- Source
- Euripides. Euripidis Fabulae, Vol. I. Murray, Gilbert, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:541-639
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
Admetus insists on hosting Hercules in separate guest quarters despite his grief, which the Chorus later praises. When his father Pheres arrives with funeral gifts for Alcestis, Admetus fiercely rejects them, accusing his father of cowardice for refusing to die in his stead.
τεθνᾶσιν οἱ θανόντες· ἀλλ’ ἴθ’ ἐς δόμους.
(Admetus) The dead are dead; but go into the house.
αἰσχρὸν παρὰ κλαίουσι θοινᾶσθαι ξένους.
It is shameful for guests to feast beside those who weep.
χωρὶς ξενῶνές εἰσιν οἷ σ’ ἐσάξομεν.
The guest quarters where we shall lead you are separate.
μέθες με, καί σοι μυρίαν ἕξω χάριν.
(Hercules) Let me go, and I will have endless gratitude to you.
οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλου σ’ ἀνδρὸς ἑστίαν μολεῖν.
(Admetus) It is not possible for you to go to another man’s hearth.
ἡγοῦ σὺ τῷδε δωμάτων ἐξωπίους
You, lead the way, opening the guest-quarters that are outside the main building for this man,
ξενῶνας οἴξας, τοῖς τ’ ἐφεστῶσιν φράσον
and tell those in charge
σίτων παρεῖναι πλῆθος· εὖ δὲ κλῄσατε
to provide an abundance of food. And close well
θύρας μεσαύλους· οὐ πρέπει θοινωμένους
the middle doors; it is not fitting for those who feast
κλύειν στεναγμῶν οὐδὲ λυπεῖσθαι ξένους.
to hear groanings, nor to be grieved.
τί δρᾷς; τοιαύτης συμφορᾶς προκειμένης,
(Chorus Leader) What are you doing? With such a calamity before you,
Ἄδμητε, τολμᾷς ξενοδοκεῖν; τί μῶρος εἶ;
Admetus, do you dare to entertain guests? Why are you so foolish?
ἀλλ’ εἰ δόμων σφε καὶ πόλεως ἀπήλασα
(Admetus) But if I had driven him from my house and city,
ξένον μολόντα, μᾶλλον ἄν μ’ ἐπῄνεσας;1
when he came as a guest, would you have praised me more?
οὐ δῆτʼ, ἐπεί μοι συμφορὰ μὲν οὐδὲν ἂν
No, indeed, since my misfortune would have been no
μείων ἐγίγνετʼ, ἀξενώτερος δ’ ἐγώ.
less, and I would have been more inhospitable.
καὶ πρὸς κακοῖσιν ἄλλο τοῦτ’ ἂν ἦν κακόν,
And in addition to my evils, there would have been this other evil,
δόμους καλεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἐχθροξένους.
that my house should be called ‘hostile to guests’.
αὐτὸς δ’ ἀρίστου τοῦδε τυγχάνω ξένου,
And I myself find him to be the best of hosts,
ὅταν ποτ’ Ἄργους διψίαν ἔλθω χθόνα.
whenever I go to the thirsty land of Argos.
πῶς οὖν ἔκρυπτες τὸν παρόντα δαίμονα,
(Chorus Leader) How then did you hide the present fate,
φίλου μολόντος ἀνδρός, ὡς αὐτὸς λέγεις;
when a man who is your friend arrived, as you yourself say?
οὐκ ἄν ποτ’ ἠθέλησεν εἰσελθεῖν δόμους,
(Admetus) He would never have wished to enter the house,
εἰ τῶν ἐμῶν τι πημάτων ἐγνώρισε.
if he had recognized any of my troubles.
καὶ τῷ μέν, οἶμαι, δρῶν τάδ’ οὐ φρονεῖν δοκῶ,
And to him indeed, I suppose, in doing this I seem not to be wise,
οὐδ’ αἰνέσει με· τἀμὰ δ’ οὐκ ἐπίσταται
nor will he praise me; but my palace does not know how
μέλαθρ’ ἀπωθεῖν οὐδ’ ἀτιμάζειν ξένους.
to push away guests, nor to dishonor them.
