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Mnesilochus: I have become a fool while waiting; but he has not yet [come].

Mnesilochus: What on earth could be the obstacle? It is not possible.

Mnesilochus: Does she not feel shame at Palamedes being cold?

Mnesilochus: But surely I should bring him the play?

Mnesilochus: I know; I will imitate the new Helen.

850

Mnesilochus: I certainly have a woman's costume.

Woman G: Why are you again causing trouble? Why are you making a fuss while having [something]?

Woman G: You will see a bitter Helen soon, unless you do it in an orderly manner.

Woman G: You will have it, until one of the presidents appears.

Mnesilochus: These are the fair-maidened streams of the Nile,

855

Mnesilochus: who instead of a drop of Egyptian Nile water [has] the ground

Mnesilochus: white water stains a black-haired sheep.

Woman G: You are cunning, by Hecate the light-bringer.

Mnesilochus: But for me, my country is not without a name.

Mnesilochus: Sparta, and her father was Tyndareus.

860

Woman G: You have perished, you wretch!

Woman G: Is that her father? Yes, it is Phrynondas.

Mnesilochus: But I was called Helen.

Woman 3: Again a woman is born,

Woman G: Before she pays the penalty for the other woman's adultery?

Mnesilochus: But many souls went through me to the Scamander.

Mnesilochus: I died from the blows.

865

Woman G: You too ought to have wished for that.

Mnesilochus: And I am here; but the wretched husband

Mnesilochus: My Menelaus still has not approached.

Mnesilochus: What then do I still live?

Woman G: by the wickedness of the crows.

Mnesilochus: But just as it beautifies my heart somewhat.

Mnesilochus: Do not deceive me, O Zeus, with the hope that is coming.

870

Euripides: Who holds power in these fortified chambers,

Euripides: whoever receives guests with a sea-salt soup.

Euripides: worn out by winter and shipwrecks?

Mnesilochus: These are the halls of Proteus.

Euripides: of which Proteus?

Woman G: O wretched fellow, he lies, by the two gods,

875

Woman G: For Proteas has been dead for ten years.

Euripides: What country have we sailed into with a boat?

Mnesilochus: Egypt.

Euripides: Oh wretched, how we have been draped!

Woman G: she persuades something to this ill-bathed one.

Woman G: Fooling with nonsense? This is the Thesmophoria.

880

Euripides: And is Proteus himself inside or outside?

Woman G: It is not possible that you do not sail on, stranger,

Woman 3: Whoever, upon hearing that Proteas has died,

Woman G: Then are you asking whether she is inside or outside?

Euripides: Alas, he is dead. Where was he buried in a grave?

885

Mnesilochus: This is his mark, on which we are sitting.

Woman G: Badly, then, may you perish and be destroyed, indeed,

Woman G: Whoever dares to call the altar a tomb.

Euripides: Why then are you seating these tombstone benches?

Euripides: Will you carry it covered, stranger?

890

Mnesilochus: I am being forced.

Mnesilochus: to mix my bed with the son of Proteus in marriage.

Woman: What! O wretch, you deceive the stranger again!

Woman G: This man has come up here, having acted with cunning, O stranger.

Woman G: as for the women, [they are being judged] for the theft of the gold.

Mnesilochus: Stop shaking my body with your slander.

895

Euripides: Who is this foreign woman who is abusing you?

Mnesilochus: this is Theonoe, the daughter of Proteus.

Woman G: By the two goddesses!

Woman G: if not Kritylla, daughter of Antitheos from Gargettus;

Woman G: But you are cunning.

Mnesilochus: Say whatever you wish.

Mnesilochus: For I shall never marry your sister.

900

Mnesilochus: having betrayed my husband Menelaus who was in Troy.

Thesmophoriazusae. Aristophanes. . 2026-09-08.

Current edition Experimental

English (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) (English) (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)

Θεσμοφοριάζουσαι Perseus (Aristophanes. Aristophanis Comoediae, Vol. 2. Hall, F. W. and Geldart, William M., editors. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907.) — 846 focus

Μνησίλοχος

ἰλλὸς γεγένημαι προσδοκῶν· ὁ δʼ οὐδέπω.

τί δῆτʼ ἂν εἴη τοὐμποδών; οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως

οὐ τὸν Παλαμήδην ψυχρὸν ὄντʼ αἰσχύνεται.

