Oedipus at Colonus

1The Chorus of elders of Colonus enters the orchestra. Chorus Look! Who was he, then? Where is he staying? Where has he rushed from this place, man most insatiate of all who live? Scan the ground, look well, press the search everywhere. A wanderer that old man must have been, a wanderer, not a dweller in the land; otherwise he never would have advanced into this untrodden grove of the maidens with whom none may strive. Their name we tremble to speak; we pass them by with eyes turned away, moving our lips, without sound or word, in still devotion. But now it is said that one has come who reveres them not at all; and him I cannot yet discern, though I look round all the holy place, nor do I know where to find his lodging. Oedipus steps forward with Antigone. Oedipus Behold the man you seek! In sound is my sight, as the saying goes. Chorus Oh! Oh! Fearful he is to see, and fearful to hear! Oedipus Do not regard me, I beg you, as a lawless man. Chorus Zeus defend us! Who may this old man be? Oedipus Not so wholly of the best fate that you would call him fortunate, guardians of this land! It is plain; otherwise I would not be creeping, as you see, by the eyes of others, and buoying my strength upon weakness.

1Chorus Alas! Were you sightless even from birth? Evil have been your days, and many, it appears. But at least if I can help it, you shall not add this curse to your lot. You go too far—too far! That your rash steps may intrude on the field of this voiceless, grassy glade, where the waters of the mixing bowl blend their stream with the flow of honied offerings, beware, unhappiest of strangers. Retire! Withdraw! Let a wide space part us. Do you hear, toil-worn wanderer? If you have anything to say in converse with us, leave forbidden ground, and speak where it is lawful for all; but, till then, refrain. Oedipus Daughter, to what counsel shall we incline? Antigone My father, we must behave just as the townspeople do, listening and giving way where it is necessary. Oedipus Then give me your hand. Antigone I lay it in yours. Oedipus Strangers, let me not suffer wrong when I have trusted in you, and have passed from my refuge!

2Chorus Never, old man, never will anyone remove you from your resting-place here against your will. Oedipus begins to move forward. Oedipus Further, then? Chorus Come still further. Oedipus Further? Chorus Lead him onward, maiden, for you hear us and obey. Antigone Oedipus Antigone Come, follow this way with your dark steps, father, as I lead you. Oedipus Chorus Stranger in a foreign land, poor man, have the courage to detest what the city steadfastly holds as not dear, and to reverence what it holds dear! Oedipus Lead me, then, child, to a spot where I may speak and listen within piety’s domain, and let us not wage war with necessity.

2Chorus There! Do not incline your steps beyond that ledge of bedrock. Oedipus This far? Chorus Enough, I say Oedipus Shall I sit down? Chorus Yes, move sideways, and crouch low on the edge of the rock. Antigone Father, this is my task: calmly to— Oedipus Ah me! ah me! Antigone —fit step to step, and lean your aged frame upon my dear arm. Oedipus Alas for my sad destruction! Antigone seats him on the rock. Chorus Ah, poor man, since now you are at ease, speak! What is your lineage among mortals? With what name are you led on your weary path? What fatherland can you tell us of?

1Chorus Terrible it is, stranger, to arouse the old woe that has for so long been laid to rest: and yet I yearn to hear— Oedipus What now? Chorus —Of that grief-filled anguish, cureless, with which you have wrestled. Oedipus By your hospitality, do not uncover the shame that I have suffered! Chorus Seeing that the tale is wide-spread and in no way weakens, I wish, friend, to hear it straight. Oedipus Ah me! Chorus Grant the favor, I beg! Oedipus Alas, alas! Chorus Grant my wish, as I have granted yours to the full.

1Oedipus I have suffered the greatest misery, strangers—suffered it through unintended deeds—may the god know it! No part was of my own choice. Chorus But in what way? Oedipus In an evil marriage, the city bound me, unknowing, to ruin. Chorus Is it true, as I hear, that you made your mother the partner of your bed, to its infamy? Oedipus Ah, me! These words, strangers, are like death to my ears. And those two maidens of mine— Chorus What will you say? Oedipus —Two daughters—two curses— Chorus O Zeus! Oedipus —of mine, sprung from the travail of the womb that bore me too.

2Chorus These, then, are at once your daughters, and— Oedipus —Sisters, indeed, of their father. Chorus Oh! Oedipus Indeed, woes untold sweep back upon my soul! Chorus You have suffered— Oedipus I have suffered woes grievous to bear. Chorus You have performed— Oedipus I have not performed! Chorus How? Oedipus A gift was given to me—O, wretched that I am, if only I had never won from the city that gift for my services!

