Aeschylus
The Libation Bearers
[The Choephoroi]
458 BC
This translation, which has been prepared by Ian Johnston of Malaspina University-College, Nanaimo, BC, Canada, is in the public domain and may be used by anyone, in whole or in part, for any purpose, without permission and without charge, provided the source is acknowledged. Last revised May 2005]
Oresteia Page (links to the Agamemnon and the Eumenides)
For a short introductory lecture on the Agamemnon and the Oresteia click here. For a summary of the legend of the House of Atreus, the immediate mythological background to the play, click here.
Note that in the following text the numbers in square brackets refer to the Greek text, the numbers without brackets to the translated text.For comments, questions, suggestions, please contact Ian Johnston
The Libation Bearers
Dramatis Personae
ORESTES: son of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, brother of Electra.
CHORUS: slave women captured at Troy and serving the royal palace at Argos.
ELECTRA: daughter of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, sister of Orestes.
SERVANT: house slave serving in the royal palace.
CLYTAEMNESTRA: widow of Agamemnon, lover of Aegisthus, mother of Orestes and Electra.
PYLADES: friend of Orestes.
CILISSA: Orestes' old nurse, a servant in the palace.
AEGISTHUS: son of Thyestes (brother of Atreus, father of Agamemnon), lover of Clytaemnestra.
ATTENDANTS on Orestes and Pylades and Aegisthus.
Scene: Argos, the tomb of Agamemnon some years after his murder by Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus. Behind the tomb stands the royal palace of the sons of Atreus.
[
Enter Orestes and Pylades. They have just arrived in Argos]ORESTES
Hermes, messenger to the dead, guardian
of your father's powers, help rescue me—
work with me, I beg you, now I've come back,
returned to this land from exile. On this grave,
on this heaped-up earth, I call my father,
imploring him to listen, to hear me . . .
[Orestes cuts two locks of his hair and sets them one by one on the tomb]
Here's a lock of hair, offering to Inachus,
the stream where I was raised. Here's
another,
a token of my grief. I was not there,
my father, to mourn your death. I couldn't
stretch
[Enter Electra and the Chorus, dressed in black. They do not see Orestes and Pylades]
What's this I see?
[10][Orestes and Pylades conceal themselves from the sight of Electra and the Chorus]
CHORUS
I've been sent here from the palace,
to bring libations for the dead,
to clap out the hands' sharp beat.
Blood flows down my
cheeks
With hair-raising shrieks, Fear,
40
O Earth, my mother Earth,
to protect herself from harm
that godless woman sends me here
with gifts, with loveless gifts.
But I'm too scared to speak her words,
the prayer she wishes me to say.
What can atone for blood
once fallen on the ground?
Alas for the grief-filled
hearth,
It's gone—that ancient splendour
no man could resist or fight,
no man could overcome.
Its glory rang in every ear,
echoed in every heart.
Now it's been thrown
away.
The nurturing earth drinks blood,
she drinks her fill. That gore,
which cries out for revenge,
will not dissolve or seep away.
The guilty live in utter desperation—
madness preys upon their minds
infecting them
completely.
The man who violates a virgin's bed
cannot be redeemed. All rivers flow
into one stream to cleanse his hand
of black blood which defiles him.
Such waters flow in vain.
As for me—gods set a fatal noose
around my city, so I was led
out of my father's house a slave.
Now I do what I have to do—
beat down my bitter
rage.
ELECTRA
You women who keep our house in order,
now you're here attending me in
prayers,
CHORUS LEADER
I respect your father's tomb, as if it were
an altar. So I'll speak straight from my
heart,
as you have asked.
ELECTRA
Then talk to me,
out of your reverence for my father's grave.
CHORUS LEADER
As you pour, bless those who are your
friends.
ELECTRA
Of those close to me, whom shall I call
friends?
CHORUS LEADER
First, name yourself—then anyone
who hates Aegisthus.
ELECTRA
Then I'll make this prayer
on my own behalf. Shall I include you too?
CHORUS LEADER
That's your decision. In this ritual
you must let your judgment guide you.
ELECTRA
Who else should I then add to join with us?
CHORUS LEADER
He may be far from home, but don't forget
Orestes.
