- 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-grc2:86-187
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
As the Chorus anxiously looks for signs of Alcestis's impending death, a weeping servant appears from the palace. She describes how Alcestis calmly and nobility prepared for her end, praying at the family altars and bid farewell to her bridal bed.
—κλύει τις ἢ στεναγμὸν ἢ
(Chorus A) Does anyone hear either a groan, or
χειρῶν κτύπον κατὰ στέγας
the beating of hands in the house, or
ἢ γόον ὡς πεπραγμένων;
a lamentation as if all is over?
—οὐ μὰν οὐδέ τις ἀμφιπόλων στα-
(Chorus B) No, indeed, none of the servants is
τίζεται ἀμφὶ πύλας. εἰ
stationed at the gates. If
γὰρ μετακύμιος ἄτας,
only you would appear, O Paean,
ὦ Παιάν, φανείης.
as a calmer of the wave of disaster!
—οὔ τἂν φθιμένης γ’ ἐσιώπων.1
(Chorus B) Surely they would not be silent if she were dead.
—νέκυς ἤδη.
(Chorus A) She is already a corpse.
—οὐ δὴ φροῦδός γ’ ἐξ οἴκων.
(Chorus B) But she has certainly not been carried out of the house.
—πόθεν; οὐκ αὐχῶ. τί σε θαρσύνει;
(Chorus A) How so? I do not think so. What gives you confidence?
—πῶς ἂν ἔρημον τάφον Ἄδμητος
(Chorus B) How could Admetus have performed
κεδνῆς ἂν ἔπραξε γυναικός;
the burial of his dear wife in such a deserted way?
—πυλῶν πάροιθε δ’ οὐχ ὁρῶ
(Chorus A) And yet, before the gates I do not see
πηγαῖον ὡς νομίζεται
as is customary at the gates of the dead.
χέρνιβ’ ἐπὶ φθιτῶν πύλαις.
the lustral water from the spring
—χαίτα τ’ οὔτις ἐπὶ προθύροις το-
Nor is there any shorn hair in the vestibule,
μαῖος, ἃ δὴ νεκύων πέν-
which usually falls in mourning for the dead;
θει πίτνει· οὐ νεολαία
the young hand
δουπεῖ χεὶρ γυναικῶν.
of women does not make a sound.
—καὶ μὴν τόδε κύριον ἦμαρ...
(Chorus B) And yet, this is the appointed day...
—τί τόδ’ αὐδᾷς;
(Chorus A) What is this you say?
—ᾧ χρή σφε μολεῖν κατὰ γαίας.
(Chorus B) On which she must go beneath the earth.
—ἔθιγες ψυχᾶς, ἔθιγες δὲ φρενῶν.
(Chorus A) You have touched my soul, you have touched my heart.
—χρὴ τῶν ἀγαθῶν διακναιομένων2
(Chorus B) When the good are destroyed,
πενθεῖν ὅστις
he who has been considered noble
χρηστὸς ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς νενόμισται.
from the beginning must mourn.
—ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ναυκληρίαν
(Chorus) But there is nowhere on earth
ἔσθ’ ὅποι τις αἴας
where one could send a voyage,
στείλας, ἢ Λυκίαν
neither to Lycia
εἴτ’ ἐπὶ τὰς ἀνύδρους
nor to the waterless
Ἀμμωνιάδας,
shrines of Ammon,
δυστάνου παραλύσαι
to release the soul of the unhappy woman;
ψυχάν· μόρος γὰρ ἀπότομος
for steep death
πλάθει· θεῶν δ’ ἐπ’ ἐσχάραις
approaches. I do not know to which
οὐκ ἔχω ἐπὶ τίνα
at the altars of the gods I should go.
μηλοθύταν πορευθῶ.
of the sheep-sacrificing priests
—μόνος δ’ ἄν, εἰ φῶς τόδ’ ἦν
Only if the son of Phoebus
ὄμμασιν δεδορκὼς
were still looking upon this light with his eyes,
Φοίβου παῖς, προλιποῦσ’
she would have left
ἦλθεν3 ἕδρας σκοτίους
the dark habitations
Ἅιδα τε πύλας·
and the gates of Hades and come back.
δμαθέντας γὰρ ἀνίστη,
For he used to raise up the dead,
πρὶν αὐτὸν εἷλε διόβολον
before the Zeus-sent bolt of thunderous
πλῆκτρον πυρὸς κεραυνίου.
fire destroyed him.
