§1Ἀσιάτιδος γῆς σχῆμα, Θηβαία πόλι, §2ὅθεν ποθ’ ἕδνων σὺν πολυχρύσῳ χλιδῇ §3Πριάμου τύραννον ἑστίαν ἀφικόμην §4δάμαρ δοθεῖσα παιδοποιὸς Ἕκτορι, §5ζηλωτὸς ἔν γε τῷ πρὶν Ἀνδρομάχη χρόνῳ, §6νῦν δ’, εἴ τις ἄλλη, δυστυχεστάτη γυνή·
O Thabaian city, beautiful ornament of the Asian land, from where once, with a dowry of golden luxury, I came to the sovereign hearth of Priam, given to Hector as a child-bearing wife, Andromache, envied indeed in the time before, but now, if any other, the most unhappy woman.
§8ἥτις πόσιν μὲν Ἕκτορ’ ἐξ Ἀχιλλέως §9θανόντ’ ἐσεῖδον, παῖδά θ’ ὃν τίκτω πόσει §10ῥιφθέντα πύργων Ἀστυάνακτ’ ἀπ’ ὀρθίων, §11ἐπεὶ τὸ Τροίας εἷλον Ἕλληνες πέδον· §12αὐτὴ δὲ δούλη τῶν ἐλευθερωτάτων §13οἴκων νομισθεῖσ’ Ἑλλάδ’ εἰσαφικόμην §14τῷ νησιώτῃ Νεοπτολέμῳ δορὸς γέρας §15δοθεῖσα λείας Τρωικῆς ἐξαίρετον.
For I, who saw my husband Hector killed by Achilles, and the child Astyanax, whom I bore to my husband, hurled from the steep towers, when the Greeks took the plain of Troy; and I myself, though deemed of the freest of houses, came to Greece as a slave, given to the islander Neoptolemus as a spear-prize, an exceptional choice from the Trojan spoils.
§16Φθίας δὲ τῆσδε καὶ πόλεως Φαρσαλίας §17σύγχορτα ναίω πεδί’, ἵν’ ἡ θαλασσία §18Πηλεῖ ξυνῴκει χωρὶς ἀνθρώπων Θέτις §19φεύγουσ’ ὅμιλον· Θεσσαλὸς δέ νιν λεὼς §20Θετίδειον αὐδᾷ θεᾶς χάριν νυμφευμάτων.
And I inhabit the plains adjacent to this Phthia and the city of Pharsalia, where the marine Thetis dwelt with Peleus, apart from men, fleeing the crowd; and the Thessalian people call it Thetideion, in honor of the goddess's marriage.
§21ἔνθ’ οἶκον ἔσχε τόνδε παῖς Ἀχιλλέως, §22Πηλέα δ’ ἀνάσσειν γῆς ἐᾷ Φαρσαλίας, §23ζῶντος γέροντος σκῆπτρον οὐ θέλων λαβεῖν.
There the son of Achilles established this house, and he allows Peleus to rule the land of Pharsalia, not wishing to take the scepter while the old man lives.
And I also in this house gave birth to a male child, having approached the son of Achilles, my master.
§26καὶ πρὶν μὲν ἐν κακοῖσι κειμένην ὅμως §27ἐλπίς μ’ ἀεὶ προσῆγε σωθέντος τέκνου §28ἀλκήν τιν’ εὑρεῖν κἀπικούρησιν κακῶν·
And formerly, though lying in misfortunes, nevertheless hope always led me on, that if my child were saved, I might find some defense and succor from evils.
§29ἐπεὶ δὲ τὴν Λάκαιναν Ἑρμιόνην γαμεῖ §30τοὐμὸν παρώσας δεσπότης δοῦλον λέχος, §31κακοῖς πρὸς αὐτῆς σχετλίοις ἐλαύνομαι.
But since my master wedded the Spartan Hermione, casting aside my slave-bed, I am driven by her into terrible misfortunes.
§32λέγει γὰρ ὥς νιν φαρμάκοις κεκρυμμένοις §33τίθημ’ ἄπαιδα καὶ πόσει μισουμένην, §34αὐτὴ δὲ ναίειν οἶκον ἀντ’ αὐτῆς θέλω §35τόνδ’, ἐκβαλοῦσα λέκτρα τἀκείνης βίᾳ·
For she says that by hidden drugs I make her childless and hated by her husband, and that I myself wish to inhabit this house instead of her, casting out her bed by force.
§36ἁγὼ τὸ πρῶτον οὐχ ἑκοῦσ’ ἐδεξάμην, §37νῦν δ’ ἐκλέλοιπα· Ζεὺς τάδ’ εἰδείη μέγας, §38ὡς οὐχ ἑκοῦσα τῷδ’ ἐκοινώθην λέχει.
