CHORUS
Thee neither would we, mother, o'erfrighten by our words,
Nor yet too much encourage; but, prayerful, seek the gods;
If aught hast seen of evil, that pray them to avert,
But for thyself and children, the state, and all thy friends,
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All good things to make perfect; next, meet it is to pour
To earth and to the Manes, libations; but thy spouse,
Darius, whom thou sayest in dream to have beheld,
Entreat to send up blessings, for thee and for thy son,
From 'neath the earth to daylight, while inauspicious things,
Held 'neath the earth in durance, may fade away in gloom.
Thus we, with mind presageful, counsel with kind intent,
Trustful that from these omens the issue fair will prove.
ATOSSA
Well thou, the first expounder of these my dreams, hast given
An explanation friendly toward my son and house.
May the good find fulfilment! The rites which to the gods
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And to our buried dear ones thou biddest, I will pay
Soon as I gain the palace. Meanwhile, I fain would know
Where on the earth stands Athens,
*
as men report, my friends.
1
Persians. Aeschylus. Anna Swanwick (Translator). London. 1886.
Sponsored by University of Leipzig.
Funding provided by European Social Fund Saxony.