________________________________
Euripides
Orestes
________________________________
The translation by Ian Johnston of
Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo British Columbia, Canada, may be
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Note that in the text below the numbers
in square brackets refer to the lines in the Greek text; the numbers without
brackets refer to the lines in the translated text. In numbering the
lines of the English text, the translator has normally counted a short indented
line with the short line above it, so that two short lines count as one
line. The asterisks indicate links to explanatory endnotes provided by
the translator.
The translator would like to
acknowledge the valuable help of M. L. West’s commentary on the play (Aris & Phillips, 1987).
For some background information on the
House of Atreus, please use the following link: House of Atreus.
DRAMATIS
PERSONAE
ELECTRA: daughter of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, sister of
Orestes.
HELEN: wife of Menelaus, sister
of Clytaemnestra.
HERMIONE: daughter of Menelaus
and Helen.
CHORUS: young women of Argos.
ORESTES: son of Agamemnon and
Clytaemnestra, brother of Electra.
MENELAUS: king of Sparta,
brother of Agamemnon, uncle of Orestes and Electra.
TYNDAREUS: father of Helen and
Clytaemnestra, an old man.
PYLADES: prince of Phocis, a
friend of Orestes.
MESSENGER: an old man.
PHRYGIAN: one of Helen’s Trojan
slaves, a eunuch.
APOLLO: divine son of Zeus and Leto, god of prophecy.
[Scene: The action of the play takes place in Argos
just outside the royal palace a few days after Orestes has avenged the murder
of his father by killing his mother, Clytaemnestra, and her lover,
Aegisthus. At the opening, Orestes is lying ill on a bed near the
doors. Electra is sitting close to him]
ELECTRA
There’s nothing terrible one can describe,
no suffering or event brought on by god,
whose weight humans may not have to bear.
The blessed Tantalus—and I don’t mock him
for his misfortunes—who was, so they say,
born from Zeus, flutters in the air, terrified
of a rock hanging right above his head.
People claim he’s paying the penalty,
because, although he was a mortal man
who was considered equal to the
gods 10
in the feasts they shared together, he had
a shameful illness—he could not
control [10]
his tongue.1 Well, Tantalus fathered Pelops,
and then from that man Atreus was born,
the one for whom the goddess combing yarn
spun out strife, making him the
enemy
of his own brother, Thyestes.2 But why
should I describe these horrors once again?
Then Atreus killed Thyestes’ children
and fed them to him. Then, there’s Atreus—
20
I won’t mention what happened in between.
With Aerope, who came
from Crete, as mother,
Atreus fathered glorious Agamemnon,
if, indeed, he was a glorious man,
and Menelaus, too. Menelaus
then wed Helen, a woman gods
despise,
[20]
while lord Agamemnon, in a wedding
notorious in Greece, took Clytaemnestra
as his wife. To him from that one woman
were born three daughters—Chrysothemis,
30
Iphigeneia, and me,
Electra,
and a son, as well, Orestes, all of us
from an abominable mother who snared
her husband in a robe he could not escape
and slaughtered him. It’s not appropriate
for a young girl to talk of why she did it,
and so I leave the matter indistinct
for people to consider. Why should one
accuse Phoebus of injustice, even though
he did persuade Orestes to strike
down 40
the mother who had given birth to him,
an act which did not earn him a
good
name [30]
in all men’s eyes?3 Still, he obeyed the god
and killed her. I helped with the murder,
too,
doing as much as any woman could,
and Pylades assisted
us as well.
After that poor Orestes grew so ill.
Infected with a savage wasting sickness,
he’s collapsed in bed and lies there, driven
into fits of madness by his mother’s
blood. 50
I am ashamed to name those goddesses,
the Eumenides, who keep driving him
through terrible ordeals.4 It’s the sixth day
since our mother perished in that slaughter
and her body was purified in
fire— [40]
in that time he’s not swallowed any food
or washed his skin. He stays wrapped in a
cloak.
And when his body does find some relief
and his mind clears from the disease, he weeps.
At other times he leaps up out of
bed 60
and bolts like a colt released from harness.
Argos has proclaimed no one should shelter us,
receive us by their hearths, or speak to us,
since we killed our mother. This very day
will be decisive—the Argive city
will cast its vote whether the two of us
must be stoned to death or have our throats
cut
[50]
with a sharpened sword. We do have one hope
we won’t die—the fact that Menelaus
has reached this land from Troy—his
flotilla 70
now fills up the harbour at Nauplia,
where he rides at anchor by the headlands,
after wandering for so long at random.
But as for Helen, who caused such grieving,
he sent her on ahead to our own
house, [60]
waiting until night, in case anyone
whose children died at Troy might see her,
if she went strolling there during the day,
and injured her by starting to throw stones.
She’s inside now, weeping for her
sister 80
and the troubles which have struck her family.
Though she suffers, she has some consolation—
Hermione, the daughter she left at home
when she sailed off to Troy, who Menelaus
brought from Sparta and gave to my mother
to bring up, brings her great joy and helps her
forget her troubles. I keep on watching
all the roads for the moment I can see
Menelaus coming. Unless he saves us,
we don’t have much strength to ride this
out.
90
A house plagued with bad luck has no
defence. [70]
[Helen enters from the place]
HELEN
Child of Clytaemnestra and Agamemnon,
poor Electra, you’ve remained unmarried
such a long time now. How are things with
you
and your unlucky brother Orestes,
who killed his mother? That was a mistake.
But I ascribe it to Apollo, and so
I don’t risk pollution talking to you.
And yet I do lament my sister’s death,
Clytaemnestra, whom I never
saw 100
after I sailed off to Troy, driven there
by that fated madness from the gods.
Now I’ve lost her, I weep for our
misfortune. [80]
ELECTRA
Helen, why should I now describe for you
what your eyes can see—Agamemnon’s home
facing disaster? I sit here sleepless
beside this wretched corpse—his faint breathing
makes the man a corpse. Not that I blame
him
for his suffering. You’re the one who’s
lucky.
Your husband’s fortunate as well. You’ve
come
110
when what’s going on with us is miserable.
HELEN
How long has he lying like this in bed?
ELECTRA
Ever since he shed his mother’s blood.
HELEN
Poor wretch! [90]
And his mother, too, given how she died.
ELECTRA
That’s how it is. He’s broken by his
troubles.
HELEN
Girl, would you do something for me please,
in the name of the gods?
ELECTRA
I’m busy here,
sitting with my brother.
HELEN
Would you be willing
to come with me to my sister’s tomb?
ELECTRA
To my own mother? Is that what you
want? 120
But why?
HELEN
So I can take an offering from me,
hair and libations.5
ELECTRA
Is it somehow wrong
for you to visit a family burial mound?
HELEN
I’m ashamed to show myself in public
among the Argives.
ELECTRA
After all this time
you’re thinking wisely. Back when you left
home
that was disgraceful.
HELEN
What you say is right. [100]
But you’re not talking to me as a friend.
ELECTRA
What makes you feel shame among
the people
in Mycenae?6
HELEN
I fear the fathers of those men
130
who died at Troy.
ELECTRA
That’s a real fear. In Argos
it’s on people’s lips.
HELEN
So relieve my fears.
Do me that favour.
ELECTRA
I couldn’t do it—
look at my mother’s grave.
HELEN
But for servants
to take these offerings would be disgraceful.
ELECTRA
Why not send Hermione, your daughter?
HELEN
It’s not good for an unmarried girl
to walk around in public.
ELECTRA
She’d be repaying
the dead woman for looking after her.
HELEN
What you say is right, girl. You’ve
convinced
me. 140 [110]
I’ll send my daughter. Your advice is good.
[Helen calls in through the palace doors]
Hermione! Come
on out, my child,
out here in front.
[Hermione enters from the palace]
Take the libation
in your hands and this hair of mine, and go
to Clytaemnestra’s
burial site. Pour out
the stirred-up honey, milk, and frothing wine.
Then stand on top the mound and say these words,
“Helen, your sister, offers these libations,
fearing to come to your tomb in person,
afraid of the Argive mob.” And ask
her
150
to look with kindness on you and
me
[120]
and my husband, and on this wretched pair
some god has ruined. Promise funeral gifts,
all the things I should give to my sister.
You must leave now, my child, and go quickly.
When you’ve offered libations
at the tomb,
return back here as quickly as you can.
[Hermione takes the offerings and leaves, going
away from the palace. Helen exits
into the palace]
ELECTRA
O nature, how vicious you are in men,
a saviour, too, for those who do possess
what works to their advantage. Did you
see 160
how she’s trimmed her hair only at the ends
to preserve her beauty? She’s the woman
she has always been. May the gods hate you
for ruining me and him and all of
Greece! [130]
I’m so unhappy!
[The Chorus enters]
Here they are again,
my friends who sing with me in my laments.
They’ll soon end my brother’s peaceful sleep
and melt my eyes with tears once I see him
in his mad fit. You women, dearest friends,
move with a quiet step and make no
noise, 170
no unexpected sound. Your kindness here
is dear to me, but if you wake him up,
what happens will be difficult for me.
CHORUS
Keep quiet! Silence! let
your steps be
light. [140]
Make no sound at all.
ELECTRA
Keep away from him—
further from his bed, I’m begging you!
CHORUS
There, I’ve done as you request.
ELECTRA
Ah yes, but speak to me, dear friend,
like the breathing of a tiny reed
on a shepherd’s pipe.
CHORUS
There, you
see.
180
I’m keeping my voice pitched soft and low.
ELECTRA
Yes, that’s fine. Come over. Come on.
Move gently. Keep moving quietly.
Tell me the reason why you had to
come. [150]
He hasn’t fallen asleep like this for ages.
CHORUS
How is he? Give us a report, dear friend.
What shall I say has happened to him?
What’s ailing him?
ELECTRA
He’s still breathing—
feeble groans.
CHORUS
What
are you saying? The poor man!
ELECTRA
You’ll kill him if you distract his
eyes 190
while he’s enjoying sweet gifts of sleep.
CHORUS
Pitiful man, suffering for those hateful
acts [160]
inspired by a god.
ELECTRA
Yes, it’s pitiful.
An unjust god uttered unjust things
in what he decreed, when Loxias
from Themis’ tripod
passed his sentence,
the unnatural murder of my mother.7
CHORUS
Do you see? His body’s moving in his robes.
ELECTRA
You wretch, you’ve forced him to wake up
with your chatter.
CHORUS
No, I think he’s sleeping. 200
ELECTRA
Won’t you just go away? Leave the
house. [170]
Retrace your steps, and stop the shuffling.
CHORUS
He’s asleep.
ELECTRA
You’re right. O sacred lady Night,
who gives sleep to toiling mortal men,
come from Erebus, come, wing your
way here
to Agamemnon’s home.8 In misery
and suffering we’ve gone astray. We’re
lost.
[180]
You’re making noise
again. O my dear friend,
won’t you keep quiet, stay silent, and take care
to keep your voice some distance from his
bed? 210
Let him enjoy the peaceful gift of sleep.
CHORUS
Tell us what’s in store to end his troubles.
ELECTRA
Death. What
else? He’s lost desire for food.
CHORUS
Then this is obviously his
fate. [190]
ELECTRA
Phoebus made us his sacrificial offering
with his pitiful unnatural proposal
to kill our mother, who killed our father.
CHORUS
But it was just.
ELECTRA
Yes, but not good.
You killed, mother who bore
me,
and were killed. You wiped
out 220
a father and children of your blood.
We’re done for, good as dead,
destroyed. [200]
You’re with the dead, and my own life
is gone—the greater part of it now spent
with groans, laments, and tears each night,
unmarried, childless—so pitiful—
I drag out my life on and on forever.
CHORUS LEADER
Electra, you’re right beside your brother.
Check if hasn’t died without your
knowing.
I’m worried—he’s looking too
relaxed. 230 [210]
ORESTES [waking up]
O lovely charms of sleep which bring
such help
against disease, how sweetly you came over me
when I was in such need. Sacred Oblivion,
who removes all troubles, how wise you are,
for those who suffer from misfortune,
a goddess worth invoking in their prayers.
But where did I come from to get here?
How did I reach this place? I can’t recall.
I’ve lost all my earlier
recollections.
ELECTRA
Dearest one, how happy it made me
feel 240
when you fell into that sleep. Do you want
me
to hold you and to prop your body up?
ORESTES
Yes, hold me. Give me some
support. And wipe
the dried up foam from my sore mouth and
eyes. [220]
ELECTRA
There. It’s
sweet to be able to help out.
I won’t refuse to nurse my brother’s limbs
with a sister’s hand.
ORESTES
Support my side with yours,
and push the matted hair out of my face.
My eyes aren’t seeing very well.
