I’ve been reading a lot of Aeschylus lately, doing research, or something like that. Well, it started out as research, then, I got caught up in reading, as often happens. Then, I got caught up in how different translations can be.

Check this out. Here, I offer five translations of the same passage, each one equally lovely, each one equally amiss:

1. Trans. Ted Hughes

Chorus: A woman did all this. One woman.

They called her Helen–that was a prophecy.

Helen the Destroyer.

Not a name but a title.

The bride of the spear’s broad blade.

Helen the homicidal

Epidemic fury

That would possess nations.

Not a face or name but a poison

To send whole fleets to perdition

As if their captain were madmen–

Chewing and spitting her name–

Helen. The name Helen

Not so much a name as an earthquake

To bounce a city to burning rubble.

Not a name but a plague

Spreading scream by scream from city to city,

As houses become tombs.

Damn, right?

2. Trans. David Slavitt

Chorus: The name of Helen fouls the mouth,

a curse. How did the fates arrange

that so uncanny cognomen

she bore?

First Chorister: Helen, destroyer: Helenaus, destroyer of ships;

Heleptolis, destroyer of cities; Helandros,

destroyer of brave men.

Chorus: By such slight gestures does destiny

approach. We think there is nothing strange

or alarming, but it saunters up and then…

a war!

3. Trans. David Grene & Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty

Chorus: Who can have named her so,

with such truth, utterly?

Could it be someone we cannot see,

with foreknowledge of destiny,

that used his tongue in harmony with fortune?

She was called Helen,

the bride won by the spear, sought in strife.

Helen means death, and death indeed she was,

death to ships and men and city…

4. Trans. Anne Carson (note: I wanted to love this because it’s Anne Carson, but this ended up being my least favorite translation. This one section is ok and not necessarily indicative of how liberal Carson is with the original!)

Chorus: Who can have named her so perfectly?

What prophetic mind?

Who was it gave to that bride of blood, that

wife of strife, the name Helen? For the

woman is hell to ships, hell to men, hell to

cities.

5. trans. Wolfgang Peterson

Troy

You can see the commonalities between these translations. Ok, maybe not with the Troy clip, which is just funny. But seriously, certain words appear in the top four, sure, but these are completely different narratives. They tell different stories.

What do you think?

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