτως ἀναιδῶς ἐξεκίνησας τόδετὸ ῥῆμα; καὶ ποῦ τοῦτο φεύξεσθαι δοκεῖς;
Teiresias:I have escaped. There is strength in my truth.
Τειρεσίας:πέφευγα· τἀληθὲς γὰρ ἰσχῦον τρέφω.
Oedipus:Who taught you this? Not your skill, at any rate.
Οἰδίπους:πρὸς τοῦ διδαχθείς; οὐ γὰρ ἔκ γε τῆς τέχνης.
Teiresias:You yourself. For you spurred me on to speak against my will.
Τειρεσίας:πρὸς σοῦ· σὺ γάρ μʼ ἄκοντα προυτρέψω λέγειν.
Oedipus:What did you say? Speak again, so I may learn it better.
Οἰδίπους:ποῖον λόγον; λέγʼ αὖθις, ὡς μᾶλλον μάθω.
Teiresias:Did you not understand before, or are you talking to test me?
Τειρεσίας:οὐχὶ ξυνῆκας πρόσθεν; ἢ ʼκπειρᾷ λέγων;
Oedipus:I cannot say I understood fully. Tell me again.
Οἰδίπους:οὐχ ὥστε γʼ εἰπεῖν γνωστόν· ἀλλʼ αὖθις φράσον.
Teiresias:I say that you are the killer of the man whose slayer you seek.
Τειρεσίας:φονέα σε φημὶ τἀνδρὸς οὗ ζητεῖς κυρεῖν.
Oedipus:Now you will regret that you have said such dire words twice.
Οἰδίπους:ἀλλʼ οὔ τι χαίρων δίς γε πημονὰς ἐρεῖς.
Teiresias:Should I tell you more, that you might get more angry?
Τειρεσίας:εἴπω τι δῆτα κἄλλʼ, ἵνʼ ὀργίζῃ πλέον;
Oedipus:Say as much as you want: it will be said in vain.
Οἰδίπους:ὅσον γε χρῄζεις· ὡς μάτην εἰρήσεται.
Teiresias:I say that you have been living in unguessed shame with your closest kin, and do not see into what woe you have fallen.
Τειρεσίας:λεληθέναι σε φημὶ σὺν τοῖς φιλτάτοιςαἴσχισθʼ ὁμιλοῦντʼ, οὐδʼ ὁρᾶν ἵνʼ εἶ κακοῦ.
Oedipus:Do you think that you will always be able to speak like this without smarting for it?
Οἰδίπους:ἦ καὶ γεγηθὼς ταῦτʼ ἀεὶ λέξειν δοκεῖς;
Teiresias:Yes, if indeed there is any strength in truth.
Τειρεσίας:εἴπερ τί γʼ ἐστὶ τῆς ἀληθείας σθένος.
Oedipus:But there is, except not for you. You do not have that strength, since you are maimed in your ears, in your wit, and in your eyes.
Οἰδίπους:ἀλλʼ ἔστι, πλὴν σοί· σοὶ δὲ τοῦτʼ οὐκ ἔστʼ ἐπεὶτυφλὸς τά τʼ ὦτα τόν τε νοῦν τά τʼ ὄμματʼ εἶ.
Teiresias:And you are a poor wretch to utter taunts that every man here will soon hurl at you.
Τειρεσίας:σὺ δʼ ἄθλιός γε ταῦτʼ ὀνειδίζων, ἃ σοὶοὐδεὶς ὃς οὐχὶ τῶνδʼ ὀνειδιεῖ τάχα.
Oedipus:Night, endless night has you in her keeping, so that you can never hurt me,or any man that sees the light of the sun.
Οἰδίπους:μιᾶς τρέφει πρὸς νυκτός, ὥστε μήτʼ ἐμὲμήτʼ ἄλλον, ὅστις φῶς ὁρᾷ, βλάψαι ποτʼ ἄν.
Teiresias:No, it is not your fate to fall at my hands, since Apollo, to whom this matter is a concern, is sufficient.
Τειρεσίας:οὐ γάρ σε μοῖρα πρός γʼ ἐμοῦ πεσεῖν, ἐπεὶἱκανὸς Ἀπόλλων, ᾧ τάδʼ ἐκπρᾶξαι μέλει.
Oedipus:Are these Creon’s devices, or your own?
Οἰδίπους:Κρέοντος ἢ σοῦ ταῦτα τἀξευρήματα;
Teiresias:Creon is no trouble for you: you are your own.
Τειρεσίας:Κρέων δέ σοι πῆμʼ οὐδέν, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς σὺ σοί.