Which bed I at first did not receive willingly, and now I have abandoned it; let great Zeus be witness to this, how unwillingly I shared this bed.
But I do not persuade her, and she wishes to kill me, and her father Menelaus is doing this together with his daughter.
§41καὶ νῦν κατ’ οἴκους ἔστ’, ἀπὸ Σπάρτης μολὼν §42ἐπ’ αὐτὸ τοῦτο· δειματουμένη δ’ ἐγὼ §43δόμων πάροικον Θέτιδος εἰς ἀνάκτορον §44θάσσω τόδ’ ἐλθοῦσ’, ἤν με κωλύσῃ θανεῖν.
And now he is in the house, having come from Sparta for this very purpose; and I, terrified, have come to this temple of Thetis, neighbor of the house, and sit here, in case it might prevent me from dying.
For Peleus and the descendants of Peleus revere it, as a symbol of the marriage of the Nereid.
And the son who is my only child, I sent away secretly to another house, fearing lest he should die.
§49ὁ γὰρ φυτεύσας αὐτὸν οὔτ’ ἐμοὶ πάρα §50προσωφελῆσαι, παιδί τ’ οὐδέν ἐστ’, ἀπὼν §51Δελφῶν κατ’ αἶαν, ἔνθα Λοξίᾳ δίκην §52δίδωσι μανίας, ᾗ ποτ’ εἰς Πυθὼ μολὼν §53ᾔτησε Φοῖβον πατρὸς οὗ κτείνει δίκην, §54εἴ πως τὰ πρόσθε σφάλματ’ ἐξαιτούμενος §55θεὸν παράσχοιτ’ εἰς τὸ λοιπὸν εὐμενῆ.
For he who begot him is not present to help me, and is of no use to the child, being absent, in the land of Delphi, where he is giving amends to Loxias for the madness with which he once went to Pytho and demanded of Phoebus satisfaction for his father whom he killed, if by chance, asking pardon for his former errors, he might make the god favorable for the future.
§56δέσποιν’—ἐγώ τοι τοὔνομ’ οὐ φεύγω τόδε §57καλεῖν σ’, ἐπείπερ καὶ κατ’ οἶκον ἠξίουν §58τὸν σόν, τὸ Τροίας ἡνίκ’ ᾠκοῦμεν πέδον, §59εὔνους δὲ καὶ σοὶ ζῶντί τ’ ἦ τῷ σῷ πόσει, §60καὶ νῦν φέρουσά σοι νέους ἥκω λόγους, §61φόβῳ μέν, εἴ τις δεσποτῶν αἰσθήσεται, §62οἴκτῳ δὲ τῷ σῷ· δεινὰ γὰρ βουλεύεται §63Μενέλαος εἰς σὲ παῖς θ’, ἅ σοι φυλακτέα.
Maid: Mistress—for I do not avoid calling you by this name, since indeed I deemed it right in your house also, when we inhabited the plain of Troy, and I was well-disposed both to you and to your living husband, and now I have come bringing you new words, out of fear, lest any of our masters perceive it, but out of pity for you; for Menelaus and his daughter are planning terrible things against you, which you must guard against.
Andromache: O dearest fellow-slave—for you are a fellow-slave to her who was formerly your mistress, but is now unfortunate— what are they doing?
ποίας μηχανὰς πλέκουσιν αὖ, §67κτεῖναι θέλοντες τὴν παναθλίαν ἐμέ;
What plots are they weaving again, wishing to kill all-miserable me?
Maid: They are about to kill your son, O wretched you, whom you secretly sent out of the house.
§70οἴμοι·
Andromache: Ah me!
πέπυσται τὸν ἐμὸν ἔκθετον γόνον;
Has my hidden child been discovered?
§71πόθεν ποτ’;
From where?
ὦ δύστηνος, ὡς ἀπωλόμην.
O wretched me, how I am undone!
Maid: I do not know, but I perceived this from them; and Menelaus has gone from the house to find him.
§74ἀπωλόμην ἄρ’.
Andromache: I am undone then!
ὦ τέκνον, κτενοῦσί σε §75δισσοὶ λαβόντες γῦπες· ὁ δὲ κεκλημένος §76πατὴρ ἔτ’ ἐν Δελφοῖσι τυγχάνει μένων.
O child, they will kill you, two vultures seizing you; while he who is called your father still happens to remain in Delphi.
Maid: Yes, for I think you would not fare so badly if he were present; but now you are destitute of friends.
§79οὐδ’ ἀμφὶ Πηλέως ἦλθεν, ὡς ἥξοι, φάτις;
Andromache: Nor has any report come about Peleus, that he will come?
§80γέρων ἐκεῖνος ὥστε σ’ ὠφελεῖν παρών.
Maid: That man is too old to help you, even if he were present.