---
title: "Orestes · Ὀρέστης"
author: "Euripides"
translator: "Edward P. Coleridge"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 1 of 3
url: https://scriptura.si/works/euripides-orestes/1/
cite: "Euripides, tr. Edward P. Coleridge, Orestes · Ὀρέστης, section 1. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/euripides-orestes/1/"
---

# Orestes · Ὀρέστης

*Euripides, tr. Edward P. Coleridge*

After killing his mother, Orestes waits with Electra for Argos to pass sentence.

> Greek: ed. Gilbert Murray, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0006.tlg016, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Edward P. Coleridge, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0006.tlg016.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 1–584

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/euripides-orestes/1/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/euripides-orestes/1/#p-N

[¶0] Before the royal palace at Argos. Orestes lies sleeping on a couch in the background.
Electra:
There is nothing so terrible to describe, or suffering, or heaven-sent affliction, that human nature may not have to bear the burden of it. The blessed Tantalus—and I am not now taunting him with his misfortunes—
Tantalus, the reputed son of Zeus, flies in the air, quailing at the rock which looms above his head; paying this penalty, they say, for the shameful weakness he displayed in failing to keep a bridle on his lips, when admitted by gods, though he was a man,
to share the honors of their feasts like one of them.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
Οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν δεινὸν ὧδʼ εἰπεῖν ἔπος
οὐδὲ πάθος οὐδὲ ξυμφορὰ θεήλατος,
ἧς οὐκ ἂν ἄραιτʼ ἄχθος ἀνθρώπου φύσις.
ὁ γὰρ μακάριος — κοὐκ ὀνειδίζω τύχας —
Διὸς πεφυκώς, ὡς λέγουσι, Τάνταλος
κορυφῆς ὑπερτέλλοντα δειμαίνων πέτρον
ἀέρι ποτᾶται· καὶ τίνει ταύτην δίκην,
ὡς μὲν λέγουσιν, ὅτι θεοῖς ἄνθρωπος ὢν
κοινῆς τραπέζης ἀξίωμʼ ἔχων ἴσον,
ἀκόλαστον ἔσχε γλῶσσαν, αἰσχίστην νόσον.

[¶1] He begot Pelops, the father of Atreus, for whom the goddess, when she had carded her wool, spun a web of strife—to make war with his own brother Thyestes. But why need I retrace that hideous tale?

> Greek: οὗτος φυτεύει Πέλοπα, τοῦ δʼ Ἀτρεὺς ἔφυ,
ᾧ στέμματα ξήνασʼ ἐπέκλωσεν θεὰ
ἔριν, Θυέστῃ πόλεμον ὄντι συγγόνῳ
θέσθαι. τί τἄρρητʼ ἀναμετρήσασθαί με δεῖ;

[¶2] Well, Atreus slew Thyestes’ children and feasted him on them. Atreus, now; I pass over intermediate events; from Atreus and Aerope of Crete were born the famous Agamemnon, if he really was famous, and Menelaus. Now Menelaus married Helen,
the gods’ abhorrence; while lord Agamemnon married Clytemnestra, notorious in Hellas; and we three daughters were born: Chrysothemis, Iphigenia, and myself, Electra; also a son Orestes; all from that one accursed mother,
who slew her husband, after snaring him in an inextricable robe. Her reason a maiden’s lips may not declare, and so I leave it unclear for the world to guess at. What need for me to charge Phoebus with wrong-doing? Though he persuaded Orestes
to slay his own mother, a deed that few approved. Still it was his obedience to the god that made him kill her; I had a share in the murder, in so far as a woman could, [and Pylades, who helped us to bring it about.]

> Greek: ἔδαισε δʼ οὖν νιν τέκνʼ ἀποκτείνας Ἀτρεύς.
Ἀτρέως δέ· τὰς γὰρ ἐν μέσῳ σιγῶ τύχας·
ὁ κλεινός, εἰ δὴ κλεινός, Ἀγαμέμνων ἔφυ
Μενέλεώς τε Κρήσσης μητρὸς Ἀερόπης ἄπο.
γαμεῖ δʼ ὃ μὲν δὴ τὴν θεοῖς στυγουμένην
Μενέλαος Ἑλένην, ὃ δὲ Κλυταιμήστρας λέχος
ἐπίσημον εἰς Ἕλληνας Ἀγαμέμνων ἄναξ·
ᾧ παρθένοι μὲν τρεῖς ἔφυμεν ἐκ μιᾶς,
Χρυσόθεμις Ἰφιγένειά τʼ Ἠλέκτρα τʼ ἐγώ,
ἄρσην δʼ Ὀρέστης, μητρὸς ἀνοσιωτάτης,
ἣ πόσιν ἀπείρῳ περιβαλοῦσʼ ὑφάσματι
ἔκτεινεν· ὧν δʼ ἕκατι, παρθένῳ λέγειν
οὐ καλόν· ἐῶ τοῦτʼ ἀσαφὲς ἐν κοινῷ σκοπεῖν.
Φοίβου δʼ ἀδικίαν μὲν τί δεῖ κατηγορεῖν;
πείθει δʼ Ὀρέστην μητέρʼ ἥ σφʼ ἐγείνατο
κτεῖναι, πρὸς οὐχ ἅπαντας εὔκλειαν φέρον.
ὅμως δʼ ἀπέκτεινʼ οὐκ ἀπειθήσας θεῷ·
κἀγὼ μετέσχον, οἷα δὴ γυνή, φόνου.
[Πυλάδης θʼ, ὃς ἡμῖν συγκατείργασται τάδε.]

[¶3] After this my poor Orestes, wasting away in a cruel disease,
lies fallen on his couch, and it is his mother’s blood that drives him round and round in frenzied fits; I am ashamed to name the goddesses, whose terrors are chasing him—the Eumenides. It is now the sixth day
since the body of his murdered mother was committed to the cleansing fire; since then no food has gone down his throat, nor has he washed his skin; but wrapped in his cloak he weeps in his lucid moments, whenever the fever leaves him;
at other times he bounds headlong from his couch, as a colt when it is loosed from the yoke. This city of Argos has decreed that no man give us shelter in home or hearth, or speak to matricides like us; and this is the fateful day on which the Argives will take a vote,
whether we are both to die by stoning. [or to whet the steel and plunge it in our necks.] There is, it is true, one hope of escape from death: Menelaus has landed from Troy; his fleet now crowds the haven of Nauplia where he has come to anchor on the shore, returned at last from Troy
after ceaseless wanderings; but Helen, that so-called lady of sorrows, he has sent on to our palace, waiting for the night, lest any of those parents whose sons died at Troy might see her if she went by day, and set to stoning her.
Within she sits, weeping for her sister and the calamities of her family, and yet she has still some solace in her woe; for Hermione, the child she left at home when she sailed for Troy, the maid whom Menelaus brought from Sparta
and entrusted to my mother’s keeping, is still a cause of joy to her and a reason to forget her sorrows.

> Greek: ἐντεῦθεν ἀγρίᾳ συντακεὶς νόσῳ [νοσεῖ]
τλήμων Ὀρέστης ὅδε πεσὼν ἐν δεμνίοις
κεῖται, τὸ μητρὸς δʼ αἷμά νιν τροχηλατεῖ
μανίαισιν· ὀνομάζειν γὰρ αἰδοῦμαι θεὰς
εὐμενίδας, αἳ τόνδʼ ἐξαμιλλῶνται φόβῳ.
ἕκτον δὲ δὴ τόδʼ ἦμαρ ἐξ ὅτου σφαγαῖς
θανοῦσα μήτηρ πυρὶ καθήγνισται δέμας,
ὧν οὔτε σῖτα διὰ δέρης ἐδέξατο,
οὐ λούτρʼ ἔδωκε χρωτί· χλανιδίων δʼ ἔσω
κρυφθείς, ὅταν μὲν σῶμα κουφισθῇ νόσου,
ἔμφρων δακρύει, ποτὲ δὲ δεμνίων ἄπο
πηδᾷ δρομαῖος, πῶλος ὣς ὑπὸ ζυγοῦ.
ἔδοξε δʼ Ἄργει τῷδε μήθʼ ἡμᾶς στέγαις,
μὴ πυρὶ δέχεσθαι, μήτε προσφωνεῖν τινα
μητροκτονοῦντας· κυρία δʼ ἥδʼ ἡμέρα,
ἐν ᾗ διοίσει ψῆφον Ἀργείων πόλις,
εἰ χρὴ θανεῖν νὼ λευσίμῳ πετρώματι.
[ἢ φάσγανον θήξαντʼ ἐπʼ αὐχένος βαλεῖν.]
ἐλπίδα δὲ δή τινʼ ἔχομεν ὥστε μὴ θανεῖν·
ἥκει γὰρ ἐς γῆν Μενέλεως Τροίας ἄπο,
λιμένα δὲ Ναυπλίειον ἐκπληρῶν πλάτῃ
ἀκταῖσιν ὁρμεῖ, δαρὸν ἐκ Τροίας χρόνον
ἄλαισι πλαγχθείς· τὴν δὲ δὴ πολύστονον
Ἑλένην, φυλάξας νύκτα, μή τις εἰσιδὼν
μεθʼ ἡμέραν στείχουσαν, ὧν ὑπʼ Ἰλίῳ
παῖδες τεθνᾶσιν, ἐς πέτρων ἔλθῃ βολάς,
προύπεμψεν ἐς δῶμʼ ἡμέτερον· ἔστιν δʼ ἔσω
κλαίουσʼ ἀδελφὴν συμφοράν τε δωμάτων.
ἔχει δὲ δή τινʼ ἀλγέων παραψυχήν·
ἣν γὰρ κατʼ οἴκους ἔλιφʼ, ὅτʼ ἐς Τροίαν ἔπλει,
παρθένον ἐμῇ τε μητρὶ παρέδωκεν τρέφειν
Μενέλαος ἀγαγὼν Ἑρμιόνην Σπάρτης ἄπο,
ταύτῃ γέγηθε κἀπιλήθεται κακῶν.

[¶4] I am watching each approach, until I see Menelaus arriving; for unless we find some safety from him, we have only a feeble anchor to ride on otherwise.
A helpless thing, an unlucky house!

