(She is) sitting as a suppliant at the holy steps of Hestia's hearth, praying in vain to save her life.
§717καὶ τὸν θανόντα γʼ ἀνακαλεῖν μάτην πόσιν.
And calling in vain upon her dead husband.
§718ὃ δʼ οὐ πάρεστιν οὐδὲ μὴ μόλῃ ποτέ.
But he is not here, nor will he ever come.
§719οὔκ, εἴ γε μή τις θεῶν ἀναστήσειέ νιν.
No, unless some god should raise him up.
§720χώρει πρὸς αὐτὴν κἀκκόμιζε δωμάτων.
Go to her and bring her out of the house.
§721μέτοχος ἂν εἴην τοῦ φόνου δράσας τόδε.
I would be a partner in the murder if I did this.
Very well, since you have this scruple, we, who are outside of fears, will bring the children out with their mother.
δεῦρʼ ἕπεσθε, πρόσπολοι, §725ὡς ἂν σχολὴν λύσωμεν ἄσμενοι πόνων.
Follow here, servants, so that we may put an end to delay and gladly set to our tasks.
Go then, you are going where you must; and other things, perhaps, will be another's care.
προσδόκα δὲ δρῶν κακῶς §728κακόν τι πράξειν.
Expect, doing evil, to suffer some evil in return.
ὦ γέροντες, ἐς καλὸν §729στείχει, βρόχοισι δʼ ἀρκύων γενήσεται §730ξιφηφόροισι, τοὺς πέλας δοκῶν κτενεῖν §731ὁ παγκάκιστος.
O elders, in good time he goes; he will be caught in the nets of sword-bearing meshes, thinking to kill his neighbors, this utter villain.
εἶμι δʼ, ὡς ἴδω νεκρὸν §732πίπτοντʼ· ἔχει γὰρ ἡδονὰς θνῄσκων ἀνὴρ §733ἐχθρὸς τίνων τε τῶν δεδραμένων δίκην.
I will go to see him fall dead; for a dying enemy brings pleasure, paying the penalty for his deeds.
§735—μεταβολὰ κακῶν·
—A reversal of evils!
μέγας ὁ πρόσθʼ ἄναξ §736πάλιν ὑποστρέφει βίοτον ἐξ Ἅιδα.
The formerly great king turns back his life again from Hades.
§737ἰώ·
Oh!
§737aδίκα καὶ θεῶν παλίρρους πότμος.
Justice, and the backward-flowing fate of the gods!
—You have come at last to the time where you will pay the penalty by dying, having committed outrages against those better than you.
§742—χαρμοναὶ δακρύων ἔδοσαν ἐκβολάς· §744πάλιν ἔμολεν — §745ἃ πάρος οὔποτε διὰ φρενὸς ἤλπισʼ ἂν §746παθεῖν — γᾶς ἄναξ.
—Joy has brought forth a gush of tears; he has come back, what before one would never have expected to suffer in mind, the king of this land.
—But, O elders, let us also watch the things inside the house, to see if someone is acting as I wish.
§750ἰώ μοί μοι.
Oh, alas, alas!
—This song begins to be heard by me, welcome in the house; death is not far.
>He cries out, groaning the prelude of slaughter, the king.
§754ὦ πᾶσα Κάδμου γαῖʼ, ἀπόλλυμαι δόλῳ.
O all the land of Cadmus, I am destroyed by treachery!
—And indeed you were destroying others; paying the penalty in turn, endure it, giving satisfaction for your deeds.
§757—τίς ὁ θεοὺς ἀνομίᾳ χραίνων, θνητὸς ὤν, §757aἄφρονα λόγον §758οὐρανίων μακάρων κατέβαλʼ, ὡς ἄρʼ οὐ §759σθένουσιν θεοί;
—Who was it that, being mortal, stained the gods with lawlessness, and cast down a foolish word against the heavenly blessed ones, as if the gods have no power?
§760— γέροντες, οὐκέτʼ ἔστι δυσσεβὴς ἀνήρ.
—Elders, the impious man is no more.
§761— σιγᾷ μέλαθρα· πρὸς χοροὺς τραπώμεθα.
—The house is silent; let us turn to the dances.
§762— φίλοι γὰρ εὐτυχοῦσιν οὓς ἐγὼ θέλω.
—For the friends whom I wish are fortunate.
—Dances, dances and festivities are the care of Thebes in its sacred city.
For reversals of tears, reversals of fortune have brought forth new songs.
