Statius: THEBAID

Fraternas acies alternaque regna profanis
decertata odiis sontesque euoluere Thebas
Pierius menti calor incidit. unde iubetis
ire, deae? gentisne canam primordia dirae,
Sidonios raptus et inexorabile pactum 5
legis Agenoreae scrutantemque aequora Cadmum?

An ardor of Pierian thought struck me: shall I go where you bid, goddesses? Shall I sing of brotherly battle-lines and alternating realms,
contested with profane hatreds, and Thebes grown haughty, the Sidonian seizure and the inexorable pact
of Agenorian law, and Cadmus scanning the seas? 5

longa retro series, trepidum si Martis operti
agricolam infandis condentem proelia sulcis
expediam penitusque sequar, quo carmine muris
iusserit Amphion Tyriis accedere montes, 10
unde graues irae cognata in moenia Baccho,
quod saeuae Iunonis opus, cui sumpserit arcus
infelix Athamas, cur non expauerit ingens
Ionium socio casura Palaemone mater.
atque adeo iam nunc gemitus et prospera Cadmi 15

a long series backward; if I uncover the trembling farmer
covered by Mars, building unspeakable battles in his furrows,
I will set forth and follow wholly, to what song
Amphion ordered the Tyrian mountains to draw near the walls, 10
from which the grievous wrath, kinsman of Bacchus, came into the ramparts,
which is the work of cruel Juno, to whom unlucky Athamas took up a bow—
why did not the mighty mother fear that Palaemon, her companion, would fall into the Ionian?
and indeed even now the groans and the prosperities of Cadmus 15

praeteriisse sinam: limes mihi carminis esto
Oedipodae confusa domus, quando Itala nondum
signa nec Arctoos ausim spirare triumphos
bisque iugo Rhenum, bis adactum legibus Histrum
et coniurato deiectos uertice Dacos                 20
aut defensa prius uix pubescentibus annis
bella Iouis. tuque, o Latiae decus addite famae
quem noua maturi subeuntem exorsa parentis
aeternum sibi Roma cupit (licet artior omnes
limes agat stellas et te plaga lucida caeli,                25
Pliadum Boreaeque et hiulci fulminis expers,
sollicitet, licet ignipedum frenator equorum
ipse tuis alte radiantem crinibus arcum
imprimat aut magni cedat tibi Iuppiter aequa
parte poli), maneas hominum contentus habenis,                30

I will let the rest pass: let the limit of my song be
the confused house of Oedipus, since Italy had not yet
borne standards nor dared to breathe northern triumphs,
nor the Rhine twice yoked, nor the Ister twice driven by laws,
and the Dacians cast down from their conspired summit                20
or wars of Jove hardly defended in scarcely maturing years.
And you, O glory added to Latin fame, whom Rome, newly born of a parent matured,
desires as her own forever (though a narrower boundary may chase all the stars and the bright expanse of heaven,                25
the Pleiades and Boreas and the hollow thunderbolt unapt to touch you may trouble you, though the bit‑bringer of fire‑footed horses
himself press down the arch gleaming from your lofty manes or great Jupiter yield to you an equal share of the sky), remain content with the reins of men,                30

undarum terraeque potens, et sidera dones.
tempus erit, cum Pierio tua fortior oestro
facta canam: nunc tendo chelyn; satis arma referre
Aonia et geminis sceptrum exitiale tyrannis
nec furiis post fata modum flammasque rebelles 35
seditione rogi tumulisque carentia regum
funera et egestas alternis mortibus urbes,
caerula cum rubuit Lernaeo sanguine Dirce
et Thetis arentes adsuetum stringere ripas
horruit ingenti uenientem Ismenon aceruo. 40
quem prius heroum, Clio, dabis? inmodicum irae
Tydea?

grant dominion of waves and earth, and give the stars.
there will be a time when I shall sing of you made mightier than the Pierian east-wind:
for now I stretch the chelyn; it suffices to recount Aonian arms
and the deadly scepter of the twin tyrannies
nor a measure for the furies after fate and rebellious flames 35
the sedition of the pyre and tombs lacking kings’ rites
and want, cities with alternating deaths,
when Dirce dark blue reddened with Lernaean blood
and Thetis, her accustomed parched banks to touch,
shuddered at the vast coming heap of the Ismenon. 40
whom first of the heroes will you give, Clio? Tydeus,
excessive in wrath?

laurigeri subitos an uatis hiatus?
urguet et hostilem propellens caedibus amnem
turbidus Hippomedon, plorandaque bella proterui
Arcados atque alio Capaneus horrore canendus. 45

the sudden breaks of the laurel-bearing vates?
and turbulent Hippomedon urges on, driving the hostile stream with slaughter,
and the wars to be bewailed will overwhelm the Arcadians, and Capaneus must be sung with a different horror. 45

    impia iam merita scrutatus lumina dextra
merserat aeterna damnatum nocte pudorem
Oedipodes longaque animam sub morte trahebat.
illum indulgentem tenebris imaeque recessu
sedis inaspectos caelo radiisque penates                50
seruantem tamen adsiduis circumuolat alis
saeua dies animi, scelerumque in pectore Dirae.
tunc uacuos orbes, crudum ac miserabile uitae
supplicium, ostentat caelo manibusque cruentis
pulsat inane solum saeuaque ita uoce precatur:                55
'di, sontes animas angustaque Tartara poenis
qui regitis, tuque umbrifero Styx liuida fundo,
quam uideo, multumque mihi consueta uocari
adnue, Tisiphone, peruersaque uota secunda:
si bene quid merui, si me de matre cadentem                60

having already searched with his right eyes the impious merits,
he had plunged his shame, condemned to eternal night,
Oedipus, and drew out his life beneath a long death.
that lenient one, keeping him unseen by heaven and the household gods
in the deep recess of his seat and its retreating light,
yet circles him with persistent wings — the cruel day of the soul, and the Dirae of crimes in his breast.50
then he displays hollow orbs, the raw and pitiable punishment of life,
he brandishes it to the sky and with bloodied hands
beats the empty ground and thus prays with a savage voice: 55
'gods, you who rule guilty souls and Tartarus narrowed with punishments,
and you, Styx, flowing in the shadowy depth,
which I see, and who have oft been wont to be called to me,
nod assent, Tisiphone, and make my perverse vows propitious:
if I have deserved anything rightly, if me, falling from my mother60

fouisti gremio et traiectum uulnere plantas
firmasti, si stagna peti Cirrhaea bicorni
interfusa iugo, possem cum degere falso
contentus Polybo, trifidaeque in Phocidos arto
longaeuum implicui regem secuique trementis                65
ora senis, dum quaero patrem, si Sphingos iniquae
callidus ambages te praemonstrante resolui,
si dulces furias et lamentabile matris
conubium gauisus ini noctemque nefandam
saepe tuli natosque tibi, scis ipsa, paraui,                70
mox auidus poenae digitis caedentibus ultro
incubui miseraque oculos in matre reliqui:
exaudi, si digna precor quaeque ipsa furenti
subiceres. orbum uisu regnisque carentem
non regere aut dictis maerentem flectere adorti,                75

You cherished me in your bosom and fixed my feet pierced by a wound
firmly; if the Cirrhean pools, sought by the two‑horned ridge,
were poured between the yoke, I could with false Polybus live content,
and having entwined the long‑lived king in the narrow, three‑cleft Phocian pass
and cut off the mouth of the trembling old man, while I seek my father; if, with the Sphinx’s inequitable
crafty riddles, you, showing them beforehand, I resolved,
if I rejoiced in sweet furies and in my mother’s lamentable
marriage and oft endured that accursed night and prepared sons for you, you know it yourself, 65
then, eager for punishment, with cutting fingers of my own accord
I fell upon them and left my eyes, wretched, upon my mother:
hear me, if I pray for things worthy which you yourself would have cast under the raging one.
Sightless, bereft of rule and of dominions,
not to rule, or attempting by words to bend one grieving, 75

quos genui quocumque toro; quin ecce superbi
—pro dolor!—et nostro iamdudum funere reges
insultant tenebris gemitusque odere paternos.
hisne etiam funestus ego? et uidet ista deorum
ignauus genitor?

whom I begot on every couch; nay behold the proud —woe!—and the kings, long since at our funeral,
triumph in the darkness and have come to hate paternal groans.
Am I even accursed to these? and does that slothful father of the gods see these things?

tu saltem debita uindex                80
huc ades et totos in poenam ordire nepotes.
indue quod madidum tabo diadema cruentis
unguibus abripui, uotisque instincta paternis
i media in fratres, generis consortia ferro
dissiliant. da, Tartarei regina barathri,                85
quod cupiam uidisse nefas, nec tarda sequetur
mens iuuenum: modo digna ueni, mea pignora nosces.'
    talia dicenti crudelis diua seueros
aduertit uultus.

you at least, avenger of what is owed,                80
be present here and set about bringing all my descendants to punishment. Put on that diadem, wet with gore, which with bloody
nails I tore away, and, urged by paternal vows, drive you into the midst of my brothers, that the alliances of the race may burst with steel. Give, queen of Tartarean pit,                85
what it is unlawful for me to desire to have seen, and the minds of young men will not delay to follow: only come worthy, and you will know my pledges.'
    to him speaking such things the cruel goddess turned a stern face.

