§933δούλην ἀνέξῃ σοὶ λέχους κοινουμένην;
'Will you tolerate a slave woman sharing your bed?
§934μὰ τὴν ἄνασσαν, οὐκ ἂν ἔν γ’ ἐμοῖς δόμοις §935βλέπουσ’ ἂν αὐγὰς τἄμ’ ἐκαρποῦτ’ ἂν λέχη. §936κἀγὼ κλύουσα τούσδε Σειρήνων λόγους, §938ἐξηνεμώθην μωρίᾳ.
By the mistress Hera, never in my house, while seeing the light, would she have enjoyed the fruits of my bed.' And I, hearing these Siren-like words, was puffed up with folly.
τί γάρ μ’ ἐχρῆν §939πόσιν φυλάσσειν, ᾗ παρῆν ὅσων ἔδει;
For why did I need to watch my husband, I for whom everything necessary was present?
§940πολὺς μὲν ὄλβος· δωμάτων δ’ ἠνάσσομεν· §941παῖδας δ’ ἐγὼ μὲν γνησίους ἔτικτον ἄν, §942ἡ δ’ ἡμιδούλους τοῖς ἐμοῖς νοθαγενεῖς.
Our wealth was abundant, and we ruled the house, and I would have borne legitimate children, while she would have borne half-slave bastards to my children.
§943ἀλλ’ οὔποτ’ οὔποτ’—οὐ γὰρ εἰσάπαξ ἐρῶ— §944χρὴ τούς γε νοῦν ἔχοντας, οἷς ἔστιν γυνή, §945πρὸς τὴν ἐν οἴκοις ἄλοχον ἐσφοιτᾶν ἐᾶν §946γυναῖκας· αὗται γὰρ διδάσκαλοι κακῶν·
But never, never — for I will say it not just once — should men of sense, who have a wife, allow other women to visit the wife inside the house; for they are teachers of evil.
§947ἣ μέν τι κερδαίνουσα συμφθείρει λέχος, §948ἣ δ’ ἀμπλακοῦσα συννοσεῖν αὑτῇ θέλει, §949πολλαὶ δὲ μαργότητι κἀντεῦθεν δόμοι
One, for some gain, ruins the marriage together, another, having erred herself, wishes the wife to be sick with her, and many do so through wantonness.
§950νοσοῦσιν ἀνδρῶν.
From this, the houses of men become sick.
πρὸς τάδ’ εὖ φυλάσσετε §951κλῄθροισι καὶ μοχλοῖσι δωμάτων πύλας·
Against this, guard well the gates of your houses with bolts and bars.
For the visits of women from outside do nothing healthy, but rather many evil things. Chorus: You have let loose your tongue too much against your own kind.
§954ἄγαν ἐφῆκας γλῶσσαν εἰς τὸ σύμφυτον. §955συγγνωστὰ μέν νυν σοὶ τάδ’, ἀλλ’ ὅμως χρεὼν §956κοσμεῖν γυναῖκας τὰς γυναικείας νόσους.
These things are pardonable for you now, but nevertheless women ought to conceal women's weaknesses.
Orestes: It is a wise thing of him who taught mortals to hear the words from the opposing sides.
§959ἐγὼ γὰρ εἰδὼς τῶνδε σύγχυσιν δόμων §960ἔριν τε τὴν σὴν καὶ γυναικὸς Ἕκτορος, §961φυλακὰς ἔχων ἔμιμνον, εἴτ’ αὐτοῦ μενεῖς §962εἴτ’ ἐκφοβηθεῖσ’ αἰχμαλωτίδος φόνῳ §963γυναικὸς οἴκων τῶνδ’ ἀπηλλάχθαι θέλεις.
For I, knowing the confusion of this house and your strife with the wife of Hector, kept watch and waited, whether you would remain here or whether, terrified by the attempted murder of the captive woman, you wished to be rid of this house.
§964ἦλθον δὲ σὰς μὲν οὐ σέβων ἐπιστολάς, §965εἰ δ’ ἐνδιδοίης, ὥσπερ ἐνδίδως, λόγον, §966πέμψων σ’ ἀπ’ οἴκων τῶνδ’.
And I came, not respecting your messages, but if you should offer the opportunity for speech, as you indeed do, intending to send you from this house.
ἐμὴ γὰρ οὖσα πρὶν §967σὺν τῷδε ναίεις ἀνδρὶ σοῦ πατρὸς κάκῃ, §968ὃς πρὶν τὰ Τροίας εἰσβαλεῖν ὁρίσματα §969γυναῖκ’ ἐμοί σε δοὺς ὑπέσχεθ’ ὕστερον §970τῷ νῦν σ’ ἔχοντι, Τρῳάδ’ εἰ πέρσοι πόλιν.
For being mine before, you dwell with this man through your father's baseness, who, before entering the borders of Troy, promised to give you to me as my wife, but later promised you to the one who now possesses you, if he should sack the city of Troy.
