And all the other plants, having received you gladly, will smile upon you.
§601ἀλλὰ ποῦ ποτʼ ἦν ἀφʼ ἡμῶν τὸν πολὺν τοῦτον χρόνον
But where on earth has she been, away from us all this long time?
§602ἥδε; τοῦθʼ ἡμᾶς δίδαξον ὦ θεῶν εὐνούστατε.
Teach us this, O most well-disposed of the gods.
O most wise farmers, understand my words, if you wish to hear how she was lost.
§605πρῶτα μὲν γὰρ †αὐτῆς ἦρξεν† Φειδίας πράξας κακῶς· §606εἶτα Περικλέης φοβηθεὶς μὴ μετάσχοι τῆς τύχης, §607τὰς φύσεις ὑμῶν δεδοικὼς καὶ τὸν αὐτοδὰξ τρόπον, §608πρὶν παθεῖν τι δεινὸν αὐτός, ἐξέφλεξε τὴν πόλιν.
For first Phidias, having fared badly, began her ruin; then Pericles, fearing lest he should share his fate, dreading your nature and your sharp-biting way, before suffering anything terrible himself, set the city on fire.
§609ἐμβαλὼν σπινθῆρα μικρὸν Μεγαρικοῦ ψηφίσματος, §610ἐξεφύσησεν τοσοῦτον πόλεμον ὥστε τῷ καπνῷ §611πάντας Ἕλληνας δακρῦσαι, τούς τʼ ἐκεῖ τούς τʼ ἐνθάδε.
Throwing in a small spark of the Megarian decree, he blew up such a war that with the smoke all Greeks wept, both those yonder and those here.
§612ὡς δʼ ἅπαξ †τὸ πρῶτον ἄκουσʼ† ἐψόφησεν ἄμπελος §613καὶ πίθος πληγεὶς ὑπʼ ὀργῆς ἀντελάκτισεν πίθῳ, §614οὐκέτʼ ἦν οὐδεὶς ὁ παύσων, ἥδε δʼ ἠφανίζετο.
And once the vine crackled for the first time, and a wine-jar, struck in anger, kicked back against another jar, there was no longer anyone to stop it, and she began to disappear.
By Apollo, I had not learned these things from anyone, nor had I heard how Phidias was related to her.
§617οὐδʼ ἔγωγε πλήν γε νυνί.
Nor I, except just now.
ταῦτʼ ἄρʼ εὐπρόσωπος ἦν, §618οὖσα συγγενὴς ἐκείνου.
That's why she was fair of face, being his relative.
πολλά γʼ ἡμᾶς λανθάνει.
Truly, many things escape our notice.
§619κᾆτʼ ἐπειδὴ ʼγνωσαν ὑμᾶς αἱ πόλεις ὧν ἤρχετε §620ἠγριωμένους ἐπʼ ἀλλήλοισι καὶ σεσηρότας, §621πάντʼ ἐμηχανῶντʼ ἐφʼ ὑμῖν τοὺς φόρους φοβούμεναι, §622κἀνέπειθον τῶν Λακώνων τοὺς μεγίστους χρήμασιν.
And then, when the cities you ruled realized that you were enraged against one another and snarling, they devised everything against you, fearing the tributes, and they persuaded the greatest of the Lacanians with money.
§623οἱ δʼ ἅτʼ ὄντες αἰσχροκερδεῖς καὶ διειρωνόξενοι §624τήνδʼ ἀπορρίψαντες αἰσχρῶς τὸν πόλεμον ἀνήρπασαν· §625κᾆτα τἀκείνων γε κέρδη τοῖς γεωργοῖς ἦν κακά·
And they, being greedy and deceitfully hostile to strangers, shamefully cast her aside and snatched up the war; and then, their gains were evils for the farmers.
For the triremes from here, in turn, taking vengeance, would devour the fig-branches of innocent men.
And justly so indeed, since they cut down my crow-fig tree, which I planted and reared.
By Zeus, my friend, justly indeed, since in my case too, they threw in a six-medimnos stone and destroyed my beehive.
§632κᾆτα δʼ ὡς ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν ξυνῆλθεν οὑργάτης λεώς, §633τὸν τρόπον πωλούμενος τὸν αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐμάνθανεν, §634ἀλλʼ ἅτʼ ὢν ἄνευ γιγάρτων καὶ φιλῶν τὰς ἰσχάδας §635ἔβλεπεν πρὸς τοὺς λέγοντας· οἱ δὲ γιγνώσκοντες εὖ §636τοὺς πένητας ἀσθενοῦντας κἀποροῦντας ἀλφίτων, §637τήνδε μὲν δικροῖς ἐώθουν τὴν θεὸν κεκράγμασιν, §638πολλάκις φανεῖσαν αὐτὴν τῆσδε τῆς χώρας πόθῳ, §639τῶν δὲ συμμάχων ἔσειον τοὺς παχεῖς καὶ πλουσίους, §640αἰτίας ἂν προστιθέντες, ὡς φρονεῖ τὰ Βρασίδου.
