[1] THE SOPHOCLEAN HERO NB Translations are taken from the useful collection by Ian Johnston, available at http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/index.htm If you have queries about what I say today, please get in touch: patrick.finglass@nottingham.ac.uk Αθ. ὡς ἔστιν ἀνδρὸς τοῦδε τἄργα ταῦτά σοι. Οδ. καὶ πρὸς τί δυσλόγιστον ὧδ ᾖξεν χέρα; 40 Αθ. χόλῳ βαρυνθεὶς τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων. Οδ. τί δῆτα ποίµναις τήνδ ἐπεµπίπτει βάσιν; Αθ. δοκῶν ἐν ὑµῖν χεῖρα χραίνεσθαι φόνῳ. Οδ. ἦ καὶ τὸ βούλευµ ὡς ἐπ Ἀργείοις τόδ ἦν; Αθ. κἂν ἐξέπραξεν, εἰ κατηµέλησ ἐγώ. 45 Οδ. ποίαισι τόλµαις ταῖσδε καὶ φρενῶν θράσει; Αθ. νύκτωρ ἐφ ὑµᾶς δόλιος ὁρµᾶται µόνος. Οδ. ἦ καὶ παρέστη κἀπὶ τέρµ ἀφίκετο; Αθ. καὶ δὴ πὶ δισσαῖς ἦν στρατηγίσιν πύλαις. I ll tell you this: Ajax did those killings, as you suspected. Why would he do that? Why turn his hands to such a senseless act? The weapons that armour from Achilles it made him insanely angry. But then why would he slaughter all the animals? He thought he was staining both his hands with blood from you. You mean this was his plan against the Argives? Yes and it would have worked, if I had not been paying attention. How could he have done something so reckless? How could his mind have been so rash? At night in secret he crept out alone after you. How close was he? Did he get to his target? He reached the camp of both commanders he made it right up to their double gates. 1
[2] ΑΙΑΣ ὦ χαῖρ Ἀθάνα, χαῖρε Διογενὲς τέκνον, ὡς εὖ παρέστης καί σε παγχρύσοις ἐγὼ στέψω λαφύροις τῆσδε τῆς ἄγρας χάριν. Αθ. καλῶς ἔλεξας. ἀλλ ἐκεῖνό µοι φράσον, ἔβαψας ἔγχος εὖ πρὸς Ἀργείων στρατῷ; 95 Αι. κόµπος πάρεστι κοὐκ ἀπαρνοῦµαι τὸ µή. Αθ. ἦ καὶ πρὸς Ἀτρείδαισιν ᾔχµασας χέρα; Αι. ὥστ οὔποτ Αἴανθ οἵδ ἀτιµάσουσ ἔτι. Αθ. τεθνᾶσιν ἅνδρες, ὡς τὸ σὸν ξυνῆκ ἐγώ. Αι. θανόντες ἤδη τἄµ ἀφαιρείσθων ὅπλα. 100 Welcome Athena! Welcome child of Zeus! You have given me so much assistance! In gratitude for those I ve captured I ll offer you a crown, presents of pure gold. That s nobly spoken. But tell me this did that sword of yours slake itself on blood when you attacked the Argive army? Yes. That I can boast about. I don t deny it. You went after the two sons of Atreus with that weapon in your fist? Indeed I did. They ll not dishonour Ajax any more. So, as I understand you, those men are dead. Yes, dead. Let them rob me of my weapons now! [3] ὦ πολλὰ λέξας ἄρτι κἀνόητ ἔπη, οὐ µνηµονεύεις οὐκέτ οὐδέν, ἡνίκα ἑρκέων ποθ ὑµᾶς ἐντὸς ἐγκεκλῃµένους, ἤδη τὸ µηδὲν ὄντας ἐν τροπῇ δορός, 1275 ἐρρύσατ ἐλθὼν µοῦνος, ἀµφὶ µὲν νεῶν ἄκροισιν ἤδη ναυτικοῖς <θ > ἑδωλίοις πυρὸς φλέγοντος, εἰς δὲ ναυτικὰ σκάφη πηδῶντος ἄρδην Ἕκτορος τάφρων ὕπερ; τίς ταῦτ ἀπεῖρξεν; οὐχ ὅδ ἦν ὁ δρῶν τάδε, 1280 ὃν οὐδαµοῦ φῄς, οὗ σὺ µή, βῆναι ποδί; ἆρ ὗµιν οὗτος ταῦτ ἔδρασεν ἔνδικα; χὤτ αὖθις αὐτὸς Ἕκτορος µόνος µόνου, λαχών τε κἀκέλευστος, ἦλθεν ἀντίος, 2
