§748ποῦ δʼ ἐμπελάζεις τἀνδρὶ καὶ παρίστασαι; §749εἰ χρὴ μαθεῖν σε, πάντα δὴ φωνεῖν χρεών. §750ὅθʼ εἷρπε κλεινὴν Εὐρύτου πέρσας πόλιν, §751νίκης ἄγων τροπαῖα κἀκροθίνια, §752ἀκτή τις ἀμφίκλυστος Εὐβοίας ἄκρον §753Κήναιόν ἐστιν, ἔνθα πατρῴῳ Διὶ §754βωμοὺς ὁρίζει τεμενίαν τε φυλλάδα· §755οὗ νιν τὰ πρῶτʼ ἐσεῖδον ἄσμενος πόθῳ. §756μέλλοντι δʼ αὐτῷ πολυθύτους τεύχειν σφαγὰς §757κῆρυξ ἀπʼ οἴκων ἵκετʼ οἰκεῖος Λίχας, §758τὸ σὸν φέρων δώρημα, θανάσιμον πέπλον· §759ὃν κεῖνος ἐνδύς, ὡς σὺ προυξεφίεσο, §760ταυροκτονεῖ μὲν δώδεκʼ ἐντελεῖς ἔχων §761λείας ἀπαρχὴν βοῦς· ἀτὰρ τὰ πάνθʼ ὁμοῦ §762ἑκατὸν προσῆγε συμμιγῆ βοσκήματα. §763καὶ πρῶτα μὲν δείλαιος ἵλεῳ φρενί, §764κόσμῳ τε χαίρων καὶ στολῇ, κατηύχετο· §765ὅπως δὲ σεμνῶν ὀργίων ἐδαίετο §766φλὸξ αἱματηρὰ κἀπὸ πιείρας δρυός, §767ἱδρὼς ἀνῄει χρωτί, καὶ προσπτύσσεται §768πλευραῖσιν ἀρτίκολλος, ὥστε τέκτονος, §769χιτὼν ἅπαν κατʼ ἄρθρον· ἦλθε δʼ ὀστέων §770ἀδαγμὸς ἀντίσπαστος· εἶτα φοινίας §771ἐχθρᾶς ἐχίδνης ἰὸς ὣς ἐδαίνυτο. §772ἐνταῦθα δὴ ʼβόησε τὸν δυσδαίμονα §773Λίχαν, τὸν οὐδὲν αἴτιον τοῦ σοῦ κακοῦ, §774ποίαις ἐνέγκοι τόνδε μηχαναῖς πέπλον· §775ὁ δʼ οὐδὲν εἰδὼς δύσμορος τὸ σὸν μόνης §776δώρημʼ ἔλεξεν, ὥσπερ ἦν ἐσταλμένον. §777κἀκεῖνος ὡς ἤκουσε καὶ διώδυνος §778σπαραγμὸς αὐτοῦ πλευμόνων ἀνθήψατο, §779μάρψας ποδός νιν, ἄρθρον ᾗ λυγίζεται, §780ῥιπτεῖ πρὸς ἀμφίκλυστον ἐκ πόντου πέτραν· §781κόμης δὲ λευκὸν μυελὸν ἐκραίνει, μέσου §782κρατὸς διασπαρέντος αἵματός θʼ ὁμοῦ. §783ἅπας δʼ ἀνηυφήμησεν οἰμωγῇ λεώς, §784τοῦ μὲν νοσοῦντος, τοῦ δὲ διαπεπραγμένου· §785κοὐδεὶς ἐτόλμα τἀνδρὸς ἀντίον μολεῖν. §786ἐσπᾶτο γὰρ πέδονδε καὶ μετάρσιος, §787βοῶν, ἰύζων· ἀμφὶ δʼ ἐκτύπουν πέτραι, §788Λοκρῶν τʼ ὄρειοι πρῶνες Εὐβοίας τʼ ἄκραι. §789ἐπεὶ δʼ ἀπεῖπε, πολλὰ μὲν τάλας χθονὶ §790ῥίπτων ἑαυτόν, πολλὰ δʼ οἰμωγῇ βοῶν, §791τὸ δυσπάρευνον λέκτρον ἐνδατούμενος §792σοῦ τῆς ταλαίνης, καὶ τὸν Οἰνέως γάμον §793οἷον κατακτήσαιτο λυμαντὴν βίου, §794τότʼ ἐκ προσέδρου λιγνύος διάστροφον §795ὀφθαλμὸν ἄρας εἶδέ μʼ ἐν πολλῷ στρατῷ §796δακρυρροοῦντα, καί με προσβλέψας καλεῖ· §797ὦ παῖ, πρόσελθε, μὴ φύγῃς τοὐμὸν κακόν, §798μηδʼ εἴ σε χρὴ θανόντι συνθανεῖν ἐμοί· §799ἀλλʼ ἆρον ἔξω, καὶ μάλιστα μέν με θὲς §800ἐνταῦθʼ ὅπου με μή τις ὄψεται βροτῶν· §801εἰ δʼ οἶκτον ἴσχεις, ἀλλά μʼ ἔκ γε τῆσδε γῆς §802πόρθμευσον ὡς τάχιστα, μηδʼ αὐτοῦ θάνω. §803τοσαῦτʼ ἐπισκήψαντος, ἐν μέσῳ σκάφει §804θέντες σφε πρὸς γῆν τήνδʼ ἐκέλσαμεν μόλις §805βρυχώμενον σπασμοῖσι· καί νιν αὐτίκα §806ἢ ζῶντʼ ἐσόψεσθʼ ἢ τεθνηκότʼ ἀρτίως. §807τοιαῦτα, μῆτερ, πατρὶ βουλεύσασʼ ἐμῷ §808καὶ δρῶσʼ ἐλήφθης, ὧν σε ποίνιμος Δίκη §809τίσαιτʼ Ἐρινύς τʼ.
