Medea 506–75

Question 1

Medea
ἔχει γὰρ οὕτω· τοῖς μὲν οἴκοθεν φίλοις
ἐχθρὰ καθέστηχ᾿, οὓς δέ μ᾿ οὐκ ἐχρῆν κακῶς δρᾶν, σοὶ χάριν φέρουσα πολεμίους ἔχω.
τοιγάρ με πολλαῖς μακαρίαν Ἑλληνίδων
510ἔθηκας ἀντὶ τῶνδε· θαυμαστὸν δέ σε
ἔχω πόσιν καὶ πιστὸν ἡ τάλαιν᾿ ἐγώ,
εἰ φεύξομαί γε γαῖαν ἐκβεβλημένη,
φίλων ἔρημος, σὺν τέκνοις μόνη μόνοις·
καλόν γ᾿ ὄνειδος τῷ νεωστὶ νυμφίῳ,
515πτωχοὺς ἀλᾶσθαι παῖδας ἥ τ᾿ ἔσωσά σε.
ὦ Ζεῦ, τί δὴ χρυσοῦ μὲν ὃς κίβδηλος ᾖ
τεκμήρι᾿ ἀνθρώποισιν ὤπασας σαφῆ,
ἀνδρῶν δ᾿ ὅτῳ χρὴ τὸν κακὸν διειδέναι
οὐδεὶς χαρακτὴρ ἐμπέφυκε σώματι;
ΧΟΡΟΣ
520δεινή τις ὀργὴ καὶ δυσίατος πέλει,
ὅταν φίλοι φίλοισι συμβάλωσ᾿ ἔριν.

Answer 1

Medea
for it holds in this way: I have become an enemy to my loved ones from home, and bearing grace to you I have enemies whom I did not need to have done bad to. Therefore, you have made me happy in the eyes of the Greeks in return for these things. And I, wretched, have a wonderful and faithful husband in you, if I will flee, banished from the country, desolate of friends, alone with our abandoned children, a fine reproach to the new bridegroom, his children roaming as beggars and she who saved you.
Oh Zeus, when you gave a clear sign of gold to mankind that it is counterfeit, why is no character of man, by which it is possible to discern his badness, planted on his body?

Chorus
This wrath is terrible and hard to heal whenever loved ones quarrel with loved ones.

Question 2

ΙΑΣΩΝ
δεῖ μ᾿, ὡς ἔοικε, μὴ κακὸν φῦναι λέγειν,
ἀλλ᾿ ὥστε ναὸς κεδνὸν οἰακοστρόφον
ἄκροισι λαίφους κρασπέδοις ὑπεκδραμεῖν
525τὴν σὴν στόμαργον, ὦ γύναι, γλωσσαλγίαν.
ἐγὼ δ᾿, ἐπειδὴ καὶ λίαν πυργοῖς χάριν,
Κύπριν νομίζω τῆς ἐμῆς ναυκληρίας
σώτειραν εἶναι θεῶν τε κἀνθρώπων μόνην.
σοὶ δ᾿ ἔστι μὲν νοῦς λεπτός—ἀλλ᾿ ἐπίφθονος
530λόγος διελθεῖν ὡς Ἔρως σ᾿ ἠνάγκασεν
τόξοις ἀφύκτοις τοὐμὸν ἐκσῶσαι δέμας.
ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἀκριβῶς αὐτὸ θήσομαι λίαν·
ὅπῃ γὰρ οὖν ὤνησας οὐ κακῶς ἔχει.
μείζω γε μέντοι τῆς ἐμῆς σωτηρίας
535εἴληφας ἢ δέδωκας, ὡς ἐγὼ φράσω.
πρῶτον μὲν Ἑλλάδ᾿ ἀντὶ βαρβάρου χθονὸς
γαῖαν κατοικεῖς καὶ δίκην ἐπίστασαι
νόμοις τε χρῆσθαι μὴ πρὸς ἰσχύος χάριν·
πάντες δέ σ᾿ ᾔσθοντ᾿ οὖσαν Ἕλληνες σοφὴν
540καὶ δόξαν ἔσχες· εἰ δὲ γῆς ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτοις
ὅροισιν ᾤκεις, οὐκ ἂν ἦν λόγος σέθεν.
εἴη δ᾿ ἔμοιγε μήτε χρυσὸς ἐν δόμοις
μήτ᾿ Ὀρφέως κάλλιον ὑμνῆσαι μέλος,
εἰ μὴ ᾿πίσημος ἡ τύχη γένοιτό μοι.

