Characters

CHORUS of the daughters of Danaus

DANAUS, the fugitive ex-king of Egypt

PELASGUS, king of Argos

SECONDARY CHORUS OF EGYPTIANS

Egyptian HERALD

SECONDARY CHORUS OF ARGIVE SOLDIERS

[Scene: The sea-coast near Argos. A mound represents a shrine (with altars) to the major gods of the city. One side-passage is imagined as leading to the city, the other to the sea. Enter CHORUS from the seaward direction. They are followed by DANAUS, who goes to the shrine and keeps a lookout towards the city.]

CHORUS:
	May Zeus, god of suppliants, look graciously upon
	our band, which set forth by ship
	from the fine sands at the mouth
	of the Nile. We have left the land of Zeus,1
5	which borders on Syria, as fugitives,
	not through public banishment for bloodshed
	after condemnation by state decree
	but of our own accord, in flight from men,
9–10	abhorring marriage with the sons of Aegyptus
	and their impious <thoughts>.
	Danaus, our father, the originator of our plan,
	the leader of our band,2 surveying the situation like a gameboard,3
	ordained this as the most honourable of painful options,
	to flee headlong over the waves of the sea
15	and put in to the land of Argos, from whence
	originates our race, which claims to derive
	from the touch and breath of Zeus
	on the gadfly-driven heifer.4
	So to what more friendly land
20	than this could we come
	with these hand-held emblems5 of the suppliant,
	these wool-wreathed olive branches?
	<O ancestral gods of Argos>
	to whom belong the city, the land and its clear waters –
24–5	both the gods above, and the chthonic gods
	inhabiting their highly honoured abodes,
	and, thirdly, Zeus the Saviour,6 protector of the houses
	of pious men – receive as suppliants
	this female band, and may the country show them
	a spirit of respect. As for the numerous,
30	wanton male swarm of the sons of Aegyptus,
	before they set foot on this marshy
	shore, send them to the open sea,
	them and their swift-oared vessel; and there may they meet
	the battering of storm and squall, thunder and lightning,
35	and the rain-bearing winds
	of the savage sea, and perish,
	before ever mounting the beds from which Right bars them,
	appropriating us, who belong to their father’s brother,
	against our wills!
40	Now let me invoke
	the calf of Zeus, the vindicator7
	from beyond the sea, the child
	of our ancestress the flower-browsing cow, conceived by a breath,
	the fruit of Zeus’ touch8 – and the destined time
45	appropriately fulfilled
	the name derived from that touch,9 and she gave birth to Epaphus;
	and now, by making mention of him
50	here in the ancient grazing-grounds
	of his mother, and recalling
	her long-past sufferings, I shall now produce
	reliable proof, which, unexpected as it is, the land’s
55	inhabitants will find clear;
	it will be recognized, once explained at length.
	If there happens to be any native nearby
	skilled in augury who hears my lament,
60	he will think he is hearing a voice like that
	of Tereus’ wife, whose cunning schemes brought her misery,10
	the nightingale whom the hawk pursues,
	who, shut off from her green river-banks,
	utters a grieving lament for her familiar haunts
65	and sings the story of her son’s death, how he perished
	by her own kindred hand,
	experiencing her unmotherly anger.11
	So I too, fond of lamenting in Ionian strains,12
70	rend my soft, sun-baked cheek
	and my heart unused to tears;
	I cull the flowers of grief,
	in apprehension whether these friendless exiles
75	from the Land of Mists13
	have any protector here.
	O ancestral gods, hear us with favour, and see where justice lies:
80	by not giving our youth to be possessed in marriage against what is proper,
	by showing you truly hate outrageous behaviour,
	you will act justly < >.
	Even for distressed fugitives from war
84–5	an altar is a defence against harm
	that gods respect.14
	May Zeus make all be well in very truth!
87	The desire of Zeus is not easy to hunt out:
93	the paths of his mind
	stretch tangled and shadowy,
95	impossible to perceive or see clearly.
91	It falls safe, not on its back,15
92	when an action is definitively ordained by the nod of Zeus.
88	It blazes everywhere,
	even in darkness, with black fortune
90	for mortal folk.
96	He casts humans down
	from lofty, towering hopes to utter destruction,
	without deploying any armed force.
100	Everything gods do is done without toil:
	he sits still and nevertheless somehow
	carries out his will directly
	from his holy abode.16
104–5	Let him look on this human
	act of outrage, on the kind of youthful stock that is sprouting:17
	the prospect of marriage with me makes it bloom
	with determination hard to dissuade;
	it has frenzied thoughts
110	that goad it on implacably,
	having had its mind transformed <to love a ruinous delusion>.
	Such are the sad sufferings that I speak and cry of,
	grievous, keening, tear-falling sufferings –
115	ié, ié! – made conspicuous by loud laments:
	I honour myself with dirges while I still live.
	I appeal for the favour of the hilly land of Apia18 –
	you understand well, O land, my barbaric speech19 –
120–21	and I repeatedly fall upon my Sidonian20 veil,
	tearing its linen to rags.21
	But unclean rites,22 even when things are going well, are vulnerable
	to divine intervention – so long as death keeps away.23
125	Ió, ió, ió, troubles hard to gauge!
	Where will these waves carry us?
	I appeal for the favour of the hilly land of Apia –
130	you understand well, O land, my barbaric speech –
	and I repeatedly fall upon my Sidonian veil,
	tearing its linen to rags.
134–5	The oar blade and the flax-sewn house
	of wood24 that keeps out the sea
	have brought me here without storms
	and with good winds, and I have no complaint;
138–40	now may the all-seeing Father
	in time bring about
	a propitious end,
	so that the offspring of a most august mother25
	may escape the beds of men – ah, ah! –
	unwedded and unsubdued.
144–5	May the chaste daughter of Zeus26
	likewise watch over me, with a willingness matching mine,27
	she who dwells behind august, secure
	temple façades:28 with all her might,
	aggrieved by the pursuit,
149–50	let her, the Untamed One,
	become the rescuer of us, the untamed ones,29
	so that the offspring of a most august mother
	may escape the beds of men – ah, ah! –
	unwedded and unsubdued.
	And if not, this dark-skinned,
155	sun-beaten race
	will supplicate the underworld Zeus,
	the ever-hospitable Zeus of the departed,30
159–60	in death, with nooses
	instead of olive branches,
	if we have not secured the aid of the Olympian gods.
