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Euripides · Iphigenia in Aulis §645-718

Poignant Farewell of Father and Daughter and Inquiries on Achilles

Passage 8 of 19 · Greek

Summary

Agamemnon and Iphigenia share a poignant conversation about their impending, ominous separation. After she goes inside, Clytemnestra questions Agamemnon in detail about the noble lineage, upbringing, and wedding schedule of their prospective son-in-law, Achilles.

§645πόλλʼ ἀνδρὶ βασιλεῖ καὶ στρατηλάτῃ μέλει.
[Agamemnon] Many things concern a man who is king and general.
§646παρʼ ἐμοὶ γενοῦ νῦν, μὴ ʼπὶ φροντίδας τρέπου.
[Iphigenia] Be with me now, do not turn to worries.
§647ἀλλʼ εἰμὶ παρὰ σοὶ νῦν ἅπας κοὐκ ἄλλοθι.
[Agamemnon] But I am with you now entirely, and nowhere else.
§648μέθες νυν ὀφρὺν ὄμμα τʼ ἔκτεινον φίλον.
[Iphigenia] Let go of your frown then, and soften your loving eyes.
§649ἰδού, γέγηθά σʼ ὡς γέγηθʼ ὁρῶν, τέκνον.
[Agamemnon] Look, I rejoice at seeing you as I do rejoice, my child.
§650κἄπειτα λείβεις δάκρυʼ ἀπʼ ὀμμάτων σέθεν;
[Iphigenia] And yet do you shed tears from your eyes?
§651μακρὰ γὰρ ἡμῖν ἡ ʼπιοῦσʼ ἀπουσία.
[Agamemnon] For the coming separation will be long for us.
§652οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι φῄς, οὐκ οἶδα, φίλτατʼ ἐμοὶ πάτερ.
[Iphigenia] I do not know what you mean, I do not know, my dearest father.
§653συνετὰ λέγουσα μᾶλλον εἰς οἶκτόν μʼ ἄγεις.
[Agamemnon] The more sensibly you speak, the more you move me to pity.
§654ἀσύνετά νυν ἐροῦμεν, εἰ σέ γʼ εὐφρανῶ.
[Iphigenia] Then I will speak foolishly, if indeed I shall please you.
§655παπαῖ.
[Agamemnon] Alas!
τὸ σιγᾶν οὐ σθένω· σὲ δʼ ᾔνεσα.
I have not the strength to keep silent; yet I praise you.
§656μένʼ, ὦ πάτερ, κατʼ οἶκον ἐπὶ τέκνοις σέθεν.
[Iphigenia] Stay, father, at home for the sake of your children.
§657θέλω γε· τὸ θέλειν δʼ οὐκ ἔχων ἀλγύνομαι.
[Agamemnon] I wish to indeed; but not having the power to do what I wish, I suffer.
§658ὄλοιντο λόγχαι καὶ τὰ Μενέλεω κακά.
[Iphigenia] May spears perish, and the misfortunes of Menelaus!
§659ἄλλους ὀλεῖ πρόσθʼ ἃ ἐμὲ διολέσαντʼ ἔχει.
[Agamemnon] They will destroy others first, which have already destroyed me.
§660ὡς πολὺν ἀπῆσθα χρόνον ἐν Αὐλίδος μυχοῖς.
[Iphigenia] How long a time you have been absent in the recesses of Aulis.
§661καὶ νῦν γέ μʼ ἴσχει δή τι μὴ στέλλειν στρατόν.
[Agamemnon] And even now indeed, something holds me back from sending the army.
§662ποῦ τοὺς Φρύγας λέγουσιν ᾠκίσθαι, πάτερ;
[Iphigenia] Where do they say the Phrygians are settled, father?
§663οὗ μήποτʼ οἰκεῖν ὤφελʼ ὁ Πριάμου Πάρις.
[Agamemnon] Where Paris, son of Priam, ought never to have lived.
§664μακρὰν ἀπαίρεις, ὦ πάτερ, λιπὼν ἐμέ.
[Iphigenia] You are departing far, father, leaving me behind.
§665εἰς ταὐτόν, ὦ θύγατερ, ἥκεις σῷ πατρί.
[Agamemnon] To the same point, my daughter, you have come as your father.
§666φεῦ·
[Iphigenia] Alas!
§666aεἴθʼ ἦν καλόν μοι σοί τʼ ἄγειν σύμπλουν ἐμέ.
Would that it were fitting for me and for you that I should be taken as your fellow voyager.
§667ἔτʼ ἔστι καὶ σοὶ πλοῦς, ἵνʼ ἀμμνήσῃ πατρός.
[Agamemnon] There is still a voyage for you too, where you will remember your father.
§668σὺν μητρὶ πλεύσασʼ ἢ μόνη πορεύσομαι;
[Iphigenia] Shall I sail with my mother, or shall I go alone?
§669μόνη, μονωθεῖσʼ ἀπὸ πατρὸς καὶ μητέρος.
