§1ὦ γῆς παλαιὸν ἄργος, Ἰνάχου ῥοαί, §2ὅθεν ποτʼ ἄρας ναυσὶ χιλίαις Ἄρη §3ἐς γῆν ἔπλευσε Τρῳάδʼ Ἀγαμέμνων ἄναξ.
O ancient Argos of the land, rivers of Inachus, from where once Agamemnon the king, raising a thousand ships, sailed with his army to the Trojan land.
§4κτείνας δὲ τὸν κρατοῦντʼ ἐν Ἰλιάδι χθονὶ §5Πρίαμον, ἑλών τε Δαρδάνου κλεινὴν πόλιν, §6ἀφίκετʼ ἐς τόδʼ Ἄργος, ὑψηλῶν δʼ ἐπὶ §7ναῶν ἔθηκε σκῦλα πλεῖστα βαρβάρων.
And having slain Priam who ruled in the land of Ilium, and having taken the famous city of Dardanus, he came back to this Argos, and upon the lofty temples he hung many spoils of the barbarians.
§8κἀκεῖ μὲν εὐτύχησεν· ἐν δὲ δώμασι §9θνῄσκει γυναικὸς πρὸς Κλυταιμήστρας δόλῳ §10καὶ τοῦ Θυέστου παιδὸς Αἰγίσθου χερί.
And there indeed he was fortunate; but in his home he died by the guile of his wife Clytemnestra and by the hand of Aegisthus, the son of Thyestes.
§11χὣ μὲν παλαιὰ σκῆπτρα Ταντάλου λιπὼν §12ὄλωλεν, Αἴγισθος δὲ βασιλεύει χθονός, §13ἄλοχον ἐκείνου Τυνδαρίδα κόρην ἔχων.
And so, leaving the ancient sceptre of Tantalus, he has perished, and Aegisthus rules the land, holding his wife, the daughter of Tyndareus, as his own.
§14οὓς δʼ ἐν δόμοισιν ἔλιφʼ ὅτʼ ἐς Τροίαν ἔπλει, §15ἄρσενά τʼ Ὀρέστην θῆλύ τʼ Ἠλέκτρας θάλος, §16τὸν μὲν πατρὸς γεραιὸς ἐκκλέπτει τροφεὺς §17μέλλοντʼ Ὀρέστην χερὸς ὑπʼ Αἰγίσθου θανεῖν §18Στροφίῳ τʼ ἔδωκε Φωκέων ἐς γῆν τρέφειν· §19ἣ δʼ ἐν δόμοις ἔμεινεν Ἠλέκτρα πατρός, §20ταύτην ἐπειδὴ θαλερὸς εἶχʼ ἥβης χρόνος, §21μνηστῆρες ᾔτουν Ἑλλάδος πρῶτοι χθονός.
But those whom he left in his halls when he sailed to Troy, the male Orestes and the female blossom Electra, the boy indeed the aged foster-father of his father stole away, when Orestes was about to die by the hand of Aegisthus, and gave him to Strophius in the land of the Phocians to bring up; but she, Electra, remained in her father's house, and when the blooming time of youth came upon her, the first suitors of the land of Greece sought her.
§22δείσας δὲ μή τῳ παῖδʼ ἀριστέων τέκοι §23Ἀγαμέμνονος ποινάτορʼ, εἶχεν ἐν δόμοις §24Αἴγισθος οὐδʼ ἥρμοζε νυμφίῳ τινί.
But Aegisthus, fearing lest she should bear to one of the nobles a son who would avenge Agamemnon, kept her in the house, nor did he betroth her to any bridegroom.
§25ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τοῦτʼ ἦν φόβου πολλοῦ πλέων, §26μή τῳ λαθραίως τέκνα γενναίῳ τέκοι, §27κτανεῖν σφε βουλεύσαντος, ὠμόφρων ὅμως §28μήτηρ νιν ἐξέσῳσεν Αἰγίσθου χερός.
But when even this was full of much fear, lest she should secretly bear children to some noble man, and although he planned to kill her, yet her fierce-minded mother saved her from Aegisthus' hand.
For she had a pretext in regard to her perished husband, but she feared that she might incur hatred for the murder of her children.
§31ἐκ τῶνδε δὴ τοιόνδʼ ἐμηχανήσατο §32Αἴγισθος· ὃς μὲν γῆς ἀπηλλάχθη φυγὰς §33Ἀγαμέμνονος παῖς, χρυσὸν εἶφʼ ὃς ἂν κτάνῃ, §34ἡμῖν δὲ δὴ δίδωσιν Ἠλέκτραν ἔχειν §35δάμαρτα, πατέρων μὲν Μυκηναίων ἄπο §36γεγῶσιν — οὐ δὴ τοῦτό γʼ ἐξελέγχομαι· §37λαμπροὶ γὰρ ἐς γένος γε, χρημάτων δὲ δὴ §38πένητες, ἔνθεν ηὑγένειʼ ἀπόλλυται — §39ὡς ἀσθενεῖ δοὺς ἀσθενῆ λάβοι φόβον.
