§1108πατρός ποτ’ αὐτὸν αἵματος δοῦναι δίκην.
that he should once pay the penalty for my father's blood.
§1109κἀνταῦθ’ Ὀρέστου μῦθος ἰσχύων μέγα §1110ἐφαίνεθ’, ὡς ψεύδοιτο δεσπότης ἐμός, §1111ἥκων ἐπ’ αἰσχροῖς.
And there Orestes' words appeared to have great power, as if my master had come with shameful intent and were lying.
ἔρχεται δ’ ἀνακτόρων §1112κρηπῖδος ἐντός, ὡς πάρος χρηστηρίων §1113εὔξαιτο Φοίβῳ· τυγχάνει δ’ ἐν ἐμπύροις·
And he entered the temple's step's interior, that he might pray to Phoebus before the oracle as before; and he happened to be at the sacrificial fire.
§1114τῷ δὲ ξιφήρης ἆρ’ ὑφειστήκει λόχος §1115δάφνῃ σκιασθείς· ὧν Κλυταιμήστρας τόκος §1116εἷς ἦν ἁπάντων τῶνδε μηχανορράφος.
But against him a sword-bearing ambush had been set, shaded by laurel; of whom Clytemnestra's son was the sole contriver of all this.
§1117χὣ μὲν κατ’ ὄμμα στὰς προσεύχεται θεῷ· §1118οἳ δ’ ὀξυθήκτοις φασγάνοις ὡπλισμένοι §1119κεντοῦσ’ ἀτευχῆ παῖδ’ Ἀχιλλέως λάθρᾳ.
And he stood and prayed to the god face to face; but they, armed with sharp-edged swords, secretly stabbed the unarmed son of Achilles.
§1120χωρεῖ δὲ πρύμναν· οὐ γὰρ εἰς καιρὸν τυπεὶς §1121ἐτύγχαν’· ἐξέλκει δὲ καὶ παραστάδος §1122κρεμαστὰ τεύχη πασσάλων καθαρπάσας §1123ἔστη’πὶ βωμοῦ γοργὸς ὁπλίτης ἰδεῖν, §1124βοᾷ δὲ Δελφῶν παῖδας ἱστορῶν τάδε· §1125Τίνος μ’ ἕκατι κτείνετ’ εὐσεβεῖς ὁδοὺς §1126ἥκοντα;
And he stepped back; for he was not struck in a mortal spot; and snatching away the hanging armor from the pegs on the pillar, he stood upon the altar, a fierce hoplite to behold, and cried out to the sons of the Delphians, asking this: 'For what cause do you kill me when I have come on a holy journey?
ποίας ὄλλυμαι πρὸς αἰτίας; — §1127τῶν δ’ οὐδὲν οὐδεὶς μυρίων ὄντων πέλας §1128ἐφθέγξατ’, ἀλλ’ ἔβαλλον ἐκ χερῶν πέτροις.
For what charge am I being destroyed?' But of the countless many standing near, no one spoke a word, but they threw stones from their hands at him.
§1129πυκνῇ δὲ νιφάδι πάντοθεν σποδούμενος §1130προὔτεινε τεύχη κἀφυλάσσετ’ ἐμβολὰς §1131ἐκεῖσε κἀκεῖσ’ ἀσπίδ’ ἐκτείνων χερί.
And battered from all sides by a thick shower of stones, he held out his armor and guarded against the blows, extending his shield with his hand this way and that.
§1132ἀλλ’ οὐδὲν ἦνεν· ἀλλὰ πόλλ’ ὁμοῦ βέλη, §1133οἰστοί, μεσάγκυλ’ ἔκλυτοί τ’ ἀμφώβολοι, §1134σφαγῆς ἐχώρουν βουπόροι ποδῶν πάρος.
But it was of no avail; but many weapons together, arrows, javelins, and unpinned spits, fit for piercing oxen, fell before his feet.
And you would have seen terrible war-dances of the boy defending himself from the missiles.
ὡς δέ νιν περισταδὸν §1137κύκλῳ κατεῖχον οὐ διδόντες ἀμπνοάς, §1138βωμοῦ κενώσας δεξίμηλον ἐσχάραν, §1139τὸ Τρωικὸν πήδημα πηδήσας ποδοῖν §1140χωρεῖ πρὸς αὐτούς· οἳ δ’ ὅπως πελειάδες §1141ἱέρακ’ ἰδοῦσαι πρὸς φυγὴν ἐνώτισαν.
But as they closed in on him in a circle and gave him no breathing room, leaving the sheep-receiving hearth of the altar, and leaping with his feet that Trojan leap, he rushed at them; and they, like doves that have seen a hawk, turned their backs in flight.