[Agamemnon] Alone, separated from both your father and your mother.
§670οὔ πού μʼ ἐς ἄλλα δώματʼ οἰκίζεις, πάτερ;
[Iphigenia] Surely you are not settling me in another house, father?
§671ἐατέʼ· οὐ χρὴ τοιάδʼ εἰδέναι κόρας.
[Agamemnon] Let it be; a maiden must not know such things.
§672σπεῦδʼ ἐκ Φρυγῶν μοι, θέμενος εὖ τἀκεῖ, πάτερ.
[Iphigenia] Hasten back from the Phrygians to me, having settled things well there, father.
§673θῦσαί με θυσίαν πρῶτα δεῖ τινʼ ἐνθάδε.
[Agamemnon] First, I must offer a certain sacrifice here.
§674ἀλλὰ ξὺν ἱεροῖς χρὴ τό γʼ εὐσεβὲς σκοπεῖν.
[Iphigenia] But indeed, you must consider piety together with sacred rites.
§675εἴσῃ σύ· χερνίβων γὰρ ἑστήξῃ πέλας.
[Agamemnon] You will know; for you will stand near the holy water basins.
§676στήσομεν ἄρʼ ἀμφὶ βωμόν, ὦ πάτερ, χορούς;
[Iphigenia] Shall we then set up dances around the altar, father?
§677ζηλῶ σὲ μᾶλλον ἢ ʼμὲ τοῦ μηδὲν φρονεῖν.
[Agamemnon] I envy you more than myself for knowing nothing.
§678χώρει δὲ μελάθρων ἐντός — ὀφθῆναι κόραις §679πικρόν — φίλημα δοῦσα δεξιάν τέ μοι, §680μέλλουσα δαρὸν πατρὸς ἀποικήσειν χρόνον.
Go inside the palace—for it is painful for maidens to be seen— having given me a kiss and your right hand, since you are about to live away from your father for a long time.
§681ὦ στέρνα καὶ παρῇδες, ὦ ξανθαὶ κόμαι, §682ὡς ἄχθος ὑμῖν ἐγένεθʼ ἡ Φρυγῶν πόλις §683Ἑλένη τε. — παύω τοὺς λόγους· ταχεῖα γὰρ §684νοτὶς διώκει μʼ ὀμμάτων ψαύσαντά σου.
O breast and cheeks, O golden hair, how the city of the Phrygians and Helen became a heavy burden to you!— I stop my words; for a sudden moisture chases from my eyes as I touch you.
§685ἴθʼ ἐς μέλαθρα. σὲ δὲ παραιτοῦμαι τάδε, §686Λήδας γένεθλον, εἰ κατῳκτίσθην ἄγαν, §687μέλλων Ἀχιλλεῖ θυγατέρʼ ἐκδώσειν ἐμήν.
Go into the palace. [To Clytemnestra] And you, offspring of Leda, I ask your indulgence, if I have been overly moved to pity, as I am about to give my daughter to Achilles.
§688ἀποστολαὶ γὰρ μακάριαι μέν, ἀλλʼ ὅμως §689δάκνουσι τοὺς τεκόντας, ὅταν ἄλλοις δόμοις §690παῖδας παραδιδῷ πολλὰ μοχθήσας πατήρ.
For sendings-away are indeed happy, but nevertheless they sting the parents, when a father, after much toil, hands over his children to other homes.
§691οὐχ ὧδʼ ἀσύνετός εἰμι, πείσεσθαι δέ με §692καὐτὴν δόκει τάδʼ, ὥστε μή σε νουθετεῖν, §693ὅταν σὺν ὑμεναίοισιν ἐξάγω κόρην·
[Clytemnestra] I am not so witless, but believe that I myself will experience these same feelings, so that you do not need to admonish me, when I lead the girl out with wedding songs.
§694ἀλλʼ ὁ νόμος αὐτὰ τῷ χρόνῳ συνισχανεῖ.
But custom will dry these tears in time.
§695τοὔνομα μὲν οὖν παῖδʼ οἶδʼ ὅτῳ κατῄνεσας, §696γένους δʼ ὁποίου χὡπόθεν, μαθεῖν θέλω.
Now indeed, I know the name of the man to whom you promised the child, but I wish to learn of what lineage he is and from where.
§697Αἴγινα θυγάτηρ ἐγένετʼ Ἀσωποῦ πατρός.
[Agamemnon] Aegina was the daughter of her father Asopus.
§698ταύτην δὲ θνητῶν ἢ θεῶν ἔζευξε τίς;
[Clytemnestra] And who of mortals or of gods wedded her?
§699Ζεύς· Αἰακὸν δʼ ἔφυσεν, Οἰνώνης πρόμον.
[Agamemnon] Zeus; and she bore Aeacus, the ruler of Oenone.
§700τὰ δʼ Αἰακοῦ παῖς τίς κατέσχε δώματα;
[Clytemnestra] And which child took possession of the house of Aeacus?
§701Πηλεύς· ὁ Πηλεὺς δʼ ἔσχε Νηρέως κόρην.
[Agamemnon] Peleus; and Peleus wedded the daughter of Nereus.