ELECTRA
O this filthy hair, your poor suffering
head— 250
so much time has passed since it’s been washed,
you look just like a savage.
ORESTES
Put me back,
on the bed again. Once the madness leaves,
I’m exhausted . . . no strength in my
limbs.
ELECTRA
There you are.
The sick man loves his bed, a painful
place, [230]
but still it’s necessary.
ORESTES
Set me up again.
Turn my body round. The sick are helpless—
that’s why they’re hard to please.
ELECTRA
Would you like
to have me put your feet down on the ground?
You haven’t tried to walk for some time
now. 260
A change is always pleasant.
ORESTES
Yes, do that.
It’s better if I look as if I’m well,
even though that’s far from being true.
ELECTRA
Now, my dear brother, listen to me,
while the Erinyes let
your mind stay clear.
ORESTES
You’ve got some news. If it’s good, you’ll
help me—
if harmful, I’ve had enough
misfortune. [240]
ELECTRA
Menelaus has come, your father’s brother.
His ships are anchored at Nauplia.
ORESTES
What are you saying? Has he just
arrived 270
to be a light to save us from these troubles,
yours and mine, a man of our own family,
with a sense of gratitude to father?
ELECTRA
He’s come—you can trust what I’m telling you—
and he’s brought Helen from the walls of Troy.
ORESTES
He’d be someone to envy even more
if he’d managed to survive all by himself.
By bringing back his wife, he’s coming here
with all kinds of trouble.
ELECTRA
Yes, Tyndareus
fathered a race of notorious
daughters, 280
dishonoured throughout
Greece.
[250]
ORESTES
Make
sure you’re different,
not like those evil women. You can be.
But don’t just say it. You have to feel
it.
ELECTRA
Alas, brother, your eyes are growing wild.
In an instant you’ve again gone mad,
and just now you were thinking clearly.
ORESTES [in a fit]
Mother, I’m begging you, don’t threaten me,
not those young snake girls with their bloodshot
eyes.
They’re here! They’re closing in to jump on
me!
ELECTRA
Poor suffering wretch, stay still there on your
couch. 290
You think you see them clearly, but it’s
nothing—
there’s nothing there for you to see.
ORESTES
O
Phoebus, [260]
they’re killing me, those dreadful goddesses,
the fierce-eyed, bitch-faced priestesses of
hell.
ELECTRA [holding Orestes]
I’ll not let go. I’ll keep my arms around
and stop you writhing in this painful fit.
ORESTES
Let go! You’re one of those Furies of mine,
grabbing me around the waist to throw me
down into Tartarus!
ELECTRA
I feel so wretched.
What help can I get when divine
power 300
is ranged against us?
ORESTES
Give me my horn-tipped bow,
Apollo’s gift—he said I should use it
to defend myself against these goddesses
if they frightened me with bouts of
madness. [270]
One of those divine
women will get hurt
by a human hand if she doesn’t move
out of my sight. Aren’t you paying
attention?
Don’t you see the feathered arrows speeding
from my far-shooting bow? Ah . . . ah . . .
Why are you waiting then? Use your
wings 310
and soar into the upper air, and blame
Apollo’s oracles. But wait a moment!
Why am I raving and gasping for air?
Where . . . where have I jumped? Out of
bed?
After the storm I see calm water once again.
Sister, why wrap your head in your dress and
cry? [280]
I’m ashamed to make you share my suffering,
to bring distress to an unmarried girl
with this sickness of mine. Don’t pine
away
because of my misfortunes. Yes, it’s
true 320
you agreed to do it, but I’m the one
who shed our mother’s blood. I blame
Apollo,
who set me up to carry out the act,
which was profane. His words encouraged me,
but not his actions. And I think my father,
if I’d looked him in the eye and asked him
if I should kill my mother, would’ve made
many appeals to me, reaching for my
chin, [290]
not to shove my sword into the neck
of the woman who’d given birth to
me, 330
since he would not return into the light
and I’d be wretched, suffering ills like these.
So now, sister, take that veil off your head.
And stop your crying, even though our plight
is desperate. When you see me in a fit,
you must reduce the harsh destructive parts
inside my mind and soothe me. When you
groan,
I must be beside you and comfort you
with my advice. When people are close
friends
[300]
it’s a noble thing to offer help like
that. 340
But now, you poor girl, go inside the house.
Lie down and let your sleepless eyelids rest.
Have some food to eat and wash your body.
For if you leave me or catch some illness
by sitting here with me, then
I’m done for.
You’re the only help I’ve got. As you see,
all the others have abandoned me.
ELECTRA
I won’t leave. I choose to live here with
you,
even to die. The choice remains the same.
If you die, what will I, a woman,
do? 350
How will I be saved all on my own,
without a brother, father, or my friends?
Still, I must do it, if you think it’s
right. [310]
But set your body back
down on the bed,
and don’t fret too much about the terror,
the agony that drives you from your bed.
Lie still here on the couch. For even if
you’re not really sick but think you’re ill,
that still makes people tired and confused.
[Electra goes into the house]
CHORUS
Aaaiiii . . . .you
winged
goddesses 360
roaming in that manic frenzy,
your god-appointed privilege,
not some Bacchic
ritual
but one with tears, cries of
grief— [320]
you dark skinned kindly ones,
racing through the wide expanse of air
demanding justice for blood,
a penalty for murder,
how I beseech you, beg you,
let the son of
Agamemnon lose 370
all memory of furious madness.
Alas! What harsh work you strove for,
you poor man, when you received,
from Phoebus’ tripod, the
oracle [330]
which he delivered in his shrine,
that cavern where, so people say,
one finds the navel of the earth.9
O Zeus, what pitiful
event,
what bloody struggle is now here,
goading you in your
misfortune— 380
an avenging spirit bringing tears
to add to all your tears, sending
your mother’s blood into your home
and driving you to raving madness?
I grieve for you—how I grieve for you.
Among mortal men great
prosperity
[340]
never lasts. No. Some higher spirit
shatters it like the sail on a fast ship
and hurls it into waves of dreadful sorrow,
as deadly as storm waves out at
sea. 390
What other house should I still honour
as issuing from marriage with the gods
apart from those who come from Tantalus?10
[Menelaus enters, with an escort]
CHORUS
But look, the king is now approaching—
lord Menelaus. His
magnificence [350]
makes it plain to see that by his blood
he comes from the sons of Tantalus.
Hail to you, who with a thousand ships
set off in force for Asian land, and
find
good fortune now among your
company. 400
With god’s help you’ve managed to achieve
all those things you prayed for.
MENELAUS
O my home—
I look on you with joy, now I’ve come back
from Troy, but I’m also full of sorrow
at the sight, for never have I seen
another home surrounded in this way
with such harsh disaster. For I
learned [360]
of Agamemnon’s fate, the death he suffered
at his wife’s hand, as I steered
my ship
towards Malea.11 The sailors’
prophet, 410
truthful Glaucus, Nereus’ seer,
told me from the waves. He placed himself
in open view and then said this to me:
“Menelaus, your brother’s lying dead—
collapsed inside his bath, the final one
his wife will give him.” His words made us,
me and my sailors, weep many tears.
When I touched land at Nauplia,
with my
wife [370]
already coming here, I was expecting
to give a loving greeting to
Orestes, 420
Agamemnon’s son, and to his mother.
I assumed that they were doing well.
But then I heard from some fisherman
about the profane murder of the child
of Tyndareus. Tell me
now, you girls,
where he may be, Agamemnon’s
son,
who dared this horrible atrocity.
For back then, when I left home for Troy,
he was a babe in Clytaemnestra’s
arms.
So I wouldn’t know him if I saw
him. 430
[Orestes moves over unsteadily from his bed and
crouches down in front of Menelaus]
ORESTES
Menelaus, I am Orestes—the
man [380]
you asked about. I’m willing to reveal
all the suffering I’ve been through. But first,
I clasp your knees in supplication,
and offer prayers from the mouth
of a man
who holds no suppliant branch.12 Rescue me.
It’s the crucial moment of my suffering,
and you’ve arrived in person.
MENELAUS
O gods,
what’s this I see? Which of the
dead
am I now looking at?
ORESTES
What you say is
true. 440
With the agony I’m in, I’m not alive,
though I see daylight.
MENELAUS
You’re like a savage,
you poor man, with that tangled hair.
ORESTES
It’s not my looks
which cause me grief. It’s what I’ve
done.
MENELAUS
Your ravaged eyes—
that look of yours is
dreadful.
ORESTES
My body’s
gone. [390]
But my name has not abandoned me.
MENELAUS
You’re an unsightly mess—not what I
expected.
ORESTES
Here I am, my
wretched mother’s killer.
MENELAUS
So I’ve heard. Don’t talk about it—such
evils
should be mentioned only
sparingly. 450
ORESTES
I’ll not say much. But the divine
spirit
fills me with afflictions.
MENELAUS
What’s wrong with you?
What’s the sickness that’s destroying you?
ORESTES
It’s here—in my mind—because I’m
aware
I’ve done something horrific.13
MENELAUS
What do you mean?
Wisdom comes from clarity. It’s not
obscure.
ORESTES
It’s the pain that’s truly destroying me.
MENELAUS
She’s a fearful goddess, but there are
cures.
ORESTES
Mad fits—retribution for my mother’s
blood. [400]
MENELAUS
When did this frenzy start? What day
was
it? 460
ORESTES
On the day I was raising up the mound
on my miserable mother’s grave.
MENELAUS
Were you in the house or sitting down
keeping watch beside her fire?
ORESTES
It was at night,
while I was waiting to collect the bones.
MENELAUS
Was someone there as your support?
ORESTES
Yes.
Pylades was
there—he acted with me
in shedding blood, my mother’s murder.
MENELAUS
You’re sick from phantom apparitions.
What are they like?
ORESTES
I thought I saw three
girls— 470
they looked like Night.
MENELAUS
I know the ones you mean.
But I have no wish to speak their names.
ORESTES
No. They
incite awe. You acted
properly [410]
in not mentioning them.
MENELAUS
Are they the ones
driving you insane family murder?
ORESTES
How miserably I suffer their attacks
MENELAUS
But harsh suffering is not unusual
for those who carry out such dreadful acts.
ORESTES
But we do have a way out of our troubles.
MENELAUS
Don’t talk of death—that’s not wise.
ORESTES
It was
Phoebus 480
who ordered me to carry out the act,
my mother’s murder.
MENELAUS
Showing his ignorance
of what’s good and right.
ORESTES
We are mere slaves
to the gods, whatever the gods are.
MENELAUS
In this suffering of yours does Loxias
offer some relief?
ORESTES
He’s planning to. [420]
That’s the nature
of the gods.
MENELAUS
And your mother—
how long is it since she stopped breathing?
ORESTES
This is the sixth day. Her burial fires
are still warm.
MENELAUS
How quickly the goddesses 490
came for you because of your mother’s blood.
ORESTES
God is not wise, but by nature he
is true
to those who are his friends.14
MENELAUS
And your father—
does he help you out for avenging him?
ORESTES
Not yet. And if he’s still intending to,
I call that the same as doing nothing.
MENELAUS
After what you’ve done how do you stand
with the city?
ORESTES
I
am so despised
that people will not talk to me.
MENELAUS
Have you cleansed
your hands of blood in the appropriate
way? 500
ORESTES
No. Wherever
I go, doors are shut to
me. [430]
MENELAUS
Which citizens are forcing you to leave?
ORESTES
Oeax, who holds my
father responsible
for that hateful war at Troy.
MENELAUS
I see.
He seeks revenge for Palamedes’
murder.15
ORESTES
I had no part of that—I’m being killed,
but that death is two removes from me.
MENELAUS
Who else?
Some of Aegisthus’ friends, I imagine?
ORESTES
They slander me. Now the city listens.
MENELAUS
Agamemnon’s sceptre—does the
city 510
let you keep it?
ORESTES
How could they do that?
They won’t let me stay alive.
MENELAUS
What will they do?
Can you give me a definite idea?
ORESTES
Today there’ll be a vote against
us.
[440]
MENELAUS
For you to leave the city? Or a vote
to kill or spare you?
ORESTES
For death by stoning
by all the citizens.
MENELAUS
Why not escape—
flee across the border?
ORESTES
We’re surrounded
by soldiers, fully
armed.
MENELAUS
Private enemies
or by a force of Argives?
ORESTES
The whole
city— 520
to make sure I die. There’s no more to
say.
MENELAUS
Poor wretch. You’re facing total disaster.
ORESTES
My hope to get out of this emergency
rests on you. You’ve come loaded with
success.