ELECTRA
That's good. You give me excellent advice.
CHORUS LEADER
Remember, too, the guilty
murderers.
ELECTRA
What do I say? I've never practised this.
Teach me what I should say.
CHORUS
LEADER
Let some god
or mortal man come down on them.
ELECTRA
You mean as judge or as avenger?
Which?
CHORUS LEADER
Pronounce these words—and clearly—
"Someone who'll pay back life by taking
life."
ELECTRA
Is it a righteous thing for me to do,
to petition gods like that?
CHORUS
Why not?
How can it not be a righteous thing to pray
to pay back one's enemies for
evil?
ELECTRA
Oh Hermes, mighty herald, moving
between earth above and earth below,
messenger to the dead, assist me now—
summon the spirits there beneath the ground
who guard my father's house, to hear my prayers.
And call on Earth herself, who, giving birth
and nurturing all things, in due course takes
back
the swollen tide of their increasing store.
As I pour out these offering to the dead,
I call upon my father, "Pity me—
[
Electra pours out her libation on the tomb]
Those are my prayers, and over them I pour
libations. Your duty now is to lament,
to crown my prayers with flowers,
chanting
CHORUS
Come, let our tears begin,
fall, and die, as our master died.
Let them guard us from evil,
preserve the good, and keep away
with our outpoured
libations
Alas, alas . . . ohhhhhhhh!
Let him come
now,
ELECTRA
My father's now received his offerings.
The earth has drunk them up. But look—
here's something new. Come, look at it with
me.
CHORUS
Speak up. My heart's afraid. It's
dancing.
ELECTRA
I see a lock of hair, an offering . . . on the
tomb.
CHORUS
Whose is it? A man's? A full-grown
girl's?
ELECTRA
It shouldn't be too difficult to
guess,
CHORUS
How so? Let your youth instruct your
elders.
ELECTRA
No one but me could have cut this off.
CHORUS
You're right. Those who should make
offerings,
cutting their hair in grief, are enemies.
ELECTRA
Look at this . . . It looks just like . . .
CHORUS
Like whose?
I want to know.
ELECTRA
Like mine. It looks identical.
CHORUS
Perhaps Orestes? Did he place it here,
a secret offering?
ELECTRA
It really looks like his . .
.
CHORUS
But how could he come back?
ELECTRA
He sent it here, a token of
respect
CHORUS
Those words of yours
give us fresh cause for tears, if there's no
chance
Orestes will set foot in this land again.
ELECTRA
Over my heart, too, breaks a bitter wave.
I feel as if a sword had sliced right through me.
Seeing this hair, my eyes weep thirsty drops—
I can't hold back my flood of grief.
There's no way
I would expect one of the
citizens,
[Electra notices footprints in the dirt around the tomb]
Here are some footprints—more evidence—
260[Electra
traces the tracks from the tomb towards Orestes' hiding place. Orestes
emerges
to meet her as she follows the footprints]
The pain of this . . . my mind grows dizzy . . .
ORESTES
Pray for what must still be done. Thank the
gods
for answering your prayers. Pray to them
that all will work out well.
ELECTRA
What? The gods?
What have they given me?
ORESTES
You've come to see
the person you've been praying for all this
time.
ELECTRA
Then you know the man I was calling for?
ORESTES
I know your sympathies are with Orestes.
ELECTRA
Yes, but how have my prayers been answered now?
ORESTES
I'm here. You need look no more for
friends.
I'm the dearest one you have.
ELECTRA
No, stranger.
You're weaving a net, a trick to trap
me.
ORESTES
If so, I plot against myself as well.
ELECTRA
You just want to laugh at my distress.
ORESTES
If I laugh at you, I'm laughing at myself.
ELECTRA
Orestes . . . is it truly you? Can
I
ORESTES
Yes, you can.
You're looking at Orestes in the flesh.
Why take so long to recognize the truth?
When you saw the lock of hair, that token
of my grief, and traced my footprints in the
dust,
your imagination flew—you thought
you saw me. Look. Put this hair in
place.
[
Electra is finally convinced. She almost breaks down with joy]
Control yourself. Calm down.
Don't get too overjoyed. Remember this—
our closest family is our enemy.
