Persians
Choose a text
id="mobileReaderAuthor" class="mobile-reader-author" href="/authors/aeschylus" aria-label="More works by Aeschylus">
—
⋯
Original / primary: Perseus Eng2
248
248
Chorus
248
What then, O king Darius? What is the intention of your words? How, after this reverse, may we, the people of Persia, best prosper in time to come?
249
249
Darius
249
If you do not take the field against the Hellenes’ land, even if the forces of the Medes outnumber theirs. The land itself is their ally.
250
250
Chorus
250
What do you mean? In what way their ally?
251
251
Darius
251
It wastes with famine an enemy force which is too large.
252
252
Chorus
252
But we will dispatch a force of select and easily managed troops.
253
253
Darius
253
Not even the host which now remains in Hellas will be able to return to safety.
254
254
Chorus
254
How is that? Will not the whole barbarian army cross from Europe over the Hellespont?
255
255
Darius
255
Few indeed out of many, if it is right to put any faith in the oracles of Heaven, with regard to what has just been brought to pass; for they are fulfilled, not just some, while others fail. And if this is truth, it is through persuasion of vain hopes that he is leaving behind a body of picked troops.
256
They are now lingering where the plain is watered by the stream of Asopus which nourishes Boeotia’s fields. Here they will meet their crowning disaster in requital for their presumptuous pride and impious thoughts. For, on reaching the land of Hellas,
257
restrained by no religious awe, they ravaged the images of the gods and set fire to their temples. Altars have been destroyed, statues of the gods have been thrown from their bases in utter ruin and confusion. Therefore, since they wrought such evil, evil they suffer in no less measure; and other evils are still in store:
258
the spring of their woes is not yet quenched, but it still wells forth. For so great will be the mass of clotted gore spilled by the Dorian lance upon Plataean soil that heaps of dead will reveal, even to the third generation, a voiceless record for the eyes of men
259
259
that mortal man should not vaunt himself excessively. For presumptuous pride, when it has matured, bears as its fruit a crop of calamity, from which it reaps an abundant harvest of tears. Bear in mind that such are the penalties for deeds like these, and hold Athens and Hellas in your memory. Let no one of you,
260
through disdain of present fortune and lust for more, squander his abundant wealth. Zeus, in truth, is a chastiser of overweening pride and corrects with heavy hand. Therefore, now that my son has been warned to be prudent by the voice of God,
261
instruct him with admonitions of reason to cease from drawing the punishment of Heaven on himself by his vaunting rashness. And as for you, beloved and venerable mother of Xerxes, withdraw to the palace and bring from there clothing which is suitable for him, and prepare to meet your son. For
262
through grief at his misfortunes, the embroidered apparel which he was wearing has been torn into tattered shreds. Soothe him with words of kindness; for it is to your voice alone, I know, that he will listen. As for me, I depart to the darkness beneath the earth.
263
Farewell, Elders, and despite your troubles, rejoice while each day is yours; for wealth does not profit the dead at all. The ghost of Darius descends
264
264
Chorus
264
I grieve as I hear the many misfortunes that are now, and are yet to be, the lot of the barbarians.
265
265
Atossa
265
O God! How much grief assails me! But most of all this sorrow wounds me, to hear of the shameful clothes which are now worn by my son. But I will depart, and when I have brought appropriate garments from the palace,
266
I will make attempt to meet my son; for I will not forsake him whom I love so well in his affliction. Exit
267
267
Chorus
267
Oh yes, it was in truth a glorious and good life under civil government that we enjoyed so long as our aged
268
and all-powerful king, who did no wrong and did not favor war, god-like Darius, ruled the realm.
269
269
Chorus
269
In the first place we showed to the world armies worthy of our fame, and civil institutions, like towers in strength,
270
regulated all the state; and our return from war brought back our men, unworn and unsuffering, to happy homes.
282
282
Chorus
282
And the rich and populous cities of the Hellenes in the Ionian heritage
283
he controlled by his own will; and at his command he had an unwearied strength of men-at-arms and of allies from every nation. But now,
284
worsted completely in war through disasters on the sea, we endure this change of fortune no doubt from the hand of god.