inamoenum forte sedebat
Cocyton iuxta, resolutaque uertice crines 90

she sat, perchance grim, beside Cocyton, and with her hair loosened at the crown 90

lambere sulphureas permiserat anguibus undas.
ilicet igne Iouis lapsisque citatior astris
tristibus exiluit ripis: discedit inane
uulgus et occursus dominae pauet. illa per umbras
et caligantes animarum examine campos 95
Taenariae limen petit inremeabile portae.

she had been permitted to lick the sulphurean waves with her serpents.
straightaway, swifter by Jupiter’s fire and the fallen stars, she leapt from the sorrowful banks:
the empty multitude breaks up and the approach of the mistress terrifies. she, through the shadows
and the dark-swollen multitude of souls, seeks the fields and the Taenarian threshold of the gate from which there is no return. 95

sensit adesse Dies, piceo Nox obuia nimbo
lucentes turbauit equos; procul arduus Atlans
horruit et dubia caelum ceruice remisit.
arripit extemplo Maleae de ualle resurgens 100
notum iter ad Thebas; neque enim uelocior ullas
itque reditque uias cognataue Tartara mauult.
centum illi stantes umbrabant ora cerastae,
turba minor diri capitis; sedet intus abactis
ferrea lux oculis, qualis per nubila Phoebes 105

She felt Day to be present; Night, meeting him with a pitch-black cloud,
disturbed the shining horses; far off the towering Atlas
shuddered and from his uncertain neck let fall the sky.
Straightaway she seizes, rising from the valley of Malea, 100
the well-known road to Thebes; for she prefers no roads swifter—
and so she goes and returns the ways, and even favors kinlike Tartarus.
A hundred horned ones standing shadowed his faces,
a lesser throng of the dread-headed; within sits iron light in the eyes put aside,
such as Phoebus through clouds 105

Atracia rubet arte labor; suffusa ueneno
tenditur ac sanie gliscit cutis; igneus atro
ore uapor, quo longa sitis morbique famesque
et populis mors una uenit; riget horrida tergo
palla, et caerulei redeunt in pectora nodi:                110
Atropos hos atque ipsa nouat Proserpina cultus.
tum geminas quatit ira manus: haec igne rogali
fulgurat, haec uiuo manus aera uerberat hydro.
    ut stetit, abrupta qua plurimus arce Cithaeron
occurrit caelo, fera sibila crine uirenti                115
congeminat, signum terris, unde omnis Achaei
ora maris late Pelopeaque regna resultant.

Atracia glows by artful travail; suffused with poison
it is stretched out and the skin swells with gore; from a black
mouth a fiery vapor issues, by which long thirst and disease and famine
and with peoples a single death comes; a dreadful cloak stiffens on the back
and blue knots return into the breasts:                110
Atropos renews these and Proserpina herself the garb.
then with wrath she shakes twin hands: one with sacrificial fire
blazes, the other hand smites bronze with living water.
    as he stood, from the sheer citadel where Cithaeron rises most
it meets him toward the sky, a beast, hissing with green mane                115
it bellows together, a sign to the lands, whence all Achaean
shores far and wide and the Pelopid realms echo.

audiit et medius caeli Parnasos et asper
Eurotas, dubiamque iugo fragor impulit Oeten
in latus, et geminis uix fluctibus obstitit Isthmos. 120

and he heard Parnassus in the mid‑sky and the harsh Eurotas, and the roar struck Oeta on its dubious yoke into the flank, and the Isthmuses scarce stood opposed by twin waves. 120

ipsa suum genetrix curuo delphine uagantem
abripuit frenis gremioque Palaemona pressit.
atque ea Cadmeo praeceps ubi culmine primum
constitit adsuetaque infecit nube penates,
protinus attoniti fratrum sub pectore motus,                125
gentilisque animos subiit furor aegraque laetis
inuidia atque parens odii metus, inde regendi
saeuus amor, ruptaeque uices iurisque secundi
ambitus impatiens, et summo dulcius unum
stare loco, sociisque comes discordia regnis.                130
sic ubi delectos per torua armenta iuuencos
agricola imposito sociare adfectat aratro,
illi indignantes, quis nondum uomere multo
ardua nodosos ceruix descendit in armos,
in diuersa trahunt atque aequis uincula laxant                135

the mother herself snatched up her own, wandering on a curved dolphin,
and with reins pressed him to the bosom of Palaemon.
and when she, headlong, first stood upon the Cadmean summit
and implanted the household Penates in the customary cloud,
immediately a motion rose beneath the breasts of the astonished brothers,                125
and ancestral fury entered their minds and sick envy into the joyful,
and fear, the parent of hatred; thence a savage love of ruling,
ambition impatient of altered turns and of a second right,
and sweeter to stand alone in the highest place,
and discord, companion of shared realms, as ally.                130
thus when a farmer seeks to yoke chosen young bulls
through the fierce herd to the plough set upon them,
they, indignant — who not yet to the heavy plough
lets his lofty, knotted neck descend upon his shoulders —
pull in different directions and loosen the even yokes.                135

uiribus et uario confundunt limite sulcos:
haud secus indomitos praeceps discordia fratres
asperat. alterni placuit sub legibus anni
exilio mutare ducem. sic iure maligno
fortunam transire iubent, ut sceptra tenentem 140
foedere praecipiti semper nouus angeret heres.

they confound the furrows with forces and a variegated boundary:
no less does headlong discord roughen the untamed brothers.
It pleased, under the laws of the alternating year,
to change the leader by exile. Thus by a malign law
they bid fortune to pass, so that the one holding the scepters
may always be pressed by a new heir by a precipitate pact. 140

haec inter fratres pietas erat, haec mora pugnae
sola nec in regem perduratura secundum.
et nondum crasso laquearia fulua metallo,
montibus aut alte Grais effulta nitebant 145
atria, congestos satis explicitura clientes;
non impacatis regum aduigilantia somnis
pila, nec alterna ferri statione gementes
excubiae, nec cura mero committere gemmas
atque aurum uiolare cibis: sed nuda potestas 150

Such pietas was among the brothers, such the restraint of pugna
alone, and not to endure into a succeeding rex.
And not yet did the ceilings, with thick tawny metallo,
supported on mountains or high by Greek work, shine 145
the atria, about to expel the clients heaped within;
no watchfulness of kings, unsettled by sleep’s unrestful pillows,
nor sentries groaning under the alternate station of iron,
nor the care to commit gems to wine nor to profane gold with foods:
but naked potestas 150

armauit fratres, pugna est de paupere regno.
dumque uter angustae squalentia iugera Dirces
uerteret aut Tyrii solio non altus ouaret
exulis ambigitur, periit ius fasque bonumque
et uitae mortisque pudor. quo tenditis iras, 155
a, miseri?

he armed his brothers; the fight is over a poor kingdom.
during which, while it was doubtful whether each should turn the squalid acres of narrow Dirce
or exalt an exile on the Tyrian throne not lofty to behold,
right and divine law and what is good, and the shame of life and death, perished. Where do you direct your angers, 155
ah, wretches?

quid si peteretur crimine tanto
limes uterque poli, quem Sol emissus Eoo
cardine, quem porta uergens prospectat Hibera,
quasque procul terras obliquo sidere tangit
auius aut Borea gelidas madidiue tepentes 160
igne Noti? quid si Phrygiae Tyriaeque sub unum
conuectentur opes? loca dira arcesque nefandae
suffecere odio, furiisque inmanibus emptum
Oedipodae sedisse loco.

what if, for so great a crime, each boundary of the sky were sought,
that which the Sun, sent forth from the eastern hinge,
that which the western gate leaning toward Iberia looks out upon,
and which, far off, an oblique star touches the lands — whether remote Boreas the cold or Notus the moist-warm with fire? 160
what if the riches of Phrygia and Tyre were conveyed together into one?
would dire places and wicked citadels suffice for hatred, and one bought by monstrous furies
sit in the place of the Oedipodian?

iam sorte carebat
dilatus Polynicis honos. quis tunc tibi, saeue, 165

now the honor, allotted by lot to Polynices, was lacking.
quis tunc tibi, saeue, 165

quis fuit ille dies, uacua cum solus in aula
respiceres ius omne tuum cunctosque minores,
et nusquam par stare caput! iam murmura serpunt
plebis Echioniae, tacitumque a principe uulgus
dissidet, et, qui mos populis, uenturus amatur. 170
atque aliquis, cui mens humili laesisse ueneno
summa nec impositos umquam ceruice uolenti
ferre duces, 'hancne Ogygiis,' ait, 'aspera rebus
fata tulere uicem, totiens mutare timendos
alternoque iugo dubitantia subdere colla? 175
partiti uersant populorum fata manuque
fortunam fecere leuem. semperne uicissim
exulibus seruire dabor?

what was that day, when, alone in the empty aula,
you looked back upon all your ius and all your juniors,
and nowhere could a head stand steady! now murmurs creep
among the Echionian plebs, and the crowd sits silent from its prince
and he, who by custom is to come to peoples, is beloved to come. 170
and someone, whose mind, bruised by lowly venom,
was never willing to bear supreme leaders imposed upon his neck,
says, 'have the harsh fata borne this change for Ogygian affairs,
to change so often the things to be feared, and to subject trembling necks
to an alternating yoke while hesitating? 175
they who have divided and turn the fates of peoples by hand
and have made fortune light. shall I always in turn
be given to serve exiles?

