Chorus: "And what lustral water of his clansmen will receive him?" Apollo: "This too I shall speak, and learn how rightly I shall say it.
The mother is not the generator of the child called hers, but only the nurse of the newly sown embryo.
The one who mounts generates, while she, a stranger for a stranger, preserves the sprout, unless some god blights it.
§662τεκμήριον δὲ τοῦδέ σοι δείξω λόγου: §663πατὴρ μὲν ἂν γένοιτ᾽ ἄνευ μητρός: πέλας §664μάρτυς πάρεστι παῖς Ὀλυμπίου Διός, §665οὐδ᾽ ἐν σκότοισι νηδύος τεθραμμένη, §666ἀλλ᾽ οἷον ἔρνος οὔτις ἂν τέκοι θεός.
And I shall show you a proof of this argument: a father can exist without a mother; close at hand stands a witness, the child of Olympian Zeus, who was not even nurtured in the darkness of a womb, but is such a shoot as no goddess could bear.
§667ἐγὼ δέ, Παλλάς, τἄλλα θ᾽ ὡς ἐπίσταμαι, §668τὸ σὸν πόλισμα καὶ στρατὸν τεύξω μέγαν, §669καὶ τόνδ᾽ ἔπεμψα σῶν δόμων ἐφέστιον, §670ὅπως γένοιτο πιστὸς ἐς τὸ πᾶν χρόνου §671καὶ τόνδ᾽ ἐπικτήσαιο σύμμαχον, θεά, §672καὶ τοὺς ἔπειτα, καὶ τάδ᾽ αἰανῶς μένοι §673στέργειν τὰ πιστὰ τῶνδε τοὺς ἐπισπόρους. §674ἤδη κελεύω τούσδ᾽ ἀπὸ γνώμης φέρειν §675ψῆφον δικαίαν, ὡς ἅλις λελεγμένων; §676ἡμῖν μὲν ἤδη πᾶν τετόξευται βέλος. §677μένω δ᾽ ἀκοῦσαι πῶς ἀγὼν κριθήσεται. §678τί γάρ;
And I, Pallas, in all other things as I know how, shall make your city and host great, and I sent this man as a suppliant at your hearth, so that he might become faithful for all time, and that you might acquire him as an ally, O goddess, and his descendants after him, and that this might remain eternally, that the posterity of these people should love their pledges." Athena: "Shall I now command these to cast their righteous vote according to their judgement, since enough has been said?" Chorus: "For our part, every arrow has already been shot; and I wait to hear how the contest will be decided." Athena: "Why not?
πρὸς ὑμῶν πῶς τιθεῖσ᾽ ἄμομφος ὦ; §679ἠκούσαθ᾽ ὧν ἠκούσατ᾽, ἐν δὲ καρδίᾳ §680ψῆφον φέροντες ὅρκον αἰδεῖσθε, ξένοι. §681κλύοιτ᾽ ἂν ἤδη θεσμόν, Ἀττικὸς λεώς, §682πρώτας δίκας κρίνοντες αἵματος χυτοῦ.
How shall I act towards you so as to be free from blame?" Apollo: "You have heard what you have heard; and in your hearts, as you cast your votes, revere your oath, strangers." Athena: "Hear now the decree, people of Attica, as you judge the first trial for shed blood.
And for the future too, for the host of Aegeus, this shall ever be the council chamber of judges.
§685πάγον δ᾽ Ἄρειον τόνδ᾽, Ἀμαζόνων ἕδραν §686σκηνάς θ᾽, ὅτ᾽ ἦλθον Θησέως κατὰ φθόνον §687στρατηλατοῦσαι, καὶ πόλιν νεόπτολιν §688τήνδ᾽ ὑψίπυργον ἀντεπύργωσαν τότε, §689Ἄρει δ᾽ ἔθυον, ἔνθεν ἔστ᾽ ἐπώνυμος §690πέτρα, πάγος τ᾽ Ἄρειος: ἐν δὲ τῷ σέβας §691ἀστῶν φόβος τε ξυγγενὴς τὸ μὴ ʼδικεῖν §692σχήσει τό τ᾽ ἦμαρ καὶ κατ᾽ εὐφρόνην ὁμῶς, §693αὐτῶν πολιτῶν μὴ ᾽πικαινούντων νόμους.
And this Hill of Ares, the seat of the Amazons and their tents, when they came out of grudge against Theseus on a campaign, and then built up against this city this new, high-towering city, and sacrificed to Ares, from which event this rock and Hill of Ares has its name—in this place, reverence of the citizens and their kindred fear of doing wrong shall hold them back both by day and by night alike, as long as the citizens themselves do not innovate the laws.
But if you stain clear water with evil influxes and mud, you will never find a draught to drink.
§696τὸ μήτ᾽ ἄναρχον μήτε δεσποτούμενον §697ἀστοῖς περιστέλλουσι βουλεύω σέβειν, §698καὶ μὴ τὸ δεινὸν πᾶν πόλεως ἔξω βαλεῖν.
Neither anarchy nor tyranny—this is the state I advise my citizens to embrace and revere, and not to cast all fear out of the city.
