§972ἔοικας ἥκειν αἰσχρά· νῦν δʼ ἄλλοισι δοὺς §973οἷς εἰκὸς ἔκπλει, τἀμά μοι μεθεὶς ὅπλα. §974τί δρῶμεν, ἄνδρες; §974aὦ κάκιστʼ ἀνδρῶν, τί δρᾷς; §975οὐκ εἶ μεθεὶς τὰ τόξα ταῦτʼ ἐμοὶ πάλιν; §976οἴμοι, τίς ἁνήρ;
\n"You seem to have come to shameful things; but now, giving them up to others\n\nto whom it is proper, sail away, releasing my weapons to me."\n\n"What shall we do, men?"\n\n"O worst of men, what are you doing?\n\nWill you not go, releasing this bow to me again?"\n\n"Alas, who is this man?
Do I hear Odysseus?"\n\n"Odysseus, know clearly, myself indeed, whom you look upon."\n\n"Alas!
πέπραμαι κἀπόλωλʼ· ὅδʼ ἦν ἄρα §979ὁ ξυλλαβών με κἀπονοσφίσας ὅπλων. §980ἐγώ, σάφʼ ἴσθʼ, οὐκ ἄλλος· ὁμολογῶ τάδε. §981ἀπόδος, ἄφες μοι, παῖ, τὰ τόξα. §981aτοῦτο μέν, §982οὐδʼ ἢν θέλῃ, δράσει ποτʼ· ἀλλὰ καὶ σὲ δεῖ §983στείχειν ἅμʼ αὐτοῖς, ἢ βίᾳ στελοῦσί σε. §984ἔμʼ, ὦ κακῶν κάκιστε καὶ τολμήστατε, §985οἵδʼ ἐκ βίας ἄξουσιν; §985aἢν μὴ ἕρπῃς ἑκών. §986ὦ Λημνία χθὼν καὶ τὸ παγκρατὲς σέλας §987Ἡφαιστότευκτον, ταῦτα δῆτʼ ἀνασχετά, §988εἴ μʼ οὗτος ἐκ τῶν σῶν ἀπάξεται βίᾳ; §989Ζεύς ἐσθʼ, ἵνʼ εἰδῇς, Ζεύς, ὁ τῆσδε γῆς κρατῶν, §990Ζεύς, ᾧ δέδοκται ταῦθʼ· ὑπηρετῶ δʼ ἐγώ. §991ὦ μῖσος, οἷα κἀξανευρίσκεις λέγειν· §992θεοὺς προτείνων τοὺς θεοὺς ψευδεῖς τίθης. §993οὔκ, ἀλλʼ ἀληθεῖς· ἡ δʼ ὁδὸς πορευτέα. §994οὔ φημʼ. §994aἐγὼ δέ φημι.
I have been sold and am ruined; this indeed was the one\n\nwho captured me and robbed me of my weapons."\n\n"I, know clearly, no other; I confess these things."\n\n"Give them back, let go of the bow for me, child."\n\n"This indeed he\n\nwill never do, not even if he wishes; but you too must\n\ngo along with them, or they will carry you off by force."\n\n"Me, O worst of the evil and most daring,\n\nwill these men lead by force?"\n\n"Unless you go willingly."\n\n"O Lemnian land and all-powerful,\n\nHephaestus-fashioned flame, are these things indeed tolerable,\n\nif this man shall lead me away from your territory by force?"\n\n"It is Zeus, that you may know, Zeus, who rules this land,\n\nZeus, by whom these things have been decided; and I serve him."\n\n"O hateful thing, what sort of things you even devise to say!\n\nHolding up the gods as a pretext, you make the gods liars."\n\n"No, but true ones; and the path must be traveled."\n\n"I say no."\n\n"And I say yes.
πειστέον τάδε. §995οἴμοι τάλας.
These things must be obeyed."\n\n"Alas, wretched me!
