§259αὐτοῦ λιποῦσαι, φυλλάδος καταστροφῇ §260θεούς τε καὶ γῆν τήν τε πυρφόρον θεὰν §261Δήμητρα θέμεναι μάρτυρʼ ἡλίου τε φῶς, §262ὡς οὐδὲν ἡμῖν ἤρκεσαν λιταὶ θεῶν.
Leaving them here, by the laying down of leaves, making the gods, the earth, and the fire-bearing goddess Demeter, and the light of the sun as witnesses, that our prayers to the gods in no way availed us.
The one who was Pelops' son—and we, of the Pelopian land, possess the same ancestral blood as you.
§265τί δρᾷς;
What will you do?
προδώσεις ταῦτα κἀκβαλεῖς χθονὸς §266γραῦς οὐ τυχούσας οὐδὲν ὧν αὐτὰς ἐχρῆν;
Will you betray these women and cast them out of the land, old women who have obtained none of the things they ought to have?
§267μὴ δῆτʼ· ἔχει γὰρ καταφυγὴν θὴρ μὲν πέτραν, §268δοῦλος δὲ βωμοὺς θεῶν, πόλις δὲ πρὸς πόλιν §269ἔπτηξε χειμασθεῖσα· τῶν γὰρ ἐν βροτοῖς §270οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν διὰ τέλους εὐδαιμονοῦν.
Do not do so; for a beast indeed has the rock as a refuge, and a slave the altars of the gods, and a city when storm-tossed crouches before another city; for of things among mortals, there is nothing that is prosperous to the end.
§271βᾶθι, τάλαινʼ, ἱερῶν δαπέδων ἄπο Περσεφονείας, §272βᾶθι καὶ ἀντίασον γονάτων ἔπι χεῖρα βαλοῦσα, §273τέκνων τεθνεώτων κομίσαι δέμας, ὦ μελέα ʼγώ, §274οὓς ὑπὸ τείχεσι Καδμείοισιν ἀπώλεσα κούρους.
Go, wretched woman, away from the sacred floors of Persephone, go and supplicate her, casting your hand upon her knees, to recover the bodies of your dead children—O wretched me!— the young men whom I lost under the Cadmean walls.
§276πρός σε γενειάδος, ὦ φίλος, ὦ δοκιμώτατος Ἑλλάδι, §279ἄντομαι ἀμφιπίτνουσα τὸ σὸν γόνυ καὶ χέρα δειλαία· §280οἴκτισαι ἀμφὶ τέκνων μʼ ἱκέταν ἤ τινʼ ἀλάταν §281οἰκτρὸν ἰήλεμον οἰκτρὸν ἱεῖσαν.
I entreat you by your beard, O friend, O most renowned in Hellas, I beseech you, falling around your knee and your wretched hand; pity me for my children, a suppliant or some wretched wanderer, uttering a pitiful dirge.
§282μηδʼ ἀτάφους, τέκνον, ἐν χθονὶ Κάδμου χάρματα θηρῶν §283παῖδας ἐν ἁλικίᾳ τᾷ σᾷ κατίδῃς, ἱκετεύω.
And do not, child, look upon those boys who are unburied in Cadmus' land, the delight of beasts, who are of your own age, I entreat you.
§284βλέψον ἐμῶν βλεφάρων ἔπι δάκρυον, ἃ περὶ σοῖσι §285γούνασιν ὧδε πίτνω τέκνοις τάφον ἐξανύσασθαι.
Look upon the tear on my eyelids, who fall thus around your knees to accomplish a burial for my children.
Theseus: Mother, why do you weep, casting your fine garments over your eyes?
ἆρα δυστήνους γόους §288κλύουσα τῶνδε;
Is it because you have heard the wretched wailing of these women?
κἀμὲ γὰρ διῆλθέ τι.
For something has pierced me too.
Raise your white head, do not shed tears, sitting by the holy altars of Deo.
§291αἰαῖ.
Aethra: Alas!
§291bτὰ τούτων οὐχὶ σοὶ στενακτέον.
Theseus: It is not for you to lament their fortunes.
§292ὦ τλήμονες γυναῖκες.
Aethra: O wretched women!
§292bοὐ σὺ τῶνδʼ ἔφυς.
Theseus: You are not of their number.
§293εἴπω τι, τέκνον, σοί τε καὶ πόλει καλόν;
Aethra: May I say something, child, that is honorable both for you and for the city?
§294ὡς πολλά γʼ ἐστὶ κἀπὸ θηλειῶν σοφά.
Since many wise things come even from women.
§295ἀλλʼ εἰς ὄκνον μοι μῦθος ὃν κεύθω φέρει.
Theseus: But your speech, which you keep hidden, brings me to hesitation.
§296αἰσχρόν γʼ ἔλεξας, χρήστʼ ἔπη κρύπτειν φίλοις.
Aethra: Indeed, it is shameful to hide useful words from friends.
