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.
