The Tragedies of Euripides Author:Euripides Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE BACCHJ. v. 1—28. Bacc. IIOW to this land, the realms of Thebes, I come, Bacchus, the son of Jove, whom Semele, Daughter of Cadmus, 'midst the lightn... more »ing flames Brought forth; the god beneath a mortal's form Concealing, on the brink of Dirce's fount, And where Ismenus rolls his stream, I tread. I see my mother's tomb rais'd near the house In which she perish'd by the thunder; yet Its ruins smoke, th' setherial fire yet lives, The everlasting mark of Juno's hate Wreck'd on my mother. Cadmus hath my praise, Who to his daughter rais'd this shrine, the ground Hallow'd from vulgar tread; the clust'ring vine I gave to wreath around its verdant boughs. Leaving the Lydian fields profuse of gold, The Phrygian, and the Persian plains expos'd To the sun's rays, and from the tow'red forts Of Bactria passing, from the frozen soil Of Media, from Arabia the West, And all that tract of Asia which along The salt sea lies, where with Barbarians mix'd The Grecians many a stately-structur'd town Inhabit, -to this city, first of Greece, I come, here lead my dance, my mystic rites Establish here, that mortals may confess The manifest god. Of all the realms of Greece In Thebes I first have rais'd my shouts, thus cloth'd With a fawn's dappled hide, and in my hand Thy thyrsus hold, this ivy-wreathed spear: For that the sisters of my mothe (least Becomes it them) declared that not from Jove I sprung, but pregnant by some mortal's love That Semele on Jove had falsely charg'd Her fault, the poor device of Cadmus; whence They arrogantly said that Jove enraged Slew her, because she falsely urged his love As her excuse: for this my madd'ning stings Impell'd them to forsake the house, and roam Distracted o'er the mountain, where perforce They wear the habit of my o...« less