§329ρηγνυμένων φαρέων.
with their garments torn.
And the city, being emptied, cries out, as the booty of mingled voices is destroyed; indeed, I dread these heavy fortunes.
§333κλαυτὸν δ᾽ ἀρτιτρόφοις ὠμοδρόποις §334νομίμων προπάροιθεν διαμεῖψαι §335δωμάτων στυγερὰν ὁδόν: §336τί γάρ;
And it is a thing to be wept for, that young girls, before the customary rites, should change their homes for a hateful journey; for why?
φθίμενόν τοι προλέγω §337βέλτερα τῶνδε πράσσειν:
I declare that the dead fare better than these.
For many, when a city is subdued, alas, are the misfortunes it suffers.
One leads away another, or slays, and some also carry fire.
§342καπνῷ [δὲ] χραίνεται πόλισμ᾽ ἅπαν: §343μαινόμενος δ᾽ ἐπιπνεῖ λαοδάμας §344μιαίνων εὐσέβειαν Ἄρης.
The whole town is stained with smoke, and raging Ares blows upon it, subduing the people and defiling piety.
§345κορκορυγαὶ δ᾽ ἀν᾽ ἄστυ, §346ποτὶ [πτόλιν] δ᾽ ὁρκάνα πυργῶτις: §347πρὸς ἀνδρὸς δ᾽ ἀνὴρ στὰς δορὶ καίνεται: §348βλαχαὶ δ᾽ αἱματόεσσαι §349τῶν ἐπιμαστιδίων §350ἀρτιτρεφεῖς βρέμονται.
And there are tumults through the city, and against the town is a towering net of siege; And man standing against man is slain with the spear; And the bloody cries of newborns, still at the breast, resound.
§351ἁρπαγαὶ δὲ διαδρομᾶν ὁμαίμονες: §352ξυμβολεῖ φέρων φέροντι, §353καὶ κενὸς κενὸν καλεῖ, §354ξύννομον θέλων ἔχειν, §355οὔτε μεῖον οὔτ᾽ ἴσον λελιμμένοι.
And plundering is the sister of running hither and thither; One carrying spoil meets another carrying spoil, and the empty calls the empty, wishing to have a partner, they who covet neither less nor equal shares.
§356τίν᾽ ἐκ τῶνδ᾽ εἰκάσαι λόγον πάρα;
What conclusion is there to draw from these things?
§357παντοδαπὸς δὲ καρπὸς χαμάδις πεσὼν ἀλγύνει [κυρήσας], §358πικρὸν δ᾽ ὄμμα <τᾶν> θαλαμηπόλων: §360πολλὰ δ᾽ ἀκριτόφυρτος §361γᾶς δόσις οὐτιδανοῖς §362ἐν ῥοθίοις φορεῖται.
And all kinds of fruit, having fallen to the ground, cause pain, and bitter is the eye of the housekeepers; And much gift of the earth, confusedly mixed, is carried away in worthless surges.
§363δμωίδες δὲ καινοπήμονες †νέαι: §364τλήμονες εὐνὰν αἰχμάλωτον† §365ἀνδρὸς εὐτυχοῦντος, αἷς §366δυσμενοῦς ὑπερτέρου §367ἐλπίς ἐστι νύκτερον τέλος μολεῖν, §368παγκλαύτων ἀλγέων ἐπίρροθον.
And young maidens, new to suffering, must endure a captive's bed of a successful man, for whom there is hope that the conquering enemy will bring the night's end as a helper to their all-lamented pains.
§369ὅ τοι κατόπτης, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, στρατοῦ §370πευθώ τιν᾽ ἡμῖν, ὦ φίλαι, νέαν φέρει, §371σπουδῇ διώκων πομπίμους χνόας ποδοῖν.
Indeed, the scout of the army, as it seems to me, O friends, brings some new tidings to us, urging in haste the guiding sockets of his feet.
