§1Οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν δεινὸν ὧδʼ εἰπεῖν ἔπος §2οὐδὲ πάθος οὐδὲ ξυμφορὰ θεήλατος, §3ἧς οὐκ ἂν ἄραιτʼ ἄχθος ἀνθρώπου φύσις.
There is no word so terrible to utter, nor suffering, nor god-sent calamity, whose burden human nature could not bear.
§4ὁ γὰρ μακάριος — κοὐκ ὀνειδίζω τύχας — §5Διὸς πεφυκώς, ὡς λέγουσι, Τάνταλος §6κορυφῆς ὑπερτέλλοντα δειμαίνων πέτρον §7ἀέρι ποτᾶται· καὶ τίνει ταύτην δίκην, §8ὡς μὲν λέγουσιν, ὅτι θεοῖς ἄνθρωπος ὢν §9κοινῆς τραπέζης ἀξίωμʼ ἔχων ἴσον, §10ἀκόλαστον ἔσχε γλῶσσαν, αἰσχίστην νόσον.
For that blessed man—and I do not mock his fortune— Tantalus, born of Zeus, as they say, fearing the rock that looms above his head, hovers in the air; and he pays this penalty, as they say, because, though he was a mortal, holding equal honor at a common table with the gods, he possessed an ungoverned tongue, a most shameful disease.
§11οὗτος φυτεύει Πέλοπα, τοῦ δʼ Ἀτρεὺς ἔφυ, §12ᾧ στέμματα ξήνασʼ ἐπέκλωσεν θεὰ §13ἔριν, Θυέστῃ πόλεμον ὄντι συγγόνῳ
He begot Pelops, and from him Atreus was born, for whom the goddess, carding the wool, spun out strife, to set a war with his own brother Thyestes.
§14θέσθαι. τί τἄρρητʼ ἀναμετρήσασθαί με δεῖ;
Why must I recount those unspeakable deeds?
§15ἔδαισε δʼ οὖν νιν τέκνʼ ἀποκτείνας Ἀτρεύς.
At any rate, Atreus slaughtered his children and feasted him with them.
§16Ἀτρέως δέ· τὰς γὰρ ἐν μέσῳ σιγῶ τύχας· §17ὁ κλεινός, εἰ δὴ κλεινός, Ἀγαμέμνων ἔφυ §18Μενέλεώς τε Κρήσσης μητρὸς Ἀερόπης ἄπο.
And from Atreus—for I pass over in silence the fortunes between— the famous Agamemnon, if indeed he was famous, was born, and Menelaus, from their Cretan mother Aerope.
§19γαμεῖ δʼ ὃ μὲν δὴ τὴν θεοῖς στυγουμένην §20Μενέλαος Ἑλένην, ὃ δὲ Κλυταιμήστρας λέχος §21ἐπίσημον εἰς Ἕλληνας Ἀγαμέμνων ἄναξ· §22ᾧ παρθένοι μὲν τρεῖς ἔφυμεν ἐκ μιᾶς, §23Χρυσόθεμις Ἰφιγένειά τʼ Ἠλέκτρα τʼ ἐγώ, §24ἄρσην δʼ Ὀρέστης, μητρὸς ἀνοσιωτάτης, §25ἣ πόσιν ἀπείρῳ περιβαλοῦσʼ ὑφάσματι §26ἔκτεινεν· ὧν δʼ ἕκατι, παρθένῳ λέγειν §27οὐ καλόν· ἐῶ τοῦτʼ ἀσαφὲς ἐν κοινῷ σκοπεῖν.
Now the one, Menelaus, married her who is hated by the gods, Helen, while the other, King Agamemnon, took Clytemnestra's bed, notorious among the Hellenes; to whom we, three virgins, were born of one mother: Chrysothemis, Iphigenia, and I, Electra, and a male child, Orestes, born of a most unholy mother, who, throwing an endless web around her husband, slew him; but for what reason, it is not seemly for a virgin to speak of, so I leave this unclear for public consideration.
§28Φοίβου δʼ ἀδικίαν μὲν τί δεῖ κατηγορεῖν;
But why must I accuse Phoebus of injustice?
Yet he persuaded Orestes to kill the mother who bore him, a deed that brings no good fame to all.
Nonetheless, he killed her, not disobeying the god; and I too, as far as a woman could, shared in the murder.
§34ἐντεῦθεν ἀγρίᾳ συντακεὶς νόσῳ §35τλήμων Ὀρέστης ὅδε πεσὼν ἐν δεμνίοις §36κεῖται, τὸ μητρὸς δʼ αἷμά νιν τροχηλατεῖ §37μανίαισιν· ὀνομάζειν γὰρ αἰδοῦμαι θεὰς §38εὐμενίδας, αἳ τόνδʼ ἐξαμιλλῶνται φόβῳ.
Since then, wasted away by a savage disease, wretched Orestes lies fallen here upon his bed, and his mother's blood drives him in circles of madness; for I am ashamed to name the goddesses, the Eumenides, who chase him with terror.