τῷ δῆτʼ ἂν αὐτὸν προσαγαγοίμην δράματι;

ἐγᾦδα· τὴν καινὴν Ἑλένην μιμήσομαι.
850

πάντως ὑπάρχει μοι γυναικεία στολή.

Γυνὴ Γ

τί αὖ σὺ κυρκανᾷς; τί κοικύλλεις ἔχων;

πικρὰν Ἑλένην ὄψει τάχʼ, εἰ μὴ κοσμίως

ἕξεις, ἕως ἂν τῶν πρυτάνεών τις φανῇ.

Μνησίλοχος

Νείλου μὲν αἵδε καλλιπάρθενοι ῥοαί,
855

ὃς ἀντὶ δίας ψακάδος Αἰγύπτου πέδον

λευκῆς νοτίζει μελανοσυρμαῖον λεών.

Γυνὴ Γ

πανοῦργος εἶ νὴ τὴν Ἑκάτην τὴν φωσφόρον.

Μνησίλοχος

ἐμοὶ δὲ γῆ μὲν πατρὶς οὐκ ἀνώνυμος

Σπάρτη, πατὴρ δὲ Τυνδάρεως.
860

Γυνὴ Γ

σοί γʼ ὦλεθρε

πατὴρ ἐκεῖνός ἐστι; Φρυνώνδας μὲν οὖν.

Μνησίλοχος

Ἑλένη δʼ ἐκλήθην.

Γυνὴ Γ

αὖθις αὖ γίγνει γυνή,

πρὶν τῆς ἑτέρας δοῦναι γυναικίσεως δίκην;

Μνησίλοχος

ψυχαὶ δὲ πολλαὶ διʼ ἔμʼ ἐπὶ Σκαμανδρίαις

ῥοαῖσιν ἔθανον.
865

Γυνὴ Γ

ὤφελες δὲ καὶ σύ γε.

Μνησίλοχος

κἀγὼ μὲν ἐνθάδʼ εἴμʼ· ὁ δʼ ἄθλιος πόσις

οὑμὸς Μενέλαος οὐδέπω προσέρχεται.

τί οὖν ἔτι ζῶ;

Γυνὴ Γ

τῶν κοράκων πονηρίᾳ.

Μνησίλοχος

ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ αἰκάλλει τι καρδίαν ἐμήν.

μὴ ψεῦσον ὦ Ζεῦ τῆς ἐπιούσης ἐλπίδος.
870

Εὐριπίδης

τίς τῶνδʼ ἐρυμνῶν δωμάτων ἔχει κράτος,

ὅστις ξένους δέξαιτο ποντίῳ σάλῳ

κάμνοντας ἐν χειμῶνι καὶ ναυαγίαις;

Μνησίλοχος

Πρωτέως τάδʼ ἐστὶ μέλαθρα.

Εὐριπίδης

ποίου Πρωτέως;

Γυνὴ Γ

ὦ τρισκακόδαιμον, ψεύδεται νὴ τὼ θεώ,
875

ἐπεὶ τέθνηκε Πρωτέας ἔτη δέκα.

Εὐριπίδης

ποίαν δὲ χώραν εἰσεκέλσαμεν σκάφει;

Μνησίλοχος

Αἴγυπτον.

Εὐριπίδης

ὦ δύστηνος οἷ πεπλώκαμεν.

Γυνὴ Γ

πείθει τι τούτῳ τῷ κακῶς ἀπολουμένῳ

ληροῦντι λῆρον; Θεσμοφορεῖον τουτογί.
880

Εὐριπίδης

αὐτὸς δὲ Πρωτεὺς ἔνδον ἔστʼ ἢ ʼξώπιος;

Γυνὴ Γ

οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως οὐ ναυτιᾷς ἔτʼ ὦ ξένε,

ὅστις γʼ ἀκούσας ὅτι τέθνηκε Πρωτέας

ἔπειτʼ ἐρωτᾷς ἔνδον ἔστʼ ἢ ʼξώπιος;

Εὐριπίδης

αἰαῖ τέθνηκε. ποῦ δʼ ἐτυμβεύθη τάφῳ;
885

Μνησίλοχος

τόδʼ ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ σῆμʼ, ἐφʼ ᾧ καθήμεθα.

Γυνὴ Γ

κακῶς τʼ ἄρʼ ἐξόλοιο κἀξολεῖ γέ τοι,

ὅστις γε τολμᾷς σῆμα τὸν βωμὸν καλεῖν.

