§840κἀγὼ στερηθεὶς σοῦ τελευτήσειν βίον.
And I, deprived of you, shall end my life.
§841πῶς οὖν θανούμεθʼ ὥστε καὶ δόξαν λαβεῖν;
How then shall we die so as to win glory?
§842τύμβου ʼπὶ νώτῳ σὲ κτανὼν ἐμὲ κτενῶ.
On the back of the tomb, having slain you, I will slay myself.
But first we will fight a great fight for your bed.
ὁ δὲ θέλων ἴτω πέλας·
Let him who wills draw near.
§845τὸ Τρωικὸν γὰρ οὐ καταισχυνῶ κλέος §846οὐδʼ Ἑλλάδʼ ἐλθὼν λήψομαι πολὺν ψόγον, §847ὅστις Θέτιν μὲν ἐστέρησʼ Ἀχιλλέως, §848Τελαμωνίου δʼ Αἴαντος εἰσεῖδον σφαγάς, §849τὸν Νηλέως τʼ ἄπαιδα·
For I will not disgrace my Trojan glory nor, returning to Greece, will I receive much blame, I who deprived Thetis of Achilles, and saw the slaughter of Telamonian Ajax, and Neleus' child made childless.
διὰ δὲ τὴν ἐμὴν §850οὐκ ἀξιώσω κατθανεῖν δάμαρτʼ ἐγώ;
And for my own wife shall I not deem it worthy to die?
§851μάλιστά γε·
Most certainly.
εἰ γάρ εἰσιν οἱ θεοὶ σοφοί, §852εὔψυχον ἄνδρα πολεμίων θανόνθʼ ὕπο §853κούφῃ καταμπίσχουσιν ἐν τύμβῳ χθονί, §854κακοὺς δʼ ἐφʼ ἕρμα στερεὸν ἐκβάλλουσι γῆς.
For if the gods are wise, a brave man slain by enemies they cover with light earth in a tomb, but cowards they cast out onto a hard mound of earth.
O gods, may the race of Tantalus at last be fortunate and change from evils!
§857οἲ ἐγὼ τάλαινα·
Alas, wretched me!
τῆς τύχης γὰρ ὧδʼ ἔχω.
For such is my fortune.
§858Μενέλαε, διαπεπράγμεθʼ·
Menelaus, we are ruined!
ἐκβαίνει δόμων §859ἡ θεσπιῳδὸς Θεονόη·
From the palace comes the prophetess Theonoe.
κτυπεῖ δόμος §860κλῄθρων λυθέντων.
The house resounds as the bolts are undone.
φεῦγʼ·
Flee!
ἀτὰρ τί φευκτέον;
Yet why must you flee?
For whether absent or present, she knows that you have arrived here.
ὦ δύστηνος, ὡς ἀπωλόμην.
O wretched one, how I am undone!
Saved from Troy and from a barbarian land, coming to barbarian lands you will fall again on swords.
§865ἡγοῦ σύ μοι φέρουσα λαμπτήρων σέλας §866θείου δε σεμνὸν θεσμὸν αἰθέρος μυχούς, §867ὡς πνεῦμα καθαρὸν οὐρανοῦ δεξώμεθα·
Lead the way for me, bearing the brightness of torches, and with the holy rite of sulfur [purify] the recesses of the air, so that we may receive the pure breath of heaven.
§868σὺ δʼ αὖ κέλευθον εἴ τις ἔβλαψεν ποδὶ §869στείβων ἀνοσίῳ, δὸς καθαρσίῳ φλογί, §870κροῦσον δὲ πεύκην, ἵνα διεξέλθω, πυρός.
And you, if anyone has defiled the path with unholy foot treading, purify it with cleansing flame, and shake the torch of fire, that I may pass through.
And when you have rendered my custom to the gods first, bring the hearth-fire into the house.
§873Ἑλένη, τί τἀμὰ — πῶς ἔχει — θεσπίσματα;
Helen, how stand my prophecies? How is it?
Your husband Menelaus is here, visibly present, deprived of his ships and of your phantom.
O wretched man, what troubles you have escaped to come here, and you do not know whether you will return home or remain here.
For there is strife and assembly among the gods about you will be held beside Zeus on this very day.
§880Ἥρα μέν, ἥ σοι δυσμενὴς πάροιθεν ἦν, §881νῦν ἐστιν εὔνους κἀς πάτραν σῷσαι θέλει §882ξὺν τῇδʼ, ἵνʼ Ἑλλὰς τοὺς Ἀλεξάνδρου γάμους, §883δώρημα Κύπριδος, ψευδονυμφεύτους μάθῃ·
Hera, who was hostile to you before, is now well-disposed and wishes to save you to your homeland, together with this woman, so that Greece may learn that Alexander's marriage, the gift of Cypris, was a false marriage.