"Where did you come near the man and stand by him?" "If you must learn, indeed I must tell all." "When he was marching, having sacked the famous city of Eurytus," "bringing the trophies and first-fruits of victory," "there is a certain wave-washed shore, the Cenaean promontory" "of Euboea, where to his ancestral Zeus" "he was establishing altars and the sacred foliage of a precinct;" "where I first saw him, rejoicing in my longing." "And as he was about to prepare sacrifices with many victims," "Lichas, the herald from home, a domestic servant, arrived," "bringing your gift, the deadly robe;" "which he put on, just as you had previously enjoined," "and sacrificed twelve unblemished bulls," "the first-fruits of his spoils; but in all," "he brought a hundred mixed cattle together to offer." "And at first indeed, wretched man, with a propitious mind," "rejoicing in his adornment and his robe, he prayed;" "but when of the solemn rites was kindled" "the bloody flame, even from the rich wood," "sweat rose upon his skin, and there clung close-fitting to his sides," "like a craftsman's work, the tunic, at every joint; and there came" "to his bones a convulsive gnawing pain; then, like" "the venom of a deadly, hostile viper, it began to feast upon him." "Then indeed he shouted for the unhappy" "Lichas, who was in no way to blame for your evil deed," "asking by what plot he had brought this robe;" "and he, knowing nothing, ill-fated man, said it was your gift alone, just as it had been sent." "And he, when he heard it, and as a piercing" "spasm seized his lungs," "seizing him by the foot, where the joint bends," "he hurled him against a rock washed by the sea on all sides;" "and the white brain was dashed out from his hair, as the middle" "of his skull was shattered and blood mixed with it." "And all the people shrieked aloud in lamentation," "the one being in agony, and the other having been destroyed;" "and no one dared to go near the man." "For he was convulsed down to the ground and up into the air," "shouting, screaming; and the rocks around re-echoed," "both the mountain peaks of the Locrians and the promontories of Euboea." "And when he grew exhausted, many times, wretched man," "throwing himself upon the ground, and many times crying out in lamentation," "reviling the ill-fated bridal bed" "of you, wretched woman, and his marriage with Oeneus's daughter," "what a destroyer of his life he had won in it," "then, raising his distorted eye from" "the surrounding smoke, he saw me in the great army" "shedding tears, and looking at me, he called:" "'My son, come near, do not flee from my misery,'" "'not even if you must die with me, who am dying;'" "'but lift me up and carry me out, and most of all place me'" "'where no mortal shall look upon me;'" "'and if you have pity, at least convey me'" "'out of this land as quickly as possible, and let me not die here.'" "Since he laid such commands on us, having placed him" "in the middle of a boat, with difficulty we brought him to this land," "roaring in spasms; and you will see him immediately," "either living or just recently dead." "Such things, mother, have you been found planning" "and doing against my father; for which may avenging Justice" "and the Erinys punish you!