> Greek: βλέπω δὲ πᾶσαν εἰς ὁδόν, πότʼ ὄψομαι
Μενέλαον ἥκονθʼ· ὡς τά γʼ ἄλλʼ ἐπʼ ἀσθενοῦς
ῥώμης ὀχούμεθʼ, ἤν τι μὴ κείνου πάρα
σωθῶμεν. ἄπορον χρῆμα δυστυχῶν δόμος.

[¶5] Helen:
Daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, unhappy Electra, a maiden for so long, how is it with you and your brother, this ill-starred Orestes who slew his mother?

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
ὦ παῖ Κλυταιμήστρας τε καὶ Ἀγαμέμνονος,
παρθένε μακρὸν δὴ μῆκος Ἠλέκτρα χρόνου,
πῶς, ὦ τάλαινα, σύ τε κασίγνητός τε σὸς
τλήμων Ὀρέστης μητρὸς ὅδε φονεὺς ἔχει;

[¶6] For referring the sin as I do to Phoebus, I incur no pollution by addressing you; and yet I am truly sorry for the death of my sister Clytemnestra, whom I never saw after I was driven by heaven-sent frenzy to sail as I did to Ilium;
but now that I am parted from her, I bewail our misfortunes.

> Greek: προσφθέγμασιν γὰρ οὐ μιαίνομαι σέθεν,
ἐς Φοῖβον ἀναφέρουσα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν.
καίτοι στένω γε τὸν Κλυταιμήστρας μόρον,
ἐμῆς ἀδελφῆς, ἥν, ἐπεὶ πρὸς Ἴλιον
ἔπλευσʼ ὅπως ἔπλευσα θεομανεῖ πότμῳ,
οὐκ εἶδον, ἀπολειφθεῖσα δʼ αἰάζω τύχας.

[¶7] Electra:
Helen, why should I speak of that which your own eyes can see? [Agamemnon’s house in misfortune?]
Beside his wretched corpse I sit, sleepless—for corpse he is, so faint his breath—
not that I reproach him with his sufferings; but you are highly blessed and your husband too. [you have come upon us in the hour of adversity]

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
Ἑλένη, τί σοι λέγοιμʼ ἂν ἅ γε παροῦσʼ ὁρᾷς;
[ἐν συμφοραῖσι τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονος δόμον]
ἐγὼ μὲν ἄυπνος πάρεδρος ἀθλίῳ νεκρῷ
— νεκρὸς γὰρ οὗτος οὕνεκα σμικρᾶς πνοῆς —
θάσσω· τὰ τούτου δʼ οὐκ ὀνειδίζω κακά.
σὺ δʼ εἶ μακαρία μακάριός θʼ ὁ σὸς πόσις.
[ἥκετον ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς ἀθλίως πεπραγότας]

[¶8] Helen:
How long has he lain in this way on the couch?

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
πόσον χρόνον δʼ ἐν δεμνίοις πέπτωχʼ ὅδε;

[¶9] Electra:
Ever since he spilt his mother’s blood.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἐξ οὗπερ αἷμα γενέθλιον κατήνυσεν.

[¶10] Helen:
Unhappy wretch! unhappy mother! what a death she died.

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
ὢ μέλεος· ἡ τεκοῦσά θʼ, ὡς διώλετο.

[¶11] Electra:
Unhappy enough to succumb to his misery.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
οὕτως ἔχει τάδʼ, ὥστʼ ἀπείρηκεν κακοῖς.

[¶12] Helen:
By the gods, would you hear me a moment, maiden?

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
πρὸς θεῶν, πίθοιʼ ἂν δῆτά μοί τι, παρθένε;

[¶13] Electra:
Yes, with such leisure as this watching over a brother leaves.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὡς ἄσχολός γε συγγόνου προσεδρίᾳ.

[¶14] Helen:
Will you go for me to my sister’s tomb?

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
βούλῃ τάφον μοι πρὸς κασιγνήτης μολεῖν;

[¶15] Electra:
Would you have me seek my mother’s tomb? Why?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
μητρὸς κελεύεις τῆς ἐμῆς; τίνος χάριν;

[¶16] Helen:
To carry an offering of hair and a libation from me.

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
κόμης ἀπαρχὰς καὶ χοὰς φέρουσʼ ἐμάς.

[¶17] Electra:
Isn’t it right for you to go to the tomb of one you love?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
σοὶ δʼ οὐχὶ θεμιτὸν πρὸς φίλων στείχειν τάφον;

[¶18] Helen:
No, for I am ashamed to show myself in Argos.

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
δεῖξαι γὰρ Ἀργείοισι σῶμʼ αἰσχύνομαι.

[¶19] Electra:
A late repentance surely for one who left her home so shamefully then.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὀψέ γε φρονεῖς εὖ, τότε λιποῦσʼ αἰσχρῶς δόμους.

[¶20] Helen:
You have told the truth, but your telling is not kind to me.

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
ὀρθῶς ἔλεξας, οὐ φίλως δʼ ἐμοὶ λέγεις.

[¶21] Electra:
What is this supposed shame before the eyes of Mycenae that possesses you?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
αἰδὼς δὲ δὴ τίς σʼ ἐς Μυκηναίους ἔχει;

[¶22] Helen:
I am afraid of the fathers of those who lie dead at Ilium.

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
δέδοικα πατέρας τῶν ὑπʼ Ἰλίῳ νεκρῶν.

[¶23] Electra:
Good cause for fear; your name is on every tongue in Argos.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
δεινὸν γάρ· Ἄργει τʼ ἀναβοᾷ διὰ στόμα.

[¶24] Helen:
Then free me of my fear and grant me this favor.

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
σύ νυν χάριν μοι τὸν φόβον λύσασα δός.

[¶25] Electra:
I could not bear to look upon my mother’s grave.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
οὐκ ἂν δυναίμην μητρὸς ἐσβλέψαι τάφον.

[¶26] Helen:
And yet it would be shame indeed for servants to bear these offerings.

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
αἰσχρόν γε μέντοι προσπόλους φέρειν τάδε.

[¶27] Electra:
Then why not send your daughter Hermione?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
τί δʼ οὐχὶ θυγατρὸς Ἑρμιόνης πέμπεις δέμας;

[¶28] Helen:
It is not good for maidens to go into a crowd.

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
ἐς ὄχλον ἕρπειν παρθένοισιν οὐ καλόν.

[¶29] Electra:
And yet she would be repaying her dead foster-mother’s care.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
καὶ μὴν τίνοι γʼ ἂν τῇ τεθνηκυίᾳ τροφάς.

[¶30] Helen:
You have told the truth and have convinced me, maiden. [Yes, I will send my daughter for you are right.] Calling. Hermione, my child, come out, before the palace. Take these libations and these tresses of mine in your hands, and go pour round Clytemnestra’s tomb
a mingled cup of honey, milk, and frothing wine; then stand upon the heaped-up grave, and say this: “Helen, your sister, sends you these libations as her gift, fearing herself to approach your tomb from terror of the Argive mob” and bid her harbor kindly thoughts
towards me and you and my husband; towards these two wretched sufferers, too, whom the gods have destroyed. And promise that I will pay in full whatever funeral gifts are due from me to a sister. Now go, my child, and hurry;
and soon as you have made the libations at the tomb, think of your return. Exit Helen.

> Greek: Ἑλένη:
ὀρθῶς ἔλεξας, πείθομαί τέ σοι, κόρη.
[καὶ πέμψομέν γε θυγατέρʼ· εὖ γάρ τοι λέγεις.]
ὦ τέκνον, ἔξελθʼ, Ἑρμιόνη, δόμων πάρος
καὶ λαβὲ χοὰς τάσδʼ ἐν χεροῖν κόμας τʼ ἐμάς·
ἐλθοῦσα δʼ ἀμφὶ τὸν Κλυταιμήστρας τάφον
μελίκρατʼ ἄφες γάλακτος οἰνωπόν τʼ ἄχνην,
καὶ στᾶσʼ ἐπʼ ἄκρου χώματος λέξον τάδε·
Ἑλένη σʼ ἀδελφὴ ταῖσδε δωρεῖται χοαῖς,
φόβῳ προσελθεῖν μνῆμα σόν, ταρβοῦσά τε
Ἀργεῖον ὄχλον. πρευμενῆ δʼ ἄνωγέ νιν
ἐμοί τε καὶ σοὶ καὶ πόσει γνώμην ἔχειν
τοῖν τʼ ἀθλίοιν τοῖνδʼ, οὓς ἀπώλεσεν θεός.
ἃ δʼ εἰς ἀδελφὴν καιρὸς ἐκπονεῖν ἐμέ,
ἅπανθʼ ὑπισχνοῦ νερτέρων δωρήματα.
ἴθʼ, ὦ τέκνον μοι, σπεῦδε καὶ χοὰς τάφῳ
δοῦσʼ ὡς τάχιστα τῆς πάλιν μέμνησʼ ὁδοῦ.

[¶31] Electra:
O human nature, how great an evil you are in men! and what salvation, too, to those who have a goodly heritage there.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὦ φύσις, ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ὡς μέγʼ εἶ κακόν,
σωτήριόν τε τοῖς καλῶς κεκτημένοις.

[¶32] Did you see how she cut off her hair only at the ends, to preserve its beauty? She is the same woman as of old.

> Greek: εἴδετε παρʼ ἄκρας ὡς ἀπέθρισεν τρίχας,
σῴζουσα κάλλος; ἔστι δʼ ἡ πάλαι γυνή.

[¶33] May the gods hate you! for you have proved the ruin of me and my brother and all Hellas.

> Greek: θεοί σε μισήσειαν, ὥς μʼ ἀπώλεσας
καὶ τόνδε πᾶσάν θʼ Ἑλλάδα. ὦ τάλαινʼ ἐγώ·

[¶34] Alas! here are my friends once more, coming to unite their plaintive dirge with mine; they will soon put an end to my brother’s peaceful sleep, and cause my tears to flow
when I see him in frenzy.

> Greek: αἵδʼ αὖ πάρεισι τοῖς ἐμοῖς θρηνήμασι
φίλαι ξυνῳδοί· τάχα μεταστήσουσʼ ὕπνου
τόνδʼ ἡσυχάζοντʼ, ὄμμα δʼ ἐκτήξουσʼ ἐμὸν
δακρύοις, ἀδελφὸν ὅταν ὁρῶ μεμηνότα.

[¶35] [Dearest friends, step softly; not a sound; not a whisper! For though this kindness of yours is well-meant, rouse him and I shall rue it.]
The Chorus of Argive Maidens enters quietly. The following lines between Electra and the Chorus are chanted responsively.

