________________________________________
Aeschylus
Suppliant Women
Translated
by
Ian Johnston
Vancouver Island University
Nanaimo, BC
Canada
2013
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TRANSLATOR’S NOTE
This translation
is based, for the most part, on the Greek text of Herbert Weir Smith (1922,
reprint 1930). The line numbers in square brackets below refer to that text;
the line numbers without brackets refer to the English translation. Indented
partial lines are included with the line above in the reckoning. All endnotes,
indicated by an asterisk in the text, have been provided by the translator.
The Greek text of The Suppliant Women is in many places
corrupt and obscure (often incomprehensible), and various editors have supplied
hundreds of possible variant readings. In much of the play, it is impossible to
provide an English text without considerable guesswork. Given the difficulties
with the text, a translator of the Suppliant
Women faces a difficult choice: to try to remain as faithful as possible to
the Greek and run the risk of a very awkward, unidiomatic English text or to
treat the Greek text more cavalierly in order to make more fluent sense of the
translation.
Any translator of Suppliant Women who wishes to stay close
to the Greek text must, I think, experience considerable frustration (that, at
least, has been my experience). T. A. Buckley, who castigates translators for
not remaining faithful to the Greek, seems to catch this mood in a comment he
makes on line 210, “The whole passage, as it now stands, in fact, the whole
play, is a mass of hopeless absurdity.” Later he repeats the sentiment: “To
re-write the author by implication is not the business of the translator. . . .
although I am nearly as much in the dark as ever” (p.
229). His translation is a useful example of how an attempt at literal fidelity
to the Greek can produce a very awkward and often puzzling English text.
Since my first
priority is to produce a translation in an easily grasped modern idiom, a
dramatic script that can be read, recited, or performed without a very awkward
English getting in the way, I have taken a number of liberties with the Greek,
although generally I have tried to steer a middle path between the two options
and to remain faithful to the original Greek, as much as that is possible to
make out. Those who wish to look at a more literal text which calls detailed
attention to the problems with the Greek should consult Alan Sommerstein’s translation.
I have relied a
great deal on the work of a number of authors, notably F. A
Paley, H. Weir Smyth, Walter Headlam, T. A. Buckley,
and Alan Sommerstein.
BACKGROUND NOTE
Aeschylus (c.525
BC to c.456 BC) was one of the three great Greek tragic dramatists whose works
have survived. Of his many plays, seven still remain. Aeschylus may have fought
against the Persians at Marathon (490 BC), and he did so again at Salamis (480
BC). According to tradition, he died from being hit with a tortoise dropped by
an eagle. After his death, the Athenians, as a mark of respect, permitted his
works to be restaged in their annual competitions.
The Suppliant Women (also called The Suppliants or The Suppliant Maidens) was part of a series of four plays (the
other three have been lost). The plays were based on the famous story of the
daughters of Danaus, who sailed from Egypt seeking refuge in Greece. It is not
clear when the play was first performed. Tradition held that it was a very
early play, perhaps Aeschylus’ first, but recent evidence has contradicted that
widely held view.
Io, a young Greek girl
persecuted by Zeus’ wife, Hera, had, many years before the play begins, been
changed into a cow and forced to flee from Greece to Egypt, where she had given
birth to a child by Zeus and established a family line. Generations later, the
fifty daughters of Danaus, her descendants, were to be married to the sons of Aegyptus, brother of Danaus and king of Egypt. The
daughters, unwilling to go through with the marriages, fled with their father
to Argos, the land from which Io had originally left. Their would-be husbands,
angry at this conduct, sailed in pursuit of them. The play opens with the arrival
of the daughters in Greece.
________________________________________
suppliant women
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Danaus: a descendant of Io.
Pelasgus: king of Argos.
Herald: an Egyptian
Chorus: daughters of Danaus.*
Handmaidens: servants of the
Chorus
Attendants
[The scene is a
rocky shore in Argos, with a stone altar and some large statues of the gods on
the stage to mark a patch of higher sacred ground. Enter Danaus and the members of the Chorus, who are dressed in foreign
(i.e., non-Greek) clothes
and carrying the branches of suppliants.]*
CHORUS
I pray that Zeus who cares for
suppliants
will look with kindness on our
company,
whose ship has travelled here across
the sea
from the fine-grained sandy estuary
of river Nile. We fled that sacred
land,
whose pastures border Syria, and come
as fugitives, not exiled by decree
of public banishment for shedding blood,
but acting on our own, because we
wished
to flee a marriage we could not
accept, 10
a hateful and sacrilegious match
with Aegyptus’
sons.* For Danaus, [10]
our father, who is our counsellor
and leads our group, debated what to
do
and of our painful options chose the
best—
to rush away as quickly as we could,
sailing across the ocean seas to
Argos.
We can claim with pride our family
line
comes from this land, for it sprang
up
from the hand and breath of Zeus, who
touched 20
that cow tormented by a gadfly’s
sting.
To what land could we come which
offered us [20]
more welcome kindness when our hands
hold out
these branches wrapped with wool,
which indicate
that we are here as suppliants. O
this city,
this land and its clear streams, O
gods above,
and you beneath the earth, stern
punishers,
who guard the tombs, and third of
all, you too,
O Zeus the Saviour, who defends the
homes
of righteous men, with this land’s
spirit of care 30
receive our female suppliant band,
and before that swarming horde of
men,
those insolent sons born to Aegyptus, [30]
set foot upon this marshy shore, force
them
and their swift-moving ship back out
to sea,
and there let them run into violent
storms,
with lightning, thunder,
rain-drenched hurricanes
and perish in the wild and stormy
waves,
before they ever carry us away,
their cousins, against our will, and
climb 40
into our beds, an act which Right
forbids.
And now we
call the Zeus-born calf, [40]
our champion from across the sea,
offspring
of our ancestor, the flower-grazing
cow
caressed by Zeus’ breath, who in due
time
gave birth to Epaphus,
whose very name
derives from his own birth.*
I call
on him by name,
here in his mother’s ancient
pasturelands. [50]
Remembering the torment she once
faced,
I will set out for those who live
here now 50
trustworthy evidence, and they will
see
some unexpected proofs, and at the
end
men will believe the truth of what I
say.
Should
someone living here and close to us
be skilled in understanding songs of
birds,
then when he hears our melancholy
chant,
it will seem to him our singing
voice, [60]
belongs to Metis,
Tereus’ poor wife,
the hawk-chased nightingale.*
Forced
out
from her green leafy haunts, she
cries in grief 60
for her familiar woods and sings the
tale
of her child’s fate, who died at her
own hand,
the victim of a merciless mother’s
rage.
In the same
way, too, I chant my grief,
invoking these Ionian strains.
I tear these tender cheeks of mine [70]
burned by Nile sun and rend my heart
which has not yet known tears.
I gather flowers of grief, filled
with fear
that no friends will appear to stand
by us 70
as fugitives from that mist-covered
land.*
But you gods
of our race, O listen to me!
Look for what is righteous in this
case!
If you deny young
men unjust desires
and if you truly loathe their wanton
lust, [80]
you will uphold the lawful rights of
marriage.
Even for fugitives worn down by war
there are safe altars sacred to the
gods.