ὦ πολύξεινος καὶ ἐλεύθερος ἀνδρὸς ἀεί ποτ’ οἶκος,
(Chorus) O house of the man, always hospitable and free,
σέ τοι καὶ ὁ Πύθιος εὐλύρας Ἀπόλλων
you even Pythian Apollo of the beautiful lyre
ἠξίωσε ναίειν,
deigned to inhabit,
ἔτλα δὲ σοῖσι μηλονόμας
and he dared to become a shepherd
ἐν δόμοις γενέσθαι,
in your halls,
δοχμιᾶν διὰ κλιτύων
along the sloping hillsides
βοσκήμασι σοῖσι συρίζων
piping for your flocks
ποιμνίτας ὑμεναίους.
shepherd bridal songs.
σὺν δ’ ἐποιμαίνοντο χαρᾷ μελέων βαλιαί τε λύγκες,
And there grazed together in joy at his songs the dappled lynxes,
ἔβα δὲ λιποῦσ’ Ὄθρυος νάπαν λεόντων
and there came, leaving the glen of Othrys, of lions
ἁ δαφοινὸς ἴλα·
the tawny herd;
χόρευσε δ’ ἀμφὶ σὰν κιθάραν,
and there danced around your lyre,
Φοῖβε, ποικιλόθριξ
Phoebus, the dappled-skinned
νεβρὸς ὑψικόμων πέραν
fawn, going beyond the high-foliaged
βαίνουσ’ ἐλατᾶν σφυρῷ κούφῳ,
firs with light ankle,
χαίρουσ’ εὔφρονι μολπᾷ.
rejoicing in your gladdening song.
τοιγὰρ πολυμηλοτάταν
Therefore a most rich in sheep
ἑστίαν οἰκεῖς παρὰ καλλίναον
hearth he inhabits by the fair-flowing
Βοιβίαν λίμναν. ἀρότοις δὲ γυᾶν
Lake Boebeis. And of his arable lands
καὶ πεδίων δαπέδοις ὅρον ἀμφὶ μὲν
and the plains, as a boundary, on one hand,
ἀελίου κνεφαίαν
where the sun has its dark
ἱππόστασιν αἰθέρα τὰν Μολοσσῶν τίθεται,2
stalling place, the air of the Molossians he makes,
πόντιον δ’ Αἰγαίων’ ἐπ’ ἀκτὰν
and on the other, to the marine Aegean coast
ἀλίμενον Πηλίου κρατύνει.
harborless of Pelion he rules.
καὶ νῦν δόμον ἀμπετάσας
And now, opening wide his house,
δέξατο ξεῖνον νοτερῷ βλεφάρῳ,
he has received the guest with wet eyelid,
τᾶς φίλας κλαίων ἀλόχου νέκυν ἐν
weeping for the corpse of his dear wife in
δώμασιν ἀρτιθανῆ· τὸ γὰρ εὐγενὲς
the halls; for nobility
ἐκφέρεται πρὸς αἰδῶ.
is carried towards reverence.
ἐν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖσι δὲ πάντ’ ἔνεστιν σοφίας. ἄγαμαι·
In the noble, all wisdom is present. I am filled with wonder;
πρὸς δ’ ἐμᾷ ψυχᾷ θάρσος ἧσται
and in my soul sits the confidence
θεοσεβῆ φῶτα κεδνὰ πράξειν.
that the god-fearing man will fare well.
ἀνδρῶν Φεραίων εὐμενὴς παρουσία,
(Admetus) O kindly presence of Pheraean men,
νέκυν μὲν ἤδη πάντ’ ἔχοντα πρόσπολοι
already the servants are carrying the corpse, having all its proper things,
φέρουσιν ἄρδην πρὸς τάφον τε καὶ πυράν·
aloft towards the tomb and the pyre.
ὑμεῖς δὲ τὴν θανοῦσαν, ὡς νομίζεται,
And you, as is customary, greet
προσείπατ’ ἐξιοῦσαν ὑστάτην ὁδόν.
the deceased as she goes forth on her last journey.
καὶ μὴν ὁρῶ σὸν πατέρα γηραιῷ ποδὶ
(Chorus Leader) And indeed I see your father with aged foot
στείχοντʼ, ὀπαδούς τ’ ἐν χεροῖν δάμαρτι σῇ
approaching, and attendants carrying in their hands
κόσμον φέροντας, νερτέρων ἀγάλματα.
adornments, offerings for those below.
