For now the land of Asia mourneth sore,

'Twas Xerxes who with evil counsels sped

Why was Dareios erst so free from harm,

The leader whom the men of Susa loved,

While those who fought as soldiers or at sea,

Their own ships, in the crash of ruin urged,

The king himself, we hear, but hardly 'scapes,

And paths o'er which the tempests wildly sweep.

Are scattered round Kychreia's shore,^[46] woe! woe!

Lament, mourn sore, and raise a bitter cry,

And let thy mourning voice uplift its strain

By the dumb brood of stainless sea, woe! woe!

And each house mourneth for its vanished lord;

Mourning in age o'er griefs the Gods have sent,

Atoss. Whoe'er, my friends, is vexed in troublous times,

Knows that when once a tide of woe sets in,

A man is wont to fear in everything;

But when Fate flows on smoothly, then to trust

That the same Fate will ever send fair gales.

So now all these disasters from the Gods

Seem in mine eyes filled full of fear and dread,

And in mine ears rings cry unpæanlike,

So great a dread of all has seized my soul:

And therefore now, without or chariot's state

Or wonted pomp, have I thus issued forth

From out my palace, to my son's sire bringing

Libations loving, gifts propitiatory,

Meet for the dead; milk pure and white from cow

Unblemished, and bright honey that distils

From the flower-working bee, and water drawn

From virgin fountain, and the draught unmarred

From mother wild, bright child of ancient vine;

And here too of the tree that evermore

Keeps its fresh life in foliage, the pale olive,

Is the sweet-smelling fruit, and twinèd wreaths

Of flowers, the children of all-bearing earth.^[47]

But ye, my friends, o'er these libations poured

In honour of the dead, chant forth your hymns,

And call upon Dareios as a God:

While I will send unto the Gods below

These votive offerings which the earth shall drink.

Chor. O royal lady, honoured of the Persians,

To the dark chambers of the dead below;

The Powers that act as escorts of the dead

To give us kindly help beneath the earth.

But oh, ye holy Ones in darkness dwelling,

Hermes and Earth, and thou, the Lord of Hell,

For should he know a cure for these our ills,

He, he alone of men, their end may tell.

Dear was our chief, and dear to us his tomb,

Aidoneus, O Aidoneus, send him forth,

Thou who dost lead the dead to Earth again,

*Yea, send Dareios.... What a king was he!

For never did he in war's bloody woe

But Heaven-taught Counsellor the Persians called him,

And Heaven-taught Counsellor in truth he proved,

Since he still ruled his hosts of subjects well.

Monarch, O ancient monarch, come, oh, come,

Come to the summit of sepulchral mound,

Speak, O Dareios, faultless father, speak.

Yea, come, that thou, O Lord, may'st hear the woes,

Woes new and strange, our lord has now endured;

Speak, O Dareios, faultless father, speak.

*In double error of wild frenzy born,

Ships that are ships no more, yea, ships no more?

Dar. O faithful of the Faithful, ye who were

Companions of my youth, ye Persian elders,

What troubles is't my country toils beneath?

The whole plain groans, cut up and furrowed o'er,^[49]

And I, beholding now my queen beloved

Standing hard by my sepulchre, feared much,

And her libations graciously received;

But ye wail loud near this my sepulchre,

And shouting shrill with cries that raise the dead,

Ye call me with your plaints. No easy task

Is it to come, for this cause above all,

That the great Gods who reign below are apter

To seize men than release: yet natheless I,

Being great in power among them, now am come.

Be quick then, that none blame me as too late;^[50]

What new dire evils on the Persians weigh?

Chor. I fear to look on thee,

With all the awe of thee I felt of old.

Dar. But since I came by thy complaints persuaded,

From below rising, spin no lengthened tale;

But shortly, clearly speak, and tell thy story,

And leave awhile thine awe and fear of me.

Chor. I dread thy wish to grant,

Saying things that it is hard for friends to speak.

Dar. Nay, then, since that old dread of thine prevents thee,

Do thou [to Atossa], the ancient partner of my bed,

My noble queen, from these thy plaints and moanings

Cease, and say something clearly. Human sorrows

May well on mortals fall; for many evils,

Some on the sea, and some on dry land also,

Happen to men if life be far prolongèd.

Atoss. O thou, who in the fate of fair good fortune

Excelled'st all men, who, while yet thou sawest

The sun's bright rays, did'st lead a life all blessed,

Admired, yea, worshipped as a God by Persians,

Now, too, I count thee blest in that thou died'st

Before thou saw'st the depth of these our evils.

For now, Dareios, thou shalt hear a story

Full, yet in briefest moment. Utter ruin,

To sum up all, is come upon the Persians.

Dar. How so? Hath plague or discord seized my country?

Atoss. Not so, but all the host is lost near Athens.

Dar. What son of mine led that host hither, tell me?^[52]

Atoss. Xerxes o'er-hasty, emptying all the mainland.

Dar. Made he this mad attempt by land or water?

Atoss. By both; two lines there were of two great armies.

Dar. How did so great a host effect its passage?