ELECTRA
You dearest member of your father's house.
the seed of hope through all our weeping—
trust to your own strength and win back again
your father's home. How my eyes rejoice!
To me you are four different loves—fate
declares that I must call you father,
and on you falls the love I ought to
feel
ORESTES
O Zeus, Zeus, look down on what we do!
See the abandoned fledglings of the eagle,
whose father perished in the viper's
coils,
CHORUS LEADER
Children, saviours of your father's home,
don't speak too loud. Someone may hear you,
my children, and to hear his tongue run on
report to those in charge. Oh how I
wish
ORESTES
Apollo's great oracle
surely will defend me. Its orders were
that I should undertake this
danger.
CHORUS
Oh mighty Fates, bring all this to pass.
Through Zeus' power, make all things right.
For Justice, as she turns the scales
exacting retribution, cries aloud,
"Hostile words for hostile words—
ORESTES
Oh my unhappy father,
what can I say for you or do,
to send you, where you rest
so far away, some light
to drive away your darkness?
But nonetheless some
joy
CHORUS
My child, among the dead
the savage jaws of fire
cannot destroy the spirit.
He'll show his rage in time.
Dead men receive their dirge—
the guilty stand revealed.
A father's funeral lament,
strong and clear and
just,
ELECTRA
Hear us now, my father,
as, in turn, we mourn and weep.
Your two children at your tomb
now sing your death song.
Your tomb has welcomed us,
two suppliants and outcasts.
What in this is good?
What free from
trouble?
CHORUS
But if god wills it, he can
turn
ORESTES
My father, if only you had
died
CHORUS
Dear to the men you loved,
the ones who died so
bravely,
ELECTRA
I don't want you dead, my
father,
CHORUS
Children, these things you say
are merely your desires,
finer than gold, greater still
than the great happiness
of those who live in bliss
beyond the northern wind.
But wishing is an easy thing.
Still, now it's striking home,
that double whip—for
now
ORESTES
Our words, like
arrows,
CHORUS
Let my heart cry out in triumph
when that man is stabbed,
when that woman dies.
Why should my spirit hide
what hovers here before
me,
ELECTRA
Oh, when will mighty Zeus
strike them with his fist—
split their skulls apart!
Alas, alas! Give our land
some sign—confirm our faith.
From these crimes I seek
the rights of
justice.
CHORUS
It's the law—once drops of
blood
ORESTES
Lords of the world below,
alas,
CHORUS
My fond heart races once
again
ELECTRA
To what can we appeal? What else
but to the agonies we suffer,
anguish from the one who bore us,
our mother. So let her
grovel.
CHORUS
Like some Asian wailing woman,
I beat out my lament, my fists
keep pounding out the blows
in quick succession. You see
my hands—I stretch them out,
then strike down from above.
My torment beats upon my head
until it breaks for sorrow.
ELECTRA
Oh cruel and reckless
mother,
ORESTES
Alas. As you say, totally disgraced.
But she'll pay for his dishonour,
by the gods, by my own hands.
Let me kill her. Then let me die.
CHORUS
And let me tell you this—
she first hacked off his
limbs,
ELECTRA
You describe my father's death,
but I too was utterly disgraced,
worth nothing, set
apart,
CHORUS
Let your ears pick up her story,
but keep your spirit firm.
Things now stand as they stand.
You're keen to know what's next,
but you must wait,
prepared
ORESTES
Father, I call on you. Stand by your
children.
ELECTRA
Through these tears I join his call.
CHORUS
In unison, our voices blend as one—
hear us. Return into the light.
Join us against our
enemies.
ORESTES
Now war god Ares goes to meet
the war god Ares. Right fights with right.
ELECTRA
Dear gods, let justice choose what's right.
CHORUS
I hear these prayers and
shudder.
Oh, family bred for torments,
for the bloody strokes
of harsh discordant ruin,
for pains beyond enduring,
grief that can't be
staunched.
For all this evil there's a remedy,
not from some stranger,
someone outside the
house,
Hear us, you blessed gods of earth,
hear this supplication, and assist
with your good will these children.
Give them the victory!
