---
title: "Libation Bearers · Χοηφόροι"
author: "Aeschylus"
translator: "Herbert Weir Smyth"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 1 of 2
url: https://scriptura.si/works/aeschylus-libation-bearers/1/
cite: "Aeschylus, tr. Herbert Weir Smyth, Libation Bearers · Χοηφόροι, section 1. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/aeschylus-libation-bearers/1/"
---

# Libation Bearers · Χοηφόροι

*Aeschylus, tr. Herbert Weir Smyth*

Orestes returns to avenge his father: the second play of the Oresteia.

> Greek: ed. Herbert Weir Smyth, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0085.tlg006, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Herbert Weir Smyth, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0085.tlg006.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (line numbers), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 1. Lines 1–550

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/aeschylus-libation-bearers/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/aeschylus-libation-bearers/1/#p-N

[¶0] The tomb of Agamemnon. Enter Orestes and Pylades
Orestes:
Hermes of the nether world, you who guard the powers that are your father’s, prove yourself my savior and ally, I entreat you, now that I have come to this land and returned from exile. On this mounded grave I cry out to my father
to hearken, to hear me … Look, I bring a lock to Inachus in requital for his care, and here, a second, in token of my grief. For I was not present, father, to lament your death, nor did I stretch forth my hand to bear your corpse.
What is this I see? What is this throng of women that moves in state, marked by their sable cloaks? To what calamity should I set this down? Is it some new sorrow that befalls our house? Or am I right to suppose that for my father’s sake
they bear these libations to appease the powers below? It can only be for this cause: for indeed I think my own sister Electra is approaching, distinguished by her bitter grief. Oh grant me, Zeus, to avenge my father’s death, and may you be my willing ally!

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
⟨Ἑρμῆ χθόνιε, πατρῷʼ ἐποπτεύων κράτη,⟩
⟨σωτὴρ γενοῦ μοι ξύμμαχός τʼ αἰτουμένῳ·⟩
⟨ἥκω γὰρ ἐς γῆν τήνδε καὶ κατέρχομαι.⟩
⟨τύμβου δʼ ἐπʼ ὄχθῳ τῷδε κηρύσσω πατρὶ⟩
⟨κλύειν, ἀκοῦσαι … ⟩
⟨… ⟩
⟨… πλόκαμον Ἰνάχῳ θρεπτήριον.⟩
⟨τὸν δεύτερον δὲ τόνδε πενθητήριον⟩
⟨… ⟩
⟨οὐ γὰρ παρὼν ᾤμωξα σόν, πάτερ, μόρον⟩
⟨οὐδʼ ἐξέτεινα χεῖρʼ ἐπʼ ἐκφορᾷ νεκροῦ.⟩
…
τί χρῆμα λεύσσω; τίς ποθʼ ἥδʼ ὁμήγυρις
στείχει γυναικῶν φάρεσιν μελαγχίμοις
πρέπουσα; ποίᾳ ξυμφορᾷ προσεικάσω;
πότερα δόμοισι πῆμα προσκυρεῖ νέον;
ἢ πατρὶ τὠμῷ τάσδʼ ἐπεικάσας τύχω
χοὰς φερούσας νερτέροις μειλίγματα;
οὐδέν ποτʼ ἄλλο· καὶ γὰρ Ἠλέκτραν δοκῶ
στείχειν ἀδελφὴν τὴν ἐμὴν πένθει λυγρῷ
πρέπουσαν. ὦ Ζεῦ, δός με τείσασθαι μόρον
πατρός, γενοῦ δὲ σύμμαχος θέλων ἐμοί.

[¶1] Pylades, let us stand apart, that I may know clearly what this band of suppliant women intends. Exit Orestes and Pylades. Enter Electra with women carrying libations.

> Greek: Πυλάδη, σταθῶμεν ἐκποδών, ὡς ἂν σαφῶς
μάθω γυναικῶν ἥτις ἥδε προστροπή.

[¶2] Chorus:
Sent forth from the palace I have come to convey libations to the sound of sharp blows of my hands. My cheek is marked with bloody gashes
where my nails have cut fresh furrows. And yet through all my life my heart is fed with lamentation. Rips are torn by my griefs through the linen web of my garment, torn in the cloth that covers my breast,
the cloth of robes struck for the sake of my mirthless misfortunes.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἰαλτὸς ἐκ δόμων ἔβαν
χοὰς προπομπὸς ὀξύχειρι σὺν κτύπῳ.
πρέπει παρηὶς φοινίοις ἀμυγμοῖς
ὄνυχος ἄλοκι νεοτόμῳ·
διʼ αἰῶνος δʼ ἰυγμοῖσι βόσκεται κέαρ.
λινοφθόροι δʼ ὑφασμάτων
λακίδες ἔφλαδον ὑπʼ ἄλγεσιν,
προστέρνῳ στολμῷ
πέπλων ἀγελάστοις
ξυμφοραῖς πεπληγμένων.

[¶3] Chorus:
For with a hair-raising shriek, Terror, the diviner of dreams for our house, breathing wrath out of sleep, uttered a cry of terror in the dead of night from the heart of the palace,
a cry that fell heavily on the women’s quarter. And the readers of these dreams, bound under pledge, cried out from the god that those
beneath the earth cast furious reproaches and rage against their murderers.

> Greek: Χορός:
τορὸς δὲ Φοῖβος ὀρθόθριξ
δόμων ὀνειρόμαντις, ἐξ ὕπνου κότον
πνέων, ἀωρόνυκτον ἀμβόαμα
μυχόθεν ἔλακε περὶ φόβῳ,
γυναικείοισιν ἐν δώμασιν βαρὺς πίτνων.
κριταί ⟨τε⟩ τῶνδʼ ὀνειράτων
θεόθεν ἔλακον ὑπέγγυοι
μέμφεσθαι τοὺς γᾶς
νέρθεν περιθύμως
τοῖς κτανοῦσί τʼ ἐγκοτεῖν.

[¶4] Chorus:
Intending to ward off evil with such a graceless grace, O mother Earth,
she sends me forth, godless woman that she is. But I am afraid to utter the words she charged me to speak. For what atonement is there for blood fallen to earth? Ah, hearth of utter grief!
Ah, house laid low in ruin! Sunless darkness, loathed by men, enshrouds our house due to the death of its master.

> Greek: Χορός:
τοιάνδε χάριν ἀχάριτον ἀπότροπον κακῶν,
ἰὼ γαῖα μαῖα,
μωμένα μʼ ἰάλλει
δύσθεος γυνά. φοβοῦ-
μαι δʼ ἔπος τόδʼ ἐκβαλεῖν.
τί γὰρ λύτρον πεσόντος αἵματος πέδοι;
ἰὼ πάνοιζυς ἑστία,
ἰὼ κατασκαφαὶ δόμων.
ἀνήλιοι βροτοστυγεῖς
δνόφοι καλύπτουσι δόμους
δεσποτῶν θανάτοισι.

[¶5] The awe of majesty once unconquered, unvanquished, irresistible in war, that penetrated the ears and heart of the people, is now cast off. But there is still fear. And prosperity—this,
among mortals, is a god and more than a god. But the balance of Justice keeps watch: swiftly it descends on those in the light; sometimes pain waits for those who linger on the frontier of twilight;
and others are claimed by strengthless night.

> Greek: Χορός:
σέβας δʼ ἄμαχον ἀδάματον ἀπόλεμον τὸ πρὶν
διʼ ὤτων φρενός τε
δαμίας περαῖνον
νῦν ἀφίσταται. φοβεῖ-
ται δέ τις. τὸ δʼ εὐτυχεῖν,
τόδʼ ἐν βροτοῖς θεός τε καὶ θεοῦ πλέον.
ῥοπὴ δʼ ἐπισκοπεῖ δίκας
ταχεῖα τοὺς μὲν ἐν φάει,
τὰ δʼ ἐν μεταιχμίῳ σκότου
μένει χρονίζοντας ἄχη [βρύει],
τοὺς δʼ ἄκραντος ἔχει νύξ.

[¶6] Chorus:
Because of blood drunk up by the fostering earth, the vengeful gore lies clotted and will not dissolve away. Soul-racking calamity distracts
the guilty man till he is steeped in utter misery.

> Greek: Χορός:
διʼ αἵματʼ ἐκποθένθʼ ὑπὸ χθονὸς τροφοῦ
τίτας φόνος πέπηγεν οὐ διαρρύδαν.
διαλγὴς ⟨δʼ ⟩ ἄτα διαφέρει
τὸν αἴτιον παναρκέτας νόσου βρύειν.

[¶7] But for the violator of a bridal chamber there is no cure. And though all streams flow in one course to cleanse the blood from a polluted hand, they rush in vain.

