§701τοῖσι παισὶ τὴν ἑταίραν ἐκάλεσʼ ἐκ τῶν γειτόνων, §702παῖδα χρηστὴν κἀγαπητὴν ἐκ Βοιωτῶν ἔγχελυν· §703οἱ δὲ πέμψειν οὐκ ἔφασκον διὰ τὰ σὰ ψηφίσματα.
I called that companion from the neighbors for the children, that good and beloved eel from Boeotia; but they said they would not send her because of your decrees.
§704κοὐχὶ μὴ παύσησθε τῶν ψηφισμάτων τούτων, πρὶν ἂν §705τοῦ σκέλους ὑμᾶς λαβών τις ἐκτραχηλίσῃ φέρων.
And you will certainly not stop these decrees, until someone takes you by the leg and breaks your neck.
[Leader of Women] O queen of this enterprise and plan, why have you come out of the house looking so gloomy?
[Lysistrata] The deeds of bad women and the female mind make me despondent and walk up and down.
§710τί φῄς;
[Leader] What do you say?
τί φῄς;
What do you say?
§711ἀληθῆ, ἀληθῆ.
[Lysistrata] The truth, the truth.
§712τί δʼ ἐστὶ δεινόν;
[Leader] What is the terrible thing?
φράζε ταῖς σαυτῆς φίλαις.
Tell your friends.
§713ἀλλʼ αἰσχρὸν εἰπεῖν καὶ σιωπῆσαι βαρύ.
[Lysistrata] It is shameful to speak and painful to keep silent.
§714μή νύν με κρύψῃς ὅ τι πεπόνθαμεν κακόν.
[Leader] Do not hide from me what evil we have suffered.
§715βινητιῶμεν, ᾗ βράχιστον τοῦ λόγου.
[Lysistrata] We want to be laid, to put it as briefly as possible.
§716ἰὼ Ζεῦ.
[Leader] Oh Zeus!
§717τί Ζῆνʼ ἀυτεῖς;
[Lysistrata] Why do you cry to Zeus?
ταῦτα δʼ οὖν οὕτως ἔχει.
At all events, that is how it is.
I am no longer able to keep them away from the men; for they are running away.
§720τὴν μέν γε πρώτην διαλέγουσαν τὴν ὀπὴν §721κατέλαβον ᾗ τοῦ Πανός ἐστι ταὐλίον, §722τὴν δʼ ἐκ τροχιλείας αὖ κατειλυσπωμένην, §723τὴν δʼ αὐτομολοῦσαν, τὴν δʼ ἐπὶ στρούθου †μίαν† §724ἤδη πέτεσθαι διανοουμένην κάτω §725ἐς Ὀρσιλόχου χθὲς τῶν τριχῶν κατέσπασα.
The first one, indeed, I caught clearing out the hole where Pan's grotto is, and another slipping down by a pulley, and another deserting, and another on a sparrow already intending to fly down to Orsilochus' place, yesterday I dragged down by her hair.
And they drag up every excuse so as to go home.
ἤδη γοῦν τις αὐτῶν ἔρχεται.
At any rate, here comes one of them now.
§728αὕτη σὺ ποῖ θεῖς;
You there, where are you running?
§728bοἴκαδʼ ἐλθεῖν βούλομαι.
[Woman 1] I want to go home.
For at home I have Milesian wool being cut to pieces by moths.
§730bποίων σέων;
[Lysistrata] What moths?
§731οὐκ εἶ πάλιν;
Go back!
[Woman 1] But I will return quickly, by the two goddesses, just as soon as I have spread it on the bed.
§733μὴ διαπετάννυ, μηδʼ ἀπέλθῃς μηδαμῇ.
[Lysistrata] Do not spread it, and do not go away at all.
§734ἀλλʼ ἐῶ ʼπολέσθαι τἄριʼ;
[Woman 1] But shall I let my wool be ruined?
§734bἢν τούτου δέῃ.
[Lysistrata] If it must be.
§735τάλαινʼ ἐγώ, τάλαινα τῆς Ἀμοργίδος,
[Woman 2] Wretched me!
§736ἣν ἄλοπον οἴκοι καταλέλοιφʼ.
Wretched for my Amorgian flax, which I left at home unpeeled!
[Lysistrata] Here is another one, going out for her unpeeled Amorgian flax.
§738χώρει πάλιν δεῦρʼ.
Come back here.
[Woman 2] But by Phosphor, I will strip it and return immediately.
§740μή μἀποδείρῃς.
[Lysistrata] Do not strip it.
ἢν γὰρ ἄρξῃς τοῦτο σύ, §741ἑτέρα γυνὴ ταὐτὸν ποιεῖν βουλήσεται.
