She doth prepare the funeral banquet ;
But they are not far from her.
Chorus
Why then leave them 1
Electra
To watch JEgisthus, lest he steal upon iis
And blast our purpose.
Cly. \heMnd tlie scenes]. Oh ! I am betrayed !
My palace full of murderei's ; not a friend
Left to protect me.
Electra
Some one aies within ;
Did you not hear ?
Chorus
It is too horrible
5'\)r mortal ear ; I tremble at the sound.
Cly. [wi
Electra
Hark! again
1410
The voice, and louder.
1410
Cly. \\oithiix\. O my child ! my child !
1410
Pity thy mother, pity her who bore thee !
1410
Electra
Be thine the pity which thou showedst to him,
And to his father.
Chorus
O unhappy kingdom !
O wretched race ! thy misery is full ;
This day will finish all.
Cxy. [within]. Oh! I am wounded!
Electra
Another stroke — another, if thou canst !
Cly. Ah me ! again !
Electra
Oh ! that ^gisthus too
Electra
Hark! again
1410
The voice, and louder.
1410
Cly. \\oithiix\. O my child ! my child !
1410
Pity thy mother, pity her who bore thee !
1410
Electra
Be thine the pity which thou showedst to him,
And to his father.
Chorus
O unhappy kingdom !
O wretched race ! thy misery is full ;
This day will finish all.
Cxy. [within]. Oh! I am wounded!
Electra
Another stroke — another, if thou canst !
Cly. Ah me ! again !
Electra
Oh ! that ^gisthus too
Electra. Sophocles. Thomas Francklin (Translator). London. 1758–1759.
Current edition Experimental
English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759) (OCR draft) (English) (English (Thomas Francklin, 1758–1759))
Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.
Editions (2)
Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) — 1397 focus
ὦ φίλταται γυναῖκες,
ἄνδρες
ἄνδρες αὐτίκα
ΗΛΕΚΤΡΑ.
τελοῦσι
εσω τοὔργον· ἀλλὰ σῖγα πρόσμενε.
ΧΟ.
πῶς δή; τί νῦν πράσσουσιν ;
1400
ΗΛ.
ἡ μὲν ἐς τάφον
λέβητα κοσμεῖ, τὼ δ᾽ ἐφέστατον πέλας.
ΧΟ.
σὺ δ᾽ ἐκτὸς ᾖξας πρὸς τί;
ΗΛ.
φρουρήσουσ᾽ ὅπως
Αἴγισθος
ἡμᾶς
om. μὴ λάθῃ μολὼν ἔσω.
ΚΛ.
αἰαῖ
ai ai
ai ai ai ai
αἳ aì aὶ αἱ. ἰὼ στέγαι
1405
φίλων ἔρημοι, τῶν δ᾽ ἀπολλύντων πλέαι.
ΗΛ.
βοᾷ τις ἔνδον. οὐκ ἀκούετ᾽, ὦ φίλαι;
ΧΟ.
ἤκουσ᾽
ἀνήκουστα
ἀνήκοστα δύστανος, ὥστε
φρίξαι
φρίξαι.
ΚΛ.
οἴμοι τάλαιν'. Αἴγισθε,
ποῦ
ποῖ
ποῦ ποτ᾿ ὢν κυρεῖς ;
ΗΛ.
ἰδοὺ μάλ᾽ αὖ θροεῖ τις.
1410
ΚΛ.
ὦ τέκνον τέκνον
ὦ τέκνον ὦ τέκνον,
οἴκτειρε τὴν τεκοῦσαν.
ΗΛ.
ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐκ σέθεν
ᾠκτείρεθ᾽ οὗτος
οὐδ᾽
οὔθ᾽ ὁ γεννήσας πατήρ.
ΧΟ.
ὦ πόλις, ὦ γενεὰ τάλαινα, νῦν σε
μοῖρα
καθαμερία
καθημερία
φθίνει φθίνει
φθίνει φθίνει
φθίνει.
ΚΛ.
ὤμοι πέπληγμαι.
1415
ΗΛ.
παῖσον, εἰ σθένεις, διπλῆν.
ΚΛ.
ὤμοι μάλ᾽ αὖθις.
ΗΛ.
