either to the sea or to the forest of the mountains, so that dying I may be a care to those below.
§851τί ταῦτα μοχθεῖς;
Nurse: Why do you toil over these things?
συμφοραὶ θεήλατοι §852πᾶσιν βροτοῖσιν ἢ τότ’ ἦλθον ἢ τότε.
God-sent misfortunes come to all mortals either at one time or another.
Hermione: You left me, you left me, O father, on the shore, isolated and deserted, without a sea-oar.
—He will destroy, he will destroy me; no longer will I dwell in this bridal chamber.
§859τίνος ἀγαλμάτων ἱκέτις ὁρμαθῶ;
To whose statues shall I rush as a suppliant?
§860ἢ δούλα δούλας γόνασι προσπέσω;
Or shall I, a slave, fall at the knees of a slave?
§861Φθιάδος ἐκ γᾶς §862κυανόπτερος ὄρνις εἴθ’ εἴην, §863ἢ πευκᾶεν §864σκάφος, ἃ διὰ Κυανέας ἐπέρασεν ἀκτὰς §865πρωτόπλοος πλάτα.
From the land of Phthia would that I were a dark-winged bird, or a pine-wooded ship, which passed through the dark-blue shores, as the first-sailing oar.
§866ὦ παῖ, τὸ λίαν οὔτ’ ἐκεῖν’ ἐπῄνεσα, §867ὅτ’ εἰς γυναῖκα Τρῳάδ’ ἐξημάρτανες, §868οὔτ’ αὖ τὸ νῦν σου δεῖμ’ ὃ δειμαίνεις ἄγαν.
Nurse: O child, I did not praise that excess, when you sinned against the Trojan woman, nor again do I praise your present fear, which you fear too much.
Your husband will not reject your marriage in this way, persuaded by the worthless words of a barbarian woman.
§871οὐ γάρ τί σ’ αἰχμάλωτον ἐκ Τροίας ἔχει, §872ἀλλ’ ἀνδρὸς ἐσθλοῦ παῖδα σὺν πολλοῖς λαβὼν §873ἕδνοισι, πόλεώς τ’ οὐ μέσως εὐδαίμονος.
For he does not hold you as some captive from Troy, but having taken the child of a noble man with many dowries, from a city that is not moderately prosperous.
And your father, my child, will not leave you, as you fear, having betrayed you, to be cast out from this house.
§876ἀλλ’ εἴσιθ’ εἴσω μηδὲ φαντάζου δόμων §877πάροιθε τῶνδε, μή τιν’ αἰσχύνην λάβῃς, §878πρόσθεν μελάθρων τῶνδ’ ὁρωμένη, τέκνον.
But go inside, and do not show yourself in front of this house, lest you receive some shame, by being seen in front of these halls, my child.
Chorus: Indeed, look, some foreign stranger of different garb is journeying with hasty steps toward us.
Orestes: Foreign women, is this indeed the house of Achilles' son and the royal dwellings?
§883ἔγνως· ἀτὰρ δὴ τίς σὺ πυνθάνῃ τάδε;
Chorus: You have recognized it; but who are you that ask this?
§884Ἀγαμέμνονός τε καὶ Κλυταιμήστρας τόκος, §885ὄνομα δ’ Ὀρέστης· ἔρχομαι δὲ πρὸς Διὸς §886μαντεῖα Δωδωναῖ’.
Orestes: The offspring of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and my name is Orestes; and I am going to the oracle of Dodona.
ἐπεὶ δ’ ἀφικόμην §887Φθίαν, δοκεῖ μοι ξυγγενοῦς μαθεῖν πέρι §888γυναικός, εἰ ζῇ κεὐτυχοῦσα τυγχάνει §889ἡ Σπαρτιᾶτις Ἑρμιόνη· τηλουρὰ γὰρ §890ναίουσ’ ἀφ’ ἡμῶν πεδί’ ὅμως ἐστὶν φίλη.
But since I have arrived in Phthia, I resolved to inquire about my kinswoman, whether she lives and happens to be happy, the Spartan Hermione; for although she dwells in plains far from us, she is nevertheless dear.
§891ὦ ναυτίλοισι χείματος λιμὴν φανεὶς §892Ἀγαμέμνονος παῖ, πρός σε τῶνδε γουνάτων, §893οἴκτιρον ἡμᾶς ὧν ἐπισκοπεῖς τύχας, §894πράσσοντας οὐκ εὖ.
Hermione: O you who have appeared as a harbor from a storm to sailors, son of Agamemnon, by these knees of yours, pity us, whose fortunes you look upon, who fare not well.
στεμμάτων δ’ οὐχ ἥσσονας §895σοῖς προστίθημι γόνασιν ὠλένας ἐμάς.
And no less than suppliant garlands do I place my arms upon your knees.
