Or to an island home, sent on a voyage of misery by oars that sweep the brine, leading a wretched existence in halls where the first-created palm and the bay-tree put forth their sacred shoots for dear Latona , a memorial of her divine birth-pains? and there with the maids of Delos shall I hymn the golden head-band and bow of Artemis, their goddess? Chorus Or in the city of Pallas, the home of Athena of the lovely chariot, shall I then upon her saffron robe yoke horses, embroidering them on my web in brilliant varied shades, or the race of Titans, put to sleep by Zeus the son of Cronos with bolt of flashing flame? Chorus Alas for my children! alas for my ancestors, and my country which is falling in smouldering ruin among the smoke, sacked by the Argive spear, while I upon a foreign shore am called a slave, indeed! leaving Asia , Europe ’s handmaid, and receiving in its place a deadly marriage-bower. The herald, Talthybius, enters. Talthybius Where can I find Hecuba, who once was queen of Ilium , you Trojan maidens? Chorus Leader There she lies near you, Talthybius, stretched full length upon the ground, wrapped in her robe.