§801ἅπασίν ἐστιν, ὥς γ’ ἐμοὶ χρῆσθαι κριτῇ, §802οὐ βίος ἀληθῶς ὁ βίος, ἀλλὰ συμφορά. §803ἐπιστάμεσθα ταῦτα· νῦν δὲ πράσσομεν §804οὐχ οἷα κώμου καὶ γέλωτος ἄξια. §805γυνὴ θυραῖος ἡ θανοῦσα· μὴ λίαν §806πένθει· δόμων γὰρ ζῶσι τῶνδε δεσπόται. §807τί ζῶσιν;
for all, if they use me as a judge, life is not truly life, but a misfortune." Servant: "We know this; but we are now experiencing things not worthy of revelry and laughter." Heracles: "The deceased woman was an outsider; do not mourn too much; for the masters of this house are alive." Servant: "What, alive?
οὐ κάτοισθα τἀν δόμοις κακά; §808εἰ μή τι σός με δεσπότης ἐψεύσατο. §809ἄγαν ἐκεῖνός ἐστ’ ἄγαν φιλόξενος. §810οὐ χρῆν μ’ ὀθνείου γ’ οὕνεκ’ εὖ πάσχειν νεκροῦ; §811ἦ κάρτα μέντοι καὶ λίαν θυραῖος ἦν. §812μῶν ξυμφοράν τιν’ οὖσαν οὐκ ἔφραζέ μοι; §813χαίρων ἴθʼ· ἡμῖν δεσποτῶν μέλει κακά. §814ὅδ’ οὐ θυραίων πημάτων ἄρχει λόγος. §815οὐ γάρ τι κωμάζοντ’ ἂν ἠχθόμην σ’ ὁρῶν. §816ἀλλ’ ἦ πέπονθα δείν’ ὑπὸ ξένων ἐμῶν; §817οὐκ ἦλθες ἐν δέοντι δέξασθαι δόμοις.
Do you not know the evils in the house?" Heracles: "Unless your master lied to me in some way." Servant: "He is too, too hospitable to guests." Heracles: "Was it not right for me to receive good treatment for the sake of an outsider's corpse?" Servant: "Indeed, she was very much and too much an outsider." Heracles: "Did he not tell me that there was some misfortune?" Servant: "Go in peace; the evils of our masters are our concern." Heracles: "This speech does not begin from outsider's troubles." Servant: "For I would not have been annoyed at seeing you reveling." Heracles: "But have I really suffered dreadful things from my hosts?" Servant: "You did not come in a fitting time to be received in the house.
For we have grief; and you see our garments black-robed and our shorn hair." Heracles: "But who is the deceased?
§819bτίς δ’ ὁ κατθανών; §820μῶν ἢ τέκνων τι φροῦδον ἢ γέρων πατήρ; §821γυνὴ μὲν οὖν ὄλωλεν Ἀδμήτου, ξένε. §822τί φῄς;
Is it one of the children who is gone, or the aged father?" Servant: "Rather, the wife of Admetus has perished, stranger." Heracles: "What do you say?
ἔπειτα δῆτά μ’ ἐξενίζετε; §823ᾐδεῖτο γάρ σε τῶνδ’ ἀπώσασθαι δόμων. §824ὦ σχέτλιʼ, οἵας ἤμπλακες ξυναόρου. §825ἀπωλόμεσθα πάντες, οὐ κείνη μόνη. §826ἀλλ’ ᾐσθόμην μὲν ὄμμ’ ἰδὼν δακρυρροοῦν §827κουράν τε καὶ πρόσωπον· ἀλλ’ ἔπειθέ με §828λέγων θυραῖον κῆδος ἐς τάφον φέρειν.
And yet indeed you entertained me?" Servant: "Yes, for he was ashamed to push you away from this house." Heracles: "O unhappy man, what a spouse you have lost!" Servant: "We have all perished, not she alone." Heracles: "But I did perceive, seeing his eye shedding tears, and his shorn hair and face; but he persuaded me, saying that he was carrying an outsider's relation to the grave.
And forcing my heart, crossing these gates, I was drinking in the house of a hospitable man, who was suffering so.
κᾆτ’ ἐκώμαζον κάρα §832στεφάνοις πυκασθείς;
And then was I reveling, with my head crowned with wreaths?
ἀλλὰ σοῦ τὸ μὴ φράσαι, §833κακοῦ τοσούτου δώμασιν προκειμένου.
But it is your fault for not telling me, when such a great evil lay before the house!
§834ποῦ καί σφε θάπτει;
Where does he bury her?
ποῦ νιν εὑρήσω μολών; §835ὀρθὴν παρ’ οἶμον, ἣ’πὶ Λάρισαν φέρει, §836τύμβον κατόψῃ ξεστὸν ἐκ προαστίου. §837ὦ πολλὰ τλᾶσα καρδία καὶ χεὶρ ἐμή, §838νῦν δεῖξον οἷον παῖδά σ’ ἡ Τιρυνθία §839Ἠλεκτρύωνος γείνατ’ Ἀλκμήνη Διί.
Where shall I find her if I go?" Servant: "By the straight road that leads to Larissa, you will see a polished tomb outside the suburb." Heracles: "O my heart that has endured much, and my hand, now show what kind of son the Tirynthian Alcmena, daughter of Electryon, bore to Zeus for you.
