§1552ἔλεξε τοιάδʼ· Ὦ πάτερ, πάρειμί σοι· §1553τοὐμὸν δὲ σῶμα τῆς ἐμῆς ὑπὲρ πάτρας §1554καὶ τῆς ἁπάσης Ἑλλάδος γαίας ὕπερ §1555θῦσαι δίδωμʼ ἑκοῦσα πρὸς βωμὸν θεᾶς §1556ἄγοντας, εἴπερ ἐστὶ θέσφατον τόδε.
[Messenger] She spoke as follows: 'O father, I am here for you; and I willingly give my body to be sacrificed for my fatherland and for the sake of the whole land of Greece, for those who lead me to the altar of the goddess, if indeed this is ordained.
And as far as concerns me, may you be fortunate; and may you obtain the gift of victory and reach your fatherland.
§1559πρὸς ταῦτα μὴ ψαύσῃ τις Ἀργείων ἐμοῦ· §1560σιγῇ παρέξω γὰρ δέρην εὐκαρδίως. §1561τοσαῦτʼ ἔλεξε· πᾶς δʼ ἐθάμβησεν κλύων §1562εὐψυχίαν τε κἀρετὴν τῆς παρθένου.
Therefore, let no one of the Argives touch me; for in silence and with a brave heart I will offer my neck.' She spoke so much; and everyone was amazed, hearing the courage and virtue of the maiden.
§1563στὰς δʼ ἐν μέσῳ Ταλθύβιος, ᾧ τόδʼ ἦν μέλον, §1564εὐφημίαν ἀνεῖπε καὶ σιγὴν στρατῷ· §1565Κάλχας δʼ ὁ μάντις ἐς κανοῦν χρυσήλατον §1566ἔθηκεν ὀξὺ χειρὶ φάσγανον σπάσας §1567κολεῶν ἔσωθεν, κρᾶτά τʼ ἔστεψεν κόρης.
And Talthybius, standing in the middle, whose task this was, proclaimed a holy silence and quiet to the army; and Calchas the seer, drawing a sharp sword with his hand from within its sheath, placed it into a gold-beaten basket, and crowned the head of the maiden.
§1568ὁ παῖς δʼ ὁ Πηλέως ἐν κύκλῳ βωμὸν θεᾶς §1569λαβὼν κανοῦν ἔβρεξε χέρνιβάς θʼ ὁμοῦ, §1570ἔλεξε δʼ· Ὦ παῖ Ζηνός, ὦ θηροκτόνε, §1571τὸ λαμπρὸν εἱλίσσουσʼ ἐν εὐφρόνῃ φάος, §1572δέξαι τὸ θῦμα τόδʼ ὅ γέ σοι δωρούμεθα §1573στρατός τʼ Ἀχαιῶν Ἀγαμέμνων ἄναξ θʼ ὁμοῦ, §1574ἄχραντον αἷμα καλλιπαρθένου δέρης, §1575καὶ δὸς γενέσθαι πλοῦν νεῶν ἀπήμονα §1576Τροίας τε πέργαμʼ ἐξελεῖν ἡμᾶς δορί. §1577ἐς γῆν δʼ Ἀτρεῖδαι πᾶς στρατός τʼ ἔστη βλέπων.
And the son of Peleus, going in a circle around the altar of the goddess, taking the basket, at the same time sprinkled the holy water, and spoke: 'O child of Zeus, O slayer of beasts, who roll your bright light in the night, receive this sacrifice which we present to you, the army of the Achaeans and king Agamemnon together, the pure blood from the neck of a beautiful maiden; and grant that the voyage of our ships may be without harm, and that we may capture the citadel of Troy with the spear.' And the sons of Atreus and the whole army stood looking down towards the earth.
§1578ἱερεὺς δὲ φάσγανον λαβὼν ἐπεύξατο, §1579λαιμόν τʼ ἐπεσκοπεῖθʼ, ἵνα πλήξειεν ἄν· §1580ἐμοὶ δέ τʼ ἄλγος οὐ μικρὸν εἰσῄει φρενί, §1581κἄστην νενευκώς·
And the priest, taking the sword, prayed, and was examining the throat, where he might strike; and no small grief entered my mind, and I stood looking down; but suddenly there was a wonder to see.
θαῦμα δʼ ἦν αἴφνης ὁρᾶν. §1582πληγῆς κτύπον γὰρ πᾶς τις ᾔσθετʼ ἂν σαφῶς, §1583τὴν παρθένον δʼ οὐκ εἶδεν οὗ γῆς εἰσέδυ.
For everyone would have heard the sound of the blow clearly, but no one saw where on earth the maiden had vanished.
