Josh Kemp / ParodosForArticle

Furman University

Various translations of Bacchae vv. 64-169.

TheodoridisParodos

Josh Kemp / ParodosForArticle
  • Created on 2023-04-11 21:05:43
  • Modified on 2023-06-28 15:51:48
  • Translated by George Theodoridis
  • Aligned by Josh Kemp
Bacchae, vv. 64-169
Ἑλληνική Transliterate
English
https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg017.perseus-grc2:64-169?right=perseus-eng2
https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Greek/Bacchae.php
Ἀσίας ἀπὸ γᾶς
ἱερὸν Τμῶλον ἀμείψασα θοάζω
Βρομίῳ πόνον ἡδὺν κάματόν τʼ εὐκάματον ,
Βάκχιον εὐαζομένα .
τίς ὁδῷ τίς ὁδῷ ; τίς ;
μελάθροις ἔκτοπος ἔστω , στόμα τʼ εὔφημον
ἅπας ἐξοσιούσθω ·
τὰ νομισθέντα γὰρ αἰεὶ
Διόνυσον ὑμνήσω .

μάκαρ , ὅστις εὐδαίμων
τελετὰς θεῶν εἰδὼς
βιοτὰν ἁγιστεύει καὶ
θιασεύεται ψυχὰν
ἐν ὄρεσσι βακχεύων
ὁσίοις καθαρμοῖσιν ,
τά τε ματρὸς μεγάλας ὄργια
Κυβέλας θεμιτεύων ,
ἀνὰ θύρσον τε τινάσσων ,
κισσῷ τε στεφανωθεὶς
Διόνυσον θεραπεύει .
ἴτε βάκχαι , ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Βρόμιον παῖδα θεὸν θεοῦ
Διόνυσον κατάγουσαι
Φρυγίων ἐξ ὀρέων Ἑλλάδος εἰς
εὐρυχόρους ἀγυιάς , τὸν Βρόμιον ·
ὅν
ποτʼ ἔχουσʼ ἐν ὠδίνων
λοχίαις ἀνάγκαισι
πταμένας Διὸς βροντᾶς νηδύος
ἔκβολον μάτηρ
ἔτεκεν , λιποῦσʼ αἰῶνα
κεραυνίῳ πληγᾷ ·
λοχίοις δʼ αὐτίκα νιν δέξατο
θαλάμαις Κρονίδας Ζεύς ,
κατὰ μηρῷ δὲ καλύψας
χρυσέαισιν συνερείδει
περόναις κρυπτὸν ἀφʼ Ἥρας .
ἔτεκεν δʼ , ἁνίκα Μοῖραι
τέλεσαν , ταυρόκερων θεὸν
στεφάνωσέν τε δρακόντων
στεφάνοις , ἔνθεν ἄγραν θηροτρόφον
μαινάδες ἀμφιβάλλονται
πλοκάμοις .
Σεμέλας τροφοὶ Θῆβαι ,
στεφανοῦσθε κισσῷ ·
βρύετε βρύετε χλοήρει
μίλακι καλλικάρπῳ
καὶ καταβακχιοῦσθε δρυὸς
ἐλάτας κλάδοισι ,
στικτῶν τʼ ἐνδυτὰ νεβρίδων
στέφετε λευκοτρίχων πλοκάμων
μαλλοῖς · ἀμφὶ δὲ νάρθηκας ὑβριστὰς
ὁσιοῦσθʼ · αὐτίκα γᾶ πᾶσα χορεύσει—
Βρόμιος ὅστις ἄγῃ θιάσουσ—
εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος , ἔνθα μένει
θηλυγενὴς ὄχλος
ἀφʼ ἱστῶν παρὰ κερκίδων τʼ
οἰστρηθεὶς Διονύσῳ .
θαλάμευμα Κουρήτων
ζάθεοί τε Κρήτας
Διογενέτορες ἔναυλοι ,
ἔνθα τρικόρυθες ἄντροις
βυρσότονον κύκλωμα τόδε
μοι Κορύβαντες ηὗρον ·
βακχείᾳ δʼ ἀνὰ συντόνῳ
κέρασαν ἁδυβόᾳ Φρυγίων
αὐλῶν πνεύματι ματρός τε Ῥέας ἐς
χέρα θῆκαν , κτύπον εὐάσμασι Βακχᾶν ·
παρὰ δὲ μαινόμενοι Σάτυροι
ματέρος ἐξανύσαντο θεᾶς ,
ἐς δὲ χορεύματα
συνῆψαν τριετηρίδων ,
αἷς χαίρει Διόνυσος .
ἡδὺς ἐν ὄρεσιν , ὅταν ἐκ θιάσων δρομαίων
πέσῃ πεδόσε , νεβρίδος
ἔχων ἱερὸν ἐνδυτόν , ἀγρεύων
αἷμα τραγοκτόνον , ὠμοφάγον χάριν , ἱέμενος
ἐς ὄρεα Φρύγια , Λύδιʼ , δʼ ἔξαρχος Βρόμιος ,
εὐοἷ .
ῥεῖ δὲ γάλακτι πέδον , ῥεῖ δʼ οἴνῳ , ῥεῖ δὲ μελισσᾶν
νέκταρι .
Συρίας δʼ ὡς λιβάνου καπνὸν
Βακχεὺς ἀνέχων
πυρσώδη φλόγα πεύκας
ἐκ νάρθηκος ἀίσσει
δρόμῳ καὶ χοροῖσιν
πλανάτας ἐρεθίζων
ἰαχαῖς τʼ ἀναπάλλων ,
τρυφερόν τε πλόκαμον εἰς αἰθέρα ῥίπτων .
ἅμα δʼ εὐάσμασι τοιάδʼ ἐπιβρέμει ·
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Τμώλου χρυσορόου χλιδᾷ
μέλπετε τὸν Διόνυσον
βαρυβρόμων ὑπὸ τυμπάνων ,
εὔια τὸν εὔιον ἀγαλλόμεναι θεὸν
ἐν Φρυγίαισι βοαῖς ἐνοπαῖσί τε ,
λωτὸς ὅταν εὐκέλαδος
ἱερὸς ἱερὰ παίγματα βρέμῃ , σύνοχα
φοιτάσιν εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος · ἡδομένα
δʼ ἄρα , πῶλος ὅπως ἅμα ματέρι
φορβάδι , κῶλον ἄγει ταχύπουν σκιρτήμασι βάκχα .
I’ve left the Asian land , the wholly mount of Tmolos and worked my way here , In speed and hard labour !
In speed and in sweet labour , with a joyous exhaustion
I’ve come to you , singing ecstatic songs for Dionysos , the god who bellows thunders .
Who who’s there ?
Who who’s in the road ?
Who who’s outside their house ?
Let them all shut themselves inside their homes !
Let them all shut their mouths
In holy silence !
O , my Lord , Dionysos !
My voice will always sing your praise !
Blessed is he who knows the sacraments and sacred rites of the gods