§702θεοῦ διδόντος, ἢ βίᾳ θεῶν λαβών;
[Clytemnestra] With a god giving her, or did he take her by force from the gods?
§703Ζεὺς ἠγγύησε καὶ δίδωσʼ ὁ κύριος.
[Agamemnon] Zeus betrothed her, and her guardian gave her.
§704γαμεῖ δὲ ποῦ νιν;
[Clytemnestra] And where did he marry her?
ἦ κατʼ οἶδμα πόντιον;
Was it on the sea-swell?
§705Χείρων ἵνʼ οἰκεῖ σεμνὰ Πηλίου βάθρα.
[Agamemnon] Where Chiron dwells, at the sacred foothills of Pelion.
§706οὗ φασι Κενταύρειον ᾠκίσθαι γένος;
[Clytemnestra] Where they say the Centaur race is settled?
§707ἐνταῦθʼ ἔδαισαν Πηλέως γάμους θεοί.
[Agamemnon] There the gods feasted at the wedding of Peleus.
§708Θέτις δʼ ἔθρεψεν ἢ πατὴρ Ἀχιλλέα;
[Clytemnestra] And did Thetis rear Achilles, or did his father?
§709Χείρων, ἵνʼ ἤθη μὴ μάθοι κακῶν βροτῶν.
[Agamemnon] Chiron, so that he might not learn the habits of evil men.
§710φεῦ·
[Clytemnestra] Ah!
§710aσοφός γʼ ὁ θρέψας χὡ διδοὺς σοφώτερος.
Wise indeed was the rearer, and wiser still the one who entrusted him.
§711τοιόσδε παιδὸς σῆς ἀνὴρ ἔσται πόσις.
[Agamemnon] Such a man will be the husband of your daughter.
§712οὐ μεμπτός.
[Clytemnestra] Beyond blame.
οἰκεῖ δʼ ἄστυ ποῖον Ἑλλάδος;
But in what city of Greece does he dwell?
§713Ἀπιδανὸν ἀμφὶ ποταμὸν ἐν Φθίας ὅροις.
[Agamemnon] Around the river Apidanus, within the borders of Phthia.
§714ἐκεῖσʼ ἀπάξει σὴν ἐμήν τε παρθένον;
[Clytemnestra] Will he lead your and my maiden daughter there?
§715κείνῳ μελήσει ταῦτα, τῷ κεκτημένῳ.
[Agamemnon] That will be the concern of him, who possesses her.
§716ἀλλʼ εὐτυχοίτην.
[Clytemnestra] May they be fortunate.
τίνι δʼ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ γαμεῖ;
But on what day will he marry her?
§717ὅταν σελήνης εὐτυχὴς ἔλθῃ κύκλος.
[Agamemnon] When the fortunate circle of the moon arrives.
§718προτέλεια δʼ ἤδη παιδὸς ἔσφαξας θεᾷ;
[Clytemnestra] And have you already slaughtered the preliminary wedding sacrifices of the child to the goddess?

Notes

  1. 659διολέσαντʼ ἔχει — An instance of the "perfect periphrasis" combining the verb ἔχω with an aorist participle. It not only expresses a completed action but strongly emphasizes the continuing state in the present: "which keeps me in a state of ruin."
  2. 665σῷ πατρί — Dative case dependent on the substantivated neuter expression eis tautón (εἰς ταὐτόν, "to the same point"), meaning "same as your father." This marks the shared, yet tragically ironic, destiny of departure that both father and daughter are facing.
  3. 677τοῦ μηδὲν φρονεῖν — Genitive of the articular infinitive expressing the cause or reason with the verb of envying, ζηλῶ: "I envy you ... because of your thinking nothing (i.e., being unaware of the truth)." The negative particle used with the infinitive is appropriately μηδέν rather than οὐδέν.
  4. 691πείσεσθαι — Future infinitive of the verb πάσχω ("to suffer, experience"). Although homonymous with the future middle infinitive of πείθω ("to obey, be persuaded"), the context here demands the meaning of πάσχω: "that I myself will experience these same things." Together with the accusative subject me, it forms the accusative-and-infinitive construction dependent on dokei.

Cite this passage

Euripides, Iphigenia in Aulis §645-718. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg018.humanitext-grc2:645-718

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