§4.1σάμερον μὲν χρή σε παρʼ ἀνδρὶ φίλῳ §4.2στᾶμεν, εὐΐππου βασιλῆϊ Κυράνας, ὄφρα κωμάζοντι σὺν Ἀρκεσίλᾳ, §4.3Μοῖσα, Λατοίδαισιν ὀφειλόμενον Πυθῶνί τʼ αὔξῃς οὖρον ὕμνων, §4.4ἔνθα ποτὲ χρυσέων Διὸς αἰητῶν πάρεδρος, §4.5οὐκ ἀποδάμου Ἀπόλλωνος τυχόντος, ἱέ ρεα §4.6χρῆσεν οἰκιστῆρα Βάττον καρποφόρου Λιβύας, ἱερὰν §4.7νᾶσον ὡς ἤδη λιπὼν κτίσσειεν εὐάρματον §4.8πόλιν ἐν ἀργενν όε ντι μαστῷ, §4.9καὶ τὸ Μηδείας ἔπος ἀγκομίσαι §4.10ἑβδόμᾳ καὶ σὺν δεκάτᾳ γενεᾷ Θήραιον, Αἰήτα τό ποτε ζαμενὴς §4.11παῖς ἀπέπνευσʼ ἀθανάτου στόματος, δέσποινα Κόλχων.
Today, you must take your stand, beside a friendly man, the king of Cyrene, rich in fine horses, so that while Arcesilas celebrates, Muse, you may increase the favorable wind of songs owed to the children of Leto and to Pytho, where once the priestess, seated beside the golden eagles of Zeus, Apollo being present and not away from home, prophesied to the founder Battus of fruitful Libya, so that already leaving the sacred island, he might build a city of fine chariots on the white, breast-shaped hill, and recall the word of Medea, which once the fierce child of Aeetes, the mistress of the Colchians, breathed from her immortal mouth to the Theraeans in the seventeenth generation.
εἶπε δʼ οὕτως §4.12ἡμιθέοισιν Ἰάσονος αἰχματᾶο ναύταις· §4.13κέκλυτε, παῖδες ὑπερθύμων τε φωτῶν καὶ θεῶν·
And thus she spoke to the heroic sailors of Jason, the spearman: "Hear, children of high-hearted men and of gods!
§4.14φαμὶ γὰρ τᾶσδʼ ἐξ ἁλιπλάκτου ποτὲ γᾶς Ἐπάφοιο κόραν §4.15ἀστέων ῥίζαν φυτεύσεσθαι μελησιμβρότων §4.16Διὸς ἐν Ἄμμωνος θεμέθλοις.
For I say that from this sea-beaten land, one day, the daughter of Epaphus shall be planted as a root of cities of concern to men, within the foundations of Ammonian Zeus.
§4.17ἀντὶ δελφίνων δʼ ἐλαχυπτερύγων ἵππους ἀμείψαντες θοάς, §4.18ἁνία τʼ ἀντʼ ἐρετμῶν δίφρους τε νωμάσοισιν ἀελλόποδας.
And instead of short-winged dolphins, having taken swift horses in exchange, they shall wield reins instead of oars and guide storm-swift chariots.
§4.19κεῖνος ὄρνις ἐκτελευτάσει μεγαλᾶν πολίων §4.20ματρόπολιν Θήραν γενέσθαι, τόν ποτε Τριτωνίδος ἐν προχοαῖς §4.21λίμνας θεῷ ἀνέρι εἰδομένῳ γαῖαν διδόντι §4.22ξείνια πρῴραθεν Εὔφαμος καταβὰς §4.23δέξατʼ· αἴσιον δʼ ἐπί οἱ Κρονίων Ζεὺς πατὴρ ἔκλαγξε βροντάν· §4.24ἁνίκʼ ἄγκυραν ποτὶ χαλκόγενυν §4.25ναῒ κρημνάντων ἐπέτοσσε, θοᾶς Ἀργοῦς χαλινόν.
That omen shall make Thera become the mother-city of great cities—the omen which once, at the outlets of the Tritonian lake, Euphemus, stepping down from the prow, received as a guest-gift from a god in the likeness of a man who offered him earth; and father Zeus, son of Cronus, clanged for him a favorable thunderbolt, when he chanced upon them as they were hanging the bronze-jawed anchor from the ship, the bridle of swift Argo.