Atoss. He bridged the straits of Helle, and found transit.

Dar. Did he prevail to close the mighty Bosporos?

Atoss. So was it; yet some God, it may be, helped him.

Dar. Alas! some great God came and stole his wisdom.

Atoss. Yea, the end shows what evil he accomplished.

Dar. And how have they fared, that ye thus bewail them?

Atoss. The naval host, o'ercome, wrecked all the land-force.

Dar. What! Is the whole host by the spear laid prostrate?

Atoss. For this doth Susa's city mourn her losses.

Dar. Alas, for that brave force and mighty army!

Atoss. The Bactrians all are lost, not old men merely.

Dar. Poor fool! how he hath lost his host's fresh vigour!

Atoss. Xerxes, they say, alone, with but few others....

Dar. What is his end, and where? Is there no safety?

Atoss. Was glad to gain the bridge that joins two mainlands.

Dar. And has he reached this mainland? Is that certain?

Atoss. Yea, the report holds good. Here is no discord.^[53]

Dar. Ah me! Full swift the oracles' fulfilment!

And on my son hath Zeus their end directed.

I hoped the Gods would work them out more slowly;

But when man hastens, God too with him worketh.

And now for all my friends a fount of evils

Seems to be found. And this my son, not knowing,

In youth's rash mood, hath wrought; for he did purpose

To curb the sacred Hellespont with fetters,

As though it were his slave, and sought to alter

The stream of God, the Bosporos, full-flowing,

And his well-hammered chains around it casting,

Prevailed to make his mighty host a highway;

And though a mortal, thought, with no good counsel,

To master all the Gods, yea, e'en Poseidon.

Nay, was not my poor son oppressed with madness?

And much I fear lest all my heaped-up treasure

Become the spoil and prey of the first comer.

Atoss. Such things the o'er-hasty Xerxes learns from others,

By intercourse with men of evil counsel;^[54]

Who say that thou great wealth for thy son gained'st

By thy spear's might, while he with coward spirit

Does his spear-work indoors, and nothing addeth

Unto his father's glory. Such reproaches

Hearing full oft from men of evil counsel,

He planned this expedition against Hellas.

Dar. Thus then a deed portentous hath been wrought,

Ever to be remembered, such as ne'er

Falling on Susa made it desolate,

Since Zeus our king ordained this dignity,

That one man should be lord of Asia's plains.

Where feed her thousand flocks, and hold the rod

Of sovran guidance: for the Median first^[55]

Ruled o'er the host, and then his son in turn

Finished the work, for reason steered his soul;

And Kyros came as third, full richly blest,

And ruled, and gained great peace for all his friends;

And he won o'er the Lydians and the Phrygians,

And conquered all the wide Ionian land;^[56]

For such his wisdom, he provoked not God.

And Kyros' son came fourth, and ruled the host;

And Mardos fifth held sway, his country's shame,^[57]

Shame to the ancient throne; and him with guile

Artaphrenes^[58] the brave smote down, close leagued

With men, his friends, to whom the work was given.

[Sixth, Maraphis and seventh Artaphrenes,]

And I obtained this post that I desired,

And with a mighty host great victories won.

Yet no such evil brought I on the state;

But my son Xerxes, young, thinks like a youth,

And all my solemn charge remembers not;

For know this well, my old companions true,

That none of us who swayed the realm of old,

Did e'er appear as working ills like these.

Chor. What then, O King Dareios? To what end

Lead'st thou thy speech? And how, in this our plight,

Could we, the Persian people, prosper best?

Dar. If ye no more attack the Hellenes' land,

E'en though the Median host outnumbers theirs.

To them the very land is true ally.

Chor. What meanest thou? How fights the land for them?

Dar. *It slays with famine those vast multitudes.

Chor. We then a host, select, compact, will raise.

Dar. Nay, e'en the host which now in Hellas stays^[59]

Will ne'er return in peace and safety home.

Chor. How say'st thou? Does not all the barbarous host

Cross from Europa o'er the straits of Hellè?

Dar. But few of many; if 'tis meet for one

Who looks upon the things already done

To trust the oracles of Gods; for they,

Not these or those, but all, are brought to pass:

If this be so, then, resting on vain hopes,^[60]

He leaves a chosen portion of his host:

And they abide where, watering all the plain,

Asôpos pours his fertilising stream

Dear to Bœotian land; and there of ills

The topmost crown awaits them, penalty

Of wanton outrage and of godless thoughts;

For they to Hellas coming, held not back

In awe from plundering sculptured forms of Gods^[61]

And burning down their temples; and laid low

Are altars, and the shrines of Gods o'erthrown,

E'en from their base. They therefore having wrought

Deeds evil, now are suffering, and will suffer

Evil not less, and not as yet is seen

*E'en the bare groundwork of the ills, but still

They grow up to completeness. Such a stream

Of blood and slaughter soon shall flow from them

By Dorian spear upon Platæan ground,^[62]

And heaps of corpses shall to children's children,

Though speechless, witness to the eyes of men

That mortal man should not wax overproud;

For wanton pride from blossom grows to fruit,

The full corn in the ear, of utter woe,

And reaps a tear-fraught harvest. Seeing then,

Such recompense of these things, cherish well

The memory of Athens and of Hellas;

Let no man in his scorn of present fortune,

And thirst for other, mar his good estate;

Zeus is the avenger of o'er-lofty thoughts,

A terrible controller. Therefore now,

Since voice of God bids him be wise of heart,

Admonish him with counsel true and good

To cease his daring sacrilegious pride;

And thou, O Xerxes' mother, old and dear,

Go to thy home, and taking what apparel

Is fitting, go to meet thy son; for all

The costly robes around his limbs are torn

To rags and shreds in grief's wild agony.

