§1Ἑρμῆς
Ὦ Ζεῦ, τί σύννους κατὰ μόνας σαυτῷ λαλεῖς,
ὠχρὸς περιπατῶν, φιλοσόφου τὸ χρῶμʼ ἔχων;
Hermes "O Zeus, why do you talk to yourself in private, deeply pondering, walking pale, with the complexion of a philosopher?
ἐμοὶ προσανάθου, λαβέ με σύμβουλον πόνων,
μὴ καταφρονήσῃς οἰκέτου φλυαρίας. Ἀθήνη
ναὶ πάτερ ἡμέτερε, Κρονίδη, ὕπατε κρειόντων,
γουνοῦμαί σε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις, τριτογένεια,
ἐξαύδα, μὴ κεῦθε νόῳ, ἵνα εἴδομεν ἤδη,
τίς μῆτις δάκνει σε κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν,
ἢ τί βαρὺ στενάχεις ὦχρός τέ σε εἷλε παρειάς; Ζεύς
οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν δεινὸν ὧδʼ εἰπεῖν ἔπος,
οὐδὲ πάθος οὐδὲ συμφορὰ τραγῳδική,
ἣν οὐκ ἰαμβείοις ὑπερπαίω δέκα. Ἀθήνη
Ἄπολλον, οἵοις φροιμίοις ἄρχῃ λόγου;
Share your burden with me, take me as a counselor in your troubles; do not despise the chatter of a servant." Athena "Yea, our father, son of Kronos, highest of rulers, I, the grey-eyed goddess, Tritogeneia, supplicate you: speak out, hide it not in your mind, so that we may already know what counsel bites you in your mind and heart, or why you groan heavily and paleness has seized your cheeks?" Zeus "There is no word so dreadful to speak of, nor suffering, nor tragic misfortune, which I cannot surpass in ten iambics." Athena "Apollo!
Ζεύς
ὦ παγκάκιστα χθόνια γῆς παιδεύματα,
σύ τʼ, ὦ Προμηθεῦ, οἷά μʼ εἴργασαι κακά.
With what preludes do you begin your speech?" Zeus "O most wicked earthly offspring of the ground! And you, Prometheus, what evils you have wrought against me!" Athena "What is it?
Ἀθήνη
τί δʼ ἐστί; πρὸς χορὸν γὰρ οἰκείων ἐρεῖς. Ζεύς
ὦ μεγαλοσμαράγου στεροπᾶς ῥοίζημα, τί ῥέξεις; Ἥρα
Κοίμισον ὀργάν, εἰ μὴ κωμῳδίαν, ὦ Ζεῦ, δυνάμεθα ὑποκρίνεσθαι μηδὲ ῥαψῳδεῖν ὥσπερ οὗτοι μηδὲ τὸν Εὐριπίδην ὅλον καταπεπώκαμεν, ὥστε σοι ὑποτραγῳδεῖν. §2Ἥρα
ἀγνοεῖν ἡμᾶς νομίζεις τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς λύπης ἥτις ἐστί σοι;
For you will speak to a chorus of your own people." Zeus "O crash of the loud-resounding lightning, what will you do?" Hera "Calm your anger, Zeus, unless indeed we are unable to act in a comedy or to recite rhapsodies like these, nor have we swallowed Euripides whole so as to play a supporting tragic role for you." Hera "Do you think we do not know what the cause of your grief is?" Zeus "You do not know; for otherwise you too would have wailed loudly." Hera "I know the very substance of what you are suffering, namely that it is a love affair; however, I do not wail because of habit, having already been insulted many times by you in such matters.
Ζεύς
οὐκ οἶσθʼ, ἐπεί τοι κἂν ἐκώκυες μέγα. Ἥρα
οἶδα τὸ κεφάλαιον αὐτὸ ὧν πάσχεις ὅτι ἐρωτικόν ἐστιν· οὐ μὴν κωκύω γε ὑπὸ ἔθους, ἤδη πολλάκις ὑβρισθεῖσα ὑπὸ σοῦ τὰ τοιαῦτα. εἰκὸς γοῦν ἤτοι Δανάην τινὰ ἢ Σεμέλην ἢ Εὐρώπην αὖθις εὑρόντα σε ἀνιᾶσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἔρωτος, εἶτα βουλεύεσθαι ταῦρον ἢ σάτυρον ἢ χρυσὸν γενόμενον ῥυῆναι διὰ τοῦ ὀρόφου εἰς τὸν κόλπον τῆς ἀγαπωμένης· τὰ σημεῖα γὰρ ταῦτα, οἱ στεναγμοὶ καὶ τὰ δάκρυα καὶ τὸ ὠχρὸν εἶναι, οὐκ ἄλλου του ἢ ἔρωτός ἐστιν· . Ζεύς
ὦ μακαρία, ἥτις ἐν ἔρωτι καὶ ταῖς τοιαύταις παιδιαῖς οἴει τὰ πράγματα ἡμῖν εἶναι. Ἥρα
ἀλλὰ τί ἄλλο, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο, ἀνιᾷ σε Δία ὄντα;
It is likely, at any rate, that having found some Danae or Semele or Europa again you are tormented by love, and then are planning to turn into a bull or a satyr or gold to flow through the roof into the lap of your beloved; for these signs—the groans and the tears and the paleness—belong to nothing other than love." Zeus "O happy woman, who think that our affairs lie in love and such trivialities!" Hera "But what else, if not this, torments you, who are Zeus?" Zeus "The affairs of the gods, Hera, are in the extreme, and indeed, as the saying goes, stand on the edge of a razor, whether we are still to be honored and have our privileges on the earth, or to be completely neglected and seem to be nothing." Hera "Has the earth brought forth some giants again, or have the Titans broken their bonds and, overcoming the guard, taken up arms against us again?" Zeus "Take heart, the things below are secure for the gods." Hera "What other dreadful thing could happen then?