So share your prosperity with your
friends [450]
in desperate straits. Don’t accept the
benefits
and keep them for yourself alone. Take on,
in your turn, a portion of these troubles,
paying back my father’s kindnesses for
those
to whom you have an obligation. Those
friends 530
who, when misfortune comes, aren’t there to help
are friends in name but not in deed.
[Enter Tyndareus with
attendants]
CHORUS LEADER
Look—
the Spartan Tyndareus
is coming here,
shuffling on his old legs, wearing black robes,
with short hair, in mourning for his daughter.
ORESTES
I’m done for, Menelaus. Look at this—
Tyndareus is coming up
to
us. [460]
I feel particularly ashamed to come
into his sight because of what I’ve done.
For he raised me when I was
still a child. 540
He filled my life with love and carried me,
the child of Agamemnon, in his arms.
And Leda did the same. They honoured me
no less than they did those twins from Zeus.16
O my miserable heart and spirit!
I have not paid them back a good return.
What darkness can I find to hide my face?
What sort of cloud can I set in front of me
to escape the eyes of that old man?
[Tyndareus and his
attendants move up to the palace]
TYNDAREUS
Where can I catch a glimpse of
Menelaus,
550
[470]
my daughter’s husband? Where? I was
pouring
libations on the grave of Clytaemnestra
when I heard he’d arrived at Nauplia
with his wife, home safe after all these years.
Take me to him. I want to stand beside him,
on his right hand, and greet him as a friend
whom I’m seeing again after all these years.
MENELAUS
Welcome, old man whose head shared the same bed
as Zeus himself.
TYNDAREUS
Welcome to you, too,
Menelaus, my kinsman. Ah, it’s
bad 560
we don’t know what it is the future brings.
Here’s that dragon snake who
killed his mother,
right outside the house, with his eyes
flashing [480]
that sick glitter—an abomination to me.
Menelaus, you’re not talking to him,
not to that impious wretch?
MENELAUS
Why would I not?
He’s the son of a father whom I loved.
TYNDAREUS
His natural son? And he turned out like this?
MENELAUS
Yes, he’s his son by birth. If he’s in
trouble,
I must respect him.
TYNDAREUS
You’re a
barbarian— 570
you’ve been so long among the savages.
MENELAUS
In Greece we always honour relatives.
TYNDAREUS
And we don’t wish to be above the law.
MENELAUS
But among those with some intelligence
anything that’s forced is something slavish.
TYNDAREUS
You hold to that. I’ll not subscribe to it.
MENELAUS
Your anger and old age are not being wise.
TYNDAREUS
What’s a dispute about such foolishness
have to do with him? If what’s good or bad
is plain to all, who has been more
stupid 580
than this fellow? He didn’t figure out
what justice required. Nor did he turn to
the common practices among the Greeks.
When Agamemnon took his final breath,
after my daughter struck him on his head—
a shameful act, which I never will defend—
he should have gone after just
punishment [500]
for bloodshed and followed what’s appropriate
in our religion, throwing his mother
out of the house. He would’ve won
himself, 590
instead of this disaster, some
credit
for moderation. And he’d have followed
the law and been a righteous man. But now,
he’s come to the same fate as his mother.
He was right to think that she was wicked,
but he’s made himself more evil killing her.
I’ll ask you this question, Menelaus.
If a man’s wedded wife should murder him
and the son, in his turn, killed his
mother,
[510]
and after that the son pay for the
murder 600
with his death, where will these disasters end?
Our ancestors dealt with these issues well.
They did not let a man with bloody hands
come in their sight or cross their
path. Instead,
they purified him, not by killing him
as a punishment, no, they banished him.
Otherwise, the man who has pollution
on his hands last is always going to face
his own murder. I hate an evil
woman,
especially my daughter who
slaughtered 610 [520]
her own husband. And I’ll never approve
of Helen, your wife, or even speak to her.
I don’t think much of your voyage to Troy
for the sake of that worthless woman.
But with all my power I’ll defend the law
to put an end to this bestial killing,
which always destroys the land and city.
[Tyndareus moves up to
Orestes]
You miserable
creature, what was in your mind
when your mother exposed her breasts to
you
and begged? I did not see that
dreadful
sight, 620
but still my ancient eyes dissolve in
tears.
And there’s one thing which supports my
case— [530]
the gods do hate you, and you’re being
punished
for your mother with roaming fits of fear
and madness. Why do I need to attend
to
other witnesses, when I can see it
for myself? So you should keep this in
mind,
Menelaus—don’t act against the gods
by wanting to assist this man. Let
him
be stoned to death by the
citizens, 630
or else don’t set foot on Spartan land.
My daughter’s dead. And that deed was
just.
But she should not have died at that man’s
hand.
I was born a fortunate man in all
things [540]
except my
daughters. There I’ve been unlucky.
CHORUS LEADER
The man who’s fortunate in his children,
who does not get ones which bring on him
notorious trouble—that’s a man to envy.
ORESTES
I’m afraid to talk to you, old man,
at a time when I’m bound to pain your
heart. 640
Let your age, which hinders me from speaking,
be set aside, and I’ll
proceed. But now,
your gray hair makes me too hesitant.
I know my mother’s murder has made me
unholy, and yet, in another sense,
a pious man who avenged his
father. [550]
What should I have
done? Set these two things
against each other. My father planted me,
your daughter bore me—she was the plough
land
who received the seed from someone
else. 650
Without a father there would never be
a child. I reasoned that I ought to take
the side of the one who gave me being,
rather than the woman who undertook
to raise me. Now your daughter—I’m ashamed
to call her mother—went to a man’s bed
in a private and an unwise marriage.
When I say bad things against her, I speak
against myself, but nonetheless I
will.
[560]
At home Aegisthus was her secret
husband. 660
I killed the man, and then I sacrificed
my mother. I did an unholy act,
but I did get vengeance for my father.
As for the reasons you now threaten me
with death by stoning, you should listen to
how I am benefiting all of Greece.
If women grow so bold they start to kill
their husbands and then seek to find safety
with their children, fishing for
sympathy
with their breasts, they’d start killing
husbands 670
for any reason and would pay no
price.
[570]
You claim I committed a
dreadful crime,
but I’ve put an end to practices like that.
I hated my mother and killed her justly.
She betrayed her husband, who was away
with the army, commander of all Greeks,
and didn’t keep his bed free of dishonour.
When she understood the mistake she’d made
she didn’t face up to the penalty.
No. In order to escape being
punished, 680
she murdered my father. By the gods!
It’s not a good thing to recall the gods
in a defence against a charge of murder,
but if by saying nothing I
endorsed [580]
my mother’s act, what would the murdered man
have done to me? Would he now hate me
and terrify me with his band of Furies?
Or does my mother have those goddesses
as her allies, but he does not,
although
he’s the one who’s been more greatly
wronged. 690
You’ve destroyed me, old man—yes, you have—
you’re the father of a wicked daughter.
Thanks to her outrageous act, I have lost
a father and become my mother’s killer.
You notice Telemachus
did not kill
Odysseus’ wife, for she did not marry
husband after husband, and in their
home [590]
their bedroom remained quite unpolluted.
Do you see Apollo, who makes his
home
at earth’s navel stone and gives mortal
men 700
the clearest spoken words, whom we obey
in all he says—I was obeying him
when I killed my mother. Call him impious,
and kill him. It was his mistake, not mine.
What should I have done? Or is the god
not good enough to cleanse me of my crime
when I turn to him? Where else can one flee,
if he who commanded me to do it
cannot rescue me from death? So don’t
say
this action was not done
appropriately, 710 [600]
but rather that it didn’t work out well
for those who did it. Among mortal men,
when marriages are properly set up,
their life is blessed. But those whose
marriages
fall out badly have no luck, indoors and out.
CHORUS LEADER
Women by nature always interfere
in the affairs of men, with bad results.
TYNDAREUS
Since you speak so boldly and hide nothing,
but give me answers which will pain my heart,
you’ll spur me on to bring about your
death. 720
I’ll count that as an extra
benefit
[610]
in the work for which I came here, to dress
my daughter’s grave. I’ll go to the
Argives,
to their assembly, set them against you
and your sister, against their will or not—
you’ll pay the penalty, death by stoning.
She deserves to die even more than you.
She incited you against your mother,
always carrying stories for your ears
to make you hate her more, reporting
dreams 730
of Agamemnon and her sexual life
with Aegisthus—may gods
below the earth
despise it—it was bitter up here,
too,
[620]
until she set the house ablaze with flames
not kindled by Hephaestus. I tell you this,
Menelaus, and I will do it, too.
So if you give my hatred any weight
and my relationship to you through marriage,
don’t act in opposition to the gods—
do not protect this man from death. Leave
him 740
for the citizens to kill by stoning,
or don’t set foot on Spartan land. Listen,
and understand this well. You must not
choose
ungodly men as friends, pushing aside
the ones who act more righteously. You men,
lead me away. Take me from this house.
[Tyndareus and his
attendants leave]
ORESTES
Well, be off with you,
so that what I
say [630]
may reach this man without
interruption,
quite free from your old age. Menelaus,
why are you walking around, lost in
thought, 750
going back and forth, as if quite divided
in what you’re thinking?
MENELAUS
Leave me alone.
I’m debating with myself. I’m not sure
which course of action I should follow.
ORESTES
Don’t decide on what seems to be the case.
First listen to the things I have to say
and then make up your mind.
MENELAUS
You’re right. Speak up.
There are times when silence may be
better,
but there are also times when
speaking
is preferable to
silence.
ORESTES
Then I’ll speak. 760
A long speech is better than a short
one [640]
and it’s much clearer for the listener, too.
You don’t have to give me anything of yours,
Menelaus, just pay back what you took,
what you got from my father—not property,
that’s not what I mean. If you save my
life,
that’s the dearest thing I own. I’ve done
wrong.
To counter this bad act, I have to get
an unjust deed from you, for my father,
Agamemnon, did wrong when he
gathered 770
those Greeks to go to Troy, and not because
he made mistakes himself, no, but to
heal [650]
the error and injustice of your wife.17
And for this one act you should pay me back.
For he willingly sacrificed his life,
as family members should for those they love,
toiling hard in battle right beside you,
so you could have your wife back. Pay me
back
in the same way for what you received there,
working hard for just one day, not ten
years. 780
Stand up, and save me. As for what Aulis
took
with my sister slaughtered as a sacrifice,
I’ll let you have that. You don’t have to
kill
Hermione. For in my present
plight,
you must have the upper hand. That I grant.
But offer my poor father my own life
and my sister’s. For a
long time
now
[660]
she’s been unmarried, and if I die,
I’ll leave my father’s house without an heir.
You’ll say it can’t be done. But that’s the
point. 790
Kinsmen must help their friends when things are
bad.
When fortune gives success, what need of
friends?
When god is keen to help, then his assistance
is quite sufficient. All of Greece believes
you love your wife—and I’m not saying this [670]
to win your favour with mere flattery—
but I am appealing to you in her name.
O this wretched situation I am in!
How did I get into something like this?
What then? Well, I have to go through with
it. 800
I’m making this appeal for my whole house.
O uncle, you’re brother to my father.
Imagine if, from his grave, the dead man
is listening to this and if his spirit
is hovering above you and saying
what I say with these laments and tears
in this misfortune. I’ve given my speech
and pleaded to be saved, chasing after
what all men seek, not just myself alone.
CHORUS LEADER
Although I’m just a woman, I too beg
you 810 [680]
to help these people when they’re in such need.
You have the power to do that.
MENELAUS
Orestes,
I do respect you, and I want to share
these troubles with you. Besides, it’s
right
to help one’s family members in bad times,
if god gives one the power, by killing
their enemies and even dying oneself.
I need to get that power from the gods.
I’m here without a group of fighting spearmen,
after roaming through thousands of
troubles
820
with the small help of my surviving
friends. [690]
In any fight we could
not overcome
Pelasgian
Argos. If we could prevail
with reassuring words, then that’s where
I’d place my hopes. For how can any man
achieve great things with small resources?
It’s foolishness to even wish for that.
For when people fall into a frenzy
it’s like a blazing fire, hard to put out.
If one, in responding to the
tension, 830
gently eases off one’s grip, backs away,
and times things right, it may blow itself out.
If the winds die down, you could easily
get [700]
whatever you want from them. For people
do have pity, as well as their great passion,
a quality of utmost value to the man
who looks for it. And so on your behalf
I’ll go and try to convince Tyndareus
and the city to act on their
passions
wisely. For a ship can take on
water 840
if the sheet is pulled too tight, but if
one eases off the rope, then that ship
will once more right itself. The god does
hate
excessive zeal, as do the citizens.
I must save you—I don’t deny the fact—
but by using cleverness, not by
force [710]
against a stronger group. I’d not save you
with power alone, as you perhaps may think.