Εὐριπίδης

τί δὴ σὺ θάσσεις τάσδε τυμβήρεις ἕδρας

φάρει καλυπτὸς ὦ ξένη;
890

Μνησίλοχος

βιάζομαι

γάμοισι Πρωτέως παιδὶ συμμεῖξαι λέχος.

Γυνὴ Γ

τί ὦ κακόδαιμον ἐξαπατᾷς αὖ τὸν ξένον;

οὗτος πανουργῶν δεῦρʼ ἀνῆλθεν ὦ ξένε

ὡς τὰς γυναῖκας ἐπὶ κλοπῇ τοῦ χρυσίου.

Μνησίλοχος

βάυζε τοὐμὸν σῶμα βάλλουσα ψόγῳ.
895

Εὐριπίδης

ξένη τίς ἡ γραῦς ἡ κακορροθοῦσά σε;

Μνησίλοχος

αὕτη Θεονόη Πρωτέως.

Γυνὴ Γ

μὰ τὼ θεὼ

εἰ μὴ Κρίτυλλά γʼ Ἀντιθέου Γαργηττόθεν·

σὺ δʼ εἶ πανοῦργος.

Μνησίλοχος

ὁπόσα τοι βούλει λέγε.

οὐ γὰρ γαμοῦμαι σῷ κασιγνήτῳ ποτὲ
900

προδοῦσα Μενέλεων τὸν ἐμὸν ἐν Τροίᾳ πόσιν.

Translations (1)

Thesmophoriazusae (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Anonymous; 1938 compilation). Migrated from Perseus legacy XML; source wording and notes retained. See TEI header and migration inventory.) — 846 focus

Mnesilochus

I have contracted quite a squint by looking round for him, and yet Euripides does not come. Who is keeping him? No doubt he is ashamed of his cold Palamedes. What will attract him? Let us see! By which of his pieces does he set most store? 850 Ah! I'll imitate his Helen, his last-born. I just happen to have a complete woman's outfit.

Third Woman

What are you ruminating about now? Why are you rolling up your eyes? You'll have no reason to be proud of your Helen, if you don't keep quiet until one of the Magistrates arrives.

Mnesilochus
As Helen

855 “These shores are those of the Nile with the beautiful nymphs, these waters take the place of heaven's rain and fertilize the white earth, that produces the black syrmea.”

Third Woman

By bright Hecate, you're a cunning varlet.

Mnesilochus

“Glorious Sparta is my country 860 and Tyndareus is my father.”

Third Woman

He your father, you rascal! Why, it's Phrynondas.

Mnesilochus

“I was given the name of Helen.”

Third Woman

What! you are again becoming a woman, before we have punished you for having pretended it the first time!

Mnesilochus

“A thousand warriors 865 have died on my account on the banks of the Scamander.”

Third Woman

Would that you had done the same!

Mnesilochus

“And here I am upon these shores; Menelaus, my unhappy husband, does not yet come. Ah! Why do I still live?”

Third Woman

Because of the criminal negligence of the crows!

Mnesilochus

“But what sweet hope is this that sets my heart a-throb? 870 Oh, Zeus! grant it may not prove a lying one!”

Euripides
Euripides enters as Menelaus

“To what master does this splendid palace belong? Will he welcome strangers who have been tried on the billows of the sea by storm and shipwreck?”

Mnesilochus

“This is the palace of Proteus.”

Euripides

Of what Proteus?

Third Woman

875 You thrice cursed rascal! how he lies! By the goddesses, it's ten years since Proteas died.

Euripides

“What is this shore whither the wind has driven our boat?”

Mnesilochus

“ 'Tis Egypt.”

Euripides

“Alas! how far we are from own country!”

Third Woman

Don't believe that cursed fool. 880 This is Demeter's Temple.

Euripides

“Is Proteus in these parts?”

Third Woman

Ah, now, stranger, it must be sea-sickness that makes you so distraught! You have been told that Proteas is dead, and yet you ask if he is in these parts.

Euripides

885 “He is no more! Oh! woe! where lie his ashes?”

Mnesilochus

“ 'Tis on his tomb you see me sitting.”

Third Woman

You call an altar a tomb! Beware of the rope!

Euripides

“And why remain sitting on this tomb, 890 wrapped in this long veil, oh, stranger lady?”

Mnesilochus

“They want to force me to marry a son of Proteus.”