§372καὶ μὴν ἄναξ ὅδ᾽ αὐτὸς Οἰδίπου τόκος §373εἰς ἀρτίκολλον ἀγγέλου λόγον μαθεῖν: §374σπουδὴ δὲ καὶ τοῦδ᾽ εὖ καταρτίζει πόδα.
And look, the king himself, the offspring of Oedipus, comes to hear the messenger's report at the exact moment; and haste also well orders his foot.
[Messenger] I would speak, knowing well the affairs of the adversaries, and how each has drawn his lot at the gates.
§377Τυδεὺς μὲν ἤδη πρὸς πύλαισι Προιτίσιν §378βρέμει, πόρον δ᾽ Ἰσμηνὸν οὐκ ἐᾷ περᾶν §379ὁ μάντις: οὐ γὰρ σφάγια γίγνεται καλά.
Tydeus indeed already roars at the Proetid gates, but the seer does not permit him to cross the stream of Ismenus; for the sacrifices do not prove favorable.
§380Τυδεὺς δὲ μαργῶν καὶ μάχης λελιμμένος §381μεσημβριναῖς κλαγγαῖσιν ὡς δράκων βοᾷ: §382θείνει δ᾽ ὀνείδει μάντιν Οἰκλείδην σοφόν, §383σαίνειν μόρον τε καὶ μάχην ἀψυχίᾳ.
But Tydeus, raging and eager for battle, shouts like a dragon in midday screeches; and he strikes the wise seer, the son of Oecles, with reproach, saying that he fawns upon doom and battle out of cowardice.
§384τοιαῦτ᾽ ἀυτῶν τρεῖς κατασκίους λόφους §385σείει, κράνους χαίτωμ᾽, ὑπ᾽ ἀσπίδος δὲ τῷ §386χαλκήλατοι κλάζουσι κώδωνες φόβον: §387ἔχει δ᾽ ὑπέρφρον σῆμ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἀσπίδος τόδε, §388φλέγονθ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ἄστροις οὐρανὸν τετυγμένον: §389λαμπρὰ δὲ πανσέληνος ἐν μέσῳ σάκει, §390πρέσβιστον ἄστρων, νυκτὸς ὀφθαλμός, πρέπει.
Shouting such things, he shakes three shadowy crests, the hair of his helmet, and beneath his shield bells forged of bronze clang out terror; and he has this arrogant device upon his shield, a sky wrought flaming under stars; and a bright full moon, the most revered of stars, the eye of night, stands out in the middle of the buckler.
§391τοιαῦτ᾽ ἀλύων ταῖς ὑπερκόμποις σαγαῖς §392βοᾷ παρ᾽ ὄχθαις ποταμίαις, μάχης ἐρῶν, §393ἵππος χαλινῶν ὣς κατασθμαίνων μένει, §394ὅστις βοὴν σάλπιγγος ὁρμαίνει κλύων.
Raging in this way with his over-boastful armor, he shouts by the river banks, longing for battle, like a horse panting against the bit, which rushes forward when it hears the sound of the trumpet.
§395τίν᾽ ἀντιτάξεις τῷδε;
Whom will you set against this man?
τίς Προίτου πυλῶν §396κλῄθρων λυθέντων προστατεῖν φερέγγυος;
Who is trustworthy to stand as protector of the Proetid gates when their bolts are loosed?
§397κόσμον μὲν ἀνδρὸς οὔτιν᾽ ἂν τρέσαιμ᾽ ἐγώ, §398οὐδ᾽ ἑλκοποιὰ γίγνεται τὰ σήματα: §399λόφοι δὲ κώδων τ᾽ οὐ δάκνουσ᾽ ἄνευ δορός.
[Eteocles] I would not tremble at any ornament of a man, nor do devices make wounds; crests and bells do not bite without the spear.
§400καὶ νύκτα ταύτην ἣν λέγεις ἐπ᾽ ἀσπίδος §401ἄστροισι μαρμαίρουσαν οὐρανοῦ κυρεῖν, §402τάχ᾽ ἂν γένοιτο μάντις ἁνοία τινί.
