Dardanus

We have followed thee faithfully through all thy wanderings and will never desert thee and thy race, for whom a glorious destiny is prepared, but not here.

It is not in Crete, but in Italy, that this green shoot from the shattered trunk of Dardanus is to be planted.

There it shall strike deep root and grow into a mighty tree, beneath whose spreading boughs all peoples of the earth shall be gathered together.

When Anchises was informed of his son's nocturnal visitors and of the message which they had brought, he recognized the name of Italy, which he had heard long ago from Cassandra as the destined home of the exiled Trojans.

But not here.

It is not in Crete, but in Italy, that this green shoot from the shattered trunk of Dardanus is to be planted.

There it shall strike deep root, and grow into a mighty tree, beneath whose spreading boughs all peoples of the earth shall be gathered together.' When Anchises was informed of his son's nocturnal visitors, and of the message which they had brought, he recognized the name of Italy, which he had heard long ago from Cassandra as the destined home of the exiled Trojans.

'But who dreamed in those days,' he said, 'that Cassandra was a true prophetess, or who thought that the line of Teucer would give kings to that far-off realm? We must obey.

Clytemnestra, they in safe maiden bowers be warded well.

agamemnon nay hear me clytemnestra no by the argive's goddess queen go order things without within doors i will order what is fitting for a bride exit agamemnon ah me vain mine essay my hope is foiled who out of sight was fain to send my wife with subtle schemes against my best beloved i weave plots yet am baffled everywhere but none the less with calchas will i go the priest the goddess pleasure to inquire for me ill doom for hellest travail sore the wise man in his house should keep a wife helpful and good or never take a bride chorus unto simois unto the silver-swirling eddies shall come the hellene host with galleys with battle-gear onward hurling to the plain of phoebus the troyland coast where tosseth cassandra her tresses golden with their garlands of green-leaved bay enfolden as they tell when by mighty compulsion holden her soul is on storm-winds of prophecy on the heights of their towers shall the trojans and ringing the ramparts of troy in their harness stand when over the waters the war-god bringing the stately galleys with oars to the strand draweth near where the runnels of simois are sliding to hail her in priam's halls who is hiding sister of zeus's sons heaven abiding with buckler and spear unto hellas land and the war fiends shall girdle with slaughter pergamos towers of stone and the captive's head back bend that the throat shearing blade may descend when lo in the dust he hath brought her troy from her height overthrown he shall make for her maids a lamenting and the queen of priam shall moan and the daughter of zeus shall know in that day and the flood shall flow of helen's tears of repenting who hath left her husband lone over me over mine may there loom no not in the third generation never such shadow of doom as shall haunt each gold-decked dame of the lydian the phrygian nation as beside the weaving frame they shall wail to each other in fear and despair ah who on the braids of my shining hair clenching his grip till my tears down shower me from my perishing country shall tear as one plucketh a flower for thy sake child of the swan archnecked if credence worthy the story be that laid a bear to a winged bird thee when zeus with its plumes had his changed form or whether in scrolls of minstrelsy such tales unto mortals hath fable brought told out of season and all for naught enter achilles achilles where is achaia's battle-chief hereby what henchman will bear word that peleus son achilles at his gates is seeking him this tarrying here falls not alike on all for some there are of us who yet unwed have left their dwellings wardenless and here sit idle on the shore some that have wives and children such strange longing for this war hath upon hellas fallen by heaven's will mine own my righteous grievance must i speak let whoso will beside his own cause plead for salia's land and peleus have i left and through these light airs of euripus wait checking my myrmidons yet urgent aye they cry why dally achilles how long time yet must the troyward bound array wait on act if thou canst else lead thy war-host home waiting no more on atreus son's delays and part two recording by expatriate in bangor part three of iphigenia in aulis by euripides translated by arthur sanders way eighteen forty seven to nineteen thirty this librivox recording is in the public domain recording by expatriate in bangor maine part three enter clytemnestra clytemnestra child of the nereid goddess from within thy voice i heard and come without the tent great queen of shamefastness what lady here behold i crowned with peerless loveliness clytemnestra no marvel thou shouldst know me not unseen ere this thy shrinking modesty i praise achilles who art thou why cam'st thou to achaia's host a woman unto men with bucklers fenced clytemnestra i am