How indeed fares King Xerxes, son of Darius, our own race of patronymic name?
Has the drawing of the bow conquered, or has the strength of the spear-headed lance prevailed?
But lo, here comes, equal to the eyes of gods, a light, the mother of the king, my queen; I fall prostrate.
And indeed it is right that all of us address her with speech of greeting.
O supreme queen of deep-girdled Persian women, aged mother of Xerxes, hail, wife of Darius!
§157θεοῦ μὲν εὐνάτειρα Περσῶν, θεοῦ δὲ καὶ μήτηρ ἔφυς, §158εἴ τι μὴ δαίμων παλαιὸς νῦν μεθέστηκε στρατῷ.
You were born the bedfellow of the Persians' god, and also the mother of their god, unless some ancient deity has now turned away from the army.
[Atossa] Leaving indeed the gold-adorned palace and the common bed of Darius and myself, I have come.
§161καί με καρδίαν ἀμύσσει φροντίς: ἐς δ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἐρῶ §162μῦθον, οὐδαμῶς ἐμαυτῆς οὖσ᾽ ἀδείμαντος, φίλοι, §163μὴ μέγας πλοῦτος κονίσας οὖδας ἀντρέψῃ ποδὶ §164ὄλβον, ὃν Δαρεῖος ἦρεν οὐκ ἄνευ θεῶν τινός.
And anxiety tears at my heart; and to you I will speak a word, being by no means without fear for myself, friends, lest great wealth, raising dust from the ground, should trip with its foot and overthrow the prosperity which Darius raised up, not without some god.
§165ταῦτά μοι διπλῆ μέριμνα φραστός ἐστιν ἐν φρεσίν, §166μήτε χρημάτων ἀνάνδρων πλῆθος ἐν τιμῇ σέβειν §167μήτ᾽ ἀχρημάτοισι λάμπειν φῶς ὅσον σθένος πάρα.
Therefore a double, unspoken concern is in my thoughts, neither to honor with reverence a multitude of riches without men, nor that the light of those without wealth should shine with such strength as is present to them.
§168ἔστι γὰρ πλοῦτός γ᾽ ἀμεμφής, ἀμφὶ δ᾽ ὀφθαλμῷ φόβος: §169ὄμμα γὰρ δόμων νομίζω δεσπότου παρουσίαν.
For our wealth is indeed blameless, but there is fear about the "eye"; for I deem the master's presence to be the eye of the house.
§170πρὸς τάδ᾽ ὡς οὕτως ἐχόντων τῶνδε, σύμβουλοι λόγου §171τοῦδέ μοι γένεσθε, Πέρσαι, γηραλέα πιστώματα: §172πάντα γὰρ τὰ κέδν᾽ ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστί μοι βουλεύματα.
Therefore, since these things are so, be my advisers in this counsel, Persians, my aged trustworthy ones; for all my good counsels depend on you.
§173εὖ τόδ᾽ ἴσθι, γῆς ἄνασσα τῆσδε, μή σε δὶς φράσαι §174μήτ᾽ ἔπος μήτ᾽ ἔργον ὧν ἂν δύναμις ἡγεῖσθαι θέλῃ: §175εὐμενεῖς γὰρ ὄντας ἡμᾶς τῶνδε συμβούλους καλεῖς.
[Chorus] Know this well, queen of this land, that you do not need to speak twice either word or deed of those which our power wishes to guide; for you call upon us as well-minded advisers in these matters.
§176πολλοῖς μὲν αἰεὶ νυκτέροις ὀνείρασιν §177ξύνειμ᾽, ἀφ᾽ οὗπερ παῖς ἐμὸς στείλας στρατὸν §178Ἰαόνων γῆν οἴχεται πέρσαι θέλων:
[Atossa] I have ever been in company with many nightly dreams, since my son, having equipped his army, departed, wishing to sack the land of the Ionians.
But never yet have I seen any so vivid as that of the past night; and I will tell it to you.
§181ἐδοξάτην μοι δύο γυναῖκ᾽ εὐείμονε, §182ἡ μὲν πέπλοισι Περσικοῖς ἠσκημένη, §183ἡ δ᾽ αὖτε Δωρικοῖσιν, εἰς ὄψιν μολεῖν, §184μεγέθει τε τῶν νῦν ἐκπρεπεστάτα πολύ, §185κάλλει τ᾽ ἀμώμω, καὶ κασιγνήτα γένους §186ταὐτοῦ: πάτραν δ᾽ ἔναιον ἡ μὲν Ἑλλάδα §187κλήρῳ λαχοῦσα γαῖαν, ἡ δὲ βάρβαρον.
Two women well-dressed seemed to me to come into my sight, the one adorned in Persian robes, the other in Dorian, in stature far more outstanding than those of now, and in beauty blameless, and sisters of the same race; and they dwelt in their native lands, one having obtained by lot the land of Hellas, the other the barbarian land.
