#tekonta

[neveradullmo]

Tekonta Secta.

[squirrelinameatsuit]

“Riddle of the Sphinx” in Ancient Greek

Translation:

”τὸ τῆς Σφιγγός αἴνιγμα”

ὀρφανεύομενος

ἐν τῇ πενιῇ ἐπόνησα

τὴν ἰατρικήν ἐκπονήσων

πᾶσι γεραιρόμενων

οὐκ εἶδον τοὺς Ὀλύμπιους

λάθρᾳ τὴν τιμήν τεκόντα

εἶτα συνηξάμην

ἐμαυτόν παρά τὴν Σφιγγά

CHORUS:

ὁ τετράπους τῇ ἕῳ

ὁ δίπους τῇ ἡμερᾷ

ὁ τρίπους τῇ ἑσπερᾷ

σῶματος καὶ νόος ἀποφθίνοντος

.

δεινός νόσος

τοὺς ἀτημέλητους

πένητας καταβάλλῶν

ἐν αὐτοῖς

αὔξην ἐπείγει

τοῦ μηνός θάνουνται

οἱ παιδές

γερουσιν εἴξουσιν

ὅι ὡς κλάειν οὐ μεμαθήκασιν

τὸ αὖον νέκρος καίτοι παῖς

CHORUS

ἐτή πόλλα πεῖραν 

ἐποιησάμην

τὸν γένος ζητέων

ἁι πόλλαι

πεῖραι προχωροῦσιν

σὺν τῷ φαρμακῷ

τὸ ἐκβαῖνον

τὰν κακήν σύστασιν

πρὸς Ὀλυπιῆς ἀθανασιῆς

δε τοῖς Ὀλύμπιοῖς εἶπον

CHORUS

FATHER:

Οἰδίπου

σύ μὴ ταράσσε

ἡ σκέψις δεινή γίγνεται

νὖν παύου

ἐργόν ἀλλό εὕρε

ἤ τόδε σὲ φθερεῖ

OEDIPUS:

ὅστις ἄν

ἐμοί γ`ἀπειλέῃ

τήν ἐμής ὀργήν ἔξει

τοῦ ἐμοῦ ἐργοῦ μὴ ἅπτου

CHORUS x2

οἱ Ὀλύμπιοι ἔμαθον

τὴν τῆς ἀθανασιῆς τῖμην

τὸν ἔλεον ἔσκηψαντο

τῶν τοὺς κείμενους πενθέντων

εὑρίσκειν ὄδον ἥν

βλάβην μη ἐπάξουσην ὤμοσαν

μοι τὸν πλουτον ἔδοσαν

εἰσήγαγον γυναῖκα μοι

.

Transliteration:

“to tēs Sphingos ainigma”

orphaneuomenos

en tē peniē eponēsa

tēn iātrikēn ekponēsōn

pasi gerairomenōn

ouk eidon tous Olympious

lathrā tēn tīmēn tekonta

eita synēxamēn

emauton para tēn Sphinga

CHORUS:

ho tetrapous tē heō

ho dipous tē hēmera

ho tripous tē hespera

sōmatos kai noös apophthinontos

.

deinos nosos

tous atēmelētous

penētas kataballōn

en autois

auxēn epeigei

tou mēnos thanountai

hoi paides

gerousin eixousin

hoi hōs klāein ou memathēkāsin

to auon nekros kaitoi pais

CHORUS

etē polla peiran

epoiēsamēn

ton genos zēteōn

hai pollai

peirai prokhōrousin

syn tō pharmakō

to ekbainon

tan kakēn systasis

pros Olypiēs āthanasiēs

de tois Olympiois eipon

CHORUS

FATHER:

Oidipou

tous mē tarasse

hē skepsis deinē gignetai

nyn pauou

ergō allō heure

ē tode se phtherei

OEDIPUS:

hostis an

emoi g'apeileē

tēn emēs orgēn exei

tou emou ergou mē haptou

CHORUS x2

hoi Olympioi emathon

tēn tēs āthanasiēs tīmēn

ton eleon eskēpsanto

tōn tous keimenous penthentōn

heuriskein odon hēn

blabēn me epaxousēn ōmosan

moi ton plouton edosan

eisēgagon gynaika moi

.

Back Translation:

“The Riddle of the Sphinx”

Being an orphan

I struggled in poverty

In order to learn the doctor’s art

And be praised by all

I did not know that the Olympians

Secretly engendered my honor

Then I engaged

Myself against the Sphinx

CHORUS:

Four-legged in the morning

Two-legged in the day

Three-legged in the evening

While body and mind waste away

.

A terrible disease

The uncared-for

Poor striking

In them

Accelerates growth

They will die within the month

The children

Will resemble old men

Who have not learned how to cry

A withered corpse, and yet a child

CHORUS

For many years

I experimented

Studying its kind

They at last

Succeeded

With the cure

The consequence

The evil substance

From Olympian immortality

And I told the Olympians

CHORUS

FATHER:

Oedipus

Don’t you make trouble

The research becomes dangerous

Cease now

Find other work

Or this will destroy you

OEDIPUS:

Whoever, if

You threaten me

You will feel my wrath

Don’t interfere with my work

CHORUS x2

The Olympians learned

The cost of the immortality

They feigned pity

While they mourned the fallen

To find a way which

Would not lead to harm they swore

They gave me riches

They led my wife to me

.

Translator’s notes:

Line 1: It’s very cool how Ancient Greek has a verb just for existing as an orphan. It’s not very cool how there’s no way to phrase incorrectly thinking one exists as an orphan in a way that fits into the original line.

Line 4: I think I’ve implied that Oedipus became a doctor just for the status a bit more strongly than is warranted.

Lines 5–6: I tried put back in that Oedipus has secret rich parents using a verb that can mean “create” both in a building and a birthing sense. I used the same verb (τίκτω) in “Broken Horses,” though, so there’s a weird implication in at least one of these songs.

Lines 23–32: A lot of medical and scientific terms happen to come from Ancient Greek without the good manners to have equivalents in the language of origin. The technobabble (biobabble?) in the translation is consequently a lot more vague than in the original.

Line 51: “To lead in a wife” (εἰσάγω γυναῖκα) is a euphemism for marriage. It suggests a bit more direct involvement by the Olympians than in the original, but it seems to me like there’s a bit of a dearth in good introductory verbs.

.

Questions and suggestions welcome.

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