§1584βοᾷ δʼ ἱερεύς, ἅπας δʼ ἐπήχησε στρατός, §1585ἄελπτον εἰσιδόντες ἐκ θεῶν τινος §1586φάσμʼ, οὗ γε μηδʼ ὁρωμένου πίστις παρῆν· §1587ἔλαφος γὰρ ἀσπαίρουσʼ ἔκειτʼ ἐπὶ χθονὶ §1588ἰδεῖν μεγίστη διαπρεπής τε τὴν θέαν, §1589ἧς αἵματι βωμὸς ἐραίνετʼ ἄρδην τῆς θεοῦ.
And the priest cried out, and the whole army echoed him, seeing an unexpected apparition from one of the gods, of which there was no belief even when it was seen; for a deer lay gasping on the ground, very large to look upon and excellent in appearance, with whose blood the altar of the goddess was thoroughly sprinkled.
§1590κἀν τῷδε Κάλχας πῶς δοκεῖς χαίρων ἔφη· §1591Ὦ τοῦδʼ Ἀχαιῶν κοίρανοι κοινοῦ στρατοῦ, §1592ὁρᾶτε τήνδε θυσίαν, ἣν ἡ θεὸς §1593προύθηκε βωμίαν, ἔλαφον ὀρειδρόμον;
And at this, Calchas, rejoicing—how do you think?—said: 'O leaders of this joint army of the Achaeans, do you see this sacrifice, which the goddess has placed before the altar, a mountain-roaming deer?
She welcomes this rather than the maiden, so that she may not defile her altar with noble blood.
And she has gladly received this, and grants us a favorable voyage and the assault on Ilium.
§1598πρὸς ταῦτα πᾶς τις θάρσος αἶρε ναυβάτης, §1599χώρει τε πρὸς ναῦν· ὡς ἡμέρᾳ τῇδε δεῖ §1600λιπόντας ἡμᾶς Αὐλίδος κοίλους μυχοὺς §1601Αἴγαιον οἶδμα διαπερᾶν. §1601aἐπεὶ δʼ ἅπαν §1602κατηνθρακώθη θῦμʼ ἐν Ἡφαίστου φλογί, §1603τὰ πρόσφορʼ ηὔξαθʼ, ὡς τύχοι νόστου στρατός.
Therefore, let every sailor take courage, and go to his ship; since on this day we must leave the hollow recesses of Aulis and cross the Aegean swell.' And when the whole sacrifice was consumed to ashes in the flame of Hephaestus, he offered the fitting prayers, so that the army might obtain its return home.
§1604πέμπει δʼ Ἀγαμέμνων μʼ ὥστε σοι φράσαι τάδε, §1605λέγειν θʼ ὁποίας ἐκ θεῶν μοίρας κυρεῖ §1606καὶ δόξαν ἔσχεν ἄφθιτον καθʼ Ἑλλάδα.
And Agamemnon sends me to tell you these things, and to say what kind of fate she meets from the gods and that she has won imperishable glory throughout Greece.
And I, being present and seeing the matter, tell you: your child has clearly flown away to the gods.
§1609λύπης δʼ ἀφαίρει καὶ πόσει πάρες χόλον· §1610ἀπροσδόκητα δὲ βροτοῖς τὰ τῶν θεῶν, §1611σώζουσί θʼ οὓς φιλοῦσιν.
So cease from grief and let go of your anger against your husband; for the ways of the gods are unexpected by mortals, and they save those whom they love.
ἦμαρ γὰρ τόδε §1612θανοῦσαν εἶδε καὶ βλέπουσαν παῖδα σήν.
For this day has seen your child both dead and alive.
§1613ὡς ἥδομαί τοι ταῦτʼ ἀκούσασʼ ἀγγέλου·
[Chorus] How glad I am to hear these things from the messenger!
§1614ζῶν δʼ ἐν θεοῖσι σὸν μένειν φράζει τέκος.
And he declares that your child lives and remains among the gods.
§1615ὦ παῖ, θεῶν τοῦ κλέμμα γέγονας;
[Clytemnestra] O child, of which of the gods have you become a theft?
§1616πῶς σε προσείπω;
How am I to address you?
And how am I not to say that these stories are told in vain to comfort me, so that I might cease from my mournful grief for you?
[Chorus] And look, king Agamemnon is approaching, having these very same words to tell you.
[Agamemnon] Wife, as far as our daughter is concerned, we may be happy; for she truly has companionship among the gods.
And you must take this newborn child and go to our home; since the army is looking toward the voyage.
And farewell; my greetings to you from Troy will be after a long time.
καὶ γένοιτό σοι καλῶς.
And may it go well with you.