And performs Dionysos’ cleansing rituals high on the mountains ,
His soul in unison with the god’s band of followers -
For he lives a life pure ! And blessed is he , too , who has faith in the mysteries of our Great Mother , Cybele
And wears the garland of ivy ,
And waves a Bacchic staff
And bows to Dionysos
He , too , is blessed indeed !
Come , Bacchants !
Bacchants Come !
Let’s bring back Dionysos the god who bellows thunders strong !
A god born of god !
Bring him back from the mountains of Phrygia !
Bring him back , Bacchants ,
To the streets of Greece
Bring back Dionysos !
A long while ago , at the time when his mother’s stomach
Was full with him and with pain ,
Zeus sent his bolt of burning light at her ,
Relieving her of the child , of the pain and of her life ,
Untimely all , all done before time !
And immediately , Zeus snatched the child
and made a womb out of his
Holy thigh , then quickly sowed the wound with
golden needles , lest his wife , Hera , sniffed out the act !
Then , when the Fates weaved whole his time in the womb , Zeus brought forth Bull-horned Dionysos and placed a garland of writhing snakes amidst his tresses , a cause for Beast-eating Maenads to do the same with their wild hair .
A garland of snakes upon the head of a god
A garland of snakes upon the heads of his Maenads !
O Thebes ! Garland yourself with ivy !
Thebes ! You who nurtured Semele ,
Adorn yourselves richly with branches of bryony
And dance wildly with branches of fir and oak !
Put on the dappled fawn skins on your back and crown your heads with soft curls of white wool .
Wrap holy ivy around the rebellious wand of our god and hold it with reverence -
And when our god , Dionysos , the god who bellows thunders , arrives with his ecstatic band there , high upon the mountain , Upon the mountain , to where the women have escaped from their loom and their shuttlecock- all those women , made wild by the frenzy Dionysos sent them , that’s when the whole of Thebes shall dance , shall dance wildly , ecstatically !
When Dionysos arrives upon the mountain .
Home of the Kouretes !
most sacred land of Zeus !
Crete’s deepest valley !
There the three crested Corybantes invented this drum !
A piece of skin tightly drawn over a circle ,
Which when in frenzy they bring together its loud beat with that of the soft breath of the Phrygian Flutes .
This drum they’ve put in mother Rhea’s hands for her to accompany the wild cries of the Bacchants .
Ah , but the sly Satyrs stole it from her hands and straightaway united it with the crazy dances of Dionysos that come every second year .
A splendid joy for the god .
Happy is that Satyr who runs freely in the valley , dressed in the soft , holy skin of a deer , seeking the blood of a slaughtered stag and the joy of eating raw flesh as he charges deep into the mountains of the Phrygians and the Lydians .
First among the blessings , Thunderous Dionysos !
In the valley flows the milk and the sweet wine .
In the valley the nectar from the bees runs freely and so do the smoky smells that are like Syrian incense .
And there the god , holding a fennel torch , lit high , jumps and runs , jumps and runs until he urges his maenads into the mystic dance and with his cries makes them wild .
Look there how he lets his curly tresses loose to the whims of the wind’s breath .
And then , triumphantly he shouts :
Blessings , blessings !
Sing for Dionysos with the heavy sounds of the drum .
Blessings , blessings to the blessed God , with Phrygian shouts and cries , when the sweet-voiced sacred flute plays loud songs in harmony as they travel up the mountain , that mountain .
Joyfully then , like the filly follows her mare , the maenad kicks her legs high .

