§955ἔσπευδον αὐτὸ τοῦτο· μάρτυρες δέ μοι §956πύργων πυλωροὶ κἀπὸ τειχέων σκοποί, §957οἳ πολλάκις μʼ ἐφηῦρον ἐξ ἐπάλξεων §958πλεκταῖσιν ἐς γῆν σῶμα κλέπτουσαν τόδε.
I was striving for this very thing; and my witnesses are the gatekeepers of the towers and the lookouts from the walls, who often found me stealing this body of mine to the ground with woven ropes from the battlements.
§961πῶς οὖν ἔτʼ ἂν θνῄσκοιμʼ ἂν ἐνδίκως, πόσι, §962πρὸς σοῦ δικαίως, ἣν ὁ μὲν βίᾳ γαμεῖ, §963τὰ δʼ οἴκοθεν κεῖνʼ ἀντὶ νικητηρίων §964πικρῶς ἐδούλευσʼ;
How then, husband, could I still die justly, rightly at your hands, whom the one wedded by force, and as for those things from home, instead of prizes of victory, I served bitterly as a slave?
εἰ δὲ τῶν θεῶν κρατεῖν §965βούλῃ, τὸ χρῄζειν ἀμαθές ἐστί σου τόδε.
But if you wish to rule over the gods, this desire of yours is foolish.
§966βασίλειʼ, ἄμυνον σοῖς τέκνοισι καὶ πάτρᾳ §967πειθὼ διαφθείρουσα τῆσδʼ, ἐπεὶ λέγει §968καλῶς κακοῦργος οὖσα· δεινὸν οὖν τόδε.
Chorus: Queen, defend your children and your fatherland, by destroying this woman's persuasiveness, since she speaks well, though being a wrongdoer; and this is terrible.
Hecuba: First, I shall become an ally to the goddesses, and I shall show that this woman does not speak what is just.
§971ἐγὼ γὰρ Ἥραν παρθένον τε Παλλάδα §972οὐκ ἐς τοσοῦτον ἀμαθίας ἐλθεῖν δοκῶ, §973ὥσθʼ ἣ μὲν Ἄργος βαρβάροις ἀπημπόλα, §974Παλλὰς δʼ Ἀθήνας Φρυξὶ δουλεύειν ποτέ, §975εἰ παιδιαῖσι καὶ χλιδῇ μορφῆς πέρι §976ἦλθον πρὸς Ἴδην.
For I do not believe that Hera and the virgin Pallas came to such a degree of folly, so that the one would sell Argos to barbarians, and Pallas would ever make Athens slave to Phrygians, if for sport and luxury concerning beauty they went to Ida.
τοῦ γὰρ οὕνεκʼ ἂν θεὰ §977Ἥρα τοσοῦτον ἔσχʼ ἔρωτα καλλονῆς;
For for what reason would the goddess Hera have held so great a desire for beauty?
§978πότερον ἀμείνονʼ ὡς λάβῃ Διὸς πόσιν;
Was it to get a better husband than Zeus?
Or was Athena hunting for marriage with some one of the gods— she who requested virginity from her father, fleeing marriage beds?
μὴ ἀμαθεῖς ποίει θεὰς §982τὸ σὸν κακὸν κοσμοῦσα, μὴ οὐ πείσῃς σοφούς.
Do not make the goddesses foolish by decorating your own evil, lest you fail to persuade the wise.
And you said that Cypris—for this is a great laugh— came with my son to the house of Menelaus.
Could she not, remaining quiet in heaven, have brought you along with Amyclae itself to Ilium?
§987ἦν οὑμὸς υἱὸς κάλλος ἐκπρεπέστατος, §988ὁ σὸς δʼ ἰδών νιν νοῦς ἐποιήθη Κύπρις· §989τὰ μῶρα γὰρ πάντʼ ἐστὶν Ἀφροδίτη βροτοῖς, §990καὶ τοὔνομʼ ὀρθῶς ἀφροσύνης ἄρχει θεᾶς.
My son was pre-eminently beautiful, and your mind, when you saw him, became Cypris; for all foolish things are Aphrodite to mortals, and rightly the name of the goddess begins with foolishness (aphrosyne).
Whom when you saw in barbarian garments and shining with gold, you were driven mad in your heart.
§993ἐν μὲν γὰρ Ἄργει μίκρʼ ἔχουσʼ ἀνεστρέφου, §994Σπάρτης δʼ ἀπαλλαχθεῖσα τὴν Φρυγῶν πόλιν §995χρυσῷ ῥέουσαν ἤλπισας κατακλύσειν §996δαπάναισιν· οὐδʼ ἦν ἱκανά σοι τὰ Μενέλεω §997μέλαθρα ταῖς σαῖς ἐγκαθυβρίζειν τρυφαῖς.