§297οὔτοι σιωπῶσʼ εἶτα μέμψομαί ποτε §298τὴν νῦν σιωπὴν ὡς ἐσιγήθη κακῶς, §299οὐδʼ ὡς ἀχρεῖον τὰς γυναῖκας εὖ λέγειν §300δείσασʼ ἀφήσω τῷ φόβῳ τοὐμὸν καλόν.
I will not indeed be silent now and then later blame my present silence, as having been kept badly, nor, fearing that it is useless for women to speak well, will I let go of my noble words through fear.
§301ἐγὼ δέ σʼ, ὦ παῖ, πρῶτα μὲν τὰ τῶν θεῶν §302σκοπεῖν κελεύω μὴ σφαλῇς ἀτιμάσας· §303τἄλλʼ εὖ φρονῶν γάρ, ἐν μόνῳ τούτῳ ʼσφάλης.
And I, O child, first of all bid you look to the things of the gods, lest you stumble by honoring them; for while you are wise in other things, in this alone you stumbled.
§304πρὸς τοῖσδε δʼ, εἰ μὲν μὴ ἀδικουμένοις ἐχρῆν §305τολμηρὸν εἶναι, κάρτʼ ἂν εἶχον ἡσύχως· §306νῦν δʼ ἴσθι σοί τε τοῦθʼ ὅσην τιμὴν φέρει, §307κἀμοὶ παραινεῖν οὐ φόβον φέρει, τέκνον, §308ἄνδρας βιαίους καὶ κατείργοντας νεκροὺς §309τάφου τε μοίρας καὶ κτερισμάτων λαχεῖν §310ἐς τήνδʼ ἀνάγκην σῇ καταστῆσαι χερί, §311νόμιμά τε πάσης συγχέοντας Ἑλλάδος §312παῦσαι· τὸ γάρ τοι συνέχον ἀνθρώπων πόλεις §313τοῦτʼ ἔσθʼ, ὅταν τις τοὺς νόμους σῴζῃ καλῶς.
In addition to this, if indeed it were not necessary to be daring for the wronged, I would remain very quiet; but now, know how much honor this brings to you, and to advise you brings no fear to me, child, to bring violent men, who bar the dead from receiving their share of tomb and funeral rites, under this necessity by your hand, and to stop those who confound the laws of all Hellas; for this is what holds the cities of men together, when anyone guards the laws well.
§314ἐρεῖ δὲ δή τις ὡς ἀνανδρίᾳ χερῶν, §315πόλει παρόν σοι στέφανον εὐκλείας λαβεῖν, §316δείσας ἀπέστης, καὶ συὸς μὲν ἀγρίου §317ἀγῶνος ἥψω φαῦλον ἀθλήσας πόνον, §318οὗ δʼ ἐς κράνος βλέψαντα καὶ λόγχης ἀκμὴν §319χρῆν ἐκπονῆσαι, δειλὸς ὢν ἐφηυρέθης.
And someone will surely say that through lack of courage, when it was possible for your city to win a crown of glory, you shrank back in fear, and while you grappled with a wild boar, enduring a trivial labor, where it was necessary to look upon the helmet and the spear-point and to labor hard, you were found to be a coward.
§320μὴ δῆτʼ ἐμός γʼ ὤν, ὦ τέκνον, δράσῃς τάδε.
Do not indeed do this, O my child, being mine.
Do you see how your country, when mocked by mockers, looks back at them with a fierce eye?
ἐν γὰρ τοῖς πόνοισιν αὔξεται· §324αἱ δʼ ἥσυχοι σκοτεινὰ πράσσουσαι πόλεις §325σκοτεινὰ καὶ βλέπουσιν εὐλαβούμεναι.
For she grows in her labors; while quiet cities, acting in the dark, also see darkly, being over-cautious.
Will you not go to help the dead and the wretched women, O child, who stand in need of you?
§328ὡς οὔτε ταρβῶ σὺν δίκῃ σʼ ὁρμώμενον, §329Κάδμου θʼ ὁρῶσα λαὸν εὖ πεπραγότα, §330ἔτʼ αὐτὸν ἄλλα βλήματʼ ἐν κύβοις βαλεῖν §331πέποιθʼ· ὁ γὰρ θεὸς πάντʼ ἀναστρέφει πάλιν.
Since I do not fear you setting forth with justice, and seeing Cadmus' people faring well, I am confident that they will yet cast other throws with the dice; for god turns everything upside down again.
Chorus: O dearest woman, you have spoken well both for him and for me; and this becomes a double joy.
§334ἐμοὶ λόγοι μέν, μῆτερ, οἱ λελεγμένοι §335ὀρθῶς ἔχουσʼ ἐς τόνδε, κἀπεφηνάμην §336γνώμην ὑφʼ οἵων ἐσφάλη βουλευμάτων· §337ὁρῶ δὲ κἀγὼ ταῦθʼ ἅπερ με νουθετεῖς, §338ὡς τοῖς ἐμοῖσιν οὐχὶ πρόσφορον τρόποις
Theseus: Mother, the words spoken by you are right in regard to this man, and I declared my opinion by what kind of counsels he was ruined; but I also see these things in which you admonish me, that it is not suitable for my character