§1Πολλὴ μὲν ἐν βροτοῖσι κοὐκ ἀνώνυμος, §2θεὰ κέκλημαι Κύπρις, οὐρανοῦ τ’ ἔσω· §3ὅσοι τε Πόντου τερμόνων τ’ Ἀτλαντικῶν §4ναίουσιν εἴσω φῶς ὁρῶντες ἡλίου, §5τοὺς μὲν σέβοντας τἀμὰ πρεσβεύω κράτη, §6σφάλλω δ’ ὅσοι φρονοῦσιν εἰς ἡμᾶς μέγα.
Aphrodite: Great among mortals and not nameless, I am called the goddess Cypris, and inside heaven too; and as many as dwell within the boundaries of Pontus and the Atlantic limits, beholding the light of the sun, those who revere my power I treat with honor, but I bring to ruin as many as carry themselves high toward us.
For indeed this trait is present even in the race of gods: they rejoice when they are honored by human beings.
§9δείξω δὲ μύθων τῶνδ’ ἀλήθειαν τάχα· §10ὁ γάρ με Θησέως παῖς, Ἀμαζόνος τόκος, §11Ἱππόλυτος, ἁγνοῦ Πιτθέως παιδεύματα, §12μόνος πολιτῶν τῆσδε γῆς Τροζηνίας §13λέγει κακίστην δαιμόνων πεφυκέναι, §14ἀναίνεται δὲ λέκτρα κοὐ ψαύει γάμων· §15Φοίβου δ’ ἀδελφὴν Ἄρτεμιν, Διὸς κόρην, §16τιμᾷ, μεγίστην δαιμόνων ἡγούμενος· §17χλωρὰν δ’ ἀν’ ὕλην παρθένῳ ξυνὼν ἀεὶ §18κυσὶν ταχείαις θῆρας ἐξαιρεῖ χθονός, §19μείζω βροτείας προσπεσὼν ὁμιλίας.
And I shall soon show the truth of these words; for the son of Theseus, born of the Amazon, Hippolytus, foster-child of holy Pittheus, alone of the citizens of this land of Troezen, says that I am the worst of deities, and he rejects the marriage bed and will not touch marriage; but Phoebus' sister Artemis, the daughter of Zeus, he honors, holding her to be the greatest of deities; and always consorting with the virgin goddess through the green wood, he rids the land of beasts with swift dogs, having fallen into a companionship greater than mortal.
§20τούτοισι μέν νυν οὐ φθονῶ· τί γάρ με δεῖ;
To these things now I have no grudge; why indeed should I?
§21ἃ δ’ εἰς ἔμ’ ἡμάρτηκε, τιμωρήσομαι §22Ἱππόλυτον ἐν τῇδ’ ἡμέρᾳ· τὰ πολλὰ δὲ §23πάλαι προκόψασ’ — οὐ πόνου πολλοῦ με δεῖ.
But the things in which he has sinned against me, I shall avenge on Hippolytus on this very day; and having already accomplished most of the preparation long ago—I need no great labor.
§24ἐλθόντα γάρ νιν Πιτθέως ποτ’ ἐκ δόμων §25σεμνῶν ἐς ὄψιν καὶ τέλη μυστηρίων §26Πανδίονος γῆν, πατρὸς εὐγενὴς δάμαρ §27ἰδοῦσα Φαίδρα καρδίαν κατέσχετο §28ἔρωτι δεινῷ τοῖς ἐμοῖς βουλεύμασιν.
For when he once came from the halls of Pittheus to see and perform the sacred mysteries in the land of Pandion, the noble wife of his father, Phaedra, saw him and was seized in her heart by a terrible love through my designs.
§29καὶ πρὶν μὲν ἐλθεῖν τήνδε γῆν Τροζηνίαν, §30πέτραν παρ’ αὐτὴν Παλλάδος, κατόψιον §31γῆς τῆσδε, ναὸν Κύπριδος ἐγκαθίσατο, §32ἐρῶσ’ ἔρωτ’ ἔκδημον· Ἱππολύτῳ δ’ ἔπι §33τὸ λοιπὸν ὠνόμαζ’ ἐνιδρῦσθαι θεάν.
And indeed, before coming to this land of Troezen, by the very rock of Pallas, overlooking this land, she established a temple of Cypris, loving a love that was far away; and for the future she named it that the goddess was established there in honor of Hippolytus.
§34ἐπεὶ δὲ Θησεὺς Κεκροπίαν λείπει χθόνα, §35μίασμα φεύγων αἵματος Παλλαντιδῶν, §36καὶ τήνδε σὺν δάμαρτι ναυστολεῖ χθόνα, §37ἐνιαυσίαν ἔκδημον αἰνέσας φυγήν, §38ἐνταῦθα δὴ στένουσα κἀκπεπληγμένη §39κέντροις ἔρωτος ἡ τάλαιν’ ἀπόλλυται §40σιγῇ· ξύνοιδε δ’ οὔτις οἰκετῶν νόσον.
But when Theseus left the land of Cecrops, fleeing the pollution of the blood of the Pallantids, and sailed to this land with his wife, having consented to a year's exile abroad, there indeed, groaning and struck out of her senses by the stings of love, the wretched woman is dying in silence; and none of the servants knows of her sickness.
But this love must by no means fall in this way; I shall reveal the matter to Theseus, and it will become manifest.