	Ah, Zeus! Ió, the divine wrath
	that hunted Io! I know the jealousy
165	of the wife of heaven-conquering Zeus:
	after a stiff wind a storm will come.31
	And then will not Zeus be liable
	to merited censure
170	for dishonouring the child of the cow, whom
	he himself once begot and caused to be,
	by now turning his face away
	when we pray to him?
175	May he hear us with favour from on high when we call!

 

DANAUS: Children, you must show good sense. This trusty old man, your father, with whom you have reached this place, has been a sensible ship-master; now I have likewise taken thought regarding the situation on land, and I advise you to
180	record my words on the tablets of your mind and keep them safe. I can see a dust cloud, the voiceless harbinger of an army; the sockets of wheels are not silent as the axles drive them round; and now I see a mass of men bearing shields
184–5	and spears, together with horses and curve-fronted chariots. Perhaps the ruler of this land <and his followers may be coming> to us <to> view for themselves <what is happening here>, after getting word from messengers. But whether he has set out on this mission with no harmful intent or whetted with raw anger, it is best from every point of view, girls, to
190	sit at this rock sacred to the Assembled Gods:32 an altar is an unbreakable shield, stronger than a city wall. But come as quickly as you can; hold reverently in your left hands33 your white-wreathed suppliant-branches, sacred emblems of Zeus
194–5	the enforcer of respect,34 and answer the natives in words that display respect, sorrow and need, as it is proper for aliens to do, explaining clearly this flight of yours which is not due to bloodshed. Let your speech, in the first place, not be accompanied by arrogance, and let it emerge from your disciplined faces and your calm eyes that you are free of
200	wantonness. And be neither forward nor sluggish in speech: the people here are very ready to take offence. Remember to be yielding – you are a needy foreign refugee: bold speech does not suit those in a weak position.
CHORUS: Father, you speak sensibly to sensible listeners. I shall
206	take care to remember this good advice of yours. May our ancestor Zeus watch over us!
210 DANAUS: May he do so indeed, with kindly eye!
208 CHORUS: I would like now to take my seat close to you.
207 DANAUS: Then do not delay; and may our stratagem be successful!
	[The CHORUS move close to the shrine.]
209 CHORUS: Zeus, look on us and pity us before we perish!
211 DANAUS: If he is willing, all this will end well. Now call also on this bird of Zeus.35
CHORUS: We call upon the rays of the Sun, which bring salvation.
DANAUS: And holy Apollo, the god exiled from heaven.36
215 CHORUS: Knowing what such a fate is like, he will sympathize with mortal exiles.
DANAUS: May he indeed do so, and may he stand by us as a willing helper.
CHORUS: Who else of these divinities should I call upon?
DANAUS: I see this trident, symbol of a god.37
CHORUS: He gave us a good voyage; may he give us a good reception in this land.
220 DANAUS: This other one is Hermes, according to the Greeks’usage.38
CHORUS: May we receive proclamations of good news from him39 in freedom.
DANAUS: Now honour this common altar of all the Lords, and sit in this holy place like a flock of doves in fearful flight from
225	hawks, their fellow-birds, hostile kindred who defile their race. How could a bird eat of another bird and not be polluted? How could a man marry the unwilling daughter of an unwilling father and not become unclean? After doing such a thing he will surely not escape the punishment of his folly,
230	even in Hades after death: there too, so they say, there is another Zeus who pronounces final judgement on the dead for their sins. [Looking off towards the city, as if the armed party whose approach he had announced is now close at hand:] Be careful to reply in the way I spoke of, so that this action may end well and victoriously for you.
	[By now the CHORUS are all seated close to the altar, on which they have laid some of their suppliant-branches. PELASGUS enters from the direction of the city, in a chariot, escorted by soldiers.]
234–6 PELASGUS: From what place does this company come that I am addressing, in un-Greek garb, wearing luxurious barbarian robes and headbands? The dress of these women is not from the Argive region, nor from any place in Greece. And how
238–40	you dared to come to this land so fearlessly, under the protection neither of heralds nor of native sponsors,40 and without guides – that is astonishing. And yet suppliant-branches are lying beside you, before the Assembled Gods, in accordance with our customs: only in that respect would ‘Greece’ be a reasonable guess.41 About other things, too, it would be proper to make many more conjectures, if there were not a
245	person here with a voice to explain to me.
CHORUS: What you have said about our attire is perfectly true; but how should I address you – as a private individual, or a temple warden carrying a sacred staff, or the leader of the city?42
250 PELASGUS: So far as that is concerned, you can answer and speak to me with confidence. I am Pelasgus, ruler of this city, son of earth-born Palaechthon; and this land is cultivated by the race of the Pelasgians, appropriately named after me
254–5	their king. I am master of all the land43 through which flows the holy Strymon, on the side of the setting sun,44 and I mark as my boundary the land of the Paeonians,45 and the parts beyond Pindus near the Perrhaebians,46 and the mountains of Dodona;47 the limit that cuts it short is the watery sea. I rule what is on the hither side of these. The soil
260	of this land itself, Apia, received its name long ago in honour of a healer. Apis the healer and seer, son of Apollo, came from the land of Naupactus across the sea48 and cleansed
265–6	this land of the man-destroying creatures which the angry earth, stained by the pollution of old bloodshed, had sent up from below, a hostile horde of serpents sharing our home. From these Apis effected, beyond all cavil, a decisive, liberating
270	cure for the Argive land and in return won as his reward the right to be remembered in prayers. Now you have the evidence from me, you can declare what race you are of, and tell me more. However, our city does not love long speeches.49
275–6 CHORUS: Our statement is brief and clear. We declare that we are Argive by race, the offspring of the cow that bore a fine child; and to show that this is true, we will add proofs to what we have said.
PELASGUS: What you say, strangers, is unbelievable for me to hear, that this group of yours is of Argive descent. You
279–80	bear more resemblance to the women of Libya – certainly not to those of this country. The Nile too might nurture such a crop; and a similar stamp is struck upon the dies of Cyprian womanhood by male artificers.50 I hear too that
284–6	there are nomad women in India, near neighbours to the Ethiopians,51 who saddle their way across country on camels that run like horses; and then the man-shunning, meat-eating Amazons – if you were equipped with bows, I’d be very inclined to guess that you were them. If you explain to me, I
290	may understand better how your birth and descent can be Argive.