§840δεῖ γάρ με σῶσαι τὴν θανοῦσαν ἀρτίως §841γυναῖκα κἀς τόνδ’ αὖθις ἱδρῦσαι δόμον §842Ἄλκηστιν, Ἀδμήτῳ θ’ ὑπουργῆσαι χάριν.
For I must save the recently deceased woman and establish again in this house Alcestis, and perform a service of gratitude for Admetus.
§843ἐλθὼν δ’ ἄνακτα τὸν μελάμπεπλον νεκρῶν §844Θάνατον φυλάξω, καί νιν εὑρήσειν δοκῶ §845πίνοντα τύμβου πλησίον προσφαγμάτων.
I will go and watch for Death, the black-robed lord of the dead, and I think I shall find him drinking near the tomb from the offerings of blood.
§846κἄνπερ λοχαίας αὐτὸν ἐξ ἕδρας συθεὶς §847μάρψω, κύκλον δὲ περιβάλω χεροῖν ἐμαῖν, §848οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις αὐτὸν ἐξαιρήσεται §849μογοῦντα πλευρά, πρὶν γυναῖκ’ ἐμοὶ μεθῇ.
And if, rushing from my place of ambush, I seize him and encircle him with my hands, there is no one who shall rescue him as he suffers in his ribs, until he releases the woman to me.
§850ἢν δ’ οὖν ἁμάρτω τῆσδ’ ἄγρας, καὶ μὴ μόλῃ §851πρὸς αἱματηρὸν πέλανον, εἶμι τῶν κάτω §852Κόρης Ἄνακτός τ’ εἰς ἀνηλίους δόμους §853αἰτήσομαί τε· καὶ πέποιθ’ ἄξειν ἄνω §854Ἄλκηστιν, ὥστε χερσὶν ἐνθεῖναι ξένου, §855ὅς μ’ ἐς δόμους ἐδέξατ’ οὐδ’ ἀπήλασε, §856καίπερ βαρείᾳ συμφορᾷ πεπληγμένος, §857ἔκρυπτε δ’ ὢν γενναῖος, αἰδεσθεὶς ἐμέ.
But if I fail in this catch, and he does not come to the bloody offering, I will go to the sunless houses of the Maiden and the King below, and I will ask for her; and I trust that I shall bring up Alcestis, so as to place her in the hands of the host who received me into his house and did not drive me away, although he was struck by a heavy misfortune, but hid it, being noble, out of respect for me.
Who of the Thessalians is more hospitable than he, who of those dwelling in Greece?
τοιγὰρ οὐκ ἐρεῖ κακὸν §860εὐεργετῆσαι φῶτα γενναῖος γεγώς. §861ἰώ, στυγναὶ §861aπρόσοδοι, στυγναὶ δ’ ὄψεις χήρων §862μελάθρων.
Therefore he shall not say that, being a noble man, I did a bad thing in returning a benefit." Admetus: "Ah, hateful entrances, hateful sights of the widowed halls!
ἰώ μοί μοι.
Ah me!
αἶ αἶ.
Alas!
§863ποῖ βῶ;
Where shall I go?
ποῖ στῶ;
Where shall I stand?
τί λέγω;
What shall I say?
τί δὲ μή;
What shall I not?
§864πῶς ἂν ὀλοίμαν;
How I wish I might perish!
§865ἦ βαρυδαίμονα μήτηρ μ’ ἔτεκεν.
Truly my mother bore me to a heavy destiny.
I envy the dead, I am in love with them, I long to dwell in those houses.
§868οὔτε γὰρ αὐγὰς χαίρω προσορῶν §869οὔτ’ ἐπὶ γαίας πόδα πεζεύων· §870τοῖον ὅμηρόν μ’ ἀποσυλήσας §871Ἅιδῃ Θάνατος παρέδωκεν. §872—πρόβα, πρόβα· βᾶθι κεῦθος οἴκων. §872bαἰαῖ. §873—πέπονθας ἄξι’ αἰαγμάτων. §873bἒ ἔ. §874—δι’ ὀδύνας ἔβας, σάφ’ οἶδα. . . §874bφεῦ φεῦ. §875—τὰν νέρθε δ’ οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖς. §875bἰώ μοί μοι. §876—τὸ μήποτ’ εἰσιδεῖν φιλίας ἀλόχου §877πρόσωπόν ἄντα λυπρόν. §878ἔμνησας ὅ μου φρένας ἥλκωσεν· §879τί γὰρ ἀνδρὶ κακὸν μεῖζον ἁμαρτεῖν §880πιστῆς ἀλόχου;
For I do not rejoice in looking upon the rays of the sun, nor in setting my foot upon the earth; such a hostage Death has plundered from me and delivered to Hades." Chorus: "Go forward, go forward; enter the hiding-place of the house." Admetus: "Alas!" Chorus: "You have suffered things worthy of lamentations." Admetus: "Ah, ah!" Chorus: "You went through pain, I know well..." Admetus: "Alas, alas!" Chorus: "But you help nothing her who is below." Admetus: "Ah me!" Chorus: "Never to look upon the face of a beloved wife face to face is painful." Admetus: "You have reminded me of what wounded my mind; for what greater evil is there for a man than to lose a faithful wife?
μή ποτε γήμας §881ὤφελον οἰκεῖν μετὰ τῆσδε δόμους.
Would that I had never married and dwelt with her in this house.
I envy those of mortals who are unmarried and childless; for there is but one soul, to grieve for which is a moderate burden.