The Supernatural in the Tragedies of Euripides 9 



voaiv; 6v ttot' eyu vvn<f>av t' hcrLdoifx 

 avTols fieXad^poLs dt-aKvatofievovs, 

 o'L 7' e/^e irpocrd^ev roKficha' adiKelv. 



" O Lady of Justice, O Artemis' Majesty, see it, O see it — 

 Look on the wrongs I suffer, by oaths everlasting who tied 

 The soul of mine husband, that never from the curse he might 



free it, nor free it 

 From your vengeance ! O may I behold him at last, even him 



and his bride, 

 Them, and these halls therewithal, all shattered in ruin, in 



ruin !— " 



Cf . also Med. 332 : 



ZeD, fii] Xdi9oi ere tuvS' os a'trLos Kanoiv. 

 " Zeus, Zeus, forget not him who is cause of this ! " 



After a bitter reproach against her husband's unmanhness 

 Medea expostulates with Zeus : 



Med. 516-19: 



w ZeD, tL drj xpi'O'oi' M^J" os Kt/JSrjXos jl 

 TeKfxr)pl av0p6i-KOLcn.v uncaaas aa(j)rj, 

 dvhpoiv 5' oTCf) XP'7 '''ov KaKov 5i,ei5evai,, 

 ovdeis xc-P "■'<''' VP ep^TrkcfyvKe auixari; 



" O Zeus, ah wherefore hast thou given to men 

 Plain signs for gold which is but counterfeit. 

 But no assay-mark nature graven shows 

 On man's form, to discern the base withal?" 



The chorus fully aware that the fatal act of Medea's killing 

 her own children cannot be prevented by any human interference, 

 call on the holy Earth which is about to sustain the pollution of 

 blood, and the Sun, that grandsire of the wretched woman not to 

 allow her to murder her children : 



Med. 1251-60: 



icb Fa re nal irafiiparis 



CLKTis 'AeXiov, /caTiSer' tSere rav 



oKop.kvav yvvalKa, trplv (powlav 



TtKvois TrpoajSaKeiv x^p' cvtoktovov ; k. t. X. 



" O Eearth, O all-revealing splendour 



Of the Sun, look down on a woman accurst. 

 Or ever she slake the murder-thirst 

 Of a mother whose hands would smite the tender 

 Fruit of her womb. 



63 



