The Cyclops's Return and Silenus's Deceit — Euripides, Cyclops, lines 187–268, Greek & English

187

φῦναι γυναικῶν ὤφελ’¹ — εἰ μὴ’μοὶ μόνῳ.²

CHORUS: should never have been born—except for me alone.

ἰδοὺ τάδ’ ὑμῖν ποιμένων βοσκήματα,

SILENUS: Behold, here are these pasture-animals of the shepherds for you,

ἄναξ Ὀδυσσεῦ, μηκάδων ἀρνῶν τροφαί,

King Odysseus, the offspring of bleating lambs,

190

πηκτοῦ γάλακτός τ’ οὐ σπάνια τυρεύματα.

and cheese-molds, not scarce, of curdled milk.

φέρεσθε· χωρεῖθ’ ὡς τάχιστ’ ἄντρων ἄπο,

Take them; and depart as quickly as possible from the caves,

βότρυος ἐμοὶ πῶμ’ ἀντιδόντες εὐίου.

having given me in return the drink of the grape of Bacchus.

—οἴμοι· Κύκλωψ ὅδ’ ἔρχεται· τί δράσομεν;

—Alas! Here comes the Cyclops. What shall we do?

ἀπολώλαμεν γάρ, ὦ γέρον· ποῖ χρὴ φυγεῖν;

ODYSSEUS: We are lost, indeed, old man. Where must we flee?

195

ἔσω πέτρας τῆσδ’, οὗπερ ἂν λάθοιτέ γε.

SILENUS: Inside this rock, where you might indeed escape notice.

δεινὸν τόδ’ εἶπας, ἀρκύων μολεῖν ἔσω.

ODYSSEUS: Terrible is this you say, to go inside the nets.

οὐ δεινόν· εἰσὶ καταφυγαὶ πολλαὶ πέτρας.

SILENUS: Not terrible; there are many refuges in the rock.

οὐ δῆτ’· ἐπεί τἂν μεγάλα γ’ ἡ Τροία στένοι,

ODYSSEUS: Not so; for Troy would groan greatly indeed,

εἰ φευξόμεσθ’ ἕν’ ἄνδρα, μυρίον δ’ ὄχλον

if we should flee from one man, when a countless crowd

200

Φρυγῶν ὑπέστην πολλάκις σὺν ἀσπίδι.

of Phrygians I often withstood with my shield.

ἀλλ’, εἰ θανεῖν δεῖ, κατθανούμεθ’ εὐγενῶς,

But, if we must die, we will die nobly,

ἢ ζῶντες αἶνον τὸν πάρος συσσώσομεν.

or living we will preserve our former fame.

ἄνεχε· πάρεχε· τί τάδε· τίς ἡ ῥᾳθυμία;

CYCLOPS: Make way! Bring forth! What is this? What is this laziness?

τί βακχιάζετ’; οὐχὶ Διόνυσος τάδε,

Why are you reveling? This is not Dionysus,

205

οὐ κρόταλα χαλκοῦ τυμπάνων τ’ ἀράγματα.

nor the bronze castanets and the beatings of drums.

πῶς μοι κατ’ ἄντρα νεόγονα βλαστήματα;

How are my newborn offspring doing in the caves?

ἦ πρός γε μαστοῖς εἰσι χὑπὸ μητέρων

Are they indeed at the breasts and running under their mothers’

πλευρὰς τρέχουσι, σχοινίνοις τ’ ἐν τεύχεσιν

sides, and in the wicker vessels

πλήρωμα τυρῶν ἐστιν ἐξημελγμένον;

is there the fullness of milked cheeses?

210

τί φατε; τί λέγετε; τάχα τις ὑμῶν τῷ ξύλῳ

What do you say? What do you speak? Soon someone of you with the cudgel

δάκρυα μεθήσει· βλέπετ’ ἄνω καὶ μὴ κάτω.

will shed tears; look up, and not down.

ἰδού, πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν Δί’ ἀνακεκύφαμεν,

SILENUS: Behold, we are looking up to Zeus himself,

καὶ τἄστρα καὶ τὸν Ὠρίωνα δέρκομαι.

and I behold both the stars and Orion.

ἄριστόν ἐστιν εὖ παρεσκευασμένον;

CYCLOPS: Is the meal well prepared?

215

πάρεστιν. ὁ φάρυγξ εὐτρεπὴς ἔστω μόνον.

SILENUS: It is ready. Only let your throat be prepared.