> Greek: Χορός:
θιγόντι δʼ οὔτι νυμφικῶν ἑδωλίων
ἄκος, πόροι τε πάντες ἐκ μιᾶς ὁδοῦ
⟨προ⟩βαίνοντες τὸν χερομυσῆ
φόνον καθαίροντες ἴθυσαν μάταν.

[¶8] Chorus:
For since the gods laid constraining doom about my city and led me from my father’s house to a slave’s lot, it is fitting for me to govern my bitter hate, even against my will, and submit to the wishes of my masters, whether just or unjust.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἐμοὶ δʼ —ἀνάγκαν γὰρ ἀμφίπτολιν
θεοὶ προσήνεγκαν· ʽἐκ γὰρ οἴκων
πατρῴων δούλιόν ⟨μʼ⟩ ἐσᾶγον αἶσαν̓—
δίκαια καὶ μὴ δίκαια ἀρχὰς πρέπον
βίᾳ φρενῶν αἰνέσαι
πικρὸν στύγος κρατούσῃ.

[¶9] But I weep beneath my veil over the senseless fate of my lord, my heart chilled by secret grief.

> Greek: δακρύω δʼ ὑφʼ εἱμάτων
ματαίοισι δεσποτᾶν
τύχαις, κρυφαίοις πένθεσιν παχνουμένη.

[¶10] Electra:
You handmaidens who set our house in order, since you are here as my attendants in this rite of supplication,
give me your counsel on this: what should I say while I pour these offerings of sorrow? How shall I find gracious words, how shall I entreat my father? Shall I say that I bring these offerings to a loved husband from a loving
wife—from my own mother? I do not have the assurance for that, nor do I know what I should say as I pour this libation onto my father’s tomb. Or shall I speak the words that men are accustomed to use: “To those who send these honors may he return benefits”—
a gift, indeed, to match their evil? Or, in silence and dishonor, even as my father perished, shall I pour them out for the earth to drink and then retrace my steps, like one who carries refuse away from a rite, hurling the vessel from me with averted eyes?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
δμωαὶ γυναῖκες, δωμάτων εὐθήμονες,
ἐπεὶ πάρεστε τῆσδε προστροπῆς ἐμοὶ
πομποί, γένεσθε τῶνδε σύμβουλοι πέρι·
τί φῶ χέουσα τάσδε κηδείους χοάς;
πῶς εὔφρονʼ εἴπω, πῶς κατεύξομαι πατρί;
πότερα λέγουσα παρὰ φίλης φίλῳ φέρειν
γυναικὸς ἀνδρί, τῆς ἐμῆς μητρὸς πάρα;
τῶνδʼ οὐ πάρεστι θάρσος, οὐδʼ ἔχω τί φῶ,
χέουσα τόνδε πέλανον ἐν τύμβῳ πατρός.
ἢ τοῦτο φάσκω τοὔπος, ὡς νόμος βροτοῖς,
ἔσθλʼ ἀντιδοῦναι τοῖσι πέμπουσιν τάδε
στέφη, δόσιν γε τῶν κακῶν ἐπαξίαν;
ἢ σῖγʼ ἀτίμως, ὥσπερ οὖν ἀπώλετο
πατήρ, τάδʼ ἐκχέασα, γάποτον χύσιν,
στείχω καθάρμαθʼ ὥς τις ἐκπέμψας πάλιν
δικοῦσα τεῦχος ἀστρόφοισιν ὄμμασιν;

[¶11] In this, my friends, be my fellow-counsellors. For we cherish a common hatred within our house. Do not hide your counsel in your hearts in fear of anyone. For the portion of fate awaits both the free man and the man enslaved by another’s hand.

> Greek: τῆσδʼ ἐστὲ βουλῆς, ὦ φίλαι, μεταίτιαι·
κοινὸν γὰρ ἔχθος ἐν δόμοις νομίζομεν.
μὴ κεύθετʼ ἔνδον καρδίας φόβῳ τινός.
τὸ μόρσιμον γὰρ τόν τʼ ἐλεύθερον μένει
καὶ τὸν πρὸς ἄλλης δεσποτούμενον χερός.

[¶12] If you have a better course to urge, speak!

> Greek: λέγοις ἄν, εἴ τι τῶνδʼ ἔχοις ὑπέρτερον.

[¶13] Chorus:
In reverence for your father’s tomb, as if it were an altar, I will speak my thoughts from the heart, since you command me.

> Greek: Χορός:
αἰδουμένη σοι βωμὸν ὡς τύμβον πατρὸς
λέξω, κελεύεις γάρ, τὸν ἐκ φρενὸς λόγον.

[¶14] Electra:
Speak, even as you revere my father’s grave.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
λέγοις ἄν, ὥσπερ ᾐδέσω τάφον πατρός.

[¶15] Chorus:
While you pour, utter benedictions for loyal hearts.

> Greek: Χορός:
φθέγγου χέουσα κεδνὰ τοῖσιν εὔφροσιν.

[¶16] Electra:
And to whom of those dear to me should I address them?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
τίνας δὲ τούτους τῶν φίλων προσεννέπω;

[¶17] Chorus:
First to yourself, then to whoever hates Aegisthus.

> Greek: Χορός:
πρῶτον μὲν αὑτὴν χὤστις Αἴγισθον στυγεῖ.

[¶18] Electra:
Then for myself and for you also shall I make this prayer?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἐμοί τε καὶ σοί τἄρʼ ἐπεύξομαι τάδε;

[¶19] Chorus:
That is for you, using your judgment, to consider now for yourself.

> Greek: Χορός:
αὐτὴ σὺ ταῦτα μανθάνουσʼ ἤδη φράσαι.

[¶20] Electra:
Then whom else should I add to our company?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
τίνʼ οὖν ἔτʼ ἄλλον τῇδε προστιθῶ στάσει;

[¶21] Chorus:
Remember Orestes, though he is still away from home.

> Greek: Χορός:
μέμνησʼ Ὀρέστου, κεἰ θυραῖός ἐσθʼ ὅμως.

[¶22] Electra:
Well said! You have indeed admonished me thoughtfully.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
εὖ τοῦτο, κἀφρένωσας οὐχ ἥκιστά με.

[¶23] Chorus:
For the guilty murderers now, mindful of—

> Greek: Χορός:
τοῖς αἰτίοις νῦν τοῦ φόνου μεμνημένη—

[¶24] Electra:
What should I say? Instruct my inexperience, prescribe the form.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
τί φῶ; δίδασκʼ ἄπειρον ἐξηγουμένη.

[¶25] Chorus:
Pray that some divinity or some mortal may come to them—

> Greek: Χορός:
ἐλθεῖν τινʼ αὐτοῖς δαίμονʼ ἢ βροτῶν τινα—

[¶26] Electra:
As judge or as avenger, do you mean?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
πότερα δικαστὴν ἢ δικηφόρον λέγεις;

[¶27] Chorus:
Say in plain speech, “One who will take life for life.”

> Greek: Χορός:
ἅπλῶς τι φράζουσʼ, ὅστις ἀνταποκτενεῖ.

[¶28] Electra:
And is it right for me to ask this of the gods?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
καὶ ταῦτά μοὐστὶν εὐσεβῆ θεῶν πάρα;

[¶29] Chorus:
How could it not be right to repay an enemy with ills?

> Greek: Χορός:
πῶς δʼ οὐ τὸν ἐχθρὸν ἀνταμείβεσθαι κακοῖς;

[¶30] Electra:
Supreme herald of the realm above and the realm below, O Hermes of the nether world, come to my aid,
summon to me the spirits beneath the earth to hear my prayers, spirits that watch over my father’s house, and Earth herself, who gives birth to all things, and having nurtured them receives their increase in turn. And meanwhile, as I pour these lustral offerings to the dead,
I invoke my father: “Have pity both on me and on dear Orestes! How shall we rule our own house? For now we are bartered away like vagrants by her who bore us, by her who in exchange got as her mate Aegisthus, who was her accomplice in your murder.”

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
κῆρυξ μέγιστε τῶν ἄνω τε καὶ κάτω,
⟨ἄρηξον,⟩ Ἑρμῆ χθόνιε, κηρύξας ἐμοὶ
τοὺς γῆς ἔνερθε δαίμονας κλύειν ἐμὰς
εὐχάς, πατρῴων δωμάτων ἐπισκόπους,
καὶ Γαῖαν αὐτήν, ἣ τὰ πάντα τίκτεται,
θρέψασά τʼ αὖθις τῶνδε κῦμα λαμβάνει·
κἀγὼ χέουσα τάσδε χέρνιβας βροτοῖς
λέγω καλοῦσα πατέρʼ, ἐποίκτιρόν τʼ ἐμὲ
φίλον τʼ Ὀρέστην· πῶς ἀνάξομεν δόμοις;
πεπραμένοι γὰρ νῦν γέ πως ἀλώμεθα
πρὸς τῆς τεκούσης, ἄνδρα δʼ ἀντηλλάξατο
Αἴγισθον, ὅσπερ σοῦ φόνου μεταίτιος.