οὐ δραπέτην τὸν κλῆρον ἐς µέσον καθείς, 1285 ὑγρᾶς ἀρούρας βῶλον, ἀλλ ὃς εὐλόφου κυνῆς ἔµελλε πρῶτος ἅλµα κουφιεῖν; ὅδ ἦν ὁ πράσσων ταῦτα Have you no longer any memory of the time when you were all bunched up inside the rampart, almost done for in that spear fight then Ajax showed up, all on his own, and kept protecting you, with flames already blazing on your ships, spreading across the decks right at the stern, and Hector leaping high across the ditch, heading for our fleet? Who held him back? Was Ajax not the one who managed that, the man you claim never went any place where you did not go, too? Do you concede his actions then, as far as you re concerned, set a high standard? And then another time, when he faced up to Hector by himself in single combat. No one ordered him. He was picked out by lot, and his marker, the one he threw in among the others, was not designed to help him not get picked. It was no lump of moistened clay, no, but a light one which would be the first out of the crested helmet. Yes, Ajax was the one who did these things [4] τὸν ἄνδρα τόνδε πρὸς θεῶν µὴ τλῇς ἄθαπτον ὧδ ἀναλγήτως βαλεῖν µηδ ἡ βία σε µηδαµῶς νικησάτω τοσόνδε µισεῖν ὥστε τὴν δίκην πατεῖν. 1335 κἀµοὶ γὰρ ἦν ποθ οὗτος ἔχθιστος στρατοῦ, ἐξ οὗ κράτησα τῶν Ἀχιλλείων ὅπλων ἀλλ αὐτὸν ἔµπας ὄντ ἐγὼ τοιόνδ ἐµοὶ οὔ τἂν ἀτιµάσαιµ ἄν, ὥστε µὴ λέγειν ἕν ἄνδρ ἰδεῖν ἄριστον Ἀργείων, ὅσοι 1340 Τροίαν ἀφικόµεσθα, πλὴν Ἀχιλλέως. ὥστ οὐκ ἂν ἐνδίκως γ ἀτιµάζοιτο σοί οὐ γάρ τι τοῦτον, ἀλλὰ τοὺς θεῶν νόµους φθείροις ἄν. ἄνδρα δ οὐ δίκαιον, εἰ θάνοι, βλάπτειν τὸν ἐσθλόν, οὐδ ἐὰν µισῶν κυρῇς. 1345 This man became my greatest enemy in all our army on that very day I beat him for the armour of Achilles. But for all the man s hostility to me, I would not disgrace him. Nor would I deny 3
that in my view he was the finest warrior among the Argive men who came to Troy, after Achilles. So if you dishonour him, you would be unjust. It would not harm him, but you d be contravening all those laws the gods established. When a good man dies, it is not right to harm him, even though he may be someone you hate. [5] σὺ δ εἰπέ µοι µὴ µῆκος, ἀλλὰ συντόµως, ᾔδησθα κηρυχθέντα µὴ πράσσειν τάδε; Αν. ᾔδη τί δ οὐκ ἔµελλον; ἐµφανῆ γὰρ ἦν. Κρ. καὶ δῆτ ἐτόλµας τούσδ ὑπερβαίνειν νόµους; Αν. οὐ γάρ τί µοι Ζεὺς ἦν ὁ κηρύξας τάδε, 450 οὐδ ἡ ξύνοικος τῶν κάτω θεῶν Δίκη τοιούσδ ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ὥρισεν νόµους, οὐδὲ σθένειν τοσοῦτον ᾠόµην τὰ σὰ κηρύγµαθ ὥστ ἄγραπτα κἀσφαλῆ θεῶν νόµιµα δύνασθαι θνητά γ ὄνθ ὑπερδραµεῖν. 