2Chorus Cursed man! What of this? Did you commit the murder— Oedipus What now? What would you learn? Chorus —Of your father? Oedipus Oh! oh! a second stab—wound on wound! Chorus You killed— Oedipus I killed—yet I have a plea— Chorus What can you plead? Oedipus —A plea of justice. Chorus What? Oedipus I will tell you: I killed in ignorance and perished utterly. Pure before the law, without knowledge of my act, I have come to this!

1Chorus Stranger, in this land of fine horses you have come to earth’s fairest home, the shining Colonus. Here the nightingale, a constant guest, trills her clear note under the trees of green glades, dwelling amid the wine-dark ivy and the god’s inviolate foliage, rich in berries and fruit, unvisited by sun, unvexed by the wind of any storm. Here the reveller Dionysus ever walks the ground, companion of the nymphs that nursed him.

1Chorus And, fed on heavenly dew, the narcissus blooms day by day with its fair clusters; it is the ancient crown of the Great Goddesses. And the crocus blooms with a golden gleam. Nor do the ever-flowing springs diminish, from which the waters of Cephisus wander, and each day with pure current it moves over the plains of the land’s swelling bosom, bringing fertility. Nor have the dancing Muses shunned this place, nor Aphrodite of the golden rein.

2Chorus And there is a thing such as I have not heard of on Asian ground, nor as ever yet born in the great Dorian isle of Pelops: a plant unconquered, self-renewing, causing terror to destroying enemies. It greatly flourishes in this land—the gray-leafed olive, nurturer of children. Youth cannot harm it by the ravages of his hand, nor can any who lives with old age. For the sleepless eye of Zeus Morios watches over it, and gray-eyed Athena.

2Chorus And I have more praise for this city our mother, the gift of a great divinity, a glory most great: the might of horses, the might of colts, and the might of the sea. For you, son of Cronus, lord Poseidon, have set her on the throne of this pride, by establishing first in our roads the bit that cures the rage of horses. And the shapely oar, well-fitted for the sea, in flying past the land leaps to follow the hundred-footed Nereids.

1Chorus Oh, to be where the enemy, turned to fight, will soon join in Ares’ clash of bronze, by the shores of Apollo, perhaps, or by that torch-lit beach where the Great Goddesses maintain awful rites for mortals on whose lips the ministering Eumolpidae have laid the golden seal of silence. There, I think, the war-rousing Theseus and the two maiden sisters will soon meet within our borders, amid the war-cry of resisting men!

1Chorus Or perhaps they will soon draw near to the pastures on the west of Oea’s snowy rock, fleeing on young horses or in chariots racing full speed. He will be caught! Terrible is the neighboring Ares, terrible the might of the followers of Theseus. Yes, the steel of every bridle flashes, and against their opponents charges forward our whole cavalry, who honor horse-riding Athena, and the earth-girdling Sea-god, the dear son of Rhea.

2Chorus Is the battle now or yet to be? For somehow my mind presages to me that soon I will meet the maidens who have suffered fearfully, who have found fearful suffering at the hands of a kinsman. Today Zeus will bring something to completion. I predict noble struggles. Oh, to be a dove with the strength and swiftness of a whirlwind, that I might reach an airy cloud, and hang my gaze above the fight!

2Chorus Hear, all-ruling lord of the gods, all-seeing Zeus! Grant to the guardians of this land to achieve with triumphant might the capture that gives the prize into their hands! And may your daughter grant it too, dread Pallas Athena! And Apollo, the hunter, and his sister, who follows the spotted, swift-footed deer—I wish that they would come, a double help to this land and to its people.

1Chorus Whoever craves the longer length of life, not content to desire a moderate span, him I will judge with no uncertainty: he clings to folly. For the long years lay in deposit many things nearer to pain than joy; but as for your delights, you will find them nowhere, when someone’s life has fallen beyond the fitting period. The Helper comes at last to all alike, when the fate of Hades is suddenly revealed, without marriage-song, or lyre, or dance: Death at the end.

1Chorus Not to be born is, beyond all estimation, best; but when a man has seen the light of day, this is next best by far, that with utmost speed he should go back from where he came. For when he has seen youth go by, with its easy merry-making, what hard affliction is foreign to him, what suffering does he not know? Envy, factions, strife, battles, and murders. Last of all falls to his lot old age, blamed, weak, unsociable, friendless, wherein dwells every misery among miseries.

1Chorus Behold, new ills of heavy fate have newly come from the blind stranger, unless, perhaps, fate is finding its goal. I cannot say that a purpose of the divinities is ever vain. Time sees all things forever, and raises up some things, then on the next day raises others back up again. The sky resounds! Zeus! Thunder. Oedipus Children, children! If there is any man still here, send him forth to bring back Theseus, excellent in all respects. Antigone And what, father, is the purpose of your summons? Oedipus This winged thunder of Zeus will soon lead me to Hades. So send someone with speed.

