ΙΣΜΗΝΗ.

ἀλλ ̓, εἰ δοκεῖ σοι, στεῖχε· τοῦτο δ' ἴσθ ̓, ὅτι ἄνους μὲν ἔρχει, τοῖς φίλοις δ' ὀρθῶς φίλη.

ὃν ἐφ' ἡμετέρᾳ γᾷ Πολυνείκης, σύστημα α'. 110

ἀρθεὶς νεικέων ἐξ ἀμφιλόγων,

†ἤγειρεν· ὁ δ ̓ εἰς γᾶν, αἰετὸς ὥς,

Ο

ISMENE.

:

Go, if thou art resolved and know, I hold thee
Foolish indeed, but still a peerless friend!

(Ismene returns to the palace: Antigone goes off on the right by the Parascenia. The Chorus immediately enters the orchestra by the lower side entrance on the left.)

II. PARODOS.

CHORUS.

BEAM of the sun, the fairest light

That ever shone on Theba, seven-gated!

STROPHE I.

At length thou comest, eye of golden day,
Careering o'er the fountain-streams of Dirke !
For thou, with bridle still more keenly shaken,
Hast urged to flight before the flying van
The Argive hero of the argent shield,
March as he might in garniture of mail.

(Anapastic Movement.)

Whom Polyneikes against our country,

Roused by the nicest of quarrels, had mustered,

And as an eagle terribly shrieking,

With a soaring swoop he alighted.

White as the snow were the pinions that clothed him!

Many his bucklers

And his helmets crested with horse-hair!

στὰς δ ̓ ὑπὲρ μελάθρων, † φονώ

ἀντιστ. ά.

λόγχαις επτάπυλον στόμα,

σαισιν ἀμφιχανὼν κύκλῳ

ἔβα, πρίν ποθ' ἡμετέρων

αἱμάτων γένυσιν

πλησθῆναί τε, καὶ στεφάνωμα πύργων

πευκάενθ' "Ηφαιστον ἑλεῖν.

τοῖος ἀμφὶ νῶτ ̓ ἐτάθη

120

πάταγος Αρεος, ἀντιπάλῳ

δυσχείρωμα δράκοντι

125

Ζεὺς γὰρ μεγάλης γλώσσης κόμπους ὑπερεχθαίρει· καί σφας ἐσιδων

ἀντισύστ. ά.

πολλῷ ῥεύματι προσνισσομένους
χρυσοῦ, * καναχῇ θ' * ὑπερόπλους,
παλτῷ ῥιπτεῖ πυρί, βαλβίδων
ἐπ ̓ ἄκρων ἤδη

νίκην ὁρμῶντ ̓ ἀλαλάξαι.

130

ἀντίτυπα δ ̓ ἐπὶ γᾷ πέσε τανταλωθείς στροφή β'.

πυρφόρος, ὃς τότε μαινομένᾳ ξὺν ὁρμᾷ

βακχεύων ἐπέπνει

ῥιπαῖς ἐχθίστων ἀνέμων.

εἶχε δ' ἄλλῳ τὰ μὲν,

+ ἄλλα δ ̓ ἐπ' ἄλλοις ἐπενώμα στυφελίζων

μέγας Αρης

135

ANTISTROPHE I.

And having taken his stand above our roofs,
Ravening with spears eager for death

Around the outlets of the seven portals,

Away he went before his jaws were glutted
With Theban blood,

Before the flame of torches

Had caught our circling coronet of towers.
Such and so loud the Martial clatter
Which pealed about him as he fled—
No easy task to grapple with it!
The Dragon was his match in war.

(Anapastic Movement.)

Zeus exceedingly hateth the boastings of Misproud language and soon as he saw them, In a swollen torrent of gold advancing,

And proud in the rattle of armour,

Forth flew his brandisht bolt at the foe, who,
Scaling our ramparts,

Was beginning the pæan of conquest.

STROPHE II.

Thrown from our walls against the solid earth,

Torch in hand, he fell,

Who then with frantic impulse raging

Hurtled in angry hurricanes against us.

So went the war with him!

Elsewhere great Ares others

Roughly entreated, on the right

Our tug of battle aiding.

SOPH. ANT.

C

ἑπτὰ λοχαγοὶ γὰρ ἐφ ̓ ἑπτὰ πύλαις
ταχθέντες ἴσοι πρὸς ἴσους, ἔλιπον
Ζηνὶ τροπαίῳ πάγχαλκα τέλη
πλὴν τοῖν στυγεροῖν, ὦ πατρὸς ἑνὸς
μητρός τε μιας φύντε, καθ ̓ αὐτοῖν
δικρατεῖς λόγχας στήσαντ ̓, ἔχετον
κοινοῦ θανάτου μέρος ἄμφω.

ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὁ μεγαλώνυμος ἦλθε Νίκα

τῷ πολυαρμάτῳ ἀντιχαρεῖσα Θήβα,

ἐκ μὲν δὴ πολέμων

τῶν νῦν θέσθε λησμοσύναν,

θεῶν δὲ ναοὺς χοροῖς

συστημα. β'.

145

ἀντ. β'.

150

παννυχίοις πάντας ἐπέλθωμεν· ὁ Θήβας δ' ἐλελίχθων † Βάκχιος ἄρχοι.

ἀλλ' ὅδε γὰρ δὴ βασιλεὺς χώρας αντισύστ. β'. 155 Κρέων ὁ Μενοικέως [† νέον ειληχως

ἀρχήν,] νεοχμὸς νεαραῖσι θεῶν

ἐπὶ συντυχίαις χωρεῖ, τίνα δὴ
μῆτιν ἐρέσσων, ὅτι σύγκλητον
τήνδε γερόντων προὔθετο λέσχην,

κοινῷ κηρύγματι πέμψας;

154

γρ. Βακχεῖος.

166

γρ. Κρ. ὁ Μ. νεοχμός κ.τ.λ.

160