§1Ἥκω νεκρῶν κευθμῶνα καὶ σκότου πύλας §2λιπών, ἵνʼ Ἅιδης χωρὶς ᾤκισται θεῶν, §3Πολύδωρος, Ἑκάβης παῖς γεγὼς τῆς Κισσέως
I have come, leaving the deep recess of the dead and the gates of darkness, where Hades dwells apart from the gods, I, Polydorus, born the son of Hecuba, the daughter of Cisseus, and of my father Priam.
§4Πριάμου τε πατρός, ὅς μʼ, ἐπεὶ Φρυγῶν πόλιν §5κίνδυνος ἔσχε δορὶ πεσεῖν Ἑλληνικῷ, §6δείσας ὑπεξέπεμψε Τρωικῆς χθονὸς §7Πολυμήστορος πρὸς δῶμα Θρῃκίου ξένου, §8ὃς τήνδʼ ἀρίστην Χερσονησίαν πλάκα §9σπείρει, φίλιππον λαὸν εὐθύνων δορί.
He, when the city of the Phrygians was in danger of falling by the Hellenic spear, fearing for me, sent me away secretly from the Trojan land to the house of Polymestor, his Thracian guest-friend, who tills this most fertile plain of the Chersonese, ruling a horse-loving people with his spear.
§10πολὺν δὲ σὺν ἐμοὶ χρυσὸν ἐκπέμπει λάθρᾳ §11πατήρ, ἵνʼ, εἴ ποτʼ Ἰλίου τείχη πέσοι, §12τοῖς ζῶσιν εἴη παισὶ μὴ σπάνις βίου.
And with me my father secretly sent much gold, so that, if ever the walls of Ilium should fall, his surviving children might not lack the means of life.
§13νεώτατος δʼ ἦ Πριαμιδῶν, ὃ καί με γῆς §14ὑπεξέπεμψεν· οὔτε γὰρ φέρειν ὅπλα §15οὔτʼ ἔγχος οἷός τʼ ἦ νέῳ βραχίονι.
I was the youngest of the sons of Priam, which is why he sent me out of the land; for I was not able to bear arms nor handle a spear with my young arm.
§16ἕως μὲν οὖν γῆς ὄρθʼ ἔκειθʼ ὁρίσματα §17πύργοι τʼ ἄθραυστοι Τρωικῆς ἦσαν χθονὸς §18Ἕκτωρ τʼ ἀδελφὸς οὑμὸς εὐτύχει δορί, §19καλῶς παρʼ ἀνδρὶ Θρῃκὶ πατρῴῳ ξένῳ §20τροφαῖσιν ὥς τις πτόρθος ηὐξόμην, τάλας·
So as long indeed as the boundaries of the land stood upright and the towers of the Trojan earth remained unbroken, and my brother Hector prospered with his spear, I was reared well under the care of my father's Thracian guest-friend, growing like some young sapling, wretched that I am!
§21ἐπεὶ δὲ Τροία θʼ Ἕκτορός τʼ ἀπόλλυται §22ψυχή, πατρῴα θʼ ἑστία κατεσκάφη, §23αὐτὸς δὲ βωμῷ πρὸς θεοδμήτῳ πίτνει §24σφαγεὶς Ἀχιλλέως παιδὸς ἐκ μιαιφόνου, §25κτείνει με χρυσοῦ τὸν ταλαίπωρον χάριν §26ξένος πατρῷος καὶ κτανὼν ἐς οἶδμʼ ἁλὸς §27μεθῆχʼ, ἵνʼ αὐτὸς χρυσὸν ἐν δόμοις ἔχῃ.
But when Troy and Hector's life perished, and my father's hearth was razed to the ground, and he himself fell at the god-built altar, slaughtered by the bloodthirsty son of Achilles, then my father's guest-friend killed me, wretched as I am, for the sake of the gold, and having killed me, he cast me into the surge of the sea, so that he himself might keep the gold in his house.
§28κεῖμαι δʼ ἐπʼ ἀκταῖς, ἄλλοτʼ ἐν πόντου σάλῳ, §29πολλοῖς διαύλοις κυμάτων φορούμενος, §30ἄκλαυτος ἄταφος·
And I lie now on the shores, now in the swelling of the deep, carried by the many ebbings and flowings of the waves, unwept, unburied.
νῦν δʼ ὑπὲρ μητρὸς φίλης §31Ἑκάβης ἀίσσω, σῶμʼ ἐρημώσας ἐμόν, §32τριταῖον ἤδη φέγγος αἰωρούμενος, §33ὅσονπερ ἐν γῇ τῇδε Χερσονησίᾳ
But now, above my dear mother Hecuba, I hover, having abandoned my body, floating now for three days, just as long as my wretched mother has been present from Troy.