I pray
whatever comes from Zeus
will truly turn out favourably for
us. 80
What Zeus desires is hard to
ascertain,
although it clearly blazes
everywhere,
even in the dark, accompanied by
Fate,
so riddling and obscure to mortal
men. [90]
His will is
resolute, and when it falls
it is not on its back—for once Zeus
nods
the deed is then fulfilled.*
But Zeus’ mind
stretches on dark and tangled
pathways,
which no one sees or understands.
Men with hopes
as high as lofty citadels he hurls 90
to their destruction, and yet he
works
without the use of forceful arms,
for every act gods undertake [100]
is effortless. Seated at ease,
not stirring from his sacred throne,
he somehow manages to bring about
whatever he desires.
So let
him see
the arrogance of human beings,
as in that family it grows again.
Thoughts of marriage made it thrive 100
in stubborn hearts and wild
intentions.
Driven by a spur they cannot check [110]
and disappointed in their hopes,
they set their minds on madness.
I wail aloud
my suffering, my pain,
and mixed in with my tears I speak
these clear and heavy tones—
Alas!
Alas!—so like a funeral song!
And as I sing, I mourn for my own
self,
while I am still alive.
O this
land, 110
these hills of Apia, I call to you,
for you well understand my words,
the speech of those from foreign lands.
Again and again I seize my veil, [120]
this linen veil from Sidon,
and tear it into shreds.
Offerings
promised to the gods
are plentiful when things go well,
once death has gone away.
Alas! Alas! This suffering 120
so hard to understand!
O these surging waves of pain
where are they carrying me?
O this
land,
these hills of Apia, I call to you,
for you well understand my words,
the speech of those from foreign
lands.
Again and again I seize my veil, [120]
this linen veil from Sidon,
and tear it into shreds.
Our oars and
wooden rope-bound ship, 130
our refuge from the sea, followed the
winds
on a storm-free trip, with no cause to
complain.
But now I pray that Father Zeus,
whose eye sees everything, may grant
in time an end that is auspicious, [140]
so that our sacred mother’s famous
race
escape men’s beds, unwedded and still
free.
And may that
holy daughter of Zeus
secure within the sacred walls
be willing to gaze down on me, 140
so willing to receive her! May she,
enraged that we are being pursued,
come down with all her strength to
save us,
a virgin goddess helping virgin girls,
[150]
so that our sacred mother’s famous
race
escape men’s beds, unwedded and still
free.*
If not, our
dark and sunburnt race
will move with suppliant’s branches
on to Zeus,
lord of earth, who welcomes all the
dead.
For if Olympian gods deny our
prayers, 150
we will seek death and die by rope. [160]
O Zeus! That
vengeful anger from the gods,
the wrath of those pursuing Io!
I know of Hera’s passionate moods,
the sky-conquering rage of Zeus’
queen.
From such harsh winds fierce storms
arise.
And Zeus
will then confront the charge
of acting in a
unjust way, if he dishonours
the heifer’s child, who many years
ago [170]
he sired himself and now averts his
gaze 160
away from us when we implore his aid.
O from his place high in the sky,
may he hear us when we call!
O Zeus!
That venomous anger from the gods,
their wrath of those pursuing Io!
I know of Hera’s passionate moods,
the sky-conquering rage of Zeus’
queen.
From such harsh winds fierce storms
arise.
Danaus
Children, you must take care. You
came here
with a wise and loyal old man to lead
170
that ship at sea—your father. Now on
land,
I have been thinking of what lies in
store.
So mark the words I say, and write
them down—
preserve them on the tablets of your
mind. [180]
I see dust, an army’s voiceless
herald,
and whirling axles in their socket
hubs
do not move silently. I see armed men
shield-bearing troops, each
brandishing a spear,
with curving chariots and horses.
Perhaps
the ones who rule this land have
heard reports 180
and are now marching here to look at
us.
But whether the one who leads this
force
is not a threat to us or is spurred
on
by cruel rage—whatever he may be—
the wisest course, my daughters, is
to sit
around this rock, a sacred monument
to the assembled gods. For an altar [190]
is a shield, impenetrable and more
secure
than any city wall. So you should
move there
with due reverence, as quickly as you
can. 190
In your left hands hold up those
suppliant boughs
wrapped with white wool, those
righteous symbols
which bring so much delight to
merciful Zeus.
In your response to what these
strangers ask,
invite compassion for your painful
needs
in speech appropriate for foreigners.
Explain to them why you have run away,
and mention that there was no blood
involved.
But most of all, no
trace of arrogance.
Let your face and eyes remain
respectful, 200
calm, and modest. Do not look too
eager [200]
to speak up or too reluctant. These
traits
the people here will think extremely
rude.
Remember, too, to be subservient.
You are a foreigner, a fugitive,
and need their help. Those who have
no power
should not use words which seem too
insolent.
Chorus
Father, you have given us good advice,
and we are prudent. We will take due
care
to keep your wise instructions in our
hearts. 210
May Zeus, our ancestor, gaze down on
us!
Danaus
Yes, may he look on us with gracious eyes.
Chorus
I would now like to sit beside you.
Danaus
Then waste no time, and move where
you propose.
[The Chorus moves over to Danaus, who is standing beside the
altar and the statues of the gods on the stage]
Chorus
O Zeus, have pity on us in our
distress [210]
or we will be destroyed.
Danaus
If Zeus is willing
then all will turn out well.
Chorus
[Look over here—
there is a symbol drawn, some form of
bird.]*
Danaus
It is the bird of Zeus—invoke his name.
Chorus
We call to the rays of the sun, our
saviour. 220
Danaus
And to Apollo, too, a sacred god,
who was exiled from heaven.*
Chorus
He understands our fate
and will have sympathy for mortal
beings.
Danaus
May he indeed show
sympathy to us
and eagerly stand by to help our
cause.
Chorus
What other deities should I invoke?
Danaus
I see a trident, symbol of Poseidon.*
Chorus
He brought us safely here—and now on
land
may he receive us kindly.
Danaus
And this one here,
another god—Hermes the Messenger, 230 [220]
as pictured by the Greeks.
Chorus
I pray that now
his messages announce good news to us
and keep us free.
Danaus
Honour these ruling powers
at their communal shrine. Seat
yourselves here,
on this sacred ground, like a flock
of doves
terrified of hawks, who are also birds,
their kindred, but enemies of theirs,
who pollute their race. If one bird
feeds
on other birds, how is that
sacrosanct?
So how could a man who marries
someone 240
against her and her father’s will be
pure?
A man who acts like that, once he has
died,
will not escape a judgment for his
crime
in Hades, for there, they say,
another Zeus [230]
delivers final judgment on the dead
for wicked things they did. Be
careful,
and speak to them the way I have
advised,
so in this confrontation you prevail.
[Pelasgus, king of Argos, enters with
armed attendants]
Pelasgus
From what place do you group of women
come?
This clothing is not Greek—the robes
you wear 250
are thickly woven and luxurious,
a foreign style. Who am I speaking
to?
Your garments are not those of Argive girls
and do not come from any part of
Greece.
I am amazed that you are brave enough
to dare approach this place without a
herald
or a guide or someone to protect you.
[240]
I see those branches lying there
beside you,
the usual emblem of a suppliant
to those divinities who gather here. 260
But that is all a native Greek could know.
In many other matters I could make
a reasonable guess, but you are here,
and you can tell me what I wish to
learn.
Chorus
What you have said about what we are
wearing
is not inaccurate. But I need to know
how I should frame the words I speak
to you.
