§18.1ἔν ποκʼ ἄρα Σπάρτᾳ ξανθότριχι πὰρ Μενελάῳ §18.2παρθενικαὶ θάλλοντα κόμαις ὑάκινθον ἔχοισαι §18.3πρόσθε νεογράπτω θαλάμω χορὸν ἐστάσαντο, §18.4δώδεκα ταὶ πρᾶται πόλιος, μέγα χρῆμα Λακαινᾶν, §18.5ἁνίκα Τυνδαριδᾶν κατεδέξατο τὰν ἀγαπητὰν §18.6μναστεύσας Ἑλέναν ὁ νεώτερος Ἀτρέος υἱός.
Once in Sparta, at the house of golden-haired Menelaus, maidens having blooming hyacinth in their hair, set up a dance in front of the newly painted bridal chamber, the first twelve of the city, a great glory of Laconian women, when the younger son of Atreus, having wooed, took to himself the beloved Helen, daughter of Tyndareus.
§18.7ἄειδον δʼ ἄρα πᾶσαι ἐς ἓν μέλος ἐγκροτέοισαι §18.8ποσσὶ περιπλέκτοις, ὑπὸ δʼ ἴαχε δῶμʼ ὑμεναίῳ.
And they all sang together, beating time to one melody with interwoven feet, and the house rang with the wedding song.
§18.9οὕτω δὴ πρωιζὲ κατέδραθες ὦ φίλε γαμβρέ;
"Are you then fallen asleep so early, dear bridegroom?
§18.10ἦ ῥά τις ἐσσὶ λίαν βαρυγούνατος;
Are you indeed one with heavy knees?
ἦ ῥα φίλυπνος;
Or are you fond of sleep?
§18.11ἦ ῥα πολύν τινʼ ἔπινες, ὅτʼ εἰς εὐνὰν κατεβάλλευ;
Or did you drink too much when you cast yourself upon the bed?
§18.12εὕδειν μὰν σπεύδοντα καθʼ ὥραν αὐτὸν ἐχρῆν τυ, §18.13παῖδα δʼ ἐᾶν σὺν παισὶ φιλοστόργῳ παρὰ ματρὶ §18.14παίσδειν ἐς βαθὺν ὄρθρον, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἔνας καὶ ἐς ἀῶ §18.15κεἰς ἔτος ἐξ ἔτεος Μενέλαε τεὰ νυὸς ἅδε.
If you were eager to sleep, you ought to have slept by yourself in due season, and left the maiden to play with the maidens by her loving mother until deep dawn, since both yesterday and tomorrow, and year after year, Menelaus, this bride is yours.
§18.16ὄλβιε γάμβρʼ, ἀγαθός τις ἐπέπταρεν ἐρχομένῳ τοι §18.17ἐς Σπάρταν, ἅπερ ὥλλοι ἀριστέες, ὡς ἀνύσαιο.
Happy bridegroom, some good omen sneezed for you as you came to Sparta, like the other chiefs, so that you might achieve your goal.
§18.18μοῦνος ἐν ἡμιθέοις Κρονίδαν Δία πενθερὸν ἑξεῖς.
Alone among demigods you will have Zeus, son of Cronus, as your father-in-law.
Indeed, a daughter of Zeus has come under one cloak with you, such as no other among Achaean women treads the earth.
§18.21ἦ μέγα κέν τι τέκοιτʼ, εἰ ματέρι τίκτοι ὁμοῖον.
Surely she would bear some great thing, if she should bear one like her mother.
§18.22ἄμμες δʼ αἱ πᾶσαι συνομάλικες, αἷς δρόμος ωὑτός §18.23χρισαμέναις ἀνδριστὶ παρʼ Εὐρώταο λοετροῖς, §18.24τετράκις ἑξήκοντα κόραι, θῆλυς νεολαία, §18.25τᾶν οὐδέν τις ἄμωμος, ἐπεί χʼ Ἑλένᾳ παρισωθῇ.
And we, all her age-mates, who share the same running course, having anointed ourselves in manly fashion beside the baths of Eurotas, four times sixty maidens, a young band of women, of whom not one is without blemish, when compared with Helen.
§18.26Ἀὼς ἀντέλλοισα καλὸν διέφανε πρόσωπον, §18.27πότνια νὺξ τό τε λευκὸν ἔαρ χειμῶνος ἀνέντος· §18.28ὧδε καὶ ἁ χρυσέα Ἑλένα διαφαίνετʼ ἐν ἁμῖν.
As the rising Dawn shows her fair face, or queenly Night, or as white spring when winter relaxes; so also does golden Helen shine out among us.
