THE TRAGEDY OF AIAS:

BY SOPHOKLES

Translated for the stage
by James Barthelmess
with Wayne S. Turney

Cleveland, Ohio
Copyright 1987

January 1997

THE TRAGEDY OF AIAS: BY SOPHOKLES

Translated for the stage
by James Barthelmess
with Wayne Turney

PROLOGUE

The time is just before daybreak, and it is very gradually getting light; stars can still be seen in a stormy western sky, and by the end of the prologue, the dawn will have fully broken on an overcast day. The scene is a deserted and sandy stretch of beach with the tents and ships of Aias' contingent at Troy occupying the background. Aias'tent is prominently set forward and is translucent. A lantern sways and flickers inside. There is a stiff breeze
coming off the sea, which is just visible to stage left; the wind sings in ships' rigging; sand and refuse are blowing; the surf is loud. There is an occasional play of lightening which intensifies during Aias' first appearance and disappears after his first exit. (1) As the play opens, Aias' shadowy figure, and perhaps the figures of animals as well, can be seen moving within his tent; muffled and indeterminate sounds may be heard. A kind of phantasma of
Athena, (2) "illusion manifest," an all but disembodied voice, "appears" elevated, vague, above the tent, and speaks to Odysseus who is just making his way onto the stage, searching intently in the sand for footprints with
his walking stick. Odysseus is bundled against the wind and the cold. Nothing the audience sees, save Odysseus, is truly distinct. The stage is colorless and stark, the mood forbidding.

ATHENA'S VOICE:
A-ei men, O pai Lar-ti-ou, de-dor-ka se.
Always the hunter, Laertes' son, Odysseus, friend,
Keen on the traces of beast and foe alike,
I have always known you as "stalker of prey."
And now I see you here on this deserted beach
Beside the ships and tent of mighty AIAS:
Sniffing at his new-made trail
Like some Spartan she-hound trained for the purpose,
Picking up the scent still-fresh,
And taking it to its conclusion.
You want to know "is he in there?" or "is he not?"
Oh, yes, he's there inside, just now returned,
His head and hands all sweaty-damp with murder's work.
No more need, Odysseus, for you to keep your gaze
Fixed upon that entryway. He's in the tent and won't escape.
Could you but say to me the cause
Of your great zeal to find him,
Then might I teach you what you want to know,
I who know the unravelling of this story.

ODYSSEUS:
O phthegm' Athanas, phil-ta-tes e-moi the-on, (14)
Athena's voice! You dearest god of all to me,
You slippery paradox, illusion manifest,
I hear your voice and fix it in my breast
As if it were some brazen trumpet blaring from the east.
Full well you know my purpose here,
My circling track is aimed directly at my enemy,
At AIAS:, bearer of the shield.
He's the one I track, no other,
For this has been a night of deepest dark
With a dread force aimed against us,
And I suspect the man within of mischief.
We know nothing certain, but we have traced
And traced again this action, searching for a clue.
So I have undertaken the work of finding out--
I volunteered and come here now of my own free will.
Just hours ago did we find havoc in our pens
Where many a head of captured flocks we kept--
All slaughtered and destroyed--some hand's work--
Dead--the cows, the sheep, the cowherd and the shepherd, too.
And every Greek in camp lays the blame right here.
There's one of us who actually say him--all alone
And striding in exultant step across the strand,
Moonlight glinting off his knife, bathed with his victim's gore--
That man declared to me the way it was, he made it clear.
Without delay I found the trail and started out,
And the footprints bring me here. That much I know.
But look! Here! I cannot think all these marks are his.
I'm glad you're here, divinity. It's timely.
You've always been my helmsman in the past.
It's by your hand I shall be guided now--in everything.
For as it was with us, so let it be. Now and forever. (35)


ATHENA:
I know, Odysseus, and now I've come to help you,
To be an eager partisan in this chase of yours.

ODYSSEUS
Well, then, answer, please, divinity:
Is this a trail that leads to a conclusion?

ATHENA:
Oh, yes! The trail leads here.
The deeds you speak of belong to Aias.

ODYSSEUS
By why? What insanity could drive his hand to this?

ATHENA:
A heavy anger: he was denied Achilles' armor.

ODYSSEUS:
How can that explain his turning murderous upon our flocks?

ATHENA:
He thought as he struck that his hand struck you!

ODYSSEUS:
His purpose, then:--to destroy the Argive host, no less?

ATHENA:
It was; and his achievement, too, had I not watched him close.

ODYSSEUS:
What rashness could twist his heart to this bold act?

ATHENA:
It was night. Like a spy he moved against you--alone.

ODYSSEUS:
He came close? By what slim margin did we escape?

ATHENA:
He stood before the very tent of your twin commanders,
Before the doors of Agamemnon and his brother, too.

ODYSSEUS:
How is it, then, he held his hand in check and did not--

ATHENA:
I held his hand in check, by casting on his eyes (51)
Unnatural visions, obsessions joyful and past healing.
I turned him against the flocks you plundered--
War booty still in the keep of herdsmen
Intended one day to be prizes for the brave. (54)
Then, falling on the poor beasts, he began
His many-horned slaughter, standing in the midst
Of carnage, hacking at their spines. Once he thought
He held in hand your two chiefs
For killing--lord Agamemnon and also Menelaos.
And then he turned on others of your captains,
First on this one then on that.
I was the force behind him,
Cheering him on to a frantic dance
Of death, casting over him an evil web.
At length, tiring, he rested from his toil.
But when he found among the creatures
Some still living, he fettered them--
The cattle and the sheep--and drove them all
Back here, shambling to his tent.
He thinks the animals are foe, captured for ransom
Or for killing--not a catch of stable beasts.
There inside he taunts this roundup
With a goad, no warrior now,
But an idle cowhand swatting flies. (3) (65)
But, look, I will bring before your eyes
This man and his mad sickness, so you
Can broadcast this unseemly news
Up and down the barracks of the Greeks.
(Odysseus is alarmed and shrinks back.)
Hold! Courage, friend, the sight of him
Is no disaster in itself. His eyes
I shall distract from you, and there will be
No recognition of your face.
Inside, there! You, inside, leave off
A moment binding up your captive foes
And come out here. AIAS:, I mean you!


ODYSSEUS:
What are you doing, Athena? Don't call him out here!

ATHENA:
Quiet! Or you'll be taken for a coward!

ODYSSEUS
Please! Oh, god! Just let him stay inside!

ATHENA:
Why? Before this he was only a mortal man.

ODYSSEUS:
Yes, and before this he was only my enemy. But think of him now!

ATHENA:
I know. And to laugh at your enemies--what is sweeter?

ODYSSEUS
I'd be happy just to have him stay inside.

ATHENA:
You hesitate to see a madman in the flesh?
Oh, come, Odysseus...

ODYSSEUS:
Well, yes! When he's like this. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind.

ATHENA:
You needn't worry now. He'll stand beside you there
And still not recognize your features.

ODYSSEUS:
How? If he is looking through the eyes he always had?

ATHENA:
I shall cast another darkness on those eyes that saw so well.

ODYSSEUS:
Surely, anything can happen when a god takes charge.

ATHENA:
Quiet now! Stay where you are.

ODYSSEUS:
I shall stay, I know, but, oh, right now
I'd like to be some other place, not here!

ATHENA:
Aias! This is my second summons!
Is this the way to treat a fellow warrior?

AIAS:
(enters all bloodied and carrying a sword and a two-thonged whip)
O hkai-r' A-tha-na, khai-re Di-o-ge-nes tek-non
O hail, Athena, and daughter of Zeus, good morn!
I am glad to see you, by battle mate, and
I shall crown you with the golden spoils of war,
For you have brought me to my quarry.

ATHENA:
Well spoken, Aias. But let's review the night's events.
That sword you're holding, you've anointed it well
With the blood of the great Greek army?

AIAS:
That is my boast! I will not say it otherwise.

ATHENA:
You fell upon mighty Agamemnon and his brother?


AIAS:
I know this much: never, never again
Will they dishonor Aias!

ATHENA:
Then, if I take you right, they are dead?

AIAS:
They are dead. Now let them steal my weapons! (100)

ATHENA:
Well, good, but what about Laertes' son?
Did he fare the same with you? Or did he get away?

AIAS:
That foul trickster? You are asking me where he is?

ATHENA:
I am indeed. I mean, of course, your hated foe, Odysseus.

AIAS:
(laughing now and throughout the following lines until his exit)(5)
Sweet goddess, my sweetest catch is there inside. (105)
His hands are bound. I do not mean for him to die--
Not just yet.

ATHENA:
What comes before his death? What's gained by waiting?

AIAS:
First, I'll tie him to the center-pole that holds my roof...

ATHENA:
And then? How hurt the wretched man?

AIAS:
His back will turn a bloody red from the whipping
I shall give him. Then he dies!

ATHENA:
Oh, please, do not abuse the man in such a way!


AIAS:
I long to please you in all else, ATHENA:,
But that man, no other, will pay this price.

ATHENA:
Well, then, if doing this is a such a joy to you,
Set to! Your hands should be busy.

AIAS:
Back to work! That can I do for you.
Stand always at my side, ATHENA:,
And be my comrade as you have today! (117)

(exit Aias)

ATHENA:
Do you see, Odysseus, how great the power of the gods?
What man, in your experience, has shown more foresight,
Has acted better in making judgements, than Aias here?

ODYSSEUS:
I know no better man. And I pity him
For this wretched state, enemy or not.
He walks beneath a heavy yoke of evil ruin,
And when I see him thus, I think also of myself.
We men are nothing more, it seems, than living phantoms,
Mere empty shadow.