tibi, summe deorum
terrarumque sator, sociis hanc addere mentem
sedit? an inde uetus Thebis extenditur omen, 180

to you, O supreme of the gods
and sower/creator of the lands, did it settle to implant this mind in the allies?
or thence is an ancient omen extended to Thebes, 180

ex quo Sidonii nequiquam blanda iuuenci
pondera Carpathio iussus sale quaerere Cadmus
exul Hyanteos inuenit regna per agros,
fraternasque acies fetae telluris hiatu
augurium seros dimisit ad usque nepotes? 185
cernis ut erectum torua sub fronte minetur
saeuior adsurgens dempto consorte potestas.
quas gerit ore minas, quanto premit omnia fastu!
hicne umquam priuatus erit?

since when Cadmus, bidden in vain to seek the bland weights of the Sidonian heifer
in the Carpathian sea, as exile found the Hyantes’ kingdoms through the fields,
and the brotherly ranks, swollen by the gaping womb of earth,
sent an augury for late descendants even unto posterity? 185
do you see how, stern beneath his brow, he threatens upright,
power rising more savage when his partner is removed?
what menaces he bears upon his mouth, with what arrogance he crushes all!
will this man ever be a private citizen?

tamen ille precanti
mitis et adfatu bonus et patientior aequi. 190
quid mirum? non solus erat.

yet he, mild toward the suppliant,
good in address and more patient than the just. 190
what wonder? he was not alone.

nos uilis in omnes
prompta manus casus, domino cuicumque parati.
qualiter hinc gelidus Boreas, hinc nubifer Eurus
uela trahunt, nutat mediae fortuna carinae,
(heu dubio suspensa metu tolerandaque nullis 195

we, vile, ready hands for all mishaps,
a prompt hand for any master, prepared for whichever lord.
how thus the icy Boreas on one side, the cloud-bearing Eurus on the other
drag the sails, the fortune of the mid-keel ship totters,
(ah, suspended in doubtful fear and to be borne by none 195

aspera sors populis!) hic imperat, ille minatur.'
at Iouis imperiis rapidi super atria caeli
lectus concilio diuum conuenerat ordo
interiore polo. spatiis hinc omnia iuxta,
primaeque occiduaeque domus et fusa sub omni 200
terra atque unda die. mediis sese arduus infert
ipse deis, placido quatiens tamen omnia uultu,
stellantique locat solio; nec protinus ausi
caelicolae, ueniam donec pater ipse sedendi
tranquilla iubet esse manu.

harsh fate for peoples!) this one rules, that one threatens.'
but by the commands of Jove, above the rapid halls of heaven
the chosen order of the gods had met in council
in the inner sky. thence everything lay close in ranks,
the houses of the east and of the west and the world spread beneath every 200
land and wave by day. lofty he advances among the gods himself,
yet shaking all things with a calm countenance,
and sets them on a starred throne; nor at once did the celestials dare
to presume, until the father himself orders that there be a tranquil hand of seating.

mox turba uagorum 205
semideum et summis cognati nubibus Amnes
et compressa metu seruantes murmura Venti
aurea tecta replent. mixta conuexa deorum
maiestate tremunt, radiant maiore sereno
culmina et arcano florentes lumine postes. 210

soon a throng of wandering 205
of semi-gods and Rivers kin to the highest clouds
and the Winds, keeping murmurs pressed down by fear,
fill the golden roofs. the vaults, mingled with the majesty of the gods,
tremble; the summits shine with a greater serenity
and the doors, flowering with a secret light, radiate. 210

postquam iussa quies siluitque exterritus orbis,
incipit ex alto (graue et inmutabile sanctis
pondus adest uerbis, et uocem fata sequuntur):
'terrarum delicta nec exaturabile Diris
ingenium mortale queror. quonam usque nocentum 215
exigar in poenas? taedet saeuire corusco
fulmine, iam pridem Cyclopum operosa fatiscunt
bracchia et Aeoliis desunt incudibus ignes.

after the orders silence fell and the terrified world was still,
he begins from on high (a grave and immutable weight attends the sacred
words, and the fates follow the voice):
'of the lands' crimes I lament that the mortal ingenium of the Diris is not consumable. to what point shall I be driven into punishments of the guilty 215
shall I be exacted? it wearies me to rage with flashing lightning; long since the industrious arms of the Cyclopes fail
and fires are lacking at Aeolian anvils.

atque adeo tuleram falso rectore solutos
Solis equos, caelumque rotis errantibus uri, 220
et Phaethontea mundum squalere fauilla.
nil actum, neque tu ualida quod cuspide late
ire per inlicitum pelago, germane, dedisti.
nunc geminas punire domos, quis sanguinis auctor
ipse ego, descendo.

and indeed I had borne off, with a false helmsman, the loosened steeds of the Sun,
caelumque rotis errantibus uri, 220
and the world to lie foul with Phaethonian ashes.
nothing availed, nor did you, brother, grant that which with a strong spear might
go far across the forbidden sea. now to punish the twin houses—whose author
of the blood am I myself—I descend.

Perseos alter in Argos 225

another of Perseus in Argos 225

scinditur, Aonias fluit hic ab origine Thebas.
mens cunctis imposta manet: quis funera Cadmi
nesciat et totiens excitam a sedibus imis
Eumenidum bellasse aciem, mala gaudia matrum
erroresque feros nemorum et reticenda deorum 230
crimina? uix lucis spatio, uix noctis abactae
enumerare queam mores gentemque profanam.

it is cleft, from Aonian origin Thebes flows here.
the same mind imposed on all remains: who does not know the funerals of Cadmus
and how so often, roused from the lowest seats,
the Eumenides have fought a battle, the evil joys of mothers
and the fierce wanderings of woods and the crimes of gods to be kept silent 230
crimes? scarcely in the span of light, scarcely after night driven off
may I be able to enumerate the customs and the profane race.

scandere quin etiam thalamos hic impius heres
patris et inmeritae gremium incestare parentis
appetiit, proprios (monstrum!) reuolutus in ortus. 235
ille tamen superis aeterna piacula soluit
proiecitque diem, nec iam amplius aethere nostro
uescitur; at nati (facinus sine more!) cadentes
calcauere oculos. iam iam rata uota tulisti,
dire senex. meruere tuae, meruere tenebrae 240

moreover this impious heir of his father sought even to mount the bridal-chambers
and to violate the undeserving bosom of his parent, turned back upon his own offspring (monster!) 235
yet that man paid eternal expiations to the gods above
and cast away the day, nor any longer feeds upon our aether; but the sons (a crime without precedent!) trampling as he fell
trode out his eyes. now, now you have borne established vows,
dread old man. your own things deserved it, the shadows deserved it 240

ultorem sperare Iouem. noua sontibus arma
iniciam regnis, totumque a stirpe reuellam
exitiale genus. belli mihi semina sunto
Adrastus socer et superis adiuncta sinistris
conubia.

to hope in Jupiter as avenger. I will cast new arms upon the guilty kingdoms,
and I will tear up from the stock the whole deadly race.
Let the seeds of war be mine.
Adrastus my father‑in‑law, and marriages joined to the gods above and to the left‑hand (ill‑omened) ones.

hanc etiam poenis incessere gentem                245
decretum; neque enim arcano de pectore fallax
Tantalus et saeuae periit iniuria mensae.'
    sic pater omnipotens. ast illi saucia dictis
flammato uersans inopinum corde dolorem
talia Iuno refert: 'mene, o iustissime diuum,                250
me bello certare iubes? scis, semper ut arces
Cyclopum magnique Phoroneos incluta fama
sceptra uiris opibusque iuuem, licet improbus illic
custodem Phariae somno letoque iuuencae
extinguas, saeptis et turribus aureus intres.                255

this people also shall be pursued by punishments                245
by decree; for not from a secret heart does deceitful
Tantalus perish and the injury of the savage table.'
    thus the omnipotent father. But she, wounded by the words,
turning with a heart inflamed and unexpected grief,
replies such things, Juno: 'Do you bid me, O most just of the gods,                250
to fight in war? You know, as ever the citadels
of the Cyclopes and the great renown of Phoroneus
aid Jupiter with scepters and resources for men, although wicked there
you may extinguish the guardian of Pharian sleep and the death of the heifer,
yet enter thou within gilded towers and ramparts.                255

mentitis ignosco toris: illam odimus urbem
quam uultu confessus adis, ubi conscia magni
signa tori tonitrus agis et mea fulmina torques.
facta luant Thebae: cur hostes eligis Argos?
quin age, si tanta est thalami discordia sancti, 260
et Samon et ueteres armis excinde Mycenas,
uerte solo Sparten.

I pardon false couches: that city we hate
which with an open face you approach, where, conscious of a great bed,
you bear the standards of thunder and hurl my bolts. Let Thebes expiate her deeds: why do you choose Argos for an enemy?
Come then, if so great is the discord of the holy bed, 260
and with arms root out Samos and ancient Mycenae,
and turn Sparta to bare soil.

cur usquam sanguine festo
coniugis ara tuae, cumulo cur turis Eoi
laeta calet? melius uotis Mareotica fumat
Coptos et aerisoni lugentia flumina Nili. 265
quod si prisca luunt auctorum crimina gentes
subuenitque tuis sera haec sententia curis,
percensere aeui senium, quo tempore tandem
terrarum furias abolere et saecula retro
emendare sat est? iamdudum ab sedibus illis 270

why anywhere with festal blood
does the altar of your spouse glow, why with a heap of Eastern incense
is it warm with joy? Better that Mareotic vows smoke
the Copts and the air‑born mourning rivers of the Nile. 265
but if ancient peoples expiate the crimes of their progenitors
and this late sentence comes to succor your cares,
have they reckoned the senescence of the age, at what time at last
it is sufficient to abolish the earth’s furies and to amend the centuries back?
long since from those abodes 270

incipe, fluctiuaga qua praeterlabitur unda
Sicanios longe relegens Alpheos amores:
Arcades hic tua (nec pudor est) delubra nefastis
imposuere locis, illic Mauortius axis
Oenomai Geticoque pecus stabulare sub Haemo 275
dignius, abruptis etiamnum inhumata procorum
reliquiis trunca ora rigent; tamen hic tibi templi
gratus honos; placet Ida nocens mentitaque manes
Creta tuos. me Tantaleis consistere tectis
quae tandem inuidia est? belli deflecte tumultus 280
et generis miseresce tui.

