§323Θάρυβίς τε πεντήκοντα πεντάκις νεῶν §324ταγός, γένος Λυρναῖος, εὐειδὴς ἀνήρ, §325κεῖται θανὼν δείλαιος οὐ μάλ᾽ εὐτυχῶς:
[Messenger] And Tharybis, commander of two hundred and fifty ships, commander, by birth a Lyrnaeian, a handsome man, lies dead, wretched man, in no very fortunate way.
§326Συέννεσίς τε πρῶτος εἰς εὐψυχίαν, §327Κιλίκων ἔπαρχος, εἷς ἀνὴρ πλεῖστον πόνον §328ἐχθροῖς παρασχών, εὐκλεῶς ἀπώλετο.
And Syennesis, foremost in courage, governor of the Cilicians, a single man who caused the most trouble to the enemy, perished gloriously.
§329τοσόνδε ταγῶν νῦν ὑπεμνήσθην πέρι.
Of so many commanders have I now made mention.
§330πολλῶν παρόντων δ᾽ ὀλίγ᾽ ἀπαγγέλλω κακά.
Though many are present, I report but few of the evils.
[Atossa] Alas, I hear these, the very height of evils, shame to the Persians and shrill wailings.
§333ἀτὰρ φράσον μοι τοῦτ᾽ ἀναστρέψας πάλιν: §334πόσον δὲ πλῆθος ἦν νεῶν Ἑλληνίδων, §335ὥστ᾽ ἀξιῶσαι Περσικῷ στρατεύματι §336μάχην συνάψαι ναΐοισιν ἐμβολαῖς;
Yet tell me this, turning back again: how great was the multitude of Greek ships, that they ventured to join battle with the Persian armament in naval rammings?
[Messenger] If it were a matter of numbers, know well that the barbarian would have prevailed with ships.
καὶ γὰρ Ἕλλησιν μὲν ἦν §339ὁ πᾶς ἀριθμὸς ἐς τριακάδας δέκα §340ναῶν, δεκὰς δ᾽ ἦν τῶνδε χωρὶς ἔκκριτος:
For indeed to the Greeks the whole number was up to thirty tens of ships, and besides these there was an elite ten.
§341Ξέρξῃ δέ, καὶ γὰρ οἶδα, χιλιὰς μὲν ἦν §342ὧν ἦγε πλῆθος, αἱ δ᾽ ὑπέρκοποι τάχει §343ἑκατὸν δὶς ἦσαν ἑπτά θ᾽: ὧδ᾽ ἔχει λόγος.
But for Xerxes, for indeed I know, there was a thousand as the multitude which he led, and those exceeding in speed were two hundred and seven; so stands the account.
§344μή σοι δοκοῦμεν τῇδε λειφθῆναι μάχῃ;
Do we seem to you to have been left behind in this battle in this way?
No, but some divinity in this way destroyed the army, weighing down the scales with unequal fortune.
§347θεοὶ πόλιν σῴζουσι Παλλάδος θεᾶς.
The gods save the city of the goddess Pallas.
§348ἔτ᾽ ἆρ᾽ Ἀθηνῶν ἔστ᾽ ἀπόρθητος πόλις;
[Atossa] Is then the city of Athens still unravaged?
§349ἀνδρῶν γὰρ ὄντων ἕρκος ἐστὶν ἀσφαλές.
[Messenger] Yes, for while there are men, there is a secure bulwark.
§350ἀρχὴ δὲ ναυσὶ συμβολῆς τίς ἦν, φράσον:
[Atossa] But what was the beginning of the naval encounter?
Tell me: who began the battle, was it the Greeks, or my son, exulting in the multitude of his ships?
[Messenger] The beginning of the whole evil, O mistress, was an avenging spirit or an evil divinity appearing from somewhere.
§355ἀνὴρ γὰρ Ἕλλην ἐξ Ἀθηναίων στρατοῦ §356ἐλθὼν ἔλεξε παιδὶ σῷ Ξέρξῃ τάδε, §357ὡς εἰ μελαίνης νυκτὸς ἵξεται κνέφας, §358Ἕλληνες οὐ μενοῖεν, ἀλλὰ σέλμασιν §359ναῶν ἐπενθορόντες ἄλλος ἄλλοσε §360δρασμῷ κρυφαίῳ βίοτον ἐκσωσοίατο.
For a Greek man from the Athenian army coming declared to your son Xerxes these things: that, if the gloom of dark night should arrive, the Greeks would not remain, but leaping onto the benches of their ships, one here, one there, would save their lives by secret flight.
§361ὁ δ᾽ εὐθὺς ὡς ἤκουσεν, οὐ ξυνεὶς δόλον §362Ἕλληνος ἀνδρὸς οὐδὲ τὸν θεῶν φθόνον, §363πᾶσιν προφωνεῖ τόνδε ναυάρχοις λόγον, §364εὖτ᾽ ἂν φλέγων ἀκτῖσιν ἥλιος χθόνα §365λήξῃ, κνέφας δὲ τέμενος αἰθέρος λάβῃ, §366τάξαι νεῶν μὲν στῖφος ἐν στοίχοις τρισὶν §367ἔκπλους φυλάσσειν καὶ πόρους ἁλιρρόθους, §368ἄλλας δὲ κύκλῳ νῆσον Αἴαντος πέριξ: §369ὡς εἰ μόρον φευξοίαθ᾽ Ἕλληνες κακόν, §370ναυσὶν κρυφαίως δρασμὸν εὑρόντες τινά, §371πᾶσιν στέρεσθαι κρατὸς ἦν προκείμενον.
