§101στεφάνωσέν τε δρακόντων §102στεφάνοις, ἔνθεν ἄγραν θη- §103ροτρόφον μαινάδες ἀμφι- §104βάλλονται πλοκάμοις.
And he crowned him with a crown of snakes, whence the maenads fling around their tresses the beast-nourishing prey.
§105ὦ Σεμέλας τροφοὶ Θῆ- §106βαι, στεφανοῦσθε κισσῷ· §107βρύετε βρύετε χλοήρει §108μίλακι καλλικάρπῳ §109καὶ καταβακχιοῦσθε δρυὸς §110ἢ ἐλάτας κλάδοισι, §111στικτῶν τʼ ἐνδυτὰ νεβρίδων §112στέφετε λευκοτρίχων πλοκάμων §113μαλλοῖς· ἀμφὶ δὲ νάρθηκας ὑβριστὰς §114ὁσιοῦσθʼ·
O Thebes, nurse of Semele, crown yourselves with ivy; teem, teem with the green bryony of beautiful fruit, and dedicate yourselves to Bacchus with branches of oak or fir, and crown your garments of dappled fawnskins with tufts of white-haired wool; and hallow the insolent wands.
αὐτίκα γᾶ πᾶσα χορεύσει— §115Βρόμιος ὅστις ἄγῃ θιάσουσ— §116εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος, ἔνθα μένει §117θηλυγενὴς ὄχλος §118ἀφʼ ἱστῶν παρὰ κερκίδων τʼ §119οἰστρηθεὶς Διονύσῳ.
At once all the land will dance— whoever is Bromius, when he leads his bands— to the mountain, to the mountain, where remains the female crowd driven in frenzy from their looms and shuttles by Dionysus.
§120ὦ θαλάμευμα Κουρ- §121ήτων ζάθεοί τε Κρήτας §122Διογενέτορες ἔναυλοι, §123ἔνθα τρικόρυθες ἄντροις §124βυρσότονον κύκλωμα τόδε §125μοι Κορύβαντες ηὗρον· §126βακχείᾳ δʼ ἀνὰ συντόνῳ §127κέρασαν ἁδυβόᾳ Φρυγίων §128αὐλῶν πνεύματι ματρός τε Ῥέας ἐς §129χέρα θῆκαν, κτύπον εὐάσμασι Βακχᾶν· §130παρὰ δὲ μαινόμενοι Σάτυροι §131ματέρος ἐξανύσαντο θεᾶς, §132ἐς δὲ χορεύματα §133συνῆψαν τριετηρίδων, §134αἷς χαίρει Διόνυσος.
O cavern of the Curetes and holy Cretan chambers that gave birth to Zeus, where in their caves the three-crested Corybantes found this leather-stretched circle for me; and in their intense Bacchic revelry they mingled it with the sweet-sounding breath of Phrygian flutes and placed it in the hand of mother Rhea, a resounding beat for the shouts of the Bacchae; and nearby the raving Satyrs obtained it from the mother goddess, and joined it to the dances of the triennial festivals, in which Dionysus rejoices.
§135ἡδὺς ἐν ὄρεσιν, ὅταν ἐκ θιάσων δρομαί- §136ων πέσῃ πεδόσε, νε- §138βρίδος ἔχων ἱερὸν ἐνδυτόν, ἀγρεύων §139αἷμα τραγοκτόνον, ὠμοφάγον χάριν, ἱέμε- §140νος ἐς ὄρεα Φρύγια, Λύδιʼ, ὁ δʼ ἔξαρχος Βρόμιος, §141εὐοἷ.
Sweet is he on the mountains, when from the running bands he falls to the ground, holding the sacred garment of fawnskin, hunting the blood of the slaughtered goat, the pleasure of eating raw flesh, rushing to the Phrygian, Lydian mountains, and our leader is Bromius, euoi!
The ground flows with milk, flows with wine, flows with the nectar of bees.
§144Συρίας δʼ ὡς λιβάνου κα- §145πνὸν ὁ Βακχεὺς ἀνέχων §145aπυρσώδη φλόγα πεύκας §146ἐκ νάρθηκος ἀίσσει §147δρόμῳ καὶ χοροῖσιν §148πλανάτας ἐρεθίζων §149ἰαχαῖς τʼ ἀναπάλλων, §150τρυφερόν τε πλόκαμον εἰς αἰθέρα ῥίπτων.
And like the smoke of Syrian frankincense, the Bacchic leader, holding high the fiery flame of the pine torch from his wand, darts along, by running and dancing stimulating the wanderers and shaking them with his shouts, and tossing his delicate tresses into the air.
§151ἅμα δʼ εὐάσμασι τοιάδʼ ἐπιβρέμει· §152Ὦ ἴτε βάκχαι, §153ἴτε βάκχαι, §154Τμώλου χρυσορόου χλιδᾷ §155μέλπετε τὸν Διόνυσον §157βαρυβρόμων ὑπὸ τυμπάνων, §158εὔια τὸν εὔιον ἀγαλλόμεναι θεὸν §159ἐν Φρυγίαισι βοαῖς ἐνοπαῖσί τε, §160λωτὸς ὅταν εὐκέλαδος §164ἱερὸς ἱερὰ παίγματα βρέμῃ, σύνοχα §165φοιτάσιν εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος· ἡδομέ- §166να δʼ ἄρα, πῶλος ὅπως ἅμα ματέρι §169φορβάδι, κῶλον ἄγει ταχύπουν σκιρτήμασι βάκχα.