ATHENA:
Look close at what you say, Odysseus,
And never lecture gods in arrogance.
Assume not majesty because you hold
Greater power in your hand, or just because
Your store of riches exceeds your neighbor's.
All affairs of man can sink in the balance
And rise again within a single day.
Know, then, that the gods love the man
Who lives his life in seemly order,
And they hate the evil-doer. (exeunt Athena and Odysseus) (133)

PARADOS (6)

KHORUS

U U _ U U _ _ _ U U _
Te-le-mo-ni-e pai, tes am-phi-ry-tou

U U _ U U _ U U _ U U _
Sa-la-mi-nos e-khon ba-thron ang-khi-a-lou

U U _ _ _ U U _ U U _
se d'ho-tan ple-ge Di-os e za-me-nes

U U _ U U _ U U _ U U _
lo-gos ek Da-na-on ka-ko-throus e-pi-be

U U _ U U _ _ U U _ _
me-gan ok-non e-kho kai pe-pho-be-mai

_ _ _ _ U U _ _
pte-nes hos om-ma pe-lei-as.
2
U U _ UU _ __ U U _
Telemonian son, AIAS:, Salamis

U U _ U U _ U U _ U U _
Is your isle and your sea-girt abode by the sea:

U U _ _ _ U U _ _ U _
When against you comes down a blow from the God

U U _ U U __ U U __ U U __
Or a word from the Greeks of such evil intent,

U U __ U U _ _ U U __ __
In my heart there is pity and a great fear

__ __ _ ___ U U _ _ _
Like fearful eyes of a bird in flight.

_ __ _ _ U U _ _ _
Hos kai tes nyn phthi-me-nes nuk-tos

U U __ U U __ U U __ _ _
me-ga-loi tho-ry-boi ka-te-khous' he-mas

U U _ __ _ U U _ U U _
e-pi dys-klei-a se ton hip-po-ma-ne

__ _ U U _ U U __ U U _
lei-mon' e-pi-bant' o-le-sai Da-na-on

U U _ __ _
bo-ta kai lei-an,

_ _ U U _ U U _ __ _
e-per do-ri-lep-tos et' en loi-pes (146)

__ _ __ _ U U _ _
ktei-nont' ai-tho-ni si-de-ro.

_ _ _ _ U U _ _ _
Now as night sinks into light of day

U U __ U U _ U U _ _ _
Very great is the stress in my mind oppressed

U U _ _ _ U U _ U U _
Oh the shamed report of how you bounded o'er

_ _ U U _ U U _ U U _
Grass fields where the horses now graze, to destroy

U U _ __ __
All the prized Greek loot

_ _ U U __ U U ___ _ _
Which, won by the spear, still remained in camp,

__ _ _ _ U U __ _
Death blows from your flashing steel blade.

_ _ U U __ U U __ _ _
Toi-ous-de lo-gous psi-thy-rous plas-son

_ _ U U _ _ U U _ _
eis o-ta phe-rei pa-sin O-dys-seus,

_ U U _ _ U U _ _ _
kai spho-dra pei-thei. pe-ri gar sou nyn

_ _ U U _ _ _ U U _
eu-pei-sta le-gei, kai pas ho kly-on

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
tou le-xan-tos khai-rei mal-lon

_ _ U U _ U U _ _
tois sois a-khe-sin ka-thy-bri-dzon. (153)

_ _ U U _ U U _ _ _
Such tales (they are lies!) does Odysseus make

_ _ U U _ _ U U __ _
And bring to the ears of all the Greek camp,

_ _ U _ _ U U _ _ __
And all believe him. Everyone who hears,

_ _ U U __ _ _ U U _
Trusts, and every Greek now passes along

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
These lies. And they rejoice to weave

_ _ U U __ U _ __
New tales--even greater for your grief. (153)


_ _ U U _ _ _ _ __
Ton gar me-ga-lon psy-knon hi-eis

__ U U _ __ U U _ _ _
ouk an ha-mar-toi: ka-ta d'an pei-thoi.

_ _ U _ _ _ U U _ _
pros gar ton e-khonth' ho phtho-nos her-pei.

_ _ _ _ U U _ _ _
kai-toi smik-roi me-ga-lon kho-ris

U U _ _ _ _ U U _ _
spha-le-ron pyr-gou hry-ma pe-lon-tai.

U U _ _ _ _ _ U U _ _
meta gar me-ga-lon bai-os a-rist' an

__ U U _ __ U U _ U U _
kai me-gas or-thoith' hy-po mik-po-te-ron. (161)

(individually) (7)
2
1. Aim your bow at a great man,
You will not miss.

2. Cover me with such slander,
No one will believe.

3. Envy stalks the powerful,

4. And yet the little man without the great
Is no defense against the charge.

5. The mighty is supported by the small.


(full Khoros)
But fools cannot learn these thoughts.
Against the witless clamor of such men
We have no safety, no sure defense,
Save you, lord Aias.
For once they leave your sight
They squawk and hiss--a flock of angry geese.
But let them glimpse the mighty eagle on the wing
And suddenly they grow still with fear,
Silent at your coming. (171)

Strophe: 172-181

Oh, Rumor is a deadly thing,
She is the mother of my shame!
Who urged you on, then, AIAS:,
To charge and slay a common herd?
Was it Zeus's daughter, Artemis,
She who cares for the shambling kine--
Denied, perhaps, some victory's prize:
The noble spoils of war
Or payment due her
For the killing of a stag?
Or was it Brassy-chested Ares,
God of Bloody War,
Seeking by some night-time treachery
To exact a penalty from you
Because you stood apart from him
And fought your fights alone?



Antistrophe: 182-191

For never at your own heart's promptings,
Aias, son of Telamon,
Would you travel down
A path so sinister
And fall murderous upon the flocks.
Such madness should have its birth
In heaven not on earth.
But Zeus and Lord Apollo
Could avert this evil slander
That issues from the Greeks.
But, oh, those haughty brother kings of Hellas
And that other one descended
From the accursed line of Sisyphos,(8)
When they tell tales around
Of such monstrous falsity,
I pray, my noble Lord,
No longer keep your gaze
Within this tent.
Leave your dwelling by the sea.
Deny their foul report.

Epode: 193-200

Arise then! Aias
And leave this place
Where staked to earth--
Eternity it seems--
You sit and you endure
This agony of leisure
As your own run
Blazes skyward
Beyond control
And the outrage you endure
From enemies
Fanned by fresh breezes
Sears even the quietest
Of forest glades
While flames of laughter
Everywhere, everywhere,
Bring me down
In heavy grief.
For me, at least,
This grief stands firm.

TEKMESSA: (entering from the tent, distraught) (9)
Shipmates of my husband,
Sons of Athens' ancient land,
We who care for him
And for his distant home
Have cause here for lamentation!
For awesome Aias,
Great warrior that he is,
The man whose strength is dreaded,
Lies ill within and suffering
In a confusing storm of troubles. (107)

KHOROS
Could this dark night
Bring greater sorrow
Than even yesterday's grim action?
O, daughter of Teleutas,
Phrygian lady, speak!
Since Aias who is quick to act
Has come to hold you
His spear-won wife
In high esteem
And constant in his love.

TEKMESSA:
How, indeed, do I tell a tale unspeakable?
Ask, and you (10) will learn of suffering
Equal to death.
By madness seized
Our noble Aias
Has fallen in the night
To great dishonor.
Oh, what you would see now
Inside this tent!
Blood-bathed victims
Slain by his hand
As if offered up to god
In sacrifice.

STROPHE: 221-244

KHOROS
It is true, then?
The news we heard
About our fiery lord
As told by lordly Greeks
And now confirmed by you,
Neither can we bear, nor shun.
Great grows this story.
S-s-s-s! Something creeps upon us
And I am afraid of it.
In some conspicuous way
Our lord is going to die.
For with frenzied hand
He took his dark sword
And slew alike
Both flock
And keeper of the flock. (232)

TEKMESSA:
Ah, that is where,
Yes, that is where he got
The fettered cattle from.
They are in our tent.
Some of them he took
And slaughtered outright
On the dark earth floor.
Some he clove apart
By cutting through their spines.
But two nimble-footed rams
He has kept apart,
And now he turns on these.
From one of them
He harvests first the head
Then the tip of tongue--
And casts the cutting all away.
He take the other ram, then,
To lash it firm against
The center pole.
And grabbing up
A sturdy piece of tack,
He makes of it a two-pronged whip
And makes it sing.
While he straps
He shouts the vilest curses--
Worse than any man could know.
A demon must have taught him how.

ANTISTROPHE: 245-262

KHOROS (somewhat hushed)
The time has come for us
To veil our heads in secrecy
And steal away from here,
Or quickly take the thwarts
And give the ship her way--
So vaunted are the threats
The twin Atreidai launch against us.
I have grown afraid.
Death by stoning
Is pain I hesitate
To share with him
Whom dread misfortune
Now holds fast
Within her grip.

TEKMESSA:
No. No longer holds.
For the heat and dazzle
Of the lightening storm has passed,
And having sense again,
Aias knows new grief.
When a man knows pain
And knows himself to be its cause,
He twists and tightens up
The cords of torment
To a pitch past bearing.

KORYPHAIOS: (speaking for Khoros) (11)
Yes, but if his mad delusions are at an end (262)
I very much believe that we are in luck.

TEKMESSA:
Given these two choices, what would you do:
Bring pain to friends while you yourself felt pleasure,
Or share with friends as a partner in their grief?

KORYPHAIOS:
The second choice, my lady, (12) is twofold in effect
And so produces by far the greater woe.

TEKMESSA:
We--you can see it now--are not so much sick as ruined!

KORYPHAIOS:
What is this you say? I do not grasp the meaning?

TEKMESSA: (pointing at the tent)
That man in there, when he was the grips of madness
Did not know how great the evil was, though we
Who kept our senses were sore distressed by his condition.
But now that he is sane again and breathes a little freer,
He achieves a new and deeper grief, while we,
His sympathetic friends, are as troubled as before.
And so I ask you , has not our woe been doubled?

KORYPHAIOS:
I agree entirely. And I believe as well
Some god has struck this blow, for how else could it be
That, cured of madness, AIAS: finds no respite from his pain?

TEKMESSA:
So the matter stands, and so you must believe.

KORYPHAIOS:
Well, then, this flight of fury that has swept upon him so,
What beginning did it have? Tell us.
We are partners in his woe.