And then, when the working people came together from the fields, they did not realize they were being sold out in the same way, but being without grape-stones and loving dried figs, they looked towards the speakers; and they, knowing well that the poor were weak and lacking barley-meal, would push this goddess away with two-pronged shrieks, though she often appeared out of longing for this land, and they would shake down the fat and wealthy among the allies, pinning charges on them, claiming they favored the cause of Brasidas.
§641εἶτʼ ἂν ὑμεῖς τοῦτον ὥσπερ κυνίδιʼ ἐσπαράττετε· §642ἡ πόλις γὰρ ὠχριῶσα κἀν φόβῳ καθημένη, §643ἅττα διαβάλοι τις αὐτῇ, ταῦτʼ ἂν ἥδιστʼ ἤσθιεν.
Then you would tear that man to pieces like little dogs; for the city, pale and sitting in fear, would most gladly devour whatever slanders anyone threw to her.
§644οἳ δὲ τὰς πληγὰς ὁρῶντες ἃς ἐτύπτονθʼ οἱ ξένοι §645χρυσίῳ τῶν ταῦτα ποιούντων ἐβύνουν τὸ στόμα, §646ὥστʼ ἐκείνους μὲν ποιῆσαι πλουσίους, ἡ δʼ Ἑλλὰς ἂν §647ἐξερημωθεῖσʼ ἂν ὑμᾶς ἔλαθε.
And they, seeing the blows the foreigners were receiving, would stop the mouths of those who did this with gold, so as to make them rich, while Greece would have been devastated without your noticing.
ταῦτα δʼ ἦν ὁ δρῶν §648βυρσοπώλης.
And the one who did this was a leather-seller.
§648bπαῦε παῦʼ ὦ δέσποθʼ Ἑρμῆ, μὴ λέγε, §649ἀλλʼ ἔα τὸν ἄνδρʼ ἐκεῖνον οὗπερ ἔστʼ εἶναι κάτω· §650οὐ γὰρ ἡμέτερος ἔτʼ ἔστʼ ἐκεῖνος ἁνὴρ ἀλλὰ σός.
Stop, stop, O master Hermes, do not say it, but let that man remain where he is, below; for that man is no longer ours, but yours.
§651ἅττʼ ἂν οὖν λέγῃς ἐκεῖνον, §652κεἰ πανοῦργος ἦν, ὅτʼ ἔζη, §653καὶ λάλος καὶ συκοφάντης §654καὶ κύκηθρον καὶ τάρακτρον, §655ταῦθʼ ἁπαξάπαντα νυνὶ §656τοὺς σεαυτοῦ λοιδορεῖς.
Therefore, whatever you may say of him, even if he was a rascal when he lived, and a chatterbox, and a sycophant, and a stirrer, and a troubler, all these things you are now abusing one of your own.
§657ἀλλʼ ὅ τι σιωπᾷς ὦ πότνια κάτειπέ μοι.
But tell me, O revered lady, why you are silent.
But she would not speak to the spectators; she holds great anger against them for what she suffered.
§660ἡ δʼ ἀλλὰ πρὸς σὲ μικρὸν εἰπάτω μόνον.
Then let her at least speak a little to you alone.
Tell me, O dearest one, what you mind against them. Come, O you who of all women hate shield-straps the most.
§663εἶεν, ἀκούω.
Very well, I hear.
ταῦτʼ ἐπικαλεῖς;
You accuse them of these things?
μανθάνω.
I understand.
§664ἀκούσαθʼ ὑμεῖς ὧν ἕνεκα μομφὴν ἔχει.
Listen, you people, to the reasons why she has a complaint.
§665ἐλθοῦσά φησιν αὐτομάτη μετὰ τἀν Πύλῳ §666σπονδῶν φέρουσα τῇ πόλει κίστην πλέαν §667ἀποχειροτονηθῆναι τρὶς ἐν τἠκκλησίᾳ.
She says that, having come of her own accord after the events at Pylos, bringing a chest full of peace treaties to the city, she was rejected three times in the assembly.
We erred in these things; but have forgiveness; for our mind then was in the hides.