εἰ γὰρ Αἰγίσθῳ
γ᾿
θ' ὁμοῦ.
ΧΟ.
τελοῦσ᾽
τελοῦσιν ἀραί· ζῶσιν οἱ γᾶς
ὑπαὶ
ὑπο κείμενοι.
παλίρρυτον
πολύρυτον
πολύρροτον γὰρ αἷμ᾽ ὑπεξαιροῦσι τῶν
κτανόντων οἱ πάλαι θανόντες.
1420
Greek (F. Storr, 1912) (OCR draft) Experimental (Greek (F. Storr, 1912)) — 1384-1441 focus
Χορός
ἴδεθʼ ὅποι προνέμεται
τὸ δυσέριστον αἷμα φυσῶν Ἄρης.
1385
βεβᾶσιν ἄρτι δωμάτων ὑπόστεγοι
μετάδρομοι κακῶν πανουργημάτων ἄφυκτοι κύνες,
ὥστʼ οὐ μακρὰν ἔτʼ ἀμμενεῖ
τοὐμὸν φρενῶν ὄνειρον αἰωρούμενον.
1390
Χορός
παράγεται γὰρ ἐνέρων
δολιόπους ἀρωγὸς εἴσω στέγας,
ἀρχαιόπλουτα πατρὸς εἰς ἑδώλια,
νεακόνητον αἷμα χειροῖν ἔχων· ὁ Μαίας δὲ παῖς
Ἑρμῆς σφʼ ἄγει δόλον σκότῳ
1395
κρύψας πρὸς αὐτὸ τέρμα κοὐκέτʼ ἀμμένει.
Ἠλέκτρα
ὦ φίλταται γυναῖκες, ἅνδρες αὐτίκα
τελοῦσι τοὔργον· ἀλλὰ σῖγα πρόσμενε.
Χορός
πῶς δή; τί νῦν πράσσουσιν;
Ἠλέκτρα
ἡ μὲν ἐς τάφον
1400
λέβητα κοσμεῖ, τὼ δʼ ἐφέστατον πέλας.
Χορός
σὺ δʼ ἐκτὸς ᾖξας πρὸς τί;
Ἠλέκτρα
φρουρήσουσʼ ὅπως
Αἴγισθος ἡμᾶς μὴ λάθῃ μολὼν ἔσω.
Κλυταιμνήστρα
αἰαῖ. ἰὼ στέγαι
φίλων ἔρημοι, τῶν δʼ ἀπολλύντων πλέαι.
1405
Ἠλέκτρα
βοᾷ τις ἔνδον· οὐκ ἀκούετʼ, ὦ φίλαι;
Χορός
ἤκουσʼ ἀνήκουστα δύστανος, ὥστε φρῖξαι.
Κλυταιμνήστρα
οἴμοι τάλαινʼ· Αἴγισθε, ποῦ ποτʼ ὢν κυρεῖς;
Ἠλέκτρα
ἰδοὺ μάλʼ αὖ θροεῖ τις.
Κλυταιμνήστρα
ὦ τέκνον τέκνον, οἴκτιρε τὴν τεκοῦσαν.
1410
Ἠλέκτρα
ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐκ σέθεν
ᾠκτίρεθʼ οὗτος οὐδʼ ὁ γεννήσας πατήρ.
Χορός
ὦ πόλις, ὦ γενεὰ τάλαινα, νῦν σοι
μοῖρα καθαμερία φθίνει φθίνει.
Κλυταιμνήστρα
ὤμοι πέπληγμαι.
1415
Ἠλέκτρα
παῖσον, εἰ σθένεις, διπλῆν.
Κλυταιμνήστρα
ὤμοι μάλʼ αὖθις.
Ἠλέκτρα
εἰ γὰρ Αἰγίσθῳ θʼ ὁμοῦ.
Χορός
τελοῦσʼ ἀραί· ζῶσιν οἱ γᾶς ὑπαὶ κείμενοι.
παλίρρυτον γὰρ αἷμʼ ὑπεξαιροῦσι τῶν
1420
κτανόντων οἱ πάλαι θανόντες.
Χορός
καὶ μὴν πάρεισιν οἵδε· φοινία δὲ χεὶρ
στάζει θυηλῆς Ἄρεος, οὐδʼ ἔχω ψέγειν.
