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ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΥ, ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΕΡΣΕΦΟΝΗΣ

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Ὦ δέσποτα καὶ βασιλεῦ καὶ ἡμέτερε Ζεῦ καὶ σὺ Δήμητρος θύγατερ, μὴ ὑπερίδητε δέησιν ἐρωτικήν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Σὺ δὲ τίνων δέῃ παρ' ἡμῶν; ἢ τίς ὢν τυγχάνεις;

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Εἰμὶ μὲν Πρωτεσίλαος ὁ Ἰφίκλου Φυλάκιος συστρατιώτης τῶν Ἀχαιῶν καὶ πρῶτος ἀποθανὼν τῶν ἐπ' Ἰλίῳ. δέομαι δὲ ἀφεθεὶς πρὸς ὀλίγον ἀναβιῶναι πάλιν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Τοῦτον μὲν τὸν ἔρωτα, ὦ Πρωτεσίλαε, πάντες νεκροὶ ἐρῶσιν, πλὴν οὐδεὶς ἂν αὐτῶν τύχοι.

427

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Ἀλλ' οὐ τοῦ ζῆν, Ἀϊδωνεῦ, ἐρῶ ἔγωγε, τῆς γυναικὸς δέ, ἣν νεόγαμον ἔτι ἐν τῷ θαλάμῳ καταλιπὼν ᾠχόμην ἀποπλέων, εἶτα ὁ κακοδαίμων ἐν τῇ ἀποβάσει ἀπέθανον ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἕκτορος. ὁ οὖν ἔρως τῆς γυναικὸς οὐ μετρίως ἀποκναίει με, ὦ δέσποτα, καὶ βούλομαι κἂν πρὸς ὀλίγον ὀφθεὶς αὐτῇ καταβῆναι πάλιν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Οὐκ ἔπιες, ὦ Πρωτεσίλαε, τὸ Λήθης ὕδωρ;

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Καὶ μάλα, ὦ δέσποτα· τὸ δὲ πρᾶγμα ὑπέρογκον ἦν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Οὐκοῦν περίμεινον· ἀφίξεται γὰρ κἀκείνη ποτὲ καὶ οὐδὲ σὲ ἀνελθεῖν δεήσει.

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Ἀλλ' οὐ φέρω τὴν διατριβήν, ὦ Πλούτων· ἠράσθης δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἤδη καὶ οἶσθα οἷον τὸ ἐρᾶν ἐστιν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Εἶτα τί σε ὀνήσει μίαν ἡμέραν ἀναβιῶναι μετ' ὀλίγον τὰ αὐτὰ ὀδυρόμενον;

428

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Οἶμαι πείσειν κἀκείνην ἀκολουθεῖν παρ' ὑμᾶς, ὥστε ἀνθ' ἑνὸς δύο νεκροὺς λήψῃ μετ' ὀλίγον.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Οὐ ¹ θέμις γενέσθαι ταῦτα οὐδὲ γέγονε ² πώποτε.

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Ἀναμνήσω σε, ὦ Πλούτων· Ὀρφεῖ γὰρ δι’ αὐτὴν ταύτην τὴν αἰτίαν τὴν Εὐρυδίκην παρέδοτε καὶ τὴν ὁμογενῆ μου Ἄλκηστιν παρεπέμψατε Ἡρακλεῖ χαριζόμενοι.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Θελήσεις δὲ οὕτως κρανίον γυμνὸν ὢν καὶ ἄμορφον τῇ καλῇ σου ἐκείνῃ νύμφῃ φανῆναι; πῶς δὲ κἀκείνη προσήσεταί σε οὐδὲ διαγνῶναι δυναμένη; φοβήσεται γὰρ εὖ οἶδα καὶ φεύξεταί σε καὶ μάτην ἔσῃ τοσαύτην ὁδὸν ἀνεληλυθώς.

ΠΕΡΣΕΦΟΝΗ

Οὐκοῦν, ὦ ἄνερ, σὺ καὶ τοῦτο ἴασαι καὶ τὸν Ἑρμῆν κέλευσον, ἐπειδὰν ἐν τῷ φωτὶ ἤδη ὁ Πρωτεσίλαος ᾖ, καθικόμενον ἐν ³ τῇ ῥάβδῳ νεανίαν εὐθὺς καλὸν ἀπεργάσασθαι αὐτὸν, οἷος ἦν ἐκ τοῦ παστοῦ.

