| ἱκέτης, ἀφύλλου στόματος ἐξάπτων λιτάς: | Menelaus, I am Orestes, whom you are asking about. I will of my own accord inform you of my sufferings. But as my first portion, I clasp your knees as a suppliant, giving you prayers from the mouth of one without the suppliant’s bough; save me, for you have come at the crisis of my troubles. Menelau |
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| σῷσόν μ': ἀφῖξαι δ' αὐτὸς ἐς καιρὸν κακῶν. | Menelaus, I am Orestes, whom you are asking about. I will of my own accord inform you of my sufferings. But as my first portion, I clasp your knees as a suppliant, giving you prayers from the mouth of one without the suppliant’s bough; save me, for you have come at the crisis of my troubles. Menelau |
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| ὦ θεοί, τί λεύσσω; τίνα δέδορκα νερτέρων; | O gods, what do I see? What living corpse greets my sight? Oreste |
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| εὖ γ' εἶπας: οὐ γὰρ ζῶ κακοῖς, φάος δ' ὁρῶ. | You are right; I am dead through misery, though I still gaze upon the light. Menelau |
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| ὡς ἠγρίωσαι πλόκαμον αὐχμηρόν, τάλας. | How savage the look your unkempt hair gives you, poor wretch! Oreste |
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| οὐχ ἡ πρόσοψίς μ', ἀλλὰ τἄργ' αἰκίζεται. | It is not my looks, but my deeds that torture me. Menelau |
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| δεινὸν δὲ λεύσσεις ὀμμάτων ξηραῖς κόραις. | Your tearless eyes glare dreadfully! Oreste |
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| τὸ σῶμα φροῦδον: τὸ δ' ὄνομ' οὐ λέλοιπέ μοι. | My body is gone, though my name has not deserted me. Menelau |
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| ὦ παρὰ λόγον μοι σὴ φανεῖς' ἀμορφία. | Unsightly apparition, so different from what I expected! Oreste |
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| ὅδ' εἰμὶ μητρὸς τῆς ταλαιπώρου φονεύς. | Here I am, the murderer of my wretched mother. Menelau |
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| ἤκουσα, φείδου δ': ὀλιγάκις λέγειν κακά. | I have heard, spare your words; evils should be seldom spoken. Oreste |
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| φειδόμεθ': ὁ δαίμων δ' ἐς ἐμὲ πλούσιος κακῶν. | I will be sparing; but the deity is lavish of woe in my case. Menelau |
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| τί χρῆμα πάσχεις; τίς ς' ἀπόλλυσιν νόσος; | What ails you? what is your deadly sickness? Oreste |
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| ἡ σύνεσις, ὅτι σύνοιδα δείν' εἰργασμένος. | My conscience; I know that I am guilty of a dreadful crime. Menelau |
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| πῶς φῄς; σοφόν τοι τὸ σαφές, οὐ τὸ μὴ σαφές. | What do you mean? Wisdom is shown in clarity, not in obscurity. Oreste |
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| λύπη μάλιστά γ' ἡ διαφθείρουσά με — | Grief especially has ruined me— Menelau |
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| δεινὴ γὰρ ἡ θεός, ἀλλ' ὅμως ἰάσιμος. | Yes, she is a dreadful goddess, yet are there cures for her. Oreste |
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| μανίαι τε, μητρὸς αἵματος τιμωρίαι. | And fits of madness, the vengeance of a mother’s blood. Menelau |
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| ἤρξω δὲ λύσσης πότε; τίς ἡμέρα τότ' ἦν; | When did your madness begin? Which day was it? Oreste |
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| ἐν ᾗ τάλαιναν μητέρ' ἐξώγκουν τάφῳ. | On the day I was heaping the mound over my poor mother’s grave. Menelau |
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| πότερα κατ' οἴκους ἢ προσεδρεύων πυρᾷ; | When you were in the house, or watching by the pyre? Oreste |
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| νυκτὸς φυλάσσων ὀστέων ἀναίρεσιν. | As I was waiting by night to gather up her bones. Menelau |
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| παρῆν τις ἄλλος, ὃς σὸν ὤρθευεν δέμας; | Was any one else there, to help you rise? Oreste |
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| Πυλάδης, ὁ συνδρῶν αἷμα καὶ μητρὸς φόνον. | Pylades who shared with me the bloody deed, my mother’s murder. Menelau |