laid as daughter clytemnestra named am i king agamemnon is my lord achilles well hast thou said in brief what most imports yet shame were this that i with women talk clytemnestra stay wherefore flee nay give me thy right hand to clasp the prelude to espousals blest achilles how say'st mine hand in thine ashamed were i before thy lord of such unsanctioned touch clytemnestra tis wholly sanctioned since thou art to wed my child o son of the lady of the sea achilles what wedding this i know not what to say except of crazed wits this strange utterance come clytemnestra tis all men's nature so in shame to shrink before new kin and talk of spousal rights achilles lady thy daughter have i never wooed nor word of marriage atreus sons have said clytemnestra what shall this mean thou marvel at my words in turn for passing strange are thine to me achilles think we have common cause to search out this perchance nor thou nor i speak false herein clytemnestra how have i been abused seek i a bridle which is not as doth seem i am crushed with shame achilles some one perchance hath mocked both thee and me nay lightly hold it lay it not to heart clytemnestra farewell i cannot with unshrinking eyes meet thine who have made a liar outrage so achilles farewell i bid thee too i pass within yonder pavilion now to seek thy lord old servant from within the tent stranger aeacus scion tarry thou what ho to thee i call whom the goddess bare and laid as daughter unto thee withal achilles who through doors half open calleth calleth with what fearful breath old servant bond am i the name i scorn not neither fortune suffereth ach whose not mine art thou no part in agamemnon's goods i have old servant hers who stands before the tent me tyndareus her father gave ach lo i stay if aught thou wouldst speak that for which thou bad'st me wait old servant stand ye twain alone none other near hereby before the gate ach speak alone we are from out the king's pavilion come thou nigher old servant entering from tent fortune and my foresight save ye them whose saving i desire ach stately invocation this it may for needs to come avail clytemnestra as old servant is about to kneel to her linger not to touch mine hand if thou to me wouldst tell thy tale old servant loyal to thee and to thy children well thou knowest me i ween cly yay i know that from of old mine house's servant thou hast been old servant and that agamemnon gat me in possession with thy dower cly thou to argos camest with me hast been mine unto this hour old servant so it is to thee devoted more than to thy lord am i clytemnestra prithee now unveil thy secret whatsoe'er the mystery old servant lo thy child her very father with his own hands soon shall slay clytemnestra how avaunt the story ancient sure thy wit is all astray old servant severing thine unhappy daughter's snowy neck with murder's sword clytemnestra oh alas for me now haply murder frenzied is my lord old servant sane save touching thee and this thy daughter only mad herein clytemnestra what the reason what avenging demon drives him to the sin old servant oracles as calchas saith that the host may pass the sea clytemnestra whither woe for me for thee whose father waits to murder thee old servant unto dardanus hauls that menelaus may bring helen home ha is helen's home returning fraught with iphigenia's doom old servant thou hast all the sire will sacrifice thy child to artemis clytemnestra and the marriage made the pretext drew me from my home to this old servant so that thou shouldst gladly bring thy child to be achilles bride clytemnestra daughter to destruction com'st thou and thy mother at thy side old servant piteous lot is thine is hers an awful deed thy lord essayed clytemnestra woe is me undone the fountains of my eyes may not be stayed old servant if tis pain to be bereft of children let the tear-flood flow clytemnestra nay but ancient whence hast heard it sayest thou how dost thou know old servant with a letter touching that aforetime written hasted i clytemnestra countermanding or re-urging me to bring my child to die old servant nay forbidding thee to bring for then thy lord was sound of wit clytemnestra why then bearing such a scroll to me didst not deliver it old servant menelaus snatched it from me cause of all these miseries clytemnestra child of thetis son of peleus hearest thou these infamies achilles yea i hear thy sorrow nor my part therein i tamely bear clytemnestra they will slay my daughter setting thine espousals for a snare achilles wroth am i against thy lord i counted not a little thing clytemnestra i will not think shame to bow me down unto thy knees to cling mortal unto child of goddess what is matron pride to me lo for whom above my daughter should i labour instantly ah be thou o goddess born protector unto my despair and unto the maiden named thy bride all vainly though it were all for thee i wreathed her leading her to be thy bride i came came to slaughter leading her on thee shall fall reproach's shame who didst shield her not for though ye ne'er were linked in marriage ties yet the hapless maiden's husband wast thou called in anywise by thy beard i pray thy