Ah me, wretched, what help can I get, since we possess the divinity as hostile?
§268δὸς τόξα μοι κερουλκά, δῶρα Λοξίου, §269οἷς μʼ εἶπʼ Ἀπόλλων ἐξαμύνασθαι θεάς, §270εἴ μʼ ἐκφοβοῖεν μανιάσιν λυσσήμασιν.
Give me the horn-bent bow, the gift of Loxias, with which Apollo told me to ward off the goddesses, if they should frighten me with maddening rages.
One of the goddesses will be struck by a mortal hand, if she does not depart out of my sight.
§273οὐκ εἰσακούετʼ;
Do you not hear?
οὐχ ὁρᾶθʼ ἑκηβόλων §274τόξων πτερωτὰς γλυφίδας ἐξορμωμένας;
Do you not see the winged notches of the far-shooting bow leaping forth?
§274bἆ ἆ·
Ah, ah!
§275τί δῆτα μέλλετʼ;
Why then do you delay?
ἐξακρίζετʼ αἰθέρα §276πτεροῖς· τὰ Φοίβου δʼ αἰτιᾶσθε θέσφατα.
Skim the high air with your wings, and blame the oracles of Phoebus.
§276bἔα·
Ah!
§277τί χρῆμʼ ἀλύω, πνεῦμʼ ἀνεὶς ἐκ πλευμόνων;
Why am I raving, gasping breath from my lungs?
§278ποῖ ποῖ ποθʼ ἡλάμεσθα δεμνίων ἄπο;
Where, where have we leaped from the bed?
§279ἐκ κυμάτων γὰρ αὖθις αὖ γαλήνʼ ὁρῶ.
For after the waves, I see a calm once again.
§280σύγγονε, τί κλαίεις κρᾶτα θεῖσʼ ἔσω πέπλων;
Sister, why do you weep, putting your head inside your robes?
I am ashamed to make you share my troubles, and to provide trouble for a maiden by my diseases.
§283μὴ τῶν ἐμῶν ἕκατι συντήκου κακῶν·
Do not waste away on account of my evils.
For you indeed nodded assent to this, but the shedding of mother's blood was wrought by me.
Λοξίᾳ δὲ μέμφομαι, §286ὅστις μʼ ἐπάρας ἔργον ἀνοσιώτατον, §287τοῖς μὲν λόγοις ηὔφρανε, τοῖς δʼ ἔργοισιν οὔ.
But I blame Loxias, who, having incited me to a most unholy deed, cheered me with words indeed, but not in deeds.
§288οἶμαι δὲ πατέρα τὸν ἐμόν, εἰ κατʼ ὄμματα §289ἐξιστόρουν νιν, μητέρʼ εἰ κτεῖναι χρεών, §290πολλὰς γενείου τοῦδʼ ἂν ἐκτεῖναι λιτὰς §291μήποτε τεκούσης ἐς σφαγὰς ὦσαι ξίφος, §292εἰ μήτʼ ἐκεῖνος ἀναλαβεῖν ἔμελλε φῶς, §293ἐγώ θʼ ὁ τλήμων τοιάδʼ ἐκπλήσειν κακά.
And I think that my father, if looking him in the face I had asked him if it was necessary to kill my mother, would have stretched out many entreaties by this beard, never to thrust the sword into the throat of her who bore me, since neither was he destined to regain the light, and I, wretched, was to fulfill such evils.
And now, sister, uncover your head, and depart from tears, even if we are in a very wretched state.
ὅταν δὲ τἄμʼ ἀθυμήσαντʼ ἴδῃς, §297σύ μου τὸ δεινὸν καὶ διαφθαρὲν φρενῶν §298ἴσχναινε παραμυθοῦ θʼ· ὅταν δὲ σὺ στένῃς, §299ἡμᾶς παρόντας χρή σε νουθετεῖν φίλα· §300ἐπικουρίαι γὰρ αἵδε τοῖς φίλοις καλαί.
But whenever you see me disheartened, do you soothe and comfort my terror and ruined state of mind; and whenever you groan, it is necessary for me, being present, to advise you kindly; for these helpers are beautiful to friends.
§301ἀλλʼ, ὦ τάλαινα, βᾶσα δωμάτων ἔσω §302ὕπνῳ τʼ ἄυπνον βλέφαρον ἐκταθεῖσα δός, §303σίτων τʼ ὄρεξαι λουτρά τʼ ἐπιβαλοῦ χροΐ.
But, wretched one, having gone inside the house, give sleep to your sleepless eyelid, stretching yourself out, and desire food, and apply baths to your body.
§304εἰ γὰρ προλείψεις ἢ προσεδρείᾳ νόσον §305κτήσῃ τινʼ, οἰχόμεσθα· σὲ γὰρ ἔχω μόνην §306ἐπίκουρον, ἄλλων, ὡς ὁρᾷς, ἔρημος ὤν.
For if you abandon me or by constant attendance acquire any disease, we are gone; for I have you as my only helper, being deserted by others, as you see.
It cannot be; with you I will choose both to die and to live; for it holds the same.
ἢν σὺ κατθάνῃς, §309γυνὴ τί δράσω;
If you die, what shall I, a woman, do?