Begin, O wave-wandering flood, which glides past, bearing Alpheus’ loves far from the Sicanians:
here the Arcadians placed your temples (and there is no shame) in unhallowed spots, there the Mars-born axle
to stable Oenomaus’ and Getic cattle beneath Haemus 275
more fittingly; even now the truncated faces, unburied remnants of the suitors, grow rigid; yet here a grateful honor of a temple pleases you; Ida, harmful, and Crete, whose shades lie, are acceptable to you. What finally is the envy that I should dwell
in Tantalus’ halls? Turn aside the tumults of war 280
and pity your race.

sunt impia late
regna tibi, melius generos passura nocentes.'
finierat precibus miscens conuicia Iuno.
at non ille grauis dictis, quamquam aspera motu,
reddidit haec: 'equidem haud rebar te mente secunda 285

there are impious realms far and wide for you, destined to bear more gently the harming nobles.'
Juno had finished, mingling insults with her prayers.
but he, not severe in words, although stern in gesture,
returned these things: 'indeed I did not suppose you of a favourable mind 285

laturam, quodcumque tuos, licet aequus, in Argos
consulerem, neque me, detur si copia, fallit
multa super Thebis Bacchum ausuramque Dionen
dicere, sed nostri reuerentia ponderis obstat.
horrendos etenim latices, Stygia aequora fratris,                290
obtestor, mansurum et non reuocabile uerbum,
nil fore quod dictis flectar. quare impiger alis
portantes praecede Notos, Cyllenia proles,
aera per liquidum regnisque inlapsus opacis
dic patruo: superas senior se attollat ad auras                295
Laius, extinctum nati quem uulnere nondum
ulterior Lethes accepit ripa profundi
lege Erebi; ferat hic diro mea iussa nepoti:
germanum exilio fretum Argolicisque tumentem
hospitiis, quod sponte cupit, procul impius aula                300

I would carry whatever of yours, though rightful, I would consult in Argos,
and, if opportunity were granted, it does not deceive me to speak many things concerning Thebes, Bacchus, and bold Diana;
but the reverence due to my own weight hinders me.
For I beseech (it) that the dreadful waters, the Stygian seas of my brother,                290
shall remain — and I swear an irrevocable word — there will be nothing by which I am turned from these sayings. Wherefore, swift on wings,
bear before the South Winds, offspring of Cyllene,
sound the bronze through the clear air and, having glided into shadowy realms,
tell to your uncle: that the elder Laius lifts himself to the upper airs,                295
whom, though slain by the wound of his son, farther Lethe has not yet received on the shore of the deep
by the law of Erebus; let him bear here my dire commands to his grandson:
that his brother, relying on exile and swelling with Argive hospitality,
which he desires of his own will, be kept far from the impious court                300

arceat, alternum regni infitiatus honorem.
hinc causae irarum, certo reliqua ordine ducam.'
paret Atlantiades dictis genitoris et inde
summa pedum propere plantaribus inligat alis
obnubitque comas et temperat astra galero. 305
tum dextrae uirgam inseruit, qua pellere dulces
aut suadere iterum somnos, qua nigra subire
Tartara et exangues animare adsueuerat umbras.
desiluit, tenuique exceptus inhorruit aura.

that he keep afar, having denied the other honor of the kingdom. From this I will lead the causes of the angers, the rest in a sure order.'
Atlantiades obeys his sire's words and thereupon swiftly binds the tops of his feet with the soles to his wings,
veils his locks and draws his cap down over the stars 305
then he grasps a rod in his right hand, by which he was wont to drive off sweet
or to persuade sleep again, by which he had been wont to descend into black Tartarus
and to quicken the bloodless shades. He leapt down, and, caught on the thin breeze, shuddered.

nec mora, sublimes raptim per inane uolatus                310
carpit et ingenti designat nubila gyro.
    interea patriis olim uagus exul ab oris
Oedipodionides furto deserta pererrat
Aoniae. iam iamque animis male debita regna
concipit, et longum signis cunctantibus annum                315

nor delay: swiftly he sweeps aloft through the void and marks the clouds with a mighty circle.                310
    meanwhile the wanderer, once an exile from his native shores, Oedipodionides, roams the Aonian places, abandoned by theft.
now again and again in his mind he conceives kingdoms ill‑owed, and, the signs delaying, a long year                315

stare gemit. tenet una dies noctesque recursans
cura uirum, si quando humilem decedere regno
germanum et semet Thebis opibusque potitum
cerneret; hac aeuum cupiat pro luce pacisci.
nunc queritur ceu tarda fugae dispendia, sed mox 320
attollit flatus ducis et sedisse superbus
deiecto iam fratre putat: spes anxia mentem
extrahit et longo consumit gaudia uoto.

he groans to stand. One care holds him, returning day and night,
the care for the man, if ever he should behold his brother depart
from the lowly kingdom and himself made master of Thebes and its riches;
with this he would wish to bargain his life for light. Now he laments as at the losses of a slow escape, but soon 320
the breeze of command uplifts him and, proud, thinks he has taken his seat
with his brother already cast down: anxious hope draws out his mind
and wastes delights in a long desire.

tunc sedet Inachias urbes Danaeiaque arua
et caligantes abrupto sole Mycenas 325
ferre iter impauidum, seu praeuia ducit Erinys,
seu fors illa uiae, siue hac inmota uocabat
Atropos. Ogygiis ululata furoribus antra
deserit et pingues Baccheo sanguine colles.
inde plagam, qua molle sedens in plana Cithaeron 330

then he sits to undertake an undaunted journey to the Inachian cities and Danae’s fields
and to Mycenae, darkened with the sun torn away 325
whether a fore-leading Erinys guides the way,
or that chance of the road, or whether unmoving Atropos called him by this path.
The Ogygian caves, howled at with madness, he abandons, and the hills rich with Bacchic blood.
thence the region, where, sitting soft upon the plains of Cithaeron 330

porrigitur lassumque inclinat ad aequora montem,
praeterit. hinc arte scopuloso in limite pendens
infames Scirone petras Scyllaeaque rura
purpureo regnata seni mitemque Corinthon
linquit et in mediis audit duo litora campis.                335
    iamque per emeriti surgens confinia Phoebi
Titanis late mundo subuecta silenti
rorifera gelidum tenuauerat aera biga;
iam pecudes uolucresque tacent, iam Somnus auaris
inrepsit curis pronusque ex aethere nutat,                340
grata laboratae referens obliuia uitae.
sed nec puniceo rediturum nubila caelo
promisere iubar, nec rarescentibus umbris
longa repercusso nituere crepuscula Phoebo:
densior a terris et nulli peruia flammae                345

stretches forth and bends the weary mountain toward the seas,
he passes by. From here, hanging on a craggy brink by art,
the infamous Sciron's rocks and Scylla's lands
rule purpled old Corinth and leaves mild Corinthus
and in the midst hears two shores amid the plains.                335
    and now, rising through the bounds of Phoebus' meridian,
the Titan lifted far through the world beneath quiet
had thinned the chill air, the dew-bearing two-horse chariot;
now beasts and birds are silent, now Sleep
crept in upon greedy cares and nods forward from the aether,                340
bringing welcome forgettings of a life long labored.
but neither did the clouds promise a light to return to the crimson sky,
nor did the long twilights shine with the sun reflected in thinning shades:
denser from the earth and no passage for flames,                345

subtexit nox atra polos. iam claustra rigentis
Aeoliae percussa sonant, uenturaque rauco
ore minatur hiems, uenti transuersa frementes
confligunt axemque emoto cardine uellunt,
dum caelum sibi quisque rapit; sed plurimus Auster 350
inglomerat noctem, tenebrosa uolumina torquens,
defunditque imbres sicco quos asper hiatu
praesolidat Boreas; nec non abrupta tremescunt
fulgura, et attritus subita face rumpitur aether.
iam Nemea, iam Taenariis contermina lucis 355
Arcadiae capita alta madent; ruit agmine magno
Inachus et gelidas surgens Erasinus in undas.

black night wove over the poles. now the bars of stern Aeolus, struck, resound,
and the coming winter threatens with a hoarse mouth, winds, roaring across, clash
and wrench the axle with its hinge moved, while each snatches the sky for himself; but the great South Wind 350
had heaped up the night, twisting its dark rolls, and pours down rains which harsh Boreas
with a parching gape hardens; nor do the broken lightnings fail to tremble,
and the worn sky is split by a sudden torch. now Nemea, now the high heads of Arcadia bordering the Taenarian coasts 355
are wet; Inachus rushes in a great throng and Erasinus, rising, hurries into the cold waves.