429

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Ἐπεὶ Φερσεφόνῃ συνδοκεῖ, ἀναγαγὼν τοῦτον αὖθις ποίησον νυμφίον· σὺ δὲ μέμνησο μίαν λαβὼν ἡμέραν.

Dialogi mortuorum. Lucian of Samosata. ed. Matthew Donald Macleod. Medford, MA. Perseus 5.0.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Νεκρικοὶ διάλογοι (Greek) (Lucian, Vol. 7. Macleod, Matthew Donald, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1961 (unrenewed copyright).)

Editions (1)

Νεκρικοὶ Διάλογοι Perseus (Lucian. Luciani Samosatensis Opera, Vol. 1. Jacobitz, Karl, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1909.) — 28 focus

Μένιππος καὶ Τειρεσίας.

445

Μένιππος

ὦ Τειρεσία, εἰ μὲν καὶ τυφλὸς εἶ, οὐκέτι διαγνῶναι ῥᾴδιον· ἅπασι γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁμοίως τὰ ὄμματα κενά, μόνον δὲ αἱ χῶραι αὐτῶν· τὰ δʼ ἄλλα οὐκέτʼ ἂν εἰπεῖν ἔχοις, τίς ὁ Φινεὺς ἦν ἢ τίς ὁ Λυγκεύς. ὅτι μέντοι μάντις ἦσθα καὶ ὅτι ἀμφότερα ἐγένου μόνος καὶ ἀνὴρ καὶ γυνή, τῶν ποιητῶν ἀκούσας οἶδα. πρὸς τῶν θεῶν τοιγαροῦν εἰπέ μοι, ὁποτέρου ἐπειράθης ἡδίονος τῶν βίων, ὁπότε ἀνὴρ ἦσθα, ἢ ὁ γυναικεῖος ἀμείνων ἦν;

Τειρεσίας

παρὰ πολύ, ὦ Μένιππε, ὁ γυναικεῖος· ἀπραγμονέστερος γὰρ. καὶ δεσπόζουσι τῶν ἀνδρῶν αι γυναῖκες, καὶ οὔτε πολεμεῖν ἀνάγκη αὐταῖς οὔτε παρʼ ἔπαλξιν ἑστάναι οὔτʼ ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ διαφέρεσθαι οὔτʼ ἐν δικαστηρίοις ἐξετάζεσθαι.

Μένιππος

οὐ γὰρ ἀκήκοας, ὦ Τειρεσία, τῆς Εὐριπίδου Μηδείας, οἷα εἶπεν οἰκτείρουσα τὸ γυναικεῖον, ὡς ἀθλίας οὔσας καὶ ἀφόρητόν τινα τὸν ἐκ τῶν ὠδίνων πόνον 446 ὑφισταμένας; ἀτὰρ εἰπέ μοι, — ὑπέμνησε γάρ με τὰ τῆς Μηδείας ἰαμβεῖα — καὶ ἔτεκές ποτε, ὁπότε γυνὴ ἦσθα, ἢ στεῖρα καὶ ἄγονος διετέλεσας ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ βίῳ;

Τειρεσίας

τί τοῦτο, Μένιππε, ἐρωτᾷς;

Μένιππος

οὐδὲν χαλεπόν, ὦ Τειρεσία· πλὴν ἀπόκρίναι, εἴ σοι ῥᾴδιον.

Τειρεσίας

οὐ στεῖρα μὲν ἤμην, οὐκ ἔτεκον δʼ ὅλως.

Μένιππος

ἱκανὸν τοῦτο· εἰ γὰρ καὶ μήτραν εἶχες, ἐβουλόμην εἰδέναι.

Τειρεσίας

εἶχον δηλαδή.

Μένιππος

χρόνῳ δέ σοι ἡ μήτρα ἠφανίσθη καὶ τὸ μόριον τὸ γυναικεῖον ἀπεφράγη καὶ οἱ μαστοὶ ἀπεσπάσθησαν καὶ τὸ ἀνδρεῖον ἀνέφυ καὶ πώγωνα ἐξήνεγκας, ἢ αὐτίκα ἐκ γυναικὸς ἀνὴρ ἀνεφάνης;

Τειρεσίας

οὐχ ὁρῶ τί σοι βούλεται τὸ ἐρώτημα· δοκεῖς δʼ οὖν μοι ἀπιστεῖν, εἰ τοῦθʼ οὕτως ἐγένετο.