( 163 ) 38% GRC
( 264 ) 62% GRC - ENG

( 467 ) 54% GRC - ENG
( 393 ) 46% ENG

JohnstonParodos

Josh Kemp / ParodosForArticle
  • Created on 2023-05-17 21:08:24
  • Modified on 2023-06-20 18:30:34
  • Translated by Ian Johnston
  • Aligned by Josh Kemp
Ἑλληνική Transliterate
English
https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg017.perseus-grc2:64-169?right=perseus-eng2&highlight=%40%E1%BD%81%CF%83%CE%AF%CE%BF%CE%B
http://johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/euripides/bacchaehtml.html
Ἀσίας ἀπὸ γᾶς
ἱερὸν Τμῶλον ἀμείψασα θοάζω
Βρομίῳ πόνον ἡδὺν κάματόν τʼ εὐκάματον ,
Βάκχιον εὐαζομένα .
τίς ὁδῷ τίς ὁδῷ ; τίς ;
μελάθροις ἔκτοπος ἔστω , στόμα τʼ εὔφημον
ἅπας ἐξοσιούσθω ·
τὰ νομισθέντα γὰρ αἰεὶ
Διόνυσον ὑμνήσω .

μάκαρ , ὅστις εὐδαίμων
τελετὰς θεῶν εἰδὼς
βιοτὰν ἁγιστεύει καὶ
θιασεύεται ψυχὰν
ἐν ὄρεσσι βακχεύων
ὁσίοις καθαρμοῖσιν ,
τά τε ματρὸς μεγάλας ὄργια
Κυβέλας θεμιτεύων ,
ἀνὰ θύρσον τε τινάσσων ,
κισσῷ τε στεφανωθεὶς
Διόνυσον θεραπεύει .
ἴτε βάκχαι , ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Βρόμιον παῖδα θεὸν θεοῦ
Διόνυσον κατάγουσαι
Φρυγίων ἐξ ὀρέων Ἑλλάδος εἰς
εὐρυχόρους ἀγυιάς , τὸν Βρόμιον ·
ὅν
ποτʼ ἔχουσʼ ἐν ὠδίνων
λοχίαις ἀνάγκαισι
πταμένας Διὸς βροντᾶς νηδύος
ἔκβολον μάτηρ
ἔτεκεν , λιποῦσʼ αἰῶνα
κεραυνίῳ πληγᾷ ·
λοχίοις δʼ αὐτίκα νιν δέξατο
θαλάμαις Κρονίδας Ζεύς ,
κατὰ μηρῷ δὲ καλύψας
χρυσέαισιν συνερείδει
περόναις κρυπτὸν ἀφʼ Ἥρας .
ἔτεκεν δʼ , ἁνίκα Μοῖραι
τέλεσαν , ταυρόκερων θεὸν
στεφάνωσέν τε δρακόντων
στεφάνοις , ἔνθεν ἄγραν θηροτρόφον
μαινάδες ἀμφιβάλλονται
πλοκάμοις .
Σεμέλας τροφοὶ Θῆβαι ,
στεφανοῦσθε κισσῷ ·
βρύετε βρύετε χλοήρει
μίλακι καλλικάρπῳ
καὶ καταβακχιοῦσθε δρυὸς
ἐλάτας κλάδοισι ,
στικτῶν τʼ ἐνδυτὰ νεβρίδων
στέφετε λευκοτρίχων πλοκάμων
μαλλοῖς · ἀμφὶ δὲ νάρθηκας ὑβριστὰς
ὁσιοῦσθʼ · αὐτίκα γᾶ πᾶσα χορεύσει
Βρόμιος ὅστις ἄγῃ θιάσουσ
εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος , ἔνθα μένει
θηλυγενὴς ὄχλος
ἀφʼ ἱστῶν παρὰ κερκίδων τʼ
οἰστρηθεὶς Διονύσῳ .
θαλάμευμα Κουρήτων
ζάθεοί τε Κρήτας
Διογενέτορες ἔναυλοι ,
ἔνθα τρικόρυθες ἄντροις
βυρσότονον κύκλωμα τόδε
μοι Κορύβαντες ηὗρον ·
βακχείᾳ δʼ ἀνὰ συντόνῳ
κέρασαν ἁδυβόᾳ Φρυγίων
αὐλῶν πνεύματι ματρός τε Ῥέας ἐς
χέρα θῆκαν , κτύπον εὐάσμασι Βακχᾶν ·
παρὰ δὲ μαινόμενοι Σάτυροι
ματέρος ἐξανύσαντο θεᾶς ,
ἐς δὲ χορεύματα
συνῆψαν τριετηρίδων ,
αἷς χαίρει Διόνυσος .
ἡδὺς ἐν ὄρεσιν , ὅταν ἐκ θιάσων δρομαίων
πέσῃ πεδόσε , νεβρίδος
ἔχων ἱερὸν ἐνδυτόν , ἀγρεύων
αἷμα τραγοκτόνον , ὠμοφάγον χάριν , ἱέμενος
ἐς ὄρεα Φρύγια , Λύδιʼ , δʼ ἔξαρχος Βρόμιος ,
εὐοἷ .
ῥεῖ δὲ γάλακτι πέδον , ῥεῖ δʼ οἴνῳ , ῥεῖ δὲ μελισσᾶν
νέκταρι .
Συρίας δʼ ὡς λιβάνου καπνὸν
Βακχεὺς ἀνέχων
πυρσώδη φλόγα πεύκας
ἐκ νάρθηκος ἀίσσει
δρόμῳ καὶ χοροῖσιν
πλανάτας ἐρεθίζων
ἰαχαῖς τʼ ἀναπάλλων ,
τρυφερόν τε πλόκαμον εἰς αἰθέρα ῥίπτων .
ἅμα δʼ εὐάσμασι τοιάδʼ ἐπιβρέμει ·
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Τμώλου χρυσορόου χλιδᾷ
μέλπετε τὸν Διόνυσον
βαρυβρόμων ὑπὸ τυμπάνων ,
εὔια τὸν εὔιον ἀγαλλόμεναι θεὸν
ἐν Φρυγίαισι βοαῖς ἐνοπαῖσί τε ,
λωτὸς ὅταν εὐκέλαδος
ἱερὸς ἱερὰ παίγματα βρέμῃ , σύνοχα
φοιτάσιν εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος · ἡδομένα
δʼ ἄρα , πῶλος ὅπως ἅμα ματέρι
φορβάδι , κῶλον ἄγει ταχύπουν σκιρτήμασι βάκχα .
From Asia , from sacred Tmolus
I’ve come to dance ,
to move swiftly in my dance
for Bromius
sweet and easy task ,
to cry out in celebration ,
hailing great god Bacchus .