[¶31] “As for me, I am no better than a slave, Orestes is an outcast from his inheritance, while they in their insolence revel openly in the winnings of your toil. But that Orestes may come home with good fortune I pray to you, father: Oh, hearken to me!”

> Greek: κἀγὼ μὲν ἀντίδουλος· ἐκ δὲ χρημάτων
φεύγων Ὀρέστης ἐστίν, οἱ δʼ ὑπερκόπως
ἐν τοῖσι σοῖς πόνοισι χλίουσιν μέγα.
ἐλθεῖν δʼ Ὀρέστην δεῦρο σὺν τύχῃ τινὶ
κατεύχομαί σοι, καὶ σὺ κλῦθί μου, πάτερ·

[¶32] “And as for myself, grant that I may prove far more circumspect than my mother and more reverent in deed. I utter these prayers on our behalf, but I ask that your avenger appear to our foes, father, and that your killers may be killed in just retribution.”

> Greek: αὐτῇ τέ μοι δὸς σωφρονεστέραν πολὺ
μητρὸς γενέσθαι χεῖρά τʼ εὐσεβεστέραν.
ἡμῖν μὲν εὐχὰς τάσδε, τοῖς δʼ ἐναντίοις
λέγω φανῆναί σου, πάτερ, τιμάορον,
καὶ τοὺς κτανόντας ἀντικατθανεῖν δίκῃ.

[¶33] “So I interrupt my prayer for good to offer them this prayer for evil. But be a bearer of blessings for us to the upper world, with the help of the gods and Earth and Justice crowned with victory.” She pours out the libations Such are my prayers, and over them I pour out these libations.

> Greek: ταῦτʼ ἐν μέσῳ τίθημι τῆς καλῆς ἀρᾶς,
κείνοις λέγουσα τήνδε τὴν κακὴν ἀράν·
ἡμῖν δὲ πομπὸς ἴσθι τῶν ἐσθλῶν ἄνω,
σὺν θεοῖσι καὶ γῇ καὶ δίκῃ νικηφόρῳ.
τοιαῖσδʼ ἐπʼ εὐχαῖς τάσδʼ ἐπισπένδω χοάς.

[¶34] It is right for you to crown them with lamentations, raising your voices in a chant for the dead.

> Greek: ὑμᾶς δὲ κωκυτοῖς ἐπανθίζειν νόμος,
παιᾶνα τοῦ θανόντος ἐξαυδωμένας.

[¶35] Chorus:
Pour forth your tears, splashing as they fall for our fallen lord, to accompany this protection against evil, this charm for the good
against the loathsome pollution. Hear me, oh hear me, my honored lord, out of the darkness of your spirit. Woe, woe, woe! Oh for
a man mighty with the spear to deliver our house, an Ares, brandishing in the fight the springing Scythian bow and wielding his hilted sword in close combat. As they conclude, Electra discovers the lock of Orestes’ hair

> Greek: Χορός:
ἵετε δάκρυ καναχὲς ὀλόμενον
ὀλομένῳ δεσπότᾳ
πρὸς ἔρυμα τόδε κακῶν, κεδνῶν τʼ
ἀπότροπον ἄγος ἀπεύχετον
κεχυμένων χοᾶν. κλύε δέ μοι, κλύε, σέ-
βας ὦ δέσποτʼ, ἐξ ἀμαυρᾶς φρενός.
ὀτοτοτοτοτοτοτοῖ,
ἴτω τις δορυ-
σθενὴς ἀνήρ, ἀναλυτὴρ δόμων,
Σκυθικά τʼ ἐν χεροῖν παλίντονʼ
ἐν ἔργῳ βέλη ʼπιπάλλων Ἄρης
σχέδιά τʼ αὐτόκωπα νωμῶν ξίφη.

[¶36] Electra:
My father has by now received the libations, which the earth has drunk.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἔχει μὲν ἤδη γαπότους χοὰς πατήρ·

[¶37] But take your share of this startling news.

> Greek: νέου δὲ μύθου τοῦδε κοινωνήσατε·

[¶38] Chorus:
Speak—but my heart is dancing with fear.

> Greek: Χορός:
λέγοις ἄν· ὀρχεῖται δὲ καρδία φόβῳ.

[¶39] Electra:
I see here a lock cut as an offering for the tomb.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὁρῶ τομαῖον τόνδε βόστρυχον τάφῳ.

[¶40] Chorus:
A man’s, or a deep-girt maid’s?

> Greek: Χορός:
τίνος ποτʼ ἀνδρός, ἢ βαθυζώνου κόρης;

[¶41] Electra:
That is open to conjecture—anyone may guess.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
εὐξύμβολον τόδʼ ἐστὶ παντὶ δοξάσαι.

[¶42] Chorus:
How then? Let my age be taught by your youth.

> Greek: Χορός:
πῶς οὖν; παλαιὰ παρὰ νεωτέρας μάθω.

[¶43] Electra:
There is no one who could have cut it but myself.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις πλὴν ἐμοῦ κείραιτό νιν.

[¶44] Chorus:
Yes, for those who ought to have mourned with a lock of hair are enemies.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἐχθροὶ γὰρ οἷς προσῆκε πενθῆσαι τριχί.

[¶45] Electra:
And further, in appearance it is very much like—

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
καὶ μὴν ὅδʼ ἐστὶ κάρτʼ ἰδεῖν ὁμόπτερος—

[¶46] Chorus:
Whose lock? This is what I would like to know.

> Greek: Χορός:
ποίαις ἐθείραις; τοῦτο γὰρ θέλω μαθεῖν.

[¶47] Electra:
It is very much like my own in appearance.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
αὐτοῖσιν ἡμῖν κάρτα προσφερὴς ἰδεῖν.

[¶48] Chorus:
Then can this be a secret offering from Orestes?

> Greek: Χορός:
μῶν οὖν Ὀρέστου κρύβδα δῶρον ἦν τόδε;

[¶49] Electra:
It is his curling locks that it most resembles.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
μάλιστʼ ἐκείνου βοστρύχοις προσείδεται.

[¶50] Chorus:
But how did he dare to come here?

> Greek: Χορός:
καὶ πῶς ἐκεῖνος δεῦρʼ ἐτόλμησεν μολεῖν;

[¶51] Electra:
He has merely sent this cut lock to honor his father.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἔπεμψε χαίτην κουρίμην χάριν πατρός.

[¶52] Chorus:
What you say is no less a cause of tears for me, if he will never again set foot on this land.

> Greek: Χορός:
οὐχ ἧσσον εὐδάκρυτά μοι λέγεις τάδε,
εἰ τῆσδε χώρας μήποτε ψαύσει ποδί.

[¶53] Electra:
Over my heart, too, there sweeps a surge of bitterness, and I am struck as if a sword had run me through.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
κἀμοὶ προσέστη καρδίας κλυδώνιον
χολῆς, ἐπαίσθην δʼ ὡς διανταίῳ βέλει·

[¶54] From my eyes thirsty drops of a stormy flood fall unchecked at the sight of this tress. For how can I expect to find that someone else, some townsman, owns this lock? Nor yet in truth did she clip it from her head, the murderess,
my own mother, who has assumed a godless spirit regarding her children that ill accords with the name of mother. But as for me, how am I to assent to this outright, that it adorned the head of Orestes, the dearest to me of all mortals? No, hope is merely flattering me.

> Greek: ἐξ ὀμμάτων δὲ δίψιοι πίπτουσί μοι
σταγόνες ἄφρακτοι δυσχίμου πλημμυρίδος,
πλόκαμον ἰδούσῃ τόνδε· πῶς γὰρ ἐλπίσω
ἀστῶν τινʼ ἄλλον τῆσδε δεσπόζειν φόβης;
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ μήν νιν ἡ κτανοῦσʼ ἐκείρατο,
ἐμὴ δὲ μήτηρ, οὐδαμῶς ἐπώνυμον
φρόνημα παισὶ δύσθεον πεπαμένη.
ἐγὼ δʼ ὅπως μὲν ἄντικρυς τάδʼ αἰνέσω,
εἶναι τόδʼ ἀγλάισμά μοι τοῦ φιλτάτου
βροτῶν Ὀρέστου—σαίνομαι δʼ ὑπʼ ἐλπίδος.