Oedipus:O wealth, and empire, and skill surpassing skill in life’s keen rivalries, how great is the envy in your keeping, if for the sake of this office which the city has entrusted to me, a gift unsought,Creon the trustworthy, Creon, my old friend, has crept upon me by stealth, yearning to overthrow me, and has suborned such a scheming juggler as this, a tricky quack, who has eyes only for profit, but is blind in his art!
Οἰδίπους:ὦ πλοῦτε καὶ τυραννὶ καὶ τέχνη τέχνηςὑπερφέρουσα τῷ πολυζήλῳ βίῳ,ὅσος παρʼ ὑμῖν ὁ φθόνος φυλάσσεται,εἰ τῆσδέ γʼ ἀρχῆς οὕνεχʼ, ἣν ἐμοὶ πόλιςδωρητόν, οὐκ αἰτητόν, εἰσεχείρισεν,ταύτης Κρέων ὁ πιστός, οὑξ ἀρχῆς φίλος,λάθρᾳ μʼ ὑπελθὼν ἐκβαλεῖν ἱμείρεται,ὑφεὶς μάγον τοιόνδε μηχανορράφον,δόλιον ἀγύρτην, ὅστις ἐν τοῖς κέρδεσινμόνον δέδορκε, τὴν τέχνην δʼ ἔφυ τυφλός.
Come, tell me, where have you proved yourself a seer? Why, when the watchful dog who wove dark song was here, did you say nothing to free the people? Yet the riddle, at least, was not for the first comer to read: there was need of a seer’s help,and you were discovered not to have this art, either from birds, or known from some god. But rather I, Oedipus the ignorant, stopped her, having attained the answer through my wit alone, untaught by birds. It is I whom you are trying to oust, assuming thatyou will have great influence in Creon’s court. But I think that you and the one who plotted these things will rue your zeal to purge the land: if you did not seem to be an old man, you would have learned to your cost how haughty you are.
ἐπεί, φέρʼ εἰπέ, ποῦ σὺ μάντις εἶ σαφής;πῶς οὐκ, ὅθʼ ἡ ῥαψῳδὸς ἐνθάδʼ ἦν κύων,ηὔδας τι τοῖσδʼ ἀστοῖσιν ἐκλυτήριον;καίτοι τό γʼ αἴνιγμʼ οὐχὶ τοὐπιόντος ἦνἀνδρὸς διειπεῖν, ἀλλὰ μαντείας ἔδει·ἣν οὔτʼ ἀπʼ οἰωνῶν σὺ προυφάνης ἔχωνοὔτʼ ἐκ θεῶν του γνωτόν· ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ μολών,ὁ μηδὲν εἰδὼς Οἰδίπους, ἔπαυσά νιν,γνώμῃ κυρήσας οὐδʼ ἀπʼ, οἰωνῶν μαθών·ὃν δὴ σὺ πειρᾷς ἐκβαλεῖν, δοκῶν θρόνοιςπαραστατήσειν τοῖς Κρεοντείοις πέλας.κλαίων δοκεῖς μοι καὶ σὺ χὠ συνθεὶς τάδεἀγηλατήσειν· εἰ δὲ μὴ ʼδόκεις γέρωνεἶναι, παθὼν ἔγνως ἂν οἷά περ φρονεῖς.
Chorus:To our way of thinking, these words, both his and yours, Oedipus,have been said in anger. We have no need of this, but rather we must seek how we shall best discharge the mandates of the god.
Χορός:ἡμῖν μὲν εἰκάζουσι καὶ τὰ τοῦδʼ ἔπηὀργῇ λελέχθαι καὶ τά σʼ, Οἰδίπους, δοκεῖ,δεῖ δʼ οὐ τοιούτων, ἀλλʼ ὅπως τὰ τοῦ θεοῦμαντεῖʼ ἄριστα λύσομεν, τόδε σκοπεῖν.
Teiresias:Though you are king, the right of reply must be considered the same for both: over that I have control.
Τειρεσίας:εἰ καὶ τυραννεῖς, ἐξισωτέον τὸ γοῦνἴσʼ ἀντιλέξαι· τοῦδε γὰρ κἀγὼ κρατῶ.
For I do not live as your slave, but as Loxias’. I will not stand enrolled as Creon’s client. And I tell you, since you have taunted my blindness, that though you have sight, you do not see what a state of misery you are in, or where you dwell, or with whom.
