Persians

1Chorus The royal army, dealing destruction to cities, has already passed to the neighboring land upon the facing shore, and this they did by crossing the Hellespont, named for the daughter of Athamas, on a bridge of boats made fast with cables, thereby casting a tightly constructed roadway as a yoke upon the neck of the sea.

1Chorus The fiery lord of populous Asia is leading his wondrous warrior-flock against the whole earth in two divisions, on foot and by the sea, putting his trust in his stalwart and stern commanders; he himself, a god-like hero whose race is sprung from gold.†

2Chorus With eyes flashing with the dark glare of a deadly dragon, attended by soldiers and mariners in great numbers, and speeding his Syrian chariot, he leads against a people renowned for the spear a warlike host of archers.

2Chorus And there is no man skilled to withstand the mighty stream of men, and with strong barriers keep out the sea’s invincible surge; for Persia’s host cannot be withstood, and her men are courageous.

3Chorus For by the will of the gods Fate has held sway since ancient time, and has ordained for the Persians the pursuit of rampart-destroying war, the turmoil of fighting horsemen, and the storming of cities.

3Chorus And they have learned to look upon the precinct of the deep when the broad-wayed sea whitens to foam beneath the tempest’s blast, trusting in their finely wrought cables and their devices which give passage to their army.

4Chorus Yet the insidious guile of god—what mortal man can escape it? Who with agile foot can lightly overleap and escape its toils?

4Chorus For Delusion, with her fair appearance, lures men astray into her snares, from which it is not possible to escape without meeting with disaster.

5Chorus Therefore my heart is wrapped in gloom and is racked with fear for the Persian army lest the state learn that the mighty capital of Susa is empty of men.

5Chorus Fearful I am too that as bands of women cry aloud woe, the Cissian stronghold will raise a resounding shout responsive to the beating of breasts, and that there will be a tearing of fine linen robes.

6Chorus For all the men-at-arms, those who urge on steeds and those who march along the plain, have left the city and gone forth, like bees in a swarm, together with the captain of the host. They have crossed the headland, projecting into the sea and common to either continent, through which both shores are bridged.

6Chorus And marriage-beds are filled with tears through longing for husbands; each Persian woman has sent to the field her warlike and fiery consort, and now in grief and longing for her beloved lord, is left forsaken by her mate.

1Chorus Grievous, grievous disaster, strange and cruel. Alas, Persians, weep now that you hear of this calamity. Messenger Yes, weep, for you hear that the whole army is utterly destroyed; and I myself unexpectedly behold the day of my return.

1Chorus The life which has been given to us elders is too long, for we have now heard of this unexpected misery. Messenger Since I myself was present and did not merely hear what happened from the report of others, I can tell you exactly what kind of disaster was wrought.

2Chorus Alas, alas! In vain did our vast and variously armed host go forth from the land of Asia against the hostile soil of Hellas. Messenger Full of the bodies of men who perished by a miserable fate are the shores of Salamis and all the neighboring coasts.

2Chorus Alas, alas! You say that the bodies of our loved ones, battered by the brine and drenched, are tossing, washed back and forth among the reefs. Messenger Our bows were of no use, and the whole host has perished, overwhelmed when ship charged on ship.

3Chorus Raise a doleful and mournful wail for the Persians, the wretched Persians, since they have met with complete and utter ruin. Alas for the destruction of our host! Messenger O name of Salamis most odious to my ears! Alas, how I groan when I recall the memory of Athens!

3Chorus Ah, hateful indeed is Athens to her foes. Now must we remember how many Persian women she has deprived of sons and husbands, lost all in vain.

1Chorus For now in truth the whole land of Asia, decimated, moans: Xerxes led forth (woe!), Xerxes laid low (woe!), Xerxes disposed all things imprudently with his sea-going vessels. Why then was Darius in his time so unscathed by disaster, he who was ruler of archers, to the men of Susa a beloved leader?

1Chorus For infantry and seamen both, the ships, dark-eyed†and linen-winged, led forth (woe!), the ships laid them low (woe!), the ships, under the deadly impact of the foe and by the hands of Ionians. The King himself, as we learn, has barely made his escape over the wintry paths which traverse the plains of Thrace.

2Chorus And they who were first to meet their doom (alas!), left behind by dire necessity (alas!), are swept along the Cychrean strand (woe!). Groan and gnash your teeth; in grievous strain shout forth our woes till they reach the heavens (alas!), raise high your wailing clamor in cries of misery.

