Poets Translate Poets: A Hudson Review Anthology (21 page)

m e s: You’ll soon see him, the man you want,

crowned with Victory. He’s looking splendid.

day: You get this from some local bloke, or a foreigner?

m e s: Th

ere in the summer pastures

Likhas the herald is telling a whole crowd of people.

I came on ahead, thought I might get

a tip for the news.

day: Why doesn’t he come himself, if there’s anything to it?

m e s: He can’t for the crowd, ma’am.

Th

ey’re all jammed round him

wanting the details.

He can’t move a step. Th

ey want it.

But you’ll see him here pretty soon.

day: Zeus in the long grass of Oeta,

joy hast Th

ou given me with its season.

Tune up, you there, you women, inside

and out here.

I had given up hope.

Never thought I would see it.

Let’s sing and be happy.

S opho c l e s
159

Deitz 1st pages.indd 159

Deitz 1st pages.indd 159

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

k horo s: APOLLO

and Artemis, analolu

Artemis,

Analolu,

Sun-bright Apollo, Saviour Apollo,

analolu,

Artemis,

Sylvan

Artemis,

Swift -arrowed Artemis, analolu

By the hearth-stone

brides to be

Shout in male company:

APOLLO EUPHARETRON.

Sylvan

Artemis,

torch-lit Artemis

With thy Ortygian girls,

Analolu

Artemis,

Io

Zagreus,

Join now, join with us

when the great stag is slain,

Lord of hearts, Artemis,

Ivied

Zagreus,

Analolu,

Dancing maid and man,

Lady or Bacchanal

dancing toe to toe

By

night,

By light shall show

analolu

Paian.

day: Yes, my dear girls, I make out the crowd

and

fi nally and at last and at leisure

160
A n c i e n t G r e e k

Deitz 1st pages.indd 160

Deitz 1st pages.indd 160

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

the herald, to be received,

and,

if his news is good,

welcomed.

l i k h a s: Th

at it is, Milady,

and

worth

hearing,

and paying for.

day: Is Herakles alive?

l i k h : Sound in wind and limb, mind and body.

day: Where? In Greece or in some damn foreign desert?

l i k h : On the cliff of Euboea,

setting up altars to Zeus Kaenean.

day: A vow, or to stave off evil?

l i k h : A vow, made when he went to conquer

these women’s country.

day: Good God! What are these poor devils?

Where do they come from?

l i k h : Th

ese are the ones he picked for the gods (and himself)

when he sacked Eurytus.

day: And he’s been waiting all this time

to conquer a city?

l i k h : No, most of the time he was in Lydia,

that’s what he says, sold into bondage,

and you can’t blame it on anyone except Zeus.

Says he was in servitude to the barbarian Omphale

(that’s what he says).

So disgusted he swore to get back at the man who’d double-crossed him;

chuck him and his whole house into slavery,

S opho c l e s
161

Deitz 1st pages.indd 161

Deitz 1st pages.indd 161

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

wife, child and the lot of ’em.

Swore in foreign troops and went to Eurytus’ place

as he blamed it all on Eurytus.

Well, he was drunk, and he killed a man,

threw him off a cliff , and was punished.

Zeus wouldn’t stand it,

and Herakles blamed it on ’Rytus

who had insulted him

and had him thrown out of the dining hall,

which was how he came to be on the cliff

up at Tirunth

when Iphytz was there hunting lost horses,

and he killed him, and so on,

and Zeus wouldn’t stand it.

So when he’d done his time, he got a gang together

and sacked ’Rytus’ city.

Th

ese are the captives.

Th

at’s what comes of big talk.

Said Herakles couldn’t shoot as well as his kids, ’Rytus’s.

Hell’s full of big talkers.

He’ll be along as soon as he’s fi nished

the celebration. All very fi ne—

Sacrifi ce, captives.

C’est très beau.

k ho: Yes, isn’t it, Your Majesty.

Everything will now be all right.

day: If it lasts, yes. Looks all right, why can’t I feel easy about it?

My luck runs with his. I wonder.

I’m sorry for these poor girls, in a strange country,

orphans,

slaves,

I hope no child of mine ever—

or that I don’t live to see it.

162
A n c i e n t G r e e k

Deitz 1st pages.indd 162

Deitz 1st pages.indd 162

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

(
to
iol e)

You look as if you were taking it worse

than any of the others.

Girl, wife, young; no, you can’t have been

married yet. And good family.

Who is she, Likhas?

I’m sorrier for her than for the rest of them.

She seems to feel it.

l i k h : How do I know? She might be top drawer,

why ask me?

day: Royal? Had Eurytus a daughter?

l i k h : I dunno. I haven’t asked her.

day: Didn’t anyone tell you?

l i k h : I had plenty else to do, without asking that kind of questions.

day (
to
iol e):

Well then, you tell me.

What’s happened? Who are you?

l i k h : It’ll be a change if she does,

hasn’t uttered a pip-squeak

since she came down from the windy country.

Tears, tears, tears,

but it’s excusable,

she’s had pretty bad luck.

day: Let her alone, let her go in,

I don’t want to add to her troubles,

she’s had enough.

Everybody

in!

S opho c l e s
163

Deitz 1st pages.indd 163

Deitz 1st pages.indd 163

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

Have to hurry to get things in order.

[
Exeunt Likhas and captives
.]

m e s se nge r : ’Arf a mo’ Ma’am! Better fi nd out

what you’re taking in there. I know

a bit more about that.

day: What’s this? What are you stopping me for?

m e s: Jus’ lis’en a bit,

if what I told you before was worth hearing . . .

day: Shall I call ’em back?

m e s: We’re enough. Th

ere’s enough of us here.

day: Th

ey’re all gone. Don’t talk riddles.

m e s: Th

at fellow was lying, one time or the other,

one heck of a messenger!

day: Put it on the line, what do you know?