And amid the shouts of joy he bellows such things: "Go, Bacchae, go, Bacchae, in the splendor of golden-flowing Tmolus, sing of Dionysus to the accompaniment of deep-roaring drums, glorifying the god of joy with joyful cries in Phrygian shouts and clamors, when the sweet-sounding holy pipe bellows its sacred playful tunes, in harmony with those who wander to the mountain, to the mountain; and rejoicing then, like a filly near its grazing mother, the Baccha moves her swift-footed limbs in leaps.
§170τίς ἐν πύλαισι;
Teiresias: Who is at the gates?
Call Cadmus from the house, the son of Agenor, who, leaving the Sidonian city, built this city of the Thebans.
§173ἴτω τις, εἰσάγγελλε Τειρεσίας ὅτι §174ζητεῖ νιν· οἶδε δʼ αὐτὸς ὧν ἥκω πέρι §175ἅ τε ξυνεθέμην πρέσβυς ὢν γεραιτέρῳ, §176θύρσους ἀνάπτειν καὶ νεβρῶν δορὰς ἔχειν §177στεφανοῦν τε κρᾶτα κισσίνοις βλαστήμασιν.
Let someone go, announce that Teiresias seeks him; and he himself knows for what reasons I have come, and what I, an old man, agreed upon with him, older still: to bind the thyrsi, and to wear skins of fawns, and to crown our heads with ivy shoots.
Cadmus: O dearest friend, how I perceived your voice, hearing it, a wise voice from a wise man!
§180ἥκω δʼ ἕτοιμος τήνδʼ ἔχων σκευὴν θεοῦ· §181δεῖ γάρ νιν ὄντα παῖδα θυγατρὸς ἐξ ἐμῆς §183ὅσον καθʼ ἡμᾶς δυνατὸν αὔξεσθαι μέγαν.
And I have come ready, holding this equipment of the god; for since he is the son of my daughter, we must, as far as lies in our power, magnify him.
Where must we dance, where direct our step and shake our gray heads?
ἐξηγοῦ σύ μοι §186γέρων γέροντι, Τειρεσία· σὺ γὰρ σοφός.
Guide me, an old man, you who are also old, Teiresias; for you are wise.
§187ὡς οὐ κάμοιμʼ ἂν οὔτε νύκτʼ οὔθʼ ἡμέραν §188θύρσῳ κροτῶν γῆν· ἐπιλελήσμεθʼ ἡδέως §189γέροντες ὄντες.
Indeed, I would not grow weary either night or day, beating the earth with the thyrsus; we have gladly forgotten that we are old.
Teiresias: Then you feel the same as I do; for I too feel young and will attempt the dances.
§191οὐκοῦν ὄχοισιν εἰς ὄρος περάσομεν;
Cadmus: Shall we not then go to the mountain in chariots?
§192ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὁμοίως ἂν ὁ θεὸς τιμὴν ἔχοι.
Teiresias: But then the god would not have equal honor.
§193γέρων γέροντα παιδαγωγήσω σʼ ἐγώ.
Cadmus: I, an old man, will guide you, another old man.
§194ὁ θεὸς ἀμοχθὶ κεῖσε νῷν ἡγήσεται.
Teiresias: The god will lead us there without trouble.
§195μόνοι δὲ πόλεως Βακχίῳ χορεύσομεν;
Cadmus: Shall we alone of the city dance for Bacchus?
§196μόνοι γὰρ εὖ φρονοῦμεν, οἱ δʼ ἄλλοι κακῶς.
Teiresias: For we alone are wise, and the others are foolish.
§197μακρὸν τὸ μέλλειν· ἀλλʼ ἐμῆς ἔχου χερός.
Cadmus: Delay is long; but take hold of my hand.
§198ἰδού, ξύναπτε καὶ ξυνωρίζου χέρα.
Teiresias: Look, join and couple your hand with mine.
§199οὐ καταφρονῶ ʼγὼ τῶν θεῶν θνητὸς γεγώς.
Cadmus: I do not look down on the gods, being born a mortal.
§200οὐδὲν σοφιζόμεσθα τοῖσι δαίμοσιν.
Teiresias: We do not philosophize about the divinities.
§201πατρίους παραδοχάς, ἅς θʼ ὁμήλικας χρόνῳ §202κεκτήμεθʼ, οὐδεὶς αὐτὰ καταβαλεῖ λόγος, §203οὐδʼ εἰ διʼ ἄκρων τὸ σοφὸν ηὕρηται φρενῶν.
The ancestral traditions, which we have possessed as long as time itself, no argument will cast down, not even if wisdom has been found through the highest minds.
Cadmus: Will someone say that I do not shame my old age, being about to dance, having crowned my head with ivy?
§206οὐ γὰρ διῄρηχʼ ὁ θεός, οὔτε τὸν νέον §207εἰ χρὴ χορεύειν οὔτε τὸν γεραίτερον, §208ἀλλʼ ἐξ ἁπάντων βούλεται τιμὰς ἔχειν §209κοινάς, διαριθμῶν δʼ οὐδένʼ αὔξεσθαι θέλει.
For the god has not distinguished whether the young or the older must dance, but wishes to have common honors from all, and wishes to be magnified, making no distinctions.
Teiresias: Since you do not see this light, Cadmus, I will be a prophet of words for you.
§212Πενθεὺς πρὸς οἴκους ὅδε διὰ σπουδῆς περᾷ,
Pentheus, who is passing in haste towards the house,