.
§1029τί δʼ ἔστιν;
"What is it?
ἐκ βακχῶν τι μηνύεις νέον; §1030Πενθεὺς ὄλωλεν, παῖς Ἐχίονος πατρός. §1031ὦναξ Βρόμιε, θεὸς φαίνῃ μέγας. §1032πῶς φῄς;
Are you announcing some new thing from the Bacchants?" "Pentheus is dead, the son of Echion his father." "O Lord Bromius, you appear as a great god." "How do you mean?
τί τοῦτʼ ἔλεξας;
Why did you say this?
ἦ ʼπὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖς §1033χαίρεις κακῶς πράσσουσι δεσπόταις, γύναι; §1034εὐάζω ξένα μέλεσι βαρβάροις· §1035οὐκέτι γὰρ δεσμῶν ὑπὸ φόβῳ πτήσσω. §1036Θήβας δʼ ἀνάνδρους ὧδʼ ἄγεις §1037ὁ Διόνυσος ὁ Διόνυσος, οὐ Θῆβαι §1038κράτος ἔχουσʼ ἐμόν. §1039συγγνωστὰ μέν σοι, πλὴν ἐπʼ ἐξειργασμένοις §1040κακοῖσι χαίρειν, ὦ γυναῖκες, οὐ καλόν. §1041ἔννεπέ μοι, φράσον, τίνι μόρῳ θνῄσκει §1042ἄδικος ἄδικά τʼ ἐκπορίζων ἀνήρ; §1043ἐπεὶ θεράπνας τῆσδε Θηβαίας χθονὸς §1044λιπόντες ἐξέβημεν Ἀσωποῦ ῥοάς, §1045λέπας Κιθαιρώνειον εἰσεβάλλομεν §1046Πενθεύς τε κἀγώ—δεσπότῃ γὰρ εἱπόμην— §1047ξένος θʼ ὃς ἡμῖν πομπὸς ἦν θεωρίας. §1048πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ποιηρὸν ἵζομεν νάπος, §1049τά τʼ ἐκ ποδῶν σιγηλὰ καὶ γλώσσης ἄπο §1050σῴζοντες, ὡς ὁρῷμεν οὐχ ὁρώμενοι. §1051ἦν δʼ ἄγκος ἀμφίκρημνον, ὕδασι διάβροχον, §1052πεύκαισι συσκιάζον, ἔνθα μαινάδες §1053καθῆντʼ ἔχουσαι χεῖρας ἐν τερπνοῖς πόνοις. §1054αἳ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν θύρσον ἐκλελοιπότα §1055κισσῷ κομήτην αὖθις ἐξανέστεφον, §1056αἳ δʼ, ἐκλιποῦσαι ποικίλʼ ὡς πῶλοι ζυγά, §1057βακχεῖον ἀντέκλαζον ἀλλήλαις μέλος. §1058Πενθεὺς δʼ ὁ τλήμων θῆλυν οὐχ ὁρῶν ὄχλον §1059ἔλεξε τοιάδʼ· Ὦ ξένʼ, οὗ μὲν ἕσταμεν, §1060οὐκ ἐξικνοῦμαι μαινάδων ὄσσοις νόθων· §1061ὄχθων δʼ ἔπʼ, ἀμβὰς ἐς ἐλάτην ὑψαύχενα, §1062ἴδοιμʼ ἂν ὀρθῶς μαινάδων αἰσχρουργίαν. §1063τοὐντεῦθεν ἤδη τοῦ ξένου τὸ θαῦμʼ ὁρῶ· §1064λαβὼν γὰρ ἐλάτης οὐράνιον ἄκρον κλάδον §1065κατῆγεν, ἦγεν, ἦγεν ἐς μέλαν πέδον· §1066κυκλοῦτο δʼ ὥστε τόξον ἢ κυρτὸς τροχὸς §1067τόρνῳ γραφόμενος περιφορὰν ἕλκει δρόμον· §1068ὣς κλῶνʼ ὄρειον ὁ ξένος χεροῖν ἄγων §1069ἔκαμπτεν ἐς γῆν, ἔργματʼ οὐχὶ θνητὰ δρῶν. §1070Πενθέα δʼ ἱδρύσας ἐλατίνων ὄζων ἔπι, §1071ὀρθὸν μεθίει διὰ χερῶν βλάστημʼ ἄνω §1072ἀτρέμα, φυλάσσων μὴ ἀναχαιτίσειέ νιν, §1073ὀρθὴ δʼ ἐς ὀρθὸν αἰθέρʼ ἐστηρίζετο, §1074ἔχουσα νώτοις δεσπότην ἐφήμενον· §1075ὤφθη δὲ μᾶλλον ἢ κατεῖδε μαινάδας. §1076ὅσον γὰρ οὔπω δῆλος ἦν θάσσων ἄνω, §1077καὶ τὸν ξένον μὲν οὐκέτʼ εἰσορᾶν παρῆν, §1078ἐκ δʼ αἰθέρος φωνή τις, ὡς μὲν εἰκάσαι §1079Διόνυσος, ἀνεβόησεν· Ὦ νεάνιδες, §1080ἄγω τὸν ὑμᾶς κἀμὲ τἀμά τʼ ὄργια §1081γέλων τιθέμενον· ἀλλὰ τιμωρεῖσθέ νιν. §1082καὶ ταῦθʼ ἅμʼ ἠγόρευε καὶ πρὸς οὐρανὸν §1083καὶ γαῖαν ἐστήριξε φῶς σεμνοῦ πυρός. §1084σίγησε δʼ αἰθήρ, σῖγα δʼ ὕλιμος νάπη §1085φύλλʼ εἶχε, θηρῶν δʼ οὐκ ἂν ἤκουσας βοήν. §1086αἳ δʼ ὠσὶν ἠχὴν οὐ σαφῶς δεδεγμέναι §1087ἔστησαν ὀρθαὶ καὶ διήνεγκαν κόρας. §1088ὃ δʼ αὖθις ἐπεκέλευσεν· ὡς δʼ ἐγνώρισαν §1089σαφῆ κελευσμὸν Βακχίου Κάδμου κόραι, §1090ᾖξαν πελείας ὠκύτητʼ οὐχ ἥσσονες §1091ποδῶν τρέχουσαι συντόνοις δραμήμασι, §1092μήτηρ Ἀγαύη σύγγονοί θʼ ὁμόσποροι §1093πᾶσαί τε βάκχαι· διὰ δὲ χειμάρρου νάπης §1094ἀγμῶν τʼ ἐπήδων θεοῦ πνοαῖσιν ἐμμανεῖς. §1095ὡς δʼ εἶδον ἐλάτῃ δεσπότην ἐφήμενον, §1096πρῶτον μὲν αὐτοῦ χερμάδας κραταιβόλους §1097ἔρριπτον, ἀντίπυργον ἐπιβᾶσαι πέτραν, §1098ὄζοισί τʼ ἐλατίνοισιν ἠκοντίζετο. §1099ἄλλαι δὲ θύρσους ἵεσαν διʼ αἰθέρος §1100Πενθέως, στόχον δύστηνον· ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἤνυτον. §1101κρεῖσσον γὰρ ὕψος τῆς προθυμίας ἔχων §1102καθῆσθʼ ὁ τλήμων, ἀπορίᾳ λελημμένος. §1103τέλος δὲ δρυΐνους συγκεραυνοῦσαι κλάδους §1104ῥίζας ἀνεσπάρασσον ἀσιδήροις μοχλοῖς. §1105ἐπεὶ δὲ μόχθων τέρματʼ οὐκ ἐξήνυτον, §1106ἔλεξʼ Ἀγαύη· Φέρε, περιστᾶσαι κύκλῳ §1107πτόρθου λάβεσθε, μαινάδες, τὸν ἀμβάτην §1108θῆρʼ ὡς ἕλωμεν, μηδʼ ἀπαγγείλῃ θεοῦ §1109χοροὺς κρυφαίους. αἳ δὲ μυρίαν χέρα §1110προσέθεσαν ἐλάτῃ κἀξανέσπασαν χθονός· §1111ὑψοῦ δὲ θάσσων ὑψόθεν χαμαιριφὴς §1112πίπτει πρὸς οὖδας μυρίοις οἰμώγμασιν §1113Πενθεύς· κακοῦ γὰρ ἐγγὺς ὢν ἐμάνθανεν. §1114πρώτη δὲ μήτηρ ἦρξεν ἱερέα φόνου §1115καὶ προσπίτνει νιν· ὃ δὲ μίτραν κόμης ἄπο §1116ἔρριψεν, ὥς νιν γνωρίσασα μὴ κτάνοι
Do you indeed rejoice," "woman, at my masters faring badly?" "I raise the Bacchic cry of joy in foreign barbarian songs;" "for no longer do I cower under the fear of chains." "Do you think Thebes is so lacking in men that you behave thus?" "Dionysus, Dionysus, and not Thebes," "has power over me." "You may be pardoned, yet to rejoice over evils" "already accomplished, O women, is not good." "Tell me, declare, by what fate does he die," "the unjust man who contrived unjust deeds?" "When, leaving the dwellings of this Theban land," "we crossed the streams of Asopus," "we entered the ridge of Cithaeron," "Pentheus and I—for I was following my master—" "and the stranger who was our guide for the viewing." "First, then, we sat in a grassy glen," "keeping silent both our footsteps and our tongues," "so that we might see without being seen." "And there was a ravine surrounded by cliffs, watered with streams," "shaded by pines, where the maenads" "were sitting, holding their hands in pleasant labors." "For some of them were crowning again with ivy" "the thyrsus that had lost its foliage," "while others, like fillies released from the painted yokes," "were singing back Bacchic songs to one another." "But the wretched Pentheus, not seeing the female crowd," "said these words: 'O stranger, where we stand,'" "'I do not reach the false maenads with my eyes;'" "'but climbing onto the high-necked fir tree on the banks,'" "'I could rightly see the shameful deeds of the maenads.'" "From then on I saw the marvel of the