§43καὶ τὸν μὲν ἡμῖν πολέμιον νεανίαν §44κτενεῖ πατὴρ ἀραῖσιν, ἃς ὁ πόντιος §45ἄναξ Ποσειδῶν ὤπασεν Θησεῖ γέρας, §46μηδὲν μάταιον ἐς τρὶς εὔξασθαι θεῷ.
And the young man who is my enemy, his father will kill with curses, which the lord of the sea, Poseidon, granted to Theseus as a privilege, that he should pray to the god three times in vain for nothing.
§47ἣ δ’ εὐκλεὴς μέν, ἀλλ’ ὅμως ἀπόλλυται, §48Φαίδρα· τὸ γὰρ τῆσδ’ οὐ προτιμήσω κακὸν §49τὸ μὴ οὐ παρασχεῖν τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἐμοὶ §50δίκην τοσαύτην ὥστ’ ἐμοὶ καλῶς ἔχειν.
And she, noble indeed, yet nevertheless is destroyed, Phaedra; for I will not value her misfortune more than not having my enemies pay to me such a penalty as to make it well with me.
§51ἀλλ’, εἰσορῶ γὰρ τόνδε παῖδα Θησέως §52στείχοντα, θήρας μόχθον ἐκλελοιπότα, §53Ἱππόλυτον, ἔξω τῶνδε βήσομαι τόπων.
But, for I see this son of Theseus approaching, having left the toil of the hunt, Hippolytus, I shall depart from these places.
§54πολὺς δ’ ἅμ’ αὐτῷ προσπόλων ὀπισθόπους §55κῶμος λέλακεν, Ἄρτεμιν τιμῶν θεὰν §56ὕμνοισιν· οὐ γὰρ οἶδ’ ἀνεῳγμένας πύλας §57Ἅιδου, φάος δὲ λοίσθιον βλέπων τόδε.
And a great crowd of attendants following behind him shouts aloud with him, honoring the goddess Artemis with hymns; for he does not know that the gates of Hades are open, and that he is looking upon this light for the last time.
Chorus: Follow, singing, follow the heavenly daughter of Zeus, Artemis, in whose care we are.
§61πότνια πότνια σεμνοτάτα, §62Ζανὸς γένεθλον, §63χαῖρε, χαῖρέ μοι, ὦ κόρα §65Λατοῦς Ἄρτεμι καὶ Διός, §66καλλίστα πολὺ παρθένων, §67ἃ μέγαν κατ’ οὐρανὸν §68ναίεις εὐπατέρειαν αὐ- §69λάν, Ζηνὸς πολύχρυσον οἶκον.
O lady, lady most holy, offspring of Zeus, hail, hail to me, o maiden, Artemis, daughter of Leto and Zeus, fairest by far of virgins, who dwell in the great heaven, in the noble hall of your father, the golden house of Zeus.
Hail to me, o fairest, fairest of those on Olympus.
§73σοὶ τόνδε πλεκτὸν στέφανον ἐξ ἀκηράτου §74λειμῶνος, ὦ δέσποινα, κοσμήσας φέρω, §75ἔνθ’ οὔτε ποιμὴν ἀξιοῖ φέρβειν βοτὰ §76οὔτ’ ἦλθέ πω σίδαρος, ἀλλ’ ἀκήρατον §77μέλισσα λειμῶν’ ἠρινὴ διέρχεται, §78Αἰδὼς δὲ ποταμίαισι κηπεύει δρόσοις· §79ὅσοις διδακτὸν μηδέν, ἀλλ’ ἐν τῇ φύσει §80τὸ σωφρονεῖν εἴληχεν ἐς τὰ πάνθ’ ὁμῶς, §81τούτοις δρέπεσθαι, τοῖς κακοῖσι δ’ οὐ θέμις.
Hippolytus: For you, o lady, I bring this woven crown from an untouched meadow, having adorned it, where neither does the shepherd think it right to feed his flock nor has iron ever come there, but the spring bee passes through the untouched meadow, and Reverence tends it with river dews; for those in whom nothing is taught, but in their nature temperance in all things alike has fallen to their lot, for these it is lawful to pluck, but for the wicked it is not permitted.
But, o dear lady, for your golden hair receive this headband from a reverent hand.
§84μόνῳ γάρ ἐστι τοῦτ’ ἐμοὶ γέρας βροτῶν· §85σοὶ καὶ ξύνειμι καὶ λόγοις ἀμείβομαι, §86κλύων μὲν αὐδήν, ὄμμα δ’ οὐχ ὁρῶν τὸ σόν.
For to me alone of mortals belongs this privilege; I am with you and exchange words with you, hearing your voice indeed, but not seeing your eye.
§87τέλος δὲ κάμψαιμ’ ὥσπερ ἠρξάμην βίου.
May I round the goal of life even as I began it.
Servant: My lord—for we must call the gods our masters— would you accept something from me if I advised you well?
§90καὶ κάρτα γ’· ἦ γὰρ οὐ σοφοὶ φαινοίμεθ’ ἄν.
Hippolytus: Most certainly; for otherwise I should not seem wise.
§91οἶσθ’ οὖν βροτοῖσιν ὃς καθέστηκεν νόμος
Servant: Do you know then what law is established among mortals?
§92οὐκ οἶδα· τοῦ δὲ καί μ’ ἀνιστορεῖς πέρι;
Hippolytus: I do not know; about what indeed do you ask me?
§93μισεῖν τὸ σεμνὸν καὶ τὸ μὴ πᾶσιν φίλον.
Servant: To hate that which is haughty and not friendly to all.