Complete Works of Euripides

by Euripides

  LEADER OF THE CHORUS ’Tis only right that parents should help their children, their aged sires, and the partners of their marriage.

  AMPHITRYON

  My son, ’tis like thee to show thy love for thy dear ones and thy hate for all that is hostile; only curb excessive hastiness.

  HERACLES

  Wherein, father, am I now showing more than fitting haste?

  AMPHITRYON

  The king hath a host of allies, needy villains though pretending to be rich, who sowed dissension and o’erthrew the state with a view to plundering their neighbours; for the wealth they had in their houses was ali spent, dissipated by their sloth. Thou wast seen entering the city; and, that being so, beware that thou bring not thy enemies together and be slain unawares.

  HERACLES

  Little I reck if the whole city saw me; but chancing to see a bird perched in an ill-omened spot, from it I learnt that some trouble had befallen my house; so I purposely made my entry to the land by stealth.

  AMPHITRYON

  For thy lucky coming hither, go salute thy household altar, and let thy father’s halls behold thy face. For soon will the king be here in person to drag away thy wife and children and murder them, and to add me to the bloody list. But if thou remain on the spot all will go well, and thou wilt profit by this security; but do not rouse thy city ere thou hast these matters well in train, my son.

  HERACLES I will do so; thy advice is good; I will enter my house. After my return at length from the sunless den of Hades and the maiden queen of hell, I will not neglect to greet first of all the gods beneath my roof.

  AMPHITRYON

  Why, didst thou in very deed go to the house of Hades, my son?

  HERACLES

  Aye, and brought to the light that three-headed monster.

  AMPHITRYON

  Didst worst him in fight, or receive him from the goddess?

  HERACLES

  In fair fight; for I had been lucky enough to witness the rites of the initiated.

  AMPHITRYON

  Is the monster really lodged in the house of Eurystheus?

  HERACLES

  The grove of Demeter and the city of Hermione are his prison.

  AMPHITRYON

  Does not Eurystheus know that thou hast returned to the upper world?

  HERACLES

  He knows not; I came hither first to learn your news.

  AMPHITRYON

  How is it thou wert so long beneath the earth?

  HERACLES I stayed awhile attempting to bring back Theseus from Hades, father.

  AMPHITRYON

  Where is he? gone to his native land?

  HERACLES

  He set out for Athens right glad to have escaped from the lower world. Come, children, attend your father to the house. My entering in is fairer in your eyes, I trow, than my going out. Take heart, and no more let the tears stream from your eyes; thou too, dear wife, collect thy courage, cease from fear; let go my robe; for I cannot fly away, nor have I any wish to flee from those I love. Ah! they do not loose their hold, but cling to my garments all the more; were ye in such jeopardy? Well, I must lead them, taking them by the hand to draw them after me, like a ship when towing; for I too do not reject the care of my children; here all mankind are equal; all love their children, both those of high estate and those; who are naught; ’tis wealth that makes distinctions among them; some have, others want; but all the human race loves its offspring.

  (HERACLES, MEGARA, AMPHITRYON and the children enter the palace.)

  CHORUS (singing) Dear to me is youth, but old age is ever hanging o’er my head, a burden heavier than Aetna’s crags, casting its pall of gloom upon my eyes. Oh! never may the wealth of Asia’s kings tempt me to barter for houses stored with gold my happy youth, which is in wealth and poverty alike most fair! But old age is gloomy and deathly; I hate it; let it sink beneath the waves! Would it had never found its way to the homes and towns of mortal men, but were still drifting on for ever down the wind.

  Had the gods shown discernment and wisdom, as mortals count these things, men would have gotten youth twice over, a visible mark of worth amongst whomsoever found, and after death would these have retraced their steps once more to the sun-light, while the mean man would have had but a single portion of life; and thus would it have been possible to distinguish the good and the bad, just as sailors know the number of the stars amid the clouds. But, as it is, the gods have set no certain boundary ‘twixt good and bad, but time’s onward roll brings increase only to man’s wealth.

  Never will I cease to link in one the Graces and the Muses, fairest union. Never may my lines be cast among untutored boors, but ever may I find a place among the crowned choir! Yes, still the aged bard lifts up his voice of bygone memories; still is my song of the triumphs of Heracles, whether Bromius the giver of wine is nigh, or the strains of the seven-stringed lyre and the Libyan flute are rising; not yet will I cease to sing the Muses’ praise, my patrons in the dance.

