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Chorus
Halcyon bird, you that sing your fate as a lament
beside the rocky ridges of the sea, a cry easily understood by the wise, that you are always chanting for your husband; I, wingless bird that I am, compare
1090
my laments with yours, in my longing for the festivals of
Hellas
, and for Artemis of childbirth, who dwells beside the Cynthian mountain and the palm with delicate leaves
1095
and the well-grown laurel and the holy shoot of gray-green olive, Leto’s dear child, and the lake that rolls about its ripples, where the melodious swan
1100
serves the Muses.
1105
Halcyon bird, you that sing your fate as a lament
beside the rocky ridges of the sea, a cry easily understood by the wise, that you are always chanting for your husband; I, wingless bird that I am, compare
1090
my laments with yours, in my longing for the festivals of
Hellas
, and for Artemis of childbirth, who dwells beside the Cynthian mountain and the palm with delicate leaves
1095
and the well-grown laurel and the holy shoot of gray-green olive, Leto’s dear child, and the lake that rolls about its ripples, where the melodious swan
1100
serves the Muses.
1105
Chorus
O streams of tears that fell onto my cheeks, when my city was destroyed and the enemy forced me to sail,
by their oars, by their spears! Purchased by gold, I came to a barbarian home, where I serve Agamemnon’s daughter,
1110
the attendant maid of the deer-killing goddess, and the altars where no sheep are sacrificed; and I envy ruin that is wretched throughout, for when you are brought up in harsh necessity, you do not suffer.
1115
Misery changes; life is hard for mortals, when they are treated badly after happiness.
1120
O streams of tears that fell onto my cheeks, when my city was destroyed and the enemy forced me to sail,
by their oars, by their spears! Purchased by gold, I came to a barbarian home, where I serve Agamemnon’s daughter,
1110
the attendant maid of the deer-killing goddess, and the altars where no sheep are sacrificed; and I envy ruin that is wretched throughout, for when you are brought up in harsh necessity, you do not suffer.
1115
Misery changes; life is hard for mortals, when they are treated badly after happiness.
1120
Chorus
And you, lady, the
Argive
penteconter will bear you home;
the wax-bound reed of the mountain god Pan, piping, will shout to the oars, and Phoebus the prophet, with the ring of his seven-stringed lyre,
1125
singing, will guide you well to the gleaming land of the Athenians. Leaving me here, you will go with splashing oars. In the breeze, the forestays of the ship that carries you swiftly
1130
will spread out over the front beyond the prow.
1135
And you, lady, the
Argive
penteconter will bear you home;
the wax-bound reed of the mountain god Pan, piping, will shout to the oars, and Phoebus the prophet, with the ring of his seven-stringed lyre,
1125
singing, will guide you well to the gleaming land of the Athenians. Leaving me here, you will go with splashing oars. In the breeze, the forestays of the ship that carries you swiftly
1130
will spread out over the front beyond the prow.
1135
Chorus
May I come to the bright race-course, where the sun’s fire goes;
over the chambers of my home, may I cease to flutter the wings on my back. May I take my stand in the dances of glorious marriages, where I stood as a maiden,
1140
twirling about in the dancing bands of other girls, away from my dear mother; rushing on to the contest of charms, the luxuriant strife of hair, I covered my cheeks with the multi-colored veil
1145
and shadowed them with the locks of my hair.
1150
May I come to the bright race-course, where the sun’s fire goes;
over the chambers of my home, may I cease to flutter the wings on my back. May I take my stand in the dances of glorious marriages, where I stood as a maiden,
1140
twirling about in the dancing bands of other girls, away from my dear mother; rushing on to the contest of charms, the luxuriant strife of hair, I covered my cheeks with the multi-colored veil
1145
and shadowed them with the locks of my hair.
1150
Iphigenia in Tauris. Euripides. Edward P. Coleridge (Translator). London. 1891.
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