IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS
Came stealing back on tiptoe and he warned us, 265
"Those are not men but Gods! Behind that rock!
Not men but Gods!" And then another herdsman
Caught sight of them, raised up his hands and prayed,
"Palaemon, born of a Sea-Goddess, Master of Ships, 270
Protect us, whether these boys be the Twins
Of Battle, sons and favorites of Zeus,
Or else be brothers of the Ocean Nymphs,
Be sons of Nereus, God of Waves like Thee!"
But another jeered at us and laughed out loud, 275
So that I thought the Gods would turn on him.
But he was sure there must have been a wreck,
And these were sailors looking for our cave
To hide in, having heard that strangers here
Are sacrificed. And he persuaded most 280
Of us, and we were thinking what to do,
When one of them ran out around the rock.
Just staring, not at us or anything
That we could see, but at the air and shook
And groaned, ducking his head from side to side
Behind his arms as if he'd gone insane.
And he was calling out, sharp as a hunter,
"Look, Pylades! O look at her! O look! 285
There! There! Surely you see her now!—that Fiend
From Hell! And on her head look at the snakes,
Their mouths wide open, writhing for my blood!
Here comes another one! And look at that one
Up on the cliff, vomiting fire on me,
Lifting my mother's body like a rock
So she can smash it down on me and kill me! 290
Pylades, help me! They are all around me!"
And we could tell, by the way he jerked his head
Whenever a dog barked or a cow mooed,
That if a Fury wasn't chasing him
He thought there was in every sound he heard.
He might have knocked us flat there in a row, 295
We were so stunned. Instead, drawing his sword,
He lunged into our cattle like a lion,
383