Halcyon
Translated by Emily James Smith
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The opening
CHAIREPHON. CHARACTERS. SOKRATES.
Chairephon What is the cry, Sokrates, that comes to us from the distant breakers on the headland yonder? How sweet it sounds! What creature has such a note as that? Surely the water-fowl are voiceless.
Sokrates Nay, it is a sea-bird, Chairephon, called the halcyon, full of plaints and tears, and a legend about her has long been current among men. They say that she was once a woman, the daughter of Aiolos, son of Hellen, and married to Ceyx the Trachinian, who was the son of the Morning-star, fair son of a fair father. And when her young husband died she mourned for him, longing for his love. Then by some god’s will (they say) she took on the feathery guise of a bird, and flits about the seas seeking him; for she could not find him on the land, though she searched the world over.
Chairephon Is this, then, the halcyon? I had never heard the note before, and it fell upon my ear like something quite new. Certainly the bird may it be, Sokrates?
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About this edition
- The words
- Emily James Smith's English translation, copied word for word.
- Copied from
Perseus Digital Library (Tufts University); CC BY-SA 4.0 — this edition may be reused under the same share-alike terms. creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
- Left out
- Notes and pages added by translators, editors or publishers, in 2 places