It’s not easy to take a stand and win
with a single spear against the
troubles 850
which afflict you. It never was my style
to try to soften up the Argive state,
but now it must be done—the wise man
is a slave to circumstance.
[Menelaus and his attendants leave]
ORESTES
You’re useless,
except to head up an expedition
for a woman’s sake, the worst of men
in helping out your friends. Are you
turning
your back on me and running
off, [720]
so Agamemnon’s cause has disappeared?
O father, once things have turned out
badly 860
you have no friends. Alas, I’ve been
betrayed,
and there’s no longer any hope for me
of turning somewhere and escaping death
at Argive hands. For that Menelaus
was my refuge, my way of being saved.
[Pylades enters]
But I see Pylades, my greatest friend,
rushing here from Phocis. A welcome sight!
A man who can be trusted in hard times
is finer to behold than tranquil
waters
for men at sea.
PYLADES
I’ve come through the city, 870
and I had to move quickly once I
heard [730]
and clearly witnessed for myself the crowds
of citizens gathering there against you
and your sister so they can kills you both
without delay. What’s going on? How are
you?
What are you doing? Of people my own age,
friends and relatives, you are my favourite.
You’re all those things to me.
ORESTES
I am done for—
those few words make clear to you my
troubles.
PYLADES
Then you must do away with me as
well. 880
Friends share things in common.
ORESTES
Menelaus
is the worst of men to me and to my sister.
PYLADES
It’s natural enough that any man
with a bad wife should grow bad himself.
ORESTES
His coming here was as much help to me
as if he hadn’t come.
PYLADES
So it’s true then
that he’s arrived and landed here?
ORESTES
He took a while, but in no time at
all [740]
showed he was an enemy to his friends.
PYLADES
That wife of his—the nastiest of
women— 890
did he bring her on his ship?
ORESTES
No, not him.
She’s the one who brought him here.
PYLADES
Where is she, that one woman who destroyed
all those Achaeans?
ORESTES
She’s in my home—
if it’s all right to call it mine.
PYLADES
What did you say
to your father’s brother?
ORESTES
Not to just look on
while the townsfolk killed me and my sister.
PYLADES
By the gods, how did he respond to you?
That I’d like to know.
ORESTES
He was cautious—
the way false friends act with their
families. 900
PYLADES
What sort of excuses did he offer?
Once I know that, I’ll understand it all.
ORESTES
That man arrived—the one who has
produced [750]
those splendid daughters.
PYLADES
Ah, you mean Tyndareus.
I suppose he was all worked up at you
for his daughter’s sake?
ORESTES
Yes,
you have that right.
And Menelaus preferred family ties
with him instead of with my father.
PYLADES
So when he was here he lacked the
courage
to share your troubles.
ORESTES
No. He wasn’t
born 910
a warrior. He’s brave among the women.
PYLADES
So you’re in the gravest danger and must die?
ORESTES
The citizens must cast their votes on us
about the murder.
PYLADES
What must the vote decide?
Tell me. I’m growing fearful.
ORESTES
For life or death—
it’s not something that takes much time to say
though it involves something that lasts forever.
PYLADES
Leave the palace now, flee with your sister.
ORESTES
Do you not see how we are both being
watched,
[760]
with armed guards on every side?
PYLADES
I
noticed 920
streets in town blocked off by men with weapons.
ORESTES
We’re physically hemmed in, like a city
by its enemies.
PYLADES
You must ask me now
how I am doing, for I, too am quite destroyed.
ORESTES
By whom? This
would add further disasters
to the ones I face.
PYLADES
Strophius, my father,
has banished me—he was so furious
he sent me from the house.
ORESTES
What’s the charge
he’s leveling against you, something
private
or is it one the townsfolk share?
PYLADES
He
claims 930
it’s an unholy sacrilege to help you
in murdering your own mother.
ORESTES
That’s bad news.
It seems what’s hurting me is harming you,
as well.
PYLADES
It’s something I have to bear. I’ll not
act
like Menelaus.
ORESTES
But are you not
afraid [770]
Argos will want to kill you, just like me?
PYLADES
I’m not theirs to punish. I’m from Phocis.
ORESTES
The mob is nasty, when it has leaders
bent on doing wrong.
PYLADES
But when it’s controlled
by decent men, the decisions they
make 940
are always good.
ORESTES
All right. We must think this through,
working together.
PYLADES
What must we do?
ORESTES
What if I went and told the citizens . . .
PYLADES [interrupting]
. . . that what you did was just?
ORESTES
I sought revenge
for my father’s sake?
PYLADES
They might be happy
to grab hold of you.
ORESTES
Am I to cower down
and die without a word?
PYLADES
That’s cowardly.
ORESTES
Then what should I do?
PYLADES
If you stayed here,
would you have a way of being rescued?
ORESTES
No.
I don’t have anything.
PYLADES
And if you
left, 950
is there some hope you might be saved?
ORESTES
Perhaps— [780]
there might be.
PYLADES
That’s better than staying here, then.
ORESTES
All right, I’ll go.
PYLADES
At least that way, if you die,
you’ll die more nobly.
ORESTES
You’re right—this way
I won’t be a coward.
PYLADES
More than staying here.
ORESTES
And my action was right.
PYLADES
Just make a prayer
that’s how it looks to them.
ORESTES
And someone there
might pity me . . .
PYLADES [interrupting]
Yes, your noble birth
is a great asset.
ORESTES
. . . being
so upset
at my father’s death.
PYLADES
All that’s easy to see. 960
ORESTES
I have to go. It’s not a manly thing
to die a shameful death.
PYLADES
I agree with you.
ORESTES
Should we tell my sister?
PYLADES
By the gods, no.
ORESTES
There’d certainly be tears.
PYLADES
That’d be a serious omen.
ORESTES
It’s clear it’s better to say nothing.
PYLADES
And you’ll save time.
ORESTES
There’s just one problem for
me. [790]
PYLADES
What now? Are you talking of something new?
ORESTES
I’m worried the goddesses will stop me
with this madness.
PYLADES
But I’ll take care of you.
ORESTES
It’s unpleasant looking after someone
sick. 970
PYLADES
Not to me. Not when I’m looking after you.
ORESTES
Be careful you don’t start my madness.
PYLADES
Don’t worry over that.
ORESTES
You won’t hold back?
PYLADES
It’s a great evil to hold back with friends.
ORESTES
Then, you pilot of my steps, let’s go now.
PYLADES
That’s a service I’m glad to undertake.
ORESTES
And lead me to my father’s tomb.
PYLADES
Why there?
ORESTES
So I may appeal to him to save me.
PYLADES
That’s the righteous thing to
do.
ORESTES
May I not glimpse
the memorial to my mother!
PYLADES
No, not that. 980
She was your enemy. But you must hurry—
the vote the Argives cast may catch you first.
Lean your side that’s weakened by
disease [800]
against my side, so I can carry you
through town. I won’t be worrying about
the crowds or feeling any sense of shame.
For how can I show I’m a friend of yours
if I don’t help when you’re in serious
trouble?
ORESTES
That’s the point. Make sure you get good
comrades
and not just relatives. A man may
be 990
from somewhere else, but if he bonds with you
in how you act, then he’s a better friend,
than a thousand members of one’s family.
[Pylades and Orestes leave]
CHORUS
That great prosperity and lofty name
so proudly celebrated throughout
Greece
and there beside the waters of the Simois
has declined once more from the
success [810]
of Atreus’ sons so many years ago—
from an old misfortune in their house,
when strife came to the sons of
Tantalus 1000
about a golden ram, the saddest feasts
and slaughter of children nobly born,
that’s why murder moves on to murder
through blood and does not leave
alone
the double line of Atreus.18
What’s good is not
good, to slice
up [820]
a parent’s flesh with metal forged in fire
and to display in the sun’s light a sword
stained black with murdered blood. To
commit
a virtuous crime is sheer
profanity, 1010
the mad delusion of wrong-thinking men.
The wretched daughter of Tyndareus,
terrified of death, screamed at him, “My child,
don’t you dare carry out such sacrilege
and slaughter your own mother—in honouring
your father, don’t tie yourself to such
disgrace,
such shame which lasts for an
eternity.”
[830]
What affliction or
distress, what agony
in all the earth surpasses this, to have
on one’s own hands a mother’s murdered blood? 1020
For undertaking such a act,
the man
has been driven into fits of madness,
prey hunted by the Kindly Ones, his eyes
rolling in her whirling blood, the son
of Agamemnon. The miserable
wretch, [840]
when he saw his mother’s breast appear
above her dress, a robe of woven gold,
he made his own mother a
sacrifice
to avenge the sufferings of his father.
[Enter Electra from the house]
ELECTRA
You women, has poor Orestes left the
house, 1030
overcome by that madness from the gods?
CHORUS LEADER
No. He’s gone to the people in Argos,
to give himself up for
the vote they’ve set,
in which you two must live or die.
ELECTRA
Alas! Why did he do that? Who convinced
him?
[A Messenger appears, coming toward the house]
CHORUS LEADER
Pylades did. But
this messenger, it
seems,
[850]
will soon tell us news about your brother,
what happened to him there.
MESSENGER
You poor girl,
unhappy daughter of Agamemnon,
our army’s leader, lady
Electra, 1040
hear the disastrous news I bring you.
ELECTRA
Alas! We’re finished! Your words are
clear enough—
you’ve come, it seems, with disastrous news.
MESSENGER
Pelasgians have, in
their vote, decreed
that you, unhappy lady, are to die,
you and your brother on this very day.19
ELECTRA
Alas! What I been expecting has arrived—
I’ve been afraid of it a long time
now,
[860]
dissolved in sorrow for what might come true.
How was the trial? What did the Argives
say 1050
to convict us and ratify our deaths?
Tell me, old man, whether my life will end
by stoning or a sword—for I do share
in those misfortunes of my brother?
MESSENGER
I happened to be coming from the country
and was coming through the gates—I wanted
to find out about you and Orestes.
I always liked your father, and your house
gave me food. I was poor but
honourable
[870]
in helping out my friends. I saw a
crowd 1060
going up and sitting on the higher ground
where, they say, Danaus first gathered up
his people and they sat down together
to judge the charge against him by Aegyptus.20
Seeing the crowd, I asked a citizen,
What’s new in
Argos? Has some news report
about an enemy caused a great stir
in this city of Danaus’ descendants?
He said, “Don’t you see Orestes coming,
rushing to a trial where his life’s at
stake.” 1070
Then I saw something I did not expect—
how I wish I’d never seen it!—Pylades [880]
and your brother moving there together,
one with his head down and doubled over
by his infirmity and the other,
like a brother, sharing his friend’s troubles,
caring for his sickness as if he were
schooling a young boy. Once the Argives
had gathered in a crowd, a herald stood
and cried, “Who desires to make a
speech 1080
whether Orestes should be killed or not
for his mother’s murder?” Talthybius stood,
the man who helped your father
demolish
those Phrygians.21 He spoke ambiguously—
well, he’s always been a subordinate
of those in power—praising your
father [890]
but saying nothing good about your brother,
weaving good and misleading words together,
claiming it would be setting up bad laws
concerning parents, and all the
time 1090
he kept looking at Aegisthus’ friends
with those bright eyes of his. The herald
tribe
is like that—they’re always jumping over
to the side of the successful. Any man
who has ruling power in the city
is a friend of theirs. After he’d finished,
lord Diomedes
spoke. He was
against [900]
killing you or your brother but proposed
they act with reverence and as
punishment
use exile. Some of the people there roared
out 1100
that what he’d said was good, but then others
didn’t favour the idea. But after that,
a man stood up who can’t keep his mouth shut,
whose strength comes from his boldness—an
Argive,
but not from Argos—and forced himself on us
relying on bluster, ignorant free speech,
persuasive enough to get them involved
in some bad scheme or other. When a man
with bad intentions but a pleasing style
persuades a mob, that’s a great
disaster 1110
for the city, but those who always
give [910]
useful, sound advice, even if their words
are not immediately appropriate,
are beneficial later to the state.
That’s how one should view a party leader—
what happens with a man who gives a speech
is much the same as with a man in office.
Well, this man said that you and Orestes
should be stoned to death. But Tyndareus
was the one who laid down the
arguments 1120
the speaker used to urge you both be killed.
Another man stood up opposing him.
He wasn’t much to look at physically,
but the man had courage. He rarely came
into the city and the market place.
