Have I surely not descended once more back to Hades, running Eurystheus' double course?
εἰς Ἅιδου;
To Hades?
πόθεν;
From where?
But I see neither the Sisyphaean stone, nor Pluto, nor the sceptre of Demeter's daughter.
§1105ἔκ τοι πέπληγμαι· ποῦ ποτʼ ὢν ἀμηχανῶ;
Indeed I am struck with amazement; I am helpless, not knowing where in the world I am.
Ho, who of my friends is near or far, to heal this confusion of mine?
§1108σαφῶς γὰρ οὐδὲν οἶδα τῶν εἰωθότων.
For I know clearly nothing of my accustomed things.
§1109γέροντες, ἔλθω τῶν ἐμῶν κακῶν πέλας;
Elders, shall I go near to my evils?
§1110κἀγώ γε σὺν σοί, μὴ προδοὺς τὰς συμφοράς.
And I indeed with you, not betraying your misfortunes.
Father, why do you weep and cover your eyes, standing far away from your most beloved child?
§1113ὦ τέκνον· εἶ γὰρ καὶ κακῶς πράσσων ἐμός.
O child; for you are mine, even when faring ill.
§1114πράσσω δʼ ἐγὼ τί λυπρόν, οὗ δακρυρροεῖς;
And what sorrowful thing am I faring, that you are shedding tears?
§1115ἃ κἂν θεῶν τις, εἰ μάθοι, καταστένοι.
Such things as even one of the gods, if he should learn them, would lament.
§1116μέγας γʼ ὁ κόμπος, τὴν τύχην δʼ οὔπω λέγεις.
A great boast indeed, but you do not yet tell the fortune.
§1117ὁρᾷς γὰρ αὐτός, εἰ φρονῶν ἤδη κυρεῖς.
For you see it yourself, if you happen to be in your right mind now.
§1118εἴπʼ, εἴ τι καινὸν ὑπογράφῃ τὠμῷ βίῳ.
Tell me, if you outline any new thing in my life.
§1119εἰ μηκέθʼ Ἅιδου βάκχος εἶ, φράσαιμεν ἄν.
If you are no longer a Bacchant of Hades, we would tell you.
§1120παπαῖ, τόδʼ ὡς ὕποπτον ᾐνίξω πάλιν.
Alas, what a suspicious riddle you have hinted at again.
§1121καί σʼ εἰ βεβαίως εὖ φρονεῖς ἤδη σκοπῶ.
And I am looking to see if you are indeed steadily in your right mind now.
§1122οὐ γάρ τι βακχεύσας γε μέμνημαι φρένας.
For I do not remember having been in a bacchic frenzy in my mind at all.
§1123λύσω, γέροντες, δεσμὰ παιδός;
Elders, shall I loosen the bonds of my child?
ἢ τί δρῶ;
Or what shall I do?
§1124καὶ τόν γε δήσαντʼ εἴπʼ· ἀναινόμεσθα γάρ.
And tell me who bound me; for I feel ashamed of it.
§1125τοσοῦτον ἴσθι τῶν κακῶν· τὰ δʼ ἄλλʼ ἔα.
Know this much of your evils; let the other things be.
§1126ἀρκεῖ σιωπὴ γὰρ μαθεῖν ὃ βούλομαι;
For is silence enough for me to learn what I want?
§1127ὦ Ζεῦ, παρʼ Ἥρας ἆρʼ ὁρᾷς θρόνων τάδε;
O Zeus, do you look upon these things from Hera's throne?
§1128ἀλλʼ ἦ τι κεῖθεν πολέμιον πεπόνθαμεν;
But have we suffered some hostile thing from there?
§1129τὴν θεὸν ἐάσας τὰ σὰ περιστέλλου κακά.
Leave the goddess alone and attend to your own evils.
§1130ἀπωλόμεσθα· συμφορὰν λέξεις τινά.
We are undone; you will tell of some misfortune.
§1131ἰδού, θέασαι τάδε τέκνων πεσήματα.
Behold, look upon these fallen bodies of your children.
§1132οἴμοι·
Ah me!
τίνʼ ὄψιν τήνδε δέρκομαι τάλας;
What a sight is this I look upon, wretched that I am?
§1133ἀπόλεμον, ὦ παῖ, πόλεμον ἔσπευσας τέκνοις.
My child, you have waged an unholy war against your children.
§1134τί πόλεμον εἶπας;
Why did you say war?
τούσδε τίς διώλεσε;
Who destroyed these children?
§1135σὺ καὶ σὰ τόξα καὶ θεῶν ὃς αἴτιος.
You and your bow, and whichever of the gods is responsible.
§1136τί φῄς;
What do you say?
τί δράσας;
What did I do?
ὦ κάκʼ ἀγγέλλων πάτερ.
O father, bringer of evil tidings.
