THE SUPPLIANTS.
MAY Zeus, by Suppliants revered,
Propitious view our naval train,
From Nile's fine-sanded mouths who steered
Across the billowy main.
The heavenly region left behind
Whose fields with Syria's fields unite,
Guiltless we roam, not blood-defiled
And by the state's decree exiled,
But wedlock with abhorrent mind
Shunning; for by Ægyptos' brood,
Kin of our blood, to marriage woo'd,
We flee the unhallowed rite. 10
Danaos, our father and our guide,[1]
Prime councillor of wisdom tried,
Casting for these affairs the die,
Of ills the noblest chose, to fly,
Free from constraint, the sea-wave o'er,
And anchor drop on Argos' shore,
Whence, boasting its descent, our line,
From her, the heifer hornet-stung,
- ↑ στασίαρχος—party leader.
