§1493ὦ Πολύνεικες, ἔφυς ἄρʼ ἐπώνυμος· ὤμοι μοι, Θῆβαι·
O Polynices, you were indeed born true to your name; alas for me, Thebes!
§1495σὰ δʼ ἔρις — οὐκ ἔρις, ἀλλὰ φόνῳ φόνος — §1496Οἰδιπόδα δόμον ὤλεσε κρανθεῖσʼ §1497αἵματι δεινῷ, αἵματι λυγρῷ.
And your strife—no, not strife, but slaughter by slaughter— having been fulfilled with dreadful blood, with grievous blood, has destroyed the house of Oedipus.
§1498τίνα προσῳδὸν §1499ἢ τίνα μουσοπόλον στοναχὰν ἐπὶ §1500δάκρυσι δάκρυσιν, ὦ δόμος, ὦ δόμος, §1501ἀγκαλέσωμαι, §1502τρισσὰ φέρουσα τάδʼ αἵματα σύγγονα, §1503ματέρα καὶ τέκνα, χάρματʼ Ἐρινύος;
What strain, or what Muse-inspired lamentation upon tears and tears, O house, O house, shall I invoke, bearing these three kindred bloods, mother and children, the delights of the Erinys?
§1504ἃ δόμον Οἰδιπόδα πρόπαν ὤλεσε, §1505τᾶς ἀγρίας ὅτε §1506δυσξυνέτου ξυνετὸν μέλος ἔγνω §1507Σφιγγὸς ἀοιδοῦ σῶμα φονεύσας.
Which completely destroyed the house of Oedipus, ever since he solved the song of the wild, hard-to-understand singer, the Sphinx, and slew her body.
§1508ἰώ μοί μοι, πάτερ, §1509τίς Ἑλλὰς ἢ βάρβαρος ἢ §1510τῶν προπάροιθʼ εὐγενετᾶν §1511ἕτερος ἔτλα κακῶν τοσῶνδʼ §1512αἵματος ἁμερίου §1513τοιάδʼ ἄχεα φανερά;
Alas for me, father, what Greek or barbarian, or any other of the noble-born of former times, has endured such evils, of a single day's blood, such manifest sufferings?
§1514τάλαινʼ, ὡς ἐλελίζει —
Wretched me, how my heart trembles!
§1515τίς ἄρʼ ὄρνις, ἢ δρυὸς ἢ §1516ἐλάτας ἀκροκόμοις ἀμφὶ κλάδοις ἑζομένα, §1517μονομάτορσιν ὀδυρμοῖς §1518ἐμοῖς ἄχεσι συνῳδός;
What bird indeed, sitting on the leafy branches of an oak or a pine, will accompany my griefs with its lonely wails?
§1519αἴλινον αἰάγμασιν ἃ §1520τοῖσδε προκλαίω μονάδʼ αἰ- §1521ῶνα διάξουσα τὸν αἰεὶ χρόνον ἐν §1522λειβομένοισιν δάκρυσιν.
I, who wail a song of mourning with these laments, am destined to drag out a lonely life for all time in pouring tears.
Upon whom first shall I cast the first offerings of torn hair from my head?
§1526ματρὸς ἐμᾶς ἢ διδύμοι- §1527σι γάλακτος παρὰ μαστοῖς §1528ἢ πρὸς ἀδελ- §1529φῶν οὐλόμενʼ αἰκίσματα νεκρῶν;
Near my mother's breasts that gave double milk, or toward the ruined mutilations of my dead brothers?
§1530ὀτοτοτοῖ λεῖπε σοὺς
Woe, woe!
§1531δόμους, ἀλαὸν ὄμμα φέρων, §1532πάτερ γεραιέ, δεῖξον, §1533Οἰδιπόδα, σὸν αἰῶνα μέλεον, ὃς ἐπὶ §1534δώμασιν ἀέριον σκότον ὄμμασι §1535σοῖσι βαλὼν ἕλκεις μακρόπνουν ζόαν.
Leave your house, bringing your blind eye, aged father, Oedipus; show your wretched life, you who having cast misty darkness over your eyes within the palace, drag out a long-drawn existence.
Do you hear, you who wander through the courtyard with aged foot, or lie wretchedly upon your bed?
§1539τί μʼ, ὦ παρθένε, βακτρεύμασι τυφλοῦ §1540ποδὸς ἐξάγαγες ἐς φῶς §1541λεχήρη σκοτίων ἐκ θαλάμων οἰκ- §1542τροτάτοισιν δακρύοισιν, §1543πολιὸν αἰθέρος ἀφανὲς εἴδωλον ἢ §1544νέκυν ἔνερθεν ἢ §1545πτανὸν ὄνειρον;
Oedipus: Why, O maiden, with the support for my blind foot did you lead me out into the light, from my dark bed-chamber, with most pitiful tears— me, a grey, unseen phantom of the air, or a corpse from below, or a fleeting dream?
§1546δυστυχὲς ἀγγελίας ἔπος οἴσῃ, §1547πάτερ, οὐκέτι σοι τέκνα λεύσσει §1548φάος οὐδʼ ἄλοχος, παραβάκτροις §1549ἃ πόδα σὸν τυφλόπουν θεραπεύμασιν αἰὲν ἐμόχθει,
Antigone: Father, you will bear a wretched word of tidings: no longer do your children behold the light, nor your wife, who always labored in caring for your blind foot as a supporting staff.
§1550ὦ πάτερ, ὤμοι.
O father, alas.
§1551ὤμοι ἐμῶν παθέων·
Oedipus: Alas for my sufferings!
