§513οὔτοι τι θαῦμα δυσφορεῖν φόβῳ φρενός.
It is indeed no wonder to be distressed through fear of mind.
§514ἀεὶ γυναικῶν ἐστὶ δεῖμ᾽ ἐξαίσιον.
The terror of women is always excessive.
§515σὺ καὶ λέγων εὔφραινε καὶ πράσσων φρένα.
Do you cheer our heart both by your words and by your actions.
§516ἀλλ᾽ οὔτι δαρὸν χρόνον ἐρημώσει πατήρ.
But your father will not leave you desolate for a long time.
§517ἐγὼ δὲ λαοὺς συγκαλῶν ἐγχωρίους §518στείχω, τὸ κοινὸν ὡς ἂν εὐμενὲς τιθῶ: §519καὶ σὸν διδάξω πατέρα ποῖα χρὴ λέγειν.
And I, calling together the local people, will go, so that I may make the community well-disposed; and I will instruct your father what things he must say.
Therefore, remain here, and the local gods entreat with prayers for those things which you desire to obtain.
And I will go to prepare these matters; and may persuasion and effective fortune attend me.
§524ἄναξ ἀνάκτων, μακάρων §525μακάρτατε καὶ τελέων §526τελειότατον κράτος, ὄλβιε Ζεῦ, §527πιθοῦ τε καὶ γένει σῷ §528ἄλευσον ἀνδρῶν ὕβριν εὖ στυγήσας: §529λίμνᾳ δ᾽ ἔμβαλε πορφυροειδεῖ §530τὰν μελανόζυγ᾽ ἄταν.
King of kings, most blessed of the blessed, and of perfect powers the most perfect power, blessed Zeus, hearken, and for your own offspring ward off the violence of men, having utterly detested it; and cast into the purple sea the black-benched ruin.
§531τὸ πρὸς γυναικῶν <δ᾽> ἐπιδὼν §532παλαίφατον ἁμέτερον §533γένος φιλίας προγόνου γυναικὸς §534νέωσον εὔφρον᾽ αἶνον, §535γενοῦ πολυμνάστωρ, ἔφαπτορ Ἰοῦς,
Look upon the women's side, and our ancient, beloved female ancestor's lineage; renew the kindly story, you who remember well, O toucher of Io.
We claim to be of your, Zeus's, offspring, emigrants from this very land.
§538παλαιὸν δ᾽ εἰς ἴχνος μετέσταν §539ματέρος ἀνθονόμους ἐπωπάς, §540λειμῶνα βούχιλον, ἔνθεν Ἰὼ §541οἴστρῳ ἐρεσσομένα §542φεύγει ἁμαρτίνοος, §543πολλὰ βροτῶν διαμειβομένα §544φῦλα, διχῇ δ᾽ ἀντίπορον §545γαῖαν ἐν αἴσᾳ διατέμ- §546νουσα πόρον κυματίαν ὁρίζει:
And I have moved to the ancient track of my mother, where she was watched while grazing on flowers, the pasture of the cow, whence Io, driven by the gadfly, flees with distracted mind, passing through many tribes of mortals; and splitting in two the opposite land in accordance with her fate, she marks out the billowy strait.
§547ἰάπτει δ᾽ Ἀσίδος δι᾽ αἴας §548μηλοβότου Φρυγίας διαμπάξ: §549περᾷ δὲ Τεύθραντος ἄστυ Μυσῶν, §550Λύδιά τ᾽ ἂγ γύαλα, §551καὶ δι᾽ ὀρῶν Κιλίκων §552Παμφύλων τε [γένη] διορνυμένα §553πὰρ ποταμοὺς ἀενάους §554καὶ βαθύπλουτον χθόνα καὶ §555τὰν Ἀφροδίτας πολύπυρον αἶαν.
And she rushes through the land of Asia, straight through sheep-nurturing Phrygia; and she crosses the Mysian city of Teuthras, and the Lydian vales, and rushing through the mountains of Cilicia and Pamphylia, by the ever-flowing rivers, and the deep-rich soil, and the wheat-abundant land of Aphrodite.
§556ἱκνεῖται δ᾽ †εἰσικνουμένου βέλει §557βουκόλου πτερόεντος §558Δῖον πάμβοτον ἄλσος, §559λειμῶνα χιονόβοσκον, ὅντ᾽ ἐπέρχεται §560Τυφῶ μένος, §561ὕδωρ τε Νείλου νόσοις ἄθικτον, §562μαινομένα πόνοις ἀτί- §563μοις ὀδύναις τε κεντροδα- §564λήτισι θυιὰς Ἥρας.
And she arrives, by the sting of the winged herdsman, at the Zeus-nourished all-feeding grove, the snow-fed meadow, which is visited by Typhon's fury, and the water of Nile untouched by diseases, maddened by her shameful labors, and by the sting-inflicted pains, a frenzied maid of Hera.
§565βροτοὶ δ᾽, οἳ γᾶς τότ᾽ ἦσαν ἔννομοι, §566χλωρῷ δείματι θυμὸν §567πάλλοντ᾽ ὄψιν ἀήθη, §568βοτὸν ἐσορῶντες δυσχερὲς μιξόμβροτον, §569τὰν μὲν βοός, §570τὰν δ᾽ αὖ γυναικός: τέρας δ᾽ ἐθάμβουν.
