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In the following lines, Talthybius makes spoken responses to Hecuba’s sung questions.
Hecuba
Ah, kind friends, it has come! what I so long have dreaded.
Ah, kind friends, it has come! what I so long have dreaded.
Talthybius
The lot has decided your fates already, if that was what you feared.
240
The lot has decided your fates already, if that was what you feared.
240
Hecuba
Ah me! What city did you say, Thessalian, Phthian, or Cadmean?
Ah me! What city did you say, Thessalian, Phthian, or Cadmean?
Talthybius
Each warrior took his prize in turn; you were not all at once assigned.
Each warrior took his prize in turn; you were not all at once assigned.
Hecuba
To whom has the lot assigned us severally? Which of us Trojan women
does a happy fortune await?
245
To whom has the lot assigned us severally? Which of us Trojan women
does a happy fortune await?
245
Talthybius
I know, but ask your questions separately, not all at once.
I know, but ask your questions separately, not all at once.
Hecuba
Then tell me, whose prize is my daughter, hapless Cassandra?
Then tell me, whose prize is my daughter, hapless Cassandra?
Talthybius
King Agamemnon has chosen her out for himself.
King Agamemnon has chosen her out for himself.
Hecuba
To be the slave-girl of his Spartan wife? Ah me!
250
To be the slave-girl of his Spartan wife? Ah me!
250
Talthybius
No, to share with him his stealthy love.
No, to share with him his stealthy love.
Hecuba
What! Phoebus’ virgin-priestess, to whom the god with golden locks granted the gift of maidenhood?
What! Phoebus’ virgin-priestess, to whom the god with golden locks granted the gift of maidenhood?
Talthybius
The dart of love has pierced his heart, love for the frenzied maid.
255
The dart of love has pierced his heart, love for the frenzied maid.
255
Hecuba
Daughter, cast from you the sacred keys, and from your body tear the holy wreaths that drape you in their folds.
Daughter, cast from you the sacred keys, and from your body tear the holy wreaths that drape you in their folds.
Talthybius
Why! is it not an honor that she should win our monarch’s love?
Why! is it not an honor that she should win our monarch’s love?
Hecuba
What have you done to her whom recently you took from me, my child?
260
What have you done to her whom recently you took from me, my child?
260
Talthybius
Do you mean Polyxena, or whom do you inquire about?
Do you mean Polyxena, or whom do you inquire about?
Hecuba
Yes, that one; to whom has the lot assigned her?
Yes, that one; to whom has the lot assigned her?
Talthybius
To minister at Achilles’ tomb has been appointed her.
To minister at Achilles’ tomb has been appointed her.
Hecuba
Woe is me! I the mother of a dead man’s slave! What custom, what ordinance is this among Hellenes, friend?
265
Woe is me! I the mother of a dead man’s slave! What custom, what ordinance is this among Hellenes, friend?
265
Talthybius
Count your daughter happy; it is well with her.
Count your daughter happy; it is well with her.
Hecuba
What wild words are these? Please tell me, is she still alive?
What wild words are these? Please tell me, is she still alive?
Talthybius
Her fate is one that sets her free from trouble.
270
Her fate is one that sets her free from trouble.
270
Hecuba
And what of the wife of
Hector
skilled in arms, sad Andromache? declare her fate.
And what of the wife of
Hector
skilled in arms, sad Andromache? declare her fate.
Talthybius
She too was a chosen prize; Achilles’ son took her.
She too was a chosen prize; Achilles’ son took her.
Hecuba
As for me
whose hair is white with age, who need to hold a staff to be to me a third foot, whose servant am I to be?
275
As for me
whose hair is white with age, who need to hold a staff to be to me a third foot, whose servant am I to be?
275
Talthybius
Odysseus, king of
Ithaca
, has taken you to be his slave.
Odysseus, king of
Ithaca
, has taken you to be his slave.
The Trojan Women. Euripides. Edward P. Coleridge (Translator). London. 1906.
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