ἥκω κακοῖσι σοῖσι συγκάμνων, τέκνον·
(Pheres) I have come grieving with you in your evils, child;
ἐσθλῆς γάρ, οὐδεὶς ἀντερεῖ, καὶ σώφρονος
for, no one will deny, a noble and chaste
γυναικὸς ἡμάρτηκας. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν
wife you have lost. But these things indeed
φέρειν ἀνάγκη καίπερ ὄντα δύσφορα.
it is necessary to bear, though being hard to bear.
δέχου δὲ κόσμον τόνδε, καὶ κατὰ χθονὸς
Receive this adornment, and let it go
ἴτω. τὸ ταύτης σῶμα τιμᾶσθαι χρεών,
with her. Her body must be honored,
ἥτις γε τῆς σῆς προύθανε ψυχῆς, τέκνον,
she who indeed died in place of your life, child,
καί μ’ οὐκ ἄπαιδ’ ἔθηκεν οὐδ’ εἴασε σοῦ
and did not make me childless, nor allowed me
στερέντα γήρᾳ πενθίμῳ καταφθίνειν,
deprived of you to waste away in a mourning old age,
πάσαις δ’ ἔθηκεν εὐκλεέστερον βίον
and she made for all women their life
γυναιξίν, ἔργον τλᾶσα γενναῖον τόδε.
more glorious, having dared this noble deed.
ὦ τόνδε μὲν σώσασʼ, ἀναστήσασα δὲ
O you who saved this man, and raised up
ἡμᾶς πίτνοντας, χαῖρε, κἀν Ἅιδου δόμοις
us who were falling, farewell, and in the house of Hades
εὖ σοι γένοιτο. φημὶ τοιούτους γάμους
may it be well with you. I say that such marriages
λύειν βροτοῖσιν, ἢ γαμεῖν οὐκ ἄξιον.
are profitable for mortals, or else it is not worth marrying.
οὔτ’ ἦλθες ἐς τόνδ’ ἐξ ἐμοῦ κληθεὶς τάφον,
(Admetus) Neither did you come to this tomb called by me,
οὔτ’ ἐν φίλοισι σὴν παρουσίαν λέγω.
nor do I count your presence among friends.
κόσμον δὲ τὸν σὸν οὔποθ’ ἥδ’ ἐνδύσεται.
And she shall never put on your adornments;
οὐ γάρ τι τῶν σῶν ἐνδεὴς ταφήσεται.
for she will be buried not being in any need of your things.
τότε ξυναλγεῖν χρῆν σ’ ὅτ’ ὠλλύμην ἐγώ.
You ought to have grieved with me then, when I was perishing.
σὺ δ’ ἐκποδὼν στὰς καὶ παρεὶς ἄλλῳ θανεῖν
But you, standing out of the way and letting another die,
νέῳ γέρων ὤν, τόνδ’ ἀποιμώξῃ νεκρόν;
being old while she was young; will you now bewail this corpse?
οὐκ ἦσθ’ ἄρ’3 ὀρθῶς τοῦδε σώματος πατήρ;
Were you not then, in truth, the father of this body?
οὐδ’ ἡ τεκεῖν φάσκουσα καὶ κεκλημένη
Nor did she who claims to have given birth to me and is called
μήτηρ μ’ ἔτικτε; δουλίου δ’ ἀφ’ αἵματος
my mother, give birth to me? But from a slave’s blood
μαστῷ γυναικὸς σῆς ὑπεβλήθην λάθρᾳ;
was I secretly put under your wife’s breast?
- 553–554εἰ ... ἀπήλασα ... ἄν ... ἐπῄνεσας
Forms a past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. The protasis has εἰ with the aorist indicative (ἀπήλασα), and the apodosis has ἄν with the aorist indicative (ἐπῄνεσας). It poses a question about a past hypothetical situation contrary to what actually happened.
- 591–593ὅρον ... αἰθέρα τὰν Μολοσσῶν τίθεται
A structurally complex sentence with a hyperbaton. The direct object of τίθεται ('he places/makes') is αἰθέρα τὰν Μολοσσῶν ('the air of the Molossians'), while ὅρον ('boundary') acts as its predicate accusative. The dative phrase ἀρότοις δὲ γυᾶν καὶ πεδίων δαπέδοις indicates the target of this boundary (i.e., 'as a boundary for his arable fields and the soil of his plains').
- 636οὐκ ἦσθ’ ἄρ’
The imperfect ἦσθα combined with the particle ἄρα expresses a sudden realization of a pre-existing fact (i.e., 'So you were not, after all...'). It denotes the speaker's surprise or sudden discovery of a truth that has been true all along.