HERACLES
Now, to keep these heirs of Heracles from death,
their mother and I in supplication
kneeled to Zeus the Savior at this altar,
established by the prowess of my son,
the trophy of his conquering spear
and monument of Minyan victory. 50
Here we sit, in utter destitution,
lacking food, water, and clothing; having no beds
but the bare earth beneath our bodies;
barred from our house, empty of hope.
And of our friends, some prove no friends at all, 55
while those still true are powerless to help.
This is what misfortune means among mankind;
upon no man who wished me well at all,
could I wish this acid test of friends might fall.
Megara
Old man, marshal of our famous Theban anus, 60
who once destroyed the city of the Taphians,
how dark are all the ways of god to manl
Prosperity was my inheritance:
I had a father who could boast of wealth,
who had such power as makes the long spears 65
leap with greed against its proud possessor—
a father, blessed with children, who gave me
in glorious marriage to your Heracles.
But now his glory is gone down in death,
and you and I, old man, shall soon be dead, 70
and with us, these small sons of Heracles
whom I ward and nestle underwing.
First one, then another, bursts in tears,
and asks: "Mother, where has Father gone?
What is he doing? When will he come back?"
Then, too small to understand, they ask again 75
for "Father." I put them off with stories;
but when the hinges creak, they all leap up
to run and throw themselves at their father's feet.
Is there any hope? What chance of rescue
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