Ἠλέκτρα
Ὀρέστα, πῶς κυρεῖτε;
Ὀρέστης
τἀν δόμοισι μὲν
καλῶς, Ἀπόλλων εἰ καλῶς ἐθέσπισεν.
1425
Ἠλέκτρα
τέθνηκεν ἡ τάλαινα;
Ὀρέστης
μηκέτʼ ἐκφοβοῦ
μητρῷον ὥς σε λῆμʼ ἀτιμάσει ποτέ.
Χορός
παύσασθε· λεύσσω γὰρ Αἴγισθον ἐκ προδήλου.
Ἠλέκτρα
ὦ παῖδες, οὐκ ἄψορρον;
1430
Ὀρέστης
εἰσορᾶτε ποῦ τὸν ἄνδρʼ;
Ἠλέκτρα
ἐφʼ ἡμῖν οὗτος ἐκ προαστίου
χωρεῖ γεγηθὼς
Χορός
βᾶτε κατʼ ἀντιθύρων ὅσον τάχιστα,
νῦν, τὰ πρὶν εὖ θέμενοι, τάδʼ ὡς πάλιν.
1435
Ὀρέστης
θάρσει· τελοῦμεν.
Ἠλέκτρα
ᾗ νοεῖς ἔπειγέ νυν.
Ὀρέστης
καὶ δὴ βέβηκα.
Ἠλέκτρα
τἀνθάδʼ ἂν μέλοιτʼ ἐμοί.
Χορός
διʼ ὠτὸς ἂν παῦρά γʼ ὡς ἠπίως ἐννέπειν
πρὸς ἄνδρα τόνδε συμφέροι, λαθραῖον ὡς
1440
ὀρούσῃ πρὸς δίκας ἀγῶνα.
Translations (4)
English (Lewis Campbell, 1906) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Lewis Campbell, 1906)) — 1397 focus
Even to the fatal end in clouds of night.
His time of weary waiting all is o’er.
EL
Re-enter ELECTRA .
O dearest women! they are even now
About it. Only bide in silence still.
CH
She decks the vase
For burial, and they both are standing by.
CH
And wherefore hast thou darted forth?
EL
To watch
Aegisthus’ coming, that he enter not
At unawares.
CLY
().
1405
Ah! ah! Woe for the house,
1405
Desert of friends, and filled with hands of death!
EL
A cry within! Did ye not hear it, friends?
CH
Would I had not! I heard, and shivered through.
CLY
().
Oh me! Alas, Aegisthus! where art thou?
EL
Hark! yet again that sound!
1410
CLY
(). O son, have pity!
Pity the womb that bare thee.
EL
Thou hadst none
For him, nor for his father, in that day.
HALF-CH
Poor city! hapless race!
Thy destiny to-day
Wears thee away, away.
What morn shall see thy face?
CLY
(). Oh, I am smitten!
1415
EL
Give a second stroke,
If thou hast power.
CLY
(). Oh me! again, again!
EL
Would thou wert shrieking for Aegisthus too!
CH
Enter ORESTES and PYLADES .
The curse hath found, and they in earth who lie
Are living powers to-day.
Long dead, they drain away
The streaming blood of those who made them die.
Behold, they come, they come!
1420
German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review) (OCR draft) Experimental (German (J. J. C. Donner, 1875; OCR review)) — 1397 focus
O liebe, theure Frauen, gleich vollenden nun
Das Werk die Männer: also harrt ihr schweigend noch!
Der Chor.
Wie? Was beginnen jene?
Elektra.
Sie bereitet jezt
Zum Grab die Urne, nahe steh'n die Beiden ihr.
1
Der Chor.
Und du, was eiltest du heraus?
1370
Elektra.
Zu wachen, daß
1370
Aegisthos uns nicht unbemerkt das Haus betritt.
(im Hause)
Klytämnestra.
Ach, ach, o Graun! Das Haus
Ist öde rings von Freunden, und von Mördern voll.
Elektra.
Es jammert innen. Hört ihr nicht, o Freundinnen?
Der Chor.
Wohl hört' ich Wehklageruf, daß mir Armen schaudert.