[¶55] Ah, woe! If only, like a messenger, it had a kind voice, so that I would not be tossed by my distracted thoughts. Rather it would plainly bid me to spurn this tress, if it was severed from a hated head. Or if it were a kinsman’s, he would share my grief
as an adornment to this tomb and a tribute to my father. But I invoke the gods, who know by what storms we are tossed like seafarers. Yet if I am fated to reach safety, a great stock may come from a little seed.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
φεῦ.
εἴθʼ εἶχε φωνὴν εὔφρονʼ ἀγγέλου δίκην,
ὅπως δίφροντις οὖσα μὴ ʼκινυσσόμην,
ἀλλʼ εὖ ʼσαφήνει τόνδʼ ἀποπτύσαι πλόκον,
εἴπερ γʼ ἀπʼ ἐχθροῦ κρατὸς ἦν τετμημένος,
ἢ ξυγγενὴς ὢν εἶχε συμπενθεῖν ἐμοὶ
ἄγαλμα τύμβου τοῦδε καὶ τιμὴν πατρός.
ἀλλʼ εἰδότας μὲν τοὺς θεοὺς καλούμεθα,
οἵοισιν ἐν χειμῶσι ναυτίλων δίκην
στροβούμεθʼ· εἰ δὲ χρὴ τυχεῖν σωτηρίας,
σμικροῦ γένοιτʼ ἂν σπέρματος μέγας πυθμήν.

[¶56] And look! Another proof! Footprints>matching each other—and like my own! Yes, here are the outlines of two sets of feet, his own and some companion’s. The heels and the imprints of the tendons agree
in proportion with my own tracks. I am in torment, my brain is in a whirl!
Enter Orestes
Orestes:
Give recognition to the gods that your prayers have been fulfilled, and pray that success may attend you in the future.

> Greek: καὶ μὴν στίβοι γε, δεύτερον τεκμήριον,
ποδῶν ὅμοιοι τοῖς τʼ ἐμοῖσιν ἐμφερεῖς—
καὶ γὰρ δύʼ ἐστὸν τώδε περιγραφὰ ποδοῖν,
αὐτοῦ τʼ ἐκείνου καὶ συνεμπόρου τινός.
πτέρναι τενόντων θʼ ὑπογραφαὶ μετρούμεναι
εἰς ταὐτὸ συμβαίνουσι τοῖς ἐμοῖς στίβοις.
πάρεστι δʼ ὠδὶς καὶ φρενῶν καταφθορά.
Ὀρέστης:
εὔχου τὰ λοιπά, τοῖς θεοῖς τελεσφόρους
εὐχὰς ἐπαγγέλλουσα, τυγχάνειν καλῶς.

[¶57] Electra:
What? Have I succeeded now by the will of the gods?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἐπεὶ τί νῦν ἕκατι δαιμόνων κυρῶ;

[¶58] Orestes:
You have come to the sight of what you have long prayed for.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
εἰς ὄψιν ἥκεις ὧνπερ ἐξηύχου πάλαι.

[¶59] Electra:
And do you know whom among mortals I was invoking?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
καὶ τίνα σύνοισθά μοι καλουμένῃ βροτῶν;

[¶60] Orestes:
I know that you are pining for Orestes.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
σύνοιδʼ Ὀρέστην πολλά σʼ ἐκπαγλουμένην.

[¶61] Electra:
Then how have I found an answer to my prayers?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
καὶ πρὸς τί δῆτα τυγχάνω κατευγμάτων;

[¶62] Orestes:
Here I am. Search for no other friend than me.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ὅδʼ εἰμί· μὴ μάτευʼ ἐμοῦ μᾶλλον φίλον.

[¶63] Electra:
But surely, stranger, you are weaving some snare about me?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἀλλʼ ἦ δόλον τινʼ, ὦ ξένʼ, ἀμφί μοι πλέκεις;

[¶64] Orestes:
Then I am devising plots against myself.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
αὐτὸς καθʼ αὑτοῦ τἄρα μηχανορραφῶ.

[¶65] Electra:
No, you wish to mock my distress.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἀλλʼ ἐν κακοῖσι τοῖς ἐμοῖς γελᾶν θέλεις.

[¶66] Orestes:
Then my own also, if yours.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
κἀν τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἄρʼ, εἴπερ ἔν γε τοῖσι σοῖς

[¶67] Electra:
Am I then to address you as Orestes in truth?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὡς ὄντʼ Ὀρέστην τάδε σʼ ἐγὼ προσεννέπω;

[¶68] Orestes:
Now, even though you see him in me, you are slow to learn. Yet at the sight of this tress cut in mourning, and when you were scrutinizing the footprints of my tracks, your thought took wings and you knew you had found me.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
αὐτὸν μὲν οὖν ὁρῶσα δυσμαθεῖς ἐμέ·
κουρὰν δʼ ἰδοῦσα τήνδε κηδείου τριχὸς
ἰχνοσκοποῦσά τʼ ἐν στίβοισι τοῖς ἐμοῖς
ἀνεπτερώθης κἀδόκεις ὁρᾶν ἐμέ.

[¶69] Put the lock of hair, your own brother’s, in the spot it was cut from and observe how it matches the hair on my head. And see this piece of weaving, your handiwork, the strokes of the batten and the beasts in the design. Control yourself! Do not go mad with joy! For I know that our nearest kin are bitter foes to us both.

> Greek: σκέψαι τομῇ προσθεῖσα βόστρυχον τριχὸς
σαυτῆς ἀδελφοῦ σύμμετρον τὠμῷ κάρᾳ.
ἰδοῦ δʼ ὕφασμα τοῦτο, σῆς ἔργον χερός,
σπάθης τε πληγὰς ἠδὲ θήρειον γραφήν.
ἔνδον γενοῦ, χαρᾷ δὲ μὴ ʼκπλαγῇς φρένας·
τοὺς φιλτάτους γὰρ οἶδα νῷν ὄντας πικρούς.

[¶70] Electra:
O best beloved darling of your father’s house, its hope of a saving seed longed for with tears, trust in your prowess and you will win back your father’s house. O delightful eyes that have four parts of love for me: for I must call you father;
and to you falls the love I should bear my mother, whom I most rightly hate; and the love I bore my sister, victim of a pitiless sacrifice; and you were my faithful brother, bringing me your reverence. May Might and Justice,
with Zeus, supreme over all, in the third place, lend you their aid!

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὦ φίλτατον μέλημα δώμασιν πατρός,
δακρυτὸς ἐλπὶς σπέρματος σωτηρίου,
ἀλκῇ πεποιθὼς δῶμʼ ἀνακτήσῃ πατρός.
ὦ τερπνὸν ὄμμα τέσσαρας μοίρας ἔχον
ἐμοί· προσαυδᾶν δʼ ἐστʼ ἀναγκαίως ἔχον
πατέρα τε, καὶ τὸ μητρὸς ἐς σέ μοι ῥέπει
στέργηθρον· ἡ δὲ πανδίκως ἐχθαίρεται·
καὶ τῆς τυθείσης νηλεῶς ὁμοσπόρου·
πιστὸς δʼ ἀδελφὸς ἦσθʼ, ἐμοὶ σέβας φέρων
μόνος· Κράτος τε καὶ Δίκη σὺν τῷ τρίτῳ
πάντων μεγίστῳ Ζηνὶ συγγένοιτό σοι.

[¶71] Orestes:
O Zeus, O Zeus, regard our cause! Behold the orphaned brood of a father eagle that perished in the meshes, in the coils of a fierce viper. They are utterly orphaned, gripped by the famine of hunger:
for they are not grown to full strength to bring their father’s quarry to the nest. So you see both me and poor Electra here, children bereft of their father, both outcasts alike from our home.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
Ζεῦ Ζεῦ, θεωρὸς τῶνδε πραγμάτων γενοῦ·
ἰδοῦ δὲ γένναν εὖνιν αἰετοῦ πατρός,
θανόντος ἐν πλεκταῖσι καὶ σπειράμασιν
δεινῆς ἐχίδνης. τοὺς δʼ ἀπωρφανισμένους
νῆστις πιέζει λιμός· οὐ γὰρ ἐντελεῖς
θήραν πατρῴαν προσφέρειν σκηνήμασιν.
οὕτω δὲ κἀμὲ τήνδε τʼ, Ἠλέκτραν λέγω,
ἰδεῖν πάρεστί σοι, πατροστερῆ γόνον,
ἄμφω φυγὴν ἔχοντε τὴν αὐτὴν δόμων.

[¶72] If you destroy these nestlings of a father who made sacrifice and revered you greatly, from what like hand will you receive the homage of rich feasts? Destroy the brood of the eagle and you cannot again send tokens that mortals will trust;

> Greek: καὶ τοῦ θυτῆρος καί σε τιμῶντος μέγα
πατρὸς νεοσσοὺς τούσδʼ ἀποφθείρας πόθεν
ἕξεις ὁμοίας χειρὸς εὔθοινον γέρας;
οὔτʼ αἰετοῦ γένεθλʼ ἀποφθείρας, πάλιν
πέμπειν ἔχοις ἂν σήματʼ εὐπιθῆ βροτοῖς·

[¶73] nor, if this royal stock should wither utterly away, will it serve your altars on days when oxen are sacrificed. Oh foster it, and you may raise our house from low estate to great, though now it seems utterly overthrown.