CHORUS: They say that once upon a time a certain Io was keyholder52 of the temple of Hera in this land of Argos.
PELASGUS: She certainly was; that is the general and dominant tradition.
295 CHORUS: Is there perhaps also a story about Zeus making love to a mortal?
PELASGUS: Yes, and their embraces did not remain concealed from Hera.
CHORUS: <Two of my arrows have already hit the mark.>
PELASGUS: How, then, did this quarrel between the royal pair53 end?
CHORUS: The Argive goddess turned the woman into a cow.
300 PELASGUS: So did Zeus couple again with this cow with the beautiful horns?
CHORUS: They say he did, mounting her in the shape and likeness of a bull.
PELASGUS: And what did the powerful consort of Zeus do in response to that?

CHORUS: She set over the cow a watchman who could see everything.54
PELASGUS: Who is this all-seeing lone cowherd you speak of?
305 CHORUS: Argus, child of Earth, whom Hermes slew.
PELASGUS: What else, then, did she contrive against the unfortunate cow?
CHORUS: <She sent a winged> cattle-driver.
PELASGUS: <Do you mean> the gadfly that forces <cattle> to keep moving?
308 CHORUS: Those who dwell near the Nile call it oistros.55
310 PELASGUS: This too that you have said matches my information perfectly.
311 CHORUS: And in fact she came to Canobus and Memphis.56
309 PELASGUS: Is that where it drove her to, in her long flight from this land?
313 CHORUS: Yes, and Zeus the Toucher begot a child for her by the touch of his hand.
PELASGUS: So what does the cow’s Zeus-begotten calf claim to be called?
315 CHORUS: Epaphus, rightly named after her deliverance.
PELASGUS: <And who was Epaphus’ child?>
CHORUS: Libya, who reaped the fruits of a vast <portion> of land.57
PELASGUS: Well, who else do you now name as her offspring?
CHORUS: Belus, who had two children and was the father of my father here.
320 PELASGUS: Now tell me his wise and apt name.
CHORUS: Danaus; and he has a brother with fifty sons.
PELASGUS: Do not begrudge revealing his name too.
CHORUS: Aegyptus. Now you know my ancient lineage, you can act so as to accept the supplication of this Argive band.
325 PELASGUS: You seem to me to have an ancient stake in this land. But what made you bring yourselves to leave your father’s home? What misfortune fell upon you?
CHORUS: Lord of the Pelasgians, human sufferings are ever-changing, and wherever you look you will never see trouble
330	showing the same face. Who ever supposed that I would take to flight like this, against all expectation, and land at Argos, rejecting with disgust a marriage tie with my close kindred through loathing of the marital bed?
PELASGUS: Why do you say you are supplicating me in the name of these Assembled Gods, holding these fresh-plucked, white-wreathed boughs?
335 CHORUS: So that I may not become a slave to the sons of Aegyptus.
PELASGUS: Is this because of hatred, or are you talking about something wrongful?58
CHORUS: Who would love someone whom she was buying as an owner?59
PELASGUS: That is how people increase their strength.60
CHORUS: Yes, and when they fall into misfortune they’re easily got rid of.61
340 PELASGUS: Well then, how can I act piously towards you?
CHORUS: By not giving us back into the hands of Aegyptus’ sons when they demand us.
PELASGUS: That’s a hard thing you’re asking – to provoke an outbreak of war.
CHORUS: But Justice stands by those who fight for her.
PELASGUS: She will, if she was a partner in your cause from the beginning.
345 CHORUS: Respect the poop of the ship of state, garlanded as it is.62
PELASGUS: I shudder to see this divine abode in shadow:63 the wrath of Zeus, god of suppliants, is certainly heavy.
CHORUS:
	Son of Palaechthon, hear me
	with a gracious heart, lord of the Pelasgians.
350	See me, the suppliant, the wandering fugitive,
	like a heifer chased by a wolf up
	the steep rocks, where,
	trusting to their protection, she lows loudly,
	letting the herdsman know of her peril.
354–5 PELASGUS: I see this company, shaded by fresh-plucked boughs, supplicating in the name of these Assembled Gods. May the business of these citizen-strangers64 not prove ruinous, and may this event, never expected or planned for, not bring strife to the community: the city doesn’t need that!
CHORUS:
359–60	May the Right that protects suppliants, servant65 of Zeus Klarios,66
	indeed see that our flight does not prove ruinous!
	But, old and wise as you are, learn from one later born:
	if you respect one who turns to you for succour, you will not
	<ever have a life of> want:
	the gods are disposed to accept the offerings
	of a man pure of stain.
365 PELASGUS: You are not sitting at the hearth of my house.67 if the city as a whole is threatened with pollution, it must be the concern of the people as a whole to work out a cure. I cannot make a binding promise beforehand, but only after making this matter known to the whole citizen body.
CHORUS:
370	You are the city, I tell you, you are the people!
	A head of state, not subject to judgement,
	you control the altar, the hearth of the city,
	by your vote and nod alone;
374–5	with your sceptre alone, on your throne, you determine
	every matter. Guard against pollution!
PELASGUS: As for pollution, may it befall my enemies! But I
	cannot aid you without causing harm; yet it is also not wise to disregard these prayers. I am at a loss – fear grips my mind
380	– whether to act, or not to act and to take my chances.
CHORUS:
	Look out for him who looks down from above,
	the guardian of toil-worn mortals
	who sit to supplicate others
	and do not get the justice that custom dictates.
385	The wrath of Zeus, god of suppliants, is enduring
	and not to be placated by the laments of its victim.
PELASGUS: If the sons of Aegyptus have power over you by the law of your state, saying they are your nearest kin,68 who would be willing to oppose that claim? You must plead your
390	case, you see, under the laws of your home country, to show that they have no authority over you.
CHORUS:
	May I never in any way become subject
393–5	to the power of males! To avoid
	a hateful marriage, I am prepared to flee
	right up to the stars! Choose Justice as your ally,
	make the judgement that the gods approve.
398–400 PELASGUS: The judgement is not easy to judge: don’t choose me to judge it. I have already said I am not prepared to do this without the people’s approval, even though I have the power, lest (if something not too good should happen) the people may end by saying, ‘By giving privileges to foreigners you destroyed our city.’