For these reasons, Aegisthus devised such a plan: the son of Agamemnon, who was banished from this land, he offered gold to whoever should kill him; but to us he gives Electra to have as a wife, to one born from Mycenaean ancestors— indeed I am not exposed to shame in this; for we are illustrious in family, but in wealth we are poor, from which nobility of birth is lost— so that, giving her to a weak man, he might receive a weak fear.
§40εἰ γάρ νιν ἔσχεν ἀξίωμʼ ἔχων ἀνήρ, §41εὕδοντʼ ἂν ἐξήγειρε τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονος §42φόνον δίκη τʼ ἂν ἦλθεν Αἰγίσθῳ τότε.
For if a man of high standing had held her, he would have awakened the sleeping murder of Agamemnon, and justice would have come upon Aegisthus then.
This woman, this man here—Cypris is my witness— never disgraced in bed; she is still a virgin.
For I am ashamed to take the children of blessed men and outrage her, not being worthy myself.
§47στένω δὲ τὸν λόγοισι κηδεύοντʼ ἐμοὶ §48ἄθλιον Ὀρέστην, εἴ ποτʼ εἰς Ἄργος μολὼν §49γάμους ἀδελφῆς δυστυχεῖς ἐσόψεται.
And I lament for wretched Orestes, who is allied to me in words, if ever he should come to Argos and see the unhappy marriage of his sister.
§50ὅστις δέ μʼ εἶναί φησι μῶρον, εἰ λαβὼν §51νέαν ἐς οἴκους παρθένον μὴ θιγγάνω, §52γνώμης πονηροῖς κανόσιν ἀναμετρούμενος §53τὸ σῶφρον ἴστω καὐτὸς αὖ τοιοῦτος ὤν.
And whoever says that I am a fool, if having taken a young virgin into my house I do not touch her, measuring moderation by the evil standards of his own mind, let him know that he himself is such a one.
§54ὦ νὺξ μέλαινα, χρυσέων ἄστρων τροφέ, §55ἐν ᾗ τόδʼ ἄγγος τῷδʼ ἐφεδρεῦον κάρᾳ §56φέρουσα πηγὰς ποταμίας μετέρχομαι — §57οὐ δή τι χρείας ἐς τοσόνδʼ ἀφιγμένη, §58ἀλλʼ ὡς ὕβριν δείξωμεν Αἰγίσθου θεοῖς — §59γόους τʼ ἀφίημʼ αἰθέρʼ ἐς μέγαν πατρί.
O black night, nurse of the golden stars, in which carrying this vessel resting on my head I go to fetch river water— not indeed that I have come to such a state of necessity, but so that we may show Aegisthus' outrage to the gods— and I send forth wailings to the wide air for my father.
§60ἡ γὰρ πανώλης Τυνδαρίς, μήτηρ ἐμή, §61ἐξέβαλέ μʼ οἴκων, χάριτα τιθεμένη πόσει· §62τεκοῦσα δʼ ἄλλους παῖδας Αἰγίσθῳ πάρα §63πάρεργʼ Ὀρέστην κἀμὲ ποιεῖται δόμων —
For the destructive daughter of Tyndareus, my mother, cast me out of the house, showing favor to her husband; and having borne other children to Aegisthus, she treats Orestes and me as mere byproducts of the house.
§64τί γὰρ τάδʼ, ὦ δύστηνʼ, ἐμὴν μοχθεῖς χάριν §65πόνους ἔχουσα, πρόσθεν εὖ τεθραμμένη, §66καὶ ταῦτʼ ἐμοῦ λέγοντος οὐκ ἀφίστασαι;
Why indeed, unhappy one, do you labor for my sake, having such tasks, though formerly well brought up, and do not desist from this even when I speak?
I consider you a friend equal to the gods; for you have not insulted me in my misfortunes.
And it is a great fortune for mortals to find a physician for an evil calamity, as I find you.
§71δεῖ δή με κἀκέλευστον εἰς ὅσον σθένω §72μόχθου ʼπικουφίζουσαν, ὡς ῥᾷον φέρῃς, §73συνεκκομίζειν σοι πόνους.
Indeed I must, even unbidden as far as I have strength, lighten your labor so that you may bear it more easily, and share your tasks.
ἅλις δʼ ἔχεις §74τἄξωθεν ἔργα· τἀν δόμοις δʼ ἡμᾶς χρεὼν
You have enough of the tasks outside; but we must prepare the things inside the house.
For a laborer entering from outside, it is pleasant to find things well ordered within.
If it seems good to you, go; for indeed not far are the springs from this house.
ἐγὼ δʼ ἅμʼ ἡμέρᾳ §79βοῦς εἰς ἀρούρας ἐσβαλὼν σπερῶ γύας.
And I, at daybreak, driving the oxen to the fields, will sow the lands.
For no idle man, having the gods on his lips, could gather a livelihood without labor.