Heracles' Vow of Rescue and Admetus' Despair on Return — Euripides, Alcestis, lines 801–888, Greek & English

801

ἅπασίν ἐστιν, ὥς γ’ ἐμοὶ χρῆσθαι κριτῇ,¹

for all, if they use me as a judge,

οὐ βίος ἀληθῶς ὁ βίος, ἀλλὰ συμφορά.

life is not truly life, but a misfortune.”

ἐπιστάμεσθα ταῦτα· νῦν δὲ πράσσομεν

Servant: “We know this; but we are now experiencing

οὐχ οἷα κώμου καὶ γέλωτος ἄξια.

things not worthy of revelry and laughter.”

805

γυνὴ θυραῖος ἡ θανοῦσα· μὴ λίαν

Heracles: “The deceased woman was an outsider; do not mourn

πένθει· δόμων γὰρ ζῶσι τῶνδε δεσπόται.

too much; for the masters of this house are alive.”

τί ζῶσιν; οὐ κάτοισθα τἀν δόμοις κακά;

Servant: “What, alive? Do you not know the evils in the house?”

εἰ μή τι σός με δεσπότης ἐψεύσατο.

Heracles: “Unless your master lied to me in some way.”

ἄγαν ἐκεῖνός ἐστ’ ἄγαν φιλόξενος.

Servant: “He is too, too hospitable to guests.”

810

οὐ χρῆν μ’ ὀθνείου γ’ οὕνεκ’ εὖ πάσχειν νεκροῦ;

Heracles: “Was it not right for me to receive good treatment for the sake of an outsider’s corpse?”

ἦ κάρτα μέντοι καὶ λίαν θυραῖος ἦν.

Servant: “Indeed, she was very much and too much an outsider.”

μῶν ξυμφοράν τιν’ οὖσαν οὐκ ἔφραζέ μοι;

Heracles: “Did he not tell me that there was some misfortune?”

χαίρων ἴθʼ· ἡμῖν δεσποτῶν μέλει κακά.

Servant: “Go in peace; the evils of our masters are our concern.”

ὅδ’ οὐ θυραίων πημάτων ἄρχει λόγος.

Heracles: “This speech does not begin from outsider’s troubles.”

815

οὐ γάρ τι κωμάζοντ’ ἂν ἠχθόμην σ’ ὁρῶν.

Servant: “For I would not have been annoyed at seeing you reveling.”

ἀλλ’ ἦ πέπονθα δείν’ ὑπὸ ξένων ἐμῶν;

Heracles: “But have I really suffered dreadful things from my hosts?”

οὐκ ἦλθες ἐν δέοντι δέξασθαι δόμοις.

Servant: “You did not come in a fitting time to be received in the house.

πένθος γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐστι· καὶ στολμοὺς βλέπεις

For we have grief; and you see our garments

μελαμπέπλους κουράν τε.

black-robed and our shorn hair.”

τίς δ’ ὁ κατθανών;

Heracles: “But who is the deceased?

820

μῶν ἢ τέκνων τι φροῦδον ἢ γέρων πατήρ;

Is it one of the children who is gone, or the aged father?”

γυνὴ μὲν οὖν ὄλωλεν Ἀδμήτου, ξένε.

Servant: “Rather, the wife of Admetus has perished, stranger.”

τί φῄς; ἔπειτα δῆτά μ’ ἐξενίζετε;

Heracles: “What do you say? And yet indeed you entertained me?”

ᾐδεῖτο γάρ σε τῶνδ’ ἀπώσασθαι δόμων.

Servant: “Yes, for he was ashamed to push you away from this house.”

ὦ σχέτλιʼ, οἵας ἤμπλακες ξυναόρου.

Heracles: “O unhappy man, what a spouse you have lost!”

825

ἀπωλόμεσθα πάντες, οὐ κείνη μόνη.

Servant: “We have all perished, not she alone.”

ἀλλ’ ᾐσθόμην μὲν ὄμμ’ ἰδὼν δακρυρροοῦν

Heracles: “But I did perceive, seeing his eye shedding tears,

κουράν τε καὶ πρόσωπον· ἀλλ’ ἔπειθέ με

and his shorn hair and face; but he persuaded me,

λέγων θυραῖον κῆδος ἐς τάφον φέρειν.

saying that he was carrying an outsider’s relation to the grave.

