Suppliant Maidens

1Chorus And now I invoke, as our champion from beyond the sea, the calf born of Zeus, the offspring of the flower-grazing cow, our ancestress, the caress of Zeus’ breath. The appointed period confirmed itself in a name suited to the event—Epaphus†, to whom she gave birth.

1Chorus To him I cry for help. And now in the region wherein our first mother pastured, by recounting the story of her distress of long ago, I shall now set forth reliable proofs to the inhabitants of the land; and other evidence, though unexpected, will yet appear. Men will come to know the truth as my tale proceeds.

2Chorus Now if by chance there be some neighbor in the land who knows the song of birds, when our complaint greets his ear, he will fancy that he hears the voice of Metis, Tereus’ piteous wife, the hawk-chased nightingale.

2Chorus For she, constrained to leave her green leaves, laments pitifully her accustomed haunts, and composes the tale of her own child’s doom—how he perished, destroyed by her own hand, victim of the wrath of an unnatural mother.

3Chorus Even so I, indulging my grief in Ionian strains, pain my tender face summered by Nile’s sun and my heart unexercised in tears; and I gather the flowers of grief, anxious whether there is any friendly kinsman here to champion our band which has fled from the haze-shrouded land.

3Chorus But, gods of our race, hear, and regard with favor the cause of righteousness; if you refuse youth fulfillment of its arrogant desires, and readily abhor violence, you would be righteous toward marriage. Even for those who flee hard-pressed from war there is an altar, a shelter against harm through respect for the powers of heaven.

4Chorus But may Zeus grant that it go well with us. For Zeus’ desire is hard to trace: it shines everywhere, even in gloom, together with fortune obscure to mortal men.

4Chorus Safely it falls, and not upon its back, whatever deed comes to pass at Zeus’ nod; for the pathways of his understanding stretch dark and tangled, beyond comprehension.

5Chorus From their high-towering hopes he hurls mankind to utter destruction; yet he does not marshal any armed violence— all that is wrought by the powers divine is free from toil. Seated on his holy throne, unmoved, in mysterious ways he accomplishes his will.

5Chorus So let him look upon human outrageousness —in what way it shoots up men in their wooing of us, sprouted from thoughts of evil intent, having a frenzied purpose as its irresistible spur, and deluded, turning its thoughts to folly.

6Chorus Such piteous strains of woe I utter in my pain, now shrill, now deep, blended with falling tears—Alas, alas! groans appropriate to funeral wails; though I live, I chant my own dirge.

1Chorus I invoke Apia’s hilly land—for well, O land, you understand my barbarous speech—, and many times I lay my hands upon my Sidonian veil and tear its linen fabric to shreds.

6Chorus Sacrifices in satisfaction of vows are given freely to the gods when all fares well, if only there be escape from death. Alas, alas, perplexing troubles! Where will this wave of trouble bear me away?

1Chorus I invoke Apia’s hilly land—for well, O land, you understand my barbarous speech—, and many times I lay my hands upon my Sidonian veil and tear its linen fabric to shreds.

7Chorus Our oars, indeed, and our timbered ship, bound with yellow rope†to withstand the sea, sped me on by help of favoring winds, unharmed by all tempests; nor have I reason for complaint. But may the all-seeing Father establish a kindly issue in due time—

2Chorus That the mighty race of our honorable mother escape the embrace of man (ah me), unwedded, unvanquished.

7Chorus And may Zeus’ pure daughter, she who holds securely the sacred wall, willingly, meeting my will, look upon me; and, grieved at our pursuit, come with all her might, a virgin to a virgin’s aid, to deliver me—

2Chorus That the mighty race of our honorable mother may escape the embrace of man (ah me), unwedded, unvanquished.

8Chorus Yet, if she will not, we, a dark, sun-burned race, with suppliant boughs will invoke the underworld Zeus, Zeus the great host of the dead; for if the gods of Olympus hear us not, we will hang ourselves.

3Chorus Ah Zeus! On account of the poisonous hate of Io vengeance from the gods pursues us.†I know your consort’s sky-conquering spite; for a stormy sea follows a harsh wind.

8Chorus And Zeus shall then be liable to the charge of injustice that he hates the child of the heifer, the child whom he himself begat long ago, his very own, and now he holds his face averted from our prayers. May he from above hear our call!

3Chorus Ah Zeus! On account of the poisonous hate of Io vengeance from the gods pursues us. I know your consort’s sky-conquering spite; for a stormy sea follows a harsh wind.

1Son of Palaechthon, lord of the Pelasgians, hear me with a benign heart. Behold me, your suppliant, a fugitive, running around like a heifer chased by wolves upon precipitous crags, where, confident in his help, she lows to tell the herdsman of her distress. King I see a company of assembled gods assenting beneath the shade of fresh-plucked boughs. Nevertheless may this affair of claimants to the friendship of our city bring no mischief in its wake! And let no feud come upon the state from causes unforeseen and unforestalled; for the state has no need of such trouble.