CHORUS:
	Zeus, god of kindred, watches over these things
	in both directions, ready to lean either way, appropriately assigning
	to the wicked their wrongs, to the law-abiding their acts of piety.
405	If these things are weighed fairly, how could you come to regret it
	if you do what is right?
PELASGUS: Deep thought is certainly needed to save us: the eye, like that of a diver, must scan right to the bottom – a clear-sighted eye, not one unduly fogged by wine – so that
410	this matter may in the first place not prove ruinous to the city and may also end well for me myself, and that neither may Battle seize her booty69 nor may we, by surrendering you after you have thus established yourselves in this abode
414–15	of the gods, cause a vexatious lodger to dwell with us, the god of Vengeance, whose devastating power does not leave free even the dead in Hades. Does it not indeed seem that thought is needed to save us?
CHORUS:
	Think, and become wholeheartedly
	our pious sponsor:70
420	do not betray the fugitive
	who comes from afar, set in motion
	by an impious expulsion,71
	and do not look on while I am seized as plunder
	from this abode of so many gods,
425	you who hold all power in this land!
	Recognize the men’s outrageous behaviour,
	and guard against wrath.
	Do not tolerate seeing the suppliant
430	dragged away from the divine images, in defiance of justice,
	by the headband, like a horse,
	and grabbed by my richly woven robes.
434–5	Know this: whichever decision you make
	will hereafter affect your children and your house: matching justice
	must be paid in full.
	Ponder that. Justice prevails by the will of Zeus.
PELASGUS: I have indeed pondered, and this is where my thoughts have run aground. There is absolutely no way to
439–40	avoid provoking a great war, either against these or against those.72 The ship has been bolted together, and only restraining cables, one might say, are keeping it at the shore;73
443–5	nowhere is there an outcome free from pain. Even goods <taken> from a ransacked house can <eventually> be <replaced>, by the grace of Zeus, god of possessions, by other goods in excess of what was lost, and he can replenish its stores; and a tongue that has loosed off words that are out of season – painful darts that stir anger – well, speech can soothe the hurt speech has caused. But to ensure that kindred
450	blood shall not be spilt,74 one should make ample offerings, and many victims should fall in sacrifice to many gods to avert such a scourge. I declare I have completely stepped aside from this dispute; I would rather be ignorant than knowledgeable about these troubles. May all be well – but that is not my expectation.
455 CHORUS: Listen to the conclusion of my many respectful words.
PELASGUS: I am listening. Speak on; it will not escape me.
CHORUS: We have girdles and belts to hold our robes together.
PELASGUS: I suppose that is appropriate for women to have.
CHORUS: Well, these, I tell you, give us a fine method –
460 PELASGUS: Say what words these are that you are going to utter.
CHORUS: If you don’t make a promise to our band that we can rely on –
PELASGUS: What is your girdle-method meant to achieve?
CHORUS: To adorn these images with votive tablets of a novel kind.
PELASGUS: Those words are a riddle. Speak plainly.
465 CHORUS: With all speed – to hang ourselves from these gods.
PELASGUS: I hear words that flay my heart.
CHORUS: You understand! I have opened your eyes to see more clearly.
PELASGUS: Truly this business is hard to wrestle with, in all sorts of ways; a host of troubles is coming at me like a river
470	in spate. This is a bottomless sea of ruin, certainly not easily crossable, that I have stepped into, and nowhere is there a safe haven from trouble. If I do not perform this thing for
474–5	you, you have threatened me with a pollution terrible beyond compare;75 if, on the other hand, I take my stand in front of the walls and try the issue of battle with your kinsmen the sons of Aegyptus, it will indeed be a bitter loss that the ground should be stained with men’s blood on account of women. All the same, there is no alternative but to respect the wrath of Zeus, god of suppliants; the fear of him is the
480	greatest fear a mortal can have. You now, aged father of these maidens, <approach the altar,> quickly take these boughs in your arms, and place them on the other altars of our native gods, so that all the citizens may see the evidence of this
485	supplication, and no hostile words be thrown out against me – for the people are very inclined to criticize their rulers. Perhaps those who see them will take pity and detest the outrageous behaviour of that band of males, and the people be more friendly towards you. Everyone has kindly feelings for the underdog.
	[DANAUS, with the boughs from the altar in his arms, descends from the mound.]
490 DANAUS: We value this very highly, to have secured a respectful, <beneficent> sponsor. But please send with me some attendants
493–5	and guides from among the natives, so that we can find the altars in front of the temples of the gods who dwell in the city and their < > abodes, and so that we may be safe as we walk through the city. Our form and appearance are not at all similar: the Nile does not breed a race resembling that of the Inachus.76 Take care, in case confidence gives birth to fear.77 People have been known to kill a friend through ignorance.78
500 PELASGUS: Go, men: what the stranger says is right. Take him to the city altars and the abodes of the gods. And you must not be talkative with those you meet while escorting this man who took sanctuary at the gods’ hearth.79
	[DANAUS departs for the city, escorted by some of the soldiers.]
505 CHORUS: You have spoken to him; he has had his instructions and is on his way. But what shall I do? How will you give me reason to be confident?
PELASGUS: Leave the branches here as a symbol of your distress.
CHORUS [laying their boughs on the altar]: Look, I am leaving them, obedient to your words.
PELASGUS: Now move down to this level meadow.80
CHORUS: And how can an unconsecrated meadow protect me?
510 PELASGUS: We will not surrender you to be plundered by those birds of prey.
CHORUS: But what if they are more hostile than malignant serpents?
PELASGUS: May you speak good words when good words are spoken to you!81
CHORUS: It’s not surprising if my mind is distraught with fear.
PELASGUS: <Women> are always unreasonably frightened.
515 CHORUS: Well then, put heart into us by word and action.
PELASGUS: You won’t be deprived of your father for long. I am <going> to call the people of this country to assembly, so that I can make the public friendly towards you; and I shall
520	instruct your father what he should say. In view of that, stay here and appeal in prayer to the gods of the country to gain what you desire. I will go to put these plans into action: may persuasion, and the fortune of success, go with me!
	[He departs for the city, accompanied by his men. The CHORUS descend from the mound.]
CHORUS:
	O King of Kings, O most blest
525	of the blest, O power most perfect
	of the perfect, Zeus giver of prosperity,
	listen to us, and in thorough loathing
	of those vicious men keep them away from your descendants:
	cast into the purple-coloured sea
530	the black ship on whose thwarts sits our ruin!