puluerulenta prius calcandaque flumina nullae
aggeribus tenuere morae, stagnoque refusa est
funditus et ueteri spumauit Lerna ueneno. 360

what had before been pulverulent and rivers to be trodden were held by no embankments’ delay, and the pool was poured up from the bottom utterly, and Lerna foamed with ancient venom. 360

frangitur omne nemus, rapiunt antiqua procellae
bracchia siluarum, nullisque aspecta per aeuum
solibus umbrosi patuere aestiua Lycaei.
ille tamen, modo saxa iugis fugientia ruptis
miratus, modo nubigenas e montibus amnes                365
aure pauens passimque insano turbine raptas
pastorum pecorumque domos, non segnius amens
incertusque uiae per nigra silentia uastum
haurit iter; pulsat metus undique et undique frater.
ac uelut hiberno deprensus nauita ponto,                370
cui neque Temo piger neque amico sidere monstrat
Luna uias, medio caeli pelagique tumultu
stat rationis inops, iam iamque aut saxa malignis
expectat summersa uadis aut uertice acuto
spumantes scopulos erectae incurrere prorae:                375

every grove is shattered, ancient storms seize the arms of the woods,
and the sunless summer slopes of shady Lycaeus lay open, unseen through an age to suns.
he, however, now marveling at the rocks of the ridges split and fleeing,
now ear-alarmed at the cloud-born streams from the mountains 365
and the homes of shepherds and of flocks snatched everywhere by the mad whirlwind,
no less frantic and uncertain of his road drinks in a vast course through the black silences;
fear beats him from all sides and terror is on every side.
and just as a sailor caught on a wintry sea, 370
to whom neither sluggish Temo nor the Moon, pointing with a friendly star, shows the ways,
stands bereft of reason in the middle tumult of sky and sea,
and now, now expects either rocks submerged in treacherous shallows
or that on a sharp crest the raised prow will plunge into foaming crags:

talis opaca legens nemorum Cadmeius heros
accelerat, uasto metuenda umbone ferarum
excutiens stabula, et prono uirgulta refringit
pectore (dat stimulos animo uis maesta timoris)
donec ab Inachiis uicta caligine tectis                380
emicuit lucem deuexa in moenia fundens
Larisaeus apex. illo spe concitus omni
euolat, hinc celsae Iunonia templa Prosymnae
laeuus habens, hinc Herculeo signata uapore
Lernaei stagna atra uadi, tandemque reclusis                385
infertur portis. actutum regia cernit
uestibula; hic artus imbri uentoque rigentes
proicit ignotaeque adclinis postibus aulae
inuitat tenues ad dura cubilia somnos.
    rex ibi, tranquillae medio de limite uitae                390

Such, scanning the shadowed groves, the Cadmean hero
quickens, shaking wild beasts from his vast, fearsome boss of a shield,
rattling the stalls, and with his bent breast breaks the thickets (sad force of fear gives spurs to his spirit)
until, the darkness vanquished from the Inachian roofs, the Larisean summit burst forth with light, pouring down upon the sloping walls.                380
thereupon, all stirred by that hope, he flies forth; on one side holding the lofty Juno temples of Prosymna on his left,
on the other the black pools of Lerna marked by Herculean steam in the deep, and at last, the gates being thrown open, he is borne inward.                385
straightaway he sees the royal vestibules; here he casts off limbs stiff with rain and wind
and, leaning against unfamiliar posts of the hall, invites slight slumber to hard couches.
    there the king, in the middle of the calm boundary of life                390

in senium uergens, populos Adrastus habebat,
diues auis et utroque Iouem de sanguine ducens.
hic sexus melioris inops sed prole uirebat
feminea, gemino natarum pignore fultus.
cui Phoebus generos (monstrum exitiabile dictu! 395
mox adaperta fides) fato ducente canebat
saetigerumque suem et fuluum aduentare leonem.

approaching old age, Adrastus ruled the peoples,
rich in ancestry and tracing Jupiter from both lines of blood.
he, lacking the better sex but flourishing in feminine offspring,
supported by the twin pledge of daughters.
to whom Phoebus foretold sons (a monster deadly to relate! 395
soon proved true), fate leading, and prophesied a bristly boar and a tawny lion about to arrive.

id uoluens non ipse pater, non docte futuri
Amphiarae uides, etenim uetat auctor Apollo.
tantum in corde sedens aegrescit cura parenti.                400
    ecce autem antiquam fato Calydona relinquens
Olenius Tydeus (fraterni sanguinis illum
conscius horror agit) eadem, sub nocte sopora,
lustra terit, similesque Notos dequestus et imbres,
infusam tergo glaciem et liquentia nimbis                405

Turning this over, the father himself does not — you see — know the future of Amphiaraus, for Apollo, the author, forbids it. Only, sitting in his heart, care sickens the parent.                400
    but behold, leaving ancient Calydon by fate,
Olenian Tydeus (a horror, conscious of fraternal blood, moves him),
spends the same seasons under drowsy night,
and laments like south-winds and rains alike,
and the ice poured upon his back and waters running with the clouds                405

ora comasque gerens subit uno tegmine, cuius
fusus humo gelida partem prior hospes habebat.
hic uero ambobus rabiem fortuna cruentam
attulit: haud passi sociis defendere noctem
culminibus; paulum alternis in uerba minasque 410
cunctantur, mox ut iactis sermonibus irae
intumuere satis, tum uero erectus uterque
exertare umeros nudamque lacessere pugnam.
celsior ille gradu procera in membra simulque
integer annorum; sed non et uiribus infra 415
Tydea fert animus, totosque infusa per artus
maior in exiguo regnabat corpore uirtus.

wearing face and hair he comes beneath one covering, of which, cast upon the ground, the earlier guest had the colder part.
but fortune brought a bloody rage to both: they did not permit their comrades to defend the night on the rooftops; they pause a little over alternating words and threats 410
they hesitate, but when, with speeches thrown, their angers swelled enough, then indeed each, standing erect,
sets his shoulders to exertion and challenges naked battle. He the taller in step, stately in limbs and whole in years;
yet Tydeus’s spirit yields not in strength, and a greater valor, poured through all his limbs,

iam crebros ictus ora et caua tempora circum
obnixi ingeminant, telorum aut grandinis instar
Rhipaeae, flexoque genu uacua ilia tundunt. 420

now they redouble repeated blows about his face and hollow temples, straining;
like the missiles or the hail of the Rhipaean [winds], and with knee bent they beat those empty flanks. 420

non aliter quam Pisaeo sua lustra Tonanti
cum redeunt crudisque uirum sudoribus ardet
puluis; at hinc teneros caueae dissensus ephebos
concitat, exclusaeque expectant praemia matres:
sic alacres odio nullaque cupidine laudis                 425
accensi incurrunt, scrutatur et intima uultus
unca manus penitusque oculis cedentibus intrat.
forsan et accinctos lateri (sic ira ferebat)
nudassent enses, meliusque hostilibus armis
lugendus fratri, iuuenis Thebane, iaceres,                430
ni rex insolitum clamorem et pectore ab alto
stridentes gemitus noctis miratus in umbris,
mouisset gressus, magnis cui sobria curis
pendebat somno iam deteriore senectus.
isque ubi progrediens numerosa luce per alta                435

not otherwise than in the precincts of the Pisaean Thunderer
when dust returns and the powder burns with the men's fresh sweats;
but here the clash arouses the tender youths of the cavea
and the excluded mothers await the prizes:
thus sprightly, enflamed with hatred and with no desire of praise                425
they, kindled, rush in; a hooked hand examines the inmost faces
and penetrates deep where the yielding eyes withdraw.
perhaps they would even have bared the swords girded at the flank (so anger bore them),
and it would be better that you, young Theban, lie to be mourned by hostile arms for your brother,                430
had not the king, marveling at the unusual clamour and the shrilling groans
from the deep of his breast in the shadows of night, moved his steps, for to him,
weighed down by great cares, sober old age already hung suspended in a sleep growing worse.
and when he, advancing, through the high places with numerous light                435

atria dimotis aduerso limine claustris
terribilem dictu faciem, lacera ora putresque
sanguineo uidet imbre genas: 'quae causa furoris,
externi iuuenes (neque enim meus audeat istas
ciuis in usque manus), quisnam implacabilis ardor 440
exturbare odiis tranquilla silentia noctis?
usque adeone angusta dies, et triste parumper
pacem animo somnumque pati? sed prodite tandem
unde orti, quo fertis iter, quae iurgia?

with the atria shut and the bolt drawn at the opposite threshold
he sees a visage terrible to tell, torn mouths and cheeks rotten
with a sanguineous shower: "what cause of fury,
foreign youths (for not even my citizen dares to place those
hands continually), what implacable ardor 440
drives you to expel the calm silences of the night with hatreds?
is the day so narrow, and for a little while must the mind
suffer sad peace and sleep? But come forth at last
from whence you rose, whither do you make your way, what quarrels?

nam uos
haud humiles tanta ira docet, generisque superbi                445
magna per effusum clarescunt signa cruorem.'
    uix ea, cum mixto clamore obliqua tuentes
incipiunt una: 'rex o mitissime Achiuum,
quid uerbis opus? ipse undantes sanguine uultus
aspicis.' haec passim turbatis uocis amarae                450

for you
such anger teaches not humility, and proud of lineage                445
great signs gleam through the poured-out blood.'
    scarcely had they, turning their eyes sideways with a mingled shout,
begun these words together: 'O king, most merciful of the Achaeans,
what need of words? you yourself behold the faces rolling with blood.' These bitter things everywhere with troubled voice                450

confudere sonis; inde orsus in ordine Tydeus
continuat: 'maesti cupiens solacia casus
monstriferae Calydonis opes Acheloiaque arua
deserui; uestris haec me ecce in finibus ingens
nox operit. tecto caelum prohibere quis iste 455
arcuit? an quoniam prior haec ad limina forte
molitus gressus?