> Greek: [ὦ φίλταται γυναῖκες, ἡσύχῳ ποδὶ]
[χωρεῖτε, μὴ ψοφεῖτε, μηδʼ ἔστω κτύπος.]
[φιλία γὰρ ἡ σὴ πρευμενὴς μέν, ἀλλʼ ἐμοὶ]
[τόνδʼ ἐξεγεῖραι συμφορὰ γενήσεται.]

[¶36] Chorus:
Hush, hush! let your footsteps fall lightly! not a sound!

> Greek: Χορός:
σῖγα σῖγα, λεπτὸν ἴχνος ἀρβύλης
τίθετε, μὴ κτυπεῖτʼ.

[¶37] Electra:
Go further from his couch, further, I beseech you!

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἀποπρὸ βᾶτʼ ἐκεῖσʼ, ἀποπρό μοι κοίτας.

[¶38] Chorus:
There, I obey.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἰδού, πείθομαι.

[¶39] Electra:
Ah, ah! Speak like the breath of a slender reed-pipe, my dear, I pray.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἆ ἆ σύριγγος ὅπως πνοὰ
λεπτοῦ δόνακος, ὦ φίλα, φώνει μοι.

[¶40] Chorus:
See, how soft and low I drop my voice.

> Greek: Χορός:
ἴδʼ, ἀτρεμαῖον ὡς ὑπόροφον φέρω
βοάν.

[¶41] Electra:
Yes, do so; approach now, softly, softly!

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ναί, οὕτως·
κάταγε κάταγε, πρόσιθʼ ἀτρέμας, ἀτρέμας ἴθι·

[¶42] Give me an account of why you have come here. For at last he has lain down, and sleeps.

> Greek: λόγον ἀπόδος ἐφʼ ὅ τι χρέος ἐμόλετέ ποτε.
χρόνια γὰρ πεσὼν ὅδʼ εὐνάζεται.

[¶43] Chorus:
How is he? You give us an account, my dear; what has happened, what misfortune?

> Greek: Χορός:
πῶς ἔχει; λόγου μετάδος, ὦ φίλα·
τίνα τύχαν εἴπω; τίνα δὲ συμφοράν;

[¶44] Electra:
He is still breathing, but his moans grow feeble.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἔτι μὲν ἐμπνέει, βραχὺ δʼ ἀναστένει.

[¶45] Chorus:
What are you saying? turning to Orestes. Unhappy Orestes!

> Greek: Χορός:
τί φῄς; ὦ τάλας.

[¶46] Electra:
You will kill him, if you disturb him from the sweet sleep he now enjoys.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὀλεῖς, εἰ βλέφαρα κινήσεις
ὕπνου γλυκυτάταν φερομένῳ χάριν.

[¶47] Chorus:
Poor sufferer, for his hateful deeds, inspired by a god!

> Greek: Χορός:
μέλεος ἐχθίστων θεόθεν ἐργμάτων,
τάλας.

[¶48] Electra:
Ah, misery! Injustice it was, after all, from an unjust mouth, when Loxias on the tripod of Themis
decreed my mother’s most unnatural murder.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
φεῦ μόχθων.
ἄδικος ἄδικα τότʼ ἄρʼ ἔλακεν ἔλακεν, ἀπό-
φονον ὅτʼ ἐπὶ τρίποδι Θέμιδος ἄρʼ ἐδίκασε
φόνον ὁ Λοξίας ἐμᾶς ματέρος.

[¶49] Chorus:
Do you see? He stirs beneath his robe!

> Greek: Χορός:
ὁρᾷς; ἐν πέπλοισι κινεῖ δέμας.

[¶50] Electra:
Alas! Your noisy chatter has roused him from his sleep.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
σὺ γάρ νιν, ὦ τάλαινα,
θωΰξασʼ ἔβαλες ἐξ ὕπνου.

[¶51] Chorus:
No, I think he is asleep.

> Greek: Χορός:
εὕδειν μὲν οὖν ἔδοξα.

[¶52] Electra:
Leave us, go away from the house! circle back again! cease this noise!

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
οὐκ ἀφʼ ἡμῶν, οὐκ ἀπʼ οἴκων
πάλιν ἀνὰ πόδα σὸν εἱλίξεις
μεθεμένα κτύπου;

[¶53] Chorus:
He is asleep.

> Greek: Χορός:
ὑπνώσσει.

[¶54] Electra:
You are right. O Lady Night,
giver of sleep to hard-working mortals, come from Erebus, come, wing your way to the palace of Agamemnon.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
λέγεις εὖ.
πότνια, πότνια νύξ,
ὑπνοδότειρα τῶν πολυπόνων βροτῶν,
ἐρεβόθεν ἴθι, μόλε μόλε κατάπτερος
τὸν Ἀγαμεμνόνιον ἐπὶ δόμον.

[¶55] For with misery and woe we are lost, we are gone.
There! To the Chorus. that noise again! Do be still and keep the sound of your voice
away from his couch; let him enjoy his sleep in peace, my dear!

> Greek: ὑπὸ γὰρ ἀλγέων ὑπό τε συμφορᾶς
διοιχόμεθʼ, οἰχόμεθα. κτύπον ἠγάγετʼ· οὐχὶ σῖγα
σῖγα φυλασσομένα στόματος
ἄνα κέλαδον ἀπὸ λέχεος ἥ-
συχον ὕπνου χάριν παρέξεις, φίλα;

[¶56] Chorus:
Tell me, what end of troubles awaits him.

> Greek: Χορός:
θρόει τίς κακῶν τελευτὰ μένει.

[¶57] Electra:
Death, death; what else? For he has no desire for food.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
θανεῖν ⟨θανεῖν⟩, τί δʼ ἄλλο;
οὐδὲ γὰρ πόθον ἔχει βορᾶς.

[¶58] Chorus:
Then his destiny is already clear.

> Greek: Χορός:
πρόδηλος ἆρʼ ὁ πότμος.

[¶59] Electra:
Phoebus offered us up for sacrifice, when he ordered the pitiable, unnatural murder of our mother, who killed our father.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἐξέθυσʼ ὁ Φοῖβος ἡμᾶς
μέλεον ἀπόφονον αἷμα δοὺς
πατροφόνου ματρός.

[¶60] Chorus:
It was just.

> Greek: Χορός:
δίκᾳ μέν.

[¶61] Electra:
But it was not well done.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
καλῶς δʼ οὔ.

[¶62] You killed and were killed, my mother! and you have slain a father and your own children;

> Greek: ἔκανες ἔθανες, ὦ
τεκομένα με μᾶτερ, ἀπὸ δʼ ὤλεσας
πατέρα τέκνα τε τάδε σέθεν ἀφʼ αἵματος·

[¶63] for we are dead or as good as dead. You are in your grave, and the greater part of my life is spent in weeping and wailing,
and tears at night; unmarried, childless, I drag out forever a joyless existence.

> Greek: ὀλόμεθʼ ἰσονέκυες, ὀλόμεθα.
σύ τε γὰρ ἐν νεκροῖς, τό τʼ ἐμὸν οἴχεται
βίου τὸ πλέον μέρος ἐν στοναχαῖσί τε καὶ γόοισι
δάκρυσί τʼ ἐννυχίοις, ἄγαμος
[ἐπὶ δʼ] ἄτεκνος ἅτε βίοτον ἁ
μέλεος ἐς τὸν αἰὲν ἕλκω χρόνον.

[¶64] Chorus Leader:
Electra, you are nearby; see whether your brother has not died without your knowing it;

> Greek: Χορός:
ὅρα παροῦσα, παρθένʼ Ἠλέκτρα, πέλας,
μὴ κατθανών σε σύγγονος λέληθʼ ὅδε·

[¶65] for I do not like his utter prostration.
Orestes: awaking refreshed
Sweet charm of sleep, savior in sickness, how sweetly you came to me, how needed! Revered forgetfulness of troubles, how wise a goddess you are, and invoked by every suffering soul!

> Greek: οὐ γάρ μʼ ἀρέσκει τῷ λίαν παρειμένῳ.
Ὀρέστης:
ὦ φίλον ὕπνου θέλγητρον, ἐπίκουρον νόσου,
ὡς ἡδύ μοι προσῆλθες — ἐν δέοντί γε.
ὦ πότνια Λήθη τῶν κακῶν, ὡς εἶ σοφὴ
καὶ τοῖσι δυστυχοῦσιν εὐκταία θεός.

[¶66] Addressing Electra. Where have I come from? How am I here? For I have lost all previous recollection and remember nothing.

> Greek: πόθεν ποτʼ ἦλθον δεῦρο; πῶς δʼ ἀφικόμην;
ἀμνημονῶ γάρ, τῶν πρὶν ἀπολειφθεὶς φρενῶν.

[¶67] Electra:
My dearest, how glad I was to see you fall asleep! Do you want me take you in my arms and lift your body?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὦ φίλταθʼ, ὥς μʼ ηὔφρανας εἰς ὕπνον πεσών.
βούλῃ θίγω σου κἀνακουφίσω δέμας;

[¶68] Orestes:
Take, oh! take me in your arms, and from this sufferer’s mouth
and eyes wipe off the flakes of foam.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
λαβοῦ λαβοῦ δῆτʼ, ἐκ δʼ ὄμορξον ἀθλίου
στόματος ἀφρώδη πέλανον ὀμμάτων τʼ ἐμῶν.

[¶69] Electra:
There! The service is sweet, and I do not refuse to tend a brother’s limbs with a sister’s hand.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἰδού· τὸ δούλευμʼ ἡδύ, κοὐκ ἀναίνομαι
ἀδέλφʼ ἀδελφῇ χειρὶ θεραπεύειν μέλη.

[¶70] Orestes:
Prop me up, your side to mine; brush the matted hair from my face, for I see dimly.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ὑπόβαλε πλευροῖς πλευρά, καὐχμώδη κόμην
ἄφελε προσώπου· λεπτὰ γὰρ λεύσσω κόραις.

[¶71] Electra:
Ah, poor head, how dirty your hair! How savage you look, remaining so long unwashed!

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ὦ βοστρύχων πινῶδες ἄθλιον κάρα,
ὡς ἠγρίωσαι διὰ μακρᾶς ἀλουσίας.