1Thunder. Chorus Listen! With a louder noise this one crashes down unspeakably, hurled by Zeus! The hair of my head stands up for fear, my soul is dismayed; for again the lightning flashes in the sky. What end will it release? I fear it, for never does it fly forth in vain, or without serious results. O great Sky! O Zeus! Oedipus Children, the appointed end of life has reached this man; he can turn from it no more. Antigone How do you know? By what means do you understand this? Oedipus I know it well. But let some one go, I pray you, as quickly as he can, and bring back the lord of this land.

2Thunder. Chorus Look! Look! Once again the piercing din is around us! Be merciful, divinity, be merciful, if you are bringing anything of gloom for the land which is our mother! May I find you well disposed, and may I not, because I have cared for a man accursed, somehow obtain a favor without profit! Lord Zeus, to you I cry! Oedipus Is the man near? Will he find me still alive, children, and master of my senses? Antigone And what is the pledge that you would like to have firm in your mind? Oedipus In return for his benefits, I would grant him the fulfillment of the favor that I promised.

2Chorus Hurry, my son, come to us! If you chance to be in the glade sacrificing an ox to the sea-god Poseidon, then come! For the stranger thinks you worthy, you and your city and your friends, to receive just return for benefits. Hasten quickly, lord!

1Chorus If it is right for me with prayer to adore the Unseen Goddess and you, Lord of the Dead, then hear me, Aidoneus, Aidoneus! Grant that without pain, without a fate arousing heavy grief, the stranger may pass to the all-concealing fields of the dead below, and to the Stygian house. Many were the sorrows that came to him without cause, but a just divinity will lift him up again.

1Chorus Goddesses of the nether world and unconquered beast whose lair lies in the gates of many guests, you untamable Watcher of Hades, snarling from the cavern’s jaws, as rumor has always told! Hear me, Death, son of Earth and Tartarus! May that Watcher leave a clear path for the stranger on his way to the nether fields of the dead! To you I call, giver of the eternal sleep.

1Antigone Ah, me, ah, me! Now, indeed, is it for us to bewail in full the curse on our blood—ill-fated sisters as we are—deriving from our father! In former time we bore the long toil without pause, and now at the last we bring to tell a sight and experience that baffle reason. Chorus What is it? Antigone It is possible to conjecture, friends. Chorus He is gone? Antigone Precisely in the way you could most wish for: indeed, in a way in which neither Ares took him, nor the sea, but instead he was snatched away to the fields which no one may see, by some swift, strange doom. Wretched me! For us a night like death has descended on our eyes; how shall we find our hard livelihood, roaming to some far land, or on the waves of the sea? Ismene I do not know. If only murderous Hades would join me in death to my aged father! Wretched me! I cannot live the life that must be mine. Chorus Best of daughters, you both must bear the will of the gods. Do not be inflamed with too much grief; what you have encountered is not to be blamed.

1Antigone There is longing even for woes. What was in no way dear was dear, so long as I held him in my embrace. Father, Dear, clothed in the darkness of the underworld forever! Never in your absence will you not be dear to me and to my sister here. Chorus He fared— Antigone He fared as he desired. Chorus In what way? Antigone He died on the foreign ground that he desired; he has his well-shaded bed beneath the ground for ever; and he did not leave behind unwept sorrow. With these weeping eyes, father, I lament you; nor do I know how in my wretchedness I must still my grief for you that is so immense. Alas! You wanted to die in a foreign land, but you died without me near. Ismene Wretched me! What fate awaits you and me, dear, orphaned as we are of our father? Chorus Cease from your grief, dear girls, since his end is blessed. No one is beyond the reach of evil.

2Antigone Dear, let us hasten back. Ismene. To do what deed? Antigone A longing fills my soul— Ismene. For what? Antigone To see the netherworld home. Ismene. Of whom? Antigone Wretched me! Of our father. Ismene. And how can this be right? Surely you understand? Antigone Why this rebuke? Ismene. And surely you know this, too— Antigone What more would you tell me? Ismene That he perished without a tomb, apart from everyone. Antigone Lead me there, and then kill me, too. Ismene Unhappy me! Abandoned and helpless, where am I now to live my wretched life?

2Chorus Dear girls, do not be afraid. Antigone But where shall I flee? Chorus Already a refuge has been found— Oedipus What do you mean? Chorus —That no harm befall you. Antigone I feel— Chorus What do you think? Antigone How we are to go home, I cannot tell. Chorus Do not seek to go. Antigone Trouble surrounds us. Chorus And previously it bore heavily. Antigone Then it was desperate, but now even crueler. Chorus Vast, then, is the sea of your troubles. Antigone Alas, alas! Zeus, where shall we turn? To what last hope does the divinity now drive us?