ORESTES
Father, you may not have perished like a
king,
ELECTRA
I, too, father,
have a request of you—let me escape,
once I've accomplished this enormous task,
once Aegisthus is destroyed.
ORESTES
Yes.
Then men would set up on your behalf
those feasts of honour our laws demand.
But otherwise, when people sacrifice
burnt offering to Earth at solemn banquets
they will not honour you.
ELECTRA
And I,
too,
ORESTES
O Earth, send my father up to see our fight.
ELECTRA
O Persephone, grant us glorious
power.
ORESTES
My father, remember that bath
where you were slaughtered.
ELECTRA
Remember the net in which they killed you.
ORESTES
My father, you were trapped in
fetters,
ELECTRA
They covered you
with their deceit and shame.
ORESTES
Father, these taunts—
do they not stir your spirit?
ELECTRA
Will you raise
that beloved head of yours upright?
ORESTES
Either send Justice here to stand with us,
the ones you love, or let us, in our turn,
catch them in our grip, as they caught you—
that is, if you want to beat them down,
after the way they overpowered you.
ELECTRA
Father, listen to my last appeal—
ORESTES
Don't let the seed of Pelops disappear.
With us alive, in death you cannot die.
ELECTRA
For to a man that's dead his children
are saving testament—like corks,
they hold up the net and keep the mesh
from sinking deep into the sea.
ORESTES
Hear us!
We're making our lament on your behalf.
Honour our request and save
yourself.
CHORUS LEADER
There's nothing wrong expanding your
lament.
ORESTES
You're right. But first we might ask this
question:
Why did that woman send out these libations?
What did she have in mind, trying so late
to heal a crime which cannot be forgiven?
What she sent here was paltry tribute
to the unforgiving dead. I don't
see
CHORUS LEADER
My child, I know—I was there.
She had bad dreams. Vague terrors in the
night
upset her. So that godless woman sent these
gifts.
ORESTES
Do you know the nature of her dreams?
Can you give me details?
CHORUS LEADER
She'd given
birth,
ORESTES
How did the dream end up? What happened?
CHORUS LEADER
She set it in bed wrapped in swaddling clothes,
just like a child.
ORESTES
And that newborn snake,
what did it want for
nourishment?
CHORUS LEADER
She dreamt she offered it her breasts.
ORESTES
Didn't the monster bite her nipple?
CHORUS LEADER
No. But with her milk it sucked out clots
of blood.
ORESTES
It's an omen. Her vision means a man.
CHORUS LEADER
She woke up with a scream, quite
terrified.
ORESTES
I pray to Earth and to my father's
tomb
CHORUS LEADER
Your reading of her dream seems right to me.
So let it come. Tell your friends the rest—
what they must do or take care not to
do.
ORESTES
My plan is simple. First, Electra here
must go inside. I'm instructing her
to keep this bond with me a secret.
The two in there deceived a noble man,
then killed him. So we'll use deceit on
them.
They'll die in the same net. Lord Apollo,
who's never wrong in what he prophesies,
has ordered this. I'll approach the outer
gates,
[Orestes, Pylades, and Electra leave together]
CHORUS
Earth brings forth many horrors—
terrors and agonies—the sea's arms
hold monsters, savage beasts.
Between the earth and
heaven
But who of us can speak
about the arrogance of men
or women's reckless passion
beyond all self-control,
so they become
conspirators
A man with any sense
should recognize these things,
once he recalls Althaea,
ruthless child of Thestius,
Another story of a hateful girl
tells of that murderous
Scylla,
As I recall these stories
770
Of all such tales of crime, the worst
concerns the isle of Lemnos,
where all the women killed their men.
At that story people moan—
they weep for that abomination.
When some new troubles come
men measure them by Lemnos.
Horror at that deed brought on
the hatred of the gods, and
thus,
Justice wields her sword.
She thrusts it home—
hungry and
sharp,
The anvil of Justice now holds firm.
Fate hammers out her sword—
she forges it in time.
At last the brooding Fury comes,
famous spirit of revenge—
leading a child inside the
house,
[Enter
Orestes and Pylades, with a couple of attendants. They move up to the
front
doors of the royal palace. Orestes knocks loudly on the door]
ORESTES
Hey, in there! You hear this knocking on
the door?