Third Woman

Ah! wretch, why tell such shameful lies? Stranger, this is a rascal who has slipped in amongst us women to rob us of our trinkets.

Mnesilochus
to Third Woman

895 “Shout! load me with your insults, for little care I.”

Euripides

“Who is the old woman who reviles you, stranger lady?”

Mnesilochus

“ 'Tis Theonoe, the daughter of Proteus.”

Third Woman

I! Why, my name's Critylle, the daughter of Antitheus, of the deme of Gargettus; as for you, you are a rogue.

Mnesilochus

“Your entreaties are vain. 900 Never shall I wed your brother; never shall I betray the faith I owe my husband, Menelaus, who is fighting before Troy .”

Commentary

Commentary (Sanjaya, generated; selected passages) (OCR draft) (Source: pnadelofficial/aristophanes-sanjaya, commit c319590c139e5603e71f0699caa0663d823af8ad. Machine-generated source annotations retained; see Sanjaya import audit for coverage and limitations.) focus

857. mvp-tlg0019-tlg008-sanjaya-com-eng1-24

Line 857

λευκῆς νοτίζει μελανοσυρμαῖον λεών.

The adjective λεών (leōn) is a hapax legomenon in this specific form, appearing here as a substantive masculine noun meaning 'lion' or 'lion-like creature' (referring to a man). It is derived from λέων (leon) but appears in a rare dialectal or poetic inflection, potentially influenced by the comedic meter or a pun on 'lion' as a metaphor for a fierce or prominent figure. The phrase λεών here likely refers to a specific character or a metaphorical 'lion' in the context of the play's plot, possibly alluding to a man's fierce nature or a specific role in the narrative.

864. mvp-tlg0019-tlg008-sanjaya-com-eng1-25

Line 864

ψυχαὶ δὲ πολλαὶ διʼ ἔμʼ ἐπὶ Σκαμανδρίαις

The phrase 'ἐπὶ Σκαμανδρίαις' presents a crux of textual transmission and geographical allusion. While the standard scholia and many editions read Σκαμανδρίαις (dative plural, 'on the Scamanders'), some manuscript traditions and conjectures (e.g., by Hermann and later editors) suggest Σκαμανδρίαις might be a corruption of Σκαμανδρίοις or, more likely in the context of the play's parody of Euripides' *Trojan Women*, a deliberate metatheatrical pun on the river Scamander's personification. However, the more significant issue is the use of the plural 'Σκαμανδρίαις' (the Scamanders) rather than the singular river name. In Euripidean tragedy, the river is often addressed in the singular; the plural here may reflect a comic distortion of the tragic topos, or it could be a reference to the multiple tributaries or a specific, now lost, local cultic reference that Aristophanes is mocking. The dative case 'ἐπὶ' with the plural suggests 'on the banks of the Scamanders' or 'at the place of the Scamanders,' which is geographically ambiguous and syntactically unusual for a single river, pointing to a deliberate comic exaggeration of the tragic setting.

872. mvp-tlg0019-tlg008-sanjaya-com-eng1-26

Line 872

ὅστις ξένους δέξαιτο ποντίῳ σάλῳ

The phrase ποντίῳ σάλῳ ('Pontic brine') is a specific metonymy for a type of fish sauce (garum) produced in the Black Sea region, distinct from the standard Mediterranean varieties. In this comedic context, the reference relies on the contemporary Greek perception of Pontic cuisine as distinctively pungent or 'strong,' serving as a humorous justification for the 'stranger's' potential to be overwhelmed or 'saved' by the intensity of the flavor, a detail that anchors the joke in specific culinary geography rather than generic seasoning.

898. mvp-tlg0019-tlg008-sanjaya-com-eng1-27

Line 898

εἰ μὴ Κρίτυλλά γʼ Ἀντιθέου Γαργηττόθεν·

The patronymic 'Ἀντιθέου' is a standard genitive construction, but the specific identification of Kritylla as the daughter of Antitheos of Gargettus is a crucial prosopographical detail. Gargettus was a deme in the Attic tribe of Aiantis, and while Aristophanes frequently uses deme names for comic effect, the explicit linking of a character's name, father, and deme here serves to ground the character in a specific social and geographic reality, likely alluding to a known family or a specific type of local figure (perhaps a priestess or a woman of the lower classes associated with the Thesmophoria). The use of the particle 'γάρ' (implied in the context of the previous line's condition) and the specific naming convention suggests a reference to a real person or a very specific local type rather than a generic 'some woman'.