285
285
Xerxes
285
Alas, wretched am I who have met this cruel doom
286
which did not give the faintest sign of its coming! In what savage mood has Fortune trampled upon the Persian race? What misery is yet in store for me, unhappy wretch? The strength of my limbs is loosened as I look upon this aged group of citizens.
287
Ah, Zeus,I wish that the doom of death had buried me, too, together with the men who have been laid low!
288
288
Chorus
288
Alas, my king, for our noble army, for the high honor of Persia’s rule,
289
and for the splendor of the men now cut off by Fate! The land bewails her native youth, slaughtered for Xerxes, who has crowded Hades with Persian slain.
290
Many warriors, masters of the bow, our country’s pride, a great multitude of men, have perished. Alas, alas, for our trusty defence! The land of Asia, the leading power of the earth,
291
has piteously, yes piteously, been bowed to her knees.
292
292
Xerxes
292
Behold me, alas, a fitting subject for lamentation, born a source of ruin to my race and fatherland.
293
293
Chorus
293
As a greeting for your return home I will lift up an ill-omened cry of woe, the voice, versed in lamentation, of a Mariandynian mourner,
294
a wail attended by many a tear.
295
295
Xerxes
295
Utter a strain of lamentation, plaintive and discordant. For Fortune has now veered and turned against me.
296
296
Chorus
296
I will indeed utter the song of lamentation
297
in commemoration of your sufferings and of our strongly-manned ships, buffeted by waves; the plaintive strain of our land which mourns its sons. And I will cry aloud in lamentation, shedding many a tear.
369
369
Xerxes
369
Cry aloud now in response to me.
370
370
Chorus
370
Alas, alas!
371
371
Xerxes
371
With sounds of wailing go to your homes.
372
372
Chorus
372
Alas, alas!
373
373
Xerxes
373
Alas! through the city.
374
374
Chorus
374
Alas, indeed!
375
375
Xerxes
375
Pour forth your wails as you move along with soft steps.
376
376
Chorus
376
Alas, alas, O Persian land, grievous now to walk upon!
377
Those that perished in three-tiered galleys, ah me!
378
378
Chorus
378
I will escort you with dismal sounds of woe. Exeunt omnes
20
20
Chorus
20
With eyes flashing with the dark glare of a deadly dragon, attended by soldiers and mariners in great numbers, and speeding his Syrian chariot,
21
he leads against a people renowned for the spear a warlike host of archers.
22
22
Chorus
22
And there is no man skilled to withstand the mighty stream of men, and with strong barriers keep out the sea’s invincible surge;
23
for Persia’s host cannot be withstood, and her men are courageous.
84
84
Chorus
84
Alas, alas! In vain did our vast and variously armed host
85
go forth from the land of Asia against the hostile soil of Hellas.
86
86
Messenger
86
Full of the bodies of men who perished by a miserable fate are the shores of Salamis and all the neighboring coasts.
87
87
Chorus
87
Alas, alas! You say that the bodies of our loved ones,
88
battered by the brine and drenched, are tossing, washed back and forth among the reefs.
89
89
Messenger
89
Our bows were of no use, and the whole host has perished, overwhelmed when ship charged on ship.
165
165
Chorus
165
And they who were first to meet their doom (alas!), left behind by dire necessity (alas!),
166
are swept along the Cychrean strand (woe!). Groan and gnash your teeth; in grievous strain shout forth our woes till they reach the heavens (alas!), raise high
167
your wailing clamor in cries of misery.
168
168
Chorus
168
Lacerated by the swirling waters (alas!) they are gnawed (alas!) by the voiceless children of the undefiled sea (alas!). The home, bereaved of his presence, laments its head;
169
and parents, bereft of their children, in their old age bewail their heaven- sent woes (alas!), now that they learn the full measure of their afflictions.
