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Second Messenger
(entering hurriedly.) O king,
at last have I found thee in the palace; for new. . . troubles are you soon to hear from me.
(entering hurriedly.) O king,
at last have I found thee in the palace; for new. . . troubles are you soon to hear from me.
Theoklymenos
What is it?
What is it?
Messenger
Go to work on the courtship of another
woman; for Helen has left the country.
1515
Go to work on the courtship of another
woman; for Helen has left the country.
1515
Theoklymenos
Carried up on wings, or treading on the earth?
Carried up on wings, or treading on the earth?
Messenger
Menelaos has taken her off as plunder, out of the land; he was the one that came with the news of his own death.
Menelaos has taken her off as plunder, out of the land; he was the one that came with the news of his own death.
Theoklymenos
O dreadful story! What ship carried her
off from this land? Your story is unbelievable.
1520
O dreadful story! What ship carried her
off from this land? Your story is unbelievable.
1520
Messenger
The very one that you gave to the stranger; and he has gone with your sailors, so that you may know everything in brief.
The very one that you gave to the stranger; and he has gone with your sailors, so that you may know everything in brief.
Theoklymenos
How? I am eager to know; for I never expected that a single hand could excel over
so many sailors, with whom you were sent.
1525
How? I am eager to know; for I never expected that a single hand could excel over
so many sailors, with whom you were sent.
1525
Messenger
When the daughter of Zeus had left this royal house and started for the sea, delicately picking her way, she most cleverly began to mourn her husband, though he was close at hand and not dead.
When we reached the enclosure of your dockyards, we began to launch the Sidonian ship on her first voyage, with her fifty benches and full measure of rowers. Task gave way to task: one set up the mast, another set up the oars
1530
. . . and the rudders were lowered by their cross-bars. And during this labor, men of Hellas who had been fellow-voyagers with Menelaos were watching us, it seems, and they drew near to the beach, clad in the rags of shipwrecked men,
1535
handsome, but rough to look upon. And the son of Atreus, when he saw them approach, spoke to them, craftily introducing the reason for his mourning:
Unhappy sailors, how have you arrived? From the wreckage of what Achaean ship?
1540
Are you here to help bury the dead son of Atreus, whose missing body this lady, daughter of Tyndareus, is honoring with an empty grave? They wept in a feigned manner, and went to the ship, carrying aboard the offerings to be thrown into the sea for Menelaos. We were suspicious at this,
1545
and said to each other that there would be a crowd of those additional passengers; but still we remained silent, out of respect for your orders; for by bidding the stranger command the vessel, you threw everything into confusion.
1550
1554
Well, we easily put the other victims on the ship, for they were light;
but the bull did not want to go forward along the plank, but kept bellowing loudly, rolling his eyes around; and, arching his back and peering along his horns, he prevented us from touching him. But Helen’s husband
1555
called out:
O you who sacked the town of
Ilion
, come pick up this bull on young shoulders, as is the way in
Hellas
, and cast him into the prow . . . the sacrifice to the dead man.
1560
Then they came at his summons, and caught up the bull and carried him on to the deck. And Menelaos stroked the horse on neck and brow, coaxing it to go aboard.
1565
Finally, when the ship was fully loaded,
Helen climbed up the ladder with elegant step, and took her seat in the middle of the rowers’ benches, and he was near by, Menelaos who was called dead. The rest, equally divided on the right and left sides of the ship, sat down, each beside his man, with swords concealed beneath their cloaks,
1570
and the waves were filled with shouting as we heard the voice of the boatswain.
1575
1577
Now when we had put out from land, neither very far nor very near, the helmsman asked,
Shall we sail yet further, stranger, or is this far enough?
For the command of this ship is yours. And he answered,
Far enough for me. Holding a sword in his right hand, he stepped into the prow; and, standing over the bull to slay it, with no mention of any dead man, he cut its throat and prayed:
O Poseidon of the sea,
1580
who lives in the deep, and you holy daughters of Nereus, bring me and my wife safe and sound from here to
Nauplia
’s shore! Streams of blood, a good omen for the stranger, darted into the waves. And someone said,
There is treachery in this voyage;
1585
let us sail back again! You, give an order for the right oar, you, turn your rudder. But the son of Atreus, standing where he slew the bull, cried out to his comrades,
Why do you, the pick of
Hellas
, delay to slaughter and kill the barbarians
1590
and hurl them from the ship into the waves? And the boatswain cried the opposite command to your rowers:
Some of you catch up planks at the end, break up the benches, or snatch the oars from the locks, and make the heads of these foreign enemies bloody!.
