§9.1ΗΡΑ
Τὸν Ἰξίονα τοῦτον, ὦ Ζεῦ, ποῖόν τινα τὸν τρόπον ἡγῇ;
HERA What kind of character, Zeus, do you think this Ixion is?
ΖΕΥΣ
Ἄνθρωπον εἶναι χρηστόν, ὦ Ἥρα, καὶ συμποτικόν· οὐ γὰρ ἂν συνῆν ἡμῖν ἀνάξιος τοῦ συμποσίου ὤν.
ZEUS I think he is a good man, Hera, and a pleasant companion at table; for he would not be with us if he were unworthy of our banquet.
ΗΡΑ
Ἀλλὰ ἀνάξιός ἐστιν, ὑβριστής γε ὤν· ὥστε μηκέτι συνέστω.
HERA But he is unworthy, being an insolent fellow; so let him associate with us no longer.
ΖΕΥΣ
Τί δαὶ ὕβρισε;
ZEUS And what insolent thing has he done?
χρὴ γάρ, οἶμαι, κἀμὲ εἰδέναι.
For I think I too ought to know.
ΗΡΑ
Τί γὰρ ἄλλο; —καίτοι αἰσχύνομαι εἰπεῖν αὐτό· τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν ὃ ἐτόλμησεν.
HERA What else indeed? —and yet I am ashamed to say it; such is the nature of what he dared to do.
ΖΕΥΣ
Καὶ μὴν διὰ τοῦτο καὶ μᾶλλον εἴποις ἄν, ὅσῳ καὶ αἰσχροῖς ἐπεχείρησε.
ZEUS Yet for this very reason you should speak all the more, inasmuch as he attempted such shameful things.
μῶν δ’ οὖν ἐπείρα τινά;
He didn't, I suppose, make an attempt on someone?
συνίημι γὰρ ὁποῖόν τι τὸ αἰσχρόν, ὅπερ ἂν σὺ ὀκνήσειας εἰπεῖν.
For I understand what kind of shameful thing it is which you would hesitate to speak of.
§9.2ΗΡΑ
Αὐτὴν ἐμέ, οὐκ ἄλλην τινά, ὦ Ζεῦ, πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον.
HERA Myself, Zeus, and no other, for a long time now.
καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἠγνόουν τὸ πρᾶγμα, διότι ἀτενὲς ἀφεώρα εἰς ἐμέ· ὁ δὲ καὶ ἔστενε καὶ ὑπεδάκρυε, καὶ εἴ ποτε πιοῦσα παραδοίην τῷ Γανυμήδει τὸ ἔκπωμα, ὁ δὲ ᾔτει ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκείνῳ πιεῖν καὶ λαβὼν ἐφίλει μεταξὺ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς προσῆγε καὶ αὖθις ἀφεώρα ἐς ἐμέ·
At first I did not know what was going on, because he would gaze intently at me; but he also groaned and wept a little, and if ever I drank and handed the cup to Ganymede, he would ask to drink from that very same cup, and having taken it, would kiss it in between, bring it to his eyes, and gaze at me again.
ταῦτα δὲ ἤδη συνίην ἐρωτικὰ ὄντα.
These things I now understood to be signs of love.
καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺ μὲν ᾐδούμην λέγειν πρὸς σὲ καὶ ᾤμην παύσεσθαι τῆς μανίας τὸν ἄνθρωπον· ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ λόγους ἐτόλμησέ μοι προσενεγκεῖν, ἐγὼ μὲν ἀφεῖσα αὐτὸν ἔτι δακρύοντα καὶ προκυλινδούμενον, ἐπιφραξαμένη τὰ ὦτα, ὡς μηδὲ ἀκούσαιμι αὐτοῦ ὑβριστικὰ ἱκετεύοντος, ἀπῆλθον σοὶ φράσουσα·
For a long time I was ashamed to tell you, and I thought the man would cease from his madness; but when he actually dared to address words to me, I left him still weeping and groveling before me, stopped my ears so that I might not even hear his insolent supplications, and came away to tell you.
σὺ δὲ αὐτὸς ὅρα, ὅπως μέτει τὸν ἄνδρα.
Now look to it yourself, how you will punish the man.
§9.3ΖΕΥΣ
Εὖ γε ὁ κατάρατος·
ZEUS Well done, the scoundrel!
ἐπ' ἐμὲ αὐτὸν καὶ μέχρι τῶν Ἥρας γάμων;
Against myself and even to Hera's marriage bed?
τοσοῦτον ἐμεθύσθη τοῦ νέκταρος;
Has he been so drunk on nectar?
ἀλλ’ ἡμεῖς τούτων αἴτιοι καὶ πέρα τοῦ μετρίου φιλάνθρωποι, οἵ γε καὶ συμπότας αὐτοὺς ἐποιησάμεθα.
But we are to blame for this, being kind to humans beyond measure, we who actually made them our table-companions.
συγγνωστοὶ οὖν, εἰ πιόντες ὅμοια ἡμῖν καὶ ἰδόντες οὐράνια κάλλη καὶ οἷα οὔ ποτε εἶδον ἐπὶ γῆς, ἐπεθύμησαν ἀπολαῦσαι αὐτῶν ἔρωτι ἁλόντες· ὁ δ’ ἔρως βίαιόν τί ἐστι καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώπων μόνον ἄρχει, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἐνίοτε.
They are to be forgiven, then, if having drunk the same as we and having seen heavenly beauties, such as they never saw on earth, they desired to enjoy them, being captured by love; for love is a violent thing, and rules not only humans, but sometimes even ourselves.
