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Euripides · Iphigenia in Aulis §464-542

Menelaus's Change of Heart and Agamemnon's Despair

Passage 6 of 19 · Greek

Summary

Hearing Agamemnon's lament, Menelaus changes his mind and opposes sacrificing Iphigenia for Helen's sake. However, Agamemnon despairs, believing that Odysseus will expose the oracle and incite the army, leaving him with no choice but to sacrifice his daughter.

§464γήμειας αὐτὸς χὥστις ἐστί σοι φίλος.
Marry for yourself and for whoever is dear to you.
§465παρὼν δʼ Ὀρέστης ἐγγὺς ἀναβοήσεται §466οὐ συνετὰ συνετῶς· ἔτι γάρ ἐστι νήπιος.
And Orestes, being present nearby, will cry out things not understood, yet understandably; for he is still an infant.
§467αἰαῖ, τὸν Ἑλένης ὥς μʼ ἀπώλεσεν γάμον §468γήμας ὁ Πριάμου Πάρις, ὃς εἴργασται τάδε.
Alas, how the marriage with Helen destroyed me, which Paris, the son of Priam, married, who has wrought these things.
§469κἀγὼ κατῴκτιρʼ, ὡς γυναῖκα δεῖ ξένην §470ὑπὲρ τυράννων συμφορᾶς καταστένειν.
And I too pitied her; for it is right for a foreign woman to groan for the misfortune of rulers.
§471ἀδελφέ, δός μοι δεξιᾶς τῆς σῆς θιγεῖν.
Brother, give me your right hand to touch.
§472δίδωμι· σὸν γὰρ τὸ κράτος, ἄθλιος δʼ ἐγώ.
I give it; for the power is yours, and I am wretched.
§473Πέλοπα κατόμνυμʼ, ὃς πατὴρ τοὐμοῦ πατρὸς §474τοῦ σοῦ τʼ ἐκλήθη, τὸν τεκόντα τʼ Ἀτρέα, §475ἦ μὴν ἐρεῖν σοι τἀπὸ καρδίας σαφῶς §476καὶ μὴ ʼπίτηδες μηδέν, ἀλλʼ ὅσον φρονῶ.
I swear by Pelops, who was called the father of my father and of yours, and by Atreus who begot us, surely to speak to you clearly from my heart, and nothing on purpose, but only what I think.
§477ἐγώ σʼ ἀπʼ ὄσσων ἐκβαλόντʼ ἰδὼν δάκρυ §478ᾤκτιρα, καὐτὸς ἀνταφῆκά σοι πάλιν §479καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἐξαφίσταμαι λόγων, §480οὐκ ἐς σὲ δεινός· εἰμὶ δʼ οὗπερ εἶ σὺ νῦν·
When I saw you casting a tear from your eyes, I pitied you, and I myself shed tears in turn for you, and I withdraw from my former words, not being harsh towards you; and I am where you are now.
§481καί σοι παραινῶ μήτʼ ἀποκτείνειν τέκνον §482μήτʼ ἀνθελέσθαι τοὐμόν.
And I advise you neither to kill your child or to choose my interest instead.
οὐ γὰρ ἔνδικον §483σὲ μὲν στενάζειν, τἀμὰ δʼ ἡδέως ἔχειν, §484θνῄσκειν τε τοὺς σούς, τοὺς δʼ ἐμοὺς ὁρᾶν φάος.
For it is not just for you to groan while my affairs are pleasant, and for your children to die while mine see the light.
§485τί βούλομαι γάρ;
For what do I want?
οὐ γάμους ἐξαιρέτους §486ἄλλους λάβοιμʼ ἄν, εἰ γάμων ἱμείρομαι;
Could I not obtain other choice marriages, if I desire marriage?
§487ἀλλʼ ἀπολέσας ἀδελφόν, ὅν μʼ ἥκιστα χρῆν, §488Ἑλένην ἕλωμαι, τὸ κακὸν ἀντὶ τἀγαθοῦ;
But having destroyed a brother, whom I least ought to, shall I take Helen, the evil instead of the good?
§489ἄφρων νέος τʼ ἦ, πρὶν τὰ πράγματʼ ἐγγύθεν §490σκοπῶν ἐσεῖδον οἷον ἦν κτείνειν τέκνα.
I was foolish and young, before, looking closely at things, I saw what it was to kill children.
§491ἄλλως τέ μʼ ἔλεος τῆς ταλαιπώρου κόρης §492ἐσῆλθε, συγγένειαν ἐννοουμένῳ, §493ἣ τῶν ἐμῶν ἕκατι θύεσθαι γάμων §494μέλλει.
Moreover, pity for the wretched girl came upon me when I reflected on our kinship, she who is about to be sacrificed for the sake of my marriage.
τί δʼ Ἑλένης παρθένῳ τῇ σῇ μέτα;
And what has your maiden to do with Helen?
§495ἴτω στρατεία διαλυθεῖσʼ ἐξ Αὐλίδος, §496σὺ δʼ ὄμμα παῦσαι δακρύοις τέγγων τὸ σόν, §497ἀδελφέ, κἀμὲ παρακαλῶν ἐς δάκρυα.
Let the army be disbanded and depart from Aulis, and you, brother, cease from wetting your eyes with tears, and from calling me to tears.
§498εἰ δέ τι κόρης σῆς θεσφάτων μέτεστι σοί, §499μὴ ʼμοὶ μετέστω· σοὶ νέμω τοὐμὸν μέρος.
And if some share of the oracles of your girl belongs to you, let it not belong to me; I yield my share to you.
§500ἀλλʼ ἐς μεταβολὰς ἦλθον ἀπὸ δεινῶν λόγων;
But did I come to changes from terrible words?