1595
They all leapt upright, some with oars in their hands, others with swords; and the ship ran with blood. Helen cheered them on from the stern:
Where is the fame you won in
Troy
? Show it against the barbarians! In their eagerness, some would
1600
fall, some stood upright, you would have seen others lying dead. But Menelaos, in full armor, wherever he spied that his comrades were suffering, would go there, sword in hand; and so we dived
1605
from the ship, and he cleared the benches of your rowers. Then going to the helmsman he told him to sail a straight course to
Hellas
. So they set up the mast, and favoring breezes blew.
1610
They are gone from here. But I escaped death and let myself down by the anchor into the sea;
and just as I was worn out, some fisherman took me up, and put me out on land, to bring you this report. Nothing is more useful to mankind than a prudent distrust.
1615
When the daughter of Zeus had left this royal house and started for the sea, delicately picking her way, she most cleverly began to mourn her husband, though he was close at hand and not dead.
When we reached the enclosure of your dockyards, we began to launch the Sidonian ship on her first voyage, with her fifty benches and full measure of rowers. Task gave way to task: one set up the mast, another set up the oars
1530
. . . and the rudders were lowered by their cross-bars. And during this labor, men of Hellas who had been fellow-voyagers with Menelaos were watching us, it seems, and they drew near to the beach, clad in the rags of shipwrecked men,
1535
handsome, but rough to look upon. And the son of Atreus, when he saw them approach, spoke to them, craftily introducing the reason for his mourning:
Unhappy sailors, how have you arrived? From the wreckage of what Achaean ship?
1540
Are you here to help bury the dead son of Atreus, whose missing body this lady, daughter of Tyndareus, is honoring with an empty grave? They wept in a feigned manner, and went to the ship, carrying aboard the offerings to be thrown into the sea for Menelaos. We were suspicious at this,
1545
and said to each other that there would be a crowd of those additional passengers; but still we remained silent, out of respect for your orders; for by bidding the stranger command the vessel, you threw everything into confusion.
1550
Well, we easily put the other victims on the ship, for they were light;
but the bull did not want to go forward along the plank, but kept bellowing loudly, rolling his eyes around; and, arching his back and peering along his horns, he prevented us from touching him. But Helen’s husband
1555
called out:
O you who sacked the town of
Ilion
, come pick up this bull on young shoulders, as is the way in
Hellas
, and cast him into the prow . . . the sacrifice to the dead man.
1560
Then they came at his summons, and caught up the bull and carried him on to the deck. And Menelaos stroked the horse on neck and brow, coaxing it to go aboard.
1565
Finally, when the ship was fully loaded,
Helen climbed up the ladder with elegant step, and took her seat in the middle of the rowers’ benches, and he was near by, Menelaos who was called dead. The rest, equally divided on the right and left sides of the ship, sat down, each beside his man, with swords concealed beneath their cloaks,
1570
and the waves were filled with shouting as we heard the voice of the boatswain.
1575
Now when we had put out from land, neither very far nor very near, the helmsman asked,
Shall we sail yet further, stranger, or is this far enough?
For the command of this ship is yours. And he answered,
Far enough for me. Holding a sword in his right hand, he stepped into the prow; and, standing over the bull to slay it, with no mention of any dead man, he cut its throat and prayed:
O Poseidon of the sea,
1580
who lives in the deep, and you holy daughters of Nereus, bring me and my wife safe and sound from here to
Nauplia
’s shore! Streams of blood, a good omen for the stranger, darted into the waves. And someone said,
There is treachery in this voyage;
1585
let us sail back again! You, give an order for the right oar, you, turn your rudder. But the son of Atreus, standing where he slew the bull, cried out to his comrades,
Why do you, the pick of
Hellas
, delay to slaughter and kill the barbarians
1590
and hurl them from the ship into the waves? And the boatswain cried the opposite command to your rowers:
Some of you catch up planks at the end, break up the benches, or snatch the oars from the locks, and make the heads of these foreign enemies bloody!.