[¶72] Orestes:
Put me once more upon the couch; whenever the madness leaves me, I am unnerved and weak.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
κλῖνόν μʼ ἐς εὐνὴν αὖθις· ὅταν ἀνῇ νόσος
μανίας, ἄναρθρός εἰμι κἀσθενῶ μέλη.

[¶73] Electra:
As she lays him down. There! His couch is welcome to the sick man,
a painful possession, but a necessary one.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἰδού. φίλον τοι τῷ νοσοῦντι δέμνιον,
ἀνιαρὸν ὂν τὸ κτῆμʼ, ἀναγκαῖον δʼ ὅμως.

[¶74] Orestes:
Set me upright once again, turn my body round; it is their helplessness that makes the sick so hard to please.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
αὖθίς μʼ ἐς ὀρθὸν στῆσον, ἀνακύκλει δέμας·
δυσάρεστον οἱ νοσοῦντες ἀπορίας ὕπο.

[¶75] Electra:
Will you set your feet upon the ground and take a step at last? Change is always pleasant.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἦ κἀπὶ γαίας ἁρμόσαι πόδας θέλεις,
χρόνιον ἴχνος θείς; μεταβολὴ πάντων γλυκύ.

[¶76] Orestes:
Oh, yes; for that has a semblance of health; and the semblance is preferable, though it is far from the truth.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
μάλιστα· δόξαν γὰρ τόδʼ ὑγιείας ἔχει.
κρεῖσσον δὲ τὸ δοκεῖν, κἂν ἀληθείας ἀπῇ.

[¶77] Electra:
Hear me now, my brother, while the Furies permit you to use your senses.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἄκουε δὴ νῦν, ὦ κασίγνητον κάρα,
ἕως ἐῶσιν εὖ φρονεῖν Ἐρινύες.

[¶78] Orestes:
You have news to tell; if it is good, you do me a kindness;

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
λέξεις τι καινόν· κεἰ μὲν εὖ, χάριν φέρεις·

[¶79] but if it tends to my hurt, I have suffered enough.

> Greek: εἰ δʼ ἐς βλάβην τινʼ, ἅλις ἔχω τὸ δυστυχεῖν.

[¶80] Electra:
Menelaus, your father’s brother, has come; his ships are moored in Nauplia.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
Μενέλαος ἥκει, σοῦ κασίγνητος πατρός,
ἐν Ναυπλίᾳ δὲ σέλμαθʼ ὥρμισται νεῶν.

[¶81] Orestes:
What did you say? Has he come to be a light in our troubles, a man of our own family, who owes gratitude to our father?

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
πῶς εἶπας; ἥκει φῶς ἐμοῖς καὶ σοῖς κακοῖς
ἀνὴρ ὁμογενὴς καὶ χάριτας ἔχων πατρός;

[¶82] Electra:
He has come, and is bringing Helen from the walls of Troy—accept this as proof of what I say.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἥκει — τὸ πιστὸν τόδε λόγων ἐμῶν δέχου —
Ἑλένην ἀγόμενος Τρωικῶν ἐκ τειχέων.

[¶83] Orestes:
If he had returned alone in safety, he would be more enviable; but if he is bringing his wife, he has come with great mischief.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
εἰ μόνος ἐσώθη, μᾶλλον ἂν ζηλωτὸς ἦν·
εἰ δʼ ἄλοχον ἄγεται, κακὸν ἔχων ἥκει μέγα.

[¶84] Electra:
Tyndareus begot a race of daughters notorious for blame,
infamous throughout Hellas.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
ἐπίσημον ἔτεκε Τυνδάρεως ἐς τὸν ψόγον
γένος θυγατέρων δυσκλεές τʼ ἀνʼ Ἑλλάδα.

[¶85] Orestes:
Then you be different from that evil brood, for you can be; and not only in words, but also in heart.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
σύ νυν διάφερε τῶν κακῶν· ἔξεστι γάρ·
καὶ μὴ μόνον λέγʼ, ἀλλὰ καὶ φρόνει τάδε.

[¶86] Electra:
Ah! brother, your eye is growing wild, and in a moment you are turning mad again, when you were just now sane.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
οἴμοι, κασίγνητʼ, ὄμμα σὸν ταράσσεται,
ταχὺς δὲ μετέθου λύσσαν, ἄρτι σωφρονῶν.

[¶87] Orestes: starting up wildly
Mother, I implore you! Do not shake at me those maidens with their bloodshot eyes and snaky hair. Here they are, close by, to leap on me!

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ὦ μῆτερ, ἱκετεύω σε, μὴ ʼπίσειέ μοι
τὰς αἱματωποὺς καὶ δρακοντώδεις κόρας.
αὗται γὰρ αὗται πλησίον θρῴσκουσί μου.

[¶88] Electra:
Lie still, poor sufferer, on your couch; your eye sees nothing, you only imagine that you recognize them.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
μένʼ, ὦ ταλαίπωρʼ, ἀτρέμα σοῖς ἐν δεμνίοις·
ὁρᾷς γὰρ οὐδὲν ὧν δοκεῖς σάφʼ εἰδέναι.

[¶89] Orestes:
O Phoebus! they will kill me, the hounds of hell, death’s priestesses with glaring eyes, the dreadful goddesses.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ὦ Φοῖβʼ, ἀποκτενοῦσί μʼ αἱ κυνώπιδες
γοργῶπες, ἐνέρων ἱέρεαι, δειναὶ θεαί.

[¶90] Electra:
I will not let you go; but with arms twined round you, I will prevent your piteous leaping.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
οὔτοι μεθήσω· χεῖρα δʼ ἐμπλέξασʼ ἐμὴν
σχήσω σε πηδᾶν δυστυχῆ πηδήματα.

[¶91] Orestes:
Let me go! you are one of my Furies,
and are gripping me by the waist to hurl me into Tartarus!

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
μέθες· μίʼ οὖσα τῶν ἐμῶν Ἐρινύων
μέσον μʼ ὀχμάζεις, ὡς βάλῃς ἐς Τάρταρον.

[¶92] Electra:
Alas for me! What aid can I find, when we have Heaven’s forces set against us?

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
οἲ ʼγὼ τάλαινα, τίνʼ ἐπικουρίαν λάβω,
ἐπεὶ τὸ θεῖον δυσμενὲς κεκτήμεθα;

[¶93] Orestes:
Give me my horn-tipped bow, Apollo’s gift, with which he told me to ward off the goddesses,
if ever they sought to scare me with wild transports of madness.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
δὸς τόξα μοι κερουλκά, δῶρα Λοξίου,
οἷς μʼ εἶπʼ Ἀπόλλων ἐξαμύνασθαι θεάς,
εἴ μʼ ἐκφοβοῖεν μανιάσιν λυσσήμασιν.

[¶94] A mortal hand will wound one of them, unless she departs from my sight. Don’t you hear me? Don’t you see the feathered arrows springing out from my far-shooting bow? What!

> Greek: βεβλήσεταί τις θεῶν βροτησίᾳ χερί,
εἰ μὴ ʼξαμείψει χωρὶς ὀμμάτων ἐμῶν.
οὐκ εἰσακούετʼ; οὐχ ὁρᾶθʼ ἑκηβόλων
τόξων πτερωτὰς γλυφίδας ἐξορμωμένας;
ἆ ἆ·

[¶95] Do you linger still? Mount the sky on your wings, and blame those oracles of Phoebus.
Ah! why am I raving, gasping? Where, oh! where have I leapt, from my couch? Once more the storm is past, I see a calm.

> Greek: τί δῆτα μέλλετʼ; ἐξακρίζετʼ αἰθέρα
πτεροῖς· τὰ Φοίβου δʼ αἰτιᾶσθε θέσφατα.
ἔα·
τί χρῆμʼ ἀλύω, πνεῦμʼ ἀνεὶς ἐκ πλευμόνων;
ποῖ ποῖ ποθʼ ἡλάμεσθα δεμνίων ἄπο;
ἐκ κυμάτων γὰρ αὖθις αὖ γαλήνʼ ὁρῶ.

[¶96] Sister, why do you weep, your head wrapped in your robe? I am ashamed that I should make you a partner in my sufferings and distress a maiden like you through my sickness. Do not waste away over my troubles; for though you consented to it, yet I was the one that spilled
our mother’s blood. I blame Loxias, for urging me on to do a deed most unholy, encouraging me with words but not in deed. I believe that, if I had asked my father to his face whether I must slay my mother,
he would have strongly entreated me, by this beard, never to plunge a sword into her throat, since he would not regain his life, and I, poor wretch, would accomplish such evil!

> Greek: σύγγονε, τί κλαίεις κρᾶτα θεῖσʼ ἔσω πέπλων;
αἰσχύνομαί σε, μεταδιδοὺς πόνων ἐμῶν
ὄχλον τε παρέχων παρθένῳ νόσοις ἐμαῖς.
μὴ τῶν ἐμῶν ἕκατι συντήκου κακῶν·
σὺ μὲν γὰρ ἐπένευσας τάδʼ, εἴργασται δʼ ἐμοὶ
μητρῷον αἷμα· Λοξίᾳ δὲ μέμφομαι,
ὅστις μʼ ἐπάρας ἔργον ἀνοσιώτατον,
τοῖς μὲν λόγοις ηὔφρανε, τοῖς δʼ ἔργοισιν οὔ.
οἶμαι δὲ πατέρα τὸν ἐμόν, εἰ κατʼ ὄμματα
ἐξιστόρουν νιν, μητέρʼ εἰ κτεῖναι χρεών,
πολλὰς γενείου τοῦδʼ ἂν ἐκτεῖναι λιτὰς
μήποτε τεκούσης ἐς σφαγὰς ὦσαι ξίφος,
εἰ μήτʼ ἐκεῖνος ἀναλαβεῖν ἔμελλε φῶς,
ἐγώ θʼ ὁ τλήμων τοιάδʼ ἐκπλήσειν κακά.

[¶97] And now, my sister, unveil your face
and cease to weep, despite our misery. Whenever you see me give way to despair, it is for you to calm and soothe the terrors and distorted fancies of my brain. Whenever sorrow comes to you, I must be at your side and give you comforting advice;

> Greek: καὶ νῦν ἀνακάλυπτʼ, ὦ κασιγνήτη, κάρα,
ἐκ δακρύων τʼ ἄπελθε, κεἰ μάλʼ ἀθλίως
ἔχομεν. ὅταν δὲ τἄμʼ ἀθυμήσαντʼ ἴδῃς,
σύ μου τὸ δεινὸν καὶ διαφθαρὲν φρενῶν
ἴσχναινε παραμυθοῦ θʼ· ὅταν δὲ σὺ στένῃς,
ἡμᾶς παρόντας χρή σε νουθετεῖν φίλα·

[¶98] for to help our friends like this is noble.

