Kretes

Kretes

A fragment from Euripides̓ lost tragedy The Cretans

Translated by Patrick Rourke

Pasiphaë’s Defense

[Pasiphaë, the wife of Minos, king of Crete, has given birth to a monster: the Minotaur, half man, half bull, after committing an act of bestiality with a bull sacred to the god Poseidon. Minos is about to punish her for her adultery by casting her, the baby Minotaur, and the nurse who helped her hide the child into the Labyrinth.]

Chorus

. . . She dared this crime alone.

My Lord, you must think:
how can you hide it,
cover up this disgrace?

Pasiphaë

There is nothing to gain now by deceiving you;
what has happened is already too well known.

But consider:
If I had sold the gifts of Kypris,
given my body in secret to some man,
you would have every right to expose me
as a whore. But this was no act of the will;
I am suffering, from some madness brought on
by the goddess.
It’s irrational!
What could I have seen in a bull
to assault my heart with this shameful passion?
Did he look too handsome in his robe?
Did a sea of fire smoulder in his eyes?
Was it the red tint of his hair, his dark beard?
His body, so different from my husband’s? . . .
Are these the things that drew me to lie
in his bed, on the ground? . . .
I did not imagine that my lover
could give me children . . .
What diseased my mind?
Minos’ god afflicted me,
and he is more guilty in this than I am.
He prayed to his god of the sea, and swore
to sacrifice this phantasmal bull;
then he spared it from the slaughter.
No wonder Poseidon sought him out,
and punished him through this sick passion
in my heart.
[to Minos] And you would testify before the gods,
when your misdeeds have led to my disgrace.
As the innocent mother of this monster,
I tried to conceal what the gods have done;
but in your cruelty, you boast proudly
of your wife’s lovely humiliation,
as if you had no share in it.
It is your fault, and my destruction
is for your sin, out of your madness.
If you intend to cast me into the sea,
then kill me now: you are an expert
in human sacrifice and acts of blood.
Do you crave the taste of my flesh?
Then prepare the feast, you cannibal!
Though I am free from all wrongdoing,
let my death pay your penances.

Chorus

It seems, my lord, the gods have had a part
in this calamity. Don’t allow your passions
to reign over your judgment . . .

Minos

Is she muzzled yet? She bellows . . .

Come, spears . . .
Seize her – make death her next exploration.
Bring her accomplice as well – take them both
into the palace, cage them in the cells below
where they’ll never see the light of day again.

Chorus

My lord, please reconsider this judgment;
mercilessness is never admirable.

Minos

Justice is resolved and cannot be postponed.

. . .