1595
They all leapt upright, some with oars in their hands, others with swords; and the ship ran with blood. Helen cheered them on from the stern:
Where is the fame you won in
Troy
? Show it against the barbarians! In their eagerness, some would
1600
fall, some stood upright, you would have seen others lying dead. But Menelaos, in full armor, wherever he spied that his comrades were suffering, would go there, sword in hand; and so we dived
1605
from the ship, and he cleared the benches of your rowers. Then going to the helmsman he told him to sail a straight course to
Hellas
. So they set up the mast, and favoring breezes blew.
1610
They are gone from here. But I escaped death and let myself down by the anchor into the sea;
and just as I was worn out, some fisherman took me up, and put me out on land, to bring you this report. Nothing is more useful to mankind than a prudent distrust.
1615
Chorus Leader
I never would have believed that Menelaos could have eluded both us
and you, O king, the way he did on his arrival.
1620
1621
I never would have believed that Menelaos could have eluded both us
and you, O king, the way he did on his arrival.
1620
Theoklymenos
Caught by a woman’s tricks, unhappy that I am! My bride has escaped me. If the ship could have been pursued and overtaken, I would have made an effort to catch the strangers at once; but now I will avenge myself upon my treacherous sister,
for she saw Menelaos in my house and did not tell me. Therefore she will never deceive another man by her oracles.
1625
Caught by a woman’s tricks, unhappy that I am! My bride has escaped me. If the ship could have been pursued and overtaken, I would have made an effort to catch the strangers at once; but now I will avenge myself upon my treacherous sister,
for she saw Menelaos in my house and did not tell me. Therefore she will never deceive another man by her oracles.
1625
Servant
You, there! Where are you rushing off to, my lord? to what bloody deed?
You, there! Where are you rushing off to, my lord? to what bloody deed?
Theoklymenos
Where justice calls me. Get out of my way!
Where justice calls me. Get out of my way!
Servant
I will not let go of your robe, for you are striving after great wickedness.
I will not let go of your robe, for you are striving after great wickedness.
Theoklymenos
Will you rule over your master, although you are a slave?
1630
Will you rule over your master, although you are a slave?
1630
Servant
Yes, for I am in my right mind.
Yes, for I am in my right mind.
Theoklymenos
Not in my opinion, if you will not let me—
Not in my opinion, if you will not let me—
Servant
No, I will not let you!
No, I will not let you!
Theoklymenos
Let me kill my most wicked sister—
Let me kill my most wicked sister—
Servant
No, she is most pious.
No, she is most pious.
Theoklymenos
Who betrayed me—
Who betrayed me—
Servant
It was a noble betrayal, correctly done.
It was a noble betrayal, correctly done.
Theoklymenos
When she gave my bride to another.
When she gave my bride to another.
Servant
To the one who had a better right.
To the one who had a better right.
Theoklymenos
Who has rights over my property?
1635
Who has rights over my property?
1635
Servant
The one who received her from her father.
The one who received her from her father.
Theoklymenos
But fortune gave her to me.
But fortune gave her to me.
Servant
And necessity took her away.
And necessity took her away.
Theoklymenos
It is not for you to judge my affairs.
It is not for you to judge my affairs.
Servant
Yes, if my counsel is better.
Yes, if my counsel is better.
Theoklymenos
So I am your subject, not your ruler.
So I am your subject, not your ruler.
Servant
Subject to do right, not wrong.
Subject to do right, not wrong.
Theoklymenos
It seems you desire to be killed.
It seems you desire to be killed.
Servant
Kill me;
you will not kill your sister with my consent, but me instead; to die for their masters is the most glorious act for noble slaves.
1640
Kill me;
you will not kill your sister with my consent, but me instead; to die for their masters is the most glorious act for noble slaves.