Who’s in the street ? Who’s there ? Who ?
Let him stay inside
out of our way .
Let every mouth be pure ,
completely holy ,
speak no profanities .
In my hymn I celebrate
our old eternal custom ,
hailing Dionysus .

O blessed is the man ,
the fortunate man who knows
the rituals of the gods ,
who leads a pious life ,
whose spirit merges
with these Bacchic celebrations ,
frenzied dancing in the mountains ,
our purifying rites
one who reveres these mysteries
from Cybele , our great mother ,
who , waving the thyrsus ,
forehead crowned with ivy ,
serves Dionysus .

On Bacchae ! Bacchae , move !
Bring home Bromius , our god ,
son of god , great Dionysus ,
from Phrygian mountains
to spacious roads of Greece
Hail Bromius !

His mother dropped him early ,
as her womb , in forceful birth pangs ,
was struck by Zeus’s flying lightning bolt ,
a blast which took her life .
Then Zeus , son of Cronos ,
at once hid him away
in a secret birthing chamber ,
buried in his thigh ,
shut in with golden clasps ,
concealed from Hera .

Fates made him perfect .
Then Zeus gave birth to him ,
the god with ox’s horns ,
crowned with wreaths of snakes
that’s why the Maenads
twist in their hair
wild snakes they capture .

O Thebes , nursemaid of Semele ,
put on your ivy crown ,
flaunt your green yew ,
flaunt its sweet fruit !
Consecrate yourselves to Bacchus ,
with stems of oak or fir ,
Dress yourselves in spotted fawn skins ,
trimmed with white sheep’s wool .
As you wave your thyrsus ,
revere the violence it contains .
All the earth will dance at once .
Whoever leads our dancing
that one is Bromius !
To the mountain , to the mountain ,
where the pack of women waits ,
all stung to frenzied madness
to leave their weaving shuttles ,
goaded on by Dionysus .

O you dark chambers of the Curetes ,
you sacred caves in Crete ,
birthplace of Zeus ,
where the Corybantes in their caves ,
men with triple helmets , made for me
this circle of stretched hide .
In their wild ecstatic dancing ,
they mixed this drum beat
with the sweet seductive tones
of flutes from Phrygia ,
then gave it to mother Rhea
to beat time for the Bacchae ,
when they sang in ecstasy .
Nearby , orgiastic satyrs ,
in ritual worship of the mother goddess ,
took that drum , then brought it
into their biennial dance ,
bringing joy to Dionysus .

He’s welcome in the mountains ,
when he sinks down to the ground ,
after the running dance ,
wrapped in holy deerskin ,
hunting the goat’s blood ,
blood of the slain beast ,
devouring its raw flesh with joy ,
rushing off into the mountains ,
in Phrygia , in Lydia ,
leading the dance
Bromius Evoë !

The land flows with milk ,
the land flows with wine ,
the land flows with honey from the bees .
He holds the torch high ,
our leader , the Bacchic One ,
blazing flame of pine ,
sweet smoke like Syrian incense ,
trailing from his thyrsus .
As he dances , he runs ,
here and there ,
rousing the stragglers ,
stirring them with his cries ,
thick hair rippling in the breeze .
Among the Maenads’ shouts
his voice reverberates :
" On Bacchants , on !
With the glitter of Tmolus ,
which flows with gold ,
chant songs to Dionysus ,
to the loud beat of our drums .
Celebrate the god of joy
with your own joy ,
with Phrygian cries and shouts !
When sweet sacred pipes
play out their rhythmic holy song ,
in time to the dancing wanderers ,
then to the mountains ,
on , on to the mountains . "
Then the bacchanalian woman
is filled with total joy
like a foal in pasture
right beside her mother
her swift feet skip in playful dance .

( 103 ) 24% GRC
( 326 ) 76% GRC - ENG

( 541 ) 72% GRC - ENG
( 212 ) 28% ENG

KempParodos

Josh Kemp / ParodosForArticle
  • Created on 2023-05-18 20:03:15
  • Modified on 2023-05-22 15:40:03
  • Translated by Joshua Kemp
  • Aligned by Josh Kemp
My translation of Bacchae vv. 64-169.
Ἑλληνική Transliterate
English
https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg017.perseus-grc2:64-169?right=perseus-eng2
Ἀσίας ἀπὸ γᾶς
ἱερὸν Τμῶλον ἀμείψασα θοάζω
Βρομίῳ πόνον ἡδὺν κάματόν τʼ εὐκάματον ,
Βάκχιον εὐαζομένα .
τίς ὁδῷ τίς ὁδῷ ; τίς ;
μελάθροις ἔκτοπος ἔστω , στόμα τʼ εὔφημον
ἅπας ἐξοσιούσθω ·
τὰ νομισθέντα γὰρ αἰεὶ
Διόνυσον ὑμνήσω .

