Euripides, Helen
E. P. Coleridge, Ed.

Menelaos
Well, then, what if she rejects our proposals?

Helen
You will die. And I, the unhappy one, will be married by force.

Menelaos
You would be a traitor; that force of yours is an excuse.

Helen
[835] But I have sworn a sacred oath by your life—

Menelaos
What do you mean? To die? And never to take his bed in exchange for mine?

Helen
Yes, by the same sword; I will lie at your side.

Menelaos
Then on these conditions touch my right hand.

Helen
I touch it, swearing that I will leave the light of day if you die.

Menelaos
[840] And I will end my life if I lose you.

Helen
How then shall we die so as to gain fame?

Menelaos
I will kill you on the tomb's surface, and then kill myself. But first I will fight a great contest for your bed. Let anyone who wishes come near! [845] For I will not disgrace my Trojan fame, nor, on my return to Hellas, will I receive great blame—I who robbed Thetis of Achilleus, and saw the slaughter of Aias, son of Telamon, and the son of Neleus made childless; [850] shall I not resolve to die for my wife? Most certainly; for if the gods are wise, they lightly bury in the earth a brave man who has been killed by his enemies, while cowards they cast up out of the earth onto a harsh rock.

Chorus Leader
[855] O gods, may the race of Tantalos be fortunate at last, and may it be set free from evils!

Helen
Ah, I am unhappy, for so is my fate! Menelaos, we are destroyed. The prophetess Theonoe is coming out of the house; it resounds as the [860] bolts are unfastened. Try to escape! But what is the use of trying? For whether she is absent or present she knows of your arrival here. Oh, I am lost, unfortunate! Saved from Troy and from a barbarian land, you have come only to fall upon barbarian swords.