> Greek: ἐπικουρίαι γὰρ αἵδε τοῖς φίλοις καλαί.

[¶99] Go in the house now, my poor sister; lie down and close your sleepless eyes; take food and bathe your body. For if you leave me or fall sick from nursing me,
I am lost. You are my only ally; I am deserted by all the rest, as you see.

> Greek: ἀλλʼ, ὦ τάλαινα, βᾶσα δωμάτων ἔσω
ὕπνῳ τʼ ἄυπνον βλέφαρον ἐκταθεῖσα δός,
σίτων τʼ ὄρεξαι λουτρά τʼ ἐπιβαλοῦ χροΐ.
εἰ γὰρ προλείψεις ἢ προσεδρείᾳ νόσον
κτήσῃ τινʼ, οἰχόμεσθα· σὲ γὰρ ἔχω μόνην
ἐπίκουρον, ἄλλων, ὡς ὁρᾷς, ἔρημος ὤν.

[¶100] Electra:
I will not leave you; with you I will choose to live and die; for it is the same: if you die, what shall I, a woman, do? How shall I escape alone,
with no brother, or father, or friends? Still, if you think it right, I must do your bidding. But lie down upon your couch, and do not pay too great heed to the terrors and alarm that scare you from your rest; lie still upon your pallet. For even if you are not sick, but only think you are,
this brings weariness and perplexity to mortals. Exit Electra.

> Greek: Ἠλέκτρα:
οὐκ ἔστι· σὺν σοὶ καὶ θανεῖν αἱρήσομαι
καὶ ζῆν· ἔχει γὰρ ταὐτόν· ἢν σὺ κατθάνῃς,
γυνὴ τί δράσω; πῶς μόνη σωθήσομαι,
ἀνάδελφος ἀπάτωρ ἄφιλος; εἰ δὲ σοὶ δοκεῖ,
δρᾶν χρὴ τάδʼ. ἀλλὰ κλῖνον εἰς εὐνὴν δέμας,
καὶ μὴ τὸ ταρβοῦν κἀκφοβοῦν σʼ ἐκ δεμνίων
ἄγαν ἀποδέχου, μένε δʼ ἐπὶ στρωτοῦ λέχους.
κἂν μὴ νοσῇς γάρ, ἀλλὰ δοξάζῃς νοσεῖν,
κάματος βροτοῖσιν ἀπορία τε γίγνεται.

[¶101] Chorus:
Ah! ah! you goddesses swiftly careering on your wings, whose lot it is to hold a revel, not with Bacchic rites,
in tears and groans; you black-skinned avenging spirits, that dart along the spacious air, exacting a penalty for blood, a penalty for murder, I beg you, I beg you!
Allow the son of Agamemnon to forget his wild whirling frenzy.
Alas for the toils which you, poor wretch, strove after to your ruin, when you heard the voice from the tripod, proclaimed by Phoebus,
at his sanctuary, where the hollows are called the navel of the earth.

> Greek: Χορός:
αἰαῖ,
δρομάδες ὦ πτεροφόροι
ποτνιάδες θεαί,
ἀβάκχευτον αἳ θίασον ἐλάχετʼ ἐν
δάκρυσι καὶ γόοις,
μελάγχρωτες εὐμενίδες, αἵτε τὸν
ταναὸν αἰθέρʼ ἀμπάλλεσθʼ, αἵματος
τινύμεναι δίκαν, τινύμεναι φόνον,
καθικετεύομαι καθικετεύομαι,
τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονος
γόνον ἐάσατʼ ἐκλαθέσθαι λύσσας
μανιάδος φοιταλέου. φεῦ μόχθων,
οἵων, ὦ τάλας, ὀρεχθεὶς ἔρρεις,
τρίποδος ἄπο φάτιν, ἃν ὁ Φοῖβος ἔλακε, δε-
ξάμενος ἀνὰ δάπεδον,
ἵνα μεσόμφαλοι λέγονται μυχοί.

[¶102] Chorus:
O Zeus! What pity, what deadly struggle is here,
hurrying you on, the wretch on whom some avenging fiend is heaping tears upon tears, bringing to the house your mother’s blood, which drives you raving mad?

> Greek: Χορός:
ἰὼ Ζεῦ,
τίς ἔλεος, τίς ὅδʼ ἀγὼν
φόνιος ἔρχεται,
θοάζων σε τὸν μέλεον, ᾧ δάκρυα
δάκρυσι συμβάλλει
πορεύων τις ἐς δόμον ἀλαστόρων
ματέρος αἷμα σᾶς, ὅ σʼ ἀναβακχεύει;

[¶103] Great prosperity is not secure among mortals. I lament, I lament! But some divine power, shaking it to and fro like the sail of a swift ship, plunges it deep in the waves of grievous affliction, violent and deadly as the waves of the sea.

> Greek: ὁ μέγας ὄλβος οὐ μόνιμος ἐν βροτοῖς·
κατολοφύρομαι κατολοφύρομαι.
ἀνὰ δὲ λαῖφος ὥς
τις ἀκάτου θοᾶς τινάξας δαίμων
κατέκλυσεν δεινῶν πόνων ὡς πόντου
λάβροις ὀλεθρίοισιν ἐν κύμασιν.

[¶104] For what other family must I still revere, rather than the one from a divine marriage, from Tantalus.

> Greek: τίνα γὰρ ἔτι πάρος οἶκον ἕτερον ἢ τὸν ἀπὸ
θεογόνων γάμων,
τὸν ἀπὸ Ταντάλου, σέβεσθαί με χρή;

[¶105] Chorus Leader:
And see, a king draws near, lord Menelaus; from his magnificence it is plain to see
that he belongs to the blood of the Tantalids.

> Greek: Χορός:
καὶ μὴν βασιλεὺς ὅδε δὴ στείχει,
Μενέλαος ἄναξ, πολλῇ ἁβροσύνῃ
δῆλος ὁρᾶσθαι
τῶν Τανταλιδῶν ἐξ αἵματος ὤν.

[¶106] All hail! you that set out with a thousand ships to Asia’s land; good fortune is your friend,
for you have accomplished, with divine aid, all that you prayed for.

> Greek: ὦ χιλιόναυν στρατὸν ὁρμήσας
ἐς γῆν Ἀσίαν,
χαῖρʼ, εὐτυχίᾳ δʼ αὐτὸς ὁμιλεῖς,
θεόθεν πράξας ἅπερ ηὔχου.

[¶107] Menelaus:
O my home, some joy I feel to see you again on my return from Troy, but I also grieve at the sight; for never have I seen another house more closely encircled by dire affliction.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ὦ δῶμα, τῇ μέν σʼ ἡδέως προσδέρκομαι
Τροίαθεν ἐλθών, τῇ δʼ ἰδὼν καταστένω·
κύκλῳ γὰρ εἱλιχθεῖσαν ἀθλίως κακοῖς
οὐπώποτʼ ἄλλην μᾶλλον εἶδον ἑστίαν.

[¶108] For I learned Agamemnon’s fate and the death he died at his wife’s hands, as I was trying to put in at Malea; when the sailors’ prophet, the truthful god Glaucus, Nereus’ seer, brought the news to me from the waves;
he stationed himself in full view and told me this: “Menelaus, your brother lies dead, plunged in a fatal bath, the last his wife will ever give him.” My sailors and I wept greatly at his words. When I arrived at Nauplia,
my wife already on the point of starting here, I was expecting to give a fond embrace to Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, and his mother, thinking that they were doing well, when I heard from a sailor the unholy murder of Tyndareus’ child.

> Greek: Ἀγαμέμνονος μὲν γὰρ τύχας ἠπιστάμην
καὶ θάνατον, οἵῳ πρὸς δάμαρτος ὤλετο,
Μαλέᾳ προσίσχων πρῷραν· ἐκ δὲ κυμάτων
ὁ ναυτίλοισι μάντις ἐξήγγειλέ μοι
Νηρέως προφήτης Γλαῦκος, ἀψευδὴς θεός,
ὅς μοι τόδʼ εἶπεν ἐμφανῶς κατασταθείς·
Μενέλαε, κεῖται σὸς κασίγνητος θανών,
λουτροῖσιν ἀλόχου περιπεσὼν πανυστάτοις.
δακρύων δʼ ἔπλησεν ἐμέ τε καὶ ναύτας ἐμοὺς
πολλῶν. ἐπεὶ δὲ Ναυπλίας ψαύω χθονός,
ἤδη δάμαρτος ἐνθάδʼ ἐξορμωμένης,
δοκῶν Ὀρέστην παῖδα τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονος
φίλαισι χερσὶ περιβαλεῖν καὶ μητέρα,
ὡς εὐτυχοῦντας, ἔκλυον ἁλιτύπων τινὸς
τῆς Τυνδαρείας παιδὸς ἀνόσιον φόνον.

[¶109] And now tell me, young ladies, where to find the son of Agamemnon, who dared such evil. For he was a baby in Clytemnestra’s arms when I left my home to go to Troy, so that I would not recognize him if I saw him.
Orestes: Staggering towards him from the couch.

> Greek: καὶ νῦν ὅπου ʼστὶν εἴπατʼ, ὦ νεάνιδες,
Ἀγαμέμνονος παῖς, ὃς τὰ δείνʼ ἔτλη κακά.
βρέφος γὰρ ἦν τότʼ ἐν Κλυταιμήστρας χεροῖν,
ὅτʼ ἐξέλειπον μέλαθρον ἐς Τροίαν ἰών,
ὥστʼ οὐκ ἂν αὐτὸν γνωρίσαιμʼ ἂν εἰσιδών.

[¶110] Menelaus, I am Orestes, whom you are asking about. I will of my own accord inform you of my sufferings. But as my first portion, I clasp your knees as a suppliant, giving you prayers from the mouth of one without the suppliant’s bough; save me, for you have come at the crisis of my troubles.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ὅδʼ εἴμʼ Ὀρέστης, Μενέλεως, ὃν ἱστορεῖς.
ἑκὼν ἐγώ σοι τἀμὰ μηνύσω κακά.
τῶν σῶν δὲ γονάτων πρωτόλεια θιγγάνω
ἱκέτης, ἀφύλλου στόματος ἐξάπτων λιτάς·
σῷσόν μʼ· ἀφῖξαι δʼ αὐτὸς ἐς καιρὸν κακῶν.