οὐ γάρ τι σοὶ ζῶ δοῦλος, ἀλλὰ Λοξίᾳ·ὥστʼ οὐ Κρέοντος προστάτου γεγράψομαι.λέγω δʼ, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τυφλόν μʼ ὠνείδισας·σὺ καὶ δέδορκας κοὐ βλέπεις ἵνʼ εἶ κακοῦ,οὐδʼ ἔνθα ναίεις, οὐδʼ ὅτων οἰκεῖς μέτα.
Do you know who your parents are? You have been an unwitting enemy to your own kin, both in the Underworld and on the earth above, and the double lash of your mother’s and your father’s curse will one day drive you from this land in dreadful haste, with darkness upon those eyes of yours which now can see.
ἆρʼ οἶσθʼ ἀφʼ ὧν εἶ; καὶ λέληθας ἐχθρὸς ὢντοῖς σοῖσιν αὐτοῦ νέρθε κἀπὶ γῆς ἄνω,καί σʼ ἀμφιπλὴξ μητρός τε καὶ τοῦ σοῦ πατρὸςἐλᾷ ποτʼ ἐκ γῆς τῆσδε δεινόπους ἀρά,βλέποντα νῦν μὲν ὄρθʼ, ἔπειτα δὲ σκότον.
What place will be harbor to your cries, what part of all Cithaeron will not ring with them soon, when you have learned the meaning of the nuptials in which, within that house, you found a fatal haven, after a voyage so fair? And you have not guessed at a throng of other illswhich will bring you level with your true self and with your own children. Therefore heap your scorn upon Creon and upon my message: for no man will ever be crushed more miserably than you.
βοῆς δὲ τῆς σῆς ποῖος οὐκ ἔσται λιμήν,ποῖος Κιθαιρὼν οὐχὶ σύμφωνος τάχα,ὅταν καταίσθῃ τὸν ὑμέναιον, ὃν δόμοιςἄνορμον εἰσέπλευσας, εὐπλοίας τυχών;ἄλλων δὲ πλῆθος οὐκ ἐπαισθάνει κακῶν,ἅ σʼ ἐξισώσει σοί τε καὶ τοῖς σοῖς τέκνοις.πρὸς ταῦτα καὶ Κρέοντα καὶ τοὐμὸν στόμαπροπηλάκιζε· σοῦ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν βροτῶνκάκιον ὅστις ἐκτριβήσεταί ποτε.
Oedipus:Are these taunts to be endured from him?
Οἰδίπους:ἦ ταῦτα δῆτʼ ἀνεκτὰ πρὸς τούτου κλύειν;
Be gone, to your ruin; be gone this instant! Will you not turn your back and leave this house?
οὐκ εἰς ὄλεθρον; οὐχὶ θᾶσσον; οὐ πάλινἄψορρος οἴκων τῶνδʼ ἀποστραφεὶς ἄπει;
Teiresias:I would not have come if you had not called me.
Τειρεσίας:οὐδʼ ἱκόμην ἔγωγʼ ἄν, εἰ σὺ μὴ ʼκάλεις.
Oedipus:I did not know you would speak foolishly, for otherwise it would have been a long time before I summoned you to my home.
Οἰδίπους:οὐ γάρ τί σʼ ᾔδη μῶρα φωνήσοντʼ, ἐπεὶσχολῇ σʼ ἂν οἴκους τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἐστειλάμην.
Teiresias:I was born like this—as you think, a fool, but in the opinion of the parents who bore you, quite sane.
Τειρεσίας:ἡμεῖς τοιοίδʼ ἔφυμεν, ὡς μὲν σοὶ δοκεῖ,μῶροι, γονεῦσι δʼ, οἵ σʼ ἔφυσαν, ἔμφρονες.
Oedipus:What parents? Wait. What man is my father?
Οἰδίπους:ποίοισι; μεῖνον, τίς δέ μʼ ἐκφύει βροτῶν;
Teiresias:This day will reveal your birth and bring your ruin.
Τειρεσίας:ἥδʼ ἡμέρα φύσει σε καὶ διαφθερεῖ.
Oedipus:What riddles, what dark words you always say.
Οἰδίπους:ὡς πάντʼ ἄγαν αἰνικτὰ κἀσαφῆ λέγεις.
Teiresias:Are you not the best at unravelling mysteries?
Τειρεσίας:οὔκουν σὺ ταῦτʼ ἄριστος εὑρίσκειν ἔφυς;
Oedipus:Reproach me in what you will find me to be great.
Οἰδίπους:τοιαῦτʼ ὀνείδιζʼ, οἷς ἔμʼ εὑρήσεις μέγαν.
