Aeschylus Seven Against Thebes 77

Anna Swanwick (Translator)

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MESSENGER
One more, a fourth, the neighbour-gate who holds,
Onca-Athena's, shouting stands hard by;
The mighty form of huge Hippomedon;
I shook with terror, I deny it not,
As the vast orb he whirled, his buckler's disk;
Certes no vulgar artist was the man
Who this device hath wrought upon his shield;
Typhon forth darting from fire-breathing lips
Flame's quivering sister, smoke of dusky hue;
And all around the hollow-bellied shield
Circled a coil of intertwining snakes.
Himself hath raised his war-cry, and inspired
By Ares, raves like Thyiad for the fight,
Death in his glance. Against such man's attack
Needs must we be prepared, for at our gates
Rout is already boastfully proclaimed.

Seven Against Thebes. Aeschylus. Anna Swanwick (Translator). London. 1886.

Sponsored by University of Leipzig.

Funding provided by European Social Fund Saxony.

Current edition Experimental

Seven Against Thebes (OCR draft) (English) (Seven Against Thebes. Anna Swanwick, 1886.)

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (7)
Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ Θήβας First1KGreek (Aeschyli Tragoediae. Sidgwick, Arthur, editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902.) — 108-180 focus
Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ Θήβας Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 1. Smyth, Herbert Weir, editor. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922.) — 109-180 focus
Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ θήβας (OCR draft) Experimental (Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ θήβας. Guilielmus Dindorfius, 1882.) — 78 focus
Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ θήβας (OCR draft) Experimental (Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ θήβας. Gottfried Hermann, 1852.) — 78 focus
ΕΠΤΑ ΕΠΙ θΗΒΑΣ (OCR draft) Experimental (ΕΠΤΑ ΕΠΙ θΗΒΑΣ. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 78 focus
Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ θήβας (OCR draft) Experimental (Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ θήβας. N. Wecklein, 1885.) — 78 focus
Θρέομαι φοβερὰ μεγάλ᾽ ἄχη.
μεθεῖται στρατὸς στρατόπεδον λιπών.
ῥεῖ πολὺς ὅδε λεὼς πρόδρομος ἱππότας.
80
Aeschyli Septem contra Thebas (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschyli Septem contra Thebas. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, 1914.) — 78 focus
Translations (8)
Seven Against Thebes Perseus (Aeschylus, Volume 1. Smyth, Herbert Weir, translator. London; New York: William Heinemann; G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922. (Modernized by Perseus.)) — 109-180 focus
The Seven against Thebes. (OCR draft) Experimental (The Seven against Thebes.. Theodore Alois Buckley, 1849.) — 78 focus
I wail over our fearful, mighty woes! the army is let loose, having quitted its camp, a mighty mounted host is streaming hitherward in advance
the dust appearing high in the air convinces me, a voiceless, clear, true messenger; the noise of the clatter of their hoofs upon the plain
, reaching even to our couches, approaches my ears, is wafted on, and is rumbling like a resistless torrent lashing the mountain-side. Alas! alas! Oh gods and goddesses, avert the rising horror; the white-bucklered
well-appointed host is rushing on with a shout on the other side our walls, speeding its way to the city. Who then will rescue us, who then of gods and goddesses will aid us? Shall I then prostrate myself before the statues of the divinities? Oh ye blessed beings, seated on your glorious thrones, 'tis high time for us to cling to your statues—why do we deeply sighing delay? Hear ye, or hear ye not, the clash of bucklers? When, if not now, shall we set about the orison of the peplus
and chaplets? I perceive a din, a crash of no single spear. What wilt thou do? wilt thou, O Mars, ancient guardian of our soil, abandon thine own land? God of the golden helm, look upon, look upon the city which once thou didst hold well-beloved.
LES SEPT CONTRE THÈBES (OCR draft) Experimental (LES SEPT CONTRE THÈBES. Paul Mazon, 1920-1925.) — 78 focus
parle dans votre intérêt autant que dans le mien, je crois : une ville prospère, seule, honore ses dieux.
The Seven Chiefs against Thebes (OCR draft) Experimental (The Seven Chiefs against Thebes. Robert Potter, 1779.) — 78 focus
Woe, woe, intolerable woe!
Fierce from their camps the hosts advance,
Before their march with thund'ring tread
90
Proud o'er the plain their firey courſers prance,
And hither bend their footsteps dread:
Yon' cloud of dust that choaks the air,
A true tho' tongueleſs messenger,
Marks plain the progress of the foe.
95
And now the horrid clash of arms,
That, like the torrent, whose impetuous tide
Roars down the mountain's craggy side,
Shook the wide fields with fierce alarms,
With nearer terrors strikes our souls,
100
And thro' our chaste recesses rolls:
Hear, all ye pow'rs of Heav'n, propitious hear,
And check the furies of this threat'ning war!
The crouded walls around
Loud clamours rend the sky;