1375
Klytämnestra.
Ich Arme, weh! Aegisthos, ach, wo bist du doch?
Elektra.
Schon wieder klagt es: hört ihr?
Klytämnestra.
Sohn, geliebter Sohn,
Erbarme dich der Mutter!
Elektra.
Auch bei dir ja fand
Er kein Erbarmen, wie der Mann, der ihn gezeugt.
Der Chor.
Weh dir, o Stadt, o Geschlecht der Herrscher! Heute
1380
Rafft dich hinab das Geschick, du sinkst, du sinkst!
Klytämnestra.
Weh, weh! Verwundet
Elektra.
Triff noch Einmal, wenn du kannst!
Klytämnestra.
Schon wieder
weh mir!
Elektra.
Träfst du doch Aegisthos auch!
Der Chor.
Erfüllt der Fluch! Die das Grab drunten barg, leben jezt!
Denn Blut in reichen Strömen, Blut entzieh'n die längst
1385
Gestorb'nen Rächend ihren Mördern.
Orestes. Pylades. Der Pfleger. Die Vorigen.
English (Robert Potter, 1788) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Robert Potter, 1788)) — 1397 focus
My dearest friends, they now are in the act,
E'en now: in silence then await 'th' event..
Chorus
How! Tell us all. What are they doing now?
1400
Electra
A cauldron for the burial she prepares,
And they stand nigh.
Chorus
Why hither art thou come?
Electra
To watch: that should Ægisthus chance to come,
He may not enter ere they are aware.
Clytemnestra
O miserable me! Beneath this roof
1405
Have I no friends? Are none but murderers here?
Electra
[within.
One cries within. Hark!! Hear you not my friends ?
Chorus
I heard; and shuddering horror chills my blood.
Clytemnestra
Where art thou, O Ægisthus? Wretched me! [within.
Electra
Again that piercing cry!
1410
Clytemnestra
My son, my son
Have pity on thy mother!
Electra
But from thee
He found no pity, none his father found.
Chorus
Unhappy realm! Unhappy race! Now fate
Day after day destroys thee, quite destroys.
Clytemnestra
[within.
Oh! I am wounded.
1415
Electra
[within.
If thou canst, repeat
That stroke.
Clytemnestra
A wretched me, another wound!
Electra
Oh that Ægisthus had like cause to groan!
Chorus
The curse now hastes to be fulfill'd: they live,
Who lie beneath the earth; and streams of blood
English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Sir Richard Jebb, 1904)) — 1384-1440 focus
Chorus
Behold how Ares stalks onward,
breathing bloody vengeance that is hard to oppose. Just now have the hunters of wicked crimes passed beneath that roof there, the hounds which none may flee. And so not long shall
1385
the vision of my soul hang in suspense.
1390
Chorus
The champion of the spirits infernal is ushered on guileful feet into the house, the rich, ancestral palace of his father, and he bears keen-edged death in his hands.
Maia
’s son Hermes, who has shrouded the guile in darkness, leads him right to his goal and delays no longer.
1395
Electra
My dearest friends, in a moment the men will do the deed. But wait in silence.
Chorus
How do they fare? What are they doing now?
1400
Electra
She is decking the urn for burial; the two of them stand close to her.
Chorus
And why have you hurried out?
Electra
To guard against Aegisthus entering before we are aware.
Clytaemnestra
Within.
Oh! Oh! Our house
is empty of friends and filled with murderers!
1405
Electra
Someone shouts inside. Do you not hear, friends?
Chorus
I heard, ah, me, sounds unfit to be heard, and I shudder!
Clytaemnestra
Within.
Ah, misery! Aegisthus, where, where are you?
Electra
Look, once more someone cries out!
Clytaemnestra
Within.
My son, my son, have pity on your mother!
1410
Electra
Why? You had none for him, nor for the father that begot him.
Chorus
Wretched city, wretched race, now the fate that has held you day by day perishes—it perishes!
Clytaemnestra
Within.
Oh, I am wounded!
1415
Electra
Stab her doubly, if you can!
Clytaemnestra
Within.
Ah, wounded again!
Electra
Would that Aegisthus, too, were wounded!
