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Theseus
Adrastus, and ye dames from
Argos
sprung, ye see these children bearing in their hands the bodies of their valiant sires whom I redeemed; to thee I give these gifts, I and
Athens
. And ye must bear in mind the memory of this favour,
1165
marking well the treatment ye have had of me. And to these children I repeat the self-same words, that they may honour this city, to children’s children ever handing on the kindness ye received from us. Be Zeus the witness, with the gods in heaven,
1170
of the treatment we vouchsafed you ere you left us.
1175
Adrastus, and ye dames from
Argos
sprung, ye see these children bearing in their hands the bodies of their valiant sires whom I redeemed; to thee I give these gifts, I and
Athens
. And ye must bear in mind the memory of this favour,
1165
marking well the treatment ye have had of me. And to these children I repeat the self-same words, that they may honour this city, to children’s children ever handing on the kindness ye received from us. Be Zeus the witness, with the gods in heaven,
1170
of the treatment we vouchsafed you ere you left us.
1175
Adrastus
Theseus, well we know all the kindness thou hast conferred upon the land of
Argos
in her need, and ours shall be a gratitude that never waxeth old, for your generous treatment makes us debtors for a like return.
Theseus, well we know all the kindness thou hast conferred upon the land of
Argos
in her need, and ours shall be a gratitude that never waxeth old, for your generous treatment makes us debtors for a like return.
Theseus
What yet remains, wherein I can serve you?
1180
What yet remains, wherein I can serve you?
1180
Adrastus
Fare thee well, for such is thy desert and such thy city’s too.
Fare thee well, for such is thy desert and such thy city’s too.
Theseus
Fare thee well, for such is thy desert and such thy city’s too.
Fare thee well, for such is thy desert and such thy city’s too.
Athena
Hearken, Theseus, to the words that I Athena utter, telling thee thy duty, which, if thou perform it, will serve thy city.
Give not these bones to the children to carry to the land of
Argos
, letting them go so lightly; nay, take first an oath of them that they will requite thee and thy city for your efforts. This oath must Adrastus swear, for as their king it is his right
1185
to take the oath for the whole realm of
Argos
. And this shall be the form thereof:
We Argives swear we never will against this land lead on our mail-clad troops to war, and, if others come, we will repel them. But if they violate their oath and come against the city, pray
1190
that the land of
Argos
may be miserably destroyed.
1195
Hearken, Theseus, to the words that I Athena utter, telling thee thy duty, which, if thou perform it, will serve thy city.
Give not these bones to the children to carry to the land of
Argos
, letting them go so lightly; nay, take first an oath of them that they will requite thee and thy city for your efforts. This oath must Adrastus swear, for as their king it is his right
1185
to take the oath for the whole realm of
Argos
. And this shall be the form thereof:
We Argives swear we never will against this land lead on our mail-clad troops to war, and, if others come, we will repel them. But if they violate their oath and come against the city, pray
1190
that the land of
Argos
may be miserably destroyed.
1195
The Suppliant Maidens. Euripides. E. P. Coleridge (Translator). London. 1906.
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