455 οὐ γάρ τι νῦν γε κἀχθές, ἀλλ ἀεί ποτε ζῇ ταῦτα, κοὐδεὶς οἶδεν ἐξ ὅτου φάνη. τούτων ἐγὼ οὐκ ἔµελλον, ἀνδρὸς οὐδενὸς φρόνηµα δείσασ, ἐν θεοῖσι τὴν δίκην δώσειν θανουµένη γὰρ ἐξῄδη, τί δ οὔ; 460 κεἰ µὴ σὺ προὐκήρυξας. εἰ δὲ τοῦ χρόνου πρόσθεν θανοῦµαι, κέρδος αὔτ ἐγὼ λέγω. ὅστις γὰρ ἐν πολλοῖσιν ὡς ἐγὼ κακοῖς ζῇ, πῶς ὅδ οὐχὶ κατθανὼν κέρδος φέρει; οὕτως ἔµοιγε τοῦδε τοῦ µόρου τυχεῖν 465 παρ οὐδὲν ἄλγος ἀλλ ἄν, εἰ τὸν ἐξ ἐµῆς µητρὸς θανόντ ἄθαπτον <ὄντ > ἠνεσχόµην, κείνοις ἂν ἤλγουν τοῖσδε δ οὐκ ἀλγύνοµαι. σοὶ δ εἰ δοκῶ νῦν µῶρα δρῶσα τυγχάνειν, σχεδόν τι µώρῳ µωρίαν ὀφλισκάνω. 470 [Creon turns to interrogate Antigone] Tell me briefly not in some lengthy speech were you aware there was a proclamation forbidding what you did? I d heard of it. How could I not? It was public knowledge. CREON And yet you dared to break those very laws? Yes. Zeus did not announce those laws to me. And Justice living with the gods below sent no such laws for men. I did not think anything which you proclaimed strong enough to let a mortal override the gods 4
and their unwritten and unchanging laws. They re not just for today or yesterday, but exist forever, and no one knows where they first appeared. So I did not mean to let a fear of any human will lead to my punishment among the gods. I know all too well I m going to die how could I not? it makes no difference what you decree. And if I have to die before my time, well, I count that a gain. When someone has to live the way I do, surrounded by so many evil things, how can she fail to find a benefit in death? And so for me meeting this fate won t bring any pain. But if I d allowed my own mother s dead son to just lie there, an unburied corpse, then I d feel distress. What s going on here does not hurt me at all. If you think what I m doing now is stupid, perhaps I m being charged with foolishness by someone who s a fool. [6] Ισ. ἐγὼ µὲν οὐκ ἄτιµα ποιοῦµαι, τὸ δὲ βίᾳ πολιτῶν δρᾶν ἔφυν ἀµήχανος. Αν. σὺ µὲν τάδ ἂν προὔχοι ἐγὼ δὲ δὴ τάφον 80 χώσουσ ἀδελφῷ φιλτάτῳ πορεύσοµαι. Ισ. οἴµοι, ταλαίνης ὡς ὑπερδέδοικά σου. Αν. µὴ µοῦ προτάρβει τὸν σὸν ἐξόρθου πότµον. Ισ. ἀλλ οὖν προµηνύσῃς γε τοῦτο µηδενὶ τοὔργον, κρυφῇ δὲ κεῦθε, σὺν δ αὔτως ἐγώ. 85 Αν. οἴµοι, καταύδα πολλὸν ἐχθίων ἔσῃ σιγῶσ, ἐὰν µὴ πᾶσι κηρύξῃς τάδε. Ισ. θερµὴν ἐπὶ ψυχροῖσι καρδίαν ἔχεις. Αν. ἀλλ οἶδ ἀρέσκουσ οἷς