πῶς μόνη σωθήσομαι, §310ἀνάδελφος ἀπάτωρ ἄφιλος;
How shall I be saved alone, sisterless, fatherless, friendless?
εἰ δὲ σοὶ δοκεῖ, §311δρᾶν χρὴ τάδʼ.
But if it seems good to you, it is necessary to do this.
ἀλλὰ κλῖνον εἰς εὐνὴν δέμας, §312καὶ μὴ τὸ ταρβοῦν κἀκφοβοῦν σʼ ἐκ δεμνίων §313ἄγαν ἀποδέχου, μένε δʼ ἐπὶ στρωτοῦ λέχους.
But lean your body on the bed, and do not receive too much what terrifies and frightens you from your bed, but remain on your spread couch.
For even if you are not sick, but imagine yourself to be sick, toil and helplessness arise for mortals.
§316αἰαῖ,
Alas!
§317δρομάδες ὦ πτεροφόροι §318ποτνιάδες θεαί, §319ἀβάκχευτον αἳ θίασον ἐλάχετʼ ἐν §320δάκρυσι καὶ γόοις, §321μελάγχρωτες εὐμενίδες, αἵτε τὸν §322ταναὸν αἰθέρʼ ἀμπάλλεσθʼ, αἵματος §323τινύμεναι δίκαν, τινύμεναι φόνον, §324καθικετεύομαι καθικετεύομαι, §325τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονος §326γόνον ἐάσατʼ ἐκλαθέσθαι λύσσας §327μανιάδος φοιταλέου.
O running, wing-bearing, reverend goddesses, who have obtained as your lot an un-Bacchic band in tears and groans, dark-skinned Eumenides, who flutter through the vast air, demanding the penalty of blood, demanding penalty for murder, I beseech you, I beseech you, allow the offspring of Agamemnon to forget his maddening, roaming rage.
φεῦ μόχθων, §328οἵων, ὦ τάλας, ὀρεχθεὶς ἔρρεις, §329τρίποδος ἄπο φάτιν, ἃν ὁ Φοῖβος ἔλακε, δε- §330ξάμενος ἀνὰ δάπεδον, §331ἵνα μεσόμφαλοι λέγονται μυχοί.
Alas for the troubles, striving after which, wretched one, you are ruined, having received the voice from the tripod, which Phoebus uttered upon the ground, where the navel-midst recesses are said to be.
§332ἰὼ Ζεῦ,
O Zeus!
§333τίς ἔλεος, τίς ὅδʼ ἀγὼν §334φόνιος ἔρχεται, §335θοάζων σε τὸν μέλεον, ᾧ δάκρυα §336δάκρυσι συμβάλλει §337πορεύων τις ἐς δόμον ἀλαστόρων §338ματέρος αἷμα σᾶς, ὅ σʼ ἀναβακχεύει;
What pity, what murderous contest is coming, driving you, wretched one, to whom someone adds tears to tears, bringing to your house the blood of your mother, which makes you rave?
Great prosperity is not permanent among mortals; I lament, I lament.
§341ἀνὰ δὲ λαῖφος ὥς §342τις ἀκάτου θοᾶς τινάξας δαίμων §343κατέκλυσεν δεινῶν πόνων ὡς πόντου §344λάβροις ὀλεθρίοισιν ἐν κύμασιν.
but as the sail of a swift boat having shaken, some god overwhelmed it in terrible troubles, like the fierce, ruinous waves of the sea.
§345τίνα γὰρ ἔτι πάρος οἶκον ἕτερον ἢ τὸν ἀπὸ §346θεογόνων γάμων, §347τὸν ἀπὸ Ταντάλου, σέβεσθαί με χρή;
For what other house before this ought I to revere than the one from Tantalus, sprung from marriages of divine origin?
§348καὶ μὴν βασιλεὺς ὅδε δὴ στείχει, §349Μενέλαος ἄναξ, πολλῇ ἁβροσύνῃ §350δῆλος ὁρᾶσθαι §351τῶν Τανταλιδῶν ἐξ αἵματος ὤν.
And lo, here indeed strides the king, lord Menelaus, conspicuous in great luxury, manifest to be seen as being of the blood of the descendants of Tantalus.
§352ὦ χιλιόναυν στρατὸν ὁρμήσας §353ἐς γῆν Ἀσίαν, §354χαῖρʼ, εὐτυχίᾳ δʼ αὐτὸς ὁμιλεῖς, §355θεόθεν πράξας ἅπερ ηὔχου.
O you who urged a thousand-shipped army to the land of Asia, hail, and you associate with good fortune yourself, having fared from the gods as you prayed.
§356ὦ δῶμα, τῇ μέν σʼ ἡδέως προσδέρκομαι §357Τροίαθεν ἐλθών, τῇ δʼ ἰδὼν καταστένω· §358κύκλῳ γὰρ εἱλιχθεῖσαν ἀθλίως κακοῖς §359οὐπώποτʼ ἄλλην μᾶλλον εἶδον ἑστίαν.
O house, on the one hand I look upon you with pleasure having come from Troy, but on the other hand seeing you I groan; for never have I seen another hearth wrapped around wretchedly with evils more than this one.