in number of feet, as the wise say, as if calling the entire people of Delphi to the feast.
And taking sacred tapestries from the treasuries, he hung them as shade, a wonder for men to look upon.
§1143πρῶτον μὲν ὀρόφῳ πτέρυγα περιβάλλει πέπλων, §1144ἀνάθημα Δίου παιδός, οὓς Ἡρακλέης §1145Ἀμαζόνων σκυλεύματʼ ἤνεγκεν θεῷ.
First, indeed, he draped the wing of robes over the roof, an offering of the son of Zeus, which Heracles brought to the god as spoils from the Amazons.
And in it were woven such designs in figures: Uranus gathering the stars in the circle of the ether.
§1148ἵππους μὲν ἤλαυνʼ ἐς τελευταίαν φλόγα §1149Ἥλιος, ἐφέλκων λαμπρὸν Ἑσπέρου φάος· §1150μελάμπεπλος δὲ Νὺξ ἀσείρωτον ζυγοῖς §1151ὄχημʼ ἔπαλλεν, ἄστρα δʼ ὡμάρτει θεᾷ· §1152Πλειὰς μὲν ᾔει μεσοπόρου διʼ αἰθέρος §1153ὅ τε ξιφήρης Ὠρίων, ὕπερθε δὲ §1154Ἄρκτος στρέφουσʼ οὐραῖα χρυσήρη πόλῳ· §1155κύκλος δὲ πανσέληνος ἠκόντιζʼ ἄνω §1156μηνὸς διχήρης, Ὑάδες τε, ναυτίλοις §1157σαφέστατον σημεῖον, ἥ τε φωσφόρος §1158Ἕως διώκουσʼ ἄστρα.
Helios indeed was driving his horses toward the final flame, drawing behind him the bright light of Hesperus; and black-robed Night was driving her two-horse chariot without trace-horses, and the stars accompanied the goddess; the Pleiad indeed was wending through the mid-way ether, and sword-bearing Orion, and above them the Bear turning her golden tail around the pole; and the circle of the full moon was darting upward, dividing the month, and the Hyades, for sailors the clearest sign, and light-bringing Dawn chasing the stars.
τοίχοισιν δʼ ἔπι §1159ἤμπισχεν ἄλλα βαρβάρων ὑφάσματα· §1160εὐηρέτμους ναῦς ἀντίας Ἑλληνίσιν, §1161καὶ μιξόθηρας φῶτας, ἱππείας τʼ ἄγρας §1162ἐλάφων, λεόντων τʼ ἀγρίων θηράματα.
And upon the walls he hung other tapestries of barbarian weave: well-rowed ships facing Greek ships, and half-beast men, and mounted hunts of deer, and huntings of wild lions.
§1163κατʼ εἰσόδους δὲ Κέκροπα θυγατέρων πέλας §1164σπείραισιν εἱλίσσοντʼ, Ἀθηναίων τινὸς §1165ἀνάθημα· χρυσέους τʼ ἐν μέσῳ συσσιτίῳ §1166κρατῆρας ἔστησʼ.
And at the entrance was Cecrops near his daughters, coiling in writhing folds, an offering of some Athenian; and in the midst of the banquet he set golden mixing-bowls.
And going on tiptoe, a herald proclaimed that whoever of the locals wished should come to the feast.
And when the shelter was filled, adorned with wreaths, with abundant food they filled their soul.
ὡς δʼ ἀνεῖσαν ἡδονήν, §1171παρελθὼν πρέσβυς ἐς μέσον πέδον §1172ἔστη, γέλων δʼ ἔθηκε συνδείπνοις πολύν, §1173πρόθυμα πράσσων· ἔκ τε γὰρ κρωσσῶν ὕδωρ §1174χεροῖν ἔπεμπε νίπτρα, κἀξεθυμία §1175σμύρνης ἱδρῶτα, χρυσέων τʼ ἐκπωμάτων §1176ἦρχʼ, αὐτὸς αὑτῷ τόνδε προστάξας πόνον.
And when they let go to pleasure, the old man, coming forward into the midst of the space, stood, and caused much laughter among the guests, acting with zeal; for from pitchers he poured water onto their hands for washing, and burned the sweat of myrrh, and of the golden cups he took charge, having assigned this labor to himself.
§1177ἐπεὶ δʼ ἐς αὐλοὺς ἧκον ἐς κρατῆρά τε §1178κοινόν, γέρων ἔλεξʼ· Ἀφαρπάζειν χρεὼν §1179οἰνηρὰ τεύχη σμικρά, μεγάλα δʼ ἐσφέρειν, §1180ὡς θᾶσσον ἔλθωσʼ οἵδʼ ἐς ἡδονὰς φρενῶν. §1181ἦν δὴ φερόντων μόχθος ἀργυρηλάτους §1182χρυσέας τε φιάλας· ὃ δὲ λαβὼν ἐξαίρετον, §1183ὡς τῷ νέῳ δὴ δεσπότῃ χάριν φέρων, §1184ἔδωκε πλῆρες τεῦχος, εἰς οἶνον βαλὼν §1185ὅ φασι δοῦναι φάρμακον δραστήριον §1186δέσποιναν, ὡς παῖς ὁ νέος ἐκλίποι φάος· §1187κοὐδεὶς τάδʼ ᾔδειν.