Are you a private citizen, a herald,
or the one who rules this land?
Pelasgus
I assure you
you may speak to me in full
confidence 270
and answer what I ask. I am Pelasgus, [250]
the son of Palaechthon,
who was born from earth.
I rule this land. The people here are
named
after their lord and called Pelasgians.
They are the ones who work this
fertile ground.
Through every region where pure Strymon flows
I rule the regions on the western
side.
My realm includes lands by the Perrhaebi,
and regions lying beyond Mount Pidnus
up to the lands of the Paeonians, 280
and Dodona’s mountain range. The
ocean sea
defines my boundaries. Within these
limits
I rule as king. This region here is
Apia, [260]
named for an ancient healer long ago.
For Apis,
Apollo’s son, a prophet
and a healer from far away Naupactos,
cleansed this land of man-destroying
monsters,
a dreadful colony of hostile snakes,
which Earth produced, responding to
her rage
at ancient bloody deeds which had
defiled her. 290
With consummate art, Apis found a cure
and freed the land of Argos of this
plague.
From that time on, as a reward for
this, [270]
the Argives think of Apis in their prayers.
And now that I have told you about
Argos,
describe your lineage, and tell me
more,
although our citizens take no delight
in speeches which continue far too
long.
Chorus
Our story is a short and simple one.
We can boast we are a race from
Argos, 300
descended from a cow blest with a
child.
My words will give full evidence of
this.
Pelasgus
As I listen to your words, you strangers,
I find your story quite beyond
belief.
How can your family come from Argos?
For in appearance you are far more
like
the women in Libya and not at all [280]
like women in this land. The river
Nile
might have produced a racial group
like yours.
Your features look just like those
images 310
of females cast by Cyprian craftsmen,
or like those nomad women I hear
about
who ride on saddled camels, just like
horses.
Their homeland borders Ethiopia.
If you were armed with bows, I would
have guessed
you surely must be Amazons, women
who feed on meat and live apart from
men.
But tell me more so I can understand [290]
how you can trace your family line to
Argos.
Chorus
Is there a story here that Io once 320
served as priestess in Hera’s shrine
at Argos?
Pelasgus
Indeed there is. The story is well
known.
Chorus
And does that story ever talk about
how Zeus made love to someone mortal?
Pelasgus
It does, but Hera knew of that
affair.
Chorus
How did those two resolve their regal
quarrel?
Pelasgus
Argive Hera
turned the girl into a cow.
Chorus
And when that girl became a cow with
horns, [300]
did Zeus approach her?
Pelasgus
They say he did,
but first he changed into a lusty
bull. 330
Chorus
How did that mighty wife of Zeus
respond?
Pelasgus
She chose an all-seeing guard to
watch the cow.
Chorus
Who was that watchful sentinel you
mention?
Pelasgus
His name was Argus, a son of Earth—
Hermes killed him.
Chorus
What else did Hera do
to that ill-fated cow?
Pelasgus
She sent a fly
which keeps the cattle moving with
its sting.
Chorus
Those living by the Nile call it a
gadfly.
Pelasgus
It drove her out of Argos—far away.
Chorus
Your story matches mine in every
detail. 340 [310]
Then she moved to Canobus
and Memphis.
And there, once Zeus caressed her
with his hand,
he produced a child.
Pelasgus
Who claims to be
the calf that Zeus created with that
cow?
Chorus
He was called Epaphus,
a fitting name,
“born from Zeus’ touch.”
Pelasgus
[And what offspring
did Epaphus
produce?]*
Chorus
Libya—who reaped the fruit
from the most extensive region of the earth.
Pelasgus
And, in your account, who else was
born from her?
Chorus
Belus, my
father’s father. He had two sons.*
350 [320]
Pelasgus
Now tell me your wise father’s name.
Chorus
Danaus.
He has a brother, who has fifty sons.
Pelasgus
Do not withhold from me his brother’s
name.
Chorus
Aegyptus. And now you understand how far
my ancestry goes back, I pray you act
to save a group with links to Argos.
Pelasgus
It seems to me you share some ancient
bonds
with Argos. But what was it that took
place
to make you leave your father’s home
like this?
What has gone wrong?
Chorus
Lord Pelasgus, men’s evil fortunes 360
come in many different shades, for
nowhere
do you see their troubles winged with
feathers
which are identical. Who would have
said [330]
a sudden flight would bring us back
to Argos,
a kindred race from long ago, fleeing
a hateful marriage bed.
Pelasgus
Why have
you come here
as suppliants to these assembled gods
holding those boughs fresh cut and
wrapped with wool?
Chorus
To avoid Aegyptus’
sons—we have no wish
to be their slaves.
Pelasgus
Because you hate them? 370
Or are you claiming they are being
unjust?
Chorus
Who would buy a master for herself
from her own relatives?
Pelasgus
That is a way
men make their wealth and power grow.
Chorus
And make it easy, should anything go
wrong,
to get rid of their wives.*
Pelasgus
What should I do for you [340]
to observe due piety and reverence?
Chorus
When Aegyptus’
sons demand to have us back,
do not comply.
Pelasgus
A difficult request—
you are asking me to run the risk of
war. 380
Chorus
But Justice keeps her allies safe from harm.
Pelasgus
Yes—if she has taken part in the
affair
right from the start.
Chorus
Honour the ship of state
when it is wreathed in suppliant
branches.
Pelasgus
Just looking at the shadows of this
shrine
makes me tremble. The anger of great
Zeus,
the god of suppliants, is hard to
bear.
Chorus
O child of Palaechthon, Pelasgian
lord,
hear me with compassion in your
heart.
See me, a suppliant fugitive, running
390 [350]
like a heifer hunted down by wolves
along steep mountain slopes, lowing
to the herdsman to show him her
distress
and trusting that his strength will
save her.
Pelasgus
I see your company of suppliants
appealing to the gods assembled here
and shaded by these fresh cut boughs.
This issue of your being the city’s
guest—
may that not prove to be disastrous,
and may no causes we did not foresee 400
bring unexpected strife into our state.
The city has no wish for that.
Chorus
May Themis,
goddess who protects all suppliants,
a daughter of apportioning Zeus, look
down [360]
and see our flight brings you no
harm.
And you with your mature experience
should understand from younger hearts
if you show reverence to a suppliant
[and piously give offerings to the
gods,
then you will never lack the gods’
goodwill].* 410
Pelasgus
But here you are not seated by the
hearth
inside my home. For if our city,
as a community, suffers from a stain,
then we must
work, as a community,
to find the cure. And so, until I
talk
to all the citizens about these
things,
I cannot make you any promises
or offer help.
Chorus
But you are the city. [370]
You are the
people. Since you are king
with no one in authority above you, 420
your will alone, all by itself, controls
your county’s hearth and shrine, and
from your throne
you are the one who rules on
everything.
Be careful you do not pollute the
state!
Pelasgus
May such pollution fall upon my foes!
I cannot help you without risking
war,
but it would be unwise to spurn your
prayers.
I am confused, and fear now grips my
heart,
to act or not to act and then accept [380]
whatever outcome fortune may present.
430
Chorus
Think of the lofty god who watches us
from high above, the one who guards
all suffering mortals in their pain
who cry to those close by and yet
do not obtain from them the justice
they deserve by customary right.
