Athena: "Obtaining sacrifices before the birth of children and the rites of marriage forever, you will always praise this speech of mine." Chorus: "That I should suffer such things, alas!
That I, of ancient wisdom, should dwell beneath the earth, alas, as a dishonored pollution!
§840πνέω τοι μένος ἅπαντά τε κότον.
Indeed I breathe out all my rage and resentment.
§841οἰοῖ δᾶ, φεῦ.
Oh, Earth, alas!
§842τίς μ᾽ ὑποδύεται, τίς ὀδύνα πλευράς;
What pain, what pain creeps into my sides?
§843θυμὸν ἄιε, μᾶτερ
Hear my anger, mother Night!
§845Νύξ: ἀπὸ γάρ με τι- §846μᾶν δαναιᾶν θεῶν §847δυσπάλαμοι παρ᾽ οὐδὲν ἦραν δόλοι. §848ὀργὰς ξυνοίσω σοι: γεραιτέρα γὰρ εἶ.
For from my honors received from the ancient gods, the hard-to-baffle wiles have reft me, holding me as nothing." Athena: "I will bear with your anger, for you are older.
And in that respect indeed you are much wiser than I, yet Zeus has granted to me also a mind of no small understanding.
And you, if you go to a foreign land, will fall in love with this country; I foretell you this.
For the time that flows onward will bring greater honor to these citizens.
καὶ σὺ τιμίαν §855ἕδραν ἔχουσα πρὸς δόμοις Ἐρεχθέως §856τεύξει παρ᾽ ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικείων στόλων, §857ὅσων παρ᾽ ἄλλων οὔποτ᾽ ἂν σχέθοις βροτῶν.
And you, having a seat of honor near the house of Erechtheus, will obtain from processions of men and women such things as you would never receive from any other mortals.
§858σὺ δ᾽ ἐν τόποισι τοῖς ἐμοῖσι μὴ βάλῃς §859μήθ᾽ αἱματηρὰς θηγάνας, σπλάγχνων βλάβας §860νέων, ἀοίνοις ἐμμανεῖς θυμώμασι, §861μήτ᾽, ἐξελοῦσ᾽ ὡς καρδίαν ἀλεκτόρων, §862ἐν τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἀστοῖσιν ἱδρύσῃς Ἄρη §863ἐμφύλιόν τε καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους θρασύν.
Therefore, do not cast upon my territory blood-stained whetstones, destructive to the hearts of the young, maddening them with angers not of wine; nor, as if plucking out the heart of fighting-cocks, plant among my citizens an Ares of civil strife, bold against one another.
§864θυραῖος ἔστω πόλεμος, οὐ μόλις παρών, §865ἐν ᾧ τις ἔσται δεινὸς εὐκλείας ἔρως: §866ἐνοικίου δ᾽ ὄρνιθος οὐ λέγω μάχην.
Let war be abroad, which is present in no small measure, in which there will be a terrible passion for glory; but I do not speak of the fight of a bird within the house.
§867τοιαῦθ᾽ ἑλέσθαι σοι πάρεστιν ἐξ ἐμοῦ, §868εὖ δρῶσαν, εὖ πάσχουσαν, εὖ τιμωμένην §869χώρας μετασχεῖν τῆσδε θεοφιλεστάτης. §870ἐμὲ παθεῖν τάδε, φεῦ,
Such things are open for you to choose from me: doing good, receiving good, and being well honored, to have a share in this most god-beloved land." Chorus: "That I should suffer such things, alas!
That I, of ancient wisdom, should dwell beneath the earth, alas, as a dishonored pollution!
§873πνέω τοι μένος ἅπαντά τε κότον.
Indeed I breathe out all my rage and resentment.
§874οἰοῖ δᾶ, φεῦ.
Oh, Earth, alas!
§875τίς μ᾽ ὑποδύεται, τίς ὀδύνα πλευράς;
What pain, what pain creeps into my sides?
§876θυμὸν ἄιε, μᾶτερ
Hear my anger, mother Night!
§877Νύξ: ἀπὸ γάρ με τι- §878μᾶν δαναιᾶν θεῶν §880δυσπάλαμοι παρ᾽ οὐδὲν ἦραν δόλοι. §881οὔτοι καμοῦμαί σοι λέγουσα τἀγαθά, §882ὡς μήποτ᾽ εἴπῃς πρὸς νεωτέρας ἐμοῦ §883θεὸς παλαιὰ καὶ πολισσούχων βροτῶν §884ἄτιμος ἔρρειν τοῦδ᾽ ἀπόξενος πέδου.
For from my honors received from the ancient gods, the hard-to-baffle wiles have reft me, holding me as nothing." Athena: "I shall never weary of telling you of good things, so that you may never say that you, an ancient goddess, were sent away by me, a younger one, and by the mortal guardians of this city, without honor and exiled from this soil.
§885ἀλλ᾽ εἰ μὲν ἁγνόν ἐστί σοι Πειθοῦς σέβας, §886γλώσσης ἐμῆς μείλιγμα καὶ θελκτήριον, §887σὺ δ᾽ οὖν μένοις ἄν: εἰ δὲ μὴ θέλεις μένειν, §888οὔ τἂν δικαίως τῇδ᾽ ἐπιρρέποις πόλει §889μῆνίν τιν᾽ ἢ κότον τιν᾽ ἢ βλάβην στρατῷ.