μάκαρ , ὅστις εὐδαίμων
τελετὰς θεῶν εἰδὼς
βιοτὰν ἁγιστεύει καὶ
θιασεύεται ψυχὰν
ἐν ὄρεσσι βακχεύων
ὁσίοις καθαρμοῖσιν ,
τά τε ματρὸς μεγάλας ὄργια
Κυβέλας θεμιτεύων ,
ἀνὰ θύρσον τε τινάσσων ,
κισσῷ τε στεφανωθεὶς
Διόνυσον θεραπεύει .
ἴτε βάκχαι , ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Βρόμιον παῖδα θεὸν θεοῦ
Διόνυσον κατάγουσαι
Φρυγίων ἐξ ὀρέων Ἑλλάδος εἰς
εὐρυχόρους ἀγυιάς , τὸν Βρόμιον ·
ὅν
ποτʼ ἔχουσʼ ἐν ὠδίνων
λοχίαις ἀνάγκαισι
πταμένας Διὸς βροντᾶς νηδύος
ἔκβολον μάτηρ
ἔτεκεν , λιποῦσʼ αἰῶνα
κεραυνίῳ πληγᾷ ·
λοχίοις δʼ αὐτίκα νιν δέξατο
θαλάμαις Κρονίδας Ζεύς ,
κατὰ μηρῷ δὲ καλύψας
χρυσέαισιν συνερείδει
περόναις κρυπτὸν ἀφʼ Ἥρας .
ἔτεκεν δʼ , ἁνίκα Μοῖραι
τέλεσαν , ταυρόκερων θεὸν
στεφάνωσέν τε δρακόντων
στεφάνοις , ἔνθεν ἄγραν θηροτρόφον
μαινάδες ἀμφιβάλλονται
πλοκάμοις
Σεμέλας τροφοὶ Θῆβαι ,
στεφανοῦσθε κισσῷ ·
βρύετε βρύετε χλοήρει
μίλακι καλλικάρπῳ
καὶ καταβακχιοῦσθε δρυὸς
ἐλάτας κλάδοισι ,
στικτῶν τʼ ἐνδυτὰ νεβρίδων
στέφετε λευκοτρίχων πλοκάμων
μαλλοῖς · ἀμφὶ δὲ νάρθηκας ὑβριστὰς
ὁσιοῦσθʼ · αὐτίκα γᾶ πᾶσα χορεύσει
Βρόμιος ὅστις ἄγῃ θιάσουσ
εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος , ἔνθα μένει
θηλυγενὴς ὄχλος
ἀφʼ ἱστῶν παρὰ κερκίδων τʼ
οἰστρηθεὶς Διονύσῳ .
θαλάμευμα Κουρήτων
ζάθεοί τε Κρήτας
Διογενέτορες ἔναυλοι ,
ἔνθα τρικόρυθες ἄντροις
βυρσότονον κύκλωμα τόδε
μοι Κορύβαντες ηὗρον ·
βακχείᾳ δʼ ἀνὰ συντόνῳ
κέρασαν ἁδυβόᾳ Φρυγίων
αὐλῶν πνεύματι ματρός τε Ῥέας ἐς
χέρα θῆκαν , κτύπον εὐάσμασι Βακχᾶν ·
παρὰ δὲ μαινόμενοι Σάτυροι
ματέρος ἐξανύσαντο θεᾶς ,
ἐς δὲ χορεύματα
συνῆψαν τριετηρίδων ,
αἷς χαίρει Διόνυσος .
ἡδὺς ἐν ὄρεσιν , ὅταν ἐκ θιάσων δρομαίων
πέσῃ πεδόσε , νεβρίδος
ἔχων ἱερὸν ἐνδυτόν , ἀγρεύων
αἷμα τραγοκτόνον , ὠμοφάγον χάριν , ἱέμενος
ἐς ὄρεα Φρύγια , Λύδιʼ , δʼ ἔξαρχος Βρόμιος ,
εὐοἷ .
ῥεῖ δὲ γάλακτι πέδον , ῥεῖ δʼ οἴνῳ , ῥεῖ δὲ μελισσᾶν
νέκταρι .
Συρίας δʼ ὡς λιβάνου καπνὸν
Βακχεὺς ἀνέχων
πυρσώδη φλόγα πεύκας
ἐκ νάρθηκος ἀίσσει
δρόμῳ καὶ χοροῖσιν
πλανάτας ἐρεθίζων
ἰαχαῖς τʼ ἀναπάλλων ,
τρυφερόν τε πλόκαμον εἰς αἰθέρα ῥίπτων .
ἅμα δʼ εὐάσμασι τοιάδʼ ἐπιβρέμει ·
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Τμώλου χρυσορόου χλιδᾷ
μέλπετε τὸν Διόνυσον
βαρυβρόμων ὑπὸ τυμπάνων ,
εὔια τὸν εὔιον ἀγαλλόμεναι θεὸν
ἐν Φρυγίαισι βοαῖς ἐνοπαῖσί τε ,
λωτὸς ὅταν εὐκέλαδος
ἱερὸς ἱερὰ παίγματα βρέμῃ , σύνοχα
φοιτάσιν εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος · ἡδομένα
δʼ ἄρα , πῶλος ὅπως ἅμα ματέρι
φορβάδι , κῶλον ἄγει ταχύπουν σκιρτήμασι βάκχα .
From the land of Asia ,
having left holy Tmolus , I move quickly
to sweet work and easy labor for Bromius ,
glorifying Bacchus .
Who is in the way ? Who is in the way ? Who ?
Let him get out of the way in the house and let everyone
devote his tongue , religiously silent .
For I will exalt Dionysus
in accordance with the long-held beliefs .
Oh , blessed is he who is fortunate ,
knows the rites of the gods and purifies his life ,
and initiates his soul into the Bacchic rites ,
celebrating in the mountains
with holy cleansings ,
and honoring the rites of
great mother Cybele ,
brandishing the thyrsus
wreathed with ivy ,
serves Dionysus .
Go Bacchae , go Bacchae ,
leading down the god Bromius ,
Dionysus the child of a god ,
from the Phrygian mountains to the
wide streets of Hellas , Bromius
whom once in the force of pains of childbirth
and with the thunder of Zeus flying ,
his mother birthed and cast from her womb ,
leaving life by a thunderbolts blow .
At once Zeus son of Cronus received him
in a cavity for childbirth
and having covered him in his thigh
he closed him in with golden
pins , hidden from Hera .
And he birthed when the Fates
completed him , the bull-horned god
and crowned him with wreathes
of snakes , which is why the maenads
put wild prey
in their hair .
Oh Thebes , you nurses of Semele ,
crown yourselves with ivy
abound and swell with the green ,
fruit-bearing yew and
be full of Bacchic frenzy with
branches of oak and fir .
Cover the clothes of spotted deerskin
with the wool of white locks
and purify the unholy thyrsoi
at once the whole earth will dance ,
whoever leads the revels is Bromius .
To the mountain , to the mountain , where
the throng of women waits
having been drive mad
from the looms and shuttles by Dionysus .
Oh lair of the Couretes
and sacred Cretan dens ,
birth givers to Zeus ,
where in the caves the Corybantes , men with triple plumes ,
made for me this drum
with skin stretched over it .
In Bacchic frenzy they mixed it
in harmony with the sweet-sounding breath
of Phrygian flutes and put it in the
hand of mother Rhea , a beat for the shouts of the Bacchantes ;
nearby the raving Satyrs
accomplished the rites of the mother god ,
and they combined it with
the choral dances of the triennial festivals ,
in which Dionysus delights .
He is sweet in the mountains , when he falls on the ground
from the running revels ,
having the holy clothing of deerskin , hunting
the blood of goats , a raw-eaten pleasure , going
to the Phrygian and Lydian mountains ,
Bromius the leader , aha !
The ground flows with milk , flows with wine , and flows with bees’ honey .
The Bacchic one , holding the bright-burning
torch of pine on the thyrsus like the smoke of Syrian frankincense ,
runs around
rousing the wanderers
with races and dances
urging with shouts of joy ,
throwing his dainty hair in the hair .
At once among the Bacchic cries he roars this :
Come , oh Bacchae ,
come , oh Bacchae ,
with the luxury of gold-streamed Tmolus
celebrate Dionysus
under the loud beat of the drums ,
exalting the god of joy in joy
with Phrygian shouts and cries ,
when the holy and melodious flute
roars holy tunes , in accordance with
the madly roaming women , to the mountain , to the mountain !
So the Bacchant , enjoying herself
as a foal together with its grazing mother ,
leads her swift foot in a leaping dance .