2Chorus Lacerated by the swirling waters (alas!) they are gnawed (alas!) by the voiceless children of the undefiled sea (alas!). The home, bereaved of his presence, laments its head; and parents, bereft of their children, in their old age bewail their heaven- sent woes (alas!), now that they learn the full measure of their afflictions.

3Chorus Not now for long will those who dwell throughout the length and breadth of Asia abide under the sway of the Persians, nor will they pay further tribute at the compulsion of their lord, nor will they prostrate themselves to the earth and do him reverence; for the royal power has perished utterly.

3No longer will men keep a curb upon their tongues; for the people are set free to utter their thoughts at will, now that the yoke of power has been broken. The blood-stained soil of Ajax’ sea-washed isle holds all that once was Persia.

1Chorus Does our sainted and godlike king hear me as I utter, in obscure barbaric speech, my dismal and dolorous cries? Or must I shout aloud the utter misery of my anguish so that it pierces the earth? Does he hear me from below?

1Chorus O Earth, and you other rulers of those who dwell in the nether world, ensure, I implore, that the glorious spirit, the god of the Persians, whom Susa bore, may quit his abode. Send to the upper world him the likes of whom the Persian earth has never entombed.

2Chorus Beloved indeed was the hero, beloved is his burial mound; beloved are the qualities that lie buried there. O Aidoneus, Aidoneus, who convey shades to the upper air, permit our divine lord Darius to come forth!

2Chorus For since he did not ever cause the destruction of his people by senseless and ruinous wars, he bore the name of divine counsellor to the Persians; and a divine counsellor he was, since he guided his people well.

3Chorus King, our king of old, come forth, draw near! Rise to the barrow’s topmost point, lift your saffron-dyed sandal, display the crest of your royal tiara! Come forth, O blameless father Darius.

3Chorus That you may hear pitiable and unheard-of sorrows, O Lord of our lord, appear! For a gloom, like that of Styx, hovers over us, since all the youth of the land is now utterly destroyed. Come forth, O blameless father Darius!

1Chorus I shrink in awe from gazing upon you. I shrink in awe from speaking in your presence by reason of my former dread of you. Darius Since, in compliance with your moanings, I have come from the world below, lay aside your awe of me; make your tale not long, but brief; speak out and deliver your story in its entirety.

1Chorus I fear to do your bidding; I fear to speak in your presence and deliver to those I love news hard to utter.

1Chorus Oh yes, it was in truth a glorious and good life under civil government that we enjoyed so long as our aged and all-powerful king, who did no wrong and did not favor war, god-like Darius, ruled the realm.

1Chorus In the first place we showed to the world armies worthy of our fame, and civil institutions, like towers in strength, regulated all the state; and our return from war brought back our men, unworn and unsuffering, to happy homes.

2Chorus And what a number of cities he captured!— without crossing the stream of Halys or even stirring from his own hearth: such as the Acheloan†cities on the Strymonian sea which is located beside the Thracian settlements.

2Chorus And those outside the lake, the cities on the mainland, surrounded with a rampart, obeyed him as their king; those, too, that boast to be on both sides of the broad Hellespont and Propontis, deeply-recessed, and the outlet of Pontus.

3Chorus The sea-washed islands, also, off the projecting arm of the sea, lying close to this land of ours, such as Lesbos, and olive-planted Samos, Chios and Paros, Naxos, Mykonos, and Andros which lies adjacent to Tenos.

3Chorus And he held under his sway the sea-girt islands midway between the continents, Lemnos, and the settlement of Icarus, and Rhodes, and Cnidos, and the Cyprian cities Paphos, Soli, and Salamis, whose mother-city is now the cause of our lament.

1Xerxes Behold me, alas, a fitting subject for lamentation, born a source of ruin to my race and fatherland. Chorus As a greeting for your return home I will lift up an ill-omened cry of woe, the voice, versed in lamentation, of a Mariandynian mourner, a wail attended by many a tear.

1Xerxes Utter a strain of lamentation, plaintive and discordant. For Fortune has now veered and turned against me. Chorus I will indeed utter the song of lamentation in commemoration of your sufferings and of our strongly-manned ships, buffeted by waves; the plaintive strain of our land which mourns its sons. And I will cry aloud in lamentation, shedding many a tear.