§699τίς γὰρ δεδοικὼς μηδὲν ἔνδικος βροτῶν;
For who among mortals is just if he fears nothing?
§700τοιόνδε τοι ταρβοῦντες ἐνδίκως σέβας §701ἔρυμά τε χώρας καὶ πόλεως σωτήριον §702ἔχοιτ᾽ ἄν, οἷον οὔτις ἀνθρώπων ἔχει, §703οὔτ᾽ ἐν Σκύθαισιν οὔτε Πέλοπος ἐν τόποις.
Fearing such a reverence justly, you would have a bulwark of your land and a savior of your city, such as no other men possess, neither among the Scythians nor in the lands of Pelops.
§704κερδῶν ἄθικτον τοῦτο βουλευτήριον, §705αἰδοῖον, ὀξύθυμον, εὑδόντων ὕπερ §706ἐγρηγορὸς φρούρημα γῆς καθίσταμαι.
Untouched by gain, this council chamber, revered, quick to anger, a wakeful guardian of the land on behalf of those who sleep, I establish.
§707ταύτην μὲν ἐξέτειν᾽ ἐμοῖς παραίνεσιν §708ἀστοῖσιν ἐς τὸ λοιπόν: ὀρθοῦσθαι δὲ χρὴ §709καὶ ψῆφον αἴρειν καὶ διαγνῶναι δίκην §710αἰδουμένους τὸν ὅρκον.
I have extended this advice to my citizens for the future; but now you must stand up, take your votes, and decide the case, revering your oath.
εἴρηται λόγος. §711καὶ μὴν βαρεῖαν τήνδ᾽ ὁμιλίαν χθονὸς §712ξύμβουλός εἰμι μηδαμῶς ἀτιμάσαι. §713κἄγωγε χρησμοὺς τοὺς ἐμούς τε καὶ Διὸς §714ταρβεῖν κελεύω μηδ᾽ ἀκαρπώτους κτίσαι. §715ἀλλ᾽ αἱματηρὰ πράγματ᾽ οὐ λαχὼν σέβεις, §716μαντεῖα δ᾽ οὐκέθ᾽ ἁγνὰ μαντεύσει νέμων. §717ἦ καὶ πατήρ τι σφάλλεται βουλευμάτων §718πρωτοκτόνοισι προστροπαῖς Ἰξίονος; §719λέγεις: ἐγὼ δὲ μὴ τυχοῦσα τῆς δίκης §720βαρεῖα χώρᾳ τῇδ᾽ ὁμιλήσω πάλιν. §721ἀλλ᾽ ἔν τε τοῖς νέοισι καὶ παλαιτέροις §722θεοῖς ἄτιμος εἶ σύ: νικήσω δ᾽ ἐγώ. §723τοιαῦτ᾽ ἔδρασας καὶ Φέρητος ἐν δόμοις: §724Μοίρας ἔπεισας ἀφθίτους θεῖναι βροτούς. §725οὔκουν δίκαιον τὸν σέβοντ᾽ εὐεργετεῖν, §726ἄλλως τε πάντως χὤτε δεόμενος τύχοι; §727σύ τοι παλαιὰς διανομὰς καταφθίσας §728οἴνῳ παρηπάτησας ἀρχαίας θεάς. §729σύ τοι τάχ᾽ οὐκ ἔχουσα τῆς δίκης τέλος §730ἐμῇ τὸν ἰὸν οὐδὲν ἐχθροῖσιν βαρύν. §731ἐπεὶ καθιππάζει με πρεσβῦτιν νέος, §732δίκης γενέσθαι τῆσδ᾽ ἐπήκοος μένω, §733ὡς ἀμφίβουλος οὖσα θυμοῦσθαι πόλει. §734ἐμὸν τόδ᾽ ἔργον, λοισθίαν κρῖναι δίκην: §735ψῆφον δ᾽ Ὀρέστῃ τήνδ᾽ ἐγὼ προσθήσομαι.
My word is spoken." Chorus: "And indeed, I advise you in no way to dishonor this heavy company of visitors to your land." Apollo: "And I command you to fear my oracles and those of Zeus, and not to make them fruitless." Chorus: "But you respect bloody deeds though they are not your lot, and you will no longer dispense pure prophecies." Apollo: "Was my father then in any way mistaken in his counsels at the supplication of Ixion, the first murderer?" Chorus: "You say so; but I, if I do not obtain justice, shall visit this land again as a heavy burden." Apollo: "But both among the young and the older gods you are without honor; and I shall win." Chorus: "Such things you did also in the house of Pheres, when you persuaded the Fates to make mortals immortal." Apollo: "Is it not then just to do good to the one who reveres you, especially and in every way when he happens to be in need?" Chorus: "You indeed destroyed the ancient allocations, and deceived the ancient goddesses with wine." Apollo: "You indeed, when you soon fail to have the issue of the trial, will spit your venom, which will be no burden to your enemies." Chorus: "Since you, a youth, ride down me, an elder, I wait to hear the outcome of this trial, since I am in doubt whether to be angry at the city." Athena: "This is my task, to decide the final judgment; and I shall add this vote of mine to Orestes.