第12章

Woe is me,Omother mine!for the same strain hath fallen to both of us in our fortune.No more for me the light of day!no more the beams of yonder sun!Woe for that snow-beat glen in Phrygia and the hills of Ida,where Priam once exposed a tender babe,torn from his mother's arms to meet a deadly doom,e'en Paris,called the child of Ida in the Phrygians'town.Would Priam ne'er had settled him,the herdsman reared amid the herds,beside that water crystal-clear,where are fountains of the Nymphs and their meadow rich with blooming flowers,where hyacinths and rose-buds blow for goddesses to gather!Hither one day came Pallas and Cypris of the subtle heart,Hera too and Hermes messenger of Zeus-Cypris,proud of the longing she causes;Pallas of her prowess;and Hera of her royal marriage with king Zeus-to decide a hateful strife about their beauty;but it is my death,maidens-fraught,'tis true,with glory to the Danai-that Artemis has received as an offering,before they begin the voyage to Ilium.

Omother,mother!he that begat me to this life of sorrow has gone and left me all alone.Ah!woe is me!a bitter,bitter sight for me was Helen,evil Helen!to me now doomed to bleed and die,slaughtered by an impious sire.

Iwould this Aulis had never received in its havens here the sterns of their bronze-beaked ships,the fleet which was speeding them to Troy;and would that Zeus had never breathed on the Euripus a wind to stop the expedition,tempering,as he doth,a different breeze to different men,so that some have joy in setting sail,and sorrow some,and others hard constraint,to make some start and others stay and others furl their sails!Full of trouble then,it seems,is the race of mortals,full of trouble verily;and 'tis ever Fate's decree that man should find distress.

Woe!woe to thee,thou child of Tyndareus,for the suffering and anguish sore,which thou art causing the Danai!

CHORUS

Ipity thee for thy cruel fate-a fate Iwould thou ne'er hadst met!

IPHIGENIA

Omother that bare me!Isee a throng of men approaching.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

It is the goddess-born thou seest,child,for whom thou camest hither.

IPHIGENIA(Calling into the tent)

Open the tent-door to me,servants,that Imay hide myself.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Why seek to fly,my child?

IPHIGENIA

Iam ashamed to face Achilles.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Wherefore?

IPHIGENIA

The luckless ending to our marriage causes me to feel abashed.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

No time for affectation now in face of what has chanced.Stay then;reserve will do no good,if only we can-Enter ACHILLES.

ACHILLES

Daughter of Leda,lady of sorrows!

CLYTAEMNESTRA

No misnomer that.

ACHILLES

Afearful cry is heard among the Argives.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

What is it?tell me.

ACHILLES

It concerns thy child.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

An evil omen for thy words.

ACHILLES

They say her sacrifice is necessary.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

And is there no one to say a word against them?

ACHILLES

Indeed Iwas in some danger myself from the tumult.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

In danger of what?kind sir.

ACHILLES

Of being stoned.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Surely not for trying to save my daughter?

ACHILLES

The very reason.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Who would have dared to lay a finger on thee?

ACHILLES

The men of Hellas,one and all.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Were not thy Myrmidon warriors at thy side?

ACHILLES

They were the first who turned against me.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

My child!we are lost,undone,it seems.

ACHILLES

They taunted me as the man whom marriage had enslaved.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

And what didst thou answer them?

ACHILLES

Icraved the life of her Imeant to wed-

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Justly so.

ACHILLES

The wife her father promised me.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Aye,and sent to fetch from Argos.

ACHILLES

But Iwas overcome by clamorous cries.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Truly the mob is a dire mischief.

ACHILLES

But Iwill help thee for all that.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Wilt thou really fight them single-handed?

ACHILLES

Dost see these warriors here,carrying my arms?

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Bless thee for thy kind intent!

ACHILLES

Well,Ishall be blessed.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Then my child will not be slaughtered now?

ACHILLES

No,not with my consent at any rate.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

But will any of them come to lay hands on the maid?

ACHILLES

Thousands of them,with Odysseus at their head.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

The son of Sisyphus?

ACHILLES

The very same.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Acting for himself or by the army's order?

ACHILLES

By their choice-and his own.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

An evil choice indeed,to stain his hands in blood!

ACHILLES

But Iwill hold him back.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Will he seize and bear her hence against her will?

ACHILLES

Aye,by her golden hair no doubt.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

What must Ido,when it comes to that?

ACHILLES

Keep hold of thy daughter.

CLYTAEMNESTRA

Be sure that she shall not be slain,as far as that can help her.

ACHILLES

Believe me,it will come to this.

IPHIGENIA

Mother,hear me while Ispeak,for Isee that thou art wroth with thy husband to no purpose;'tis hard for us to persist in impossibilities.Our thanks are due to this stranger for his ready help;but thou must also see to it that he is not reproached by the army,leaving us no better off and himself involved in trouble.

Listen,mother;hear what thoughts have passed across my mind.Iam resolved to die;and this Ifain would do with honour,dismissing from me what is mean.Towards this now,mother,turn thy thoughts,and with me weigh how well Ispeak;to me the whole of mighty Hellas looks;on me the passage o'er the sea depends;on me the sack of Troy;and in my power it lies to check henceforth barbarian raids on happy Hellas,if ever in the days to come they seek to seize her daughters,when once they have atoned by death for the violation of Helen's marriage by Paris.All this deliverance will my death insure,and my fame for setting Hellas free will be a happy one.