§163τί ῥυσιασθείς, πόλεμον Ἀργείοις ἔχειν;
for what seized in reprisal, so as to have war with the Argives?
And defending what allies, and on whose behalf will you bury the fallen dead?
ἦ κακὸν λόγον §166κτήσῃ πρὸς ἀστῶν, εἰ γέροντος οὕνεκα, §167τύμβου, τὸ μηδὲν ὄντος, ὡς εἰπεῖν ἔπος, §168παίδων τε τῶνδʼ, ἐς ἄντλον ἐμβήσῃ πόδα.
Surely an evil reputation you will acquire from the citizens, if for the sake of an old man, a tomb, who is as good as nothing, so to speak, and of these children, you step your foot into the bilge.
§169ἐρεῖς τὸ λῷστον ἐλπίδʼ εὑρήσειν μόνον.
You will say that you will find only hope as the best.
§170καὶ τοῦτο πολλῷ τοῦ παρόντος ἐνδεές· §171κακῶς γὰρ Ἀργείοισιν οἵδ’ ὡπλισμένοις §172μάχοιντʼ ἂν ἡβήσαντες, εἴ τι τοῦτό σε §173ψυχὴν ἐπαίρει· χοὑν μέσῳ πολὺς χρόνος §174ἐν ᾧ διεργασθεῖτʼ ἄν.
And this is far short of the present reality; for poorly would these boys, having grown up, fight against the Argives, if this in any way heart elates; and in the intervening time is much time, in which they might be destroyed.
ἀλλʼ ἐμοὶ πιθοῦ· §175δοὺς μηδέν, ἀλλὰ τἄμ’ ἐῶν ἄγειν ἐμὲ §176κτῆσαι Μυκήνας, μηδʼ ὅπερ φιλεῖτε δρᾶν §177πάθῃς σὺ τοῦτο, τοὺς ἀμείνονας παρὸν §178φίλους ἑλέσθαι, τοὺς κακίονας λάβῃς.
But obey me: giving nothing, but allowing me to lead away my own, acquire Mycenae as a friend, and do not suffer what you usually do, so that, when it is possible to choose the better friends, you select the worse ones.
[Chorus] Who could judge a cause or understand an argument, before he has clearly learned the story from both?
§181ἄναξ — ὑπάρχει μὲν τόδʼ ἐν τῇ σῇ χθονί — §182εἰπεῖν ἀκοῦσαί τʼ ἐν μέρει πάρεστί μοι, §183κοὐδείς μʼ ἀπώσει πρόσθεν, ὥσπερ ἄλλοθεν.
[Iolaus] O king, — this indeed exists in your land — it is allowed for me to speak and to hear in turn, and no one will drive me away beforehand, as from elsewhere.
§184ἡμῖν δὲ καὶ τῷδʼ οὐδέν ἐστιν ἐν μέρει· §185ἐπεὶ γὰρ Ἄργους οὐ μέτεσθʼ ἡμῖν ἔτι, §186ψήφῳ δοκῆσαν, ἀλλὰ φεύγομεν πάτραν, §187πῶς ἂν δικαίως ὡς Μυκηναίους ἄγοι §188ὧδʼ ὄντας ἡμᾶς, οὓς ἀπήλασαν χθονός;
But between us and this man there is nothing in common; since we no longer have any share in Argos, by a decree, but we are exiles from our fatherland, how could he justly lead us away as Mycenaeans, us being here, whom they drove out of the land?
§189ξένοι γάρ ἐσμεν.
For we are strangers.
ἢ τὸν Ἑλλήνων ὅρον §190φεύγειν δικαιοῦθʼ ὅστις ἂν τἄργος φύγῃ;
Or do you deem it right that whoever flees Argos must flee the boundary of all Greece?
Not Athens, at any rate; for they will not out of fear of Argives drive the children of Heracles from the land.
§193οὐ γάρ τι Τραχίς ἐστιν οὐδʼ Ἀχαιικὸν §194πόλισμʼ, ὅθεν σὺ τούσδε, τῇ δίκῃ μὲν οὔ, §195τὸ δʼ Ἄργος ὀγκῶν, οἷάπερ καὶ νῦν λέγεις, §196ἤλαυνες ἱκέτας βωμίους καθημένους.
For it is not Trachis, nor an Achaean town, from where you, not by justice, but puffing up Argos, just as you say even now, drove away suppliants sitting at the altars.
For if this shall be, and they judge your words as right, I no longer know these Athens as free.
§199ἀλλʼ οἶδʼ ἐγὼ τὸ τῶνδε λῆμα καὶ φύσιν· §200θνῄσκειν θελήσουσʼ· ἡ γὰρ αἰσχύνη πάρος §201τοῦ ζῆν παρʼ ἐσθλοῖς ἀνδράσιν νομίζεται.