The wrath of Zeus, god of suppliants,
lies in wait—and wailing cries of
grief
from those who suffer punishment
will not persuade him to relent. 440
Pelasgus
But if the laws of your own state
declare
Aegyptus’
sons are rightfully your lords
once they proclaim they are your next
of kin,
then who would wish to speak against
their claim?
You must defend yourself with your
own laws, [390]
the statutes in the land from which
you came,
to show they have no right to govern
you.
Chorus
O may I never find myself subjected
to the authority of men! Instead,
I would rather choose to run away 450
and chart my journey by the stars
to escape a marriage I detest.
Take Justice as your ally and decide
according to what gods consider
right.
Pelasgus
This decision is not easy—and you
must not require me to render
judgment.
I have already said I will not do
that,
although I am the king, before I talk
to my own people, in case, at some
point,
should this matter prove more
troublesome, 460 [400]
the citizens declare, “You showed
respect
to strangers and undermined our
city.”
Chorus
Impartial Zeus, who shares the blood
of either side in this dispute,
looks down, dispensing justice
fairly—
to evil men due punishments
to the righteous their reward.
With issues weighed so evenly
why turn away from acting justly?
Pelasgus
But here we need profound and sure
advice, 470
like a diver plunging deep into the
sea,
with his eyes clear, not muddled or
confused,
so this affair will turn out well for
us [410]
and, more than anything, not harm our
state,
so you will not become a prize of
war,
and we will not surrender you from
here,
the seat and holy sanctuary of the
gods,
and bring down to this land to live
among us
the grievous spirit of destructive
vengeance,
who, even in Hades, does not free the
dead. 480
Surely you do not think we have no
need
for counsel to deliver us from that?
Chorus
Reflect on this, and then in piety
and righteousness become our patron. [420]
Do not
betray a fugitive cast out
from far away by godless banishment.
O you who
hold all power in this land,
do not look on as I am led away,
abducted from this shrine of many
gods.
Think the wanton violence of men, 490
and guard against the anger of the
gods.
Do not
compel yourself to see
all justice flouted, as your
suppliants
are taken from these sacred images [430]
and then, just like a horse, dragged
off,
seized by the bands around our heads
and our finely woven clothes.
Know
this—whatever you decide,
your children and your house remain
to pay the penalty in full. 500
So bear in mind the power of Zeus
which works for justice.
Pelasgus
I have considered that.
Things have now reached the stage
where I am forced
to fight a major war with one group
or the other,
a choice determined by necessity,
nailed down [440]
as firmly as a ship’s hull in a
winch.*
There is no way to solve this without
grief.
If things are stolen from a family
home,
then Zeus, protector of our property,
may graciously restore what has been
lost. 510
A tongue may shoot out inappropriate
words,
rousing a heart to anger and
distress,
and soothing words can ease that
painful speech.
But so that we do not spill family
blood
we surely need to offer sacrifice [450]
and slaughter many beasts to many
gods,
to save ourselves from grief. I had
no wish
to enter this dispute. I would prefer
to have no sense of troubles yet to
come
than to foresee them clearly. May all
go well 520
and prove my judgment false.
Chorus
Hear now
the last of all these reverend
appeals
to your compassion.
Pelasgus
I am listening.
Speak up. Your words will not slip
past me.
Chorus
I have a twisted band around my chest
and belts to hold my clothes . . .
Pelasgus
Yes. Things like that
are most appropriate for female
dress.
Chorus
Well then, with these, I have, as you
can see,
an excellent way . . . .
Pelasgus
What do you mean?
What are you trying to say? Tell me. 530 [460]
Chorus
If you do not make solemn promises
to our group here . . .
Pelasgus
How will these bits of clothing
be any help to you?
Chorus
. . . these statues here
will be adorned with strange new
votive plaques.
Pelasgus
You talk in riddles. Speak more
directly.
Chorus
We will not wait, but hang ourselves
right here,
on these images of the gods.
Pelasgus
I hear your words—
O how they lash my heart!
Chorus
Now you understand—
for I have made you see more clearly.
Pelasgus
This issue is so hard to wrestle
with, 540
no matter where one looks—like a
torrent,
a flood of ruin, bearing down on me,
a bottomless sea of sheer disaster [470]
no one can navigate. I am embarked,
and there is no safe refuge from the
storm.
If I do not discharge my obligations
to you as suppliants, you say you
will commit
an act that brings pollution to our
state
too dreadful to describe. But if I
stand
before the city walls and move to
fight 550
Aegyptus’
sons, your kinsmen, how can that
not have a bitter cost? In a women’s
cause
men’s blood will stain the ground
However,
the force of Zeus, who guards all
suppliants,
makes me respect his wrath, since
fear of that
among all men deserves the highest
awe.
[Pelasgus
moves to address Danaus]
So you, the
aged father of these girls, [480]
quickly collect some branches in your
arms
and set them down on other altars
to this land’s gods, so that all
citizens 560
can see a sign that you are
suppliants
and no one utters words against me,
for people are too fond of finding
fault
with those who rule. It could well be
the case
that those who see them will be moved
by pity,
despise that band of insolent young
men,
and treat your case with more
benevolence,
since everyone feels sympathy for
those
whose cause is weaker.
Danaus
It means a lot to us [490]
to have found someone who feels
compassion, 570
a patron for our cause. But you
should send
some of this country’s men with us as
escorts
and as guides, so we may find the
holy shrines
before the temples of the country’s
gods,
the homes of those protectors of the
state,
and proceed in safety through the
city.
Our bodies do not look the same as
yours—
a race raised by the Nile is
different
from one which lives beside the Inachus.
Take care that boldness does not
bring on fear, 580
for men have killed a friend through
ignorance.
Pelasgus
You men, go with this stranger—what
he says [500]
makes excellent sense. Take him to
the shrines
inside the city and the sacred
altars.
Do not converse at any length with
those
you meet along the way, while you
conduct
this man who sailed here seeking
refuge
at our sanctuaries of the gods.
[Danaus and the Attendants leave]
Chorus
You told him what to do, and he is
gone,
as you instructed. But what am I to
do? 590
What reassurance can you offer me?
Pelasgus
Set your suppliant boughs down here,
the signs of your distress.
Chorus
I
will place them here,
just as you ordered.
Pelasgus
Now, move
down over there,
around that level space.
Chorus
How will that place
keep me protected? It is not sacred
ground.
Pelasgus
We will not let those flying birds of
prey [510]
swoop down and seize you.
Chorus
But what
if they are worse
than hateful snakes and hostile to us?
Pelasgus
The words I spoke
were meant to lift your spirits. Your
reply 600
should be more favourable.
Chorus
But our hearts
are terrified. It should be no
surprise
that we are very troubled.
Pelasgus
Excessive fear
is always uncontrolled.
Chorus
Then reassure us—
with words and actions ease our
troubled hearts.
Pelasgus
Your father will not leave you here
for long.
I am going to summon the citizens,
so I may put them in a friendly mood.
I will instruct your father what to
say.
You should stay here to offer up your
prayers 610 [520]
to Argive
gods to grant what you desire.
I will go back and see what I can do.
May my words prove persuasive and fortune
bring these events to a
successful close.