µάλισθ ἁδεῖν µε χρή. Ισ. εἰ καὶ δυνήσῃ γ ἀλλ ἀµηχάνων ἐρᾷς. 90 Αν. οὐκοῦν, ὅταν δὴ µὴ σθένω, πεπαύσοµαι. Ισ. Αν. Ισ. ἀρχὴν δὲ θηρᾶν οὐ πρέπει τἀµήχανα. εἰ ταῦτα λέξεις, ἐχθαρῇ µὲν ἐξ ἐµοῦ, ἐχθρὰ δὲ τῷ θανόντι προσκείσῃ δίκῃ. ἀλλ ἔα µε καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἐµοῦ δυσβουλίαν 95 παθεῖν τὸ δεινὸν τοῦτο πείσοµαι γὰρ οὐ τοσοῦτον οὐδὲν ὥστε µὴ οὐ καλῶς θανεῖν. ἀλλ εἰ δοκεῖ σοι, στεῖχε τοῦτο δ ἴσθ, ὅτι ἄνους µὲν ἔρχῃ, τοῖς φίλοις δ ὀρθῶς φίλη. I m not disrespecting them. But I can t act against the state. That s not in my nature. Let that be your excuse. I m going now 5
to make a burial mound for my dear brother. Oh poor Antigone, I m so afraid for you. Don t fear for me. Set your own fate in order. Make sure you don t reveal to anyone what you intend. Keep it closely hidden. I ll do the same. No, no. Announce the fact if you don t let everybody know, I ll despise your silence even more. Your heart is hot to do cold deeds. But I know I ll please the ones I m duty bound to please. Yes, if you can. But you re after something which you re incapable of carrying out. Well, when my strength is gone, then I ll give up. A vain attempt should not be made at all. I ll hate you if you re going to talk that way. And you ll rightly earn the loathing of the dead. So leave me and my foolishness alone we ll get through this fearful thing. I won t suffer anything as bad as a disgraceful death. All right then, go, if that s what you think right. But remember this even though your mission makes no sense, your friends do truly love you. [7] θεοῖσι µέν νυν οὐκ ἰσούµενόν σ ἐγὼ οὐδ οἵδε παῖδες ἑζόµεσθ ἐφέστιοι, ἀνδρῶν δὲ πρῶτον ἔν τε συµφοραῖς βίου κρίνοντες ἔν τε δαιµόνων συναλλαγαῖς ὅς γ ἐξέλυσας ἄστυ Καδµεῖον µολὼν 35 σκληρᾶς ἀοιδοῦ δασµὸν ὃν παρείχοµεν, καὶ ταῦθ ὑφ ἡµῶν οὐδὲν ἐξειδὼς πλέον οὐδ ἐκδιδαχθείς, ἀλλὰ προσθήκῃ θεοῦ λέγῃ νοµίζῃ θ ἡµὶν ὀρθῶσαι βίον. νῦν δ, ὦ κράτιστον πᾶσιν Οἰδίπου κάρα, 40 ἱκετεύοµέν σε πάντες οἵδε πρόστροποι ἀλκήν τιν εὑρεῖν ἡµίν 6
These children and myself now sit here by your home, not because we think you re equal to the gods. No. We judge you the first of men in what happens in this life and in our interactions with the gods. For you came here, to our Cadmeian city, and freed us from the tribute we were paying to that cruel singer and yet you knew no more than we did and had not been taught. In their stories, the people testify how, with gods help, you gave us back our lives. So now, Oedipus, our king, most powerful in all men s eyes, we re here as suppliants, all begging you to find some help for us. 7