to take the daughters of Danaus in marriage. But the maidens held
such wedlock in horror, and fled with their father over the sea to
Argos; and the king and citizens of Argos gave them shelter and
protection from their pursuers.




THE SUPPLIANT MAIDENS


DRAMATIS PERSONAE

DANAUS, THE KING OF ARGOS, HERALD OF AEGYPTUS.
_Chorus of the Daughters of Danaus. Attendants_.

_Scene. --A sacred precinct near the gates of Argos: statue and
shrines of Zeus and other deities stand around_.


CHORUS

ZEUS! Lord and guard of suppliant hands!
Look down benign on us who crave
Thine aid--whom winds and waters drave
From where, through drifting shifting sands,
Pours Nilus to the wave.
From where the green land, god-possest,
Closes and fronts the Syrian waste,
We flee as exiles, yet unbanned