[Exit Pelasgus and his Attendants]
Chorus
O blessed Zeus, lord of lords,
holiest of the holy, and of all
the perfect powers the great
perfection,
O listen to our plea! Protect your
race
from these men’s arrogant lust,
which you abominate, and hurl 620
the madness on their black-benched
ship
into the purple sea. [530]
Gaze down on us,
and look with favour on our female
cause.
Recall the ancient story of our race,
that pleasing tale from long ago,
about our ancestor, the woman
you loved. Remember all of it,
you whose soft caresses fondled Io.
We claim our race descends from Zeus,
and a native settler from this land. 630
I have
returned to ancient tracks
where Argus spied on mother Io,
as in that fertile meadowland [540]
she grazed among the flowers.
Here that gadfly’s painful sting
drove her insane. She ran away,
wandering through many tribes of men,
and then, as Fate decreed, sliced
through
the surging waters of the strait,
fixing the boundary of the distant
shore.* 640
She hurried
on through Asian lands,
through Phrygian meadows full of
sheep,
and past Teuthras
where the Mysians live,
the valley lands of Lydia, across the
hills [550]
that mark Cilician and Pamphylian lands,
racing through ever-flowing river
streams,
through deep and fertile soil, and
past
the wheat-rich land of Aphrodite.*
Forced by her flying herdsman’s sting,
she reached the nourishing groves of
Zeus, 650
that snow-fed meadow lashed by Typho’s rage,
where waters of the Nile flow past
untouched by all disease, driven mad
by suffering she did not deserve,
and frantic from that painful goad,
a frenzied girl possessed by Hera!*
The men then
living in that land,
turned pale with fear and trembled at
the sight,
a strange half-human monstrous thing,
a beast with such a dreadful shape, 660
part woman and part cow! [570]
Amazement seized them as they looked.
Who was it, then, who in the end
brought peace to wandering Io’s pain,
the torment of that stinging fly?
That was the
work of Zeus, who rules
through endless time. With the power
of his own soothing hand and sacred
breath
he brought her suffering to an end,
as her tears fell to end her
shame. 670
And then, according to a true report,
she took in Zeus’ seed, conceived a
child, [580]
and bore a blameless son . . .
. . . who through long ages has been blessed.
And after that throughout the land
the cry rang out—“This race, in fact,
is sprung from life-producing Zeus.”
For who but Zeus could put an end
to that disease which Hera planned?
If you proclaim that this is Zeus’
work 680
and our race springs from Epaphus,
then you will state the truth.
To which of
the gods could we appeal [590]
more reasonably for his just deeds?
He is our father and our king.
With his own hand he made us grow,
the mighty parent of our race,
whose wisdom spans the ages.
From Zeus, who arranges everything,
come winds that make things
prosper. 690
He does not
rush to carry out
some other god’s commands,
nor is he ruled by someone greater.
No power above keeps him in awe.
And once he speaks, the work is done—
the counsels carried in his heart
he instantly brings into being.
[Enter Danaus]
Danaus
Lift your hearts, my children. The people here [600]
have acted well—with full authority
they have passed a public vote.
Chorus
Greetings to
you father, 700
a messenger with very welcome news.
Tell us the outcome of the people’s vote.
What did the majority of hands
decide?
Danaus
The Argives did not seem to
hesitate—
they made my ancient heart feel young
again.
The air was thick with arms as all of
them
in full assembly voted in this law,
by raising their right hands: we are
free
to settle in this land. We will not
be seized
by anyone and carried off as
hostages. 710
We are protected from what men may
do. [610]
No one—no resident or foreigner—
can act against us. If any man tries
force,
then those who own some land and do
not help
will be disgraced and by a public
vote
will suffer banishment. Those were
the words
delivered by the Pelasgian
king
on our behalf—and he persuaded them
by claiming that in years to come the wrath
of Zeus, god of suppliants, would
never 720
let the city thrive. He declared the
curse
would be a double one, for we are
strangers
and also from this land. It would
appear
before the city and prepare a feast [620]
of evils they could not resist. At
these words
the Argive
people did not even wait
to hear the herald speak, but raised
their hands
to say what should be done. Once they
heard
the way the speaker turned his argument,
the Pelasgian
people were convinced 730
and voted for what he had just
resolved.
But it was Zeus who brought us this
result.
Chorus
Come, chant a prayer that blessings
fall
upon the Argives for their blessed
work.
May Zeus, the god of strangers, hear
these tributes from a stranger’s lips
and make them truly reach their goal,
so all of them are perfectly
fulfilled.
[As the Chorus steps forward to chant this long
prayer, Danaus moves to the highest point in the back of the stage to look out
over the sea]
And now,
you Zeus-born gods, [630]
hear us as we pour forth prayers 740
of blessings for our Argive kin.
May fire from Ares, god of war,
who with incessant battle cries
cuts down men in foreign fields,
never lay waste this Pelasgian land,
for people here took pity on us
and voted to support our cause,
respecting our unhappy flock [640]
as suppliants of Zeus.
They did not
scorn our female plight 750
and cast their votes to favour men.
For they
revered that watchful one,
the agent of divine revenge,
a god no one can stand against.
What house would have that messenger
perch on the roof, which it defiles
and where its
grievous weight [650]
sits hard upon the home.
These men revere blood relatives,
petitioners to sacred Zeus, 760
and thus with altars left unstained
they win the favour of the gods.
And
therefore from our shadowed lips
may prayers of gratitude fly up
to honour them.*
May no plague
ever strike this town and leave it
empty of its men, nor any strife [660]
stain this country’s soil with blood
from its own slaughtered citizens.
May no one gather up the flower 770
of Argive
youth, and may that god
who sleeps in Aphrodite’s bed,
man-killing Ares, not slice away
men in their finest bloom.
May altars
blaze with offerings,
gifts to the elders gathered there,
so their city will be wisely ruled, [670]
since these men worship mighty Zeus,
above all else the god of strangers,
who by an ancient law guides Fate. 780
We pray new rulers always rise
to serve as guardians for this land.
And may Artemis-Hecate keep watch
protecting women giving birth.*
Let no
man-killing slaughter come
to turn the city against itself, [680]
by arming Ares, father of tears.
He is no friend of dance or lyre
and stirs up cries for civil strife.
May joyless flocks of foul disease 790
stay far from citizens’ heads,
and may
Apollo always show
to all the young his gracious favour.
May Zeus
bring earth to yield its crops
and bear its fruit in every season. [690]
And in their
fields may grazing herds
produce new calves in great
abundance.
May good things from the gods be
theirs,
and may musicians at their altars
sing
auspicious songs, and from pure lips 800
let hymns of praise accompany the
lyre.
May all
those here who rule the state
firmly protect the people’s rights,
with prudent counsel for the public good. [700]
To strangers
may they grant the right,
before they arm themselves for war,
of honest arbitration with no pain.
And may they
always worship gods
who guard this land, by holding high
their native country’s laurel boughs 810
and offering bulls for sacrifice,
just as their fathers used to do,
for honouring parents is a law,
the third of those engraved by
Justice,
whose honour reigns on high.
[Danaus
speaks from his vantage point, looking out to sea]
Danaus
Dear daughters, I commend these
prudent prayers. [710]
You must not
fear to hear your father’s words,
his troubling, unexpected news. From
here,
my lookout on this shrine for
suppliants,
I see their ship. For it is clearly
marked. 820
I could not fail to see it—those
sails,
that leather hide along the side,
that prow
with eyes in front that watch its onward
track,
obeying the guiding rudder in the
stern,
too skilfully for those who are her
foes.