For if you begin this, another woman will want to do the same.
[Woman 3] O holy Eileithyia, hold back the birth, until I can get to a profane place!
§744τί ταῦτα ληρεῖς;
[Lysistrata] What nonsense is this you talk?
§744bαὐτίκα μάλα τέξομαι.
[Woman 3] I shall give birth right away!
§745ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐκύεις σύ γʼ ἐχθές.
[Lysistrata] But you were not pregnant yesterday.
§745bἀλλὰ τήμερον.
[Woman 3] But today I am.
So send me home to the midwife, O Lysistrata, as quickly as possible.
§747bτίνα λόγον λέγεις;
[Lysistrata] What story are you telling?
§748τί τοῦτʼ ἔχεις τὸ σκληρόν;
What is this hard thing you have?
§748bἄρρεν παιδίον.
[Woman 3] A male child.
[Lysistrata] By Aphrodite, not you indeed, but you seem to have some hollow bronze vessel; and I will find out.
§751ὦ καταγέλαστʼ ἔχουσα τὴν ἱερὰν κυνῆν
O ridiculous woman!
§752κυεῖν ἔφασκες;
Having the sacred helmet, were you saying you were pregnant?
§752bκαὶ κυῶ γε νὴ Δία.
[Woman 3] And I am pregnant indeed, by Zeus.
§753τί δῆτα ταύτην εἶχες;
[Lysistrata] Why then did you have this?
§753bἵνα μʼ εἰ καταλάβοι §754ὁ τόκος ἔτʼ ἐν πόλει, τέκοιμʼ ἐς τὴν κυνῆν §755ἐσβᾶσα ταύτην, ὥσπερ αἱ περιστεραί.
[Woman 3] So that if the birth should overtake me while still on the acropolis, I might give birth into the helmet, having gone into this helmet, like the doves.
§756τί λέγεις;
[Lysistrata] What do you say?
προφασίζει· περιφανῆ τὰ πράγματα.
You make excuses; the matter is clear.
§757οὐ τἀμφιδρόμια τῆς κυνῆς αὐτοῦ μενεῖς;
Will you not stay here for the birth-festival of the helmet?
[Woman 3] But I cannot even sleep on the acropolis, since I once saw the house-guarding snake.
[Woman 1] And I, wretched, am ruined by the owls, always keeping me awake by hooting.
§762ὦ δαιμόνιαι παύσασθε τῶν τερατευμάτων.
[Lysistrata] O foolish women, cease from your wonders.
You long for your husbands, perhaps; but do you not think we do not long for them?
ἀργαλέας γʼ εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι §765ἄγουσι νύκτας.
I know well that they spend hard nights.
ἀλλʼ ἀνάσχεσθʼ ὦγαθαί, §766καὶ προσταλαιπωρήσατʼ ἔτʼ ὀλίγον χρόνον, §767ὡς χρησμὸς ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἐπικρατεῖν, ἐὰν §768μὴ στασιάσωμεν· ἔστι δʼ ὁ χρησμὸς οὑτοσί.
But hold out, my good women, and endure for yet a little time, since we have an oracle that we shall conquer, if we do not split; and here is the oracle.
§769λέγʼ αὐτὸν ἡμῖν ὅ τι λέγει.
[Women] Tell us what it says.
§769bσιγᾶτε δή.
[Lysistrata] Be silent then.
§770ἀλλʼ ὁπόταν πτήξωσι χελιδόνες εἰς ἕνα χῶρον, §771τοὺς ἔποπας φεύγουσαι, ἀπόσχωνταί τε φαλήτων, §772παῦλα κακῶν ἔσται, τὰ δʼ ὑπέρτερα νέρτερα θήσει §773Ζεὺς ὑψιβρεμέτης— §773bἐπάνω κατακεισόμεθʼ ἡμεῖς;
"But when the swallows shall cower together in one place, fleeing the hoopoes, and abstain from sexual relations, there shall be a rest from evils, and high-thundering Zeus shall make the upper things below—" [Woman 1] Shall we lie on top?
§774ἢν δὲ διαστῶσιν καὶ ἀναπτῶνται πτερύγεσσιν §775ἐξ ἱεροῦ ναοῖο χελιδόνες, οὐκέτι δόξει §776ὄρνεον οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν καταπυγωνέστερον εἶναι. §777σαφής γʼ ὁ χρησμὸς νὴ Δίʼ.
[Lysistrata] "But if they separate and fly away with wings from the holy temple, no longer shall any bird seem to be more lustful than they." [Women] The oracle is clear, by Zeus.
[Lysistrata] O all you gods, let us not now give up, though suffering, but let us go in.
καὶ γὰρ αἰσχρὸν τουτογὶ
For indeed it is shameful