Iphigenia in Aulis
Euripides
Euripides. The Plays of Euripides, Translated into English Prose from the Text of Paley. Vol. II. Coleridge, Edward P., translator. London: George Bell and Sons, 1891.
- Fearful are the trials through which he has to go because of you.
- It was against his will he ruined me for the sake of Hellas.
- Ah! but he employed base treachery, unworthy of Atreus.
- Who will escort me from here, before my hair is torn?
- I will go with you—
- No, not you; that is not well saidl.
- Clinging to your robes.
- Be persuaded by me, mother, stay here; for this is the better way both for me and you; but let one of these attendants of my father conduct me to the meadow of Artemis, where I shall be sacrificed.
- Are you gone from me, my child?
- Yes, and with no chance of ever returning.
- Leaving your mother?
- Yes, as you see, undeservedly.
- Hold! do not leave me!
- I cannot let you shed a tear. To the Chorus. May it be yours, maidens, to hymn in joyous strains Artemis, the child of Zeus, for my hard lot; and let the order for a solemn hush go forth to the Danaids.
- Begin the sacrifice with the baskets, let the fire blaze for the purifying meal of sprinkling, and my father pace from left to right about the altar; for I come to bestow on Hellas safety crowned with victory.
- Lead me away, the destroyer of Ilium’s town and the Phrygians; give me wreaths to cast about me; bring them here; here are my tresses to crown; bring lustral water too.
- Dance to Artemis, queen Artemis the blest, around her shrine and altar; for by the blood of my sacrifice I will blot out the oracle,
- if it must be.
- O mother, lady revered! I will, not give you my tears;
- for at the holy rites it is not fitting.[*](Lines 1488-90 are assigned by some editors to the Chorus, but there seems little reason for the arrangement.)