The new king is gone, and the older one rules, having left the Acherontian harbor.
The gods, the gods take care of the unjust and listen to the pious.
Gold and good fortune drive mortals out of their minds, drawing on unjust power.
§777Χρόνου γὰρ οὔτις τὸ πάλιν εἰσορᾶν ἔτλα· §778νόμον παρέμενος, ἀνομίᾳ χάριν διδοὺς §779ἔθραυσεν ὄλ- §780βου κελαινὸν ἅρμα.
For no one has had the courage to look at the backward-flow of Time; passing by law, and giving favor to lawlessness, he shattered the dark chariot of wealth.
§781Ἰσμήνʼ ὦ στεφαναφόρει,
O Ismenus, wear crowns!
And you, smooth streets of the seven-gated city, dance together!
§784Δίρκα θʼ ἁ καλλιρρέεθρος, §785σύν τʼ Ἀσωπιάδες κόραι, §786πατρὸς ὕδωρ βᾶτε λιποῦσαι συναοιδοί, §788Νύμφαι, τὸν Ἡρακλέους §789καλλίνικον ἀγῶνα.
And Dirce of the beautiful streams, and you, daughters of Asopus, leave your father's water and come as fellow-singers, O Nymphs, to the glorious victorious contest of Heracles.
§790Πυθίου δενδρῶτι πέτρα §791Μουσῶν θʼ Ἑλικωνιάδων §791aδώματʼ, ὤ, §792ἥξετʼ εὐγαθεῖ κελάδῳ §793ἐμὰν πόλιν, ἐμὰ τείχη, §794Σπαρτῶν ἵνα γένος ἔφανε §795χαλκασπίδων λόχος, ὃς γᾶν §796τέκνων τέκνοις μεταμείβει, §797Θήβαις ἱερὸν φῶς.
O wooded rock of Pythian Apollo, and homes of the Heliconian Muses, oh, you will come with joyful sound to my city, to my walls, where the race of the Sown Men appeared, a bronze-shielded band, which hands down this land from children to children, a sacred light for Thebes.
§798ὦ λέκτρων δύο συγγενεῖς §799εὐναί, θνατογενοῦς τε καὶ §800Διός, ὃς ἦλθεν ἐς εὐνὰν §801Νύμφας τᾶς Περσηίδος· ὡς §802πιστόν μοι τὸ παλαιὸν ἤ- §803δη λέχος, ὦ Ζεῦ, σὸν ἐπʼ οὐκ ἐλπίδι φάνθη, §805λαμπρὰν δʼ ἔδειξʼ ὁ χρόνος §806τὰν Ἡρακλέος ἀλκάν· §807γᾶς ὃς ἐξέβα θαλάμων §808Πλούτωνος δῶμα λιπὼν §808aνέρτερον.
O double-allied nuptial bed, both of a mortal-born husband and of Zeus, who came to the bed of the Perseid bride; how faithful to me that ancient bed, O Zeus, has been shown beyond my hope, and time has clearly shown the strength of Heracles; he who went out from the chambers of the earth, leaving the underworld home of Pluto.
§809κρείσσων μοι τύραννος ἔφυς §810ἢ δυσγένειʼ ἀνάκτων, §811ἃ νῦν ἐσορᾶν ἔφανε §812ξιφηφόρων ἐς ἀγώνων §813ἅμιλλαν, εἰ τὸ δίκαιον §814θεοῖς ἔτʼ ἀρέσκει.
You are a better ruler for me than the low-born kings, which now has clearly shown to our sight, in the contest of sword-bearing struggles, whether justice still pleases the gods.
§815— ἔα ἔα·
—Ah, ah!
§816ἆρʼ ἐς τὸν αὐτὸν πίτυλον ἥκομεν φόβου,
Have we come, O elders, to the same flutter of fear?
§817γέροντες, οἷον φάσμʼ ὑπὲρ δόμων ὁρῶ;
What a specter do I see above the house!
§818— φυγῇ φυγῇ
—Flee, flee!
§819νωθὲς πέδαιρε κῶλον, ἐκποδὼν ἔλα.
Lift your sluggish limbs and run away!
Have courage, seeing this daughter of Night, Lyssa, O elders, and me, Iris, the servant of the gods.
πόλει γὰρ οὐδὲν ἥκομεν βλάβος, §825ἑνὸς δʼ ἐπʼ ἀνδρὸς σῶμα συστρατεύομεν,
For we have come to bring no harm to the city, but we wage war against the body of one man alone.