[¶111] Menelaus:
O gods, what do I see? What living corpse greets my sight?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ὦ θεοί, τί λεύσσω; τίνα δέδορκα νερτέρων;

[¶112] Orestes:
You are right; I am dead through misery, though I still gaze upon the light.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
εὖ γʼ εἶπας· οὐ γὰρ ζῶ κακοῖς, φάος δʼ ὁρῶ.

[¶113] Menelaus:
How savage the look your unkempt hair gives you, poor wretch!

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ὡς ἠγρίωσαι πλόκαμον αὐχμηρόν, τάλας.

[¶114] Orestes:
It is not my looks, but my deeds that torture me.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
οὐχ ἡ πρόσοψίς μʼ, ἀλλὰ τἄργʼ αἰκίζεται.

[¶115] Menelaus:
Your tearless eyes glare dreadfully!

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
δεινὸν δὲ λεύσσεις ὀμμάτων ξηραῖς κόραις.

[¶116] Orestes:
My body is gone, though my name has not deserted me.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
τὸ σῶμα φροῦδον· τὸ δʼ ὄνομʼ οὐ λέλοιπέ μοι.

[¶117] Menelaus:
Unsightly apparition, so different from what I expected!

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ὦ παρὰ λόγον μοι σὴ φανεῖσʼ ἀμορφία.

[¶118] Orestes:
Here I am, the murderer of my wretched mother.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ὅδʼ εἰμὶ μητρὸς τῆς ταλαιπώρου φονεύς.

[¶119] Menelaus:
I have heard, spare your words; evils should be seldom spoken.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ἤκουσα, φείδου δʼ· ὀλιγάκις λέγειν κακά.

[¶120] Orestes:
I will be sparing; but the deity is lavish of woe in my case.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
φειδόμεθʼ· ὁ δαίμων δʼ ἐς ἐμὲ πλούσιος κακῶν.

[¶121] Menelaus:
What ails you? what is your deadly sickness?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
τί χρῆμα πάσχεις; τίς σʼ ἀπόλλυσιν νόσος;

[¶122] Orestes:
My conscience; I know that I am guilty of a dreadful crime.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἡ σύνεσις, ὅτι σύνοιδα δείνʼ εἰργασμένος.

[¶123] Menelaus:
What do you mean? Wisdom is shown in clarity, not in obscurity.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
πῶς φῄς; σοφόν τοι τὸ σαφές, οὐ τὸ μὴ σαφές.

[¶124] Orestes:
Grief especially has ruined me—

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
λύπη μάλιστά γʼ ἡ διαφθείρουσά με —

[¶125] Menelaus:
Yes, she is a dreadful goddess, yet are there cures for her.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
δεινὴ γὰρ ἡ θεός, ἀλλʼ ὅμως ἰάσιμος.

[¶126] Orestes:
And fits of madness, the vengeance of a mother’s blood.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
μανίαι τε, μητρὸς αἵματος τιμωρίαι.

[¶127] Menelaus:
When did your madness begin? Which day was it?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ἤρξω δὲ λύσσης πότε; τίς ἡμέρα τότʼ ἦν;

[¶128] Orestes:
On the day I was heaping the mound over my poor mother’s grave.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἐν ᾗ τάλαιναν μητέρʼ ἐξώγκουν τάφῳ.

[¶129] Menelaus:
When you were in the house, or watching by the pyre?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
πότερα κατʼ οἴκους ἢ προσεδρεύων πυρᾷ;

[¶130] Orestes:
As I was waiting by night to gather up her bones.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
νυκτὸς φυλάσσων ὀστέων ἀναίρεσιν.

[¶131] Menelaus:
Was any one else there, to help you rise?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
παρῆν τις ἄλλος, ὃς σὸν ὤρθευεν δέμας;

[¶132] Orestes:
Pylades who shared with me the bloody deed, my mother’s murder.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
Πυλάδης, ὁ συνδρῶν αἷμα καὶ μητρὸς φόνον.

[¶133] Menelaus:
You are sick from phantom shapes; what sort?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ἐκ φασμάτων δὲ τάδε νοσεῖς· ποίων ὕπο;

[¶134] Orestes:
I seemed to see three maidens, black as night.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἔδοξʼ ἰδεῖν τρεῖς νυκτὶ προσφερεῖς κόρας.

[¶135] Menelaus:
I know whom you mean, but I do not want to name them.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
οἶδʼ ἃς ἔλεξας, ὀνομάσαι δʼ οὐ βούλομαι.

[¶136] Orestes:
Yes, for they are revered; you were well-informed, to avoid naming them.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
σεμναὶ γάρ· εὐπαίδευτα δʼ ἀπετρέπου λέγειν.

[¶137] Menelaus:
Are these the ones that drive you to frenzy, with the curse of kindred blood?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
αὗταί σε βακχεύουσι συγγενῆ φόνον;

[¶138] Orestes:
Oh! the torment I endure from their pursuit!

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
οἴμοι διωγμῶν, οἷς ἐλαύνομαι τάλας.

[¶139] Menelaus:
It is not strange, if those who have done dreadful things should suffer them.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
οὐ δεινὰ πάσχειν δεινὰ τοὺς εἰργασμένους.

[¶140] Orestes:
But I have a way to recover from these troubles.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἀλλʼ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἀναφορὰ τῆς συμφορᾶς.

[¶141] Menelaus:
Do not speak of death; that is not wise.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
μὴ θάνατον εἴπῃς· τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ οὐ σοφόν.

[¶142] Orestes:
It is Phoebus, who commanded me to kill my mother.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
Φοῖβος, κελεύσας μητρὸς ἐκπρᾶξαι φόνον.

[¶143] Menelaus:
Showing a strange ignorance of what is fair and right.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ἀμαθέστερός γʼ ὢν τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ τῆς δίκης.

[¶144] Orestes:
We are slaves to the gods, whatever those gods are.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
δουλεύομεν θεοῖς, ὅ τι ποτʼ εἰσὶν οἱ θεοί.

[¶145] Menelaus:
And does Loxias not help your affliction?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
κᾆτʼ οὐκ ἀμύνει Λοξίας τοῖς σοῖς κακοῖς;

[¶146] Orestes:
He will in time; this is the nature of gods.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
μέλλει· τὸ θεῖον δʼ ἐστὶ τοιοῦτον φύσει.

[¶147] Menelaus:
How long is it since your mother breathed her last?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
πόσον χρόνον δὲ μητρὸς οἴχονται πνοαί;

[¶148] Orestes:
This is the sixth day; her funeral pyre is still warm.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἕκτον τόδʼ ἦμαρ· ἔτι πυρὰ θερμὴ τάφου.

[¶149] Menelaus:
How soon the goddesses arrived to avenge your mother’s blood!

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ὡς ταχὺ μετῆλθόν σʼ αἷμα μητέρος θεαί.

[¶150] Orestes:
I am not clever, but I am by nature a true friend to my friends.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
οὐ σοφός, ἀληθὴς δʼ ἐς φίλους ⟨ἔφυν φίλος.⟩

[¶151] Menelaus:
Does your father give you any help at all, for your avenging him?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
πατρὸς δὲ δή τι σʼ ὠφελεῖ τιμωρία;

[¶152] Orestes:
Not yet; I call delay the equal of inaction.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
οὔπω· τὸ μέλλον δʼ ἴσον ἀπραξίᾳ λέγω.

[¶153] Menelaus:
How do you stand in the city after that deed of yours?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
τὰ πρὸς πόλιν δὲ πῶς ἔχεις δράσας τάδε;

[¶154] Orestes:
I am so hated that no one will speak to me.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
μισούμεθʼ οὕτως ὥστε μὴ προσεννέπειν.

[¶155] Menelaus:
Have your hands not even been cleaned of blood, according to custom?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
οὐδʼ ἥγνισαι σὸν αἷμα κατὰ νόμον χεροῖν;

[¶156] Orestes:
No, for wherever I go, the door is shut against me.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἐκκλῄομαι γὰρ δωμάτων ὅποι μόλω.

[¶157] Menelaus:
Which citizens are driving you from the land?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
τίνες πολιτῶν ἐξαμιλλῶνταί σε γῆς;

[¶158] Orestes:
Oeax, who refers to my father his reason for hating Troy.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
Οἴαξ, τὸ Τροίας μῖσος ἀναφέρων πατρί.

[¶159] Menelaus:
I understand; he is avenging on you the blood of Palamedes.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
συνῆκα· Παλαμήδους σε τιμωρεῖ φόνου.

[¶160] Orestes:
That was nothing to do with me; yet I am destroyed for three reasons.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
οὗ γʼ οὐ μετῆν μοι· διὰ τριῶν δʼ ἀπόλλυμαι.

[¶161] Menelaus:
Who else? Some of the friends of Aegisthus, I suppose?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
τίς δʼ ἄλλος; ἦ που τῶν ἀπʼ Αἰγίσθου φίλων;

[¶162] Orestes:
They insult me, and the city listens to them now.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
οὗτοί μʼ ὑβρίζουσʼ, ὧν πόλις τὰ νῦν κλύει.

[¶163] Menelaus:
Will the city allow you to keep the scepter of Agamemnon?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
Ἀγαμέμνονος δὲ σκῆπτρʼ ἐᾷ σʼ ἔχειν πόλις;

[¶164] Orestes:
How, seeing that they will not allow me to remain alive?

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
πῶς, οἵτινες ζῆν οὐκ ἐῶσʼ ἡμᾶς ἔτι;

[¶165] Menelaus:
What is their method? Can you tell me plainly?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
τί δρῶντες ὅ τι καὶ σαφὲς ἔχεις εἰπεῖν ἐμοί;

[¶166] Orestes:
A vote will be taken against us today.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ψῆφος καθʼ ἡμῶν οἴσεται τῇδʼ ἡμέρᾳ.

[¶167] Menelaus:
To leave the city? Or to die, or not to die?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
φεύγειν πόλιν τήνδʼ; ἢ θανεῖν ἢ μὴ θανεῖν;

[¶168] Orestes:
Death by stoning at the hands of the citizens.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
θανεῖν ὑπʼ ἀστῶν λευσίμῳ πετρώματι.