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| ἐκ φασμάτων δὲ τάδε νοσεῖς: ποίων ὕπο; | You are sick from phantom shapes; what sort? Oreste |
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| ἔδοξ' ἰδεῖν τρεῖς νυκτὶ προσφερεῖς κόρας. | I seemed to see three maidens, black as night. Menelau |
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| οἶδ' ἃς ἔλεξας, ὀνομάσαι δ' οὐ βούλομαι. | I know whom you mean, but I do not want to name them. Oreste |
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| σεμναὶ γάρ: εὐπαίδευτα δ' ἀπετρέπου λέγειν. | Yes, for they are revered; you were well-informed, to avoid naming them. Menelau |
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| αὗταί σε βακχεύουσι συγγενῆ φόνον; | Are these the ones that drive you to frenzy, with the curse of kindred blood? Oreste |
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| οἴμοι διωγμῶν, οἷς ἐλαύνομαι τάλας. | Oh! the torment I endure from their pursuit! Menelau |
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| οὐ δεινὰ πάσχειν δεινὰ τοὺς εἰργασμένους. | It is not strange, if those who have done dreadful things should suffer them. Oreste |
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| ἀλλ' ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἀναφορὰ τῆς συμφορᾶς. | But I have a way to recover from these troubles. Menelau |
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| μὴ θάνατον εἴπῃς: τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ οὐ σοφόν. | Do not speak of death; that is not wise. Oreste |
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| Φοῖβος, κελεύσας μητρὸς ἐκπρᾶξαι φόνον. | It is Phoebus, who commanded me to kill my mother. Menelau |
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| ἀμαθέστερός γ' ὢν τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ τῆς δίκης. | Showing a strange ignorance of what is fair and right. Oreste |
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| δουλεύομεν θεοῖς, ὅ τι ποτ' εἰσὶν οἱ θεοί. | We are slaves to the gods, whatever those gods are. Menelau |
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| κᾆτ' οὐκ ἀμύνει Λοξίας τοῖς σοῖς κακοῖς; | And does Loxias not help your affliction? Oreste |
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| μέλλει: τὸ θεῖον δ' ἐστὶ τοιοῦτον φύσει. | He will in time; this is the nature of gods. Menelau |
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| πόσον χρόνον δὲ μητρὸς οἴχονται πνοαί; | How long is it since your mother breathed her last? Oreste |
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| ἕκτον τόδ' ἦμαρ: ἔτι πυρὰ θερμὴ τάφου. | This is the sixth day; her funeral pyre is still warm. Menelau |
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| ὡς ταχὺ μετῆλθόν ς' αἷμα μητέρος θεαί. | How soon the goddesses arrived to avenge your mother’s blood! Oreste |
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| οὐ σοφός, ἀληθὴς δ' ἐς φίλους ἔφυν φίλος. | I am not clever, but I am by nature a true friend to my friends. Menelau |
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| πατρὸς δὲ δή τι ς' ὠφελεῖ τιμωρία; | Does your father give you any help at all, for your avenging him? Oreste |
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| οὔπω: τὸ μέλλον δ' ἴσον ἀπραξίᾳ λέγω. | Not yet; I call delay the equal of inaction. Menelau |
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| τὰ πρὸς πόλιν δὲ πῶς ἔχεις δράσας τάδε; | How do you stand in the city after that deed of yours? Oreste |
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| μισούμεθ' οὕτως ὥστε μὴ προσεννέπειν. | I am so hated that no one will speak to me. Menelau |
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| οὐδ' ἥγνισαι σὸν αἷμα κατὰ νόμον χεροῖν; | Have your hands not even been cleaned of blood, according to custom? Oreste |
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| ἐκκλῄομαι γὰρ δωμάτων ὅποι μόλω. | No, for wherever I go, the door is shut against me. Menelau |
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| τίνες πολιτῶν ἐξαμιλλῶνταί σε γῆς; | Which citizens are driving you from the land? Oreste |
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| Οἴαξ, τὸ Τροίας μῖσος ἀναφέρων πατρί. | Oeax, who refers to my father his reason for hating Troy . Menelau |
