Togail na Tebe = The Thebiad of Statius : the Irish text

;THE THEBAIDBOOK XIIAs to the Greeks, however, when night came to them, theydeparted in flight at the very beginning of that night, and theyleft their quite empty camp and the homesteads of Thebesbehind them. Now at that departure, no banners were raisedbefore Greek soldiers, no chiefs were before their champions, orofficers before their companies, but each of them went by ashort-cut leading on to his district and kindred. And it wouldhave been better for them that they had not come, when theycame.As for Thebans, however, they thought that night tedious, withno bodies of their friends or comrades to be buried or honouredand they did not observe or notice regarding the Greeks thatnight.And when day came with its full brightness on the morrow,the Thebans arose early, and went into the field of battle, andthey were there for three days and three nights engaged incremations and burial of their friends and relatives, such of themas had fallen by Greeks.Creon, however, did not deign to burnhis son, to wit, Menoeceus, among those bodies of the Thebans;and by Creon were collected the shields and spears of the Greeks,such as had been left in the battlefield, and by him one fire wasmade of them and the body of his son was burned in that hugesacrificial fire. And when the Thebans had finished makingthose fires and burning and burying the bodies, they went intotheir city afterwards, and were feasting and resting therein.Now the women of the Greeks heard that news, as did Argia,Adrastus' beautiful daughter, wife of Polynices, that her spousehad been killed there. And when she heard it, she fell. Weaknessesand deathlike fits fell upon her at that news; andalternately she arose out of them, and this is what she said: "NowI shall go," said she, " till I reach Thebes, that I may see thewhite-skinned body of my spouse, not leaving him to the circlingflocks of the air or to hungry packs of dogs." Then she proceeded299