stranger;" "for taking the heaven-reaching top branch of the fir," "he brought it down, brought it down, brought it down to the dark ground;" "and it was bent as a bow or as a curved wheel," "drawn by a compass, traces the path of its circumference;" "thus the stranger, leading the mountain branch with his hands," "bent it to the earth, doing deeds not belonging to mortals." "And having seated Pentheus upon the fir branches," "he let the stem go upright through his hands upward" "gently, taking care lest it throw him off," "and it stood firmly upright into the upright air," "having my master seated on its back;" "and he was seen more than he saw the maenads." "For just as he was becoming visible sitting up there," "the stranger indeed was no longer to be seen," "and from the air a voice—as one might guess," "Dionysus—cried out: 'O young women,'" "'I bring the one who makes a mockery of you and me'" "'and my rites; now punish him.'" "And as he spoke these things, at the same time between heaven" "and earth he fixed a light of solemn fire." "The air fell silent, and silent the wooded glen" "held its leaves, and you would not have heard the cry of beasts." "But they, not having clearly received the sound with their ears," "stood upright and cast their eyes around." "And he commanded again; and when the daughters of Cadmus recognized" "the clear command of Bacchus," "they darted forth, not inferior in swiftness to doves," "running with eager courses of their feet," "his mother Agave and her own sisters," "and all the Bacchants; and through the torrent-filled glen" "and over the cliffs they leaped, maddened by the breaths of the god." "And when they saw my master seated on the fir," "first indeed they threw hard-hurled stones at him," "having climbed onto a tower-like rock opposite," "and he was pelted with branches of fir." "And others shot their thyrsi through the air" "at Pentheus, a miserable target; but they did not succeed." "For having a height too great for their eagerness," "the wretched man sat, seized with helplessness." "At last, splintering branches of oak," "they tried to tear up the roots with ironless levers." "But when they did not accomplish the end of their labors," "Agave said: 'Come, standing in a circle,'" "'seize the branch, maenads, so that we may catch the mounted'" "'beast, and let him not report the hidden dances of the god.'" "And they applied countless hands" "to the fir and tore it up from the earth;" "and sitting on high, from on high cast to the ground" "Pentheus falls to the earth with countless groans;" "for being near to evil, he understood." "And his mother first, as priestess, began the slaughter" "and fell upon him; but he threw the headband from his hair" "so that she, recognizing him, might not kill him."