But if the holy majesty of Persuasion is sacred to you, which is the sweetness and enchantment of my tongue, then you might indeed stay; but if you do not wish to stay, you would not justly direct upon this city any wrath, or resentment, or harm to its host.
§890ἔξεστι γάρ σοι τῆσδε γαμόρῳ χθονὸς §891εἶναι δικαίως ἐς τὸ πᾶν τιμωμένῃ. §892ἄνασσ᾽ Ἀθάνα, τίνα με φῂς ἔχειν ἕδραν; §893πάσης ἀπήμον᾽ οἰζύος: δέχου δὲ σύ. §894καὶ δὴ δέδεγμαι: τίς δέ μοι τιμὴ μένει; §895ὡς μή τιν᾽ οἶκον εὐθενεῖν ἄνευ σέθεν. §896σὺ τοῦτο πράξεις, ὥστε με σθένειν τόσον; §897τῷ γὰρ σέβοντι συμφορὰς ὀρθώσομεν. §898καί μοι πρόπαντος ἐγγύην θήσει χρόνου; §899ἔξεστι γάρ μοι μὴ λέγειν ἃ μὴ τελῶ. §900θέλξειν μ᾽ ἔοικας καὶ μεθίσταμαι κότου. §901τοιγὰρ κατὰ χθόν᾽ οὖσ᾽ ἐπικτήσει φίλους. §902τί οὖν μ᾽ ἄνωγας τῇδ᾽ ἐφυμνῆσαι χθονί; §903ὁποῖα νίκης μὴ κακῆς ἐπίσκοπα, §904καὶ ταῦτα γῆθεν ἔκ τε ποντίας δρόσου §905ἐξ οὐρανοῦ τε: κἀνέμων ἀήματα §906εὐηλίως πνέοντ᾽ ἐπιστείχειν χθόνα: §907καρπόν τε γαίας καὶ βοτῶν ἐπίρρυτον §908ἀστοῖσιν εὐθενοῦντα μὴ κάμνειν χρόνῳ, §909καὶ τῶν βροτείων σπερμάτων σωτηρίαν.
For it is open to you to be a part-owner of this land, justly and fully honored forever." Chorus: "Queen Athena, what seat do you say I shall have?" Athena: "One free from all distress; accept it." Chorus: "And suppose I have accepted it, what honor awaits me?" Athena: "That no house shall prosper without you." Chorus: "Will you accomplish this, so that I have such power?" Athena: "Yes, for we shall set upright the fortunes of him who reveres you." Chorus: "And will you place a pledge for me for all time?" Athena: "For it is open to me not to say what I shall not fulfill." Chorus: "You seem to soothe me, and I depart from my wrath." Athena: "Therefore, remaining in this land, you will gain friends." Chorus: "What then do you bid me chant for this land?" Athena: "Such things as look toward no dishonor in victory, and these from the earth, and from the dew of the sea, and from heaven; and that the breaths of the winds, blowing with fair sunshine, may sweep over the land; and that the fruit of the earth and the overflowing offspring of cattle may flourish for the citizens and not fail with time, and that there be salvation for the seed of mortals.
§910τῶν δυσσεβούντων δ᾽ ἐκφορωτέρα πέλοις.
But may you be more ready to carry out the ungodly.
For I, like a gardener tending his plants, love this sorrow-free race of these righteous people.
§913τοιαῦτα σοὔστι.
Such are your tasks.
τῶν ἀρειφάτων δ᾽ ἐγὼ §914πρεπτῶν ἀγώνων οὐκ ἀνέξομαι τὸ μὴ οὐ §915τήνδ᾽ ἀστύνικον ἐν βροτοῖς τιμᾶν πόλιν. §916δέξομαι Παλλάδος ξυνοικίαν, §917οὐδ᾽ ἀτιμάσω πόλιν, §918τὰν καὶ Ζεὺς ὁ παγκρατὴς Ἄρης τε §919φρούριον θεῶν νέμει, §920ῥυσίβωμον Ἑλλάνων ἄγαλμα δαιμόνων:
And as for the glorious contests of war in Ares' service, I will not tolerate that this city should fail to be honored among mortals for its victories." Chorus: "I will accept co-dwelling with Pallas, and I will not dishonor this city, which even all-powerful Zeus and Ares hold as a fortress of the gods, a savior of the altars, the glory of the Greek divinities.
§921ᾇτ᾽ ἐγὼ κατεύχομαι §922θεσπίσασα πρευμενῶς §923ἐπισσύτους βίου τύχας ὀνησίμους §925γαίας ἐξαμβρῦσαι §926φαιδρὸν ἁλίου σέλας.
For which I make my prayer, prophesying in a kindly spirit, that bountiful, beneficial fortunes of life may gush forth from the earth, by the radiant splendor of the sun.
§927τάδ᾽ ἐγὼ προφρόνως τοῖσδε πολίταις
These things I do with a willing mind for these citizens..."