I'll try again. Anyone in there?
All right, a third attempt. I'm knocking
here—
are you coming out? Anyone in there?
Hello! Does Aegisthus welcome strangers?
SERVANT
[from within]ORESTES
Announce me to the masters of the
house.
[Clytaemnestra and Electra enter through the palace doors]
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Stranger, welcome. Just ask for what you
need.
Inside we have all luxuries of home—
warm baths and beds to charm away your
pains.
ORESTES
I'm a stranger—a Daulian from Phocis—
coming to Argos on private business,
carrying this pack. I need to pause and
rest.
On my way here I ran into a man—
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I . . . this news . . . what you just said . . .
it's shattering . . . that curse we can't
repress.
It haunts the house, ranges everywhere . .
.
ORESTES
As far as I'm
concerned,
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Don't worry.
You'll receive what you deserve. In this
house
you're no less welcome for your news,
which, in any case, someone else would bring.
But now's the time when strangers on the
road
[Clytaemnestra turns to Electra, ordering her as if she were a servant]
You there—take this traveller to the rooms
we use to entertain our guests—and with him
these fellow travellers, his attendants.
Look after them the way this house requires.
Those are my orders. See you follow them.
I'm holding you responsible. Meanwhile,
I'll go find the master of the house,
tell him the news. We don't lack friends—
from them we'll seek advice about this
death.
[Electra
escorts Orestes, Pylades, and their attendants into the palace.
Clytaemnestra
enters the palace. The Chorus is left alone on stage]
CHORUS LEADER
Dear fellow slaves who serve this house,
how long before our words can demonstrate
just how strongly we support
Orestes?
CHORUS
O sacred Earth,
heaped-up burial mound,
lying above that noble corpse,
commander of the ships,
hear me now,
help me now.
Now's the
moment
[Enter Orestes' Nurse, Cilissa, in tears]
CHORUS LEADER
It seems the stranger's mischief is at
work.
NURSE
My mistress ordered me to fetch Aegisthus
to meet the strangers—and to hurry up—
so he can find out clearly, man to man,
the news that's just arrived. With servants
she puts on her gloomy face, but deep down
her eyes are laughing at how well all this
has ended up for her. But for this
house
CHORUS LEADER
Did she tell him how to come and what to bring?
NURSE
How's that? Say it again. I need a clearer
sense
of what you're asking.
CHORUS LEADER
Did she tell him
to come with guards or unattended?
NURSE
She said he should bring his spearmen with
him.
CHORUS LEADER
Don't give that message to
Aegisthus,
NURSE
What? Does your heart feel good about this
news?
CHORUS LEADER
Why not, if Zeus turns evil into good?
NURSE
How's that to happen? Orestes,
the house's hope, is gone.
CHORUS LEADER
Not so fast.
A prophet who claimed that would be a bad
one.
NURSE
What are you saying? Do you know something
more than what I've heard?
CHORUS LEADER
Go on then.
Relay your message. Do what you've been
told.
Let the gods care about what most concerns
them.
NURSE
All right, I'll go and do what you suggest.
With blessings from the gods, I pray all this
will work out for the best.
[Exit Nurse, off in search of Aegisthus, who is not in the palace]
CHORUS
Now, in answer to my prayers,
I implore you, Zeus,
father of Olympian
gods,
Zeus, Zeus,
inside that
palace
You know that orphan colt,
child of a man you cherish,
stands now in harness,
yoked to a chariot of pain.
Control the way he runs,
preserve his
pace,
You gods inside the house,
[800]
And Apollo, you who dwell
in that massive well-built cavern,
grant that this man's house
may raise its head once more,
so with loving eyes we see
the veil of darkness
yield
May Hermes, Maia's son,
support him in what's
right.
Soon at last we'll shout in song
1020
But you, Orestes, do your part—
when your moment comes, be brave.
When she cries out "My
son!"
In your heart maintain
the heart of Perseus.
Satisfy the rage
of those you love
under the earth,
and here above.
With blood murder
inside the
house
[Enter Aegisthus]
AEGISTHUS
A stranger's story called me here—
I'm told that travellers have arrived
with startling and unwelcome news—
CHORUS LEADER
Well, we heard the news. But go inside.