βίᾳ δὲ θυμοῦ τάσδ’ ὑπερβαλὼν πύλας

And forcing my heart, crossing these gates,

830

ἔπινον ἀνδρὸς ἐν φιλοξένου δόμοις,

I was drinking in the house of a hospitable man,

πράσσοντος οὕτω. κᾆτ’ ἐκώμαζον κάρα

who was suffering so. And then was I reveling, with my head

στεφάνοις πυκασθείς; ἀλλὰ σοῦ τὸ μὴ φράσαι,²

crowned with wreaths? But it is your fault for not telling me,

κακοῦ τοσούτου δώμασιν προκειμένου.

when such a great evil lay before the house!

ποῦ καί σφε θάπτει; ποῦ νιν εὑρήσω μολών;

Where does he bury her? Where shall I find her if I go?”

835

ὀρθὴν παρ’ οἶμον, ἣ’πὶ Λάρισαν φέρει,

Servant: “By the straight road that leads to Larissa,

τύμβον κατόψῃ ξεστὸν ἐκ προαστίου.

you will see a polished tomb outside the suburb.”

ὦ πολλὰ τλᾶσα καρδία καὶ χεὶρ ἐμή,

Heracles: “O my heart that has endured much, and my hand,

νῦν δεῖξον οἷον παῖδά σ’ ἡ Τιρυνθία

now show what kind of son the Tirynthian Alcmena,

Ἠλεκτρύωνος γείνατ’ Ἀλκμήνη Διί.

daughter of Electryon, bore you to Zeus..

840

δεῖ γάρ με σῶσαι τὴν θανοῦσαν ἀρτίως

For I must save the recently deceased

γυναῖκα κἀς τόνδ’ αὖθις ἱδρῦσαι δόμον

woman and establish again in this house

Ἄλκηστιν, Ἀδμήτῳ θ’ ὑπουργῆσαι χάριν.

Alcestis, and perform a service of gratitude for Admetus.

ἐλθὼν δ’ ἄνακτα τὸν μελάμπεπλον νεκρῶν

I will go and watch for Death, the black-robed lord of the dead,

Θάνατον φυλάξω, καί νιν εὑρήσειν δοκῶ

and I think I shall find him

845

πίνοντα τύμβου πλησίον προσφαγμάτων.

drinking near the tomb from the offerings of blood.

κἄνπερ λοχαίας αὐτὸν ἐξ ἕδρας συθεὶς

And if, rushing from my place of ambush, I

μάρψω, κύκλον δὲ περιβάλω χεροῖν ἐμαῖν,

seize him and encircle him with my hands,

οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις αὐτὸν ἐξαιρήσεται

there is no one who shall rescue him

μογοῦντα πλευρά, πρὶν γυναῖκ’ ἐμοὶ μεθῇ.³

as he suffers in his ribs, until he releases the woman to me.

850

ἢν δ’ οὖν ἁμάρτω τῆσδ’ ἄγρας, καὶ μὴ μόλῃ

But if I fail in this catch, and he does not come

πρὸς αἱματηρὸν πέλανον, εἶμι τῶν κάτω

to the bloody offering, I will go to the sunless houses

Κόρης Ἄνακτός τ’ εἰς ἀνηλίους δόμους

of the Maiden and the King below,

αἰτήσομαί τε· καὶ πέποιθ’ ἄξειν ἄνω

and I will ask for her; and I trust that I shall bring up

Ἄλκηστιν, ὥστε χερσὶν ἐνθεῖναι ξένου,

Alcestis, so as to place her in the hands of the host

855

ὅς μ’ ἐς δόμους ἐδέξατ’ οὐδ’ ἀπήλασε,

who received me into his house and did not drive me away,

καίπερ βαρείᾳ συμφορᾷ πεπληγμένος,

although he was struck by a heavy misfortune,

ἔκρυπτε δ’ ὢν γενναῖος, αἰδεσθεὶς ἐμέ.

but hid it, being noble, out of respect for me.

τίς τοῦδε μᾶλλον Θεσσαλῶν φιλόξενος,

Who of the Thessalians is more hospitable than he,

τίς Ἑλλάδ’ οἰκῶν; τοιγὰρ οὐκ ἐρεῖ κακὸν

who of those dwelling in Greece? Therefore he shall not say that,

860

εὐεργετῆσαι φῶτα γενναῖος γεγώς.

being a noble man, he benefited a bad man.”

