Do you call upon Darius, and I shall send these earth-drunk honors to the gods below.
§623βασίλεια γύναι, πρέσβος Πέρσαις, §624σύ τε πέμπε χοὰς θαλάμους ὑπὸ γῆς, §625ἡμεῖς θ᾽ ὕμνοις αἰτησόμεθα §626φθιμένων πομποὺς §627εὔφρονας εἶναι κατὰ γαίας.
[Chorus] Royal lady, revered by the Persians, do you send libations beneath the chambers of the earth, and we with hymns shall entreat the escorts of the dead to be propitious beneath the earth.
§628ἀλλά, χθόνιοι δαίμονες ἁγνοί, §629Γῆ τε καὶ Ἑρμῆ, βασιλεῦ τ᾽ ἐνέρων, §630πέμψατ᾽ ἔνερθεν ψυχὴν ἐς φῶς: §631εἰ γάρ τι κακῶν ἄκος οἶδε πλέον, §632μόνος ἂν θνητῶν πέρας εἴποι.
But, O pure chthonic divinities, Earth and Hermes, and King of the dead, send the soul from below into the light; for if he knows any further cure for our evils, he alone of mortals might tell the outcome.
§633ἦ ῥ᾽ ἀίει μου μακαρίτας §634ἰσοδαίμων βασιλεὺς §635βάρβαρ᾽ σαφηνῆ §636ἱέντος τὰ παναίολ᾽ αἰ- §637ανῆ δύσθροα βάγματ᾽, ἢ
Does indeed the blessed, god-like king hear me, as I utter in foreign tongues, clearly, the many-shifting, mournful, ill-sounding cries?
§638παντάλαν᾽ ἄχη διαμβοάσω;
Or shall I cry aloud my uttermost woes?
§639νέρθεν ἆρα κλύει μου;
Does he hear me from below?
§640ἀλλὰ σύ μοι Γᾶ τε καὶ ἄλλοι §641χθονίων ἁγεμόνες §642δαίμονα μεγαυχῆ §643ἰόντ᾽ αἰνέσατ᾽ ἐκ δόμων, §644Περσᾶν Σουσιγενῆ θεόν:
But do you, Earth, and other rulers of the chthonic realms, permit the proud divinity, to go forth from your chambers, the Susa-born god of the Persians.
And send up him, the like of whom the Persian land has never yet covered.
Beloved is the man, beloved is his mound; for beloved character is hidden there.
And may Aidoneus, the escort send him up, Aidoneus, the divine ruler Darianas.
ἠέ.
Oh.
§652οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄνδρας ποτ᾽ ἀπώλλυ §653πολεμοφθόροισιν ἄταις, §654θεομήστωρ δ᾽ ἐκικλή- §655σκετο Πέρσαις, θεομήστωρ δ᾽ §656ἔσκεν, ἐπεὶ στρατὸν εὖ ποδούχει.
For never did he destroy men in war-destroying calamities, and "god-counselled" he was called by the Persians, and "god-counselled" he was, since he led his army well.
ἠέ.
Oh.
§657βαλήν, ἀρχαῖος βαλήν, §658ἴθι, ἱκοῦ: §659ἔλθ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἄκρον κόρυμβον ὄχθου, §660κροκόβαπτον ποδὸς εὔμαριν ἀείρων, §661βασιλείου τιάρας §662φάλαρον πιφαύσκων.
King, ancient king, come, draw near; come to the highest summit of the mound, raising your saffron-dyed slipper of the foot, revealing the crest of your royal tiara.
§663βάσκε πάτερ ἄκακε Δαριάν, οἶ.
(revealing the crest of your royal tiara.) Come, father free of guile, Darian, oh.
So that you may hear the mournful and fresh woes, master of masters, appear!
For a Stygian darkness has hovered over us; for the youth already has all perished.
§671βάσκε πάτερ ἄκακε Δαριάν, οἶ.
Come, father free of guile, Darian, oh.
§672αἰαῖ αἰαῖ:
Alas, alas!
O much-lamented by friends in your death, why these double, grievously lamented errors around your land are committed?
For all of this land three-banked ships have perished, ships no longer ships.
[Darius] O faithful of the faithful, peers of my youth, elder Persians, with what labor does the city labor?
§683στένει, κέκοπται, καὶ χαράσσεται πέδον.
It groans, it is beaten, and the ground is scarred.
Seeing my wife near the tomb, I am struck with fear, though I graciously received her libations.
§686ὑμεῖς δὲ θρηνεῖτ᾽ ἐγγὺς ἑστῶτες τάφου §687καὶ ψυχαγωγοῖς ὀρθιάζοντες γόοις §688οἰκτρῶς καλεῖσθέ μ᾽: ἐστὶ δ᾽ οὐκ εὐέξοδον, §689ἄλλως τε πάντως χοἰ κατὰ χθονὸς θεοὶ §690λαβεῖν ἀμείνους εἰσὶν ἢ μεθιέναι.
And you, standing near the tomb, lament and with soul-raising shrieks call me piteously; but exit is not easy, especially since the gods below the earth are better at holding fast than letting go.