1Chorus Indeed, may Justice, daughter of Zeus the Apportioner, Justice who protects the suppliant, look upon our flight that it bring no mischief in its wake. But you, aged in experience, learn from one of younger birth. If you show mercy to a suppliant... from a man of holiness. King It is not my own house at whose hearth you sit. If the state is stained by pollution in its commonalty, in common let the people strive to work out the cure. For myself, I will pledge no promise before I have communicated these events to all the citizens.

2Chorus You are the state, you are the people. Being subject to no judge, you rule the altar, your country’s hearth by your will’s sole ordinance; and, enthroned in sole sovereignty, you determine every issue. Beware pollution! King Pollution on my enemies! But without harm I do not know how to help you. And yet again, it is not well advised to slight these supplications. I am perplexed, and fear possesses my soul whether to act, or not to act and take what fortune sends.

2Chorus Look to him who looks down from above, to him, the guardian of mortals sore-distressed, who appeal to their neighbors, yet do not obtain the justice that is their right. The wrath of Zeus, the suppliant’s god, remains, and will not be softened by a sufferer’s complaints. King If the sons of Aegyptus have authority over you by the law of your country claiming that they are nearest of kin, who would wish to contest it? You must plead in accordance with the laws of the land you have fled, that they have no authority over you.

3Chorus Never, oh never, may I fall subject to the power and authority of these men. I am determined to flee to escape this marriage that offends my soul, piloting my course by the stars. Take Justice as your ally, and render judgment for the cause deemed righteous by the gods. King The judgment is not easy—do not make me the judge. I have declared already that, though I am ruler, I will not do this thing without the consent of my people, lest hereafter, if any evil befall, the people should say, You honored aliens and brought ruin upon your own land.

3Chorus Kindred to both in blood, Zeus surveys both sides alike in this dispute with an impartial scale, apportioning, as is due, to the wicked their wrongdoing and to the godly their works of righteousness. When these things are thus equally balanced, why do you fear to act justly? King Surely there is need of deep and salutary counsel; need for a keen-sighted eye, not confused, to descend, like some diver, into the depths; that to the state above all things this matter may not work mischief, but may end well for us; that strife may not seize you for its prize, nor yet that we surrender you from these seats of sanctuary, and bring upon ourselves the dire, abiding vengeance of the all-destroying god, who, even in the realm of Death, does not set his victim free. Surely you cannot think there is no need of salutary counsel?

4Chorus Take counsel, and, as is your sacred duty, prove yourself our sacred champion. Do not betray the fugitive who has been impiously cast out and driven from afar.

4And see me not ravished from this sanctuary of many gods, oh you who hold sovereign power over the land. Recognize men’s wantonness, and guard against wrath.

5Do not see your suppliant dragged, in spite of justice, from the images of the gods, like a horse by the bridle, and see rude hands laid upon my fine-woven robes.

5For be assured of this—whichever end you bring to pass, to your children and house does it remain to make full payment.†Consider these just ordinances of God.

1Chorus Lord of lords, most blessed among the blessed, power most perfect among the perfect, O blessed Zeus, hear! And from your offspring ward off in utter abhorrence the lust of men, and into the purple sea cast their black-benched madness!

1Chorus Look benignly upon the women’s cause, look upon our race ancient in story, and recall the happy tale of our ancestress, the woman of your love. Show that you remember all, you who laid your hand upon Io. It is from Zeus that we claim descent, and it is from this, our homeland, that we went forth.

2Chorus I have come here to the prints of ancient feet, my mother’s, even to the region where she was watched while she browsed among the flowers— into that pasture, from which Io, tormented by the gad-fly’s sting, fled in frenzy, traversing many tribes of men, and according to fate, cut in two the surging strait, marking off the land upon the farther shore.

2Chorus And through the land of Asia she gallops, straight through sheep-pasturing Phrygia, and she passes the city of Teuthras among the Mysians, and the hollow vales of Lydia, across the mountains of the Cilicians and the Pamphylians, speeding over ever-flowing rivers and earth deep and rich, and the land of Aphrodite that teems with wheat.

3Chorus Harassed by the sting of the winged herdsman she gains at last the fertile groves sacred to Zeus, that snow-fed pasture assailed by Typho’s fury, and the water of the Nile that no disease may touch—maddened by her ignominious toils and frenzied with the pain of Hera’s torturing goad.

3Chorus And mortals, who in those days dwelled in the land, shook with pallid terror at the terrible sight as they beheld a being fearsome, half-human, part cow and part of woman; and they were astonished at the monstrous thing. And then, at last, who was it who calmed the far-wandering, the wretched, the sting-tormented Io?