[¶169] Menelaus:
Then why not cross the border and try to escape?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
κᾆτʼ οὐχὶ φεύγεις γῆς ὑπερβαλὼν ὅρους;

[¶170] Orestes:
Because we are encircled by men fully armed.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
κύκλῳ γὰρ εἱλισσόμεθα παγχάλκοις ὅπλοις.

[¶171] Menelaus:
Private foes or Argive troops?

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ἰδίᾳ πρὸς ἐχθρῶν ἢ πρὸς Ἀργείας χερός;

[¶172] Orestes:
All the citizens, so that I may die; it is shortly told.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
πάντων πρὸς ἀστῶν, ὡς θάνω· βραχὺς λόγος.

[¶173] Menelaus:
Poor wretch! you have arrived at the extremity of woe.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ὦ μέλεος, ἥκεις συμφορᾶς ἐς τοὔσχατον.

[¶174] Orestes:
In you I have hopes of escape from my troubles. But since you have come with good fortune,
share with your friends, who are wretched, your prosperity; do not hold aside that goodness for yourself alone; but partake of troubles in your turn, and so pay back my father’s kindness to those who have a claim on you. For such friends as desert us in adversity
are friends in name but not in deed.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἐς σὲ ἐλπὶς ἡμὴ καταφυγὰς ἔχει κακῶν.
ἀλλʼ ἀθλίως πράσσουσιν εὐτυχὴς μολὼν
μετάδος φίλοισι σοῖσι σῆς εὐπραξίας,
καὶ μὴ μόνος τὸ χρηστὸν ἀπολαβὼν ἔχε,
ἀλλʼ ἀντιλάζου καὶ πόνων ἐν τῷ μέρει,
χάριτας πατρῴας ἐκτίνων ἐς οὕς σε δεῖ.
ὄνομα γάρ, ἔργον δʼ οὐκ ἔχουσιν οἱ φίλοι
οἱ μὴ ʼπὶ ταῖσι συμφοραῖς ὄντες φίλοι.

[¶175] Chorus Leader:
And here is Tyndareus, the Spartan, struggling with aged step, clad in black robes, with his hair cut short in mourning for his daughter.

> Greek: Χορός:
καὶ μὴν γέροντι δεῦρʼ ἁμιλλᾶται ποδὶ
ὁ Σπαρτιάτης Τυνδάρεως, μελάμπεπλος
κουρᾷ τε θυγατρὸς πενθίμῳ κεκαρμένος.

[¶176] Orestes:
Menelaus, I am ruined. See, Tyndareus
approaches us, the man of all others I most shrink from facing, because of the deed I have done. For he nursed me when I was small, and lavished on me many a fond caress, carrying me about in his arms as the son of Agamemnon; and so did Leda;
for they both honored me no less than the Dioscuri.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ἀπωλόμην, Μενέλαε· Τυνδάρεως ὅδε
στείχει πρὸς ἡμᾶς, οὗ μάλιστʼ αἰδώς μʼ ἔχει
ἐς ὄμματʼ ἐλθεῖν τοῖσιν ἐξειργασμένοις.
καὶ γάρ μʼ ἔθρεψε σμικρὸν ὄντα, πολλὰ δὲ
φιλήματʼ ἐξέπλησε, τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονος
παῖδʼ ἀγκάλαισι περιφέρων, Λήδα θʼ ἅμα,
τιμῶντέ μʼ οὐδὲν ἧσσον ἢ Διοσκόρω·

[¶177] Ah me! my wretched heart and soul, it was a sorry return I made them! What darkness can I find for my face? What cloud can I spread before me in my efforts to escape the old man’s eye?

> Greek: οἷς, ὦ τάλαινα καρδία ψυχή τʼ ἐμή,
ἀπέδωκʼ ἀμοιβὰς οὐ καλάς. τίνα σκότον
λάβω προσώπῳ; ποῖον ἐπίπροσθεν νέφος
θῶμαι, γέροντος ὀμμάτων φεύγων κόρας;

[¶178] Tyndareus:
Where, where may I see Menelaus, my daughter’s husband? For as I was pouring libations on Clytemnestra’s grave I heard that he had come to Nauplia with his wife, safe home again after many years. Lead me to him; for I want to approach him
and clasp his hand, as a friend whom at last I see again.

> Greek: Τυνδάρεως:
ποῦ ποῦ θυγατρὸς τῆς ἐμῆς ἴδω πόσιν,
Μενέλαον; ἐπὶ γὰρ τῷ Κλυταιμήστρας τάφῳ
χοὰς χεόμενος ἔκλυον ὡς ἐς Ναυπλίαν
ἥκοι σὺν ἀλόχῳ πολυετὴς σεσῳσμένος.
ἄγετέ με· πρὸς γὰρ δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ θέλω
στὰς ἀσπάσασθαι, χρόνιος εἰσιδὼν φίλον.

[¶179] Menelaus:
Hail, old man, rival of Zeus for a bride!

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ὦ πρέσβυ, χαῖρε, Ζηνὸς ὁμόλεκτρον κάρα.

[¶180] Tyndareus:
All hail to you, Menelaus, my kinsman!

> Greek: Τυνδάρεως:
ὦ χαῖρε καὶ σύ, Μενέλεως, κήδευμʼ ἐμόν.

[¶181] Catching sight of Orestes. Ah! What an evil it is to be ignorant of the future! There is that matricide before the house, a viper darting venomous flashes from his eyes, whom I loathe.
Menelaus, are you speaking to that godless wretch?

> Greek: ἔα· τὸ μέλλον ὡς κακὸν τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι.
ὁ μητροφόντης ὅδε πρὸ δωμάτων δράκων
στίλβει νοσώδεις ἀστραπάς, στύγημʼ ἐμόν.
Μενέλαε, προσφθέγγῃ νιν, ἀνόσιον κάρα;

[¶182] Menelaus:
And why not? He is the son of one whom I loved.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
τί γάρ; φίλου μοι πατρός ἐστιν ἔκγονος.

[¶183] Tyndareus:
This is his son, this creature here?

> Greek: Τυνδάρεως:
κείνου γὰρ ὅδε πέφυκε, τοιοῦτος γεγώς;

[¶184] Menelaus:
Yes, his son; if he is in misfortune, he ought to be honored.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
πέφυκεν· εἰ δὲ δυστυχεῖ, τιμητέος.

[¶185] Tyndareus:
You have been so long among barbarians that you have become one of them.

> Greek: Τυνδάρεως:
βεβαρβάρωσαι, χρόνιος ὢν ἐν βαρβάροις.

[¶186] Menelaus:
Always to honor one’s kin is a custom in Hellas.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
Ἑλληνικόν τοι τὸν ὁμόθεν τιμᾶν ἀεί.

[¶187] Tyndareus:
And another custom is to yield a willing deference to the laws.

> Greek: Τυνδάρεως:
καὶ τῶν νόμων γε μὴ πρότερον εἶναι θέλειν.

[¶188] Menelaus:
The wise hold that everything which depends on necessity is a slave.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
πᾶν τοὐξ ἀνάγκης δοῦλόν ἐστʼ ἐν τοῖς σοφοῖς.

[¶189] Tyndareus:
Keep that wisdom for yourself; I will not have it.

> Greek: Τυνδάρεως:
κέκτησό νυν σὺ τοῦτʼ, ἐγὼ δʼ οὐ κτήσομαι.

[¶190] Menelaus:
Yes, for you are angry, and also old age is not wise.

> Greek: Μενέλαος:
ὀργὴ γὰρ ἅμα σου καὶ τὸ γῆρας οὐ σοφόν.

[¶191] Tyndareus:
What does a dispute about foolishness have to do with him? If right and wrong are clear to all, who was ever more senseless than this man, because he never weighed the justice of the case,
nor appealed to the universal law of Hellas? For instance, when Agamemnon breathed his last [struck on his head by my daughter] a most foul deed, which I will never defend,
he should have brought a charge against his mother and inflicted a holy penalty for bloodshed, banishing her from his house; thus he would have gained moderation instead of calamity, keeping strictly to the law and showing his piety as well. As it is, he has come into the same fate as his mother.

> Greek: Τυνδάρεως:
πρὸς τόνδʼ ἀγὼν τίς ἀσοφίας ἥκει πέρι;
εἰ τὰ καλὰ πᾶσι φανερὰ καὶ τὰ μὴ καλά,
τούτου τίς ἀνδρῶν ἐγένετʼ ἀσυνετώτερος,
ὅστις τὸ μὲν δίκαιον οὐκ ἐσκέψατο
οὐδʼ ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὸν κοινὸν Ἑλλήνων νόμον;
ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἐξέπνευσεν Ἀγαμέμνων βίον
πληγεὶς θυγατρὸς τῆς ἐμῆς ὑπὲρ κάρα,
αἴσχιστον ἔργον — οὐ γὰρ αἰνέσω ποτέ —
χρῆν αὐτὸν ἐπιθεῖναι μὲν αἵματος δίκην,
ὁσίαν διώκοντʼ, ἐκβαλεῖν τε δωμάτων
μητέρα· τὸ σῶφρόν τʼ ἔλαβεν ἀντὶ συμφορᾶς
καὶ τοῦ νόμου τʼ ἂν εἴχετʼ εὐσεβής τʼ ἂν ἦν.
νῦν δʼ ἐς τὸν αὐτὸν δαίμονʼ ἦλθε μητέρι.

[¶192] for though he had just cause for thinking her a wicked woman, he has become more wicked by murdering her.

> Greek: κακὴν γὰρ αὐτὴν ἐνδίκως ἡγούμενος,
αὐτὸς κακίων μητέρʼ ἐγένετο κτανών.

[¶193] I will ask you, Menelaus, just one question. If a man’s wedded wife should kill him, and his son in turn will kill his mother in revenge;
next the avenger’s son to expiate this murder will commit another: where will the chain of horrors end?

> Greek: ἐρήσομαι δέ, Μενέλεως, τοσόνδε σε·
εἰ τόνδʼ ἀποκτείνειεν ὁμόλεκτρος γυνή,
χὡ τοῦδε παῖς αὖ μητέρʼ ἀνταποκτενεῖ,
κἄπειθʼ ὁ κείνου γενόμενος φόνῳ φόνον
λύσει, πέρας δὴ ποῖ κακῶν προβήσεται;

[¶194] Our forefathers settled these matters the right way. They forbade any one with blood upon his hands to appear in their sight or cross their path;
but they purified him by exile, they did not kill him in revenge. Otherwise someone, by taking the pollution last upon his hands, is always going to be liable to have his own blood shed.

