Ichneutae

Sophocles

Sophocles. Tracking Satyrs. Mahoney, Anne (Anne Elizabeth), translator.

  1. I say that you, and all the race of your children, will be free.
Exit Apollo, right.Enter the chorus of satyrs, by the left parodos. They sing excitedly.[*](We recognize their excitement from the meter, which is dochmiac.)
Chorus
  1. Come, come here, see if you can find the footprints of the lost cattle. Apapapay![*](An inarticulate shout; the Satyrs make various non-verbal noises throughout the play.) Oh, oh, listen, I tell you! Get the thief! --- underground ---
  2. finish the job --- my old father. How can we find out the secret thefts in the night? --- if I did meet --- free life for my father. --- So may the dear god bring an end to my labors, as he has shown us the extraordinary excellence of his gold.
Silenus
  1. Oh gods, Fortune and the god who leads in the straight way, grant me success as I race out to seek out the prey, the spoil, and the booty: the cattle stolen from Phoebus. If there is anyone who has seen them, or heard about them, he would become my friend by telling me, and he would help me to help lord Phoebus. But if someone does not tell what he knows, his reward will be the god’s disapproval.