TEKMESSA:
Partners, yes, and you shall learn it all from me.
He--sometime in the middle of the night and after
The evening lamps had flickered low and died--he
Grabbed up his two-edged sword and grew, it seemed,
Intent upon some end whose purpose I could not tell.
I rebuked him just a bit and said, "AIAS:,
What are you about? What has stirred you from your sleep?
No messenger has come to call you to some business,
No trumpet has sounded an alarm. All the army is asleep."
His response to that was a tune I'd often heard before:
"Woman, woman's best adornment can be found in silence!" (293)
I understood, said no more, and he went out alone.
I cannot say what happened after that, but he came back
With fettered cattle, shepherd dogs, and sheep.
He brought them in and quickly lopped the heads off some,
He cut the throats of some, and others slew
By severing their spines. Some he tied and fell upon
To torture as if somehow he thought them human.
Finally, he went storming out the door and sucked
From deep within his breast a string of words directed
At the Atreidai first and then at lord Odysseus,
Laughing deep at how well he paid them back
For their great insolence. Then, coming in again, in time,
Somehow, he got his senses fully back.
He looked around him, back and forth, and when he saw
His dwelling filled with all this ruin, he beat his head
And howled. There he sat, himself a thing destroyed
Amidst destruction--bodies of a murdered flock of sheep!
Clutching his hair fast within his fingers,
He sat for a long -- a very long and speechless time,
Until at length he threatened me with fearful threats
And urged me answer just this one question: "Where am I?"
O, friends, try to understand. I was frightened by events,
And I told him everything, everything I knew.
Then he cried out in frantic, high-pitched shrieks
Such as I had never heard him utter. It was
The sort of waiting he always claimed to be the mark
Of a despondent man, and coward. But AIAS:, when he
Gave way to high emotion was like a bull and bellowed low. (322)
Now he sits there, overcome by this misfortune--
He will not eat, nor drink--he just sits quietly
As in a trance among the beasts he slew with iron blade.
And clear it is some evil mischief he intends to do.
His speech, his lamentation, his....
My friends--this is the reason of my coming out--
To ask you this: Won't you go in and help him? If you can?
The speech of friends wins him who sinks in trouble. (330)

KORYPHAIOS:
Tekmessa, Teleutas' child, what terrifying things you tell us
About this man possessed, inspired even, by great evil!

AIAS: (agonized)
U' ' '
Io, moi, moi (n 13)

TEKMESSA:
His condition worsens quickly, or so it seems.
Did you not hear his voice--how AIAS: bays?

AIAS:
U' ' '
Io, moi, moi

KORYPHAIOS:
He's ill, this man, or else he wails at sitting
Amidst the sickness of his slaughter for so long.

AIAS:
U ' ' '
I-o, pai, pai. Where is my son?

TEKMESSA:
Oh my god! Eurysakes, he is crying after you!
What ever can he want? Where are you? Oh, god, god!

AIAS:
Teukros! Where is Teukros? Will he be gone forever
Plundering some foe while I lie here destroyed?

KORYPHAIOS:
The man seems sane again. (to members of the Khoros)
Open up the door.
Perhaps he can recover some sense of honor, (14) some confidence
By looking out on me. (345)

TEKMESSA:
Look, then. The door is open wide. You can see his state,
And what has come to pass for him in this dark time.

FIRST KOMMOS: 348-430

Strophe: 348-355


AIAS::
U '
I-o! My friends and shipmates all,
For you alone are friends,
You alone keep faithful
According to the age-old bond.
Look at me now!
What waves of blood
Wash back and forth
Across me
In this storm!

KORYPHAIOS:
Oh, my lady, your witness was too true.
The fact comes clear now--his insanity, I mean.

Antistrophe: 365-363

AIAS::
U '
I-o! Oarsman, my family at sea,
Who swiftly plied the oars with me,
You, you, you alone
I see as kind shepherd
To lead me through my pain.
Help me join with these (the slain animals)
In death. (15)

KORYPHAIOS:
Oh, speak of better things, my lord,
Do not pile grief on grief
To make the remedy a greater evil
Than the disease.

Stophe: 364-378

AIAS::
Look at me. Look! Your dashing warrior, fearless,
Full of heart and ready for the flush of battle
Now lifts his terror-dealing had against the gentle beasts.
U ' '
O-i, moi! I am a very laughing stock
Brought down to this indignity.

TEKMESSA: (approaching AIAS: at the entrance to the tent)
No, AIAS:, master, lord, utter no such words as these!

AIAS::
Back, woman. Stay outside and keep away from me.

TEKMESSA: (16)
By all the gods, yield a little, AIAS:. Show prudence.

AIAS::
Oh, I am unhappy!
I let those cursed wretches
Slip through my hands
Only then to fall upon
Bulls with graceful horns
And goats of far-flung fame
As if spilling out the darkened
Blood of heroes!

KORYPHAIOS:
Why stretch out this suffering
For things already done.
What's done
Can never be undone.

Antistrophe: 379-393

AIAS::
U '
I-o! Odysseus,
You foul contriver of filthy schemes,
You low-life of the army,
What a good laugh--no doubt--
You now enjoy at my expense!

KORYPHAIOS:
Everyman laughs--or weeps--with god's consent. (383)

AIAS::
U ' ' '
I-o, moi, moi!
If I could only see him, ruined though I am, I'd....

KORYPHAIOS:
Calm your storm, my lord.
Do you not see how it is with you?

AIAS::
O Zeus, father of my forebears,
How might I deal death
First to that crafty schemer,
Then to the brother kings, those two,
And finally to myself?

TEKMESSA:
That is your prayer?
Then pray as well for me to die!
What need for me to live my life
When you have made an end of yours?

Strophe: 393-411

AIAS::
U '
I-o!
Hail holy darkness,
My only light,
Oh brilliant gloom of Hades,
Take me, take me as a dweller
In your realm! Take me!
For no longer am I fit
To call upon the race of gods
Or mortal men for help.
But mighty daughter
Of Zeus, she torments me
To my destruction.
Where, then, is escape?
Where shall I go to hide?
O friends, my punishment is near.
For all the host
Would raise its mighty hand
To kill me.

TEKMESSA:
Oh, I am in misery!
Such hopeless speech
From this good man
Who only yesterday
Would not have deigned
To speak it. (411)

Antistrophe: 412-427

AIAS: (ignoring Tekmessa and continuing his lyrical monologue)
You straits where rugged waves beat in,
You coastal caverns, you grasslands by the sea,
Long time, long long time
Have you kept me here by Troy--
No longer, though, no longer
Will you hold me here
And drawing breath--
Of that one can be sure!
O Skamander
And your neighboring rills--
How well you served the Greeks-
No more shall you, dear river,
Look on me--
(I sing a bold song here)
On me who had no equal in all the host
That sailed from Greece to Troy.
But as this dawn breaks.
I am prostrate in dishonor. (427)

KORYPHAIOS
Indeed, the evil that engulfs you is so great (428)
I can neither bid you hold your tongue in check
Nor permit you to go on this way.

AIAS
Ai-ai! Who would have thought Aias, (430)
My name, might come to match my fortune
Like this? Aias means "the one who cries,"
And, in fact, "cry out" is what I do.
Over and over. I have my reasons, too.
My father came here to Troy, once,
To fight a war. He won his battle,
And sailed home again rich in booty. (436)
The greatest prize, though, was the fame he won.
But I, Aias, his son, have come here
To this same place, this Troy,
And I am dying here, cast aside,
Scorned by my fellow Greeks. (440)
Why? I brought as big a force
As anybody. I have served well,
Fought as hard. I know this, though:
If Achilleus had lived to make
His own awards for bravery,
I would have got his armor, then,
Nobody else. But those two kings,
The sons of Atreus, have given this honor
To Odysseus, that schemer.
They rejected my fair claim outright.
If I hadn't been distracted,
No, deluded is the word, those two kings
Would not have had their way.
But now Zeus's Gorgon-faced daughter, (450)
She prevented me. Hard lady!
I was preparing to raise my hand
Against the kings, and she threw me for a fall,
And caught me in this sick madness.
And so I bloodied my hands with beasts like these (453)
Menelaos and Agamemmon have escaped my fury,
And can have their laugh at me.
How hard I tried to stop them!
But when the hand of some god strikes,
Sometimes the lesser man outruns the better.
And, the way things are, what am I to do? (457)
I am clearly hateful to the gods.
My fellow Greeks all hate me, too.
All of Troy and the surrounding plains
Hold me in contempt.
Maybe I should leave the Greek fleet
Here where it lies at anchor. Maybe
I should go home, and leave these kings alone.
That's no choice, though!
How could I look my father in the face,
Aged Telamon, my father? He couldn't bear
To look at me all stripped of fame--
I would seem naked to him--when he himself
Brought back a mighty crown of glory for all to see. (465)
The very thought of facing him is unbearable.
Well, then, shall I charge the Trojan trenches,
Face the enemy, man by man,
And when I've killed them all,
Fall dead myself, exhausted, spent?
What madness! That would be an empty gesture;
And, oh, how it would gladden Agamemnon's heart!
and Menelaos', too. No, that is not the answer.
There must be some test, some proof by which (470)
I can show my aging father that his son,
Aias, is not by nature weak and ineffectual.
It is a shameful thing to crave long life
When calamity is all you ever know.
For, what pleasure can there be in the march of time
When one day fate gives a little,
And on the next takes back what it gave,
And that's the way it is
Until it's time to die?
No, I would not give you anything
For the man who warms his heart on empty hopes.
The man of noble birth has two choices:
To live nobly or to die nobly.
I have nothing more to say. (480)

KORYPHAIOS
No one who hears will ever call this speech of yours
Illegitimate. It is the child of your own heart.
Yet pause a moment, Aias, put away such thoughts.
Let those who love you change your mind.

TEKMESSA
Oh husband, Aias, master in my house, mankind endures (485)
No greater evil than the compelling force of destiny.
In my case, I was born free, daughter of a free father,
--as powerful and wealthy as any man of Phrygia--
Yet now, now I am a slave. It may be, I think, the gods' will,
But mostly the will of your strong hand. And that is why,
Now that I have come to share your bed, I wish you well.
I beg of you, my lord, by Zeus who protects our hearthstone
And by your bed where you have known my love,
Do not subject me, abandoned to another's rule,
To the taunts of other men who are your enemies. (495)
Should you die, Aias, and leave me here alone,
Be sure that on that selfsame day they'll come,
The Argives, and carry off by force the boy
And me to take up the unhappy life of slaves.
Then some highborn lord or other will cast forth
Indignities like this: "Look, there goes Aias' mistress--
He who was the mightiest of our mighty lost--
Today she sees to household chores, but not so long ago
She lived a life that one could envy."
That is how they'll talk. To me it matters little,
For my ugly fate will impel me where it will,
But your good name, your family's too, will sink
Beneath the weight of shameful insult into nothing. (505)
Honor your father, Aias, whom you would abandon
To baleful old age. Honor your mother, Aias,
Shareholder of all the passing years. Daily
This old woman prays at home for your safe return.
And take pity, pity on your son, my lord, (510)
Deprive his boyhood of a gather's nurturing care,
And he will live out his life alone, an orphan,
In the keep of neither kin nor friends, but strangers.
O the magnitude of this calamity
You leave to him and me by dying. Think of it!
Where, tell me, can I turn for help, if not to you?
For you destroyed my homeland with your mighty spear, (515)
And then my mother--met another fate. My father, too.
So now they live among the dead in Hades.
What place can I call homeland now, save you?
What prosperity mine without you? In you, my master,
Is all my safety, my well-being. Please, remember me! (520)
Even me! When a man has known something in his life
That is good--some sweetness, he ought not forget it, Aias.
Grace gives birth to new grace. That is always true.
But when a man forgets the good his life has known--
No longer could we can that man among the noble.