Answer 2

Jason
as it appears, I must not become a bad speaker, but just as a trusty helmsman of a ship and reefs the sails to the highest edge,(I reef) your prattling, woman, and endless talk.
since you gird your grace excessively, I think that Venus alone of both gods and men to be the saviour of my voyage. You have a refined mind but it would be an odious speech to recount how Eros forced you to save my bodily form with his inescapable bow. But I will not put too much precision on on this, for you were a benefit to me, it does not hold badly for you. however, you took a greater part of my saving than you gave, as I will make clear. First, you settled in Greece rather than Barbarian land and you know justice and to use laws, not towards favour of the strong. All Greeks know that you are clever and you have glory. If you lived on the furthest boundary of the land, there would be no talk from you. May I never have gold in my house nor sing more beautiful song than Orpheus, unless remarkable fate happens to me.

Question 3

ΙΑΣΩΝ
τοσαῦτα μέν σοι τῶν ἐμῶν πόνων πέρι
ἔλεξ᾿· ἅμιλλαν γὰρ σὺ προύθηκας λόγων.
ἃ δ᾿ ἐς γάμους μοι βασιλικοὺς ὠνείδισας,
ἐν τῷδε δείξω πρῶτα μὲν σοφὸς γεγώς,
ἔπειτα σώφρων, εἶτα σοὶ μέγας φίλος
550καὶ παισὶ τοῖς ἐμοῖσιν—ἀλλ᾿ ἔχ᾿ ἥσυχος.
ἐπεὶ μετέστην δεῦρ᾿ Ἰωλκίας χθονὸς
πολλὰς ἐφέλκων συμφορὰς ἀμηχάνους,
τί τοῦδ᾿ ἂν εὕρημ᾿ ηὗρον εὐτυχέστερον
ἢ παῖδα γῆμαι βασιλέως φυγὰς γεγώς;
555οὐχ, ᾗ σὺ κνίζῃ, σὸν μὲν ἐχθαίρων λέχος
καινῆς δὲ νύμφης ἱμέρῳ πεπληγμένος
οὐδ᾿ εἰς ἅμιλλαν πολύτεκνον σπουδὴν ἔχων·
ἅλις γὰρ οἱ γεγῶτες οὐδὲ μέμφομαι·
ἀλλ᾿ ὡς, τὸ μὲν μέγιστον, οἰκοῖμεν καλῶς
560καὶ μὴ σπανιζοίμεσθα, γιγνώσκων ὅτι
πένητα φεύγει πᾶς τις ἐκποδὼν φίλον,
παῖδας δὲ θρέψαιμ᾿ ἀξίως δόμων ἐμῶν
σπείρας τ᾿ ἀδελφοὺς τοῖσιν ἐκ σέθεν τέκνοις
ἐς ταὐτὸ θείην καὶ ξυναρτήσας γένος
565εὐδαιμονοίην. σοί τε γὰρ παίδων τί δεῖ;
ἐμοί τε λύει τοῖσι μέλλουσιν τέκνοις
τὰ ζῶντ᾿ ὀνῆσαι. μῶν βεβούλευμαι κακῶς;
οὐδ᾿ ἂν σὺ φαίης, εἴ σε μὴ κνίζοι λέχος.
ἀλλ᾿ ἐς τοσοῦτον ἥκεθ᾿ ὥστ᾿ ὀρθουμένης
570εὐνῆς γυναῖκες πάντ᾿ ἔχειν νομίζετε,
ἢν δ᾿ αὖ γένηται ξυμφορά τις ἐς λέχος,
τὰ λῷστα καὶ κάλλιστα πολεμιώτατα
τίθεσθε. χρῆν γὰρ ἄλλοθέν ποθεν βροτοὺς
παῖδας τεκνοῦσθαι, θῆλυ δ᾿ οὐκ εἶναι γένος·
575χοὔτως ἂν οὐκ ἦν οὐδὲν ἀνθρώποις κακόν.

Answer 3

Jason
I have spoken to you about my deeds, for you set forth the conflict of words. As for the things which rebuked towards my royal marriage, I will reveal firstly that I am wise in this matter, second that I am self controlled, and I am a great friend to you and my children. But be silent!
Since I moved here from the land of Iolcus, bringing with me many hard to deal with misfortunes, what luckier piece of luck could I have found than marriage to the daughter of a kind, as an exile? Not, by which you are irked, that I hated you bed or that I was struck with longing for a new bride, nor that I was eager to complete for more children (for we have enough and I do not complain) but so that, this is the main point, we could live finely and not be wanting, knowing that everyone flees from the feet of the penniless friend, I would raise children worthy of my house, to beget brothers to the children born from you, and place them into the same status and join together the family so that I might prosper. Why do you need children?
it is profitable for me to help my living children with the future ones. Surely I don’t plan badly? you would not say so if you were not provoked in regards to the bed/sex. But you have arrived at such a point that when everything is standing straight in the bed, women think they have everything, but if ever some misfortune happens towards the bed, you consider the best and finest things hateful. For mortals must bring children to life from some place elsewhere, there should be no female race. in this way, there would be no trouble for men.

σοί τε γὰρ παίδων τί δεῖ - the thing needed goes in gen.