4Chorus Zeus, it was, through endless time, the lord,... and by the unharming might of his hand, and by his divine breath, she gained rest, and let fall the sorrowing shame of tears. And, taking Zeus as her support, according to a true story, she bore a blameless son—

4Chorus Throughout long ages blessed. All the earth cries aloud, This is in very truth the offspring of life-giving Zeus; for who else could have endured the suffering plotted by Hera? Call this the work of Zeus and this his race sprung from Epaphus and you will hit the truth.

5Chorus Which of the gods has accomplished deeds which, with good reason, warrant more justly my appeal to him? Father himself and lord, he planted us with his own hand; he is the mighty fashioner of our race, ancient in wisdom, who devises everything, whose breath makes all things prosper, Zeus himself.

5Chorus He does not sit upon his throne by mandate of another and hold his dominion beneath a mightier. No one sits above him whose power he holds in awe. He speaks, and it is done—he hastens to execute whatever his counselling mind conceives.†

1Chorus Divinely-born gods! Hear now as I pour forth libations for blessings upon our kindred. Never may the wanton lord of war, insatiate of battle-cry, Ares, who reaps a human harvest in alien fields, destroy this Pelasgian land by fire; for they had compassion for us, and cast a vote in our favor, respecting our pitiable flock, suppliants in the name of Zeus.

1Chorus Nor did they cast their votes for the side of the males, disregarding the women’s cause, since they honored the avenging eye of Zeus, against which there is no battling, and what house would have it defiling its roof?†For he sits heavily upon it. They take reverent heed of their kin, petitioners of holy Zeus; therefore with pure altars shall they please the gods.

2Chorus Therefore let there fly forth from our overshadowed†lips a prayer of gratitude. Never may pestilence empty this city of its men nor strife stain the soil of the land with the blood of slain inhabitants. But may the flower of its youth be unplucked, and may Ares, the partner of Aphrodite’s bed, he who makes havoc of men, not shear off their bloom.

2Chorus And may the altars, where the elders gather, blaze in honor of venerable men. Thus may their state be regulated well, if they hold in awe mighty Zeus, and, most of all, Zeus the warden of the guest, who by venerable enactment guides destiny straight. We pray that other guardians be always renewed, and that Artemis-Hecate†watch over the childbirth of their women.

3Chorus And let no murderous havoc come upon the realm to ravage it, by arming Ares—foe to the dance and lute, parent of tears—and the shout of civil strife. And may the joyless swarm of diseases settle far from the heads of the inhabitants, and to all the young people may Lyceus†be graciously disposed.

3Chorus May Zeus cause the earth to bring forth its tribute of fruit by the produce of every season; may their grazing cattle in the fields have abundant increase, and may they obtain all things from the heavenly powers. May minstrels sing hymns of praise at the altars; and from pure lips let there proceed the phorminx-loving chant.

4Chorus May the people who control the state guard its privileges free from fear— a prudent government counselling wisely for the public prosperity. And should they have recourse to arms may they inflict no loss, but grant just rights of covenant to the stranger within their gates.

4Chorus And may they worship forever the gods who possess the land with native honors of laurel bough held aloft, and oxen slain, even as their fathers did before their time. Since reverence for parents stands written third among the statutes of Justice, to whom honor supreme is due.

1Chorus I am possessed by dreadful fear if truly my long flight has been of no profit. Father, I am consumed with fright. Danaus Since the vote of the Argives was final, be of good cheer, my children; they will fight in your defence, I know this well. Chorus Abominable is the lustful race of Aegyptus and insatiate of battle; and you know that all too well.

1In ships, stout-timbered and dark-prowed, they have sailed here, attended by a mighty black host, and in their wrath overtaken us. Danaus But they will find here a force with arms well-seasoned by the noonday heat. Chorus Do not leave me forlorn, I implore you, father. A woman abandoned to herself is nothing. There is no Ares in her.

2They are of evil mind, and guileful of purpose, with impure hearts, thinking no more of altars than carrion birds. Danaus This would profit us well, my children, should they incur both Heaven’s hate and yours. Chorus Father, no fear of tridents or of things held sacred in the sight of Heaven will ever keep their hands from us.

2They are overweening, maddened, with unholy rage, shameless dogs that do not respect the gods.

1Chorus O land of hills, land of our righteous veneration, what is to be our lot? To what region in the Apian land are we to flee, if anywhere there be some dark hiding-place? Ah that I might become black smoke that draws near to the clouds of Zeus; or, soaring aloft without wings, vanish out of sight like viewless dust and dissolve into nothingness!

1Chorus The evil is no longer escapable; my heart is darkened and trembling; the look-out my father held has brought me ruin. I am undone with terror. Rather would I meet my doom in a noose than suffer the embraces of a man I loathe. Death before that, with Hades for my lord and master!