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Current edition Experimental

Γυνὴ Γ τί αὖ σὺ κυρκανᾷς; τί κοικύλλεις ἔχων; πικρὰν Ἑλένην ὄψει τάχʼ, εἰ μὴ κοσμίως ἕξεις, ἕως ἂν τῶν πρυτάνεών τις φανῇ.

Μνησίλοχος Νείλου μὲν αἵδε καλλιπάρθενοι ῥοαί, 855 ὃς ἀντὶ δίας ψακάδος Αἰγύπτου πέδον λευκῆς νοτίζει μελανοσυρμαῖον λεών.

Γυνὴ Γ πανοῦργος εἶ νὴ τὴν Ἑκάτην τὴν φωσφόρον.

Μνησίλοχος ἐμοὶ δὲ γῆ μὲν πατρὶς οὐκ ἀνώνυμος Σπάρτη, πατὴρ δὲ Τυνδάρεως. 860

Γυνὴ Γ σοί γʼ ὦλεθρε πατὴρ ἐκεῖνός ἐστι; Φρυνώνδας μὲν οὖν.

Μνησίλοχος Ἑλένη δʼ ἐκλήθην.

Γυνὴ Γ αὖθις αὖ γίγνει γυνή, πρὶν τῆς ἑτέρας δοῦναι γυναικίσεως δίκην;

Μνησίλοχος ψυχαὶ δὲ πολλαὶ διʼ ἔμʼ ἐπὶ Σκαμανδρίαις ῥοαῖσιν ἔθανον. 865

Γυνὴ Γ ὤφελες δὲ καὶ σύ γε.

Μνησίλοχος κἀγὼ μὲν ἐνθάδʼ εἴμʼ· ὁ δʼ ἄθλιος πόσις οὑμὸς Μενέλαος οὐδέπω προσέρχεται. τί οὖν ἔτι ζῶ;

Γυνὴ Γ τῶν κοράκων πονηρίᾳ.

Μνησίλοχος ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ αἰκάλλει τι καρδίαν ἐμήν. μὴ ψεῦσον ὦ Ζεῦ τῆς ἐπιούσης ἐλπίδος. 870

Εὐριπίδης τίς τῶνδʼ ἐρυμνῶν δωμάτων ἔχει κράτος, ὅστις ξένους δέξαιτο ποντίῳ σάλῳ κάμνοντας ἐν χειμῶνι καὶ ναυαγίαις;

Μνησίλοχος Πρωτέως τάδʼ ἐστὶ μέλαθρα.

Εὐριπίδης ποίου Πρωτέως;

Γυνὴ Γ ὦ τρισκακόδαιμον, ψεύδεται νὴ τὼ θεώ, 875 ἐπεὶ τέθνηκε Πρωτέας ἔτη δέκα.

Εὐριπίδης ποίαν δὲ χώραν εἰσεκέλσαμεν σκάφει;

Μνησίλοχος Αἴγυπτον.

Εὐριπίδης ὦ δύστηνος οἷ πεπλώκαμεν.

Γυνὴ Γ πείθει τι τούτῳ τῷ κακῶς ἀπολουμένῳ ληροῦντι λῆρον; Θεσμοφορεῖον τουτογί. 880

Εὐριπίδης αὐτὸς δὲ Πρωτεὺς ἔνδον ἔστʼ ἢ ʼξώπιος;

Γυνὴ Γ οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως οὐ ναυτιᾷς ἔτʼ ὦ ξένε, ὅστις γʼ ἀκούσας ὅτι τέθνηκε Πρωτέας ἔπειτʼ ἐρωτᾷς ἔνδον ἔστʼ ἢ ʼξώπιος;

Εὐριπίδης αἰαῖ τέθνηκε. ποῦ δʼ ἐτυμβεύθη τάφῳ; 885

Μνησίλοχος τόδʼ ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ σῆμʼ, ἐφʼ ᾧ καθήμεθα.

Γυνὴ Γ κακῶς τʼ ἄρʼ ἐξόλοιο κἀξολεῖ γέ τοι, ὅστις γε τολμᾷς σῆμα τὸν βωμὸν καλεῖν.