He was a farmer—they’re the only
ones [920]
who keep our country going—but clever
and keen to wrestle with the argument,
someone with integrity, who lived a
life
beyond reproach. He said they should
crown 1130
Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, who wished
to avenge his father, who’d been murdered
by an abominable, godless woman—
she’d stop men taking up their weapons
and fighting foreign wars, if those people
who stayed behind corrupted things at home
by abusing the men’s wives. What he said
appeared convincing, at least to decent
folk. [930]
There were no
other speakers. Your brother
then came up and said, “You who are the
heirs 1140
of Inachus, who were Pelasgians
so long ago, then sons of Danaus,
I was fighting on your behalf, no less
than for my father, when I killed my mother.
For if the fact that women murder men
is permitted, you’ll be dead in no time,
or else we’ll have to be the women’s slaves—
and you’ll be doing the very opposite
of what you should be doing. As it is,
the woman who betrayed my father’s
bed 1150
is dead, but if you execute me
now,
[940]
the law would be relaxed, and men will die
as fast as possible—there’ll be no lack
of such audacity.” His speech was good,
but he could not convince the crowd. Instead,
the verdict of the entire group was for
the nasty rogue who spoke out in favour
of executing you and your brother.
Poor Orestes just managed to persuade
them
not to stone him to death, by
promising 1160
to end his life, to die by his own hand,
along with you, as well, this very day.
Pylades, in tears, is
bringing him here
from the assembly. His friends are
coming,
[950]
weeping and lamenting. This spectacle,
so painful for you, is heading this way,
a distressing sight. Get your swords ready
or a noose around your neck—you must leave
the light. Your noble birth has been no
help.
Nor has Phoebus in Delphi, seated
there 1170
on his tripod. Instead he has destroyed
you.
[The Messenger leaves]
CHORUS LEADER
O you unfortunate girl, you’re speechless,
with your clouded face bent toward the
ground,
as if you’ll rush to cry and make laments.
ELECTRA
O Pelasgia, now I
start to
weep, [960]
pushing white nails through my cheeks,
blood lacerations, and striking my head,
actions appropriate to Persephone,
lovely child goddess of the world below.
Let the Cyclopian land
now wail
aloud 1180
the sorrows of this house, setting iron
against its head to shave it close.22
Pity, yes, pity now comes forward
for those who are about to die,
once war leaders of the
Greeks. [970]
It’s gone—the entire
race of Pelops,
passed away and gone, all the glory
that once made it a blessed house.
Envy from the gods seized them—
and that hateful vote for
blood 1190
among the citizens. Alas, alas,
you tribes of men bowed down with work,
who live a brief life full of tears,
see how Fate moves to thwart your hopes.
As time run on at length, different men
take turns with different
troubles,
[980]
and all of human life remains uncertain.
If only I could
reach that boulder
hanging in the
winds on chains of gold
mid way between the earth and
heaven, 1200
that fragment carried from Olympus,
so I could shout out my laments
to old father Tantalus, who sired
and made my house’s ancestors.
the ones who witnessed such disasters—
the race of flying horses, when Pelops
in a four-horse chariot raced to the
sea [990]
and murdered Myrtilus
by hurling him
into the ocean swell, driving his chariot
near Geraestus, where
the surging
sea 1210
foams white along the shore.23
From that there came upon my house
a dreadful curse, when Maia’s son
arranged a birth within the flocks,
the lamb with a fleece of gold,
ominous portent of the ruin
of horse-breeding
Atreus.
[1000]
Because of that, Strife then reversed
Sun’s winged chariot to a western path
across the sky by placing under
yoke 1220
the snow-white horses of the Dawn
and Zeus changed onto another path
the moving seven-tracked Pleiades.24
Death followed death at that banquet
to which Thyestes gave his name
and the bed of Aerope
from Crete,
a traitor in her deceitful marriage.25 [1010]
The final chapter comes
with me
and with my father in these troubles,
all these afflictions laid on our
house. 1230
[Pylades and Orestes
enter]
CHORUS LEADER
Look, here comes your brother, condemned to
die
by general vote, and with him Pylades,
the truest of all men, like a brother,
guiding his sick limbs, treading carefully
like a pace horse giving its support.
ELECTRA
Alas! My brother, I’m seeing you here
before your tomb, confronting face to face
the gates of those below, and I weep.
Alas, once more! This
last sight of
you [1020]
before my eyes will make me lose my mind. 1240
ORESTES
Why can’t you just be quiet and finish off
these womanish laments for what’s been done?
It’s pitiful, but still you must endure
the circumstances we now face.
ELECTRA
But how
can I stay silent? We poor sufferers
will no longer see the sun god’s light.
ORESTES
Don’t be so tedious. It’s quite enough
that I’ll be suffering a wretched death
at Argive hands. So just set aside
your present sorrow.
ELECTRA
Alas for your sad youth, 1250
Orestes, and for your early death.
You should live on, but now you’ll be no
more.
[1030]
ORESTES
By the gods, you’ll strip me of my manhood—
by bringing our calamities to mind
you’ll have me crying.
ELECTRA
We’re going to die.
It’s impossible not to grieve for that.
It’s pitiful. To all men life is
sweet.
ORESTES
This is our appointed day. So we must
sharpen a sword or fix a hanging noose.
ELECTRA
Then you kill me, my brother, so no
Argive 1260
executes me and starts
hurling insults
at Agamemnon’s children.
ORESTES
I won’t kill you.
It’s enough to have my mother’s blood on me.
No. You must die by your own hand
somehow— [1040]
in whatever way you wish.
ELECTRA
All right, then.
I won’t lag behind you with my sword.
But I want to hug you around your neck
ORESTES
Enjoy that empty pleasure, if embraces
bring any joy to those about to die.
ELECTRA [embracing Orestes]
O my dearest one! O that longed-for
name, 1270
so very sweet to your own sister—
whose spirit is one with yours.
ORESTES
You’ll melt my heart.
I want to respond to you with loving arms.
And why should a wretch like me still feel
shame?
[Orestes embraces Electra]
Ah, my sister’s
heart, how I love holding you!
For us in our misery these
pleasures
[1050]
replace our children and a marriage bed.
ELECTRA
If only the same sword could kill us both,
if that’s permitted, and one burial
chamber
made of cedar wood receive us
both. 1280
ORESTES
That would be very sweet. But you do see
we’re short of friends who’d let us share a
tomb.
ELECTRA
Did that coward Menelaus, the one
who betrayed my father, not speak out
on your behalf, making some attempt
to stop you being killed?
ORESTES
Not at all—
he didn’t even show his face. His hopes
were on the sceptre, so he was careful
not to save the members of his family.
But come now, as we move to our
deaths 1290 [1060]
let’s act bravely, in a way that’s worthy
of Agamemnon. So I, for my part,
will show the city I am nobly born,
when I push the sword into my liver.
You, in turn, must match my courage.
Pylades, you must
supervise our deaths—
when we’re dead, dress our bodies properly.
Carry them to our father’s burial mound
and bury us together. So
farewell.
I’m on my way to do it, as you
see. 1300
[Orestes starts to move into the house]
PYLADES
Hold on! There’s first something I blame
you for—
if you believed I’d want to go on
living
[1070]
after you were dead.
ORESTES
Why is it right
that you should die with me?
PYLADES
You’re asking that?
How can I live without you as my friend?
ORESTES
You didn’t kill your mother, as I did,
to my misfortune.
PYLADES
I acted with you.
For that I should have to suffer
something.
ORESTES
Surrender your body to your father.
Don’t die with me. You still have a
city. 1310
I do not. You have your father’s house
and the safety of great wealth. You failed
to marry my poor sister, as I promised
out of a sense of our companionship.
But you must take another marriage
bed [1080]
and have children. The family bonds we had
no longer hold with you and me. Be happy,
beloved face of my great friend. For
us
that is impossible, but you can be—
we dead lack any sources of delight. 1320
PYLADES
How far you are from understanding
what my intentions are. May fruitful earth
refuse to take my blood and the bright sky
my spirit, if ever I betray you,
if I let myself go free and leave you.
I did the murder, too. I don’t deny it.
And I planned all those things for which you
now [1090]
are paying the penalty. And so I must
go to my death along with you and her.
Since I consented to the
marriage, 1330
I consider her my wife. What would I say
if I ever came to the land of Delphi,
and reached the high citadel of Phocis,
if I’d been your friend before your troubles
but was no longer any friend of yours
now you’re in this distress? I can’t do
that.
I’m involved in this, as well. Since we’ll
die
let’s see if we can find a way together
to make Menelaus miserable as well.
ORESTES
My dearest friend, if only I could
see 1340 [1100]
something like that before I die.
PYLADES
Then listen.
You must postpone this sword blow.
ORESTES
I will,
if I can get even with my enemy.
PYLADES [indicating the Chorus]
Be quiet. I don’t
have much confidence
in these women.
ORESTES
Don’t worry about them.
These women here are friends of ours.
PYLADES
Let’s murder Helen—for Menelaus
that would be a bitter pain.
ORESTES
But how?
I’m prepared to do it, if there’s a
chance
we’d pull it off.
PYLADES
By hacking her to death. 1350
She’s hiding in your house.
ORESTES
That’s true enough.
In fact, she’s stamping her seal on everything.
PYLADES
Not any more. She’s engaged to Hades.
ORESTES
How do we do it? She has
attendants— [1110]
those barbarians.
PYLADES
What do they matter?
I’m not afraid of any Phrygians.
ORESTES
The kind of men who
take care of mirrors
and look after perfumes!
PYLADES
Did she come here
bringing the luxuries of Troy with her?
ORESTES
Oh yes. For
her Greece is too small a
space 1360
to live in.
PYLADES
The race of slaves is nothing
compared to those who’re free.
ORESTES
If I do this,
I’m not afraid of dying
twice.
PYLADES
Nor am I,
if I’m getting my revenge for you.
ORESTES
Explain the plan—keep
on describing
what you were talking about.
PYLADES
We’ll go in,
inside the house, as if we’re on our way
to kill ourselves.
ORESTES
I understand that part.
[1120]
But I don’t get the rest.
PYLADES
We’ll parade our grief
for what we’re suffering in front of
her.
1370
ORESTES
So she’ll begin to weep, though on the
inside
she’ll be overjoyed.
PYLADES
Then the state she’s in
will match our own.
ORESTES
After that, what do we do
according to our plan?
PYLADES
We’ll have swords
hidden in our clothes.
ORESTES
And her attendants—
do we kill them first?
PYLADES
We’ll lock them up
in different places in the house
ORESTES
And anyone
who won’t keep quiet we’ll have to kill.
PYLADES
Once that’s done, the job itself will tell us
where we direct our efforts.
ORESTES
Helen’s murder. 1380
[1130]
I know what that means.
PYLADES
That’s right.
Now listen to how well I’ve planned this out.
If we drew our swords against a woman
with greater moderation, the killing
would be notorious, but as it is,
she’ll pay the penalty to all of Greece—
she killed their fathers, destroyed their
children,
and robbed married women of their husbands—
there’ll be shouts of joy, people lighting fires
to the gods and calling many blessings
down
1390
on you and me for carrying out the murder
of such an evil woman. With her death
you won’t be called “killer of your
mother”— [1140]
you’ll move past that and find a better name.
They’ll call you killer of Helen, the one
who slaughtered thousands. It can’t be
right,
it never would be right for Menelaus
to keep being successful while your father,
your sister, and yourself go to their deaths,
and your mother . . . but I’ll avoid that
subject
1400
as something indelicate to mention,
or for him to have your house—after all,
it was thanks to Agamemnon’s spear
he got his wife back. May I stop living
if we don’t pull out our swords against her!
If we don’t succeed in killing Helen,
before we die we’ll set the house on
fire.
[1150]
We won’t fail to win at
least one glory—
a noble death or a fine salvation.
CHORUS LEADER
Tyndareus’ daughter disgraced
her
sex 1410
and justly earned the hatred of all women.
ORESTES
Ah me, a true friend—there’s nothing better,
not wealth or sovereignty. One cannot count
what one would exchange for a noble friend.
You’re the one who devised those nasty things
against Aegisthus, then stayed at my side
when danger threatened. And
now once
again
[1160]
you’re offering me a way of punishing
my enemies and are not running off.
But I’ll stop praising you—excessive
praise 1420
can prove a burden. Now, in any case,
since my spirit is going to breathe its last,
I want to do something to my enemies
before I die, so I can demolish,
in their turn, those who were traitors to me
and make those who made me suffer grieve.
Yes, I was born son of Agamemnon,
who was considered worthy to rule Greece.
He was no tyrant yet had god-like strength.
I will not disgrace him, going to my
death 1430 [1170]
as if I were a slave. No. My life
force
I shall release quite freely. And I’ll take
revenge on Menelaus. If we could get
just one thing, we could get lucky—some way
to save ourselves despite all expectations
might fall our way from somewhere, so we’d kill
and not get killed ourselves. I pray for
that.