KORYPHAIOS
O Aias, show pity in your heart, even as I do. (525)
For then you would approve this speech of hers.

AIAS (to Koryphaios)
Indeed, she'll have my approval
If only she submits to my commands, and obeys them.

TEKMESSA
But, dearest Aias, I shall obey you in all things.

AIAS
Then go and bring my son to me, so I may see him. (530)

TEKMESSA
I was afraid for him and so sent him away.

AIAS
You mean away from me and all these evils that I--
That is your meaning, isn't it?

TEKMESSA
The poor little one, I was afraid that he might
Encounter you, somehow, --and die.

AIAS
Yes, that would have accorded well with my run of luck.

TEKMESSA
Well, in any case, I watched him and kept him from it.

AIAS (curtly) (17)
You have my approval for what you did--and thought.

TEKMESSA
And now? The way things are, how may I help you?

AIAS
Let me see him and talk to him--face to face.

TEKMESSA
He's nearby. The servants are guarding him.

AIAS
Well, what is keeping him? He should be here! (540)

TEKMESSA (calling)
Eurysakes, son, your father summons you. Come.
There, whoever has him, guide him by the hand. (18)

AIAS
Why is he holding back, reluctant to obey you?

TEKMESSA
Here he is. The servant is bringing him now.

AIAS
Lift him up. Lift him up to me. We won't be afraid (545)
Of all this fresh slaughter he sees on me,
Not if he truly is his father's son.
The boy must be broken, trained in his sire's rugged ways--
The way we train a colt to be a stallion.
My son, be more fortunate than your father was, (550)
But in other ways be like him.
Then you will not be base.
Yet even now I have reason to envy you this:
That of these present sorrows you know nothing.
To have no understanding--there is the sweetest life.
But then the time will come
When you learn about joy and sorrow.
And when it does, then you must show
Your enemies, and mine, what you are
And who your father was!
'Til then, my son,
Graze in warm and gentle breezes.
Rejoice in your youth. Be your mother's pride and joy.
This much I know: The Greeks will not (560)
Insult you, son, with hateful jeering,
Not even when--(19) you are no longer with me.
In Teukros I am leaving you
A mighty guardian for your gates.
He will take care of you,
Even though right now you he's far away.
He's on a hunt--in enemy country.

(to members of the Khoros)

You, my warrior friends, my shipmates,
I ask a boon of you, one and all.
Tell Teukros that this is my injunction to him:
That he take this child of mine home
And introduce him to his grandparents,
To Telamon, and to my mother also,
Eriboia, you, mother, so he may daily care for you (570)
In your declining years, until the time
When both of you arrive below the earth
In the bloomy halls of Hades.
And tell him that these arms of mine
Must not become the merchandise of those two auctioneers,
And they must not go to Odysseus, my undoer
Here, son, you must have this.
It's where you get your name, you know,
Eurysakes, Broadshield. Here, hold it like this.
Look, you steer it by this handle. How well made it is!
Right here. It is made of leather,
Seven thicknesses in all. No one can get through it.
Broadshield.
Tell Teukros, too, that the rest of my armor
Is to be buried with me.

(to Tekmessa)

Now, take the boy, quickly.
Go inside and close the house up tight.
Don't weep and wail here outside the tent.
Lord, how women love to weep and wail! (580)
Come on! Hurry up!
No skilled physician resorts to incantations
When treatment calls for the knife!

KORYPHAIOS
That whetted tongue of yours unsettles me, Aias.
I am frightened when I hear your eagerness.

TEKMESSA
O Aias, my lord, what are you planning in your heart? (585)

AIAS
Don't ask! Don't examine me! Control yourself!

TEKMESSA
Ai-ai, I am white with fear.
By your son Aias, by all the gods
I beg of you, do not betray us!

AIAS (20)
o / o / o / o / o / o /
Too much, too much, Tekmessa, you are vexing me!
/ / o / o / o / o / o / o /
To me the gods are no account. The gods I owe no more.

TEKMESSA AIAS
/ / o / / / o/ o / o /
Oh, blasphemy, oh! Find another audience!

TEKMESSA AIAS
o / o / / / o / o / o /
Then you will not yield? No! You've said enough, and more!

TEKMESSA AIAS
/ o / o / / o / o / o /
O, my lord, I fear-- Quick! Inside the tent with you!

TEKMESSA AIAS
/ o / o / / / o / o / o /
Bend a little, Aias! Foolish woman, do you think
That you can shape my character with lessons?
At this late hour?

KHOROS

FIRST STASIMON: "O fair Salamis" (596-645) (21)

Strophe 1: 596-608

O fair Salamis
Alive and saltwashed in the surf
Splendid, happy island home to me
And to all men known
Radiant forever,
I long for you.
But here on grassy plain
In the shadow of Troy's great mountain
I wait weary,
Worn down
By time's woeful march.
I wait.
How many months?
I cannot count them.
I wait.
Now I have only dark hope in me:
One day soon, I think,
Far from your sacred shore
I shall achieve
A hateful room
In the halls of Hades.

Antistrophe 1: 609-620
Io-moi-moi
Sing sorrow!
Her sits Aias
Before me now
Far past healing
Holding court
In holy madness.
Once, Salamis,
Io-moi-moi!
You sent him away
To war
Mighty in Ares.
Ruthless.
Now, look,
Dear island,
And see him
Grazing alone
In the pastures of his heart,
A giant grief to friends.
Io-moi-moi!
Those mighty deeds
Of mighty hands
Are fallen
Friendless,
Are fallen
At the feet
Of unfriendly
Unhappy
Brother kings.
Io-moi-moi!
Sing sorrow.

Strophe 2: 623-634

O think friends, how a mother
Now nourished by ancient days,
By white old age
Will go heavy in heart
To hear of Aias sickened!
' U U ' U U
Ai-li-non! Ai-li-non! (22)
Sorrow! Sorrow!
Poor woman, poor mother of Aias!
She will not sing
The sad and mournful air
The nightingale sings.
No, no, no!
She will sing
The sharp sharp keening
Song of screaming. Ai-i-i!
Her hands beating, beating
On her breast,
Dou-poi, dou-poi, dou-poi (23)
Her hands tearing, tearing
At her hair,
Dou-poi, dou-poi, dou-poi!

Antistrophe 2: 635-645.

Better hidden in Hades now,
This man far gone in sickness.
He was great among the warweary Greeks.
Proud in his father's lineage.
But no more.
No more is he firm
In the ways of his rearing.
He is not one of us.
He is not himself.
O desperate father,
Wretched when you learn
Of the high calamity
Visited upon your son,
Disaster which only he,
Only Aias,
Of all his country men
Has nurtured. (24)

AIAS
Huge and endless Time will bring to light
Everything that's hidden from our sight,
And when such things are plainly in our ken,
Time turns light to darkness once again.
Except anything.
Even the strongest oath,
Even the most rigid resolve
Can and will be broken.
I am the demonstration of this. (650)
I was until just this moment
Unbending and unbent, like
Iron tempered strong by dipping.
But, for this woman here
My speech is growing female.
To leave her widowed,
To leave my son an orphan,
Both abandoned to my enemies,
There is a thought that stirs
Pity in my breast.
But I shall go now
To the bathing place,
To grassy meadows by the sea
And there I'll wash away these grisly stains (655)
Of mine, and so, I hope, escape
The goddess' heavy anger.
I'll go and find a place
Where people never go
And there hide this sword,
Hateful weapon.
And when I've dug its place in earth,
No man will cast his eye on it again.
Dark night and Hades can keep it safe below! (660)
For from that day when I took it as a gift
From Hektor's hand, my enemy,
I have known no kindness from the Greeks.
What men say, I think, is true:
An enemy's gift is no pleasure and no gift. (665)
And so, my friends, in the future
We shall know
How to give way to the gods' good will,
And we shall learn
How to respect the Atreidai.
They are the rulers here. We should obey them.
And why not?
All dread and powerful things
Give way to some authority.
Winter's cold and snowy storm
Surrenders to summer's fruitful harvest.
The reluctant circle of the dark night sky
Stands aside to let the day's white horses
Blaze into light.
The sea-storm's blast
At length subsides
And once again the ocean roll is steady
And Sleep, all-powerful Sleep,
Chains his captives, then releases,
Embraces for a while, then ceases.
Shall not Aias learn some regulation, too?
We should measure out our love and hate
According to some principle.
Since our enemy may yet again become our friend,
I shall oppose him only so far, no father.
And as for how to treat our friends,
I, at least, shall be willing to serve mine
According to what is due a man
Who will not always be my friend.
For the majority of men
Friendships harbor is treacherous!
But these matters will turn out well enough.
You, wife,
Go inside and pray.
Pray that my heart's desire
May come to pass,
And you, friends,
Carry out these orders for me,
Just as she is doing:
Tell Teukros, if he comes, to care for us
And also to think generously of you.
I am going now where I must go. (690)
Do as I bid you do,
And soon, perhaps,
You may learn of me
That, though wretched now,
I have sailed safely into port.