Teiresias:Yet it was just that fortune that undid you.
Τειρεσίας:αὕτη γε μέντοι σʼ ἡ τύχη διώλεσεν.
Oedipus:But if it saved this city I care not.
Οἰδίπους:ἀλλʼ εἰ πόλιν τήνδʼ ἐξέσωσʼ, οὔ μοι μέλει.
Teiresias:I will take my leave. You, boy, lead me.
Τειρεσίας:ἄπειμι τοίνυν· καὶ σύ, παῖ, κόμιζέ με.
Oedipus:Yes, let him take you: while here, you are a hindrance, a source of trouble. When you have gone, you will vex me no more.
Οἰδίπους:κομιζέτω δῆθʼ· ὡς παρὼν σύ γʼ ἐμποδὼνὀχλεῖς, συθείς τʼ ἂν οὐκ ἂν ἀλγύνοις πλέον.
Teiresias:I will go when I have performed the errand for which I came, fearless of your frown: you can never destroy me. I tell you: the man whom you have been seeking this long while,uttering threats and proclaiming a search into the murder of Laius, is here, ostensibly an alien sojourner, but soon to be found a native of Thebes; nor will he enjoy his fortune. A blind man, though now he sees,a beggar, though now rich, he will make his way to a foreign land, feeling the ground before him with his staff. And he will be discovered to be at once brother and father of the children with whom he consorts; son and husband of the woman who bore him;heir to his father’s bed, shedder of his father’s blood. So go in and evaluate this, and if you find that I am wrong, say then that I have no wit in prophecy.
Τειρεσίας:εἰπὼν ἄπειμʼ ὧν οὕνεκʼ, ἦλθον, οὐ τὸ σὸνδείσας πρόσωπον· οὐ γὰρ ἔσθʼ ὅπου μʼ ὀλεῖς.λέγω δέ σοι· τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον, ὃν πάλαιζητεῖς ἀπειλῶν κἀνακηρύσσων φόνοντὸν Λαΐειον, οὗτός ἐστιν ἐνθάδε,ξένος λόγῳ μέτοικος, εἶτα δʼ ἐγγενὴςφανήσεται Θηβαῖος, οὐδʼ ἡσθήσεταιτῇ ξυμφορᾷ· τυφλὸς γὰρ ἐκ δεδορκότοςκαὶ πτωχὸς ἀντὶ πλουσίου ξένην ἔπισκήπτρῳ προδεικνὺς γαῖαν ἐμπορεύσεται.φανήσεται δὲ παισὶ τοῖς αὑτοῦ ξυνὼνἀδελφὸς αὑτὸς καὶ πατήρ, κἀξ ἧς ἔφυγυναικὸς υἱὸς καὶ πόσις, καὶ τοῦ πατρὸςὁμόσπορός τε καὶ φονεύς. καὶ ταῦτʼ ἰὼνεἴσω λογίζου· κἂν λάβῃς ἐψευσμένον,φάσκειν ἔμʼ ἤδη μαντικῇ μηδὲν φρονεῖν.
Chorus:Who is he of whom the divine voice from the Delphian rock has saidto have wrought with blood-red hands horrors that no tongue can tell? It is time that he ply in flight a foot stronger than the feet of storm-swift steeds.The son of Zeus is springing upon him with fiery lightning, and with him come the dread unerring Fates.
Χορός:τίς ὅντινʼ ἁ θεσπιέπεια Δελφὶς εἶπε πέτραἄρρητʼ ἀρρήτων τελέσαντα φοινίαισι χερσίν;ὥρα νιν ἀελλάδωνἵππων σθεναρώτερονφυγᾷ πόδα νωμᾶν.ἔνοπλος γὰρ ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἐπενθρῴσκειπυρὶ καὶ στεροπαῖς ὁ Διὸς γενέτας,δειναὶ δʼ ἅμʼ ἕπονταικῆρες ἀναπλάκητοι
Chorus:Recently the message has flashed forth from snowy Parnassusordering all to search for the unknown man. He wanders under cover of the wild wood, among caves and rocks, fierce as a bull, wretched and forlorn on his joyless path, still seeking to separate himself from the doom revealed at the central shrine of the earth.But that doom lives forever, forever flits around him.