> Greek: καλῶς ἔθεντο ταῦτα πατέρες οἱ πάλαι·
ἐς ὀμμάτων μὲν ὄψιν οὐκ εἴων περᾶν
οὐδʼ εἰς ἀπάντημʼ, ὅστις αἷμʼ ἔχων κυροῖ,
φυγαῖσι δʼ ὁσιοῦν, ἀνταποκτείνειν δὲ μή.
αἰεὶ γὰρ εἷς ἔμελλʼ ἐνέξεσθαι φόνῳ,
τὸ λοίσθιον μίασμα λαμβάνων χεροῖν.

[¶195] Now I hate wicked women, especially my daughter who killed her husband;

> Greek: ἐγὼ δὲ μισῶ μὲν γυναῖκας ἀνοσίους,
πρώτην δὲ θυγατέρʼ, ἣ πόσιν κατέκτανεν·

[¶196] Helen, too, your own wife, I will never commend, nor would I even speak to her; and I do not envy you a voyage to Troy for a worthless woman. But the law I will defend with all my might, to put an end to this brutal spirit of murder,
which is always the ruin of countries and cities alike. Turning to Orestes Wretch! Had you no heart when your mother was baring her breast in her appeal to you? I, who did not see that awful deed, weep unhappy tears from my old eyes.

> Greek: Ἑλένην τε, τὴν σὴν ἄλοχον, οὔποτʼ αἰνέσω
οὐδʼ ἂν προσείποιμʼ· οὐδὲ σὲ ζηλῶ, κακῆς
γυναικὸς ἐλθόνθʼ οὕνεκʼ ἐς Τροίας πέδον.
ἀμυνῶ δʼ, ὅσονπερ δυνατός εἰμι, τῷ νόμῳ,
τὸ θηριῶδες τοῦτο καὶ μιαιφόνον
παύων, ὃ καὶ γῆν καὶ πόλεις ὄλλυσʼ ἀεί.
ἐπεὶ τίνʼ εἶχες, ὦ τάλας, ψυχὴν τότε,
ὅτʼ ἐξέβαλλε μαστὸν ἱκετεύουσά σε
μήτηρ; ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἰδὼν τἀκεῖ κακά,
δακρύοις γέροντʼ ὀφθαλμὸν ἐκτήκω τάλας.

[¶197] One thing at least agrees with what I say: you are hated by the gods, and you pay atonement for your mother by your fits of madness and terror. Why do I need to hear from other witnesses what I can see for myself? Therefore, Menelaus, take heed;
do not oppose the gods in your wish to help this man; but leave him to be stoned to death by the citizens, or do not set foot on Spartan land. My daughter is dead, and rightly; but it should not have been his hand that slew her.

> Greek: ἓν ⟨δʼ⟩ οὖν λόγοισι τοῖς ἐμοῖς ὁμορροθεῖ·
μισῇ γε πρὸς θεῶν καὶ τίνεις μητρὸς δίκας,
μανίαις ἀλαίνων καὶ φόβοις. τί μαρτύρων
ἄλλων ἀκούειν δεῖ μʼ, ἅ γʼ εἰσορᾶν πάρα;
ὡς οὖν ἂν εἰδῇς, Μενέλεως, τοῖσιν θεοῖς
μὴ πρᾶσσʼ ἐναντίʼ, ὠφελεῖν τοῦτον θέλων,
ἔα δʼ ὑπʼ ἀστῶν καταφονευθῆναι πέτροις,
ἢ μὴ ʼπίβαινε Σπαρτιάτιδος χθονός.
θυγάτηρ δʼ ἐμὴ θανοῦσʼ ἔπραξεν ἔνδικα·
ἀλλʼ οὐχὶ πρὸς τοῦτʼ εἰκὸς ἦν αὐτὴν θανεῖν.

[¶198] In all except my daughters I have been a happy man; there I am not blessed.

> Greek: ἐγὼ δὲ τἄλλα μακάριος πέφυκʼ ἀνήρ,
πλὴν ἐς θυγατέρας· τοῦτο δʼ οὐκ εὐδαιμονῶ.

[¶199] Chorus Leader:
He is enviable, who is fortunate in his children, and does not bring hazardous notoriety on himself.

> Greek: Χορός:
ζηλωτὸς ὅστις εὐτύχησεν ἐς τέκνα
καὶ μὴ ʼπισήμους συμφορὰς ἐκτήσατο.

[¶200] Orestes:
Old man, I am afraid to speak before you,
in a matter where I am sure to grieve you to the heart. I am unholy because I killed my mother, I know it, yet holy on another count, because I avenged my father. Only let your years, which frighten me from speaking, set no barrier in the path of my words,
and I will go forward; but now I fear your gray hairs.

> Greek: Ὀρέστης:
ὦ γέρον, ἐγώ τοι πρὸς σὲ δειμαίνω λέγειν,
ὅπου σὲ μέλλω σήν τε λυπήσειν φρένα.
ἐγᾦδʼ, ἀνόσιός εἰμι μητέρα κτανών,
ὅσιος δέ γʼ ἕτερον ὄνομα, τιμωρῶν πατρί.
ἀπελθέτω δὴ τοῖς λόγοισιν ἐκποδὼν
τὸ γῆρας ἡμῖν τὸ σόν, ὅ μʼ ἐκπλήσσει λόγου,
καὶ καθʼ ὁδὸν εἶμι· νῦν δὲ σὴν ταρβῶ τρίχα.

[¶201] What ought I to have done? Set one thing against another. My father begot me; your daughter gave me birth, being the field that received the seed from another; for without a father no child would ever be born.

> Greek: τί χρῆν με δρᾶσαι; δύο γὰρ ἀντίθες δυοῖν·
πατὴρ μὲν ἐφύτευσέν με, σὴ δʼ ἔτικτε παῖς,
τὸ σπέρμʼ ἄρουρα παραλαβοῦσʼ ἄλλου πάρα·
ἄνευ δὲ πατρὸς τέκνον οὐκ εἴη ποτʼ ἄν.

[¶202] So I reasoned that I ought to stand by the author of my being rather than the woman who undertook to rear me. Now your daughter—I am ashamed to call her mother—came to a man’s bed in a private and unchaste wedding; I speak against myself when I speak
badly of her, yet I will speak. Aegisthus was her secret husband in the home; I killed him, and I sacrificed my mother, an unholy crime, no doubt, but done to avenge my father.

> Greek: ἐλογισάμην οὖν τῷ γένους ἀρχηγέτῃ
μᾶλλόν με φῦναι τῆς ὑποστάσης τροφάς.
ἡ σὴ δὲ θυγάτηρ — μητέρʼ αἰδοῦμαι λέγειν —
ἰδίοισιν ὑμεναίοισι κοὐχὶ σώφροσιν
ἐς ἀνδρὸς ᾔει λέκτρʼ· ἐμαυτόν, ἢν λέγω
κακῶς ἐκείνην, ἐξερῶ· λέξω δʼ ὅμως.
Αἴγισθος ἦν ὁ κρυπτὸς ἐν δόμοις πόσις.
τοῦτον κατέκτεινʼ, ἐπὶ δʼ ἔθυσα μητέρα,
ἀνόσια μὲν δρῶν, ἀλλὰ τιμωρῶν πατρί.

[¶203] Now, as regards the matters for which I deserve to be stoned as you threatened,
hear the service I am conferring on all Hellas. For if women become so bold as to murder their husbands, taking refuge in their children, with the mother’s breast to catch the pity, they would think nothing of destroying their husbands
on any charge whatsoever. But I, by a horrible crime, as you boast it to be, have put an end to this custom. I hated my mother and killed her justly. She was false to her husband when he was gone from his home to fight for all Hellas at the head of its armies,
and she did not keep his bed undefiled; and when her sin had found her out, she did not impose punishment on herself, but, to avoid paying the penalty to her husband, punished my father by death. By the gods! it is not a good time for me to mention the gods,
when defending the charge of murder; but if I consented by my silence to my mother’s conduct, what would the murdered man have done to me? Would he not now in hatred be tormenting me with the Furies? Or does my mother have goddesses as allies, but he does not, in his deeper wrong?

> Greek: ἐφʼ οἷς δʼ ἀπειλεῖς ὡς πετρωθῆναί με χρή,
ἄκουσον ὡς ἅπασαν Ἑλλάδʼ ὠφελῶ.
εἰ γὰρ γυναῖκες ἐς τόδʼ ἥξουσιν θράσους,
ἄνδρας φονεύειν, καταφυγὰς ποιούμεναι
ἐς τέκνα, μαστοῖς τὸν ἔλεον θηρώμεναι,
παρʼ οὐδὲν αὐταῖς ἦν ἂν ὀλλύναι πόσεις
ἐπίκλημʼ ἐχούσαις ὅ τι τύχοι. δράσας δʼ ἐγὼ
δείνʼ, ὡς σὺ κομπεῖς, τόνδʼ ἔπαυσα τὸν νόμον.
μισῶν δὲ μητέρʼ ἐνδίκως ἀπώλεσα,
ἥτις μεθʼ ὅπλων ἄνδρʼ ἀπόντʼ ἐκ δωμάτων
πάσης ὑπὲρ γῆς Ἑλλάδος στρατηλάτην
προύδωκε κοὐκ ἔσῳσʼ ἀκήρατον λέχος·
ἐπεὶ δʼ ἁμαρτοῦσʼ ᾔσθετʼ, οὐχ αὑτῇ δίκην
ἐπέθηκεν, ἀλλʼ, ὡς μὴ δίκην δοίη πόσει,
ἐζημίωσε πατέρα κἀπέκτεινʼ ἐμόν.
πρὸς θεῶν — ἐν οὐ καλῷ μὲν ἐμνήσθην θεῶν,
φόνον δικάζων· εἰ δὲ δὴ τὰ μητέρος
σιγῶν ἐπῄνουν, τί μʼ ἂν ἔδρασʼ ὁ κατθανών;
οὐκ ἄν με μισῶν ἀνεχόρευʼ Ἐρινύσιν;
ἢ μητρὶ μὲν πάρεισι σύμμαχοι θεαί,
τῷ δʼ οὐ πάρεισι, μᾶλλον ἠδικημένῳ;