  As the maids of Delos raise their song of joy, circling round the temple gates in honour of Leto’s fair son, the graceful dancer; so with my old lips will sing songs of victory at thy palace-doors, song of my old age, such as sings the dying swan; for there is a goodly theme for minstrelsy; he is the son of Zeus; yet high above his noble birth tower his deeds of prowess, for his toil secured this life of calm for man, having destroyed all fearsome beasts.

  (AMPHITRYON comes out of the palace as Lycus and his retinue enter.)

  LYCUS

  Ha! Amphitryon, ’tis high time thou camest forth from the palace; ye have been too long arraying yourselves in the robes and trappings of the dead. Come, bid the wife and children of Heracles show themselves outside the house, to die on the conditions you yourselves offered.

  AMPHITRYON O king, thou dost persecute me in my misery and heapest insult upon me over and above the loss of my son; thou shouldst have been more moderate in thy zeal, though thou art my lord and master. But since thou dost impose death’s stern necessity on me, needs must I acquiesce and do thy will.

  LYCUS

  Pray, where is Megara? where are the children of Alcmena’s son?

  AMPHITRYON

  She, I believe, so far as I can guess from outside-

  LYCUS

  What grounds hast thou to base thy fancy on?

  AMPHITRYON

  Is sitting as a suppliant on the altar’s hallowed steps.

  LYCUS

  Imploring them quite uselessly to save her life.

  AMPHITRYON

  And calling on her dead husband, quite in vain.

  LYCUS

  He is nowhere near, and he certainly will never come.

  AMPHITRYON

  No, unless perhaps a god should raise him from the dead.

  LYCUS

  Go to her and bring her from the palace.

  AMPHITRYON

  By doing so I should become an accomplice in her murder.

  LYCUS

  Since thou hast this scruple, I, who have left fear behind, will myself bring out the mother and her children. Follow me, servants, that we may put an end to this delay of our work to our joy.

  (Lycus and his servants enter the palace.)

  AMPHITRYON

  Then go thy way along the path of fate; for what remains, maybe another will provide. Expect for thy evil deeds to find some ill thyself. Ah! my aged friends, he is marching fairly to his doom; soon will he be entangled in the snare of the sword, thinking to slay his neighbours, the villain! I will hence, to see him fall dead; for the sight of a foe being slain and paying the penalty of his misdeeds gives pleasure.

  (AMPHITRYON follows Lycus into the palace.)

  CHORUS (singing) Evil has changed sides; he who was erst a mighty king is now turning his life backward into the road to Hades.

  Hail to thee! justice and heavenly retribution.

  At last hast thou reached the goal where thy death will pay the

  forfeit,

  For thy insults ag
ainst thy betters.

  Joy makes my tears burst forth.

  There is come a retribution, which the prince of the land never once thought in his heart would happen.

  Come, old friends, let us look within to see if one we know has met the fate I hope.

  LYCUS (within) Ah me! ah me!

  CHORUS (singing) Ha! how sweet to hear that opening note of his within the house; death is not far off him now.

  Hark! the prince cries out in his agony; that preludes death.

  LYCUS (within) O kingdom of Cadmus, by treachery I am perishing!

  CHORUS (singing) Thou wert thyself for making others perish; endure thy retribution; ’tis only the penalty of thy own deeds thou art paying.

  Who was he, weak son of man, that aimed his silly saying at the blessed gods of heaven with impious blasphemy, maintaining that they are weaklings after all?

  Old friends, our godless foe is now no more.

  The house is still; let us to our dancing.

  Yea, for fortune smiles upon my friends as I desire.

  Dances and banquets now prevail throughout the holy town of Thebes. For release from tears and respite from sorrow give birth to song. The upstart king is dead and gone; our former monarch now is prince, having made his way even from the bourn of Acheron. Hope beyond all expectation is fulfilled.

  To heed the right and wrong is heaven’s care. ’Tis their gold and their good luck that lead men’s hearts astray, bringing in their train unholy tyranny. For no man ever had the courage to reflect what reverses time might bring; but, disregarding law to gratify lawlessness, he shatters in gloom the car of happiness.

  Deck thee with garlands, O Ismenus! break forth into dancing, ye paved streets of our seven-gated city! come Dirce, fount of waters fair; and joined with her ye daughters of Asopus, come from your father’s waves to add your maiden voices to our hymn, the victor’s prize that Heracles hath won. O Pythian rock, with forests crowned, and haunts of the Muses on Helicon! make my city and her walls re-echo with cries of joy; where sprang the earth-born crop to view, a warrior-host with shields of brass, who are handing on their realm to children’s children, a light divine to Thebes.