(exeunt Aias, Tekmessa & Eurysakes)

KHOROS

SECOND STASIMON: "The hymn to Pan" (693-718)

Strophe: 693-705

U ' ' ' '
I-o, Pan, Pan, Pan
U ' ' ' '
I-o, Pan, Pan, Pan
_ _ U _ _
E-phrix e-ro-ti
A-flutter with joy
U U U _ U _ U _
Pe-ri-kha-res d'a-nep-ta-man
I soar on the wings of ecstasy!
U ' ' ' '
I-o, Pan, Pan, Pan
U ' ' ' '
I-o, Pan, Pan, Pan
O sea-roving Pan appear,
Come down from the snowy slope,
Come down from the rocky ridge,
O lord of the dance,
Inventor of dance,
Stir in me the footbeating dance,
The dance of our ancient mother.
U ' ' ' '
I-o, Pan, Pan, Pan,
U ' ' ' '
I-o, Pan, Pan, Pan,
Join in the dance, O Pan!
Come to me, too, God of Delos,
From over Ikarian Sea,
Be here at my side, Lord Apollo,
Be gracious in all things to me.
Join in the dance, Lord Apollo!
Join in the dance, sprightly Pan!

Antistrophe: 706-718

The War God has lifted
Dark anguish from our eyes.
U ' U '
I-o, i-o, now, now,
O Zeus, the dazzling white
The fairweather white returns
To shine upon our fleet
And sea-swift ships,
U ' U '
I-o, i-o, now, now,
Since Aias has
Against all expectation
Been changed in mind,
Since Aias has
Cast aside
His mighty feud with kings.
U ' U '
I-o, i-o, now, now,
Aias has been changed.

MESSENGER

Greetings, friends, I have two messages to give: (719)
One for you, one for Aias.
First, for you I have fresh news from Teukros.
He has just returned from the craggy hills of Asia,
And at this moment is with the Argive host, where
On every side and by every man he is being jeered at
And tormented. They saw him coming from some distance,
And gathering in a circle they stood taunting him.
They pushed and shoved and shouted and not a single man
Held back. "Teukros is kin to a mad dog," they cried, (725)
A mad dog who betrayed the army!" "We'll tear you
Limb from limb, and stone you 'till you're dead.
And you're not man enough to stop us, Teukros!"
It almost came to that, my friends, for some
Had drawn their swords and were brandishing them (730)
In their hands, threatening death. But just as quickly
As the struggle heated up and was on the point
Of bursting into flames, it stopped. The elders
In the army counseled reconciliation, urged the
Ruffian soldiers to be more moderate.
But now I must speak to Aias. Where is Aias?
I must speak to him directly and to no other.

KORYPHAIOS
He's not inside his tent. He's gone--just now, (735)
Having yoked new purpose to a new demeanor.

MESSENGER
Oh, no!
He who sent me on this errand did not start me soon enough,
Or else I've dragged my feet!

KORYPHAIOS
Have we done something wrong? Why this urgency?

MESSENGER
Teukros has insisted that Aias not leave his tent
Before he himself arrives here.

KORYPHAIOS
But he has left his tent, you know.
Now he follows a more profitable course of action:
He wants to be released from the gods' great anger.

MESSENGER
A course packed with grave, grave folly, this, (745)
If Kalkhas is a seer who prophesies with any skill at all!

KORYPHAIOS
Your meaning, friend?
For what can Kalkhas know about conditions here?

MESSENGER (25)
Sir, this is what I know, for I happened to be present
And overheard him talking. When the kings and chieftains
Were in council, Kalkhas arose, left the conference (750)
And sought out Teukros. And gently joining his right hand
To his, the seer spoke to Teukros and urged him to do
Everything he could to keep Aias inside his tent
For as along as this present day shall last.
"Do not let him go out, if ever again you wish
To see your brother living. For the wrath of queen (755)
Athena will plague him this day only."
That is what I heard him say. And then the seer continued,
Explaining, "Any man, born of man, who does not know (760)
His mortal limits, will find his strong body useless,
Merely insignificant; for he will find himself fallen
Into great disaster sent to him by heaven.
Aias, in fact, as soon as he set sail to this war
Turned out to be a fool in this respect, though his father
Sent him off with good enough advice. He said,
'My son, resolve to win with this good spear, (765)
But always win with god beside you.'
And this was Aias' proud and stupid answer:
'Father,' he said, 'Even a nobody can be a winner
When the gods walk with him. I shall win my own glory
And do it without their help!' Oh, boastful talk!
There was a second time, as well, when bright Athena
Appeared to him in battle, and spoke to him
And encouraged him to turn his bloody hand against the foe.
He replied in dreadful speech--words that should not be spoken.
'Goddess, lady, stand somewhere else, beside the other Greeks,
And let me be. The line will not give way here,
Not while I am standing in this place!" (775)
That's the sort of talk that earned for Aias
Athena's implacable rage, far exceeding, as he did,
Due moderation. Yet, if he could not survive this day,
with the goddess' help." These were the prophet's
very words. (780)
Teukros stood up quickly from where he had been sitting
And bade me bring to you these urgent order to carry out.
But, if we have been thwarted, if I come too late,
The Aias is no more and Kalkhas is no seer.

KORYPHAIOS
O, Tekmessa, unhappy woman, to misfortune born,
Come and see this man and what he has to say. (785)
Aias.... A razor is in use, and it worries me.

TEKMESSA
Again for me you raise the awful spectre of destruction!
Can I have no respite from this endless siege of evil?

KORYPHAIOS
Listen to this man here. He brings news of Aias,
And what he has to say brings me no joy. (790)

TEKMESSA (addressing the messenger)
' '
Ai-ai. What news, man? Not that we are ruined?

MESSENGER
As for you, lady, I cannot say. But Aias, well,
If he's gone out today, I find no joy in that.

TEKMESSA
But he has gone out! O agony!
Your words make me cry out from deep inside!

MESSENGER
This is Teukros's order:
Don't let Aias leave his tent alone. (795)

TEKMESSA
But why? And where is Teukros?

MESSENGER
He's just now back, and worried. He knows
If Aias leaves his tent, he is destroyed.

TEKMESSA
Ai-i-i, what torment! Who told Teukros this? (800)

MESSENGER
Kalkhas, Thestor's son, the seer,
Who prophesied that this one day
Brings to Aias death--or life.

TEKMESSA
O stand by me, friends, and save me from this doom.
Here, some of you, go find Teukros, and hurry!
You, search along the headland,
And, you, go that way!
Find where his ill-fated step has led him.
Search the beaches for his tracks.
Now I can see how I am deceived
By my husband, my dear light,
How I am exiled from the favor
I once held with him.
Oh, child, child, what now? What will we do?
Sit here? No, I can't do that. I must go looking, too.
Quickly now, there is no time to lose,
If we would save this man so intent on death.

KHOROS
We are ready. Action follows promise.
On

(The Khoros divides and exits on both sides of the stage. Tekmessa
leaves with Eurysakes. Messenger exits. The stage is now empty;
the tent of Aias disappears, and the audience gradually becomes
aware that the scene has changed to a deserted strand of beach
with a low headland or promontory at the back. Aias enters,
radiant after having cleansed himself. He draws his sword,
kneels and addresses it as he plants it firmly, blade up, in
the sand.) (26)


AIAS (addressing the sword as he buries it)
There. Stand up now. Just so. You will be my helper (815)
And make your deepest cut--No, no time to swell on that.
But...., you were a gift of friendship from Hektor,
The hero who instead of friend is now my bitterest foe,
A man most hateful to my sight.
This is Troy, the enemy soil I've planted you in,
Fresh-sharpened on the whetstone, that iron-eater.
I've readied you well, too,
So you can be merciful in this killing business.
Be quick about it. Be merciful.
(Standing up) So...., we're all set.

(turning away from the sword and addressing the heavens)

Now, O Zeus, you are the first I call upon for help.
And that is right. What I ask for is no great thing,
It is my due.
When I have fallen on this sword and it has drunk my blood,
Send some messenger to Teukros for me.
Tell him: a bad thing has happened here.
Then he will come and gently lift me up
Before my enemies steal up and see my body
And throw me out as food for dogs and screaming gulls. (830)
This is all I ask of you, O Zeus.
Next I call on you, Lord Hermes,
Escort of our souls to their home beneath the earth,
Take me easy to my sleep, I do not want to struggle.
Let this blade pierce my breast
And take me in one swift leap.
And I call on you, Avenging Maidens,
For you are ever young in spirit
And keep within your ken
Each and every misery that comes to men,
O Holy Erinyes, you who go on swift-feet,
See now the manner of my death here.
I am wretched, a man undone by the Atreidai.
Sweep those men away, those evil men,
And let their end befit their ruinous lives.
Even as they watch me now, gloating,
As I prepare to fall upon my sword, alone,
Without a friend to help.
Kill them!
Then go, Swift Avenging Furies,
Throughout the army and taste the blood of all.
Spare none. Nobody!
And you, the charioteer of heaven's steep track, (845)
O Sun, when next you see my homeland in the west,
My Salamis, pause a moment, pull in your golden reins,
And tell my aged father of my ruin
And my unhappy fate, and tell the poor old lady, too,
Who was my mother, who nursed me.
Oh, mother, poor lady, when you hear this word (850)
How you will wake the town with wailing!
Enough, though! This lamentation is in vain,
And gets me nowhere. It is time to finish things.
And I must be quick about it.
_ _ U U _ U U _ U _ _ _ U _
O Thanate, Thanate, nun m'episkepsai molon,
_ _ U _ U _ U _ _ _ U
Kaitoi se men kakei prosaudeso ksynon.
O Death, Death, come now and look upon me here--
And yet I shall be speaking with you soon. (855)
And you, bright sunlight of this present day,
Helios, I greet you this one last time,
Then nevermore. Farewell,
O Radiant gleam, O sacred earth of home,
O hearth and floor of father's house,
And famous Athens, all, farewell. My friends
Who grew to manhood with me far away on Salamis,
Our island home goodbye. And even here,
You rills and rivers, you mighty plain of Troy,
Of late my nourishment and home, to you I speak as well.
Hail, friends, hail and farewell.
This is your final word from Aias, his ultimate cry.
From this day on, I shall speak only with those
Who dwell below the earth in Hades. (falls on sword) (865)

EPIPARADOS: 866-878

HEMIKHOROS I (entering from stage right)
/ U / U / U / U
Po-nos, po-no, po-non, phe-rei
Toil and toil and toil and toil,
What toil have I not brooked?
/ / / /
Pah, pah, pah, pah,
Where, where, where, where,
Where have I not looked?
/ U
I-dou, listen!
/ U
I-dou, listen!
For I have heard some sound. (27)

HEMIKHOROS II (entering from stage left)
We are what you hear, o shipmates,
Searching o'er the ground.
/ U / U / U / U
Po-nos, po-no, po-non, phe-rei
Toil and toil and toil and toil,
What toil have I not brooked?
/ / / /
Pah, pah, pah, pah,
Where, where, where, where,
Where have I not looked?