	Look favourably on the woman’s point of view,
	and renew the tale told long ago
	of your kindness to the woman you loved,
	the ancestress of our race.
535	Toucher of Io, remember it all!
	We claim to be of the race of Zeus,
	springing from an inhabitant of this land.
	I have come and halted on the old tracks,
	the place where my mother was watched82 as she browsed on the flowers,
540	the cattle-pasture meadow, from whence Io,
	driven by the gadfly,
	fled in frenzy,
	passing through many tribes
544–6	of men; and < > she cleaved
	the waves of the strait, in accordance
	with destiny, and thus defined the boundary
	of the land on its distant side;83
	and she rushed through the land of Asia,
	from end to end of sheep-rearing Phrygia,
	and passed through the Mysian city of Teuthras84
550	up the vales of Lydia
	and through the mountains of Cilicia,
	speeding across the land of the Pamphylians,85
	its ever-flowing rivers
554–5	and its deep, rich soil, and the land
	of Aphrodite86 abundant in wheat.
	And she arrived, while the winged cowherd
	was still piercing her with its sting,
	in the plain of Zeus,87 rich in all kinds of pasture,
	the snow-fed meads88 over which flows
560	the might of the Nile
	and the water untouched by the plagues of Typhos,89
	maddened by undeserved sufferings
	and agonies inflicted by the hurtful sting,
	a maenad of Hera.90
565	And the men who then dwelt in that land
	felt their hearts leap with green fear91
	at the unaccustomed sight,
	beholding a half-human beast that their minds could not handle,
	with some features of a cow
570	and some of a woman, and the monstrosity astounded them.
	And who then was it who applied a healing charm
	to her who had wandered so far in misery,
	the gadfly-tormented Io?
	It was he who rules for his eternal lifetime,
575	<Zeus, who restrained her with his hand>.92
	By the force of his painless strength
	and by his divine breath
	she was stopped,93 and in tears she wept away
	the grief of her shame.
580	And, receiving what can truly be called a Zeus-given burden,
	she bore a perfect child,
	destined to unbroken good fortune through his long lifetime.
	And so the whole land cried,
	‘Truly this is the offspring
584–5	of Zeus, the begetter of life!’
	Who else could have put a stop
	to the sufferings caused by Hera’s plotting?
	It was the act of Zeus. And if you say that our race
	springs from Epaphus, you will hit the mark.
590	On what god could I appropriately call
	on account of actions that give me a juster claim?
	The Lord and Father himself, with his own hand, was my engenderer,
	the great, wise, ancient artificer of my race,
	the all-resourceful one, Zeus who grants fair winds.94
595	He does not speed at the bidding of another,
	exercising power inferior to some mightier lord:
	there is no one seated above him whose power he reveres,
	and he can hasten the deed as fast
	as the word. What of all this can the mind of Zeus not bring to pass?
	[DANAUS returns from the city.]
600 DANAUS: Take courage, children: all is well so far as the natives are concerned. A most decisive decree has been passed by the people.
CHORUS: Welcome, old father; you bring me splendid news. Tell us what the final decision is that has been reached, and in what direction the majority of the people’s sovereign vote went.
605 DANAUS: The Argives have resolved, with no divided voice,95 but in such a way that my aged heart felt young again – for the air bristled with their aptly named right hands96 as the entire people ratified this proposal – that we shall have the
610	right of residence in this land in freedom, with asylum and protection from seizure by any person; that no one, whether inhabitant or foreigner, may lay hands upon us; and that if force be applied, whoever among these citizens fails to come to our aid shall lose his civic rights and be driven into exile
615	from the community. The king of the Pelasgians persuaded them to make this decision by delivering a speech about us, in which he declared how great could be the wrath of Zeus, god of suppliants, who might at a future time bring it heavily to bear against the city, and saying that the double pollution, in relation both to foreigners and to citizens,97 which the city
620	would be bringing into being, would be an irremediable breeder of grief. Hearing this, the Argive people resolved, without waiting to be called,98 that the motion should be carried. The Pelasgian people had heard and obeyed the guidance of the orator, and Zeus had brought about the decisive outcome.
	[DANAUS goes up to the shrine and again begins to keep a lookout, this time towards the sea.]
CHORUS:
625	Come now, let us utter prayers of blessing
	for the Argives, in return for their good deed;
	and may Zeus, god of strangers, watch over
	the words of our foreign lips as we honour them for putting an end
	to our wandering, <so that we speak in a manner no one will censure>.
630	Now <come>, you gods
	of the family of Zeus, pray hear me
	as I pour forth my wishes for my kin:99
633–6	never may lustful Ares, insatiable of appetite for the cries of battle,
	who reaps harvests of men in fields that are not arable,100
	cause this Pelasgian land to be wasted by fire –
	because they took pity on us
640	and cast a kindly vote,
	and because they respect the suppliants of Zeus,
	this pitiable flock;
	nor did they cast their vote
	with the males, and so spurn
645	the struggle of the women –
	they heeded Zeus’ avenger,101 ever on the watch,
649–50	hard to combat; what house would be pleased
	to have him on its roof? where he perches, he brings grievous doom –
	for they revere their kinsfolk
	who were suppliants of holy Zeus;
654–5	therefore they will be propitiating the gods
	at pure altars.
	So from our shaded lips102
	let words of prayer fly
	with love and honour.
659–60	Never may plague empty
	this city of men,
	nor may <war> bloody
	the soil of the land with its fallen natives;
	may the flower of its youth
	not be plucked, and may Aphrodite’s
665	man-destroying bedfellow Ares
	not mow down their finest.
	And for their elders
	may the sacred hearths where they gather103
	teem <with offerings>:
670	so may the city be well governed,
	because they honour great Zeus –
	most especially in his capacity as god of strangers –
	Zeus who guides destiny aright according to age-old law.
674–5	We pray that there may always be born
	new guardians of the land,
	and that Artemis Hecate104
	may watch over the women giving birth.
	And may no man-slaying destruction105
680	come upon this city and ravage it,
	arming Ares the breeder of tears, with whom is no dance and no lyre,
	and intestine violence in the community.
684–5	And may the cheerless flock of sicknesses
	perch far from the citizens’ heads,
	and may the Wolf god106 be kind
	to all their young men.