§34μήτηρ ἐμὴ δύστηνος ἐκ Τροίας πάρα. §35πάντες δʼ Ἀχαιοὶ ναῦς ἔχοντες ἥσυχοι §36θάσσουσʼ ἐπʼ ἀκταῖς τῆσδε Θρῃκίας χθονός· §37ὁ Πηλέως γὰρ παῖς ὑπὲρ τύμβου φανεὶς §38κατέσχʼ Ἀχιλλεὺς πᾶν στράτευμʼ Ἑλληνικόν, §39πρὸς οἶκον εὐθύνοντας ἐναλίαν πλάτην·
And all the Achaeans, keeping their ships quiet, sit on the shores of this Thracian land; for Achilles, the son of Peleus, appearing above his tomb, held back the whole Hellenic army, as they were directing their sea-oars toward home.
And he demands my sister Polyxena to receive as a dear offering and a gift of honor for his tomb.
§42καὶ τεύξεται τοῦδʼ, οὐδʼ ἀδώρητος φίλων §43ἔσται πρὸς ἀνδρῶν· ἡ πεπρωμένη δʼ ἄγει §44θανεῖν ἀδελφὴν τῷδʼ ἐμὴν ἐν ἤματι.
And he will obtain this, nor will he be left without a gift by his friends; and fate leads my sister to die on this very day.
And our mother will see two corpses of her two children, mine and that of the wretched maiden.
For I shall appear, so that I, wretched one, may obtain a tomb, before the feet of a slave-woman in the surf.
For I have begged the powers below to obtain a tomb and fall into my mother's hands.
§51τοὐμὸν μὲν οὖν ὅσονπερ ἤθελον τυχεῖν §52ἔσται· γεραιᾷ δʼ ἐκποδὼν χωρήσομαι §53Ἑκάβῃ· περᾷ γὰρ ἥδʼ ὑπὸ σκηνῆς πόδα §54Ἀγαμέμνονος, φάντασμα δειμαίνουσʼ ἐμόν.
So as much as I wished to obtain will indeed be mine; but I shall withdraw out of the way of the aged Hecuba; for she steps her foot out from under Agamemnon's tent, fearing my phantom.
§54bφεῦ·
Alas!
Oh mother, who from a royal palace have seen the day of slavery, how wretchedly you fare, as much as you once fared well!
ἀντισηκώσας δέ σε §58φθείρει θεῶν τις τῆς πάροιθʼ εὐπραξίας.
Some god, balancing this, destroys you for your past prosperity.
§59ἄγετʼ, ὦ παῖδες, τὴν γραῦν πρὸ δόμων, §60ἄγετʼ ὀρθοῦσαι τὴν ὁμόδουλον, §61Τρῳάδες, ὑμῖν, πρόσθε δʼ ἄνασσαν·
Lead, oh children, the old woman before the house, lead and support your fellow slave, Trojan women, but once your queen.
Take, carry, escort, lift me up, grasping my aged hand.
And I, leaning on a curved staff of my hand, shall hasten, setting forward the slow-footed movement of my limbs.
§68ὦ στεροπὰ Διός, ὦ σκοτία νύξ,
Oh lightning of Zeus, oh dark night!
Why ever am I raised up in the night like this by terrors and phantoms?
ὦ πότνια Χθών, §71μελανοπτερύγων μῆτερ ὀνείρων,
Oh lady Earth, mother of black-winged dreams!
§72ἀποπέμπομαι ἔννυχον ὄψιν, §73ἣν περὶ παιδὸς ἐμοῦ τοῦ σῳζομένου κατὰ Θρῄκην §75ἀμφὶ Πολυξείνης τε φίλης θυγατρὸς διʼ ὀνείρων §76φοβερὰν ἐδάην.
I ward off the nightly vision, which concerning my son who is preserved in Thrace, and about Polyxena, my dear daughter, through dreams I learned as a fearful thing.
§77ὦ χθόνιοι θεοί, σώσατε παῖδʼ ἐμόν, §80ὃς μόνος οἴκων ἄγκυρʼ ἔτʼ ἐμῶν §81τὴν χιονώδη Θρῄκην κατέχει §82ξείνου πατρίου φυλακαῖσιν.
Oh gods of the underworld, save my son, who, the sole anchor of my house that remains, occupies snowy Thrace, under the protection of his father's guest-friend.
Something new will happen; some mournful song will come to mournful women.
Never has my heart thus unceasingly shuddered and feared.
Where indeed may I see the divine soul of Helenus or Cassandra, oh Trojan women, so that they might interpret my dreams for me?
For I saw a dappled hind by a wolf's bloody claw slaughtered, torn pitilessly from my knees.
§92καὶ τόδε δεῖμά μοι· ἦλθʼ ὑπὲρ ἄκρας
And this too is a terror to me: there appeared above the summit...