1640
Dioskouroi
Restrain the anger that is wrongly carrying you away, Theoklymenos, king of this land. We, the twin sons of Zeus, are calling you; Leda once gave birth to us,
with Helen, who has fled from your home. For you are angry about a marriage that is not destined for you; and your sister Theonoe, daughter of a Nereid goddess, does not wrong you when she honors the word of the gods and her father’s just commands.
1645
For it was ordained that Helen should live in your house up to the present time; but no longer, since
Troy
is wholly destroyed and she has provided her name to the gods; she must be united in her own marriage,
1650
and come home and live with her husband. But hold your black sword away from your sister, and believe that she is acting with discretion in this matter. Long ago, before this, we would have saved our sister, seeing that Zeus has made us gods;
1655
but we are weaker than fate and also than the gods, who decreed these things to happen in this way.
1660
This is my bidding to you, while I say to my sister:
Sail on with your husband; and you shall have a favorable breeze; for we, your two savior brothers,
riding over the sea, will send you to your fatherland. And when you make the last turn of the race-course and end your life, you will be named as a goddess, and share libations with the Dioskouroi, and receive gifts from men with us; for such is the will of Zeus.
1665
And the place where the son of
Maia
first set the boundary to your course through the air, when he took you away from
Sparta
, stealing your body so that
Paris
would not marry you—I mean the island stretched like a sentinel along the coast of Attica—shall be called by your name among men for the future, since it welcomed you
1670
when you were stolen from your home. And it is destined by the gods that the wanderer Menelaos will dwell in the islands of the blessed; for deities do not hate the well-born, but the sufferings of the multitude are greater.
1675
Restrain the anger that is wrongly carrying you away, Theoklymenos, king of this land. We, the twin sons of Zeus, are calling you; Leda once gave birth to us,
with Helen, who has fled from your home. For you are angry about a marriage that is not destined for you; and your sister Theonoe, daughter of a Nereid goddess, does not wrong you when she honors the word of the gods and her father’s just commands.
1645
For it was ordained that Helen should live in your house up to the present time; but no longer, since
Troy
is wholly destroyed and she has provided her name to the gods; she must be united in her own marriage,
1650
and come home and live with her husband. But hold your black sword away from your sister, and believe that she is acting with discretion in this matter. Long ago, before this, we would have saved our sister, seeing that Zeus has made us gods;
1655
but we are weaker than fate and also than the gods, who decreed these things to happen in this way.
1660
This is my bidding to you, while I say to my sister:
Sail on with your husband; and you shall have a favorable breeze; for we, your two savior brothers,
riding over the sea, will send you to your fatherland. And when you make the last turn of the race-course and end your life, you will be named as a goddess, and share libations with the Dioskouroi, and receive gifts from men with us; for such is the will of Zeus.
1665
And the place where the son of
Maia
first set the boundary to your course through the air, when he took you away from
Sparta
, stealing your body so that
Paris
would not marry you—I mean the island stretched like a sentinel along the coast of Attica—shall be called by your name among men for the future, since it welcomed you
1670
when you were stolen from your home. And it is destined by the gods that the wanderer Menelaos will dwell in the islands of the blessed; for deities do not hate the well-born, but the sufferings of the multitude are greater.
1675
Theoklymenos
You sons of Leda and Zeus, I will let go my former quarrel over your sister; and mine I shall no longer try to kill. Let Helen go home, if the gods think it right. Know that you are born from the same blood as a sister
1680
who is the best and also most self-controlled; may you fare well, for the sake of Helen’s most noble mind, a quality not to be found in many women.
1685
You sons of Leda and Zeus, I will let go my former quarrel over your sister; and mine I shall no longer try to kill. Let Helen go home, if the gods think it right. Know that you are born from the same blood as a sister
1680
who is the best and also most self-controlled; may you fare well, for the sake of Helen’s most noble mind, a quality not to be found in many women.
1685
Chorus
Many are the forms of divinities, and many things the gods bring to pass unhoped for.
And what was expected has not been fulfilled; for what was not expected, a god finds a way. Such was the result of this action.
1690
Many are the forms of divinities, and many things the gods bring to pass unhoped for.
And what was expected has not been fulfilled; for what was not expected, a god finds a way. Such was the result of this action.
1690
Helen. Euripides. Edward P. Coleridge (Translator). London. 1906.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.