It’s sweet to talk about what I desire
in words with wings which cheer my spirit
and don’t cost anything.
ELECTRA
Brother, I
think 1440
I’ve got the very thing you’re praying for,
a way of rescuing the three of us,
you, him, and me.
ORESTES
You mean divine good will?
That can’t be it, because I know your
mind [1180]
is too intelligent for that.
ELECTRA
Just listen—
and you, Pylades, pay
attention, too.
ORESTES
All right, talk. The idea that there’s good
news
makes me feel good.
ELECTRA
You know Helen’s daughter?
Of course, you do.
ORESTES
Yes, I know Hermione.
My mother raised her.
ELECTRA
Well, she’s gone
off 1450
to Clytaemnestra’s
grave.
ORESTES
What’s she doing there?
What hope are you suggesting?
ELECTRA
She’s gone to pour
libations on our mother’s burial mound.
ORESTES
How does what you’ve said help us to safety?
ELECTRA
Seize her on her way back. Make her a
hostage.
ORESTES
We three here are friends—so what
remedy
[1190]
are you suggesting for us?
ELECTRA
Once Helen’s dead,
if Menelaus tries to do something
to you or him or me—for this friendship
unites us all as one—tell
him you’ll
kill 1460
Hermione. You must pull out your sword
and hold it here, across the young girl’s
throat.
Once Menelaus sees Helen collapsed
in her own blood, if he tries to save you,
because he doesn’t want the girl to die,
then let her father have Hermione back,
but if his passions get the best of him
and he seeks your death, cut the young girl’s
neck.
I think he’ll put on quite a show at
first,
[1200]
but soon enough his temper will calm
down. 1470
He’s not a bold courageous man by nature.
That’s the defence I have to rescue us.
That’s it. I’m finished.
ORESTES
You’ve got a man’s heart,
though your body shows that you’re a woman.
How much more you deserve to
stay alive
than die. Pylades,
it would be bad luck
if you were to lose a woman like this,
but if you live, you’ll be a happy man
to share her marriage bed.
PYLADES
I hope that happens.
May she come to the city of
Phocis 1480
full honoured with fine wedding
songs! [1210]
ORESTES
How long before Hermione gets home?
All the things you said were really good,
provided we succeed in seizing her,
that whelp of a sacrilegious father.
ELECTRA
I expect she’s already near the house,
judging from the length of time she’s taken.
ORESTES
Good. Now,
Electra, you remain right here.
Wait in front of the house for her return.
And keep an eye out, in case
anyone— 1490
my uncle or one of his associates—
comes too near the house before the
murder. [1220]
If so, make a signal to
those inside,
by knocking on the door or sending word.
Pylades, we’ll go in
and arm ourselves,
get swords in hand to finish this last fight—
you’ll help me in carrying out the work.
O father living at home in murky night,
your son Orestes is summoning you
to come and stand by those who need your
help. 1500
In this distress I’m suffering injustice
for your sake. I’ve acted righteously,
but I’ve been betrayed by your own brother
Now I wish to take his
wife and kill her—
be our accomplice in this
act. [1230]
ELECTRA
O father,
do come, if from there beneath the earth
you hear the calls of your own children
who are dying for your sake.
PYLADES
O Agamemnon,
my father’s kinsman, hear
my prayers as well—
save your children.
ORESTES
I murdered by mother . . . 1510
ELECTRA
I handed him the sword . . .
PYLADES
I urged him on
and overcame his hesitation.
ORESTES
I was defending you, father.
ELECTRA
And I
did not betray you.
PYLADES
Surely you’ll listen
to these reproaches and save your
children.
ORESTES
I’m pouring a libation to you in my tears.
ELECTRA
And I with my laments.
PYLADES
Stop this
now. [1240]
Let’s get to
work. If it’s true that prayers
do pierce the ground, then he is listening.
O ancestral Zeus and holy
Justice, 1520
grant success to him, to her, to me,
to three friends facing a single struggle,
a single punishment—we all will live,
or pay the price and die.
[Orestes and Pylades
enter the house. Electra turns to face the Chorus]
ELECTRA
O you women of Mycenae, my friends,
among the first ranks of those who live
in the Argives’ Pelasgian
home.
CHORUS LEADER
What is it you want to say, my lady?
You still retain this title in the
city
[1250]
where the sons of Danaus
live. 1530
ELECTRA
Place yourselves where you can watch the house—
some of you there on the chariot roadway,
some of you here along the other path.
CHORUS LEADER
Why are you calling me to do these tasks?
Tell me, dear girl.
ELECTRA
I’m afraid someone
may come across the murderous bloodshed
in the house and witness new disasters
to add to old calamities.
FIRST SEMI-CHORUS
Let’s hurry on our way.
Let’s go. I’ll stand guard on this pathway,
the one towards the east.
SECOND SEMI-CHORUS
And I’ll guard this
road, 1540 [1260]
the one towards the west.
ELECTRA
Keep your eyes moving
back and forth, checking on both sides.
CHORUS
Back and forth, then once more back again—
I’m following what you said.
ELECTRA
Keep your eyes alert.
Let them see everything through that hair of
yours.
FIRST SEMI-CHORUS
Who’s that man approaching down the road?
What country fellow’s wandering round your
home? [1270]
ELECTRA
We’re lost, my friends! He’ll tell our
enemies
about those predators with swords in there—
and do so right away.
SECOND SEMI-CHORUS
Calm your fears, my dear. 1550
It’s not what you think—the path is empty.
ELECTRA
What’s going on? Is your side still clear
for me?
Give me a report if it’s all right,
if there’s no one there by the front courtyard.
FIRST SEMI-CHORUS
It’s fine here. Just keep watching on your
side.
None of Danaus’ sons is moving toward us.
SECOND SEMI-CHORUS
Same thing over here. And there’s no
noise.
[1280]
ELECTRA
All right. I’ll try listening at the
doorway.
It’s so quiet. You there inside the house,
why the delay in bloodying your
victim? 1560
They can’t hear. Alas, this looks bad for me!
Has her loveliness made their swords grow blunt?
Soon some armed man will be rushing here,
coming from the Argives to rescue
her
[1290]
and attack the house. Keep better guard.
This is not a contest in sitting still.
You women circle around over there,
you others over there.
CHORUS
I shift around—
I’m looking everywhere along the road.
[Helen screams from inside the house]
HELEN [within]
O Pelasgian
Argos! I’m being
butchered! 1570
CHORUS [speaking as separate individuals]
—Did you hear
that? The men have set their hands
to killing.
—That’s Helen screaming. That’s my guess.
ELECTRA
O Zeus, O eternal power of Zeus—
just come and help my
friends.
[1300]
HELEN [within]
Menelaus, I’m dying—you’re close by
but you won’t help me!
ELECTRA
Slaughter her, finish her off!
Destroy her! Let your two swords
slash her with their double blades,
the one who left her
father, 1580
left her husband, and butchered
so many Greeks, killed by spears
beside the river bank, where tears
and then more tears were shed,
with iron weapons all around
the whirling waters of Scamander.26 [1310]
CHORUS LEADER
Be quiet! Don’t say a thing! I hear
the sound
of someone coming along the pathway,
near the house.
ELECTRA
You women, dearest friends,
Hermione’s coming, while the
murder’s 1590
still going on. We must stop
shouting. She’ll walk
headlong into the meshes of our net.
Our catch will be a fine one, if she’s caught.
Go back to your positions once again.
Keep your looks serene. Don’t let your colour
reveal what’s happened. I’ll keep my eyes
looking sad, as if I had no
knowledge
[1320]
of what’s been done.
[Hermione enters, coming towards the house]
ELECTRA
Ah my girl, have you come
from placing wreaths on Clytaemnestra’s
grave
and pouring out libations to the
dead? 1600
HERMIONE
Once I obtained her favour, I returned.
But a certain fear has come over me—
when I was still some distance from the house
I heard some screaming coming from inside.
ELECTRA
Is that so strange? What’s happening to us
deserves such cries of sorrow.
HERMIONE
Don’t say bad things.
What news have you to
speak of?
ELECTRA
The state
decrees Orestes and myself must die.
HERMIONE
No, no! You’re my blood relatives!
ELECTRA
It’s
done. [1330]
We’re strapped under
necessity’s harsh
yoke. 1610
HERMIONE
Was that why someone screamed inside the house?
ELECTRA
A suppliant cried out as he fell down
at Helen’s knees.
HERMIONE
Who was it? Tell me—
if you don’t, I won’t know any details.
ELECTRA
It was poor Orestes. He was begging
not to die—and for me, as well.
HERMIONE
The house
has a good reason then
to cry aloud.
ELECTRA
What other better reason could there be
for someone to scream about? But come now,
join your relatives in their
entreaties, 1620
prostrating yourself before your mother,
now she enjoys such great prosperity,
so Menelaus will not see us die.
You who were nursed in my own mother’s
arms,
[1340]
have pity on us and assist us now
in our distress. Enter the struggle here.
I’ll lead you in myself, for you alone
are our last hope of rescue.
HERMIONE
Watch me—
my feet are hurrying towards the house.
As far as it lies within my
power, 1630
may you be safe.
[Hermione enters the palace]
ELECTRA
You friends inside the
house—
why not take your swords and seize your prey?
HERMIONE [from within the house]
O no! Who are these men I see?
ORESTES [from within]
Silence!
You’ve come to save us, not yourself.
ELECTRA [at the doorway, looking in]
Grab her!
Hold her down! Put your sword across her
throat—
[1350]
and keep quiet, so Menelaus will know
he’s met some men, not Phrygian cowards,
and has been dealt with as bad men deserve.
[Electra enters the house]
CHORUS
O friends, begin the rhythmic beat,
the noise and shouts, before the
house,
1640
so that this murder, once complete,
may not inspire a dreadful fear
among the Argives and they run here
to help the royal house, not before
I see for certain Helen’s dead
and lying in blood there in the house
or hear the news from her attendant.
I know a part of what’s gone on,
but there are things I do not
know. [1360]
Justice from the gods has rightly
come 1650
with retribution now to Helen—
because she filled all Greece with tears
thanks to that accursed destroyer,
Paris from Ida, who led Greeks to Troy.
CHORUS LEADER
The bolts on the palace doors are creaking.
Be quiet. One of the Phrygians
is coming out. We’ll find out from him
how things are going inside.
[A Phrygian enters, quite terrified. He chants or
sings his first speeches]27
PHRYGIAN
I’ve fled death from an Argive sword
by scrambling in my Asian
slippers 1660 [1370]
over bedroom cedar ceiling beams
and the Doric carvings on the frieze
Ruined! Gone! O earth, earth,
in my barbarian flight! Alas for me!
You strange ladies, how can I flee—
by flying up through the shining sky
or out to sea, which bull-headed Ocean,
as he rolls in circles round the earth,
holds in his arms’ embrace?
CHORUS LEADER
What’s going on,
you slave of Helen, creature from
Ida? 1670 [1380]
PHRYGIAN
Ilion, O Ilion! O woe is me
city of Phrygia, Ida’ sacred hill
with its rich earth, how I lament
with my barbarian cries your ruin,
funereal melodies and dirges,
because the vision of loveliness
born from a swan-feathered bird,
Leda’s lion cub, that hellish Helen,
that evil Helen, avenging fury
for Apollo’s polished
citadel. 1680
Alas! Alas, for these
laments, [1390]
these dirges for Dardania,
for the horsemanship of Ganymede
Zeus’ sexual partner in his bed.28
CHORUS LEADER
Tell us what’s happening inside the house,
clearly and in detail. Your words so far
are difficult for me to understand.
PHRYGIAN
O Linus, Linus—as barbarians say
in their Asian tongue, once death begins,
whenever royal blood spills on the
earth 1690
from iron swords of Hades. They came
there, [1400]
inside the house—I’m giving you each detail—
twin lions of Greece, one who was called
the commander’s son, the other one
the son of Stophius,
with a wicked mind,
just like Odysseus, a silent traitor,
but faithful to his friends, bold in a fight,
clever in war, a deadly serpent. Damn him
for his quiet deviousness, the scoundrel!
They came in, up to where she was
sitting, 1700
the woman archer Paris married,
faces [1410]
wet with tears, and humbly crouched down there,
one on either side, keeping her hemmed in.
They threw their suppliant arms around her
knees—
both laid hands on Helen. Then on the run
her Phrygian servants came rushing up,
each calling to the others in their fear
that it might be a trick. To some of
them [1420]
it looked all right, but it seemed to others
that the snake who murdered his own
mother 1710
was entangling the child of Tyndareus
in a devious plot to snare her.
CHORUS LEADER
Where were you?
Had you run off in terror long before that?