Χορός:ἔλαμψε γὰρ τοῦ νιφόεντος ἀρτίως φανεῖσαφάμα Παρνασοῦ τὸν ἄδηλον ἄνδρα πάντʼ ἰχνεύειν.φοιτᾷ γὰρ ὑπʼ ἀγρίανὕλαν ἀνά τʼ ἄντρα καὶπέτρας ἰσόταυροςμέλεος μελέῳ ποδὶ χηρεύων,τὰ μεσόμφαλα γᾶς ἀπονοσφίζωνμαντεῖα· τὰ δʼ ἀεὶζῶντα περιποτᾶται.
Chorus:The wise augur moves me, neither approving nor denying, with dread, with dread indeed.I am at a loss what to say. I am flustered in my expectations, seeing neither the present nor the future clearly. Never in past days or in these have I heard how the house of Labdacus or the son of Polybus had any quarrel with one another thatI could bring as proof in assailing the public reputation of Oedipus, seeking to avenge the line of Labdacusfor the undiscovered murder.
Χορός:δεινὰ μὲν οὖν, δεινὰ ταράσσει σοφὸς οἰωνοθέταςοὔτε δοκοῦντʼ οὔτʼ ἀποφάσκονθʼ· ὅ τι λέξω δʼ ἀπορῶ.πέτομαι δʼ ἐλπίσιν οὔτʼ, ἐνθάδʼ ὁρῶν οὔτʼ ὀπίσω.τί γὰρ ἢ Λαβδακίδαιςἢ τῷ Πολύβου νεῖκος ἔκειτʼ, οὔτε πάροιθέν ποτʼ ἔγωγʼἔμαθον, πρὸς ὅτου δὴ βασανίζων βασάνῳἐπὶ τὰν ἐπίδαμον φάτιν εἶμʼ Οἰδιπόδα Λαβδακίδαιςἐπίκουρος ἀδήλων θανάτων.
Chorus:Zeus and Apollo indeed are keen of thought and know the affairs of the earth.But there is no sure test of whether a mortal seer attains more knowledge than I do, though man may surpass man in wisdom. But until I see the word made good, I will never assent when men blame Oedipus. Before all eyes the winged maiden came against him once upon a time, and he was seen to be wise,and bore the test in welcome service to the state. Never, therefore, will he be adjudged guilty of evil.
Χορός:ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν οὖν Ζεὺς ὅ τʼ Ἀπόλλων ξυνετοὶ καὶ τὰ βροτῶνεἰδότες· ἀνδρῶν δʼ ὅτι μάντις πλέον ἢ ʼγὼ φέρεται,κρίσις οὔκ ἔστιν ἀλαθής· σοφίᾳ δʼ ἂν σοφίανπαραμείψειεν ἀνήρ.ἀλλʼ οὔποτʼ ἔγωγʼ ἄν, πρὶν ἴδοιμʼ ὀρθὸν ἔπος, μεμφομένων ἂν καταφαίην.φανερὰ γὰρ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ, πτερόεσσʼ ἦλθε κόραποτέ, καὶ σοφὸς ὤφθη βασάνῳ θʼ ἁδύπολις τῷ ἀπʼ ἐμᾶςφρενὸς οὔποτʼ ὀφλήσει κακίαν.
Creon:Fellow citizens, having learned that Oedipus the king lays dire charges against me, I have come in indignation.If he thinks that in the present troubles he has suffered from me, by word or by deed, anything harmful, truly I do not desire my full term of years, when I must bear such blame as this. The wrong of this rumortouches me not in one point alone, but has the largest scope, if I am to be called a traitor in the city, a traitor by you and by my friends.
Κρέων:ἄνδρες πολῖται, δείνʼ ἔπη πεπυσμένοςκατηγορεῖν μου τὸν τύραννον Οἰδίπουν,πάρειμʼ ἀτλητῶν. εἰ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς ξυμφοραῖςταῖς νῦν νομίζει πρός γʼ ἐμοῦ πεπονθέναιλόγοισιν εἴτʼ ἔργοισιν εἰς βλάβην φέρον,οὔτοι βίου μοι τοῦ μακραίωνος πόθος,φέροντι τήνδε βάξιν. οὐ γὰρ εἰς ἁπλοῦνἡ ζημία μοι τοῦ λόγου τούτου φέρει,ἀλλʼ ἐς μέγιστον, εἰ κακὸς μὲν ἐν πόλει,κακὸς δὲ πρὸς σοῦ καὶ φίλων κεκλήσομαι.
Chorus:But perhaps this taunt came under the stress of anger, rather than from the purpose of his heart.
Χορός:ἀλλʼ ἦλθε μὲν δὴ τοῦτο τοὔνειδος τάχʼ ἂνὀργῇ βιασθὲν μᾶλλον ἢ γνώμῃ φρενῶν.