§1142πολλοὶ δ’ ἔπιπτον μιγάδες ἔκ τε τραυμάτων §1143αὐτοί θ’ ὑπ’ αὐτῶν στενοπόρους κατ’ ἐξόδους, §1144κραυγὴ δ’ ἐν εὐφήμοισι δύσφημος δόμοις §1145πέτραισιν ἀντέκλαγξ’· ἐν εὐδίᾳ δέ πως §1146ἔστη φαεννοῖς δεσπότης στίλβων ὅπλοις·
And many fell mixed together, both from wounds and by one another's hands in the narrow exits, and an unholy cry arose in the holy temple, echoing against the rocks; but in a brief calm my master stood, gleaming in his bright armor.
§1147πρὶν δή τις ἀδύτων ἐκ μέσων ἐφθέγξατο §1148δεινόν τι καὶ φρικῶδες, ὦρσε δὲ στρατὸν §1149στρέψας πρὸς ἀλκήν.
Until indeed someone from the very middle of the sanctuary uttered a terrible and shuddering sound, and aroused the host, turning them back to fight.
ἔνθ’ Ἀχιλλέως πίτνει §1150παῖς ὀξυθήκτῳ πλευρὰ φασγάνῳ τυπεὶς §1151Δελφοῦ πρὸς ἀνδρός, ὅσπερ αὐτὸν ὤλεσε, §1152πολλῶν μετ’ ἄλλων· ὡς δὲ πρὸς γαῖαν πίτνει, §1153τίς οὐ σίδηρον προσφέρει, τίς οὐ πέτρον, §1154βάλλων ἀράσσων;
There Achilles' son fell, struck in the side by a sharp-edged sword by a Delphian man, the very one who destroyed him, along with many others; and as he fell to the ground, who did not bring a sword, who did not throw a stone, striking and battering him?
πᾶν δ’ ἀνήλωται δέμας §1155τὸ καλλίμορφον τραυμάτων ὑπ’ ἀγρίων.
And all his beautiful body was destroyed by savage wounds.
And when he was lying dead near the altar, they cast him out of the incense-receiving temple.
§1158ἡμεῖς δ’ ἀναρπάσαντες ὡς τάχος χεροῖν §1159κομίζομέν νιν σοὶ κατοιμῶξαι γόοις §1160κλαῦσαί τε, πρέσβυ, γῆς τε κοσμῆσαι τάφῳ.
And we, snatching him up in our hands as quickly as possible, are bringing him to you, old man, that you may lament him with groans and weep for him, and honor him with a tomb in his land.
§1161τοιαῦθ’ ὁ τοῖς ἄλλοισι θεσπίζων ἄναξ, §1162ὁ τῶν δικαίων πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις κριτής, §1163δίκας διδόντα παῖδ’ ἔδρασ’ Ἀχιλλέως.
Such things did the lord who prophesies to others, the judge of what is right for all mortals, do to the son of Achilles as he was offering recompense.
He remembered, like a base man, ancient grievances; how then could he be wise?
And indeed now the master is being carried from the Delphian land, approaching the house.
§1168τλήμων ὁ παθών, τλήμων δέ, γέρον, §1169καὶ σύ· δέχῃ γὰρ τὸν Ἀχίλλειον §1170σκύμνον ἐς οἴκους οὐχ ὡς σὺ θέλεις· §1171αὐτός τε κακοῖς §1172εἰς ἓν μοίρας συνέκυρσας.
Wretched is the one who suffered, and wretched, old man, are you also; for you receive the offspring of Achilles into your house, not as you wish; and you yourself have met with disaster, sharing in one fate.
Alas, what kind of evil do I see here and receive with my hand into my house!
§1175ἰώ μοί μοι, αἰαῖ,
Alas, alas!
O city of Thessaly, we are destroyed, we are gone; no longer do I have a family, no longer is it left in my house.
§1179ὦ σχέτλιος παθέων ἐγώ·
O wretched in my sufferings!
εἰς τίνα §1180δὴ φίλον αὐγὰς βάλλων τέρψομαι;
To whom shall I look and be glad?
§1181ὦ φίλιον στόμα καὶ γένυ καὶ χέρες,
O beloved mouth, and cheek, and hands!
Would that the divinity had slain you under Ilium by the banks of Simois!
Thus, old man, he would have died with honor, and your lot would have been more fortunate.
O wedding, O wedding, which has destroyed this house and my city!
αἰαῖ,
Alas!
§1188ἒ ἔ· ὦ παῖ,
Alas, my child!
§1189μήποτε σῶν λεχέων τὸ δυσώνυμον §1190ὤφελ’ ἐμὸν γένος εἰς τέκνα καὶ δόμον §1191ἀμφιβαλέσθαι §1192Ἑρμιόνας Ἀίδαν ἐπὶ σοί, τέκνον, §1193ἀλλὰ κεραυνῷ πρόσθεν ὀλέσθαι·
Would that the ill-omened union of your marriage had never cast its net over my family, for children and home, even the marriage of Hermione, bringing death upon you, my child, but that you had been destroyed by a thunderbolt beforehand!