νῦν δὲ τίν’ ἔτι βίου
But now, what hope of life
ἐλπίδα προσδέχωμαι;
can I still entertain?
—πάντα γὰρ ἤδη τετέλεσται βασιλεῦσι,
For everything has already been performed by the rulers,
πάντων δὲ θεῶν ἐπὶ βωμοῖς
and on the altars of all the gods
αἱμόρραντοι θυσίαι πλήρεις·
blood-dripping sacrifices are full;
οὐδ’ ἔστι κακῶν ἄκος οὐδέν.
and there is no cure for these evils.
ἀλλ’ ἥδ’ ὀπαδῶν ἐκ δόμων τις ἔρχεται
But look, some female attendant comes out of the house,
δακρυρροοῦσα, τίνα τύχην ἀκούσομαι;
weeping. What fortune shall I hear?
πενθεῖν μέν, εἴ τι δεσπόταισι τυγχάνει,
To mourn indeed, if anything happens to one’s masters,
συγγνωστόν· εἰ δ’ ἔτ’ ἐστὶν ἔμψυχος γυνὴ
is pardonable. But whether the woman is still alive
εἴτ’ οὖν ὄλωλεν εἰδέναι βουλοίμεθ’ ἄν.
or has perished, we would like to know.
καὶ ζῶσαν εἰπεῖν καὶ θανοῦσαν ἔστι σοι.4
(Servant) You may speak of her as both living and dead.
καὶ πῶς ἂν αὑτὸς κατθάνοι τε καὶ βλέποι;
(Chorus) And how could the same person both die and look upon the light?
ἤδη προνωπής ἐστι καὶ ψυχορραγεῖ.
(Servant) She is already drooping and gasping out her life.
ὦ τλῆμον, οἵας οἷος ὢν ἁμαρτάνεις.
(Chorus) O unhappy man, being what a husband, what a wife you are losing!
οὔπω τόδ’ οἶδε δεσπότης, πρὶν ἂν πάθῃ.
(Servant) The master does not yet know this, until he suffers it.
ἐλπὶς μὲν οὐκέτ’ ἐστὶ σῴζεσθαι βίον;
(Chorus) Is there then no longer any hope of saving her life?
πεπρωμένη γὰρ ἡμέρα βιάζεται.
(Servant) For the fated day constrains her.
οὔκουν ἐπ’ αὐτῇ πράσσεται τὰ πρόσφορα;
(Chorus) Are not the appropriate things being done for her?
κόσμος γ’ ἕτοιμος, ᾧ σφε συνθάψει πόσις.
(Servant) The adornment is ready, in which her husband will bury her.
ἴστω νυν εὐκλεής γε κατθανουμένη
(Chorus) Let her know then that she will die glorious,
γυνή τ’ ἀρίστη τῶν ὑφ’ ἡλίῳ, μακρῷ.
and by far the best woman under the sun.
πῶς δ’ οὐκ ἀρίστη; τίς δ’ ἐναντιώσεται;
(Servant) And how not the best? Who will dispute it?
τί χρὴ γενέσθαι τὴν ὑπερβεβλημένην
What must a woman become who has surpassed her?
γυναῖκα; πῶς δ’ ἂν μᾶλλον ἐνδείξαιτό τις
How could anyone show more
πόσιν προτιμῶσ’ ἢ θέλουσ’ ὑπερθανεῖν;
that she honors her husband than by being willing to die for him?
καὶ ταῦτα μὲν δὴ πᾶσ’ ἐπίσταται πόλις·
Indeed, all the city knows this;
ἃ δ’ ἐν δόμοις ἔδρασε θαυμάσῃ κλύων.
but what she did in the house you will wonder to hear.
ἐπεὶ γὰρ ᾔσθεθ’ ἡμέραν τὴν κυρίαν
For when she realized that the appointed day
ἥκουσαν, ὕδασι ποταμίοις λευκὸν χρόα
had come, she washed her white skin with river water,
ἐλούσατʼ, ἐκ δ’ ἑλοῦσα κεδρίνων δόμων
and taking from her cedar chambers
ἐσθῆτα κόσμον τ’ εὐπρεπῶς ἠσκήσατο,
clothing and ornaments, she adorned herself becomingly.