You can learn it from the guests themselves.
The power in a messenger's report
is not like hearing what he has to say
when you confront him face to
face.
AEGISTHUS
I want to see this messenger and check
if he was present at Orestes'
death,
[Exit Aegisthus into the palace]
CHORUS
Zeus, O Zeus,
what do I say? How do I start
appealing to the gods in prayer?
How from a loyal heart
can I find what to say,
matching words with deeds?
Now blood-stained
blades
[Aegisthus screams in pain from inside the palace]
CHORUS MEMBERS
[speaking separately][Some members of the chorus start to move towards the palace doors]
CHORUS LEADER
Stay back. Until this work is finished,
we won't get involved in all the bloodshed.
That way no one can blame us.
[A servant emerges through the palace doors]
It's over.
Whatever the result, the fighting's over.
SERVANT
Oh, it's horrible—my master's killed!
He's dead. Alas. I'll cry it out
again,
a third time, Aegisthus is no more!
[The servant moves to a side door and tries desperately to pull it open]
Come on! Come on! Open this door! Hurry!
1090[The servant gives up pounding on the side door]
A waste of time.
[Enter Clytaemnestra through the main palace doors]
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What's happening? Why are you shouting
all around the house?
SERVANT
I'm telling
you
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I see. I understand your paradox.
We're being destroyed by someone's trickery,
just as we destroyed. All right, then,
get me a man-killing axe—and quickly!
[Exit servant into the palace]
Let's see now if we win through or
lose.
[890]
The wretched business brings me down to this.
[The
palace doors open to reveal the dead body of Aegisthus with Orestes standing
over it. Pylades is beside Orestes]
ORESTES
The very one I seek. This fellow here
has had enough.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
No, not Aegisthus,
not my love, my power . . .
dead.
ORESTES
You loved this man? Then you'll find your
rest
in a common grave with him—he's one man
you won't abandon when he dies.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Hold off, my son, my child. Take pity
on these breasts. Here you often lay
asleep.
Your toothless gums sucked out the milk
that made you strong.
ORESTES
Pylades, what do I do?
It's a dreadful act to kill my mother.
PYLADES
What then becomes of what Apollo
said,
ORESTES
That's good advice. As judge in this debate
I say you prevail.
[Orestes turns on Clytaemnestra, pulls her towards the body of Aegisthus]
Over here.
I want to kill you right beside this man.
When he was alive, you considered him
better than my father, so once you're dead
you can sleep on by his side. You loved
him.
The man you should have loved you hated.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
I brought you up. Let me grow old with you.
ORESTES
What? Kill my father and then live with
me?
CLYTAEMNESTRA
My child, in this our fate's to
blame.
ORESTES
Then, in the same way, Fate brings on your death.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
My son, do you not fear your mother's curse?
ORESTES
You bore me, then threw me out to misery.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
No, no—I sent you to live with a friend.
ORESTES
You sold me in disgrace—a free man's son.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
What's the price I charged for you?
ORESTES
That's too shameful to declare in public.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Don't forget to name your father's failings, too.
ORESTES
Don't charge him with anything—he worked
hard
CLYTAEMNESTRA
My son, it's
painful
ORESTES
Maybe, but while they stay safely in the home
their men look after them.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
My son, you really mean to do this—
to slaughter your own mother?
ORESTES
You kill yourself.
I'll not be the murderer. You will.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Take care.
The vicious hounds which avenge all mothers
will hunt you down.
ORESTES
What about my father's?
If I don't kill you, there's no escaping them.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
It seems as if, while still alive, I
waste
ORESTES
My father's destiny has marked you out.
It states that you must die.
CLYTAEMNESTRA
Alas for me!
You are the snake I bore and nourished.
ORESTES
Yes. That terror in your dream foretold the
truth.
You killed the man you should not kill, and
now
[Orestes
pushes Clytaemnestra inside the palace doors. Pylades goes with
them.
The doors close behind them]
CHORUS LEADER
The fate of these two victims makes me grieve.
But long-suffering Orestes rides the crest
of so much bloodshed, we'd prefer he triumph—
1160
the bright eyes of this house must never fade.