PHRYGIAN
It so chanced that I, as a Phrygian,
was following Phrygian fashions
and with a circular feathered fan
was wafting breezes, breezes by the curls
of Helen, on Helen’s cheeks—a habit
we barbarians have. She was twisting
yarn [1430]
wrapping her fingers round the
spindle. 1720
The thread was falling down onto the floor.
With those Phrygian spoils she wished to make
some purple clothes, a gift for Clytaemnestra,
to adorn her tomb. Orestes then spoke up
and called out to the Spartan girl, “Child of
Zeus,
leave your chair and stand up over
here, [1440]
by the ancient hearth of Pelops,
our ancestor,
so you can hear the words I have to say.”
He led her, yes led her, and she followed—
she had no idea what he was
planning.
1730
His partner, that evil man from Phocis,
moved off, going about some other business.
“You Phrygian cowards,
leave—go somewhere else!”
Then he locked them up in different places
all through the house—some in the stables,
some in the porticoes—some here, some
there, [1450]
leaving them in various locations
some distance from their mistress.
CHORUS LEADER
Then what happened?
PHRYGIAN
Mother of Ida! O sacred mother,
holy one! O the murderous
suffering, 1740
the lawless evil I saw there, I witnessed
in the royal palace. Their hands pulled
swords
out from the darkness of their purple robes,
rolling their eyes back and forth, here and
there,
to check that no one else was there. They
stood,
like mountain boars, facing the woman
there, [1460]
and said, “You’ll die. You’ll
die. Your evil mate
is the one who’s killing you—he betrayed
his brother’s family to die in Argos.”
She screamed, she howled, “Alas for
me!” 1750
and beat her white forearm against her breast
and struck her fist against her wretched head.
Then she ran off—on golden-sandaled feet
she rushed off, she fled. But then Orestes,
jumping ahead in his Mycenaean
boots, [1470]
shoved his fingers in her hair, bent her neck
on his left shoulder, and was quite prepared
to drive his black sword right into her throat.
CHORUS LEADER
Where were you Phrygian household servants
to defend her?
PHRYGIAN
We yelled—then
with crowbars
1760
battered the doors and door posts in the rooms
where we’d been held and ran from every spot
to her assistance. One man carried stones,
one had spears, and one held a drawn sword.
But Pylades came at us
without fear,
just like Trojan Hector or like
Ajax, [1480]
with his triple plumes, whom
I saw once—
I saw him at Priam’s
gate. So we met
at sword point. And then the Phrygians
showed
in their full glory how for warlike
spirit 1770
they were born inferior in fighting strength
compared to Greeks. One man ran away,
one man was killed, another wounded,
another pleaded to protect his life.
We ran off, into the shadows, while men
were falling dead. Some would soon
collapse,
and some were killed already. At that
point,
poor Hermione came in the
palace,
[1490]
just as her mother, the unlucky one
who’d given birth to her, had fallen
down, 1780
sprawling on the ground about to die.
The two men, like followers of Bacchus
chasing a mountain cub without a
thyrsus,
ran up and grabbed her.29 Then they turned again
to slaughter Zeus’ daughter. But Helen
had vanished from the room—right through the
house—
O Zeus, and earth, and light, and darkness—
either by magic spells or wizard’s skill
or god’s deceit! What happened after that
I’ve no idea. Just
like a
fugitive,
1790
my legs crept from the house. So
Menelaus,
[1500]
after going through such painful, painful toil,
got his wife Helen out of Troy in vain.
[Orestes enters from the house]
CHORUS LEADER
Look how one strange sight succeeds another!
I see Orestes, sword in hand, coming here,
before the palace—his pace is jumpy.
ORESTES
Where’s that man who ran out of the house,
to escape my sword?
PHRYGIAN [throwing himself on the ground]
I bow to you, my lord,
making obeisance, as is the habit
of we barbarians.
ORESTES
We’re not in
Troy.
1800
We’re in the land of Argos.
PHRYGIAN
But everywhere
life is more welcome to wise men than death.
ORESTES
Those shouts you made—you weren’t calling
out [1510]
for Menelaus to bring up help, were you?
PHRYGIAN
No, no. I
was helping you, the worthier man.
ORESTES
So it was just for Tyndareus’
daughter
to be put to death?
PHRYGIAN
It was most just,
even if she had three throats to slit.
ORESTES
Your cowardice makes your tongue
delightful—
that’s not what you think inside.
PHRYGIAN
That’s not
true. 1810
Was she not the one who wiped out Greece
and Phrygians, too?
ORESTES
Swear you’re not just saying this
to humour me—or else I’ll kill you.
PHRYGIAN
I swear it on my life—an oath I’ll keep.
ORESTES [holding up his sword]
Were all the Phrygians
at Troy afraid
of iron, the way you are?
PHRYGIAN
That sword of yours,
put it away. When it’s so close to me
it has a dreadful glint of murder.
ORESTES
Are you afraid you’ll turn to
stone, as
if [1520]
you’d seen a Gorgon?30
PHRYGIAN
No, not to a stone,
1820
but to a corpse. I don’t know anything
about the Gorgon’s head.
ORESTES
You’re just a slave.
Do you fear Hades, which will release you
from your troubles?
PHRYGIAN
Every man, slave or not,
is glad to look upon the light of day.
ORESTES
Well said. Your shrewd mind is your
salvation.
Go inside the house.
PHRYGIAN
You won’t kill me?
ORESTES
You’re free to go.
PHRYGIAN
That’s beautiful, what you just said.
ORESTES
But I’m about to reconsider.
PHRYGIAN
Now your words are not so nice.
ORESTES
You fool! 1830
Do you think I could stand to stain your neck,
make it bloody? You weren’t born a woman
and don’t belong with men. I left the house
to stop you making such a
noise. Argos
[1530]
is quick to move once it hears the call.
But still I’m not afraid of matching swords
with Menelaus. Let him come—the man
who’s so proud of that golden hair of his
reaching to his shoulders. If he gathers
Argives up and leads them to the
palace, 1840
seeking to avenge the death of Helen,
and will not rescue me and my sister
and Pylades, who
worked with me in this,
he’ll see two dead, his daughter and his wife.
[Orestes enters the palace. The Phrygian
leaves]
CHORUS [different parts speak different
sections]
Alas, alas, how things fall out!
Another struggle—once more the house
is plunged into another fearful round
afflicting the family of Atreus!
What do we
do? Tell the news in town?
Or stay quiet? That’s the safer course, my
friends. 1850 [1540]
Look there, in front
of the palace.
Look! That smoke rushing up to heaven
is telling its own public story.
They’re lighting
torches—they’re going to fire
the house of Tantalus! They won’t stop
killing!
God determines how
things end for mortal men,
whatever end he wishes.
Those demons of
revenge have mighty power.
The house has fallen—fallen through blood,
thanks to Myrtilus
tumbling from his chariot.31
1860
CHORUS LEADER
But look! I see Menelaus coming—
he’s near the house and moving quickly.
He must have heard what’s happening
here.
[1550]
You descendants of
Atreus in there,
hurry now to close and bolt the doors.
A man who’s had success is dangerous
for those whose situation is
not good—
that means men like you, Orestes.
[Menelaus enters with an armed escort]
MENELAUS
I came because I heard of dreadful acts,
violent deeds committed by two
lions. 1870
I don’t call them men. I was told my wife
did not die but has gone and disappeared,
an idle rumour which some fool deluded
by his fear reported to me. It’s a trick
made up by that man who killed his
mother. [1560]
Ridiculous! Someone open up the house.
I’m telling my escort to break in the doors,
so I may rescue my own child at least
from the hands of those bloodstained murderers,
and take back my poor unfortunate
wife.
1880
Those who killed my
consort must die with her—
my own hands will kill them.
[As the escort moves towards the doors of the
palace, Orestes appears on the
roof with Pylades. Orestes is holding Hermione
with a sword at her throat, and
Pylades is holding burning torches]
ORESTES [from the roof]
You down there!
Keep your hands off those door bolts. I
mean you,
Menelaus, you who exalt yourself
with impudence. I’ll break this parapet—
the wall was made by masons
long
ago—
[1570]
and smash your head in with a coping
stone.
The bolts are fastened down with metal rods.
They’ll check your eagerness to bring help fast
and stop you gaining access to the
house. 1890
MENELAUS
Hold on. What’s happening? I see
torches blazing,
men cornered up there on the palace roof,
a sword ready to cut my daughter’s throat.
ORESTES
You want to question me or hear me talk?
MENELAUS
Neither. But it seems I’ll have to hear you
out.
ORESTES
I’m going to kill you daughter—if
you want to know.
MENELAUS
After killing Helen, you’re going to pile
one murder on another?
ORESTES
I wish I’d done it,
instead of having the gods trick
me. [1580]
MENELAUS
You deny you killed her just to mock
me? 1900
ORESTES
Yes. It
hurts to say I didn’t do it.
If only I had . . .
MENELAUS
If only you’d done what?
You’re trying to frighten me.
ORESTES
. . . thrown the woman
who pollutes all Greece down into hell.
MENELAUS
Give me my wife’s corpse, so I can bury her.
ORESTES
Ask the gods for her. But your daughter
here
I will kill.
MENELAUS
The man who killed his mother
compounds that murder with another.
ORESTES
The man who stands up for his father—
the man you betrayed and left to
die. 1910
MENELAUS
Isn’t your mother’s blood now on your hands
enough for you?
ORESTES
No. I’d never get
tired [1590]
if I had to keep killing evil woman
for an eternity.
MENELAUS
And you, Pylades,
are you his partner in this murder?
ORESTES
His silence speaks for him. It’s quite
enough
if I say he is.
MENELAUS
Well, you’ll regret it,
unless you sprout wings and fly away.
ORESTES
We’re not going to run. We’ll burn the
palace.
MENELAUS
What? You’re intending to destroy this
house, 1920
your own ancestral home?
ORESTES
So you won’t have it.
And in the flames I’ll sacrifice this
girl.
MENELAUS
Kill her, then. After the slaughter, you’ll
pay.
I’ll punish you.
ORESTES
All right, I will.
[Orestes moves as if he is going to kill Hermione]
MENELAUS
No, no!
Don’t do it!
ORESTES
Silence! You must endure this,
justice for the evils you have
done.
MENELAUS
It is just that you should live?
ORESTES
Yes, it
is— [1600]
and rule a country.
MENELAUS
A country? Where?
ORESTES
Right here. In Pelasgian Argos.
MENELAUS
O yes,
you’d be so good at handling
those
vessels 1930
we use for ritual washing.32
ORESTES
Why not?
MENELAUS
And killing animals for sacrifice
before a battle.
ORESTES
Would you be suitable?
MENELAUS
Yes, my hands are pure.
ORESTES
But your heart is not.
MENELAUS
What man would speak to you?
ORESTES
Any man
who loved his father.
MENELAUS
What about the one
who respects his mother?
ORESTES
A man like that
is born lucky.
MENELAUS
You’re not like that.
ORESTES
No, I’m not.
Bad women are not something I enjoy.
MENELAUS
Take your sword away from my
daughter. 1940
ORESTES
You’re a born liar.
MENELAUS
You’ll kill my daughter?
ORESTES
Yes. Now
you’re not spreading lies
MENELAUS
That’s dreadful.
What should I do?
ORESTES
You should go to the Argives [1610]
and win them over . . .
MENELAUS
What should I tell them?
ORESTES
Tell them not to kill us. Beg the city.
MENELAUS
Or else you’ll kill my child?
ORESTES
That how it stands.
MENELAUS
O poor Helen . . .
ORESTES [interrupting]
What about
my troubles?
MENELAUS
. . . I brought you back from Phrygia to be
killed.
ORESTES
If only she had been!
MENELAUS
After I went through
all that effort.
ORESTES
Except on my behalf. 1950
MENELAUS
I’ve had to endure such awful suffering!
ORESTES
Because you were no help at all back then.
MENELAUS
You’ve caught me out.
ORESTES
No. You caught yourself
by being such a coward.
[Orestes calls down to Electra who comes out in
front of the palace doors
in response to his call]
ORESTES
Electra,
set fire to the house from underneath.
And you, Pylades, my
most trusty friend,
burn down the parapets of these walls
here.
[1620]
MENELAUS
O land of the Danaans
and you who live
in horse-rich Argos, take up your weapons
and bring help on the run. To save his
life 1960
this man here is using force against you,
against the entire city, though he carries
the pollution of his mother’s murdered blood.
[Menelaus’ escort starts moving en masse toward the
palace doors. Meanwhile
fire breaks out on the roof and inside the palace. Then Apollo and Helen
suddenly
appear descending from on high]
APOLLO
Menelaus, you must blunt the sharp edge
of your temper. I am Phoebus, Leto’s son,
calling you from close at hand—and that man
holding a sword and standing by that girl,
Orestes, so you know the news I bring.
