I have come to the vaulted palace,

To the resting place of this venerable king,

Leaning heavily on my staff;

My voice full of grief and mourning,

Like the sad chant of an aged swan;

A ghost of a man, voice with no substance,

Like a figure seen in a dream;

Even my voice quavers,

But it is the voice of a friend.

Children without a father, I weep for you;

For you too, Amphitryon, and you, unhappy mother,

Mourning a husband lost to the lower world.

Euripides, Heracles