δώδεκα δὲ πρότερον §4.26ἁμέρας ἐξ Ωκεανοῦ φέρομεν νώτων ὕπερ γαίας ἐρήμων §4.27εἰνάλιον δόρυ, μήδεσιν ἀνσπάσσαντες ἀμοῖς.
For twelve days before, we had carried from Oceanus over the back of the desert land the sea-going vessel, drawing it up by our own counsels.
§4.28τουτάκι δʼ οἰοπόλος δαίμων ἐπῆλθεν, φαιδίμαν §4.29ἀνδρὸς αἰδοίου πρόσοψιν θηκάμενος· φιλίων δʼ ἐπέων §4.30ἄρχετο, ξείνοις ἅτʼ ἐλθόντεσσιν εὐεργέται §4.31δεῖπνʼ ἐπαγγέλλοντι πρῶτον.
And then the solitary divinity came upon us, having taken on the bright appearance of a revered man; and he began with friendly words, just as hospitable hosts, when strangers arrive, first offer a feast.
But indeed, the pretext of our sweet return prevented us from staying.
φάτο δʼ Εὐρύπυλος Γαιαόχου παῖς ἀφθίτου Ἐννοσίδα §4.34ἔμμεναι· γίγνωσκε δʼ ἐπειγομένους· ἂν δʼ εὐθὺς ἁρπάξαις ἀρούρας §4.35δεξιτερᾷ προτυχὸν ξένιον μάστευσε δοῦναι.
And he said he was Eurypylus, son of the immortal Earth-Shaker Poseidon; he knew we were in a hurry, and straightway snatching a piece of earth from the ground with his right hand, he sought to give it as a guest-gift, whatever came first.
§4.36οὐδʼ ἀπίθησέ νιν, ἀλλʼ ἥρως ἐπʼ ἀκταῖσιν θορὼν §4.37χειρί οἱ χεῖρʼ ἀντερείσαις δέξατο βώλακα δαιμονίαν.
And the hero did not disobey him, but leaping onto the shore, and pressing his hand against the other's hand, he received the divine clod.
§4.38πεύθομαι δʼ αὐτὰν κατακλυσθεῖσαν ἐκ δούρατος §4.39ἐναλίαν βᾶμεν σὺν ἅλμᾳ §4.40ἑσπέρας, ὑγρῷ πελάγει σπομέναν.
But I learn that it was washed away from the wooden ship and went into the sea with the brine at evening, following the wet deep.
ἦ μάν νιν ὤτρυνον θαμὰ §4.41λυσιπόνοις θεραπόντεσσιν φυλάξαι· τῶν δʼ ἐλάθοντο φρένες·
Indeed, I often urged the pain-relieving servants to guard it; but their minds forgot.
And now on this immortal island is poured out the seed of wide Libya, before its proper time.
εἰ γὰρ οἴκοι νιν βάλε πὰρ χθόνιον §4.44Ἄιδα στόμα, Ταίναρον εἰς ἱερὰν Εὔφαμος ἐλθών, §4.45υἱὸς ἱππάρχου Ποσειδάωνος ἄναξ, §4.46τόν ποτʼ Εὐρώπα Τιτυοῦ θυγάτηρ τίκτε Καφισοῦ παρʼ ὄχθαις· §4.47τετράτων παίδων κʼ ἐπιγινομένων §4.48αἷμά οἱ κείναν λάβε σὺν Δαναοῖς εὐρεῖαν ἄπειρον.
For if Euphemus had thrown it at home beside the subterranean mouth of Hades, going to sacred Taenarus— the lord who is the son of Poseidon, the ruler of horses, whom once Europa, daughter of Tityus, bore by the banks of Cephisus— then, when the fourth generation of his children arose, his bloodline would have taken that wide continent together with the Danaans.
τότε γὰρ μεγάλας §4.49ἐξανίστανται Λακεδαίμονος Ἀργείου τε κόλπου καὶ Μυκηνᾶν.
For then from great Lacedaemon, and the Argive gulf, and Mycenae, they shall rise up.