But I know the spirit and nature of these men: they will wish to die; for disgrace, rather than life, is considered preferred among noble men.
§202πόλιν μὲν ἀρκεῖ· καὶ γὰρ οὖν ἐπίφθονον §203λίαν ἐπαινεῖν ἐστι, πολλάκις δὲ δὴ §204καὐτὸς βαρυνθεὶς οἶδʼ ἄγαν αἰνούμενος.
This is enough for the city; for indeed, excessive praise is invidious, and indeed often I myself have known being vexed when praised too much.
But to you I wish to tell how it is necessary to save these boys, since you are the ruler of this land.
Pittheus is the son of Pelops, and from Pittheus Aethra, and from her is born your father Theseus.
πάλιν δὲ τῶνδʼ ἄνειμί σοι γένος.
And in turn I will trace the lineage of these boys for you.
Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and she was the daughter of Pelops' daughter.
αὐτανεψίων §212πατὴρ ἂν εἴη σός τε χὡ τούτων γεγώς.
Therefore, your father would be first cousin to the one who begot these boys.
§213γένους μὲν ἥκεις ὧδε τοῖσδε, Δημοφῶν·
Thus you are related by birth to these boys, Demophon.
§214ἃ δʼ ἐκτὸς ἤδη τοῦ προσήκοντός σε δεῖ §215τεῖσαι λέγω σοι παισί· φημὶ γάρ ποτε §216σύμπλους γενέσθαι τῶνδʼ ὑπασπίζων πατρὶ §217ζωστῆρα Θησεῖ τὸν πολυκτόνον μέτα· §218Ἅιδου τʼ ἐρυμνῶν ἐξανήγαγεν μυχῶν §219πατέρα σόν· Ἑλλὰς πᾶσα τοῦτο μαρτυρεῖ.
And what you must pay to these children, which is beyond mere kinship, I will tell you; for I say that once I was a fellow-voyager, shielding their father, with Theseus after the belt that caused much slaughter; and from the secure depths of Hades he brought back your father; all Greece witnesses this.
§220ὧν ἀντιδοῦναί σʼ οἵδʼ ἀπαιτοῦσιν χάριν, §221μήτʼ ἐκδοθῆναι μήτε πρὸς βίαν θεῶν §222τῶν σῶν ἀποσπασθέντες ἐκπεσεῖν χθονός.
In return for these, they demand that you repay the favor, neither to be surrendered nor, dragged away by force against your gods, to be dragged away and cast out of the land.
§223σοὶ γὰρ τόδʼ αἰσχρὸν χωρίς, ἔν τε πόλει κακόν, §224ἱκέτας ἀλήτας συγγενεῖς, οἴμοι, κακῶς — §225βλέψον πρὸς αὐτοὺς βλέψον· — ἕλκεσθαι βίᾳ.
For this is shameful to you individually, and evil in the city, that suppliants, wanderers, relatives, alas! miserably — look at them, look! — should be dragged away by force.
§226ἀλλʼ ἄντομαί σε καὶ καταστέφω χεροῖν, §227καὶ πρὸς γενείου, μηδαμῶς ἀτιμάσῃς §228τοὺς Ἡρακλείους παῖδας ἐς χέρας λαβών·
But I entreat you and crown you with my hands, and by your chin, by no means dishonor the children of Heracles, receiving them into your hands.
§229γενοῦ δὲ τοῖσδε συγγενής, γενοῦ φίλος §230πατὴρ ἀδελφὸς δεσπότης· ἅπαντα γὰρ §231ταῦτʼ ἐστὶ κρείσσω πλὴν ὑπʼ Ἀργείοις πεσεῖν.
Become a kinsman to them, become a friend, father, brother, master; for all these things are better than to fall under the Argives.
§232ᾤκτιρʼ ἀκούσας τούσδε συμφορᾶς, ἄναξ.
[Chorus] I pitied them, having heard of their misfortune, O king.
§233τὴν δʼ εὐγένειαν τῆς τύχης νικωμένην §234νῦν δὴ μάλιστʼ ἐσεῖδον· οἵδε γὰρ πατρὸς §235ἐσθλοῦ γεγῶτες δυστυχοῦσʼ ἀναξίως.
And nobility being conquered by fortune now indeed most of all I saw; for these, born of a noble father, suffer misfortune undeservedly.
§236τρισσαί μʼ ἀναγκάζουσι συμφορᾶς ὁδοί, §237Ἰόλαε, τοὺς σοὺς μὴ παρώσασθαι ξένους· §238τὸ μὲν μέγιστον Ζεὺς ἐφʼ οὗ σὺ βώμιος §239θακεῖς νεοσσῶν τήνδʼ ἔχων πανήγυριν·
[Demophon] Three ways of necessity compel me, Iolaus, not to reject your strangers; the greatest indeed, Zeus, at whose altar you sit, having this assembly of young ones;