Chorus
The curses bring fulfillment: those who are buried live.
For men long dead are draining their killers’ blood in a stream of requital.
1420
Chorus
And now they are here! The red hand drips with sacrifice to Ares, and I cannot blame the deed.
Electra
Orestes, what happened?
Orestes
All is well within the house,
if Apollo’s oracle spoke well.
1425
Electra
The miserable woman is dead?
Orestes
Have no more fear that your haughty mother will ever again trample on your rights.
Chorus
Quiet! For I see Aegisthus in plain sight.
Electra
You, young men, get back inside!
1430
Orestes
Where do you see the man?
Electra
He is at our mercy walking from the suburb, full of joy.
Chorus
Go with all speed to the vestibule, so that, just as your first task prospered, so this one again may prosper now.
Orestes
Have courage. We will accomplish it.
1435
Electra
Hurry, then, to wherever you wish.
Orestes
See, I am gone.
Electra
Things here will be my concern.
Exeunt Orestes and Pylades, into the house.
Chorus
It would be well to whisper into this man’s ear some few words of seeming gentleness,
so that he may rush blindly upon his trial before Justice.
1440
Commentary
Commentary (R. C. Jebb) (OCR draft) (Commentary (R. C. Jebb))
mvp-comment-777-1 αἰαῖ· ἰὼ στέγαι 1
mvp-comment-778-1 ἀνήκουστα 2
mvp-comment-779-1 ἰδού 3
mvp-comment-779-2 μάλ’ αὖ 4
mvp-comment-780-1 ἐκ σέθεν 5
mvp-comment-780-2 ὁ γεννήσας πατήρ 6
mvp-comment-780-3 1413 f. The traditional reading φθίνει φθίνει 7 σε 8 σοι 9 μοῖρα καθαμερία 10 φθίνει 11
mvp-comment-780-4 Others explain as follows. (1) Keeping both σε 12 φθίνει φθίνει 13 σε 14 φθίνειν φθίνειν 15
mvp-comment-780-5
Nor is the objection to these interpretations merely verbal. They represent the Chorus as
deploring that doom of the race which entails yet another deed of bloodshed. But, as Whitelaw well observes, this commits Sophocles to the Aeschylean view of the vengeance ‘as a new crime in the series of crimes’ (Translation, p. 437). The Chorus are in the fullest sympathy with the avengers. They regard the slaying of Clytaemnestra not as a new calamity, but as a welcome retribution:
cp. 1434
mvp-comment-780-6
1415 f. Cp.
Aesch.
Ag. 1343
mvp-comment-780-7 διπλῆν 16
mvp-comment-780-8 εἰ γὰρ Αἰγίσθῳ γ’ ὁμοῦ 17
mvp-comment-781-1 τελοῦς ἀραί 18
mvp-comment-781-2 οἱ … κείμενοι 19
mvp-comment-781-3 ὑπαὶ 20
Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879) (OCR draft) (Commentary (Lewis Campbell, 1879)) focus
1398-1441. mvp-comment-660-1 The following passage (1398-1441), although consisting largely of senarii, appears to be antistrophic, nearly corresponding even in the division of the lines. According to this view ll. 1404-1406 are either (1) not to be counted in the strophe, or (2) lines answering to them after l. 1427 must be supposed to have been lost. As the lines in question relate to the sudden cry of Clytemnestra from within, the former supposition is sufficiently probable. Cp. note on O. C. 117 foll., vol. i. p. 298 (Ist column). In the 'strophe,' ll. 1398-1421, Clytemnestra is put to death, -in the 'antistrophe,' ll. 1422-41, the bleeding sword is displayed, and Aegisthus is descried. The young men then retire into the palace, and Electra waits outside.
1407. mvp-comment-663-1 ἀνήκουστα] ‘What is horrible to hear,-as ἄρρητα are 'things horrible to tell.'
1411-1412. mvp-comment-664-1 ἀλλ᾽.. οὗτος] Cp. supr. 296, 7,601.
1413-1414. mvp-comment-665-1 If the text is sound, φθίνει is transitive here. καθαμερία is predicative and adverbial, Is destroying thee this very day.' This brief lyrical utterance fills the moment of dread suspense before the falling of the blow.