• Bacchae 1-63 •
• Euripides •
This raw recording is meant to be used for studying purposes only, mainly of the phonemes and metre.
You can follow the original text below while listening to the mp3, or watch the video. An English translation by G. Murray (Oxford 1913) follows:
Dionysus :
"Behold, God's Son is come unto this land
Of Thebes, even I, Dionysus, whom the brand
Of heaven's hot splendour lit to life, when she
who bore me, Cadmus' daughter Semelê,
died here.
So, changed in shape from God to man,
I walk again by Dirce's streams and scan
Ismenus' shore. There by the castle side
I see her place, the Tomb of the Lightning's Bride,
the wreck of smouldering chambers, and the great
faint wreaths of fire undying—as the hate
dies not, that Hera held for Semelê.
Aye, Cadmus hath done well; in purity
he keeps this place apart, inviolate,
his daughter's sanctuary; and I have set
my green and clustered vines to robe it round.
Far now behind me lies the golden ground
of Lydian and of Phrygian; far away,
the wide hot plains where Persian sunbeams play,
the Bactrian war-holds, and the storm-oppressed
clime of the Mede, and Araby the Blest,
and Asia all, that by the salt sea lies
in proud embattled cities, motley-wise
of Hellene and Barbarian interwrought;
and now I come to Hellas—having taught
all the world else my dances and my rite
of mysteries, to show me in men's sight
manifest God.
And first of Hellene lands
I cry thus Thebes to waken; set her hands
to clasp my wand, mine ivied javelin,
and round her shoulders hang my wild fawn-skin.
for they have scorned me whom it least beseemed,
Semelê's sisters; mocked my birth, nor deemed
that Dionysus sprang from Dian seed.
My mother sinned, said they; and in her need,
with Cadmus plotting, cloaked her human shame
with the dread name of Zeus; for that the flame
from heaven consumed her, seeing she lied to God.
Thus must they vaunt; and therefore hath my rod
on them first fallen, and stung them forth wild-eyed
from empty chambers; the bare mountain side
is made their home, and all their hearts are flame.
Yea, I have bound upon the necks of them
the harness of my rites. And with them all
the seed of womankind from hut and hall
of Thebes, hath this my magic goaded out.
And there, with the old King's daughters, in a rout
confused, they make their dwelling-place between
the roofless rocks and shadowy pine trees green.
Thus shall this Thebes, how sore soe'er it smart,
learn and forget not, till she crave her part
in mine adoring; thus must I speak clear
to save my mother's fame, and crown me here
as true God, born by Semelê to Zeus.
Now Cadmus yieldeth up his throne and use
of royal honour to his daughter's son
Pentheus; who on my body hath begun
a war with God. He thrusteth me away
from due drink-offering, and, when men pray,
my name entreats not. Therefore on his own
head and his people's shall my power be shown.
Then to another land, when all things here
are well, must I fare onward, making clear
my godhead's might. But should this Theban town
essay with wrath and battle to drag down
my maids, lo, in their path myself shall be,
and maniac armies battled after me!
For this I veil my godhead with the wan
form of the things that die, and walk as Man.
O Brood of Tmolus o'er the wide world flown,
O Lydian band, my chosen and mine own,
damsels uplifted o'er the orient deep
to wander where I wander, and to sleep
where I sleep; up, and wake the old sweet sound,
the clang that I and mystic Rhea found,
the Timbrel of the Mountain! Gather all
Thebes to your song round Pentheus' royal hall.
I seek my new-made worshippers, to guide
their dances up Kithaeron's pine-clad side.
Διόνυσος :
Ἥκω Διὸς παῖς τήνδε Θηβαίων χθόνα
Διόνυσος, ὃν τίκτει ποθ᾽ ἡ Κάδμου κόρη
Σεμέλη λοχευθεῖσ᾽ ἀστραπηφόρῳ πυρί·
μορφὴν δ᾽ ἀμείψας ἐκ θεοῦ βροτησίαν
πάρειμι Δίρκης νάματ᾽ Ἰσμηνοῦ θ᾽ ὕδωρ. 5
ὁρῶ δὲ μητρὸς μνῆμα τῆς κεραυνίας
τόδ᾽ ἐγγὺς οἴκων καὶ δόμων ἐρείπια
τυφόμενα Δίου πυρὸς ἔτι ζῶσαν φλόγα,
ἀθάνατον Ἥρας μητέρ᾽ εἰς ἐμὴν ὕβριν.
αἰνῶ δὲ Κάδμον, ἄβατον ὃς πέδον τόδε 10
τίθησι, θυγατρὸς σηκόν· ἀμπέλου δέ νιν
πέριξ ἐγὼ ᾽κάλυψα βοτρυώδει χλόῃ.