§1137μανείς· ἐρωτᾷς δʼ ἄθλιʼ ἑρμηνεύματα.
Being mad; and you ask for miserable explanations.
§1138ἦ καὶ δάμαρτός εἰμʼ ἐγὼ φονεὺς ἐμῆς;
Am I indeed the murderer of my own wife too?
§1139μιᾶς ἅπαντα χειρὸς ἔργα σῆς τάδε.
These are all the deeds of your own single hand.
§1140αἰαῖ·
Alas!
στεναγμῶν γάρ με περιβάλλει νέφος.
For a cloud of groaning wraps me round.
§1141τούτων ἕκατι σὰς καταστένω τύχας.
For these things' sake I lament your fortunes.
§1142ἦ γὰρ συνήραξʼ οἶκον ἢ βάκχευσʼ ἐμόν;
Did I indeed shatter my house or run riot in it?
§1143οὐκ οἶδα πλὴν ἕν· πάντα δυστυχεῖ τὰ σά.
I know nothing except one thing: all your affairs are unfortunate.
§1144ποῦ δʼ οἶστρος ἡμᾶς ἔλαβε;
And where did the madness seize me?
ποῦ διώλεσεν;
Where did it destroy me?
§1145ὅτʼ ἀμφὶ βωμὸν χεῖρας ἡγνίζου πυρί.
When you were purifying your hands with fire around the altar.
§1146οἴμοι·
Alas!
τί δῆτα φείδομαι ψυχῆς ἐμῆς §1147τῶν φιλτάτων μοι γενόμενος παίδων φονεύς;
Why then do I spare my own life, having become the murderer of my dearest children?
§1148κοὐκ εἶμι πέτρας λισσάδος πρὸς ἅλματα §1149ἢ φάσγανον πρὸς ἧπαρ ἐξακοντίσας §1150τέκνοις δικαστὴς αἵματος γενήσομαι;
And shall I not go to leap from some rugged rock, or having driven a sword through my liver, become the avenger of blood for my children?
Or by burning with fire this flesh of mine which went mad, shall I ward off the infamy of life that awaits me?
But as a hindrance to my deadly plans, here comes Theseus, my kinsman and friend.
I shall be seen, and the pollution of child-murder will come before the eyes of the dearest of my guests.
§1157οἴμοι, τί δράσω;
Alas, what shall I do?
ποῖ κακῶν ἐρημίαν §1158εὕρω, πτερωτὸς ἢ κατὰ χθονὸς μολών;
Where can I find a solitude from evils, by taking wing or going beneath the earth?
§1159φέρʼ ἄν τι κρατὶ περιβάλω σκότον.
Come, let me wrap some darkness around my head.
§1160αἰσχύνομαι γὰρ τοῖς δεδραμένοις κακοῖς· §1161καὶ τῶνδε προστρόπαιον αἷμα προσλαβὼν §1162οὐδὲν κακῶσαι τοὺς ἀναιτίους θέλω.
For I am ashamed of the evils that have been done; and by taking upon myself the blood-pollution of these children, I do not want to harm the innocent at all.
§1163ἥκω σὺν ἄλλοις, οἳ παρʼ Ἀσωποῦ ῥοὰς §1164μένουσιν, ἔνοπλοι γῆς Ἀθηναίων κόροι, §1165σῷ παιδί, πρέσβυ, σύμμαχον φέρων δόρυ.
I have come with others, who wait by the streams of Asopus, the armed youths of the land of the Athenians, old man, bringing allied spear to your child.
§1166κληδὼν γὰρ ἦλθεν εἰς Ἐρεχθειδῶν πόλιν §1167ὡς σκῆπτρα χώρας τῆσδʼ ἀναρπάσας Λύκος §1168ἐς πόλεμον ὑμῖν καὶ μάχην καθίσταται.
For a rumor came to the city of the Erechtheidae that Lycus, having seized the sceptre of this land, has entered into war and battle against you.
§1169τίνων δʼ ἀμοιβὰς ὧν ὑπῆρξεν Ἡρακλῆς §1170σῴσας με νέρθεν, ἦλθον, εἴ τι δεῖ, γέρον, §1171ἢ χειρὸς ὑμᾶς τῆς ἐμῆς ἢ συμμάχων.
And to pay return for what Heracles began by saving me from below, I have come, old man, if you have any need of my hand or of allies.
§1172ἔα·
Ah!
§1172aτί νεκρῶν τῶνδε πληθύει πέδον;
Why is the ground filled with these dead bodies?
Have I surely been left behind and arrived too late for new evils?
τίς τάδʼ ἔκτεινεν τέκνα;
Who killed these children?
§1175τίνος γεγῶσαν τήνδʼ ὁρῶ ξυνάορον;
Whose wife do I see this woman is?
For the children do not stand near as the work of the spear, but I find some other new evil.