ΗΡΑ
Σοῦ μὲν καὶ πάνυ οὗτός γε δεσπότης ἐστὶ καὶ ἄγει σε καὶ φέρει τῆς ῥινός, φασίν, ἕλκων, καὶ σὺ ἕπῃ αὐτῷ ἔνθα ἂν ἡγῆταί σοι, καὶ ἀλλάττῃ ῥᾳδίως ἐς ὅ τι ἂν κελεύσῃ, καὶ ὅλως κτῆμα καὶ παιδιὰ τοῦ ἔρωτος σύ γε·
HERA As for you, indeed, love is entirely your master, and drags you and carries you about by the nose, as they say, and you follow him wherever he leads you, and easily change into whatever he bids you; in short, you are the property and plaything of love.
καὶ νῦν τῷ Ἰξίονι οἶδα καθότι συγγνώμην ἀπονέμεις ἅτε καὶ αὐτὸς μοιχεύσας ποτὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα, ἥ σοι τὸν Πειρίθουν ἔτεκεν.
And now I know why you grant pardon to Ixion, inasmuch as you yourself once committed adultery with his wife, who bore you Pirithous.
§9.4ΖΕΥΣ
Ἔτι γὰρ σὺ μέμνησαι ἐκείνων, εἴ τι ἐγὼ ἔπαιξα εἰς γῆν κατελθών;
ZEUS Do you still remember those things, if I played some prank when I went down to earth?
ἀτὰρ οἶσθα ὅ μοι δοκεῖ περὶ τοῦ Ἰξίονος;
But do you know what I think about Ixion?
κολάζειν μὲν μηδαμῶς αὐτὸν μηδὲ ἀπωθεῖν τοῦ συμποσίου· σκαιὸν γάρ· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐρᾷ καὶ ὡς φῂς δακρύει καὶ ἀφόρητα πάσχει—
ΗΡΑ
Τί, ὦ Ζεῦ;
We should by no means punish him nor banish him from the banquet, for that would be boorish; but since he is in love, and as you say, is weeping and suffering unbearably— HERA What, Zeus?
δέδια γάρ, μή τι ὑβριστικὸν καὶ σὺ εἴπῃς.
For I fear lest you too say something outrageous.
ΖΕΥΣ
Οὐδαμῶς· ἀλλ’ εἴδωλον ἐκ νεφέλης πλασάμενοι αὐτῇ σοι ὅμοιον, ἐπειδὰν λυθῇ τὸ συμπόσιον κἀκεῖνος ἀγρυπνῇ, ὡς τὸ εἰκός, ὑπὸ τοῦ ἔρωτος, παρακατακλίνωμεν αὐτῷ φέροντες· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν παύσαιτο ἀνιώμενος οἰηθεὶς τετυχηκέναι τῆς ἐπιθυμίας.
ZEUS By no means; but let us fashion an image out of a cloud resembling you yourself, and when the banquet is broken up and he is awake, as is likely, from love, let us bring it and lay it down beside him; for thus he would cease to be tormented, thinking he has obtained his desire.
ΗΡΑ
Ἄπαγε, μὴ ὥρασιν ἵκοιτο τῶν ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν ἐπιθυμῶν.
HERA Out upon it! May he come to a bad end for desiring things beyond his station!
ΖΕΥΣ
Ὅμως ὑπόμεινον, ὦ Ἥρα.
ZEUS Still, bear with it, Hera.
ἢ τί γὰρ ἂν καὶ πάθοις δεινὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ πλάσματος, εἰ νεφέλῃ ὁ Ἰξίων συνέσται;
For what harm indeed could you suffer from the image, if Ixion associates with a cloud?
§9.5ΗΡΑ
Ἀλλὰ ἡ νεφέλη ἐγὼ εἶναι δόξω, καὶ τὸ αἰσχρὸν ἐπ' ἐμὲ ἥξει διὰ τὴν ὁμοιότητα.
HERA But the cloud will be thought to be me, and the disgrace will come upon me because of the resemblance.
ΖΕΥΣ
Οὐδὲν τοῦτο φῄς· οὔτε γὰρ ἡ νεφέλη ποτὲ Ἥρα γένοιτ' ἂν οὔτε σὺ νεφέλη· ὁ δ’ Ἰξίων μόνον ἐξαπατηθήσεται.
ZEUS You say nothing to the purpose; for neither could the cloud ever become Hera, nor you a cloud; only Ixion will be deceived.
ΗΡΑ
Ἀλλὰ οἱ πάντες ἄνθρωποι ἀπειρόκαλοί εἰσιν· αὐχήσει κατελθὼν ἴσως καὶ διηγήσεται ἅπασι λέγων συγγεγενῆσθαι τῇ Ἥρᾳ καὶ σύλλεκτρος εἶναι τῷ Διί, καί που τάχα ἐρᾶν με φήσειεν αὐτοῦ, οἱ δὲ πιστεύσουσιν οὐκ εἰδότες ὡς νεφέλῃ συνῆν.
HERA But all men are vulgar; when he goes down he will perhaps boast and tell everyone, saying that he has slept with Hera and shared the bed of Zeus, and probably he might even say that I am in love with him, and they will believe it, not knowing that he associated with a cloud.
ΖΕΥΣ
Οὐκοῦν, ἤν τι τοιοῦτον εἴπῃ, ἐς τὸν ᾅδην ἐμπεσὼν τροχῷ ἄθλιος προσδεθεὶς συμπεριενεχθήσεται μετ' αὐτοῦ ἀεὶ καὶ πόνον ἄπαυστον ἕξει δίκην διδοὺς οὐ τοῦ ἔρωτος—οὐ γὰρ δεινὸν τοῦτό γε—ἀλλὰ τῆς μεγαλαυχίας.
ZEUS Therefore, if he says any such thing, he shall be cast into Hades, bound to a wheel, and in his misery spin around with it forever, having endless toil, paying the penalty not for his love—for that is nothing terrible—but for his boasting.