§1Πέλοψ ὁ Ταντάλειος ἐς Πῖσαν μολὼν §2θοαῖσιν ἵπποις Οἰνομάου γαμεῖ κόρην, §3ἐξ ἧς Ἀτρεὺς ἔβλαστεν· Ἀτρέως δὲ παῖς §4Μενέλαος Ἀγαμέμνων τε· τοῦ δʼ ἔφυν ἐγώ §5τῆς Τυνδαρείας θυγατρὸς Ἰφιγένεια παῖς, §6ἣν ἀμφὶ δίναις ἃς θάμʼ Εὔριπος πυκναῖς §7αὔραις ἑλίσσων κυανέαν ἅλα στρέφει, §8ἔσφαξεν Ἑλένης οὕνεχʼ, ὡς δοκεῖ, πατὴρ §9Ἀρτέμιδι κλειναῖς ἐν πτυχαῖσιν Αὐλίδος.
Pelops, son of Tantalus, coming to Pisa with swift horses, married the daughter of Oenomaus, from whom Atreus was born; and Atreus' children were Menelaus and Agamemnon; and from the latter was I born, Iphigenia, child of the daughter of Tyndareus, whom, near the eddies which Euripus, twisting with frequent breezes, turns the dark-blue sea, my father sacrificed, as it seems, for Helen's sake, to Artemis in the famous folds of Aulis.
§10ἐνταῦθα γὰρ δὴ χιλίων ναῶν στόλον §11Ἑλληνικὸν συνήγαγʼ Ἀγαμέμνων ἄναξ, §12τὸν καλλίνικον στέφανον Ἰλίου θέλων §13λαβεῖν Ἀχαιοῖς τούς θʼ ὑβρισθέντας γάμους §14Ἑλένης μετελθεῖν, Μενέλεῳ χάριν φέρων.
For indeed there a Greek fleet of a thousand ships Agamemnon the king gathered together, wishing to win for the Achaeans the glorious crown of victory over Ilium and to avenge the outraged marriage of Helen, to bring favor to Menelaus.
§15δεινῆς δʼ ἀπλοίας πνευμάτων τε τυγχάνων, §16ἐς ἔμπυρʼ ἦλθε, καὶ λέγει Κάλχας τάδε· §17ὦ τῆσδʼ ἀνάσσων Ἑλλάδος στρατηγίας, §18Ἀγάμεμνον, οὐ μὴ ναῦς ἀφορμίσῃ χθονός, §19πρὶν ἂν κόρην σὴν Ἰφιγένειαν Ἄρτεμις §20λάβῃ σφαγεῖσαν· ὅ τι γὰρ ἐνιαυτὸς τέκοι §21κάλλιστον, ηὔξω φωσφόρῳ θύσειν θεᾷ. §22παῖδʼ οὖν ἐν οἴκοις σὴ Κλυταιμήστρα δάμαρ §23τίκτει — τὸ καλλιστεῖον εἰς ἔμʼ ἀναφέρων —
But meeting with a terrible lack of wind and storms, he turned to sacrifice, and Calchas spoke these words: "O ruler of this Greek expedition, Agamemnon, you shall not unmoor your ships from the land, until Artemis receives your daughter Iphigenia as a sacrifice; for whatever beautiful thing the year should bring forth, you vowed to sacrifice to the light-bearing goddess." Now your wife Clytemnestra bore a child in the house —referring the prize of beauty to me— whom you must sacrifice.
And by the wiles of Odysseus, they took me from my mother on the pretext of marriage to Achilles.
§26ἐλθοῦσα δʼ Αὐλίδʼ ἡ τάλαινʼ ὑπὲρ πυρᾶς §27μεταρσία ληφθεῖσʼ ἐκαινόμην ξίφει· §28ἀλλʼ ἐξέκλεψεν ἔλαφον ἀντιδοῦσά μου §29Ἄρτεμις Ἀχαιοῖς, διὰ δὲ λαμπρὸν αἰθέρα §30πέμψασά μʼ ἐς τήνδʼ ᾤκισεν Ταύρων χθόνα, §31οὗ γῆς ἀνάσσει βαρβάροισι βάρβαρος §32Θόας, ὃς ὠκὺν πόδα τιθεὶς ἴσον πτεροῖς §33ἐς τοὔνομʼ ἦλθε τόδε ποδωκείας χάριν.
Having come to Aulis, I, wretched one, lifted up above the pyre, was to be slain with the sword; but Artemis stole me away, giving a deer in exchange for me to the Achaeans, and sending me through the bright air, she settled me in this land of the Tauri, where a barbarian, Thoas, rules over barbarians, who, setting his swift foot equal to wings, came to this name because of his fleetness of foot.
§34ναοῖσι δʼ ἐν τοῖσδʼ ἱερέαν τίθησί με· §35ὅθεν νόμοισι τοῖσιν ἥδεται θεὰ §36Ἄρτεμις, ἑορτῆς, τοὔνομʼ ἧς καλὸν μόνον — §37τὰ δʼ ἄλλα σιγῶ, τὴν θεὸν φοβουμένη — §40κατάρχομαι μέν, σφάγια δʼ ἄλλοισιν μέλει §41ἄρρητʼ ἔσωθεν τῶνδʼ ἀνακτόρων θεᾶς.