Εὐριπίδης τί δὴ σὺ θάσσεις τάσδε τυμβήρεις ἕδρας φάρει καλυπτὸς ὦ ξένη; 890

Μνησίλοχος βιάζομαι γάμοισι Πρωτέως παιδὶ συμμεῖξαι λέχος.

Γυνὴ Γ τί ὦ κακόδαιμον ἐξαπατᾷς αὖ τὸν ξένον; οὗτος πανουργῶν δεῦρʼ ἀνῆλθεν ὦ ξένε ὡς τὰς γυναῖκας ἐπὶ κλοπῇ τοῦ χρυσίου.

Μνησίλοχος βάυζε τοὐμὸν σῶμα βάλλουσα ψόγῳ. 895

Εὐριπίδης ξένη τίς ἡ γραῦς ἡ κακορροθοῦσά σε;

Μνησίλοχος αὕτη Θεονόη Πρωτέως.

Γυνὴ Γ μὰ τὼ θεὼ εἰ μὴ Κρίτυλλά γʼ Ἀντιθέου Γαργηττόθεν· σὺ δʼ εἶ πανοῦργος.

Μνησίλοχος ὁπόσα τοι βούλει λέγε. οὐ γὰρ γαμοῦμαι σῷ κασιγνήτῳ ποτὲ 900 προδοῦσα Μενέλεων τὸν ἐμὸν ἐν Τροίᾳ πόσιν.

Third Woman What are you ruminating about now? Why are you rolling up your eyes? You'll have no reason to be proud of your Helen, if you don't keep quiet until one of the Magistrates arrives.

Mnesilochus As Helen 855 “These shores are those of the Nile with the beautiful nymphs, these waters take the place of heaven's rain and fertilize the white earth, that produces the black syrmea.”

Third Woman By bright Hecate, you're a cunning varlet.

Mnesilochus “Glorious Sparta is my country 860 and Tyndareus is my father.”

Third Woman He your father, you rascal! Why, it's Phrynondas.

Mnesilochus “I was given the name of Helen.”

Third Woman What! you are again becoming a woman, before we have punished you for having pretended it the first time!

Mnesilochus “A thousand warriors 865 have died on my account on the banks of the Scamander.”

Third Woman Would that you had done the same!

Mnesilochus “And here I am upon these shores; Menelaus, my unhappy husband, does not yet come. Ah! Why do I still live?”

Third Woman Because of the criminal negligence of the crows!

Mnesilochus “But what sweet hope is this that sets my heart a-throb? 870 Oh, Zeus! grant it may not prove a lying one!”

Euripides Euripides enters as Menelaus “To what master does this splendid palace belong? Will he welcome strangers who have been tried on the billows of the sea by storm and shipwreck?”

Mnesilochus “This is the palace of Proteus.”

Euripides Of what Proteus?

Third Woman 875 You thrice cursed rascal! how he lies! By the goddesses, it's ten years since Proteas died.

Euripides “What is this shore whither the wind has driven our boat?”

Mnesilochus “ 'Tis Egypt.”

Euripides “Alas! how far we are from own country!”

Third Woman Don't believe that cursed fool. 880 This is Demeter's Temple.

Euripides “Is Proteus in these parts?”

Third Woman Ah, now, stranger, it must be sea-sickness that makes you so distraught! You have been told that Proteas is dead, and yet you ask if he is in these parts.

Euripides 885 “He is no more! Oh! woe! where lie his ashes?”

Mnesilochus “ 'Tis on his tomb you see me sitting.”

Third Woman You call an altar a tomb! Beware of the rope!

Euripides “And why remain sitting on this tomb, 890 wrapped in this long veil, oh, stranger lady?”

Mnesilochus “They want to force me to marry a son of Proteus.”

Third Woman Ah! wretch, why tell such shameful lies? Stranger, this is a rascal who has slipped in amongst us women to rob us of our trinkets.

Mnesilochus to Third Woman 895 “Shout! load me with your insults, for little care I.”

Euripides “Who is the old woman who reviles you, stranger lady?”

Mnesilochus “ 'Tis Theonoe, the daughter of Proteus.”

Third Woman I! Why, my name's Critylle, the daughter of Antitheus, of the deme of Gargettus; as for you, you are a rogue.

Mnesilochus “Your entreaties are vain. 900 Never shall I wed your brother; never shall I betray the faith I owe my husband, Menelaus, who is fighting before Troy .”