§3Ζεύς
ἐν ἐσχάτοις, ὦ Ἥρα, τὰ θεῶν πράγματα, καὶ τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τοῦ λόγου, ἐπὶ ξυροῦ ἕστηκεν εἴτε χρὴ τιμᾶσθαι ἡμᾶς ἔτι καὶ τὰ γέρα ἔχειν τἀν τῇ γῇ εἴτε καὶ ἠμελῆσθαι παντάπασι καὶ τὸ μηδὲν εἶναι δοκεῖν. Ἥρα
μῶν ἢ γίγαντάς τινας αὖθις ἡ γῆ ἔφυσεν, ἢ οἱ Τιτᾶνες διαρρήξαντες τὰ δεσμὰ καὶ τῆς φρουρᾶς ἐπικρατήσαντες αὖθις ἡμῖν ἐναντία αἴρονται τὰ ὅπλα; Ζεύς
θάρσει, τὰ νέρθεν ἀσφαλῶς ἔχει θεοῖς. Ἥρα
τί οὖν ἄλλο δεινὸν ἂν γένοιτο; οὐχ ὁρῶ γάρ, ὅτε μὴ τὰ τοιαῦτα παραλυποῖ, ἐφʼ ὅτῳ Πῶλος ἢ Ἀριστόδημος ἀντὶ Διὸς ἡμῖν ἀναπέφηνας. §4Ζεύς
Τιμοκλῆς, ὦ Ἥρα, ὁ Στωϊκὸς καὶ Δᾶμις ὁ Ἐπικούρειος χθές, οὐκ οἶδα ὅθεν σφίσιν ἀρξαμένου τοῦ λόγου, προνοίας πέρι διελεγέσθην παρόντων μάλα συχνῶν καὶ δοκίμων ἀνθρώπων, ὅπερ μάλιστα ἠνίασέ με·
For I do not see, when such things do not trouble us, why you have appeared to us as Polus or Aristodemus instead of Zeus." Zeus "Timocles, Hera, the Stoic, and Damis the Epicurean, yesterday—I know not from what starting point of the conversation—debated about Providence in the presence of very many and reputable men, which is what tormented me most.
καὶ ὁ μὲν Δᾶμις οὐδʼ εἶναι θεοὺς ἔφασκεν, οὐχ ὅπως τὰ γινόμενα ἐπισκοπεῖν ἢ διατάττειν, ὁ Τιμοκλῆς δὲ ὁ βέλτιστος ἐπειρᾶτο συναγωνίζεσθαι ἡμῖν·
And Damis indeed claimed that gods do not even exist, let alone oversee or arrange what happens; while Timocles, that excellent man, tried to champion our cause.
εἶτα ὄχλου πολλοῦ ἐπιρρυέντος οὐδὲν πέρας ἐγένετο τῆς συνουσίας· διελύθησαν γὰρ εἰσαῦθις ἐπισκέψεσθαι τὰ λοιπὰ συνθέμενοι, καὶ νῦν μετέωροι πάντες εἰσίν, ὁπότερος κρατήσει καὶ ἀληθέστερα δόξει λέγειν.
Then, a great crowd having rushed in, there was no end to the meeting; for they broke up, agreeing to examine the remainder next time, and now everyone is in suspense as to which of the two will prevail and be thought to speak more truly.
ὁρᾶτε τὸν κίνδυνον, ὡς ἐν στενῷ παντάπασι τὰ ἡμέτερα, ἐν ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ κινδυνευόμενα;
Do you see the danger, how completely in a tight spot our affairs are, risked on a single man?
καὶ δυοῖν θάτερον ἢ παρεῶσθαι ἀνάγκη, ὀνόματα μόνον εἶναι δόξαντας, ἢ τιμᾶσθαι ὥσπερ πρὸ τοῦ, ἢν ὁ Τιμοκλῆς ὑπέρσχῃ λέγων.
And one of two things must happen: either we are inevitably pushed aside, being thought to be only names, or we are honored as before, if Timocles should prevail in argument."