188
188
Chorus
188
Beloved indeed was the hero, beloved is his burial mound; beloved are the qualities that lie buried there. O Aidoneus,
189
Aidoneus, who convey shades to the upper air, permit our divine lord Darius to come forth!
190
190
Chorus
190
For since he did not ever cause the destruction of his people by senseless and ruinous wars, he bore the name of divine counsellor
191
to the Persians; and a divine counsellor he was, since he guided his people well.
271
271
Chorus
271
And what a number of cities he captured!—
272
without crossing the stream of Halys or even stirring from his own hearth: such as the AcheloanIf Acheloan is used, as some report, only of fresh water, the poet may have in mind the pile-dwellings of the Paeonians on Lake Prasias (mentioned by Hdt. 5.16); if Acheloan includes also salt water, the reference may be to the islands off Thrace—Imbros, Thasos, and Samothrace.cities on the Strymonian sea which is located beside
273
the Thracian settlements.
274
274
Chorus
274
And those outside the lake, the cities on the mainland, surrounded with a rampart, obeyed him as their king;
275
those, too, that boast to be on both sides of the broad Hellespont and Propontis, deeply-recessed, and the outlet of Pontus.
298
298
Xerxes
298
Yes, for the Ionian naval force, turning the tide of battle, swept them away, the Ionian host, ravaging the dark sea and the shore of doom.
299
299
Chorus
299
Woe! woe! cry aloud, learn about the whole disaster. Where is the rest of the multitude of your comrades? Where are those who stood by your side, such as Pharandaces, Susas, Pelagon, Dotamas, and
300
Agdabatas, Psammis, and Susiscanes of Agbatana?
301
301
Xerxes
301
By the shores of Salamis, dashing against its rugged shore,
302
I left them, fallen in death from a Tyrian ship.
303
303
Chorus
303
Woe! woe! cry aloud! Where is your beloved Pharnuchus, and the courageous Ariomardus? Where is prince Seualces,
304
or Lilaeus of noble lineage, Memphis, Tharybis and Masistras, Artembares and Hystaechmas? This I ask you.
24
24
Chorus
24
For by the will of the gods Fate has held sway
25
since ancient time, and has ordained for the Persians the pursuit of rampart-destroying war, the turmoil of fighting horsemen, and the storming of cities.
26
26
Chorus
26
And they have learned to look upon the precinct of the deep when the broad-wayed sea whitens to foam beneath the tempest’s blast, trusting in their finely wrought
27
cables and their devices which give passage to their army.
90
90
Chorus
90
Raise a doleful and mournful wail for the Persians, the wretched Persians, since they have met with complete and utter ruin. Alas for the destruction of our host!
91
91
Messenger
91
O name of Salamis most odious to my ears!
92
Alas, how I groan when I recall the memory of Athens!
93
93
Chorus
93
Ah, hateful indeed is Athens to her foes. Now must we remember how many Persian women she has deprived of sons and husbands, lost all in vain.
170
170
Chorus
170
Not now for long will those who dwell throughout the length and breadth of Asia
171
abide under the sway of the Persians, nor will they pay further tribute at the compulsion of their lord, nor will they prostrate themselves to the earth and do him reverence;
172
for the royal power has perished utterly.
173
173
No longer will men keep a curb upon their tongues; for the people are set free to utter their thoughts at will, now that the yoke of power has been broken.
174
The blood-stained soil of Ajax’ sea-washed isle holds all that once was Persia.
192
192
Chorus
192
King, our king of old, come forth, draw near! Rise to the barrow’s topmost point,
193
lift your saffron-dyed sandal, display the crest of your royal tiara! Come forth, O blameless father Darius.
194
194
Chorus
194
That you may hear
195
pitiable and unheard-of sorrows, O Lord of our lord, appear! For a gloom, like that of Styx, hovers over us, since all the youth of the land
196
is now utterly destroyed. Come forth, O blameless father Darius!
276
276
Chorus
276
The sea-washed islands, also, off the projecting arm
277
of the sea, lying close to this land of ours, such as Lesbos, and olive-planted Samos, Chios and Paros, Naxos, Mykonos,