right hand by thy mother's deity since thy name was mine undoing see thy name untarnished altar have i none to flee to save thy knee in my distress not a friend is near of agamemnon's cruel recklessness thou hast heard and i am come a woman as thou dost behold unto this array of sea-folk lawless and to evil bold yet so they be willing strong to help if thou but dare extend o'er mine head thine hand our life is saved if not our life hath end chorus mighty is motherhood of potent spell all mothers for a child's life will fight hard achilles my whole soul's chivalry is to action stirred yet hath my soul learnt temperance in grief for troubles and in joy for triumphs won for such men are by reason schooled to pass through life well in cool judgment self-reliant true pain sometimes rewards the over-wise yet oft of self-reliance profit comes fostered by chiron one that feared god most was i and learned to tread no tortuous ways and atreus sons if righteously they lead will i obey else will i not obey here as in troy i'll keep me free man still and as i may will grace a hero's part thee lady outraged by thy nearest kin will i so far as such young champion can write so shall my compassion buckler thee ne'er by her father slain shall be thy child once called my bride i will not lend myself to be thy lord's tool in his subtle plots else my mere name though it have drawn no sword shall slay thy daughter and the cause thereof thy lord my very blood were murder tainted if this maid suffering wrongs intolerable for my sake and my marriage be destroyed with outrage past belief unmerited so were i basest among argive men a thing of nought and menelaus a man sprung of nopaleus but some vengeance fiend if my name shall do butchery for thy lord no by the foster son of ocean's waves nereus the sire of thetis who bare me king agamemnon shall not touch thy child not on her robe to lay a finger-tip else half-barbaric scipulas were a city whence sprang the line of yonder war-chief's house and phthia's name were nowhere named of men his meal his labour drops of sacrifice calchas the seer shall rue what is a seer a man who speaks few truths but many lies when his shafts hit who is ruined if he miss it is not for the bride's sake brides untold are eager for mine hand that this i say but king agamemnon hath insulted me he ought to have asked my name's use first of me to trap his child chiefly through trust in me did clytemnestra yield her lord her daughter i had granted this to greece if only so the voyage to troy might be had not refused to aid their cause with whom i marched to war but now in yon chief's eyes i am as naught to honour me or shame me is all one soon shall my sword know ere it go to troy i will disdain it with death-dews of blood if any man shall wrest from me thy daughter calm thee as some god strong to save i come though i be none yet will i prove me such chorus thou speakest son of peleus worthily of thee and of the sea-born goddess dread clytemnestra how can i praise thee and not overpraise and yet not mar the grace by stint thereof for good men praised do in a manner hate the praiser if he praiseth overmuch i blush to thrust on thee my piteous tale my pain is mine mine anguish wrings not thee yet is it nobly done when from his height the good man stoops to help the stricken ones pity me for in piteous case am i who first had dreamed that thou shouldst wed my child vain hope was mine next haply unto thee ill omen for thy bridal yet to come should be my child's death take thou heed thereof well spakest thou the first things as the last for if thou will it shall my child be saved wouldst thou she clasp thy knees a suppliant no maiden's part this yet if thou think well she shall come lifting innocent frank eyes but if without her i may win my suit in maiden pride let her abide within yet modesty bows to hard necessity achilles nay bring not forth thy daughter in my sight nor lady risk we the reproach of fools for this thronged host of all home trammels free loves evil babble of malicious tongues in any wise the same end shall ye gain praying or prayerless for one mighty strife waits me from evil to deliver you one thing be sure thou hast heard i will not lie if lie i do or mock you may i die and only die not if i save the maid clytemnestra heaven bless thee who still succorest the distressed achilles now hear me that the matter well may speed clytemnestra what meanest thou i needs must list to thee achilles let us to a better mood persuade her sire clytemnestra he is something craven fears o'ermuch the host achilles yet mightier wrestler reason is than fear clytemnestra cold hope is this yet say what i must do achilles beseech him first to murder not his child if he withstand thee come thou unto me for if he heed thy prayer i need not stir since in this very yielding is her life and friendlier so to a friend shall i appear nor shall the army blame me if i bring this thing to pass by reason not by force if all go well upon thy friends in thee shall gladness dawn and that without mine aid clytemnestra ah wise words i must act as seems thee best but if we shall not gain mine heart's desire