§501εἰκὸς πέπονθα· τὸν ὁμόθεν πεφυκότα §502στέργων μετέπεσον.
I have suffered what is natural; loving him who is born from the same source, I changed.
ἀνδρὸς οὐ κακοῦ τροπαὶ §503τοιαίδε, χρῆσθαι τοῖσι βελτίστοις ἀεί.
These are not the turns of an evil man, to use always the best things.
§504γενναῖʼ ἔλεξας Ταντάλῳ τε τῷ Διὸς §505πρέποντα· προγόνους οὐ καταισχύνεις σέθεν.
You have spoken noble words, worthy of Tantalus, the son of Zeus; you do not disgrace your ancestors.
§506αἰνῶ σε, Μενέλαʼ, ὅτι παρὰ γνώμην ἐμὴν §507ὑπέθηκας ὀρθῶς τοὺς λόγους σοῦ τʼ ἀξίως.
I praise you, Menelaus, because, contrary to my expectation, you have suggested these words rightly and worthily of yourself.
§508ταραχὴ δʼ ἀδελφῶν διά τʼ ἔρωτα γίγνεται §509πλεονεξίαν τε δωμάτων· ἀπέπτυσα §510τοιάνδε συγγένειαν ἀλλήλοιν πικράν.
Strife of brothers arises because of desire and greed for houses; I loathe such a bitter kinship with one another.
§511ἀλλʼ ἥκομεν γὰρ εἰς ἀναγκαίας τύχας, §512θυγατρὸς αἱματηρὸν ἐκπρᾶξαι φόνον.
But indeed we have come to necessary fortunes, to execute the bloody murder of my daughter.
§513πῶς;
How?
τίς δʼ ἀναγκάσει σε τήν γε σὴν κτανεῖν;
Who will compel you to kill your own?
§514ἅπας Ἀχαιῶν σύλλογος στρατεύματος.
The whole assembly of the Achaean army.
§515οὔκ, ἤν νιν εἰς Ἄργος γʼ ἀποστείλῃς πάλιν.
No, not if you send her back to Argos again.
§516λάθοιμι τοῦτʼ ἄν.
I might hide this.
ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνʼ οὐ λήσομεν.
But we shall not hide that.
§517τὸ ποῖον;
What kind of thing?
οὔτοι χρὴ λίαν ταρβεῖν ὄχλον.
One must not fear the crowd too much.
§518Κάλχας ἐρεῖ μαντεύματʼ Ἀργείων στρατῷ.
Calchas will speak the oracles to the army of the Argives.
§519οὔκ, ἢν θάνῃ γε πρόσθε· τοῦτο δʼ εὐμαρές.
No, not if he dies first; and this is easy.
§520τὸ μαντικὸν πᾶν σπέρμα φιλότιμον κακόν.
The whole race of prophets is an ambitious evil.
§521κοὐδέν γʼ ἄχρηστον, οὐδὲ χρήσιμον παρόν.
And of no use, nor useful when present.
§522ἐκεῖνο δʼ οὐ δέδοικας ὃ ἔμʼ ἐσέρχεται;
But do you not fear that which enters my mind?
§523ὃν μὴ σὺ φράζεις, πῶς ὑπολάβοιμʼ ἂν λόγον;
Unless you tell me, how could I understand your word?
§524τὸ Σισύφειον σπέρμα πάντʼ οἶδεν τάδε.
The seed of Sisyphus knows all these things.
§525οὐκ ἔστʼ Ὀδυσσεὺς ὅ τι σὲ κἀμὲ πημανεῖ.
There is nothing Odysseus can do to harm you and me.
§526ποικίλος ἀεὶ πέφυκε τοῦ τʼ ὄχλου μέτα.
He was always crafty and with the crowd.
§527φιλοτιμίᾳ μὲν ἐνέχεται, δεινῷ κακῷ.
He is possessed by ambition, a terrible evil.
§528οὐκ οὖν δοκεῖς νιν στάντʼ ἐν Ἀργείοις μέσοις §529λέξειν ἃ Κάλχας θέσφατʼ ἐξηγήσατο, §530κἄμʼ ὡς ὑπέστην θῦμα, κᾆτʼ ἐψευδόμην, §531Ἀρτέμιδι θύσειν;
Do you not think, then, that standing in the midst of the Argives, he will tell the oracles which Calchas explained, and how I undertook the sacrifice and then lied, promising to sacrifice to Artemis?
οὐ ξυναρπάσας στρατόν, §532σὲ κἄμʼ ἀποκτείναντας Ἀργείους κόρην §533σφάξαι κελεύσει;
Having snatched the army, will he not order the Argives, after killing you and me, to slaughter the girl?
κἂν πρὸς Ἄργος ἐκφύγω, §534ἐλθόντες αὐτοῖς τείχεσιν Κυκλωπίοις §535συναρπάσουσι καὶ κατασκάψουσι γῆν.
And even if I flee to Argos, they will come to the Cyclopean walls themselves, snatch us away and raze the land.
§536τοιαῦτα τἀμὰ πήματʼ· ὦ τάλας ἐγώ, §537ὡς ἠπόρημαι πρὸς θεῶν τὰ νῦν τάδε.
Such are my evils; O wretched that I am, how I am helpless from the gods at this present time.
§538ἕν μοι φύλαξον, Μενέλεως, ἀνὰ στρατὸν §539ἐλθών, ὅπως ἂν μὴ Κλυταιμήστρα τάδε §540μάθῃ, πρὶν Ἅιδῃ παῖδʼ ἐμὴν προσθῶ λαβών, §541ὡς ἐπʼ ἐλαχίστοις δακρύοις πράσσω κακῶς.
Guard one thing for me, Menelaus, going through the army, so that Clytemnestra may not learn these things, before I take my child and present her to Hades, so that I may fare badly with the fewest tears.
§542ὑμεῖς τε σιγήν, ὦ ξέναι, φυλάσσετε.
And you, foreign women, keep silence.