εἰ θέμις δʼ, ἐπεύχομαι· §810θέμις δʼ, ἐπεί μοι τὴν θέμιν σὺ προύβαλες, §811πάντων ἄριστον ἄνδρα τῶν ἐπὶ χθονὶ §812κτείνασʼ, ὁποῖον ἄλλον οὐκ ὄψει ποτέ. §813τί σῖγʼ ἀφέρπεις;
If it is lawful, I pray for this;" "and it is lawful, since you have cast away all law towards me," "by slaying the noblest man of all upon the earth," "whose like you will never see again." "Why do you steal away in silence?
οὐ κάτοισθʼ ὁθούνεκα §814ξυνηγορεῖς σιγῶσα τῷ κατηγόρῳ; §815ἐᾶτʼ ἀφέρπειν· οὖρος ὀφθαλμῶν ἐμῶν §816αὐτῇ γένοιτʼ ἄπωθεν ἑρπούσῃ καλός. §817ὄγκον γὰρ ἄλλως ὀνόματος τί δεῖ τρέφειν §818μητρῷον, ἥτις μηδὲν ὡς τεκοῦσα δρᾷ; §819ἀλλʼ ἑρπέτω χαίρουσα· τὴν δὲ τέρψιν ἣν §820τὠμῷ δίδωσι πατρί, τήνδʼ αὐτὴ λάβοι. §821ἴδʼ οἷον, ὦ παῖδες, προσέμιξεν ἄφαρ §822τοὔπος τὸ θεοπρόπον ἡμῖν §823τᾶς παλαιφάτου προνοίας, §824ὅ τʼ ἔλακεν, ὁπότε τελεόμηνος ἐκφέροι §825δωδέκατος ἄροτος, ἀναδοχὰν τελεῖν πόνων §826τῷ Διὸς αὐτόπαιδι· καὶ τάδʼ ὀρθῶς §827ἔμπεδα κατουρίζει.
Do you not know that" "by keeping silent you plead on the side of your accuser?" "Chorus: Let her steal away; may a fair wind blow" "for her as she goes far from my eyes." "Hyllus: For why should one uselessly cherish the proud title" "of mother, when she does nothing like a parent?" "But let her go, and farewell; and the joy which" "she gives to my father, may she herself receive!" "Chorus: Behold, O maidens, how suddenly" "the divine word has overtaken us," "of that ancient prophecy," "which declared that, when the twelfth plowing season" "should run its full course of months, it should bring an end of labors" "to the very son of Zeus; and these things, rightly," "are sailing straight before the wind.
πῶς γὰρ ἂν ὁ μὴ λεύσσων §830ἔτι ποτʼ ἔτʼ ἐπίπονον πόνων ἔχοι θανὼν λατρείαν; §831εἰ γάρ σφε Κενταύρου φονίᾳ νεφέλᾳ §832χρίει δολοποιὸς ἀνάγκα §833πλευρά, προστακέντος ἰοῦ,
For how could he who no longer sees the light" "still, after death, have a wearisome service of labors?" "For if the murderous cloud of the Centaur" "anoints his sides by treacherous necessity," "as the venom melts into him," "the absorbing poison" "must be consuming his body."