1 EURIPIDES' TROJAN WOMEN PREFACE, TRANSLATION, and ...

Close to my bridegroom’s tomb,
My naked body will be thrown
Into a ravine washed by winter rains,
To feed wild animals, I, who served Apollo. 450
Farewell to the headbands, holy symbols of the god
Whom I loved most of all the gods.
No longer shall I go to holy feasts
My former delight.
I tear these ornaments from my flesh,
Which is still holy,
And entrust them to the winds
To carry up to you,
My lord of prophecy.
Where is the general’s ship?
Where shall I embark?
Stop looking for breezes to fill your sails.
In taking me from this land
You take a fury, one of the dreaded three.
Good-bye mother,
Don’t weep.
Good-bye to the land I love.
My brothers and father who bore me,
Will soon welcome me in the underworld.
I shall come triumphant to the world of the dead,
Destroyer of the house of Atreus,
By whom we were destroyed.
[Exit Cassandra with Talthybius and guards.]
Chorus
Attendants of aged Hecuba, don’t you see how our mistress
has fallen to the ground without saying a word? Won’t you help her up?
You are cruel to leave her there, an old woman, who has fallen. Pick her up.
Hecuba
Leave me alone and let me lie here. Help unwanted is no help at all.
This is right after all I suffer, have suffered and shall suffer.
Oh gods, they have proved themselves useless, but there’s
still something proper in invoking the gods when things go wrong.
First I want to speak about my past life and how good it was,
to show you how great the loss is that I now face.
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