	And may Zeus make the land bring crops to perfection,
690	bearing them in every season;
	may the best of their grazing flocks bear many young;107
	may they, through the gods’ grace, thrive in every way.
694–5	And may their singers make
	auspicious music at their altars,
	and let there rise from pure lips
	a voice in amity with the lyre.
	And may the people, which rules the city,
	protect well the citizens’ privileges,108
700	a government acting with craft and foresight for the common good;
	and to foreigners may they offer
	painless justice under fair agreements109
	before arming the god of war.
704–5	And may those who dwell in the land
	always honour its native gods
	with ancestral rites, carrying laurel boughs and sacrificing oxen;
	for the honouring of parents
	is written third
	in the statutes of Justice the highly honoured.110
710 DANAUS: I praise you, dear daughters, for these wise prayers. Now do not be afraid when you hear from your father this unexpected and untoward news. From this lookout post, which received you as suppliants, I can see the boat. It is
715	unmistakable. I cannot fail to observe the ship’s sailing gear,111 its side-screens,112 and the prow that scans the way ahead with eyes,113 obeying all too well the guiding helm at the very stern of the ship, as if unfriendly to us; and the men
720	on board the ship are conspicuously visible, their black limbs set against white garments. Now the other ships and all the assisting forces are plain to see, and the leading vessel herself is close inshore, has furled her sail and is rowing in with all
724–5	oars. Now you must look at this matter in a calm and disciplined way, and not forget these gods.114 I will come back with helpers and defenders, since perhaps some herald or embassy may come here, wanting to seize their booty and take you away. Nothing will come of that – don’t be afraid
730	of them; but all the same it’s best, in case we should be slow in calling for help, at all costs never to forget your protection here.115 Have courage: sooner or later, you know, on the destined day, any mortal who shows contempt for the gods will pay the penalty.
735 CHORUS: Father, I’m afraid, because the swift-winged ships
	have come, and there is hardly any time remaining.
	Terrified fear grips me: has my fleeing
	so great a distance really done me any good?
	Father, I am beside myself with fright!
739–40 DANAUS: Take courage, children; remember, the vote of the Argives was decisive. They will fight for you, I know it for sure.
CHORUS: The crazed family of Aegyptus are abominable, their appetite for battle insatiable. And I am speaking to one who knows that.
	With timber-built, black-eyed ships
	they have sailed here in wrathful haste,
745	with a great black army!
DANAUS: Well, they’ll find plenty of men here whose arms have been made good and leathery by the midday heat!
CHORUS: Don’t leave me alone, I beg you, Father! A woman on her own is nothing: there is no fight in her.
750	They’re murderous, full of cunning deceit;
	in their impure minds, like ravens,
	they care nothing for the sanctity of altars.116
DANAUS: That would be very helpful to us, children, if they should make enemies of the gods as well as you.
755–6  CHORUS: Father, they certainly won’t keep their hands off us for fear of these tridents or the awesomeness of the gods.
	They’re so arrogant, maddened
	by their unholy rage, as shameless as dogs,
	turning a deaf ear to the gods.
760 DANAUS: Well, rumour has it that wolves117 are stronger than dogs; and papyrus fruit118 can’t beat ears of corn.
CHORUS: Their tempers are like those of wanton, impious beasts: we must take care they do not get control of us!
765 DANAUS: You can’t send out a naval expedition quickly, and you can’t bring one in quickly either. Nor is it a speedy job running stern cables ashore to keep the ship safe,119 and their custodians don’t immediately feel secure when they’ve dropped anchor, especially when they’ve come to a harbourless coast as the sun is departing and night approaching
770	– night tends to breed travail in the mind of an expert helmsman. So even to land an army120 would not be a good idea until the fleet was secure in its anchorage. But as you’re afraid, be sure not to forget the gods; <I will come back from town as soon as possible,> having secured assistance. The
775	city will find no fault with a messenger who is old in years but young in his eloquent intellect.
	[DANAUS departs for the city.]
CHORUS:
	O hilly land that we rightly revere,121
	what is going to happen to us? Where in the land of Apia
	can we flee in the hope that there is somewhere a dark hiding place?
	O to become black smoke
780	up among the clouds of Zeus,
	to fly up without wings, invisible, imperceptible,
	like dust, and end my existence altogether!
	The evil will no longer be escapable;
785	my heart within is shaken, its flesh turned black.122
	My father’s lookout has trapped me – I am perishing with terror!
	I would wish to meet my fate
	in a plaited noose
790	before an abominated man could touch this flesh!
	Before that, may I die and Hades become my lord!
	Where can I find a seat in the sky,
	near where the moist clouds turn into snow,
	or a slippery crag, where no goat climbs,
795	lonely, overhanging, impossible to point out,123
	the haunt of vultures, which could testify
	to my long fall,
	before, against the determination of my heart,
	I meet a killer marriage?
800–801	Thereafter, I do not refuse to become
	prey for the dogs, a dinner for the native birds:
	for he who dies is freed
	from evils that cry to be bewailed.
	Let death come and get me
805	before the marriage bed does!
	What path of escape can I yet cleave
	that will release me from wedlock?
	Raise a crying voice, send words of prayer
	to heaven, to the gods and goddesses –
810	but how can they be fulfilled for me?
	< >124 Look on us, Father,
	viewing violence with unfriendly eyes,
	as is right: respect
815	your suppliants, almighty Zeus, possessor of the earth!
	For the offspring of Aegyptus <are advancing on us,>
	intolerable in their male wantonness!
819–20	I fled, but they run after me in pursuit
	and in their clamorous lust
	seek to seize me by force.
	The beam of the balance125 is yours, all yours:
	what in mortals’ destinies is decided without you?
	[A band of EGYPTIANS rushes in, led by a HERALD. The text of the one manuscript is badly defective, but the EGYPTIANS’ first utterance appears to be a cry of triumph – ‘ho ho ho, ha ha ha!’ (825) – on finding their prey; from the following lines there survive the words ‘I am the seizer’ (826), ‘on the ship’ (826a) and ‘on the land’ (826b), after which there was probably another line in which they declared their intention of taking the Danaids to their ship. The CHORUS reply, ‘Before that, seizer, may you wear away – yugh!’126 (827). Of their next line (828) there survive two letters which may be part of the word for ‘eye’ and, after a gap, the phrase ‘going down straight away’; possibly they are telling the Egyptians to get out of their sight and go straight back down to their ship. They then (829) say something which the ancient commentator interprets as ‘No longer as having heard from my father, but seeing with my own eyes, I shout’; what remains of the line in the manuscript suggests that it began with ‘now’, and its end can be plausibly restored as ‘with knowledge I raise a cry’. The next line (830) is syntactically incoherent but must mean something like ‘I see this is a prelude to violent sufferings’. From here, although the text remains very corrupt until 902, it becomes possible again to offer some sort of continuous translation.]