CHORUS
Just as justice came at last
to Priam and his sons,
a crushing retribution,
so a double lion comes
to Agamemnon's house,
a two-fold slaughter.
Apollo's suppliant, the
exile,
[940]
sees his action through,
driven on by
justice
1170
sent from gods above.
Raise now a shout of triumph
above our master's house,
free of misery at last,
free of that tainted couple
squandering its wealth,
and free of its unhappy fate.
He came back with a secret plan,
fighting to win crafty vengeance.
The goddess took him by the
hand,
1180
true daughter of great Zeus,
his guide throughout the
fight.
[950]
Men call her rightful Justice—
who destroys her enemies
once she breathes in anger.
Raise a shout of triumph now
above our master's house,
free of misery at last,
free of that tainted couple
squandering its
wealth,
1190
free of its unhappy destiny.
From his shrine deep within the earth,
Parnassian Apollo spoke in prophecy—
"Well intentioned stealthy trickery
will conquer long-entrenched deceit."
I pray his words somehow prevail,
so I never am a slave to wickedness.
True reverence should worship heaven's
rule.
[960]
Look now, dawn is coming!
Great chains on the home are falling
off.
Time, which brings all things to pass,
will soon move through these doors,
once purifying rites expel
polluting evil. That will change
the roll of fortune's dice—they'll fall
so all can see the fair result,
a happy destiny once
more
Look now, dawn is coming!
Great chains on the home are falling off.
Let this house rise up! For far too long
it's lain in pieces on the ground.
[The
palace doors are thrown open, revealing Orestes standing above the bodies of
Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra. Pylades stands beside Orestes.
With them are
attendants holding the bloodstained robes of Agamemnon]
ORESTES
Here you see them—this pair of tyrants.
They killed my father, then robbed my home.
Once they sat enthroned in regal splendour.
They're lovers still, as you can witness here
by how they died, true to the oaths they swore.
They made a pact to murder my poor
father,
[Orestes starts unfurling the robes in which Agamemnon was killed]
Look at this again, all those of you
[980][Orestes stoops and picks up the bloody robe]
What do I call this?
What fine words will do? A snare for some
wild beast?
A corpse's shroud? The curtain from a bath
wrapped round his legs? No. It's a hunting
net.
That name sounds right—robes to trap a
man,
CHORUS
Alas for this horrific act,
the monstrous way she died.
But woe on the survivor, too—
his suffering begins to flower.
ORESTES
Did she commit the crime or not? Come
here.
CHORUS
No mortal goes through life
unscathed,
ORESTES
[starting to break down][Pylades hands Orestes an olive branch, the mark of a suppliant to Apollo's oracle at Delphi]
Look at me now—
armed with this branch and wreath, I go
a suppliant to earth's central navel stone,
Apollo's realm, to that sacred flame
which, people say, never dies away,
an exile who murdered his own blood.
Apollo's prophet gave me his orders—
I'm to go to his shrine, no other place.
As to how I did this brutal
act,
CHORUS LEADER
But you've done great things.
Why depress your spirit with such talk,
ominous predictions, evil omens?
You've freed the city, all of Argos,
hacking off the heads of those two
serpents,
[Orestes is suddenly overpowered with fear by a vision of his mother's Furies coming after him]
ORESTES
No . . . They're here . . .
Look, you women . . . over there . . .
like Gorgons draped in black . . . their
heads
hundreds of writhing snakes . .
.
CHORUS LEADER
What's wrong? What are you looking at?
Of all men you have a father's strongest love,
so stay calm. Don't give in to fear
ORESTES
It's no imagined horror, no!
It's real. Out there my mother's blood
hounds wait.
They want revenge.
CHORUS LEADER
Your hands are still blood stained—
that's made your mind disordered.
ORESTES
Lord
Apollo!
CHORUS LEADER
There's just one cure—
Apollo's touch will cleanse you, set you
free
ORESTES
You don't see them. I do.
They're coming for me. I have to leave . .
.
[Orestes runs off. Pylades follows him]
CHORUS LEADER
Good fortune go with you. And may god
watch over you, protect you with his favours.
CHORUS
The third storm has broken on the palace,
then run its course across the royal clan.
First, came the torments of those
children
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