ἦ καὶ γάλακτός εἰσι κρατῆρες πλέῳ;

CYCLOPS: And are the mixing bowls of milk full?

ὥστ’ ἐκπιεῖν γέ σ’, ἢν θέλῃς, ὅλον πίθον.

SILENUS: So that you can drink down even a whole jar, if you wish.

μήλειον ἢ βόειον ἢ μεμιγμένον;

CYCLOPS: Sheep’s, or cow’s, or mixed?

ὧν ἂν θέλῃς σύ, μὴ’μὲ καταπίῃς μόνον.

SILENUS: Whichever you wish, only do not swallow me.

220

ἥκιστ’· ἐπεί μ’ ἂν ἐν μέσῃ τῇ γαστέρι

CYCLOPS: By no means; since, jumping in the middle of my belly,

πηδῶντες ἀπολέσαιτ’ ἂν³ ὑπὸ τῶν σχημάτων.

you would destroy me by your dances.

ἔα· τίν’ ὄχλον τόνδ’ ὁρῶ πρὸς αὐλίοις;

Ha! What crowd is this I see near the folds?

λῃσταί τινες κατέσχον ἢ κλῶπες χθόνα;

Have some pirates or thieves occupied the land?

ὁρῶ γέ τοι τούσδ’ ἄρνας ἐξ ἄντρων ἐμῶν

I see indeed these lambs from my caves,

225

στρεπταῖς λύγοισι σῶμα συμπεπλεγμένους,

their bodies bound with twisted osiers,

τεύχη τε τυρῶν συμμιγῆ, γέροντά τε

and vessels of cheeses mixed together, and the old man

πληγαῖς πρόσωπον φαλακρὸν ἐξῳδηκότα.

with his bald head swollen with blows.

ὤμοι, πυρέσσω συγκεκομμένος τάλας.

SILENUS: Alas, I am feverish, miserably beaten up.

ὑπὸ τοῦ; τίς ἐς σὸν κρᾶτ’ ἐπύκτευσεν, γέρον;

CYCLOPS: By whom? Who boxed your head, old man?

230

ὑπὸ τῶνδε, Κύκλωψ, ὅτι τὰ σ’ οὐκ εἴων φέρειν.

SILENUS: By these men, Cyclops, because I would not let them carry off your goods.

οὐκ ᾖσαν ὄντα θεόν με καὶ θεῶν ἄπο;

CYCLOPS: Did they not know that I am a god and sprung from gods?

ἔλεγον ἐγὼ τάδ’· οἳ δ’ ἐφόρουν τὰ χρήματα·

SILENUS: I told them so; but they were carrying off the goods;

καὶ τόν γε τυρὸν οὐκ ἐῶντος ἤσθιον

and indeed, they were eating the cheese though I forbade it,

τούς τ’ ἄρνας ἐξεφοροῦντο· δήσαντες δὲ σὲ

and they were carrying out the lambs. And having bound you

235

κλῳῷ τριπήχει, κᾆτα τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν μέσον

with a collar of three cubits, they said that they would violently

τὰ σπλάγχν’ ἔφασκον ἐξαμήσεσθαι βίᾳ,

tear out your middle eye, or your entrails,

μάστιγί τ’ εὖ τὸ νῶτον ἀποθλίψειν σέθεν,

and thoroughly flay your back with a whip,

κἄπειτα συνδήσαντες ἐς θἁδώλια

and then, having bound you, cast you onto the benches

τῆς νηὸς ἐμβαλόντες ἀποδώσειν τινὶ

of the ship and sell you to someone

240

πέτρους μοχλεύειν, ἢ’ς μυλῶνα καταβαλεῖν.

to heave rocks, or cast you into a millhouse.

ἄληθες; οὔκουν κοπίδας ὡς τάχιστ’ ἰὼν

CYCLOPS: Really? Therefore, going as quickly as possible,

θήξεις μαχαίρας καὶ μέγαν φάκελον ξύλων

you shall sharpen the meat-cleavers, and having laid on a great bundle of wood,

ἐπιθεὶς ἀνάψεις; ὡς σφαγέντες αὐτίκα

light it; so that, being slaughtered immediately,

πλήσουσι νηδὺν τὴν ἐμὴν ἀπ’ ἄνθρακος

they shall fill my belly from the coals,

245

θερμὴν ἔδοντος δαῖτα τῷ κρεανόμῳ,⁴

giving a hot feast to the meat-carver,

τὰ δ’ ἐκ λέβητος ἑφθὰ καὶ τετηκότα.

and others boiled from the cauldron and melted.

