THE HERACLEIDAE

SCENE: Before the Temple of Zeus at Marathon.

Sj accompanied by small children
of Heracles, enters?)
lokus
For years I've known that anyone who's just
Is born to serve his neighbors, but the man
Who will persist in feathering his nest
Has got no public spirit and is hard
To deal with, as I've found out to my cost. 5
And though I could have lived respectably
In Argos, with my family and in peace,
As right-hand man of Heracles, I served
Through his worst trials, while he still was alive*
Now he's in heaven, and as guardian of 10
His children, I could use a guard myself.
When he was dead and gone, Eurystheus
Decided to eliminate us, too.
We got away, and, though we saved our skins,
Our home is gone; and now we stand condemned 1 5
To keep on wandering from state to state,
Because this king, whose record is as black
As sin, has had the front to lay on us
A new humiliation. Anywhere
We go, when he finds out, he sends someone 20
To bully them into expelling us,
And claims his town's too strong and he's too rich
To risk offending. When our hosts recall
That these are orphans, that I've no support,