Commentary

Line 857

Line 864

Line 872

Line 898

Stable identifiers

Γυνὴ Γ

τί αὖ σὺ κυρκανᾷς; τί κοικύλλεις ἔχων;

πικρὰν Ἑλένην ὄψει τάχʼ, εἰ μὴ κοσμίως

ἕξεις, ἕως ἂν τῶν πρυτάνεών τις φανῇ.

Μνησίλοχος

Νείλου μὲν αἵδε καλλιπάρθενοι ῥοαί,
855

ὃς ἀντὶ δίας ψακάδος Αἰγύπτου πέδον

λευκῆς νοτίζει μελανοσυρμαῖον λεών.

Γυνὴ Γ

πανοῦργος εἶ νὴ τὴν Ἑκάτην τὴν φωσφόρον.

Μνησίλοχος

ἐμοὶ δὲ γῆ μὲν πατρὶς οὐκ ἀνώνυμος

Σπάρτη, πατὴρ δὲ Τυνδάρεως.
860

Γυνὴ Γ

σοί γʼ ὦλεθρε

πατὴρ ἐκεῖνός ἐστι; Φρυνώνδας μὲν οὖν.

Μνησίλοχος

Ἑλένη δʼ ἐκλήθην.

Γυνὴ Γ

αὖθις αὖ γίγνει γυνή,

πρὶν τῆς ἑτέρας δοῦναι γυναικίσεως δίκην;

Μνησίλοχος

ψυχαὶ δὲ πολλαὶ διʼ ἔμʼ ἐπὶ Σκαμανδρίαις

ῥοαῖσιν ἔθανον.
865

Γυνὴ Γ

ὤφελες δὲ καὶ σύ γε.

Μνησίλοχος

κἀγὼ μὲν ἐνθάδʼ εἴμʼ· ὁ δʼ ἄθλιος πόσις

οὑμὸς Μενέλαος οὐδέπω προσέρχεται.

τί οὖν ἔτι ζῶ;

Γυνὴ Γ

τῶν κοράκων πονηρίᾳ.

Μνησίλοχος

ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ αἰκάλλει τι καρδίαν ἐμήν.

μὴ ψεῦσον ὦ Ζεῦ τῆς ἐπιούσης ἐλπίδος.
870

Εὐριπίδης

τίς τῶνδʼ ἐρυμνῶν δωμάτων ἔχει κράτος,

ὅστις ξένους δέξαιτο ποντίῳ σάλῳ

κάμνοντας ἐν χειμῶνι καὶ ναυαγίαις;

Μνησίλοχος

Πρωτέως τάδʼ ἐστὶ μέλαθρα.

Εὐριπίδης

ποίου Πρωτέως;

Γυνὴ Γ

ὦ τρισκακόδαιμον, ψεύδεται νὴ τὼ θεώ,
875

ἐπεὶ τέθνηκε Πρωτέας ἔτη δέκα.

Εὐριπίδης

ποίαν δὲ χώραν εἰσεκέλσαμεν σκάφει;

Μνησίλοχος

Αἴγυπτον.

Εὐριπίδης

ὦ δύστηνος οἷ πεπλώκαμεν.

Γυνὴ Γ

πείθει τι τούτῳ τῷ κακῶς ἀπολουμένῳ

ληροῦντι λῆρον; Θεσμοφορεῖον τουτογί.
880

Εὐριπίδης

αὐτὸς δὲ Πρωτεὺς ἔνδον ἔστʼ ἢ ʼξώπιος;

Γυνὴ Γ

οὐκ ἔσθʼ ὅπως οὐ ναυτιᾷς ἔτʼ ὦ ξένε,

ὅστις γʼ ἀκούσας ὅτι τέθνηκε Πρωτέας

ἔπειτʼ ἐρωτᾷς ἔνδον ἔστʼ ἢ ʼξώπιος;

Εὐριπίδης

αἰαῖ τέθνηκε. ποῦ δʼ ἐτυμβεύθη τάφῳ;
885

Μνησίλοχος

τόδʼ ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ σῆμʼ, ἐφʼ ᾧ καθήμεθα.

Γυνὴ Γ

κακῶς τʼ ἄρʼ ἐξόλοιο κἀξολεῖ γέ τοι,

ὅστις γε τολμᾷς σῆμα τὸν βωμὸν καλεῖν.