( 84 ) 20% GRC
( 344 ) 80% GRC - ENG

( 566 ) 86% GRC - ENG
( 92 ) 14% ENG

SeafordParodos

Josh Kemp / ParodosForArticle
  • Created on 2023-05-23 18:16:22
  • Modified on 2023-08-28 19:11:35
  • Translated by Richard Seaford
  • Aligned by Josh Kemp
Richard Seaford's translation of Bacchae 64-169.
Ἑλληνική Transliterate
English
https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg017.perseus-grc2:64-169/
Ἀσίας ἀπὸ γᾶς
ἱερὸν Τμῶλον ἀμείψασα θοάζω
Βρομίῳ πόνον ἡδὺν κάματόν τʼ εὐκάματον ,
Βάκχιον εὐαζομένα .
τίς ὁδῷ τίς ὁδῷ ; τίς ;
μελάθροις ἔκτοπος ἔστω , στόμα τʼ εὔφημον
ἅπας ἐξοσιούσθω ·
τὰ νομισθέντα γὰρ αἰεὶ
Διόνυσον ὑμνήσω .

μάκαρ , ὅστις εὐδαίμων
τελετὰς θεῶν εἰδὼς
βιοτὰν ἁγιστεύει καὶ
θιασεύεται ψυχὰν
ἐν ὄρεσσι βακχεύων
ὁσίοις καθαρμοῖσιν ,
τά τε ματρὸς μεγάλας ὄργια
Κυβέλας θεμιτεύων ,
ἀνὰ θύρσον τε τινάσσων ,
κισσῷ τε στεφανωθεὶς
Διόνυσον θεραπεύει .
ἴτε βάκχαι , ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Βρόμιον παῖδα θεὸν θεοῦ
Διόνυσον κατάγουσαι
Φρυγίων ἐξ ὀρέων Ἑλλάδος εἰς
εὐρυχόρους ἀγυιάς , τὸν Βρόμιον ·
ὅν
ποτʼ ἔχουσʼ ἐν ὠδίνων
λοχίαις ἀνάγκαισι
πταμένας Διὸς βροντᾶς νηδύος
ἔκβολον μάτηρ
ἔτεκεν , λιποῦσʼ αἰῶνα
κεραυνίῳ πληγᾷ ·
λοχίοις δʼ αὐτίκα νιν δέξατο
θαλάμαις Κρονίδας Ζεύς ,
κατὰ μηρῷ δὲ καλύψας
χρυσέαισιν συνερείδει
περόναις κρυπτὸν ἀφʼ Ἥρας .
ἔτεκεν δʼ , ἁνίκα Μοῖραι
τέλεσαν , ταυρόκερων θεὸν
στεφάνωσέν τε δρακόντων
στεφάνοις , ἔνθεν ἄγραν θηροτρόφον
μαινάδες ἀμφιβάλλονται
πλοκάμοις .
Σεμέλας τροφοὶ Θῆβαι ,
στεφανοῦσθε κισσῷ ·
βρύετε βρύετε χλοήρει
μίλακι καλλικάρπῳ
καὶ καταβακχιοῦσθε δρυὸς
ἐλάτας κλάδοισι ,
στικτῶν τʼ ἐνδυτὰ νεβρίδων
στέφετε λευκοτρίχων πλοκάμων
μαλλοῖς · ἀμφὶ δὲ νάρθηκας ὑβριστὰς
ὁσιοῦσθʼ · αὐτίκα γᾶ πᾶσα χορεύσει
Βρόμιος ὅστις ἄγῃ θιάσουσ
εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος , ἔνθα μένει
θηλυγενὴς ὄχλος
ἀφʼ ἱστῶν παρὰ κερκίδων τʼ
οἰστρηθεὶς Διονύσῳ .
θαλάμευμα Κουρήτων
ζάθεοί τε Κρήτας
Διογενέτορες ἔναυλοι ,
ἔνθα τρικόρυθες ἄντροις
βυρσότονον κύκλωμα τόδε
μοι Κορύβαντες ηὗρον ·
βακχείᾳ δʼ ἀνὰ συντόνῳ
κέρασαν ἁδυβόᾳ Φρυγίων
αὐλῶν πνεύματι ματρός τε Ῥέας ἐς
χέρα θῆκαν , κτύπον εὐάσμασι Βακχᾶν ·
παρὰ δὲ μαινόμενοι Σάτυροι
ματέρος ἐξανύσαντο θεᾶς ,
ἐς δὲ χορεύματα
συνῆψαν τριετηρίδων ,
αἷς χαίρει Διόνυσος .
ἡδὺς ἐν ὄρεσιν , ὅταν ἐκ θιάσων δρομαίων
πέσῃ πεδόσε , νεβρίδος
ἔχων ἱερὸν ἐνδυτόν , ἀγρεύων
αἷμα τραγοκτόνον , ὠμοφάγον χάριν , ἱέμενος
ἐς ὄρεα Φρύγια , Λύδιʼ , δʼ ἔξαρχος Βρόμιος ,
εὐοἷ .
ῥεῖ δὲ γάλακτι πέδον , ῥεῖ δʼ οἴνῳ , ῥεῖ δὲ μελισσᾶν
νέκταρι .
Συρίας δʼ ὡς λιβάνου καπνὸν
Βακχεὺς ἀνέχων
πυρσώδη φλόγα πεύκας
ἐκ νάρθηκος ἀίσσει
δρόμῳ καὶ χοροῖσιν
πλανάτας ἐρεθίζων
ἰαχαῖς τʼ ἀναπάλλων ,
τρυφερόν τε πλόκαμον εἰς αἰθέρα ῥίπτων .
ἅμα δʼ εὐάσμασι τοιάδʼ ἐπιβρέμει ·
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Τμώλου χρυσορόου χλιδᾷ
μέλπετε τὸν Διόνυσον
βαρυβρόμων ὑπὸ τυμπάνων ,
εὔια τὸν εὔιον ἀγαλλόμεναι θεὸν
ἐν Φρυγίαισι βοαῖς ἐνοπαῖσί τε ,
λωτὸς ὅταν εὐκέλαδος
ἱερὸς ἱερὰ παίγματα βρέμῃ , σύνοχα
φοιτάσιν εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος · ἡδομένα
δʼ ἄρα , πῶλος ὅπως ἅμα ματέρι
φορβάδι , κῶλον ἄγει ταχύπουν σκιρτήμασι βάκχα .
From the land of Asia , leaving behind sacred Tmolos , for Bromios I speed sweet toil and weariness happily unwearying , exalting with ecstatic cries the Bacchic god . Who is in the road ? Who is in the road ? Who is in the palace ? Let him come out . And let everybody by keeping sacred silence make himself pure . For I will always hymn Dionysos with the songs that have been established . O blessed is he who , truly happy , knowing the initiations of the gods is pure in life and joins his soul to the thiasos in the mountains performing Bacchic ritual with holy purifications , and correctly celebrating the mysteries of the great mother Kybele , and shaking the thyrsos up and down and crowned with ivy , serves Dionysos . Onward bacchants , onward bacchants , escorting Bromios , a god and son of a god , Dionysos , from the Phrygian mountains to the streets , broad for dancing , of Greece , Bromios , whom once his mother had within her in the inescapable pains of childbirth when the thunder of Zeus flew and she thrust him premature from her womb , and she left her life at the stroke of the thunder and lightning . And immediately in the birth chambers Zeus the son of Kronos received him . And he covered him in his thigh and closed it up with golden pins , to conceal him from Hera . And he gave birth , when the Fates brought completion , to the bull-horned god , and crowned him with crowns of snakes , for which reason the maenads cast the prey that feeds on beasts around their hair . Oh Thebes , nurse of Semele , crown yourself with ivy . Abound , abound with verdant bryony with its lovely berries , and become bacchants with branches of oak or fir . Decorate your garments of dappled fawnskin with woollen strands of white-haired tresses . Make the violent fennel rods pure all around . Immediately the whole land will dance whenever Bromios leads the thiasoi to the mountain , to the mountain , where there waits the female throng stung to frenzy from their looms and shuttles by Dionysos . Oh lair of the Kouretes and sacred Zeus-begetting haunts of Crete , where the triple-helmeted Korybantes in the cave invented for me this hide-stretched circle . And in the intense bacchic dance they mixed it with the sweet-shouting breath of Phrygian pipes , and put it in the hand of mother Rhea , a beat for the bacchants ' cries of joy . And the frenzied satyrs obtained it from the mother goddess , and attached it to the dances of the biennial festivals in which Dionysos rejoices . He is welcome in the mountains , when from the running thiasoi he falls to the ground , wearing the sacred garment of a fawnskin , hunting goat-killing bloodshed , joy in eating raw flesh , rushing to the mountains of Phrygia , of Lydia , the leader is Bromios . Euoi . The ground flows with milk , it flows with wine , it flows with the nectar of bees . The Bacchic god , holding up the blazing flame of the pine torch , like the smoke of Syrian frankincense , rushes with the fennel rod , with running and dances arousing the wanderers and agitating them with cries of joy and tossing his delicate locks into the air of heaven . Along with the joyful cries he roars these things : ' O onward bacchants , O onward bacchants , pride of gold-flowing Tmolos , celebrate in song Dionysos to the deep-booming drums , exalting with joyful cries the god of joyful cries among the Phrygian shouts and calls , when the well-sounding sacred pipe booms its sacred playings that accompany movement to the mountain , to the mountain . ' Joyfully then , like a foal with its grazing mother , the bacchant moves her swift-footed limbs in her leapings .