> Greek: οὔτʼ ἀρχικός σοι πᾶς ὅδʼ αὐανθεὶς πυθμὴν
βωμοῖς ἀρήξει βουθύτοις ἐν ἤμασιν.
κόμιζʼ, ἀπὸ σμικροῦ δʼ ἂν ἄρειας μέγαν
δόμον, δοκοῦντα κάρτα νῦν πεπτωκέναι.

[¶74] Chorus:
O children, O saviors of your father’s hearth,
speak not so loud, dear children, in case someone should overhear and report all this to our masters merely for the sake of rumor. May I some day see them dead in the ooze of flaming pitch!

> Greek: Χορός:
ὦ παῖδες, ὦ σωτῆρες ἑστίας πατρός,
σιγᾶθʼ, ὅπως μὴ πεύσεταί τις, ὦ τέκνα,
γλώσσης χάριν δὲ πάντʼ ἀπαγγείλῃ τάδε
πρὸς τοὺς κρατοῦντας· οὓς ἴδοιμʼ ἐγώ ποτε
θανόντας ἐν κηκῖδι πισσήρει φλογός.

[¶75] Orestes:
Surely he will not abandon me, the mighty oracle of Loxias,
who urged me to brave this peril to the end and loudly proclaims calamities that chill the warmth of my heart, if I do not take vengeance on my father’s murderers. He said that,
I should pay the debt myself with my own life, after many grievous sufferings. For he spoke revealing to mortals the wrath of malignant powers from underneath the earth, and telling of plagues:
leprous ulcers that mount with fierce fangs on the flesh and eat away its primal nature; and how a white down should sprout up on the diseased place. And he spoke of other assaults of the Furies that are destined to be brought to pass from paternal blood.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
οὔτοι προδώσει Λοξίου μεγασθενὴς
χρησμὸς κελεύων τόνδε κίνδυνον περᾶν,
κἀξορθιάζων πολλὰ καὶ δυσχειμέρους
ἄτας ὑφʼ ἧπαρ θερμὸν ἐξαυδώμενος,
εἰ μὴ μέτειμι τοῦ πατρὸς τοὺς αἰτίους·
τρόπον τὸν αὐτὸν ἀνταποκτεῖναι λέγων,
ἀποχρημάτοισι ζημίαις ταυρούμενον·
αὐτὸν δʼ ἔφασκε τῇ φίλῃ ψυχῇ τάδε
τείσειν μʼ ἔχοντα πολλὰ δυστερπῆ κακά.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἐκ γῆς δυσφρόνων μηνίματα
βροτοῖς πιφαύσκων εἶπε, τὰς δʼ αἰνῶν νόσους,
σαρκῶν ἐπαμβατῆρας ἀγρίαις γνάθοις
λειχῆνας ἐξέσθοντας ἀρχαίαν φύσιν·
λευκὰς δὲ κόρσας τῇδʼ ἐπαντέλλειν νόσῳ·
ἄλλας τʼ ἐφώνει προσβολάς Ἐρινύων
ἐκ τῶν πατρῴων αἱμάτων τελουμένας·

[¶76] For the dark bolt of the infernal powers, who are stirred by kindred victims calling for vengeance, and madness, and groundless terrors out of the night, torment and harass a man, and he sees clearly, though he moves his eyebrows in the dark. And with his body marred by the brazen scourge,
he is even chased in exile from his country. And the god declared that to such as these it is not allowed to have a part either in the ceremonial cup or in the cordial libation; his father’s wrath, though unseen, bars him from the altar; no one receives him or lodges with him;

> Greek: τὸ γὰρ σκοτεινὸν τῶν ἐνερτέρων βέλος
ἐκ προστροπαίων ἐν γένει πεπτωκότων,
καὶ λύσσα καὶ μάταιος ἐκ νυκτῶν φόβος
ὁρῶντα λαμπρὸν ἐν σκότῳ νωμῶντʼ ὀφρὺν
κινεῖ, ταράσσει, καὶ διώκεσθαι πόλεως
χαλκηλάτῳ πλάστιγγι λυμανθὲν δέμας.
καὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις οὔτε κρατῆρος μέρος
εἶναι μετασχεῖν, οὐ φιλοσπόνδου λιβός,
βωμῶν τʼ ἀπείργειν οὐχ ὁρωμένην πατρὸς
μῆνιν· δέχεσθαι ⟨δʼ⟩ οὔτε συλλύειν τινά.

[¶77] and at last, despised by all, friendless, he perishes, shrivelled pitifully by a death that wastes him utterly away. Must I not put my trust in oracles such as these? Yet even if I do not trust them, the deed must still be done. For many impulses conspire to one conclusion.
Besides the god’s command, my keen grief for my father, and also the pinch of poverty—that my countrymen, the most renowned of mortals, who overthrew Troy in the spirit of glory, should not be subjected so to a pair of women.

> Greek: πάντων δʼ ἄτιμον κἄφιλον θνῄσκειν χρόνῳ
κακῶς ταριχευθέντα παμφθάρτῳ μόρῳ.
τοιοῖσδε χρησμοῖς ἆρα χρὴ πεποιθέναι;
κεἰ μὴ πέποιθα, τοὔργον ἔστʼ ἐργαστέον.
πολλοὶ γὰρ εἰς ἓν συμπίτνουσιν ἵμεροι,
θεοῦ τʼ ἐφετμαὶ καὶ πατρὸς πένθος μέγα,
καὶ πρὸς πιέζει χρημάτων ἀχηνία,
τὸ μὴ πολίτας εὐκλεεστάτους βροτῶν,
Τροίας ἀναστατῆρας εὐδόξῳ φρενί,
δυοῖν γυναικοῖν ὧδʼ ὑπηκόους πέλειν.

[¶78] For he has a woman’s mind, or if not, it will soon be found out.

> Greek: θήλεια γὰρ φρήν· εἰ δὲ μή, τάχʼ εἴσεται.

[¶79] Chorus:
You mighty Fates, through the power of Zeus grant fulfilment in the way to which Justice now turns. “For a word of hate let a word of hate be said,”
Justice cries out as she exacts the debt, “and for a murderous stroke let a murderous stroke be paid.” “Let it be done to him as he does,” says the age-old wisdom.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἀλλʼ ὦ μεγάλαι Μοῖραι, Διόθεν
τῇδε τελευτᾶν,
τὸ δίκαιον μεταβαίνει.
ἀντὶ μὲν ἐχθρᾶς γλώσσης ἐχθρὰ
γλῶσσα τελείσθω· τοὐφειλόμενον
πράσσουσα Δίκη μέγʼ ἀυτεῖ·
ἀντὶ δὲ πληγῆς φονίας φονίαν
πληγὴν τινέτω. δράσαντι παθεῖν,
τριγέρων μῦθος τάδε φωνεῖ.

[¶80] Orestes:
O father, unhappy father, by what word or deed of mine can I succeed in sailing from far away to you, where your resting-place holds you, a light to oppose your darkness?
Yet a lament in honor of the Atreidae who once possessed our house is none the less a joyous service.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ὦ πάτερ αἰνόπατερ, τί σοι
φάμενος ἢ τί ῥέξας
τύχοιμʼ ἂν ἕκαθεν οὐρίσας,
ἔνθα σʼ ἔχουσιν εὐναί,
σκότῳ φάος ἀντίμοι-
ρον; χάριτες δʼ ὁμοίως
κέκληνται γόος εὐκλεὴς
προσθοδόμοις Ἀτρείδαις.

[¶81] Chorus:
My child, the fire’s ravening jaw does not overwhelm the wits of the dead man,
but afterwards he reveals what stirs him. The murdered man has his dirge; the guilty man is revealed. Justified lament for fathers and for parents,
when raised loud and strong, makes its search everywhere.

> Greek: Χορός:
τέκνον, φρόνημα τοῦ
θανόντος οὐ δαμάζει
πυρὸς [ἡ] μαλερὰ γνάθος,
φαίνει δʼ ὕστερον ὀργάς·
ὀτοτύζεται δʼ ὁ θνῄσκων,
ἀναφαίνεται δʼ ὁ βλάπτων.
πατέρων τε καὶ τεκόντων
γόος ἔνδικος ματεύει
τὸ πᾶν ἀμφιλαφής ταραχθείς.