Μένιππος

οὐ χρὴ γὰρ ἀπιστεῖν, ὦ Τειρεσία, τοῖς τοιούτοις, ἀλλὰ καθάπερ τινὰ βλᾶκα μὴ ἐξετάζοντα, εἴτε 447 δυνατά ἐστιν εἴτε καὶ μή, παραδέχεσθαι;

Τειρεσίας

σὺ οὖν οὐδὲ τὰ ἄλλα πιστεύεις οὕτω γενέσθαι, ὁπόταν ἀκούσῃς ὅτι ὄρνεα ἐκ γυναικῶν ἐγένοντό τινες ἢ δένδρα ἢ θηρία, τὴν Ἀηδόνα ἢ τὴν Δάφνην ἢ τὴν τοῦ Λυκάονος θυγατέρα;

Μένιππος

ἤν που κἀκείναις ἐντύχω, εἴσομαι ὅ τι καὶ λέγουσι. σὺ δέ, ὦ βέλτιστε, ὁπότε γυνὴ ἦσθα, καὶ ἐμαντεύου τότε ὥσπερ καὶ ὕστερον, ἢ ἅμα ἀνὴρ καὶ μάντις ἔμαθες εἶναι;

Τειρεσίας

ὁρᾷς; ἀγνοεῖς τὰ περὶ ἐμοῦ ἅπαντα, ὡς καὶ διέλυσά τινα ἔριν τῶν θεῶν, καὶ ἡ μὲν Ἥρα ἐπήρωσέ με, ὁ δὲ Ζεὺς παρεμυθήσατο τῇ μαντικῇ τὴν συμφοράν.

Μένιππος

ἔτι ἔχῃ, ὦ Τειρεσία, τῶν ψευσμάτων; ἀλλὰ κατὰ τοὺς μάντεις τοῦτο ποιεῖς· ἔθος γὰρ ὑμῖν μηδὲν ὑγιὲς λέγειν.

Translations (2)

Dialogues of the Dead Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 7. Macleod, Matthew Donald, translator. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1961 (unrenewed copyright).) — 28 focus

Protesilaus, Pluto And Persephone

PROTESILAUS

O master and king, and Zeus of our world, and you, daughter of Demeter, scorn not a lover’s prayer.

PLUTO

What do you ask of us? Who are you?

PROTESILAUS

I am Protesilaus, son of Iphiclus, from Phylace, one who served with the Achaean army, and first man to die at Troy. I beg to be released and restored to life for a little.

PLUTO

That’s a love that’s common to all the dead, but will come to pass for none of them.

PROTESILAUS

My love, Aidoneus, is not for life, but for my wife, whom, while still but newly wed, I left in her bower and sailed away; and then, by evil fortune, I was slain by Hector, while I was landing; and so my love for my wife is eating my heart out, my lord; could I be restored to her sight even for a short while, I would gladly return here again.

PLUTO

Have you not drunk, Protesilaus, from the waters of Lethe?

PROTESILAUS

Deeply have I drunk, my lord, but my affliction was too strong.

PLUTO

Then be patient; in time, she will join you here; you won’t have to go up there.

PROTESILAUS

I can’t bear to wait, Pluto. You’ve been in love yourself, before now, Pluto, and know what it’s like.

PLUTO

What good will it do you to return to life for a single day, if shortly afterwards you must bewail the same misfortune?

PROTESILAUS

I think I’ll be able to persuade her to follow me here, so that soon you’ll have two of us dead instead of one.

PLUTO

All this would be wrong, and has never happened before.

PROTESILAUS

Let me refresh your memory, Pluto. You gave up Eurydice to Orpheus for this very reason, and sent back my kinswoman, Alcestis, ¹ 1 as a favour to Heracles.

PLUTO

Do you want that fair bride of yours to see you as you are now—a bare unsightly skull? What sort of a welcome will she give you, if she can’t even recognise you? She’ll be frightened, I’m sure, and run away from you, and you’ll find your long journey up to earth to have been a waste of time.