But do thou gently soothe his soul with words;

For he to thee alone will deign to hearken;

But I must leave the earth for darkness deep:

And ye, old men, farewell, although in woe,

And give your soul its daily bread of joy;

For to the dead no profit bringeth wealth.

Chor. I shudder as I hear the many woes

Both past and present that on Persians fall.

Atoss. [O God, how many evils fall on me!^[63]

And yet this one woe biteth more than all,

Hearing my son's shame in the rags of robes

That clothe his limbs. But I will go and take

A fit adornment from my house, and try

To meet my son. We will not in his troubles

Basely abandon him whom most we love.]

Chor. Ah me! a glorious and a blessed life

When our old king, Dareios, ruled the land,

Meeting all wants, dispassionate, supreme,

For first we showed the world our noble hosts;

Directed all things; and our backward march

After our wars unhurt, unsuffering led

How many towns he took,

Not crossing Halys' stream^[64]

Nor issuing from his home,

Lie near the coasts of Thrakian colonies.

And those that lie outside the Ægæan main,

Propontis with its bays, and mouth of Pontos broad.

Facing the headland jutting in the sea,^[66]

Lesbos, and Samos with its olive groves;

Naxos and Myconos, and Andros too

That lie midway between the continents,

Rhodes and Cnidos and the Kyprian towns,

Whose parent city now our groans doth cause;^[67]

And many a wealthy town and populous,

Of Hellenes in the Ionian region dwelling,

His was the unconquered strength of warrior host,

In strife of war defeated utterly,

Xer. Oh, miserable me!

Who this dark hateful doom

That I expected least

Have met with as my lot,

With what stern mood and fierce

Towards the Persian race

Is God's hand laid on us!

What woe will come on me?

Gone is my strength of limb,

As I these elders see.

Ah, would to Heaven, O Zeus,

That with the men who fell

Death's doom had covered me!

Is terribly, most terribly, o'erthrown.

Sore evil to my country and my race.

Chor. Yea, and on thy return

I will lift up my voice in wailing loud,

Xer. Yea, utter ye a wail

For lo! the face of Fate

Against me now is turned.

Chor. Yea, I will raise a cry

Dreary and full of grief,

Giving this tribute due

To all the people's woes,

And all our loss at sea,

Troubles of this our State

That mourneth for her sons;

Yea, I will wail full sore,

With flood of bitter tears.

Xer. For Ares, he whose might

Was in our ships' array,

Giving victory to our foes,

Has in Ionians, yea,

Ionians, found his match,

And from the dark sea's plain,

And that ill-omened shore,

Has a fell harvest reaped.

Chor. Yea, wail, search out the whole;

Where are our other friends?

Where thy companions true,

Such as Pharandakes,

Susas, Pelagon, Psammis, Dotamas,

Agdabatas, Susiskanes,

From Ecbatana who started?

Xer. I left them low in death,

Falling from Tyrian ship,

On Salaminian shores,

Beating now here, now there,

On the hard rock-girt coast.

Chor. Ah, where Pharnuchos then,

Xer. Woe! woe is me!

They have looked on at Athens' ancient towers,

Chor. And he, thy faithful Eye,^[69]

       ·       ·       ·       ·       ·

Did'st thou leave them, did'st thou leave them?

Xer. Ah, thou dost wake in me

The memory of the spell of yearning love

Chor. Yea, another too we long for,

Xer. Gone those rulers of the army.

Chor. Gone are they in death inglorious.

Xer. Ah woe! ah woe! Alas! alas!

Chor. Ah! the Gods have sent upon us

Smitten we by many sorrows,

Such as come on men but seldom.

Chor. Smitten we, 'tis all too certain....

Xer. Fresh woes! fresh woes! ah me!

Chor. Now with adverse turn of fortune,

With Ionian seamen meeting,

Fails in war the race of Persians.

Xer. Too true. Yea I and that vast host of mine

Are smitten down.

Chor. Too true—the Persians' majesty and might

Have perished utterly.

Xer. See'st thou this remnant of my armament?

Chor. I see it, yea, I see.

Xer. (pointing to his quiver.) Dost see thou that

which arrows wont to hold?...

Chor. What speak'st thou of as saved?

Xer. This treasure-store for darts.

Chor. Few, few of many left!

Xer. Thus we all helpers lack.

Chor. Ionian soldiers flee not from the spear.