§18.29πιείρᾳ μέγα λᾷον ἀνέδραμε κόσμος ἀρούρᾳ §18.30ἢ κάπῳ κυπάρισσος ἢ ἅρματι Θεσσαλὸς ἵππος· §18.31ὧδε καὶ ἁ ῥοδόχρως Ἑλένα Λακεδαίμονι κόσμος.
As a great crop springs up to be the ornament of a fertile field, or a cypress in a garden, or a Thessalian horse in a chariot; so also is rose-colored Helen the ornament of Lacedaemon.
§18.32οὔτέ τις ἐκ ταλάρω πανίσδεται ἔργα τοιαῦτα, §18.33οὔτʼ ἐνὶ δαιδαλέῳ πυκινώτερον ἄτριον ἱστῷ §18.34κερκίδι συμπλέξασα μακρῶν ἔταμʼ ἐκ κελεόντων.
Neither does any other spin from the wool-basket such work, nor on the decorated loom weaves a closer warp, interweaving it with the shuttle, and cuts it from the tall warp-beams.
§18.35οὐ μὰν οὐδὲ λύραν τις ἐπίσταται ὧδε κροτῆσαι §18.36Ἄρτεμιν ἀείδοισα καὶ εὐρύστερνον Ἀθάναν, §18.37ὡς Ἑλένα, τᾶς πάντες ἐπʼ ὄμμασιν ἵμεροι ἐντί.
And indeed, no one knows how to strike the lyre in this way, singing of Artemis and broad-breasted Athena, as Helen, in whose eyes are all desires.
§18.38ὦ καλὰ ὦ χαρίεσσα κόρα, τὺ μὲν οἰκέτις ἤδη, §18.39ἄμμες δʼ ἐς δρόμον ἦρι καὶ ἐς λειμώνια φύλλα §18.40ἑρψοῦμες στεφάνως δρεψούμεναι ἁδὺ πνέοντας, §18.41πολλὰ τεοῦς Ἑλένα μεμναμέναι ὡς γαλαθηναὶ §18.42ἄρνες γειναμένας ὄιος μαστὸν ποθέοισαι.
O beautiful, O gracious maiden, you are now a housewife, but we in the morning will go to the running course and to the meadow leaves to gather sweet-scented wreaths, remembering you often, Helen, like suckling lambs longing for the teat of the mother sheep.
§18.43πρᾶταί τοι στέφανον λωτῶ χαμαὶ αὐξομένοιο §18.44πλέξασαι σκιερὰν καταθήσομεν ἐς πλατάνιστον, §18.45πρᾶται δʼ ἀργυρέας ἐξ ὄλπιδος ὑγρὸν ἄλειφαρ §18.46λαζύμεναι σταξεῦμες ὑπὸ σκιερὰν πλατάνιστον· §18.47γράμματα δʼ ἐν φλοιῷ γεγράψεται, (ὡς παριών τις §18.48ἀννείμῃ,) δωριστί· σέβου μʼ· Ἑλένας φυτὸν εἰμί. §18.49χαίροις ὦ νύμφα, χαίροις εὐπένθερε γαμβρέ.
First for you, having woven a wreath of low-growing lotus, we will place it upon a shady plane-tree, and first, taking liquid ointment from a silver flask, we will drop it beneath the shady plane-tree; And letters shall be written on the bark, so that any passer-by may read, in Doric: 'Revere me; I am Helen's tree.' Farewell, O bride; farewell, bridegroom with a noble father-in-law.
§18.50Λατὼ μὲν δοίη, Λατὼ κουροτρόφος ὔμμιν §18.51εὐτεκνίαν, Κύπρις δέ, θεὰ Κύπρις ἶσον ἔρασθαι §18.52ἀλλάλων, Ζεὺς δέ, Κρονίδας Ζεὺς ἄφθιτον ὄλβον, §18.53ὡς ἐξ εὐπατριδᾶν εἰς εὐπατρίδας πάλιν ἔνθῃ.
May Leto grant, Leto the nurse of youth, goodly children; and Cypris, the goddess Cypris, equal love for one another; and Zeus, son of Cronus, imperishable prosperity, so that it may pass from noble ancestors to noble descendants again.
Sleep, breathing love into one another's breast and desire; but do not forget to awake towards dawn.
§18.56νεύμεθα κἄμμες ἐς ὄρθρον, ἐπεί κα πρᾶτος ἀοιδὸς §18.57ἐξ εὐνᾶς κελαδήσῃ ἀνασχὼν εὔτριχα δειράν.
We too shall return at dawn, when the first singer shall sing from his bed, raising his well-feathered neck.
§18.58Ὑμὴν ὦ Ὑμέναιε, γάμῳ ἐπὶ τῷδε χαρείης.
Hymen, O Hymenaeus, rejoice in this marriage!