And as for this night which you say is on his shield, gleaming with the stars of heaven, it might perhaps become a prophet to his folly.
§403εἰ γὰρ θανόντι νὺξ ἐπ᾽ ὀφθαλμοῖς πέσοι, §404τῷ τοι φέροντι σῆμ᾽ ὑπέρκομπον τόδε §405γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ὀρθῶς ἐνδίκως τ᾽ ἐπώνυμον, §406καὐτὸς καθ᾽ αὑτοῦ τήνδ᾽ ὕβριν μαντεύσεται.
For if night should fall upon his eyes as he dies, then indeed to him who bears this boastful device, it would rightly and justly prove true to its name, and he himself will have prophesied this insolence against himself.
§407ἐγὼ δὲ Τυδεῖ κεδνὸν Ἀστακοῦ τόκον §408τῶνδ᾽ ἀντιτάξω προστάτην πυλωμάτων, §409μάλ᾽ εὐγενῆ τε καὶ τὸν Αἰσχύνης θρόνον §410τιμῶντα καὶ στυγοῦνθ᾽ ὑπέρφρονας λόγους.
And against Tydeus I will set the noble son of Astacus as protector of these gates, one who is highly well-born, honors the throne of Shame, and loathes arrogant words.
§411αἰσχρῶν γὰρ ἀργός, μὴ κακὸς δ᾽ εἶναι φιλεῖ.
For he is inactive in shameful deeds, but is not wont to be a coward.
§412σπαρτῶν δ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ἀνδρῶν, ὧν Ἄρης ἐφείσατο, §413ῥίζωμ᾽ ἀνεῖται, κάρτα δ᾽ ἔστ᾽ ἐγχώριος, §414Μελάνιππος: ἔργον δ᾽ ἐν κύβοις Ἄρης κρινεῖ:
And Melanippus is a root sprung from the sown men whom Ares spared, and he is thoroughly of this land; but Ares will decide the issue by the dice of war.
And kindred Justice indeed sends him forth to ward off the hostile spear from the mother who bore him.
§417τὸν ἁμόν νυν ἀντίπαλον εὐτυχεῖν §418θεοὶ δοῖεν, ὡς δικαίως πόλεως §419πρόμαχος ὄρνυται: τρέμω δ᾽ αἱματη- §420φόρους μόρους ὑπὲρ φίλων §421ὀλομένων ἰδέσθαι.
[Chorus] Now may the gods grant our champion to be successful, since he sets forth justly to fight as protector of the city; but I tremble to look upon the bloody deaths of my loved ones perishing.
§422τούτῳ μὲν οὕτως εὐτυχεῖν δοῖεν θεοί:
[Messenger] To him indeed may the gods grant success in this way.
§423Καπανεὺς δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ Ἠλέκτραισιν εἴληχεν πύλαις, §424γίγας ὅδ᾽ ἄλλος τοῦ πάρος λελεγμένου §425μείζων, ὁ κόμπος δ᾽ οὐ κατ᾽ ἄνθρωπον φρονεῖ, §426πύργοις δ᾽ ἀπειλεῖ δείν᾽, ἃ μὴ κραίνοι τύχη:
But Capaneus has drawn his lot at the Electran gates; he is another giant, greater than the one mentioned before, and his boast does not think in human terms, and he threatens the towers with terrible things, which may fortune not fulfill!
§427θεοῦ τε γὰρ θέλοντος ἐκπέρσειν πόλιν §428καὶ μὴ θέλοντός φησιν, οὐδὲ τὴν Διὸς §429Ἔριν πέδοι σκήψασαν ἐμποδὼν σχεθεῖν.
For he says he will utterly destroy the city whether god wills it or wills it not, and that not even the strife of Zeus, casting down upon the ground, shall hold him back in his way.