Epeisodion 1
Adrastus
I did; and even then their slayers said me nay.
Theseus
Why, what say they to thy just request?
Adrastus
Say! Success makes them forget how to bear their
fortune.
Theseus
Art come to me then for counsel? or wherefore?
125
Adrastus
With the wish that thou, O Theseus, shouldst recover the sons of the Argives.
Theseus
Where is your Argos now? were its vauntings all in vain?
Adrastus
Defeat and ruin are our lot. To thee for aid we come.
Theseus
this thy own private resolve, or the wish of all the city?
Adrastus
The sons of Danaus, one and all, implore thee to bury the dead.
130
Theseus
Why didst lead thy seven armies against Thebes?
Adrastus
To confer that favour on the husbands of my daughters twain.
Theseus
To which of the Argives didst thou give thy daughters in marriage?
Adrastus
I made no match for them with kinsmen of my family.
Theseus
What! didst give Argive maids to foreign lords?
135
Adrastus
Yea, to Tydeus, and to Polynices, who was Theban-born.
Theseus
What induced thee to select this alliance?
Adrastus
Dark riddles of Phoebus stole away my judgment.
Theseus
What said Apollo to determine the maidens’ marriage?
Adrastus
That I should give my daughters twain to a wild boar and a lion.
140
Theseus
How dost thou explain the message of the god?