ἡμᾶς μὲν ὡς δούλους σαφῶς §996πατὴρ ἄρʼ ἐξέφυσεν οὐδʼ ἐλευθέρους. §997οὔκ, ἀλλʼ ὁμοίους τοῖς ἀρίστοισιν, μεθʼ ὧν §998Τροίαν σʼ ἑλεῖν δεῖ καὶ κατασκάψαι βίᾳ. §999οὐδέποτέ γʼ· οὐδʼ ἢν χρῇ με πᾶν παθεῖν κακόν, §1000ἕως ἂν ᾖ μοι γῆς τόδʼ αἰπεινὸν βάθρον. §1001τί δʼ ἐργασείεις; §1001aκρᾶτʼ ἐμὸν τόδʼ αὐτίκα §1002πέτρᾳ πέτρας ἄνωθεν αἱμάξω πεσών. §1003ξυλλάβετον αὐτόν· μὴ ʼπὶ τῷδʼ ἔστω τάδε.
My father then clearly begot us\n\nas slaves, and not free."\n\n"No, but equal to the best, with whom\n\nyou must capture Troy and raze it by force."\n\n"Never indeed; not even if I must suffer every evil,\n\nas long as this steep ledge of earth remains to me."\n\n"And what do you intend to do?"\n\n"This head of mine I will immediately\n\nstain with blood, falling from the rock above upon a rock."\n\n"Seize him, both of you!
§1004ὦ χεῖρες, οἷα πάσχετʼ ἐν χρείᾳ φίλης §1005νευρᾶς, ὑπʼ ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε συνθηρώμεναι. §1006ὦ μηδὲν ὑγιὲς μηδʼ ἐλεύθερον φρονῶν, §1007οἷʼ αὖ μʼ ὑπῆλθες, ὥς μʼ ἐθηράσω, λαβὼν §1008πρόβλημα σαυτοῦ παῖδα τόνδʼ ἀγνῶτʼ ἐμοί, §1009ἀνάξιον μὲν σοῦ, κατάξιον δʼ ἐμοῦ, §1010ὃς οὐδὲν ᾔδει πλὴν τὸ προσταχθὲν ποεῖν, §1011δῆλος δὲ καὶ νῦν ἐστιν ἀλγεινῶς φέρων §1012οἷς τʼ αὐτὸς ἐξήμαρτεν οἷς τʼ ἐγὼ ʼπαθον. §1013ἀλλʼ ἡ κακὴ σὴ διὰ μυχῶν βλέπουσʼ ἀεὶ §1014ψυχή νιν ἀφυῆ τʼ ὄντα κοὐ θέλονθʼ ὅμως §1015εὖ προυδίδαξεν ἐν κακοῖς εἶναι σοφόν. §1016καὶ νῦν ἔμʼ, ὦ δύστηνε, συνδήσας νοεῖς §1017ἄγειν ἀπʼ ἀκτῆς τῆσδʼ, ἐν ᾗ με προυβάλου §1018ἄφιλον ἔρημον ἄπολιν, ἐν ζῶσιν νεκρόν.
Let not these things be in his power."\n\n"O hands, what things you suffer in need of the beloved\n\nbowstring, hunted down and bound by this man!\n\nO you who think nothing healthy nor free,\n\nhow you have crept upon me again, how you have hunted me down,\n\ntaking as your shield this boy, a stranger to me,\n\nunworthy indeed of you, but worthy of me,\n\nwho knew nothing except to do what was commanded,\n\nand is clear even now to be bearing it with pain,\n\nboth at the things in which he himself erred and those which I suffered.\n\nBut your evil soul, always looking through recesses,\n\nwell pre-instructed him, though he was simple-minded and unwilling,\n\nto be clever in evils.\n\nAnd now, O wretched one, binding me you intend\n\nto lead me away from this shore, on which you cast me out\n\nfriendless, desolate, cityless, a corpse among the living.