[¶82] Electra:
Hear then, O father, as in turn we mourn with plentiful tears. Look, your two children mourn you
in a dirge over your tomb. As suppliants and exiles as well they have sought a haven at your sepulchre. What of these things is good, what free of evil? Is it not hopeless to wrestle against doom?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
κλῦθὶ νυν, ὦ πάτερ, ἐν μέρει
πολυδάκρυτα πένθη.
δίπαις τοί σʼ ἐπιτύμβιος
θρῆνος ἀναστενάζει.
τάφος δʼ ἱκέτας δέδεκται
φυγάδας θʼ ὁμοίως.
τί τῶνδʼ εὖ, τί δʼ ἄτερ κακῶν;
οὐκ ἀτρίακτος ἄτα;

[¶83] Chorus:
Yet heaven, if it pleases, may still turn our utterance to more joyfully sounding strains. In place of dirges over a tomb, a song of triumph within the royal halls will welcome back a reunited friend.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἀλλʼ ἔτʼ ἂν ἐκ τῶνδε θεὸς χρῄζων
θείη κελάδους εὐφθογγοτέρους·
ἀντὶ δὲ θρήνων ἐπιτυμβιδίων
παιὰν μελάθροις ἐν βασιλείοις
νεοκρᾶτα φίλον κομίσειεν.

[¶84] Orestes:
Ah, my father, if only beneath Ilium’s walls you had been slain, slashed by some Lycian spearman! Then you would have left a good name for your children in their halls,
and in their maturity you would have made their lives admired by men. And in a land beyond the sea you would have found a tomb heaped high with earth, no heavy burden for your house to bear—

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
εἰ γὰρ ὑπʼ Ἰλίῳ
πρός τινος Λυκίων, πάτερ,
δορίτμητος κατηναρίσθης·
λιπὼν ἂν εὔκλειαν ἐν δόμοισι
τέκνων τʼ ἐν κελεύθοις
ἐπιστρεπτὸν αἰῶ
κτίσας πολύχωστον ἂν εἶχες
τάφον διαποντίου γᾶς
δώμασιν εὐφόρητον,

[¶85] Chorus:
—Welcomed there below by your comrades
who nobly fell, a ruler of august majesty, distinguished even beneath the earth, and minister of the mightiest, the deities who rule in the nether world.

> Greek: Χορός:
φίλος φίλοισι τοῖς
ἐκεῖ καλῶς θανοῦσιν
κατὰ χθονὸς ἐμπρέπων
σεμνότιμος ἀνάκτωρ,
πρόπολός τε τῶν μεγίστων
χθονίων ἐκεῖ τυράννων·

[¶86] For in your life you were a king of those who have the power to assign the portion of death, and who wield the staff all mortals obey.

> Greek: βασιλεὺς γὰρ ἦσθʼ, ὄφρʼ ἔζης,
μόριμον λάχος πιπλάντων
χεροῖν πεισίβροτόν τε βάκτρον.

[¶87] Electra:
No, not even beneath the walls of Troy, father,
would I wish you to have fallen and to be entombed beside Scamander’s waters among the rest of the host slain by the spear. I wish rather that his murderers had been killed by their own loved ones, just as they killed you,
so that someone in a distant land who knew nothing of these present troubles should learn of their fatal doom.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
μηδʼ ὑπὸ Τρωίας
τείχεσι φθίμενος, πάτερ,
μετʼ ἄλλῳ δουρικμῆτι λαῷ
παρὰ Σκαμάνδρου πόρον τεθάφθαι.
πάρος δʼ οἱ κτανόντες
νιν οὕτως δαμῆναι
⟨φίλοις⟩, θανατηφόρον αἶσαν
πρόσω τινὰ πυνθάνεσθαι
τῶνδε πόνων ἄπειρον.

[¶88] Chorus:
In this, my child, your wish is better than gold. It surpasses great good fortune, even that of the supremely blesssed; for it is easy to wish.

> Greek: Χορός:
ταῦτα μέν, ὦ παῖ, κρείσσονα χρυσοῦ,
μεγάλης δὲ τύχης καὶ ὑπερβορέου
μείζονα φωνεῖς· δύνασαι γάρ.

[¶89] But now the lash of this double scourge comes home: our cause already has its champions beneath the earth, while the hands of our loathsome opponents, though they have the mastery, are unholy. The children have won the day.

> Greek: ἀλλὰ διπλῆς γὰρ τῆσδε μαράγνης
δοῦπος ἱκνεῖται· τῶν μὲν ἀρωγοὶ
κατὰ γῆς ἤδη, τῶν δὲ κρατούντων
χέρες οὐχ ὅσιαι στυγερῶν τούτων·
παισὶ δὲ μᾶλλον γεγένηται.

[¶90] Orestes:
This has pierced the earth and reached your ear as if it were an arrow. O Zeus, O Zeus, who send long-deferred retribution up from below onto the reckless and wicked deeds done by the hands of mortals....
And yet it will be accomplished for our father’s sake.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
τοῦτο διαμπερὲς οὖς
ἵκεθʼ ἅπερ τι βέλος.
Ζεῦ Ζεῦ, κάτωθεν ἀμπέμπων
ὑστερόποινον ἄταν
βροτῶν τλάμονι καὶ πανούργῳ
χειρὶ—τοκεῦσι δʼ ὅμως τελεῖται.

[¶91] Chorus:
May it be mine to raise a hearty shout in triumph over the man when he is stabbed and over the woman as she perishes! Why should I try to keep hidden what nevertheless hovers before my soul?
Full against the prow of my heart wrath blows sharply in rancorous hate.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἐφυμνῆσαι γένοιτό μοι πυκά-
εντʼ ὀλολυγμὸν ἀνδρὸς
θεινομένου, γυναικός τʼ
ὀλλυμένας· τί γὰρ κεύθω φρενὸς οἷον ἔμπας
ποτᾶται; πάροιθεν δὲ πρῴρας
δριμὺς ἄηται κραδίας
θυμὸς ἔγκοτον στύγος.

[¶92] Electra:
And when will mighty Zeus bring down his hand on them
and split their heads open? Let it be a pledge to the land! After injustice I demand justice as my right. Hear, O Earth, and you honored powers below!

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
καί πότʼ ἂν ἀμφιθαλὴς
Ζεὺς ἐπὶ χεῖρα βάλοι,
φεῦ φεῦ, κάρανα δαΐξας;
πιστὰ γένοιτο χώρᾳ.
δίκαν δʼ ἐξ ἀδίκων ἀπαιτῶ.
κλῦτε δὲ Γᾶ χθονίων τε τιμαί.

[¶93] Chorus:
And it is the eternal rule that drops of blood spilled on the ground demand yet more blood. Murder cries out on the Fury, which from those killed before brings one ruin in the wake of another.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἀλλὰ νόμος μὲν φονίας σταγόνας
χυμένας ἐς πέδον ἄλλο προσαιτεῖν
αἷμα. βοᾷ γὰρ λοιγὸς Ἐρινὺν
παρὰ τῶν πρότερον φθιμένων ἄτην
ἑτέραν ἐπάγουσαν ἐπʼ ἄτῃ.

[¶94] Orestes:
Alas, you sovereign powers of the world below, behold, you potent Curses of the slain, behold the remnants of the line of Atreus in their helpless plight, cast out from house and home in dishonor. Which way can we turn, O Zeus?

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
πόποι δὴ νερτέρων τυραννίδες,
ἴδετε πολυκρατεῖς Ἀραὶ φθινομένων,
ἴδεσθʼ Ἀτρειδᾶν τὰ λοίπʼ ἀμηχάνως
ἔχοντα καὶ δωμάτων
ἄτιμα. πᾷ τις τράποιτʼ ἄν, ὦ Ζεῦ;

[¶95] Chorus:
But again my heart throbs as I hear this pitiful lament. At once I am devoid of hope and my viscera are darkened at the words I hear.

> Greek: Χορός:
πέπαλται δαὖτὲ μοι φίλον κέαρ
τόνδε κλύουσαν οἶκτον
καὶ τότε μὲν δύσελπις,
σπλάγχνα δέ μοι κελαινοῦ-
ται πρὸς ἔπος κλυούσᾳ.

[¶96] But when hope once again lifts and strengthens me, it puts away my distress and dawns brightly on me.

> Greek: ὅταν δʼ αὖτʼ ἐπʼ ἀλκῆς ἐπάρῃ ⟨μʼ⟩
⟨ἐλπὶς⟩, ἀπέστασεν ἄχος
προσφανεῖσά μοι καλῶς.

[¶97] Electra:
To what could we more fittingly appeal than to those very miseries we have endured from the woman herself who bore us?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
τί δʼ ἂν φάντες τύχοιμεν ἢ τά περ
πάθομεν ἄχεα πρός γε τῶν τεκομένων;

[¶98] She may fawn upon us, but they are past all soothing. For like a fierce-hearted wolf the temper we have acquired from our mother is implacable.

