【Darius:】 They remain where the river Asopus irrigates the plain, a dear richness to the Boeotian land.
Where the highest of evils awaits them to suffer, as the penalty for insolence and godless thoughts.
For when they came to the land of Greece, they did not scruple to despoil the statues of the gods nor to burn their temples.
And the altars have vanished, and the shrines of the gods have been utterly overturned from their foundations in ruin.
§813τοιγὰρ κακῶς δράσαντες οὐκ ἐλάσσονα §814πάσχουσι, τὰ δὲ μέλλουσι, κοὐδέπω κακῶν §815κρηνὶς ἀπέσβηκ᾽, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἐκπιδύεται.
Therefore, having done evil, no less evils do they suffer, and others they shall suffer; nor yet is the fountain of evils quenched, but it still gushes forth.
For so great shall be the blood-dripping mass of slaughter upon the soil of Plataea by the Dorian spear.
§818θῖνες νεκρῶν δὲ καὶ τριτοσπόρῳ γονῇ §819ἄφωνα σημανοῦσιν ὄμμασιν βροτῶν §820ὡς οὐχ ὑπέρφευ θνητὸν ὄντα χρὴ φρονεῖν.
And heaps of corpses even to the third generation shall silently signify to the eyes of men that one who is mortal must not think thoughts beyond measure.
For insolence, when it blossoms, bears the fruit of ruin, whence it reaps a harvest of all tears.
§823τοιαῦθ᾽ ὁρῶντες τῶνδε τἀπιτίμια §824μέμνησθ᾽ Ἀθηνῶν Ἑλλάδος τε, μηδέ τις §825ὑπερφρονήσας τὸν παρόντα δαίμονα §826ἄλλων ἐρασθεὶς ὄλβον ἐκχέῃ μέγαν.
Beholding such punishments for these things, remember Athens and Greece, and let no one, despising his present fortune, desire others and pour out his great prosperity.
Zeus indeed is the punisher of excessively boastful thoughts, a heavy corrector.
§829πρὸς ταῦτ᾽ ἐκεῖνον, σωφρονεῖν κεχρημένον, §830πινύσκετ᾽ εὐλόγοισι νουθετήμασιν, §831λῆξαι θεοβλαβοῦνθ᾽ ὑπερκόμπῳ θράσει.
Therefore, advise him, who needs to be wise, with reasonable admonitions, to cease offending the gods with his boastful daring.
§832σὺ δ᾽, ὦ γεραιὰ μῆτερ ἡ Ξέρξου φίλη, §833ἐλθοῦσ᾽ ἐς οἴκους κόσμον ὅστις εὐπρεπὴς §834λαβοῦσ᾽ ὑπαντίαζε παιδί.
And you, aged and beloved mother of Xerxes, go into the palace, and taking whatever garment is fitting, go to meet your son.
For because of grief for his evils, the shreds of his variegated garments are torn into tatters about his body.
But soothe him gently with words; for to you alone, I know, will he bear to listen.
§839ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἄπειμι γῆς ὑπὸ ζόφον κάτω.
But I depart beneath the darkness of the earth.
§840ὑμεῖς δέ, πρέσβεις, χαίρετ᾽, ἐν κακοῖς ὅμως §841ψυχὴν διδόντες ἡδονῇ καθ᾽ ἡμέραν, §842ὡς τοῖς θανοῦσι πλοῦτος οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ.
And you, elders, farewell, even in evils, giving pleasure to your soul day by day, since wealth is of no use to the dead.
【Atossa:】 Indeed, I grieved to hear of many evils, both present and still to come, for the barbarians.
O fate, how many painful evils enter into me!
But this misfortune bites me most of all: hearing of the dishonor of the garments about the body of my son, which wraps him.
But I will go, and taking garments from the palace, I will try to meet my son.
§851οὐ γὰρ τὰ φίλτατ᾽ ἐν κακοῖς προδώσομεν.
For we shall not betray our dearest in their evils.
§852ὦ πόποι ἦ μεγάλας ἀγαθᾶς τε πο- §853λισσονόμου βιοτᾶς ἐπεκύρσαμεν, §854εὖθ᾽ ὁ γηραιὸς §855πανταρκὴς ἀκάκας §856ἄμαχος βασιλεὺς §857ἰσόθεος Δαρεῖος ἆρχε χώρας.