λιπὼν δὲ Λυδῶν τοὺς πολυχρύσους γύας
Φρυγῶν τε, Περσῶν θ᾽ ἡλιοβλήτους πλάκας
Βάκτριά τε τείχη τήν τε δύσχιμον χθόνα 15
Μήδων ἐπελθὼν Ἀραβίαν τ᾽ εὐδαίμονα
Ἀσίαν τε πᾶσαν, ἣ παρ᾽ ἁλμυρὰν ἅλα
κεῖται μιγάσιν Ἕλλησι βαρβάροις θ᾽ ὁμοῦ
πλήρεις ἔχουσα καλλιπυργώτους πόλεις,
ἐς τήνδε πρῶτον ἦλθον Ἑλλήνων πόλιν, 20
τἀκεῖ χορεύσας καὶ καταστήσας ἐμὰς
τελετάς, ἵν᾽ εἴην ἐμφανὴς δαίμων βροτοῖς.
πρώτας δὲ Θήβας τῆσδε γῆς Ἑλληνίδος
ἀνωλόλυξα, νεβρίδ᾽ ἐξάψας χροὸς
θύρσον τε δοὺς ἐς χεῖρα, κίσσινον βέλος· 25
ἐπεί μ᾽ ἀδελφαὶ μητρός, ἃς ἥκιστα χρῆν,
Διόνυσον οὐκ ἔφασκον ἐκφῦναι Διός,
Σεμέλην δὲ νυμφευθεῖσαν ἐκ θνητοῦ τινος
ἐς Ζῆν᾽ ἀναφέρειν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν λέχους,
Κάδμου σοφίσμαθ᾽, ὧν νιν οὕνεκα κτανεῖν 30
Ζῆν᾽ ἐξεκαυχῶνθ᾽, ὅτι γάμους ἐψεύσατο.
τοιγάρ νιν αὐτὰς ἐκ δόμων ᾤστρησ᾽ ἐγὼ
μανίαις, ὄρος δ᾽ οἰκοῦσι παράκοποι φρενῶν·
σκευήν τ᾽ ἔχειν ἠνάγκασ᾽ ὀργίων ἐμῶν,
καὶ πᾶν τὸ θῆλυ σπέρμα Καδμείων, ὅσαι 35
γυναῖκες ἦσαν, ἐξέμηνα δωμάτων·
ὁμοῦ δὲ Κάδμου παισὶν ἀναμεμειγμέναι
χλωραῖς ὑπ᾽ ἐλάταις ἀνορόφοις ἧνται πέτραις.
δεῖ γὰρ πόλιν τήνδ᾽ ἐκμαθεῖν, κεἰ μὴ θέλει,
ἀτέλεστον οὖσαν τῶν ἐμῶν βακχευμάτων, 40
Σεμέλης τε μητρὸς ἀπολογήσασθαί μ᾽ ὕπερ
φανέντα θνητοῖς δαίμον᾽ ὃν τίκτει Διί.
Κάδμος μὲν οὖν γέρας τε καὶ τυραννίδα
Πενθεῖ δίδωσι θυγατρὸς ἐκπεφυκότι,
ὃς θεομαχεῖ τὰ κατ᾽ ἐμὲ καὶ σπονδῶν ἄπο 45
ὠθεῖ μ᾽, ἐν εὐχαῖς τ᾽ οὐδαμοῦ μνείαν ἔχει.
ὧν οὕνεκ᾽ αὐτῷ θεὸς γεγὼς ἐνδείξομαι
πᾶσίν τε Θηβαίοισιν. ἐς δ᾽ ἄλλην χθόνα,
τἀνθένδε θέμενος εὖ, μεταστήσω πόδα,
δεικνὺς ἐμαυτόν· ἢν δὲ Θηβαίων πόλις 50
ὀργῇ σὺν ὅπλοις ἐξ ὄρους βάκχας ἄγειν
ζητῇ, ξυνάψω μαινάσι στρατηλατῶν.
ὧν οὕνεκ᾽ εἶδος θνητὸν ἀλλάξας ἔχω
μορφήν τ᾽ ἐμὴν μετέβαλον εἰς ἀνδρὸς φύσιν.
ἀλλ᾽, ὦ λιποῦσαι Τμῶλον ἔρυμα Λυδίας, 55
θίασος ἐμός, γυναῖκες, ἃς ἐκ βαρβάρων
ἐκόμισα παρέδρους καὶ ξυνεμπόρους ἐμοί,
αἴρεσθε τἀπιχώρι᾽ ἐν πόλει Φρυγῶν
τύμπανα, ῾Ρέας τε μητρὸς ἐμά θ᾽ εὑρήματα,
βασίλειά τ᾽ ἀμφὶ δώματ᾽ ἐλθοῦσαι τάδε 60
κτυπεῖτε Πενθέως, ὡς ὁρᾷ Κάδμου πόλις.
ἐγὼ δὲ βάκχαις, ἐς Κιθαιρῶνος πτυχὰς
ἐλθὼν ἵν᾽ εἰσί, συμμετασχήσω χορῶν.
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