PERSEPHONE

Then, dear husband, you must put matters right, and instruct Hermes to touch Protesilaus with his wand the moment he’s in the light, and make him the handsome youth he was when he left the bridal chamber.

PLUTO

Well, Hermes, since Persephone agrees, take him up and make him into a bridegroom again. And you, sir, remember you’ve only been given one day.

Dialogues of the Dead Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 1. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 28 focus

XXVIII

Menippus

Tiresias

Menippus

Whether you are blind or not, Tiresias, would be a difficult question. Eyeless sockets are the rule among us; there is no telling Phineus from Lynceus nowadays. However, I know that you were a seer, and that you enjoy the unique distinction of having been both man and woman; I have it from the poets. Pray tell me which you found the more pleasant life, the man’s or the woman’s?

Tiresias

The woman’s, by a long way; it was much less trouble. Women have the mastery of men; and there is no fighting for them, no manning of walls, no squabbling in the assembly, no eross-examination in the law-courts.

Menippus

Well, but you have heard how Medea, in Euripides, compassionates her sex on their hard lot—on the intolerable pangs they endure in travail? And by the way—Medea’s words remind me—did you ever have a child, when you were a woman, or were you barren?

Tiresias

What do you mean by that question, Menippus?

Menippus

Oh, nothing; but I should like to know, if it is no trouble to you.

Tiresias

I was not barren: but I did not have a child, exactly.

Menippus

No; but you might have had. That’s all I wanted to know.

Tiresias

Certainly.

Menippus

And your feminine characteristics gradually vanished, and you developed a beard, and became a man? Or did the change take place in a moment?

Tiresias

Whither does your question tend? One would think you doubted the fact.

Menippus

And what should I do but doubt such a story? AmI to take it in, like a nincompoop, without asking myself whether it is possible or not?

Tiresias

At that rate, I suppose you are equally incredulous when you hear of women being turned into birds or trees or beasts,— Aëdon for instance, or Daphne, or Callisto?

Menippus

If I fall in with any of these ladies, I will see what they have to say about it. But to return, friend, to your own case: were you a prophet even in the days of your femininity? or did manhood and prophecy come together?

Tiresias

Pooh, you know nothing of the matter. I once settled a dispute among the Gods, and was blinded by Hera for my pains; whereupon Zeus consoled me with the gift of prophecy.

Menippus

Ah, you love a lie still, Tiresias. But there, ’tis your trade. You prophets! There is no truth in you.

Francis George Fowler

Notes on the current edition

Νεκρικοὶ διάλογοι

1. οὐ θέμις . . . πώποτε. om. γ.

2. γέγονε recc.: γίνεται β.

3. ἐν codd.; del. edd..

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΥ, ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΠΕΡΣΕΦΟΝΗΣ

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ Ὦ δέσποτα καὶ βασιλεῦ καὶ ἡμέτερε Ζεῦ καὶ σὺ Δήμητρος θύγατερ, μὴ ὑπερίδητε δέησιν ἐρωτικήν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ Σὺ δὲ τίνων δέῃ παρ' ἡμῶν; ἢ τίς ὢν τυγχάνεις;

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ Τοῦτον μὲν τὸν ἔρωτα, ὦ Πρωτεσίλαε, πάντες νεκροὶ ἐρῶσιν, πλὴν οὐδεὶς ἂν αὐτῶν τύχοι.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ Οὐκ ἔπιες, ὦ Πρωτεσίλαε, τὸ Λήθης ὕδωρ;

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ Καὶ μάλα, ὦ δέσποτα· τὸ δὲ πρᾶγμα ὑπέρογκον ἦν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ Οὐκοῦν περίμεινον· ἀφίξεται γὰρ κἀκείνη ποτὲ καὶ οὐδὲ σὲ ἀνελθεῖν δεήσει.