( 83 ) 19% GRC
( 346 ) 81% GRC - ENG

( 577 ) 84% GRC - ENG
( 111 ) 16% ENG

KovacsParodos

Josh Kemp / ParodosForArticle
  • Created on 2023-05-25 17:52:25
  • Modified on 2023-06-20 17:53:34
  • Translated by David Kovacs
  • Aligned by Josh Kemp
David Kovacs' translation of Bacchae vv. 64-169, from the Loeb Classical Library edition of the play. ISBN 978-0-674-99601-4
Ἑλληνική Transliterate
English
https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg017.perseus-grc2:64-169/
Ἀσίας ἀπὸ γᾶς
ἱερὸν Τμῶλον ἀμείψασα θοάζω
Βρομίῳ πόνον ἡδὺν κάματόν τʼ εὐκάματον ,
Βάκχιον εὐαζομένα .
τίς ὁδῷ τίς ὁδῷ ; τίς ;
μελάθροις ἔκτοπος ἔστω , στόμα τʼ εὔφημον
ἅπας ἐξοσιούσθω ·
τὰ νομισθέντα γὰρ αἰεὶ
Διόνυσον ὑμνήσω .

μάκαρ , ὅστις εὐδαίμων
τελετὰς θεῶν εἰδὼς
βιοτὰν ἁγιστεύει καὶ
θιασεύεται ψυχὰν
ἐν ὄρεσσι βακχεύων
ὁσίοις καθαρμοῖσιν ,
τά τε ματρὸς μεγάλας ὄργια
Κυβέλας θεμιτεύων ,
ἀνὰ θύρσον τε τινάσσων ,
κισσῷ τε στεφανωθεὶς
Διόνυσον θεραπεύει .
ἴτε βάκχαι , ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Βρόμιον παῖδα θεὸν θεοῦ
Διόνυσον κατάγουσαι
Φρυγίων ἐξ ὀρέων Ἑλλάδος εἰς
εὐρυχόρους ἀγυιάς , τὸν Βρόμιον ·
ὅν
ποτʼ ἔχουσʼ ἐν ὠδίνων
λοχίαις ἀνάγκαισι
πταμένας Διὸς βροντᾶς νηδύος
ἔκβολον μάτηρ
ἔτεκεν , λιποῦσʼ αἰῶνα
κεραυνίῳ πληγᾷ ·
λοχίοις δʼ αὐτίκα νιν δέξατο
θαλάμαις Κρονίδας Ζεύς ,
κατὰ μηρῷ δὲ καλύψας
χρυσέαισιν συνερείδει
περόναις κρυπτὸν ἀφʼ Ἥρας .
ἔτεκεν δʼ , ἁνίκα Μοῖραι
τέλεσαν , ταυρόκερων θεὸν
στεφάνωσέν τε δρακόντων
στεφάνοις , ἔνθεν ἄγραν θηροτρόφον
μαινάδες ἀμφιβάλλονται
πλοκάμοις .
Σεμέλας τροφοὶ Θῆβαι ,
στεφανοῦσθε κισσῷ ·
βρύετε βρύετε χλοήρει
μίλακι καλλικάρπῳ
καὶ καταβακχιοῦσθε δρυὸς
ἐλάτας κλάδοισι ,
στικτῶν τʼ ἐνδυτὰ νεβρίδων
στέφετε λευκοτρίχων πλοκάμων
μαλλοῖς · ἀμφὶ δὲ νάρθηκας ὑβριστὰς
ὁσιοῦσθʼ · αὐτίκα γᾶ πᾶσα χορεύσει
Βρόμιος ὅστις ἄγῃ θιάσουσ
εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος , ἔνθα μένει
θηλυγενὴς ὄχλος
ἀφʼ ἱστῶν παρὰ κερκίδων τʼ
οἰστρηθεὶς Διονύσῳ .
θαλάμευμα Κουρήτων
ζάθεοί τε Κρήτας
Διογενέτορες ἔναυλοι ,
ἔνθα τρικόρυθες ἄντροις
βυρσότονον κύκλωμα τόδε
μοι Κορύβαντες ηὗρον ·
βακχείᾳ δʼ ἀνὰ συντόνῳ
κέρασαν ἁδυβόᾳ Φρυγίων
αὐλῶν πνεύματι ματρός τε Ῥέας ἐς
χέρα θῆκαν , κτύπον εὐάσμασι Βακχᾶν ·
παρὰ δὲ μαινόμενοι Σάτυροι
ματέρος ἐξανύσαντο θεᾶς ,
ἐς δὲ χορεύματα
συνῆψαν τριετηρίδων ,
αἷς χαίρει Διόνυσος .
ἡδὺς ἐν ὄρεσιν , ὅταν ἐκ θιάσων δρομαίων
πέσῃ πεδόσε , νεβρίδος
ἔχων ἱερὸν ἐνδυτόν , ἀγρεύων
αἷμα τραγοκτόνον , ὠμοφάγον χάριν , ἱέμενος
ἐς ὄρεα Φρύγια , Λύδιʼ , δʼ ἔξαρχος Βρόμιος ,
εὐοἷ .
ῥεῖ δὲ γάλακτι πέδον , ῥεῖ δʼ οἴνῳ , ῥεῖ δὲ μελισσᾶν
νέκταρι .
Συρίας δʼ ὡς λιβάνου καπνὸν
Βακχεὺς ἀνέχων
πυρσώδη φλόγα πεύκας
ἐκ νάρθηκος ἀίσσει
δρόμῳ καὶ χοροῖσιν
πλανάτας ἐρεθίζων
ἰαχαῖς τʼ ἀναπάλλων ,
τρυφερόν τε πλόκαμον εἰς αἰθέρα ῥίπτων .
ἅμα δʼ εὐάσμασι τοιάδʼ ἐπιβρέμει ·
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
ἴτε βάκχαι ,
Τμώλου χρυσορόου χλιδᾷ
μέλπετε τὸν Διόνυσον
βαρυβρόμων ὑπὸ τυμπάνων ,
εὔια τὸν εὔιον ἀγαλλόμεναι θεὸν
ἐν Φρυγίαισι βοαῖς ἐνοπαῖσί τε ,
λωτὸς ὅταν εὐκέλαδος
ἱερὸς ἱερὰ παίγματα βρέμῃ , σύνοχα
φοιτάσιν εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος · ἡδομένα
δʼ ἄρα , πῶλος ὅπως ἅμα ματέρι
φορβάδι , κῶλον ἄγει ταχύπουν σκιρτήμασι βάκχα .
From the land of Asia ,
leaving behind Tmolus the sacred mount , I have sped ,
toiling for Bromios a toil that is sweet
and a weariness that wearies happily ,
making ecstatic cry to the bacchic god .
Who is in the road , who is in the road ? Who
is in the palace ? Let everyone come forth ,
keeping their tongues mute in holy silence :
I shall hymn Dionysus
with the songs hallowed by use and wont !
O blessed the man who ,
happy in knowing the gods ' rites ,
makes his life pure
and joins his soul to the worshipful band ,
performing bacchic rites upon the mountains ,
with cleansings the gods approve :
he performs the sacred mysteries
of Mother Cybele of the mountains ,
and shaking the bacchic wand up and down ,
his head crowned with ivy ,
he serves Dionysus .
On bacchants , on you bacchants !
Bring the roaring
son of a god , Dionysus ,
from Phrygia ' s mountains to Hellas ' streets ,
broad for dancing ! Bring Bromios !
His mother long ago
in forced pangs of labor ,
after Zeus ' s thunderbolt had sped ,
gave birth to him untimely
as she left her life behind
under the lightning ' s stroke .
Straightway Kronos ' son Zeus
received him in birth ' s secret recesses
and concealed him in his thigh ,
closing it up with golden pins
to keep him hid from Hera .
Then , when the Fates brought him to term ,
he gave birth to the god with the horns of a bull
and crowned him with garlands of serpents :
that is why maenads catch beast-eating snakes
and drape their tresses with them .
O Thebes that nurtured Semele ,
be crowned with ivy !
Abound , abound in the green
bryony with its lovely berries ,
be consecrate as bacchant
with boughs of oak or fir ,
and deck your dappled fawnskin garments
with white strands of wool !
Wrap the violent bacchic wand
in holiness ! Forthwith the whole land shall dance ,
when Bromios leads the worshipful bands
to the mountain , to the mountain , where there rests
the throng of women ,
driven by Dionysus in madness
from their looms and shuttles .
O secret chamber of the Curetes ,
O holy haunts of Crete
where Zeus was born !
There in the cave the thrice-helmed
Corybantes invented for me this drum of tightened hide ;
and in their intense ecstatic dance
they mingled it with the sweet-hallooing breath
of Phrygian pipes and put it into the hands of Mother Rhea ,
to mark the measure for the bacchants ' ecstatic dance .
And the maddened satyrs obtained it
from the Goddess Mother
and added it to the dances
of the second-year festivals
in which Dionysus delights .
Welcome is the god when on the mountains
he leaves the coursing covens
and falls to the ground , his holy
garment of fawnskin about him , in pursuit
of the shed blood of the slain goat , the glad meal of raw
flesh ,
rushing to the mountains
of Lydia , this leader of ours , Bromios :
euhoi !
The ground runs with milk , runs with wine ,
runs with the nectar of bees .
The bacchic god holds aloft ,
fragrant as smoke from Syrian incense ,
his flaming pine torch
lit from the fennel wand and rushes on ,
now running , now dancing ,
rebuking the stragglers ,
spurring them on with joyous shouts ,
and tossing his luxuriant locks to heaven .
And midst his ecstatic cries he calls ,
" On bacchants ,
on you bacchants ,
pride of the River Tmolus that runs with gold :
sing Dionysus ' praises
to the deep-roaring drums ,
making ecstatic cries to the god of ecstasy
with Phrygian shouts and exclamations ,
when the lovely pipe
shrills , all holy , its holy songs in concert
with those who go to the mountain , to the mountain ! "
Hence in joy ,
like a colt with its grazing mother ,
the bacchant leaps and gambols on nimble legs .