ἰώ, στυγναὶ

Admetus: “Ah, hateful

πρόσοδοι, στυγναὶ δ’ ὄψεις χήρων

entrances, hateful sights of the widowed

μελάθρων. ἰώ μοί μοι. αἶ αἶ.

halls! Ah me! Alas!

ποῖ βῶ; ποῖ στῶ; τί λέγω; τί δὲ μή;

Where shall I go? Where shall I stand? What shall I say? What shall I not?

πῶς ἂν ὀλοίμαν;

How I wish I might perish!

865

ἦ βαρυδαίμονα μήτηρ μ’ ἔτεκεν.

Truly my mother bore me to a heavy destiny.

ζηλῶ φθιμένους, κείνων ἔραμαι,

I envy the dead, I am in love with them,

κεῖν’ ἐπιθυμῶ δώματα ναίειν.

I long to dwell in those houses.

οὔτε γὰρ αὐγὰς χαίρω προσορῶν

For I do not rejoice in looking upon the rays of the sun,

οὔτ’ ἐπὶ γαίας πόδα πεζεύων·

nor in setting my foot upon the earth;

870

τοῖον ὅμηρόν μ’ ἀποσυλήσας

such a hostage Death has plundered from me

Ἅιδῃ Θάνατος παρέδωκεν.

and delivered to Hades.”

—πρόβα, πρόβα· βᾶθι κεῦθος οἴκων.

Chorus: “Go forward, go forward; enter the hiding-place of the house.”

αἰαῖ.

Admetus: “Alas!”

—πέπονθας ἄξι’ αἰαγμάτων.

Chorus: “You have suffered things worthy of lamentations.”

ἒ ἔ.

Admetus: “Ah, ah!”

—δι’ ὀδύνας ἔβας, σάφ’ οἶδα...

Chorus: “You went through pain, I know well...”

φεῦ φεῦ.

Admetus: “Alas, alas!”

875

—τὰν νέρθε δ’ οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖς.

Chorus: “But you help nothing her who is below.”

ἰώ μοί μοι.

Admetus: “Ah me!”

—τὸ μήποτ’ εἰσιδεῖν φιλίας ἀλόχου

Chorus: “Never to look upon the face of a beloved wife

πρόσωπόν ἄντα λυπρόν.

face to face is painful.”

ἔμνησας ὅ μου φρένας ἥλκωσεν·

Admetus: “You have reminded me of what wounded my mind;

τί γὰρ ἀνδρὶ κακὸν μεῖζον ἁμαρτεῖν

for what greater evil is there for a man than to lose

880

πιστῆς ἀλόχου; μή ποτε γήμας

a faithful wife? Would that I had never married

ὤφελον οἰκεῖν μετὰ τῆσδε δόμους.

and dwelt with her in this house.

ζηλῶ δ’ ἀγάμους ἀτέκνους τε βροτῶν·

I envy those of mortals who are unmarried and childless;

μία γὰρ ψυχή, τῆς ὑπεραλγεῖν

for there is but one soul, to grieve for which

μέτριον ἄχθος·

is a moderate burden.

885

παίδων δὲ νόσους καὶ νυμφιδίους

But the diseases of children and bridal

εὐνὰς θανάτοις κεραϊζομένας

beds destroyed by deaths

οὐ τλητὸν ὁρᾶν, ἐξὸν ἀτέκνους⁴

are not tolerable to see, when it is possible to be childless

ἀγάμους τ’ εἶναι διὰ παντός.

and unmarried through all time.”

Syntax notes4 items

801ὥς γ’ ἐμοὶ χρῆσθαι κριτῇ
Infinitive of limitation or respect. Guided by ὡς, the infinitive limits the speaker's judgment or perspective, meaning 'if you use me as a judge' or 'in my judgment'.
832σοῦ τὸ μὴ φράσαι
Exclamatory genitive of cause or blame (σοῦ) combined with the articular infinitive (τὸ μὴ φράσαι). It expresses strong indignation or reproach towards the person who failed to speak out.
849πρὶν γυναῖκ’ ἐμοὶ μεθῇ
A πρίν clause following a negative main clause. Because the main clause is negative, πρίν with the subjunctive μεθῇ (without ἄν, as is common in poetry) means 'until he releases the woman to me'.
887ἐξὸν ἀτέκνους
Accusative absolute of the impersonal verb ἔξεστι, using its neuter present participle ἐξόν. It functions as a concessive clause, meaning 'although it was possible to remain childless'.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 2

urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:801-888