  All hail the marriage! wherein two bridegrooms shared; the one, a mortal; the other, Zeus, who came to wed the maiden sprung from Perseus; for that marriage of thine, O Zeus, in days gone by has been proved to me a true story beyond all expectation; and time hath shown the lustre of Heracles’ prowess, who emerged from caverns ‘neath the earth after leaving Pluto’s halls below. To me art thou a worthier lord than that base-born king, who now lets it be plainly seen in this struggle ‘twixt armed warriors, whether justice still finds favour in heaven.

  (The spectres of MADNESS and IRIS appear from above. The CHORUS sees them.)

  Ha! see there, my old comrades! is the same wild panic fallen on us all; what phantom is this I see hovering o’er the house? Fly, fly, bestir thy tardy steps! begone! away! away! O saviour prince, avert calamity from me!

  IRIS

  Courage, old men! she, whom you see, is Madness, daughter of Night, and I am Iris, the handmaid of the gods. We have not come to do your city any hurt, but against the house of one man only is our warfare, even against him whom they call the son of Zeus and Alcmena. For until he had finished all his grievous toils, Destiny was preserving him, nor would father Zeus ever suffer me or Hera to harm him. But now that he hath accomplished the labours of Eurystheus, Hera is minded to brand him with the guilt of shedding kindred blood by slaying his own children, and I am one with her. Come then, maid unwed, child of murky Night, harden thy heart relentlessly, send forth frenzy upon him, confound his mind even to the slaying of his children, drive him, goad him wildly on his mad career, shake out the sails of death, that when he has sent o’er Acheron’s ferry that fair group of children by his own murderous hand, he may learn to know how fiercely against him the wrath of Hera burns and may also experience mine; otherwise, if he escape punishment, the gods will become as naught, while man’s power will grow.

  MADNESS

  Of noble parents was I born, the daughter of Night, sprung from the blood of Uranus; and these prerogatives I hold, not to use them in anger against friends, nor have I any joy in visiting the homes of men; and fain would I counsel Hera, before I see her err, and thee too, if ye will hearken to my words. This man, against whose house thou art sending me, has made himself a name alike in heaven and earth; for, after taming pathless wilds and raging sea, he by his single might raised up again the honours of the gods when sinking before man’s impiety; wherefore I counsel thee, do not wish him dire mishaps.

  IRIS

  Spare us thy advice on Hera’s and my schemes.

  MADNESS I seek to turn thy steps into the best path instead of into this one of evil.

  IRIS ’Twas not to practice self-control that the wife of Zeus sent thee hither.

  MADNESS I call the sun-god to witness that herein I am acting against my will; but if indeed I must forthwith serve thee and Hera and follow you in full cry as hounds follow the huntsman, why go I will; nor shall ocean with its moaning waves, nor the earthquake, nor the thunderbolt with blast of agony be half so furious as the headlong rush I will make into the breast of Heracles; through his roof will I burst my way and swoop upon his house, after first slaying his children; nor shall their murderer know that he is killing his own-begotten babes, till he is released from my madness. Behold him! see how even now he is wildly tossing his head at the outset, and rolling his eyes fiercely from side to side without word; nor can he control his panting breath; but like a bull in act to charge, he bellows fearfully, calling on the goddesses of nether hell. Soon will I rouse thee to yet wilder dancing and sound a note of terror in thine ear. Soar away, O Iris, to Olympus on thy honoured course; while I unseen will steal into the halls of Heracles.

  (IRIS and MADNESS vanish.)

  CHORUS (chanting) Alas! alas! lament, O city; the son of Zeus, thy fairest bloom, is being cut down.

  Woe is thee, Hellas! that wilt cast from thee thy benefactor, and destroy him as he madly, wildly dances where no pipe is heard.

  She is mounted on her car, the queen of sorrow and sighing, and is goading on her steeds, as if for outrage, the Gorgon child of Night, with hundred hissing serpent-heads, Madness of the flashing eyes.

  Soon hath the god changed his good fortune; soon will his children breathe their last, slain by a father’s hand.

  Ah me! alas! soon will vengeance, mad, relentless, lay low by cruel death thy unhappy son, O Zeus, exacting a full penalty.

  Alas, O house! the fiend begins her dance of death without the cymbal’s crash, with no glad waving of the wine-god’s staff.