Yet, having power among them, I have come; but make haste, so that I may be blameless of time.
§693τί δ᾽ ἐστὶ Πέρσαις νεοχμὸν ἐμβριθὲς κακόν;
What is the new, heavy evil that has befallen the Persians?
[Chorus] I fear to look upon you, and I fear to speak before you, because of my ancient dread of you.
§697ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ κάτωθεν ἦλθον σοῖς γόοις πεπεισμένος, §698μή τι μακιστῆρα μῦθον, ἀλλὰ σύντομον λέγων §699εἰπὲ καὶ πέραινε πάντα, τὴν ἐμὴν αἰδῶ μεθείς.
[Darius] But since I have come from below, persuaded by your laments, do not speak some overly long story, but a brief one, tell and finish everything, casting aside your dread of me.
[Chorus] I fear to grant the favor, and I fear to speak before you, speaking things hard to speak to my friends.
§703ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ δέος παλαιὸν σοὶ φρενῶν ἀνθίσταται, §704τῶν ἐμῶν λέκτρων γεραιὰ ξύννομ᾽ εὐγενὲς γύναι, §705κλαυμάτων λήξασα τῶνδε καὶ γόων σαφές τί μοι §706λέξον.
[Darius] But since your ancient fear stands in the way of your mind, O noble lady, ancient partner of my bed, cease from these tears and laments, and clearly tell me something.
ἀνθρώπεια δ᾽ ἄν τοι πήματ᾽ ἂν τύχοι βροτοῖς.
Human suffering may indeed happen to mortals.
§707πολλὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ θαλάσσης, πολλὰ δ᾽ ἐκ χέρσου κακὰ §708γίγνεται θνητοῖς, ὁ μάσσων βίοτος ἢν ταθῇ πρόσω.
For many evils from the sea, and many from the land happen to mortals, if their longer life is stretched further forward.
§709ὦ βροτῶν πάντων ὑπερσχὼν ὄλβον εὐτυχεῖ πότμῳ, §710ὡς ἕως τ᾽ ἔλευσσες αὐγὰς ἡλίου ζηλωτὸς ὢν §711βίοτον εὐαίωνα Πέρσαις ὡς θεὸς διήγαγες, §712νῦν τέ σε ζηλῶ θανόντα, πρὶν κακῶν ἰδεῖν βάθος.
[Atossa] O you who surpassed the wealth of all mortals with happy fate, how, as long as you looked upon the rays of the sun, being envied, you spent a happy life like a god for the Persians; and now I envy you having died before seeing the depth of evils.
§713πάντα γάρ, Δαρεῖ᾽, ἀκούσει μῦθον ἐν βραχεῖ χρόνῳ: §714διαπεπόρθηται τὰ Περσῶν πράγμαθ᾽, ὡς εἰπεῖν ἔπος.
For, Darius, you shall hear the whole story in a brief time: the fortunes of the Persians have been utterly destroyed, to speak in a word.
§715τίνι τρόπῳ;
[Darius] In what way?
λοιμοῦ τις ἦλθε σκηπτός, ἢ στάσις πόλει;
Did some stroke of pestilence come, or civil strife upon the city?
§716οὐδαμῶς: ἀλλ᾽ ἀμφ᾽ Ἀθήνας πᾶς κατέφθαρται στρατός.
[Atossa] In no way; but around Athens the whole army has been destroyed.
§717τίς δ᾽ ἐμῶν ἐκεῖσε παίδων ἐστρατηλάτει;
[Darius] And which of my sons was leading the army thither?
φράσον.
Tell me.
§718θούριος Ξέρξης, κενώσας πᾶσαν ἠπείρου πλάκα.
[Atossa] Impetuous Xerxes, having emptied the whole expanse of the continent.
§719πεζὸς ἢ ναύτης δὲ πεῖραν τήνδ᾽ ἐμώρανεν τάλας;
[Darius] Did he, wretched, make this foolish attempt as infantry or as navy?
§720ἀμφότερα: διπλοῦν μέτωπον ἦν δυοῖν στρατευμάτοιν.
[Atossa] Both; there was a double front of two armies.
§721πῶς δὲ καὶ στρατὸς τοσόσδε πεζὸς ἤνυσεν περᾶν;
[Darius] And how indeed did so great an army of infantry manage to cross?
§722μηχαναῖς ἔζευξεν Ἕλλης πορθμόν, ὥστ᾽ ἔχειν πόρον.
[Atossa] By devices he yoked the strait of Helle, so as to have a passage.
§723καὶ τόδ᾽ ἐξέπραξεν, ὥστε Βόσπορον κλῇσαι μέγαν;
[Darius] And he accomplished this, so as to close the great Bosporus?
§724ὧδ᾽ ἔχει: γνώμης δέ πού τις δαιμόνων ξυνήψατο.
[Atossa] So it is; and surely some divinity joined in his purpose.
§725φεῦ, μέγας τις ἦλθε δαίμων, ὥστε μὴ φρονεῖν καλῶς.
[Darius] Alas, some great divinity came, so that he did not think well.