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| συνῆκα: Παλαμήδους σε τιμωρεῖ φόνου. | I understand; he is avenging on you the blood of Palamedes. Oreste |
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| οὗ γ' οὐ μετῆν μοι: διὰ τριῶν δ' ἀπόλλυμαι. | That was nothing to do with me; yet I am destroyed for three reasons. Menelau |
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| τίς δ' ἄλλος; ἦ που τῶν ἀπ' Αἰγίσθου φίλων; | Who else? Some of the friends of Aegisthus, I suppose? Oreste |
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| οὗτοί μ' ὑβρίζους', ὧν πόλις τὰ νῦν κλύει. | They insult me, and the city listens to them now. Menelau |
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| ̓Αγαμέμνονος δὲ σκῆπτρ' ἐᾷ ς' ἔχειν πόλις; | Will the city allow you to keep the scepter of Agamemnon? Oreste |
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| πῶς, οἵτινες ζῆν οὐκ ἐῶς' ἡμᾶς ἔτι; | How, seeing that they will not allow me to remain alive? Menelau |
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| τί δρῶντες ὅ τι καὶ σαφὲς ἔχεις εἰπεῖν ἐμοί; | What is their method? Can you tell me plainly? Oreste |
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| ψῆφος καθ' ἡμῶν οἴσεται τῇδ' ἡμέρᾳ. | A vote will be taken against us today. Menelau |
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| φεύγειν πόλιν τήνδ'; ἢ θανεῖν ἢ μὴ θανεῖν; | To leave the city? Or to die, or not to die? Oreste |
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| θανεῖν ὑπ' ἀστῶν λευσίμῳ πετρώματι. | Death by stoning at the hands of the citizens. Menelau |
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| κᾆτ' οὐχὶ φεύγεις γῆς ὑπερβαλὼν ὅρους; | Then why not cross the border and try to escape? Oreste |
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| κύκλῳ γὰρ εἱλισσόμεθα παγχάλκοις ὅπλοις. | Because we are encircled by men fully armed. Menelau |
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| ἰδίᾳ πρὸς ἐχθρῶν ἢ πρὸς ̓Αργείας χερός; | Private foes or Argive troops? Oreste |
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| πάντων πρὸς ἀστῶν, ὡς θάνω: βραχὺς λόγος. | All the citizens, so that I may die; it is shortly told. Menelau |
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| ὦ μέλεος, ἥκεις συμφορᾶς ἐς τοὔσχατον. | Poor wretch! you have arrived at the extremity of woe. Oreste |
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| ἐς σὲ ἐλπὶς ἡμὴ καταφυγὰς ἔχει κακῶν. | In you I have hopes of escape from my troubles. But since you have come with good fortune |
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| ἀλλ' ἀθλίως πράσσουσιν εὐτυχὴς μολὼν | In you I have hopes of escape from my troubles. But since you have come with good fortune |
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| μετάδος φίλοισι σοῖσι σῆς εὐπραξίας | hare with your friends, who are wretched, your prosperity; do not hold aside that goodness for yourself alone; but partake of troubles in your turn, and so pay back my father’s kindness to those who have a claim on you. For such friends as desert us in adversity |
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| καὶ μὴ μόνος τὸ χρηστὸν ἀπολαβὼν ἔχε | hare with your friends, who are wretched, your prosperity; do not hold aside that goodness for yourself alone; but partake of troubles in your turn, and so pay back my father’s kindness to those who have a claim on you. For such friends as desert us in adversity |
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| ἀλλ' ἀντιλάζου καὶ πόνων ἐν τῷ μέρει | hare with your friends, who are wretched, your prosperity; do not hold aside that goodness for yourself alone; but partake of troubles in your turn, and so pay back my father’s kindness to those who have a claim on you. For such friends as desert us in adversity |
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| χάριτας πατρῴας ἐκτίνων ἐς οὕς σε δεῖ. | hare with your friends, who are wretched, your prosperity; do not hold aside that goodness for yourself alone; but partake of troubles in your turn, and so pay back my father’s kindness to those who have a claim on you. For such friends as desert us in adversity |