> Greek: πάρεστι σαίνειν, τὰ δʼ οὔτι θέλγεται.
λύκος γὰρ ὥστʼ ὠμόφρων
ἄσαντος ἐκ ματρός ἐστι θυμός.

[¶99] Chorus:
On my breast I beat an Arian dirge in just the same fashion as a Cissian wailing woman.
With clenched fists, raining blows thick and fast, my outstretched hands could be seen descending from above, from far above, now on this side, now on that, till my battered and wretched head resounded with the strokes.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἔκοψα κομμὸν Ἄριον ἔν τε Κισσίας
νόμοις ἰηλεμιστρίας,
ἀπριγδόπληκτα πολυπλάνητα δʼ ἦν ἰδεῖν
ἐπασσυτεροτριβῆ τὰ χερὸς ὀρέγματα
ἄνωθεν ἀνέκαθεν, κτύπῳ δʼ ἐπερρόθει
κροτητὸν ἀμὸν καὶ πανάθλιον κάρα.

[¶100] Electra:
Away with you, cruel
and utterly brazen mother! You dared to give your husband a most cruel burial: unmourned, without lamentation, a king unattended by his people.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἰὼ [ἰὼ] δαΐα
πάντολμε μᾶτερ, δαΐαις ἐν ἐκφοραῖς
ἄνευ πολιτᾶν ἄνακτʼ,
ἄνευ δὲ πενθημάτων
ἔτλας ἀνοίμωκτον ἄνδρα θάψαι.

[¶101] Orestes:
Ah me, your words spell utter dishonor.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
τὸ πᾶν ἀτίμως ἔλεξας, οἴμοι.

[¶102] Yet with the help of the gods, and with the help of my own hands, will she not atone for the dishonor she did my father? Let me only take her life, then let me die!

> Greek: πατρὸς δʼ ἀτίμωσιν ἆρα τείσει
ἕκατι μὲν δαιμόνων,
ἕκατι δʼ ἀμᾶν χερῶν;
ἔπειτʼ ἐγὼ νοσφίσας ὀλοίμαν.

[¶103] Chorus:
Yes, and I would have you know he was brutally mangled.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἐμασχαλίσθη δέ γʼ, ὡς τόδʼ εἰδῇς·

[¶104] And even as she buried him in this way, she acted with intent to make the manner of his death a burden on your life past all power to bear. You hear the story of the ignominious outrage done to your father.

> Greek: ἔπρασσε δʼ, ᾇπέρ νιν ὧδε θάπτει,
μόρον κτίσαι μωμένα
ἄφερτον αἰῶνι σῷ.
κλύεις πατρῴους δύας ἀτίμους.

[¶105] Electra:
My father was murdered just as you say. But all the while I was kept sequestered, despised, accounted a worthless thing. Kennelled in my room as if I were a vicious cur, I gave free vent to my streaming tears, which came more readily than laughter, as in my concealment I poured out my lament in plentiful weeping.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
λέγεις πατρῷον μόρον· ἐγὼ δʼ ἀπεστάτουν
ἄτιμος, οὐδὲν ἀξία·
μυχῷ δʼ ἄφερκτος πολυσινοῦς κυνὸς δίκαν
ἑτοιμότερα γέλωτος ἀνέφερον λίβη,
χέουσα πολύδακρυν γόον κεκρυμμένα.

[¶106] Hear my tale and inscribe it on your heart.

> Greek: τοιαῦτʼ ἀκούων ἐν φρεσὶν γράφου ⟨˘ ¯⟩.

[¶107] Chorus:
Yes, let it sink deep into your ears, but keep inside a quiet steadfastness of soul. So far things are so. But you yourself be eager to resolve what is to follow.

> Greek: Χορός:
διʼ ὤτων δὲ συν-
τέτραινε μῦθον ἡσύχῳ φρενῶν βάσει.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ οὕτως ἔχει,
τὰ δʼ αὐτὸς ὄργα μαθεῖν.

[¶108] You must enter the contest with inflexible wrath.

> Greek: πρέπει δʼ ἀκάμπτῳ μένει καθήκειν.

[¶109] Orestes:
Father, I call on you; side with your loved ones!

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
σὲ τοι λέγω, ξυγγενοῦ, πάτερ, φίλοις.

[¶110] Electra:
And I in tears join my voice to his.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἐγὼ δʼ ἐπιφθέγγομαι κεκλαυμένα.

[¶111] Chorus:
And let all our company blend our voices to echo the prayer. Hear! Come to the light!
Side with us against the foe!

> Greek: Χορός:
στάσις δὲ πάγκοινος ἅδʼ ἐπιρροθεῖ·
ἄκουσον ἐς φάος μολών,
ξὺν δὲ γενοῦ πρὸς ἐχθρούς.

[¶112] Orestes:
Ares will encounter Ares; Right will encounter Right.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
Ἄρης Ἄρει ξυμβαλεῖ, Δίκᾳ Δίκα.

[¶113] Electra:
O you gods, judge rightly the plea of right!

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἰὼ θεοί, κραίνετʼ ἐνδίκως ⟨δίκας.⟩

[¶114] Chorus:
A shudder steals over me as I hear these prayers. Doom has long been waiting,
but it will come in answer to those who pray.

> Greek: Χορός:
τρόμος μʼ ὑφέρπει κλύουσαν εὐγμάτων.
τὸ μόρσιμον μένει πάλαι,
εὐχομένοις δʼ ἂν ἔλθοι.

[¶115] Chorus:
Ah, inbred trouble and bloody stroke of ruin striking a discord! Ah, lamentable and grievous sorrows!

> Greek: Χορός:
ὦ πόνος ἐγγενὴς
καὶ παράμουσος Ἄτας
αἱματόεσσα πλαγά.
ἰὼ δύστονʼ ἄφερτα κήδη·

[¶116] Ah, the unstaunched pain!

> Greek: ἰὼ δυσκατάπαυστον ἄλγος.

[¶117] Chorus:
Our house has a cure to heal these woes, a cure not from outside, from the hands of others, but from itself, by fierce, bloody strife.

> Greek: Χορός:
δώμασιν ἔμμοτον
τῶνδʼ ἄκος, οὐδʼ ἀπʼ ἄλλων
ἔκτοθεν, ἀλλʼ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν,
διʼ ὠμὰν ἔριν αἱματηράν.

[¶118] This hymn is for the gods beneath the earth.

> Greek: θεῶν ⟨τῶν⟩ κατὰ γᾶς ὅδʼ ὕμνος.

[¶119] Chorus:
O you blessed powers below, hear this supplication of ours, and with a favorable will send forth to these children your aid for victory!

> Greek: Χορός:
ἀλλὰ κλύοντες, μάκαρες χθόνιοι,
τῆσδε κατευχῆς πέμπετʼ ἀρωγὴν
παισὶν προφρόνως ἐπὶ νίκῃ.

[¶120] Orestes:
O father, who perished by a death unbefitting a king,
grant in answer to my prayer the lordship over your halls!

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
πάτερ, τρόποισιν οὐ τυραννικοῖς θανών,
αἰτουμένῳ μοι δὸς κράτος τῶν σῶν δόμων.

[¶121] Electra:
And I too, father, have a like request of you: to escape when I have wrought great destruction on Aegisthus.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
κἀγώ, πάτερ, τοιάνδε σου χρείαν ἔχω,
φυγεῖν μέγαν προσθεῖσαν Αἰγίσθῳ ⟨φθόρον⟩.

[¶122] Orestes:
Yes, for then the customary funeral feasts of men would be established in your honor. But otherwise, at the rich and savory banquet
of burnt offerings made to the earth, you will be without a portion of honor.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
οὕτω γὰρ ἄν σοι δαῖτες ἔννομοι βροτῶν
κτιζοίατʼ· εἰ δὲ μή, παρʼ εὐδείπνοις ἔσῃ
ἄτιμος ἐμπύροισι κνισωτοῖς χθονός.

[¶123] Electra:
And I will likewise at my wedding offer libations to you out of the fullness of my inheritance from my father’s house, and before all else I will hold this tomb of yours in the highest honor.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
κἀγὼ χοάς σοι τῆς ἐμῆς παγκληρίας
οἴσω πατρῴων ἐκ δόμων γαμηλίους·
πάντων δὲ πρῶτον τόνδε πρεσβεύσω τάφον.

[¶124] Orestes:
O Earth, send up my father to watch my battle!

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ὦ Γαῖʼ, ἄνες μοι πατέρʼ ἐποπτεῦσαι μάχην.

[¶125] Electra:
O Persephone, grant us indeed a glorious victory!

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὦ Περσέφασσα, δὸς δʼ ἔτʼ εὔμορφον κράτος.

[¶126] Orestes:
Father, remember the bath where you were robbed of life.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
μέμνησο λουτρῶν οἷς ἐνοσφίσθης, πάτερ.