As for Helen whom you were so
eager [1630]
to destroy in your rage at
Menelaus, 1970
you failed to kill her, and she’s here with me
in the surrounding air. I rescued
her
and she wasn’t murdered. Yes, I saved her.
I snatched her away from that sword of yours,
at my father Zeus’ bidding, for Helen,
a child of Zeus, is to live forever.
She’ll sit with Castor and Polydeuces,
held up in the upper air, a saviour
for sailing men. So choose another wife,
Menelaus, and take her home. The
gods 1980
used this one’s outstanding loveliness
to bring Greeks and Phrygians
together
[1640]
and cause a slaughter, so they might stop
the overwhelming crowds of mortal men
destroying the earth. So
much for Helen.
And as for you, Orestes, you must cross
the borders of this country and then live
on Parrhasian soil for
one entire year.33
Because you’ll be an exile there, that land
will be called the country of
Orestes 1990
by people in Azania and Arcadia.
From there you’ll go to the Athenians’ city
and must stand trial for murdering your
mother [1650]
against the three Eumenides. The
gods
who on the Hill of Ares judge your case
will act righteously—they’ll divide their votes,
and from that it’s certain you will triumph.
And then, Orestes, it is foreordained
that you will wed Hermione, the girl
whose throat you’re threatening with that sword. 2000
The man who thinks he’s going to marry her,
Neoptolemus, will never
wed her.
He’s fated to die by a sword in Delphi,
when he demands satisfaction from me
for the killing of his father, Achilles.34
Give your sister in marriage to Pylades,
as you once promised. His future life
will be a happy one. As for
Argos, [1660]
Menelaus, you must leave Orestes
to rule the state. Go and govern
Sparta.
2010
Keep that as a dowry from your wife.
The countless troubles she has always brought
up to this point will end. I’ll set things
right
between Orestes and the city, for I
was the one who made him kill his mother.
ORESTES
O prophetic Loxias—in
your oracles
you prophesy the truth, there’s nothing false.
And yet fear gripped me that I might have heard
some demon when I listened to your voice.
But all has ended well. I will
obey
2020
[1670]
what you have said. See here—I now release
Hermione from death, and I agree
to take her as my wife, just as soon as
her father gives her to me.
MENELAUS
All hail, Helen,
daughter of Zeus. I wish you happiness
in the gods’ sacred home. Orestes,
following what Phoebus said, I here pledge
my daughter to you. You’re a noble
man.
May you prosper in a noble marriage,
and may I as well, who give her to
you. 2030
APOLLO
Then each of you set out to the place
I have arranged, and end your quarreling.
MENELAUS
I must obey.
ORESTES
So must I. I’ll make
peace [1680]
with you, Menelaus, in this matter,
and, Loxias, with what
your oracle has said.
APOLLO
Go on your way now, and honour Peace,
the fairest of the gods. I’ll bring Helen
to the halls of Zeus, once I’ve moved across
the star-bright sky. There she will be
seated
by Hera and Hebe, wife of
Hercules, 2040
and men will forever pay her honour
as a goddess, making their libations.
With those two Zeus-born sons of Tyndareus,
she’ll be a guardian for sailors out at
sea. [1690]
[Apollo and Helen leave. Orestes, Hermione and
Pylades move
down into the house. Menelaus and his escort depart]
CHORUS
O great and holy Victory,
may you take possession of my life,
and never cease to crown me with your garlands.
NOTES
1 . . . his tongue: Tantalus, a son of Zeus, offended the gods, who
punished him by placing him in Hades where he is constantly tempted by food and
drink which he cannot reach (Odysseus tells us of seeing the shade of Tantalus
in Book 11 of the Odyssey). His offense varies, depending on
the story. In some accounts, he stole food from the gods and revealed
their secrets to human beings. In others, he cut up his son Pelops and served him up as food for the gods. [Back to Text]
2 . . . his brother, Thyestes: The Fates set a man’s destiny at birth by
spinning yarn, measuring and cutting it. Traditionally there were three
female fates. [Back
to Text]
3 . . . all men’s eyes: Phoebus is the name of the god Apollo, whose
oracle Orestes consulted before returning to murder his mother and Aegisthus in
revenge for his father’s death. [Back to Text]
4 . . . terrible ordeals: The Eumenides (literally the “Kindly Ones”) are the Furies, goddesses
of blood revenge within the family, who are tormenting Orestes because he
killed his mother. Electra does not call them by their official name but uses a
common euphemism, presumably because she does not want to risk offending
them. [Back
to Text]
5 . . . hair and libations: Placing a lock of one’s hair on a burial mound
and pouring libations beside it are traditional marks of respect for the
dead. [Back
to Text]
6 . . . in Mycenae: The names Argos and Mycenae are often used
interchangeably for the same city, although in some accounts they are two
different communities. [Back to text]
7 . . . of my mother: Loxias is a common name
for Apollo, whose shrine Orestes consulted before killing Clytaemnestra. Themis, the goddess of righteousness, was the original god
of the oracle. [Back to Text]
8 . . . from Erebus: Erebus is the deepest and darkest region of
Hades, the underworld. [Back to Text]
9. .
. navel of the earth: The navel, or
central point, of the earth was, according to tradition, located in Apollo’s
shrine in Delphi. [Back to Text]
10. . . from
Tantalus: Tantalus is the founder of the royal family of Agamemnon,
Menelaus, Orestes, and Electra. He was a son of Zeus and a divine nymph. [Back to
Text]
11. . . Malea:
Menelaus’ return from Troy (as he tells us in the Odyssey) was long
delayed. He was blown off course to Egypt, where he stayed for a
while. Malea is the southernmost tip of the
Peloponnese. [Back to Text]
12. . . suppliant
branch: In a formal supplication the petitioner carries an olive
branch. Orestes doesn’t have one available. [Back to
Text]
13. . . something
horrific: West makes the useful observation (p. 210) that the Greeks did
not yet have a clear sense of a good or bad conscience. This line suggests
something like a sense of guilt arising out of one’s awareness of the moral
qualities of an act. As West observes, Menelaus in his response seems confused
by the idea. [Back to Text]
14. . . are his friends: I have adopted West’s suggestion that this line
refers to the god (Apollo) rather than to Orestes himself: “I am not wise, but
by nature I am true to my friends (see West 212). [Back to
Text]
15 . . . for Palamedes: Oeax is the brother of Palamedes, an Achaean warrior at Troy. When Odysseus
pretended to be mad so that he would not have to go on the expedition to Troy, Palamedes tricked him into revealing his
sanity. Later, in Troy, Odysseus forced a Phrygian (Trojan) prisoner
to write a treasonous letter apparently from Palamedes. Agamemnon
found the letter and put Palamedes to death. [Back to
Text]
16 . . . twins from Zeus: Tyndareus and Leda had four children at the same time: Helen,
Clytaemnestra, Castor, and Pollux (also called Polydeuces). However, Tyndareus
was the biological father of only two of them, Castor and
Clytaemnestra. Helen and Pollux were conceived
by Zeus (in the form of a swan) and Leda. In some accounts (as here) both
Castor and Pollux are children of Zeus. [Back to
Text]
17 . . . of your wife: The immediate cause of the Trojan War was Paris’
abduction of Helen, Menelaus’ wife, from Sparta (Helen
went willingly enough). Agamemnon, the senior of the two brothers, took
command of the Greek army which assembled at Aulis in response to a promise all
the kings had made to Tyndareus, that they would help
Helen’s husband, should he ever require their assistance. The goddess
Artemis prevented the Greek fleet from sailing until Agamemnon sacrificed his
daughter Iphigeneia, an action which Agamemnon
carried out. [Back to Text]
18 . . . double line of Atreus: The
“double line” is the families of Agamemnon and Menelaus, sons of
Atreus. The “golden ram” mentioned refers to an animal in Atreus’ flocks,
on the basis of which he claimed the throne over the objections of his brother
Thyestes. The slaughter at the banquet is another reference to the dinner
in which Atreus served up to his brother Thyestes the latter’s sons as the main
course. [Back to Text]
19 . . . on this very day: The word Pelasgian is
frequently used to describe the Argives. The word hearkens back to the
original inhabitants of the area. [Back to Text]
20 . . . by Aegyptus: The fifty daughters of Danaus married the fifty
sons of Aegyptus and killed their husbands (all but
one) on the wedding night. In some accounts Aegyptus
prosecuted Danaus for the mass murder. [Back to Text]
21 . . . those Phrygians: Talthybius is a
character in the Iliad, a herald in the Achaean army who serves
Agamemnon. Phrygians is a term commonly used to designate the Trojans or
barbarian Asiatics. [Back to
Text]
22 . . . shave it close: The Cyclopian land is a
reference to the city of Mycenae whose walls were so big that legend had it
they had been built by the Cyclopes. Shaving the head is often an
important element in a mourning ritual. [Back to
Text]
23 . . . along the shore: These lines refer to the origin of the troubles
in the House of Atreus. Pelops wanted Hippodamnia as his bride. Her father, Oenomaus, demanded a chariot race to determine the outcome:
if Pelops won he could wed the daughter, and if Pelops was not successful he would die. Pelops bribed Myrtilus to
sabotage the king’s chariot and, as a result, won the race. Then he killed
his co-conspirator, Myrtilus, by throwing him into
the sea. Myrtilus cursed Pelops’
family as he was drowning. Myrtilus was a son of
the god Hermes, son of Zeus and the nymph Maia (as is mentioned a couple of
lines further on), and the god made sure the curse took effect by introducing a
golden lamb into the flocks belonging to the sons of Pelops,
thus inciting the brothers Atreus and Thyestes to quarrel. [Back to
Text]
24 . . . the Pleiades: The suggestion
here seems to be that before this change, the sun did not move from east to
west. I have adopted West’s useful emendation of the text to read “white
horses” rather than “single horse.” The Pleiades is a constellation consisting
of seven stars. [Back to Text]
25 . . . deceitful marriage: Aerope was the wife of
Atreus and the mother of Agamemnon and Menelaus. In some versions of the
story, she had an adulterous affair with Thyestes and was executed. [Back to
Text]
26 . . . Scamander: The Scamander is a
river near Troy, right in the middle of the areas where the battles between
Greeks and Trojans took place. [Back to Text]
27There is some dispute about how the Phrygian
enters—does he come through the doors (as the Chorus Leader’s line about the
bolts suggests) or does he come down from the roof (as his opening lines
suggest). West, who opts for an entry down from the roof, has a useful
note on the point (p. 275-6). [Back to Text]
28 . . . in his bed: These lines are such a strained evocation of
different myths that it’s hard not to see them as either satirical or intentionally
comical. The reference to the swan is a reminder of Helen’s conception,
when Zeus in the form of a swan had sex with Leda, wife of Tyndareus. Apollo’s
polished citadel is a reference to the high tower of Troy. And Ganymede, a
prince of Troy, was so beautiful that he was taken up to Olympus as a young boy
to be Zeus’ cup bearer and sexual playmate. It’s not clear what the
mention of his “horsemanship” indicates, unless it’s a sexual pun. Dardania is a reference to Troy, the land of Dardanus (the founder of the city). [Back to
Text]
29 . . . grabbed her: The followers of Bacchus are the ecstatic
worshippers who roam the mountains, often capturing wild animals and tearing
them apart. The thyrsus is a plant stem, often with magical properties,
which they carry as part of the ritual frenzy. [Back to
Text]
30 . . . seen a Gorgon: The Gorgons were three sisters whose looks could
turn people into stone. One of them who was mortal (Medusa) was killed by Perseus. [Back to Text]
31 . . . from his chariot: As noted before, Myrtilus
conspired with Pelops to trick king Oenomaus in a chariot race, so that Pelops
could win Hippodameia, the king’s daughter. Myrtilus, the king’s charioteer, sabotaged the royal
chariot. Pelops then killed Myrtilus
by throwing him out of his chariot into the sea. This event launches the
disasters which befall the House of Atreus (Atreus is one of Pelops’ sons). [Back to Text]
32 . . . ritual washing: One of the duties of a king was to lead important
religious ceremonies. These could only be conducted by someone free of the
pollution from any crime he had committed. [Back to Text]
33 . . . one entire year: Parrhasia is a region in Arcadia, an area in the central
Peloponnese. [Back to Text]
34 . . . his father, Achilles: Achilles was killed at Troy. His son
Neoptolemus came to Troy, joined the fighting, and killed Priam,
king of Troy. He was later killed by a priest at Delphi, Apollo’s
shrine. There are other stories, however, which have Neoptolemus marrying
Hermione. [Back to Text]
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