§4.50νῦν γε μὲν ἀλλοδαπᾶν κριτὸν εὑρήσει γυναικῶν §4.51ἐν λέχεσιν γένος, οἵ κεν τάνδε σὺν τιμᾷ θεῶν §4.52νᾶσον ἐλθόντες τέκωνται φῶτα κελαινεφέων πεδίων §4.53δεσπόταν· τὸν μὲν πολυχρύσῳ ποτʼ ἐν δώματι §4.54Φοῖβος ἀμνάσει θέμισσιν §4.55Πύθιον ναὸν καταβάντα χρόνῳ §4.56ὑστέρῳ, νάεσσι πολεῖς ἀγαγὲν Νείλοιο πρὸς πῖον τέμενος Κρονίδα.
But as it is, he shall find a chosen race from foreign women in their beds, who coming to this island with the honor of the gods shall beget a man to be lord of the dark-clouded plains; him indeed, in his rich house, and in later time, Phoebus shall remind with oracles, when he goes down to the Pythian temple, that he must lead many people in ships to the fertile sanctuary of the son of Cronus by the Nile.
§4.57ἦ ῥα Μηδείας ἐπέων στίχες. ἔπταξαν δʼ ἀκίνητοι σιωπᾷ §4.58ἥρωες ἀντίθεοι πυκινὰν μῆτιν κλύοντες.
Truly these were the lines of Medea's words; and the godlike heroes crouched down in motionless silence, listening to her deep wisdom.
§4.59ὦ μάκαρ υἱὲ Πολυμνάστου, σὲ δʼ ἐν τούτῳ λόγῳ §4.60χρησμὸς ὤρθωσεν μελίσσας Δελφίδος αὐτομάτῳ κελάδῳ· §4.61ἅ σε χαίρειν ἐς τρὶς αὐδάσαισα πεπρωμένον §4.62βασιλέʼ ἄμφανεν Κυράνᾳ, §4.63δυσθρόου φωνᾶς ἀνακρινόμενον ποινὰ τίς ἔσται πρὸς θεῶν.
O blessed son of Polymnastus, in this utterance it was you whom the oracle of the Delphic bee raised up by its spontaneous sound, who, hailing you thrice, declared you destined king of Cyrene, when you were asking what recompense there would be from the gods for your harsh-sounding voice.
§4.64ἦ μάλα δὴ μετὰ καὶ νῦν, ὥστε φοινικανθέμου ἦρος ἀκμᾷ, §4.65παισὶ τούτοις ὄγδοον θάλλει μέρος Ἀρκεσίλας· §4.66τῷ μὲν Ἀπόλλων ἅ τε Πυθὼ κῦδος ἐξ ἀμφικτιόνων ἔπορεν §4.67ἱπποδρομίας.
Indeed, even now, just as in the prime of red-flowered spring, Arcesilas flourishes as the eighth generation among these children; to him Apollo and Pytho have granted glory from the neighbors in the chariot race.
ἀπὸ δʼ αὐτὸν ἐγὼ Μοίσαισι δώσω §4.68καὶ τὸ πάγχρυσον νάκος κριοῦ· μετὰ γὰρ §4.69κεῖνο πλευσάντων Μινυᾶν, θεόπομποί σφισιν τιμαὶ φύτευθεν.
And I will give him to the Muses and to the all-golden fleece of the ram; for when the Minyans had sailed after that, god-sent honors were planted for them.
§4.70τίς γὰρ ἀρχὰ δέξατο ναυτιλίας;
For what beginning of seafaring welcomed them?
§4.71τίς δὲ κίνδυνος κρατεροῖς ἀδάμαντος δῆσεν ἅλοις;
And what danger bound them with strong nails of adamant?
θέσφατον ἦν Πελίαν §4.72ἐξ ἀγαυῶν Αἰολιδᾶν θανέμεν χείρεσσιν ἢ βουλαῖς ἀκάμπτοις.
It was prophesied that Pelias should die at the hands or by the unbending counsels of the noble Aeolids.
§4.73ἦλθε δέ οἱ κρυόεν πυκινῷ μάντευμα θυμῷ, §4.74πὰρ μέσον ὀμφαλὸν εὐδένδροιο ῥηθὲν ματέρος· §4.75τὸν μονοκρήπιδα πάντως ἐν φυλακᾷ σχεθέμεν μεγάλᾳ, §4.76εὖτʼ ἂν αἰπεινῶν ἀπὸ σταθμῶν ἐς εὐδείελον
And there came to him a chilling oracle in his shrewd heart, spoken beside the central navel of the well-wooded mother, that he must by all means keep a strict guard against the man with a single sandal, whenever he should come from the lofty dwellings to the sunny land of famous Iolcus.