§39ἕκτον δὲ δὴ τόδʼ ἦμαρ ἐξ ὅτου σφαγαῖς §40θανοῦσα μήτηρ πυρὶ καθήγνισται δέμας, §41ὧν οὔτε σῖτα διὰ δέρης ἐδέξατο, §42οὐ λούτρʼ ἔδωκε χρωτί· χλανιδίων δʼ ἔσω §43κρυφθείς, ὅταν μὲν σῶμα κουφισθῇ νόσου, §44ἔμφρων δακρύει, ποτὲ δὲ δεμνίων ἄπο §45πηδᾷ δρομαῖος, πῶλος ὣς ὑπὸ ζυγοῦ.
This is now the sixth day since our dead mother, slain, was purified by fire, during which he has taken no food down his throat, nor washed his body with water; but hidden within his cloak, when his body is lightened of the disease, he weeps in his right mind, and at other times from his bed he leaps up in a run, like a colt under the yoke.
§46ἔδοξε δʼ Ἄργει τῷδε μήθʼ ἡμᾶς στέγαις, §47μὴ πυρὶ δέχεσθαι, μήτε προσφωνεῖν τινα §48μητροκτονοῦντας·
And it has been decreed by this land of Argos that no one should receive us in their homes, nor share fire with us, nor speak to us, since we are matricides.
And this is the appointed day on which the citizens of Argos will cast their vote, whether we two must die by stoning.
§52ἐλπίδα δὲ δή τινʼ ἔχομεν ὥστε μὴ θανεῖν· §53ἥκει γὰρ ἐς γῆν Μενέλεως Τροίας ἄπο, §54λιμένα δὲ Ναυπλίειον ἐκπληρῶν πλάτῃ §55ἀκταῖσιν ὁρμεῖ, δαρὸν ἐκ Τροίας χρόνον §56ἄλαισι πλαγχθείς·
Yet we have some hope of not dying; for Menelaus has come to this land from Troy, and filling the harbor of Nauplia with his oars, he anchors at the shore, having wandered a long time from Troy in wanderings.
τὴν δὲ δὴ πολύστονον §57Ἑλένην, φυλάξας νύκτα, μή τις εἰσιδὼν §58μεθʼ ἡμέραν στείχουσαν, ὧν ὑπʼ Ἰλίῳ §59παῖδες τεθνᾶσιν, ἐς πέτρων ἔλθῃ βολάς, §60προύπεμψεν ἐς δῶμʼ ἡμέτερον·
But Helen, the cause of many groans, he sent ahead to our house by night, guarding against her being seen, lest someone, seeing her walking by day, whose children died under Ilium, should come to throw stones.
ἔστιν δʼ ἔσω §61κλαίουσʼ ἀδελφὴν συμφοράν τε δωμάτων.
She is now inside, weeping for her sister and the misfortune of our house.
§62ἔχει δὲ δή τινʼ ἀλγέων παραψυχήν· §63ἣν γὰρ κατʼ οἴκους ἔλιφʼ, ὅτʼ ἐς Τροίαν ἔπλει, §64παρθένον ἐμῇ τε μητρὶ παρέδωκεν τρέφειν §65Μενέλαος ἀγαγὼν Ἑρμιόνην Σπάρτης ἄπο, §66ταύτῃ γέγηθε κἀπιλήθεται κακῶν.
Yet she has some consolation for her grief; for the virgin whom she left at home when she sailed for Troy, Hermione, whom Menelaus brought from Sparta and gave to my mother to nurture, in her she rejoices and forgets her evils.
§67βλέπω δὲ πᾶσαν εἰς ὁδόν, πότʼ ὄψομαι §68Μενέλαον ἥκονθʼ· ὡς τά γʼ ἄλλʼ ἐπʼ ἀσθενοῦς §69ῥώμης ὀχούμεθʼ, ἤν τι μὴ κείνου πάρα §70σωθῶμεν.
And I look along every path, wondering when I shall see Menelaus arriving; for in other respects we ride on weak strength, unless we are saved by him.
ἄπορον χρῆμα δυστυχῶν δόμος.
A helpless thing is an unfortunate house.
§71ὦ παῖ Κλυταιμήστρας τε καὶ Ἀγαμέμνονος, §72παρθένε μακρὸν δὴ μῆκος Ἠλέκτρα χρόνου, §73πῶς, ὦ τάλαινα, σύ τε κασίγνητός τε σὸς §74τλήμων Ὀρέστης μητρὸς ὅδε φονεὺς ἔχει;
Helen: O child of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, virgin Electra, who have been so for a long span of time, how, wretched one, do you and your brother, that miserable Orestes, who killed his mother, fare?
For I am not defiled by speaking with you, since I refer the blame to Phoebus.
§77καίτοι στένω γε τὸν Κλυταιμήστρας μόρον, §78ἐμῆς ἀδελφῆς, ἥν, ἐπεὶ πρὸς Ἴλιον §79ἔπλευσʼ ὅπως ἔπλευσα θεομανεῖ πότμῳ, §80οὐκ εἶδον, ἀπολειφθεῖσα δʼ αἰάζω τύχας.
And yet I mourn the fate of Clytemnestra, my sister, whom I have not seen since I sailed for Ilium in a god-maddened fate, as I did sail, and being left behind, I wail over her fortunes.
§81Ἑλένη, τί σοι λέγοιμʼ ἂν ἅ γε παροῦσʼ ὁρᾷς;
Electra: Helen, what should I say to you when you see for yourself what is present?