§1157ἀλλ’ ᾔνεσ’ ἀνδρὶ πάντα, καὶ πρὶν ἐκ δόμων §1158μακρὰν ἀπεῖναι πατέρα καὶ παῖδας, §1159λαβοῦσα πέπλους ποικίλους ἠμπέσχετο, §1160χρυσοῦν τε θεῖσα στέφανον ἀμφὶ βοστρύχοις §1161λαμπρῷ κατόπτρῳ σχηματίζεται κόμην, §1162ἄψυχον εἰκὼ προσγελῶσα σώματος.
But she agreed to everything her husband asked, and before the father and the children had gone far from the palace, she took the colorful robes and put them on; and placing the golden crown around her curls, she arranged her hair before a bright mirror, smiling at the lifeless image of her body.
§1163κἄπειτ’ ἀναστᾶσ’ ἐκ θρόνων διέρχεται §1164στέγας, ἁβρὸν βαίνουσα παλλεύκῳ ποδί, §1165δώροις ὑπερχαίρουσα, πολλὰ πολλάκις §1166τένοντ’ ἐς ὀρθὸν ὄμμασι σκοπουμένη.
And then, rising from her throne, she walked through the rooms, stepping delicately with her snow-white feet, overjoyed with the gifts, looking back again and again with her eyes at her straight tendon.
§1167τοὐνθένδε μέντοι δεινὸν ἦν θέαμ’ ἰδεῖν· §1168χροιὰν γὰρ ἀλλάξασα λεχρία πάλιν §1169χωρεῖ τρέμουσα κῶλα καὶ μόλις φθάνει §1170θρόνοισιν ἐμπεσοῦσα μὴ χαμαὶ πεσεῖν.
After this, however, there was a terrible sight to see; for, changing color, she walked back, staggering, her limbs trembling, and she barely reached the throne in time to fall upon it so as not to fall to the ground.
§1171καί τις γεραιὰ προσπόλων, δόξασά που §1172ἢ Πανὸς ὀργὰς ἢ τινὸς θεῶν μολεῖν, §1173ἀνωλόλυξε, πρίν γ’ ὁρᾷ διὰ στόμα §1174χωροῦντα λευκὸν ἀφρόν, ὀμμάτων τ’ ἄπο §1175κόρας στρέφουσαν, αἷμά τ’ οὐκ ἐνὸν χροΐ· §1176εἶτ’ ἀντίμολπον ἧκεν ὀλολυγῆς μέγαν §1177κωκυτόν.
And one of the elderly handmaids, thinking perhaps that a wrath of Pan or of some other god had come upon her, raised a ritual cry, until she saw the white foam coming through her mouth, and her turning the pupils of her eyes, and that there was no blood in her skin; then she uttered a great wail in response to her former cry.
εὐθὺς δ’ ἣ μὲν ἐς πατρὸς δόμους §1178ὥρμησεν, ἣ δὲ πρὸς τὸν ἀρτίως πόσιν §1179φράσουσα νύμφης συμφοράν· ἅπασα δὲ §1180στέγη πυκνοῖσιν ἐκτύπει δρομήμασιν.
And immediately one rushed to the father's house, and another to the new husband, to tell of the bride's misfortune; and the whole house echoed with frequent runnings.
§1181ἤδη δ’ ἀνέλκων κῶλον ἔκπλεθρον δρόμου §1182ταχὺς βαδιστὴς τερμόνων ἂν ἥπτετο, §1183ἣ δ’ ἐξ ἀναύδου καὶ μύσαντος ὄμματος §1184δεινὸν στενάξασ’ ἡ τάλαιν’ ἠγείρετο.
And by the time a swift runner, pulling up his limbs, would have reached the goal of a six-plethra course, she, the wretched woman, with a terrible groan, awoke from her speechless and closed eye.
§1185διπλοῦν γὰρ αὐτῇ πῆμ’ ἐπεστρατεύετο· §1186χρυσοῦς μὲν ἀμφὶ κρατὶ κείμενος πλόκος §1187θαυμαστὸν ἵει νᾶμα παμφάγου πυρός, §1188πέπλοι δὲ λεπτοί, σῶν τέκνων δωρήματα, §1189λεπτὴν ἔδαπτον σάρκα τῆς δυσδαίμονος.
For a double plague was waging war against her: the golden crown lying around her head was sending forth a wondrous stream of all-devouring fire, while the fine robes, the gifts from your children, were eating away the delicate flesh of the unhappy bride.
§1190φεύγει δ’ ἀναστᾶσ’ ἐκ θρόνων πυρουμένη, §1191σείουσα χαίτην κρᾶτά τ’ ἄλλοτ’ ἄλλοσε, §1192ῥῖψαι θέλουσα στέφανον· ἀλλ’ ἀραρότως §1193σύνδεσμα χρυσὸς εἶχε, πῦρ δ’, ἐπεὶ κόμην §1194ἔσεισε, μᾶλλον δὶς τόσως ἐλάμπετο.
And rising from her throne, she fled, all on fire, shaking her hair and her head this way and that, wishing to cast off the crown; but the gold held its fastenings firmly, and the fire, when she shook her hair, blazed out twice as bright.