they were confounded by sounds; then Tydeus, having begun in order, continues: 'sad, desiring consolations for my misfortune,
I abandoned the monstrous riches of Calydon and the Achelous fields;
behold, a vast night now covers me within your frontiers. Who is that who has barred the sky with a roof? 455
or because, perhaps, previously he first set his steps toward these thresholds?'

pariter stabulare bimembres
Centauros unaque ferunt Cyclopas in Aetna
compositos. sunt et rabidis iura insita monstris
fasque suum: nobis sociare cubilia terrae— 460
sed quid ego? aut hodie spoliis gauisus abibis,
quisquis es, his, aut me, si non effetus oborto
sanguis hebet luctu, magni de stirpe creatum
Oeneos et Marti non degenerare paterno
accipies.' 'nec nos animi nec stirpis egentes—' 465

equally the two‑limbed Centaurs dwell together, and they say the Cyclopes are likewise composed on Aetna.
there are also laws and a sacred right implanted in the raging monsters: that they should join their earth‑nests with ours— 460
but what of me? either today, rejoicing in spoils, you will depart from these, whoever you are, or you will take me — if my blood, poured forth, is not dulled by grief — born of the great stock of Oeneus and not unworthy of paternal Mars.' 'nor are we wanting in spirit nor in lineage—' 465

ille refert contra, sed mens sibi conscia fati
cunctatur proferre patrem. tunc mitis Adrastus:
'immo agite, et positis, quas nox inopinaque suasit
aut uirtus aut ira, minis succedite tecto.
iam pariter coeant animorum in pignora dextrae. 470
non haec incassum diuisque absentibus acta;
forsan et has uenturus amor praemiserit iras,
ut meminisse iuuet.' nec uana uoce locutus
fata senex, siquidem hanc perhibent post uulnera iunctis
esse fidem, quanta partitum extrema proteruo 475
Thesea Pirithoo, uel inanem mentis Oresten
opposito rabidam Pylade uitasse Megaeram.

he answers in return, but a mind conscious of fate
hesitates to bring forth his father. Then mild Adrastus:
'no, go now, and having set aside those things which night and unexpected circumstance
either virtue or anger has urged, follow the threats to the house.
now let the pledges of your spirits meet together in a common right hand. 470
these deeds are not in vain nor done with the gods absent;
perhaps love, about to come, has sent forth even these angers beforehand,
so that it may be pleasant to remember.' Nor did the old man speak with an empty voice,
since if they report that this faith holds true after wounds joined together,
how great the extremes endured by the comrades of savage Theseus and Pirithous,475
or that Orestes of unsettled mind has faced the raging Megaera with Pylades set against him.

tunc quoque mulcentem dictis corda aspera regem
iam faciles (uentis ut decertata residunt
aequora, laxatisque diu tamen aura superstes 480

then also soothing with words the harsh king's heart, now yielding (as seas, after contest with the winds, lie still,
and with the winds relaxed the breeze yet lingers long 480

inmoritur uelis) passi, subiere penates.
hic primum lustrare oculis cultusque uirorum
telaque magna uacat: tergo uidet huius inanem
impexis utrimque iubis horrere leonem,
illius in speciem quem per Teumesia tempe 485
Amphitryoniades fractum iuuenalibus annis
ante Cleonaei uestitus proelia monstri.
terribiles contra saetis ac dente recuruo
Tydea per latos umeros ambire laborant
exuuiae, Calydonis honos.

having suffered (worn by the sails) they landed and entered the penates.
here at first he has leisure to survey with his eyes the dress and arms of men
and the great weapons: on the back he sees the empty
mane of this one, a lion with forelocked hair bristling on both sides,
in the semblance of him whom through the Teumesian vale 485
the Amphitryoniad had broken in his boyish years,
clothed before the battles of Cleonaeus as a monster.
Against him, on the other hand, the spoil strives to gird
Tydeus' broad shoulders with terrible quills and a recurved tooth—
the spoils, the honour of Calydon.

stupet omine tanto 490
defixus senior, diuina oracula Phoebi
agnoscens monitusque datos uocalibus antris.
obtutu gelida ora premit, laetusque per artus
horror iit; sensit manifesto numine ductos
adfore, quos nexis ambagibus augur Apollo 495

stupet omine tanto 490
the elder stands amazed at so great an omen, recognizing the divine oracles of Phoebus
and the warnings given in the speaking caverns.
with a chill gaze he presses his face, and a joyful horror ran through his limbs;
he perceived that, led by a manifest numen, those would be present,
whom Augur Apollo had bound up in intricate windings of prophecy. 495

portendi generos, uultu fallente ferarum,
ediderat. tunc sic tendens ad sidera palmas:
'Nox, quae terrarum caelique amplexa labores
ignea multiuago transmittis sidera lapsu,
indulgens reparare animum dum proximus aegris 500
infundat Titan agiles animantibus ortus,
tu mihi perplexis quaesitam erroribus ultro
aduehis alma fidem ueterisque exordia fati
detegis: adsistas operi tuaque omina firmes.
semper honoratam dimensis orbibus anni 505
te domus ista colet; nigri tibi, diua, litabunt
electa ceruice greges, lustraliaque exta
lacte nouo perfusus edet Volcanius ignis.

had brought forth offspring portentous, his countenance deceiving the beasts,
he had disclosed. Then thus stretching his palms toward the stars:
'Night, who, embracing the labors of earth and heaven,
with a fiery manifold wander, dost convey the stars by their drift,
being close and indulgent to restore the spirit while to the sick 500
the Titan pours swift risings into the quickened souls,
thou, nurturing one, bringst to me, sought amid perplexing errors,
willed faith and the openings of ancient fate thou uncoverst: stand by the work and strengthen thy omens.
always this house, measured by the circling years, 505
shall worship thee; black flocks, O goddess, shall make offerings to thee
with chosen necks, and the lustral entrails
anointed with new milk shall Volcan's fire eat.'

salue prisca fides tripodum obscurique recessus.
deprendi, Fortuna, deos.' sic fatus, et ambos 510

hail ancient faith of the tripods and of the shadowy recesses.
'May the gods be discovered, O Fortune.' Thus having spoken, and both 510

innectens manibus tecta interioris ad aulae
progreditur. canis etiamnum altaribus ignes
sopitum cinerem et tepidi libamina sacri
seruabant; adolere focos epulasque recentes
instaurare iubet. dictis parere ministri 515
certatim accelerant; uario strepit icta tumultu
regia: pars ostro tenues auroque sonantes
emunire toros alteque inferre tapetas,
pars teretes leuare manu ac disponere mensas.

binding with his hands the hangings of the inner hall, he advances to the palace’s court.
still the watch-dog kept at the altars the fires, the slumbering ashes and the warm libations of the sacred rites;
he bids the hearths be rekindled and the recent banquets renewed.
the ministers hasten to obey his words, eagerly competing; 515
the royal house resounds, smitten with diverse tumult:
some, in purple and sounding with gold, to furnish high couches and bring in carpets,
others to raise smooth tables with their hands and arrange them in order.

ast alii tenebras et opacam uincere noctem 520
adgressi tendunt auratis uincula lychnis.
his labor inserto torrere exanguia ferro
uiscera caesarum pecudum, his cumulare canistris
perdomitam saxo Cererem. laetatur Adrastus
obsequio feruere domum, iamque ipse superbis 525

but others, having attacked, strive to conquer the gloom and the dusky night 520
and stretch their fetters with gilded lamps. To these the task, with iron thrust in, is to roast the bloodless entrails
of the imperial beasts; to these to heave into baskets Ceres subdued by stone. Adrastus rejoices
that the house seethes with service, and now he himself with proud 525

fulgebat stratis solioque effultus eburno.
parte alia iuuenes siccati uulnera lymphis
discumbunt, simul ora notis foedata tuentur
inque uicem ignoscunt. tunc rex longaeuus Acasten
(natarum haec altrix eadem et fidissima custos 530
lecta sacrum iustae Veneri occultare pudorem)
imperat acciri tacitaque inmurmurat aure.

he shone upon the couch and throne propped with ivory.
on the other side the youths, their wounds having been dried by the lymph,
recline, at once they look upon faces disfigured with known marks
and in turn forgive. Then the aged king Acastus
(this same nurturer and most faithful guardian of the daughters,530
having chosen to hide the sacred shame of rightful Venus)
orders them to be summoned and whispers it into a silent ear.

    nec mora praeceptis, cum protinus utraque uirgo
arcano egressae thalamo: mirabile uisu,
Pallados armisonae pharetrataeque ora Dianae                535
aequa ferunt, terrore minus. noua deinde pudori
uisa uirum facies: pariter pallorque ruborque
purpureas hausere genas, oculique uerentes
ad sanctum rediere patrem. postquam ordine mensae
uicta fames, signis perfectam auroque nitentem                540

nor was there delay in the commands, when straightaway both virgins, having come forth from the secret bridal-chamber: wondrous to behold, bore faces like Pallas armed and Diana with quiver 535
they bore them alike, less by terror. Then a new aspect of man was seen by modesty: alike pallor and blush drained their purple cheeks, and their eyes, shrinking, turned back to their revered father. After hunger, conquered by the order of the table, the service completed and gleaming with gold 540