ὡς ἔκπλεώς γε δαιτός εἰμ’ ὀρεσκόου·

For I am quite full of mountain-dwelling feast;

ἅλις λεόντων ἐστί μοι θοινωμένῳ

I have had enough of feasting on lions

ἐλάφων τε, χρόνιος δ’ εἴμ’ ἀπ’ ἀνθρώπων βορᾶς.

and stags, and it has been a long time since I ate human flesh.

250

τὰ καινά γ’ ἐκ τῶν ἠθάδων, ὦ δέσποτα,

SILENUS: Novel things indeed after the usual, master,

ἡδίον’ ἐστίν. οὐ γὰρ αὖ νεωστί γε

are sweeter. For indeed not recently

ἄλλοι πρὸς ἄντρα σοι ἐσαφίκοντο ξένοι.

have other strangers arrived at your caves.

Κύκλωψ, ἄκουσον ἐν μέρει καὶ τῶν ξένων.

ODYSSEUS: Cyclops, listen to the strangers in turn.

ἡμεῖς βορᾶς χρῄζοντες ἐμπολὴν λαβεῖν

We, wanting to buy food,

255

σῶν ἆσσον ἄντρων ἤλθομεν νεὼς ἄπο.

came near your caves from our ship.

τοὺς δ’ ἄρνας ἡμῖν οὗτος ἀντ’ οἴνου σκύφου

And this man sold the lambs to us in exchange for a cup of wine,

ἀπημπόλα τε κἀδίδου πιεῖν λαβὼν

and having received it, he drank willingly

ἑκὼν ἑκοῦσι, κοὐδὲν ἦν τούτων βίᾳ.

to willing buyers, and there was nothing of these by force.

ἀλλ’ οὗτος ὑγιὲς οὐδὲν ὧν φησιν λέγει,

SILENUS: But this man says nothing sound of what he speaks,

260

ἐπεὶ κατελήφθη σοῦ λάθρᾳ πωλῶν τὰ σά.

since he was caught selling your goods secretly from you.

ἐγώ; κακῶς γὰρ ἐξόλοι’.

ODYSSEUS: I? May you perish miserably!

εἰ ψεύδομαι.

SILENUS: If I am lying.

μὰ τὸν Ποσειδῶ τὸν τεκόντα σ’, ὦ Κύκλωψ,

SILENUS: By Poseidon who begot you, Cyclops,

μὰ τὸν μέγαν Τρίτωνα καὶ τὸν Νηρέα,

by great Triton and Nereus,

μὰ τὴν Καλυψὼ τάς τε Νηρέως κόρας,

by Calypso and the daughters of Nereus,

265

τά θ’ ἱερὰ κύματ’ ἰχθύων τε πᾶν γένος,

and the sacred waves and all the race of fishes,

ἀπώμοσ’, ὦ κάλλιστον ὦ Κυκλώπιον,

I swear, O most beautiful, O dear little Cyclops,

ὦ δεσποτίσκε, μὴ τὰ σ’ ἐξοδᾶν ἐγὼ

O little master, that I did not sell your goods

ξένοισι χρήματ’. ἢ κακῶς οὗτοι κακοὶ

to the strangers. Or may these evil men perish miserably!

Syntax notes4 items

187φῦναι γυναικῶν ὤφελ’
The second aorist ὤφελ(ε) (from ὀφείλω) with the infinitive φῦναι expresses an unattainable wish in the past ("should never have been born"). The subject, γυναικῶν γένος, is understood from the preceding line.
187εἰ μὴ ’μοὶ μόνῳ
An elliptical phrase meaning "except for me alone," where [φῦναι ὤφελεν] is understood. This humorous exception highlights the lecherous nature of the satyrs.
221πηδῶντες ἀπολέσαιτ’ ἂν
The participle πηδῶντες functions as the protasis ("if you were to jump") of a conditional sentence whose apodosis is the potential optative ἀπολέσαιτ’ ἂν.
245ἔδοντος δαῖτα τῷ κρεανόμῳ
The genitive participle ἔδοντος (from ἔδω, "to eat") agrees with ἄνθρακος. The dative τῷ κρεανόμῳ ("for the meat-carver") refers to the Cyclops himself as the beneficiary of the action.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22)urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:187-268