CHORUS:
	Aaah-eh! Aaah-eh!
	Go, fly to protection!
	[They flee to the shrine.]
	<These> grim-hearted <beasts> are showing their wantonness,
	intolerable at sea or on land!
835	Lord of the land,127 array yourself in our defence!
EGYPTIANS:
	Off, off, to boat, fast as your feet!
	[On receiving no response:] Then won’t, then won’t you have hair torn, hair torn, and tattoos,
840	very bloody gory chopping off head?128
	Off, off, to barge,129 damn you!
CHORUS:
	If only, in the many eddies
	of the briny sea you voyaged over,
845	together with your arrogant masters
	and your bolt-bound timbers,130 you had perished!
EGYPTIANS:
	You’ll be running with blood when I seat you on the barge.
	Want a thump, do you? You must be off.
	I tell you, give over your shouting; <quench>
850	your longing – it’s a mental sickness.
	< >
	Leave where you’re sitting, go to the ship,
	you who are not respected in a city of pious men!131
CHORUS:
	May you never again see
855	the water that rears cattle,132
	the water that causes the blood that propagates life133
	to increase and flourish in men.
EGYPTIANS:
	I am a warrior of long pedigree,
860	possessor of powerful hands.
	You will quickly board the ship, the ship,
	willing or unwilling!
	Force compels much. <Your hopes> are gone.
864–5	Go, <you damnable, helpless wretches
	of girls with broad girdles!>
CHORUS:
	Ah, ah!
	I wish you perish helplessly,
	across the flowing expanse of the salty sea,
870–1	drifting before the winds blowing from Syria
	on to the piled sands of Sarpedon’s bank!134
882 HERALD: I order you to go with all speed to the curved boat;
884	let no one make any delay, or you will be dragged by the hair without the least scruple.
CHORUS:
876	Oh, oh!
	I wish you would be uttering your insults beneath the earth!
	<Your desire is> swelling
	<with great vanity>. May great Destiny avert the monstrous outrage
880	that you are committing!135
872 HERALD: Cry and howl and call on gods – you won’t jump out
875	of the Egyptian boat.136 You’ll soon be uttering an even bitterer song of anguish.
	[The HERALD and his men begin to advance steadily towards the shrine.]
CHORUS:
885	Oh, oh, Father, the protection of your image
	is failing me! He is taking me by force to the sea,
	coming step by step, like a spider –
	a dream, a black dream!
	Ototototoi!
890	Mother Earth, Mother Earth, avert
	the fearsome <assailant>!
	O Father Zeus, child of Earth!137
HERALD: I do not fear the divinities of this country. They did not rear me to manhood, nor will it be by their nurture that I reach old age.
CHORUS:
895	He is raging close to me, the two-footed snake;
	like a viper he <stares at> me.
	What noxious beast <do I see
	before me? I am in the grip of> agony.
	Ototototoi!
900	Mother Earth, Mother Earth, avert
	the fearsome <assailant>!
	O Father Zeus, child of Earth!
HERALD: If you don’t accept your fate and go to the ship, your finely worked clothes will be ripped without mercy.
	[The HERALD and his men approach closer still.]
CHORUS [calling out in the direction of the city]:
905	Help, noble leaders of the city, I’m being overpowered!138
909–10 HERALD: It looks as though I’ll be dragging you off by the hair, since you aren’t hearing my orders very sharply.
CHORUS:
908	We’re done for! My lord,139 we’re being treated unspeakably!
906–7 HERALD: You’ll soon be seeing plenty of lords – the sons of Aegyptus. Don’t worry, you won’t be complaining about a lack of authority!
	[Enter PELASGUS, from the city, with armed men.]
911 PELASGUS: Here, you, what are you doing? What’s your idea in insulting this land of Pelasgian men? Do you really think you’ve come to a city of women? For a barbarian you are
915	showing an unduly arrogant attitude towards Greeks; you have made a great mistake, and your mind has gone far astray.
HERALD: In what respect have I erred in doing this, or acted without right?
PELASGUS: In the first place, you do not know how an alien should behave.
HERALD: What do you mean? I am finding and taking my own lost property.
PELASGUS: What local sponsor have you spoken to?140
920 HERALD: To the greatest of all sponsors – Hermes the Searcher.141
PELASGUS: You may have spoken to a god, but you show no respect for the gods.
HERALD: I honour the gods who live by the Nile.
PELASGUS: And those of this land are nothing – that’s what I’m hearing from you.
HERALD: I shall take these women, unless someone formally asserts they are free.
925 PELASGUS: If you should lay a finger on them, you’ll howl – and soon.
HERALD: I hear what you say; it’s far from hospitable.
PELASGUS: I don’t extend hospitality to those who rob the gods.
HERALD: I shall go and report this to the sons of Aegyptus.
PELASGUS: That does not cause my mind any concern.
930 HERALD: Well, so that I can speak to them with more definite knowledge – for it is right that a herald should bring back a full and clear report – when I go back without this band of women who are their close cousins, by whom and by what
934–6	right should I say I was deprived of possession of them? Ares will be the judge of this matter, and not on the basis of witnesses’ evidence; he does not settle quarrels by a payment of silver – no, before that many men must fall to the ground and end their lives in convulsions.
PELASGUS: Why need I tell you my name? You will learn it and know it in time, you and your fellow-travellers. You may
940–5	take these women so long as they consent with friendly heart, if pious words of yours should persuade them; <but you may not take them against their will>. That is the unanimous vote that has been passed and enacted by the people of the city, never to surrender this band of women by force. This decision
944–5	has been nailed down with a nail that has pierced right through, so that it stays fixed. These words are not written on tablets, nor sealed up in a folded sheet of papyrus: you hear them plainly from the lips and tongue of a free man. Now get out of my sight at once.