where shall i see thee whither shall i go in misery to find thy champion hand achilles where best befits will i keep watch for thee that none behold thee traversing wild-eyed the danaan host shame not thy father's house for tyndareus deserves not to be made a mock for great is he midst hellene men clytemnestra this shall be rule thou i must be thy thrall if there be gods thy righteousness shall earn their favour if not wherefore should men toil exeunt severally achilles and clytemnestra chorus oh what bridal chant rang with the crying of the libyan flute with the footfall of dancers replying to the voice of the lute with the thrill of the reeds glad greeting in the day when o'er pelion fleeting unto peleus espousals with beating of golden shod foot the beautiful tress song maidens to the gods feast came and their bridal hymns ravishing cadence bore thetis fame o'er the hills of the centaurs far pealing through the woodlands of paleon soft stealing the new-born splendor revealing of the aeacid's name and dardanus's child whom the pinion of the eagle bore from phrygia ganymede minion of zeus did pour from the gold's depths nectar while dancing feet of the sea-maids were glancing through circles through mazes entrancing the white sands o'er leaf crowned came the centaur riders with their lances of pine to the feast of the heaven abiders and the bowls of their wine hail sea-queen so rang their acclaiming alight over thessaly flaming sang chiron the unborn naming achilles shall shine and as phoebus made clearer the vision he shall pass sang the seer unto priam's proud land on a mission of fire with a spear and the shield of the myrmidons clashing in gold for the fire king's crashing forges shall clothe him with flashing warrior gear of his mother the gift shall be given of thetis brought down so did the dwellers in heaven with happiness crown the espousals of nereus's daughter when a bride unto peleus they brought her of the seed of the lords of the water chief in renown but men shall wreath thine head for death thy golden hair as heifer white and red down from the hill caves led a victim pure shall stain with blood thy throat's snow fair though never thou wert bred wherewith the herdmen strain their reed pipes thrill the air but at thy mother's side was nursed was decked a bride for a king's heir what might hath now modesty's maiden face or virtue's brow when godlessness bears sway and mortals thrust away virtue and cry give place when lawlessness hath law down trod and none will to his brother say let us beware the jealousy of god enter clytemnestra clytemnestra forth of the tent to seek my lord i come who is from his pavilion absent long and drowned in tears mine hapless daughter is with wails now ringing high now moaning low since she hath heard what death her father plots lo of one even now drawn nigh i spake yon agamemnon who shall straightway stand convict of sin against his very child enter agamemnon agamemnon o laid as child well met without the tent i would speak with thee ere our daughter come of that which fits not brides to be should hear clytemnestra and what is this that fits the time so well agamemnon send forth the tenth the maid to join her sire for here the lustral waters stand prepared and meal for hands to cast on cleansing flame and victims that ere bridles must be slain to artemis with spurtings of dark blood clytemnestra fair sound the things thou nam'st but to thy deeds i know not how to give fair-sounding names daughter come forth to the uttermost thou know'st thy sire's design the babe orestes take and bring thy brother folded in thy robes enter iphigenia lo she is here obedient unto thee the rest for her for me myself will speak agamemnon child wherefore weep and blithely look no more but earthward bend thy vesture shrouded eyes clytemnestra ah me as shall i make beginning of my woes for well may i account each one the first midmost or last in misery's tangled web agamemnon how now how find i each and all conspired to show me looks of trouble and amaze Clytemnestra, answer my question, husband, like a man.

Agamemnon, no need to bid me, I would fain be asked.

Clytemnestra, thy child and mine, meanst thou to murder her? Agamemnon, ha, a hideous question, foul suspicion this.

She, however, charged Anchises never to reveal to any person who she was, declaring that Aeneas, whom she was going to leave with his father when she went away, would be destroyed by a stroke of lightning from heaven if the real truth in respect to his mother were ever revealed.

When Aphrodite had gone, Anchises, having now no longer anyone at home to attend to the rearing of the child, sent him to Dardanus, a city to the northward of Troy, where he was brought up in the house of his sister, the daughter of Anchises, who was married and settled there.

His having a sister old enough to be married would seem to show that youth was not one of the attractions of Anchises in Aphrodite's eyes.

Aeneas remained with his sister until he was old enough to be of service in the care of flocks and herds, and then returned again to his former residence among the pasturages of the mountains.