§1195πίτνει δ’ ἐς οὖδας συμφορᾷ νικωμένη, §1196πλὴν τῷ τεκόντι κάρτα δυσμαθὴς ἰδεῖν· §1197οὔτ’ ὀμμάτων γὰρ δῆλος ἦν κατάστασις §1198οὔτ’ εὐφυὲς πρόσωπον, αἷμα δ’ ἐξ ἄκρου §1199ἔσταζε κρατὸς συμπεφυρμένον πυρί, §1200σάρκες δ’ ἀπ’ ὀστέων ὥστε πεύκινον δάκρυ §1201γναθμοῖς ἀδήλοις φαρμάκων ἀπέρρεον, §1202δεινὸν θέαμα·
And she fell to the ground, overcome by the disaster, very difficult for anyone to recognize, except for her father; for neither the state of her eyes was clear, nor her beautiful face, but blood was dripping from the top of her head mixed with fire, and the flesh was melting away from the bones like the tear of a pine tree, under the secret jaws of the poisons— a terrible sight.
πᾶσι δ’ ἦν φόβος θιγεῖν §1203νεκροῦ· τύχην γὰρ εἴχομεν διδάσκαλον.
And there was fear in all to touch the corpse; for we had her fortune as our teacher.
But her unhappy father, in ignorance of the disaster, suddenly coming into the room, fell upon the corpse.
§1206ᾤμωξε δ’ εὐθύς, καὶ περιπτύξας χέρας §1207κυνεῖ προσαυδῶν τοιάδ’· Ὦ δύστηνε παῖ, §1208τίς σ’ ὧδ’ ἀτίμως δαιμόνων ἀπώλεσε;
And immediately he wailed, and folding his arms around her, he kissed her, saying this: "Oh wretched child, which of the gods has destroyed you so shamefully?
οἴμοι, συνθάνοιμί σοι, τέκνον. §1211ἐπεὶ δὲ θρήνων καὶ γόων ἐπαύσατο, §1212χρῄζων γεραιὸν ἐξαναστῆσαι δέμας §1213προσείχεθ’ ὥστε κισσὸς ἔρνεσιν δάφνης §1214λεπτοῖσι πέπλοις, δεινὰ δ’ ἦν παλαίσματα·
Alas, let me die with you, my child!" But when he ceased from his lamentations and wailings, wishing to raise his aged body up, he was held fast, as ivy by the shoots of laurel, by the fine robes; and there were terrible struggles.
§1215ὃ μὲν γὰρ ἤθελ’ ἐξαναστῆσαι γόνυ, §1216ἣ δ’ ἀντελάζυτ’. εἰ δὲ πρὸς βίαν ἄγοι, §1217σάρκας γεραιὰς ἐσπάρασσ’ ἀπ’ ὀστέων.
For he wished to raise his knee, but she held him back; and if he dragged himself by force, he tore his aged flesh from his bones.
And at last the unhappy man expired and gave up his ghost; for he was no longer stronger than the evil.
And they lie, dead bodies, the child and her aged father near, a calamity that longs for tears.
And let your affairs be out of my speech; for you yourself will know the avoidance of punishment.
§1224τὰ θνητὰ δ’ οὐ νῦν πρῶτον ἡγοῦμαι σκιάν, §1225οὐδ’ ἂν τρέσας εἴποιμι τοὺς σοφοὺς βροτῶν §1226δοκοῦντας εἶναι καὶ μεριμνητὰς λόγων §1227τούτους μεγίστην ζημίαν ὀφλισκάνειν.
But I hold that mortal affairs are not now for the first time a shadow, nor would I fear to say that those of mortals who seem to be wise and searchers of arguments, these suffer the greatest loss.
§1228θνητῶν γὰρ οὐδείς ἐστιν εὐδαίμων ἀνήρ· §1229ὄλβου δ’ ἐπιρρυέντος εὐτυχέστερος §1230ἄλλου γένοιτ’ ἂν ἄλλος, εὐδαίμων δ’ ἂν οὔ.
For no mortal man is happy; but if wealth flows in, one might become more fortunate than another, but happy never.
The deity seems on this day to connect many evils justly with Jason.
§1233ὦ τλῆμον, ὥς σου συμφορὰς οἰκτίρομεν, §1234κόρη Κρέοντος, ἥτις εἰς Ἅιδου δόμους §1235οἴχῃ γάμων ἕκατι τῶν Ἰάσονος.
Oh wretched one, how we pity your misfortunes, daughter of Creon, you who are gone to the halls of Hades for the sake of Jason's marriage.
§1236φίλαι, δέδοκται τοὔργον ὡς τάχιστά μοι §1237παῖδας κτανούσῃ τῆσδ’ ἀφορμᾶσθαι χθονός, §1238καὶ μὴ σχολὴν ἄγουσαν ἐκδοῦναι τέκνα §1239ἄλλῃ φονεῦσαι δυσμενεστέρᾳ χερί.
Friends, the deed is decided upon by me: as quickly as possible to kill my children and depart from this land, and not, by delaying, to surrender my children to be slain by another, more hostile hand.
In any case they must die; and since it is necessary, we who gave them birth will kill them.
§1242ἀλλ’ εἶ’ ὁπλίζου, καρδία.
But come, gird yourself, my heart.
τί μέλλομεν §1243τὰ δεινὰ κἀναγκαῖα μὴ πράσσειν κακά;
Why do we delay to do the terrible and necessary evils?
§1244ἄγ’, ὦ τάλαινα χεὶρ ἐμή, λαβὲ ξίφος,
Come, oh wretched hand of mine, take the sword!