πάρα γὰρ στενάχειν τάδʼ, ἀυτεῖν.
For it is indeed permitted to groan and cry out at these.
§1553τρισσαὶ ψυχαί·
Three souls!
ποίᾳ μοίρᾳ §1554πῶς ἔλιπον φάος;
By what fate, how did they leave the light?
ὦ τέκνον, αὔδα.
Tell me, my child.
§1555οὐκ ἐπʼ ὀνείδεσιν οὐδʼ ἐπιχάρμασιν, §1556ἀλλʼ ὀδύναισι λέγω· σὸς ἀλάστωρ §1557ξίφεσιν βρίθων §1558καὶ πυρὶ καὶ σχετλίαισι μάχαις ἐπὶ παῖδας ἔβα σούς, §1559ὦ πάτερ, ὤ μοι.
Antigone: Not to reproach you nor to exult, but with pains I speak: your avenging spirit, heavy with swords, and fire and cruel battles, fell upon your children, O father, alas.
§1560αἰαῖ.
Oedipus: Alas!
§1561bδιʼ ὀδύνας ἔβας·
Antigone: You have entered into pain.
§1562εἰ δὲ τέθριππά γʼ ἔθʼ ἅρματα λεύσσων §1563ἀελίου τάδε σώματα νεκρῶν §1564ὄμματος αὐγαῖς σαῖς ἐπενώμας — §1565τῶν μὲν ἐμῶν τεκέων φανερὸν κακόν· §1566ἁ δὲ τάλαινʼ ἄλοχος τίνι μοι, τέκνον, ὤλετο μοίρᾳ;
And if indeed, still beholding the four-horse chariot of the sun, you were directing your eyes' rays upon these bodies of the dead— Oedipus: The evil of my children is clear; but my wretched wife, by what fate, my child, did she perish?
§1567δάκρυα γοερὰ §1567aφανερὰ πᾶσι τιθεμένα, §1568τέκεσι μαστὸν ἔφερεν ἔφερεν §1569ἱκέτις ἱκέτιν ὀρομένα.
Antigone: Making her lamentable tears manifest to all, she brought, she brought her breast to her children, rushing as a suppliant to suppliants.
§1570ηὗρε δʼ ἐν Ἠλέκτραισι πύλαις τέκνα §1571λωτοτρόφον κατὰ λείμακα λόγχαις, §1572κοινὸν ἐνυάλιον, §1573μάτηρ, ὥστε λέοντας ἐναύλους, §1574μαρναμένους ἐπὶ τραύμασιν, αἵματος §1575ἤδη ψυχρὰν λοιβὰν φονίαν, §1576ἃν ἔλαχʼ Ἅιδας, ὤπασε δʼ Ἄρης·
And at the Electran gates, she found her children by the lotus-feeding meadow, fighting with spears, in a shared combat, the mother, like lions in their den, fighting over their wounds—already pouring out the cold, murderous libation of blood, which Hades received as his share, and Ares granted.
§1577χαλκόκροτον δὲ λαβοῦσα νεκρῶν πάρα φάσγανον εἴσω §1578σαρκὸς ἔβαψεν, ἄχει δὲ τέκνων ἔπεσʼ ἀμφὶ τέκνοισι.
And taking a bronze-clashing sword from the dead, she plunged it into her flesh, and from grief for her children, she fell around her children.
§1579πάντα δʼ ἐν ἄματι τῷδε συνάγαγεν, §1580ὦ πάτερ, ἁμετέροισι δόμοισιν ἄχη θεὸς ὃς §1581τάδε τελευτᾷ.
And in this single day, O father, the god who brings these things to pass has gathered all the griefs into our house.
Chorus: This day has begun many evils for the house of Oedipus; but may life be more fortunate.
§1584οἴκτων μὲν ἤδη λήγεθʼ, ὡς ὥρα τάφου §1585μνήμην τίθεσθαι· τόνδε δʼ, Οἰδίπου, λόγον §1586ἄκουσον· ἀρχὰς τῆσδε γῆς ἔδωκέ μοι §1587Ἐτεοκλέης παῖς σός, γάμων φερνὰς διδοὺς §1588Αἵμονι κόρης τε λέκτρον Ἀντιγόνης σέθεν.
Creon: Cease now indeed from laments, since it is time to make mention of burial; and hear this word, Oedipus: your son Eteocles gave the rule of this land to me, giving the marriage-bed of your daughter Antigone as a wedding gift to Haemon.
§1589οὐκ οὖν σʼ ἐάσω τήνδε γῆν οἰκεῖν ἔτι· §1590σαφῶς γὰρ εἶπε Τειρεσίας οὐ μή ποτε §1591σοῦ τήνδε γῆν οἰκοῦντος εὖ πράξειν πόλιν.
Therefore I will not allow you to inhabit this land any longer; for Tiresias clearly said that the city would never prosper while you inhabit this land.
§1592ἀλλʼ ἐκκομίζου. καὶ τάδʼ οὐχ ὕβρει λέγω
So, get yourself out.
And I do not say this out of insolence, nor because I am your enemy, but fearing lest the land suffer some evil because of your avenging spirits.
§1595ὦ μοῖρʼ, ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ὥς μʼ ἔφυσας ἄθλιον §1596καὶ τλήμονʼ, εἴ τις ἄλλος ἀνθρώπων ἔφυ· §1597ὃν καὶ πρὶν ἐς φῶς μητρὸς ἐκ γονῆς μολεῖν,
Oedipus: O fate, how from the beginning you begot me wretched and enduring of suffering, if indeed any other of men was so begotten— me whom, even before coming into the light from my mother's womb,