105
Whilſt rang'd in deep array th' embattled pow'rs
Their silver shields i
lift high,
And, level with the ground
To lay their rampir'd heads, assail our tow'rs.
What guardian God shall I implore?
110
Bending at what sacred shrine
Call from their happy seats what pow'rs divine,
And suppliant ev'ry sculptur'd form adore?
The time demands it: why then, why delay?-
The sound of arms swells on my' affrighted ear.-
115
Hold now the pall, the garland k
, as you pray.-
Hark! 'tis the rude clash of no single spear.
Stern God of war,
Dost thou prepare
Thy sacred city to betray?
120
Look down, look down l
;
O save thine own;
Nor leave us to the foe a prey:
If e'er thy soul had pleasure in the brave,
God of the golden helm, hear us, and save!
125
Eschilo, I Sette a Tebe: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli (OCR draft) Experimental (Eschilo, I Sette a Tebe: traduzione italiana di Ettore Romagnoli. Ettore Romagnoli, 1922.) — 78 focus
Piango alti lagni d'orrore di doglia.
Già già dal campo si sfrena l'esercito :
105
rotola avanti l'esercito fitto
dei cavalieri: l'eterea polvere
si leva a dirmelo, muto palese
veridico araldo.
Orrido grido, fra rombe di zoccoli,
110
dalla pianura mi sgomina e preme,
come torrente che scrosci dal monte.
Contro la rocca si lancia, già leva,
chiuso nell'armi, l'esercito avverso,
gli scudi bianchi, con orride grida.
115
Chi mai dei Numi, chi mai delle Dive
soccorso darà ?
A quali altari di Dèmoni innanzi
debbo io cadere ? Beati Signori,
è questo il punto che stretta io mi tenga
120
ai vostri simulacri.
Nei troppi lagni che indugiasi? Udite
o non udite fragore di scudi?
Quando offrirò, se non ora,
pepli corone e preghiere ?
125
Odi lo strepito? Tale frastuono
sola una lancia non leva.
Che fai?
Marte Signore, l'antica tua terra
cosí tradirai?
130
Deh! queste mura, a te un giomo sí care,
Nume elmo d'oro, proteggi proteggi!
Tutte le fanciulle si aggruppano intorno all'ara.
Aeschylus, Septem ad Thebas: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Septem ad Thebas: versio Latina Ioannis Sanravii. Ioannes Sanravius, 1555.) — 78 focus
Lugeo terribilia & magna mala.
Dimittitur exercitus caſtra relinquens,
Decurrit huc multus populus precurrens equites,
Aetherius puluis me persuadet uiſus,
85
Mutus maniſeſtus, promptus nuncius,
Excitator conculcatusq; campo
Appropinquat, clamor uolat, fremit
Instar aquæ murmurantis inexpugnabilis.
Heuheu, heu dij
90
Et deæ, præsens malum arcete.
Clamat pro mænibus
Scutum habens album, furgit populus
Structus in urbem irruens.
Quis defendet? quis auxiliabitur
95
Deorum aut dearum?
Vtrum ego accidam statuis
Deorum heu defensores dij,
Tempus est habendi ſtatuas:
quid cunctamur
100
Luctuoſi? auditis, aut non auditis clypeorum
Strepitum ? peplos
& coronas
Circa preces habebimus?
Strepitum audiui, & strepitumq; non unius haſte.
105
Quid facies? deferes ô Mars terrisenex
Tuam terram?
duream qui habes galeam demon,
Reſpice reſpice urbem,
Quam tandem charam poſuisti . dij
110
English (E. D. A. Morshead, 1908) (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylus, Seven against Thebes — Morshead translation. Wikisource transcription; speech corresp and card milestones aligned to Smyth perseus-grc2.) — 78 focus
I wail in the stress of my terror, and shrill is my cry of despair.
The foemen roll forth from their camp as a billow, and onward they bear!
Their horsemen are swift in the forefront, the dust rises up to the sky,
95
A signal, though speechless, of doom, a herald more clear than a cry!
Hoof-trampled, the land of my love bears onward the din to mine ears.
As a torrent descending a mountain, it thunders and echoes and nears!
The doom is unloosened and cometh! O kings and O queens of high Heaven,
Prevail that it fall not upon us! the sign for their onset is given—
100
They stream to the walls from without, white-shielded and keen for the fray.
They storm to the citadel gates—what god or what goddess can stay
The rush of their feet? to what shrine shall I bow me in terror and pray?
O gods high-thronèd in bliss, we must crouch at the shrines in your home!
Not here must we tarry and wail: shield clashes on shield as they come—
105
And now, even now is the hour for the robes and the chaplets of prayer!
Mine eyes feel the flash of the sword, the clang is instinct with the spear!
Is thy hand set against us, O Ares, in ruin and wrath to o'erwhelm
Thine own immemorial land, O god of the golden helm?
Look down upon us, we beseech thee, on the land that thou lovest of old,
110
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1854; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (Aeschylos. Deutsch in den Versmaßen der Urschrift. Stuttgart: Hoffmann, 1854. Native Donner line citations, Smyth card correspondence, selected textual readings and metrical facsimiles. Remaining OCR differences and unattributed reading notes are documented in the linked review inventory.) — 78 focus
Ich klag' um graunvolles Leid! 1
Heran stürmt das Heer, dort aus den Zelten brach's,
Vorauf zahllos hier wälzt sich ein Reiterstrom:
80
Der Staub, himmelan wölkend, bezeugt es uns,
Ein sprachloser, untrüglicher Bote, laut!