Iasides pateram famulos ex more poposcit,
qua Danaus libare deis seniorque Phoroneus
adsueti. tenet haec operum caelata figuras:
aureus anguicomam praesecto Gorgona collo
ales habet, iam iamque uagas (ita uisus) in auras                545
exilit; illa graues oculos languentiaque ora
paene mouet uiuoque etiam pallescit in auro.
hinc Phrygius fuluis uenator tollitur alis,
Gargara desidunt surgenti et Troia recedit,
stant maesti comites frustraque sonantia lassant                550
ora canes umbramque petunt et nubila latrant.
hanc undante mero fundens uocat ordine cunctos
caelicolas, Phoebum ante alios, Phoebum omnis ad aras
laude ciet comitum famulumque euincta pudica
fronde manus, cui festa dies largoque refecti                555

Iasius demanded the patera from his servants according to custom,
with which Danaus and the elder Phoroneus were accustomed to libate to the gods. This holds figures carved of works:
an aureate serpent‑haired Gorgon, her neck bound with a fillet,
has wings, and now, now she springs into the wandering airs (so it seemed)                545
she moves her heavy eyes and her languid face almost, and even in the living gold she turns pale.
Hence a Phrygian huntsman is borne aloft on tawny wings,
he leaves Gargara as he rises and withdraws from Troy,
his sorrowful companions stand and their barking tongues exhaust themselves in vain                550
their mouths seek a shadow and the dogs bay at the clouds. Pouring out undulating wine, she calls all the heavenly ones in order,
Phoebus before the others, Phoebus to all the altars she summons by praise,
her chaste hand girded with a wreath and a servant among her companions, for whom the festival day and richly restored rites                555

ture uaporatis lucent altaribus ignes.
    'forsitan, o iuuenes, quae sint ea sacra quibusque
praecipuum causis Phoebi obtestemur honorem,'
rex ait, 'exquirant animi. non inscia suasit
religio, magnis exercita cladibus olim                560
plebs Argiua litat; animos aduertite, pandam.
postquam caerulei sinuosa uolumina monstri,
terrigenam Pythona, deus, septem orbibus atris
amplexum Delphos squamisque annosa terentem
robora, Castaliis dum fontibus ore trisulco                565
fusus hiat nigro sitiens alimenta ueneno,
perculit, absumptis numerosa in uulnera telis,
Cirrhaeique dedit centum per iugera campi
uix tandem explicitum, noua deinde piacula caedis
perquirens nostri tecta haud opulenta Crotopi                570

with incense steaming, fires gleam on the altars.
'perhaps, O youths, let each mind search out what those rites are by which we entreat Phoebus as witness for particular causes,'
the king says, 'let them inquire. Religion, not ignorant, urges; the Argive people, once trained by great disasters, offers propitiation; turn your minds, I will unfold.
after the sinuous coils of the blue monster, earth‑born Python, the god, having clasped Delphi with seven dark turns and wearing away the aged oaks with his scales,
while at the Castalian springs his three‑fanged mouth gaped and, poured forth, thirsty for sustenance with black venom,
struck him down, with many wounds consumed by spears,
and gave to Cirrha a hundred acres of plain, scarcely finally laid out; then, seeking new expiations for the slaughter, he sought the not‑opulent house of our Crotopus.'570

attigit. huic primis et pubem ineuntibus annis
mira decore pios seruabat nata penates
intemerata toris. felix, si Delia numquam
furta nec occultum Phoebo sociasset amorem!

it touched her. To her, in the first years and as youth was beginning,
the daughter, intemerate on the couches, kept the pious penates with wondrous grace.
Happy, if Delia had never allied furtas nor yoked a hidden amor to Phoebus!

namque ut passa deum Nemeaei ad fluminis undam,                575
bis quinos plena cum fronte resumeret orbes
Cynthia, sidereum Latonae feta nepotem
edidit; ac poenae metuens (neque enim ille coactis
donasset thalamis ueniam pater) auia rura
eligit ac natum saepta inter ouilia furtim                 580
montiuago pecoris custodi mandat alendum.
non tibi digna, puer, generis cunabula tanti
gramineos dedit herba toros et uimine querno
texta domus; clausa arbutei sub cortice libri
membra tepent, suadetque leues caua fistula somnos,                585

for when Cynthia, having endured to the Nemean river’s wave, and when with brow filled she resumed her rounds twice-five times, the starry one, Latona, bore forth a sprung grandson; and fearing punishment (for that father would not have granted pardon by forced nuptials) she chose remote fields and, fenced among the sheep, secretly committed the child to a mountain-going guardian of the flock to be fed and reared.
not worthy of so great a lineage for you, boy, were the cradles: grass gave grassy couches and a house woven of oak with osier; beneath the bark of the strawberry‑tree a little hollow warms your limbs, and a hollow reed persuades light sleeps, 575

et pecori commune solum. sed fata nec illum
concessere larem; uiridi nam caespite terrae
proiectum temere et patulo caelum ore trahentem
dira canum rabies morsu depasta cruento
disicit. hic uero attonitas ut nuntius aures                590
matris adit, pulsi ex animo genitorque pudorque
et metus; ipsa ultro saeuis plangoribus amens
tecta replet, uacuumque ferens uelamine pectus
occurrit confessa patri; nec motus et atro
imperat (infandum!) cupientem occumbere leto.                595
sero memor thalami maestae solacia morti,
Phoebe, paras monstrum infandis Acheronte sub imo
conceptum Eumenidum thalamis, cui uirginis ora
pectoraque; aeternum stridens a uertice surgit
et ferrugineam frontem discriminat anguis.                600

and ground common to the flock. But the Fates did not grant him a hearth; for, thrown heedless upon the green sod of earth and drawing the open sky with his gaping mouth, a grim madness of dogs, having fed with bloody bite, tore him asunder. Here indeed, as a messenger, he approaches the astonished ears                590
of his mother; from her heart were driven away both father and shame and fear; she herself, frantic, fills the house with cruel lamentations and, bearing bare her breast with loosened veil, runs forward and confesses to her father; nor does he, moved, with grim command (unspeakable!) bid the one who longs to die to fall by death.                595
Late, mindful of the solace of her sorrowful marriage-chamber for death, Phoebe prepares a monster conceived beneath the unspeakable depths of Acheron for the nuptials of the Eumenides, to whom the maiden’s face and bosom—shrieking—rise forever from the crown, and a rust-colored snake parts its brow.                600

haec tum dira lues nocturno squalida passu
inlabi thalamis, animasque a stirpe recentes
abripere altricum gremiis morsuque cruento
deuesci et multum patrio pinguescere luctu.
haud tulit armorum praestans animique Coroebus                605
seque ultro lectis iuuenum, qui robore primi
famam posthabita faciles extendere uita,
obtulit. illa nouos ibat populata penates
portarum in biuio; lateri duo corpora paruum
dependent, et iam unca manus uitalibus haeret                610
ferratique ungues tenero sub corde tepescunt:
obuius huic, latus omne uirum stipante corona,
fit iuuenis, ferrumque ingens sub pectore duro
condidit, atque imas animae mucrone corusco
scrutatus latebras tandem sua monstra profunda                 615

Then this dire pest, foul with a nocturnal tread,
slid into the bridal-chambers, and snatching souls fresh from the stock
from the nurses’ laps with a bloody bite
laid them low and grew fat with paternal grief.
Not did Coroebus, outstanding in arms and spirit, endure it,                605
but of his own will offered himself to the chosen youths, who first in strength
preferred fame to life, easy to prolong,
she went plundering the new household gods
at the fork of the gates; two small bodies hang from her side,
and now a hooked hand clings to the vitals,                610
and the iron claws grow warm beneath the tender heart:
opposite him, a youth, a man with his flank all crowded by a garland,
advanced, and buried a huge sword beneath the hard breast,
and with the blade flashing he probed the inmost sheathes of the soul
and at last searched out the deep recesses of her monstrous secrets.                615

reddit habere Ioui. iuuat ire et uisere iuxta
liuentes in morte oculos uterique nefandam
proluuiem et crasso squalentia pectora tabo,
qua nostrae cecidere animae. stupet Inacha pubes
magnaque post lacrimas etiamnum gaudia pallent. 620
hi trabibus duris (solacia uana dolori)
proterere exanimos artus asprosque molares
deculcare genis; nequit iram explere potestas.

restores them to the possession of Jove. It pleases to go and to behold nearby
the eyes alive in death and of each the unspeakable deluge
and chests foul with dense putrefaction,
by which our souls fell. The Inachian youth stands stunned
and great joys, even after tears, still grow pale. 620
these with hard timbers (vain consolations for grief)
crush breathless limbs and grind harsh molars
down upon the cheeks; power cannot satiate wrath.

illam et nocturno circum stridore uolantes
impastae fugistis aues, rabidamque canum uim 625
oraque sicca ferunt trepidorum inhiasse luporum.
saeuior in miseros fatis ultricis ademptae
Delius insurgit, summaque biuerticis umbra
Parnasi residens arcu crudelis iniquo
pestifera arma iacit, camposque et celsa Cyclopum 630

That one — and the birds flying around with nocturnal hiss, smeared with gore — you put to flight; and they report that the rabid force of dogs and the dry jaws of trembling wolves gaped upon her.
More fierce against the wretched, snatched away by avenging fates, the Delian rises, and the shade from the summit of Parnassus, seated with his double-bowed bow, cruel with unequal intent, hurls pestilential arms, and strikes the plains and the lofty strongholds of the Cyclopes. 630

tecta superiecto nebularum incendit amictu.
labuntur dulces animae, Mors fila Sororum
ense metit captamque tenens fert manibus urbem.
quaerenti quae causa duci, quis ab aethere laeuus
ignis et in totum regnaret Sirius annum, 635
idem auctor Paean rursus iubet ire cruento
inferias monstro iuuenes, qui caede potiti.