【Chorus:】 O alas, indeed we obtained a great and good, law-abiding life, when the aged, all-sufficient, harmless, unconquered king, godlike Darius ruled the land.
First indeed we displayed glorious armies, and all walled cities we utterly destroyed.
And returns from wars without toil, without suffering, led prosperous men to their homes.
And how many cities did he capture, not having crossed the passage of the Halys river, nor rushed from his hearth!
§867οἷαι Στρυμονίου πελά- §868γους Ἀχελωίδες εἰσὶ πάροικοι §870Θρῃκίων ἐπαύλων, §871λίμνας τ᾽ ἔκτοθεν αἳ κατὰ §872χέρσον ἐληλαμέναι πέρι πύργον §873τοῦδ᾽ ἄνακτος ἄιον, §875Ἕλλας τ᾽ ἀμφὶ πόρον πλατὺν §876εὐχόμεναι, μυχία τε Προποντίς, §877καὶ στόμωμα Πόντου: §878νᾶσοί θ᾽ αἳ κατὰ πρῶν᾽ §880ἅλιον περίκλυστοι §881τᾷδε γᾷ προσήμεναι §882οἵα Λέσβος ἐλαι- §883όφυτός τε Σάμος, Χίος, §884ἠδὲ Πάρος, Νάξος, Μύκο- §885νος, Τήνῳ τε συνάπτουσ᾽ §886Ἄνδρος ἀγχιγείτων, §887καὶ τὰς ἀγχιάλους §888ἐκράτυνε μεσάκτους, §890Λῆμνον, Ἰκάρου θ᾽ ἕδος, §891καὶ Ῥόδον ἠδὲ Κνίδον §892Κυπρίας τε πόλεις, Πάφον, §893ἠδὲ Σόλους, Σαλαμῖνά τε, §894τᾶς νῦν ματρόπολις τῶνδ᾽ §896αἰτία στεναγμῶν.
Such as are the dwellers of the Strymonian sea, neighboring the Thracian dwellings; and those cities beyond the lake, which, driven along the mainland, obeyed the command around the tower of this king; and those boasting around the broad strait of Helle, and the gulf of Propontis, and the mouth of the Pontus; and the sea-girt islands along the marine headland, clinging to this continent, such as olive-growing Lesbos, and Samos, Chios, and Paros, Naxos, Mykonos, and Andros adjacent to Tenos and close-neighboring; and those set in mid-sea, near the coast, he mastered, Lemnos and the seat of Icarus, and Rhodes and Knidos, and the Cyprian cities, Paphos, and Soli, and Salamis, whose mother-city now is the cause of these groans.
and the wealthy, populous Greek cities in the Ionian territory, he ruled by his own understanding.
And there was present an untiring strength of armed men and of allies of all races.
§904νῦν δ᾽ οὐκ ἀμφιλόγως §905θεότρεπτα τάδ᾽ αὖ §906φέρομεν πολέμοισι §907δμαθέντες μεγάλως §908πλαγαῖσι ποντίαισιν.
But now, undeniably, these things, turned by the god, we bear in war, being greatly subdued by sea-blows.
【Xerxes:】 O, wretched am I, having met this hateful and most unpredictable fate!
How ruthlessly did the god step upon the race of the Persians! What shall I suffer, wretched one?
For the strength of my limbs is dissolved, beholding this age of the citizens.
Would that, O Zeus, the fate of death had covered me too, along with the men who are gone!
§918ὀτοτοῖ, βασιλεῦ, στρατιᾶς ἀγαθῆς §919καὶ περσονόμου τιμῆς μεγάλης, §920κόσμου τ᾽ ἀνδρῶν, §921οὓς νῦν δαίμων ἐπέκειρεν.
【Chorus:】 O alas, king, for the good army, and the great honor of Persian rule, and the ornament of men, whom now the god has mowed down.
the land wails for its native youth, slain for Xerxes, who stuffed Hades with Persians.
For many men, the flower of the land, going to Hades, subduers of the bow, a very dense multitude of men, have perished.
§928αἰαῖ αἰαῖ κεδνᾶς ἀλκᾶς.
Alas, alas, for the trusty strength!