And he, as soon as he heard, not understanding the guile of the Greek man, nor the jealousy of the gods, proclaims to all the captains this word: that, when the sun, burning with its rays, should cease, and gloom should take the sanctuary of the sky, they should range the body of ships in three lines to guard the exits and the sounding straits of the sea, and other ships in a circle around the island of Ajax; so that, if the Greeks should escape an evil fate, finding some secret flight with ships, it was decreed that all should be deprived of their heads.
Thus he spoke with a highly cheerful mind; for he knew not what was to come from the gods.
§374οἱ δ᾽ οὐκ ἀκόσμως, ἀλλὰ πειθάρχῳ φρενὶ §375δεῖπνόν <τ᾽> ἐπορσύνοντο, ναυβάτης τ᾽ ἀνὴρ §376τροποῦτο κώπην σκαλμὸν ἀμφ᾽ εὐήρετμον.
And they, not in a disorderly way, but with obedient mind, prepared their meal, and each seafaring man lashed his oar around the well-fitted rowlock-pin.
§377ἐπεὶ δὲ φέγγος ἡλίου κατέφθιτο §378καὶ νὺξ ἐπῄει, πᾶς ἀνὴρ κώπης ἄναξ §379ἐς ναῦν ἐχώρει πᾶς θ᾽ ὅπλων ἐπιστάτης: §380τάξις δὲ τάξιν παρεκάλει νεὼς μακρᾶς: §381πλέουσι δ᾽ ὡς ἕκαστος ἦν τεταγμένος, §382καὶ πάννυχοι δὴ διάπλοον καθίστασαν §383ναῶν ἄνακτες πάντα ναυτικὸν λεών.
But when the light of the sun had perished and night was coming on, every master of an oar went to his ship, and every master of arms; and rank kept cheering rank of the long ship; and they sailed as each had been stationed, and indeed through the whole night the commanders of the ships kept the whole naval host patroling the passage.
§384καὶ νὺξ ἐχώρει, κοὐ μάλ᾽ Ἑλλήνων στρατὸς §385κρυφαῖον ἔκπλουν οὐδαμῇ καθίστατο: §386ἐπεί γε μέντοι λευκόπωλος ἡμέρα §387πᾶσαν κατέσχε γαῖαν εὐφεγγὴς ἰδεῖν, §388πρῶτον μὲν ἠχῇ κέλαδος Ἑλλήνων πάρα §389μολπηδὸν ηὐφήμησεν, ὄρθιον δ᾽ ἅμα §390ἀντηλάλαξε νησιώτιδος πέτρας §391ἠχώ: φόβος δὲ πᾶσι βαρβάροις παρῆν §392γνώμης ἀποσφαλεῖσιν: οὐ γὰρ ὡς φυγῇ §393παιᾶν᾽ ἐφύμνουν σεμνὸν Ἕλληνες τότε, §394ἀλλ᾽ ἐς μάχην ὁρμῶντες εὐψύχῳ θράσει: §395σάλπιγξ δ᾽ ἀυτῇ πάντ᾽ ἐκεῖν᾽ ἐπέφλεγεν.
And the night moved on, yet the Greek armament by no means set about a secret exit; but indeed when the day with its white horses, bright to look upon, occupied all the earth, first from the Greeks a loud din like a song cheered with good omen, and at the same time shrilly the echo from the island rocks shouted in response; and fear was present to all the barbarians, disappointed in their expectation; for not as if in flight were they then chanting the solemn paean, but rushing into battle with courageous boldness: and the trumpet with its clang set all those parts ablaze.
§396εὐθὺς δὲ κώπης ῥοθιάδος ξυνεμβολῇ §397ἔπαισαν ἅλμην βρύχιον ἐκ κελεύματος, §398θοῶς δὲ πάντες ἦσαν ἐκφανεῖς ἰδεῖν.
And straightway with the simultaneous stroke of the splashing oar they struck the deep brine from the word of command, and swiftly all were manifest to sight.
§399τὸ δεξιὸν μὲν πρῶτον εὐτάκτως κέρας §400ἡγεῖτο κόσμῳ, δεύτερον δ᾽ ὁ πᾶς στόλος §401ἐπεξεχώρει, καὶ παρῆν ὁμοῦ κλύειν §402πολλὴν βοήν, “ὦ παῖδες Ἑλλήνων ἴτε, §403ἐλευθεροῦτε πατρίδ᾽, ἐλευθεροῦτε δὲ §404παῖδας, γυναῖκας, θεῶν τε πατρῴων ἕδη, §405θήκας τε προγόνων: νῦν ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀγών. ” §406καὶ μὴν παρ᾽ ἡμῶν Περσίδος γλώσσης ῥόθος §407ὑπηντίαζε, κοὐκέτ᾽ ἦν μέλλειν ἀκμή.
First the right wing in good order led in array, and second the whole fleet advanced, and at the same time it was possible to hear a great cry: "Go, sons of the Greeks, free your fatherland, and free your children, your wives, the seats of your ancestral gods, and the tombs of your ancestors; now is the struggle for all." And indeed from our side a clamor of the Persian tongue met them, and it was no longer the moment to delay.
§408εὐθὺς δὲ ναῦς ἐν νηὶ χαλκήρη στόλον §409ἔπαισεν: ἦρξε δ᾽ ἐμβολῆς Ἑλληνικὴ §410ναῦς, κἀποθραύει πάντα Φοινίσσης νεὼς §411κόρυμβ᾽, ἐπ᾽ ἄλλην δ᾽ ἄλλος ηὔθυνεν δόρυ.
Straightway ship dashed against ship its bronze-clad prow; and a Greek ship began the ramming, and broke off all the ornaments of a Phoenician ship, and each directed his spear against another.
§412τὰ πρῶτα μέν νυν ῥεῦμα Περσικοῦ στρατοῦ
Indeed at first the torrent of the Persian host