Notes

  1. §464γήμειας — Aorist active optative. It is used here with an imperative force, dismissing Agamemnon by telling him to go marry by himself.
  2. §465οὐ συνετὰ συνετῶς — An oxymoronic combination of the neuter plural accusative used adverbially and an adverb. It describes the vivid scene of the infant Orestes, who cannot talk yet, crying "unintelligible things in an intelligible way."
  3. §475ἦ μὴν ἐρεῖν — The particles ἦ μήν, introducing a solemn oath, are followed by the future active infinitive ἐρεῖν, which specifies the content of the oath. It depends on the verb of swearing κατόμνυμι in §473.
  4. §488ἕλωμαι — Aorist middle subjunctive. This is a deliberative subjunctive expressing surprise or indignation: "Am I to take (Helen)?"
  5. §521οὐδὲ χρήσιμον παρόν — The participle παρόν (present active neuter singular of πάρειμι) functions either as concessive ("even when present") or conditional. It is a strong expression of distrust toward prophets.
  6. §528στάντʼ — The participle στάντα (aorist active accusative singular of ἵστημι) agrees with νιν (referring to Odysseus in §528), the subject of the following infinitive λέξειν (§529), indicating attendant circumstance or time ("standing up / having stood in the midst, he will speak").

Cite this passage

Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis §464-542. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg018.humanitext-grc2:464-542

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