950 HERALD: You take pleasure in provoking an outbreak of war. May victory and mastery go to the males!
PELASGUS [as the HERALD and his men depart]: Well, I tell you, you’ll find that the inhabitants of this land are masculine
954–5	all right – they don’t drink barleycorn brew!142 [To the CHORUS:] Now, all of you, take courage and go, with a friendly escort, to our well-fortified city, enclosed by high,
957, 959	well-crafted walls. There is plenty of public housing, where
960–6	you can live in well-prepared accommodation with many others; or, if it pleases you better, you may also live in
958	separate dwellings,143 since I myself too am housed on no
962	mean scale. Choose from these options whatever is best and
965	pleases you most. I am your patron,144 as are all the citizens who have made and enacted this decree. Why need you wait for anyone with more authority than these?
CHORUS:
	In return for these blessings may you teem with blessings,
	glorious leader of the Pelasgians!
	But be so kind as to send here
	our father, Danaus, feeling confident,145 to take forethought
970	and form a plan. He should first
971	consider wisely where we should reside
975	so as to be well reputed, and spoken of
976	without anger, by the native population:
972	even if a country is friendly, everyone
	is ready to speak ill
974	of people of alien language.146 May all be for the best!
	[PELASGUS departs for the city with some of his men, leaving the remainder to guard and escort the Danaids. The transmitted text here continues:]
977	Arrange yourselves, dear maids, in the way
	in which Danaus allotted you to each of us
979	as a dowry in the form of a servant.
	There is, however, no other clear evidence in the text for the existence of these maidservants: they can hardly have only just come on stage (where could they have been before?), and, had they been with their mistresses from the start, one would have expected some notice to be taken of them, especially by Pelasgus. Moreover, Pelasgus is still apparently being addressed in 973–4 and can hardly leave the scene before then, and it would be clumsy (and unparalleled) to have Danaus arrive from the same direction almost immediately afterwards. It is therefore likely that the maids, and the three lines addressed to them, were added to the play by a later producer, perhaps in place of a short choral song. The CHORUS probably descended from the mound before singing the song.]
	[Enter DANAUS from the city, with an armed escort.]
980 DANAUS: Children, we ought to pray, sacrifice and pour libation to the Argives as if to the Olympian gods, for they have unquestionably been our saviours. They gave a hearing to my news of what had happened which was friendly to their
985	kin147 and bitter towards your cousins; and they assigned to me these spearmen as attendants, so that I might have an honourable mark of distinction, and so that I might not perish unwitnessed by the surprise stroke of a weapon, thus loading the country with a burden it will never cast off,148 <and so that no one except the king might have a more
989–90	honourable status than me>. Having received such favour, <it is right that we> should give them respect, gratitude <and honour> from the bottom of our hearts. Now inscribe this149 in addition to the many other pieces of wise advice from your father that you have already inscribed: an unknown group is tested and proved by time;150 and in regard to immigrants,
995	everyone has an evil tongue ready to use, and it is rather easy to utter words of disgust. I urge you not to put me to shame, having the youthful beauty that you have which makes men turn their heads. Tender fruit is not at all easy to guard:
1000	beasts and men alike devour it, do they not? In the case of animals, winged or walking, Cypris advertises the availability of juicy fruits before they are ripe, preventing them <from resisting> desire; and likewise with the charms of a maiden
1004–5	fair of form, every passer-by is vanquished by desire and shoots a glance of the eye at her that can melt her heart. Bearing that in mind, let us not suffer what we endured long sorrow and ploughed a long sea-furrow with our keel to avoid; let us not cause disgrace to ourselves and pleasure to
1010	my enemies. We have two kinds of housing available – one set offered by Pelasgus, another by the city – to live in free of rent. That is easy. Only keep in mind these precepts of your father’s, and value your chastity more than life itself.
1015  CHORUS: In all else may the Olympian gods give us good fortune – but so far as my ‘fruit’ is concerned, Father, you can have confidence: unless the gods have decided on some new plan, I will not deviate from the track my mind has followed till now.
	Go151 now to the town, glorifying
	the blessed lords, the gods,
1020	both those of the city and those who dwell round
	the ancient stream of Erasinus.152
	Accept our song,
	you escorts, and let praise enfold this city
	of the Pelasgians; no longer let us
1025	sing in honour of the mouths of the Nile,
	but of the rivers that pour their tranquil waters
	through this land, to drink for health
	and for fertility, softening the soil of the land
	with their oil-smooth streams.
1030	May chaste Artemis watch over
	this band in pity, and may Cytherea’s consummation153
	not come to us by compulsion:
	may that prize be won only in Hades!
ARGIVE SOLDIERS:154
	But it is a wise rule not to ignore Cypris;
1035	for she holds power very close to Zeus, together with Hera,155
	a goddess of cunning wiles
	who is honoured for awesome deeds.156
	Partners and associates with their dear mother
1039–40	are Desire and the charmer Persuasion,
	to whom nothing can be refused,
	and also given to Aphrodite as her portion are Union
	and the whispering paths of lovemaking.
	For the fugitives, I foresee and fear punishments still to come,
	dire suffering and bloody wars:
1045	why, why did they157 get good sailing
	in their swift-sped pursuit?
	Whatever is fated, you know, that will happen –
	the great, unfathomable mind of Zeus
	cannot be crossed –
1050	and this outcome, marriage, would be shared
	with many women before you.
CHORUS:
	May great Zeus defend me
	from marriage with the sons of Aegyptus!
ARGIVE SOLDIERS:
	That would certainly be best158 –
CHORUS:
1055	You’re trying to cajole the uncajolable.
ARGIVE SOLDIERS:
	And you don’t know the future.
CHORUS:
	How can I be expected to see into the mind
	of Zeus, gazing into its bottomless depths?
ARGIVE SOLDIERS:
	Then make your prayer a moderate one.
CHORUS:
1060	What are you instructing me is the right choice?
ARGIVE SOLDIERS:
	Not to ask too much of the gods.
CHORUS:
	May Lord Zeus deprive us159
	of a hateful marriage to men
	who are our foes – he who gave Io
1065	a good release from her sufferings,
	restraining her with his healing hand,
	making force kindly –
	and may he give victory
1069–70	to women. I am content to have the better kind
	of evil, the two-thirds kind,160
	and that judgement should go with justice,
	according to my prayers,
	through divine contrivances that bring freedom.
	[All depart towards the city.]