§971ἐπεὶ δ’ Ἀχιλλέως δεῦρ’ ἐνόστησεν γόνος, §972σῷ μὲν συνέγνων πατρί, τὸν δ’ ἐλισσόμην §973γάμους ἀφεῖναι σούς, ἐμὰς λέγων τύχας §974καὶ τὸν παρόντα δαίμον’, ὡς φίλων μὲν ἂν §975γήμαιμ’ ἀπ’ ἀνδρῶν, ἔκτοθεν δ’ οὐ ῥᾳδίως, §976φεύγων ἀπ’ οἴκων ἃς ἐγὼ φεύγω φυγάς.
But when the offspring of Achilles returned here, I forgave your father indeed, but I entreated the son to release your marriage, speaking of my fortunes and my present fate, that I might marry from friends indeed, but not easily from outside, fleeing as an exile from my home as I do.
But he was insolent, reproaching me with my mother's murder and the blood-faced goddesses.
§979κἀγὼ ταπεινὸς ὢν τύχαις ταῖς οἴκοθεν §980ἤλγουν μὲν ἤλγουν, συμφοραῖς δ’ ἠνειχόμην, §981σῶν δὲ στερηθεὶς ᾠχόμην ἄκων γάμων.
And I, humbled by the fortunes at home, grieved indeed, grieved, but endured the misfortunes, and having been deprived of your marriage, I went away unwillingly.
§982νῦν οὖν, ἐπειδὴ περιπετεῖς ἔχεις τύχας §983καὶ ξυμφορὰν τήνδ’ εἰσπεσοῦσ’ ἀμηχανεῖς, §984ἄξω σ’ ἀπ’ οἴκων καὶ πατρὸς δώσω χερί.
Now therefore, since you have a sudden change of fortune and are helpless, having fallen into this distress, I will lead you from this house and give you to your father's hand.
For kinship is a powerful thing, and in times of trouble, there is nothing better than a close kinsman.
Hermione: My father indeed will have care of my marriage, and it is not mine to judge this.
§989ἀλλ’ ὡς τάχιστα τῶνδέ μ’ ἔκπεμψον δόμων, §990μὴ φθῇ με προσβὰς δῶμα καὶ μολὼν πόσις, §991ἢ πρέσβυς οἴκους μ’ ἐξερημοῦσαν μαθὼν §992Πηλεὺς μετέλθῃ πωλικοῖς διώγμασιν.
But send me out from this house as quickly as possible, lest my husband anticipate me by entering and arriving at the house, or the old man Peleus, learning that I am deserting the house, pursue me with horse-drawn pursuits.
§993θάρσει γέροντος χεῖρα·
Orestes: Have courage against the old man's hand.
τὸν δ’ Ἀχιλλέως §994μηδὲν φοβηθῇς παῖδ’, ὅσ’ εἰς ἔμ’ ὕβρισε.
And as for Achilles' son, fear nothing, for all the insults he worked against me.
§995τοία γὰρ αὐτῷ μηχανὴ πεπλεγμένη §996βρόχοις ἀκινήτοισιν ἕστηκεν φόνου §997πρὸς τῆσδε χειρός· ἣν πάρος μὲν οὐκ ἐρῶ, §998τελουμένων δὲ Δελφὶς εἴσεται πέτρα.
For such a plot has been woven against him, standing in unmovable snares of death by this hand; which I will not speak of before, but when it is fulfilled, the Delphic rock will know.
§999ὁ μητροφόντης δ’, ἢν δορυξένων ἐμῶν §1000μείνωσιν ὅρκοι Πυθικὴν ἀνὰ χθόνα, §1001δείξει γαμεῖν σφε μηδέν’ ὧν ἐχρῆν ἐμέ.
And the mother-slayer, if the oaths of my guest-friends remain firm throughout the Pythian land, will show that he should never have married her whom I ought to have married.
§1002πικρῶς δὲ πατρὸς φόνιον αἰτήσει δίκην §1003ἄνακτα Φοῖβον· οὐδέ νιν μετάστασις §1004γνώμης ὀνήσει θεῷ διδόντα νῦν δίκας,
And bitterly will he demand of Lord Phoebus justice for his father's murder; nor will a change of mind benefit him, though he now offers recompense to the god.
But both by the god's hand and by my slanders he will perish miserably; and he will know my enmity.
For the god turns the lot of enemies to ruin and does not allow them to think big.
§1009ὦ Φοῖβε πυργώσας τὸν ἐν Ἰλίῳ εὐτειχῆ πάγον §1010καὶ πόντιε κυανέαις ἵπποις διφρεύ- §1011ων ἅλιον πέλαγος, §1012τίνος οὕνεκ’ ἄτιμον ὀργᾶς
Chorus: O Phoebus, who built the well-walled hill in Ilium, and ocean god, who drive with dark-blue horses upon the salty sea, for what reason did you surrender to dishonorable anger...