§884Κύπρις δὲ νόστον σὸν διαφθεῖραι θέλει, §885ὡς μὴ ʼξελεγχθῇ μηδὲ πριαμένη φανῇ §886τὸ κάλλος, Ἑλένης οὕνεκʼ, ἀνονήτοις γάμοις.
But Cypris wishes to destroy your return, so that she may not be refuted nor appear to have bought her beauty, for Helen's sake, by useless marriages.
§887τέλος δʼ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, εἴθʼ, ἃ βούλεται Κύπρις, §888λέξασʼ ἀδελφῷ σʼ ἐνθάδʼ ὄντα διολέσω, §889εἴτʼ αὖ μεθʼ Ἥρας στᾶσα σὸν σώσω βίον, §890κρύψασʼ ὁμαίμονʼ, ὅς με προστάσσει τάδε §891εἰπεῖν, ὅταν γῆν τήνδε νοστήσας τύχῃς
The decision lies with me, whether, by telling my brother that you are here, as Cypris wishes, I shall destroy you, or, on the other hand, standing with Hera, I shall save your life, hiding it from my brother, who commands me to speak this, whenever you happen to return to this land.
Who will go to signify to my brother that this man is present, so that my position may be safe?
§894ὦ παρθένʼ, ἱκέτις ἀμφὶ σὸν πίτνω γόνυ §895καὶ προσκαθίζω θᾶκον οὐκ εὐδαίμονα §896ὑπέρ τʼ ἐμαυτῆς τοῦδέ θʼ, ὃν μόλις ποτὲ §897λαβοῦσʼ ἐπʼ ἀκμῆς εἰμι κατθανόντʼ ἰδεῖν·
O maiden, as a suppliant I fall at your knee and sit upon this unhappy seat on behalf of myself and of this man, whom having with difficulty at last recovered, I am on the verge of seeing dead.
§898μή μοι κατείπῃς σῷ κασιγνήτῳ πόσιν §899τόνδʼ εἰς ἐμὰς ἥκοντα φιλτάτας χέρας, §900σῷσον δέ, λίσσομαί σε· συγγόνῳ δὲ σῷ §901τὴν εὐσέβειαν μὴ προδῷς τὴν σήν ποτε, §902χάριτας πονηρὰς κἀδίκους ὠνουμένη.
Do not, I pray, tell your brother that my husband has come here into my dearest arms, but save him, I beseech you; and to your brother never betray your own piety, buying wicked and unjust favors.
For god hates violence, and commands all to acquire possessions, but not by plunder.
§906κοινὸς γάρ ἐστιν οὐρανὸς πᾶσιν βροτοῖς §907καὶ γαῖʼ, ἐν ᾗ χρὴ δώματʼ ἀναπληρουμένους §908τἀλλότρια μὴ σχεῖν μηδʼ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι βίᾳ.
For heaven is common to all mortals and earth, in which men, filling their houses, should not hold the property of others, nor take it away by force.
§909ἡμᾶς δὲ καιρίως μέν, ἀθλίως δʼ ἐμοί, §910Ἑρμῆς ἔδωκε πατρὶ σῷ σῴζειν πόσει §911τῷδʼ ὃς πάρεστι κἀπολάζυσθαι θέλει.
And me, in good season indeed, though miserably for me, Hermes gave to your father to keep safe for my husband, this man who is present and wishes to receive me back.
§912πῶς οὖν θανὼν ἂν ἀπολάβοι;
How then could he, if dead, receive me?
κεῖνος δὲ πῶς §913τὰ ζῶντα τοῖς θανοῦσιν ἀποδοίη ποτʼ ἄν;
And how could he, ever restore what is living to the dead?
§914ἤδη τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τοῦ πατρὸς σκόπει· §915πότερον ὁ δαίμων χὡ θανὼν τὰ τῶν πέλας §916βούλοιντʼ ἂν ἢ οὐ βούλοιντʼ ἂν ἀποδοῦναι πάλιν;
Now consider the matters of the god and of your father: would the divinity and the dead man wish to restore again the property of their neighbors, or would they not wish it?
§917δοκῶ μέν.
I think they would.
οὔκουν χρή σε συγγόνῳ πλέον §918νέμειν ματαίῳ μᾶλλον ἢ χρηστῷ πατρί.
Therefore you must not award more to your foolish brother than to your good father.