Commentary

Critical apparatus to Seven Against Thebes (OCR draft) (Latin and Greek critical apparatus to Gottfried Hermann's 1852 edition of Seven Against Thebes.) focus

490. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg004-hermann1852-appcrit-lat1-591

ἀνὴρ ... ἀνδρὶ ... ξυστήσεται:
ἀνήρ
Porsonus.
ἀνὴρ
libri.
ἀνδρὶ
supra versum in M. omissum in G.
τῷδε
Vit.
ξυνστήσεται
Μ.
490

Commentary (N. Wecklein, 1902; German; OCR draft) (Seven Against Thebes, explanatory commentary pp. 15–100. Single-witness OCR; source readings and all reference placements require scan review.) focus

356-706. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg004-wecklein1902-com-ger1-238

1
2
zweites Epeiso- dion. Eteokles tritt auf mit Me- II lanippos (395), Megareus (459), Lasthenes (607f.), um die Mit- teilung des Kundschafters (66 ff.) entgegenzunehmen, vgl. Einl. S. 9 f. Die erste Szene, der Mittelpunkt des Stückes, gibt eine glänzende Schilderung der sieben feindlichen und der ihnen an den sieben Toren entgegenstehenden Thebanischen Heerführer. In der zweiten Szene macht der Chor den vergeblichen Versuch Eteokles von dem greuel- vollen Zweikampf mit dem Bruder zurückzuhalten. Damit gibt dieses Epeisodion die ethische Moti- vierung für den Untergang der argivischen Heerführer und der feindlichen Brüder. Wie auch sonst bei Äschylos da, wo dem Dialoge antistrophische Chorika eingefügt sind, Symmetrie des Dialogs sich nachweisen läßt, so hat Ritschl (Jahrb. f. Philol. Bd. 77. 1858. S. 761.) symmetrische An- lage auch in den sieben Reden des Boten und Erwiderungen des Eteokles wahrgenommen. Da an einigen Stellen der Text unsicher oder lückenhaft ist, läßt sich die Verszahl nicht bei allen Partien mit voller Bestimmtheit feststellen. Doch scheint mit Beiseitelassung der zwei ankündigenden Verse des Boten 362f., denen die zwei zur nächsten Szene überleitenden Verse des Eteokles 662 f. entsprechen, die Gliederung der ganzen Partie 364 661 folgende zu sein: Π IV ΑΓ20- ΕΤ20 | στρ. α' | ΑΓ14- ΕΤ14 | ἀντ. α' | ΑΓ14- ΕΤ14 | στρ. β' | ΑΓ20- ΕΤ20| αντ. β|| V VI VII ΑΓ22- ΕΤ 22 | στρ. γ΄ | ΑΓ 29- ΕT 29 | αντ. γ΄ | ΑΓ 22- ΕΤ 22.

490. mvp-aeschylus-tlg0085-tlg004-wecklein1902-com-ger1-337

3
4
Sie wird (ihn vom Tore) wie (ein Vogel) von seinen Jungen einen schaurigen Drachen wehren". Vgl. 278 ff. In ähnlicher Weise ist Pers. 129f. πᾶς . . λεὼς σμῆνος ὡς ἐκλέλοιπεν μέλισσαι σὺν ὀρχάμῳ στρατοῦ ein Teil des Gleich- nisses ( σμῆνος) an die Stells des eigentlichen Ausdrucks ( τὴν πόλιν) getreten.