[¶127] Electra:
And remember how they devised a strange net to cast about you.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
μέμνησο δʼ ἀμφίβληστρον ὡς ἐκαίνισαν.

[¶128] Orestes:
You were caught, my father, in fetters forged by no smith’s hand.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
πέδαις δʼ ἀχαλκεύτοις ἐθηρεύθης, πάτερ.

[¶129] Electra:
And in a fabric shamefully devised.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
αἰσχρῶς τε βουλευτοῖσιν ἐν καλύμμασιν.

[¶130] Orestes:
Father, are you not roused by taunts such as these?

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἆρʼ ἐξεγείρῃ τοῖσδʼ ὀνείδεσιν, πάτερ;

[¶131] Electra:
Are you not raising that dearest head of yours?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἆρʼ ὀρθὸν αἴρεις φίλτατον τὸ σὸν κάρα;

[¶132] Orestes:
Either send Justice to battle for those dear to you, or grant us in turn to get a similar grip on them, if indeed after defeat you would in turn win victory.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἤτοι δίκην ἴαλλε σύμμαχον φίλοις,
ἢ τὰς ὁμοίας ἀντίδος λαβὰς λαβεῖν,
εἴπερ κρατηθείς γʼ ἀντινικῆσαι θέλεις.

[¶133] Electra:
So listen, father, to this last appeal of mine as you behold these fledglings crouching at your tomb. Have compassion on your offspring, on the woman and on the man as well, and let not this seed of Pelops’ line be blotted out: for then, in spite of death, you are not dead.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
καὶ τῆσδʼ ἄκουσον λοισθίου βοῆς, πάτερ,
ἰδὼν νεοσσοὺς τούσδʼ ἐφημένους τάφῳ·
οἴκτιρε θῆλυν ἄρσενός θʼ ὁμοῦ γόνον,
καὶ μὴ ʼξαλείψῃς σπέρμα Πελοπιδῶν τόδε
οὕτω γὰρ οὐ τέθνηκας οὐδὲ περ θανών·

[¶134] For children are voices of salvation to a man, though he is dead; like corks, they buoy up the net, saving the flaxen cord from out of the deep. Hear! For your own sake we make this lament. By honoring this plea of ours you save yourself.

> Greek: παῖδες γὰρ ἀνδρὶ κληδόνες σωτήριοι
θανόντι· φελλοὶ δʼ ὣς ἄγουσι δίκτυον,
τὸν ἐκ βυθοῦ κλωστῆρα σῴζοντες λίνου.
ἄκουʼ, ὑπὲρ σοῦ τοιάδʼ ἔστʼ ὀδύρματα.
αὐτὸς δὲ σῴζῃ τόνδε τιμήσας λόγον.

[¶135] Chorus:
In truth you have drawn out this plea of yours to your own content in showing honor to this unlamented tomb. As for the rest, since your heart is rightly set on action, put your fortune to the test and get to your work at once.

> Greek: Χορός:
καὶ μὴν ἀμεμφῆ τόνδʼ ἐτείνατον λόγον,
τίμημα τύμβου τῆς ἀνοιμώκτου τύχης.
τὰ δʼ ἄλλʼ, ἐπειδὴ δρᾶν κατώρθωσαι φρενί,
ἔρδοις ἂν ἤδη δαίμονος πειρώμενος.

[¶136] Orestes:
It will be so. But it is in no way amiss to inquire how, from what motive,
she came to send her libations, seeking too late to make amends for an irremediable deed. They would be a sorry gift to send to the senseless dead: I cannot guess what they mean. The gifts are too paltry for her offence.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἔσται· πυθέσθαι δʼ οὐδέν ἐστʼ ἔξω δρόμου,
πόθεν χοὰς ἔπεμψεν, ἐκ τίνος λόγου
μεθύστερον τιμῶσʼ ἀνήκεστον πάθος;
θανόντι δʼ οὐ φρονοῦντι δειλαία χάρις
ἐπέμπετʼ· οὐκ ἔχοιμʼ ἂν εἰκάσαι τόδε.
τὰ δῶρα μείω δʼ ἐστὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας.

[¶137] For though a man may pour out all he has in atonement for one deed of blood, it is wasted effort. So the saying goes. If indeed you know, tell me: I wish to learn.

> Greek: τὰ πάντα γάρ τις ἐκχέας ἀνθʼ αἵματος
ἑνός, μάτην ὁ μόχθος· ὧδʼ ἔχει λόγος.
θέλοντι δʼ, εἴπερ οἶσθʼ, ἐμοὶ φράσον τάδε.

[¶138] Chorus:
I know, my child, for I was there. It was because she was shaken by dreams and wandering terrors of the night
that she sent these offerings, godless woman that she is.

> Greek: Χορός:
οἶδʼ, ὦ τέκνον, παρῆ γάρ· ἔκ τʼ ὀνειράτων
καὶ νυκτιπλάγκτων δειμάτων πεπαλμένη
χοὰς ἔπεμψε τάσδε δύσθεος γυνή.

[¶139] Orestes:
And have you learned the nature of the dream so as to tell it properly?

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἦ καὶ πέπυσθε τοὔναρ, ὥστʼ ὀρθῶς φράσαι;

[¶140] Chorus:
She dreamed she gave birth to a serpent: that is her own account.

> Greek: Χορός:
τεκεῖν δράκοντʼ ἔδοξεν, ὡς αὐτὴ λέγει.

[¶141] Orestes:
And where does the tale end, and what is its consummation?

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
καὶ ποῖ τελευτᾷ καὶ καρανοῦται λόγος;

[¶142] Chorus:
She laid it to rest as if it were a child, in swaddling clothes.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἐν σπαργάνοισι παιδὸς ὁρμίσαι δίκην.

[¶143] Orestes:
What food did it crave, the newborn viper?

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
τίνος βορᾶς χρῄζοντα, νεογενὲς δάκος;

[¶144] Chorus:
In her dream she offered it her own breast.

> Greek: Χορός:
αὐτὴ προσέσχε μαζὸν ἐν τὠνείρατι.

[¶145] Orestes:
Surely her nipple was not unwounded by the loathsome beast?

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
καὶ πῶς ἄτρωτον οὖθαρ ἦν ὑπὸ στύγους;

[¶146] Chorus:
No: it drew in clotted blood with the milk.

> Greek: Χορός:
ὥστʼ ἐν γάλακτι θρόμβον αἵματος σπάσαι.

[¶147] Orestes:
Truly it is not without meaning: the vision signifies a man!

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
οὔτοι μάταιον· ἀνδρὸς ὄψανον πέλει.

[¶148] Chorus:
Then from out of her sleep she raised a shriek and awoke appalled, and many lamps that had been blinded in the darkness flared up in the house to cheer our mistress. Then she sent these libations for the dead in the hope that they might be an effective cure for her distress.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἡ δʼ ἐξ ὕπνου κέκλαγγεν ἐπτοημένη.
πολλοὶ δʼ ἀνῇθον, ἐκτυφλωθέντες σκότῳ,
λαμπτῆρες ἐν δόμοισι δεσποίνης χάριν·
πέμπει τʼ ἔπειτα τάσδε κηδείους χοάς,
ἄκος τομαῖον ἐλπίσασα πημάτων.

[¶149] Orestes:
Well then, I pray to this earth and to my father’s grave that this dream may come to its fulfilment in me. As I understand it, it fits at every point. For if the snake left the same place as I; if it was furnished with my swaddling clothes;
if it sought to open its mouth to take the breast that nourished me and mixed the sweet milk with clotted blood while she shrieked for terror at this, then surely, as she has nourished a portentous thing of horror, she must die by violence. For I, turned serpent,
am her killer, as this dream declares.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἀλλʼ εὔχομαι γῇ τῇδε καὶ πατρὸς τάφῳ
τοὔνειρον εἶναι τοῦτʼ ἐμοὶ τελεσφόρον.
κρίνω δέ τοί νιν ὥστε συγκόλλως ἔχειν.
εἰ γὰρ τὸν αὐτὸν χῶρον ἐκλιπὼν ἐμοὶ
οὕφις ἐμοῖσι σπαργάνοις ὡπλίζετο,
καὶ μαστὸν ἀμφέχασκʼ ἐμὸν θρεπτήριον,
θρόμβῳ δʼ ἔμειξεν αἵματος φίλον γάλα,
ἡ δʼ ἀμφὶ τάρβει τῷδʼ ἐπῴμωξεν πάθει,
δεῖ τοί νιν, ὡς ἔθρεψεν ἔκπαγλον τέρας,
θανεῖν βιαίως· ἐκδρακοντωθεὶς δʼ ἐγὼ
κτείνω νιν, ὡς τοὔνειρον ἐννέπει τόδε.