(At this point, the two Hemikhoroi begin to unite, continuing to
dance and sing the "Ponos, toil" refrain very quietly. For the
next few lines, the leaders of each semikhoros speak above the
singing.)

KORYPHAIOS I
Have you found him?

KORYPHAIOS II
We searched all the shoreline
Westward from the ships.

KORYPHAIOS I
And did you find him? (875)

KORYPHAIOS II
We saw no one.

KORYPHAIOS I
Nor did we.
We saw no one along the eastern path.

SECOND KOMMOS: 878-960

Strophe: 878-925

KHOROS
What weary fisherman
Oh a seahunt through the sleepless night
Could tell me where he wanders, brooding?
What fair nymph
Dweller of the mountain meadow far away
Could tell me where he wanders, brooding?
What river spirit flowing out of Bosporos
Might speak to me of him?
I have traveled a long and toilsome road
And cannot find him.
O dreaded truth,
Perhaps he's fallen ill, or worse,
But I cannot find him anywhere! (890)

TEKMESSA
U / / /
I-o, moi, moi!

KORYPHAIOS
What voice is that?
It's near, I think.

TEKMESSA
U / / /
I-o, tla-mon!
What grief!

KORYPHAIOS
I see the captive wife, (895)
Poor Tekmessa, disconsolate,
And given over to lamentation!

TEKMESSA
O friends,
I am undone,
I am destroyed,
I am lost, indeed!

KORYPHAIOS
What is it?

TEKMESSA
This is our Aias here.
He is dead and lying
In his own fresh blood.
His sword is hidden
Deep within him!

KORYPHAIOS
/ /
Oi-moi!
What hope now of my returning home?
/ /
Oi-moi!
You have killed me, lord,
You have killed your loyal shipmate.
And you, Tekmessa,
Poor suffering wife.
/ /
Oi-moi!

TEKMESSA
All that is left is the wailing, the wailing.

KORYPHAIOS
Unhappy Aias, who helped him die? (905)

TEKMESSA (bitterly)
He did--by himself. It's clear.
This sword was buried in the ground.

KORYPHAIOS
/ /
Oi-moi, my god, how blind I was,
How utterly deluded! You met your bloody end
Alone, unprotected by your friends.
I was completely deaf
And powerless to see things as they really were.
I paid so little heed!
Where is he? Where lies Aias,
Whose mind we could not change?
/ /
Pah? Pah?
Where lies Aias,
Whose very name is grief?

TEKMESSA
No, please! You must not see him!

(removing her cloak, she covers Aias --beginning at the feet, hesitating at his head)

This will be his shroud, since no one,
Not even former friends could bear to gaze upon
This blackish gurgle of blood
That oozes upward through his nostrils
From self-inflicted wound.

(after one final look, she covers his face)

There....
My god, what shall I do?
O, Aias, who among your friends
Will bury you? Where is Teukros?
O let him come soon, if he comes at all,
To arrange his brother's burial--
To close your eyes and cleans this wound....
O unlucky Aias! To think that you have come to this!
You will be mourned, I know, even among your enemies. (924)

Antistrophe: 925-973.

KHOROS
You would not yield.
In time, in time, Aias,
You were bound to fulfill,
Bound to fulfill this harsh destiny
Of boundless suffering.
That is what I think.
Railing through long night,
Cursing through bright day
At the Atreidai,
You have shown to me this truth,
Aias, proud and savage mind,
Hater with a fatal passion.
You would not yield.
In time, heart, in time, Aias
You were bound to fulfill this destiny.
O mighty was Time
When prize of armor
Declared best of heroes!
Time was Convener of Sorrows!

TEKMESSA
U / / /
I-o, moi, moi!
KORYPHAIOS
I do not wonder, lady, that you cry and cry again, (940)
For a blade has cut this priceless man away from you.

TEKMESSA
You sense the pain. I know it.
KORYPHAIOS
That is true, I confess.

TEKMESSA
Oi-moi, my son, what yoke of slavery is now our lot!
What harsh masters we will serve! (945)

KHOROS
/ /
Oi-moi! You have cried
An unspeakable work
Of the brother kings,
Those lords who feel nothing.
May the gods restrain them!

TEKMESSA
Our condition would not be as it is today (950)
Without divine direction. Why pray to the gods
For deliverance now?

KORYPHAIOS
Too heavy is the load they gave for you to bear!

TEKMESSA
The dread goddess, daughter of Zeus,
Athena has bred such woes--just to please Odysseus.

KHOROS
That man of many insults
Now gloats in proud black heart,
Laughs great laughter
At our maddening grief.
Pheu! Pheu! oh, maddening woe!
The twin kings listen
To his boasting
And they smile.
Pheu! Pheu! oh, maddening woe!

TEKMESSA
Well, let them laugh, let them rejoice
In Aias' great misfortune. They did not want him
When he was alive; perhaps they'll mourn him dead,
Especially in the battle line. For men of evil thought
Do not recognize the good they are holding in their hands
Until they have discarded it.
Aias is dead--a bitter fact for me, sweet for them,
For him a joyous thing. He has won his heart's desire,
The death he longed to have.
Why, now, should they laugh at him lying here? His death
Is now a matter for the gods, not them, no, not them! (970)
So, in answer, let Odysseus shout his empty taunts!
For him and the Atreidai Aias is no more.
And he is gone for me as well,
But the grief he left, oh, the grief,
That will linger on.

TEUKROS
I-o, moi, moi!

KORYPHAIOS
Quiet! I think I hear the voice of Teukros. (975)
His song is sorrow!
He understands our trouble and his loss.

TEUKROS
Beloved Aias, bright joy, my life, my brother,
What is this bargain that you've struck?
For Rumor is swift and strong.

KORYPHAIOS
He is dead, Teukros. That is the truth.

TEUKROS (28)
/ / o / / / o / o / o /
Oi-moi, how great it seems--the distance of my fall! (980)

KORYPHAIOS TEUKROS
/ / o / / / o / o / o /
Oh, yes, it is so. O, ta-las, e-go, ta-las

KORYPHAIOS TEUKROS
o / o / / / o / o / o /
It's right to wail so! Yes! An unexpected blow!

KORYPHAIOS TEUKROS
o / o / o / o / o / o /
Too great, O Teukros! Pheu, talas! And what about
o / o / / / o / o / o /
The son of Aias? Where is he in all of Troy?

KORYPHAIOS TEUKROS
o / o / o / o / o / o /
Alone beside his father's tent. Then quickly go,
Tekmessa, and bring him here to us.
Before he is carried off by foes,
The way a cub is stolen from the lioness,
While she's out hunting for his food.
Go, be quick! Everyone enjoys the chance
To mock his enemy when he lies dead upon the ground.

(exit Tekmessa)

KORYPHAIOS (gesturing towards the corpse)
This man, Teukros, your brother, while he yet lived
Enjoined you to embrace his child in your care,
as you now do. (990)

TEUKROS
I have seen many terrible things, but this
To me is most terrible.
I have followed many difficult roads, but his (995)
To me is most difficult.
O dearest Aias, I heard your death reported
And I came, seeking, tracking down the rumor
to its source.
This news, how swiftly--
As if some god had sped it on its way--
How swiftly it made its way across the camp.
"Aias is dead! Aias is dead!"
Disconsolate, I groaned just to hear the words,
But now, here, I see the truth they carried,
And--my heart is breaking!
Oi-moi!
Come, uncover him, so I may see the worst.

(Aias' face is uncovered.)

O face and eyes so hard to look upon,
O countenance of bitterest resolve,
What a crop of pain and misery you planted for me
By dying.
I failed you, Aias, in your time of trouble, (1005)
Where can I go now? Who would take me in?
There is Telamon, of course, your father--my father, too.
Oh he'll be pleased to have me sailing home without you!
I can see him now, smiling and waving as I arrive.
Why certainly! That old man doesn't smile when all is well!
Be sure he'll share his view of things, and spare me no curses.
You bastard," he will shout, "You accident of war! Coward!"
I betrayed you, he'll say, dear Aias, and by your death
I sought to gain your portion of this world--your kingship
And your home. He will charge me thus, I know it.
Any little thing will stir his ire now that he's old
And easily provoked. So, in the end, I shall be cast away,
Exiled from my country, made slave by his low
opinion of me. (1020)
This is what awaits me in our homeland.
Here in Troy, my enemies are many;
there are few to help.
This is what I harvest from your death.
Oi-moi! I cannot figure what to do.
How can I tear you from the grip of this
gleaming sword, (1025)
Poor brother? The sword which helped you
breathe your last?
It all comes clear: how in the fullness of time,
Great Hektor, even dead, was meant to bring
about your end.

(addressing the members of the Khoros)

By the gods, just think about the fortunes
of these two men!
First, Hektor. Aias gave to him a warrior's belt,
Which Achilleus used to lash him
Firmly to his chariot rail so he could drag him (1030)
Grasping and all mangled to his death.
As as for Aias, this sword he got from Hektor,
And it has claimed him in a deadly fall.
Some Fury forged this fatal sword,
And Hades, savage craftsman, made the belt. (1035)
I ask you: How could it be otherwise?
So I believe, and I declare to you
That these events, as all others touching mortal men,
Were managed by the gods!
If someone in his thinking find this thought uncomfortable,
Well, he can have his own opinions, and I'll have mine.

KORYPHAIOS
No more speech, Teukros! We need a grave. (1040)
Think where you can hide this man.
And think about it quickly.
A man approaches, who is our enemy.
His step is brisk, his purpose insult.
He has the mark of evil on him.

TEUKROS
Who is it that you see? Someone from the army?

KORYPHAIOS
Menelaos, for whom we made this noble
effort against Troy! (1045)

TEUKROS
I see him, too. At closer range his face is
clear enough.
It is Menelaos. (29)

MENELAOS
You, sir! Do not touch that corpse,
Nor ready it for burial. Leave it as it is!

TEUKROS
And? To what do we owe the favor
Of this puffed-up posturing?

MENELAOS
It is my personal wish,
And my command as general of the army. (1050)

TEUKROS
Then, commander, you might tell us why--
I mean the reason for your order.