§896ἔα·
Orestes: Ha!
§896aτί χρῆμα;
What is this?
μῶν ἐσφάλμεθ’ ἢ σαφῶς ὁρῶ §897δόμων ἄνασσαν τήνδε Μενέλεω κόρην;
Am I deceived, or do I clearly see the mistress of the house here, the daughter of Menelaus?
Hermione: The very one whom the daughter of Tyndareus, Helen, bore in her father's house to my father; doubt nothing.
§900ὦ Φοῖβ’ ἀκέστορ, πημάτων δοίης λύσιν.
Orestes: O healing Phoebus, may you grant a release from troubles.
§901τί χρῆμα;
What is this?
πρὸς θεῶν ἢ βροτῶν πάσχεις κακά;
Are you suffering evils from gods or from mortals?
Hermione: Partly from myself, partly from the husband who possesses me, and partly from some of the gods; but we are ruined in every way.
Orestes: What misfortune then could there be for a woman who has not yet borne children, except concerning her bed?
§906τοῦτ’ αὐτὸ καὶ νοσοῦμεν· εὖ μ’ ὑπηγάγου.
Hermione: This is the very thing we suffer from; you have led me well.
§907ἄλλην τιν’ εὐνὴν ἀντὶ σοῦ στέργει πόσις;
Orestes: Does your husband love some other bed instead of yours?
§908τὴν αἰχμάλωτον Ἕκτορος ξυνευνέτιν.
Hermione: The captive, the bed-partner of Hector.
§909κακόν γ’ ἔλεξας, ἄνδρα δίσσ’ ἔχειν λέχη.
Orestes: An evil thing indeed you speak of, for a man to have two beds.
§910τοιαῦτα ταῦτα.
Hermione: Such are these things.
κᾆτ’ ἔγωγ’ ἠμυνάμην.
And then I defended myself.
§911μῶν εἰς γυναῖκ’ ἔρραψας οἷα δὴ γυνή;
Orestes: Did you plot against the woman, as a woman would?
§912φόνον γ’ ἐκείνῃ καὶ τέκνῳ νοθαγενεῖ.
Hermione: Yes, murder indeed against her and her bastard child.
§913κἄκτεινας, ἤ τις συμφορά σ’ ἀφείλετο;
Orestes: And did you kill them, or did some misfortune snatch them from you?
§914γέρων γε Πηλεύς, τοὺς κακίονας σέβων.
Hermione: Old Peleus, at least, by honoring the baser sort.
§915σοὶ δ’ ἦν τις ὅστις τοῦδ’ ἐκοινώνει φόνου;
Orestes: But had you someone who shared in this murder with you?
§916πατήρ γ’ ἐπ’ αὐτὸ τοῦτ’ ἀπὸ Σπάρτης μολών.
Hermione: My father indeed, having come from Sparta for this very purpose.
§917κἄπειτα τοῦ γέροντος ἡσσήθη χερί;
And was he then defeated by the hand of the old man?
§918αἰδοῖ γε· καί μ’ ἔρημον οἴχεται λιπών.
Hermione: Through shame, at any rate; and he has gone, leaving me deserted.
§919συνῆκα· ταρβεῖς τοῖς δεδραμένοις πόσιν.
Orestes: I understand; you fear your husband because of what you did.
§920ἔγνως· ὀλεῖ γάρ μ’ ἐνδίκως.
Hermione: You have recognized it; for he will justly destroy me.
τί δεῖ λέγειν;
What need is there to speak?
§921ἀλλ’ ἄντομαί σε Δία καλοῦσ’ ὁμόγνιον, §922πέμψον με χώρας τῆσδ’ ὅποι προσωτάτω §923ἢ πρὸς πατρῷον μέλαθρον· ὡς δοκοῦσί γε §924δόμοι τ’ ἐλαύνειν φθέγμ’ ἔχοντες οἵδε με, §925μισεῖ τε γαῖα Φθιάς.
But I entreat you, calling upon Zeus the protector of kindred, send me as far away as possible from this land, or to my father's halls; for these dwellings seem to drive me away, having a voice, and the land of Phthia hates me.
εἰ δ’ ἥξει πάρος §926Φοίβου λιπὼν μαντεῖον εἰς δόμους πόσις, §927κτενεῖ μ’ ἐπ’ αἰσχίστοισιν· ἢ δουλεύσομεν §928νόθοισι λέκτροις ὧν ἐδέσποζον πρὸ τοῦ.
And if my husband should arrive before me, leaving the oracle of Phoebus for the house, he will kill me on the most shameful charges; or I shall be a slave to the bastard bed which I was mistress of before.
§929πῶς οὖν τάδ’, ὡς εἴποι τις, ἐξημάρτανες;
Orestes: How then did you make such a mistake, as someone might say?