Helen
Euripides
Euripides. The Plays of Euripides, Translated into English Prose from the Text of Paley. Vol. I. Coleridge, Edward P., translator. London: George Bell and Sons, 1906.
- Is Menelaos already at home with his wife?
- No; he is neither in Argos nor by the streams of the Eurotas.
- Alas! This is evil news for those to whom you bring it.
- He is said to have disappeared with his wife.
- Wasn’t there the same passage for all the Argives?
- Yes; but a tempest scattered them in every direction.
- On which surface of the salty ocean?
- While they were crossing the Aegean in mid-channel.
- And from that time does no one know of Menelaos’ arrival?
- No one; but throughout Hellas he is reported to be dead.
- I am wholly lost. Is the daughter of Thestius alive?
- You speak of Leda? She is dead and gone, indeed.
- It wasn’t Helen’s disgraceful fame that killed her, surely?
- Yes, they say she tied a noose around her noble neck.
- Are the sons of Tyndareus still alive or not?
- They are dead, and not dead: it is a double story.
- Which report is the stronger? I am so unhappy at these evils!
- Men say that they are gods in the likeness of stars.
- That is good news; but what is the other story?
- That they killed themselves because of their sister. But enough of such talk! I do not need to grieve twice. As to why I came to this royal palace,