And the mortals who then inhabited the land, shook in their hearts with pale fear at the unusual sight, beholding a creature of mixed human kind, hard to look upon, partly of a cow, and partly of a woman; and they were astonished at the monster.
And who was it then who soothed the far-wandering, wretched, gadfly-driven Io?
§576χειρὸς δ᾽ ἀπημάντῳ σθένει §577καὶ θείαις ἐπιπνοίαις §578παύεται, δακρύων δ᾽ ἀπο- §579στάζει πένθιμον αἰδῶ.
and by the harmless strength of his hand and by divine breathings she is set free, and she distils her mournful, modest tears.
§580λαβοῦσα δ᾽ ἕρμα Δῖον ἀψευδεῖ λόγῳ §581γείνατο παῖδ᾽ ἀμεμφῆ, §582δι᾽ αἰῶνος μακροῦ πάνολβον: §583ἔνθεν πᾶσα βοᾷ χθών, §584“φυσιζόου γένος τόδε §585Ζηνός ἐστιν ἀληθῶς: §586τίς γὰρ ἂν κατέπαυσεν Ἥ- §587ρας νόσους ἐπιβούλους; ” §588Διὸς τόδ᾽ ἔργον: καὶ τόδ᾽ ἂν γένος λέγων §589ἐξ Ἐπάφου κυρήσαις.
And having received the divine seed, by a true word, she gave birth to a blameless child, all-happy through a long life; whence all the earth cries out, "This offspring is indeed of life-giving Zeus; for who else could have stayed Hera's insidious plots?" This is Zeus's deed; and if you say this race is from Epaphus, you would hit the mark.
Which of the gods could I invoke with better reason for more just deeds?
§592<αὐτὸς> πατὴρ φυτουργὸς αὐτόχειρ ἄναξ §593γένους παλαιόφρων μέγας §594τέκτων, τὸ πᾶν μῆχαρ οὔριος Ζεύς.
Himself the father, planter, ruler by his own hand, the great, ancient-minded builder of our race, sending favorable winds, the ultimate device, Zeus.
Sitting under the authority of no one, does he hold a lesser power under those who are stronger?
§597οὔτινος ἄνωθεν ἡμένου σέβει κάτω.
He does not revere below the decree of anyone sitting above.
And the deed is present as the word, to hasten whatever his planning mind brings.
§600θαρσεῖτε παῖδες: εὖ τὰ τῶν ἐγχωρίων:
Have courage, children; matters are well with the locals.
§601δήμου δέδοκται παντελῆ ψηφίσματα.
The sovereign decrees of the people have been passed.
§602ὦ χαῖρε πρέσβυ, φίλτατ᾽ ἀγγέλλων ἐμοί:
O welcome, old man, announcing most welcome things to me!
Tell us to what end the decision has been ratified, and how the sovereign hand of the people prevails by majority.
§605ἔδοξεν Ἀργείοισιν οὐ διχορρόπως, §606ἀλλ᾽ ὥστ᾽ ἀνηβῆσαί με γηραιᾷ φρενί: §607πανδημίᾳ γὰρ χερσὶ δεξιωνύμοις §608ἔφριξεν αἰθὴρ τόνδε κραινόντων λόγον: §609ἡμᾶς μετοικεῖν τῆσδε γῆς ἐλευθέρους §610κἀρρυσιάστους ξύν τ᾽ ἀσυλίᾳ βροτῶν: §611καὶ μήτ᾽ ἐνοίκων μήτ᾽ ἐπηλύδων τινὰ §612ἄγειν: ἐὰν δὲ προστιθῇ τὸ καρτερόν, §613τὸν μὴ βοηθήσαντα τῶνδε γαμόρων §614ἄτιμον εἶναι ξὺν φυγῇ δημηλάτῳ.
It was resolved by the Argives, not with divided votes, but so as to make me young again in my old mind: for the whole populace with their right hands made the air bristle as they ratified this decree: that we should dwell in this land as free settlers and secure from seizure, and with immunity from all mortals; and that no one, either of inhabitants or of strangers, should lead us away; and if someone should use force, that whoever of these landowners did not bring aid should be outlawed, together with public banishment.
§615τοιάνδ᾽ ἔπειθε ῥῆσιν ἀμφ᾽ ἡμῶν λέγων §616ἄναξ Πελασγῶν, ἱκεσίου Ζηνὸς κότον §617μέγαν προφωνῶν μήποτ᾽ εἰσόπιν χρόνου §618πόλιν παχῦναι, ξενικὸν ἀστικόν θ᾽ ἅμα §619λέγων διπλοῦν μίασμα πρὸς πόλεως φανὲν §620ἀμήχανον βόσκημα πημονῆς πέλειν.
Such a speech did the Pelasgian king urge concerning us, warning that the great wrath of Zeus the god of suppliants should never in future times fatten the city; saying that a double pollution, both of stranger and citizen, appearing before the city, would become an unmanageable pasture of ruin.
Hearing such things, the Argive people decreed with their hands, without a herald, that these things should be so.