The sailors on the ship are clear to see,
the white clothes make their
blackened limbs stand out. [720]
And I can see the other ships, as well,
and those assisting them. The ship in
front,
with her sails furled and rowers
keeping time, 830
is now approaching land. You must
stay calm
and face this matter. Keep yourselves
controlled.
Do not forget these gods. I will
return
when I can find our friends and other
men
to plead our cause. Perhaps a herald
will come,
or some ambassador, eager to seize
you
as stolen property and drag you off.
But they will not succeed. So have no
fear.
But still, if we are slow in bringing
help, [730]
it would be better if you kept in
mind, 840
at every moment, the help these gods
provide.
Take heart. In due time, on the
destined day,
the mortal man who disrespects the gods
will meet his punishment.
Chorus
I am afraid, father,
those ships are sailing in on such
swift wings!
Before much time has passed they will
be here!
I truly am so terribly afraid
that our long flight will be no help to us.
O father, this fear is killing me!
Danaus
Since the Argives voted so decisively, 850
be brave, my
children. They will fight for you. [740]
Of that I am certain.
Chorus
Aegyptus’
vile sons,
lascivious men, are greedy for a war.
You know that, too. In dark-eyed
timbered ships
they sailed here with a huge black
host of men.
That rage of theirs has now caught up
with us.
Danaus
Here they will find a force of men
whose arms
are lean and strong, toughened by
midday suns.
Chorus
Do not leave us alone here, father,
I beg you. A woman left by herself 860
is nothing. She has no spirit for
war.
These men have wicked minds and evil
hearts. [750]
Their
schemes are devious—like ravens,
they have no reverence for sacred
altars.
Danaus
My children, if the gods, as well as
you,
despise these men, then that is good for us.
Chorus
Father, they are not afraid of tridents
or objects sacred to the gods—these
things
will not stop them from laying hands
on us.
They are arrogant men, full of
impious rage, 870
like shameless dogs, with no thought
of the gods.
Danaus
But, as the saying goes, wolves can
conquer dogs [760]
and papyrus fruit is not a match for
wheat.*
Chorus
They have the temperament of savage
beasts,
profane and rash. We must protect
ourselves,
and quickly.
Danaus
When setting out or anchoring
a naval force moves slowly. For
cables
to tie up the ship must be hauled
onshore,
and shepherds of the ships do not
feel safe
as soon as anchors are securely
fixed, 880
especially when they reach a coast
which offers them no harbour, at
sunset
with night moving in. In prudent pilots [770]
the night time tends to breed
anxiety.
Besides, they cannot properly arrange
to disembark their troops before the
ship
is confident it is quite safely
moored.
Although you are afraid, remember
this:
do not ignore the gods. [I will be
back]
once I have found assistance. The
city 890
will not complain about the
messenger.
He may be old, but still his heart
and tongue
are in their youthful prime.
[Exit Danaus,
on his way to
the city]
Chorus
O land of hills, for which I feel
such righteous veneration,
what will become of us? And where
in Apian
land do we now flee,
if there is anywhere a place,
a deep dark pit, where we can hide?
I wish I could become black smoke, 900
move up beside the clouds of Zeus, [780]
and spreading upward without
wings
completely vanish, like the dust
that no one sees, and perish!
I can no
longer flee this evil.
My trembling heart is turning black.
What my father saw has shaken me,
and I am overwhelmed with fear.
I would prefer to meet my doom
in a knotted noose than see 910
a loathsome man
come near my flesh! [790]
Before that
happens, let me die!
Let Hades be my lord and master!
O for a seat
somewhere up high
in the upper air, where watery clouds
turn into snow or else a barren crag,
a steep and lonely towering peak
where no goats roam and vultures fly,
invisible from below, a place
to watch my plunge into the depths, 920
before I am compelled to marry
and my heart breaks in two.
From now on
I would not refuse [800]
to serve as prey for carrion dogs
or as a feast for native birds.
For death delivers us
from ills
that love to feed our sorrow.
Let my death come, O let it come,
before the wedding bed.
What way of flight can I still find 930
to save me from this marriage?
So with a
voice that reaches heaven
cry to the gods our songs of prayer.
O father Zeus, look down on us,
fulfill somehow what we desire, [810]
so we may find relief and peace.
May your just eyes find no delight
in violent acts, and may you guard
your suppliants, almighty Zeus,
protector of this land.
Aegyptus’ sons, 940
whose arrogance is hard to bear,
are coming after me, a fugitive,
with cries of lust, in their desire [820]
to capture me by force. You hold
the balance beam that governs all,
and for we
mortal human beings,
without you nothing is fulfilled.*
[Enter an Egyptian Herald, with an armed escort.]
Chorus*
Aaaiiiii! Aaaiii!
Here on the land
my ravisher approaches from the sea.
May you die before you seize me! 950
I cry out in my grief and pain!
I see what they are going to do, [830]
to take me off by force. Aaaiii!
Move off—run to our sanctuary
there on the shrine. The savage
insolence
on sea and land we cannot bear.
O lord of earth, protect us!
[The members of the Chorus move up onto the higher
parts of the shrine and cling to the statues of the gods]
Herald
Come down from there—and hurry!
Move off swiftly to the ships,
as fast as feet can get you there. 960
If not, we’ll rip out all your hair,
or stab you with our spears,
or slice off heads in streams of
blood! [840]
Damn you, get down from there!
Start moving to the ship! And hurry!
Chorus
Would you had
died in your bolted ship
while sailing here on the great salt
sea,
you and your masters’ arrogant pride!
Herald
I order you to stop these cries. Come
on! [850]
Leave this sanctuary!
Move to the ship! 970
One with no city or honour here
gets no respect from me.
Chorus
O never again may you behold
the stream that feeds our oxen,
the river Nile, which nourishes
by its increase life-giving blood
for mortal men. I am native here,
old man, and from an ancient line. [860]
Herald
I’m
ordering you to move to the ship.
Willing or not, get yourselves on
board! 980
If I lay violent hands on you
to force you there, you’ll suffer.
Chorus
Alas! Alas!
May you all perish helplessly,
driven off course on the raging sea
by eastern winds onto shoals of sand,
[870]
wrecked at Sarpedon’s
burial mound!*
Herald
Keep up these shrieks of yours, these
cries,
and keep on summoning the gods.
You will not escape an Egyptian ship,
not even if you scream and wail 990
and chant more bitterly than this.
Chorus
May mighty Nile,
who nurtures you, dissolve away [880]
your insolent pride and kill you.
Herald
I’m ordering you to our curving ship,
as quickly as you can—no stalling.
We’re not afraid to force you down
and haul you off by the hair.
Chorus
Aaaiii,
father! These sacred images—
they are not helping me! Step by step
the spider creeps to drag me out to
sea, 1000
a dark black dream, a nightmare!
Alas! Alas! O mother Earth, [890]
O mother Earth,
turn aside
these fearful words he shouts.
O son of Earth! O father Zeus!
Herald
I’m not afraid of these Argive gods.
They had no part in raising me
and will not help in my old age.
Chorus
The two-footed serpent in his rage
is closing in on me—like a snake 1010
he grabs and bites my foot.
Alas! Alas! O mother Earth,
O mother Earth, turn aside
these fearful words he shouts. [900]
O son of Earth! O father Zeus!