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ Ἀλλ' οὐ φέρω τὴν διατριβήν, ὦ Πλούτων· ἠράσθης δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἤδη καὶ οἶσθα οἷον τὸ ἐρᾶν ἐστιν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ Εἶτα τί σε ὀνήσει μίαν ἡμέραν ἀναβιῶναι μετ' ὀλίγον τὰ αὐτὰ ὀδυρόμενον;

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ Οἶμαι πείσειν κἀκείνην ἀκολουθεῖν παρ' ὑμᾶς, ὥστε ἀνθ' ἑνὸς δύο νεκροὺς λήψῃ μετ' ὀλίγον.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ Οὐ 1 θέμις γενέσθαι ταῦτα οὐδὲ γέγονε 2 πώποτε.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ Ἐπεὶ Φερσεφόνῃ συνδοκεῖ, ἀναγαγὼν τοῦτον αὖθις ποίησον νυμφίον· σὺ δὲ μέμνησο μίαν λαβὼν ἡμέραν.

Current edition Perseus

Μένιππος καὶ Τειρεσίας.

Τειρεσίας τί τοῦτο, Μένιππε, ἐρωτᾷς;

Μένιππος οὐδὲν χαλεπόν, ὦ Τειρεσία· πλὴν ἀπόκρίναι, εἴ σοι ῥᾴδιον.

Τειρεσίας οὐ στεῖρα μὲν ἤμην, οὐκ ἔτεκον δʼ ὅλως.

Μένιππος ἱκανὸν τοῦτο· εἰ γὰρ καὶ μήτραν εἶχες, ἐβουλόμην εἰδέναι.

Τειρεσίας εἶχον δηλαδή.

Τειρεσίας οὐχ ὁρῶ τί σοι βούλεται τὸ ἐρώτημα· δοκεῖς δʼ οὖν μοι ἀπιστεῖν, εἰ τοῦθʼ οὕτως ἐγένετο.

Μένιππος οὐ χρὴ γὰρ ἀπιστεῖν, ὦ Τειρεσία, τοῖς τοιούτοις, ἀλλὰ καθάπερ τινὰ βλᾶκα μὴ ἐξετάζοντα, εἴτε 447 δυνατά ἐστιν εἴτε καὶ μή, παραδέχεσθαι;

Τειρεσίας ὁρᾷς; ἀγνοεῖς τὰ περὶ ἐμοῦ ἅπαντα, ὡς καὶ διέλυσά τινα ἔριν τῶν θεῶν, καὶ ἡ μὲν Ἥρα ἐπήρωσέ με, ὁ δὲ Ζεὺς παρεμυθήσατο τῇ μαντικῇ τὴν συμφοράν.

Μένιππος ἔτι ἔχῃ, ὦ Τειρεσία, τῶν ψευσμάτων; ἀλλὰ κατὰ τοὺς μάντεις τοῦτο ποιεῖς· ἔθος γὰρ ὑμῖν μηδὲν ὑγιὲς λέγειν.

Protesilaus, Pluto And Persephone

PROTESILAUS O master and king, and Zeus of our world, and you, daughter of Demeter, scorn not a lover’s prayer.

PLUTO What do you ask of us? Who are you?

PROTESILAUS I am Protesilaus, son of Iphiclus, from Phylace, one who served with the Achaean army, and first man to die at Troy. I beg to be released and restored to life for a little.

PLUTO That’s a love that’s common to all the dead, but will come to pass for none of them.

PLUTO Have you not drunk, Protesilaus, from the waters of Lethe?

PROTESILAUS Deeply have I drunk, my lord, but my affliction was too strong.

PLUTO Then be patient; in time, she will join you here; you won’t have to go up there.

PROTESILAUS I can’t bear to wait, Pluto. You’ve been in love yourself, before now, Pluto, and know what it’s like.

PLUTO What good will it do you to return to life for a single day, if shortly afterwards you must bewail the same misfortune?

PROTESILAUS I think I’ll be able to persuade her to follow me here, so that soon you’ll have two of us dead instead of one.

PLUTO All this would be wrong, and has never happened before.

PROTESILAUS Let me refresh your memory, Pluto. You gave up Eurydice to Orpheus for this very reason, and sent back my kinswoman, Alcestis, 1 1 as a favour to Heracles.

PERSEPHONE Then, dear husband, you must put matters right, and instruct Hermes to touch Protesilaus with his wand the moment he’s in the light, and make him the handsome youth he was when he left the bridal chamber.

PLUTO Well, Hermes, since Persephone agrees, take him up and make him into a bridegroom again. And you, sir, remember you’ve only been given one day.