καὶ στᾶσα πρόσθεν Ἑστίας κατηύξατο·
And standing before Hestia, she prayed:
Δέσποινʼ, ἐγὼ γὰρ ἔρχομαι κατὰ χθονός,
”O Mistress, since I am going beneath the earth,
πανύστατόν σε προσπίτνουσ’ αἰτήσομαι,
falling before you for the very last time, I will ask you
τέκν’ ὀρφανεῦσαι τἀμά· καὶ τῷ μὲν φίλην
to protect my orphan children; and to the boy join
σύζευξον ἄλοχον, τῇ δὲ γενναῖον πόσιν.
a dear wife, and to the girl a noble husband.
μηδ’ ὥσπερ αὐτῶν ἡ τεκοῦσ’ ἀπόλλυμαι
And do not let them die untimely like me,
θανεῖν ἀώρους παῖδας, ἀλλ’ εὐδαίμονας
who bore them, but happily
ἐν γῇ πατρῴᾳ τερπνὸν ἐκπλῆσαι βίον.
fulfill a pleasant life in their ancestral land.”
πάντας δὲ βωμούς, οἳ κατ’ Ἀδμήτου δόμους,
And to all the altars which are in the house of Admetus,
προσῆλθε κἀξέστεψε καὶ προσηύξατο,
she went and crowned them and prayed,
πτόρθων ἀποσχίζουσα μυρσίνης φόβην,
breaking off sprigs of myrtle foliage,
ἄκλαυτος ἀστένακτος, οὐδὲ τοὐπιὸν
without a tear, without a groan, nor did the impending
κακὸν μεθίστη χρωτὸς εὐειδῆ φύσιν.
evil alter the beautiful nature of her skin.
κἄπειτα θάλαμον ἐσπεσοῦσα καὶ λέχος,
And then, rushing into her bridal chamber and bed,
ἐνταῦθα δὴ ʼδάκρυσε καὶ λέγει τάδε·
there indeed she wept and said these words:
Ὦ λέκτρον, ἔνθα παρθένει’ ἔλυσ’ ἐγὼ
”O bed, where I loosed my virgin
κορεύματ’ ἐκ τοῦδ’ ἀνδρός, οὗ θνῄσκω πέρι,
maidenhood to this husband, for whom I die,
χαῖρʼ· οὐ γὰρ ἐχθαίρω σʼ· ἀπώλεσας δ’ ἐμὲ
farewell; for I do not hate you; but you have destroyed me
μόνην· προδοῦναι γάρ σ’ ὀκνοῦσα καὶ πόσιν
alone; for fearing to betray you and my husband
θνῄσκω. σὲ δ’ ἄλλη τις γυνὴ κεκτήσεται,
I die. And some other woman will possess you,
σώφρων μὲν οὐκ ἂν μᾶλλον, εὐτυχὴς δ’ ἴσως.
not more virtuous indeed, but perhaps more fortunate.”
κυνεῖ δὲ προσπίτνουσα, πᾶν δὲ δέμνιον
And falling upon it she kissed it, and all the bed
ὀφθαλμοτέγκτῳ δεύεται πλημμυρίδι.
was wet with a flood of tears from her eyes.
ἐπεὶ δὲ πολλῶν δακρύων εἶχεν κόρον,
But when she had her fill of many tears,
στείχει προνωπὴς ἐκπεσοῦσα δεμνίων,
she went drooping, rushing from the bed,
καὶ πολλὰ θαλάμων ἐξιοῦσ’ ἐπεστράφη
and as she left the chamber, she turned back many times.
- 93οὔ τἂν φθιμένης γ’ ἐσιώπων
τἂν is a crasis of τοι ἄν. The imperfect indicative ἐσιώπων combined with the conditional particle ἄν forms the apodosis of a contrary-to-fact conditional sentence ('they would not be silent [if she were dead]'), where the protasis is implied.
- 109τῶν ἀγαθῶν διακναιομένων
A genitive absolute construction expressing either time or cause ('when the good are destroyed' or 'since the good are being destroyed').
- 122μόνος δ’ ἄν, εἰ φῶς τόδ’ ἦν ... ἦλθεν
A contrary-to-fact conditional sentence referring to the past. The protasis with the imperfect indicative (εἰ ἦν) and the apodosis with ἄν and the aorist indicative (ἄν ἦλθεν) together express the impossible past hypothesis that Alcestis would have returned if Asclepius were still alive.
- 141καὶ ζῶσαν εἰπεῖν καὶ θανοῦσαν ἔστι σοι
ἔστι is used as an impersonal verb meaning 'it is possible', with the dative σοι indicating the agent ('it is possible for you to say...'). ζῶσαν and θανοῦσαν are predicative accusative participles agreeing with an omitted direct object (αὐτήν).