§188τούτω στάσιν τιν᾽, ὡς ἐγὼ ᾽δόκουν ὁρᾶν, §189τεύχειν ἐν ἀλλήλαισι: παῖς δ᾽ ἐμὸς μαθὼν §190κατεῖχε κἀπράυνεν, ἅρμασιν δ᾽ ὕπο §191ζεύγνυσιν αὐτὼ καὶ λέπαδν᾽ ἐπ᾽ αὐχένων §192τίθησι.
These two, as I seemed to see, arose in a strife against one another; and my son, having perceived it, restrained and pacified them, and under his chariot he yoked them and placed the collars upon their necks.
χἠ μὲν τῇδ᾽ ἐπυργοῦτο στολῇ §193ἐν ἡνίαισί τ᾽ εἶχεν εὔαρκτον στόμα, §194ἡ δ᾽ ἐσφάδᾳζε, καὶ χεροῖν ἔντη δίφρου §195διασπαράσσει, καὶ ξυναρπάζει βίᾳ §196ἄνευ χαλινῶν καὶ ζυγὸν θραύει μέσον.
And the one indeed towered proudly in this harness and held her mouth obedient in the reins, but the other struggled, and with her hands tore apart the harness of the chariot, and dragged it away by force without the bridle, and broke the yoke in the middle.
§197πίπτει δ᾽ ἐμὸς παῖς, καὶ πατὴρ παρίσταται §198Δαρεῖος οἰκτείρων σφε: τὸν δ᾽ ὅπως ὁρᾷ §199Ξέρξης, πέπλους ῥήγνυσιν ἀμφὶ σώματι.
And my son fell, and his father Darius stood by, pitying him; and when Xerxes saw him, he tore the robes about his body.
§200καὶ ταῦτα μὲν δὴ νυκτὸς εἰσιδεῖν λέγω.
And these things indeed I say I saw by night.
§201ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἀνέστην καὶ χεροῖν καλλιρρόου §202ἔψαυσα πηγῆς, σὺν θυηπόλῳ χερὶ §203βωμὸν προσέστην, ἀποτρόποισι δαίμοσιν §204θέλουσα θῦσαι πέλανον, ὧν τέλη τάδε.
But when I arose and touched with my hands the fair-flowing spring, with sacrificing hand I stood by the altar, wishing to offer a sacred cake to the averting deities, to whom these rites belong.
And I see an eagle fleeing to the hearth of Phoebus; and in fear I stood speechless, friends.
§207μεθύστερον δὲ κίρκον εἰσορῶ δρόμῳ §208πτεροῖς ἐφορμαίνοντα καὶ χηλαῖς κάρα §209τίλλονθ᾽: ὁ δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἄλλο γ᾽ ἢ πτήξας δέμας §210παρεῖχε.
And afterwards I see a hawk in full flight swooping with its wings and tearing at the eagle's head with its talons; and the eagle did nothing else but cower and yield its body.
ταῦτ᾽ ἔμοιγε δείματ᾽ εἰσιδεῖν, §211ὑμῖν δ᾽ ἀκούειν.
These things were terrors for me to see, and for you to hear.
εὖ γὰρ ἴστε, παῖς ἐμὸς §212πράξας μὲν εὖ θαυμαστὸς ἂν γένοιτ᾽ ἀνήρ, §213κακῶς δὲ πράξασ—οὐχ ὑπεύθυνος πόλει, §214σωθεὶς δ᾽ ὁμοίως τῆσδε κοιρανεῖ χθονός.
For know well, if my son should fare well, he would be a wondrous man, but if he fares ill—he is not accountable to the city, and if saved, he rules this land just the same.
[Chorus] We do not wish, mother, either to terrify you too much with words, nor to encourage you too much.
θεοὺς δὲ προστροπαῖς ἱκνουμένη, §217εἴ τι φλαῦρον εἶδες, αἰτοῦ τῶνδ᾽ ἀποτροπὴν τελεῖν, §218τὰ δ᾽ ἀγάθ᾽ ἐκτελῆ γενέσθαι σοί τε καὶ τέκνοις σέθεν §219καὶ πόλει φίλοις τε πᾶσι.
But approaching the gods with supplications, if you saw anything ill, ask them to bring about its turning away, and that good things may be fulfilled for you, for your children, for the city, and for all your friends.
δεύτερον δὲ χρὴ χοὰς §220γῇ τε καὶ φθιτοῖς χέασθαι: πρευμενῶς δ᾽ αἰτοῦ τάδε, §221σὸν πόσιν Δαρεῖον, ὅνπερ φὴς ἰδεῖν κατ᾽ εὐφρόνην, §222ἐσθλά σοι πέμπειν τέκνῳ τε γῆς ἔνερθεν ἐς φάος, §223τἄμπαλιν δὲ τῶνδε γαίᾳ κάτοχ᾽ ἀμαυροῦσθαι σκότῳ.
And secondly, you must pour libations to the Earth and to the dead; and kindly ask this, that your husband Darius, whom you say you saw by night, send good things for you and for your child from beneath the earth into the light, and that the opposite of these, held down in the earth, be obscured in darkness.