And when they came to the flutes and the shared mixing-bowl, the old man said: "We must snatch away the small wine-cups, and bring in large ones, so that these men may come more quickly to the pleasures of their mind." Then indeed there was the labor of those carrying silver-beaten and golden bowls; and he, taking a choice one, as if indeed showing favor to his new master, gave the filled vessel, having cast into the wine the potent drug which they say his mistress gave him, so that the new child might leave the light; and no one knew this.
ἐν χεροῖν ἔχοντι δὲ §1188σπονδὰς μετʼ ἄλλων παιδὶ τῷ πεφηνότι §1189βλασφημίαν τις οἰκετῶν ἐφθέγξατο· §1190ὁ δʼ, ὡς ἐν ἱερῷ μάντεσίν τʼ ἐσθλοῖς τραφείς, §1191οἰωνὸν ἔθετο, κἀκέλευσʼ ἄλλον νέον §1192κρατῆρα πληροῦν· τὰς δὲ πρὶν σπονδὰς θεοῦ §1193δίδωσι γαίᾳ, πᾶσί τʼ ἐκσπένδειν λέγει.
But as he held in his hands the libation with the others, the newly revealed child, one of the servants uttered an ill-omened word; and he, as one reared in a temple and among good seers, took it as an omen, and ordered another new mixing-bowl to be filled; and the former libation to the god he poured on the ground, and told everyone to pour out theirs.
§1194σιγὴ δʼ ὑπῆλθεν.
And silence crept in.
ἐκ δʼ ἐπίμπλαμεν δρόσου §1195κρατῆρας ἱεροὺς Βυβλίνου τε πώματος.
We filled the sacred mixing-bowls with water and the Byblian drink.
§1196κἀν τῷδε μόχθῳ πτηνὸς ἐσπίπτει δόμοις §1197κῶμος πελειῶν — Λοξίου γὰρ ἐν δόμοις §1198ἄτρεστα ναίουσʼ — ὡς δʼ ἀπέσπεισαν μέθυ, §1199ἐς αὐτὸ χείλη πώματος κεχρημέναι §1200καθῆκαν, εἷλκον δʼ εὐπτέρους ἐς αὐχένας.
And during this labor, there flew into the tents a flock of doves—for in the house of Loxias they dwell without fear—and when they had poured out the wine, the doves, needing drink, dipped their beaks into it, and drew it up into their feathered necks.
§1201καὶ ταῖς μὲν ἄλλαις ἄνοσος ἦν λοιβὴ θεοῦ· §1202ἣ δʼ ἕζετʼ ἔνθʼ ὁ καινὸς ἔσπεισεν γόνος, §1203ποτοῦ τʼ ἐγεύσατʼ, εὐθὺς εὔπτερον δέμας §1204ἔσεισε κἀβάκχευσεν, ἐκ δʼ ἔκλαγξʼ ὄπα §1205ἀξύνετον αἰάζουσʼ· ἐθάμβησεν δὲ πᾶς §1206θοινατόρων ὅμιλος ὄρνιθος πόνους.
And for the other doves, the libation of the god was harmless; but she who sat where the new offspring had poured his, and tasted the drink, immediately shook her feathered body and was thrown into a frenzy, and shrieked with a voice unintelligible, lamenting; and the whole crowd of banqueters was amazed at the bird's struggles.
And she died, gasping, letting fall her red-legged claws.
γυμνὰ δʼ ἐκ πέπλων μέλη §1209ὑπὲρ τραπέζης ἧχʼ ὁ μαντευτὸς γόνος, §1210βοᾷ δέ· Τίς μʼ ἔμελλεν ἀνθρώπων κτενεῖν;
And the child of the oracle, with limbs bare of his robes, leaped over the table, and cried: "Who of mortals was about to kill me?
§1211σήμαινε, πρέσβυ·
Reveal it, old man!
σὴ γὰρ ἡ προθυμία, §1212καὶ πῶμα χειρὸς σῆς ἐδεξάμην πάρα. §1213εὐθὺς δʼ ἐρευνᾷ γραῖαν ὠλένην λαβών, §1214ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ πρέσβυν ὡς ἔχονθʼ ἕλοι.
For yours was the zeal, and I received the drink from your hand." And immediately he seized the old arm to search him, so that he might catch the old man red-handed with the poison.
And he was found out, and being forced, with difficulty confessed the daring plot of Creusa and the artifice of the drink.
§1217θεῖ δʼ εὐθὺς ἔξω συλλαβὼν θοινάτορας §1218ὁ πυθόχρηστος Λοξίου νεανίας, §1219κἀν κοιράνοισι Πυθικοῖς σταθεὶς λέγει· §1220Ὦ Γαῖα σεμνή, τῆς Ἐρεχθέως ὕπο, §1221ξένης γυναικός, φαρμάκοισι θνῄσκομεν. §1222Δελφῶν δʼ ἄνακτες ὥρισαν πετρορριφῆ §1223θανεῖν ἐμὴν δέσποιναν οὐ ψήφῳ μιᾷ,
And immediately he ran outside, having taken the banqueters with him, the youth, oracle-given of Loxias, and standing before the Pythian rulers, he said: "O revered Earth, by the hand of Erechtheus' daughter, that foreign woman, I am being killed with poison!" And the rulers of Delphi decreed that my mistress should die by being thrown from a cliff, by no single vote,