Herald
If you refuse to move to the ship,
That dress
you’re wearing won’t be spared—
we’ll rip it into shreds.
Chorus
We are lost!
O king, the evil pain we must endure!
Herald
It seems
I’ll have to drag you away by your
hair, 1020
since you are so slow to do what I
say.
Chorus
You chiefs and leaders of the city,
these men are taking me by force!
Herald
You’ll soon be seeing many leading
men,
Aegyptus’
sons, and you won’t need to ask
who is in control. So lift your
spirits. [910]
[Enter king
Pelasgus with an armed escort]
Pelasgus
You there, what are you doing? What
insolence
has led you here to disrespect this land
of Pelasgian
men? Perhaps you think
you’ve reached a state made up of women? 1030
For a barbarian confronting Greeks
you are far too arrogant. Your mind
has not been thinking as it ought to
do,
and you have made a number of
mistakes.
Herald
Where in this affair have I been
wrong
and gone against my rights?
Pelasgus
First of all,
you are a foreigner but have
no sense
of how to act as one.
Herald
How is that true?
I am taking what I lost and now have
found.
Pelasgus
To what patron in this land did you appeal? 1040
Herald
To the mightiest patron of them all— [920]
to the Searcher god, to Hermes.
Pelasgus
You talk of gods,
and yet you disrespect these deities.
Herald
I worship those around the river
Nile.
Pelasgus
So, as I understand, these gods of
ours
are nothing to you?
Herald
Unless some person here
seizes these girls and takes them
from me,
I’m leading them away.
Pelasgus
If you touch them,
you’ll soon have reason to regret you
did.
Herald
I hear your words—they’re not
hospitable. 1050
Pelasgus
I don’t show hospitality to those
who rob the gods.
Herald
I will go now and tell
Aegyptus’
sons about what’s happened here.
Pelasgus
To my mind that is no concern at all.
Herald
However, so I may know what’s going
on [930]
and speak more clearly—for a herald’s
task
requires a detailed, accurate report—
what do I say about the man who stole
these women away from their own
cousins?
War god Ares does not use witnesses 1060
to judge a case like this or take
silver
to settle a dispute. Before all that,
many will fall and twitch away their
lives.
Pelasgus
Why should I tell you my name? In due time,
you and your people will all learn of it.
As for these women, you may lead them
off, [940]
if you convince them in a righteous
argument
and they all willingly agree to go.
This issue has been dealt with in a
vote
of all the people in the city here— 1070
it was unanimous: never to give
this band of women up to any force.
A bolt through this decree keeps it
nailed down.
It is immoveable. Though not
inscribed
on tablets or sealed up in folds of
books,
from the tongues of people free to
speak
you’ll hear it clearly. Now go! Out
of my sight
as quickly as you can!
Herald
It looks as if [950]
we are about to launch a brand new
war.
May strength and victory be with the
men! 1080
Pelasgus
You’ll find the people of this land
are men—
their drinks are never brewed from
barley!*
[The Herald
exits, going back to the Egyptian ships. Pelasgus
turns to the women of the Chorus]
Now, all you
women, take courage. Move off
with your handmaidens here, who are
your friends,
inside our city’s massive walls,
fenced in
with a ring of well-built towers.*
For lodging
there are many homes owned by the
people.
I, too, have a house, built at no
small expense,
where you may stay with many others
in nicely furnished rooms. However, 1090 [960]
if you would rather live in your own
home,
apart from others, that, too, is possible.
Feel free to choose the place you
like the best,
the one you find the most agreeable.
I and all the people in the city
who cast their votes are your
protectors.
Why wait for those with more
authority?
Chorus
O noble king of the Pelasgians,
you are so gracious to us. In return
may you enjoy your fill of blessings!
1100
Be kind enough to send our father
here,
brave Danaus. He is our counsellor,
and we are guided by his prudent
words. [970]
For, above all
others, it is up to him
to advise us on the houses where we
live
and places which will prove
hospitable.
For everyone is quite prepared to
blame
a foreigner.
[Exit Pelasgus]
May all things turn out well!
May we retain our reputation here
and incite no angry words from
citizens. 1110
And now, dear handmaidens,
arrange yourselves
as Danaus has assigned you to attend
on each of us, as servants in our
dowry.*
[The Handmaidens move to stand among the
members of the Chorus. Enter Danaus, with an armed group of Argive soldiers]
Danaus
My children, we must offer prayers of
thanks [980]
to Argive
people—make sacrifice
and pour libations out to them, as if
to Olympian gods. They have saved us!
They did not hesitate. For once they
heard
me talk about the conduct of those
men,
your cousins, towards their family, 1120
they were indignant and provided me
this band of spearmen as a retinue,
so I might have an honourable rank
and not be killed quite unexpectedly,
struck by some fatal spear in secret,
and place a lasting curse upon this
land.
Those who obtain great favours ought
to show
deep gratitude, from the bottom of
their hearts,
and hold such men in even greater
honour. [990]
Among the
many other words of wisdom 1130
from your father etched into your
minds,
write down this one, too: a band of
strangers
proves itself in time. All men are
prepared
to say bad things about a foreigner.
They somehow find disgusting insults
easy.
So I advise you—do not dishonour me.
For at your age men are attracted to
you,
and guarding tender fruit is always
hard.
Animals and men, of course, destroy
it,
and beasts that fly or walk upon the
earth. 1140 [1000]
Cypris
proclaims the fruit is ripe and ready,
and every man that passes by,
overwhelmed
with passionate desire, shoots from
his eye
a magic arrow at young virgin girls,
so young and lovely.*
We must not suffer
the very things
from which we ran away
with so much effort, when our ship
ploughed
across that spacious sea, or shame ourselves
and please my enemies. As for our housing,
we have the choice of two: Pelasgus’
home 1150 [1010]
or what the city offers. Both these
options
come without a cost—a generous gift.
Just take care. Obey your father’s words,
and honour modesty more than your life.
Chorus
In other things may the Olympian gods
be favourable. As for my ripe young
age,
dear father, you can rest assured.
Unless the gods are planning
something new,
I will not swerve aside and leave the
path
my heart has set in what it felt before.
1160
Go now, and
let us celebrate
the sacred gods who guard the city
and those who live along the stream
of ancient Erasinus.
And you there,
you handmaidens, join in our song.*
And let us pour forth chants of
praise
for this place where Pelasgians live,
no longer honouring with our hymns
the flowing mouths of river Nile.
*Sing to the
rivers here that pour 1170
their tranquil waters through the
land,
enrich its soil with fertile streams,
and make things grow in great
profusion,
May holy Artemis look down [1030]
and have compassion for our band.
And may we never be compelled
by Cytherea’s
force into a marriage.
Let that prize go to those whom I
detest!*
Chorus of Handmaidens
But in this gracious hymn we chant,
we mean no disrespect for Kypris, 1180
whose power ranks alongside Hera
and very close to Zeus. She is
revered,
the goddess full of devious wiles,
for all her sacred works. With her,
in their dear mother’s company,
Desire stands with sweet Persuasion,
a deity who will not be denied. [1040]
Harmonia
has received as well
a share of goddess Aphrodite
and the whispering ways of Love. 1190
I fear
what lies ahead for fugitives—
winds of evil, pain, and bloody wars.