( 95 ) 22% GRC
( 334 ) 78% GRC - ENG

( 577 ) 80% GRC - ENG
( 140 ) 20% ENG

BuckleyParodos

Josh Kemp / ParodosForArticle
  • Created on 2023-05-26 17:07:06
  • Modified on 2023-06-20 18:03:08
  • Translated by Theodore Alois Buckley
  • Aligned by Josh Kemp
Buckley with a corrected Greek text.
Ἑλληνική Transliterate
English
https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0006.tlg017.perseus-grc2:64-169/
Ἀσίας ἀπὸ γᾶς ἱερὸν Τμῶλον ἀμείψασα θοάζω Βρομίῳ πόνον ἡδὺν κάματόν τʼ εὐκάματον , Βάκχιον εὐαζομένα . τίς ὁδῷ τίς ὁδῷ ; τίς ; μελάθροις ἔκτοπος ἔστω , στόμα τʼ εὔφημον ἅπας ἐξοσιούσθω · τὰ νομισθέντα γὰρ αἰεὶ Διόνυσον ὑμνήσω . μάκαρ , ὅστις εὐδαίμων τελετὰς θεῶν εἰδὼς βιοτὰν ἁγιστεύει καὶ θιασεύεται ψυχὰν ἐν ὄρεσσι βακχεύων ὁσίοις καθαρμοῖσιν , τά τε ματρὸς μεγάλας ὄργια Κυβέλας θεμιτεύων , ἀνὰ θύρσον τε τινάσσων , κισσῷ τε στεφανωθεὶς Διόνυσον θεραπεύει . ἴτε βάκχαι , ἴτε βάκχαι , Βρόμιον παῖδα θεὸν θεοῦ Διόνυσον κατάγουσαι Φρυγίων ἐξ ὀρέων Ἑλλάδος εἰς εὐρυχόρους ἀγυιάς , τὸν Βρόμιον · ὅν ποτʼ ἔχουσʼ ἐν ὠδίνων λοχίαις ἀνάγκαισι πταμένας Διὸς βροντᾶς νηδύος ἔκβολον μάτηρ ἔτεκεν , λιποῦσʼ αἰῶνα κεραυνίῳ πληγᾷ · λοχίοις δʼ αὐτίκα νιν δέξατο θαλάμαις Κρονίδας Ζεύς , κατὰ μηρῷ δὲ καλύψας χρυσέαισιν συνερείδει περόναις κρυπτὸν ἀφʼ Ἥρας . ἔτεκεν δʼ , ἁνίκα Μοῖραι τέλεσαν , ταυρόκερων θεὸν στεφάνωσέν τε δρακόντων στεφάνοις , ἔνθεν ἄγραν θηροτρόφον μαινάδες ἀμφιβάλλονται πλοκάμοις . Σεμέλας τροφοὶ Θῆβαι , στεφανοῦσθε κισσῷ · βρύετε βρύετε χλοήρει μίλακι καλλικάρπῳ καὶ καταβακχιοῦσθε δρυὸς ἐλάτας κλάδοισι , στικτῶν τʼ ἐνδυτὰ νεβρίδων στέφετε λευκοτρίχων πλοκάμων μαλλοῖς · ἀμφὶ δὲ νάρθηκας ὑβριστὰς ὁσιοῦσθʼ · αὐτίκα γᾶ πᾶσα χορεύσει Βρόμιος ὅστις ἄγῃ θιάσουσ εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος , ἔνθα μένει θηλυγενὴς ὄχλος ἀφʼ ἱστῶν παρὰ κερκίδων τʼ οἰστρηθεὶς Διονύσῳ . θαλάμευμα Κουρήτων ζάθεοί τε Κρήτας Διογενέτορες ἔναυλοι , ἔνθα τρικόρυθες ἄντροις βυρσότονον κύκλωμα τόδε μοι Κορύβαντες ηὗρον · βακχείᾳ δʼ ἀνὰ συντόνῳ κέρασαν ἁδυβόᾳ Φρυγίων αὐλῶν πνεύματι ματρός τε Ῥέας ἐς χέρα θῆκαν , κτύπον εὐάσμασι Βακχᾶν · παρὰ δὲ μαινόμενοι Σάτυροι ματέρος ἐξανύσαντο θεᾶς , ἐς δὲ χορεύματα συνῆψαν τριετηρίδων , αἷς χαίρει Διόνυσος . ἡδὺς ἐν ὄρεσιν , ὅταν ἐκ θιάσων δρομαίων πέσῃ πεδόσε , νεβρίδος ἔχων ἱερὸν ἐνδυτόν , ἀγρεύων αἷμα τραγοκτόνον , ὠμοφάγον χάριν , ἱέμενος ἐς ὄρεα Φρύγια , Λύδιʼ , δʼ ἔξαρχος Βρόμιος , εὐοἷ . ῥεῖ δὲ γάλακτι πέδον , ῥεῖ δʼ οἴνῳ , ῥεῖ δὲ μελισσᾶν νέκταρι . Συρίας δʼ ὡς λιβάνου καπνὸν Βακχεὺς ἀνέχων πυρσώδη φλόγα πεύκας ἐκ νάρθηκος ἀίσσει δρόμῳ καὶ χοροῖσιν πλανάτας ἐρεθίζων ἰαχαῖς τʼ ἀναπάλλων , τρυφερόν τε πλόκαμον εἰς αἰθέρα ῥίπτων . ἅμα δʼ εὐάσμασι τοιάδʼ ἐπιβρέμει · ἴτε βάκχαι , ἴτε βάκχαι , Τμώλου χρυσορόου χλιδᾷ μέλπετε τὸν Διόνυσον βαρυβρόμων ὑπὸ τυμπάνων , εὔια τὸν εὔιον ἀγαλλόμεναι θεὸν ἐν Φρυγίαισι βοαῖς ἐνοπαῖσί τε , λωτὸς ὅταν εὐκέλαδος ἱερὸς ἱερὰ παίγματα βρέμῃ , σύνοχα φοιτάσιν εἰς ὄρος εἰς ὄρος · ἡδομένα δʼ ἄρα , πῶλος ὅπως ἅμα ματέρι φορβάδι , κῶλον ἄγει ταχύπουν σκιρτήμασι βάκχα .
From the land of Asia , having left sacred Tmolus , I am swift to perform for Bromius my sweet labor and toil easily borne , celebrating the god Bacchus . Who is in the way ? Who is in the way ? Who ? Let him get out of the way indoors , and let everyone keep his mouth pure , speaking propitious things . For I will celebrate Dionysus with hymns according to eternal custom . Blessed is he who , being fortunate and knowing the rites of the gods , keeps his life pure and has his soul initiated into the Bacchic revels , dancing in inspired frenzy over the mountains with holy purifications , and who , revering the mysteries of great mother Kybele , brandishing the thyrsos , garlanded with ivy , serves Dionysus . Go , Bacchae , go , Bacchae , escorting the god Bromius , child of a god , from the Phrygian mountains to the broad streets of Hellas Bromius , Whom once , in the compulsion of birth pains , the thunder of Zeus flying upon her , his mother cast from her womb , leaving life by the stroke of a thunderbolt . Immediately Zeus , Kronos’ son , received him in a chamber fit for birth , and having covered him in his thigh shut him up with golden clasps , hidden from Hera . And he brought forth , when the Fates had perfected him , the bull-horned god , and he crowned him with crowns of snakes , for which reason Maenads cloak their wild prey over their locks . O Thebes , nurse of Semele , crown yourself with ivy , flourish , flourish with the verdant yew bearing sweet fruit , and crown yourself in honor of Bacchus with branches of oak or pine . Adorn your garments of spotted fawn-skin with fleeces of white sheep , and sport in holy games with insolent thyrsoi . At once all the earth will dance whoever leads the sacred band is Bromius to the mountain , to the mountain , where the crowd of women waits , goaded away from their weaving by Dionysus . O secret chamber of the Kouretes and you holy Cretan caves , parents to Zeus , where the Korybantes with triple helmet invented for me in their caves this circle , covered with stretched hide ; and in their excited revelry they mingled it with the sweet-voiced breath of Phrygian pipes and handed it over to mother Rhea , resounding with the sweet songs of the Bacchae ; nearby , raving Satyrs were fulfilling the rites of the mother goddess , and they joined it to the dances of the biennial festivals , in which Dionysus rejoices . He is sweet in the mountains , whenever after the running dance he falls on the ground , wearing the sacred garment of fawn skin , hunting the blood of the slain goat , a raw-eaten delight , rushing to the Phrygian , the Lydian mountains , and the leader of the dance is Bromius , evoe ! The plain flows with milk , it flows with wine , it flows with the nectar of bees . The Bacchic one , raising the flaming torch of pine on his thyrsos , like the smoke of Syrian incense , darts about , arousing the wanderers with his racing and dancing , agitating them with his shouts , casting his rich locks into the air . And among the Maenad cries his voice rings deep : Go , Bacchae , go , Bacchae , with the luxury of Tmolus that flows with gold , sing of Dionysus , beneath the heavy beat of drums , celebrating in delight the god of delight with Phrygian shouts and cries , when the sweet-sounding sacred pipe sounds a sacred playful tune suited to the wanderers , to the mountain , to the mountain ! And the Bacchante , rejoicing like a foal with its grazing mother , rouses her swift foot in a gamboling dance .

( 83 ) 19% GRC
( 346 ) 81% GRC - ENG

( 576 ) 83% GRC - ENG
( 115 ) 17% ENG