Helen
The god cast me out, ill-fated and accursed, from my country, from my city, and from you, when I left my home and bed—yet I did not leave them—for a shameful marriage.
Chorus Leader If indeed you should find happiness in the future, it would be a match for the past.
Messenger Menelaos, give me as well a share of that joy which I understand, but not clearly.
Menelaos Come and take part in our talk, old man, you too.
Messenger This woman is not the arbitrator of all the trouble in Troy?
Menelaos She is not; I was tricked by the gods and had in my arms the baneful image of a cloud.
Messenger What are you saying? We suffered in vain for the sake of a cloud?
Menelaos It was the work of Hera, and the rivalry of the three goddesses.
Messenger And the one who is truly your wife is this woman here?
Menelaos This is she; trust my word for that.
Messenger O daughter, how intricate and hard to trace out is the nature of the god! In some way that is good, he twists everything about, now up, now down; one man suffers, and one who has not suffered comes afterwards to a bad end, having no security in his current fortune. You and your husband have had your share of trouble, you in repute, he in the heat of battle. In his eagerness, while he was eager, he got nothing; but now that he has achieved the greatest good fortune, he has it without cause. You did not, after all, bring shame upon your old father or on the twin sons of Zeus, nor did you do such things as were spoken of. Now again I renew your wedding rites and remember the blazing torch I bore, running beside the four yoked horses; and you, in the chariot as a bride, were leaving your happy home with this man here. Whoever pays no reverence to his master’s affairs, rejoicing with him and grieving with his troubles, is worthless. Although I was born a servant, let me still be numbered among honest slaves; my mind is free, if not my name. For this is better than to suffer double misery as one man: to have a worthless heart and, being a slave, to owe obedience to any other.
Menelaos Come, old man—often by my shield you have had your full share of trouble and hard work—now also have a share in my success, and go tell the friends I left behind the state of matters here, as you found them, and how my fortune stands; and bid them wait at the beach and watch eagerly for the struggle which I expect awaits me; and if we should be able somehow to steal this woman away from the land, tell them to keep good watch so that we may share the luck and escape, if we can, from the barbarians.
Messenger It shall be done, lord. Now indeed I see how worthless the seers’ doings are, and how full of falsehood; there was no health in the blaze of sacrifice after all, or in the cry of winged birds; even to think that birds can help mankind is certainly foolish. For Calchas gave no word or sign to the army, when he saw his friends dying on behalf of a cloud, nor did Helenos; but the city was taken by storm in vain. You might say: because the god did not want them to? Then why do we consult prophets? We ought to sacrifice to the gods and ask a blessing, but leave divination alone; for this was invented otherwise, as a bait for a livelihood, and no man grows rich by sacrifices if he is idle. But sound judgment and discernment are the best of seers.
Chorus Leader
My views about seers coincide exactly with this old man’s; whoever has the gods as friends would have the best prophecy at home.
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