And in these temples she established me as priestess; whence in these rituals which the goddess Artemis delights in, a festival whose name alone is beautiful— but as for the rest, I am silent, fearing the goddess— I begin the rite, but the sacrifice itself is the concern of others, unspoken rites inside these sanctuaries of the goddess.
But the new visions which the night has brought and shown, I will tell to the air, if indeed this is any remedy.
§44ἔδοξʼ ἐν ὕπνῳ τῆσδʼ ἀπαλλαχθεῖσα γῆς §45οἰκεῖν ἐν Ἄργει, παρθένοισι δʼ ἐν μέσαις §46εὕδειν, χθονὸς δὲ νῶτα σεισθῆναι σάλῳ, §47φεύγειν δὲ κἄξω στᾶσα θριγκὸν εἰσιδεῖν §48δόμων πίτνοντα, πᾶν δʼ ἐρείψιμον στέγος §49βεβλημένον πρὸς οὖδας ἐξ ἄκρων σταθμῶν.
I seemed in sleep, departed from this land, to dwell in Argos, and in the midst of maidens to sleep, but the surface of the earth was shaken by a surge, and I fled and, standing outside, saw the cornice of the palace falling, and the whole roof thrown down in ruins to the ground from the tops of the pillars.
§50μόνος λελεῖφθαι στῦλος εἷς ἔδοξέ μοι §51δόμων πατρῴων, ἐκ δʼ ἐπικράνων κόμας §52ξανθὰς καθεῖναι, φθέγμα δʼ ἀνθρώπου λαβεῖν, §53κἀγὼ τέχνην τήνδʼ ἣν ἔχω ξενοκτόνον §54τιμῶσʼ ὑδραίνειν αὐτὸν ὡς θανούμενον, §55κλαίουσα.
Only one single pillar seemed to me to be left of my ancestral home, and from its capital it let down golden hair, and took the voice of a human, and I, honoring this stranger-slaying art which I hold, was sprinkling him with water as one about to die, weeping.
τοὔναρ δʼ ὧδε συμβάλλω τόδε· §56τέθνηκʼ Ὀρέστης, οὗ κατηρξάμην ἐγώ.
And I interpret this dream thus: Orestes is dead, of whom I began the rite.
For the pillars of houses are the male children; and those whom my lustral waters sprinkle die.
§61νῦν οὖν ἀδελφῷ βούλομαι δοῦναι χοὰς §62παροῦσʼ ἀπόντι — ταῦτα γὰρ δυναίμεθʼ ἄν — §63σὺν προσπόλοισιν, ἃς ἔδωχʼ ἡμῖν ἄναξ §64Ἑλληνίδας γυναῖκας.
Now therefore I wish to offer libations to my brother being present here to him who is absent—for this we can do— together with the attendants whom the king gave to us, Greek women.
ἀλλʼ ἐξ αἰτίας §65οὔπω τίνος πάρεισιν;
But for what reason are they not yet here?
εἶμʼ ἔσω δόμων §66ἐν οἷσι ναίω τῶνδʼ ἀνακτόρων θεᾶς.
I will go inside the house, in which I dwell, within this sanctuary of the goddess.
§67ὅρα, φυλάσσου μή τις ἐν στίβῳ βροτῶν.
Look! Watch out lest someone of mortals is in the path!
§68ὁρῶ, σκοποῦμαι δʼ ὄμμα πανταχῆ στρέφων.
I see, and I look about, turning my eye everywhere.
Pylades, does it seem to you that this is the temple of the goddess where we set out our seafaring ship from Argos?
§71ἔμοιγʼ, Ὀρέστα· σοὶ δὲ συνδοκεῖν χρεών.
To me indeed, Orestes; and you must think so too.
§72καὶ βωμός, Ἕλλην οὗ καταστάζει φόνος;
And the altar, where Greek blood drips down?
§73ἐξ αἱμάτων γοῦν ξάνθʼ ἔχει τριχώματα.
At least from the blood it has golden-brown stains.
§74θριγκοῖς δʼ ὑπʼ αὐτοῖς σκῦλʼ ὁρᾷς ἠρτημένα;
And under the very cornices do you see spoils hung?
§75τῶν κατθανόντων γʼ ἀκροθίνια ξένων.
Yes, the first-fruits of the strangers who have died.
§76ἀλλʼ ἐγκυκλοῦντʼ ὀφθαλμὸν εὖ σκοπεῖν χρεών.
But we must keep good watch, turning our eyes all around.
§77ὦ Φοῖβε, ποῖ μʼ αὖ τήνδʼ ἐς ἄρκυν ἤγαγες §78χρήσας, ἐπειδὴ πατρὸς αἷμʼ ἐτεισάμην, §79μητέρα κατακτάς, διαδοχαῖς δʼ Ἐρινύων §80ἠλαυνόμεσθα φυγάδες ἔξεδροι χθονὸς §81δρόμους τε πολλοὺς ἐξέπλησα καμπίμους, §82ἐλθὼν δέ σʼ ἠρώτησα πῶς τροχηλάτου
O Phoebus, where have you led me again into this snare by your oracle, since I avenged my father's blood, having slain my mother, and by successive pursuits of the Furies we are driven as exiles, outcasts from our land, and I have completed many winding courses, and coming I asked you how from the wheeling...