2Chorus Ah that somewhere in the upper air I might find a seat against which the dank clouds turn into snow, or some bare, inaccessible crag, beyond sight, brooding in solitude, beetling, vulture-haunted, to bear witness to my plunge into the depths before I am ever forced into a marriage that would pierce my heart!

2Chorus Thereafter I refuse not to become a booty for dogs and a banquet for the local birds; for death is freedom from misery-loving evils. Come death, death be my doom, before the marriage-bed! How can I yet find some means of escape to deliver me from marriage?

3Chorus Shriek aloud, with a cry that reaches heaven, strains of supplication to the gods; O father, give heed that they are somehow accomplished to my safety and tranquility. Behold deeds of violence with no kind glance in your just eyes! Have respect for your suppliants, O Zeus, omnipotent upholder of the land!

3Chorus For the males of the race of Aegyptus, intolerable in their wantonness, chase after me, a fugitive, with clamorous lewdness and seek to lay hold of me with violence. But yours alone is the beam of the balance, and without you what is accomplished for mortals?

1Chorus Would that you had perished on your course over the great briny flood along with your lordly arrogance and your riveted ship!... Herald I order you to stop your shrieking.... Ho there! leave the sanctuary: be off to the ship! I do not respect one without honor and city.

1Chorus Never again may my eyes behold the cattle-nurturing stream from which increase comes to men and vigor of the blood of life. I am a native here, of ancient nobility... old man. Herald You will get yourself speedily on board, on board, I say, whether you will or not, by force, by force....

2Chorus Alas, alas! So may you perish past all help, driven from your course over the surging waves by eastern breezes off the sandy tomb of Sarpedon! Herald Wail and shout and call upon the gods—you will not escape the Egyptian ship. Cry out, utter a strain of woe more bitter still.

2Chorus Alas, alas the brutal outrage with which, you crocodile, you boast arrogantly, bellowing on the sea. May the mighty Nile, who watches you, overwhelm your arrogance and destroy you. Herald Go to the double-prowed ship as quickly as possible. Let no one delay, for dragging by force has no mercy on locks of hair.

3Chorus Alas, father; the help of the sacred images deludes me. Like a spider, he is carrying me seaward step by step—a nightmare, a black nightmare! Oh! Oh! Mother Earth, mother Earth, avert his fearful cries! O father Zeus, son of Earth! Herald I do not fear the native gods, be assured. They did not rear me, nor by their nurture did they bring me to old age.

3Chorus He rages close to me, the two-footed serpent. Like some viper he lays hold of me and bites my foot. Alas, alas! Mother Earth, mother Earth, avert his fearful cries! O father Zeus, son of Earth!

1Chorus of the Danaids Come now away, glorifying the blessed gods, lords of the city both those who guard the town and those who dwell about Erasinus’ ancient stream. And you handmaidens take up the song. Let the theme of our praise be this city of the Pelasgians, and no longer let the homage of our hymns be paid to Nile’s floods where they seek the sea,

1Chorus of the Danaids But to the rivers that pour their gentle draught through the land and increase the birth of children, soothing its soil with their fertilizing streams. May pure Artemis look upon this band in compassion, and may marriage never come through Cytherea’s compulsion. May that prize belong to my enemies!

2Chorus of Handmaidens Yet there is no disdain of Cypris in this our friendly hymn; for she, together with Hera, holds power nearest to Zeus, and for her solemn rites the goddess of varied wiles is held in honor. And in the train of their mother are Desire and she to whom nothing is denied, winning Persuasion; and to Harmonia has been given a share of Aphrodite, and to the whispering touches of the Loves.

2Chorus of Handmaidens But for the fugitives I have boding fears of blasts of harm and cruel distress and bloody wars. How did they make such a smooth voyage when pursuit followed fast upon their track? Whatever is fated, that will come to pass. The mighty, untrammelled will of Zeus cannot be transgressed. Marriage has been the destiny of many women before our time.

3A Danaid May mighty Zeus defend me from marriage with Aegyptus’ race! A Handmaiden That would indeed be best. A Danaid But you would move the immovable. A Handmaiden And you do not know what the future has in store.

3A Danaid How should I scan the mind of Zeus, a sight unfathomable? A Handmaiden Let the words of your prayer be moderate. A Danaid What sense of proportion would you now teach me? A Handmaiden Do not ask too much of the gods.

4Chorus of Danaids and Handmaidens May sovereign Zeus spare me cruel marriage with a man I hate, that very Zeus who mercifully freed Io from pain, restoring her with healing hand by kindly force.

4Chorus of Danaids and Handmaidens And may he award victory to the women! I praise that which is better than evil, two parts of good mixed with one of bad; and I praise that, through god-given means of deliverance, conflicting rights, in accordance with my prayers, should follow the course of justice. Exeunt omnes