2Xerxes Yes, for the Ionian naval force, turning the tide of battle, swept them away, the Ionian host, ravaging the dark sea and the shore of doom. Chorus Woe! woe! cry aloud, learn about the whole disaster. Where is the rest of the multitude of your comrades? Where are those who stood by your side, such as Pharandaces, Susas, Pelagon, Dotamas, and Agdabatas, Psammis, and Susiscanes of Agbatana?

2Xerxes By the shores of Salamis, dashing against its rugged shore, I left them, fallen in death from a Tyrian ship. Chorus Woe! woe! cry aloud! Where is your beloved Pharnuchus, and the courageous Ariomardus? Where is prince Seualces, or Lilaeus of noble lineage, Memphis, Tharybis and Masistras, Artembares and Hystaechmas? This I ask you.

3Xerxes Woe, woe is me! They beheld ancient and hateful Athens and with one convulsive struggle (alas, alas!) poor wretches, they lie gasping on the shore. Chorus Did you really lose your trusty eye†there, that which counted tens upon tens of thousands of the Persians, Batanochus’ son Alpistus... son of Sesames, Megabates’ son, Parthos and mighty Oebares, did you leave these behind? Alas, alas, the unhappy men! You speak of woe, surpassing woe, for noble Persians.

3Xerxes In truth you stir yearning in me for my gallant comrades when you tell me of woe, surpassing woe, hateful and unforgettable. The heart within me cries out aloud for the wretched ones. Chorus And yet there are others too whom we miss: Xanthis, commander of a myriad Mardian men, and warlike Anchares, Diaexis, too, and Arsaces, captains of the horse, Cegdadatas and Lythimnas, and Tolmus, insatiate in war. I marvel, that they do not follow behind around your wheeled tent.

4Xerxes Gone are they who were leaders of the host. Chorus Gone, alas, ingloriously. Xerxes Alas, alas! Chorus Alas, alas, you powers divine, you brought ruin upon us, unexpected, unmistakable to see, as is the glance of calamity.

4Xerxes We have been stricken by misfortune such as will endure for ages. Chorus We have been stricken; it is abundantly clear. Xerxes By strange woe, strange woe! Chorus It was with bad luck that we encountered Ionia’s mariners. Unfortunate in war, indeed, is Persia’s race.

5Xerxes How true it is. In the loss of so great an army I have indeed been dealt a blow, wretched as I am. Chorus What that belonged to Persia, unfortunate one, has not been destroyed? Xerxes Do you see this remnant of my royal robe? Chorus Yes, I do indeed. Xerxes And this quiver— Chorus What is this you say has been saved? Xerxes Treasury for shafts? Chorus Truly a small remnant from an ample store. Xerxes We have been deprived of defenders. Chorus Ionia’s people shrink not from the spear.

5Xerxes They are a war-like people. I have lived to behold a calamity I never expected. Chorus Are you speaking of the routed multitude which manned your ships? Xerxes And I rent my robe at the disastrous event. Chorus Alas, alas! Xerxes No, far worse than alas. Chorus Yes, for twofold and threefold— Xerxes Pain to us, but exultation to our enemies Chorus Yes, and our strength has been maimed. Xerxes I am stripped of my escort. Chorus By the disasters of your comrades upon the sea.

6Xerxes Weep, weep over our calamity, and depart to your homes. Chorus Alas, alas, woe, woe! Xerxes Cry aloud now in response to me. Chorus A wretched offering from the wretched to the wretched. Xerxes Cry out, tuning your strain to mine. Chorus Oh, oh! That which has happened is grievous indeed. Alas, for I too share in your sorrow.

6Xerxes Strike, strike, and groan for my sake. Chorus I weep in lamentation! Xerxes Now cry aloud in response to me. Chorus This care, my lord, is mine. Xerxes Lift up your voice now in lamentation. Chorus Oh, oh! And with our wailing, alas, will be mingled bruising blows and shrieks of pain.

7Xerxes Beat your breast too, and raise the Mysian wail. Chorus Anguish, anguish! Xerxes And tear, I beg of you, the white hair from your beard. Chorus With clenched nails, with clenched nails, with loud wailing. Xerxes And utter shrill cries. Chorus This too I will do.

7Xerxes And with your fingers tear the robe which drapes you. Chorus Anguish, anguish! Xerxes Pluck out your locks, and lament our host. Chorus With clenched nails, with clenched nails, with loud wailing. Xerxes Let tears moisten your eyes. Chorus I am drenched with tears.