For in Argos, having little, you moved about, but having rid yourself of Sparta, you hoped to submerge the city of the Phrygians, flowing with gold, in your lavish spending; nor were the halls of Menelaus sufficient for you to insult with your luxury.
Well then; for you say my son led you by force; who of the Spartans noticed?
Or what kind of cry did you raise—when the young Castor and his twin brother were still alive, not yet among the stars?
§1002ἐπεὶ δὲ Τροίαν ἦλθες Ἀργεῖοί τέ σου §1003κατʼ ἴχνος, ἦν δὲ δοριπετὴς ἀγωνία, §1004εἰ μὲν τὰ τοῦδε κρείσσονʼ ἀγγέλλοιτό σοι, §1005Μενέλαον ᾔνεις, παῖς ὅπως λυποῖτʼ ἐμὸς §1006ἔχων ἔρωτος ἀνταγωνιστὴν μέγαν· §1007εἰ δʼ εὐτυχοῖεν Τρῶες, οὐδὲν ἦν ὅδε.
But when you came to Troy, and the Argives were on your track, and there was a contest of spears, if his successes were reported to you, you would praise Menelaus, so that my son would be vexed, having a great rival in love; but if the Trojans were fortunate, this man was nothing.
Looking to fortune, you practiced this, so that you might follow it, and you did not wish to follow virtue.
And then you say that you stole your body letting it down from the towers, as if remaining unwillingly?
§1012ποῦ δῆτʼ ἐλήφθης ἢ βρόχους ἀρτωμένη §1013ἢ φάσγανον θήγουσʼ, ἃ γενναία γυνὴ §1014δράσειεν ἂν ποθοῦσα τὸν πάρος πόσιν;
Where indeed were you caught either fastening nooses or whetting a sword, which a noble woman would do, longing for her former husband?
§1015καίτοι σʼ ἐνουθέτουν γε πολλὰ πολλάκις· §1016Ὦ θύγατερ, ἔξελθʼ· οἱ δʼ ἐμοὶ παῖδες γάμους §1017ἄλλους γαμοῦσι, σὲ δʼ ἐπὶ ναῦς Ἀχαιϊκὰς §1018πέμψω συνεκκλέψασα· καὶ παῦσον μάχης §1019Ἕλληνας ἡμᾶς τε. ἀλλὰ σοὶ τόδʼ ἦν πικρόν.
And yet I advised you many times and often: "O daughter, go out; and my sons will marry other marriages, and I will send you to the Achaean ships, helping to steal you away; and stop the battle between the Greeks and us." But this was bitter to you.
§1020ἐν τοῖς Ἀλεξάνδρου γὰρ ὕβριζες δόμοις §1021καὶ προσκυνεῖσθαι βαρβάρων ὕπʼ ἤθελες· §1022μεγάλα γὰρ ἦν σοι. — κἀπὶ τοῖσδε σὸν δέμας §1023ἐξῆλθες ἀσκήσασα κἄβλεψας πόσει §1024τὸν αὐτὸν αἰθέρʼ, ὦ κατάπτυστον κάρα·
For you acted insolently in the house of Alexander, and wished to be prostrated before by barbarians; for these were great things to you.—And after this you came out, having adorned your body, and looked upon your husband under the same sky, O detestable head!
§1025ἣν χρῆν ταπεινὴν ἐν πέπλων ἐρειπίοις, §1026φρίκῃ τρέμουσαν, κρᾶτʼ ἀπεσκυθισμένην §1027ἐλθεῖν, τὸ σῶφρον τῆς ἀναιδείας πλέον §1028ἔχουσαν ἐπὶ τοῖς πρόσθεν ἡμαρτημένοις.
Whom it behooved to come humble in the ruins of robes, trembling with fear, with your head shaved close, having modesty more than shamelessness for your former wrongdoings.
§1029Μενέλαʼ, ἵνʼ εἰδῇς οἷ τελευτήσω λόγον, §1030στεφάνωσον Ἑλλάδʼ ἀξίως τήνδε κτανὼν §1031σαυτοῦ, νόμον δὲ τόνδε ταῖς ἄλλαισι θὲς §1032γυναιξί, θνῄσκειν ἥτις ἂν προδῷ πόσιν.
Menelaus, that you may know where I shall end my speech, crown Greece by killing this woman worthily of yourself, and establish this law for other women, that whoever betrays her husband shall die.