Εὐριπίδης

τί δὴ σὺ θάσσεις τάσδε τυμβήρεις ἕδρας

φάρει καλυπτὸς ὦ ξένη;
890

Μνησίλοχος

βιάζομαι

γάμοισι Πρωτέως παιδὶ συμμεῖξαι λέχος.

Γυνὴ Γ

τί ὦ κακόδαιμον ἐξαπατᾷς αὖ τὸν ξένον;

οὗτος πανουργῶν δεῦρʼ ἀνῆλθεν ὦ ξένε

ὡς τὰς γυναῖκας ἐπὶ κλοπῇ τοῦ χρυσίου.

Μνησίλοχος

βάυζε τοὐμὸν σῶμα βάλλουσα ψόγῳ.
895

Εὐριπίδης

ξένη τίς ἡ γραῦς ἡ κακορροθοῦσά σε;

Μνησίλοχος

αὕτη Θεονόη Πρωτέως.

Γυνὴ Γ

μὰ τὼ θεὼ

εἰ μὴ Κρίτυλλά γʼ Ἀντιθέου Γαργηττόθεν·

σὺ δʼ εἶ πανοῦργος.

Μνησίλοχος

ὁπόσα τοι βούλει λέγε.

οὐ γὰρ γαμοῦμαι σῷ κασιγνήτῳ ποτὲ
900

προδοῦσα Μενέλεων τὸν ἐμὸν ἐν Τροίᾳ πόσιν.

Third Woman

What are you ruminating about now? Why are you rolling up your eyes? You'll have no reason to be proud of your Helen, if you don't keep quiet until one of the Magistrates arrives.

Mnesilochus
As Helen

855 “These shores are those of the Nile with the beautiful nymphs, these waters take the place of heaven's rain and fertilize the white earth, that produces the black syrmea.”

Third Woman

By bright Hecate, you're a cunning varlet.

Mnesilochus

“Glorious Sparta is my country 860 and Tyndareus is my father.”

Third Woman

He your father, you rascal! Why, it's Phrynondas.

Mnesilochus

“I was given the name of Helen.”

Third Woman

What! you are again becoming a woman, before we have punished you for having pretended it the first time!

Mnesilochus

“A thousand warriors 865 have died on my account on the banks of the Scamander.”

Third Woman

Would that you had done the same!

Mnesilochus

“And here I am upon these shores; Menelaus, my unhappy husband, does not yet come. Ah! Why do I still live?”

Third Woman

Because of the criminal negligence of the crows!

Mnesilochus

“But what sweet hope is this that sets my heart a-throb? 870 Oh, Zeus! grant it may not prove a lying one!”

Euripides
Euripides enters as Menelaus

“To what master does this splendid palace belong? Will he welcome strangers who have been tried on the billows of the sea by storm and shipwreck?”

Mnesilochus

“This is the palace of Proteus.”

Euripides

Of what Proteus?

Third Woman

875 You thrice cursed rascal! how he lies! By the goddesses, it's ten years since Proteas died.

Euripides

“What is this shore whither the wind has driven our boat?”

Mnesilochus

“ 'Tis Egypt.”

Euripides

“Alas! how far we are from own country!”

Third Woman

Don't believe that cursed fool. 880 This is Demeter's Temple.

Euripides

“Is Proteus in these parts?”

Third Woman

Ah, now, stranger, it must be sea-sickness that makes you so distraught! You have been told that Proteas is dead, and yet you ask if he is in these parts.

Euripides

885 “He is no more! Oh! woe! where lie his ashes?”

Mnesilochus

“ 'Tis on his tomb you see me sitting.”

Third Woman

You call an altar a tomb! Beware of the rope!

Euripides

“And why remain sitting on this tomb, 890 wrapped in this long veil, oh, stranger lady?”

Mnesilochus

“They want to force me to marry a son of Proteus.”

Third Woman

Ah! wretch, why tell such shameful lies? Stranger, this is a rascal who has slipped in amongst us women to rob us of our trinkets.

Mnesilochus
to Third Woman

895 “Shout! load me with your insults, for little care I.”

Euripides

“Who is the old woman who reviles you, stranger lady?”

Mnesilochus

“ 'Tis Theonoe, the daughter of Proteus.”

Third Woman

I! Why, my name's Critylle, the daughter of Antitheus, of the deme of Gargettus; as for you, you are a rogue.

Mnesilochus

“Your entreaties are vain. 900 Never shall I wed your brother; never shall I betray the faith I owe my husband, Menelaus, who is fighting before Troy .”