φεῦ. §1019ὄλοιο·
Alas!\n\nMay you perish!
καί σοι πολλάκις τόδʼ ηὐξάμην. §1020ἀλλʼ οὐ γὰρ οὐδὲν θεοὶ νέμουσιν ἡδύ μοι, §1021σὺ μὲν γέγηθας ζῶν, ἐγὼ δʼ ἀλγύνομαι §1022τοῦτʼ αὔθʼ, ὅτι ζῶ σὺν κακοῖς πολλοῖς τάλας, §1023γελώμενος πρὸς σοῦ τε καὶ τῶν Ἀτρέως §1024διπλῶν στρατηγῶν, οἷς σὺ ταῦθʼ ὑπηρετεῖς. §1025καίτοι σὺ μὲν κλοπῇ τε κἀνάγκῃ ζυγεὶς §1026ἔπλεις ἅμʼ αὐτοῖς, ἐμὲ δὲ τὸν πανάθλιον, §1027ἑκόντα πλεύσανθʼ ἑπτὰ ναυσὶ ναυβάτην, §1028ἄτιμον ἔβαλον, ὡς σὺ φής, κεῖνοι δὲ σέ.
And indeed I have often prayed for this for you.\n\nBut, since the gods distribute nothing sweet to me,\n\nyou indeed rejoice living, while I am pained\n\nby this very thing, that I live with many evils, wretched as I am,\n\nbeing laughed at by you and the two generals\n\nof Atreus, whom you serve in these things.\n\nAnd yet you, yoked by fraud and necessity,\n\nsailed with them, but me, the all-wretched,\n\nwho sailed willingly as a mariner with seven ships,\n\nthey cast away dishonored, as you say, but they say you did.\n\nAnd now why do you lead me?
§1029καὶ νῦν τί μʼ ἄγετε; τί μʼ ἀπάγεσθε;
Why do you carry me away?
τοῦ χάριν; §1030ὃς οὐδέν εἰμι καὶ τέθνηχʼ ὑμῖν πάλαι. §1031πῶς, ὦ θεοῖς ἔχθιστε, νῦν οὐκ εἰμί σοι §1032χωλός, δυσώδης;
For what cause?\n\nI who am nothing, and have long been dead to you.\n\nHow, O most hateful to the gods, am I not now\n\nlame to you, and foul-smelling?
πῶς θεοῖς ἔξεσθʼ, ὁμοῦ §1033πλεύσαντος αἴθειν ἱερά;
How, if I sail with you,\n\nwill it be permitted to burn sacred offerings?
How to pour libations anymore?\n\nFor this was your pretext to cast me out.\n\nMay you perish miserably!
ὀλεῖσθε δʼ ἠδικηκότες §1036τὸν ἄνδρα τόνδε, θεοῖσιν εἰ δίκης μέλει. §1037ἔξοιδα δʼ ὡς μέλει γʼ· ἐπεὶ οὔποτʼ ἂν στόλον §1038ἐπλεύσατʼ ἂν τόνδʼ εἵνεκʼ ἀνδρὸς ἀθλίου, §1039εἰ μή τι κέντρον θεῖον ἦγʼ ὑμᾶς ἐμοῦ. §1040ἀλλʼ, ὦ πατρῴα γῆ θεοί τʼ ἐπόψιοι, §1041τίσασθε τίσασθʼ ἀλλὰ τῷ χρόνῳ ποτὲ §1042ξύμπαντας αὐτούς, εἴ τι κἄμʼ οἰκτίρετε·
And you will perish, having wronged\n\nthis man, if the gods care for justice.\n\nAnd I know well that they do care; for you would never\n\nhave sailed on this expedition for the sake of a wretched man,\n\nunless some divine sting of me was leading you.\n\nBut, O my ancestral land and onlooker gods,\n\navenge, avenge yourselves at some time, in the course of time,\n\non all of them, if you pity me at all."