MENELAOS
I'll tell you why! Because when we came
here from home
We Greeks expected to have in Aias an ally
and a friend.
Instead, on close inspection, we have found
A greater foe than any Phrygian. Aias!
Plotting death against every single one of us, (1055)
He set his plan in motion in darkest night,
So he could take us with his spear!
And, had some god not put out the fire
of his bold attempt,
We, surely, would have died a shameful death
Just as he has here. And he would still be living!
But in point of fact, a god caused his scheme (1060)
To shift its course and him to fall on cows and sheep.
And that is why you will never find a man alive
Who's strong and resolute enough to bury Aias.
No! His body will be thrown out--upon a span
Of sandy, yellow beach where he can make a meal
for the gulls.
Don't reply! Just hold your temper!
For, granting that we could not rule him
while he lived,
Be sure that we will rule him dead,
Absolutely, with firm and steady hand.
Even, Teukros, if you don't like it.
All his life this man chose
not to listen to me, (1070)
Yet the accepted view of things holds that
even men
Of rank and file are accountable to those in charge.
There can be no rule of law in a city where
Fear and honor have no rightful place;
Neither can an army be commanded with success (1075)
Unless protected by a shield of proper fear
and due respect.
And the hero of heroic build should know,
yes, even he,
How great a fall can come to him, and how
small the cause can be.
For respect and fear, when blended in a man
together,
Keep him safe from harm, and you should
know as much. (1080)
But when in arrogance he does only what he likes,
Be sure his city, that ship on which he sails,
Though for a while it have a following breeze,
Will flounder on the deep and sink.
So grant to me due respect;
the time for it is right.
Let us not suppose that doing as we please
We shall go unrewarded by suffering and pain.
These things go in cycles.
Before, this man (pointing to the corpse) was the
fiery aggressor.
Now my thought loom large.
And I warn you, Teukros, do not bury this man,
For in doing so, you may fall into
a grave yourself! (1090)

KORYPHAIOS
Menelaos, this list of principles is noble.
Do not prove false to it by doing outrage
to the dead!

TEUKROS (to member of the Khoros)
Never again, my friends, will I
express amazement
At some mere nobody--by birth at least--
who wanders off the track,
When those who seem to have been
nobly born miss the mark a mile
In talk like this! (to Menelaos)
Now, then, Menelaos,
Let's hear this story from the start once more.
You actually claim that you brought his man
Here to Troy as an ally of the Greeks?
--by your own efforts?
Didn't he set sail himself, and as his own
captain?
How is it, then, you are his captain?
How is it you (1100)
Are lord and master of his contingent,
these men who came
With him? You came as king of Sparta,
Not as our commander!
There is no basis for your claim.
You had no more right
To rule this man than he had you.
In fact, you sailed here as junior officer
On the staff of others--not as chief of everybody,
And certainly not as chief of Aias!
Rule the people you do rule! Set them straight
With your honorable speechifying!
But him (points to corpse)
I shall lay within his tomb, as justice
would have me do--
Whether you or any other general here forbid it!
I'm not afraid of your big mouth!
You know, he didn't make this expedition
Just to save your wife, like those slaves of yours!
He came because of certain oaths he had sworn--
Not to you, of course. He didn't bother
with non entities!
You might want to think this over.
Then, come back with heralds. And bring
your general, too.
But, me? I don't plan to mull over in my mind
These empty noises you've been making,
Not as long as you are who you are!

KHOROS
I do not like a speech like this,
not when times are bad.
Harsh words, even when they are just,
can bite too hard.

MENELAOS
Here's an archer whose opinion of himself
is not small. (1120)

TEUKROS
My art is not a simple workman's skill, you know.

MENELAOS
Imagine how you'd brag if you owned a shield!

TEUKROS
Dress you full battle armor, and strip me bare,
I would still prevail.

MENELAOS
Well, at least your tongue is brave.

TEUKROS
A man's speech can be brave,
with justice on his side. (1125)

MENELAOS
How was it justice for him to kill me?

TEUKROS
Kill you? Ha! You tell of wondrous things,
You dead man, you're still alive!

MENELAOS
A god save me! As far as he's (points to Aias)
concerned,
I am dead and gone!

TEUKROS
Oh, don't insult the gods, since they're
the ones who save you.

MENELAOS
You think that I'd insult the laws of heaven? (1130)

TEUKROS
You would, indeed, if by your intervention
You prevented the burial of the dead.

MENELAOS
I only try to stop the burial of my enemies.

TEUKROS
When, pray, did Aias ever stand against you?

MENELAOS
I hated him. He hate men. You knew that.

TEUKROS
You were stealing votes, and he found out. (1135)

MENELAOS
There was a contest for the arms.
There were judges.
He was foiled by the judges, not by me.

TEUKROS
You lying, cheating, conniving villain!

MENELAOS
Somebody will come to grief over those words!

TEUKROS
I'll cause more grief than I'll get!
Be sure of that!

MENELAOS
I'm going to tell you one thing:
This man is not to be buried. (1140)

TEUKROS
I shall answer you one thing:
He will be buried!

MENELAOS
Once I saw a man of brassy speech who
urged a ship's crew
To set sail, even as a storm was gathering;
But when the seas grew rough and spilled
across the rail,
He vanished and that booming voice was lost.
He hid himself beneath his cloak and trembled,
And so, at will, the sailors could walk
all over him. (1145)
Perhaps this parable applies to you:
Should some great storm come spilling out,
Even from a little cloud,
Then your mighty roaring would be drowned!

TEUKROS
And once I saw a man, brimming over with stupidity, (1150)
Who lorded it over neighbors when their luck was down.
And someone who saw him, a fellow not unlike myself
In looks and temperament, spoke to him like this:
"Don't outrage the dead, my man,
For if you do, you will be sorely grieved!" (1155)
Good advice for the worthless, don't you think?
I am looking at that fellow now, and he is,
It seems to me, none other than yourself.
Do I speak in riddles, sir?

MENELAOS
I'm leaving, for disgrace would cover me,
If anyone should learn that I tried to chastise
you with words
When it is within my power to force you to my will. (1160)

(exit Menelaos)

TEUKROS
Yes, go! For disgrace indeed would cover me,
Were I to go on standing here and listening
To an empty man mouth trivia.

KHOROS
I fear
That mighty strife is on its way.
So quickly, Teuker, quickly
Find a hollow ditch for him somewhere--
A place where he can stay
And have his dank and seeping tomb,
A monument reminding generations yet to come
That Aias lived.

TEUKROS (enter Tekmessa and Eurysakes)
See, now, the return of Aias' son and wife!
They are just in time to help, with loving hands,
Prepare this corpse for burial. O unhappy Aias (1170)

(to Eurysakes)

Come, over here, my son,
Come and stand beside your father.
There, you are a suppliant, too, in this rite.
Touch and hold your father;
This is the man who gave you life.
Kneel here, yes, oh so humbly,
And grasp here in your little hands
These locks of hair:
There's mine, your mother's, and then yours.
These are the dearest treasures suppliants have.

(rising to his full stature)

If any Greek should try by force to tear you
from this body (1175)
May he, when his time comes, be cast
unburied from his land,
And without ceremony. May he be cut off
at the very root
From all his race and people,
Even as I now cut this lock of mine.
Take it, son, and guard it carefully. (1180)
Don't let anyone move you from this place.
Kneel down here and grasp the body.

(to Khoros)

And you, shipmates, do not stand around like women.
Give a hand while I go to find a grave for him.
No matter who opposes me, I shall find a grave.

KHOROS

THIRD STASIMON: "Of all these long, long years" (1185-1222)

Strophe 1: 1185-1191

Of all these long, long years
So filled with wandering to and fro,
Which, I wonder, will be the last?
Each passing season adds to my life
The endless doom of brandishing the spear,
Here before the spreading plain of Troy.
Each passing season here, O bitter lot,
Is a reproach to every Greek.
Which year, I wonder, will be the last?

Antistrophe 1: 1192-1198

To think of all the generations
Which labored at the forge
To hammer out the arms of war!
O would that he had vanished
Deep into the sky,
O would that he had sunk far
Down into Hades' land
Our common home,
That man who was the first
To each the Greeks of War
And its hateful armor!
That man was man's destruction!

Strophe 2: 1199-1210

Sweet joys of happy feasting
With its garlands and its cups,
That man kept me from my share of these!
Sweet pleasure of the flute's bright sounding
And then a full night's sleep
Without the trumpet call to battle,
That wretched man kept me from my share!
And from the soft bed of love,
Of love, of love,
He pulled me unresolved!
/ / / /
Oi-moi! Oi-moi!
Bereft of all life's sweetness,
I lie here as if already in my grave,
My forehead ever dampened
By the seat of nightwatch fear
Reminding me that this is baneful Troy,
Baneful Troy.

Antistrophe 2: 1211-1222.

And Aias, quick into the fray,
Ever my shield and my protection
Who kept dread fear and flying spear at bay,
Aias, now is sacrificed
To his own dark daemon!
What joy is left for me?
What joy?
Look homeward there,
Look homeward where
Yonder looms on far horizon,
The tree-topped brow of Sounion,
High cliff, jutting seawashed rock.
O could I but truly see this sight again,
And hail thee, bright and hold Athens!

