Sophocles' TRACHINIAE Complete

Translated by R. Jebb.

Sophocles Bilingual Anthology  Studies  Sophocles in Print

57 Pages

Page 25

I, too, was carried on his shoulders,- when, by my father's sending,
first went forth with Heracles as his wife; and when I was in mid-stream,
he touched me with wanton hands. I shrieked; the son of Zeus turned
quickly round, and shot a feathered arrow; it whizzed through his
breast to the lungs; and, in his mortal faintness, thus much the Centaur
spake:-

'Child of aged Oeneus, thou shalt have at least this profit of my
ferrying,- if thou wilt hearken,-because thou wast the last whom I
conveyed. If thou gatherest with thy hands the blood clotted round
my wound, at the place where the Hydra, Lerna's monstrous growth,
hath tinged the arrow with black gall,- this shall be to thee a charm
for the soul of Heracles, so that he shall never look upon any woman
to love her more than thee.'

I bethought me of this, my friends- for, after his death, I had kept
it carefully locked up in a secret place; and I have anointed this
robe, doing everything to it as he enjoined while he lived. The work
is finished. May deeds of wicked daring be ever far from my thoughts,
and from my knowledge,- as I abhor the women who attempt them! But
if in any wise I may prevail against this girl by love-spells and
charms used on Heracles, the means to that end are ready;-unless,
indeed, I seem to be acting rashly: if so, I will desist forthwith.

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