he sets the roofs aflame with a superposed garment of clouds.
sweet souls glide away, Death of the Sisters with his sword reaps the threads
and, holding the captured city in his hands, bears it off.
to him asking for what cause to be led, who from the left of the ether
a hostile fire and Sirius would reign through the whole year, 635
the very author Paean again commands that young men go as bloody
funeral-offerings to the monster, who by slaughter was made puissant.

fortunate animi longumque in saecula digne
promeriture diem! non tu pia degener arma
occulis aut certae trepidas occurrere morti. 640
comminus ora ferens Cirrhaei in limine templi
constitit et sacras ita uocibus asperat iras:
"non missus, Thymbraee, tuos supplexue penates
aduenio: mea me pietas et conscia uirtus
has egere uias. ego sum qui caede subegi, 645

you, fortunate of spirit, and worthy to earn a long day into the ages! you will not, unpious, bring your arms before eyes nor meet a certain trembling death. 640
bearing his face close at hand, he stood on the threshold of the Cirrhaean temple
and thus with his voice bited the sacred wrath:
"I come not sent, Thymbraeus, nor as a suppliant to your penates;
my piety and my conscience-bound virtue have driven me these ways.
I am he who by slaughter compelled, 645

Phoebe, tuum mortale nefas, quem nubibus atris
et squalente die, nigra quem tabe sinistri
quaeris, inique, poli. quod si monstra effera magnis
cara adeo superis, iacturaque uilior orbi
mors hominum, et saeuo tanta inclementia caelo est, 650
quid meruere Argi? me, me, diuum optime, solum
obiecisse caput fatis praestabat.

Phoebe, your mortal crime, whom with black clouds
and with a squalid day, whom with the black murrain of ill-omened
you seek, unjust one, of the sky. But if savage monsters are so dear
to the great gods, and the loss, the death of men, is cheaper to the world,
and such mercilessness is in the cruel heaven, 650
what did the Argives deserve? that they should have cast me, me, O best of the gods, alone
to offer my head to the fates was fitting.

an illud
lene magis cordi quod desolata domorum
tecta uides, ignique datis cultoribus omnis
lucet ager? sed quid fando tua tela manusque 655
demoror? expectant matres, supremaque fiunt
uota mihi.

or is that thing more gentle to your heart, that you see the roofs of houses desolate,
and, with the tillers given to the fire, the whole field glowing? but why do I delay
to speak of your weapons and your hands? the mothers wait, and last vows are made 655
for me.

satis est: merui ne parcere uelles.
proinde moue pharetras arcusque intende sonoros
insignemque animam leto demitte; sed illum,
pallidus Inachiis qui desuper inminet Argis, 660

Enough: I deserved that you would not wish to spare me.
Therefore bend your quivers and strain your sonorous bows
and send this noble soul down to death; but him,
pale, who from on high overhangs Inachian Argos, 660

dum morior, dispelle globum." sors aequa merentes
respicit. ardentem tenuit reuerentia caedis
Letoiden, tristemque uiro summissus honorem
largitur uitae; nostro mala nubila caelo
diffugiunt, at tu stupefacti a limine Phoebi 665
exoratus abis. inde haec stata sacra quotannis
sollemnes recolunt epulae, Phoebeaque placat
templa nouatus honos.

"while I die, dispel the globe." An even lot regards the deserving.
Reverence for slaughter held back the ardent daughter of Leto,
and, bending down to the man, she grants the sad honour of life;
our evil clouds flee from the sky, but you, entreated from the threshold
665
of the astonished Phoebus, depart. Thence these established sacred rites each year
renew the solemn banquets, and a renewed honour soothes Phoebean temples.

has forte inuisitis aras
uos quae progenies? quamquam Calydonius Oeneus
et Porthaoniae, si dudum certus ad aures                670
clamor iit, tibi iura domus. tu pande quis Argos
aduenias, quando haec uariis sermonibus hora est.'
    deiecit maestos extemplo Ismenius heros
in terram uultus, taciteque ad Tydea laeuum
obliquare oculos; tum longa silentia mouit:                675

you who perhaps have seen these unvisited altars — what progeny are you? although Calydonian Oeneus
and of Porthaonia, if some sure clamor long since went to your ears,                670
have the rights of the house for you. But you, unfold who you are that come to Argos,
since this hour is for various speeches.'
    straightaway the Ismenian hero cast his sorrowful face
to the ground, and silently turned his eyes to the left toward Tydean;
then, after long silence, he began to speak:                675

'non super hos diuum tibi sum quaerendus honores,
unde genus, quae terra mihi, quis defluat ordo
sanguinis antiqui: piget inter sacra fateri.
sed si praecipitant miserum cognoscere curae,
Cadmus origo patrum, tellus Mauortia Thebe, 680
est genetrix Iocasta mihi.' tum motus Adrastus
hospitiis (agnouit enim): 'quid nota recondis?
scimus' ait 'nec sic auersum fama Mycenis
uoluit iter.

'I am not to be sought for honors among these gods for you,
from where my stock, what land is mine, what order
of ancient blood flows down: it grieves me to confess it amid sacred rites.
but if wretched cares urge you to learn,
Cadmus, the origin of my fathers, the Mauortian land Thebes, 680
is my mother Iocasta.' Then Adrastus, moved by the hospitality
(for he recognised): 'why do you conceal what is known?
"We know," he said, "nor has rumor thus turned its course away to Mycenae."

regnum et furias oculosque pudentes
nouit et Arctois si quis de solibus horret 685
quique bibit Gangen aut nigrum occasibus intrat
Oceanum et si quos incerto litore Syrtes
destituunt. ne perge queri casusque priorum
adnumerare tibi: nostro quoque sanguine multum
errauit pietas, nec culpa nepotibus obstat. 690

he knew kingship and furies and eyes ashamed
and, if any shudders from Arctic suns, 685
and whoever drinks the Ganges or enters the black Ocean at the west,
and if the shifting Syrtes abandon some on an uncertain shore.
Do not go on to complain and to reckon up the former misfortunes to you: our pietas also erred greatly in our blood,
and the guilt does not fail to affect our descendants. 690

tu modo dissimilis rebus mereare secundis
excusare tuos. sed iam temone supino
languet Hyperboreae glacialis portitor Vrsae.
fundite uina focis, seruatoremque parentum
Letoiden uotis iterumque iterumque canamus.                695
    Phoebe parens, seu te Lyciae Pataraea niuosis
exercent dumeta iugis, seu rore pudico
Castaliae flauos amor est tibi mergere crines,
seu Troiam Thymbraeus habes, ubi fama uolentem
ingratis Phrygios umeris subiisse molares,                700
seu iuuat Aegaeum feriens Latonius umbra
Cynthus et adsiduam pelago non quaerere Delon:
tela tibi longeque feros lentandus in hostes
arcus et aetherii dono cessere parentis
aeternum florere genas; tu doctus iniquas                705

you, differing now from prosperous affairs, may you deserve to excuse your own.
but now with the tiller reversed the icy ferryman of the Hyperborean Bear grows faint.
pour out wines at the hearths, and let us sing the patron of parents, the Letoid, with vows again and again.                695
    Phoebe the parent, whether the snowy thickets of Lycian Pataraean ridges
exercise you on the slopes, or whether love is to plunge your golden locks
in the chaste dew of Castalia, or whether you hold Trojan Thymbra, where rumor says you, willing,
mounted Phrygian millstones on ungrateful shoulders,                700
or whether it pleases Latonius’ Cynthus to strike the Aegean with shadow
and not to seek the long-frequented Delos from the sea:
weapons and distant bows, to be softened against fierce enemies,
were yielded to you as a gift of your heavenly parent, your cheeks to bloom forever; you, schooled in unjust                705

Parcarum praenosse manus fatumque quod ultra est
et summo placitura Ioui, quis letifer annus,
bella quibus populis, quae mutent sceptra cometae;
tu Phryga summittis citharae, tu matris honori
terrigenam Tityon Stygiis extendis harenis; 710
te uiridis Python Thebanaque mater ouantem
horruit in pharetris, ultrix tibi torua Megaera
ieiunum Phlegyan subter caua saxa iacentem
aeterno premit accubitu dapibusque profanis
instimulat, sed mixta famem fastidia uincunt: 715
adsis o memor hospitii, Iunoniaque arua
dexter ames, seu te roseum Titana uocari
gentis Achaemeniae ritu, seu praestat Osirim
frugiferum, seu Persei sub rupibus antri
indignata sequi torquentem cornua Mithram.'

To know beforehand by the hands of the Parcae and the fate that lies beyond,
and what will please highest Jove, what deadly year,
what wars for which peoples, which comets will change sceptres;
you lift the Phrygian cithara, you for your mother’s honour
stretch the earth‑born Tityos upon Stygian sands; 710
the green Python and the Theban mother, rejoicing at you, shuddered in their quivers; for you the grim Megaera, avenger, presses
fasting Phlegyas, lying beneath hollow rocks, with an eternal couch and profane feasts
urges on, yet mingled hunger conquers disdain: 715
be present, mindful of hospitality, and love the Juno‑fields with your right hand, whether you are called rosy Titan
by the rite of the Achaemenian people, or it befits you to be Osiris, fruit‑bearing, or under the cliffs of the Persean cave
to follow, though unwilling, the horned Mithras twisting himself.'