XXVIII

Menippus

Tiresias

Tiresias The woman’s, by a long way; it was much less trouble. Women have the mastery of men; and there is no fighting for them, no manning of walls, no squabbling in the assembly, no eross-examination in the law-courts.

Menippus Well, but you have heard how Medea, in Euripides, compassionates her sex on their hard lot—on the intolerable pangs they endure in travail? And by the way—Medea’s words remind me—did you ever have a child, when you were a woman, or were you barren?

Tiresias What do you mean by that question, Menippus?

Menippus Oh, nothing; but I should like to know, if it is no trouble to you.

Tiresias I was not barren: but I did not have a child, exactly.

Menippus No; but you might have had. That’s all I wanted to know.

Tiresias Certainly.

Menippus And your feminine characteristics gradually vanished, and you developed a beard, and became a man? Or did the change take place in a moment?

Tiresias Whither does your question tend? One would think you doubted the fact.

Menippus And what should I do but doubt such a story? AmI to take it in, like a nincompoop, without asking myself whether it is possible or not?

Tiresias At that rate, I suppose you are equally incredulous when you hear of women being turned into birds or trees or beasts,— Aëdon for instance, or Daphne, or Callisto?

Menippus If I fall in with any of these ladies, I will see what they have to say about it. But to return, friend, to your own case: were you a prophet even in the days of your femininity? or did manhood and prophecy come together?

Tiresias Pooh, you know nothing of the matter. I once settled a dispute among the Gods, and was blinded by Hera for my pains; whereupon Zeus consoled me with the gift of prophecy.

Menippus Ah, you love a lie still, Tiresias. But there, ’tis your trade. You prophets! There is no truth in you.

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Ὦ δέσποτα καὶ βασιλεῦ καὶ ἡμέτερε Ζεῦ καὶ σὺ Δήμητρος θύγατερ, μὴ ὑπερίδητε δέησιν ἐρωτικήν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Σὺ δὲ τίνων δέῃ παρ' ἡμῶν; ἢ τίς ὢν τυγχάνεις;

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Τοῦτον μὲν τὸν ἔρωτα, ὦ Πρωτεσίλαε, πάντες νεκροὶ ἐρῶσιν, πλὴν οὐδεὶς ἂν αὐτῶν τύχοι.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Οὐκ ἔπιες, ὦ Πρωτεσίλαε, τὸ Λήθης ὕδωρ;

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Καὶ μάλα, ὦ δέσποτα· τὸ δὲ πρᾶγμα ὑπέρογκον ἦν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Οὐκοῦν περίμεινον· ἀφίξεται γὰρ κἀκείνη ποτὲ καὶ οὐδὲ σὲ ἀνελθεῖν δεήσει.

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Ἀλλ' οὐ φέρω τὴν διατριβήν, ὦ Πλούτων· ἠράσθης δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἤδη καὶ οἶσθα οἷον τὸ ἐρᾶν ἐστιν.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Εἶτα τί σε ὀνήσει μίαν ἡμέραν ἀναβιῶναι μετ' ὀλίγον τὰ αὐτὰ ὀδυρόμενον;

ΠΡΩΤΕΣΙΛΑΟΣ

Οἶμαι πείσειν κἀκείνην ἀκολουθεῖν παρ' ὑμᾶς, ὥστε ἀνθ' ἑνὸς δύο νεκροὺς λήψῃ μετ' ὀλίγον.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Οὐ ¹ θέμις γενέσθαι ταῦτα οὐδὲ γέγονε ² πώποτε.

ΠΛΟΥΤΩΝ

Ἐπεὶ Φερσεφόνῃ συνδοκεῖ, ἀναγαγὼν τοῦτον αὖθις ποίησον νυμφίον· σὺ δὲ μέμνησο μίαν λαβὼν ἡμέραν.

Τειρεσίας

τί τοῦτο, Μένιππε, ἐρωτᾷς;

Μένιππος

οὐδὲν χαλεπόν, ὦ Τειρεσία· πλὴν ἀπόκρίναι, εἴ σοι ῥᾴδιον.

Τειρεσίας

οὐ στεῖρα μὲν ἤμην, οὐκ ἔτεκον δʼ ὅλως.

Μένιππος

ἱκανὸν τοῦτο· εἰ γὰρ καὶ μήτραν εἶχες, ἐβουλόμην εἰδέναι.