TEUKROS
I saw Agamemnon, the commander, coming here
And so I hurried back. He'll unstop his mouth
And give full rein to sinister, ill-sounding words.
Of that I have no doubt. (1225)

AGAMEMNON
So, you're the one that they've been telling me about?
Who dares to mouth huge indignities against our person,
And goes unpunished? You half-breed! Son-of-slave woman,
I meant to say! Had your mother been a noble woman,
God help us! for then, truly, you would have given vent
To haughty boasts and pranced about In arrogance. (1230)
Even now, being nothing, you have risen up
in behalf of him,
Who is also nothing. And you have solemnly
sworn that we
Are here in our capacity neither as general of the army
Nor admiral of the fleet, nor as commander of the Greeks,
Nor of you. And you do further assert and claim
That Aias sailed on this voyage as commander
Both of himself and of his men. O foul talk!
Such large unpleasantries to hear from slaves! (1235)
What about this man for whom you yawp
All these puffed-up claims? Where ever did he go
in battle,
Where stand off the foe, that I did not go and
stand as well?
In the whole Greek army there was no true man but him?
Oh, yes, it seems our competition for the armor
Of Achilleus, and our choosing of a winner,
Will have proved a bitter thing and great annoyance,
If at every turn we receive a bad report from Teukros!
And it will never satisfy your followers or you,
Even though you are defeated, to yield
To the decision of the majority of judges.
No, your chariot has been left to eat our dust,
And you keep lobbing insults at us from somewhere
in the rear.
We cannot push aside the rightful victors
And bring up stragglers to take their place.
That sort of thing breeds instability;
It breeds insurrection and not the rule of law.
No! This behavior must be curbed! (1250)
Men are unassailable, you know, not because of
Broad shoulders and strong backs. Rather,
Men who show sound judgment are the ones
Who will prevail--in every time and place.
A little goad can drive a big ox straight
along the path,
And I see that we may need a cure like
that for you, (1255)
Soon, too, unless you try to have some sense.
This man is no more. He is a shadow now.
He cannot help you, and yet you
prattle boldly on
And know no discrimination whatsoever in
your speech.
Why do you not act more moderately? Think!
Think of who you are. Think about your
parentage.
Then bring another person here, a free
man, please, (1260)
To plead your case before us--instead of you.
Your logic is utterly foreign to my mind.
No! I am unwilling to listen to you further!

KHOROS
O would that both of you might learn
To moderate your speech!
I have no better counsel. (1265)

TEUKROS
/ /
Pheu! Pheu!
How quickly disappears the gratitude we
owe the dead!
How soon are men found treacherous!
This man, (did you hear his vaunted words, Aias?)
This man no longer holds you in his memory,
This man for whom you often risked
your life in battle.
All of that is gone, discarded, thrown away. (1271)
You, sir, who just this minute
Spoke that big and mindless speech,
Do you remember nothing any longer?
Once when you were pinned behind the line
And already counted lost as the battle
Turned against you, this man, and only he,
Came to your defense and resue.
And at the same time, while flames
were licking
At the very sterns of all our ships,
Hektor came bounding free and unresisted
Over the trenches towards your position.
Who put a stop to that?
Was it not he who did those things? (1280)
Is that what you mean when you say
He fought only where you fought?
This man acted thus on your behalf, (1282)
According to the rules and expectations
of nobility.
Can you deny it? And what about that other time
When he alone faced Hektor, one on one?
No one ordered him to take on that!
He was chosen in a lottery. Yes,
His lot went in the helmet with all the rest-- (1285)
An equal piece to make an equal chance.
How eagerly he waited for the draw!
No shirker here!
He did that, and I was there with him,
I, the slave, the barbarian's boy!
You wretch!
Look around you before you speak that charge! (1290)
Don't you know who your grandfather was? Old Pelops?
He wasn't even a Greek! He was a Phrygian! That's who!
And what about your father, Atreus?
He placed on his brother's table a most unholy dish,
His very own children cooked in a pot!
And you? your mother was a Cretan!
Your father found a foreigner on top of
her one day (1295)
And sent her off to drown among the fishes
of the sea!
With a family like that, you censure mine?
I am the son of Telamon, who for his valor
on the field
Received my mother to be his consort--a royal princess (1300)
Daughter of Laomedon. Heracles, it was, who
selected her
To be my father's war prize. That's my ancestry--
Two royal houses. How, then, is my defence
An embarrassment to Aias and the others of my race,
When you abuse them so and plan to cast them out
Unburied, now that their lot has fallen low?
My preference is this, and I say this publicly:
I prefer to die for him and not that wife of yours,
Or, should I say your brother's wife?
All things considered, you would do well
To look to your own case and forget about mine.
If you crowd me, you will wish
That you had been a coward, not a bully!

KORYPHAIOS (to Odysseus entering)
Noble Odysseus! If you can help to end
this strife (1316)
And not promote it, your arrival is well timed.

ODYSSEUS
What is happening here? For quite some distance
I have heard
The two Atreidai shouting over this brave corpse.

AGAMEMNON
Lord Odysseus, have we not been, even now,
Required to endure monstrous words from this man?

ODYSSEUS
What words? I think he could be indulged a little
If he was forced to hear the kind of
insult that he gave.

AGAMEMNON
Oh, he heard insults!
He insulted me!

ODYSSEUS
What has Teukros done to injure you? (1325)

AGAMEMNON
He insists this corpse will have its burial,
And that in spite of me he'll put in in
its grave.

ODYSSEUS
I wonder. Is it possible for one to speak
the truth to you
And still remain as much your ally as before?

AGAMEMNON
Speak. I'm not a foolish man. Of all the Greeks, (1330)
I count on you the most, my steadfast friend.

ODYSSEUS
Then listen to me. By all the gods, do not be harsh.
Have some feeling for this man. Do not throw his
corpse away
Unburied. Violence of spirit should not triumph!
Hatred should not trample justice. (1335)
I will admit: this is the man
From whom I won the great Achilleus' arms.
This is the man I once found hateful; this
my gratest foe.
But, even so, I must acknowledge that of all the Greeks
Whom came to Troy, except Achilleus, he was
the bravest. (1340)
I would not dishonor him. Nor should you.
Simple justice bids us do otherwise.
By abusing Aias now, you cannot injure him.
You will, however, do violence to the law of god.
When a great man has died, it is not right
to do him harm,
Not even if you hated him. (1345)

AGAMEMNON
You stand with him against me, friend Odysseus?

ODYSSEUS
I do. I used to hate him while hating
him was fair.

AGAMEMNON
But now that he is dead, we should trample
on his corpse.

ODYSSEUS
No! Do not glory in your advantage. That's unfair.

AGAMEMNON
It is not easy for a monarch
To show such reverence and restraint.

ODYSSEUS
Men speak well of him who honors friends.

AGAMEMNON
A real nobleman respects his superiors.

ODYSSEUS
Please stop this!
You win friends by giving in to them.

AGAMEMNON
Have you forgotten who this is
For whom you urge my favor?

ODYSSEUS

He was my foe, also. But he was noble. (1355)

AGAMEMNON

What is it that you want?

For me to honor the body of him I hated?

ODYSSEUS
Yes. His virtue was great,
And that moves me more than any hatred.

AGAMEMNON
That smacks of instability to me.

ODYSSEUS
As a rule, men are sometimes friends,
sometimes foes.

AGAMEMNON
You encourage me, then, to take on friends
so changeable?

ODYSSEUS
I have no stomach for the obstinate. (1361)

AGAMEMNON
On this day, Odysseus, you make us appear cowards.

ODYSSEUS
To all the Greeks you will appear just and fair.

AGAMEMNON
You really want me, then, to grant this man
his funeral?

ODYSSEUS
I do, yes. For I myself shall come
to this one day. (1365)

AGAMEMNON
In everything, each man labors for himself.

ODYSSEUS
For whom shall I toil, if not myself?

AGAMEMNON
let men say, then, this was your doing,
not mine.

ODYSSEUS
Whoever does it, if you permit this burial,
In every corner of the world the praise is yours.

AGAMEMNON
Know this, and know it well, Odysseus. (1370)
For you I would consider this or any
other favor.
But this man, whether here or in the
Halls of Hades,
Will always be my enemy. Do as you
wish with him.

(exit Agamemnon with retinue)

KHOROS

After this, Odysseus, only a fool
Would deny that you are wise. (1375)

ODYSSEUS

And now, friends, I proclaim to Teukros:
From this time hence I intend to be
As much a friend to him as I was his enemy.
And furthermore, I want to help with the burial
Of this good man. I want to help with each detail
Every honor we that mortals offer to our noble dead. (1380)

TEUKROS

Noble Odysseus, for these kind words I have
only praise
This is not what I expected, I must admit.
For of all the Argive host you hated him the most;
Yet only you have come to lend a hand.
In life, you could not bear to stand idly by
And see him, in death, so greatly outraged.
That King, however, is another matter,
Showing up as he did, his brains all scrambled
By some thunderbolt! He and his brother, too!
That pair would have thrown him out--
Insulted and without a tomb. (1388)
Therefore, may Zeus, the ruler of this (30) Olympos,
May the Fury, who remembers to bring vengeance,
May Justice, who accomplishes her end,
Foully bring to ruin these foul men
In that same spirit of outrage and dishonor
In which they planned to cast aside this corpse.
But you, Odysseus, seed of old Laertes, I hesitate
To have you take an active part in Aias' burial,
I hesitate to have you lift the body.
We might distress the dead. (1395)
But in all else take part, and if you wish
to bring
Any of the army here to stand as honor guard,
We find no pain in that. The rest, I'll do.
And know this, good sir:
To us you are a noble man.

ODYSSEUS

I wanted to help. If that is a difficult
thing for you,
I accept your judgment; I approve; and I
take my leave.

(exit Odysseus)

EXODOS: 1402-1421

TEUKROS

(spitting out orders to the Khoros in strict rhythms)

This is enough! This is enough!
Now is the time stretching out far to long.
Some of you hollow a trench; we must hurry.
Some of you raise up the cauldron on high.
Surround it with high--reaching flames.
Make ready the ritual bath.
Some of you men form a guard.
Go to the tent
And bring back the valiant armor.

(gently to Eurysakes)

And you, little one,
Gather your little boy's strength,
Hold on to your father's side.
Help me to lift him up.
Lift him with love.
Lift him with care. (31)
For the warm springs of blood
Are still flowing dark.

(in martial cadence again)

Come, come, every one
Who claims to be a friend.
Everyone hasten, everyone come,
To honor worthy Aias now.
He was noble to the end.

(Khoros begins keening as it forms into a funeral procession
for its final exit. Teukros and cortege begin to shoulder
Aias' body. Eurysakes struggles to help.)
No man is a prophet.
No man..., a prophet....
ou-deis... mantis...
ou-deis... mantis...
ou-deis... mantis...

(Two columns begin marching off, chanting.)
It is true It is true It is true
Many things Many things Many things
Mortals see, Mortals see, Mortals see,
Having seen Having seen Having seen
They learn. They learn. They learn.
Never know Never know Never know
'Til the time 'Til the time 'Til the time
What will be What will be What will be
Never know What will be Never know
What will be. Never know. What will be.

(Teukros, Eurysakes, and the cortege carry the body of Aias from
the stage. Eurysakes is carrying his father's shield. Tekmessa
follows.)