  Woe to these halls toward bloodshed she moves, and not to pour libations of the juice of the grape.

  O children, haste to fly; that is the chant of death her piping plays.

  Ah, yes! he is chasing the children. Never, ah! never will Madness lead her revel rout in vain.

  Ah misery!

  Ah me! how I lament that aged sire, that mother too that bore his babes in vain.

  Look! look!

  A tempest rocks the house; the roof is falling with it.

  Oh! what art thou doing, son of Zeus?

  Thou art sending hell’s confusion against thy house, as erst did Pallas on Enceladus.

  (A MESSENGER enters from the palace.)

  MESSENGER

  Ye hoary men of eld!

  CHORUS

  Why, oh! why this loud address to me?

  MESSENGER

  Awful is the sight within!

  CHORUS

  No need for me to call another to announce that.

  MESSENGER

  Dead lie the children.

  CHORUS

  Alas!

  MESSENGER

  Ah weep! for here is cause for weeping.

  CHORUS A cruel murder, wrought by parents’ hands!

  MESSENGER

  No words can utter more than we have suffered.
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  CHORUS

  What, canst thou prove this piteous ruin was a father’s outrage on his children? Tell me how these heaven-sent woes came rushing on the house; say how the children met their sad mischance.

  MESSENGER

  Victims to purify the house were stationed before the altar of Zeus, for Heracles had slain and cast from his halls the king of the land. There stood his group of lovely children, with his sire and Megara; and already the basket was being passed round the altar, and we were keeping holy silence. But just as Alcmena’s son was bringing the torch in his right hand to dip it in the holy water, he stopped without a word. And as their father lingered, his children looked at him; and lo! he was changed; his eyes were rolling; he was distraught; his eyeballs were bloodshot and starting from their sockets, and foam was oozing down his bearded cheek. Anon he spoke, laughing the while a madman’s laugh, “Father, why should I sacrifice before I have slain Eurystheus, why kindle the purifying flame and have the toil twice over, when I might at one stroke so fairly end it all? Soon as I have brought the head of Eurystheus hither, I will cleanse my hands for those already slain. Spill the water, cast the baskets from your hands. Ho! give me now my bow and club! To famed Mycenae will I go; crow-bars and pick-axes must I take, for I will heave from their very base with iron levers those city-walls which the Cyclopes squared with red plumb-line and mason’s tools.”

  Then he set out, and though he had no chariot there, he thought he had, and was for mounting to its seat, and using a goad as though his fingers really held one. A twofold feeling filled his servants’ breasts, half amusement, and half fear; and one looking to his neighbour said, “Is our master making sport for us, or is he mad?” But he the while was pacing to and fro in his house; and, rushing into the men’s chamber, he thought he had reached the city of Nisus, albeit he had gone into his own halls. So he threw himself upon the floor, as if he were there, and made ready to feast. But after waiting a brief space he began saying he was on his way to the plains amid the valleys of the Isthmus; and then stripping himself of his mantle, he fell to competing with an imaginary rival, o’er whom he proclaimed himself victor with his own voice, calling on imaginary spectators to listen. Next, fancy carrying him to Mycenae, he was uttering fearful threats against Eurystheus. Meantime his father caught him by his stalwart arm, and thus addressed him, “My son, what meanest thou hereby? What strange doings are these? Can it be that the blood of thy late victims has driven thee frantic?” But he, supposing it was the father of Eurystheus striving in abject supplication to touch his hand, thrust him aside, and then against his own children aimed his bow and made ready his quiver, thinking to slay the sons of Eurystheus. And they in wild affright darted hither and thither, one to his hapless mother’s skirts, another to the shadow of a pillar, while a third cowered ‘neath the altar like a bird. Then cried their mother, “O father, what art thou doing? dost mean to slay thy children?” Likewise his aged sire and all the gathered servants cried aloud. But he, hunting the child round and round, the column, in dreadful circles, and coming face to face with him shot him to the heart; and he fell upon his back, sprinkling the stone pillars with blood as he gasped out his life. Then did Heracles shout for joy and boasted loud, “Here lies one of Eurystheus’ brood dead at my feet, atoning for his father’s hate.” Against a second did he aim his bow, who had crouched at the altar’s foot thinking to escape unseen. But ere he fired, the poor child threw himself at his father’s knees, and, flinging his hand to reach his beard or neck, cried, “Oh! slay me not, dear father mine! I am thy child, thine own; ’tis no son of Eurystheus thou wilt slay.”