How did they travel here so easily
with that swift ship in their
pursuit?
Whatever Fate
decrees will come to pass.
The great and infinite mind of Zeus
cannot be overcome. This marriage [1050]
may well be destined to take place
the way it has for many women before.
Chorus
O great Zeus,
save us from marriage to Aegyptus’ sons! 1200
Handmaidens
That might, in fact, be best.
Chorus
You seek to
charm someone
whose heart cannot be swayed.
Handmaidens
What
lies in store you do not know.
Chorus
How could I see into the mind of
Zeus?
No one can penetrate that deep abyss.
Handmaidens
You need to moderate your prayers.
Chorus
What moderation would you have me
learn? [1060]
Handmaidens
Do not ask for too much from the
gods.
Chorus
May lord Zeus save me from a marriage
with a wretched man whom I detest, 1210
just as he used his healing hand
to bring back Io and with gentle
force
released her from her pain.
And may he
make the women strong.
I will accept a mix of good and bad
for that is better than mere trouble. [1070]
So now let
justice judge our cause
and with my prayers deliver me
through saving efforts of the gods.
[They all
leave in the direction of the city]
Epilogue
Suppliant Women
is the first or second work in a sequence of four plays. The others have been
lost except for fragments. However, the general outline of the traditional
story is well known. In the ensuing battle between the Argives and the sons of Aegyptus, king Pelasgus is killed, and Danaus becomes king
of Argos. The daughters are compelled to go through with the marriages, and,
acting on their father’s instructions, they kill their husbands on the wedding
night—all except Hypermnestra, who refuses to kill
her husband, Lynceus. After the death of Danaus, who
is killed by Lynceus, Hypermnestra
and Lynceus become the new king and queen of Argos.
It is not clear exactly how Aeschylus brings the story to a close.
ENDNOTES
All speeches by members of the
Chorus are indicated in the text by the word Chorus,
although in a production of the play these will be divided up, with some spoken
by a Chorus Leader, some by individual members of the Chorus, and some by
various group of choral members, as a director will determine. [Back
to Text]
Branches
wound with white wool were the traditional sign of a suppliant. A suppliant was
a person, usually a foreigner in distress, making a formal appeal, in the name
of the gods, for protection or refuge (similar, in some ways, to modern
refugees appealing for asylum). [Back to Text]
Aegyptus and Danaus were brothers, so that the young women
were being asked to marry their first cousins. There is, however, continuing
uncertainty about whether the Chorus’ main objection is to marriage per se or whether they are objecting to
marriage to these particular men (or both). [Back to Text]
Epaphus
means touch. [Back
to Text]
Metis was an alternative name for Procne,
wife of king Tereus of Thrace. Tereus
raped Procne’s sister, Philomela, and then mutilated
her. In revenge the two sisters killed Tereus’ child Itys and served the flesh to him at a meal. The three of
them were all changed into birds. Metis, transformed
into a nightingale, was always singing laments for her lost child. [Back
to Text]
The “mist covered
land” in Egypt, so named for the appearance of its coastline to ships. [Back to Text]
The metaphor is taken from wrestling.
To fall on one’s back is to lose a round to one’s opponent. [Back
to Text]
The virgin daughter of Zeus
mentioned is Artemis, daughter of Zeus and Leto. [Back
to Text]
There is apparently a line missing
here. The words in square brackets have been provided to maintain the logic of
the conversation (on the basis of a suggestion by Paley). [Back
to Text]
Apollo quarrelled with Zeus over
the death of his son, Aesculapius, and killed the Cyclops who made Zeus’
thunderbolts. As a result, he was exiled from heaven for a number of years and
was forced to labour for hire on earth. [Back to Text]
Poseidon, brother of Zeus, was god
of the sea. [Back to Text]
The words in square brackets are
based on a conjecture by Bothe to supply a missing line (Paley). [Back
to Text]
There may be some lines missing
here. Traditionally, Libya’s first child was Agenor,
and Agenor produced Belus. [Back
to Text]
Families can grow powerful by
intermarriage because such unions preserve the resources of the couple within
the same family group. Discarding a wife is presumably easier in these
marriages because there is no rival family to deal with. [Back
to Text]
The words in brackets are an
adaptation of a suggestion by Paley for a gap in the text. [Back
to Text]
The two groups are the gods, who
require shelter for the suppliants, and the sons of Aegyptus,
who are demanding the return of their female cousins. Paley notes that the
shipbuilding metaphor seems to refer to a machine which keeps the planks
tightly in place as they are being nailed down. [Back to Text]
Io, driven out of Argos by the
stinging gadfly, eventually crossed into Asia Minor at the western end of the Euxine Sea (Black Sea). Her crossing, so the story goes, is
the origin of name Bosphorus (meaning the crossing of the cow), traditionally
the boundary between Europe and Asia. [Back to Text]
These geographical details trace
Io’s journey from north to south through Asia Minor and across to Aphrodite’s
land, Cyprus, on her way to Egypt. [Back to Text]
Typho (or Typhon or Typhoeus) was a monstrous son of Earth who fought against
Zeus. Zeus defeated Typho and imprisoned him
underground (traditionally under Mount Etna). The monster creates storms and
earthquakes when he struggles to get free. [Back to Text]
Their lips are “shadowed” either
because they are holding their suppliant branches in front of their faces or
because they are wearing veils. [Back to Text]
Artemis and Hecate, two different
goddesses, were commonly identified as a single goddess. [Back
to Text]
The contrast of food stresses the
difference between the Argives and the Egyptians: papyrus was a common source
of food in Egypt and wheat in Greece. [Back to Text]
Zeus his commonly pictured as
holding up his scales and weighing alternative outcomes in a particular event.
The result determines what will happen. [Back to Text]
The text of this exchange between
the Chorus and the Egyptian herald (to line 908 in the Greek) is very corrupt,
and much of the English text is mere conjecture. [Back to Text]
Sarpedon is a warrior leader in Homer’s Iliad, a major ally of the Trojans. When he is killed his body is,
with divine aid, taken to his home in Asia Minor for burial. [Back
to Text]
Paley notes that the Egyptians
drank a variety of beer. Pelasgus is presumably implying that real men, like
the Argives, drink wine. [Back to Text]
The Greek text does not use the
word “handmaidens,” but rather “group of friends,” which could refer to the Argive escort. There is some doubt about whether the
Handmaidens are part of the play or not. [Back to Text]
As Sommerstein
points out (p. 417), this is the only specific mention of the Handmaidens in
the text of the play. He suggests that they may have been added in a later
production. [Back to Text]
Cypris is another name for Aphrodite, goddess of love. [Back
to Text]
It is not clear who is being
addressed here (the word for “handmaidens” is not in the Greek text), whether
the invitation to join in is directed at other members of the chorus or at the
handmaidens or at someone else. Since in the exchanges which follow one of the
groups is seeking to calm down the other and to advise it not to be so
passionately afraid, the dramatically logical choice would seem to be the
Handmaidens. It would be rather odd to divide the Chorus against itself, with
half the members having a very different feelings from
the other half. Some modern editors have assigned the lines of this “alternate”
Chorus to the group of Argive soldiers who accompany
Pelasgus. That option takes care of a number of staging problems which occur
with the Handmaidens. [Back to Text]
Cytherea is a common alternative name for Aphrodite. [Back to Text]
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