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| ὄνομα γάρ, ἔργον δ' οὐκ ἔχουσιν οἱ φίλοι | hare with your friends, who are wretched, your prosperity; do not hold aside that goodness for yourself alone; but partake of troubles in your turn, and so pay back my father’s kindness to those who have a claim on you. For such friends as desert us in adversity |
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| οἱ μὴ 'πὶ ταῖσι συμφοραῖς ὄντες φίλοι. | are friends in name but not in deed. Chorus Leader |
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| καὶ μὴν γέροντι δεῦρ' ἁμιλλᾶται ποδὶ | And here is Tyndareus, the Spartan, struggling with aged step, clad in black robes, with his hair cut short in mourning for his daughter. Oreste |
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| ὁ Σπαρτιάτης Τυνδάρεως, μελάμπεπλος | And here is Tyndareus, the Spartan, struggling with aged step, clad in black robes, with his hair cut short in mourning for his daughter. Oreste |
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| κουρᾷ τε θυγατρὸς πενθίμῳ κεκαρμένος. | And here is Tyndareus, the Spartan, struggling with aged step, clad in black robes, with his hair cut short in mourning for his daughter. Oreste |
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| ἀπωλόμην, Μενέλαε: Τυνδάρεως ὅδε | Menelaus, I am ruined. See, Tyndareu |
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| στείχει πρὸς ἡμᾶς, οὗ μάλιστ' αἰδώς μ' ἔχει | approaches us, the man of all others I most shrink from facing, because of the deed I have done. For he nursed me when I was small, and lavished on me many a fond caress, carrying me about in his arms as the son of Agamemnon; and so did Leda; |
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| ἐς ὄμματ' ἐλθεῖν τοῖσιν ἐξειργασμένοις. | approaches us, the man of all others I most shrink from facing, because of the deed I have done. For he nursed me when I was small, and lavished on me many a fond caress, carrying me about in his arms as the son of Agamemnon; and so did Leda; |
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| καὶ γάρ μ' ἔθρεψε σμικρὸν ὄντα, πολλὰ δὲ | approaches us, the man of all others I most shrink from facing, because of the deed I have done. For he nursed me when I was small, and lavished on me many a fond caress, carrying me about in his arms as the son of Agamemnon; and so did Leda; |
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| φιλήματ' ἐξέπλησε, τὸν ̓Αγαμέμνονος | approaches us, the man of all others I most shrink from facing, because of the deed I have done. For he nursed me when I was small, and lavished on me many a fond caress, carrying me about in his arms as the son of Agamemnon; and so did Leda; |
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| παῖδ' ἀγκάλαισι περιφέρων, Λήδα θ' ἅμα | approaches us, the man of all others I most shrink from facing, because of the deed I have done. For he nursed me when I was small, and lavished on me many a fond caress, carrying me about in his arms as the son of Agamemnon; and so did Leda; |
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| τιμῶντέ μ' οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἢ Διοσκόρω: | for they both honored me no less than the Dioscuri. |
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| οἷς, ὦ τάλαινα καρδία ψυχή τ' ἐμή | Ah me! my wretched heart and soul, it was a sorry return I made them! What darkness can I find for my face? What cloud can I spread before me in my efforts to escape the old man’s eye? Tyndareu |
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| ἀπέδωκ' ἀμοιβὰς οὐ καλάς. τίνα σκότον | Ah me! my wretched heart and soul, it was a sorry return I made them! What darkness can I find for my face? What cloud can I spread before me in my efforts to escape the old man’s eye? Tyndareu |
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| λάβω προσώπῳ; ποῖον ἐπίπροσθεν νέφος | Ah me! my wretched heart and soul, it was a sorry return I made them! What darkness can I find for my face? What cloud can I spread before me in my efforts to escape the old man’s eye? Tyndareu |
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| θῶμαι, γέροντος ὀμμάτων φεύγων κόρας; | Ah me! my wretched heart and soul, it was a sorry return I made them! What darkness can I find for my face? What cloud can I spread before me in my efforts to escape the old man’s eye? Tyndareu |
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