Τειρεσίας

εἶχον δηλαδή.

Τειρεσίας

οὐχ ὁρῶ τί σοι βούλεται τὸ ἐρώτημα· δοκεῖς δʼ οὖν μοι ἀπιστεῖν, εἰ τοῦθʼ οὕτως ἐγένετο.

Μένιππος

οὐ χρὴ γὰρ ἀπιστεῖν, ὦ Τειρεσία, τοῖς τοιούτοις, ἀλλὰ καθάπερ τινὰ βλᾶκα μὴ ἐξετάζοντα, εἴτε 447 δυνατά ἐστιν εἴτε καὶ μή, παραδέχεσθαι;

Μένιππος

ἔτι ἔχῃ, ὦ Τειρεσία, τῶν ψευσμάτων; ἀλλὰ κατὰ τοὺς μάντεις τοῦτο ποιεῖς· ἔθος γὰρ ὑμῖν μηδὲν ὑγιὲς λέγειν.

PROTESILAUS

O master and king, and Zeus of our world, and you, daughter of Demeter, scorn not a lover’s prayer.

PLUTO

What do you ask of us? Who are you?

PROTESILAUS

I am Protesilaus, son of Iphiclus, from Phylace, one who served with the Achaean army, and first man to die at Troy. I beg to be released and restored to life for a little.

PLUTO

That’s a love that’s common to all the dead, but will come to pass for none of them.

PLUTO

Have you not drunk, Protesilaus, from the waters of Lethe?

PROTESILAUS

Deeply have I drunk, my lord, but my affliction was too strong.

PLUTO

Then be patient; in time, she will join you here; you won’t have to go up there.

PROTESILAUS

I can’t bear to wait, Pluto. You’ve been in love yourself, before now, Pluto, and know what it’s like.

PLUTO

What good will it do you to return to life for a single day, if shortly afterwards you must bewail the same misfortune?

PROTESILAUS

I think I’ll be able to persuade her to follow me here, so that soon you’ll have two of us dead instead of one.

PLUTO

All this would be wrong, and has never happened before.

PROTESILAUS

Let me refresh your memory, Pluto. You gave up Eurydice to Orpheus for this very reason, and sent back my kinswoman, Alcestis, ¹ 1 as a favour to Heracles.

PERSEPHONE

Then, dear husband, you must put matters right, and instruct Hermes to touch Protesilaus with his wand the moment he’s in the light, and make him the handsome youth he was when he left the bridal chamber.

PLUTO

Well, Hermes, since Persephone agrees, take him up and make him into a bridegroom again. And you, sir, remember you’ve only been given one day.

Tiresias

The woman’s, by a long way; it was much less trouble. Women have the mastery of men; and there is no fighting for them, no manning of walls, no squabbling in the assembly, no eross-examination in the law-courts.

Menippus

Well, but you have heard how Medea, in Euripides, compassionates her sex on their hard lot—on the intolerable pangs they endure in travail? And by the way—Medea’s words remind me—did you ever have a child, when you were a woman, or were you barren?

Tiresias

What do you mean by that question, Menippus?

Menippus

Oh, nothing; but I should like to know, if it is no trouble to you.

Tiresias

I was not barren: but I did not have a child, exactly.

Menippus

No; but you might have had. That’s all I wanted to know.

Tiresias

Certainly.

Menippus

And your feminine characteristics gradually vanished, and you developed a beard, and became a man? Or did the change take place in a moment?

Tiresias

Whither does your question tend? One would think you doubted the fact.

Menippus

And what should I do but doubt such a story? AmI to take it in, like a nincompoop, without asking myself whether it is possible or not?

Tiresias

At that rate, I suppose you are equally incredulous when you hear of women being turned into birds or trees or beasts,— Aëdon for instance, or Daphne, or Callisto?

Menippus

If I fall in with any of these ladies, I will see what they have to say about it. But to return, friend, to your own case: were you a prophet even in the days of your femininity? or did manhood and prophecy come together?

Tiresias

Pooh, you know nothing of the matter. I once settled a dispute among the Gods, and was blinded by Hera for my pains; whereupon Zeus consoled me with the gift of prophecy.

Menippus

Ah, you love a lie still, Tiresias. But there, ’tis your trade. You prophets! There is no truth in you.