Get it out clearly.

m e s: All started when he had a letch for the girl, and when her

pro-eh-Genitor ’Rytus wouldn’t let him put her to bed on the Q.T.

Wasn’t about Iphytz or Omphale

he sacked the town, and killed ’Rytus to get her.

He’s not bringin’ her here as a slave. Too het up.

So I thought I would be telling Your Majesty,

this is what Likhas was saying,

and plenty of Trachinians heard him.

I’m sorry to worry you. But the facts . . .

day: What have I done, what have I done!

Just a nobody, and he took oath that she was.

What a mess.

m e s: She’s somebody all right, all right.

164
A n c i e n t G r e e k

Deitz 1st pages.indd 164

Deitz 1st pages.indd 164

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

Name’s Iole, and ’Rytus her father.

And Likhas hadn’t found that out

’cause he hadn’t troubled to ask her.

k ho: To hell with all double-crossers,

they are the last of all dirtiness.

day: What shall . . . what shall . . . my dear girls,

what, what. . . . .

m e s: You might start by questioning Likhas,

scare the lights out of him, and he might tell you.

day: I’ll do that. You’re talking sense.

m e s: Want me to go, or. .?

day: You stay here. Th

ere he comes, without being asked.

l i k h : What do you want me to tell Herakles, Madam?

I’m

leaving.

day: Not in quite such a hurry. You were

in no hurry to get here.

Let’s have a little conversation.

l i k h : Yours to command, Ma’am.

day: Have you any respect for the truth?

l i k h : So help me God. Nothing but . . .

day: Who was that woman you brought here?

l i k h : I don’t know about her family, she comes from Euboea.

m e s: Look at here. You know who this is?

l i k h : Who are you?

m e s: Don’t mind that.

Answer my question, if you’ve got sense enough.

S opho c l e s
165

Deitz 1st pages.indd 165

Deitz 1st pages.indd 165

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

l i k h : Her most Gracious Majesty, Queen of Herakles,

Daughter of Oineus, Daysair.

m e s: Right for once! She’s your Queen.

l i k h : To whom my most faithful service . . .

m e s: Service, duty, yes duty, my dicky-bird

and if you don’t . . .

l i k h : What’s this screw-ball?

If I don’t. . . .

m e s: Do your duty, do you get that?

It sounds fairly clear.

l i k h : Silly to stop for this nonsense, I’m off .

m e s: One little question.

l i k h : Get on with it. Not the quiet type, are you?

m e s: Th

at girl, you know which one,

you took into the house?

l i k h : What about her?

m e s: Don’t know her by sight, eh, you don’t?

and you said she was ’Rytus’s daughter,

the Princess Iole.

l i k h : Nobody ever heard me say anything of the sort.

m e s: Oh yes they did. Plenty of us, us Trachinians,

a whole agora heard it.

l i k h : Just talk, a mere rumour.

m e s: Just an opinion? eh? rumour? eh?

And you swore pink they were bringing her

to be Herakles’ wife.

166
A n c i e n t G r e e k

Deitz 1st pages.indd 166

Deitz 1st pages.indd 166

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

l i k h : Wife? Good God, Your dear Majesty,

who is this outsider?

m e s: Just somebody heard you talking.

Not the Lydian army, and its queen.

He sacked a whole town cause he liked the look in her eyes. Took a fancy.

l i k h : Beg to diff er, Your Majesty. No use

bothering with this screw-ball.

day: THUNDER of God! By the black vale of Oeta,

don’t weasel to me.

And

besides

you’re not going to tell it to a bad woman,

or to one who doesn’t know that men

just naturally don’t want the same thing all the time.

How’s any slugger going to stop Love with his hands?

Th

at’s a nice way to think of it?

He starts off the gods, as he fancies.

Me, am I going to win at it?

Be perfectly silly to blame the man while he’s crazy,

or the girl they’re blaming.

No shame to me. . . . no harm.

It’s not that at all. BUT. . . .

if he taught you to lie,

the lesson you learned is

not

a nice one.

And if you taught yourself to lie,

thinking some good would come of it,

you saw cross-eyed.

You come out with the truth, the whole

truth.

Now.

It’s no compliment to call a free man a liar,

S opho c l e s
167

Deitz 1st pages.indd 167

Deitz 1st pages.indd 167

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

6/26/2013 6:52:17 AM

when a free man is called a liar it’s no pretty compliment,

and it’ll all come out anyhow,

how are you going to hide it?

Plenty of people heard you, and will certainly tell me.

And if you think . . . not nice to be in terror of me . . .

not to fi nd out, would pain me, mightn’t it?

And what’s so awful to know?

Th

at man Herakles! hasn’t he

had plenty of others on me?

Ever driven me to nag him, or blame him?

And if he was overfl owing with passion for her,

will I but pity her greatly, and the more.

Her looks have ruin’d her life,

and ruin’d the land of her fathers,

not knowing, wretched,

didn’t know what it was all about.

All this gone under the wind.

I’m telling you: do dirt to others but. . . .

Don’t weasel to me.

k ho: Better do as she says. She won’t blame you, in the long run,

and I will be grateful.

l i k h : Oh Majesty, Your Dear Majesty, I see you understand

that human beings are human,

I’ll tell the truth, I won’t hold back on you.

It’s as that chap there says it was.

Herakles was hit by a tremendous passion,

it swept over him,

and he seized all Oechalia

and gave it over to pillage, her fatherland,

but I’ll say this much for him,

he never denied it, or told me to conceal it.

It was me, your Majesty, who was afraid it would pain you,

168
A n c i e n t G r e e k

Deitz 1st pages.indd 168

Deitz 1st pages.indd 168