Stasimon 3
[Choral 1]
his spear hung on a peg; with never a thought of the sailor-throng encamped upon the Trojan shores.
920
[Choral 2]
And I was braiding my tresses beneath a tight-drawn head-band
Chorus
before my golden mirror’s countless rays, so that I might lie down to rest; when through the city rose a din, and a cry went ringing down the streets of Troy: You
925
sons of Hellas, when, oh! when will you sack the citadel of Ilium, and seek your homes?
930
I left my bed, wearing only a tunic, like a Dorian girl,
and sought in vain, ah me! to station myself at the holy hearth of Artemis; for, after seeing my husband slain, I was led away over the broad sea; with many a backward look at my city,
935
when the ship began her homeward voyage and parted me from Ilium’s strand; till alas! for very grief I fainted,
940
[Choral]
Cursing Helen the sister of the Dioscuri, and Paris the baleful shepherd of Ida;
Chorus
for it was their marriage, which was no marriage but misery sent by some demon, that robbed me of my country and drove me from my home.
945
Oh! may the sea’s salt flood never carry her home again; and may she never set foot in her father’s halls!
950
